RGB NES Thread

BanishingFlatsAC

formerly DZ
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While I don't have an rgb NES yet, I can tell you that my SNES via rgb looks better then you could ever get via emulation. I don't think you've seen one of these in person, I'll have to bring it with me next time. Better then any monitor you'll find..even that one in my old big red.
 

Electric Grave

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Red, Green & Blue.

I'm game for checking it out, DZ.

VGA is essentially RGB as well, displayed differently though, the image doesn't dither, it stays uncorrupted. Specially whit a monitor that can switch resolutions. The ideal is that each bulb on your screen equals each pixel of any given signal, that's what native rez means, so with that in mind when you are using RGB low rez monitors you get that vibrant look 'cause each bulb or diode or whatever they are called are counted for each pixel. The thing is that old RGB monitors like cab monitors and PVMs and what have you, have a very clean bulb separation but far from flawless, the signal will still "ghost" no matter how good it will still happen simply 'cause the technology of that time in that type of hardware was all we had. Now days we have surpassed it tenfold for the masses and thus we can see a much cleaner picture. I know nostalgia plays a key factor and hey, it still beats any residential CRT TV screen you can possibly think of but there are cleaner displays and clean is clean, you can't deny that.

Think of a Gameboy screen, any given model. Each screen is native to its capable resolution and thus you get a clear separation of pixels, that is undoubtedly clean. An old VGA CRT will also reproduce a clean separation of any given signal as long as the video card may support it. Whenever you pick a 1x1 signal it tends to look sharper than anything, that's the clean separation of pixels, that's why when upscale you loose the sharpness or in this case the clean separation of pixels. New LCD technology could never hope to reproduce this, I mean they can on a 1x1 ratio but then you have the tiniest reproduction of the graphics.

I dunno as much as I would like about video signals and hey, I think this is a pretty awesome project, I'd like to be able to play on real hardware with the best video signal possible. I don't mean to come across jaded but maybe it's 'cause I dabbled for a while on sprite making with Mugen and a bit of other pixel art creation tools, either way, RGB is better than composite which is what I got in my NES.
 
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BanishingFlatsAC

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I totally understand what your saying... but you need to see one in action. It does look cleaner and the colors more vivid then any emulation ive seen.

The image does not ghost what so ever either..
 

Electric Grave

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I want to check it out. I've been eyeballing RGB monitors for a while. I actually have an old smally but it has the twist lock RGB connectors, need special wires and I haven't bother looking into it.
 

jesesfbi

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Original Famicom take two! This time I used the stock Famicom power circuit and mounted the PCB under the Famicom PCB in order to keep the eject lever intact and functional. It appears the Famicom can take the NESRGB without the included power regulator (you still need to put thermal compound on the regulator though). Added US controller ports and an SNES AV port. Unlike the last one this one is wired for RGB, S-Video, and composite. The RF switch in the back is used to switch between the PC10 palette and the Original palette. Sadly this one is not as clean as my other work. There are still some things left to do (like use double sided sticky tape instead of shitty ass hot glue and replace the CPU) and ill be cleaning this rats nest up a good deal when I have done everything.

I also connected the NESRGB sound circuit. Like the AV Famicom it works just fine in the original Famicom. You just need to isolate pin 45 on the cartridge slot and run it through your choice of resistor to the NESRGB kit. You DO NOT need to build your own audio circuit like Tim's website said.










hey skips.
im about to embark on a project identical to this for my buddy. my question is whwt point on the original RF circuit did you cut?
 

coreykun667

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Man, I'd get one and have someone mod it if the top loader NES consoles weren't so inflated in prices. I remember when NES consoles used to be around $60 on ebay, and now I see $80-$115... So if I want a NES with a decent video output, I'll have to crank the big bucks out of my wallet... :oh_no:
 

beigemore

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-While it is possible to use cheap, AKA Radio Shack soldering and desoldering irons, I cannot recommend them because they simply don't get hot enough to melt the original solder on the PCB and remove the PPU. When I used pro gear ($100+), everything was tits.

Radio Shack sells different wattage soldering irons. Which one did you use? I think they have like a 15 watt one, which is fine for doing thin wires. Have had much better luck with desoldering pcb's with their 40 watt iron.
 

Skips

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hey skips.
im about to embark on a project identical to this for my buddy. my question is whwt point on the original RF circuit did you cut?

Oh whoops I didnt see this. I cut right after the first switch.
 

Skips

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This is going to be the last system I do for a good long time. I've done enough of these mods now that I can say that it is boring as hell now. I included a couple pictures of it running in component video through my capture device as well (click for full view). I also wired up the regulator this time just because why the hell not.

**Updated with better pictures**









 
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HDRchampion

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Did not want to make a new thread...I dont own a RGB NES so wanted to know if there is a significant upgrade in picture quality compared to a Playchoice 10 game or are they the same?
 

Skips

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Did not want to make a new thread...I dont own a RGB NES so wanted to know if there is a significant upgrade in picture quality compared to a Playchoice 10 game or are they the same?

The new mod does not have jailbars or glitches like the Playchoice 10 mod. It also has a new mono circuit and allow switching between the different color palettes.
 

HDRchampion

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The new mod does not have jailbars or glitches like the Playchoice 10 mod. It also has a new mono circuit and allow switching between the different color palettes.

Sorry, not talking about the Playchoice 10 mod, im talking about the actual picture quality comparison on a Playchoice 10/Red Tent cab vs an RGB NES setup via RGB CRT. Im trying to justify if i should upgrade to a RGB NES one day or just keep playing it on my Playchoice cab.
 

Skips

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Sorry, not talking about the Playchoice 10 mod, im talking about the actual picture quality comparison on a Playchoice 10/Red Tent cab vs an RGB NES setup via RGB CRT. Im trying to justify if i should upgrade to a RGB NES one day or just keep playing it on my Playchoice cab.

If you have a good monitor or xrgb the new mod will look better. Its hard for me to say. I am running mine on a 20L5 which stomps the crap out of those old red tent monitors.
 

Kiel

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I'm about to mod one up and post comparison pics of this compared to my playchoice ppu modded nes.
 

jesesfbi

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Oh whoops I didnt see this. I cut right after the first switch.

Oh skips don't worry about it I followed your pictures to do my friends famicom and it worked cutting the board after the first switch lol. And as you said its busy inside a famicom rgb mod lol
 

Jibbajaba

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I'm about to mod one up and post comparison pics of this compared to my playchoice ppu modded nes.

I've had a Playchoice PPU-modded NES for years, and this new method shits all over it.
 

Skips

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Oh skips don't worry about it I followed your pictures to do my friends famicom and it worked cutting the board after the first switch lol. And as you said its busy inside a famicom rgb mod lol

Personally I recommend waiting for a an adapter board for the Famicom. The method Tim has on his website causes noise on the clk line which makes the system not sync correctly when using an everdrive about 50% of the time. This causes speckles in the sprites and looks terrible. The problem is that pin 21 is really noisy and the PPU really does need to be on the kit to avoid this. If you are only using real carts this is not a big deal. If you plan to use the everdrive either wait and see if Tim does an above PCB adapter or make your own.

If you make your own do not connect pin 21 to the Famicom PCB. Also, the underneath install method also does have extremely faint jailbars. I could not see them on any of my CRT's however once connected to my video capture card I could clearly see them in grays. Overall I seriously don't recommend this install method. Sacrificing the eject lever and making an adapter is the best way to go about installing it in the original Famicom. I actually moved back to a US NES until Tim releases his Famicom kit.
 

jesesfbi

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Personally I recommend waiting for a an adapter board for the Famicom. The method Tim has on his website causes noise on the clk line which makes the system not sync correctly when using an everdrive about 50% of the time. This causes speckles in the sprites and looks terrible. The problem is that pin 21 is really noisy and the PPU really does need to be on the kit to avoid this. If you are only using real carts this is not a big deal. If you plan to use the everdrive either wait and see if Tim does an above PCB adapter or make your own.

If you make your own do not connect pin 21 to the Famicom PCB. Also, the underneath install method also does have extremely faint jailbars. I could not see them on any of my CRT's however once connected to my video capture card I could clearly see them in grays. Overall I seriously don't recommend this install method. Sacrificing the eject lever and making an adapter is the best way to go about installing it in the original Famicom. I actually moved back to a US NES until Tim releases his Famicom kit.

Luckily my buddy will be using real carts so he doesn't really care much and I didn't notice any jail bars running it through the XRGB, but I will keep that in mind. I appreciate the help and advice skips :)
 

Skips

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Luckily my buddy will be using real carts so he doesn't really care much and I didn't notice any jail bars running it through the XRGB, but I will keep that in mind. I appreciate the help and advice skips :)

That is because the XRGB filters a good deal of interference/noise out of game consoles sent through it and then the HDTV will as well if digital noise reduction is enabled.
 

Skips

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Just some more pics of the RGB NES running through the CVS287 component converter to my capture card. Nice and Crystal clear even for component video. Palettes being used vary.








 

Skips

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I went back and updated that US NES install post with better pictures.
 

Kiel

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I've had a Playchoice PPU-modded NES for years, and this new method shits all over it.

My ppu unit is a jailbar mess on my xrgb3 but its fine on my PVM or an xrgb mini so I believe it
 

Skips

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My ppu unit is a jailbar mess on my xrgb3 but its fine on my PVM or an xrgb mini so I believe it

Jailbar visibility changes display/device to display/device, type of RGB PPU, and PCB revision.
 
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