GAMEBOX Multi-Game Platform TV Video Game Console -MAME-

[shanghaiguide]

To everyone else.

Thanks for your support

[shanghaiguide]

As apparently I'm just a chinese bootlegger or something, and Oraap really either doesn't read english properly (as _all_ his questions were answered in this thread) or he's just a

I've put my next set of findings back on my blog here:

http://www.computersolutions.cn/blog/2012/06/jz4755-jamma-board-reverse-engineering-part-3-king-of-game-board/
Those that are interested can go look there. Sigh..

For what its worth, I'm not a chinese bootlegger    I'm not even Chinese!
I have been posting on here for a number of years now, and bought the book many many moons ago too.

Even my first post on this thread about the GameBox stuff goes back to 2011, so its not like I suddenly jumped in here and was spamming sales stuff.
I've also been posting on this forum for a number of years now, its not like I suddenly popped up out of nowhere, and suddenly started posting..
Sigh.

- "Pricing will probably be in the $100-150 range."

If you look at the thread - people specifically asked for board prices.  Again, I don't make the board, I have zero to do with the board, except for buying a bunch off the factory for my own use. 

- "Pricing will be reasonable, but will need to charge for all the work I'm doing on top of the board price."

Thats in reference to the future when /if I actually get the work done, can reflash boards, can make improvements, and sell that as a package, eg board+better rom. Its not an enticement to sell or buy anything yet, and its similar enough to a lot of other people doing similar stuff.  Classic example of this would be the NEO-GEO Universal Bios.   If I've overstepped a line talking about that kind of thing, then apologies, but I really don't think I have.

CheffoJeffo - comments?

- "If I could get enough people interested (probably 100+ pre-orders sort of level), then I can have the factory make some board revisions."

I'm in China.  I can speak Chinese (again, I'm not Chinese).  This isn't even the business I'm in to be honest, we do Websites, and IT stuff, but I can organize things like that.  Again, its not a sales pitch, its a comment on whats doable.  If you really think I was spamming for sales, you're mistaken.

Plus, the info about sleep schedule and daily activities... that was awkward, wan't it?

I don't think we all have to be robots, do we?   I like my style of writing, and others do too.  Informal, but informative is what people usually tell me.

[CheffoJeffo]

You are suspect. Your daily activities, your future plans, connection with factories, buying/selling huge quantities... I tried to be subtle about it, even ignored when you kept talking despite my bona fide warning. -- In any case, I believe you now. You convinced me.

Uh, junior, you are not in a position to warn anybody or dictate how or what they post.

[CheffoJeffo]

- "Pricing will be reasonable, but will need to charge for all the work I'm doing on top of the board price."

Thats in reference to the future when /if I actually get the work done, can reflash boards, can make improvements, and sell that as a package, eg board+better rom. Its not an enticement to sell or buy anything yet, and its similar enough to a lot of other people doing similar stuff.  Classic example of this would be the NEO-GEO Universal Bios.   If I've overstepped a line talking about that kind of thing, then apologies, but I really don't think I have.

CheffoJeffo - comments?

Not my board, so not my call, but the rules are that you can't offer to sell anything here that you don't have a right to sell.

I like the technical talk and am interested to see where you can go with this.

[shanghaiguide]

Not my board, so not my call, but the rules are that you can't offer to sell anything here that you don't have a right to sell.

I should be perfectly ok then, if / when at some undetermined point in the future I get a lot further along, finish, get my shiyat into gear  

I like the technical talk and am interested to see where you can go with this.

Thanks.  Its quite a lot like like detective work, I enjoy making progress on stuff like this, plus I get to (l)earn "l33t" skills in reverse engineering and reading fun fun fun data sheets. I started out as an embedded systems guy in the early 90's in South Africa, but then moved to China to do IT, so this is hobbyist level stuff for me, to keep my skillset up to date

My last "self induced" project was similar work on IP Camera stuff - reverse engineering hardware, and seeing how it ticked.  I setup a community site for that myself after the posts on that took over my blog commentwise.  

I'll probably do that with this board at some point, but I guess another few posts won't hurt.

Back to the specs/future dreams    

The board is a dual core* @ 400mhz, underclocked to 336mhz on this.
*white lies.  It does have a CPU+GPU though, so technically its "dual core".
The video chipset has hardware rotation, and the chip has a frame buffer, so rotation looks doable.  Its MIPS vs ARM, but I think this kicks Raspberry PI's ass in terms of CPU, mostly as thats an ancient ARM5 core, and this has MMU etc..

What makes this interesting for me (and others I guess), is that unlike most other Chinese SoC's this one has actual documentation, and BSP's freely available.  Thats highly unusual.  Most of the time you need to beg, borrow or steal, er I mean acquire torrents / rapidshare rar's of said items.

I'm nowhere near anything practical yet.  Right now its a 2nd weekend working on it, but lots of good interesting progress.
Linux is going to be fairly easy to port as its 99% Gamebox GBX-0001 equivalent or 90% A380 Dingoo hardware, and the major work has already been done for that by others, so its mostly tweaks to get their stuff booting.  

We don't have SD though, and no screen or serial, so its going to be a case of make extremely sure I don't screwup, otherwise I'll be out a board if I go too far wrong...  

I'm not sure yet whether I go linux, or replace the emulator(s) used by the current MINIOS by rejigging the firmware, and sticking another better compiled one inside.  The latter looks like an easier route for now.  As to using Android on this,  64M ram is not really enough to run another emulation layer on top of an OS. Its never a good idea imho, unless you have oodles of CPU+RAM to spare.
 
In this case its MP4 player chipset hardware with fairly decent NAND size, ok RAM size, semi decent video for its class, so whatever the Dingoo or GameBox BGX001 does at the moment will be fairly similar speedwise.  Its the same thing as those 2 in a different form factor, but with JAMMA.

Definitely room for improvement on current speeds emulated though.

[emphatic]

I don't get the "JAMMA interface + old computer is cheaper" argument at all. Sure, that's one way to go, but it's no plug & play JAMMA solution like an Arcade multiboard. It just doesn't compare.

[IG-88]

Not only is it not easier, the whole $10 pc mobo things are not nearly as reliable as the mult boards either IMHO. The emulation sucks but I cant kill the hardware.

[CheffoJeffo]

Does somebody have a decent, and supported JAMMA encoder running to CGA at $15 ?

[emphatic]

I already own 2 J-Pac's + a MAME computer I never use. Why? It's because I don't want to have wires and an extra PSU etc all inside my cabinet. I've had a Gamebox already (I sold it again along with a cabinet) and except for not being fast enough to be running all the games I wanted it to run it was a really good little piece of hardware. I prefer to run Arcade PCB's as they are more convenient to handle, a $10 PC with a J-Pac is clumsy as hell.

[emphatic]

I have no idea what you're talking about, Oraap. 

Perhaps a new thread should be better that doesn't have

* Gamebox for TV as the confusion seems to be overwhelming
* composite video (doesn't work in a JAMMA cabinet)
* BlueTooth (see above)
* USB (no excess wiring please)

My GameBox (or rather, AdvanceMAME 0.106 on this hardware) couldn't run Galaga 88, D-Donpachi, Progear, E.S.P. Ra.De. etc without major frameskipping. If someone are willing to optimize an Open Source emulator to effectively use the King Of Game board hardware to run these games and more @ 100% speed with no issues, well then I think that is a much more appealing thing to get for my non-commercial needs than a PC that has a bloated O/S and needs hours of my time for the endless hassle that is a MAME PC. I have my PCB's in storage and seldom change games, so putting all of them into a small PCB that I can use when I have friends over etc would be very nice.

Also, where in the world are the $15 JAMMA controllers? 

[404]

Title of this thread: "Multi-Game Platform TV Video Game Console"

No. The title of the thread is GAMEBOX Multi-Game Platform TV Video Game Console -MAME-

So back to the subject at hand here. Funds are a little tight right now. I'm hoping to pick up some form of this gamebox to have a gander at how this works eventually though.

[404]

Back on subject. With the help of a game shop friend of mine, i was able to get samples of the portable gamebox shaped like a GBA and the ND3000 model which is shaped like a ps2. Wasn't able to get the GBX model or the Jamma one just yet. I did find out who is actually manufacturing the GBX models though and they associate with an old friend of mine. If i can get him to introduce me to them, I plan on picking their brains on the project.

[DaveMMR]

As I've pretty much decided I'm building a new box with a JAMMA harness instead of (or begrudgingly, alongside) a traditional MAME setup....

...yeah instead of using Android and tilting things - how balls-ass stupid of me.... 

...I'm intrigued by what shanghaiguide is doing. Yeah, a lot of what he's saying is going over my head but I'm following along as best as I can. Maybe we can encourage him to start a separate thread as empahtic suggested and therefore there's little confusion and less fuel for the fire for those, for some reason, interested in further GAMEBOX discussion.

[shanghaiguide]

I've moved it to http://forum.retrosticks.com as this thread is pretty much toasted due to said   spamming it with irrelevant stuff.
The guy doing the Gamebox stuff in zonaeuropa is posting too there, so I expect progress

At the moment I'm looking at buying a dev board as I really need the minios source side for some of the stuff, and can't find.
Looks like its about 800rmb odd for a dev board, so not too bad.

[NIVO]

the rides over for now. I did what i could to clean up the spewtum in here. Continue on fellas.

[emphatic]

Thanks for the cleanup, but now a lot of posts make no sense. 

[shanghaiguide]

I think its better to have no sense, than nonsense heheh 

Thanks for cleaning it up!

[saint]

In case it wasn't clear, Orapp/DriverMan has been banned again.

[yotsuya]

 

[BobA]

 

[Generic Eric]

 

[PL1]

In case it wasn't clear, Orapp/DriverMan has been banned again.

Darn, I found this video too late.  




Scott

[emphatic]

I really hope this thread didn't die just because the spam ended? 

[shanghaiguide]

No, its not dead, its er, resting.

I know nuffink about no parrots neither.


Back onto offtopicness - I have successfully dumped the rom properly, worked out the layout, and even worked out how to rip apart the minios.bin and res.bin files.
I have put that stuff up on http://forum.retrosticks.com though, as it was getting a bit tedious with Volde^H he who shall not be named spamming the  out of this thread.

So far progress is good, I can now start either compiling my own goodies + sticking into the current bin file, or going linux.  I shall see .

[iscariot]

Whatever has the least overhead.  It'd be awesome to get an older version of MAME going that still had enough under the hood for some of the CPS1/2 games.

[404]

No, its not dead, its er, resting.

I know nuffink about no parrots neither.


Back onto offtopicness - I have successfully dumped the rom properly, worked out the layout, and even worked out how to rip apart the minios.bin and res.bin files.
I have put that stuff up on http://forum.retrosticks.com though, as it was getting a bit tedious with Volde^H he who shall not be named spamming the  out of this thread.

So far progress is good, I can now start either compiling my own goodies + sticking into the current bin file, or going linux.  I shall see .

the good news is, i was able to get another variant of the gamebox called the ND3000 along with an odd gameboy advance SP clone which uses the same cpu. The bad news is, the ND3000 is dead. No video from it at all. Warmed up some solder points on the board just to see if it was anything loose. Nothing.

Strange thing is, there is a model of the GBA SP that does run cps1 games and has a micro sd slot. The model i have here plays GBA games from onboard memory and can also emulate nes games.

[emphatic]

I have successfully dumped the rom properly, worked out the layout, and even worked out how to rip apart the minios.bin and res.bin files.

 

The model i have here plays GBA games from onboard memory and can also emulate nes games.

Does it output RGB?

[404]

I have successfully dumped the rom properly, worked out the layout, and even worked out how to rip apart the minios.bin and res.bin files.

 

The model i have here plays GBA games from onboard memory and can also emulate nes games.

Does it output RGB?

MY unit doesn't output anything. It does however, have an AV out jack. If i were able to get anything to output on this unit, i would have had a second look at possibly doing an RGB mod for it. I can sucessfully plug this into my pc and see the console as a mass storage device. Just get no sound or video on the screen.

[shanghaiguide]

If its dead dead, try flashing it with the Gamebox linux port

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByvCAHD9EnZhWFIyMi1OUXYzTVk

I'd open up  the box first and take some photos though, post on here with chipset details, ram and flash size so we can see if would be suitable first though.

Also the GBPlus /GBASP units - I'm pretty sure that its a different ARM SoC in those.

The Gamebox is MIPS - similar, but not quite the same!

[404]

If its dead dead, try flashing it with the Gamebox linux port

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0ByvCAHD9EnZhWFIyMi1OUXYzTVk

I'd open up  the box first and take some photos though, post on here with chipset details, ram and flash size so we can see if would be suitable first though.

Also the GBPlus /GBASP units - I'm pretty sure that its a different ARM SoC in those.

The Gamebox is MIPS - similar, but not quite the same!

Yeah, i plan to put this on a flatbed scanner a little later on and get some hi res scans of the board front and back. As for the GBA, this one uses the same igenic soc that is used in the gamebox consoles. I managed by pure mistake to get it to run in usb bootloader  mode by holding a few buttons down while putting in the usb cable. Gotta figure out that button combination again.

[404]

yup found it. holding the down arrow + A+B while turning on the gba with the supplied usb cable attached boots her up into usb bootloader mode. Device shows up as JZ4750 USB Boot Device.

[404]

flatbed scanner doesn't seem to be working properly any more. Ended up taking some decent pics of the board front and back. The pics are pretty damn big so i didn't bother adding the img tags to these. Click the links below to have a look.

[shanghaiguide]

I like that - would almost  make a good dev board - has most appropriate bits n pieces, although 88,89 for uart appear to be disconnected.

Can I bug you for a photo of the box and the plastic case also (so I can try find it locally and buy one)?

I'm assuming this is the GBA one, as I don't see a tv encoder chip, and the SoC is going straight to what I'm assuming is the plug for the LCD top GBA panel + buttons?

Nice photo - everything is nice and clear!

[404]

I like that - would almost  make a good dev board - has most appropriate bits n pieces, although 88,89 for uart appear to be disconnected.

Can I bug you for a photo of the box and the plastic case also (so I can try find it locally and buy one)?

I'm assuming this is the GBA one, as I don't see a tv encoder chip, and the SoC is going straight to what I'm assuming is the plug for the LCD top GBA panel + buttons?

Nice photo - everything is nice and clear!

This is actually the console board, i haven't opened up the GB board. Kinda weary on messing with the GB as it actually works and its somewhat fun.

Yeah, it's a crying shame that it doesn't work. I can hook it up to my pc and see the contents of the board. I spent a few minutes prodding around the board to look for any obvious signs of a jumper to enable usb boot mode.

Here is a link to the ND3000 commonly reffered to as the PII Station.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/nd-3000-game-station-console-set-with-usb-sd-hdmi-av-out-2gb-65977

Here is a list of the common variants of the gamebox GBX

PII or PV Station ND3000
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/nd-3000-game-station-console-set-with-usb-sd-hdmi-av-out-2gb-65977

Gamebox 380 NJ-3801
http://www.ec21.com/product-details/NJ-3801-Game-Box-380--4903292.html

Gamebox Advance portable. The gamebox branded models play arcade games and have a micro sd card slot just above the cartridge port. The other Igenic based gameboy advance clones play gba and nes games and do not have a microSD card slot.
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/3-lcd-gamebox-advance-game-console-mp3-mp4-multimedia-player-w-tv-output-tf-silver-2gb-81512

VBox II NJ-3802
http://www.dealextreme.com/p/vbox-ii-nj-3802-game-console-set-with-sd-av-out-2gb-65976

[shanghaiguide]

Names are sometimes meaningless unfortunately, as the factories make them, and importers name them.
I have found them though.

I may get one of the GBA ones, they're dirt cheap.

Seem to be a few variants already for the "GameBox"

Looking at retail here I think I found yours:

Gamebox (original)  - which is made by 小霸王 in Shenzhen.
ND-3000 - I think just a different case?
NJ-3802 - 2g flash has wireless joysticks - 4 players, 315rmb with 4 wireless sticks (extra sticks +30) looks xboxish stylewise
NJ-3801 - aka the fugly model. - supports up to 4 players. 280rmb with 3 ps2 style joysticks (wired).

GBA SP "clone"  2G NAND - 138rmb (I think i order one to mess with, at that price, can't complain if its not actually the JZ soc..)
Has a RTC (real time clock), also a cheaper one avail with 1G flash for 99rmb
Press R for time set to assist with some games that didn't work - eg Pokemon in home screen.
Hold R + SELECT  key to soft reset / return to home folder from emulator. A for confirm, B for return back
L+R for USB boot.  Don't delete all the files in the NAND, or need to reflash.


Not sure I'll get any (except the gameboy one), as I think will be ok with current hardware for development (or get a proper dev board).


Some pics.

[404]

I think all of them are pretty interesting in their own ways. If i had money to just throw away, i would get one of each. I've always been into weird and obscure electronics.

[iscariot]

I'd like to see the 3801 or 3802 opened up.  Seems like getting mame or something on there should be pretty simple with linux available.

[404]

Pics of the GBA clone. While in USB Boot mode it shows up as a JZ4750 but the processor is clearly labeled a JZ4725B on the board. Only 128mb ram.

[shanghaiguide]

@404 -

I bought one, disassembled, mine turned out to be a  ChinaChips CC1600
I have another one coming on Friday, so hopefully that turns out to be JZ47xx based, otherwise I will have to commit to buying a dev board sadly.

You showed me yours, so I'll show you mine 


Untitled by sheedl, on Flickr



Untitled by sheedl, on Flickr


Untitled by sheedl, on Flickr


Untitled by sheedl, on Flickr


Untitled by sheedl, on Flickr

[404]

sucks that it's not a gamebox. Still, looks like pretty interesting hardware. How do the games play? Tried any other roms on it?

the gamebox is clearly labled as a gamebox. Have a look at the video below. You can see the clear differences in labels, brandings and the micro sd slot.