Atari Flashback Portable!

[+MrBlackCat]

<snip>

 

I honestly play most of my GBA games either on the sideways model or the DS Phat, because the SP form factor hurts with my large man hands. These systems were not meant for adults! Any game that makes extensive use of the L and R triggers (Mario Kart Super Circuit for instance) is a cramp fest on the SP. Then when the Micro came out (with no support for classic Game Boy) I shrugged it off and laughed...

<snip>

Have you ever tried "Grips"? I use them most of the time with the systems they are available for. For the GameBoy Advance SP, I use the Yobo models. They are great for my hands, don't scratch the units, as they are spring loaded, not snap in type.

 

Like this...

 

MrBlackCat

[BillLoguidice]

The Retrobit did both composite and HDMI. How much does it add, like 50 cent for a couple AV jacks? The more options, the merrier I say.

 

 

I just don't see how that makes sense. I'd rather have an all HD product and an all SD product, even if it means two different products. This way each is optimized for what it's meant to output.

[+MrBlackCat]

 

I just don't see how that makes sense. I'd rather have an all HD product and an all SD product, even if it means two different products. This way each is optimized for what it's meant to output.

Optimized from a production cost stand point, or from a hardware/signal/quality point? Other?

 

Just Curious...

 

MrBlackCat

[dgdgagdae]

If you are referring to the red light under the buttons, it only comes on when the battery is low.

 

Be sure to charge the device fully.

No, I'm talking about the green power light on top of the unit. At first I thought it didn't work, but I can see that it's just offset and not under the window where it should shine through. I wouldn't have even known it was there, if this wasn't my second unit.

[Keatah]

I thought this wasn't Firecore?

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/258970-atari-flashback-portable-compatibility-list/page-8

[BillLoguidice]

Optimized from a production cost stand point, or from a hardware/signal/quality point? Other?

 

Just Curious...

 

MrBlackCat

 

I'd rather have a product that doesn't have to accommodate sub-HD resolutions just for the tiny percentage of people who might need composite. It was a suggestion to have both, but not something that I personally recommended doing. I'd rather all of the R&D effort be put into making the best HD-centric product, and just continue with the current SD product separately (naturally with the necessary audio fixes, which have been addressed and then some). Again, I'd rather just drop the SD product, period, but no reason to create extra baggage supporting something less than 1080p/60.

[BillLoguidice]

I thought this wasn't Firecore?

http://atariage.com/forums/topic/258970-atari-flashback-portable-compatibility-list/page-8

 

It's not Firecore. It's just the same SD card menu system.

[iesposta]

Which Pac-Man 8K are you playing ? All the ones from 2015 2016 don't play on my production unit. The 4K one from 2015 plays perfectly. Is it the 8K one with the attract screen (new) or one of the older Ms Pac-Man hack to Pac-Man 8K's?

There have been questions on if the Pre-production and production models are physically different. The answer is: Yes. At least I have observed differences.

 

The video is slightly different. In the picture below you see the demo "Doctor" which on the pre-production models would display the text at the bottom. On this production model you cannot read the text that scrolls by. I will keep an eye out for other comparisons but this is the first one very noticeable.

 

Picture 2.png

 

The sound does sound a bit more a bit more tinny. I noticed this especially in Pac-man2600 8K.

 

Still a very enjoyable unit, but if you can score a pre-production model, maybe slightly better made.

[Keatah]

I used to be of the opinion that composite + HDMI was the sweet spot for connectivity. But in retrospect and in light of the types of televisions being sold on the market - HDMI only is likely the best answer.

 

Everyone is striving for HDMI quality anyways, both users and manufacturers. It's plainly evident. Many folks want to mod their consoles for the best possible image. And they start drooling when HDMI is mentioned. "Ohh wow!! HDMI mod is coming out? Gimmee! Gimmee! Gimmee! Take my money!"

 

HDMI is cheap for manufacturers. More and more SoC's are doing HDMI because it eliminates the annoying analog path. Better for content protection, has a cheaper connector which is smaller and low-profile, and even more advantages.

 

HDMI allows for exact control of the colors and is interference free for all practical purposes.

 

The advantage is clear, HDMI is the winner.

[Andromeda Stardust]

 

I'd rather have a product that doesn't have to accommodate sub-HD resolutions just for the tiny percentage of people who might need composite. It was a suggestion to have both, but not something that I personally recommended doing. I'd rather all of the R&D effort be put into making the best HD-centric product, and just continue with the current SD product separately (naturally with the necessary audio fixes, which have been addressed and then some). Again, I'd rather just drop the SD product, period, but no reason to create extra baggage supporting something less than 1080p/60.

Due to the zoom and crop issues with the Retrobit, I find the interface much easier to use on the composite connection. There is also considerably less lag through composite on CRT (though still a noticeable amount compared to original hardware), and this is even comparing with the HD output on an extremely low latency ASUS monitor.

[Moo]

Fewer TV's made nowdays even have composite ports. HDMI is the way to go.

[walter_J64bit]

Ive just got my FBP, battery charged ready to play!

[towmater]

$32 - Bed, Bath, and Beyond Bed and Bath. Some initial observations: The SD card listings top out at 103 pages, which was somewhere in the "m's" in my rom collection. The unit makes a lot of rf-interference noise, which is retro authentic and awesome!

[Flojomojo]

You can use our compatibility chart to pull out some non-working files, and you'll probably want to trim some duplicates. Any interesting reason there are so many titles, or is it full of minor variations or both NTSC & PAL versions etc?

[towmater]

I guess the PAL versions will play the same and are redundant. Things like "Imagic Selector" are just historical curiosities and can go. It'd be much less of a pain if I could delete them from the Flashback directly after a play test.

[Flojomojo]

If it were my list, I'd make a copy on my computer and edit as I go along, moving/deleting incompatbiles and dupes. Or print a directory and mark it up. Or do a search for PAL version and remove any that aren't unique. It's a lot of work no matter what when you've got that many files.

[dgdgagdae]

I've decided I'm going to take mine back to BB&B. The sound is horrible, and it does sound like RF interference when you pause and in the menus, like towmater said. I have other ways to play these games with better emulation, including on my Nvidia Shield which is almost as portable.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Fewer TV's made nowdays even have composite ports. HDMI is the way to go.

They do in fact still support composite and analog RF. People just don't read the freaking manual. Most HDTVs manufactured after 2012 have a single legacy analog port that combines composite and component signals. Yellow plug goes into the green component port; blue and red component ports should be disconnected. Red and white plugs go into the red and white audio ports, or just the white port if only one audio plug is present. Also nearly all DTV tuners are capable of recieving NTSC analog broadcasts too so you can still hook up old game equipment that way as well.

 

The bigger issue is that the late generation analog-to-digital converters from 2012-present tend to be far less fault tolerant of progressive 240p or otherwise out-of-spec signals (too many/too few scanlines, malformed Vsync or colorburst, Atari's use of 228 color clocks per scanline instead of 227.5, etc...) compared to earlier 2005-2011 analog to digital converters, when flat panels still had an assortment of analog inputs. This overall drop in compatibility occured around the time period all most manufacturers ditched Svideo and went with integrated composite + component jacks.

[Moo]

I know about composite/component ports. It's just that some tv's come without any. Some have straight HDMI ports and lack composite/component ports all together. When I went to walmart last time I saw some tv's didn't even have them.

[dgdgagdae]

They do in fact still support composite and analog RF. People just don't read the freaking manual. Most HDTVs manufactured after 2012 have a single legacy analog port that combines composite and component signals. Yellow plug goes into the green component port; blue and red component ports should be disconnected. Red and white plugs go into the red and white audio ports, or just the white port if only one audio plug is present. Also nearly all DTV tuners are capable of recieving NTSC analog broadcasts too so you can still hook up old game equipment that way as well.

 

The bigger issue is that the late generation analog-to-digital converters from 2012-present tend to be far less fault tolerant of progressive 240p or otherwise out-of-spec signals (too many/too few scanlines, malformed Vsync or colorburst, Atari's use of 228 color clocks per scanline instead of 227.5, etc...) compared to earlier 2005-2011 analog to digital converters, when flat panels still had an assortment of analog inputs. This overall drop in compatibility occured around the time period all most manufacturers ditched Svideo and went with integrated composite + component jacks.

One reason that I purchased the specific Samsung TV that I did last year was because it had separate component and composite inputs. You need a separate breakout cable for each, but at least I can keep a PS2 and a GameCube connected at the same time. No S video is a huge disappointment, though.

[Andromeda Stardust]

I know about composite/component ports. It's just that some tv's come without any. Some have straight HDMI ports and lack composite/component ports all together. When I went to walmart last time I saw some tv's didn't even have them.

So it's RF or bust now for classic consoles?

[Moo]

Well, bigger stores like walmart have more variety so if you want those ports you can still pick out a tv that has them. They list the ports available on the price tag. But yeah, with some tv's you're gonna need a convertor.

[walterg74]

So it's RF or bust now for classic consoles?

If you're using your classic console on an LCD you hsould be banned from the planet anyway...

[dgdgagdae]

If you're using your classic console on an LCD you hsould be banned from the planet anyway...

That's ridiculous. Not everyone, including me, has room in the house for a CRT dedicated to gaming. Many of us have to adapt.

[walterg74]

That's ridiculous. Not everyone, including me, has room in the house for a CRT dedicated to gaming. Many of us have to adapt.

Aannd another one for the ban list... sacrilegious!

Edited December 11, 2016 by walterg74