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[Khaz]

Searching for specific PlayStation thread and couldn't see it so hope you guys and gals can help me out.

Getting my mums PC monitor from 2001. Its 19inh CRT and was only used for 2 years before they got a laptop and it was put away until now.

Desperate to play Point Blank on the PlayStation (as LCD TVs dont work with the light gun) but have a few questions on the PlayStation one.

How reliable are they? Want to get one from eBay and just wondering what to watch for

How easy are they to repair in general?

I will have a retro room, and have Sega's but want to get PlayStation 1 and 2. Gutted my dad gave away the ps2 games but its laser broke

Using a PC CRT for the PS1 and lightgun games? It wont work. VGA monitors are 31kHz, 400p minimum (the video card line-doubles 320x200 DOS games), and you need a 15kHz CRT, aka a consumer TV. You'd need a dedicated line-doubling box, but even then the lightgun wouldn't work, as it specifically needs the scan rate of a TV, not a VGA monitor.
To get the right display, and info about how to plug everything, it's over there: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=630556

Early PS1s have notorious laser problems, PSOnes are rock solid

Spoiler

and cuter

.
PS1 thread here http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=539661

Keep your 19 inches PC CRT and use it to build an old DOS computer!
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1214023

 

[Shadowman16]

Cross posting this from the PC Engine community thread, if anyone has the answer to this it'd be greatly appreciated!

Question for those with a Supergrafx - I already have a PC Engine Duo R and I'm looking to get a Supergrafx to play Ghouls n Ghosts and 1941. I've found one at an ok price but it doesn't have any cables - can I use my (6 button) pad, power supply and AV cables from my Duo R on the Supergrafx, or are there any notable differences between them?

Also, does anyone know where I can find 1941? I'm eyeing one on eBay but its fairly expensive and is missing the front sleeve that the game comes in, so I'd rather get a complete version if possible.

 

[RadarScope1]

I have a basement setup for my retro consoles. A huge hi-fi system is not feasible. Looking to hook up a 2.1 system meant for PCs in order to get maximum bass from my Genesis, especially. Would this system be a good one? Overkill? There's a used one for sale in my area.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000062VUO/?tag=neogaf0e-20

 

[7DollarHagane]

I have a basement setup for my retro consoles. A huge hi-fi system is not feasible. Looking to hook up a 2.1 system meant for PCs in order to get maximum bass from my Genesis, especially. Would this system be a good one? Overkill? There's a used one for sale in my area.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000062VUO/?tag=neogaf0e-20

I went to rummage sales looking for those old late 90s console radio/CD players. Some of them have RCA jacks for auxilary input.

This is the one I use, it was like $10 at a sale. has nice sound.

Just keep it a few feet away from your TV.

 

[RadarScope1]

It's a great idea, but my setup is kind of odd in that I don't really have the shelf space for a main unit like that. I'm looking for small speakers that pack a decent punch. I'm currently using a pair of pretty old PC speakers from probably the late 90s and they are actually quite good for such a use. But I want some sub woofer action ...

 

[7DollarHagane]

It's a great idea, but my setup is kind of odd in that I don't really have the shelf space for a main unit like that. I'm looking for small speakers that pack a decent punch. I'm currently using a pair of pretty old PC speakers from probably the late 90s and they are actually quite good for such a use. But I want some sub woofer action ...

unfortunately i find it very difficult to find those types of speakers cheaply. I didn't want to spend 80-100 dollars on them. Maybe check goodwills? I never found them there though.

 

[televator]

Klipsch is good quality. If you can get it cheaper than list price, I can't see anything wrong with that. I've got my genny audio pluged into my onkyo 705 with Polk 5.1 speakers. Over kil? No such thing.

 

[_SAKY_]

FYI - component cables for SNES and Genesis are back in stock.

https://shop.hdretrovision.com/collections/component-cables

 

[Timu]

FYI - component cables for SNES and Genesis are back in stock.

https://shop.hdretrovision.com/collections/component-cables

That's awesome!!!

 

[RadarScope1]

OK, let me try again on the retro sound setup. I actually have these Bose bookshelf speakers and they've been sitting in a box for a while. But I'll need to get a small amp to make it work. Think they'd sound just as good as a 2.1 setup? It's a lot cheaper ... $35 or so for an amp.

FYI - component cables for SNES and Genesis are back in stock.

https://shop.hdretrovision.com/collections/component-cables

What's been the verdict on these? Can you get a lag-free experience if your HDTV accepts 240p over component?

 

[televator]

OK, let me try again on the retro sound setup. I actually have these Bose bookshelf speakers and they've been sitting in a box for a while. But I'll need to get a small amp to make it work. Think they'd sound just as good as a 2.1 setup? It's a lot cheaper ... $35 or so for an amp.

Match the impedence from the amp to the speakers. I really like subs myself, but it's not a deal breaker not to have a sub when upgrading from stock TV speakers. As long as the speakers are full range that is... Meaning they are designed to handle low - high freq.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

Match the impedence from the amp to the speakers. I really like subs myself, but it's not a deal breaker not to have a sub when upgrading from stock TV speakers. As long as the speakers are full range that is... Meaning they are designed to handle low - high freq.

Yeah, but speakers approaching full range - like... for real - are expensive. Way more expensive than he's looking to spend.

 

[RadarScope1]

OK so both my Bose speakers and this amp are rated 4-8 ohms. Am I doing this right? I'm a bit ignorant on this stuff. I've burned all my brain cells thinking about 240p image quality the last couple of years and have no audio knowledge...

EDIT: And I had meant to link to kind of speakers I have, too. Bose 161s.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

OK so both my Bose speakers and this amp are rated 4-8 ohms. Am I doing this right? I'm a bit ignorant on this stuff. I've burned all my brain cells thinking about 240p image quality the last couple of years and have no audio knowledge...

Look, I gotta be honest. None of this plan sounds good.

What do you have right now, and what are you willing to spend?

 

[7DollarHagane]

Yeah, but speakers approaching full range - like... for real - are expensive. Way more expensive than he's looking to spend.

I don't even want to think about how "bad" the sound is from this shitty aiwa speakers Im using but it's just like I had it set up back in high school, aux into the big gaudy looking stereo setup.

 

[RadarScope1]

LOL. I have a pair of old, 90s era PC speakers that are hooked up by 3.5 mm jack to a switcher that pulls in the audio from the console cables. Those speakers are ... actually acceptable for my setup. It's not a living room setup. I'm in a storage space in my basement, essentially. The physical space I have available is only about as wide as a TV itself (my 19 inch BVM) so I can't place any large hi-fi style speakers on either side of it.

Willing to spend ... I dunno $40 or $50? I'd rather spend the money on retro games than an audio setup.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

LOL. I have a pair of old, 90s era PC speakers that are hooked up by 3.5 mm jack to a switcher that pulls in the audio from the console cables. Those speakers are ... actually acceptable for my setup. It's not a living room setup. I'm in a storage space in my basement, essentially. The physical space I have available is only about as wide as a TV itself (my 19 inch BVM) so I can't place any large hi-fi style speakers on either side of it.

Willing to spend ... I dunno $40 or $50? I'd rather spend the money on retro games than an audio setup.

At that price, I wouldn't bother.

 

[televator]

For 40 - 50... Yeah it's not looking good. Maybe a decent component like a pair of used speakers or an old analog amp can be found for that. I'd also be uncompromising in looking to take care of LFE. Full range towers or subs are the way to go. Single drivers are pretty flawed for that.

 

[Danny Dudekisser]

For 40 - 50... Yeah it's not looking good. Maybe a decent component like a pair of used speakers or an old analog amp can be found for that. I'd also be uncompromising in looking to take care of LFE. Full range towers or subs are the way to go. Single drivers are pretty flawed for that.

At lower price points, I'd pretty much universally recommend just getting a 2.0 pair of desktop speakers. Bringing an amp into the equation is really just going to make things difficult. And you're not going to get bass at that price point, no matter what. Swan Speakers has some decent, lower-priced options... but audio is absolutely one of those things where you get what you pay for.

 

[televator]

You get what you painstakingly research and calibrate for. lol

Still gonna cost good money though.

 

[dubc35]

I will eventually upgrade but for now I rock the mono speaker on my PVM for most retro stuff, lol. Anything going to my HDTV (mostly OG Xbox and PS3) is 5.1 via my receiver.

 

[_SAKY_]

What's been the verdict on these? Can you get a lag-free experience if your HDTV accepts 240p over component?

I wouldn'the know, will be trying it out when I get mine in the near future but they are going to be used on my CRT. Hit up the dev, they seem like straight shooters.

 

[MarkMan]

I just got an Analogue Nt and this thing is amazing. Also really impressed with the 8bitdo NES30 controller. Solid experience overall.

 

[Sparrowhawk]

I just got an Analogue Nt and this thing is amazing. Also really impressed with the 8bitdo NES30 controller. Solid experience overall.

I'm about to put together a Raspberry Pi and I was looking at 8bitdo controllers, but they seem to get very mixed reviews. What do you like/dislike about it?

 

[MarkMan]

I'm about to put together a Raspberry Pi and I was looking at 8bitdo controllers, but they seem to get very mixed reviews. What do you like/dislike about it?

I like the overall feel of the NES30, it feels very much like an original NES controller. As far as latency/performance, I was satisfied with it and was able to perform key techniques/tricks in games that would be impossible on some controllers currently out on the market.

 

[RadarScope1]

The controllers are essentially lag free according to most people. The issue some have with the NES version is they aren't true to the original button layout

 

[Sparrowhawk]

What about pressure sensitivity? I've heard that it's difficult to do low jumps in Mario games with some 8bitdo controllers and that would be enough to turn me off of buying one.

 

[Rich!]

The hell was up with Nintendo and their overkill usage of shielding in N64 hardware and carts? It's insane!

 

[RadarScope1]

What about pressure sensitivity? I've heard that it's difficult to do low jumps in Mario games with some 8bitdo controllers and that would be enough to turn me off of buying one.

I have not heard that complaint, but I agree it would be a deal breaker. There is an 8bitdo thread if you search for it.

EDIT. Here you go. Thread was started by the good gentleman who posted above me here, actually.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1068722&highlight=8bitdo

 

[televator]

8bit Guy: How ROM Cartridges Work

 

[aygomyownroad]

Using a PC CRT for the PS1 and lightgun games? It wont work. VGA monitors are 31kHz, 400p minimum (the video card line-doubles 320x200 DOS games), and you need a 15kHz CRT, aka a consumer TV. You'd need a dedicated line-doubling box, but even then the lightgun wouldn't work, as it specifically needs the scan rate of a TV, not a VGA monitor.
To get the right display, and info about how to plug everything, it's over there: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=630556

Early PS1s have notorious laser problems, PSOnes are rock solid

Spoiler

and cuter

.
PS1 thread here http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=539661

Keep your 19 inches PC CRT and use it to build an old DOS computer!
http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1214023

Man that sucks. But thank you for the detailed response.

 

[Glowsquid]

I've been on a Mega Man kick lately and I'm wondering which version of the Anniversary Collection is the best between PS2 and Xbox in term of emulation and video quality? GC is out of the running because of controls and missing the remixed soundtrack.

I expect reccomendations for the Legacy Collection instead, but I don't quite care enough about accuracy to give up 4 additional games, especially as I have not played any of those games in their original forms

Spoiler

I'm part of the problem

(Plus it's cheaper...)

 

[D.Lo]

Really if you're going to play emulated NES games, there are better places than 480i PS2/Xbox smear-land.

 

[Timu]

Really if you're going to play emulated NES games, there are better places than 480i PS2/Xbox smear-land.

The Xbox version is 480p, but yeah, I see what you mean.

 

[RadarScope1]

SNES version of the Retrovision cables already sold out. I really considered it, but it's my understanding that they simply streamlined the same setup as an RGB cable connected to a SCART to component converter. Certainly a nice feat, but if I just get one of those converters then I've effectively added a SCART input to my plasma TV. All my retro consoles are hooked to a CRT monitor in the basement. I would only bring them up once in a while and I might as well have a way to do any which one I want.

 

[D.Lo]

SNES version of the Retrovision cables already sold out. I really considered it, but it's my understanding that they simply streamlined the same setup as an RGB cable connected to a SCART to component converter. Certainly a nice feat, but if I just get one of those converters then I've effectively added a SCART input to my plasma TV. All my retro consoles are hooked to a CRT monitor in the basement. I would only bring them up once in a while and I might as well have a way to do any which one I want.

Yeah they never made any sense to me, unless you were someone who only cared about one console and were using a component input CRT. Any other situation has better options, and I fear the majority of use of these will be for crap IQ on an HDTV.

They'll still look pretty bad directly on an HDTV since basically ALL models that even support 240p will treat 240p and 480i then deinterlace badly, and if you have more than one console a RGB scart to component transcoder would be cheaper and have the exact same results.

 

[PumpkinSpice]

Yeah they never made any sense to me, unless you were someone who only cared about one console and were using a component input CRT. Any other situation has better options, and I fear the majority of use of these will be for crap IQ on an HDTV.

They'll still look pretty bad directly on an HDTV since basically ALL models that even support 240p will treat 240p and 480i then deinterlace badly, and if you have more than one console a RGB scart to component transcoder would be cheaper and have the exact same results.

The first time I ever heard about these things was 3 years ago in an NESDev topic about a component mod for SNES. Compared to doing that, if you just want a simple setup on one console or don't want know what SCART is, it's certainly a better option.

I guess for most people SNES or Genesis or both is all they would need, right? In terms of mainstream systems, NES can't do better without an expensive mod, N64 can't do RGB without a mod, PS1 can be done on PS2, GC can be done on Wii... the bigger problem you start to run into is that many newer TVs don't even have component inputs anymore.

 

[D.Lo]

I guess for most people SNES or Genesis or both is all they would need, right?

True, but if you get both those cables, it's already more expensive than a decent Scart RGB cable for each and an RGB to component transcoder for the exact same results.

Yes it's marginally simpler, and doesn't need an external power supply. But unless you have two sets of component inputs on your screen (I have never seen this on a CRT, and like I mentioned using them on a HDTV would be sub-par no matter what), swapping out the scart connector between two consoles on the transcoder would be a lot quicker than switching five RCA cables every time.

Still yeah it can make sense as the super user friendly CRT option for just those two consoles. But you're spending a lot of money while locking yourself out of getting the same results cheaply for Saturn/PS1 etc.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

I would be all over 8bitdo's controllers if they offered a 2-button version.

Same goes for that arcade stick...I want one just to play NES stuff...six of the buttons would never get used.

 

[D.Lo]

I would be all over 8bitdo's controllers if they offered a 2-button version.

Agree. I do like the Famicom one, but two buttons would be bought by me instantly.

The Super Fami one however is near perfection. The only tiny thing I would change is if they adjusted the shell so I could replace the top with an original to have the correct branding

 

[Shin Johnpv]

So this weekend was AVGC (A Video Game Convention) in NJ. I had a good time, specially since there was a nice set up of PC Engine stuff including a Super Grafix that I finally got to play some GnG on. Seriously want to own one of those some day. I also got to buy Pat the NES Punk's Ultimate Guide to the NES Book and have him sign it. Other than that I just got a couple NES games, and a Super Gameboy 2.

This year has been the first year I've really gone to these different gaming conventions. I have to say I can't believe the prices on some shit. I think I said this after toomanygames as well but holy shit. I wanted to smack games and systems out of people's hands and be like NO! That's TWICE WHAT IT GOES FOR! Don't Do IT!!!!

The Gaming Historian was there too, both him and Pat were just SUPER friendly, and came off as really nice, down to Earth dudes.

Pete Dorr was walking around too, I think he was just there, not as a guest. My friend and I talked to him for a bit and he was a legit chill dude.

Adam Koralik was there too and I would describe his appearance much like his youtube videos, half assed, misinformed and of inferior quality.

Now I just have to rip off the tabs of my SNES mini so I can use my super gameboy 2.

 

[Fabthegnome]

.

 

[Rich!]

Hurray, no more wires!


I didn't realise the wii remote + snes controller would be supported, but it was a pleasant surprise. I'm looking forward to pairing a wii remote + nes controller once the mini is out on the market.

You noticed any lag? I haven't, but others seem to have a bit here and there.

 

[Fabthegnome]

.

 

[RadarScope1]

Hurray, no more wires!


I didn't realise the wii remote + snes controller would be supported, but it was a pleasant surprise. I'm looking forward to pairing a wii remote + nes controller once the mini is out on the market.

Nice! It looks so sweet. The NES mini controllers paired with a Wiimote will be nice. I just can't get behind a four-button layout on an NES controller!

 

[IrishNinja]

Really if you're going to play emulated NES games, there are better places than 480i PS2/Xbox smear-land.

agreed, was just talking online with a dude who only used his DC for gen/nes emulation...ughhh

The hell was up with Nintendo and their overkill usage of shielding in N64 hardware and carts? It's insane!

haha i totally noticed this when i went mad cleaning all my carts years ago, N64 ones are easily the hardest ones ive got to really get at the board!

This year has been the first year I've really gone to these different gaming conventions. I have to say I can't believe the prices on some shit. I think I said this after toomanygames as well but holy shit. I wanted to smack games and systems out of people's hands and be like NO! That's TWICE WHAT IT GOES FOR! Don't Do IT!!!!

oh man, ive absolutely seen this so many times at just comic cons, too. one table had NES jaws cart for like $50, i wanna say i didn't see it later too...geeeez

for real though, jelly of your experience here man! hoping we have one out here southeast one day

 

[BocoDragon]

The hell was up with Nintendo and their overkill usage of shielding in N64 hardware and carts? It's insane!

Heavy shielding is mainly due to American FCC regulations.

So my theory is that N64, being the first system and cartridges Nintendo designed in Japan for a single world audience, were way over-careful about meeting FCC requirements.

 

[D.Lo]

Heavy shielding is mainly due to American FCC regulations.

So my theory is that N64, being the first system and cartridges Nintendo designed in Japan for a single world audience, were way over-careful about meeting FCC requirements.

The console does need the heatsink too, as it was very powerful for the time (if inefficient - it's about three times more powerful than the PS1 but the graphics performance is probably only 1.5 times better, depending how much you count the cost of expensive stuff like z-bufferring etc). Overclocked N64s need additional cooling or they crash on some games, so evidently the existing heat solution was exactly right to keep it completely cool on the outside for the regular clock speed.

 

[entremet]

SNES version of the Retrovision cables already sold out. I really considered it, but it's my understanding that they simply streamlined the same setup as an RGB cable connected to a SCART to component converter. Certainly a nice feat, but if I just get one of those converters then I've effectively added a SCART input to my plasma TV. All my retro consoles are hooked to a CRT monitor in the basement. I would only bring them up once in a while and I might as well have a way to do any which one I want.

They fit my setup needs.

I have no Framemeister and play on CRT with only component. No rgb.

 

[davidwhangchoi]

hey retroGAF,
i grabbed a few CIB titles today while getting some dinner: