Mike Chi has just announced a cheaper, slightly stripped-down version of the RetroTINK 4K he’s calling the “CE” that will be available in early 2025. This video is an overview of what to expect, as well as how it differs from the 4K Pro.
Ah, the humble retro gaming console—your dusty time machine to an era when polygons were edgy (literally) and Mario had the square jawline of an ’80s action hero. But trying to hook up your beloved Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis to a modern TV is like introducing your grandma to TikTok—it’s a total mismatch.
Here’s the deal: your retro console speaks fluent analog—a language your ultra-HD, 4K smart TV barely remembers, like a millennial trying to understand a rotary phone. Plug that RCA cable into your shiny new TV, and what do you get? A pixelated soup that looks like Mario’s been smudged with Vaseline and then run through a blender.
Enter the upscaler, the nerdy translator your retro console desperately needs. This magical device takes those ancient 240p signals (yes, your childhood was that low-res) and stretches them into something your TV can understand without bursting into laughter. It’s like putting glasses on your games—they’re still old, but suddenly, you can actually see their charm again.
But don’t think the upscaler works miracles. It’s not turning “GoldenEye 007” into “Call of Duty.” Those blocky faces are still there—Pierce Brosnan will forever look like a thumb with eyebrows—but now you can admire every glorious pixel of his thumb-ness.
Without an upscaler, your retro gaming experience becomes a quest of frustration: blurry visuals, laggy inputs, and colors so washed out they look like a faded 1980s family photo. So, unless you want Sonic the Hedgehog to run in slow motion or for Link to look like he’s lost in a foggy dreamscape, do yourself a favor—get that upscaler. It’s not just a device; it’s a bridge between generations, ensuring your childhood doesn’t look too embarrassing on a 65-inch TV.