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NAC Splitfire: JAMMA streaming solution

There's not a one size fits all upscaler in this situation, because arcade video comes in all sorts of flavors when it comes to resolutions, timings, etc. Even for OSSC you would often need to apply different profiles to match up best depending on the board you're working with. Splitfire doesn't do anything to change the original video signal in this case - you're still at the mercy of whatever the board natively outputs.

Best bet would likely be to have several solutions available to tackle different sources. For me, I've had success with OSSC for the majority of my boards, while using other stuff (Retroscaler A1, GBS) for some outliers which don't play well with OSSC for whatever reason. Everyone's situation is going to different, however. Too many variables at play here.
 
I do have a DExx board. I also got the Irkenlabs Retroscaler so I'll test that too. When I get around to it I'll start populating the PCB lag test / upscaler database:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1geRt-WqJa3LBAftHNTpKGbvosnHDynEryOIQMaWKnfc/edit?usp=sharing

For 15KHz capture, before OSSC existed I just used the Micomsoft SC500N1 card, which is easily available as the Startech PEXHDCAP. It can capture 15KHz analog video directly with no need for upscaling. There's also a USB3 version, the XCAPTURE-1, which also has a Startech variant (USB3HDCAP).
 
Anselmo said:
Since I'm using this for streaming and not for actually playing games - I think this would work for my application right?

https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256804918329035.html?channel=twinner

If so - how would I grab sound from the Splitfire ? Through a simple audio cable splitter thingy?
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We tried using one of those AIO gbs-c units for cps3 capture and it didn’t work out well because it was missing the clock generator mod and some other cap mods. So I would follow up with the seller if it has these. The gbs-c isn’t focused on arcade hardware from the research I’ve done too.
 
The original GBS8200 is somewhat arcade focused, or at least it was commonly used for many years in LCD conversions. It just never performed very well until the CFW and mods arrived. The only truly arcade focused scaler afaik would be Irken's Retro Scaler A1, since it explicitly states that it was made with arcade hardware in mind.

If you aren't building a GBS-C, then you might be better off getting a knock off OSSC at this moment. If there's no clock gen mod on these AliExpress GBS-C's as BlinG mentioned, you would probably end up spending extra time/money adding it in since you get screen tearing without it. There's also other annoyances that come from GBS-Cs like the wifi focused controls. The strength of the GBS-C is price and some uncommon features (decent downscaling, decent deinterlacing, and video passthru)... Not so much on convenience. Buying a pre-built GBS-C will cut into the price advantage.
 
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I'll take a gamble. Plus they'll let me return it!
 
I'll be interested to see how well it works. I haven't tried an AliExpress GBS-C and the OLED addition would be nice if it means I don't have to connect my phone to it every time I want to change a setting. Make sure the Wifi works since signal interference was an annoying design flaw of the GBS-C AIO. It looks like the EPS8266 module is pretty far from the video processor on this design, so hopefully that isn't an issue here.
 
@Anselmo I've had similar experiences as other folks have mentioned with GBS-C. Its been hit or miss depending on the video source for arcade boards. I said this earlier - for streaming I think it's best to keep several scalers in your toolbox to cover all bases. Even a standard unmodified GBS8200 is good to have - I use it for Taito F3 for example because nothing else seems to work with that hardware.

For audio, the Splitfire captures attentuated mono from the JAMMA edge, but duplicated which is nice if your board can only output audio in this manner. If you have native stereo out from the board, probably better to pull from there. I also prefer to capture audio separate from the video signal but that's up to you which method you want to go with and whatever your use cases might be.
 
I made some progress on the enclosure. Luckily the dimensions are pretty similar between my older one and this current one, but I still somehow managed to need 3 reprints due to small fitment and measurement mistakes -___-

IMG20230418014220.jpg


I'll throw it on Thingiverse later on, but TBH I've never been really happy with my solution. It's a pain to put together because of the tiny M2 bolts and nuts I used to save space, and I feel like there has to be a more elegant solution to this. Hopefully someone can cook up something better in the future. At the very least, the enclosure should protect the Hirose connector, because the sides are reinforced due to how the enclosure mounts to the Splitfire. The enclosure also has 2 things that helps with pulling the connector out with straight, even force instead of being tempted to wiggle it out side by side (the main thing that damages these connectors in the first place). The finger grooves on the bottom of the case gives your hands a place to grip, or you can use the opening of the enclosure top as a pull handle.
 
Maruchan said:
They both use VGA so idk what the problem is. If anyone is using OBS with the Splitfire, can you perhaps provide some pics of your video configurations?
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Hi,
Same things here.
I connect VGA on Xcapture-1 and the Xcapture-1 on PC, OBS recognize Xcapture-1 but no image.
 
The very first Splitfire had a Butterworth low pass filter at 9.5MHz, which could be disabled in favor of a 150MHz one (effectively off) by way of a solder pad on the underside. As far as I know, nobody used this, including me. Given the generous bandwidth of the default, it has never felt necessary.

Every Splitfire after that moved to a different amp, with a 36MHz LPF, but no means to disable it. This is so far above the dot clock of even the more high-resolution JAMMA boards that I don't foresee that being a meaningful issue for anyone. As a result the LPF disable has been removed from all units, but the stock 36MHz LPF is always present.



tl;dr there is a fairly high bandwidth LPF on all units beyond the very first.
 
Hey guys. I've just recently got an Astro City and bought a Splitfire. I got a Startech USB3HDCAP and I've done the whole Micomsoft driver frig with the unsigned drivers which worked fine.

I could then capture VGA via an official Startech DVI to VGA converter, but ONLY part of the screen. I've tried changing all sorts of options in OBS to capture more than just the top left, but not success. It doesn't even display full capture in the Startech streamcapturepro software so it's not an OBS thing. Any ideas guys?

One thing I will say, is that it was a used device and didn't come with the included DVI to VGA adapter, but I did buy a genuine Startech one.
 
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