Rendered at 04:40:52 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time) with Cloudflare Workers.
sadnes 2 hours ago [-]
In case anyone follows the review back to https://www.crowdsupply.com/tall-dog-electronics/tinynes - I've been waiting since the beginning of the year for an update on an order (despite an order ID and emailing multiple times).
I don't think they still exist? Sounds like it used to be cool tech though.
shoobiedoo 5 hours ago [-]
Very cool. I live in Japan and see NES carts in all the second hand stores that are everywhere here. Very tempting but in the end I know I wouldn't play it. Whenever I go down a "weee let's try retro" path I lose interest after five minutes
TulliusCicero 4 hours ago [-]
Similar issue for me -- I kept my childhood collection and slowly added to it, but hardly ever actually played anything -- until I got a Retron 2 HD that can handle both NES and SNES games, outputting to HDMI.
And then I got the wireless 8bitdo controllers that can work with the original NES/SNES ports, because fuck cables (briefly tried using OG controllers and it was awful).
Now I actually play the games a decent amount, and my wife plays Tetris or Dr Mario all the time.
cookiengineer 2 hours ago [-]
I kind of modded my GBA a while back, and bought some upgrades like a better display and an sdcard using cartridge.
Now it's my travel device when I'm on holiday or having no energy left to focus on code. It's pretty convenient only because of the sdcard cartridge adapter.
Did not regret spending 50 bucks for the mods. Would heavily recommend.
Great write up, thank you. Actually I've been messing around with ARM assembly lately so have been keeping my eyes open for a cheap used GBA. There are a lot of them here, but most are close to 100usd and in really rough shape. So your link may come in handy someday :)
lotrjohn 2 hours ago [-]
> Later revisions of the PPU did offer RGB output options but most NES and Famicom systems had the single pin output.
Anyone have any insight on this? The article does not elaborate.
I have a “New-style” NES. Do I have the “upgraded” PPU?
GoofGarage 2 hours ago [-]
If you're referring to a toploader NES (NES-101), it does not support RGB out of the box, and actually only has an RF-out jack back there.
A top-loading Famicom (Famicom AV, HVC-101) instead has the Multi-Out port similar to the SNES, N64 and GameCube. However, it doesn't support RGB out of the box, and needs to be modified.
You can modify a NES-101 for RGB output as well, the issue is for the NES-101 you also need to also add the Multi-Out port to replace the RF output.
Typically the NESRGB board is what most folks will add to support RGB output. Again, for an NES-101 you have to physically add the Multi-Out port as well.
-- -----
With a Multi-Out port you now have new options for suitably modified consoles to go from the Multi-Out to Mini-HDMI with something like the RAD2X which has a vastly simplified RetroTink multiplier/upscaler inline to give you a "plug-and-play" HDMI output that detects Composite, S-Video or RGB and outputs appropriately without any need to configure. That cable works across the Famicom AV, SNES/SFC, N64 and GameCube. It adds about 53 microseconds of latency, or ~1/315th of a frame.
However you can still do Multi-Out to Composite, Multi-Out to S-Video, or Multi-Out to RGB if you wish to use some other multiplier/scaler such as an OSSC or anything else you have.
Long story short, you can have an amazing picture, with a simple HDMI adapter, on nearly any old console at this point. You have to either learn to solder, or you can pay someone to do it. There's a lot of options from simply buying an upscaler and plugging whatever you have in, to modifying for maximum image quality and/or ease-of-use.
Generally, I recommend most folks "keep it simple" or at least have the "easiest to use" option (in lieu of maximum quality) on hand. If you can take it out of storage, hook it up, and start playing within 2 minutes, generally that removes the friction you'd have and you'll actually play it. Flash carts are also a great "friction remover".
For those who like their old Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, remember that the SNES had Super Game Boy/2, and the GameCube had the Game Boy Player (also supported GBA). There's a lot to be said for playing those handheld games on a TV, with a wireless Nintendo WaveBird controller.
Though for those chasing what's possible, those options exist too, but trade off that "pick-up-and-play" factor :)
sedawkgrep 4 hours ago [-]
This article is from Feb 2023.
Pretty neat, but not something new.
terrycody 3 hours ago [-]
I don't fully understand the video, so what it is lacks compare with the original hardware?
d3Xt3r 6 hours ago [-]
... That wasn't as tiny as I expected it to be. It's more like a mini.
charcircuit 2 hours ago [-]
>Much that same as some people don’t like emulators because it isn’t as close to how real hardware plays.
Modern hardware is powerful enough to emulate it perfectly. It doesn't just get close, so I do not think this is a complaint based off of reality.
I don't think they still exist? Sounds like it used to be cool tech though.
And then I got the wireless 8bitdo controllers that can work with the original NES/SNES ports, because fuck cables (briefly tried using OG controllers and it was awful).
Now I actually play the games a decent amount, and my wife plays Tetris or Dr Mario all the time.
Now it's my travel device when I'm on holiday or having no energy left to focus on code. It's pretty convenient only because of the sdcard cartridge adapter.
Did not regret spending 50 bucks for the mods. Would heavily recommend.
[1] https://cookie.engineer/projects/hardware/gameboy-advance.ht...
Anyone have any insight on this? The article does not elaborate.
I have a “New-style” NES. Do I have the “upgraded” PPU?
A top-loading Famicom (Famicom AV, HVC-101) instead has the Multi-Out port similar to the SNES, N64 and GameCube. However, it doesn't support RGB out of the box, and needs to be modified.
You can modify a NES-101 for RGB output as well, the issue is for the NES-101 you also need to also add the Multi-Out port to replace the RF output.
Typically the NESRGB board is what most folks will add to support RGB output. Again, for an NES-101 you have to physically add the Multi-Out port as well.
-- -----
With a Multi-Out port you now have new options for suitably modified consoles to go from the Multi-Out to Mini-HDMI with something like the RAD2X which has a vastly simplified RetroTink multiplier/upscaler inline to give you a "plug-and-play" HDMI output that detects Composite, S-Video or RGB and outputs appropriately without any need to configure. That cable works across the Famicom AV, SNES/SFC, N64 and GameCube. It adds about 53 microseconds of latency, or ~1/315th of a frame.
However you can still do Multi-Out to Composite, Multi-Out to S-Video, or Multi-Out to RGB if you wish to use some other multiplier/scaler such as an OSSC or anything else you have.
This video by RetroRGB will go over things: https://youtu.be/O4HBvpRIwa4
-- -----
Long story short, you can have an amazing picture, with a simple HDMI adapter, on nearly any old console at this point. You have to either learn to solder, or you can pay someone to do it. There's a lot of options from simply buying an upscaler and plugging whatever you have in, to modifying for maximum image quality and/or ease-of-use.
Generally, I recommend most folks "keep it simple" or at least have the "easiest to use" option (in lieu of maximum quality) on hand. If you can take it out of storage, hook it up, and start playing within 2 minutes, generally that removes the friction you'd have and you'll actually play it. Flash carts are also a great "friction remover".
For those who like their old Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance, remember that the SNES had Super Game Boy/2, and the GameCube had the Game Boy Player (also supported GBA). There's a lot to be said for playing those handheld games on a TV, with a wireless Nintendo WaveBird controller.
Though for those chasing what's possible, those options exist too, but trade off that "pick-up-and-play" factor :)
Pretty neat, but not something new.
Modern hardware is powerful enough to emulate it perfectly. It doesn't just get close, so I do not think this is a complaint based off of reality.