Analogue Interactive's Analog NT - $500 NES/Famicom Console

[RGB32E]

http://analogueinteractive.myshopify.co ... nformation

The Analog NT appears to be a PCB redesigned NES in an aluminum shell reusing the PPU and CPU from donor systems all for $500, shipping this summer. This console appears to be similar in base idea as the Super8, but it's unclear if this system integrates a NESRGB kit, or their own version, or something else?

The $50 (pre-order price) "HDMI Adapter" sounds interesting:

Play NES in glorious 1080p. The HDMI Adapter is an external RGB to HDMI upscaler designed exclusively for the Analogue Nt. It is a true upscaler (no stretching) and outputs 1080p or 720p perserving the original aspect ratio. It even has a built in scanline generator for that retro CRT feel.

A custom GBS-8220? I am skeptical.

Tech Specs

Compatibility
•NES, Famicom, Famicom Disk System (via expansion port)
•Region Free
•Worldwide Compatibility (PSU: 50-60hz, 100-240 volts)

Video
•HDMI 1080p/720p (requires HDMI Adapter)
•RGB, Component and S-Video
•Composite

Audio
•Mono & Stereophonic Sound Effect (adjustable)
•Famicom Audio Support

Includes
•Analogue Nt
•AC Adapter
•AV Cable (composite & s-video)

Special Features
•Original NES Ports
•4 Player Compatibility (switchable between each region)
•Famicom Expansion Port
•Everdrive & Powerpak Compatibility
•Adjustable Color Palette (Classic, Modern & Arcade) // Hints that it uses Tim's NES RGB?
•Increased Power Delivery for 3rd Party Devices

[CkRtech]

Would love to do a teardown of this as well as see this $50 upscaler in action....

[BuckoA51]

I'd love to review this too, think they will send me a review copy, with my hundreds of visitors a month?

[Fudoh]

don't you think that the statement about the HDMI adapter was possibly misinterpreted ? I would guess that the upscaling is already happening internally (as well as the scanline overlay) and the $50 option is just a VGA to HDMI conversion.

[CkRtech]

I don't know. It looks like the HD-15 might just be a breakout port for the various analog signals.

Ahh ha...from the store page:

HDMI Adapter (exclusive pre-order price)
$49.00

Play NES in glorious 1080p. The HDMI Adapter is an external RGB to HDMI upscaler designed exclusively for the Analogue Nt. It is a true upscaler (no stretching) and outputs 1080p or 720p preserving the original aspect ratio. It even has a built in scanline generator for that retro CRT feel.

Video details from glamor page:

Experience video quality so extraordinary - it’s like playing NES for the first time. The Analogue Nt is an RGB NES. This means each and every pixel is razor sharp, producing an astounding level of clarity. The Analogue Nt natively outputs the highest quality analogue signals available: RGB, Component, S-Video, and Composite. With the HDMI Adapter (sold separately) - you'll be able to connect to your HDTV with HDMI, upscaling directly from RGB to 1080p or 720p. It can even generate scanlines. Plug in to any HD or SD television and rightfully display each and every game as the pieces of art they are.

[Ed Oscuro]

$500? Oookay. I can see where some of the money is going already, but that's still too much to justify for all but the most crazy, especially if it's not coming with quality controller + joystick (NES-Advantage-like, but with modern parts) replacements.

@ Fudoh: Indeed, I thought that was a D-subminiature output on the right side as well.

Asking for $50 for a simple VGA -> HDMI adapter is ridiculous and scorn-worthy. However, the site clearly states that it's an external scaler, and includes scanlines...yet at another place they state it's an HDMI adapter (only?) and it's not clearly stated that the scanline generation is done externally or internally. Madness, madness!

Another thing I'm not clear on is whether this uses sacrificial NES parts or not. UmbrellaWizard pointed this out, being reported on The Verge; I was willing to chalk it up to nonsense, but there it is again, on the official site. The only good answer that would justify this is that there's some new hardware in there that is indeed reverse engineered from the originals, making their statement true.

We'll see...no doubt many are willing to pay this kind of money (and it would be attractive actually) for a low-lag method of playing NES games at HD resolutions, and if they have some new chips in there it might be worthwhile. On the other hand, if they're asking $500 for a bunch of well-used sacrificial parts which have been desoldered and thumped back into a case, you know what they can go do to themselves. Only having another signal path using new parts would redeem that situation slightly in my book (but again, you know what they can go do if it's just taking original NESes and destroying them for a vanity product.)

[ApolloBoy]

Another thing I'm not clear on is whether this uses sacrificial NES parts or not.

It has an actual Nintendo/Ricoh CPU and PPU, so yes unfortunately.

[CkRtech]

So the adapter that is $50 - that is their preorder exclusive price as they call it. The $500 for the console is ridiculous. No argument there.

Did you want video cables or controllers with that? Then be prepared to pay even more.

I suppose someone could possibly try to argue the $500 price point (anyone?), but shouldn't you throw your customers a bone and include ONE controller even if it is an aftermarket non-OEM? Yes, you can walk into a game store and drop like $5 to get a knockoff NES controller...but throw one or two of those in with the package if you are asking $500...

Controllers:

OEM NES Controller (Brand New)
$49.00

OEM NES Controller (refurbished)
$29.00

OEM FAMICOM Controller (refurbished)
$29.00

Cables:

HDMI Cable
$19.00

Component Cable
$29.00

Composite/S-video Cable
$29.00

RGB / EUROPEAN SCART
$29.00

RGB / JAPANESE SCART
$29.00

RGB / BNC Cable
$29.00

Famicom Extension Cable
$19.00

NES Extenstion Cable
$19.00

[Fudoh]

I mean, this can't be a completely new design, can it ? It's either based on the Super8 (probably too expensive), or on the design RetroUSB had in mind or on that other FPGA based NES RGB board (Universal PPU). The latter was said to support internal upscaling already.

[Ed Oscuro]

I am also interested in knowing the price of the improved audio signal output. It's of course not a simple improved sound output, but they've also rolled in some kind of stereo mod there as well. This does add a little to the price of engineering, but I'm wondering what the price of their audiophile-grade components is. You can go really nuts with op-amps and gold-grade caps and the like, but even that shouldn't break the bank (unless you buy some ridiculously overspecced equipment; it's possible to buy individual op-amps and certainly capacitors that will cost as much as this asking price, but such things shouldn't be considered).

Again, selling "refurbished" or "brand-new" OEM Nintendo controllers while giving the system such an extensive visual overhaul is very strange, and probably a missed opportunity for all parties. Matching high-quality joysticks would have added to the value proposition, even if they were an additional cost! (Though I would naturally rather it had come partially out of the current price.)

[CkRtech]

You can go really nuts with op-amps and gold-grade caps and the like, but even that shouldn't break the bank (unless you buy some ridiculously overspecced equipment; it's possible to buy individual op-amps and certainly capacitors that will cost as much as this asking price, but such things shouldn't be considered).

And they very well could have done that, however you figure they would tout it on their website if they did. And honestly, perhaps it would help justify their price a bit more.

If they truly think this thing is legit, they really need some positive reviews from credible sources.

[Ed Oscuro]

What I mean is that I'm expecting some good parts in there - not sure on the pricing on Mouser or Digikey, hmm...it's also not clear how many of these they're expecting to sell, so what their economies of scale look like is anybody's guess. Wouldn't be at all surprised if they aren't reaching the 100-count pricing on individual items though. If we can see a board shot I could always give pricing it out a shot, though I'm very unqualified to do that.

[Chacranajxy]

I'm probably buying it.

[Ed Oscuro]

Are you going to hook it up to your television with composite video, like Analogue Interactive was expecting?

I'm gonna find out who it is they know would do that. They're not just kitting this thing out with obsolete hookup options for the sake of completeness, right? Right?

[Chacranajxy]

Are you going to hook it up to your television with composite video, like Analogue Interactive was expecting?

I'm gonna find out who it is they know would do that. They're not just kitting this thing out with obsolete hookup options for the sake of completeness, right? Right?

Does it not have RF-out? Seems like a major design oversight. I may have to change my plans.

[Ed Oscuro]

Sir, I hope I have not worried you without cause. It might reassure you to know that there might be suitable options available for converting one of the other video outputs to RF.

Depending on the output converted, there might be a quality hit over what the system would be able to achieve if it output RF natively.

I'm sure they'll have an appropriately priced option, probably not even $50.

[Chacranajxy]

Seriously, though... $500 and they can't even kick me an RGB cable? Or a controller? Ima get this sonbitch in the mail, open it up, and then realize I can't do shit.

I wanted a motherfucking game system, not a tchotchke from Skymall.



Probably still buying it, though, if they clear up whether they're using the NES RGB mod or their own solution. If I'm shelling out for this thing, it better be some of that real deal, extra pickles.

[BuckoA51]

$500, I dunno, it's on the steep side but, they say it plays FC and NES games in both PAL and NTSC, by the time you've bought a PAL NES, an NTSC NES, a multitap and had them both RGB modded I bet you've run up a fair bill already. Of course, I imagine a lot of people couldn't care less about PAL compatibility anyway.

[Ed Oscuro]

On the other hand, buying something like this for HDMI might be a worse deal than investing in an RGB NES and a Framemeister, which opens up possibilities for many other systems. That comes down to the quality of this system's HDMI output (especially its lag characteristics).

[Chacranajxy]

The HDMI bit is the most intriguing aspect, though yeah, I'm just going to be running the thing through an XRGB anyway. The XRGB is a known quantity, and assuming that they're using the NESRGB mod, I know what to expect from this thing in terms of video quality... but the HDMI thing is too much of a mystery.

[mickcris]

Looking at the specs, it does look they are using viletim's nesrgb board. They have added a few things like an internal component encoder, 4 score, and the extra cart slot though. Will be interesting to see a teardown when someone gets one.

[darcagn]

Another thing I'm not clear on is whether this uses sacrificial NES parts or not. UmbrellaWizard pointed this out, being reported on The Verge; I was willing to chalk it up to nonsense, but there it is again, on the official site. The only good answer that would justify this is that there's some new hardware in there that is indeed reverse engineered from the originals, making their statement true.

Their FAQ says they're gutting Famicoms.

We were able to procure a large quantity of HVC-001 Famicom systems that were in cosmetically undesirable unsellable condition. The plastic enclosure of the HVC-001 systems are notoriously yellowed, brittle and damaged. While the poor enclosure quality left these systems undesirable and sitting on a shelf, fortunately the CPU and PPU inside remain untouched and fully functional.

Not only were we able to give new life to these systems but a large portion of the controllers have been refurbished and are available for sale too.

-

$500, I dunno, it's on the steep side but, they say it plays FC and NES games in both PAL and NTSC, by the time you've bought a PAL NES, an NTSC NES, a multitap and had them both RGB modded I bet you've run up a fair bill already. Of course, I imagine a lot of people couldn't care less about PAL compatibility anyway.

It's not doing anything special it terms of region-free:

While the Analogue Nt is region free and uses the original Nintendo CPU and PPU -- it uses the NTSC 60 Hz PPU versus the PAL 50 Hz PPU. Compatibility issues with certain PAL titles may exist.

[BuckoA51]

It's not doing anything special it terms of region-free:

Ah, good spot. So it's basically as we suspected just a nice FC conversion job. Still assuming it all works as well as they promise if you have $500 burning a hole in your pocket...

[Pasky]

I don't care about tech specs when it's using AIRCRAFT GRADE ALUMINUM, amazing.

[evil_ash_xero]

I don't care about tech specs when it's using AIRCRAFT GRADE ALUMINUM, amazing.

Maybe for another 100 dollars, they could paint WWII era airplane girls on it.
I'm not sure if Master D would approve of this one though.


http://parentseyes.arizona.edu/military ... gel640.jpg

(Slightly NSFW, so changed image to link -Ghegs)

[eightbitminiboss]

I don't care about tech specs when it's using AIRCRAFT GRADE ALUMINUM, amazing.

Maybe for another 100 dollars, they could paint WWII era airplane girls on it.
I'm not sure if Master D would approve of this one though.

Whoa there. Some of us browse shmups at work you know...

[airs]

What the hell? I'm at work..please don't post stuff like that without a spoiler tag, or just post a link to the image with a NSFW tag.

[evil_ash_xero]

Sorry guys. I didn't think it was a big deal, since it was a painting, and "historical".

And no one ever complains about the Gynoug guy.

[McCracAttack]

I've heard from a few places that a lot of the price might be labor costs. They're not manufacturing in bulk so they can't hire a factory in China. That means they're probably making these by hand and paying 1st world labor costs. A few years back I remember Google tried to make an Apple TV style media streamer called the Nexus Q. For whatever reason they tried to make it 100% in the USA and it ended up costing $300 vs. $100 for the Chinese manufactured Apple TV. They also had trouble just finding people that could manufacture parts. At one point they had a gunsmith in Wisconsin milling parts out of, what else, aluminum.

[CkRtech]

Heh. Perhaps they could fab a PCB and case and make it available in a kit form.