An ex-Sega engineer made a CRT emulator so realistic, you can hit it to fix visual problems

Credit: GOROman Published Jul 17, 2026, 12:12 AM EDT Simon is a Computer Science BSc graduate who has been writing about technology since 2014, and using Windows machines since 3.1. After working for an indie game studio and acting as the family's go-to technician for all computer issues, he found his passion for writing and decided to use his skill set to write about all things tech. Since beginning his writing career, he has written for many different publications such as WorldStart, Listverse, and MakeTechEasier. However, after finding his home at MakeUseOf in February 2019, he would eventually move on to its sister site, XDA, to bring the latest and greatest in Windows, Linux, and DIY electronics. Sign in to your XDA account Summary An ex-Sega engineer built a macOS Famicom emulator that requires thwacking to fix visual issues. It uses the VHF RF feed from a Famicom via a HackRF One SDR to show the gameplay. The emulator listens for someone hitting the top of the monitor, reviving 90s percussive maintenance. Emulators with a CRT TV setting are great at showing retro games as they used to look, but they miss out on the joy of thwacking the top of your screen every time the visuals look weird. Fortunately, an ex-Sega engineer has created a Famicom (NES) emulator for macOS that requires some 'percussive maintenance' to fix visual issues, and it feels like I'm back in the 90s again. This CRT TV emulator responds to you hitting the top of the monitor It will even fix visual errors Credit: GOROman As spotted by Tom's Hardware, this cool feat was performed by ex-Sega engineer GOROman over on X. GOROman is working on an emulator that takes in a VHF RF output (NTSC-J) from a Famicom, the Japanese version of the NES. It's passed through a Software Defined Radio (SDR) called the HackRF One and displays the game on macOS. The emulator GOROman created uses realistic CRT TV visual effects, but people on X wanted the ability to tap the top of the monitor to fix visual issues. So, GOROman added it. But wait, how does the emulator know you hit the top of the monitor? Tom's Hardware took a peek at the emulator's GitHub page, and it saw that the code had an input variable called "audio tap." Tom's Hardware speculates that the emulator listens through the device's microphone for the sound of someone hitting the top of a screen. If this has gotten you in the mood to replay the classics, you'll be pleased to know that Valve has released a new version of Proton that adds support for some excellent titles.