The Stella team has just released the first beta firmware allowing Stella 6 to run on the Retron 77. This is a pretty big upgrade from the version of Stella (v3) that shipped with the Retron 77…and it’s really easy to install! The features are as follows:
- Near-perfect TIA emulation
- Cycle exact audio that sounds just like the real thing
- TV emulation, including scanlines and phosphor effect
- Smooth video without tearing
- Support for all cartridges out there, including all ARM-based games
One of the best things about this “jailbreak” firmware is how easy it is to install: Simply write the .img file to an SD card with Win32DiskImager (exactly like you would with an OSSC or Raspberry Pi image), insert the SD card into your R77 and power it on!
While I’m no fan of Hyperkin, their experience-ruining clone consoles, or their slander marketing, I am a fan of things like this: A larger company puts up the cash to make decent hardware and provides a “not bad” software interface…but then allows the community to build upon the work they started. It seems that many 2600 excuse me, I mean “VCS” fans are still angry at Hyperkin’s less-than-perfect solution, but the fact is there’s now a $65 solution widely available that outputs 720p and with a cheap SD card (and a tiny bit of work), does a good job playing the 2600’s library of games.
Thanks to the fans and Stella team, of course.
It seems like after this software update, the Retron 77 is now a pretty good product overall. ESPECIALLY when you compare it to either the cost, or complexity of setup to other solutions (think RGB Mod + Framemeister + Harmony Cart).
Beta Software Download: https://github.com/DirtyHairy/r77-firmware-ng/releases/tag/release-6.0-beta1
Installation Instructions: https://github.com/DirtyHairy/r77-firmware-ng/blob/master/INSTALL.md
Discussion Thread: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/289929-stella-6-on-the-r77-the-eagle-is-landing/
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