leech Posted August 2, 2020 Share Posted August 2, 2020 2 hours ago, mikesk8 said: I still think it would be interesting to check if its possible to fix on RetroTINK level. Not sure how emulators on PC/MAC have solved it. My guess is they simply do not support overscan data. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesk8 Posted August 13, 2020 Share Posted August 13, 2020 Hi All , I have one more strange experience with RetroTINK Pro, which happened today. I was playing Pac-Man (cartridge) on my Atari 800 and started to get randomly red vertical lines covering the whole screen coming and going (showing for a sec and disappearing). Then, they stopped to disappear and stared to be displayed (red vertical lines with a very small distance from each other) continuously. I restarted the game with the same result and switched off the computer. The red lines were on the colorbar test pattern as well (with Atari powered off). I switched off all the devices, checked the cables and powered them up again. All is ok again. Have you seen anything similar? It happened to me only once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesk8 Posted August 14, 2020 Share Posted August 14, 2020 (edited) 23 hours ago, mikesk8 said: Hi All , I have one more strange experience with RetroTINK Pro, which happened today. I was playing Pac-Man (cartridge) on my Atari 800 and started to get randomly red vertical lines covering the whole screen coming and going (showing for a sec and disappearing). Then, they stopped to disappear and stared to be displayed (red vertical lines with a very small distance from each other) continuously. I restarted the game with the same result and switched off the computer. The red lines were on the colorbar test pattern as well (with Atari powered off). I switched off all the devices, checked the cables and powered them up again. All is ok again. Have you seen anything similar? It happened to me only once. I managed to get a shot (not the best one, sorry) of those artefacts as got them today as well. They looked way more visible and reddish than in the attached photo. It disappeared after re-connecting/re-powering all the devices. Anybody? [update] Just got answer from RetroTINK that it looks like HDMI connection issue - I will be doing more tests with different cables/TVs and report back Please let me know if you had similar thing. Edited August 14, 2020 by mikesk8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted September 21, 2020 Author Share Posted September 21, 2020 My 1200XL came back from TBA, fully reconditioned and fixed, and now ACP's output is fucking gorgeous 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamm Posted September 21, 2020 Share Posted September 21, 2020 FYI: A new, somewhat cheaper version of the RetroTINK is now available: https://www.retrotink.com/post/2x-minis-in-stock 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ZuluGula Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 Any opinions on Bitfunx RetroScaler2X http://www.bitfunx.com/product/retroscaler2x-a-v-to-hdmi-converter-and-line-doubler-for-retro-game-consoles/ Is it a clone, any differences? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manterola Posted October 28, 2020 Share Posted October 28, 2020 (edited) It looks like the clones in aliexpress. Edit: I clicked the link and redirected me to aliexpress... Edited October 28, 2020 by manterola Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tschak909 Posted October 28, 2020 Author Share Posted October 28, 2020 yeah, bootlegs are starting to show up. get the real del. Mike is a one man shop and he's doing amazing work. -Thom 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesk8 Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 On 8/14/2020 at 9:02 PM, mikesk8 said: I managed to get a shot (not the best one, sorry) of those artefacts as got them today as well. They looked way more visible and reddish than in the attached photo. It disappeared after re-connecting/re-powering all the devices. Anybody? [update] Just got answer from RetroTINK that it looks like HDMI connection issue - I will be doing more tests with different cables/TVs and report back Please let me know if you had similar thing. [update - final] I moved and reconnected all the cables again and it works fully! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesk8 Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 14 hours ago, tschak909 said: yeah, bootlegs are starting to show up. get the real del. Mike is a one man shop and he's doing amazing work. -Thom I can 100% support this one super support + super products! A new Mini has very nice price, so let us support a real inventor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 On 9/21/2020 at 11:51 PM, jamm said: FYI: A new, somewhat cheaper version of the RetroTINK is now available: https://www.retrotink.com/post/2x-minis-in-stock Has anyone tried the mini with Atari gear? as we know Atari output is often way out of whack and this quote from the retrotink website got me wondering if the mini is suitable? Quote *The MINI is not recommended for Genesis and NTSC PSOne systems. Genesis has no stock S-Video and its composite output is so far off-spec that it will not produce the correct colors. Certain PSOne models also appear to have an off-spec signal resulting in loss of color. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesk8 Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 56 minutes ago, mimo said: Has anyone tried the mini with Atari gear? as we know Atari output is often way out of whack and this quote from the retrotink website got me wondering if the mini is suitable? I have not tried Mini (I have PRO) but Atari uses svideo or composite the same as PRO, which should be the same. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+DrVenkman Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 7 minutes ago, mikesk8 said: I have not tried Mini (I have PRO) but Atari uses svideo or composite the same as PRO, which should be the same. There is a quirk about Atari 8-bit (and 5200) video in that the signals generated by GTIA depend on the Display List program running on ANTIC. A programmer can set up a Display List with as many or as few lines as they want. If the program has more than lines than expected or fewer, the RetroTink can and does lose sync and may not be able to recover the signal. I discovered this while testing a 5200 title where the programmer had made an error in his Display List by cutting it short, not realizing that a simple scaler like the RetroTink would balk at the signal. He subsequently fixed the program and the final version didn’t have such a problem. It’s even worse with 2600 titles, where the program’s display kernel literally draws the screen line by line in real-time. If the kernel runs the scanlines too long or too short by calling HSync too soon or too late, the RetroTink will choke - try Activision’s STARMASTER or Atari’s BATTLEZONE for common programs with problems. Parker Bros. EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is also problematic. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikesk8 Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 Just now, DrVenkman said: There is a quirk about Atari 8-bit (and 5200) video in that the signals generated by GTIA depend on the Display List program running on ANTIC. A programmer can set up a Display List with as many or as few lines as they want. If the program has more than lines than expected or fewer, the RetroTink can and does lose sync and may not be able to recover the signal. I discovered this while testing a 5200 title where the programmer had made an error in his Display List by cutting it short, not realizing that a simple scaler like the RetroTink would balk at the signal. He subsequently fixed the program and the final version didn’t have such a problem. It’s even worse with 2600 titles, where the program’s display kernel literally draws the screen line by line in real-time. If the kernel runs the scanlines too long or too short by calling HSync too soon or too late, the RetroTink will choke - try Activision’s STARMASTER or Atari’s BATTLEZONE for common programs with problems. Parker Bros. EMPIRE STRIKES BACK is also problematic. I was not aware. Thanks for sharing. I use it only for 800/130xe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+MrFish Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 I'm curious how the Mini performs compared to the Pro too. According to the text there, they say this: Important Information *The MINIs are slightly less sharp than the Pro, but it is almost certainly not noticeable for most S-Video sources, and certainly not on consoles like the N64 that are already soft. That being the case, I'm curious whether those difference affect performance with the Ataris or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamm Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 FWIW I tried the Mini on the same set up I have the Pro installed on. No obvious differences, but I don't have the equipment to do a side-by-side comparison: I just tried one after the other. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erichenneke Posted October 29, 2020 Share Posted October 29, 2020 I've only used the Pro, which has so far looked superb with both NTSC and PAL machines. I've tried 800XL and 130XE machines and all look fabulous so far. The 130XE was showing some pretty annoying bars without the Retrotink, but with it those bars are gone and the picture is really crisp. PS: I got my SVideo cable from Hercules Workshop and I've been extremely happy with this cable too. Seems like both the cable + Retrotink Pro together are key. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invisible kid Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 I got a mini and the HDMI port isn't stable, need to prop it up juuuust right. Tested with an NES which only has composite and the display did look a bit better than directly connecting the composite. There is a vertical line on the left where the image starts, but isn't too distracting. To be honest I'm not too happy about the touchy HDMI connector. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mimo Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 6 hours ago, invisible kid said: To be honest I'm not too happy about the touchy HDMI connector. I'd be requesting a refund Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invisible kid Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 Ugh, I should, we'll see. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+orpheuswaking Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 3 hours ago, invisible kid said: Ugh, I should, we'll see. or at least a replacement that works properly. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
leech Posted October 30, 2020 Share Posted October 30, 2020 I thought I had a touchy S-video port on mine, but it turned out to be a mix of the cable and the hole being a little too tight for that particular cable to fit in well. Good luck on getting a refund / replacement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsom Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Just received one of these, and on their site they say it comes with version 1.0 of the firmware and to do an update (looks like it's up to 1.5). But as far as I can tell, the updater is Windows only. Anyone have a line on a macOS version of the updater, or are us Mac users SOL (If I had known before I bought it...)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsom Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Wow. Sent a tweet asking if there was a Mac version, and Mike Chi from RetroTink said No. Windows Only. I commented that seem short sighted, give the number of non-windows people I see that have retro systems, and he basically said "get used to it, the world runs on Window". How 1990's... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blues76 Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 21 minutes ago, tsom said: Wow. Sent a tweet asking if there was a Mac version, and Mike Chi from RetroTink said No. Windows Only. I commented that seem short sighted, give the number of non-windows people I see that have retro systems, and he basically said "get used to it, the world runs on Window". How 1990's... I know a VM is not the best solution but could help with this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Like us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
AtariAge on Instagram
Watch us on YouTube
Chat on Discord
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.