I am so glad you watched my video Paul. You and your team have completed an immense and incredible project to resurrect the spirit of the Commodore 65 and enhance it to todays standards. I have no doubt this will only improve as more bright minds contribute in the years ahead. This enables a whole new generation of 'The masses' to own and enjoy one. My Mega65 has now assumed primary position on my desk in the Commodore Cave, and has pushed my daily PC keyboard into second place. cheers Graham.
I just got confirmation mine is being delivered in the next couple of days. Decided it was about time to go searching for videos to get familiar and found yours and love it.
Thanks for commenting Simon and Im glad you liked this video. Do yourself a favour when you get yours. Return to 1990 - resist the excitement and reeeely savor opening up this brand new beauty. She deserves it. Enjoy!
@@Throckmorton.Scribblemonger eh? It's simply styled after the original prototypes. The Spectrum +3 and the Amstrad CPC6128 had the floppy drive in the same location.
This is a great video, one of the best I've watched, full of information, and humor, thank you so much for sharing! Maybe one day in the future I'll get a Commodore.
Great video! You earned a subscriber today : ) I love the product and am awaiting for mine to arrive some day in the future. I hope it will not be too long of a wait.
Glad you liked it Bill and pleased you subscribed. Maybe take a look at the previous 45 Commodore youtubes Ive done. All are available on this channel. Cheers, Graham.
30 years after the Commodore company went bankrupt, a successor to a computer that never made it to market comes onto the market. It is the most powerful 8-bit computer that will ever exist, but it took 30 years to finally complete it. That's absurd.
Congratz! As the C65 prices have risen over the last 15 years, I'm become paralyzed at the thought of using mine any more. Like the C= cave dweller here, I'm looking forward to getting my MEGA and resuming my BASIC 10 and C65 experimenting.
You have a C65? Wow! and I dont't blame you for feeling concerned. It comes with a big responsibility to preserve it. BUT I may be able to help... You could always donate it to the Commodore Cave 😃
I never owned any of the 8 bit Commodore computers, though did use my friends C64 when I visited. My first computer was an Amiga 500. I would have never imagined that these wonderfull computers would still be around today. All I can say is it's a great time to be around for us Retro Computer users. I recently got myself the A500 Mini, and just hope that a Maxi version with a working keyboard ends up being released. Congratulations on your Mega65 purchase and hope you have many wonderfull hours using it, which I'am sure you will.
The A500mini is a great one to start with and opens up the whole library of software. I keep mine in the lounge beneath my TV and it's available for anyone to use (or abuse). Personally though, I hope they don't make a maxi 500 version, I'd much rather see an Amiga 1200 Maxi version. Anyway, glad you liked this youtube and thanks for commenting. cheers Graham.
No, they "sort of" went the extra mile - some of our Mega65 orders are arriving with NO packaging. Very unprofessional and quite a dampener for those of us who have supported this project for years and even paid for the dev units. :(
@@jandoor2068 yours is the only one affected, and as we know from looking into it, is an error that happened following your special handling request. I need to double-check, but I believe your replacement packaging is on the way from Germany to me now, ready to forward to you when it arrives.
@@menotu000 Noperz. Have been speaking with Trenz and it was a mistake made by their shipping department. However they are working on getting me my missing packaging.
@@PaulGardnerStephen Hi Paul. That seems to be the case - I have asked in in the Mega65 forums to see if anyone else has had the same problem and apparently I am the only one - so obviously my special postage request threw a spanner in the works. Trenz has notified me that the missing packaging will be sent to you, so it is probably half way here now. I will put off the unboxing until it arrives so I can do it properly. Thanks again for your help.
Just a few things I don't like are the power supply (should at least have been the same color as the machine), the plastic sheet on the front of the user manual and the large rings. I do consider buying one in the next batch.
Well.. of course it should remain original, so I would not recommend painting, but it does look like a generic replacement. Clearly so much care was put in this machine and the packaging and it’s almost perfect.
Nice to see your unit actually arrived with packaging - mine didn't. It came in a plain cardboard box. Very disappointing and I wonder how many other pre-orders are arriving in that state.
@@commodorecave5581 Yes, fully agree. Kind of spoiled the whole thing for me, especially after supporting the project for many years and shelling out for the dev kit last year. On a more positive note I have reached out to Paul (in Oz) and he is going to try and organise the missing packaging to be sent over with his next order from Trenz. Not the same, but at least will be some form of resolution.
I still don't get it. What would you expect to pay today for a new condition boxed commodore 64, at least Aus$300 to $500? But then add on the cost of an HDMI upscaler, as well as a VGA adapter, plus an SD card reader, then an ethernet adapter, then a memory expansion......
Injection moulding is VERY expensive.... it's $10000.00 per die for setup plus the cost of producing the units... not to mention custom made and custom printed keycaps, cherry mx keys, custom PCB, etc., etc. etc.... ALOT of money went into just making this.
I really can't get over the steep price. Twice the price of a MiSTer FPGA complete setup. But hey, if you have the money to buy it, do so! It's a nice collectors piece 👍 The only thing that really bothered me was those kinda rusty floppy drives that showed up on FB 🫤
Yes the same question comes to my mind too. It is a wonderful machine but gets produced in low quantity, not available off-the shelf and it costs the same as a modern gaming PC. This results that only hobbyists will write programs for it. The good thing about the C64 were not just it's capabilities but the popularity that almost everyone had one so we could swap programs, share our experiences about them with our friends and not just with other people from that ~1000 owners on the internet.
The price is also not nearly as bad as it seems when you consider that it is actually many different computers in one since it can load as many different "cores" as you want. Currently it supports several already and more will be added as time goes on. Also, I imagine that the price will eventually drop when shipping problems around the world are no longer an issue and also when they are able to make more of them, cheaper.
hi, just wanted to see if somebody has the same issues as I do. My MEGA65 never gave me option to set the time and screen !? Now I get very bad picture using HDMI and I have no idea what to do with it. The screen has vertical lines and is very distorted. Can anybody help me how to get to the first screen so that I can set time and select screen type ?
With all of that space under the bonnet, why didn’t they put a Rasberry Pi in there too ? With the proper switching and cabling you could choose your operating system on the fly using a single monitor.
It's hard to imagine coming up with a worse idea than creating a brand new obsolete computer with no software available. Among a lot of other problems, the big problem is now that there are 500 of these things out there and perhaps the second batch will move quickly (though maybe not), the problem is that the new obsolete softwareless computer will IMMEDIATELY have the same problem the old machine had, which is no new hardware available. The SGM (super game module) for the Colecovision is a fine example of this problem. The guy who makes it can't order it in small numbers. But there isn't high demand for it. So you go to the website, order and pay for an SGM, then, after 100 or 200 or 500 other people do this, which may take years, a new run is made and everyone gets their new SGM. This is a terrible business model and it assumes that the people who came up with it are going to want to run a webstore in perpetuity doing this.
Are you keeping up with Commodore, cause CBM is keeping up with you ... :)))) Well, if they died 1993 or so, how to keep up? Sorry, got carried by intro tune! Amiga users never decided did CBM made Amigas possible or shit it to impossible by CBM logic and engineering bad decisions
Lol, well, considering Commodore folded in 1994 and this is a brand new release..... I have a funny feeling that we ALL know this is not a "Commodore" manufactured product. ;)
@@Okurka. Lol, well, you are a little funny - and I mean that in the nicest way. This channel is called Commodore Cave, so it would be kinda EXPECTED that anything to do with Commodore could be covered on such a channel. Do you think maybe the Commodore 65, and therefore the modern reimplementation of it might just fall into that category? ;)
Thanks for the kind words, and hope you have many years of active fun with your MEGA65, as that READY prompt beckons you in for a second time!
I am so glad you watched my video Paul. You and your team have completed an immense and incredible project to resurrect the spirit of the Commodore 65 and enhance it to todays standards. I have no doubt this will only improve as more bright minds contribute in the years ahead. This enables a whole new generation of 'The masses' to own and enjoy one. My Mega65 has now assumed primary position on my desk in the Commodore Cave, and has pushed my daily PC keyboard into second place. cheers Graham.
I just got confirmation mine is being delivered in the next couple of days. Decided it was about time to go searching for videos to get familiar and found yours and love it.
Thanks for commenting Simon and Im glad you liked this video. Do yourself a favour when you get yours. Return to 1990 - resist the excitement and reeeely savor opening up this brand new beauty. She deserves it. Enjoy!
Graham, excellent video about the MEGA65 ... hehe, I love the "A500 mini nightmare" as you opened the box :-)
Nice personal homecomputer!
Its great to see CBM128 CBM65 recreation and upgrade :)
Bruce Willis, ist testing Computers.....Epic
Thanks for blowing my cover!
The C65 we never got! Amazing!
That's a great looking machine and very reminiscent of the Spectrum Next project. The inclusion of an actual FDD is great. Love it.
It looks like they forgot the floppy drive and added that part on later.
@@Throckmorton.Scribblemonger eh? It's simply styled after the original prototypes. The Spectrum +3 and the Amstrad CPC6128 had the floppy drive in the same location.
This is a great video, one of the best I've watched, full of information, and humor, thank you so much for sharing! Maybe one day in the future I'll get a Commodore.
Great video! You earned a subscriber today : ) I love the product and am awaiting for mine to arrive some day in the future. I hope it will not be too long of a wait.
First time view of your channel, subscribed 😀👍🏻
Glad you liked it Bill and pleased you subscribed. Maybe take a look at the previous 45 Commodore youtubes Ive done. All are available on this channel. Cheers, Graham.
30 years after the Commodore company went bankrupt, a successor to a computer that never made it to market comes onto the market. It is the most powerful 8-bit computer that will ever exist, but it took 30 years to finally complete it. That's absurd.
Well said mate. Love your dose of realistic perspective. I look forward to getting my own C65 soon.
Thanks. And... you're gonna love it.
Great review. I know what you were feeling at 4:26 with that sigh. Memories of good times !
Oh yeah! It's the whole package.
Super video.
great review - i ordered mine and wait to get it in q1/2024
Thanks for this. Been waiting for an overview of the release version, rather than the beta builds. Excellant stuff.
Glad you enjoyed. cheers.
Thank you for the video and congratulations on this marvelous machine :)
Congratz! As the C65 prices have risen over the last 15 years, I'm become paralyzed at the thought of using mine any more. Like the C= cave dweller here, I'm looking forward to getting my MEGA and resuming my BASIC 10 and C65 experimenting.
You have a C65? Wow! and I dont't blame you for feeling concerned. It comes with a big responsibility to preserve it. BUT I may be able to help... You could always donate it to the Commodore Cave 😃
Very cool. I did not know that had come out!
Great video and love your style. My Mega65 landed earlier this week - so happy with it. I like that RRB Sprites demo ;)
Cheers, Geehaf.
Thanks George. Yes I'm still in the very very early days of discovery with my Mega65. And aint it fun!
I never owned any of the 8 bit Commodore computers, though did use my friends C64 when I visited. My first computer was an Amiga 500. I would have never imagined that these wonderfull computers would still be around today. All I can say is it's a great time to be around for us Retro Computer users. I recently got myself the A500 Mini, and just hope that a Maxi version with a working keyboard ends up being released. Congratulations on your Mega65 purchase and hope you have many wonderfull hours using it, which I'am sure you will.
The A500mini is a great one to start with and opens up the whole library of software. I keep mine in the lounge beneath my TV and it's available for anyone to use (or abuse). Personally though, I hope they don't make a maxi 500 version, I'd much rather see an Amiga 1200 Maxi version. Anyway, glad you liked this youtube and thanks for commenting. cheers Graham.
@@commodorecave5581 a 1200 or 3000 version
Wonderful! And I got a lot of laughs from the video :D
I had a few myself making it! Glad you enjoyed.
Wow, MVG's father has a channel too! Awesome
looks superb.
Awesome! They really went the extra mile on packaging, manual, etc. Impressive. Now I just need to sell a few of my Commodores to pay for a 65 ;)
No, they "sort of" went the extra mile - some of our Mega65 orders are arriving with NO packaging. Very unprofessional and quite a dampener for those of us who have supported this project for years and even paid for the dev units. :(
@@jandoor2068 Sounds like customs is playing games, not Trenz.
@@jandoor2068 yours is the only one affected, and as we know from looking into it, is an error that happened following your special handling request. I need to double-check, but I believe your replacement packaging is on the way from Germany to me now, ready to forward to you when it arrives.
@@menotu000 Noperz. Have been speaking with Trenz and it was a mistake made by their shipping department. However they are working on getting me my missing packaging.
@@PaulGardnerStephen Hi Paul. That seems to be the case - I have asked in in the Mega65 forums to see if anyone else has had the same problem and apparently I am the only one - so obviously my special postage request threw a spanner in the works. Trenz has notified me that the missing packaging will be sent to you, so it is probably half way here now. I will put off the unboxing until it arrives so I can do it properly. Thanks again for your help.
How is the 65 going after the 10 months you have had it ? Still impressed ?
Awesome man i bet you can't wait to program on it. Lol
Just a few things I don't like are the power supply (should at least have been the same color as the machine), the plastic sheet on the front of the user manual and the large rings. I do consider buying one in the next batch.
Paint?
Well.. of course it should remain original, so I would not recommend painting, but it does look like a generic replacement. Clearly so much care was put in this machine and the packaging and it’s almost perfect.
I want one !
When price is right and software developed ;D Can you make some great ROM module games and apps like GEOS? I would buy that included!
Probably as an ASIC SoC this computer would be more powerful and even less power-consuming.
Nice to see your unit actually arrived with packaging - mine didn't. It came in a plain cardboard box. Very disappointing and I wonder how many other pre-orders are arriving in that state.
My point exactly - 'a paper plate'. That is such a shame. I think the packaging is such a BIG part of the whole experience.
@@commodorecave5581 Yes, fully agree. Kind of spoiled the whole thing for me, especially after supporting the project for many years and shelling out for the dev kit last year. On a more positive note I have reached out to Paul (in Oz) and he is going to try and organise the missing packaging to be sent over with his next order from Trenz. Not the same, but at least will be some form of resolution.
@@jandoor2068 I'd be happy with getting the empty packaging still.
Wish they made C64 mode for this MEGA65, similar to Commodore 128. That would allow all (most) C64 games and programs to run as-is.
If this was available 10 years ago, then yes, but now I can only shrug. I lost my passion for programming... (And that thing is still very expensive)
I really wanted to get the mega65, but it’s a tad too expensive for me right now. So I have to live through RUclips 😭
Christmas is comming...
Holy wow
Nice bit of kit but that price though!
I still don't get it. What would you expect to pay today for a new condition boxed commodore 64, at least Aus$300 to $500? But then add on the cost of an HDMI upscaler, as well as a VGA adapter, plus an SD card reader, then an ethernet adapter, then a memory expansion......
@@commodorecave5581 That's one way to look at it. Another way is to note that it's about double the price of a Sinclair ZX Spectrum Next.
@@sambagogo777 Maybe, and another way is that its twice the price of a Galaxian Star Snapper.
Injection moulding is VERY expensive.... it's $10000.00 per die for setup plus the cost of producing the units... not to mention custom made and custom printed keycaps, cherry mx keys, custom PCB, etc., etc. etc.... ALOT of money went into just making this.
I really can't get over the steep price. Twice the price of a MiSTer FPGA complete setup. But hey, if you have the money to buy it, do so! It's a nice collectors piece 👍 The only thing that really bothered me was those kinda rusty floppy drives that showed up on FB 🫤
Great review but the Spectrum Next was a far better product and project. Anyway. I love C64 so have a like and a sub!
Does it have HDMI to connect to a modern monitor?
Sure does.
2:26 - Ha!
Nice video, how can I buy one . Thank you 🙏
And now? What to do with this after 30 years delay?
Yes the same question comes to my mind too. It is a wonderful machine but gets produced in low quantity, not available off-the shelf and it costs the same as a modern gaming PC. This results that only hobbyists will write programs for it. The good thing about the C64 were not just it's capabilities but the popularity that almost everyone had one so we could swap programs, share our experiences about them with our friends and not just with other people from that ~1000 owners on the internet.
The price is also not nearly as bad as it seems when you consider that it is actually many different computers in one since it can load as many different "cores" as you want. Currently it supports several already and more will be added as time goes on. Also, I imagine that the price will eventually drop when shipping problems around the world are no longer an issue and also when they are able to make more of them, cheaper.
The price is the scary part and then needing to learn a niche operating system. I would love to get one it’s a wait for now.
793.33 € .. a bit to stee
Is no one allowed to take screenshots of this thing in action?
hi, just wanted to see if somebody has the same issues as I do. My MEGA65 never gave me option to set the time and screen !? Now I get very bad picture using HDMI and I have no idea what to do with it. The screen has vertical lines and is very distorted. Can anybody help me how to get to the first screen so that I can set time and select screen type ?
If i could i would help you ...
Is this C65 ROM available for Mess?
With all of that space under the bonnet, why didn’t they put a Rasberry Pi in there too ? With the proper switching and cabling you could choose your operating system on the fly using a single monitor.
It's hard to imagine coming up with a worse idea than creating a brand new obsolete computer with no software available.
Among a lot of other problems, the big problem is now that there are 500 of these things out there and perhaps the second batch will move quickly (though maybe not), the problem is that the new obsolete softwareless computer will IMMEDIATELY have the same problem the old machine had, which is no new hardware available.
The SGM (super game module) for the Colecovision is a fine example of this problem. The guy who makes it can't order it in small numbers. But there isn't high demand for it. So you go to the website, order and pay for an SGM, then, after 100 or 200 or 500 other people do this, which may take years, a new run is made and everyone gets their new SGM.
This is a terrible business model and it assumes that the people who came up with it are going to want to run a webstore in perpetuity doing this.
@Benjamin Eby Why do people like you always make excuses for stuff like this?
Are you keeping up with Commodore,
cause CBM is keeping up with you ... :)))) Well, if they died 1993 or so, how to keep up?
Sorry, got carried by intro tune! Amiga users never decided did CBM made Amigas possible or shit it to impossible by CBM logic and engineering bad decisions
You boomers couldn't name anything. Its a Mega micro computer
the beta versions seemed better to me, this seems too plasticky to me, I'm disappointed
I'm more than happy with the build quality in mine. The real Commodores were always built to a price point.
Not a Commodore.
Lol, well, considering Commodore folded in 1994 and this is a brand new release..... I have a funny feeling that we ALL know this is not a "Commodore" manufactured product. ;)
@@jandoor2068 What's so funny?
This channel is called Commodore Cave.
@@Okurka. Lol, well, you are a little funny - and I mean that in the nicest way. This channel is called Commodore Cave, so it would be kinda EXPECTED that anything to do with Commodore could be covered on such a channel.
Do you think maybe the Commodore 65, and therefore the modern reimplementation of it might just fall into that category? ;)
@@Okurka. That's because there over 40 Commodore models, arguably the largest representation in the southern hemisphere.
@@commodorecave5581 Does that include The C64 Mini, A500 Mini and Mega65?