About this project
Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo Component Cables
$40,854
697
More Stretch Goals (see update for description)
- $37K - Neo Geo R&D - HIT!!!
- $42K - Test Cartridge Art
- $50K - Level upgrades
- $60K - Sega Dreamcast R&D
- $70K - HDMIzer Development
Stretch Goal #1 - $27,000 - HIT!!!
The original design from our front page will be option #1. If you'd like to vote for option #2, please direct message us.
Bring your retro consoles into the HD era!
HD Retrovision was founded with one goal in mind: to rescue consoles stuck in their owner's closet, or worse, on their way to the trash can. Since most modern HDTVs no longer support S-video connectivity many users are forced to play their Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis using composite video (single yellow cable). With composite video, you get an ugly and blurry video with messed up colors and other distortions.
HD Retrovision has a better way: component video.
Component video lets you play your retro consoles on modern TVs (that support 240p/288p, see here for details) and see your old games the way they were meant to be seen. It provides a crystal clear picture with no color smearing or blurriness. In the video below, you can see a gameplay demo of the improvement HD Retrovision component cables makes over composite video. Please note that our cables are handling the transcoding of video to YPbPr, and provide the original standard definition video content generated by the consoles.
Component video wasn't around in the early days of video games, but we've managed to engineer a solution to bring component video to your old consoles in a simple plug-and-play cable.
That's right! No modding, no soldering and no expensive converter boxes required.
But wait... there's more! Many have asked, so now we want to let you know for sure: the cables work great with a Standard-Definition CRT too!
We will be offering two versions of the Sega Genesis Component Cable:
Sega Genesis 1 with mono audio output - Also compatible with the original Sega Master System (Power Base Model No. 3010-X)
Sega Genesis 2 with stereo audio output - Also compatible with the Sega Nomad, 32X, Genesis 3 (mono only), CDX, and JVC X'Eye
The Super Nintendo Component Cable only works with the original SNES (Model No. SNS-001). There is no out-of-the-box solution available for the SNES 2 (Model No. SNS-101), but our cables might be useable with a hardware modification.
We are aiming to make these cables universal, but in the event that becomes infeasible, we will simply have region specific versions for both PAL and NTSC.
The goal of this Kickstarter is to fund an initial production run of the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo component cables.We have years of research and development under our belt. We have spent hours writing custom test software, testing a multitude of console hardware revisions and building working prototypes (which our beta testers love). Now we are approaching the final production ready cable design. We need your help to get us through the final steps to be able to produce these cables in a factory setting.
And by supporting this campaign, you're not only helping us raise the capital to fund our initial manufacturing costs, you're also letting us know what kind of demand we can expect for our products.
The plan for the money we raise is just as simple. After Kickstarter fees, we will use the money towards purchasing necessary materials, securing our production capabilities for the cables, and fulfilling our reward obligations.
Oh, and speaking of rewards... here are what a few of ours look like (subject to some changes, photos for reference only):
Finally, here are some longer videos comparing composite to component with full screen gameplay for each:
Owners:
Ste Kulov - Lead Design Engineer
Nick Mueller - TCB (Takin' Care of Business)
Credits (in no particular order):
Music from the Kickstarter Video:
- Rolemusic - A ninja among culturachippers / CC by 3.0
- Azureflux - Rainbow Ride / CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
- Azureflux - Graveyard Shift / CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
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RoccoW - xyce - Quelle Surprise (VRC6 Remix) / CC BY-SA 4.0
Tom Wysocki - Graphic Design and Video Editing
Michael Hickey - Video Filming and Editing
Ben Scott - Lighting
Darek Wysocki - Sound Effects and Music Director
Chris Sowa - Software Engineering
Peter Azra - Software Engineering
Bob Galassi - Acting
GamesYouLoved
A special thanks to GamesYouLoved who have really helped us get the word out!. GamesYouLoved is born out a love of retro games of every description from your childhood. By being reminded of the retro games through images and video, what people say about them and things you were doing at the time, you are unlocking these memories to see, share and enjoy. They love retro gaming!
Sub: www.youtube.com/gamesyouloved
Follow: www.twitter.com/gamesyouloved
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gamesyouloved
Site: www.gamesyouloved.com
Also thanks to Adam Buchanan (@Cauterize) and Retro Collect for being the first major news outlet to cover us. It was thanks to their article that we started getting noticed by other media outlets and began building a fanbase. Check them out at: www.retrocollect.com
Risks and challenges
1) Unknown compatibility issues and/or unaccounted differences between console revisions still might exist. We've spent an enormous amount of time testing consoles, but there still might be something we don't know about. Our engineering expertise will help us tackle these issues quickly, if they do arise.
2) It's possible the final SNES design won't fit in the currently manufactured enclosure. We would redesign this enclosure, but that could cause a delay in production.
3) It might be difficult to secure cost-effective labor to manufacture the final cable assembly. It is possible that production time would increase.
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Funding period
- (30 days)