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Analogue NT ($500 HDMI NES) is real, first gameplay video

Chittagong

Gold Member
I will be doing the Analogue NT OT shortly, but this is pretty huge news, Analogue have *finally* posted an actual video showing the product is real. They claimed to be superior to Framemaster and show off some of the functionality of the HDMI add on:

http://youtu.be/NN6qtbWRC5Y

http://youtu.be/CXsZ3LvdfCs

953149416b35411612d1999eb5f92b6eec765625


Analogue said:
Analogue Nt: HDMI

There has been just as much dedication into developing the HDMI upscaler side of the Analogue Nt as the rest of the system. We knew we had to develop something that blows away what is currently available on the market: poorly designed, laggy analog to digital video converters.

We’re fortunate to have some incredibly talented people on our team.

From our lead video hardware engineer Kevin Horton “There is no analog to digital converter. The HDMI adapter upscales digitally — directly from the digital signals on the PPU and CPU. This means no lag and zero signal degradation since it’s handled digitally. Not to mention digital audio: 48KHz, 16bit. Unlike a traditional scaler, upscaling works without a frame buffer. The HDMI adapter directly up converts the NES’ video as it is being generated. This results in absolutely no lag.”

Upgrading your Analogue Nt with HDMI is the highest quality way to play NES, Famicom and Famicom Disk System games in HD. The HDMI upgrade not only offers reference quality video, but an unparalleled degree of control over the way your games are formatted on your TV, monitor or projector.

**Your Analogue Nt can be upgraded with an internally installed daughterboard that provides unparalleled digital features. If you’re Analogue Nt does not already have an HDMI upgrade, you can upgrade at any time by contacting us directly at info@analogueinteractive.com.

HDMI at a Glance

HDMI Upgrade Video Features

• Zero lag, zero signal degradation - 148.5 million pixels/second, direct conversion of video, no frame buffer
• 480p, 720p, and 1080p in NTSC/60Hz
• 576p, 720p, and 1080p in PAL/50Hz
• other features: scanlines, scalers, palettes, cropping, horiztonal position, horizontal stretch, overclocking & more

HDMI Upgrade Audio Features

• 48KHz 16 bit stereo audio
• full panning and volume support for all audio channels
• full audio chip support (VRC6, VRC7, MMC5, sunsoft 5, FDS, N106)
• overclocking without audio pitch shifting
 

Juice

Member
Well, it's impressive. Definitely a luxury good given the myriad other ways to play NES games without specialized hardware.
 

ElTorro

I wanted to dominate the living room. Then I took an ESRAM in the knee.
I don't care anymore until they actually start shipping that thing. They have been delaying the release in month-by-month steps for ages now. Makes everything look shady or at least incompetent.
 

Jamix012

Member
How does this thing compare to a Framemeister? I can't imagine it being worth the price to play a single system.

The framemeister won't match this if you're using composite out from your NES. I imagine they'd be very comparable for an RGB modded NES going in.
 

BriGuy

Member
Maybe I'm missing something here, but what is the point of this? I could think of a million better ways to spend $500.
 
Well, it costs around $400 to get a top loader modded with Tim's Nesrgb board, so for another $200 including tax you'll get a very fancy version of the same thing with more options. Very cool, but hard to justify.
 

Zaptruder

Banned
Maybe I'm missing something here, but what is the point of this? I could think of a million better ways to spend $500.

It's for people that want the most authentic and best possible NES gaming experience possible, at any cost.

In other words, the potential customer base numbers in the hundreds... perhaps thousands if they're lucky.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
Maybe I'm missing something here, but what is the point of this? I could think of a million better ways to spend $500.

Analogue NT targets a very narrow luxury market, people who

- want to play NES games
- want a slick looking device instead of NES or Famicom
- can't be arsed to get an NES RGB board ordered and installed
- can't be arsed to order a Framemeister
- want to play both NES and Famicom games with a single device without adapters

It's basically an expensive vinyl player of the gaming market
 

CHC

Member
Analogue NT targets a very narrow luxury market, people who

- want to play NES games
- want a slick looking device instead of NES or Famicom
- can't be arsed to get an NES RGB board ordered and installed
- can't be arsed to order a Framemeister
- want to play both NES and Famicom games with a single device without adapters

It's basically an expensive vinyl player of the gaming market

Out of curiousity I really wonder how big this market is? A few hundred people at most?

I don't say this as a criticism by the way. Obviously it's their prerogative to pursue this niche market and as long as the production meets the demand and doesn't exceed it, it won't be a failure. So I'm only asking because I'm actually curious, not as a snide criticism.
 
Those options looks insane. This is a really cool piece of kit. I'll be looking for reviews of this thing. Jeremy Parish is going to post a review sometime after the July 4 holiday.

Maybe I'm missing something here, but what is the point of this? I could think of a million better ways to spend $500.

Some people like to spend money on video games. You might can them enthusiasts.
 

Chittagong

Gold Member
Out of curiousity I really wonder how big this market is? A few hundred people at most?

I don't say this as a criticism by the way. Obviously it's their prerogative to pursue this niche market and as long as the production meets the demand and doesn't exceed it, it won't be a failure. So I'm only asking because I'm actually curious, not as a snide criticism.

Yeah I'd guess a few hundred people globally, maybe a thousand people in the absolute best case scenario. I can't see it being a big business, more a labour of love.

However now that they have done this once an Analogue SN or Analogue MD will be easier to do.
 

Tempy

don't ask me for codes
Out of curiousity I really wonder how big this market is? A few hundred people at most?

I don't say this as a criticism by the way. Obviously it's their prerogative to pursue this niche market and as long as the production meets the demand and doesn't exceed it, it won't be a failure. So I'm only asking because I'm actually curious, not as a snide criticism.

The retro enthusiast market isn't very big indeed, but there's plenty of hardware tinkering going about, like the Retrode, flash boards, NES HDMI, Colecovision Super Game Module, clone machines such as the RetroN, the FPGA-based retro-ish console with carts, tons of homebrew physical cart releases, and many more projects.
 

RetroReid

Member
Some guy in japan seems to have gotten his Analogue Nt.
These are the first images I've seen posted of someone who got their order.
He even opened it up!
Unfortunately it looks like he didn't get the HDMI upgrade.

Check out his twitter here, It's in Japanese: https://twitter.com/KAPPY_2164
 

baphomet

Member
It's literally Tim Worthington's NESRGB board installed. Apparently he had them manufactured in black though.

Edit - Wait, he's using unshielded copper wire? That's really odd.
 

RetroReid

Member
It's literally Tim Worthington's NESRGB board installed. Apparently he had them manufactured in black though.

Pretty sure Analogue has already said this.
Apparently they had permission from him to manufacture his boards on their own.
But yes, it is his design.

That unshielded wire is the poster's own modifications.
Not sure what he's trying to do but I gathered that much from google translate.
 
Back on my radar I guess, but as an owner of a NESRGB-modded NES and Framemeister I question this being better at all. Intrigued by the HDMI fluffery in the OP...
 

baphomet

Member
That unshielded wire is the poster's own modifications.
Not sure what he's trying to do but I gathered that much from google translate.

OK gotcha, it looks like he added RGB to the VGA connector on the back. I was going to say, after spending all the time and money on designing such a nice board, why the hell would you use unshielded wire and run it that long. That's just asking for problems. But it makes sense that he added that himself.
 
Seriously... should I run this thing, side by side a Raspberry PI running a NES emulator, and hide both devices behind the TV, how easy would it be to spot which is which?
 
D

Deleted member 20415

Unconfirmed Member
Back on my radar I guess, but as an owner of a NESRGB-modded NES and Framemeister I question this being better at all. Intrigued by the HDMI fluffery in the OP...

Framemeister can be a bit of a pain in the ass though. I have it, and I feel like I'm constantly fiddling as I move between machines.

This is a luxury good no doubt, but I'm interested in it because of the convenience and it seems to do the job really well...
 

entremet

Member
I've always been interested in the project, but their rep with the Neo Geos turned me off.

It looks like they've took more time with this. Delays look to be worth it.
 

RetroReid

Member
Back on my radar I guess, but as an owner of a NESRGB-modded NES and Framemeister I question this being better at all. Intrigued by the HDMI fluffery in the OP...

Fact of the matter is, it is better than using a Framemeister.
This is because the Analogue Nt uses a method developed by Kevtris to output a digital image that is 1080p.
The Framemeister takes an analogue picture and upscales it, thus adding 20ms of lag.
When done digitally however, there is absolutely no lag.
It's kind of like the NES had its cpu and ppu supercharged.

Check out Kevtris' YouTube channel for more details.
https://m.youtube.com/user/kevtris?
 

dark10x

Digital Foundry pixel pusher
A friend and I are working on a massive comparison video showcasing the Analogue NT against various other RGB Nes solutions also planning to show all of the various output options on the Analogue. Hopefully we'all have something soon!
 

Alcahest

Member
I highly doubt the pq / retro feel ends up matching that of the Framemeister, regardless if there's no D-A conversion. It's the quality of the scaler that ends up making a difference.

I can't wait to see/read a serious comparison versus an RGB modded NES + FM.
 

Saroyan

Member
I have an AV Famicom and an NES RGB kit, I just need to install it one of these days. That will put my cost at about $180 plus a couple hours for the install work, yeah I think I'll stick with my Famicom.

This thing looks slick, but I think its way too expensive to be anything more than a super-niche device.
 
I was there when Kevin Horton showed the final-ish Bankzilla to the public. I played with his SID player. We hung out a few times, I still have an original Kevtris catridge for the Colecovision that I bought from him. He modded my PC-Engine Duo-RX.

Anyhow, Kevin is a god. Everything he does in terms of his engineering is the best possible given the technology that exists, to prove it can be done. That he is making something that can be produced in quantity is a gift to you. Be thankful. If you can't afford it, that's OK. Really. I'm not being snarky.
 
I will stick with a framemeister + original console + dealing with the 1.5 frames of lag or w/e, but I'm excited to see comparison articles and such.
 

xemumanic

Member
Yeah it now seems to be an integrated version HDMI modkit Kevtris has been working on

Your wording has me a bit confused. It is LIKE Kevtris's modkit, or IS it his very same modkit?

NVM, RetroReid's post explains it is Kevtris's mod they are using. That and I should have read the WHOLE post.
 

Dereck

Member
Analogue NT targets a very narrow luxury market, people who

- want to play NES games
- want a slick looking device instead of NES or Famicom
- can't be arsed to get an NES RGB board ordered and installed
- can't be arsed to order a Framemeister
- want to play both NES and Famicom games with a single device without adapters

It's basically an expensive vinyl player of the gaming market
Cool description, thanks

A friend and I are working on a massive comparison video showcasing the Analogue NT against various other RGB Nes solutions also planning to show all of the various output options on the Analogue. Hopefully we'all have something soon!
Thanks man
 

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
No Analog to Digitial conversion seems pretty insane. Grabbing the digital straight from the system before its converted to analog is really rad.

This should be basically equivalent quality to what a perfect emulator would output, just using real hardware yes?
 
Maybe I'm missing something here, but what is the point of this? I could think of a million better ways to spend $500.

What's the point of 8GB of RAM when 4 is usually enough? What's the point of a GTX 980 when a 750 can run most games? What's the point of 1080 when 720 looks pretty much the same at a certain distance?
 
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