Dreamcast Hardware Upgrades for Noobs?

[marchegiano]

Howdy all

A while back I was asking about De La Jet Set Radio cdi and was asked why don't I have GDEmu. I explained myself but ever since then that question has been kind of burned in.

So, I goes investigating as one does and I've found just loads of hardware improvements I am sure most of y'all are super informed about but were new to me and lots of them was not something I anticipated seeing.

If y'all with experience and knowledge would be so kind as to impart some of that onto me I'd greatly appreciate it. I am reading and searching but often a little expertise is nice and y'all know how the internet is with counterfeits. I know y'all actually do stuff and don't just claim it, so, I trust your inputs a lot more than I do found testimonials and such.




I have some questions.




ODE = ?? What are those letters? Sometimes just time is the bastard. I feel like I'm so late to the party I don't even understand the lingo the cool kids use. I mean I've sorted what it refers to, I think, it's SD card reading, but what does ODE actually stand for?

Mode vs GDemu? Tbh I only ever heard about GDemu here and only found Mode by searching for GDEmu. Some folks say one is better, others say the other is better, but I have yet to actually find any list of functions or even who actually makes these doo-dads.

32mb ram? What could that possibly be good for outside of me being lazy about my own DreamBOR work? What I mean to say is if DC comes 16mb don't the games expect 16mb and anything legitimately for DC programmed for 16mb? How would I utilize the full 32?

New power supplies - I see them, explanations for why they exist at all don't seem to come with finding them. Just some sales pages that assume you know why you're looking at it. Does DC have power issues or is this for folks who had already experienced an issue?

UniBios chip - I assume from the name of it what it does - region free, no? That's all I know. Is it worth doing? Does this sort of doodad work with GDEmu/Mode-ODE devices or possibly made redundant by them?

USB's - I see Serial to USB and controller ports to USB. Serial to USB I assume is for coding and ripping and such stuffs? Do these interact with or change how you use the SDcard mods? What I mean is, if I take the GDrom drive out and pop in a SD reader ode Mode/GD thing and then connect it to my PC can I read and write to that SD?

Controller to USB....I don't get it. I seen it paired with DC controllers that have also been USB'd. Which seems like just an absolute waste of time. The site was french so I didn't understand. I tried google translate but it only translated bits out of the frame I needed so I've no clue there. Possibly less delay? Is there any considerable input lag on DC anyway? This one is just a mystery to me. Maybe I fell for a joke?

HDMI Display Port - Does it do more than any old random converter box would? What is the difference between installing this and just pluging in the old RCA cables into a converter box and then the HDMI to a TV or some such?

DreamPi - Is it alone? This is the only solution for playing DC hardware online in 2022?



Looking at all this makes me wonder quite a lot

Do these all work together?

Do version of DC matter?

Seems like folks been crying for a DC2 too long and not paying enough attention to the DC 2.0 they could have. On board storage, more memory, online functions in 2022, HDMI output, no regions, connect to your PC, and whatever a new power supply gets you, it's got that too. Super cool. Not to mention DC gets new games every single year and plenty of apps too. IMO, the DC community already made the DC 2, we just don't call it that because that name is, always was, and will be, super lame. Numbers with a Sega console? ew, this ain't sony.

Conversely

I am late to the party and unsure of how forward thinking these projects are. Being as I still have a 100% stock DC and a lot of these peripherals are out of date in the PC world is it maybe better to wait on new versions? HDMI 2, USB C, SD cards might get chucked one day and now we all use some kind of reshaped SD card to make our old SD card readers useless. That sort of deal. Would you invest, what's looking like near 1k, in spiffing up your DC now? Or maybe wait and see a few years? Would it matter to you, at all, if your GDEmu was made obsolete by newer GDEmu's that take newer cards? I realize that doesn't exist but it is my primary worry. I don't want to drop 300 on it then months or a year later see a new version for 300 that is in some way better than the one I bought.


I realize this was a bit long, thanks for reading. Any input, advice, anything, would be super appreciated.

[megavolt85]

ODE - Optical Drive Emulator

MODE has more cons: price is higher, you need to open the console to add games, there are problems with homebrew compatibility

32 megabytes will be available only in a few homebrew and a few patched games, in general, the mod is rather useless because it is difficult to install and most users will not be able to do it, and therefore it makes no sense for developers to develop something using this mod

when installing GDEMU, the 12V line is not used and the PSU starts to overheat, in general, I recommend changing the PSU to absolutely everyone, it is very poorly designed, and is also a source of excess heat

if you have ODE installed, then you don’t need a BIOS replacement, it’s just a waste of time and money

USB-Serial is coder cable, it is needed for debugging programs while writing them

there is a DCHDMI project, it is not cheap, but it gives the best picture, if you connect the composite output to an AV2HDMI converter, you will see a very terrible, soapy image on your TV

to access the Internet you will need a raspberry pi or a personal computer, there are no other options

[NeORomani]

As a recent noob (me) I recommend these that does not require any soldering
GDEMU
PSU
Controller board with removable battery (check model)
HDMI for DC (looks incredible in my 65" flat tv)

You can find all easily in aliexpress

[marchegiano]

ODE - Optical Drive Emulator

MODE has more cons: price is higher, you need to open the console to add games, there are problems with homebrew compatibility

32 megabytes will be available only in a few homebrew and a few patched games, in general, the mod is rather useless because it is difficult to install and most users will not be able to do it, and therefore it makes no sense for developers to develop something using this mod

when installing GDEMU, the 12V line is not used and the PSU starts to overheat, in general, I recommend changing the PSU to absolutely everyone, it is very poorly designed, and is also a source of excess heat

if you have ODE installed, then you don’t need a BIOS replacement, it’s just a waste of time and money

USB-Serial is coder cable, it is needed for debugging programs while writing them

there is a DCHDMI project, it is not cheap, but it gives the best picture, if you connect the composite output to an AV2HDMI converter, you will see a very terrible, soapy image on your TV

to access the Internet you will need a raspberry pi or a personal computer, there are no other options

My man! I really, really appreciate this. Thank you so much.

[marchegiano]

As a recent noob (me) I recommend these that does not require any soldering
GDEMU
PSU
Controller board with removable battery (check model)
HDMI for DC (looks incredible in my 65" flat tv)

You can find all easily in aliexpress

Oh dang! Lots cheaper huh? Thanks for that man.

I hadn't heard of any controller port upgrades so thanks for that too.

I hadn't seen any dreamshell devices. Looks like something of a competitor of the GDEmu to me.

got more reading to do.

[marchegiano]

Just recently came across an HDD mod that uses Dreamshell, and some IMR threads of Dreamshell, thanks Ian.

From what I gather Dreamshell isn't as compatible as GDEmu?

Is GDemu just as compatible as the gd-rom drive itself?

Dreamcast HDMI means no light gun, I reckon, and so not worth it. House of the Dead 2 ftw.


Edit:
I dunno if I was just on some old info or bad info but I quickly found gdemu above 32gbs max so that's not actually an issue. Deleted the questioned related.

[marchegiano]

I figured I should probably actually start sharing links.

DC+HDD:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/275235488280?h ... SwopNiQKwZ

all I know about that one.

[MikeStutzzzz]

if you have the $$$ can always try for a BBA or get an Atomiswave bba and mod I think that will get you a solid 10mbps But I believe that only works for 2 games. where dreampi you an play them all.

GDemu seems to be the common thing for games use a knock off one myself but pretty sure there are those other solutions may just cost more

As for video if your old CRT TV supports S-Video I would use that instead of the yellow cable. now if you have an old Computer monitor that supports VGA that would get you the best output using a VGA Box and still allow you to play hotd2 or the other shooting games I uses an old 27in crt for this myself if you want to hookup to new TVs you can look at DCHDMI good luck though those things are hard to come by. I use a VGA box to OSSC looks really good pretty pricey unfortunately. can just use a VGA to HDMI adapter box as well.

[Spleet]

As for video if your old CRT TV supports S-Video I would use that instead of the yellow cable. now if you have an old Computer monitor that supports VGA that would get you the best output using a VGA Box and still allow you to play hotd2 or the other shooting games I uses an old 27in crt for this myself if you want to hookup to new TVs you can look at DCHDMI good luck though those things are hard to come by. I use a VGA box to OSSC looks really good pretty pricey unfortunately. can just use a VGA to HDMI adapter box as well.

There is at least one solution for light guns. Chris(creator of dreamconn) ventured into wireless keyboard and light gun modifications. The keyboard relies on the same method as controller, but both are very pricey. The light gun, however, requires a dedicated IR sensor that intercepts the video signal before it is sent to the display. Paired with a light gun(that likely utilizes a wiimote style IR transmitter), it can and will likely require dialing in and require calibration any time you move the IR sensor or sit/stand in a different location. It's probably good but way too much of a hassle for the price. Just get an old CRT if you NEED HotD2.

[MikeStutzzzz]

As for video if your old CRT TV supports S-Video I would use that instead of the yellow cable. now if you have an old Computer monitor that supports VGA that would get you the best output using a VGA Box and still allow you to play hotd2 or the other shooting games I uses an old 27in crt for this myself if you want to hookup to new TVs you can look at DCHDMI good luck though those things are hard to come by. I use a VGA box to OSSC looks really good pretty pricey unfortunately. can just use a VGA to HDMI adapter box as well.

There is at least one solution for light guns. Chris(creator of dreamconn) ventured into wireless keyboard and light gun modifications. The keyboard relies on the same method as controller, but both are very pricey. The light gun, however, requires a dedicated IR sensor that intercepts the video signal before it is sent to the display. Paired with a light gun(that likely utilizes a wiimote style IR transmitter), it can and will likely require dialing in and require calibration any time you move the IR sensor or sit/stand in a different location. It's probably good but way too much of a hassle for the price. Just get an old CRT if you NEED HotD2.

I own a dreamconn I saw those guns but agree with you better to use a CRT, That or Maybe buy a Wii cheaper and more light gun games.