Hey all!

I'm trying to make the switch from emulator to playing on an N64 and my computer is a Mac. I've read and watched a few setups on being able to record my runs and stream, but it all seems so overwhelming and I don't wanna buy something or download something that doesn't work or is not optimal.

Can anyone point me in the right direction or show me their setup so I can better understand how to do this? this may seem trivial to some but im not very technically savvy and kinda struggle with these things.

Another question I have is where do y'all get Mario 64 cartridges that you can trust? I see a lot of people selling theirs and different listings online but how can I know the one I'm buying is legit and not some bootleg copy?

Again im sorry to those who find these questions dumb as they may very well be but Im new to all of this and just want to have an authentic setup like the top players do. I appreciate any feedback or guidance on this and I wish you all well.

Don’t have an answer for the first question but a way to tell if a cartridge is fake is if there is no indent in the back of the cart. So if a listing one eBay or something doesn’t have a picture of the back of the cartridge then you shouldn’t buy it. Another way to tell is by the price, if the price seems to good to be true than most likely it is a repo.

But the best way to make sure you get a legitimate cartridge is to go to your local game store. Because you can hold the cartridge and take a deep inspection on it.

If you don’t know where to find a game store than go to google maps and search “Video game stores near me” and you should be good.

Also as a Mac user I have the same problem. :/

Edit: I may have a solution for your Mac issue. If your machine is powerful enough than you could download OBS (I know you said you don’t want to download anything but this app is a must have) and add a new input. Chose “Record window” and than choose your emulator to record it. And to get audio just plug in a mic (any will do) and add your mic as an input on obs. Than turn your computer’s volume up and you have audio. It may not get the best solution but it is a solution.

It's typically US copies you have to worry about Bootlegs, which the US copy is more expensive typically than the JP 1.0 cart with Wing Cap Mario on top. Otherwise, there is this handy image for spotting a fake US version, but realistically if you don't want to worry about counterfeits at all, JP 1.0 is gonna be your best option.

BTW if no one else helps in terms of Mac options to stream before this thread gets locked, def peep this thread for Mac related stuff https://www.speedrun.com/forums/streaming_recording_equipment/1mkl1