Homebrew DS Game Video Captures

[CannonFoddr]

Bit of a silly question & I bet I've put this in the wrong forum anyway,
but I was wondering how all those Game Review Sites (Like IGN etc) manage to get clear gameplay videos of DS games ?

It's not as though they've somehow connected up the DS to a video recorder or something, & they definately can't be using a video camera to record the screen (we've all seen how they come out - blurred & shaky)

I'm guessing that what they use is a DS emulator & Game ROM on a PC then using video capture software to grab the gameplay that way

Does anyone actually know how they do it & would it work also with Homebrew ??

 

[Vague Rant]

It's not as though they've somehow connected up the DS to a video recorder or something

Why not?

 

[dinofan01]

They have a special unit to do it. Nintendo sent out a ds with the capture unit attached to it when the ds launched. Its a pretty big machine (almost as big as normal desktop tower). They can't disconnect the ds from the machine though.

 

[Technik]

PRove it. I beleive you i just want a source to read the rest at

 

[asdf]

When the DS launched, Nintendo sent out capture devices connected to the DS to certain people, such as Gamespot, IGN, etc. The capture card is called "Nitro" after the DS's codename. From my understanding, the DS's compatible with the recording device have an extra port, but correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[PettingZoo]

Yeah, there are special DS capture devices. I've seen pictures of it somewhere, I also remember hearing that Cyclo was going to implement that feature in their firmware a while ago. Not sure how that ended up though.

 

[CannonFoddr]

It's not as though they've somehow connected up the DS to a video recorder or something

Why not?

The main reason is that the DS doesn't have any dedicated ports for TV/Video connection, unlike a Wii, PS3 or XBox

However as mentioned in the other posts - it seems that it's a specialized piece of equipment that's used,
which is a shame as I was hoping that if it was possible (as in PC/Emulator/Screen Grabbing software combo) then proper 'clear' videos of Homebrew can be made instead of the usual 'shaky blurred' ones we usually see

 

[zero383]

Shaky? Blurred?

It's called a tripod and good lighting.

Macro mode feature helps too.

 

[Reaper]

A guy made a video of him playing the DS and it was on his computer monitor. He took apart the DS and it was connected with some stuff

 

[CannonFoddr]

A guy made a video of him playing the DS and it was on his computer monitor. He took apart the DS and it was connected with some stuff

Nice to know - but where's the link ??

 

[Tony_92]

A guy made a video of him playing the DS and it was on his computer monitor. He took apart the DS and it was connected with some stuff

Nice to know - but where's the link ??

You're probably talking about this: http://home.comcast.net/~olimar/DS/jumbotron/

 

[CannonFoddr]

You're probably talking about this: http://home.comcast.net/~olimar/DS/jumbotron/

Wow - looks bloody brilliant, but somehow I don't think anyone going to go that far just for better screen movies

Since I've posted - I've actually been looking at DS emulation & Screen grabbing (using Hypercam) & I think it may be possible, however I'm having trouble with the Emulators that I'm trying out (No$GBA and Ideas).

With No$GBA - I'm getting 'screen corruption'. The screen graphics are usually 'offcentred' or not showing at all, while with Ideas - when the screen changes - it locks up (the ROM I'm trying BTW is 'Starly'). It seems that the emulators don't like homebrew which is a shame, they just lock up

Perhaps it's the way I'm runnng them or the way they're setup or something. But I may keep plugging away (time permitting) to see if there is a way

UPDATE:
Well I've finally figured out the problems
I'm using no$GBA & the problem with screen corruption is that N0$GBA doesn't support 'latest ROMS' & guess what 'Startly' is !!
As for homebrew - I think it's really down to how they're programmed. Moonshell doesn't work but StillAliveDS does

 

[koji2009]

http://www.warioworld.com/

That is nintendo's official website for developer's. Part of the development kit is a specially modified system that allows you to run unfinished code as well as hook up to a larger display. Review websites get a similar device (or maybe an identical device...) that allow them to get screen captures for review purposes. This is because nintendo wants the publicity. They want all their game images to look their absolute best.

 

[Nintendo]

You're probably talking about this:
http://home.comcast.net/~olimar/DS/jumbotron/

I've seen that one. Pretty cool. There's also this (which I think can also be seen on the Jumbotron page with a video of it):



Which was used to make this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMezPfk8Zq4

And other videos from that same YouTube user: http://www.youtube.com/user/Buoysel

There's some discussion about it on Speed Demos Archive (link), but so far it looks like nobody else has managed to create one.