Sanyo VMC-8615FP CCTV monitor

[PenroseHouse]

Hello,

I've just bought a Sanyo VMC-8615FP CCTV monitor on eBay. I don't really understand what kind of cables I'm supposed to use. The back inputs are marked just VIDEO A (also a video B) and, separate, "Y/C" which I believe is S-Video.

The manual says the A/B are "Composite sync signal: 1.0 Vp-p, 75 ? BNC connector (2)" but the connector is that circular socket with a vertical shaped opening with metal top and bottom.

Do I use just one of these or both at the same time? If this is essentially two entirely different options, which would be the best quality?

(I'll be using with a MiSTer Multisystem, so I'll have to find out which settings to use in the MiSTer's .ini)

Also, does anyone know when these were manufactured? Just wondering how old it is.

The manual is on various websites including here:
https://www.manualslib.com/manual/12...mc-8615fp.html

Thank you for any help. I'll try to attach photos.

(It's sold to me as perfect working order, returns accepted.)

[cmjones01]

Those are perfectly normal BNC sockets. Some have that vertical shaped opening to accommodate the centre contact, and some don't. I suspect the IN and OUT sockets look different here because they're different components to stand off the PCB at different heights, or the OUT sockets have a built-in switch to disable 75 ohm termination, or something. In any case it's of no consequence. A BNC plug will still fit.

Connect your composite video signal to VIDEO A IN or VIDEO B IN, select the correct input on the front panel, and enjoy. Or if the MiSTer provides S-Video out, use the Y/C input.

[PenroseHouse]

Thank you for the response.

I'm not really familiar with BNC, but am looking it up now that I know what it's called, so thanks for that.

The MiSTer doen't have S-Video, BUT it has VGA and the Multisystem adds SCART, so I'll try a VGA->S-Video converter.

***

If anyone happens to have an idea of when these were manufactured, the knowledge would be much appreciated!

[cmjones01]

A VGA to S-Video converter will probably work quite well, but it all depends on what sort of image you want to see and what you're running on the MiSTer.

On CRT monitors, composite, S-Video and RGB inputs all have a different characteristic 'look' to the image, and are good for different things.

Many people in the retro/emulation world want an RGB connection for the sharpest possible image. This is great for arcade games, which (almost) all used an RGB connection to their CRTs, and for computers which typically used RGB like the BBC Micro, Amstrad CPC, Commodore Amiga or Atari ST. An RGB connection, often via SCART, will generally give the highest quality image from any source.

S-Video also gives a sharp image, but with lower colour resolution, a bit more smearing between pixels at sudden colour changes. It might give a good effect with machines which originally generated their video signals as luminance/chrominance rather than RGB, such as the Commodore VIC20 and 64, and the Atari 8-bit machines.

Composite can give superbly sharp monochrome images, but introduce colour and it all gets a bit fuzzy. If you want to get the authentic cross-colour and dot crawl effects that the ZX Spectrum was famous for, composite is your friend. I played Manic Miner on a Spectrum at the Centre for Computing History a couple of weeks ago and it was clearly connected to the monitor via composite video, and it just felt right, like being transported back to 1982.

That said, much depends on the source material. I have a 14" Philips CRT connected to my PC via a cheap HDMI-composite converter box. It looks absolutely awful on text and computer graphics, and I know the CRT can do better via its RGB connection. But I mostly use that screen for viewing YouTube videos, and for that the composite connection is absolutely fine, and looks like broadcast TV used to look.

Chris

[PenroseHouse]

Thank you so much for such detailed replies, cmjones01 aka Chris.

I'm not familiar with BNC, but my understanding is, if I buy this plug (Amazon):

sourcing map A11041200ux0146 BNC Male Connector To RCA Female RF Coaxial Connector for CCTV

... I can use the composite connector.

I do have some retro computers that output composite with one of those yellow RCA male plugs.

(Composite = poor quality but desirable for some retro gaming.)

Do tell me if I'm wrong on this as I buy way too much on Amazon that has to be returned, being a hardwear ubern00b.

[G6ONEDave]

If you already have the RCA plug to RCA plug cable for your retro computers, then you just need a BNC plug to RCA socket adaptor. This will adapt the RCA cable plug to fit the BNC composite socket on the monitor. You should be able to find one for less than £5 online.

Dave

[PenroseHouse]

Thanks for that. So it would be "BNC Male Connector To RCA Female"?

The one I've found on Amazon says specifically "BNC Male Connector To RCA Female RF Coaxial", is that the same, or it mustn't say "RF Coaxial"?

[cmjones01]

That one on Amazon sounds fine. They've just added "RF Coaxial" to the name to try and match more search hits. "RF" refers to Radio Frequency, which is what BNC connectors were originally designed for, and "Coaxial" just means that there's a centre conductor inside an outer ground conductor. That description applies to BNC, RCA/phono and a whole host of other connector types.

Chris

[G6ONEDave]

Yes as per your post 7, that will be fine and initially save purchasing any standards conversion boxes.
Often RF types are 50 ohm impedance and the cctv types are 75 ohm impedance but I doubt that you would notice the difference in your application.

Dave

[cmjones01]

Originally Posted by G6ONEDave

Often RF types are 50 ohm impedance and the cctv types are 75 ohm impedance but I doubt that you would notice the difference in your application.

I'll go further than that and say you definitely won't notice any difference. For a start, it's adapting to an RCA/phono connector, which definitely isn't of controlled impedance. Don't worry at all about the 50/75 ohm thing.

Chris

[PenroseHouse]

Thanks for these comments, Chris and Dave, very helpful.

I've received the monitor and will try to set it up tomorrow, and post some images.

Would be great if anyone has any guess as to when they started and stopped making these, I just can't find any details anywhere aside from the manual.