Recommendation for Comb Filter for NES via Sony PVM

If you want it to look even half decent, you are going to have to have the system RGB modded (and possibly to pick up a processor that can do 240p RGB)... period. Sorry. Comb filters will never produce a decent picture from composite. The best they can do is "not AS bad." The difference in detail/sharpness would be very obvious, even on a NES, even if you completely disregard all rainbowing and dot crawl and the fact that removing them usually involves dropping even more detail (though I think it's worth it if it's the only option - but composite will always look like garbage).

http://hackaday.com/2011/07/18/hacking-your-nesfamicom-console-for-better-video-and-audio/
Edited by DonoMan - 7/23/12 at 1:53pm

Do you mean the colorspace, RGB vs YUV/YIQ (what NTSC uses)? See this site: http://retrogaming.hazard-city.de/

I find this whole "wrong palette" argument quite ridiculous. The difference on MOST games is not this big and the jump in quality (RGB vs. composite) is so huge, that it's easily worth the "wrong" colors here and there. None of the stand alone comb filters (including the Entech SVSI or CVSI-1) are worth the effort or the money. Best comb filter I know is in the Pioneer DVD/HDD recorders, but I wouldn't play NES games through it. RGB all the way!

Try to get an Entech SVSI-1 or CVSI-1. The last ones went for about $80-100 on eBay.

It has recently been discovered that several of the PPUs from the VS. kits can be used to do the RGB mod. You just have to add a little IC. You would have to spend about $75-80 for a RGB PPU and maybe another $50 to have the mod done.

If you play NES a lot, get both, a RGB modded one and one with the original PPU for games which don't like the RGB palette.

Wow, that original palette looks even worse than I expected. So much waste with colors that look way too similar for such a small palette size.

Fudoh, are Faroudja Super NTSC Decoder boxes any good? There are some for damn cheap on Ebay. I won't be buying one myself either way, but just seemed interesting to me.

I once (really once, around 1998) I had a VP-100: http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volume_4_2/faroudja100.html

I can't remember having it tried on videogame material, but they were quite solid on laserdisc material and hold up fine until I got my HLD-X9 a few years later.

I have an Entech CVSI-1 in working condition with owners manual. Contact me if you want it.

Have to compared the Kramer to something else, maybe something better known ? I find it a bold statement to say that the Kramer's a champ without a direct comparison to, let's say, an Entech.

Hmm, I wonder if the Pioneer recorders that were sold in Japan have the same comb filter. I don't see why they wouldn't (except possibly for their BD recorders, I think those were just Sharp rebrands), but if I were to try one, are there any tests that you can suggest?