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Using the Apple ][+ with the RetroTink-5X

May 24, 2025

This is a "byte" post. It may not be as detailed as other posts.

About four years ago (?!) I wrote a blog post called The Great
Composite Comparison, where I compared a number of methods for
upscaling composite video. At the time, I mentioned looking forward
to the RetroTINK-5X upscaler, and later that year, I got my hands on
one, writing a post on using it with the Pioneer LaserActive. I found
it fit for purpose and my personal 5X has been paired with the
LaserActive ever since, but I recently got a question: what about
with the Apple ][, whose idiosyncratic video system is legendary.

Recap

The Great Composite Comparison is among my longest blog posts (the
only one longer is What made the NES so interesting?), so let's
summarize the Apple ][ part. I'm going to assume you know what the
Apple ][ is, and that it doesn't matter that I'm using an Apple ][[
plus].

The RetroTINK-2X MINI and the Micomsoft Framemeister, still excellent
standards in retrogaming upscalers, suffer from a problem: they
couldn't work with the "color killer" circuit in the Apple ][.
Pure-text mode's suppressed color burst therefore results in a
terrible wobbly color.

Apple II diagnostics running on an Apple II showing a menu; the
colors are fluctuating constantly

Now, on systems that have S-Video or component options (the Micomsoft
Framemeister, but not the RetroTINK2X-MINI), you can plug the Apple ]
[ into the luma to get a nice clean monochrome text mode. And a
monochrome graphics mode. Tradeoffs.

Apple II diagnostics running on an Apple II showing color bars, but
they are not in color

So this is what we want the RetroTINK-5X to be better at. Is it?

Results

Now, this is a "byte" post, so I'm not going to tune the image; it's
just "Generic 4:3". In fact I had pretty low hopes when I first
turned it on and got an odd, wobbly picture that flashed colors. My
guess is that it took a bit to lock on to the sync, though, as after
the screen blacked out while it was loading, it worked excellently.
(Be careful when playing if you're sensitive to very wobbly images,
but it's just a few seconds)

You don't have a video tag support or something; I describe it above.

After that, I had no problems with the text mode's color killer
circuit; my only complaint is that Generic 4:3 is maybe a touch fuzzy
for this system, but as I said, this may be tuneable, and it's
definitely readable. My Apple ][ spends most of its time hooked up to
a CRT.

Apple II diagnostics running the menu and they are not in color

The color bars also look quite good, and didn't have any of the weird
color fading issues I saw with the Micomsoft Framemeister or the
RetroTINK-2X MINI. The colors are maybe a bit more muted than I'm
used to?

Apple II diagnostics running on an Apple II and they are color

Finally, it is also worth noting that the 5X (assuming you use an RCA
cable) uses the same input for composite video and for luma, so
switching between them is just a menu option away, and as usual, is
very crisp.

Apple II diagnostics running on an Apple II and they are not color

Note that when I went back to the BASIC prompt after going into
diagnostics it worked perfectly, so I think that initial wobbliness
was just a freak sync accident; you get used to it.

Apple II video screen, with a bunch of garbage text

So that concludes today's post. I hope you enjoyed looking at some
pretty pictures!

Nicole Express

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