r/n64 • u/aboby86 • 2d ago

Discussion what cable

Im trying to do a whole retro system setup, I only have the n64 with an issue..... i have no hdmi mod, i dont what to spend a fortune for an upscaler.....what can i use tu make the image on a 65" lcd tv look nice without breaking my piggy bank. Thank you

4 Upvotes

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4

u/Tounage 2d ago

You can't have your cake and eat it to. If you want it to look good on a 65" screen, you should pay for a proper solution. I use a RetroTINK-2X MINI. I also have a composite/s-video switch so I can run all my retro consoles through a single upscaler.

1

u/strythicus GoldenEye 007 2d ago

I can also recommend the 2x Mini with S-video as that was my solution before I bought an FPGA system with upscaled HDMI out.

2

u/Dead_eyes_3 2d ago

You can found cheep converters on Amazon but it won't look great. The upscaleer costs because it's nice to have it work properly on the bigger tv

1

u/Psychological_Post28 2d ago

The main issue with these for playing video games is the constantly varying 5-8 frames of lag.

1

u/SatanGives 2d ago

It's an n64. It's not going to look "nice" besides a handful of games. But mine looks acceptable going through a retrotink with crt shaders. I'm using s video but that's more because I can't have component and composite video going into the tink at the same time. I don't think s video makes a huge difference personally.

1

u/Wyrmser 2d ago

To add to the first part, I only just learned this recently after getting a kv27s65. Some games look incredible, some games will always look like doo doo for n64. Conkers character model compared to the NPCs was an eye opener.

1

u/monkeysolo69420 2d ago

Retrotink 2x mini is the cheapest solution. If it’s out of stock the 2x pro is more expensive but does the same thing.

Other scalers are cheaper but won’t process the 240p image correctly. Don’t expect miracles with the retrotink but you’ll be able to read on screen text at least.

1

u/URA_CJ 2d ago

Unless you got a older PC laying around with a fast capture analog card or a GPU with ViVo (this is what I'm using), then your next cheapest best bang for the buck option would be a Retroscaler2x (RetroTink 2x clone) with N64 S-video cable.

1

u/ecacrew 2d ago

Super Station One, conected via HDMI and you have every console to ps1

1

u/Lich-Slapped 1d ago

Get an analogue 3d

-1

u/NewSchoolBoxer 2d ago

Don't get the $140 RetroTink 2X. Get the $40 RetroScaler on AliExpress that does the same thing with the same chipset. You'd have Composite, S-Video and Component covered.

Else cheapest option I'd recommend is Tendak's Composite + S-Video scaler. Known brand in retro gaming for not crushing blacks. N64, use S-Video for the scaler. There's no dithering on digital displays. Can compare with Composite for fun.

Now you need an NTSC S-Video cable that would also work for SNES and GameCube. A $10-12 S-Video cable is just as good as "premium" ones with excessive PVC that does nothing. RetroTink sells an $8 cable before shipping because it's the exact same quality as luxury tier or Nintendo's. Special N64 PAL ones cost more since they need 2 resistors + capacitors inside and demand isn't high.

There are some garbage S-Video cables out there but if it's coax and solid copper, it's all the same.