Optoma video projectors, SCART, RGB and VGA

February 6th, 2013

I feel ripped off now. Namely, I purchased myself an expensive SCART to VGA converter to get a few RGB-outputting gadgets to display on my Optoma DLP projector, which accepts 50/60 Hz modes with composite sync through the first VGA port. The brick was pretty hard to find, too. For the sake of testing I had already bought a generic cheap-ass cable, which didn’t work. As it turns out, the “special” adapter doesn’t do much more than rewire a SCART plug directly to VGA and connect csync to hsync. By cutting and soldering one wire even the five euro cable started working fine. Here’s a rough pinout so that you, dear reader, don’t need to spend 50 euros on a trivial cable:

  • VGA – SCART – purpose
  • 1 – 15 – red
  • 2 – 11 – green
  • 3 – 7 – blue
  • 4 – nc
  • 5 – nc (gnd by VGA spec)
  • 6 – 13 – red gnd
  • 7 – 9 – green gnd
  • 8 – 5 – blue gnd
  • 9 – nc
  • 10 – 17 – csync gnd
  • 11 – nc
  • 12 – nc
  • 13 – 19 – csync
  • 14 – nc
  • 15 – nc

In addition, the shield of the VGA plug is connected to the SCART shield, but that might not be necessary. The RGB grounds might not be needed either, but don’t take my word for it. Please let me know in the comments if it worked for you 🙂

edit: And if someone from Optoma ever happens to read this: get your damn act together. Leave the functionality out if it’s not to be used by your very own customers.

Filed under: laitteet

5 Comments Add your own

  • 1. yzi  |  February 6th, 2013 at 5:37 pm

    So the adaptor box doesn’t contain for example a transistor like in this thingy for combining hsync and vsync, for VGA->scart direction?
    http://www.nexusuk.org/projects/vga2scart/circuit

    I’m reading, you need that for Nvidia cards. That is, if you want to connect a VGA output to a TV equipped with an RGB scart input.

  • 2. marq  |  February 6th, 2013 at 11:39 pm

    It’s only meant for the SCART -> VGA direction as far as I know, and the projector is built so that it seems to accept complete csync through the hsync pin.

  • 3. percival  |  June 16th, 2017 at 4:27 pm

    Appreciate this is a few years old but, just in case, I might as well post this.

    I’ve got an Optoma DLP projector that accepts SCART over the VGA connection. Like you, I had trouble finding an official adapter and was trying to make my own – but it just won’t work.

    With almost all devices, it detects nothing and just scans past VGA. There is one exception (a Hitachi VCR tried out of desperation), for which it successfully detects that there is a SCART signal – but shows only a black screen. And pressing “play” on the VCR drops the connection again.

    I’ve checked the pinout endlessly, continuity tested everything and even played around with some pins (swapping between csync input and output on the SCART side, for instance) and I just cannot see why it will not work.

    Any ideas?

    (P.S. thank you endlessly for posting this page in the first place)

  • 4. marq  |  June 19th, 2017 at 6:35 pm

    Could be there’s some differences between the models… some might have some extra circuitry for vendor lock-in or something? This worked for me. If all else fails, a SCART->s-video converter would at least yield better image than plain composite. IIRC I used a cable meant for NEC projectors as the basis for this kludge.

  • 5. percival  |  June 24th, 2017 at 7:35 pm

    I got it working today. I don’t know what was wrong with my first attempt but after all that it turns out the connector I was using for the second (a box with VGA connector and screw terminals inside) grounded pin 4 (not 5, 4) for some reason! Severing the link caused it to start working and I couldn’t be more pleased – it looks very good.

    Oddly, the VCR is the one that should have never worked because it only outputs composite over SCART which this does not support. For future reference, the RGB grounds are needed, as is the shield. And beware of some DVD players that disable RGB by default, again for no reason.

    Thanks again for posting this. And replying.

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