RetroTINK (5X Pro and 4K), gcomp switch, and SCA-101: first impressions

[chopemon]

Just got this hooked up with some RGC scarts for PS1 and PS2.

I love it. I'm not very knowledgeable about AV stuff so I just wanted something plug and play. It's the best I've seen a PS2 on a non CRT in terms of colour and it looks great at 1080p. It's not cheap but it's fantastic.

[ZipZap]

A huuuuge new "V2" firmware update just came out offering a new menu system, profiles and tonnes of customisation options!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6GFw-6ypLM

[briareos_kerensky]

Been waiting for that. Too bad I'm not at home until the 26th to try it out.

[importaku]

Finally coughed up for one of these wonder devices last night paid for it so the patient waiting can begin, they are now in stock in a more stable amount so i got lucky finally. My crappy framemeisters days are now officially numbered, my PS1 can finally get the treatment it deserves and not constant 10 second black screen resolution switch dropouts. Was confused with what the hell version of a scart cable i needed for the PS1 but i found Mike had answered that question on reddit so i just coughed up for one not cheap at £30 but it's decent quality which should help with making the signal look as good as it can.

Now i feel like getting hold of an original model of PS1 so i can retire my tiny psone that i'm currently using as i have found although it's fine for playing stuff there's very little room inside for actually grabbing hold of the disks safely and there's been a few times where i have nearly dropped a disk when trying to take it out. Considering some of my disks are several hundred i'm not prepared to take that risk anymore plus the bigger design looks as classy as ever. The only problem will be finding one that hasn't got a knackered laser, maybe i should put a post up in the wants section of the sales forum see if anyone wants to offload their old jpn ps1.

[Yakumo]

You can't say the Framemeister is crappy. When it was released there was nothing as good as it except for broadcast quality hardware that cost thousands more. Sure, the Framemeister isn't as good as the RetroTINK 5 Plus in most ways (is better is some though) but just think at how many years ago the Framemeister was released. Way back in 2015 the Framemeister was the bees knees.

[importaku]

I can indeed say it's crappy when it costs as much as it did and it fails to even do it's job properly. That absolutely appauling res switching time delay when playing PS1 which pretty much renders stuff like pop n music totally unplayable because by the time the screen comes back the song has already started and you have missed a ton of notes. It might be great on certain consoles but on the ones i used it on it's been a letdown hell even gamecube it messes up you don't even get the full boot sequence when you turn the console on because by the time the picture comes up the logo is nearly over not what i'd call a premium gaming experience. Also for how long the framemeister was available on the market look how piss poor it was supported with firmware updates to add in new features now compare it to the amount of things the 5x has gotten added in and still continues to get added in such a short space of time it's night & day in support.

It's no longer 2015 the framemeisters reign is long over, for what i need a scaler to do it's pretty much useless. Once my 5x arrives the meister is getting flung on ebay.

[speedlolita]

Ironically that sale will probably fund most of the cost of the 5X Pro because people looking for scalers on eBay aren't too bright apparently.

[briareos_kerensky]

It's no longer 2015 the framemeisters reign is long over, for what i need a scaler to do it's pretty much useless. Once my 5x arrives the meister is getting flung on ebay.

While I agree the FM doesn't really need to exist anymore thanks to OSSC, 5X, and future OSSC Pro, it doesn't deserve all that bashing.
The hardware is a product of its time, it uses a dedicated upscaler chip rather than a powerful FPGA of current device, and that alone makes a huge difference in terms of what you can add to the FM.
The FM also got a good support while Micomsoft were still alive and active (I know they still technically are), its features might not have increased by much during its lifetime but it started with more things than the previous XRGBs had, and Micomsoft did not abandon the product: firmwares started in 2012 and there were several releases up to 2015.
The resolution switching was always the Achille's heel of Micomsoft products, and if I'm not mistaken even more powerful equipment like the DVDO Edge had to repeat the HDMI handshake upon resolution changes (IIRC Brad bought mine, if he still has it, he can confirm/deny that).

[Yakumo]

While I agree the FM doesn't really need to exist anymore thanks to OSSC, 5X, and future OSSC Pro, it doesn't deserve all that bashing.
The hardware is a product of its time, it uses a dedicated upscaler chip rather than a powerful FPGA of current device, and that alone makes a huge difference in terms of what you can add to the FM.
The FM also got a good support while Micomsoft were still alive and active (I know they still technically are), its features might not have increased by much during its lifetime but it started with more things than the previous XRGBs had, and Micomsoft did not abandon the product: firmwares started in 2012 and there were several releases up to 2015.
The resolution switching was always the Achille's heel of Micomsoft products, and if I'm not mistaken even more powerful equipment like the DVDO Edge had to repeat the HDMI handshake upon resolution changes (IIRC Brad bought mine, if he still has it, he can confirm/deny that).

Thank you, someone who appreciated the Framemeister like I did. It was never a poor product. It was the best it could have been at the price point of the time. It still has features the Retrotink x5 does not. Sadly, the timing out was an issue and now that there are better options, it is time to move on. Saying the Framemeister is crap is like saying a Mega Drive is crap because the PlayStation came out.

[Brad]

More like saying VHS is crap because DVD exists. Which is true.

[Yakumo]

More like saying VHS is crap because DVD exists. Which is true.

Maybe, but before DVD, VHS was cool and everyone wanted one. Actually, top fact that people with good decks had access to Hi-fi sound which was 20 HZ - 20 kHz in range with a wow and flutter rate of 0.005% anyone who knows their audio will know that is very good. In fact, hi-fi VHS was better quality than real to real decks.
I used to use a high-end Toshiba NTCS/PAL deck as an audio recorder.

[Brad]

All good points. I’m not saying framemeister wasn’t good at the time. I’m saying that whereas you would go back and play a mega drive game in the real hardware even if you had a ps5, you’d be less likely to choose to watch the vhs version of a film than the dvd or Bly ray, unless they’ve dicked about with the editing and ruined it on the modern formats or whatever. Great for its time, but there are devices that do the same job but better now.

[dvdx2]

Is the original xrgb 2 still desirable? Have a nice condition boxed unit I’m thinking of selling.

[speedlolita]

That doesn't seem too likely given that modern TVs don't have VGA ports. Prices are way up there on eBay but I only see the FM as actually being sold recently in the sold auctions.

[briareos_kerensky]

Is the original xrgb 2 still desirable? Have a nice condition boxed unit I’m thinking of selling.

I'd keep it. Maybe you'll be able to sell it to someone collecting old AV equipment, but as speedlolita said, with VGA dead/dying out on both monitors and TVs, both the original 2 and the 2+ have very limited use.