got my gp2x

[big daddy]

There were a lot of issues early on that had me a bit hesitant, but after reading several reviews of the latest mk2 model and 2.0 firmware, it appeared to be in a lot better shape, so I ordered one.

Just wanted to pass along how great this handheld is.  Most of the joystick complaints were remedied with the rotation of the mk2 model.   The screen is great, though viewing angle is a little limited (or that was my initial thought anyways...after 3 days on it I don't see what bothered me about it originally).   Occasional freeze or lockup when starting a game or exiting to the menu in certain emulators, but only takes 5 seconds or so to poweroff/on and your back up and running again.  Has TV out on a lot of the emulators, though my adaptor hasn't arrived yet. 

NES and Atari are good of course.  Recent PCEngine is very good.  NeoGeo and Sega emulators are super and are worth owning the system for that alone (fullspeed on everything I've thrown at it so far).  SNES still has a way to go, but with frameskip set to 1 and overclocking, a lot of the games are playable right now (and it's only getting better with each release).    GBA isn't there yet and will take awhile, if at all.    I've had some issues with Mame, but I think it's mostly my romset...still working it out...seems to work for most people.   Also some cool homebrews and a couple of promising commercial games.  Doom, Quake, DukeNukem, Monkey Island, Ultima VII....all cool stuff. 

Battery life is great.  With 2600mah AA's and a good charger you get 4-5 hours play time(including video! which was one of my deciding factors.) I got an 8 pack of rechargable AA's and I'll be able to game/watch videos for an entire flight to Europe.  I've had this current set of batteries in for the past 2 days and it's still going...has to be going on 4 hours or so of playing games, watching movies, tinkering, etc. 

The community is good and growing.  I expect good things as this matures...it's amazing what's come together so far in this short time.   

I definitely recommend it to anyone who has interest in this sort of thing (make sure you get the mk2 model with the new joystick/cap).  Cost is about $180 (not counting SD card and batteries/charger).   

[alexandro98]

Nice, Im thinking of getting one, but have several questions.

Do you have address of a good GP2X community site, kinda like this one.

I was disappointed with my Ipod video, it took a specific format and very time I wanted to take a video with me I had to plan ahead and take forever to convert it to the proper format.
What formats does the GP2X play? Can you plan .avi or .mkv or ogm? Does it handle subtiles, or movies with dual audio?

Thanks!

[Chemixtry]

If your looking for a good mp3 player with video I suggest the Archos gmini402. Its got a 20gig hard drive, can play mp3 & avi and there is a sega emultor out there for it.

[big daddy]

Here's the GP2X community board

http://www.gp32x.com/board/

plays divx and mp3 and not sure what other formats.  Also plays any resolution (up to 720x480) so you can just copy a full res movie to your sd card and with tv out even watch it on the tv at full res if you choose.   

I use this great little utility called pocketdivx encoder(found on the above forums) to compress down to the gp2x res though so I can fit more on the card.  It's pretty brainless...select the "pda" option, select your avi, mpg, ty files, etc...add them to the queue, then hit go and go to bed for the night.   Using pocketdivxencoder I can get a 700mb avi episode of 24 to something like 80mb and it takes about 30 minutes to proces that (though I have a recent PC).

I think I had 2 episodes of 24, one of lost, and a feature length movie and it took up a little over 300 or so MB of my 4GB card ($80) and I could still fit all the atari, nes, snes, genesis, mame .34, and most neo-geo roms on the card.

 

If your looking for a good mp3 player with video I suggest the Archos gmini402. Its got a 20gig hard drive, can play mp3 & avi and there is a sega emultor out there for it.

I'd still recommend gp2x.  That's the main thing I was looking for was a video player to take on the trips, but all the  ones I found
1) were way expensive (the one you recommend is like $350)
2) had proprietary batteries and short battery life (4 hours) which means I'd be SOL on a 9-11 hour flight.

The gp2x uses rechargable AA's so with an 8 pack I could watch videos for 12-20 hours straight (and can buy more if I need more).  On top of that it plays all those emulators.  The only negative is it doesn't have a 20GB harddrive included, so you have to use SD cards. 

[big daddy]

FYI, here's the FAQ in that forum I posted

http://www.gp32x.com/board/index.php?showtopic=20717

some stuff may be out of date, but gives you a general idea.   Here's the wiki as well, which has a lot of more up to date useful info

http://wiki.gp2x.org/wiki/Main_Page

[alexandro98]

well the links above told me the answer.  So here for you lazy people, a quote from the Wiki:

Claimed Supported Codecs aren't actually supported

Some of the codecs claimed to be supported by marketing material aren't actually supported. It is reasonably safe to assume that support for these codecs will be added in later through firmware updates. Some people are skeptical that WMV support will happen as WMV support under Linux is naturally less then ideal, and WMV support on non-x86 versions of Linux is all but non-existent.

    * Claimed Supported Codecs
          o Divx (3,4,5,6)
          o Xvid
          o Mpeg
          o WMV

    * Actual Supported Codecs
          o Divx (3,4,5,6)
          o Xvid

    * Claimed Supported Container Formats
          o Mpeg
          o Avi
          o WMV

    * Actual Supported Container Formats
          o Avi
          o Ogm (rename your ogm file to avi)

    Conclusion: Only a couple of .AVI videos work, while this was supposed to be a good multimedia player. GPH has done no further effort into getting more codecs/containers to work up to now.

Sigh, not what I was hoping for.
The idea of a handheld Nes, SWEET!
The idea of a handheld Genesis, COOL!
but Snes (what I really want) is not quite there yet... Sigh..

So thats 2 Blah's (video and Snes) and 2 Yea's (Nes and Gensis).

So looks like I will hold off.

[big daddy]

This is what  I meant by " I expect good things as this matures".

A recent MMU hack has allowed the following:

Snes + 10fps, Megadrive + 10-20 fps, Neo Geo + 10-20 fps, Mame + ?fps and maybe it will speed up the psx emu too ( which will be released soon with some great improvements already )

[yalborap]

You've also got to consider the Neo-Geo fun stuff. It's AWESOME. Even better with the tv-out.

[big daddy]

my tv out adaptor is waiting at the post office...hadn't tried it yet.

As for the original comments about SNES not being quite there yet...I'd say it's "good" right now.  It still has a ways to go as there are sprite issues(?) in some games and speed issues in some games,  but just about every game I try is playable now with the latest MMU fix and overclocking (though granted, I hadn't tried many).  I'd no way rank the emulator as "poor", though it's not "great" like the genesis and neo-geo emulators.

Note: by overclocking, it's simply editing a script or in some cases the GUI which launches the roms...and in no way risks your unit...just uses up your batteries a tad faster.

I've also started writing my own game browser/launcher...pretty fun doing some coding and having my work show up on a handheld 

[danny_galaga]

just got one myself (",)  stayed up all night playing around with it. it is certainly something anyone on this forum should take a look at. so far i have gotten mame, gameboy, quake and hexan to work. quite a few mame roms i have dont work, others have no sound. this is due to the set i have i guess. for instance puzzle bobble doesnt work for me but cave reports on another thread that his does.  im stil trying to figure out neogeo pocket and neogeo. i thought i was on the right track with neogeo as apparently the version i have uses a different rom set to the mame set. neogeo pocket im completely stumped as the pc version i have works fine.
the only dissapointment i have is that while it can play divx without converting, the only other format it plays is avi (and some of the avis i tested wouldnt work either). playing mpeg would be brilliant because for me i would video most to show friends funny/wacky/smutty stuff ive downloaded!  but since i bought this mainly for games and experimenting with i can live with the lack of video support...

[danny_galaga]

well, im still experimenting. i have older sound samples for mame which has cured most probs (mamegp2x is based mostly on v34 mame). i have neogeo pocket working now and i installed frodo (a c64 emu) just because someone at work mentioned a game called dynamite dan. i cant wait to see his face tomorrow when i show him  . i also have the breakout board for the gp2x and played king of fighters 94 against myself with 2 joypads 

i dont have a cable for the tv out but when i do ill bring it around to a friends to try on his big  screen 

this is one cool little unit 

edit: there aren't many games just for this machine as yet. but a game called payback which is on gba has just been ported by the publisher to gp2x. i havent played the gba version but this one is great. apparently it is better than the gba version (processor speed is better or something?) and you can put in your own tunes for the soundtrack...

[danny_galaga]

well, you should have seen the look on the face of the guy at work when i showed him dynamite dan! 'how much was it again?' he asked.

[big daddy]

Just wanted to bubble this thread up again as great progress is currently being made on GBA emulator front for this (see thread which discusses the beta going on right now)

http://www.gp32x.com/board/index.php?s=0c54290b33c01494a863366e6ee0ab83&showtopic=35833&st=165

I mainly use it for my travel as a PVP (love it's battery life and the fact I can plug in AA batteries), but it's also a very solid portable emulator player.  It's still early for the gpSP,  but according to the guy whose worked on the dynarec he thinks will be able to get fullspeed for GBA on it as well.  Atari, NES, SNES, NeoGeo, Genesis, Mame are all solid on this thing.

[Texasmame]

I just got one.  So far, I'm impressed.  Looking forward to getting into that scene. 

[thennomeking]

If the 2x is to expensive and all you want is Genesis and NES, go with a gp32.  Sure it takes SMC's instead of SD cards, but you can get them for fairly cheap nowadays, usually $50USD on ebay. 

The later Genesis Platformers, Vectorman and Sonic 3, are choppy, but Truxton and Jurassic Park ran fine so I didnt care.

[danny_galaga]

I just got one.  So far, I'm impressed.  Looking forward to getting into that scene. 

did you get the payback demo? what do you think?

[Texasmame]

I just got one.  So far, I'm impressed.  Looking forward to getting into that scene. 

did you get the payback demo? what do you think?

Just loaded that up last night.  Played for just a few minutes because I had just loaded the GBA, NES and MAME emus on it, too, and was "playtesting" them all.  Looks fun but that game may be tough to see/play in the long run since it's soooo small. 

[ark_ader]

Reading this thread reminds me how lucky I am that I bought the PSP.  It does most of the above very well and plays PS1 games too.  Hard to compare.

[danny_galaga]

Reading this thread reminds me how lucky I am that I bought the PSP.  It does most of the above very well and plays PS1 games too.  Hard to compare.

thems fightin words! how many games emulated on mame in psp? i hear its pretty much dead now since you have to do so much to get emus on psp...

[KenToad]

Reading this thread reminds me how lucky I am that I bought the PSP.  It does most of the above very well and plays PS1 games too.  Hard to compare.

I agree.  How lucky you were.  Ohhhh, what a relief.  Thank goodness that you didn't get one of those other less Sonylike handheld devices ... no comparison, really.   

How can someone have such a cool avatar and post such buffoonery?   

Oh, and Danny, it's true that you have to mod the firmware in most cases to get emus on the PSP, but I think it's still a vibrant scene, mainly because all those guys bought the expensive little toy and Sony is not doing a good job providing legitimate commercial software for it, not to mention mention virtually nonexistant online support.

I guess they're busy trying to save the PS3.

 

[big daddy]

Reading this thread reminds me how lucky I am that I bought the PSP.  It does most of the above very well and plays PS1 games too.  Hard to compare.

Your right, it is hard to compare as they're intended for 2 different things.  If you like retro gaming, emulators, and want a portable media device the GP2X is for you. If you'd rather play commercial games or use wireless networking, stick with the PSP.

gp2x blows away PSP as a media device, for example....I can copy a series of full res avis over to my gp2x before a trip,  watch for 4-5 hours on 1 set of rechargable AA's, replace with regular AA's when those run out, and once I reach my destination plug into a TV to watch those same movies at full res on the TV (640x272 for example).    You don't even have remotely the same capability with the psp (shorter battery life, proprietary batteries, expensive media storage, limited video formats, etc.)

As far as emulation, I don't have to worry about jumping through hoops to get a firmware that will work with emulation.  I also get to play my games at native resolution (not those goofy rez's your forced into with psp). 

That's not to say gp2x is better than psp, just that they're aimed at 2 different target audiences.  If you want to play the latest 3D games, you shouldn't be looking at the gp2x.

Here's a decent comparison for those interested
http://blog.sparkymat.net/?p=28

 

[ark_ader]

Reading this thread reminds me how lucky I am that I bought the PSP.  It does most of the above very well and plays PS1 games too.  Hard to compare.

I agree.  How lucky you were.  Ohhhh, what a relief.  Thank goodness that you didn't get one of those other less Sonylike handheld devices ... no comparison, really.   

How can someone have such a cool avatar and post such buffoonery?   

Oh, and Danny, it's true that you have to mod the firmware in most cases to get emus on the PSP, but I think it's still a vibrant scene, mainly because all those guys bought the expensive little toy and Sony is not doing a good job providing legitimate commercial software for it, not to mention mention virtually nonexistant online support.

I guess they're busy trying to save the PS3.

 

Ken you really need to lighten up.   

I just upgraded to 3.11 yesterday to play with my friend's PS3 so my home brew days are over.  I really thought long and hard before upgrading, but now I'm at 3.11 the PSP is now what Sony intended it to be. 

Mame on the PSP?  No not really but I got Namco Battle Museum and I'm playing Dig Dug, Pacman and Rolling Thunder faster and cleaner than trying to brick it to get Mame on it.

My original argument was that I'm glad to get the PSP vs. the Gp2x as the PSP is in a different class.. I had an old GPX and dumped it as I thought it was too buggy and limited in scope. 

But instead of having to run emulators, fiddling with GTA Etc, I just pop the UMD in and I'm Dig Dugging.

Granted not something you would want to hear in this thread, but I thought I'd just chime in with my opinion.  Hopefully the developers that made Namco Battle for the PSP will made something similar for the GP2X which will give the user an option to play legal roms from the original coders. 

Something of a novelty today. Eh?

[big daddy]

I just upgraded to 3.11 yesterday to play with my friend's PS3 so my home brew days are over. 

...

But instead of having to run emulators, fiddling with GTA Etc, I just pop the UMD in and I'm Dig Dugging.

....

Granted not something you would want to hear in this thread, but I thought I'd just chime in with my opinion. 

Well it is odd, you come into a gp2x thread to laud the PSP for it's emulation capability ("mine does all that and more!"), then your next post mention how you had to abandon emulation/homebrew because you were forced to upgrade the firmware to play the latest games with the ps3. 

[ark_ader]

I wasn't forced but made the better choice.  The PSP does so much more now with the upgrade as I can download games direct from Sony....all in japanese....

The GP2X is limited in my book, and you have next to zero titles coming out for it commercially.

My original thread was more applicable, I agree but it won't be long before I can play homebrew again when the crew hack the latest update.

I think the memory stick and UMD with Wireless give the PSP the edge over the GP2X.

IMHO.

[big daddy]

I wasn't forced but made the better choice.  The PSP does so much more now with the upgrade as I can download games direct from Sony....all in japanese....

The GP2X is limited in my book, and you have next to zero titles coming out for it commercially.

All things previously mentioned.  If you want commercial games, then the gp2x is not for you and I don't think anyone has ever argued that it was

My original thread was more applicable, I agree but it won't be long before I can play homebrew again when the crew hack the latest update.

And shows absolutely why the gp2x is better at emulation/homebrew.  Wheras you lose ability to play emulation/homebrew anytime you want to play the latest games (which require you to upgrade firmware) and have to wait around for a fix, my gp2x ENCOURAGES you to do emulation/homebrew.  Again, as solid as the reasons for buying the psp are for commercial games, the reasons are just as solid to buy the gp2x for homebrew/emulation.   As I said, they're intended for 2 different markets

I think the memory stick and UMD with Wireless give the PSP the edge over the GP2X.

proprietary and expensive storage formats that are only usable in Sony devices give it an edge?  That is a MAJOR drawback, not advantage.

I can certainly understand why you feel you made the right choice...you wanted to play commercial games, want it to play with PS3, etc.  I on the other hand am sure I made the right choice as well as I didn't want any of that, I instead wanted a good PVP and to play emulation/homebrew.   As I said, 2 different targets.   

I just thought it was funny (odd?) that you were encouraging the psp's ability at emulation/homebrew when you had just lost all ability to use it for that at all.

[shmokes]

Oh, look.  It's religion boy.  Back to preach from the alter of PS3 Sony. 

[ark_ader]

Eh Shmokes?

Been scowering this board looking for my posts again have you?   

I didn't know you cared.  I'm touched.

BTW did you know I can get 1080P on my PSP now?