Help with analog video adjustment on raspberry pi 5 with retropie installed on top of pi os

parkerestes

Hello. I don't have the most knowledge but I am trying to learn so please bear with me. I am attempting to get my rpi 5 up and running on my crt tv. So far I have everything working, except when I went into the boot.config to fine tune the settings in the way that I have my other retropies, the config file looks very different. I understand that this is because i installed it on top of the normal pi operating system as there is no official image for rpi 5 yet.

I am a graphic designer and not a programmer and while I am trying to learn, I probably don't have nearly as much knowledge as many of you. I am on a bit of a time crunch and this is for a project related to my graduate thesis work. So any clear and direct assistance is greatly appreciated.

I am trying to add these lines as well as enabling overscan. Basically I want it to run in progressive scan mode and I want the image to fit the viewable area of the tv better. Currently when I add these lines to config.txt nothing happens.

I understand that there are also some video settings that can be adjusted via cmdline.txt, but I haven't been able to find any super clear documentation about how to do this.

What I really need is to output a progressive scan so 720x480p, without any overscan. I have pin headers soldered to the analog out holes and it works but the image is EXTREMELY flickery. I also have an hdmi to rca converter (powered) but the image is still flickery (though less so) and the image is oversized but still appears to be in the correct aspect ratio (3:4).

These are the lines I added to my other pies to get the image correct. but when I add them to config.txt nothing changes.

enable_tvout=1
sdtv_mode=16
sdtv_aspect=1

I am adding them at the end and I'm not sure if this is where I should.

This is what my config.txt file currently looks like.

# For more options and information see
# http://rptl.io/configtxt
# Some settings may impact device functionality. See link above for details

# Uncomment some or all of these to enable the optional hardware interfaces
#dtparam=i2c_arm=on
#dtparam=i2s=on
#dtparam=spi=on

# Enable audio (loads snd_bcm2835)
dtparam=audio=on

# Additional overlays and parameters are documented
# /boot/firmware/overlays/README

# Automatically load overlays for detected cameras
camera_auto_detect=1

# Automatically load overlays for detected DSI displays
display_auto_detect=1

# Automatically load initramfs files, if found
auto_initramfs=1

# Enable DRM VC4 V3D driver
dtoverlay=vc4-kms-v3d,composite
max_framebuffers=2

# Don't have the firmware create an initial video= setting in cmdline.txt.
# Use the kernel's default instead.
disable_fw_kms_setup=1

# Run in 64-bit mode
arm_64bit=1

# Disable compensation for displays with overscan
disable_overscan=1

# Run as fast as firmware / board allows
arm_boost=1

[cm4]
# Enable host mode on the 2711 built-in XHCI USB controller.
# This line should be removed if the legacy DWC2 controller is required
# (e.g. for USB device mode) or if USB support is not required.
otg_mode=1

[cm5]
dtoverlay=dwc2,dr_mode=host

[all]

mitu

On newer RaspiOS versions, the sdtv_mode options have no effect. Try modifying /boot/firmware/cmdline.txt to control the Composite mode and margins (see https://www.raspberrypi.com/documentation/computers/config_txt.html#composite-video-mode for video options).

For instance, to start with a 480i resolution (NTSC) and adjust the margins:

... video=Composite-1:720x480@60iem,margin_top=30,margin_bottom=25,margin_left=45,margin_right=35

NB: you need to add all the margin parameters, even if you're not using all.

Btw, you'll need a professional CRT monitor to really output 480p, consumer TVs can only output 480i. On the other hand, regular PC (S)VGA monitors can output 480p.

parkerestes

@mitu Thank you for all your advice. In my limited experience so far, the analog video when output from the pi looks way less flickery when it is outputting 480p rather than 480i. Even if it isn't true 480p on the actual screen. I read the documentation you recommended and I don't see anything about how to achieve this under the video settings section. I may be missing something due to my lack of knowledge.

The main issue i'm having is that it looks extremely flickery.

How would I modify the line that you gave me to output 480p anyway? Is there an equivalent to the sdtv_mode=16 that I can do in cmdline.txt? Thank you again for your help, you are a life saver.

mitu

@parkerestes said in Help with analog video adjustment on raspberry pi 5 with retropie installed on top of pi os:

How would I modify the line that you gave me to output 480p anyway?

There isn't a way, the composite output cannot do 480p. But, as I said, do you have a PC monitor for 480p ? A consumer CRT would not support it, but you can use something like VGA666 (a HAT) to connect a PC monitor via VGA.

parkerestes

@mitu I am limited to the display that I have which is a large commercial tube television.

All I know is that when I set my pi 4b and 3 to progressive scan (i.e. sdtv_mode=16, which as I understand is NTSC progressive scan) the image is considerably less flickery than it is when I set sdtv_mode=1 (which is standard NTSC) on the same display.

You say it there is no progressive scan mode via editing the cmdline.txt file. Is there a way to achieve 240p? I have fixed the overscan issue thanks to your help, but the image is still offputtingly flickery and even large text is quite difficult to read. And this is a large CRT 30ish inches.

mitu

@parkerestes said in Help with analog video adjustment on raspberry pi 5 with retropie installed on top of pi os:

You say it there is no progressive scan mode via editing the cmdline.txt file.

No, I said there's no 480p for Composite, since there's no TV standard for that.

Is there a way to achieve 240p?

Yes, specify the video mode in the video parameter of the command line, instead of an interlaced mode, use a 240p mode (720x240@60em).

parkerestes

@mitu Thank you, I will try this when I am back at my studio and let you know how it goes.

mitu

Reading through this topic it seems that the margin parameters don't seem to work with Pi5's RP1 chip. So the over/underscan options will not work.

parkerestes

@mitu I have tried 720x240 at 60em and the flickering is completely gone. You are correct that the overscan doesn't seem to do anything. Unfortunately everything in emulation station is squished horizontally. I am searching everywhere for a solution.

parkerestes

@mitu I was able to solve the resolution issue by setting the resolution in cmdline.txt to 320x240, but unfortunately the image jitter is back.

mitu

@parkerestes said in Help with analog video adjustment on raspberry pi 5 with retropie installed on top of pi os:

Unfortunately everything in emulation station is squished horizontally.

Yes, of course since it's running at 240p resolution. Ideally though, this is the resolution you want to be using during emulation, but not when using EmulationStation.

Are you sure that what you call 'jittery' is not just the interlaced image (480i) ?

I am searching everywhere for a solution.

You can use a Pi4 or perhaps a DPI/HAT that supports margin adjustments, though the configuration for HAT may involve using a specialized distro for it.

parkerestes

@mitu This may be starting to go over my head a little. Wouldn't 320x240 be 240p. Why would that produce an interlaced image?

I can independently set the resolution in retroarch and it looks really great when in games (in the 720x240 configuration) but because this will be interacted with by strangers in a gallery setting, i need the ui to be very usable. There is no way to independently set the resolution of emulation station so that it looks as good as the games do?

mitu

@parkerestes said in Help with analog video adjustment on raspberry pi 5 with retropie installed on top of pi os:

I can independently set the resolution in retroarch and it looks really great when in games (in the 720x240 configuration) but because this will be interacted with by strangers in a gallery setting, i need the ui to be very usable.

Hm, what does this mean ? How do you intend to use the Raspberry Pi ?

There is no way to independently set the resolution of emulation station so that it looks as good as the games do?

Using composite, not so much since your only options are either a progressive mode (288p / 240p) or intelaced mode (480i/576i).

parkerestes

@mitu seems like I may have to settle for a middle ground then. Yes it is an interlaced image. I hate that There is no way to independently control the resolution on emulation station. Thank you for all of your assistance.

I may continue to tinker with adjusting the resolution.