NES RetroTink 2x ringing (ghosting) picture quality issue

[jsteel]

Hi,

I have an issue with the video quality going through the RetroTink 2x from both my NTSC NES and Famicom. It’s most noticeable against solid, light-coloured backgrounds eg Mario 3 and Mega Man. Here’s a picture of the NES directly into composite on my TV:

And here’s a picture going via the RetroTink:

I’ve tried two HDMI cables and two 32″ LCD TVs and the issue is always the same. I’ve tried adjusting sharpness and other settings on the TV but I cannot improve the image. In those pictures, the TV settings are identical (sharpness etc) on both composite and HDMI inputs for a fair test.

Does anyone else see this issue and is there a way to improve it? Switching between the 3 modes of the RetroTink doesn’t help.

Thanks

[BuckoA51]

Just a thought but you don’t have the sharpness control jacked up on the HDMI input do you?

[jsteel]

Hey. No, I have the sharpness set very low. I’ve tried it at 0 (those images may even be with it set at 0 as I tried to get the image to look as good as possible) but the issue is still present.

[BuckoA51]

are you sure you have Tink set to line double and not passthrough too?

[jsteel]

Yes I’ve tried all 3 modes (pass-through, line double and line double + filter) and they all show this issue. The above picture is in line double mode (one light on).

[BuckoA51]

Very strange as NTSC NES was one of the most tested systems and others don’t seem to be seeing this (unlike the other problem you reported which does seem to be widespread unfortunately).

[jsteel]

I’m planning on testing a few more LCD TVs with both my NES and FC via the RetroTink, making sure the sharpness is set to 0. I’ll report back with some further pictures if the issue is on all of the displays I try. If you have any other suggestions let me know.

[jsteel]

I tried a 46″ Sony TV and saw the same issues even with different AV cables and a different 5V 1A power supply. Here’s direct to the TV:

And here’s via the RetroTink:

Again sharpness is set to 0 and I played around with other settings to try and get it looking as good as I could but I couldn’t improve the ringing issue.

[paulb_nl]

That ghosting is also visible in the video of My Life in Gaming at 4:25. https://youtu.be/mdUlcIR1yh4?t=265

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