We've entered the age of the upscale, with companies like ModRetro and Analogue creating consoles that revitalise our existing games and upscale them for modern TVs. I've loved what the M64 and the 3D have done to our favourite N64 games. The issue is, however, that you'll end up needing a different machine for every console before too long, whereas an upscaler that works with multiple different analog consoles can cater for a variety of systems.
Enter the Morph 2K, a video scaler from Pixel FX that converts signals from 240p up to 1080p into 1080/1440p HDMI at 60Hz, all with 4:4:4 colour resolution. It's perfectly priced at $199 and supports composite, scart, S-Video, component, and VGA inputs. Basically, all of the good stuff from the days of retro gaming!
As well as offering ultra-low-lag and fully buffered framelock modes, it has some fancy stuff like motion adaptive deinterlacing, magiclock dynamic video lock, dynamic scanlines, and a 'comprehensive audio input system, supporting both analog and digital inputs.'
So why am I excited about pre-orders opening for the Morph 2K? Well, compared to the likes of the RetroTINK 4K Pro and 4K-CE at $750 and $475 a piece, the Morph 2K's pricetag of $199 looks very reasonable. It also boasts system and preset updates over WiFi, as well as a MicroSD card slot for user files. The Morph 2K has more inputs than the RetroTINK 2X Pro too, making the slightly higher price much more appealing.
We've seen pictures of the Morph 2K upscaling A Link to the Past and Sonic the Hedgehog alongside other retro classics, upgrading colours and the smoothness of the graphics. If you already own all of the old analog-input consoles and want to carry on using your original hardware, then this is an affordable way of doing it.
If you're not bothered about 4K graphics and just want to add some extra life to your favourite games, then the Morph 2K looks set to be a winner. Pre-orders placed between now and June 19th (or until the first batch sells out) will also get a Pixel FX VGA2SCART adapter, a dual RCA to 3.5mm audio adapter, and a MicroSD card bundle worth $30 for free.
The Morph 2K can be pre-ordered from Pixel FX directly and will ship around 8-10 weeks after pre-orders close.
