Although this new mod looks sharper and brighter (possibly by having different resistors values) I could still see some light jailbars on blue backgrounds, while your "old mod" is 99.9% jailbars free. I have a NES101 (aka "Top Loader") around which I AV modded with mediocre results, I'll try your old mod this time and see how it goes. Thank you for the video (and your mod guide on your website!).
Thanks for the comment! I was actually going to mention this but I wasn't really sure how best to address it. The jailbars aren't visible on my CRT but do show up in the captures. I have to admit, even using the old method I had the odd console that still had them very faintly, so I'm not convinced that the modding method is the deciding factor. Perhaps it could be down to specific motherboard revisions or other components starting to fail. Not only that, but I know others who've used this new mod and not had the jailbars! I still have a couple of other motherboards so I might do a follow up video where I swap it between them to see how they compare. Perhaps even the old "copper tape under the PPU" trick might be worth a try. Anyway, that's why I went with the "just show the results and let people decided for themselves" approach. 🙂
I must say I do prefer the look of Dr A's mod over the older one, looks like he's got the luma levels just right. Although I would actually prefer to see a 3.5mm TRS output with composite and dual mono audio but maybe that's just me. Thanks Rees
Agreed, I use a hifi amp with all of my retro systems so dual mono is useful to me. That said, I already have an RCA splitter cable that I use with some other mono consoles so it's not a problem. The video quality of this is fantastic for what it is. The colours look so much more vibrant than the previous mod. I think the price is very reasonable too. It's always good to have more low cost options out there.
Ironically in Argentina we always had Famicoms adapted with this mod. The American nes was never sell here because of having pal-n instead of ntsc. So we had some games on English and others in Japanese. Bizarrely some Japanese series never left Japan maybe because of counterfeits. In the end a lot of clones got in the market.
Great video! I especially appreciated the side-by-side comparison. I think Dr. A's mod has slightly brighter output, which in the comparison looks better to my eyes.
Thanks! I agree, it certainly has a brighter and cleaner look to it. Definitely worth the £30 I think, especially as it addresses the power supply issues too.
The original mod is a fun little soldering project that makes me feel like a mad scientist when I'm putting it together 😀 But yeah, a lot less to go wrong with this one and it also sorts out the power issues too. A very good solution, especially for the price!
@@ctrlaltrees I can't remember if I still have a famicom board lying around somewhere. I have the case and controllers. if I find it I might give this a go at some point.
I'm usually someone who watches video quality comparisons and can't tell a difference but I have to say the Backoffice mod wins it for me. Might try it in the next Famicom I get. Shamefully I'm currently i'm using a RetroN HD for all my famicom needs , which I actually love for how cheep and easy it is!! The tag line for any good console or first date!!
An interesting development and I'm all for making things simpler. I must admit, I can't see a lot of difference between the two mods. The new one looks slightly brighter but it's negligible. Either way though it's great to be able to play these consoles with a decent picture. I'm still using the one I got from you and loving every minute it of it!
Oh I don't think there's much difference at all in the end result. But from the point of view of the person doing the modding this one's certainly a lot easier! Glad yours is still going strong - as is mine! 😃
oh yeah, looks like its gonna be a nightmare to desolder the RF and power board - just my luck to have the soldered version. I dont have a desoldering gun either. funtimes
Have you ever modified the Sears Telegames Atari 2600 with 6 switches with the UAV board? I saw a different version you did, but I grew up with that version of it, and was interested in finding one that has better and more shielded output.
I haven't, but as far as I'm aware the motherboard is the same as the standard 2600 so there's no reason it shouldn't work. The UAV supports all of the various 2600 variants.
Regarding the audio output, does it reduce the buzziness of the Famicom? All of the mods I've used for it tend to have a lot of buzz, not a big deal if you use speakers but pretty annoying if using headphones.
@@ctrlaltrees That's what I thought, since most of it comes from PPU activity. It would take some serious engineering if it were even possible to reduce it. Some consoles have less loud hum, but only because the internal audio itself is less loud (late Famicoms and AV Famicoms) or muffled (Twin Famicoms).
Oops, I did put the names up on screen but seems they disappeared at some point in the edit... Sorry about that! The games are: 1. Contra 2. Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge 3. Ninja Gaiden III Thanks for the kind comment!
Hi. Thank for the very informative review. Is there any comparison between the BackOffice Mod and the one on the following GitHub by dxprog? github.com/hakkslab/FamicomPowerBoard Thank you.
This board is substantially different to Hakk's version - for example the Backoffice board has all of the power regulation circuitry onboard, instead of relying on USB (which is a very smart solution, so hats off to Hakk). Hakk's solution looks just like the circuit I'd been using previously, but packaged up onto a solder-in board along with the power supply part. I have had good results with this circuit so I think it would work well and should be comparable to the "old mod" I show in this video. It's not my place to share the inner workings of the Backoffice version but I will let him know about your comment and see if he has anything to add himself. Incidentally, I see it's been 2 years since I discovered Hakk's video and commented and I stand by what I said at the time - that guy does great work and really deserves more views. It's a shame he seems to have stopped uploading.
Although this new mod looks sharper and brighter (possibly by having different resistors values) I could still see some light jailbars on blue backgrounds, while your "old mod" is 99.9% jailbars free. I have a NES101 (aka "Top Loader") around which I AV modded with mediocre results, I'll try your old mod this time and see how it goes. Thank you for the video (and your mod guide on your website!).
Thanks for the comment! I was actually going to mention this but I wasn't really sure how best to address it. The jailbars aren't visible on my CRT but do show up in the captures. I have to admit, even using the old method I had the odd console that still had them very faintly, so I'm not convinced that the modding method is the deciding factor. Perhaps it could be down to specific motherboard revisions or other components starting to fail.
Not only that, but I know others who've used this new mod and not had the jailbars!
I still have a couple of other motherboards so I might do a follow up video where I swap it between them to see how they compare. Perhaps even the old "copper tape under the PPU" trick might be worth a try.
Anyway, that's why I went with the "just show the results and let people decided for themselves" approach. 🙂
Excellent video. You’ve gone the extra mile to highlight how good these units are, a very professional video.
Nice work here! I've never actually played a Famicom. Going to have to pick one up at some point :-)
I must say I do prefer the look of Dr A's mod over the older one, looks like he's got the luma levels just right. Although I would actually prefer to see a 3.5mm TRS output with composite and dual mono audio but maybe that's just me. Thanks Rees
Agreed, I use a hifi amp with all of my retro systems so dual mono is useful to me. That said, I already have an RCA splitter cable that I use with some other mono consoles so it's not a problem.
The video quality of this is fantastic for what it is. The colours look so much more vibrant than the previous mod. I think the price is very reasonable too. It's always good to have more low cost options out there.
I'd prefer the dual mono too actually. 🔊🔊
Ironically in Argentina we always had Famicoms adapted with this mod. The American nes was never sell here because of having pal-n instead of ntsc. So we had some games on English and others in Japanese. Bizarrely some Japanese series never left Japan maybe because of counterfeits. In the end a lot of clones got in the market.
Great video! I especially appreciated the side-by-side comparison. I think Dr. A's mod has slightly brighter output, which in the comparison looks better to my eyes.
Thanks! I agree, it certainly has a brighter and cleaner look to it. Definitely worth the £30 I think, especially as it addresses the power supply issues too.
Nice to see this all-in-one little package for this mod. Even though the original mod isn't too complicated it is certainly more fiddly. 👍
The original mod is a fun little soldering project that makes me feel like a mad scientist when I'm putting it together 😀
But yeah, a lot less to go wrong with this one and it also sorts out the power issues too. A very good solution, especially for the price!
@@ctrlaltrees I can't remember if I still have a famicom board lying around somewhere. I have the case and controllers. if I find it I might give this a go at some point.
I'm usually someone who watches video quality comparisons and can't tell a difference but I have to say the Backoffice mod wins it for me. Might try it in the next Famicom I get. Shamefully I'm currently i'm using a RetroN HD for all my famicom needs , which I actually love for how cheep and easy it is!! The tag line for any good console or first date!!
No shame in that if it works for you!
It just looks more brighter so brings out the detail.
Really well covered, great video.
Thanks!
Nice video :) The Famicom is so weird looking to me, but it's also funky.
Video with MOD looks little bit brighter and sharper. Looks way better.
I agree, it's an impressive upgrade! 👍
3:58 REMOVE THE CRT HIGH PITCHED NOISE!!!
Thank you! Your videos are great! :)
🤣 Apologies, I forgot to run the 15KHz notch filter on this video like I usually do!
An interesting development and I'm all for making things simpler. I must admit, I can't see a lot of difference between the two mods. The new one looks slightly brighter but it's negligible. Either way though it's great to be able to play these consoles with a decent picture. I'm still using the one I got from you and loving every minute it of it!
Oh I don't think there's much difference at all in the end result. But from the point of view of the person doing the modding this one's certainly a lot easier! Glad yours is still going strong - as is mine! 😃
@@ctrlaltrees I can appreciate that if it makes the job of a composite mod easier, then it's got to be worthwhile.
oh yeah, looks like its gonna be a nightmare to desolder the RF and power board - just my luck to have the soldered version. I dont have a desoldering gun either. funtimes
Have you ever modified the Sears Telegames Atari 2600 with 6 switches with the UAV board? I saw a different version you did, but I grew up with that version of it, and was interested in finding one that has better and more shielded output.
I haven't, but as far as I'm aware the motherboard is the same as the standard 2600 so there's no reason it shouldn't work. The UAV supports all of the various 2600 variants.
Regarding the audio output, does it reduce the buzziness of the Famicom? All of the mods I've used for it tend to have a lot of buzz, not a big deal if you use speakers but pretty annoying if using headphones.
Unfortunately there's still the Famicom background hum. Much like you, I haven't found a mod yet that completely eliminates it.
@@ctrlaltrees That's what I thought, since most of it comes from PPU activity. It would take some serious engineering if it were even possible to reduce it. Some consoles have less loud hum, but only because the internal audio itself is less loud (late Famicoms and AV Famicoms) or muffled (Twin Famicoms).
Great video again. Can I ask the name of the racing game shown at 13.40
Oops, I did put the names up on screen but seems they disappeared at some point in the edit... Sorry about that! The games are:
1. Contra
2. Ferrari Grand Prix Challenge
3. Ninja Gaiden III
Thanks for the kind comment!
I notice in the new one the blue sky looks more purple on the f1 race game.
Hi.
Thank for the very informative review.
Is there any comparison between the BackOffice Mod and the one on the following GitHub by dxprog?
github.com/hakkslab/FamicomPowerBoard
Thank you.
This board is substantially different to Hakk's version - for example the Backoffice board has all of the power regulation circuitry onboard, instead of relying on USB (which is a very smart solution, so hats off to Hakk).
Hakk's solution looks just like the circuit I'd been using previously, but packaged up onto a solder-in board along with the power supply part. I have had good results with this circuit so I think it would work well and should be comparable to the "old mod" I show in this video. It's not my place to share the inner workings of the Backoffice version but I will let him know about your comment and see if he has anything to add himself.
Incidentally, I see it's been 2 years since I discovered Hakk's video and commented and I stand by what I said at the time - that guy does great work and really deserves more views. It's a shame he seems to have stopped uploading.
@@ctrlaltrees Thank you for your response :)
It looks the same
Over all is almost the same