How to Make Your Retro Console Games Better on a Modern TV

Posted on by

CRT TVs are considered the best way to play old video games, and for good reason. Retro games look and play better on CRTs as they were designed for this type of display. But what if you don’t have a CRT, don’t have a place for one, or can’t find one?

Vintage games can look terrible on new TVs, which is bad, or suffer from lag issues that make them nearly impossible to play, which is obviously worse. But there are several ways to run these Genesis or N64 games on a modern HD or even UHD TV so they don’t look or play like trash.

In this guide, we’ll go over a couple of different settings to help you find the one that works best for you and your collection. We’ll focus mainly on games that can be played on their original hardware – while we’re skipping PC emulation, MiSTeR FPGA mini computers and RetroPi rigs, and ignoring the recent boom in “mini consoles” like the NES and SNES Classic, which work. originally with modern TV connections. Yes, these are all good options for retro games that allow you to play old games on modern displays – which is the end goal – but we are more concerned about how you can place your old consoles (or at least older games – see the section on cloned consoles below) to run on an existing TV without sacrificing appearance or performance.

Improve the graphics of your old console with an external upscaler

If you plan on playing your old games on official hardware, you will need an external device to upscale the video signals to the correct resolution. Otherwise, the image will be blurry, grainy.

Some people modify their old machines outright to support their desired video output, but this is a tricky and potentially disruptive process that we don’t recommend unless you’re already deeply into the retro gaming scene. (However, pre-modified consoles are often sold on eBay and other third-party sources, and often appear at trade shows or retro game exchange meetings, although these are rare and can be quite expensive.)

The best solution for most of us is an external video upscaler dongle that converts your console’s video signal to HDMI output. For example, Rad2x HDMI conversion cables are a common simple solution that does not require an additional upscaling device. There are also other converters and console cables that work well, such as the Armor 3 NuView HD to GameCube adapter, PS2 to HDMI adapter, or PS1 to HDMI adapter .

Then there are the upscaler blocks that can accept input from multiple consoles or devices; the box sends everything to the TV in proper HD format. There are many such devices available for prices ranging from $ 12 to $ 400 or more. However, we recommend buying converters specifically designed to enhance the quality of older video games as they are designed to provide a clear picture with little or no additional input lag. The Retrotink line of upscalers is one of the easiest to set up and use and is relatively affordable.

Other useful options include an open source scan converter , GBS Control, and XRGB Framemeister . These parameters are more efficient and flexible, but they are much more difficult to configure and can become very expensive. Some may also need additional cables so that you can actually connect the consoles to the dongles.

Another decent upscaler is mClassic , which can upscale game resolutions to 1440p or 4K. It only works on consoles that already support HDMI output, both natively and through modding, but that means mClassic also works on newer consoles like Nintendo Switch or PlayStation 4. Keep in mind that mClassic (and many others up-resolution devices) can make minor trade-offs in exchange for higher-resolution visuals, such as small input lag or washed out colors. This is unlikely to affect regular play, but purists should take note of it.

Play on cloned consoles with built-in HDMI support.

Playing old games on the consoles you’ve owned for a year feels good, but getting them to work on a new TV can require an expensive entanglement of additional cables and secondary devices. The easiest option is to buy a clone console with its own HDMI output. While not as “clean” as playing on older consoles from your collection, cloned consoles will play the game cartridges you already have, automatically upscaling the video signal to look good on your new TV – no converters or special cables required.

There are many clone consoles available from third party companies and some are better than others. The main difference between the two is whether a given cloned console uses real hardware to run games or relies on software emulation. We could fully devote this guide to detailing the differences between both styles, but the bottom line is that hardware consoles are more accurate than the original experience and should be your choice if you want games to be played as if they were running on vintage console. Unfortunately, hardware clones are expensive and are built to support only one console.

Conversely, software emulated consoles are not as accurate, but they are cheaper and easier to manufacture, and also allow manufacturers to add additional features that were once only possible on PC emulators, such as save states that allow you to postpone and pick up a game. from any moment. Some software emulation devices even support multiple cartridge formats, allowing SNES and Sega Genesis collections to be played on the same machine.

While hardware and software clones have their pros and cons (not to mention diehard fans and detractors), as a result, you will be able to play existing games on modern TVs in high definition, which is ultimately our goal.

Here is a short list of hardware and software emulation based consoles to consider. Please note that pricing and availability may fluctuate.

Hardware clones of the console:

  • NT Mini (NES, Famicom, Famicom Disc System)
  • Super NT (SNES, Super Famicom)
  • Mega SG (Sega Genesis / Mega Drive / Master System)
  • Analog Pocket (GameBoy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance; adapters for Game Gear, Atari Lynx, Neo Geo Pocket Color sold separately).
  • Analog Duo (TurboGrafx-16, TurboGrafx CD, SuperGrafx, PC Engine, PC Engine CD-ROM, Super Arcade CD-ROM)

Console clones based on software emulation:

Select the correct TV settings

Okay, so your console is connected to your TV and your games are working fine and looking good – now we need to make sure your TV settings are configured for the best gaming experience.

Modern TVs and gaming monitors have higher input lag than CRT displays, which can have a noticeable impact on gameplay. Video games – and especially older games – rely on accurate timing, but you’ll have a harder time getting through each stage if your button presses are a few milliseconds behind.

The easiest way to fix this is to turn off your TV’s post-processing effects like motion smoothing (which you should still do ) to reduce input lag. The easiest way to do this is to select the Game Mode preset in your TV’s picture settings menu, if available; this option will have the lowest possible input lag for your display. This should help the controls feel closer to the original experience, but you never get rid of input lag entirely – unless you’re playing on a CRT, of course.

More…

0
Gaming

Leave a Reply