Introduction

Introduction

The Retro Scaler A1 will upscale the RGB video signals from your

  • Arcade Games
  • Retro Consoles
  • Retro computers

AFAIK, it’s the first and only purpose built Arcade scaler.

What it does

It line-doubles the input signal, effectively transforming a 15kHz signal found in Arcade Games and older systems into a 31kHz VGA signal.  It’s perfect for playing arcade games on a 31kHz VGA (or higher) CRT monitor like the European Sega Naomi Universal.  It’s also great if you want to build a ‘super-gun’, or user older consoles/computers with a a PC VGA CRT.  PC VGA monitors generally have a fantastic picture, but doesn’t do 15kHz – until now.

Lastly, while not specifically built for it, it’s a great alternative to get Jamma in your Vewlix cabinet.  Taito used to make a scaler similar to the Retro Scaler A1.  Subjectively, the Retro Scaler A1 has better image quality and is objectively easier to use – no need to dial in sync settings for different games.

Features 

  • Console/Computer AND Arcade/Jamma level RGB input
  • Scart type sync input
  • TTL/Jamma/Computer sync input
  • c-sync and h/v sync, only negative – most systems use negative sync.
  • 5 levels of scan-lines, from none to heavy.
  • Interlaced NTSC 480i and PAL 576i support
  • Automatic analog bypass of RGB – it does not touch the video signals from 31K sources
  • Dedicated sync stage to deal with tricky systems
  • Sync Analytics with automatic configuration, no user settings needed
  • Analog pre-adc gain stage with 512 steps to accommodate non-standard signal strength
  • 30 bit high quality ADC video input, 30 bit high quality DAC video output

Disclaimer/Warning

A lot of effort has gone into making the Retro Scaler A1 easy to use and compatible with older systems – with it’s sync analyzing features it is likely best-in-class.  However, it is impossible to test all systems ever made and some systems may have quirks or oddities that will not play nice with the Retro Scaler A1.  I will do my best to fix any issues, but sometimes the nature of the quirk will make a fix impossible. Please have a look at the list of tested sources.  If you have problems with a particular system and it’s not listed, please let me know!

Additional note on using with LCD monitors

LCD monitors are less forgiving when it comes to vertical refresh rates, which the Retro Scaler does not alter.  It can also be less predictable how certain monitor will deal with arcade resolutions with low vertical refresh and more vertical lines than ‘normal’, e.g. games like R-Type and Mortal Kombat.  The Retro Scaler will not crop lines, but your LCD may not display them.

Last Updated on 2022-09-11 by admin