Neo-Geo AES Video Issue

[Yuri-chan]

Ok, I have two Neo-Geo AES connected on two seperate TV's. Both TV's with S-Video. Apparently the video quality of my AES #335815 looks noticably inferiour to the quality of my AES #014219 which looks crystal clear, as if it was painted in a canvas or something. It's not that bad, but having the Neo-Geo connected to a 27" TV, and playing the games, it makes it quite noticable. I have to resort to playing it in composite video instead so it won't look that bad. I've tried switching connections between TV's and it's still the same. Any clues to this? Your help would be appreciated, thank you!!

 

[Xian Xi]

How is going from S-Video to composite better? Do you mean component?

 

[Yuri-chan]

I know saying that sounds wierd, but having it connected to composite, the picture doesn't look as sharp and detailed as the S-Video connection, and the video quality look somewhat better by not having that "canvas" (more detailed) image.

 

[brumma]

Hey Xian,

Look at the serial #s... Could it be a case of bad RGB that the last mobo revision is known for? At the same time, weren't those also known to have better composite? If the s-video mod taps the RGB output without having the bypass mod done it might not look so good, right?

 

[JMKurtz]

That 335815 system most likely is a NEO-AES3-6 board, which is known to have the worst video of all versions. Adjustments can be made to improve the picture, but your best bet it to remove the generic SVideo mod and install the Neobit-S board.

Since the Neobitz boards are complete video replacement circuits, you won't have that problem and the picture will be primo -- even better than your lower serial system with the generic svideo mod.

Jeff

 

[Yuri-chan]

UPDATE: I actually sold off my Neo-Geo AES #335,815 so the video issue doesn't have to be resolved anymore. I thought the Neo-Bitz mod was quite a great deal, and I was going to do it, but I got rid of that system instead. Thanks for everything. I don't see the point of having two Neo-Geo AES systems anyways, I'm happy with my early model AES, thank you!!

 

[Yuri-chan]

Since the Neobitz boards are complete video replacement circuits, you won't have that problem and the picture will be primo -- even better than your lower serial system with the generic svideo mod.

Jeff

I have a question for you Jeff. How much better would the picture look if you installed a Neobitz board on my modded low serial AES system? I currently have it connected on S-Video right now, and I think the picture looks pretty good as it is. If I had component capabilites on this system, that would be something which is why I may consider it; but I still intend to want it connected on S-Video!!

 

[JMKurtz]

The component is better, of course, but if you're only after SVideo, there is no need to go through the expense of the Neobitz board (with component).

You could go with the Neobitz-S. The picture is good with what you have and the Neobitz-S is slightly better but I generally don't recommend someone getting the Neobitz-S if they have the generic SVideo mod already since it's only a marginal increase in quality -- unless you have the NEO-AES3-6 board, which in this case, it would be a major improvement plus remove the vertical pixel gaps. But if it's the system you sent me with the audio issue, it was a first gen board. Anyone with a 3-6 board and wants SVideo should be using the Neobitz-S to fix the picture.

If you're noticing slight rainbows with the generic mod, then maybe you would want to think about the Neobitz-S.

Jeff

I have a question for you Jeff. How much better would the picture look if you installed a Neobitz board on my modded low serial AES system? I currently have it connected on S-Video right now, and I think the picture looks pretty good as it is. If I had component capabilites on this system, that would be something which is why I may consider it; but I still intend to want it connected on S-Video!!

 

[Joe Redifer]

plus remove the vertical pixel gaps.

What do you mean by this? Does the Neobits board... interlace?

 

[JMKurtz]

SNK tried to make the last revision of the Neo board look sharper through composite and in doing so, they really screwed up the picture for RGB folks, or for anyone wanting a better video connection.

This is most obvious on the NEO-AES3-6 board which has a very bad vertical gap between pixels, which looks like lines going up/down the screen. These are noticable through the composite signal if you look close enough, but they are very noticable with the standard SVideo mod or an external SVid converter. There are a couple things you can do to improve this, but short of replacing the entire circuit, the picture will still suffer.

So, since the Neobitz boards are complete video replacement circuits, they tap the RGB signals at the optimal point on the board, totally bypassing SNK's video circuit. The end result is a great picture without these vertical pixel gaps -- they way it should have been done!

All AES systems will benefit from some sort of video mod -- either RGB bypass, basic svideo mod, or installing an encoder board like the Neobitz.

Some people are content with the composite signal, which is fine. Personally, the dot-crawl and rainbow patterns drive me nuts.

Jeff

What do you mean by this? Does the Neobits board... interlace?

 

[68k]

I have two Neo Geo AES systems (015662 and 013092).

013092 has pretty poor video through composite or RF compared to the 015662 system. Apon opening, you can see that the 015662 system has some sort of daughterboard attached to the video encoder. Both motherboards are the same revision. Below is a picture of the 015662's motherboard:

Anyone seen this before? The older 013092 board does not have this. It's apparent SNK saw an issue and started adding these boards to enhance the video quality.

 

[The Don]

I have two Neo Geo AES systems (015662 and 013092).

013092 has pretty poor video through composite or RF compared to the 015662 system. Apon opening, you can see that the 015662 system has some sort of daughterboard attached to the video encoder. Both motherboards are the same revision. Below is a picture of the 015662's motherboard:

Anyone seen this before? The older 013092 board does not have this. It's apparent SNK saw an issue and started adding these boards to enhance the video quality.

I've seen the daughter board before.
I believe(and correct me if I'm wrong) they added the daughter board to improve the composite quality of the neo.

 

[Xian Xi]

Yes it is common, theres been a couple boards with that DB. I had one as well.

 

[MKL]

I've seen the daughter board before.
I believe(and correct me if I'm wrong) they added the daughter board to improve the composite quality of the neo.

It hasn't to do directly with the video composite output. It should be a PLL circuit that stabilizes the clock signal of the video encoder. And it's found on all later systems too, just built-in on the main board. Only the very first boards don't have it.

 

[Joe Redifer]

My Neo has that daughter board. My first thought was "WTF are they hiring high school kids to piece these things together at SNK?" since it looks like a really sloppy job. I had an RGB bypass done and as a result I can now play in component video and it looks awesome. I just can't figure out why SNK kept using crappy video encoders. The Genesis never had this problem, and you could always get great RGB out of it. Maybe the parts used in the Genesis were too expensive for SNK to use in the Neo Geo... I dunno but there was no excuse whatsoever for including such crappy stuff in the console when the Genesis did it better for cheaper. SNK ≠ hardware gods, that's for sure.