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HDTV - Rf cable?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 3:34 pm
by viroth100
I just foudn my dreamcast and have tried to hook it up to my hdtv using that rf cable it comes with. after 2 hours of trying to tune i gave up. has anyone had any luck tuning the dc into modern tv witht he rf cable, for info sake my tv is lg 32ld450 za

any help would be welcomed

Re: HDTV - Rf cable?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 3:50 pm
by pcwzrd13
viroth100 wrote:I just foudn my dreamcast and have tried to hook it up to my hdtv using that rf cable it comes with. after 2 hours of trying to tune i gave up. has anyone had any luck tuning the dc into modern tv witht he rf cable, for info sake my tv is lg 32ld450 za

any help would be welcomed
RF cable? Ewww! Do yourself a favor and just buy an AV cable for it. It's just not worth the hassle.

Here's one on eBay for $4.78 shipped:
http://cgi.ebay.com/NEW-AV-AUDIO-VIDEO- ... _500wt_715

Also, I notice you have a VGA input on the back of your TV. If you want the best possible picture quality then grab a VGA box:

http://cgi.ebay.com/VGA-Adapter-Cable-B ... 4085wt_932

Re: HDTV - Rf cable?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 4:14 pm
by viroth100
woudl that box work even on a uk version?

Re: HDTV - Rf cable?

Posted: Fri Apr 22, 2011 4:20 pm
by pcwzrd13
viroth100 wrote:woudl that box work even on a uk version?
Yup, they'll work on any region DC. Assuming your in the UK then, here's another seller that will ship to you:

http://cgi.ebay.com/New-Dreamcast-DC-VG ... 846wt_1051

Re: HDTV - Rf cable?

Posted: Sat Apr 23, 2011 5:10 am
by Marty
I have a similar problem, every time i want to use the DC i have to re-tune the TV, looking to get a scart lead in a bundle with another console. £20 is just to expensive for the scart lead.

Re: HDTV - Rf cable?

Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 4:39 pm
by viroth100
My vga box arrived this morning, and all i can say its well worth the £20, tbh, i would even pay 40 for it. now i can replay shenmue 1/2 again. ][]

Re: HDTV - Rf cable?

Posted: Sat May 07, 2011 10:23 pm
by pcwzrd13
viroth100 wrote:My vga box arrived this morning, and all i can say its well worth the £20, tbh, i would even pay 40 for it. now i can replay shenmue 1/2 again. ][]
Quite an improvement over RF eh? I'd get one myself but unfortunately I don't have a VGA input on my TV. I may eventually get one along with a VGA-Component converter box but I'm fine with AV for now.

Re: HDTV - Rf cable?

Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 2:26 am
by Gary_b
before i got my VGA to component converter box i just plugged the VGA box into my PC monitor. i had a 20 inch CRT just for my Dreamcasr and it worked better than my new setup. only thing i like about the component converter is that i no longer need a stand alone monitor for my Dreamcast and my tv is far larger than the PC monitor. i think the picture was slightly better on the 20 inch PC monitor though. it was able to handle the 640x480 native, all the converting that has to be done to get the image up to 720p or 1080i seems to make the picture less than perfect.

one other draw back to using a HDtv for the Dreamcast is that light guns don't work :x

Re: HDTV - Rf cable?

Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 5:51 am
by Neohound
pcwzrd13 wrote:
viroth100 wrote:My vga box arrived this morning, and all i can say its well worth the £20, tbh, i would even pay 40 for it. now i can replay shenmue 1/2 again. ][]
Quite an improvement over RF eh? I'd get one myself but unfortunately I don't have a VGA input on my TV. I may eventually get one along with a VGA-Component converter box but I'm fine with AV for now.
Why not get an S-Video cable for now ? You'll get much better quality than using a standard Av cable. Someone on Ebay UK is selling them for 99p + £4 packaging worldwide.

Also, if you're looking to buy a VGA box now then most of them have an S-Video output built in.

Just so everyone knows, the quality increases thus: RF - composite - S-Video - RGB Scart - VGA

Re: HDTV - Rf cable?

Posted: Sun May 08, 2011 5:59 am
by Neohound
Gary_b wrote: one other draw back to using a HDtv for the Dreamcast is that light guns don't work :x
I know ! That's such a damn shame as I own all of the Dreamcast lightgun games. I have a 32" CRT which I'm thinking of setting up next to my projector screen just for playing the lightgun games. Maybe one day the technology will exist to have them working on HDTV's as it would be sad if all the games end up as obsolete relics.