I did purchase this and for the price it’s asking it was worth a shot. Just a few things to consider here.
This is a great product on its own but even better if you chain it together with a RetroTink , Retroscaler2X, Framemeister or an OSSC. I tested this with a a Retroscaler2X and will soon try an OSSC.
To really understand how to use this product the way you intend to, you should watch the My Life In Gaming YouTube channels video reviewing this Green MClassic Retro as well as the Red standard M Classic and the Blue “ Switch “ mclassic .
I tried this so far with a Sega Saturn console with the chain I mentioned above with the retro m classic and Retroscaler2X. Keep in mind a lot of consoles will force the signal into a 4:3 ratio which I do not mind but others might. Also when the mclassic retro is powered up you will likely notice upon first time use a Green or Blue light on the side as it’s powered. That is actually a filter switch that can click into 3 different positions. Furthest to the left is no light / pass through mode . It will clean the picture up and smoothing but that’s about it . The position in the middle / green light is the “ Retro mode “ which will scale and clean up like pass through but also adds a bit of a lighter hue of colors over all across the screen. I suppose it is like replicating a crt to a degree with that brightness added and some games may not work best in the mode while others may look better then pass through, all depending on your preference .
Then there’s the furthest to the right to position that led switch , the blue / Retro Mode 2X which apparently cleans up the smoothness and picture even further then the first 2 modes and actually brings the colors down to a more darker scale compared to the first two modes. It all really comes down to what will you be using this for and how you like what is displayed ultimately.
I always wanted one of these since the red one came out , but getting this item as the retro edition which compared to the red and blue mclassic adapters has a max output of 1440P and no higher like the other 2 adapter models , but considering this is intended for retro consoles leading up until the PS3 era or so ( 7th Gen Gaming ) it can help clean up a picture from an older analog console onto a modern TV or Monitor. If you want to tip your toe in the water at all with scaling and cleaning up picture from your retro consoles without breaking the bank in adapters or messing with soldering component , resisters and such … this is a good entry point for sure.
I would get this and then a Retroscaler2X which those are like clone retrotinks that can be anyware from $40-$60 or so and you can have a pretty nice setup to game out to or stream video with. I tried it with Sega Saturn but will soon try this with Super Nintendo , Sega Dreamcast , PlayStation 2 , PlayStation 3 , I might do Wii and possibly the Super Nintendo / Genesis Mini / PlayStation mini consoles since those output at 720p which could be bumped up of course too. Good luck !
I bought this late at night and I didn’t realize this green Retro Edition is apparently locked to a 4:3 aspect ratio. So it will not look right for any consoles that output a 16x9 widescreen signal. See NintendoLife’s review “mClassic RGB Range - Colour Us Unimpressed” for example images of how a Nintendo Switch 16x9 image is squished into a 4x3 aspect ratio on this green Retro edition. Even though it’s an older 4x3 game being played with virtual console pillarboxing on the sides of the screen.
Perhaps you could use your TV’s “stretch” mode to compensate by stretching out the mClassic Retro’s 4x3 image output back to the 16x9 intended size, if your console is sending a widescreen signal. But just be aware of this 4:3 limitation because it is not made clear enough, in my opinion, this model DOES NOT SUPPORT 16x9 WIDESCREEN GAMES!
Most online reviews are for the original mClassic (red version), not this more limited green one, and if you want to use this with 16x9 widescreen games, the red mClassic is the version you should look for.
This also doesn’t have the pass-through mode of the original red mClassic, meaning there is no way to turn off its image processing other than unplugging it from the HDMI cable. The switch position 1 is the good retro upscaling mode from the original red mClassic, and positions 2 and 3 are the new weird “vintage” color filter modes meant to evoke a faded crappy CRT that the Marseille designers apparently grew up with, probably best avoided.
(And note the mClassic dongle part must go into the console’s HDMI port, not the TV’s HDMI port.)
Those limitations make this discounted Woot price understandable and still fair. I’m not canceling my order, but just a little bummed it will not be a good fit for PS3 / Xbox 360 / Switch widescreen games. But some consoles do support manually selecting 480p output, so this would be a good fit for those.
This unit is meant specifically for consoles released before widescreen 16x9 TVs took over, meaning Wii, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, first Xbox, Gamecube, and earlier. But those 4:3 era consoles didn’t come with HDMI ports, so you’ll also need to have an HDMI adapter for your console to make it compatible with this mClassic Retro.
I just checked resolution/aspect ratio options on some early HDMI consoles I had nearby my 4K 16x9 TV:
Wii U - can be set to 4:3 aspect ratio in 480p resolution (HD resolutions are 16:9 only).
Wii U homescreen and 2 games tried still appear widescreen with letterboxing, inside the 4:3 picture area. They are not full screen 4:3. (TV’s Zoom function could enlarge picture to remove letterboxing, but very soft picture due to low resolution.)
Wii games can fill the 4:3 picture area with no letterboxing, just the expected pillarboxing on the sides of the SD picture.
So Wii games played on Wii U set to 480p 4:3 are a good candidate for mClassic Retro. Wii U HD games played at 480p letterboxed would be losing so much resolution, it doesn’t really seem worth it.
Xbox 360 - better than Wii U, my Xbox 360 fat supports 480p in “Screen Format: Normal” (4:3) aspect ratio, and also offers higher resolution 4:3 options like 1024x768, 1280x1024. (Not sure how mClassic would work with those higher resolutions.) Xbox Home screen fills the 4:3 area, and also both games I tried are full screen 4:3 with no letterboxing, just pillarboxing. So 360 could be a good system for playing original Xbox / retro 4:3 games.
PlayStation 3 - like Xbox 360, supports 480p resolution and 4:3 aspect ratio. (Doesn’t offer higher resolution 4:3 options like the 360.) PS home screen and 1 game tried can fill the screen in 4:3. Two other games tried are letterboxed within the 4:3 area. So PS3 could work for playing older PS2, PS1 games in 4:3.
Switch - although it offers a 480p resolution when docked, it does not support 4:3 aspect ratio, it is 16x9 only. (720x480) Even playing SNES Nintendo Classics 4:3 games, it displays them on a 16x9 screen with a background image in the pillarboxing area. So unfortunately Switch is not a good match for the mClassic Retro at all.
Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U systems can work with mClassic Retro in 4:3 aspect ratio, especially for playing older games in backward compatibility modes, that never had a widescreen 16x9 version. Playing GTA IV in 4:3 is totally possible on PS3 / 360, but since the game also supports 16x9 I feel like I’d be missing something in 4:3.
I can’t find definitive answers, but it seems like the recent mini consoles “classic editions” with HDMI ports like Super NES Classic, PlayStation Classic behave like the Switch, only outputting a 16x9 signal with the 4x3 games pillarboxed on a background image. However with software mods it seems that custom 4:3 resolutions can be used instead. I’ll report back if I find that to be untrue.
I did decide to cancel it after all. Instead I found a used red original Mclassic for a similar price. I play more 16x9 games than older 4x3 consoles and the red version will be a lot more useful to me.
Thank you for clarifying all this jazz.
I have been looking for something that does this for a while.
Appreciate the explanation and time!