Commodore 64 on a CRT via RGB?

arkive

I've been struggling for weeks to display perfect 1:1 C64 image on my CRT TV. Since microcomputers are nowhere near as popular as old consoles, information on this subject is very scarce and despite searching all over internet I failed to achieve this. I got very close, but as anybody obsessed with 1:1 CRT pixels knows, "close" is not good enough.

Seems that the only person on the planet who may know how to perform this feat is @ironic, hence me posting here even though I use Retropie (though I don't think the OS choice really matters since the core settings are universal).

My setup: RPi 3B + Pi2SCART + 29" Sony Trinitron + Retropie 4.2
I use these hdmi_timings=320 1 15 20 49 240 1 6 8 10 0 0 0 60 0 6400000 1 values for my other emus such as horizontal MAME and retro consoles. Using the 1600 pixel trick they all display perfect 1:1. When tried with microcomputers problems start (probably because these are not within Retroarch?) C64 image has artifacts when perfectly centered...1:1 look is possible, but then the image stretches beyond the screen horizontally (about 20-30 px each side) and has some borders on top and bottom.

I've tried the hdmi_timings=336 1 10 18 46 288 1 5 6 6 0 0 0 50 0 6400000 1 values suggested by @ironic but it still doesn't work for me. I suppose the answer may be in VICE settings - there are numerous ones in Video section. I tried most possible combinations though...

This issue i driving me mad...so any help greatly appreciated.

sdl-vicerc config:

MenuKey=293
MenuKeyUp=273
MenuKeyDown=274
MenuKeyLeft=276
MenuKeyRight=275
SaveResourcesOnExit=1
SoundDeviceName="alsa"
Sound=0
SoundBufferSize=100
AspectRatio="1.000000"
SDLLimitMode=1
SDLCustomWidth=336
SDLCustomHeight=288
SDLWindowWidth=336
SDLWindowHeight=288
SDLGLAspectMode=1
IECReset=1
CIA1Model=0
CIA2Model=0
VICIIVideoCache=1
VICIIDoubleScan=0
VICIIDoubleSize=0
VICIISDLFullscreenMode=1
VICIIPALScanLineShade=0
VICIIPALBlur=0
VICIIPALOddLinePhase=0
VICIIPALOddLineOffset=0
VICIIFilter=0
VICIICheckSbColl=0
SidEngine=0
SidModel=0
JoyPort4Device=0
JoyPort3Device=0
JoyPort1Device=0
KeySetEnable=0
JoyDevice2=4
Mouse=1
ETHERNETCARTBase=56832
Acia1Base=56832

rockaddicted

@arkive said in Commodore 64 on a CRT via RGB?:

My setup: RPi 3B + Pi2SCART + 29" Sony Trinitron + Retropie 4.2

You know guy that you are on recalbox's forum and you are asking support for a retropie setup and emulators not included in recalbox ?!
There is no problems for you ?

arkive

Yeah, I also said:

Since microcomputers are nowhere near as popular as old consoles, information on this subject is very scarce and despite searching all over internet I failed to achieve this.
Seems that the only person on the planet who may know how to perform this feat is @ironic, hence me posting here even though I use Retropie (though I don't think the OS choice really matters since the core settings are universal)

tl; dr: I'm desperate and this forum is my last resort

I've opened this thread following @ironic's advice: https://forum.recalbox.com/post/66944

To answer your question: no, it is not a big problem for me to ask for help on a different forum after exhausting all other options. What's the big deal? Like I said, this issue is universal and even if there is no C64 in Recalbox now, it may be one day.

However, if this is a problem for you, do not hesitate to thrash this thread. Your welcoming and helpful attitude will be duly noted.

Substring

@arkive

However, if this is a problem for you, do not hesitate to thrash this thread. Your welcoming and helpful attitude will be duly noted.

I guess such attitude is not to be expected from our community you know. We're your last resort you said ? How do you want us to give you some help (because we do have some hints there, maybe not what you're expecting) if you're just behaving like that ? Do you know how often Recalbox users have been spitted on from the Retropie community ? on IRC, Reddit ? We are not that kind of people here, but that message i quoted hardly gives me any motivation to help you.

arkive

@substring said in Commodore 64 on a CRT via RGB?:

How do you want us to give you some help (because we do have some hints there, maybe not what you're expecting) if you're just behaving like that ? Do you know how often Recalbox users have been spitted on from the Retropie community ? on IRC, Reddit ? We are not that kind of people here, but that message i quoted hardly gives me any motivation to help you.

No, I do not know anything about Retropie users attacking Recalbox users. If it happened, it's pretty sad but I do not count myself as a member of a "Retropie community" - I simply use their OS. That is all. I have no interest in petty forum wars, I'm way too old for that.
If you want to use that line form my post you quoted as some sort of proof of my arrogance and excuse to go on the defensive, feel free to do so. Anybody else reading this may observe that it was your fellow mod who started shouting at me and causing drama first, for no other reason than me asking a question on your forum while admitting (and explaining very clearly my reasons for doing so) that I use some other OS.

Therefore I advised him to simply thrash this thread and yes, I very much did comment on his arrogant and unhelpful attitude . I'm 40+ years old and I really have no time for unwarranted hostility. And while I would love to resolve this problem -one of your forum members knows how to do this - I guess that's not gonna happen here, so, again: could you please kindly close and delete this thread, sir?

Substring

@arkive I'm turning 40 in 4 days, and I'm not behaving like a spoilt child who won't hear anything else than what he has decided to. So don't get offended like a pony tailed girlie. He has not been arrogant at all, just reminded you you're on the wrong community here. If you had not mentionned anything about retropie, rock would have answered "we do not support Vice". And if you would have shown the understanding of the mature grown up you claim to be, I would have advised you not to go through vice to emulate C64.

I guess we're all set now.

ironic

Hi

Sorry for this, i told to @arkive to open a new thread for C64 emulation.
I know Recalbox doesn't support Commodore 64 but i think i can answer beacause all i will said will work on Recalbox and others OS.

1st, you can use 320x200 resolution (the C64 max resolution) but it's better to use a 1920 (ou 1600) horizontal resolution for screen setup.
Commodoire 64 have a 200 lines vert(ical resolution but if you want overscan color background, you must open a 240 lines screen.

I use this timing because screen can be horizontaly "zoomed/unzoomed" and moved. Screen can be verticaly moved too.
To "zoom/unzoom" horizontaly, you must setup you CRT to do this.
Due to Rpi Pixel clock limit, if you use a 320x240, you can't do anything (zoom/position)

50Hz PAL
vcgencmd hdmi_timings 1920 1 64 192 224 282 1 8 5 18 0 0 0 50.0 0 37560000 1
60Hz NTSC
vcgencmd hdmi_timings 1920 1 24 192 184 240 1 4 5 14 0 0 0 60.0 0 36609600 1

VICE binary and configfile are in :
/recalbox/share/emulators/combian64/
ALL other VICE files are in :
/recalbox/share/emulators/combian64/vice/
(it's because i use combian C64 version and i choosen the parent folders)

And for config file :

*** NTSC ***

[C64]
Directory="/recalbox/share/emulators/combian64/vice/"
MenuKey=293
MenuKeyUp=273
MenuKeyDown=274
MenuKeyLeft=276
MenuKeyRight=275
RefreshRate=1
SoundDeviceName="alsa"
SoundBufferSize=100
SoundSpeedAdjustment=1
KeymapUserSymFile="/recalbox/share/emulators/combian64/vice/sdl_pos.vkm"
KeymapIndex=2
KeyboardMapping=1
AspectRatio="1.500000"
SDLLimitMode=1
SDLCustomWidth=1920
SDLCustomHeight=240
SDLWindowWidth=1920
SDLWindowHeight=240
SDLGLAspectMode=0
ChargenName="/recalbox/share/emulators/combian64/vice/chargen"
KernalName="/recalbox/share/emulators/combian64/vice/kernal"
BasicName="/recalbox/share/emulators/combian64/vice/basic"
MachineVideoStandard=2
VICIIVideoCache=0
VICIIDoubleScan=0
VICIIDoubleSize=0
VICIIFilter=0
VICIIBorderMode=1
SidEngine=0
SidModel=1
JoyDevice2=4
HotkeyFile="/recalbox/share/emulators/combian64/vice/sdl-joymap-C64.vkm"
JoyMapFile="/recalbox/share/emulators/combian64/vice/sdl-joymap-C64.vjm"
Drive8Type=1541
DosName1541="/recalbox/share/emulators/combian64/vice/dos1541"
Acia1Base=56832

FOR PAL, you just have to delete this line:
MachineVideoStandard=2
And use 288 lines :
SDLCustomWidth=1920
SDLCustomHeight=288
SDLWindowWidth=1920
SDLWindowHeight=288

The command line :
/recalbox/share/emulators/combian64/x64 -config /recalbox/share/emulators/combian64/config.cfg -autostart "/recalbox/share/roms/c64/Bubble Bobble.d64"

That's all

No support here.
If you can't launch C64, VICE must be correctly installed.

Screens from NTSC :
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