Bob

Interest Check: Digital 3DO A/V Output

3DO ODE creator Fixel has just opened an interest check for an exciting new project:  A true digital to digital, video and audio mod for 3DO consoles.  This will be a zero-lag device that can output from 240p – 720p directly to modern TV’s.  If you think this is something you’d want to purchase, enter your name in the form and check out plenty of more info and planned specs below:

Interest Check List:  https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScNH4-UpxYtUyY29UPHZR_Dy3Ku9hNfsZshngui7jVkDOq-Hg/viewform
Fixel’s 3DO ODE’s:  https://www.retrorgb.com/3do-odes-batch-2-available-for-pre-order.html

The first thing to note, is this kit will be compatible with MADAM/CLIO versions of the motherboards – So, basically, almost every FZ1, Sanyo TRY, GDO101 and 1993,1994 FZ-10. Many 1995 FZ-10’s won’t be compatible, as well as none of the GDO202/203’s.  I’d still double and triple check to be sure, but there’s a good chance your 3DO is compatible.

The next thing to discuss is the output:  Digital from 240p to 720p.  That means you can connect it directly to a modern display with full compatibility, but you can also use cheap DAC’s to convert the signal to RGB or Component as well!  Having a digital-to-digital “original signal” output from the console also ensures it’ll be future-proof, as that signal can be routed into any future scalers with all the same options as the original output…but with none of the analog noise, phase issues, or filtering required!

Another really cool feature is how the kit handles the 3DO’s 240p/480i choices.  I spoke to Fixel about this and here’s what he had to say:

The console will think it is producing two fields of 480i, but i display 1 complete frame, ignoring the interpolation made by console flags.  The difference is in the way I handle console flags — for 480i, I’ll honor them on each field. for 240p I’ll ignore them.

This should allow you to seamlessly choose between the look of scaled 240p, vs the look of scaled 480i, which is often a bit more suited to FMV’s.  Fixel’s also looking to implement full compatibility for NTSC and PAL games, regardless of console region.  This last feature isn’t 100% confirmed, but I thought it was still worth mentioning as a potential option.

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