set top box

[x1134x]

I am going to be finishing a set top box soon.  it's an old gutted sterio with an asus A7N8X-E Deluxe, amd 2000xp, corsair TWINX512-3200C2, 120gb 7200rpm 8m hd, and maybe a 9800aiw pro or at lease a 9600xt aiw.  
Its main function is watching movies and playin old vids(nes,snes,gen,n64,ps1, tg16, maybe dreamcast).  its gonna have 4 usb ports on the front for controllers.  I'd like to use 2 n64 controllers (port 1 and 2) and 2 ps1/2 controllers(ports 3 and 4.  i've looked around to see what kind of adapters work and its seems very sketchy.  some combo adapters dont support n64 emulators. some do, but then dont support snes emus. sometimes these adapters dont want to work with newer n64/ps2 controlers....
anyways, analog is a must (n64 007, n64 mario kart, ps1 gt2...)
rumble and memory packs dont matter.  there are saves online...
$15 american is my limit per adapter
any suguestions on what to get/make?
i wouldnt mind trying a diy controller adapter hack if it will have analog.

[Bgnome]

have you considered standard xbox controllers?  they are plug-and-play usb, once you get the "plug" part worked out..

[mcdo15]

have u consider doing 4 ps2 controllers?  this is what i'm doing and there is a great 4port usb psx hub...it works great.  rumble works (rumble cable games) and anolog works as well

[The Man]

Good luck.  I've never found an adapter that will allow 2 n64 to work (really work) at the same time.  If you find something, please let us know.

TM

[Bgnome]

Good luck.  I've never found an adapter that will allow 2 n64 to work (really work) at the same time.  If you find something, please let us know.

TM

i made one that worked great.  unfortunately, it was a parallel port adapter, not usb.

[versapak]

Why not just use an Xbox all together?


Movie watching and classic console emuing are things it really excels in.

[AlanS17]

Why not just use an Xbox all together?


Movie watching and classic console emuing are things it really excels in.

It sounds like being able to use the original controllers is a primary concern.

[versapak]

It sounds like being able to use the original controllers is a primary concern.

Ahhhhhh yes...

That does seem to be the case. Went into quick reply mode, instead of actual read and comprehend mode.


Only experience I have with adapters is the adaptoid for n64. Not sure if they even make em anymore, but they were great little things.

As for PSX... There are a ton of PC controllers that are darn near identical. Might they be an option?

[x1134x]

buying 4 new controllers might be an option (xbox usb splice) as we do have a shoe box full of usb cables from time warner and charter.  a link for drivers and skematics(sp), and cheap xbox controllers would be nice....  but i just like n64 controllers.  6 usable buttons on the face, + dpad (not psx button dpad or fake looking analog) we have about 8 or 9 working n64 controllers laying around.  we'd mostly be playing old nes, snes, gen, and maybe n64 (ps1 and dreamcast not as much as we have a real dreamcast and ps2).  links to that 2 player n64 parallel hack would be nice as long as it supports analog.  I did look at the adaptoid, but it runs like $30 if you can find it.  an xbox media center might work, but then we have all this nice hardware just laying around.  plus i dont want an xbox(it'll be emulated soon enough).  
4 ps2 controllers might be an option as we have about 6 laying around here...  a link for that usb - psx hub would be nice.
anyone have any experience with the psx/n64 combo adapters?  ive seen a ton of diffrent varieties and they all have diffrent results.  

thanks for all this help.

[AlanS17]

Well I don't think the XBox will be emulated any time soon, but that's negligible to the subject at hand.

We saw the list of consoles you want to use, but... which controllers do you already have a plan for and which ones do you need help finding hacked pads or adapters for? Narrowing the search could make it easier on everybody.

[x1134x]

my main concern is that the adapters are compatable with as many versions of the controller as possible.  

first choice would be 2 decent n64 adapters, and 2 decent psx adapters.  either premade or diy.  analog is a must on both.  anything else for n64 besides the adaptiod?

second choice would be that 4 player usb - psx hub.  as long as it doesnt care that the controllers are a mix of ps2 and ps1.  

last choice would be xbox splice usb.  

any links/experience with any of these 3 choices would be appericiated(sp)

as for xbox emulation, i meant 5 years is soon enough for me.  anything on xbox is on pc or ps2...  anything i care about anyway...

[Bgnome]

if you would like to go DIY for parallel port adapters, the absolute BEST writeup i have seen is at emulatronia.  it is a spanish site, but they have translated the psx page to english:
http://www.emulatronia.com/reportajes/directpad/psxeng/index.htm

they also have a nice writeup on the n64 adapter, but i cant seem to find it in english:
http://www.emulatronia.com/reportajes/directpad/n64/index.htm

the definitive site on the n64 adapter is stephen st hans website:
http://www.st-hans.de/N64.htm

these were all originally meant to run on the directpad pro interface, which has since died so the actual drivers only really exist for windows 98.  there have been some attempts to hack versions for 2k/xp and others who have written their own drivers, but i am unsure of N64 pad support outside of the original directpad pro drivers.  you can find a fairly complete listing of lpt port psx drivers here:
http://www.aldostools.com/dpad.html