TIARA v2 – Improved Atari 2600 Composite / S-Video Mod

Mark from The Retro Channel is now selling a new Composite / S-Video / Audio mod for the Atari 2600. Installation is extremely easy, as you just drop the board over the TIA pins, solder only the holes with metal, then connect signals for an output connector. And of course this can all be done as a #nocutmod, if you simply run the wires out of the existing holes to a DIN. Or just run a composite video and audio cable if you don’t need S-Video. It can even be installed at the same time as the Lumacode mod and won’t disable the existing RF connection. The price is about $30 and just choose PAL or NTSC from the drop-down menu:

Purchase Here: https://lectronz.com/products/tiara-atari-2600-s-video-and-composite-mod-v2

A few quick things to note. First, the TIARA isn’t compatible with the “one-chip” 2600, which are rare late model Jr versions that consolidate everything into a single IC. Please also be aware this mod has not been tested and is not guaranteed to work with French SECAM, and South American PAL-N and PAL-M machines.

Also, all 2600’s, regardless of modded or unmodded might have issues with modern scalers. While they should all work on CRT’s, modern displays and scalers weren’t designed to handle all the old tricks video game dev’s used to use to make some of these games work. AtariAge has a great thread explaining all of this.

Lastly, while I’m obviously a massive fan of Lumacode mods for consoles that support them, many of us just want to enjoy these consoles on CRT’s. And if you’re in the burbs, away from tons of wireless interference, RF can still look excellent on a CRT. That said, if you’re in a place surrounded by lots of networks, or if you just want a cleaner composite or S-Video signal for your CRT, mods like this are absolutely worth doing. Here’s some quick examples of what I mean:

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