Hi-Def NES - a 1080p HDMI mod kit!

[Game-Tech.US]

I talked Kevtris in to making us an HDMI mod kit for the nes consoles since he already had most of it figured out on his FPGA multi system.
This is just the initial announcement of release, more info will be posted as we make it happen.

Not a clone system!
Uses the nintendo's cpu and ppu.
Fully HDMI standards compliant.

No frame buffer so NO LAG between controller and monitor.

Resolutions:
using ntsc cpu/ppu 480p, 720p, 1080p
using pal  cpu/ppu 567p, 720p, 1080p
Kit will auto detect which chips it's connected to.
It will also detect if either have failed and flash a trouble code.
Will output only as high a res as the monitor will handle.

Aspect ration will be user adjustable in the menu, seen as horizontal stretch in the menu in the vid.

A few palettes will be included and user selectable in the menu.
Custom palettes can be uploaded to the nesHD using a flash cart etc.

Built in overclocking with option to not have it mess up the sound pitch.

Reconfigurable hot keys to get to menu.

Console reset via controller hot keys.

Updating firmware will be done via an ".nes" file, via flashcart etc, if necessary.

All audio is generated in the kit, so it will be %100 digital and theoretically noise free.
User will be able to control each audio channel from the menu.
You will be able to adjust left and right volume output of each channel independently.
Most expansion audio chips will also be programmed in to the kit and we hope to auto detect which one will be needed for a game that is being played, but may also have the option to turn each on and off.
Currently working: normal nes audio, fds, N106, mmc5, and sunsoft 5B.
VRC7 is still a maybe...
5.1 and 7.1 is also a maybe...
Might also have the ability to turn off certain channels independently.

HQX scaling is also a maybe...

Scanlines will be included, still in progress.

Possibly a built in CopyNES.

Easy instal, desolder the cpu and ppu and cut out a few mounting holes using an included template.

Tested with some known problem carts, multi carts, powerpak, and everdrive.
More testing will be done as we progress.

Kit cost will most likely be under $150 and installation by me under $100, but nothing is set yet.

[NecroPhile]

How do I change my display name?!?!
I'd like for it to read Game-Tech.US or similar, haven't used aka for while...

Done.

[BlueBMW]

Sounds pretty slick!

[ToyMachine78]

You people with soldering skills make me sick.... Oh yeah! Installation is a breeze! Just desolder the CPU, and follow the template. No way you could screw that up lol :- P

[thesteve]

the NES CPU/PPU are a bear to remove for sure

[DeshDildo]

the NES CPU/PPU are a bear to remove for sure

No doubt.  It was a bitch when I installed one of etim's RGB kits.  I am already salivating at the prospect of the kit mentioned in this post.  I am ready to spend money on one right now.  I've been following the "HDMI NES" progress with great interest but I like the thought of this kit more since it's using original hardware and the console itself.  Sign me up Scotty!

[DeshDildo]

My god man.  I finally just had some time to watch the video and game capture footage.  Take my money now!

[Medic_wheat]

Marks thread for future throwing if nes and credit card at review tech usa

[cjameslv]

Hmm this does sound pretty good.

[Game-Tech.US]

How do I change my display name?!?!
I'd like for it to read Game-Tech.US or similar, haven't used aka for while...

Done.

Thanks NecroPhile!

[Medic_wheat]

How do I change my display name?!?!
I'd like for it to read Game-Tech.US or similar, haven't used aka for while...

Done.

Thanks NecroPhile!

But for $500+ I could buy a Analouge NT and....bu Waac haa haaaa I couldn't finish that sentance.  Lol


This seems like a great option for those who have an extra stock Nintendo to upgrade.

[ultrageranium]

So this mod bypasses entirely the APU?

[Game-Tech.US]

Posted two more vids:

[Game-Tech.US]

Last of the 3 part series:

[Ayce]

I saw this mod on a website today... my problem is I don't play on LCD or Plasma. I much prefer playing on a CRT the way these games were originally designed to be played on.

[thesteve]

then you have no need for it

[EvilEvoIX]

This looks great but I think I just want a component mod for me through my CRT TV.

[ishiyakazuo]

I saw this mod on a website today... my problem is I don't play on LCD or Plasma. I much prefer playing on a CRT the way these games were originally designed to be played on.

I've got a CRT with HDMI on it... they do exist ;)  I'm not sure Duck Hunt would work with this on it (in fact, if it doesn't output 480i/576i, I'm fairly sure it wouldn't).

[EvilEvoIX]

I saw this mod on a website today... my problem is I don't play on LCD or Plasma. I much prefer playing on a CRT the way these games were originally designed to be played on.

I've got a CRT with HDMI on it... they do exist ;)  I'm not sure Duck Hunt would work with this on it (in fact, if it doesn't output 480i/576i, I'm fairly sure it wouldn't).

I do to, is a Sony Wega with HDMI and has a 4:3 aspect ratio but here is the issue:

Any time I use HDMI the screen is locked into a widscreen format meaning bars on top and bottom.  Anyway around that?

[Game-Tech.US]

Copy of Kevin's nesdev post:

I got the HQ2X/3X/4X scaling working now and made an example video of the HQ3X at 720p. I cannot record 1080p unfortunately so I can't capture the 4X one in video.

There's no audio because I needed the room for the scaler. Because space constraints have been hit, I am going to stuff another board with a bigger part that fortunately has the same pinout, hopefully alleviating my space issues.

With this bigger part, I should be able to get VRC7 in there too. (VRC7 is around 1300 LEs, while the HQX scaler is 2230 and the 65C02 core is 1320).

[Medic_wheat]

Copy of Kevin's nesdev post:

I got the HQ2X/3X/4X scaling working now and made an example video of the HQ3X at 720p. I cannot record 1080p unfortunately so I can't capture the 4X one in video.

There's no audio because I needed the room for the scaler. Because space constraints have been hit, I am going to stuff another board with a bigger part that fortunately has the same pinout, hopefully alleviating my space issues.

With this bigger part, I should be able to get VRC7 in there too. (VRC7 is around 1300 LEs, while the HQX scaler is 2230 and the 65C02 core is 1320).

Oh if only I spoke engineering.  Sigh.

All these words and numbers sounds impressive though.

[Game-Tech.US]

From Kevtris:

I just posted my first update video evar on this project using my new camera.

[Game-Tech.US]

From Kevtris:

Here's some example scanline tests from the scanline generator I was working on tonight. I have finished scalers 100% and that is done, so I started on the scanline generators.

http://blog.kevtris.org/blogfiles/hdmi/ ... es/latest/

I ran into a problem which I knew I'd have on 1080p (and PAL modes). That is, each NES scanline requires a non-integer number of scanlines on the HDMI display. Namely at 1080p, each NES scanline needs 4.5 HDMI scanlines.

This means that the height of each subsequent NES scanline alternates 4/5/4/5/4/5 HDMI lines.

To counter this (you can see an example of what this type looks like, see below) I came up with a scan line generator that "free runs" in relation to the NES video, instead of trying to "scanline" each NES line on the HDMI display. The results of this method are in the above /latest/ directory.

There's also a scanline generator that is tied to the actual NES scanlines, but it can look bad (especially on PAL) due to the afore-mentioned problem. Those are here:

http://blog.kevtris.org/blogfiles/hdmi/scanlines/

the filename describes how "Deep" the scanline effect is. 0 = no scanlines at all, FF = maximum.

[Game-Tech.US]

Latest news from Kevtris:

I have finished the FPGA side pretty much of this project now. In the last few days I have added:

* scanline generators (two kinds- NES locked and free run)

* menu! menu now lets you set up all of the video parameters from the controller.

* MMC5 audio (totally new core)
* VRC6 audio (heavily rewrote)
* FDS audio (totally new core)
* N106 audio (some rewriting)
* sunsoft5B audio (some rewriting)
* VRC7 (some rewriting)

* Audio FIR filter (2 stage)

The audio stuff is ported from the FPGA NES project and have been gone over again to fix bugs, update old code and all that. Some of it was early verilog I had written and it was ugly so it got rewritten.

The FPGA resources are now totally used up:

* logic elements: 98%
* pins: 100%
* PLLs: 100%
* multipliers: 2 left
* blockrams: 100%

This means that the scanline generators are going to have to stay as they are but I think it should be fairly usable. I tried a bunch of "NES locked" scanline generator ideas people mentioned in here and on the IRC channel but they all looked pretty bad and noticeable, unfortunately.

Setting the 1080p mode to 3x scanlines (a "scanline" every 3 HDMI lines) which is higher resolution than the NES and then using one of the scalers looks fairly passable. If you want "real" scanlines, then 720p or 480p modes will need to be used. PAL systems will have to use the free run mode most likely since the scaling on them is non-integer due to hardware restrictions between the PPU frame and the HDMI frame.

All expansion audio is implemented and works now. The VRC7 needs some slight tweaking but seems to be pretty close. At the time I implemented this I didn't know about the ADSR control bit so I will add that.

I have each source separate, and relative volumes of all channels are adjustable against each other. I still need to write a boatload of menu code to allow you to adjust all the parameters though (relative volumes) but the hardware side is all done at least.

Each chip and in some cases sub channels are all individually pannable. This includes the original NES channels (all are pannable individually), VRC6 (individually pannable), MMC5 (same), and the others are pannable as a unit. VRC7 has 2 outputs that can be panned individually left/right, each being a set of 3 channels.

There's a FIR filter to cut out most of the aliasing from the audio and works quite decent. Looped noise sounds pretty decent. There's still a tiny bit of aliasing on very very very high frequency squares but this is unavoidable. The only time I could hear it was when I used a program that let me manually poke the sound registers.

I will release another update video soon outlining some of the new features I added in the last week.

[Game-Tech.US]

Video of Kevin putting together the 1st prototype board using stencil and solder paste, his vacuum tool, and his reflow oven.

[Game-Tech.US]

News from Kevtris:

I have put up a video outlining all of the features of the Hi Def NES adapter's video functionality now it's here:

I show off the scanlines, stretching, interpolation and scalers.

[thesteve]

looks good

[Game-Tech.US]

More info from Kevin:
The hdmi mod does not stop people using the analog audio from the NES- it still is there coming out of the CPU and is unaffected.  If people want to keep using it (and even powerpak expansion audio or cart audio on famicoms) this will still work as normal.

I just recreate (rather than digitizing) the audio so I have it in digital form.  Someone also asked the sample rate.  It's 16 bit, 48KHz since this seems to be the "standard" on HDMI.  I could emit 96KHz 24 bit but then no one could hear the audio.

[Psycho Punch]

He hooks up directly to the PPU right? I wonder if he could bypass/duplicate sprite rendering (emulating it on the FPGA instead) to eliminate horizontal sprite limitations (with the option to enable/disable obviously).

[Game-Tech.US]

News from Kevtris:

Well the audio update video has been posted showing off all of the expansion audio capabilities, along with cropping.

Enjoy! (yeah the sunsoft 5B was a lot quieter than it should'a been. that's why there is a gain control!)

Going to work on palettes next and flesh out the rest of the menu next.

[Game-Tech.US]

Kevtris and I check out the Hi-Def NES on my 19" lcd tv.
We also test the zapper out and talk about what's going on with the project.

[thesteve]

wow, havent heard about a ham meet in decades

[Game-Tech.US]

This is my first real attempt at putting the pcbs of the Hi-Def NES HDMI kit in to a Nintendo Top Loader.

[cjameslv]

This is my first real attempt at putting the pcbs of the Hi-Def NES HDMI kit in to a Nintendo Top Loader.

No point in showing us what doesn't work and a pcb that isn't going to be used. I would of rather watched a 17m video on what to do not how to fuck up my toploader shell. Also a note on squaring the edges of a hole, you always dremel less than the actual size and use a flat file to square it to final size. This video was a complete waste of time.

[Game-Tech.US]

Also a note on squaring the edges of a hole, you always dremel less than the actual size and use a flat file to square it to final size.

I should have said so in the vid, but i'm looking to steer clear of using a file. I've been filing holes for the snes connector for use with the nesrgb for a year and it's simply too time consuming and it will never be a perfect hole for the hdmi since it's not square and I don't want to have to charge for all that time filing it to fit.

[PCEngineHell]

This is my first real attempt at putting the pcbs of the Hi-Def NES HDMI kit in to a Nintendo Top Loader.

No point in showing us what doesn't work and a pcb that isn't going to be used. I would of rather watched a 17m video on what to do not how to fuck up my toploader shell. Also a note on squaring the edges of a hole, you always dremel less than the actual size and use a flat file to square it to final size. This video was a complete waste of time.

Jeez don't be a little bitch. Its a progress video documenting what is going on, the trial and error stuff and what not. If you don't like that kind of stuff then just kindly move the fuck on. You don't have to be an obnoxious dick about it.

[esteban]

HAHJAHAHA. This is why we need you around, prof.

[NecroPhile]

No point in showing us what doesn't work and a pcb that isn't going to be used. I would of rather watched a 17m video on what to do not how to fuck up my toploader shell. Also a note on squaring the edges of a hole, you always dremel less than the actual size and use a flat file to square it to final size. This video was a complete waste of time.

Note to self: don't store your egg nog in a dark corner behind the furnace, as it'll spoil and drinking it will make you cranky.

[EvilEvoIX]

It would be amazing if they could get the zapper to work on a HD LCD/Plasma/LED.  I don't see it happening without some crazy synching ability however.

[Game-Tech.US]

It would be amazing if they could get the zapper to work on a HD LCD/Plasma/LED.  I don't see it happening without some crazy synching ability however. 

I too was really hoping for a fix, but I don't think Kev wants to put much effort in to finding one, at least not right now.

[Bernie]

Thank you Prof for saying what I was already thinking as I read his comment.  Still surprises me he felt the need to go all Zeta on gametech.

[cjameslv]

Ha gotta love drinking! Fuck you all if you don't like my drunk self, prof can eat a dick

[PCEngineHell]

Ha gotta love drinking! Fuck you all if you don't like my drunk self, prof can eat a dick

No dicks left to eat. You gobbled them all up in your drunken rage. Now piss off already and stop shitting on this guys thread.

[Medic_wheat]

Ha gotta love drinking! Fuck you all if you don't like my drunk self, prof can eat a dick

Wait, people offer dick eating here?


Let me take that post off craigslist real quick

[Game-Tech.US]

Kev's best update yet!
From Kev:

Here's the 4th update!

Things added since last time:

* DVI Mode
* Screen is centered
* Pixel masking fixed
* Set the relative audio volumes
* Fixed extraneous pixels
* Hot keys were added
* Overclocking
* Palettes!
* Menu info is now correct
* Fixed the powerpak NSF player

Enjoy!

[Game-Tech.US]

I may have found a good solution to getting the hdmi connector to come out the back of the top loader and av famicom!!!

[KnightWarrior]

How much nicer do you want to see NES Games?

RGB is the Max

[Game-Tech.US]

Latest update vid from Kevin:

Update #5 has been posted. The brightness on the HDMI output is a bit blown out but this is because of the capture card. I didn't spot it until it was rendered and posted. bleh. Every time I capture something it seems to screw it up in a different way.

Anyways, I show a couple games (Duck Maze, Orb 3D, and Micromachines) which apparently gave the nesRGB fits. Also, the flowing palette demo apparently doesn't work either. All four of these are shown.

Enjoy!

[EvilEvoIX]

I may want to do this to my top loader.  Looks nice

[Joe Redifer]

That looks like it's doing some 2xsai smoothing or something. I think it looks awful.

I ran Micro Machines on my NES RGB for the CD-i episode a while back and I seem to remember it being slightly weird in the character select but not weird enough to be unplayable.