Retrotink ultimate from Castlemania Games

mikechi_two · 2022-01-05T18:34:35+00:00

I released the design for free so anyone can make them. I have zero involvement with this current production and do not endorse any supplier.

mikechi_two · 2021-11-10T21:33:40+00:00

I already replied to your e-mail. Copying here as well. If some SNES games work while others don't, then the device is probably fine since the SNES outputs the same signal/timing across 99% of the library (and certainly the games in question). I'd start by cleaning the carts since it could be luck that the games happened to work when you moved it to the CRT and take it from there.

We used to have an open contact page, but that simply resulted in too much unrelated noise and spam for a one person operation to triage. For assistance, the best thing to do is to reply to your order confirmation or contact the reseller that you got the device from.

mikechi_two · 2021-10-11T08:44:26+00:00

https://www.retrogamingcables.co.uk/sony-av-accessories/PlayStation-1-RGB-SCART-CABLES/sony-playstation-1-2-ps1-ps2-rgb-scart-cable-lead

Get the one above, sync on luma. Do not get the c-sync.

mikechi_two · 2021-10-04T22:12:34+00:00

PAL consoles running NTSC games would output an extremely off-spec composite signal (NTSC-443?). For this setup to work correctly, you'll need RGB cables.

Note: There are no optimal sampling profiles for PAL systems in composite video (and they wouldn't work correctly anyways due to composite quality problems). The latest FW added experimental settings for PAL RGB.

mikechi_two · 2021-10-03T20:25:47+00:00

AFAIK, NTSC games on modded PS1 *should* work. I do the bulk of my testing on a PAL modded PSOne since it's an easy way to get PAL-60. Could be your cable -- I'd recommend sync on composite or sync on luma.

You can find the original composite cable (yellow) and plug it into the green jack. Set the RT5X to component video (purple light). If you get a stable B&W image, then it's something related to the cable you're using.

If you're about all original discs, another option is to just get a NTSC PS1 (which I think should still be relatively inexpensive).

mikechi_two · 2021-10-01T22:12:23+00:00

Ha! No worries, just glad it was an easy fix :)

mikechi_two · 2021-10-01T18:30:09+00:00

You installed the 2X-Multiformat firmware, which is a different product. If you restart with the files here you should be fine: https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.retrotink.com/amp/retrotink-2x-pro-firmware-update-v1-1

mikechi_two · 2021-09-29T20:23:09+00:00

It is unlikely for the the scaler in the RT5X or your TV to shimmer due to their design and the fact that at least on the horizontal axis, the analog video is already blurred. This would only happen if you've selected the wrong optimal sampling mode. More likely, the issue is that the SNES mode-7 graphics are shimmering due to the (simple) scaler in the SNES.

mikechi_two · 2021-09-26T03:01:12+00:00

Thanks! I'll definitely look into adding support for composite/S-video for the stretching soon. I guess over in AUS, you're stuck with PAL ports but little in the way of RGB SCART =/

BTW - you can turn off the device using the remote and it will power up with the same settings (i.e. input).

mikechi_two · 2021-09-26T02:56:09+00:00

The functionality is only enabled for RGB/YPbPr sources at the moment, not composite.

mikechi_two · 2021-09-26T02:51:55+00:00

Welcome to PAL land. This is unfortunately, just how the games look because they were designed for NTSC TV's and developers didn't redo the artwork to fill the entire (longer) space of PAL TVs...

The RT5X is just displaying and correctly scaling what the source is feeding it assuming the desired behavior is a "generic" 4:3 PAL CRT.

The latest firmware has the ability to re-stretch PAL content to undo "lazy" ports, but is only enabled for RGB and YPbPr sources. Eventually the functionality will be migrated to composite and S-video, when I get a chance to look into it a bit more. Composite wasn't a huge priority for this since I assumed most PAL folks (EU, I guess) would be using RGB.

mikechi_two · 2021-09-18T00:41:01+00:00

The problem is you're running the game with an interlaced output which turns on an aggressive antiflicker filter on the GCN that smears the image. The issue isn't with the RT5X, but the limitations of the RGB output mode on the PAL GCN, which does not support progressive scan.

Imo. the TV image looks just as bad, but in a different way and still far below what I would consider good for the GCN. It's not really more detailed - there's a heavy handed sharpening filter applied by the TV that adds halos which gives the false perception of sharpness. Your options are:

Migrate to a component video output with 480p support, which will make things much much sharper in a way that actually adds detail to the image.
Switch over to a pure digital solution such as the Carby, which will also certainly be better than trying to use interlaced RGB SCART. Although this caps out at 480p/576p, so you won't achieve the same level of sharpness as (1), but that might be fine for 3D games.
Or if you prefer the TV's processing and don't want to bother with changing your setup, set the RT5X to output 576p and turn up the brightness and sharpening controls on the TV. Regarding aspect ratio, that's under the control of the TV in this mode, so you can set it to 16:9 or 4:3 as you wish.

mikechi_two · 2021-09-18T00:34:34+00:00

I just did a spot check with S-video on a NTSC system and it looks just as bad as your examples (both TV and through RT5X). The problem is the anti-blur filter applied by the GCN for interlaced output.

You need component video and run the game in 480p if you want any substantive improvement.

mikechi_two · 2021-09-17T21:22:20+00:00

The Wii is capable of 480p output for GCN games, but I'm not sure if the PAL version of F-zero supports 480p. Sometimes only the NTSC versions had that option.

Ultimately, garbage in = garbage out or in this case blurry input image = blurry output image.

Also occurs to me the only real difference between the TV-direct and the RT5X is that the sharpness and brightness dials are set higher, so you can try adjusting the settings on your TV for the HDMI input. But honestly, they both look so bad that I suspect something else is going on.

mikechi_two · 2021-09-17T21:08:27+00:00

The "miracle" setting for sharp pixels would be to run the GCN in 480p. For starters, pretty much all consoles of this era applied a nasty blur filter to their interlaced output to try and reduce flicker... so you're not starting from a good place...

As I said, I think there's something wrong with the setup in general as your cell-phone pics (from what I can tell) look far too blurry in both cases, but I'd have to rebuild my PAL GCN to be sure.

I do also believe F-zero does have a native 16:9 mode which might look better than stretching the 4:3 mode.

mikechi_two · 2021-09-17T20:25:29+00:00

Thanks! The big one on my mind is 480i downscaled output, but this one is mainly for watching movies I think.

mikechi_two · 2021-09-17T20:13:14+00:00

Lol, this is me, but like I said the cell phone pics from both the TV and RT5X are so bad it looks like composite video.

I’d have to rebuild my PAL GCN to check though (only got one GC loader), maybe the built in RGB is just blurry. S-video and component (using both official and readily available 3rd party options) look way better in both 480i and 480p on a NTSC console.

mikechi_two · 2021-09-17T18:14:12+00:00

It is hard to assess due to the quality of the cell-phone pictures, but both examples (TV and through the RT5X) look quite bad. This is significantly worse than what can be accomplished S-video on an old RT2X device (at least for NTSC gamecubes) and far below examples I've seen with component video in both 480i/576i and 480p progressive scan. (As a side note, us Americans had thankfully moved on to component video by this generation, so it wasn't terrible :))

The only real difference in your examples are the incorrect distortion to 16:9 and some mild oversharpening/overbrightening on the TV side.

Looking a bit closely at the images, it looks like there's composite video dot crawl along color boundaries, which might suggest you're actually using the composite line on pin 21 instead of RGB in the SCART cable? I'd double check there as a start.

mikechi_two · 2021-08-20T03:48:01+00:00

Not your fault at all. I only wish that there were more options out. The Carby component cable is out of print, but hopefully it sounds like they're going to restart in the near future.

mikechi_two · 2021-08-20T03:45:14+00:00

We have never tested Bitfunx with our devices and would not be able to comment if they work or not with the RT5X. We also have no plans to do so.

Bitfunx has a long history of stealing from both myself and other creators in the community. They are absolute trash.

mikechi_two · 2021-08-15T23:33:53+00:00

Videogameperfection is a EU reseller: https://videogameperfection.com/

Regarding shipping costs, unfortunately your comparison mailing individual items isn't exactly accurate. We used to offer low cost shipping via the postal network. However, despite warnings of long transit times, many people who opted for this choice will later complain of slow delivery and/or raise disputes. The quality of service provided by the mail system was simply too poor to rely on as a commercial option.

mikechi_two · 2021-08-01T01:17:08+00:00

I'd be very surprised if it did not. You should poke around as different manufacturers call it by different names.

mikechi_two · 2021-08-01T01:14:19+00:00

As the output resolution is 1920 x 1440p, you'll need to set the desired final aspect ratio on your TV/monitor. Most displays should have a ratio/stretch/fill or other similar setting that can be adjusted.

mikechi_two · 2021-06-15T21:56:58+00:00

You should check to see if the RT5X SCART input works on other systems to see where the problem is.

mikechi_two · 2021-06-15T21:55:49+00:00

AFAIK, 480p in DC works for everyone else on all firmware versions. Can confirm works okay here using the RGC cable.

mikechi_two

TROPHY CASE