New AVS Console plays NES carts

[VideoGameCritic]

I'm really excited at all the new retro-themed consoles coming out. This AVS system looks interesting.

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/09/r ... artridges/

[Gentlegamer]

My AVS is out for delivery today.

[Atariboy]

Toss in the 8BitDo Retro Receiver and wireless NES gamepad and you have a 21st century Nintendo Entertainment System here.

[Marriott_Guy]

This done look to be a very interesting piece of hardware. I like all of the features and the price tag is not half-bad for what you are getting. Also, I love the replica-look they went for in the case design. Though the author states the familiar box-design of the original NES in 1985, this is actually a nod to the prototype Nintendo AVS system (hence its name) which became the NES:

http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/ ... ge=reviews

Pretty cool system.

Terry

[scotland]

For about $200, its about the same price as acquiring a Retron 5. How does this compare with a Retron 5 - the android based cartridge HD system? Since the Retron 5 plays many systems, and this just the NES, shouldn't it be head and shoulders better than the Retron 5 for NES games? Is it?

[snakeboy]

For about $200, its about the same price as acquiring a Retron 5. How does this compare with a Retron 5 - the android based cartridge HD system? Since the Retron 5 plays many systems, and this just the NES, shouldn't it be head and shoulders better than the Retron 5 for NES games? Is it?

The one thing that tempts me about the AVS - and one thing that the Retron 5 cannot do - is that it can play flash carts. However, since I do already have a Retron 5, an original toaster NES, and a toploader, I can't justify paying nearly $200 for this. But it is tempting.

[Atariboy]

For about $200, its about the same price as acquiring a Retron 5. How does this compare with a Retron 5 - the android based cartridge HD system? Since the Retron 5 plays many systems, and this just the NES, shouldn't it be head and shoulders better than the Retron 5 for NES games? Is it?

I've done a lot of research over the past day or so and watched probably an hour's worth of video on YouTube of the AVS in action. So I think I can basically sum it up its advantages over the Retron 5 where NES/Famicom games are concerned.

-Much higher build quality.
-Accuracy by all accounts is 100%.
-100% lag-free (Although there's still your HDTV in the equation that has to process the 720p video being fed to it).
-Support for original accessories like the Famicom disk drive.
-Four built-in NES controller ports, for multi-tap multiplayer without the need of a multi-tap.
-Optional flicker reduction, by upping the number of sprites.
-No ethical issues, unlike the situation on the Retron 5 where they "borrowed" their emulator cores.
-Interacts directly with original cartridges so there's no mixed mapper support, no waiting to dump roms, etc.

All that is lost is essentially save states. You're back to being dependent on the internal battery for something like Zelda, must write down passwords, etc. But I doubt most people will mind.

Even seems to be promise that we'll get some optional color palettes in updates like the well received Firebrand color palette, which is something that I think the much more expensive Analogue NT competitor already offers (Which runs about $500, cannibalizes original Famicom guts, and has an overly expensive aluminum case that will scratch your games it seems).

Doesn't seem to be any coincidence that the Analogue NT follow-up is also going the FPGA route now, which says something about RetroUSB likely offering the ideal package right out of the gate...

[scotland]

Thanks,

I had not heard the build quality of the Retron 5 was bad, just that it had a death grip on carts. I have the Retron 3, and while its not great build quality, its very serviceable. The cart death grip reports on the Retron 5 were alarming.

I am not a fan of using the fan made emulators commercially, but its also unrealistic to think they won't be pressed into service.

I don't think I have ever played more than 2 person games on my NES, nor considered a famicom disk drive, so no gain there.

Flicker reduction is intriging. Considering its going for accuracy...not sure how I feel about that. Less flicker, but if the flicker is authentic, it should be there, right? Same with slowdown. Are we going for authentic, or new and improved?

Losing save states is not trivial, but not a big deal for the NES.

It does work on flashcarts, which is interesting if I ever get one.

So many gaming toys, so little time and money.

[Atariboy]

I'd caution against the Retron 5 or the similar Retro Freak (The latter of which supports SD rom loading, unlike the Retron 5). Build quality isn't there, technical support is overseas and non-existent, and some of these things are getting bricked by their own updates.

They may appear to be a better deal on the surface since you get support for multiple systems for roughly the same price, but they're still expensive machines even if they're 5 or 6 systems in one. Too many reports of issues right out of the box, overheating problems with the Retro Freak, and the machines breaking down after just a few weeks or months of use.

I'd find a different option if I was looking for getting a nice picture out of classic NES games on my HDTV and didn't want to spend almost $200 on a AVS, such as this Rasberry Pi thing I hear so much about. I don't really know what it is, but it apparently makes a pretty nice emulation box for a very small amount of money.

Flicker reduction is intriging. Considering its going for accuracy...not sure how I feel about that. Less flicker, but if the flicker is authentic, it should be there, right? Same with slowdown. Are we going for authentic, or new and improved?

Upping the sprite limit is 100% optional.

Slowdown is unchanged. This is a 100% accurate reproduction of original NES/Famicom hardware on a field-programmable gate array. This isn't software emulation here, which is why save states out of necessity are absent just as they didn't exist back in 1985 on original NES hardware.

Another attractive, albeit minor feature that they've implemented that I forgot about earlier, is the option to hide the overscan area. Anyone that has played Super Mario Bros. 3 on a widescreen tv would appreciate that option to hide the edges that obviously weren't meant to ever be seen.

[Atariboy]

PowerPak and Everdrive N8 save states work, by the way.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9lC68FNqpU

So even though the console itself doesn't have that functionality built-in, these multicarts can still offer such functionality.