Introduction to the RetroTINK 4K - Upscaling HDMI Input and More! :: RGB326 / MY LIFE IN GAMING

[@BlurBusters]

I am pleased to inform that Retrotink 4K is awarded the Blur Busters Approved Logo, after having worked with Mike. We even tested Retrotink 4K at 1080p 240Hz and 720p 360Hz for 4:1 and 6:1 custom BFI patterns! I recommend the brand new 240Hz OLEDs, if you would like to reduce even more motion blur with 240Hz BFI instead of 120Hz BFI. Secret tip: You can use custom non-square resolutions in Linux-style ModeLines on SD card, such as 2560x720 at 240Hz, and let your 240Hz OLED do its stretch-zoom mode to fill the screen. (Some models have that). Works fine for aperturegrille CRT filters, since you got full horizontal resolution.

[@RemoWilliams1227]

Dangit you guys are going to make me order one of these aren't you? Fine.

[@duckcurious3801]

Me watching MLIG - 1) The guys talk about awesome new feature 2) Video shows two or more seemingly identical side by side screen caps 3) /me strokes beard and nods appreciatively

[@TheNets]

56min and "I would not consider it as a review" haha That's awesome the dedication you all put into the video reviews, despite you not calling it a review.

[@AyeYoYoYooo]

They put truth before face. Gotta love it.

[@artofwar420]

Mike Chi downplays how awesome he is in some interviews I've seen, like this is just some hobby to him. That might be the case but the outcome is staggeringly impressive. I was so happy with the scaling in my old Retro Tink 2x Pro. The RetroTink 4K is like winning the lottery and finding out you don't have to pay any taxes on it.

[@NotOrdinaryInGames]

You are real troopers for mentioning Panasonic. And I will mention that I have my Panasonic TV because I got a contact in the UK who bought it for me, and shipped to the States. With a little bit of extra payment, so can you! Panasonic does not overprice their products (usually), so it should be affordable to get a TV from UK or France that way. Just keep in mind you will need a transformer and fork adapter.

[@SteveWellsNZ]

The real takeaway from this, is that I really need to rewatch The Crow again!

[@RemoWilliams1227]

Valid.

[@nunyabiddeness6544]

A lotta negativity in these comments, likely over the price, but the main thing people need to remember is that this product is intended for people who like upscaling original hardware, people who find the tinker process to be fun, and people who want minimal input lag and a large variety of options for 4k output

[@Demokirby]

People are silly and defensive about not having the latest and greatest when it is not necessary at all to enjoy the hobby, its there for those who want to spend the money on it and eventual benefits as the technology spreads.

[@espressomatic]

None of the benefits make the price any more palatable. Looks like a great product, even the best of its kind. And glad to see it's actually been shipping, unlike the vapour-ware that others have been going on about for a year or more.

[@Map_of_Your_Head]

none of what you just said justified that price lol

[@reanimationxp]

Try and Coury, I honestly believe that without folks like you covering the Framemeister back in the day, and this channel existing, we might not have this amazing product coming out. I wanted a "Framemeister 4K" way back THEN and talked with some electronics friends, some of which worked at Extron even, for YEARS about making it because of you. I didn't have the technical chops to see it through myself, and they didn't have the understanding, drive or motivation I did. Luckily, Mike was inspired to do so, and I believe you guys played a huge part in that, so thank you to all of you. I am allergic to blur and this product will "cure" my inability to play retro games on my largest screens, and I can't wait. Thanks for all that you do.

[@gazzalfc7230]

This hobby is Hella expensive

[@BillB808]

It's not if you know what your doing.

[@DenkyManner]

Only if you're a fanatic that thinks they need this kind of tech. The other end of hobby is totally free. Free emulators, "free" roms, all the crt shaders you could dream of (that look excellent when set up right.) The end result, i.e. what you see on your screen and how it feels, is totally identical. The hardcore retro enthusiasts are the same category at audiophiles and cinephiles who have convinced themselves they need to spend thousands. They don't.

[@PLEYOR]

​@@BillB808Why what are you doing that is different?

[@TheHiddenFortress81]

My CRTs were cheaper.

[@DragonQuarter]

It's an effing curse lol

[@sebbb5980]

I really hope the guys that make these products make a decent living. I'm quite happy with my cheaper Retrotink 2X, but there's no denying that these are passionate engineers!

[@WanderingNasi]

At $750 a pop it has to at least be decent

[@etgripper]

@@WanderingNasi I'm sure the upfront capital is huge, since he isn't taking pre-orders. Hopefully after he recoups we get some price cuts.

[@jazzmanalpha1]

@@WanderingNasi Good luck ever getting one. I'm sure it will be sold out for years...

[@Mampersand]

@@WanderingNasi probably less per unit profit than you’d think. The fpga chip alone costs $250 (it’s available on digikey), not to mention the rest of the board, molds for the plastic, r&d…

[@3jake5mee]

this is his side business, he's an electrical engineer and founded/works-at a company that makes EEG headsets company is called CGX. I think he's living well! His name is Mike Chi

[@GameplayandTalk]

The use with 360, PS3 and Wii U seems like a really great selling point for this device. Thanks for taking the time to show it off!

[@biscotti_]

LOL throwback at the end there: "The Retrotink-5x was the Retrotink-6x all along?!"

[@SuperFlashDriver]

Yeah, I actually ended up looking up what 8640x4860 resolution would be, and it lead me to believe that 8640 is the vertical aspect ratio of 16k resolution (which it does exist, although not many electronic devices support it yet, it'll be another 10 to 20 years or so before we even see 16k devices, let alone 10k and 12k to be used by the consumers as well). But then, 8640x4860 is a perfect 16:9 aspect ratio that leads to either perfect integer 8k scaling to 16k scaling, meaning the RetroTink 4k can be upgraded in the future through firmware to handle 8K+16K resolution screens/monitors/tvs, etc.

[@sofawota]

This is such a comprehensive video on the product! Thank you both for your hard work to show the community as much as you could. Looking forward to this!

[@BDreGaming]

I would basically watch an unlimited amount of content, about playing HD games through the HDMI input on this thing. I just can't get enough of this type of content!

[@DontCallMeScooterrr]

Mike did a restock today and I finally treated myself to a tink4k, time to rewatch this video and begin to wait patiently for my new toy to arrive!

[@michaelschwader7944]

Same. I kept refreshing the page and managed to get one just a minute before it was supposed to go live (2:59pm cst, 12:59pm pt).

[@SKvldlf]

I just ordered one this morning. Would have rather waited but I remember not being able to get one last time and didn't want to lose the opportunity.

[@seethruhead7119]

I could watch another 10 hours of this

[@BambooShadow]

MLiG VIdeos, are the only videos on KZbin where I open them and instantly push thumbs up! Always a pleasure!

[@gamertoon8230]

This video makes me really want to get the Retrotink 4K. The idea of taking my favorite modern pixel art games like Sonic Mania or Kaze & The Wild Masks, and integer scaling them to 4K has me very intrigued.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] Kaze is an interesting case because the pixels are an unusually small scale. Pre-scaling sort of worked for it when I tested it, but not as well as others.

[@Ropeng]

Hey MliG, thank you for my deep learning over the years in Video signals and the possibility to make the most out of it!

[@CosmicEffect]

Outstanding work, Try, Coury. I'm still rocking the now good old Framemeister since the "master class" series of you guys. But now that I have a 4k TV and this video... :) The decimation feature is incredible stuff. Thanks for showing in detail, MLiG.

[@pixeltao]

About Scott Pilgrim, wouldn't it pre-scale correctly with 1/5 in 1080p? Its native resolution is 384x216. We chose 216p so that it'd integer scale 5x perfectly... Unless we messed something up with the rendering code.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] Thanks for pointing this out! You led me to investigate further and I've figured out that the reason I thought it couldn't be pre-scaled is due to some curious behavior with the Switch version of Scott Pilgrim, and it's something that I'll need to keep in mind when testing games for pre-scaling in the future. Sorry it's wordy, but here's what I figured out: Up until recently, I believed that Switch games could only have a single rendering setup for docked play, usually prioritizing image quality at 1080p output, and then if you set your system to 720p, it simply performs a basic soft downscale of the 1080p render. Yes, there are different setups between handheld and docked, but docked play is not like PS3 where some games might do a heavier or lighter rendering load depending on what resolutions you've set in the console dashboard (as far as I know). However, since nearest neighbor scaling on the RetroTINK 4K can often make the rendering setup easier to discern by eye, I noticed that some games, like Blazing Chrome, actually switch between two different rendering modes if you switch between 720p and 1080p while the game is running. In Blazing Chrome, you get sharp pixels in both modes, though the 1080p version is much more uneven (Blazing Chrome has a few rogue lines even in 720p mode, but with a 240p pre-scale and basic decimation, it's perfect). That's a rarer case though, from my observations, anyway. Most pixel art games that aren't 360p or 180p will look sharp at the resolution they target for an integer scale, and blurrier for the other resolution. Scott Pilgrim on Switch is different, and this is why I made a partial mistake here (no idea if you had anything to do with the current-gen ports!). So in Scott Pilgrim, you get sharp pixels ONLY on the resolution setting selected when booting the game. At 720p, the pixels are hard-edged, but uneven. However, if you set to 1080p while the game is running, then the pixels are still uneven, but now they're soft-edged. So at the time, I drew the conclusion that the art must've been designed for 720p since it was originally on PS3/360, but it was uneven anyway. But now that you've prompted me to check again, I've discovered that Scott Pilgrim can also be sharp at 1080p, and with perfectly evenly scaled pixels to boot, but you have to boot the game in 1080p to begin with! If you then switch to 720p under these circumstances, then it's got the typical softer downscale. So yeah, it turns out that changing resolutions on the fly while checking for pre-scaling USUALLY works, but if you end up with no good result, it could still be worth checking when booting the game from the other resolution. Basically, what had happened was, I was testing something else at 720p before Scott Pilgrim, and thus, I booted Scott Pilgrim in 720p mode, which kept it locked to a mode that wouldn't look ideal when changing to 1080p unless I rebooted the game, which I didn't know would change anything. So yeah, this seems to be a somewhat uncommon setup for Switch game behavior as far as I can tell, so it's interesting to learn that this is possible. A 216p pre-scale will not work on Scott Pilgrim when it's in the uneven "blurry" 1080p mode that I was originally testing in, as the wrong lines are sampled in places, and the soft edge on character sprites would also sometimes be sampled as well. It does work, however, as you suggested, when booting up in 1080p to begin with! That said, while it looks gorgeous pre-scaled in still shots, Scott Pilgrim is not an ideal pre-scale candidate, as the camera motion isn't bound by the pixel size, and character movement is the same - players and enemies can stop "between" background pixels. This sometimes works for pre-scaling just fine, as long as the pixels are hard-edged, but what ruins it more often than not is that the camera motion effectively becomes decimated in a way it wasn't designed for, becoming jerky. Scott Pilgrim isn't the worst offender in this case, but the pre-scaled camera motion appears just unsmooth enough when moving vertically that I'd probably not choose to play that way. If pixels go "off-grid" horizontally, it's usually not really a problem, as long as everything from the source is evenly sized. Examples that I found to work well under "smooth motion outside the pixel grid" circumstances included Shovel Knight, The Messenger, and Super Mario Maker 2. I dunno if there's an industry term for this, but the way I've always put it is that some pixel art games "adhere to the pixel grid" and others do not. I get the temptation for smoother camera motion, character movement, and particle effects that can go "off-grid... I think it can work when it's a conscious creative choice... but I've always preferred the look of pixel grid adherence, and have been happy with how Tribute handles this ever since I was blown away by Panzer Paladin. ;) So in the case of Scott Pilgrim, due to the off-grid motion, I'd probably just play with the nice 4K sharp pixel upgrade and not deal with pre-scaling, but now I'm glad to know that I have to boot the game in 1080p to get evenly sized pixels! I'd like to do more content looking at pre-scaling for pixel art games in the future, so I'm glad you've prodded me toward figuring this issue out! Love your work, can't wait for what's next!

[@pixeltao]

@@mylifeingaming Wow, thanks for the detailed reply! First, no we were not involved in the "modern" release of Scott Pilgrim, so I was not aware of these quirks with the Switch version. I only worked on the original (PS3/XBox 360) version, which also has a bunch of quirks... And you are absolutely right, even though we did use 216p, sprite/camera positions did not snap to the pixel grid. It even has smaller pixel sizes in some menus :/ Stuff we make sure not to do nowadays at Tribute (though these things can totally be acceptable as artistic choices). As a side note, even though we still use various resolutions for our games, working in 180p is my personal favorite choice. It has a total number of pixels really close to 256x224 (like the NES/SNES/Genesis (in H32 mode)) which creates the most authentic retro look! I'm super flattered that you like Panzer Paladin so much by the way! Likewise, I'm always looking forward to your videos. I love the long-form format and they're always of the highest quality. Cheers!

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] 180p is definitely a fun middle-ground between handheld and console vertical resolutions! It sorta gives the player the freedom to decide whether it feels to them like an NES or GBC game, or a SNES/Genesis or GBA game. That's why when I briefly showed Panzer Paladin here, I did a scanlines shot for one and a LCD shot for the other.

[@BlurBusters]

@@mylifeingaming Custom ModeLines can let the Retrotink 4K accept some weird input modes and output weird output modes like 1234x567 at 112Hz. You can even BFI 53Hz with a 116Hz or 232Hz signal, and even encapsulate it inside VRR to allow custom fixed Hz in any display's VRR range (which works great with LG TVs that don't support custom-Hz BFI). Also check my other comments too, about custom BFI going all the way to 360Hz+ for 6:1 custom patterns for 60Hz material or 7:1 custom patterns for 50Hz material. More Hz creates superior BFI, e.g. 75% blur reduction with 3 black frames + 1 visible frame, on the new 240Hz OLED. In the future, I may work on a shader/FPGA based CRT electron beam simulator (rolling BFI with phosphor fadebehind and gamma-corrected gradient overlaps between adjacent refresh cycles), but that will only look accurate on OLED and only 240Hz+

[@spaztekwarrior]

I can’t imagine playing my beloved GameCube in 4k :) Awesome :)

[@gabrielanthonio5325]

F-Zero GX my man! 😁

[@clouds-rb9xt]

All you'd be getting is slightly sharper pixels.

[@femto8402]

Best review of this product I have seen so far, you covered everything I needed to know and even more. Thank you

[@DrLilo]

Holy shit, it's here. THE video of the year, for this community.

[@LucaMolteni84]

This is pure peak nerdiness and I love it

[@jefffan171]

9:42 Thank you for highlighting this feature. My 42" plasma developed an issue this year and by some very slim good luck i was able to replace it. This allowed me to continue enjoying my Laserdisc & DVD collection with a magnificent scaler. So having this solution as a back option is very welcoming. So again i say thank you, as sadly this is no doubt an aspect that most "gaming channels" wont focus much attention on. Brilliant work as always 👏

[@AyeYoYoYooo]

They literally can’t receive enough props. I sincerely can’t wait for subsequent RetroTink4k videos, with deeper dives into various uses, both extremely common and general, like max processing enhancement to SD 24FPS film/footage/DVD’s…. … as well as deeper dives into several different niche video game examples, with both home consoles and even truly revolutionary retro/arcade projects like the MiSTer, and some of its most ambitious cores pushing the DE-10-Nano to its limit. To see just how truly VERSATILE & incredibly range-y Mike Chi’s newest/best wonderbox really is !

[@NintenPizza]

Speaking of Plasma, RT4K is capable of reducing 50% motion blur for 120hz OLED TV's for 24 & 30fps content and even less blur for 144hz QD-OLED TV's, since it uses dual strobe BFI which doesn't exist for internal OLED BFI. These days, OLED BFI can only be used with 60fps video games. :P OLED needs all the help it can get with motion, and this is the only device to do it for movies and tv shows.

[@RetroJunkie808]

Love the content! The RT4K is already amazing, imagine the new updates after a year of feedback from the community!

[@VideoGameShowcase]

Now we only need a way to simulate the geometry issues of my JVC CRT 🤡 awesome video! 😅

[@WedgeStratos]

The evolution of this tech is incredible. I'm almost convinced that the wait for a perfect scaler is over. After John Linneman discussed the differences of PS3 games dependent on your output resolution, I'm convinced that era systems should be scaling 720p only for the best framerates possible, and a clean 3X scale. The jury might still be out on older 480i/p systems. The lack of clean scaling to 4K is going to hurt those a lot more... Still, I'm excited by these prospects.

[@AyeYoYoYooo]

Well said brother !

[@Takeoutdraft]

You guys rock! The LiG videos were my introduction into the retro gaming scene.

[@wobblingpixels3921]

Can't wait to watch it! I am quite sure this video is going to show why the Retrotink 4k is worth every penny ($750)!! edit: Awesome video!

[@isaactobar8549]

750 DOLLA??

[@gazzalfc7230]

​@@123obedsyeah but we do get SCART here in the UK so swings and roundabouts 😂

[@brutalbown1]

@@123obeds Morph 4K from the UK, around £450 all in.

[@isaactobar8549]

@@123obeds 1000 DOLLA???

[@MichaelM28]

You're much better off with a Pixelfx Morph. It's just as good and much cheaper

[@olavhegnar6777]

I'm dying to get my hand on one! Gosh, the waiting is made more unbearable by excellent coverage from people such as you guys!

[@jeremyhenderson9573]

Awesome video! I'd like to see some 3DS TVKit gameplay and suggestions, when you have time.

[@DentedRazor]

Thanks for the "HDMI In" coverage, I didn't realize the capabilities this has for the later systems.

[@Minus-km7hx]

Ive been runnin the ossc for a long time super excited to see more of the tink 4k in action!

[@8BitMOSplaya]

Good job getting this out to us Try and Coury!

[@RetroReef]

Great video. These videos seem like so much work. Appreciate your time and effort.

[@dan47483]

Ever since I heard about the existence of this device, I eagerly awaited the in-depth MLiG breakdown.

[@strykercm]

I walk into a video scaler video and end up with a clip of Rhea Perlman in Canadian Bacon!? One more reason to love this channel.

[@NightSprinter]

One thing to note regarding Axiom Verge: hidden worlds do a scanline effect that intensifies as you get closer to its entrance. The CRT options on the Tink may interfere with that subtle hint.

[@ShdwHg]

For the record: _Freedom Planet 2_ (whenever it comes to consoles) will use the 360p pipeline, since its internal resolution is 640×360. Nice video!

[@Shundi879]

A DF Retro and the MLiG Tink4k video on the same day? I must be in heaven.

[@PotatoFi]

The NES and SNES Classic segment was a huge surprise to me. I’m living abroad with only access to those consoles right now, and was wondering if the RetroTINK 4K could be used to improve them, but… nobody would be crazy enough to try that, right? MLiG is like, “Hold my beer”.

[@oleschoolgamers]

I felt like I was in college again at a class on the first day yelling “slow down!!” 😂 Amazing device, the pre scale and HDR features for sure, but feels like a lot of work and learning that I don’t have time for. For now, I’m gonna stick with my RetroTNK2x Pro, but congrats to Mike Chi and the community for a great product!

[@cicaleseful]

Thanks so much for the deep dive. Keep it up. Would love to see RT4K's pre-scaling with the X360's Cave ports, or HD-based shmups in general.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] So much of that depends on how the source is scaled. I don't have the Cave shooters, but I did try seeing if I could get good results with Contra and Super C on 360. It seems like it could be possible, but it's challenging due to the free-form scaling of those ports.

[@Nice_Places]

Great video! Can you guys please add info about the games that feature in your videos? Platform and title, please? I've watched many videos on this channel which have footage of games that I've never seen before and I had many 'wow that looks nice!' moments but then I carry on watching and forget about it. Please consider including a little band at the bottom or something with the details of the games when they appear on screen. Thanks!

[@alyx4436]

I actually think the price is pretty good when you consider the time this is releasing and what this thing can do. 2 years ago we thought 4K would be much further away and this does that and much much more. Like if this released in say 5 more years but cost the same as the 5X I think it would be just as good.

[@capcomcrazyl4]

Love the ending. Hoping I don’t have trouble grabbing a 4K at launch.

[@bardhi09]

You can already do 30hz BFI flicker on PCSX2. Retrotink 4K might have such a feature(Mark even said that the tink can do 18hz flicker for black and white silent movies). I would not recommend it however since it is extremely flickery(16ms black frame which is twice as flickery as 60hz flicker), With +1000hz Phosphor Fade emulation in the future we will be able to simulate different kinds of phosphor decays(like slower ones) to get a sort of compromise to where the double image effect is mitigated like in consumer CRTs with slower phosphors or maybe even find a middle ground with 30hz flicker with a lot of tinkering. Though by the time we get to that, hardware might get powerful enough to where Mike may be able to implement lagless. artifactless interpolation. Who knows, may even turn out to be good enough to interpolate Starfox to 60fps with no side effects?

[@BlurBusters]

Yes but remember BFI is not limited to 16ms; Retrotink 4K supports 360Hz+ BFI too! (2.7ms adjustable persistence steps for 30Hz and 60Hz BFI). Retrotink 4K can do 30Hz BFI for 30fps material, if you can stand the flicker. You can even adjust (1,0,0,0) vs (1,1,0,0) vs (1,1,1,0) BFI sequences to attenuate flicker, if your output is 120Hz! Your BFI total persistence adjustability is only limited by outputs' minimum refreshtime.

[@LinuxRocks101]

Thanks for the heads up about the HDCP stripping for the PS3 and PSTV. I totally forgot about that for the PS3, and I had no idea about the PSTV. That's really good to know for when I can finally get a RetroTink 4K. 🍻

[@kubev]

I'm really not a fan of juggling a bunch of profiles. I wish we could get to a point where maybe a platform such as MiSTer could be tweaked to place some sort of QR code or some other sort of recognizable pattern on the screen that an upscaler such as this could recognize and switch to the most appropriate community profile based on your general preferences.

[@AxelsVirtue]

Would be simpler as the same kind of flagging function that allows HDMI connected devices to determine what resolutions and features are supported. Would probably already be a thing if the Mister was Mike Chi's focus I think.

[@KBABZ]

@@AxelsVirtue Good thing Mike is on the MARS team, then!

[@TVsBen]

The only HDMI device I'm super interested in using the RetroTINK 4K with is the GameCube and a Carby. My TV has very perceptible input lag for 480p content, so I'm real excited about this in that instance. I don't care about the integer scaling; any sort of interpolation would be completely acceptable. Your Bilinear Sharp results look great.

[@rickvug]

I'm finally considering upgrading my 1080p Panasonic Plasma for a 4K OLED due to advanced 240p scaling. I think something is wrong with me!

[@ISAK.M]

Damn new My Life in Gaming episode sheeeesh 🔥

[@SonicNinja6600]

Just signed up for the waiting list. Hope to get my hands on this amazing product. 🙏 Awesome video as always. 🙂

[@l.seventh7954]

The part of this that is really nice is that with the 4K, you have the ability to use a Carby or GCHD without being limited to 480p output on your display device.

[@mospii]

I’d love to see what can be done with those FF Pixel Remasters on the Switch. Really hoping to pre-scale them and add some proper CRT effects. Maybe an LCD grid would be better? I can’t believe this thing is real.

[@infasis]

With how much Square Enix charges for their rereleases I really wish they'd start including better features and implementation. (I suppose even including a decent "retro" font is a lot of work for them, so we should probably just be happy they even include any crt filters, regardless of how bad they are, though :p )

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] I didn't have time to include ALL the games I tested with pre-scaling, but unfortunately Pixel Remasters is probably not a good candidate because there are so many elements that exist off the pixel grid, and text becomes quite unreadable. I didn't have time to investigate further, but I believe the PS4 and Switch versions MAY actually even display differently, with the PS4 version having a smaller scale and showing more of the scene? Not certain though. I wanna re-test this sometime.

[@mospii]

@@mylifeingaming Very interesting! thanks for the info, though it's disappointing to hear that it's not a simple case

[@evileyeball]

I have to say I love the Graphic that shows your setup, I really have to make one similar for my own setup (I made one for the Power connections when I moved to this house but need to update for the Video/Audio Connections as well.

[@ctomfaith]

My PS3 and Vita TV are ready. Especially for my PSP collection.

[@CK-qx2js]

This is one of the best videos i watched in 2023!

[@Reaperman4711]

ahhh, my head. Eventually I'll find some reason to need one of these, but I just don't want to mess with all of those settings right now.

[@SquidHominid]

Don't worry! It comes with a comprehensive set of ready-made profiles for basically any console you want to throw at it!

[@Yntsire]

This is and awesome deep dive! Hopefully we'll see a Part 2 focusing on retro/non-hdmi consoles!

[@TheKayliedGamerChannel-YouTube]

Another quality video as expected 😎👍

[@kubev]

31:27 - Always pleased to see Light Crusader making an appearance. Underrated game.

[@Poyidoya]

Watching this video on my LED phone at 144p just as the developers intended.

[@Aaronmac404]

I really, really need to stop watching videos about the Retrotink 4K. I don't have the willpower to avoid getting one!!!! Edit: By the way, incredible video. Excellent video footage, and I really love the section about pre-scaling modern pixel art and retro style games.

[@37Kilo2]

I'm pretty sure Mike Chi is a wizard. I own 2 RT5X, and I'm definitely buying the 4K. Yes, the $750 is a lot, but everything I've seen, you're also getting a lot with the 4K. I follow Mike on social media, and can say that he seems like a stand-up guy, which is why i don't mind supporting him. Might have to finally sell my XRGB Mini to offset some of the cost, though.

[@lpzdstn]

My current setup is my RGB modded n64, GameCube, and Wii to a Retrotink 5x via component cables, to a Mclassic. If I get the Retrotink 4K, would there be any reason to keep the Mclassic hooked up?

[@drewconley6444]

This is a little much for me. I used to be really hard into this stuff, but I feel we're a little past diminishing returns as far as video quality if you use anything past the OSSC. If the OSSC had automatic resolution switching, I would never consider anything else.

[@yoshipilot]

Mega Man 9 and 10 can pre pre scaled properly using a Steam Deck and Dolphin emulator. Install Dolphin on a Steam Deck, load up the Mega Man 9/10 .wad file, then set Dolphin's output resolution to "2X Native (720p)". Then, make sure the Steam Deck is outputting 720p to the Retrotink. Load up the game and set the pre scale to 1/3 and you should be good to go! The horizontal axis won't be scaled perfectly but that can be masked by using the Horizontal Blur feature.

[@BillB808]

Mike Chi going for that generational wealth play

[@hideokojimajr]

Would also like an end to the fussin and a feudin. That said I would love a morph comparison when you get one!

[@sneakingelephant]

Loved the review and loved the acknowledgement of the unnecessary shade that pixelfx have been throwing at the retrotink. They already make great products. Just let your products speak for itself without the childish commentary and things will be way better.

[@yellowlemon123]

Those comments were directed at both companies.

[@ThomatoSauce]

44:19 FINALLY, someone else who understands how bad BMZ3 is.

[@TheCoolDave]

The more I see on this device, I need to have it. I was honestly expecting it to be around $500. That is more expensive than anything the market right now. At $750, it's going to be next year sometime. It's so sad I have to wait but, by them they will be plenty available and easy to get, I hope. Thanks for showing, my Framemeister (that you guys' suggested years ago), is starting to show its age and limits.

[@9714]

It will be sold in seconds if not milliseconds. Next year it won’t be in stock.

[@TheCoolDave]

@@9714 He said the has a ton of lots in and said there should be plenty for everyone. Maybe but, I'll wait it out, if I have to. Besides firmware and bugs will be gone by mid next year.

[@Jonnicom]

Dude! The tip about the dense slot mask for 720p/1080 has made SUCH A DIFFERENT for my settings I had dialed in for PS3. Wow! It looks just like my old early flatscreen. I don't remember the model but I remember it was a flat screen but I could still see those little lines from how the tv was made, I used to see it on a lot of early flatscreens that had that matte screen as opposed to the glossy ones we see today.

[@GamingDelight]

I'll just stick with the 5X. Even after I get a 4K TV, I'll probably just get the Pixel FX Morph 4K to use with my RT5X (assuming the Morph doesn't have issues with resolution switching).

[@simon41978]

I have my MISTer connected to my TINK 4K and running at 4K. I've noticed the brightness keeps adjusting during games, especially when a new screen appears. I don't know how to stop it. I have HDR10 on. It doesn't happen when I use my Super Famicom via RGB Scart. Any help is appreciated.

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] You probably have dynamic tone mapping set on your TV's HDR/brightness settings. Try turning that off, or setting HGIG instead. I used dynamic tone mapping for a brief time, because it generally looks cool in modern content (though technically inaccurate) but I also started to notice the brightness adjustment in retro games in a way that annoyed me, so I went back to HGIG. If it's not that, do you have VRR on? Some screens can flicker in darker shades when VRR is engaged.

[@simon41978]

@@mylifeingaming Thanks a million. It was dynamic tone mapping on the TV. Everything's running well now.

[@AuronSuper95]

I think I zoned out a few times lmao

[@koomar341]

Can it do the pre-scale and output 240p over HDMI? Like a direct video downscaler. Would be a wicked novelty to have something like shredder's revenge on a 15khz crt!

[@NostraSamus]

All the whining in the comments are dumb. Its an masterfully engineered product for enthusiasts. It has way more capabilities than the typical scaler. Worth the price. Don’t like it, miss out when production stops and then cry more when used units are priced high.

[@Dark_Jaguar]

This seems like it does everything I could want in an upscaler. I'm curious if it fully supports variable refresh rates, which I put some hope on handling the bizarre timings of a lot of retro systems. Either case, after upgrading my TV, I intend to save up for this monster, but for now, I will get an OSSC as a stopgap until that time. Don't get me wrong, I completely understand why it's as expensive as it is, but it's not something I can get AND get a new 4K TV with all the features I want it to have, so that's how I intend to do it, and then reuse the OSSC on another TV once I do get the 4K.

[@Blueflag04]

This is as expensive as the projector you reviewed couple days ago

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] It's... not though? It is expensive, though, certainly. Both devices are definitely for people with very specific interests. But they are not the same price, or even close to the same price.

[@SeveredLegs]

Videos like this are interesting to have on in the background and to key in on for certain things, but it proves to me that these types of scalers are way too complicated for me to have a simple way to enjoy these games. I have CRTs for now, but I don't envy the future in which I might have to get one of these.

[@mirabilis]

People will spend more time in configuration hell than playing games. 😂

[@NightSprinter]

Also, if either if you have an old DOS machine with an S3 card, I recommend the following games for testing PC compatibility: Pinball Illusions (320x200, 640x350, 640x480, and 800x600), Jazz Jackrabbit/Epic Pinball/Silverball/Extreme Pinball (320x200p70 for menus/world intro, tweaked 320x200p60 in-game), Quake/Duke3D (VESA modes that can include oddities like 320x400), and PacPC2/Ms. PacPC in fullscreen mode (add "f" at the command line, outputs a strange mode that not all VGA cards work with).

[@NightSprinter]

@@Captain_Dunsel yeah, as just alone Jazz Jackrabbit and all of the pinball games from Epic do a good amount of modeswitching.

[@ivey77426]

For 750$ you can buy whole PC that will emulate every console mentioned in this video with better quality CRT shaders (like those available in Retroarch). Or you can buy a scaler. Just shows how terrible this thing is priced. It is a great piece of tech of course, but how much that matters if only few select people will buy it?

[@jothain]

Yeah. I have few machines I could use it and was actually thinking about this when I heard about the it, but when I looked it up, damn that price is so insane that no way in hell I'm going to pay that much. Especially since it's for sure that there is going to be similar products in future for much more reasonable pricing. Heck I mean I still have old good CRT monitor somewhere in parents attic, though obviously don't know if it still works, but for sure I'd check it out first.

[@SquidHominid]

@@jothain 'similar products' 15 years ago would've been professional video scalers that cost five figures. Just the FPGA in the RT4K has a street price of over $260. For what this is, it's a good deal - IF you have a use for it. If you prefer to emulate, more power to you, but not all of us do.

[@ehsanghazavi470]

It depends on a lot of things. For your tubers and streamers, this thing will pay for itself and allow them to capture footage. However for someone that just plays retro games on a few consoles, it's not worth paying 750 at all. If you want to go all out for this expensive hobby then get the 5x pro. If not then just stick with a crt, its cheaper.@@jothain

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] Is it possible to do all that stuff within your computer for all the indie games I showed and stuff, though? I honestly don't know, as PCs are not my preferred gaming environment. You could use the RT4K though to do those things for PC games externally. I don't think the notion of "how much that matters if only a few people buy it" is relevant though, because this is 100% absolutely a niche product. Most people won't care about the things it can do, and most of the others probably would rather just do it with shaders on an emulator. And that's totally fine and good! I think the diverse methods of play available to the retro gaming community these days is a wonderful thing because people are interested in doing things in different ways, and it has more hardware+software developers creating techniques to accomplish these things. So everyone benefits.

[@jothain]

@@mylifeingamingWell I could built hell of a PC for that 700 euros, especially if I'd use parts from my previous build. It's cool product, I don't deny that all. As mentioned I was curious about it, but man as 80's child I still can't say that's good "value". In all honesty. Would you have bought it?

[@kamarrawlings6285]

I wonder why a certain feature doesn’t exist anymore. Most people are not aware that there was a such thing as widescreen in 4:3 I remember playing a couple of games in the arcade that had this aspect ratio. I wonder how this would be as a feature on the retrotink 4k or a modern display?

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] You mean letterboxing? Like Resident Evil 4 on GameCube? You'd just zoom it up with the scaler controls. It can look very low res though, as letterboxed widescreen is still working within a resolution in 4:3 space, meaning the vertical resolution is quite low with all the unused video lines.

[@kamarrawlings6285]

No not letter box

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] I'm unclear what "widescreen in 4:3" might mean if not letterbox though. Do you mean like the Wii where it's squished and you then stretch it back out? If so, that's pretty normal for how analog widescreen modes work. You can easily set 16:9 to stretch that to the correct proportions.

[@pearfilms1467]

Just enjoy playing the game. Many have been down this road and all it does is make you experience worse

[@thanksbetotap]

Can anyone tell me how this fares handling 720p upscaling for 1080p display?

[@BalmungMP5]

I hope 4k doesn't stand for $4000

[@danarkaden6702]

nah just $750

[@jothain]

@@danarkaden6702 Just :D

[@simon41978]

I'm excited by this device but the colours on Bonk are way off at 5:23. They were also way off on 8-bit Esquire's video showing Super Mario Bros. Nobody has mentioned it and I believe all of you noticed. Can this be fixed?

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] So this is a PC Engine problem, not a RetroTINK problem. The colors on the camera side look different just because it's a camera shot, but PC Engine has two color palettes - RGB and composite. The colors are A LOT more different between those two outputs compared to other consoles. NES is similar in the sense that natively, it has no RGB palette, and that RGB palettes are interpretive works, and people have MANY opinions on NES palettes, particularly regarding the sky color in Super Mario Bros. On NES RGB mods and emulators, you have a ton of control over using the palette you prefer. As for PC Engine, work was done a few years ago to properly convert the its composite colors into the RGB space, but currently this fix isn't possible for RGB mods. But you can take advantage of it on systems like the MiSTer. Bonk indeed is a huge difference, as he's not so orange with composite colors. There has been talk as to whether PC Engine could be adjusted with color correction settings, but that's still to be determined. I believe this should be very possible on NES, however, if you'd like the sky color to match the way your childhood CRT interpreted it. But yeah, if you hook up a modded PC Engine with RGB to any scaler, the colors would be that way, it's not just a RT4K thing. Consoles aside from NES and PC Engine aren't so complicated when it comes to interpreting the colors into a space that is usable outside of composite video.

[@simon41978]

@@mylifeingaming OK, thank you. I have a MISTer and RGB PC Engine. I'd be using MISTer anyway.

[@ryandann9362]

Title this series "Chasing the Dragon". Hmmmm.... Do I want to waste hours or days of my limited time on this earth tinkering in menus, never satisfied and/or doubting my choices and/or copying others menus setups and/or diving into forums and posts looking for answers OR just playing my games on either a crtv or modern TV depending on the system? This is why I lost interest in modding games on my pc years ago. I spent more time researching mods and messing around in menus than playing the game. If your playing ripped games but from original hardware and getting one of these to play on a TV you are kidding yourself. Just run those ripped games on your pc, which you likely already spent over $700 on, and hook your pc up to your TV, which if your doing all this stuff you likely already have it hooked up. You can likely achieve the same end goal, possibly way better. Watching this video makes gaming look like a huge headache and homework. I feel the people into this are just into tinkering for perfection. Gaming isnt the point anymore. Menus and moving on to the next new menu device released. Chasing the dragon.

[@vacantseaofplanets]

This comes with presets. You don't have to mess around with any settings.

[@SquidHominid]

Firstly, if that's your opinion why are you even here, MLiG's content is majority focused on real hardware retro gaming. Secondly, the RT4K supports profiles from the SD card, so most of that 'tinkering in menus, never satisfied and/or doubting my choices and/or copying others menus setups and/or diving into forums and posts looking for answers' is going to be done for you and all you have to do is drop some files on your SD card, assuming that your use case isn't covered by the profiles included in the box.

[@ryandann9362]

I watch it because I do find it interesting. My point still stands though. Presets built into this thing is one thing, making my own profiles and taking out the SD card and putting it in my computer and then changing the name for every game I play? I heard maximus profiles are sick. Better get those. Oops after the new update I read that zingwing560 has a better profile. Why don't I just choose what looks best to me? First, let me read up on what any of this means. Obviously I'm kidding mostly, but again I'm fine with just playing it old old school. You guys chase the dragon on this one. I'll just tell it like I see it, and move along.

[@ryandann9362]

Also I play on real hardware only.

[@justsayin4632]

Exactly. I absolutely see the point (and value!) of devices like this, especially when the last CRTs bite the dust. But even a few years ago, I noticed a lot of people spend more time chasing “perfection” rather than actually playing. Like they slowly morphed into videophiles from actual gamers without even knowing it😂 What’s really confusing are the people who spring for the RT4K AND already have PVMs/BVMs. Like, why? The whole point of the RT4K is to bring us as close as humanly possible to the “best” CRT-like displays of the past. So for those who DONT have an older CRT display, the RT4K is a Godsend. But if youve already got the “best” display (PVM/BVM), then one or the other goes unused when (if?) you ever decide to actually PLAY play. I’ll absolutely get a scaler like this in the future! But not until my half-dozen or so, fully recapped, calibrated, and dialed-in CRTs die an irreparable death😅

[@MrTechnoSqueek]

I heard that Skies of Arcadia music oh man what a RPG

[@letstacobout]

I’m guessing this device will sell out and sell for 1k

[@Blueflag04]

For sure

[@jongeo]

I'm going to need to watch this video at least 3 more times.

[@spiritualED]

$750 dollars…SEVEN HUNDRED and FIFTY DOLLARS!!!!!! HOLY BEJESUS!!! Absolute NONSENSE!

[@SquidHominid]

The FPGA in this thing is $260 on its own, that's before the rest of the parts (HDMI controller, RAM, etc), before PCB manufacturing, before the custom injection-molded case, and before the two years of R&D. The price is justified, imo.

[@HarithBK]

it is interesting the retroTINK 4k can already deal with the MisTer native output for upscaling now if it could only identify what core was loaded it could load the presets needed on boot of the game making the entire thing plug and play best experience. this is all really hammering out retro gaming onto 4k screens. now the mister does need a second revision for power so we can get a N64 core working flawlessly since after that PS2,GC and xbox and onward can be dealt with via storage mods and has HDMI( or equal choice) thus giving easy clean feeds. it really feels like we are on the very cusp plug and play retro gaming greatness.

[@SquidHominid]

Look up the MARS FPGA.

[@MrMoroPlays]

Mike has asked the mister team to implement data in their output so he could easily pull that and set settings, but they've been sluggish or just won't implement it

[@brutalbown1]

Lets not forget that the Morph 4K is HALF the price (inc analog board)

[@bnr32jason]

It's not though. That's $500 with the Analog board vs $750.

[@brutalbown1]

@@bnr32jason In the UK, you're looking at around £900 for a Tink 4K, £450 for Morph.

[@SquidHominid]

@@brutalbown1 Where the hell are you seeing that price, it's €446.25 after VAT for the base HDMI-only version from VGP, and I wasn't aware they had a specific UK distributor.

[@wobblingpixels3921]

Not a fan of false information no matter the product. 1. The Morph with hdmi input (without the analog board) costs 446€ inkl VAT on VGP 2. The Morph with analog board will cost about 546€ on VPG shipping costs not included. That is the early bid price. 3. The R4k on the other hand will cost about 819€ shipping costs not included on dragonbox site. That means the Morph costs overall 250€-270€ less and not half of the price. Also the announced analog boards for the Morph don't have all the inputs IN ONE as the Retrotink 4k have and the feature list looks so far (much) more advanced on R4k side but we have to wait and see what PixelFX is going to offer once the analog boards are launched and reviews are out.

[@brutalbown1]

@wobblingpixels3921 Okay, base unit cost me £297, the analog bridge is around £100, so £397, add in import duty that's £480. Without Black Friday, looking at £520. So yes slightly over what I said, and the Tink 4K will be about £900 after import duty, that's an absolutely huge difference. Can't be argued.

[@BreakingNVain]

Would this thing do me any good if the only systems I own are a super NT & an Xbox series x? 65" Samsung OLED TV...

[@mylifeingaming]

[Try4ce] You could pre-scale the Super Nt or use the DAC emulation if you use the right settings. For Series X, you could nearest neighbor scale 720p Xbox 360 games. It may be overkill for you, but there technically could be some use.

[@BreakingNVain]

@@mylifeingaming Hey, thanks man...

[@HindsightWithHustle]

@@BreakingNVainthe 65 in Samsung you have by chance is it the S90C?

[@BreakingNVain]

@@HindsightWithHustle It is the QN65...I believe the SC90 is the one I plan to upgrade to for my Series X

[@HindsightWithHustle]

@@BreakingNVainI’m going for the RT4K in July and I’ll let you know how well it works with the S90C