How to set Emulation Station at a different res than Retroarch.

Nikorasu081

Hello, fellow Pi users. I'm trying to set Emulation Station at 1024x768 and Retroarch at 320x240 @120Hz. I want all my games to run with scanlines. I had bought a CRT monitor from a yard sale about 3 weeks ago. It is the emachines eview 17f3. I bought a HDMI to VGA adapter from amazon https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B016HL4CAY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1.
I got 320x240 120Hz to work and yes it does display those glorious authentic scanlines. If I wanted software scanlines I wouldn't have bought a CRT. My only problem is adding that resolution in the config file on the root of the microsd card resorts in Emulation Station looking like this https://i.postimg.cc/XnjkMWtb/DSC-0620.jpg. If I change the resolution in the config to 1024x768, 320x240 @120Hz will no longer be listed as an available resolution for Retroarch. So my question is how do I get Emulation Station to display in 1024x768 60Hz and Retroarch in 320x240 120Hz? Please help. I've been trying to figure this out all day today and yesterday. I haven't even been able to enjoy my Retropie yet. This has got me exhausted.

A Former User

This thread should help you.

https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/18624/custom-configs-for-crt-using-the-built-in-composite-out

It's mostly for NTSC, so you should be good to go. If you download and follow the instructions in the thread, you should end up with interlace modes (480i) in emulationstation, and progressive modes (240p) in Retroarch. I live in PAL land, so I had to do a bit of work. But in the end, I went with Pi2Scart - which works in a different way but gives me 240p PAL system-wide.
Just remember to make a backup of the files you replace.

Clyde

You can start Emulation Station with a given screen resolution with this command:

emulationstation --resolution 1024 768

For permanent use on boot, edit /opt/retropie/configs/all/autostart.sh.

Nikorasu081

@Clyde I already have Emulation station at the resolution I want. I have made it 1024x768 by editing the config.txt of the retropie boot volume. I'm just trying to get Retroarch and all the emulators to run at 320x240 120Hz. My problem is 320x240 doesn't show up in the Retroarch configuration as an available resolution if I don't set it in the config.txt on the boot volume. However, adding 320x240 to the config.txt just resorts in Emulation Station looking like this https://i.postimg.cc/XnjkMWtb/DSC-0620.jpg which is unreadable. I want Emulation Station at 1024x768 60Hz and Retroarch at 320x240 120Hz

mitu

@Nikorasu081 Have you tried using the Runcommand launch menu to set the desired video mode for the emulator, before starting it ?

Nikorasu081

@mitu 320x240 @120Hz isn't listed unless I have it set in the config as my main resolution that emulation station uses.

like so:
hdmi_cvt=320 240 120 1
hdmi_group=2
hdmi_mode=87

But I don't want emulation station at this resolution because text and UI will be unreadable. As shown here> https://i.postimg.cc/XnjkMWtb/DSC-0620.jpg

hhromic

@Nikorasu081 I think what you can do is the following:

In /boot/config.txt define the custom resolution with hdmi_cvt=320 240 120 1, but do not activate it, i.e. do not set hdmi_group=2 and hdmi_mode=87. This custom resolution is always defined in group 2 which is DMT under mode 87. (documentation)
At this point you can still use hdmi_group/mode to set the video mode you want for your RPI when booting and hence EmulationStation. For example for 1024x768.
As @mitu suggested, in runcommand now if you navigate the available resolutions you should see a DMT-87 video mode available to select. This will switch to your custom defined 320x240@120 resolution before starting RetroArch and return you to the normal resolution when exiting RA.

I haven't tested this myself so hopefully it works for you :)

Nikorasu081

@hhromic said in How to set Emulation Station at a different res than Retroarch.:

hdmi_mode=87

Thanks! That suggestion totally worked! One thing though, why does 120Hz show up as 117Hz? 120/2 = 60. I turned on "black frame insertion" and it does make the game feel like 60Hz, its so smooth! Only problem is I get gradual flicker and the screen is dim. I have a feeling this is because it's 117Hz and not 120Hz. Anyway way to fix this?

hhromic

@Nikorasu081 glad you got it working now!

Regarding the 117Hz display, I'm not sure. That number is actually computed from pixel_frequency timings so maybe is dependent on the current GPU clock. Are you using a good power supply?
Regarding the flickering, I have zero experience on using the composite out and CRT, so can't help you much there. Sorry! But yes, it does seem like having 117Hz instead of steady 120Hz can be the issue as you gradually get out of sync for the black frame insertion.