# FlatMii Review



## shaunj66 (Feb 16, 2009)

*FlatMii Review*
Official GBAtemp Review





lilsypha has just completed her full written review of one of the newest Wii modchips - the 'FlatMii'. 

Unlike conventional modchips the FlatMii eliminates the need for DVD's and instead allows you to stream supported ISO images directly from your Windows PC via high-speed USB 2.0.



			
				lilsypha said:
			
		

> It isn't often that a brand new product enters a scene already stuffed to the brim with different types of established modchips. The FlatMii has not only broken into that scene, but actually manages to bring something entirely different to the table that separates itself from the other products available. Why? It isn't a modchip! It doesn't allow you to play backed up games on disc, nor does it allow you to install homebrew software. "So then what's the point, why should I bother buying this and installing it in my Wii? What is it?" The FlatMii is a Wii DVD drive on a chip, and you can use it in a variety of different ways:
> Check lilsypha's review via the link below to see how the FlatMii performs. And be sure to post your comments on the review and any additional questions you may have in this thread.
> 
> 
> ...


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## Agjsdfd (Feb 16, 2009)

Brilliant!
Thanks alot for the review.
So the USB Cable is not included...(wasnt mentioned anywhere....).
Other than that, seems to be a good product.


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## martin88 (Feb 16, 2009)

Nice review. Seems to work as advertised.


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## ace90099 (Feb 16, 2009)

I got one of these a few days ago because I love the ideal of not wasting DVDs with bad burns or unruly dvd drives. I chose to install mine with the dvd drive so I can still play the games I already own. Just so you know it can be an extremely tight fit for the flatmii in some wiis. The only downside to using this is that sometime the no disc screen will popup while playing a game but will correct itself in a few seconds and I can't seem to get it to work with GC multirom images like mario sunshine and double dash on one image.

I would recommend this to anyone who dislikes burning DVDs and who dosen't mine their computer running at the same time as the wii.


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## rikuumi (Feb 16, 2009)

must buy!


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## lexxlexx (Feb 16, 2009)

is black wii on the photo?how its possible?


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## FAST6191 (Feb 16, 2009)

Despite ease I have the feeling I will be installing a few of these in the near future. Going by this review I may have to snag one for myself.

I suppose the question now is who builds himself a custom PC to house one of these first.


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## Ergo (Feb 16, 2009)

Are load times any faster than normal or exactly the same?


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## Tanas (Feb 16, 2009)

Using up 4gig of HD space for the sake of a 10pence DVD-R,  is a bit stupid if you ask me.


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## Sahduk (Feb 16, 2009)

dum question but...... do you have to have your pc on while playing the game?


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## delta123 (Feb 16, 2009)

Tanas said:
			
		

> Using up 4gig of HD space for the sake of a 10pence DVD-R,  is a bit stupid if you ask me.
> 
> hard drives are cheap these days, so space is not a really big issue considering most wii games aren`t even 4 gigs.  the ability to have a lot of games available in one spot without having to rummage through 20+ different dvd`s helps. it also saves you 20 - 40 minutes of your life having to reburn a disc if you scratch it to hell or do a bad burn. but everyone has their own way of looking at this. i will pick one up if team matrix doesn`t gets off their asses and releases more information about the wiizii. but if nothing i will be getting this.
> 
> QUOTE(Sahduk @ Feb 17 2009, 07:47 AM) dum question but...... do you have to have your pc on while playing the game?




yes


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## lexxlexx (Feb 16, 2009)

how its can be black wii on the photo in review ?


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## Lily (Feb 16, 2009)

lexxlexx said:
			
		

> how its can be black wii on the photo in review ?
> 
> I was actually going to make a note about that somewhere. I changed my Wii case to this. No relation to that particular store. I also changed my Wii Remote and Nunchuck cases to this in black as well. I never liked that the Wii came only in white.
> 
> ...



Exactly the same, there are no improved load times. Everything functions exactly the same as a retail disc.


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## Lily (Feb 16, 2009)

ace90099 said:
			
		

> Just so you know it can be an extremely tight fit for the flatmii in some wiis.
> 
> Yes, I can't stress this enough. I mentioned in the review that if you're using a solderless clip for your modchip, there really isn't enough room. If you're installing it with a hardmodded drive or a virgin drive, there is -just- enough room if you install it correctly! I broke my ribbon cable trying to install them together, so be forewarned!
> 
> ...



You need to build the image using a good tool, like GCM Utility v0.5. Make sure you have good images of the games to start with. I compiled a 70 game GameCube image, and it worked with no problems. If you've downloaded the multi image from the web, it may have been built with an earlier tool or may have something non-standard done to it preventing it from working.


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## squirt1000 (Feb 16, 2009)

Awesome review, Ive been using one since release day and its not failed me once! I found it a little bit fiddly to fit in the correct spot but after that its been a dream to use! Ive got a nice 500gb internal sata drive dedicated to wii games and even when my pc is under heavy load the games dont suffer one bit! Great stuff if you dont mind your wii being next to your PC. Would be awesome if it were developed a bit more to allow loading from external HDD directly connected to the wii though. 

It does exactly what it sets about doing and does it perfectly! 10/10 from me


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## Lily (Feb 16, 2009)

Kamui said:
			
		

> Brilliant!
> Thanks alot for the review.
> So the USB Cable is not included...(wasnt mentioned anywhere....).
> Other than that, seems to be a good product.



You're welcome! No, the cable is not included. It needs a standard mini-USB to USB cable though. Maybe some stores will start bundling one, who knows?


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## Gaisuto (Feb 16, 2009)

...Did I seriously see the price as over $100? Good lord that seems extremely excessive.


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## squirt1000 (Feb 16, 2009)

I paid £37.00GBP for mine


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## Sharpz (Feb 16, 2009)

Gaisuto said:
			
		

> ...Did I seriously see the price as over $100? Good lord that seems extremely excessive.



I saw some for 60 bucks+8 bucks for shiping in the US.


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## ViRGE (Feb 16, 2009)

It looks interesting and the PC requirement isn't so bad, but the fact that you have to actually use the PC is the downer. I could plug it in to my HTPC, but there's no way I'd be able to manipulate the software with my remote. They need to create a Wii channel that instructs the PC to load a specific ISO so that the user never needs to interact with the PC, then they'd have a killer device.


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## fst312 (Feb 16, 2009)

not really worth it unless you have a lot memory on your pc and not worth having your pc open just to play wii.at least for me  because my pc really doesn't have that much memory and i'm not near a tv.


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## monaug5 (Feb 16, 2009)

Seems like this method will usher in a new type of chip for the wii.


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## kristianity77 (Feb 16, 2009)

im yet to jump on the Wii bandwagon, but this has made my interest just a little bit higher.  Next step of booting from an external HardDrive (cutting out the PC) and im sold


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## fst312 (Feb 16, 2009)

kristianity77 said:
			
		

> im yet to jump on the Wii bandwagon, but this has made my interest just a little bit higher.  Next step of booting from an external HardDrive (cutting out the PC) and im sold



that when i may think of buying this if i could just use a hard drive like you said.


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## kristianity77 (Feb 16, 2009)

i know ill get slaughtered for asking this. But i can see that this will run almost anything gamecube and anything Wii.  But will this allow you to run Virtual Console Stuff too?


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## Lily (Feb 16, 2009)

kristianity77 said:
			
		

> i know ill get slaughtered for asking this. But i can see that this will run almost anything gamecube and anything Wii.  But will this allow you to run Virtual Console Stuff too?



No, you can't. This is a DVD drive emulator, so you can run anything you would normally run on disc. Installing Virtual Console WADs on your Wii is accomplished by a different process, well described in the forums!


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## MacGnG (Feb 16, 2009)

well another option for me to consider


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## FAST6191 (Feb 17, 2009)

Tanas said:
			
		

> Using up 4gig of HD space for the sake of a 10pence DVD-R,  is a bit stupid if you ask me.



We have the scrubbing app and compressed directories/iso images you know.

re VC stuff, something may be happening at some point but more importantly the earlier consoles are emulated fairly well and with SDHC/USB support....


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## Pimpmynintendo (Feb 17, 2009)

Would anybody know if having firmware 3.4 on my Wii block me from using this(Wii hasn't been modded before)


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## Tanas (Feb 17, 2009)

FAST6191 said:
			
		

> Tanas said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


If you could just simply  connect  an external HD to the Wii's USB then it would be great, having to turn on my PC just for a quick game of Wii Sports just doesn't appeal to me, but maybe thats just me...


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## Lily (Feb 17, 2009)

Pimpmynintendo said:
			
		

> Would anybody know if having firmware 3.4 on my Wii block me from using this(Wii hasn't been modded before)



It works no matter what the firmware of your Wii is. Your Wii doesn't have to be modded, either. All the chip does is pretend to be the DVD drive, so the Wii treats it like one.


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## Pimpmynintendo (Feb 17, 2009)

lilsypha said:
			
		

> Pimpmynintendo said:
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thanks I appreciate the quick response.


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## Anakir (Feb 17, 2009)

Wow I never heard of this and I've been on GBAtemp for quite a while. I'll read it up in a bit!

Question though. For games that require an update, can you still remove the update and play normally?

What about games like Animal Crossing which have some kind of different IOS? Which is required for wiispeak and such. Would those games still work?


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## nivrae (Feb 17, 2009)

Wow, that's pretty cool. I'm impressed, I might actually pick one up.


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## Lily (Feb 17, 2009)

Anakir said:
			
		

> Wow I never heard of this and I've been on GBAtemp for quite a while. I'll read it up in a bit!
> 
> Question though. For games that require an update, can you still remove the update and play normally?
> 
> What about games like Animal Crossing which have some kind of different IOS? Which is required for wiispeak and such. Would those games still work?



Yes, you can block updates. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




All games work--you can choose to block and/or install whatever you want. You'll need to use your favourite homebrew to manage your IOS files, just as you would with a modchip.


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## mcjones92 (Feb 17, 2009)

I like the idea. I think I will just stick with my modchip though. I would get it if it supported straight external hard drive.
Maybe if my drive ever fails I will consider something like this.


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## doyama (Feb 17, 2009)

Im somewhat talking off the top of my head, but perhaps a web front end could be created for the ISO selection? That way you could go into the Opera Browser and change the game you want to play? Maybe some kind of packaged Apache web server that sends commands to the application (via command line options?)


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## Anakir (Feb 17, 2009)

Awesome. Thanks for the response. This sounds really nice to have, but I'm going to wait for one that supports Extern HDs as well 'since my Wii's already modded.


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## Blue Zoidberg (Feb 17, 2009)

This is awesome; just the mod i've been looking for.
I've got a media PC under my TV anyway, no reason not to slap another TB drive in for some games!

On an unrelated note, do you think anyone will make one of these for the Xbox 360?


-BZ


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## BudFern (Feb 17, 2009)

Has anyone tried the Flat Mii with Call of Duty - World at War?  I'm curious if it can handle the textures and fast action.


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## Trukkle (Feb 17, 2009)

Sounds like a very useful piece of kit with a lot of potential.
As soon as Kick (or someone else trustworthy enough who accepts my card/paypal) gets some in, I'll grab one.


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## WiiMoosh (Feb 17, 2009)

FlatMii - Wii DVD Drive Emulator (ISO Loader modchip) w/ Free Triwing + Phillips Screwdriver

IN STOCK

The FlatMii is a device that emulats the DVD Drive so you can make all the controls out of your PC! This means you can run your Wii without a DVD drive and load all of your ISO's from a PC.

So this basically emulates a DVD-ROM Drive, makes a PC to Access the ISOS from the HDD. Great improvement! This is what we call in PC's "Virtual DVD Drive" or "Virtual HDD" or Virtual Partidition" etc. But in this case we call it "Physical Virtual Drive" or" Wii to PC Physical DVD Drive conector". Has so many names!!

Well Still needs to be more than that... I bet coders/programmers can imitate this "Wii DVD Drive Emulator" as a Loader for the Wii. Most of it would be "Software" and you would need to use a "SD card" with "Homebrew Channel" to install it as a WAD(Channel) or use it inside the SD as an app. let's see most of it its already done:

WiiGator's Gamma v3 (002fix)
WiiGator's GC loader 
IOS249
cIOS r7
MIOS 8
What we need now its to put all this together and hook a "Virtual DVD-Drive" homebrew App that manages to read External HDD.

Or at least from the SD and SD HC (8GB).

Well this all a crazy idea of mine and I know much of the Coders and Wii Users around here...  
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





Thanks!


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## WiiMoosh (Feb 17, 2009)

Trukkle said:
			
		

> Sounds like a very useful piece of kit with a lot of potential.
> As soon as Kick (or someone else trustworthy enough who accepts my card/paypal) gets some in, I'll grab one.



What do u mean by "or someone else trustworthy enough who accepts my card/paypal" ?

???


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## ViRGE (Feb 17, 2009)

Tanas said:
			
		

> If you could just simply  connect  an external HD to the Wii's USB then it would be great, having to turn on my PC just for a quick game of Wii Sports just doesn't appeal to me, but maybe thats just me...


While such a device is technically possible, at least when it comes to using FlatMii's tech the market realities make it unlikely. The reason a PC is needed is that the FlatMii chip needs to be fed a single ISO in a controlled manner. If you get rid of the PC, some other device must do this.

This would entail a complete System on a Chip (SoC) that can receive commands and can read a complex partition format like NTFS. You'd be looking at pushing the cost of the device to over $100. It would probably reach half the cost of a Wii itself. And that's before adding a hard drive.

The hardware for such a device is simply too expensive to be practical.


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## OzModChips (Feb 17, 2009)

just remember that we are in australia, so the prices on our website are in AUD, not USD
and the prices include 10% TAX, that people from overseas dont pay. ..so the price is about 60usd


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## Lily (Feb 17, 2009)

BudFern said:
			
		

> Has anyone tried the Flat Mii with Call of Duty - World at War?  I'm curious if it can handle the textures and fast action.



Yes, this game works fine.


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## ron555 (Feb 17, 2009)

*Question for anyone who owns/tests the FlatMii*


Can one scrub an iso - for example SuperMarioGalaxy4.7GB.iso (4.7GB) > SuperMarioGalaxy2.1GB.iso and send the SCRUBBED via the FlatMii WITHOUT having to unscrub it?


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## enarky (Feb 17, 2009)

Woah, this really sounds like an impressive achievement for the manufacturer. Congratulations!

Can't wait for this mod to become platform independent. I hope someone will develop a Linux driver soon.

I doubt we'll see direct support of USB HDDs anytime soon, as I assume all the DVD ROM drive emulation happens on the PC and the chip just passes information through (speculation, speculation). But it would surely be nice.

EDIT:
Oh, and great review, of course, lilsypha.


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## scognito (Feb 17, 2009)

Nice review lilsypha!
Anyway did you tested 1080 snowboard? (or other gamecube discs with soundpatch enabled because it contains streaming sound?).
I have 1080 with sound fix and when i start a level i don't get music!
Is there a way to "unpatch" a sound patched game? I want to play 1080!


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## Sir VG (Feb 17, 2009)

Tanas said:
			
		

> Using up 4gig of HD space for the sake of a 10pence DVD-R,  is a bit stupid if you ask me.
> 
> The money savings comes from if your disc drive breaks.  FlatMii is $60.  DVD Drive is usually $80+.
> 
> QUOTECan one scrub an iso - for example SuperMarioGalaxy4.7GB.iso (4.7GB) > SuperMarioGalaxy2.1GB.iso and send the SCRUBBED via the FlatMii WITHOUT having to unscrub it?



Scrubbed games work just the same as if you were doing it on a real Wii - which means you need 3.2 firmware.  3.3 or 3.4 is a no-go for scrubbed.


I have this and love it.  Wii games I never had an issue with, but when I tested Ikaruga (USA, GCN) it didn't get to anything playable before looping back to the title screen. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




  I use this on a broken Wii (bad disc drive) and had some fun with it.


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## FAST6191 (Feb 17, 2009)

re: scrubbed games. They should work on any firmware (hacked or not) for the basic scrubbing, when you start removing update partitions and the like is when the updates (and their trucha/signing bug fixing properties) come into play.

re: hard drive loader. There was another of these sort of devices announced called the WiiZii that is a sata to wii drive adapter and more in line with what you want.
tehskeen thread:
http://www.tehskeen.com/modules/News/showa...0262&page=1


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## shakirmoledina (Feb 17, 2009)

excellent review... it seems to be the best and safest solution for new users but be careful when installing
Oz are bit more expensive than most shops since they are in aus dollars but they are very good in terms of security and features for aus buyers especially
here's the conversion from yahoo finance
104.5 AUD ---> 66.8543 USD
with 10% cut meaning 60.16887 USD as the ppl mentioned above


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## OSW (Feb 17, 2009)

Too be nitpicky, i could think of one more con (from what I've read), that the Wii's USB ports are no longer available... (one or both i don't know).


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## Lily (Feb 17, 2009)

OSW said:
			
		

> Too be nitpicky, i could think of one more con (from what I've read), that the Wii's USB ports are no longer available... (one or both i don't know).
> 
> Just one.
> 
> ...



Yes, and don't forget at the bottom of the review, GBAtemp members get free shipping with coupon code "gbatWC".


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## Satangel (Feb 17, 2009)

Great review, thanks lilsypha!
Seems like avery good product, especially because it's totally region free! Wouldn't be so handy for me though (PC and Wii are too far apart), but I'm sure this is a great solution for other people.


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## ron555 (Feb 17, 2009)

I know someone mentioned this about this thread, but can anyone confirm if *brickblocked* + *scrubbed* Wii discs work while transferred via FlatMii?


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## scousethief (Feb 17, 2009)

Looks like a good product if your wii and pc are close together ( or at least the length of a long usb cable) ? hope ie got that right , no use for me as like most people i know their pcs and wiis are in different rooms or on different floors , more interesting as to were this will lead.


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## NextStep (Feb 17, 2009)

looks abit hard to install...

not sure, but you had to open your computer and your wii to install this thing?

at first, i thought we just needed to connect the two with a single cable or something.

this isn't good for people who aren't tech-savy.

like me, i haven't opened my wii or my computer at all, since i don't even know how the insides work.
that's also why i had to pay someone to install a wiikey for me (rather have guarantee).


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## joe90 (Feb 17, 2009)

is it me, or does the soldering look a bit off on the legs of the chips, and some are soldered together?


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## Lily (Feb 17, 2009)

ron555 said:
			
		

> I know someone mentioned this about this thread, but can anyone confirm if *brickblocked* + *scrubbed* Wii discs work while transferred via FlatMii?
> 
> Yes.
> 
> ...



You only have to open the Wii, not your PC. All you have to do is disassemble it down to where you can remove the DVD drive, connect some ribbon cables and seat the chip. I am quite sure that even a non tech-savvy person could do it, as long as they follow the instructions. There is no soldering required at all. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Once you've installed the chip, you reassemble the Wii, plug in the USB connector and connect it to your PC. My Wii is almost always disassembled in some way, so the install only took me about 15 minutes.


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## NextStep (Feb 17, 2009)

lilsypha said:
			
		

> You only have to open the Wii, not your PC. All you have to do is disassemble it down to where you can remove the DVD drive, connect some ribbon cables and seat the chip. I am quite sure that even a non tech-savvy person could do it, as long as they follow the instructions. There is no soldering required at all.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



cool, thanks for the clarification.


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## ron555 (Feb 17, 2009)

QUOTE said:
			
		

> Yes.  Keep in mind if you want to use trucha-signed discs, your Wii firmware still needs to be v3.2.



Wow, thank you for the clarification.

I'm not really familiar with trucha-signed discs.   I do have firmware 3.2U w/ Homebrew channel and  Starfall installed.

The main reasons I really like this:

1) I love stuff connected to comp to control (more powerful)
2) No wasting discs
3) Faster to upload to Wii vs 
4) No wear on laser
5) ***No more LOUD Wii disc sound!***
6) 


Cons:
1) Expensive (even @ $60 shipped IMO)
2) Have to open up Wii/manipulate.

Other than that, great


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## Agjsdfd (Feb 17, 2009)

Does it load games from different region, RegionFriid/brickblocked?


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## SomeGuyGG (Feb 17, 2009)

This will be great for testing out custom modified Guitar Hero discs!


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## ron555 (Feb 17, 2009)

Brickblocked, yes, see a couple of posts above yours 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




RegionFree'ed - no idea.


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## SSJToo (Feb 17, 2009)

Any chance someone would know if the FlatMii would work with a wireless USB Transmitter/Receiver?
Say for example the 

"Cables Unlimited Wireless USB Kit with Transmitter and Receiver with Base"


Or with a cable range extender?

"Cables Unlimited USB Over Cat5e Extender" (Allows you to use up to 150ft of Cat5e to extend the range of your use cable)


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## Deleted-119707 (Feb 17, 2009)

i own an unmoddd wii. if i install this, do i have to do the twighliight hack or just plug n play?


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## Lily (Feb 17, 2009)

Kamui said:
			
		

> Does it load games from different region, RegionFriid/brickblocked?
> 
> You can load games from any region, as well as brickblocked discs. I don't know about RegionFriid, but I assume so, because you can force the FlatMii into any region you want.
> 
> ...



It is plug and play. If you want to use and install homebrew software, you will still have to do the twilight hack.


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## squirt1000 (Feb 17, 2009)

BudFern said:
			
		

> Has anyone tried the Flat Mii with Call of Duty - World at War?  I'm curious if it can handle the textures and fast action.



Works fine 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 Loads as quick if not quicker than on a dvdr


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## ace90099 (Feb 18, 2009)

I think this is one of the best chips out so far. Yes you have to connect it to your computer but not all the time if you go with the combo install. and if you read the different posts you know that it is possible to to use a cat5 cable up to 150ft, if your wii and pc and farther apart then that then you have an extremely large house and probably have enough money to buy a computer to go next to your wii.

and about people waiting for a standalone type chip where you just need a hard drive, you will most likely need to do some type of disk swap method to use it or you will need to have a soft-modded wii. this is because you have to tell the chip where the image is on the drive so you will either need a start disk that gives you a program that can do that or you will need a channel installed on the wii that can do that. but i could be wrong and they could make it where the disc channel always launches the same thing(a program built into the chip) and asks to browse for a image or launch from drive, like a rebooter program. this type of chip will most likely be much more expensive.

now i have a question about the flatmii, does anyone else get a flatmii development cmd-type window when they try to run GC multirom images? and what is this or what can this be used for?


and about the multidisc images not working, i already had a soft-modded wii when i installed this so I think that had something to do with it because I just run Softmii alpha on it last night and now they work fine but that cmd-type window still pops up on my PC.


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## WiiMoosh (Feb 18, 2009)

ViRGE said:
			
		

> Tanas said:
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Ok, You are saying that the HDD would be too expensive? Well I bought 2  1TB Sata HDD at 81 and 82  Dollars and an Dual Bay enclouser at 40 dollars with 3 years of Warranty.  Ok, yes the Hardware would be expensive, but its possible, I think, what it's difficult would be find SoC supplier that works on this kind of project, may be in China, Japan are lots of companies that do this kind of chipsets, like the modchips and the flatmii. 

2TB External HDD == 203 Dollars with 3 Years of warranty. Well That's doesn't suprass the Nintendo Wii's Prizw that is 250 plus Tax, well At least my wii prize yes, it only cost me 70 bucks 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




, but not all the standard Sale wii's around. And its that the case I already got them! 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 and my Wii wasn't that expensive.

SO this SoC it its possible to make or its just another rumor or speculation?  Tell me more about it...

Thanks!


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## wchill (Feb 18, 2009)

Hmm, would it be possible to daisy-chain a FlatMii with a DriveKey and a Wii disc drive?


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## john25usa (Feb 18, 2009)

meh to me this seems useless except for people who are modifying the iso's eg. undubs and custom guitar hero disks. but my wii len is half dead so ill have to get this sooner or later. i just hope by that time this or something similar will be able to load from external hard drives.


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## enarky (Feb 18, 2009)

WiiMoosh said:
			
		

> ViRGE said:
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He's not saying the HDD is expensive, he says the accompanying hardware would be expensive if you wanted to expand FlatMii. He suggests that currently all the logic of the DVD drive emulation is done on the PC and that the chip is simply passing through data to the Wii and vice versa. If you wanted a standalone HDD you'd need something to emulate that logic instead of the PC (to replace the PC) - and that would be _additional_ hardware that needs to be quite fast and thus drive the costs up.

That's how I assume how this chip works, too, so I guess he's correct. I don't think it can't be done, but to expand _this_ particular chip to support external HDDs would be quite complicated. This is not a rumor, this is fact. And I doubt anyone is doing it.

A completely new chip that does just that, OTOH, is quite a possibility. And it looks like the WiiZii that FAST6191 links to can do it. If it's real, only time can tell.

Reading ISOs from the Wiis own USB I have no idea. Could be possible that Nintendo engineers have capsulated it enough that no access to it is possible outside a few special applications. This _is_ speculation.


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## ViRGE (Feb 18, 2009)

WiiMoosh said:
			
		

> ViRGE said:
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Finding a supplier wouldn't be too hard. My working assumption is that something more complex than a simple DSP would be necessary for the task of reading the file system. FAT32 is out, so that leaves NTFS as the next most compatible thing. Maybe you could do it on a FPGA (although writing your own NTFS read-only implementation from scratch would be hard) otherwise you'd move up to a SoC. In either case both are readily available, numerous companies make FPGAs and Samsung (among others) will gladly sell you ARM SoCs, however not necessarily at a price you'd like.


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## jd506 (Feb 18, 2009)

Can the FlatMii handle multidisk GC games that don't save before switching?


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## enarky (Feb 18, 2009)

ViRGE said:
			
		

> Finding a supplier wouldn't be too hard. My working assumption is that something more complex than a simple DSP would be necessary for the task of reading the file system. FAT32 is out, so that leaves NTFS as the next most compatible thing. Maybe you could do it on a FPGA (although writing your own NTFS read-only implementation from scratch would be hard) otherwise you'd move up to a SoC. In either case both are readily available, numerous companies make FPGAs and Samsung (among others) will gladly sell you ARM SoCs, however not necessarily at a price you'd like.


ViRGE, that file limitation of FAT32 isn't the biggest problem someone would face in that case, IMO... if you have the knowledge to implement all that I guess it's not that hard to write something that can access a split ISO on FAT32, no need to write your own NTFS driver.

I assume Implementing that logic in a FPGA at all is the hardest part here.

[tag: speculation, speculation]

EDIT:
Post #600, yay.


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## ViRGE (Feb 18, 2009)

enarky said:
			
		

> A completely new chip that does just that, OTOH, is quite a possibility. And it looks like the WiiZii that FAST6191 links to can do it. If it's real, only time can tell.


I wasn't aware such a device had been announced. It does seem a bit vaporwareish though, and regardless it still has to solve the read & translate problem. Swapping out a USB controller for a SATA controller doesn't really make the problem any easier.


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## ViRGE (Feb 18, 2009)

enarky said:
			
		

> ViRGE said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


True, you can split the ISO. Stitching it back together on the fly would be tricky however. It's not something I had considered, but perhaps I should.


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## WiiMoosh (Feb 18, 2009)

enarky said:
			
		

> ViRGE said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Practically Yes! How and where in the world you are going to find a FPGA Suplier that Makes this kind of project for the Wii?! 
I mean, first it's not that legal, second, would be expensive, third, Why don't start to make a Software that do this? A homebrew App or a loader? I mean the Loaders are already available, most of the games already Run on Them ,at least on the Gamma v3, still some work for the Tetha v1.0.  

I know it's like hard, but not impossible!  Like when everyone though DVD-Backup Loader were like the last thing to be done or the awesome thing for the Wii and its there! So there are already libfat32 libraries that can make the Wii read from External sources like USB Fat and Fat 32 and SD card and SD HC, USB guecko. What we need its to expand that library or make a new Hombrew that expand it so it can be used to support NTFS HHD or Fat 32 HDD starting from 1GB  and then Expand it's size compatibility.

I know, even myself cannot do that rigth know, still need more years of experience in Programming, But some of you Coders/Experienced/Profesional/programmers  can.

I hope this can help of something, its just an opinion don't take it personally!
Thanks


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## Lily (Feb 18, 2009)

ace90099 said:
			
		

> now i have a question about the flatmii, does anyone else get a flatmii development cmd-type window when they try to run GC multirom images? and what is this or what can this be used for?
> 
> I don't have this happen, so I'm not sure what that's all about. Maybe it's connected to your Wii being softmodded?
> 
> ...



I don't believe so, no. It's written in their documentation somewhere, but I can't seem to find where again. I think this only affects 1 or 2 games, and they list which games they are, but again, I can't find it.


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## SSJToo (Feb 18, 2009)

lilsypha said:
			
		

> I don't have any wireless USB equipment to test that. I do however have a Cat5e USB extender, and yes it works with that.



Was the Cat5e USB Extender USB1.1 or 2.0?  Did you find it caused any slow loading or lag issues running across the extender?

In the review you mentioned "_Over a USB 1.1 connection, there was some lag and stuttering, but it was minimal._".
Just wondering if you experienced any of this over the extender as most tend to only transfer at aprox USB1.1 speeds.


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## Sloshy (Feb 18, 2009)

Just the other day I was looking for something like this... thank God there is now! I mean it'd be HECTIC to back up all my games and re-burn them, am I rite?


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## Lily (Feb 18, 2009)

SSJToo said:
			
		

> lilsypha said:
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I have this extender, which is USB 2.0. No lag. A USB 1.1 extender would cause lag, yes.


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## kar10 (Feb 18, 2009)

squirt1000 said:
			
		

> Awesome review, Ive been using one since release day and its not failed me once! I found it a little bit fiddly to fit in the correct spot but after that its been a dream to use! Ive got a nice 500gb internal sata drive dedicated to wii games and even when my pc is under heavy load the games dont suffer one bit! Great stuff if you dont mind your wii being next to your PC. Would be awesome if it were developed a bit more to allow loading from external HDD directly connected to the wii though.
> 
> It does exactly what it sets about doing and does it perfectly! 10/10 from me




Best place to get one?


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## Sloshy (Feb 18, 2009)

kar10 said:
			
		

> squirt1000 said:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


The link in the review seems good; it says around 100, but that's in Australian cash whatever its called, and if you enter the coupon code gbatemp gives at the end of the review you get free shipping (in addition to there being no tax since it's from Australia). So in $ its around 60.


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## PopSmith (Feb 18, 2009)

Dang, when I read it was "Plug and Play" I thought for sure I wouldn't have to take apart the Wii to install it.

Oh well, I might buy one if my drive craps out or starts being flaky.

However, if they ever get to where it just plugs into the USB slot and you don't have to take the Wii apart I will pick one up for sure.


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## WiiMoosh (Feb 18, 2009)

WOW! This sucks!   
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




 No body seems to take my Opinions to count! 

Why bother then?!


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## Trukkle (Feb 19, 2009)

NOD32 antivirus (ESET in specific) is picking up Flatmii v1.0.rar as packed with Win32/Packed.Themida
Themida isn't a virus itself, but it is most often used to conceal things that are. I understand the WiiFlat team want to protect their client from crackers/homebrew alternatives for as long as they can, but I'm not too comfortable with the method.


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## jd506 (Feb 19, 2009)

Can anyone provide some confirmation about MultiDisc GC games not working,
other than thinking they read something somewhere?

I looked on their site and readme's, I couldn't find anything.

I find it hard shelling out $60+ for something that can't accomplish what free homebrew
will be able to do in a matter of weeks.

Waninkoko's next release will have support for MultiDisc GC games.
Most worthwhile multi-disc titles like Resident Evil do not save before prompting to switch discs.


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## Diffusion (Feb 19, 2009)

jd506 said:
			
		

> Can anyone provide some confirmation about MultiDisc GC games not working,
> other than thinking they read something somewhere?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRpWAYs18ec

It loads Multidisc GC games.


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## Lily (Feb 19, 2009)

jd506 said:
			
		

> Can anyone provide some confirmation about MultiDisc GC games not working,
> other than thinking they read something somewhere?
> 
> Waninkoko's next release will have support for MultiDisc GC games.
> Most worthwhile multi-disc titles like Resident Evil do not save before prompting to switch discs.



I tested Resident Evil, Baten Kaitos, Tales of Symphonia, and all of them switch just fine. What I was saying was that I remember seeing something in their documentation about not supporting games that didn't save first, but it looks like that's been removed. Considering that the multi disc games work just fine, maybe it was just an early documentation error on their part.


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## scognito (Feb 19, 2009)

lilsypha can you please confirm if audio works on 1080 snowboarding? I mean the background music of the first level, not the intro one.
I get no sound, maybe it is a problem of streamed sound games, there is a list here:
http://wiki.nintendo-scene.com/Audio_Fix

Sco


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## Lily (Feb 19, 2009)

scognito said:
			
		

> lilsypha can you please confirm if audio works on 1080 snowboarding? I mean the background music of the first level, not the intro one.
> I get no sound, maybe it is a problem of streamed sound games, there is a list here:
> http://wiki.nintendo-scene.com/Audio_Fix
> 
> Sco



No, currently you need to patch the ISO manually if it has streaming audio. There is some hope that the FlatMii team will incorporate the GameCube audio fix into the next release of their software.


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## scognito (Feb 19, 2009)

lilsypha said:
			
		

> scognito said:
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> ...



The iso IS patched, is there a way to un-patch it so i can test if it will work?


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## doyama (Feb 19, 2009)

lilsypha said:
			
		

> SSJToo said:
> 
> 
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I did a double take when I saw that the extender costs $450!! At that point I'd be better off just buying a netbook.


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## enarky (Feb 19, 2009)

WTF? Is this USB extender a practical joke on the people of the internet? Even on Amazon it costs 320 USD. That can't be right.


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## FAST6191 (Feb 19, 2009)

@USB extender doubters. The USB spec only allows for very short leads http://www.usb.org/about/faq/ans5 (also see theory behind twisted pair/UTP leads)

These extenders either act as repeaters (take the signal and send it, boost it down the line and repeat) and the like which means complex signalling hardware or they convert into a more common format (see cat5e cable which is designed for length) which requires complex signal manipulation hardware.
It is also a fairly small market/demand so economics of scale do not really come into play.


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## doyama (Feb 19, 2009)

FAST6191 said:
			
		

> @USB extender doubters. The USB spec only allows for very short leads http://www.usb.org/about/faq/ans5 (also see theory behind twisted pair/UTP leads)
> 
> These extenders either act as repeaters (take the signal and send it, boost it down the line and repeat) and the like which means complex signalling hardware or they convert into a more common format (see cat5e cable which is designed for length) which requires complex signal manipulation hardware.
> It is also a fairly small market/demand so economics of scale do not really come into play.



I don't doubt it's very complex and expensive having designed a few high speed circuits in a previous life. I guess I was just more surprised that someone bought this and then used it to test the FlatMii. 

I can definitely see scenarios where you'd have to use this extremely expensive type of device though. I've had to deal with some manufacturing equipment that behaves in stupid ways, coupled with stupid people who thought putting the sensor and the receiver 100ft from each other was somehow a good idea.


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## enarky (Feb 20, 2009)

Don't doubt that it exists, too. That was said jokingly. 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




But I really find it surprising that this things is so damn expensive. I would've thought that this is some kind of item that's being produced by the millions because everyone wants to have something like that. I sure as hell do. Guess I was wrong there.


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## Malboro (Feb 20, 2009)

How long USB cable I can use without any lag or problem?


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## FAST6191 (Feb 20, 2009)

@Malboro I would not like to say, if you stick to spec compliant leads you will not get longer than 5m for a single lead.
You could solder a larger section in (it is only 4 colour coded wires) but it is internal "interference" more than external that will be your problem (although I would not discount external sources by any means). I am not sure what level of error correction exists (flatmii is not exactly a conventional device and many manufacturers/driver writers have a fairly loose interpretation of the spec) either.

You could however daisy chain a few hubs and pull off 25m or so for a high speed device (it is a bit longer for 1.1 or HID class devices). I am not sure if you would need a PC/similar at the intervals for signal processing or you could simply power the hubs, equally rate limits and other external factors might come into play.
I am not so hot on signal theory and the limits of USB so I will leave it at that pending further research/playing with equations, that site I link above has some good info for those that do want to play.

regarding my use of "USB doubters" it was not as much "it really does exist" but more USB is perhaps not the thing many have made it out to be.


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## Lily (Feb 20, 2009)

doyama said:
			
		

> I guess I was just more surprised that someone bought this and then used it to test the FlatMii.
> 
> I did not purchase it for the review; in fact, I didn't purchase it at all!
> 
> ...



The length of the cable shouldn't matter. I had a 3 foot cable (didn't reach) a 6 foot cable (worked fine) and 2 6 foot extenders that I daisy chained together, giving me an 18 foot USB cable (worked fine). As long as you're using a quality built cable, I can't see any issue.


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## SSJToo (Feb 20, 2009)

enarky said:
			
		

> But I really find it surprising that this things is so damn expensive.



@USB Extenders.  You can pick them up for around $30 each, but the problem with the cheaper ones are that they only transmit at about USB1.1 speeds.

Edit:  

Anyone who does not have their Wii next to their PC and would like to go the extender route, this is the cheapest USB2.0 Extenders i have found.


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## Trukkle (Feb 20, 2009)

Awesome, mine arrived today and I've just finished fitting it.
Looking inside the dongle, it seems that the Wii's usb port is just used as an anchor, no power or data are transmitted through whichever port you plug it into. It'd be trivial to add a female connector to the dongle and make it a pass-through so you can still use memory sticks or chargers.


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## kristianity77 (Feb 21, 2009)

rather long winded question but i hope someone can answer.  I understand  next to no PAL gamecube games supported progressive scan (480p) on the original gamecube.  Is this the case with Wii?  Or can you force 480P on PAL cube games either with a normal Wii or one that was modded (say with the flatmii for instance)

Im really considering getting a Wii and this device, but dont want my PAL gamecube games looking like dirt on my LCD if it will only output them at 480i


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## Lily (Feb 22, 2009)

kristianity77 said:
			
		

> rather long winded question but i hope someone can answer.  I understand  next to no PAL gamecube games supported progressive scan (480p) on the original gamecube.  Is this the case with Wii?  Or can you force 480P on PAL cube games either with a normal Wii or one that was modded (say with the flatmii for instance)
> 
> Im really considering getting a Wii and this device, but dont want my PAL gamecube games looking like dirt on my LCD if it will only output them at 480i



If they didn't support 480p on the GameCube, there's no magic potion that will make them support 480p on the Wii.


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## doyama (Feb 23, 2009)

I was a tad miffed today when I tried to sort of half-ass a way to change the ISO image used via some kind of web page that could be accessed from the Wii. I was wondering where they stored their configuration information since the settings seem to be retained when you close the program. But when you load up things like regmon/filemon the Flatmii exe borks and complains that you have some monitoring tools running. 

I just thought that was kind of odd... Hopefully the FlatMii team will have some command line options in their next version so it's a bit easier to get some kind of web page or even home brew app to change the ISO image from the Wii directly.


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## Trukkle (Feb 23, 2009)

It seems to dump a flatmii.ini wherever you open your ISO from. Something I hope they fix, along with toning down the aggressive anti-cracker protection.


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## kar10 (Feb 27, 2009)

A modded Wii is free region?

A modded wii matter if they are PAL or NSTC or any other region games?


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## jd506 (Feb 27, 2009)

Do the developers have any plans to incorporate the audio streaming fix into their loading software?
Does manually patching these games with FSTfix work?


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## Bitbyte (Mar 2, 2009)

The FlatMii looks awesome but I've heard that there's a chip in development which can boot games straight off of external HDD's? Is it just vaporware or is it really coming out?


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## ron555 (Mar 8, 2009)

I received my FlatMii, installed it (tight fit!) and here's my results:

Most of my games play well.  There is some lag in the movies on some games. This is directly connected to my USB2.  

*MY FLATMII IS COMPLETELY INCOMPATIBILE WITH USB EXTENSION CORDS!!!*.  Dear GOD almighty, this drove me insane.  If I have a USB extension cord or have the FlatMii plugged into a (powered or unpowered) USB hub, it basically fucks my entire USB/Bus system, rendering HD inoperable until I restart the computer.  I've confirmed this with 3 different brand USB2 extension cords to no avail. 


My orange and red lights are gone after installing the FlatMii.  The light either shows green (on) or nothing (completely off).   The ISO420 review confirmed this behavior. 


Also, these games do not work on my FlatMii (brickblocked only):

*BLACK SCREEN*
Bleach Versus Crusade [JAP]  = black screen
Animal Crossing - City Folk [USA] = black screen 
Call of Duty - World At War = black screen
Dragon Ball Z Budokai Tenkaichi 3.iso = black screen
Need For Speed - Undercover [USA]  - black screen
Marble Saga Kororinpa [USA] = black screen
MadWorld [PAL]

*Weird pseudo-English/Japanese character across screen*
Captain Rainbow = weird characters across the top part of the creen. Game works fine, but sound seems a little garbled. I think this is part of the game though to "replicate" speech




The only game incompatible with FlatMii's "autoboot" (handy!) feature is Super Smash Bros.




*!!!!!!! QUESTIONS FOR FLATMII OWNERS !!!!!!!!!!!*

1) Can you guys test the aforementioned games and confirm/deny that they work? The reviews state all games work 
	

	
	
		
		

		
		
	


	




2) Lily already said he/she uses his FlatMii with a USB extension cord so I am baffled. Mine simply doesn't work with a USB extension cord.

3) Can you tell me what games do not work with Autoboot w/ the FlatMii?

4) Do you guys experience the disappearing red/orange light as stated above?



I have Wii 3.2U + Starfall + TheHomeBrew Channel (but not loading any of them).


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## ron555 (Mar 12, 2009)

Bump. Anyone have any answer to ^^^^


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## Nyebodnye (Mar 22, 2009)

I have a PAL Wii and a FlatMii. All PAL games work, including MadWorld.
Only one I have so far with black screen is NTSC Build Trade Destroy.
I have updates off and region forced to PAL.
I have all lights - red, yellow, green.
I still have DVD drive in the Wii with no ModChip.


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## 3DPiper (Mar 27, 2009)

I just got mine installed.. Works great! I'm restoring and scrubbing roms to my hard drive now. This is a just what I need, my 3 kids (and neighbor kids) have destroyed countless DVDs.. 

However: I can't use mine over a USB2 extender (I have this one: http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=2648 ).. No biggee, I'll just put it by my computer and run longer video cables..

Also: How do you get the "Allow WII Remote ISO Browsing" to work? Does that do what it says it will, allow you to surf the ISO directory and choose an ISO from your Wii without going back to your PC?

-Matthew


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## Sayargh (May 16, 2009)

I just got mine yesterday, have to say, the thing rocks. The only thing I could complain about is the 4pin connecter, its quite confusing at first glance, you always put the blue side up for the other cable, but the pins have to be up for this cable, luckily i guessed right first time XD

And to answer the guys questions above albeit late, might as well:

1) "Can you guys test the aforementioned games and confirm/deny that they work? The reviews state all games work"

All games from your region should work, all Pal ones work for me, the ntsc ones are hit and miss- even with regionfrii, something like the gamma backup loader will work with the ntsc ones that don't boot. Its not a problem for me I just been using PAL game images.

2) "Lily already said he/she uses his FlatMii with a USB extension cord so I am baffled. Mine simply doesn't work with a USB extension cord."

Have you though about buying a longer Micro-USB to Usb connector? mine is pretty long, it doesn't need an extention cord in fact.


Skipping 3... don't know the answer.

4) Do you guys experience the disappearing red/orange light as stated above?

I've noticed it, it doesn't seem to hinder much though, 


My overall review: Flatmii is great for the things it does right, it isn't 100% perfect but it suits my needs quite adaquetly


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## Lily (May 16, 2009)

ron555 said:
			
		

> 1) Can you guys test the aforementioned games and confirm/deny that they work? The reviews state all games work
> 
> 
> 
> ...



No actually, I didn't experience that. Maybe it's an installation issue--pinched cable, pinched FlatMii board, etc?


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## Lily (May 16, 2009)

jd506 said:
			
		

> Do the developers have any plans to incorporate the audio streaming fix into their loading software?
> Does manually patching these games with FSTfix work?



They don't appear to have any plans to add the audio streaming fix, unfortunately. ISOs that have been patched appear to work. (1080 snowboarding works when patched, for example.) You'll have to experiment. There aren't many GC games of note that use streaming audio anyway.


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## Lily (May 16, 2009)

doyama said:
			
		

> I just thought that was kind of odd... Hopefully the FlatMii team will have some command line options in their next version so it's a bit easier to get some kind of web page or even home brew app to change the ISO image from the Wii directly.
> 
> The FlatMii software was already updated to include this functionality. You still need the FlatMii software open on your PC, but they included a remote ISO selector that you can use from the Wii.
> 
> ...



You need to install the FlatMii Remote ISO Selector WAD (included in the download) to your Wii using the Homebrew Channel. Then you check the "Allow Wii Remote ISO Browsing" in the FlatMii software. Then you can remote select ISOs from the Wii.


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