Best way to play GameCube on modern tv

sniperone

sniperone

sniperone

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Just dug out my GameCube and realised my to does not have the required inputs to hook it up.
anyone have advice on the best way to hook this up and get a decent picture .
 
What exactly do you want, just a way, a better way, or an amazing way? Unfortunately there exist these options at wildly increasing prices.

It depends what cable you have already (composite or component?) but if you Google whatever it is to to hdmi convertors you'll get a cheap nasty way to get the output across, but it's really a compromised picture that you might not be satisfied with. At the "better, or amazing" part of the landscape exist purpose built retro scaler devices, I believe retrotink have several covering different price points, feature sets and connectivity. It's worth doing a specific youtube search for a comparison of the exact console you want and scaler comparisons.
 
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Don’t mind spending a decent amount of money on something had a look about there is lots of options but not sure what I’m looking at to be honest .
 
To get a decent picture a Rad2x cable would be good.

If you want more than decent then it starts to cost a lot of money.
 
I disagree with the Rad2x recommendations personally. The GCVideo adapters would probably be far better. However, I will caveat that - Realistically to get the best out of the GC you will want to run games at 480p rather than 480i and to do so will need a way to load Swiss (there are a few methods). Unless you own an NTSC Gamecube.

Carby is considered a good option if you can get one. Otherwise I can recommend the EON GCHD MK-II.

Edit: On a side note, you'll want to make sure your Gamecube has the Digital port :).

I use two Gamecubes in my set up - One with a Retro GEM and the other official component cables both hooked up to a RetroTINK 4K. Bit extreme but I absolutely love that era of gaming and the GC :).

Second edit: Just to give an idea on image quality, I have uploaded a 480p image upscaled to 4k from one of my captures, I will try to capture similar in 480i (unless there was a specific game you'd like to see).

480p:-
 
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Also note that there's the emulation route if you want to play Gamecube (any retro systems) on a modern TV. I was playing some Gamecube earlier on Odin 2 mini output to TV.
Here you also have the option of internal resolution scaling and many other options for tweaking graphics in the settings (Dolphin emulator)
 
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The Wii will play gamecube games, supports the controller and memory carts. You can pick one up for cheap.
There's a whole host of wii to hdmi adaptors and cables. If not you can still get a composite cable for a better image on a large tv, if you have a TV still with composite inputs.

That's how I'm playing Wind Waker, badly... as I get motion sickness.
 
slinxy said:
The Wii will play gamecube games, supports the controller and memory carts. You can pick one up for cheap.
There's a whole host of wii to hdmi adaptors and cables. If not you can still get a composite cable for a better image on a large tv, if you have a TV still with composite inputs.

That's how I'm playing Wind Waker, badly... as I get motion sickness.
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Wii GC is so blurry compared to original hardware.
 
JoeBoi said:
Wii GC is so blurry compared to original hardware.
Click to expand...

I beg the differ. The Wii doesn't emulate a Gamecube. It has Gamecube hardware inside it and plays games natively.

I have just bought Metroid Prime 2 to play with my son as he is a massive fan of the Metroid series.

I have a launch Gamecube with a "Retro Gaming Cable" RGB cable which is about the best you can get without spending silly amounts. That gives you a 480i output for PAL Gamecube games that support it. Wii comes with the option of component cables as standard so you get 480p although I presume this is upscaled as PAL games do not support 480p.

You get a better picture with Metroid Prime 2 but I do prefer playing on the Gamecube because it is more softer with the RGB cable so you do not notice the jaggies as much but the difference is negligible unless you play both side by side. My Wii is hooked up in the kitchen and my Gamecube in the master bedroom so it is more about where I decide to play more than anything else. Both however are a massive upgrade from standard cables.

I am sure you are going to come back to me with a hacked cube costing several hundreds of pounds playing NTSC roms but a Wii costs £30, can be found down the road from Facebook Market Place and a set of component cables for £20 that will give you a good enough picture to enjoy the games on a large screen.
 
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adam cool dude said:
I beg the differ. The Wii doesn't emulate a Gamecube. It has Gamecube hardware inside it and plays games natively.

I have just bought Metroid Prime 2 to play with my son as he is a massive fan of the Metroid series.

I have a launch Gamecube with a "Retro Gaming Cable" RGB cable which is about the best you can get without spending silly amounts. That gives you a 480i output for PAL Gamecube games that support it. Wii comes with the option of component cables as standard so you get 480p although I presume this is upscaled as PAL games do not support 480p.

You get a better picture with Metroid Prime 2 but I do prefer playing on the Gamecube because it is more softer with the RGB cable so you do not notice the jaggies as much but the difference is negligible unless you play both side by side. My Wii is hooked up in the kitchen and my Gamecube in the master bedroom so it is more about where I decide to play more than anything else. Both however are a massive upgrade from standard cables.

I am sure you are going to come back to me with a hacked cube costing several hundreds of pounds playing NTSC roms but a Wii costs £30, can be found down the road from Facebook Market Place and a set of component cables for £20 that will give you a good enough picture to enjoy the games on a large screen.
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I am not here to gatekeep, but OP asked best way too hook up their Gamecube and get a decent picture. Rad2x is ok, but no where near as good as 480p output from other methods such as a Carby, which costs slightly more. You can easily set up Swiss on a regular Gamecube, very cheap and some PAL games even have 480p output. The Wii, is blurrier in comparison to 480p Gamecube output because of the Digital Port for component / GCVideo adapters.

Both of these are component cable 480p captures (official Gamecube - Wii HD Retrovision).

Gamecube 480p:-



Wii 480p:-



Edit: Even the HDMI modded Wii outputs blurry 480p Gamecube



Must add some sort of post process filter? The Gamecube output is much more crisp.
 
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Most likely just more AA on the Wii since it has a more powerful GPU. Your Gamecube screenshot whilst it has more clairity looks a lot more Jaggy.

Which ironically is the opposite to myself as my Wii has official component cables and my Gamecube only a RGB cable at 480i. :cry:
 
adam cool dude said:
Most likely just more AA on the Wii since it has a more powerful GPU. Your Gamecube screenshot whilst it has more clairity looks a lot more Jaggy.

Which ironically is the opposite to myself as my Wii has official component cables and my Gamecube only a RGB cable at 480i. :cry:
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The RetroTINK does have XBR smoothing options, but I prefer the jaggy look personally.

One thing I will give the Wii, I think it has less slow down on certain games - Twin Snakes seems to have slow down that is not present on the Wii/U from when I played a few years ago.

The Wii was my go to for Gamecube games for years, especially with Nintendont options.
 
Guest2 said:
Also note that there's the emulation route if you want to play Gamecube (any retro systems) on a modern TV. I was playing some Gamecube earlier on Odin 2 mini output to TV.
Here you also have the option of internal resolution scaling and many other options for tweaking graphics in the settings (Dolphin emulator)
Click to expand...

I know a lot of people into classic gaming are purists in this regard, but Dolphin is probably one of the best emulators I've ever used and does a fantastic job. It's my go to when I want to revisit old GC games every once in awhile and can even load up texture packs and what have you for some titles. Doesn't take much power to run well either, I was using it with fantastic results more than ten years back on an i5 3570K/HD7950 combo, it'd probably run well on a NUC or something cheap/lower powered at this point.

From a "moral" perspective, I see zero issue if you own the game and console in going that route either. I wish I had a room for a proper retro cave but frankly I just don't and emulation has been my main avenue into classic/old school gaming, and it's easy enough to use the old peripherals etc which fortunately don't take up much space.
 
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JoeBoi said:
I am not here to gatekeep, but OP asked best way too hook up their Gamecube and get a decent picture. Rad2x is ok, but no where near as good as 480p output from other methods such as a Carby, which costs slightly more. You can easily set up Swiss on a regular Gamecube, very cheap and some PAL games even have 480p output. The Wii, is blurrier in comparison to 480p Gamecube output because of the Digital Port for component / GCVideo adapters.

Both of these are component cable 480p captures (official Gamecube - Wii HD Retrovision).

Gamecube 480p:-



Wii 480p:-



Edit: Even the HDMI modded Wii outputs blurry 480p Gamecube



Must add some sort of post process filter? The Gamecube output is much more crisp.
Click to expand...
I would be interested to see what Dolphin 3x (1080p) looks like in comparison.
 
JoeBoi said:
I'd imagine Dolphin would look nice. You can download HD Packs for Resident Evil 2 on GC as well.
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Why use OG hardware then spend hundreds on expensive adapters and wires to make it look better than it originally did when you can emulate and get a very close (or way better) experience for zero cost.
 
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