Super Nintendo mod fixes a 34-year-old blurry video nuisance — the kit provides sharp video through composite and S-Video connectors

Enthusiasts have a knack for solving looming problems not addressed by respective companies effectively, even years after their product cycle. That's the case with the SNES mod kit by Voultar, which solves a thirty-four-year-old problem plaguing the first-generation Super Nintendo with blurry video output, affecting colors and sharpness. It has been a widespread issue since its inception as two-chip SNES models have become more common and widely available since its release.

The problem exists because its video digital-to-analog converter (DAC) cannot transition between different colors, creating a blurry video sharpness. While Nintendo eventually addressed the problem, it didn't address the issue affecting its existing dual-chip users.

The Edge Enhancer mod kit from Voultar addresses the problem by recovering, correcting, and restoring the video output on the two-chip SNES, making it almost as good as the one-chip variant, released much later during its life cycle. It also improves the RGB, composite, and S-Video outputs. The enhancer has a couple of integrated chips that clean up the video output. Youtuber Macho Nacho Productions guide shows the disassembly steps to access the main PCB.

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This mod is only for the NTSC version, but the company is working on the PAL version. Voultar will make this installation in-house and sell the kit once the DIY installation manual is prepared, as there are eighteen PCB variants. The DIY kit will require the user to have good enough soldering skills and tools.

The soldering work has multiple steps, requiring desoldering and resoldering multiple transistors and resistors and flushing the QSB and the interposer to the main PCB. The result is evident as deeper blacks can be seen due to color correction and the absence of vertical bars from its video output. Some games that show these improvements are Super Mario All-Stars, Zelda: A Link to the Past, and Final Fantasy III. Texts are clearer to read as the mod chip halo effects around the fonts.

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Nintendo addressed the issue by releasing a single-chip version as a cost-cutting measure, which happened to address the issue, according to the Youtuber. The single-chip and modified two-chip SNES fetch a good premium in the collector's market. That said, for now, Voultar is offering this as an in-house installation service, requiring the user to pay for the kit and the shipping.

While there are other DIY video amp boards available for specific motherboard versions, this Enhancer kit should work with any NTSC-based dual-chip SNES with a PAL variant soon to be available. Voultar clarified in the video's comment section that this will not be an installation service-only product. Still, documentation must be supplied with the DIY kit as there are fifteen variations of the SNES motherboard, requiring a reasonable amount of time.

One could however simply buy an SNES Classic Edition but many would like to use the original consoles while having these issues to be corrected. Super Nintendo modding is a niche, but it has done some impressive modding, such as adding Ray Tracing to the original console and more games to the SNES Classic Edition.