WiiDual / GCVideo discussion

[Extrems]

For the latest custom GCVideo firmware on the WiiDual (2.4c.2?), what else would be left to improve on? It already fixed the two chroma problems, and also included a pixel averaging toggle. Is there anything in the upcoming official 2.5 for GC hardware that would be needed on WiiDual's custom firmware?

citrus3000psi's fix introduced a new problem where the first pixel on any given line is repeated and the last is dropped. Unseen's doesn't have this problem.

[fernan1234]

For the latest custom GCVideo firmware on the WiiDual (2.4c.2?), what else would be left to improve on? It already fixed the two chroma problems, and also included a pixel averaging toggle. Is there anything in the upcoming official 2.5 for GC hardware that would be needed on WiiDual's custom firmware?

citrus3000psi's fix introduced a new problem where the first pixel on any given line is repeated and the last is dropped. Unseen's doesn't have this problem.

But wasn't that just a problem only with pixel averaging off, which is not even the default nor the recommended setting for Wii/GC graphics, or even sprite-based VC titles for that matter?

I guess I'm trying to say that for the regular user, unlike the previous problems, this would be a non-issue, no?

[Extrems]

No, it's always there.

[Unseen]

Is there anything in the upcoming official 2.5 for GC hardware that would be needed on WiiDual's custom firmware?

Improved signal compatibility with certain displays/sinks

[awe444]

For the latest custom GCVideo firmware on the WiiDual (2.4c.2?), what else would be left to improve on? It already fixed the two chroma problems, and also included a pixel averaging toggle. Is there anything in the upcoming official 2.5 for GC hardware that would be needed on WiiDual's custom firmware?

citrus3000psi's fix introduced a new problem where the first pixel on any given line is repeated and the last is dropped. Unseen's doesn't have this problem.

But wasn't that just a problem only with pixel averaging off, which is not even the default nor the recommended setting for Wii/GC graphics, or even sprite-based VC titles for that matter?

I guess I'm trying to say that for the regular user, unlike the previous problems, this would be a non-issue, no?

What does the “pixel averaging” feature do? Does it toggle between zero-order hold and first-order hold (for the chroma channels’ interpolation from 4:2:2 to 4:4:4)?

[maxtherabbit]

Is there anything in the upcoming official 2.5 for GC hardware that would be needed on WiiDual's custom firmware?

Improved signal compatibility with certain displays/sinks

Is there a roadmap or changelog for 2.5? I did not see any new commits on github

[Unseen]

Is there a roadmap or changelog for 2.5?

I generally do not talk in public about upcoming features in future releases, with rare exceptions like the update feature seen in this thread. Makes it much easier to kill features for reasons like space constraints or just being hard to document in a way that is accessible to a normal user ("frobnicates half of the transmitted pixels to improve compatibility with certain rare no-name displays. may destroy displays that do not expect frobnicated pixels. use at your own risk.").

I did not see any new commits on github

My current tree is a big mess that still has some things hooked up to menu entries that have nothing to do with the thing they are actually changing. Also, most of the commits are just described as "WIP" or similar, so it's just a private local branch and things will get cleaned up before release.

[fernan1234]

No, it's always there.

I see. I'm guessing it may be noticeable on a digital capture, probably only in a pattern where the second and second to last pixels in a line happen to be very different from the first and last, but on regular video/game content I can't imagine how it would be noticeable.

It'd be nice for it to be fixed for OCD purposes, but unless I'm failing to see something important it sounds like a non-issue in practice.

[Konsolkongen]

I got my WiiDual from Videogameperfection today and installed it. I must say that I'm quite impressed by the improvement in image quality I'm actually not going to use the HDMI output as my LG OLED doesn't scale 480p very well. Instead I'm doing component into the OSSC for a linedoubled 960p image which looks really great!

citrus3000psi's fix introduced a new problem where the first pixel on any given line is repeated and the last is dropped. Unseen's doesn't have this problem.

Is this what you are referring to. That the reds overshoot by one pixel on both sides of the letters?
https://imgur.com/t1E2MJ4

If that could be improved upon that would be really great While averaging doesn't look too hot in this particular picture it sure does improve the image in most other cases

I have one slight problem that I'm not sure is related to the WiiDual or not, since I haven't used my Wii in years:

My console is softmodded, somehow. Can't remember the method I used, but it has priiloader installed and the "regionfree everything" option enabled. If I insert my US disc of F-Zero GX and press B upon boot so the game asks if I want to enable progressive scan, I still only get interlaced, but in a 576i frame. Even though the game says that progressive scan was enabled.

Is this normal behaviour? I'm sure I had 480p on GameCube games running on my PAL softmodded Wii before.

Maybe I should just flash the Wii's firmware to either US or JAP, then it should work correctly right? My JAP Kirby Anniversary disc doesn't run on any console region other than JAP, regardless of Priiloader hacks. And now that WiiDual enables US and JAP consoles to output RGB too, maybe I should just flash it to JAP and keep it that way?

[Extrems]

Is this what you are referring to. That the reds overshoot by one pixel on both sides of the letters?

Those are neither the first nor last pixels. They're in the center of the image.

You can see it here: https://files.extremscorner.org/gameboy/screenshots/comparisons/gbihf-1080i-2.png

Oh, and I've finally made this diagram:


You only get to see the other half thanks to an integer overflow.

[Konsolkongen]

Okay I see it now in your picture. Thank you for explaining it

[fernan1234]

You can see it here: https://files.extremscorner.org/gameboy/screenshots/comparisons/gbihf-1080i-2.png

Now I can see how this would be noticeable on GB/A games. For the first repeated pixel it's harder to see, but the last pixel is more obvious. Since the last pixel is "dropped", what exactly is being displayed in its place?

[Extrems]

The second last pixel, and I'm pretty sure the inverse is more noticeable.

Compare this:


To this:

[vip77]

Can anyone help me troubleshoot the fact I am getting no audio over RGB SCART using Retro-Access cable. I checked the cable and it's fine and wired properly. The A/V connector is properly wired and has continuity with the Wii-Dual board (though I don't believe the audio runs through the WiiDual board for analog(. I checked the connection from the AVE chip (Pins 39 & 43) through to the A/V output and I'm still getting nothing. Audio over HDMI works fine. I'm at a loss trying to figure out what to check next and was hoping someone here could help...

Any ideas?


Edit: Nevermind, after more checking it seems the audio contacts on the SCART cable were bending when inserting onto AV connector. Going to get a new cable...

[Lawfer]

Can anyone help me troubleshoot the fact I am getting no audio over RGB SCART using Retro-Access cable. I checked the cable and it's fine and wired properly. The A/V connector is properly wired and has continuity with the Wii-Dual board (though I don't believe the audio runs through the WiiDual board for analog(. I checked the connection from the AVE chip (Pins 39 & 43) through to the A/V output and I'm still getting nothing. Audio over HDMI works fine. I'm at a loss trying to figure out what to check next and was hoping someone here could help...

Any ideas?

Dunno, never had such an issue, I am using the same exact cable and no issues, maybe try to enable Enhanced DVI mode? Though since you tried with HDMI you probably already have it enabled.

[Link83]

Can anyone help me troubleshoot the fact I am getting no audio over RGB SCART using Retro-Access cable. I checked the cable and it's fine and wired properly. The A/V connector is properly wired and has continuity with the Wii-Dual board (though I don't believe the audio runs through the WiiDual board for analog(. I checked the connection from the AVE chip (Pins 39 & 43) through to the A/V output and I'm still getting nothing. Audio over HDMI works fine. I'm at a loss trying to figure out what to check next and was hoping someone here could help...

Any ideas?

Perhaps some pins have been shorted when installing the FFC? Are you still getting a Composite video signal from the AVE-RVL chip?

[darcagn]

I've been having GCVideo in my GameCube since the Pluto HDMI board firmware came out years ago... but never got around to securing the board properly, so I decided to get a GCDual when citrus3000psi stopped making them last year.
I ended up having an accident and needed a new motherboard and QSB board, but by the time I got around to getting a spare motherboard, Dan had stopped selling GCDual stuff, so I had to get my own made via OSHPark...
That project ended up shelved for like the past year on my bench as life got in the way. Now this week I finally got around to finishing it up. I hooked it up and everything worked but I knew I was on an old firmware.

Dan has no webpage for these projects, and neither the install instructions page nor the shop page have any info on firmware. A web search pulls up instructions (I buy the CH314A programmer he suggests on Amazon) available on YouTube. Two days later I get the programmer in but the software bundle has an outdated 2.4b firmware inside. A further search pulls up 2.4d available on the official gcvideo page, but none of the 4 files in the package work with the CH314A programmer software I just waited 2 days for. Maybe some other software works for this, but I don't know that much about this stuff. Apparently there is a Xilinx tool that will convert to the right format, but after giving them all of my information including address and so forth and downloading gigabytes of Xilinx software, I still couldn't find which package had the command line tool I needed so I gave up.

Now after doing some deep digging I see Dan posted in here that he has a separate (closed source) firmware branch? I found he posted the WiiDual updates in here, but not the GCDual updates. So I shortened the URL to /firmware/ and found 2 separate GCDual firmwares, but there's no readme with them so I'm not going to flash random firmwares to these devices without a readme. It wasn't until I noted the dates on the files in the archive and then went to Dan's twitter and backed up all the way to June 6 before I found some actual information on what is 2.4c.2.

Dan, I know this is sort of a blurred line between personal hobby and commercial product. I'm sorry if there's some documentation source I've missed over all this time, but you really need to have some sort of central webpage that has info and links to everything for each of your projects/products. Nothing flashy, just all the basic info in once place. There should be no reason a user has to check your twitter and scroll backwards in time to find out what the latest firmware is for something they paid $100+ for. If you expect users to just check the /firmware/ folder then include a readme.txt with it. It just seems weird that you would spend time fixing firmware only to limit any info about it to 1 tweet. Am I missing something? I hope this doesn't come across as being an asshole, I just kinda wasted a lot of time on trying to figure this crap out.

I need some sort of recap here. What is the actual latest firmware? 2.4c.2 vs. 2.4d? What is the difference? I already flashed 2.4c.2 but if I wanted to use 2.4d how would I flash that one with the different file formats?
Apparently 2.4c.2 still has a bug?

[citrus3000psi]

The GCDual has always been a weird project since the design files were always public. I never planned on selling them until people kept bugging me.

2.4c.2 is my iteration of 2.4c w/ Direct Mode, Zero Order Hold, Center Alignment and Chroma Fix (Cr&Cb Swap). However yes it appears I created a bug likely from the alignment fix or maybe something else.

I will look into the fix at some point when I get time.

[darcagn]

The GCDual has always been a weird project since the design files were always public. I never planned on selling them until people kept bugging me.

2.4c.2 is my iteration of 2.4c w/ Direct Mode, Zero Order Hold, Center Alignment and Chroma Fix (Cr&Cb Swap). However yes it appears I created a bug likely from the alignment fix or maybe something else.

I will look into the fix at some point when I get time.

It's a common problem with projects like these -- they evolve over time with contributions from many people, and to all of those 'into' the project there is a standard common set knowledge, but there is no easy way for anyone on the 'outside' to catch up without going back through years of message board posts and tweets.

Sorry, I know I vented a bit, lol. I was very frustrated last night. Part of that though is that I know these are not big sources of income for you and other hobbyists and I always do as much as I can to not waste other people's time because I can usually scour through stuff myself. I don't want to have to bug you on twitter. You have a life too.

[andykara2003]

Would Wiidual + OSSC 960p+mclassic (maybe with upsample2x) look as smooth, but cleaner than Wiidual (minus OSSC) + mclassic? I’m keen to avoid heavy pixelation. I have a feeling that the mclassic on its own (with wiidual) will look the smoothest, but I’m not sure if the mclassic is capable of mitigating the heavier pixelation of 960p.

EDIT: Found a quote from Marseille: “Marseille: 960p isn't a standard resolution. We suggest 480p.”

And someone else: “Oh, and the mClassic hates the 960p output from the OSSC. It practically breaks it. The output from the Framemeister is fine”

[Syntax]

Any progress being made on the Wii glitchy HDMI audio and lack of video output on some boots with 3.0 upwards?

[thebigcheese]

Sorry, I know I vented a bit, lol. I was very frustrated last night. Part of that though is that I know these are not big sources of income for you and other hobbyists and I always do as much as I can to not waste other people's time because I can usually scour through stuff myself. I don't want to have to bug you on twitter. You have a life too.

You're not wrong, though. GCDual definitely feels like an "other" when it comes to this project. The instructions are well done if you know where to go, but the firmwares are a pain to find and you'd need to know they are different from the standard ones. It's probably for the best that it was killed off, honestly. If I had known there would be several great external options, I don't think I'd ever have bothered with GCDual in the first place. At least it can be updated via SD card now.

[mario64]

My WiiDual has been updated to 3.0d. Question is, how do firmware updates work now? On GCDual you can just run the dol file. Can you do that on a Wii too? Thanks

[aleomark]

Hi, i did install with my friend the Wiidual board, every time i turn the Wii on it works fine for the first 3-10 minutes aprox. but then starts glitching and later the image goes black, and gets back again with glitches and black again...

my wii is RVL-CPU-60
and wii dual firm is version 1.1 2.4c.2

Here are pics of my install:
https://imgur.com/gallery/yVKozIC

And a video with the trouble:
https://youtu.be/FeS1JuUm0xI

Can you help me with any ideas for solving this trouble please?
Thanks for your help


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Edit - update
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I wrote dans trough official web, he recommend me use lead free solder on the flex, so I clear solder with lead, then later use lead free and then everything is fine

[fernan1234]

Has anyone noticed that the Wii System Menu background music is very noisy (at least if you listen via headphones)? All of a sudden I noticed this vinyl-like hum and pops in the background, and thought there may be something wrong in my WiiDual, or interference in the analogue out. I tried the digital output and it was even a bit more noticeable--I guess the clean digital output can more pristinely bring out the ugly as well! I looked up some uploads of the Wii Menu music and it seems to be present too (e.g.: https://youtu.be/5-E_0uhPzaE), so I guess it's not just my console or WiiDual.

Pretty weird how I never noticed it before, but now I can't unhear it.

[vol.2]

Has anyone noticed that the Wii System Menu background music is very noisy (at least if you listen via headphones)?

My theory here is that it's your headphones breaking up. The Wii menu music features some unnecessarily intense sustained high frequency tones. It breaks up like crazy on my crappy boombox setup, but it sounds *perfect* on my giant JBL studio monitors.

[fernan1234]

My theory here is that it's your headphones breaking up. The Wii menu music features some unnecessarily intense sustained high frequency tones. It breaks up like crazy on my crappy boombox setup, but it sounds *perfect* on my giant JBL studio monitors.

That's a reasonable guess but nah, the headphones are good, Sennheiser IE 80 IEMs, and I can hear the background noise also on Polk tower speakers (of course only by putting my ear right up to the cones lol). I can hear it also on recordings posted online like the one linked in my previous post, so I'm pretty convinced it was always there, it just blows my mind that I never noticed it all these years.

[vol.2]

That's a reasonable guess but nah, the headphones are good

Well, here's another theory: The wii music has always sounded a bit "phasey" to me. Perhaps the background noise is artifacting from some ad hoc spatialization technique.

If so, then the youtube example is off the table because you can't account for the processing. Post-processing processed audio can really screw it up. (trust me, my company actually specializes in audio signal processing and i have first-hand experience with it)

I think there is a mono mix-down setting in the wii menu. As long as that does what it's supposed to do, it may be the best way to test if this is a contributing factor. Set it to mono and do a 48kHz capture to you PC, and then open up the file. (in adobe audition if you have it) Turn on the spectrum analysis window and check out the waveform. Compare it to the stereo image.

Or just live with it. lol

[vol.2]

I haven't put my WiiDual back together in it's case yet because I was thinking there might be another firmware update.


Is it possible there will be, or should I just go ahead and put the thing back in it's case already?

Thanks

[Unseen]

Is it possible there will be

Maybe yes, maybe no. I don't know yet.

or should I just go ahead and put the thing back in it's case already?

My Wiis and Gamecubes are all back in their case and I don't expect that I'll have to open them up again.