Atari 2600 package complete, just in time for Christmas

I grew up in the NES era and I have no nostalgia for the Atari 2600. Heck, I don't even like Atari (the company), and the more I read about the company, the more I hate them. But today my Sega Genesis controller arrived (it's compatible with the 2600 without modification) and I have to say I'm enjoying those wacky games with primitive graphics and no music quite a bit. The thoughts in my mind are not, "Man, this is just like I remembered," but rather,

• "People must have been easily entertained in the '70s." 
• "I'm having to use my imagination quite a bit with these graphics." 
• "I'm actually quite impressed with what they did with these graphics."
• "I like seeing how big of a difference there was between arcades and home consoles at the time."
• "I'm not expecting to see an ending screen any time soon" (indeed, these games just got harder and harder until the game forced you to lose), and, 
• "There's no way I can mess this up with only one button on the controller." 

The Atari 2600 controller is pretty awful, but the Genesis controller, while still a bit stiffer than my Saturn controller, makes the Atari 2600 feel like a real console. And appreciating it for what it is and was, it's pretty fun and amazing. I might have to thank James Rolfe for steering me in the right direction.

Why did I buy an Atari 2600? Ostensibly for my brother for Christmas, but it's really for me and my brother for Christmas. I won the eBay auction (console, original power supply, two joysticks, paddles, games, and their manuals) by sniping with a max bid of $66.67, but I ended up paying just under 50 bucks. (50 BUCKS!) Free shipping.

When it came, there was a bunch of rattling. There actually wasn't any packing material! Also, the power supply was missing, one of the joysticks was broken, and one of the paddles was broken, but since the paddles came in pairs, both were worthless to me. I messaged the eBay seller and he was very apologetic and sent me the rest of the stuff and a game he forgot to include the first time around, and later on sent me replacement paddles. Driving paddles, so I still need to shell out for the regular paddles, but whatever. I spent an extra $6 or so getting a coaxial adapter, which apparently could be had for $1 or so, but it was still cheap enough so whatever. My Sega Genesis controller was under $10 shipped, so that was cool too. I'll keep the broken joystick if I ever want to mod my NES controller for the Atari 2600 like this guy.

The manuals are pretty useful to have because of the switches for the difficulty settings (a concept which I'm still wrapping my head around). Luckily Atari Age comes through for this. I can't believe how many variations Space Invaders has!

What's left? Get the system modded for s-video, pause, and LEDs, buy adequate storage for games, collect more games like Pac-Man 4K, and maybe learn how to get started on building a custom joystick for all my legacy consoles. Foehammer looks good for this purpose.

Weird-ass dream (2013.12.13)

I dreamt I was popular.

Was kinda nice, actually...

Embracing the YouTube / Google Plus Integration

I don't care what anyone says; this new YouTube / Google Plus integration is great! It gives those of us whose accounts were banned (which is, to say, all of us) a second chance, and now I might actually purchase movies and other videos on YouTube.

Here's my first video on my main account.

Getting my free PS+ PS4 games without a PS4

I doubt I'll be getting a PS4 anytime soon, but that doesn't mean I can't get my free PlayStation Plus games for that system right now. I just have to go to the Web site:

http://us.playstation.com/psn/playstation-store/

NES-101 Nintendo Top Loader

I went eBay-shopping and last Saturday (2013.11.16) I finally got my hands on an NES-101 Nintendo Top Loader for the very reasonable price of $71.49 shipped. It didn't come with the RF adapter or power adapter, but I was able to use the SNES RF adapter that was part of the "broken SNES" package I got on eBay some time earlier. For power, I was just using the old NES power adapter (they're compatible, of course).

I didn't get a "dog bone" NES controller, but I did get an NES Max, which... is interesting. Great for Mega Man, OK for Super Mario, and bad for Tetris. My problem isn't the cycloid thing, it's the fact that I'm never quite sure how hard to press. I think I'll have to do the d-pad mod sooner than later.

So yeah, I jumped on the Buy It Now because it was cheap, in good condition (no cracks), it came with the NES Max which I was curious about, and it wasn't modded for AV output. Looking forward to having Game-Tech.US mod it with viletim's NESRGB. If it were AV-modded, the yellow would be a little farther than the red and white, and if those holes were repurposed for component, the red, green, and blue RCA jacks wouldn't be evenly spaced.

To capture from RF, I think I'm going to have to use my VCR (which I was going to attempt to repair) as a modulator so I can hook up the VCR to my DVDO Edge and record RF via composite. I'd like to get some high-quality captures of the unmodded NES top loader's vertical lines, and compare a few games between RF, the old toaster NES's composite, Wii Virtual Console via component (note to self: mention how to switch to 240p and vice versa), and in the future, the NESRGB's different color palettes.

Paging: Legendary gamer "dvdmth"

Playing Mega Man X Collection on the PS2 reminded me of that special time on the Mega Man X GameFAQs boards about a decade ago when some guy by the name of dvdmth posted all sorts of interesting passwords, tricks, and glitches. Eventually YouTube came along and I posted a video of some of these, but then my account got banned and my hard drive crashed.

I was able to find a lot of these passwords online, but I just couldn't find the Mega Man X3 password that gave X a red armor upgrade. The original topic is long gone, and that text document on my hard drive is long gone too.

So yeah... dvdmth, if you're out there, grace us all (or at least me) with your knowledge of Mega Man X... I understand you're a wizard at other games (like Zelda) as well...

-

Latest dvdmth sighting: 2018-03-30 (#26)
Latest dvdmth sighting: 2017-06-14 (#156)
Latest dvdmth sighting: 2009-11-28

Weird-ass dream (2013.10.15)

I dreamt I was touring with Kenichi Ebina in the AGT tour along with Jimmy Rose, Cami Bradley, and the others. Like I was one of the finalists. I think my act was a magic act or something...

America's Got Talent - Season 8 - Top 12 Results Show

First off, no recap show? I looked forward to those because you got to see more of the judges' reactions. Now we got this lame Ryan Seacrest game show. I was hoping NBC would take that opportunity to make Kenichi's strobe light sky dance more visible because I'm pretty sure we viewers at home (and no doubt Hulu and YouTube viewers as well) missed out on some of the flashes because of technical issues (frame rates).

And what's this Snapple viewing party nonsense? We could've had some more time for farewells to the knocked-out participants from the judges. (The show went over a couple minutes, by the way.)

First up: Chicago Boyz versus Kenichi Ebina. Kenichi goes through. Respect to the Chicago Boyz who, quite literally, suffered for this competition. There was a mistake, but when they were up against Kenichi, I'm sure they knew their fates were sealed no matter how their performance went. They should consider it an honor.

Second: Innovative Force versus Cami Bradley. Cami goes through. Innovative Force seems like a more complicated Chicago Boyz, and not necessarily in a good way. (How many girls are in the group?) Their cheerleading/gymnast thing they got going on probably wasn't for me. As for Cami, I don't think I've listened to any of her performances from beginning to end (or anyone else's singing performances, for that matter), but she is beautiful. I mean, my goodness. Pretty sure she's married though, so I won't be doing any lusting. I prefer to lust with impunity, thank you very much.

Third: Kristef Brothers versus Taylor Williamson. Taylor goes through. I like them both, and I think both of them deserved the honor of losing to Kenichi in the finals. Respect to the Kristef brothers for also taking a big, dangerous spill; their routines are always unique and entertaining, but I'm always reminded that underneath it all is an act that's really cool. And Taylor, well, I have to admit he made me laugh, even though I wasn't in love with his first audition for some reason. America's loss.

Fourth: Branden James versus Forte. Forte goes through. I hate them both, but at least Forte is contributing towards world peace because of that Sri Lankan guy.

Fifth: Jimmy Rose versus D'angelo & Amanda. Jimmy goes through. And I hate that. Another boring singer? Thanks for your service and all, but I'd be the first to change the channel if I saw him on TV again or heard him on radio. At least D&A are entertaining. Again, that Snapple viewing party robbed D&A of a proper goodbye. They're really good, their last performance was excellent, and they definitely deserved to have the honor of losing to Kenichi in the end as well. All I'll say is, I can't wait till Amanda turns 18! 'Cause then she could really turn pro, you know?

Sixth: Collins Key versus Catapult Entertainment. Collins goes through. Only Catapult deserved the honor of losing to Kenichi in the finals, so why did Collins make it? Too many fangirls, no doubt. Howard's right; his pacing sucks. His Vegas audition was nice, but when he tries the same old schtick but longer and more drawn out, it doesn't work. America's loss.

I can't wait till Kenichi blows them all out of the water. I'm curious to see what kind of dance tricks he has left, too. While I voluntarily stopped watching his YouTube clips until AGT finishes, I was pretty sure the strobe light flight was his biggest and best move. I can't wait to be proven wrong.

New CRT TV

I picked up a Panasonic Tau (CT-36HL43G) for free last week on Labor Day. It was a struggle wheeling that thing back to my house, but it works. There's no input lag (most important) and the picture is beautiful on 240p and 480i games like Tobal 2, but I tried Super Mario Bros. the next day and I noticed some blurring against the blue sky background. Duck Hunt didn't seem to work at all.

After thinking about it quite some time, I've settled on the following:

I've resigned myself to keeping that thing on a wooden dolly because that thing is heavy. The TV is just under 250 pounds and at least on the dolly it'll be off the floor somewhat. I need to be able to move that thing around so I can rearrange the patio.

The jury's out on whether or not CRT HDTVs lag. My TV is 4:3 and I was pulling off just frames in Tobal 2 just fine, but I remember being at a shmupmeet nearly a decade ago and noticing there was lag on the host's HDTV... which I believe was a CRT due to its size. Again, I didn't notice any lag, and I suppose using the Tau for certain systems isn't a bad idea at all. I don't remember seeing any scanlines, and I kinda want (and need) those.

Maybe I should spring for a remote just so I can play around with the settings to see if I can eliminate the ghosting, or to be more precise, eliminate the image processing. And whenever I turn it on with the button on the TV, I actually feel the static electricity and that doesn't exactly make me feel comfortable.

Does this post mean you can actually play Duck Hunt on a Tau?

No visualizer on iTunes? No problem.

Just hop on YouTube, search for "visualizer," mute, and you'll be rocking to your own music with style in no time.

Video Sync Test on YouTube.

Wish I thought of this before I tried making my own (unreliable) tests recording myself playing Tetris with no music...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoeDZkGvvjg

EDIT: Actually, I've found that my own "silent Tetris" videos are the most reliable after all...

EDIT (2013.10.17): The Eye Spy on Work Time Fun is probably the most accurate test for syncing audio for Vita captures (Fraps @ 59.94 FPS). 3DS as it turns out is the same.

DelayAudio(0.067)

The Five Ws and One H... in Japanese!

What can I say... I get a kick out of those old kanji readings.

誰 / だれ / dare / Who
何 / なに / nani / What
何時 / いつ / itsu / When
何処 / どこ / doko / Where
何故 / なぜ / naze / Why
如何 / どう / dou / How

Priorities

Just to keep my head straight...

1. Save up for a Vita capture board by katsukity. Still no clue when that's available for overseas buyers.
2. Get started on a new blog dedicated to 3DS and DS capture AviSynth templates
3. Buy 32 GB Vita memory card
4. Try to make my own WipEout 2048 "racebox map"
5. Seriously bone up on NES cleaning and maintenance, including removing the NES10 chip (see below) 
6. Save up for an HDMI NES mod
7. Seriously document Tekken prog stick combos with a spreadsheet
8. Burn / backup PSP stuff to DVD (in decrypted format)
9. Continue PSP digital manual snapshot project

Power Rangers Megaforce

Saw the first episode in HD (didn't even know I had Nickelodeon in HD now), and I'm loving the show! I loved Goseiger as well, and it looks like Saban's keeping their word that they're staying more true to the original series. (At least I thought I remembered reading they were doing so for Power Rangers Samurai.)

I think it's awesome they're incorporating Gokaiger into it so early, and I'm curious to see how they make use of those early Sentai.

Morphing sequence is a bit cooler. Reminds me of Dino Thunder with the back flip, though it wasn't changed that much. Cool that you could still see the cards and that they say "GOSEI RED", et cetera.

No "gacha" when opening the Tensouder, or whatever it's called now. And nice job keeping the names, somehow, though they made Datas "Tensou," now pronounced "Tensu." Wouldn't have killed them to include a pronunciation note. Looking forward to "Giant Tensu."

I'm not really seeing the Skick/Landick/Seaick parings. And I doubt we'll ever see a "Green" Megaforce ranger.

Pink is FINE.

And you didn't miss the references to the very first episode of Power Rangers, did you? Of course you didn't.

All anyone needs to know about color space

Use RGB.

I still don't know what "TV levels" or "PC levels" are, but that's it, really.

ConvertToRGB(clip, matrix="rec709")

All this was prompted by news (to me, anyway) of a cheaper, better alternative to the HDfury. That made me take a harder look at my AviSynth video settings.

Right now I'm playing Jet Set Radio (free on Vita and $2.50 on PS3 thanks to PlayStation Plus), and I recorded one of the sewer levels. Those levels are always dark. Playing the level on my monitor was fine, but my raw capture (MJPEG) was darker than I remembered. I learned from this thread that the capture was YUV (confirmed with MediaInfo and the Blackmagic site), and that RGB would've been ideal.

That's when I looked for an AviSynth solution and found this page. And wow, what a difference...

Raw capture (YUV):

Converting to RGB:

For me, this is huge. Going back to the Tekken 3 days, Castel's combo videos were always clearer and crisper than my own. My blanket solution was just to brighten the whole clip, but I wasn't completely satisfied. Fast forward a decade and I was capturing Einhänder from my PS3 and expecting great things. However, the first two levels were as dark and muddy as ever, and certainly a far cry from the crisp picture from emulators. I'm going to try Einhänder again, and while I don't expect that level of improvement, I'm still excited to see the results.

Downsides to using RGB? Considerably longer encoding times. The 1st pass was about 38 fps instead of about 88, and the 2nd pass was only a little slower at about 36 fps instead of about 60. I also know some AviSynth filters can't be used with some color spaces, but I rarely try anything fancy.

-

EDIT: Well that was a waste of time... after actually encoding with my usual settings in Xvid4PSP (i.e. without color space lines in AviSynth), the videos look pretty much the same, both looking more like my RGB vid. Quite a difference from the raw video screen grabs above. Looks like I still won't bother adding any color space lines to my AviSynth scripts after all, since I'll get the fastest speeds and the best picture quality anyway.

Weird-ass dream (2013.01.06)

OK, maybe not completely weird. I dreamt the guys from Cajun Pawn Stars drove to Las Vegas and met up with the guys from Pawn Stars so History could have another special. Not unlike that Sturgis thing, really...