How I Play Retro Video Games These Days! MiSTer with RGB to a CRT & Emudeck!

[@grayfox_yt]

Digital Media preservation is more important now than ever. Glad to see you giving it some attention.

[@LusRetroSource]

Awesome video! The MiSTer FPGA, Steam Deck and Analogue Pocket are my favorite ways to play retro games. We are really spoiled these days.

[@LonSeidman]

And your work is a great resource for keeping up with developments!

[@MarkDell]

Thanks to both Lu and Lon for what you do!

[@jerryklein3]

Thanks for sharing Lon! I also am a big MiSTer user for Atari through N64. Highly recommend it! Such a great community as well.

[@SScorpio0]

You can get TATE mode games working without rotate the CRT. The video won't be directly out of the FPGA to match the original arcade board. You enable the scaler with analog out, that will output the rotated video to the CRT. This can be enabled per core, so only vertical games you individually configure would be affected. This will introduce a frame of latency so light guns over SNAC won't work. Light guns that are also supported on moderns TVs will work in this setup. So RetroShooter, Gun4IR, Sinden, etc will work.

[@LonSeidman]

I didn’t know the scaler could rotate! Thanks for the tip!

[@SScorpio0]

​@@LonSeidman Using the scaler with the analog output is taking the same frame buffer the HDMI output is using and outputting it over the analog connection. If you haven't taken too big of a deep dive into the arcade cores, you're going to run into some that require using it. Many arcade boards use odd ball non-standard refresh rates that consumer TVs and monitors can't handle. The scaler will tweak this duplicating or dropping frames as needed. It's not 100% accurate to the original, but it works. Another option, if you have a CRT PC Monitor around. TV were 15KHz, while VGA is 31KHz. You can enable a MiSTer INI setting that will do line doubling. There's no other processing going on, simply changing the 15KHz signal to 31KHz. SNAC lightguns won't work. But you'll get a crystal clear but still CRT image like those of the expensive PVMs and BVMs retro enthusiast covet.

[@oscarbarrios]

Love how into this Lon is! cheers mate!

[@ShoelessJP]

Thumbs up for the video gaming content, this is the type of content I appreciate from you. I'm gamer through and through (although these days I'm more a casual gamer). The emulation stuff and digital media preservation topics are really close to my heart!

[@Jokerwolf666]

The SNES Core now has save states!

[@schlittytube]

The Steam Deck really has been so amazing. Like you said, just tackling the Steam backlog but also the emulation. I use RetroDeck, but more or less the same thing as EmuDeck. It's been so fun revisiting everything I grew up on and trying games I missed. I even went so far as to pick up some concave buttons off Etsy just to really bring me back.

[@100Bucks]

If you wanna use your steam deck on your analog tv you can buy a "HDMI to RF modulator with custom channels". I'm using a PC with this method. 1280x960 is my desired resolution for using the Mesen emulator. Use 1280x960 to get 4:3 and then when you open up "Mesen" emulator settings. Change that 4:3 aspect ratio to 8:7. This will make the Nintendo NES emulator fill up the screen completely with no black borders. For modern games that are stuck on 16.9 aspect ratio. My desired resolution for 4:3 is 720x480. Still has black borders on top and bottom but at least you can see everything on the screen. Analog TV is the best experience for retro gaming period. Also you can take advantage of the TV refresh rate. My TV supports 75hz maximum. So if you bought the program called Lossless Scaling to gain "frame generation". A 30fps game can be played at 75fps because of the 75hz coming from the TV. So if I'm working with only 30fps. I need to times that by 3 to get the maximum of 75fps. On screen it will say 90fps but it's really 75fps.

[@electronash]

Hi, Lon. The PS1 and N64 cores are pretty amazing still. Robert is a machine. It's almost shocking to see those cores (and Saturn) running so well on the lowly DE10. I need to play more N64 games on CRT, as I've only played a few hours so far. It's one of my favourite consoles, regardless of the limited library, and the often low framerates in some games. The "Turbo" N64 core apparently fixes that for a lot of games, I haven't tried it yet.

[@PogueSquadron]

I have my Wii modded and hooked up to a CRT for the NES, SNES, Genesis. It’s not native hardware but it works great. And it can do GameCube and Wii which is great. The best part is that the Wii remotes work with the SNES Classic controller, so SNES specifically works great.

[@aetheralmeowstic2392]

The technical term for what an FPGA does is _hardware emulation,_ since it's essentially emulating the hardware at the transistor level.

[@WalrusFPGA]

Loved this. Quite a few high-profile cores have savestates and fast forward. PS1, NES, GBA, GB, Wonderswan, and SNES has test builds that were released recently. Neat seeing the Reflex Adapt make an appearance. It's a really great usb conversion board. The way it breathes new life into the Namco JogCon have been some of my favorite experiences with retro gaming lately.

[@dominic.cellini]

Awesome video! For those that don't have a Steam Deck and want that same emulation experience on the TV, the Linux distribution known as Bazzite does wonders. It fully works with EmuDeck and gives you the same Steam Gamepad UI found on the Steam Deck. Install that on an older SFF PC with a modern AMD GPU, and you have yourself a great emulation and Linux game console.

[@RetroRockGamer]

A day with a new Lon MiSTer video is a good day.

[@kumarp3074]

The new DE10 Nano clone boards make this a really exciting time for Mister FPGA. Not only are cheaper Mister setups possible but we may actually get an FPGA handheld to compete with the Analogue Pocket. I still love playing on original hardware using a Retrotink scaler. The 4k scaler is amazing and worth every penny IMO. With Everdrives, ODEs or RetroNAS I have entire game libraries ready to play for any of my systems.

[@seethruhead7119]

I've been enjoying playing retro games with RetroAchievements on my PVM via the RBG-PI equipped raspberry pi 4

[@avsrule247]

My first console was the PS1, I love occasionally revisiting the games of my childhood. I still have the console, so I haven't had to use any sort of emulation

[@jimcabezola3051]

Enjoyed seeing your fax you sent to Retro Recipes' Channel! I thought, "Hey...I know that dude!"

[@LonSeidman]

Oh cool he must’ve featured that on his show ! I haven’t watched that one yet

[@jimcabezola3051]

@@LonSeidman Yep! It was last Saturday's show! Kewl!

[@mrttype]

Good to see you again. Great video.

[@LonSeidman]

When was the last time you’ve had one of my videos recommended ?

[@mrttype]

It has been a long while. I think KZbin must push the most notifications for channels that produce the most content. I get the most notifications for Video Game Esoterica. I get a couple per day from him. And ETA Prime. Then Retro Game Corp, The Phawx, Kim Justice... I dunno, my feed is pretty full all the time.

[@TorrentFiend10]

Obviously many solutions currently exist for PC...... However my favorite emulator of choice is Nvidia shield with reset collection app and my 8bitdo pro 2 controller. *Cough cough* Internet Archive *cough cough*

[@dogsauce19]

Sick setup Lon. If you get the chance, try setting up groovyarcade so you can play on a crt with savestates and retroachievements

[@Diguitarist]

I love retro gaming on my Steam Deck. I tried both Emudeck and Retrodeck and preferred RetroDeck of the 2 but either way it's a win how easy it is to setup. I just preferred not to have all my emulation games in my regular steam menu. It may have changed since i set it up. I haven't looked into it since originally trying Emudeck because the way i have it is great. Retrodeck is much like his emulation station if you are reading this and what i said doesn't make sense.

[@fellowcitizen]

Thank you!💛🌟

[@rubenmejia4881]

Thank you for this video Lon! I've been quite intrigued seen how the mister has been developing. I love that it supports many consoles and has the snac feature. What I wanted to know was how long would you say dialing in the configurations to your taste took? I would like to have a kit version of this to assemble. Also did yours come with the metal case? If it didn't where did you find yours? When I first learned of emulation I was super excited, it blew my mind because I didn't know something like that was possible. Now in adulthood while I do enjoy and support emulation & fpga I've been trying to use original hardware as I notice now the very minor inaccuracies sometimes with sounds gamplay etc. Have you noticed any using the mister that you can pinpoint out?

[@domramsey]

Very cool video. Maybe with the new DE10 clone I'll be able to afford to get into MiSTer at some point!

[@aetheralmeowstic2392]

I have my hacked Wii hooked up to my 36" Magbavox MS3650 C327 CRT with an S-Video cable My CRT was made in Mexico in 2005

[@schlittytube]

The Wii is such an underrated machine. Only retro console I still have hooked up right now, albeit on a modern TV. Some (fairly recent) settings in USB Loader GX let you get an amazing image on a modern display. Though obviously if you still got the CRT, may as well use it!

[@avsrule247]

Hey Lon! I missed your presence on the recent NSF Starship broadcast! I hope you'll be returning to the show soon?

[@LonSeidman]

I will be back! I was away on a family vacation when flight 5 went up but should be available for flight 6!

[@avsrule247]

@@LonSeidman Awesome! I'm glad to hear that. Keep up the great work!

[@Chocoburger]

Hi Lon, great video, I've been thinking about buying a MiSTer. Would you consider a light gun focused video, that shows GunCon 3 as well as Wii remote being used with the MiSTer on HDTVs? I'd like to know if its laggy or inaccurate in any way, as well as ease of setting it all up.

[@LonSeidman]

I'm still trying to come up with the best light gun solution .. for the older games the SNAC + original hardware is a great way to go. I think they almost have support ready for the Sega Stunner. For the other stuff I am making progress with Retrobat + the Sinden light gun. Need to do a little bit more on that but will probably put something together soon.

[@Chocoburger]

@@LonSeidman good to hear, looking forward to that upcoming video!

[@Jokerwolf666]

MiSTer and Steam Deck for me as well

[@JetScreamer_YT]

I use a CRT HDTV for retro. When I play current gen games on my OLED, then I use the crt for videos, or music. No lie, it's 150 lbs!

[@ravagingwolverine666]

I got rid of my last CRT, and HDTV, several years ago. I looked into it and that one apparently wasn't really any good as a retro monitor due to its processing. That one was 180 pounds as I recall.

[@JetScreamer_YT]

@@ravagingwolverine666 I would say mine is much more of a VGA monitor than a television. It looks great but it doesn't get the scan lines that people appreciate from CRT. It will serve the purpose until I find a good price for a PVM.

[@ravagingwolverine666]

@@JetScreamer_YT Good luck in your search. Out of curiosity, what's the screen size at that weight? If I recall correctly, the one I had at around 180 pounds was 36 inches 4:3. I had a couple of 16:9 Toshiba CRT HDTVs too. Don't know if they would have been good for retro gaming. They both lived short lives due to the capacitor plague at the time.

[@retroconsole_]

That's right..if you play the arcades via LCD or OLED ...there are lags in the games.. But if you play on the RGB CRT monitor they play like the real ones.

[@JeskidoYT]

12:48 it's about damn time someone developed the old controllers using a digital connection without relying on usb port directly

[@JGRICH61]

So, is MiSTer a product you can buy? Or a kit you have to physically build? I have an analogue pocket at present so I understand the benefit of FPGA. But I don’t want to make custom cases, solder, etc. so can you just buy a high end mister from a shop front? Thanks.

[@Scooter30FTW]

Yes,you can buy them,but most of the ones at the sites Lon Linked to appear to be sold out at the moment.

[@LonSeidman]

It's a project that consists of a number of hardware components. The MisterPi is probably the most affordable entry point right now although he's out of stock. This article at RetroRGB is a good starting point: www.retrorgb.com/mister.html

[@newkillergenius]

The Ker-plunk! We call that the "put-cracklet".

[@TheKingOfInappropriateComments]

I just woke up from a really really long nap. What do I need to be able to connect my original NES to a modern digital monitor? Do I need one of these MiSTers or just some converter dohickey? I have it pretty well preserved unless there's some tin whiskers in there that I don't know about. I'm not really into gaming but curious to know if I could still use it.

[@toxotis70]

It would be nice to make a tutorial about steam deck and retro emulation.

[@gaming-zombie1392]

All in one system is FN Awesome.....

[@MartinPaoloni]

I think you should add a Miyoo Mini Plus to the mix. It's small, cheap and great to pick up for a few minutes. It supports retro achievements as well!

[@MarkDell]

I wonder what you’d think of Batocera vs Emudeck. I’ve only ever used Batocera and love it!

[@LonSeidman]

How do upgrades of the OS work on batocera? I like the idea of a portable bootable os but wonder how you manage updating it without losing data.

[@MarkDell]

@@LonSeidman You run it entirely off the microSD card as a different OS. So it is a pain to have to reboot, but it becomes a portable experience as you could boot a PC off that same card

[@minekey29348]

The MiSTer is super interesting but the build it yourself nature of it and having ports all over the place keeps me away. Would love to see someone sell pre-made ones in a traditional console design like the MiSTer Multisystem.

[@filevans]

7:15 does it play r-type in 55hz like the M72 board?

[@ImBetterThenEveryone]

Rgbpi does the same cheaper ?

[@Scooter30FTW]

Where are the game ROMs stored on the MiSTer ?

[@matsh1244]

Usually on the sd-card but you can also have them on a USB Stick/Hard drive or over Wifi/Ethernet on a network drive.

[@retroconsole_]

Don't throw away your CRT monitor. Now they cost a lot and they play like the real arcade..hardly any lag.

[@4ryan42]

I say you are still doing emulation, but in hardware instead of software.

[@cede30]

Speaking of the devices behind, they need to be replaced with more modern devices or a different background entirely. They're an eyesore.

[@LonSeidman]

Some like it, some don't