this post was submitted on 05 Jul 2024
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Jaw-Dropping SNES Mod Fixes One Of The Console's Biggest Problems | Time Extension (www.timeextension.com)
submitted 4 months ago by ktec@lemmy.zip to c/retrogaming@lemmy.world
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What's the Scoop?

An engineer named Voultar has created a mod called the 'SNES 2CHIP Edge Enhancer' that addresses one of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)'s notorious issues — its blurry video output.

Key Points from the Mod:

  • Innovative Approach: Unlike many modding solutions, Voultar's SNES 2CHIP Edge Enhancer doesn't rely on video amplifiers. Instead, it focuses on directly addressing the system's DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter) to improve image clarity.
  • Installation Ease: The mod is relatively simple to install — a five-wire soldering process that can be handled by anyone with basic electronic skills.
  • Broad Compatibility: Designed to work with all variants of the 2CHIP SNES console, it ensures a significant improvement across different hardware versions without requiring custom modifications for each model.

How Does It Work?

Voultar spent many hours analyzing and dissecting the internal components of the SNES's DAC in order to understand its shortcomings. His approach was meticulous, ensuring that the mod would not compromise image quality based on specific game content or performance variability. Instead, it offers a consistent sharpening effect for RGB, S-Video, and Composite Video outputs.

Do you own a SNES? Are you thinking about using Voultar's mod?

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[–] shinratdr@lemmy.ca 9 points 4 months ago

This isn’t an HDMI mod that pulls from digital signal and outputs to digital, or an RGB mod that bypasses the analogue hardware.

It’s a mod that corrects poor image in some specific models of SNES to bring them to the standard of other models of SNES. Details here: https://www.retrorgb.com/snesversioncompare.html

I understand what you’re getting at because it’s a common refrain, but the fact that some models of SNES do not exhibit this behaviour strongly indicates it was not how it was supposed to look, and is caused by poor manufacturing tolerances and/or aging caps.

Not all degraded video quality was the intended vision for the device, unless your argument is that a fraying composite cable that you have to jiggle around and a controller with a broken “R” button is also core to the experience. That may have been YOUR experience as a kid, that doesn’t make it the intended vision of the creators.

It’s a fine line, but this falls on the side of early manufacturing errors and not intention.