Multiple consoles and connecting to one TV

Ray Palmer

I have a a few retro consoles from the Atari 2600 on-wards. I want to connect a few to a modern TV with just HDMI connections. What is the advise on the best way to connect them?

o1s1n

Honestly there's no way of doing it cheaply without it looking like absolute garbage. It does require a bit of investment.

I use a Retrotink 5X which allows you to plug scart consoles into it and then that scales the image correctly and outputs to HDMI for a modern TV. It's not cheap though.

https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/5x-pro

Retrotink also do the 2X which I've never tried but apparently it also works well and is cheaper.

https://www.retrotink.com/product-page/retrotink-2x-scart

You can then run a multi scart switcher into one of those to hook up all your consoles to.

What I've done is use the above Retrotink 5X and then I've a Hydra multi scart running into it.

https://retrolemon.co.uk/audiovideo-devices/45-hydra.html

The result is that I've 8 consoles all hooked up, I can switch any of them on and it all auto detects and the console appears on the screen.

Ray Palmer

I was looking at below as I have a multi scart "hub" already

https://www.amazon.co.uk/MISOTT-Upscale-Converter-Supports-Projector/dp/B07HRRVJFY/ref=sxin_23_sbv_search_btf?content-id=amzn1.sym.27cbbb04-238e-4883-8985-73cbd581eef0%3Aamzn1.sym.27cbbb04-238e-4883-8985-73cbd581eef0&crid=2FRP0D46KR8PH&cv_ct_cx=scart+to+hdmi&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.v8zCe_sTwwDmvtqwt6Lilw.MagKNlgX4R46-YeG4Yvg_yT3tpTxlXsQ3DDDEXyFpGs&dib_tag=se&keywords=scart+to+hdmi&pd_rd_i=B07HRRVJFY&pd_rd_r=536e295f-ccd6-4b42-9268-9beb5d3c7d63&pd_rd_w=gwzrU&pd_rd_wg=wJ0aX&pf_rd_p=27cbbb04-238e-4883-8985-73cbd581eef0&pf_rd_r=664HEA65W7T6V36ATE9X&qid=1708606239&s=electronics&sbo=RZvfv%2F%2FHxDF%2BO5021pAnSA%3D%3D&sprefix=scart+to+hdmi%2Celectronics%2C176&sr=1-1-9131241a-a358-4619-a7b8-0f5a65d91d81

I still don't think I can connect the Atari 2600 as that is coaxial

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121802466#Comment_121802466

Haven't used that myself but any cheapo solutions I've seen introduce noise, bad scaling and lag. Might be worth a go seeing as it's so cheap but what you see on your TV probably won't reflect the consoles at their best and will look pretty bad.

Wouldn't bother with an Atari 2600 on a big panel TV over coaxial (or composite for that matter!) it'll look hilariously bad. Aside from all the interference, the games weren't made for big displays.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121802506#Comment_121802506

might stick with the crts

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121802513#Comment_121802513

Oh 100% if that's a solution! The only reason I invested so much to get everything over HDMI is down to not having the space for a nice big CRT anymore. I'd trade it all for a 29 inch Trinitron in a heartbeat.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121802518#Comment_121802518

I really might just get rid of the consoles at this point and go the emulator route.

o1s1n

Have you looked into MiSTer at all yet? I'm using it exclusively in one of my arcade machines in place of PCBs and it's really fantastic.

Inviere

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121803020#Comment_121803020

I did that, and ultimately regretted it - sold everything off, set up a very comprehensive couch friendly emulation setup, and yeah, it works grand - but just lacks that bit of special something. I did miss having the consoles though, and have been rebuilding my collection ever since. I'm not getting back into buying games, original hardware and flashcarts/ode's all the way though.

That said, I bought a Mister system a while back and it's been an absolute game changer.

McDermotX

Yeah mate………i just want to play a game not go through the main quest to turn the right one on

https://youtu.be/FLaTSb8k518?si=j270smvehhTFdP8L

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122502100#Comment_122502100

With that much space (and money) at his disposal it should all be hooked up to a Sony PVM-4300 or some other gigantic CRT.

Nobody on earth wants to play a 2600 like this:

Inviere

A shining example of how this hobby can turn into a questionable mental health obsession there. While it's a technical achievement to have it all set up and ready to go, I can feel the absolute weight/pressure of it all in that room just from looking at the video….it doesn't look like a nice, relaxing place to be to enjoy some games.

o1s1n

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122502166#Comment_122502166

100% this. The older I get the cleaner I just want all of my gaming spaces to be. Nearly have mild claustrophobia just looking at this video. It looks like he was just obsessed with having 'the most'. I doubt many of those consoles have been switched on more than once or twice.

Always frustrates me seeing someone with that much money, that much space at their disposal, but not much sense.

You could literally have half of that space as a dedicated arcade. Such a waste.

MrVestek

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005003688611486.html?spm=a2g0o.order_list.order_list_main.5.63881802SMZOJP

I use two of these daisy chained together on my CRT and they work really really well at autosensing and switching the inputs and only need 5v USB power, which a lot of modern power strips will supply.

I reckon you could easily use the scart output to hdmi converter with one of these and achieve what you're looking for.