RetroTINK2x Classic: Zero lag HDMI Adapter 

I wish all modern TVs could have this technology built-in to their latest sets.

You can definitely tell you’ve updated your filming set up. nice depth of field going on :)

This is a fantastic set of questions for Mike and even covered my specific uses for the device. Excited to get my hands on this thing.

Absolutely fantastic review! You really seem to know your stuff and I like that the creator was being honest about both the strengths and the weaknesses of the device.

Fantastic review! The best I've seen by far for this device. You brought up so many neat ideas that I hadn't even considered, such as the HDMI to VGA conversion for VGA CRT's. Great points about future upgrades too. I'm someone who only really plays N64 and prefers an authentic non-modded output (S-Video). So while I would love an OSSC and wouldn't mind paying a bit more for it, I can't even use it without Mike's device. It really fills a big void. Huge shoutout to Mike, he really killed it with this one and seems to have delivered a quality product. I'm very lucky to have gotten in on this first batch, can't wait for mine to come in!

BRAVO! Now this is how you review a device. If the average viewer had only seen TIJH's review, I would suspect they would have quickly forgotten the product and never gave it a second thought. After watching this knowing that TIJH's review was missing something... I have to get one of these. Thanks for putting your expertise and really putting the device to task. I feel you gave it a very fair review and really got our gears going. I would love to see what PhoneDork or MadLittlePixel would have to say about the device!

Been waiting for this video! Also, I’d like to warn against rigid protruding miniHDMI dongle adapters like the ones shown in this video. When their length is combined with the length of the plug on the end of your standard HDMI cable you get a lot of leverage on a small/weak connector. It is very easy to accidentally damage something. Also, I install and sell UltraHDMI, which also uses Type-C miniHDMI, so I’ve been sourcing cables and adapters for a couple years now. When the cables I was using doubled in price I ordered two different batches of non-rigid short cable dongle adapters. I’ve since found out that the gold ones do not work properly. 720p seems find for most users but 1080p usually will not work or will have glitches/artifacts. If you come across the cheapest bulk adapters on eBay the same way I did, AVOID the ones that look gold plated! They are junk.

This seems like a great solution for S-Video in my setup. Can't wait for it to be available again

This looks like a great option for people who are set up with HD Retrovision. I wanna grab one of these for my mobile setup.

I am so glad something like this exists now. Many of my CRTs are dying, so having a new way to run devices that only take composite/svideo is great. I'll still keep my OSSC for RGB capable devices, but for everything else, this is just what I needed. Just ordered one. (and before it sold out two days later whew)

timestamps: 0:31 intro 0:51 "what's in the box" 1:34 how to power the device 2:19 the 3 output modes 3:39 2X mode and 2X-filtered mode side by side comparison (SNES 240p) 4:02 480i to 240p transitions 4:40 mike's thoughts on what retrotink2x-mode to use 5:11 lag test & results 6:44 mike's comments on the low-latency of the retrotink2x 7:31 comparing the retrotink2x to other devices 8:23 side by side comparison retrotink2x & OSSC (SNES) 9:18 mike's comment on color / color-processing 10:37 bob's comment on color-compression 11:11 composite and S-Video over the retrotink2x (NES) 12:20 retrotink2x as a video-switch? what happens if you select the wrong input? 13:38 low-pass-filter? no anti-aliasing jailbars? 14:19 signal compatibility / tv-compatibility? 15:34 VCR upscaling / VHS-capture? 16:55 the retrotink2x's audio chip / bypass the audio-signal? 17:54 bob's comment on how to handle the audio-signal 18:47 other uses for the retrotink2x? / using VGA-monitors? 20:39 using the retrotink to output VGA 21:33 retrotink2x in combo with the OSSC 22:54 composite, s-video over the OSSC (NES) 23:40 more different uses for the retrotink2x 24:14 mike's comment on aspect-ratio 4:3 / 16:9 output 25:00 why no RGB? 25:58 why only linedoubling and no 4K? 26:38 resume1 by bob 28:05 mike's comment on who's the target user for the retrotink2x 29:16 resume2 by bob 30:04 outro

This is a great product and an equally great interview / review. Bravo sir(s). Special thank you to Mike Chi!

I won FPGA consoles from Analogue and Retro USB. Saying that, I still love using original equipment. I have the Retro TINK 2x Classic and the 2X Pro. For me, 480p with S-Video and Component is fine for me. Thanks for this informative video Bob! You always explain everything good. Thank you to Mike for making a low cost solution that looks great!

Love your work. Keep it up. Just bought myself one after purchasing an RGB modded SNES and an HD Retrovision with no luck. The modder recommended SCART, but it looks way too expensive to go full RGB, so hopefully the RetroTINK2x is the missing piece in the puzzle! Will game in black and white on my HDTV for now since that's all that I can get to work.

I am currently using the RetroTink2X with 11 consoles. I have two 3-way component switch boxes connected as well as a five system s-vid/composite switcher. I simply switch the input on the Retrotink to what I need, click the button on the respective box for the console I want to play and turn on that console. While the RetroTink2X itself does not work as a switcher, I never really expected or needed it to. This excellent device combined with some decent switchboxes (I use all manual select boxes because that's how I roll) works just as you think it would....fantastic. I use it daily for the 11 consoles I currently have connected. I use HDRetrovision cables where I can, and s-vid and composite where I cannot due to the fact that I want to keep certain systems stock (like the NES, N64) and some systems (like my Vic-20) only have composite. I would say this device is fantastic even if you are not just a casual RGB enthusiast. It can be the heart of a full blown excellent RGB setup. I should take some pictures of my setup to illustrate :)

Most dongles that convert HDMI to VGA are not passive, but instead are usually parasitic -- the D-to-A converter inside is typically powered using the small amount of power available on the HDMI connector. Unfortunately, most of them do not work very well -- in my experience most of them try and draw too much power from the HDMI port and cause instability. I went through many makes and models on Raspberry Pi projects until I gave up after finding some versions that can be powered using a built-in micro-USB port. Powering the dongles that support it in this manner gave rock-solid results, and they don't even draw much power. I am looking on eBay now and can't see many that specify the micro-USB port for external power -- the micro-USB port (if present) usually appears on the back-side of the VGA end (near where the cable enters it). The photos shown on most auctions don't actually display the rear side of the VGA connector end of the cable. eBay # 152628627850 shows a model with the micro-USB port visible, but that particular model won't fit the RetroTink 2x's mini-HDMI port. Just be aware before you order your HDMI-to-VGA adapter dongles - find one that has mini-HDMI AND power input.

Just bought it for my big tv and i am really not dissapointed. Even when i am using my n64 with composite only the render is not perfect but it really is sharp at some point and smooth is really a great feature.

personaly I prefer playing retro games with a scanlines, it reminds me an old CRT TVs but this little device is absolutely amazing, thanks for the video man

Really nicely put together review Bob.

I'm very happy to see this. I have a need for S-video and composite every now and then (think about games that have a shit-ton of dithering) and had been using an XRGB-3 for the longest time to get that over to PC monitors and some of my earlier capture cards. The problem with that is that it's very sensitive to sync and bright flashes of white would knock the picture out for a second or two. There's a lot of documented fixes/suggestions for the RGB/SCART inputs, but nothing for the humble composite/S-video stuff. This device shouldn't have that problem and should be a perfect addition to my hardware.

I have a framemeister. I love it. At the time I got it, it was the only game in town pretty much. The OSSC was just being talked about and was, at that time, still hard to get. I know as time goes on more solutions come forward such as the retro tink. This looks like a great solution for simple low cost and effective methods for these retro consoles we all know and love to be displayed on modern set-ups. In the end I’m glad I have a framemeister and would recommend it to anyone. And I hear the same from OSSC owners. Do I think this (retro tink) is a great first step or simple solution at low cost but without lots of features for us retro gamers? Absolutely I do. RGT 85 also has a review of it and he sings its praises as well. Retro consoles WILL NOT be left in the past but will march toward the future with us all, and thank God they will!

Great video. You asked all the relevant questions for us gamers who like to get into the details and get the best possible setups with our equipment.

✋🏾✋🏾✋🏾 Right here!!!! I will be a prime user. Can’t wait to pick one up. Been following Mikes work for a good while now.

This sounds like a decent option for an unmodified N64 over S-Video.

Awesome! Thank you for making this video. Hopefully a scart version will come out.

The editing on this is very solid. Great work, Bob. I really like this format. I think this is an option for me since I own a BVM without composite and s-video but I would need to build a sync combiner.

The man making this device is doing gods work. This is exactly the upscaling solution I've been looking for.

Wow! This is what I've been hoping for. Thank you for this video. I recently upgraded my Genesis, SMS and SNES to HD Retrovision Component cables and I've been having a very hard time getting a capture card that can see 240p. With this line doubler I think I'll be all set. I've place my order and hopefully this will be the solution I need for much less than an upscaler.

Thanks for making this video, guys. I'm definitely going to preorder one now, but the challenge will be to get those RetroVision Component cables, but here's hoping I can!

Already ordered. I can't wait to upgrade my stream setup from composite to component via RETROTINK

This looks perfect. And it doesnt need deinterlacing either. for movies, If I want to watch an interlaced dvd movie my TV can do al the postprocessing. This thing looks awwesome.

Awesome. I already have a good RGB set up, but this would be something I could easily recommend to friends. Especially friends who were looking to grab something like a Retron 5; this is much more appealing.

Great product! Unfortunately no RGB, wich makes it somewhat useless for me. But for many people, this is just awesome! I applaude to Mike.

Thanks for really good interview!

I think this device is perfect for most folks...myself included. I agree with Mike in that I just want it to work out of the box without a zillion options. I am old too :) The price point is right there with what I was willing to spend to get older consoles (and other stuff) to a modern display and looking pretty good. I was never going to invest in a framemeister personally. If the Retrotink was not released I would have kept using 20+ year old TV sets for these old consoles. I guess that gives you an idea of who this would be marketed to :)

I am the 1,000th like! Keep up the good work!

Fantastic review, buddy. Thanks for the great work.

OSSC looks so much better. Can't understand how you can't see that. Look at how much clearer the definition between pixels is at 8:57.

I may get one of these to go with my OSSC. The option for composite and Svideo would be convenient. Plus I can run a VCR into a 4K TV. One more great product to tinker with.

Best video capture solution is to point a camera at your screen then crop and perspective correct in post. You can lock or adjust exposure to suit the screen's brightness. Interesting to hear about solutions for old consoles on modern monitors.

I have a Framemiester and I still have a use for this. People forget the HDMI ports upscale too. You can take that 480p and Scale it to 720p/1080i/p I could run Xbox/PS2/GameCube through this into the Framemiester. Maybe even the S-VIDEO of my Dreamcast.

A few seconds into the video, and, oh, so it's a line doubler, not actually an upscaler. That's why there is no discernible lag. So...it seems to be a 50$ cheaper alternative of OSSC. Nice, the future is coming along nicely for sharp retro gaming on LCD screens.

What I wanna know is whether the Tink will passthrough 480p, because I do plan to use it for PS2 with component.

Realy great video, I hope to get one of these soon.

This is a fantastic device which can live side by side with the OSSC for the composite or s-video Game Systems :D Hopefully Mike persues the 4K at a later time, that time with RGB input aswell. It'd kick so much ass. OSSC + RetroTink2X can together fill up whatever the Framemeister could.

great video

Awesome review Bob!

I’m super excited to get mine. I hope this is finally the device that will let me capture my s-video modified Atari 2600. It doesn’t like any of my other cheap upscalers, and I didn’t want to spend the money on a framemeister, only for it to hate my Atari.

Wow this is really a great video. Informative and clear. I'm a CRT player but I'm interested in this product just to help with streams

GGGGGreat stuff! as a armature video-graph er... I got a old Roland V- 8 video .. 8 camera switcher with....(( ONLY 1 x S-VIDEO OUT and/or 2x BNC with a adapters)) for composite. It really would be cool to get a HDMI NO LATENCY 1080i CAPTURE on one of so many devices they offer today on the web! Taking sound from the board of the bands performing live, I have my own 4 channel sound mixer Of course I would mix my own sound before it even hit this little bad-boy.. but I refuse to throw this old school vid-mixer away! Over 10 years I have got tons of use out of it. I carries its own nostalgia look that can't be lost. This could be the bridge/ ultimate solution it needs! Latency/Clarity/Compatible is number 1 importance ! He mentioned 4.4.2. , that's me ! This mixer I have currently has over 250K hits from videos on you-tube. Sick and tired of people telling me to get a new HDMI Video switcher when it still has life. Don't need to I just need to clean up the signal a bit and adapt for easier functionality today like, burn to sd cards.. DVD ..blue ray, more formats more efficient. I have been looking desperately a long time for a s-video/BNC/Composite UPSCALE and capture. I'd want to capture 1080i in 16x9 on the fly to a external HDMI CAPTURE device or to a computer HDMI capture card from s-video and pre-mixed sound. Although current settings it is 720 x 480, 16 x 9, which I believe is 720 p, s-video out to s-video capture card is weak and lack luster. thanks for the info!

Sounds like a great starter kit for those that want to get their feet wet. For me though, the 4-2-2 is kind of a deal breaker. I know Mike said he doesn't really notice it in games, but my OCD picks up on it right away and I get 'triggered' by soft red and blue edges.

3:23 Give me a glass of whisky sir !!!

Can this be recommended for me to use my laserdisc player on my HDTV? I’m attached to many laserdiscs still.

This sounds like a great device but some of the particulars concern me: Like it uses chroma subsampling, apparently? (4:2:2, color data is at half the horizontal resolution of the luminance data) That could be perfectly fine or it could wind up muddling the colors over the entire screen: It depends on what the sampling resolution is and how precisely the sampling corresponds to the timing of the input signal. For instance if it outputs 480p flagged for 4:3 that should be 640 pixels per line, right? If it generates that from 640 samples per line, then in theory that could work very well with the Sega Genesis, which displays 320 pixels per line. Each input pixel would be doubled, and so chroma subsampling wouldn't matter, because the neighboring pixels on each output line would come from the same pixel on the source line. But, suppose the timing were off by half a source pixel: The second and third pixels on the target line would come from the first pixel on the source line, etc. - the problem there is that suddenly that 4:2:2 subsampling affects every pixel on the screen, because a subsample pair (like pixels 3 and 4 of a target line) comes from two different pixels of the source line - and that'd be true for every pixel on the screen. This gets worse with a console with 256 pixels horizontal resolution, like NES, SNES, or PC Engine - if the converter samples at 640 pixels per line, it gets 5 samples per 2 source pixels. So if the first four pixels of your input signal line are like this: [AA][BB][CC][DD] Then the first ten samples taken from that signal would be something like this: [AA][AA][AB][BB][BB][CC][CC][CD][DD][DD] The presence of samples taken while the input signal was transitioning from one color to another ([AB] and [CD]) is kind of unavoidable in a case like this, but the real problem is how this interacts with color subsampling: Unlike the Genesis's 320 pixel line where scaled-up pixels potentially align perfectly with the chroma subsampling and make it a complete non-issue, in this case chroma subsampling winds up muddling the colors in at least three of every five pixels on the display. The chroma subsampling takes those ten samples, and forces neighboring pairs to take the same chroma value. Only two of those five pairs ([AA][AA] and [DD][DD]) have the same color for both samples. The rest ([AB][BB], [BB][CC], and [CC][CD]) will have distinct luminance but share chroma values. Handling 240p correctly and with minimal latency is enough to make this device a good option for using older consoles on newer TVs, (better than most low-cost converters) but for people who would have wanted RGB, the color subsampling might be a deal-breaker anyway, because unless you're using a console that scales cleanly to 640 pixels per line, the color subsampling is going to affect most of the display. Scaling 256 to 640 should ideally turn 2 source pixels into 5 target pixels, with 4 of those 5 being exact representations of one of those 2 source pixels. But with subsampling only 1 out of every 5 pixel will be a clean, un-muddled representation of a source pixel.

Great video. Answered all the questions I had about the device. What color is the sky in Super Mario Bros again :P? Anyway, I did notice the color difference on the Super Mario World title screen, particularly the red letters. The performance of the ADC in the OSSC appears to be superior here. With S-Video and composite, its a non-issue due to the limited chroma resolution. As for capturing VHS tapes or other 480i sources, the preferred method of capture is to preserve the original 480i video to file and let output devices de-interlace it (since deinterlacing algorithms are always improving).

Thanks , Bob !

I'm just hoping someone from the community comes up with a cheap and solid replacement for the casing, I'm not too fond of the bare bones option he offers, at least in the long run. Maybe a raspberry pi case will work with it?

Great review!!

FWIW...The out of focus background looks better than the green from the past.

The online quick start manual says there’re three selections...but I can get six different LED burning selections (including combinations of LED’s) They are: - YPbPr - Y/C - YPbPr + Y/C - CVBS - Y/C + CVBS - YPbPr + Y/C + CVBS I was wondering what all these settings are, as I am a noob regarding such combinations :(

Jailbars may be more noticeable on digital equipment than older analog equipment, but late analog equipment shows them almost as bad. Connect an NES-101 to a late non-digital Trinitron and you will see! Regarding capture compatibility: The early look from Scarlet Sprites specifically said that it doesn’t work with his capture setup. Is he doing something wrong? I’d love to hear what you two have today about it!

This was really good.

Hmmm. I mainly wanted to use a VGA monitor, was gonna go for the Garo but if hdmi to vga adds no additional lag then this might be a better investment...

ahh so it doesn't do 720p. I thought it did. I need a good cheap scalier that upconverts 480i/480p to 720p or 1080p for wii/ps2/xbox/gamecube. I already bought a framemeister cuz of the zoom feature and that it's the top scaler, it's really good. but later found out it sucks for 480i/480p. I rather not buy a OSSC now cause of cost. Maybe all I need is a better tv.

Would love to see what the output from this looks like when showing a (PAL) C64 using with the non-standard S-Video input. Also then feeding that into an OSSC. Compared to most consoles / computers, there is not a lot of choice when looking to use a C64 with a modern display.

Nice for LD on ossc

Great review, for sure i gonna buy it.. i want to use on PC Crt monitor.. The only feature that i want and is missed here.. is a bult in scanlines generator.. I really want put PCE/SNES/MD on monitor with scanlines

for the OSSC couldn't you used use a SCART adapter for S-Video input? Those aren't that expensive.

So I just spent 400 bucks on a framemeister. Maybe this will be a better option for my cbox mvs

Would like to see N64 S video out the retrotink then an M cable to the TV

Danke!

Just got the OSSC and love it, all the work of my modded SNES/Turbo Duo/Sharp Twin Famicom/N64 come to fruition plus others w native RGB output now being used proper, a dream come true! This Tink however is an excellent, much more budget friendly version! I may buy it actually, because the only thing I'm missing integrating into my system is the 3DO, and I want to use S-video w that (OSSC nor my Marantz AV receiver don't have that input). Anybody try their 3DO w this yet? (I know they're funky and don't output 240p without mod)

Why does the capture card have to recover at all when the game switches between 240p and 480i? As far the display is concerned, there should be an uninterrupted 480p signal, right? I had an impression that RetroTINK2X understands 240p/480i well enough to have seamless output while the game switches modes, in much the same way old standard-def CRTs all handled the mode changes with no hitch at all.

I have a question that I don't believe was covered in this video. I recently acquired an HD CRT, and discovered that the internal upscaler lags too much for a photoscopic light gun to receive the hit signal. There is no known way to disable the internal upscaler, and it's believed that HD CRT picture tubes are not capable of displaying 240p. I've read that they do however display 480i and 480p signals like you'd expect a CRT to, instantly. I've read that 480i and 480p input signals bypass the internal upscaler. So my question is, is this thing fast enough to work for NES games like duck hunt and lethal enforcers for Genesis? I've read one frame off is too much. If not, do you think it's possible to come up with a device that would? If you did, it would be the only known solution. All the really big CRTs were made to try to compete with the emerging flat screen market. You are trying to emulate a CRT feel to a flat screen, and I'm over here trying to get this enormous CRT to stop acting like a flat screen lol.

Great overview/interview Bob. Hey, how can I get in touch with you? Twitter perma-banned me some time ago, your website still says you're busy, but I have some non-sony RGB monitors I want to show you.

I try to get info on how it handles different 15khz signals like arcade boards, R-Type i think has more lines (384x256) and to fit that into 15khz hfreq they use 55hz vfreq. Will this be displayed as 768x512@55hz ? or will it squash the image to fit in 640x480@60 in any way?

Have you tested s-video out from the PSone and N64 to see if there was any improvement through the RetroTink? I'm aware of Ultra HDMI N64 but has been out of my price range and I know there are other options for PSone like PS2 RGB, but I am still curious if the S-video option for those consoles showed any improvement. Thanks.

Have you tested how composite looks in passthrough mode to the OSSC with less scaling and scanlines? I would hope it would look much better than what you showed at 5x with no scanlines.

he said the chip had 3 analog inputs. so that would make SCART input possible, any idea why he omitted it and if he's gonna make another revision with RGB SCART support? EDIT: Ok it comes up later in the video.

Hi. Thanks for this. Sounds like what I am looking for. I am in the process of PLANNING/Setting up a cabinet that will handle 20 classic game systems. I will be trying to mod as much as possible for AT LEAST S-video but, still will have to deal with composite/component in some cases. So not being able to switch with this device, and keep as minimum switching as possible. I would need 3 of these (one for component, one for composite and one for S-Video) and run them into a HDMI auto switch (as long as they don't output a signal if nothing is going through it). So based on this costing around $350 (3X of these and a HDMI auto switch). Or is there a better option in this cost range that will be handle everything I need? Thanks in advance.

HELP!!! Guys i am having a hard time Down Scaling to 24khz for an arcade monitor what can i do ????

Does this get rid of the dithering effects on Sega Genesis games input via composite, sharpening pixels and losing the translucent effect? I'm looking for comparisons between direct and via the Tink.

You should have used Generic 4:3 for composite LineX5 with the OSSC. You used 256X240 optimized mode which looks bad with composite because of the dot crawl. Any chance you could upload some PNG captures?

What about SCART? What would be the best solution? I’m looking to ditch my crt. Need the space as wife is complaining.

That's a few empty bottles in the back there Mike. lol

what about brightness and contrast adjustment? I have some devices that output NTSC and others that output NTSC-J and the levels are different

On the Sonic 2 title screen comparison shot, it looks like there are some considerable color differences on the retrotink-2x. It stands out the most on tails (the outlines are much softer etc...). Any idea what's causing that?

Shame theres no RGB input otherwise it'd be a viable option. I'll still maintain that the GBS8200 with GBScontrol is a better solution at a lower price

I don't want to break into and modify any of my old systems, so was thinking to use the tink 2x in passthrough mode to then go into an OSSC from my NES composite cables...but man, yeah, that doesn't look so great @ 23:00....but then @ 23:18 it looks great with s-video!...But I'm confused. How did you get s-video out of the NES in the first place? Everything I see online says the NES can only output in composite. Am I missing something?

Can anybody confirm that the RetroTINK works with a consolized Neo-Geo MVS C board? I have one that outputs component Ypbpr and only certain HDTVs can “see” whatever resolution/hz it’s outputting (I have no idea what the resolution actually is). Some TVs don’t pick up any signal and NO inexpensive Chinese Component to HDMI converters that I’ve tried work either. I’m hoping that the RetroTINK will solve this problem, but I want to know for sure before I buy. Thanks!

Does anyone know if a Samsung TV sees the 480p signal as a 720x480 or 640x480 signal? This affects how my TV handles the overscan area.

In the zoomed image of the OSSC and Tink2x comparison with Super Mario World you can see some green outside of the black lines above the “M” but it’s only on OSSC. I saw this earlier in the video on the Tink2x where you were showing the vertical filtering, so it seems to be a scaling artifact. Was it introduced here from the default OSSC settings or was it from processing for RU-vid or what?

Wouldve loved to grab one of these to run my non rgb capable/modded consoles thru to a later model vga CRT I have sitting around collecting dust. Will there be another run of these?

please help me.just wanna know,If the cheap HDMI to scart converters in amazon add lag or no.thank you for help

Oh if this had RGB Scart, I would buy it in a heartbeat! the OSSC is a bit too pricey since I am just going to use it on an Amiga. :)

Does this work with computer monitors with VGA input? And would the HDMI output work while directly connected to a computer monitor?

Does it work well for ps2 and dreamcast on a 1080 tv? Thanks for review

What is the low latency mini HDMI to VGA converter used in this yourtube video?

are they PS2 and Xbox og. compatible?

Why was the sky so different with component at 12 something?