30 August 2012

Article: How to get the best video signal out of the Dreamcast

It is not as widely known as I had hoped that many Dreamcast games actually have VGA support. When the game have this label on the back of it that means it is good to go with VGA. Most of the Dreamcast gamers I have met and talked to actually starts off using RF and then switches up to regular (RGB)A/V cables as they realize it is much cleaner both on CRT- and HDTVs. But there is an even better option, wich is as mentioned; VGA.

Since most games are VGA compatible there is several VGA adapters released and one of the most common looks like this. You are likely to find another kind since the one pictured can be pretty expensive - but that is okay. Anyone of these boxes will do the job just fine as long as it is only for Dreamcast. The multiadapters can sometimes produce lower quality video and audio, so they should be avoided. If you are worried about buying one of the few games in the future that might not have VGA support you should get a switched one (some adapters have output to both VGA and most commonly Composite and/or S-Video).

Now then, how does one find these little darlings?
They are really all around, just search for Dreamcast VGA where ever you buy cables and it should pop up. Here is an eBay seller with many of the ones with new design for sale. I believe the problem where the weak switch would break is gone due to a different design. Racketboy sells another kind where there is only the VGA option - which works equally good. It obviously does not have a switch.

Just remember that you also have to purchase a VGA male to male cable since these adapters only have female out.