N3DS status / feedback

[idle]

It feels like whenever the capture card gets out of sync it's usually when the n3dsxl is "overclocking" (running at it's normal speed or so I've heard) it's cpu or running games exclusive to the handheld that can't be run on the o3ds. Here's a few recordings with timestamps in their descriptions and some notes, don't mind the custom firmware crashes in a few of them.

Pokemon Games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XwjYD-1ffc
Games go between being out of sync and in sync depending if they're in a cutscene or not. Ultra Sun runs in n3dsxl mode all the time so it's always out of sync. Interestingly, during battle when it's the player's turn in Pokemon Y the audio temporarily cuts out.

Various 3DS Games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=As1oO1rbcH4
Mostly works fine. Places where some games are loading causes desync as seen at the start of Sonic Generations and Zelda ALBW. Megaman Legacy Collection and Sonic Generations had a few small hitches during gameplay. Binding of Isaac (n3dsxl exclusive) is always out of sync. Sonic Generation's audio also temporarily cuts out during gameplay.

Various DS Games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypPJTDQ2Sa4
Same issues as already reported.

Virtual Console
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BEpTlpNT_lc
SNES and Gameboy are desynced, audio is okay. GBA seems to have the same desync issue DS has but the audio is very distorted.

Emulation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfy3puajNNw
Video is fine on snes9x 3DS, virtuaNES 3DS, and Gamyob yet no audio. Libretro emulators seem to have video desync, audio is okay. mGBA 3DS has some of the craziest video distortion I've seen.

[x256]

Install looks great!

For the screen capture, my top and bottom screens are flipped. If I unplug/plug it remains the same.
If I need to change some settings or provide more info, lmk.

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[triple_lei]

I don't have custom firmware, so all I have to add are music skips (minor, but noticeable) from USB audio with Download Play. The sound from the New 3DS XL itself didn't skip. I had an old DS Lite and DSi LL lying around and I had them downloading from my single Tetris DS cartridge in the New 3DS XL. Music started skipping when the systems saw each other (i.e. before any data transferring). Will likely be a couple weeks before I see my cousin again with his New 3DS XL and copy of Tetris Axis, and then we could see if there's anything funky going on with local 3DS multiplayer with both of us having copies of the game (me with the download, him with the cartridge).

Video


Computer setup: Alienware m15 R6, Windows 11

I only had to download the software and driver; I didn't get any missing DLL errors, didn't need the DirectX installer, and didn't need to run anything as administrator. I did get the standard-looking popup asking if this installed correctly, but I ignored it. I didn't even close it. Maybe I should have because first-time jitters included a crash going from SNES VC to the NDS cart that made me restart the capture program. The cable I was using for this very first time was my own USB-C to USB-C 3.1 cable hooked up to my Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, which in my mind anyway was the best setup with the best equipment. I did eventually just use the USB-C cable loopy provided with the purple coloring on the USB-A side, and I didn't get that crash. I tried replicating that crash but I couldn't get it again. Maybe it was the order I did things, but whatever...

Also I can't help but marvel at the how clean the USB-C port is on the N3DSXL. It looks stock! Nintendo couldn't have done any better, so I have to wonder how anyone not named loopy is going to match that...

[loopy]

I fixed some display issues, give it a try.
(Updated link in the top post)

mGBA 3DS has some of the craziest video distortion I've seen.

Interesting. I might have to figure out modding and try some homebrew stuff, I wonder if it's using uncommon video timing or something.

[x256]

Looks great now, that was quick! Thank you!

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[idle]

Looks great loopy! I'll do a longer stream/test later. The only thing I noticed is that on the top screen there is a flashing pixel all the way in the top right corner in all recorded instances. But Pokemon, Virtual Console, DS, and most emulators save for mgba are looking great now.

A few recordings, no timestamps, audio recorded through mic output with a ground loop filter.

Pokemon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhmjJuLbZwI
Virtual Console
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doyGnbRINCA
DS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_OIH4XQ2zo
Emulators
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0iJgYBaofA

[YuuGiJoou]

Howdy! Long time lurker and enjoyer of these hardware mods... embarrassingly, never actually posted in... WOW... that many years? ... ... ...uh... "my bad"? ;3

Thought I'd chime in with some praise, since I haven't actually been able to engineer many particularly troublesome behaviors myself just yet... but I haven't exactly had a whole lot of time to do more than a few cursory tests myself.

---

Obviously, the use of modified software isn't necessarily something that can be accounted for when designing such things, but it DOES create the most fertile opportunities for weird things to happen when interacting with an entirely unrelated hardware modification and the software that it interacts with:

Installing CFW by the Soundhax exploit:
https://youtu.be/_YBFfN7Y2lM

Installing more homebrew apps and functions:
https://youtu.be/iOUpEjSFzGQ
(notable graphical oddness in the output while using FBI, regardless of launch method)

---

Nintendo's 3DS system transfer tool:
https://youtu.be/ogJH2GGvyH0

After transferring my previous 3DS software and save data to the new system's SD card:
https://youtu.be/CdHdbfyV9IM
(includes actual gameplay footage finally. WARNING, the Smash part in particular is quite loud, which is my fault!)

Playing around with some local multiplayer:
https://youtu.be/ZsjyldXhNNQ

This last bit in particular is a real game changer for me, because the software-based mod was incompatible with local wireless usage, seeing as how it piggybacked on an active Internet connection to achieve its... middling results. I can't say how happy I am with a method of capture that not only handles VASTLY superior quality captures, but also opens up the door to the world of gameplay only available in local wireless communications.

---

Now, since most of my video capture and broadcast goes through OBS these days, none of this is actually captured with the native 3DScapture app, but I used its preview as my source and tweaked things as necessary.

This resulted in "oops" moments like not realizing the FIRST video above had the 3DScapture audio dropped down to -44 decibels (whoa?) ...and the remainder are a bit of an overcompensation at only -3.0, which results in the loudest games (looking at you, Smash!) clipping hard. My bad, nobody else's fault there.

I also was using the Dec 3 build of 3DScapture, but I'm glad to see that many issues that others were running into are already squashed with today's updated version! I'll be sure to check it out myself as well!

The USB-C output of not only video, but also sound, is incredibly handy and I really like its inclusion. I probably should've gone through the same method of using a 3.5mm output as I'd done for ye olde DScapture for stability and consistency's sake, but additional options are always welcome, especially when they cut down on the amount of cable clutter during capture sessions.

Thanks again for all your hard work and providing us with this spectacular technical feat, Loopy!

[loopy]

mGBA 3DS has some of the craziest video distortion I've seen.

Interesting. I might have to figure out modding and try some homebrew stuff, I wonder if it's using uncommon video timing or something.

Yeah, it looks like it's using a 2D hires mode (800x240). The Hori HD viewer has the same issue.

[Aar]

Just did a small test with the latest version of the software and the only issues I saw were the couple of pixels in the top-right corner and the audio. Very excellent work!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZSE_M6xIWA

[loopy]

Fixed the glitchy pixel. Fixed wide 2D mode for mGBA.
(Updated link in the top post)