So you have a Stock XEGS and you want to do some mods…..

[Doctorx]

I am at a loss as what video mod to do on my XEGS.. I was original thinking VBXE , but then I see he has a less expensive “Spectre” video option.

 

Not much info there or here on Spectre. 

 

I mainly want to connect my XEGS to a sony flat screen 27” but will doing a lot more than just playing games. I am an archiver, play with bbs’s and other utilities, and maybe tap out some text as well - so I am definitely a middle of the road (or even maybe 3/4 apps, 1/4 games) kind of person.

 

I will be doing u1mb and the USB keyboard addon as well (fujinet too).. if you were me, which solution would you go with ?

[+x=usr(1536)]

12 hours ago, Doctorx said:

I mainly want to connect my XEGS to a sony flat screen 27” but will doing a lot more than just playing games. I am an archiver, play with bbs’s and other utilities, and maybe tap out some text as well - so I am definitely a middle of the road (or even maybe 3/4 apps, 1/4 games) kind of person.

Have you tried the XEGS' built-in composite output yet?  That may actually suit your needs, unless you're specifically looking to use VBXE-enhanced titles.

12 hours ago, Doctorx said:

I will be doing u1mb and the USB keyboard addon as well (fujinet too).. if you were me, which solution would you go with ?

Take a look at the Sophia 2; it has DVI and SVGA output as well as being a GTIA replacement.  There's also the UAV if you want S-Video; using its composite output can be redundant in an XEGS depending on the output quality of the original, however.

 

One thing I will mention is that if your main interest is 80-column text, the XEP80-II may be what you're looking for.  No VBXE needed, and it has HDMI output for both the 80-column and stock video modes.

 

It's not really so much that one is necessarily better than the others, just that they all have slightly different strengths and weaknesses depending on what the use case is.

[Mathy]

Hello Doctorx

 

The next version of VBXE is being developed as we type.  Some say it will have HDMI.

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

 

[zylon]

I added TKII to mine, ditching the crap keyboard for a ps2 modern one.

[Doctorx]

22 hours ago, x=usr(1536) said:

Have you tried the XEGS' built-in composite output yet?  That may actually suit your needs, unless you're specifically looking to use VBXE-enhanced titles.

Take a look at the Sophia 2; it has DVI and SVGA output as well as being a GTIA replacement.  There's also the UAV if you want S-Video; using its composite output can be redundant in an XEGS depending on the output quality of the original, however.

 

One thing I will mention is that if your main interest is 80-column text, the XEP80-II may be what you're looking for.  No VBXE needed, and it has HDMI output for both the 80-column and stock video modes.

 

It's not really so much that one is necessarily better than the others, just that they all have slightly different strengths and weaknesses depending on what the use case is.

Nah “use it with things that have been written for it” -  nope.. I will be playing with SpartaX, various bbs software, basic programming, calling other bbs’s using fujinet (which would be the only reason I would care about 80 columns..) .. I just fell into some luck and everything has become much cheaper for me - so I want to put together the XEGS of my dreams. Just trying to figure out the best way to go about it. 

 

And yea - the standard output of the XEGS really isnt too bad, I just always hear people rave about these video mods they do.. Figured i’d get in on the bandwagon. Then again - those people are likely going through computer monitors and not TV’s… I suppose I will just give it a shot on the target TV and see how it works…

[+Stephen]

1 hour ago, Mathy said:

Hello Doctorx

 

The next version of VBXE is being developed as we type.  Some say it will have HDMI.

 

Sincerely

 

Mathy

 

 

[BIGHMW]

The only mod I might think of doing may be to put in a U1MB memory upgrade to run more powerful games/programs that a stock 64K XEGS can't handle, such as Moon Cresta or even the awesome makes of all of our fine programming geniuses overseas who have come out with some real gems and entered them in ABBUC contests every year with titles like Gacek (Bomb Jack), Albert, and countless others I have but have yet to try out since although I do have an XEGS I don't yet have a power supply or the Ultimate Cart (both available from The Brewing Academy), their power supply is easy to get but the Ultimate Cart has temporarily stopped running production until they get new chips as there is a major shortage of that chip that runs it,  so I am unable to dig into the thousands of titles I can't play on my 5200.

 

As for any AV mods I'll just simply, if I want a better quality than just the RF through my now famous converter you already know about, I'll just attach the composite-to-HDMI converter that I used to use with my VCR to run her in my home theater before converting my entire VHS library to DVD-Rs. I'm not really concerned about having 1080p or 4K resolution whatsoever,  I mean come on people we're playing ATARI here not PS5 or Xbox ONE X or shit like that, really!

Edited March 1, 2023 by BIGHMW

[+x=usr(1536)]

1 hour ago, Doctorx said:

I want to put together the XEGS of my dreams. Just trying to figure out the best way to go about it. 

Which is fair.  My advice to you: take it one upgrade at a time.

 

The main reason I say this is that it'll give you a chance to figure out what the items that need to be addressed for your particular use cases actually are.  If you shotgun a bunch of mods / upgrades to it at once, it doesn't really give you a chance to get a feel for that - and, if there are problems as a result of the upgrades, trying to resolve them in amongst a sea of changes can be extremely tricky.

 

Anyway, based on the use cases you've described:

1 hour ago, Doctorx said:

I will be playing with SpartaX, various bbs software, basic programming, calling other bbs’s using fujinet (which would be the only reason I would care about 80 columns..)

My suggestion would be to forego a video upgrade until you've determined whether or not the onboard composite output suits your needs.  Not arguing against upgrading, but since you have the option to run with better-than-RF output by default you may want to live with it for a while before deciding on which upgrade to jump to.  I've seen surprisingly good output from composite on both CRTs and LCDs, so if it's liveable that may affect your other priorities.

 

Two items that are absolutely worth having: the SIDE3/3.1 cartridge, and FujiNet.  The SIDE3.x emulates cartridges (amongst other things), so can load them directly; for anything that attaches to the SIO port, there's the FujiNet.  Between the two of them you'll have emulation of virtually every device the Atari can support (disk drives, cassette drives, printers, etc.) as well as networking capability via the FujiNet.  The SIDE3.x also integrates tightly with the U1MB, should you decide to get one of those in the future, and both provide SD card storage.

 

Frankly, I'd put the SIDE3.x and FujiNet at the top of your list.  They'll get you up and running quickly, and provide the widest access to software and resources right off the bat.

[Dinadan67]

7 hours ago, Doctorx said:

I want to put together the XEGS of my dreams. Just trying to figure out the best way to go about it.

take a look what FlashJazzCat did to my XEGS: