So out of the blue Kevtris posted this up on AtariAge:
http://atariage.com/forums/topic/...

NA thread:
http://nintendoage.com/forum/mess...

In a nutshell, Kevtris has produced a "firmware upgrade" allowing the Analogue NT Mini to run ROMs from other systems. I am curious to see if this may be possible to pull off on the AVS. Interesting to note, the AVS loads it's firmware from a boot ROM on startup, which can be updated via the Scoreboard application. There is no SD card, but I wonder if it would be possible for a modified firmware to load configuration data off an SD adapter in an NES shell, kind of like a custom flash cart with DB9 headers.

This would be similar to what Kevtris is doing with the Zimba 3000 add-on for the NT Mini, only the SD card would interface the cart bus rather than the system itself. Or perhaps just supply custom firmwares for the AVS itself that do one system at a time, and a cart adapter. Play Atari VCS/2600 games on it or something.

I am aware that the NT Mini has a beefier FPGA than the AVS (and is also 2.5x more expensive), with 1080p output and access menus without reset, so I'm not totally sure how much extra functionality could be added with custom firmwares. But I think a "jailbreak" mode for AVS to play games from others systems, through cart adapters or SD card, would be epic...

At that point, why wouldn't you just use a raspberry pi?

maybe because of the adapters for carts and controllers? I dunno, not my cup of tea either

because raspberry pi is still emulation, where this is a hardware clone. it's the difference between and AVS and a Retron 5 for playing NES games, but applied to all consoles it supports. its really a pretty huge deal, as this is the first device of its kind to get a public release.

Somebody gets it.  

 

I guess people can do what they want, but it won't be something I'd be interested in.

The AVS can play NES games from a PowerPak, so there's that, but for any other system I'd just stick with my Retron 5 or RetroFreak.

FTFY  
 

"Running ROMs from other systems". So unless Bunny releases cartridge adapters, my statement still stands.

that part is irrelevant if you're looking for proper hardware to run the games. it doesn't matter if the rom comes off a cart or an sd card.

It wouldn't be running the ROMs by interpreting through software. The "jailbreak" would involve reconfiguring the I/O on the FPGA to interface directly with the cartridge to read and write ROM/RAM like the original consoles. The FPGA has memory inside that can be configured to access like SRAM or DRAM for the target console, and then it's down to getting the other hardware simulated correctly on a hardware I/O level. Simulating a CPU, supporting logic, or graphics chip is a very different approach to most software emulators, which only care about interpreting the software.

Because the NT supports over 200 mappers including MMC5, which Everdrive and Powerpak have issues with. This is like the Powerpak v2 and an extremely accurate FPGA console in one.

Yeah. It's basically "Multi-platform flash cart, Kevtris-style." He's long been saying that he wanted to make one that would make up for the deficiencies of the Everdrive and Power Pak, but he also said he wanted it to be multi-console. I feared something unwieldy, like the Bung MGD series (especially after his prototyping videos), but this is a pleasant surprise. Analog NT mini is basically a guerrilla Zimba 3000 thanks to Kevtris' involvement!
 

So if I understand all this correctly, we'd be turning the AVS into the Coleco Chameleon?

Except, y'know, it's not a capture card/SNES mini in a Jag shell.

Exactly.

A reprogrammable hardware clone that supports multiple systems is a pretty big deal, IMO.
 

Possible, but not likely. GB/GBC is the only one I really thought about but too many other NES projects come first.

This is a huge deal, makes the $450+ shipping easily worth it. Imagine having cores for all the systems he says he has cores for that are accurate and you have HDMI and RGB output with controller adapters? Flashcarts and expensive RGB and HDMI mods will be no longer necessary.

They did approach Kevtris at some point. He ultimately declined to work with them, but at least it seems that they were serious enough to talk to the right person. Perhaps they were counting on it and everything else happened in their death spiral!

Well I didn't decline to work with them, I was sort of on board (hey, you never know hehe) until their Indigogo campaign when they announced it wouldn't even ship with an FPGA inside it.  That was the first I heard that they basically didn't want my cores in it.   Just thought I'd clear it up.

Also, heya to everyone on the forum here.  Long time listener, first time caller as they say.
 

  Heya Kevtris! Welcome aboard! Great to finally meet the man behind the legend(s).

Kevtris You are a god! Could nt mini run pc engine roms? Thanks

I don't know if there's enough RAM bandwidth to do it.  I did add the ability to play SMS, game gear, coleco and SG-1000 friday though.
 

Any info on the updated adapters for the "green strip" issue?  I'd like to play some of my affected games the normal way. 

Also, FF7 really hates the latest beta 8 update. It's far worse than the older firmwares for some reason. 
 

Great to finally hear from you here, though most of us follow you wherever you leave nuggets.   Yeah, I guess I meant "ultimately" as eventually.  
 

I'd be very happy with this!  

Keeping it a Nintendo system also makes sense. That would be a great thing though. I would love to pllay games like Shantae and Super Mario Land on my large display in HD without resorting to emulation. As I get older I am realizing the benefits of a nice large HD display to game on, especially with something like Game Boy and GBC games. 

 

I released the GB/GBC core last week and Atari 2600 yesterday, so you can play all three of those systems now in full HD at 60fps at 1080p.