180 replies to this topic

[Byte Knight]

Hey guys,

 

Here's a great way to play Intellivision games on modern HDTV's, like your new Ms Pac-Man rom in full-screen 1080p!  And, you don't have to sift through the 500+ posts in the Ultimate Intellivision Flashback thread to get up and running.

 

Upgrade your existing Intellivision Flashback to the Ultimate Flashback!

 

 

 

The system includes:

• Raspberry Pi 3 computer with upgraded 2A power supply.
• Ultimate Flashback Interface
• USB keyboard extension cable.

What you get:

• Beautiful full-screen HDMI output.
• Wifi connectivity to add more games and download box art.
• USB input for keyboard input or adding roms via a USB thumb drive.
• The rock-solid jzintv emulator with perfect sound.
• The 60 games you've already purchased plus several great homebrews.
• EmulationStation front-end.

Here's a video of The Ultimate Intellivision Flashback in action:

 

 

Cost:

• $149 (shipping included) if you send me your Flashback unit to modify.  (It would cost you about $120 to do this project yourself.)  You pay to ship your Flashback (unit only) to me.
• Contact me if you're interested in a ready-to-go Ultimate FB system.

Do it yourselfer?

• Check out my Ultimate Flashback Interface Board which is an almost plug and play solution to interface DB-9 controllers with the Raspberry Pi!

CONTACT:

• PM me here or email me at holco zero zero four@umn.edu (change words to numbers) if you're interested or have any questions.

 

History of the Project / Review

• There's a great review and details of the history of the project here.

Instructional Video

• User grayclinejr has made an instructional video of how to add roms and box art:

 

5/7/16 

Ordering Info / Manual documents have been updated!  Please read through the documents below before deciding to order.

 Ultimate INTV Flashback Setup.pdf   105.47KB   393 downloads

Attached Thumbnails

• 

Attached Files

•  Ultimate Intellivision Flashback Ordering Info.pdf   42.61KB   455 downloads

Edited by Byte Knight, Tue Feb 7, 2017 1:02 PM.

[SoulBuster]

I already own the Ultimate PC interface.  what  is the cost now?

 

[ls650]

I think that's actually a pretty good deal, considering how much labor and materials go into it.
I am thinking about it.

[OldSchoolRetroGamer]

Brilliant, great improvement for the Flashback ! The ULTIMATE flashback indeed!

Edited by OldSchoolRetroGamer, Sun Feb 15, 2015 1:52 AM.

[Byte Knight]

I already own the Ultimate PC interface.  what  is the cost now?

 

 

PM sent.

[ckblackm]

Could you do this with a Pi 2 instead of a B+?

[Byte Knight]

Could you do this with a Pi 2 instead of a B+?

 

I haven't played around with the Pi 2 yet, and the RetroPie software compatible with the Pi 2 is still in beta form.

 

The B+ can more than handle Intellivision emulation.

[TrekMD]

This is cool!

[Byte Knight]

I added ordering info and manual / instructions to the bottom of the first page.  Please read through these before you decide to order.

[Utopia]

This would be well worth it as I have been trying to get this set up for a couple of weeks now (a hour here and there) and still dont have it up and running. A shame I can't use this service in Australia.

[Byte Knight]

Here's the best way to play your new Ms PacMan rom!

 

[JasonlikesINTV]

Was the glitch at 0:24 a video thing, or did the ultimate flashback actually do that?

[Byte Knight]

Was the glitch at 0:24 a video thing, or did the ultimate flashback actually do that?

 

Must be a video thing - haven't seen glitches on the Ultimate FB.

[daldude]

How do you play the ECS Games that need the Keyboard? It has some non standard keys on it.

 

Why can't you use the USB to transfer the game ROMs to the system or use a SD Memory card?

[Byte Knight]

How do you play the ECS Games that need the Keyboard? It has some non standard keys on it.

 

Why can't you use the USB to transfer the game ROMs to the system or use a SD Memory card?

 

 

Like the original FB, the Ultimate FB does only supports Intellivision games, not ECS games

 

Because the Raspberry Pi uses the Linux operating system, you can't simply copy games from your computer to the SD card or a USB thumb drive and then plug it into the Pi.  You've got to use a FTP program like Cyberduck to transfer games via the built-in wifi.  Once you're connected, you simply drag and drop the roms onto it.

[pimpmaul69]

 
 
Like the original FB, the Ultimate FB does only supports Intellivision games, not ECS games
 
Because the Raspberry Pi uses the Linux operating system, you can't simply copy games from your computer to the SD card or a USB thumb drive and then plug it into the Pi.  You've got to use a FTP program like Cyberduck to transfer games via the built-in wifi.  Once you're connected, you simply drag and drop the roms onto it.

why not have two intellivision sections like we did. One for regular games, one for ecs.

[iesposta]

I have noticed a difference.
I must have a newer build of Emulation Station.
That, and I installed the 2.6 RetroPie image.

I have Intellivision, and to the right of that is Intellivision ECS.
Also on the Intellivision game selection screen, in the upper right where it says Mattel Intellivision, the videos show a simple uppercase font, where mine has an Mattel font! (I changed Atari 2600 in that emulator section to the Atari font that looks like the text carts, and made it say "ATARI" in caps above "video computer system™" lowercase, really, with the TM).

Also you can edit a 1 to a 0 for the Description, so the sentences are upper and lower case. Much more easy to read than all caps!

Edited by iesposta, Mon Feb 23, 2015 11:04 PM.

[pimpmaul69]

I have noticed a difference.
I must have a newer build of Emulation Station.
That, and I installed the 2.6 RetroPie image.

I have Intellivision, and to the right of that is Intellivision ECS.
Also on the Intellivision game selection screen, in the upper right where it says Mattel Intellivision, the videos show a simple uppercase font, where mine has an Mattel font! (I changed Atari 2600 in that emulator section to the Atari font that looks like the text carts, and made it say "ATARI" in caps above "video computer system" lowercase, really, with the TM).

Also you can edit a 1 to a 0 for the Description, so the sentences are upper and lower case. Much more easy to read than all caps!

i have almost all the fonts for the 15 emulators i have. I added all the correct fonts i could find and edited each xml file accordingly.

[Byte Knight]

why not have two intellivision sections like we did. One for regular games, one for ecs.

 

For legal reasons, I'm only including the games, exec, and grom that come with the FB.  The ecs.bin file does not come with the FB.  I can provide instructions for people to set up ECS games if there's a big demand.

[iesposta]

 
For legal reasons, I'm only including the games, exec, and grom that come with the FB.  The ecs.bin file does not come with the FB.  I can provide instructions for people to set up ECS games if there's a big demand.

Sorry, I meant my last post to go in the Ultimate Intellivision Flashback thread. Still you could add the Mattel font to your project.
It makes perfect sense that you can only include what was purchased in the Intellivision Flashback (and any homebrew games that give permission). The Flashback doesn't come with ECS games.

[mthompson]

Why can't you use the USB to transfer the game ROMs to the system or use a SD Memory card?

Actually, RetroPie does have a built-in function for using a USB drive to transfer ROMs. It's called "usbromservice" but I haven't used it myself. From what I've read, it's turned on by default in the 2.3 disk image but not the later ones. Essentially, it sets up a folder structure on the USB drive when you first plug it in to the Pi. You then copy your ROMs from your computer onto the USB stick, and when you plug the drive back into the Pi, it synchronizes the files. There are basic directions here. 

 

Also, if you wanted to keep your roms on the USB and run them from there, you could do that by modifying the path to the ROMs for each emulator you're using. Directions here.

[Byte Knight]

Actually, RetroPie does have a built-in function for using a USB drive to transfer ROMs. It's called "usbromservice" but I haven't used it myself. From what I've read, it's turned on by default in the 2.3 disk image but not the later ones. Essentially, it sets up a folder structure on the USB drive when you first plug it in to the Pi. You then copy your ROMs from your computer onto the USB stick, and when you plug the drive back into the Pi, it synchronizes the files. There are basic directions here. 

 

I had no idea this even existed - thanks for sharing!  Instructions in the first post have been updated.

[sirtris]

Just wanted to give my quick impressions of Byte Knights finished product. I'll be honest and tell you that I'm fairly new to the Intellivision world. I had one as a kid but didn't have a gigantic collection. Recently I've been rediscoving the system and it's treasure trove of fun and under appreciated games.
So I wanted to be able to enjoy my favorite games with great video quality but have the authentic Intellivision controller in my hand while playing. So I'm very happy to say that this device completely delivered! This thing has plugnplay ease of use. Everything just works. The colors are so bright and vibrant. No bleeding whatsoever. Everything I've gone through plays at the correct speed with all the correct sounds (to the best of my knowledge). I just don't have the time to put one of these things together myself right now so I'm really glad that Byte Knight and a bunch of you guys did all the hard work to figure out the finer details. Also this thing is very nicely put together. Damn good work Byte Knight. Money well spent!

sirtris

Edited by sirtris, Sat Feb 28, 2015 9:59 PM.

[sirtris]

Also, I wanted to add that I didn't have any Linux code knowledge at all. Although things were simple to get up and running through wifi so I could shoot my collection of roms straight to the device. Also there are other ways of doing this I'm told but honestly wireless is hard to beat!

[ls650]

I was thinking of doing the upgrade, but with the Exchange rate and the shipping costs to Canada, I just can't justify the cost... :-(