retro system improvements

You do realize that the Wii has a widescreen option right? On the home screen, click the bottom left gear icon then click settings. Somewhere there, there is a screen settings button, then a Widescreen option.

I do think this would make a birlliant episode though

Are your game systems going through an RF adapter or the standard AV cables. If they are going through RF, i would recommend going to the thrift store and picking up an old VCR, plug your game systems through the RF in that, then output the signal through an AV cable to your tv. Its very easy and affective!

thanks for the idea, but i'm already hooked up through av to my hdtv.  from my research, it seems that there's an issue with the resolution output.  i'm no expert, but the info i've read says that the nes for example outputs a signal that is less than 480i (standard res), and when you hook an nes to an hdtv through the standard av hookup, the image is atrocious.  i've read that you can mod a front loading nes to output in at least 480p, but i'm not willing to tear my nes apart in the trying.  which leads me to my comment on this board.  with his knowledge/experience, if it's possible to convert a pre hd system to output a progressive signal, i'm sure Ben could do it.  also, running av from nes, to vcr, to tv creates the same muddy signal that connecting straight from nes to hdtv does.  i had the same idea, and tried both av and rf hookups, but the vcr simply transfers the signal, it doesn't upscale or anything.  so, my suggestion still stands.  i would still be interested to see what he could do with that ancient tech.

This seems kinda of pointless to me  I have all my old systems hooked up to my 32" HDTV and they look just as good as they used too.  I think you may have a perception that they looked better then they actually did.  Growing up with video games I have often found that an old game I thought was awesome and looked great, doesn't look so good when pulled out of the closet.  to me part of the beauty is that they are not super HD.  If i want great graphics, I go to my 360, if i want classic games i use my NES.  What i think would be a much cooler project, which I think i'll go and create a thread for, is getting an old light gun, zapper from an NES to work with an LCD screen.  I don't even know how it would work, but I would love to play some Duck Hunt on my current set-up.

ok, so the thing that you don't realize is that the visuals from an nes aren't even in standard def.  that's why they don't look good on an hd screen, because of the low resolution.  play a nes game on the wii virtual console, and then load the same game into your nes and watch as the graphics turn instantly muddy.  this is due to the output of the nes, which absolutely can be altered.  i said nothing about what the games "used to look like," i'm saying that it would be nice to play, let's say, my copy of ducktales with a 480p signal.  if you hook your nes up to a standard def tv, and then back to your hd tv, you'll notice that the graphical output ISN'T the same (i've tried).  also, using a zapper with an hdtv is impossible due to the way the software is programmed, although, if ben could figure out a way to make it work, i'd be interested to see that project as well.  in the future, please refrain from assuming what my perceptions are/aren't, as you've missed the point entirely.

1. it would be help if you would explain what you mean by "garbage" and "muddy" on the graphics. Giving us details might help us to maybe help you.

2. Yes you can mod the output on the hardware but there is still the software. All this software was written nearly 30 years ago and never written with the thought of HDTV in mind.  There might be nothing to do to make it look better.

well, i'm not an expert about the hardware/software issues, but here's what i've been able to find in research.  the output of the machine is less than standard def, whether that's related to hardware in the machine or cart or a mixture of both, i'm not sure.  i think that it's just a problem of nes hardware only, but there's some testing that would need to be done.  either way, the result when hooked to an hd tv is a blurry image, due to the way the tv upscales the image (again, this is from my limited research).  this blurriness is bad enough to make text illegible, for example.

i realize the inherent issues with the design of the nes, but i wouldn't have suggested it if i hadn't read about it's possibility online.  in fact, that's where i found out that the zapper actually requires an interlaced signal as a part of it's programming, making it highly unlikely that you'll be able to make it work with an hd tv.

i guess i initially made this post because i thought a guy like ben would be able to open up a nes and see what he was up against with a project such as this.  the guy made taking apart a 360 look like child's play.  if it's simply not possible, that's fine.  i would really like to know the hows and why's, but an answer of "it's not possible" is something i expected as a possible outcome.  i'm really hoping that this is something that will be considered as a project, because i think there are more retro enthusiasts out there that would die for a pro scan nes.  i know i would.  i am also a veteran, so this could be seen as a project to help me with, um, the stress of being a non combat vet?   ;-)

i'm still highly interested in this idea.  so, bump.

Hi my name is Ron Santos the founder of Oni-Ware there is a way currently attempting that my self trying to perfect a nes labtop that is one way on how to improve the current graphics.  After I am done I can share with you my findings.

Ok , it's definitely possible and definitely not a child's play. You can try and use some tricks like those suggested by mynameisalex or search for

hd tv that will not have this problem but if you want to do it yourself it will take some effort an will require some base knowledge.

Problem you are facing is caused by fact that analog output from NES is not processed correctly by yours TV analog to digital signal converter or

whatever they call this module. So you have two choices , first is to create converter that will modify analog signal to fit standards that you tv operates

and another one is to create your own analog to digital video converter and then connect to your tv by , for example , hdmi cable. Another thing you can

try to do is to tamper with modulator in your NES but you said that you don't want to take it apart right ? As you can see neither of solutions I suggested is simple and both of them require some experience . I'm pretty sure that i will play with analog video signal in some time and maybe then I will produce schematic for such a converter but I simply  can say when it will be as for now I'm tangled up with finishing my degree and robotic project.

As for a zapper i don't think it's posibble to fix that one that requires a interlaced signal without heavy modifications to NES guts.