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Intellivision Flashback Upgrade Service


Byte Knight

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My turn for a review of BK's Flashback console.

 

Its simply amazing! As a kid who grew up on these systems when they were new, these games are part of my DNA. I know the sounds, the game play and the feel of these games. This just nails it! Combined with the fact that i dont have to worry about 30 year old carts even better. With the HDMI connection....its simply beautiful!

 

Its been many many years since i have given any time to game play and realized i have lost my Intelly-edge. I am terrible at the games i was good at. Well, i now have the perfect system to relearn these games.

 

Byte Knight ROCKS! His turn around was stunningly fast.

 

Alas, i am 12 years old again and cussing at my console! Damn those aliens in Space Armada....they move too fast!

 

I am so glad i sent my FB console to Byte Knight for his mod.

 

Denicio

Told ya!

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  • 4 weeks later...

Yet another satisfied customer here. Of note: I first discovered this forum because of BK's service, and lurked here without an account for years. Always thinking "I'll do that to my Flashback sooner or later. Well, finally did, and excellent work!

Only issue is that the controller adapter had disconnected internally from the USB port. Not fully unplugged, but jiggled-loose enough that it wasn't being recognized. Likely happened in shipping, I imagine. Having quick and easy access to all the old games is great! I sent him a list of all the games I have physical copies of, and he put those on in addition to the official-Flashback games. Nice bonus work, there!

This one is headed to my sister, as she recently gave me the original Intellivision we had as kids that she had in her house for decades. But now I'm tempted to send a second one in for this service for myself!

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Yet another satisfied customer here. Of note: I first discovered this forum because of BK's service, and lurked here without an account for years. Always thinking "I'll do that to my Flashback sooner or later. Well, finally did, and excellent work!

 

Only issue is that the controller adapter had disconnected internally from the USB port. Not fully unplugged, but jiggled-loose enough that it wasn't being recognized. Likely happened in shipping, I imagine. Having quick and easy access to all the old games is great! I sent him a list of all the games I have physical copies of, and he put those on in addition to the official-Flashback games. Nice bonus work, there!

 

This one is headed to my sister, as she recently gave me the original Intellivision we had as kids that she had in her house for decades. But now I'm tempted to send a second one in for this service for myself!

 

Three Cheers for Byte Knight!

 

HIP HIP HURRAY!

 

The wife told me that she is visiting friends out of town this weekend......so on the inside i grinned and knew that i would lose 3 days to the BK Intelly system! Gonna dig out my old Journey concert T, put on After the Fire's "Der Kommissar" and lose myself in a Dungeon....with some dragons!

 

There may be purist out there that must play the old OEM systems. But as someone who wore out two systems back in the day and instinctively knows most games quirks.....i can NOT tell a difference between OEM and BK. Combine that with the ease of switching games. Poetry, just poetry!

 

The ONLY change i'd like to have seen. Is on the screen where there is box art there would also be an image of the overlay as a quick reminder. Short of that...this system is Blue Sky Ranger PERFECTION!

 

D

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The wife told me that she is visiting friends out of town this weekend......so on the inside i grinned and knew that i would lose 3 days to the BK Intelly system! Gonna dig out my old Journey concert T, put on After the Fire's "Der Kommissar" and lose myself in a Dungeon....with some dragons!

 

The ONLY change i'd like to have seen. Is on the screen where there is box art there would also be an image of the overlay as a quick reminder. Short of that...this system is Blue Sky Ranger PERFECTION!

 

D

 

Lucky dog! Can my wife join your wife so I can get some playing time in too?

 

You can add the overlay images yourself. Just replace the box art images with overlay images and keep the names the same. Adding box art images is described in the manual. It would take some time but it could be done.

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  • 2 months later...

I've just received my Ultimate Intellivision Flashback from ByteKnight and just wanted to say how awesome it is!

 

The instruction manual he put together to help you connect to wifi and upload your own roms is really easy to follow and the Flashback system itself is absolutely faultless. It all looks so polished -the "Mattel Electronics" loading screen as it boots up, the Emulation Station front end and menus, the box art, and most importantly the games play and sound just as they should (unlike the stock Atgames Flashback!). And they look even better in wide-screen with full HD (you can play it in 4:3 too if you prefer).

 

The only thing I've had trouble with is getting used to the slightly different feeling side buttons on the Flashback controllers (the ones that come with the original Flashback - nothing to do with ByteKnight). They feel kinder on the fingers than the old Intellivison buttons, but seem a little less responsive to me. I guess they just take a bit of getting used to.

 

So in summary, if you're thinking of getting one of these updated Flashbacks, do it! You won't regret it!

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I've just received my Ultimate Intellivision Flashback from ByteKnight and just wanted to say how awesome it is!

 

The instruction manual he put together to help you connect to wifi and upload your own roms is really easy to follow and the Flashback system itself is absolutely faultless. It all looks so polished -the "Mattel Electronics" loading screen as it boots up, the Emulation Station front end and menus, the box art, and most importantly the games play and sound just as they should (unlike the stock Atgames Flashback!). And they look even better in wide-screen with full HD (you can play it in 4:3 too if you prefer).

 

The only thing I've had trouble with is getting used to the slightly different feeling side buttons on the Flashback controllers (the ones that come with the original Flashback - nothing to do with ByteKnight). They feel kinder on the fingers than the old Intellivison buttons, but seem a little less responsive to me. I guess they just take a bit of getting used to.

 

So in summary, if you're thinking of getting one of these updated Flashbacks, do it! You won't regret it!

 

It is arguably the most perfect complete intellivision system ever. I cant see ever plugging in my old systems again.....and for someone that was raised on the original system in the time it came out...that's quite an endorsement.

 

Truth be told, the ONLY reason (as i see it) to get an old system again ...is because you are a collector. If you are just an old fart like me (49) and want to relive the joy of playing Intellivision and are not a collector...then BK's system is the one for you.

 

So....any collectors out there wanna buy my systems and games?

 

D

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It is arguably the most perfect complete intellivision system ever. I cant see ever plugging in my old systems again.....and for someone that was raised on the original system in the time it came out...that's quite an endorsement.

 

Truth be told, the ONLY reason (as i see it) to get an old system again ...is because you are a collector. If you are just an old fart like me (49) and want to relive the joy of playing Intellivision and are not a collector...then BK's system is the one for you.

 

So....any collectors out there wanna buy my systems and games?

 

D

You don't notice any input lag compared to real Intellivision?

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You don't notice any input lag compared to real Intellivision?

 

I don't on mine. I was going to buy another intellivision unit and decided to buy an ultimate flashback. I'm glad I did as the picture clarity is so much better and so are the control buttons!

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You don't notice any input lag compared to real Intellivision?

 

As a recording engineer that deals with 'latency' i am hyper sensitive to it.

 

So, when i scored my huge intellivision system 2 christmases ago that had 50+ games and a tech cleaned original system....i was taken aback at the OEM game latency. It had been many many years since i had played. I had to relearn the quirks about the disc on certain games ...lock n chase comes to mind. So i approach the OEM with knowledge that there is some latency as compared to modern games.

 

The BK Flashback does not seem any more or less to me than the OEM. What you gain is HDMI crystal clear lyrics that look spectacular on a 70" LCD tv. I am playing these games for nostalgia sake. A way to unwind from reality. I am not a competition gamer looking to beat Billy Mitchell's Astrosmash score (ahem).

 

So, the benefits FAR outweigh any perceived latency that may exist. Again, i dont notice anything out of the ordinary when i play.

 

D

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I appreciate the feedback guys. Mattel cartridges like locknchase are programmed with a 20hz cycle on reading the controller (worse if you are playing a slower speed). Other than that there should be no latency on controller input using real hardware. Locknchase is notorious for its controls, and you do have to get use to being early on turns, and that's likely due to poor programming. You can compare with Atarisoft Pac-man, or even Carl's mspacman which is extremely responsive even in emulation. Don't know for sure but Carl's might be programmed to read the controller and update graphics at 60Hz. Another thing to consider is that unless you are using a standard CRT each brand of television can introduce varying amounts of lag, some can be quite bad. If you played Intellivision skiing a lot you might notice a difference in emulation.

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I appreciate the feedback guys. Mattel cartridges like locknchase are programmed with a 20hz cycle on reading the controller (worse if you are playing a slower speed). Other than that there should be no latency on controller input using real hardware. Locknchase is notorious for its controls, and you do have to get use to being early on turns, and that's likely due to poor programming. You can compare with Atarisoft Pac-man, or even Carl's mspacman which is extremely responsive even in emulation. Don't know for sure but Carl's might be programmed to read the controller and update graphics at 60Hz. Another thing to consider is that unless you are using a standard CRT each brand of television can introduce varying amounts of lag, some can be quite bad. If you played Intellivision skiing a lot you might notice a difference in emulation.

 

All of what you say may be true...but its a non event to me and the way i play.

Again, Billy Mitchell has refused my offers to challenge him on Triple Action or Math Fun :-)

 

At 49 years old, i just enjoy the nostalgia of it all.

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It is arguably the most perfect complete intellivision system ever. I cant see ever plugging in my old systems again.....and for someone that was raised on the original system in the time it came out...that's quite an endorsement.

 

Truth be told, the ONLY reason (as i see it) to get an old system again ...is because you are a collector. If you are just an old fart like me (49) and want to relive the joy of playing Intellivision and are not a collector...then BK's system is the one for you.

 

So....any collectors out there wanna buy my systems and games?

 

D

 

 

 

I would also say that if you want to play any of the newer games that are being developed by the likes of Elektronite or any other developer that has only released their games on cart instead of making a ROM available then you would need an old system as well. At least and until they release ROMs for these newer games. But, it sounds like the likelihood of that happening any time soon is small.

Also, I too ordered and received an Ultimate FB from Byte Knight and cannot say enough good things about it! Thanks for the hard work to make that awesome system available!

Edited by blaidan
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I would also say that if you want to play any of the newer games that are being developed by the likes of Elektronite or any other developer that has only released their games on cart instead of making a ROM available then you would need an old system as well. At least and until they release ROMs for these newer games. But, it sounds like the likelihood of that happening any time soon is small.

 

Also, I too ordered and received an Ultimate FB from Byte Knight and cannot say enough good things about it! Thanks for the hard work to make that awesome system available!

 

 

Yeah unfortunately Electronite is the reason I keep my console near by :) Not to derail the conversation but has anybody had success dumping electronite games? I fail every time I try.

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Comparing the "Ultimate Flashback" on a direct-to-my-TV HDMI port to an actual original Intellivision on the NTSC TV tuner on the same TV, I don't notice any difference in lag. There does seem to be *SOME* lag, but I have no good way to tell whether it's inherent-to-Intellivision, same lag on Ultimate/HDMI as my TV's NTSC TV tuner, or just all in my mind.

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  • 4 months later...

Just had to toss my two cents in here. Many have raved about the Ultimate FB that Byte Knight has provided them. Having had mine for a couple of weeks now, I have decided it cannot be raved about enough. Having the games look that good and clear on a modern TV with the correct sound to go along with it is just a dream come true. I have played mine a bunch and have forced all of my family to play with me at least a little. I will likely need to bother Byte Knight for another one at some point because I am probably going to wear this one out. I have killed many dragons in AD&D, tricked that darned snake into jumping off the block pile in Q*Bert, made the dealer frown in Poker & Blackjack, had a 72 point game with Larry Hawk in Slam Dunk...

Who needs the new game systems? Intellivision done right still kicks serious backside. If anyone reading this is still considering getting their Flashback modified, I would recommend y'all stop considering. Just do it! You will most absolutely not be sorry.

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Comparing the "Ultimate Flashback" on a direct-to-my-TV HDMI port to an actual original Intellivision on the NTSC TV tuner on the same TV, I don't notice any difference in lag. There does seem to be *SOME* lag, but I have no good way to tell whether it's inherent-to-Intellivision, same lag on Ultimate/HDMI as my TV's NTSC TV tuner, or just all in my mind.

All digital televisions have some lag, some are worse than others. Be sure to turn off any enhanced processing the TV does or turn on game mode. You'd have to try a standard crt to compare.

 

Thanks for the real intellivision comparison, appreciate the feedback.

Edited by mr_me
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  • 1 year later...
  • 1 month later...
19 hours ago, orion1052003 said:

Are the Colecovision and Intellivision Flashback power adaptors the same? I have both Flashbacks but can only find one power supply. Don't want to fry one of them, plugging in the wrong adaptor.

Yes, they're the same.

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