Datafrog SF2000 | Custom FW | MULTICORE ALPHA 0.06

Finally custom firmware to fix all the inherent issues with the Datafrog SF2000. Watch on and see for youself.
Download Multicore Alpha here - github.com/mad...
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[@kennethd4958]

For an under $20 handheld it's not terrible... I got mine for $12 shipped. I leave it on my coffee table in my living room just for people to pick up and play a few games if they want. If I want to actually play games I use my 35XX.. but that cost about three to four times as much as the DataFrog.. or my Odin... which cost way more.

[@handheldgaming4life]

Yup as decoration its fine... just make sure you stay on top of charging it.

[@Concreteowl]

The Master system is stock. Master System ran on Mega Drive so if you run a Master System game on it it will play through the Mega Drive emulator. This was the case from day 1. You really are desperately trying to pick holes in a ridiculously inexpensive device that plays an amazing amount of games for next to nothing.

[@handheldgaming4life]

Just bringing to light the fact this device is very much unable to output any games at full speed. It might one day, but at this current moment in time its not worth buying for the novice. Its little more than a fun(ish) curio for people who don't mind hacking about with it and not expecting any more than mediocre performance. 🤷‍♂️

[@preparingforanything]

I didn't know that... download time!! Thanks❤

[@jumbo999614]

Just received my order today. This system is really cheap and worth buying. Just NES, Genesis , and MAME alone is already worth buying. Too bad they don't include NES wai wai world and Blaster Master. Now I have to find a way to put these 2 games in the system.

[@handheldgaming4life]

I'd agree if your unable to download your own ROMs then this is a way to get them. But as I've said before don't expect them to run at full speed. Full speed being 60hz on these retro games because the display is currently only capable of 47hz. There is work to break this current hard lock, but it's not available to general public.

[@reynangan8746]

if this device was introduce in 90's people this would be the handheld gaming god

[@handheldgaming4life]

To be honest if it came out in the 90s as a mainstream product as broken as it is it would probably cause the second great gaming collapse. 😂

[@jorgewilliams6041]

Ive bought two of these for my kids Christmas. Its the perfect price and they can play pokemon, mario etc without me getting too annoyed if they break them.

[@handheldgaming4life]

Be more concerned about charging them. I'd suggest you spend the extra to get a couple of protected 18650 cells and fitting them.

[@Nobody-Nowhere]

​@@handheldgaming4life If it has any sort of battery level indicator, it has built in protection. All it does is monitors the voltage levels. And charger chips have their built in over charge protection. Not many devices actually need protected cells.

[@gutyourtrust]

more dangerous than the standard LiPo batteries in most of these devices ? @@handheldgaming4life Definitely agree get a higher quality batt

[@GamersReckoning]

Just letting you know that Metal Slug 1 is notorious for having slowdown. Even the original mvs and aes carts have the same slowdown and it happens all throughout the game. It might have a tad bit to do with 48hz screen but the game itself had issues from the og get go.

[@handheldgaming4life]

Cheers. I've played this game since it's release and on multiple platforms by I've never seen it slow this much. However I'll be testing version 0.09 of the custom firmware (not firmware) soon. 👌

[@jumbo999614]

Which firmware do you have?

[@jeffdewe]

LoL I just ordered a 3rd one, I have the grey one like this one, I have the Mario red and blue one and now I just ordered the all black version :)

[@handheldgaming4life]

Glutton for punishment. 🤣 You know for the price of 3 SF2000 you could have had 1 decent handheld that worked at full speed out of the box?🫡

[@jeffdewe]

@@handheldgaming4life Yes I know, I just found them really a cute device. I have a Raspberry Pi 5 on Back order, Its still early days for the Pi 5, but initially they even got some switch games working on it and I'm also ordering a Powkiddy RGB30 , the one with the cool square screen , Great for mame and and other systems.

[@hfric]

The speed tearing issue ,is the screens 48Hz refresh rate ... the multicore on 1.71 mitigates the screen tearing, by making some emus use adaptive Vsync to the 48hz screen , aka limit games to be 48fps (and brakes GBA emu on Menu Theme , making you use the UserFolder to play those GBA roms)... games designed to run in 50 or 60fps (but when games need more power , its turned off and you get tearing)... the thing is , this screen can do 60Hz ,since the same screen its used on theirs FC3000 v2 IPS (a handled that can play Quake\Duke3D\Hexen on custom firmware )... but only in 240x320 , when the screen is in its original 4:3 position... but it has been rotated 90° clockwise to make it a 320x240 16:9 display ... and in 320x240 this IPS display can only do 48Hz The only way to make it go full 60fps is on the TV cable (since it has the same internals as theirs TV Stick SF9000 , even the radio pads from it work on this SF2000 handheld also )... but still , SF2000 only plays sound in Mono ... Mono that does not downmux the audio to play two chanels at the same time on one speaker , but it only plays the Left Chanel :( (even on TV) ... not to mention the battery that is a hazard and should be changed ... FC3000 v1\2 is a way better cheap device ... from the same company ...

[@handheldgaming4life]

Lots of great info. 👌. It'll be refuted by the supporters blinded by the cheapness of the product though. The latest multicore firmware hack does partially address screen tearing. Video coming soon.

[@hfric]

@@handheldgaming4life Guess, they are blinded be the shape . That was burned to the mind of many kids back then . That this looks like a SNES pad ... and the price makes wonders. Still, FC3000 V1\V2 is a way better choice, if anyone is looking for a cheap handheld with a 60hz screen, that has no tearing. Since not only it can be modded with custom Linux firmware . But it can also use a rechargeable 1020mha Nokia battery bl-5c with a run time of 4-5h-ish (the go-to cheap battery, that any chinese handheld uses) , or 3xAAA Batteries (add three 1000mha, and it goes for 12h to 15h).

[@budgetking2591]

FC3000 costs 2x more then this, ofcourse its gonna be better. rg35xx is also better then the fc3000, but its 2x more expensive.@@hfric

[@bnister]

Multicore isn't a custom firmware. It's rather simple mod to the stock one

[@handheldgaming4life]

Currently as close as we can get to custom though isn't it. And many in the community seem to call it custom.

[@esteveguineueta2328]

@@handheldgaming4life Not actually. It's just a launcher through the GBA emulator. A custom firmware would work aeons better provided we have access to the GPU. It could run even not so hard to emulate PS1 games, and of course 100% snes and GBA emulation.

[@handheldgaming4life]

@@esteveguineueta2328 Still an infinity away from a usable custom firmware though? Firmware might fix it, but I've a feeling it'll never fully arrive.

[@RicardoAlonso77]

so what can i buy with this price?

[@handheldgaming4life]

Nothing decent and that's the point. 👍

[@michaelperry9261]

The screen looks better on the SF2000 if you take the plastic of the screen. Its a bit cloudy & poor quality. Its not a true screen protector. Also the games do run at 60 or 50 fps if using PAL games its the screen that only displays at 48 hzs.

[@handheldgaming4life]

The dev of the multicore hack confirmed the CPU outputs at 48hz. So while the screen is 60hz the output isn't. They have managed to drive it faster than 48hz but not all the way to 60. This is why there is always a bad refresh on screen.

[@reynangan8746]

your buttons is like a Skittles

[@handheldgaming4life]

Yes, I carried out a SNES controller button swap.

[@reynangan8746]

@@handheldgaming4life and its cool o would like to mod one of my sf2000 buttons into a color one so that even its underpowered i would still play this and eat a bunch of skittles hehehehehe

[@JarlBarbossa]

The miyoo will always be better but it costs over double. I think the data frog will be a good gift for kids.

[@handheldgaming4life]

Personal opinion, but my view is the best gift would be one you'd be happy to play on. ;) Plus the Miyoo has the added benefit of being much safer than the cell in the SF2000.

[@handheldgaming4life]

@QN6969 I'd agree with the R36S, that seems pretty good. The M17 needs too much remedial work.

[@JarlBarbossa]

@QN6969 those are the same price as a miyoo plus

[@Mars9982]

It's better if you have small hands. No thanks to hand cramps

[@Mr.Monster1313]

Is there a way to dim the screen its too bright...and will a regular snes controller buttons fit this..i want to change mine.

[@handheldgaming4life]

I've heard standard SNES buttons will fit as will the rubbers. Brightness has not to my knowledge been addressed so its currently full brightness only.

[@noonesjedi8018]

Why do you dwell on this one game that more expensive devices have trouble emulating? I apprecite if you're trying to be honest about the device, but it sounds like you want to mostly hate on it. This is a great option for my 2 young kids who would not treat a nicer device with care.

[@handheldgaming4life]

I wanted to love this because so many reviewers were saying it was great. There very much is an algorithm to chase, but I've got my limits. For the average person this is a terrible device. For people who have other handhelds and want something to mod that won't break the bank its fine. As for the game in question.... other reviewers have used the same game but not shown much footage and I think the reason why is because while the game looks ok at times in longer play throughs you can see all the flaws. I'll reiterate, if anyone buys the SF2000 for young kids I'd heavily suggest you invest in a decent 18650 for it as the battery that comes with it is a real risky choice. I'll be trying the 0.09 version of the Firmware hack and see what that improves, apparently it makes big improvements to the bad horizontal refresh so that alone might make the device worthy as a beater device, but still I'd go for that better/safer battery option. I actually picked up a brand new Anbernic RG35xx for £35.19, and while it was a long wait for shipping and its twice the price of the SF2000 in the UK, it came with a bigger SD card and better everything, controls, build, battery and emulation.

[@noonesjedi8018]

@handheldgaming4life well, thanks for the reply, and the tip about the battery. Good for you finding the RG35xx that cheap, but you obviously are not the average consumer if are capable of that. Side note, your viewers don't care about you chasing the algorithm. I personally won't be subscribing based on the 2 videos about this. It's not that you are critical of the device. It's the overall tone you have about it. Just some friendly criticism...and have a good day sir.

[@handheldgaming4life]

Finding the RG35xx that cheap was considerably easier that finding an SF2000 for $9. I used a common discount code, one I've shared in a previous video and saved 12% off the sale price. I might even make a short to help folks through it. 👍 I wish it was true about not caring about chasing the algorithm, but the fact is the couple of SF2000 videos have proven to be some of my most popular and gained me sufficient viewers to push me over the 1000 threshold for channel partnership and the subs are still rising, much quicker now due to these vids. 😐 There is however a line I won't cross, so I won't say something is amazing, a bargain, a must buy etc if its really not that good just to earn a coin. But what I will say is i'm open to have my view swayed by the modding community who are attempting to make this device better than the sum of its parts. If they succeed I'll post a much more positive video. 👍

[@noonesjedi8018]

@handheldgaming4life thanks for the honesty. I noticed they did better for you, that's good. Guess it's not for me, but hey, I'm not everyone.. 😅 never hoped you would fail, and wish you the best of luck.

[@handheldgaming4life]

@@noonesjedi8018 I'm expecting good things from 0.09 firmware hack. Not been well enough recently to concentrate enough time to do it justice. Hopefully next week.

[@preparingforanything]

I got two. One from Ali Express for $8 and one from Temu for $15. For the price only a fool complains... I'm out ✊🏾

[@handheldgaming4life]

Hurtful! 🤦‍♂️ I mean I could say a only a fool buys the same junk twice! 😉You obviously know what you've got, who am I to argue.

[@tarstarkusz]

Do you know of any place to download the custom firmware? The link will not work on my computer using firefox, chromium or konqueror Where it says assets, if I click the down arrow to show the files, it just hangs there turning a circle. I'm also trying to get the firmware for the RG350, also hosted there and it won't download

[@handheldgaming4life]

The GitHub repo is the only source I believe. Maybe need to use a more common browser or borrow a PC that can run one?

[@tarstarkusz]

6:20 Did you try reducing the sound quality? In most emulators, you can go into the emulation settings and reduce the sound quality from 16bit 44.1khz stereo (CD quality) to 22khz mono 8 bit (about akin to an FM mono station with a good signal). It will sound more or less the same though not as clean, but should dramatically speed up the emulation. My GP2X can play most SNES games with lowered sound quality at or near 60fps at 220mhz, but none of the DSP helper chip games run either at all or if they do run, painstakingly slow with frequent crashes. Despite having like 10 ports of SNES emulators, not one of them utilize the second processor. Picodrive, a Genesis emulator does use the 2nd processor for sound and can run most Genesis games at 133khz (saves battery to run the gp2x slower) with 16 bit stereo sound at 44.1khz. I mention the Genesis because it really makes a difference what emulator you are running. It's a shame this is such a poorly done implementation. I was hoping to play MAME games on it hooked to a TV. Plus, the price has gone up, at least on Amazon. The lowest listing is for 30 bucks.

[@handheldgaming4life]

You can't get into emulator settings like you can with other systems. I've got an GP2X too and that was much more tweakable... but also much more expensive I guess in its day... although I didn't pay anything like full price as I picked it up used.

[@tarstarkusz]

@@handheldgaming4life I paid full price for the GP32 (200 plus shipping from Asia) when it first came out and the the GP2X (again 200 from Asia (playasia)) when it first came out. I was going to get a Wiz, but the scene was slowly dying by the time it came out. I would like to get my hands on the Dingux 200 I think it was called. Almost as powerful as the 2x, plus video out. I wish I had the video adapter for the GP2X, but they never come up for sale by themselves. But I still use the Gp2X occasionally. I just got an RG350p. It supposedly does video out, but only HDMI.

[@stuffing09]

it's $12 on aliexpress

[@laurentlhoest8324]

If Snes could be smooth, I'd have one with all roms possible, sadly this handheld is not powerful enough :(

[@cxvcnxbzfdhjlaks]

I would love to get a Miyoo Mini Plus or RG35XX Plus in this form factor...

[@handheldgaming4life]

Good news, the Anbernic RG3GXX H will be available now. Ok its not the same shape as the SF2000 but it is the same Horizontal form factor. And way more powerful.

[@cxvcnxbzfdhjlaks]

@@handheldgaming4life bought one because I got an email from black seraph's patreon saying Garlic 2.0.0 alpha supports it already.

[@tarstarkusz]

What about the NTSC output? I've been thinking about getting this because it has the NTSC (for CRT TV) output. TVs don't run at 48fps. IOW, is the limitation the screen or the emulation speed? I would love to be able to play MAME on an NTSC CRT TV. Also some of the other supported systems, but not if they are running too slow. Unless it is a hardware limitation of the screen, a new firmware could fix it. A lot of these handheld systems come with slow buggy emulators. Changing the emulator could fix it.

[@handheldgaming4life]

While it outputs to classic TVs I think it stretches the video output to 16:9 and then it cuts off.

[@dr.robotnik7334]

Lad, it's a 16-quid device from Ali Express. You've lost your mind.

[@handheldgaming4life]

Its the biggest waste of £16 (its more though). Check my latest video to see the newly added FPS counter which defends all those who claim "BuT iT rUnS aT fUlL sPeEd!"🤣 Clue! It really doesn't. We all love a bargain but other than a curio for your desk its just a waste of cash.

[@dr.robotnik7334]

@@handheldgaming4life I paid about £16 for mine a while back, I think with a bit of digging you should be able to still get it at that price. Have a look at updating the official firmware and patching it so the SNES slowdown issue is fixed the first time you load a SNES game. Is this as good as other devices, no, but if you pay under £20 for it, it’s a great device, in my humble opinion of course! Have a look into that firmware and bug fix tho.

[@dr.robotnik7334]

After rewatching the video, u have lol. Ignore that. 😂

[@guillaumecaux4894]

this ALPHA 0.6 crash my console...

[@josevalero3543]

Costed me 10 bucks, for my kid is perfect as she will destroy in her hands anything else. For me is a NO, but I found interesting to try to push trash into better, so i am "playing" with firmware, still nothing too good of it.

[@handheldgaming4life]

Make sure you get that battery cell replaced, not a good device if you're letting your kid charge it until you replace it with a protected cell.

[@josevalero3543]

@@handheldgaming4life good tip! however i pass to spend more money on it that it costed me, I made some tests with the battery and seems "okaish" it may be one of the last releases, and for my kid, absolutely, its me who charge it and under my close supervision, I would not trust to let this device charging by itself lol, thank you man!

[@Mr.Monster1313]

What other systems/consoles can you put on it?

[@handheldgaming4life]

github.com/madcock/sf2000_multicore_cores/releases has a list of all working cores. And they've just released a 0.10 custom Multicore Alpha which I'll be testing over the coming days.

[@Mr.Monster1313]

Yeah pretty much most of my snes games dont even play..sooo slow...wish i could make them play better.

[@Zanzibar2Far]

Can the slowdown be fixed, it's seems like a bug? Is it thermal throttling or having issues clearing the RAM?

[@handheldgaming4life]

I've been told there is a future firmware hack in progress that get the unit closer to 60fps and should probably help the slow downs too perhaps.

[@robloxmacosx8878]

can it do n64

[@handheldgaming4life]

It can barely do SNES so I'd presume N64 would be zero change it would be playable.

[@robloxmacosx8878]

@@handheldgaming4life Maybe there’s a way to overClock it’s cpu

[@antwango]

videos of this on s1eepy running doom DOOM DOOM!!!! At stupid frames a second!!! sooo... annnnd its only 0.06 cfw

[@handheldgaming4life]

what fps?

[@eesu]

that's not how you use multicore, I suggest reading the readme file of it before you make a video and please don't compare a 20$ handheld to a 40$ handheld

[@handheldgaming4life]

I'll do an indepth look at 0.09. 👍 Why not compare a capable handheld to a less capable one. Based on current retail prices, not discounts the prices are a lot closer. ;)