Is Retrotink 2x pro best?

[genfuyung]

I bought one of the terrible av2hdmi converters off Amazon and it looks pretty bad. The 2x pro seems the most reasonably priced but I also read it has problems displaying some games like asteroids. What upscaler would people here recommend?

[+-^CrossBow^-]

1 hour ago, genfuyung said:

I bought one of the terrible av2hdmi converters off Amazon and it looks pretty bad. The 2x pro seems the most reasonably priced but I also read it has problems displaying some games like asteroids. What upscaler would people here recommend?

I've not used the Tink2x stuff myself but many of my clients have. And yes, 2600 games that don't follow the proper scanline counts can cause issues for several scalers. It isn't a fault of the scaler or the TV, but the fact that programmers back then could get away with going slightly out of spec because CRTs weren't as picky as modern stuff is today. 

 

But to answer your question, I've heard the Tink5x Pro has some extra features to help with those problem 2600 games, but some of them might still have some slight issues. For me and the stuff I use in my AV setup, the only game to give me any issues is Buck Rogers and only the title screen is a problem.

 

 

[juansolo]

If you've got a Component input on your display, the Koryuu can work really well. Otherwise the Tink 2k is pretty much the best thing out there for not insane money, with the proviso's that Jessie has made above regarding the 2600's variable output. Don't be tempted for the knock off Tinks on Ali Express, they're cheap and they do a nice job some of the time, but the one I grabbed to do some testing with doesn't support NTSC (something that was sorted on the real Tinks).

Edited August 15 by juansolo

[akator]

In 2017 I bought this Tendak upscaler.  It works as well now as it did then, the only issue is that it always outputs in 16:9.  4:3 isn't an option.

 

In 2021 I bought the RetroTink 2X Pro.  It displays 4:3 and the output looks better than the Tendak, but the 2X Pro has a lot more sync issues.

 

My solution is to use whichever one is best for the specific console and game.  I use the RetroTink unless it has sync issues, then I switch to the Tendak.

[dukestah]

I can recommend the OSSC with the add-on board. It's very versatile and works very good with the 7800 as well as with the 2600. I've used the 2x (non pro) quite a while ago and wasn't satisfied, neither with quality nor with sync.

[+-^CrossBow^-]

6 hours ago, dukestah said:

I can recommend the OSSC with the add-on board. It's very versatile and works very good with the 7800 as well as with the 2600. I've used the 2x (non pro) quite a while ago and wasn't satisfied, neither with quality nor with sync.

I have the OSSC 1.6 in my setup but the retro consoles from composite to component, I actually have going through my Extron 7SC. That handles the bulk of the conversion and scaling that I send to the OSSC. The Extron converts all of the inputs to a VGA output I have set at 640x480 and then the OSSC line doubles that to 960P on the final output. So in my case, the sync issues are solved through my Extron but that isn't something I can recommend to anyone because they are large, noisy since they have active cooling fans in them, and weren't designed for consumer normal use but for commercial grade use so there is a learning curve to owning one. It has some other quirks as well such as specific hardware that you use with them and possibly having to get or make adapters so you can adapter different connections to them that most folks wouldn't want to bother with.

 

But yes, I know the Tink2x and Tink2x Pro don't like some of the 2600 games again due to how they were programmed and not through fault of the equipment in this case, but had heard that the Tink5x Pro with is triple buffer mode helps with a good chunk of the games but again, I think some still cause it some grief.

 

@ZeroPage Homebrew might be able to jump in and share some experiences as I believe they use a Tink5x Pro these days.

 

 

[+DrVenkman]

Regarding the genuine RetroTink 2X Pro (which I actually have) there are “fixed” roms available for many of the problematic 2600 games out there - I used to have a folder full of them somewhere, collected from a couple different AtariAge threads. I don’t know if I have them all in one place still or not. 

[+ZeroPage Homebrew]

7 hours ago, -^CrossBow^- said:

But yes, I know the Tink2x and Tink2x Pro don't like some of the 2600 games again due to how they were programmed and not through fault of the equipment in this case, but had heard that the Tink5x Pro with is triple buffer mode helps with a good chunk of the games but again, I think some still cause it some grief.

 

@ZeroPage Homebrew might be able to jump in and share some experiences as I believe they use a Tink5x Pro these days.

 

The massive amount of menu options on the RetroTINK 5X-Pro is what sold it for me. You have so much control over how the video is displayed and are able to save a ton of different profiles with specific settings for each console you connect. This is invaluable as I hook up many different systems to play on the ZPH stream and each of them behaves a little differently.

 

Back to the original question...

 

17 hours ago, genfuyung said:

I bought one of the terrible av2hdmi converters off Amazon and it looks pretty bad. The 2x pro seems the most reasonably priced but I also read it has problems displaying some games like asteroids. What upscaler would people here recommend?

 

There are a number of games from the classic era that were made for the 2600 that were programmed "out of spec". They work on a CRT but unfortunately fall outside of the tolerances of modern TVs, games such as Asteroids and also the amazing game Warlords. A lot of modern TVs, including the one I use, will lose picture when the signal sent to them goes out of spec and can take several seconds to get it back. The RetroTINK 5X-Pro is able to do wonders by smoothing it over with the triple buffer mode. I find that even in extreme cases it's able to keep the picture from dropping out. You'll might still see some shake on the screen but sometimes is only minor and it will power through the issues.

 

If you have the money, I would recommend getting the 5X version. If you have a 4K TV and also money falling out of your pockets maybe even take a look at the RetroTINK-4K. If you're looking for a budget conscious choice, you might want to stick to the TINK 2x and download the fixed binaries of the offending games. Luckily a lot of current homebrew developers are very aware of keeping to the proper line count specifications so you shouldn't have problems with those new games.

 

- James

[yamato72]

I have a RetroTink 5X (bought once, cry once). I'm using it with S-Video on the 7800, as well as composite on an SNES and component on a GameCube and Wii. Oh and SCART on a DC.

 

So I think the 2X is worthwhile but the 5X does so much more. The 5X remote codes are also in the Logitech Harmony database so I can actually switch inputs with a Harmony activity, too. My wife has one game she like to play and loves being able to just pick up and play.

[John Stamos Mullet]

19 hours ago, DrVenkman said:

Regarding the genuine RetroTink 2X Pro (which I actually have) there are “fixed” roms available for many of the problematic 2600 games out there - I used to have a folder full of them somewhere, collected from a couple different AtariAge threads. I don’t know if I have them all in one place still or not. 

Is there one for Star Master yet? That was the one that bugged me the most.

[John Stamos Mullet]

5 minutes ago, yamato72 said:

I have a RetroTink 5X (bought once, cry once). I'm using it with S-Video on the 7800, as well as composite on an SNES and component on a GameCube and Wii. Oh and SCART on a DC.

 

So I think the 2X is worthwhile but the 5X does so much more. The 5X remote codes are also in the Logitech Harmony database so I can actually switch inputs with a Harmony activity, too. My wife has one game she like to play and loves being able to just pick up and play.

Do you know if the 5x fixes the problems with Sega MAster System and Genesis/32x colors that the 2x and mini have?

[+-^CrossBow^-]

1 minute ago, John Stamos Mullet said:

Is there one for Star Master yet? That was the one that bugged me the most.

I believe Star Master is only confirmed working with the Tink5x and I would assume the Tink4K. Again, I can't speak personally on this as the equipment I use doesn't exhibit any major issues with these games since I don't own a RetroTink in my gaming setup. I only own a RetroTink2x SCART in the lab for working on RGB setups along with a pair of Rad2x cable sets.

[+DrVenkman]

10 minutes ago, John Stamos Mullet said:

Is there one for Star Master yet? That was the one that bugged me the most.

I honestly don’t remember that being one of them. I’ll have to dig through my saved ROMs and see if someone posted one.

[+GoldLeader]

If you can swing it,  my full recommendation goes to the 5X Pro!  But I also had very good luck with a Retro Tink 2X Pro (also bought a knock off just to have a spare,  or one for a different room)...For one thing it's a true line doubler and not just some converter,  but yes,  there's a handful of games that don't work with it.  The one game I played from time to time that would drop out and give a black screen was Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back (something to do with the flashing, I think I heard).  Now if you encounter such a game,  you can switch to A/V inputs,  (I was using a 7800 S-Video),  But the 5X Pro so far has given me 0 issues.  Not saying there's not any,  but so far so good;  Empire Strikes Back was the first thing I tried.

 

PS:  On LCDs,  turn up the brightness and contrast first,  then dial in your picture...

[+GoldLeader]

You know it's kind of funny,...In terms of the hobby,  I find myself having as much fun trying out things like the Retro Tink 2X Pro, The 5X Pro,  even the 2X SCART,  as I have buying games and consoles!  That could just be me,  but I kind of view it in the same way as Homebrews.   The point with Homebrews is that we would have flipped out on them if they had existed in the 80's (or insert your decade here)...Now with modern TVs,  we can see sharp pixels with No Ghosting and No Static,  Just like we dreamed of back then!

 

One more thing I thought I'd mention.  I bought an Audio Quest (S-4) Solid Silver Core S-Video Cable and although it is short (1 Meter), it is Fantastic!  (These actually retailed at $389!)  On eBay now at  $44.99  (Beyond worth it!)

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/150165108934?_nkw=Audio+Quest+S4&epid=1024534665&itmmeta=01J5E9CWBF9F06KREDT8Z92E78&hash=item22f689b8c6:g:aooAAOxyQBJRFJgA&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA0HoV3kP08IDx%2BKZ9MfhVJKlsI1K6nr9zm07SP6T4xfVTerj4bzKjQR%2BXYuVudRR8lKQ3LWwfKkaDDD3pzH1oIBBElNxWLHn4VJHeIPRssznm5u9sespNauh046CtXi78i8%2Bg6oYdgovLJKvsXYWe8Hs5Y5Wngg3QmC46VqMR9bzAr2Wd3SlCCzzhTBRLTpKU21uOEABh1wAyF9TMuOPgk5C%2BVVMEC%2By7lwDgwzE8Zp2fF0oL4Lr3I97HhfwRCk0Q3vyanKLOUyJvLWuEr4fB3DE%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR-jFs8mrZA

[yamato72]

On 8/16/2024 at 11:34 AM, John Stamos Mullet said:

Do you know if the 5x fixes the problems with Sega MAster System and Genesis/32x colors that the 2x and mini have?

I do not.  Never had anything Sega until the DC.

[phoenixdownita]

On 8/16/2024 at 8:34 AM, John Stamos Mullet said:

Do you know if the 5x fixes the problems with Sega MAster System and Genesis/32x colors that the 2x and mini have?

What problems?

 

I own one tink 2x-pro-m (now discontinued) and one tink-5x, as well as svideo modded 7800 (longhorn eng + switch on Tia) and svideo modded sms and genny… I don’t remember color issues per se BUT on sms and genny I switched to SCART cables on the 5x.

I have 2 32x both svideo modded which also support SCART and there too not many issues that I remember.

 

If you point me to some video or post I can take a look.

 

Of note the 2x is not technically a scaler but just a line doubler (480p is what you get) aka the out freq over hdmi is a copy of the input one versus the 5x that supports full framebuffer and so can output a compliant hdmi at the cost of some judder. The 2x highly relies on your tv tolerance vs the 5x that in triple buffer mode just works.

 

On the 2x you can connect a SCART to component transceiver also sold by retrotink and “add” SCART support but you also spend another 80us$ + the 5 needed male to male rca adapters (I tested this configuration and it works quite well), but if the focus is the 7800 you may be stuck to Svideo at best … in my case I remember my tv (old Vizio lcd 27” with svideo plug) did not like direct svideo from the 7800 (resync every 5-7 secs) but was fine on the tink 2x-m … other consoles I tested far less because that tv direct svideo was ok with them (only the AES had similar resync however much more rare and only in a couple of games).

[+Dark Descent]

Another vote for the RT5X if you can swing it.  As previously mentioned, saving profiles and the numerous options really allow you a lot of flexibility.  

[BillDMatt]

On 8/14/2024 at 11:03 PM, genfuyung said:

I bought one of the terrible av2hdmi converters off Amazon and it looks pretty bad. The 2x pro seems the most reasonably priced but I also read it has problems displaying some games like asteroids. What upscaler would people here recommend?

I have one and yes there a few games that aren't compatible,   from my library Warlords,   Asteroids,  Battle Zone,  Empire Strikes Back (though it's playable, it just goes blank after at At At is destroyed but then back to normal)  I'm sure there are a few more, but that's just from my library.       BUT that is a small tradeoff because the results of the RetroTink 2xPro are outstanding, it's like magic.     There are more expesnive options in the RetroTink family but if a couple games isn't a deal breaker than it's one of the best if not the Best option in this price range.  

Edited August 21 by BillDMatt

[genfuyung]

I got a bootleg one off AliExpress and it's great. 40 bucks

[+MrZarniwoop]

1 hour ago, BillDMatt said:

I have one and yes there a few games that aren't compatible,   from my library Warlords,   Asteroids,  Battle Zone,  Empire Strikes Back (though it's playable, it just goes blank after at At At is destroyed but then back to normal)  I'm sure there are a few more, but that's just from my library.

Fixed version of those ROMs here:

 

[+DrVenkman]

15 hours ago, MrZarniwoop said:

Fixed version of those ROMs here:

 

Sadly, no fixed version of Starmaster that I’ve been able to find, which is a damned shame. 

[+MrZarniwoop]

4 hours ago, DrVenkman said:

Sadly, no fixed version of Starmaster that I’ve been able to find, which is a damned shame. 

Atarimania writes there is a known fix:

Quote

Two versions of this game exist. The first release of StarMaster caused the screen to roll on some TV sets, due to the VSYNC pulse lasting for only 2 scanlines instead of 3. The later release fixed this problem.

However, there's only one NTSC dump in the Atarimania ROMs collection, and it's not the fixed one. There is a fixed PAL ROM though.

[Trebor]

11 hours ago, DrVenkman said:

Sadly, no fixed version of Starmaster that I’ve been able to find, which is a damned shame. 

Has the below hack been tried? 

Unlikely to have fixed the sync issue, but just maybe Thomas did tweak something besides star brightness:

 

[Bixler]

I use a RetroTINK 2x-Pro with my UAV-modded Atari 2600 4-switch woody with s-video output. Games work and run like I dream. I'm sure there's some kind of input lag that I can't detect, but I love the setup and would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone without access to or the inclination to get a CRT TV.