Capturing VGA from an O2 - Printable Version
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+--- Thread: Capturing VGA from an O2 (/thread-2462.html)
Capturing VGA from an O2 - karpour - 09-17-2020
Before spending money on equipment that won't work, I want to ask here first:
I would like to eventually do art streams (where I draw and stream to Twitch, etc) from my O2
Ideally I would have a VGA splitter, with one cable going to my Multilink adapter, and one cable going to a VGA-to-HDMI converter, which then goes into a HDMI grabber
Now I assume that most VGA to HDMI converters won't handle sync on green, I found out that the Kramer VP-434 Scaler does, but that thing is like a 1000€, not quite in my budget
So I was wondering if anyone had suggestions on how I could capture the output of my O2 on a PC!
RE: Capturing VGA from an O2 - defaultrouteuk - 09-17-2020
Hey There @karpour,
Welcome, I think we spoke on YT ;-) Dude there are lots of options but almost all have caveats and issues. I never found the perfect answer. However, the IRIXnet community probably has a lot of answers that get you close.
For example, one time I was working with a VGA into a SOG LCD (Viewsonic), I found that by splitting the VGA directly before the LCD reduced the interference (but did reduce signal strength). The other end of the splitter went into a VGA to HDMI converter.
The other thing I tried was taking VGA into COMPOSITE then COMPOSITE into HDMI. That was not great at all but did work at least.
The last thing (won’t give you a full desktop) is to look if you have the analog video/audio card in the O2. If yes, you can use software in the iIRIX software (vidtomem / vintovout) to capture a section of the screen and output that from the COMPOSITE on the O2. The reason I keep talking about COMPOSITE is because COMPOSITE to HDMI adaptors are really inexpensive.
The O2 analog video card also has S-Video out and that would give you a better picture then COMPOSITE but I’ve not tried it.
Good luck!
RE: Capturing VGA from an O2 - Lady Serena Kitty - 09-17-2020
I have the IMOGENI VGA2USB3 capture device. With custom firmware, it works with SGI systems. It's kinda expensive tho, a whopping $400.
There are also other VGA capture devices that are known to work. We even have a thread where we are collecting information on useful capture devices: https://forums.irixnet.org/thread-2020.html
RE: Capturing VGA from an O2 - defaultrouteuk - 09-17-2020
Indeed I have the same device and used to use it a lot (even as a headless substitute).
However, I had noticed that it failed to support a higher resolution than 1024x768. I'm not sure if that's an issue on mine or in general but have never got it to work well at higher resolutions.
Did you get it working?
RE: Capturing VGA from an O2 - Lady Serena Kitty - 09-17-2020
(09-17-2020, 02:24 PM)defaultrouteuk Wrote: Indeed I have the same device and used to use it a lot (even as a headless substitute).No, it only works at 1024x768. Mine has custom firmware made by an IMOGENI tech, which handles the SoG signal quite well. I am allowed to distribute this custom firmware, but only to other SGI users.
However, I had noticed that it failed to support a higher resolution than 1024x768. I'm not sure if that's an issue on mine or in general but have never got it to work well at higher resolutions.
Did you get it working?
RE: Capturing VGA from an O2 - karpour - 09-17-2020
(09-17-2020, 02:21 PM)Lady Serena Kitty Wrote: I have the IMOGENI VGA2USB3 capture device. With custom firmware, it works with SGI systems. It's kinda expensive tho, a whopping $400.
There are also other VGA capture devices that are known to work. We even have a thread where we are collecting information on useful capture devices: https://forums.irixnet.org/thread-2020.html
Whoa, lucky me, found an AVerMedia DarkCrystal HD Capture CD530 for 74€ in the Netherlands, thanks for the tip!
Considering I have a bunch of other old hardware with VGA out (and exactly one free PCIe slot), that's a no-brainer!
It'll be a while until I can try it, but I'll be sure to post my experiences with using it for VGA capture here
RE: Capturing VGA from an O2 - defaultrouteuk - 09-18-2020
Hey that sounds perfect! I only have a Mac mini at home and needed something USB. Actually I messed around forever trying to get it good enough.
I’d love to see the results when it’s done. Please share your experience.
Good luck!