Dreamcast-Talk.com

Hey guys,

New to the forum. Just started collecting (technically for the third time, if you count buying the console in 99 as 'collecting') DC and games.

Originally from the UK, so I was used to the big plastic blue cases and the blue swirl...now I'm in the US I'm familiarizing myself with different cases, slightly different game names (Jet Set Radio v Jet Grind Radio), the fact the games now cost about 20x more than they did when I was collecting (for the second time) in 2002/03.

Anyway, I'm in LA and currently still at the stage of trying to find the right gear to hook up my machine to an HDTV....

Guess you made your own Brexit then...

Welcome to the States! I lived in LA for a couple years, and couldn't wait to move.

As far as hooking a DC up to an HDMI TV without direct VGA, the best setup is using a VGA box (in case you have any pesky games that don't support VGA) into an HDMI convertor and/or upscaler. I and many others use this Etekcity model. Though it looks to be out of stock on Amazon right now.

krssn wrote:Guess you made your own Brexit then...

Hahaha, I never thought of it that way!

DCGX wrote:Welcome to the States! I lived in LA for a couple years, and couldn't wait to move.

As far as hooking a DC up to an HDMI TV without direct VGA, the best setup is using a VGA box (in case you have any pesky games that don't support VGA) into an HDMI convertor and/or upscaler. I and many others use this Etekcity model. Though it looks to be out of stock on Amazon right now.

I'm enjoying it so far (working from home, though, so can avoid the majority of the traffic)!

Thanks, re: the Etekcity tip, I scoured the forums and that was a name I kept seeing... but also spotted that it's out of stock on Amazon, which is a pain.. At the moment I don't have any of the PITA games that don't have VGA, so the cable is sufficient for the moment. After I get a refund on the current box, I'll try and pick up a second-hand Etekcity, or maybe dive into the unknown with a non-brand once more! Either way, I'm loving re-visiting the DC.

Currently have Ecco, Shenmue, Toy Commander, Crazy Taxi, Fighting Force 2 (forgot how bad that game was) and Virtua Tennis. On my list for the near-future are Jedi Power Battles and Fur Fighters...

128-Bitter wrote:Thanks, re: the Etekcity tip, I scoured the forums and that was a name I kept seeing... but also spotted that it's out of stock on Amazon, which is a pain.

It's in stock on this page in refurbished condition. There's also a newer version that's slightly cheaper, although I don't know if anyone has tested this one with the Dreamcast. I should note that these converters will stretch the image to fit your TV. It doesn't bother me personally but I know some people don't like that. You can squish it back to normal if you have a TV that's capable of that though.

pcwzrd13 wrote:

128-Bitter wrote:Thanks, re: the Etekcity tip, I scoured the forums and that was a name I kept seeing... but also spotted that it's out of stock on Amazon, which is a pain.

It's in stock on this page in refurbished condition. There's also a newer version that's slightly cheaper, although I don't know if anyone has tested this one with the Dreamcast. I should note that these converters will stretch the image to fit your TV. It doesn't bother me personally but I know some people don't like that. You can squish it back to normal if you have a TV that's capable of that though.

I did notice that (re: screen stretching) and though I don't think it will bother me, there is a part of me that would love one that doesn't automatically stretch it. My TV seems capable of modifying picture size, but only stretching (not squashing) which is pretty useless in this case... I'm intrigued about the newer version you linked to... thanks!