RAD2x Cables The RAD2x cables are a good no frills option for those looking for a plug and play solution. They’re offered by RetroGamingCables who manufacture a fine selection of consoles from the Sega Genesis, SNES-N64-Gamecube, Sega Saturn and Sony PS1/2. This is a fantastic option if you’re not looking to tinker with settings or need the most advanced features.
What Is A Retro Gaming Upscaler? If you were used to playing your old video games on a CRT television, you may have noticed that these original consoles were running at a lower resolution than modern HDTVs would have been able to display.
A common resolution would be 240p for the 8 bit or 16 bit consoles. Due to this nature, when outputting the 240p image up to 720p or 1080p will stretch the image and make it blurry using the composite or RF cable.
A retro gaming upscaler takes that 240p signal and multiplies it to keep the same aspect ratio (4:3) and allow it to be displayed on a modern HDTV screen. Out of the box options like the SNES HDMI upscaler end up making your image look fantastic!
Why Do Retro Games Look Better On Old TVs? Retro game developers used tricks that allowed the blurry image to be used to their advantage. Many older televisions have CRT displays that allowed the higer refresh rate, brighter colors and more flexibility of odd resolutions and aspect ratios. Newer LCD or OLED displays have difficulties displaying odd resolutions or frame rates correctly due to their digital display technologies.
Many modern televisions apply upscaling processing technologies to fit the older game resolutions on the newer resolutions in order to improve their picture quality. The end result is a blurry, artefact featured output that really impacts the picture quality adversely.
This is why it’s incredibly imprortant to have a retro upscaling device in order to correct the mistakes that the HDTV tries to apply to the analog signal. You’ll have a much cleaner 4:3 image when using an old console on a new TV.
It’s also important to consider the aspect of nostalgia when playing retro games. Some people who are considered purists love the look and feel of playing their favourite retro consoles on a tube TV over anything modern. This could simply be due to the fact that this was the way they were meant to be played as they have been used to it after so many years.
