NESRGB board available now

[Asbrandt]

Sorry for being vague, to my knowledge it's still 480, just nice Progressive instead of Interlaced.

[SGGG2]

I can believe the GBA requests. The LCD screens on those old systems are pretty nasty and some games (notably Circle of the Moon, from personal experience) have contrast or ghosting issues (even when played on newer handhelds).

It's not just that, GB owners want to play on big screens with real hardware. The GBA's ideal because it plays games from any GB line. I think this would be pretty popular actually, I'd know I'd buy one.

[Ed Oscuro]

I can believe the GBA requests. The LCD screens on those old systems are pretty nasty and some games (notably Circle of the Moon, from personal experience) have contrast or ghosting issues (even when played on newer handhelds).

It's not just that, GB owners want to play on big screens with real hardware. The GBA's ideal because it plays games from any GB line. I think this would be pretty popular actually, I'd know I'd buy one.

Another reason for wanting some kind of alternative display is that the GB Player requires putting a disc into the GameCube - which was a really dumb way of doing things on Nintendo's part; you'd think they could have made the system able to deflect control over to that expansion port without also needing to boot off disc.

Sorry for being vague, to my knowledge it's still 480, just nice Progressive instead of Interlaced.

Given the original systems were progressive, it's probably just as well, though it would be interesting to see what those games would look like in 240p - having the option would be nice.

Another thing that Nintendo screwed up with the Player.

[kamiboy]

Watch out for old Nintendo SFC RGB cables... they can be quite crusty & rusty...

That is because the 220uf capacitors on that board have started to leak. Replace them and clean the board or the electrolytic fluid will eat through the traces.

Leaky capacitors are not really the cables fault. Many early 90's components suffer from that as someone, mostly Nichicon, dropped the ball and apparently produced millions of faulty caps with a tendency towards premature failure by way of leakage.

[Grambo]

You don't need to solder wire to the regulator in that case. Putting a solder short on jumper J3 does the same thing.

Well, don't I feel silly. I had the 2nd regulator in there temporarily, so I just moved the wires to the NES' regulator. The thought hadn't even occurred to me.

Are you using an original Nintendo power supply? If you are, would you be able to measure the voltage at the regulator input? (just for my own curiosity)

I am.

No game: 10.3V
Game: 9.83V

[rCadeGaming]

Wait, do component cable owners get 240p? That is fantastic if true!

Nope. No way to get 240p from the GBA player. At least not directly from the Gamecube.

http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=47804

You can output 480p and run it through an Extron Emotia or other downscaler.

DS and 3DS games on a TV would be cool. Not sure how well the dual screen configuration would work with that though.

[BitFaced]

So that means you'll be releasing a N64 VGA kit, right? A universal solution to work with any Nintendo 64 as it contains a DAC and line doubler to output 31kHz, or 15kHz standard?

I designed a N64 RGB board early this year. 15 kHz only, support PAL/NTSC RGB cables, fairly cheap, and works better than my old design from '07. I just need to push the button to make lots of them.

There's also this: http://retroactive.be/tech_n64_hdmi.php

DS and 3DS games on a TV would be cool. Not sure how well the dual screen configuration would work with that though.

Was just going to mention that. If you were to focus on some kind of handheld TV Out project, maybe you could just do that instead, as there's barely any methods for DS TV Out besides something like this:

[bobrocks95]

Another reason for wanting some kind of alternative display is that the GB Player requires putting a disc into the GameCube - which was a really dumb way of doing things on Nintendo's part; you'd think they could have made the system able to deflect control over to that expansion port without also needing to boot off disc

Well, the alternative would be the GameCube automatically detecting the Game Boy Player, which would mean you'd have to take it off every time you wanted to play a GameCube game right? I'd much rather have the boot disc myself.

Given the original systems were progressive, it's probably just as well, though it would be interesting to see what those games would look like in 240p - having the option would be nice.

Another thing that Nintendo screwed up with the Player.

Crazy thought perhaps, but I thought Gameboy possibly up through GBA or even DS all had interlaced displays? Playing something like Oracle of Ages/Seasons recently where in the intro it slowly pans up Link while he's on horseback you see the typical interlaced movement blur just like on a CRT. This could be something else wrong with the display though, I dunno.

My only personal problem with the player is the fact that the clocks don't match up perfectly so it skips a frame every so often. That and a lack of 240p are prices I'm willing to pay to trade my tiny SP screen for my 32" CRT or 42" plasma.

[Ed Oscuro]

Another reason for wanting some kind of alternative display is that the GB Player requires putting a disc into the GameCube - which was a really dumb way of doing things on Nintendo's part; you'd think they could have made the system able to deflect control over to that expansion port without also needing to boot off disc

Well, the alternative would be the GameCube automatically detecting the Game Boy Player, which would mean you'd have to take it off every time you wanted to play a GameCube game right? I'd much rather have the boot disc myself.

The DS handles this situation well, with a "if game card detected" option in the menu. Very easy to set up. The player could've also been designed not to trigger an option unless it was loaded, too.

Crazy thought perhaps, but I thought Gameboy possibly up through GBA or even DS all had interlaced displays? Playing something like Oracle of Ages/Seasons recently where in the intro it slowly pans up Link while he's on horseback you see the typical interlaced movement blur just like on a CRT. This could be something else wrong with the display though, I dunno.

It's not interlaced, but you shouldn't feel bad - others have thought the same thing. There is some oddness happening with the PSP-3000 which gives that system's screen an interlaced look as well. Of course, neither system is interlaced - why would they be?

My only personal problem with the player is the fact that the clocks don't match up perfectly so it skips a frame every so often.

Yes, that's regrettable and probably here to stay unless Nintendo adopts something like G-SYNC...

[bobrocks95]

The DS handles this situation well, with a "if game card detected" option in the menu. Very easy to set up. The player could've also been designed not to trigger an option unless it was loaded, too.

I guess that means the Gameboy Player was an afterthought to help pick up Gamecube sales, and they were forced to use the boot disc since the architecture of the system didn't have options for that.

Of course, neither system is interlaced - why would they be?

I picture Gunpei Yokoi as a mad scientist, sitting in the Nintendo office at 2 am, long after everyone else has gone, going mad with power, shouting from his basement laboratory, "If I make the screens interlaced, then I could theoretically DOUBLE the speed of the system! Nobody can stop Yokoi-san!!!"

[Asbrandt]

I had forgotten another reason a GBATV might be desired, the Gameboy Player suffers from a little bit of input lag on GBA games and a quite noticeable amount of it on GB/C games, something that the speedrunning community especially would probably like to put an end to.

EDIT: Now I'm starting to feel bad for this derail, we should be celebrating an amazing creation not wishing for more.

[sammargh]

You can see what they look like searching for "sfc rgbケーブル" or SHVC-010. The build quality in the cables is way higher than the custom-made ones.

Watch out for old Nintendo SFC RGB cables... they can be quite crusty & rusty...


I've found that gold-plated 3rd-party (like Gametech or Karat) multi-system RGB cables are of higher quality overall than Nintendo's own SFC cable. Worth checking out (the cable in question is at the lower-left):

Yikes! I get my SFC cables from Surugaya and they seem to be pretty consistent in not giving me mis-labeled parts in terms of quality. That's one of the nice things about buying direct from Japan - the market is so competitive there that "good" quality would be on par with "used - like new" in the states.

Hell I don't know how you can even get those cables open without destroying them, those 4 locking bits around the screw are impossible to work with.

[rolins]

That's correct. He got an early one. I'll start sending out packages on Tuesday/Wednesday.

Woohoo! Christmas is coming soon. My old toaster is ready.

One question viletim
In the photos on your website, I see you're using a Commodore 1084S monitor to test. Which sync pin did you use: "Composite Sync TTL" or "Composite video output encoded from RGB"?

[Artemio]

Ready for the NESRGB here... since the guide for the Famicom is not up, I didn't solder the socket to the PCB yet.

[BitFaced]

I had forgotten another reason a GBATV might be desired, the Gameboy Player suffers from a little bit of input lag on GBA games and a quite noticeable amount of it on GB/C games, something that the speedrunning community especially would probably like to put an end to.

EDIT: Now I'm starting to feel bad for this derail, we should be celebrating an amazing creation not wishing for more.

Ya sure we can't also ask about a GameCube Component board?

[zillion.ika]

I had forgotten another reason a GBATV might be desired, the Gameboy Player suffers from a little bit of input lag on GBA games and a quite noticeable amount of it on GB/C games, something that the speedrunning community especially would probably like to put an end to.

EDIT: Now I'm starting to feel bad for this derail, we should be celebrating an amazing creation not wishing for more.

Ya sure we can't also ask about a GameCube Component board?

I would totally buy a GameCube kit with 15KHz RGB and 480p component. I regret selling my official GameCube component cable!

I would also buy a GBA RGB kit!

[lettuce]

I can believe the GBA requests. The LCD screens on those old systems are pretty nasty and some games (notably Circle of the Moon, from personal experience) have contrast or ghosting issues (even when played on newer handhelds).

Hopefully the Retron5 will help with this!

[KKEYSER4063]

I can believe the GBA requests. The LCD screens on those old systems are pretty nasty and some games (notably Circle of the Moon, from personal experience) have contrast or ghosting issues (even when played on newer handhelds).

Hopefully the Retron5 will help with this!

Not holding much hope for the Android-based emulator...

[fandangos]

Day after day I press F5 on universalppu site when I could easily be enjoying NES RGB with this board.

Damm...

Do you think this might fit on the Famicom AV?

And as the first page says no ETA for more? =/

[BitFaced]

I had forgotten another reason a GBATV might be desired, the Gameboy Player suffers from a little bit of input lag on GBA games and a quite noticeable amount of it on GB/C games, something that the speedrunning community especially would probably like to put an end to.

EDIT: Now I'm starting to feel bad for this derail, we should be celebrating an amazing creation not wishing for more.

Ya sure we can't also ask about a GameCube Component board?

I would totally buy a GameCube kit with 15KHz RGB and 480p component. I regret selling my official GameCube component cable!

I would also buy a GBA RGB kit!

Yes. Yep. Mhm. Yeh.

[evil_ash_xero]

Well, the first batch hasn't even shipped out yet. I think he was overwhelmed by the orders.

[ApolloBoy]

Do you think this might fit on the Famicom AV?

Tim has an adapter available for the AV Fami and NES top loader, since the NESRGB won't fit in those systems without it.

[fandangos]

Do you think this might fit on the Famicom AV?

Tim has an adapter available for the AV Fami and NES top loader, since the NESRGB won't fit in those systems without it.

This just passed me by... I have everything Tim ever sold. By that I mean GG RGB, scart to arcade and I was about to order the MS FM sound system.. I can't believe I've missed it.

[EmperorZelos]

I can believe the GBA requests. The LCD screens on those old systems are pretty nasty and some games (notably Circle of the Moon, from personal experience) have contrast or ghosting issues (even when played on newer handhelds).

Hopefully the Retron5 will help with this!

I call this blasphemous! MOdding original is fine D: But an emulator is just blasphemous!

[undamned]

I've put a note at the bottom of the OP (sorry, Tim!) with a link to the thread split. I moved out most of the Drakon talk (not all, as it's intertwined in many posts and I'm not going to hand edit that stuff) to Thread Split: Drakon's Modding. Please keep all that talk there and this thread clean. Thanks.
-ud

[EmperorZelos]

Onto topic, Anyone know any good european modder for this job?

[Ed Oscuro]

I've put a note at the bottom of the OP (sorry, Tim!) with a link to the thread split. I moved out most of the Drakon talk (not all, as it's intertwined in many posts and I'm not going to hand edit that stuff) to Thread Split: Drakon's Modding. Please keep all that talk there and this thread clean. Thanks.
-ud

Just a final thought on housekeeping: I think it's still problematic that villetim is mentioning Drakon in the first post - that's essentially an endorsement. Obviously it doesn't affect me but I think that given what's come out recently, Drakon doesn't need a soapbox on this board. If he pulled any of that stuff with a forum regular he'd be banned right quick.

[Fudoh]

Moosmann (in Germany) is as good as it gets, but he's usually quite busy and he's moving places right now. http://playoffline.wordpress.com/ . Did a perfect job on a few dozen machines in my collection over the past ten years.

[IrishNinja]

Well, the first batch hasn't even shipped out yet. I think he was overwhelmed by the orders.

ah, here i was looking to ask when the next wave would be, something came up & i sadly missed this one...i guess i'll try back in a bit!

Hopefully the Retron5 will help with this!

Not holding much hope for the Android-based emulator...[/quote]

yeah, i like region-free, controller options & save states for scrub-mode options, but it's gonna be second-fiddle at best if i do go with one, i'm thinking the same thing here. i'm honestly not optimistic for how it handles sega genesis titles/sound.

[EmperorZelos]

I had forgotten another reason a GBATV might be desired, the Gameboy Player suffers from a little bit of input lag on GBA games and a quite noticeable amount of it on GB/C games, something that the speedrunning community especially would probably like to put an end to.

EDIT: Now I'm starting to feel bad for this derail, we should be celebrating an amazing creation not wishing for more.

Ya sure we can't also ask about a GameCube Component board?

I'd love a board that would allow EU GC Components TOtally buy it and get it into my regionfree console!