CRT Sets

[CRT Sets]

 

See this is what people should be doing. Keep and maintain the real hardware that you actually like, and want to use, sell the rest to people who appreciate and want it more.

 

For me only the SNES is worth "keeping" despite them suffering from CPU plague (*glances over at 4 SNES systems), because finding a working one later at any point in the future is a crapshoot. As far as PC/Computers systems go, I'd love to have a Miggy (A500 or A2000) but I didn't actually grow up playing software on it, it was just my favorite computer before the "Windows/DOS MPC 2.0" standard. But the key problem with both of these is that they require a 15Khz monitor/TV, CRT, and the experience of playing on something other than a CRT is pretty crummy. The SNES is one of the least compatible with LCD monitors/TV's things ever due to that slightly out of sync operating frequency.

 

Keeping CRT's around is a bit of a fools errand, as they have an expiry date. So if you're not using it, sell it to someone else who will. You might extend the life of some if you never move it, and keep it in a dark room away from magnets, but it's more likely people just toss it in a corner and it collects junk around it.

 

Eventually we will either have to settle for low-resolution OLED CRT replacements (which can mimic the trinitron effect) or use high-resolution (eg 4K) monitors that can emulate the "artifacts" that people want at the sub-pixel level. Though I think the real project that someone needs to work on is an actual "fake CRT driver" board for some easy/cheap to acquire OLED screen. Hence develop an actual 240p input that drives a OLED screen like it would on a CRT.

How about one of these? It does look kind of promising although it is meant for arcade usage and mounting could be a problem for those looking to use it for regular game consoles. Based on the manuals it appears that the converter board could be upgraded - perhaps one with filters and scanlining options. These are, of course, RGB Analog only but it is easier to RGB mod a console than mod it for HDMI.

[Nintendo Switch]

The real fun begins when the hackers get their hooks into the system and see how long it takes for them to put homebrews and emulators on it. I give it a week before somebody puts an NES emulator and plays the original Zelda ROM on it. As a matter of fact the Switch would be good for playing 2600 games considering the social aspect Nintendo is angling for. Combat anyone?

 

In addition, the removable controllers aspect would be perfect for certain games. Want to play Tempest on MAME? Snap in a controller with a rotary knob (assuming somebody makes one). The Switch is going to be one very interesting console indeed.

[DEAL: SanDisk Ultra 200GB Micro SD (Amazon)]

That's a shit ton of PSP game installs right there.

[Nintendo Switch]

I wonder how long it'll take for someone to softmod the Switch and put Handy on it. As a matter of fact, I wonder how good it can emulate the PSP.

[The Playstation 2 discussion thread!]

Sync-on-Green only happens when you use progressive scan in RGB. DVD Region X shuts off the PS2's ability to do Component Video forceback when watching movies so you don't get the green screen effect. The PS2 didn't have any kind of firmware so there was nothing to mess up in regards to changing regions for movie watching. If your PS2 motherboard is old enough you can attach a ground wire to a specific point on the motherboard to permanently shut off Component Video forceback. However, this won't do anything regarding region changing for DVDs.

[The Playstation 2 discussion thread!]

The reason that you get a green screen when trying to play movies in RGB is because the PS2 will switch back to Component Video for as long as the movie is in the drive. This is what causes the green screen effect. The reason the PS2 does this is because the MacroVision copy protection signal can be embedded in Component Video but not in RGB. In addition, the PS2 can do 480p RGB but you need a Composite Sync-on-Green monitor. Sony did not make a Composite Sync line for their AV plugs so, if you want to use RGB, you need to extract the sync from regular video if you use 480i RGB. This is generally done with easy to use chips such as the popular LM1881. A handful of monitors will allow you to put in regular video for sync thus eliminating the need to build your own circuit. However, for 480p, the PS2 shuts off the standard video and puts the sync on the green line. Only a handful of monitors can do 480i RGB, 480p RGB, and Composite Sync-on-Green. I actually have one which is a bit old and I don't know if it can still work but I intend to keep it until there is some kind of HDMI solution for the PS2. Also, there is a disc called the HDTV Player by Blaze that will allow you to force 480p on a lot of games even if they don't have the option built in. Makes a lot of games, including the GTA series, look a lot better and you can use it with Component Video if your TV supports progressive scan.

[Nintendo Switch]

 

It may not need full game installs like the other ssystems do. Still, with patches and DLC, that isn't much room by default. Would 64 gig really have been that much more?

They're saving that for the Switch Pro version.....

[The Playstation 2 discussion thread!]

I've heard of some people using the USB port to run software but that is using the old USB 1.0 standard which is pretty slow by today's standard and you can't upgrade that since that is built into the motherboard. Probably best to use the Network Adapter as a form of USB 3.0 adapter if that can be done at all. Again, I'll do some research on that.

[Tips for buying a PS3?]

I recommend the Super Slim based on the fact that it does not use a slot loading drive. I had a previous PS3 Fatty die on me with my GTA 4 disc inside and I had to take the whole thing completely apart to get the disc out. You won't have that problem with a Super Slim.

[The Playstation 2 discussion thread!]

Either I didn't know or didn't remember that there was a dedicated PS2 package for FFXII. Still, as you mentioned, the HDD for that is very small and won't work if you want to do multiple game installs (more than four titles) so you're going to need to remove that drive anyway thus you may be better off just getting only the Network Adapter as those are plentiful. Worse, the drive interface for the Network Adapter is IDE which has been long phased out in favor of SATA so you're going to need to find an IDE drive and I don't know how many of those still exist. If you're forced to use a SATA drive you'll need to do some adapting. Luckily, with laptop and SSD drives being so small, you can probably use some SATA/IDE adapters and still make it all fit inside. There is also a small SATA board that you can use for your Network Adapter in which you open it up and swap pieces. There is also a really cool drive cradle that is also a SATA to IDE adapter and is perfect for the PS2 but is Japanese only and is damn near impossible to acquire. You can also use SD Cards with the right adapting but you would have to remove the Network Adapter if you want to switch cards which is why I intend to built the reader into the Adapter so I wouldn't have to do that. Actually, now that I sit here and think about things, I wonder if there is an USB 3.0 to IDE adapter and have a USB plug built into the Network Adapter then use an external USB 3.0 drive enclosure or USB based SD Card reader. Something to research.....

[The Playstation 2 discussion thread!]

You're not going to find a PS2 with a hard drive installed out in the wild - it's mainly a DIY project. It's a bit of effort but once you get it working properly you will never want to use the DVD-ROM drive again. However, not all games will work with a hard drive but I have not heard of anything regarding an SD Card reader replacement for the DVD-ROM drive. My PS2 modification "wish list" includes, in addition to the SD Card DVD-ROM replacement, a device that will allow me to use my PS3 and PS4 controllers on the PS2 and a true HDMI mod that uses the raw digital signals off of the motherboard not upscaling the Component Video to HDMI. I intend to put an SD Card reader into a second Network Adapter I acquired and use those for my games but I have been busy with other gaming projects to do that.

[Nintendo Switch]

As promised, pictures from PAX South:

 

[Nintendo Switch]

They had it at PAX South that just wrapped up. That area was super packed the whole weekend. I'll try to get some pictures up later.

[PAX forum/invited guest]

Well, PAX South is this weekend but, unfortunately, my panels were declined again. I hope to get some behind the scenes info from the new group I am affiliated with (which has a booth at the con). Can't wait to see what they do with new convention space this year.

[The Story Behind the Worst Video Game Ever]

For E.T. I heard it was between 22 to 25 million dollars which is absolutely insane when you consider that this is 1982 money. I can only imagine what that number would look like in 2016 dollars. Atari probably paid more for the rights than it cost to make the movie in the first place. As for Pac-Man, my memory is a little fuzzy but I think they didn't overpay - they actually got it cheap prior to it being released in the arcades since everybody thought that Pac-Man would flop and Atari got lucky when the game blew up. The company fumbled it of course when they released the home version. Compounding matters was that they grossly overproduced thinking that everybody with a 2600 would buy the game and those who didn't would buy a console just to play it.

[You’ll be able to play the Nintendo Switch before it launches in March]

Seven if you count PAX South.

[Playstation 2]

My advice for you is: Don't use your PS2 as a DVD player. The lasers on the fat models have a tendency to die out- to the point that Sony was sued over the problem and had to laser repairs free for awhile. My understanding is that using the DVD player function speeds up the process.

 

Of course, if you're lucky the previous owner had the repair done during the free period and this is useless advice. Pretty sure there's no way to tell, though.

Adding to that you may want to do research on softmodding with Free McBoot and hard drive installs so you can use Open PS2 Loader. Installing games to a hard drive will allow you to bypass the DVD-ROM drive completely. However, you will need a Network Adapter and an older IDE drive or some adapters to use SATA drives (and SSDs). Not every game will work (about 85% compatibility) but the majority of your games should run fine (and load faster to boot). A bit of work involved but well worth it. Now if somebody can come up with an internal HDMI mod.....

[The Story Behind the Worst Video Game Ever]

 

Honestly I don't think E.T. was that bad. It could've been better, yes, but to me the worst game on the 2600 was Pac-Man. That was a grand disappointment. But, of course, that is just my opinion.

[Happy 15th Anniversary Halo!]

And it also gave us Red vs. Blue.

[Atari Flashback Classics for the XB1/PS4]

 

Frankly, that's just too clumsy of a solution. It really has to be something that makes good use of the standard gamepads.

I understand but it wouldn't hurt to be able to use them as a secondary option.

[Atari Flashback Classics for the XB1/PS4]

 

This I think is the key. Ironically, the subject was in fact brought up a few days ago, but the issue always goes back to how best to replicate the controls on a PS4 or Xbox One controller. The analog sticks would work fine to replicate the controller, and there are enough buttons to replicate the two and three buttons on the respective original consoles, but the keypads become an issue.

Since both the PS4 and Xbone have USB ports you should consider support for the USB based keypads such as these:

 

 

Not perfect but will at least give some degree of keypad functionality. Of course, keypad functions should be emulated through the joypad as best as possible since not everybody will try to get these keypads.

[N64 RF adapter module]

Six pins are used - both ground pins, composite video, left and right audio, and +5VDC. I used to take these things apart to get parts to make RGB Analog video cables. Unfortunately I have no pictures at this time..

[Meanwhile, in Soviet Russia.....]

[Calrad Composite/S-Video to HDMI Converter]

Obviously I would love to have a Framemeister but I really don't want to spend that kind of money right now. But it sounds to me that the Calrad device is way more expensive that it should be and that I should stay away from it. However, I would still like to have some more detailed technical information for research.

[Calrad Composite/S-Video to HDMI Converter]

Altex down here in San Antonio sells this converter (model 40-720phd) for $130.00. However, I've not been able to find a whole lot of information on it in regards to technical information, especially anything regarding lag issues. Has anybody here played with this thing? I'd like to know more about it before deciding whether or not to spend the money to acquire it.