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Retro AV Club Thread 2: Classic Gaming Done Right!

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Peltz

Member
I've been looking at my problem all along. I don't need magnetically shielded speakers.

I need to magnetically shield my CRTs so that I can buy whatever damn speakers I want! PVMs are perfect cubes. This should be doable right?

Edit... probably not... You can't shield the front of the TV. :-/
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
I've been looking at my problem all along. I don't need magnetically shielded speakers.

I need to magnetically shield my CRTs so that I can buy whatever damn speakers I want! PVMs are perfect cubes. This should be doable right?

I've heard of people doing it before... I'm just not sure if, because you're not shielding the entire thing (seeing as how the screen needs to be visible), it'll be a complete fix.
 

Peltz

Member
I've heard of people doing it before... I'm just not sure if, because you're not shielding the entire thing (seeing as how the screen needs to be visible), it'll be a complete fix.

Yea... sucks :-(

The discrimination against CRT gamers by speaker manufacturers needs to end.
 

IrishNinja

Member
i am already planning on replacing my back when it comes time to move this CRT, but it's coming with me wherever i go

a huge trinotron with good colors & component option? this thing feels like a diamond in the rough!
an obscenely heavy diamond that no one else would possibly want but still
 

alr1ght

bish gets all the credit :)
Star Fox 2 romdump running on Wii/component/CRT

mVmYVbm.jpg


<3
 

Peltz

Member
Star Fox 2 romdump running on Wii/component/CRT

mVmYVbm.jpg


<3

Nice... it's a start. I have a SNES classic on the way, but I am hoping to play this on a real SNES someday. Still, if I have to hack a Wii to play it in 240p, that may be a good alternative.
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Was only a matter of time. Does Star Fox 2 run better than the first game did? I find the original too jarring to go back to now, but SF2 is super interesting just as a bit of gaming history.
 

Peltz

Member
Was only a matter of time. Does Star Fox 2 run better than the first game did? I find the original too jarring to go back to now, but SF2 is super interesting just as a bit of gaming history.

Believe it or not, I actually played SF on my SNES a few weeks ago. It held up better than I thought it would. It was a bit frustrating on the first level but I stuck with it and actually beat it that day and honestly had a blast.

Admittedly, most of that was due to the awesome soundtrack. (I mean seriously, that soundtrack is maybe the best on SNES outside of Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana). To answer your question though, it runs better in cutscenes which look quite impressive actually. But the gameplay of SF2 is mostly the same framerate as SF1, except with even more dips in the
chicken?
walker mode. Still, I am excited to play the final version of the game.

I've been dreaming about this for a long time. But I'm a total fan of the series so take my enthusiasm with a grain of salt.
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
Believe it or not, I actually played SF on my SNES a few weeks ago. It held up better than I thought it would. It was a bit frustrating on the first level but I stuck with it and actually beat it that day and honestly had a blast.

Admittedly, most of that was due to the awesome soundtrack. (I mean seriously, that soundtrack is maybe the best on SNES outside of Chrono Trigger and Secret of Mana).

Does it run better on actual hardware than on an emulator? I ZSNESed it up years ago when I drew that conclusion.

Stunt Race FX, though, I think we can all agree actually is just kind of unplayable.
 

Peltz

Member
Does it run better on actual hardware than on an emulator? I ZSNESed it up years ago when I drew that conclusion.

Stunt Race FX, though, I think we can all agree actually is just kind of unplayable.
It runs better on real hardware than on an emulator simply due to the lower input lag.

Any amount of lag on a game with already low framerate is going to feel even more sluggish. So, on a CRT you'll likely feel like you're fighting the controls less.

But I imagine ZSNES runs the game fairly accurately to be honest. It's been a long time since I've used ZSNES though so take that as you will.
 

Danny Dudekisser

I paid good money for this Dynex!
It runs better on real hardware than on an emulator simply due to the lower input lag.

Any amount of lag on a game with already low framerate is going to feel even more sluggish. So, on a CRT you'll likely feel like you're fighting the controls less.

But I imagine ZSNES runs the game fairly accurately to be honest.

I should give it another shot, I think. Looking back, that would've been during the era when I played all my games with the SuperEagle filter on.

Did I just get myself kicked out of the Retro AV Club?
 
Does it run better on actual hardware than on an emulator? I ZSNESed it up years ago when I drew that conclusion.

Stunt Race FX, though, I think we can all agree actually is just kind of unplayable.

No it runs like 10fps most of the time on real hardware but somehow manages to feel pretty good in spite of it. Maybe the extra responsiveness of an real hardware vs zsnes would be part of it.
 

Tain

Member
I played through the original Star Fox back when Zero came out and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I wouldn't call it great, and the performance is absolutely a problem, but I think the game's pretty strong aesthetically and the branching paths are neat. 64 is obviously a huge improvement all around.

i legit enjoyed Zero more than either though
 

Peltz

Member
I played through the original Star Fox back when Zero came out and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I wouldn't call it great, and the performance is absolutely a problem, but I think the game's pretty strong aesthetically and the branching paths are neat. 64 is obviously a huge improvement all around.

i legit enjoyed Zero more than either though

Zero is a great game with some flaws. The controls are not bad though.

For me, the non-arwing levels are what kill it, particularly the chopper levels. They're completely unnecessary and ruin the flow of what otherwise could have been a fantastic game.

Why they didn't just stick to the Arwing is really a headscratcher. The tank also made no sense since it could fly too. So it was just like the arwing/chicken walker but in reverse. If they redid that game with arwing-only levels instead of what we got, it would have been a classic.
 

Teknoman

Member
Zero should've had more high speed sections, and not have to use the Wii U screen. I mean platinum plus space opera action should've been SSS rank stuff.
 

Conezays

Member
So what are people's experiences so far with the SNES classic? I enjoyed tinkering around so far. Image quality-wise, I think it's pretty good but the lag is definitely noticeable IMO in comparison to the real thing on a CRT/PVM. I've played Mario World and Castlevania IV recently on my PVM and it definitely looked and felt better. Perhaps not surprising or shocking, but curious to hear what the other PVM addicts here think :p Still nice to have a cheap HD solution to mess around with some SNES games on HDTV, with the FX games not being compatible with the SD2SNES, etc.
 

Peltz

Member
Mine won't be delivered until the 6th. Walmart dropped the ball on preorders :-/

Your impressions don't surprise me though.
 

Conezays

Member
Mine won't be delivered until the 6th. Walmart dropped the ball on preorders :-/

Your impressions don't surprise me though.

Ah, that's too bad. :( Bestbuy.ca for me.

And yeah, you'll probably feel similarly I imagine. I was cautiously hoping for something close to AVS in lag, but that was foolish, lol. Love playing Star Fox again though. What a fantastic soundtrack.
 

Tron999

Member
I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice.

I want to hook up all my retro consoles. I have PS1 thru 4, xbox thru x360, dreamcast, nes thru switch, genesis (want to add sega cd).

I'm a big fan of MLiG and their RGB series, but I can't seem to justify the cost of a PVM. I'm too lazy to try and track them down locally from production houses. Also, 20" gaming makes me cry.

I currently have an old SXRD Sony DLP, and I have a 36" Sony CRT (not a flat tube).

Is the Sony CRT worth anything, except to play light gun games? With equipment like the framemeister, or OSSC, is it worth keeping around that 180lb monster?

Can the Sony CRT be modded to accept RGB? Right now I believe it only has COMPOSITE, S-video, and RF. Not optimal for the best picture.

Thanks for your opinions, guys.
 
Can the Sony CRT be modded to accept RGB? Right now I believe it only has component, S-video, and RF. Not optimal for the best picture. .

Component is fine for 8 and 16 bit consoles! For SNES you could use an HD Retrovision cable. RGB modding the TV is possible (expertise/$$) but I'd just feed it component so you aren't locked into one TV forever.

I'd RGB mod the consoles that need it and use a transcoder from RGB to component (or Retrovision cables).

http://retrorgb.com/converters.html

Also, the super low budget thing to do would be to hack a Wii and feed 240p component to the Sony. It's the gateway drug. The virtual console emulators are very low latency; Punch-Out!! on Wii plays fine, for example,.
 

Peltz

Member
I was wondering if you guys could give me some advice.

I want to hook up all my retro consoles. I have PS1 thru 4, xbox thru x360, dreamcast, nes thru switch, genesis (want to add sega cd).

I'm a big fan of MLiG and their RGB series, but I can't seem to justify the cost of a PVM. I'm too lazy to try and track them down locally from production houses. Also, 20" gaming makes me cry.

I currently have an old SXRD Sony DLP, and I have a 36" Sony CRT (not a flat tube).

Is the Sony CRT worth anything, except to play light gun games? With equipment like the framemeister, or OSSC, is it worth keeping around that 180lb monster?

Can the Sony CRT be modded to accept RGB? Right now I believe it only has component, S-video, and RF. Not optimal for the best picture.

Thanks for your opinions, guys.
Don't attempt modding a CRT unless you know what you're doing. You could literally die. If it takes component, just get an RGB to component transcoder. It is lag free and looks just as good as native RGB SCART support.

If I'm not mistaken, I believe this is the one people here recommend. Can someone else confirm?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004XSSDPO/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Personally, as a guy with 3 PVMs, I wouldn't spend time tracking one down if I had a 36" beast that took component.

Unless 480p native is important to you that is, and if so, you're going to be searching like crazy for a PVM that does it and paying a boatload of money unless you get insanely lucky.

You already have everything you need for 240p/480i gaming other than that converter.
 

bodine1231

Member
Couldn't get a SNES classic yesterday but got this on Craigslist today for $150. As an added bonus the console turned out to be a 1-chip!

1Gny3kBl.jpg
 
My SNES died and I've decided that instead of tracking down a SNES mini/Jr and RGB modding it plus getting an SD2SNES, I'm just going to wait for Kevtris' inevitable SNES FPGA solution. Ideally I want everything below 5th gen in one FPGA box capable of HDMI and all the analog outputs featured on the NT Mini. Anything newer than that I can deal with original hardware.
 

bodine1231

Member
Seconded.

Edit: Out of curiosity, how many monitors have you actually scored in the last couple of months? No idea what the count is at now, but I'm guessing you're at like 40.

Yeah something like that. The third big pickup was a bust though. Most of the Ikegami's need cap replacements as well as the JVC's. I got like 10 of them sitting in my kitchen,lol. Hopefully the BVM's arrive and work,I already got three buyers which will break me even. I just don't want them to be damaged,not working is better than burn in or smashed,lol. I'm thinking about going to Retropalooza in Texas next weekend and unloading a couple as well.
 

Peltz

Member
Yeah something like that. The third big pickup was a bust though. Most of the Ikegami's need cap replacements as well as the JVC's. I got like 10 of them sitting in my kitchen,lol. Hopefully the BVM's arrive and work,I already got three buyers which will break me even. I just don't want them to be damaged,not working is better than burn in or smashed,lol. I'm thinking about going to Retropalooza in Texas next weekend and unloading a couple as well.

Bodine needs a tag.

bodine1231
If CRT's were blondes, he'd be Hugh Hefner.
 

Tron999

Member
Ah, I messed up. I meant to say the CRT only has composite, not component. I was doing too much reading and confused myself.
 
Has anyone moved to an OSSC only setup?

When I move I will be replacing my "main setup" with my ossc+ks8000. I'm so happy with it that I've decided I no longer need to have a seperate retro setup.

I will be keeping CRTs around for more intimate setups like fighters/shmups where I prefer to play those close to the screen and I will be keeping a BVM setup on at my computer for when I'm multitasking/gaming alone.

At the end of the day my goal with gaming is to have fun with friends and playing local Coop is so much better on a couch and a big TV.
 
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