I finally got
to connect my QL via
SCART to HDMI converter
to our kitchen Technika TV today. Note, if you order one, it does not come with a
HDMI cable, although that was quickly fixed by a quick trip
to Poundland
to buy a simple Signalex
HDMI cable for, well, £1.00. Wasn't sure what a cheap one like that would be like, but it seems OK so far.
At first, panic as I couldn't get it
to work!
Turned out default settings didn't work, I had
to (a) manually switch the TV
to HDMI input as it's not auto-detected like a
SCART connection, and (b) fiddle with the converter's front panel switches for best settings.
The Technika TV usefully has both a
SCART and
HDMI connection, so it was easy
to compare the different pictures from the QL on the same TV using both connections.
First, I connected via a QL 8-pin video DIN
to SCART lead. Acceptable signal quality, but with the usual loss of a couple of characters at the edges of the screen. Looks strange actually, on a widescreen TV that the QL signal is a 4:3 block in the middle with black strips at the sides with a small amount of the QL picture missing despite the screen being wider than the QL picture!
monitor2s.png
Next, connect the
SCART lead
to the upscaler and an
HDMI cable from that
to TV, manually select
HDMI input and...still nothing. The manual ain't much help here - it tells you what the unit does, what each connection is, but not what settings
to use. Turns out it's quite easy, it takes a couple of seconds
to latch on
to what you are doing and as you press one of the front panel buttons, it shows the current settings on the TV screen, so I quickly found that with the unit set
to SCART INPUT, PAL 720p 50Hz and any resolution up
to 1280x1024 it copes well with the QL signal and where before there were a couple of characters missing at the edges, suddenly there was a good quality QL picture filling the screen - I can finally see the stippled border around the edges of the QL monitor mode windows!
monitor1s.png
It seemed quite tolerant of most settings except the 1080p at 60Hz where one character was lost off the edge of the screen. 50 or 60Hz doesn't seem
to make a difference - it seems
to manage
to output a decent picture with most combinations except that one specific one, even then it was only back
to square 1 and the loss of a character at the edge of the monitor screen.
The two issues which seemed
to fool me in the beginning were that it defaults
to HDMI input (not
SCART input) and it takes a few seconds
to respond and start outputting a picture from the QL.
It's a fiendishly adaptable unit - input connections can be
SCART or
HDMI, and output is
HDMI, so your TV/Monitor needs an
HDMI connection. It also has 3.5mm analogue and coax digital audio output so you can listen
to films etc via your big audio system! It (allegedly) does NTSC TV standards as well, although I haven't anything
to test this with.
The picture quality with the Technika TV was good enough
to use as a monitor. In fact, the picture quality via
HDMI with this unit was actually better than the QL
SCART connection direct
to the TV. The picture was steadier, less 'ripple' and colours were slightly bolder.
The unit is about 100mm x 100mm (4 inches x 4 inches) so can sit on top of the Microdrive panel, although the
HDMI cable faces forward and the base is flat metal with no feet, so will easily slide off especially if you use the QL plastic feet
to tilt the QL up. As there are no feet, there is no air gap so the QL heats up - maybe not such a good idea after all.
monitor11.png
So, many thanks IanJ, this device has been a great find for me and my QL, though not so lucky for Ann, as her kitchen TV may now become a QL monitor!!!