Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

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Link83
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by Link83 »

ClarkDV wrote:
Link83 wrote:I dont think it comes pre-installed on any of Tim's boards?
His website says “N64RGB board. Hardware version 1.2, software version 1.2 (includes de-blur feature). ”. If it says “includes deblur feature” doesn’t that mean you just gotta solder it on? If not, how do I flash the Bortis IGR firmware?
Yes but only borti's branch of the firmware with IGR allows for controller combos to enable/disable deblur.

Tim's default version requires you to use a physical switch to enable/disable deblur:-
https://etim.net.au/n64rgb/
Viletim N64RGB wrote:Boards sold after 27/12/2016 now come with software v1.1 which includes an optional 'de-blur' feature. This gives the video a pleasing sharp pixel look. The feature is disabled by default but can be enabled by connecting the the pad labelled A to the pad labelled G (for ground). If you use it I recommend a connecting a switch as few games don't look good while de-blur is enabled. This feature comes courtesy of Borti4938, who has written alternate software for the N64RGB.
There is probably a way you could upgrade the board with borti's IGR firmware and connect a wire to the N64 motherboards controller data signal, but its not a feature of the default firmware.
Last edited by Link83 on Sat Jul 27, 2019 7:15 pm, edited 5 times in total.
ClarkDV
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by ClarkDV »

Link83 wrote:
ClarkDV wrote:
Link83 wrote:I dont think it comes pre-installed on any of Tim's boards?
His website says “N64RGB board. Hardware version 1.2, software version 1.2 (includes de-blur feature). ”. If it says “includes deblur feature” doesn’t that mean you just gotta solder it on? If not, how do I flash the Bortis IGR firmware?
Yes but only borti's branch of the firmware allows for controller combos to enable/disable deblur.

Tim's version requires you to use a physical switch to enable/disable deblur:-
https://etim.net.au/n64rgb/
Viletim N64RGB wrote:Boards sold after 27/12/2016 now come with software v1.1 which includes an optional 'de-blur' feature. This gives the video a pleasing sharp pixel look. The feature is disabled by default but can be enabled by connecting the the pad labelled A to the pad labelled G (for ground). If you use it I recommend a connecting a switch as few games don't look good while de-blur is enabled. This feature comes courtesy of Borti4938, who has written alternate software for the N64RGB.
There is probably a way you could upgrade the board with borti's firmware branch and connect a wire to the N64 motherboards controller data signal, but not with Tim's default firmware.
So how do I go about flashing firmware to the board?
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Link83
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by Link83 »

ClarkDV wrote:So how do I go about flashing firmware to the board?
Flashing firmware:-
https://etim.net.au/n64rgb/tech/

Borti's github has the details on which jumpers/pins to use, and the relevant firmware:-
https://github.com/borti4938/n64rgb/blo ... viletim.md
https://github.com/borti4938/n64rgb/tre ... es/viletim
https://github.com/borti4938/n64rgb/raw ... N64RGB.pdf
Last edited by Link83 on Mon Jul 29, 2019 6:18 pm, edited 3 times in total.
ClarkDV
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by ClarkDV »

I’m not great at understanding electronics, but how can his firmware REQUIRE a switch? That doesn’t make sense to me. If the 2 pads are bridged, the circuit is closed and the deblur should be off right? Even without a switch. How could it require a switch to detect that the circuit is closed.
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Kez
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by Kez »

Your original query was about button combos, which is what people were answering. If you want to toggle it from the controller, you need the "IGR" (in-game routines) firmware.

You can lock the de-blur on or off without a switch as you say, but if you leave it off there is no de-blur at all and if you leave it on some games will look strange.
ClarkDV
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by ClarkDV »

Ah I gotcha. Thanks. I’ll be putting the switch in soon. I think flashing the firmware sounds out of my league.
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Link83
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by Link83 »

ClarkDV wrote:Ah I gotcha. Thanks. I’ll be putting the switch in soon. I think flashing the firmware sounds out of my league.
Just a suggestion, but if your going to fit a manual switch maybe use a small slide switch that can fit through the side air vents on the N64, and then fix it in place with hot glue. This way if you ever change your mind in the future your case will still be unmodified and you can easily remove the switch. As an example here is a region switch in a GameCube
ClarkDV
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by ClarkDV »

Sure thing! Do you have a link to a good one on amazon or some other site? And is there a certain amp and voltage rating I need?
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vol.2
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by vol.2 »

ClarkDV wrote:Sure thing! Do you have a link to a good one on amazon or some other site? And is there a certain amp and voltage rating I need?
I think you just need anything that will open and close it. signal is very low power here. use mouser.com or digikey as they have filtering searches for you to choose a size and form factor

here's one that's tiny. 2.4mm wide by 2.5mm high: https://www.digikey.com/product-detail/ ... ND/1051311

it's rated at .4VA and up to 28V. i guess someone could chime in about what is pushing through this, but even if the signal is 3.5V, that means it can handle 114 mV of current.
Reptile
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by Reptile »

I'm interested in buying a N64 with borti's N64RGB Advanced board since I don't have the skills to do it myself. Anybody knows if unmaker is still available?
redskella
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by redskella »

If they become available again, I'd also like to register my intention to snag one of Borti's board, whether it's the basic v2 or advanced board.
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unmaker
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by unmaker »

Reptile wrote:I'm interested in buying a N64 with borti's N64RGB Advanced board since I don't have the skills to do it myself. Anybody knows if unmaker is still available?
I sincerely apologize for anyone that might have been waiting for me to assemble any of these. I slacked off hard. I will have at least 6 assembled by the end of this week and will do the rest in the following days after. I will only be doing 20 of these at the moment but may do more if there's demand for it.
maverickgunn
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by maverickgunn »

unmaker wrote:
Reptile wrote:I'm interested in buying a N64 with borti's N64RGB Advanced board since I don't have the skills to do it myself. Anybody knows if unmaker is still available?
I sincerely apologize for anyone that might have been waiting for me to assemble any of these. I slacked off hard. I will have at least 6 assembled by the end of this week and will do the rest in the following days after. I will only be doing 20 of these at the moment but may do more if there's demand for it.
I'd love to purchase one if there's a slot open.
Haarberger
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by Haarberger »

Where can I find any scans at all showing the process of wiring the A and G to a switch?
I tried with a wedged thingy switch (That releases as soon as you lift your finger from pressing, had to use what I had) to solder a wire from A to the bottom row and G to the top row. But apparently I did something horrendous as the power adapter somehow broke? First I thought my whole build had went on holiday as it wouldn't power on, but later tried it on another system and that proved to be powerless as well.

Was it due to the switch itself this happened or are you supposed to solder the A and G in a different way?
As I really can't find anything of a tutorial regarding this I'm finally reaching out here, couldn't even find anything on Youtube nor does Etim's guide explain this more into detail except that the chip does have deblur waiting to be enabled.
Freedy
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by Freedy »

maverickgunn wrote: I'd love to purchase one if there's a slot open.
Hi,
I have an extra, if you still need one, send me a pm. (I’m from europe, but can post it anywhere.
VeeThree
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by VeeThree »

why does sync from the vdc-nus have to go to the cart? why does the cartridge need sync
MidOrFeed2015
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by MidOrFeed2015 »

huge respect to the OP for this. i really do see the huge difference on a PVM. combined with AA removal it breathes new life into the n64.
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unmaker
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by unmaker »

maverickgunn wrote:
unmaker wrote:
Reptile wrote:I'm interested in buying a N64 with borti's N64RGB Advanced board since I don't have the skills to do it myself. Anybody knows if unmaker is still available?
I sincerely apologize for anyone that might have been waiting for me to assemble any of these. I slacked off hard. I will have at least 6 assembled by the end of this week and will do the rest in the following days after. I will only be doing 20 of these at the moment but may do more if there's demand for it.
I'd love to purchase one if there's a slot open.
For others that may want to purchase a N64 Advanced from me please post here:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=65401

I don't want to turn this into a selling thread. I have one left at the moment but will have 10 more assembled eventually.
strayan
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by strayan »

So, “direct mode” on the ultrahdmi. How much lag does this mode eliminate?
nmalinoski
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by nmalinoski »

strayan wrote:So, “direct mode” on the ultrahdmi. How much lag does this mode eliminate?
It's supposed to bypass the scaler, so I would imagine it would be effectively lagless, but remember the tradeoff is going to be HDMI blackouts during video mode changes and potential incompatibilities with the refresh rates and 240p/480i over HDMI.
strayan
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by strayan »

nmalinoski wrote:
strayan wrote:So, “direct mode” on the ultrahdmi. How much lag does this mode eliminate?
It's supposed to bypass the scaler, so I would imagine it would be effectively lagless, but remember the tradeoff is going to be HDMI blackouts during video mode changes and potential incompatibilities with the refresh rates and 240p/480i over HDMI.
Yup, I know it’s lagless but what is the lag when not in direct mode?
nmalinoski
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by nmalinoski »

strayan wrote:
nmalinoski wrote:
strayan wrote:So, “direct mode” on the ultrahdmi. How much lag does this mode eliminate?
It's supposed to bypass the scaler, so I would imagine it would be effectively lagless, but remember the tradeoff is going to be HDMI blackouts during video mode changes and potential incompatibilities with the refresh rates and 240p/480i over HDMI.
Yup, I know it’s lagless but what is the lag when not in direct mode?
Personally, I'm not sure what kind of lag or delay the framerate conversion adds, but I can't imagine it's any more than a single frame.
dibmem
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by dibmem »

Anyone able to assist?

I am attempting to update my N64RGB12 (viletim) board to use borti's IGR routines, but reset / toggling de-blur isn't working.

I've successfully flashed the IGR firmware, but in-game reset isn't working.
https://github.com/borti4938/n64rgb/blo ... im_igr.pof

Currently, I have pad M going to Pin 27 on the PIF (continuity verified) and pad A going to a via that traces back to the center pin on controller 1 (continuity verified).

Any troubleshooting recommendations?

*Edit* This is now resolved. I didn't have the correct firmware. This one worked on my 1.2 board:
https://github.com/borti4938/n64rgb/blo ... T100C5.pof
SPiET
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by SPiET »

Hi Everybody,

I'm quite new here but i have just installed a N64 RGB from Tim, latest version in my pal N64 console.

Now everything works but i'm still very confused on the DEBLUR function with using a switch.

So i ordered a switch from Tim's website and he told me that i must:

- connect a wire from the A pad of the board to the middle pin of the switch (top row)

- connect a wire from the GND of the board to the left or right pin of the switch (top row)

When putting on on/off i do notice that the screen is somehow repositioned to the left/right but i dont see any deblurring at all.

However, since i read somewhere that the A stands for AUTOMATIC and that M pad for MANUAL i thought Tim was mistaken and i must connect a wire to the M pad for using the switch, so manual switching on/off ?

I did that , but seems the same thing.

Anybody knows what i'm doing wrong?

Thanks
dibmem
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by dibmem »

Sounds like you have it wired correctly - I'm looking around to see if I can verify how it's supposed to be wired with the mini-switch Tim has for sale.
I had mine deblur wired with a simple dupont wire from A to GND, then I moved onto updating the firmware so I could go switchless.

Honestly, the deblur function is very subtle on most games - You'll really only notice it on an HD (modern) screen. I couldn't see a difference on any of my CRT screens when enabled. Look at the edges on text, rather than the entire screen.

Edit: Found a twitter post with pictures you might be able to use for verification of your install method:
https://twitter.com/ghostvgm/status/1154844972585291777
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Josh128
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by Josh128 »

Concur on the subtlety of the N64 deblur. I have the classic TI video amp RGB mod on my N64 and was considering Tims board for the deblur function, but when my pal Overlord Manny brought his N64 that he modded with Tims board I was extremely disappointed with the deblur on my Trinitron Wega. You had to struggle to see it in any game, and the standard RGB output looked no different from my TI amp mod, so I decided Tims board wasnt worth it.

The Gameshark deblur functions which actually turn off AA on the N64 are MUCH more noticeable, and even increase framerates a tiny bit in some areas, such as when moving Marios face around at the beginning of SM64. If you have an everdrive you can download patched ROMs with the deblur function and you'll be much happier with that if you want a courser picture. Of course its a matter of taste, looks better with some games than others.
nmalinoski
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by nmalinoski »

Josh128 wrote:Concur on the subtlety of the N64 deblur. I have the classic TI video amp RGB mod on my N64 and was considering Tims board for the deblur function, but when my pal Overlord Manny brought his N64 that he modded with Tims board I was extremely disappointed with the deblur on my Trinitron Wega. You had to struggle to see it in any game, and the standard RGB output looked no different from my TI amp mod, so I decided Tims board wasnt worth it.
I think you'd get more out of deblur playing on a flat-panel display. I haven't tried it myself, but my understanding is that CRTs tend to mask the N64's blurring.
Josh128 wrote:The Gameshark deblur functions which actually turn off AA on the N64 are MUCH more noticeable, and even increase framerates a tiny bit in some areas, such as when moving Marios face around at the beginning of SM64. If you have an everdrive you can download patched ROMs with the deblur function and you'll be much happier with that if you want a courser picture. Of course its a matter of taste, looks better with some games than others.
If improving framerate is the priority, I would think the recent recompiled/optimized version of SM64 would be preferable, but I expect it's possible to disable AA in that build as well.
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Kez
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by Kez »

SPiET wrote:When putting on on/off i do notice that the screen is somehow repositioned to the left/right but i dont see any deblurring at all.
What games are you looking at? And what is your display chain (CRT or LCD, scalers, etc.)?
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Josh128
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by Josh128 »

nmalinoski wrote: If improving framerate is the priority, I would think the recent recompiled/optimized version of SM64 would be preferable, but I expect it's possible to disable AA in that build as well.
Nah it wasnt the priority, it was just a side effect I noticed, and it was minimal at that. The Mario head can drop to 20 fps when fiddling with it standard, but stays at a solid 30 with the Gameshark no-AA code. It definitely sharpens the edges (even on CRT) of games that use AA (not all games do).
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Konsolkongen
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Re: Nintendo 64 RGB Blur fixing

Post by Konsolkongen »

The deblur of Tim's board does make a noticeable difference on modern TVs with the OSSC and optimized settings, but I do agree that it's much less noticeable on CRTs :)

I just have the A and GND pad shorted on mine with no switch as I don't yet own any games that run in higher resolutions and would need this turned off.
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