Nintendo N64 to HDMI converter?

[Mont Blanc]

I bought an N64 and a load of games a couple of years ago and want to start using it.

I need a HDMI converter/plug/box converter thingy to I can plug it into my TV’s. (None of them have anything other than HDMI input).

But I don’t know where to start as there seems to be countless different options on eBay/Amazon from £5 to £55. Some saying they will simply do the job of allowing the N64 to HDMI, and some adverts claim the cheaper ones don’t work and you need to buy theirs instead… and some are saying you need upscaling/line doubling when connecting to a big modern TV.

Also throw in the complication that apparently any HDMI converters designed for USA (NTSC) won’t work properly on a PAL N64 and will result in a far too bright and washed out picture.

Can anyone advise on which one to buy please?

[dundarach]

You can use a simple phono (yellow white red) to HDMI, they're not great but do work and cost a £5 I use one for an OG xbox, try that first and see what you think.

This sort of thing, I'm guessing the N64 has av out??

https://www.amazon.co.uk/XPMY-Adapter-Converter-Co...

[Mont Blanc]

dundarach said:

You can use a simple phono (yellow white red) to HDMI, they're not great but do work and cost a £5 I use one for an OG xbox, try that first and see what you think.

This sort of thing, I'm guessing the N64 has av out??

https://www.amazon.co.uk/XPMY-Adapter-Converter-Co...

Thank you.

Unfortunately the red/white/yellow cable that came with the console results in a totally white/blown out picture. In the past, the cable must have broken and the previous owner just bought a cheap replacement N64 AV cable off eBay or something, but it is obviously an NTSC cable and not PAL. I read that NTSC cables don't work as they are a different output to PAL, and if you use one, it will be a really really bad picture with far too much brightness, which this one is!

So I need a whole new cable!

The output on the back of the N64 just says 'Multi Out'. See photo:

[eltawater]

I'd recommend ZedLabz and their replacement AV cable specifically addressing your issue:

https://www.zedlabz.com/collections/retro-nintendo...

[Mont Blanc]

eltawater said:

I'd recommend ZedLabz and their replacement AV cable specifically addressing your issue:

https://www.zedlabz.com/collections/retro-nintendo...

Thanks, but the problem is, if I bought that, I would still need a Composite to HDMI converter unit such as the one linked to by Dundarach.

I was hoping someone could recommend a specific device that plugged straight into the N64 display port and gave a HDMI output.

[Ed.Neumann]

UK N64 has no RGB and only the early ones had S-Video, so most hdmi convertors will take the crapy composite signal.



This takes it from S video, but, you need to know if your machine has s-video.


https://hyperkin.com/3-in-1-hdtv-cable-for-gamecub...

The internal HDMI mod boards are great, they take the rgb signal and give a nice upscaled output.


To be honest though, buy a tiny HP PC for £80 and run retroarch or batocera and play all the games in 4k at 60fps, I was playing Waverace earlier today on a 55" Oled and it looks stunning. It looks like you remember it.

It looks like Sega Arcade type graphics, which I love.

I popped my RGB modded Jap N64 on, on a 21" B&O CRT and it looks so awful in comparison. Haha


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMyJKQ-xaEs

[Mont Blanc]

Thanks!

Appreciate the suggestions.

[.:ian:.]

You can fix the blown out composite with a 75 ohm resistor across the signal and ground pins.

But as the poster above says, the best way to get a decent video out is emulation.

[gamefreaks]

You can get S-Video or Composite to HDMI boxes but the picture won't be great. They're all a bit crap. I went through a few over the years and none of them produce a satisfactory output.

The way to go is spend the cash on a PixelFX HDMI modded console.

Alternatively a RGB Console with a RAD2X is also pretty good.

The N64 is a bit of a pain to get a clean output on a modern TV.

[Mont Blanc]

Thanks for the advice

As I just wanted to play occasionally for a bit of fun, I don't really want to spend too much initially as I may play it for 30 mins, the nostalgia will wear off, and then I'll stick it back in the cupboard!

I absolutely agree with the issues getting a good picture on a modern TV from a PAL, I've done a bit of reading and there seems to various and slightly complex methods of getting the best imagine quality.

For the moment, modding, fiddling, and spending a chunk of cash is out, so I bought one of these after watching a couple of YouTube review videos where they seemed to think these were a pretty decent budget option for getting the N64 onto a modern TV:

https://myretrofix.co.uk/product/bitfunx-nintendo-...

I'm hoping that retro gaming shops wouldn't be selling these things if they were complete rubbish.


Edited to add: if it's total rubbish, I will let you know!

Edited by Mont Blanc on Tuesday 17th December 10:55

[sgrimshaw]

Can't speak for the N64 version, but the Kaico one for the PS2 worked well enough.

Amazon has two versions by Kaico.

[Ed.Neumann]

The reality is, the hardware on the N64 is just a bit rubbish, it was such low res it used really heavy anti aliasing to try and blue everything out and make it look smooth, on a 14" crt or even a 28" whopper of a TV haha, that worked.

Not so much on a 1080p or 4k 40, 50, 60" TV.

However, as it was a polygon machine, you can upscale the graphics really well, and the emulators will remove the heavy, old AA and give a really sharp image.

Mario 64 in 4k 60fps is just sublime, as is Waverace and loads of other games.

It is well worth downloading Retroarch and trying it out. It will run on old hardware no problem, some of the mini PCs you can buy on facebook marketplace for £50 will run it.

Most will run GC, Wii U, Dreamcast (which looks so good at 4x res) and even PS2.

I think I have had more fun getting it all set up than playing the games, all my old consoles are sat on shelves, nice to look at, but better ways to play them today.

[Mont Blanc]

Ed.Neumann said:

The reality is, the hardware on the N64 is just a bit rubbish, it was such low res it used really heavy anti aliasing to try and blue everything out and make it look smooth, on a 14" crt or even a 28" whopper of a TV haha, that worked.

Not so much on a 1080p or 4k 40, 50, 60" TV.

However, as it was a polygon machine, you can upscale the graphics really well, and the emulators will remove the heavy, old AA and give a really sharp image.

Mario 64 in 4k 60fps is just sublime, as is Waverace and loads of other games.

It is well worth downloading Retroarch and trying it out. It will run on old hardware no problem, some of the mini PCs you can buy on facebook marketplace for £50 will run it.

Most will run GC, Wii U, Dreamcast (which looks so good at 4x res) and even PS2.

I think I have had more fun getting it all set up than playing the games, all my old consoles are sat on shelves, nice to look at, but better ways to play them today.

Not sure if it’s the same thing as Retroarch, but I have a RetroPi thing which someone built for me. Raspberry Pi set up with a menu system and emulators of pretty much every arcade machine and every console made up to and including the PS2 (and something daft like 10,000 games for all the emulators). It’s also got all the Amiga 500 games which is pretty cool.

It’s got N64 on it, but I’ve not really bothered with it, mostly played the Amiga games and a Sega stuff like Sonic.

[Ed.Neumann]

Yeah, RetroPi is the Pi version of Retroarch build for the Pi.