Retron 5: 4 months later

[blipcs76]

I finally picked up a Retron5 a week ago and I'm really liking it.  The controller sucks, but works OK for quite a few games.  Save states are fantastic for making punishing games more tolerable, and for never having to enter a password ever again!  And the upscaling is wonderful.  These games look phenomenal on my TV. 

The biggest reason I wanted one was so I could play retro games in my home theater.  I've got a 720p projector that displays a 100" screen, and I've tried hooking consoles up via component and they look horrible.  The Retron5 however looks gorgeous on that screen.  Add in the sound system and it really breathes new life into many older games.  Journey to Silius sounds amazing pumped through the R5 into my home theater sound system.  I have to disagree with dashv that retro games shouldn't be viewed larger than 40".  I played some Castlevania, Sonic 3 and Mega Man last night and watching those characters rendered at about 1 1/2 feet tall is awesome! I have a 40" LCD in my living room and they look wonderful on that screen as well.

I do have one main concern though.  The connectors do grip the carts really tightly.  I looked last night and a bunch of the pins in the NES slot are already bent, and I've been trying to be careful while using it.  Its still loading games fine, but I'm worried that in two months its going to be too screwed up to read carts any longer.  Anyone know if you can bend the pins back without taking the system apart, or should I just return the system for a replacement?

I didn't say they shouldn't be viewed on a screen larger than 40 inches.

I said they are painful to view on displays larger than 40 inches from 6 feet away.

I enjoy how they look on my 55 inch display when sitting on my couch 13 feet away. But the wireless controller makes the experience more painful than it should be from a playability standpoint.

Sorry, misread what you posted.

For some games, I can tolerate the controller.  Otherwise, I'll just plug in an original controller.  Too bad Genesis controllers have such short cords.

[foxhack]

For some games, I can tolerate the controller.  Otherwise, I'll just plug in an original controller.  Too bad Genesis controllers have such short cords.

Can't you use an extension cable? I think they're cheap.

[abe]

Good news, grey Retron 5 units are back in stock on ThinkGeek. Bad news, they're asking $159.99 for them now.

[dashv]

I finally picked up a Retron5 a week ago and I'm really liking it.  The controller sucks, but works OK for quite a few games.  Save states are fantastic for making punishing games more tolerable, and for never having to enter a password ever again!  And the upscaling is wonderful.  These games look phenomenal on my TV. 

The biggest reason I wanted one was so I could play retro games in my home theater.  I've got a 720p projector that displays a 100" screen, and I've tried hooking consoles up via component and they look horrible.  The Retron5 however looks gorgeous on that screen.  Add in the sound system and it really breathes new life into many older games.  Journey to Silius sounds amazing pumped through the R5 into my home theater sound system.  I have to disagree with dashv that retro games shouldn't be viewed larger than 40".  I played some Castlevania, Sonic 3 and Mega Man last night and watching those characters rendered at about 1 1/2 feet tall is awesome! I have a 40" LCD in my living room and they look wonderful on that screen as well.

I do have one main concern though.  The connectors do grip the carts really tightly.  I looked last night and a bunch of the pins in the NES slot are already bent, and I've been trying to be careful while using it.  Its still loading games fine, but I'm worried that in two months its going to be too screwed up to read carts any longer.  Anyone know if you can bend the pins back without taking the system apart, or should I just return the system for a replacement?

I didn't say they shouldn't be viewed on a screen larger than 40 inches.

I said they are painful to view on displays larger than 40 inches from 6 feet away.

I enjoy how they look on my 55 inch display when sitting on my couch 13 feet away. But the wireless controller makes the experience more painful than it should be from a playability standpoint.

Sorry, misread what you posted.

For some games, I can tolerate the controller.  Otherwise, I'll just plug in an original controller.  Too bad Genesis controllers have such short cords.

No harm done. I just wanted to make sure folks knew I agree with you. The games look great upscaled and from the right distance.

You are also totally right that Genesis controller cords are way too short. SNES cords are not much better. Extension cords seem to be hit and miss. Some say they work. Others say they don't.

[bikingjahuty]

I've heard that the demand for these things skyrocketed when the whole emulator theft thing came out, however I've seen more of these around recently then I have since it was released. Have thought about picking one up seeing how it might just be a matter of time before Hyperkin is issued a cease and desist.

[dashv]

I've heard that the demand for these things skyrocketed when the whole emulator theft thing came out, however I've seen more of these around recently then I have since it was released. Have thought about picking one up seeing how it might just be a matter of time before Hyperkin is issued a cease and desist.

Yep. Hyperkin has finally managed to ramp up production to meet demand.

Unless Hyperkin is somehow able to come into compliance (they could fully open up the console and folks could then download and install the cores themselves) a cease and desist seems imminent once the authors raise the funds to pursue it.

[atarileaf]

Unless Hyperkin is somehow able to come into compliance (they could fully open up the console and folks could then download and install the cores themselves) a cease and desist seems imminent once the authors raise the funds to pursue it.

I wasn't aware they were actually planning on pursuing it. Do you have an updated link on this situation?

[dashv]

Unless Hyperkin is somehow able to come into compliance (they could fully open up the console and folks could then download and install the cores themselves) a cease and desist seems imminent once the authors raise the funds to pursue it.

I wasn't aware they were actually planning on pursuing it. Do you have an updated link on this situation?

The lib retro blog:

http://www.libretro.com/index.php/category/blog/

Search the page for the word "cease". They mentioned it's something they'd rather not do but imply they will if they have to.

[evilnick]

Sorry, misread what you posted.

For some games, I can tolerate the controller.  Otherwise, I'll just plug in an original controller.  Too bad Genesis controllers have such short cords.

No harm done. I just wanted to make sure folks knew I agree with you. The games look great upscaled and from the right distance.

You are also totally right that Genesis controller cords are way too short. SNES cords are not much better. Extension cords seem to be hit and miss. Some say they work. Others say they don't.

I have extension cords for the controllers of the NES, SNES, Genesis, N64, and Dreamcast.  I think the only time I've had one fail was on the Genesis, and for that, I was able to replace it with a working one.