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N64 on plasma - what are my options?

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peppermints

Member
Recently decided to play through Majora's Mask for the first time and my only option right now is to hook it up to my 42" plasma. Naturally the picture looks pretty rough, but I'm fine with that.

My TV doesn't have S-Video input for whatever reason (it's a Panasonic TC-P42S2) so that's out. What's the next best option for video input? Would using my Wii's component cables make a difference?
 
They sure would. I love how they're actually compatible with the N64.


edit: I've never tested this btw, just going by what I've heard

edit2: I agree with the dude below, just do the Wii VC version!
 
I believe the Wii component cables are not compatible with N64, so S-video would be the best option.

Otherwise, it may be a better idea to get the VC release and play via the Wii.
 
The Wii's component cables are absolutely not compatible with the N64, so without S-Video on your television you're stuck on Composite for your N64.

As others have noted, if you're in it only for Majora's Mask, you're best picking it up on the Virtual Console.
 
Void Insanity said:
N64 onwards has used the same video cable. N64 leads work on cube+wii and vice versa.
Click to expand...

No. The SNES, N64, and Gamecube all support the same cable for AV & S-Video.

The Gamecube required a special cable for Component support, and only early models had the proper connection to utilize it.

The Wii's video output uses a completely new cable not compatible with any of the old consoles.
 
I would recommend emulation, but I'm not sure how to get the data off an N64 cartridge and onto a computer.


edit: You could get Majora's Mask on VC for $10, that's a pretty easy solution.
 
A VGA box might work if your TV has a VGA connector.

I remember a friend connecting his N64 to an old CRT with impressive results.
 
The only inputs my TV has are HDMI, component and composite, so it looks like I'm out of luck. Should have clarified, I have Wii component cables but the Wii itself is 200 miles away with my girlfriend. :p

Honestly it doesn't look too terribly bad. I guess because I had prepared myself for the worst after reading horror stories. It actually looks better (in terms of image quality) to me than some PSOne Classics do that I bought on my PS3 hooked up thru HDMI.

Gameplay's the same, and in the end that's all that matters (as long as my eyes don't bleed out :p).

Thanks for the advice, guys.
 
peppermints said:
The only inputs my TV has are HDMI, component and composite, so it looks like I'm out of luck. Should have clarified, I have Wii component cables but the Wii itself is 200 miles away with my girlfriend. :p

Honestly it doesn't look too terribly bad. I guess because I had prepared myself for the worst after reading horror stories. It actually looks better (in terms of image quality) to me than some PSOne Classics do that I bought on my PS3 hooked up thru HDMI.

Gameplay's the same, and in the end that's all that matters (as long as my eyes don't bleed out :p).

Thanks for the advice, guys.
Click to expand...

You can also get an S-Video to HDMI upscaler. But that might run you about $100. Probably not worth it.

Make sure you set your TV to run at 4:3 when playing N64 (except for a few games have widescreen support in the options) and if it has 1:1 pixel mode you could try that. Of course it will make it small on your screen.
 
I played through it and just got used to it being ugly on the grounds it probably was always going to be ugly. I played it on the CE disc that has MM/OoT etc. etc.
 
You could also buy the Gamecube version on Legend of Zelda: Collector's Editon. I think that version used to have the music stutter a bit in progressive scan when you changed rooms. Not sure if that gets any better on the Wii, but you could turn off progressive scan and it would look and play about as good as what you were looking to get from a component compatible N64 setup.
 
It was never the blurry visuals that bothered me about the N64, but rather the frame rate. Awful headaches sometimes.

galvatron said:
You could also buy the Gamecube version on Legend of Zelda: Collector's Editon. I think that version used to have the music stutter a bit in progressive scan when you changed rooms. Not sure if that gets any better on the Wii, but you could turn off progressive scan and it would look and play about as good as what you were looking to get from a component compatible N64 setup.
Click to expand...

I have this and it looks very nice. Majora's emulator issues were fixed on the VC download though, so that's the very best option.
 
Best you could probably do is mod it for Component output. But thats a lot of work, and 100$+, so Im guessing thats out :P
 
I want to say that a properly-configured great emulator can outdo an XRGB3, but I don't want to go all in on that opinion yet.

Probably not with an N64 if you're going for accuracy, though, given the relatively poor state of N64 emulation.
 
dont forget the N64 plasma expansion pack

gravol.jpg
 
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