Hacking Acekard/M3 + iPlayer extra hardware

[dartdude6]

I saw that new iPlayer flash cart meant for playing media and homebrew, but the thing that stands out for most people is that it can use a GBA emulator unlike any other flash cart due to some extra hardware it has. Do you think that any of the really popular flash cart companies like Acekard or M3 will make updated versions of their flash carts so they can use the GBA emulator? If I could get GBA emulation with AKAIO/M3 Sakura on a new cart, I think I would upgrade to a DSi.

 

[omgpwn666]

Actually you know they will,every company will copy the iPlayer and make extra hardware. It will never be on the old carts of course,it will probably be Acekard 2i v2 or Cyclosgba. Something creative unlike my examples. They unlocked something good and just like any other good company,they must steal.

And as PharaohsVizier said,this is speculation.

 

[SifJar]

I'd say it wont be long before we see more hardware enhanced cards like the iPlayer, with support for hardware video decoding and an open SDK for homebrew using the extra hardware, and ROMs. The last two things will push any card beyond the iPlayer. The current GBA emulator for iPlayer is completely illegal, because it uses a stolen iPlayer SDK. If more companies make hardware enhanced cards, and release an SDK for using the extra hardware, it could be done legally, as could many more pieces of homebrew using the extra power. DSLinux could be greatly improved for one thing. And also, including ROM support will make it sell more. Basically, an AK2i with the extra processing power and RAM of iPlayer, along with an open SDK, would probably be the ultimate flashcard for DS/DSi, because it could have all your DS and GBA games on it, and all your homebrew, both DS and GBA, and would work on DSi.

 

[tajio]

If they do, I bet it'll cost a lot

but it is a great way to play GBA games on the DSi so it's a must have

.

I'm going to wait till 2010 and see if new flashcarts pops up for the DSi that'll play GBA roms.

 

[iFish]

the only reason i didnt get iplayer is because no commerical rom the only reason i want a "flash card" is for game i wouldnt call iplayer a flash card

 

[Todderbert]

Cyclo will most likely try to incorporate this type of extra hardware in their next offering. It's actually very exciting to see how this is going to play out. I personally think the SDK was not "leaked" and the gba emu was done in house. This emulator is giving the iplayer a huge sales boost which will be sustained until other flashcarts utilize similar tech.

 

[Giga_Gaia]

The DSi mode will eventually get hacked, when this happens, the iPlayer will be useless, as the homebrews will be able to use the DSi extra hardware for GBA emulation.

 

[KingVamp]

I'd say it wont be long before we see more hardware enhanced cards like the iPlayer, with support for hardware video decoding and an open SDK for homebrew using the extra hardware, and ROMs. The last two things will push any card beyond the iPlayer. The current GBA emulator for iPlayer is completely illegal, because it uses a stolen iPlayer SDK. If more companies make hardware enhanced cards, and release an SDK for using the extra hardware, it could be done legally, as could many more pieces of homebrew using the extra power. DSLinux could be greatly improved for one thing. And also, including ROM support will make it sell more. Basically, an AK2i with the extra processing power and RAM of iPlayer, along with an open SDK, would probably be the ultimate flashcard for DS/DSi, because it could have all your DS and GBA games on it, and all your homebrew, both DS and GBA, and would work on DSi.

And play music and video. iplayer/or all flash cards it self is illegal is it ?

 

[SifJar]

Cyclo will most likely try to incorporate this type of extra hardware in their next offering. It's actually very exciting to see how this is going to play out. I personally think the SDK was not "leaked" and the gba emu was done in house. This emulator is giving the iplayer a huge sales boost which will be sustained until other flashcarts utilize similar tech.

Yeah, I'd say it was likely developed in-house then released unofficially, as the guy who made it didnt seem to know what he was talking about when he was talking about it before hand, then suddenly it came out and was very professional looking. I'd say it was indeed done simply to boost sales, and was made by the company behind iPlayer (SuperCard, I think), in much the same way as Max Overload for the Max Media Dock was apparently made by Datel, then released unofficialy.

And to the guy above me: Its just the GBA emulator that is illegal, because it apparently uses a stolen SDK, and is also based on VBA, which under the GPL, means the source must be released, and it wasnt. iPlayer and other flashcarts themselves are legal, but the upgraded bootloaders made for 1.4 are illegal I think, because they use copyrighted bootloader code from official games.

 

[Veho]

I'm sure that all other teams will jump on the bandwagon once they see the boost in sales of the iPlayer. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them had been working on a similar solution even before this emulator came out.

And it would be nice to think the cards will be open for homebrew and that it would be one of the major selling points, but somehow I doubt it. People will only be interested in GBA emulation, anything else will be secondary, and the teams will probably keep the hardware closed.

 

[SifJar]

I'm sure that all other teams will jump on the bandwagon once they see the boost in sales of the iPlayer. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if some of them had been working on a similar solution even before this emulator came out.

And it would be nice to think the cards will be open for homebrew and that it would be one of the major selling points, but somehow I doubt it. People will only be interested in GBA emulation, anything else will be secondary, and the teams will probably keep the hardware closed.

I doubt it. Most people with flash carts run at least some homebrew, and it would be unwise for the teams to keep the hardware closed. If one opens up theirs, they'll all have to. The main problem I see is that it may not be regulated - different companies will design different carts, and homebrew for each will be incompatible with the others. This would mean that any hardware enhanced homebrew would need to be developed for each card seperately (or at least ported, which could probably be troublesome). At the moment, if you make a homebrew app or game, it should work wiht any card straight off. These may not. Perhaps they can agree to make cards compatible, but I doubt it. Its a bad idea, from their point of view.

 

[fearofshorts]

Does nobody else see the problem with this? The price!
Look at the iPlayer. It's a specialized, dedicated card capable of playing relatively high-resolution videos. Now look at it's price compared to other flashcarts.
Why does it cost so much more? The chips! The microchips, the hardware, the little bundle of electronic goodies- they cannot be cheap!
So, if the big teams want to release a cartridge with extra processing power, like the iPlayer has, it would drive up the cost immensely. Would they really add an extra $30 to the pricetag of their cart when they are already having trouble competing with the cheap R4 clones?
So, if they want to release a new slot-1 cart capable of playing GBA games they would have to release it as a separate product, an 'AceKard 2i+' or 'M3i with GBA Addon', for example. This way us hardcore gamers (understanding and appreciating the value of the added features) would buy their product. Then the noobs, not buying from the same type of online stores as us, would see the standerd cards and buy one of them, instead of flying off to buy another god-damn R4 and create another god-damn R4 noob thread.

 

[Leonidas]

The DSi mode will eventually get hacked, when this happens, the iPlayer will be useless, as the homebrews will be able to use the DSi extra hardware for GBA emulation.

Maybe so, but you can't get over the fact, that the DSi only has 16MB of RAM, which is not enough for a proper 128Mbit ROM support. So an extra RAM is something, that might be necessary on future slot 1 carts. An Iplayer currently has 32MB, that's why it can run any ROM.

 

[SifJar]

Does nobody else see the problem with this? The price!
Look at the iPlayer. It's a specialized, dedicated card capable of playing relatively high-resolution videos. Now look at it's price compared to other flashcarts.
Why does it cost so much more? The chips! The microchips, the hardware, the little bundle of electronic goodies- they cannot be cheap!
So, if the big teams want to release a cartridge with extra processing power, like the iPlayer has, it would drive up the cost immensely. Would they really add an extra $30 to the pricetag of their cart when they are already having trouble competing with the cheap R4 clones?.

more cards would bring down the price. when the first DSi flash carts came out they were about $20 on Deal Extreme. Now the DSTTi and AK2i, the first two cards, which were ~$22 and ~$20 respectively, are now ~$12 and ~$10 respectively. Thats 10 bucks off. And it hasnt been that long really. As more cards come out, it forces prices down. It owuld be the same for hardware enhanced cards - more being released, with more features, will bring down prices.