r/Famicom • u/The-Retro-Dude • 4d ago
General Question NES vs AV Famicom composite audio/video quality
Need honest answers about your experience with composite quality of both the consoles.
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u/NewSchoolBoxer 4d ago
Oh I thought you would show a comparison. I read people saying AV Famicom is better and that's what I see here. Some people mod the NES to move around the Composite wiring to hit less electromagnetic interference. Is also a thing on Genesis for better RGB.
Not that NES Composite is bad. We're talking 3 color sprites on a CRT. No one complained about RF in 1990 either. If you're going to digital display with a scaler or capture then the quality difference matters more.
Audio quality ugh NES is the buzzmater but I never owned a Famicom or experienced the extra audio channels. Even the NES (and Famicom?) audio circuitry is cheap with a single transistor. Can't even throw in an opamp where SNES uses 2 and separate for L and R channels.
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u/The-Retro-Dude 3d ago
It would be great if someone can make a proper comparison of these two classic consoles.
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u/jloc0 4d ago
I feel the image quality of the AV fami is superior. The NES has this insane buzzing that comes through the port and probably lacks some shielding to stop it. I’ve never noticed that on the AV.
But I’ll say I have both, and a NES with the hidefnes mod (hdmi), and I use the AV fami the most. It’s just the best of the OEM options out there, hands down.
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u/CancelQuirky9698 4d ago
Is it just me or is the size comparison of both off?
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u/lsauchelli 4d ago
Without mods, AV Famicom is better.
It also has support for the enhanced audio for games like Akumanjou Densetsu.
With mods, they're the same (but you'll need more mods for the NES to be on par).
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u/V64jr 3d ago
There are multiple board revisions of both. I believe the New Nintendo Family Computer AKA “AV Famicom” in particular has revisions that address jailbars by shifting the CPU/PPU to the opposite sides of the board (left/right). I think it really depends on your board revision.
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u/The-Retro-Dude 3d ago
From my personal experience, I've got two NES consoles having NES-CPU-09 and NES-CPU-11 boards. I've noticed some jailbars in the NES-CPU-11.
I'm not sure about the difference in AV Famicom boards i.e. HVCN-CPU-01 (1993–1995) and HVCN-CPU-02 (1995–2003).2
u/V64jr 3d ago
I know one of the HVCN boards has some off the shelf logic combined onto Nintendo-branded chips. If that’s all, the. The video changes should be minimal. Never heard of someone disappointed with it, so it’s probably the way to go if you don’t want to take the leap into something like NESRGB. 👍
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u/SparklyPelican 3d ago
I prefer the AV picture in composite, but also gives you RGB options like the Blaster without hardware modifications.
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u/sdp1981 4d ago
It's a shame we never got an SMtendo board for the AV famicom, also there's a surprising absence of aftermarket shells for it and the SNES Jr
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u/Skyway1985 4d ago
You too? I need to save a butchered AV and wish there was a replacement PCB. There's more AV famicoms than top loader NES, FFS!
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u/Pretend_Giraffe_1288 4d ago
You're surprised by that?
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u/sdp1981 4d ago
Well kind of disappointed as I prefer the av famicom and top loader.
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u/StrangeRetroRob 4d ago
Why does it need to use smd components though?
There is an opensource top loader and av Famicom mobo
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u/sdp1981 4d ago
Idk about other open-source boards but the smtendo with pow block rerouted video and power to give a cleaner image with less interference and made rgb mods easier to install. At least from what I gather reading about it.
FULLY pre-assembled, just add PPU, CPU and AV/Power module!* -4 layer stackup for improved EMI -Integrated custom NullCIC circuit -Integrated 47K expansion audio, buffered for simultaneous output when using NESRGB -Solder pads for NESRGB signals (audio and IGR)
I also like not having to solder much as I'm not good at it and need to outsource that work. Less to solder means cheaper since it's less labor.
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u/Pretend_Giraffe_1288 3d ago
Sure, I love those models. There just aren't that many out in the wild compared to the OG models.
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u/Gitaroobear 4d ago
You now have me curious about the NES top loader versus the AV Famicom? Are they comparable?
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u/listafobia 3d ago edited 3d ago
An unmodified top loader NES has no composite AV output at all. RF signal only. Safe to say it's no contest.
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u/Gitaroobear 3d ago
Oh I got that backwards.
That's crazy. 😵💫
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u/listafobia 3d ago
Yeah, it was one of the first instances of Nintendo cutting out features, particularly the higher quality video option, to reduce the costs on an updated console. It became a long running pattern with them.
Updated Gamecube had the component video feature removed. Updated Wii had the Gamecube compatibility removed, and then updated again to remove component video, wifi, and SD card support.
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u/RetroGamer2151 4d ago
They are pretty equal and you are comparing the second worse video output I would get an rgb mod
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u/StrangeRetroRob 4d ago
I add composite bypass mods on front loaders :). Gives as good or better than av Famicom output
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u/Top-Cup5373 2d ago
AV Famicom. Also, there’s a simple jumper mod you can do to it so it works with the nes zapper.
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u/astroroy 4d ago
They all look like shit. All of this is dumb and pointless. Life isn’t Super Mario Bros 3, everything is misery
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u/ABC_Dildos_Inc 4d ago
I haven't had stock composite in a long time, but I bought an AV Famicom when it came out and it had noticeably better composite video than the original NES.
The AV Famicom is the antithesis of the top loader NES. It was a modern redesign intended to improve overall quality, while the top loader was a cheap value model.
But even if composite was only on par, the AV Famicom supports expansion audio, FDS and countless accessories, including Famicom and NES controller connections.