Play legacy devices on your HDTV or 4KTV

[tthurman]

This outputs at 16 x 9, so if you're okay with that and in need of some way to say get that old NES back up and running without the luxury of a CRT, this may be a solution.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AWN6JUY/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=ALEWIQ2F9CQDR&psc=1

[RIP-Felix]

I was considering a RetroTink until I decide to just go all out and get an OSSC. However, I'd recommend the retrotink over the above option as it's designed with no compromises in terms of Lag or aspect ratio. It does cost a bit more, but if you don't care about RGB then it's probably the best bang for your buck (Supports component, composite, and s-video).

[tthurman]

It's not worth that type of investment to me, I just posted it here given the rave reviews it was getting from retro gamers.

I'm converting analog to digital and need to monitor output from my Time Base Corrector when I ran across this (which also features time base correction) in my quest to solve needing a monitor that had composite video in.

I can pick up this item and have HDMI compatibility or their other device that outputs VGA.  For the price, it's a no brainer for me!

 

[tthurman]

After further research, I take back my comment.  After watching the video reviews, and assuming the RetroTink becomes available again, I believe I'll be picking one up.

[RIP-Felix]

Videogame Perfection is out of stock, but Castlemania Games is taking pre-orders and expecting to ship in mid april. You'll save a bit not having to pay the currency conversion and international shipping.

The RetroTink2x and OSSC are in and out of stock, they sell out because they're niche items made to order in small-ish batches. Not quite as sought after as the UltraHDMI mod for the N64 (I had to wait 4 months for mine), but niche in a similar way. Most people will just buy one of those cheap converters on amazon and never look back. There's nothing wrong picking an inexpensive solution if lag and poor picture quality aren't deal breakers. For me they are. That's how I came across the OSSC and RetroTink2x.

[tthurman]

Thanks!

I suppose wave 4.5 is production run reference?  Many of the reviews here are most concerning, especially regarding the RCA connectors.  

I'll keep an eye in hopes this will be addressed with the upcoming stock.

[RIP-Felix]

7 hours ago, tthurman said:

Thanks!

I suppose wave 4.5 is production run reference?  Many of the reviews here are most concerning, especially regarding the RCA connectors.  

I'll keep an eye in hopes this will be addressed with the upcoming stock.

I bought my OSSC from VideoGame perfection (UK based) because they were in stock and ready to ship, otherwise I'd have gone with castlemania. So my guess is that's just the way they describe their batch based system of procuring stock without over buying and taking a loss. A bit annoying, but that's the niche.

I'm not sure what your referring to about the RCA connectors? I know that some RCA cables, Monster for example, have a death grip notorious for destroying connectors.

Here is a great review by RetroRGB. I'm thinking I might get one myself, for my NES, but I'm debating on a HI-Def-NES mod:

Spoiler

 

 

[tthurman]

https://castlemaniagames.com/shop?olsPage=products%2Fretrotink-2x

[RIP-Felix]

Lol...ghostery was blocking the reviews on the page, so I didn't see them at the bottom there.

Honestly, it's not that hard to de-solder them and put new ones on if they do go bad. It's only 1 review and I'm sure it's not that bad. Given the other advantages over similar products that's not a deal breaker, especially when this exists:

[tthurman]

 

As for the links, they don't show on the direct link for me, instead, you have to go shopping and come back to it for the review links to show.

There are actually numerous comments on them, which is what raised a flag to me considering there only nine reviews.  Sounds to me like whoever is doing assembly doesn't know how to flow solder.  I can re-flow them if needed, but for the price, you shouldn't have to.
 

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Overall I'm happy but the quality of the RCA jacks are crap, after swapping cables around five or six times it starting to get loose already.

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This device is made very bad. The arrangement of the ports is so close to each other that the use of component cables becomes problematic, they bend. Each extra movement on the table may be the last for this device.

 

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Besides the relatively poor quality of the device, (seriously, check the solder joints)

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Maybe I just got a bad build, but this thing is really poorly constructed. The composite ports (especially audio) aren't reinforced at all. I almost bent one back putting in the left audio connector from my Master System

 

Honestly, I don't see a lot of plugging and unplugging going on, however.  I have a pristine NES that probably has less than 20 hours total on it.  Bought by a friend as an adult who got bored of it quickly and shelved it.  It was headed to Goodwill when he asked if I wanted it.  He lost the gun though. 

I'm all too familiar with the death grip Monster terminations.  I've got some pretty decent composite/component cables laying around from my old home theater that won't break the items they are plugged into.

After I finish with my video transfer, this would be hooked to the NES almost always.

[RIP-Felix]

23 hours ago, tthurman said:

This device is made very bad. The arrangement of the ports is so close to each other that the use of component cables becomes problematic, they bend. Each extra movement on the table may be the last for this device.

He/She must have had some really wide component cables! I've seen some that are absurdly wide. Even HDRetrovision's component cables (top notch, fully shielded) aren't much wider than standard composite RCA jacks. Maybe that's the issue.

I've been reading more and I see what you mean. I think people are expecting it to be like other full fledged, thoroughly tested, mass produced products. And no, it's not up to that standard. I guess that's the nature of the Device. It was made for enthusiasts by an enthusiast, not for mass consumer production (requiring it to be built like a tank). It seems to me like you'd treat something you spend $100 on carefully. Don't wrench on it. If your component cables span the ports, get different cables. If you treat it like your beloved console, you shouldn't have issues. But yes, there is an element of risk paying for a product made by an enthusiast. You'll have to decide if it's worth it for you.

The zero added lag alone is wort it IMO, even if the design problems are as bad as the reviews say. Although it looks better in 480p, it's really about getting 240p/480i into a signal all modern TVs can accept without needing to deinterlace (which adds lag). The 480p limit is a bit of a drawback for me. Basically, the closer the input is to the TV's native resolution the less softness is applied by the TV's upscaler. The softness caused by upscaling from 480p will be hidden behind the worse quality of composite. However, component is a very high quality analog signal. You can easily see sharper edges if the line multiplier could get closer to the screen's native resolution (3x = 720p, 4x = 960p, 5x = 1080p), like the OSSC can. However, the OSSC cost's more than $100 more and has it's own drawbacks.

[tthurman]

Yeah, the thing that got my attention is that all those advantages spill over into the VCR world, which will make tweaking the picture for encoding much more accurate as far as "what you see is what  you get" point of view.

These are videos that can't be replaced, family events, weddings, etc., and conversation is time-consuming.  In the end, it seemed worthwhile to pick up to help ensure decent results.   I still plan to grab one when the funds are there.

 

[tthurman]

Ordered!

Guess I'll be digging out my NES soon!

 

[RIP-Felix]

May you survive the nostalgia with you wallet intact! Ohhhhh...careful Alice that rabbit hole goes deep!

Last summer it started with my x-Box. In September it was the EverDrive 64. Then the N64 RGB mod and ultraHDMI mod. Then I got an OSSC and that blew the door open to the rest of my OG consoles. Then the 1-chip super Nintendo restoration project (which I'm still working on). This month I visited a local retro gaming store and picked up a bunch of Genesis, PS1/2, NES, and even a Super Gameboy. Now I want a Everdrive GB to pair with that super gameboy! It'll have to wait, since I just picked up an Everdrive N8, SD2SNES Pro, and Mega Everdrive. Last weekend it was the Dreamcast GDEmu. And I'm in the next batch for the DCHDMI...Yeah...I fell down the rabbit hole and haven't found the bottom yet. My wallet's hurting a bit at the moment. But it's been a hell of a lot of fun.

I'm on a bit of an OG console tear.

[tthurman]

I've been swamped with work, but did take time to hook up my VCR and fire up a rarely played "Making of Star Wars" VHS, just to see how it did on playback in anticipation of my capture project.

I works nicely, and while the line doubling improvement was expected, it was the effect the smoothing filter had on things that really surprised me.  It really took out the grainy appearance and gave the overall picture a softer look, which is a plus on such lossy media and VHS.

Build quality is just fine on this product, I have no idea what anyone could be bitching about.

 

[RIP-Felix]

Good to hear the build quality didn't disappoint! I think I'll pick one up myself, as the OSSC doesn't have inputs for composite and S-video.

PS: The rabbit hole got deeper this week. I got a Sega Saturn. I see a Rhea/phoebe in my future.