Retro Duo Portable - RDP 2 in 1 Portable System

[Taiyaki]

-What kind of video is being sent to the LCD for SNES games? Is it composite like the FC-16 Go or is it S-video like the Supaboy? or is it actual true RGB?

Actually I don't know that this is the problem, I finally modified my Nomad with the new LCD mod and it uses composite out yet the picture is much clearer than the picture on the Supaboy. Would RGB really make a difference? I find the picture on the Supaboy to be terrible, it looks more like the picture I used to get from RF cables in the early 90's, flickery, blurry texts and poor detail.

EDIT: That indepth reply was a great read by the way.

[MarioMania]

oldskoolfool is just hyping it up for people to buy it..He's not answering anyone's question about it..seems odd in my view

Thanks for answering my question Satoshi

[Old_Skool_Fool]

oldskoolfool is just hyping it up for people to buy it..He's not answering anyone's question about it..seems odd in my view

Thanks for answering my question Satoshi

Ok, well I'm back. Just so you guys know..I'm not "dodging questions", I'm my last post I informed everyone that I was leaving for the CES 2012 to showcase the show and would try to answer questions when time permitted.

Time did not permit.

However, before I continue, please understand, THAT I DON'T OWN ALL THE GAMES in question. I cannot possibly give you answers to questions that I don't have, if I don't own the games and they can't be tested as of now. However, if I get my hands on the games in question I will be able to answer them in an organized fashion.


Now mind you, that this is coming from the makers of the Retro Duo, so the chipset is similar but NOT IDENTICAL.


Is it similar to the Poke FAmi DX = YES it is.

The word on the street is that the technology in the "PokeFamiDX" was Retrobits' and it was engineered for the Japanese market. So the RDP is everything that the DX is plus more.

Well, how much more?? ANSWER = I don't know...because once again, my NES/SNES/GEN Collection is not that of this forum owners'. (Although I wish it was!!


Is the sound good... = FROM WHAT I PLAYED.. IT WAS ON POINT.



The video output is Composite. And it looks like composite would look like in today's market of higher end LCD/Plasma TV's.

Will it look better on a TV resolution that isn't through the roof..well of course it will.


HOWEVER


When I do my review to the direct to TV ...it WILL BE on a huge TV Set. So Once again, that may not be the super duper best way to view it.


ALSO


I have ALSO Tested the RetroGen Adapter on the Unit at the CES show. You will see it in use shortly. And it is it's own contained chip set.


What's up with the NES/Retroport Adapter packaged with the RDP?? = ..... THE ADAPTER PACKAGED WITH THE RDP IS BASICALLY A PIN CONVERTER. The technology able to play NES games is contained within the RDP.



I also just want to point out , that yes.. I obviously would appreciate if you guys preordered it (as that's how I am able to get these reviews to you!), though I am very honest in my reviews.


So when I say it's clean.. the Portable is Currently THE BEST Cloned multi-use portable on the market that has been in the works for over 2 1/2 years.



So what about the additional controllers with the unit?? = They are solid..directly breaks in nicely as I used them at the show, a little light weighted but accurate and responsive and wired obviously. They are of course NOT GOING TO BE OFFICIAL QUALITY, but then again, ...what is??

The LCD display is clean, the unit feels weighted and good..so it does not feel cheap. And the Sound and TV Output is on point.


And last but not least.

WILL IT SUPPORT "RETROZONE's Power Pack"...

The Answer is ....

....
..

I don't know.


Because, this item is a development tool, and like all development tools are designed with original hardware in mind. And during development this thing was not tested with that device. So to answer will it work with it, would be a big fat maybe. As depending on the rom set/firmware/version/etc, there will be no way to tell until you tried it for yourself (for those that own one anyway.)


If there is anything else I can answer, then I will try to do my best based on my resources that I have.


Just so you know guys, that the initial release will be out in Feb. and it WILL be limited and with that in mind, if you can...then preorder now. Because once they are gone, they will be gone for a good while (Not to mention, the discount code won't be valid) and most likely the price will go up from other outlets that will carry it. So yes, I do stress the Preorder for the item now and appreciate all that do.


Stay tuned next week for a heavy review of the Retrogen adapter that will work for both the RDP and the Super Nintendo and associated clones.

[Leo_A]

Another thing people need to keep in mind that hasn't been getting near enough attention in this thread is aspect ratio.

This doesn't appear to have a 4:3 LCD going off the various media available. To me, at least, that's a significant issue here and a deal breaker, if true.

Edit - This picture looks to be 4:3, I'm wondering if the media I had saw (I believe I had watched a YouTube video where it appeared to be a widescreen display) was screwed up a bit, somehow.

http://www.dasreviews.com/wp-content...er-300x200.jpg

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Old_Skool_Fool, I regret if I came across as disrespectful. That was not my intention - I like what you do and want to see more of it. Thank you for answering most of my questions to the best of your ability.

The question remaining you didn't address is the LCD video feed itself. To your eye, how good is it? The FC-16 Go uses composite feed, the Hyperkin Supaboy uses what looks like S-video. Does the RDP output S-video or true RGB or what?

Also I can understand you won't be able to answer about Retrozone's NES Powerpak, but please please try Castlevania III. It's an awesome game you should own anyway, but if all else fails, please try asking a Retrobit representative about Castlevania 3. It does work on the console version of the the Retro Duo and most modern clones accept it, but it's still a concern. Thanks.

[Cryog]

Thank you for answering our questions. Now it is confirmed, the RDP is based on the pokeFAMI DX. The only difference is that the NOAC is in the console.

[Tupin]

So, the adapters that work on the SNES actually have the hardware in them, but the one with the RDP doesn't?

Does the RDP have the video cable plug into the cartridge or the machine itself?

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Thank you for answering our questions. Now it is confirmed, the RDP is based on the pokeFAMI DX. The only difference is that the NOAC is in the console.

I wouldn't go that far. Even if they're similar *captain obvious could've told you that* it doesn't mean there aren't going to be performance or compatibility differences between the two. All that we know for sure at this point (at least based on what oldskoolfool says) is that the Pokefami DX and the RDP aren't exactly the same hardware.

So, the adapters that work on the SNES actually have the hardware in them, but the one with the RDP doesn't?

Does the RDP have the video cable plug into the cartridge or the machine itself?

You know, this is exactly what I said before, if you care to read back. The NES adapter that is going to come with the RDP is a simple pin connector designed specifically for the RDP. Since the NOAC is internal to the RDP, the adapter itself doesn't need to have external composite jacks.

[Taiyaki]

The FC-16 Go uses composite feed, the Hyperkin Supaboy uses what looks like S-video. Does the RDP output S-video or true RGB or what?

I hate to be turning around the bush here but I felt a little ignored last time around. I'm totally with you that the Supaboy picture is terrible but does RGB over Composite make any apparent difference with new LCD displays at 3.5 inch? How could the Supaboy deliver S-video when it looks like an RF unit connection. Are you sure that the problem isn't their board or the screen? Again the Nomad mod uses the Composite out and it looks clean. Is this (what video source) really what we should be investigating is my question.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

I'm totally with you that the Supaboy picture is terrible

Uh, nope. Never once said that. That's also completely untrue. The LCD screen quality of the Supaboy is in fact quite good. All I've ever been saying is that it just simply isn't as good as the maximum quality possible from the original hardware. it seems to be using S-video instead of true RGB.

How could the Supaboy deliver S-video when it looks like an RF unit connection.

Again, what're you talking about? S-video does not equal RF. Look again or maybe have your eyes examined? The Supaboy video output to either the LCD or to an exterior tv via composite doesn't even remotely resemble RF. This isn't even the case with the FC-16 Go, which has a far worse screen quality than the Supaboy.

[Ace]

it seems to be using S-video instead of true RGB.

I'm not too sure about this. I remember reading somewhere(maybe the BenHeck forums) that the SupaBoy uses Composite on the internal LCD. You even mentioned the Composite in the TV out being quite dark. Considering the system's LCD never shuts off, if it were to use Composite, the signal would obviously weaken because it's being output to two different places, and from what I've read and from what you said in your SupaBoy review, it sounds like the LCD uses Composite.

[kedawa]

It seems kind of stupid and wasteful to convert from RGB to composite inside the clone chip, and then back to RGB within the display itself.

[Cryog]

I wouldn't go that far. Even if they're similar *captain obvious could've told you that* it doesn't mean there aren't going to be performance or compatibility differences between the two. All that we know for sure at this point (at least based on what oldskoolfool says) is that the Pokefami DX and the RDP aren't exactly the same hardware.

But he said exactly that ...

Now mind you, that this is coming from the makers of the Retro Duo, so the chipset is similar but NOT IDENTICAL.


Is it similar to the Poke FAmi DX = YES it is.

The word on the street is that the technology in the "PokeFamiDX" was Retrobits' and it was engineered for the Japanese market. So the RDP is everything that the DX is plus more.

Well, how much more?? ANSWER = I don't know...because once again, my NES/SNES/GEN Collection is not that of this forum owners'. (Although I wish it was!!

In other words ... are almost identical. When it hits the market then test the compatibility between them.

[Taiyaki]

Uh, nope. Never once said that. That's also completely untrue. The LCD screen quality of the Supaboy is in fact quite good. All I've ever been saying is that it just simply isn't as good as the maximum quality possible from the original hardware. it seems to be using S-video instead of true RGB.

Again, what're you talking about? S-video does not equal RF. Look again or maybe have your eyes examined? The Supaboy video output to either the LCD or to an exterior tv via composite doesn't even remotely resemble RF. This isn't even the case with the FC-16 Go, which has a far worse screen quality than the Supaboy.

Of course the Supaboy doesn't use RF, ever heard of sarcasm? ...

Composite doesn't equal insane flickering, barely legible texts and blurry textures on a small screen, all of which the Supaboy has (I haven't tried the tv out but I'm talking about the screen of the system itself). I mistook you from someone else since apparently your unit (or your attention to minute details) clearly differs from mine. In all fairness the Supaboy's screen's brightness and contrast are very good but the good ends there, it's an all round terrible screen. I would rather have bad brightness and not have the crawling, flickering and blurry texts but that's just me.

I never played the FC-16 system so I wouldn't know how that compares. Then again this is my first time playing clones, if this is common with clones I'm not going to be hooked for long. I hope this RDP has warmer colors like the Pokefami DX seems to have, because from the video i can't tell and it looks sort of going towards cold temperatures.

Again my point is (for the third time) that composite on a 3.5 inch shouldn't be distinguishable from RGB (unless you take out a magnifying glass). On the Sega Nomad the composite gives out a very sharp and clear image so why can't the Supaboy do the same? You keep talking about composite, s-video or rgb as if somehow this is the sole determining factor for the picture quality (putting video out aside). There's apparently some other reason why the Supaboy doesn't look good. EDIT: doesn't look good "enough" (since you say it's quite good).

[Ace]

It seems kind of stupid and wasteful to convert from RGB to composite inside the clone chip, and then back to RGB within the display itself.

The conversion is done using an external video encoder, usually a Sony CXA1645, but in some cases, might be either a Sony CXA1145 or Samsung KA2198BD. The only clones which convert RGB to Composite inside the clone chip are Geniclones. Super NES clones all use discrete components, not a system-on-a-chip design like NES and Genesis clones.

Still, I can't help but wonder... are there ANY 3.5-inch LCD screens with an RGB input?

[Taiyaki]

The Nomad has RGB, doesn't the DS too?

[Cryog]

2012 new ces releases


CES 2012: Retro duo portable


CES 2012: Supa Boy


The image on the RDP is much sharper than the Supaboy.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Thanks for posting those videos. Doesn't tell us anything, but its nice to see more of what we do already know.

[nickerous]

Here's an different take on the system:

http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/15/r...port-hands-on/

Doesn't paint it in a great light...although the snes portion is what I'm most interested in.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

The point about NES games having visible intermittent scan-lines on an LCD makes me pause. How the hell can you have scanlines on an LCD? What are they even talking about?