N64 HDMI converter thread

[Kosumus]

It depends on your N64. They come with different video DACs. I think this page lists them all. The MAV-NUS is hardest to solder and that is definitely smaller than MSOP. Hereyou can see an RGB mod installation on the MAV-NUS. I think that is comparable to the installation process of the HDMI mod.

The other ones are pretty simple to solder to, but I am not entirely sure if they are comparable to MSOP.

Thanks.
I hope I don't have a MAV-NUS chip. I might still be able to handle it with the right improvisations.

[Nexus45]

Hey marshallh, really exciting project you've got here. I can't wait to get my N64 modded.

I was wondering, how did you drill that neat hole for the HDMI port in the orange N64 on the main page?

Cheers

[Tsurugi_Takuma]

Hey marshallh, really exciting project you've got here. I can't wait to get my N64 modded.

I was wondering, how did you drill that neat hole for the HDMI port in the orange N64 on the main page?

Cheers

I would guess Dremel and hand filing, slow and steady does it

[marshallh]

Right, I mark the slot with an exacto knife, dremel out up to the marking, then use a square needle file to take it to the edge. Files are the key. You can get rectangular files that have burrs on all 4 edges which is very good for making sharp corners.

[luk]

Hi Marshall, i have seen the video the graphics look great, is the picture as good as emulator on pc?

[supermario3]

marshallh i compared the banjo kazooie shot of banjo holding the game boy and the xbla version of the same nose and paws don't have that little redness to them unlike this hdmi n64 mod. is that a limitation of the n64 or was something done wrong?

[Tim.]

marshallh i compared the banjo kazooie shot of banjo holding the game boy and the xbla version of the same nose and paws don't have that little redness to them unlike this hdmi n64 mod. is that a limitation of the n64 or was something done wrong?

Remember that the XBLA had "HD Textures" to replace many of the textures throughout the game. Additionally the XBLA version is rendered (not scaled) at 1080p. This will cause the XBLA to look superior to the UltaHDMI Marshall is working on. The UltaHDMI will not cause the original N64 games to have HD graphics. It will however let you display the best possible picture from the N64 on a modern TV by bypassing the analog video conversion process.

As Marshall outlines on his UltaHDMI page: http://ultrahdmi.retroactive.be/

This mod cannot add more detail or resolution than the N64 already generates. It can't fix blurry textures, or add polygon detail.

What you will get is a pixel perfect image of what the game produces, before it got smeared into analog TV goo.

[supermario3]

i wasn't talking about clarity i was talking about color

[byc]

Is it possible to output the image unfiltered, (pixellated / nearest neighbour) and scanlines disabled?

If not, how exactly is it stretching up to 1080p60? You'd think that billinear filtering would be more computationally intensive than the raw pixels.

Can't wait for it to come out! I am out of an N64 and hoping I can find somewhere selling them pre-done.

[marshallh]

Nearest neighbor looks passable at 320x240 but interlaced modes look pretty bad, since the height is a non-integer multiple. You can just use direct mode to get 1:1 pixels.

There is only about 9 cycles ( 54ns) difference between nearest neighbor and bilinear in my implementation, due to pipelining. So the performance is going to be the same in all cases.

I've finalized the PCB for production just a bit ago so things are going well.