Information regarding the SF2000 handheld console
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SF2000

The SF2000 is a cheap hand-held emulation gaming console which was released in early 2023. Although the device itself is sold by a variety of vendors, it was the vendor "Data Frog" who caught public attention, and so the device is often simply referred to as "the Data Frog".

For a cheap device, it's actually fairly capable - most Game Boy, Game Boy Color, NES and Genesis/Mega Drive games play at full speed, and many arcade, Game Boy Advance and SNES titles do as well. The device has an IPS panel (not OCA laminated), and a user-replacable "18650" battery, which can be charged via a USB-C port on the device. It also has analog A/V out (note: not HDMI), meaning it can be connected to a CRT TV - the type of display most arcade, Genesis/Mega Drive and SNES games were originally intended to be displayed on. It has a built-in 2.4GHz antenna, and can receive input from a compatible wireless controller (usually sold separately).

Some downsides to the device: it's mono-only, there's no head-phone jack (although there is a volume wheel), screen brightness cannot be altered (it's fairly bright), SNES and Game Boy Advance are hit-or-miss in terms of performance (some games are fine, many games run slowly), the stock firmware is closed-source so the device's performance may never get any better than as-shipped, and some folks have had issues with the buttons (they're quite cheap, and sit flush when pressed).

So is the "Data Frog" any good? Only you can answer that question for yourself. There are certainly more powerful devices out there, more fully featured devices, devices with better hardware, etc. - but almost all of those devices cost a lot more than the SF2000. At the end of the day, you have to look at the features offered at the given price-point, and only then can you decide if you're interested in the device or not.


Hardware

Although the main CPU of the SF2000 has literally had it's markings milled off by a routing tool, the community has determined that it's a HCSEMI B210, a single-core MIPS processor running at 810 MHz. It appears to be a clone of an ALi Tech chip.


biserv.asd

The firmware for the SF2000 is actually located on the microSD card, in a file called biserv.asd located in the BIOS folder. This file is a monolithic binary blob, which contains the device's OS, the emulators, their settings... basically everything. The file is currently being investigated. Here are some findings from it:

Key Bindings

osaka#9664 discovered that the OS supports loading game-specific key bindings from .kmp files, stored in the save folder for each system and named after a game's ROM file (e.g., /FC/save/Game Name.kmp). They also discovered where in the biserv.asd file the default mappings for each emulator are stored. Working with this information, notv37#4200 worked out what bits related to what buttons for each emulator. Using notv37#4200's findings, osaka#9664 has put together a web-based tool which can be used to alter the default key bindings for each emulator, as well as to create game-specific bindings - you can find that tool here.

When the device is powered on, a "Welcome" image is displayed for a short time before the main menu appears. This image comes from inside biserv.asd, at offset 0x9B91D8. It's a 512x200 RGB565 Little Endian raw image file, and looks like this:

Boot Logo


Resources

The Resources folder on the microSD card contains all of the resources used by the device's firmware to construct the user interface at runtime. The following tables list the files from the 20230420 firmware and what they are used for, grouped by broad categories:

Fonts

Filename Description
Arial_cn.ttf The "Arial" typeface, containing Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Chinese, and Japanese characters. Duplicate of yahei_Arial.ttf, the single font file from the original firmware version
Arial_en.ttf The "Arial" typeface, containing Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Armenian, Hebrew and Arabic characters
Arial_jp.ttf The "Arial" typeface, containing Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Chinese and Japanese characters
Arial_kr.ttf The "Arial" typeface, containing Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters
Tahoma.ttf The "Tahoma" typeface, containing Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Armenian, Hebrew, Arabic and Thai characters
yahei_Arial.ttf The "Arial" typeface, containing Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, Chinese, Japanese and Korean characters

Images (Used)

As far as I am aware, all of the below images are actively used by the 20230420 version of the firmware; happy to take any corrections if it turns out any of them are unused! Note that while the stock theme is based around a 640x480 resolution, the actual //display// on the SF2000 is a 320x240 one. The OS on the device uses nearest-neighbour scaling for its images, giving the stock UI a somewhat aliased appearance. If you're planning to make your own theme for the SF2000, design it for 320x240, and then double the resolution when exporting the final images to the device for a crisper look.

Filename Resolution Format Description View
aepic.nec 576x256 BGRA Main menu labels in Korean view
apisa.dlk 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Arcade game list background view
appvc.ikb 150x214 BRGA Game art placeholder view
awusa.tax 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in Thai view
bisrv.nec 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian In-game menu (position 3) view
bttlve.kbp 60x144 BGRA Battery level indicator icons view
c1eac.pal 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian SNES game-list background view
cero.phl 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Game Boy Color game-list background view
certlm.msa 40x24 BGRA NES game-list indicator view
d2d1.hgp 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian In-game menu (position 2) view
dism.csf 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian In-game menu (position 1) view
djctq.rsd 40x24 BGRA SNES game-list indicator view
djoin.nec 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in Spanish view
dpskc.ctp 640x320 RGB565 Little Endian In-game menu save-state slots (positions 1, 2, 3 and 4) view
drivr.ers 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian SNES main menu background view
dsuei.cpl 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian User ROMs main menu background view
dxdiag.bin 40x24 BGRA Genesis/Mega Drive game-list indicator view
dxkgi.ctp 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in English view
dxva2.nec 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Search keyboard (pressed) view
ectte.bke 161x126 BRGA Main menu icon selection box view
efsui.stc 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Game Boy Advance game-list background view
esent.bvs 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in Turkish view
exaxz.hsp 152x1224 BRGA Main menu "Games Exist" and "Start: Open" labels for all languages view
fixas.ctp 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian NES main menu background view
fltmc.sta 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Game Boy game-list background view
fvecpl.ai 40x24 BGRA Game Boy game-list indicator view
gpsvc.bvs 392x80 RGB565 Little Endian In-game menu save-state slot (position 3) view
hctml.ers 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Arcade main menu background view
hgcpl.cke 392x80 RGB565 Little Endian In-game menu save-state slot (position 2) view
hlink.bvs 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Search keyboard (hover) view
htui.kcc 40x24 BGRA Game Boy Color game-list indicator view
icm32.dll 40x24 BGRA Game Boy Advance game-list indicator view
icuin.cpl 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Genesis/Mega Drive main menu background view
ihdsf.bke 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Genesis/Mega Drive game-list background view
irftp.ctp 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Game Boy Advance main menu background view
irmon.tax 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in Dutch view
itiss.ers 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in Chinese view
jccatm.kbp 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian "Battery Empty" screen view
ke89a.bvs 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in Portuguese view
ksxbar.ax 392x80 RGB565 Little Endian In-game menu save-state slot (position 4) view
lfsvc.dll 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Search game-list background view
mksh.rcv 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Search keyboard (normal) view
msdmo.gdb 392x80 RGB565 Little Endian In-game menu save-state slot (position 1) view
msgsm.dll 40x24 BGRA Arcade game-list indicator view
mssvp.nec 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in Japanese view
normidna.bin 40x24 BGRA Search game-list indicator view
ntdll.bvs 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in Polish view
pcadm.nec 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in Italian view
pwsso.occ 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian In-game menu (position 4) view
qasf.bel 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian User game-list background view
qwave.bke 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Game Boy Color main menu background view
rmapi.tax 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in German view
sdclt.occ 120x2280 RGB565 Little Endian TV system and UI language selection icons view
sebsc.bvs 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in French view
sfcdr.cpl 576x1344 BRGA Main menu system logos view
subst.tax 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in Russian view
ucby4.aax 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in Arabic view
urlkp.bvs 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian NES game-list background view
vidca.bvs 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in Hebrew view
vssvc.nec 576x256 BRGA Main menu labels in Malay view
xajkg.hsp 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Game Boy main menu background view

Images (Unused)

To the best of my knowledge, the following image files are currently unused by the 20230420 firmware, and were probably left over from previous devices (the SF2000 shares a bit of lineage with some USB-stick devices) or development. The images marked "Alternate UI" below appear to have been for a UI where the systems were scrolled through horizontally, and the "shortcut" games for each system were scrolled vertically.

Filename Resolution Format Description View
aeinv.bke 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: Genesis/Mega Drive main menu background view
aepic.ers 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: User main menu background view
c1e.pal 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian CPS2 game-list background view
cca.bvs 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian In-game menu (position 1; Chinese language hardcoded) view
dectMap.key 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Button test screen (active) view
desk.cpl 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Eight-game selection screen view
djoin.hsp 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: Arcade main menu background view
fcont.ctp 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: User main menu background view
fdbil.ph 1100x120 BGRA Large icons for each system, including systems not supported by the SF2000 (selected) view
gpapi.bvs 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian In-game menu (position 5; looks like it was for some kind of button layout changing UI) view
igc64.dll 217x37 BGRA "Yes" and "No" text, with "No" selected view
ihds.bke 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Genesis/Mega Drive game-list background, with baked-in thumbnail placeholder view
kdill.hsp 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: Game Boy Advance main menu background view
logilda.be 40x24 BGRA CPS1 game-list indicator view
mfc64.emc 40x24 BGRA CPS2 game-list indicator view
mfpmp.ers 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: Arcade main menu background view
mrtac.klo 40x24 BGRA Neogeo game-list indicator view
msdtc.bke 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: Game Boy Advance main menu background view
mswbv.cpl 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: Game Boy Advance main menu background view
nettrace.dll 40x24 BGRA Unknown game-list indicator (grey joystick with yellow buttons) view
nsibm.ctp 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: Arcade main menu background view
nvinf.hsp 16x240 BGRA Latin numbers 0 to 9 listed vertically view
nvinfohsp 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: Genesis/Mega Drive main menu background (note: there's no extension separator for this file, I suspect the file name is typo'd in the filesystem!) view
pcadm.hsp 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: User main menu background (NTSC TV system selected) view
plasy.ers 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: Game Boy Advance main menu background view
rmapi.cpl 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: User main menu background (English UI language selected) view
seltMap.key 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Button test screen view
spmpm.gdp 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: NES game-list background, with baked-in thumbnail placeholder view
subst.bke 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: Arcade main menu background view
tsmcf.cpl 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Alternate UI: Arcade main menu background view
url.bvs 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian CPS1 game-list background view
werui.ioc 320x240 RGB565 Little Endian "NODATA" save-state thumbnail placeholder image, with a "horror" style typeface view
wshom.ocx 1100x120 BGRA Large icons for each system, including systems not supported by the SF2000 (normal) view
wshrm.nec 217x37 BGRA "Yes" and "No" text, with "Yes" selected view
x86e.hgp 640x480 RGB565 Little Endian Neogeo game-list background view

Other Files

These are other files that have been identified, which don't fit into the other categories. Non-Latin characters in the files are encoded in UTF-8.

Filename Description
bfrjd.odb UI strings in Korean
bxvtb.sby UI strings in Thai
dufdr.cwr UI strings in Turkish
eknjo.ofd UI strings in Spanish
fhshl.skb UI strings in English
Foldername.ini Used to control menu rotation for the main menu (this information came from the 4PDA forum)
jsnno.uby UI strings in Dutch
kcbn7.avc Duplicate copy of bisrv.asd, the main firmware for the device which is found in the BIOS folder
lf9lb.cut UI strings in Portuguese
ntrcq.oba UI strings in Japanese
ouenj.dut UI strings in Polish
qdbec.ofd UI strings in Italian
sgotd.cwt UI strings in French
snbqj.uby UI strings in German
t2act.sgf UI strings in Chinese
Test.zsf A SNES ROM, which displays a controller test program
tvctu.uby UI strings in Russian
vdaz5.bjk UI strings in Arabic
wtrxj.lbd UI strings in Malay
xjebd.clq UI strings in Hebrew

ROM Lists

Credit for this section goes to taizou#9644, author of Frog Tool. These files relate to the built-in game lists under each main system; the list of games is pulled from these files instead of being built at runtime - annoying, but presumably for performance reasons. It means if you want to change the list of built-in games (instead of using the User ROMs section), you have to edit these files - hence Frog Tool, you should really check it out.

Files Description
mfpmp.bvs (Arcade), mgdel.bvs (Game Boy Color), nethn.bvs (NES), qdvd6.bvs (Game Boy), sppnp.bvs (Game Boy Advance), wmiui.bvs (Genesis/Mega Drive), xvb6c.bvs (SNES) Pinyin translations of the English ROM names, used for Chinese language searching. Not all game names are translated
adsnt.nec (SNES), fhcfg.nec (NES), htuiw.nec (Game Boy Advance), msdtc.nec (Arcade), setxa.nec (Genesis/Mega Drive), umboa.nec (Game Boy), wjere.nec (Game Boy Color) Chinese translations of the English ROM names, used to display the game lists when the UI language is set to Chinese. Not all game names are translated
mswb7.tax (Arcade), pnpui.tax (Game Boy Color), rdbui.tax (NES), scksp.tax (Genesis/Mega Drive), urefs.tax (SNES), vdsdc.tax (Game Boy), vfnet.tax (Game Boy Advance) English ROM Names, used to display the game lists when the UI language is set to English
xfgle.hgp, xfgle.hgp.bak The xfgle.hgp file contains the ROM "shortcuts" on the main menu for each game system. The xfgle.hgp.bak file appears to be a test version of this file that was not removed from the firmware before being sent to production
TSMFK.TAX This is a ROM list file similar to the other .tax files, except it is built at run-time from the ROM files in the user roms folder. The file is regenerated each time the device boots

Sounds

There are several sound files in the 20230420 firmware, stored in raw signed 16-bit PCM format (mono, little-endian at 22050 Hz). The SF2000 seems to play the files back at an incorrect sample rate vs. the raw data; if you want to customise the background music, resample your audio to 21543 Hz, and then speed the audio up to 22050 Hz, using the resulting audio as the raw data (credit to notv37#4200 in Discord for doing the math on that).

Filename Description Listen
c2fkec.pgt "Popping" sound that is played when moving around the search keyboard listen
dpnet.dll "Downwards Zap" sound, unknown usage listen
dsreg.bvs "Upwards Bleeping" sound, unknown usage listen
help.lis "Double Buzzer" sound, unknown usage listen
mfsvr.nkf "Beep" sound that is played when entering a letter on the search keyboard listen
nyquest.gdb "Whooshing" sound that is played when switching between emulated systems on the main menu, between the "Resume", "Quit", "Load" and "Save" options on the in-game menu, and scrolling by pages within a system's game-list listen
oldversion.kbe "Three Note Upward Chime" sound that is played when deleting a letter on the search keyboard listen
pagefile.sys Main menu background music listen
swapfile.sys "Squishy" sound played when navigating horizontally through "shortcut" games on the main menu, or vertically within a system's game-list listen

Unknown Files

These are files that I have not yet determined what they do; if anyone has any information on these, do post about it in the Data Frog channel in the Retro Handhelds Discord server please!

Filename Description
Archive.sys UNKNOWN; 8 bytes, first are 0x02, the rest are all 0x00
kcnuv.lit UNKNOWN; a bunch of 4-byte binary chunks (e.g., 0xC4 0x00 0x00 0x00), followed by a list of .NES ROM file names. Very similar to the .bvs/.nec/.tax files detailed above, but doesn't have the same type of "header" they have

Version History

20230507 - 1.1: Some "unknown" files from the Resources folder identified with taizou#9644's help (thanks!); moved them to the Sounds and Rom Lists sections with details. Only two files left!

20230507 - 1.0: Original creation of this page.