godslabrat Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Anything NOAC costs about 4-6 bucks fully packaged in the quantities they buy. So 16-20, they sell it for like 23-28, etc. These are just approximate numbers, the converted might be cheaper. But should give you a general idea. I actually don't mind this being a NOAC, but the deciding factor is WHICH ONE. The NOAC used in the Super Retro Trio was fantastic (graded on a curve). The FC Mobile II was all right. Quite a few of the others are just crap, and the same crap we've been seeing since the Generation NEX. I can keep my expectations reasonable for a $40 item... I don't expect them to completely redesign the chip, but I do think it's fair to use the best chip available. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Hierophant Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 (edited) I actually don't mind this being a NOAC, but the deciding factor is WHICH ONE. The NOAC used in the Super Retro Trio was fantastic (graded on a curve). The FC Mobile II was all right. Quite a few of the others are just crap, and the same crap we've been seeing since the Generation NEX. I can keep my expectations reasonable for a $40 item... I don't expect them to completely redesign the chip, but I do think it's fair to use the best chip available. Apparently everyone hasn't heard the news that the Generation NEX's NOAC produces reverse duty cycle rectangle waves, as shown for example in this popular Youtube channel's recent video The presenter does not comment on the audio differences between the real NES and his three clone consoles despite the fact that he has demonstrated musical ability on his sister channel 8-bit Keys. Edited May 15, 2017 by Great Hierophant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Apparently everyone hasn't heard the news that the Generation NEX's NOAC produces reverse duty cycle rectangle waves, as shown for example in this popular Youtube channel's recent video The presenter does not comment on the audio differences between the real NES and his three clone consoles despite the fact that he has demonstrated musical ability on his sister channel 8-bit Keys. The NEX was the first clone that had really heavy marketing, and it was also one of the first with an exceptionally sharp case design. This was a big deal back in 2005 or so, and this led it to be the de facto Gold Standard of clones for a while. Since then, the numerous problems with the system have been well documented, but for some reason, the NEX still carries this completely undeserved reputation for being a "cool" system to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TDIRunner Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 This is the first clone console I've ever considered buying. Certainly not as a replacement for the real thing, but as a spare to be used on a different TV in another room. But to clarify, I said "considered buying" because I still don't know enough about it. As others have said, for the price point, I'm worried about the quality of the HD upconversion. Secondly, if it doesn't play Everdrives, that is an instant deal breaker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Hierophant Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 I was curious about the Retron HD as well. There is a review on Youtube already that shows some footage. It looks really fuzzy, as if the digital conversion happens at the very end of the signal chain. I'm guessing there's also a lot of added lag, but that wasn't tested. https://youtu.be/VjfFvjqbBOo?t=3m I just found my reason to pass on this piece of shit at 3:15 in the linked video. While this clone may have some advantages like a 4:3 switch (faux PAL isn't a real advantage) and better controller port placement, half a load of shit may be better than a full load of shit, but at the end of the day, it is still shit. Youtube guy downplays the audio differences, but he wants to sell this, so I can understand the bias. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 Ugh...damn 5 seconds, 5 is all I could take. The music was a little off, but once we got that coin, mushroom, and powerup I slammed that off. Oh hell no. They couldn't pay me $39.99 to USE it. NOAC = Newly Offered Atypical CRAP Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SignGuy81 Posted May 15, 2017 Share Posted May 15, 2017 That was total crap. The emulation of NES on my PS2 is much better than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Hierophant Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Nesticle had its 20th anniversary this year, and these NOACs have sound emulation that doesn't sound that much better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Meh. Close enough for me, but I'm done with cartridges. I'm sure it will sell to someone, though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SignGuy81 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Meh. Close enough for me, but I'm done with cartridges. I'm sure it will sell to someone, though. I'm that way with discs. I have my hard drives full of games on my Xbox 360 and One and maybe 2 actual game discs. I like not having to get up to change the game. I can see the whole argument from the other side though about actually having physical media though. I can't later on sell my collection of Xbox games on ebay if I want but could have if I bought the physical media. If there were a way for them to sell you discs but you didn't have to keep getting up to change games that would be awesome but I can't think of anyway that would be possible, unless they made it to where you had to put your disc in like once a week after playing a game or something so it could verify you still have the disc but I don't see them doing that because someone could get an extra week of playing a game after they sold it and they wouldn't want that. If they done that though I'd go back to physical media because I do like to hold my games if I can. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 I find the best argument is to muddy the water entirely. Buy physical, make digital, own and control your stuff however you damn well please whether the game companies like it or not. Perfect examples would be: RetroFreak (size of a SFC cart system on its own, stores any game fed to it via microSD card), buying a CD and making MP3s, buying a Blu-Ray and making a video file of that too, and GoG.com where you get real DRM free downloads to keep. ...and so on. I'm looking to dump my Retron5 and get the RF, but I can't seem to find a US vendor with the NES adapter in the bundle, that's an instant deal breaker for me. Just as I'm patiently waiting on SAINT to get his NGPC kit ready so I can fire up those few $100+ priced games I'd love to experience again (cotton, megaman) or for the first time (faselei and evolution in english.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 I find the best argument is to muddy the water entirely. Buy physical, make digital, own and control your stuff however you damn well please whether the game companies like it or not. Steal everything! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Steal everything, also a choice. Nice video. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Newsdee Posted May 17, 2017 Share Posted May 17, 2017 I'll stick to FPGAs... the market is getting crowded on Nintendo clones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Hierophant Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Bob from RetroRGB did a review of this unit, and he agrees with many people that it is a piece of crap : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 You mean Hyperkrap right? I don't see myself messing with their NES level stuff ever again as they're clearly incompetent and can't emulate the mappers right on the R5, and on the non-android stuff they find the shoddiest NOACs right along with retrobit and yobo. It's kind of a kick in the teeth after so many years now, since they now try and lie about that fact to move product with fancy boxes and pr bs. They're solid though on less scattershot stuff like Gameboy's and SNES (hi/lo-rom other than special chips) but mileage still varies. RIght now I'd bother with that handheld GB+GBC+GBA thing if it ever appears but they're not making it, though supposedly a gutted R5 mini box just for all things GB supposedly will exist for the TV. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 It's so tiny. I wish they'd put these in smaller enclosures, since they obviously can. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
7800fan Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 It's so tiny. I wish they'd put these in smaller enclosures, since they obviously can. If it's small enough, how about stuffing the gut inside a NES cart? NES cart is big enough on its own it could house smaller game consoles. You would need to relocate the Famicom connector to the cart end. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flojomojo Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 NES cartridges are needlessly large, too --mostly air inside! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great Hierophant Posted July 15, 2017 Share Posted July 15, 2017 (edited) Voultar dissolved the epoxy on the NOAC and found the identity of the chip and its datasheet. It appears that the RetroN 1 HD and the Gamerz Tek 8-bit HD are using NOACs that generate a composite video signal internally and then encode it to a digital or analog format suitable for sending to an FPGA on the output board. The FPGA then encodes this signal into HDMI and possibly composite as well for one variation of these consoles. Ultimately you are getting a composite signal, and the fuzzy blurring is used to mask the NTSC dot crawl : http://www.sega-16.com/forum/showthread.php?32415-Retron-HD-Possible-to-swap-the-NOAC&p=784530&viewfull=1#post784530 If anyone would like to review the datasheet for this NOAC, the V.R. Technology VT18 and other data from this clone manufacturer, you can find it here : http://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?t=5222(use the mediafire link) Edited July 15, 2017 by Great Hierophant 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiju Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 Finally got mine from Amazon. Pre-ordered early May. While I do have my original toaster hooked up to a CRT. This little thing is nice to use on the big screen setup. However I'm having issues. Several carts not working (bubble bobble, marble madness) and worse, second player port does not work with any OEM hardware. Tried everything from Advantage to zapper. Player one is fine however. I emailed Hyperkin about it, they quickly told me it's a hardware issue that cannot be patched, and I need to send in my unit for repair/replacement. Needless to say, after weeks of shipping delays I'm not happy about that. Terrible imo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 So more poor hardware from hyperkin yet again. R5 goes up in flames the first go around, now this. Makes me cringe over their mini box for all things branded Gameboy brought up in the past if that ever happens as it I think would be some R5 offshoot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
godslabrat Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 (edited) Hyperkin really is a disappointment factory. They completely embody the "It's just good enough for mass market" mentality that is pervasive in the industry. Edited July 21, 2017 by godslabrat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dj_convoy Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 I think the R3 and 5 are pretty decent; at least I've not had any major problems with them. However, it sounds like this thing is a nonstarter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanooki Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 If/when I get another use real carts emulator/HDMI box again I'm all in on retrofreak. That stupid polymega looks like a very expensive scam, and the RF is proven to get the job done and doubles down as an Everdrive as it is already too (and then some, seeing it can do more SNES games(chipped) than the ED or SD2SNES. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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