HDMI SNES Review: Hyperkin's 720p Supa Retron HD

Here's an in-depth review of Hyperkin's Supa Retron HD, an HDMI-outputting 720p SNES clone. At $70, I'd have hoped for a bit more. If you like this video, please consider signing up as a supporter, or leaving a "tip": www.retrorgb.com/support.html
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Here's Hyperkin's site and a pre-order link:
www.hyperkin.com
www.gamestop.com/snes/console...
Here's pics of the boards: mega.nz/#!I5UxzZxa!M0mNOBBn3J...
MISTAKE!!! Hey everyone, I made kind of a huge mistake during one of my explanations. The conclusions are all the same and everything else lines up, but here's the mistake:
- The composite video output DOES send proper 240p and not 480i. Apparently, the TWO TV's I tested process 240p correctly through the component video inputs, but not the composite inputs. Weird, right?
- Also - Yes, I know the cvbs upscaler footage got corrupt...that somehow happened while uploading (KZbin compression?). Honestly, it doesn't matter though - It's garbage. The still shot right after demonstrates exactly how bad it is.

[@RetroRGB]

I updated the description to correct mistakes in the video. Sorry about that!

[@chrisd8458]

This thing rocks. By far best clone console out there. Pin perfect technology is exactly what I thought it would be. Death grip eliminated. Feels comparable to original. The first clone that won't slowly ruin and destroy your games. I intend to replace my SupaBoy S with the new SFC version because of the new pin perfect design. Everyone is talking about this Super NT and granted it will kick ass no doubt about that. But people bashing this thing and going in favor of a $200 high end console are quick to judge. This thing rules. Best built clone console of any variant that rivals the original. Was going to purchase the Super NT but there is now no need. This thing plays every cart I own and the controllers are actually good. They feel smoother than the originals

[@TheKafairy]

Just bought one of these, thank you for the detailed review!

[@pcm2fchris]

Bro, super high content here! Awesome stuff!

[@arcadeperfectreviews2653]

The HD retrovision wires are the best of you have an old CRT with component input. I use them on a Sony trinitron and i cant believe how amazing it looks and it's got 0 lag.

[@shwink]

I’m glad you reviewed it as other reviewers do a casual review and don’t really go into the depth of video quality as well as lag. I would be interested to see an in-depth review of the classiq 2 hd to see how good the video output really is. A lot of youtubers swear by it but I haven’t seen anyone really do that in depth of a review of it.

[@RayCommend]

I saw a review of the 16-Bit HD that claimed there was no visible difference in the visual quality between it and the SNES Mini. They even put up a "blind" side-by-side and asked if it was possible to tell them apart which took me all of .0000001 second to figure out.

[@RetroRGB]

I bet its identical to this console.

[@kevinfishburne]

Love your work. It's a tough scene to keep up with, and I don't envy your task of doing it well, though I do envy your ability to do so.

[@jdurg]

I was one who started out on the cheap SCART to HDMI scaler, but have since progressed to an OSSC. The OSSC is great, but without that cheap scaler i would have NEVER been able to use my OSSC. The HDMI Pass-through on that cheap SCART to HDMI device actually stabilizes the HDMI signal somehow and passes it right to my setup with zero issues and zero lag that I could measure.

[@Toybinging]

Thank you for the video. You're doing the Lord's work sir.

[@vortexspinner4470]

I'm glad I kept my 32in FST, CRT (and a good sturdy stand) 😁 It was a good decision of mine at the time when people were telling me to throw it out. There's no problems with any of the old systems. Love that Retron though. Might get one.😉

[@dumbkoffcrow974]

I bought the Black version because I was curious and it was cheaper than the grey version. It reminds me of all those streaming sticks and boxes because even if you turn off the power switch, it's still on. As long as you get a 5v signal from either the HDMI or Micro USB the cheap scaler thing will still show up on the tv. You have to unplug everything to make sure it's off or the LED will remain on. Inside are three circuit boards, one for the controller, the middle is the SNES, and the back is the power in and video out. It uses a CXA 1645 clone for video output. But I'm not sure if one can get S-Video out on it. Overall it's fine but an original SNES with Retrotink is highly preferred.

[@Sirotaca]

One thing that I feel would have been useful to see is what the results of the drop shadow test in the 240p test suite look like. Some games make heavy use of flickering sprites, and depending on how exactly those are handled by the scaler, this thing could go from mostly useless to completely useless.

[@jean-philippeperreault8887]

Nice video! I hope you can get the upcoming Super NT to get a look at it.

[@GameplayandTalk]

Great overview. It seems like casual players might find value in this device, while more serious players will want to pay up for a better setup.

[@frankstrasser6108]

I think imo these clone consoles are a stepping stone into getting back into or into for the first time retro gaming as the Scart to hdmi box did for me pushing me into the direction of best quality on retro consoles. I feel most people will eventually want better but this thing doesn't seem bad for the casual aside from the blur so another option always good to have options but I don't know if the price can compete with the upcoming nt snes

[@jackdavis6603]

I was going to get this, but Analogue announced the Super NT so I'm not going to bother.

[@james-f1802]

Hi Bob. I think a proper review of the cheap Scart->HDMI box is in order since MANY people use it, and don't mind not having the Framemeister or OSSC. It would be nice to hear some positive opinion about this cheap unit without trashing it in comparison to the OSSC/Framemeister. My Life in Gaming haven't done a proper review of the cheap unit either. Thanks!

[@Teapose]

I felt like I was taking crazy pills when two systems both behaved identically, where the image looked bouncy wherever there was rapid movement. Why 95% of the Amazon reviews don't mention this is beyond me, but it would have saved me $70 and a week of replacements.

[@Dazdigo]

Looking forward to the Super NT review when it drops.

[@The2xWhiskey]

Dazdigo Super NT to me is a no-brainier so I preordered one. Still looking forward to Bob's take on it though!

[@Stormtrooper1787]

Just wish the Super NT didn't have $40 ground shipping.

[@jamiey5779]

+Great Lakes Gunpla Importing to Europe would cost a small fortune, we also get stung with import taxes and VAT.

[@jamessilva1259]

Thanks for mentioning Input Lag.

[@garagegamer6484]

It will be interesting to see this compared to the Analogue Super NT.

[@extremawesomazing]

It's already been said, but it seems like a good little budget HD SNES clone, just not as good as other options if you own an original SNES. Thanks for the video as usual.

[@that1crzywhtguy]

Love the X-Files poster. :)

[@doctorx0079]

Are you going to get to review the Pound Challenger?

[@SnarkyRC]

Cool video. I always hated the look of the USA Super Nintendo. I'm not sure who they asked when they were designing it. I have the SupaRetron and I don't have any of the issues you were having. Granted my equipment is completely different. I use a Vizio gaming TV. The OSSC is nice but, I prefer my ChipForge. You can adjust any weirdness that you might run into with it.

[@cunawarit]

That's cool! Seems much better than the Retron HD, which in all honestly doesn't really have a usable HDMI output. It is OK if you are happy with composite, but the palette is so wrong over HDMI that I don't know why anyone would choose to play it that way. Any chance you could review the Old Skool Classiq 2 HD? There's been a lot of talk about it and could kill two birds with one stone. PS: My Super Famicom over RGB Scart is awesome! I have no need for this :) But I still need a good solution for NES gaming in both PAL and NTSC.

[@OVERLOARD949494]

Does the Supa Retron switch between 50 and 60Hz? So that I can play both PAL and NTSC Games like Super Metroid (which seems to work only with 60Hz because it does not work on my PAL super retro trio)

[@extremawesomazing]

There's a glitchy thing that happened in the capture at the beginning of SMW. What was that? Also, does it work with light guns?

[@ocboomer]

Hey Bob, I'd be interested to see what happens, if you bypass the crappy scaler and wire up an RGB cable or a scart connector to the system via those pads on the output board? I wonder how good the output would look like with a proper scaler?

[@YourFunkLord]

I Got One Last Month For $40 And It's A Great Piece Of Hardware.

[@nororengo286]

Are you able to tap into those RGB lines and C cync to get better RGB out?

[@CLINTSTER77COX]

I slow motion recorded av to crt and hdmi to game monitor. You could definitely see the frame lag from retron hd . However I could play super Mario brothers flawlessly. I could run the av through retrotink and test lag to another monitor just for giggles . In theory the av through retrotink should be faster vs the onboard hdmi retron processor.

[@Coffeemessaging]

Hi Bob, Do you know where i can get one of those HDMI to component converters?

[@EmperorOfTigers]

What did you think of the controllers? In the review you didn't actually say if they were any good to use.

[@Ace9921]

Bob, you're using Composite on a TV that interprets 240p as 480i and applies deinterlacing. Those TCT-97x chips are part of the usual 3-chip Super NES clone chipset that is used on every single Super NES hardware clone and natively puts out RGB at 240p. That test you did going back and forth between HDMI and Composite doesn't really work. Also, some of your captures are showing some severe corruption. I will say, the sound was pretty good aside from low bass levels. That should be fixable, though. Was that recorded via the analog outs or via the HDMI out (either directly or through your TV's optical output)? Lastly, inspect the RAM! As I said during our interview, Super NES hardware clones ship with improperly set up 3.3V RAM that is usually overvolted to 5V or directly connected to 5V I/O with 3.3V VCC. Get the part numbers and check the datasheets as this could be a ticking time bomb.

[@theengineer-dellconagher]

hmm

[@RetroRGB]

No Ace. Those screen caps don't lie. 480i. Period.

[@Ace9921]

What, even in Composite? Do you get interlace flicker on a CRT? If that's the case, then the CXA video encoder is doing absolutely nothing. The chipset should put out 240p, I have many clones with the TCT-97x chipset and all put out 240p. If you get 480i even over Composite, the HDMI scaler must also have an integrated encoder generating a 480i Composite output from the badly interpreted 240p signal.

[@Iliek]

This thing sucks, Ace. Stop trying to justify wasting your money ;)

[@RetroRGB]

@ace - Okay, hold on, you might be right...it's possible my TV's are properly interpreting 240p via component, but not cvbs. I'm looking into it. It doesn't change any of the conclusions I came to, or anything regarding the HDMI output...but I still want to get it right.

[@Shawnredfield98]

Can you review the Classiq 2 HD from Old School? It plays both NES and SNES games and I hear it's pretty good. I'd really like your opinion on it.

[@cunawarit]

I'd love to see this too, this is the clone I'm most interested in right now.

[@DannyCD]

It's also the same price as the Supa Retron HD, so it seems like it's the better deal. Unfortunately, I hear the NES side of it isn't as good as the SNES side of it, although it's still better than the Retron 1 HD.

[@MrStevo808]

+1 for a review of the Classiq 2 HD

[@frenchoism]

Hi, I am having a problem with my supa retron, wanted to try my luck here, when I play my PAL snes games with the HDMI cable, every like 30 seconds or so I have few black frames, this only happens with the HDMI, the AV cables work well but look awful on my smart tv, I thought my problem was my console so I rebought a second one and I have the same problem, any idea how can I fix this? cheers

[@Stormtrooper1787]

Curious if the gamerz tek 16bit HD compares for $50? All the clone consoles seem to use the same SNES on a chip/board, but with slightly different video and audio drivers and color pallet. Hyperkin had the worst of the NES HD budget clones.

[@Zion767318]

Every game I've played on mine when going through composite video on a Commodore 1702 looks correct. It's just when playing through HDMI the colors are largely incorrect. I can deal with the audio being slightly off, but the video is what is off-putting to me. Anyway I thought I'd share a little of my experience with the RetroN HD.

[@Real_The_Goof]

I kinda wish the blur would stick around even when not moving.

[@fullnelsontecmo]

Can you test if the composite and hdmi both work at the same time? I want to play on a CRT for input lag reasons while getting the cleaner hdmi signal for streaming.

[@RetroRGB]

That was shown during the lag test. Works perfect.

[@justinholmes5614]

I need some of those retro vision cables for my n64, but they’re always out of stock :(

[@phonedork]

Does the component cable from HD retrovision have that 240p to 480i issue like the shit scaler? Or does the tv see 240p through component as it should instead of 480i?

[@RetroRGB]

The HDRetrovision cables were definitely processed correctly as 240p. I'm double checking now, but I think what might have been happening is the component input was processed properly and the composite input was NOT processed correctly (240p as 480i).

[@phonedork]

RetroRGB I was just curious because my tv's would see 240p through my component transcoders as 480i. If this does the same thing then I would probably only stick to component transcoding on a CRT. But then again maybe it depends on the lcd

[@SuperDancingdonkey]

I think I have similar problems with this device. I mean it seems like it misses its market. For instance, the original Retron HD was selling for $15 on Newegg over black friday. At that price, it might be worth owning either just for the controller or as something you can take to your friends house to just have a blast with equally shitty reproduction games from aliexpress. On the other end of the spectrum, analogue Super NT is what most of us would be really happy with but it will probably be closer to $250 after shipping and a controller. So $70 is right in that weird zone where I don't know who it is marketed for. At $20 or less, I think it is great and will make a lot of people happy. I honestly would rather pay $100 for the exact same thing but with a better video encoder. I would even pay $150 for an excellent bundle that comes with controllers, a better encoder/upscaler, perhaps a light gun, and better ABS plastic / build quality. If I paid $70 for this, I would probably either end up never using it because I didn't care about retro games that much or I would end up buying a super nt (or modding an original SNES) if I got really into retro gaming. Either way, its a waste of $70. This is probably why I dislike hyperkin's business model so much, all of their products (with the exception of hopefully the Xbox Duke controller) just seems like a compromise of some kind. Lets not forget the retroarch controversy so its not like these guys have the highest moral standards to begin with.

[@BigBadJohnDiesel]

How is the pin quality compared to the Retron 5?

[@jamessilva1259]

How is the lag test compared to the retron5??? Better or worse??

[@lukasrgl]

Is it compatible with european Games? (I know there is a switch, but it doesn't mean the support is good)

[@emuboy85]

Can you upload some still pics of the board? I'm interested to read the part numbers on the chips , I will share my findings here later...

[@RetroRGB]

mega.nz/#!I5UxzZxa!M0mNOBBn3JCyBdXi5Tgg72yNmfUOxFOpYaESPo2v3VY

[@michaelfredericks4158]

@@RetroRGBGreat video!! I would love to take a look at the pictures, but the link is broken. Could you please reupload it?

[@doctorx0079]

I have the HD Retrovision cable and a SNES 2 ("Jr."). I also have a Philips CRT with component input and a Samsung HDMI flat-panel. What's my best solution? Do I need to get an SNES 1?

[@RetroRGB]

Just mod the Mini. It's cheap, easy and you'll get the best picture: www.retrorgb.com/snesminirgb.html

[@doctorx0079]

That doesn't look easy to me

[@CAPCOM784]

@@doctorx0079 If you don't want to mod the snes 2 I would just have someone do it for you.2nd option which is easiest would be buy the model 1 snes.No modding to be done and only need to buy the correct RGB scart cable to use.

[@chrisd8458]

Cart slot, same crap clone death grip connector or does "pin perfect" fix that?

[@Victor-wn8hf]

can confirm death grip still in effect but I cant see any damage to my cart I think what is applying the pressure is the plastic holding the card in between the pins

[@jeff97ish]

Have you had any experience with the RetroTINK?

[@RetroRGB]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppWsmKCHfZl0fqM

[@dizzym9554]

You need to redo the comparison video, it's far too corrupted to actually see the differences :/

[@RetroRGB]

A combination of things caused those errors. The still pics and scroll test show everything you need to see.

[@Elrinth]

I wouldn't say he'd need to redo because there are times where it's stable. However, it takes away a big chunk of the experience yes. Also some kind of warning that the video capture is glitching out would be nice. Because I'm assuming Bob watched the glitchy footage when editing :) I'd say you did a great job talking over the video. Still some kind of recognition that the footage is glitching out to use viewers would have been nice. I had to go down into the comments to see if anyone else was experiencing the glitchy footage.

[@GAM3RBAY]

HDMI SNES Review: Hyperkin's 720p Supa Retron HD

[@Iliek]

FEEEL the lag!!!

[@guspaz]

It seems likely that the SupaRetron is simply feeding the 240p RGB signal into a generic scaler chip that treats it like 480i and tries to deinterlace it.

[@RayCommend]

That's exactly what I was expecting. It's nearly double the price of the Gamerz Tek 16-Bit entertainment system, and doesn't seem to offer double the quality.

[@tetsujin_144]

If they're using the RGB signal and not the composite signal, that already is far better than I would have expected of them.

[@ShamanNoodles]

After years of fighting it, and trying to save my precious pennies, I've given in and bought an OSSC lol

[@michaelsworkshop9031]

Bob -- am I understanding correctly that flash carts actually work properly on this device, unlike some of Hyperkin's previous retro consoles? At 8:35 you start to show the menus bouncing on the SD2SNES on the Hyperkin -- so this means the console isn't ripping ROMs and playing them from memory, and that flash carts function normally? It seems like the marketing staff driving the engineering of Hyperkin's products is always just off. The market for this product is someone interested in playing 25 year old game cartridges on a modern TV, but at a pricepoint (and with the accompanying compromises) much lower than the Analogue products. Who is this consumer? Hipsters, just dipping their toes in the water? All of Hyperkin's products come across as hybrid USA / China engineering feats where they are afraid to actually build high quality and charge for it. I would love to see them boost their self esteem and show us what their engineering staff could do if they cared enough to do so, and really service the collector and enthusiast market that buys to support the retro hobby.

[@RetroRGB]

Yes, the SD2SNES works properly on this console.

[@jonniefast]

thank you for mentioning rom carts

[@jonniefast]

ordering mine asap

[@jessragan6714]

I don't know if it's my system or what, but this video glitches up in a terrible way. I'll switch to my other PC and see if that fixes the problem. Also, those black SCART to HDMI boxes really are horrendous. I was expecting so much more from mine.

[@MightyistheRCGamer]

if you don't like it can I have it?

[@gumpyflyale2542]

Is there lag on a crt tv?

[@RetroRGB]

If you connect the composite out (NOT the HDMI out) to a CRT, there most likely isn’t any lag.

[@Random.Walker.]

What do you expect - you get what you pay for. Wait Super NT then you get a big boys console. (If you are willing to pay.) But if you are casual player this is your console.

[@gabrieleriva651]

It might be good for kids.

[@kamsandwich6990]

I have the retron 5

[@Ridley1911]

Man, screw HDMI, if i were to play my old consoles on HDTVS i would simply emulate it. The only right way ot playing them is on the good old CRT with COMPOSITE cables.

[@Sr.D]

I really can't understand why expend all that money to end up seeing the games so ultra pixelated and bad, I connect my old consoles with regular cables and tune down resolution to minimum on the TV and even dithering blending works as intended in MegaDrive, for me the retron looks better and more true to the original in a CRT than the one chip and the scaler... just an example, btw this simple trick works with emulation, and real hardware. kzbin.info/www/bejne/eZ_baoF8hp6XbqM

[@mtoad]

Great review, terrible product.

[@Mikeywil0003]

More clone console junk. This product obviously isnt meant for the retro gaming elitist. This would look amazing to a casual gamer that hasnt touched an SNES in 20 years, and if they bought an original, would hook it up via RF. To anyone concerned with accuracy, picture quality, sound quality, lag, etc, a low price clone shouldn't even be on the list of options.

[@gex581990]

Wow another “snes on a chip” clone with essentially a cheap Scart to hdmi converter built in. Didn’t see that coming, just kidding Hyperkin is lazy uncreative bottom feeders of course they’d release something of this quality. Of course dipshit gamers will be like “WOW a HD SNES? That must look amazing!And eat it up without even noticing the issues. When is Kevtris’s ultimate FPGA console coming out already?

[@TheRealKoltoroc]

well considering they only cost a third or less than the good FPGA models, I see no problem here. You get what you pay for and not everyone can afford high end gear. If they tried to sell those for the same or more than the better ones, that would be a different matter. there is certainly a place for affordable low cost options.

[@gex581990]

Koltoroc meh a SNES with a cheap Scart converter is about the same price and probably still better, not that’d I’d prefer that. At least they did better than their horrid HD NES