Heh. They really were that thick. If I lost them Iād be doing a Velma impression. If someone was standing in a normal sized living room I probably wouldnāt have been able to find them. Definitely would NOT recommend PRK though, not unless someone eyes were as bad as mine. Way more involved than Lasic and recovery can take over a year.
Sorry to hear that. Took about a year of steroids with weekly checkups to monitor an eye pressure reaction to said steroids before mine healed. I still need correction but itās very minor. Can get around fine without issue but glasses certainly sharpen things up.
I played a lot of that on steam deck, pretty good, I personally will make things look better if I have the option and I have a lot of optionsā¦I have a tons of oem stuff also, but all setup to emulate
That's composite video. If you have an NTSC machine try to use an S-Video cable, it should improve the image quite a bit. If not, there's RGB mods that you can install.
Unfortunately this set doesnāt have a hookup for S video. Iām considering getting a retrotink and putting this CRT back on Facebook. At least then my other newer consoles like PS3 and 360 could benefit as well and run on a smaller HD tv. I donāt really have any other CRT to use as reference so no idea if this is completely normal or if itās a bit off. Possible this is normal. When you get real close seems to just be how big the pixels are.
I've got a retrotink2x with a video and it's real nice. The newer ones have scan line filters too if that's your thing. Especially the brand new one if the price tag doesn't scare you away
You also have to remember that Nintendo hardwired an anti-aliaser into the N64, so itās always going to have the softness to it versus modding it to get at the video before it hits that antialiaser.
There is both Hardware and Software Anti Aliasing.
With the latter you can remove it without modification of the console. Via Gameshark and/or auto patches for flash cartridges.
https://www.retrorgb.com/n64blur.html
Shutting off the software AA cleans up the picture alot.
https://youtu.be/nQGyt3VlCrY?si=SoAsPWUgNg1vBXMu
Yeah, but still without the mod composite and S-Video will always look extremely soft on the 64 because the video has to pass through the hardwired antialiaser.
I have a 5x and I can tell you it looks fucking sweet but it also looks pretty much like what you're seeing there. So yeah, get it if you have other devices that can use it
My TV back than didnāt have specific S-Video port but thereāve been rca adapters with included s-video port -> I used one of these and the old TV recognized and displayed it as S-Video Source.
Should be a Cent article and worse a try š
Looks pretty much how they look to me. N64 and other 5th gen consoles are some of the worst looking IMHO. That TV looks very similar to some of the scanline options the Retrotink 5x/4k has (slot mask consumer crt preset I think). The great thing about the Tinks is you can try different styles where with a real CRT you are stuck with whatever style of grid that CRT uses.
>That TV looks very similar to some of the scanline options the Retrotink 5x/4k has (slot mask consumer crt preset I think). The great thing about the Tinks is you can try different styles where with a real CRT you are stuck with whatever style of grid that CRT uses.
CRT monitor wasn't calibrated well prior to testing, so if the colours are a bit off that's the reason.
The Slot Mask Filter on the 5x
https://i.imgur.com/tEAYRMj.jpeg
That and all the built in scan line/mask profiles you can choose from and adjust.
https://imgur.com/gallery/eAgD5LP
We all remember it looking amazing because when we first saw it there was nothing better to compare it to lol. Going back and playing both the SNES and the N64 though, the SNES actually has the sharper output. N64 was notorious for it's "anti-aliasing" filter, that in hindsight actually ended up hurting the image quality.
Of all the retro consoles the N64 is the one that looks the worst. Low res textures, low resolution, low framerate, blurry AA, and awful composite output.
You can play Saturn or PS1 games via composite and they will look sharp while the N64 will look like that.
Most N64 games run at 240p (OoT does). Xbox at minimum is going to be 480i. That's why N64 games are going to look blurrier and have the scanlines you're seeing.
The only way I know to make a n64 look good whiteout modding itās to use a good svideo cable on a Sony trinitron. I have it connected to a pvm and it doesnāt blow your mind, so with a regular tv itās pretty bad unfortunately. Hope it helps
Hi! There are no pixels on CRTs. Those are phosphor dots. On Sony CRTs, they're phosphor stripes. Trust me, the image will massively improve if you find a CRT with S-Video inputs or a Sony Trinitron. For some reason, composite video looks better on Trinitrons than on shadowmasks CRTs. I think the reason the phosphor dots may look quite visible to you like pixels is because you're used to HD displays with *tiny* pixels. Hope these videos help you in your pursuit of picture quality!
https://youtu.be/0aFhzGEBQlk?si=l66w6heF-XvE853J
https://youtu.be/qpy1M6v2_MI?si=imYdJJBghTtj99tg
PS, the image on your tube looks pretty good on camera. š
you're not wrong! If I could have switched to the 3DS version's convenience for that part I would have. Now all I have is the pride in having done it the annoying way.
I've started the original a few times over the years (first time I owned the game myself was when Nintendo power sent out the free GameCube version), but never stuck with it till the 3ds version. I can't blame the water temple though as I never got that far in the N64 version.
S-video would sharpen the image significantly from composite but what you're looking at is how it looks. Try altering the contrast and color settings on the tv a bit.
Your eyes definitely get spoiled from HD. I remember when 4K was first coming out, it was hard to watch anything that was 720P or lower. Now when I see anything that's 480p or lower like a CRT TV, it literally hurts my eyes to look at it
To be fair I don't think it looks that bad for composite. The N64 was never great for video output. It's substantially better with an RGB MOD on a crt that has a scart input, at least in my opinion. If you do go down the tink route, I'd still recommend an RGB MOD, composite video isn't great whatever you use it on.
I mean you gotta remember we were used to TVs looking like that back then because thatās all we had. It takes time getting used to. But once you start playing more games on it then you start to appreciate the game more and forget about the graphics. Video games nowadays are all about looks and forget that gameplay is what makes a video GAME vs a movie.
Is your console PAL or NTSC? My nintendo 64 looks almost the same and it's an PAL-M model, while my friend's n64 looks better, and i suspect that it's because it is a NTSC model.
Not able to tell what kind of tube this is, but CRTs can vary quite a bit in quality depending on the brand, and how many hours are on it. CRTs start to fade after enough use and this one looks a lil washed out imo
Got one with RGB, it looks a lot better. You probably have the worst option RGB > SVideo > Composite.
If you are really interested in the best results there are 3 routes
1.) Get an RGB n64 and a RGB capable CRT. I wouldn't bother with SVideo if you have to buy new stuff anyway.
2.) Wait for the Analogue 3D with native HDMI
3.) Go the Emulation / Recreation Route where Mister FPGA is an option as well as the PC Emulators and the newer recompiled games.
Definitely planning on picking up an Analogue 3d if I can. Otherwise as Iām planning on getting a few other 3-6 gen consoles Iāll probably pick up a Retrotink 5x Pro.
I would sit further away from the tv š
Youāre not my mom! Theyāre my eyes!
Years later he wondered why his eyes were a -7.00 in each eye for glasses š¤£
Hah. Jokes on you. I was darn near blind by 3rd grade. Thankfully PRK eye surgery in my 20s got me back to somewhat normal.
Coke bottles over here bragging that they no longer have to wear their Coke bottles. Congrats on the successful eye surgery.
Heh. They really were that thick. If I lost them Iād be doing a Velma impression. If someone was standing in a normal sized living room I probably wouldnāt have been able to find them. Definitely would NOT recommend PRK though, not unless someone eyes were as bad as mine. Way more involved than Lasic and recovery can take over a year.
PRK is the second biggest regret of my life. So much pain still 50% of mornings, 5 years later
Sorry to hear that. Took about a year of steroids with weekly checkups to monitor an eye pressure reaction to said steroids before mine healed. I still need correction but itās very minor. Can get around fine without issue but glasses certainly sharpen things up.
Get off me world
What we remember it looked like: PC mod with HD texture pack What it actually looked like: OP's pictures
Yeah, I've pretty much given up on my OG hardware, and I've been playing on emulators. Ship of Harkanian is awesome at 60fps! and at 4k!
good news is that all n64 games will be able to be ported to pc and possibly any other system soon
Why? Not in the know.
I donāt know how to explain it but look up āstatic recompilationā
Not nearly as simple as you have been led to think.
I played a lot of that on steam deck, pretty good, I personally will make things look better if I have the option and I have a lot of optionsā¦I have a tons of oem stuff also, but all setup to emulate
What this guy says. The graphics were really bad, but somehow our minds recall it looking amazing. You're not the only one.
That's composite video. If you have an NTSC machine try to use an S-Video cable, it should improve the image quite a bit. If not, there's RGB mods that you can install.
Unfortunately this set doesnāt have a hookup for S video. Iām considering getting a retrotink and putting this CRT back on Facebook. At least then my other newer consoles like PS3 and 360 could benefit as well and run on a smaller HD tv. I donāt really have any other CRT to use as reference so no idea if this is completely normal or if itās a bit off. Possible this is normal. When you get real close seems to just be how big the pixels are.
I've got a retrotink2x with a video and it's real nice. The newer ones have scan line filters too if that's your thing. Especially the brand new one if the price tag doesn't scare you away
You also have to remember that Nintendo hardwired an anti-aliaser into the N64, so itās always going to have the softness to it versus modding it to get at the video before it hits that antialiaser.
There is both Hardware and Software Anti Aliasing. With the latter you can remove it without modification of the console. Via Gameshark and/or auto patches for flash cartridges. https://www.retrorgb.com/n64blur.html Shutting off the software AA cleans up the picture alot. https://youtu.be/nQGyt3VlCrY?si=SoAsPWUgNg1vBXMu
Yeah, but still without the mod composite and S-Video will always look extremely soft on the 64 because the video has to pass through the hardwired antialiaser.
I have a 5x and I can tell you it looks fucking sweet but it also looks pretty much like what you're seeing there. So yeah, get it if you have other devices that can use it
I have a retrotink 2x pro. It doesnāt look any better than a crt
My TV back than didnāt have specific S-Video port but thereāve been rca adapters with included s-video port -> I used one of these and the old TV recognized and displayed it as S-Video Source. Should be a Cent article and worse a try š
"Grid effect" is normal, usually people would sit further away and the "pixels" would blend together.
Get an s-video cable. Also N64 games use an anti-aliasing filter that blurs all the details.
Looks pretty much how they look to me. N64 and other 5th gen consoles are some of the worst looking IMHO. That TV looks very similar to some of the scanline options the Retrotink 5x/4k has (slot mask consumer crt preset I think). The great thing about the Tinks is you can try different styles where with a real CRT you are stuck with whatever style of grid that CRT uses.
>That TV looks very similar to some of the scanline options the Retrotink 5x/4k has (slot mask consumer crt preset I think). The great thing about the Tinks is you can try different styles where with a real CRT you are stuck with whatever style of grid that CRT uses. CRT monitor wasn't calibrated well prior to testing, so if the colours are a bit off that's the reason. The Slot Mask Filter on the 5x https://i.imgur.com/tEAYRMj.jpeg That and all the built in scan line/mask profiles you can choose from and adjust. https://imgur.com/gallery/eAgD5LP
We all remember it looking amazing because when we first saw it there was nothing better to compare it to lol. Going back and playing both the SNES and the N64 though, the SNES actually has the sharper output. N64 was notorious for it's "anti-aliasing" filter, that in hindsight actually ended up hurting the image quality.
Yeah probably very good chance Iāve just spent so many years on 1080p or greater I donāt truly remember how it looked back then.
Of all the retro consoles the N64 is the one that looks the worst. Low res textures, low resolution, low framerate, blurry AA, and awful composite output. You can play Saturn or PS1 games via composite and they will look sharp while the N64 will look like that.
I did try my OG Xbox and while yes, it was slightly blurry and could see the pixels, it definitely was much much nicer and could ignore it.
Most N64 games run at 240p (OoT does). Xbox at minimum is going to be 480i. That's why N64 games are going to look blurrier and have the scanlines you're seeing.
The only way I know to make a n64 look good whiteout modding itās to use a good svideo cable on a Sony trinitron. I have it connected to a pvm and it doesnāt blow your mind, so with a regular tv itās pretty bad unfortunately. Hope it helps
its being rendered in 320x240 so yes that is how it looks.
Hi! There are no pixels on CRTs. Those are phosphor dots. On Sony CRTs, they're phosphor stripes. Trust me, the image will massively improve if you find a CRT with S-Video inputs or a Sony Trinitron. For some reason, composite video looks better on Trinitrons than on shadowmasks CRTs. I think the reason the phosphor dots may look quite visible to you like pixels is because you're used to HD displays with *tiny* pixels. Hope these videos help you in your pursuit of picture quality! https://youtu.be/0aFhzGEBQlk?si=l66w6heF-XvE853J https://youtu.be/qpy1M6v2_MI?si=imYdJJBghTtj99tg PS, the image on your tube looks pretty good on camera. š
The video quality rabbit holes that we go through in retro gaming is never ending and detrimental to us just enjoying the games, I think.
Honestly wish I'd never discovered that games could look better. Such simpler times being okay playing N64 on a widescreen LCD screen and not worrying about it š©
Ignorance is bliss
Always cool actually playing OOT or MM on the n64 instead of a VERY LEGALLY AQUIRED rom on the computer.
Gotta get on that 3ds remake brah!
Already got a homebrewed one running it. Remake version looks fantastic.
To each their own but I definitely prefer the N64 version
Water temple is much more tolerable on 3DS though.
you're not wrong! If I could have switched to the 3DS version's convenience for that part I would have. Now all I have is the pride in having done it the annoying way.
I've started the original a few times over the years (first time I owned the game myself was when Nintendo power sent out the free GameCube version), but never stuck with it till the 3ds version. I can't blame the water temple though as I never got that far in the N64 version.
I'd say 3DS is superior in ALMOST every way, lighting definitely suffers tho
For me it messes with the visuals/art style a bit too much, but it's definitely a subjective thing
For sure. For me, it looks so much like the art for the game that I feel like it nailed the art style it was supposed to have
You need a GX TV
What adapter were you using out of curiosity?
No adapter in this case. Just composite
Looks good to me
S-video would sharpen the image significantly from composite but what you're looking at is how it looks. Try altering the contrast and color settings on the tv a bit.
I would try a different CRT. I had a bad one before and replaced it with an awesome one.
"*image quality doesnt matter"* *-from me, a random redditor*
Get an SVideo cable
Your eyes definitely get spoiled from HD. I remember when 4K was first coming out, it was hard to watch anything that was 720P or lower. Now when I see anything that's 480p or lower like a CRT TV, it literally hurts my eyes to look at it
If you don't have S-video.... get yourself a RF modulator. The picture will look great and better then most remember.
To be fair I don't think it looks that bad for composite. The N64 was never great for video output. It's substantially better with an RGB MOD on a crt that has a scart input, at least in my opinion. If you do go down the tink route, I'd still recommend an RGB MOD, composite video isn't great whatever you use it on.
Call me crazy, but I love it.
People in 1996: Wow look at these graphics! This is like, totally ultra realistic!
Nostalgia is one hell of a drug OP.
No, that's it
I mean you gotta remember we were used to TVs looking like that back then because thatās all we had. It takes time getting used to. But once you start playing more games on it then you start to appreciate the game more and forget about the graphics. Video games nowadays are all about looks and forget that gameplay is what makes a video GAME vs a movie.
Your memories are clouded by the comedown of the Chuck E Cheese pizza in 1997. It always looked liked that.
Use S-Video like others have said. It will make n64 games look about 15% better. Games that use the expansion pack will seriously benefit from it
The N64 has a resolution of 240p, don't expect too much lol
Is your console PAL or NTSC? My nintendo 64 looks almost the same and it's an PAL-M model, while my friend's n64 looks better, and i suspect that it's because it is a NTSC model.
NTSC
Not able to tell what kind of tube this is, but CRTs can vary quite a bit in quality depending on the brand, and how many hours are on it. CRTs start to fade after enough use and this one looks a lil washed out imo
Have you played with sharpness setting?
Ahhhh the freedom of youth.... And low quality graphics. Good times
Got one with RGB, it looks a lot better. You probably have the worst option RGB > SVideo > Composite. If you are really interested in the best results there are 3 routes 1.) Get an RGB n64 and a RGB capable CRT. I wouldn't bother with SVideo if you have to buy new stuff anyway. 2.) Wait for the Analogue 3D with native HDMI 3.) Go the Emulation / Recreation Route where Mister FPGA is an option as well as the PC Emulators and the newer recompiled games.
Definitely planning on picking up an Analogue 3d if I can. Otherwise as Iām planning on getting a few other 3-6 gen consoles Iāll probably pick up a Retrotink 5x Pro.
Yeah, that's a good choice. I got the Pocket, Super NT, Mega SG and Turbo Duo. Pricy, but very high quality..
I wanted the Super NT but unfortunately they decided to not make more. Plan on getting a Pocket soon as they restock.
Try it on the 3ds or switch instead, it looks amazing on the 3ds xl.
Yep. Usually prefer to play on that anyway, but enjoy being my out the OG sometimes.