Zeus
05-11-2006, 09:29 AM
Product: Datel MAX Media Player with 4GB Hard Drive
Reviewed by Jassen Payen
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<b>Introduction - Welcome to the dark side</b>
Datel as you may know are the worlds leading developer and manufacturer of ‘video game enhancement products’ and have become synonymous with other household names such as Logitech and their various peripherals with gamers everywhere.
<center><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mc_mmedia_p1a_copy1.jpg"></center></a>
The main difference is that Datel have always been savvy with game alterations, and caution a wink to those that use homebrew. They’re claim to fame lies in the Action Replay series for your favourite console which allows you to cheat at your games, and in some cases, provide a viable option to back up and/or play these back ups with the addition of some hardware based modding. Most recently, they have put some similar products to the ‘Media Player’ on the market such as a 4GB HDD for the PSP which allows for homebrew, and also a USB 4GB HDD for the Xbox 360, so to say the least, I’m quite excited about what this baby can do, as it has a tall order to follow and taller promises to keep!
The Media Player is a 4GB HDD for the Nintendo DS, which slots into the GBA slot of your NDS or DS Lite to run media that is stored on the drive. Sound familiar? It should, because it works in a similar process to the ‘Supercard’ and ‘M3’ solution, by allowing code to be run via the GBA slot, therefore bypassing the DS Slots security and encryption. How is this done? Well, included in the package is a ‘Max Media Player’ DS cart, which essentially acts like a ‘passme/passme2’ device, to bypass the security, in the same vein as the recently released ‘Max Media Launcher’.
In saying that, the Max Media Player will also work with the Supercard, M3, and other GBA Flashcards to allow running of NDS homebrew code and backups without voiding your warranty! The manual specifies that with a Compact Flash, or SD Card ‘solution’ in the GBA slot, the Datel browser should appear allowing you to view the contents of your flashcard, when in-fact, with the supercard in the slot, it went straight to the supercard menu! Neato, you have a working ‘passme’ solution for free! Now onto the meat and potatoes!
<b>First Impressions - ALOT smaller than expected!</b>
Upon receiving the package, I was surprised at how small the packet was. It all comes in a blister pack containing a cardboard box, with a picture of the 4GB HDD on the front and a smaller Max Media Player DS Cart picture in the bottom right.
<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_1.jpg" target="_Blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_1.jpg" height="179" width="239"> <a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_2.jpg" height="200" width="144"></center></a>
There are some blurbs across the box touting what the unit can do, those being:
Store…
• Up to 10 full length movies
• Over a thousand MP3 songs
• Thousand’s of digital photos
• Massive data storage
On the back, in addition to English, the unit is described in French and German, with pictures of the HDD in a DS, and a shot of the package contents. The rest of the blurbs on the back of the packaging are as follows:
• State of the art hard drive technology
• Hard drive clicks into the GBA™ cartridge slot
• Max Media Player™ cartridge fits into Nintendo DS™ gamecard slot
• Play Movies, Music & More!!
Included in this pack:
• 4GB MAX MEDIA™ Hard drive
• MAX MEDIA PLAYER™ cartridge
• USB 2.0 Cable to connect your Nintendo DS™/Hard Drive to a PC to transfer movies, music and more!
Generally I was pleased with the packaging as it is clearly presented, described fully and also done so in a positively proud way. The package is screaming to be opened and slapped into the DS Slot ready to provide all singing all dancing, endless hours of enjoyment, and media fun for those long, long trips or those times when you’re bored with nothing to do at your relatives place, or something to show of to your mates…or is it?
<b>Oh, La dee da!</b>
Opening the box up and examining the contents, I was again surprised, this time by how small the HDD is! Previously when advertised, it had always been painted as some behemoth, something like those battery packs that weigh down your unit and make your overall experience uncomfortable. I’m happy to report that it’s not like that at all.
<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_3.jpg" target="_Blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_3.jpg" height="179" width="239"> <a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_4.jpg" height="179" width="239"></center></a>
The unit itself has a GBA-sized cartridge portion, with another part, presumably containing the HDD part that loops back around the DS. As a whole, the unit is very light, slightly heavier than the original M3 but the quality isn’t compromised at all. The cartridge slides into the GBA slot like silk and hugs around the back of the unit like a glove. It feels like it belongs with the unit. The visible part at the bottom of the GBA slot sticks out about 3mm in total, and a further 3mm for the tiny nub at the edge of the unit for its USB connection to a PC to transfer files.
<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_6.jpg" target="_Blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_6.jpg" height="179" width="239"> <a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_7.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_7.jpg" height="179" width="239"></center></a>
Not including the nub, it is similar to the M3 mini SD adapter, and the HDD portion behind is unobtrusive. I don’t expect anyone will complain unless they have really large hands. I have to say the build quality is exceptional and feels solid with the DS Phat.
<b>Lets see what she can do!</b>
After salivating over the contents and mopping up my drool, I couldn’t hold back any longer and decided it was time to see how well the unit fulfils its promises…I’m definitely looking forward to the prospect of having 10 full movies on the go!
Flicking quickly through the manual booklet that was packaged together, the 2nd page describes with little annotation the way files are arranged on the HDD. Your media files should be put in their respective directories on the HDD whereby the browser software contained within will recognise the media, and allow you to work with them straight from the touch screen display! For example, mp3 and wav files should be in the Audio directory, mov and avi files should be in the Video directory, and any nds files should be in the Games directory…yes folks, like the PSP variant, this has been designed with developers in mind, allowing homebrew to be run from it!
I proceeded to attach one end of the bundled USB2 cable to the PC and the other to the nub port at the edge of the HDD. There was some buzzing from the unit, and a bit of a delay, but windows then registered the unit as a Datel Max HDD, and classified it a USB Mass Storage Device. Once installed, the HDD comes up as an extra drive, therein containing the directories described in the manual. Curiously, I also noticed that a MoonShell directory was present. Thinking nothing of it, I loaded the video’s directory with some avi and mov samples, the audio directory with some mp3’s and wavs, and the Game directory with a few homebrew nds files, and also my favourite, the Scumm emulator! Also, for testing purposes, 3 commercial backup rom dumps were tested.
<Center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mc_mmedia_p1a_copy1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mc_mmedia_p1a_copy1.jpg" height="179" width="239"></center></a>
Unplugging the unit, I fit the HDD snugly into the GBA slot, and put the Max Media Player into the DS slot, and powered up. Momentarily, the DS lights haze in, as if its just about to enter the original DS firmware, then the screen flicks to show the Datel logo followed by a message to say that the product is in no way endorsed by Nintendo. A few seconds later, and you’re presented with a beautiful touch screen interface. The Datel Max Media logo fully occupies the top screen, and the DS clock is shown in realtime in the top right.
<b>Uh oh…it broked?</b>
The interface shows the respective directories on the cart with animated icons to describe a waggling joystick for games, a speaker for audio, and a spinning show reel for videos. Single tapping the icon highlights it with a red hue, and double tapping activates the icon, whereby a directory allows you to drill down, or compatible file item will activate. A compatible file item will have an icon, which describes its function (e.g, .nds files look like DS game carts…very cute).
The first thing I decided to try was the videos! Personally this is one of the biggest reasons I wanted one of these, because I crave some movies on the go with the convenience of gaming when I want :-P
I double-tapped an avi of a metroid speedrun, and waited a couple of minutes…nothing. Curiously, I thought maybe the encoding on the video was incompatible. I proceeded to tested many other samples with the same nothingness coming back over and over again. My initial reaction was, did I break it? I then tried to test out the audio, double tapping a simple wav and some mp3’s without any response or indication. These media files weren’t even being registered with the unit!
Thinking the worst, I decided to email Datel technical support to get some answers as to why the media player wasn’t doing what it described, was my unit faulty? I never received a reply, and with time slipping away I certainly wasn’t going to ring the £1/$1.80 a minute to find out! Informing my boss, he rung up technical support and was patronisingly told to wait a few weeks to be surprised, and just to ‘hunt around and try stuff’
I then told myself I need to RTFM, and sat down reading through and growing more and more dismayed with every turning page. I finally understood what MoonShell was doing on the device. Ironically, after digesting what the manual has to give, I get a very amusing response from the technical response team at Codejunkies. Bearing in mind I told them I was from MaxConsole doing a review for this product, this was the response I received in regards to audio and video not functioning via the browser:
Dear Sir
Further to your email please find the below link to a website which explains the full workings of Moonshell.
<a href="http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?t=18663" target="_blank">http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?t=18663</a>
Regards
Dxxxxx Lxxxx
Technical Support
Codejunkies
This immediately confirmed the fact that the unit is completely reliant on MoonShell for ANY media playback.
Potatoes without the meat
As it turns out, the unit came with extremely basic first edition of its firmware, and at present there is no 1st party software to use the promised functions of the unit. Incredulously, they even state that MoonShell (ver 0.9) is there ‘As a taster of what you can expect from future FREE extensions to the MAX media player’ and that it is offered under GNU license’. It also shamelessly goes on to explain:
“Whilst MAX Media Player recognises and organises different media types, it does not as standard play audio and video content itself. To play audio or video content you need to use a third party player like MoonShell or look out for FREE extensions and updates to the MAX Media Player.” The excitement fizzled out rather quickly thereafter. What good is a media player, where half its functions don’t really work as described?
Exasperated, I tried the homebrew portion of the unit. There has been some buzz around the forums as to whether the unit could possibly play commercial backups as well as homebrew. Firstly, I thought I’d kick off with some homebrew. I tried the latest version of SCUMM, and double-tapped the ‘a’ version of the file. The file reacted, as if it was going to show something…2 minutes pass, and the unit is still stuck with 2 white screens. I tried every file within SCUMM. The .gba files are shown through the browser as being unsupported with a ‘?’ icon over the filename. Renaming these to .nds crashes the browser and requires the DS to be rebooted.
Whilst things couldn’t really get much worse, in order to test all the possible functions of this product, I decided to try the 3 commercial rom dumps (of which I own the originals to) to see how they would react. The results seem to amount to the same 2 white screens, even when patched with other ‘patcher’ software including M3, Supercard and NDS Patcher. Sorry people, in its present condition, your backups do not work with the 4GB Media Player drive.
<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_9.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_9.jpg" height="179" width="239"></center></a>
I decided to download some other free homebrew to try out on the Media Player, and to my surprise, most of these worked! They included a Gorillas clone, a 3D Tetris clone, a Sudoku game, Life is a trip demo and DS RTS game, a touch of war. 3/5 games worked fine, with ‘A touch of war’ crashing the 4 times I tried it, and ‘Life as a trip’ showed 2 white screens. I also tried FlashMe, which worked fine for those that want to flash their DS’s.
Lastly, I thought I’d give MoonShell a quick going through to try and notice any differences that set it apart from anything else out there. It turns out this is an exact carbon copy of version 0.9. The good news is that it registered the MP3’s, wavs and some pictures I had on the HDD. The bad news is that this can all be done already on other solutions.
For the purposes of this review and its own interfaces and software, there is no reason to go into too much detail over MoonShell as there are superior versions that work on other ‘solutions’ thus relegating the Max Media Player to the back bench until Datel releases software that can prove itself and justify its purchase.
<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_10.jpg" target="_Blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_10.jpg" height="179" width="239"></center></a>
Feeling kinda ripped off…
Do you all remember the initial pictures of the Max Media Player working in the DS? The ones that show a screen capture of Hurley from ‘Lost’ and the touch screen video interface? That just isn’t here, in-fact no software ships with the product except the MoonShell on the HDD. You even have to download it again to get the right software to convert your movies…and still, we don’t have that lovely touch screen video interface that was initially shown across websites and in magazines. I was expecting a solution that would match, or be better than both the M3’s ‘Crystal Engine’ or MoonShell’s proprietary video formats. I guess not yet at least.
<center><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_11.jpg"></center></a>
Maybe the unit is too much into its infancy that the software is still waiting in the wings. But you have to ask yourself, why bother to sell such an incomplete package? The manual states that the architecture of the unit its completely scaleable, allowing for extended software and firmware upgrades in the future.
Sadly, this doesn’t justify the price of the unit, also ultimately being unready for the market and so limited to what it can do right now. In comparison, for the same price it is possible to get a supercard, with a 4GB SD card, and ironically a Max Media Launcher card, which will allow you not only to run MoonShell for your media files, but also play your NDS and GBA homebrew, and backups.
Only Time will tell
Throughout all these shortcomings, as previously mentioned it is very early days for the unit, very prematurely so, but Datel have a lot to answer for! The unit itself is without a doubt one of the better built solutions on the market, integrating with the original DS very well. Since it is obviously designed with the original DS in mind, even matching the colour scheme on the back end, it’s not yet certain how well this will feel and fit with the DS Lite. It will stick out more, but I believe it should hug near the back of the unit just as close. The device is very light and will not add much to the overall weight of the DS Lite.
<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_12.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_12.jpg" height="179" width="239"></center></a>
It’s only disappointing to see that the claims they’ve made of what the unit can do are not present now, and only remain speculative until possible in the future. There is definitely the potential for a complete media experience. It feels like the ‘skeleton’ of the idea is there, but the vital organs are missing in action. The interface is solid, and beautifully presented, we just need something viable that will make our music and videos work and will set it apart from the competition. C’mon Datel, pull your finger out and show us what this thing is capable of!
Until then, there isn’t much else you can do with the 4GB portion. The ‘Max Media Player’ can be used as a passme alternative if you do not already have FlashMe installed. If you are currently using a Supercard, M3, or other solution, I recommend sticking with these, and holding out until the software has been better developed, more capable and up-to-date for the Media Player. Extensions for the device are due to be released within the next month. Lets hope it addresses a large portion of the issues highlighted already. Oh, there is one use for the 4GB HDD that can serve its purpose now…
It can still be used as a Mass Storage device, and something to baffle people with when they see you hooking it up to your machine and using it as a hard drive for your everyday storage. I even used it to write this review.
Positives
+ Exceptionally robust build quality
+ Well packaged
+ Low weight
+ Max Media Player card acts like PassMe device, but also contains software for HDD
+ Nice, vibrant interface screen for the 4GB HDD
+ Scaleable support and upgradeable
+ USB Mass Storage Device – Ensures compatibility on any modern platform (XP/MAC/Linux)
Negatives
- <b>No 1st party software to play any media at present</b>
- Seemingly incomplete package
- Very limited homebrew support
- No support for backup ROM dumps
- Relies on MoonShell at present for any media playback
- Unjustifiably expensive for its capabilities right now
- Doesn’t live up to promises
- Other solutions on the market offer more for cheaper
- No indicator light on HDD to show when active/data transfer
- Hard drive buzzing when connected
- Poor technical support on the device
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Reviewed by Jassen Payen
Buy Datel Max Media Player 4GB Now: <a href="http://www.divineo.co.uk/php/affstart.php?affcode=66623&prod=ds-media" target="_blank">Divineo.co.uk</a> / <ahref="http://www.divineo.com/php/affstart.php?affcode=66623&prod=zz-ds-dmp4" target="_blank">Divineo.com</a> / <A href="http://www.divineo.cn/php/affstart.php?affcode=66623&prod=nds-dmp4" target="_blank">Divineo.cn</a> / <A href="http://www.divineo.es/php/affstart.php?affcode=66623&prod=nds-dmp4" target="_blank">Divineo.es</a> <A href="http://www.divineo.de/php/affstart.php?affcode=66623&prod=nds-4gdhdd" target="_blank">Divineo.de</a> / <A href="http://www.Divineo.it/php/affstart.php?affcode=66623&prod=nds-dsmax" target="_blank">Divineo.it</a> / <A href="http://www.Divineo.fr/php/affstart.php?affcode=66623&prod=nds-dmp4" target="_blank">Divineo.fr</a></a>
<b>Introduction - Welcome to the dark side</b>
Datel as you may know are the worlds leading developer and manufacturer of ‘video game enhancement products’ and have become synonymous with other household names such as Logitech and their various peripherals with gamers everywhere.
<center><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mc_mmedia_p1a_copy1.jpg"></center></a>
The main difference is that Datel have always been savvy with game alterations, and caution a wink to those that use homebrew. They’re claim to fame lies in the Action Replay series for your favourite console which allows you to cheat at your games, and in some cases, provide a viable option to back up and/or play these back ups with the addition of some hardware based modding. Most recently, they have put some similar products to the ‘Media Player’ on the market such as a 4GB HDD for the PSP which allows for homebrew, and also a USB 4GB HDD for the Xbox 360, so to say the least, I’m quite excited about what this baby can do, as it has a tall order to follow and taller promises to keep!
The Media Player is a 4GB HDD for the Nintendo DS, which slots into the GBA slot of your NDS or DS Lite to run media that is stored on the drive. Sound familiar? It should, because it works in a similar process to the ‘Supercard’ and ‘M3’ solution, by allowing code to be run via the GBA slot, therefore bypassing the DS Slots security and encryption. How is this done? Well, included in the package is a ‘Max Media Player’ DS cart, which essentially acts like a ‘passme/passme2’ device, to bypass the security, in the same vein as the recently released ‘Max Media Launcher’.
In saying that, the Max Media Player will also work with the Supercard, M3, and other GBA Flashcards to allow running of NDS homebrew code and backups without voiding your warranty! The manual specifies that with a Compact Flash, or SD Card ‘solution’ in the GBA slot, the Datel browser should appear allowing you to view the contents of your flashcard, when in-fact, with the supercard in the slot, it went straight to the supercard menu! Neato, you have a working ‘passme’ solution for free! Now onto the meat and potatoes!
<b>First Impressions - ALOT smaller than expected!</b>
Upon receiving the package, I was surprised at how small the packet was. It all comes in a blister pack containing a cardboard box, with a picture of the 4GB HDD on the front and a smaller Max Media Player DS Cart picture in the bottom right.
<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_1.jpg" target="_Blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_1.jpg" height="179" width="239"> <a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_2.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_2.jpg" height="200" width="144"></center></a>
There are some blurbs across the box touting what the unit can do, those being:
Store…
• Up to 10 full length movies
• Over a thousand MP3 songs
• Thousand’s of digital photos
• Massive data storage
On the back, in addition to English, the unit is described in French and German, with pictures of the HDD in a DS, and a shot of the package contents. The rest of the blurbs on the back of the packaging are as follows:
• State of the art hard drive technology
• Hard drive clicks into the GBA™ cartridge slot
• Max Media Player™ cartridge fits into Nintendo DS™ gamecard slot
• Play Movies, Music & More!!
Included in this pack:
• 4GB MAX MEDIA™ Hard drive
• MAX MEDIA PLAYER™ cartridge
• USB 2.0 Cable to connect your Nintendo DS™/Hard Drive to a PC to transfer movies, music and more!
Generally I was pleased with the packaging as it is clearly presented, described fully and also done so in a positively proud way. The package is screaming to be opened and slapped into the DS Slot ready to provide all singing all dancing, endless hours of enjoyment, and media fun for those long, long trips or those times when you’re bored with nothing to do at your relatives place, or something to show of to your mates…or is it?
<b>Oh, La dee da!</b>
Opening the box up and examining the contents, I was again surprised, this time by how small the HDD is! Previously when advertised, it had always been painted as some behemoth, something like those battery packs that weigh down your unit and make your overall experience uncomfortable. I’m happy to report that it’s not like that at all.
<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_3.jpg" target="_Blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_3.jpg" height="179" width="239"> <a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_4.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_4.jpg" height="179" width="239"></center></a>
The unit itself has a GBA-sized cartridge portion, with another part, presumably containing the HDD part that loops back around the DS. As a whole, the unit is very light, slightly heavier than the original M3 but the quality isn’t compromised at all. The cartridge slides into the GBA slot like silk and hugs around the back of the unit like a glove. It feels like it belongs with the unit. The visible part at the bottom of the GBA slot sticks out about 3mm in total, and a further 3mm for the tiny nub at the edge of the unit for its USB connection to a PC to transfer files.
<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_6.jpg" target="_Blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_6.jpg" height="179" width="239"> <a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_7.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_7.jpg" height="179" width="239"></center></a>
Not including the nub, it is similar to the M3 mini SD adapter, and the HDD portion behind is unobtrusive. I don’t expect anyone will complain unless they have really large hands. I have to say the build quality is exceptional and feels solid with the DS Phat.
<b>Lets see what she can do!</b>
After salivating over the contents and mopping up my drool, I couldn’t hold back any longer and decided it was time to see how well the unit fulfils its promises…I’m definitely looking forward to the prospect of having 10 full movies on the go!
Flicking quickly through the manual booklet that was packaged together, the 2nd page describes with little annotation the way files are arranged on the HDD. Your media files should be put in their respective directories on the HDD whereby the browser software contained within will recognise the media, and allow you to work with them straight from the touch screen display! For example, mp3 and wav files should be in the Audio directory, mov and avi files should be in the Video directory, and any nds files should be in the Games directory…yes folks, like the PSP variant, this has been designed with developers in mind, allowing homebrew to be run from it!
I proceeded to attach one end of the bundled USB2 cable to the PC and the other to the nub port at the edge of the HDD. There was some buzzing from the unit, and a bit of a delay, but windows then registered the unit as a Datel Max HDD, and classified it a USB Mass Storage Device. Once installed, the HDD comes up as an extra drive, therein containing the directories described in the manual. Curiously, I also noticed that a MoonShell directory was present. Thinking nothing of it, I loaded the video’s directory with some avi and mov samples, the audio directory with some mp3’s and wavs, and the Game directory with a few homebrew nds files, and also my favourite, the Scumm emulator! Also, for testing purposes, 3 commercial backup rom dumps were tested.
<Center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mc_mmedia_p1a_copy1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mc_mmedia_p1a_copy1.jpg" height="179" width="239"></center></a>
Unplugging the unit, I fit the HDD snugly into the GBA slot, and put the Max Media Player into the DS slot, and powered up. Momentarily, the DS lights haze in, as if its just about to enter the original DS firmware, then the screen flicks to show the Datel logo followed by a message to say that the product is in no way endorsed by Nintendo. A few seconds later, and you’re presented with a beautiful touch screen interface. The Datel Max Media logo fully occupies the top screen, and the DS clock is shown in realtime in the top right.
<b>Uh oh…it broked?</b>
The interface shows the respective directories on the cart with animated icons to describe a waggling joystick for games, a speaker for audio, and a spinning show reel for videos. Single tapping the icon highlights it with a red hue, and double tapping activates the icon, whereby a directory allows you to drill down, or compatible file item will activate. A compatible file item will have an icon, which describes its function (e.g, .nds files look like DS game carts…very cute).
The first thing I decided to try was the videos! Personally this is one of the biggest reasons I wanted one of these, because I crave some movies on the go with the convenience of gaming when I want :-P
I double-tapped an avi of a metroid speedrun, and waited a couple of minutes…nothing. Curiously, I thought maybe the encoding on the video was incompatible. I proceeded to tested many other samples with the same nothingness coming back over and over again. My initial reaction was, did I break it? I then tried to test out the audio, double tapping a simple wav and some mp3’s without any response or indication. These media files weren’t even being registered with the unit!
Thinking the worst, I decided to email Datel technical support to get some answers as to why the media player wasn’t doing what it described, was my unit faulty? I never received a reply, and with time slipping away I certainly wasn’t going to ring the £1/$1.80 a minute to find out! Informing my boss, he rung up technical support and was patronisingly told to wait a few weeks to be surprised, and just to ‘hunt around and try stuff’
I then told myself I need to RTFM, and sat down reading through and growing more and more dismayed with every turning page. I finally understood what MoonShell was doing on the device. Ironically, after digesting what the manual has to give, I get a very amusing response from the technical response team at Codejunkies. Bearing in mind I told them I was from MaxConsole doing a review for this product, this was the response I received in regards to audio and video not functioning via the browser:
Dear Sir
Further to your email please find the below link to a website which explains the full workings of Moonshell.
<a href="http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?t=18663" target="_blank">http://forums.maxconsole.net/showthread.php?t=18663</a>
Regards
Dxxxxx Lxxxx
Technical Support
Codejunkies
This immediately confirmed the fact that the unit is completely reliant on MoonShell for ANY media playback.
Potatoes without the meat
As it turns out, the unit came with extremely basic first edition of its firmware, and at present there is no 1st party software to use the promised functions of the unit. Incredulously, they even state that MoonShell (ver 0.9) is there ‘As a taster of what you can expect from future FREE extensions to the MAX media player’ and that it is offered under GNU license’. It also shamelessly goes on to explain:
“Whilst MAX Media Player recognises and organises different media types, it does not as standard play audio and video content itself. To play audio or video content you need to use a third party player like MoonShell or look out for FREE extensions and updates to the MAX Media Player.” The excitement fizzled out rather quickly thereafter. What good is a media player, where half its functions don’t really work as described?
Exasperated, I tried the homebrew portion of the unit. There has been some buzz around the forums as to whether the unit could possibly play commercial backups as well as homebrew. Firstly, I thought I’d kick off with some homebrew. I tried the latest version of SCUMM, and double-tapped the ‘a’ version of the file. The file reacted, as if it was going to show something…2 minutes pass, and the unit is still stuck with 2 white screens. I tried every file within SCUMM. The .gba files are shown through the browser as being unsupported with a ‘?’ icon over the filename. Renaming these to .nds crashes the browser and requires the DS to be rebooted.
Whilst things couldn’t really get much worse, in order to test all the possible functions of this product, I decided to try the 3 commercial rom dumps (of which I own the originals to) to see how they would react. The results seem to amount to the same 2 white screens, even when patched with other ‘patcher’ software including M3, Supercard and NDS Patcher. Sorry people, in its present condition, your backups do not work with the 4GB Media Player drive.
<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_9.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_9.jpg" height="179" width="239"></center></a>
I decided to download some other free homebrew to try out on the Media Player, and to my surprise, most of these worked! They included a Gorillas clone, a 3D Tetris clone, a Sudoku game, Life is a trip demo and DS RTS game, a touch of war. 3/5 games worked fine, with ‘A touch of war’ crashing the 4 times I tried it, and ‘Life as a trip’ showed 2 white screens. I also tried FlashMe, which worked fine for those that want to flash their DS’s.
Lastly, I thought I’d give MoonShell a quick going through to try and notice any differences that set it apart from anything else out there. It turns out this is an exact carbon copy of version 0.9. The good news is that it registered the MP3’s, wavs and some pictures I had on the HDD. The bad news is that this can all be done already on other solutions.
For the purposes of this review and its own interfaces and software, there is no reason to go into too much detail over MoonShell as there are superior versions that work on other ‘solutions’ thus relegating the Max Media Player to the back bench until Datel releases software that can prove itself and justify its purchase.
<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_10.jpg" target="_Blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_10.jpg" height="179" width="239"></center></a>
Feeling kinda ripped off…
Do you all remember the initial pictures of the Max Media Player working in the DS? The ones that show a screen capture of Hurley from ‘Lost’ and the touch screen video interface? That just isn’t here, in-fact no software ships with the product except the MoonShell on the HDD. You even have to download it again to get the right software to convert your movies…and still, we don’t have that lovely touch screen video interface that was initially shown across websites and in magazines. I was expecting a solution that would match, or be better than both the M3’s ‘Crystal Engine’ or MoonShell’s proprietary video formats. I guess not yet at least.
<center><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_11.jpg"></center></a>
Maybe the unit is too much into its infancy that the software is still waiting in the wings. But you have to ask yourself, why bother to sell such an incomplete package? The manual states that the architecture of the unit its completely scaleable, allowing for extended software and firmware upgrades in the future.
Sadly, this doesn’t justify the price of the unit, also ultimately being unready for the market and so limited to what it can do right now. In comparison, for the same price it is possible to get a supercard, with a 4GB SD card, and ironically a Max Media Launcher card, which will allow you not only to run MoonShell for your media files, but also play your NDS and GBA homebrew, and backups.
Only Time will tell
Throughout all these shortcomings, as previously mentioned it is very early days for the unit, very prematurely so, but Datel have a lot to answer for! The unit itself is without a doubt one of the better built solutions on the market, integrating with the original DS very well. Since it is obviously designed with the original DS in mind, even matching the colour scheme on the back end, it’s not yet certain how well this will feel and fit with the DS Lite. It will stick out more, but I believe it should hug near the back of the unit just as close. The device is very light and will not add much to the overall weight of the DS Lite.
<center><a href="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_12.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.maxconsole.net/content_img/mmp_ds_12.jpg" height="179" width="239"></center></a>
It’s only disappointing to see that the claims they’ve made of what the unit can do are not present now, and only remain speculative until possible in the future. There is definitely the potential for a complete media experience. It feels like the ‘skeleton’ of the idea is there, but the vital organs are missing in action. The interface is solid, and beautifully presented, we just need something viable that will make our music and videos work and will set it apart from the competition. C’mon Datel, pull your finger out and show us what this thing is capable of!
Until then, there isn’t much else you can do with the 4GB portion. The ‘Max Media Player’ can be used as a passme alternative if you do not already have FlashMe installed. If you are currently using a Supercard, M3, or other solution, I recommend sticking with these, and holding out until the software has been better developed, more capable and up-to-date for the Media Player. Extensions for the device are due to be released within the next month. Lets hope it addresses a large portion of the issues highlighted already. Oh, there is one use for the 4GB HDD that can serve its purpose now…
It can still be used as a Mass Storage device, and something to baffle people with when they see you hooking it up to your machine and using it as a hard drive for your everyday storage. I even used it to write this review.
Positives
+ Exceptionally robust build quality
+ Well packaged
+ Low weight
+ Max Media Player card acts like PassMe device, but also contains software for HDD
+ Nice, vibrant interface screen for the 4GB HDD
+ Scaleable support and upgradeable
+ USB Mass Storage Device – Ensures compatibility on any modern platform (XP/MAC/Linux)
Negatives
- <b>No 1st party software to play any media at present</b>
- Seemingly incomplete package
- Very limited homebrew support
- No support for backup ROM dumps
- Relies on MoonShell at present for any media playback
- Unjustifiably expensive for its capabilities right now
- Doesn’t live up to promises
- Other solutions on the market offer more for cheaper
- No indicator light on HDD to show when active/data transfer
- Hard drive buzzing when connected
- Poor technical support on the device
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