The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an awesome video game console and the only place where there is any room for improvement is in longevity.
Thanks to retroUSB we’re getting exactly that and more.
If you’re a retro Nintendo enthusiast you’re likely to have seen this news all over the Internet. Despite the many third party re-invented Nintendo consoles that we’ve seen appear over the years (such as the Hyperkin Retron 5) the AVS by retroUSB has generated a lot of excitement for me for one very specific reason. It does not use software emulation. Which suggests that the AVS has the potential to perform exactly the same as our original NES consoles; without any of those varied anomalies in visuals and audio that we see with software based emulation.
So why not just stick with your classic and 100% authentic NES Console? Well, you should. Keep that gem in the nerd cave hooked up to that beautiful CRT (Tube) TV. The retroUSB AVS belongs upstairs hooked up to your HD TV via HDMI. This is where longevity kicks in. Slowly old CRT TV’s are disappearing as people continually fail to see their value! Now, thanks to retroUSB we can continue playing the NES in what I’m hoping to be a very authentic way on our modern TVs. With the one exception being vastly improved visuals that composite video used on the original hardware could never deliver.
Below you’ll see a brief list of the AVS’ features and a video demonstration.
SPECS:
Video: 720p Wide Screen HDMI output, 60Hz (NTSC) and 50Hz (PAL)
Audio: 44.1kHz HDMI output with expansion audio from carts.
Display: Variable pixel scaling including integer options (1:1, 4:3, 5:3) with optional darkness scanlines.
Carts: Front loading NES, Top loading Famicom
Ports: Built in NES Four Score Pro, Famicom Expansion Port
Ports: HDMI Type A for video and audio, USB Mini B for power and data.
Cheats: 5 cheat code slots with built in code database supporting Game Genie, Pro Action Replay, Pro Action Rocky, and raw formats
Online: NA Scoreboard online score system through USB
Updates: Upgrade FPGA configuration and menu system through USB
If you’re an Uber Nerd you know about RGB mods that can very significantly improve the video quality of your original NES.
How does the retroUSB AVS stack up against RGB mods and high quality upscalers? Have a look at this excellent video from My Life in Gaming:
For a time I did own a Retro-Bit Retro DUO but the cheap plastics and imperfect emulation compelled me to sell it and stick with my original NES and SNES. I was very tempted to buy the Retron 5 but I never did. Despite seeing it in action (thanks to Nintendo Joe for the loan!) there were enough… differences (I don’t want to say flaws) that held me back from loving it.
At the moment I am very tempted to buy retroUSB’s AVS. It’s not yet available for sale but I believe there will be more news on a release date closer to the end of June 2016. So far it’s been hinted that the cost of the AVS will be under $200 USD.
Are you tempted? Is the retroUSB AVS for you?
Retro Megabit 
$200 sounds pricy for a system just to play your NES games on your HD TV. I thought the retron 5 was great… but as you say, there were problems (the super tightness of the pins, not all games being compatible, a crappy controller, etc.) I’ll take it back and trade it at the next game show. Save the date of Sunday May 29th!
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I’d be guessing but I think the price of the unit might be tied to it using an FPGA – they are great in aiming for perfect emulation of hardware but are still very expensive parts to use.
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I read a little bit about FPGA IC’s thinking that they might be a somewhat new technology but they don’t appear to be. They were commercially available in 1985. But it does seem like they have gone through some changes over the years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Field-programmable_gate_array
I poked my nose around places where Electrical Engineers might go and about 6 years ago FPGA IC’s were talked about costing between $10-$20.
http://electronics.stackexchange.com/questions/2641/cheapest-fpgas
Or more recently in 2014 there is talk about entire FPGA boards for under $100.
http://www.edn.com/electronics-products/electronic-product-reviews/fpga-boards-under–100–hands-on-reviews-collection/4431752/FPGA-boards-under–100–Introduction
So I still cannot say how much cost FPGA’s adds to the AVS but there is potential that the technology could account for a good percentage of the build cost.
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You gave me a good idea. At ~$200 the AVS is very expensive. But when you said you may trade/sell your Retron 5 that reminded me that if I don’t like the AVS I will be able to sell and recover a lot of that cost. Food for thought…
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Hmm. For that money, I’d want perfection and nothing less. Maybe 50 or 60 bucks for that and I’d bite.
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Oh, I would love that price point too!
But if the AVS does hit perfect NES emulation then I might still pick one up. The Retro DUO is the only clone I’ve purchased (Bought for $50 sold for $30) and I think I might be ready to try again.
The AVS cost is half of the amazing XRGB-mini Framemeister which is a big plus but at the same time the $400 XRGB-mini can be used on all your retro consoles… but it’s also much more complex to use.
https://solarisjapan.com/products/xrgb-mini-framemeister-compact-up-scaler-unit
It’s tough being a retro freak!
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