GroovyMiSTer

[psakhis]

What is GroovyMiSTer?

GroovyMiSTer is a core for CRT monitors, acts like analog GPU. Core replaces the need to use a modded GPU for 15khz with configurations in operation system or drivers.

Requeriments
 - DE10 Nano with VGA ioboard or directvideo mode with hdmi connection (MiSTer project)
 - Gb eth connection, direct is prefered but some users uses laptop with wifi5 and can work
 - Modded emulator like GroovyMAME, Mednafen or Retroarch to config MiSTer ip and new video backend

This project is in beta, suggestions are welcome for core or any emulator

On test build folder from github you find last version, at the moment vs first release:
- More speed and stability fixes for 480p with lz4
- Double framebuffer for interlaced resolutions (framebuffer/field)
- Audio streaming
- Retroarch working hardware rendered cores with opengl

https://github.com/psakhis/Groovy_MiSTer

[Calamity]

Some advices for those interested in trying this:

Network configuration:

- This requires a Gigabit ethernet card, lower speeds won't work.

- Ideally, you want to set this up with a direct wired connection, PC <---> MiSTer. This requires that both MiSTer and PC have a static ip so they can see each other.

On the MiSTer side, you have to edit /etc/dhcpd.conf, and add this two lines at the end, replacing the ip address with the one you want to use, e.g. mine is set as 192.168.18.35:

Code: [Select]

interface eth0
static ip_address=192.168.18.35/24
On the PC, you'll need to configure your network card to use a static ip. At this point you should be able to ping the MiSTer and receive an answer.

Of course you could just use dhcp on both sides if you're simply connecting through a router, wired or wireless. We're just not recommending that by now because we're aiming at the lowest latency and greatest stability.


GroovyMAME configuration:

GroovyMAME works exactly the same, regarding Switchres and modelines, so you can keep using your existing presets.

This will select the new "mister" video backend, which basically does software rendering and streams the RGB data through the network:

Code: [Select]

video                     mister

These are the new "mister"-specific options:

Code: [Select]

mister_ip                 192.168.18.35
mister_compression        none
mister_window             0
mister_fd_margin          1.5

A brief explanation:

• mister_ip: MiSTer's ip address.
• mister_compression: [none | lz4]. Allows saving bandwidth by compressing RGB data. Use none to send raw data, or lz4 compression. The later is required for higher resolutions (typically, 31 kHz). Notice that lz4 can be used in all cases with almost no latency penalty.
• mister_window: enables a mirror window on the client's screen (PC). Windows only.
• mister_fd_margin: specify a security margin for automatic frame delay, in ms. A lowest value provides less latency at the cost of glitches caused by erratic emulation times.

Also, we need to force the aspect ratio as 4:3, otherwise MAME will guess the aspect from our desktop's resolution (badly):

Code: [Select]

aspect                   4:3

Finally, these synchronization options must be set exactly like this in order to get things running fluently:

Code: [Select]

autosync                 0
throttle                 0
syncrefresh              1
sleep                    0

This is because all timing is handled by the video module, otherwise perfect synchronization wouldn't be possible.

Automatic frame delay:

This new video backend implements automatic frame delay. This setting is selected by default, through value "0" in either the framedelay option or its corresponding slider.

Code: [Select]

framedelay                0

When automatic frame delay is enabled, GM will try to apply the highest possible setting, adjusting dynamically to fluctuations in emulation times. Depending on the game, you might find the default setting too agressive, causing glitches on the upper portion of the screen. You can mitigate this by increasing the mister_fd_margin setting, or by switching to manual frame delay.

Manual frame delay works as usual, by setting a value different to "0" through the in-game slider. You can also fine-tune a given value with the vsync_offset option. Notice that, in the particular case of "video mister", vsync_offset increases the computed sync line by the number of lines specified, instead of decreasing it.

[Zebidee]

Oh this is an exciting project. Many questions, but just trying to get my head around the potential.

With this, you could turn a Mister into a dedicated GPU for your CRT-based cab? In addition to whatever else you use the Mister for?

Looking forwards, does this present a reasonable alternative to old AMD video cards, as they don't make them with analog outputs anymore? I think the Mister is still waaaaay more expensive, but being able to do this from any-old laptop is cool.

I'm assuming here that GroovyMAME/GroovyMister selects the Mister as the game's video output device, but otherwise you operate it from your PC/laptop screen? Is that how it works? Might it be possible to run a front end, or even a desktop, via the Mister/CRT as well?

Does it support component video out?

Very nice 

[GroggyExpulsion]

Does this co-exist with the other Mister cores allowing me to run groovyarcade and mister together?y to

[psakhis]

Oh this is an exciting project. Many questions, but just trying to get my head around the potential.

With this, you could turn a Mister into a dedicated GPU for your CRT-based cab? In addition to whatever else you use the Mister for?

Looking forwards, does this present a reasonable alternative to old AMD video cards, as they don't make them with analog outputs anymore? I think the Mister is still waaaaay more expensive, but being able to do this from any-old laptop is cool.

I'm assuming here that GroovyMAME/GroovyMister selects the Mister as the game's video output device, but otherwise you operate it from your PC/laptop screen? Is that how it works? Might it be possible to run a front end, or even a desktop, via the Mister/CRT as well?

Does it support component video out?

Very nice 

Yes, core supports all video outputs from MiSTer. See analog video settings https://mister-devel.github.io/MkDocs_MiSTer/advanced/ini/#general-video-settings

GroovyMAME now supports a new video backend, this don't disable normal output on PC, send rgb frames to MiSTer, so you have dual/tri display (MiSTer has vga and hdmi)

1) Load the core from MiSTer main
2) Run GroovyMAME with new video backend, it's all

At this time, we don't modded any frontend to send rgb, but it's possible to do it.

[psakhis]

Does this co-exist with the other Mister cores allowing me to run groovyarcade and mister together?

Yes, but inputs for groovyarcade are connected on pc side (atm GroovyMiSTer it's only gpu)

[donluca]

I'm really curious as to what kind of latency we can expect from this.

[Zebidee]

I'm really curious as to what kind of latency we can expect from this.

The irony of waiting for latency data.

I'd guess it mostly depends on network speeds and cable lengths.

Back in the mid 20th, big TV stations often had rooms full of video cables. To make sure everyone, in every office, got the same thing at the same time. So if the furthest office was 300m away, *every* office got 300m worth of cable. Were probably talking about a few tens of milliseconds difference at most.

Fast gamers might be concerned about tens of microseconds.

I've lately been quite consumed with tens of nanoseconds, towards faster signal response times and better alignment of YPbPr signals (sharper image, better colour changes/constancy). Have been comparing with Mister's (both native analog YPbPr output and via VGA GreenAntz) and some other transcoders.

Sorry I'm digressing slightly. Still, latency, video signals and Mister

[psakhis]

I'm really curious as to what kind of latency we can expect from this.

The expert in measuring it is @Calamity. He measures with a high frame delay around 3 or 4ms (all, including inputs and emulation).

From a technical point of view, frame starts to blit with first udp packet, it is not necessary wait all frame so it's really fast.

[Paradroid]

Well, well, well... 2024 could be an interesting year here!

Looking forward to seeing and hearing more about this.

Sent from my SM-S918B using Tapatalk

[Calamity]

Anyone with a MiSTer should be trying this.

First, let me start with a realistic note. While one could, of course, put this in a cabinet as it is, it's far yet from being an user friendly option. For instance, you can't use a frontend yet. We need software specfically written (or hacked) for this.

That said, I'll outline some of the features of this awesome development:

- 100% flexible modelines, free pixel clock, no limitations.

- Seamless mode switching. Any in-game mode switch is now basically perfect. Progressive<->interlace, no glitches, no audio hickups, etc.

- No specific hardware or OS requirements, except of course a Gigabit network card (anyway don't expect to run MAME on a junk PC).

- Low latency. Yes. Lower latency than what you get with a PC setup. Below 4 ms is common case, even below 3 ms in some cases. Still lots of tests must be done, but figures are beyond our expectations. And this without putting special stress on the PC side.

[Zebidee]

That's amazing.

The Mister itself seems to have problems with mode switching in some games, but you can get around that with the PC-based GM?

That lower latency over ethernet is even more amazing, I guess the traditional PC/GPU approach involves PCIe buses and layers of processing and such, but makes one wonder what they are doing wrong in GPU design.

[psakhis]

That's amazing.

The Mister itself seems to have problems with mode switching in some games, but you can get around that with the PC-based GM?

That lower latency over ethernet is even more amazing, I guess the traditional PC/GPU approach involves PCIe buses and layers of processing and such, but makes one wonder what they are doing wrong in GPU design.

The problem on traditional PC/GPU aren't hardware itself; it's more about all software layers (vsync, frame buffering, sdl2, drivers, etc.)

[Calamity]

The Mister itself seems to have problems with mode switching in some games, but you can get around that with the PC-based GM?

I wasn't aware of that. Anyway, all modes I've tried so far work perfectly. The PLL in the DE10-Nano is reprogrammed on the fly during vblank, and the emulation on the client just goes on without freezing instantly as we're used to see.

That lower latency over ethernet is even more amazing, I guess the traditional PC/GPU approach involves PCIe buses and layers of processing and such, but makes one wonder what they are doing wrong in GPU design.

In theory one could achieve even lower latency on a conventional setup, and I still hope we can do it some day. The main problem is hardware obfuscation by layers of software built upon other people's decisions. Mainly, the impossibility of writting to the front buffer. Or the absurd need to go through a 3D api in order to output raw RGB data.

[Zebidee]

The Mister itself seems to have problems with mode switching in some games, but you can get around that with the PC-based GM?

I wasn't aware of that. Anyway, all modes I've tried so far work perfectly. The PLL in the DE10-Nano is reprogrammed on the fly during vblank, and the emulation on the client just goes on without freezing instantly as we're used to see.

Not sure there's anything worth worrying about, though I'm not the expert. I've just been playing some Mister YT vids in the background lately while working on other stuff, and heard things mentioned a couple of times.

For example, brief glitch or flash on SNES core when changing from 256 to 512 pixel width at about 58:30


And the PS1 core, apparently some 240p games with 480i menus, but there is a settings workaround for HDMI at least, same video from about 1:39:30

[donluca]

- Low latency. Yes. Lower latency than what you get with a PC setup. Below 4 ms is common case, even below 3 ms in some cases. Still lots of tests must be done, but figures are beyond our expectations. And this without putting special stress on the PC side.

Mindblowing, very well done.

[GroggyExpulsion]

How does the latency compare to groovyarcade? And how do we expect groovymister to compare once supported ?

[evidencedj]

Works like a charm. Is it possible to send audio and controls to the MiSTer as well in the near future?

[Overkill]

Thank you all for this. Just one doubt: This means we don't need anymore to enable test mode in windows?

[Zebidee]

Thank you all for this. Just one doubt: This means we don't need anymore to enable test mode in windows?

Does that matter? You can hack the message to say whatever you want, least you can in Windows 7 (haven't tried Win10 yet). Instructions:
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,148050.msg1646130.html#msg1646130

[psakhis]

Thank you all for this. Just one doubt: This means we don't need anymore to enable test mode in windows?

With MiSTer as GPU you don't need any modded driver or OS, just a GB lan connection.

[Overkill]

Thank you both. It's working great with vanilla Windows 10 and DHCP (Didn't find where "/etc/dhcpd.conf" is).

But I will leave "uifont" on default. With "uifont uismall.bdf" it's too small for me to read the games names.

Tomorrow I will try direct video using hdmi cable to vga adapter.

[zoopster]

I've tried both VGA (CRT) and direct video (VGA monitor) and both worked well.

I'm using ethernet connection between the PC and MiSTer(s) via a switch which the PC and two MiSTers are plugged directly into.  Would there be much benefit to a direct connection vs. using the switch and DHCP?

I did have some connectivity / stability issues on the MiSTer side - particularly with the CRT set up - where the core would go red or black and freeze during gameplay but I know this is beta.

Some feature requests:

1) Support for 31khz / 24khz output for VGA monitors. The 480i output on the CRT is not bad for games like Ridge Racer but Sega Rally etc. no so good on either the CRT or VGA monitor.
2) A tool or better instructions (video) for setting up a direct connection without breaking the DNS set up so enable MiSTER to update via the internet and easily switch to a direct connection for better performance in Groovy mode.
3) MiSTER controller support would be great as it can get confusing switching between different controllers especially on a PC with dual MiSTER set up!
4) Sound streaming would be great as long as it doesn't impact the video and latency side of the house. My work around is to route the sound from the PC into my monitor speakers I use for  MiSTER.
5) By some miracle convince Sorg to embrace this project and integrate with MiSTer main More a quality of life thing TBH.

Keep up the good work!

[psakhis]

Hi,
I don't have any freeze here, which game are you trying? Direct connection is more about no other downloads can affect transmission.

About requests
1) It's supported as monitor on emulator side, so you need to pass other monitor, not arcade_15. For 240p games, on core you have scandoubler to support 31khz.
2) This happens to me, i don't know how setup dhcp.conf to get DNS
3) Yeah, nice feature, but needs a lot of work, maybe...
4) Probably easier than inputs, i'm looking this
5) I hope convince Sorg.

[Calamity]

@zoopster

-monitor arcade_31

-monitor arcade_25

... it's that easy.

For higher resolutions (25/31 kHz), you'll likely need -mister_compression lz4.

[Overkill]

Yesterday I tested this with my Arcade monitor, and another advantage of using MiSTer is now I don't need the video amplifier anymore (With my old GroovyMAME setup with HD6450 the image was too dim and had to use a video amplifier).

[zoopster]

I don't have any freeze here, which game are you trying? Direct connection is more about no other downloads can affect transmission.

The freeze on the CRT side stopped after I realized the PC was not plugged into the same switch as the two MiSTers.

Still getting a freeze after a few seconds when using the VGA (31khz mode) and playing Ridge Racer.

Here's the command line used:

Code: [Select]

video mister -aspect 4:3 -switchres -monitor arcade_31 -mister_window -mister_ip 192.168.0.227 -mister_compression lz4 -skip_gameinfo -syncrefresh -nothrottle

[flybynight]

Only heard about this today. Looks great. Have to read up more.


Is there anyway to add that automatic frame delay feature to the normal groovymame with ati cards?
I had a look at the source code months ago but didn't get far (was trying to hook the auto frameskip detection code to the frame delay)

[tonyt76]

Code: [Select]

video mister -aspect 4:3 -switchres -monitor arcade_31 -mister_window -mister_ip 192.168.0.227 -mister_compression lz4 -skip_gameinfo -syncrefresh -nothrottle

Do we add these to mame.ini ?

[bobbyb13]

Wow!
I'm looking forward to trying this but I have a lot to learn before I can give it a go.
I even think I already have all the pieces here- except probably the ethernet card actually now I think about it.
Wish I wasn't so code ignorant!

[Zebidee]

Most vaguely modern-ish PCs would come with gigabit ethernet standard. Network cards are not expensive and fairly painless to install.

[Calamity]

Still getting a freeze after a few seconds when using the VGA (31khz mode) and playing Ridge Racer.

Confirmed. I'm still trying to debug this, but it's probably hitting its bandwidth limit.

[Calamity]

Is there anyway to add that automatic frame delay feature to the normal groovymame with ati cards?
I had a look at the source code months ago but didn't get far (was trying to hook the auto frameskip detection code to the frame delay)

It should be possible, but it needs to refactor all the synchronization code. The mister backend has its own sync implementation.

[Gunstar]

Very exciting development, congrats to you both!! I guess this gets past the GPU choices that CRTEmudriver has?!

I hope this will be able to support Steam and also those decompiled ports like Super Mario 64. What a gift CRTEmudriver is. Thanks for all the hard work.

[tonyt76]

@Calamity can we add these command line arguments to mame.ini instead of manually typing them out?

[ronbin]

This is exciting news! I will try it as soon as possible.
It reminds me an old project: arvid.
http://www.molej.cz/index_arvid.html
http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php/topic,151661.0.html

[abispac]

Ive been reading this and it looks promising, although for me, its an experiment I wont be able to try for a wild since the mister its to expensive for me. So I was wondering if I can coperate with an idea. Back in the day with the OG xbox, once it was hacked and softmod and chip mod was available, One way to transfer games to it via FTP without a router, was using an ethernet crossover cable. So I wonder if this would also work with this project? Or there's no need to have a router/modem for this?

[faxesystem]

As a long time CRTEmudriver user I'm really looking forward to this. I had some time yesterday and tried a few things with Retroarch. Is it expected, that the cores of more modern systems like Gamecube/Wii and PS2 are not supported yet? Groovymister was crashing whenever I started something with these cores.

[psakhis]

Retroarch support it's very premature, menu and hardware rendered cores isn't supported yet.

That JVC looks great.

[flybynight]

Is there anyway to add that automatic frame delay feature to the normal groovymame with ati cards?
I had a look at the source code months ago but didn't get far (was trying to hook the auto frameskip detection code to the frame delay)

It should be possible, but it needs to refactor all the synchronization code. The mister backend has its own sync implementation.

Sir, where is your patreon link??

[Calamity]

Sir, where is your patreon link??

Ping psakhis, I'm just the Igor of this story.

[psakhis]

Is there anyway to add that automatic frame delay feature to the normal groovymame with ati cards?
I had a look at the source code months ago but didn't get far (was trying to hook the auto frameskip detection code to the frame delay)

It should be possible, but it needs to refactor all the synchronization code. The mister backend has its own sync implementation.

Sir, where is your patreon link??

I appreciate the gesture but I do this with no interest other than enjoying the best experience for everyone.

[donluca]

I've seen a (sarcastic?) question asked elsewhere I wanted to ask here because I didn't think about it... but would this work on macOS?

It would be fantastic for me as I have my Mac Mini right next to the cab.

[Calamity]

I've seen a (sarcastic?) question asked elsewhere I wanted to ask here because I didn't think about it... but would this work on macOS?

It would be fantastic for me as I have my Mac Mini right next to the cab.

It should work if you manage to build GM for Mac, which no human being has ever tried to.

[donluca]

"Tried to" or "managed to"?

I'll give it a shot one of those days, even if I don't have a MiSTer.

I guess it's the usual get the MAME source, apply GM patches and off we go?

[faxesystem]

@calamity Regarding macOS. If not for Groovymame, what about the already existing Retroarch Mac port?
@psakhis - would support for hardware rendered cores be something the retroarch team would / could implement or can GroovyMister just be used for software rendering?

[psakhis]

@psakhis - would support for hardware rendered cores be something the retroarch team would / could implement or can GroovyMister just be used for software rendering?

Is nothing related with core, just we need to patch retroarch to get pixels from gpu backend (d3d11/opengl/vulkan)

[GroggyExpulsion]

Any progress on Groovy Arcade?

[wordsworth]

What’s the benefit of using GroovyMAME into GroovyMiSTer instead of just using the MiSTer for everything?

Forgive me if this is an ignorant question. I’ve been out of the loop for years and am trying to wrap my head around the new stuff.

[Calamity]

"Tried to" or "managed to"?

I'll give it a shot one of those days, even if I don't have a MiSTer.

I guess it's the usual get the MAME source, apply GM patches and off we go?

https://github.com/antonioginer/GroovyMAME/releases/tag/gm0261sr002zz

Now it builds and works on Mac.

This user made the first build:
https://github.com/djfumberger/GroovyMAME/releases/tag/1.0.0

(I won't be keeping Mac builds myself)

[Calamity]

What’s the benefit of using GroovyMAME into GroovyMiSTer instead of just using the MiSTer for everything?

Some will answer that MiSTer only emulates a small subset of MAME's catalogue. But we don't care, that's not the actual point.

The question is what's the benefit of using GroovyMAME + MiSTer(as gpu) vs GroovyMAME + PCIe gpu.

[wordsworth]

Gotcha. I guess the FPGA allows you more control of the video output because you’re not having to hack through driver code that was written for completely different purposes.

So… is it then just a matter of time before the MiSTer catches up with software emulation and becomes the go-to emulation solution or is it just doing a different thing altogether? (maybe that question should go in a different thread)

[Zebidee]

So… is it then just a matter of time before the MiSTer catches up with software emulation and becomes the go-to emulation solution or is it just doing a different thing altogether? (maybe that question should go in a different thread)

Mister will never be the "one-size-fits all killer emulation solution", although it certainly does fill some niches very well (like older computer and console emulation). Having said that, FPGA emulation is here to stay and will keep maturing, though the hardware to support it will change over time.

There will always be a role for other emulation platforms such as PC and Pi, for example. They all have their strengths and weaknesses. Even an old PC can emulate stuff Mister cannot do, but Mister might be faster to startup and more technically accurate. They also have different cost relativities. A complete Mister setup is going to be more expensive than a cheap-mid level PC + older video card.

I like the idea of keeping a Mister in an arcade cab or lounge room and being able to run a computer through it, but this is probably a false convenience for most people. It is not where the real potential is.

Given that modern video card manufacturers have abandoned analog outputs, it is very exciting to see Mister having the capabilities to substitute itself as essentially an external and alternative GPU for a PC (or other device). At the moment I can spend $20-$50 for an HD6XXX card vs somewhere well north of $300 for a MIster unit. But in the future those cost relativities and capabilities will change, so watch this space carefully.

Even now, the reduced latency alone will be a big enough thing for some people, people who will be willing to pay good money to save a few microseconds.

[donluca]

https://github.com/antonioginer/GroovyMAME/releases/tag/gm0261sr002zz

Now it builds and works on Mac.

This user made the first build:
https://github.com/djfumberger/GroovyMAME/releases/tag/1.0.0

(I won't be keeping Mac builds myself)

Fantastic! Thanks!

This is a real revolution for macOS users as we don't have the luxury of having old video cards (nor software support) in our systems to output native 15Khz, so this enables all macOS computers with a gigabit ethernet (almost all of them) to finally have proper 15Khz output.

[wordsworth]

Mister will never be the "one-size-fits all killer emulation solution"

I think I’m starting to understand that now. I just read today that FPGA for retro gaming has almost reached its useful limit. Software emulation is much more capable on the more complex systems.

so this enables all macOS computers with a gigabit ethernet (almost all of them) to finally have proper 15Khz output.

HUH? Wha? GroovyMame on a Mac? Well… now I’ve really got a predicament since I am a longtime Mac user/tech. The thought of plugging in my daily driver Mac into a MiSTer with a simple Ethernet cable and running native resolutions on my CRT is not something I thought possible.

@psakhis @Calamity Thank you so much for the work on this! Amazing stuff!

[psakhis]

Some last changes vs first release, so

On test build folder from github you find last version, at the moment vs first release:
- More speed and stability fixes for 480p with lz4
- Double framebuffer for interlaced resolutions (framebuffer/field)
- Audio streaming
- Retroarch working hardware rendered cores with opengl

[gamepimp]

Some last changes vs first release, so

On test build folder from github you find last version, at the moment vs first release:
- More speed and stability fixes for 480p with lz4
- Double framebuffer for interlaced resolutions (framebuffer/field)
- Audio streaming
- Retroarch working hardware rendered cores with opengl

This project just keeps getting better. So cool! 

[Mahrio]

I was happy to see GroovyMAME featured in the news last month, Calamity! My cabinet was built in 2013, and since then, I have been using GroovyMAME and HyperSpin on Windows 7, along with a Sony Wega KV21FA240.
I updated from XP to Windows 7 in 2019 and never looked back. But now, with GroovyMister entering the scene (and in my house too!), I'm eager to try using the Mister's GPU portion.

I have two questions:

1) My GroovyMAME is an older version (0.170, I think) with CRT-Emudriver 2019 Beta 15 video drivers. How should I proceed with the update? Do I need to reinstall the drivers? Can I keep my modelines for my TV? I know the landscape of drivers and GroovyMAME has changed significantly, which is why I am asking.

2)With my CRT attached to the cabinet (it's a Sony Wega that I've been using since 2013), when I finish the update and start using the new GroovyMAME with GroovyMister, will I be able to simultaneously output to three screens? (Sony WEGA in the Cabinet, BVM on the Analog output of MisterFPGA, and OLED on the HDMI output from MisterFPGA)

I'm looking forward to testing it!

[Calamity]

1) My GroovyMAME is an older version (0.170, I think) with CRT-Emudriver 2019 Beta 15 video drivers. How should I proceed with the update? Do I need to reinstall the drivers? Can I keep my modelines for my TV? I know the landscape of drivers and GroovyMAME has changed significantly, which is why I am asking.

For GroovyMister, you don't need CRT Emudriver. You could keep your installation unchanged, and have a second folder with up-to-date GM just for the mister.

2)With my CRT attached to the cabinet (it's a Sony Wega that I've been using since 2013), when I finish the update and start using the new GroovyMAME with GroovyMister, will I be able to simultaneously output to three screens? (Sony WEGA in the Cabinet, BVM on the Analog output of MisterFPGA, and OLED on the HDMI output from MisterFPGA)

Sure.

[pakoman]

It's good to see the number of options are increasing, thanks for adding support for this one.

A bit related off-topic...Are there any other devices like this that would work on any computer (i.e. a generic USB graphics card, etc)?


Or is MisTer the only alternative to specific graphics card + drivers to achieve native resolutions?

[donluca]

I'm not sure how much "grunt" GroovyMister needs, but if it's not too much, some skilled developer could port it to other smaller and more affordable FPGAs.

[Calamity]

It would seem the DE10 Nano is overkill for this use. But we're not aware of any other smaller/cheaper board that doesn't lack something fundamental.