Markus has just released a new firmware for the CPS2HDMI kits, that ads multiple resolutions to the output. Download the .jlc file for your USB Blaster here, but read through this whole post for all the awesome details!: https://github.com/marqs85/cps2_digiav/
…and get your CPSHDMI kits here: https://retrorgb.link/cpshdmi
After loading the new firmware, the CPS2HDMI will always boot in 1080p5x. Pressing the volume up button will toggle up to 1440p and hitting volume down will go as low as a ‘super resolution’ 240p:
- 1920×1440 = 1440p, CVT-RB
- 1920×1200 = 1200p, CVT-RB
- 1920×1080 = 1080p5x, CEA
- 1920×1080 = 1080p4x, CEA
- 1280×720 = 720p, CEA
- 768×448 = 480p, For 31KHz CRT / VGA Monitor
- 1536×224 = 240p, for 15KHz CRT’s and Capture
The addition of these resolutions unlocks almost every possibility you can imagine for CRT gaming, flat-screen gaming and capture! Let’s start with the easy ones: 1200p and 1440p are excellent for people who use low-latency gaming monitors, while 720p and 1080p are great for standard flat-screens.
The lower resolutions are where things get really interesting though! If you use a cheap HDMI to VGA converter, the 480p mode will allow you to use this kit on a VGA CRT monitor. That means people without RGB monitors can still have a zero-lag, CRT experience with any cheap VGA monitor they can find.
The 240p mode is definitely my favorite part though, as using an HDMI to *Component Video converter will allow you to use the HDMI output on an RGB monitor or even consumer-grade TV with component video inputs! That means no supergun is needed, you can just use one of the two CPS/IO boards available for power and controller support, then use only the HDMI output for video.
*You can also use an HDMI to VGA converter and run the RGBHV output through a sync combiner to get RGBs – Meaning this resolution will get you RGB output as well!
Markus also said in a future firmware update, a menu will be implemented that would allow you to select between different TX modes such as HDMI (RGB Full), HDMI (RGB Limited), HDMI (YCbCr444) and DVI. I also hope scanlines are re-enabled (they were in the original firmware), even if just for 480p sources, as scanlines over a 480p signal on a VGA monitor feel really close to the look of an RGB monitor (I’ll have a video on that soon).
For more information, or to discuss, check out the shmups thread. Also, please see screenshots of every mode taken below…and check out an interview with Markus himself at the bottom!: https://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?p=1403797#p1403797
