UPDATE 2022/01/13: Mike was kind enough to do a livestream with me, where we went over all the new features! This post is still a summary, but please check it out if you’re interested in the details!
Mike Chi has just released the latest evolution in the RetroTINK 5x firmware: Version 3.0! With this comes some lag adjustments (even lower!), profile naming and some brand new downscaling options. I’ll discuss a bit of each after the links, but please remember that updating the firmware deletes all previous profiles and resets it to factory settings.
Purchase the RetroTINK 5x here: https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/5x-pro
Download the latest RT5x firmware here: https://www.retrotink.com/post/retrotink-5x-pro-firmware-updates
Update RetroTINK: https://www.retrorgb.com/how-to-update-your-retrotinks-firmware.html
Update RetroTINK on a Mac: https://www.retrorgb.com/update-retrotink-products-on-mac-linux.html
One feature that will affect all RT5x users, is the tweaks to the lag settings! Mike has taken what he’s learned from future product development and back-ported it to this, lowering the latency in all resolutions! You can also view how much latency is introduced in the Status page – Very handy!
Another feature that some people might consider a game-changer, is the re-introduction of 240p downscaling…as well as downscaling to 480i! This is pretty amazing for people looking to use modern consoles on CRT’s with the lowest latency possible! It’s also a great choice for people simply wanting to watch TV shows from streaming services on CRT’s. Of course, latency doesn’t matter in those scenarios and a cheap HDMI to composite/S-Video downscaler might be more than enough for your needs…but what if you want aspect ratio control? Or the ability to downscale to Component video or RGB via cheap DAC’s?
And there’s even 480i passthrough options!!! Basically, 720p and 480p can be downscaled to either 480i or 240p and 480i can either be downscaled to 240p, or just passed through. Honestly, the RT5x is now both the best scaler and downscaler on the market. VERY exciting stuff!!!
Here’s the full list of features with this update:
- Profiles can be named with an on-screen keyboard.
- Ported RT4K buffer mode, making all resolutions ‘min-lag’.
- Current buffer lag (assuming Frame Lock or converged Gen Lock) can be seen in the [Status] page.
- Ported RT4K Gen Lock, improving overall stability.
- 240p output mode revived (for 240p, 480i, 480p and 720p inputs).
- 480i output mode added (for 240p, 480i, 480p and 720p inputs).
- Downscaler behavior can be controlled in the [Interp./Deint.] menu. DS Pass-Thru = No, forces all sources to the specified output (i.e. 480i is converted to 240p). DS Pass-Thru = Yes has the output resolution follow the input resolution.
- Please be aware, that downscaling options are considered experimental and unsupported. We cannot provide support or guarantee proper operation with 3rd party HDMI -> analog dongles. You will need a converter that is capable of recognizing and generating the correct sync signals for 480i video.
- 4K24 and 1080p Min-Lag modes removed.
