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[Polioliolio]

Thanks for the heads up on this and a fantastic OP.

I'm wrecked with 'this is the last time it'll turn on' paranoia every time I use the old childhood NES, so this could be smart get for me in future.

Will wait for initial impressions/reviews and assess my retro thirst when the time comes.

You underestimate this generation of hardware. Even the most ancient and abused NESes have the potential to be like new with a good pin boiling or replacement.

disc drives is where consoles started to turn to shit.

This AVS is a cool detour for enthusiasts, but ideally, I'd love it if these platforms came back to the mainstream with solid new devices, and serious and widespread game development. (Not to discredit the AVS. I'm psyched. It would be awesome if successful indie devs made games for it!)

I've day dreamed about it openly before, but it would be so rad if Nintendo and Sega themselves released new games in their original format, and rereleased old hardware or new revisions of old hardware, or hell, even a new console that roughy matches those older systems.

Imagine today, going to gamestop to preorder a Sega Genesis game. Wowee. I can't argue how practical this all is, but it's an 80s and 90s kid's wet dream for sure. I can only hope that the growing nostalgia reached a point where Nintendo, or others, want to do more than just the NES mini.

 

[Mega]

I'm resisting the urge to buy one of these, I already have an RGB AV Famicom on a Sony BVM. But it is my birthday on Wednesday...

Same. Possible lack of space and my TV's input lag and motion blur are the only things stopping me at the moment.

Mike Kennedy should've been in touch with these FPGA programmers instead of Sean "Mr. Lee" Robinson. It's like v1 of what the Coleco Chameleon wanted to be.

Mike was in touch with such a person during the pre-Coleco license, Retro VGS days... that was one of his first big screw-ups.

Interview: Kevin “Kevtris” Horton, on the Retro VGS

 

[TSM]

I broke down and ordered one. I've retired my Analogue NT back to it's box until this arrives. It's a shame my Everdrive had issues with it. I was hoping not to sully the pins with old carts, but I ended up breaking down and doing it anyway.

 

[Like the hat?]

Too bad there is no way to hack in some sort of zapper support

 

[Beer Monkey]

So the original processor part is still being made? So someone could create a new NES from identical parts? I thought they didn't make them anymore.

There is also a custom PPU and other custom silicon. You can't build a real NES from wholesale parts these days.

Though you might be able to still source NES on a chip parts used in Famiclones these days. They aren't 100% compatible and of course not upgrade-able.

For those of you wanting controllers that feel like the originals, there's a company based out of Arizona called GamerzTek and they make a reproduction that is 99% identical.

They've made two versions and you're going to want the more recent one. You'll know it's the right one if it actually says "GamerzTek" where "Nintendo" should be instead of nothing at all.


I know this because I tested out their clone console. The video is cued up here: https://youtu.be/ahmv6tnRI0U?t=2m6s

But you can buy the controllers alone: http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-NEW-CLASSIC-NINTENDO-NES-CONTROLLERS-GAMERZ-TEK-/201638194602?hash=item2ef292adaa:g:7WIAAOSwCfdXogIN

If they are so great, hopefully they make dog bone controllers at some point. Current dog bone clones are not so good.

 

[bronk]

If they are so great, hopefully they make dog bone controllers at some point. Current dog bone clones are not so good.

My man. The bog bone controller is my personal goat.

 

[Beer Monkey]

My man. The bog bone controller is my personal goat.

I play Punch-Out!! on a Famicom with a real dog bone almost every single day.

 

[cacophony555]

For those asking why not 1080p, it's a scaling issue. The NES resolution is 256x240.

240 does not multiply into 1080. 240 does however multiply into 720. For proper/pure scaling, you need 720.

There would be no benefit to having 1080p and it would introduce problems.

This is not accurate.

1080p output is more desirable because it eliminates the extra latency that the TV would introduce when scaling from 720p->1080p. Kevtris' hidef nes kit (mod for original hardware) outputs a stunning 1080p with essentially zero lag. There are various ways to scale NES to 1080p, the simplest being a 4x integer scale, which will add small black borders on the top/bottom. Though it's true that if you want fill the screen to the top/bottom at 1080p (the 4.5x scale option on the hidef nes) it would not be a perfect integer scale.

The reason why the retrosub AVS doesn't have a 1080p option is because the it would require a far more expensive FPGA chip (~$50 more). This has been stated numerous times.

 

[MrCunningham]

Nintendo started a trend of Retro NES releases. This doesn't look bad, but it looks a bit pricey for me.

 

[cacophony555]

Nintendo started a trend of Retro NES releases. This doesn't look bad, but it looks a bit pricey for me.

The retrousb avs was started 3.5 years ago, so I wouldn't give Nintendo the credit for starting the trend

Here's the original thread:
http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?StartRow=1&catid=7&threadid=92557

 

[Lupin the Third]

The retrousb avs was started 3.5 years ago, so I wouldn't give Nintendo the credit for starting the trend

Here's the original thread:
http://nintendoage.com/forum/messageview.cfm?StartRow=1&catid=7&threadid=92557

Yeah if anyone deserves the credit, it's some company like Yobo or whatever.

 

[dolabla]

Whoa, that looks cool. I want one of these.

If you pre-order, do they charge your card now?

 

[Seik]

Hmmm, I don't really like being charged right on checkout though, especially since it's shipping in 1 month...

Oh well...I'm thinking about it right now but I'm sure I'll crack in about an hour. :lol

EDIT: So...44$ for shipping total 229$ with US to CAD giving a grand total of 301.93$. Yeshhhhhhhhhh not sure bout it.

 

[dcx4610]

Hmmm, I don't really like being charged right on checkout though, especially since it's shipping in 1 month...

Oh well...I'm thinking about it right now but I'm sure I'll crack in about an hour. :lol

EDIT: So...44$ for shipping total 229$ with US to CAD giving a grand total of 301.93$. Yeshhhhhhhhhh not sure bout it.

Still 356$ cheaper than the Analogue Nt. If you are a big NES fan, I think it's worth it. I do wish it would have come with a controller though. Even a cheap one but bunnyboy has mentioned the ridiculous costs just to get this thing made and distributed.

 

[Pyrrhus]

Would pair nicely with the NES controller from 8bitdo

I dunno. Those feel authentic in the hand but the one I got this weekend lags terribly.

 

[Rich!]

I dunno. Those feel authentic in the hand but the one I got this weekend lags terribly.

That's...odd. I own two and I've had no lag issues whatsoever. And I would be the first to complain about lag.

Connected to my SNES via the retro receiver, the 8bitdo SNES30 has the same input response as a wired SNES pad which I found really impressive.

No issues on PC either - just finished AM2R using my 8bitdo pad via Bluetooth (win10) and no lag either, same input response as on my SNES.

Maybe yours has a faulty Bluetooth receiver or something.

 

[Pyrrhus]

That's...odd. I own two and I've had no lag issues whatsoever. And I would be the first to complain about lag.

Connected to my SNES via the retro receiver, the 8bitdo SNES30 has the same input response as a wired SNES pad which I found really impressive.

No issues on PC either - just finished AM2R using my 8bitdo pad via Bluetooth (win10) and no lag either, same input response as on my SNES.

Maybe yours has a faulty Bluetooth receiver or something.

I suppose it's possible. I was using the SNES30 rather than the NES30 actually. Tried mine with a standard Bluetooth adapter to play some emulators, the Steam port of FF6, and Shovel Knight and all of them exhibited about half a second of lag. Unplayable, basically. The disappointment was almost tangible, I tell you.

 

[Rich!]

I suppose it's possible. I was using the SNES30 rather than the NES30 actually. Tried mine with a standard Bluetooth adapter to play some emulators, the Steam port of FF6, and Shovel Knight and all of them exhibited about half a second of lag. Unplayable, basically. The disappointment was almost tangible, I tell you.

That's definitely not normal - I just tested it on Shantae to give it a go and pressing jump results in an instant action. And for reference, I find Super Mario 64 on the Wii U VC to be unplayable due to input lag.

I did have issues with a cheap Bluetooth dongle at first - I used to use a 99p one I got from eBay and had a load of issues, including irregular and skipping audio on my headphones. Bought a more expensive one from my local currys and it works flawlessly.

 

[dcx4610]

I'll wait on his wireless controller later this year. Not a huge fan of his design but I'm sure it'll be fine. The range is huge and the battery life is in the Wii Pro Controller range and most importantly, zero lag unlike the 8bitdo.

I'll probably buy one to have a wireless controller when they come out and use the original controllers wired for now.

 

[Pyrrhus]

That's definitely not normal - I just tested it on Shantae to give it a go and pressing jump results in an instant action. And for reference, I find Super Mario 64 on the Wii U VC to be unplayable due to input lag.

I did have issues with a cheap Bluetooth dongle at first - I used to use a 99p one I got from eBay and had a load of issues, including irregular and skipping audio on my headphones. Bought a more expensive one from my local currys and it works flawlessly.

For the interest of anybody else who might be looking into the 8bitdo route for this new clone system, what are you using as your Bluetooth Adapter? I've been using an Azio BTD-401 and it's worked very well with streaming audio, but I have no experience with its connection with controllers outside of this current unfortunate circumstance.

 

[Rich!]

For the interest of anybody else who might be looking into the 8bitdo route for this new clone system, what are you using as your Bluetooth Adapter? I've been using an Azio BTD-401 and it's worked very well with streaming audio, but I have no experience with its connection outside of this current unfortunate circumstance.

Trust 18187

Remember that the pad is pretty much identical in response to a wired pad when hooked up to my SNES via the retro receiver, so the problem lies with the receiver not the pad - pretty sure of it. You could try connecting via USB too and see if the issue persists there.

 

[Timu]

Nintendo started a trend of Retro NES releases. This doesn't look bad, but it looks a bit pricey for me.

Compared to a RGB modded NES it's kinda cheap!

 

[mr jones]

Like shit it's affordable. It's a niche luxury item that fits the exact market it's in by a smaller manufacturer that wouldn't need all that much to make back the development and manufacturing of this product. The market still is not viable enough for a large company to go through this sort of thing despite the recent growth.

Bruh.

Gaming is a luxury hobby. You're telling me that a system that costs less than 200 bucks that plays games better than the original did isn't decent? A refurbished NES costs 80+ dollars all day on eBay.

If it was made by Nintendo, and had an infrastructure in place where you could also download the games, instead of just the physical carts? I don't even go after the NES like that, and I'd be interested.

 

[Pyrrhus]

Trust 18187

Remember that the pad is pretty much identical in response to a wired pad when hooked up to my SNES via the retro receiver, so the problem lies with the receiver not the pad - pretty sure of it. You could try connecting via USB too and see if the issue persists there.

Seems that particular model's not available in the US, sadly. I'll try what you say about the USB cable though.

Edit: Yeah, a little time with the pad connected via USB in USFIV shows that it's fine in wired mode. Time to hunt for a more compatible Bluetooth dongle I guess.

 

[sixteen-bit]

With the NES Classic Edition coming what are the odds Nintendo shuts this down?

 

[Peltz]

With the NES Classic Edition coming what are the odds Nintendo shuts this down?

Zero. They'd have no legal basis to shut this one down.

 

[Manmademan]

With the NES Classic Edition coming what are the odds Nintendo shuts this down?

they can't. hardware patents have lapsed on the NES hardware back in 2005.

 

[mcrommert]

You underestimate this generation of hardware. Even the most ancient and abused NESes have the potential to be like new with a good pin boiling or replacement.

disc drives is where consoles started to turn to shit.

This AVS is a cool detour for enthusiasts, but ideally, I'd love it if these platforms came back to the mainstream with solid new devices, and serious and widespread game development. (Not to discredit the AVS. I'm psyched. It would be awesome if successful indie devs made games for it!)

I've day dreamed about it openly before, but it would be so rad if Nintendo and Sega themselves released new games in their original format, and rereleased old hardware or new revisions of old hardware, or hell, even a new console that roughy matches those older systems.

Imagine today, going to gamestop to preorder a Sega Genesis game. Wowee. I can't argue how practical this all is, but it's an 80s and 90s kid's wet dream for sure. I can only hope that the growing nostalgia reached a point where Nintendo, or others, want to do more than just the NES mini.

Nostalgia kills

Spoiler

brain cells

 

[cacophony555]

Still 356$ cheaper than the Analogue Nt. If you are a big NES fan, I think it's worth it. I do wish it would have come with a controller though. Even a cheap one but bunnyboy has mentioned the ridiculous costs just to get this thing made and distributed.

The Analogue NT is not made any more and sells used for more than $1k on eBay. A unopened one just sold for an absurd amount ... $3750!: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Analogue-NT...569297?hash=item2a6d6e43d1:g:RfUAAOSwARZXm~gh

So you'll save significantly more than $356

 

[Peltz]

The Analogue NT is not made any more and sells used for more than $1k on eBay. A unopened one just sold for $3750: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Analogue-NT...569297?hash=item2a6d6e43d1:g:RfUAAOSwARZXm~gh

So it's significantly more than just $356 cheaper

Lol. Some people will buy anything.

Ridiculous.

 

[jooey]

You underestimate this generation of hardware. Even the most ancient and abused NESes have the potential to be like new with a good pin boiling or replacement.

disc drives is where consoles started to turn to shit.

This AVS is a cool detour for enthusiasts, but ideally, I'd love it if these platforms came back to the mainstream with solid new devices, and serious and widespread game development. (Not to discredit the AVS. I'm psyched. It would be awesome if successful indie devs made games for it!)

I've day dreamed about it openly before, but it would be so rad if Nintendo and Sega themselves released new games in their original format, and rereleased old hardware or new revisions of old hardware, or hell, even a new console that roughy matches those older systems.

Imagine today, going to gamestop to preorder a Sega Genesis game. Wowee. I can't argue how practical this all is, but it's an 80s and 90s kid's wet dream for sure. I can only hope that the growing nostalgia reached a point where Nintendo, or others, want to do more than just the NES mini.

ctrl+f "goldmine"

...

i'll be damned

 

[Tranquilo]

Quoting my own post from the retro pi / raspberry pi thread because I thought you guys might like to know about the new controllers from 8Bitdo:

I thought you guys might be interested in this: A new set of Bluetooth / USB controllers from 8Bitdo are going for reasonable prices on Massdrop right now (link here).

FC30 Pro

NES30 Pro

You can't tell from the pictures I posted, but if you go to the link you'll see each controller has sleek L1, L2, R1, and R2 buttons as well. They come with USB cables, and would be perfect for the pi.

Would these work with the AVS using adapters? They come with USB cables.

 

[dcx4610]

Quoting my own post from the retro pi / raspberry pi thread because I thought you guys might like to know about the new controllers from 8Bitdo:


Would these work with the AVS using adapters? They come with USB cables.

They would but do a Google search on "8bitdo lag" and you'll see tons of complaints. Best bet is a wired controller for now until the official wireless controller is released.

 

[Talladega Knight]

Are review consoles out in the wild? I'd like to read what people think before I plop down the cash for this.

 

[OrbitalBeard]

Are review consoles out in the wild? I'd like to read what people think before I plop down the cash for this.

I'd like to know this as well. I'm actually pretty close to pulling the trigger on a pre-order.

 

[GreenMonkey]

Are review consoles out in the wild? I'd like to read what people think before I plop down the cash for this.

Ditto.

If this did 1080p I might have ordered already, but at 720p it needs to be REALLY good.

I mean, if I'm going to waste this much money on a NES, I could go $400 for an HDMI modded NES. Then again that is double the price. Really wish he would have went for 1080p.

 

[NoFaceNico]

Are review consoles out in the wild? I'd like to read what people think before I plop down the cash for this.

Same here. I love this console on paper and in photos but I'd like to hear some hands on impressions before spending so much. Especially since this is RetroUSB's first console. If they find little flaws with either hardware or software then I'll be glad to have skipped the first consumer batch.

 

[Einhandr]

Are review consoles out in the wild? I'd like to read what people think before I plop down the cash for this.

There are definitely review units out there somewhere. He had 20 units or so airmailed and he got them on Friday. Not sure who he shipped them to or when but they're out there somewhere!

 

[therapist]

Quoting my own post from the retro pi / raspberry pi thread because I thought you guys might like to know about the new controllers from 8Bitdo:


Would these work with the AVS using adapters? They come with USB cables.

I so want the fc30 controller.
But that deal with 10$ shipping to canada actually comes out to more than say buying it at fasttech , sadly and unfortunately.

I have the nes30pro and its fantastic , it really feels like a nes controller.
Their quality is pretty damn good in case anyone is wondering

 

[cartman414]

Ditto.

If this did 1080p I might have ordered already, but at 720p it needs to be REALLY good.

I mean, if I'm going to waste this much money on a NES, I could go $400 for an HDMI modded NES. Then again that is double the price. Really wish he would have went for 1080p.

The OP explained 720p is the only one scaled to properly.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

I've been buying a lot of Famicom carts lately (games that don't rely heavily on text) because I'm frankly scared to even see what most NES games go for these days.

 

[Einhandr]

Thought this might some who preordered an AVS or anyone with a Famicom. This is the FDSStick. For $12 plus shipping you can put your old worn out FDS drives to rest. This dongle plugs into the FDS RAM cart and emulates the drive. It has USB on the other end for loading FDS rom files. The current version has enough storage capacity to hold all sides of every FDS disk image, and then some! There is an on screen menu, and button on the dongle that can be used to eject the disk or switch sides.

If you don't have an FDS but would like to get the best possible FDS emulation, with accurate audio supported by the AVS, you can find loose FDS RAM carts on eBay for less than $40-$50.

 

[Beer Monkey]

The OP explained 720p is the only one scaled to properly.

It's not really right though.

First of all, the vast majority of people have 1080p or 4K sets, and that means that it has to do a second scaling, making it "not proper scaling" any more. 240p -> 720p = integer scaled, but once the set scales it from 720p to 1080p the resulting image is not integer scaled any more.

The more "purist" type retro gamers these days with HDTVs are typically using windowboxed 960p scaling in a 1080p image. This can be done with Framemeister, OSSC, Retroarch, Hi-Def NES from Kevtris et al. This is integer scaled from 240p and displays as such.

I will consider buying a product like this one when it does 1080p output with 960p windowboxed content.

 

[Occam]

Where do you get an HDMI mod for 85$? Think closer to 185$. And then we're hitting the price of the AVS. I just bought one, despite owning 2 RGB modded Famicom units. Let's see how this compares to the Framemeister.

Why did you order one then?
I happen to have two RGB modded AV Famicoms, as well (one is a backup); nothing beats playing a real Famicom on a nice CRT, eg. a Trinitron.

 

[Polioliolio]

Nostalgia kills

Spoiler

brain cells

ctrl+f "goldmine"

...

i'll be damned

If wanting classic games to come out again is wrong, I don't want to be right.

 

[cacophony555]

It's not really right though.

First of all, the vast majority of people have 1080p or 4K sets, and that means that it has to do a second scaling, making it "not proper scaling" any more. 240p -> 720p = integer scaled, but once the set scales it from 720p to 1080p the resulting image is not integer scaled any more.

The more "purist" type retro gamers these days with HDTVs are typically using windowboxed 960p scaling in a 1080p image. This can be done with Framemeister, OSSC, Retroarch, Hi-Def NES from Kevtris et al. This is integer scaled from 240p and displays as such.

I will consider buying a product like this one when it does 1080p output with 960p windowboxed content.

Yep, exactly.

Another alternative would be to do a 5x integer scale. It would cut off the top/bottom on an a 1080p TV, but then again an old CRT would as well. Unfortunately kevtris did not have the hardware resources on his board to pull it off. He does provide a 4.5x horizontal but it has the obvious drawbacks of not being an integer scale.

 

[Max_Po]

Why is it only 720p???

 

[cacophony555]

Why is it only 720p???

Doing 1080p would have required a far more expensive FPGA chip (~$50 more). The current FPGA does not have a sufficient number of logic elements to support 1080p.

This is mentioned here:
http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-avs-potentially-worthy-fpga-nes.html
and
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=47634

 

[Beer Monkey]

Yep, exactly.

Another alternative would be to do a 5x integer scale. It would cut off the top/bottom on an a 1080p TV, but then again an old CRT would as well. Unfortunately kevtris did not have the hardware resources on his board to pull it off. He does provide a 4.5x horizontal but it has the obvious drawbacks of not being an integer scale.

This would be ideal to me. NES games only have a 224p active area. Cut four scan lines off the top and bottom (old CRTs cut off that much) and you have 216p. Integer scale it 5x and you have 1080p.

 

[Lettuce]

Doing 1080p would have required a far more expensive FPGA chip (~$50 more). The current FPGA does not have a sufficient number of logic elements to support 1080p.

This is mentioned here:
http://nerdlypleasures.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-avs-potentially-worthy-fpga-nes.html
and
http://shmups.system11.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=47634

Also i guess 720 scales better from a 240p source than 1080p