Yes!! I was asking him about that a couple weeks ago. So glad he made the time to do it. I fall asleep to that playlist as often as a couple times a week. (I also watch the episodes while awake first, of course, haha)
Of course, when you get footage of Truxton, you MUST capture footage using the Framemeister! Especially if you're broadcasting from a intergalactic space arcade. But seriously, I do miss Mark's reviews and hope he's doing well.
@@SlapNuts4Life me too, Mark is the best in the business of reviews, he could review a garbage game and make a fun review out of it, not to mention the Classic Game Room background tunes, I'd rather hear Mark than IGN or GameSpot or any of the big reviews.
I absolutely love the Retrotink 5X. I got it mainly for the PS2. The motion adaptive de-interlace is noting short of magic. I've been playing a lot more PS2 games these past few weeks thanks to it.
Do you only have a PS2? Tbh I think having a 5X-Pro for that is a waste of money with them being over $300 in the US and not available or over $400 to have one shipped here to the UK. I literally do not know what to get because I don't see the 2X-Pro multiformat anywhere over here ust the regular 2X Pro.
@Virtuous Hombre That makes zero sense. lol. CRT= 10-20 bucks now days. But that somehow equates to a lamborghini, especially when these upscalers can cost upwards to 300-500 bucks? lol
I'd be down for a short episode on your capture devices! I've always been interested in the lengths you go to to get such a wide range of games into the show.
I've always been done right with my Framemeister since MLiG recommended it. And I thought I don't need anything else, until I saw the Retrotink 5X. Now I gotta wait until pre-orders are on again. Good time for me to invest!
The signal timing from older consoles can cause problems with some screens and capture boxes, too (e.g. my capture box produces corrupt video when fed a signal from a Dreamcast and won't even pass through the signal from my Saturn/Mega Drive, even though both work fine connected directly to the TV). I use the HDMI->HDMI scaler to produce a "clean" HDMI signal that my capture box has no problems with. I've seen some people use the mClassic for similar reasons.
From what I can see, the basement remodel looks good! I bet you're glad to be done with it. The wraparound shelving unit in the outro skit is a definite upgrade!
Yeah but once you see the quality of the retrotink 5x you will totally see the difference in image quality and want the tink. I have both and the tink makes the gbs look like a children's toy!
@@ericochoa4034 I only use upsacalers to capture video because I only play my older consoles on CRTs. The difference it's also not that big if you know what you're doing when building the GBS.
@@RetrOrigin I was being a little harsh but the image is too soft for my liking. If you compare the tink to the gbs side by side you will see the difference trust me on that. Plus with all the updates that Mike has made to the tink you'll see why it is way superior and worth the extra money. But it is just my opinion.
@@ericochoa4034 It's all good. Think 5x is of course better and considering the price difference it definitely needs to be that way. I personally don't see that big of a difference from a properly built GBS Control and the 5x, at least not enough to justify the price difference. And like I said, for my personal use case (capturing video), it's perfectly fine. Nothing wrong with having different options available.
As someone that absolutely hates the 480i flicker you get on 15kHz CRTs I found the GBS-C to be the perfect solution alongside a PC CRT I DIY'd my own for roughly 30 euros in parts from AliExpress so it's also a great value. My Saturn and PS2 have never looked better
The RetroTink 5x looks very cool; it would be something to consider getting later. Great job with this video; thanks for doing these comparisons and providing this information.
Also, as I say, a good cheap way is simply to buy a quality TV from around 12 years ago, when inbuilt upscalers were superior. LG or Technika tellies are good makes. These are junk shop prices too.
@@MrDustpile that's not a bad idea but I already have a Sony Trinitron with component and S video in for my retro consoles as well as a PVM, plus a 4K TV for modern gaming, so I'm not really looking to have a 4th screen in my living room
@@arcadeperfectreviews2653 Well I admit I said that more for the audience as I'm more in your shoes, by owning Trinitrons and whatever screens are best for the job too. And no glitching or manual settings to worry about - not least 'til these tellies are too costly to replace or fix.
These videos are what makes me look forward to Sundays. I really, really enjoy retro tech and these videos deliver in spades. Thanks so much for the great content Joe!
I have welded together two ultra hd TV screens, so now I just need the correct upscaler and some custom made cables to enable me to finally play some Game & Watch Donkey Kong in 4K using the original hardware. I am sure it will be worth the trouble.
You should definitely update the OSSC firmware! The last two firmware revisions allow you to adjust scanline darkness so that they don't universally darken across the board. You can set it so there's a brightness threshold where the scanlines kick in. It looks really natural. You can also use the online profile editor to save your settings for future updates/in case the OSSC profiles get wiped for some reason. You can rename the profiles that way so you don't have to just memorize numbers.
I invested in a Framemeister a few years ago and I enjoy it immensely. Scan lines and retro mode are a must for me. Best way to simulate playing on a CRT without a big heavy tube.
I have the first upscaler from Amazon that you reviewed at the beginning of this video. I'm actually shocked that yours worked for even a little while. Mine was completely useless and broken right out of the box and wouldn't even pass through a video signal at all. I told that upscaler to go get effed in the bee and I just grabed a sony 20m4u and a 14m4u (800 line monitors and these were purchased in 2012 I have no idea what this stuff costs now.). Everything looks great on both of these (I have a preference for the 14" one but the aspect ratio is controlled from the monitor on both and again, no need for an upconversion device ) except for the Sega Genesis composite output. I only use RGB on the Sega Genesis because trust me do it that way only. It looks incredible. The good news is if you have a Neo Geo AES or CDZ the HD Retrovison RGB cable works on both consoles with incredible results. I have found that the only real answer is to get yourself an RGB or S Video capable monitor/TV and RGB output everyting except the PC Engine and NES. The composite output is so amazing on the NES and PC Engine via monitor\TV that you really don't need to bother with it and you just plug it in. All that BS aside, I would like a video to reveal if there is a good way to hook the FM Towns PC to ANY kind of monitor\TV without blowing it up. I could really use that kind of advice. Get a CRT, thats pretty much it. If you can't, theres tons of options for LCDs. I have a sega Dreamcast hooked up to a 4k Samsung QLED through a Denon X4300H using a $30 US HD converter cable and Resident Evil 3 looks just killer to the point that I sent a friend video of me playing Resident Evil 3 on the Sega Dreamcast and he actually asked if I downloaded a remaster. . Don't think about it, just do it, and enjoy games. Period.
I had the same upscaler you mentioned at the start ...it was alright I guess but it die on me after some time and I haven't used it all that much too.... I guess you do get what you pay.
A video just as great as usual. I'm personally a OSSC user for playing retro stuff on my Wii (lots of emulators there, and they all provide 240p signal if selected): this purchase really was a life changer (my TV could handle 240p, but boy did it look ugly) ! But I like to use mclassic for 3d stuff as well, so I bought myself a hdmi splitter to generate two signals (one from the OSSC, and the other from the mclassic), which gives me the best of both worlds! I strongly advise people who can't decide what they like the best for PS2/Wii era 3d games to go with that if they can (of course, 2d games belong to the devices reviewed in this video, no question about that).
You can name the profiles on OSSC. There is an online generator with many predefined configs that you can save to SD and import on the device. When you adjust them, you just save on top of the imported profile.
If you watch game sack through 3 upscalers it becomes the 1997 American epic romance and disaster film “Tiranic”. I’m not sure why but it’s a pretty cool little trick.
I'm normally a bit of a CRT purist but even I have to admit it looks pretty damn good, and I like the large number of options it has for display and tweaking the picture to look just right. Best of all it can take composite cables and isn't one of those upscalers that requires me to chop up my consoles to add SCART so it can be used.
Fascinating to know how many of these devices exist. But prices wow. Hopefully there is one that you definitely recommend. Seems like each of these video upscalers have pros and cons. The ability to play past gen systems, with higher fidelity is surreal
What odd timing, I just recently bought a retrotink 2x multi-format since that was more convenient for the setup I have while also being more in my cost range. Insightful video, good stuff as always Joe.
I really think the 2x line is great for 90%+ of people. I just helped a friend decide to get 2x pro after they compared my 2x pro to my 5x. I love the 5x, but if I wasn't such a nerd for this stuff, I would have probably stuck with a 2x mini and made my whole setup S-video based. lol
@@GameDawgs ayy man do what makes you happy. The 5x is a cool product but I was content with the 2x multi for what I was after so I guess I'm in the same boat as your friend. Much of the reason why I bought it was primarily for game capture because I still use my consumer CRT for leisure gaming on my own time. Been wanting to get an all in one solution for my 480p compatible consoles for whenever I record/stream so I'm excited to get my hands on the thing and see how it comes out since composite on my capture card going through AmaRecTV is a bit too much of a hassle for not great results, but serviceable compares to just using the OBS settings when direct capture from my capture card.
I have the old DVI OSSC with Borti’s audio upgrade. With a DVI to HDMI cable I never even notice that it isn’t direct HDMI as it is 100% equivalent. Also, the audio jack is still useful for output, since I use a breakout in the SCART jack for RCA audio input. You know: one of those $2 SCART blocks with a few RCA jacks and an S-Video port on it. Though the video and S-Video jacks don’t do anything, it out the audio jacks right in line with the OSSC’s built-in component jacks for HD Retrovision cables and the adapter is rigid like it was part of the OSSC. I just plug my HDRV cables right in, including the audio, like the OSSC was always built with audio jacks.
Just a quick note, you can get very finely adjusted OSSC profiles from firebrandx as well. They are all labeled when I use them on my OSSC & it works great so far. Its a lot cheaper entry price requires you to put in more effort to get it working, but once you do its great for the price. I dont capture any footage so I havent had any issues with that but most tvs after 2018 ive tried have worked great with it. Great video as always. Buy whatever fits your needs and budget.
Fun fact: the LCA video on Commodore products (I believe this started with the C64) actually works the exact same way as S-video, just without the S-video connector. It uses two separate RCA cables for luminance/chrominance. It is easy to build an adapter to plug this into S-video, or to use an S-video source on a Commodore LCA monitor. So any of these devices that have S-video can be used with any Commodore product that supports LCA, provided you build the adapter. The 8-bit Guy did a video on how to do this. It's funny that Commodore basically created the S-video concept, before S-video itself was a thing.
I just found this vid and I think I’m going to love it! Upscalers can confuse me when I’ve got (I.e.- My Dreamcast has the Vga cable from the console fed into a VGA-2-HDMI adapter box, which then goes into my 4k/60HZ switcher, which outputs to an MClassic that is plugged into my Vizio QLED M series; basically I’m not sure what’s scaling what anymore!
The GBS thing can be WAY cheaper if you do it yourself from the open source project, particularly if you only need VGA or component out because your display supports that. Mine cost me the equivalent of $40USD !
The problem is a Venn diagram of the people with the desire and know how to make these devices and people who understand usability is two completely separate circles.
That's a huge problem with open source stuff in general and why it tends to take upwards of a decade for open source software to have a halfway decent UI.
@@username30536 Yeah I remember using Linux in the late 90s, that was fun. Even now it's a pain in the ass unless the distro repository actually has all of the stuff you need.
Try to repair the CRT or buy another. No upscaler looks like a CRT does, and emulators are so good now that if you're playing on an LCD you may as well just use an emulator and a clone controller or USB converter box.
I hear there's a RetroTINK 4K (one that outputs in 2160p) in the works. My guess for the price-- At least $400. Not that I'll be replacing my 5X anytime soon.
@@GamingDelightHopefully the 5X price comes down when the 4K is released, but I guess it won't since these are specialized equipment with a niche market. :p
I entered the rabbit hole of upscalers years ago right after watching your Sega CD episode and buying myself a Sega Genesis and Model 1 Sega CD. Settled on a Micomsoft XRGB-3 which looks fantastic in linedouble mode on my 22-inch CRT computer monitor.
Gamescare from Brazil produces two kinds of GBS-C: one with VGA output (I got one of that) and another with HDMI output. Both are excellent for upscaling, downscaling and footage.
There are very few content creators that can make videos about things that are of no importance to me, and still get me to watch and enjoy. Joe and Game Sack are one of those few.
These upscalers are too expensive for a very cheap retro console, such as the PS1. If they are going to cost that much, then they need to be top maxed out in everything with all features included in perfection (no issues whatsoever). However, I would never pay that much for an upscaler because I can easily buy a CRT TV and save so much money this way. More than $150 CAN dollars (that's if the upscaler is perfect) is way beyond my budget allowance.
Brilliant episode Joe, the disliking your own videos joke was subtle but really cracked me up! However i've gotta say while I love how far these scalers have come for most of my consoles I just stick to using a CRT, no hassle or time spent tinkering with settings, just plug in your console and it works perfectly. I do however use an OSSC for my Dreamcast so I can use the VGA input (none of my monitors or TV's have a VGA port).
All this upscaling stuff is why I still keep a 27in Panasonic CRT that has component inputs, and stereo output in my game room with a component switch box.
I still want a console episode on the almighty Microsoft Xbox 360 Joe. Here’s another game you can discuss that despite having ports on the previous generation’s consoles, the Xbox 360 is undoubtedly the best port by far: Just Cause.
Gbsc build is pretty easy to do your self and can be done from 20$-50$ depending where you buy your parts from. It works great in my arcade cab, for cga to vga into my lcd.
I've been an OSSC user since 2020 but decided to invest into a prebuilt GBS-C from 1upRestorations. It's got a 3d printed case so its looks fairly nice and also has a SCART connector built in. It's not as sharp as the OSSC but the increased compatibility, seamless signal switching and downright awesome deinterlacing made it more than worth it. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the inability to accept S-Video, but that was also a problem with the OSSC so I just kept using my Koryuu Transcoder for S-Video. I could've gotten the RetroTink5X for that purpose to, but $300 felt like a tad much at the time and the GBS-C, even fully built, was less than half that cost.
Something to add: never had a problem when the OSSC is changing resolutions as it depends on the TV you have. I’m lucky enough that mine likes the OSSC. Dead or alive on the Saturn, never had issues.
My ossc does great. I had to get a newer TV to play nice with it but it works well now. I also love how it looks. I got the clear blue covers for it. It just looks more techy in my setup.
18:42 I don’t know why exactly but I’m obsesses with how this looks. The parallax kinda thing mixed with the more extreme angle makes it all look quite 3D, sort of uncanny.
Episode idea "best way to play light gun games at home" home release and arcade (could be 2 episodes) *I've just got my game room started and can't afford a good upscaler. 5 years ago i picked up a sony PVM 1960 (from 1981) Composite only with no speakers. I'm on a budget but man does that monitor make all the difference in the world. I can thank you and My Life In Gaming for showing me the way forward
I have one of those SCART to HDMI generic scalers, and the only reason I use it is to input HDMI in from PS3, since it messes with the signal enough to remove HDCP. (Which every splitter I've tried won't) But that's more on the fact that the PS3 is a pain to capture, more than I need the device itself!
When I was growing up I had inexpensive tv's without special inputs so I had to hook up my consoles using the RF modulator to the antenna input. Ah, the good old days of simplicity.
The name "Framemeister" reminds me of someone from back in 5th grade who always called Paul from American Pie "Homescheißer" (it's Heimscheißer in german).
18:35 thank the bloody lord! Someone actually showing some decent offscreen footage of the retrotink 5x gameplay @ 1440p - still really looks like a genesis/SNES mini console. Now I know why I have a stockpile of RGB capable crt TV's.
I’d be very grateful for a capture device video! I’m trying to decide on one. Love the video Joe! Always gives me a great feeling when I see new GameSack. 🖤
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
23:44 Remember, as a perfectionist, Joe is never fully satisfied with his results and always dislikes Game Sack videos.
Be your own worst critic.
Oh really
Joe, you rock for getting the full gamesack playlist back up, thanks man
Yes!! I was asking him about that a couple weeks ago. So glad he made the time to do it. I fall asleep to that playlist as often as a couple times a week. (I also watch the episodes while awake first, of course, haha)
@@Jesse__H Hi u/marxychick1!
@@SCU3A_S7EVE er, huh?
Of course, when you get footage of Truxton, you MUST capture footage using the Framemeister! Especially if you're broadcasting from a intergalactic space arcade. But seriously, I do miss Mark's reviews and hope he's doing well.
EDF!! EDF!! EDF!!
Aw man I miss CGR so much 😢
@@SlapNuts4Life me too, Mark is the best in the business of reviews, he could review a garbage game and make a fun review out of it, not to mention the Classic Game Room background tunes, I'd rather hear Mark than IGN or GameSpot or any of the big reviews.
@@PaperBanjo64 Amen broseph!!
yep... :'(
Marks back, guys. Check his channel for new game reviews.
I absolutely love the Retrotink 5X. I got it mainly for the PS2. The motion adaptive de-interlace is noting short of magic. I've been playing a lot more PS2 games these past few weeks thanks to it.
Do you use the composite cables?
@@Bratzernnjr No, instead, I use HD Retrovision's PS2 component cables. Much better video quality from those than the cables that came with the PS2.
Just watching this video two years later and the PS2 is what I intend to use it for. Appreciate your comment, also about the HD Retrovision cables.
Do you only have a PS2? Tbh I think having a 5X-Pro for that is a waste of money with them being over $300 in the US and not available or over $400 to have one shipped here to the UK. I literally do not know what to get because I don't see the 2X-Pro multiformat anywhere over here ust the regular 2X Pro.
To me, it always sounded like he was saying "Marry me with my money". I thought that in the 90s and I still think that today.
I had to rewind it to hear it again and read the caption
@@Goto10Gaming LOL. Me too.
I thought he said marry me even as I read bury me! Marry me with my mommy
@@TimelordUK 😂😂👍🏽
I still believe having a CRT/vga monitor is almost a requirement
I'd love to have one in my room for my retro game so I can emulate that 240p look on it, but I just don't have the space for it which sucks
probably the best way still.
Still have a couple myself. mostly in case I want to play lightgun games.
@Virtuous Hombre That makes zero sense. lol. CRT= 10-20 bucks now days. But that somehow equates to a lamborghini, especially when these upscalers can cost upwards to 300-500 bucks? lol
I'd be down for a short episode on your capture devices! I've always been interested in the lengths you go to to get such a wide range of games into the show.
23:21 "Bury me with my...money."
Another lovely Sunday with Game Sack.
I've always been done right with my Framemeister since MLiG recommended it. And I thought I don't need anything else, until I saw the Retrotink 5X. Now I gotta wait until pre-orders are on again. Good time for me to invest!
Framemeister has so much input lag. How does that not bother you. I had to sell mine asap
Since buying the RetroTink 5x, my Framemeister hasn't seen any use. Have you bought one yet?
Since this was recorded awhile back the retrotink 5x is even better now with all the updates that have been implemented.
Now it's rt4k vs ossc pro, and they're both awesome. Expensive, but awesome.
A lot of cheeper Amazon upscalers have HDMI in because it secretly strips HDCP.
I want one because of that but I don't know which one doesn't add input lag.
The signal timing from older consoles can cause problems with some screens and capture boxes, too (e.g. my capture box produces corrupt video when fed a signal from a Dreamcast and won't even pass through the signal from my Saturn/Mega Drive, even though both work fine connected directly to the TV). I use the HDMI->HDMI scaler to produce a "clean" HDMI signal that my capture box has no problems with. I've seen some people use the mClassic for similar reasons.
Good to know! :-D
Indeed, I've used the HDMI input on the cheap converter to strip the copy protection on my PS4 and PSTV.
I just wanted to leave a thanks for the algorithm. I really enjoy your content. I look forward to each new episode. Thanks!
Thanks for explaining the technical facts instead of shamelessly plugging. This is why I still play on a CRT TV
From what I can see, the basement remodel looks good! I bet you're glad to be done with it. The wraparound shelving unit in the outro skit is a definite upgrade!
Finally watched every single episode. Definitely one of my favorite channels on youtube by far.
I'm getting there.
I've been watching GameSack for years. I wonder why he doesn't have at least 1 million subscribers. He deserves them
Finally, something good to watch.
Still watch it even though i dont have money to buy
I love the DIY/Open Source nature of GBS-Control. I was able to build my own for about $50 and couldn't be happier.
Me too. Is very easy. But not many people can solder or install the software.
Yeah but once you see the quality of the retrotink 5x you will totally see the difference in image quality and want the tink. I have both and the tink makes the gbs look like a children's toy!
@@ericochoa4034 I only use upsacalers to capture video because I only play my older consoles on CRTs.
The difference it's also not that big if you know what you're doing when building the GBS.
@@RetrOrigin I was being a little harsh but the image is too soft for my liking. If you compare the tink to the gbs side by side you will see the difference trust me on that. Plus with all the updates that Mike has made to the tink you'll see why it is way superior and worth the extra money. But it is just my opinion.
@@ericochoa4034 It's all good. Think 5x is of course better and considering the price difference it definitely needs to be that way.
I personally don't see that big of a difference from a properly built GBS Control and the 5x, at least not enough to justify the price difference.
And like I said, for my personal use case (capturing video), it's perfectly fine.
Nothing wrong with having different options available.
As someone that absolutely hates the 480i flicker you get on 15kHz CRTs I found the GBS-C to be the perfect solution alongside a PC CRT
I DIY'd my own for roughly 30 euros in parts from AliExpress so it's also a great value. My Saturn and PS2 have never looked better
How did you find the color reproduction output of the GBS-C
I couldn't help notice that it had a sort of darkish brown tint to it
The RetroTink 5x looks very cool; it would be something to consider getting later.
Great job with this video; thanks for doing these comparisons and providing this information.
I use the retrotink 5X and man I've never been happier with retro consoles on my HDTV.
Also, as I say, a good cheap way is simply to buy a quality TV from around 12 years ago, when inbuilt upscalers were superior. LG or Technika tellies are good makes. These are junk shop prices too.
@@MrDustpile that's not a bad idea but I already have a Sony Trinitron with component and S video in for my retro consoles as well as a PVM, plus a 4K TV for modern gaming, so I'm not really looking to have a 4th screen in my living room
@@arcadeperfectreviews2653 Well I admit I said that more for the audience as I'm more in your shoes, by owning Trinitrons and whatever screens are best for the job too. And no glitching or manual settings to worry about - not least 'til these tellies are too costly to replace or fix.
@@MrDustpile yeah that's the main reason I like the 5X no settings or anything it's literally just plug and play.
These videos are what makes me look forward to Sundays. I really, really enjoy retro tech and these videos deliver in spades. Thanks so much for the great content Joe!
I have welded together two ultra hd TV screens, so now I just need the correct upscaler and some custom made cables to enable me to finally play some Game & Watch Donkey Kong in 4K using the original hardware. I am sure it will be worth the trouble.
Where do I see your progress and final product?
@@BryantJoy in your imagination (drugs might help).
You should definitely update the OSSC firmware! The last two firmware revisions allow you to adjust scanline darkness so that they don't universally darken across the board. You can set it so there's a brightness threshold where the scanlines kick in. It looks really natural. You can also use the online profile editor to save your settings for future updates/in case the OSSC profiles get wiped for some reason. You can rename the profiles that way so you don't have to just memorize numbers.
So much goodness in this video. It's amazing the lengths we go to to not pirate old games 😅
i just got a puppy like a week ago. he already loves game sack i have had it playing on my tv the last 24 hrs
“Bury me with my money.” 😂
Your not the boss of me!
YEE-HEE!
wise flom your glave!
TH-cam cc says marry me with my money.
I heard marry
I invested in a Framemeister a few years ago and I enjoy it immensely. Scan lines and retro mode are a must for me. Best way to simulate playing on a CRT without a big heavy tube.
But its not the best way. The frameister has so much input lag. It's one of the worst upscalers
@@RideRedRacer barely any input lag. Not even humanly noticeable. It's one of the best upscalers. It's one of the best ways.
I have the first upscaler from Amazon that you reviewed at the beginning of this video. I'm actually shocked that yours worked for even a little while. Mine was completely useless and broken right out of the box and wouldn't even pass through a video signal at all. I told that upscaler to go get effed in the bee and I just grabed a sony 20m4u and a 14m4u (800 line monitors and these were purchased in 2012 I have no idea what this stuff costs now.). Everything looks great on both of these (I have a preference for the 14" one but the aspect ratio is controlled from the monitor on both and again, no need for an upconversion device ) except for the Sega Genesis composite output. I only use RGB on the Sega Genesis because trust me do it that way only. It looks incredible. The good news is if you have a Neo Geo AES or CDZ the HD Retrovison RGB cable works on both consoles with incredible results. I have found that the only real answer is to get yourself an RGB or S Video capable monitor/TV and RGB output everyting except the PC Engine and NES. The composite output is so amazing on the NES and PC Engine via monitor\TV that you really don't need to bother with it and you just plug it in. All that BS aside, I would like a video to reveal if there is a good way to hook the FM Towns PC to ANY kind of monitor\TV without blowing it up. I could really use that kind of advice. Get a CRT, thats pretty much it. If you can't, theres tons of options for LCDs. I have a sega Dreamcast hooked up to a 4k Samsung QLED through a Denon X4300H using a $30 US HD converter cable and Resident Evil 3 looks just killer to the point that I sent a friend video of me playing Resident Evil 3 on the Sega Dreamcast and he actually asked if I downloaded a remaster. . Don't think about it, just do it, and enjoy games. Period.
I had the same upscaler you mentioned at the start ...it was alright I guess but it die on me after some time and I haven't used it all that much too.... I guess you do get what you pay.
Two of these upscalers from Amazon died on me. I'll never buy these again.
A video just as great as usual.
I'm personally a OSSC user for playing retro stuff on my Wii (lots of emulators there, and they all provide 240p signal if selected): this purchase really was a life changer (my TV could handle 240p, but boy did it look ugly) !
But I like to use mclassic for 3d stuff as well, so I bought myself a hdmi splitter to generate two signals (one from the OSSC, and the other from the mclassic), which gives me the best of both worlds!
I strongly advise people who can't decide what they like the best for PS2/Wii era 3d games to go with that if they can (of course, 2d games belong to the devices reviewed in this video, no question about that).
You can name the profiles on OSSC. There is an online generator with many predefined configs that you can save to SD and import on the device. When you adjust them, you just save on top of the imported profile.
Right on time for bed. Thank you Game Sack!
If you watch game sack through 3 upscalers it becomes the 1997 American epic romance and disaster film “Tiranic”. I’m not sure why but it’s a pretty cool little trick.
i added an external scanline generator and it became the second vhs tape of braveheart
This is a great channel. Long live Gamesack!
The Retrotink just ate the Framemeister´s lunch...
I'm normally a bit of a CRT purist but even I have to admit it looks pretty damn good, and I like the large number of options it has for display and tweaking the picture to look just right. Best of all it can take composite cables and isn't one of those upscalers that requires me to chop up my consoles to add SCART so it can be used.
Man I just love this channel, always has interesting topics and terrific production that make it very enjoyable to watch.
I've never owned an upscaled, nor do I ever plan on it. But, Joe could fart on a snare drum and I'd watch it
But would you rewatch it?
Joe is gonna put that as new ending of next episode 🤣🤣🤣
Put that in your next vid. Then look at the cam then say... "id watch that on game sack!"
I need this now
It's Sack o' Clock!
Fascinating to know how many of these devices exist. But prices wow. Hopefully there is one that you definitely recommend. Seems like each of these video upscalers have pros and cons.
The ability to play past gen systems, with higher fidelity is surreal
That joke at the end gave me the best laugh I had for years. Thanks man.
What odd timing, I just recently bought a retrotink 2x multi-format since that was more convenient for the setup I have while also being more in my cost range. Insightful video, good stuff as always Joe.
I really think the 2x line is great for 90%+ of people. I just helped a friend decide to get 2x pro after they compared my 2x pro to my 5x. I love the 5x, but if I wasn't such a nerd for this stuff, I would have probably stuck with a 2x mini and made my whole setup S-video based. lol
@@GameDawgs ayy man do what makes you happy. The 5x is a cool product but I was content with the 2x multi for what I was after so I guess I'm in the same boat as your friend. Much of the reason why I bought it was primarily for game capture because I still use my consumer CRT for leisure gaming on my own time. Been wanting to get an all in one solution for my 480p compatible consoles for whenever I record/stream so I'm excited to get my hands on the thing and see how it comes out since composite on my capture card going through AmaRecTV is a bit too much of a hassle for not great results, but serviceable compares to just using the OBS settings when direct capture from my capture card.
@@GameDawgs do the 2x line upscale to 1440p like the 5x?
I have the old DVI OSSC with Borti’s audio upgrade. With a DVI to HDMI cable I never even notice that it isn’t direct HDMI as it is 100% equivalent. Also, the audio jack is still useful for output, since I use a breakout in the SCART jack for RCA audio input. You know: one of those $2 SCART blocks with a few RCA jacks and an S-Video port on it. Though the video and S-Video jacks don’t do anything, it out the audio jacks right in line with the OSSC’s built-in component jacks for HD Retrovision cables and the adapter is rigid like it was part of the OSSC. I just plug my HDRV cables right in, including the audio, like the OSSC was always built with audio jacks.
Just a quick note, you can get very finely adjusted OSSC profiles from firebrandx as well. They are all labeled when I use them on my OSSC & it works great so far. Its a lot cheaper entry price requires you to put in more effort to get it working, but once you do its great for the price. I dont capture any footage so I havent had any issues with that but most tvs after 2018 ive tried have worked great with it. Great video as always. Buy whatever fits your needs and budget.
You have very good taste in VGM music. Gradius V, Under Defeat, Capcom vs SNK etc; a nice broad selection.
After several weeks, we get a new Games Sack video. This is going to be interesting.
Fun fact: the LCA video on Commodore products (I believe this started with the C64) actually works the exact same way as S-video, just without the S-video connector. It uses two separate RCA cables for luminance/chrominance. It is easy to build an adapter to plug this into S-video, or to use an S-video source on a Commodore LCA monitor. So any of these devices that have S-video can be used with any Commodore product that supports LCA, provided you build the adapter. The 8-bit Guy did a video on how to do this. It's funny that Commodore basically created the S-video concept, before S-video itself was a thing.
I was half expecting Craig Sadler to give you a stern talking to about your bad day.
On a golf game, no less
I just found this vid and I think I’m going to love it! Upscalers can confuse me when I’ve got (I.e.- My Dreamcast has the Vga cable from the console fed into a VGA-2-HDMI adapter box, which then goes into my 4k/60HZ switcher, which outputs to an MClassic that is plugged into my Vizio QLED M series; basically I’m not sure what’s scaling what anymore!
I'd love to see descalers. How they show HDMI to RGB for example and what are the pros and cons.
The GBS thing can be WAY cheaper if you do it yourself from the open source project, particularly if you only need VGA or component out because your display supports that. Mine cost me the equivalent of $40USD !
OSSC also has remote control available as an option, great video
Yeah I should have mentioned that. You need it to adjust pretty much anything.
The problem is a Venn diagram of the people with the desire and know how to make these devices and people who understand usability is two completely separate circles.
That's a huge problem with open source stuff in general and why it tends to take upwards of a decade for open source software to have a halfway decent UI.
@@kidthorazine yeah.
*glares at Linux*
@@username30536 Yeah I remember using Linux in the late 90s, that was fun. Even now it's a pain in the ass unless the distro repository actually has all of the stuff you need.
Thank you so much. This video rules and something not talked about on TH-cam alot. Thanks gamesack
I often consider these for my PS2 and GamdCube. Maybe if my CRT dies one day I'll pick one up.
Try to repair the CRT or buy another. No upscaler looks like a CRT does, and emulators are so good now that if you're playing on an LCD you may as well just use an emulator and a clone controller or USB converter box.
I love the content on your channel. Always a great script and very well presented. Thank you for all the work you put in
Can’t wait to see what the upcoming OSSC Pro and Pixel FX Morph are going to bring to the table!
Hopefully for way less than the Retrotink 5X.
If the OSSC Pro ever makes it to fruition, that is. Dang Rona.
I hear there's a RetroTINK 4K (one that outputs in 2160p) in the works. My guess for the price-- At least $400.
Not that I'll be replacing my 5X anytime soon.
@@GamingDelightHopefully the 5X price comes down when the 4K is released, but I guess it won't since these are specialized equipment with a niche market. :p
I entered the rabbit hole of upscalers years ago right after watching your Sega CD episode and buying myself a Sega Genesis and Model 1 Sega CD. Settled on a Micomsoft XRGB-3 which looks fantastic in linedouble mode on my 22-inch CRT computer monitor.
Gamescare from Brazil produces two kinds of GBS-C: one with VGA output (I got one of that) and another with HDMI output. Both are excellent for upscaling, downscaling and footage.
There are very few content creators that can make videos about things that are of no importance to me, and still get me to watch and enjoy. Joe and Game Sack are one of those few.
These upscalers are too expensive for a very cheap retro console, such as the PS1. If they are going to cost that much, then they need to be top maxed out in everything with all features included in perfection (no issues whatsoever). However, I would never pay that much for an upscaler because I can easily buy a CRT TV and save so much money this way. More than $150 CAN dollars (that's if the upscaler is perfect) is way beyond my budget allowance.
I think like everything else they'll come down in price over time, but maybe not that much because they're such a niche product
Babe, wake up. New Game Sack video.
I saw the skit twist coming as Joe posted a picture of the busted controller on Twitter.
Brilliant episode Joe, the disliking your own videos joke was subtle but really cracked me up! However i've gotta say while I love how far these scalers have come for most of my consoles I just stick to using a CRT, no hassle or time spent tinkering with settings, just plug in your console and it works perfectly. I do however use an OSSC for my Dreamcast so I can use the VGA input (none of my monitors or TV's have a VGA port).
This was great, my head always spins when I look at up scalers
Wow, Joe, great video. So many laughs in this one, especially the bit about forgetting to turn on blast processing 😂😂👍🏽
Thanks again.
All this upscaling stuff is why I still keep a 27in Panasonic CRT that has component inputs, and stereo output in my game room with a component switch box.
A lot of great info here, and I am looking forward to that capture device video in the near future as a follow up to this. :)
When you watch all of every Game Sack video just to get to the best part -- the dumb little tag at the end
3:45 heh that is funny. Good shit, Coury
I still want a console episode on the almighty Microsoft Xbox 360 Joe. Here’s another game you can discuss that despite having ports on the previous generation’s consoles, the Xbox 360 is undoubtedly the best port by far: Just Cause.
solid upload, was still on the fence for the 5x
might grab it and use it along side my 2x pro
Thank you for this vid. Always nice to have a refresher on the options out there
Gbsc build is pretty easy to do your self and can be done from 20$-50$ depending where you buy your parts from. It works great in my arcade cab, for cga to vga into my lcd.
I've been an OSSC user since 2020 but decided to invest into a prebuilt GBS-C from 1upRestorations. It's got a 3d printed case so its looks fairly nice and also has a SCART connector built in. It's not as sharp as the OSSC but the increased compatibility, seamless signal switching and downright awesome deinterlacing made it more than worth it. The only thing I'm not a fan of is the inability to accept S-Video, but that was also a problem with the OSSC so I just kept using my Koryuu Transcoder for S-Video. I could've gotten the RetroTink5X for that purpose to, but $300 felt like a tad much at the time and the GBS-C, even fully built, was less than half that cost.
Something to add: never had a problem when the OSSC is changing resolutions as it depends on the TV you have. I’m lucky enough that mine likes the OSSC. Dead or alive on the Saturn, never had issues.
My ossc does great. I had to get a newer TV to play nice with it but it works well now. I also love how it looks. I got the clear blue covers for it. It just looks more techy in my setup.
Great video. Mike Chi is king of the upscalers. Can’t wait for the Retrotink 4k. It’s going to be amazing…and expensive!
Regular people hahaha.
Joe can talk about anything and make it interesting.
Another superb episode as usual.
18:42 I don’t know why exactly but I’m obsesses with how this looks. The parallax kinda thing mixed with the more extreme angle makes it all look quite 3D, sort of uncanny.
Honestly, that sound with headphone at 17:29. Quite unexpected and humorous.
Episode idea "best way to play light gun games at home" home release and arcade (could be 2 episodes)
*I've just got my game room started and can't afford a good upscaler. 5 years ago i picked up a sony PVM 1960 (from 1981)
Composite only with no speakers.
I'm on a budget but man does that monitor make all the difference in the world. I can thank you and My Life In Gaming for showing me the way forward
I have one of those SCART to HDMI generic scalers, and the only reason I use it is to input HDMI in from PS3, since it messes with the signal enough to remove HDCP. (Which every splitter I've tried won't) But that's more on the fact that the PS3 is a pain to capture, more than I need the device itself!
Good lord. To what great lengths people go just to avoid having a CRT TV in the house...
When I was growing up I had inexpensive tv's without special inputs so I had to hook up my consoles using the RF modulator to the antenna input. Ah, the good old days of simplicity.
The name "Framemeister" reminds me of someone from back in 5th grade who always called Paul from American Pie "Homescheißer" (it's Heimscheißer in german).
18:35 thank the bloody lord! Someone actually showing some decent offscreen footage of the retrotink 5x gameplay @ 1440p - still really looks like a genesis/SNES mini console. Now I know why I have a stockpile of RGB capable crt TV's.
RetroTINK 5X got a new 2.0 firmware update on Dec 2021 and it's basically a new device now there are so many updates. Check it out :)
So many incredible games, so little time.
You integrated that broken Neo Geo controller perfectly lol. Solid end skit
I’d be very grateful for a capture device video! I’m trying to decide on one. Love the video Joe! Always gives me a great feeling when I see new GameSack. 🖤
Mister FPGA is the ultimate upscaler since it can pretty much do most consoles, handhelds or computers and upscale them, add scanlines, borders etc.
Wow, we came a long way in upscalers in the last decade
I use RAD2X for my Mega Drive. No menu, no power supply. Just pure plug and play. Looks super awesome with no lag at all!
I use the cheap Scart to hdmi adapter for recording only and it can be set to 4:3 using 640x480 or 800x600
I too and loved it
For the OG Xbox, there's the XboxHD+. The new firmware version they're working on (v2.0) will help upscale.
I have the first cheap one, I agree 100%
love your show Joe have for many years
I like to wind down to a Game Sack. It doesn't suck.
Love the new background music track at the opening.