Connecting N64 to SMART TV

[WTFWT]

I’ve bought an old N64 to get my kids into the classics of the era: Goldeneye, Mario Kart etc

The guy in the shop said I would need an AV / HDMI converter / upgrader to connect it to my SMART TV. I went to Curry’s and they didn’t have one and seemed pretty unhelpful other than to suggest ordering off Amazon. Every box on Amazon seems to have a bunch of comments from buyers suggesting it didn’t work with an N64.

Can anyone tell me definitively what kit I need and where to get it from?

Thank you

[toohuge]

What tv do you have ? Otherwise we don’t know your options.

Is this useful?

https://youtu.be/mIIYlqJMLY0

[parabolica]

It’s a specialist piece of kit, not something you can buy off the shelf in somewhere like curries.

MJR did a video on this a while back. https://youtu.be/5h1bv5BzEwU

Other solution is pick up an old CRT TV for pennies for the full retro feel. Get a late model and you’ll be amazed at how good the picture looks on it.

[ShampooEfficient]

Does it have the three coloured inputs?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/eJiasu-Stereo-Composite-N...

[colin79666]

Smart TV. Does it still have an analog tuner? If so just connect it up the old school way and tune to channel 36 (seem to remember it was on that frequency).

[WTFWT]

Thanks guys - I’ll work through the options this weekend and see what I can come up with.

Much appreciate the input and suggestions

[louiebaby]

Bookmarked. I have an N64 somewhere, and my little bro is coming down for Christmas. (He's 39, but he'll always be Luigi.)

I might try and hook it up, and give him the slightly hopeless non-OEM controller, then beat his ass at Goldeneye.

[sjg]

ShampooEfficient said:

Does it have the three coloured inputs?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/eJiasu-Stereo-Composite-N...

Easily overlooked, lots of modern thin TVs can do composite but come with an adaptor for a tiny port in the back of the unit rather than presenting the 3 separate jacks. If you chucked away all the bits and bobs that came with your TV you can also buy them for a few quid on amazon or ebay.

[louiebaby]

I have a 3 lead -> Scart for the Wii...

[trebnamo]

This is harder than it should be. The CRT method is the most faithful way, but you can get good results with a scaler to a modern TV.

This guide is one of the more informative ways to work through what you can and can't do based on what gear you have:

https://n64today.com/2021/03/16/n64-wont-connect-t...

Short version: try to connect via traditional cables, be prepared for a poor quality and laggy experience. If that's not possible, buy a scaler for anywhere between 10 and 50 quid.

[AJB88]

I played Goldeneye a few weeks ago in a gaming bar in Manchester, wasn't as good as I remember.

[trebnamo]

It definitely hasn't aged well. I think that's because when you sit down and play it in 2021 it looks like this:




And in my head, with rose-tinted glases on, it always looked more like this Source mod:

[AJB88]

Yep, it would be good if somebody would finally bring out a remake of it, including new levels and new characters (the ability to select the different bonds etc).

[okenemem]

AJB88 said:

Yep, it would be good if somebody would finally bring out a remake of it, including new levels and new characters (the ability to select the different bonds etc).

sounds gd

[ShampooEfficient]

Talk of Goldeneye makes me realise just how good Timesplitters 1 and 2 were on the PS2. And TS3, but that always felt slightly different, but still amazing.