Just the Cyclone IV FPGA used in the RetroTINK 5x costs at least $ 150, not even considering the other parts, assembly costs, and the development that goes into programming an FPGA. This device serves not just to convert an analog video signal to a digital one. It's a video processing toolbox with loads of options. It can handle just about any signal you throw at it. It can properly reproduce interlaced video, and also has one of the best motion-adaptive deinterlacers I've ever seen. It offers advanced post-processing filters that realistically reproduce phosphor scanlines, with various types of grille options. It can do these things all with almost no lag (about 3ms in frame-locked mode), exactly because of the FPGA approach that is used. Doing the same things with an ordinary CPU would inevitably introduce additional latency. And Mike Chi is continually pushing out new updates to the firmware to this day, with new features and updates, sometimes even backporting features he is developing for his next project. I've used this device with SNES, PSX and PS2, but also with modern consoles to give games like Undertale and Deltarune a proper 240p look. (It even has a pre-scaler so you can downscale 480i/p and 720p to proper 240p, perfect dor PS1 classics on the PS3, which will output at 480i) I've also used it to restore Hi8 footage because the handling of S-Video is exceptional and the aforementioned deinterlacer does an excellent job as well. I get that you don't need this thing, or don't like it for whatever reason, but just bashing on it without ever having tried it, and just getting basic facts wrong (like how much it costs to produce) just flushed any and all potential credibility you had down the toilet.
"The parts are probably worth 10 -15 bucks" I suggest you get into engineering some mods and devices using a Cyclone IV, mass produce them and then reconsider your opinion, because what you state there is both wrong and hilarious.
Dude, the FPGA alone in the Tink5X is $100. Plus the labor of a skilled engineer and developer, and free feature updates. Worth every penny for a one-device solution for everything.
I clicked on this video thinking it might be an insightful critique of a popular product. Instead I got the expletive laden tirade of a madman. My expectations were, and this is an understatement, exceeded. Bravo, sir. Thank you for entertaining me for 5 minutes of my miserable life. You’ve convinced me to not spend my money frivolously on silly things and to buy groceries instead. Actually, no, fuck that I’m totally ordering the RetroTink 5X as I type this in another browser window.
This guy never has insightful videos. He just likes to shit on the work of other people because he doesn't understand the actual cost of things in terms of time and materials. He also has a severe lack of knowledge regarding FPGA. He seems content with emulation and poor performance. That doesn't mean there isn't value to these products and it doesn't mean the cost isn't justified. He's a hater trying to make money on UA-cam being a hater
I hope this video was satire, guy sounds like an idiot, yet calls people who buy this device "neckbeards" go enjoy your Sega Genesis on shitty composite in 480i on a modern TV, don't come crying to me when you realize it looks like shit and has tons of input lag.
While I don’t agree with what you say, I do have to commend you on the confidence you have uploading such a lazy and low effort video. I thought this was satire but it never got around to being funny or making a point.
Once you get over his overly sensationalist and over-generalized claims, he's making a mostly sound claim: That normal people probably shouldn't be paying this much money just to be able to get older consoles to work well with modern TVs. There are so many other things you can spend that money on where your money will go further, and it should at least be POSSIBLE to have a very good adapter, maybe with fewer features, for a lot less than this. The Retrotink classic is a perfect example. It originally sold for about 90-100 USD, and that is already an extremely versatile and good quality adapter with very broad compatibility with older consoles. Sadly, it's no longer in production, and the Retrotink 2X Pro that replaced it is 140 USD, which is itself rather expensive.
@@syncmonism I disagreed with the video but I do I agree with the point if explained as you just did, but I also there's no need for the video to trash a high end product because there's not an affordable middle ground ( I think the OSSC or the GBS-C are, although the market could use something in the 50-70 range as well) it's as if I was pissed my car can't do 0-60 in 3 seconds and that it doesn't look cool at all and I went out of my way to trash a Ferrari with a very biased and subjective argument without even looking up facts about it. We don't need "Ferraris to go away", we need better middle ground offerings. I think your comment is muuch much better and reasonable than the video itself.
I can't fully justify the price of the Tink, but I will say this thing is a very good CRT simulator for old consoles. It has a LOT of options to tune the scanlines and looks great. It will never 100% compare to a CRT, but it comes very close.
I have a retro tink 2x and a crt. It's not even a close comparison, the retro tink with a brand new HDTV completely blows the crt out of the water. It makes 2d Saturn games look like indie games on the PS4. And I have a 2004 RGB compatible crt.
Calling it a cash grab is bullshit. Mike chi is a solid engineer that puts Alot of free support into his products long after they release. It's a specialty item. You get what you pay for. An what you get is the best all around works out of the box without screwing with it equipment.
I agree, but... It really does suck that all adapters worth buying for upscaling console signals below 480p that are capable of using RGB, component, or SCART signals are ALWAYS very expensive. Even adapters which only support composite or S-video are mostly either utter garbage or rather expensive. I think he's right about the 5x being too expensive for most people, and I think a lot of people trying to justify buying something like this are not making a sound financial decision, so I think the Canadian Gamer is still making a partially sound argument. I don't think this product is a scam, and it's surely worth the price for some people, but I do think it's a shame how expensive any good adapters for these older gen (below 480p) console signals are. The Hyperkin HDMI adapter for Nintendo consoles is the only half decent line doubler I know of which falls somewhere in the middle, but it only uses S-video, making it still fairly mediocre for Gamecube and ESPECIALLY the SNES, because virtually all SNES consoles have an RGB signal, which would be much better to use. The Hyperkin adapter is however QUITE a good option for an unmodified N64, offering very similar image quality to what much more expensive adapters like the Retrotink 2x Pro are able to provide on it, and offering very similar quality to the Retrotink 2x mini (which is out of production, but still cost over twice the price of a Hyperkin adapter when it was still available) with the caveat that some PAL region N64 consoles don't have S-video output and won't work with the Hperkin cable at all. One reason why it's such a good option for the N64 is because the N64's S-video signal is apparently better than the S-video signal used on the SNES, being closer in quality to what you can get with even an RGB modded N64 with a good RGB compatible adapter. RGB modding some models of N64 is relatively inexpensive and not especially difficult, but then you will still need an expensive RGB compatible adapter and/or a Nintendo compatible component or SCART cable along with a good component or SCART to HDMI adapter (such as the Retrotink ones).
I bought the retrotink 2x so i could faithfully scale my retro consoles resolution to a doubled resolution without quality liss or distortion. I bought the 5x to hive me more options. Expensive sure. But a well made product.
@@Roy.Focker touché, in deed it's pricey but paying for good alternative to xrgbmini/framemeister and with every firmware update getting some new features cause creator seems to be very devoted to develop it. And haven't found any cheaper substitute (we've got ossc and gbs-c but they are still got some drawbacks. Buying and utilizing both would cost you almost new tink5x😊).
I’ve got 14 retro consoles and a laserdisc player and vcr. $300 to make all of that look good on the same TV that I have my ps4 hooked up to is pretty sweet. The cost of modifying all of them for hdmi video output would be insanely higher. If you only have 1 console, no it’s probably not worth it. I don’t think that’s who is buying this though
@@Canadian_Gamer We should all try to spend less money on frivolous things. Women tend to spend way too much money on clothes and makeup, among other things, and if they don't waste a lot of money on those things, there's probably other things that they waste money on. There's nothing particularly unique about the 5X, except that it's made in relatively small quantities, which massively increases the per unit production costs, which contributes to making the price seem really absurd when compared to more mainstream consumer electronics.
He may have blown things out of proportion, and failed to appreciate that this device may well be worth every penny for some customers, but I have to agree with him for the most part, in that this is way too expensive for most normal people who make normal amounts of money. It really should be possible to get at least most of the features that this device has in a much less expensive product, especially considering that there are a ton of old video game consoles out there that a lot of people would probably like to be able to play on their modern TVs without any significant lag or significant image quality issues. The vast majority of HDMI adapters (for console signals below 480p) are either very expensive, or utter garbage. The Nintendo Hyperkin adapter is the only one I know of which actually seems to succeed at falling in that happy middle ground which strikes a good balance of cost and value, but I'd say it's probably only really worthwhile if you want an adapter for an unmodified N64. For a Snes or a Gamecube, there are probably better options out there, but a Hyperkin cable isn't terrible for them either.
To be fair, my Sony Bravia LCD TV in game mode works well with component PS2. No real input lag. But anything lower gen then that is definitely asking for trouble. Looking to get a 5x pro this year to pair with it.
FPGA bitstream development for video processing is hard and takes serious skills that have to be paid for. Yes, I know that, as in professionally know that. Pro-scalers for studio use are in the many thousands range - this is cheap as. Easy to use and relatively affordable low latency is important for people like speed runners and also people who try to update cabinets to modern displays for use in commercial arcade spaces - CRTs are failing and becoming expensive, and a pro LCD or OLED + scaler is becoming a good alternative. This is low volume product, and if you don't want it, just don't buy it ? To be clear I don't have one, because I have other alternatives that work if you have the skills - I am a streaming media infra architect by trade, but my total home rig for video processing is worth more than this and is an absolute maze of cables and units.
I’m not sure if the creator of this video is being antagonistic to generate more viewers, naive about the retro gaming scene, or both. The RetroTink 5x is for a small group of people (thousands, not millions) the economics, are not an apples-to-apples comparison to something like a Playstation, even if they are both gaming devices. When RetoTink (if that’s the name of the company) approaches a third party for parts, manufacturing, and shipping they don’t have the leverage, buying power, or demand a large company has and will not get the same rates, it’s ignorant to assume the parts total $15. If I had to take a wild guess, the cost per unit is $130 - $180. This is for everything including the taxes and fees the creator incurred. If someone is not familiar with manufacturing it can be surprising how much unforeseen cost is involved when creating. Even if the creator makes a profit there are also business expenses such as income tax. The point made about the cost of shipping probably has to do with the mess around international business costs. This is unfortunate but a reality when running a business that offers a product internationally, larger companies can paper over this issue by establishing entities in every major country. The creator of the video also fails to realize the considerable amount of work that goes into creating a product like the RetroTink. Someone with that skill level is probably making less when compared to their day job. Not to mention the risk they took when fronting the cash for the manufacturing. There has to be a payoff otherwise the item wouldn’t exist. It’s a silly argument to state this device solves first-world problems when any gaming problem is a first-world problem.
I interpret it in a positive way. He's trying to encourage people to spend their money more wisely. Do I think the 5X is crap and that nobody should buy it? Absolutely not. However, it is VERY, very expensive, and probably not worth buying for most people, and it does annoy me just how expensive these hdmi adapters for old systems are. Aside from some cheap Wii adapters, which are actually decent (but not great), the cheap adapters I've seen that would actually work for systems from generations before the Wii are all complete and utter garbage, and the good ones are almost always very expensive. I think a lot of people could justify spending 80 USD or around 100 CAD, maybe a bit more than that, but 300 dollars or more? That seems a bit crazy even to a lot of retro game enthusiasts. For adapters that upscale from below 480p for older game consoles, the only retro console hdmi adapter I know of which isn't either garbage or very expensive is the Hyperkin HDMI adapter for Nintendo systems, and it's still not that cheap, and definitely a very sub-optimal solution for a SNES or a Gamecube. However, for use with an unmodified N64, the Hyperkin really isn't far off of a Retrotink 2X in terms of the picture quality, and the latency seems fine as well, though I have yet to find any source which has measured exactly what the latency is, and I suspect it's still higher than with any Retrotink product.
The important part that you left out, is the parts isnt the entirety of the cost. You even read the spec that it has an FPGA.. which means someone had to program the thing to DO all of that. You think they want to put all that programming in to clean up and correct those images for free? Granted, $300 maybe *too* much, but saying it should cost $30-$50 is just downright disrespectful to whoever put in the time and effort to program it and make it work like it should. Only idiots look at the value of an item based strictly on the cost of the parts. "im not going to read it" why, because your right and everyone else is wrong? or because you know your video wont hold up to scrutiny. That comment made you sound like Fox News.
If you thought guys like PIxelFX and Citrus3000 is salty about Mike just wait until Marcs releases his OSSC Pro they'll be crying it's a retro monopoly take over. lol
This is also a niche product. This is not getting mass produced by large corporations like Sony or Microsoft. The cost of components are always higher when lower quantities are purchased. The case alone is injected molded. Do you guys know how much it costs to make a mold for that? I’m sorry but the people complaining over the price need to get educated.
I'm sure it's worth it for many people, but for most people, I'd say that's just too expensive. Even a Retrotink 2X Pro, which is currently 140 USD, is probably a much better value, as that's already going to do an amazing job of giving you good quality, low latency signal conversion for a very wide range of older consoles that use below 480p signals. Of course, even the 2X Pro is probably still too expensive for most people, especially when you factor in shipping and taxes.
lol this guy has no clue how much FPGA chips costs... even OSSC, which its open source and you can get a DIY build to save costs, is still very expensive...
I'm very happy with mine, the OSSC couldn't do deinterlacing and required an addon for composite or S-video, which made it useless for unmodded PS2 and N64. in addition the dev is very responsive to feedback and is able to crank out bugfixes and new features much faster than other solutions I've tried. if it doesn't make sense for your use case that's fine, but there's nothing else that really fills its niche.
@@MizoxNG it is still deinterlacing even if you explain how it does it :) there are different - better or worse - algorithms and bob is one of them. I actually like shimmering, reminds me of the old arcade games on those great crts.....
You can't compare the price of the tink with an Xbox series x. Microsoft and Sony and Nintendo lose money on the cost of the consoles to bring you into their software market where they sell you digital information most of the time in a non tangible form for the same price as the tangible option. The tink is a small boutique manufacturer that absolutely needs to make a profit from this item alone. I bought one for use with my video synthesizers for capturing purposes and it has served me well. Also don't use the Lords name in vain.
That's not taking the lords name in vain. Going on a killing spree on the pretence that "god told me to do it" is taking the lord's name in vain. Fundamentally different.
This has nothing to do with the Mister. That's a hardware emulator when this is making your REAL systems look good on modern TVs! What this device does flies over your head so high it's unreal. Yes, I would rather buy this over the Xbox Series X or almost any modern game at full price, I don't need to skip many of those to buy this and make my all-time favorite console (PS2) to look amazing on modern TV and make great-looking captures. That alone is worth it to me. On top of that, I can do the same with ALL of my classic consoles. You are paying for engineering here, not necessarily just the parts, which are way more expensive than "10-15 bucks".
It really sounds like you just don't have the money to spend on these kinds of toys. My uncle who is a millionaire collects classic cars. He spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on having them restored then doesn't even drive them except to car shows. I don't have anywhere close to the amount of money he has but those cars in mint condition are valuable to him. I'm sure you would probably say something like "what a waste of money on a car with terrible emissions and fuel economy, bad brakes and horrible handling, no blue tooth, loud and smelly". Those things are also true, no denying but that isn't ALL it is and neither is the retrotink. I'm sure it crossed your mind that 300 dollars on a tink isn't very much money to a lot of people but just because you can't afford one doesn't mean it's not worth the price. Using original hardware is very important to a lot of us just like those old smelly cars to my uncle. Emulation is a different thing altogether and everyone who has ever purchased a tink is aware of them and still decided to buy a tink. Maybe there's more to it than what you think.
The research and development on this definitely justifies some of the value, we also have to remember that we are still in a chip and semiconductor shortage, not to mention rising prices and inflation. Mike Chi himself stated the chip shortage is the cause of the price, he wanted to price it lower. We also have to consider business overhead expenses. I know getting a product like this to run old consoles on modern displays seems frivolous, but it goes a long way in video game preservation. This is also clearly an enthusiast's device, video upscaling old consoles is a hobby, so it will be more expensive. It's like those enthusiast motherboards for high-end pcs, the ones made for overclocking. You do not need them to make a good computer, but there is a market for them and there are people willing to pay. If people want to buy this, and it is done by their own choice willingly, then let's not throw any shade on them. We all have a right to spend our hard earned money the way we want to. At least it's not on anything harmful like drugs or gambling.
Good points, but I would say that I kind-of mostly agree with the Canadian gamer in that the 5X is incredibly expensive for what it is, and that most people probably shouldn't buy it, because there are probably much better things to spend your money on. It should at least be possible for something very similar to be made for a MUCH lower price. Even the Retrotink 2X classic was a lot cheaper, and arguably still does all of the most important things that most people would want from a 5X, though with fewer options. The bottom line is that a Retrotink 2X is already going to give you very good image quality with virtually no added latency, from a wide range of consoles. Most of what the 5X does better isn't going to matter much, if at all, for the vast majority of users.
@@Canadian_Gamer yeah your the type to bitch about people liking the Retrotink Yet you spend money on something that's free. Paying for a woman's time seems your speed. Your type can only get it by paying for it
You are not paying for the cost of the components, you are paying for the Engineering knowledge that’s put into those components. Not to mention the amazing support it has and all the free upgrades and improvements we constantly get.
That's something that is easily glossed over too. The amount of firmware updates post launch, has completely changed this piece of hardware into something much better than it was at launch. Hell, we even had (still can have if you use lower firmware) 4k support, albeit not many use cases, mostly only for some low framerate N64 titles like Zelda. Mike Chi also provides support on his discord, goes over the process in there as well, and will clearly explain the price if people are curious and not being a jackass about it.
The real reason I picked it up is because I own more than one retro system also I was tired of having a huge crt on the left and on the right my 32 inch hdtv on my dresser in room. If I had more space I would have kept it I also want to update hdtv to 4K tv
The versatility of this thing is awesome. If you are using this for 1 system it’s probably not worth it. I’m using this for my snes, n64, GameCube, and wii. Soon will be adding by ps2 or ps3. It’s worth it. It makes it look much better. It even makes GoldenEye playable lol. If you are a CRT user, that’s cool you won’t need this, but I don’t have room for a 100lb 30” tv. I wanted to play old games on my modern LG C1 tv without having to do a hdmi mod on all my old systems and it works great. Plus Mike Chi is very responsive to emails and is super helpful if you have any questions. It might not be the best solution for everyone, but it is a great option for me and probably anyone else who has multiple systems that they want upscaled.
Exactly, I use the 5x pro for nearly a dozen retro consoles from the Famicom disk system to the PC Engine and Saturn. Makes these consoles look amazing on my G1. Not a product for people who are debating what food they are going to buy to survive that's for sure.
If you could find a Retrotink 2x Classic for around 100 USD, that would surely still be a better value option for most people no? Sure, it has far fewer features, but it does the main thing very well. Even that is still VERY expensive, especially because shipping is likely to add a lot more to the cost on top of that, IF you can even find one. The Retrotink 2X Pro is available, but it's 140 USD. That's probably also a good option, but damn that is still very, VERY expensive. I would love if someone could make something with the same functionality as the Retrotink 2X Classic and make it available for like, 50 or 60 USD. That would actually be something that most people could justify buying. It would need to be made on a larger scale, and would require more capital investment, but I'm SURE that would be possible with enough investment, and I think it would sell extremely well at around that price.
@@cemsengul16 I've been down this route before and NO it is not cheaper in the long run. I had an old big screen television for years and it eventually lost some color and started acting up. I tried to get it fixed and everyone pretty much said it was cheaper just to find another one than to fix it. I even tried myself but the parts alone cost 700 bucks. So I tried to find another one, no luck. Tried pawn shops, ebay, message boards and I found a few, and in the end it would have cost us close to 400 bucks for the best deal. I realized it was close to 20 years old, the same as mine was. How long before it goes out too?... it's just a matter of time scrambling around trying to find one and the longer time goes on, the more expensive it is to fix those old things. All things considering, the retrotink will still work with all NEW televisions for the probably the next 20 years or so. At that point, TVs are getting cheaper really with new technology. In the long run, it is worth it because you can get a larger scale television, the upscaler works with them and my consoles (PS1 and 2, N64, GC, Saturn, SNES, Genesis). My girlfriend already has a huge sharp TV that's bigger than my old one even, so in the end I was only paying 350 bucks for a much much better and more compatible product.
It is time people wake up and understand really the UA-cam business... It is starting to be really disgusting... Even charities are not immune from the UA-camr virus!
It's everyone's choice what they buy. You didn't even talk about the device or why someone would want it. The biggest problem in you assessment is that if it's 15 dollars worth of tech why isn't anyone selling them for 50 dollars?
The only good adapter I know of for consoles which output lower than 480p resolutions that's around 50 dollars (CAD) is the Hyperkin Nintendo HDMI adapter. However, it's definitely nowhere near as good as even the Retrotink 2X classic overall, as the Hyperkin cable ONLY supports S-video signals, making it only really competitive if being used with an unmodified Gamedube which doesn't support RGB (a lot of PAL region Gamecubes support RGB I believe), or if being used with an unmodded N64 that supports S-video (some PAL region N64s only have composite output, but all N64s do not have RGB support unless you mod them). It's for use with an unmodded N64 that the Hyperkin is best suited for, as that's the system where the Hyperkin is closest in quality to other better options. The Hyperkin could still be a better value than a 2X Classic, as I'm sure a lot of people are going to find it a lot easier to justify a price of around 40-50 CAD with shipping included over the price of a 2X Classic or 2X Pro, which will likely cost you close to if not more than 200 CAD if you include tax and shipping. For Gamecube games, the best but still cost effective way to play games on a modern display is probably going to be to use a Wii which has backwards compatibility (most have this). The Wii actually has cheap HDMI adapters that aren't garbage. They're not amazing, but they're extremely cheap and usually fairly decent. For whatever reason, consoles which can output a 480p signal have MUCH more affordable HDMI adapters which are actually decent (if not great).
For those that want a tl;dr: The Retrotink 5X is bad because it costs $300...that's about it. That's the depth of this guy's argument. No other analysis was provided.
This video is a prime example of someone that has no idea what they are talking about and did 0 research on the subject, and is mad or butthurt because something went wrong in his life and so he has to take it out on something. 300$ is a great price for this device and it is way worth over 30 dollars lol the fpga part of this device is upwards of around $150 on its own... the device is an amazing all in one solution to upscale and tweak all of my retro game consoles to have great results and low latency on a modern television, thats the point of the device. You dont even explain anything in your video u just cry about the price, i respect opinions but u havent even shared one really.
@@irvingz.5261 the ossc in a way, yes. still it lacks usable scanlines and other compatibility and quality of life features (define the value of a crt mask or a composite input! ;) ) the gbs is a cheap junk in itself.
I don't own one, though I'd like one, but won't pay that cost. I wouldn't call it garbage from the UA-cam footage I've seen, but your comments otherwise we're exactly what I needed to hear! X
The components and feature set of the 5X are still beyond all the other scalers from different companies. The only thing which comes close is the OSSC Pro which retails for the same price. If making a device with this feature set should be so cheap, why hasn't any company been able to make a scaler that's anywhere near as good and feature rich for considerably less? If you aren't looking for CRT filters, accurate scaling, HDR support to counteract the darkening of aperture grille emulation and scanlines, the ability to use many different connections, good sync stability, and general flexibility, then use a different product. There's the RetroTink 2X, the GBS-C, and original OSSC; all great scalers with limitations. These are all good products and will be all that many people will want or need, but they can't approach what the 5X (or 4K) can do. I use a CRT because it's cheaper and I love the look of a real CRT, but if I were to go down the scaling route I'd want to get a scaler which would allow my games to be displayed with CRT-like effects. That just isn't possible below the $300 price category. I do agree that the shipping costs seem egregious, though.
I was on my way to the grocery store and I was listening your video and after I finished listening I turned around and went home to order a retrotink instead of buying groceries . The family will just have to eat generic Mac & cheese and hot dogs for next month . I really hope my retrotink works good with my Evercade VS . 😏😆
It's cheaper to simply buy a used CRT monitor to use for retro gaming, then you can game lag-free since CRTs were designed to display analog video signals natively! This is what I plan to do when i get the new MiSTer Pi from Taki Udon! I do think the Retrotink is a high-priced niche product that, depending on your circumstance (i.e. if you happen to experience a lot of lag displaying your older console games on your modern tv) it may be worth it -- I think the value judgement is case-by-case scenario. Even so, you're right it does seem way overpriced for what it does... On retrotink's website, now they have a new $750 product LOL!
The Retrotink 2X Classic, if you can find it for close to its original price of 100 USD, would be a better value alternative for most people I think, though that's obviously still quite expensive. While it has far fewer features, I highly doubt that you'd get a significantly worse experience. The 2X Pro, which is easy to find for 140, is rather expensive, but arguably still a better value than the 5X for most people. I personally have a RAD2X, which I use with an RGB modded N64, which uses a Retrotink chip internally, and offers the same quality of experience that a Retrotink 2X Pro or Classic would give you, so I have a good idea of how good the Retrotink 2X Pro and 2X Classic would be. There could be some consoles where the 5X offers a significantly better experience I suppose, depending on which games you play, and which options make a big difference if you set them up properly, and also depending on the actual TV you're using.
what do you suggest instead? i have an ossc rn but I recently got a plasma that runs at 1080p, idk how the 480p 2x will look on it or even if it will do 960p (i would test it but about to move so cant lol)
He's telling people not to buy it, which is probably good advice for the majority of people looking into getting an HDMI adapter for these sub 480p console signals. However, I think it's probably worth it to some people, and it's probably not a "cash grab" either, as the actual profit margin on these is probably not that high, given that these are being produced in relatively low quantities. It's probably possible to make a very good and versatile HDMI adapter for sub 480p console signals for a small fraction of the price, with enough capital investment and leveraging of economies of scale, so, if you're reading this, and you have the means to do this, or you know someone who could, please get on that!
Downvote because you wasted 5 minutes of my life. Took you until 3:45, 3/4 through the video, to get to your point, then the point is just complaining about the price. In isolation, that means nothing. Its not important to you, but all you did is complain about it. You didnt explain whybits a bad value, you didnt critique anything with comparison to a better alternative. You are also blatantly ignorant of the component costs, let alone assembly and engineering, which shows you did no research to back up your assumptions. I get its a lot of money for a seemingly simple feature, but why are you so upset about it when you dont have any better alternative and you clearly have no idea what accomplishing this actually costs in accurate numbers?
I'm not sure how exactly the price was determined, but I imagine some of it is the time and effort that went into the research and engineering such a product. But as is the case with all technology, I would expect the price to come down over time as those upfront R&D costs are recouped. This product has done the opposite however and gone up which tells me something isn't right. To make matters worse, I have a retroscaler 2X (the chinese knockoff of the retrotink 2X) and it does a better job than my Retrotink 5X pro on my Saturn and Dreamcast and the same job on my PS2 and Xbox for upscaling and smoothing. So I don't know how they can justify the price when chinese knockoffs are doing it better for about 1/6 the cost.
@@Canadian_Gamer you said in your video "you can buy a Sega Saturn for $100" , and as everything you said in the video you are not right or wrong. I wish you the best and I hope that you learn more around the real world and how everything works. Otherwise you will live in a world where a house in Canada should cost you $10K.
It's funny complaining about the price in dollars...i paid much more in the uk and think this scaler is perfection and worth every penny. You sound like you'd be fun at parties too!
I'm playing resident evil 1 at the moment using component cables. It's the best image I've ever seen, would this device improve that? Have you ever played ICO on PS2 which always looks blurred and low res and washed out. Would it improve that? Those are the only reasons I want one! I only play dark survival horror games, Res evil, silent hill, haunting ground, Fatal Frame, Siren...I just want the dark games to look good
My broke ass can't drop $300 on it. If it was $150 I'd say it's worth it for video creation/streaming but I'd never get it otherwise. A free crt from Facebook marketplace is always gonna look better lol.
People spend money on things that they don't need, or which they can't afford, all the time. I'm sure these things are worth it for a lot of people, but I think some people are definitely spending too much money on this stuff.
It actually ends up costing way more than $300 because people need to also buy RGB cables in order to get the best possible picture out of older consoles. The product itself works great but no upscaler can match a good CRT TV so until I can use one that’s how I’m gonna continue playing retro games.
So that's where you're going, huh? Getting people irate on purpose because that yields the most views. Not because you even believe half of what you're saying yourself. You're doing it for the sole purpose of triggering people. Hell, I'd be willing to wager that a "Speed(running) kills: why speedruns are a detriment to retrogaming" video is about to drop on your channel, just so you get them "engaged" negatively. You know what they say about people who live by the sword. I personally don't care much about RT products, but given your recent content, the direction you're heading towards is obvious. And may not yield the results you expected in the long run.
This is the most content-free video I've seen on UA-cam. He admits that the device does what it says it does, and then says it's not worth it because...no reason given. He claims the parts only cost $10: no source, no proof. He says you could buy an Xbox Series X instead: completely different device. He says you could use that money on groceries: irrelevant once again. It's a terrible argument that could literally be leveled against anything. Worthless. Oh, and he knows he has a bad argument, because he ends the video with a pre-prepared "Don't come at me bro" warning. He knows he's going to get negative comments, because his argument is pointless.
I agree it’s not a cheap device and there other options out there for much less that do a quality scale without butchering the signal i.e the Tink 2X or GBS scaler with the open source firmware. The reality is that any scaler with these features is going to cost a lot. The programming to do the scaling with minimal lag whilst providing optimal timings for use on an modern TV is part of the cost for this. I went from a Framemeister to the 5x and it is a good upgrade. Less noise on the image, near instant resolution switching, 1440p and the best scaling/ crt filters out there. It is the best scaler at present. Remember those hyperkin or pound hdmi scalers use a generic chip that interprets 240p as 480i ruins the image and adds loads of lag. I’ll stand by the tink 5x and other similar quality devices, but there are also options that scale the image correctly for less so retro gamers on all budgets can enjoy a proper scaled image. But let’s face most things in retro gaming are not cheap now anyway so I don’t see the price being a big issue, many cheaper ways to play if on a budget. It’s like anything really there are more premium options often with more features if you pay more. For those that are looking to upgrade, the Tink 5x is excellent, whilst there are a few design aspects I’m not a fan of such as the scart socket position, lack of sd card for firmware updates the actual image processing is amazing!
The Hyperkin HDMI adapter, at least the Nintendo one, does NOT interpret the 240p signal as 480 and ruin the image OR add a lot of lag. You are misinformed on that point. The Hyperkin only supports S-video signals, which is definitely not amazing, but that does make it a very good value option for use with an unmodified N64, and it's definitely a lot better than the horrible cheap laggy line doublers you're talking about. Every review I've ever seen of the Hyperkin says that it's surprisingly good for the price (around 40 USD), and I actually have one in addition to a RAD2X which I use with an RGB signal, and I am really surprised how subtle the difference in quality is. I have yet to notice any significant lag either, though I do believe the Hyperkin adapter introduces some lag, whereas a RAD2X or Retrotink will not add any signficant lag at all. The only reason I have both is because a friend of mine RGB modded my N64 and gave me the RAD2X Nintendo adapter as a gift.
@hazavi470 If it seems too expensive to you, then you're probably right. It's really damn expensive! However, I think it's hard to know if it's truly "overpriced" without knowing all of the business costs involved in making it.
This is like shitting on Tesla because "any other car can ALSO get you places". Its a luxury item that does what it advertises better than any other device that advertises the same thing. It sounds like its just not for you. And that's fine. But there's definitely a market for it with people willing to buy it. In fact you mentioned them yourself, the neckbeards! Your retro gaming standards are just lower (which is not at all a bad thing). You know how you can tell it's actually worth 300? It's not a necessary for gaming and people still pay 300 for it. I also think its worth noting that this product was fully researched, developed, and programmed by ONE person. This isn't Samsung or Panasonic, or some other big tech company with millions in R&D money laying around that made it. It's literally just some guy who wanted his old games to look good. 300 is more than fair all things considered, and being a youtuber calling himself Canadian "Gamer" while not realizing this just makes you sound like a philistine.
you really compared this to a mister???? :DDD even an xbox???? why dont you co.pare it to ... an egg?? even bigger difference in price, would proove your point even more!! :DDD
I got me a crt for 50 bucks and called it a day by the time my crt tv dies these will be cheeper and then I will get it for 50 bucks 10 years later. I get it tho but I’m gonna enjoy my retro games on a crt until I can’t get my hands on one from some grandma or from the dump anymore.
Well to sum it up, if your for example wanna record or stream a game having a upscaler / line doubler is a must. Do i wanna pay that much? hell no. I would rather pay like 60 for it. but I'm also seeing a custom-printed chip, and know what goes into coding something like this. Then making it plug-in play for people who lack the understanding of simple things like resolution. I also think your video is a cash grab for ad revenue, your winning about a product you don't have or understand hopping to get views. So I challenge you to make and program a cheaper line doubler and sell it. It must also be able to resolution swap quickly on ps1 and n64 so you dot get loss of input signal in OBS during something like a live stream. I doubt you will read this due to the nature of this video. but find me a better option that is not ossc or cbs-c and I will send you the money instead.
“I’m not willing to pay for it,” is not an intelligent or useful critique. You pay hundreds of dollars for video game consoles that are absolutely non-essential.
Ouch :( Get the 2X Pro, it's "only" 140 USD plus tax and shipping XD. I mean, that's still probably a better value, though still too expensive for most people as well. I'd love to see something with the features and quality of the 2X Pro for around 60 USD or less. Even with maybe 20 USD shipping on top of that (and less than that inside the US), I think a lot more people would be able to actually justify that price. With enough investment and production on a larger scale, I'm certain that kind of price would be feasible, if not an even lower one.
@@syncmonism I’m not buying anything until I know if I don’t like it I get my money back period, also just found a good LCD that makes my ps2 games look nice, it’s not perfect but better than most!
Get your facts straight. It's 349 US dollars with shipping, not Canadian dollars. $349 USD converted into Canadian dollars at an exchange rate of 70 cents per dollar is just about $500 Canadian. Duties and taxes on top of that can be an additional $50 - $100 Canadian for a total of $600 Canadian depending on the courier used, and the tax rates of your province. Why did you keep voting for Liberal Trudeau if you don't like Canadian prices?
He's telling people not to buy it, which is probably good advice for the majority of people looking into getting an HDMI adapter for these sub 480p console signals. I don't fully agree with his argument, as I think it's probably worth it to some people, and it's probably not a cash grab either (the profit margin is probably not actually especially high, because these low production runs really hurt manufacturing costs).
You make a lot of good points but I also think there's a lot you're saying that you don't understand. Maybe if you tested one of these things instead of going on pure speculation the video would be more relevant.
@sthecannabist5170 That's a very good option for an unmodified N64, but it's very expensive for an adapter which doesn't support RGB, component, or SCART, which are going to be the best options on a lot of older consoles. Even many versions of the N64 can be RGB modded relatively easily, and for a relatively low cost, and the Retrotink 2X mini will never give you the option to take advantage of an RGB signal. I think the Hyperkin HDMI adapter is probably a much better option than the Retrotink 2X Mini if we're talking about an unmodified N64. The 2X Mini is also out of production and hard to find now anyway. I have a Hyperkin HDMI adapter (for Nintendo consoles) and have personally compared it to using a RAD2X (Nintendo version) with an RGB signal from an RGB modded N64. The difference in quality is SURPRISINGLY subtle and minor! And, I haven't noticed significant input lag with the Hyperkin either. The N64 is known for having a composite signal and an S-video signal that are closer in quality to using the RGB signal, whereas the S-video signal is sometimes a lot better than composite on other consoles, and RGB or component signals are usually WAY better whenever they're available, such as with the SNES. The only potential issue with a Hyperkin adapter is that it might have worse sound quality or worse durability, but mine doesn't have any sound issues, and I would think a component with no moving parts such as this one is likely to last a long time. That being said, even the Hyperkin adapter isn't cheap, and if you want an adapter for use with multiple consoles, sadly it's probably better to invest in something more expensive, like a 2X Classic, IF you can find one for close to its original price (or less). It really stings that these adapter often cost more than the consoles themselves!
Since the USD is doing well atm its $365.00 USD to buy in australia. That's $573.54 AUD. When it costs almost 3 raspberry pi 400's to own an AV upscaler, I don't shed tears when a chinese bootleg starts making production instead.
Yes it's expensive. There are other alternatives though. OSSC Pro is also a great scaler at half the cost. For folks looking to hook up their original consoles to their hdtv's, for great quality video a quality upscaler is required paired with quality rgb cables. Cheaper alternatives sacrifice quality. Although there's descent one's out there. Some folks go the emulation route or fpga based consoles.
bro, that shid isn't even available for pre-order yet. It got indefinitely shelved in january 2022 thanks to the chip shortages. If the news are anything to go by, the shortage might end Q4 2023, but more likely last well into 2024, maybe even beyond, so who knows when it'll actually be for sale :/
I'd love to see something which offers similar features and quality to the 2X Classic for around 60 USD or less, but no such product exists, as far as I'm aware. The Hyperkin HDMI adapter (I only know about the Nintendo specific one) is the only thing I know of which even comes close, it's around 50 CAD with shipping included last I checked, but it will ONLY work with an S-video signal, making it nowhere near as good as a Retrotink 2X classic in terms of versatility, though I'd say that the Hyperkin is an excellent option for use with unmodified N64s, because S-video is the best signal you can get from an unmodified N64, with the caveat that some PAL region systems only support composite and won't work at all with it. It's also probably still a lot easier for people to justify buying even for use with a SNES or a Gamecube (and even for some versions of the NES). However, I think it's a bit sad that even a 50 dollar product is giving you very sub optimal quality, especially with the SNES.
Reputable youtubers within the community do 30-40 minute deep dives on all the features and benefits of this device and ones like it, but this 5 minute opinion based turd is supposed to change our minds? If you can't afford it, just say so. 😂
It probably costs tem $30 (at most) to make this device. And they sell it for $300 to stupid consumers. It's so sad.
People are extremely gullible especially when it comes to electronics.
Tales. Please make one for $30 and share your results.
Just the Cyclone IV FPGA used in the RetroTINK 5x costs at least $ 150, not even considering the other parts, assembly costs, and the development that goes into programming an FPGA.
This device serves not just to convert an analog video signal to a digital one. It's a video processing toolbox with loads of options.
It can handle just about any signal you throw at it. It can properly reproduce interlaced video, and also has one of the best motion-adaptive deinterlacers I've ever seen.
It offers advanced post-processing filters that realistically reproduce phosphor scanlines, with various types of grille options.
It can do these things all with almost no lag (about 3ms in frame-locked mode), exactly because of the FPGA approach that is used. Doing the same things with an ordinary CPU would inevitably introduce additional latency.
And Mike Chi is continually pushing out new updates to the firmware to this day, with new features and updates, sometimes even backporting features he is developing for his next project.
I've used this device with SNES, PSX and PS2, but also with modern consoles to give games like Undertale and Deltarune a proper 240p look. (It even has a pre-scaler so you can downscale 480i/p and 720p to proper 240p, perfect dor PS1 classics on the PS3, which will output at 480i)
I've also used it to restore Hi8 footage because the handling of S-Video is exceptional and the aforementioned deinterlacer does an excellent job as well.
I get that you don't need this thing, or don't like it for whatever reason, but just bashing on it without ever having tried it, and just getting basic facts wrong (like how much it costs to produce) just flushed any and all potential credibility you had down the toilet.
How do you measure his labor's value on the software side of it? Of designing the PCB?
This device gets regular firmware updates.
Well the GBS-C does prove this.
"The parts are probably worth 10 -15 bucks"
I suggest you get into engineering some mods and devices using a Cyclone IV, mass produce them and then reconsider your opinion, because what you state there is both wrong and hilarious.
these kind of people cannot even format a usb drive, do not push them....
I actually think $300 is a fair price. Mike Chi did a lot of research and development and deserves every penny he makes.
300$ does not justify that. For a couple more hundred bucks you can buy a ps5. 300 is fn rodoculous for a fn scaler
Just wait for the chinese clones for 50 dollars or so.
Scalers have cost alot more than that with less features. I advise people to do their research before opening their mouth lol
unlike the creator of the video, who is completely clueless on all matters of audio video electronics engineering
@@ikeavaughan A PS5 is not a retro console though.
Dude, the FPGA alone in the Tink5X is $100. Plus the labor of a skilled engineer and developer, and free feature updates. Worth every penny for a one-device solution for everything.
$150 actually.
Hell no, worth half
Dude you ratioed the video
@@OnlyEpicEmber He ratioed himself, like the fool he is.
@@grizzlybearking1878
How do u know its costs $150
I clicked on this video thinking it might be an insightful critique of a popular product. Instead I got the expletive laden tirade of a madman. My expectations were, and this is an understatement, exceeded. Bravo, sir. Thank you for entertaining me for 5 minutes of my miserable life. You’ve convinced me to not spend my money frivolously on silly things and to buy groceries instead. Actually, no, fuck that I’m totally ordering the RetroTink 5X as I type this in another browser window.
This guy never has insightful videos. He just likes to shit on the work of other people because he doesn't understand the actual cost of things in terms of time and materials.
He also has a severe lack of knowledge regarding FPGA.
He seems content with emulation and poor performance.
That doesn't mean there isn't value to these products and it doesn't mean the cost isn't justified.
He's a hater trying to make money on UA-cam being a hater
Worth EVERY penny. I love mine.
I hope this video was satire, guy sounds like an idiot, yet calls people who buy this device "neckbeards" go enjoy your Sega Genesis on shitty composite in 480i on a modern TV, don't come crying to me when you realize it looks like shit and has tons of input lag.
Indeed, a man drowning in his own ego
While I don’t agree with what you say, I do have to commend you on the confidence you have uploading such a lazy and low effort video. I thought this was satire but it never got around to being funny or making a point.
Once you get over his overly sensationalist and over-generalized claims, he's making a mostly sound claim: That normal people probably shouldn't be paying this much money just to be able to get older consoles to work well with modern TVs. There are so many other things you can spend that money on where your money will go further, and it should at least be POSSIBLE to have a very good adapter, maybe with fewer features, for a lot less than this. The Retrotink classic is a perfect example. It originally sold for about 90-100 USD, and that is already an extremely versatile and good quality adapter with very broad compatibility with older consoles. Sadly, it's no longer in production, and the Retrotink 2X Pro that replaced it is 140 USD, which is itself rather expensive.
@@syncmonism I disagreed with the video but I do I agree with the point if explained as you just did, but I also there's no need for the video to trash a high end product because there's not an affordable middle ground ( I think the OSSC or the GBS-C are, although the market could use something in the 50-70 range as well) it's as if I was pissed my car can't do 0-60 in 3 seconds and that it doesn't look cool at all and I went out of my way to trash a Ferrari with a very biased and subjective argument without even looking up facts about it. We don't need "Ferraris to go away", we need better middle ground offerings. I think your comment is muuch much better and reasonable than the video itself.
I can't fully justify the price of the Tink, but I will say this thing is a very good CRT simulator for old consoles. It has a LOT of options to tune the scanlines and looks great.
It will never 100% compare to a CRT, but it comes very close.
HDR update lets you crank that brightness now.
I have a retro tink 2x and a crt. It's not even a close comparison, the retro tink with a brand new HDTV completely blows the crt out of the water. It makes 2d Saturn games look like indie games on the PS4. And I have a 2004 RGB compatible crt.
Can't wait for your "review" of the RT4K.
I have an ossc, but I wouldn’t mind a retrotink 5x, not everyone is broke to complain about $300 for a good product.
Calling it a cash grab is bullshit.
Mike chi is a solid engineer that puts Alot of free support into his products long after they release.
It's a specialty item.
You get what you pay for. An what you get is the best all around works out of the box without screwing with it equipment.
I agree, but... It really does suck that all adapters worth buying for upscaling console signals below 480p that are capable of using RGB, component, or SCART signals are ALWAYS very expensive. Even adapters which only support composite or S-video are mostly either utter garbage or rather expensive.
I think he's right about the 5x being too expensive for most people, and I think a lot of people trying to justify buying something like this are not making a sound financial decision, so I think the Canadian Gamer is still making a partially sound argument. I don't think this product is a scam, and it's surely worth the price for some people, but I do think it's a shame how expensive any good adapters for these older gen (below 480p) console signals are.
The Hyperkin HDMI adapter for Nintendo consoles is the only half decent line doubler I know of which falls somewhere in the middle, but it only uses S-video, making it still fairly mediocre for Gamecube and ESPECIALLY the SNES, because virtually all SNES consoles have an RGB signal, which would be much better to use. The Hyperkin adapter is however QUITE a good option for an unmodified N64, offering very similar image quality to what much more expensive adapters like the Retrotink 2x Pro are able to provide on it, and offering very similar quality to the Retrotink 2x mini (which is out of production, but still cost over twice the price of a Hyperkin adapter when it was still available) with the caveat that some PAL region N64 consoles don't have S-video output and won't work with the Hperkin cable at all. One reason why it's such a good option for the N64 is because the N64's S-video signal is apparently better than the S-video signal used on the SNES, being closer in quality to what you can get with even an RGB modded N64 with a good RGB compatible adapter. RGB modding some models of N64 is relatively inexpensive and not especially difficult, but then you will still need an expensive RGB compatible adapter and/or a Nintendo compatible component or SCART cable along with a good component or SCART to HDMI adapter (such as the Retrotink ones).
I bought the retrotink 2x so i could faithfully scale my retro consoles resolution to a doubled resolution without quality liss or distortion. I bought the 5x to hive me more options. Expensive sure. But a well made product.
Way too expensive.
@@Canadian_Gamer stop being poor
@@Roy.Focker touché, in deed it's pricey but paying for good alternative to xrgbmini/framemeister and with every firmware update getting some new features cause creator seems to be very devoted to develop it. And haven't found any cheaper substitute (we've got ossc and gbs-c but they are still got some drawbacks. Buying and utilizing both would cost you almost new tink5x😊).
Canadian gamer starting drama for clicks and attention.
This video convinced me to purchase the Retrotink 5x Pro immediately.
Reverse psychology works!
LoL
I’ve got 14 retro consoles and a laserdisc player and vcr. $300 to make all of that look good on the same TV that I have my ps4 hooked up to is pretty sweet. The cost of modifying all of them for hdmi video output would be insanely higher. If you only have 1 console, no it’s probably not worth it. I don’t think that’s who is buying this though
Great. Now go tell all that (what you just said) to a woman and let me know what she thinks! 😆😭
@@Canadian_Gamer Wow, really? Show someone your whiny-ass youtube channel and tell me what they think! 🤡🤡
@@Canadian_GamerYour retorts are like that of a child's... lmao.
@@Canadian_Gamer We should all try to spend less money on frivolous things. Women tend to spend way too much money on clothes and makeup, among other things, and if they don't waste a lot of money on those things, there's probably other things that they waste money on. There's nothing particularly unique about the 5X, except that it's made in relatively small quantities, which massively increases the per unit production costs, which contributes to making the price seem really absurd when compared to more mainstream consumer electronics.
This is the type of gamer to play his retro consoles on an old lcd with 60ms of lag on composite video.
He doesn’t respect retro games
With Buttfunx cables.
He may have blown things out of proportion, and failed to appreciate that this device may well be worth every penny for some customers, but I have to agree with him for the most part, in that this is way too expensive for most normal people who make normal amounts of money.
It really should be possible to get at least most of the features that this device has in a much less expensive product, especially considering that there are a ton of old video game consoles out there that a lot of people would probably like to be able to play on their modern TVs without any significant lag or significant image quality issues.
The vast majority of HDMI adapters (for console signals below 480p) are either very expensive, or utter garbage. The Nintendo Hyperkin adapter is the only one I know of which actually seems to succeed at falling in that happy middle ground which strikes a good balance of cost and value, but I'd say it's probably only really worthwhile if you want an adapter for an unmodified N64. For a Snes or a Gamecube, there are probably better options out there, but a Hyperkin cable isn't terrible for them either.
To be fair, my Sony Bravia LCD TV in game mode works well with component PS2. No real input lag. But anything lower gen then that is definitely asking for trouble. Looking to get a 5x pro this year to pair with it.
FPGA bitstream development for video processing is hard and takes serious skills that have to be paid for. Yes, I know that, as in professionally know that. Pro-scalers for studio use are in the many thousands range - this is cheap as. Easy to use and relatively affordable low latency is important for people like speed runners and also people who try to update cabinets to modern displays for use in commercial arcade spaces - CRTs are failing and becoming expensive, and a pro LCD or OLED + scaler is becoming a good alternative. This is low volume product, and if you don't want it, just don't buy it ? To be clear I don't have one, because I have other alternatives that work if you have the skills - I am a streaming media infra architect by trade, but my total home rig for video processing is worth more than this and is an absolute maze of cables and units.
You really don't understand how much FPGAs cost alone especially currently do you ?
Go and check up some current pricing and come back to me
Nope lol
I’m not sure if the creator of this video is being antagonistic to generate more viewers, naive about the retro gaming scene, or both.
The RetroTink 5x is for a small group of people (thousands, not millions) the economics, are not an apples-to-apples comparison to something like a Playstation, even if they are both gaming devices.
When RetoTink (if that’s the name of the company) approaches a third party for parts, manufacturing, and shipping they don’t have the leverage, buying power, or demand a large company has and will not get the same rates, it’s ignorant to assume the parts total $15. If I had to take a wild guess, the cost per unit is $130 - $180. This is for everything including the taxes and fees the creator incurred. If someone is not familiar with manufacturing it can be surprising how much unforeseen cost is involved when creating. Even if the creator makes a profit there are also business expenses such as income tax.
The point made about the cost of shipping probably has to do with the mess around international business costs. This is unfortunate but a reality when running a business that offers a product internationally, larger companies can paper over this issue by establishing entities in every major country.
The creator of the video also fails to realize the considerable amount of work that goes into creating a product like the RetroTink. Someone with that skill level is probably making less when compared to their day job. Not to mention the risk they took when fronting the cash for the manufacturing. There has to be a payoff otherwise the item wouldn’t exist.
It’s a silly argument to state this device solves first-world problems when any gaming problem is a first-world problem.
the creator of the video fails in so many ways we can't just list them
Rage clicks.
I interpret it in a positive way. He's trying to encourage people to spend their money more wisely. Do I think the 5X is crap and that nobody should buy it? Absolutely not. However, it is VERY, very expensive, and probably not worth buying for most people, and it does annoy me just how expensive these hdmi adapters for old systems are. Aside from some cheap Wii adapters, which are actually decent (but not great), the cheap adapters I've seen that would actually work for systems from generations before the Wii are all complete and utter garbage, and the good ones are almost always very expensive. I think a lot of people could justify spending 80 USD or around 100 CAD, maybe a bit more than that, but 300 dollars or more? That seems a bit crazy even to a lot of retro game enthusiasts.
For adapters that upscale from below 480p for older game consoles, the only retro console hdmi adapter I know of which isn't either garbage or very expensive is the Hyperkin HDMI adapter for Nintendo systems, and it's still not that cheap, and definitely a very sub-optimal solution for a SNES or a Gamecube. However, for use with an unmodified N64, the Hyperkin really isn't far off of a Retrotink 2X in terms of the picture quality, and the latency seems fine as well, though I have yet to find any source which has measured exactly what the latency is, and I suspect it's still higher than with any Retrotink product.
The important part that you left out, is the parts isnt the entirety of the cost. You even read the spec that it has an FPGA.. which means someone had to program the thing to DO all of that. You think they want to put all that programming in to clean up and correct those images for free? Granted, $300 maybe *too* much, but saying it should cost $30-$50 is just downright disrespectful to whoever put in the time and effort to program it and make it work like it should.
Only idiots look at the value of an item based strictly on the cost of the parts.
"im not going to read it" why, because your right and everyone else is wrong? or because you know your video wont hold up to scrutiny. That comment made you sound like Fox News.
I;m not reading all of that but I'm sure there is a good argument in there some where.
IDK man, I have had the Retrotink since launch and it was definitely worth it imo.
Have you owned anything else other than the Tink? Like the porta
This is a bad video that doesn't make any valid arguments.
If you thought guys like PIxelFX and Citrus3000 is salty about Mike just wait until Marcs releases his OSSC Pro they'll be crying it's a retro monopoly take over. lol
This is also a niche product. This is not getting mass produced by large corporations like Sony or Microsoft. The cost of components are always higher when lower quantities are purchased. The case alone is injected molded. Do you guys know how much it costs to make a mold for that? I’m sorry but the people complaining over the price need to get educated.
I'm sure it's worth it for many people, but for most people, I'd say that's just too expensive. Even a Retrotink 2X Pro, which is currently 140 USD, is probably a much better value, as that's already going to do an amazing job of giving you good quality, low latency signal conversion for a very wide range of older consoles that use below 480p signals. Of course, even the 2X Pro is probably still too expensive for most people, especially when you factor in shipping and taxes.
lol this guy has no clue how much FPGA chips costs... even OSSC, which its open source and you can get a DIY build to save costs, is still very expensive...
I'm very happy with mine, the OSSC couldn't do deinterlacing and required an addon for composite or S-video, which made it useless for unmodded PS2 and N64. in addition the dev is very responsive to feedback and is able to crank out bugfixes and new features much faster than other solutions I've tried. if it doesn't make sense for your use case that's fine, but there's nothing else that really fills its niche.
ossc does bob deiterlacing
@@nattila7713 bob isn't really deinterlacing, it's just filling in the gaps, it also gives me a headache to look at
@@MizoxNG it is still deinterlacing even if you explain how it does it :) there are different - better or worse - algorithms and bob is one of them. I actually like shimmering, reminds me of the old arcade games on those great crts.....
You can't compare the price of the tink with an Xbox series x. Microsoft and Sony and Nintendo lose money on the cost of the consoles to bring you into their software market where they sell you digital information most of the time in a non tangible form for the same price as the tangible option. The tink is a small boutique manufacturer that absolutely needs to make a profit from this item alone. I bought one for use with my video synthesizers for capturing purposes and it has served me well.
Also don't use the Lords name in vain.
That's not taking the lords name in vain. Going on a killing spree on the pretence that "god told me to do it" is taking the lord's name in vain. Fundamentally different.
This has nothing to do with the Mister. That's a hardware emulator when this is making your REAL systems look good on modern TVs! What this device does flies over your head so high it's unreal. Yes, I would rather buy this over the Xbox Series X or almost any modern game at full price, I don't need to skip many of those to buy this and make my all-time favorite console (PS2) to look amazing on modern TV and make great-looking captures. That alone is worth it to me. On top of that, I can do the same with ALL of my classic consoles. You are paying for engineering here, not necessarily just the parts, which are way more expensive than "10-15 bucks".
It really sounds like you just don't have the money to spend on these kinds of toys. My uncle who is a millionaire collects classic cars. He spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on having them restored then doesn't even drive them except to car shows. I don't have anywhere close to the amount of money he has but those cars in mint condition are valuable to him. I'm sure you would probably say something like "what a waste of money on a car with terrible emissions and fuel economy, bad brakes and horrible handling, no blue tooth, loud and smelly". Those things are also true, no denying but that isn't ALL it is and neither is the retrotink. I'm sure it crossed your mind that 300 dollars on a tink isn't very much money to a lot of people but just because you can't afford one doesn't mean it's not worth the price. Using original hardware is very important to a lot of us just like those old smelly cars to my uncle. Emulation is a different thing altogether and everyone who has ever purchased a tink is aware of them and still decided to buy a tink. Maybe there's more to it than what you think.
Oh right, you got me there! lol
@@Canadian_Gamer Yeah I must have. I believe you would change your mind if you were given one to use.
The research and development on this definitely justifies some of the value, we also have to remember that we are still in a chip and semiconductor shortage, not to mention rising prices and inflation.
Mike Chi himself stated the chip shortage is the cause of the price, he wanted to price it lower. We also have to consider business overhead expenses.
I know getting a product like this to run old consoles on modern displays seems frivolous, but it goes a long way in video game preservation. This is also clearly an enthusiast's device, video upscaling old consoles is a hobby, so it will be more expensive.
It's like those enthusiast motherboards for high-end pcs, the ones made for overclocking. You do not need them to make a good computer, but there is a market for them and there are people willing to pay.
If people want to buy this, and it is done by their own choice willingly, then let's not throw any shade on them. We all have a right to spend our hard earned money the way we want to. At least it's not on anything harmful like drugs or gambling.
Good points, but I would say that I kind-of mostly agree with the Canadian gamer in that the 5X is incredibly expensive for what it is, and that most people probably shouldn't buy it, because there are probably much better things to spend your money on. It should at least be possible for something very similar to be made for a MUCH lower price. Even the Retrotink 2X classic was a lot cheaper, and arguably still does all of the most important things that most people would want from a 5X, though with fewer options. The bottom line is that a Retrotink 2X is already going to give you very good image quality with virtually no added latency, from a wide range of consoles. Most of what the 5X does better isn't going to matter much, if at all, for the vast majority of users.
I agree it's crazy , $300 !?!?! It's worth way more than that .
So is a hot prostitute.
@@Canadian_Gamer Lmao 🤣
@@Canadian_Gamer I disagree that's a waste of money . Because after you nut you immediately regret your decision.
@@Canadian_Gamer yeah your the type to bitch about people liking the Retrotink
Yet you spend money on something that's free. Paying for a woman's time seems your speed. Your type can only get it by paying for it
WTF are you talking about?! -_-
I must be doing something wrong if UA-cam's Algorithm thinks is ok show me this spiteful crap on my homepage
That or you are completely obsessed with watching MiSTer FPGA videos on UA-cam and it got recommended.
So what 20 buck device do you recommend?
Porta
Sounds like someone wants one. Gwt a gbs-control instead or an ossc
You are not paying for the cost of the components, you are paying for the Engineering knowledge that’s put into those components. Not to mention the amazing support it has and all the free upgrades and improvements we constantly get.
That's something that is easily glossed over too. The amount of firmware updates post launch, has completely changed this piece of hardware into something much better than it was at launch. Hell, we even had (still can have if you use lower firmware) 4k support, albeit not many use cases, mostly only for some low framerate N64 titles like Zelda.
Mike Chi also provides support on his discord, goes over the process in there as well, and will clearly explain the price if people are curious and not being a jackass about it.
The real reason I picked it up is because I own more than one retro system also I was tired of having a huge crt on the left and on the right my 32 inch hdtv on my dresser in room. If I had more space I would have kept it I also want to update hdtv to 4K tv
How does it work on 4k tv?
I just bought one and can’t wait to use it.
That's what she said!
Still waiting for it?
The versatility of this thing is awesome. If you are using this for 1 system it’s probably not worth it. I’m using this for my snes, n64, GameCube, and wii. Soon will be adding by ps2 or ps3. It’s worth it. It makes it look much better. It even makes GoldenEye playable lol. If you are a CRT user, that’s cool you won’t need this, but I don’t have room for a 100lb 30” tv. I wanted to play old games on my modern LG C1 tv without having to do a hdmi mod on all my old systems and it works great. Plus Mike Chi is very responsive to emails and is super helpful if you have any questions. It might not be the best solution for everyone, but it is a great option for me and probably anyone else who has multiple systems that they want upscaled.
Exactly, I use the 5x pro for nearly a dozen retro consoles from the Famicom disk system to the PC Engine and Saturn. Makes these consoles look amazing on my G1. Not a product for people who are debating what food they are going to buy to survive that's for sure.
If you could find a Retrotink 2x Classic for around 100 USD, that would surely still be a better value option for most people no? Sure, it has far fewer features, but it does the main thing very well. Even that is still VERY expensive, especially because shipping is likely to add a lot more to the cost on top of that, IF you can even find one. The Retrotink 2X Pro is available, but it's 140 USD. That's probably also a good option, but damn that is still very, VERY expensive.
I would love if someone could make something with the same functionality as the Retrotink 2X Classic and make it available for like, 50 or 60 USD. That would actually be something that most people could justify buying. It would need to be made on a larger scale, and would require more capital investment, but I'm SURE that would be possible with enough investment, and I think it would sell extremely well at around that price.
Hahaha😂😂😂😂 i thought i was a cheap bastard. I dont feel so bad for trying to nickle and dime a price down by 20-50$ this guy thinks it should be 30$.
Honestly it is cheaper to buy an old CRT television and get the proper image your analog console is outputting.
Agreed.
@@Canadian_Gamer it's a total fallacy. People also spend hundreds of dollars on old consoles with an internal HDMI digital mod it's insane.
Have fun fixing screen geometry and dealing with failing capacitors
t. An Ikegami owner
@@cemsengul16 See now that itself is insane. An External Scaler makes the most sense, especially when paired with good cables and a good switcher.
@@cemsengul16 I've been down this route before and NO it is not cheaper in the long run. I had an old big screen television for years and it eventually lost some color and started acting up. I tried to get it fixed and everyone pretty much said it was cheaper just to find another one than to fix it. I even tried myself but the parts alone cost 700 bucks. So I tried to find another one, no luck. Tried pawn shops, ebay, message boards and I found a few, and in the end it would have cost us close to 400 bucks for the best deal. I realized it was close to 20 years old, the same as mine was. How long before it goes out too?... it's just a matter of time scrambling around trying to find one and the longer time goes on, the more expensive it is to fix those old things. All things considering, the retrotink will still work with all NEW televisions for the probably the next 20 years or so. At that point, TVs are getting cheaper really with new technology. In the long run, it is worth it because you can get a larger scale television, the upscaler works with them and my consoles (PS1 and 2, N64, GC, Saturn, SNES, Genesis). My girlfriend already has a huge sharp TV that's bigger than my old one even, so in the end I was only paying 350 bucks for a much much better and more compatible product.
Dude is really talkin to us about spending our money on necessities😂😂 why dont you tell us how much you spent on your "youtuber" starter kit..
for all the ranting you did on this its interesting that you dont have a video on the retrotink 4k yet.
It is time people wake up and understand really the UA-cam business... It is starting to be really disgusting... Even charities are not immune from the UA-camr virus!
It's everyone's choice what they buy. You didn't even talk about the device or why someone would want it. The biggest problem in you assessment is that if it's 15 dollars worth of tech why isn't anyone selling them for 50 dollars?
The only good adapter I know of for consoles which output lower than 480p resolutions that's around 50 dollars (CAD) is the Hyperkin Nintendo HDMI adapter. However, it's definitely nowhere near as good as even the Retrotink 2X classic overall, as the Hyperkin cable ONLY supports S-video signals, making it only really competitive if being used with an unmodified Gamedube which doesn't support RGB (a lot of PAL region Gamecubes support RGB I believe), or if being used with an unmodded N64 that supports S-video (some PAL region N64s only have composite output, but all N64s do not have RGB support unless you mod them). It's for use with an unmodded N64 that the Hyperkin is best suited for, as that's the system where the Hyperkin is closest in quality to other better options. The Hyperkin could still be a better value than a 2X Classic, as I'm sure a lot of people are going to find it a lot easier to justify a price of around 40-50 CAD with shipping included over the price of a 2X Classic or 2X Pro, which will likely cost you close to if not more than 200 CAD if you include tax and shipping.
For Gamecube games, the best but still cost effective way to play games on a modern display is probably going to be to use a Wii which has backwards compatibility (most have this). The Wii actually has cheap HDMI adapters that aren't garbage. They're not amazing, but they're extremely cheap and usually fairly decent. For whatever reason, consoles which can output a 480p signal have MUCH more affordable HDMI adapters which are actually decent (if not great).
For those that want a tl;dr:
The Retrotink 5X is bad because it costs $300...that's about it. That's the depth of this guy's argument. No other analysis was provided.
This video is a prime example of someone that has no idea what they are talking about and did 0 research on the subject, and is mad or butthurt because something went wrong in his life and so he has to take it out on something. 300$ is a great price for this device and it is way worth over 30 dollars lol the fpga part of this device is upwards of around $150 on its own... the device is an amazing all in one solution to upscale and tweak all of my retro game consoles to have great results and low latency on a modern television, thats the point of the device. You dont even explain anything in your video u just cry about the price, i respect opinions but u havent even shared one really.
The OSSC and GBS do a good job for way less than $300; but do you know any other facts besides this to support your statement?
the do waaaay less too in way worse image quality ;)
@@nattila7713 General consensus is they are pretty close
@@irvingz.5261 the ossc in a way, yes. still it lacks usable scanlines and other compatibility and quality of life features (define the value of a crt mask or a composite input! ;) )
the gbs is a cheap junk in itself.
I don't think you have any idea what this thing is and what's inside of it. It's probably worth around 300
You just say that it’s not worth it but you don’t even say why besides the price
I don't own one, though I'd like one, but won't pay that cost. I wouldn't call it garbage from the UA-cam footage I've seen, but your comments otherwise we're exactly what I needed to hear! X
Nerd fanboyism.
The components and feature set of the 5X are still beyond all the other scalers from different companies. The only thing which comes close is the OSSC Pro which retails for the same price. If making a device with this feature set should be so cheap, why hasn't any company been able to make a scaler that's anywhere near as good and feature rich for considerably less? If you aren't looking for CRT filters, accurate scaling, HDR support to counteract the darkening of aperture grille emulation and scanlines, the ability to use many different connections, good sync stability, and general flexibility, then use a different product. There's the RetroTink 2X, the GBS-C, and original OSSC; all great scalers with limitations.
These are all good products and will be all that many people will want or need, but they can't approach what the 5X (or 4K) can do. I use a CRT because it's cheaper and I love the look of a real CRT, but if I were to go down the scaling route I'd want to get a scaler which would allow my games to be displayed with CRT-like effects. That just isn't possible below the $300 price category. I do agree that the shipping costs seem egregious, though.
I was on my way to the grocery store and I was listening your video and after I finished listening I turned around and went home to order a retrotink instead of buying groceries . The family will just have to eat generic Mac & cheese and hot dogs for next month . I really hope my retrotink works good with my Evercade VS . 😏😆
I'm gunna hook mine up to my VCR and 4K tv! 🤣
@@Canadian_Gamer you are a mad man ! 😂
So who here has gotten down on that new 4k RetroTINK?
It's cheaper to simply buy a used CRT monitor to use for retro gaming, then you can game lag-free since CRTs were designed to display analog video signals natively! This is what I plan to do when i get the new MiSTer Pi from Taki Udon! I do think the Retrotink is a high-priced niche product that, depending on your circumstance (i.e. if you happen to experience a lot of lag displaying your older console games on your modern tv) it may be worth it -- I think the value judgement is case-by-case scenario. Even so, you're right it does seem way overpriced for what it does... On retrotink's website, now they have a new $750 product LOL!
This aged well 😂
yes so what is your fantastically cheap alternative? You must have some ideas since you made this video?
The Retrotink 2X Classic, if you can find it for close to its original price of 100 USD, would be a better value alternative for most people I think, though that's obviously still quite expensive. While it has far fewer features, I highly doubt that you'd get a significantly worse experience. The 2X Pro, which is easy to find for 140, is rather expensive, but arguably still a better value than the 5X for most people.
I personally have a RAD2X, which I use with an RGB modded N64, which uses a Retrotink chip internally, and offers the same quality of experience that a Retrotink 2X Pro or Classic would give you, so I have a good idea of how good the Retrotink 2X Pro and 2X Classic would be. There could be some consoles where the 5X offers a significantly better experience I suppose, depending on which games you play, and which options make a big difference if you set them up properly, and also depending on the actual TV you're using.
what do you suggest instead? i have an ossc rn but I recently got a plasma that runs at 1080p, idk how the 480p 2x will look on it or even if it will do 960p (i would test it but about to move so cant lol)
Wouldn't a lot of plasma TVs be old enough to actually work well with a lot of older consoles without needing a line doubler?
He's telling people not to buy it, which is probably good advice for the majority of people looking into getting an HDMI adapter for these sub 480p console signals.
However, I think it's probably worth it to some people, and it's probably not a "cash grab" either, as the actual profit margin on these is probably not that high, given that these are being produced in relatively low quantities.
It's probably possible to make a very good and versatile HDMI adapter for sub 480p console signals for a small fraction of the price, with enough capital investment and leveraging of economies of scale, so, if you're reading this, and you have the means to do this, or you know someone who could, please get on that!
its amazing a bit expensive but I think its worth it for older stuff. I use mine for the Neo Geo and it looks great.
Too expensive
Downvote because you wasted 5 minutes of my life. Took you until 3:45, 3/4 through the video, to get to your point, then the point is just complaining about the price. In isolation, that means nothing. Its not important to you, but all you did is complain about it. You didnt explain whybits a bad value, you didnt critique anything with comparison to a better alternative. You are also blatantly ignorant of the component costs, let alone assembly and engineering, which shows you did no research to back up your assumptions. I get its a lot of money for a seemingly simple feature, but why are you so upset about it when you dont have any better alternative and you clearly have no idea what accomplishing this actually costs in accurate numbers?
"Don't bother coming around to this channel"
Hey buddy, you got your wish. Congrats
So why make a whole video on it? Go buy a $5 Amazon adapter and go be happy? You have some emotional issues regarding a video game product.
I'm not sure how exactly the price was determined, but I imagine some of it is the time and effort that went into the research and engineering such a product. But as is the case with all technology, I would expect the price to come down over time as those upfront R&D costs are recouped. This product has done the opposite however and gone up which tells me something isn't right. To make matters worse, I have a retroscaler 2X (the chinese knockoff of the retrotink 2X) and it does a better job than my Retrotink 5X pro on my Saturn and Dreamcast and the same job on my PS2 and Xbox for upscaling and smoothing. So I don't know how they can justify the price when chinese knockoffs are doing it better for about 1/6 the cost.
Where I could by a Sega Saturn for $100 en Canada? I live in Regina, SK.
So the answer is to illegally download games that you don't own and play them that way? I see. 😆
@@Canadian_Gamer you said in your video "you can buy a Sega Saturn for $100" , and as everything you said in the video you are not right or wrong. I wish you the best and I hope that you learn more around the real world and how everything works. Otherwise you will live in a world where a house in Canada should cost you $10K.
It's funny complaining about the price in dollars...i paid much more in the uk and think this scaler is perfection and worth every penny. You sound like you'd be fun at parties too!
I'm playing resident evil 1 at the moment using component cables. It's the best image I've ever seen, would this device improve that? Have you ever played ICO on PS2 which always looks blurred and low res and washed out. Would it improve that? Those are the only reasons I want one! I only play dark survival horror games, Res evil, silent hill, haunting ground, Fatal Frame, Siren...I just want the dark games to look good
My broke ass can't drop $300 on it.
If it was $150 I'd say it's worth it for video creation/streaming but I'd never get it otherwise. A free crt from Facebook marketplace is always gonna look better lol.
It's $325 US. Closer to $600 Canadian with shipping and duty. I will do without it.
this is like listening to someone who writes poor amateur fanfiction critique the code of the space shuttle.
It’s worth what people are willing to pay for it. That’s how markets work
People spend money on things that they don't need, or which they can't afford, all the time. I'm sure these things are worth it for a lot of people, but I think some people are definitely spending too much money on this stuff.
RT4K is $750 and is sold out again.
RetroTINK charges WAY to much for any of there stuff. The new model costs $750 + Shipping + Tax = ....
The Joker strikes again.
Huh?
It actually ends up costing way more than $300 because people need to also buy RGB cables in order to get the best possible picture out of older consoles. The product itself works great but no upscaler can match a good CRT TV so until I can use one that’s how I’m gonna continue playing retro games.
I wanna hook my VCR up to a Retrotink and then connect it to my 4k tv! 😆👍
@@Aberusugi 😂
I guess those scart cables for crt are not required :) lucky you!!!!
@@Canadian_Gamer crt tvs look like shit
cant tell if this is a joke lol
whether or not this is worth the money, you should at least know what it is before complaining about it
So that's where you're going, huh? Getting people irate on purpose because that yields the most views. Not because you even believe half of what you're saying yourself. You're doing it for the sole purpose of triggering people. Hell, I'd be willing to wager that a "Speed(running) kills: why speedruns are a detriment to retrogaming" video is about to drop on your channel, just so you get them "engaged" negatively.
You know what they say about people who live by the sword. I personally don't care much about RT products, but given your recent content, the direction you're heading towards is obvious. And may not yield the results you expected in the long run.
This is the most content-free video I've seen on UA-cam. He admits that the device does what it says it does, and then says it's not worth it because...no reason given.
He claims the parts only cost $10: no source, no proof.
He says you could buy an Xbox Series X instead: completely different device.
He says you could use that money on groceries: irrelevant once again.
It's a terrible argument that could literally be leveled against anything. Worthless. Oh, and he knows he has a bad argument, because he ends the video with a pre-prepared "Don't come at me bro" warning. He knows he's going to get negative comments, because his argument is pointless.
I think its just a rage bait video. Say stupid stuff just to pissoff or confuse people = comments
I agree it’s not a cheap device and there other options out there for much less that do a quality scale without butchering the signal i.e the Tink 2X or GBS scaler with the open source firmware. The reality is that any scaler with these features is going to cost a lot. The programming to do the scaling with minimal lag whilst providing optimal timings for use on an modern TV is part of the cost for this. I went from a Framemeister to the 5x and it is a good upgrade. Less noise on the image, near instant resolution switching, 1440p and the best scaling/ crt filters out there. It is the best scaler at present.
Remember those hyperkin or pound hdmi scalers use a generic chip that interprets 240p as 480i ruins the image and adds loads of lag.
I’ll stand by the tink 5x and other similar quality devices, but there are also options that scale the image correctly for less so retro gamers on all budgets can enjoy a proper scaled image. But let’s face most things in retro gaming are not cheap now anyway so I don’t see the price being a big issue, many cheaper ways to play if on a budget. It’s like anything really there are more premium options often with more features if you pay more.
For those that are looking to upgrade, the Tink 5x is excellent, whilst there are a few design aspects I’m not a fan of such as the scart socket position, lack of sd card for firmware updates the actual image processing is amazing!
It's overpriced as fuck
The Hyperkin HDMI adapter, at least the Nintendo one, does NOT interpret the 240p signal as 480 and ruin the image OR add a lot of lag. You are misinformed on that point.
The Hyperkin only supports S-video signals, which is definitely not amazing, but that does make it a very good value option for use with an unmodified N64, and it's definitely a lot better than the horrible cheap laggy line doublers you're talking about.
Every review I've ever seen of the Hyperkin says that it's surprisingly good for the price (around 40 USD), and I actually have one in addition to a RAD2X which I use with an RGB signal, and I am really surprised how subtle the difference in quality is. I have yet to notice any significant lag either, though I do believe the Hyperkin adapter introduces some lag, whereas a RAD2X or Retrotink will not add any signficant lag at all. The only reason I have both is because a friend of mine RGB modded my N64 and gave me the RAD2X Nintendo adapter as a gift.
@hazavi470 If it seems too expensive to you, then you're probably right. It's really damn expensive!
However, I think it's hard to know if it's truly "overpriced" without knowing all of the business costs involved in making it.
This is like shitting on Tesla because "any other car can ALSO get you places". Its a luxury item that does what it advertises better than any other device that advertises the same thing. It sounds like its just not for you. And that's fine. But there's definitely a market for it with people willing to buy it. In fact you mentioned them yourself, the neckbeards! Your retro gaming standards are just lower (which is not at all a bad thing). You know how you can tell it's actually worth 300? It's not a necessary for gaming and people still pay 300 for it. I also think its worth noting that this product was fully researched, developed, and programmed by ONE person. This isn't Samsung or Panasonic, or some other big tech company with millions in R&D money laying around that made it. It's literally just some guy who wanted his old games to look good. 300 is more than fair all things considered, and being a youtuber calling himself Canadian "Gamer" while not realizing this just makes you sound like a philistine.
Tesla is the worst! 🤮
you really compared this to a mister???? :DDD even an xbox???? why dont you co.pare it to ... an egg?? even bigger difference in price, would proove your point even more!! :DDD
I got me a crt for 50 bucks and called it a day by the time my crt tv dies these will be cheeper and then I will get it for 50 bucks 10 years later. I get it tho but I’m gonna enjoy my retro games on a crt until I can’t get my hands on one from some grandma or from the dump anymore.
Well to sum it up, if your for example wanna record or stream a game having a upscaler / line doubler is a must. Do i wanna pay that much? hell no. I would rather pay like 60 for it. but I'm also seeing a custom-printed chip, and know what goes into coding something like this. Then making it plug-in play for people who lack the understanding of simple things like resolution. I also think your video is a cash grab for ad revenue, your winning about a product you don't have or understand hopping to get views. So I challenge you to make and program a cheaper line doubler and sell it. It must also be able to resolution swap quickly on ps1 and n64 so you dot get loss of input signal in OBS during something like a live stream. I doubt you will read this due to the nature of this video. but find me a better option that is not ossc or cbs-c and I will send you the money instead.
I'm not reading all of that
@@Canadian_Gamer We can tell.
“I’m not willing to pay for it,” is not an intelligent or useful critique. You pay hundreds of dollars for video game consoles that are absolutely non-essential.
I'm getting one, can't wait.
I bought one and it’s the dogz bollox ie the best thing for scaling the video signal on retro gaming consoles
300€ maybe in USA and Canada, the cheapest offers for Retrotink 5x pro in Europe are 600€.
O_O
Like the Mister?!
I expect a take on why not to buy this, no instead I get some crazy guy drowning in his own ego.
Now the price is $370
rip off
Ouch :(
Get the 2X Pro, it's "only" 140 USD plus tax and shipping XD. I mean, that's still probably a better value, though still too expensive for most people as well. I'd love to see something with the features and quality of the 2X Pro for around 60 USD or less. Even with maybe 20 USD shipping on top of that (and less than that inside the US), I think a lot more people would be able to actually justify that price. With enough investment and production on a larger scale, I'm certain that kind of price would be feasible, if not an even lower one.
@@syncmonism I’m not buying anything until I know if I don’t like it I get my money back period, also just found a good LCD that makes my ps2 games look nice, it’s not perfect but better than most!
Get your facts straight. It's 349 US dollars with shipping, not Canadian dollars. $349 USD converted into Canadian dollars at an exchange rate of 70 cents per dollar is just about $500 Canadian. Duties and taxes on top of that can be an additional $50 - $100 Canadian for a total of $600 Canadian depending on the courier used, and the tax rates of your province. Why did you keep voting for Liberal Trudeau if you don't like Canadian prices?
Hey genius when you learn to program and write the code that makes this work then talk about the cost of the parts.
Yeah, this dude is ridiculously unhappy. Not with the product or everything else he 'reviews' but his life in general
Totally fair price!!! This device is way worth it!! Jesus if you dont want it dont buy it!!!
Oh yeah, killer deal!! 😂
He's telling people not to buy it, which is probably good advice for the majority of people looking into getting an HDMI adapter for these sub 480p console signals.
I don't fully agree with his argument, as I think it's probably worth it to some people, and it's probably not a cash grab either (the profit margin is probably not actually especially high, because these low production runs really hurt manufacturing costs).
You make a lot of good points but I also think there's a lot you're saying that you don't understand. Maybe if you tested one of these things instead of going on pure speculation the video would be more relevant.
I just received my Retrotink 5x and it sucks for N64, literally did nothing except add scanlines
Use the retrotink 2x mini and mclassic 👍 for n64
@sthecannabist5170 That's a very good option for an unmodified N64, but it's very expensive for an adapter which doesn't support RGB, component, or SCART, which are going to be the best options on a lot of older consoles. Even many versions of the N64 can be RGB modded relatively easily, and for a relatively low cost, and the Retrotink 2X mini will never give you the option to take advantage of an RGB signal.
I think the Hyperkin HDMI adapter is probably a much better option than the Retrotink 2X Mini if we're talking about an unmodified N64. The 2X Mini is also out of production and hard to find now anyway. I have a Hyperkin HDMI adapter (for Nintendo consoles) and have personally compared it to using a RAD2X (Nintendo version) with an RGB signal from an RGB modded N64. The difference in quality is SURPRISINGLY subtle and minor! And, I haven't noticed significant input lag with the Hyperkin either. The N64 is known for having a composite signal and an S-video signal that are closer in quality to using the RGB signal, whereas the S-video signal is sometimes a lot better than composite on other consoles, and RGB or component signals are usually WAY better whenever they're available, such as with the SNES.
The only potential issue with a Hyperkin adapter is that it might have worse sound quality or worse durability, but mine doesn't have any sound issues, and I would think a component with no moving parts such as this one is likely to last a long time.
That being said, even the Hyperkin adapter isn't cheap, and if you want an adapter for use with multiple consoles, sadly it's probably better to invest in something more expensive, like a 2X Classic, IF you can find one for close to its original price (or less). It really stings that these adapter often cost more than the consoles themselves!
Can't believe it cost almost 300$, this youtubers need to stop it
Since the USD is doing well atm its $365.00 USD to buy in australia.
That's $573.54 AUD.
When it costs almost 3 raspberry pi 400's to own an AV upscaler, I don't shed tears when a chinese bootleg starts making production instead.
It's an elitist tinker toy
Retrotink 4k will be around 1000$ USD i waiting for you video to say stupid stuff
😂😂😂
of course it doesn't have 4k, 5x240 < 4k
Yes it's expensive. There are other alternatives though. OSSC Pro is also a great scaler at half the cost. For folks looking to hook up their original consoles to their hdtv's, for great quality video a quality upscaler is required paired with quality rgb cables. Cheaper alternatives sacrifice quality. Although there's descent one's out there. Some folks go the emulation route or fpga based consoles.
bro, that shid isn't even available for pre-order yet. It got indefinitely shelved in january 2022 thanks to the chip shortages.
If the news are anything to go by, the shortage might end Q4 2023, but more likely last well into 2024, maybe even beyond, so who knows when it'll actually be for sale :/
I'd love to see something which offers similar features and quality to the 2X Classic for around 60 USD or less, but no such product exists, as far as I'm aware.
The Hyperkin HDMI adapter (I only know about the Nintendo specific one) is the only thing I know of which even comes close, it's around 50 CAD with shipping included last I checked, but it will ONLY work with an S-video signal, making it nowhere near as good as a Retrotink 2X classic in terms of versatility, though I'd say that the Hyperkin is an excellent option for use with unmodified N64s, because S-video is the best signal you can get from an unmodified N64, with the caveat that some PAL region systems only support composite and won't work at all with it. It's also probably still a lot easier for people to justify buying even for use with a SNES or a Gamecube (and even for some versions of the NES). However, I think it's a bit sad that even a 50 dollar product is giving you very sub optimal quality, especially with the SNES.
Well, well, well...
Another internet troll who isn't worth associating with...
I don't need it ...but I want it !
Reputable youtubers within the community do 30-40 minute deep dives on all the features and benefits of this device and ones like it, but this 5 minute opinion based turd is supposed to change our minds? If you can't afford it, just say so. 😂