Pre-orders via Kickstarter are now open for the latest version of the RecalBox RGB Dual analog video adapter for Raspberry Pi’s. This offers RGB SCART, VGA and Composite output (one at a time) and is fully compatible with the RPi 5’s. The price is about $115 (no Pi included!) and they should start shipping to customers by fall. If you’d prefer a JAMMA version for your arcade machine, that’s currently in-stock on their website. I just did a livestream showing how the Dual 2 works, which I embedded below and you can find a summary of the stream below the links:
Pre-Order Here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/recalbox/recalbox-rgb-dual-2?ref=7lprxd
JAMMA Version: https://shop.recalbox.com/collections/recalbox-rgb-jamma
RPi 5 8GB: https://amzn.to/3EJtj6Y
RPi 5 4GB: https://amzn.to/3QqJkS5
Arcade Stick: https://www.retrorgb.com/octopus-arcade-stick-2nd-pre-order-batch.html
I was a fan of the original RGB Dual and went into testing this “Dual 2” with high hopes…and it did not disappoint. To use it, assemble the kit (which includes a 3D printed case) and connect it to a Raspberry Pi 5. The 4GB version should be enough for almost everything, but it’ll work with the 8GB version as well. Then flash the MicroSD with the image and connect an HDMI cable for setup. An HDMI display is required for initial setup and the default settings in the menu will switch to HDMI-out any time one is detected on boot – I think this is excellent, as if you ever switch to an output not compatible with your analog display, just connect it to a monitor, enter the menu and switch the settings back!
Once you’re at the main screen, hit Start to bring up the menu and change your output settings in the RGB Dual section; Most people will probably be using the standard 15Khz, but if you’re connecting via a CRT VGA monitor, it has 31Khz options as well. You can also enable composite video output from this menu and you’ll have a choice between using the SCART port, or composite video jack to get composite video output.
As a note, only one output at a time is supported. I don’t think simultaneous HDMI + Analog output is supported on any RPi solution and only ONE analog output cable should be connected at a time to the RGB Dual 2.
VGA and Composite video output was as-expected, but I wanted to carefully check the SCART output. All three RGB video levels were identical and the sync voltage was perfect for SCART devices. While the RGB voltage was a hair low, it’s always better to be a bit too low, as opposed to a bit too high, as you can start losing video data when the image washes out. Also, it’s much more important that all three color levels match, otherwise all colors might be off. Click for a full-sized view of each signal, if you’re curious about the exact voltage:
As a note, while the video quality itself was excellent, using an unshielded cable will ruin it. Make sure to use a fully-shielded SCART cable, otherwise there’s no guarantee how it’ll look.
The RecalBox UI is very good and the overall performance was great. Some arcade games seemed to benefit from runahead and low latency modes, while others required it turned off, however that would be the same with any RPi5-based solution, not just RecalBox. I’ll also say that mapping buttons in-game ihas been greatly improved over the years, although you’re still using Retroarch for that.
The default settings are all great and if you’re connecting it to a VGA CRT monitor via 480p, scanlines for 240p content are on by default. This is excellent, as it provides a look almost identical to a 240p PVM. If you load a native 480p game like Dreamcast or Naomi, it automatically turns those scanlines off for a proper look, with no user-interaction required. There’s also a 240p120Hz option that looked identical to 480p with scanlines, but you may run into compatibility issues with 240p120 and some arcade games. Just give both a try and see what you think.
One really cool addition is Kodi integrated right into the software package. It’s recommended that you switch from the default Kodi UI, but once I did, I was able to load tons of content over the network with no issue at all. This is a really easy way to view videos on a CRT and I imagine many people reading this might buy it just for that reason.
The only feature I’d have like to see is component video output. Maybe the team will consider another version that’s just YPbPr and Composite? Either way, if you’re looking for am RGB SCART kit for your Raspberry Pi 5, this is an excellent choice and I definitely recommend it. Check out the livestream I did if you’d like to see it in action, but expect the usual mistakes and fumbles you get during my streams…including a dead mic at the beginning 🙂
