Old school upscaling on an HDTV

GogoTheMimic

GogoTheMimic

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My Onkyo 605 reciever upscales composite and component inputs to 720p but the problem is, I can't get it to work.

I think I'm out of luck completely on my NES since it's a top load and I don't think there is any way to get composite out for it.

The SNES and N64 both have solid audio but the video flickers in and out and moves around on the screen when I have upscaling turned on.

I know this isn't technically "old school" but when I have upscaling turned on for my PS2 via component it squishes the picture and letterboxes it for some reason.


Anyone have any ideas?
 
I am curious to answers to these questions as well, as I plan to buy a reciever and TV in the not-so-distant future and would like to hook up my NES, Genesis, et al to the TV (plasma, LCD, unsure but it will be 1080p)
 
I fail to see how having the receiver upscale the signal instead of having the TV do it is of any benefit. In fact, unless your TV is 720p native, it is a serious waste of time instead of just a casual waste of time.
 
Most TVs nowadays use standard definition resolutions for the TV and composite inputs. VCRs are still sold, and regular DVD players can still output a standard definition signal. If you just plug in your composite cables into the TV, it will work. I play SNES on my 42" DLP all freakin day. The image will be stretched if you have an HDTV, because of it's widescreen aspect ratio. Just change the screen size to 4:3 and it will retain the original size ratio. It's still freakin huge and kinda fuzzy, but it works just fine. So, just bypass the reciever and just plug it into the TV. You've got to have empty composite slots. I know I have 3 of them on mine. I use a switch box for all of my consoles, and it just plugs into a composite source.

The top-loader doesn't have composite support, so you are SOL on that.
 
[quote name='Zing']I fail to see how having the receiver upscale the signal instead of having the TV do it is of any benefit. In fact, unless your TV is 720p native, it is a serious waste of time instead of just a casual waste of time.[/quote]

Maybe because the TV doesn't upscale?

I can deal with how the NES and SNES look not upscaled but it would be nice to get it working. The N64 though is so blurry I can't stand to play for more than 30 minutes at a time or it just hurts my eyes.
 
[quote name='GogoTheMimic']My Onkyo 605 reciever upscales composite and component inputs to 720p but the problem is, I can't get it to work.
[/quote]

You may want to check avsforum.com as there are a lot of techies on that site who may be able to answer your question. I have read that the 605 isn't the best when it comes to handling video inputs/outputs.

Sorry to be off topic as I can't help, but I am interested in your thoughts on the 605 as I am giving it serious consideration. Are you happy with it? Do you run HDMI inputs through it?
 
I was wondering why my SNES and NES look ok, I guess, on my Samsung 32" HDTV and the N64 looks interlaced and blurry. Its driving me crazy too. Of course I put the pic to 4:3 on these old systems to help out the look.
 
The N64 always looked blurry on normal tvs to me. I guess if you blow it up extra gigantic, it'll look pretty bad. I really have no idea why.
 
[quote name='GogoTheMimic']Maybe because the TV doesn't upscale?

I can deal with how the NES and SNES look not upscaled but it would be nice to get it working. The N64 though is so blurry I can't stand to play for more than 30 minutes at a time or it just hurts my eyes.[/quote]

This is a misnomer. All hd tvs upscale, if they didnt have scalers in them than non hd images would be tiny on the screen instead of filling up the screen. However, generally speaking, tv scalers aren't as good (or downright suck) compared to external scalers in dvd players/recievers. Im not sure how good the scaler is on the onkyo reciever, though I've heard it can be somewhat problematic. But I doubt even the best scaler is going to make a considerable difference on an nes or snes.
 
[quote name='kell']You may want to check avsforum.com as there are a lot of techies on that site who may be able to answer your question. I have read that the 605 isn't the best when it comes to handling video inputs/outputs.

Sorry to be off topic as I can't help, but I am interested in your thoughts on the 605 as I am giving it serious consideration. Are you happy with it? Do you run HDMI inputs through it?[/quote]

I second checking out the avs forum. I'm an active member over there. I believe the 605 has a few hidden menus where you can "force" it to upscale, but you'd be better off asking it in the Official Onkyo 605 thread over there.

I know you weren't directly asking me for my opinion on the 605, however, if you are looking for a solid receiver, I highly recommend Denon. I currently run a Denon 3808CI. This came after weeks of reviewing the Onkyo 605,705, and 804/5's.
 
I've tried it with forced upscaling on and with auto(the default) on the hidden menu and neither work(except with the weird letterboxing on Wii and PS2).


To answer your question kell; I love my 605. The only thing I'm disappointed with is that I can't get the upscaling to work for me which I'm hoping is just a setting wrong somewhere.
 
[quote name='GogoTheMimic']Maybe because the TV doesn't upscale?

I can deal with how the NES and SNES look not upscaled but it would be nice to get it working. The N64 though is so blurry I can't stand to play for more than 30 minutes at a time or it just hurts my eyes.[/QUOTE]

Every single LCD/DLP/Plasma TV has scaling hardware. There are slight quality differences between scaling hardware, but in general, you will notice zero difference in image quality if a receiver is doing the scaling instead of the TV. Unless your TV is a very low end model, it is likely your TV will perform the scaling better.
 
Try your systems out with a S-video cable if they will take it. It will give you a bit better video clarity. Newer TV's do have scalers that will work against a signal to upgrade it. You will be better off with the TV doing it rather than the receiver. I have a off brand dvd recorder that will take video/s-video and output it via component. Not quite great but it does the trick.
Older systems will always work a bit better on a CRT monitors for the reasons above and it would never hurt to have one set aside just for that reason.
 
[quote name='drewman21']Try your systems out with a S-video cable if they will take it. It will give you a bit better video clarity. Newer TV's do have scalers that will work against a signal to upgrade it. You will be better off with the TV doing it rather than the receiver. I have a off brand dvd recorder that will take video/s-video and output it via component. Not quite great but it does the trick.
Older systems will always work a bit better on a CRT monitors for the reasons above and it would never hurt to have one set aside just for that reason.[/quote]

I've got S-Video for my SNES and N64 and they still look like garbage on my TV, that's why I was hoping there was a magical way to make them look as good as say, the Virtual Console games(I know it's a long shot). Guess I'm better off playing them on an emu on my PC if I want them to look crisp and shiny. Just disappointing that it can't be done the "real" way on my TV with the real console.

It just gives me headaches to play them on my TV the way they are with how blurry they look, I litterally can't do it.
 
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