Nintendo DS lite R4 cards homebrew and other unknowns! Please help and advise.

jolo

Hi,

My kids have the ds lite and I'm about to get one for myself. I love them. I intend getting an R4 card etc but how do I use it? Do I just 'copy' dvds and music onto it?

Also how do I use the homebrew and browser bits please?
Anyway, what is homebrew?

I know - I'm showing my age but I still love my gadgets and I want to get the most out of this one.

Thanks,
jolo

Gonzo

run the cd that comes with it, theres a text help file on the cd that tells u te folders and files that you have to copy from the cd to your computers hard drive. Then after that you get the 1gig mini sd card and stick it into the sd adaptor or usb thing that comes with the package and u can copy stuff directly to that folder. If you want to work movies on it they have to be converted to a right format so that the ds can play them, i think there is instructions on the cd for that too. The card is only 1gig so you cant fit alot of video onto it. When your finished copying stuff you take the mini sd card out and you insert it into the R4 Cartridge and stick it into ur DS and away you go.

fish fingers

tis pi$$ easy for sure. had it up and running in 5 mins

You are very ambitious if you intend on putting a sizeable amount of DVDs and music onto it. I think the highest capacity card is 4GB, which is not suitable for movies, even if they are compressed.

Jim

Deleted User wrote:

You are very ambitious if you intend on putting a sizeable amount of DVDs and music onto it. I think the highest capacity card is 4GB, which is not suitable for movies, even if they are compressed.

You can easily get a film down to 200mb for the size of the DS screen.

Banjo

There's an alternative card by Cyclo that they were discussing over on Wiffy.ie that supports high capacity microSD cards, so the max capacity is 32GB (although christ knows what that would set you back).

Don't think anyone's mentioned homebrew yet - basically it's a blanket term for any non-commercial software developed for a console. The DS has a number of MP3 players, PDA-style apps and tetris clones to choose from.

The official web browser software requires a memory expansion card to be present in the GBA slot - this is bundled with the commercial DS browser which is in Argos for 29.99 at the mo, or so I hear. There is a homebrew browser that runs on Linux but I don't think it's particularly accomplished. Still, give it time.....

jolo

Jimeatsmenu wrote:

You can easily get a film down to 200mb for the size of the DS screen.

How?

jolo

Thanks for all your information guys. Haven't got the R4 card yet but it's on my list.
As for the movies - I just thought I read somewhere on these boards that you could watch movies on it - comparison of PSP and DS I think.

Banjo

You can watch movies but you have to convert the movie into a suitable format - I think an app comes with the R4 for doing it and the viewer for playing it on the R4 too. Failing that, the M3 Simply is the same card, so the same software should work (www.m3adapter.com). Mine hasn't arrived yet so I probably shouldn't try and pretend I know what I'm talking about.....

BenEadir

Hi,

My son wants to get one of these and says "you can play ALL the games on it". I think he means you can copy several games from their original cartridge to the R4 and use it as a sort of "Games Jukebox" rather than having to carry several cartridges around with you. Is this the essential use of the R4 or am I missing the boat entirerly?

Retr0gamer

BenEadir wrote: »

Hi,

My son wants to get one of these and says "you can play ALL the games on it". I think he means you can copy several games from their original cartridge to the R4 and use it as a sort of "Games Jukebox" rather than having to carry several cartridges around with you. Is this the essential use of the R4 or am I missing the boat entirerly?

There's no talk of this allowed on this board since the use of an R4 for this reason is illegal. Next person to discuss this is getting a 1 week ban. You have been warned so no excuses.

BenEadir

RetroGamer,

Apologies if I have strayed over the line in relation to this. I thought the R4 could be used to store and play games my son owns the same way an MP3 player can be (legally) used to store and play CD's I own. Am I incorrect to draw this parallel or is there some legal nuance you have specialist knowledge of that I don't?

Are you legally qualified to determine what can be discussed in relation to use of this particular piece of technology or are you just applying a blanket ban in the absence of fully understanding where the legal lines are actually drawn on the issue?

Irish Halo

a) Retrogamer has no need to explain why there is a ban, the forum charter clearly states no discussion of "Warez" which is then clarified to include backing up games.

b) Although, yes, it is a grey area Boards are not going to take any chances especially after the promoter incident elsewhere on Boards. Nintendo print warnings inside their game manuals that they do not allow users to make backup or archival copies. Whether or not these warnings in this specific form can be considered valid contracts is legally questionable. For an overview of relevant issues, see user agreement (EULA), shrink wrap contract, clickwrap, Fair Use, Fair Dealing and DMCA.

c) Is using Google (or even the search function for this site) that difficult? I'll point you here to start:
http://blah.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055145053

I believe you want to state something about FIGHT TEH POWAH now or the like

Mr E

In fairness guys, you're picking on someone who has 6 posts, so may not be familiar with the site.

Ben - comparing the procedure of ripping CDs you own to put on your MP3 player is not the same. There is no way of 'ripping' DS games in the same way. If you want to put licensed games on the R4, they have to be downloaded. That is the reason it can't be discussed here.

Homebrew software (games and applications developed by talented individuals to run on flash cards) is allowed - see Irish Halo's link above.

There is a clear line here - Licensed games Bad, Homebrew games Good.

Hope this helps.

BenEadir

Mr E, your post is civilised, articulate, helpful and appreciated.

Irish Halo, ---- it's slipping but the link to the starter guide is helpful.

witnessmenow

Hey,

Just to let you know that starter pack is a little out of date. Clink the link in my sig for something thats a little more up to date. There's alot more information on what they are and what they do too

If you've any more questions feel free to ask, either here or there is an email address on the website

What they can do aside
These cards are getting kinda rare! I recommend getting DSTT cards from dealextreme.com ( they wont be shipping these till feb, but its so cheap! ) there less than €30 including delivary. All the cards do the same things basically but these are easy to use and the cheapest.

K.O.Kiki

witnessmenow wrote: »

Hey,

Just to let you know that starter pack is a little out of date. Clink the link in my sig for something thats a little more up to date. There's alot more information on what they are and what they do too

If you've any more questions feel free to ask, either here or there is an email address on the website

What they can do aside
These cards are getting kinda rare! I recommend getting DSTT cards from dealextreme.com ( they wont be shipping these till feb, but its so cheap! ) there less than €30 including delivary. All the cards do the same things basically but these are easy to use and the cheapest.

Everytime you post, I wonder why you're not banned.

(Yes, I'm aware of the homebrew & multimedia aspects - but my gut instinct is that most folks aren't interested in anything other than "OMG FREE GAMES!!")

witnessmenow

Read the charter, then quote where i broke the rules. I look forward to it

o1s1n

K.O.Kiki wrote: »

Everytime you post, I wonder why you're not banned.

(Yes, I'm aware of the homebrew & multimedia aspects - but my gut instinct is that most folks aren't interested in anything other than "OMG FREE GAMES!!")

errr...so he should get banned for other peoples thoughts? That's an odd way of looking at it.

He's not posting anything against the charter or illegal. (As far as I have read) Unless there's something against helping people get their r4 up and running.

BenEadir

Hi Witnessmenow,

Thanks for the helpful response.

I actually ordered an R4 from Gameyeeah Sunday morning and got confirmation of shipping including tracking # by email yesterday evening. I guess they are back in stock??

I might be back in touch if I can't follow the setup instructions!!