Gamebox Weekly Newsletter – Week of 9/6/22

… And We’re Back!

Apologies for missing a couple weeks of updates. Postman was out due to a family emergency this past week and some of the week before which meant no weekly update. The team is back in office and we are hitting the ground running and ready to give you the backlog of Gamebox news!

(Road)Mapping the Future of Gamebox

It’s finally here! The Gamebox roadmap through 2024 has been publicly released and can be found here:

https://t.co/VSmkIFVvYI

A few  key highlights:

– Gen 1 consolizers Releasing this month (GBHD Advance restock, GBHD Advance SP, and GGHD)
– Gen 2 solderless solution consolizers beginning work later this year with a planned release of DSHD in September of 2023 (PSPHD and 3DSHD release planned in 2024)
– Explanation of Gen 1 vs Gen 2 consolizers
– Non consolizer products releasing in the coming months

This roadmap will be updated quarterly so that we can keep everyone up to date on current product release scheduling. Changes will be highlighted in a changelog slide.

Postman’s Engineering Update

A lot to cover today folks, so let’s dive in!

First up, Postman has released 2 open source repositories on the Gamebox GitHub: Shmequencer and a PS1 pixel decoder. Shmequencer is a basic sequencer for FPGAs based around VHDL. Included in the repo is a schematic for a board with various inputs and outputs and basic algorithm structures to make basic sounds. The repository will be updated in the coming weeks with a basic PCB design for anyone to play around with. The PS1 pixel decoder is a VHDL implementation to decode incoming pixel data, package the pixel data, and transfer the data to a buffer via AXI-4 data bus. The implementation is currently not tested (mostly due to the fine pitch of the required legs on the required PS1 IC) but when Postman has time, he will create a basic breakout flex, test out the implementation, and push it to the repository.

GBHD Advance SP PCBs are in stock! Minor firmware tweaks were needed to accommodate a different main system clock oscillator for a new clocking system. This updated clocking system will eliminate audio crackling in 480p mode as the pixel clock speed now matches the exact specification of 480p where as before it was slightly off due to an imperfect clock division of the previous oscillator. A few bonuses have been added to the PCB as well, namely test points on board for testing continuity for troubleshooting and on board WS2812B addressable RGB LEDs for built in LitKit functionality. The light from these LEDs should diffuse nicely in the clear case. As soon as we verify the case design to be perfect, we will launch the product and the listing will go live. Make sure to follow us on twitter (@GameboxSystems) to catch the official announcement of the listing launch to get your hands on a kit. Currently, we do not plan on selling prebuilt units due to the simplicity of the install but if demand is great enough we will also launch a prebuilt GBHD Advance SP listing.

GBHD Advance firmware v4.1 will be released in the next week. GBHD Advance SP and the GBHD Advance restock will come preloaded with this updated firmware. Per usual, if you have an existing unit and would like to upgrade, we can provide you with your unique firmware file if you have a Xilinx FPGA flasher and required software. Otherwise, send in the device for the upgrade and return shipping is on us.

v4.1 Changelog:

– Updated linear scaling modes to fix oblong pixel shapes caused by a bug in the scaler core’s math
– Updated the filter’s data depth to provide a wider dynamic range of brightness options for each of the 3 filters

GBHD Advance restock and GGHD hardware are wrapping up production at the factory and we expect those to be in the lab by the end of the month. GGHD case design will be completed after we finish the SP case, we will keep everyone up to date on the latest with the case designs as the days/weeks progress.

Until We Meet Again

That’s a wrap for this week, folks! Some exciting milestones and launches incoming and we look forward to working hard for you all to enjoy some awesome Gamebox products. Until next update, have a great (short for US people) week!