Hello folks! I’m upgrading from a 1080p plasma TV to a 4K OLED set soon (an LG C1). I have all my retro consoles (Famicom, Genesis, SNES, PS2 and GameCube) hooked up to a nice big FV310 in my basement. For years I was CRT only and I don’t plan to dump my beloved tubes, but I figure now might finally be the time to check out what these new toys can do with a very high res TV. I hear it’s great. What I might like to do is have a device that I can use as an input for swapping out retro hardware I bring up from the basement, one system at a time.
Therefore, I’m looking for something that’s pretty easy to use but also has some of the latest features that take advantage of 4K resolution to mimic CRTs. All my consoles currently use SCART out, but I’m willing to switch to component cables if needed (which would actually simply my 310 setup as well).
Retrotink 5X. Don’t think there are any scalers that can do 4K yet, but the 5X can do 1440p and has the most robust scanline options of any scaler I think. It also accepts composite and S-video which competitors like the OSSC don’t. Also it’s handling of 480i is the best, I personally like the interlace simulation with the scanlines. Once Mike Chi figures out how to get 4K output, and TV technology catches up to CRT’s in terms of motion resolution we’ll be in a very good place once our tubes inevitably die.
Also, if 4K is the ultimate goal sooner rather than later there are other options you could look into using in conjunction with one of the above mentioned scalers. Adding one of these to your chain would get you actual 4K but I haven’t heard any reports about how well these work for gaming. They do list game consoles as supported.
Thanks! 4K is only important in that I read the super high resolution now gives some of the more capable upscalers a way of making the imagine look like a CRT.