HDMI output on the GameCube has been around for a while. Back in 2018, we got the rather rough-and-ready GC Video Plug 'n Play 3.0, which did the job but came in a rather ugly 3D-printed case. Shortly afterwards there came the EON GCHD adapter (and, not long afterwards, its sequel), and in 2019 a budget option arrived in the shape of the Insurrection Carby. All of these devices use the same GCVideo software, and they all have one notable weakness – updating them to the latest version of GCVideo requires some degree of disassembly.
Enter Retro-Bit's Prism HD Adapter. It's also running GCVideo and offers the same lovely HD visuals as its rivals, but the key difference is that it has a USB-C port on the side which means you can update it easily. It's also running the latest revision of GCVideo (3.0e) out of the box, which is nice. Oh, and like the Carby, it comes with its own remote so you can access GCVideo's UI more easily (the GCHD doesn't offer this).
Like other HDMI adapters, the Prism HD connects to the GameCube's digital AV port (make sure you have a DOL-001 model number GameCube, as Nintendo removed the digital AV port from the later hardware revision), allowing you to link the console to your HDMI-ready TV. The picture quality is a massive step up from what we're normally used to (unless, of course, you're lucky enough to own a GameCube component cable), making games appear super-sharp. GCVideo also allows you to tinker with various aspects of the picture (including adding scanlines) so you can mess around to get the image you truly desire.
As we noted with other HD adapters, the picture quality is going to vary depending on your TV. There's no upscaling going on here (which means the Prism HD doesn't introduce any lag), so your TV has to do the heavy-lifting in this regard. Not all TVs handle a 480i/480p image the same way – the process of upscaling that signal could introduce lag or produce a fuzzy picture, so you might want to experiment with a few TV sets if you have the option.
The only other real negative with the Prism HD is that, unlike the EON GCHD, it only plugs into the digital AV port. While the GCHD didn't make use of the analogue port, it plugged into it to provide some much-needed stability; the Prism HD, on the other hand, sticks out quite far and is easy to knock. Given that the HDMI cable plugs into the end of the Prism HD rather than the side, you'll need a lot of space in your AV unit to house the GameCube with this adapter attached. It really would have made more sense to have the HDMI port on the side.
In terms of price, the Prism HD is around the same price as the Carby (around $80), but is arguably a better option when you consider that you can update it with the minimum of fuss – and it's worth noting that GCVideo got several firmware updates in 2020 alone. While there's little difference between the available options when it comes to actual picture quality, the Prism HD is definitely worthy of consideration – although if you already own an adapter like this, there's perhaps less reason to make a purchase.
The Retro-Bit Prism HD Adapter launches in March. Pre-order information can be found here.
Comments 50
I'd like to get one for my panasonic q, price is more reasonable than some of the other options.
Is it available in the uk?
Now if only I can find a working GameCube
TLDR: It's all GCVideo on the inside so choice of hardware comes down to cost and ease of updating I guess.
I got a Carby just the other week which I'm happy with. Haven't even updated it yet but think it works great. Much better than playing through Wii on component.
They all do the same thing but I agree hdmi out would’ve been better to have on the side
@mattmayatt https://gamesconnection.co.uk/
I just pre-ordered! Thanks for the info.
One day they’ll be able to emulate the CRT look on these things. To be able to select between a pro monitor, consumer trinitron or shadow mask with all the associated phosphor bloom & bleed would be wonderful, but would take a much more powerful FPGA and a very bright, non degenerative 8K panel.
As @Aurumonado states, most seem to have the same internal GC video.
I got a Kaico HD adapter last Jan for £60, has GC Video and does a great job! 👍
@Perryg92 yup same here does the job.
@HollowSpectre @Perryg92 Yes, all GCVideo is exactly the same code & works the same. All the older units give the same quality as this one. Only when units with enhanced scaling come out will we see improved HDMI & even then only if it’s scaling is better than your TV’s. The analogue output is perfect & will never need improving.
Is there one of these for the N64?
As of version 3.0, the Carby is software updatable through Swiss, which really is a must these days so that you can force 480p for much better image quality over 480i.
@Mips Does Retroarch’s Dolphin core not support CRT shaders yet? I’ve been using those shaders for SNES and PSX games for years now.
@WhiteTrashGuy there are some adapters and cables that allow the N64 to connect through HDMI but they are all very hit or miss in terms of overall quality. Mainly due to the poor video out the N64 had even compared to other systems of the time and it also being analog. The only way to get similar results for an N64 is to mod one with HDMI which is very pricey.
I got the Kaico hd adapter about 6 months ago and I love it. Unfortunately, I can't update it, but it's already using GCVideo 3.0, so I shouldn't have to replace it for a while. I find the artificial scanlines to be an absolute must for getting a decent picture. It's great to have all these adapters on the market.
Do these types of devices only work with NTSC games? I ready somewhere that PAL games don't generate the correct output or something?
If they made adapters like this for all the consoles, that might make me retire my CRT.
What am I saying, I’ll never retire that thing. ‘Til death do us part!
NINJA APPROVED
@nessisonett Yes, this is just for us idiots obsessed with original hardware
@Zenszulu Yes & even then they don’t look anywhere near as good as CRT. Unless you like the super pixelated N64 look (which I don’t), where the UltraHDMI’s de-blur function would be perfect.
@Mips I still have my GameCube for that reason but I’ll just play it with the original cables. If I want it to look better then I’ll just connect my laptop to the TV like I’ve been doing replaying Metroid Prime with the AI upscaled textures.
@MarioBrickLayer
You can run Swiss through homebrew and force progressive scan on a majority of PAL games.
@Mips that's why I have held off getting mine modded as it comes with some huge drawbacks due to the way some games actually relied on how the video output worked to hide certain programming tricks it actually highlights that far too much. Sadly there is not ideal way to get an always good quality picture out of the N64 on modern displays currently.
Can anyone answer what would be benefit of this compared to a generic $20 device that converts SCART to HDMI and thus can be used on any old console and requires no software?
@nukatha thanks!
If you have a NTSC game and a PAL game + Swiss, would they look the same through one of these devices or would one look better?
I played Gamecube games with Wii machine + Wii component cable since when i use Wii 2 HDMI converter, it looked quite nice for Gamecube games but too bright for Wii games.
@WhiteTrashGuy the Super64 adapters are good quality and have a slick mode which smooths out those jaggy polygons. I play with a Super64 and an mClassic. However, the N64digital has just been announced by PixelFX. This new company involves the geniuses that make the PS2digital and DCdigital among others. I’m definitely getting a load of N64 digitals in and will offer installation as a service.
@MarioBrickLayer so you can force 480p and 60hz or 576p/50Hz for Pal games. If originally the Pal conversion was optimised in any way for 50Hz and doesn’t have the Pal60 option (see WaveRace blue storm for an example) then forcing 480/60Hz won’t make it the same as playing the NTSC game. You’ll need to experiment. If you force 480p/60Hz on Pal WaveRace blue storm the game runs a lot faster than the NTSC version because the game was already sped up to compensate for the Pal conversion. It’s hilarious. And hard. So I force 576p for WaveRace. Most Pal games though have the Pal60 option so they run the same as NTSC in 480p/60Hz
@citizenerased generic scart to HDMI picture quality will be less and because of the digital to analogue and back to digital conversions there will be significant lag. These digital adapters for the GC take the digital signal so there’s minimal lag. Plus they are pixel perfect. I use an mClassic with a Carby adapter which helps to smooth those pixels out as it intelligently upscales to 1440p. Honestly GC games played this way look close to HD remasters. I’ve been replaying the Mario Galaxy games this way and honestly they look nearly as good as the Switch HD versions.
@beazlen1
Awesome! Thanks for the info!
@Zenszulu I had my N64 Ultra HDMI modified a few years back before deciding to start sell off my collection at Christmas. I used a 20" 4:3 1600x1200p Dell Ultrasharp and the results where spectacular, I used deblur and auto ips patches and at 20" games such as DKR to Doom 64 looked emulation quality, really phenomenal, and games such as the enhanced Goldeneye deluxe (with an awesome AA toggle added to the watch menu) also looked great.
Granted the results weren't so hot on my 60" 1080p Plasma but only so large a size can one stretch a 240p image out.
@beazlen1 I hear ya. I use an mClassic with my Wii U and boy, do all my old GCN games installed on Wii U look spectacular on a 4K 42" I have in my kitchen, as you say close to hd quality.
@citizenerased The generic lead/adapter will have rubbish picture quality and a little lag. But if all you want is a picture and don't care about image quality go for the generic option buddy. It's like moving from composite to RGB in the old days.
@MarioBrickLayer you just have to have the PAL GCN with digital out, it was removed in later models as Nintendo had long since decided PAL gamers don't appreciate a quality video output.
Thanks @beazlen1 !
Interesting to see multiple mentions of the mClassic here. Did NintendoLife ever review it?
@liveswired oh yeah mClassic gamer! the mClassic has got me replaying all the old N64 and GC classics. One of the best purchases I’ve made. The Metroid Prime games / F zero GX / Mario Galaxy / Burnout / WaveRace games to name a few look genuinely mind blowing to me. There are some games that don’t look very good with the mClassic though. Resident Evil 4 for example. But it’s only a few.
@liveswired
Ah yes the ‘good old days’ when Nintendo thought PAL gamers all lived in Medieval villages or WW2 bomb sites with Black and White TVs.
No RGB on the N64, no Digital cables, 480p or even S-Video on the Gamecube. And them N64 PAL Conversions, bleurghhh....
my lads TV already has a scart and RGB connections... Will this improve the quality any further than the dedicated connection?
... but does this work on the Wii as well?
If I get a GCVideo device I’ll get the Kaico from Amazon. It’s nice for one of these retro gaming devices to be readily available, at a decent price, from a normal retailer who is based in the UK. I’m fed up with these devices costing the earth, only available from one retailer in god knows where, with a 6 month waiting list.
@electrolite77 So true! Although a lot of us were aware of all this at the time & used NTSC consoles modded with RGB.
Has anyone compared this type of solution to using a Wii?
The Wii can run GC thru component video (R,B,G) at 480p.
That seems like an easier way to do good A/V for GC games at a decent price.
Otherwise, you have to find early GC w/ progressive video port & then HDMI converter.
Wii consoles & component cables should still be pretty cheap (unlike all things GC now).
@Mips
I certainly wish I’d done that with the N64. With the ‘Cube it was OK personally as I only ever had a CRT that gen and to be fair the RGB SCART output was really lovely. Just a shame they didn’t use the Digital option. I mean, they had to actively cut 480p output out of the PAL versions 😳
@electrolite77 To me, RGB scart at 480i on CRT was the perfect for GC. I have options for 480p but it always looks too pixelated. The GC always looked super smooth back in the day and after trying 480p for so long, I realised that the interlacing of 480i on a CRT smooths the image perfectly.
@beazlen1 I find Resident Evil 4 GCN version looks great via Nintendon't with forced 16:9 widescreen. The Wii edition looks very poor but has the best gameplay of all versions - but there is a reason.
I don't know the exact resolution but Resident Evil 4, but a guess due to the black bars likely runs at an internal 640x240 resolution. The Wii Edition is the same resolution as GCN however Capcom unfortunately saw fit to crop and stretch the Wii edition. With the Wii's anamorphic widescreen it degrades the original image even more so, so the Wii edition will always have a dirty image quality as dithering and everything is simply blown up to a massive scale.
@Mips but if you had a 480p crt...
@GamerDad66 I have indeed, it looks good on a 20" 4:3 LCD monitor if you are lucky to own one. Go bigger and wider - the Wii turns into a ***** show with everything unfortunately regardless of cables. Also the GCN digital out is vastly superior to the Wiis last minute component cables!! People forget Nintendo was going to leave Wii as a composite/ rgb scart system until the last hour when fan fury built so much they gave in and started manufacturing component. It isn't even digital, it's analogue and has a number of weaknesses due to Nintendo cutting back on the output boards just as they did on N64. Anything for a penny.
I play my GCN games through Wii U with mClassic and it looks sublime.
@Piyo will need to give these a go eventually.
I certainly hope it's a cheaper alternative to the other two already available adapters.
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