GBS 8200/8220 CFW Project

[Trevor spencer]

All good , soldered a wire underneath to the green pin

https://ibb.co/d0m2RgYP

[NoAffinity]

Thought I'd drop in to post some screenshots since it's been a while since I've seen any posted here, and this cost-effective little device's competence at the task really is worth celebrating.

I recently picked up a late model plasma off facebook marketplace for dirt cheap. Samsung **correction, panasonic**, Full HD, the only resolutions I've founded stated as being supported in any official literature are specs are 720p and 1080p. It of course supports 480p, 480i and 240p (treating it as 480i). It is very finicky, tho.

OSSC 2x is the only OSSC res it accepts, but it does look very good. My test of how well it's handling the particular device's output is how scanlines look. In the OSSC's case, the scanlines at 2x are very nice.

The retrotink 5x does not look great with scanlines at any of the 1080p options, or the 720p option. This TV doesn't like the RT'5x's 480p or any other of its outputs resolutions for that matter.

RT2x works well enough, but I've got the basic model, so no scanline options on that one.

All that backstory aside, the GBS performs the best on this TV in my opinion. 1080p, 720p, 480p and 15khz options all work (again, with 15khz being treated as 480i). Below pics are 1080p, which looks the nicest in my oinion.

My phone camera of course doesn't do it justice, but I thought it interesteing the diffence between one slightly over-exposed shot of Sega Saturn Castlevania SOTN vs. a less-exposed shot. You can really see how the plasma handles the colors.

Anyway, hope it's a nice little treat for your eyes...as best as my phone camera can do.

(Click on the pictures and you get a slightly higher image quality when viewing directly on imgbb.com)

Spoiler

[Gunstar]

Looking good! Crazy how picky this TV is with the various scalers and converters.

[Josh128]

The retrotink 5x does not look great with scanlines at any of the 1080p options, or the 720p option. This TV doesn't like the RT'5x's 480p or any other of its outputs resolutions for that matter.

RT2x works well enough, but I've got the basic model, so no scanline options on that one.

All that backstory aside, the GBS performs the best on this TV in my opinion. 1080p, 720p, 480p and 15khz options all work (again, with 15khz being treated as 480i). Below pics are 1080p, which looks the nicest in my oinion.

Which model do you have, the F5300? The 51" or the 60". I have been watching a lot of film and documentary content on my 60" (with the pentile matrix) and that mf'er is absolutely drop dead gorgeous in a darkened room, the colors and grays are so dialed in on that thing, it still impresses me. The 51" has the standard RGB phosphors, but honestly, the 60" has just as good or better a picture for everything but PC text, plus it runs cooler, presumably due to its pentile matrix screen.

How do you find the GBS looks better than the 5X at 1080p? Either option will require uneven scanlines or 960 active lines in a 1080p frame to get even scanlines for 240p or 480p content. I like the GBS too, its cool as hell, but its no 5X. The colors are also less accurate compared to the 5X when using scanlines, which bugs me a bit.

[NoAffinity]

Whoops, typed samsung, meant panasonic. migjt be moot now, but its a tc-p50ut50.

With the 5x, for all resolutions (the ones that will display at least) the scanlines are obviously uneven, and in the case of the more detailed crt simulation options like fv-310, it is very noticeable both vertically and horizontally. Just doesn't look good.

I've tried all conceivable combinations of the tv's aspect options as well as menu/settings options (game mode, reassigning inout types, trying the different content options and plenty others) and there doesn't seem to be any fixing it for the rt5x. I don't blame the rt5x in any way, because it absolutley outshines on both a TCL 4 series and the family room modern QLED. For this plasma, however, the gbs does the best.

Oh and my PANASONIC (lol) also does great in darker environments but not so much when ambient ligh increases. It works well for the corner of the garage ive claimed for this setup.

[konasan]

Hi all. I'm trying to play unoptimized PAL PS1 games by forcing them to run in 60hz NTSC mode. This works great with the games I have, but one big issue I face is that the picture gets shifted down and ends up cutting off a good chunk of the bottom of the screen.

I was hoping to resolve this with the use of GBS Control, by using the picture control move options. Unfortunatelty, even if I move the shifted-down picture back up, that cut off part of the screen will still be missing.

In theory would it be possible to 'restore' that missing chunk of the screen? Or is this not something that can be achieved with gbs-c / other hardware scalers in general?

[mrchief]

404

[kitty666cats]

Thought I'd drop in to post some screenshots since it's been a while since I've seen any posted here, and this cost-effective little device's competence at the task really is worth celebrating.

I recently picked up a late model plasma off facebook marketplace for dirt cheap. Samsung **correction, panasonic**, Full HD, the only resolutions I've founded stated as being supported in any official literature are specs are 720p and 1080p. It of course supports 480p, 480i and 240p (treating it as 480i). It is very finicky, tho.

OSSC 2x is the only OSSC res it accepts, but it does look very good. My test of how well it's handling the particular device's output is how scanlines look. In the OSSC's case, the scanlines at 2x are very nice.

The retrotink 5x does not look great with scanlines at any of the 1080p options, or the 720p option. This TV doesn't like the RT'5x's 480p or any other of its outputs resolutions for that matter.

RT2x works well enough, but I've got the basic model, so no scanline options on that one.

All that backstory aside, the GBS performs the best on this TV in my opinion. 1080p, 720p, 480p and 15khz options all work (again, with 15khz being treated as 480i). Below pics are 1080p, which looks the nicest in my oinion.

My phone camera of course doesn't do it justice, but I thought it interesteing the diffence between one slightly over-exposed shot of Sega Saturn Castlevania SOTN vs. a less-exposed shot. You can really see how the plasma handles the colors.

Anyway, hope it's a nice little treat for your eyes...as best as my phone camera can do.

(Click on the pictures and you get a slightly higher image quality when viewing directly on imgbb.com)

Spoiler

I forget if I adjusted any other OSSSC settings, but -
I have a 1080p Panasonic Plasma and for fun I ran GBSC @ 1080p through the OSSC on passthrough.

With GBSC at 100% scanlines and OSSC with pre-ADC gain and vertical scanlines at 100%, it looked outstanding. If your Pana is native 1080p, try it out!

[Iraito]

I made another GBS-C and for some reason even with clock gen installed etc. i can't make the horizontal tear line completely disappear.

[Kwakx]

I finished my first version of the gbs-control fork, which is primarily aimed at updating libraries and eliminating WiFi issues.

You can find the release here:
https://github.com/Kwakx/gbs-control-nx

If anyone else is having significant problems with Wi-Fi/GUI, feel free to test it, as I'm curious to see how it will work for others. I tested it on my "retro scaler" GBSC board, and the Wi-Fi is now rock solid.

Spoiler

WiFi Stability Enhancements

Implemented robust WiFi initialization with forced sleep/wake cycles
Added connection monitoring with automatic restart after 30 seconds of disconnection
Forced 802.11g mode for improved stability
Proper persistence and auto-reconnect management

Filesystem Migration

Migrated from deprecated SPIFFS to LittleFS
Updated all file operations and web endpoints (/spiffs → /filesystem)
Fixed path handling for backup/restore operations
Corrected filename truncation issue specific to LittleFS directory listing behavior

Platform and Library Updates

Platform:

espressif8266: 2.6.3 → 4.2.1

Libraries:

ESPAsyncTCP: 1.2.2 (me-no-dev) → 2.0.0 (esp32async)
ESPAsyncWebServer: 1.2.3 (me-no-dev) → 3.9.2 (esp32async)
ESP8266 and ESP32 OLED driver for SSD1306 displays: 4.4.0 → 4.6.1
arduinoWebSockets: 2.1.4 → 2.7.1

[warheat1990]

I have GBSC PRO (Aliexpress prebuilt) and made a Saturn2VGA dongle based on this project (https://github.com/jeffqchen/10DIN2VGA)

However I have issue when there is a full white screen, the GBSC will lose sync. Any idea what happened? My Input is RGBS with CSYNC on the VGA port of GBSC. Video below

https://streamable.com/vhmbb6

Notice that everytime there is a full white screen, the GBSC will lose Sync.

[NoAffinity]

I have GBSC PRO (Aliexpress prebuilt) and made a Saturn2VGA dongle based on this project (https://github.com/jeffqchen/10DIN2VGA)

However I have issue when there is a full white screen, the GBSC will lose sync. Any idea what happened? My Input is RGBS with CSYNC on the VGA port of GBSC. Video below

https://streamable.com/vhmbb6

Notice that everytime there is a full white screen, the GBSC will lose Sync.

Have you updated the firmware to the latest? This sounds like an old issue that was solved quite a few firmware versions ago.

[mrchief]

I have GBSC PRO (Aliexpress prebuilt) and made a Saturn2VGA dongle based on this project (https://github.com/jeffqchen/10DIN2VGA)

However I have issue when there is a full white screen, the GBSC will lose sync. Any idea what happened? My Input is RGBS with CSYNC on the VGA port of GBSC. Video below

https://streamable.com/vhmbb6

Notice that everytime there is a full white screen, the GBSC will lose Sync.

better contact them, because they forked gbs-c with custom code and features
https://github.com/RetroScaler/gbsc-pro

[esveezy]

I finished my first version of the gbs-control fork, which is primarily aimed at updating libraries and eliminating WiFi issues.

You can find the release here:
https://github.com/Kwakx/gbs-control-nx

If anyone else is having significant problems with Wi-Fi/GUI, feel free to test it, as I'm curious to see how it will work for others. I tested it on my "retro scaler" GBSC board, and the Wi-Fi is now rock solid.

Spoiler

WiFi Stability Enhancements

Implemented robust WiFi initialization with forced sleep/wake cycles
Added connection monitoring with automatic restart after 30 seconds of disconnection
Forced 802.11g mode for improved stability
Proper persistence and auto-reconnect management

Filesystem Migration

Migrated from deprecated SPIFFS to LittleFS
Updated all file operations and web endpoints (/spiffs → /filesystem)
Fixed path handling for backup/restore operations
Corrected filename truncation issue specific to LittleFS directory listing behavior

Platform and Library Updates

Platform:

espressif8266: 2.6.3 → 4.2.1

Libraries:

ESPAsyncTCP: 1.2.2 (me-no-dev) → 2.0.0 (esp32async)
ESPAsyncWebServer: 1.2.3 (me-no-dev) → 3.9.2 (esp32async)
ESP8266 and ESP32 OLED driver for SSD1306 displays: 4.4.0 → 4.6.1
arduinoWebSockets: 2.1.4 → 2.7.1

I installed the latest .bin file from your github onto my blue "Mr.Ao" Retroscaler GBSC - the non-pro cheapest version from AliExpress. With PyFlasher on the default settings, all it took was plugging in the ESP to a PC, choosing your .bin file and a COM port, then click the flash button. The result was a huge improvement in usability of the GBSC interface. The sluggish buggy feel it had out of the box is mostly gone. I haven't done much testing and I don't plan to, but I haven't noticed any downsides to using your firmware at all. It's just better than what shipped on the GBSC, and I could tell the instant I started turning the knob.

You get a huge thumbs up from me for making the upgrade as painless as possible and addressing the worst flaws of my GBSC. I don't think I've posted in these forums before, but I guess this was worth ending my streak (almost 9 years). Thank you!

[HornheaDD]

I installed the latest .bin file from your github onto my blue "Mr.Ao" Retroscaler GBSC - the non-pro cheapest version from AliExpress. With PyFlasher on the default settings, all it took was plugging in the ESP to a PC, choosing your .bin file and a COM port, then click the flash button. The result was a huge improvement in usability of the GBSC interface. The sluggish buggy feel it had out of the box is mostly gone. I haven't done much testing and I don't plan to, but I haven't noticed any downsides to using your firmware at all. It's just better than what shipped on the GBSC, and I could tell the instant I started turning the knob.

You get a huge thumbs up from me for making the upgrade as painless as possible and addressing the worst flaws of my GBSC. I don't think I've posted in these forums before, but I guess this was worth ending my streak (almost 9 years). Thank you!

I just want to come in here and say THANK YOU. PyFlasher made it INCREDIBLY simple. The original way with AdruinoIDE was a damn nightmare. I built a GBSC a couple of years ago to use with a custom arcade project, and I remember it was error after error after error after error. I know everyone says "you missed a step" but I hadn't. I followed the directions that Bob from RetroRGB linked to, which ultimately led to the guide from rama and just.. error after error after error. Then somehow RANDOMLY it decided to work and compile/flash properly.

Great, so I installed it and it worked fine for a while until my home router bit the dust and I had to get a new one/new wifi network. For some reason, the GBSC I had built wouldn't reset. Ive read that if it cant find the wireless network it will reset to an access point and allow you to start the wifi process again. Mine didn't/doesn't.

So I went through the annoyance of building a new one (I didnt want to screw up the one that WAS half-assed working with no wifi) and yet again, following those directions to the letter - error after error after error and then finally once again, randomly it compiled and flashed. So I get it on my network, and its working. Fantastic!

Power cycle to test..... back to an access point. Ok, fine. Reconnect it to my wifi, its working. Power cycle... back to an access point. I found Kwakx's git which seemed much easier, but PlatformIO was not helpful for me. I dont claim to be a software engineer by any stretch so fine, it was just foreign to me, and naturally didn't work. Then I happened upon your reply mentioning PyFlasher.

Imagine that. A single application that doesn't even need to be installed. You select your COM port, you select firmware.bin and... flash.

Restarted the ESP8266 and hit the access point. Set up wifi credentials. Its online, great. Now to power cycle. Reconnected to the wifi. Power cycled another 10 times just to be absolutely sure - reconnected to wifi successfully. For gits and shiggles, I pulled out another 8266 I had lying around.

COM port.
firmware.bin
Flash.

Worked. Every single tutorial out there for GBSC should be replaced with recommendations for PyFlasher, and Kwakx's fork of GBSControl. I don't know who wrote PyFlasher but I see a nice paypal donate button there. It's about to get clicked. Jesus christ what simple solution to a convoluted nightmare.

For anyone who stumbles across this thread in the future. USE PYFLASHER!! https://github.com/marcelstoer/nodemcu-pyflasher Don't use AdruinoIDE or PlatformIO. Save yourself a headache.

[Kwakx]

I'm glad to hear that; I really wanted to simplify the upload process because it was indeed causing problems in the Arduino IDE. With simplification in mind, I also created an automatic update process so that once a user uploads the firmware manually, they won't have to go through the trouble of doing it again.




Along the way, I also managed to refactor the code, add and fix a few bugs , and add support for ESP32. As for the ESP32, I plan to make better use of the two cores offered by the new platform in the near future and separate the Wi-Fi/WebSocket functionality from the rest.

[HornheaDD]

I'm glad to hear that; I really wanted to simplify the upload process because it was indeed causing problems in the Arduino IDE. With simplification in mind, I also created an automatic update process so that once a user uploads the firmware manually, they won't have to go through the trouble of doing it again.




Along the way, I also managed to refactor the code, add and fix a few bugs , and add support for ESP32. As for the ESP32, I plan to make better use of the two cores offered by the new platform in the near future and separate the Wi-Fi/WebSocket functionality from the rest.

Yes, it was much easier, my thanks to you for sure. Now, I have a home-made version of the GBSC, mine doesn't have the OLED display or anything like that. I just got an 8200, a clock board and an 8266. My previous one had an 8266 but it was much smaller than the ones I got this go-around. I purposely bought them on Amazon because the answered questions said the boards did *not* come with the headers presoldered.

They arrived and all the pins were presoldered lol. Im not a very good solderer (tremors, bad vision, etc) so desoldering all of those pins would prove nearly impossible for me - not to mention my desoldering tool is a POS. So I just ended up manually clipping all of the pins. Regardless, I got it working! I figured there is no need for a screen because its going to be stuck inside an arcade1up cab I gutted and turned into an actual Primal Rage cab with the real PR PCB and a nice enclosure from a rad guy on A-P. Mission DONE!

I figure when you do release an update I can just do the same to re-flash it and go from there.

[kitty666cats]

I followed the directions that Bob from RetroRGB linked to

Reminder - Never do this. Come on here first, lol

[HornheaDD]

I followed the directions that Bob from RetroRGB linked to

Reminder - Never do this. Come on here first, lol

lol well to be fair he did link to rama's actual tutorial, I didn't follow his actual tutorial or vid. Though Voultars was more informative, but he went a little further than I did what with a few resistors that he added and so on. I didn't do those and it works great, but I think he's right in his suggestions because there are a few things that I would like to be a little better on my boards. Just that minute soldering is tough for me.

Regardless, I think that old tutorial needs to be absolutely scrapped and a new one written out that uses Kwakx's fork and PlatformIO (someone on Kwakx's git helped me out quite a bit with it and I got PIO working as well so its definitely a viable solution). Or for those that are very introductory or even below-intermediate-but-above-total-n00b-level people like me, to strongly suggest PyFlasher.

Regardless of the avenue taken, the end product (when completed) is an absolute gem and rama did some killer work. But ArduinoIDE itself can lick my balls lol.

[RMGA]

Hello all, i'm working on building a gbs control with the latest firmware. I managed to modify the source code in a way that let's me use a remote for the oled screen (though i wanted to use the remote to toggle the osd menu but idk how). My problem is that when a console is plugged in the gbs and i turn it on the oled menu stops working and the web ui sometimes shows me the no signal red wifi icon. I saw that someone made a new firmware for this but i don't think it has ir remote features. Thanks in advance!!