Retron 5 or Framemeister?

[MaverickHeero]

Hey everyone, I was debating whether or not I should pick up a Retron 5, but I currently own XRGB-mini Framemeister with all my old consoles connected to it. I mainly want the Retron 5 for the GB/GBC/GBA slot to play in HD quality and to play translated Famicom/SuFami games. I have the GB player for Gamecube but no component cable for it, and the cable goes for like $150 on ebay, which is about as much as the Retron 5. Is the Retron 5 worth getting?

 

[XeroShinobi]

The Retron 5 is an emulator, and not even a particularly good one at that. I wouldn't bother with it.

 

[ggallegos1]

Hey everyone, I was debating whether or not I should pick up a Retron 5, but I currently own XRGB-mini Framemeister with all my old consoles connected to it. I mainly want the Retron 5 for the GB/GBC/GBA slot to play in HD quality and to play translated Famicom/SuFami games. I have the GB player for Gamecube but no component cable for it, and the cable goes for like $150 on ebay, which is about as much as the Retron 5. Is the Retron 5 worth getting?

It really depends. If you have a framemeister, keep it. Those are invaluable assets to any game room.

I had a Retron 5 and loved it. Allowed me to play my Famicom games as well as use save states and speed up time (perfect for slower games like Dragon Warrior). In those regards, I enjoyed it but sold it due to finances.

At the going price of $150-160, I wouldn't. If you can scoop one for less, by all means go for it. I bought mine in preorder for $99 and at that price it was worth it.

 

[smokehouse]

The Retron 5 is an emulator, and not even a particularly good one at that. I wouldn't bother with it.

So, is your Retron5 causing you issues or something?

 

[jeffensminger]

I was thinking about buying one of these too. Anyone else have first hand experience with them?

 

[smokehouse]

I was thinking about buying one of these too. Anyone else have first hand experience with them?

"These" meaning Retron? "These" meaning framemeister?

 

[XeroShinobi]

So, is your Retron5 causing you issues or something?

I don't own one. I kept an eye on it during development and again after release. It's subpar emulation. The conveniences it offers are still inferior to emulators on PC, as is the emulation quality itself. If you want to play your original cartridges, play them on original hardware. The Retron 5 fails as a replacement for the original hardware and also as emulator. I don't see the point in owning one.

 

[MrRoboto19XX]

I mainly want the Retron 5 for the GB/GBC/GBA slot to play in HD quality and to play translated Famicom/SuFami games.

Do you plan on purchasing translated reproductions of the FC/SFC games? Last I checked, the Retron doesn't play flash carts at all, so repros would be your main option, and that could get expensive quickly. That being said, I haven't paid much attention to the device since it initially came out, so it could have been hacked to play flash carts or something similar.

It seems to me like your money would be better spent on a couple of Everdrives to let you play those translations, or the component cables for the GameCube if you really want the GBA high def setup. You've got a Framemeister, so you're pretty close to the ideal setup already.

 

[XeroShinobi]

*an emulator

P.S. I forgot to comment on the framemeister. It's overrated. If one absolutely has to play old consoles on a flat panel television, I suppose it's better than the alternatives. On a CRT? It's worthless. It adds something like 10ms of input lag, which is way too much considering the thing costs hundreds of dollars, and there are cheaper converters which add less than a single millisecond.

A CRT+a SCART to YUV converter is much better than the framemeister in every possible way. Unless you like your games aimlessly up-scaled and plagued by input lag.

 

[GohanX]

Yeah, it's not made for CRTs, and if you're using it on a CRT you're a fucking idiot.

 

[ggallegos1]

Do you plan on purchasing translated reproductions of the FC/SFC games? Last I checked, the Retron doesn't play flash carts at all, so repros would be your main option, and that could get expensive quickly. That being said, I haven't paid much attention to the device since it initially came out, so it could have been hacked to play flash carts or something similar.

It seems to me like your money would be better spent on a couple of Everdrives to let you play those translations, or the component cables for the GameCube if you really want the GBA high def setup. You've got a Framemeister, so you're pretty close to the ideal setup already.

There is a firmware beta that translates roms on the original cart if the patch is on an SD card. This is good for the JRPGs and action games that never made it here.

 

[XeroShinobi]

Yeah, it's not made for CRTs, and if you're using it on a CRT you're a fucking idiot.

It's also pretty useless on flat panels that have good internal scalers. They're not exactly common, but they are out there. The framemeister is like putting a band-aid on a wound that requires amputation. If your gaming setup is so terrible that the framemeister would provide a substantial improvement, it's time to get another TV.

 

[ggallegos1]

It's also pretty useless on flat panels that have good internal scalers. They're not exactly common, but they are out there. The framemeister is like putting a band-aid on a wound that requires amputation. If your gaming setup is so terrible that the framemeister would provide a substantial improvement, it's time to get another TV.

So what do you use? Specifics please. There hasn't been much anti-xrgb mini talk around here, so I'd like to know what alternatives are ideal.

 

[XeroShinobi]

Any decent Sony CRT TV/PVM/BVM with a simple SCART to YUV converter. You can get these converters for around $55 new, probably $30 used. eBay has them, but I'm sure you can find them elsewhere.

I, as well as many other people, can attest to their quality. The picture quality is immaculate and they don't add any detectable input lag. It's definitely well under a single millisecond. The only people who have ever badmouthed this setup are people trying to sell framemeisters.

I personally use a 4:3 32" Sony FD Trinitron/WEGA. It's one of the earlier models without HDMI. I could check the exact model, but it would be kind of a pain in the ass to move my entire entertainment centre. It's not PVM quality or anything, but it's fairly high end for standard CRT TV.

 

[XeroShinobi]

I just looked up the specs on the framemeister for the first time in years. Jesus Christ, that thing is laggy. I thought it was somewhere around 10ms. Turns out that it is double that. At 10ms, you'd need a speciality flat panel TV or a computer monitor to get better picture quality and lower input lag, but at 20ms there are a few TVs that aren't even difficult to get that will do the same job with less input lag. The 55" and 65" Sony KDL W950B TVs have 17ms of input lag on progressive scan HDMI, and something like 19ms with upscaling. I can't personally attest to how good the upscaler's picture quality is on these, but from what I've heard, it's quite good.

Keep in mind that those 20ms on the framemeister will be on top of whatever the input lag is on your HDTV's native progressive scan resolution, which will 55-65ms if you're lucky, and no less than 37ms even if you have a 17ms HDTV (the lowest ever measured). That's way the hell too much. Slightly over 2 full frames at best, approximately 4 to 4.5 on average, and over 7 at worst.

 

[everten]

What model TV, SCART-YUV converter, and switch are you using? Your answers were a little vague.

 

[XeroShinobi]

What model TV, SCART-YUV converter, and switch are you using? Your answers were a little vague.

Well, I already told you about my TV. I really don't feel like moving my entertainment centre to get the model number. The information I provided will narrow it down to 3 or 4 different sets, and there is very little difference between them.

The converter is pretty generic: http://www.ebay.com/itm/SEGA-SCART-...265?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item564f2d3151.

I'm fairly sure this is the seller I got it from, but I'm not certain. Other people sell what is essentially, if not exactly, the same thing. That's all you need for a CRT or a flatpanel with a good scaler. There is no need to spend hundreds on a laggy framemeister unless your TV is god awful.

 

[smokehouse]

I don't own one. I kept an eye on it during development and again after release. It's subpar emulation. The conveniences it offers are still inferior to emulators on PC, as is the emulation quality itself. If you want to play your original cartridges, play them on original hardware. The Retron 5 fails as a replacement for the original hardware and also as emulator. I don't see the point in owning one.

Oh…so you don't own one. Ok. I just figured that by making such a definitive statement of "The Retron 5 is an emulator, and not even a particularly good one at that. I wouldn't bother with it.', you probably had one and decided that you didn't like it.

In other words…you're talking out of your ass, basing that talking off of statements and opinions of a bunch of internet faggots who do little outside of running their cocksucker out of pure ignorance.

Ok…so you are also speaking out of ignorance. I get it now. Congrats on your opinions.




Allow me to retort.


As an actual fucking OWNER of a Retron 5…I can say I "LOL" at the comments made from e-faggots about this thing. You know…from a group of people willing to spend thousands of $$ on 20+ year old games for no fucking reason. Games and systems that won't run properly on the majority of modern TVs. People willing to travel states and drop $500 on an outdated CRT that weighs more than their bloated ego just to play this shit on original hardware properly.

As an owner...I can say the thing is rock solid and produces some superb visuals on a modern LCD/LED set. It is also extremely easy to use, uses proper controllers, offers game state saves and also cheats…all for $150. Is it an emulator? Fucking right it is…this is 2015 moron, what else would you expect. It is a $150 system that emulates a NES, SNES, Genesis, Famicom, Super Famicom, Mega Drive and a Game Boy Advance, allows for save states and cheats and allows you not only to use retro controllers, but you can assign whatever controller you want to whatever system you want and add functionality like rapid fire/etc.

…but it's an emulator…right…

Keep on running your cum dumpster while being a member of an site devoted to an ungodly expensive and dead console...

 

[everten]

I just ordered the xrgb after getting frustrated dealing with PVM's. I should have it in a few weeks. I'm not looking to go back to CRT unless the xrgb is complete garbage.

If the input lag was really an issue it wouldn't get such high praise. It sounds like you're reading into the specs too much without ever actually having touched an xrgb.

 

[XeroShinobi]

Oh…so you don't own one. Ok. I just figured that by making such a definitive statement of "The Retron 5 is an emulator, and not even a particularly good one at that. I wouldn't bother with it.', you probably had one and decided that you didn't like it.

In other words…you're talking out of your ass, basing that talking off of statements and opinions of a bunch of internet faggots who do little outside of running their cocksucker out of pure ignorance.

Ok…so you are also speaking out of ignorance. I get it now. Congrats on your opinions.

…but it's an emulator…right…

Keep on running your cum dumpster while being a member of an site devoted to an ungodly expensive and dead console...

Yeah, you're the only one here being a fucking idiot. Why the in the flying hell would I have to own the console to know how it performs? There are plenty of videos from Hyperkin showing it off. I based my opinions on examples. It's a piece of shit. It looks like shit, sounds like shit, and often has loading problems.

The Retron 5 is a piece of garbage and anyone who thinks it's a valid console replacement has either not played a real console in ages, or is retarded. If you want emulation, download an emulator on PC. They're better in every possible fucking way.

 

[XeroShinobi]

If the input lag was really an issue it wouldn't get such high praise. It sounds like you're reading into the specs too much without ever actually having touched an xrgb.

I've played games on a display with 11ms of input lag and it was way too much for me. I don't have to own a device with 20ms to know it'd be worse. 20ms is over a goddamn frame on most consoles.

If input lag doesn't bother you and you insist on playing on any given flat panel, go ahead and spend the money. I personally think people praise it to defend the purchase. The framemeister is some expensive shit, and regardless of your opinion of the device, it is objectively not an ideal setup.

 

[lantus360]

The Retron 5 is a piece of garbage and anyone who thinks it's a valid console replacement has either not played a real console in ages, or is retarded. If you want emulation, download an emulator on PC. They're better in every possible fucking way.

it uses RetroArch , which in itself is a port of all the top quality PC emulators (i.e. Snes9x, Visual Boy Advance etc). In other words its not better in every possible fucking way - its actually the same.

 

[StevenK]

Yeah, you're the only one here being a fucking idiot. Why the in the flying hell would I have to own the console to know how it performs? There are plenty of videos from Hyperkin showing it off. I based my opinions on examples. It's a piece of shit. It looks like shit, sounds like shit, and often has loading problems.

The Retron 5 is a piece of garbage and anyone who thinks it's a valid console replacement has either not played a real console in ages, or is retarded. If you want emulation, download an emulator on PC. They're better in every possible fucking way.

I can assure you that sex is fucking awesome, even if you've seen enough of it on the internet to be sure in your mind that you think it's yucky.

 

[XeroShinobi]

Yeah, no. RetroArch is not even close to the best emulator for many systems. It's a decent emulator, but far from the best. Regardless, the Retron 5 exclusively uses HDMI, meaning you can't get ordinary A/V out of it. It looks fucked up. A PC emulator can be virtually indistinguishable from the real deal with the correct monitor. They're also more feature rich, don't generally have loading problems, and don't cost $150.

 

[NeoSneth]

Get a Retron 5. It's cheaper and easier.