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I bought this per your Twitter post. This is the perfect console for my young son. It works great and he does not care that the picture doesn't look perfect on our TV. If he manages to break it, it wasn't a huge investment. Highly recommend as a starter console.
The biggest issue I have with these systems: Screen tearing. Lots of it. However this is remedied by hooking it up to a CRT or HD projector if you don't have a scaler . Seriously though. For 14 bucks it's a decent stop-gap system to keep wear and tear off of a real NES.
I’ve had some minor problems. I’m using this system on a crt I was curious if the problems I’m having are just the console? Any advice or help would be very much appreciated. I’ve tried searching online and can’t find any answers
The Retron 1 AV is such a great looking clone console. I absolutely love the NES-like aesthetic and tiny form factor. But what does any of that matter, even when hooked up to a CRT, when the colours and Audio are completely messed up? If this were FPGA-based, I would of been all over it. My RetroUSB AVS doesn't even have a multiout port for Composite, S-video & Component. Real bummer! Should of snatched the Nt Mini when i had the chance instead. Now they're almost $2500 CAD on eBay. Nope! Best option for a CRT would probably be a multiout modded Top loader. I'm pretty much over the front loaded/Toaster NES. :P
The reason for the "weird" colors is that the NES PPU produces colors that don't conform to the standard range of a TV's color gamut. The NES pallet will thus, look different on every different TV manufacturer, or even different among different models by the same manufactuer. Since a NOAC clones the NES PPU, this continues to be the case. Your HDTV monitor there is what is throwing out the sky being purple; not the Famiclone. As far as it's concerned, the sky in Mario 1 is blue. It's your monitor that is seeing it and thinking "purple". This same thing happens all the time in emulation too. Unless you're talking about the RGB PPU in the Vs and Play-Choice 10 cabinets, there is no real NES color pallet. Not really. The exact shades will always differ TV to TV.
@@gabnrami put it isn't purple. That's the TV inturupting the signal color to be purple. If he used a different tv, he'd get a different color. Some sets are more accurate than others.
@@SatoshiMatrix1 just Google " In a 2003 interview, Shigeru Miyamoto stated that he chose the sky color in the original Super Mario Bros. for being "purplish ".he choosed the most purple color. Of course every tv will display nes signal different
So hooking this up to lets say a Sony WEGA Trinitron CRT would fair better in the colour department? Still wouldn't save the funky audio issues! :P I hear it's analogue/AV port has zero latency as well when paired with a CRT, which is a big plus.
Sounds like you got one with busted audio. I bought 3 of these, and only one of them sounds like yours. The other two sound fine, but all these consoles require a sound circuit adjustment to take care of the scratchy, overmodulated audio output. Also, Battletoads crashes at Level 2 on all these NOAC consoles.
@Brian Babin Because I actually like collecting these clone consoles, and I like to tinker with them to see if you can get more out of them or fix design flaws. I find these clones to be fascinating.
Exactly Fenris..i'm a tinkerer too..and if you screw up the PCB..you can always fit a Raspberry Pi3b+ with Retropie in the case..i bought a couple of those 500in1 NES mini clones few years ago..although i don't bother with the NOAC..(before they became 600 or 620in1 etc)..make nice NES Rpi with a little soldering and lead chopping..keep on tinkering..and Google the forums for tips and info..where possible
It makes sense that it doesn’t have an option for aspect ratio since it’s composite only and sending a 4:3 signal only. Composite could do an anamorphic widescreen option like DVD players did but that would make zero sense for nes games.
I got something like this a while ago called the ClassiQ N. Its a similar price point but a little more expensive, I bought it purely to play lightgun games.
No excuse for a clone console in 2021 to not have HDMI. TVs now don't even have component with composite option anymore. Probably worth buying for just the controller, but even then you're still better off with the Cadet for extra length.
My problem with these things is the cartridge slot is always so tight. I broke a cartridge trying to get it out of the slot once. Another one I tried wouldn’t consistently play my games at all. I’m someone on a budget and really just want to play the 7 games I own and love.
These are neat for the price. But if you want the real deal, that plays every famicom and NES game flawlessly, a Famicom AV top loader with a retro freak adapter is the way to go. It's Famicom. It's Fun.
the funny thing is that these systems now still look better than playing the original console back in the day. Unless you were on a really good crt TV or pvm or something.
There's definitely distortion in the audio output, which is something I've come across on a number of clones with similar chipsets to the one used in the RetroN1 AV which have correct duty cycles, but a messed-up DMC (the bit order is backwards causing weird output of sampled sounds). This is usually an indication that the chipset requires an extra 1Kohm pull-down resistor soldered between the raw output from the NOAC itself and ground. This really helps to mitigate the distortion, though it should be applied at the factory rather than leaving it to potential buyers to solder such a resistor in themselves (which isn't something everyone can do). At least despite the composite-only output, this clone's chipset has proper duty cycles rather than being another addition to the reversed duty cycle plague going on with HDMI NOAC-based clones. A chipset like this which can be used as the basis for an HDMI clone (not with some crappy composite to HDMI conversion, but with whatever funky video format is used by the scalers on HDMI NOAC-based clones) would be welcome in an HDMI NOAC-based clone landscape that's filled with systems that have sound problems and some with really nasty HDMI output.
Got one of those, works great for the price. Was 25 for me at launch. I like how my Zelda sticks out and just pops with its gold goodness. Only gripe is the 8bitdo NES receiver doesn't work with it. Some sounds are off, but not too bad.
It was continually dropping in price all the way down to just $13 the other night lol. Then it went back up. I posted on Twitter a few times when it was on sale.
I know there is no way my brother @Madlittlepixel would steer us wrong anyway!!🤣🤣🤣 Hell, would be good if hyperkin ever produced anything worth buying... The thing is that we are doing the best to help these ATgames type companies get out of the dirt... Thanks, maybe I'll give it to my Nephew 😂😂😂 He'll be pissed🤣
Here is another example of US benefits, for here in Canada it's literally as much as $99 Canadian. I think I can pick up a gray model from best buy for $40 Canadian. Regardless, if you wish to preserve your original NES hardware, it is worth using a clone. One game I saw that does not run on clones is Dino Riki.
Kind of a weird thing to make in 2021. Everyone knows how AV looks on a modern tv and people like me who still got crts hooked up are gonna use original hardware anyways. An NES is still only like 50-60 bucks. Just pay a bit extra and avoid emulation and hyperkin all together.
@@npenplz there's a game shop near me selling one for that much. if you don't care about visual condition you can get the ones that don't look pretty for cheaper
@@MCDreng yeah I since got one for $60 on offerup, it just requires a bit of patience and negotiating. Most "Bundles" or consistent online sellers like DKoldies will be overpriced though ($175 w/ no games)
Anybody who plays their NES games with razor sharp squarey sprites in HD on an HDTV is out of their mind. :P How does that even look remotely good? CRT filters & Scan lines exist for a reason. Those squarey sprites and environments were blended into art with SD CRT TV's over RF and composite. This retron 1 AV is better off being paired with a CRT for that reason alone, aside from having less latency.
I picked up the Retron Black HD model myself. It was a $40 system I purchased on EBay. After using the controller for a few months one of the buttons started to wear out on the controller. The system itself is fine. I use it to play original NES Cartridges like 1989 NTSC Nes Tetris, Super Mario Bros. and Duck Hunt Duel Game Cartridge, and Gargoyle Quest 2. The games play fine. If I change games in the system it does take a few extra seconds to remove a cartridge from the system versus an original Nintendo Entertainment System. This is sometimes referred to as a Death Grip though it is not that bad. I have heard the earlier models of the system have more of a problem than later models. You should know there are more than one model of the Retron 1 which tends to cost around $15.
Thanks for the review! my NES is close to pretty much kicking the can and I only have the first 6 mega man games in my collection. I also have a CRT to play my retro games and don't want to spend a lot of $$$ to play my 6 games and this looks like a great option!
Get an AV modded/or NESRGB kit(You can use either composite, S-Video or component)professionally installed in a Top Loader NES, and call it a day. The Front loading Toaster NES is a giant clunky creaking stale Brick house with dangling composite cables hanging off the side, with no awesome NES cart cover art in sight. I'm totally over it! :P I wish this Retron 1 AV were FPGA-based. I absolutely love it's NES-aesthetic and tiny form factor. I'm more interested in new hardware, new controllers, new cables, EverDrives and potentially using a smaller QD-OLED + RetroTINK4K scaler. CRT's are also old and continue to age in time. The former is the best alternative! ;) Yet the Retron 1 AV clearly has colour & Audio problems, so why even bother? It's either a modded top loader paired with a CRT, or a Lid-less RetroUSB AVS hooked up to a QD-OLED & RetroTink4K. The Nt Mini Noire is still the ultimate most versatile FPGA NES, but that thing is around $2500 CAD off ebay now. Nope!
Mines was 40$ and it looks vastly different from your model and this one is made by the same company I don't know if my model or your model may be the new model of theirs. Mines look just like the NES console with the Hyperkin logo on its corner that lights up blue.
I picked one of these up too a couple of weeks ago, and I totally agree that it's great for the price! The audio definitely comes out too hot though and distorts pretty badly with some games (the opening to Little Nemo was AWFUL with this). You can hear it a bit in the Mario footage at the end of this video too, but still totally worth the price IMO. Great breakdown of it dude. Thanks for the video!
Don't see why people complain so much about these. I've got about 30 games and it plays all just fine on my HD computer monitor. Idk, plays the games, get to relive my childhood. Never once noticed these nuanced details about sounds be "slightly off". Even at $25 I'd pay it to play the games of my childhood 🤷♂️
The controller is the only thing i kept... It does feel good. I have the Blue tooth one as well thats my go 2 controller along with the Analogue NT system i got... The Buttcheek feature is my favorite... ❤❤
So you brought up no HDMI for the system. The reason for that might be because the light gun games don't work with modern TV's. One of the most abundant games for the NES is the Duck Hunt/Super Mario Bros cart. I could only imagine being a kid who gets this for the first time with that cartridge (the most likely pick for most) only to discover Duck Hunt does to work.
I paid 9.99$/free shipping for my Hyperkin Retron with 2 controlers; Work pretty good on older T.V but now there is way better NES console(more expensive)
I have noticed with Mario Bros on clone systems, they either get the sky wrong and the sprites right, or they get the sky right and the sprites wrong. Also, why is the audio coming out of the left channel on the captured footage? Is this a mix issue or a system issue? Audio otherwise sounds fine
On amazon UK the controller is a little less than £16 and the Retron 1 AV is £23. So you get an AV clone system for effectively £7. As a novelty for the casual user who would like to give NES a go it's a no brainer (as long as they have AV display)..... but £7 for a 'full sized' console. WOW!
It would still look far worse over HDMI on an HDTV, than AV on a CRT, since this thing doesn't include any CRT softening filters or scan line options, unless you pair it with a RetroTINK4K scaler. But why even bother considering the issues it has with colours and audio? Better off getting a RetroTINK4K(CRT filters + BFI) and pairing it with a RetroUSB AVS, to play on something like a smaller QD-OLED TV.
I have the same issue with multiple clones (I have a few spares just in case my used NES ever dies on me). But the only time I see the issue you see with the N8 is on a clone (of course). I have not tried my non N8 cart, though. (I used to use a non-N8 on an NClassiq non-hdmi clone.) I have confirmed the HDMI versions render the N8 useless.)
Afterburner has issues on my Retron HD as well as my 8-Bit Pocket from Amazon Japan…Yes. I have both versions of Afterburner and both have issues on the Retron HD….Graphical issues to be precise….
3 other games the RetroN systems seem to have issues with: Rad Racer, Rad Racer 2, and Bad Dudes. I believe they all use the MMC3 chip which these clones aren't compatible with for some reason. Not sure if it's specific to just Hyperkin or if it's the NOAC itself that many clones use. The fact the Everdrive detected this was a clone suggests it's probably the latter.
@@Madlittlepixel just having fun about the ones that have to be politically correct about everything it's a way to get a laugh when they want to argue about what they think is better but whatever anybody wants is what is correct for that person.
Hi! Great review. One question, please. My Retron 1 AV runs, for example, PAL Super Mario Bros in a greatly accelerated, almost too fast pace. Any reason why that happens? Thanks
Mine also arrived today and yeah the color is pretty bad lol. I'm gonna try better cables tomorrow see if that does anything but like you said the controller alone is pretty much worth the price. So you get a bonus system. I bought it for a backup so I could still play duck hunt while I work on my original nes.
Thanks for the video - I have a question about this that I can't find the answer to anywhere. I'm looking at this system for playing Tetris on. I live in the UK, wanting to play the NTSC version of Tetris. Does this system run the games at the correct NTSC speed?
I have a retron 2! I mean it's nice and all but some games I noticed aren't 100% accurate like the sound playing in the guardian legends is a little bit off. but everything else I've played on it looked and sounded fine! I guess this would be okay if you're on a budget though?
Anyone knows where I can buy homebrew games for the famicom? Like complete original games that ppl make that r actually really good. I can only find NES ones but never famicom ones
I click the Amazon link to your recommended products, but the page just stays blank. Nothing else opens. Every other link works fine though. I'm interested in the portable power supply but the link ain't working :(
I really don't get the point of cheap clone consoles. Who would spend hundreds of dollars on a collection of physical cartridges and play them all on a $14 piece of junk?
@@allthelonely4287 Perhaps but really the only thing that most commonly goes wrong on a NES is the 72 pin connector. I would use the $23 bucks that this thing costs on the regular to buy a the $30 Blinking Light Win mod that is easily installed and completely cures the finicky nature of the NES lockout chip. $23 may seem cheap but it really isn't a good deal if it's junk.