Gameboy Advance RGB NTSC

[bobrocks95]

The expensive parts are the FPGA and the digital port connector.

A suitable DAC chip is about 1/3 to 1/2 the cost of the FPGA though.

Ouch, I'd have thought a DAC would be cheap... I guess being a 24-bit DAC makes things a little different. That and the production quantities on DACs is probably much lower than they used to be.

Doesn't seem like it will happen anyway, I'll probably end up having to buy two cables if I want both outputs; don't think I've heard of anyone on here finding an HDMI to component converter that works with Extrem's GBI so that may not be the route to go.

[Unseen]

Ouch, I'd have thought a DAC would be cheap... I guess being a 24-bit DAC makes things a little different.

Well, technically it's just three 8-bit DACs in a single chip.

That and the production quantities on DACs is probably much lower than they used to be.

Indeed.

[Smashbro29]

Works in LL not in ULL.

Here's a simple guide of my experience:

ULL 240p + FM = garbage + sound

ULL 480p + FM = working

LL 240p + FM = working

Any help would be very appreciated

[Shuco13]

Finally, new version of gbi has been released:

Added GBA-as-controller support. (thanks FIX94!)
Recognized a half-press of the analog triggers.
Disabled GameCube Controller hotplugging for now.

For low latency versions:

Added U+D/L+R cancelling.
Added GBA-as-controller support. (thanks FIX94!)
Recognized a half-press of the analog triggers.
Disabled GameCube Controller hotplugging for now.

Thanks!

[blizzz]

Added GBA-as-controller support. (thanks FIX94!)

Awesome! That's what I've been waiting for.

Edit: For anyone who runs into the same problem as me: You need a normal Gamecube controller connected in port 1 and the GBA in port 2. It doesn't work if you only have the GBA connected.

[Einzelherz]

Is there an iso version for the LL and ULLs?

[korpse413]

Finally caught up on reading this entire thread *phew*

I am trying to figure out the best way to tackle this for my own use - do you guys think it's wise for me to import a PAL GCN for native RGB support? I live in the States, so I would plop my NTSC GBP on the bottom where It would most likely live the remainder of its life as a Game Boy Player only, since I would (never?) want to run GCN games at 240p; not to mention PAL games unless its modded. I would want to play my NTSC GCN games in 480p, so either wait for the plugnplay cables with my already NTSC GCN to stack on top of the PAL one - or just use a Wii lol since everything already exists. I am leaning toward the PAL cube for GBP / Wii for GCNgames myself.. What do you guys think? As far as what my setup is I have a BVM D20; I haven't the slightest bit how to even feed S-video into this thing, nor do I know if i'd even want to, as far as working with what cables I have at my disposal right now.


Support for using GBAs as controllers is great news! Currently I have a couple LCD-less GBA SPs laying around since I gutted their screens for insertion into orig GBAs - I always figured these are going to waste and would be a perfect controller for someones GBP since you don't need access to the screen at all. IIRC the screen just stays one the entire time you use it with a little blurb changing the startup logo from GBA to GBP, so in a sense its a blessing the thing is removed. Plus those awesome switches in the dpad and buttons - legendary. That or maybe continue to hang onto them in case there are developments for a console-ized GBA with controller support, I noticed an earlier thread recently with awesome results tapping into an original GBA.

Now to somehow find a use for the un-lit LCDs that I took out of the original GBAs...

[BazookaBen]

Now to somehow find a use for the un-lit LCDs that I took out of the original GBAs...

I'm thinking about putting it into the GBA SP I took the other screen from. Will involve making my own cable so I haven't got around to it yet.

[bobrocks95]

Alright, I give- how do you get the ULL version to boot in 240p when using component cables? Borrowed a friend's cables and it always starts in 480p.

I have a .cli file set to activate non-interlaced, but from what it looks like, the LL and ULL versions don't pay attention to .cli files.

I know people have done it, what's the trick?

EDIT: I'd also like to ask if anyone knows of a version of Swiss that can't do 480p at all. I don't like the thought of damaging my display with 480p until it can read the settings file on my SD card.

[Guspaz]

I got my GameCube-to-GBA cable in the mail today, so I burned 2016-04-29 today and tried it out, works a treat! This was the version where he replaced the GBA-as-controller support with GBA-as-gamecube-controller.

Edit: For anyone who runs into the same problem as me: You need a normal Gamecube controller connected in port 1 and the GBA in port 2. It doesn't work if you only have the GBA connected.

Actually, the only requirement for that version is that both should be plugged in to some port. It doesn't actually need to be any specific ports.

This requirement was removed in the latest version anyhow: since the GBA now acts as a GameCube controller, you don't need the real gamecube controller plugged in. You can now operate GBI with only a GBA, and it can be plugged into any port, and it also supports hotplug (I just yanked the GBA out and plugged it into a different port and it's still working).

Is there an iso version for the LL and ULLs?

No, you'll need to make your own. It's pretty easy using the "homebrew_disc" package, just drop the dol file in the folder, rename it to "my.dol", and run the batch script. An ISO pops out.

Be warned, though, some burners may produce coasters if you give them a tiny ISO file. I personally stick an extra video file of a few hundred megs in the disc folder to get included in the ISO, which solves the problem for me. I don't know what the actual size of the file needs to be, probably bigger than whatever buffers the drive has? Either way, a 435MB file is currently working for me.

Alright, I give- how do you get the ULL version to boot in 240p when using component cables? Borrowed a friend's cables and it always starts in 480p.

I have a .cli file set to active non-interlaced, but from what it looks like, the LL and ULL versions don't pay attention to .cli files.

I know people have done it, what's the trick?

EDIT: I'd also like to ask if anyone knows of a version of Swiss that can't do 480p at all. I don't like the thought of damaging my display with 480p until it can read the settings file on my SD card.

I would also like to know this, for when external gcvideo-lite is available and I upgrade from s-video to that.

[BazookaBen]

Alright, I give- how do you get the ULL version to boot in 240p when using component cables? Borrowed a friend's cables and it always starts in 480p.

Man, that's crazy, I hope he didn't accidentally disable 240p with the new version.

[bobrocks95]

Man, that's crazy, I hope he didn't accidentally disable 240p with the new version.

Did it always just boot in 240p for you without any effort? If I remember right you were playing on your PVM with component cables, right?

[BazookaBen]

Yeah, but I'm pretty sure I have the first version, or at least a really early version. I used the Datel SD Loader, clicked on ULL.dol and my games booted in 240p.

[bobrocks95]

Yeah, but I'm pretty sure I have the first version, or at least a really early version. I used the Datel SD Loader, clicked on ULL.dol and my games booted in 240p.

It would seem at some point he switched it to 480p on the ULL, while the LL version is still at 240p. Which seems odd, but can hopefully be changed with command-line arguments in the future.

I don't notice lag on a CRT with the LL version anyway, but it'd be nice to use the ULL version.

[BazookaBen]

I read this in extrems thread:

fixed 480(528)x160/320p viewport

So I'm guessing it should still be 240p compatible, theres just some sort of toggle we're not aware of.

Either, way, I'll see if I can dig up my SD card and get you the original file, can't find it on my hard drive for some reason.

[bobrocks95]

I read this in extrems thread:

fixed 480(528)x160/320p viewport

So I'm guessing it should still be 240p compatible, theres just some sort of toggle we're not aware of.

Either, way, I'll see if I can dig up my SD card and get you the original file, can't find it on my hard drive for some reason.

I'll test it out to make sure it's not something else weird going on with Swiss settings or something, but I'm not sure I can go back to using a Gamecube controller on an old version... So it's not a big deal if you can't find it right away.

[bobrocks95]

Going to double-post (sorry) and say that Extrems solved the issue- you have to boot a game and tell it not to display in progressive scan, then the ULL version will boot in 240p.

It makes sense to me because after you've held B when booting a game and selected progressive scan once before, the system will always ask you if you want progressive scan, regardless of whether or not you hold B. So there's some flag the console saves saying whether you have a progressive scan TV or not.

[BazookaBen]

Going to double-post (sorry) and say that Extrems solved the issue- you have to boot a game and tell it not to display in progressive scan, then the ULL version will boot in 240p.

It makes sense to me because after you've held B when booting a game and selected progressive scan once before, the system will always ask you if you want progressive scan, regardless of whether or not you hold B. So there's some flag the console saves saying whether you have a progressive scan TV or not.

Wow, interesting. So Extrem's software communicates with the gamecube in all sorts of ways. We're so fortunate we have knowledgeable guys like that around.

[bobrocks95]

Wow, interesting. So Extrem's software communicates with the gamecube in all sorts of ways. We're so fortunate we have knowledgeable guys like that around.

He wrote the Swiss 480p/240p and widescreen patch routines too if you didn't know. So glad he decided to take on this project, he clearly knows his stuff.

[bobrocks95]

Necrobump for a GBI update:

For low latency version:

• -Added video options.
  -Added control schemes.
  -Added polling rate setting.

Use --poll=0 for compatibility with the raphnet N64 adapter.
Use --format=custom for 59.7276 Hz video.

I think he means Raphnet SNES adapter? Either way, one of the added control schemes corresponds to the default mapping of the Raphnet SNES to Gamecube adapter, which means it's now a great option for GBI users who wanted a Y-B control scheme.

The 59.7276 Hz forcing would seem to make the ULL version obsolete? I'll have to give it a try.

The aspect ratio options now available may fix the non-integer scaling I read some people talking about, but I'll leave that up to someone else to determine since I never noticed it before. I know FirebrandX mentioned it.

[blizzz]

How do you set the parameters?

[bobrocks95]

You can create a .dcp file with all the arguments in it if you want to select the settings when you launch it with Swiss, or a .cli file with preset arguments. I think there are examples for both included when you download GBI IIRC.

Arguments are listed in the first post of the GBI thread on gc-forever if you need to add any (http://www.gc-forever.com/forums/viewto ... =37&t=2782)

[Extrems]

I think he means Raphnet SNES adapter?

No, I really meant the N64 adapter.
http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/x2wii/index_en.php

[Guspaz]

Necrobump for a GBI update:

For low latency version:

• -Added video options.
  -Added control schemes.
  -Added polling rate setting.

Use --poll=0 for compatibility with the raphnet N64 adapter.
Use --format=custom for 59.7276 Hz video.

I think he means Raphnet SNES adapter? Either way, one of the added control schemes corresponds to the default mapping of the Raphnet SNES to Gamecube adapter, which means it's now a great option for GBI users who wanted a Y-B control scheme.

The Raphnet SNES adapter already worked fine (I use it, recently with the SNES bluetooth receiver) so I'd imagine he really does mean the N64 adapter.

The 59.7276 Hz forcing would seem to make the ULL version obsolete? I'll have to give it a try.

I doubt it, what makes ULL special isn't just the more accurate refresh rate, but the lack of a framebuffer. If the LL version still works the same way, I think it would still have the extra lag even with a more accurate framerate. It seems like he's removed references to the framerate on the LL version, so it seems like LL might have been switched to 60Hz like regular, but still using the same approach as before. If I'm not mistaken, that means this is now the case:

Regular: 60Hz output with interpolation to smooth out motion
LL: 60Hz output with duplicated frames to avoid tearing
ULL: 59.7276Hz output for most accuracy with tearing

The aspect ratio options now available may fix the non-integer scaling I read some people talking about, but I'll leave that up to someone else to determine since I never noticed it before. I know FirebrandX mentioned it.

I had to make an animated gif in photoshop to spot the issue he was reporting, so I think it's very subtle, but for people who would rather sacrifice an accurate aspect ratio for 1:1 pixel output, it's a nice option. This only affected GB/GBC games, as IIRC GBA games were already output 1:1?

[Extrems]

It seems like he's removed references to the framerate on the LL version, so it seems like LL might have been switched to 60Hz like regular, but still using the same approach as before.

It has the same wide range of video modes, including PAL 50 Hz. The default is still 240p59.8261.

[Xan]

Not really related to GBI, but is it possible that the SD adapters Datel is packing in with the PAL SD Media Launcher these days are junk? I can load GBI and the 240p suite fine, but when loading Swiss (to try and configure GBI on the fly) it stays on that loading screen for about 20 seconds when I select the SD and then just goes back to the device selection menu.

For the sample AR option, is this supposed to work in ULL as well? Also I see in the gc-forever thread the default there is actually listed as 11:10, which matches GB/GBC.

[Thomago]

I had similar problems; I could rectify them by putting the SD adapter in the other GC memory card slot.

[Xan]

Same result on slot B. The adapter is a "MAX 88" one, for reference.

[bobrocks95]

Mine just has an SD Media Launcher sticker on it. You can make one yourself really easily if you'd like, look up SD Gecko.

[BazookaBen]

sounds more like a software issue, but who knows. I thought the memory card adapter was too simple to mess up.