RetroTINK 5x-Pro

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LDigital
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by LDigital »

Yes I have it set to vrr. No extensive testing done though. It just happily settles at the off spec refresh rate and delivers a perfectly smooth image. So for an arcade core running at 55, no problemo.

This device has been an absolute gamechanger for me. I sold my ossc and am currently weighing up whether to cash in my last remaining bvm for some money and space
Steven
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by Steven »

VRR certainly didn't help with some of the Toaplan PCBs I tested it on; triple buffer is pretty much the only thing that I've found that seems to get it to work on pretty much everything, but maybe I missed some other setting that I was supposed to enable.
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by EnragedWhale »

Ok so I stopped being lazy, updated my RT5X and tried out the VRR setting with a PAL megadrive that runs at 49.something HZ and always caused stuttering in the scrolling 240p test suite tests. With VRR enabled it’s smooth at a reported 49.2hz (LG C1).

I cannot believe what a game changer this device has been for me.
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by thchardcore »

Steven wrote:VRR certainly didn't help with some of the Toaplan PCBs I tested it on; triple buffer is pretty much the only thing that I've found that seems to get it to work on pretty much everything, but maybe I missed some other setting that I was supposed to enable.
What Toaplan PCBs did you test?
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Steven
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by Steven »

thchardcore wrote:
Steven wrote:VRR certainly didn't help with some of the Toaplan PCBs I tested it on; triple buffer is pretty much the only thing that I've found that seems to get it to work on pretty much everything, but maybe I missed some other setting that I was supposed to enable.
What Toaplan PCBs did you test?
Ghox and I think Hishouzame are the only ones that I really remember, and I also don't have the equipment or the PCBs, though; my friend has all of that. I just have the RT5X. We tested it before the VRR like 5 months ago and we found that you pretty much need the triple buffer on for Toaplan PCBs as a general rule, but I think Slap Fight, and only Slap Fight, was fine without it, but we didn't test Tiger-Heli, which runs on the same board, but that's probably fine too. We did have some weirdness with Hishouzame getting partially cut off and stuff 5 months ago, though.
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by thchardcore »

Ok, so no issues now with triple buffer on latest firmware? I want to try my Batsugun.
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by ZellSF »

I'm trying to use this to do a capture from an analogue source (laserdisc) and since I have a shitty capture card that only supports 720p I'm trying to use the scaling options to display the image 1:1 in a 720p frame. Testing this a bit I have two questions:

1) Is this actually possible? The results look good, but the numbers in the scaling options don't make much sense. I set the horizontal size to as small as it gets before it starts glitching (865) and the vertical size to the smallest size interlaced weave lines look even (482). How much scaling takes place then and how?

2) When I capture composite directly, I get more lines with my capture card than I can get via the Retrotink5X. Seems no matter what settings I choose, the bottom line (or two?) gets cut off. Is this expected? It's not a huge deal since I'm going to crop to 480 anyway, but I don't understand what's happening here.

Second question is more important since I really don't understand what's going on there.
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Josh128
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by Josh128 »

LDigital wrote:Yes I have it set to vrr. No extensive testing done though. It just happily settles at the off spec refresh rate and delivers a perfectly smooth image. So for an arcade core running at 55, no problemo.

This device has been an absolute gamechanger for me. I sold my ossc and am currently weighing up whether to cash in my last remaining bvm for some money and space

This is quite spectacular news. What firmware are you running?
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orange808
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by orange808 »

Smoothing out output from an emulator isn't that surprising. Performs as expected. The idiosyncrasies of PCB's aren't reproduced by an emulator--only the refresh rate. The voltages and shape of the signals from the real PCB won't be reproduced.
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by bobrocks95 »

orange808 wrote:Smoothing out output from an emulator isn't that surprising. Performs as expected. The idiosyncrasies of PCB's aren't reproduced by an emulator--only the refresh rate. The voltages and shape of the signals from the real PCB won't be reproduced.
Has anyone reported using an actual 55Hz PCB (a Mortal Kombat maybe?) with the new VRR option making it compatible with their display when it wasn't before?
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by Steven »

bobrocks95 wrote:
orange808 wrote:Smoothing out output from an emulator isn't that surprising. Performs as expected. The idiosyncrasies of PCB's aren't reproduced by an emulator--only the refresh rate. The voltages and shape of the signals from the real PCB won't be reproduced.
Has anyone reported using an actual 55Hz PCB (a Mortal Kombat maybe?) with the new VRR option making it compatible with their display when it wasn't before?
Had problems with Hishouzame, which runs at 54.8Hz according to MAME. Only triple buffer got it working.
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by bobrocks95 »

Steven wrote:
bobrocks95 wrote:
orange808 wrote:Smoothing out output from an emulator isn't that surprising. Performs as expected. The idiosyncrasies of PCB's aren't reproduced by an emulator--only the refresh rate. The voltages and shape of the signals from the real PCB won't be reproduced.
Has anyone reported using an actual 55Hz PCB (a Mortal Kombat maybe?) with the new VRR option making it compatible with their display when it wasn't before?
Had problems with Hishouzame, which runs at 54.8Hz according to MAME. Only triple buffer got it working.
I should read more of the thread before posting, my bad.
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LDigital
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by LDigital »

Josh128 wrote:
LDigital wrote:Yes I have it set to vrr. No extensive testing done though. It just happily settles at the off spec refresh rate and delivers a perfectly smooth image. So for an arcade core running at 55, no problemo.

This device has been an absolute gamechanger for me. I sold my ossc and am currently weighing up whether to cash in my last remaining bvm for some money and space

This is quite spectacular news. What firmware are you running?
2.77 although I may have overstated its usefulness. Going back to check it seems I had mister set to 50hz for Irem which is why it was so flawless. I didn’t realise beforehand.
Irem is usually 55.

It’s still awesome though
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by neorichieb1971 »

Is a monitor like the QD-OLED a bit over the top of the RT5x at 240hz?

I wanted to buy 2 monitors but its price is quite high. Was hoping to get a 1440p monitor in the £300 range that would suffice.

I'm assuming the OLED technology is what makes it better rather than 240hz. I'm not buying until 2023 so no hurry.
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by orange808 »

What gaming use case are people using 240hz refresh for? And, how would I leverage that capability for a better experience while using my RT5x video processor with legacy game hardware? ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by neorichieb1971 »

orange808 wrote:What gaming use case are people using 240hz refresh for? And, how would I leverage that capability for a better experience while using my RT5x video processor with legacy game hardware? ¯⁠\⁠_⁠(⁠ツ⁠)⁠_⁠/⁠¯
I'm kinda on the same page. I just spoke to Guzpas and he went for this QD-OLED monitor but may not be exclusively for retrotink usage. I just want a good monitor for vertical shmups on the retrotink. I am only looking for "good enough" and only willing to spend extra if its necessary. Folk seem to think an OLED just gives a better performance regardless of 240hz refresh.
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bobrocks95
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by bobrocks95 »

Insane overkill for solely RT5X usage. The 42" LG C2 OLED is on sale for $800 USD right now anyways.

For PC gaming CPUs are lagging way behind in terms of gen on gen improvement anyways. Even at 4K max settings I have some games where my Ryzen 3700X is slower than my RTX 3080 and bottlenecking me- hitting 240Hz consistently would require a CPU about 3x faster, which at the going rate will take what 15 years?
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by neorichieb1971 »

bobrocks95 wrote:Insane overkill for solely RT5X usage. The 42" LG C2 OLED is on sale for $800 USD right now anyways.

For PC gaming CPUs are lagging way behind in terms of gen on gen improvement anyways. Even at 4K max settings I have some games where my Ryzen 3700X is slower than my RTX 3080 and bottlenecking me- hitting 240Hz consistently would require a CPU about 3x faster, which at the going rate will take what 15 years?
I'm looking for a monitor I can TATE on a desk, a 42" OLED is gonna be a lot bigger than the desk which is about 35". I need something about 24" to 28" with a 10CM Vesa on it.
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by bobrocks95 »

neorichieb1971 wrote:
bobrocks95 wrote:Insane overkill for solely RT5X usage. The 42" LG C2 OLED is on sale for $800 USD right now anyways.

For PC gaming CPUs are lagging way behind in terms of gen on gen improvement anyways. Even at 4K max settings I have some games where my Ryzen 3700X is slower than my RTX 3080 and bottlenecking me- hitting 240Hz consistently would require a CPU about 3x faster, which at the going rate will take what 15 years?
I'm looking for a monitor I can TATE on a desk, a 42" OLED is gonna be a lot bigger than the desk which is about 35". I need something about 24" to 28" with a 10CM Vesa on it.
Different market segments, but I was more pointing out that $1000 for a 27-inch ultrawide 1440p monitor is pretty silly when you can get a 42" 4K screen for $200 less and won't be hitting 240Hz much anyways.

If you just want a ~27" 1440p screen the LG 27GL850-B is the best recommended rtings monitor around your price range. Not sure if international model numbers differ. Comes on a rotating and height-adjusting stand as well.

If you really will just be using the RT5X you can even get a cheaper 60Hz display as well.
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Josh128
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by Josh128 »

I literally paid about $200 on my LG32QN600-B. 32", IPS, 1440p. Perfect for evenly scaled 480p scanlines if you so choose. Havent seen how 480p scanllines scale to 4K, on the 5X but I know they dont scale evenly. Probably will need to RT4K to get something that really looks good for 480p and 720p sources.
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Guspaz
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by Guspaz »

There aren't any 27" QD-OLED monitors (though rumours are that Samsung may be working on one for Apple), but there are multiple 27" 2560x1440 240 Hz WOLED monitors coming out soon. They use LG panels, and they're only 1440p because that puts their pixel density close to their 42" TVs (they've never managed to scale pixel density higher for WOLED panels). I know that LG's model was announced some time ago at a $1000 pricepoint, ASUS announced their model based on the same panel with an unknown pricepoint, Dough (formerly Eve) announced an OLED version of their Spectrum monitor series using the panel with pre-orders for $649 and final retail price at $1099 (but the stand is extra on both of Dough's pricepoints).

I believe that all of these 27" OLED models are VESA mountable, which means they should be easy to rotate.

I have the 34" QD-OLED monitor, the Dell AW3423DW, which is 3440x1440 at 175Hz. I don't regret the purchase, but I also don't recommend it. Dell doesn't know how to ship them without microscratch issues (they do not properly protect the panel in shipping), and the launch firmware was terribly broken with no way to update it. My initial one had a dead pixel and the terribad firmware and I convinced them to replace it, and the customer support experience to do that was a nightmare. My replacement unit has the second (90% fixed) firmware and no dead pixels, but worse microscratches (actually visible in normal use in some lighting conditions), but not distracting 99% of the time, and Dell refused to do another exchange for the microscratches without going through warranty replacement (which would have gotten me a refurb instead of new one like the defective-on-arrival replacement process).

The issues that people complain about with QD-OLED panels (the triangular RGB subpixel arrangement, the impact environmental light has on the contrast ratio) don't bother me, and the panel itself is gorgeous, especially for HDR gaming. If you really want to have a QD-OLED computer monitor, though, I'd suggest getting the same panel from MSI or Samsung or anybody else but Dell. If you really do want the Dell model, then get the AW3423DWF model instead. It's physically almost identical to the AW3423DW (other than the colour being black instead of white), but removes the gsync module and thus has way more features, user-updatable firmware, and is like $200 cheaper.

I have not tested it with the RT5X other than very briefly and I don't fully remember the results. The monitor is very picky about input resolutions and will not accept things like 1920x1440 inputs. This may be the fault of the gsync module, so this may not be true of the non-gsync version. I bought the monitor for PC gaming, my RT5X is connected to my LG C1.
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by Fudoh »

same here, got the Dell 34" on a PC right now and I am very much looking forward to pick up the LG 27" one once it's available over here. Also VERY intrigued by the just announced 32:9 49" one (I think MSI teased these), but I'm afraid it's a little to wide for comfortable PC use for me and overkill to get it to ONLY play Darius Burst on it.

And for reference's sake I really want to pick up a model with a JOLED panel as well. Maybe a 2nd hand 32" LG one.
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by neorichieb1971 »

Monitors are quite a bit more expensive in the UK. The $300 LG is £415 - https://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-27GL850-B-U ... C66&sr=8-3

I'll stick to that one for the time being, but not getting until new year and I still don't have a retrotink yet either.

I know its a bit OT, but does Nintendo Switch scale ok to a 1440p monitor ok?
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Lomax
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by Lomax »

Hi Mike Chi,

I'm running firmware v2.77, default profile, then changed input source to SCART-RGB.

I've got an Atari 2600 modded for SCART using Tim Worthington's mod:

https://etim.net.au/shop/shop.php?crn=2 ... how_detail

I'm using it with the Harmony Encore cartridge:

https://harmony.atariage.com/Site/Harmony.html

The rom selection menu on the cartridge presented upon boot does this weird pulsing - here is an example:

https://youtu.be/QKfiSGnMGMQ

The pulsing is regular. After choosing a rom from the menu, the problem goes away.

I suspect it is because the default Harmony menu uses some weird, non-standard, cutting edge, high resolution video mode.

No big deal, but I thought you might like to know, and perhaps fix/workaround. If anyone else has this problem, or some insights as to why it occurs, please reply to my post.

Regards,

Lomax
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orange808
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by orange808 »

Lomax wrote: I suspect it is because the default Harmony menu uses some weird, non-standard, cutting edge, high resolution video mode.
Yes. The Atari's TIA chip is limited and both the Harmony and Uno flash carts use programming tricks for text. It appears to flicker because it really is flickering. If memory serves, the Harmony menu text kernel is similar to a few carts. Basic Programming and Stellar Track come to mind.

You may also experience drop outs with a few video carts that don't output consistent video timing, due to the way the Atari works. There are hacked roms available if you have a cart that gives you troubles.
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by Steven »

So the new firmware update reduces lag and lets you see the lag in the menu. Using my PS2, triple buffer, frame lock, and gen lock all say 2ms of lag. That's interesting.
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Josh128
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by Josh128 »

Interesting!
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by Steven »

I put Thunder Force VI in to see if progressive scan changes anything and found that the lag does depend on your settings. It seems to be between 1.7ms and 3ms depending on how I configure it. I'm too lazy to put my PS2 away and test other systems/configurations, especially since it's almost 0100 and I only slept for like 5 hours yesterday and I really want to go to bed, but maybe someone else will do it.
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LDigital
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by LDigital »

Steven wrote:I put Thunder Force VI in to see if progressive scan changes anything and found that the lag does depend on your settings. It seems to be between 1.7ms and 3ms depending on how I configure it. I'm too lazy to put my PS2 away and test other systems/configurations, especially since it's almost 0100 and I only slept for like 5 hours yesterday and I really want to go to bed, but maybe someone else will do it.
I just updated and I am seeing 3ms no matter what. Which settings bring this down?
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Re: RetroTINK 5x-Pro

Post by Tempest_2084 »

If I want to use my 5X with a vga monitor, what's the best hdmi to vga adapter to use? Do I have to set the 5X pro a certain output first, or will it auto detect my monitors resolution? I don't want to damage it.
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