Demand for RGB and HDMI Mods for Original Famicom

[Great Hierophant]

If you want to improve the picture quality of a Famicom (or NES) above composite, the NESRGB mod is probably the easiest way to go today.  It provides RGB and RGB-derived S-Video and Composite Video.  With either NES, an AV Famicom or a Famicom Twin, there is enough space in the enclosure that all you will need is the NESRGB board and probably one of the simple adapters that shift the PPU chip to an area with sufficient vertical clearance for the mod board. Its much cheaper than finding a Nintendo 2C03 RGB PPU or a Famicom Titler or Sharp Famicom TV, both of which contain an RGB PPU with certain limitations.

With an original Famicom, you will need more than that.  The NESRGB kit for the original Famicom includes a replacement power board which adds an extra cost cost to the kit over and above the kits for the other consoles.  The Eject lever does not have to go, but the plastic bit that accomplishes the eject function must be removed. 

More recently, the NES has been blessed with the Hi-Def NES Mod.  The Hi-Def NES Mod basically works like the NESRGB but converts the signal into a high definition digital signal output through an HDMI connector.  It will fit in all the above Nintendo and Sharp consoles except the original Famicom.  The main Hi-Def NES board would need to be modified to fit where the RF/Power module would be in an original Famicom.  Unfortunately, the inventor of this device does not see a lot of demand for such a product considering the time and effort it would take to redesign the board.

Do you think that there would be sufficient demand for such a device?  Have many people modded their original Famicoms with NESRGB boards?  Has there been serious interest in Japan for these kind of mods?  Or are most people content with the later console designs and tend not to mod their original Famicoms beyond adding composite output?

[chowder]

No one else has replied, so I'll add my thoughts

Personally, I'm against any kind of mods like this.  Part of the charm of the old consoles is the crappy video/sound output to me - it sounds odd, but that's part of the nostalgia.  Actually I used to run everything through RF, so even composite was an upgrade.  Admittedly, as TV standards change and they drop everything but HDMI inputs, things might change.  Guess I'll just pick up a Framemeister if and when the time comes.

[Ghegs]

I could see myself getting an HDMI-modded AV Famicom one day. Would certainly simplify some things.

[zmaster18]

I think the price of the RGB mod is what turns people off. I think AV is good enough how much is an RGB mod? Like $300+ ? A composite AV mod usually costs less than $50, and waaay cheaper if you do it yourself.

[Great Hierophant]

Your average TV these days supports one coaxial input (Antenna/Cable), one shared composite/component input and one or more HDMI connections. 

If you want to add NESRGB with the component video add-on to an original Famicom, it will cost you $156.00 Australian Dollars.  That translates into about $110 US Dollars, so the cost for the mod hardware is not insane.  It is $29 Australian Dollars cheaper for a Twin or AV Famicom.  However, if you have to pay someone to mod the console for you, you can probably add on an extra $100.

[P]

$110 is still a darn lot of money for something like this.
I love RBG for other consoles like Super Famicom, but Famicom wasn't made for it to begin with (except for arcade versions of the system) so there's no way I could justify paying that much for something that IMHO doesn't even really improve much if anything.

[zmaster18]

You need to factor in the cost of some kind of RGB upscaler, at least for us North Americans without SCART. I have no way of connecting any RGB video to my TV. However... my Sony Bravia has an input on the back labelled RGB. It seems to just be a VGA port though.

[P]

Upscaler, ouch that costs a small fortune. VGA cables is also some kind of RGB so maybe it's possible to use that. It doesn't carry sound though.

Otherwise you could convert RGB to S-video or component if your TV has that. My TV has two SCART both with RGB but nothing for S-video.

[Great Hierophant]

As I mentioned, I included the cost of the RGB to component add-on into the cost for the upgrade.  With that add-on, people in the US can now have access to the equivalent of RGB video. 

The upscaler of choice is the X-RGB Mini Framemeister, which will cost just over $300 USD on a good day, but that is a whole other level of upgrading. 

[P]

Probably cheaper to just get a TV with RGB if they have that at all in America.

[mfm]

For $35 you can buy an RGB SCART to HDMI 1080P upscaler that works fine.

New modern TVs in Europe doesn't have SCART either.

[BaconBitsKing]

I think most people just want everything to be affordable, so the original consoles are the usual choice. That and the fact that people like the classic feel of RF/AV make RGB NES mods pretty rare.

Personally, I don't see the appeal in getting an HDMI NES/FC. If I want my NES games to look that clear, I'll just emulate them and use USB controllers.

[Trenton_net]

I think most people just want everything to be affordable, so the original consoles are the usual choice. That and the fact that people like the classic feel of RF/AV make RGB NES mods pretty rare.

Personally, I don't see the appeal in getting an HDMI NES/FC. If I want my NES games to look that clear, I'll just emulate them and use USB controllers.

I can understand the feeling, but I can also see it the other way too. Some people have lots of pirate carts or originals that they would like to play from their collection, so I can see the appeal of having a high-end physical system to play them on.

Edit: I should probably add that most people who already have high-end collections probably won't care about the price if it's only around $100. I've definitely spent more on items (including single games) so spending a little more to get superior picture quality isn't a big stretch.

[g_block]

Just wait for Bunnyboy's HDMI NES to come out, be the simpliest way to do things...

[mfm]

Personally, I don't see the appeal in getting an HDMI NES/FC. If I want my NES games to look that clear, I'll just emulate them and use USB controllers.

People claimed for the last 20 years that emulation is 100% accurate but it's still false.