That was one of the reasons I wanted to have one.
TIL there was a TV tuner attachment for the Game Gear!
Submitted 2 weeks ago by The_Picard_Maneuver@piefed.world to retrogaming@lemmy.world
https://media.piefed.world/posts/r6/2I/r62Ic6MYh0fhLQE.jpg
Comments
bjoern_tantau@swg-empire.de 2 weeks ago
A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
One kid on my bus had it, we were all SUPER jealous and kicked his seat
bran_buckler@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The whole union of kobolds kicked his seat!? That must have been miserable for him!
zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
I did too, but my Dad ended up buying me one of those tiny handheld TVs with a 1" screen instead. It was more a novelty that anything, it sucked down batteries faster than an actual Game Gear.
fancy-straw-simple@piefed.ca 2 weeks ago
I never saw a game gear last 5 hours. The one guy I knew who owned one seemed to have it run out of battery everyday on the school bus which was only like a 45 minute ride.
DannyMac@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
I got one for xmas one year, probably it’s last year when Sega was clearing inventory, because I didn’t ask for it. All I ever had was the pack-in Sonic title. I wish I kept it so that I could modernize it, but who would have seen that coming? I remember playing it and then seeing the battery light flash and I was like, “I wonder what that means, that can’t mean a low battery since I’ve not been playing it all that long!” Yep, it was a low battery :(
It probably wouldn’t have been a big deal IF Sega bundled a damn AC adapter with it instead of charging separately for it. It was hard to convince my parents to get me video game stuff as a kid.
rothaine@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
He should’ve bought the official Game Gear AA battery bandolier
InFerNo@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
I have several game gears so have some first hand experience.
90s batteries didn’t last long. Regular batteries are 1.5V, rechargeable are 1.2V. When freshly charged they can be around 1.4V, but the game gear will quickly “detect” the voltage dropping and start indicating low battery.
Older batteries didn’t hold as much charge as modern batteries do. You can go hours now with rechargeable batteries, but it used to be different.
As a kid, I had a game gear fanny pack that held the device, some games and all the batteries I could cram in there, which was a lot.
TheEighthDoctor@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
That was great to watch TV for exactly 8 minutes.
FryHyde@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Conveniently carry around 20 or so AA batteries and you could probably get through an episode of Benson and the intro to TNG.
xyzzy@lemmy.today 2 weeks ago
I think it was pretty rare, at least after the first year or so. I had a Game Gear maybe a year after it launched, and I desperately wanted this as a kid so I could watch TV in my bedroom or on car trips. I searched everywhere, called stores, etc. but never did find one.
KoboldCoterie@pawb.social 2 weeks ago
I got a GameGear from a garage sale that had a bunch of accessories including this… It was definitely rad for car trips, but it would chew through 6 AAs in about 2.5-3 hours, and my parents shut that down pretty fast.
PixelatedSaturn@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I had that thing! It was really cool to watch a football match while camping!
And I gave it to my father when he was in the hospital… Eurocup was at the time.
CaliforniaSober@lemmy.ca 2 weeks ago
It wasn’t that good. The system already drained AA batteries like virgin sacrifices but imagine fm radio dials to sync for tv channels…
kmartburrito@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I had the AC adapter when I got mine as a kid, which helped a ton with that. It was definitely hungry.
IronpigsWizard@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Yep!
An every time I was in Toy r Us, Babbage’s, Children’s Palace or looking througu the JC Penny’s Christmas catalog, I thought it was the coolest thing in the world and oh so desperately wanted it…despite not owning a Game Gear…😅
cupcakezealot@piefed.blahaj.zone 2 weeks ago
they really did have it all on uhf
Pulptastic@midwest.social 2 weeks ago
Rhynoplaz@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
You get to drink from the fire hose!
InFerNo@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
I have this. It’s been on my wishlist ever since I was little and now that i have some disposable income I bought it. Unfortunately the analog signal has been disabled for years, but there’s a jack on the tuner that allows you to connect composite video (with a special cable to go from the yellow, red and white to a single 3.5mm jack).
I played some Xbox on it, for the novelty. The screen is small, the resolution is low, the lcd isn’t very clear in some cases, … I love it.
There are special kits to replace the screen with a modern crisp led screen, but they are not compatible with the tuner, something to keep in mind.
janNatan@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
You know the devices that take audio and convert it to a radio signal for your car?
We need the same thing but for old analog tv signals.
JackbyDev@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
It exists but you need to have an amateur radio license to do it legally. www.hamtv.com Long story short, some of the frequencies from analog television are now allocated for amateur radio use, so you can use that with little extra equipment.
agedcorn@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Plenty of those exist. They were given out like mad when the digital to analog switch was happening. Little boxes that would convert digital TV signals to analog for viewing on old TV’s.
InFerNo@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
You can find YouTube videos of people doing this for the GG TV Tuner. Usually involves a VCR iirc.
realitista@lemmus.org 2 weeks ago
That would have been so baller back in the day.
DannyMac@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
Yes! I remember wanting one and envying the kid on the bus with his!
AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space 2 weeks ago
I wonder whether it digitised the video signal and sent digital RGB data over the connector, or whether there were analogue video channels provided for such a device.
Also, in any case, whether any hobbyist hackers have built adapters to use their Game Gear as a monitor for anything else through the same mechanism. (A HDMI in adapter would be cool, if slightly ridiculous.)
_NetNomad@fedia.io 2 weeks ago
it's fascinating, the game gear itself actually has a "TV Mode" that's activated by holding down a certain signal on the cartridge bus which bypasses the z80 and VDP and chucks a
digital RGB signal and some kind of custom timing information straight to the screen
NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I gotta get my gamegear fixed. It’s too bad we switched over to digital OTA signal because I would love to mess around with this tuner.
AshMan85@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
TIL
Laser@feddit.org 2 weeks ago
I saw this once or twice. Taxi driver had it mounted on how panel to watch something on break. Somewhat solved the power draw problem with a car adapter…
mavu@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
It was incredibly high tech at the time. SciFi Stuff. Unfortunately the Game gear also had incredibly bad battery life, and back then, batteries life literally meant “Battery”, not “rechargeable Battery”
unphazed@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
My Dad took 16 rechargeable AAs and ran a small circuit board to them with an adapter cable coming out. The zipper cases they made for GGs had a large cavity behind the storage area that was perfect for hiding them. I could play for an extra 16 hours with those things. Had to recharge them with a huge wall wort but it was the best gift my Dad ever made for me. I loved that damn system.
mavu@discuss.tchncs.de 2 weeks ago
Oh wow, if back then was like today, he could have made a successfull kickstarter out of that.
TBi@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I had one. And a TV sender (totally illegal where I was) to broadcast my cable internally to the game gear. I even played my mega drive (genesis) on the small screen.
What a waste of money, but at least I have memories!
froggycar360@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
I wish I didn’t lose my gamegear
Aunt_Iffa@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
Still have mine and a few precious games! Mine has the giant battery attachment!
froggycar360@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
You really need it that battery life is horrid
Valon_Blue@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
There was one for the Gameboy Advance too! Loved that thing.
123@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
And PSP in Japan: techradar.com/…/sony-launches-digital-tv-tuner-fo…
UltraMagnus0001@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I had a cdx with an x32 attachment. It was not recommended but it worked
Hadriscus@jlai.lu 2 weeks ago
This is the handsomest piece of analog gear I have ever seen. Absolute peak max sexiness, holy shite
dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Hadriscus@jlai.lu 2 weeks ago
Is this a computer in a keyboard ? magnificient arrow keys
SpookyBogMonster@lemmy.ml 2 weeks ago
I know capitalism is evil and all that jazz, but the Japanese consumer electronics boom was so sick
JackbyDev@programming.dev 2 weeks ago
Everything is a rectangle now 😭
korendian@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
That is amazing
AnimalsDream@slrpnk.net 2 weeks ago
Had a Game Gear and really wanted one of these as a kid.
Still have that Game Gear and still really want one.
unphazed@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Unfortunately it would still be able to pick up the signal but the Tuner wouldn’t be able to convert the newer digital format.
FatVegan@leminal.space 2 weeks ago
I wanted it so bad. Then my friend had one and it was shit. And i still wanted it.
stupidcasey@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Xbox ONE, PS TWO, [PS THREE] as well
A_Random_Idiot@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I yearned for one of these TV tuners for years and never got one cause they were too expensive.
biofaust@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I remember the Italian TV commercial for that.
RedFrank24@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It’s times like this I wish I had a bigger house. There’s so much of this old tech I just want, or at least I want to see and hold them.
RagingRobot@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It doesn’t take up that much space. You sound like my wife lol
RedFrank24@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It does when you’re collecting multiple retro consoles, all their cables, any adapters you need for modern TVs. I’ve had to make do with a Series S in dev mode running Retroarch for my retro gaming needs, and even then I can’t get it to use anything other than an Xbox controller.
MML@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
There’s a free to the public pinball museum near me, not quite the same thing but I could see the possibility of one for retro games, but they would probably have to charge a fee to prevent people ruining or stealing stuff unfortunately.
The_Picard_Maneuver@piefed.world 2 weeks ago
I used to have a room dedicated to retro games and tech, but since having kids, it's all been crammed into closets. Once they're old enough to not break stuff, I plan to get the "museum" out again in some form so that they can enjoy it.
InvalidName2@lemmy.zip 2 weeks ago
Several of those old portables had tv tuners. None of them work anymore, at least not the USA.
There is a project out there that transmits video on UHF or VHF over short distances, basically a work around for old analog tuners. Basically hook up a video source and it will encode and transmit so you can watch stuff on gadgets with these old tuners.
Also, I don’t recall if they all have the a/v in functionality like this one, but that provided another option for using the thing as a monitor for other things.
homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
I understand why they think they needed to do it, but killing analog OTA television was seriously the stupidest decision I’d ever seen prior to 2009.
After that it kinda started to happen a lot. Which, uh, must be coincidence.
Kyrgizion@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The game gear had two major issues:
-It was too far ahead of its time (something SEGA unfortunately did multiple times, cfr Dreamcast’s online gaming capabilities)
-Battery life sucked major donkey cock
It was also somewhat pricey, but the former point was paramount.
zod000@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 weeks ago
The battery life was hilariously bad, it was almost the defining trait. It was made especially prominent since it was being compared to the OG Game Boy which could go 20 hours on four AA batteries. The GG could only go about five, if you were lucky, on six AA. Mine basically lived plugged into the wall with a long extension code so I could use it from anywhere in my bedroom.
kautau@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Which, while of course requiring exponentially more power, the Switch 2 only goes for about 6 hours on less demanding games, funny how battery life hasn’t really changed much for advanced handhelds.
yucandu@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
It was more like 30 minutes with the Super Heavy Duty AA’s my dad could afford.
But that’s okay, he hand soldered me a DC adapter that only threw sparks sometimes.
PhobosAnomaly@feddit.uk 2 weeks ago
Game Gear “services” are quite common now - you can get them recapped to solve the infamously troublesome sound dropouts, and most will change the screen to a far more power efficient LCD display as well to let you play at night.
It still eats batteries, but at a much slower rate.
I’m just gutted I left mine in the garage in storage where the damp air fucked it for good
ThePantser@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
How bad is it? You would be amazed how salvageable they are with the right chemical soak and reflow.
HeyJoe@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
The best mod would be changing it from batteries to a cell phone style rechargeable battery. At least then I wouldn’t care as much of how quick it dies since im not replacing a ton of batteries every day. Even rechargeable ones, you still gotta take them out and put them back, which is annoying as well.
I miss mine as well. I remember as a kid our grandmother got me and a few cousins it for Xmas one year. I also remember breaking it the following year during a parent kid picnic at school where it got crushed. I still remember it, which says a lot because I have very few memories from way back then!
yucandu@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Bit of rubbing alcohol and a toothbrush usually solves those “damp air fucked my electronics” issues.
bitjunkie@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Being too ahead of its time was kind of Sega’s thing when it came to hardware. They beat Nintendo to market with 16-bit graphics by like 2 years, Sony to 3D GPU and CD-ROM by a year, the Game Gear absolutely blew every other portable out of the water for as long as it was on the market…
monkeyman69@lemmynsfw.com 2 weeks ago
Ahem… (coughs in Atari Lynx)
rozodru@pie.andmc.ca 2 weeks ago
yeah the battery life was horrible. it would eat 6 AA batteries like they were candy. I only ever used mine when it was either plugged into the wall or plugged in the cars cigarette lighter which my dad hated cause he smoked.
EvilBit@lemmy.world 2 weeks ago
Hear hear. The Game Gear was basically a portable Sega Master System only better. Can you imagine Nintendo putting out a whole-ass portable NES? They didn’t have the balls.
To this day, one of my favorite gifts I ever received, way back in Christmas of checks notes 360 B.C.
anomnom@sh.itjust.works 2 weeks ago
So many batteries. Car trips more than an hour (when we really wanted games) took a while pack of batteries. And the little brothers really got screwed because they would be stuck with the second turn, and about to die batteries.