Hacking Can GBA games be scaled to DS screen?

[Dead Ghost]

Is there any way to make GBA games play full screen on the DS screen? I mean, without the black borders.

 

[Lumstar]

Not that I'm aware of.

Trivia: Most people don't know it, but the DS screen merely added pixels to all four sides of the original GBA. Its distance between them and number per square centimeter is identical. This means GBA games are literally flawless in visual terms on a DS.

 

[Dead Ghost]

I know that they are sharper looking on ds, but the actual visible gba screen size is smaller on ds, then on original gba sp.

And i prefer larger over sharper looking. I know this because i had them both, face to face compared.

 

[Lumstar]

No, GBA games look the exact same on a GBA, SP, DS, or DS lite.

Research their hardware specifications. Only the Micro has a slightly different screen type.

 

[Dead Ghost]

As far as i know, the Game Boy Advance uses 240x160 resolution, and Nintendo DS screen is 256x192, so that's why gba games are in letterbox format. I wish you could upscale it to fullscreen.

 

[Beware]

I'm sure it would be possible, but I don't know how, and definitely not without a Slot2 flash cart or EZFlash 3in1.

 

[myuusmeow]

Even if you could, you wouldn't want it to look like this do you?

Before:

 

[Beware]

Apparently he does, else he wouldn't ask. :-P

 

[Dead Ghost]

myuusmeow: To me it looks better, because is larger...

I don't mind the slight stretch and different aspect ratio.

 

[jelbo]

Wow, nothing worse than a fucked up aspect ratio and non-filtered-stretched pixel uglyness..

 

[Dead Ghost]

Argghh, now that you mentioned it, i'm starting to dislike the weird aspect ratio, looking at that picture.

Maybe you guys are right, it doesn't look better.

I can live with the pixel stretch, but not with different aspect ratio. So this is a no go anyway after all. I just wanted the normal gba screen size, but it can't be possible because of the different aspect ratio.

 

[Lumstar]

I do have one question that no amount of Google searching has brought up the info. What is the dot pitch of the original Game Boy, and Game Boy Color?

 

[Veho]

I prefer the original size and aspect ratio when playing GBA games, but the other screen freaks me out. It's like a black void, just sitting there, being black. And void. And unnerving. Eerie portal into black emptiness.

 

[Dead Ghost]

Lol, yeah, same feeling here...

Maybe i would have better luck with a PSP running gba roms? Yeah, i know that i will have black borders there too, but at least is the same size as GBA SP screen, or even bigger. Right?

 

[monaug5]

In theory the DS could virtualise the GBA onto its screen.

 

[FAST6191]

@theclaw as well as GBAtek Mr. Korth also sports a nice GBÂ related doc set:
http://nocash.emubase.de/pandocs.htm

the aspect ratio stuff has already been done but you can set borders, it is not something I usually go for so I will have to leave it to you all to search (there was a whole bunch of stuff on scdev as I recall).

 

[Maikel Steneker]

In theory the DS could virtualise the GBA onto its screen.

You mean putting an image of the GBA on the black border?

Hey, that sounds like a fun idea for a skin

You can replace the border with the R4, right?

 

[Beware]

Argghh, now that you mentioned it, i'm starting to dislike the weird aspect ratio, looking at that picture.Â

Maybe you guys are right, it doesn't look better.

I can live with the pixel stretch, but not with different aspect ratio. So this is a no go anyway after all. I just wanted the normal gba screen size, but it can't be possible because of the different aspect ratio.

The screen size when playing GBA games on the DS is exactly the same as a regular GBA and GBASP. Borders are a good idea too. If you play them with an EZFlash NDStation allows you to change the border.

PSP is REALLY nice for GBA emulation. Not all the games work quite right, but if you have a PSP and gpSP, it's really nice. Don't have to deal with it flashing to the EZFlash and there are all sorts of different aspect ratios. Everything from regular 1:1 to 16:9 (scaled or unscaled). I enjoyed it, but scrapped gpSP for my 3in1 with NDStation compression.

 

[Dead Ghost]

The screen size when playing GBA games on the DS is exactly the same as a regular GBA and GBASP. Borders are a good idea too. If you play them with an EZFlash NDStation allows you to change the border.

They are not the same size, sorry to repeat myself. I also had a GBA SP (new edition, with brighter screen, btw) and a DS Lite, side by side, both running in gba mode, and the GBA picture on DS is SMALLER then on the GBA SP, no question about it. The two screens have different aspect ratios, so i think that's why the letterbox format on nds.
Some post i found with actual measurements:

"GBA SP screen:

2 and 7/16" wide
1 and 10/16" high

DS screens:

2 and 6/16" wide
1 and 12/16" high

They are damn near the same size, the DS being 1/16" less wide, and 2/16" taller.

and for comparison, I measured the used area of the screen of the DS when running a GBA game:

2 and 3/16" wide
1 and 7/16" high

Or, 1/4" inch less wide, and 3/16" less high, when running a GBA game on the DS vs. running it on a SP... 1/4 of an inch!!! a pretty sizable difference. By the way, 1/16" is like... roughly 1.5 or 1.3mm."

PSP is REALLY nice for GBA emulation. Not all the games work quite right, but if you have a PSP and gpSP, it's really nice. Don't have to deal with it flashing to the EZFlash and there are all sorts of different aspect ratios. Everything from regular 1:1 to 16:9 (scaled or unscaled). I enjoyed it, but scrapped gpSP for my 3in1 with NDStation compression.Â

Hmmm, are there any classic/good gba games that don't work on PSP?
Also, pls see my thread here, maybe you can help answer me some additional questions regarding psp.

Thx

 

[Lumstar]

If true, that is Nintendo's mistake. The DS, DS lite, GBA, and GBA SP have identically-sized pixels on a technical level.