Datel MAX Media Launcher DS Review

[Zeus]

Product: Datel Max Media Launcher for DS
Reviewer: Taylor Harte
Buy Now: <a href="http://www.cheapmod.net/item--Datel-MediaMax-Launcher--datelmmlauncher" tatget="_blank">Cheapmod.net</a> (UK in stock) and <A href="http://www.divineo.net/index.php?affcode=66623" target="_blank">Divineo Network</a> (Available Soon)

The History of the DS PassMe Devices

When the DS was first released, Nintendo placed hardware protection within the DS to prevent DS images being booted from the GBA slot. They then protected the DS slot using RSA encryption (the same encryption used by banks). Along came a hacker called Dark Fader who designed a device that manipulated the communications to the DS slot tricking the DS into booting from the GBA slot, the Passkey was born.

The original Passkey was a homebrew device, supplied as a bare PCB. After a period of time, the Chinese manufacturers packaged the PassKey into a plastic shell and sold them in there thousands. A short time later, Nintendo altered the firmware within the DS to defeat the technique used by the PassMe, rendering the Passkeys's useless. In the age old tradition of cat and mouse bewteen hardware manufacturer and hacker, the passKey 2 was developed. Unfortunately the technique of using a passkey 2 was a little more involved, the user having to load a file onto the DS, then powering off and on the DS in order for the passkey 2 to work correctly. This technique was a pain to use......until Datel arrived on the scene.

Package Contents of Datel's Max Media Launcher

The MAX Media launcher comes in a sturdy cardboard box, inside the box is the cartridge, and a single small instruction sheet. Very few instructions are supplied with the cartridge, but little can be said, plug it in and off you go :) It's that easy.

<Center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/datel_m_media_1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/datel_m_media_1.jpg" height="179" width="188"> <a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/datel_m_media_2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/datel_m_media_2.jpg" height="179" width="187"></center></a>

It's Soooooooo Small!

Datel's MaxMedia Launcher is the size of a standard DS cartridge and looks just like any standard DS game.

<Center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/datel_m_media_3.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/datel_m_media_3.jpg" height="200" width="269"></center></a>

To quote Datels instructions ''This product allows you to run any DS program stored on a GBA flash storage device (such as M3 Movie Player or SuperCard) without the need for a cumbersome or complicated 'Pass-Me' type device. Just insert the MAX Media Launcher, connect your GBA flash storage device and boot your console!''

A Job Well Done By Datel

I'm pleased to say it does exactly that (as per above), with 100% reliability. With a SuperCard or M3 inserted into the GBA slot, along with the MAX Media Launcher in the DS slot. It completely fits inside the DS cartridge slot and sits flush with the top of the console, as any original cartridge does.

<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/datel_m_media_4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/datel_m_media_4.jpg" height="100" width="300"></center></a>
<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/datel_m_media_5.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/datel_m_media_5.jpg" height="100" width="203"></center></a>
<Center><i>The first picture shows a comparison between a superpass in the DS and the Max Media Launcher (MML) on a DS Lite, the second shows the same on an original DS (You see the MML is barely visible).</i></center></a>

I powered on the DS, within a second the Datel splash graphics appear on the top screen, then a few moments later the familiar flash cartridge menu system appears, be it SuperCard or M3. This happens directly from powering on the DS. I didn't have to use an original cartridge, nor did I have to preload any files. This thing just boots up without any hassle.

<Center><A href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/datel_m_media_6.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/datel_m_media_6.jpg" height="200" width="299"></center></a>

It's as Cheap as Chips

The DS looks so much neater without a bulky passkey sticking out the top. No complicated preloading of files and power cycling, so simple a young child could use it. Would I recommend it...you bet.

The other really nice feature of the Media Launcher is the price. This is the cheapest passkey device on the market, with an R.R.P. of £12.99/$19.99.

Say Bye Bye to that Ugly PassKey, Datel's Device - It's a knock out!

A number of people have been reporting that the latest DS Lites are having issues when trying to use flashme on them (Flashme is a software version of a passme, the process involves modifying the DS firmware to boot DS images from the GBA slot). Problems when trying to flash the firmware can cause the Lite to become 'bricked', making it a rather expensive paperweight. The MediaMax Launcher eliminates the need to even attempt this risky procedure. If you don't want an ugly passkey / superpass sticking out the top of your sleek console, then the MediaMax Launcher is the product you are looking for.

In fact, even if you have a passme\SuperPass, the MediaMax Launcher is THE ideal replacment. Have you got the picture yet... Get one of these :)

Manufacturers of passme type devices should throw in the towel right now. This little device cannot be beaten on price or performance. Datel have made the perfect device for DS users wanting to run software from the GBA slot.

Positives

+ Same size as a standard DS cartridge.
+ No programming required.
+ No original DS cartridge required.
+ No power cycling required.
+ Extended battery life due to low power consumption.
+ Works in ALL DS versions, including the latest DS Lite.
+ Can boot flashme.nds directly (But why would you bother).
+ No way of damaging your DS cartridge slot.
+ High build quality (It is Datel).

Negatives

- You haven't got one yet ?

Buy Now: <a href="http://www.cheapmod.net/item--Datel-MediaMax-Launcher--datelmmlauncher" tatget="_blank">Cheapmod.net</a> (UK in stock) and <A href="http://www.divineo.net/index.php?affcode=66623" target="_blank">Divineo Network</a> (Available Soon)

[Khar00f]

but how do you save a game that requires a DS card to save to? (say Supercard and running Tetris DS on it [which requires a DS cart to save to?])

[BigGanja]

If only max had got news of this a week ago, .... nevermind i have a superpass 2 coming, but i think i may well get one of these datel devices too..

I'm kinda shitting myself when it comes to flashing my DS as its a version4 firmware and i have played Nintendo Wifi Connection games B4, im hoping i can erase the wifi settings in the firmware before the flash, Dont wanna brick my DS. :p

Can anyone confirm if this works or not?, and if/how i can use flashme on a fw4 thats been played online with wifi ?

Well done Datel, the presentation is very nice, and i think if it performs to standard, the fact no game needed and also no programming it etc etc, its extra effort, effectivly means you have the best passme on the market, pricewise its much cheaper than those passKey devices that do the same job as this.

Hope it performs as well as you are hyping it Zeus ;)

One quick question tho' does it drain the ds battery like the passme2 devices?

New NDS solution, MAX Media Launcher+SuperCard MiniSD+MiniSD=Homebrew Ready DS

[Perkele]

but how do you save a game that requires a DS card to save to? (say Supercard and running Tetris DS on it [which requires a DS cart to save to?])
According to a review I saw on another website 2 weeks ago, it has an EEPROM onboard, so you can save to it should you need to.
But the Supercard saves Tetris DS straight to the CF/SD card, I even run it without a DS card inserted.

I'm kinda shitting myself when it comes to flashing my DS as its a version4 firmware and i have played Nintendo Wifi Connection games B4, im hoping i can erase the wifi settings in the firmware before the flash, Dont wanna brick my DS. :p
Can anyone confirm if this works or not?, and if/how i can use flashme on a fw4 thats been played online with wifi ?
You're confusing with FlashMe V4 I think, that one had problems when you played a Wifi game, not the original V4 flash.
You can just run the latest Flashme.nds (V7 atm) using the Superpass2 device you are going to get, you'll have to short SL1 too ofcourse.
Your wifi settings might get overwritten, though I doubt it, I updated Flashme V5 to V7 and it kept my wifi settings.
Afterwards you can better try to sell that Superpass2 as you won't need it anymore, unless you want to put FlashMe on other DS's and earn some of your money back.

[RottenFox]

yeh once again..datel are slow off the blocks.
unneeded,unnecesarry,and a few other choice words.
simply use flashmev.7,and you dont even need a ds cart to save to,like the above poster says,it saves to the SD/CF card in the supercard/m3 etc.
in fact,you dont even need a ds cart at all after flashing.

[djkatarat]

makes me very interested.

btw, i found this on codejunkies..

http://us.codejunkies.com/news_reviews.asp?c=US&cr=USD&cs=$&r=0&l=1&p=17&i=8997&s=8

that shocked me...shocked me alot...
..maybe nintendo agreed to the homebrew and emulation world as plot to eliminate psp...i think its working..lol:)

[galaxykidgamma]

c'mon divineo!!! i want it now!

also, divineo says that the m3 mini ships in 7 days, is this fairly accurate, i mean, will it really ship w/in seven days?

thx
-tim

[Perkele]

c'mon divineo!!! i want it now!
Get it from the official codejunkies shop who have it in stock.

[muggsy]

just ordered mine from divineo (UK) with the 4GB HDD, will be here tomorrow.... so I'm gonna have a good play..... only problem is that I have a DS Lite... but I don't think the HDD will cause me too much bother

[razuraw]

just ordered mine from divineo (UK) with the 4GB HDD, will be here tomorrow.... so I'm gonna have a good play..... only problem is that I have a DS Lite... but I don't think the HDD will cause me too much bother

dude u do know that you cant play any backup games on that 4bg hdd:eek: :eek:

[muggsy]

Where has it ben stated that it will not play backups? I think you will find this has just not been mentioned one wya or the other. On another review I read it specified backups played fine when you Max Media Launcher so if that is the case i will use my GBA Flash cart for NDS backups

[Cyclone57]

Looks pretty cool but does anyone know if it works with G6?:confused:

[Zeus]

The MAX MEDIA Player and Launcher are TWO different products. The Launcher is a PassMe device and think of the Media Player is more of a flash cart, with right now has LIMITED functionality.

Datel's media player will play homebrew images and coincedentally ROMS EVENTUALLY, but this will be reliant on 'third party' software as well as updates from them which we 'hear' will come in a 'couple of weeks'.

I think though the best combination in terms of media/homebrew/images and whatever else you want to throw at it is the M3 Mini and Datel Max Media Launcher.

[Souzar]

yeh once again..datel are slow off the blocks.
unneeded,unnecesarry,and a few other choice words.
simply use flashmev.7,and you dont even need a ds cart to save to,like the above poster says,it saves to the SD/CF card in the supercard/m3 etc.
in fact,you dont even need a ds cart at all after flashing.

Does that mean with the v7 flashme, they have solved the problem of keeping a ds cart inserted for suspend/sleep mode?


If so then that is good news.

[shahneshah]

hi
say i bought a max media launcher how do i play ds roms what else do i need
thanks in advance

do i need a flashcard if yes which one and how big and is that all i need?

[lenselijer]

Does that mean with the v7 flashme, they have solved the problem of keeping a ds cart inserted for suspend/sleep mode?


If so then that is good news.

no, but just turn off your ds when you are not playing, having a cartridge in the ds slot drains alot of battery!

[djkatarat]

The MAX MEDIA Player and Launcher are TWO different products. The Launcher is a PassMe device and think of the Media Player is more of a flash cart, with right now has LIMITED functionality.

Datel's media player will play homebrew images and coincedentally ROMS EVENTUALLY, but this will be reliant on 'third party' software as well as updates from them which we 'hear' will come in a 'couple of weeks'.

I think though the best combination in terms of media/homebrew/images and whatever else you want to throw at it is the M3 Mini and Datel Max Media Launcher.


thanks for ur idea of the best combination...i think i will probably do this.

[muggsy]

to be honest, I believe they are both the same product but with different names, I think they named it media player coz its packaged with the HDD...

I don't understand why they would openly support backup usage on one and not the other.. from what I have read, the 4GB HDD is just a sealed enclosure for a CF or SD card....

I think I will be proved right.. but I'll see tomorrow.. to be honest I already have too many DS games so it won't disappoint me too much if I am wrong

[galaxykidgamma]

isn't there anywhere that carries this and the m3 mini? i know divineo will, and it'll prolly be cheapest there, is their 7 day ship reliable?

[Malboro]

Can someone tell me what is Cheapmod.net and Divineo Network shipping cost from europe? Or other good european website where i can order max media launcer.

[galaxykidgamma]

w00t, just ordered my m3 and datel media launcher from cheapmod, umm lemme see, i think divineo wanted to charge about 16 USD for fedex express (that's all they were offereing) for a similar purcahse...

i paid £7.43 at cheapmod for Airmail Airsure, that's about 12 or 13 USD

hope this helps

-tim

[UFOz2]

no, but just turn off your ds when you are not playing, having a cartridge in the ds slot drains alot of battery!


i got the MML today.. once its launched the user is free to remove the MML off the DS slot and m3 will still work without freezing...

[BigGanja]

Thanks for pointing that out to me Perkele.

I was reading from off this http://ds.gcdev.com/dsfirmware/site

It reads Note: If you still have V4, do not play games that use the Nintendo Wi-fi connection.

I have yet to flash a SINGLE NDS yet lol, from the guidelines i have acquired i believe i have "RETAIL Flash version 4" not FlashmeV4, so although i have been on nintendo WFC, i erased my WFC settings (just to be sure) superpass2 has arrived now but aint got a parallell cable to program the SP2 so i guess im waiting some more lol!

LapTop just broke last week, so now its just a matter of do what i can, when and where i can. But yea im ready now thnx for givin' me that info Perkele.

--EDiT-- Kinda off-topic -
Nintendo DS (FlashMe7 MoDDeD)
MiniSD SuperCard
"Broke ass" miniSD card (only giving me 270mbs outta a gig) Grrr.
Superpass2
A choice of 6 originals to program to it, Programmed with Mario Kart DS (E) tested a .nds file outta the supercard software then proceeded to flashme!

And ..... all is good, flashed 100% im quite happily chucked New Super Mario Bros. onto my MiniSD card, worked first time no problems :)

Just to clarify YES, once nds is flashed when using a supercard it WILL save straight onto the SD card (after going through the SC software), i tested this without a "REAL" NDS cart in the top, yep it said saved.

Turned power off, launched again, the save was their ;)

Now I wanna play BleachDS and Jump Superstars hahahaha

Capcom needs to bust out some Rival schools for NDS, with wifi play that would be awesome ! and I would buy the original :D

[jayjames]

i have this max 4gb thing and i had trouble getting it to load mp3 and video files on it, let alone any back ups i have made ;) so i googled it and it ponited me to a review of it on here and it says to play video and mp3 u have to load a homebrew proggy called moonshell that the card comes shipped with. how crap is that! it`ll play homebrew stuff tho.. strange , hope something gets sorted out as £100 is a lot of money for a media player that you have to load another program on to play things!! :eek:

[oli84]

Does the Max Media Launcher have problems doing sleep mode?

[UFOz2]

Does the Max Media Launcher have problems doing sleep mode?


stick in a real cart for sleep mode... otherwise the ds will freeze.. so yes.

[oli84]

stick in a real cart for sleep mode... otherwise the ds will freeze.. so yes.

Thanks. Rather not have this, so I will just flashme then have a real cart in to get sleepmode working properly.

[Shpinxis]

I have the MAX Media Player and the 4 GIG Hard Drive. I have to load my movies, pictures, and audio from Moonshell. When i do Movies though I get a lot of lag and that is annoying and weird, it shouldnt do that. Can anyone tell me if this is just mine or this is how it is. I have the Moonshell version that comes with the Hard Drive. Also can someone tell me what type of NDS card is the Hard Drive/Media PLayer becuase i cant get the latest Moonshell to work.

[UFOz2]

I have the MAX Media Player and the 4 GIG Hard Drive. I have to load my movies, pictures, and audio from Moonshell. When i do Movies though I get a lot of lag and that is annoying and weird, it shouldnt do that. Can anyone tell me if this is just mine or this is how it is. I have the Moonshell version that comes with the Hard Drive. Also can someone tell me what type of NDS card is the Hard Drive/Media PLayer becuase i cant get the latest Moonshell to work.


It's pretty much the same shit as the psp microdrive... its slow, its not power efficient and 150$ is a huge ripoff for useless hardware like that... i mean they dont even support playing nds games with first party software... blah.. lol

gibbe me 4Gb SD + MML any day... but not thise huge bulky thing... I don't even want to think what it would look like on my precious DS Lite.

[carlitos2200]

MML and MMP are 2 different products. I have both and used them on my 4GB hdd AND 1GB CFcard. Max Media player works they way they do on hd and CF but when I used Max Media launcher I got the 2-white screens -of -death. The launcher is supposed to work well with GBA flash cards AND the Max Media Docker. But the 4GBhdd is on a Max media Docker! Unless the Max Media Docker has different innards like the MML and MMP do thenMML should work with MMD. I ordered a GBAMP and I hope that I can see for myself. MMP does not read .gba files. MML I am guessing does not read .nds files unless patched with .gba. If anyone has had same problems as I have let me know. Also to note does the micro-drive have any buffer? That could be the main problem with movie lags. I switched to CF for my flicks and games. I thought about reducing the kbps to under 96 for hdd but I like what I have right now. Batchdpg is a great software I found. Picture is superb and a hell whole lot better than the prog that comes with Moonshell.

[theskunk]

Hi guys,

just wanna check. Had a frustrating weekend trying to sort out how to play nds files on my lite. I had the Supercard, I had the Max Media Launcher too. Bought a 1 gig SD card.

GBA files loads but hangs at a white screen. Nds files not tested yet. Think my SD card went haywire after I tried moving files. It says, not in FAT format now, couldn't re-format it in the PC now...im going crazy, the card is like useless now, can't even be read by the card reader now....alrite, enuff complains.

Anyway, just a few quick questions if anyone can shed some light:

1) GBA files hangs..why? Do i need any special software in the SD card to play GBA or NDS files?

2) Does the NDS files need to be patched?If yes, what program?

3)Does NDS files support double screen?

Guys, please help me, I'm so done troubleshooting...please answer me before I waste money to get another memory card.

Cheers!!

[handyguy]

Restart your computer & see if it can then see your card & format it fat32.

GBA games won't play on your MMD yet....needs emulator. But you can use a regular GBA backup thingy & it would play the games.

NDS are patched with max overload. Topic in forum already on it.

Nds games play in dual screen, yes.

Circuit City has a Hitachi 4gb CFII microdrive for $59AR today. FInd a $15 off $100 coupon on the web to save more.

[stryker98]

i suggest you use a compact flash card that can read 10MB per sec. A mini drive like the 4GB that comes with MMP reads very slow with no buffer to read in advance. there are some out there but it isn't worth the price because of moving parts that eat battery life. Might as well own a PSP if you want short battery life. A decent card for holding files would be a Sandisk 1GB CF card. It reads 10 MB per sec. There are others largerup to 4 and 6 GB. Also if you want your files to not break up in transfer from PC to card either use USB 2.0 or a CF reader. Max Media Launcher and Max Media Player ARE two different products to others out there. MML only reads .gba and MMP only reads .nds. But i still wonder about the Max Media Dock and the docker that comes with the MMP 4GB hdd.Are the guts different chipwise. I wasted too much money to dismantle myself so if anyone has opened theres up please let me know. Also if anyone has dumped MML and MMP cards please find a way to merge the progamming together to make a good file launcher.

[theskunk]

Hi Handyguy,

thanks for reply. Just got my SD card replaced from the shop, phew.....

I've read in some other forums, Max Overload only supports MMP not MML which I have, issit true? If yes, what other programmes can I use to patch the NDS files so that I can play NDS files under my configuration?

My Config:
- Mini SD Card
- Supercard
- Max Media Launcher
- NDS Lite

Regards
TheSKunk

[TennisGuy]

Is the cartridge that comes with the 4gb HD the same as the MML?

[Primeboss]

what is a donor Card and what does Disable turbo-load mean

[iaindunsmore]

I have had a MML for 3 weeks (using with a sd supercard) and was unable to get it to go into sleep mode. After a couple of weeks i found my ds would not run the launcher everytime i switched on so sent it back for a replacement. I have now recieved a replacement and now sleep mode works with this new card. I wonder if they have changed something in thier cards now?

[Zeus]

I have had a MML for 3 weeks (using with a sd supercard) and was unable to get it to go into sleep mode. After a couple of weeks i found my ds would not run the launcher everytime i switched on so sent it back for a replacement. I have now recieved a replacement and now sleep mode works with this new card. I wonder if they have changed something in thier cards now?

Nothing has been announced.

[Squidgyblack]

Hi, I have softmoded my gamecube with MAX DRIVE PRO, adjusted my DOL on the cube, and my backups (on mini dvd) work fine. Now I am going to buy a NDS and want to do the same thing, can anyone post a HOW TO or GUIDE? Thanks.:)

[Cucucachoo]

lolz, sorry dude you gotta figure this stuff out, it would take a post as big as an essay to explain all that. it took most people hours of learning. well worth it definitly, but frustrating at times.

[kanryue]

I hope i put this in the right place haha. :) I recently bought the Datel MAX media player and am going to purchase a compact flash card to use with it, but I needed to make sure they could play CF II Cards as well as CF I. Anyone got the answer to that question?

Oh and also I heard that a CF II Microdrive takes more energy or something so would that still be good to use or should i steer clear of the microdrives?

[praz]

Hope this isn't a duplicate of a problem already solved. I have a DS lite and just spent some cash on the Max Media Launcher and the Max Media Dock. I'm using a Kingston 1 GB CF card. I can't seem to get Max Media Launcher to work. I get a white screen after the initial splash screen. I'm trying to run DSlinux. CF is formatted with a FAT16 partition. I can play mp3 off it on the DS using the Max Media Player, but it won't load the dslinux.nds file.

Please can some one help me with this? Thanks.

[rjc723]

Did anyone else get theirs dirt cheap pretty shortly after the release? It seems like they gave up right away

[wrkitten]

To run homebrew on a nintendo ds lite, all i need is the max media launcher and a supercard? If i need a SD card, what size and can i use any brand type?

Where can i get both the mml and supercard on a trusted website that won't cost alot?

If it helps, Im trying to run the Colors! program on my nintendo ds lite and it says i need my nintendo ds to run homebrew.