| REVIEW RGB-to-VGA Converter Built by Roy R. Justus System Requirements: Tandy Color Computer 3, SVGA compatible monitor Price (as reviewed): US$48.00 Reviewed by CaptCPU on May 2006 Last Updated: 8/01/07 contact: RJRTTY@aol.com |
One of the wicked things about being a CoCo nut is the
seemingly endless supply of cool gizmos that arrive on the door
step each week, courtesy of some brilliant people that share their
CoCo love with the rest of us. One of those afore mentioned
brilliant people is Roy R. Justus, who has brought us a
spectacular innovation for the Color Computer 3 in the form of
his new RGB-to-VGA converter.
For this review I tested the converter on both an old Gateway
SVGA monitor and a nice Magnovox flatscreen TV with VGA
imputs. I used a 512K CoCo 3 hooked up to a duel FD-501 5
1/4" disk drive with matching controller, and a 26-3124A MPI.
The converter arrives well packed and includes the unit, a 6V
power adapter, and the attached RGB cable included. You'll
need supply your own VGA cable and a VGA monitor. Also
included is a one page data sheet that includes operating
instructions and a few caveats (see below). Alas, no technical
details on how to program the converter's special features, but
Roy has mentioned that software for RS-DOS and OS-9 is in
development and will be made available free of charge to
customers who have already purchased the converter.
Installing the converter is as simple as plugging in the cables and
power adapter. The RGB cable is attached to the unit and has
the keyed CoCo 9-pin plug on the other end. Plug it into RGB
port on the underside of the CoCo. Then plug in the VGA cable
and the power adapter. An external speaker can be added via
the included port on the unit. The speaker jack is not powered,
so you will need to supply powered speakers, or hook it up to an
amplifier. The switch on the left is the power and the button on
the right is a reset. The power up sequence I used was Drive,
MPI, Converter, CoCo, Monitor. The converter came right up
after about two seconds.
On both tested displays, the resulting screen is as crisp and
sharp as anything I've seen a CoCo do. Blows the heck out of a
CM-8 or TV. I moved the unit around the various components
and couldn't get any interference, so it should be fine to place it
in a convenient out of the way spot. The case closely matches
the CoCo's case color (though my wife says it's more of an ecru
than eggshell color, but she can see that stuff, I can't). I didn't
need to use the reset switch at all, but the instructions mention it
may be necessary in rare instances after startups.
40 and 80 column text is sharp and clean. There is a bit of
artifacting noticeable on all the text screens in standard green on
the older VGA monitor, but it's not apparent at all on the flat
panel. From other reports I've read, your mileage will vary
somewhat depending on the display you choose. It comes out as
light vertical bands (see pictures). The sheet included indicates
this is normal and is caused by the GIME chip and background
noise the converter picks up from the increased bandwidth.
When I switched to a black background with white text I couldn't
make it out at all. Regardless, most users probably wouldn't
even notice it, and the sheer clarity of the VGA screen makes it a
pleasure to view.
The basic colors in the text and low res screens are very crisp
and distinguished. In the photo showing the Blinky Dots game,
each block is clearly defined and the colors nice a vibrant. The
reversed video text at the bottom is not represented accurately
due to the camera, not the screen. Reverse video text showed
up nicely using the converter.
Also shown is the CoCo running Sockmaster's Matrix demo.
Some of the color combinations used in this program don't come
up very well and the display was muddled using the converter.
The display was mushy in both tests. Most of the combos I tried
looked beautiful, but combinations that are close together when
set to fore and background tend to melt together a bit much. All
the games I ran looked better than I'd ever seen them, including
Arkanoid, Thexder, Super Pitfall, Rampage, and Sockmaster's
Donkey Kong is simply gorgeous. Telewriter 64, Color Max
Deluxe, and NitrOS-9 all work and simply don't look better on
anything else anymore. This little device will spoil you fast.
As far as sound goes, I found the stereo audio jack to be a bit
underpowered, even using powered PC speakers. It works, but it
comes out pretty tinny, even with my high end Dell speakers. A
better solution was to run a cable from the CoCo's built in Audio
Out jack to the monitor's Audio In jack. Worked beautifully on the
flat panel. VGA monitors without built in speakers will have to
use the RGB-to-VGA converter's jack, or hook up to another
sound source via the CoCo, such as a stereo. A small powered
speaker in the mid-range of the PC-speaker crowd would more
than suffice. Higher end probably wouldn't make much
difference.
The converter has several as yet undocumented features, such
as monitor power off, video overlay, and custom startup
configurations. The included instruction sheet mentions that
these will be available through software that is currently under
development.
I still need to take some nicer pictures, of course. The fuzziness
in the pictures to the left is a result of the camera and my shaky
hands, not the unit itself.
I can't rave enough about this addition to the CoCo. The
RGB-to-VGA converter from Roy Justus is a perfect video
solution for the modern CoCoist. There's really no need to hunt
down an old monitor or fiddle with an RF converter any more.
For those CoCo nuts that have an old VGA monitor laying
around, or better, want to modernize the CoCo with a nice shiny
new flat screen, we now have the perfect solution!
seemingly endless supply of cool gizmos that arrive on the door
step each week, courtesy of some brilliant people that share their
CoCo love with the rest of us. One of those afore mentioned
brilliant people is Roy R. Justus, who has brought us a
spectacular innovation for the Color Computer 3 in the form of
his new RGB-to-VGA converter.
For this review I tested the converter on both an old Gateway
SVGA monitor and a nice Magnovox flatscreen TV with VGA
imputs. I used a 512K CoCo 3 hooked up to a duel FD-501 5
1/4" disk drive with matching controller, and a 26-3124A MPI.
The converter arrives well packed and includes the unit, a 6V
power adapter, and the attached RGB cable included. You'll
need supply your own VGA cable and a VGA monitor. Also
included is a one page data sheet that includes operating
instructions and a few caveats (see below). Alas, no technical
details on how to program the converter's special features, but
Roy has mentioned that software for RS-DOS and OS-9 is in
development and will be made available free of charge to
customers who have already purchased the converter.
Installing the converter is as simple as plugging in the cables and
power adapter. The RGB cable is attached to the unit and has
the keyed CoCo 9-pin plug on the other end. Plug it into RGB
port on the underside of the CoCo. Then plug in the VGA cable
and the power adapter. An external speaker can be added via
the included port on the unit. The speaker jack is not powered,
so you will need to supply powered speakers, or hook it up to an
amplifier. The switch on the left is the power and the button on
the right is a reset. The power up sequence I used was Drive,
MPI, Converter, CoCo, Monitor. The converter came right up
after about two seconds.
On both tested displays, the resulting screen is as crisp and
sharp as anything I've seen a CoCo do. Blows the heck out of a
CM-8 or TV. I moved the unit around the various components
and couldn't get any interference, so it should be fine to place it
in a convenient out of the way spot. The case closely matches
the CoCo's case color (though my wife says it's more of an ecru
than eggshell color, but she can see that stuff, I can't). I didn't
need to use the reset switch at all, but the instructions mention it
may be necessary in rare instances after startups.
40 and 80 column text is sharp and clean. There is a bit of
artifacting noticeable on all the text screens in standard green on
the older VGA monitor, but it's not apparent at all on the flat
panel. From other reports I've read, your mileage will vary
somewhat depending on the display you choose. It comes out as
light vertical bands (see pictures). The sheet included indicates
this is normal and is caused by the GIME chip and background
noise the converter picks up from the increased bandwidth.
When I switched to a black background with white text I couldn't
make it out at all. Regardless, most users probably wouldn't
even notice it, and the sheer clarity of the VGA screen makes it a
pleasure to view.
The basic colors in the text and low res screens are very crisp
and distinguished. In the photo showing the Blinky Dots game,
each block is clearly defined and the colors nice a vibrant. The
reversed video text at the bottom is not represented accurately
due to the camera, not the screen. Reverse video text showed
up nicely using the converter.
Also shown is the CoCo running Sockmaster's Matrix demo.
Some of the color combinations used in this program don't come
up very well and the display was muddled using the converter.
The display was mushy in both tests. Most of the combos I tried
looked beautiful, but combinations that are close together when
set to fore and background tend to melt together a bit much. All
the games I ran looked better than I'd ever seen them, including
Arkanoid, Thexder, Super Pitfall, Rampage, and Sockmaster's
Donkey Kong is simply gorgeous. Telewriter 64, Color Max
Deluxe, and NitrOS-9 all work and simply don't look better on
anything else anymore. This little device will spoil you fast.
As far as sound goes, I found the stereo audio jack to be a bit
underpowered, even using powered PC speakers. It works, but it
comes out pretty tinny, even with my high end Dell speakers. A
better solution was to run a cable from the CoCo's built in Audio
Out jack to the monitor's Audio In jack. Worked beautifully on the
flat panel. VGA monitors without built in speakers will have to
use the RGB-to-VGA converter's jack, or hook up to another
sound source via the CoCo, such as a stereo. A small powered
speaker in the mid-range of the PC-speaker crowd would more
than suffice. Higher end probably wouldn't make much
difference.
The converter has several as yet undocumented features, such
as monitor power off, video overlay, and custom startup
configurations. The included instruction sheet mentions that
these will be available through software that is currently under
development.
I still need to take some nicer pictures, of course. The fuzziness
in the pictures to the left is a result of the camera and my shaky
hands, not the unit itself.
I can't rave enough about this addition to the CoCo. The
RGB-to-VGA converter from Roy Justus is a perfect video
solution for the modern CoCoist. There's really no need to hunt
down an old monitor or fiddle with an RF converter any more.
For those CoCo nuts that have an old VGA monitor laying
around, or better, want to modernize the CoCo with a nice shiny
new flat screen, we now have the perfect solution!
| Front: Power LED indicator, on/off switch and the reset button. The attached RGB cable is laying on top there. |
| Back: VGA connector, external audio, and the power connector. |
| Hooked up and running, shown here for scale. |
| The text and screen is exceptionally sharp. Some video artifacting is evident in this shot. |
| The 80-column screen. The light blurriness of the image is the camera, not the converter. The artifacting is seen better here. I didn't find it bothersome at all, and switching the background color pretty much eliminated it. |
| Show here running Sockmaster's matrix demo. Some colors blur together. Pretty much like some color combinations on an RGB monitor. In rare instances, you may need to adjust the colors selected for a particular program. |
| The CoCo Color Box demo from the ECB manual. Watched this for about 20 minutes as it rotated the palette and every set was gorgeous. (The scan lines don't show up IRL, that's the camera again.) |
| The majority of colors, however, are bright, sharp and vibrant! Color Blinky Dots never looked so good! All games tried came out absolutely beautiful on the converter. Note that the inverse video text on the bottom is hard to see due to the camera, not the converter. More and better pictures to come. |
| Capt's CoCo Hut (c) Copyright 2006 C.D. Egger. All Rights Reserved. Products, services, trademarks, and external linkage are the property of their respective owners and are not used with permission unless stated otherwise. Email regarding this site should be send to admin@clubltdstudios.com. You're off the edge of the map with me, matey. Here there be monsters! |
| Articles |
| Articles |
| The CoCo Hut The most (legal) fun you can have in 8-bits. For collectors, gamers and hobbyists of the TRS-80 and Tandy Color Computer. |
| Prices, availability, and features mentioned in this review are subject to change. Please contact the developer for more current information. |