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[dhonk]

Eff me, I got it to work! Thanks bapho for letting me know yours worked.

Turns out my gamecube would reboot whenever I tried the LL GBI file, but that was due to the cart not being fully slotted / dirty! Reseated the game now it works and boy is it good looking!

Elgato pic so it compresses it a bit, but yeah 240p and looks great. So yeah, if you have an XRGB mini it will work. Sorry if I spread any disinformation before! The only downside is the occasional audio crackle.

 

[Bodacious]

Eff me, I got it to work! Thanks bapho for letting me know yours worked.

Turns out my gamecube would reboot whenever I tried the LL GBI file, but that was due to the cart not being fully slotted / dirty! Reseated the game now it works and boy is it good looking!

Elgato pic so it compresses it a bit, but yeah 240p and looks great. So yeah, if you have an XRGB mini it will work. Sorry if I spread any disinformation before! The only downside is the occasional audio crackle.

Well, that and the expense of a component cable. I've got S-video for my gamecube but haven't bought a mini yet. I'm planning to use the d-link port for Wii anyway (w/ nintendont so that covers GCN games too) ... anyone able to confirm the LL version still works through the mini on S-video? Sorry kinda being a PITA even asking that.

 

[dhonk]

The ultra low lag one doesnt put out color over svideo, but you should be just fine with the low lag version from what Ive read. And yeah, the cables are stupid pricey. I bought mine for 80 bucks about 5 years ago and I thought I was INSANE.

 

[Bodacious]

The ultra low lag one doesnt put out color over svideo, but you should be just fine with the low lag version from what Ive read. And yeah, the cables are stupid pricey. I bought mine for 80 bucks about 5 years ago and I thought I was INSANE.

I'd love to snag one @ $80. Even on amazon japan the best price I see for a used one is about $160. Better spent on other stuff.

 

[SegaShack]

In honor of Mr Iwata I thought this was fitting:

(pics in composite)

i ended up ordering a SDML because there's no other easy way for me to get homebrew loaded on GC (modding the machine itself is out of the question because my country is completely devoid of any place to do that and shipping the machine would be far more expensive than the SDML and getting PSO + BBA is also more expensive)
i've got a CRT since i got one recently so that should be good for now until there's more options available.

this should at least provide some fun with comparisons and stuff.

How were you able to order an SD Media Launcher? They've been sold out for a month now?

http://us.codejunkies.com/Products/GCN/Wii-SD-Media-Launcher___EF000589.aspx

I've been trying to get one too, so if you could let me know I'd appreciate it.

Any decent entertainment centers that can hold a bunch of retro consoles? The only one I found that I liked was pretty expensive.

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/insigni...esso/4677005.p?id=1218505324186&skuId=4677005

I got this at Bestbuy about a year and a half ago (was $130 at that time). Surprisingly they still sell it. Has plenty of room for different consoles, lots of holes for wires to fit through too. The material is pretty heavy duty and it's made in America. Mine just survived a long move perfectly too (despite being sideways the whole time).

It's supposed to have two drawers but I just never installed the bottom draw so I could fit other consoles in there. The one remaining drawer I put a bunch of controllers in. The shelf where the NES is on can go into multiple positions (I have it high up to make room for the Genesis tower of doom).

I highly recommend it.

 

[catabarez]

Thanks! I was looking for something shorter and longer, but as long as it fits everything that's okay.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

I know the framemeister isn't really built for composite, but are there any settings that can make NES/Fami composite into the FM look less crummy? When there's a still image it's not so bad but In motion it's pretty ugly.

I really wasn't looking forward to buying/installing an NESRGB.

 

[Madao]

How were you able to order an SD Media Launcher? They've been sold out for a month now?

http://us.codejunkies.com/Products/GCN/Wii-SD-Media-Launcher___EF000589.aspx

I've been trying to get one too, so if you could let me know I'd appreciate it.

when i ordered, it was the europe page.

http://uk.codejunkies.com/Products/GCNWii-SD-Media-Launcher__EF000580.aspx

not sure if this program is region free but i'm crossing my fingers (US GC here)

 

[speedlolita]

I know the framemeister isn't really built for composite, but are there any settings that can make NES/Fami composite into the FM look less crummy? When there's a still image it's not so bad but In motion it's pretty ugly.

I really wasn't looking forward to buying/installing an NESRGB.

Dude the NESRGB makes everything look amazing.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I know the framemeister isn't really built for composite, but are there any settings that can make NES/Fami composite into the FM look less crummy? When there's a still image it's not so bad but In motion it's pretty ugly.

I really wasn't looking forward to buying/installing an NESRGB.

My life in gaming put out a Framemeister settings video that might help, but RGB will give you he best results full stop.

 

[SegaShack]

when i ordered, it was the europe page.

http://uk.codejunkies.com/Products/GCNWii-SD-Media-Launcher__EF000580.aspx

not sure if this program is region free but i'm crossing my fingers (US GC here)

To my knowledge you need a freeloader or GC Mod Chip to boot the PAL SD Media Launcher. I emailed Datel and will let you know what they say.

 

[Sixfortyfive]

I was playing around with the XRGB-3 recently and discovered that it can tap into the sync pin on the RGB cable and use only that to display the picture. So, it's an easy way to test cables to verify whether they use composite video as sync (which displays a poor, composite quality picture) or c-sync (which displays no picture at all). Would probably show a black-and-white picture with a luma-for-sync cable, but I haven't checked yet.

Also, I just noticed that another firmware update was released for it last month. Looks like there's only one actual addition (some kind of 1200p bugfix), but they also released a fully up to date English version for it this time as well. The previous English firmware was really outdated compared to the Japanese.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Dude the NESRGB makes everything look amazing.

But it's 'spensive and I hate desoldering DIP chips.

Edit: I'll probably end up getting it eventually but I guess I'll let the composite artifacts really bug me for a while first to better justify it.

 

[InfiniteNine]

But it's 'spensive and I hate desoldering DIP chips.

That's why I'm going to look for a modder whenever I get my Famicom. lol I'm hoping it's not too much trouble on an OG Famicom model since I prefer the look of those.

 

[Mercutio]

But it's 'spensive and I hate desoldering DIP chips.

Edit: I'll probably end up getting it eventually but I guess I'll let the composite artifacts really bug me for a while first to better justify it.

Have Baphomet do yours. Mine looks absolutely incredible, and he's a stellar guy to deal with.

 

[baphomet]

To my knowledge you need a freeloader or GC Mod Chip to boot the PAL SD Media Launcher. I emailed Datel and will let you know what they say.

That's correct unfortunately. It's a region locked disc.

 

[NormalFish]

So if you make an SD memory card yourself, how do you boot things on it, or is it all passive?

 

[baphomet]

So if you make an SD memory card yourself, how do you boot things on it, or is it all passive?

You need a way to boot dol files, so a modchip, media launcher disc, or PSO and a BBA. I'm not super versed in this stuff so there could be more ways as well.

 

[NormalFish]

You need a way to boot dol files, so a modchip, media launcher disc, or PSO and a BBA. I'm not super versed in this stuff so there could be more ways as well.

unfortunate. Guess I'll look in to this further when I have some money to throw at the issue.

Happy to see so many people being alerted to the software, though, I mentioned it in the GB thread earlier but evidently this audience is a bit more interested in such things

 

[dhonk]

You need a way to boot dol files, so a modchip, media launcher disc, or PSO and a BBA. I'm not super versed in this stuff so there could be more ways as well.

This is a good resource.

 

[shanafan]

I would like to know as well.=p

Retron 5 doesn't have analog support, just digital through HDMI, from what I read.

I did catch a good video today from My Life in Gaming. This thread may have seen it, but it does a good job at talking about NES RGB.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3QNALuSkLA

They did mention briefly about the Retron5, and they said that it runs the games with cleaner graphics because of the emulated hardware.

But overall, wow at that NES RGB. It's gorgeous!

 

[Madao]

To my knowledge you need a freeloader or GC Mod Chip to boot the PAL SD Media Launcher. I emailed Datel and will let you know what they say.

i do have a freeloader since the Action Replay i got years ago comes with that feature.
hopefully that works. i can test it since i got a JP GC game somewhere.

 

[Timu]

I did catch a good video today from My Life in Gaming. This thread may have seen it, but it does a good job at talking about NES RGB.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r3QNALuSkLA

They did mention briefly about the Retron5, and they said that it runs the games with cleaner graphics because of the emulated hardware.

But overall, wow at that NES RGB. It's gorgeous!

Yeah I seen that vid and love it, NES RGB is amazing!!!

 

[speedlolita]

But overall, wow at that NES RGB. It's gorgeous!

You should see it through a tasty CRT.

 

[Huggers]

NES RGB is mind blowingly beautiful on a decent CRT. It brings your whole Nes library to life. I couldn't go back to composite now I don't think

 

[TeaJay]

The feeling when you know you're never gonna have a PVM or a RGB modded NES. (well, the RGB mod might be possible but I have no idea where to get it and I certainly can't do it. I'd have it on my AV Famicom, anyway, since that's what I mostly play on these days.) It looks great, though.

And even finding a good Sony or Panasonic CRT is getting harder nowadays, even in europe. I think many more people are wiser about Trinitrons at least. I'm still looking for a nice Quintrix or a Trintron to replace my Thomson.

I actually thought about looking into getting a Framemeister. I'm constantly worried, though, that my consoles stop working. Getting a new modded SNES for example is gonna be a pain in the ass.

 

[Khaz]

I think many more people are wiser about Trinitrons at least.

More likely most of them went to the dump. Keep looking for them in your local equivalent of craigslist / gumtree / kijiji, they are still somewhat common.

 

[JPeeples83]

I was blown away seeing my Saturn stuff in S-Video when I got that cable last year, and my recent purchase of a DC VGA cable was great...until the screw got stuck and broke inside my VGA to HDMI adapter.

 

[TeaJay]

More likely they most of them went to the dump. Keep looking for them in your local equivalent of craigslist / gumtree / kijiji, they are still somewhat common.

Oh yeah, many of them have gone/will go straight to garbage. But I've been looking at these sites that sell random stuff for a good while and I've definitely seen more interest in the retro gaming community towards CRT's. Which of course can be taken as a good thing (less people playing on their HD TV without scalers and stuff) and a bad thing .... (less CRT's to go around!)

Many people will opt for larger sets, which seem to be available more often (the 29 inch Trinitron is kinda common household set over here). But it's too big for me, I'm keeping my eyes out for a 20-21 incher.

 

[sixteen-bit]

More likely they most of them went to the dump. Keep looking for them in your local equivalent of craigslist / gumtree / kijiji, they are still somewhat common.

Yeah companies pretty much threw them away when they went to flat screens

 

[Coda]

Oh yeah, many of them have gone/will go straight to garbage. But I've been looking at these sites that sell random stuff for a good while and I've definitely seen more interest in the retro gaming community towards CRT's. Which of course can be taken as a good thing (less people playing on their HD TV without scalers and stuff) and a bad thing .... (less CRT's to go around!)

Many people will opt for larger sets, which seem to be available more often (the 29 inch Trinitron is kinda common household set over here). But it's too big for me, I'm keeping my eyes out for a 20-21 incher.

I'm really pumped because lately everyone on my street has been ditching their CRTs. Today there was a 20 inch Sony Wega KV-20FS120 (which apparently is spectacular for retro gaming) directly outside my house today. It rained a little bit this morning so I was worried the thing would be busted. Brought it in and turned it out and it works perfectly fine. I'm psyched because I had a much bigger Toshiba CRT already so I moved that in the living room for my roommates to use. This CRT is the perfect size and the picture has better color and sharpness so I surely will be keeping this one for life.

 

[BocoDragon]

The feeling when you know you're never gonna have a PVM or a RGB modded NES. (well, the RGB mod might be possible but I have no idea where to get it and I certainly can't do it. I'd have it on my AV Famicom, anyway, since that's what I mostly play on these days.) It looks great, though.

And even finding a good Sony or Panasonic CRT is getting harder nowadays, even in europe. I think many more people are wiser about Trinitrons at least. I'm still looking for a nice Quintrix or a Trintron to replace my Thomson.

Dude.. I got a free PVM in mint condition a month ago from craigslist. Keep your eyes peeled.

I actually thought about looking into getting a Framemeister. I'm constantly worried, though, that my consoles stop working. Getting a new modded SNES for example is gonna be a pain in the ass.

That's an odd worry. Personally I believe that my old consoles will outlive me. When you've had them for decades and they never deteriorate in performance, its hard to worry about that.

I think defects like the RROD have programmed a lot of us to think of electronics as inherantly doomed, but it's not the case (not in a reasonable timescale, anyway).

 

[Friend of Sonic]

Thanks! I was looking for something shorter and longer, but as long as it fits everything that's okay.

I don't know if you're on board for spending more, but I use this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005EGVGXA/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Y

You could buy a matching "Technology Pier" for more space:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005EGLHYS/?tag=neogaf0e-20

You could go Super Saiyan and buy the stand and two piers to place at the side like I did:

I bought the pieces as they went on sale, but I love their quality

 

[PumpkinSpice]

You could go Super Saiyan and buy the stand and two piers to place at the side like I did:

I bought the pieces as they went on sale, but I love their quality

I know a lot of people like to have all their systems hooked up at once, but honestly the best thing I ever did was take all of my consoles out of permanent slots, store them on a nearby shelf, move all the wires into one cube space, and just swap out the console itself when I want to play something else.

The best part is there's a lot of redundancy in cords. SNES/N64/GameCube all use the same AV, PS1/PS2 use the same AV, PS1/PS2/PS3/Xbox use the same power cord, everything modern uses the same HDMI cord, etc.

 

[Madao]

I know a lot of people like to have all their systems hooked up at once, but honestly the best thing I ever did was take all of my consoles out of permanent slots, store them on a nearby shelf, move all the wires into one cube space, and just swap out the console itself when I want to play something else.

The best part is there's a lot of redundancy in cords. SNES/N64/GameCube all use the same AV, PS1/PS2 use the same AV, PS1/PS2/PS3/Xbox use the same power cord, everything modern uses the same HDMI cord, etc.

it sounds all fine on paper but then you put away a console and less than a week later you have the itch to play a game from that precise console and have to take all out again.

and since the brain likes to be a troll, you then get an itch to play the console you just unplugged and get trapped in a cycle of connect and disconnect all year.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

it sounds all fine on paper but then you put away a console and less than a week later you have the itch to play a game from that precise console and have to take all out again.

and since the brain likes to be a troll, you then get an itch to play the console you just unplugged and get trapped in a cycle of connect and disconnect all year.

It's really not so bad to unplug/replug a console when all the wires are still hooked up. Takes like 2 seconds.

I unplug the controllers anyway, which takes the longest to get hooked up, and keep the common ones nearby partially wrapped up.

Also I can usually keep two systems plugged in at the same time in the same block. The only time it ever became a problem was when I wanted to play Wii U and PS3 at the same time, which shared an HDMI cord, so I just hooked up a 2nd for that and left it hooked up.

 

[Madao]

It's really not so bad to unplug/replug a console when all the wires are still hooked up. Takes like 2 seconds.

I unplug the controllers anyway, which takes the longest to get hooked up, and keep the common ones nearby partially wrapped up.

Also I can usually keep two systems plugged in at the same time in the same block. The only time it ever became a problem was when I wanted to play Wii U and PS3 at the same time, which shared an HDMI cord, so I just hooked up a 2nd for that and left it hooked up.

i was half joking since that happened to me a while ago.

it's a pretty good approach. i might end up using it eventually since i got no extra space now.

 

[Friend of Sonic]

I can understand the logic behind what you say but I am team #PlugAllThatShitIn

 

[baphomet]

It's really not so bad to unplug/replug a console when all the wires are still hooked up. Takes like 2 seconds.

I unplug the controllers anyway, which takes the longest to get hooked up, and keep the common ones nearby partially wrapped up.

Also I can usually keep two systems plugged in at the same time in the same block. The only time it ever became a problem was when I wanted to play Wii U and PS3 at the same time, which shared an HDMI cord, so I just hooked up a 2nd for that and left it hooked up.

Yea, I gave up on keeping more than 1 system hooked up at a time. There's just not enough room to put them all and I don't want a entertainment center in my spare bedroom.

 

[TeaJay]

Dude.. I got a free PVM in mint condition a month ago from craigslist. Keep your eyes peeled.

This is (northern) europe, there are no PVM's available. In Germany and UK, maybe. Possibly France. I'd settle for a good CRT but even those have become surprisingly hard to find.

That's an odd worry. Personally I believe that my old consoles will outlive me. When you've had them for decades and they never deteriorate in performance, its hard to worry about that.
.

The latter part is probably just me being paranoid. Maybe I've bought into the modern mindset where electronics is viewed more as a replaceable thing whereas in ye olde times the devices were built to last. Part of it is due to me being unable to maintenance the consoles myself.

 

[catabarez]

I don't know if you're on board for spending more, but I use this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005EGVGXA/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Y

You could buy a matching "Technology Pier" for more space:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005EGLHYS/?tag=neogaf0e-20

You could go Super Saiyan and buy the stand and two piers to place at the side like I did:

I bought the pieces as they went on sale, but I love their quality

I like how these look, I may end up getting something like this.

 

[D.Lo]

Only having one or two hooked up kind of makes you 'dedicate a week' to Saturn or Dreamcast or whatever it is.

I've found it to be quite good, by having only Saturn immediately available it's like recreating 1996. Forces me to appreciate the library of one system rather than have a full buffet at all times.

That said, right now I have many systems set up, but swap out the scart cable to either the Framemeister or PVM. I'd need two switches daisy chained to handle all consoles and noise gets in with that many connections.

 

[sixteen-bit]

I can understand the logic behind what you say but I am team #PlugAllThatShitIn

same tbh.

well, as much as I can

 

[JLynn]

I'm really pumped because lately everyone on my street has been ditching their CRTs. Today there was a 20 inch Sony Wega KV-20FS120 (which apparently is spectacular for retro gaming) directly outside my house today. It rained a little bit this morning so I was worried the thing would be busted. Brought it in and turned it out and it works perfectly fine. I'm psyched because I had a much bigger Toshiba CRT already so I moved that in the living room for my roommates to use. This CRT is the perfect size and the picture has better color and sharpness so I surely will be keeping this one for life.

Congrats! I got the KV-20FS120 and Saturn, PS2, and PS games look amazing on it via component and composite. I can't wait to get a Saturn RGB cable and RGB to Component adapter.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Congrats! I got the KV-20FS120 and Saturn, PS2, and PS games look amazing on it via component and composite. I can't wait to get a Saturn RGB cable and RGB to Component adapter.

That was my exact setup (well, I the KV-27 instead of the KV-20) before I got into PVM territory and it looked stunning. Capcom fighters especially were total 240p showcases.

 

[Friend of Sonic]

I like how these look, I may end up getting something like this.

Awesome! Take a pic of your setup with whatever you choose!

 

[Khaz]

http://www.piratehearts.com/blog/2014/03/28/crt-simulation/

I should note that none of my methods are physically accurate, and I am not attempting to actually emulate how the NES outputs color data or how NTSC signals are carried. This process is entirely based on my perception of what an ideal CRT should look like.

That's bloody disgusting. You're not emulating an ideal CRT here mate, you're emulating a broken CRT fed with lousy RF. It's criminal. Devs have such a distorted view of what a CRT looks like and waste hours/money on creating ugly, blinding filters that no one will ever use more than a couple of seconds.

 

[Friend of Sonic]

Oh. Oh, God.

 

[NormalFish]

He deliberately added not only visual noise but the facets of CRTs that serve as the /downsides/ of image quality compared to LCDs. Wow. What a genius.

**he also fucks the palette. ugh.

 

[Madao]

http://www.piratehearts.com/blog/2014/03/28/crt-simulation/





That's bloody disgusting. You're not emulating an ideal CRT here mate, you're emulating a broken CRT fed with lousy RF. It's criminal. Devs have such a distorted view of what a CRT looks like and waste hours/money on creating ugly, blinding filters that no one will ever use more than a couple of seconds.

even my 1994 TV looked better than that lol.