NESRGB board available now

The place for all discussion on gaming hardware
User avatar
Kyle
Posts: 156
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:22 pm

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by Kyle »

game-tech.us wrote:Tim, this is awesome! Just the thing to cheaply replace the use of the pc10 rgb ppu for nes mods! I've been getting email after email asking me about this and already have 3 that want it for sure so please make plenty as I may end up making a big batch order!
Game-tech will save us from crazy installs. His work is super clean.

http://www.game-tech.us/pmwiki/pmwiki.p ... ES-101Mods
User avatar
IrishNinja
Posts: 141
Joined: Wed Jun 12, 2013 1:08 pm
Location: Vice City
Contact:

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by IrishNinja »

BitFaced wrote:So... This isn't the Universal PPU, right?
nah, http://universalppu.com/?page_id=10
- hasn't been updated since 9/22 but had some good progress up to that point.
...go play Mars Matrix
Backloggery
philexile
Posts: 424
Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2010 8:22 pm

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by philexile »

Was a price ever announced for the Universal PPU?
User avatar
Kyle
Posts: 156
Joined: Tue Apr 28, 2009 1:22 pm

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by Kyle »

philexile wrote:Was a price ever announced for the Universal PPU?
How much will it cost?
It’s too early in the development process to say with any degree of certainty. The final price depends on a number of factors, including parts cost, manufacturing cost, and quantity.

The price will be announced when they are ready for sale.
http://universalppu.com/?page_id=107
User avatar
bobrocks95
Posts: 3461
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2012 2:27 am
Location: Kentucky

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by bobrocks95 »

This looks absolutely perfect except for the expansion audio issue touched on earlier. Are you looking into it viletim? I just bought a Famicom and I'm dying to throw this in there, but I gotta have Castlevania 3 sound right!

Thanks btw for filling such a humongous gap in the market, and keeping it cheap. I hope you're not quickly overwhelmed by the size of orders!
PS1 Disc-Based Game ID BIOS patch for MemCard Pro and SD2PSX automatic VMC switching.
alamone
Posts: 719
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 10:32 pm

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by alamone »

I wouldn't really worry about the expansion audio, it's not like you have to route it through the NESPCB,
you could always route it separately or grab it from the internal amp and use the resistor mod to mix the audio.

As for the number of pins you have to solder, looks like all you really need to do is replace the PPU with a socket,
so however many pins the PPU is. Plus of course whatever hookups you want to provide externally.
panzeroceania
Posts: 196
Joined: Mon Jul 19, 2010 8:52 am

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by panzeroceania »

can't wait to give you my money tim!
markfrizb
Posts: 83
Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2011 2:32 pm

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by markfrizb »

Whoa!!! I am new to this forum......how and when do I throw $$ to get these???? I am always amazed at people's talents/skills and the FPGA's!

Side note--- completely laughed at the Peter north reference! Needed that! Thanks. :)

Sure hope these go on sale soon.
kamiboy
Posts: 1955
Joined: Sat Sep 04, 2010 4:40 pm
Location: Denmark

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by kamiboy »

So, let me get this right. This is a 100% glitch free solution, am I correct? No mapper issues of graphical glitches of any sort to be expected, correct?

If so then I salute you sir, I wish I had known about this project before I bought that Titler.
BitFaced
Posts: 347
Joined: Thu Mar 21, 2013 6:31 pm

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by BitFaced »

Wow, so there seems to be a lot of great solutions for NES through RGB & HDMI recently, compared to a while back where it was "Playchoice-10 PPU or Composite". This is great!
Glossectomy
Posts: 91
Joined: Thu Jun 20, 2013 9:37 pm
Location: Denver, CO

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by Glossectomy »

My wallet is open whenever youre ready to take my money.

Thanks for such an awesome piece of work!
viletim
Posts: 550
Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 6:44 am
Location: Sydney, Australia
Contact:

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by viletim »

lameboyadvance wrote: ...RGB is really great and all, but wouldnt adding a component option be more useful? Component inputs are more common than RGB, and IIRC component Y/CR/CB values can be calculated from RGB values, surely this could be done inside the FPGA, then just provide a switch/jumper to either output straight RGB or the calculated component?
The PLD I am using is of FPGA architecture (array based) but it is just a baby one and is already nearly full, so the feature would not be free. No game consoles prior to 2000 featured component output, while almost all will have RGB available. If you like old game consoles and good quality video and a component video monitor you probably already own a component video encoder box. Also, because component video is a relatively recent video format, many monitors which feature this input are not compatible with non-interlaced 15kHz video.

game-tech.us wrote: Tim, this is awesome! Just the thing to cheaply replace the use of the pc10 rgb ppu for nes mods!
I've been getting email after email asking me about this and already have 3 that want it for sure so please make plenty as I may end up making a big batch order!
I have lots of stock and will offer bulk discounts. The only thing not finished now is website and documentation.
ApolloBoy wrote: Tim, is there any kind of lag introduced by this? I'd love to order one of these but I'd like to know if there's any lag.
No lag.
papa_november wrote: Will this board work in a PlayChoice? Plenty of PC-10s out there with dead or scavenged PPUs.
I think it should if fitted with an NTSC PPU. The video output from my board is not exactly the same electrically (you may need to modify the Playchoice video amplifier or something), but other than that I suppose it will work.
undamned wrote: This may be way out there, Tim, but do you foresee in the future an HDMI version of this board?
Nah, too hard. The XRGB probably does a better job that I would anyway.
bobrocks95 wrote: This looks absolutely perfect except for the expansion audio issue touched on earlier. Are you looking into it viletim? I just bought a Famicom and I'm dying to throw this in there, but I gotta have Castlevania 3 sound right!
The internal amplifier was just an afterthought really. As alamone said, you don't have to use it. You can take the audio from the Nintendo motherboard at the right spot after the mixer/amplifier. It's just easier to write the installation docs if the audio comes from two pins on the CPU vs some point on the board which is different for every revision. I'll look into the expansion audio thing later.
User avatar
bobrocks95
Posts: 3461
Joined: Mon Apr 30, 2012 2:27 am
Location: Kentucky

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by bobrocks95 »

Ah, didn't know it would be as simple as tapping pin 46 on the cartridge connector, thanks for pushing me to do some research. I'm wholeheartedly anticipating this then!
PS1 Disc-Based Game ID BIOS patch for MemCard Pro and SD2PSX automatic VMC switching.
User avatar
lameboyadvance
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Oct 08, 2013 4:01 pm
Location: Newcastle, Australia

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by lameboyadvance »

viletim wrote:...if fitted with an NTSC PPU...
...This does work with both PAL and NTSC PPUs/consoles, right?
User avatar
hermit crab
Posts: 189
Joined: Sun Nov 04, 2012 7:26 am

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by hermit crab »

lameboyadvance wrote:
viletim wrote:...if fitted with an NTSC PPU...
...This does work with both PAL and NTSC PPUs/consoles, right?
He was talking about using the NESRGB in a PlayChoice arcade PCB that the original RGB PPU has been removed from (placed in a NES to get RGB picture from it, like had to be done to get it before this product). If you want to do that you'll have to take a composite PPU from a NES (maybe the one you replaced with the PlayChoice RGB PPU).

You can't put an NTSC PPU in a PAL console, you'll have to change the CPU and crystal too to get it running 60Hz. But you'll be able to use this NESRGB board with your PAL PPU that's in your PAL NES and get an RGB picture out of it (no PlayChoice pillaging involved).
Make a missile snap a bone gristle.
Tighe
Posts: 1
Joined: Thu Oct 10, 2013 3:40 pm

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by Tighe »

Tim this awesome!!! I love what you have done!

I am just thinking about how I some spare Vs boards with no VS PPUs in them...

Of course someone on KLOV forums is working on a Universal PPU so it really wouldn't be necessary.

http://forums.arcade-museum.com/showthread.php?t=251095
User avatar
antron
Posts: 2861
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:53 pm
Location: Egret 29, USA

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by antron »

I am so putting a NES in my Vs Super Mario cab now (even my Unisystem board has jailbars). I can't wait til this comes out, thanks Tim!

(I have a replacement monitor that does not require inverted colors)
User avatar
ASSEMbler
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Oct 11, 2013 6:50 am
Contact:

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by ASSEMbler »

Very interested in this. Also, a lot of people on my site interested. Please consider posting there as well.
User avatar
keropi
Posts: 323
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:33 am
Location: Ioannina , Greece

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by keropi »

excellent news!!!
Tim, how can this be installed in an original famicom? direct wires at the bottom side of the mobo where the PPU pins go through?
viletim
Posts: 550
Joined: Mon Aug 07, 2006 6:44 am
Location: Sydney, Australia
Contact:

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by viletim »

keropi wrote:Tim, how can this be installed in an original famicom? direct wires at the bottom side of the mobo where the PPU pins go through?
The original Famicom is the most difficult model to install the board into. It's thin enough to fit into the space beneath the motherboard. Due to the restricted space the PPU must remain in place on the motherboard with the data pins cut. Wires are soldered to the data pins on the PPU as well as points on the motherboard. I will document this, possibly including a video.
User avatar
keropi
Posts: 323
Joined: Sat Sep 20, 2008 9:33 am
Location: Ioannina , Greece

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by keropi »

^ awesome, thanks!
User avatar
undamned
Posts: 3273
Joined: Sat Jan 29, 2005 9:27 am
Location: Phoenix

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by undamned »

antron wrote:(I have a replacement monitor that does not require inverted colors)
I thought it was only inverted sync that was required?
-ud
Righteous Super Hero / Righteous Love
User avatar
antron
Posts: 2861
Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2006 7:53 pm
Location: Egret 29, USA

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by antron »

undamned wrote:
antron wrote:(I have a replacement monitor that does not require inverted colors)
I thought it was only inverted sync that was required?
-ud
pretty sure it's the colors too (I didn't even know about the sync). Currently I'm using an inverter taken from a Unisystem to JAMMA adapter. It has separate pots for the color inverters.

But speaking of sync, will this NESRGB board have a place to tap raw c-sync? I didn't see it mentioned.

Edit: Never mind, I see it in the block diagram and on the PCB, labeled CS#.
geosnow
Posts: 497
Joined: Wed Jul 11, 2012 6:12 am
Location: Obfelden, Switzerland

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by geosnow »

I d like to order one. :P
mpatou
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2013 5:38 am

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by mpatou »

Hello

Your RGB Pcb seems to be great. For the moment I'm using an RGB NES with a PC10 PPU inside, but I can't wait to see the result with your device.

Someone asks if it would work on an PAL console, I think I can answer that I won't as long as the PAL NES doesn't have any PPU.

Do you think there will be enough PCB for everyone? As you are in Australia (and we're in France & Belgium), some friends and I would like to order several kits together to reduce shipping (probably 5).
User avatar
Drakon
Posts: 411
Joined: Sun Feb 03, 2008 12:49 am
Location: Toronto Canada
Contact:

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by Drakon »

viletim wrote:
keropi wrote:Tim, how can this be installed in an original famicom? direct wires at the bottom side of the mobo where the PPU pins go through?
The original Famicom is the most difficult model to install the board into. It's thin enough to fit into the space beneath the motherboard. Due to the restricted space the PPU must remain in place on the motherboard with the data pins cut. Wires are soldered to the data pins on the PPU as well as points on the motherboard. I will document this, possibly including a video.
That's even worse than the twin famicom install. I wonder if you remove the rf box and wire up your own power circuit (or just a 5v power brick) if it would fit in the space where the rf box used to be.

Demonstration of colour emphasis:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6KuyFkb6Q4

As for using this in the pc10 pcb I would just disconnect the pc10 amp outputs and wire the nesrgb outputs to the outputs of the pc10 transistor amp circuit (where you disconnected it) since the nesrgb outputs amped rgb.
markfrizb
Posts: 83
Joined: Fri Mar 25, 2011 2:32 pm

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by markfrizb »

Any timetable for release to public for sales?
Can I (we) pre-order???

Thanks for doing this!!!!

I too, would like to see a playchoice10 option.
With the diminishing CRT's, a nice digital signal that doesn't have to be inverted would be welcomed for the inevitable LCD monitors for pc10's. call me nuts, but I like the lcds when done right.
If you need a pc10 board to test with (including an adapter for easy connection for power, etc), let me know and I'll mail you a setup.

Thanks again for the great work!
mpatou
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2013 5:38 am

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by mpatou »

mpatou wrote:Hello

Someone asks if it would work on an PAL console, I think I can answer that I won't as long as the PAL NES doesn't have any PPU.
Just disregard what I said before, on the first picture, the PCB is set on a PAL console (see the label). Besides, a friend told me that I said c#*p about the PPU that is missing on PAL NES.
User avatar
Ed Oscuro
Posts: 18654
Joined: Thu Dec 08, 2005 4:13 pm
Location: uoıʇɐɹnƃıɟuoɔ ɯǝʇsʎs

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by Ed Oscuro »

mpatou wrote:
mpatou wrote:Hello

Someone asks if it would work on an PAL console, I think I can answer that I won't as long as the PAL NES doesn't have any PPU.
Just disregard what I said before, on the first picture, the PCB is set on a PAL console (see the label). Besides, a friend told me that I said c#*p about the PPU that is missing on PAL NES.
I was wondering about that. The PAL PPU is just taking the same (roughly) inputs the NES one does, just outputting PAL values.

The difference would be in the clock speed of the NES itself, which is different because of the different clocks for the CPUs in the PAL machine versus the NTSC ones. It comes down to whether the NESRGB can interface with the different timings.
mpatou
Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Oct 12, 2013 5:38 am

Re: NESRGB board available soon

Post by mpatou »

By the way, is there any possibility to have a PAL NES work in 60Hz (by changing an oscillator or something else)? Now that we can have true RGB, everything seems suddenly possible :-)
Post Reply