An actual SNES mod to sharpen the pixels of 2-CHIP consoles?

[SMLMcKenzie]

Voultar's should be available soon

Not so sure about that. Even if it is available soon I bet it will sell out quickly and I doubt it will be available outside of the USA for a while. At least the other mods you can build yourself, are always "in stock" and available world wide. I'm also guessing he who shan't be named's edge enhancer mod will cost substantially more money too.

[spmbx]

Retrosix has a Video up on youtube if you prefer that over tiktok. Seems to work great, as an added bonus you would miss out on voultars insults threats toxicity and drama

[SMLMcKenzie]

Retrosix has a Video up on youtube if you prefer that over tiktok. Seems to work great, as an added bonus you would miss out on voultars insults threats toxicity and drama

I actually just returned the RetroSix Edgebuster for a refund. It works to remove the blurred edges but it introduced a worse problem. Some sort of jitter that was worse than the blurred edges. There are no official installation instructions either, you have to figure it out pretty much on your own. Not good.

At least the Edge Enhancer guy is making sure his mod will be easy to install and is well documented so credit where credit is due. He was quite nasty to me personally though, so I no longer mention his name.

[LDigital]

Interesting. What display / setup are you using? Do you have the dejitter mod? It might be peeling away the Vaseline and exposing the other quirk of snes

[SMLMcKenzie]

Interesting. What display / setup are you using? Do you have the dejitter mod? It might be peeling away the Vaseline and exposing the other quirk of snes

I am using an RGB-01 Super Famicom connected to a GBS Control via CSYNC SCART to a Sony X90J.

That was an explanation Luke from RetroSix offered but I don't buy it. With the Edgebuster you can adjust the voltage being injected incrementally. You can add a little voltage that only slightly sharpens the edges and you see no problems with the image. You go past a certain point of voltage injection and although the edges are still not fully sharp the jittering problem is introduced. In order to get fully sharp edges I needed to use 50% on all three channels on the Edgebuster but that ruined the image due to the jittering problem. Luke suggested that I need to install his CleanRGB mod but I am not going down that road as that involves cutting traces and there was never any suggestion before buying the Edgebuster that it could introduce a new problem whilst solving the blurry edges.

Got the parts for the Buttersoft mod coming so have my fingers crossed I can assemble and install that mod successfully.

[thchardcore]

I installed the Moffitt version of this about 6 months back and it is wonderful. Highly recommend this approach over waiting for the other one to be released.

Mike, got a link to this? Anyone make a PCB design?

All on his site:
https://mikejmoffitt.com/pages/shvc-rgb/

Zero concerns given the source and actually available for some time, just without all the promotion/hype.

[LDigital]

Interesting. It only supports the earliest models though. I am considering just biting the bullet and swapping my trusty gpm 02 for a 1chip. I would have done so a long time ago but hear sfx games are slower but I don’t know by how much

[Josh128]

I installed the Moffitt version of this about 6 months back and it is wonderful. Highly recommend this approach over waiting for the other one to be released.

Mike, got a link to this? Anyone make a PCB design?

All on his site:
https://mikejmoffitt.com/pages/shvc-rgb/

Zero concerns given the source and actually available for some time, just without all the promotion/hype.

Hmm. Mike J. Moffit the RGB prophet, lol. How did I miss that he did his own tweak of the Yushiyukiblade mod?? I wish I hadnt killed my childhood SNES while attempting to do a recap a while back. It went stone cold dead and even after replacing the fuse wouldnt do anything. Attempts to fix it were futile.

Whats your opinion of the results? They look pretty damned good on the page y'all linked.

[thchardcore]

Result is wonderful. It is very sharp and no issues encountered. I can post some photos.

[evil_ash_xero]

Do these work with a Japanese Super Famicom? I was thinking about getting one of those and modding it.
The old gray and purple isn't really doing it for me, nowadays.

I'm particularly interested in Voultar's. I'll have to wait until they're available for self-install, though.

[thchardcore]

Yes, but only the first revision. It is all documented on his page.

[evil_ash_xero]

Yes, but only the first revision. It is all documented on his page.

The first revision of the Super Famicom? Hmm... would it be hard to find that one, or would would the seller have to know?
Are they the most common version?

[tongshadow]

At this point, you cant rely on trying to get a specific console version. Tons of them have swapped internals/exteriors and the sellers often arent competent enough to open it and show the motherboard revision.

Get any console and use an universal edge enhancer (guess which is one!).

[thchardcore]

The early units always have rubber feet. They also yellow compared to the later models without the rubber feet. Dirt cheap on YJA and JP Mercari.

[tongshadow]

The early units always have rubber feet. They also yellow compared to the later models without the rubber feet. Dirt cheap on YJA and JP Mercari.

That's all true, until you have the displeasure of buying a frankenstein unit with mismatched shells and boards.

[SMLMcKenzie]

Having seen the good results others have had doing this mod I decided to give it a go myself.

I decided to go with the TLV3544IDR instead of the LMH6683MAX chip on the advice of a few members of the community and it worked out very well. My console is a Super Famicom RGB-01 revision.

Here are a few photos of the install taken in stages of completion to give you a better look at the wiring (large images so I have put them behind spoiler tags, safe for work!):

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Zoomed out shot of the finished install:

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I took some comparison photos of before and after the mod. The images are direct photos of my Sony 75" XJ90 TV. The Super Famicom is connected via RGB Scart to a GBS Control which is upscaling to 1080p. All the games were run from the original cartridge and not a flash cart. It seems pretty clear to me which part of the image is the before and which is the after so I didn't bother labelling it.

Pilotwings main menu:

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Starfox main menu:

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Street Fighter 2 zoomed in on the pause graphic:

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Now here are a few extra comparisons I did for a bit of fun and to satisfy my curiosity to see if I would be missing out by not getting the Voultar Edge Enhancer. Now I have to preface this with the huge caveat that these images are not strictly comparable as I have taken my photos directly from my TV using my phone and I got the Voultar photos from his Youtube videos which were (I believe) captured via a Retrotink 4K. Not apples to apples. I would say perhaps don't compare the differences in colour but look at the edges and compare them.

Donkey Kong Country 2:

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Super Mario All Stars:

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Super Metroid:

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I will let you make up your own minds but it is my opinion that the two mods are very comparable and I don't feel like I need to bother with Voultar's mod. It is also my opinion that this is as good a picture you can get, as a DIY installer, out of a 2 chip Super Nintendo at this current moment in time.

[SMLMcKenzie]

I would also like to say that I have enough components left over to make two more of these mods so if anyone in the UK would like me to send an unassembled kit that you will need to put together yourself I could sell one for £15 delivered. (If this post is against the rules can a mod please delete)

[Josh128]

Very nice result.

[SMLMcKenzie]

I have been playing Yoshi's Island tonight. Before I added the mod I really struggled with motion sickness whilst playing this game. I think it had to do with the multiple parallax layers plus the blurriness of it all. Within a few seconds of starting to play I noticed right away what seems like a very large increase in motion clarity. I played for an hour and felt no sickness! This mod is even good for your health!

I remembered I had taken a photo of the end of level screen on Yoshi's Island to compare another mod I did, so I can now include a photo of that as a comparison and the difference is stark:

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Here are a couple of bonus Yoshi's Island screenshots:

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[bobrocks95]

I'll have to check for myself on my 1-chip, but is the dark blue on the right edge of the controller on the Star Fox photos possibly a little bit of overshoot? I don't know if LCD refresh terms apply here to know if that's what it's called.

[Josh128]

I'll have to check for myself on my 1-chip, but is the dark blue on the right edge of the controller on the Star Fox photos possibly a little bit of overshoot? I don't know if LCD refresh terms apply here to know if that's what it's called.

There does appear to be of overshoot/ringing on some color transitions, but that Yoshis Island comparison especially still shows an amazing improvement vs stock. So yes, its not perfect, but a very nice improvement nevertheless.

[bobrocks95]

Would definitely agree it's overall a big improvement. Always curious if it can be pushed further though- maybe Voultar's mod will eventually be available for further comparisons.

[SMLMcKenzie]

I find it kind of funny that everyone's waiting on Voultar's mod when you could have this mod installed right now for about £30 (or even £10 if you sell on the extra 2 PCB's you will have as there is a minimum order of 3). To my eye whilst actually playing on a TV it looks fantastic. Bear in mind I am playing on a 75" TV so any major flaws will be obvious.

Will Voultar's mod be better? Maybe, but I don't think it will be that much better unless instead of playing games you are just examining every scene in a game for visual flaws.

If you can install Voultar's mod yourself you have the skills to build and install this. Best thing is, this mod is pretty easily reversible so if Voultar does release the DIY kit you can just remove the Torapu / Buttersoft mod and fit Voultar's. I suspect though that once most people install this mod then they will feel no need for further improvement unless you happen to work for Digital Foundry or something!

[bobrocks95]

I find it kind of funny that everyone's waiting on Voultar's mod when you could have this mod installed right now for about £30 (or even £10 if you sell on the extra 2 PCB's you will have as there is a minimum order of 3). To my eye whilst actually playing on a TV it looks fantastic. Bear in mind I am playing on a 75" TV so any major flaws will be obvious.

Will Voultar's mod be better? Maybe, but I don't think it will be that much better unless instead of playing games you are just examining every scene in a game for visual flaws.

If you can install Voultar's mod yourself you have the skills to build and install this. Best thing is, this mod is pretty easily reversible so if Voultar does release the DIY kit you can just remove the Torapu / Buttersoft mod and fit Voultar's. I suspect though that once most people install this mod then they will feel no need for further improvement unless you happen to work for Digital Foundry or something!

I am 100% armchair here, I've had a SNES Jr. for years. I'd be interested in switching back to an original model for that chunky eject button, but I'm not in a rush to have to look for a non-yellowed one, rearrange my systems to make it fit, install mods, etc. So I'm just sitting here scrutinizing results- neither seem as good as a 1-Chip but are huge improvements.

[SMLMcKenzie]

A modded 1 chip is still king when it comes to image quality but it is good to have a mod available right now for these 2 chips systems that brings their visual quality close to a 1 chip.

[leonk]

I am 100% armchair here, I've had a SNES Jr. for years. I'd be interested in switching back to an original model for that chunky eject button, but I'm not in a rush to have to look for a non-yellowed one, rearrange my systems to make it fit, install mods, etc. So I'm just sitting here scrutinizing results- neither seem as good as a 1-Chip but are huge improvements.

You can always buy a 1CHIP SNES (in original body - not Jr) for less than what he charges for his kit installed (at least around here) if you really care about how the console looks like. I sold a spare SNES 1CHIP locally for $150CDN just about 4 months ago; that's $105USD for the rest of the world.

[evil_ash_xero]

A modded 1 chip is still king when it comes to image quality but it is good to have a mod available right now for these 2 chips systems that brings their visual quality close to a 1 chip.

Ah, so 1Chip is still superior? I have 2 one chips, but there are a few games that have glitches. I use an Analogue system for those games.
I was hoping to clear up some shelf room.

[TooBeaucoup]

A modded 1 chip is still king when it comes to image quality but it is good to have a mod available right now for these 2 chips systems that brings their visual quality close to a 1 chip.

Ah, so 1Chip is still superior? I have 2 one chips, but there are a few games that have glitches. I use an Analogue system for those games.
I was hoping to clear up some shelf room.

Superior is probably subjective. Looking at all the side by side screenshots and live stream videos Voultar has shown off, I think 99% of people would be hard-pressed to notice a difference between the two, other than looking at screenshots when they're zoomed in 400%.

[fernan1234]

I recently got a 2/3-chip console modded with Mike Moffitt's board (SHVC Video Improvement Kit 1.2) and I'm really impressed. The original DAC's ringing/overshoot on some transitions is definitely there, as Mike also notes as a caveat on his site. You can see it very clearly in the color bars and gray ramp patterns, exactly at every 1/4 of each pattern:

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But I don't think you can expect to see that kind of transition between very similar tones in real game content most of the time, or notice it even when it's there while playing. The sharpness is on par with the RGB-modded SFC Jr. that I had been using for several years, with the added advantage of having proper brightness levels and no 1chip bugs. The Jr. does have the advantage of not having any ringing issues on tone transitions though, and even though its high brightness is incorrect it does make for a punchier picture (maybe I just got used to it over the years). This 3-chip console does have a SPDIF mod also, so that really tips the scales for me and it'll be my go-to console now.

By the way, the guy I bought this modded console from is developing a new kit that will be compatible with more console boards, including GPM boards, so the mod will no longer be limited to early CPU boards.

[SMLMcKenzie]

I recently got a 2/3-chip console modded with Mike Moffitt's board (SHVC Video Improvement Kit 1.2) and I'm really impressed. The original DAC's ringing/overshoot on some transitions is definitely there, as Mike also notes as a caveat on his site. You can see it very clearly in the color bars and gray ramp patterns, exactly at every 1/4 of each pattern:

Spoiler

But I don't think you can expect to see that kind of transition between very similar tones in real game content most of the time, or notice it even when it's there while playing. The sharpness is on par with the RGB-modded SFC Jr. that I had been using for several years, with the added advantage of having proper brightness levels and no 1chip bugs. The Jr. does have the advantage of not having any ringing issues on tone transitions though, and even though its high brightness is incorrect it does make for a punchier picture (maybe I just got used to it over the years). This 3-chip console does have a SPDIF mod also, so that really tips the scales for me and it'll be my go-to console now.

By the way, the guy I bought this modded console from is developing a new kit that will be compatible with more console boards, including GPM boards, so the mod will no longer be limited to early RGB boards.

I would be very interested in seeing some screenshots from games. Is there much difference between this mod and the buttersoft / Torapu mod in design? Do you have any more information about the new kit that is being developed?