RetroUSB AVS Review - Play Your Old Nintendo (NES) Games on an HD TV - NES Classic Mini Alternative 

Watched a fair few reviews for this online now and I have to say this is by FAR the most comprehensive, informative review available. Thank you for making this, it has been enormously helpful, and I appreciate your perspective.

Great Review! I had the honor of beta testing the AVS back in 2013 and had an amazing time experimenting with it and using the scoreboard. A lot of love went into the design and production of this console. I was lucky enough to get one of the LEE versions of the console and can't wait to start playing again. I think the scoreboard was the coolest feature of the console, and I didn't see you mention this so I wanted to add that the scoreboard will not upload a score if any Game Genie codes are being used. This is a nice feature which means score will be legit. :)

I'm glad that you took the time to explain how this differs from software emulators like the Retron 5. Quite refreshing!

It's cool they priced it almost exactly what an NES originally retailed for.

Your reviews are so comprehensive!! Love it!! I am sold on this thing

Great review! I really appreciated the part where you showed viewers there is no input lag, that's incredibly cool.

Best review of this that I've seen, an actual in depth overview and just a bunch of gameplay footage with an unboxing that seemed more like an ad than a review. Would love to see that interview if you can get it; especially would like to hear from the person or people behind the actual FPGA instead of whoever owns the company.

Awesome!! Looks like an actual Nes revision! I want one!

I ordered one about a week ago. Soooo stoked. Hell yeah

Thanks for the review. I'm really looking forward to this.

Lon, this is soooo great!!! Thanks for doing the review!

Man you are so lucky. I would absolutely love one of these.

This was a great review, extremely thorough.

First off, great to see the Batman movie game featured with its wonderful music. I just went back an replayed that one a number of times a month ago. Top-notch game and one of my favorites now. Great review overall. Looks like they got so many things right with it. It seems like a quality package. Good to see how much they care about this product. Great timing too as it will be available when the mini NES triggers a wave of nostalgia.

You do a nice job with these videos.

Very good review

Damn. Awesome review. I'm definitely going to have to check this out. Not been a fan of the emulator boxes. Thanks, Lon.

Absolutely great review...I actually heard about the system from Pat and Ian's cuPodcast...just great, Thanks.

Loved this review!

I have a Famicom AV (the 2nd version which is similar in design to the NES toploader) which i love but this looks like something i need in my life. I recently bought the 8bitdo bluetooth retro reciever and one of their NES Pro 30 controllers to give me a wireless controller for the Fami, bet they would work a treat with this too.

Awesome review.

Great video as always, Lon! Since you're mentioning that you're going to do a followup video, and you also have a flashcart, I'd love to see the system running the 240p test suite, from the XRGB wiki. It's a nice little software that will let you test the picture resolution, scrolling, scanlines and so, but the most interesting thing is the latency test. Maybe you can double check the AVS doesn't have any input lag whatsoever? :) And by the way, it would be also interesting if you could please explain the difference between a NOAC and a FPGA. I'm a little lost. Thanks!

Thanks man. I am gonna get one of these!

thanks for this video dude, you convinced me to get one instead of that (admittedly adorable) Classic NES Mini

Thank you, Lon!!!! :) great video!

RetroUSB has been doing homebrew games for a while now close to a decade at this point. Retro AVS is based on the real hardware and will play all NES games. It is no ordinary clone, it is a 1:1 clone. It is about time someone made a 1:1 clone, I knew it could be done since the tech is 30 years old. Those other clone consoles are just being cheap and taking the easy way out, thank God Brian doesn't do that.

I'm sure all the people who paid $500 for the Analogue NT are feeling duped now.

yeah I'm getting this and the powerpak!

A little late to the party but I did get the AVS for Christmas. I also own the NES Mini Classic. I own about 80 NES games and probably 14 of them are also on the NES Mini. The AVS compared to the NES Mini games played on the same monitor/TV look really close, but what sets them apart is the sound. Mega Man 2, Ice Climbers, Mario games, and I think some others sound much better on the AVS. I have a friend of a friend that owns a pie and I think the AVS has better control response (tried Batman on both sides). Built in 4 score makes this a great buy and I feel the best bang for the buck right now.

Actually the Famicom had a extra plug in control port, it was located on the back of the famicom. This allows accessories to be used like light guns and 4 players accessories.

Definitely subbed.

One thing I plan on doing is etching in the "Nintendo Entertainment System" in the front flap's plastic. Glad they left it blank. They really thought of everything

if you need Nintendo controlers hit up value village, goodwill, etc. I've found official controllers for between $1.99 and $3.99 (Canadian)

Great review Lon! A few points: (1) Yes, this works fine with the Everdrive N8. (2) You made it sound like save states aren't possible, but just like with original hardware you should be able to utilize the save state feature that's built into the Powerpak and Everdrive. (3) The ultimate NES solution is modding original hardware to use kevtris' hdmi out board ("Hidef NES") b/c that outputs native 1080p with no frame buffer (ZERO lag), and has considerably more customizable menu options as well as complete extended audio chip support (eg. much better audio when playing Japanese version of Castlevania 3 ROM). The AVS by comparison outputs 720p (not sure about added latency on output), but more latency is definitely added as your TV upscales it to 1080p for display. One other distinction has to do with the limited choice of integer scaled aspect ratios that are possible with 720p vs 1008p output which is discussed in detail here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-TI60A3DpI6w.html

It would have been nice had they included a bit of onboard RAM so you could back up your original cart's game saves before the batteries die. Also, some basic save states would be nice too. Just for people who don't use flash carts

Nice job with the review. I've actually been watching the AVS project for over 3 years now and jumped at the chance to pre-order one. ... .... I was wondering if you can play Famicom games which utilize the microphone such as Zelda, SMB, and a few others. I believe you would use a Famicom controller with built-in mic plugged into the EXT Famicom port on the AVS. According to a other review they said you can't because the AVS doesn't have a Microphone input, but I thought all you needed was the pad with built-in mic.... confused on that.

Great review! Now all we need is the movie "The Wizard" on Blu-ray DVD. "I love the Power Glove. It's so bad."

I have the AVS and the RetroN 5 both...I can assure you that both work/play great. AVS has a slightly better picture quality because every square pixel is represented as it was back in the day....however, the RetroN 5 smooths out the square pixels to "round" out all the corners so to speak.

Great review Lon! Just picked one of these up! Have you had time to try any of the Retro-8Bitdo controllers with this system?

Wow! Nice IIGS!

The Vertical Border, I wish they made some of that software for the ps2, so it could allow wider view, most games in PS2 had much wider capacity, but because hd televisions were not out yet, they made the console see only square, which a software like FreeMacBoot in a Memory card that could allow Vertical Border option would be perfect, making the PS2 games all in an HD panoramic view.

It's gorgeous. If I collected for NES, I'd buy one without hesitation. 'Sure as hell not about to start now though.

Very cool 👍🏽

Looks great an lots of amazing features, even has the Famicom Expansion Port! The only thing I would have liked to see is more options for outputs. Maybe RGB and audio to make it easier to hook up to a PVM without converting the HDMI.

FPGA is the future!

Tried a few emulator boxes and the wii seems to work best for that. Gonna try one of these though.

Wow i hope they make a Neo-Geo and Turbo Grafix version

The AVS is now on Amazon for those who want that option.

Would the zapper light gun work with a CRT hooked up via a digital to analog converter?? I know it's a bit redundant, but curious non the less.

This is very interesting, now I just wonder if they will get around to making a snes one...

Would love to see it compare to the new classic nes mini from nintendo to see if it is any better or the same.

I just received one of these in the mail yesterday. It seems to be powering up fine, but the cartridges do not lock into place and the system does not seem to be recognizing them. Did you have any problems with this?

fammy com :P great in depth review

3:06 the reason why this is happening is because the AVS is not designed with EDID. this means that the HDMI does not have a 'standardized' signal for all TVs to understand. in other words, the AVS will not work with random TVs.

Very cool if you still have your old collection or access to someone elses. Fortunately Nintendo themselves is actually giving us their own Classic Mini with 30 games built in due this November for $60.

Lon, how did you get your hands on this machine this early?? On the retroUSB website, they say it'll ship mid to late September.

i own a avs.and its been awesome....i watch reviews for nt mini n avs..reviews.say u cant really tell.a diffrence with nes games betweeen 720p to 1080p..if u just wanna play nes games on a hdtv then the avs is well worth it..

Nice toy :)

Also, does it recognize Japanese Famicom games in the slot to enter codes saved in its database?

Does anyone know if the AVS will play sound through a monitor via HDMI? Example is the ROG PG279. I've tried my Wii through the ROG HDMI through a converter and never got the sound working.

can i use clone cartridges (famicom or nes) or only original ones? thanks

if you put the avs with a downscaler to crt wouldnt duck hunt work then?

So I am really considering buying this but question......will the game genie work in this?

That left side gunk is called overscan.

its hardware emulation lots of stuff works this way now, hell i use to work for a place that i at 8hrsa day just flashing roms to replacement parts for kaosk systems that used proprietary hardware that was not possible to build with native chips anymore, our replacements where ALOT more powerful, allowing the units to run updated software for generations the company made 5-6gens higher then the original hardware could, but also could 1:1 hardware emulated run and operate with all the old hardware. and yeah, its alot better then most software methods, though, with an, NES era hardware, you could im sure, easily build something around a SeeD board or RaspberryPi or the like, that could be fully updated to not only support the old hardware like the glove, but, might let people in the geek community use it for other things without the hassles i have seen people go to to make it function with anything but an nes. what would be amazing is somebody making a setup like this, but that can operate with nes/snes/n64 and perhaps ms/genesis/saturn/dreemcast as well, if the software is FOSS and users are given access to the rom and ability to help patch it, you very likely would see lots of updates/patches and people finding interesting ways to use/build/etc with it.... oh..idea....make it sort of like legos, base unit with nes/ms support, then snap in/connect parts that add support for other consoles, could also make it so each unit could work on its own but if you got more they connect togather so you only need 1 power/video connection for all of it, i like the idea...if they crowd funded it and kept the cost reasonable, they could even massdrop kits to build/assemble your own, i have wanted to be able to properly play alot of the older titles without the PITA that can be, getting some titles working with emulation....i will admit it was funny using my buddy cellphone as a "gun" to shoot ducks in duckhunt though..... but either way, using a system like this, allows them to expand on what the original could do and keep better compatibility, though, still be able to update it to fix issues. still, would love to see something like this, that could emulate consoles, and do more, hardware or software.. i did like the idea one friend of mine had, rather then having sockets/slots for carts and controllers on the actual base unit, a geeks dream version could just stick the controller connections on a octopus cable, and put a brick with console cart slots on a cable as well, advantages of that are many but, one major one is, if the cart slot gets worn/damaged/etc, you can just replace a cable and brick not have to replace the unit or solder (i could solder, and have, even modified classic nes units with a slot that was just direct incert like this no "Click it down" aspect(horrible design...horrible....) nintendo can be real dicks, they know its popular but nuke it anyway...prob hoping you will just get the Wii and Wii versions of classics... hope this concept takes off but, somebody comes out with a more open version that supports more then just nes/famicom games..

I don't get using the original controller ports vs. usb. I'll get the same level of nostalgia over with the convenience of already owning a USB NES controller.

lon, what tv or monitor model are you using for the AVS?

does this play all the reproduction games say like mr gimmick sweet home or 150 in 1 nes cart? This product looks amazing.

Does an Everdrive cart work on it?

does something like this also exists for the Super Nintendo as this is my most favorite console of all time and I already own the everdrive for the SNES. Thank you very much in advance.

For those people that want to play "Duck Hunt" and other NES light gun games on their LCD TV a great alternative is to buy a Nintendo Wii and get those classic games from the Wii Shop. They have been programmed to work with the Wiimote. If you want a more accurate "zapper" feel, you can even get a gun shaped holder for the Wiimote.

better design than the original

I thought it might be overpriced until you showed that it plays famicom games AND has a built in Game Genie! Damn! :D

Does zapper work if you use a crt tv?

only problem I could see with it is the gigantic door. granted its design was inspired by the original North America NES and it achieves that. All I could see when I saw it being opened and closed is the multitudes of first generation Wiis I buy dirt cheap nowadays that function but he access doors for the GC ports have gave up the ghost long ago and are in a landfill somewhere. I'm probably wrong, and that's a super trivial complaint, but I was wondering nonetheless

I would suggest instead FPGA MIST (I don't work for them!). It allows to play perfectly NES, any old school computers (C64, AMIGA...) and many other consoles for the same price. I own one, it works perfeclty but you don't have hdmi out, instead VGA or SCART RGB (perfect on my CRT). Also, it takes some times to configure it. After, you can play any rom, no need of cartridge... you can use sega genesis controller

How's it going boss? Can you give me names of a couple of affordable Windows tablets with great resolution? Intend to use it mainly with streaming Apps from the Microsoft App Store. Thanks

+1 for the NES Max

Does the Retro USB powerpak work with this?

Actually pal was 50 frames per second, or 50hz. NTSC was 60fps, or 60hz. It has to do with the frequency of the power in those countries.

Just bought an AVS, anyone know how many times you have to insert/remove a cart before it takes less than 50 lbs of force to insert/remove one? I wanted to be able to play my old games without breaking them and scraping lines in the back of the plastic carts. ( No I am not at all being even slightly sarcastic )

Can you turn the codes on/off while playing

Feedback. I think if they would of added a Gameboy cartridge slot, that would of made it more attractive to sell, I mean Gameboy games could haved been replicated in Color, and HD option, that is a plus.

Apple IIGS in the BG?! Sub'd! :P

Wasn't there a system you were getting in that could be programmed to be other chipsets? Did I miss that one?

01:27 - Hardware overview05:23 - Gameplay - Batman (more footage at lon.tv/avsfootage)07:06 - Zelda and battery backup cartridge compatibility07:43 - Cheat codes / Game Genie compatibility09:23 - Input options10:30 - Video configuration12:25 - Scanline configuration14:25 - Flash cartridge compatibility - PowerPak demonstrated15:55 - Gameplay - Megaman 2 footage16:28 - Light gun / zapper / ROB incompatibility16:54 - Retro USB published launch titles17:52 - Conclusion and final thoughts

my only complaint is no guide rail for the cart, you almost bent the port by lifting the cart which will. damage it eventually. Hopefully they will add some guide rail in later revisions.

any talks of a nes and nes combo system?

Will you be able to find this in stores???

What monitor is that?

3:06 looks like other people are having HDMI / audio issues. see 25:00 on this unboxing periscope video www.periscope.tv/w/1yoJMrvXREXxQ#

Lon stop holding out on us . . . review the Coleco Chameleon already :)

Does the light gun work with a crt tv?

I wonder if they are going to make other consoles like the Genesis (that would totally destroy the Mk III and at games consoles) :)

"Even the Power Glove works with it." This thing is cool, but I don't think it's magical enough to make the Power Glove a functional thing...

RetroUSB should have made the console that's similar to the Super Retro Trio. Where it Plays the NES, SNES, and Genesis.

Wish I still Had my NES

how does this compare to rgb

I know it's not your shtick but it would have been great to see a tear down.

It is able to play famicom disk system?