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

[RandyT]

Interesting.  I'm running Win7 64-bit and it doesn't do a thing.

Just tested on 98SE.  The first time it came up "Unknown Device" and the second time, it didn't even show up in the device list.

Then tested XP SP3.  Gave the USB device has malfunctioned error. 

One thing is certain....it's not a normal HID controller.

[micky4fun]

hi all

this is what it returns , using side usb port
so not much joy there

mick

[micky4fun]

hi all

someone from Finland on the Dealextreme website that sells this unit says

I Got this "wondermachine" two days ago.Wonder what this box is.GBA files works and CPS1 somes..and vids and mp3 etc.I have Dingoo 320 (Dingux GPX2Menu mod)Canīt find any settings(only..push left side 1 and 2 corner buttons)ONLY Language settings opens? What is mini USB connector on panel? Pc doesnt recognize on USB port.Linux or (Linux/Android flash?) there is many good question and answers.Bottle of Vodka and REM sleep

looking at this does he mean he as got CPS1 games to load off of sd card ?
i have tried to join forum , but it just wont let me sign in

mick

[RandyT]

The OS never gets any of the USB info, so utilities which go about getting it in the same manner, won't be any more successful.  I'm really suspecting that the ports on the front aren't USB.  This whole "keymax technology-faster speed of game pad responsiveness" gives me the feeling that they are using a proprietary 2-wire interface to communicate with the gamepads.

The chip does have a couple of pins dedicated to USB Device 2.0, but those are probably connected more or less directly to the small port on the side.

[RandyT]

I just cracked open the controller.  Something kind of humorous...the right stick is bogus.  I thought  it was funny that it didn't click when depressed, like the left one does.  Turns out, there is no switch, no pots, and it wasn't even soldered to the board  

All of the buttons are common ground, so hacking it should be fairly simple.  No convenient exposed pads for soldering, like on some of the gamepads out there.  Still shouldn't be too hard.

And the board is labeled SDA and SCK where the wires attach, instead of the  D+ and D- one would expect for USB.  May or may not be significant.

[Jhabu]

The manual talks "usb port is for debugging only", so in my view it should be possible to run a light Linux from a usb key to see what's happening inside
If joypad and usb port are not real usb the differences should be tiny...

[RandyT]

The manual talks "usb port is for debugging only", so in my view it should be possible to run a light Linux from a usb key to see what's happening inside
If joypad and usb port are not real usb the differences should be tiny...

You aren't going to run anything if that "usb key" isn't recognized by the system.  It's a long way from that capability at current.

And if they aren't USB, they could be any 2-wire protocol, including a proprietary one.  If you consider that a "tiny" difference, then I suppose...

[Jhabu]

Ok for proprietary 2-wire interface to communicate with the gamepads but what about the side usb port ? How do they debug (it should be suprising if they developed a proprietary system). If they do it should look like something existing. That what I mean in my previous post.

[RandyT]

Ok for proprietary 2-wire interface to communicate with the gamepads but what about the side usb port ? How do they debug (it should be suprising if they developed a proprietary system). If they do it should look like something existing. That what I mean in my previous post.

You still need to know how to "wake it up" and then how to talk to it.  Hopefully, the manufacturer will share details, or even some software.  Without it, it's not going to be easy, and there isn't even anything to reverse engineer in order to see what it expects.  Heck, nobody even knows how to get it to play games of the advertised types from a TF card yet, and without access to the internal memory, they can't even learn from what is on the machine.

[micky4fun]

hi all

i have not got access to mine as i am at work , but on dealextreme this is reported by a user

Came across this tonight - hold down the Select and Start buttons on the controller when turning on and an info screen comes up. Mine has the following details:

Device Model: JZ4755
Device Version: V1.0Build7c1
U Disk Size: 1.770 GB
U Disk Space: 298.944 MB
External Card Size: 0 BYTE
External Card Space: 0 Byte

mick

[msolajic]

And the board is labeled SDA and SCK where the wires attach, instead of the  D+ and D- one would expect for USB.  May or may not be significant.

Judging to the names of the pins, it should be a NES/SNES-like protocol. You send pulses to SCK and read out SDA. Looks like a simple SPI protocol to me.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

I'm assuming that means it uses this proccessor?
ftp://ftp.ingenic.cn/2soc/4755/Jz4755_ds.pdf

WLAN, Bluetooth and expansion
options are supported through high-speed SPI and MMC/SD/SDIO host controllers. The TS (Transport
stream) interface provides enough bandwidth to connect to an external mobile digital TV demodulator.
Other peripherals such as USB 2.0 device, UART and SPI as well as general system resources
provide enough computing and connectivity capability for many applications.

[ibuildrockets]

Hi,
First time poster, short-term lerker. Bit of a gadget freak and build rockets for fun

Found the link to the forum on DX. Just had my Gamebox arrive tonight and posted the message on DX about the Select & Start buttons

Here's a screenshot:



Oh - has anyone been able to figure out how to access the Clock & Calendar (not that I want or need the feature, just curious?!!)

Reading through the PDF - Page 33 states:

BOOT_SEL1	Other Condition (PE25’s internal pull up is disabled)	Boot From
1	PE25 is low or ADIN1 channel > 381	NAND flash
1	PE25 is high and ADIN1 channel <= 381	USB2.0 device @EXCLK=24MHz
0	PE25 is low or ADIN1 channel > 381	SD card: MSC0
0	PE25 is high and ADIN1 channel <= 381	USB2.0 device @EXCLK=24MHz

And Page 7:
RISC instruction set to support Linux and WinCE

Hmm....

Cheers,
Sascha.

http://www.ibuildrockets.com/

[micky4fun]

hi all

tools and driver chip here , i aint got a clue how to use them , but someone might
ftp://ftp.ingenic.cn/3sw/
as per dealextreme site , look for tools and driver chip thread

also just to ad anyone playing gba games off of sd card , press select and R1 at the same time to save and load game data

mick

[bigster]

Mick, you still need a gba cart?  I have a super card cf with a 512mb cf card and reader...pm me

[BobA]

To get the link to work for Software ftp for drivers and tools strip out the http:// and paste into your browser.

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

ftp://ftp.ingenic.cn/3sw/00tools/usb_boot/manual/USB_Boot_Tool_Manual_1.4_EN.pdf

this is promising.

[neninef]

ftp://ftp.ingenic.cn/3sw/00tools/usb_boot/manual/USB_Boot_Tool_Manual_1.4_EN.pdf

this is promising.

Indeed. Its the program to access the gamebox, I guess. Problems half solved?

[neninef]

I downloaded the drivers. Theres a tool folder there. It seems to be the program to allow writing and reading. It seems you put the data on the MicroSD, and command it via usb to copy to the contents to the drive.

[RandyT]

I downloaded the drivers. Theres a tool folder there. It seems to be the program to allow writing and reading. It seems you put the data on the MicroSD, and command it via usb to copy to the contents to the drive.

Just a word of caution.  Until you have a known good copy of what is already on there, I'd be very careful dumping anything to the NAND memory.  You could end up with a very nice doorstop until someone gets a good dump of the contents.

There's also the matter of the controllers.  If they aren't real USB, which it appears they aren't, you will need to write routines to use them, or replace them with your own device, if you replace the code that is already there to interface with them.  You might be able to get an OS installed on the machine, but without some way to interact with it, it won't be very useful.  This is why some support from the manufacturer would be very useful, but given the quasi-closed nature of the system, I'm not sure if that will be forthcoming.

[neninef]

I got it Randy, but I didnt receive my gamebox.. yet.
I suppose I'll get it on 02/23/11, until then, I'll be here just brainstorming with you all
I hope untill there, theres a definitive solution for our speculations (ITS POSSIBLE or NOT POSSIBLE)

Anyways, it got metalslug on the preloaded. I feel happy with that. Just sad cause of the controller issue.

edit: Just to inform, I got one of that DX usb controllers. It looks like the one on the screens of gamebox, except for the abcd that are 1234 and the gamebox text.

[Jhabu]

I have mine
Good games, bad image (dull colors, muffled sound), well playing gba games (it's nice).
Should be a nice small machine with a second gamepad (is 2 players gaming enable ?)


Does anyone tried pc engine isos on sd card ?

Not the ultimate emulator I was waiting for...

[micky4fun]

hi all


well had a good go of mine over the last few days and ive come to the conclusion its time to get rid of this gamebox as i cant see that its going to be much use to me , so ebay thus cometh
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300523214625
mick

[neninef]

Topic died?

[newmanfamilyvlogs]

I think only two people actually owned one to tinker with it. One of whom has already sold his.

someone send me one. I'll do some exploring

[penjuin]

I do a bit of embedded work.

SDA and SCK/SCL normally refer to the two-wire I2C protocol, which is definitely not USB. USB controller ICs cost good money because the manufacturer has to register a VID/PID combo as mentioned previously by other people (not to mention the protocol is quite complex). I would say RandyT is bang on; these are not USB game controllers, they simply use the USB plug hardware to trick people.

[ids]

I think only two people actually owned one to tinker with it. One of whom has already sold his.

someone send me one. I'll do some exploring

Still waiting on mine.  This thread is making me regret the purchase, however.

[shin_akuma]

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[bkenobi]

If the controllers are not USB and the unit comes with only 1 controller...why have 3 more plugs?  I suppose they might sell the controllers separately (didn't check), but that's likely to cost nearly as much for 3 more + shipping as the GameBox from DX did in the first place.   

[RandyT]

If the controllers are not USB and the unit comes with only 1 controller...why have 3 more plugs?  I suppose they might sell the controllers separately (didn't check), but that's likely to cost nearly as much for 3 more + shipping as the GameBox from DX did in the first place.   

Why have a second thumbstick on the controller that doesn't have any electronic guts, but still moves around like a functional thumbstick?  Different question, but likely the same answer.

[BobA]

I suppose they might sell the controllers separately (didn't check), but that's likely to cost nearly as much for 3 more + shipping as the GameBox from DX did in the first place.   

Could not find anything on the DX site yet for controllers. Going by other pads they will probably be in the $12 range so maybe about $36 for 3.  DX does not charge for regular (slow) shipping.

[bkenobi]

DX does not charge for regular (slow) shipping.

Duh, of course...   

[shin_akuma]

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[RandyT]

This console have a lot of speculation,why you say not have eletronic for joysticks,in images made by mick,show board you can see electric track,this not a fake joysticks slot,and not we dont have drivers to be recognized on window we can say this not a usb or dont have usb controller.

You seem a little confused.  The second (right) thumbstick on the controller has no electronic guts.  I was rather impressed to find that it was a special part, made to be a dummy stick. 

The jury is still out on what those ports on the front are doing.  But they are connected directly to GPIO pins on the processor.  If it's doing USB on them, it's purely a custom firmware implementation.  Doesn't seem too likely when all they seem concerned about connecting are gamepads, but stranger things have happened.

[LS650]

On Wednesday I received the Gamebox I ordered about 3 weeks ago.  I had no problems connecting it to my old CRT gaming TV and getting it going.  The console is roughly the size of a Wii unit.  The controller is a copy of a Playstation controller, so if you like those controllers you'll like this one.  My Gamebox came with a flat-pronged 120v power supply suitable for North America.

Pros: it comes with the 60 games listed previously, all stored internally on its flash memory.  The emulation quality seems reasonably good to me.  I also loaded about 20 different GBA ROMs on a micro-SD card.  They all ran well, including 3D games like VRally.  I would say the quality of GBA emulation is as good or better than the Dingoo's native GBA emulator.  Both "game saves" and save states seemed to work okay. 

Cons: the composite output seems a bit muddy and fuzzy, with cross-hatching on diagonal lines.  It's perfectly viewable for playing games, but could be better.  The plastic casing for the console and the controller seems a bit thin and cheap; if you press hard on seams with your thumb, you can feel the plastic flex slightly.  I think if you gave one to a small child who likes to bash things around, it wouldn't last that long.

I have not tried loading any other sorts of ROMs on the micro-SD card.  I will give it a try this weekend, but since the manual doesn't talk about putting any ROMs other than GBA on the micro-SD, I doubt the Gamebox will run them.

I have not tried running any video files off the micro-SD card yet, but I'll try that as well.  There is an AVI for the Avatar movie trailer in the internal storage.  It seems to display that okay.

If you enjoy playing GBA games and want to try playing them on a larger screen, this machine might be for you.  However, unless someone figures out a way to run other game formats from the micro-SD card, I can't recommend paying the $50+ for one.

[kmilloz]

Hi, look at that link (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http://gdata.youtube.com/feeds/api/videos/tExXEwuStxU?v=2#errorPrivate video) that opening up the device it says "GameBox", not "Arcadebox" as one of the videos that have appeared on the network ... 

[shin_akuma]

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[RandyT]

RandyT , i not good with board and eletric but i can see 2 track passing in all 4 pads,anyway if second usb joystick is a dummy fo trick consumers maybe never selling any game for this console,in this case it is complete fake console,i hope not.

I don't think the translator is doing justice to what I am trying to tell you....each gamepad has two thumbsticks.  Of the two thumbsticks, only one is real, and that is the left one.  The right thumbstick is fake. 

Yes, there are lines going to each of the 4 ports on the front of the system.  They go directly to GPIO pins on the processor.  This processor, unlike the processor in the Dingoo 320, has no built in USB Host lines.  It only has USB Device support.  It's unlikely that the ports on the front are USB, as there is no good reason to go through the trouble on a machine this inexpensive, and only for gamepads.  If you look at the brochure, they refer to something they call "Keymax".  My guess is that it is a proprietary 2-wire serial protocol between the gamepads and the console.  Even if they aren't USB, it's still quite clever of them to use the inexpensive and widely available USB connectors for this purpose.  A little confusing, but clever.

[shin_akuma]

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[emphatic]

Are there any vertical games, and if so, how are they displayed?