Get the Best Super Nintendo/Famicom JR Video Quality with Voultar's RGB Mod & HD Retrovision Cables
46In this video, we walk you through how to restore RGB-output of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System Jr.
The Super NES is my favorite system of all time, it just had so many great titles and really moved gaming forward in a monumental way. Nintendo released an updated version of the SNES and Super Famicom that simplified the system overall, and for those in the US, eliminated the blocky looks of the original. It’s a sharp looking system, and in recent years it has been discovered it also provides a sharper image than the original systems. One downside of these designs is that the RGB video output was removed from them, leaving you with either RF (puke) or composite (gag). Thankfully, there is a way to restore RGB output to the system thanks to Voultar, the same designer of the N64 RGB mod kit.
Tools Needed:
4.5mm Game Bit
#1 Phillips Screw Driver
Soldering Iron (500-degrees or higher)
60/40 Rosen Core Solder
Flux
Wire Strippers
Side/Flush Cutters
Pliers/Tweezers
The setup of the RGB board is really simple, and since I have installed one of Voultar’s N64 board the installation was super easy and familiar. The board lays over a set of pins that attach directly to the Video Output port on the back of the system. There are four connections you’ll need to make if you want to use a SCART Cable, one each for the R, G and B video feeds and another connection for C-Sync. If you are just using HD Retrovision Composite video cables, however, you can just get by with using the RGB connections and forego the C-Sync. Voultar’s board also supports S-Video out, however that requires a level of precise soldering I’m just not willing to execute.
It took me about 20-minutes to disassemble, install, and reassemble everything inside my system. One of the coolest things about this mod is, once complete, you can’t tell that the system has been modded at all. I was able to perform this mod quickly as well, thanks to my previous experience with Voultar’s RGB mod for the N64; the process was virtually identical.
While the installation was simple the capturing of the video was a headache, and that was entirely due to my choice of using an OSSC. While the OSSC is an absolutely amazing device and works great with the Genesis, N64, Dreamcast, Master System, Game Cube and others, the Super NES and OSSC do not play well together. It all has to do with the was the SNES outputs video and the way the OSSC processes that signal, and while I have made it work it was not easy. Moving forward I am looking forward to removing the OSSC from my SNES gaming setup and using a Retro Tink instead. I’ve heard nothing but great things about the Retro Tink and cannot wait to get mine.
Even with the headaches, I had the video quality is amazing output from this mod is nothing short of amazing. I didn’t believe that the quality would be much different between the original SNES/SFC and the Jr but man, I have to say, you can see the difference! It is super sharp and noticeable with the naked eye. The only other thing I still need to do is replace the capacitor in location C11. With the SNES Jr this capacitor can wear out and produce a ghosting effect on-screen. Voultar sells a new capacitor to replace the original, it is not polarized so you don’t have to worry about which way it sits on the board.
Why it RoX?
Inexpensive
Relatively easy to install
Results are stunning
Compatible with both SCART and HD Retrovision Component Cables
What Could Be Improved?
OSSC compatibility needs to improve
The footage used in this review are used under the Fair Use laws, referenced below:
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/17/107
Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include—
(1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;
(2) the nature of the copyrighted work;
(3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and
(4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.
The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.
(Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2546; Pub. L. 101–650, title VI, § 607, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5132; Pub. L. 102–492, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3145.)