Gaming Questions about the R4 for the Ds

[Carol Uchiha]

I was thinking in buying a DS and an R4 with it, but I'm not sure about what it is, all I know is it allows you to play a lot of games in just one card. I have a lot of questions about this, please help me!
1. Is it illegal?
2. Does it have more functions (music, movies, etc..) or does it only allowes you to play a lot of games?, if so how could I do it?
3. Do you need to code it?, if so is there anywhere you can get it done or do you have to code it yourself?
4. Where can I buy it?
5. Can you choose the games you want in your R4?
6. Which Ds would you say I should buy?
7. I heard that the R4 allowes you to download games, how does that work?, do I have to pay for it?, where exactly could I download the games from?
PLEASE HELP ME!! AND THANKS

 

[migles]

the please help me in caps lock, and the fact you created the question twice, made me don't want to help you. it's bad etiquete to write PLEASE HELP ME FOR THE LOVE OF THE GOOD, I AM DYING UNLESS YOU HELP ME WITH MY R4" please. don't do that.... you will get much more help if you be nice and cool...

1 yes it is illegal, depending on your country. but usually if you only use it for homebrew and play games you own its not "illegal" but even that is a gray area, but lets not discuss that ok?
2 yes, there is apps\homebrew for play movies music or see pictures, however they must be converted..
3 i don't understand why you think you would "code" it... you can "code" proggrams for it, you can make your own stuff, its called homebrew, but there is already plenty of stuff available, but be free to contribute if you know http://gamebrew.org/wiki/List_of_DS_homebrew_applications
4 in varios places, usually online on websites that may be a bit shaddy, beucase usually they come from china, heres a thread i made about the shops https://gbatemp.net/threads/i-bought-my-flashcart-from-thread.391734/

5 you put the games you want, you download them from websites i can't mention here because its "illegal" but you can either find online the games or make a copy of the games you have (if you have a original ds or ds lite)

6 depends on your preference...
do you want to play gba games? then you need a original ds or ds lite, theese are the cheapest
the ds lite (compared to the original ds) has better screens, and you can adjust the brightness, better battery, it weights less.. and its more durable IMO
the original DS some people say it fits much better on the hands\being more confortable and if you put a gba cartridge it doesn't stick out (search about gba ds lite on google and you will see what i mean)
if you want a big screen, get a dsi XL, it has bigger screens, or if you want DSI ware\DSI games..
or if you want something more new and not so old\outdated, get a N3ds XL it has bigger screens... its the most recent console, it does play ds games and 3ds games.. and lots of stuff

keep in mind the r4 card will only work on DS MODE. that means no DSI MODE games neither 3ds games (there are hybrid games that work on DSI MODE but can run under DS MODE in a r4)

7 isn't that the same question as number 5? you don't have to pay for them, its "illegal" downloads from websites that provide the roms, you put the games on a micro sd card (maximum is 32 gb if the card does support SDHC)
can't talk more about that because its against gbatemp rules

keep in mind, if you gonna get a r4. there are tons of different r4. if you get a N3ds or a DSI you must make sure the card will support the console last firmware, i advice you the only r4 you should purchase is this one: http://nds-card.com/ProShow.asp?ProID=149
notice how the card looks like and the website printed on it "r4ids.cn"
only purcahse the r4 with a sticker\package like that card in the link. there are tons of clones\fakes etc. you want a card that you are sure to work on every console and isn't slow as hell

you can buy from that shop, but takes a month to arrive because it comes from china, but its a very reputable store...

 

[Pares]

1- Let´s say you won´t go to jail
2- Anything can be done, the r4 is really old which means that many people has developed hundreds of apps for it
3- No
4- There are lots of different R4s, it depends in which one you want.
5- yes
6- Dsi XL for better graphics. If you cant afford it choose any other model, they are mostly the same.
7- Games can be downloaded from sites that no one at gbatemp will tell you because you can´t talk about piracy in this forum, but anyone can find them with a little search.

 

[RattletraPM]

@migles' answer is already very descriptive and complete, however I'd like to add a bit of extra info on a few points just in case:

1- As with most stuff, legality higly depends on where you live. In most countries flashcarts are generally in a legal gray area, while in others are outright illegal (for example in Italy, where I'm currently living, the R4 was deemed illegal a while ago but another ruling put that in question fairly recently - on the other hand they're highly illegal in places with much stricter copyright laws like Japan). Of course it'll also depend on who you ask but, well... that's kinda the definition of "legal gray area" as the current copyright-related laws generally have not so well explained exceptions and loopholes.

3- The card supports drag 'n drop, as in you just put the files on the SD card and boot them painlessly by just selecting them on a menu from your console. Some cards have flashable firmwares so that they can be used in case a new console update tries to block them, but if the card boots just fine for you then there's no reason to reflash it (aka you may only have trouble if your card is old and its firmware hasn't been updated yet). At the same time the card also requires you to install a kernel on your SD, but that's just all about copying files from your PC to your SD. If your card is used and already comes with a microSD there's a good chance the previous owner has already copied the right files on it and if you have no issues, again, there's no need to touch anything (while if it's new, you can usually find the kernel on the website written on the card itself)

5- About making backups of your own games, doing so it's legal in most countries as long as the backup comes from a game you legally own and it's for personal use only - this means you cannot borrow a cartridge from a friend or rent a game and dump it, then claim it as your legal backup for example. At the same time, downloading a game you already own is also illegal, as you are still technically downloading copyrighted data without the IP owner's permission. Again, check your current country/state's laws to be sure, but that's how it works in 99% of all cases.