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NTSC NES Composite Palette Projects |
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Introduction:
I've done several palettes over the years, and every year it seems I find something new to experiment with for another aspect of getting a good NTSC NES RGB palette going. As most know by now, NTSC NES palette work is only subjective and can never be objective due to the NES never having RGB to begin with. The PPU inside the NES doesn't generate RGB, only composite video, so there's no original RGB color space to work with. As such, we can only get as close as we remember from our CRT days. Unfortunately CRTs also have to subjectively convert the composite video into RGB output for the electron gun of the CRT to display a picture, causing different brands and even different models of the same brand to display colors differently. This goes in with the classic joke about NTSC: Never The Same Color.
"Digital Prime (FBX)"
My current study is designing a palette for digital displays for use with the Analogue FPGA line of consoles, the MiSTer, software emulators, and anything else that will handle RGB for the NES. It is currently in final testing phase, and looks to be finished from my own testing, but I will be waiting before submitting it for firmware implementation into the NESRGB board. The working title of the palette is "Digital Prime (FBX)", and should look great for most people with nostalgia for NTSC NES gaming.
Palette file link: Digital Prime (FBX).zip
Comparison with "YUV" (which is better served for PAL format colors) originally used in emulators like Nestopia:
Here are a few examples of "Digital Prime (FBX)" in action:
Magnum, Smooth V2, and NES Classic Palettes:
"Magnum (FBX)" This is a palette based on the PVM 20M2U with 20 degrees extra saturation on the dial. The PVM was hooked up with a dual feed of an unmodded front-loading NES, and the RGB input was used for adjusting the hue, brightness, and saturation for each color entry until the screen-swap between the two feeds was as close to identical as possible.
Palette file link: Magnum (FBX).zip
"Smooth V2 (FBX)"
Formerly known as "Smootz" this is an updated version of "Smooth" which was based on all 'centered' dials of the PVM 20M2U. Smooth V2 improves the darker half of the color palette's saturation by using those entries from "Magnum". The lighter half of "Smooth" remains intact for this "Smooth V2" palette, which retains brightness spread accuracy.
Palette file link: Smooth V2 (FBX).zip
"NES Classic (FBX)"
A digital rip of the horrid palette Nintendo used on their NES Classic console. Nintendo applied a snow filter and muted some of the brighter colors, both in attempt to avoid epilepsy lawsuits. Not recommended to use for gaming, but I've kept it here for posterity:
Palette file link: NES Classic (FBX).zip
Below is a link to my page on NESRGB firmware flashing. I would suggest having a modder do it if you're not comfortable with opening your console and attemping a live flash.
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