The Official Turbografx 16 Thread!

[Steven Pendleton]

3 minutes ago, CZroe said:

Yeah... I was disciplined enough to 100% the game with Richter before ever playing as Maria so I would get some challenge out of it. Maria really makes everything so easy she spoils the game! After that I challenged myself to 100% it without getting Game Over (still using Richter only). Then I challenged myself to do it in one sitting... I have two IFUs, two Turbo-CD docks, and a few blocks on the UGX-02 all containing a different 100% run.

A lot of the stuff I thought was so hard before became super-easy... like second nature. Now it's one of those games I randomly re-play just to get better at it.

Yeah, I can go through the entire game in 1 sitting with Richter without dying except for Shaft. That's the only part of the game that can actually kill me. Maria sucks because she is boring. People will tell you that you need to use her to get to some places that Richter can't go to, but that's false. Richter can go everywhere that Maria can get to.

[CZroe]

Regarding those extra consoles and CD hardware I have to trade off with the extra Rondo... well, you may have heard the State of Georgia was taking a lot of heat for reopening early so my friend just re-opened his shop and got these in:


I already picked up Bonk and Sidearms.

Of the others I only have Blazing Lazers, TV Sports Football, and Keith Courage in Alpha Zones. I'm thinking about trading Rondo with a Turbo Everdrive, a CD dock, and a mis-matched drive for a big chunk of the rest. If not, I still need Splatterhouse and Legendary Axe but I'm not ready to pay those prices.

He already has a console to sell and I think he'll see that the Turbo Everdrive is a good substitute for the games if he trades them to me. Obviously their value far exceeds the Everdrive so that's where Rondo, the dock, and drive come in. Hoping that gets me a good chunk of those!

Yeah, I can go through the entire game in 1 sitting with Richter without dying except for Shaft. That's the only part of the game that can actually kill me. Maria sucks because she is boring. People will tell you that you need to use her to get to some places that Richter can't go to, but that's false. Richter can go everywhere that Maria can get to.

There's one place in the ghost ship where Maria can slide through a small passageway behind the destroyed engine. I don't see any way to get there with Richter.
https://i.imgur.com/clVgSZd.jpg


There is a strange part of the floor nearby that I've never been able to figure out.
https://i.imgur.com/BW6WLqX.jpg


Looks like something you can jump up through. I had a bad power supply last year that caused the game to glitch at random spots which might have revealed something related to it:
I was right there by the stairs when Richter froze as a some glitched entity floated through the scene and left the screen. It looked like it was made of sparks or something but that was probably just sprite glitching. The game froze for good shortly after that. The object seem to have a programmed path that it would follow while Richter was not allowed to move. Not sure if the glitch triggered some vestigial thing that was supposed to happen there at one point in development but the floor in that room is very suspect. It might be an element of something vestigial that explains the floor or maybe the entire thing was a glitch.

[Steven Pendleton]

8 minutes ago, CZroe said:

There's one place in the ghost ship where Maria can slide through a small passageway behind the destroyed engine. I don't see any way to get there with Richter.

Never seen that one before. I guess that makes one place that Richter can't get to.

 

8 minutes ago, CZroe said:

There is a strange part of the floor nearby that I've never been able to figure out.

Well, below that little space is the sea, so I doubt that you would want to go down there! I noticed that little space too, though, and I am still really curious as to why it is like that.

 

8 minutes ago, CZroe said:

Looks like something you can jump up through. I had a bad power supply last year that caused the game to glitch at random spots which might have revealed something related to it:
I was right there by the stairs when Richter froze as a some glitched entity floated through the scene and left the screen. It looked like it was made of sparks or something but that was probably just sprite glitching. The game froze for good shortly after that. The object seem to have a programmed path that it would follow while Richter was not allowed to move. Not sure if the glitch triggered some vestigial thing that was supposed to happen there at one point in development but the floor in that room is very suspect. It might be an element of something vestigial that explains the floor or maybe the entire thing was a glitch.

 

and also

 

 

Two separate instances of Joe having problems with the game in one video.

Edited April 27, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[DragonGrafx-16]

$60-70 for Bomberman? Geeze... I paid $20 for a complete copy of the PC Engine version...

[CZroe]

 

 

 

and also

 

Two separate instances of Joe having problems with the game in one video.

He pointed out that he was playing with the Arcade Card. I was getting glitches like those with the Arcade Card and when using the Turbo Everdrive as a system card. With the TED I was using Elmer's patched Super System Card BIOS to prevent memory bus conflicts with the CD hardware but one thing the TED and Arcade Card have in common is extra memory that a Super CD-ROM² title does not need.

 

It was happening a lot more on my TG16 than on the PC Engine. Strangely, it still happens with the UperGrafx UGX-02 if I play for the better part of an hour with an Arcade Card Duo installed for no reason (UGX-02 let's you use the AC Duo with the simulated Super System Card just like a Duo or Super CD-ROM² system). It also happens with Popful Mail, which is disappointing because it is supposedly Arcade Card enhanced. It usually happens when I'm more than an hour into playing. I haven't had it happen in any titles that require the Arcade Card Duo though.

 

Never happens with the new power supply when I play exclusively on the UGX-02 with no external system card and never happens on original CD hardware with the new PSU and a real system card or patched TED.

[CZroe]

$60-70 for Bomberman? Geeze... I paid $20 for a complete copy of the PC Engine version...

Yeah, I don't know where he's getting his pricing from but he never charges me what he wrote.

This is the same guy who sold me those two NES games that turned out to be full of fentanyl. We both suspected there was something inside and he was excited to know what was in there himself but he still have me a discount on them. I didn't even ask.

[Steven Pendleton]

55 minutes ago, CZroe said:

 

 

 

 

He pointed out that he was playing with the Arcade Card. I was getting glitches like those with the Arcade Card and when using the Turbo Everdrive as a system card. With the TED I was using Elmer's patched Super System Card BIOS to prevent memory bus conflicts with the CD hardware but one thing the TED and Arcade Card have in common is extra memory that a Super CD-ROM² title does not need.

 

It was happening a lot more on my TG16 than on the PC Engine. Strangely, it still happens with the UperGrafx UGX-02 if I play for the better part of an hour with an Arcade Card Duo installed for no reason (UGX-02 let's you use the AC Duo with the simulated Super System Card just like a Duo or Super CD-ROM² system). It also happens with Popful Mail, which is disappointing because it is supposedly Arcade Card enhanced. It usually happens when I'm more than an hour into playing. I haven't had it happen in any titles that require the Arcade Card Duo though.

 

Never happens with the new power supply when I play exclusively on the UGX-02 with no external system card and never happens on original CD hardware with the new PSU and a real system card or patched TED.

Yeah, I think Joe was using his TurboGrafx for that. I am using the SuperGrafx + SSDS3 now, but even before that I never had any issues with the CoreGrafx + SSDS3 or CoreGrafx + IFU + CD-ROM2 + Super System Card + game disc. I have never had problems using the simulated Arcade Card on the SSDS3. I am using my own dump of my real Super System Card as the BIOS together with the simulated extra RAM in the Arcade Card.

 

I don't have a real Arcade Card since I have no real Arcade Card games or Arcade Card enhanced games and it's just way too expensive. I could buy 5 Super System Cards for the same price as the Arcade Card Pro! Maybe I'd have some problems using all real hardware, but since I'm using the SuperGrafx, I'd get the Super CD-ROM2 so I don't have to bother with the RAU-30 and not have to put a System Card in to play Rondo anyway, and I'd want the Arcade Card DUO for that combination and not the Arcade Card Pro.

Edited April 27, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[DragonGrafx-16]

I've noticed that my copy of GunHed is noticeably quieter than my other HuCard games... Override has a nice loud volume in comparison. I've noticed some games just having randomly different volume levels sometimes even having a -10dbu difference! I was wondering why my PC Engine was so quiet but I just think it's some of the games be quiet. Must be whatever output level the game's code sets it at. Some posts online saying that there might be problems with the capacitors but I opened my PC Engine and they were all fine.

 

Still it seems kind of nuts that there can be this much difference in the volume between different games.

[Steven Pendleton]

1 hour ago, DragonGrafx-16 said:

I've noticed that my copy of GunHed is noticeably quieter than my other HuCard games... Override has a nice loud volume in comparison. I've noticed some games just having randomly different volume levels sometimes even having a -10dbu difference! I was wondering why my PC Engine was so quiet but I just think it's some of the games be quiet. Must be whatever output level the game's code sets it at. Some posts online saying that there might be problems with the capacitors but I opened my PC Engine and they were all fine.

 

Still it seems kind of nuts that there can be this much difference in the volume between different games.

I find that Rondo is pretty quiet as well. Seems there is some variation in game volumes.

[Steven Pendleton]

Would it be possible to add SuperGrafx capability to a regular PC Engine using an FPGA connected to the pins in the back? I've been wondering about this for a while, but I'm guessing there is a reason that it hasn't been done yet. Obviously there is the possibility that it hasn't been done because nobody cares, but if it is possible, I'd like to see it. I never would have thought that you could run HuCARD games through the pins in the back, but you can. I never would have thought that you can run CD games through the HuCARD slot, but you can. Why can't we add SuperGrafxness to a regular PC Engine with FPGA technology?

[CZroe]

 

 

Would it be possible to add SuperGrafx capability to a regular PC Engine using an FPGA connected to the pins in the back? I've been wondering about this for a while, but I'm guessing there is a reason that it hasn't been done yet. Obviously there is the possibility that it hasn't been done because nobody cares, but if it is possible, I'd like to see it. I never would have thought that you could run HuCARD games through the pins in the back, but you can. I never would have thought that you can run CD games through the HuCARD slot, but you can. Why can't we add SuperGrafxness to a regular PC Engine with FPGA technology?

 

Because of how the UperGrafx and Hi-Def NES work, I think so.

 

If you think about how the HiDef NES and NESRGB work, they don't have access to anything better than analog composite video out of the NES/Famicom's PPU (graphics chip; "Picture Processing Unit"). To get better video they replicate the PPU with FPGA and run it along side the original. They get digital video because they replicate the internal functions of the chip that generate the video before converting to analog composite. Of course, they don't neglect to do anything better or more useful with it, like generate analog RGB or HDMI.

 

The PC Engine is similar but instead of a single PPU they kinda split up the functions across a graphics processor and the chip that encodes to analog as separate components: The VDC/VDP (Video Display Controller/Processor) and VCE (Video Color Endoder). Instead of replicating all of the graphics chips to source digital video we only need to replicate and bypass the VCE, and the EXT port gives us access to the video and CPU bus to do exactly that.

 

Obviously, the HiDef NES and NESRGB show us we don't have to stop at the VCE since we could replicate all the graphics chip functions start to finish. Heck, the Nt Mini and AVS show us we could replicate the CPU along with the rest of the systems if we want to. As MiSTer shows, we can do the same with PC Engine and SuperGrafx (replicate them entirely), but we're getting ahead of ourselves here.

 

The SuperGrafx works almost exactly like the PCE except it adds a second VDC and a chip that combines the output of both before it gets to the VCE, but the port on the back is only connected to the first VDC so you only get half the graphics with enhanced games. The VCE inside is connected to the mixing chip and gets the output from both. From what I'm told you could just move the EXT connections from the first VDC to the mixed output to get both from the EXT port but this obviously only works for getting the extra graphics from a system that already has both VDCs (a SuperGrafx).

 

The way the UperGrafx works is that it uses FPGA to replicate the functions of the VCE. Replicating the whole chip gives us access to the internal functions where the digital video is assembled and allows us to use that as we please for digital DVI/HDMI output. But why stop there? Why not replicate the VDC? Well, because there is no need for standard PCE games and you can use a smaller/cheaper FPGA.

 

The way a SuperGrafx (SGX) differs from a standard PC Engine is that it has two VDC chips with discrete memory, so how about an EXT port adapter that replicates BOTH the VCE and a secondary VDC/VDP? The VCE is on the same CPU bus as the VDC and anything that replicates the VCE through the EXT port should have access to everything the VCD has in order to replicate it's function. It may be that you can't add a second VDC to the EXT slot because there is no physical mechanism for addressing them individually or some other minor difference, but even if there is some technical barrier to interacting with the original VDC/VDP, a large-enough FPGA could even replicate the whole SuperGrafx so what's stopping it from replicating both VDC/VDP chips along with the VCE?

 

I asked the UperGrafx creator if he could also replicate the second VDC/VDP from a SuperGrafx and he said he couldn't because it would take a larger FPGA. He's obviously a lot more familiar with the internals than I am but he acted like the FPGA in the UGX was the only thing limiting him. I'm sure replicating another proprietary chip isn't trivial but that sounds like you can replicate the missing hardware of a SGX on a lesser PCE.

 

I may be wrong and there may be other technical barriers. I know the SGX and later consoles got a different VDC revision that may be required, and you might not be able to stop the original VDC from interacting with the replicated ones (it might be wired to respond when talking to the second VDC). You might also need to patch games to for SGX mode/detection. Still, the name "CoreGrafx" and the update to the revised VDC across the line make me think NEC planned to make EXT "grafx" of some kind if the SGX were successful. You know: "Core" and then "Expanded."

[CZroe]

By the way, I just stumbled on this:

https://github.com/wifiber/PCEHD/blob/master/README.md

 

Looks like these guys are trying to pull off the same tricks as the UperGrafx UGX-02!

 

Maybe we need to make sure these guys look into the possibility of adding SGX support.

 

 

[Steven Pendleton]

13 minutes ago, CZroe said:

Because of how the UperGrafx and Hi-Def NES work, I think so.

 

If you think about how the HiDef NES and NESRGB work, they don't have access to anything better than analog composite video out of the NES/Famicom's PPU (graphics chip; "Picture Processing Unit"). To get better video they replicate the PPU with FPGA and run it along side the original. They get digital video because they replicate the internal functions of the chip that generate the video before converting to analog composite. Of course, they don't neglect to do anything better or more useful with it, like generate analog RGB or HDMI.

 

The PC Engine is similar but instead of a single PPU they kinda split up the functions across a graphics processor and the chip that encodes to analog as separate components: The VDC/VDP (Video Display Controller/Processor) and VCE (Video Color Endoder). Instead of replicating all of the graphics chips to source digital video we only need to replicate and bypass the VCE, and the EXT port gives us access to the video and CPU bus to do exactly that.

 

Obviously, the HiDef NES and NESRGB show us we don't have to stop at the VCE since we could replicate all the graphics chip functions start to finish. Heck, the Nt Mini and AVS show us we could replicate the CPU along with the rest of the systems if we want to. As MiSTer shows, we can do the same with PC Engine and SuperGrafx (replicate them entirely), but we're getting ahead of ourselves here.

 

The SuperGrafx works almost exactly like the PCE except it adds a second VDC and a chip that combines the output of both before it gets to the VCE, but the port on the back is only connected to the first VDC so you only get half the graphics with enhanced games. The VCE inside is connected to the mixing chip and gets the output from both. From what I'm told you could just move the EXT connections from the first VDC to the mixed output to get both from the EXT port but this obviously only works for getting the extra graphics from a system that already has both VDCs (a SuperGrafx).

 

The way the UperGrafx works is that it uses FPGA to replicate the functions of the VCE. Replicating the whole chip gives us access to the internal functions where the digital video is assembled and allows us to use that as we please for digital DVI/HDMI output. But why stop there? Why not replicate the VDC? Well, because there is no need for standard PCE games and you can use a smaller/cheaper FPGA.

 

The way a SuperGrafx (SGX) differs from a standard PC Engine is that it has two VDC chips with discrete memory, so how about an EXT port adapter that replicates BOTH the VCE and a secondary VDC/VDP? The VCE is on the same CPU bus as the VDC and anything that replicates the VCE through the EXT port should have access to everything the VCD has in order to replicate it's function. It may be that you can't add a second VDC to the EXT slot because there is no physical mechanism for addressing them individually or some other minor difference, but even if there is some technical barrier to interacting with the original VDC/VDP, a large-enough FPGA could even replicate the whole SuperGrafx so what's stopping it from replicating both VDC/VDP chips along with the VCE?

 

I asked the UperGrafx creator if he could also replicate the second VDC/VDP from a SuperGrafx and he said he couldn't because it would take a larger FPGA. He's obviously a lot more familiar with the internals than I am but he acted like the FPGA in the UGX was the only thing limiting him. I'm sure replicating another proprietary chip isn't trivial but that sounds like you can replicate the missing hardware of a SGX on a lesser PCE.

 

I may be wrong and there may be other technical barriers. I know the SGX and later consoles got a different VDC revision that may be required, and you might not be able to stop the original VDC from interacting with the replicated ones (it might be wired to respond when talking to the second VDC). You might also need to patch games to for SGX mode/detection. Still, the name "CoreGrafx" and the update to the revised VDC across the line make me think NEC planned to make EXT "grafx" of some kind if the SGX were successful. You know: "Core" and then "Expanded."

Yeah, this is basically what I was talking about but I was kind of lazy and didn't want to type all of the stuff about the extra VDP and what have you. As you said, and I alluded to, there is no need to replicate the stuff that's already inside the regular PC Engine, so I'm hoping that someone can just replicate the additional crap inside the SuperGrafx using an FPGA and just stick it on the back of the PC Engine, CoreGrafx (II) or even the LT! That would be super awesome! Shuttle owners are still screwed, of course, unless it could be done through the HuCARD slot. Then even the Shuttle and GT could become a SuperGrafx.

 

Maybe I'll go ask neodev and see what he says. I'm not sure what all is going on inside the SSDS3's FPGA or if it could do it given its current hardware, but I'm super curious!

Edited April 28, 2020 by Steven Pendleton

[CZroe]

Yeah, this is basically what I was talking about but I was kind of lazy and didn't want to type all of the stuff about the extra VDP and what have you. As you said, and I alluded to, there is no need to replicate the stuff that's already inside the regular PC Engine, so I'm hoping that someone can just replicate the additional crap inside the SuperGrafx using an FPGA and just stick it on the back of the PC Engine, CoreGrafx (II) or even the LT! That would be super awesome! Shuttle owners are still screwed, of course, unless it could be done through the HuCARD slot. Then even the Shuttle and GT could become a SuperGrafx.
 
Maybe I'll go ask neodev and see what he says. I'm not sure what all is going on inside the SSDS3's FPGA or if it could do it given its current hardware, but I'm super curious!

Yeah, SSDS³ doesn't access any of the digital video functions or replicate any internal hardware with the FPGA. It does replicate CD and HuCard hardware but that was always supposed to be external. It would be cool if they made their own digital video adapter but it seems that even engineering proper analog video was proving difficult for them without community help. If that GitHub project takes off then the community can contribute there.

[Steven Pendleton]

10 minutes ago, CZroe said:

Yeah, SSDS³ doesn't access any of the digital video functions or replicate any internal hardware with the FPGA. It does replicate CD and HuCard hardware but that was always supposed to be external. It would be cool if they made their own digital video adapter but it seems that even engineering proper analog video was proving difficult for them without community help. If that GitHub project takes off then the community can contribute there.

Well, I made a thread about it over on their forum. Nothing to do now but wait and see what happens.

 

23 minutes ago, CZroe said:

By the way, I just stumbled on this:

https://github.com/wifiber/PCEHD/blob/master/README.md

 

Looks like these guys are trying to pull off the same tricks as the UperGrafx UGX-02!

 

Maybe we need to make sure these guys look into the possibility of adding SGX support.

 

 

This thing looks interesting. Too bad it probably wouldn't work with the SSDS3 attached, but it seems they would be using OSSC tech to do it! This is promising, and something to follow to see what happens!

[CZroe]

This thing looks interesting. Too bad it probably wouldn't work with the SSDS3 attached, but it seems they would be using OSSC tech to do it! This is promising, and something to follow to see what happens!

Even better:
It would never have to synchronize with pixel clocks to resample analog into digital ("OSSC tech"). It would have digitally perfect video to begin with, just like UperGrafx, UltraHDMI, Hi-Def NES, DCHDMI/DCDigital, etc and there likely wouldn't be a need for SSDS³ since they aim to add ODE and flashcart functions too (GitHub's readme puts those in the long-term to-do list). If all that comes to be there wouldn't be any reason to attach SSDS³ just like there isn't any reason for me to attach one with a UGX-02 and an Arcade Card Duo.

Arcade Card functions could easily be added to UGX-02 with slightly more memory and since the alternative we are discussing is a GitHub project there is nothing stopping them from adding that to the project whether someone wants that extra memory in their final product or not.

[CZroe]

Battle Ace and Daimakaimura arrived today...

http://imgur.com/a/lx1DSbe

 

They are both legit.

 

My old one shipped straight from Japan and you can even make out the internal structure of both HuCards from underneath (where they were thinned to make room for the ROM). They are identical. Tested and they both work. Came with two original vinyl sleeves too.

 

I don't have any pictures of this but yesterday my friend gave me all the vinyl sleeves from that TurboGrafx lot that got traded in to him recently because they were all pretty yellowed and dirty. I don't really mind that much so now I have more sleeves than I have HuCards. He also gave me a huge stack of junk Saturn games and game cases. A lot of them have disc rot but some look fine to me. Even the ones that have disc rot rarely have it in the data segments so they will probably just skip when the audio plays there.

 

 

 

 

[DragonGrafx-16]

14 minutes ago, CZroe said:

Battle Ace and Daimakamura arrived today...
http://imgur.com/a/lx1DSbe

They are both legit.

My old one shipped straight from Japan and you can even make out the internal structure of both HuCards from underneath (where they were thinned to make room for the ROM). They are identical. Tested and they both work. Came with two original vinyl sleeves too.

I don't have any pictures of this but my friend gave me all the vinyl sleeves from that TurboGrafx lot that got traded in to him yesterday because they were all pretty yellowed and dirty. I don't really mind that much so now I have more sleeves than I have HuCards. He also gave me a huge stack of junk Saturn games and game cases. A lot of them have disc rot but some look fine to me. Even the ones that have disc rot rarely have it in the data segments so they will probably just skip when the audio plays there.

I've been using those baseball card plastic sleeves with my loose HuCards... they are the perfect size and are super cheap.

[CZroe]

I've been using those baseball card plastic sleeves with my loose HuCards... they are the perfect size and are super cheap.

Are those the one with the fabric-like texture?

I have a few that I've come across with HuCards and TurboChips over the years. Two are the same size as an original sleeve and have me wondering if they ever switched to these in Japan or something. The other one is clearly a but smaller but is close enough that it works. *shrug*

[DragonGrafx-16]

2 minutes ago, CZroe said:

Are those the one with the fabric-like texture?

I have a few that I've come across with HuCards and TurboChips over the years. Two are the same size as an original sleeve and have me wondering if they ever switched to these in Japan or something. The other one is clearly a but smaller but is close enough that it works. *shrug*

No they are just clear plastic...

[CZroe]

Looks like the black dot printing of Juuouki (Altered Beast) is revised and lets you finish the first stage on System Card 2.0 and up.

 

https://i.imgur.com/hv0DjM9.jpg

 

The original version just stops in the first stage somewhere and never moves on like it is stuck waiting for some event trigger. Never lets you finish stage 1.

 

https://i.imgur.com/zaPe4nx.jpg

 

The dot to look for is by my pinkie finger and, thankfully, isn't small or discrete. Somewhere I have the presumably 1.0 version that does glitch on the first stage with anything other than a Japanese System Card 1.0. Unfortunately, it's been missing over a year so I can't compare the cases directly. I don't see a black dot or any other tell on the revised version's case but I find it hard to believe that they would only indicate this inside the packaging.

[Steven Pendleton]

Alright, I just ordered my clear PC Engine shell! I have spent way too much money on games in the past week. Well, there is more coming because I need to go buy Streets of Rage 4 now.

[Steven Pendleton]

Oh, good news. Amazon has shipped my PC Engine mini turbo controller and it will be here tomorrow.

[CZroe]

I've had this weird thing in my Watched Items list for a few days and just noticed that it's the last one at this price ($10 shipped):

https://www.ebay.com/itm/164125646934

"Hyperkin Adapter for PC Engine"

 

Ordered it.

 

They call if a "Display converter for import consoles" but it obviously just adapts the physical shape. It exists because the Hyperkin Turbografx-16 AV Adapter and HDTV Cable (HDMI adapter) don't fit PC Engine despite having the same pin arrangement and spacing. I have no interest in either of those Hyperkin products (in particular, the HDMI cables are a scam) but I think I can use this adapter piece for some mod ideas. I can't find anyone talking about it online so I have no idea if it passes through the other pins or not.

 

Really strange that they didn't make their other devices able to fit both the TG16 and the PC Engine without this. All they needed to do was use a rectangular connector that fits both.

 

A part of me really hopes this will pass through the other signals and let me fit a PC Engine into an American Turbo-CD dock just because I want to see that awkward setup.

Well, despite assurances from the seller that this thing was dropped off at the post office Sunday, tracking still just says "tracking number provided."

 

I gave it some more thought and the only reason I can imagine that they didn't make the connector on their AV/HDMI adapters a universal block-shape in the first place was to keep people from inserting them upside-down. I don't see anything that keeps you from putting this extra adapter piece in upside-down, so it seems they've added expense twice and undermined themselves.

 

It would have been better accomplished by building their AV/HDMI adapters into a housing with a throat that slots around a PCE/CG/TG16 like a Super SD System³. Presumably to cover the cost of the custom connector, they were already charging $10 more for the TG16 HDMI cables versus all their other console-specific HDMI cables so I feel this plastic "throat" thing could have been rolled into the cost instead. They paid for the custom connector shape and rolled it into the price only to force PC Engine users to pay again for this adapter thing that seemingly undermines the whole reason for the custom connector in the first place by enabling you to plug it in backwards. Wow.

 

I'm really eager to see what's inside. Are all the pins passed through or only the ones needed for their AV/HDMI adapters? Is it a PCB inside or a ribbon cable? Will it fit inside a Turbo-CD dock? So many questions! If it isn't obvious by now, my intention is to see if I can turn it into a dbGrafxBooster/Engine Block on steroids since there is no plug'N'play RGB mod that supports CD hardware.

 

[Steven Pendleton]

1 hour ago, CZroe said:

Well, despite assurances from the seller that this thing was dropped off at the post office Sunday, tracking still just says "tracking number provided."

 

I gave it some more thought and the only reason I can imagine that they didn't make the connector on their AV/HDMI adapters a universal block-shape in the first place was to keep people from inserting them upside-down. I don't see anything that keeps you from putting this extra adapter piece in upside-down, so it seems they've added expense twice and undermined themselves.

 

It would have been better accomplished by building their AV/HDMI adapters into a housing with a throat that slots around a PCE/CG/TG16 like a Super SD System³. Presumably to cover the cost of the custom connector, they were already charging $10 more for the TG16 HDMI cables versus all their other console-specific HDMI cables so I feel this plastic "throat" thing could have been rolled into the cost instead. They paid for the custom connector shape and rolled it into the price only to force PC Engine users to pay again for this adapter thing that seemingly undermines the whole reason for the custom connector in the first place by enabling you to plug it in backwards. Wow.

 

I'm really eager to see what's inside. Are all the pins passed through or only the ones needed for their AV/HDMI adapters? Is it a PCB inside or a ribbon cable? Will it fit inside a Turbo-CD dock? So many questions! If it isn't obvious by now, my intention is to see if I can turn it into a dbGrafxBooster/Engine Block on steroids since there is no plug'N'play RGB mod that supports CD hardware.

 

It's Hyperkin AKA Hypertrash, so I'm guessing it's the absolute minimum requirements for it to barely function! Still, if you can use the components to build something excellent, I'd say that's a big success!

 

As for plug and play RGB with CD hardware... SSDS3/UperGrafx don't count? I'm guessing you mean like an actual stick-real-game-disc-in-PC-Engine-and-hope-your-CD-ROM2-gears-don't-shear-off thing, right?