Topics

1

Off Topic / UltraHDMI Impressions

« on: December 17, 2015, 07:48 AM »

Hello,
I completed my UltraHDMI install last night, and have been playing on and off for a couple of hours, and figured I'd give a few of my overall impressions to everyone.
First off, the difference between UltraHDMI and Composite on a modern HDTV is, predictably, night and day. Composite looks incredibly distorted, with awful text, while even with no filtering UltraHDMI looks exceptionally clear. The Anti-Blur algorithm works wonderfully, and the scanlines with serration provides for a really nice take on 64 games.

Currently, I'm running it at 1080p with Hybrid Scanlines, Low Serration, Low Bloom, and No De-Blur (I'll get to this in a moment). The picture is wonderful. Granted, it's not perfectly clean, but that's not really what I was after anyway. The visuals are somewhat soft, and text especially receives a huge improvement. As for De-Blur, even though the algorithm is really, really good (seriously, I can't see any change other than an increase in sharpness), there are some games where the added softness from the blur is worth it. I've found that Paper Mario looks better de-blurred, while Wave Race 64 seems to look better with the blur.

Not everything is perfect yet, though. The audio needs a bit of work, as there are many points where it seems to clip (not super-duper badly, but it's definitely audible without having to try to listen for it). I feel like this would be fixed in a firmware update, though. In addition, I'd like to see additional filtering options, such as an Aperture-Grille based filter or something similar. These are minor concerns, though, compared with what the board is already able to do.

Just wanted to throw out my impression. How do the other owners out there feel about it?

2

Off Topic / UltraHDMI Group Buy

« on: November 21, 2015, 01:19 AM »

UPDATE 12/3/15 The order has officially been placed. No new orders will be accepted. At this time, I have no plans to arrange another groupbuy for the foreseeable future. If you're interested in arranging your own groupbuy, find Marshall's email on his site, retroactive.be, and contact him directly to get info on purchasing boards.
For those already in the groupbuy, your boards are being shipped today. Check your email for the tracking number.

UPDATE 12/7/15  Marshall still hasn't given me a tracking number, leading me to believe that he had to place another order of kits before our order could be fulfilled. He has not responded to PM, and I will email him and let you know the results. Marshall sent the tracking number, which I'm PMing to all in the buy. Wait until tomorrow, December 8th, to PM me if you haven't gotten the number, as I can only send it to 4 people at once.

Hello everyone,
Marshall H. of RetroActive has released the UltraHDMI boards to installers. If you're not familiar with the board, he has a write up here (ultrahdmi.retroactive.be). Basically, it takes the direct digital video and audio outputs of the N64, upscales the video to a selected resolution, outputs digital HDMI sound, and allows the use of custom CRT and other filters. He is also willing to sell boards, without warranty, to people with a minimum of 3 people. Per unit cost for 3-9 boards is $127, while 10-49 is $123. I know I said in a previous thread that unit cost would be around $20 or so, but that was a misreading on my part. For those of us with soldering experience, this is much better than the $160 that installers will charge, without shipping included.

I'm willing to arrange the group buy as long as those involved pay the shipping to ship out to the individual locations. I'll pay the shipping to my home. Since I'm only going to be reboxing the boards and not touching them in any way, I will not charge any additional cost above board cost, other than the shipping that will be needed to actually send them to ya'll.

Payments will be accepted over PayPal currently, others may be considered if people really want them to be. If you decide to pay me via standard payment, you will need to pay the insurance cost, as otherwise I'd be losing money by providing this service. If you feel comfortable paying me via gift, you can do so and it will be accepted. I will PM you my PayPal info if you're in the group buy.

Since the boards may run out soon, I'd like to have the order placed by 12/1/15. Everyone that wants to be a part of the group buy needs to either post in this thread or, preferably, PM me by 12PM Noon CST on December 1, 2015, to be guaranteed a spot. Since the minimum order quantity is 3, I won't be able to make the purchase if only 1 person gets on. I will notify you all if this is the case, and I'll extend the deadline. There are 3 boards being ordered for sure at a minimum, so the purchase will be happening on Dec. 1, 2015 as specified above.

I realize that I have no record regarding buying/selling products on any forums. I can only give you my word that I won't take your money and run. I would prefer to receive the monetary payment in advance of the order, so that I will not be screwed over in case someone backs out after the order. I completely understand if you're apprehensive to paying in advance: You may want to pay for PayPal insurance if this is the case. If you're down for the group buy and PM me, I'll give you the address that the boards will be shipped from so you can calculate shipping in advance.

I only have plans to initiate one group buy, but I'm sure Marshall H. would be willing to arrange other buys with other people if you email him. His email is available on his site, retroactive.be.

Thanks for reading this, and I look forward to doing a group buy with all of you!

3

Off Topic / N64 HDMI Output board

« on: April 23, 2015, 02:05 AM »

http://retroactive.be/forum/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=7
Marshall H. of Retroactive has been developing a board that intercepts the N64's video output and puts it out of a digital port.
In its current iteration, it uses a MiniHDMI port discretely placed near the standard AV Out. With the current orientation, you can actually theoretically use both ports at the same time!
Read through the thread for more advanced info, the project sounds utterly amazing.

According to this thread, we'll see the fruits of this project in 6 months or less.

I emailed Marshall about purchasing boards, and he said the minimum purchasing quantity on release would be 5, and only for resellers. No single boards, period, as he didn't want to deal with the trouble.

Who wants one (Other than me, lol)?

4

EverDrive 64 / Question about donor cart shields

« on: April 13, 2013, 01:08 AM »

Hey,
I'm considering buying an ED64. However, I'm still a bit shaky on one thing.
I have a cart that I'd be willing to use for the ED. However, I'm not quite sure about what exactly I need to modify in order to make the ED64 fit with the metal shields (Save for the SD card slot lol).

Has anyone here modded a donor cart for an ED64? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

5

EverDrive 64 / A few questions before I take the plunge

« on: October 07, 2012, 09:58 PM »

1. Does the ED64 have support for zipped ROMs?
2. What's the highest capacity SD card supported? EDIT: Solved, don't bother with this one.
3. Can we buy the boards directly from you, for a slightly cheaper cost, or do we have to buy from outside sources? (Right now the retrogate store looks like my store of choice)
4. Where can I find the cracked versions of Jet Force Gemini and the other cracked Copy-Protected games?

Thanks, I'm new, so sorry if these questions have already been answered.