Help please with Genesis 1 connection

[dazedandconfuzed]

Hello all. My grandsons really want to play some of the games on my Sega Genesis but for the life of me I can't get it up and running. I purchased the Pound HDMI cable link for the Genesis and it is all connected correctly, but I'm still getting a "No Source" message on my tv screen. It has to be somehow connected because the "No Source" message looks different than my normal message. I've attached pics. The one that says only "No Source" is the one I get when I turn the Genesis on, it kinda floats around on the screen. I've tried both empty hdmi connections on my tv. I have 2 Genesis consoles and I've tried both of them. I have a Samsung HDTV, probably about 7 or 8 years old (can't remember exacty when we bought it. Can anyone here help me...please?

[+Mitch]

Does the power light on your Genesis turn on when you flip the power switch?

 

Mitch

[dazedandconfuzed]

Yes, on both consoles.

[Steven Pendleton]

I'm fairly certain that thing incorrectly puts the progressive signal through as interlaced. If it does, it's possible the display is incompatible with interlaced signals. It's also possible that it correctly puts it through as 240p, in which case your display might not be compatible with the 240 progressive resolution, but I'm pretty sure it turns it into interlaced video and not progressive scan. I had the Hyperkin cable, which is basically 100% identical. It was just something I was using as a temporary solution while I waited for my OSSC to arrive in the mail. I tried it on my monitor, my friend's TV, and also his monitor. Never got it to work, so I returned it.

Edited January 23, 2021 by Steven Pendleton

[dazedandconfuzed]

Thanks for your reply, Steve. Unfortunately, I'm not very tech savvy. Does this mean, without spending a small fortune, I won't be able to get the system to work?

[Steven Pendleton]

24 minutes ago, dazedandconfuzed said:

Thanks for your reply, Steve. Unfortunately, I'm not very tech savvy. Does this mean, without spending a small fortune, I won't be able to get the system to work?

There is a very simple and cheap thing you can get and still get an excellent picture quality (depending on your individual system, as some are better or worse than others). It's sold out right now, but what you want is the RAD2X: https://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/RAD2X-CABLES/SEGA-MEGA-DRIVE-2-GENESIS-2-32X-HD-RAD2X-HDMI-480P-CABLE

 

Now this cable will line double the video and put it through as a 480 progressive signal. I'm not sure if newer displays are phasing out 480p yet, but this should work fine in most cases. Unlike most of the other cheap options on the market, this thing is actually built by someone who knows what he's doing and is actually specifically designed for this system. It does need a male mini HDMI, as well, but you should be fine with a mini HDMI to HDMI converter.

 

If you have a Genesis 1, you will also need some sort of conversion cable, as the RAD2X uses the same DIN that's used in the Genesis 2 and not the original Genesis. There are a few options and they should all work equally well, but there is one specifically made for the RAD2X: https://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/RAD2X-CABLES/Genesis-2-Megadrive-2-to-Megadrive1-Genesis1-Master1-for-RAD2X-and-YPbPr-cable-adapter

I think the one from HD Retrovision should work with the RAD2X, but no promises since I don't personally use the RAD2X.

 

Alternatively, that same dude who designed the RAD2X also has his own store for his little line doubler, the RetroTINK, which should also work: https://www.retrotink.com/

I've never used this thing since I use the OSSC + HD Retrovision or my Sony Trinitron + HD Retrovision, but everyone here and elsewhere who has used/does use it says it's excellent.

 

There are other options, but then you're starting to get into more advanced stuff like the OSSC and RGB cables, especially since every Mega Drive variant, with the sole exception of the Wondermega, has native RGB output, but I don't know if you're interested in getting that technical, especially since video quality varies greatly across different motherboard revisions and stuff.

Edited January 23, 2021 by Steven Pendleton

[dazedandconfuzed]

Thank you very much Steven. Yes, it is starting to get too technical for me. Guess I will just pack it back into the closet until I can find an old crt tv. ?

[Steven Pendleton]

26 minutes ago, dazedandconfuzed said:

Thank you very much Steven. Yes, it is starting to get too technical for me. Guess I will just pack it back into the closet until I can find an old crt tv. ?

Alright, sorry. I should note that you may see cables that look similar or identical to the one you have but with different names. Pound, Hyperkin, Levelhike, and I think there's one more with a different name that I forget, but it's all basically the same exact thing inside. Some manufacturing company makes a ton of these things and then they get rebranded by various companies and sold under a few names like those. If one of them doesn't work, I can pretty much guarantee that the rest of them won't work since they all share the exact same components, more or less. Different name on the box, but still basically the same thing internally. I think the Levelhike one is the worst of all of them since it adds way more lag than the rest, but other than that, no differences.

 

If you do decide to try the RAD2X or something similar to it, though, I will mention something so you don't think it's broken or something.

 

The primary resolution of the Genesis is 320 x 224 progressive scan, but it also has a 256 x 224 progressive mode that some games use. There is also an interlaced resolution that I forget the exact size of, but there are only I think 2~3 games that use it. There are some games that switch between 320 and 256, like Sonic 2, which also is famous for being one of those 2~3 games with the interlaced mode, which is used in the multiplayer mode. The signal may drop out for a few seconds when the resolution changes between 320 and 256 on a modern display, but it depends on both your display and whatever you connect the system with. It should come back in a few seconds. This does not happen on a CRT.

[dazedandconfuzed]

I really, really don't want a CRT. Is there a flat screen model that will work with the Pound HDMI cable link for the Genesis?

[Steven Pendleton]

Because of the way the cable processes the signal incorrectly as 480i, something that accepts a 480i signal should probably display it. Support for interlaced resolutions is probably not as common as it once was, though.

[Zap1982]

Hey did you ever get this up and running? Does it need to be an HDMI connection because I have had nice results with the composite connections (red white yellow sockets) on the model one. 

[NinjaWarrior]

Get a CRT