The Atari VCS (now known as the Atari 2600) was one of many first cartridge-based residence online game consoles in historical past and was the best-selling console of its period. However that was the late Seventies and the know-how was in its infancy. Saying that the graphics have been rudimentary could be a dramatic understatement — as we speak’s youngsters would contemplate them unusable. That’s why it was so stunning to search out this MovieCart that’s able to taking part in full-length, full-color films on totally unique Atari 2600 {hardware}.

This doesn’t seem to be it needs to be potential, however the challenge could be very actual. After all, it requires cheap expectations. Based on the knowledge offered by creator lodefmode, it might solely show films at a paltry 80×192 pixel decision with a severely restricted shade palette and poor sound high quality. It does, nevertheless, run at a really regular 30 frames per second. Storage is reasonable and ample today, in order that isn’t a difficulty. However the Atari 2600’s video capabilities are very restrictive. Even this video and sound high quality is unbelievably spectacular and necessitated some intelligent hacks.

It’s potential to load any movie onto the MovieCart’s SD card, as a result of lodefmode created a utility to transform normal MP4 recordsdata into the customized MVC format. One demonstration lodefmode made is the basic film Westworld—sure, children, it was a film lengthy earlier than it was a TV present. The transformed film doesn’t look nice, however Yul Brynner’s cheerful visage is clearly recognizable.

MovieCart 2600 is an open-source challenge, so that you’re free to construct your personal utilizing the recordsdata offered by lodefmode. Or you should buy one from the Tindie retailer for $24.99 (although, sadly, they’re at the moment out of inventory). If you buy one, it would even include an SD card loaded up with a full-length shade film from the general public area!