Nintendo 64 HDMI output – coming soon!

So I was derping around the internet, and I came across an interesting project made by Marshall over at retroactive.be – he’s developing a Nintendo 64 HDMI output.

About the Nintendo 64 HDMI adapter

Don’t get your hopes up just yet – it’s not out. It is announced to be released in Q3 2014 so if that’s any indication, we will be able to order one over soon. Not only that, but it’s going to be pretty difficult to install. The Nintendo 64 wasn’t made to support HDMI, the N64 was discontinued at around the time HDMI was being developed. Because of this, the device isn’t going to be plug-and-play, but will require you to solder the HDMI board to the N64 motherboard somehow. There isn’t an installation manual so we can’t really tell how much effort or risk will be needed to install the adapter, but hopefully retroactive will release one once the Nintendo 64 HDMI converter is made public.

Good news is that the adapter will be available for both PAL and NTSC platforms so you can install it on either one. More good news would be that the resolution increases to about 640×480 from an original resolution of about 320px making a much clearer image. There are some screenshots on the maker’s site if you want to have a look. It looks very promising

Some unknowns about the Nintendo 64 HDMI adapter:

• The retail price. How much is it going to hurt your pocket? I can assume that this is going to quite a niche audience considering that the N64 has been out of production for over a decade now. Because of the small market I can expect high prices much like the Everdrive 64 or the 64Drive.
• Installation complication. My soldering knowledge is limited to fusing LEDs to jumper wires. In order to install this, you’d need to learn this skill and risk your N64 in the process or send it over to a professional for a price.

More about Retroactive

Retroactive is run by a guy called Marshall, 24, a college graduate who is working freelance. Doing what freelance? I don’t know.

Despite the unknown profession, he’s done some pretty cool stuff related to the Nintendo 64 besides this HDMI adapter. He’s the mind behind the 64Drive and a pretty good in-depth look at the iQue so I’d recommend you have a look at his site, even if you’re not planning on buying anything:

Retroactive.be