Yeh nothing amiss that I've noticed. Just sweet sweet 240p.
Yes, Datel still sell them, though they won't ship everywhere. If you have a modded 'cube you can just burn Swiss to a disc.
The Nintendo GameCube Appreciation and Collecting Thread.
- Thread starter Seik
- Start date
Yeh nothing amiss that I've noticed. Just sweet sweet 240p.
Yes, Datel still sell them, though they won't ship everywhere. If you have a modded 'cube you can just burn Swiss to a disc.
Man, I wish there was a GBA audio mod.
I've seen some but they're complex as hell. It's the first thing I looked up after trying 240p actually lol.
baphomet
Member
God that would be nice.
Edit- looks like a GBA can be pro sound modded. I may have to take the GB player apart and take a look inside. Would imagine adding stereo outputs to the GB player would be fairly straight forward. Even better in that if you're using the component cables you wouldn't have to plug in the composite cable and could just run audio from a l/r stereo jack.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
Oh man, those screens look nice. Going to have to look into getting one of those SD loaders. GameCube is my primary method of playing GB/GBA games so making them even better would be great.
How long ago was that link posted, don't see it going back to mid June but maybe I just missed it.
How long ago was that link posted, don't see it going back to mid June but maybe I just missed it.
sixteen-bit
Member
Do you have Gunstar?
It's at my parents' house, but it's sealed, lol.
NinjaCatfish
Member
Far out, they look gorgeous!
I just found that the UK CodeJunkies website will ship to Australia so I've got an SD Media Launcher on it's way now!
About AU$40 after shipping and currency conversion, a bit more than I was expecting to pay but seeing those shots made the choice easy for me.
With any luck it'll look somewhere near as good as Peagles' shots on my CRT TV via component cables.
Pancakes R Us
Member
Damn, this looks absolutely fantastic! Right, I own a bunch of GC games, and despite having a Wii, want in on owning a Gamecube again. I have a few questions I'm hoping you guys can help with:
- I've found an import Gamecube to order with a Gameboy Player, but it is an unmodded Japanese console. I've found a place to mod it for me, but they don't have any chips. I've found a Xenochip, but have been told Qoob Pro will be better perhaps. Does anyone know where I can get one that'll ship to the UK?
- Where can I get a SD media launcher for GC that will ship to the UK? Can this only be used with certain mod chips or can any be used?
- I'd love to get a component cable but those prices are way too high. Do S-Video cables look okay on a 720p HDTV? Is it possible to stick them through a XRGB mini and have the picture look decent?
Any other recommendations, tips and advice most welcome. Thanks.
sixteen-bit
Member
You mention you're in UK... Note that PAL Gamecubes don't output S-video at all. They do output RGB though, so you're better off.
Pancakes R Us
Member
Thanks. This is a Japanese Gamecube though, will that output to S-Video?
sixteen-bit
Member
Yeah, but unlike PAL machines it won't do RGB (at least not from the regular AV multi-out port)
Have you seen anything that increases the sample rate of the raw audio? I remeber reading somewhere that the raw audio in GBA games was actually capable of sounding really good... if it weren't for the shitty proccessing of the GBA.
NinjaCatfish
Member
SD Media Launcher lets you launch homebrew apps without any hardware modding.
I found out today that there's a UK website for Datel/CodeJunkies that has stock of the SD Media Launcher (posted just above, ha!) and they'll of course ship to the UK.
baphomet
Member
I highly doubt it. I think that just comes down to whatever they sample everything at to begin with, and how much space they devote to it. It can sound really nice, but unfortunately audio seemed to be the first thing sacrificed with GBA. I think the best possible thing would just be getting a line level output with it.
Why is it so expensive?
Edit: completed listings on eBay show an average of 30 to 40$. Am I getting this right? It doesn't sound that expensive compared to NES and SNES games running into the hundreds.
Friend of Sonic
Member
I remember when GC was still being carried, Target had like 10 copies on super clearance for 2.24 each. I should have grabbed a few, but only grabbed 1, opened it and played it. Like some kind of gamer or something. -_-
If I were you, as you're in the UK I'd use a PAL GC with your Gameboy Player and just go RGB SCART as it sounds like you have an XRGB mini.
You also only need one of those methods to launch Swiss. Either get the SD Media Launcher set and use with an unmodded GC, or get a chip and burn Swiss to a disc. Easy!
Pancakes R Us
Member
Hmmm...all my Gamecube games are NTSC US, so if I went with a PAL system I'd need to get it modded to play those. Plus, I'd really like to get a spice Gamecube!
Also, just to confirm, by RGB scart you mean this:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NINTENDO-...Games_Cables_and_Adaptors&hash=item540aa9b188
I understand that a component cable is the best quality image for GC, but is this anywhere close? Also, how the heck did these scart cables get so bloody expensive?
If someone can direct link me to that codejunkies page, that'd be great. I can't get the website to load at all. Not sure if it's my net connection or the site.
Finally, I posted this in the GBC thread...this SD launcher isn't region locked or anything...right?
P.S. I don't have an XRGB mini yet, looking at getting one. Without one, would I get anywhere close to the kind of GB/GBA pictures posted in this thread on a 720p TV...or would I need to have the mini?
Thanks.
chaosblade
Unconfirmed Member
I'd guess 240p on a HDTV without any sort of external scaler is going to look horrible. Wii VC games might be a good comparison? I know those didn't exactly look great.
That's one of the things keeping me from jumping on the SD launcher. Can't really justify spending $350+ on a scaler that I will only really use for my GC.
That's one of the things keeping me from jumping on the SD launcher. Can't really justify spending $350+ on a scaler that I will only really use for my GC.
Hmm... Well, here, have a listen to the GBAMusRiper.
There's good tunes in them tiny carts, but the GBA is not up to the task.
Ah I see. Well I guess it's a decision to make. If you get a chip you won't need to buy the SD Media Launcher, and it'll play all your games. The Spice GC is the JP one you were talking about right? If so you'd need to get that modded to play your US games anyway. You could always do a case swap too!
The advantage of having a chip in a PAL system is it will play any region and also has RGB (but not s-video, but as I'm an RGB fan that's no loss to me personally). If you get the early model with the digital port you also have access to Component later if you decide to splash out on the cable. Also with the chip, you won't need to buy the SD Media Launcher. You could add an SD memory card for a few bucks down the line if you want to run homebrew off of SD too. I just bought two more from China for like $8.
That's RGB SCART yep, but you don't need the official cable at all. This eBay seller makes great quality cables, for example. NTSC SNES RGB SCART cables work with the PAL Gamecube as they're identical, so I just use one of those.
As far as I understand, RGB > Component in terms of picture quality, particularly in colour quality. The only reason you'd use Component is for 480p, as RGB SCART cannot do 480p. As we're talking 240p here though, RGB SCART is where it's at I think (although you could do it through Component and the picture should still be pretty much the same, but the cables are terribly expensive).
Here's the direct link. I had trouble loading earlier on my tablet but it's fine on my PC now so it might work for you now.
I can't find much info, but it does appear to be region locked.
Probably not... We're all freaking out over 240p because it's ideal for upscalers like the XRGB series and on high end monitors (PVMs, BVMs). Up until now there wasn't really a good way to experience GBA games on the big screen (or even GBC since the Super Gameboy won't play GBC-only games). The Gameboy Player was okay before but 240p with scanlines is what we've always pined for.
Swing on back to the Upscalers, CRT's, PVM's & RGB thread again and we can help you figure out a setup. Sounds like you need to just get the mini though to be honest
IrishNinja
Member
seriously...was really hoping disc-only would = cheap...dammit
I'm confused... are we talking about Sonic Adventure 2 Battle? Is it really going for that much?
All this talk about SDLoader...
I really wish there was a "package" with a WiiKey (or maybe a WASP Fusion?) adapter modified for GameCube easy flat cable insertion + SDloader, so I could put my gamecube+gba player+coimponent cable to some use.
My Gamecube DVD drive is kinda messed up (from doing too many PSO:BB Homebrew hacks reading stuff off discs) and I rather have images of all my games in a SDCard ready to boot from a menu than to replace (and possibly scratch) my disks.
As things are today, I just play most of the things on Dolphin, but I wouldn't mind wasting some money for solderless DVD-Drive replacement with SD Cards.
I really wish there was a "package" with a WiiKey (or maybe a WASP Fusion?) adapter modified for GameCube easy flat cable insertion + SDloader, so I could put my gamecube+gba player+coimponent cable to some use.
My Gamecube DVD drive is kinda messed up (from doing too many PSO:BB Homebrew hacks reading stuff off discs) and I rather have images of all my games in a SDCard ready to boot from a menu than to replace (and possibly scratch) my disks.
As things are today, I just play most of the things on Dolphin, but I wouldn't mind wasting some money for solderless DVD-Drive replacement with SD Cards.
Agent Unknown
Member
Wow, looks fantastic! Btw what are the games in the last two pics here?
I've got a Wiikey Fusion sitting here that I'm planning to put into a GC with Swiss as the initial ISO. I'm putting it off though because it seems like such a fiddly job. A solderless solution would be amazing. I'll definitely keep an eye out.
WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!
One of my all time fav GBA games!!!
Same. It's one of my comfort games that I always go back to. I love the micro-games, the music, the hilarity when you fail, and the extra unlockables are so fun. It's how I first got into Dr M
W
baphomet
Member
Same here.
Since you have one, you probably already know this. The WiiKey IS (was) a solderless solution for the Wii: you'd just unplug the Wii DVD drive flat cable and plug it into the WiiKey. Since the gamecube uses a variation of the same drive, all you need to do is change where the leads connect on the Gamecube board itself, because while it's a similar drive, the flat cable connections are different.
I don't know shit about electronics and I never researched it throughout (where are you soldering those pins on the board), but I believe that a solderless solution could be created for the gamecube as well, as long as it was tailor made for it. People just don't care enough to do it, sadly.
Friend of Sonic
Member
Is the idea here to come up with a drive emulator, and something that would have a high compatability than the SD Loader we have today? The audio streaming cames really mess things up as far as I understand it, but I guess there's a solution for that particiular issue on the Wii? I might have to look into what's being done on the Wii for Gamecube, it's been about a year since I last checked into it.
There actually exists a plug and play solution thanks to the mod community. Here is a topic on a forum that discusses the matter:
http://www.gc-forever.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=838
And here is the site of one of the members that sells gamecube stuff as well as a plug and play solution, among others, that he designed himself to be used for gamecube.
http://www.badassconsoles.com/
However, do note that compatibility is not 100% (audio streaming, some games have glitches etc.), but a good deal of them also work perfectly. There comes a lot more into this (like which SD cards to use, etc.), but that site is a good start if your new into this stuff like I am.
If linking to these sites is in anyway prohibited I'll remove the links.
Hey guys! I'm looking into buying a GameCube within the next couple of months, and I just had a question about the component cables. I was looking on eBay, and holy crap those cables expensive! I was thinking instead of shelling out $150+ on a set of cables, I might as well buy a framemeister. I guess my question is if the framemeister does what the component would do? Is my logic wrong here? I've been looking to the framemeister for 16 bit consoles, and I'm thinking it would be beneficial to own one for gamecube/dreamcast/ps2.
You still need video cables to go from the Gamecube to the Framemeister. A lot of people just use a Wii with component cables instead, Framemeister or not, as it's substantially cheaper and ~98% as good looking. Of course you can't use the Gameboy Player then, but that's pretty much the only downside.
Ah, so you still need the component from the GC to the framemeister. Dang it. I was hoping somehow the framemeister would upscale it from the analog cables haha. I may just go with the Wii after all.
Speaking of the Wii, I know they took out the BC after a few years. Is there a particular model I should be looking for?
Another alternative is a PAL GC with RGB cables, or a NTSC GC with S-Video cables (not as good but still nice through a Framemeister), if you just want it for Gameboy Player use.
Yeh you want the earlier model Wii with BC. There isn't a surefire way to tell without inspecting the system but the images on the boxes will usually show the older one vertically, while the new one is shown laying horizontal. Other than that, if you can check out the system and it has Gamecube controller and memory ports under the flaps on the top, you're good.
The v4 looks amazing, but what the hell at this installation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YcU657kEXo
Why do I need to remove connectors and put leads between the board and the connector iself? Can't he just make a custom cable that sits between the connector and the drive and split the connections that way? I guess the gamecube couldn't close down with that setup, but fuck removing connectors and soldering down cables midway through them..
I reather buy an entire DVD-Drive set than do it myself.I guess the V3 removes the drive completely and just replaces it with an SD Card, but still...
Got it. Thanks! Time to go Wii hunting.
sixteen-bit
Member
S-video on the PVM. I can only imagine what component would bring...
If I ever come across a pvm I'm buying that shit. They're so awesome.
marvel8797
Neo Member
another way to eyeball the different models, BC models on the front will have the Wii logo vertically on its side when the system is horizontal, the newer Family Edition model will have the Wii logo horizontal.
also, BC models predominantly came in white and black, and a limited edition red one, Family models also came in white and black, but also threw in light blue and maybe another one i'm not familiar with...
But, yeah, if you can physically inspect a system, the GCN ports are the dead giveaway.
Gorgeous!
I called my local gamestop and they seem to have several of the BC units in stock. They're selling them for $75. That seems a tad bit expensive, but at least I'll have the piece of mind of returning it if I find any problems. I feel like eBay is a more risky proposition.
Speaking of risky propositions, I know that piracy was rampant on the Wii. Any tips for how to deal with a molded Wii? Can I restore a nodded Wii to factory settings? I never owned a Wii believe it or not haha
That is expensive. Good point about returning it though. I wonder if Nintendo sells factory refurbished ones there?
You can update it usually to get rid of the stuff you can see, but traces always remain deep inside, hehe. It can be handy to have it modded for good reasons though, like region free and homebrew. I modded mine and keep all my discs stored away, and play them off a hard drive. It's great!
Good point about the benefits of modding. The mods don't have anything to do with BC right? If not, I may look into modding in the future.