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

[Dax]

Seriously great work, guys. You've undertaken an immense amount of work. Super excited!

[ldeveraux]

Why are you guys praising them for finally moving on this project after a lifetime in inactivity? They actually get a little competition and finally the customers are a priority? That's not cool.

[Uzumaki]

Why are you guys praising them for finally moving on this project after a lifetime in inactivity? They actually get a little competition and finally the customers are a priority? That's not cool.

What exactly were they supposed to be doing without any UltraHDMI boards from Marshall in hand?

[Dax]

Why are you guys praising them for finally moving on this project after a lifetime in inactivity? They actually get a little competition and finally the customers are a priority? That's not cool.

I've personally been vocally praising these two on this very thread since I first got in on the group buy, not just now, because they've always been as transparent as they could possibly be with all of us, with the bare minimum of information from the guy behind the production, of which they had no control over. Running a group buy this size has got to be a monumental task, and I know if I was in their shoes I would have given up many months ago. Since the beginning they've been offering refunds to those who wanted out, so there was little else that could have been done.

Waiting is frustrating (as an incredibly impatient person when it comes to ordering tech, I very much get it) but I feel these dudes deserve some recognition.

[TickleMyElmo]

ive never had a problem with the group buys creators or w.e ive taken issue with the fact that the group buy let resellers in , you and ich might not be walmart trying to make a profit but the guys in the group buy buying more than a literal few kits def ARE trying to profit and its sad that they also happen to be the ones whos claiming more than half of the initial 230 kits ... and when hw2 kits or full builds pop up on ebay for like 800 usd or 1000 cad. we can be sure those 230 kits went to a good cause .. someones pocket

So what of the other 200 or so ppl roughly that have paid in full but cant get even close to that 230? just get the digital or w.e its called? i personally dont want that i want the hw2 that i signed up for and im sure theres more people like me that feel this way.

Again nothing against the creators of this group buy , great easy to work with guys but why are the bulk buyers eating up waaaay more than half of the initial 230? you coulda stretched out that 230 to alot more individuals if you would have said ok more than 2 kits your a bulk buyer and you must be moved to the n64digital w.e thinggy as by the sounds of it the digital will have higher production runs anyway so trice why are you giving all the kits to like 20 people?

[ldeveraux]

Why are you guys praising them for finally moving on this project after a lifetime in inactivity? They actually get a little competition and finally the customers are a priority? That's not cool.

I've personally been vocally praising these two on this very thread since I first got in on the group buy, not just now, because they've always been as transparent as they could possibly be with all of us, with the bare minimum of information from the guy behind the production, of which they had no control over. Running a group buy this size has got to be a monumental task, and I know if I was in their shoes I would have given up many months ago. Since the beginning they've been offering refunds to those who wanted out, so there was little else that could have been done.

Waiting is frustrating (as an incredibly impatient person when it comes to ordering tech, I very much get it) but I feel these dudes deserve some recognition.

I guess if you knew from the start that it would take, what has it been, 3 years to finally ship the first Ultra, then you could do nothing but wait. From reading the comments in the past month, it seems like it wasn't meant to take that long though. People heard almost nothing until the N64Digital was first shown. It just seems convenient that once they had a competitor they finally decided to start moving some units. I don't know the chain of command for the Ultra, but it seems like 1 guy trying to get too many units to >230 buyers with too many middle men not keeping anyone properly informed. I understand the middle men likely weren't withholding any info, but that's a pretty big matzo ball to dangle out there.

[CZroe]

Installers/DIY:
I added some pics I left out of that post about removing C-Sync components and routing the analog flex. Edited into the post, but here is the gallery link:
http://imgur.com/a/3Y0cauR

Why are you guys praising them for finally moving on this project after a lifetime in inactivity? They actually get a little competition and finally the customers are a priority? That's not cool.

"Competition?" It seems you have stopped thinking of this as a group buy and have conflated us with Marshall or other UltraHDMI vendors. We're just two dudes who know how to reach Marshall and thought we could motivate him to make more with money on the table. Remember: we don't even make money off the UltraHDMI here. Indeed, we've lost far more than we thought we would (see the PayPal and currency conversion fees listed for each refund). Everyone is free to DIY or bring your own installer and we are just as willing to install N64Digital, so even the optional installation services we offer don't count. That was just us doing our part to help people get UltraHDMI... and now N64Digital.

ive never had a problem with the group buys creators or w.e ive taken issue with the fact that the group buy let resellers in , you and ich might not be walmart trying to make a profit but the guys in the group buy buying more than a literal few kits def ARE trying to profit and its sad that they also happen to be the ones whos claiming more than half of the initial 230 kits ... and when hw2 kits or full builds pop up on ebay for like 800 usd or 1000 cad.  we can be sure those 230 kits went to a good cause .. someones pocket

Marshall only sells to installers but even installers were having trouble getting kits... or even a reaponse. We started the group buy to increase availability and lower prices for anyone still interested in UltraHDMI, and that includes installers.

We still had the connections to order, and we did, but never more than a few kits at a time (minimum order quantity was 3). Clearly, we didn't have the buying power to increase availability and lower prices single-handedly, so we invited others to join. We expected it to grow with each successive round. The previous rounds were much smaller but the idea was to eventually put enough money on the table that Marshall/RetroActive would finally make enough of a mature product to satisfy nearly everyone with one or two huge batches.

HW2 put a wrench in that plan but it is undeniable that putting enough money on the table that Marshall couldn't ignore worked... repeatedly. The group buy secured more HW1 *twice* (maybe three times?) after the last GameTechUS lottery, even prompting additional production after HW1 was discontinued, and now the group buyers are the first with HW2! ...all despite no formal agreement with Marshall.

So what of the other 200 or so ppl roughly that have paid in full but cant get even close to that 230? just get the digital or w.e its called? i personally dont want that i want the hw2 that i signed up for and im sure theres more people like me that feel this way.

Sounds like you missed some good news: Marshall has 400 more UltraHDMI HW2 boards produced and in-hand back in January. He was waiting on cables from Korea which arrived just a few days ago and he is currently evaluating them. The imminent 400 kits is one more reason we have to finish processing these 230 kits right away.

Again nothing against the creators of this group buy , great easy to work with guys but why are the bulk buyers eating up waaaay more than half of the initial 230? you coulda stretched out that 230 to alot more individuals if you would have said ok more than 2 kits your a bulk buyer and you must be moved to the n64digital w.e thinggy as by the sounds of it the digital will have higher production runs anyway so trice why are you giving all the kits to like 20 people?

The bulk orders were probably his biggest motivation, to be honest. If this were as mature as HW1 was I have no doubt that he would have produced all 900 at once and we would be thanking these guys for increasing supply/availability and lowering prices.

Also,we were losing a few cents for every single kit shipped only slightly offset by the people ordering multiple. It was a delicate balance that has been completely lost now that we are losing money to PayPal fees with almost every refund.

I guess if you knew from the start that it would take, what has it been, 3 years to finally ship the first Ultra, then you could do nothing but wait. From reading the comments in the past month, it seems like it wasn't meant to take that long though. People heard almost nothing until the N64Digital was first shown. It just seems convenient that once they had a competitor they finally decided to start moving some units. I don't know the chain of command for the Ultra, but it seems like 1 guy trying to get too many units to >230 buyers with too many middle men not keeping anyone properly informed. I understand the middle men likely weren't withholding any info, but that's a pretty big matzo ball to dangle out there.

It was almost the worst possible timing, since they had already shipped two days before the announcement. Check the tracking history for yourself if you don't believe me: https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmA ... 2700396059

January 28th. Nothing "convenient" about that timing, I assure you.

If you look back you will see that we reported on a conversation from Marshall about potentially gettting the first shipment of 80 in December. You will also see that in order to get Marshall to finish the other 200+ kits on-hand Ichinisan suggested that he could ship them all together. Marshall never said he was doing that but it appears he did since December came and went and then we got all 230 at once. In the mean time we were left to wonder.

Even once we had tracking on Jan 28, we knew it doesn't mean much until it starts moving and that it could still sit on Marshall's couch for a month (like December!). To avoid getting people excited for nothing, Ichinisan decided to share that info the moment he saw it moving. It was going to be in the monthly update for January whether it was moving yet or not, so he was prepared to mention it on January 31st regardless. Ichinisan shared the tracking details a day early due to the N64Digital announcement. In case you thought the shipment itself was prompted by N64Digital, I even showed proof that I had mentioned it on AtariAge before N64Digital was announced:


Neither of us were aware of N64Digital when these started shipping so the implication that we suddenly "decided" to move them (as if it was even our decision) and we're just sitting on them is, honestly, a little insulting. Marshall had them, not us. We aren't partnered or anything. We are at his mercy, same as everyone else. Even so, we really did get shipping details for the first package before the N64Digital announcement. All 230 really did arrive at the same time on Feb 5th as shown on my nest camera:
https://i.imgur.com/gX2yAuk.gifv

Unless Marshall knew this was happening before the announcement (we certainly didn't), shipping was not prompted by N64Digital.

[TooBeaucoup]

I certainly don't blame the guys helping run the group buy. They can't control what Marshall does. With that said, it is certainly weird, on Marshall's part, that the N64 Digital was announced and suddenly, he has a couple hundred units ready. I have no knowledge of what went on other than unfounded suspicions, but it's certainly quite the coincidence. LOL!

[CZroe]

I certainly don't blame the guys helping run the group buy. They can't control what Marshall does. With that said, it is certainly weird, on Marshall's part, that the N64 Digital was announced and suddenly, he has a couple hundred units ready. I have no knowledge of what went on other than unfounded suspicions, but it's certainly quite the coincidence. LOL!

Again:
https://tools.usps.com/go/TrackConfirmA ... 2700396059

January 28th.

N64Digital was announced January 30th. Unless Marshall knew something we didn't then it was NOT prompted by N64Digital. Indeed, if you reach back through Ichinisan's updates you will see that they discussed delaying the first 80 of this exact shipment from December to ship them all together. Though Marshall did not confirm that he was shipping them all together per Ichinisan's suggestion, January 28th is right in line with what we've been saying for months. Nothing weird about it happening when it happened at all, though I think it's weird that Marshall didn't tell us he was taking that option and left us wondering through December.

Here is the relevant excerpt from the conversation Ichinisan shared in one of his November post:

Marshall [2020-11-22 12:11]
- ok
- i’ll focus on getting your outstanding stuff shipped
- the 80 order is ready to ship
- you have an updated address?

Ichinisan [2020-11-22 12:19]
- Cool. It's still J E Turner, [you guys know it]
- …or the new PO Box might be better
- Just a sec...
- J. E. Turner
- PO Box [you guys know it]
- ...or I can still drive out there!
- If it's easier to finish the other 150 and ship one package, that's cool too.
- Whichever is easier / safer for you.

I don't want to put all this on Marshall though. You could say that we are responsible for delaying those 80 in our attempt to get him to ship more... and he did ship a lot more so I'd say that worked. We just thought that 200+ in January was going to be a lot less disappointing to people who were still waiting than 80 in December after more than a year.

[TooBeaucoup]

^^^ I'm certainly no conspiracy theorist. Like I said, it's just quite the coincidence.

[CZroe]

I missed this...

...what has it been, 3 years to finally ship the first Ultra

The last shipment was August/September, 2019, months after availability dried up elsewhere. Also, we got the first HW2 in August 2020. Yes, it was deducted from the first 80. Yes, it has still been an unacceptably long time even with these corrections but we are only trying to help and this hyperbole and FUD is not helping. Perhaps you confused the thread start date with the start of Round 7. Regardless, you can help by being more careful or not exaggerating. It scares people and causes problems for everyone. Thanks!

I should have nipped this in the bud a long time ago. Ichinisan was too nice to say anything but I believe in being direct and I hope LeonK appreciates the perspective I'm about to share (I certainly appreciate him):

Timing is everything and I seem to have the worst timing. As you know I placed my order in early 2019 and find my self 2nd on the current list. But wow. 2.5 years and waiting after paying full price for 3 kits. You think there’s any hope of me getting anything in 2020?

Even LeonK said this back in August when he had only been in the group buy one year. Not only that, but we had already sent him some of our personal kits that we paid for, at-cost, essentially giving up thousand of dollars, all because he was confused about his place in line when he signed up. To say we felt under-appreciated in that moment was an understatement but Ichinisan chose to respond with positive news instead by immediately following Leon's post with pics of a single HW2 kit in-hand.

...and now:
"[2021-02-04] leonk [refunded] $406
Absorbed PayPal fee ($18.16) and currency conversion fee ($4.99)"
...another $24 forked over to the banks and PayPal.

Honestly, anyone else would've told him "your kits are arriving tomorrow; no refunds after money is spent" but Ichinisan was gracious enough to take the loss.

Please remember that we are not vendors making money and taking losses from profits to satisfy customers. This is a non-profit group buy. When we give up potential profit or lose money to currency conversion or PayPal fees, we really are losing money in order to help like-minded N64 fans.

^^^ I'm certainly no conspiracy theorist. Like I said, it's just quite the coincidence.

It would be if the order were reversed. I have my suspicions that Marshall knew something but shipping in January was perfectly in line with what he and Ichinisan discussed and shared here back in November.

[tacoguy64]

I just wanna voice my support for the guys running this group buy. I was able to get in on probably the last group buy before this whole thing happened and i had nothing but a great experience. They were super helpful and even went what I felt was above and beyond to make sure i was taken care of. A shame how this whole thing went down. I haven't read the entire thread but only this page, seem like circumstances beyond their control.

[CZroe]

We appreciate the support, guys. Sorry if it seems like I'm only responding to the other posts but when I'm stuck at work with down-time and Ichinisan is busy with UltraHDMI it just seems like I should be doing damage control.

Anyway, he was still upstairs in the staging room when I got there last night. I heard a funny sound from one of the 3D printers pumping out universal-region cartridge trays for the group buy:

Full

Looks like the filament snapped past the run-out sensor, which means the printer would not have detected it and it would have ruined the print had it not happened right when I walked in. Ichinisan had to babysit the remnant, manually trip the sensor when it was nearly used, and then do a filament change procedure. Now we have to worry about leaving it unattended while we work on other things. Ugh!

See? Ichinisan needs me there. Time to quit my job...

J/K, but I plan to be late tomorrow so I can make my scheduled vaccine appointment. Ichinisan and our mother are scheduled for tomorrow as well but he'll be right back to working on UltraHDMI. It was Presidents' Day yesterday so nothing he prepared since Saturday actually shipped until today. Should be another load on the way to you now!

[Eclipse00]

I'm currently 88 on the list. I still need to send you my N64 and update my shipping address (I moved).

I'm assuming one of you will email again when its time for that?

[terzdesign]

Any word on whether or not participants can opt to be switched to N64Digital or not?

Sorry if it's been answered.

[PressLeft]

I got in relatively late, August of 2020. The same month I happened to also successfully nab a pre-order an Analogue Pocket. So I realize I’ve waited far less than others and that I’ve been fairly lucky with retro-game tech. But it seemed pretty clear when I jumped on board that there wouldn’t be any expectation of timeline for delivery on these things. I of course want a digital solution for my N64 as soon as possible, but I’m more than happy with the service from Ichisan and CZRoe here.

I see a lot of negativity right now, and it’s not all unfounded, but I just wanted to express my thanks for organizing this group-buy in the first place! The N64Digital wasn’t something we could have expected even a couple months ago, so waiting on this group buy was the best bet I felt I had. I’m extremely excited for it, and since August I’ve actually become the parent of a 6 year old boy who is *very* into the N64 sitting in my office. It’ll be really cool to get to share in the excitement of this visual upgrade with him when it finally gets delivered!

Thanks for your hard work fellas!

[The1legend]

Hi thanks again guys for putting this group together its been a bumpy ride for round 7 but the light is at the end of the tunnel . I'm well within the first batch of kits , there was a post earlier about reaching out to confirm addresses and to see who wants Dac attachments but i never received an email, i did send an email inquiring about it but i have yet to receive reply which is to be expected considering the amount of people in this group buy . I'm curious did I get overlooked or are you guys still going through the lists ?

[edd247]

Hi thanks again guys for putting this group together its been a bumpy ride for round 7 but the light is at the end of the tunnel . I'm well within the first batch of kits , there was a post earlier about reaching out to confirm addresses and to see who wants Dac attachments but i never received an email, i did send an email inquiring about it but i have yet to receive reply which is to be expected considering the amount of people in this group buy . I'm curious did I get overlooked or are you guys still going through the lists ?

Check the spreadsheet. It looks like if you have a serial number on your name then you should be in the first batch.

[Max_P0]

I am at Number 174.

I will take refund or kits.. whatever...

[ldeveraux]

Glad to see I was wrong about most events relating to this group buy.

[dryja123]

I missed this...

Please remember that we are not vendors making money and taking losses from profits to satisfy customers. This is a non-profit group buy. When we give up potential profit or lose money to currency conversion or PayPal fees, we really are losing money in order to help like-minded N64 fans.

Where are you donating the money made from the 200+ installs? To say you’re not profiting from this is simply untrue.

[Max_P0]

I missed this...

Please remember that we are not vendors making money and taking losses from profits to satisfy customers. This is a non-profit group buy. When we give up potential profit or lose money to currency conversion or PayPal fees, we really are losing money in order to help like-minded N64 fans.

Where are you donating the money made from the 200+ installs? To say you’re not profiting from this is simply untrue.

Why the fuck would they give up money from installs? installation is an added service.

[schnuth]

The entitlement in this thread is mind blowing.

[rivlez]

Thank you guys for everything. It hasn't been easy and people have been blaming you for no reason. You are just the middle man helping us out.

[Dax]

Thank you guys for everything. It hasn't been easy and people have been blaming you for no reason. You are just the middle man helping us out.

Echoing this. Thank you again, Ichinisan and CZroe. You both deserve recognition and are doing the best you can.

[flipsideaut]

Thank you guys for everything. It hasn't been easy and people have been blaming you for no reason. You are just the middle man helping us out.

Echoing this. Thank you again, Ichinisan and CZroe. You both deserve recognition and are doing the best you can.

Im thinking the same, yes it took a while, but im thankful for the possibility you guys giving us with the group buy, cant wait to get an email from Ichinisan or CZroe.
And i think its OK to "earn" some money with the install, cmon everybodies time is valuable!

Could someone maybe tell me if i have to "unpopulate" something if i only want to use HDMI and on a NUS-CPU(P)-02 ? -> The 02 PAL version as im located in Europe.
-> it seems on the NUS-CPU(P)-02 board there is pretty much everything missing compared to the pictures where CZroe marked the un/populated components.

https://nintendo64.fandom.com/wiki/NUS-CPU(P)-02

Thanks in advance!
BR Flipside

[rivlez]

Thank you guys for everything. It hasn't been easy and people have been blaming you for no reason. You are just the middle man helping us out.

Echoing this. Thank you again, Ichinisan and CZroe. You both deserve recognition and are doing the best you can.

Let's see. Who else is selling these? NOBODY. Go buy on eBay for $1000 if you can't wait. I don't see anyone else devoting their time to helping us out. Marshall could be blamed but not these guys. They are stand up guys that are actually taking losses on this stuff and some here have the audacity to bitch and moan about Julian and James.

[10mile]

Where are you donating the money made from the 200+ installs? To say you’re not profiting from this is simply untrue.

Lmao how braindead are you? Got your first allowance from mom and dad and just finding out now that people pay for services?

I’ve been a huge detractor of how this ultrahdmi buy has been handled (mostly due to Marshall’s communication) and even I’ve got to say this is the worst fuckin take yet.

Thanks to Ichinisan and czroe for their hard work once Marshall made the product available to them.

[evildede]

I missed this...

Please remember that we are not vendors making money and taking losses from profits to satisfy customers. This is a non-profit group buy. When we give up potential profit or lose money to currency conversion or PayPal fees, we really are losing money in order to help like-minded N64 fans.

Where are you donating the money made from the 200+ installs? To say you’re not profiting from this is simply untrue.

What, you expect them to install it for you for free? I'm perfectly fine with paying someone else 50$ for an install I cannot do myself. Time is money, but the fact they are not profiting from anything else but the install shows they actually really care about getting this in the hands of as many people as possible. Nobody in their right mind would spend all this time soldering/shipping kits for free considering the insane amount of time it takes!

The ones profiting are those selling their N64 after on ebay for 600-700$ or more.

[TrainerDLYellow]

Ichinisan and CZroe seem like they're trying to do right by us. In the future I hope they distance themselves from Marshall. He's proven unreliable, where as the Pixel FX team have not. They'll be getting my money because of that fact.