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Sophia rev.C - DVI board


Simius

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I was finally able to compare the component/svideo output to the DVI output, and i notice there are color differences; it looks like Sophia can't display yellow? It is replaced by some beige/orange sort of color.

It is very noticable in a level of Donkey Kong; the ladders should be yellow but with Sophia they are sort of beige/orange. Also the beams in component look purple, with Sophia they are light-blue. See picture (is analog signal)

In the Sophia image, the yellow ladders are basically the same color as the orange like fur on kong, and the orange like inner color of the 8 rivets. There is no difference between them.

 

Is this a Sophia issue? Or are Sophia's colors correct and did the programmers use tricks to make colors look different, using the nature of the component signal?

post-66363-0-79144300-1550061484.jpg

Edited by jowi
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Also piling on the "does anyone know if these still available?" bandwagon. A PM to Simius here fails ("The member Simius cannot receive any new messages"), is there another preferred method to order?

Simius answered previously on my PMs for Sofia and Antonia ordering.

Maybe his inbox is just full at the moment. I am pretty sure he will take care of it soon. Just try again soon.

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  • 4 weeks later...

This is a big problem as well. I dont know of any tvs, monitors or even receivers that allow you to use a (digital) hdmi videosignal, and discarding its (non-existing) audiopart, and combine it with an analog audio input... i dont even think a scaler will allow this, not sure, maybe a professional one.

 

If you are using a pc monitor and dont have the need to route the atari through your home/multimedia devices, the only thing you can do is add some external speakers with built in amps and analog input. Like the video in the start topic of this thread. Or, if your tv has multiple hdmi inputs, use that for picture and use an analog input on the receiver (same principle). Probably the only solution for me as well... my receiver is the hub for all signals, but not for this one.

 

Or find some (pro) mixing device that has hdmi in and out that allows to convert and mix the audio into the hdmi output...

 

It's possible but the link I found for DVI+Audio to HDMI converter is a bit pricey at $225.00 USD. Maybe there are other active converters that take DVI-D +Audio and integrate it together to the HDMI.

 

http://www.vpi.us/promotions/new-dvi-hdmi.html

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Also piling on the "does anyone know if these still available?" bandwagon. A PM to Simius here fails ("The member Simius cannot receive any new messages"), is there another preferred method to order?

I mentioned this before and never got any feedback... so my suggestion was that for anyone trying to sell products, it's always better to make at least one webpage listing your products and have someway to allow their purchase (i.e., PayPal Add to Cart buttons). There's really very little excuse not to, with all of the free and easy to use website tools available. This idea of people sending a PM to get pricing and such is just not very efficient.

 

Heck I don't sell anything myself (nor make any money off of what I give away), and I have a website with all my FREE DIY stuff listed, with buttons to take you to where you can purchase boards from a 3rd party. Just saying... it makes a lot of sense.

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I found that using the second socket for the GTIA made the whole Sophia board sit too high above the 800xl motherboard, such that the keyboard/case rubbed on the Sophia board as you screw the main plastic case of the 800xl back together again.

 

I found a better way of making the main Sophia board sit properly and freely whilst still being able to screw the whole 800xl case back together again without boards/components/cases touching. Instead of using the second socket for the GTIA... I de-soldered the socket from the small 'SP8334' ic that sits beneath the upper half of the main Sophia board and re-soldered the 'SP8334' ic back directly (without it's socket) on to the 800xl motherboard.

 

This then gives the Sophia board the necessary clearance from that small 'SP8334' ic without having to use the extra GTIA socket. Might be worth you reading the full guide I wrote on my Sophia 800xl installation on this thread back on Tue Dec 18, 2018 12:33 AM. I actually found the most difficult part was fitting the smaller Sophia board that contains the DVI socket. It's an awesome upgrade when fitted properly. Happy to help with any more queries on this anyway. Good luck!

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Can someone clarify for me whether or not the Sophia rev.C DVI board outputs a 100% digital signal?

 

I thought I'd read somewhere, or heard in one of the videos about it, that the signal is 100% digital. I know the fact that it uses DVI doesn't necessarily mean it's all digital as DVI can pass analog, digital, or both, but I was really sure that it did output a 100% digital signal.

 

In another thread, someone told me to make certain the monitor or TV that I planned to use it on accepted a 15kHz signal on the DVI port, or on the HDMI port if I planned to use a DVI to HDMI converter. This made no sense to me if the signal was digital, so I thought I'd better research a little further before looking into purchasing.

 

Thanks.

 

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Can someone clarify for me whether or not the Sophia rev.C DVI board outputs a 100% digital signal?

 

I thought I'd read somewhere, or heard in one of the videos about it, that the signal is 100% digital. I know the fact that it uses DVI doesn't necessarily mean it's all digital as DVI can pass analog, digital, or both, but I was really sure that it did output a 100% digital signal.

 

In another thread, someone told me to make certain the monitor or TV that I planned to use it on accepted a 15kHz signal on the DVI port, or on the HDMI port if I planned to use a DVI to HDMI converter. This made no sense to me if the signal was digital, so I thought I'd better research a little further before looking into purchasing.

 

Thanks.

 

YES - 100% digital. Some monitors are a bit finicky about the signal though, so a cheap monitor, dedicated to the Atari (or time-shared as a second display) is what I ended up choosing. I bought an AOC 20" monitor with HDMI input at a Micro Center store in Dallas TX USA for $65.00 (64.99) USD, +tx. Due to lack of a physical control to switch inputs, I chose to set it up as a second monitor in a DUAL MONITOR configuration on my PC. I'm receiving a VGA AB switch box today that I will use to turn off the second video source from my PC which will revert my PC to single video mode, leaving my Atari to take advantage of the second monitor's HDMI input, unfettered.

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  • 2 weeks later...

UPGRADE PROPOSITION!

 

Hey @Simius, did you think about re-using another not used bit to switch color registers to go "upper half"? So one could turn on the bit and immediately set upper colour 9-15 in graphics 10 mode.

 

Nice 16-colour pictures/games would be made while old color-machinery stays compatible.

 

So we can set the bit, set the colour and voilla! Next approach, incompatible witch VBLI procedure, is to set the bit permanently and then set the upper color registers. The problem appears that user leaves the bit on, things go weird, but quite usable in horizontal color changes.

 

It would be nice to synchronise the changes with Candle's VBXE, so next VBXE core could have the behaviour implemented as well.

Edited by jhusak
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OK, I've received my board, and I seem to be getting a signal from it, but nothing that is usable by anything that I have. I should mention that I haven't dug a DVI cable out of the attic yet. I've been using a DVI to HDMI adapter. I have a DVI to HDMI cable on the way, but it hasn't arrived yet. If I hook it up to an old Samsung television I have for my 8-bit use, the screen goes black and it says Unusable Signal, or something to that effect. If I try it on my older 1080P ASUS monitor I just get presented with a black screen, no messages, no nothing. I get the same results on my newer 1440P ASUS gaming monitor. So, I'm thinking that nothing I have likes the 1536x960 resolution that Samus suggested and I need to switch the core to 1280x1024. Assuming I'm able to get Samus to send me a firmware update to change to the 1280x1024 core, would any of you be able step me through changing that? I finally received my USB Blaster from China, but I've never used one before.

Thanks.

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Does anyone have any idea what the red connectors on the Sophia DVI board are called, or where to get them?

 

I'd like to find a compatible, crimp-on style that I could put on my USB Blaster cable, so that I can use it with my Sophia if need be.

 

Thanks.

 

 

Here you go. I used a bench vice with some spacers to crimp them on.

 

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/274004-sophia-revc-dvi-board/page-7?do=findComment&comment=4097750

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  • 1 month later...

Does the Sophia work on the 2600, 5200, or 7800?

 

Maybe the 5200, but certainly not the other two because it's a GTIA mode video board, and both the 2600 and the 7800 are based on an entirely different design.

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  • 1 month later...

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