Question to those with lots of systems

[crom]

ok so do you guys have them all plugged in and ready to play?

or do you have them out but not plugged in?

I have about 15 systems that Id like to have all set up and ready to play at any time but with all those ac adapters plugged in im wondering how practical it is...

I hate having to bust out the roms and emulators but im thinking this might have to be the route...

[Sonicwolf]

I have 60 systems, most of which are shelved. I usually have them packaged with cords so I can get them and hook them up pretty easily. On average I have 1-3 systems plugged in, ready to go. Right now, only one. I dont use emulators much, I just plug in a different system each time I want to play and away I go.

[crom]

hot damm! thats alot of systems...

i wish they made a computer adapter that had all the controller ports for all the systems i have...

like a usb plug that had saturn and dreamcast and n64 inputs and shit like that...

i know about the single adapters like nes to usb, but still... boo-urns..

[Arasoi]

I have 9 systems. I use "Squid" power strips for the AC adapters, and a voltage regulator (120-100v) for my Japanese systems.

Keeping them easy to access isnt hard with some good shelving, and a good Pelican A/V selector switch keeps them easy to manage without a lot of fumbling with wires.

Just my .02

[Smashed Brother]

At one point, I had about 13 systems hooked up simultaneously. I crammed what few I could fit into my entertainment center and had the rest sprawled all out on the ground! I had 2 Pelican A/V switchers (1 with component inputs) and 2 power-strips. Some of the systems were plugged into the S-Video port on the tv itself, with only the audio cables running through the A/V switchers. It was a pretty elaborate set-up and when somebody wanted to play a game, I was pretty much the only one who could get everything going through a combination of hitting the correct buttons on the A/V switchers and the tv remotes.

Nowadays, I just use emulation for my multi-system gaming purposes. Most emu is just as fast as the system it's emulating and with the ability to save wherever you want (as well as other nifty bells-and-whistles), it's much less of a hassle for me! :)

[Ed Oscuro]

I've said this before but it's worth repeating: Unplug systems you aren't using!

Feel that heat coming off the power brick? That's your power meter's wheel spinnin' around, money outta your pocket, and the globe warming up, even.

What's not plugged in isn't as likely to get damaged in a lightning strike or freak power surge, too. Extension cords and overloaded power strips also may pose a fire risk; at the very least, you're using more current than you need to in order to get power all the way to your console.

Can't really claim you'll be improving the lifetime of the power brick, but it's possible. Be careful unplugging it so you don't damage the cord after repeated yanks, of course!

[Fuyukaze]

I have the majority of my systems ready to be plugged in but keep them unpluged untill I feel like using them. Systems tend to fry faster when plugged in and if I aint playing them, I see no reason to have multiple power strips for something I wont touch any time soon.

[squirrelnut]

Can't really claim you'll be improving the lifetime of the power brick, but it's possible. Be careful unplugging it so you don't damage the cord after repeated yanks, of course!

Easier way is to use a power strip and just flip the switch when your done.

[Diosoth]

I have a Retro Duo, Xbox, Gamecube, and the Holy Trinity of Sega Genesis hooked up. That's 6 power cords just for game systems(not counting a DS adaptor which I keep plugged in). 3 lead in via s-video through a selector box and the Genesis through AV.

My problem is shelf space. I could move the Xbox and Gamecube off to betetr spots if I had wireless controllers, but I don't.

[LifeGame]

Hi, i got about 35-40 different systems, 2 copies of each at least, one with original box and one ready to play without having to open the original box all the time. Im missing Turbo16CD from my collection, boxed or unboxed so if anyone ever wants to sell one for a fair price. Let me know.

[Sonicwolf]

Another reason I dont keep many systems plugged in at once is to protect their power supplies from overheating and the systems from being damaged by power surges.

[Diosoth]

I use one of those really expensive surge protectors for all my high-usage devices.

[aclbandit]

I have all 14 of my systems hooked in at all times. It requires three (good) surge strips, a number of automatic composite/component/s-video switches, two televisions, and a sound system receiver.

It was a BITCH to hook up... but it's incredibly convenient to just grab a game, slap it in, and play without hassling with wires again.

So, in short: automatic video switches are your FRIEND(s).

[namzep]

My living room tv has the three current consoles hooked up continually. My gameroom tv has 3 to 4 systems hooked up at a time (currently xbox, ps2, gamecube, and famicom twin). The other systems are shelved (with controllers and most have their cabling) so that I can do a quick hookup if the mood strikes me.

[HYB]

I have 2-4 systems hooked up at all times, but most of my systems are in one place so it's more like i have 10 systems hooked up since the wires are all over the place.

[Flippy8490]

I have four systems hooked up at the same time usually, my others are all shelved with their cables in a Zip Loc right behind them. It works out pretty good

[izarate]

I have my consoles connected to the TV, ready to play. I use a myriad of system selectors, Y cables, power regulators and power strips.

For example, I have two 4 port RCA S-Video / composite system selector. I hook-up one S-Video console (SNES) along with a composite one (NES) in the same slot. The audio is connected using Y cables. That way, the 4 port selector becomes an 8 port selector ;)

I join the output of those two with an S-Video Y cable and audio Y cables.

For consoles with component output I use a Pelican PL-960 component selector. It has 8 component inputs, which are enough.

The power is fed through three 6 port power regulators. For consoles with power bricks I use power strips to maximize the amount of consoles connected.

[skaar]

This brought up a childhood memory of having the NES, SNES, Genesis, TG-16 and SMS all connected with a chain of RF adapters. IIRC, one of them (The genesis I think) needed to be the last one in the chain or the others wouldn't work...

Nowadays I keep a NES/SNES/Genesis universal adapter hooked up on my desk for easy access to the systems I play the most - and the others are in bins for when I get the urge to play. Systems are also distributed amongst the various TVs in the house so it's not as big a deal.

Big power bar with lots of room for bricks, AV selector and flipping it off when you're done are all previous recommendations I'd endorse.

[abbub]

Hooked up on 46" LCD: PS3, Wii, Xbox 360

Hooked up on 20" LCD: SNES, Genny/32x/MegaCD, Saturn, Dreamcast, PS2, Xbox, Amiga 2000

Shelved: 2600, Intellivision, Colecovision, NES

I do keep the wall warts for the older systems unplugged until I'm actually going to use the unit, though.

[theChad]

I have about 70 systems, but the majority of them are shelved. I've got my NES, N64, Xbox, PS2, Xbox 360, and Wii hooked up to various TVs around the house and then I also have some small TVs and screens on my shelves to play on. Right now I have my SNES hooked up to a 9-10" CRT, my Gamecube hooked up to a portable DVD player, and I have the LCD screen for the PS One which I will use if I'm just looking for a quick PS fix.

As far as ROMs and emulators go, I have a lot of those on my Xbox so if I want to play one of my older systems without the hassle, I'll just use that.

[MachineGex]

I have almost 20 systems hooked up. The only ones not hooked up is my O2 system and a few pong systems. I have the rest hooked up to 4 different TVs. One TV in my living room, 2 TVs in our rec room/pool table room and one TV in my office/retro room. I ran out of display space and had to buy another set of shelves. Once I move my 2600 games, I will have more than enough room to hook up the O2 and my pong systems.

I hate the cluttered look so I have tried to display everything without it looking like it is jammed into it space. Luckily my house is almost 4000 sq ft. and my wife likes games. She is a rare gal, letting my cocktail table ms. pacman(48n1) share our dining room with our dining room table. It actually looks a lot better than it sounds.

[VG_Maniac]

I have 10 systems hooked up, and 2 just setting on the shelf that are not hooked up (my Atari 2600 and Intellivision). All my systems that are hooked up are connected to two pelican system selectors.

[mnbren05]

I've had up to 7 systems hooked up at once into a single tv. (NES, Genesis, SNES, N64, PS1, PS2, Xbox 360) Got to be too much that I never really used, sure I occas. broke out a few games for one system but is having instant playability going to really justify having them all hooked up? Got to be a whole mess of wires too even with my 8 way master av switch it was annoying.

Right now I'm down to PS3, Xbox 360, and Famiclone Retro Duo. I break out the other systems if I'm in the mood only a few quick connections, plus I used to hate how ungodly hot the Genesis would get (power supply) when plugged in for extended periods. I also like using the famiclone because it cuts down on the systems I need to have out. Plus if the thing bites the dust, forget about it I'll go to the Asian store and buy another.

[Sonicwolf]

One problem with my current arrangement of the majority of my systems being packed in shelving is by the time I decide to play the system, find all the accessories, find all the games and hook it all up, I dont want to play it. lol.

[AMG]

I have my consoles ready to go, just plug one in, turn it on and start playing.

[Sonicwolf]

I have my consoles ready to go, just plug one in, turn it on and start playing.

How many do you have?

[RASK1904]

I have 8 ready to go. Theres this thing with buttons thats cool. You put all the av cables in it run it through your vcr and then hook that up to you stereo then buy 4 nice speakers wire those bad boys up. Get a power bar put it off to the side get an entertainment center with some shelfs and cabnites put some holes in the back for wires. The ones that are tricky are Nes, Genesis they got those stoopid cable cables. So I put Nes first then Geneisis. and Atrai 2600. You need that tv/video box(RF modulator?) then you need this little black thing it skrews in then that hooks to tv or the Genesis end or the box thing or the vcr. To get Atari in stereo I go through the box. Then everything going there is in stereo becuae it goes there. The newer systems are easyier. PS1, Dreamcast, Wii, N64, Xbox360. On a side note get the av cables fot the Snes.

[aclbandit]

I have 8 ready to go. Theres this thing with buttons thats cool. You put all the av cables in it run it through your vcr and then hook that up to you stereo then buy 4 nice speakers wire those bad boys up. Get a power bar put it off to the side get an entertainment center with some shelfs and cabnites put some holes in the back for wires. The ones that are tricky are Nes, Genesis they got those stoopid cable cables. So I put Nes first then Geneisis. and Atrai 2600. You need that tv/video box(RF modulator?) then you need this little black thing it skrews in then that hooks to tv or the Genesis end or the box thing or the vcr. To get Atari in stereo I go through the box. Then everything going there is in stereo becuae it goes there. The newer systems are easyier. PS1, Dreamcast, Wii, N64, Xbox360. On a side note get the av cables fot the Snes.

Just making sure you're aware: Genesis has better video cables than the RF Modulator available, even the model 1. You can buy it composite video cables to get a better picture.

Also the NES (unless you have a toploader) can output composite video and RCA mono audio from the side ports for a MUCH clearer picture/sound.

To summarize: RF BAD. Your atari doesn't have a whole lot of choice, as far as I'm aware, but your other two "difficult" (i.e., RF modulated) systems don't have to be so bad.

[notsonic]

i have a 3do, nes, ps2, saturn, turbo duo, 360, jaguar, sfc, neogeo, genesis/cd/32x, xbox, and ld player all hooked up to the same tv on the same entertainment center. and a virtual boy for good measure.

its a 27" tv for perspective, and its really not that big of an entertainment center at all. i use one of those 8 port pelican switches for my composite and svideo consoles, this mad catz 4 port hd switch for component (used to have an hdtv and the pelican couldnt do more than 480p,) and a wall mounted surge protector for easy plugging and unplugging of ac adapters which hang on hooks on the wall behind the entertainment center. i did sort of "combine" genesis and sega cd into one plug with an extension cord though, wouldnt be able to plug it in otherwise.

i just got a 7800 and have no idea where to put it. and my dreamcast isnt really hooked up, its just sittong on top of my sega cd.

ive got another small set up in the basement with a 36" trinitron crt. i love that tv, but my basement is a wreck. thats where the n64 and wii are. i use one of the 4 port pelican switches that gamestop carries. works well.

i used to swap cables for all my consoles. once you get an av switch you never go back.

[Deadman]

I've always said that I wanted to take pics of my game setup(s) but never have. I have about 50 systems, and all are on display and most are hooked up and ready to go. Like a lot of you, it's a multi-room, multi-TV setup.

Xbox 360 and Wii - main family room 61" TV
PS3 - master bedroom 42" plasma
Gamecube - my sons room on his 15" TV
Sega Gen/CD/32x - in gameroom hooked up to a Sega display kiosk w/built-in TV
Vectrex - on display in gameroom

Then the gameroom has 3 TV's, each with a 6-input a/v selector:
Xbox is the default on the main 42" TV, with Dreamcast, CD-i, 3DO, and my old Atari 400 ready to be selected
N64, Jaguar, Colecovision, Playstation on the 30" TV
Atari 2600, 5200, 7800, Intelivsion, NES, SNES on the other 30" TV

All other random systems are displayed with these and just need a quick plug in to be ready to go at any time. Wire management sucks, but you do what you gotta do.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

With the exception of 2 SNES's hiding in a closet, I have all of my systems hooked up, to several TV's.

The Living Room- A 46" LCD HDTV
PS3
Wii
XBOX

Computer Room- 30" CRT HDTV
XBOX
Gamecube
SNES
N64
2600 Jr.
Dreamcast

My TV here has 7 inputs, but I also have a simple video switcher hooked up to the TV. I have a Harmony remote, that keeps straight what's on what input. It would be a pain in the ass without the remote, because this is all run through a Pioneer 6.1 surround system.

Spare Bedroom 27" CRT Analog set

Sega CD 32X
NES
PS2

All of these systems are playable at any time, as they're always hooked up and ready to go. I have all the controllers in a crate inside one closet. Stonic is absolutely right though, this is NOT a green way to behave, as all these power bricks suck power when they're not being used. The only problem, it's partly a laziness thing, is that's it's sort of hard to turn all the systems off when the power strips are hidden down behind the TV stands and component racks. I really need a better way of doing that, because of of my environmentally friendly guilt.

[Letiumtide]

I have 28 consoles.

With 5 plugged in at all times and my DS and PSP at the ready.
360/Wii/PS3/Xbox/PS2 (I actually have a 60gb PS3, but I keep my PS2 hooked up for other reasons)

The rest of them are all shelved away, unfortunately out of sight since well, I don't have the space to display them.

[muchomojo]

Right now I have my NES, SNES, N64, Genesis, and PS1 hooked up. My 2600, Dreamcast, Turbo Grafx, and 3DO aren't hooked up mostly from lack of games.

[tubeway]

Hi, i got about 35-40 different systems, 2 copies of each at least, one with original box and one ready to play without having to open the original box all the time. Im missing Turbo16CD from my collection, boxed or unboxed so if anyone ever wants to sell one for a fair price. Let me know.

Great story, bro.

[RASK1904]

Just making sure you're aware: Genesis has better video cables than the RF Modulator available, even the model 1. You can buy it composite video cables to get a better picture.

Also the NES (unless you have a toploader) can output composite video and RCA mono audio from the side ports for a MUCH clearer picture/sound.

To summarize: RF BAD. Your atari doesn't have a whole lot of choice, as far as I'm aware, but your other two "difficult" (i.e., RF modulated) systems don't have to be so bad.

Jumpin Jesus on a pogo stick batman! Who said it was gonna be a bad day? Thanx for the info. And I tell my girlfriend I know everything and I'm always right!? We'll just not tell her about this one.

[Joe West]

i have six systems & games.....all are show cased, when i need them i take them out....

[otoko]

I'm not going to bother reading other posts so if I make a repeat... meh...

Personally I have a extremely small room and an extremely limited space to even store my systems, aside my basement where most of my systems just recently went. So I make note of what systems I play the most and keep those hooked up on a 24 hours basis. As for other systems I leave a space open for when I get the urge to pull out my Atari or whatever other system may catch my fancy at the time. However, I never keep more than 4 systems hooked up at a time. Usually consists now-a-days of 360, Sega CDX, NES, and Dreamcast.

[tubeway]

I like talking about stuff, making lists and bragging about what I own, so I'm going to ramble on here about it all.

I have six xbox systems networked together. I have them placed on my frontroom floor with couch cushions atop them, and use it as a giant heated sofa. The subtle vibration from them operating in unison is also rather relaxing.

I've managed to braid together all of my RF adaptor cables into a rather fashionable black sweater. When I want to play a game, I simply sit in front of my television, slip on the sweater, and click the switchbox I have mounted on a construction helmet that is sitting atop my head.

I have multiple Nintendo NES systems in a row atop my entertainment center, like some kind of army standing at attention. I claim I have them because they're back ups, but in reality I'm just too much of a pack rat to get rid of them, and too lazy to do so if I wasn't.

As for the power bricks, well, I've managed to remove the casings from all of them, and combined them all into a mega power brick about the size of a honda accord. When I plug it in I can see my neighbor's lights dim in their house for about a second. Sometimes the burning smell hurts my eyes when I'm playing Super Mario Bros.

[otoko]

I like talking about stuff, making lists and bragging about what I own, so I'm going to ramble on here about it all.

Great way to start any conversation!

In retrospect on that. I do tell people what I have, but usually it is followed by.. "I got ____ we can use, so we can ____!"

[IcBlUsCrN]

when i was married with a house I thought this was great , Single and in an apartment its just a cluster F#$%. Cant bring myself to get rid of this stuff just yet so i might need to find a place to hide them maybe narrow it down to 5 or 6 systems max. trying to figure out which ones is tough.

Nothing repels the ladies like a bunch of video games.

13 units ready to play and another 11 almost ready I used to use a radio shack power brick since its 2 pieces i had the adapters on the console and only used 1 power brick for my classic stuff but it became a pain figuring out and adjusting the voltage.Also sometime reversed the polarities. Now they are hooked up themselves.
oh the power brick should never overheat if the system is not turned on so that's not a worry

[acem77]

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?p=1222322
My solution.

The more you man handling the systems the faster it will wear out the cords and other parts.
For system you don't play that often leave them on a power strip.
One switch and your ready to play them and no hot power packs when not in use.

[klausien]

This is THE ZONE.

I like having everything available for play.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v695/klausien/Picture003.jpg

Everything is hooked up and ready to go. I have all my power bricks centralized behind the left side, except for the Colecovision which is on the right. I don't keep them plugged in, but there are 3 surge protectors, a router & 3 S-Video switch boxes. I should probably have a signal amp, but everything looks pretty good.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v695/klausien/Wiring.jpg

Yes, it is a total clusterf*ck, but its also a well organized clusterf*ck.

[The 1 2 P]

At most I had 7 or 8 systems hooked up at once. But today I only keep 4 hooked up to one tv. I have a power squid and a back up battery adapter so that I'll never lose any saved data in my hard drives for the two systems that have them. When I want to hook up any of my other systems I just swap one of my systems out.

While fire hazzards are one of the reasons I initially went from 8 to 4 systems connected at once, I also realized that I'm not really going to be playing on 8 different systems in a one month period. So it just wasn't practical for me to do. My only gripe(and it's a small one) is that I always collect for all my systems at the same time. So I might get an Nes game I've always wanted to play but it might happen during the two months my Snes is hooked up as opposed to my Nes hooked up.

[TurboGenesis]

I have all my console hook up and ready for play :embarrassed:

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa231/Sonic__R/100_4436.jpg
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa231/Sonic__R/100_4437.jpg
http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa231/Sonic__R/100_4438.jpg

These pics are from a few months ago… I also have an old fashioned television with RF only hook up and currently have my NES top loader and my SMS II hooked up to it and I also have a Sony PVM monitor which I have been moving my Saturns to for some RGB game playing…

I will attempt to edit with current pics in a little while…

[otoko]

I have all my console hook up and ready for play :embarrassed:

http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa231/Sonic__R/100_4436.jpg



F*CK ME WITH A BIRCHPARK CANOE! ... Wait... why do you need two ps2's on one tv?

[calistarwind]

I currently have 26 console systems and I like to keep them stored in plastic pull out drawers. The systems are in the drawers and all the wires are neatly organized in smaller plastic pull out drawers. I only play one system at a time, except for the next gen systems which we have 4 of in the entertainment center (PS2, XB360, PS3 and Wii).

[Coleman]

Well lets see...

In my Basement i have:

One TV hooked up with X-Box//PS2/Game Cube/Dreamcast.
One TV hooked up with N64/SNES
One TV hooked up with the Genesis/CD/32X/Saturn
One TV hooked up with TI994A
One TV hooked up with PSX
One TV hooked up with Atari 2600
One TV hooked up with Atari 7800
One TV hooked up with NES Top Loader
One TV hooked up with Colecovision/Intelivision
One PC
One Vextrex
One Virtual boy
Four Linx
Two Game Gears
Two Game Boy Advance
One Nintendo DS
One R-Zone
One Simon
And
One Super Simon
On the Main Floor I have the 360 and another PC

In the Attic I have a PS2 and PSX - I am also in the process of seting up a PC LAN party area for my wifes new foundbeing love of Starcraft... I have 3pc's that are being set up

I also have the following "not hooked up"
2 - Commodore 64's
1-Balley Astrocade
3-Pong Sports
1-Atari 400
1-Atari 800
1-Tandy home Computer
1 Turbo Grafix 16 (Need connection cables if anyone has them)
3-NES Toasters
2-Geny's with one master base converter
2-Atari 5200 (Need "GOOD" controllers and power cables for both!)

Kids (and parents) love coming to my house as they usualy get to stuff there ankle bighters into my basement and not be bothered by them...

Soon my kids will get the same advantage...

It wont be long before i have 4 people playing guitar hero, 4 people playing Duck Hunt and 4 people playing starcraft all at the same time!

[retrogamer96]

I don't plug 'em all in at once, I'm afraid of getting electrocuted if I put in all of the plugs at once on the power strip! :p

[crom]

ok guys how about this...

I want a ten or 15 port switch box, cant find anywhere, and Im not about to pay for a tv studio equipment thingy...

how bad will the quality actually be if I use a rca Y cable over and over and over again to split up all the systems?

[otoko]

It's going to be extremely messy and not work. The TV's I tried that with won't show video after one Y splitter has been applied to the video port.

[SuperNES]

all i have hooked up all the time is my 360, everyhting else is either in box or sitting in random drawers and shelves.

[TheDomesticInstitution]

ok guys how about this...

I want a ten or 15 port switch box, cant find anywhere, and Im not about to pay for a tv studio equipment thingy...

how bad will the quality actually be if I use a rca Y cable over and over and over again to split up all the systems?

Yeah, like otoko said- this will look like crap. You'd be way better off if you were to daisy-chain a few video switchers. You'd have to buy a lot of y-splitters for this anyway, so I'm not sure how cost effective this would be.

[darkslime]

I have an XBOX 360 on my HDTV.
Wii, hooked up to a TV upstairs. My SNES and genesis sit next to it.
A PS2 hooked up to a TV in the garage because I play DDR and if you play it downstairs with the HDTV it has lag, but if you play upstairs it shakes the house.

At my dad's house I have a TV with a slim PS2, gamecube, NES, dreamcast, and N64 hooked up to a power strip and system selector.

The only systems not hooked up are saturn because there's no room on the power strip and PS1 because I just use my PS2.

[boogiecat]

I've got three TV sets in my room,two old CRT TV's are for the older gen consoles and the LCD TV is for the newer gen ones..

[AMG]

How many do you have?

At the moment I only have 9 of my consoles set up.

[makaar]

As with Sonicwolf, I have a good deal shelved with cords next to them for easy pick up and play. I usually only have the 360, PS2, and Wii hooked up in the main room on the HD TV with the PSX and N64 in the den on the low-res TV.

[Insaneclown]

I have 5 systems plug in at once on one TV. OOOOOooohhhhhhhhh yyyeahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!

[alexander4488]

One time, I plugged all my game consoles in at the same time, and turned them all on. It was epic.

That includes the...
Fairchild Channel F
Atari 2600
Atari 5200
Atari 7800
Jaguar
Intellivision
Colecovision
Master System
Genesis
Saturn
Japanese Saturn
Dreamcast
Sega CD
TurboGrafx
NeoGeo
3DO
CDi
FM Towns Marty
Amiga CD32
Famicom
Famicom Disk System
Super Famicom
Nintendo
Super Nintendo
Nintendo 64
Gamecube
Wii
Playstation
Playstation 2
Playstation 3
Xbox
Xbox 360 + HD DVD

Gameboy
Gameboy Color
Gameboy Advance SP
Gameboy Micro
Nintendo DS Lite
Playstation Portable
TurboExpress
Gamegear
Lynx
Gizmondo
GP2X
N-Gage
SwanCrystal
NeoGeo Pocket Color

I think that's about everything.

[Ed Oscuro]

One time, I plugged all my game consoles in at the same time, and turned them all on. It was epic.
This explains why you're sterile now.

[Sonicwolf]

This explains why you're sterile now.

It also explains the burning down of the house, massive power network implosion on his grid and the loss of all his systems. LOL

[boogiecat]

He's just trying to get funny again...

[JunkTheMagicDragon]

ok guys how about this...

I want a ten or 15 port switch box, cant find anywhere, and Im not about to pay for a tv studio equipment thingy...

how bad will the quality actually be if I use a rca Y cable over and over and over again to split up all the systems?


http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showpost.php?p=1362253&postcount=2

if wired properly, a joytech can be an 11->1 switch.

[Rickstilwell1]

I just got a 52" 1080p LCD HDTV last week so I changed my setup. Now I have these set up:

On one shelf next to the TV:

top row:
Atari 2600
Philips CD-i
Atari Jaguar w/ Jaguar CD

2nd row:
Super Nintendo II
Nintendo 64
Dreamcast
Saturn

3rd row:
Turbo Duo
3DO FZ-10
Neo Geo CD

bottom row:
NES II
Sega Master System II
Sega Genesis II w/ Sega CD & 32X

On a wire game system organizer from Game Crazy:

Playstation 3 60GB
Wii

Xbox (hard modded)
GameCube w/ Game Boy Player

Xbox 360 Elite

this whole bunch is able to be used on the big screen. All the AV Cables end up at one spot where I just have to pick the right cord and plug it in. The only RF switches I have are on the NES II, the SMS II and the Atari 2600 and those stay plugged into my VCR.

I have the 2-port Atari 5200 hooked up to an old TV along with the FC Twin, and can always move it or any un-ready system to the floor in front of the big screen TV if I want to use it on there.

Poor Neo Geo AES. It remains in the laptop bag vs. the Neo Geo CD just because it is more expensive to buy the games for the system with better hardware. The only games I have for it so far are three that came with my system. There is still a vacant spot on my TV's stand under where my VCR is, so the AES just might go there if I could find some more games for it for a better deal.

[Sonicwolf]

How do the old systems preform on your new tv? Mine has massive blur issues when connected with composite cables.

[TurboGenesis]

F*CK ME WITH A BIRCHPARK CANOE! ... Wait... why do you need two ps2's on one tv?

:?
I missed this…

I have two PlayStation 2 consoles as one is a USA and the other is a Japanese console.
I also have USA and Japanese:
Xbox 360
Sega Saturn

[swlovinist]

Of about the 140 consoles I own(Some boxed variants and some very obscure stuff), I mainly have my 38 favorites that I have out ready to play of the more playable stuff that I enjoy to play. They are on a series of costco shelves not to mention my new consoles in my game room here is the link

http://s268.photobucket.com/albums/jj28/swlovinist/


The photos are over a year old, and I have it set up differently. Here is the breakdown of what I have set up currently(changed some since the pics)

Old School Station #1

1. Odyssey 2 with voice
2. White Astrocade
3. Intellivision with intellivoice
4. Atari 7800
5. Pong Unit
6. Arcadia 2001

Classic Station #2
7. Colecovision
8. Modded Telegames 2600
9. Atari Flashback 2
10. Turbografx 16 CD with system card 3.0
11. Atari 5200
12. Atari XEGS

Classic Game Station #3
13. Commodore 64
14. Commodore Vic-20
15. PC running MAME
17. Konami Multi Arcade Unit

Classic Game Station #4
18. Laseractive with Megadrive module
19. Neo Geo AES
20. Messiah NEX
21. Vectrex

Classic Game Station #5
22. 3DO FZ1
23. FC Twin
24. NES 8 bit
25. Atari Jaguar with CD unit
26. Sega Master System
27. Genesis 2/Sega CD/32X

Classic Game Station #6
28. Gamecube with gameboy advance player
29. Nintendo 64
30. CDi 470
31. PS2
32. Xbox
33. Sega Saturn
34. Sega Dreamcast
35. Nuon

Current Living room setup
36. PS3
37. Wii
38. Xbox 360

Needless to say, I have most bases covered.

[Rickstilwell1]

My systems don't seem to blur at all. My TV brand is Sharp. Even Sonic games look good and don't even blur from the speed.

One thing I did notice though: my Famiclone, the FC twin does not look good on there like the original NES and SNES do. The screen keeps shifting from light to dark and the way it scrolls in games like Super Mario Bros. makes me dizzy. These issues never occur on the Nintendo brand systems. That shows that Yobo mainly had regular TV users in mind when they made the system.

I forgot to mention, I have a power strip for the systems on that Game Crazy rack as they don't have power bricks. I also keep my laptop plugged into this surge protector when I use it here, because I like to plug it into the TV too sometimes.

I ran out of surge protectors so on the other side I use one
or two normal 3 plug extension cords for other systems only when the system is in use. The only time I need both extension cords is when I play Sega CD.

If it so happens that I wish to play a light gun game for an old system, that's where having the other forms of systems comes in handy. I would just pull out my NES 1, SMS 1, Genesis 1 or 3, or SNES 1 and hook it up to the
26" CRT that my Atari 5200 and FC Twin are plugged into. That reminds me, since I got the Atari XEGS with the light gun, I should get get Sentinel for at least one of the Atari systems so I can use it.

[Game Freak]

I have all mine hooked up and ready to play. For the most part i have at least 20 games for each system i have, with the exception of the TRS-80 and perhaps Genesis. I use AV selectors, AV splitter, coax splitters, VCRs, etc to get everything workin, but in the end it turns out better than i expected.

I got a NES, SNES, Genesis, and PS1 hooked up through my VCR. The former through AV, the latter three through a coax splitter. The VCR is then hooked up to an AV selector, two of which are used running in through another splitter to my Sony DVD/VCR combo. Connected to these selectors are my VCR, DirecTV, LaserDisc player, 111disc CD changer, N64, GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Wii. The DVD/VCR combo then splits the audio signal between the TV and my rear stereo (which again is run from the rear stereo to the front stereo) and the video signal is split between my TV and my computer (And of course the rear stereo also runs into my computer.) In addition to this, the VCR runs out through coax into a smaller 13" TV, and my Atari and TRS-80 are run into the back of my TV (for some reason they dont like it when i run them into my VCR)

Kinda hard to imagine, and there are no pics unfortunately as i started packing away systems (im moving soon) but in short, 8 systems hooked all at once up to my computer, TV, and 6 speaker stereo system simultaneously (which also has a subwoofer if i utilize an additional 2.1 stereo system from my computer. And then, theres the two speakers in my TV. its not the most hifi thing, im looking into a 360 first, then an HDTV, then a PS3, but im a long way off from getting all those :\

[Astrosmash]

I have 11 systems currently (not counting duplicate systems or add-ons like Sega CD), but unfortunately only have enough room currently to have one hooked up at a time. I usually have a few *out* at a time, but still have to swap wires to play one. It's a pain, but what are ya gonna do.

[hoaryhag]

I have five consoles hooked up to a selector switch ready to play. Have a few more sitting aside for now.

[Emperor Megas]

I hope it's alright to revive an older thread; I came across it searching something else.

At any rate, I have most of my post Atari 2600 systems hooked up and ready to play. I've a more minimalist style than most collectors, I think, and I didn't want to try to cram everything into standard store bought unit, or anything makeshift, so I built my own media cabinet with adjustable shelves that slide out for ventilation and easy swapping. I also use multi-player systems and add-ons like the Genesis Power Base Converter, and the Retro Duo, to save on space.

All of my wires are sectioned off with wire ties, labeled at the source and the at the end, and run through my receiver and into the closet behind the wall through a series of holes I drilled and finished with plastic grommets. There are also finished holes in the back of each shelf in the cabinet. The older systems that use RCA and S-video cables are routed into two A/V selectors that I've mounted on the back of the cabinet and applied ID labels to. Here are a few pictures of it:

http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/4886/gamecabinet04.jpg

http://img202.imageshack.us/img202/1332/frontal02.jpg

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/1354/psxcorner02.jpg

Here's one of the A/V selectors I use:

http://img401.imageshack.us/img401/1605/svideoselector.jpg

My game room is upstairs in the attic and there's limited usable space because of the sloped walls, but I tried to make the best of the limited area.

[dreamcaster]

Looks good! Tastefully organised.

[Gamingking]

Even though he's banned, I currently have 14 systems hooked up to one tv. Actually 3 arent plugged in I ran out of room, but 11, Then i'll swap out the others.

[Emperor Megas]

Even though he's banned...Ha! I didn't even notice that. ^^;

[Slate]

I wonder why I'm replying, the thread starter is banned...

I have a lot of different systems, From 2004 to 2007 I would have just about everything hooked up. But after that I only had my XBox 360 and Wii hooked up because I was more of a gamer than a collector after that. Now I have a Genesis, Sega CD and Saturn ready to hook up and test games with since I'm starting to sell my collection. I should put the Saturn away since there's not much of a point to have it out now.