FPGA Replay Board

[mikej]

C64 and Amiga on a single machine will be awesome. Something else which I would love to have is the PC Engine, what are the chances of getting one?

By the way, not sure if this has been asked, can you connect RGB/Scart to Arcade FPGA? I have a CRT and I guess it would look nicer on it than on a 40" LED TV.

Yes, when it is in "15K" mode the default video phy sticks out composite sync and I use a DVI analogue to Scart - you could wire up to 9 pin D or any other analog standard you wish.
You could also use the DVI to VGA for the higher resolutions modes.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

Cheers Mike.  I know what it is like as I recently moved into my new house.  I've still got stuff in the old one that I need to go back for.  My "computer room" is stacked high with boxes and one of them contains my FPGA Arcade.  I just hope I can find it when my X500 case arrives.

Phoenix?  Phoenix?  Did I ever mention that along with Defender, Pheonix is may all time favourite arcade game!!!

Drool!!!

I'll check with Wolfgang but I think he is happy for me to post the core. It's really a test that the libraries etc can be used by 3rd party devs. You will need to flash to the new boot loader and menu system. This means the old amiga core will no longer work, and you will pester me every day for the new one - which is fine with me

I'll post details asap.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

LOL.  Thanks Mike, I'd love to get my hands on Pheonix.

I might need to buy a second FPGA Arcade then.  

I take it that reflashing to the new boot loader is done via a file on the SD Card?

One of the great selling points to me of the FPGA Arcade will be (with the new bootloader and new core) the ability to select at boot time which core (Amiga, arcade game, other system) you wish to run.  This is a nice feature on the Chameleon64 which I currently have configures to boot into a C64, ECS Amiga or ZX Spectrum.

No, it requires a USB cable to be connected to the micro-usb connector and some software run on a PC. It's pretty easy, I'm drafting some instructions now.
It's also very safe as the ARM has a default usb loader you can restore by shorting a link on the board.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

By PC you mean also Mac or Linux or does it require windows?

Kamelito

We use a program called BOSSA

https://github.com/shumatech/BOSSA

to flash the ARM with the bootloader. This is only done once, usually before shipping. Older boards will need to be updated.
I haven't tried doing this under Linux/Mac OS, but the git repository indicates it is possible.

If you can't get hold of a windows machine, you can always return the board to me for update.

/MikeJ

[mikej]

Geez Mike... if you get Stargate ported to the FPGA Arcade I will throw away all of my gaming equipment and build a cabinet!

It is runs on pretty much Defender hardware? No problem...
/MikeJ

[mikej]

How did it go with your arcade fpga? I'd love to see some video of it tinning a few games

The waiting for the board is Killing me

Wolfgang has some pictures of Phoenix here ...
http://pin4.at/pro_arcade_phoenix.php

[mikej]

Yeah all the games I did are being converted.
I've also got vic c64 spectrum bbcb st etc on the go.
Please dont harass Wolfgang for the image yet. ..

[mikej]

For any serious Amiga implementation a XC3S1600E is more or less a minimum requirement. Or else one will be stuck with a slight incompatible 68000 without AGA/RTG.

Seems Pipistrello can handle HDMI directly with its Spartan-6 LX45 board for 150 USD. But the hackaday articlle hints that the picture is somewhat unstable?
Anyway it's the way past HDMI association
(though the legality of a soldered HDMI connector is cloudy at best)

I really don't know how they get away with this. The HDMI connector cannot be used unless licensed. The boards are not CE/FCC certified either.

Looks like all the arcade game stuff is direct from my site as well.

At least they have published their changes and kept the license header, but it would be nice if they linked to fpgaarcade and were open about their sources

Glad to see people are using the stuff though.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

Your statement is only true if the HDMI MAFIA sue the manufacturer and win the court case which requires them to persuade/threaten/bribe a judge and jury into accepting that slavery and extortion are part of civilized behavior.

The concept that the MAFIA can own all the connectors past, present and future, of the entire universe is ridiculously immoral, vile and evil.

I mean they claim to own WIRES.  Wires!  Wires have been around for centuries!  How can you own wires that you didn't pay for?  How can you own wires 1000 years in the future built by ppl who don't exist in your lifetime?

Its slavery.  Slavery is wrong. Period.

Not saying I agree with it for sure....
http://www.hdmi.org/manufacturer/terms.aspx

That is why I use a DVI connector - which is open. Fortunately HDMI protocol is a superset of DVI, so an HDMI input will accept DVI.

There would be nothing to stop you running embedded audio and high resolution HDMI formats over the DVI connector of course, if the PHY supported it.

Directly connecting the FPGA has it's own issues with signal quality at higher resolutions, the IO is not really up to the job. Let's see what the new generation FPGAs can do.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

So am I

Actually pretty soon, I have hundreds of the damn things I need to get rid off.
Just want to make sure they work.
If you don't want the Amiga core you can have em now ...
/Mike

[mikej]

It has VGA but I don't think it likes 50hz on that.

Does the arcade fpga output amiga native resolution or one of the standard resolutions such as 1024 x 768 etc.?

The classic modes are thrown out with the original native timing - which may not work with HDMI/DVI inputs. The RTG has programmable "correct" modes.
/Mike

[mikej]

Hmmm - so some games may work, others not? How will this affect games exactly. My plan was to use the Fpga Arcade connected to a living room TV with a DVI to HDMI cable, as a 'console' if you wish.

Also, can I connect DVI + Audio to RGB/Scart? That would be pretty cool too.

I'm going to start an FAQ on my forums ...

Think of the hardware as being very close to the original. So for original modes use DVI to analog scart / monitor. This will work fine. It may work with a DVI to HDMI cable (separate audio). Some systems do, some don't. I am working on an on-the-fly HDMI adapter which will legalize the line length with adding only one line delay (so no tearing).

For high res you have the choice of DVI/HDMI or Analog.
/Mike

[mikej]

Sorry for my stupidity, what convertor is he doing?

"All" I want to do is to able to play ECS and AGA games using a DVI->HDMI cable at 50hz without any scrolling or tearing issues.

Is that possible?

Will certainly work DVI -> VGA. Will probably work with DVI -> DVI. May well work with DVI -> HDMI.

HDMI seems to be a bit fussy over the pixel counts per line, not so fussy over the exact frequency. The idea is to retime to a HDMI line standard on the fly.
Yes, the 3.5mm to RCA cable is what you need for audio, I do the same.
/MikeJ

[mikej]

Could there be legal implications by bundling a board with DVI output and a DVI-to-HDMI adapter?

No, I don't believe so - HDMI is a super-set of DVI and DVI is open.
All I am doing is creating a slightly different DVI format which happens to be compatible with HDMI.
/Mike.

http://www.fpgaarcade.com

[mikej]

Ohh got the new website up now Mike

Is there a tutorial or guide for how to get developing a core for the FPGAArcade?
Getting setup to modify the cores and create new ones can be a pain, especially with Xilinx's development environment.

Well, I just created the FAQ/how-to section ... look under Forums

Building (semi) public SVN server now.

To build the ARM code you type "make"

To build the FPGA image you run "build.bat" from the core root directory in a cmd prompt (I'm not an IDE sort of chap)

There is a demo design which shows how to hook up to the support libs.

We are getting there ....

[mikej]

Nice to see the site/forum getting some love!
It says the boards are shipping, so who got his!?

Mainly active developers - thought you guys would like stuff to run on the boards