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[cacophony555]

Here's a good comparison chart for the Analogue Nt mini vs RetroUSB AVS:
https://t.co/M1kNxiKYxL

Also, here are the full specs:
https://t.co/wzXmw40kYO

 

[Beer Monkey]

I made samples of 4x and 5x 1080p NES scaling a while back (no scan line effects).

While 5x has cropping it's less cropped than most TVs would over scan back in the 80s.

4x

5x

 

[cacophony555]

This can do 1080p instead of 720p, has screen filters, top loading instead of front loading, and doesn't have online leaderboards. Yes it includes a bad controller but I don't think it's worth it costing twice as much as the AVS.

There are more advantages than that. Check out the comparison link: https://t.co/M1kNxiKYxL
Also, you can't even get an accurate resembling pixel aspect ratio with integer scaled 720p. You're forced to go with either 1.0 (too skinny) or 1.33 (too wide). With 1080p you can get a far more accurate 1.25 or 1.2 PAR, depending on how you scale.

 

[cacophony555]

I made samples of 4x and 5x 1080p NES scaling a while back (no scan line effects).

While 5x has cropping it's less cropped than most TVs would over scan back in the 80s.

Great comparison. I definitely prefer the 5x version over other alternatives.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

The Analogue NT would be a much easier sell if it included a standard multiAV port so I didn't have to rely on Analogue for cables.

 

[Beer Monkey]

The Analogue NT would be a much easier sell if it included a standard multiAV port so I didn't have to rely on Analogue for cables.

It should work with a VGA to BNC cable for RGB unless they are being total dicks with the pinout.

 

[RainblowDash]

Pretty tempting, I still love to play SMB3 on the original hardware.

 

[televator]

What I like: FPGA... It's finally fucking here!!! Thank you based technology.

What I don't like:
Only NES/Famicom? Da fuck? FPGA is much more capable as a multiconsole simulator.

That controller is offensively dumb. All they had to do was copy the dogbone NES controller. Instead they opted for the painful discomfort of the original design but with bunch of superfluous buttons stuck on it. lol

 

[AgeEighty]

That controller is offensively dumb. All they had to do was copy the dogbone NES controller. Instead they opted for the painful discomfort of the original design but with bunch of superfluous buttons stuck on it. lol

The 8bitdo isn't just being made for the NT Mini; it's a product that has been produced for a little while now and was sold at first as a PC controller. And the reason why it has extra buttons is so that it's functional as a controller for non-NES games for people who want to do that. As for "painful discomfort", the hyperbole is real.

8bitdo also makes this if you want something rounder:

 

[cacophony555]

It should work with a VGA to BNC cable for RGB unless they are being total dicks with the pinout.

From the FAQ (https://support.analogue.co/hc/en-us/articles/224996348-Nt-mini-FAQ):

"The Nt mini dually outputs HDMI and RGB, Component, S-Video, composite. It is like the default Analogue Nt and HDMI upgraded Nt built in one. No more upgrades. It also uses an off the shelf analog video output pinout. No more custom cables needed. "

There's also this Analogue Nt vs Nt mini comparison doc:
https://support.analogue.co/hc/en-us/articles/224996908-Analogue-Nt-mini-vs-Analogue-Nt

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

How does one go from VGA to S-Video?

 

[dhonk]

How does one go from VGA to S-Video?

Them calling it VGA is a misnomer. It's simply a "d-sub 15" connector. So it should be able to carry svideo with the right cable?

 

[Beer Monkey]

How does one go from VGA to S-Video?

It wouldn't be hard for me to make one but I'm old and lazy. It's just a matter of hacking an s vid cable to the right pins on a DB15 connector.

 

[televator]

The 8bitdo isn't just being made for the NT Mini; it's a product that has been produced for a little while now and was sold at first as a PC controller. And the reason why it has extra buttons is so that it's functional as a controller for non-NES games for people who want to do that. As for "painful discomfort", the hyperbole is real.

8bitdo also makes this if you want something rounder:

Hyperbole? I wasnt imagining the pain while having long runs of TMNT III and Punchout from start to finish as a kid. The sore thumbs rubbed down raw were real.

 

[AgeEighty]

Hyperbole? I wasnt imagining the pain while having long runs of TMNT III and Punchout from start to finish as a kid. The sore thumbs rubbed down raw were real.

I went through the same thing, but sore thumbs had less to do with the shape of the controller than they did with the amount of time I spent playing and how hard I jammed on those buttons all the time in my youthful exuberance. I mean it's not like your thumbs are touching the rectangular parts.

 

[Beer Monkey]

When people are like, um, dog bone controllers don't have the buttons close enough together, I'm like, MAN HANDS.

 

[FantasticMrFoxdie]

Scorpio and Neo am cry

 

[jimboton]

Why is it always the NES. Isn't it time for genesis or snes already?

 

[Beer Monkey]

Why is it always the NES. Isn't it time for genesis or snes already?

FPGA systems that play all popular 8 and 16 bit systems are going to happen in the next couple of years.

 

[jimboton]

FPGA systems that play all popular 8 and 16 bit systems are going to happen in the next couple of years.

That will be great to see. I hope the Amiga is considered popular enough.

 

[Khaz]

These guys still haven't learned that their biggest problem is their pricing. If they dropped that aluminum nonsense and went with normal plastic they could bring it down to $300. Why buy this when I can get the same thing from RetroUSB for about $200 less.

lol it's only a problem for you, not for them. The original NT was sold out extremely fast for each their production run. They're positioning themselves as making luxury goods, and it's working quite well for them, as they are doing more. People are buying the fancy aluminium case, they want to spend that kind of money for the cool looking retro console.

 

[Khaz]

That will be great to see. I hope the Amiga is considered popular enough.

https://github.com/mist-devel/mist-board/wiki

 

[televator]

I went through the same thing, but sore thumbs had less to do with the shape of the controller than they did with the amount of time I spent playing and how hard I jammed on those buttons all the time in my youthful exuberance. I mean it's not like your thumbs are touching the rectangular parts.

Your thumbs are touching the harshly textured, tiny dpad that requires hard pressing and the concaved buttons with no real cussion in the press. There's a reason I can play Sega Saturn Games for around the same length of time and not feel like I just sanded off my finger prints. Similar thing with the dogbone controller relative to the original NES pad.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

Christ. Unless the RetroUSB AVS turns out to be complete shit I don't see how this is worth an additional $250+ just for 1080p and S-Video out.


Actually the only extra features are Component and S-Video support, 1080p support, and Bluetooth controller support. Hardly $250+ of value.


I mean I guess if you wanted to play on a CRT with a gaudy-ass box. But if you were serious enough to play on a CRT you'd get an RPG modded front or toploader.

 

[Kabuki Quantum Lover]

Dumb question probably, but can this or the AVS play ROM files directly? If my copy of RESCUE goes, I will be heartbroken. I bought a Retron 5 for the pleasure and stopped using after a couple of uses (with its kung-fu grip cartridge slot).

 

[Frostburn]

It will play ROMs if they are on a cart like the Everdrive or Superpak. If you have an after market cart or home brew cart it should play fine. Basically anything that a regular NES would run will work.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

It will play ROMs if they are on a cart like the Everdrive or Superpak. If you have an after market cart or home brew cart it should play fine. Basically anything that a regular NES would run will work.

RetroUSB sells a ROM cart that takes compact flash too.

 

[cacophony555]

Actually the only extra features are Component and S-Video support, 1080p support, and Bluetooth controller support. Hardly $250+ of value.

+ Aluminum chassis
+ Far more capable FPGA (more features likely coming as a result)
+ Menu/config accessible as overlay during gameplay
+ Composite output
+ RGB output
+ Scalers
+ 4 color palette choices
+ Interpolation
+ No lag introduced on final display due to 1080p upscale
+ Far more accurate integer scaled pixel aspect ratio choices with 1080p
+ Image positioning
+ Zapper, Famicom mic, and 3D glasses support
+ Significantly more control over audio
+ HDMI EDID
+ Included bluetooth receiver that supports PS3, PS4, Wii U/etc controllers
+ Included bluetooth controller

Whether the extra features are worth the cost is subjective, but after watching used versions of the previous Analogue NTs consistently sell for $1000-$3000 on eBay, this new one seems like a relative bargain!

 

[Beer Monkey]

Christ. Unless the RetroUSB AVS turns out to be complete shit I don't see how this is worth an additional $250+ just for 1080p and S-Video out.

Actually the only extra features are Component and S-Video support, 1080p support, and Bluetooth controller support. Hardly $250+ of value.

Conversely, this has value to me and the RetroUSB AVS does not. The latter doesn't do what I want.

I mean I guess if you wanted to play on a CRT with a gaudy-ass box. But if you were serious enough to play on a CRT you'd get an RPG modded front or toploader.

I have CRTs and a RGB modded toploader that cost me $300 when it was all said and done. Just because I play on CRTs doesn't mean I don't also play on my plasma.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

I'm pretty much in the AVS camp purely on price point, but dang if I wouldn't like to be able to get a S-Video signal out of a modern NES/Famicom clone console to plug into my TV.

 

[mikeamizzle]

Here we go again..

Hopefully for all the "enthusiasts" who are anxious to plunk down nearly 500 for an HDMI NES, this turns out better than their first product, the Analogue CMVS...

That thing also commanded a price gouging premium and had awful build quality to the point where units were literally ungluing at the seems (James from JammaNationX has confirmed this on many units sent to him that needed to be repaired). The Neo arcade boards that they used inside of these (MV-1C's) were often in notoriously bad shape and interior wiring and build quality was not nearly what one would expect out of a product its price point either.

It got so bad for them that they no longer even list that product on their web page but people that are aware of it haven't forgotten. They do not offer repairs on these either. They've just cut cut ties, and moved on to a larger, more rabid, perhaps less cynical, and perhaps more naive retro community to cater to, Nintendo fans..

 

[dolabla]

If it works as advertised, then it sounds like a great system. Ever since it got announced the other day, I've been thinking about getting it maybe at a later date to go along with my AVS I currently have pre-ordered, but I think I'm just gonna pass.

I just can't justify that price tag. And reading some of the nightmare stories people had on the last NT, that would be very worrisome to me personally if a problem ever did occur.

I think I'll just stick with only the AVS for the foreseeable future until something else that catches my eye comes along.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Here we go again..

Hopefully for all the "enthusiasts" who are anxious to plunk down nearly 500 for an HDMI NES, this turns out better than their first product, the Analogue CMVS...

That thing also commanded a price gouging premium and had awful build quality to the point where units were literally ungluing at the seems (James from JammaNationX has confirmed this on many units sent to him that needed to be repaired). The Neo arcade boards that they used inside of these (MV-1C's) were often in notoriously bad shape and interior wiring and build quality was not nearly what one would expect out of a product its price point either.

It got so bad for them that they no longer even list that product on their web page but people that are aware of it haven't forgotten. They do not offer repairs on these either. They've just cut cut ties, and moved on to a larger, more rabid, perhaps less cynical, and perhaps more naive retro community to cater to, Nintendo fans..

The build on the Analogue NT is seriously top notch. I don't think there will be any difference with this.

You can even check out Kevtris's own teardown. It's beautiful inside.

 

[thepenguin55]

Here we go again..

Hopefully for all the "enthusiasts" who are anxious to plunk down nearly 500 for an HDMI NES, this turns out better than their first product, the Analogue CMVS...

That thing also commanded a price gouging premium and had awful build quality to the point where units were literally ungluing at the seems (James from JammaNationX has confirmed this on many units sent to him that needed to be repaired). The Neo arcade boards that they used inside of these (MV-1C's) were often in notoriously bad shape and interior wiring and build quality was not nearly what one would expect out of a product its price point either.

It got so bad for them that they no longer even list that product on their web page but people that are aware of it haven't forgotten. They do not offer repairs on these either. They've just cut cut ties, and moved on to a larger, more rabid, perhaps less cynical, and perhaps more naive retro community to cater to, Nintendo fans..

As far as their CMVS systems go, they had to cut their teeth on something and they delivered what was advertised. Certainly sucks for people who were not happy with the build quality, but at the very least what Analogue sold was what they advertised. It also sucks to hear that they may not have provided great customer service to those customers because they were super helpful to me. It's also worth noting that they made those CMVS systems for AWHILE, so I would be curious to see if the build quality improved at all over time.

As someone who bought an original Nt at launch I can tell you that it definitely had it's share of problems. I can also tell you that I was a little bit annoyed when I first read the announcement of the Nt mini. If it was just the same thing as my Nt but cheaper, smaller and FPGA I would not have been bothered. The fact that it's all that with some other additional improvements is what annoyed me. Then when I thought about it what I got is actually cooler because it was made with actual Famicom hardware and actual Famicom/NES parts. Also, I use it all the time and it definitely works great. Despite my complaints, I'm very happy with my Nt. Also, the build quality of the Nt is top notch. Especially impressive when you consider the fact that Analogue is basically an indie operation.

 

[dallow_bg]

Here we go again..

Hopefully for all the "enthusiasts" who are anxious to plunk down nearly 500 for an HDMI NES, this turns out better than their first product, the Analogue CMVS...

That thing also commanded a price gouging premium and had awful build quality to the point where units were literally ungluing at the seems (James from JammaNationX has confirmed this on many units sent to him that needed to be repaired). The Neo arcade boards that they used inside of these (MV-1C's) were often in notoriously bad shape and interior wiring and build quality was not nearly what one would expect out of a product its price point either.

It got so bad for them that they no longer even list that product on their web page but people that are aware of it haven't forgotten. They do not offer repairs on these either. They've just cut cut ties, and moved on to a larger, more rabid, perhaps less cynical, and perhaps more naive retro community to cater to, Nintendo fans..

Why compare it their first product, and not their last one the Analogue NT?
The build quality on that is pretty much unquestioned.

 

[BTails]

Why compare it their first product, and not their last one the Analogue NT?
The build quality on that is pretty much unquestioned.

Except the first run of Analogue NTs that scratched carts. And the many many people with compatibility issues running Everdrives (Myself included), which was never resolved.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

Except the first run of Analogue NTs that scratched carts. And the many many people with compatibility issues running Everdrives (Myself included), which was never resolved.

Did the 8BIT MUSIC POWER carts ever start working on the Analogue NTs?

 

[BTails]

Did the 8BIT MUSIC POWER carts ever start working on the Analogue NTs?

The issue wasn't with the NT on that one, but the 8BIT Muisc Power carts themselves, which were very poorly made. This thread has links to pictures, along with instructions for how to fix the carts:

http://forums.nesdev.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=13857

 

[Beer Monkey]

The motherboard is a completely new design, they specifically state that the Everdrive is supported, and they've tested thousands of games. I'm sure the Everdrive is how they are doing a lot of their testing. I'm not concerned about the compatibility.

 

[thepenguin55]

Except the first run of Analogue NTs that scratched carts. And the many many people with compatibility issues running Everdrives (Myself included), which was never resolved.

That sucks. I'm an owner of a first wave Nt system and it hasn't scratched any of my carts though I do remember hearing some complaints about this when the Nt first launched. Maybe I just got lucky? Not sure...

 

[BTails]

Quoting my comment on the NT Mini in the NES Appreciation Thread. Basically there have been too many strikes against Analogue in my opinion, based on the high price they're asking.

I really hope this product works out, it looks amazing, and has a ton of awesome features. Heck, even though I've been burned by them before, I would jump in if this thing was priced around $200. But it's not, and for over $600 CAD (considering shipping plus conversion from USD), I can't trust Analogue and their consistent track record of over-promising and under-delivering.

I wish the best for everyone who preorders it.

Also, a quick word of caution regarding the new Analogue NT Mini: I did not have a good experience with the company when I purchased the original Analogue NT (2nd wave). The system was great, but comparability with the Famicom Everdrive was absolutely horrendous, despite their claims that it was 100% compatible, and I was given the runaround by Analogue support. They refused to look into the issue until I started a very large thread on Krikkz's forum. This was back in April, and the issue has still been unresolved, with Analogue having been quiet on the issue for months now.

Thankfully they refunded my full amount (including shipping) when I returned the system, but I would steer clear of the company. They target the luxury market, but their customer service is abysmal: considering the price of their hardware, I expected WAY more.

 

[Mega]

It sounds like you're in luck:

In their technical specs (https://support.analogue.co/hc/en-us/articles/224996908-Analogue-Nt-mini-vs-Analogue-Nt) they say:
"Pixel Formatting: 5x, 4.5x, 4x at 1080p and Horizontal Stretch"

And some confirmation here:
https://twitter.com/analogue_co/status/768254308567486469?cn=cmVwbHk=&refsrc=email

Is this a future firmware update to the Hi-Def mod? My Hi-Def NES doesn't have 5X mode in the menu, which I badly want if it's true that the scanlines will show a big improvement. Currently, at 4X, they're quite bad.

Here's a good comparison chart for the Analogue Nt mini vs RetroUSB AVS:
https://t.co/M1kNxiKYxL

Also, here are the full specs:
https://t.co/wzXmw40kYO

That's a very handy comparison chart for anyone who's confused on the differences.

Of course it would have been nice to see this a little cheaper but it's really not badly priced at all for what you're getting in one package. Getting both a RGB NES and a HDMI NES (either Hi-Def NES or AVS) will cost you more than the NT Mini alone. And the Mini still has more features. If the build quality and compatibility holds up, I see no faults with this product. This is coming from someone who thought the original RGB-only NT at $500 was a horrible value.

The motherboard is a completely new design, they specifically state that the Everdrive is supported, and they've tested thousands of games. I'm sure the Everdrive is how they are doing a lot of their testing. I'm not concerned about the compatibility.

I personally think the nagging Everdrive complaints was one of the big reasons to ditch the NT. I'm also not worried about a repeat occurrence here.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

hmm... and i need a nes too

 

[Beer Monkey]

Is this a future firmware update to the Hi-Def mod? My Hi-Def NES doesn't have 5X mode in the menu, which I badly want if it's true that the scanlines will show a big improvement. Currently, at 4X, they're quite bad.

Can you take a screenshot of the 4X scanlines sometime with your USB3HDCAP? Curious to see them.

 

[Mega]

Can you take a screenshot of the 4X scanlines sometime with your USB3HDCAP? Curious to see them.

I'll try tonight.

They're uniform and all, but they have the feel of the cheap Scanline filters from the early 2000s emulators like ZSNES. Ultra HDMI N64 has really nice artificial scanlines... so unless there's something preventing similar results on the NES, I think this is inexcusable.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Except the first run of Analogue NTs that scratched carts. And the many many people with compatibility issues running Everdrives (Myself included), which was never resolved.

The compatibility issues were 100% from the Hi-Def NES included in the HDMI units. That thing was just way too invasive a mod.

 

[Beer Monkey]

I wonder if a future firmware upgrade could let this run Gameboy, Sega Master System, Colecovision, et al.

(from the included SD card slot)

 

[cacophony555]

Is this a future firmware update to the Hi-Def mod? My Hi-Def NES doesn't have 5X mode in the menu, which I badly want if it's true that the scanlines will show a big improvement. Currently, at 4X, they're quite bad.

5x wasn't possible on the Hi-Def NES because the FPGA simply doesn't have enough RAM. This was discussed here if you're interested: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWl4NVnWt5U&feature=youtu.be&t=25m10s

The Nt mini uses a far more powerful FPGA and thus doesn't have that limitation.

 

[Khaz]

I wonder if a future firmware upgrade could let this run Gameboy, Sega Master System, Colecovision, et al.

(from the included SD card slot)

It's probably technically super easy to do, but it would seriously complicate the user interface and their tech support, having to deal with piracy, etc.

Plus they would get far more money by making dedicated hardware for each of the consoles you're demanding.

 

[Beer Monkey]

It's probably technically super easy to do, but it would seriously complicate the user interface and their tech support, having to deal with piracy, etc.

Plus they would get far more money by making dedicated hardware for each of the consoles you're demanding.

If they didn't want to deal with "piracy" they could block the Everdrive.

It'll be fun seeing what the scene comes up with, I can't imagine the security being too tight on the firmware.