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+++ updated = "2024-07-31" +++

video output

currently using an s-video cable from insurrection industries: https://insurrectionindustries.com/product/nintendo-s-video/

was previously using https://amzn.to/3SuywUe which is cheaper (only $10 instead of $25 plus shipping) and also worked just as well. i can't vouch for any specific cable because i've read reports of even the insurrection industries one possibly being bad, but you'll know if it's bad or not pretty soon. an earlier cable i was using which had both composite and s-video on the same cable would display a checkerboarding pattern over the signal

s-video distribution amplifier

tried some passive splitters for s-video and they produced the checkerboarding pattern over the signal

radioshack distribution amplifier https://amzn.to/3YyldWy - this works well and also allows for composite output at the same time as s-video. (my magnavox 20mt1331/17 crt tv only takes composite in). amazon has them out of stock but search for a RadioShack 1500320 1 in 4 out, maybe you can find elsewhere

display

currently using the aforementioned magnavox 20mt1331/17 which works okay i guess. mine has some bowing at the bottom and used to have pretty bad overscan before i fiddled with the service menu and geometry. to get into the service menu, power the tv on and quickly press 062596 then MENU before it has a chance to load an RF channel

best display

n64 outputs 15khz 240p and some games do 480i so whatever you use needs to support that which means a tv and not a monitor will be best. (crt monitors often do 31khz and do not support 480i so you will get an "out of sync range" error if you try to hook up to one of those via adapters to vga)

cream of the crop is probably sony pvm 14l5 or 20l5? this even supports 480p so stuff like the wii might work on it as well with component output (which enables 480p)

really anything will work fine, n64 was made with composite blurring in mind so even composite output looks fine from the n64. although s-video is a decent upgrade for clarity. this means you should probably be looking for a crt tv that at least takes in s-video if you want extra clarity. otherwise use s-video at least for capture...

best capture

so yeah use a good s-video capture card. i have tried three

  • io-data gv-usb2: https://amzn.to/46KhFTz this one is good (probably best) usb capture card for gaming/240p but drivers are windows only. there are reverse engineered drivers for linux though! https://github.com/Isaac-Lozano/GV-USB2-Driver -- bit annoying to setup and enable/load every time you want to use it, also i have not gotten audio capture to work reliably, but it technically exists.

  • hauppauge usb-live2 610 (old version): https://amzn.to/3WI2K8S this one is also good (maybe not as good as the gvusb2 but good enough) usb capture card and supports 240p. it has coxenant cx23100 internals which are apparently also used in the diamond vc500 but i haven't tried that one specifically (same for avermedia c039 and august vgb100). the good thing about this usb capture card is that it works out of the box on linux for me.

  • blackmagic intensity pro / pro 4k: really good pcie capture that works in windows and linux, with a few issues in linux, mainly that getting it to work with obs studio is annoying because it doesn't work in the flatpak version, you need the native version. but the native version of obs studio in arch doesn't support browser sources. the solution i have is to use obs-studio-tytan652 from the AUR. still a good device i guess, supports component as well via a breakout cable, and two rca pins (green/blue, so i think Y/Pb) can be adapted to s-video (Y/C). the quality is actually too good, as it's meant to be used with uncompressed capture of all kinds of tv signals. also because of it being a thing for tv, it doesn't support 480p. i got this as an upgrade over the hauppauge and it honestly is a sidegrade over the gvusb2 but the better option if you use linux (just install decklink from AUR and use a native obs studio build)

people also say good things about the pinnacle 710 (and dazzle dvc100?) but i can't really vouch for either

gvusb2 software setup

https://iotku.pw/gvusb2-guide/ is a good resource but basically

  • go to https://www.iodata.jp/lib/software/g/1780.htm and download drivers -- some people recommend v1.11 but i am running the latest v1.14 and it's fine (edit: just checked while writing this and there's already a v1.15 that released today lol)

ok so in obs or amarec or whatever open your video settings, this is what i use for "device setting" in windows

  • video input = "2/s-video"
  • deinterlace = "weave ( off )" --

if you have a newer driver version keep the stuff in "advanced driver property" off except maybe "skype support (pls replug)"

under "video decoder":

  • video standard = NTSC_M_J (even if you're recording NTSC, this brightens the image up and makes it look more like what you'd get on a CRT -- 7.5 IRE)

under "video proc amp":

  • brightness = 128
  • contrast = 90
  • hue = 128
  • saturation = 128
  • sharpness = 40

then make sure to capture in 720x480 at 59.94fps (on older driver versions like 1.11 pick 29.97fps instead, then deinterlace with Retro in either amarec or obs)

on arch linux i just install gv-usb2-driver-dkms-git from the AUR and it just works in obs studio after that

in obs studio regardless of OS you want to apply retro deinterlacing and add a scaling filter to scale it from 720x480 to 640x480 bicubic (or bilinear if you want a slightly blurrier look that suits the n64 better)

flash carts

summercart64 is what i have and it's cool. way cheaper than everdrive x7.

you will want to set up your microsd card with https://github.com/Polprzewodnikowy/N64FlashcartMenu

when done your sd layout should look something like this:

  • /sc64menu.n64
  • /menu/config.ini
  • /menu/boxart/*
  • /menu/64ddipl/
    • /menu/64ddipl/NDDE0.n64
    • /menu/64ddipl/NDDJ2.n64
    • /menu/64ddipl/NDXJ0.n64
  • /menu/emulators/
    • /menu/emulators/neon64bu.rom
    • /menu/emulators/sodium64.z64
    • /menu/emulators/gb.v64
    • /menu/emulators/gbc.v64

now load your roms and maybe saves on there. i've currently got mine in a /roms/ folder but they can be loaded from anywhere. anything outside the above list is fair game.

hardmodding

pixelfx n64digital obsoletes the old ultrahdmi?

looks like there's a "pixelfx retro gem" which replaces the n64digital but doesn't support rgb output, only hdmi

supposedly there's also the "n64advanced v2" which is open source on github but doesn't seem to be readily available

https://www.reddit.com/r/n64/comments/1d6pzdm/n64_hdmi_2024_guide/