UltraHDMI group-buy ROUND 7 - 2021-01-30 UPDATE

[Windfish]

Is it too late to hop on the bandwagon? XD

[Ichinisan]

Is it too late to hop on the bandwagon? XD

Nope. Shoot me an email

[Windfish]

Is it too late to hop on the bandwagon? XD

Nope. Shoot me an email

I'll be in touch!

[Ichinisan]

Has Round 7 been submitted yet?

Sorry I missed this question before. Email me if you want to join round 7.

To participate:

• Email
  .
  .
• Tell me which name / alias you prefer to use
  It will be visible to other participants on the public list.
  .
• Tell me if you are interested in kit+install or just the kit
  (and how many)
  .
• Tell me if you want a mini HDMI cable.
  Most people need one. It's $5.
  .
• Tell me your name, return address, and preferred email address.
  .
• If you are getting installation, tell me which color you prefer for the power LED
  White, green, blue, yellow, or keep it red.
  .
• Tell me how you heard about the group-buy.

Thanks!

[Ichinisan]

Still working my way back through the round 7 inquiries as I continue to receive more. Round 6 is done except for the one N64 I'm still waiting to receive. I contacted Marshall a few nights ago and he showed me some updates about the next hardware revision, which he has been working on for almost two years. There's a good chance the round 7 batch will be the new HW2 design. Still, I can't be sure about that. I thought the previous two rounds might be HW2, but Marshall had some difficulty getting the new manufacturing partner lined up.

The round 6 participants list increased by one. I retroactively added tigurxi and let him buy one of my own UltraHDMI boards at-cost. He's replacing a defective board he got elsewhere, so he needs an HW1 board that will work with his existing flat cable. HW2 will have a revised flat cable and connector, which includes the in-game reset connection (no need to run a separate wire for that).

[djc5166]

Still working my way back through the round 7 inquiries as I continue to receive more. Round 6 is done except for the one N64 I'm still waiting to receive. I contacted Marshall a few nights ago and he showed me some updates about the next hardware revision, which he has been working on for almost two years. There's a good chance the round 7 batch will be the new HW2 design. Still, I can't be sure about that. I thought the previous two rounds might be HW2, but Marshall had some difficulty getting the new manufacturing partner lined up.

The round 6 participants list increased by one. I retroactively added tigurxi and let him buy one of my own UltraHDMI boards at-cost. He's replacing a defective board he got elsewhere, so he needs an HW1 board that will work with his existing flat cable. HW2 will have a revised flat cable and connector, which includes the in-game reset connection (no need to run a separate wire for that).

Interested in joining again for round 7, but really only if it is HW2 being sold. Think we will get told if it is HW2 before you put in your order?

[Ichinisan]

Still working my way back through the round 7 inquiries as I continue to receive more. Round 6 is done except for the one N64 I'm still waiting to receive. I contacted Marshall a few nights ago and he showed me some updates about the next hardware revision, which he has been working on for almost two years. There's a good chance the round 7 batch will be the new HW2 design. Still, I can't be sure about that. I thought the previous two rounds might be HW2, but Marshall had some difficulty getting the new manufacturing partner lined up.

The round 6 participants list increased by one. I retroactively added tigurxi and let him buy one of my own UltraHDMI boards at-cost. He's replacing a defective board he got elsewhere, so he needs an HW1 board that will work with his existing flat cable. HW2 will have a revised flat cable and connector, which includes the in-game reset connection (no need to run a separate wire for that).

Interested in joining again for round 7, but really only if it is HW2 being sold. Think we will get told if it is HW2 before you put in your order?

I've started sending "last call" notices. At this point I expect to submit the order on Saturday October 26.

I'll ask Marshall if he's ready to clarify whether the next batch will be the HW1 design or HW2...

[Dax]

I've started sending "last call" notices. At this point I expect to submit the order on Saturday October 26.

I'll ask Marshall if he's ready to clarify whether the next batch will be the HW1 design or HW2...

Any update on this? Would love to know if things are going through on round seven! Also finding out what hardware revision it is.

[Ichinisan]

I've started sending "last call" notices. At this point I expect to submit the order on Saturday October 26.

I'll ask Marshall if he's ready to clarify whether the next batch will be the HW1 design or HW2...

Any update on this? Would love to know if things are going through on round seven! Also finding out what hardware revision it is.

Marshall sent me a picture on October 10 showing a final HW2 board dated "090419" next to a prototype from last year. It seems the HW2 design is done.

I had a quick chat with Marshall a few days ago in which he confirmed that the next production batch will be HW2.

12:20 AM Ichinisan
- I'm sending out "last call" notices. Hope to be ready to place an order on Saturday.
- I've told group-buy participants that I can't really guess how long a production batch will take (and the possible transition to HW2 makes it more uncertain). They're willing to wait as long as it takes though.
- Think you'll do another HW1 batch?

12:23 AM Marshall H
- pretty unlikely
- i'll only do it if i have too many HW1 failures

I wasn't sure what he meant by that, so I stated what I think he meant:

12:25 AM Ichinisan
- Sounds like the next one is likely to be the first of the new HW2 design. I'll probably order a bunch of the add-on modules too
- Thanks

12:25 AM Marshall H
- np
- glad there are patient people out there

I've been sending out last-call notices and getting a ton of responses. Retro-HDMI joined yesterday and paid for 100 kits -- and this was already the largest order by a huge margin.

Tomorrow I should receive a large check in the mail from a family member, so I'll be getting some kits for myself in the same order.

I'll get through all these back-and-forth messages and submit the order in the next day or two.

[Ichinisan]

Sorry I couldn't get back to the thread earlier today (staying busy).

The large check I am expecing from a family member did not arrive, so I talked to him and learned it was issued/sent on Tuesday October 29 in such a way that it's not expected to arrive until Tuesday November 5.

I'll be using multiple payment methods to order the kits for the group-buy and for myself, so I will contact RetroActive on Saturday (November 2) to place a couple large orders. Then I will order the rest when I receive the check I am expecting.

I'll update as the orders are sent.

[Dax]

Sorry I couldn't get back to the thread earlier today (staying busy).

The large check I am expecing from a family member did not arrive, so I talked to him and learned it was issued/sent on Tuesday October 29 in such a way that it's not expected to arrive until Tuesday November 5.

I'll be using multiple payment methods to order the kits for the group-buy and for myself, so I will contact RetroActive on Saturday (November 2) to place a couple large orders. Then I will order the rest when I receive the check I am expecting.

I'll update as the orders are sent.

Fantastic. Thanks for the update, dude.

[Ichinisan]

I contacted Marshall today and offered to make a large order to start, and a few more large orders over the next couple days. He can't take online payments at the moment because his payment processor did some kind of compliance update and broke compatibility with his ordering page, so he'll have to work through that at some point. Tomorrow (Monday November 4) I will go to the bank and wire-transfer the first of several large orders as I consolidate all the payments I am still receiving.

Marshall said he should be able to produce some more DAC modules to go with the small test batch of HW2 units he already has, and sometime soon he will send me a few HW2 units to test out. I'm glad to be the guinea pig, since I can recover from any issues we discover (such as a few bricks I experienced while testing early builds of firmware 1.08).

One of the pictures he shared with me shows some analog output options for HW2:

Full size: https://i.imgur.com/lx4j4E8.jpg

[edit]

Meanwhile I have a lot of Reddit messages and emails to get back to. I'll respond to everyone before I finish placing all the orders. There's still time

[nmalinoski]

Exciting! Any word if HW2 will have the same mounting as HW1?

[Ichinisan]

Exciting! Any word if HW2 will have the same mounting as HW1?

It definitely sits in the same spot based on the pictures I have seen. The shape of the board is a bit different to accommodate an extra flex PCB for the optional analog connections to the AV multi-out connector, but I believe the mini HDMI port is in the same spot.

It can't be a drop-in replacement for HW1 because the main flat cable was also revised (primarily to include the in-game reset connection, which was added to HW1 as an afterthought). The flat cable connector also has a flip-up release, so it won't break as easily when people try to open it.

[BuckoA51]

He can't take online payments at the moment because his payment processor did some kind of compliance update

There's been some big changes for payments here in the EU but Stripe should have been able to handle it. I am fairly sure that's what he uses as he recommended them to me. Saying that, the changes did break some stuff on the back end of our accounting s/w and now I'm having to manually input a ton of data every week

Nice to hear Marshall is still alive though, he's not replied to my emails in a while, I guess the guy is just snowed under.

[Ichinisan]

I made the first of several large payments yesterday. I'll make a few more as I continue to consolidate payments. I hope to order a lot more when Marshall updates his order page to work with his payment processor again (so I can use a card instead of doing a wire transfer). Until then I will keep adding anyone who reaches out to me.

[1alexb]

Can you please sneak me in on this group buy!!! , I have been waiting forever with Game-tech and just now went looking for other options to get a couple ultra hdmi kits

[1alexb]

Can you please sneak me in on the Group buy in november 2019? I am on a waiting list at game-tech and seems it like I have been waiting forever, so I went searching and just found out about this group buy!
I would like to get 2 ultra hdmi mod kits

[NeoDiNardo]

I emailed you with info for me to get in on the group buy for the round 7 of the N64 UltraHDMI mod. Thanks so much in advance.

[NeoDiNardo]

Also what does the HW2 get me, I like having the latest and greatest of course.

[Windfish]

Orders have been placed? Some? All?

[Johnpv]

I've only recently found out there was going to be a new version of the UltraHDMI. If I have HW1 and have no plans or needs for an analog connection will there be any reason to upgrade over HW1? (from what little I could gather that seems to be one of the main differences)

[nmalinoski]

I've only recently found out there was going to be a new version of the UltraHDMI. If I have HW1 and have no plans or needs for an analog connection will there be any reason to upgrade over HW1? (from what little I could gather that seems to be one of the main differences)

HW1 is plenty capable as-is. I think we're still missing details on HW2, like an actual list of new features and any kind of release window. If you want something now, and, like you said, don't need analogue RGB, get HW1; I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[Dax]

Orders have been placed? Some? All?

Pumped for updates, too! Eager to hear if we've reached the next step.

[Ichinisan]

Orders have been placed? Some? All?

Some. I've asked Marshall again if he will have the order page updated soon for card orders. Still expecting him to do it very soon.

I've only recently found out there was going to be a new version of the UltraHDMI. If I have HW1 and have no plans or needs for an analog connection will there be any reason to upgrade over HW1? (from what little I could gather that seems to be one of the main differences)

The only new feature I'm aware of is the optional add-on DAC module to enable analog RGB and component Y/Pb/Pr output. For a flat-panel TV, you should always use digital HDMI. The optional module enables the best analog picture quality possible with an old CRT display. So the extra feature has limited appeal, but I've already talked with many people who fit that niche. Some are competitive players who want to capture HDMI for presentation / streaming, while playing on a high quality CRT. Other changes with HW2 don't really count as new features. The in-game reset (IGR) feature was added to HW1 as an afterthought, but HW2 has a revised flat cable that includes the extra connection so you don't need to run a separate wire and the UltraHDMI will not be permanently tethered to the N64 board. Also the connector for the main flat cable has a flip-up latch to open the connector, so now it's easier to open without breaking the connector.

When the ordering page is updated and the price is finalized for the add-on modules, I will contact each participant to ask if they want to order it. I'll add a column to the public list of participants at that point to indicate who has selected the DAC module.

I've only recently found out there was going to be a new version of the UltraHDMI. If I have HW1 and have no plans or needs for an analog connection will there be any reason to upgrade over HW1? (from what little I could gather that seems to be one of the main differences)

HW1 is plenty capable as-is. I think we're still missing details on HW2, like an actual list of new features and any kind of release window. If you want something now, and, like you said, don't need analogue RGB, get HW1; I don't think you'll be disappointed.

Correct. If you play on a flat-panel display, HW1 with an HDMI connection is perfect and there would be no difference doing the same thing with UltraHDMI HW2.

[Dax]

Some. I've asked Marshall again if he will have the order page updated soon for card orders. Still expecting him to do it very soon.

Thanks for the update, dude! Hopefully he updates his order page/payment methods super soon.

[Ichinisan]

I emailed you with info for me to get in on the group buy for the round 7 of the N64 UltraHDMI mod. Thanks so much in advance.

Your first posts finally appeared several days after you already reached me by email. You're on the list!

Also what does the HW2 get me, I like having the latest and greatest of course.

HW2 known differences:

- revised main flat cable includes the connection for the in-game reset (IGR) feature

- main flat cable connector on the UltraHDMI board now has a different connector that is easier to open without breaking it

- has another connector for an optional DAC add-on module + flex PCB to connect to existing AV multi-out. Enables analog RGB and component Y/Pb/Pr output (useful for some CRT displays). The add-on is expected to cost $20 or $30.

[KAJJ324]

Thanks for posting,

If round 7 is still available:

I emailed you with the info you requested for round 7

Happy Thanksgiving!

[lodgenorth]

Just shot an email over, but left out proffered email. It's just the email I sent it to you from.

Thanks for organizing this.

[Ichinisan]

Just shot an email over, but left out proffered email. It's just the email I sent it to you from.

Thanks for organizing this.

Sorry for the delay. I finally responded to your email just now!