Various Questions about GP32

[rentals]

Hey all,

I'm interested in buying a GP32 and I have some questions before I make the jump.

1. How do the movies look? I don't really see how 10 fps could be smooth. Does anyone know where I could see movies of a GP32 playing divex?

2. How are the emulators? Which ones are at 100% speed? I recently read the read me file for the SNES emulator and it says that it has 100% speed but i read on some message boards that it isn't.

3. Should I wait a month and get a GP32 with a light? or just buy one now and upgrade when the light comes out. It would have been better to buy a new gameboy with an afterburner installed then to upgrade one since it involved shipping it off and it wasn't that much cheaper.

4. How do the MP3's sound?

5. I noticed that at the beginning of the GP32's life the emulators were coming out like crazy and making lots of progress but the emulators don't seem to making that much progress now. Are the emulators out now like the 'final' version?

Thanks for your help

 

[Vanguard]

Hey,

1. Can't answer this one, I havn't tried any movies yet. Keep in mind there are at least 3 video players that I know of. One is an alpha/beta version still in development, one is a demo, and one is a commercial product.

2. Depends on which emulator. TG16, C64, SMS/GG emulators run excellently with sound. Most NES games are full-speed as well.

There are two SNES emulators at the moment. One (a early private beta version that was never meant to be released) has near 100% speed, but no sound and no saving. The other has not so good speed (some games are fine, others are so slow they're unplayable) but does have sound and saving.

Genesis/Megadrive and GBA emulators are supposedly in the pipeline, and coming along fairly nicely.

I can't say anything about the other emulators (MSX, GB/GBC, some others) as I havn't used them yet.

3. I can't say much about the light yet, as all we've seen of it is a video. This depends alot on how comfortable you are with cracking open your GP32 and installing a light yourself. If you don't mind doing that, then it won't be a problem to get the GP32 now and install it later. However, seeing as how you mailed your GBA in for the afterburner installation, I'd guess that you'd rather someone else do it. My suggestion therefore would be to wait until the lighted GP32s become available, see what people think of them, and then order one with the light pre-installed if you decide you like what you're hearing. The only reason I can think of for not doing that is if you're going on vacation and absolutely need to have the GP32 before you leave (or similar circumstances)

4. MP3s in the built-in player sound good, but you'll need headphones as the speakers in the GP32 aren't loud at all. There are some mp3s in my collection that won't play or will crash the GP32 (just turn it off and back on, no big problem). GPFM will also play mp3s, and seems slightly less likely to crash on mp3s. However, it plays songs just a smidgen too slow, which makes it undesirable.

The crashing problems could very well be because of errors in my mp3s or my refusal to take the time to remove the ID3v2 tags from my mp3s (GP32's built-in player specifically mentions that it doesn't support them). The USB linking program for the GP32 is designed to automatically remove the tags when you upload to the GP32, but I always use a card reader instead.

5. The TG16 emulator came out about a month ago, as did Frodo, a Commodore 64 emulator. Frodo has been updated 6 times since it came out. If that's not frequent updating, I don't know what is. (Keep up the good work Mr. Bauer!)

We havn't SEEN much work on the other emulators lately, but work is in progress. I think that many of the emulator coders are trying their best to get things in near-perfect condition before release.

Hope that answers your questions!

 

[rentals]

Thanks for the quick and great reply, so could I play a game that requires fast reactions like Megaman on the SNES emu? (Since you need to jump,dodge, and slide) or is just suited for slower type games like final fight and stuff? Is the PC engine emu really good because there's alot of games i like like bomberman! THanks for your help. I think I'll just get a gp32 w/o a light since I'll have to wait a long time normally associated w/ new products and the battery life would probably drop a lot. <_<

 

[ralp99]

rentals:

i JUST ordered a GP32 - as it was shipping the lit one was announced, formally (as much as that means around here!) and shown in video - between that, and owning a non-lit GBA for the past couple of years, was enough to cause me to send my GP32 back, unopened, and wait for a backlit version to come. it's that much of a difference to me (and I am no tinkerer with the innards) -- waiting is something that is fine for me, esp. when in this case I have much waiting to do for other emu's to be rleeased (specifically megadrive emu)

btw at this point I'd like to say "i hope megadrive emu's not a hoax," since we've seen not a SINGLE actual demo/screengrab/proof of concept. not to dis the emu author or the scene or anything - I just know how emu ideas come and go, and when something REALLY GREAT gets stirring, well, people can tend to get carried away with hype + hope when all that's really available is.. vapor. I honestly BELIEVE that sega 16-bit emulation is capable, on some level, on this device - but with the (relatively) small crew of actual developers out there who've turned out finished products, I'll be a bit surprised to see it actually see the light of day. (come on!! PROVE ME WRONG!!!)

Meanwhile, the level of SMS/GG/TG-16 emulation (alone) proved on this handheld is more than enough for me to warrant a purchase. Anything besides that is just icing!

 

[directhex]

1) taking videos of LCDs always looks crappy. there's a quick demo of playable video files here. suffice to say it's more than watchable.

2) I've just been playing Doom & SCUMMvm, so don't ask me...

3) Personal choice. bear in mind it'll take a while for lit models to hit retail...

4) Better than my mp3 player, and the headphone output is LOUD.

5) There are a lot of factors that can slow emulator development - ph0x of GP32 SCUMMvm fame broke his, the guy at Mucky Foot who ported Doom is busy doing paid work, etc etc etc. Don't worry TOO much...

--jo "directhex" shields

 

[Cpt_Kirks]

As to the videos, like many things, it depends. If there is LOT of motion, you will notice (The Matrix would be a blur).

If you like to dink around with computer video, this thing is a BLAST! I have an Enterprise episode I encoded last night that I am using to show off my GP32 at work. The video (as encoded for the GP32) looks bad on my PC, but pretty good on my GP32.

I am working on recording directly from my tuner card to my SMC card via VirtualDub and a SMC reader. Pocket Tivo!

The video players WILL improve. Going from 10 to 15 frames pers second would make a huge difference.

 

[Fantus]

1: I didn't know the movie was 10fps when I saw it. I found out afterwards and was surprised how smooth it went. So this is not a problem.

2: Snes is slow, wonderswan is slow on some games, others are fine. The NES emu is probably the fastest right now. Games after 1990 can get a bit of slowdown but most games run terrific. The snes emu has the best sound though.

3: The screen is very bright and clear, a light can be handy but it's not nessecary . The GBA has a darker screen.

4: MP3's sounds great though I miss a little bass. Keep in mind that other mp3 players can rectify this in the software. It's fine to listen though I'm waiting for a better mp3 player that can handle more bass.

5: With the english drivers more GP32's are being selled than before. I talked to a korean guy in cannes that worked for GamePark and listening to his story's the GP32 will be released outside Asia meaning the community will grow again. It's just a matter of time before the emu's will get better. I'm pretty sure they will be.

 

[rcx21000]

Has anyone tried to watch SpongeBob on the GP32?? Is it good quality?

The only question that I can answer (I don't have a Gp32 yet) is about the light. I would wait for the light to come FOR SURE. My GBA was UNPLAYABLE untill I got the AfterBurner.