Supporter Q&A #171

Here's the Supporter-only Q&A from September 3rd, 2021. All comments and questions are fielded through the supporter service Q&A page.

TIMESTAMPS (please assume all links are affiliate links):
00:00 Q&A's are back!
00:23 XStation Disc Swapping
01:16 No wireless Genesis 3-button or OEM N64 controllers?
04:23 Do all carts need to be beveled?
09:48 Is there a benefit of using digital audio from consoles that support it?
13:53 Dark composite video!?
17:45 NES 72-pin connectors / BLW
20:45 RetroTINK Color Compression
32:04 Are manual, unpowered switches safe?
34:52 Genesis PCB's for personal repro's
36:25 JP Saturn in other regions, Saturn ODE's, CRT resolution switching
42:11 OSSC Pro update?
42:55 CRT size vs scanline look.
52:53 CPS3 (and other currently unsupported platforms) on MiSTer?
54:44 Which consoles to recap right now?
56:37 Why isn't GCVideo the exact same as the original Nintendo component cables?
1:00:20 800x600 HDMI to S-Video?
1:03:23 Selling without looking like a scalper?

[roughhousinbyproxy]

"The truth is NONE OF THAT SHIT MATTERS."

-Bob from RetroRGB, 2021

[TheMikeyb]

36:23 you can take Bob out of New York, but you can't take New York out of Bob.

Also the Bob transition immediately after made me lol

[bowi]

Thank you so much for answering my questions about chroma handling and PAR. You helped me understanding what happened in the "community" and why people reacted the way the reacted. It also helped me understanding the "science". 😅

I received my RetroTink 2X-Mini today and I hooked my N64 to it. I'm very impressed by the input reaction. I mean, if there's any lag, it's imperceptible! I still need to sit comfortably and test the whole thing for real on my modern LCD TV and my PC monitor. ;) I have an old 640*480 (native) LCD TV which already does line doubling, but it doesn't have an HDMI input, and I also want to test the difference between the TV's line-doubling and the RetroTINK's.

🤞 Hopefully I didn't start an argument. 😅

[jsgb]

I like the way Bob takes a compliment and shows how thankful he is. Hehe. :)

Hey, Bob. Your beard is good!

[RastaJediX]

I can't tell you how much I appreciate you, brother.

Also, I wonder what the people who don't know who Louis is or yor guys' friendship thought of that 😂

[TheSwartz]

You make a good point regarding the nostalgia of pressing down NES carts. Not a dumb thing to say at all. I totally agree :)
Thanks for the advice!

[jakesteel]

As far as the selling of retrotink 5x goes, just sell it for whatever the going rate is. Don't worry so much about what it looks like... You didn't buy it it scalp, you are good. If someone goes and buys it on ebay for 600$ great, they got the device they want you got rid of something you didn't need anymore. The buyers are paying a premium to have it in their hands now. It's their choice..

[jmsebastianhasvideogametho]

Glad there was a follow up to the cart beveling issue. I think I'm going to have to try to bevel my Mega SD myself since I would be swapping it out with other carts often enough. If anyone has advice on the best way to go about this, that would be awesome. I've done some limited research but haven't found anything especially useful so far.

[LouisZezeran]

Hahahahaha I just got around to listening to the episode. I burst out laughing at the gym and now I look like a jerk, thanks Bob 😀😀

[Heymisterbadguy]

About the downscaling-to-svideo question:
* If you want 240p svideo, from hdmi, you need to output 640x480 (720p is also an option if u use a retrotink 5x for downscaling, but it also supports 480p and it is easier to handle) into a downscaler like the gbs control (or retrotink 5x), and then the output of that into a vga-svideo transcoder (the one from linuxbot3000, rgb-2yc, the one from antonio villena - if u can figure out how to power it on pin 9 using 5v externally since gbs does not provide that; these are the easier options. Jrok are difficult to find and you may be able to build/find a Retrotink Ultimate).

My setup is:

hdmi to vga w ag6200 chip (or similar) transcoder -> gbs control downscaling 480p to 240p -> vga to s-video transcoder (rgb-2yc from axunworks).

Spent half a year figuring this out. Not 100% sure it is the best option.

Those old gpus w svideo out do not support 240p! They all output 480i!!



For 480i: those old gpus, or gbs 8100 (not sure yet about the quality and latency of that); there are gbs 8100 alternatives w different chips, will compare them when I can.

Honestly I normally use a decimator md-hx for this. Input 480p hdmi -> output 480i hdmi -> ag6200 transcoder -> rgb-2yc. Lag is ~ 16ms but i dont have a time sleuth to confirm.

[aaronsmith]

I didn't think you know words like that your always so (too) careful about offending people wasn't expecting that from when someone says such lovely things about you then that came out lol that was so great 🤣

[Cookiedon]

In regards to the scalping question, I agree. Start an auction at a low price. The item was used so if you did want to get your money back (and not auction it), take 10 or 15 percent off the total cost you paid. Also consider the shipping cost and decide if the buyer will pay or if you're willing to pay.

[rfmerrill]

For high to low level translation, you can *sometimes* get away with faking level translation just by using series resistance. It's not the best way to do it, but if you know your lower-voltage device has clamping diodes and you know you're feeding them with a current that won't hurt it, AND the resulting slower signal edges allow it to still function, you can do it.

I would never try it for anything faster than 1 MHz.

[nicwilson]

40:40 Most of the electrical stress from repeatedly power cycling a CRT is in components that are easy and cheap to replace. I wouldn't do it, but y'know. As for source switching and what not, not really an issue. The CRT itself is still energised throughout in a lot of cases, and the parts of the CRTs electronics that are likely to be unhappy with repeat power cycling are also going to remain powered. As such, you can feel more safe with input switching and resolution changing :)
Less so repeat power cycling, that will put stress on any electronics, not just a CRT. It's electronics abuse haha

[csciabar]

Genesis 3 button surprisingly comfortable with the slot on the back.

[PersianImmrtal]

44:55 Now wonder I really enjoyed gaming back in 1997 on my 13 inch tv with an N64 so much.

[rfmerrill]

I have had some success adding my own bevel to card edges with a file (and then sandpaper to smooth it). I would never tell people it's the way to go though as it's messy and not easy to do right. It's especially risky if the end of the card edge is used to set the depth of insertion (instead of the plastic or the shoulder of the PCB).

[Mastersaifer]

Hell yeah, the new place! Love the new sound quality and background stuff! (But where is the Metroid poster)

[hhectorlector]

my fave N64 controller is the new wireless Tribute 64 by Retro-Bit. The Wireless Brawler 64 comes in 2nd. I love the OEM controller but that thumbstick hurts after a while of holding it for long periods of time (usually when running in a straight line)

[Dark_Jaguar]

I'm curious which modern surround sound systems anyone might be able to recommend that have zero lag for analog connections.