Hi everyone!
I’ve been working on a Nintendo 3DS homebrew project called MIVF.
MIVF is a movie player and desktop toolkit designed to turn media you provide into a personalized Nintendo 3DS movie experience. Rather than simply opening a video file, the goal is to make each movie feel like something that was carefully put together for the system.
Your movies, reimagined for Nintendo 3ds.
What MIVF includes
MIVF currently includes, or is being developed around, features such as:
A lot of the inspiration comes from DVD menus and physical media. I want movies on the 3DS to have some of that same personality while making use of the system’s two screens, physical controls, portability, and stereoscopic display.
MIVF Player and MIVF Toolkit
The project has two main parts.
MIVF Player
MIVF Player is the Nintendo 3DS application. It handles the movie library, menus, chapters, subtitles, bookmarks, themes, playback dashboards, artwork, and the viewing experience itself.
MIVF Toolkit
MIVF Toolkit is the desktop application used to create and customize projects.
The Toolkit is intended to make the process approachable without requiring people to understand internal formats or use command-line tools. The workflow is being designed around a straightforward process:
Some parts of this workflow are still being refined, but the long-term goal is for someone to create a complete project without needing to understand all the technical details behind it.
Current Development Status
MIVF is still a work in progress, and there is more testing and polishing to do.
Specific player builds and movie files have worked successfully on physical Nintendo 3DS hardware. Stereoscopic playback has also worked in specific tested configurations, and a dedicated showcase build performed very well on the particular console used for testing.
Those results apply to the exact builds, files, settings, and hardware that were tested. More testing is still needed across different Nintendo 3DS models, storage configurations, source files, frame rates, subtitles, themes, and longer playback sessions.
I’m keeping track of exact builds, hardware results, known issues, setup requirements, and file hashes as development continues. I want the project’s documentation to be clear about what has actually been tested and what still needs work.
Why I’m making it
I enjoy finding new and personal ways to use older hardware.
The Nintendo 3DS is obviously not the most convenient device for watching a movie, but that is part of what makes the project interesting to me. MIVF is about creating a distinctive experience for people who enjoy the system itself.
The project may especially appeal to people interested in:
MIVF is not meant to compete with phones or modern streaming services. It is meant to make a personal movie feel like it belongs on the Nintendo 3DS.
A quick note about movies
MIVF does not come with any movies. You bring your own media and are responsible for using material you have permission to use.
Any example content included with the project will be original, public-domain, properly licensed, or otherwise safe to share.
MIVF is an independent homebrew project and is not connected to Nintendo.
What I’m working on now
My current focus is improving the overall experience, continuing hardware testing, refining the project-creation workflow, making video playback look as good as possible, and writing clearer documentation.
MIVF has grown into a much larger project than I originally expected, and there is still plenty of work ahead. I’m looking forward to sharing more progress as development continues.
Feedback, ideas, and constructive criticism are welcome, especially from people interested in Nintendo 3DS homebrew, accessibility, customization, or hardware testing.
Other side notes, MIVF is my own format that I created from scratch, it’s more efficient while looking about the same quality as Nintendos moflex format. And my encoder is packaged with the mivf toolkit.
Thanks for reading and feedback is greatly appreciated.
https://github.com/Oldhimaster1/MIVF
I’ve been working on a Nintendo 3DS homebrew project called MIVF.
MIVF is a movie player and desktop toolkit designed to turn media you provide into a personalized Nintendo 3DS movie experience. Rather than simply opening a video file, the goal is to make each movie feel like something that was carefully put together for the system.
Your movies, reimagined for Nintendo 3ds.
What MIVF includes
MIVF currently includes, or is being developed around, features such as:
- A cinematic movie library
- Custom cover artwork
- Personalized movie menus
- Scene Selection and chapter navigation
- Resume and bookmark support
- Subtitle support
- Custom playback dashboards
- Multiple themes and transport-control styles
- Custom backgrounds and screensaver artwork
- Configurable colors and accessibility options
- Independent left and right audio controls
- Movie information and media inspection
- Project validation and storage planning
- A desktop MIVF Toolkit for creating and customizing projects
A lot of the inspiration comes from DVD menus and physical media. I want movies on the 3DS to have some of that same personality while making use of the system’s two screens, physical controls, portability, and stereoscopic display.
MIVF Player and MIVF Toolkit
The project has two main parts.
MIVF Player
MIVF Player is the Nintendo 3DS application. It handles the movie library, menus, chapters, subtitles, bookmarks, themes, playback dashboards, artwork, and the viewing experience itself.
MIVF Toolkit
MIVF Toolkit is the desktop application used to create and customize projects.
The Toolkit is intended to make the process approachable without requiring people to understand internal formats or use command-line tools. The workflow is being designed around a straightforward process:
- Select a source movie.
- Choose the video, audio, and subtitle streams you want.
- Add movie information and custom artwork.
- Create chapters and Scene Selection entries.
- Customize backgrounds, colors, controls, and themes.
- Check the project for problems and estimate its storage requirements.
- Create the finished MIVF project.
- Copy the required files to the Nintendo 3DS.
- Open the project in MIVF Player.
Some parts of this workflow are still being refined, but the long-term goal is for someone to create a complete project without needing to understand all the technical details behind it.
Current Development Status
MIVF is still a work in progress, and there is more testing and polishing to do.
Specific player builds and movie files have worked successfully on physical Nintendo 3DS hardware. Stereoscopic playback has also worked in specific tested configurations, and a dedicated showcase build performed very well on the particular console used for testing.
Those results apply to the exact builds, files, settings, and hardware that were tested. More testing is still needed across different Nintendo 3DS models, storage configurations, source files, frame rates, subtitles, themes, and longer playback sessions.
I’m keeping track of exact builds, hardware results, known issues, setup requirements, and file hashes as development continues. I want the project’s documentation to be clear about what has actually been tested and what still needs work.
Why I’m making it
I enjoy finding new and personal ways to use older hardware.
The Nintendo 3DS is obviously not the most convenient device for watching a movie, but that is part of what makes the project interesting to me. MIVF is about creating a distinctive experience for people who enjoy the system itself.
The project may especially appeal to people interested in:
- Nintendo 3DS homebrew
- Customizing older hardware
- DVD-style menus and physical-media presentation
- Personal offline movie libraries
- Stereoscopic video
- Custom artwork and themes
- Unusual technical projects for legacy systems
MIVF is not meant to compete with phones or modern streaming services. It is meant to make a personal movie feel like it belongs on the Nintendo 3DS.
A quick note about movies
MIVF does not come with any movies. You bring your own media and are responsible for using material you have permission to use.
Any example content included with the project will be original, public-domain, properly licensed, or otherwise safe to share.
MIVF is an independent homebrew project and is not connected to Nintendo.
What I’m working on now
My current focus is improving the overall experience, continuing hardware testing, refining the project-creation workflow, making video playback look as good as possible, and writing clearer documentation.
MIVF has grown into a much larger project than I originally expected, and there is still plenty of work ahead. I’m looking forward to sharing more progress as development continues.
Feedback, ideas, and constructive criticism are welcome, especially from people interested in Nintendo 3DS homebrew, accessibility, customization, or hardware testing.
Other side notes, MIVF is my own format that I created from scratch, it’s more efficient while looking about the same quality as Nintendos moflex format. And my encoder is packaged with the mivf toolkit.
Thanks for reading and feedback is greatly appreciated.
https://github.com/Oldhimaster1/MIVF
