EDIT: Mark wants me to let you all know he's very sorry for soldering the fuse in the wrong place and he is flogging himself with a soldering iron 100 times as penance. Thank you to those who spotted it. ---- Thanks for watching! What do you think of our build? Would you change anything? Do we need to get the Terraonion MODE or have we got all bases covered? Let me know your thoughts! Here are the episode links below, and if you enjoyed it why not give Mark a sub, he's just 200 away from the big 10k! ● Episode Links MarkFixesStuff: ruclips.net/user/markfixesstuff Coaster2K items: www.ebay.co.uk/sch/coaster2k/m.html BitFunx Items: bitfunx.aliexpress.com/store/1406602 RMC Patreon: patreon.com/rmcretro Neil - RMC
Great build! You could shorten the load time from SD by using a program known as GDEMU_SD that indexes and sorts the games in a way that doesn't need it to be done at DC start up
Keen to see a comparison with the MODE - Mark said something else interesting - "digital CRT" - Do the computer CRTs from the late 90s have lag? - I have a PVM which I use with my MegaDrive & I would never play sonic on an LCD - maybe an OLED, but... for the Dreamcast - does my PVM have less lag than a 640x480 PC monitor like the Philips or Sony you are showing off in the opening shot? - I know its popular to plug a Dreamcast into a 90s monitor via VGA. - would be a good follow up vid I think.
Given the broadband adapter is way out of most people's reach, the addition of a raspberry pi to support DreamPi would be nice. DreamPi makes the raspberry pi function as a dial up server so the Dreamcast modem can effectively call it up and connect to the internet via the pi's wi-fi. Getting the dreamcast back online and playing Phantasy Star would be a nice lockdown treat.
Way a head of it s time not only from graphical point of view but the network and pretty much everything back in the 1998 in Japaan and 1999 europe;D when I had my playstation and went to my friend who had dc my jaw just drop on the floor
Just a tip: you can leave the game and go back to the Dreamcast system menu by pushing the four colored buttons and start at the same time. You might have to do it multiple times because in many games it first goes back to the game's main menu.
You guys forgot to cover one little essential mod to the dreamcast and that's the fan replacement with a Noctua NF-A4x10 5V fan as shown on 12:40 . For those who don't know, the original fan on the Dreamcast is very noisy and does little into cooling down the dreamcast, that mod pretty much makes it quiet and cool. There are various sites out there that have kits and it comes to £9 with the 3d printed mounting molds & electrical wires and £54 with the full kit (Noctua fan included).
One problem with blue LEDs is that our peripheral vision is really sensitive to blue. Red isn't noticeable out the corner of your eye but blue stands out a mile and can get a bit annoying.
Yeah, but it was kindly supplied for free, so... I have a green led in my other DC. What colour do you like? I might change it and add some more leds around the inside of the case.
@@MarkFixesStuff actually the blue might be okay with the DC because it's diffused behind that triangle piece? In general I try to go with boring old red now, it's not as fancy and modern as blue but in a dark room it's nicer on the eyes. Good video btw :) I've only changed the fan so far in my DC but will be getting a bootleg gdemu eventually. I'll have to pick up one of those 3D printed trays that you got. Luckily I'm plugged into a CRT so won't need to do that scary hdmi install!
If you use the SD card maker software for the gdemu you won't have to wait on every start-up. It creates an index file which would be read when starting the DC and it would directly start on the game list.
koffieleut is correct! The pause is not from the number of games, it is from the generation of the list. The SD card maker software generates a .ini file which allows the GDEmu to skip the loading screen completely, no matter how many games you have. There's a RUclips video titled "Get the MOST out of your GDEMU - Dreamcast - Custom Box Art - No More Loading Screens" that covers the process.
@Brian Babin Dreamcast is in a league of it's own. I wouldn't rank it with these other consoles. It was actually the first Sega I liked since the Master System. :D
The fave console i ever had was The Panasonic 3DO FZ1, I bought it new in 1994, Need for speed on that was something that no one had ever seen before. i never forgot my friends face when they saw 3D graphics for the first time. Awesome Memories.
I have a GDEMU clone in one of my Dreamcasts with a 256GB card and 200+ games. It boots instantly because I used a tool called SD CARD MAKER for GDEmu 1.10 by MadSheep. Google it. It makes the experience so much better / easier. Also, if you didn't know, you can press A, B, X, Y and START simultaneously to take you back to the title screen in 95% of games. Do it again to take you back to the GDEMU menu. You don't have to press the 3D printed button in the tray or even be near it. If you used the tool I mentioned above there's zero waiting / loading. Finally, check the Dreamcast Talk forums. In the last week, a bunch of AtomisWave games were ported to the Dreamcast and they are INCREDIBLE. Cheers, guys! ❤️
I'd personally sooner have it hooked up to a CRT, as with pretty much all my consoles, but the rest of it looked fab. Always wanted to have a go on a Dreamcast.
You won't regret it. Tons of great games, comfortable controller, the sharpest graphics of any console of it's time, including the PS2 AND Xbox. The system is a little loud and the VMU battery beep could get annoying, but they are easily ignorable unless you're a quiet freak.
@@dbnpoldermans4120 because I’ve just lowered the resistance for the battery charging circuit with my mistake. The original fuse is fine on the board which is why my error went unnoticed. Ironic that I’d mess up on the easiest bit though lol
Over two decades old and is definitely going to go for two more. This thing could out live the rest of it's siblings, if the capasitors and the silicon hold out.
To speed up loading with the GDEmu use the SD Card maker for GDEmu. The HDMI mod looks very nice, fake scanlines on a digital display never look right (too dark). I use a cheap VGA cable and a VGA CRT monitor for the DC, it looks beautiful in 640x480p with natural scanlines. Not really a mod, but something to add would be a DreamPi, to get that 33k modem connected to the internet for online play. Thanks for the video Neil & Mark. Long live the Dreamcast.
Thank you! Mark mentioned to me that he thought there might be an app to help pre-index the SD Card or something but couldn't remember the name, that clears up the mystery, very helpful thank you!
@@MarkFixesStuff The popular online games are Phantasy Star Online, Quake 3, Alien Front Online and Monaco Grand Prix Online. There are a few more, with people working on getting more games online every year. The full list is here: dreamcastlive.net/games/
@@MarkFixesStuff This site has a good list of the currently online games, as well as a schedule of upcoming times that the community plays different games. Really brings life to the dreamcast, especially when you have the dreamcast keyboard plugged in for the chat lobbies dreamcastlive.net/schedule/
One (expensive) mod that might be worth it, if you can find it, is the USB GD-ROM. When you have a large number of games (e.g. the whole library), GDEMU takes a very long time to load the menu (even if you use the Create Menu option in the SD card maker tool). In contrast, USB GD-ROM loads instantly no matter how many games you have. It's also a lot easier to add/remove games on USB: simply copy them directly to the flash drive with the folder structure and name you want. GDEMU essentially requires a separate program to add/remove games.
Got a terrainion mode in my Japanese Dreamcast with a 500gb HDD, also done the battery mod. Using a beharbros akura for hdmi. The mode works a treat and I get a great picture using the akura
Retro Fighters just ended a kickstarter for a wireless version of their N64 controller and they made a wired Dreamcast replacement so hoping that will get the wireless treatment in the near future.
Dreamcast is one of my favourite consoles, got it around its launch time,all the love its getting over the years online just shows how great and ahead of its time the console was.good video
Don't know why my favourite colour Poy-Pull Err-Purple is hardly ever used for an LED Indicator, but Man O Woman once you've seen a neon Purple LED indicator, I swear you too will love it!
Perhaps consider painting or wrapping the outside of the light pipe in foil then tape, so the LED only lights up the triangle on top and doesn't bleed of of the front? (Personal preference thing). The smoke-clear case for my Dreamcast was a lot cheaper back in the day :)
@ 12:20: That was not the fuse! That was the current limiting resistor for the battery charging (R1). Did Mark wrongly replace that with a fuse? The actual fuse is F1 as seen at 12:14.
To fix the 2 minutes loading time because of the big sd card, use the SD Card Maker tool to adjust your games. Check the Menu checkbox in the tool, and save. It will load GDmenu instantly.
When you have a very large number of games (200+GB worth), even if you use the SD Card Maker tool and save the Menu file, it still takes about 2 minutes to load the menu.
@10:05 if you use the GDEMUSD program to setup the SD card, it will generate a file with a list of all the roms on the SD card which makes booting the GDEMU instantly.
Another possible alternative for DCHDMI is a VGA cable + VGA box. You can also connect your DC directly to a VGA monitor. If you have an old CRT PC monitor, you can even get crisp video output AND lightgun compatibility.
I've been eyeballing a DCHDMI so i can actually use my dreamcast in my living room. I have a nice RGB CRT downstairs in the basement when i want some classic style play, but sometimes you just want to sit up on the couch with friends and play some Rush 2049
Back in the day I worked at a game store and I set up a large format CRT with a DC using the VGA cables and some 3.1 speakers, it was more popular than the PS2 or xbox for in-store play. :D :D
This is my kind of collaboration! I've done the rechargeable battery, Pico psu and GDemu in mine so far. A new shell and HDMI out would be nice though.
My dream Draemcast build would have gdemu and the optical drive with the option to switch between them. So you can play originals or backups of your originals.
I get that it was a donation but so you know the DCDigital is a Black Dog Technology product and Bitfunx is selling an unofficial clone. And while the GDEMU is extremely difficult to get and the developer difficult to work with Black Dog Technology does have DCDigital kits available. edit: My mistake... didn't realize they had open sourced the DCDigital.
I spoke to Dan at Black Dog before we did the video, and he confirmed that the DCHDMI is open sourced and they allow anyone to make it. He confirmed they have no issue with Bitfunx selling that item. Dan was going to try and get one of his devices to us but the global situation got in the way. Thanks for looking out for the creators though.
@@MarkFixesStuff My mistake. I didn't realize they had open sourced it (like they have with the 3DO RGB and such). I saw mentions from installers saying they wouldn't take units not from Dan and figured that was due to permissions/licensing and not quality.
@@spawnlink I’ve not had a chance to see the unit from Black Dog yet but the Bitfunx version is ok quality I think. It’s a tricky mod to install though. I’d like to get one from Dan to do an actual full install tutorial at some point.
@@MarkFixesStuff I installed mine (from Dan) and had no issues. The pitch on the ribbon is small but with the right tools and flux it was fine. I did not run into any problems with the resistors as you did. Been too long for me to remember if Dan's cables are the same as the Bitfunx.
What I'd like in mine (and I am 100% certain this does not exist) is the ability to shift between the original CD's and a SD card solution in my Dreamcast that way the games (the few I own) I collect aren't destined to permanently sit on the shelf.
I like crisp and clear, I can never understand fixing a machine or using an emulator for a better image only to the turn on scan line effects etc to make them fuzzy again.
Not a fan of that hdmi mod seems like the cable is the vastly better option all around, I also would have kept the optical drive but maybe I'm just a pedant and like to have the physical media to hand, I approve of the psu upgrade shame there aren't more kinds for different systems available or maybe there are and I don't know about it yet.
the psu mod isn't useful. you get a less good quality power supply and now have to deal with a box or wall wart. you can buy caps for a couple dollars and make the original supply work better. The hdmi cable adapter is trash, i had one...
For anyone playing on a CRT, the DCHDMI makes no sense. For everyone else that wants to play on their 60 inch 4k OLED, you're going to want to look into this! The fan mod should be installed in all Dreamcast's, to be honest. I've heard people say to refurbish the original PSU, instead of putting a pico in, but I haven't really poured over the data. The clone GDEMU is pretty much the only option, as the original creator seems to be missing in action, although being able to support the inventor would be rather nice. Either way, you guys did it! That really is the ULTIMATE DC!
You guys make a good team. Great video. I don’t have a Dreamcast, but if I did I think I would forego the expensive case. All the other mods improve the functionality, the case is just for show.
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that bling! Joking aside, I love the original case look and getting the replica meant not having to cut a vintage item.
There are a few mods that are still missing from this whole scheme, namely the DreamPi modem, the wireless Dreamcast controller and backlit rechargable VMU mod, and if you're going the full monty, the 32MB RAM mod, and Atomiswave BBA. Still, for a functional all-in-one Dreamcast without a fuss, this is just fine. A lot better than a certain metalhead had for an "ultimate Dreamcast." On most regards, I'd probably ignore the "Atomiswave BBA" one since it neglects to mention that only about 5 games support the BBA, and that 32MB RAM mod is still a bit of a meme for the time being. But a DreamPi is a must. This and the Xbox were the champions of early online console gaming, it must be celebrated!
I need to do that as it is annoying on boot having date and time adjust pop up every time it is switched on. It charges up a little bit but if not used for more than a day it looses its charge.
They're bad news. Avoid them. They use a different technology to red and green LEDs and they can cause eye damage. medicalxpress.com/news/2019-05-eyes-health-authority.html
@@6581punk that's more about cheap white home lighting, than tiny blue LEDs on a device. And it says "it _can_ accelerate retinal ageing", which is quite different from damaging/destroying the retina directly. Anyone who knows anything about LED home lighting will tell you to go with a good quality warm white instead of a strobey cool one anyway. It's bizarre how the article mentions the top manufacturers, who do proper DC rectification, then talk about cheap rectification which ends up strobey. They make it sound like even the best name brands do it. Cheap LED light is a world apart from decent ones, even just in terms of CRI. This article you linked doesn't really tell us anything new that lighting professionals haven't been saying for decades.
I didn't do the HDMI solution because I dont trust my soldering skills enough for that so I bought a pound HDMI cable. I did do all the others and the fan replacement is very satisfying! Man that old fan was loud! The cd drive was loud as well though.
I would never use PCBway myself but FFS, the fact that this company exists and at such a compelling price point is mental. Its'an e'ffin ridiculous time for CREATIVES in this arena.
The reason the DCHDMI is superior is a bit more than just latency. First, it's a lossless digital to digital conversion where the signal never exists as analog (flawless video quality). Second, it does proper scaling for 240p games where the external adapter would not. Third, it can scale to 1080p which may match your screen's native resoltion and bypass your TV's scaler. Fourth, it works with every game whether they support the VGA adapter or not. It's just better! :)
Very well done! A good base to start from for having a "real" monster Dreamcast. Some additions you might enjoy to reach the "next level": Terraonion MODE in replacement of gdemu, dreampi for connecting it to the internet and enjoy games such PSO or Quake Arena, wifi controller dreamconn for enjoyng games and get rid of cables, lightconn gun for playing best DC shooters on +65 inches oled screens (wifi). It will cost perhaps extra 1000 bucks but will be all worth it!
I wouldn't call GDEmu epic when much better alternatives like M.O.D.E. and USB-GDROM exist, but awesome build and video nonetheless! On a side note, Atomiswave arcade games are now being converted to the Dreamcast since the hardware is almost identical, I've been uploading videos of these games running on real hardware in case anyone's curious.
Excellent video chaps - I had one back in the day but sold it to a mate to pay off some debts! Was lucky enough to pick up a good example about two years ago now - it too has the battery problem...I'll get around to fixing that one day!
I modded a dreamcast last summer. Most of the bells and whistles, gdemu, bios mod, forget the expensive hdmi box but had that, fighting pad etc. Sports black edition. Real slick. Also had dreampi and played quake III online and several other games with keyboard and mouse. Cool. In the end, the redream emulator does everything a dreamcast can (for the compatible games) and does it better. Resolution upscaling up to 4k and the developers only charge $5. If you have a PC that was made in the last decade, having a physical dreamcast is not worth the money. Most newer phones can run the redream emulator at full speed as well. It's cool and nostalgia overload but for anyone looking to take on this project, the end product isn't worth the money. Sold it and I hope whoever bought it enjoys but save your money.
You should use a 10-bit linear interpolation current steering digital to analog converter (DAC) and a Gilbert cell mixer to generate an RF amplitude modulated signal directly. The linear interpolation increases the attenuation of the DAC's image components.
what would cap this off nicely is a wireless controller, either via a brook adapter or a dreamconn+ and a backlit VMU. THEN it's the ultimate. Also a DC Digital modded DC looks great through a VGA adapter into a PC monitor - be sure to set the output to "VGA" for the best results,
Great video both! I think the Dreamcast is my favourite ever console, some amazing games and some you mentioned here that I wasn’t aware of. So many great memories, including in about 2003, we had expensive lcd screens at work that could rotate 90degrees. Playing Ikaruga in landscape mode through VGA out was immense. Loved Phantasy star online, going on hours long sessions and getting booted out when someone in the house picked up the phone!
There are 2 more mods that i think would have made it a tiny bit more ultimate, a second rom/flash/bios chip with dreamshell and a hidden switch to flip between them, and a harddrive... oh yes a harddrive.. or better yet an 44pin IDE SSD. 100% not necessary with the GDEmu. But these are mods i always wanted to do. I liked having the GD-Rom drive, so i wanted to have the IDE HDD/SSD, the serial SD card reader, and the dual bios. I still have Shenmue on original disks, so personally would like to keep the GD-Rom, or at least have access to it. All that said.. I had a dead dreamcast, i just gutted it and put a mini-ITX PC inside of it. Always wanted to get a new shell and laser assembly/gdemu (which ever is cheaper).. but it's probably cheaper just to buy a working used DC at this point.
I sold my not unsubstantial collection of Retro gaming machines about 10 years ago (due to space issues) & have been using emulation since. I don't regret it but I do however wish i had of kept my Dreamcast as would absolutely love a DC with these specifications.
@RMC - The Cave I think a bilinear filter, something trivial to do, would go a long way to making the image output look more authentic without defeating the point of having the HDMI connection.
Dreamcast was capable of pure sharp VGA when it launched in Japan in 1998. There's nothing authentic about smearing Vaseline all over the picture. Hooked up to a VGA monitor it is nothing short of beautiful.
@@ScottWozniak You're welcome to your opinion, not everyone agrees. Most people played a Dreamcast on a CRT TV with the naturally occurring pixel blending effect that went with it. And while playing on a VGA CRT was a novelty to behold, it was far from the norm.
Why didn't you guys use a terraonion MODE? I'm interested in getting the cable, can you edit video settings with that version as well, or is that only for the built in cable mod.
The dreamcast looks awesome. Never had one. Almost most bought one a few years ago, then remembered Crazy Taxi was also available on the gamecube. I am not a fan of fake scanlines. Real yes. Fake, nope. You should get a sony wega tv with HDMI. Scanlines and HDMI best of both worlds.👍 As long as you don't think about the weight 😊
Regarding the bitfunx hdmi adapter (not the dchdmi)... it's a great, cheap little device to get your dreamcast plugged into a hdmi television. However. it does not scale pixels in a 1:1 ratio. with other words you can get slight rainbow effect on the 16-bit dither output that a lot of games use.... (it's mostly visible when representing midtone colors and greys )... but other than that. color representation is good, and the lag isn't noticeable in my opinion if you use "game mode" on your TV. perhaps one frame of lag.
@@RMCRetro hahaha. The nerve! I mean, bitfunx might have replaced the scaler within the adapter since I bought mine 2 years ago. The issue with mine is that the scaler reads the 720x480 output of the dreamcast as 640x480 causing some pixel interpolation which result in diffuse vertical lines aross the dither pattern. it is very subtle and hard to spot. except when playing games like Shenmue, Resident Evil - Code Name Veronica. games that use 16-bits which uses very muted colors and a lot of gray tones.
Good news is that if you screw up the flex cable on the dchdmi install, like me lol. You can order just the flex for about $16. I also knocked off the r2 resistor 😂. I couldn't find it because it's tiny, so I just used one of the ones I pulled from the motherboard for the install. It's larger in size, and I'm not sure if it's the correct one, but it worked😂.
Great work friends. Might I suggest some clear smoke black controllers to better match the shell? Sorry if it’s been suggested already. I didn’t feel like reading through all the comments to check.
I found the MODE ODE replacement to be more reliable. Not as elegant if you need to add games to it (at least for now), but I was having a terrible time with the GDEMU and the time it took to load the menu. Wireless controller is of course the last frontier on the Dreamcast it seems. There is one mod for that i've seen online that costs too much and I haven't heard much about it so I haven't attempted to get it. I'm waiting for the "official" Retrobit controllers they announced a while back. The Saturn ones they made seemed to be pretty good so hopefully those end up good.
Great video, love to see the support the Dreamcast gets still in 2020, Iv also been working on modding my dreamcast, and covering some video on that, one thing I reccomand is the Brooks controller adapter that includes 200 blocks and wireless controller connectivity, I like to see one of those internally connected, also retro bit are apparently working on a wireless dc controller, enjoyed the video and hope for the best.
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EDIT: Mark wants me to let you all know he's very sorry for soldering the fuse in the wrong place and he is flogging himself with a soldering iron 100 times as penance. Thank you to those who spotted it.
----
Thanks for watching! What do you think of our build? Would you change anything? Do we need to get the Terraonion MODE or have we got all bases covered? Let me know your thoughts! Here are the episode links below, and if you enjoyed it why not give Mark a sub, he's just 200 away from the big 10k!
● Episode Links
MarkFixesStuff: ruclips.net/user/markfixesstuff
Coaster2K items: www.ebay.co.uk/sch/coaster2k/m.html
BitFunx Items: bitfunx.aliexpress.com/store/1406602
RMC Patreon: patreon.com/rmcretro
Neil - RMC
If you create a list of games GDEMU boots up much quicker.
Great build! You could shorten the load time from SD by using a program known as GDEMU_SD that indexes and sorts the games in a way that doesn't need it to be done at DC start up
I subscribed to Mark’s channel a while ago. Always good to watch.
Keen to see a comparison with the MODE - Mark said something else interesting - "digital CRT" - Do the computer CRTs from the late 90s have lag? - I have a PVM which I use with my MegaDrive & I would never play sonic on an LCD - maybe an OLED, but... for the Dreamcast - does my PVM have less lag than a 640x480 PC monitor like the Philips or Sony you are showing off in the opening shot? - I know its popular to plug a Dreamcast into a 90s monitor via VGA. - would be a good follow up vid I think.
Resistance is fu(se)tile.
Given the broadband adapter is way out of most people's reach, the addition of a raspberry pi to support DreamPi would be nice. DreamPi makes the raspberry pi function as a dial up server so the Dreamcast modem can effectively call it up and connect to the internet via the pi's wi-fi. Getting the dreamcast back online and playing Phantasy Star would be a nice lockdown treat.
Phantasy Star Online was my first online experience. :) Played it later on PC Schtserv and Ephinea.
The Dreamcast is like the one console that is quite far ahead of it's time that it ages pretty well even till today wow.
Especially with Marseille mcable gaming
Way a head of it s time not only from graphical point of view but the network and pretty much everything back in the 1998 in Japaan and 1999 europe;D when I had my playstation and went to my friend who had dc my jaw just drop on the floor
The graphics are a lot sharper than the PS2's even.
Just a tip: you can leave the game and go back to the Dreamcast system menu by pushing the four colored buttons and start at the same time. You might have to do it multiple times because in many games it first goes back to the game's main menu.
What?? Never knew this
You guys forgot to cover one little essential mod to the dreamcast and that's the fan replacement with a Noctua NF-A4x10 5V fan as shown on 12:40 .
For those who don't know, the original fan on the Dreamcast is very noisy and does little into cooling down the dreamcast, that mod pretty much makes it quiet and cool.
There are various sites out there that have kits and it comes to £9 with the 3d printed mounting molds & electrical wires and £54 with the full kit (Noctua fan included).
it's not essential
LED is orange in all regions from factory
Thank you for this. I modded my LED so long ago I can’t even remember.
The color of the Sega logo is different per region.
@@gordoncreAtive yes, I did at least know that. In the boot up animation as well.
'Amber' :-þ
It is actually octarine, but it appears orange to non-wizard eyes.
One problem with blue LEDs is that our peripheral vision is really sensitive to blue. Red isn't noticeable out the corner of your eye but blue stands out a mile and can get a bit annoying.
Yeah, but it was kindly supplied for free, so... I have a green led in my other DC. What colour do you like? I might change it and add some more leds around the inside of the case.
@@MarkFixesStuff actually the blue might be okay with the DC because it's diffused behind that triangle piece? In general I try to go with boring old red now, it's not as fancy and modern as blue but in a dark room it's nicer on the eyes. Good video btw :) I've only changed the fan so far in my DC but will be getting a bootleg gdemu eventually. I'll have to pick up one of those 3D printed trays that you got. Luckily I'm plugged into a CRT so won't need to do that scary hdmi install!
I used blue LED's on my MAME arcade machine. Wow they are nice but annoying.
@@MarkFixesStuff yellow would look really cool with this build
@@MarkFixesStuff Amber is the best colour for a LED indicators.
The Dreamcast is my all time favourite console, it was so ahead of its time no it holds up well on 2021
If you use the SD card maker software for the gdemu you won't have to wait on every start-up. It creates an index file which would be read when starting the DC and it would directly start on the game list.
When you have 200+GB of games on the SD card, the game list itself takes about 2 minutes to load, due to the time it takes to read the index file.
koffieleut is correct! The pause is not from the number of games, it is from the generation of the list. The SD card maker software generates a .ini file which allows the GDEmu to skip the loading screen completely, no matter how many games you have. There's a RUclips video titled "Get the MOST out of your GDEMU - Dreamcast - Custom Box Art - No More Loading Screens" that covers the process.
Dreamcast is still my favourite console, closely followed by the Saturn
@Brian Babin N64 > PlayStation > Altair 8800 > Saturn :)
@Brian Babin Dreamcast is in a league of it's own. I wouldn't rank it with these other consoles. It was actually the first Sega I liked since the Master System. :D
@@toaster4634 N64? 7800? You absolute wrongun
The fave console i ever had was The Panasonic 3DO FZ1, I bought it new in 1994, Need for speed on that was something that no one had ever seen before. i never forgot my friends face when they saw 3D graphics for the first time. Awesome Memories.
I have a GDEMU clone in one of my Dreamcasts with a 256GB card and 200+ games. It boots instantly because I used a tool called SD CARD MAKER for GDEmu 1.10 by MadSheep. Google it. It makes the experience so much better / easier.
Also, if you didn't know, you can press A, B, X, Y and START simultaneously to take you back to the title screen in 95% of games. Do it again to take you back to the GDEMU menu. You don't have to press the 3D printed button in the tray or even be near it. If you used the tool I mentioned above there's zero waiting / loading.
Finally, check the Dreamcast Talk forums. In the last week, a bunch of AtomisWave games were ported to the Dreamcast and they are INCREDIBLE. Cheers, guys! ❤️
My Portuguese model had an orange LED. I also had a VGA adapter which made the output super crisp. Good times!
Todas tinham o LED laranja, o logo é que era azul nas regiões PAL.
@@RaenYrtham Confirmo!
I'd personally sooner have it hooked up to a CRT, as with pretty much all my consoles, but the rest of it looked fab. Always wanted to have a go on a Dreamcast.
Can’t beat a CRT. And of course you can still do that even after the mod because the DCHDMI can detect a cable
I agree completely and I say that as as someone who paid for a DCHDMI. The DCHDMI looks nowhere near as good as a VGA CRT.
You won't regret it. Tons of great games, comfortable controller, the sharpest graphics of any console of it's time, including the PS2 AND Xbox. The system is a little loud and the VMU battery beep could get annoying, but they are easily ignorable unless you're a quiet freak.
The best is my 50 inch qled and Marseille mcable. I tried so many setups, but that is the ultimate one
@@christophermorin9036 yesterday I cut the speaker cables of my VMUs ;) it's just like heaven
You installed the fuse in the wrong spot. The fuse is labeled 'F1'. You installed the fuse in place of resistor R1.
Cheers Ryan. I shouldn’t rush! Good spot and I’ll swap that around in a bit!
So but the dreamcast still functions fine.
My little brain is like: wtf so many questions! like how ...?
@@MarkFixesStuff are fuse not sort of circuit breakers
@@dbnpoldermans4120 because I’ve just lowered the resistance for the battery charging circuit with my mistake. The original fuse is fine on the board which is why my error went unnoticed. Ironic that I’d mess up on the easiest bit though lol
@@linuxstreamer8910 these are, yes.
Over two decades old and is definitely going to go for two more.
This thing could out live the rest of it's siblings, if the capasitors and the silicon hold out.
My old Dreamcast used to have the official Sega millenium crystal yellow top shell but I lost it when I moved... :-(
Stolen
@@NoNoseProduction Possibly I guess.
To speed up loading with the GDEmu use the SD Card maker for GDEmu. The HDMI mod looks very nice, fake scanlines on a digital display never look right (too dark). I use a cheap VGA cable and a VGA CRT monitor for the DC, it looks beautiful in 640x480p with natural scanlines. Not really a mod, but something to add would be a DreamPi, to get that 33k modem connected to the internet for online play. Thanks for the video Neil & Mark. Long live the Dreamcast.
Thank you! Mark mentioned to me that he thought there might be an app to help pre-index the SD Card or something but couldn't remember the name, that clears up the mystery, very helpful thank you!
Thanks for the info! What games are played online these days?
@@MarkFixesStuff The popular online games are Phantasy Star Online, Quake 3, Alien Front Online and Monaco Grand Prix Online. There are a few more, with people working on getting more games online every year. The full list is here: dreamcastlive.net/games/
@@RMCRetro No problem Neil, thanks for the great weekly videos.
@@MarkFixesStuff This site has a good list of the currently online games, as well as a schedule of upcoming times that the community plays different games. Really brings life to the dreamcast, especially when you have the dreamcast keyboard plugged in for the chat lobbies dreamcastlive.net/schedule/
One (expensive) mod that might be worth it, if you can find it, is the USB GD-ROM. When you have a large number of games (e.g. the whole library), GDEMU takes a very long time to load the menu (even if you use the Create Menu option in the SD card maker tool). In contrast, USB GD-ROM loads instantly no matter how many games you have.
It's also a lot easier to add/remove games on USB: simply copy them directly to the flash drive with the folder structure and name you want. GDEMU essentially requires a separate program to add/remove games.
Got a terrainion mode in my Japanese Dreamcast with a 500gb HDD, also done the battery mod. Using a beharbros akura for hdmi. The mode works a treat and I get a great picture using the akura
Always tape the bits around the soldering area. It will save you so much hustle
Good tip!
I love the tiny Noctua fan.
The only thinkg the dreamcast needs is wireless controller mod and a broadband adaptor (1gb if possible) clone and were golden.
The only issue is that very very few games even supported the BBA.
Retro Fighters just ended a kickstarter for a wireless version of their N64 controller and they made a wired Dreamcast replacement so hoping that will get the wireless treatment in the near future.
@@Maldroth would be very cool.
@@slightlyevolved Nope only a few games supported it. See here for the full compatibility list. segaretro.org/Broadband_Adapter
Dreamcast is one of my favourite consoles, got it around its launch time,all the love its getting over the years online just shows how great and ahead of its time the console was.good video
This is the α-Dreamcast. Jolly good work lads! Keep the Dream alive.
Don't know why my favourite colour Poy-Pull Err-Purple is hardly ever used for an LED Indicator, but Man O Woman once you've seen a neon Purple LED indicator, I swear you too will love it!
I add my humble vote for the crisp picture.
Perhaps consider painting or wrapping the outside of the light pipe in foil then tape, so the LED only lights up the triangle on top and doesn't bleed of of the front? (Personal preference thing).
The smoke-clear case for my Dreamcast was a lot cheaper back in the day :)
The two of you make a good duo 🙂👍
Thank you Daniel son
Cheers Dan!
yes!!! RMC and japanese consoles is just a pure WIN!
Great graphics! Consoles really came into their own in the late 90s. Without being too perfect and uninteresting like nowadays.
I use RGB or S-Video on a CRT on all my older systems 50 or 60hz, NTSC and PAL not a issue.
@ 12:20: That was not the fuse! That was the current limiting resistor for the battery charging (R1). Did Mark wrongly replace that with a fuse? The actual fuse is F1 as seen at 12:14.
Yes! You got me. In my haste I did the wrong part. I’ll swap it over now. Thanks for letting me know. I’ll ask Neil to put a note under the video.
To fix the 2 minutes loading time because of the big sd card, use the SD Card Maker tool to adjust your games. Check the Menu checkbox in the tool, and save. It will load GDmenu instantly.
When you have a very large number of games (200+GB worth), even if you use the SD Card Maker tool and save the Menu file, it still takes about 2 minutes to load the menu.
@10:05 if you use the GDEMUSD program to setup the SD card, it will generate a file with a list of all the roms on the SD card which makes booting the GDEMU instantly.
Awesome machine, Soul Calibre, Shenmue, Crazy Taxi and Le Mans were awesome. Very under rated console.
Another possible alternative for DCHDMI is a VGA cable + VGA box. You can also connect your DC directly to a VGA monitor. If you have an old CRT PC monitor, you can even get crisp video output AND lightgun compatibility.
I've been eyeballing a DCHDMI so i can actually use my dreamcast in my living room. I have a nice RGB CRT downstairs in the basement when i want some classic style play, but sometimes you just want to sit up on the couch with friends and play some Rush 2049
Back in the day I worked at a game store and I set up a large format CRT with a DC using the VGA cables and some 3.1 speakers, it was more popular than the PS2 or xbox for in-store play. :D :D
A nod to the pair of my favorite youtube presenters.
Thanks Brendon
This is my kind of collaboration! I've done the rechargeable battery, Pico psu and GDemu in mine so far. A new shell and HDMI out would be nice though.
@allegedly I've been using it for over a year now and have had no issues as of yet.
My dream Draemcast build would have gdemu and the optical drive with the option to switch between them. So you can play originals or backups of your originals.
I get that it was a donation but so you know the DCDigital is a Black Dog Technology product and Bitfunx is selling an unofficial clone. And while the GDEMU is extremely difficult to get and the developer difficult to work with Black Dog Technology does have DCDigital kits available.
edit: My mistake... didn't realize they had open sourced the DCDigital.
I spoke to Dan at Black Dog before we did the video, and he confirmed that the DCHDMI is open sourced and they allow anyone to make it. He confirmed they have no issue with Bitfunx selling that item. Dan was going to try and get one of his devices to us but the global situation got in the way. Thanks for looking out for the creators though.
@@MarkFixesStuff My mistake. I didn't realize they had open sourced it (like they have with the 3DO RGB and such). I saw mentions from installers saying they wouldn't take units not from Dan and figured that was due to permissions/licensing and not quality.
@@spawnlink I’ve not had a chance to see the unit from Black Dog yet but the Bitfunx version is ok quality I think. It’s a tricky mod to install though. I’d like to get one from Dan to do an actual full install tutorial at some point.
@@MarkFixesStuff I installed mine (from Dan) and had no issues. The pitch on the ribbon is small but with the right tools and flux it was fine. I did not run into any problems with the resistors as you did. Been too long for me to remember if Dan's cables are the same as the Bitfunx.
@@spawnlink it think it’s the same. The resistor pack issue was just me being clumsy. I can’t blame anyone for that unfortunately lol
What I'd like in mine (and I am 100% certain this does not exist) is the ability to shift between the original CD's and a SD card solution in my Dreamcast that way the games (the few I own) I collect aren't destined to permanently sit on the shelf.
Buy the cable solution of SD reader.
I like crisp and clear, I can never understand fixing a machine or using an emulator for a better image only to the turn on scan line effects etc to make them fuzzy again.
I love it when Marks Fixes Stuff.
Not a fan of that hdmi mod seems like the cable is the vastly better option all around, I also would have kept the optical drive but maybe I'm just a pedant and like to have the physical media to hand, I approve of the psu upgrade shame there aren't more kinds for different systems available or maybe there are and I don't know about it yet.
the psu mod isn't useful. you get a less good quality power supply and now have to deal with a box or wall wart. you can buy caps for a couple dollars and make the original supply work better. The hdmi cable adapter is trash, i had one...
The amount of LE in HDMI and SD FPGA is probably bigger than in dreamcasts' chip itself :)
For anyone playing on a CRT, the DCHDMI makes no sense. For everyone else that wants to play on their 60 inch 4k OLED, you're going to want to look into this! The fan mod should be installed in all Dreamcast's, to be honest. I've heard people say to refurbish the original PSU, instead of putting a pico in, but I haven't really poured over the data. The clone GDEMU is pretty much the only option, as the original creator seems to be missing in action, although being able to support the inventor would be rather nice. Either way, you guys did it! That really is the ULTIMATE DC!
Completely forgot about the blue startup logo so used to the red one here in Canada
You guys make a good team. Great video. I don’t have a Dreamcast, but if I did I think I would forego the expensive case. All the other mods improve the functionality, the case is just for show.
It don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that bling! Joking aside, I love the original case look and getting the replica meant not having to cut a vintage item.
Gotta love that Noctua fan cooling it. 👍👍👍
There are a few mods that are still missing from this whole scheme, namely the DreamPi modem, the wireless Dreamcast controller and backlit rechargable VMU mod, and if you're going the full monty, the 32MB RAM mod, and Atomiswave BBA. Still, for a functional all-in-one Dreamcast without a fuss, this is just fine. A lot better than a certain metalhead had for an "ultimate Dreamcast."
On most regards, I'd probably ignore the "Atomiswave BBA" one since it neglects to mention that only about 5 games support the BBA, and that 32MB RAM mod is still a bit of a meme for the time being. But a DreamPi is a must. This and the Xbox were the champions of early online console gaming, it must be celebrated!
Excellent video. Absolutely need to get that rechargeable battery installed into mine.
I need to do that as it is annoying on boot having date and time adjust pop up every time it is switched on. It charges up a little bit but if not used for more than a day it looses its charge.
blue led's make my eyes go weird.. something about the blue affects my eyes.
They're bad news. Avoid them. They use a different technology to red and green LEDs and they can cause eye damage. medicalxpress.com/news/2019-05-eyes-health-authority.html
I absolutely hate blue leds. If I can’t turn them off, I will replace them or remove them.
@@6581punk that's more about cheap white home lighting, than tiny blue LEDs on a device. And it says "it _can_ accelerate retinal ageing", which is quite different from damaging/destroying the retina directly. Anyone who knows anything about LED home lighting will tell you to go with a good quality warm white instead of a strobey cool one anyway. It's bizarre how the article mentions the top manufacturers, who do proper DC rectification, then talk about cheap rectification which ends up strobey. They make it sound like even the best name brands do it. Cheap LED light is a world apart from decent ones, even just in terms of CRI. This article you linked doesn't really tell us anything new that lighting professionals haven't been saying for decades.
I didn't do the HDMI solution because I dont trust my soldering skills enough for that so I bought a pound HDMI cable. I did do all the others and the fan replacement is very satisfying! Man that old fan was loud! The cd drive was loud as well though.
I would never use PCBway myself but FFS, the fact that this company exists and at such a compelling price point is mental. Its'an e'ffin ridiculous time for CREATIVES in this arena.
The reason the DCHDMI is superior is a bit more than just latency.
First, it's a lossless digital to digital conversion where the signal never exists as analog (flawless video quality). Second, it does proper scaling for 240p games where the external adapter would not. Third, it can scale to 1080p which may match your screen's native resoltion and bypass your TV's scaler. Fourth, it works with every game whether they support the VGA adapter or not. It's just better! :)
Very well done! A good base to start from for having a "real" monster Dreamcast. Some additions you might enjoy to reach the "next level": Terraonion MODE in replacement of gdemu, dreampi for connecting it to the internet and enjoy games such PSO or Quake Arena, wifi controller dreamconn for enjoyng games and get rid of cables, lightconn gun for playing best DC shooters on +65 inches oled screens (wifi). It will cost perhaps extra 1000 bucks but will be all worth it!
the sd solution is great for most users, though i rather liked the add in card that uses an ide interface, there is also an addin card that has usb
I wouldn't call GDEmu epic when much better alternatives like M.O.D.E. and USB-GDROM exist, but awesome build and video nonetheless!
On a side note, Atomiswave arcade games are now being converted to the Dreamcast since the hardware is almost identical, I've been uploading videos of these games running on real hardware in case anyone's curious.
Looks like you've got a jedi knight with you today Neil
He FORCED me to Sith there... sorry
Excellent video chaps - I had one back in the day but sold it to a mate to pay off some debts! Was lucky enough to pick up a good example about two years ago now - it too has the battery problem...I'll get around to fixing that one day!
Oh my, I’ve been there David!
@@MarkFixesStuff I’d likely have done the battery fix some time ago but I could never find the battery holders in anything less than packs of 50 😂
Could maybe choose a Terraonion mode if you prefer to use a hardrive or SSD. and also a striker DC controller for more comfortable play
Yes. The MODE is a great ODE. I was lucky enough to get my hands on one. Replaced my USB-GDROM, which I don't recommend.
I’m still glad I bought one on a whim for $20 they’re absolutely epic
I modded a dreamcast last summer. Most of the bells and whistles, gdemu, bios mod, forget the expensive hdmi box but had that, fighting pad etc. Sports black edition. Real slick. Also had dreampi and played quake III online and several other games with keyboard and mouse. Cool.
In the end, the redream emulator does everything a dreamcast can (for the compatible games) and does it better. Resolution upscaling up to 4k and the developers only charge $5. If you have a PC that was made in the last decade, having a physical dreamcast is not worth the money. Most newer phones can run the redream emulator at full speed as well.
It's cool and nostalgia overload but for anyone looking to take on this project, the end product isn't worth the money. Sold it and I hope whoever bought it enjoys but save your money.
Well done Mark, and a special mention to the Cameraman.
You should use a 10-bit linear interpolation current steering digital to analog converter (DAC) and a Gilbert cell mixer to generate an RF amplitude modulated signal directly. The linear interpolation increases the attenuation of the DAC's image components.
what would cap this off nicely is a wireless controller, either via a brook adapter or a dreamconn+ and a backlit VMU. THEN it's the ultimate. Also a DC Digital modded DC looks great through a VGA adapter into a PC monitor - be sure to set the output to "VGA" for the best results,
Great video both! I think the Dreamcast is my favourite ever console, some amazing games and some you mentioned here that I wasn’t aware of. So many great memories, including in about 2003, we had expensive lcd screens at work that could rotate 90degrees. Playing Ikaruga in landscape mode through VGA out was immense. Loved Phantasy star online, going on hours long sessions and getting booted out when someone in the house picked up the phone!
There are 2 more mods that i think would have made it a tiny bit more ultimate, a second rom/flash/bios chip with dreamshell and a hidden switch to flip between them, and a harddrive... oh yes a harddrive.. or better yet an 44pin IDE SSD. 100% not necessary with the GDEmu. But these are mods i always wanted to do. I liked having the GD-Rom drive, so i wanted to have the IDE HDD/SSD, the serial SD card reader, and the dual bios.
I still have Shenmue on original disks, so personally would like to keep the GD-Rom, or at least have access to it.
All that said.. I had a dead dreamcast, i just gutted it and put a mini-ITX PC inside of it. Always wanted to get a new shell and laser assembly/gdemu (which ever is cheaper).. but it's probably cheaper just to buy a working used DC at this point.
Mark is nuts 😁👍
I had to order a second cable from the original designer when I put my DCHDMI mod. But is worth the price.
Never new that there was a LED there when I had my Dreamcast.
Older leds where very dim and the first ones they could make where red or orange it's not too surprising it slipped under your radar :)
I love the Dreamcast. I've flush mounted one to the side of my MAME arcade machine. Soulcalibur with arcade controls is pretty fun.
I sold my not unsubstantial collection of Retro gaming machines about 10 years ago (due to space issues) & have been using emulation since. I don't regret it but I do however wish i had of kept my Dreamcast as would absolutely love a DC with these specifications.
And I dreamed about Dreamcast 20 years ago...
another great mod and another one saved from the dump
@RMC - The Cave
I think a bilinear filter, something trivial to do, would go a long way to making the image output look more authentic without defeating the point of having the HDMI connection.
Dreamcast was capable of pure sharp VGA when it launched in Japan in 1998. There's nothing authentic about smearing Vaseline all over the picture. Hooked up to a VGA monitor it is nothing short of beautiful.
@@ScottWozniak You're welcome to your opinion, not everyone agrees. Most people played a Dreamcast on a CRT TV with the naturally occurring pixel blending effect that went with it. And while playing on a VGA CRT was a novelty to behold, it was far from the norm.
Why didn't you guys use a terraonion MODE?
I'm interested in getting the cable, can you edit video settings with that version as well, or is that only for the built in cable mod.
Pretty common mods, but cool nonetheless. Thanks for including REZ in your footage reel! Cheers guys!
I really love Rez. So much so in fact, that I bought a PSVR to play it!!
The dreamcast looks awesome. Never had one. Almost most bought one a few years ago, then remembered Crazy Taxi was also available on the gamecube.
I am not a fan of fake scanlines. Real yes. Fake, nope.
You should get a sony wega tv with HDMI. Scanlines and HDMI best of both worlds.👍
As long as you don't think about the weight 😊
Sony never released a Wega TV with HDMI in the UK. Just like we never got a PS3 with full PS2 compatibility.
Regarding the bitfunx hdmi adapter (not the dchdmi)... it's a great, cheap little device to get your dreamcast plugged into a hdmi television. However. it does not scale pixels in a 1:1 ratio. with other words you can get slight rainbow effect on the 16-bit dither output that a lot of games use.... (it's mostly visible when representing midtone colors and greys )... but other than that. color representation is good, and the lag isn't noticeable in my opinion if you use "game mode" on your TV. perhaps one frame of lag.
One for Mark to answer as it ran flawlessly while here, but would you believe it....he took the DC home with him! An outrage I tell you
@@RMCRetro hahaha. The nerve! I mean, bitfunx might have replaced the scaler within the adapter since I bought mine 2 years ago. The issue with mine is that the scaler reads the 720x480 output of the dreamcast as 640x480 causing some pixel interpolation which result in diffuse vertical lines aross the dither pattern. it is very subtle and hard to spot. except when playing games like Shenmue, Resident Evil - Code Name Veronica. games that use 16-bits which uses very muted colors and a lot of gray tones.
Good news is that if you screw up the flex cable on the dchdmi install, like me lol. You can order just the flex for about $16. I also knocked off the r2 resistor 😂. I couldn't find it because it's tiny, so I just used one of the ones I pulled from the motherboard for the install. It's larger in size, and I'm not sure if it's the correct one, but it worked😂.
Great work friends. Might I suggest some clear smoke black controllers to better match the shell? Sorry if it’s been suggested already. I didn’t feel like reading through all the comments to check.
No mention of the Fan mod? The dead silent, more efficient Noctua fan in there? With printed mount
There is a caption that pops up when I show that mod as I didn't mention it during the chat
@@RMCRetro Excellent video, I've done all these mods on my DC but a jet black case and MODE. I don't appreciate you tallying up the total costs🤣🤣
The Dreamcast is so cool. I need to get one soon! Interesting and entertaining video guys! :)
I just love this channel. Great content in exquisite detail.
I've never been so jealous in my entire life.
The dreamcast was such a fun system.
Love my DC, great episode!
I found the MODE ODE replacement to be more reliable. Not as elegant if you need to add games to it (at least for now), but I was having a terrible time with the GDEMU and the time it took to load the menu. Wireless controller is of course the last frontier on the Dreamcast it seems. There is one mod for that i've seen online that costs too much and I haven't heard much about it so I haven't attempted to get it. I'm waiting for the "official" Retrobit controllers they announced a while back. The Saturn ones they made seemed to be pretty good so hopefully those end up good.
Nice mods. My PAL model had an orange LED. I swapped it out for the Blue
The crisper the better! You guys wanna mod my DC next?
Great video, love to see the support the Dreamcast gets still in 2020, Iv also been working on modding my dreamcast, and covering some video on that, one thing I reccomand is the Brooks controller adapter that includes 200 blocks and wireless controller connectivity, I like to see one of those internally connected, also retro bit are apparently working on a wireless dc controller, enjoyed the video and hope for the best.
It's a cult console. I personally love it.
low temp solder paste and a hot air pencil is way easier than drag soldering
13:40 I saw a bit of tearing at the top of the screen. Did the original hardware have that present?
Yeah yeah Dreamcast whatever, where do I get one of those charming Fallout inspired RMC masks? That's adorable!
The dreampsu isn't very well engineered and can cause damage to your console if you have a cheap wall wart. Use a picopsu instead.
Pico is a good shout. 👍