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Super NT firmware 4.9 - DAC support, SPC player + special chips.

McCheese

Member
It's not often you upgrade the firmware on something and want to make a thread about it.

So the Analogue Super NT came out back in 2018, but it's just received a pretty epic firmware update (v4.9), which was then "unofficially" cracked which unlocked some extras.

So first off it has a built-in SFC player now, which is the audio format SNES music can be ripped in, but what's a bit special about this one is Kevtris has written a native SFC player rom which would technically also work on a real SNES, so you run this player which looks like some crazy 16-bit visualiser, and can listen to perfect SNES tunes. It also supports the SPC2 format which is basically a SNES album, so a single file made of multiple tracks and metadata. Writing this with Mario Kart booming out of it, and I can't overstate just how brilliant this sounds.

Next up, DAC support baby! or more specifically it supports their own Analogue DAC which is compatible with both the NT and the SG (and the Gameboy thing they are working on). They've opted to use standard cheapo ports so you won't need to spend a fortune on new cables which are great, even if it's odd seeing a VGA in 2019. This will allow you to hook both systems up to old analogue CRT screens, the hardware itself will also detect the DAC and run at native speed (so like that weird 59.84hz instead of 60hz). Basically emulation nirvana, zero lag, 100% accuracy, perfect audio output.

Next up they've rewritten the scanline system, it's now much easier to get it looking great.

Last but not least, the unofficial (but official, secretly) cracked version adds special chip support, no super FX, but the DSP chips and a bunch of others. So Mario Kart etc now work on the thing without the need for the cart.

If you have a SuperNT, now is the time to get that thing updated and jump back in. I'd also say this leap-frogs them ahead of the MiSTer in terms of SNES emulation, as it's by far the best "complete" solution for perfect SNES emulation.
 
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dolabla

Member
Pretty awesome. I thought Kevtris was not going to do anymore firmwares for the Super NT. I'll be sure to update mine.
 

Trojita

Rapid Response Threadmaker
The DAC being announced is a great surprise for CRT/PVM users, but was still expected. I'm really surprised they got special chips working through jailbreak. Now you can play backups of that Mega Man X3 goodness. Only thing you are missing out on now is FX chip support (a small number of game) and the cd quality music hacks.

I'm still on the fence on whether to fork out for one of these or to try and make my PC a full emulation machine. From what I've heard there shouldn't be a big difference between what the FPGA chip here does and what an emulator like Higan is capable of. I believe Higan in the past even at one time helped with the product, but he doesn't like that they are advertising the system as not being emulation.
 
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