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View Full Version : Of A-i-Ws and SNES freezeframes


Ahri
20th March 2004, 22:34
I recently posted a thread on the rage3d forums concerning an issue I'm having with my All-in-Wonder card, but since I got no help there I decided to call upon your expertise in the hope that there's someone about with as weird ideas as myself, and the experience to solve my oddly specialist problem.

Enough of the arse kissing, on with my problem: I have a Hercules AiW 9800 SE and have been unsuccessfully attempting to connect up my ageing SNES (Super Famicom) (UK/PAL version). I get the same odd problem both with its RF-Out and its 'Multi'-Out (composite.) The problem is that although my capture software begins receiving, it seems to give up after the first frame; I'm using both the supplied ATi software and VirtualDub. This doesn't happen using any other transmitter (PSone composite/RF, PS2 composite, Digital Satellite composite/RF, VHS composite/RF.) The SNES is the oddity and I can neither work out why or stumble across a workaround.

The thread on rage3d gives essentially the same info, and is located here (http://rage3d.com/board/showthread.php?threadid=33747441) - I know it's bad etiquette to post the same issue on 2 forums, but I've been waiting a week to resolve the issue with their help and had no success!

Arachnotron
20th March 2004, 23:29
Some quick reading on the net gives me the impression the SNES originally outputs a NTSC signal, and that PAL versions actually only convert the color carrier. This would result in a PAL-60 signal (PAL color coding, but NTSC timing)

Most modern PAL TV's can handle this and display it just fine at 29.97 fps, but capture cards are a different story.

If I am correct, you should cap at 712x480, 29.97 frames per second, and set the decoder to PAL_60 if possible. Not all cards can do PAL_60, I have no idea if your AIW supports PAL_60.