Modded NESRGB with odd display issue

Hi All,

A while back I sent a few of my old consoles out to be modded - NES, SNES, and Genesis (Genesis only needed repair). While the systems were out getting worked on, I bought a Framemeister, Hama SCART switch (AV-100S) and SCART cables (from Retro Console Accessories on eBay). I got everything back this week and it's been beyond impressive, but I'm noticing a problem with the NES and I'm not sure what's causing it it's hard to explain but I'll try.

When I'm playing a game on the NES, and I press a button on the controller, the colors on the screen get brighter briefly, and then dim again rapidly. I don't know where to even start with that. I didn't do the mod, nor am I inclined to do so, but I'm not sure if the console, cables, or SCART switch would be the issue. Or perhaps even the tv. It's worth noting though, that I don't experience the color issue when using my Analogue NT, so I think we can rule the TV out. Any thoughts? Thanks!

 

Could you explain brighter or post a video? The current NESRGB is configured to change the color palette based on button inputs, so maybe something was soldered/wired incorrectly at the controller port.

 

Is it possible to upload a video here or do I need to use YouTube?

 

Here's a video, I'm hoping you can see the changes in color. Sorry if the video sucks. I had my phone in one hand and a controller in the other. Yes, I know I need to work on cable management.

 

Looking at the video, it only happens when stuff is scrolling. Notice that, when Samus walked right after going left, the screen didn't move, and the changing of the colours didn't change, because the screen didn't move.

So, are you connecting the NES via scart to scart switch, then to framemeister then to TV via HDMI? If so, try using image_mode "standard" and screen_set "standard". Also, make sure your HDMI settings on your TV don't do any smoothing or anything fancy to the output. You could also try skipping the scart switch, to rule out that as a possible issue (unlikely though i'd say).

 

I had the Framemeister set to Standard/Picture but I changed it to Standard/Standard and it made no difference. I'm using the 4K input on my tv and my tv is set to game mode. I swapped the cables between my RGB NES and my RGB SNES and it made no difference. Same odd coloration issues on the NES. The snes had no issues regardless of the cable used or the SCART port it was plugged into.

Interestingly, my Genesis has the exact same issue as the NES but the SNES does not. It makes no sense. Unfortunately I don't have a cable that I can use to bypass the SCART switch to test that. I'm out of ideas and can't draw conclusions from the data I have. Any input is appreciated

 

Upon further review, I think my TV is the culprit but I don't know what setting is causing it or how to fix it. So I noticed that the issue IS happening with my Analogue NT, but to a lesser extent. At first the NT was connected to the Framemeister and set to pass through in the Framemeister settings. I disconnected the NT from the Framemeister and connected directly to the HDMI to my tv and still cot the scrolling issue. So to recap, I have these odd color issues with my RGB NES, Genesis, and Analogue NT but NOT with my RGB SNES. All systems are outputting/scaling to 1080p. My TV is a Vizio M43-C1. Thoughts?

 

You need to tell us what settings are available for you hdmi ports on your tv. Some tv's have tons of options, some have very few.. Could you tell us the brand and model number of your tv?

 

The tv is a Vizio M43-C1.

 

looking at the manual online, there are quite a few settings under "more picture". try changing some the settings here, especially the one called "reduce judder". Its most likely that causing a lot of the problems...

 

The more I dig into this, the stranger it gets. It happens with Metroid, both cartridge and rom through Everdrive, but it doesn't happen with Metal Storm, either Rom or cartridge. What is it about some of these games that would cause the tv to do this?

I will try the judder setting and report back. Thanks.

 

I would suspect the scart switch, I have a Hama scart switch and it causes all kinds of problems. Well, just one really, in that i get sync problems with anything that goes through it, the picture jitters so I just reverted to manual plugging and unplugging.

 

Unfortunately, I've ruled the SCART switch out. That was my first suspect, but it happens going direct from console to tv with HDMI as well. It doesn't appear to happen with all games, either. Metroid does it (tested with two different cartridges and a rom) but Metal Storm does not.

 

I honestly think its the TV. Do you have another TV you can try metroid on? A PC monitor maybe? Neighbour? Friend.

 

I agree that it's probably my TV. I do have another, so I'll try to test that.