NES:NESRGB

The NESRGB is a mod designed by Tim Worthington to improve the video quality of the NES and Famicom.

The following information and images have been gathered from Tim's website, with their permission.

Description

An unmodified NES only supports composite and RF (radio frequency) video output. The NESRGB is an internal mod that adds RGB and S-Video video output to the NES and Famicom.

The mod features a user-selectable palette system that allows the user to change the color scheme of the video output to suit their preference. For more information about NES palettes, see FirebrandX's NES Palette Project page.

Features

• Generates RGB, S-Video (encoded from RGB), and composite video (encoded from RGB) signals
• No latency (video timing is maintained)
• Built in audio and video amplifiers
• Compatible with NTSC and PAL consoles
• Compatible with NES, Famicom, AV Famicom, and Twin Famicom consoles
• User selectable color palettes
• Upgradable firmware via JTAG programmer

Technical Details

The NESRGB board contains an Altera CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) that utilizes the NES's PPU (Picture Processing Unit) and CPU to generate an RGB video signal.

Note About Hardware Version 3

Palettes cannot be selected by a switch; only one palette is supported at a time with hardware version 3. However there are different firmware files each with a different palette, and so users can flash different firmware to select different palettes.

Installation

Front Loading NES

See the official written documentation.

Original Famicom

See the official written documentation.

AV Famicom

See the official written documentation.

Top Loading NES

See the official written documentation.

Twin Famicom

See the official written documentation.

Troubleshooting/Notes

See the official errata and firmware download page.