EMU-to-TV
One of an NES fan's biggest fears is, at one point, their system will...die. I know, I know very sad and it's hard to talk about an 8-bit funeral but at last the NES fan is given two methods in preventing such horror: stockpile a basement of "back-up" systems or try this DIY technique of playing NES roms on a television. Before beginning the step-by-step process, I just want to say that NESPlayer.com does not encourage warez or free pirated games. We believe that true NESers that own the cart and would like a back-up copy on their computers should feel free to take part. The real laws, on the other hand, operate differently.
Step #1: Choices
The first step of this project is to decide which way to go. There are cheap options of going about playing an emulator on a TV and there are expensive ways to get it done. The first I will mention is the free way.
Free Way- What we need to find out first is if your computer has an video outlet in the back of your computer tower. (Look for "Video out" or "S-Video" written. Both are acceptable). Or look at your graphics card manual to see if yours has a 'TV out' option. If you DO have one the process will be MUCH easier and MUCH less expensive. What you need to do now is go to a local electronics store and buy a Video/Audio wire or an S-Video wire that would reach from the slot of your computer's graphics card source to the designated TV. Next, go to step #9.
------If you are NOT blessed with this choice (like moi), don't feel bad there is another way...what we'll call the $$$ way.
$$$ Way- This will most definitely be the way to go for most of us. What we'll need is to buy an extra computer accessory called a "Computer-to-TV Converter" to do the trick. In my research, the best company that offers these is called AVerMedia.
Step #2: Choosing your Computer-to-TV Converter
AVerMedia provides converters in the price ranges of $83-299 dollars. (Note: Before going on, remember the LEAST amount that this project will cost you is $83). These are the different models available listed from most expensive to least expensive: AVerKey500 Pro, AVerKey300 Gold, AVerKey3 Plus, AVerKey iMicro. For this article, I'll focus on only two of these: mine (which is the AVERKey300 Gold) and the least expensive (AVerKey iMicro).
Step #3: System Requirements
Before we go shopping it's always important to look at the system requirements needed to run the device successfully.
AVerKey300 Gold:
PC:
IBM PC or compatibles
Macintosh:
Any Macintosh supporting
Standard display modes:
640 x 480 at 31KHz
512 x 384 at 24KHz
(MAC systems without the monitor output requires adapter)
AVerKey iMicro:
PC:
IBM PC or compatibles
Macintosh:
Any Macintosh supporting
Standard display modes:
640 x 480 at 31KHz
512 x 384 at 24KHz
(MAC systems without the monitor output requires Power-R
or Apple adapter)
Good. Our PCs/Macs will be able to run smoothly because our requirements exceed these given.
Step #4: The "Extras"
This is the proverbial "icing on the cake". The main reason why the converters money range spans $200 between different units: extras. (Note: these descriptions are identical to AVerMedia's website).
AVerKey300 Gold
AVerMedia
Pointer
-Similar to a Laser Pointer,
the AVerMedia Pointer is a 4 x 4 pixel square that lets
you direct your viewers' attention to key areas on the
screen.
AVerMedia
SpyLight
-With AVerMedia Spylight, you
can highlight certain areas of your screen by darkening
unwanted areas (both horizontally and vertically).
AVerMedia Spot
-AVerMedia Spot lets you focus
on certain areas by darkening external areas and by
creating a colored border within your AVerMedia Area Zoom
-Exclusive Area Zoom divides
your screen into nine parts and lets you easily focus on
individual sections at a time.
AVerMedia
Pointer Zoom
-AVerMedia's Pointer Zoom lets
you quickly focus on wherever the AVerMedia Pointer is
pointing to.
AVerMedia Spot
Zoom
-Exclusive Spot Zoom allows
you to enlarge specific areas highlighted from the
AVerMedia Spot.
Features:
Plug&Play, no software drivers required
Compatible with all PCs, MAC and laptops
Wireless remote control access to all functions
Touch-button control panel
Supports full screen underscan/overscan of resolutions up
to 1600 x 1200 (PC/Mac) with 24 bit color
Up to 7-Level flicker control selections for sharpness
control
Simultaneous display on computer and TV monitors
(Supports all VGA monitors MAC monitors up to 1600 x
1200)
3 Exclusive Types of Presentation Features:
AVerMedia Spot
AVerMedia Pointer
AVerMedia Spylight
4 Exclusive Types of Zoom
Regular Zoom & Pan
AVerMedia Area-Zoom
AVerMedia Pointer-Zoom
AVerMedia Spot-Zoom
Screen freeze/unfreeze
Horizontal/vertical picture positioning
Horizontal/vertical screen panning
TV brightness control
Supports Composite/S-Video/RGB video output
Supports SAVE Function (for customized setting)
Independent Linear Adjustment Vertical & Horizontal
Scales
==============================================================================
AVerKey iMicro
Plug-n-Play,
no software drivers required
Compatible with IBM PC, MACs and Laptops
Touch Button Control Panel
Supports resolution up to 1280 x 1024 (PC/MAC) with 16.7
million colors
Up to 3-levels flicker-filter selection for sharpness
control
Simultaneous display on computer and TV monitors
(Supports all VGA monitor and MAC monitors up to 1280 x
1024)
Zoom and Pan
Zoom Sharpness Control
Underscan/Overscan (underscan up to 1280 x 1024)
Horizontal/Vertical picture positioning
Horizontal/Vertical screen panning
Supports Composite/S-video/Scart RGB video output
As you can see, the AVerMedia has many extra conditions placed upon it, but really most are useless. The only features that REALLY are important are the Horizontal/Vertical picture positioning, Horizontal/Vertical panning, and flicker-filter; which BOTH have.
Step #5: Let's go to the mall, Barbie!
Now to buy, buy, buy! But where? About two years ago, when I first got my converter, I've seen these models shown in Best Buy. I'm not quite sure if they still stock them so instead of giving false information I'll tell you where to get them online. Sound o-kay?
If you're the worried type, feeling uncertain about how safe this whole "internet shopping" is: I would recommend going straight to AVerMedia's store online and either pay via credit card or check.
If you don't fall into the above category, which really everyone SHOULDN'T be in, it's time to go to the wonderful world of comparison shopping. There's three of these comparison shopping sites that I recommend the most: C|NET Shopper, ZDnet, and MySimon.
C|NET Shopper: [http://shopper.cnet.com/] - Doing a search for "Averkey" (http://shopper.cnet.com/shopping/search/results/1,10214,0-1257,00.html?tag=&qt=Averkey&cn=&ca=1257) displays the different products shown. As you can see in the below results for the cheapest AverKey iMicro, TheNerds.net has the lowest.
(ZDnet and MySimon received similar results).
Step #6: Got it in the mail! Now..How do I set it up?
Make sure these came in the box:
AVerKey iMicro unit
S Cable
AV Cable
VGA Cable
Mac VGA Adapter
Mac Monitor Adapter
Power Adapter
Manual
Everything there? Good. Now to the real set-up.
Step #7: Plug it in, plug it in!
First you'll have to unplug your monitor's connection (Note: unplug the cable that is goes IN the tower NOT the one going IN the monitor itself, also make sure the computer is not powered on). Take the cable then and insert it on the right slot of the AVerKey unit, holding the unit upright and on its side, and match the pins with the openings.
Next take the VGA cable, which was included in the box that has a similar appearance, and attach it to the left slot of the AverKey unit and the other end to the monitor port on the back of the computer tower.
Also, at this time, plug in the AC adaptor to the unit to provide power.
Step #8: To S-Video or to Video Out, that is the question.
As you turn the unit around to look at its other sides, you'll notice that another side has another monitor slot, a 6-small hole and 2 rectangular hole port, and single, yellow port. The 6-small hole, 2 rectangular hole port is for S-Video output and the single, yellow port is for Video Out.
What you'll have to do next is decide which to use. Look at the back of your television set and at the inputs it has. (Note: Older TVs don't have S-Video).
Remember the S-Video wire is NOT included inside the AverKey's box. Which means you'll have to go out to an electronics store and put down more money for one.
My recommendation is to go the Video Out path. The yellow-headed cable comes along in the AVerKey's box (and extras are probably lying around your house from other electronic equipment), so take it out and plug the two together.
 |
 |
| Picture: The left slot is for
S-Video. Plug the yellow- headed wire into the yellow slot next to the S-Video one. |
Picture: Then plug the other
end of the Video wire to the 'Video In' slot of your TV. |
This is what your unit should look like after attaching the monitor cables and S-Video/Video Out.
Step #9: Put your TV to input or video mode
Depending on the make, and how old the TV is, it may have a TV/Video button on its remote or as one of the TV's buttons. (Note: I'm using a Panasonic VCR TV combo and had to go into the television's menu screen and choose 'LINE' for the input selection option).
Step #10: Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear. Fuzzy Wuzzy had no hair. Fuzzy Wuzzy wasn't fuzzy, was he?
The first thing you'll notice when the screen comes up is that images and text will look very fuzzy on a TV. Smaller text, like the one used on NES Player's index page, is nearly impossible to read. But do not worry, since NES games have few text and the text that IS shown is always noticeable.
Another problem you may be having is that the screen shown on the TV might be split, reversed, or you may even see nothing but blackness. This is when the Horizontal/Vertical picture positioning and Horizontal/Vertical panning are necessary. These can be used by pushing one of the four control buttons located right at the face of the unit. Adjust it to your needs.
Step #11: Loading Games and the Final Results
Now it's time to play the games! Load your emulator of choice (I recommend jNES or NESticle), and start a game. Below are a few screenshots of games playing and how they look on a TV.
3-D World Runner looks identical (if not better) than
actually playing the NES cart
One of my personal favorites right here. ;D Just look at
the detail on the graphics! Looking good ladies..
Still not impressed with at these results? Well here's a side by side comparison of Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers playing on a computer, emulator-to-TV, and the actual NES cart.
 |
 |
| Playing on the computer | Playing it on an emulator-to-TV |
 |
| Playing the actual cart on an NES |
That's it! I hope this DIY project provided you with some helpful info. I'd like to take this time to give some props to illPgCill, from where the idea came. PgC: Hope this helped, man!
-AVerMedia is located online at http://www.aver.com
-all pictures for use on NES Player
only