UltraHDMI FW v1.07 - Gamma & Presets

Retroactive has released new firmware for the UltraHDMI kit! While this kit has been shipping for just over 2 years now, it's always great to receive new features and settings. The latest update (v1.07) has been further optimized to utilize the remaining resources on the Cyclone III FPGA. The three most notable changes are updates to the Gamma setting, replacing a single settings save with 8 preset (save) slots, and 4 different mnemonics to label the 8 preset slots.

New main menu - "Factory Default" and "Retro Mode" are now located under the "Load Preset" menu.

Gamma

In firmware revisions prior to v1.07 the gamma setting had two values - OFF/ON. In v1.07, OFF/ON has been relabeled as 1.0/1.3, as well as the addition of a higher gamma value - 1.45.

Preset Mnemonics

4 different sets of mnemonics have been provided to label the 8 preset slots. The Dogs mnemonics even contains Shiba Inu (doge!). If you've ever inspected the UltraHDMI kit PCB closely, you might find one hiding somewhere! The Scenario mnemonics does a good job of covering typical user scenarios.

Preset Slots

8 Preset slots! If you have different settings you like to use when playing various games, the v1.07 has got you covered! Previously a user could only save one set of settings, and if they wanted to load those settings after making changes (e.g. enabling Retro Mode), they'd have to power cycle the N64, which isn't the most convenient, so this is a great feature to have. Admittedly I normally use only set of settings (Integer+ with VI de-blur), but it's fun once and a while to set a 6x scale using fractional 😬. The Factory Default option and Retro Mode preset have moved to the Load Preset menu and function the same as previous firmware revisions.

Where to download?

Right here - Firmware 1.07a Upgrader (ROM)

Latest files:

• HW1 upgrader to Firmware 1.08 (ROM)
• Quick Start [1.08] (PDF)
• Installation Guide for HW1 (PDF)

What's this 'a' version? (1/28/2018) Around the same time as 1.07 was released to testing, by sheer luck some new installs revealed an audio popping when sourcing a 1080p signal. The exact cause is still unknown but seems to be manufacturing tolerances of the FFC slightly outside the norm. 1.07a is exactly the same except it contains a mitigation for this issue. Only 0.4% of shipped units have shown this behavior. Upgrading to 1.07a is not necessary unless a unit is already exhibiting audio popping at 1080p.

NOTE: If you're currently running v1.06 firmware be sure to disable the IGR (In-Game Reset) option prior to running the update via a 64drive or ED64. This will mitigate one UltraHDMI kit bricking scenario, which requires servicing to restore (update via JTAG).