FPGA Based Videogame System

[Pal251]

I received my NT Mini yesterday. All sort of problems. I played on my everdrive and had no sound what so ever. I then switched out my hdmi cable AND updated the firmware and now I had sound.

 

I installed the latest JB firmware (I believe) and whenever I exit out of the nes core the system locks up and blacks out. I can load one game and and it works fine with the nes core but after I load another game the sound will not work or will only work sporadically. The same roms work fine on my everdrive on my original NES.

 

Ive tried Chip and Dale Rescue rangers 1, Bionic Commando which appears to be missing audio and Metroid has no audio.

 

Any ideas?

I Have tried rebooting it , maybe a hard reset ?

[nitro322]

Hello, all. I just received my Analogue Nt Mini today, which I bought almost immediately after learning about the jailbroken firmware (only delay was waiting for the Analogue store to get units back in stock). May be kind of a silly reason, but I've been wanting to dump my NES carts for years now, so the software CopyNES built-in to this was the clincher for me. kevtris - thanks so much for your work on this.

 

I already have everything up and running on kevtris' firmware, but I had a couple questions I was hoping someone could clarify:

 

* What's the "official" link for kevtris' firmware updates? I got the 0.9 version from page 48 of this thread, but I have no idea if that's the latest version or not. Is there a single source I can go to to always find the latest version?

 

* I've seen lots of discussion about additional cores, but my copy of the firmware only includes the NES core. Where can these additional cores be downloaded?

 

* Finally, I spot checked a few NES ROMs and they all seem to load fine, but my FDS ROMs are not listed in the NES core menu. Is FDS not supported at this time? I'm guessing that's the case, but wanted to confirm.

 

Thanks in advance. :-)

[Fafner]

Hello, all. I just received my Analogue Nt Mini today, which I bought almost immediately after learning about the jailbroken firmware (only delay was waiting for the Analogue store to get units back in stock). May be kind of a silly reason, but I've been wanting to dump my NES carts for years now, so the software CopyNES built-in to this was the clincher for me. kevtris - thanks so much for your work on this.

 

I already have everything up and running on kevtris' firmware, but I had a couple questions I was hoping someone could clarify:

 

* What's the "official" link for kevtris' firmware updates? I got the 0.9 version from page 48 of this thread, but I have no idea if that's the latest version or not. Is there a single source I can go to to always find the latest version?

 

* I've seen lots of discussion about additional cores, but my copy of the firmware only includes the NES core. Where can these additional cores be downloaded?

 

* Finally, I spot checked a few NES ROMs and they all seem to load fine, but my FDS ROMs are not listed in the NES core menu. Is FDS not supported at this time? I'm guessing that's the case, but wanted to confirm.

 

Thanks in advance. :-)

This is pretty much where he releases the updates.

Typically he puts them out Friday early evenings so if you go back a few pages you should spot the last one.

Once you load up the new firmware the new cores will be in the menu!

 

FDS is not supported. You can run them from a Everdrive if you have one though.

I'm not personally sure if Kevtris is going to add support for it but I think I recall him mentioning it being on his to do list

[Pal251]

I just tried the actual cartridge of Super Mario Bros and it took 2 to 3 seconds to get the music to come on during world 1-1. At the end when you land on the flag pole none of the music or sound effects work. On 1-2 No sound at all. Just like the roms.

 

WTF

[nitro322]

This is pretty much where he releases the updates.

Typically he puts them out Friday early evenings so if you go back a few pages you should spot the last one.

Once you load up the new firmware the new cores will be in the menu!

 

FDS is not supported. You can run them from a Everdrive if you have one though.

I'm not personally sure if Kevtris is going to add support for it but I think I recall him mentioning it being on his to do list

 

Thanks, Fafner. It's not easy finding the latest release by just browsing through every page of this thread, but I found this link to view only kevtris' posts and was able to find it that way. Hope it helps someone else (you may need to be logged in to view it):

https://atariage.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=search&do=user_activity&search_app=forums&mid=32195&search_app_filters[forums][searchInKey]=&userMode=content

 

kevtris - obviously you're free to post updates however you'd like, but you may want to consider updating, say, the first post in this thread or perhaps a page on your website with the latest version to make it easier for new users that haven't already been following this thread for weeks to get started. Regardless, the 1.6 update is pretty damn sweet. Thanks. :-)

 

Regarding FDS support, I don't have an EverDrive, but I do have a PowerPak. Will try that out later on. Thanks for the tip.

 

I just tried the actual cartridge of Super Mario Bros and it took 2 to 3 seconds to get the music to come on during world 1-1. At the end when you land on the flag pole none of the music or sound effects work. On 1-2 No sound at all. Just like the roms.

 

WTF

 

Sorry to hear you're having trouble. I just got my Analogue Nt Mini as well, and it's working flawlessly. Hopefully someone can give you some suggestions to make it work, but if not you may want to reach out to the manufacturer. Mine definitely isn't behaving that way.

[Pal251]

I emailed them tonight. Sucks after waiting so long

[nitro322]

Oh, one other question - I'm playing with the Game Boy core right now, and I have both DMGBIOS.BIN (original Game Boy) and DMGBIOS2.BIN (Super Game Boy) in the /BIOS directory as instructed. Played a couple test games and they work fine with DMGBIOS.BIN, but I can't figure out how to use DMGBIOS2.BIN. The Game Boy core README says:

 

"You can have an alternate if you wish, such as the Super Gameboy bootstrap which skips the scrolling intro (not sure if this will affect any games but it seems to work).
This alternate should be named "DMGBIOS2.BIN" and lives in the /BIOS directory as well."

 

How exactly do I use the alternate? Is there some setting for this that I'm overlooking? or do I need to launch the core or ROM with a different button or something to activate it?

 

Edit: Nevermind. Just read the main README again and noticed that pressing start while a core is loaded will give you core-specific settings. Found what I needed there and it's working fine now.

Edited March 15, 2017 by nitro322

[nitro322]

 

The controller turns off automatically after 10 or 20 minutes of idle. Not sure if there's a way to force it to be faster.

 

FYI, you can manually turn off the controller by holding the start button for 3 seconds.

[atmn]

I have been using a Wii U pro controller. The 8bitdo controller is junk! I did notice if you have 2 8bitdo recievers plugged in and the 2nd player reciever is flashing it will cause interference with the 8bitdo reciever connect to the Wii U controller. I have not tried to see if I get the same issue with the 8bitdo controller since I hate it.

 

My main problem with the 8bitdo controller is the d pad is horrible. When I hold the down button mario goes up and down. Forget about hitting down and to the right or left.

 

Yea, I know. Had a 8bitdo controller for a while, and it's the D-pad that is the issue. Im really surprised that no reviews (youtubers) have not mentioned this. Its only the input lag that is tested.

The reciever is good I think. When playing on a bigass TV in the livingroom it's great to use wireless. I use a wiimote instead, they work great.

 

 

They said it displayed wrong colors with every video type except RGB with PVMs only, in every other case there was an issue. Haven't heard anything else yet

 

OK, I have contacted them again now and I want to send mine in for a check. Paid over 650$ (incl tax, fees, shipping) to get mine.

If it's an easy fix and with some guidance I could do it myself tho. Since its working with some devices in your case, Pin1 connectivity must be OK.

[gulps]

You still don't understand what I'm talking about. I never said to just double a 240p signal. I suggest you do your own research on the subject and stop talking down to me and expecting me to explain everything for you. Phonedork has spoken about it, and Retrorgb and Mylifeingaming have videos on it.

 

It is possible to have an accurate looking 480i image source in 4k or 1080p. Keeping crts around because covering up half the image covers up half the garbage you don't want to look at IS RETARDED. As stated you might as well cover up the entire image and be happy that you now have 0 visual issues.

 

The ONLY reason (other than nostalgia) to keep crts around is for the 0 latency and LinusTechTips already showed a lcd screen with crt like response times so I'm betting those will be out and widely available in the next few months/years.

 

Crts are bulky, almost all of them have scanlines that cover up half the image, the tubes are poison, no one knows how to work on them anymore, they can't produce high end progressive scan resolutions, they don't accurately reproduce colors by design, and they are only going to get rarer and die faster as time goes on.

 

Making more crts is not the answer. Improving lcd technology has always been the answer and everyone but a few nostalgic retrogamers have long since realized this.

 

 

OLED is the key, but not mature yet for PC monitors.

 

 

Last year Dell presented the OLED 4K 30" monitor UP3017Q with fast response (0.1ms) at the price point of 5.000$. Now is canceled due unresolvable image quality problems.

 

 

Samsung is the king on OLED mobile screen, but they don't release yet OLED-TV. Only LG is making OLED panels for TV, but not for mobile devices.

 

 

Hope the OLED burning issues, color represantation and others would be solved soon for mass production

[nitrofurano]

If Kevtris can do the Colecovision, he can certainly handle the SG1000 with little effort. I hope he would consider adding an MSX(2) core considering how close that hardware is to the Colecovision and MSX. Of course I realize that the MSX is a computer standard, not home consoles, in the strictest sense. His PS/2 adapter can handle the keyboard duties, although the features you can add to an MSX can be very wide indeed. Maybe too big a can of worms.

not totally correct: Zemina produced game consoles based on msx specifications back in the 80's

[atmn]

A question about composite.

 

Mine old TV:s generally outputs black & white on composite when I use NTSC signal. Some old Euro-TV:s dont pick up the colors.

 

If picking PAL mode. Will there be a proper PAL signal on composite?

[Radfoo]

 

If picking PAL mode. Will there be a proper PAL signal on composite?

I think i remember reading the nes core does. Maybe not all the other cores though, so you probably want an NTSC compatible TV anyway.

[Jimjans]

Got a response about my noisy power supply from analogue .

 

I got the spec about the power supply so I can buy a new one but I have to pay for it myself really good support , not!

 

I think when you pay so much for a thing there should be good quality in the power supply.

Edited March 15, 2017 by Jimjans

[atmn]

I think i remember reading the nes core does. Maybe not all the other cores though, so you probably want an NTSC compatible TV anyway.

 

Ye, I only need the composite for testing. Analogue only support cables from monoprice.. Need one for testing. Really really annoying.

 

 

Got a response about my noisy power supply from analogue .

 

I got the spec about the power supply so I can buy a new one but I have to pay for it myself really good support , not!

 

I think when you pay so much for a thing there should be good quality in the power supply.

Ye, noticed that my powersupply make noise aswell. It beeps in different freq on different loads.

Thats least of my problems now.. :\

[Jimjans]

 

Ye, I only need the composite for testing. Analogue only support cables from monoprice.. Need one for testing. Really really annoying.

 

 

Ye, noticed that my powersupply make noise aswell. It beeps in different freq on different loads.

Thats least of my problems now.. :\

Its very easy to do a cable yourself if you have a old vga cable around tested this myself just for see the quality of the composite signal.

[atmn]

Its very easy to do a cable yourself if you have a old vga cable around tested this myself just for see the quality of the composite signal.

Yepp, I know. Done a few now. But Analogue dont official support custom cables. Thats my catch 22.

[Jimjans]

Yepp, I know. Done a few now. But Analogue dont official support custom cables. Thats my catch 22.

It only says suggest not require monoprice cables in the manual .

 

If you is sure about the cable it should be enough.

 

I starting to dislike the analogue support more and more.

 

You buy a premium product and getting a poor controller and a low quality switching power supply.

 

And no real answers about the analog out for the people that has problem with it.

[beardylee]

Hey Kevtris and all!

 

Sorry if this has been answered somewhere already; I looked!

 

I'm having trouble connecting my Nt mini to a Sony PVM via RGB with the recommended Monoprice cable. When connected, the monitor recognizes the signal as YPbPr component, and the picture is very pink/red. There are no sync issues.

The PVM accepts both YPbPr and RGB signals through the same BNC inputs, and there is no way to press a button or tell the monitor that it has it wrong or anything like that (to my knowledge anyway, and I've done a lot of looking into it).

I previously had a PS2 connected via component through the BNC input, and I'm not sure if that is making the monitor default to component as the most recent type of signal input through the BNC or something.

Unfortunately my knowledge of cabling is extremely limited. I know the Nt mini outputs component and RGB through the D-15, but I don't know if it's even possible for a component signal to be sent through the Monoprice BNC cable with the way things are wired inside.

This has been the case with both official and jailbroken firmwares.

I am so anxious to play my NES games in RGB! Any help would be great appreciated =) Thanks!

[Tusecsy]

It only says suggest not require monoprice cables in the manual .

 

If you is sure about the cable it should be enough.

 

I starting to dislike the analogue support more and more.

 

You buy a premium product and getting a poor controller and a low quality switching power supply.

 

And no real answers about the analog out for the people that has problem with it.

 

You can always go through your credit card and run a chargeback on them. That level of "support" is unacceptable. Once I look into this analog output problem, if they don't offer me a full replacement, I will be doing so. A premium product should have premium support, period.

[Andromeda Stardust]

Man, sorry to hear about peeps having issues with the analog video port. At the very least a standalone composite would have sufficed for those people who just want to hook up an old tube TV for duck hunt. Consumer grade CRTs supporting more than composite/RF and occasionally Svideo are very rare in the US.

 

I got an AVS and have no issues whatsoever, too bad jailbreak mods are impossible on it. I was considering the NT Mini if I come across some spare change, but consider the piss poor support from Analogue regarding the VGA port, I think not. Also what the hell Monoprice charging US $70 to ship a cable to Sweden. Bubble mailer to Europe, no tracking or insurace, cost just over $10USD via USPS First Class.

 

Unless people are storing their CRT's in a sealed metal box, they are going to be ruined even if they are left in storage. Most multi-sync monitors have an auto-degauss circuit, but older ones do not. If the shadow mask gets magnetized, then it's ruined.

Not true. It is possible to manually degauss the shadow mask. I do it all the time by simply twirling a strong magnet near the screen.

 

You can also construct a homemade deguass coil by making a loop of wire and hooking it to mains AC through a Power Factor Correction capacitor to limit current. Place the loop close to the screen and gradually move it away from the TV until it has no appreciable effect before unplugging it. Please note this will also erase any diskettes or cassette tapes in proximity, so use caution.

 

Another way to deguass CRT is to butt the screen up to an old PC monitor and use the deguass coil on the monitor to fix the CRT. After a deep deguassing, the screen will be good as new.

[Keatah]

Are the power supplies really that bad? Because solid operation begins with having a steady and clean power source. And another thing, since the build quality sucks, how long will it last?

 

[Jimjans]

Are the power supplies really that bad? Because solid operation begins with having a steady and clean power source. And another thing, since the build quality sucks, how long will it last?

 

I have many switching power supplys and none of them sounds like this.

 

I must disconnect the supply every time I use it because the noise is so disturbing.

Edited March 15, 2017 by Jimjans

[Keatah]

 

 

OLED is the key, but not mature yet for PC monitors.

 

Last year Dell presented the OLED 4K 30" monitor UP3017Q with fast response (0.1ms) at the price point of 5.000$. Now is canceled due unresolvable image quality problems.

 

Samsung is the king on OLED mobile screen, but they don't release yet OLED-TV. Only LG is making OLED panels for TV, but not for mobile devices.

 

Hope the OLED burning issues, color represantation and others would be solved soon for mass production

 

Thing is OLEDs age at different rates for different colors. Even in the same batch of dopings there are differences that show up in time.

 

One company proposed having a sensor in each emission point. This would enable a self-calibration routine to take place. This could be manually started or done in the background while watching a movie. Each pixel is cycled through an expected brightness range, and a sensor tracks it. Each sensor is built right into the die of the emitter and is part and parcel of it. The monitor's CPU fine tunes the driving current till an expected value is reached. Move on to the next pixel.

 

This would ensure a uniform brightness across the entire panel.

 

One huge advantage of OLED is their brightness and incredible-sounding response time. They're much brighter than CRT phosphors, and can cycle off-on-off in nanoseconds!

 

[Radfoo]

Not true. It is possible to manually degauss the shadow mask. I do it all the time by simply twirling a strong magnet near the screen.

 

Yeah, I bought a powered coil after doing a tube swap (old arcade monitor had a cracked neck) but was a bit rubbish, ended up using the electric drill method but its been good now for 5 years plus.

 

Old CRT monitors are not hard to fix, its all quite simple stuff, just have to be careful with the high voltages involved.

Edited March 15, 2017 by Radfoo