RetroDuo NES/SNES Clone Official Thread. Castlevania III, StarFox WORK, SMRPG WARNING

[Troglodyte]

as for the mini SNES, having only AV is just perfect, as RF is obsolete now

While I agree that RF has been obsoleet for a long time; S-Video is an improvement over standard AV (composite).
Composite suffers from visual problems / limitations, such as dot crawl.

The scan lines (on the Top loading NES) are caused by poor shielding

That's been proven not to be the case. I'd link to the documentation on this if I still knew where it was. The problem is believed to actually be caused by crosstalk between the internal circuits of the motherboard. So if you mean shielding in that respect, then you are correct. If you mean shielding in respect to outside interference, then no, this is not the cause, and any amount of shielding surrounding the inside of the console will not alleviate this issue.

With all of that said, if you know of a mod that has been proven to rid the top loading NES' infamous scan line problem; then I'd love to hear about it. However, right now, I have my doubts. Even if I don't have any intention of buying another one. I'd still like to keep informed.

Also, in addition to the Retro Duo, I own an AV Famicom. This console is basically the Japanese Famicom version of the top loading NES. However, unlike it's American counterpart; it features AV out, and does not suffer from any interference or scan line issues, not to mention audio problems. Although, I can not recommend long term use of this console with NES games; since using a Famicom to NES adapter (although I have one) over an extended period of time; can put unneeded amount of stress on both the NES games, as well as the console itself.

And the only way I'm getting a top loading NES is if it has AV and no scan lines. I'll have to confirm that before I make any purchase.

While the scan line problem has been severely improved with a newly discovered mod this time around, despite what may eBay modders might tell you; the scan lines are not entirely removed; they are still there, yet fainter. Also, I believe the picture is more saturated / brighter / darker / somewhat muddy or more sharp than the original. The mode uses a capacitor of a certain value to try and compensate for these issues, but it isn't perfect. Depending on the value of the capacitor(s) used in this mod; the quality of the picture will vary; but not the degree of visible scan lines. To my knowledge, no one has been able to find a 100% fix for the scan line problem. The old mod looked almost unbearable in a lot of games. I personally performed this one myself several years ago. The new mod is much better; but the scan lines have been proven to still be there; however faint they may appear.