griff3125 Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Woohoo, it finally came in and.....and......it's meh. This is with a 1200xl and S-Video output. The first and most glaring issue, no audio, it simply would not work with the audio leads going directly to the Retrotink2x. If I held down the filter button, I'd hear it, but the second I let go, no audio, go figure. I imagine if you're running it though an optional audio source, you'd be good to go, but that's not my scenario so points off. The video was pretty good, and it provided a large display area and kept the original scale, which was very nice. But there seemed to be a lot of video noise and dot crawling,and one other annoying issue, when there was a big explosion, like getting killed in Defender, the screen would blank out for a millisecond, not all the time but enough that it's annoying. I noticed no lag in the games or controls, but those brief blackout moments really killed the vibes. I've tried different cables and power supplies, same results, I get the feeling it's my monitor, but based on my run, I'd be hesitant to recommend this for the Atari computer. Anyhow, just a heads up for those interested. Hate to be Debbi Downer, I think it's a great product and Mike seems like a very cool guy, it just did not work for me. I'll be taking this to my retro addicted friend over the next week or so and will try it on a bunch of old consoles, we'll see how it fares there. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff3125 Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 UPDATE: Caved in and rigged up ext. speakers. Noise and weird graphic glitches are now GONE. Very strange, I wonder if the audio signal was somehow conflicting with the video? Picture is very clean now, much better then the dedicated LCD I had with S-Video in. No noticeable lag anywhere, I'm still annoyed with the lack of audio pass through but (a) it could be my monitor and (b) it's clean audio. So I wish I could revise the above but so far, it's looking very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 What monitor are you using? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff3125 Posted January 11, 2019 Author Share Posted January 11, 2019 A three year old Samsung ls32e59 31.5" lcd 1080p computer monitor. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuarts Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 (edited) I had the same problem with my stock 800 (not xl or xe) and the retrotink 2x pro. I updated the firmware to version 1.2 and it now works great. I don't know how easy it is to update the firmware on the retrotink 2x, (I think you have to send it away) I have a stock 800 (not xl/xe) with a composite cable. I also had the same problems you mention with defender (the explosions) , and during hyperwarp on star raiders and jumping in miner 2049er. The update fixed all the problems so far. Rock solid picture now, and the sound works fine. I've not tried s-video since I don't yet have a cable for that. Also Samsung tv and samsung computer monitor. Not sure if this makes any difference. Edited April 14, 2020 by stuarts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff3125 Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 (edited) Thanks Stuarts, yeah, I did the firmware update a few months back, made a huge difference. So nice to not worry about the settings anymore, and much better overall. Cheers. p.s. for anybody thinking of getting the Retrotink 2x original or pro - it's an amazing product, works flawlessly with everything and getting the newer firmware solved all the issues, I highly - highly recommend it. I can't edit the original post, so just wanted to add this. Edited April 14, 2020 by griff3125 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfollowell Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 10 hours ago, griff3125 said: Thanks Stuarts, yeah, I did the firmware update a few months back, made a huge difference. So nice to not worry about the settings anymore, and much better overall. Cheers. p.s. for anybody thinking of getting the Retrotink 2x original or pro - it's an amazing product, works flawlessly with everything and getting the newer firmware solved all the issues, I highly - highly recommend it. I can't edit the original post, so just wanted to add this. So, you never updated, at least that I can see. You did say that it works with everything, but I guess I'm wanting to clarify. The update fixed your graphic issues. What about the audio? Are you still having to use an external audio device? Do you get audio out of HDMI when connecting to the RetroTink? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 1 hour ago, bfollowell said: So, you never updated, at least that I can see. You did say that it works with everything, but I guess I'm wanting to clarify. The update fixed your graphic issues. What about the audio? Are you still having to use an external audio device? Do you get audio out of HDMI when connecting to the RetroTink? Thanks! I do, just fine. -Thom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 This device does not seem to be rendering full vertical bandwidth / resolution, per very simple and direct tests on its other thread. Has this been already addressed / solved? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 @Faicuai sigh, dude, honestly I think that has more to do with my TV configuration, than anything else. -Thom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 (edited) 21 minutes ago, tschak909 said: @Faicuai sigh, dude, honestly I think that has more to do with my TV configuration, than anything else. -Thom Well, that is not a conclusive answer in any form or shape. But, on the other hand, it is definitely a good idea to let others run it through different TVs / Monitors and see what they are coming up with. If anyone here can come up with a screen shot of VLINES showing full 240 lines resolved, that would be wonderful. Then comes actual horizontal range, which is trickier to verify... I think this little device could be a GREAT back-up / alternate solution for my DVDO iScan/HD+. Edited April 14, 2020 by Faicuai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 The 231 scanlines Thom was getting with his setup is by no means any kind of deal-breaker. It's much more than any sane developer would aim for on any NTSC development. However, I'm also curious to know if the full 240 can be had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiassofT Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 I don't have a Retrotink but I'm rather sure the cut off margins come from the TV's overscan settings / processing. My TV (LG 55C8) has a "Just Scan" setting to disable overscan, so eg all 1920x1080 pixels are displayed (easy to verify with a RPi/PC/... hooked up), but this doesn't apply to the SD modes (720x480, 720x576) which are always displayed with overscan (so part of the image cropped off). so long, Hias 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 3 hours ago, Faicuai said: Well, that is not a conclusive answer in any form or shape. But, on the other hand, it is definitely a good idea to let others run it through different TVs / Monitors and see what they are coming up with. If anyone here can come up with a screen shot of VLINES showing full 240 lines resolved, that would be wonderful. Then comes actual horizontal range, which is trickier to verify... I think this little device could be a GREAT back-up / alternate solution for my DVDO iScan/HD+. Plenty of stuff out-there that will juice those 240 lines, with plenty of "sane" developers, too... Let'e not even talk about Bit3 or XEP80 output (which, unless you have the required bandwidth, your video-path + display will likely implode with them...) I also suspect that the missing vertical resolution may be just due to TV's pre-set viewing-area, but would like to be really sure of it. Don't want to spend $130 and find out later (!)... In any case, this also reminds us that a "TV" (even if modern) is not a final substitute of a true monitor (assuming it modern, too....) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 11 minutes ago, Faicuai said: Plenty of stuff out-there that will juice those 240 lines, with plenty of "sane" developers, too... I said, "any sane developer would aim for on any NTSC development". Everything you've shown here is clearly PAL development-ware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Faicuai Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 (edited) 12 minutes ago, MrFish said: I said, "any sane developer would aim for on any NTSC development". Everything you've shown here is clearly PAL development-ware. So I take they are insanely good, then! These are cross-standard NTSC/PAL titles. Will run in both. The point on hand is that sanity has nothing to do actual (true) hardware specs. and our ability (or disability) to enjoy those to their full potential. Edited April 14, 2020 by Faicuai 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flashjazzcat Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 How fortunate! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff3125 Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 6 hours ago, bfollowell said: So, you never updated, at least that I can see. You did say that it works with everything, but I guess I'm wanting to clarify. The update fixed your graphic issues. What about the audio? Are you still having to use an external audio device? Do you get audio out of HDMI when connecting to the RetroTink? Thanks! I did update, sent if off to Castlemania Games when they were doing it for free, it's $4.99 now which is still a fantastic deal. The main issues were graphical glitches and most of all, syncing issues, on reset I'd constantly have to hit the input switch on the Retrotink to get it to find the signal again, very annoying. All fixed now, even if you unplug the power from the retrotink, it'll remember whatever you last had it on. I'd check the audio but I'm on a different monitor (asus) with no built-in speakers so it's impossible for me to verify the audio, but it sounded fine with when I was at my friends house and others say the audio pass through issues were addressed. Hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_The Doctor__ Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 with the price they ask for... you had to pay for them to fix the buggy firmware and update it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff3125 Posted April 14, 2020 Author Share Posted April 14, 2020 Just now, _The Doctor__ said: with the price they ask for... you had to pay for them to fix the buggy firmware and update it? No, it was a free upgrade for a month or so, then they started charging $4.99. But the unit was still usable before the upgrade, so really, no complaints. I can't tell you how many horrible analog to hdmi devices I'd tried from Amazon before finding the Retrotink, and at the low cost of the Retrotink and new firmware, I'd never look at anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mytek Posted April 14, 2020 Share Posted April 14, 2020 1 minute ago, _The Doctor__ said: with the price they ask for... you had to pay for them to fix the buggy firmware and update it? I just sent mine in for an update (mine's an older unit I bought over a year ago). Here's the total price breakdown... $4.95 Update Fee $8.99 Shipping & Handling to return it to you $1.29 Sales Tax $8.00 Ship it to them (flat rate priority) $23.23 Total Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 (edited) Sigh. You don't have to send it in to update it, you can update it over USB. Given that the firmware is downloadable and you can update it over USB, I completely understand why Mike charges $4.95 for labor. -Thom Edited April 15, 2020 by tschak909 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bfollowell Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 I think that's on the newer, Pro model, right? I think mytek said he had an older model, and I don't believe it was upgradeable that way. Maybe I misunderstood though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted April 15, 2020 Share Posted April 15, 2020 Ok, if that's the case, then.. my bad My first unit was the Pro, because I wanted the S-Video input. -Thom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griff3125 Posted April 15, 2020 Author Share Posted April 15, 2020 Yeah, the older model needs a propitiatory cable that costs $40 to even update the firmware, so $4.99 is really quite fair. The original model does have S-Video in, but with the Pro released, I'd absolutely go for that, probably will at some point. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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