The F18A is it now time?

[Imperious]

Thanks to Matthew and His F18a my TI has the best image quality of all my retro computers. I now have Atari 2600, Vic-20, C64, Plus/4, Atari 65XE, Amiga 500, and of course the TI99/4A and all except

the TI with the F18a have been modded to Svideo which is good, but not as good as the F18A.

 

Also there are numerous owners of the MSX, Colecovision, and a few others enjoying the benefits.

 

Massively looking forward to loading the 1.6 update when available.

 

As far as expense is concerned, at the moment, unless You are in the USA the F18A is getting dearer as the US $ is on the rise against most other currencies, not that that really makes sense

with in excess of $18 Trillion debt, obviously at some point something has to change there, but that's not the point I guess.

I am glad I ordered this last year with respect to the exchange rate, but buying anything from the USA is now getting really expensive.

 

As far as games being written solely for the F18a, obviously it is better to try not to alienate those without one, and where possible an enhanced F18A version is best.

 

This works on my capture card, haven't tested on a TV though. Cost $16 from China

 

 

Edited January 27, 2015 by Imperious

[briantw]

Please do not misunderstand me, I’m not against your wishes of having a future HDMI device, and I agree with Bill Loguidice that it’s no slight on the F18A. I totally relate to wanting new toys with new technologies for the TI. As many here can attest, I’ve frequently come up with new wants and wishes, and have stated them here myself. I’ve even gotten a few ‘nasty grams’ from one specific individual in the past for daring to make such suggestions/comments.

 

I will admit that a few of your comments TAKEN TOGETHER rubbed me the wrong way, as I WRONGLY took them to be attacks on the product itself, for that I apologize. The first was, “It’s damned expensive”. The second comment, “… $78 to make my TI look like an emulator.” I thought, if he does not want his TI to look like an emulator, why all the fuss about HDMI”? Then later in another message, “What I make for myself, I don’t really care what it costs.”

 

Above all, I was irritated to see yet another one of the threads I started on this device degrade into something less than positive, when the sole intent was to create excitement and encourage development of new programs by pointing out that more people now use this device than not, which proves a market exists for such software.

 

Glad we got that out of the way and taken care of!

 

Ah, THANK GOODNESS for something positive to come back to the thread for.

 

When I posted my "concerns" as you requested in the poll, I had no idea that the creator of the product frequented this forum, sorry. I had just had a discussion about the same product on a Facebook group, and I waded in here unwary of any potential dragons.

 

I have no reason to attack anyone or any product, other than if I were attacked first. But really, come on, we have a passion for the TI. It's about hardware and software. How do these threads manage to get so personal so quickly. Isn't that discouraging to people who are keen on the 1s and 0s, after all? I remember reading about such juvenile playground politics in TI newsletters in the 80s, but, the difference then is that none of them were aimed at me. I was not prepared for character judgements by people who know nothing about me.

 

If I may defend the comments that rubbed you the wrong way, and, hopefully contribute something in this message that will be about the product itself, and not The Days of Our Lives.

 

• $78 seemed expensive to me as a final product. I buy a lot of bare-board electronics, and this was just a wee bit of a stretch for me. $50 would have been a suitable price point for me. But, I have to reiterate this for the 100th time: That's me. It's not meant to ruffle any feathers.
• Frankly, if I'd know the creator of the product was around here, I might have softened the comments somewhat. I apologise if it came across a bit harsh. My opinions remain unchanged, but the to-the-point phrasing could have been more subtle.
• It's not a contradiction when I say that I am not that sensitive to cost when I am obsessing over building something myself. I tend to put blinders on and climb right in there. I don't even bother to take stock. That's passion for you. But throwing costly components at a hobby project is different from buying a final product that takes 8 minutes to install, after which all you can do is sit back and enjoy it.
• The "to look like an emulator" comment is directly related to the price. It's nice for it to be as clear as an emulator, but, for $78? Just, I could do that with an emulator in the first place. That's just my personal pocket speaking.
• "if he does not want his TI to look like an emulator, why all the fuss about HDMI?" Well, I have a lot more ideas about a potential HDMI product, which I didn't bring up because I was trying to keep this thread on topic. But, since you asked, forgive me for elaborating: With HDMI, you can potentially go into a much higher resolution mode, and introduce some MAME-like goodies, such as scan lines and a simulated aperture grill. If you're on a large, wide screen, you may even simulate a physical TI monitor, by placing it as a frame around the original TI image. The possibilities, for me, are exciting, but I don't want to hijack this thread.

 

Finally, thanks for coming back with something that wasn't just yet another character attack or judgement thereof.

 

I've said many encouraging things here, but I fear they've been missed over a few negatives that I mentioned. I still think the F18A is an awesome product, and, the more I've discussed it and reasearched the numbers, aspect ratios, etc., the more I am actually thinking of purchasing one. An active discussion around it has made me more interested in it.

 

To Matt, I fully understand you taking a personal interest in the product, but I didn't expect some technical opinions to be met with opinions on my personal motivations and integrity. Sorry for ruffling your feathers, but I didn't know you'd be here. If I wanted to talk to you specifically about the product, I'd have sought you out on your website.

 

Thank goodness, because these negative politics are so damned tiring, "stirring the pot" allegations notwithstanding. I have a passion for the TI.

[TheMole]

With HDMI, you can potentially go into a much higher resolution mode, and introduce some MAME-like goodies, such as scan lines and a simulated aperture grill. If you're on a large, wide screen, you may even simulate a physical TI monitor, by placing it as a frame around the original TI image. The possibilities, for me, are exciting, but I don't want to hijack this thread.

 

It doesn't go as far as some of the things you're talking about here, but the next revision of the F18A firmware will have support for VGA scanlines.

See this post: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/233247-vga-vintage-scanline-generator/?p=3146462

 

Note that I think that is going to convince you it's worth the extra 30-odd bucks, but I thought I'd point it out anyway .

[briantw]

 

It doesn't go as far as some of the things you're talking about here, but the next revision of the F18A firmware will have support for VGA scanlines.

See this post: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/233247-vga-vintage-scanline-generator/?p=3146462

 

Note that I think that is going to convince you it's worth the extra 30-odd bucks, but I thought I'd point it out anyway .

 

Nice!

 

I'm actually already tempted to get one, but I wasn't able to determine the shipping method from the website. I don't trust no stinkin' post office

[+InsaneMultitasker]

I'm assuming that, as you typed that, the irony of what you were typing was lost on you. Thank you so much for your positive contribution to the technical obsession I have, as a 30-year-plus veteran of the TI community.

There was sufficient irony in previous posts to cover the presumed lost irony of my post. As a 30+ year contributing member of the TI community myself, you are most welcome.

[Omega-TI]

the US $ is on the rise against most other currencies, not that that really makes sense

with in excess of $18 Trillion debt, obviously at some point something has to change there

 

Agreed. My guess would be that the market is figuring that with all the domestic drilling, and world market oil prices decreasing, the domestic economy has no where to go but up, and with that, a requisite increase in tax revenues that will finally start to have a positive impact on the deficit. I have serious doubts considering the servicing of the interest and the 'so-called unforeseen' costs of the ACA. To me it's all a gambling based on best wishes. Besides, when does ANY politician not add new spending which would nullify any positive gain?