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FPGA Based Videogame System


kevtris

Interest in an FPGA Videogame System  

682 members have voted

  1. 1. I would pay....

  2. 2. I Would Like Support for...

  3. 3. Games Should Run From...

    • SD Card / USB Memory Sticks
    • Original Cartridges
    • Hopes and Dreams
  4. 4. The Video Inteface Should be...


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Yeah the accuracy of that NES core is on point. Don't interpret this the wrong way, overall the total number of bugs we are seeing in the SNES core is small, but it feels like there are more than there was when the Mini was released. Also I have horrible memory.

 

 

 

Are either of these necessary (5x or the new interpolation) when outputting 720p to a 4k display? My NT Mini is hooked up to my PVM, but I did briefly have it connected to my 4k vizio and from what I recall (again horrible memory disclaimer) I just had to set it to 720p, it filled up the whole screen nicely, and I didn't need to mess with anything else.

Yes because 720p forces either 1:1 or 4:3 pixel aspect for integer scaling, neither of which look right. And without an integer scale or interpolation you get a shimmer in scrolling. Edited by cacophony
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I'm still rocking a 1080p Plasma, so I don't know. Even when I buy a 4K TV I still plan to run the Super NT in 1080p mode.

 

I have a 4K TV. In 720p it's noticeably less sharp than in 1080p. Even though it's a integer upscale, most TVs don't do nearest neighbor scaling, they apply some filtering, because the vast majority of content doesn't benefit from sharp pixels. I definitely still use 1080p mode.

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I'd rather have a NES FPGA with Kevtris's new Interpolation algorithm. 5x vertical is overrated given it crops off more information than your average CRT would.

 

I own a AVS and I absolutely love it, but if Analogue releases a cheaper NT Mini with some of the enhancements seen on the SNT, I will have to pick one up.

Lon.tv did a comparison to a typical consumer grade CRT in his nt mini review and the 5x looked pretty much identical. IIRC the CRT might have even cut off a bit more.

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I really wish TV manufacturers would include an option to translate all of their marketing speak in the menus to tell us what is actually going on, what scaling algorithm is being used etc. It's annoying that nearest neighbor scaling isn't an option on every tv, it should be basically free to implement.

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Lon.tv did a comparison to a typical consumer grade CRT in his nt mini review and the 5x looked pretty much identical. IIRC the CRT might have even cut off a bit more.

I have two CRTs and when I plug my OG SNES in either of them there is less information cut off via overscan compared to Super NT with 5x vertical height turned on via my 1080p Plasma which is set to 0% overscan.

 

I can try and post pics later on.

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I have two CRTs and when I plug my OG SNES in either of them there is less information cut off via overscan compared to Super NT with 5x vertical height turned on via my 1080p Plasma which is set to 0% overscan.

 

I can try and post pics later on.

I was talking about NES. Maybe SNES is different? Im curious about the NES case and may do some comparisons tonight (though all I have is a 14L5 PVM, so not exactly a typical consumer crt). Edited by cacophony
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People should also remember the NT mini had many more years of development and was essentially already finished. I would be interested in a fully complete 8 bit Sega FPGA clone. The SMS core for the NT mini was never completed, have this system fully duplicated would also allow for more ground work being laid in the genesis. SMS enjoyed reasonable success outside the Japan and the US. Architectually, it might make sense to do a TG-16/PC Engine clone as there are similarities between it and the NES/famciom. While this system wasn't much of a hit in the states it was a major success in Japan. This might also sell well if you keep the expansion port

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People should also remember the NT mini had many more years of development and was essentially already finished. I would be interested in a fully complete 8 bit Sega FPGA clone. The SMS core for the NT mini was never completed, have this system fully duplicated would also allow for more ground work being laid in the genesis. SMS enjoyed reasonable success outside the Japan and the US. Architectually, it might make sense to do a TG-16/PC Engine clone as there are similarities between it and the NES/famciom. While this system wasn't much of a hit in the states it was a major success in Japan. This might also sell well if you keep the expansion port

Good point, I think he said he basically finished the NES Core pre 2010.

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People should also remember the NT mini had many more years of development and was essentially already finished. I would be interested in a fully complete 8 bit Sega FPGA clone. The SMS core for the NT mini was never completed, have this system fully duplicated would also allow for more ground work being laid in the genesis. SMS enjoyed reasonable success outside the Japan and the US. Architectually, it might make sense to do a TG-16/PC Engine clone as there are similarities between it and the NES/famciom. While this system wasn't much of a hit in the states it was a major success in Japan. This might also sell well if you keep the expansion port

It was never complete? what wasn't complete about it? from what I recall, I got all games to work on it. It also supports the FM expansion audio.

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It is reasonable for there to be minor compatibility issues right now, as long as kevtris is committed to fix them as they come up... which he is clearly doing, I dont see a problem. Analogue and Kevtris know they have a good reputation and brand that is worth maintaining. Quality retro gaming hardware.

Agreed. Totally.

 

Let's also get real here. Once they stop manufacturing these babies kevtris would come out with an even more powerful one.

It happened before, HiDef NES -> HDMI HiDef NES -> Analgue Nt -> Nt Mini ..... and the wheel goes round (when the NES core ships it will be Nt Mini -> Super Nt , if it doesn't ship for "legal" reasosns then Nt Mini -> Zimba3000)

 

Buy as many or as little as you see fit but given the FPGA tech is maturing for retro-gaming I only see more choices coming into the fray and not less .... even Krikzz at a point had his own FPGA NES.

Granted kevtris seems to be the first to have an outstanding SNES FPGA implementation but it won't be the last, not by a mile.

You mean NESRGB? For Hi-Def NES there’s basically just the one kit, the original Analogue Nt, and the Nt Mini. Well, also the RetroUSB AVS.

 

Also, Kevtris was the first to sell it to us but jwdonal was the first we know of to have an outstanding SNES FPGA implementation. ;)

 

 

If the site says "Total Accuracy" then it's implied to mean 100%. That's how any gamer or consumer will read and understand it. Anything less is essentially a falsehood and gray area. FPGA (and these systems) are nice achievements, but they're not 100% totally accurate.

If it is more accurate than a 1chip SNES then I would argue that you can claim “total accuracy.” After all, is the 1chip SNES not a “totally accurate” SNES? Is it REALLY?!

 

Nintendo themselves blurred that line because the SNES revisions were not “totally accurate” between each-other. Kevtris surpassed the 1chip before the Super Nt even launched. Arguing about light guns is as pedantic as arguing about Exertainment LifeCycle and Satellaview BS-X games. I’ve owned a BS-X Satellaview since the service was still active and I’m not counting it.

 

 

I don't think the Super NT needs to have "total accuracy" to be an awesome system, I think it's even unreasonable to expect it to ever achieve that.

 

But analogue has in their website the following: "No emulation. 1080p. Zero lag. Total accuracy."

 

So they have claimed and still claim Total accuracy. Firmware 3.9 isn't totally accurate. Firmware 4.0 isn't totally accurate. Firmware 4.1 is probably the worse firmware available for the Super NT. So their claim isn't true. They should correct this to something like "we're thriving to achieve total accuracy" Or whatever they want to write that is accurate, and not misleading as to what the product is. That's all I said. Nothing else in regards to accuracy.

The problem is, your premise assumes you’re right about what constitutes “total accuracy” when it’s very obviously debatable. We’re debating it, aren’t we? Since the different versions of the SNES itself have a range of issues between them then landing somewhere between a launch system and a 1chip would constitute “total accuracy for SNES” for me (technically, MORE accurate than 1chip SNES). I looks to me like Kevtris and Analogue have accomplished just that.

 

Yeah the accuracy of that NES core is on point. Don't interpret this the wrong way, overall the total number of bugs we are seeing in the SNES core is small, but it feels like there are more than there was when the Mini was released. Also I have horrible memory.

Does it still have the same problem with Ninja Gaiden that Hi-Def NES had?

https://youtu.be/xBF3kP2CL7Y

 

I forgot to test before selling the Nt Mini I had a few days ago (couldn’t ignore $1,200).

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I just got third new Analogue NT Mini for warranty, why the hell they send me faulty shit, look dat shit!! I just cancel my Super NT orders, cause they sell people full of shit!

 

I'm sorry, but at this point I blame user error. Your setup must be whack, because I doubt you could have that much bad luck. Three faulty Analogue NT Minis, I highly doubt that.

 

I've questioned your motive since your original posts about hooking up your HDMI enabled console into a framemeister via composite. Your setup makes zero sense.

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I just got third new Analogue NT Mini for warranty, why the hell they send me faulty shit, look dat shit!! I just cancel my Super NT orders, cause they sell people full of shit!

 

Can you see how it is if you hook straight from the Mini to the display? Nothing in the chain. Simply the system to the display?

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I just got third new Analogue NT Mini for warranty, why the hell they send me faulty shit, look dat shit!! I just cancel my Super NT orders, cause they sell people full of shit!

IIRC, you’ve experienced this problem now with multiple NT minis, and multiple framemeisters? And that you’re using a homemade composite cable to make your composite video connection to the framemeister? Could the fault lie not with the multiple pieces of hardware, but with your composite video cable?

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I have a 4K TV. In 720p it's noticeably less sharp than in 1080p. Even though it's a integer upscale, most TVs don't do nearest neighbor scaling, they apply some filtering, because the vast majority of content doesn't benefit from sharp pixels. I definitely still use 1080p mode.

Most TVs that are capable of an integer scale will not do it by simply setting the resolution to a whole integer that divides evenly into 4k. You have to disable overscan simulation, which is often hidden/obfuscated. What is your TV model?

 

 

I have a 4K TV. In 720p it's noticeably less sharp than in 1080p. Even though it's a integer upscale, most TVs don't do nearest neighbor scaling, they apply some filtering, because the vast majority of content doesn't benefit from sharp pixels. I definitely still use 1080p mode.

Most TVs that are capable of an integer scale will not do it by simply setting the resolution to a whole integer that divides evenly into 4k. You have to disable overscan simulation, which is often hidden/obfuscated. What is your TV model?

I really wish TV manufacturers would include an option to translate all of their marketing speak in the menus to tell us what is actually going on, what scaling algorithm is being used etc. It's annoying that nearest neighbor scaling isn't an option on every tv, it should be basically free to implement.

The image is slightly enlarged/cropped by default. They don’t even want you to know it’s doing this at all.

 

I have two CRTs and when I plug my OG SNES in either of them there is less information cut off via overscan compared to Super NT with 5x vertical height turned on via my 1080p Plasma which is set to 0% overscan.

 

I can try and post pics later on.

Well, darn. I was getting ready to type “overscan simulation... STRIKES AGAIN!” but it sounds like you’re confident that it’s off. That said, overscan varies from CRT to CRT.

 

For many, the TV is already enlarging and cropping the signal, so if the signal is also transmitting a cropped image (as it would with a 5x scale), they’ve got double cropping going on. Kinda pointless when they STILL aren’t getting an integer scale that way (may as well use 4.5x scaling). [emoji6]

Edited by CZroe
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I just got third new Analogue NT Mini for warranty, why the hell they send me faulty shit, look dat shit!! I just cancel my Super NT orders, cause they sell people full of shit!

 

Faulty? Since you sent Analogue two different Nt Mini's did they actually find anything wrong with them?? I'd test pal composite myself but I'd have to buy a special vga to composite adapter to do so. Have you tested running composite straight to a crt or trying svideo??

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I just got third new Analogue NT Mini for warranty, why the hell they send me faulty shit, look dat shit!! I just cancel my Super NT orders, cause they sell people full of shit!

 

 

 

Didn’t someone say that there is a bug with PAL composite video on the latest jailbreak firmware for the Nt mini? I’d test but I don’t have the cables.

 

@Kevtris dunno if you can confirm?

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