I’ve been experimenting with different video capture formats for my Game Boy World videos and would like some feedback on which you, the consumer eyeball, would prefer.
Unfortunately there is no single perfect solution. I like capturing GB games with the Super Game Boy frame and, when available, preset color palettes; but the only means I have of using SGB is on systems that only output lower-grade video (composite or S-Video). The RetroN outputs via HDMI, but it doesn’t read games inserted in the Super Game Boy, recognizing only the SGB itself. So, please, compare the two formats and let me know which I should go with:
Do I capture from RetroN 5 and get clean video without any of the SGB embellishments? As such:
Or do I go with the lower-grade capture solution that allows the full potential effect of games to be displayed, but with rougher and more artifacted video quality? As such:
Your feedback would be greatly appreciated!
On a Game Boy World-related note, I have a long-term, paid freelance project available for anyone capable of capturing high-quality Lynx video. Drop me an email at toastyfrog@gmail.com if you are such a person and would like some American dollars. Thanks!
Punting this back to you. This is your coverage, your vision. What do you prefer? Use it. It’s your work.
While I can see the obvious difference in quality, the Super Game Boy video isn’t so low-quality that it makes me not enjoy the video. There’s certainly no fine details missed by not using HD capture of a 160×144 source.
I say go ahead and stick to the SGB.
I prefer the Super Game Boy but ultimately I think you should go with whatever is more efficient for you.
I really like the rougher quality. Those games look nice with a little fuzz. Show us what they can do, man!
I like the Super Game Boy, lower resolution look. It’s a Game Boy series, it should look as authentic as it can.
The retroN as far as i understand it, is basically just software emulators that reads hardware – capturing that starts to make less sense to me, it might as well just be a capture of an emulator on a pc.
Capturing actual hardware footage feels like the right path, even if the quality is technically diminished, well that’s how we all saw the games anyway. Its how they were designed to be seen in some cases.
This is probably a personal thing, but having the super clean sharp edges on old games like this to me just looks strange, its like when people run playstation one emulators at full HD resolutions, everything looks sharp and crisp in ways it wasn’t meant to.
plus it would be a real shame to miss what SGB enhancements are brought to games, I know its mostly just almost random colours thrown at a 4 tone image, but there is the occasional bezel image and what not, exciting for those of us that never had a SGB
SGB, without a doubt. I’ll be using it in my videos, too. :-)
Definitely prefer the rougher SGB video. Feels right.
I also prefer the SGB option, mainly for its usage of Actual Hardware. Nothing against the Retron 5, which seems like a fantastic machine, but I can’t imagine they fully tested every Game Boy cart for emulation issues. Unless you can get a subsidy for being emulation QA…?!
I’d prefer the SGB option like other have suggested. The frame and coloring feels more akin to the original Game Boy experience.
I don’t mind the SGB at all but on games without proper SGB palettes it looks really weird – like on Baseball. So… I dunno… I’d say it’s situational, really.
Do you have a way to capture 15khz RGB? If so, you may want to consider using an NTSC RGB cable with your SNES (Model 1). If you don’t have a way to capture RGB but can capture component, you could hook the RGB cable up to a transcoder and capture from component. Obviously, this requires that you purchase the NTSC SCART cable (~$19) and possibly a transcoder for SCART to component video (~$40 to $50). OR…maybe someone could donate them.
So I guess my answer is to capture RGB output from a Super Nintendo using a Super Game Boy modded for the correct speed. Output of the SNES via RGB is actually pretty good and quite a bit better than S-Video, in my opinion.
I have some ideas that probrably are extreme, but first off Super Gameboy! For a very lo res system , you are losing very little. And the Super Gameboy has games programmed to specifically take advantage if it. Even more so than th GC GB player or GBA as they don’t use the enhanced color pallete or soundtracks.
If I were doing it first off I would use an emulator with SGB mode to capture. But I know your feeling on using real hardware so that is not an option. If I were dedicated to using real hardware I would do this. I would get a real SNES. SNES is already RGB compatible. I would buy a SNES RGB cable. I would then run that through a RGB upscaler like the Micomsoft XRGB mini (For HDMI out) or XRGB3 (For DVI out) Then capture the footage on your PC with with an HDMI or DVI capture card like the Elgato (Or capture device or your choice.) this would allow the most clear and authentic video. Now if you wanted to cut some of that out and make your capture solution less flexible for other systems, there are RGB PC capture cards for direct RGB capture for your PC, again Micomsoft makes one.
But again barring an emulator , I would take your current capture method by a mile over GameCube.
Also of note, while you cannot currently play Super Game Boy mode on the Retron 5, it may come in a firmware update. This something PC emulators do without an actual Super Game Boy, so there is no reason the Retron 5 could not do this without requiring an actual Super Game Boy.
Definitely SGB! They did the same thing when exhibiting the Gameboy Catalog on episodes of Game Center CX so this definitely feels right at home!
Seeing the SGB outline, subconsciously almost makes it seem like you’re playing on an actual gameboy, which is how these games were meant to be played.
I’m sorry if you’ve addressed this before, but are you just against using a PC based emulator? If you have reasons for not going that route thats OK. I’d actually prefer the composite fuzzy look with the Super Gameboy features. Will be worth it when you get to SGB enhanced games!
As others have suggested, definitely the SGB.
Both videos looks fine, the SNES vids are way better than the stuff I recorded on VHS and Dazzle.
Before I recommend Super Game Boy I have to ask, does Retron 5 have a Gameboy green color scheme? If so, would it be possible to add a Super Gameboy border to the vids in post production?
Also, yhey say Super Gameboy plays games slightly faster, but Super Gameboy 2 fixes this. Are you planning on getting Super Gameboy 2?
Looks like the Super Game Boys have it! Which is good, because that’s what I prefer.
Wow, that’s unanimous isn’t it.