Is the Dreamcast HD Link worth purchasing?

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DCUltrapro
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Is the Dreamcast HD Link worth purchasing?

Post#1 » Fri Jan 11, 2019 7:17 pm

Hi guys, apologies if this is in the wrong place but I just wanted to see what people thought of the Dreamcast HD Link... I've got the Hanzo VGA Box but it will only work with my smaller tv in the front room or the bigger but harder to get to tv in the main bedroom. Ideally I'd like to connect the DC to the big 49" LED 4k tv in the front room but it has no VGA Ports so I thought this might be a viable solution.

Has anyone tried it? If so, have you had any issues or has it been a decent purchase/solution? Are there any draw backs such as game compatibility? (Not all games are VGA compatible, does the HD Link have similar restrictions?)

Thanks in advance

http://videogamesnewyork.com/hd-link-ca ... dreamcast/
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Anthony817
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Re: Is the Dreamcast HD Link worth purchasing?

Post#2 » Sat Jan 12, 2019 2:09 am

From what people say, these Pound cables are really amazing on the Xbox version, and pretty OK with the Dreamcast version, but it is not going to look as good as straight VGA or other solutions on the DC. It was said that it unfortunately makes the images look washed out. Even using the cheap ass $6 VGA2HDMI adapter on eBay at least in my case on other TV's provides a better solution. I even have an upscaler that handles VGA to HDMI, but it is kinda cheap and has a lot of lag.

Luckily my 2005 Pioneer Elite PureVision PRO-930HD 43" Plasma has VGA built in, as well as my 6 month old Acer KG2410 PC monitor. My cheap ass Sanyo however has no HDMI, so that is what I bought the VGA2HDMI adapter for originally. But I don't connect it to that TV anymore. My Pioneer is the best HD TV for retro gaming I have ever owned.



Here is the cheap adapter I got which works pretty great.



Same seller I bought mine from back in 2016. Keep in mind this just passes through a direct feed, it doesn't handle upscaling.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Full-HD1080P-P ... SwLpdW9jWx
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ncman071
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Re: Is the Dreamcast HD Link worth purchasing?

Post#3 » Sat Jan 12, 2019 6:23 am

i have the pound cable for dc. not a bad cable ... however, on my 50 in 4k hisense tv i always see these faint horizontal lines when playing the dc

MikeStutzzzz
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Re: Is the Dreamcast HD Link worth purchasing?

Post#4 » Sat Jan 12, 2019 4:25 pm

I have Gekko and MCable looks Great. I also need to test the VGA box Baharo brothers make but I know it does not work with my VGA to HDMI upscaler need to still test if it works at all.
Meh Stuff http://dreamcast-talk.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=18650#p18650
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DCUltrapro
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Re: Is the Dreamcast HD Link worth purchasing?

Post#5 » Mon Jan 14, 2019 3:52 am

interesting points and suggestions, thanks guys. I have the Hanzo VGA Box for my dc which is connected to my small 21" LG LCD tv, but its getting old (the tv) and the sound is rubbish. M5 49" LED 4k LG tv sadly doesn't have VGA so I'm kinda screwed in that regard, and also if I wanted to play it over there I'd have to find a way to run a new Ethernet cable over there so I could still play PSO or I'd have to essentially move the DC back to my computer desk the other end of the living room everytime I wanna go online.

Given this situation, do you think I should just keep it where it is? My main tv only has RCA, HDMI and antenna, no scart from what I've seen so far.

Thanks guys
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OfManNotMachine
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Re: Is the Dreamcast HD Link worth purchasing?

Post#6 » Mon Jan 14, 2019 11:29 am

It's all a matter of how much you wanna spend. Ugh at that Adam Koralik video, that dude is so misinformed, later retracts most of what he says, but leaves his illinformed videos up for profit I'd assume.
Dude has alot of followers, and just isn't the most informed person out there. Sure he is a nice guy n all, but should probably do more research before he puts up videos.

It's all a matter of how much cash you wanna spend for how much picture quality you want.
The pound cable definately looks washed out, and it doesn't display black correctly, and displays at 720X480 which is the incorrect resolution, but because dreamcast has a weird timing on it's display, alot of devices will incorrectly pick it up and display it wrong. This can result in part of the screen being off centered, as well as the color being washed out or just off in general.

https://www.retrorgb.com/dreamcast.html There is some pretty good info there.

If you just wanna hook your DC up via HDMI in the easiest possible fashion and not worried if it's the best picture you can get, this is the way to go then probably. Appearntly there is a 2nd revision of the pound cable that works slightly better than the original.

If you can spend another $25 dollars, go the Beharbros route and snag the Gekko. Much better picture quality for only $25 more.

If you got soldering skills, or know a buddy who does, then spend $150 for DCHDMI, It's the best solution out there. it runs EVERYTHING and is a pure digital signal, obviously not everyone is gonna wanna spend that much so I'd say the Gekko is the best route.

I ordered my DCHDMI and it's supposed to arrive in early March. I can't wait

OfManNotMachine
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Re: Is the Dreamcast HD Link worth purchasing?

Post#7 » Mon Jan 14, 2019 11:33 am

I'd suggest watching this comparison video. Obviously Youtube compresses n crap, but it will help give you an idea of the difference between them all

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CcWQ3ut6Ubw&t=184s

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DCUltrapro
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Re: Is the Dreamcast HD Link worth purchasing?

Post#8 » Mon Jan 14, 2019 11:35 am

Thanks mate, I might be tempted to get the beharbros solution considering I already have the hanzo... And yeah I can't justify the spend on the more expensive solution what with a baby on the way, so I'll check out the comparison video and see how it goes

Thanks again

EDIT: am I right in assuming that the only option which will allow ALL games to output over VGA-HDMI is the more expensive option you are talking about? My big tv doesn't have Scart, just RCA. So essentially any game which doesn't support 60hz I'll have to revert to RCA... which sucks a$$
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DCGX
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Re: Is the Dreamcast HD Link worth purchasing?

Post#9 » Mon Jan 14, 2019 2:23 pm

I'm glad I'm not the only one that has issue with Koralik. The guy spends so much time talking and saying next to nothing, then there's a few stills or a single screen comparisons before the vid ends.

He reminds me a lot of Metal Jesus Rocks (although the latter is more likeable in my opinion), where they are fans that got (relatively) big on YouTube yet regularly don't have/provide the correct information.

But Koralik just rubs me the wrong way.

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mistamontiel
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Re: Is the Dreamcast HD Link worth purchasing?

Post#10 » Mon Jan 14, 2019 4:13 pm

..Machine ymean that DCHDMI does EVERY TITLE!? I thought still would need some toggle er to use the original port

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