Last weekend, marqs has released a new firmware for the CPS2 Digital AV Interface. The new firmware enables changing the output resolution with the Volume – and + buttons. The current functions of these buttons (scanlines and vertical offset adjustment) have been removed.
When I installed the AV interface last year, I wasn’t very happy about the 8 missing lines in the default 1920×1080 resolution. I was hoping to have a 1920×1200 Line5x format one day, similar to the OSSC. This is now reality: By pressing Volume +, I can change this video output to this format.
The CPS2 I/O interface with matching kick harness to remove the need for a SuperGun.
I had already ordered the digital AV interface kit from VideoGamePerfection.com in the beginning of the year and was only waiting for the I/O interface to get started. Last month, it finally arrived. Also on the picture: a home-made kick harness and a RG174 coaxial cable.
Quizard was a series of quiz games published by TAB-Austria in the ’90s. What makes it special is the fact that it is one of the very few arcade games based on Philips CD-i hardware. The protection of Quizard 1.x and 2.x has been figured out quite a while ago and since then it is emulated in MAME. Quizard 3.x and 4.x, however, refused to run – until now. A first step was done when Team Europe dumped a protection MCU a couple of years ago. Very soon, they will release an MCU board that will turn almost every CD-i player into a Quizard arcade machine. I received a sample last week and just finished assembling and testing it.
After I had my first MVS at home, it didn’t take long until more arcade hardware followed. For example this CPS2. It looks shabby and needs some work, but it already has a Darksoft CPS2 Multi Kit installed.
When I finally fixed my consolized MV1FZS last month and was able to play some games again, I noticed that it outputs mono sound only. It is now time to make some additional modifications to it.
5V Mod
MVS boards need both 5V and 12V voltages, and 12V is used for the audio amp only. As I’m going to add a new stereo audio circuit, there is no need for the 12V feed anymore. This consolized MVS draws the 12V from the now obsolete XL6009E1 DC-DC converter:
After having a great time with my MV2FS, I was looking for something more compact that I could use in the living room. I came across a pre-consolized MV1FZS and played the entire Neo Geo library with it.
Neo Geo games and hardware have been a part of my life for many years. As I was looking at store displays during the early 90s, I was amazed at how huge these game carts were in comparison with other consoles, such as the Nintendo GameBoy.
In the late 90s, the emulators NeoRAGE and NeoRAGEx introduced me to the world of Neo Geo and arcade emulation. At that time, MAME didn’t yet have the capacity to emulate those games properly and at a decent speed. Later on, when MAME finally became a useable Neo Geo emulator, it became quite easy to add new released games and dumps to the source code, and play them as well. Continue reading Neo Geo MV2FS at Home→
exploring retro game consoles and other technology
