JXD S7100 / Chinese Android Gaming Tablets

[elgarta]

Well at least it isn't an issue with the device itself. I might re-flash the device when a good rom is around. I haven't heard much about the one I mentioned earlier, and I don't feel like being a pioneer with these things

Does re-flashing uninstall/replace the stuff that you have put on it?

 

[KidIce]

Yes. Back up all your APK's before you start. Any saves in games will pretty much be toast though, I haven't figured out where they're stored yet... Mostly 'cause I haven't bothered looking for them yet. Any ROM's and other content that is on your SD should be safe. Of course, IMO, the earlier you start the process the less you'll lose.

Unless Google black listed the S7100 at the same time that I re-flashed, I'm pretty sure the ROM is the problem. I was able to download most things even w/ it being identified as a MID S7100, it was only after I re-flashed and used the root/market ROM from APad that my S7100 was suddenly not compatible w/ anything.I could use the market just fine before the reflash w/ the OC ROM, so I'm pretty sure it's not a factor.

I chose to spoof as a Galaxy S as it's my understanding that it was one of the better supported android devices out there. That mostly seems to be the case, but ColEm still eludes me. :-( You can chose to spoof as anything you want though.

I'm learning a lot about Android... Even if some of it is how to break it. :-D

 

[elgarta]

D'oh. Well probably best for me to do it sooner rather than later. Now from what I have n oticed, roms save their information in the folder that the rom is stored in, for example my snes one is MNT\Flash\Roms\SNES roms. I don't know where android apps save their info though, I heard it has something to do with the Data folder but that doesn't help. Luckily none of my android games have a ny saves except for my Chinese Angry Birds, I played through 4 levels to see how it worked lol.

Well that's weird. How did you manage to spoof another device? Does that somehow give it access to the market downloads?

Haha, yeah Android is a fun system to mess with. I can't beleive I hadn't even tried half of this stuff with my trusty old phone. I actually found it funny that the JXD has a call-out option like a regular android cell phone, but it only doesn't work because there is no network. If it had 3G support I wonder if you could get it to work as a giant cell

 

[KidIce]

I posted a slightly better tutorial here.

 

[KidIce]

Hmm... Re-downloaded the BBC video and MX player. Sound is still screwed even w/ software decoding. The problem seems to be that it is still playing the hardware decoded audio AND the software decoded audio. Playing lesser videos results in hearing two audio tracks overlaid on each other w/ slightly different sync. On the BBC video the hardware decoded track completely overtakes the audio decoded one, and while for half a second it sounded like it was going to be the solution the hardware track kicked in and the expletives started. :-/

Didn't test the others, but I'm beginning to suspect that re-encoding the audio is our only option... Which is fine for me, I didn't buy this for any sort of media playback, but I'm sorry I don't have better news for RP.

 

[raulpica]

Ordered my JXD S7100B two days ago (which is coming from the US). I'll be soon joining you personally in this entire codec-thingmajig

 

[elgarta]

Waiting for it to be charged now so I can install the OC kernals and get it running at 1ghz. Been playing around with it more and trying to stress test it with high end MAME and some N64 roms and I find that the N64 runs quite well as long as you aren't using the on-screen controls alot.. For me it causes some freezes, but the controls bypass this. Hopefully 1ghz running under the hood will fix a few more of the issues.

Now would this thing run a USB game-pad at all, even if an adapter was needed? I don't quite know what all the ports on the device are yet. Just thinking of trying to see what it would look like on a TV screen and see if I can show it off to a few more people lol.

 

[KidIce]

S7100 held w/ the JXD logo right side up has the following ports:

On the right side towards the top is the reset button. Mostly useless, even if your JXD crashes you should be able to do a full power cycle by just holding down the power button long enough.
Bottom towards the right is the microSD slot.
Left side towards the top is the AC power port.
Top side towards the right side are as follows (from left to right): mic (not a port, the mic is inside the hole), HDMI, USB, audio.

As far as hooking up a USB stick, I can't say. I use a Super Joy Box and PS2 Dual Shock controllers on my PC, I do not have a true USB game controller. Hooking up my Super Joy Box crashes my S7100... I really didn't expect it to work I just thought I'd try. USB PC keyboards and mice work fine though, so maybe a a true USB game controller would. I'm not going to buy one to test though as I wouldn't use it for anything else.

 

[elgarta]

You've become quite the expert on this device lol. I actually started playing around with it a bit after this post and I couldn't even get my gamepad to be recognised, let alone crash the system. The thing that had me curious was this controller which according to a video runs by plugging a USB IR reciever to a cable and connect it to the JXD. I actually had a similar thought as to whether a bluetooth reciever could work in a similar fashion, but I am not going to bother with that since I don't even use bluetooth for anything else except a hands free set on my phone.

I'm starting to pick up alot more on how Android works now, I don't mind tinkering with this since I can't afford to break my phone or mess it up somehow. I also did OC it to 1ghz and have had no problems, although I don't notice any sort of performance changes so I don't even know what is going on in the background. It looks like more and more people are getting this device too, so it'd be interesting to see if it builds a large fanbase in the way that the GP32X or Dingoo devices have. Android seems to be a better system to work with instead of porting Linux or w/e to these open-consoles.

 

[raulpica]

Dang, my JXD S7100 is still stuck in the USA D:

I wonder if you can plug a USB bluetooth received in the USB port?

 

[SifJar]

USB bluetooth receiver probably won't work, doubt device would have driver for that. Generic USB game controller should work I think, I believe android does support those.

 

[raulpica]

USB bluetooth receiver probably won't work, doubt device would have driver for that. Generic USB game controller should work I think, I believe android does support those.

I hoped Android already had those implemented... I needed a small BT keyboard for dosbox emulating, but I'll probably have to attach some huge-ass USB keyboard for that, it seems

 

[SifJar]

USB bluetooth receiver probably won't work, doubt device would have driver for that. Generic USB game controller should work I think, I believe android does support those.

I hoped Android already had those implemented... I needed a small BT keyboard for dosbox emulating, but I'll probably have to attach some huge-ass USB keyboard for that, it seems

Nah, seeing as most Android devices have Bluetooth built in, it doesn't really need drivers for USB Bluetooth adapters.

 

[raulpica]

USB bluetooth receiver probably won't work, doubt device would have driver for that. Generic USB game controller should work I think, I believe android does support those.

I hoped Android already had those implemented... I needed a small BT keyboard for dosbox emulating, but I'll probably have to attach some huge-ass USB keyboard for that, it seems

Nah, seeing as most Android devices have Bluetooth built in, it doesn't really need drivers for USB Bluetooth adapters.

Yep, but I was saying that because, in fact, the JXD S7100B lacks bluetooth.

 

[KidIce]

Just thinking of trying to see what it would look like on a TV screen and see if I can show it off to a few more people lol.

Actually I dug out an HDMI cable and hooked it up. Video playback is gorgeous, everything you expect from HD... Anything else is smeary crap: home screen, apps, etc. It's all usable and such, but I prefer my "upscaling" of lower resolutions to be pixely instead of composite style blurry.

You've become quite the expert on this device lol. I actually started playing around with it a bit after this post and I couldn't even get my gamepad to be recognised, let alone crash the system. The thing that had me curious was this controller which according to a video runs by plugging a USB IR reciever to a cable and connect it to the JXD. I actually had a similar thought as to whether a bluetooth reciever could work in a similar fashion, but I am not going to bother with that since I don't even use bluetooth for anything else except a hands free set on my phone.

I'm starting to pick up alot more on how Android works now, I don't mind tinkering with this since I can't afford to break my phone or mess it up somehow. I also did OC it to 1ghz and have had no problems, although I don't notice any sort of performance changes so I don't even know what is going on in the background. It looks like more and more people are getting this device too, so it'd be interesting to see if it builds a large fanbase in the way that the GP32X or Dingoo devices have. Android seems to be a better system to work with instead of porting Linux or w/e to these open-consoles.

Expert? The ports are labeled. :-) But I thought it might be helpful to others to have them Identified.

About that IR dongle and stick... You should have received a mini-USB to USB cable w/ your S7100. The USB end should be a port (female) not a plug (male) unlike most USB cables that are male to male. That is a host cable. It's for plugging keyboards, mice and the like. The IR dongle likely plugs into that.

USB bluetooth receiver probably won't work, doubt device would have driver for that. Generic USB game controller should work I think, I believe android does support those.

My generic "world's smallest" BT dongle doesn't do a darn thing (except lite up) when plugged into my S7100.

 

[raulpica]

Just thinking of trying to see what it would look like on a TV screen and see if I can show it off to a few more people lol.

Actually I dug out an HDMI cable and hooked it up. Video playback is gorgeous, everything you expect from HD... Anything else is smeary crap: home screen, apps, etc. It's all usable and such, but I prefer my "upscaling" of lower resolutions to be pixely instead of composite style blurry.

Oh, so your HDMI-out works? Mine doesn't. I seriously hope that it's just my miniHDMI-to-HDMI cable... It keeps saying "HDMI DISCONNETED". When you plug-in yours, does it change?

Anyway, I received mine, and flashed it with Bitrider's custom ROM (which is probably the best one out there for S7100Bs). Just one advice, if you do that, install setcpu and raise the minimum frequency. The CPU governor present in the kernel sucks big time and downclocks the CPU down to 300MHz every now and then and the tablet lags massively when upclocking up to 1200MHz (bitrider's ROM sets max CPU to 1,2GHz).

By the way, I tested the UAE4Droid emulator (it was you that tested it too, right [member='KidIce']?) and it sucks massively. I mean, most games don't run at all, and the few ones that run have the SLIGHTLY big problem that when you press the fire button, it ALSO clicks with the mouse. That makes me IMPOSSIBLE to play with It Came from The Desert.

I guess I'll have to buy AnUAE4ALL and hope that it's definitely better.

When it comes to DOS emulation, I've tested AnDOSBox and DosBox Turbo. I still can't decide which is better between these two, but iirc, DosBox Turbo seems to have a slight edge in something.

I still can't decide on the NES and SNES emus. Nesoid/Snesoid are awesome, but SNES9x EX and NES.EMU are too...

I also haven't found yet a solution to the AC3 decoding problem... I hope that bitrider will come up with something.

 

[elgarta]

I still can't decide on the NES and SNES emus. Nesoid/Snesoid are awesome, but SNES9x EX and NES.EMU are too...

Generally speaking, I've had better success with the .EMU ones, like SNES9X EX and NES.EMU. I also have Super GNes since it supports the save states of Snes9x and a few extra games too, but I don't know if it is as powerful. I seem to get a bit of lag with it, but my CPU is clocked at 1ghz.

I've heard that UAE4Droid is supposed to be quite good, but heard mixed opinions regarding the S7100. I should give it a try and see how it runs (I have no amiga experience, gulp)

 

[KidIce]

Oh, so your HDMI-out works? Mine doesn't. I seriously hope that it's just my miniHDMI-to-HDMI cable... It keeps saying "HDMI DISCONNETED". When you plug-in yours, does it change?

Anyway, I received mine, and flashed it with Bitrider's custom ROM (which is probably the best one out there for S7100Bs). Just one advice, if you do that, install setcpu and raise the minimum frequency. The CPU governor present in the kernel sucks big time and downclocks the CPU down to 300MHz every now and then and the tablet lags massively when upclocking up to 1200MHz (bitrider's ROM sets max CPU to 1,2GHz).

By the way, I tested the UAE4Droid emulator (it was you that tested it too, right [member='KidIce']?) and it sucks massively. I mean, most games don't run at all, and the few ones that run have the SLIGHTLY big problem that when you press the fire button, it ALSO clicks with the mouse. That makes me IMPOSSIBLE to play with It Came from The Desert.

I guess I'll have to buy AnUAE4ALL and hope that it's definitely better.

When it comes to DOS emulation, I've tested AnDOSBox and DosBox Turbo. I still can't decide which is better between these two, but iirc, DosBox Turbo seems to have a slight edge in something.

I still can't decide on the NES and SNES emus. Nesoid/Snesoid are awesome, but SNES9x EX and NES.EMU are too...

I also haven't found yet a solution to the AC3 decoding problem... I hope that bitrider will come up with something.

Plug in the cable to both your monitor and the S7100 and then start HDMI Switch (should have come pre-installed), it should report that the HDMI cable is connected. It will register as disconnected if not also plugged into the monitor. If it's not doing these things then something is obviously wrong... Hope it's your cable. :-/

UAE4Droid: I haven't tried any Cinemaware, and have avoided anything mouse controlled as while the mouse emulation via touch screen works, it's not good enough to play Lemmings or Cannon Fodder w/o some serious frustration. I didn't notice the mouse/joystick buttom problem until you pointed it out, but yeah it's there. My opinion is a bit higher than yours based on a few things... Plays Shadow of the Beast 3 (really, the others are pretty but they suck), Deliverance, Super Frog, Robocod, Speedball 2, Stardust, Rodland, etc. UAE4Droid was a quick and dirty port and had been declared dead at initial release, I wasn't expecting much and it surprised me in a pleasant way. UAE for the PSP blows (none of the games I mentioned run in a playable state on the PSP) and I don't have another handheld (laptop yes, handheld no) that will emulate anything Amiga.

As far as games not running, keep some things in mind: Your default Kickstart ROM should be 1.3, if something doesn't work on that try a previous Kickstart, not a higher one. Most non-AGA Amiga games run on 1.3 or better, some really old stuff (eg Archon, Seven Cities of Gold) is going to require the earlier floppy based Kickstart's. That NTSC switch matters, some things will freeze or Guru if they are in the wrong mode. Try multiple ADF's, I've got 5 different versions of Speedball 2 on my SD right now, I tried 3 of them before I found one that works (didn't try the other two). UAE4Droid does not like trainers . Copper listing is mostly fine, Blitter objects often cause glitching and stability issues (which is weird, the Copper should be the harder thing to emulate).

As for most other system emulators, I keep using what ever works best... This will run this fine but not that, so I use that other one instead for that. I probably never will settle on a "Best" emulator for any 16 bit console.

Sorry about the AC3 thing. :-/

 

[granville]

I see little reason to stick with SNESoid and the -oid series of emulators when there are better ones out there. SNES9x EX at the very least is a better emulator if you've got dedicated physical buttons (snesoid works better with touch controls, but that's hardly relevant with these JXD and Yinlips devices). It has superior sound quality. Though i'd recommend checking out SNESDroid (also free) if you want the absolute best emulation experience for SNES games on Android. It's somewhat high requirement, but I've got it working on my old Samsung Fascinate pretty much in all games. Best sound quality out of all of them.

The one system i've tried that still leaves a lot to be desired is the GBA funnily enough (well that plus N64, but N64 is largely dependent on how good mupen64plus on PC's becomes). Gameboid at this point is technically the best one, but there are some games that have issues with it. There's also some problems with the sound in Golden Sun 2, plus there's some graphical effects that aren't emulated properly (like a mosaic effect). VGBA is getting better at least (latest version runs Golden Sun 2 with proper sound I believe), but it still has a very long way to go in terms of sound quality and compatibility (speed isn't so hot on older single core devices either). Robert Broglia mentioned on XDA that he was going to work on a GBA emulator for his next project, so we'll see what happens.

Wonder if and when multicore JXD-type devices will come out. I imagine they will help with the more demanding tasks such as dosbox and such. I intend to get one of these Android devices when they come up with one that can seriously outperform my current Android phone (I don't have physical controls though). I'm sort of waiting for something like that.

 

[raulpica]

@[member='granville']
Luckily I won't ever try to emulate GBA, as I've got a real system for that
I've tried Dosbox yesterday. Pretty much settled on AnDOSBOX and DosBox Turbo (the others are way too old). Simpler games run pretty well, even up to Ultima 6 they're fine, after that, expect massive lag. I've fired up X-Com, and while it's pretty much playable if you've got LOTS of patience, it's most certainly not the best gaming experience around.

@[member='KidIce']
As for emulators goes, I'm a huge fan of Frameskip 0, but I've discovered that my iPhone 4 can manage pretty well FS 0 in NES.EMU while my S7100B can't. It's pretty much a disappointment. They should at least be on par when it comes to SoC performance. Anyway, funnily enough, in NESOID (and Snesoid too) there's an option called "Screen Refresh Rate", which should be used only for Moto Droid 2.1 users. If you set that at 60fps, I've noticed that you can run pretty much everything at Frameskip 0 in Nesoid with little to none stuttering! I haven't tested it throughly enough with Snesoid, though. I wonder if there are other emus that let you set the Refresh rate.

As for UAE goes, I'll probably cough up and pay for AnUAE4All, I can't stand UAE4Droid and all its problems I'll report later on how it does work.
I guess you've nailed it, UAE4Droid must really really hate cracktros, as it hangs most times just before them.

Anyone knows for a method to save APKs of bought apps? I reflash my JXD pretty frequently, and I don't want to lose my precious app

@[member='elgarta']
I'm going to try SNESEmu too (version 2.0 released yesterday) and Animaonline SNES. Mojo SNES looks incompatible with Xperia Play (I'm currently spoofing a Xperia Play with bitrider's custom ROM) but I'll try it nonetheless.