Connect your Sega Genesis to an HDTV Affordably - Hyperkin Product Review!

RetroRalph·video·12m 35s·analyzed·Jul 2, 2019

Analysis

claude-haiku-4-5-20251001 · $0.020

TL;DR

Hyperkin Genesis-to-HDMI cable review: affordable, functional, good for non-perfectionists.

Summary

Retro Ralph reviews the Hyperkin HDTV cable for Sega Genesis, a budget-friendly solution ($30) that supports Models 1, 2, and 3 with switchable 4:3 and 16:9 aspect ratios. He demonstrates setup, compatibility, and gameplay on Streets of Rage 2 and Coffee Crisis, concluding it offers good value for casual players but lacks the perfection of premium solutions like the Mega Stargate.

Key Claims

The Hyperkin cable supports Sega Genesis Models 1, 2, and 3 through an included adapter
high confidence · Retro Ralph demonstrates the adapter mechanism and explains how it enables Model 1 compatibility
The cable costs $30 and is significantly cheaper than alternatives like the Mega Stargate
high confidence · Retro Ralph explicitly states 'It's a $30 cable' and notes premium solutions are '3, 4, 5, 6 times more expensive'
A micro-USB power adapter may be required for some HDTVs to achieve video output
high confidence · Manual states this; Retro Ralph confirms he needed it in his setup and it uses 5V 1A standard power
Hyperkin distributes Mega Cat Studios games including Coffee Crisis
high confidence · Retro Ralph states an agreement was made in May allowing Hyperkin to distribute certain Mega Cat Studios titles
Retro Ralph owns a Mega Stargate and multiple Genesis clone consoles
high confidence · He references owning the Mega Stargate multiple times and states he bought clone consoles to play games via HDMI

Notable Quotes

“It's a $30 cable. So I think when you think about the overall value of what you're getting, the amount of money you have to spend for something that gives you a really good experience, then I think it's really worth it.”
Retro Ralph@ 11:03 — Core value proposition of the review; frames affordability against quality
“Who it's for is the person that wants to relive the gaming experience of their of their retro consoles and they're not they don't have like a perfectionist mindset.”
Retro Ralph@ 10:36 — Clear target audience definition; acknowledges limitations for purists
“I mean, this is significantly less than a Mega Stargate. So, just throwing that out there. That, you know, for a fairly budget solution this is awesome.”
Retro Ralph@ 5:05 — Sets expectations by positioning product in market hierarchy

Entities

Retro RalphpersonHyperkincompanyMega Cat StudioscompanySega GenesisproductStreets of Rage 2productCoffee CrisisproductMega StargateproductYoko Koshiroperson

Transcript

youtube_groq_whisper · $0.038

0:00

Hey guys, welcome back. In this episode, we're going to hook your Sega Genesis up to your HDTV. Okay, so it was... it was RGB SCART to... to... what was it again?

0:30

all right guys so here it is the hyperkin hdtv cable for the sega genesis now keep in mind this supports the model one two and three and i'll show you how they achieve that in a second here But this is what you're going to get in the box. You're going to get the Hyperkin cable itself and on the cable It's got a switch right here So you can switch the aspect ratio between 4 by 3 and 16 9 now It does say in the manual that you want to set this before you power on your console. So no big deal there Now the other thing that I want to show you really quick is the end of the cable because this end of the cable is Obviously a gen 2 or gen 3. So how do I hook that up to my gen 1 if that's what I have? well I'm glad you asked so here you go right here you have your this is the cable that would be the adapter that goes into this end so these two ends go together and then this end goes into your lovely model one Sega Genesis so there you go so they provided this cable for you so it can support you know your model one two or three which is awesome and then the other end as you would suspect it's got your HDMI connection so there is a little caveat manual basically just says hey if you plug this into your HDTV and for some reason you're not getting a video output at that point you can hook up this micro USB connection and that should fix the issue so before you call hyperkin support or try to get them to help if it's not working as you hook up the power but not every HDTV is going to require that so that's just if you need it and it is there and this is 5 volt 1 amp so make sure that you have a 5 volt one amp little breakout box, which is pretty standard these days. So just, um, you know, if you don't have that, make sure you have one if you need one. So that's it. It doesn't come with that in the box though. So, so really quick, uh, I'm just a little, little about Hyperkin. So Hyperkin tends to make lots of cool retro products because they love retro. So, um, you know, you won't, I know I want you. I know you want me. So they're making love to our Sega Genesis console, which is awesome. They love it. And yeah, we love them for loving that. And so I got a chance to meet them at E3, which is really cool. I got invited to check out some stuff behind the scenes, which was really really awesome And I was able to get this cable from them and they said hey check it out And if you wouldn mind doing a review that be great And of course I would love to do a review They been actually big supporters of the channel as far as just watching it and enjoying the content And so this is the first time that they've sent me something to review. So I really do appreciate that. So anyways, without further ado, we're going to hook this thing up and see how it goes. And hopefully it's a great experience because I can't wait to fire this thing up. Okay, guys, I'm sure you're probably wondering why we're back here. The reason why is because when I started hooking it up, I did notice that the connector on the back of the Genesis Model 1 is slightly different than the connector for the adapter. It does fit. It just seems like I got to push it in a little bit more. So that's the Hyperkin one right there. And then if you look, I have a third-party one I'm about to show you in a second. It's slightly different, and it fits a little bit better. So I just wanted to let you guys know it doesn't seem like it's going to do any damage. Just got to push it in a little bit tighter than you'd think. And that's about it. So not an issue from my perspective. Okay guys, so quick update. So I actually did have to plug in the power adapter. I tried without it and I didn't get a signal. So like the manual says, sometimes you need it, sometimes you don't. In my case, I needed it. So let's fire it up now. I put in Hyperstone Heist. Alright, let's give this thing a shot. It looks pretty good so far to me, so that's a good thing. I will hook it up to my capture card in a little bit Actually, what am I talking about? Let me put in Streets of Rage I mean, I know I'm predictable, but I love that game Let's put in Streets of Rage 2 Yeah I'm gonna kick some butt I always do that It's like how after all these years playing this game can I remember what button to press? It's out of control Wow, I love playing Streets of Rage on a TV this big It's freaking awesome It looks really good to me, guys I mean, is it perfect? No, but I mean, I have a Mega SG And, I mean, this is significantly less than a Mega SG So, just throwing that out there That, you know, for a pretty fairly budget solution This is pretty awesome Sometimes I just want to rock out to the music I don't even want to play it so good.

6:50

All right, guys, so we're upstairs. I want to show you off the capture card what this looks like. Now, keep in mind, I'm not going to do a comparison video between this and, like, the Mega SG and all that. Only because, guys, this is more of a budget solution. But you know what? It looks really good for a budget solution. So it's one of those things. Like, Hyperkin tries to build products that, like, everyone can buy. Right? And I just feel like the Mega SG does, you know, even though I like it and I own one, it does kind of alienate a lot of people because it's kind of expensive. And then there's a whole bunch of other solutions, too, that are the price deltas, like, you know, 10 times more expensive or six times more expensive, whatever it is. So, you know, for what it's worth, there's solutions for everyone. This might not be for you, but I find it pretty good for what it is. So, you know, here, you be the judge. Here, look at some of the gameplay and you tell me. but you know i want to hear your comments obviously when uh when i get when it gets posted but i'm just excited that i can hook up my model one genesis with a you know basically essentially a single cable it's pretty cool and i always i always mess up my buttons i think i did it downstairs too i don't know why i always want to press i always want to press a i always do and like for some reason you know obviously that's your special move so um it takes life away, but whatever. So, anyways, guys, I think it looks really good with Streets of Rage. You know, sounds great. Obviously, it should. It's coming right off the Genesis Model 1, which we all know, you know, from a sound perspective, that's probably the best you're going to get.

9:40

But it's got a pretty cool soundtrack. They've definitely leveraged the sound processing of the Genesis to its extent. It's really cool. anyway so i'm gonna i'm gonna stop it here and i'm gonna do some final thoughts and wrap up and then we'll we'll uh we'll wrap it up all right guys it is final thoughts time so what do i think about the hyperkin hgtv cable for the sega genesis well first of all i think it's great that it supports the models one two and three so it's very you know robust and as far as that goes um i also like that it's just a simple solution you know it's pretty easy to use you plug it in you go right and in some cases you have to put the power adapter on like i did not a big deal the other thing i like is it has selectable aspect ratios so you can play it in the original aspect ratio of the sega genesis or if you like things stretched to take up the whole entire hgtv and that doesn't bother you then you have that option too now who is the solution for versus who it's not for who it's for is the person that wants to relive the gaming experience of their of their retro consoles and they're not they don't have like a perfectionist mindset if you have a perfectionist mindset then you're definitely going to be more of a mega SG kind of guy or the millions of other ways there are to take an existing console and present that output to an HDTV. But keep in mind, those are sometimes three, four, five, six times more expensive than this. It's a $30 cable. So I think when you think about the overall value of what you're getting, the amount of money you have to spend for something that gives you a pretty good experience, then I think it's really worth it. So would I recommend it? Yes, but keep in mind, I wouldn't recommend it to those people that are ultra perfectionists that every little minute detail has to be perfect exactly the way they remember it or even better than the way they remember it. So anyhow, that's kind of my final thoughts there. So if you like this video, please like it. Please consider subscribing to the channel if you enjoy the content and hit turn on notifications so you can be informed of future updates. But that's it for now. Put your comments below so I can hear what you think about this. and I'm going to have all the links in the description for you. So I'm going to play you guys out with some Gunstar Heroes, and we'll see you on the next one.