AV:RetroTINK-5X Pro

The RetroTINK-5X Pro is an advanced video upscaler designed by Mike Chi. It is the latest offering from the RetroTink line of graphics upscalers and line-doublers.

How To Use The RetroTINK-5X Pro - A Beginner’s Guide
The RetroTINK-5X Pro is a product designed to solve the problem of using retro video game consoles with modern flat panel displays. If you’ve arrived at this guide, you’re probably aware of some problems when trying to play older video game systems on a newer TV's.

HDMI vs Analog
In many situations, the cables that came with your game system will not be compatible with the modern digital HDMI inputs on your TV. One of the main features of the RetroTINK-5X Pro is to convert these signals into an HDMI format your modern display can understand.

Correct Image Processing
In the cases that your display does have the correct hook ups to connect your console, there’s still a good chance that the resulting output will be blurry, distorted and laggy. This is because most displays are designed with video content in mind, and the video processing used to handle video isn’t a good fit for retro consoles. Features like minimal and consistent latency, integer scaling and proper handling of 240p are almost always missing when using a flat panel’s included analog inputs.

Lag
The RetroTINK-5X Pro by design is an extremely low lag device, and includes advanced modes to operate even more quickly (with trade offs to other features, see Triple Buffer vs Frame Lock Mode and 1080p (Min-Lag) for more info).

lag (aka latency) is the measurement of the time between a controller button input to when the action is shown on screen. Every electronic device takes a little bit of time to do its job. In the context of gaming, this includes the controller itself, the video game console, any upscalers or splitters in the signal chain, and the display. Having too much lag in a setup can make gameplay feel sluggish, unresponsive, and in extreme cases unplayable. This is why enthusiasts seek devices (controllers, displays, upscalers, etc.) that minimize latency. Devices that do their job as quickly as possible are often referred to as "low lag" or "virtually no lag".

when seeking products that are low latency, it's helpful to know that anything less than a frame in a 60fps signal is colloquially considered very low lag. Often milliseconds (ms) are used to measure lag. 1 frame of a standard 60fps signal is equal to approximately 16.7ms.

Just Play the Damn Game™
Thanks to Mike Chi’s research and engineering, the Tink 5x is one of the best products on the market specifically built to address the peculiarities of retro video game analog signals. While a complex engine of tweakability lies under the hood for enthusiasts, the Tink 5x prioritizes ease of use so anyone can get their console up in running.

Here are the basic steps anyone can take to get a great experience with their retro video game console:


 * 1) Connect the Tink 5x to your display using an HDMI cable.
 * 2) Connect your video game console’s video and audio to the Tink 5x using a supported cable (link to supported inputs section).
 * 3) Power on the Tink 5x using the included MicroUSB cable - many TV’s will have a USB hookup on the back that will work as a power source.
 * 4) Using the included remote, select the appropriate input from the Input Source menu. (This choice depends on the cable you are using to connect your video game console to the Tink 5x, see Supported Inputs section for more information).
 * 5) Using the included remote, select the appropriate output from the Output Res. menu. (For most TV’s, 1080p (Fill) is a great “all around” choice.)

And that’s it! You don’t have to be an A/V engineer to get remarkable results from the Tink 5x, all the hard work is done behind the scenes. Understanding jargon such as automatic phase detection, polyphase scaling or motion adaptive deinterlacing isn’t required for you to gain the benefits and enjoy your retro consoles on a flat panel with great results.

Supported Inputs
The Tink 5x supports nearly every major analog video format used by retro video game consoles. Please see the Inputs Source section for more information about supported resolutions and modes.

Composite
This is the “standard yellow video cable” most people are familiar with. Composite video cables were found on consoles ranging from the NES all the way through the Xbox 360 / PS3 era of gaming.

To use composite video: plug your cable’s video RCA plug (typically yellow in color) into the Tink 5x’s “Y” labeled input, and your left and right audio into the “L” and “R” inputs respectively. Then, select Composite from the Tink 5x’s Input Source menu.

SCART-CV
The Tink 5x supports composite input over the SCART connector input. SCART was not widely used in the United States but was common in Europe, and video game consoles sometimes featured composite video and audio connections over SCART.

Note that S-Video (Y/C) video formats are not accepted through the SCART connector input.

To use SCART-CV, plug in an appropriately wired SCART cable or use RCA cables for video/audio with a compatible SCART breakout adapter, and select SCART-CV from the Tink 5x’s Input Source menu.

S-Video
S-Video is an iteration of composite video that features two parts of the composite signal (Y and C) across two separate wires. Using S-Video cables are typically regarded as a visual improvement over “standard” composite cables. Consoles that supported S-Video output include (but not limited to) PlayStation, Nintendo 64, Saturn and Dreamcast.

To use S-Video with the Tink 5x, plug the S-Video cable into the Tink 5x’s “Y/C” input, and your left and right audio into the “L” and “R” inputs respectively. Then, select S-Video from the Tink 5x’s Input Source menu.

YPbPr / Component
YPbPr or "Component" video is a high quality analog standard that uses 3 RCA cables to carry separate parts of the video signal. Component video was featured on consoles such as PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox, Wii, and Gamecube (model # DOL-001 only).

To use YPbPr with the Tink 5x, insert the Y RCA plug (typically colored green) into the Tink 5x’s “Y” input, insert the Pb RCA plug (typically colored blue) into the Tink 5x’s “Pb” input, and insert the "Pr" RCA plug (typically colored red) into the Tink 5x’s “Pr” input. For audio, insert your left and right audio into the “L” and “R” inputs respectively.

Then, select YPbPr or YPbPr (SDP) for from the Tink 5x’s Input Source menu.

Review the Input Source section of the guide for more information concerning differences between YPbPr and YPbPr (SDP) modes.

Recommended YPbPr / Component Cables
HD Retrovision

SCART-RGB
The Tink 5x supports RGB input through the SCART connector input. SCART was not widely used in the United States but was common in Europe, and video game consoles often featured RGB video and audio connections over SCART. To find out if your console supports RGB over SCART, check out the Systems Section from the RetroRGB merger, or the original RetroRGB webpage while the Wiki under construction.

Compatibility
Tink 5x is designed to accept RGB over SCART in the "EuroSCART" variant and NOT JP21. Though JP21 uses the same style connector, it is not compatible with the Tink 5x and may damage your hardware.

Sync
The Tink 5x accepts sync on luma, sync on composite and c-sync RGB over SCART configurations. Check with your SCART cable manufacturer to ensure compatibility with the RetroTink 5x Pro.

Note that TTL sync is not supported by the Tink 5x and may damage your hardware.

31khz Signals
The Tink 5x can accept 31khz RGB signals with the use of a compatible sync combiner device. This allows for "VGA" input from compatible sources / resolutions. Sync combiner products include the HD15-2-SCART and VGA2SCART. A common implementation of this option is accepting Dreamcast "VGA" using a compatible VGA cable. Other options include building a sync combiner directly into the SCART cable, such as the Retro Access Dreamcast 15khz/31khz SCART cable.

Recommended SCART-RGB Cables
Retro Access Cables

Retro Gaming Cables

Insurrection Industries

Triple Buffer vs Frame Lock Mode
Older video game consoles didn't always have perfect video timings. CRT's typically had no problems working with these variances, but these "imprecise" consoles can sometimes have trouble working with modern TV's and capture devices that conform to a more rigid standard. Some games, such as Silent Hill or Chrono Cross on the PlayStation 1, will alternate between 240p or 480i resolutions depending if you are in-game or in the items/pause menu respectively. This can often create a long delay and black screen while the device reorients to the new resolution. The issue of a device taking a gameplay-harming amount of time to change between resolutions has been colloquially called the "Chrono Cross" problem.

Triple Buffer The RetroTINK-5X Pro uses Triple Buffer mode to effectively eliminate the "Chrono Cross" problem and create very high compatibility with displays and capture devices even for consoles with "imprecise" video. However, Triple Buffer mode comes at the expense of increased lag and occasional and minor judder. The lag varies between approximately 0.25 to 1.25 frames in this mode.

Frame Lock For those looking for the lowest possible lag, the RetroTINK-5X Pro offers a Frame Lock mode. With Frame Lock enabled, the RetroTINK-5X Pro uses the console's video input as it's base clock and offers a fixed lag of approx. 0.25 frames. The lowered lag comes at the cost of possibly lower compatibility with some TVs and capture cards, and not protecting devices from the "Chrono Cross" problem.

The RetroTINK-5X Pro defaults to Triple Buffer mode to ensure the highest compatibility for users. To toggle between Triple Buffer and Frame Lock, navigate to the HDMI settings and toggle the V. Sync (Vertical Sync) option.

Horizontal Sampling Modes
The RT5X uses a combination of its flexible video ADC plus polyphase scaler to produce various horizontal sampling options. The Generic 4:3 and 16:9 modes interpolate the horizontal directions to produce the correct aspect ratio at the select output resolution.

The optimal modes, listed for the various consoles, sample the horizontal direction at the same rate as the original console. Here are the currently included "Optimal Timing" presets:

Post Processing Filters
The RetroTINK-5X Pro features customizable post processing filters designed to simulate the look of certain CRT and LCD displays. Below is a list of the current featured presets, as well as examples captured from the same video source for comparison and reference. To view the post-processing effects example images with the best clarity, click once to view the images enlarged, and click the enlarged image again to view them in your browser without scaling.

Wobbling Pixel's Recommended Settings
Link to Wobbling Pixel's YouTube Channel

Game Boy Interface (Gamecube + Gameboy Advance Player)

PSP

N64

Dreamcast

SNES

PlayStation 2

SNES 8:7 Aspect Ratio Mode
Go to 1440p and decrease the sample rate to 2046 While in the genesis 320 profile.

Upgrading Firmware
To access the latest bugfixes and upgrades with the RetroTINK-5X Pro, it is necessary to upgrade the device's firmware. Upgraded firmware files can be found from the official RetroTINK website, or by joining the Discord community to gain access to the latest experimental firmware versions.

Bob from RetroRGB has created a video tutorial giving step-by-step details on how to perform a firmware upgrade on the RetroTINK line of products.

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RetroTINK-5X Pro Firmware Notes
The current public firmware version is 2.71. For older firmware version notes, please see the RetroTINK-5X Pro firmware version history wiki page.

Version 2.71
Originally released April 19th, 2022

Notice: Firmware updates erase saved profiles and reset the device to default settings.
 * Advanced resolutions: 1440p, 4K24, 1536p are hidden by default. Go to [OSD] -> Advanced Res option to enable them.
 * New experimental high resolution modes added:
 * 2560 x 1440 wide screen 1440p for broader compatibility with TVs that will not accept 1920 x 1440.
 * 2048 x 1536 ("iPad").
 * 4K24 (for 60 Hz sources) and 4K25 (for 50 Hz) sources. Frame lock on for 60 Hz sources changes to 4K30.
 * These modes are considered experimental and provided without support or guarantees.
 * New 1080p (Min-Lag) mode operates the RT5X as a line doubler to achieve ~1 ms when frame lock is turned on for 240p, 480i and 480p sources.
 * 720p source can be scaled to 1920 x 1440 or 2560 x 1440.
 * 240p and 540p modes have been removed to save space.
 * "Pre-scaler" option in the [Interp./Deint.] menu to convert 480p and 720p sources to 240p, before re-upscaling.
 * Optimal timings re-enabled for composite and S-video sources.
 * Option to enable optimal timings for interlaced sources.
 * Hi-Res 512 and 858 optimal timing modes added.
 * "Pre-emph" filter now goes down to -5.
 * Option to load profile on power up in the [OSD] -> Startup Profile option.
 * Press and hold remote control button to keep incrementing/decrementing option.
 * Press "back" button 6 times rapidly to load default profile.
 * Variety of bug and crop fixes.

Output Resolution (Advanced Res)
The following outputs are disabled by default and can be enabled by setting “Advanced Res” to “On” in the [OSD] (On-Screen Display) menu.

Horizontal Sampling
Note for further explanation - The H. Interp takes the horizontal resolution produced by the ADC sample rate and the further interpolates it to the final display resolution.

About:
The about page will display the following information as of the current firmware update:

RETROTINK-5X Pro © 2021-2-22 RetroTINK LLC All Rights Reserved (QR CODE) Need Help? Scan the QR Code to Join the RetroTINK Discord

=Official User's Manual v1=

A Wiki version of the official RetroTINK-5X Pro user's manual can be found here.