N3DS status / feedback

[mxrvine]

I know many others have already provided their test footage, so my findings may be a bit redundant but I wanted to share my experience with the new capture card.

I just received my N3DS back in the mail with the capture card installed. Did some testing using the latest software and driver, and the 3DS gameplay appears to run great. There's practically zero input delay, and any potential audio delay is negligible.

I noticed that for DS gameplay, everything works if I keep the 2D setting for Display. If I switch to DS (1:1) or DS (upscaled), audio will play but video will not. This isn't an issue for me, since the output using the 2D setting looks great. No complaints here!

3DS Gameplay using Pokémon X: https://youtu.be/aQQOsu70_vw

DS Gameplay using Pokémon HeartGold: https://youtu.be/muaidn_aYlM

I included timestamps in the description of the DS Gameplay video, since it was filmed raw with the intent to get this post out asap. I really appreciate the quality of the board and capture, it's amazing!

[loopy]

If I switch to DS (1:1) or DS (upscaled), audio will play but video will not. This isn't an issue for me, since the output using the 2D setting looks great. No complaints here!

Yeah, it's just a software thing. I have it disabled at the moment.

[Deleted User 13602]

Everything's been good for me since the latest update. I did have the video feed start glitching out/acting like the 3DS got disconnected while playing Omega Ruby, and I'm not sure if it was just a rando or if it was due to overheating (I noticed the board gets a bit warm and I did have my hand on top of the area where it was for a bit while doing something stylus-heavy, plus my play session was around the 4 hour mark when it did crash). Hasn't happened since then though, and worked fine after I waited 10 minutes and tried again. I also do use one of those cheap clear outer shells on my 3DS so it might be holding in some heat too, idk.

[KingdomXIII]

I seem to be experiencing different issues than the rest. I downloaded the updated software from the initial post and I am getting the failure pictured below. I went ahead and redownloaded the drivers and the other executables and ran each one again just in case and I get the same result. I also tried unplugging/replugging the USB-C to see if maybe it's that, but unfortunately that didn't help. (I hope I'm not missing something super obvious, because that would be my luck lol)

On another note. Loopy, I seem to be having a hardware issue that I will DM you about.

Capture.PNG (21.32 KiB) Viewed 11500 times

Capturef.PNG (26.7 KiB) Viewed 11500 times

From everyone else's updates, it looks like there is a blurry finish line coming into view and I'm stoked to have helped reach the finish!

[KingdomXIII]

Update:
I ended up kinda rage launching the software over and over, and after maybe the 7th attempt it finally just decided to download the update to the device firmware from the the popup after constant "writeflash fail" errors and "reboot0" errors. The actual capture seems much more stable and no longer glitches out whether playing a 3DS game or VC game. In my experience, it seemed like that only happened in 3DS games when there was a loading screen that was primarily all black (pre-update). But I did not experience that issue at all this time around with the recent update.

The audio in the capture software is ever-so-slightly behind the 3DS audio. I don't believe I experienced this delay in the OGDS or the OG3DS software.

I believe that was all of my findings this evening.

Loopy, I sent you a PM.

[Cjmaverick_]

Good news - I think I found it. Bad news - It's coming from a different spot on the motherboard that the capture board doesn't tap into. How annoying. Nothing I can do about it right now, maybe in the next board rev.

This doesn’t bother me at all - I’ve always pulled audio by using a 3.5mm cable anyway and it works perfectly. I’ve don’t see any advantage with audio from USB tbh over audio from the audio jack.

[loopy]

Another update - Working on stability issues. I think I've fixed the case where output gets scrambled, requiring unplugging USB.

[idle]

Tried out the latest update, recorded sound through the capture card.

Mode switching seems to work now(?), less scrambled graphics.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KrB_KufVKA

Also did a long (5 hour) stress test. Other than the capture card running a bit hot, output stayed solid. My N3DSXL is in one of those cheap clear hard protective shells in case anyone is wondering if there's anything extra insulating it. If there's weirdness in the footage it's mostly me just adjusting the capture windows in obs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UNdRqRanEu4

Software also seems more responsive when it comes to closing it but there are two things I noticed. Closing the software with just the debug console causes it to no longer capture video and audio the next time it's reopened. Powering down the N3DSXL first and then closing the software causes the debug console window to hang. Both are resolved by replugging the usb. Video is timestamped.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSVLhSQdBIk

[SciGuy]

Just received my 3DS earlier today. Tried it out for a few hours running various games/software, and it's working great. Only noticeable bugs include the USB audio being delayed by a hair and the already mentioned video bugs requiring a quick cable reconnect. Also it does get a little warm, but I'm not sure how concerning this is for the longevity of the console. I'll keep you updated if I run into anything new. Thanks again loopy, you did a beautiful job.

[3DSFan]

I've found a few issues so far:

• When I use Lagarith Lossless Codec as the video codec, colors are screwed up:
  
  Spoiler

  

  lagarith_colors_wrong.png (106.2 KiB) Viewed 11143 times

  The codec itself seems fine since it works correctly when I use it in other contexts, like capturing from an HDMI capture card using VirtualDub.
• Minor issue: If the capture program is run when 3ds_capture.cfg doesn't exist, then the path used to save files is different from the one displayed in the program. The displayed path is the Desktop, but the actual path is the current directory (if you launch the program by double-clicking the executable in Windows Explorer, then the current directory is the one containing the executable). It seems that when the program is closed for the first time, 3ds_capture.cfg is created if it doesn't exist already, and from then on the issue won't occur.
• Minor issue: After I install the driver and close the installer, Windows opens the Program Compatibility Assistant, which says that the program may not have installed correctly:
  
  Spoiler

  

  driver_after_installation.png (39.27 KiB) Viewed 11143 times

  However, it installed fine. It may be worth noting this in the instructions.

I was initially unable to get audio recording to work, but following Loopy's suggestion in this topic, I tried the virtual audio capturer he linked to. An updated version is here. Once I installed it, I opened the 3DS Capture program, clicked Audio settings, and selected the new "virtual-audio-capturer" option. This allowed me to record audio. The amount of desync between video and audio seems to depend on the video codec selected. When I used the Microsoft Video 1 codec, the audio was massively delayed. But when I used the MJPEG Compressor codec, the video and audio seemed synchronized. This video codec also produced very good quality, so I recommend it (although if the issue with Lagarith is fixed, it can probably produce the same quality with much better compression).