Dingoonity.org

Other Portable Consoles => Ingenic JZ47xx Devices => Topic started by: gameblabla on November 29, 2020, 06:35:01 am

Title: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: gameblabla on November 29, 2020, 06:35:01 am
The beta firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/RG-350P/280V/280M) is pretty great in my opinion and has lots of features and performance improvements like better 3D drivers (used by the SM64 port), huge pages, 8bpp hardware support (only used by a couple of ports however due to the lack of IPU support for 8bpp surfaces), MTP over USB and more.

If you want to upgrade to the beta firmware, you can download the update OPK here :
http://od.abstraction.se/opendingux/latest/ (http://od.abstraction.se/opendingux/latest/)

Make sure to get the one for the GCW0 and not the RS-90.

However, there are still some issues and i know some people actually complained about them.
So here's a short list.

All

- You cannot change the sharpness. While i think it looks good as is, some people complained about it looking too soft
and no way of being able to change it. On the older firmware, this was done using Power + Up/Down.

- You cannot take screenshots or have the left analog stick mapped to the DPAD. (the latter is mostly redundant however as emulators
do try to address this)

- The console for some strange reasons likes to power on itself on its own. It does it to a point it can't boot anymore due to no battery.
This seems to happen when you let the console die on its battery without recharging it and don't power it off manually..

-  This needs to be looked into further but there is an issue with SDL itself where if you set the resolution to something like 320x240, set it again to a higher resolution (384x224) and then set it back to 320x240, there will be memory leaking and as a result, the app will crash.
It seems to be an allocation issue within SDL itself. The only workaround for this is to set it to a higher resolution like 640x480 for the menu as to leave enough memory allocated to cover whatever resolution you need to switch to.
I personally encountered this issue with VBEmu and had to use a workaround (the one i just described above) :
https://github.com/gameblabla/vbemu/blob/master/shell/video/gcw0/video_blit.c#L86 (https://github.com/gameblabla/vbemu/blob/master/shell/video/gcw0/video_blit.c#L86)

RG-350/RG-350M only

- No HDMI output. It does work on the GCW-Zero but not on the RG-350/RG-350M as they use a different HDMI encoder chip.

280V/280M only
- If you play any emulators/games that rely on the IPU and you switch to the "native resolution" setting (press Power +A 2 times),
it doesn't take into account the screen resolution and the doubled vertical pixels.
As a result, it looks squished. This should be line doubled instead but the kernel doesn't do that right now.
Example with VBA Next and a GBA game :
(https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/624204385446264838/782340054915350538/IMG_20201128_211923.jpg)

280V/280M/350M

- Setting some resolutions like 160x152 will work on the RG-350's screen (320x240) but will not work on the RG-280V/RG-280M (320x480).
The old FW was attempting to address this by adjusting the output width/height.
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: hi-ban on November 29, 2020, 09:55:23 am
I also find kind of a step back that you're no longer able to change the IPU aspect ratio or sharpness by using code in your custom app/emulator/whatever.

Aside from that, there were some specific (and unusual) resolutions which the old opendingux IPU was unable to scale (it crashed). This has not been fixed by the new IPU.
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: gameblabla on December 06, 2020, 12:07:41 pm
Updated my post as i encountered a few issues. (One with a workaround and the other one is just plain strange)
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: emucosmos on January 25, 2021, 05:27:55 pm
the one issue I have with the beta firmware is that it seems to crash every single time it tries to copy files, be it through ftp  or the new usb method, it just won't copy a single file, all the emulators seem to be working fine enough for it to be a beta, but I can't copy anything, If I go back to the stable firmware I can copy stuff no problem
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: chubbypika on January 26, 2021, 07:54:24 pm
I'm noticing instability with your recent FCEUX build when loading save states.  It either freezes the system or reboots it.  You can reproduce by entering menu and loading state repeatedly.  This sometimes happens simply by entering the menu, but less frequently.

EDIT: More simply, just enter Menu and press B to exit back to game repeatedly and it happens as well.
EDIT2: Okay, happens with PocketSNES as well, so maybe it's just the beta firmware causing it.
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: kitsen on January 27, 2021, 08:47:09 pm
Hi there,

I seemed to be unable to use FTP with the opendingux beta on the RG280v

it worked on stock and rogue CFW, thus I know the drivers are correctly installed.

I prefer it to MDP since the latter is very unstable (crash during transfer often, cannot transfer multiple file since after 1 file the connection is lost and has to be remade)

When I try to ftp it returns the following error message
"Connection attempt failed with "ECONNREFUSED - Connection refused by server".

 that error appears whether I use ECM or RNDIS

I have the correct IP for sure and also the user set as root (if I try anonymously it times out the connection)

I'm on windows 10
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: RetroVibe on February 26, 2021, 06:08:43 am
Hi,

I decided to install nighty build (Fri Feb 19 2021) for testing, on my GCW Zero.

It didn't come with "commander" opk, so I can't install any other opk (not even another update) even through external SD.

I've tried to connect the handheld to PC through a USB cable, under all "USB Modes" (Mass Storage, Ethernet ECM and Ethernet RNDIS) inside Windows and Linux (both systems "see" the connection) with FileZilla. Like reported by previous users inside this post, I had no success too.

(edit: GCW Zero Manager don't work either.)

Just like reported by another user in this post: https://boards.dingoonity.org/gcw-help/rollback-nighty-build-firmware-can't-activate-boot-mode/ (https://boards.dingoonity.org/gcw-help/rollback-nighty-build-firmware-can't-activate-boot-mode/), we can't come back to old firmware by using the Rescue CD.

1) Something changed in the way we can access internal SD to install things?

2) Are there something we can do to restore system without open our GCW Zero?

Thank you in advance!
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: pcercuei on February 26, 2021, 01:33:53 pm
Hi,

Create a "apps" folder on your external SD and put your OPKs there, they will appear in the menu.

With OD beta, either use MTP mode (which should work out-of-the-box on Windows and Linux (Ubuntu/Fedora)) or configure for ethernet (ECM/RNDIS), in this case you need to configure a password with the "password" app in the settings tab. You can then connect over SSH or SFTP with the "od" user and the password you configured.
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: RetroVibe on February 26, 2021, 07:09:02 pm
Create a "apps" folder on your external SD[...]
Thank You! It worked!  ;D

MTP mode (which should work out-of-the-box[...]
Indeed, It works!  :)
Something to point is that SO only "sees" the device while it's on "password" screen. Once you exit, you're disconnected.
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: RetroVibe on February 26, 2021, 09:37:00 pm
[...]HDMI output. It does work on the GCW-Zero[...]
Couldn't get HDMI work on GCW Zero here. I've tried HDMI with 2 different cables (including GCW0 original one). It once worked in previous releases and was removed for development reasons, or am I doing something wrong (again...)?

(sorry for double posting... different subject.)
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: chubbypika on March 09, 2021, 06:52:09 am
Does anyone else experience crashes on their 280V when using hardware scaling and entering or exiting emulator menus?  It doesn't happen 100% of the time, but I'd say there's a 10% chance of it happening.  Usually the screen either goes black, requiring pressing the reset button, or the device restarts.

I originally thought it was isolated to the beta, but stock firmware is doing the same thing.  Mine also won't do aspect scaling using hardware under any circumstances.  Trying to determine whether my 280V just defective.

EDIT: it's for sure a hardware issue.  I started experiencing black screens on boot and am now getting graphics artifacts on menus, etc.  Disappointing -- I love this device and really don't want to take a chance replacing it with another defective unit.
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: Kamjin on March 10, 2021, 03:04:12 am
EDIT: it's for sure a hardware issue.  I started experiencing black screens on boot and am now getting graphics artifacts on menus, etc.  Disappointing -- I love this device and really don't want to take a chance replacing it with another defective unit.
Try a fresh install of the firmware on a new SD card..  1/2 of the SD cards that came with the systems I bought would slowly develop bad sectors causing all sorts of weird issues..  Hopefully that's the problem..
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: chubbypika on March 10, 2021, 10:29:16 am
Try a fresh install of the firmware on a new SD card..  1/2 of the SD cards that came with the systems I bought would slowly develop bad sectors causing all sorts of weird issues..  Hopefully that's the problem..

I actually was messing around with a new SD card thinking it would've helped with the existing crashing issues I was experiencing.  But now it's pretty much unusable with either the new SD card and the one it came with.  I flashed the clean stock image many times and it just "broke" suddenly and can't recover fully.

EDIT: decided to start it up again today after letting it sit for a few days and it's actually working again. Maybe it's heat related.

EDIT2: Got a replacement RG280V and all's working well now.  A few notes on gameblabla's ports that hopefully can be addressed:

EDIT3: Looks like this copy of Fceux uses Select + 'A' (if I recall) to flip disks
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: DenkyMan on May 22, 2021, 05:27:57 pm
On my RG280v I tried the latest OD Beta and went right back to the Rogue CFW. The lowest brightness is much too bright. I use an echo command in Rogue to force the selection of brightness values between 5 and 10, but this doesn't work in OpenDingux as the numbers themselves don't properly correspond to the available brightnesses. I don't understand developers taking options away from people, just let us set the screen to values we want! I see no advantage in a made up 1 to 15 scale (where 1 is obviously too bright) compared to the true 1 to 255 availble. These devices are already extremely unfriendly to casual users, there's no point making things "simpler" and worse.

The fonts on the main menus also look messed up, even compared to previous OD releases. The OS is also generally slower to load into and out of emulators than Rogue.

Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: pcercuei on May 22, 2021, 05:55:57 pm
On my RG280v I tried the latest OD Beta and went right back to the Rogue CFW. The lowest brightness is much too bright. I use an echo command in Rogue to force the selection of brightness values between 5 and 10, but this doesn't work in OpenDingux as the numbers themselves don't properly correspond to the available brightnesses. I don't understand developers taking options away from people, just let us set the screen to values we want! I see no advantage in a made up 1 to 15 scale (where 1 is obviously too bright) compared to the true 1 to 255 availble. These devices are already extremely unfriendly to casual users, there's no point making things "simpler" and worse.
Your beloved Rogue would have a 1 to 15 scale as well if it didn't use a kernel from ten years ago.

And the screen does not have a "1 to 255" scale, by the way. This is a completely arbitrary way to map PWM duty values relative to the resulting brightness.
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: papapito on June 23, 2021, 05:50:16 pm
Hi!

I've recently went from "Rogue" to OD Beta, and several games fail to launch now. They worked with the 1.5 version too.
I'm especially talking about DevilutionX (the Diablo port). Has something changed under the hood that may have caused games to fail to load (CTD)?
Other incompatibilities seem to be with general programs, like GMU, for example. Or at least I haven't found updated versions that work.
Besides some incompatibilities, this proper OpenDingux seems really fine.

Thanks to everyone involved
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: papapito on July 02, 2021, 11:07:25 pm
Sorry for double posting, but is there some kind of changelog for each OD Beta update?
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: papapito on July 19, 2021, 06:09:27 pm
Other things I've found (on the latest July update):

- On the PocketSNES emulator, while using power+A to change the hardware scaling, I found it cut a portion of the screen on the right while on "aspect ratio" mode. This doesn't happen when the mage is stretched, or pixel perfect. This does NOT occur while playing on HDMI. On HDMI, the scaling works well. I don't know if this is a problem with the emulator or the hardware scaling.

- While playing using HDMI, I couldn't save using the SNES emulator. The emulator said it saved (both ingame and save state), but after rebooting the device, the saves where absent.

- While playing on the HDMI, Gmenu2x themes don't work. Custom themes or icons get replaced with default ones.

- The device doesn't output sound to the HDMI

- Still some problems using USB for transfering files. If I transfer files to the internal or external SD everything works fine, but if I try to transfer files from the internal to external USB (or vice-versa) using the computer, the connection freezes and the console stops being recognized. Unplugging and pluggin in the cable makes the device recognizable again, and the files being transfered were not moved.

- Cave story still has a problem where it sais it saved the game, but the savefile is nonexistent.

- Hardware scaling on pcsx4all is bad. The scaling squaches the picture, or it has black vertical bands. Software caling is perfect (but slightly slower).

Some of these could be emulator dependent and not system dependent, so a changelog for the updates would be nice. I'll be updating this post as more things come, or get solved.
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: Stevetuc on February 11, 2022, 01:57:00 am
Hi,

Create a "apps" folder on your external SD and put your OPKs there, they will appear in the menu.

With OD beta, either use MTP mode (which should work out-of-the-box on Windows and Linux (Ubuntu/Fedora)) or configure for ethernet (ECM/RNDIS), in this case you need to configure a password with the "password" app in the settings tab. You can then connect over SSH or SFTP with the "od" user and the password you configured.

I was able to log in as "od" using the without password option also.
Is there a default password for root set? I tried to change to root using putty and it prompted for password. Tried "alpine" (ala RPi) which didn't work. Also tried sudo /etc/passwd root which didn't work for some reason. Any ideas?
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: pcercuei on February 11, 2022, 12:07:57 pm
Is there a default password for root set? I tried to change to root using putty and it prompted for password. Tried "alpine" (ala RPi) which didn't work. Also tried sudo /etc/passwd root which didn't work for some reason. Any ideas?
There is no root password which means you cannot log in as root directly.
However you can log in as od then run "sudo -i" which will ask you for od's password, and subsequently log you as root.
Title: Re: Issues with Beta Firmware for OpenDingux devices (RG-350/RG-350M/280V/280M)
Post by: Stevetuc on February 12, 2022, 10:41:07 am
Is there a default password for root set? I tried to change to root using putty and it prompted for password. Tried "alpine" (ala RPi) which didn't work. Also tried sudo /etc/passwd root which didn't work for some reason. Any ideas?
There is no root password which means you cannot log in as root directly.
However you can log in as od then run "sudo -i" which will ask you for od's password, and subsequently log you as root.

Thanks, that's useful to know.