Weekly Roundup #410 - May 22nd 2024

00:00 Welcome

[AdamJDM]

At 25:00 mark, Bob makes a great comparison between classic cars and CRTs. As someone who is an active classic car collector, and CRT/PVM enthusiast, people sometimes ask me why I engage in this "outdated" technology? Then I show them the cars, the engine sound, the feel of the materials, the driving dynamics... Then they get it. Same thing with gaming, I take them to my classic game room, these see all the PVMs running at the same time and they get a feeling that is unmatched by modern displays.

[tdome]

18:08 The Evercade VS has the same HDMI CEC issues when it's in standby mode. I bought a 10 $ CEC stripper adapter and the problem is now gone.

An alternative is to cut or put some tape over pin 13 of the HDMI cable, but it's a fiddly job. Cutting some pin on the MiSTer mainboard is a very bad idea.

[paparick]

A downscaling section is amazing! I've been interested in doing that with the right equipment. Love it.

[ChristopherJDeo]

Great round up. Loved the vhs video. Gonna run it back a couple more times to really study it before I do my conversions

[elishariedlinger]

I agree with you on being able to push down on the NES cartridge. I want to do that also. I still have my original cartridge connector. I just cleaned it well and now it seems to work virtually all the time.

[JPdelaGhetto]

I’m with you 100% on wanting to push down with the NES.

I got my death grip Blinking Light Win installed and it’s great, but part of the nostalgia is pushing it down.

I keep hoping someone creates a mod solution for the 72pin connector that retains that function without having to bend back all the pins ever so often.

[DannyHensel]

Bob, I'm totally with you on wanting to push down when inserting NES carts. The whole reason why I invest in original hardware for retro-gaming instead of just using emulators is the nostalgia for the physical media and tactile feel of inserting the cartridge. It helps prime my senses and get me in the mindset for enjoying the games of my youth.

Also, I would argue that a properly maintained OEM 72-pin connector works just fine as long as you keep your cartridges clean, and the age-old claims that normal use will cause the pins to bend out of place over time is a persistent myth that has led to solutions that are unnessary at best and harmful at worst. The real cause, in most cases, is that the NES pin connector doesn't scrape the cartridge pins clean like practically every other system does, so all that gunk built up from decades of blowing into these cartridges needs to be cleaned off with contact cleaner like Deoxit (not just alcohol or an eraser) for the games to be read properly. The NintenDrawer, while an impressive piece of kit, just isn't necessary in my opinion when proper care, cleaning, and maintenance of the OEM pin connector and your NES carts solves the exact same problem.

[happycheeseu]

I installed a "Blinking Light Win" on my NES and "yes", a combination of muscle memory and nostalgia wants to push down on the cartridge.

[rubenmejia]

Its not dumb at all about the push down, those of us who grew up with the nes as kids would have the reflex built in to naturally push the tray down. It would be interesting to see a modern push down update but then again if a manufacturer were to build a high quality 72 pin connector then that would solve all of our problems and probably mitigate having to make alternative solutions to a new tray being fabricated. I still want one because it looks cool in the clear case.

[ReasonablyBritish]

The VHS video was I think your finest work. It really starts to get good around 25mins. and Mike is god.

[espset]

About the Nintendrawer, I noticed my brain started thinking of ways something could be made that works by pushing the game down, and I'm feeling pretty confident that its possible, but its a tricky proposition. A connector like what they used attached to an anchorpoint would be required, and making a latching mechanism for pushing it down should be feasible as well. The complicated part is to maintain the solution for being able to get the game out while still having a decent pin-connection without the function that slides the game out. It can be done by either connecting the latching mechanism to a pin release mechanism. That sounds a bit rough as it wouldn't allow for using stock connectors, you'd likely need a custom connector manufactured for this. (Basically a cart you push in where the cart connector is tightened upon pressing the game downwards.) The other option is to basically have this exact sliding mechanism and cinnector still, except with an anchorpoint allowing it to swing down when pushed all the way in, aka even more over-engineering, where upon being slid in, it crosses a point where it can be angled downward. Its possible. Worth it? Not even a little, but I'm sure some would appreciate it😅

[TheOmenBoy]

I own a Rhea already, but I bought a Saroo because Rhea is such a pain to add games to. I'm not getting rid of my RHea so it's nice that Saroo can boot to the ODE.

[neilinacarmichael]

The only thing that I think isn’t great about the NintenDrawer is that it doesn’t allow you to push down the cart. I strongly agree that it is an essential part of the NES experience.

[Dark_Jaguar]

What you can do with emulation: Paper Mario in the Switch N64 collection.
What you can do with a port: The upcoming Paper Mario Thousand Year Door remake.

This is a huge deal.

[tigheklory]

Hey Bob, I got my Master System games in the Macy's in Albany, NY. They sold the systems too. They had an awesome Kiosk in the store. Kaybee toys sold the SMS too.

[DrLilo]

I completely agree about pushing down, that's actually why I never bought a blinking light win and won't be getting a Nintendrawer either, sadly.

[itchyisvegeta]

Bob, you are not the only person. I had a Blinking Light Win in my HDMI modded NES. Worked great. But ended up selling it cause I missed the nostalgia of pushing the carts down.

[ultraspinalki]

Whatever happened to the consolizers for the 3DS and PSP? I vaguely remember one of your videos mentioning a company announcing their plans for the next couple of years regarding these.

[MrRomDAW]

Gotta push down on the NES. I can’t undo 30+ years of muscle memory

[mjretrogamer]

Im with you Bob, i want to push the cartridge down too!! Its part of the charm and nostalgia. Thats why i also passed on the no blink or whatever it was called.