RetroTINK5x Restock 9pm Pacific tonight!

[RIP-Felix]

$300+shipping. I told Alexa to remind me at 15mins before. I'm gonna get one tonight (fingers crossed).

Here's the link in case you are interested. And here are some videos extolling it's virtue!

 

[RIP-Felix]

Got mine!!!

Get yours while they last!

[tthurman]

Is this a special or something, or just finally accepting orders?

I've watched several reviews and I'm sure it's great, it's just the 2x does everything I need. 

 

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[RIP-Felix]

No, it's just a restock. They tend to sell out quickly. I was surprised it lasted at least a day or 2. Not sure when it went out of stock, but it's gone now. So a couple of day window. If you want one you have to be vigilant. I was expecting it to be as hard as the PixelFX N64 Digital. I managed to get 3 of them (N64 Digitals), but it wasn't easy and they were gone within a few hours. So I feared the worst on the RT5x too.

The 2x is great. But the 5x has some major improvements I want. Namely, motion adaptive deinterlacing, seamless handling of the 240p<-->480i switching, and automatic phase sampling. Scanline features are nice too. The 240p/480i SYNC drops kill me in dino crysis, resident evil 2 (N64 version), chrono cross, etc. I notice it more than I thought I would and this is the first scaler that eliminates it properly. I got it to replace my OSSC, which is great, but so much fuss, I often don't bother. I liked how simple the RT2x was and found myself using it instead, forgoing higher scaling for plug'n play convenience! The OSSC requires too much fuss. The Tink5x is going to be my no compromise solution. Better and easier to use. Expensive, but it's the heart of my setup. I spent lots more on RGB mods, HD retrovision component cables, and a G-Comp switch.

[tthurman]

These are currently back in stock.

https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/5x-pro

[RIP-Felix]

Returning home from Hawaii at midnight with this waiting for me...

...makes having to get up early for work easier. It gives me something to look forward to!

That was sunday, this is now. Having messed with it a little tonight (on N64) color me impressed. I have to say that comparing it to the N64 digital and ultraHDMI is completely fair if you have an RGB mod. It's so close that you'll never tell. In fact {Hot take coming] I actually like it better!!!

Sure the digital-to-digital mod are ever so slightly cleaner/sharper. No doubt! But from a normal viewing distance it's impreceptable. The real kicker here is the RetroTINK5x's motion adaptive deinterlacer. Your limited to Bob and weave with the ultraHDMI and N64D (currently). I'm hoping PixelFX will implement motion adaptive deinterlacing in a firmware update. My HW1 ultraHDMI is obsolete now, as Marshall has moved onto HW2 revision and firmware's. So even if he were to implement it, it wouldn't be for my revision. Nor is it easy to update the FW on the ultraHDMI.

Now, the N64D was $194.68 shipped and the RetroTINK5xPro was $313.99 (I added the Composite RCA to SCART adapter for a few dollars more, because it's nice to have one around). So the RT5x is ~$100 more and doesn't provide quite as good of quality, but it's WAY more versitile. It can be used for more than just one system. I have mine hooked up to a GComp Switch VIA HDRetrovision Male-Male Component cable. The other component output on the GComp goes to my SONY Trinitron CRT. All my analog consoles hook up to the GComp via HDretrovision Component cables (if one exists for it). So, Genesis, SNES Jr, N64, and Wii currently. The SNES Jr and N64 are RGB modded for this to work. My Atari 2600 and NES are currently awaiting RGB mods I haven't installed yet. I am Planning a PS2 project also. I got the HDD sata conversion and am looking into free Mcboot or whatever the newest thing is. I haven't gotten far into that project yet, but now that I have the RT5x, PS2 should be back in business. Motion adaptive deinterlacing works well on 480i games, something that plagued PS2 scaling until now. So it's time for me to pickup some HDRetrovision PS2 component cables now and add it to my GComp Switch! I have plans for PS1 and Saturn via HDRetrovisior Component cables too.

What's great about the Gcomp is that it automatically switches to the console that's on and sends it out to the RT5x. It doesn't have to be Component either. It takes Composite too. I just plug my console into it and it output into the TINK and CRT simultaneously so I can play on CRT or the HDTV. Or capture while playing on CRT. The RT5x is replacing the OSSC as the new heart of my setup. And it just works! For me, it's worth the price.

Now, I haven't put it through it's paces yet. I still need to try other consoles and let the new toy excitement wear off, but I'm happy so far.