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Best convertible-to-HDMI A/V mod for 2600?


WaverBoy

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So instead of the RetroN 77, I’m thinking of getting a Harmony cart and an A/V modded 2600 with S-video out and then convert it to HDMI externally, to ensure full controller compatibility. I’m seeing consoles on eBay labeled as a Ben Heck A/V mod with composite and S-video out, and a UAV A/V mod with composite and S-Video out. Is Ben’s mod the same as the UAV mod? And I hear that S-Video doesn’t play well with LCD TVs — is there a good way to convert the S-Video to HDMI? Or should I just give up and go with the RetroN 77 (juiced up with updated community build firmware of course) for a crystal clear picture and SD card ROM loading?

 

Decisions decisions...I’m dying to get my Atari 2600 HD solution squared away, and I welcome any and all input ?

 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Edited by WaverBoy
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The RetroN 77 is quickest, cheapest, and easiest way to HDMI. But yes, 2600daptors are required to use different controllers with it.

 

That said, I use a CyberTech S-Video mod, and can plug it straight into my HDTV (one of the older ones with S-Video on it) and it works perfectly fine. The trick is setting up the TV properly by turning off all of the extraneous signal processing HDTVs do (deinterlacing, frame interpolation, noise reduction, anti-aliasing, etc) so it doesn't munge up the video.

 

I haven't tried it with my 2600, but we use Gefen composite/S-Video scalers for upconverting to HDMI at work. They aren't cheap, but have a lot of customizable settings that most cheap scalers don't (aspect ratio, refresh rate, and so forth).

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6 hours ago, Nathan Strum said:

The RetroN 77 is quickest, cheapest, and easiest way to HDMI. But yes, 2600daptors are required to use different controllers with it.

 

That said, I use a CyberTech S-Video mod, and can plug it straight into my HDTV (one of the older ones with S-Video on it) and it works perfectly fine. The trick is setting up the TV properly by turning off all of the extraneous signal processing HDTVs do (deinterlacing, frame interpolation, noise reduction, anti-aliasing, etc) so it doesn't munge up the video.

 

I haven't tried it with my 2600, but we use Gefen composite/S-Video scalers for upconverting to HDMI at work. They aren't cheap, but have a lot of customizable settings that most cheap scalers don't (aspect ratio, refresh rate, and so forth).

How much is the Gefen converter you linked to?

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40 minutes ago, Yurkie said:

RGB to HDMI is the way to go.

 

Tim Worthington's 2600RGB mod to Framemeister is amazing. OSSC would probably be the same but I have not had one.

 

https://etim.net.au/shop/shop.php?crn=210&rn=552&action=show_detail

That mod looks awesome. I’m not handy with DIY though, I’d need to hire someone to mod my stock woody 4-switch with that kit.

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1 minute ago, WaverBoy said:

That mod looks awesome. I’m not handy with DIY though, I’d need to hire someone to mod my stock woody 4-switch with that kit.

Even if the quality is not quite as high I admire that there are consumer products for people that want to plug and play. Kaboomer posted a link above in post #3 for the Retrotink 2x

 

Here is an upgraded version the Retro Tink 2x pro

 

https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/retrotink-2x-pro

 

biggest thing imo is not so much the image quality but not having lag. Looked pretty bad back in the day and we love them anyway.

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