It is a fact that the original Game Boy, its four widely available successors and its contemporary competitors had many excellent games but some truly awful screens by modern standards. Handheld screen technology has advanced extraordinarily far since the rose-tinted glass days of 1989. Today modding kits are available to fix or "upgrade" these machines with replacement screens, so let me discuss my own experiences with one.
Showing posts with label Mods. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mods. Show all posts
Monday, August 23, 2021
Sunday, June 13, 2021
Making Your Famicom into the Best Famicom it can be : A/V Mods Done Right
Modifying the RF-Only Famicom to output separate video and audio is nothing new, people have been doing it since the 1980s. But many mods I have seen involved video circuits of dubious quality, drilling and cutting into aged plastic and difficult to reverse without replacement parts. In this blog post I will go over what I believe are the best ways to modify your Famicom for AV output.
Sunday, June 4, 2017
NES and Famicom Controller Compatibility Issues and AV Famicom Microphone Mod
Prior to the NES, most controllers had a joystick and one or two buttons. The Atari joystick was wired in parallel, where one wire corresponded to one button, and pressing a direction or a button completed a circuit with the common (ground wire). The program would read these button presses in parallel, where reading from a single memory location would give the state of each of the five buttons at one time.
Nintendo's controllers were to come with a D-pad and four buttons. These were originally hard-wired in the Famicom but would have required at least nine wires if wired by the traditional parallel standard. Moreover, if they wanted to use other kinds of peripherals, they may have found that difficult. To cut down on wires, Nintendo decided to use a serial method for reading buttons. This also allowed for more varied expansion, as will be discussed below.
Nintendo's controllers were to come with a D-pad and four buttons. These were originally hard-wired in the Famicom but would have required at least nine wires if wired by the traditional parallel standard. Moreover, if they wanted to use other kinds of peripherals, they may have found that difficult. To cut down on wires, Nintendo decided to use a serial method for reading buttons. This also allowed for more varied expansion, as will be discussed below.
Tuesday, September 6, 2016
More Keyboard Adapters : The Tandy 1000 Keyboard to Tandy 1000 TL or SL
The earlier Tandy 1000s, the 1000, 1000A, 1000 SX and 1000 TX came with a 90-key Tandy Keyboard. The Tandy 1000 EX and HX had the 90-key Tandy Keyboard built in. This keyboard uses its own communications protocol and timing and is not compatible with an IBM PC, XT or AT or their clones. This keyboard uses an 8-pin DIN plug.
The later Tandy 1000s from the TL and SL onward came with 101-key keyboards. These keyboards, called the Tandy Enhanced Keyboard, were an autoswitching keyboard that could work in an IBM PC, XT, AT or their clones. This keyboard uses a 5-pin DIN plug and do not work in an earlier Tandy 1000.
In the technical reference manuals for the TL and SL, which are the last Tandy technical reference manuals available online, the keyboard controllers do mention Tandy 1000 Keyboard compatibility. These computers have a 7-pin DIN connector even though an XT or AT keyboard only uses four pins. The schematics indicate that the extra pins are used for Tandy 1000 keyboard-specific signals.
The later Tandy 1000s from the TL and SL onward came with 101-key keyboards. These keyboards, called the Tandy Enhanced Keyboard, were an autoswitching keyboard that could work in an IBM PC, XT, AT or their clones. This keyboard uses a 5-pin DIN plug and do not work in an earlier Tandy 1000.
In the technical reference manuals for the TL and SL, which are the last Tandy technical reference manuals available online, the keyboard controllers do mention Tandy 1000 Keyboard compatibility. These computers have a 7-pin DIN connector even though an XT or AT keyboard only uses four pins. The schematics indicate that the extra pins are used for Tandy 1000 keyboard-specific signals.
Wednesday, August 31, 2016
The Northgate Omnikey to Tandy 1000 SX & TX Keyboard Adapter
The Tandy 1000 computers, more specifically the early Tandy 1000s, had many good features, graphics, sound, expansion, performance, integrated peripherals. To save development costs, Tandy imported some of its designs from prior, non-IBM PC compatible computers. The Tandy 1000 card edge printer port can be traced back to the TRS-80. The Tandy 1000 joystick ports came straight from the Tandy Color Computer. And finally, the Tandy 1000 keyboard is the same keyboard used in Tandy's MS-DOS (but not IBM PC) compatible Tandy 2000.
The 90-key Tandy 1000 keyboard is not exactly a pleasure to use. Its layout is cramped and awkward, its keys are mushy and there is no tactile feedback. Compared to the IBM PC or IBM PC AT keyboard, it feels cheap. Typing mistakes are frequent with this keyboard. It has some odd key omissions. There is no Scroll Lock, and while there is a separate Home key, there is no separate End, Page Up, Page Down, +, -, or * keys. The shift keys are too small. While it does have F11 and F12, software made during the Tandy 1000 (except by Tandy) lifespan rarely used these keys.
Finally, the Tandy 1000 has the dreaded Hold and Print keys. Both keys are next to important keys like Enter, Alt and Num Lock, The Hold key acts like a true Pause key, everything is frozen until you hit the Hold key again. People who do not know or forget how the Hold key works may think their computer has crashed. However, the really evil key is the Print key. Press this key twice and, unless you have a printer attached to your computer, your computer will freeze as it vainly tries to print what you are typing on the screen. Your computer will appear to freeze. IBM avoided this issue by assigning the function to Ctrl+Print Screen.
The 90-key Tandy 1000 keyboard is not exactly a pleasure to use. Its layout is cramped and awkward, its keys are mushy and there is no tactile feedback. Compared to the IBM PC or IBM PC AT keyboard, it feels cheap. Typing mistakes are frequent with this keyboard. It has some odd key omissions. There is no Scroll Lock, and while there is a separate Home key, there is no separate End, Page Up, Page Down, +, -, or * keys. The shift keys are too small. While it does have F11 and F12, software made during the Tandy 1000 (except by Tandy) lifespan rarely used these keys.
Finally, the Tandy 1000 has the dreaded Hold and Print keys. Both keys are next to important keys like Enter, Alt and Num Lock, The Hold key acts like a true Pause key, everything is frozen until you hit the Hold key again. People who do not know or forget how the Hold key works may think their computer has crashed. However, the really evil key is the Print key. Press this key twice and, unless you have a printer attached to your computer, your computer will freeze as it vainly tries to print what you are typing on the screen. Your computer will appear to freeze. IBM avoided this issue by assigning the function to Ctrl+Print Screen.
Wednesday, August 17, 2016
The PC Joystick to Tandy 1000 Joystick Port Adapter
IBM PC-compatible joysticks using the DA-15 connector came in all shapes and sizes. Some have a hat switch, some have a throttle wheel, and many are quite durable. The CH Flightstick Pro is among my favorite PC joysticks. Its large enough to fit in my hand, has easy movement and feels very precise.
Unfortunately, Tandy 1000 users do not have many options, thanks to the 6-pin DIN connector the 1000 line used. The official Tandy joystick line consists of the miserable black box joystick with the single button and non-self centering stick, the Deluxe Joystick which fixes those issues but is still rather boxy and uncomfortable, and the Pistol Stick Joystick, which has a handle but is really basic. Not many third parties released joysticks with the Tandy plug, but in this blog article, I will tell you how to adapt any standard PC-style joystick to work in a Tandy 1000 joystick port.
Unfortunately, Tandy 1000 users do not have many options, thanks to the 6-pin DIN connector the 1000 line used. The official Tandy joystick line consists of the miserable black box joystick with the single button and non-self centering stick, the Deluxe Joystick which fixes those issues but is still rather boxy and uncomfortable, and the Pistol Stick Joystick, which has a handle but is really basic. Not many third parties released joysticks with the Tandy plug, but in this blog article, I will tell you how to adapt any standard PC-style joystick to work in a Tandy 1000 joystick port.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
The Tandy 1000 Digital Joystick Adapter
IBM PCs and compatibles had an analog joystick interface. The Tandy Color Computer and clones like the Dragon 32/64 computers also had an analog joystick interface. Inside an PC or CoCo joystick were a pair of potentiometers. The chief difference between the two interfaces is how the potentiometers were connected. PC sticks used the potentiometers as variable resistors, wiring two of the three terminals, one of which to +5v and the middle would be connected to the interface's input. CoCo sticks used the potentiometers as voltage dividers, where all three terminals would be connected, one outer terminal to +5v, one outer terminal to ground and the middle terminal would be connected to the interface's input.
In the early days of home computers, a joystick could be used for more than just playing games. It could function as a cursor controller like a mouse, which was useful for drawing programs. It could also be used for flight simulators, where the analog control could be appreciated. Most home computer games from the 1980s that support a joystick were ported or derived or inspired by the popular home console and arcade games of the time. Games like Pac-Man, Pitfall and Space Invaders did not really need an analog stick, they usually used digital joysticks. When platforming games like Super Mario Bros and Prince of Persia became popular, they often or exclusively used digital gamepads.
In the early days of home computers, a joystick could be used for more than just playing games. It could function as a cursor controller like a mouse, which was useful for drawing programs. It could also be used for flight simulators, where the analog control could be appreciated. Most home computer games from the 1980s that support a joystick were ported or derived or inspired by the popular home console and arcade games of the time. Games like Pac-Man, Pitfall and Space Invaders did not really need an analog stick, they usually used digital joysticks. When platforming games like Super Mario Bros and Prince of Persia became popular, they often or exclusively used digital gamepads.
Thursday, June 2, 2016
More HDMI-ifying your Consoles, the UperGrafx for the NEC Turbo/PC Engine Systems
Today I found out about an upcoming Japanese product called the UperGrafx. The UperGrafx, as its name suggests, is intended to be used with a NEC PC Engine. What it does is it upscales the native PC Engine graphics (typically 256, 320 or 512 horizontal pixels by 224 or 239 lines) to the 720p resolution (1280x720). It plugs into the back of the PC Engine, Core Grafx or Core Grafx II, where there is a 69-pin expansion connector. It has also been confirmed to work with the US TurboGrafx-16 expansion connector. It won't work with a PC Engine Shuttle or any of the handhelds, Duos or the SuperGrafx.
Although the Expansion Connector supplies the analog RGB signals, it also supplies a lot more video information. The UperGrafx takes this information and builds a digital picture, then upscales it for the 720p resolution. The UperGrafx works similarly to the NESRGB and HiDef NES Mod.
The PC Engine has sixteen sixteen color palette entries available for backgrounds and sixteen sixteen color palette entries for sprites. The first color entry of all background palettes is set to the universal background color and the first color entry of all sprite palettes is set to transparency. This gives a maximum of 482 colors on the screen at once. The Expansion Connector is constantly outputting these palette indexes on a separate video data bus that usually goes to the Color Encoder chip. Unlike the NES it also has a special signal to distinguish sprite palette indexes from background palette indexes, so you can still view the native video signal. The PC Engine displays 9-bit RGB for 512 colors maximum. The UperGrafx must be able to snoop on the color values stored for each palette index like the NES mods. The full CPU address and data bus is available on the Expansion Connector, so the color values for the palettes have been available. The result, when combined with the dot clock and sync signals, can give a truly digital representation of the screen image. Even better than the NES is the fact that there is no need to guestimate a composite to RGB palette.
There is a minijack next to the DVI port, which would suggest that audio is passed through from the Expansion Connector. The Expansion Connector supports stereo audio. The audio is output through the DVI connector, which is something of a pseudo-standard. Essentially the audio must be converted from analog to digital inside the UperGrafx.
Finally, the unit acts similarly to a Hudson Tennokoe 2 Backup Unit or a NEC Backup Booster. It allows you to save games to battery backed RAM instead of using passwords for those games that supported it. Unlike the original devices, there will be a USB port which you can use to transfer saves to and from the UperGrafx. The original devices came with 2KB of RAM, I do not know how much RAM will be available for the UperGrafx, but it is likely to have more RAM than the old devices.
The greatest benefit to the UperGrafx is that you are getting a pure digital video signal. There is no analog to digital conversion or degradation. There is nothing like jailbars induced by analog noise. When I had an RGB-modded PC Engine Duo last year, I could observe alternating bands of light and dark areas in the green background of Bonk's Adventure through RGB but not through composite. This cannot happen on the UperGrafx.
The second greatest benefit to the UperGrafx is that you do not need to mod your system to get perfect quality video out of it. The original PC Engine and TurboGrafx 16 only support RF output and the Core Grafx only handle composite video. No NEC console handles RGB without a mod, and there are more than one school of thought about what the perfect RGB mod should be. The unit I was using last year had a mod from doujindance, who has an excellent reputation for modding within the PC Engine/Turbo community. However, given the banding in his RGB mod, there is room for improvement.
There are some downsides. First, there is no passthrough for the expansion connector, so you cannot connect a CD-ROM unit. Second, you need a DVI to HDMI cable if your TV or monitor does not have a DVI input, but they are pretty cheap ($5-10). Third, it only upscales to 720p, not the more common 1080p of higher end displays. Fourth, it attaches to the back of the console like an "L", sticking straight up into the air, and there is nothing but friction keeping it attached to the console (not unlike attachments for the ZX Spectrum). Finally, it always displays "UperGrafx" in the borders of the frame, which some people may not appreciate.
So, for the suggested retail price of ¥40,000/$368, why should anyone buy this unit over a Framemeister? The Framemeister costs just as much and can work with almost any system. Also, if you buy this modern version of the Turbo Booster http://db-electronics.ca/product/dbgrafx-booster-ttp/ for $65, you can get the highest quality analog signals (RGB + CSync, S-Video and Composite) at a fraction of the cost.
You can see Jason of game-tech.us test the device and give his initial thoughts here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4baUgr0Ym0
A pure video of the DVI output for the device is available here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN3L1mLRWhs
Here is more information and pictures about the device, translated from Japanese : https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.gdm.or.jp/crew/2016/0423/159899&prev=search
The guy who supplied Jason with the device says that the lag on the device is between 0 and 1 frame. By comparison, kevtris' Hi-Def NES gives lag in the 2-4ms range. One frame is 16ms. The Framemeister gives lag in the 16-24ms range, depending on the settings used. But both the Hi-Def NES and the Framemeister support 1080p. The UperGrafx and the AVS only support 720p. What processing speed advantage given by the pure digital signal may be taken away by the upscaling done by non-true 720p displays (I am not even sure if there is a such thing as a true 1280x720p display). Lag comes from many sources and is quite insidious. Given the large number of shmups for the Turbo/PC Engine where timing is critical, maintaining a latency of well under one frame per second is essential if you want to buy this device over a Framemeister.
Although the Expansion Connector supplies the analog RGB signals, it also supplies a lot more video information. The UperGrafx takes this information and builds a digital picture, then upscales it for the 720p resolution. The UperGrafx works similarly to the NESRGB and HiDef NES Mod.
The PC Engine has sixteen sixteen color palette entries available for backgrounds and sixteen sixteen color palette entries for sprites. The first color entry of all background palettes is set to the universal background color and the first color entry of all sprite palettes is set to transparency. This gives a maximum of 482 colors on the screen at once. The Expansion Connector is constantly outputting these palette indexes on a separate video data bus that usually goes to the Color Encoder chip. Unlike the NES it also has a special signal to distinguish sprite palette indexes from background palette indexes, so you can still view the native video signal. The PC Engine displays 9-bit RGB for 512 colors maximum. The UperGrafx must be able to snoop on the color values stored for each palette index like the NES mods. The full CPU address and data bus is available on the Expansion Connector, so the color values for the palettes have been available. The result, when combined with the dot clock and sync signals, can give a truly digital representation of the screen image. Even better than the NES is the fact that there is no need to guestimate a composite to RGB palette.
There is a minijack next to the DVI port, which would suggest that audio is passed through from the Expansion Connector. The Expansion Connector supports stereo audio. The audio is output through the DVI connector, which is something of a pseudo-standard. Essentially the audio must be converted from analog to digital inside the UperGrafx.
Finally, the unit acts similarly to a Hudson Tennokoe 2 Backup Unit or a NEC Backup Booster. It allows you to save games to battery backed RAM instead of using passwords for those games that supported it. Unlike the original devices, there will be a USB port which you can use to transfer saves to and from the UperGrafx. The original devices came with 2KB of RAM, I do not know how much RAM will be available for the UperGrafx, but it is likely to have more RAM than the old devices.
The greatest benefit to the UperGrafx is that you are getting a pure digital video signal. There is no analog to digital conversion or degradation. There is nothing like jailbars induced by analog noise. When I had an RGB-modded PC Engine Duo last year, I could observe alternating bands of light and dark areas in the green background of Bonk's Adventure through RGB but not through composite. This cannot happen on the UperGrafx.
The second greatest benefit to the UperGrafx is that you do not need to mod your system to get perfect quality video out of it. The original PC Engine and TurboGrafx 16 only support RF output and the Core Grafx only handle composite video. No NEC console handles RGB without a mod, and there are more than one school of thought about what the perfect RGB mod should be. The unit I was using last year had a mod from doujindance, who has an excellent reputation for modding within the PC Engine/Turbo community. However, given the banding in his RGB mod, there is room for improvement.
There are some downsides. First, there is no passthrough for the expansion connector, so you cannot connect a CD-ROM unit. Second, you need a DVI to HDMI cable if your TV or monitor does not have a DVI input, but they are pretty cheap ($5-10). Third, it only upscales to 720p, not the more common 1080p of higher end displays. Fourth, it attaches to the back of the console like an "L", sticking straight up into the air, and there is nothing but friction keeping it attached to the console (not unlike attachments for the ZX Spectrum). Finally, it always displays "UperGrafx" in the borders of the frame, which some people may not appreciate.
So, for the suggested retail price of ¥40,000/$368, why should anyone buy this unit over a Framemeister? The Framemeister costs just as much and can work with almost any system. Also, if you buy this modern version of the Turbo Booster http://db-electronics.ca/product/dbgrafx-booster-ttp/ for $65, you can get the highest quality analog signals (RGB + CSync, S-Video and Composite) at a fraction of the cost.
You can see Jason of game-tech.us test the device and give his initial thoughts here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4baUgr0Ym0
A pure video of the DVI output for the device is available here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LN3L1mLRWhs
Here is more information and pictures about the device, translated from Japanese : https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ja&u=http://www.gdm.or.jp/crew/2016/0423/159899&prev=search
The guy who supplied Jason with the device says that the lag on the device is between 0 and 1 frame. By comparison, kevtris' Hi-Def NES gives lag in the 2-4ms range. One frame is 16ms. The Framemeister gives lag in the 16-24ms range, depending on the settings used. But both the Hi-Def NES and the Framemeister support 1080p. The UperGrafx and the AVS only support 720p. What processing speed advantage given by the pure digital signal may be taken away by the upscaling done by non-true 720p displays (I am not even sure if there is a such thing as a true 1280x720p display). Lag comes from many sources and is quite insidious. Given the large number of shmups for the Turbo/PC Engine where timing is critical, maintaining a latency of well under one frame per second is essential if you want to buy this device over a Framemeister.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
The RetroUSB AVS - A Potentially Worthy FPGA NES HDMI-Output Clone
This year, bunnyboy (Brian Parker) of retroUSB.com is going to release his long-awaited (if you are a NintendoAge forum member) AVS. The AVS is a clone of the NES done within the programmable logic of an FPGA. It comes in a NES-front loader influenced case, has a front loading 72-pin connector (no push down tray) and a top loading 60-pin connector for NES and Famicom games, respectively. It only outputs HDMI at a 720p resolution.
The FPGA is a hardware recreation of the internals of the NES, namely the 2A03 CPU and the 2C02 PPU, the RAM and the glue logic required for a functioning NES. An FPGA is a large, programmable surface mounted chip which allows the programmer to define the logic elements on the chip. In this case, the programmer is attempting to model the CPU and PPU chips to perform an identical function to the logic contained in the discrete, through-hole chips Nintendo used. Fortunately, these chips have been decapsulated and their dies have been imaged at very high resolution. How they work on the hardware level is reasonably well-known, although there are some minor variations between the various revisions of each chip.
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
Winnie the Pooh Tandy/PCjr. Graphics Recolorization
Recently, I learned that Winnie the Pooh had support for Tandy/PCjr. graphics and 3-voice sound. However, whoever was responsible for the colorization either must have had cloudy memories of the Pooh cartoons or problems with perceiving colors. I took a screenshot for each character and tried to make them closer to their colors from the Disney films. I made sure to only use the 16 RGBI colors available to the Tandy/PCjr. and not to do violence to the backgrounds.
The real graphics are on the left side, my retouched graphics are on the right side.
The Pooh Bear doll only needed to turn the shirt from light magenta to light red.
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
HDMIfy your Old Consoles - Console Specific HDMI Upgrades
If you want high quality input from classic consoles to a modern flat screen TV, you need to use an HDMI converter like the X-RGB Mini Framemeister. This converter will take high quality RGB or Component video signals and convert them to HDMI-compatible 720p or 1080p with excellent results and minimal lag. I played with a Framemeister some months ago, and wrote up my impressions of the device here : http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2015/05/fun-with-framemeister.html Unfortunately, some classic consoles have difficulty displaying high quality video signals due to their lack of high quality video outputs. Some enterprising individuals have made mod boards that will directly convert the video to HDMI with less lag than a Framemeister, more features and more reliable results. Here are the projects that, as of the date of this writing, actually have been released in some form to the public.
NES - HiDef NES Mod & the AVS
The NES is one of the most important of the post-crash consoles and one of the few without a native RGB solution. There has been a NESRGB mod board released for two years now, which works wonders with a Framemeister. Before that people harvested 2C03 chips from Playchoice-10 PCBs and made do with the differences in the color palette, compatibility issues with color emphasis and sometimes video jailbars.
Kevtris' HiDefNES mod has already been mentioned in this blog, and it adds a whole host of features over the NESRGB + Framemeister solution. I lay them out in detail here : http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2015/07/analogue-nt-nes-as-luxury-retro-console.html
It is the board found in the Analogue Nt HDMI version and has been sold in pre-modded systems on ebay and on the http://www.game-tech.us/ website. The kit will be available for purchase so you can attempt to mod it yourself. However, it requires desoldering both the CPU and PPU without destroying either chip or the PCB, so it is not a beginner mod. Virtually all the compatibility issues with the HiDefNES mod and certain MMC5 games and the EverDrive N8 have been eliminated through a firmware update, so now is the time to consider taking the plunge.
The only obvious issue is that its FDS audio emulation is less than perfect. The mod will not work in an original Famicom, a Famicom Twin or an AV Famicom with laser-marked CPU and PPU chips.
The basic principle of how the HiDefNES obtains the color values of each background and sprite pixel is the same as used in the NESRGB. See here for my explanation : http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2015/06/nes-hardware-explained.html
There is now a 2600RGB board for the Atari 2600. The 2600RGB board uses similar principles to discover the colors of 2600 pixels as the NESRGB board does for NES pixels. Theoretically, it is quite possible for someone to develop an HDMI mod for the 2600.
bunnyboy, who runs the RetroUSB site, has displayed his AVS replica console at the 2015 Portland Retro Gaming Expo. His AVS has a 72-pin and a 60-pin connector for NES and Famicom games, and is designed as a front loader for the former and a top loader for the latter. It uses a completely new board and an FPGA chip to provide hardware emulation for the NES. It only outputs HDMI video and has separate power and reset buttons in the shape of NES front loader buttons. It has built in four NES controller ports that can be set to function as a NES Four Score or Famicom 4-player adapter. It also has a 15-pin Famicom expansion port for Famicom peripherals.
Because the console only supports HDMI output, it will not work with any Zapper or compatible Light Gun device and it will not work with the Famicom 3-D Glasses. The FPGA inside the console does not emulate any cartridge hardware or expansion audio. Expansion audio from Famicom cartridges is digitized and then mixed with the internal audio. However, because the AVS uses an FPGA, it can load updated firmware to fix any compatibility issues. Reports from the Portland Retro Gaming Expo were very positive, one person said the system ran Micro Machines correctly, which is a hard game to get right. bunnyboy is also designing wireless RF controller without lag to go with the console via an controller port adapter.
The console can only be powered through its USB port. The console has a scoreboard reporting function via the USB port, it will save high scores for certain known games and report them to NintendoAge. The idea is that you play a supported game, the high score is saved and then you plug in the system to your PC and it send the score to NintendoAge. The AVS only supports 720p while the HiDefNES can do either 720p or 1080p. The AVS is not for sale at the moment, but bunnyboy is aiming for a just under $200 price point. The best place for updates seems to be here : http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=92557
N64 - Ultra HDMI
No N64 natively outputs RGB, but some early consoles can be modded with a simple amplifier board. Most consoles, however, have a video encoder chip that only outputs composite and s-video. These consoles require the N64RGB board. This board acts like a custom DAC, taking the digital signals from the N64 and turning them into analog RGB video. This will make it truly Framemeister worthy, although the s-video output from the N64 is pretty good compared to composite video. PAL N64s need a special cable to boost the S-Video signal from the console, NTSC N64s can use standard Nintendo or 3rd Party cables.
Today, if you want to bypass the Framemeister option, you can have an UltraHDMI board installed in your system. It works with NTSC and PAL framerates (up to 1080p for both) and not unlike the HiDefNES it comes with filters. The Ultra HDMI filters can simulate a CRT TV. Without the filters the lag is truly negligible, with them there is about a frame of lag. It supports all standard digital SD and HD resolutions, as shown here : http://ultrahdmi.retroactive.be/
The mod is very involved because you have to solder a flexible mylar-like ribbon cable to the finely spaced pins of the surface mounted graphics chip, the Reality Co-Processor (RCP). The RCP sends out 7-bit digital RGB values along with sync information. This allows for direct digital to digital conversion to the 8-bit RGB values HDMI supports without quality loss. The kit uses a mini-HDMI cable and only needs a small hole cut into the back of the N64. Because the mod is very tricky and not for the beginner, the board and kit is being sold only experienced mod kit installers. If you want your N64 modded with the Ultra HDMI, you need to send it to someone. This site is authorized to perform the mod : http://www.badassconsoles.com/ultrahdmi/
Game Boy - hdmyboy
In one sense, it is not too difficult to obtain a good quality HDMI image from a Gameboy. You use a Super Gameboy or a Super Gameboy 2 (for accurate speed) on a SNES that supports RGB and send the video and audio through a Framemeister. Alternatively, you can use a Game Boy Player and a Gamecube with the component video cables through the Framemeister, but that requires running custom software to make the Game Boy Player output at a true 240p speed.
Some time ago, there was a Kickstarter for a product called the hdmyboy. The campaign is archived here : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/507669971/hdmyboy-a-full-hd-power-up-for-your-game-boy-class
This is a fully assembled kit that you insert between the two halves of a DMG-01 Game Boy. It adds half an inch or so to the height of the console when laid flat. It has an HDMI cable port and can support 720p or (preferred) 1080p.
Unlike the NES and N64 mods, this mod is easy to install. It requires no soldering. All you have to do is unscrew the shell, remove the ribbon cable that attaches the LCD PCB to the CPU PCB and insert that ribbon cable into the hdmyboy. The hdmyboy comes with a NES controller attached internally so you can control your Game Boy. It essentially becomes a consolized Game Boy at this point.
The Game Boy's LCD can only support four shades of one color, its video signal is fundamentally 2-bit digital monochrome signal with sync information. This information, along with mono audio, is available through the ribbon cable. The hdmyboy converts the digital video and the analog audio and sends it through the HDMI cable to the TV. The hdmyboy only supports mono audio because only a mono audio signal is necessary for the single speaker connected to the LCD PCB.
Unfortunately the Kickstarter campaign was not successful. However, the hdmyboy team still has some prototypes left here : http://www.hdmyboy.com/play/. They are very expensive however, (a bit too expensive for what it does) but should represent the best solution to obtain true Game Boy output without using an emulator. If they try another Kickstarter campaign again, then hopefully more people would be willing to contribute and get the price of this fine idea down.
Given a 1080p display, the hdmyboy can by default do 7x nearest neighbor scaling to give razor sharp graphics at the Game Boy's original aspect ratio. It can also do 12:7 scaling to give razor sharp widescreen graphics and occupy almost the whole screen if you prefer. Like the Super Game Boy it has 32 color palettes available to colorize the graphics. While the Game Boy's sprite and background tiles have 10 valid palette selections to choose from, the Super Game Boy (unless the game is enhanced) and hdmyboy only apply colors based on the actual color value of the outputted pixel.
NES - HiDef NES Mod & the AVS
The NES is one of the most important of the post-crash consoles and one of the few without a native RGB solution. There has been a NESRGB mod board released for two years now, which works wonders with a Framemeister. Before that people harvested 2C03 chips from Playchoice-10 PCBs and made do with the differences in the color palette, compatibility issues with color emphasis and sometimes video jailbars.
Kevtris' HiDefNES mod has already been mentioned in this blog, and it adds a whole host of features over the NESRGB + Framemeister solution. I lay them out in detail here : http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2015/07/analogue-nt-nes-as-luxury-retro-console.html
It is the board found in the Analogue Nt HDMI version and has been sold in pre-modded systems on ebay and on the http://www.game-tech.us/ website. The kit will be available for purchase so you can attempt to mod it yourself. However, it requires desoldering both the CPU and PPU without destroying either chip or the PCB, so it is not a beginner mod. Virtually all the compatibility issues with the HiDefNES mod and certain MMC5 games and the EverDrive N8 have been eliminated through a firmware update, so now is the time to consider taking the plunge.
The only obvious issue is that its FDS audio emulation is less than perfect. The mod will not work in an original Famicom, a Famicom Twin or an AV Famicom with laser-marked CPU and PPU chips.
The basic principle of how the HiDefNES obtains the color values of each background and sprite pixel is the same as used in the NESRGB. See here for my explanation : http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2015/06/nes-hardware-explained.html
There is now a 2600RGB board for the Atari 2600. The 2600RGB board uses similar principles to discover the colors of 2600 pixels as the NESRGB board does for NES pixels. Theoretically, it is quite possible for someone to develop an HDMI mod for the 2600.
bunnyboy, who runs the RetroUSB site, has displayed his AVS replica console at the 2015 Portland Retro Gaming Expo. His AVS has a 72-pin and a 60-pin connector for NES and Famicom games, and is designed as a front loader for the former and a top loader for the latter. It uses a completely new board and an FPGA chip to provide hardware emulation for the NES. It only outputs HDMI video and has separate power and reset buttons in the shape of NES front loader buttons. It has built in four NES controller ports that can be set to function as a NES Four Score or Famicom 4-player adapter. It also has a 15-pin Famicom expansion port for Famicom peripherals.
Because the console only supports HDMI output, it will not work with any Zapper or compatible Light Gun device and it will not work with the Famicom 3-D Glasses. The FPGA inside the console does not emulate any cartridge hardware or expansion audio. Expansion audio from Famicom cartridges is digitized and then mixed with the internal audio. However, because the AVS uses an FPGA, it can load updated firmware to fix any compatibility issues. Reports from the Portland Retro Gaming Expo were very positive, one person said the system ran Micro Machines correctly, which is a hard game to get right. bunnyboy is also designing wireless RF controller without lag to go with the console via an controller port adapter.
The console can only be powered through its USB port. The console has a scoreboard reporting function via the USB port, it will save high scores for certain known games and report them to NintendoAge. The idea is that you play a supported game, the high score is saved and then you plug in the system to your PC and it send the score to NintendoAge. The AVS only supports 720p while the HiDefNES can do either 720p or 1080p. The AVS is not for sale at the moment, but bunnyboy is aiming for a just under $200 price point. The best place for updates seems to be here : http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?catid=7&threadid=92557
N64 - Ultra HDMI
No N64 natively outputs RGB, but some early consoles can be modded with a simple amplifier board. Most consoles, however, have a video encoder chip that only outputs composite and s-video. These consoles require the N64RGB board. This board acts like a custom DAC, taking the digital signals from the N64 and turning them into analog RGB video. This will make it truly Framemeister worthy, although the s-video output from the N64 is pretty good compared to composite video. PAL N64s need a special cable to boost the S-Video signal from the console, NTSC N64s can use standard Nintendo or 3rd Party cables.
Today, if you want to bypass the Framemeister option, you can have an UltraHDMI board installed in your system. It works with NTSC and PAL framerates (up to 1080p for both) and not unlike the HiDefNES it comes with filters. The Ultra HDMI filters can simulate a CRT TV. Without the filters the lag is truly negligible, with them there is about a frame of lag. It supports all standard digital SD and HD resolutions, as shown here : http://ultrahdmi.retroactive.be/
The mod is very involved because you have to solder a flexible mylar-like ribbon cable to the finely spaced pins of the surface mounted graphics chip, the Reality Co-Processor (RCP). The RCP sends out 7-bit digital RGB values along with sync information. This allows for direct digital to digital conversion to the 8-bit RGB values HDMI supports without quality loss. The kit uses a mini-HDMI cable and only needs a small hole cut into the back of the N64. Because the mod is very tricky and not for the beginner, the board and kit is being sold only experienced mod kit installers. If you want your N64 modded with the Ultra HDMI, you need to send it to someone. This site is authorized to perform the mod : http://www.badassconsoles.com/ultrahdmi/
Game Boy - hdmyboy
In one sense, it is not too difficult to obtain a good quality HDMI image from a Gameboy. You use a Super Gameboy or a Super Gameboy 2 (for accurate speed) on a SNES that supports RGB and send the video and audio through a Framemeister. Alternatively, you can use a Game Boy Player and a Gamecube with the component video cables through the Framemeister, but that requires running custom software to make the Game Boy Player output at a true 240p speed.
Some time ago, there was a Kickstarter for a product called the hdmyboy. The campaign is archived here : https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/507669971/hdmyboy-a-full-hd-power-up-for-your-game-boy-class
This is a fully assembled kit that you insert between the two halves of a DMG-01 Game Boy. It adds half an inch or so to the height of the console when laid flat. It has an HDMI cable port and can support 720p or (preferred) 1080p.
Unlike the NES and N64 mods, this mod is easy to install. It requires no soldering. All you have to do is unscrew the shell, remove the ribbon cable that attaches the LCD PCB to the CPU PCB and insert that ribbon cable into the hdmyboy. The hdmyboy comes with a NES controller attached internally so you can control your Game Boy. It essentially becomes a consolized Game Boy at this point.
The Game Boy's LCD can only support four shades of one color, its video signal is fundamentally 2-bit digital monochrome signal with sync information. This information, along with mono audio, is available through the ribbon cable. The hdmyboy converts the digital video and the analog audio and sends it through the HDMI cable to the TV. The hdmyboy only supports mono audio because only a mono audio signal is necessary for the single speaker connected to the LCD PCB.
Unfortunately the Kickstarter campaign was not successful. However, the hdmyboy team still has some prototypes left here : http://www.hdmyboy.com/play/. They are very expensive however, (a bit too expensive for what it does) but should represent the best solution to obtain true Game Boy output without using an emulator. If they try another Kickstarter campaign again, then hopefully more people would be willing to contribute and get the price of this fine idea down.
Given a 1080p display, the hdmyboy can by default do 7x nearest neighbor scaling to give razor sharp graphics at the Game Boy's original aspect ratio. It can also do 12:7 scaling to give razor sharp widescreen graphics and occupy almost the whole screen if you prefer. Like the Super Game Boy it has 32 color palettes available to colorize the graphics. While the Game Boy's sprite and background tiles have 10 valid palette selections to choose from, the Super Game Boy (unless the game is enhanced) and hdmyboy only apply colors based on the actual color value of the outputted pixel.
Tuesday, August 25, 2015
New IBM CGA to Old IBM CGA Mod
There has been a revised interest in the IBM CGA card over the last few years. I attribute this in no small part to demos like 8088 Domination and 8088MPH as well as interest in vintage PC computing in general. IBM CGA cards are not particularly uncommon to find, but the New cards are much more common than the Old cards.
Varieties of IBM CGA
There are four known varieties of IBM CGA boards. Here is a table with their features :
The oldest IBM CGA board has a lower amount of resistance from the transistor to the composite video output. What this means for the video output is unknown, but I would suspect that it would be somewhat brighter than later cards. Also, the schematic does not give resistor values for the other four resistors connected to the composite video circuit and I cannot make out the values with the photo of the board I have.
The differences between 18504472 and 1501486 are the addition of 30 Ohm resistors on the bottom row for resistors. These only affect the RGBI output signals, and were probably added to improve compatibility with digital RGBI monitors.
The oldest cards came with black brackets. These brackets are sized for the five expansion slots of the IBM PC. The IBM PC/XT used eight expansion slots which were set closer together, so this black bracket will block the slot above it.
Old IBM CGA cards almost invariably use a green PCB color and New IBM CGA cards usually use a brown PCB color.
Old IBM CGA cards almost invariably use MC6845 CRTC chips, New IBM CGA cards use either the MC6845 or HD4650/HD6845 CRTC. I was lucky to have chosen the New IBM CGA card that had the MC6845. This allowed me to play the party version of 8088MPH correctly, which only shows correct colors on an Old IBM CGA card. The final version of the 8088MPH shows appropriate colors on either an Old or New IBM CGA card with either CRTC chip.
Modding a New IBM CGA card to an Old IBM CGA card
Here are the steps I took to mod my new IBM CGA card to an old IBM CGA card :
1. Lift pin 4 from U24 (the pin broke completely off for me so I had to replace the IC)
2. Solder a wire between pin 4 of 24 to pin 4 of U65 (pin 4 of U65 does not need to be lifted)
3. Remove all resistors in the first three rows.
4. Replace the resistors in the first three rows (IBM's designations are hard to follow) with the following, all values in Ohms:
100 51 Empty
3300 13000 5600
Empty 2200 Empty Empty
5. Solder a 33 Ohm resistor to the bottom contact of R4 and the top contact of Q1. (Because of the tight space, you may want to do this from the solder side).
6. If you have a New IBM CGA card with a yellow patch wire as shown below, make sure you reconnect it and do not make a solder bridge. If left unconnected, the light pen port will not work.
Note in my picture, I had to use a 1000 and a 12000 ohm resistor in series to make a 13000 ohm resistor.
Could the process be reversed? Undoubtedly it could with the appropriate schematic, (see the chart above) but because Old IBM CGA cards are much less common, it would almost certainly be easier to just get a New IBM CGA card and mod it.
Varieties of IBM CGA
There are four known varieties of IBM CGA boards. Here is a table with their features :
| Board Number | # of Resistors | Bracket Type | Composite Output Type | Schematic Reference | ||||
| 18504464 | 7 | Black Oversized | Oldest | IBM Personal Computer Hardware Reference Library Technical Reference, First Edition August 1981, D25-30 | ||||
| 18504472 | 8 | Black Oversized | Old | IBM Personal Computer Hardware Reference Library Technical Reference, Revised Edition April 1983, D46-51 | ||||
| 1501486 | 12 | Silver | Old | IBM Personal Computer XT Hardware Reference Library Technical Reference, Revised Edition April 1983, D36-41 | ||||
| 1501982 | 15 | Silver | New | IBM Personal Computer Hardware Reference Library Technical Reference Options and Adapters, Revised Edition April 1984, Color/Graphics Monitor Adapter 28-33 |
The oldest IBM CGA board has a lower amount of resistance from the transistor to the composite video output. What this means for the video output is unknown, but I would suspect that it would be somewhat brighter than later cards. Also, the schematic does not give resistor values for the other four resistors connected to the composite video circuit and I cannot make out the values with the photo of the board I have.
The differences between 18504472 and 1501486 are the addition of 30 Ohm resistors on the bottom row for resistors. These only affect the RGBI output signals, and were probably added to improve compatibility with digital RGBI monitors.
The oldest cards came with black brackets. These brackets are sized for the five expansion slots of the IBM PC. The IBM PC/XT used eight expansion slots which were set closer together, so this black bracket will block the slot above it.
Old IBM CGA cards almost invariably use a green PCB color and New IBM CGA cards usually use a brown PCB color.
Old IBM CGA cards almost invariably use MC6845 CRTC chips, New IBM CGA cards use either the MC6845 or HD4650/HD6845 CRTC. I was lucky to have chosen the New IBM CGA card that had the MC6845. This allowed me to play the party version of 8088MPH correctly, which only shows correct colors on an Old IBM CGA card. The final version of the 8088MPH shows appropriate colors on either an Old or New IBM CGA card with either CRTC chip.
Modding a New IBM CGA card to an Old IBM CGA card
Here are the steps I took to mod my new IBM CGA card to an old IBM CGA card :
1. Lift pin 4 from U24 (the pin broke completely off for me so I had to replace the IC)
2. Solder a wire between pin 4 of 24 to pin 4 of U65 (pin 4 of U65 does not need to be lifted)
3. Remove all resistors in the first three rows.
4. Replace the resistors in the first three rows (IBM's designations are hard to follow) with the following, all values in Ohms:
100 51 Empty
3300 13000 5600
Empty 2200 Empty Empty
5. Solder a 33 Ohm resistor to the bottom contact of R4 and the top contact of Q1. (Because of the tight space, you may want to do this from the solder side).
6. If you have a New IBM CGA card with a yellow patch wire as shown below, make sure you reconnect it and do not make a solder bridge. If left unconnected, the light pen port will not work.
Note in my picture, I had to use a 1000 and a 12000 ohm resistor in series to make a 13000 ohm resistor.
Could the process be reversed? Undoubtedly it could with the appropriate schematic, (see the chart above) but because Old IBM CGA cards are much less common, it would almost certainly be easier to just get a New IBM CGA card and mod it.
Thursday, July 9, 2015
Analogue Nt and the Need for Hands-On Reviews
A few days ago, I made an expansive post describing the Analogue Nt, a high-end luxury third-party NES and Famicom console using Nintendo's CPU and PPU chips. Quite a few paragraphs into that epic I emphasized the importance of getting a feel for the experience of using the console. Pictures and company video captures can only do so much. I have received new information today about the experience I would like to share to people interested in the subject matter, who may be considering purchasing it and who have just received it or the shipping information for it.
HDMI Upgrade Adapter and Delays
Currently, the only NESRGB units that are shipping are non-HDMI Upgraded units. No one outside IGN can report receiving one. When you get a non-HDMI Upgraded unit, you will see an empty hole where the HDMI port would be. This is rather sloppy in my opinion, Analogue Interactive should have put a solid piece in place which could be removed if upgraded. After all, to upgrade the device you are supposed to send it back to Analogue Interactive. On the plus side, the hole seems perfect to insert coins into, so the Analogue Nt can double as an expensive piggy bank. Dust bunnies and spiders can take up residence inside too and keep warm next to those running chips.
As far as IGN's unit goes, they received it three weeks ago and stated they would do a full hands-on "sometime soon." The reviewer was showing off a silver unit, and he mentioned that the unit he ordered (personally) was black. No footage from the unit was shown. Perhaps the demo unit has been shipped back already because IGN has not mentioned the Analogue Nt since. Assuming that the unit probably had non-finalized HDMI Upgrade hardware, IGN may be holding back on reviewing it until the receives the go ahead from Analogue Interactive. It may come in the form of firmware that will enable the HDMI function.
At first, the HDMI Adapter Upgrade was going to be an external adapter and it was going to cost an additional $49.00. Earlier photos of the enclosure showed no cut out for an HDMI port inside the system, just the analog video output. The adapter would convert RGB to digital HDMI output. Questions must have been asked how Analogue Interactive was going to make an external RGB to HDMI converter that was any good for that price, because a good device like the Micomsoft X-RGB Mini Framemeister goes for $300 at least. At some point between November 4, 2014 and December 12, 2014, the decision to make the HDMI Adapter Upgrade internal was made and the price was raised to $79.00. Kevtris did not announce his HDMI NES adapter and show video footage until November 14, 2014. Analogue Interactive probably made the decision soon thereafter to approach him.
I applaud Analogue Interactive for its initiative using the best available HDMI implementation available. It gives an answer to the question "Why not just use an X-RGB Mini Framemeister?" I must criticize Analogue Interactive for failing to inform its pre-order customers of the change in direction. Only on July 27 did Analogue Interactive give links to its backers of Youtube videos showing off the HDMI Upgrade and confirming that it was kevtris' design. However, only yesterday did kevtris announce that the hardware, firmware and software for the HiDefNES (HDMI Mod) was finished and released to manufacturing for both the Analogue Nt and people who want to purchase the kit to install on their own. So people who ordered their Analogue Nt with the HDMI Upgrade almost certainly won't be receiving their units until late June or more likely early August, if you read between the lines of the latest Analogue Interactive shipping update.
Video Issue #1 - RGB SCART Video
I have read or seen two issues with the video quality. First, the RGB SCART (European) cable that comes with the Analogue Nt. is incorrectly designed. It is lacking resistors on the R, G, & B lines, giving the resulting graphics a washed-out look and overly bright look. The Component, S-Video and Composite video output do not have this problem. Although the SCART and JP-21 cables used with the Analogue Nt do not carry audio signals, the overly bright video can add buzz noise to the audio. According to this blogger, https://retrogamingnr.wordpress.com/2015/07/06/17/ the brightness can be reduced either on an analog CRT or an XGRB Mini Framemeister through the use of brightness and color settings. Of course, this becomes extremely inconvenient when you want to use another console that has SCART with the proper resistors, probably 75ohm, inside. Then you have to boost the brightness and color settings. Considering Analogue Nt's work with the consolidated Neo Geo MVS, which output RGB video, this is a very uncharacteristic oversight.
I have also read that the problem exists in the BNC cables, which also carry pure analog video. Unfortunately, there is no space to solder resistors with BNC cables. Also, the issues with the faulty SCART cable cause synching issues with the Framemeister. See here : https://twitter.com/gamespite/status/616685135384199168 The same user later reports that his issues have been resolved : https://twitter.com/gamespite/status/621886827843190784
That video shows a NES modded with a NESRGB board vs. an Analogue Nt. Because the RGB output from the Analogue Nt was not usable, it is really RGB vs. Component. Note that neither the modded NES nor the Analogue Nt show 100% same colors as an unmodded NES would, but they are closer than a 2C03 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5me9olJYGA0 Even so, the arguments over the "true" 2C02 PPU palette will rage until the 2nd to last person who cares dies.
The board shots IGN posted back in January have the CPU and PPU in the correct sockets :
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/01/13/look-at-whats-inside-the-analogue-nt
Video Issue #2 - Composite Video
The second issue I have confirmed is with the composite video. In its User's Guide for the Analogue Nt, Analogue Interactive states :
"Composite
Your Analogue Nt outputs composite directly from the PPU, untouched, exactly the way your original NES or Famicom did when you first played it. This way, you can experience identically to the way it was released."
When I saw the video of the Analogue Nt's output, it demonstrated that the above quotation was not accurate. This video shows in several instances native NES composite video vs. the Analogue Nt's composite video captured with the same equipment : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5me9olJYGA0
The composite output from the Analogue Nt either entirely lacks the dot crawl and the three-line zig zag pattern of the native NES composite video output or the effects are greatly diminished. It looks like the composite video is being generated from the RGB, Component or S-Video signal. In order to have untouched composite video on a NESRGB-modded NES, you must make a fourth selection using the palette selection switch. The Analogue Nt does have a palette selection switch, but it is a little rocker switch on the underside of the console. In order to change the palette, you have to pick up the heavy console to expose the base. The palette selection switch has only three positions, native NES palette, RGB NES palette and improved NES palette, it does not have the fourth position for pass-through/NESRGB disable.
I would also note, however, that this form of composite video generation (from S-Video) was probably done in the Famicom Titler, so the composite video generated from the Analogue Nt is not totally without historical precedent. But it is not how most of us first experienced it. So you have a choice with composite NES video, sharp and jaggy from a non-Analogue Nt or straight and fuzzy from an Analogue Nt.
Cartridge Scratching
The most troubling issue reported so far is that the aluminum edges of the Analogue Nt's cartridge slots can scratch and shave plastic off cartridges when you insert and remove them. The aluminum dust flaps which you push down on to insert a cartridge have stiff springs. There is only about a millimeter's worth of clearance from each side of the cartridge when it is inserted into the slot. The aluminum edges surrounding the cartridge slot are not beveled or smoothed. If you insert it or pull it out so that the sides or the face of the cartridge makes contact with the aluminum edge, you can easily shave plastic off your cartridge. You had best practice the Perfect Push/Pull of inserting/lifting the cartridge straight down/up to avoid damaging your carts. Can you imagine that Little Sampson you bought for $350 in mint condition getting scratched up because you were a little off on your Pull? While the cartridge connectors do not appear to have a Grip of Death, media damage can come in many forms. (Broken record needles, tape/disk head crashes, out of spec lasers.) While the NES and Famicom may also make close contact with cartridge shells, that is plastic on plastic and damage is not ordinarily going to occur.
This is what Analogue Interactive had to say about the cartridge inserting issue :
"Inserting Cartridges into the Analogue Nt
One of the most unique aspects of the Analogue Nt when compared to other video game systems, is of course that it is made from aluminum. The Analogue Nt is a high end product and it may require some reasonable extra attention when inserting cartridges. Carelessly inserting / removing cartridges into the slot or dramatically rocking them back and forth, may scuff your cartridges. Cartridges should be inserted and removed in a straight, upward and downward motion to avoid any issues. We’ve tested the cartridge mechanism with hundreds and hundreds of games, for nearly two years now and there are no known issues."
This is similar to what Apple said during the iPhone 4 antenna debacle, "you're holding it wrong!" This is typical of a product that has never been tested outside the design lab. Unfortunately it is way too expensive to recut the aluminum, (which was done in China), in order to widen the slot or soften the edges to prevent scratching in the future. This may be the console you keep your Everdrive N8 or NES PowerPak always in the cartridge slot and leave your precious cartridge collection on the shelf. I would note that only one in-depth review has reported shaved or scratched cartridge plastic from the Analogue Nt. Analogue Nt has offered to make an extender available for anyone with an affected console so that the cartridge plastic will not make contact with the aluminum sides.
Note that there will be some difficulty using the PowerPak. The PowerPak requires you to press reset to reset the game, but to hold down the reset button to return to the PowerPak menu. The Analogue Nt uses a press of the switch to reset and holding down the switch to turn off the console. You may have to get very good at the timing to get back to the menu. The Analogue Nt's modern approach to the power button is at odds with Nintendo's separate power and reset buttons. The Everdrive has a menu setting to allow a press of the reset button to return to the menu.
Everdrive Incompatibility
According to kevtris, the Everdrive will be incompatible with the HiDefNES board unless an ancient mapper set is used. http://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=12019&start=105#p150882 This is the Board Analogue Interactive is using for the HiDefNES, so the situation will be the same if you have either an Analogue Nt or a console modded with the HiDefNES board. kevtris says it can be fixed, but it must be done at the FPGA end, and krikzz has not made the Everdrive completely open source. Krikzz has plenty of second rate hardware clones from aliexpress to deal with. [update : The EverDrive's compatibility issues with the HiDefNES adapter appear to be resolved with EverDrive OS v13 and HiDefNES Update V2.00]
The Analogue Nt was sufficiently successful that a second run of consoles was made. Unfortunately, this batch has serious issues with the EverDrive. Games will often freeze after playing for 5-10 minutes. Krikzz and Analogue Interactive have acknowledged the problem for some users, but there is no fix as of yet.
Positive Things about the Analogue Nt from Initial Reviews
I should not have it said that the Analogue Nt is a piece of overpriced junk or there is nothing positive about it. For that extra $79.00, you get both the HDMI Upgrade board and the modification. If you purchased the upgrade from Game-Tech.us, it would probably cost you double.
The reviewer had no issues with the Composite, S-Video or Component Video from the Analogue Nt. The Component video, as shown in the test video, is pretty stunning. The colors are bright and the pixels are crisp.
The FDS RAM Adapter fits flush and well on the Analogue Nt. Nor have there been any complaints that the controller ports have a Grip of Death.
According to kevtris, Analogue Nt ordered 400 Hi-Def NES boards. This will help the Hi-Def NES reach more people through the Analogue Nt and fund further batches of Hi-Def NES boards for people who want to mod their Nintendo-made systems.
HDMI Analogue Nt or Analog RGB Video Analogue Nt
At the end of August people are finally starting to get their HDMI Analogue Nts. However, if they were expecting a Swiss army knife of NES video, they are going to wind up disappointed. Analog video output, RGB, Component, S-Video and Composite Video are all disabled with an HDMI upgrade installed. I suspect that there are no NESRGB boards in these units. Kevtris indicated that his board could work in conjunction with the NESRGB board, but it required non-trivial modifications to the NESRGB board. He had not fully tested the pair and may not be very interested in doing so. Analogue Interactive apparently decided not to risk an incompatibility, so they disabled the NESRGB functionality when the HDMI upgrade is installed. I would not be surprised if they removed the NESRGB board entirely, because they indicate that either type of Analogue Nt could be sent back to them for an upgrade.
The original composite video signal is still available when the HDMI cable is not plugged in. Analogue Nt has offered to make that an output option for anyone who wishes to return their console for the modification.
HDMI Teething Issues
When the HDMI enabled Analogue Nts began shipping to customers in later August, there have been a few reports of teething problems. The biggest confirmed issue is that Castlevania 3 and some other MMC5 games will not work in the HDMI version. Laser Invasion works fine and that was the game kevtris used to test. Very recently, there has been a workaround by using a CV3 plugged into a Game Genie. Also, the HDMI Analogue Nts will reset if the TV is shut off. The HiDef NES mod inside the Analogue Nt HDMI version should be fixable with a firmware update, but the buyers of the HDMI were not made aware that the board could possibly have bugs. Also, while updating the firmware is easy with a PowerPak, not everyone has one of those. They may have to wait for Analogue Interactive to ship them a cartridge with a firmware update. [update: HiDefNES Update V2.25 fixes these issues and other bugs]
HDMI Upgrade Adapter and Delays
Currently, the only NESRGB units that are shipping are non-HDMI Upgraded units. No one outside IGN can report receiving one. When you get a non-HDMI Upgraded unit, you will see an empty hole where the HDMI port would be. This is rather sloppy in my opinion, Analogue Interactive should have put a solid piece in place which could be removed if upgraded. After all, to upgrade the device you are supposed to send it back to Analogue Interactive. On the plus side, the hole seems perfect to insert coins into, so the Analogue Nt can double as an expensive piggy bank. Dust bunnies and spiders can take up residence inside too and keep warm next to those running chips.
As far as IGN's unit goes, they received it three weeks ago and stated they would do a full hands-on "sometime soon." The reviewer was showing off a silver unit, and he mentioned that the unit he ordered (personally) was black. No footage from the unit was shown. Perhaps the demo unit has been shipped back already because IGN has not mentioned the Analogue Nt since. Assuming that the unit probably had non-finalized HDMI Upgrade hardware, IGN may be holding back on reviewing it until the receives the go ahead from Analogue Interactive. It may come in the form of firmware that will enable the HDMI function.
At first, the HDMI Adapter Upgrade was going to be an external adapter and it was going to cost an additional $49.00. Earlier photos of the enclosure showed no cut out for an HDMI port inside the system, just the analog video output. The adapter would convert RGB to digital HDMI output. Questions must have been asked how Analogue Interactive was going to make an external RGB to HDMI converter that was any good for that price, because a good device like the Micomsoft X-RGB Mini Framemeister goes for $300 at least. At some point between November 4, 2014 and December 12, 2014, the decision to make the HDMI Adapter Upgrade internal was made and the price was raised to $79.00. Kevtris did not announce his HDMI NES adapter and show video footage until November 14, 2014. Analogue Interactive probably made the decision soon thereafter to approach him.
I applaud Analogue Interactive for its initiative using the best available HDMI implementation available. It gives an answer to the question "Why not just use an X-RGB Mini Framemeister?" I must criticize Analogue Interactive for failing to inform its pre-order customers of the change in direction. Only on July 27 did Analogue Interactive give links to its backers of Youtube videos showing off the HDMI Upgrade and confirming that it was kevtris' design. However, only yesterday did kevtris announce that the hardware, firmware and software for the HiDefNES (HDMI Mod) was finished and released to manufacturing for both the Analogue Nt and people who want to purchase the kit to install on their own. So people who ordered their Analogue Nt with the HDMI Upgrade almost certainly won't be receiving their units until late June or more likely early August, if you read between the lines of the latest Analogue Interactive shipping update.
Video Issue #1 - RGB SCART Video
I have read or seen two issues with the video quality. First, the RGB SCART (European) cable that comes with the Analogue Nt. is incorrectly designed. It is lacking resistors on the R, G, & B lines, giving the resulting graphics a washed-out look and overly bright look. The Component, S-Video and Composite video output do not have this problem. Although the SCART and JP-21 cables used with the Analogue Nt do not carry audio signals, the overly bright video can add buzz noise to the audio. According to this blogger, https://retrogamingnr.wordpress.com/2015/07/06/17/ the brightness can be reduced either on an analog CRT or an XGRB Mini Framemeister through the use of brightness and color settings. Of course, this becomes extremely inconvenient when you want to use another console that has SCART with the proper resistors, probably 75ohm, inside. Then you have to boost the brightness and color settings. Considering Analogue Nt's work with the consolidated Neo Geo MVS, which output RGB video, this is a very uncharacteristic oversight.
I have also read that the problem exists in the BNC cables, which also carry pure analog video. Unfortunately, there is no space to solder resistors with BNC cables. Also, the issues with the faulty SCART cable cause synching issues with the Framemeister. See here : https://twitter.com/gamespite/status/616685135384199168 The same user later reports that his issues have been resolved : https://twitter.com/gamespite/status/621886827843190784
That video shows a NES modded with a NESRGB board vs. an Analogue Nt. Because the RGB output from the Analogue Nt was not usable, it is really RGB vs. Component. Note that neither the modded NES nor the Analogue Nt show 100% same colors as an unmodded NES would, but they are closer than a 2C03 : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5me9olJYGA0 Even so, the arguments over the "true" 2C02 PPU palette will rage until the 2nd to last person who cares dies.
By the way, if you really want to see what the NESRGB looks like in the Analogue Nt, the final production board, here you go :
A bit less sleek than those official photos show, isn't it, with the NESRGB board. Just wait until the HDMI Upgrade comes along, those official board photos from the press kit will look positively disingenuous. Kevtris stated yesterday that his board and the NESRGB board should work harmoniously, but he needs to test it out thoroughly.
The Japanese Analogue Nt owner who took the above photo seems to state that he received replacement RGB cables, improving the picture quality of his machine considerably : https://twitter.com/KAPPY_2164/status/621808533156204544
Note that the official press kit photos have the CPU and PPU chips swapped! See here : https://www.dropbox.com/sh/t0q2ugrc9z3ee1r/AABLi4Fl3eLCnuxj_0Qkxijta?dl=0
The Japanese Analogue Nt owner who took the above photo seems to state that he received replacement RGB cables, improving the picture quality of his machine considerably : https://twitter.com/KAPPY_2164/status/621808533156204544
Note that the official press kit photos have the CPU and PPU chips swapped! See here : https://www.dropbox.com/sh/t0q2ugrc9z3ee1r/AABLi4Fl3eLCnuxj_0Qkxijta?dl=0
The board shots IGN posted back in January have the CPU and PPU in the correct sockets :
http://www.ign.com/articles/2015/01/13/look-at-whats-inside-the-analogue-nt
Video Issue #2 - Composite Video
The second issue I have confirmed is with the composite video. In its User's Guide for the Analogue Nt, Analogue Interactive states :
"Composite
Your Analogue Nt outputs composite directly from the PPU, untouched, exactly the way your original NES or Famicom did when you first played it. This way, you can experience identically to the way it was released."
When I saw the video of the Analogue Nt's output, it demonstrated that the above quotation was not accurate. This video shows in several instances native NES composite video vs. the Analogue Nt's composite video captured with the same equipment : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5me9olJYGA0
The composite output from the Analogue Nt either entirely lacks the dot crawl and the three-line zig zag pattern of the native NES composite video output or the effects are greatly diminished. It looks like the composite video is being generated from the RGB, Component or S-Video signal. In order to have untouched composite video on a NESRGB-modded NES, you must make a fourth selection using the palette selection switch. The Analogue Nt does have a palette selection switch, but it is a little rocker switch on the underside of the console. In order to change the palette, you have to pick up the heavy console to expose the base. The palette selection switch has only three positions, native NES palette, RGB NES palette and improved NES palette, it does not have the fourth position for pass-through/NESRGB disable.
I would also note, however, that this form of composite video generation (from S-Video) was probably done in the Famicom Titler, so the composite video generated from the Analogue Nt is not totally without historical precedent. But it is not how most of us first experienced it. So you have a choice with composite NES video, sharp and jaggy from a non-Analogue Nt or straight and fuzzy from an Analogue Nt.
Cartridge Scratching
The most troubling issue reported so far is that the aluminum edges of the Analogue Nt's cartridge slots can scratch and shave plastic off cartridges when you insert and remove them. The aluminum dust flaps which you push down on to insert a cartridge have stiff springs. There is only about a millimeter's worth of clearance from each side of the cartridge when it is inserted into the slot. The aluminum edges surrounding the cartridge slot are not beveled or smoothed. If you insert it or pull it out so that the sides or the face of the cartridge makes contact with the aluminum edge, you can easily shave plastic off your cartridge. You had best practice the Perfect Push/Pull of inserting/lifting the cartridge straight down/up to avoid damaging your carts. Can you imagine that Little Sampson you bought for $350 in mint condition getting scratched up because you were a little off on your Pull? While the cartridge connectors do not appear to have a Grip of Death, media damage can come in many forms. (Broken record needles, tape/disk head crashes, out of spec lasers.) While the NES and Famicom may also make close contact with cartridge shells, that is plastic on plastic and damage is not ordinarily going to occur.
This is what Analogue Interactive had to say about the cartridge inserting issue :
"Inserting Cartridges into the Analogue Nt
One of the most unique aspects of the Analogue Nt when compared to other video game systems, is of course that it is made from aluminum. The Analogue Nt is a high end product and it may require some reasonable extra attention when inserting cartridges. Carelessly inserting / removing cartridges into the slot or dramatically rocking them back and forth, may scuff your cartridges. Cartridges should be inserted and removed in a straight, upward and downward motion to avoid any issues. We’ve tested the cartridge mechanism with hundreds and hundreds of games, for nearly two years now and there are no known issues."
This is similar to what Apple said during the iPhone 4 antenna debacle, "you're holding it wrong!" This is typical of a product that has never been tested outside the design lab. Unfortunately it is way too expensive to recut the aluminum, (which was done in China), in order to widen the slot or soften the edges to prevent scratching in the future. This may be the console you keep your Everdrive N8 or NES PowerPak always in the cartridge slot and leave your precious cartridge collection on the shelf. I would note that only one in-depth review has reported shaved or scratched cartridge plastic from the Analogue Nt. Analogue Nt has offered to make an extender available for anyone with an affected console so that the cartridge plastic will not make contact with the aluminum sides.
Note that there will be some difficulty using the PowerPak. The PowerPak requires you to press reset to reset the game, but to hold down the reset button to return to the PowerPak menu. The Analogue Nt uses a press of the switch to reset and holding down the switch to turn off the console. You may have to get very good at the timing to get back to the menu. The Analogue Nt's modern approach to the power button is at odds with Nintendo's separate power and reset buttons. The Everdrive has a menu setting to allow a press of the reset button to return to the menu.
Everdrive Incompatibility
According to kevtris, the Everdrive will be incompatible with the HiDefNES board unless an ancient mapper set is used. http://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=12019&start=105#p150882 This is the Board Analogue Interactive is using for the HiDefNES, so the situation will be the same if you have either an Analogue Nt or a console modded with the HiDefNES board. kevtris says it can be fixed, but it must be done at the FPGA end, and krikzz has not made the Everdrive completely open source. Krikzz has plenty of second rate hardware clones from aliexpress to deal with. [update : The EverDrive's compatibility issues with the HiDefNES adapter appear to be resolved with EverDrive OS v13 and HiDefNES Update V2.00]
The Analogue Nt was sufficiently successful that a second run of consoles was made. Unfortunately, this batch has serious issues with the EverDrive. Games will often freeze after playing for 5-10 minutes. Krikzz and Analogue Interactive have acknowledged the problem for some users, but there is no fix as of yet.
Positive Things about the Analogue Nt from Initial Reviews
I should not have it said that the Analogue Nt is a piece of overpriced junk or there is nothing positive about it. For that extra $79.00, you get both the HDMI Upgrade board and the modification. If you purchased the upgrade from Game-Tech.us, it would probably cost you double.
The reviewer had no issues with the Composite, S-Video or Component Video from the Analogue Nt. The Component video, as shown in the test video, is pretty stunning. The colors are bright and the pixels are crisp.
The FDS RAM Adapter fits flush and well on the Analogue Nt. Nor have there been any complaints that the controller ports have a Grip of Death.
According to kevtris, Analogue Nt ordered 400 Hi-Def NES boards. This will help the Hi-Def NES reach more people through the Analogue Nt and fund further batches of Hi-Def NES boards for people who want to mod their Nintendo-made systems.
HDMI Analogue Nt or Analog RGB Video Analogue Nt
At the end of August people are finally starting to get their HDMI Analogue Nts. However, if they were expecting a Swiss army knife of NES video, they are going to wind up disappointed. Analog video output, RGB, Component, S-Video and Composite Video are all disabled with an HDMI upgrade installed. I suspect that there are no NESRGB boards in these units. Kevtris indicated that his board could work in conjunction with the NESRGB board, but it required non-trivial modifications to the NESRGB board. He had not fully tested the pair and may not be very interested in doing so. Analogue Interactive apparently decided not to risk an incompatibility, so they disabled the NESRGB functionality when the HDMI upgrade is installed. I would not be surprised if they removed the NESRGB board entirely, because they indicate that either type of Analogue Nt could be sent back to them for an upgrade.
The original composite video signal is still available when the HDMI cable is not plugged in. Analogue Nt has offered to make that an output option for anyone who wishes to return their console for the modification.
HDMI Teething Issues
When the HDMI enabled Analogue Nts began shipping to customers in later August, there have been a few reports of teething problems. The biggest confirmed issue is that Castlevania 3 and some other MMC5 games will not work in the HDMI version. Laser Invasion works fine and that was the game kevtris used to test. Very recently, there has been a workaround by using a CV3 plugged into a Game Genie. Also, the HDMI Analogue Nts will reset if the TV is shut off. The HiDef NES mod inside the Analogue Nt HDMI version should be fixable with a firmware update, but the buyers of the HDMI were not made aware that the board could possibly have bugs. Also, while updating the firmware is easy with a PowerPak, not everyone has one of those. They may have to wait for Analogue Interactive to ship them a cartridge with a firmware update. [update: HiDefNES Update V2.25 fixes these issues and other bugs]
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Analogue Nt - The NES as a Luxury Retro Console
Nintendo made over sixty million NES and Famicoms systems from 1983-2003. It is not a rare system and a base system is not particularly expensive on the second hand market. It was one of the most popular video game consoles of all time. However, today getting a NES to run on modern LCD TVs and not looking like crap can be a bit of a challenge. Any of the popular NES or Famicom models, the original Famicom HVC-001, the front loader NES-001, the top loader NES-101 and the Famicom AV HVC-101 output composite video at best and RF at worst. LCDs usually make this signal look horrible and some newer TVs do not like the 240p signal output by these consoles at all and will refuse to display them.
Now suppose you took the two core custom chips inside every NTSC NES and Famicom, the 2A03 CPU and 2C02 PPU and had the resources to make a totally redesigned system. Then suppose you wanted to make this redesigned system a luxury item which the press and deep pocket gamers would fall in love over. Well, a company called Analogue Interactive did just that. It made an enclosure for its redesign fashioned out of a single solid block of high-grade 6061 aluminum. It took CPU and PPU chips from a batch of Famicoms in cosmetically objectionable condition and put them in sockets inside a new PCB that it designed. The result is a redesigned NES called the Analogue Nt that costs $499.00 to purchase.
Analogue Interactive has had success designing wooden enclosures for consolized Neo Geo MVS arcade PCBs. These wooden enclosures, with matching enclosures for the joysticks, are beautifully designed, scream quality and come with price tags to match. Of course, Neo Geo fans are known for deep pockets who will pay thousands of dollars for rare Neo Geo AES home console game versions and can afford an uncompromising attitude toward quality. While prices for NES-related items have gone up and up over the years, they are not at the average level of Neo Geo-related items. The NES had many more games, both games and systems cost far less and had a very wide appeal to gamers in Japan, the United States and Canada and to a lesser extent in Europe, Australia, Brazil, Russia and Southeast Asia. Analogue Interactive has seen this as a market to tap into with its high-end design philosophy.
The Analogue Nt is designed to handle both NES and Famicom systems. It has a 72-pin connector cartridge connector for NES Game Paks and a 60-pin connector for Famicom Cassettes (no one uses the "official" names for the media anymore, so from hereon out I will use the word "cartridges" like everybody else). The four controller ports on the front eliminate the need for a separate 4-player adapter for either NES or Famicom games. The controller pins are gold plated to resist corrosion. It supports the Famicom Disk System with an FDS RAM adapter and disk drive.
As you can see from the front of the unit, the Analogue Nt is very minimalist in design except where absolutely necessary. No unnecessary ridges, no asymmetry, no buttons or switches. No more vents than absolutely necessary. The basic silver color looks as if it was designed by or for Apple Inc. The little dot above the stylized A is for an LED button, something not found on a Famicom or top loader NES. If you want to be more adventurous, for $49.00 extra you can get the console in red, blue and black. Pre-order backers could specify white plastic controller ports instead of the Nintendo black.
The Analogue Nt has more features and in some ways more powerful hardware than any official Nintendo product every boasted. It has the equivalent of a NESRGB board built into every system. That gives S-Video and RGB video output and this console also adds Component Video for us Yankees. The regular 2C02 composite video is also available. Cables beyond the basic composite/S-Video cable that the base system comes with cost an additional $29.00 each Analogue Interactive offers JP-21 RGB, SCART RGB, BNC RGB and Component Cables for sale. For an extra $79.00, you can in addition have kevtris' HDMI Mod installed.
On the back of the unit, you can see a number of ports. From left to right, we have a Famicom Expansion Port and a microphone jack. The microphone input mimics the functionality of the microphone on the original Famicom's 2nd controller. So you should be able to kill Pols Voice without any effort on the original version of The Legend of Zelda on the Analogue Nt.
After the microphone port are a pair of RCA audio outputs. The RCA audio out is shielded and amplified for headphones. The Analogue Nt supports the original mono audio from the NES or the split channels "stereo" audio mod. The left switch is to select between the 4-player NES adapter, the default of 2-player input and the 4-player Famicom adapter.
The right switch functions with the up and down buttons next to it. With the switch in the Mic position, you can set the output volume of the Microphone. With the switch in the Aux position, you can set the output volume of the Expansion Audio from the a cartridge. With the switch in the Mix position, you can set the monophonic/stereophonic setting
Next comes the power jack. Finally there is an HDMI port (if you selected the HDMI Adapter Upgrade option) and a VGA-style HD-15 video output port for all analogue video output. The red button is the power button and is taken from an NES controller. A quick push acts as a soft reset, holding it down turns the power off.
The right switch functions with the up and down buttons next to it. With the switch in the Mic position, you can set the output volume of the Microphone. With the switch in the Aux position, you can set the output volume of the Expansion Audio from the a cartridge. With the switch in the Mix position, you can set the monophonic/stereophonic setting
Next comes the power jack. Finally there is an HDMI port (if you selected the HDMI Adapter Upgrade option) and a VGA-style HD-15 video output port for all analogue video output. The red button is the power button and is taken from an NES controller. A quick push acts as a soft reset, holding it down turns the power off.
The Analogue Nt supports the NES PowerPak and Everdrive N8. Its power supply supports all worldwide power standards and there are versions for the US and Japan, the UK, Europe and Australia. It provides additional power for 3rd party devices.
The HDMI Adapter Upgrade offers an awful lot more. It uses kevtris' (Kevin Horton's) design and has virtually all the features from the HDMI Mod he has been demonstrating for the past year. Here is an unlisted video Analogue Interactive put out showing off the features for its implementation : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CXsZ3LvdfCs
For those who prefer their information in text as opposed to video, a listing of the menu and submenus can give you a good idea of its features
Analogue Nt [Main] Menu
- Resolution
- 640x480 [60Hz/50Hz]
- 1280x720 [60Hz/50Hz]
- 1920x1080 [60Hz/50Hz]
- Video Options
- Horizontal Stretch
- Width [Slider]
- Scaling
- None
- HQ2X
- HQ3X
- HQ4X
- Scale2X
- Scale3X
- XRay
- Scanlines
- Off
- NES
- 2X
- 3X
- 4X
- 5X
- Interpolation
- On
- Depth [Slider]
- Palette
- FCEUX'S
- Beware's
- Playchoice 10
- Black and White
- Cropping
- Top Edge [Slider]
- Right Edge [Slider]
- Bottom Edge [Slider]
- Left Edge [Slider]
- Horizontal Position
- Position [Slider]
- Despeckle
- Sound Options
- Enables
- VRC6
- VRC7
- FDS
- MMC5
- N163
- Sunsoft 5B
- VCR6 Swap
- Volumes
- APU [Slider]
- N163 [Slider]
- VRC6 [Slider]
- MMC5 [Slider]
- 5B [Slider]
- FDS [Slider]
- VRC7A [Slider]
- VRC7B [Slider]
- Panning
- NES Sqr 1 [Slider]
- NES Sqr 2 [Slider]
- NES Tri [Slider]
- NES Noise [Slider]
- NES DPCM [Slider]
- Namco 163 [Slider]
- VRC6 Sq 1 [Slider]
- VRC6 Sq 2 [Slider]
- VRC6 Saw [Slider]
- MMC5 Sq1 [Slider]
- MMC5 Sq2 [Slider]
- MMC5 PCM [Slider]
- Sunsft 5B [Slider]
- FDS [Slider]
- VCR7 A [Slider]
- VRC7 B [Slider]
- Viewer [visual representation by sliders]
- NES Pulse Wave 1 [Shows duty cycle, frequency and volume]
- NES Pulse Wave 2 [Shows duty cycle, frequency and volume]
- NES Triangle Wave [Shows frequency]
- NES Noise [Shows short and long noise periods, frequency and volume]
- NES Delta/PCM [Shows sample address, sample length, whether sample is looped, frequency]
- FDS Wavetable Main Channel [Frequency and volume]
- FDS Modulator [Frequency]
- MMC5 Pulse Wave 1 [Frequency and volume]
- MMC5 Pulse Wave 2 [Frequency and volume]
- VRC6 Pulse Wave 1 [Frequency and volume]
- VRC6 Pulse Wave 2 [Frequency and volume]
- VRC6 Sawtooth Wave [Frequency and accumuator rate]
- Sunsoft 5B Square Wave 1 [Frequency and volume]
- Sunsoft 5B Square Wave 2 [Frequency and volume]
- Sunsoft 5B Square Wave 3 [Frequency and volume]
- Settings
- Menu Hotkey [can select any combination]
- A
- B
- Select
- Strart
- Up
- Down
- Left
- Right
- Overclock Hotkey [can select any combination]
- A
- B
- Select
- Strart
- Up
- Down
- Left
- Right
- Underclock Hotkey [can select any combination]
- A
- B
- Select
- Strart
- Up
- Down
- Left
- Right
- Short Reset Hotkey [can select any combination]
- A
- B
- Select
- Strart
- Up
- Down
- Left
- Right
- Long Reset Hotkey [can select any combination]
- A
- B
- Select
- Strart
- Up
- Down
- Left
- Right
- Controller for Hotkeys
- Controller 1
- Controller 2
- DVI Mode
- DVI Mode
- EDID Disable
- Disable EDID
- Audio Clock
- CPU Clock
- PPU Clock
- Save and Update
- Save Settings
- Update Firmware [via flash cart like PowerPak or Everdrive]
- About
[Status]
Rez(olution) [Current]
Palette [Selected]
Elapsed [Time]
[Controls, changes with every screen]
Start - Reset Timer
A - Enter Select - Back
While the NESRGB captures the pixel colors from the graphics more-or-less digitally and then recreates the frame, the HDMI NES has to do much more. Not only can it output pure digital video, it can also output pure digital audio as well. Because the audio comes out of the CPU in a strictly analog fashion, the HDMI NES has to emulate not only the internal Audio Processing Unit but also all the expansion audio chips. It also has to monitor the controller input memory locations/registers to virtually eliminate input lag. The NESRGB board is only connected to the PPU, but the HDMI board is connected to both the CPU and PPU. The result is digital audio output at 16-bit/48kHz.
A NESRGB modded console connected to a Framemeister typically adds 1 frame of delay/lag to the input compared to a NES output to a CRT via composite video. The Framemeister can convert analog audio to digital audio, which has to be converted back to analog for the speakers, so it is more noisy. An HDMI modded NES like the Analogue Nt typically adds a few scanlines worth of delay, which is imperceptible by human beings. This is in addition to any processing done by a non-CRT TV. The NES's frame rate is an effective 60.098 frames per second, but the HDMI mod slows this down to a pure 60fps to avoid compatibility issues with picky HDTVs. The slowdown of .0016% is unnoticeable to human beings. If you want to get a better idea of how the HDMI mod works and its development, watch the videos on kevtris' channel : https://www.youtube.com/user/kevtris
Aethestically, the brushed silver aluminum finish may not make the best contrast against the dark gray matte finish of NES cartridges or the colorful plastic shells of Famicom cartridges. Nintendo manufactured millions and millions of cartridges as cheaply as possible. The gold Zelda cartridges and gold and silver Camerica cartridges may look most appropriate to the Analogue Nt, at least from a distance. The NES itself was made of plastic and rather boxy, it tried not to look out of place next to the VHS players and cassette decks of the mid-80s. The Famicom, with its red and white scheme looked like a toy. Those large NES joystick ports with visible pins are as far from modern interconnections like USB ports as you can get. The plastic, rectangular NES and Famicom controllers with thick cables are somewhat removed from its descendants. Today's video game storage media are optical disks and SD-like memory cards, not large bulky cartridges that stick out of a system. The Analogue Nt may still look a little odd next to the 4K HDTV, the Blu-ray player, the Wii U, Xbox One or Playstation 4 or the home receiver system.
The Analogue Nt was first announced in March, 2014 with an intended shipping date of summer, 2014. However, summer turned to winter, winter to spring and spring to summer of 2015 before users have begun to receive their units. Hard information about the device has been extremely limited, although excuses and apologies for the delay were not in short supply. You can read a summary of it here : http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1076624 This has been seen by some as rather concerning from a company known primarily for its woodworking skills, not its electrical engineering design. You had to pre-order the console and your account was charged immediately for the full price. With the delays some have accused Analogue Interactive of running an unannounced Kickstarter-like campaign to raise interest-free financing. Considering that the aluminum used for the enclosure and the high quality PCB assembly are large parts of the manufacturing cost, this charge has some merit. To Analogue Interactive's credit, they offered full refunds to pre-order customers dissatisfied with the wait. I can imagine some felt unhappy with their money tied up for over a year, but from what I have read, by-and-large most customers have stayed loyal. Analogue Interactive has made regular updates to its pre-order customers.
The superficial mainstream media also deserves some criticism. A media organization finds a story about an interesting new product to be released and its competitors parrot it and that is often the last you hear about it from these sources. Often you if do a search for the product, you will see little beyond the articles all originating around the same date. Information about failed and long-delayed products is frequently harder to find. You would think that if a media entity felt that this device was so sufficiently newsworthy to devote a substantial article, there would be reviews all over the place by now since it started shipping some weeks ago There are none.
The superficial mainstream media also deserves some criticism. A media organization finds a story about an interesting new product to be released and its competitors parrot it and that is often the last you hear about it from these sources. Often you if do a search for the product, you will see little beyond the articles all originating around the same date. Information about failed and long-delayed products is frequently harder to find. You would think that if a media entity felt that this device was so sufficiently newsworthy to devote a substantial article, there would be reviews all over the place by now since it started shipping some weeks ago There are none.
Analogue Interactive has released the occasional photo to keep up interest in the console and attention from the media. However, if a photo is worth 1,000 words, a frame of video from the Analogue Nt is worth about 60,000 words. It took well over a year from the initial taking of preorders to get video. Last month IGN received a unit with an HDMI mod but at a particularly inauspicious time. Their reporter received a unit on the first day of E3, and was only able to do a video unboxing. No games were played on the unit. I doubt that he had NES cartridges lying around in his hotel room in Los Angeles (but he certainly had a very nice looking pool table in his suite). Moreover, there was so much other current generation news to cover at E3 and the week following it that there would be no time to make videos about the Analogue Nt. You can watch the video here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDo0hUHM82s
Since the IGN video, Analogue Interactive released a pair of unlisted Youtube videos to its pre-order customers. The first showed off the HDMI Mod, and I have given the link above. The functionality of the HDMI Adapter Upgrade had been a questioned feature because the older photos of the Analogue Nt only showed an analog video out port. It was presumed that the HDMI Adapter Upgrade would act like a mini-Framemeister. However, the video shows that the now-internal Adapter is licensed directly from kevtris' design, implicitly confirmed by the man himself. (My skepticism of the release of the product was mostly eliminated at that point.) Analogue Interactive has also released a second unlisted Youtube video showing gameplay footage from Mega Man 2 without the HDMI Mod menu, it can be viewed here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NN6qtbWRC5Y. Analogue Interactive is to be commended for doing the HDMI Adapter right by going with the Master of 8-bit Nintendo Hardware's (kevtris') design.
Another individual attached to the website USgamer has received an Analogue Nt and did an unboxing video a few days ago. His unit did not come with an HDMI Adapter Upgrade, so the hole where the HDMI port is supposed to sit is empty. Unfortunately his video is no longer available. According to the Analogue Nt user guide, you can send your HDMI-less console back for an upgrade at any time. That user had a Framemeister, but the Framemeister is a jack-of-all trades while the HDMI Upgrade is designed specifically for the NES and its unique video output.
No one else has done an unboxing video, which suggests that people are still waiting. Those who ordered the HDMI Adapter Upgrade may still be waiting because as of this date kevtris has not reported that he is done squashing bugs with his design. If those bugs are hardware in nature, then Analogue Interactive may not have a final board to ship to customers. Recalls are expensive for large companies and and a small company may get killed either from the cost of a recall or the bad publicity if they do not initiate a recall after a major bug is discovered.
No one else has done an unboxing video, which suggests that people are still waiting. Those who ordered the HDMI Adapter Upgrade may still be waiting because as of this date kevtris has not reported that he is done squashing bugs with his design. If those bugs are hardware in nature, then Analogue Interactive may not have a final board to ship to customers. Recalls are expensive for large companies and and a small company may get killed either from the cost of a recall or the bad publicity if they do not initiate a recall after a major bug is discovered.
One other point of criticism about the Analogue Nt is the warranty period offered by the company. They only offer a 90-day warranty on all their products. By comparison, the big three, Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony offer a one-year warranty on newly purchased consoles. Considering that the core of the Analogue Nt is using used chips with unknowable prior use or abuse (did a prior Famicom owner try to get to new minus worlds in Super Mario Bros. by switching in and out a Tennis cartridge while the console was on?), the short warranty period is not particularly inspiring of confidence. Not to mention that the Analogue Nt costs more than any of the current consoles, providing an industry standard one-year warranty would show appropriate confidence in their product and keep faith with customers.
While unboxing and video capture footage videos are great, a full and real review from an unbiased and knowledgeable source is beyond due. There are so many questions with using this device that have not been answered and cannot be answered without a reliable review of the whole Analogue Nt experience. Even the User Guide, found here : http://www.analogueinteractive.com/pages/resources, can only answer so many questions.
For example, do the controller or cartridge connectors exhibit a Grip of Death? Can you select palettes without the HDMI Upgrade Adapter? Are there any issues with the FDS RAM adapter sitting flush on the slightly curved surface of the Analogue Nt? What about more exotic devices like the Bandai Datach Joint ROM System? Cartridge games like Zelda require the user to hold reset as they turn the power off to avoid RAM corruption, so how does the Analogue Nt deal with that? Is there really a NESRGB board and an HDMI board inside the fully-upgraded Analogue Nt (seems kind of redundant)? Is the Famicom Expansion Port sufficiently recessed for peripherals? What is the experience like using the audio mixer buttons (the User Guide is a bit vague)? Can you get expansion audio from the 72-pin cartridge slot using the pin 51 method?
For example, do the controller or cartridge connectors exhibit a Grip of Death? Can you select palettes without the HDMI Upgrade Adapter? Are there any issues with the FDS RAM adapter sitting flush on the slightly curved surface of the Analogue Nt? What about more exotic devices like the Bandai Datach Joint ROM System? Cartridge games like Zelda require the user to hold reset as they turn the power off to avoid RAM corruption, so how does the Analogue Nt deal with that? Is there really a NESRGB board and an HDMI board inside the fully-upgraded Analogue Nt (seems kind of redundant)? Is the Famicom Expansion Port sufficiently recessed for peripherals? What is the experience like using the audio mixer buttons (the User Guide is a bit vague)? Can you get expansion audio from the 72-pin cartridge slot using the pin 51 method?
There are some things an Analogue Nt will not do. It will not play troublesome NES PAL exclusive games like Elite, Aladdin and Asterix properly and other PAL releases will run too fast. That would require replacing the CPU and PPU with the PAL versions and changing the clock crystal. The Analogue Nt can be opened with a slotted screwdriver, but doing so will void your warranty and there is a sticker on the bottom that acts like an anti-tampering seal. It may not work with cartridges that require a lockout chip in the system like the Nintendo World Championships 1990 or Nintendo Campus Challenge (1991) cartridges. Considering how rare those cartridges are (26 total confirmed to exist), their owners can find other ways to play them. I do not recall kevtris getting the Zapper to work on his HDMI Mod, so it and other devices that rely on the refresh rate and scanline phosphor decay characteristics of a 15kHz CRT (R.O.B., Famicom 3D System) will not work on any LCD TV. It must passthrough sampled ADPCM speech synthesis from cartridges in the Moero Pro Yakyuu series, no one has ever attempted to emulate that.
Too often, one sees mainstream press coverage of the NES, whether it be a retrospective or a review of a new homebrew game. While they may show a genuine front loader, they always actually show gameplay using a hardware or software clone. There is no hardware clone made in recent decades that can accurately reproduce all the NES's quirks, and many get the basics wrong as with the reversed duty cycles for the pulse wave channels. The Retron 5 is a popular choice these days because it can accept cartridges from the most popular system and display them via an HDMI output, but it is running on Android and using emulators of variable quality to run games. Putting the game in the system is only necessary for the Retron 5 to dump the ROM to emulate it. The bankswitching hardware inside the cartridge must also emulated or the game will not work. The Retron 5 may also not run games it does not recognize if they use new or unknown bankswitching techniques. Running on emulators means putting up with inaccuracies and lag. Using the Retron 5 is something of a morally questionable choice considering that some of the emulators the company used, including the one used for the NES (FCEUmm) violate the terms of the emulators licenses. More information can be found here : http://www.libretro.com/index.php/retroarch-license-violations/ and it is truly reprehensible to violate the rights of individual programmers who do not have the resources to protect their rights.
If the Analogue Nt is successful, despite its high price tag, we could see a revitalization of the closest way in which the NES and Famicom were intended to look, sound and play in modern times. In fact, it looks to produce a better experience than Nintendo's own current limited offerings on the Wii U Virtual Console. One hopes to have more information online about the console in the upcoming weeks, so hopefully some of the questions above can be answered. If you have the money to spend and did not get in on the first batch another batch is apparently available for preorder, but don't expect to see it anytime soon (remember those TV commercials with allow 6-8 weeks for delivery, welcome to the modern version of that).
Sunday, May 3, 2015
Fun with the Framemeister
If you want to run your classic consoles on a modern flat screen HD TV, you probably will not like what you see if you connect the console's video output directly to the TV. In fact, if you have a 4K TV like mine, you may not see anything at all! Classic consoles were designed to display on CRTs, but if you do not have a CRT, you need this :
When it comes to SNES video quality there are generally the early consoles, which have one CPU and two PPU and APU chips, and the later consoles, which have a combined CPU and PPU chip and a single APU chip. The latter are known as the 1-chip SNES, and were introduced in the last batches of the original SNES case. When Nintendo released the SNES mini (a.k.a. SNESjr., SNS-101), this 1-chip design was always used. While the original case 1-chip SNESes still include RGB and S-Video output, the SNESjr. lacks the lines and circuitry for both. The capability is still present in the video encoder, but requires an amplifier between the encoder and the Multi AV output pins. Considering the tendencies of SNES consoles to exhibit the white line issue, using an amplifier is probably a good idea if you are going for the ultimate in image quality.
This is the Micomsoft XRGB-mini Framemeister. As the photo indicates, it is an upscaler. It is designed to upscale the video image of classic consoles from 240p and 480i/p to HD resolutions like 720p and 1080p. It and the other products Micomsoft produces are unique because they are the only video scalers designed to work with classic video game consoles. This comes at a steep price, the unit retails for just over $300 USD. A friend lent me a unit to test, so here I will give my impressions of the unit.
The Framemeister outputs only via HDMI with a standard cable. It has multiple inputs, composite video, S-video, analog RGB, D-Terminal (carries component video, adapters available to use RCA-style component cables) and two HDMI. In addition to the buttons, it comes with a remote that makes selecting options from the on-screen menu much easier. The Framemeister requires you to select the input you are going to use, and the remote has a button for each input. If you do not select the correct signal, you will see nothing.
Micomsoft a Japanese company, and while the company's page is not English-friendly, there is a large amount of information out there to help the new user out on various forums. The firmware is upgradeable with a micro-SD card. In addition, the micro-SD card can store the user's image settings, but the unit itself will remember stored settings.
With analog video, RGB (15.75kHz horizontal scan rate, 240p) the Framemeister provides the best possible output quality available today. Alternatively, component video also provides nearly identical video output quality but also supports 480p whereas RGB is limited to 480i. A third alternative is VGA, which is essentially 480p or better RGB (31.5kHz horizontal scan rate). Below this tier is S-Video, then comes composite video and finally RF modulation.
The RGB input uses a mini-DIN 9 connector, and Micomsoft provides a mini-DIN 9 to JP-21 adapter with the Framemeister unit. Higher end European TVs had a SCART connector to accept an RGB signal and Japanese TVs used a physically identical but electrically incompatible JP-21 connector to do the same. Micomsoft ships a Japanese JP-21 adapter, but there are European SCART adapters. If you are using the Japanese SNES RGB cable, you need the JP-21 adapter, and if you use the European SNES RGB cable, you need a SCART adapter.
The Framemeister can do a superb job upscaling RGB video to HDTVs. It does not seem to matter if your RGB output is using composite sync or composite video for the sync signals, the device supports both. In fact, you can approach the picture quality that you would get if you were displaying the output from an emulator on the screen. The unit can output to standard HDMI resolutions like 720p, 1080i or 1080p. I obviously recommend using a progressive resolution where possible. It also supports DVI computer monitor resolutions if the display is DVI capable (and most are). Here is the table in English of all the options available :
http://www.micomsoft.co.jp/XRGB-mini_Ver200_OSD_E.pdf
With S-Video, my SNES looked almost as good as the RGB output. With composite video the image was nowhere near the quality of either. Composite video is far, far more easier on the eyes on a CRT than any LCD, even as upscaled by the Framemeister. I do not have a D-Terminal to Component adapter, but my HDTVs still support component input, so I cannot tell whether the Framemeister would be an improvement. However, I doubt my TVs support 240p over component video, which is technically outside the standard.
Other than image quality, the other reason to consider a Framemeister is to decrease the lag involved in upscaling and processing the low-resolution console video to HD video. At a 60Hz refresh rate, a console is generating frames every 16.66 milliseconds. It has been stated that the Framemeister adds 1 frame or 20 milliseconds of lag compared to the unprocessed output (i.e. being connected to a CRT). TVs upscale and process all video to its native resolution before displaying it, so in this regard the Framemesiter is superior to just about any TV. LCD TVs tend to have input processing delays of tens of milliseconds, and some sets can go over 100 milliseconds. While one to three frames of lag may be imperceptible, how about five or ten? By outputting to the panel's native resolution, one major source of lag is eliminated.
I took some photos of the screen with my camera to give some idea of the differing picture quality between the inputs of the Framemeister and my TV's native input scaling. My TV is an HDTV from 2008 that supports 1080p and has an S-Video and Composite input. The SNES and the PC Engine Duo are the only RGB-capable consoles for which I have RGB cables. The SNES almost always outputs 256 horizontal pixels. The Turbo Duo usually outputs 256 horizontal pixels but many games use a 288, 320 or 336 horizontal pixel mode. Here are the photos :
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| TurboGrafx-16 Bonk's Adventure - Composite Video Native TV Scaling |
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| TurboGrafx-16 Bonk's Adventure - Composite Video Framemeister Scaling |
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| TurboGrafx-16 Bonk's Adventure - RGB Video Framemeister Scaling |
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| SNES Super Mario World - Composite Video Native TV Scaling |
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| SNES Super Mario World - Composite Video Framemeister Scaling |
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| SNES mini Super Mario World - RGB Video Framemeister Scaling |
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| SNES Super Mario World - RGB Video Framemeister Scaling |
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| SNES Super Mario World - S-Video Native TV Scaling |
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| SNES Super Mario World - S-Video Framemeister Scaling |
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| TurboGrafx-16 Ys Book I & II Composite Video Framemeister Scaling |
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The Framemeister is a jack-off-all-trades device. For the NES, it is a great choice if you have a NESRGB mod. The mod board costs about $70, more if you have a Top Loader or a Famicom. Installing it is no small task because you have to desolder the PPU without destroying it or the pads and traces on the NES or Famicom PCB. Of course, if you want to shell out the big $$$, you can get a Super 8-bit or someone to mod it for you. However, for the most lag free and lossless video and audio, there is an HDMI kit that is nearly complete from Kevtris and GameTech. This kit has lag that will be measured in scanlines, not frames. HDMI kits may give the best video quality available, being tweaked to specific consoles, but a Framemeister will be cheaper than modding multiple consoles and supports just about any console or home computer that outputs a pure RGB analog signal. It is probably the best overall choice if you don't have or want a CRT.
One important thing to note is that the HD resolutions of choice, 720p and 1080p, are not necessarily ideal for retro consoles if you want razor sharp pixels or to have all pixels the same size. There are very few large 720p panels, and many of them may actually be 768 pixel panels that stretch everything. Many of the best panels are plasmas, which you should not use with video games due to burn-in. 720 lines is an excellent resolution for NTSC retro consoles, all of which output 240 lines, even if some of those lines only show a border color. 1080 is not an ideal resolution. Some pixels will take up more lines than others. The best solution is to output a 960 line image and put up with borders. Many TVs will simply stretch everything. The Framemeister does not seem to allow for total user control over the horizontal and vertical scaling.
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