People saying the PPU - you would still have incorrect colours and still need to mod the console. The replacement board is the far better choice.
With the PPU board you would need to mod the console, but the colors would be 100% correct. Well, as correct as 12/15-bit will permit.
Ah, just assumed you were going to directly copy the playchoice one - with the "save the play choice 10s". But I get how you meant it now
Alright so I've looked into the Famiclone a bit more and here's the situation: -Proper NES connectors can't be found. Anywhere. I can include the through holes so people can add their own if they're ever reproduced, but one won't be included. (You could try your luck with 0.1" pitch connectors, but I doubt it will work reliably--I don't want to deal with it.) -The price has to come up to $150 since Kickstarter and Amazon take 10%, and the BOM is $70. -I'd need 200 backers / $30k ... I think it might be a tough sell, a large part of Kickstarter is a cool flashy campaign, which requires a lot of time and resources I don't have.
What would you need to do to the console itself? I like the idea of just the PPU board, because then at least part of the system is the original hardware. I know there are already other people working on this, but if you can do it better/more efficiently, then I think you should take a stab at it.
You'd need to desolder the PPU chip which is quite difficult without pro tools, install a socket, then firmly jam the upgrade board into the socket and solder your RGBS & GND connections... The more I think about these hardware projects the more I'm discouraged. Parts are really expensive right now and FPGA availability is low.
It looks like you are going with the famiclone but you know what would have been a dead cert seller, a reasonably priced quality upscaler that could do scan lines through HDMI and would accept 21pin RGB in. I would buy one of those in a flash. I know there's the XRGB 3 (I own one) but that won't do scan lines via HDMI and then there's the Flammiester that will but it's not what I'd called cheap. I have no idea how much work or research such a project would cost but I can imagine a hell of a lot more than a famiclone which is a shame
Not necessarily, at the moment I'm pretty discouraged about the Famiclone, I'm not sure that'd even work out. An upscanner is a good idea, but yeah, unfortunately it takes expensive hardware, and nothing I can easily prototype. Micomsoft stuff is really expensive, maybe overpriced even, but they're still your best option, even with the deficiencies, it's a ready to go product.
Is the saturn chip just a design or actually includes a chip at $20? If the latter, what would just the design cost?
Yeah that's to send out the chips. In the figure I budgeted $1500 for the design to be safe, I don't know exactly how bad the PIC will be.
Say wha? last time I was in NYC companies were bending over backwards to find programmers. The only perk missing were tits jobs during lunchbreak, even the crappiest place had tons of free shit for the IT guys. The ones desperate for jobs were the hipsters in editorial, at least the ones without a trustfund.
Wow I missed this option. I'd like to see an open source/modern Saturn modchip produced too. Might want to measure interest in that at Sega oriented communities. I think you could reach the goal of backers on that.
This is a blatant "pie-in-the-sky" idea, but how about designing an interface for the PC-Engine that would allow the use of regular USB CD-ROM drives? It would essentially make needing a DUO, or an interface unit + CD-ROM2 obsolete. Though, I have no idea how much money that would involve and if the costs would outgrow the market it would serve.
The problem is, unless he can sell these units cheaper than what's already being pumped out its likely he won't recoup his costs.
True. And I like your CD-ROM idea, though I don't know how practical that idea is either. I'm sure people with TG16's would find it interesting since the CDROM addon is pretty expensive. But who knows how much buyer interest there is.
Not only is it expensive, the drives are known to die quite frequently. Broken gear teeth, dead lenses, etc.
Well that might make a device like you describe very appealing since it might mean low cost/easy drive replacement. But I don't know, I personally love the DUO-R. I'm not sure I'd want a Core system or a Turbografx 16 with a separate CD drive. But if that were my only option to play I'd take it. I'd ask at the pcenginefx forums if that idea is a serious consideration.
