Digital Foundry Retro Discussion [2023]

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Why are you complaining about the price then? What did your opinion and argument about BOM 'add to the table' if you already knew the response?
Because that doesnt change the fact of an exorpitant price. Describing the phenomenon of why they can sell it at that price changes nothing
 
But then you debated it. You said it was inexcusable, inviting excuses. Others point out it's a unique product in a unique market and you still say its overpriced. The only progression of that discussion is basic Economics 101. I'm up for saying it's overprice, but I don't understand the following responses and hard-ball reaction to the inevitable direction the question of its price would lead to. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
 
But then you debated it. You said it was inexcusable, inviting excuses. Others point out it's a unique product in a unique market and you still say its overpriced. The only progression of that discussion is basic Economics 101. I'm up for saying it's overprice, but I don't understand the following responses and hard-ball reaction to the inevitable direction the question of its price would lead to. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
What exactly do you think I debated? The point of the debate arent the market forces. Describing the forces of the market in economic terms doesnt serve as an excuse of price. It only serves as a description of a phenomenon. Expanding beyond the description of market forces, where Economics are trying to find solutions and solve problems, Economics make a distinction between normal profits and superprofits and why such maret forces (i.e monopolies) are not serving the economy properly. Economic theory has the ideal scenario of perfect competition where profits become zero. You are making the common mistake of mixing the perspective of business vs the perspective of economics which aren't going hand by hand. Two identical products costing $1 to produce with one selling for $10 and another selling for $1000 because it has a sticker of brand or because its a monopoly, in economics this is either a problem or a phenomenon of irrational economic behavior. If some people buy the $1000 product doesnt serve an excuse in Economics but it can describe the phenomenon of the market forces at play. It does serve for the business who is trying to charge as much as it can where marketing is a tool for manipulation of the buyer's perception and behavior.

In other words, your argument says nothing about the prices not being exorpitant. You are actually describing the luxury of the company overcharging, which leads no where as an argument against mine.
 
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You saying the retrotink costs what it costs because of a sticker on it shows that you know nothing about it.
 
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That was serving as an example out of the few you intentionally bypassed.
 
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An example that does not fit the case, so why bother bringing it up?. Even if I agree for example with "Apple's tax" on its products, you won't get the same level of support, quality, software optimization, etc even with an old or cheap iPhone compared to most Android phone, specially cheaper ones. It's the exact same with this, with an even more pronounced difference between the Retrotink and its competitors.
 
You saying the retrotink costs what it costs because of a sticker on it shows that you know jack shit about it.
A couple of years ago some really cheap scalers appeared on places like Wish and Aliexpress that looked like Retrotink clones. I remember the community, or Twitter and Reddit in particular, being a bit upset that they "stole" Mike Chi's design. I even watched a few reviews that concluded that the scaler was close enough in quality that it likely borrowed his ideas. Through I never saw anyone tear one down enough to compare them at the circuit/component level. This, plus talking to anyone I know who owns a Retrotink has lead me to believe that the price isn't a reflection of the results that you get, but the status of owning a Retrotink.

But you are right about one thing for sure. I know jack shit about Retrotink. I play retro games as the lord intended. On a CRT. Sometimes even though an RF modulator.
 
I hope some company "steals" this too and reproduces it where the price should have been in the first place.
 
A couple of years ago some really cheap scalers appeared on places like Wish and Aliexpress that looked like Retrotink clones. I remember the community, or Twitter and Reddit in particular, being a bit upset that they "stole" Mike Chi's design. I even watched a few reviews that concluded that the scaler was close enough in quality that it likely borrowed his ideas. Through I never saw anyone tear one down enough to compare them at the circuit/component level. This, plus talking to anyone I know who owns a Retrotink has lead me to believe that the price isn't a reflection of the results that you get, but the status of owning a Retrotink.

But you are right about one thing for sure. I know jack shit about Retrotink. I play retro games as the lord intended. On a CRT. Sometimes even though an RF modulator.

I hope some company "steals" this too and reproduces it where the price should have been in the first place.
You’re both right. Those android iPhone clones that use practically three same materials as the originals and look just like them should make apple bring the iPhones price down. They look the exact same!

I’m done.
 
You’re both right. Those android iPhone clones that use practically three same materials as the originals and look just like them should make apple bring the iPhones price down. They look the exact same!

I’m done.
That's apples and oranges, though. A scaler using the same off the shelf components and using the same user interface would give the exact same experience. IOS and Android would not give you the same experience, even if the hardware is identical.
 
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That's apples and oranges, though. A scaler using the same off the shelf components and using the same user interface would give the exact same experience. IOS and Android would not give you the same experience, even if the hardware is identical.
That’s the point. It’s not the same experience.
 
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That’s the point. It’s not the same experience.
? But cloned hardware and software, as is what the example I provided was in regards to, would offer the same experience, at a lower price. I do not follow your argument.
 
I personally do not see anyone beyond niche companies approaching what Retro Tink 4K does - it does a lot of really niche and awesome things for VGA capture in an automated way. The amount of testing work + RnD that goes into that justifies a price for me more than the BOM.
 
I personally do not see anyone beyond niche companies approaching what Retro Tink 4K does - it does a lot of really niche and awesome things for VGA capture in an automated way. The amount of testing work + RnD that goes into that justifies a price for me more than the BOM.
Expensive? Heck yes, but overpriced? Not at all.
 
? But cloned hardware and software, as is what the example I provided was in regards to, would offer the same experience, at a lower price. I do not follow your argument.
Because the so called clones don't work exactly like the original hardware and software. They're replicas.
 
I personally do not see anyone beyond niche companies approaching what Retro Tink 4K does - it does a lot of really niche and awesome things for VGA capture in an automated way. The amount of testing work + RnD that goes into that justifies a price for me more than the BOM.
And if someone does clone it and sell it cheaper, they are stealing his work. Funding them is funding intellectual piracy, like someone spending a year creating a new game (Threes) and someone cribbing it in a few weeks and capitalising off that work.
 
I personally do not see anyone beyond niche companies approaching what Retro Tink 4K does - it does a lot of really niche and awesome things for VGA capture in an automated way. The amount of testing work + RnD that goes into that justifies a price for me more than the BOM.
The clones I saw and was referencing were of the Retrotink 2x variety. I agree, nothing out there really competes with the modern iterations.
Because the so called clones don't work exactly like the original hardware and software. They're replicas.
That reportedly use the same design and function in an identical way. But sure, they aren't the same because they aren't the same. Even if they do the same thing at the same quality level. Much like the twins in The Parent Trap. Raised in different circumstances only to find they have a sharded lineage and can near perfectly impersonate each other. Though perhaps you think they are more like the twins from the 1988 film Twins. But they aren't. They are more like the Paul twins from the 1987 sword and sorcery film The Barbarians. Trained to do the same thing, but when they fight, they find they look the same under their masks.
And if someone does clone it and sell it cheaper, they are stealing his work. Funding them is funding intellectual piracy
Agreed. I also think all of these scalers are pointless for actually enjoying retro games, but that's just me.
 
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