Commodore 64 Component Video Upgrade – Installation Service

Available now (handled by our partners BetaGamma Computing in Greece). Please allow for shipping and processing delays due to bad weather in Corfu. UK customers MUST e-mail us first about ANY upgrade/repair work (except NI).

All repair/upgrade work is carried out subject to our terms and conditions. Once you have placed your order, details of where to ship your hardware will be sent to your e-mail address. Prices do NOT include return postage.

This is it! Finally a component video upgrade for the Commodore 64! Now at last you can enjoy noise free analogue video from your classic computer system.

Order this product and send us your C64 computer and we will upgrade it to the best possible picture and video quality. We will also give your machine an internal clean and general health check.

No matter if you’re using component video or S-Video, this upgrade delivers the best possible picture! The C64 is one of the most popular computers ever made and while it’s fondly remembered for its excellent graphics and sound, the systems video output leaves a lot to be desired. On a stock machine, only RF, composite and S-Video output are possible. While S-Video can be pretty decent on some systems, on the C64 it is especially prone to noise and interference.

For a machine as popular as the C64, people have asked for years, “why isn’t a component video or RGB upgrade available?” Unfortunately it turns out this simply isn’t possible. The C64s graphics chip, the VIC-II, does not generate our output RGB video at all.

In order to get around this limitation, the C0pperdragon component video upgrade uses an FPGA to bypass the chrominance/luminance signal generation of the VIC-II. It then generates a YPbPr (component video) signal directly from the digital information available inside the C64.

This does mean that when using the component video upgrade , you are not using 100% authentic C64 hardware. However, the kit has been extensively tested by C64 users with some of the most demanding games and demos and has been shown to produce accurate results.

If 100% authenticity is important, for example for speed running or other competitions, the component video upgrade also includes the S-Video bypass. This means you can use the best quality, cleanest S-Video output from the C64 at the same time as the component video upgrade. Use the S-Video out to game on your CRT while you stream or capture the YPbPr, great for speed runners! The S-Video bypass makes a big difference to the machines S-Video image quality. In our in-house tests, scope readings show all signals are in spec and clean and the signal to noise ratio measures up to 20dB better than the stock RF modulator.

The component video output from the modification can be used with classic CRTs or upscalers. Furthermore, if you have a HDTV, the board can be set to line double mode by the flick of a switch. This drastically improves the picture quality on HDTV sets by outputting a 480p/576p image. No more combing effects on sprites or interlacing artifacts and errors! Flick the switch to its third position and you get cool looking scanlines added to the image too. Your classic Commodore is now fully compatible with most modern televisions without the need for an external upscaler or converter.

The component video output is also fully compatible with the Comp2RGB transcoder, if RGB output is required.

The S-Video output from the upgrade can be used in conjunction with a LumaFix 64 board to further clean up the machines noisy S-Video output. Generally this will make a small but appreciable difference compared to running just the S-Video bypass on its own, but results vary widely between Commodore 64 machines. If your machine already includes the Lumafix 64 we will test it for you and adjust/re-calibrate it if necessary.

Note that installing this upgrade will disable/remove RF output capability from your C64, though this should be considered obsolete anyway.

Please note this upgrade is NOT compatible with the Commodore 128.

Your C64 will also be returned with a TRRS cable which will enable you to connect it to any component video display or scaler easily.

To make the installation as neat as possible, video output from the C64 component video upgrade is via a single 3.5mm jack. To use this jack, you connect the supplied TRRS cable (pictured here), which then provides the 3 standard YPbPr connectors that you can then connect to your TV or secondary upscaler.

Component video via highly accurate FPGA simulation and the cleanest possible S-Video, all in one board. This really is the ultimate analogue video upgrade for your C64.

Don’t like the palette that comes with the board?, you can change and edit it using the software here.

For more information or help and support, visit our dedicated support forum here.

If you prefer to DIY fit this upgrade yourself, click here.

Open source design developed by c0pperdragon and used with permission. Want to build your own board?, check the Github page here.