Modern TV's with Retro Consoles

[Yoshi178]

So i just broke out my N64 to play some Mario Party 3.

however when i loaded up the game the picture doesn't look right at all all. you get the basic picture you'd normally get but it seems like all the colours are extremely bright and white, you couldn't even distinguish Lakitu's cloud from the backround it was that bright on the screen.
i've tried fiddling with my tv's menu options and turning up and down the tv's brightness and colour settings but it doesn't seem to make any difference no matter what i do.


a few months ago my stupid dog chewed my N64's RCA cable and i bout myself a new one from ebay just a couple of weeks ago. could the problem possibly even be the cable i'm using? it was a very cheap RCA cable i bought at only about $4 australian. i'd rather not have to buy myself another cable if i don't have to but that's the only thing i think it might be.

thought's on how i could fix this problem?

 

[FalloutJack]

Snip

Do you know how many people asking for advice are tired of 'lol don't do blah-de-blah' answers? They're worthless. They want an actual answer that helps them.

thought's on how i could fix this problem?

Well, if your dog chewed up the cable, you really should replace it even if it has nothing to do with it, which I think it may. A cable that's unable to deliver proper signal will give a discolored look at times, like if the bits don't work or something. That...is probably the actual and unfortunate conclusion, not a question of compatibility.

 

[Yoshi178]

Snip

Do you know how many people asking for advice are tired of 'lol don't do blah-de-blah' answers? They're worthless. They want an actual answer that helps them.

thought's on how i could fix this problem?

Well, if your dog chewed up the cable, you really should replace it

i did. and now its with the new RCA cable i'm having problems

 

[09philj]

You're using a monitor that's not CRT. Secondhand CRT TVs are reasonably inexpensive, and are what the N64 was designed to be used with. As well as correcting the colours, it will also decrease input lag.

 

[FalloutJack]

Snip

Do you know how many people asking for advice are tired of 'lol don't do blah-de-blah' answers? They're worthless. They want an actual answer that helps them.

thought's on how i could fix this problem?

Well, if your dog chewed up the cable, you really should replace it

i did. and now its with the new RCA cable i'm having problems

Hang on, I had a brainflash while I was out: Reduce your gamma levels, as opposed to brightness, or a combination of the two.

 

[FalloutJack]

Snip

I'm sorry, you're breaking up. You might want to check your RCA cable or at least contribute to discussion.

 

[TheMysteriousGX]

Might also try a converter box.

Retro game stores are a good place to try and find them. They'll take an RCA (AV jacks) and convert them to an HDMI signal.

It'll look jaggy as hell, but I didn't notice a problem with the colors.

 

[Yoshi178]

jesus i didn't think my thread would cause this much controversy.

anyway after speaking to a few peeps on facebook it might be that i mghtve accidentally bought a 60hz RCA cable designed for American tv's. made sure to buy a 50z PAL cable off of ebay just night so we'll see if this works.

 

[Mothro]

Could be a couple of things:

Is the cable hooked up to the AV slots instead of the component slots?
Is it a cheap cable?

Make sure you have the RCA cables plugged into the area that is labeled AV or composite, not component. Component has 5 RCA jacks. Composite (AV) = Red, White, Yellow. Component = Red (video), Green, Blue, White, Red (audio).

Also, don't buy cheap cables if you can help it. Preferably buy Nintendo brand cables if possible. You don't need to buy the stupid gold plated $20 cable but if it's $1 new, look elsewhere.

 

[NiGHTSJOD]

jesus i didn't think my thread would cause this much controversy.

anyway after speaking to a few peeps on facebook it might be that i mghtve accidentally bought a 60hz RCA cable designed for American tv's. made sure to buy a 50z PAL cable off of ebay just night so we'll see if this works.

That's not it. The NTSC and PAL N64 RCA cable are the same. The only difference was with (the superior to composite) S-Video cable. The PAL N64 supports S-Video but the gamma is often not right in cables you tend to find on eBay and can appear super bright. Never heard of an overbright composite picture - Are you perhaps using an S-Video cable? If you have a PAL N64 (unmodified), get the one from consolegoods/Rob Webb

http://www.robwebb1.plus.com/n64/n64.htm

There's videos online showing the difference this PAL one gives compared to an US NTSC cable or the standard AV cable. There are better options too such as an RGB mod or AV/SV to HDMI scalers which will help a lot. These range from cheap $50 scalers to things like the framemeister ($300+). Do try to use the best cable available in all cases though - in general (pre-Dreamcast):
RGB Scart >>>>>>> S-Video >>>>>>>>>>>>> AV/Composite/RCA >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> RF

Keep in mind though.... you are ultimately polishing a turd by playing it on an HDTV. Unlike most retro consoles which can look decent, N64 has not aged well at all so it would be best to keep to a CRT if you can accommodate one. CRT's can be had for little (in most cases, free). Even ones that were top of the line 10 years ago.