Black, sexy and menacing...X500 PLUS

[Darrin]

Nice work!  You need to post the angled view from Amigaworld.net so that A1260 can see that it isn't just a "keyboard with lights".

My HP Pavilion dv7 has one of those style keyboards.  It took me a while to get used to it, but I like it.

[Darrin]

For the coating, keep in cheap.
Also, make the DVD+RW optional.  It adds to the overall cost, adds to the shipping weight and not everybody will want one.  It is as much use as tits on a bull to someone who wishes to install a base FPGA Arcade and paying perhaps $50 or more for something useless might just be enough to put them off.

[Darrin]

Well I will be taking the black case and an fpga arcade with the daughterboard as per my e-mail response. That case looks very nice indeed.So sleek and sexy. Is there any use for a dvd player with a full fpga arcade setup or is it redundant.Pardon my ignorance on the matter.

I can't see how we would connect it.  The base board has no SATA/PATA connectors and the expension board doesn't either.  It does have USB2, so I was planning an external unit.  I guess a slimline DVD+RW with a USB adapter slapped onto the connector could be done internally without much trouble.  This should do the trick:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2728782&CatId=3770

[Darrin]

I'm confused.
You want to hook a DVD drive to a Replay board?
Why?
There's no software that would support that.
 
I'm not even sure how compatible a CD drive hooked to a USB port would be.

Connecting a DVD drive to a replay is the same as connecting a DVD drive to a real Classic Amiga:

Burn your own CD/DVDs using existing Classic software
Run CD based games.
Load CD based software archives.

The Replay's USB connections on the expansion board will use the Poseidon stack as used by most Classic machines.

I use a DVD+RW connected to my USB port on my A4000.  It works fine.  You can install OS3.9 off it too (once you've installed OS3.1 on your HD and installed the Deneb software).

[Darrin]

I guess an external dvd player unit makes more sense. Best for me to order it without a dvd-r player then.
Do we have amiga dvd playing software?

Even an expanded classic Amiga can't play DVDs.  I've read that to play a simple MPEG using Frogger requires a PPC card on a Classic.

The CD32 only managed to play VideoCDs by using an FMV cartridge.

FryingPan seems to be the most popular CD/DVD buring software.

[Darrin]

That's an interesting option.
So 3.1 and 3.9 will accept a DVD-R as a storage device.
That one's news to me.
And really interesting when you consider how much older the Amiga is when compared to DVD technology.

I assume it boils down to the installed device drivers and file formats which tend to get updated.
 

Darrin, what kind of software do you use that can properly recognize and format writable DVDs?
 
You know, you're really tempting me to invest back in legacy hardware.

Personally, I use my DVD+RW just for reading data.  I know you can write it because I've received burned media and it works.  Plus you can check out MAKECD and FRYINGPAN via their web pages.  I have to assume they work as I've never personally used them.

To quote from a user group discussing this issue "As a side note, you can install a CD/DVD burner drive and access data DVDs with an Amiga CD filesystem if those DVDs are burned in ISO9660 format rather thanUDF or something else."

So I guess my burned disks are ISO9660.
 

Yet another question. Does the Deneb have an internal USB connection?

Yes, it has one internal connector (with an external type header).  Picture here:
http://amiga.erkan.se/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/indivision-a4000-cd32-6.JPG
You can see the two ports closest to you getting routed to the back panel, and then next to them is another port attached to the board.

So you could either place something like an external USB hard drive inside the case using this port, or do something like I did with my A4000 and use a simple USB male/female cable and a dremel to run this internal header to a slot cut on the front of my case.

Here's a pic of what I did.  I used the empty 2nd floppy slot to mount a CF card reader and a front USB port (see the red light next to the CF card reader?  That's an inserted memory stick):

You can see my black HP USB external DVD+RW drive on the right.
 

I'm beginning to think that an A4000 with a PC floppy drive connected via a Catweasel and a DVD-R drive both installed internally might be fun.

I've got the standard HD internal floppy drive on my A4000, but I also have a Walmart USB floppy attached to the Deneb (obviously it will not read/write Amiga formatted disks though).  Actually, there isn't much point to it, but it is there for show.  

One final question. How come no one has tried to create drivers for DXR2
 and DXR3 cards so the Amiga could play back DVDs and Mpeg2s?

Good question.  Unfortunately when it comes to CD/DVD media on the Classic Amiga I'm a "read only" sort of guy.  I guess I need to experiment with the software on my AmigaOne X1000.

[Darrin]

I'm afraid my system looks a bit different now as I bought a Mediator and put it into a tower case:




I've changed the top two 5.25" into removeable hard drive slots.  Makes it easier to swap hard drives between my PC (for WinUAE) and my A4000.  Plus I wanted to be able to insert different hard drives depending on what OS I wanted to run (3.1, 3.9, ClassicWB, AROS, etc).

[Darrin]

Nice.
Looks like every PC I've ever owned though because I never seem to have the side panels on.

Yeah, it has lost the charm of the original case.  
 

Is that a case designed for a mediator equipped 4000, or a modified standard AT/ATX tower.

It is the Elbox case for the A4000.  So now my towered A4000 looks just like my towered A1200.  

I got it online with the Mediator board.  At least buying an Elbox case with an Elbox expansion board meant that everything fitted perfectly and the slots all line up.

[Darrin]

Would that work on a A1200T?

I'm not sure if the Subway has an internal USB connector.  If so then yes.  As for the CF card reader, you can buy IDE models that will fit into available bays, so I'd try one of them.

The problem I see with CF card readers is that some work and some don't.  In my experience I've had to set the card reader to "MASTER" (so make sure you get one with a jumper).  I've also had issues prepping and formatting the CF card with an AmigaOS.  Some cards seem to work fine while others are really picky.  One example was a card that wouldn't prep and format on the A4000 (it would go through the motions of prepping, but wouldn't format correctly later), but if I prepped it on my A2000 then it would then work fine on the A4000!

At least if you buy from Amigakit you know you'll have no issues, otherwise be prepared for some frustration.

[Darrin]

Nice.  Now get them into production quick because you know "somebody" is going to try and copy your work.