RF to HDMI Converter

[JGRAHAM2]

Has anyone else tried one of these with your RF only devices? I am impressed.

Edited April 20, 2022 by JGRAHAM2

[gilsaluki]

All the converters I have tried always have a slight lag.  How does this one perform?  Pacman?  Quick reversals?

[Koopa64]

That's funny.

[+sixersfan105]

@BIGHMW posted a review on this device a year or so ago here: 

Seems like a solid option if you *must* go the HDMI route on a modern display. 

[JGRAHAM2]

9 hours ago, gilsaluki said:

All the converters I have tried always have a slight lag.  How does this one perform?  Pacman?  Quick reversals?

I have not tested that. I’ll report after I do.

[BIGHMW]

22 hours ago, JGRAHAM2 said:

Has anyone else tried one of these with your RF only devices? I am impressed.

 

AD06050C-A67D-43F2-9A45-62ABD10765BE.MOV 43.14 MB · 2 downloads

Yup, yet another convinced customer and thank you for taking my review and my advice and getting this wonderful little box for your Atari/Coleco/Intellivision!!! Here is my review (for those who might've missed it) on this device that is helping make retro-gaming mainstream.

 

 

[JGRAHAM2]

23 hours ago, gilsaluki said:

All the converters I have tried always have a slight lag.  How does this one perform?  Pacman?  Quick reversals?

I played Pac-Man today and noticed no latency. My skill was no better though…

[JGRAHAM2]

13 hours ago, BIGHMW said:

Yup, yet another convinced customer and thank you for taking my review and my advice and getting this wonderful little box for your Atari/Coleco/Intellivision!!! Here is my review (for those who might've missed it) on this device that is helping make retro-gaming mainstream.

 

 

So far, I have tried it with a CoCo3 and a TS2068 with mixed results. The CoCo was ok, but the sound on the 2068 was garbled and noisy. I tried all sound modes. I will try other computers as I have time.
Thanks for the review. I came across it on YouTube the other day and it was why I bought it. I didn’t even know it existed. I don’t want to mod all my vintage machines and on some RF is the only choice.

[+LS650]

The comments here don't seem very favourable...

https://www.amazon.ca/Converter-All-Standard-Projectors-Multimedia-Engineering/dp/B07VQHZNNL/ref=sr_1_7

 

Edited April 22, 2022 by ls650

[JGRAHAM2]

19 minutes ago, ls650 said:

The comments here don't seem very favourable...

https://www.amazon.ca/Converter-All-Standard-Projectors-Multimedia-Engineering/dp/B07VQHZNNL/ref=sr_1_7

 

I am going by my own experience. I find Amazon reviews less than helpful. Most people that have positive experiences don’t post reviews.

Not in English - you can set it for English

Units broken - mine wasn’t 

Non standard connectors- whose standard? These are standard in some areas of the world. Adapters are easy to find

 

It’s not perfect, but so far, for Atari, it nearly is. Other vintage machines may not work as well. Even on Atari I had to find the settings for video and sound that work best. 

[BIGHMW]

From Reddit:

 

 

[SegaSnatcher]

Like some others said those type of converters likely add a good amount of lag.   I know people are just trying to make the most of what they have, but I'd personally get a video mod for that device if possible and something like the Retrotink 2x Mini.  RF was already pretty bad on CRTs, so converting that signal to HDMI is not going to give great results. 

[BIGHMW]

1 hour ago, SegaSnatcher said:

Like some others said those type of converters likely add a good amount of lag.   I know people are just trying to make the most of what they have, but I'd personally get a video mod for that device if possible and something like the Retrotink 2x Mini.  RF was already pretty bad on CRTs, so converting that signal to HDMI is not going to give great results. 

It might not improve it much but this device WILL ALLOW our vintage consoles to work on even the most modern of 4K or even 8K UHD TVs that only incorporate HDMI inputs on them, as many newer TVs nowadays only come with them. No composite jacks, no component jacks, nor even an antenna input, and if they do, expect it to only recognize DIGITAL television signals, as I found out while trying my Insignia NS-DXA3 digital-to-analog converter box I use as my digital tuner on my home theater. I bought it originally hoping that it would work with my 5200 (or other vintage console) in the same way that this device does, it did not, I found out that it only picks up digital signals and not analog so that why this RF-to-HDMI converter is an absolute must for those who do not want to first mod their system to composite or VGA before the last process of converting that to HDMI, in which on modern displays they will eventually have to do.

 

This just happens to be a very inexpensive and very unique way to quickly hook up your vintage console to a modern display, once you

 

a) get the proper plug adapter you'll need for it to work,

 

and

 

b) get it from the default Chinese display to the English display,

 

in which if you watch both mine (US-filmed) and hirudov's (European-filmed) videos on the reddit links above, you'll be able to achieve both rather easily.

[JGRAHAM2]

3 hours ago, SegaSnatcher said:

Like some others said those type of converters likely add a good amount of lag.   I know people are just trying to make the most of what they have, but I'd personally get a video mod for that device if possible and something like the Retrotink 2x Mini.  RF was already pretty bad on CRTs, so converting that signal to HDMI is not going to give great results. 

I have a Retrotink and have modified some of my computers for more modern displays. For some, I don’t want to do permanent modifications, because they are more rare or I don’t use them enough. I do have a few CRTs, but they won’t last forever. I am not really a gamer, but I noticed very little lag when playing Pac-Man. Reversing direction seems very responsive. Also, this thing cost me $35.00 so it was worth a try and I am more than satisfied.

[TheGameCollector]

I always keep VCRs hooked up to my TVs that I play classic consoles on, so I'd rather just get a composite to HDMI converter and plug the VCR into that. Composite to HDMI converters are probably a lot more commonly made, right?

[+Gemintronic]

For those that have one of these:  does it help smooth out games that flicker?  If it takes the eye strain away from HDMI on flickering games then that's a win.

[BIGHMW]

21 minutes ago, Gemintronic said:

For those that have one of these:  does it help smooth out games that flicker?  If it takes the eye strain away from HDMI on flickering games then that's a win.

Nope, if you're hoping of playing 2600 Pac-Man without that infamous flicker it won't take that flicker out of it.  But, this wonderful device is simply a full-functioning (with color/tint/brightness/contrast, NTSC/PAL selectivity, 720p/1080p selectivity, etc.) analog TV tuner with both an HDMI output and a PAL/IEC-style antenna input (for here in the States, you simply need an RCA-to-PAL plug adapter to use with your Atari, just $5.00/set of 2, you really only need one, but what's not to hurt to have a spare in case you lose one ) that tunes into it on MHz frequencies, but you simply have to have your console turned on when running the scan so it'll recognize it, after that, its pretty much a piece of cake!

[BIGHMW]

53 minutes ago, TheGameCollector said:

I always keep VCRs hooked up to my TVs that I play classic consoles on, so I'd rather just get a composite to HDMI converter and plug the VCR into that. Composite to HDMI converters are probably a lot more commonly made, right?

That'll work too. I did that before running into this device, but this is mainly for those who either don't want to go that route or who may not have all the available cabinet space for both their console and a VCR just simply for its onboard analog tuner.

[Mockduck]

I have an RCA to HDMI adapter I run through a VCR for my Atari, but this one looks like it might be nicer. Do you get much ghost imaging with this device?

[BIGHMW]

1 hour ago, Mockduck said:

I have an RCA to HDMI adapter I run through a VCR for my Atari, but this one looks like it might be nicer. Do you get much ghost imaging with this device?

I get pretty much none. It also helps of you use a console's supplied RF cord (with the RCA female-to-PAL/IEC male adapter) instead of thinking that any old stereo/video cord will work simply because they have the same RCA plugs at each end, RF/game cords are more shielded to cut out signal interference. I have fine results with the OEM Atari RF cords I use with my 5200 (it's hard-wired)) and ColecoVision (also an OEM Atari cord). Also, I HAVE noticed some interference on a VCR's (Sony SLV-N51) analog tuner as opposed to this one, as unlike on the VCR there is no antenna output on this device that might cause such inline interference.

[+Stephen]

@BIGHMW - may I ask if you've connected a 2600 to this device?  I'm not particularly looking for an HDMI solution for my 2600, but I have tried 2 different units on 3 different screens, and when using RF, they all exhibit a pretty noisy signal.  I am trying to decide if I want to install a UAV in my 2600 for proper composite / s-video, or just live with the RF if I know there's a way to get a clean signal.

 

The ROM I always use to test picture quality, is the Colour Bar generator, and do the vertical 8 shades of grey (I am glad the other 42 are missing ).  The RF noise is always, strangely enough, dead center of the wide grey stripes.  Never at the edges, and each grey stripe has this noise down the middle.  Not sure if I can get a picture for you - it is very hard to take a picture from a glossy CRT.

[BIGHMW]

1 hour ago, Stephen said:

@BIGHMW - may I ask if you've connected a 2600 to this device?  I'm not particularly looking for an HDMI solution for my 2600, but I have tried 2 different units on 3 different screens, and when using RF, they all exhibit a pretty noisy signal.  I am trying to decide if I want to install a UAV in my 2600 for proper composite / s-video, or just live with the RF if I know there's a way to get a clean signal.

 

The ROM I always use to test picture quality, is the Colour Bar generator, and do the vertical 8 shades of grey (I am glad the other 42 are missing ).  The RF noise is always, strangely enough, dead center of the wide grey stripes.  Never at the edges, and each grey stripe has this noise down the middle.  Not sure if I can get a picture for you - it is very hard to take a picture from a glossy CRT.

Yes! I HAVE connected a 2600 (Jr., short rainbow version at that!) as part on my multi-system setup in which it as part of the other 3 units (2600, 7800 and XEGS) I used while doing The Atari Report series (the other one being my 5200) all ran on the very same RF cord as I just simply swapped it between all 3 of those systems, however, I never did use my 2600 adapter with my 5200 for any episodes of TAR since switching to a real 2600 console from the Flashback 9. 

 

...and it also depends on the RF cord you are using, I myself always liked using just OEM Atari RF cords and only one at that. Results may vary based on the type and brand of RF cord used, I just simply used the best of the bunch and just stuck with it.

[+Stephen]

41 minutes ago, BIGHMW said:

Yes! I HAVE connected a 2600 (Jr., short rainbow version at that!) as part on my multi-system setup in which it as part of the other 3 units (2600, 7800 and XEGS) I used while doing The Atari Report series (the other one being my 5200) all ran on the very same RF cord as I just simply swapped it between all 3 of those systems, however, I never did use my 2600 adapter with my 5200 for any episodes of TAR since switching to a real 2600 console from the Flashback 9. 

 

...and it also depends on the RF cord you are using, I myself always liked using just OEM Atari RF cords and only one at that. Results may vary based on the type and brand of RF cord used, I just simply used the best of the bunch and just stuck with it.

Thanks bud - happy gaming.

[Mockduck]

It's true, RCA cables work in a pinch but a good shielded RF cable is usually better.

[Glorkbot]

My 4k LG OLED tv has a Coaxial port on the back that seems to perform just as well, or maybe even better, than this.