663baa97b3
Added a new tool, the Generic Image Tool - allows you to convert SF2000 images to PNG, and PNG/JPEG images to SF2000 formats with several options. Also added a large amount of arcade-specific information thanks to some heroic work by `adcockm#8175`, fixed some typos thanks to `Luke#4448`, and tracked down where an "unused" image was actually being used thanks to `kid_sinn#9691` |
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arcade | ||
images | ||
sounds | ||
tools | ||
_config.yml | ||
.gitignore | ||
favicon.ico | ||
README.md |
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-replaceable "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 headphone 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.
Table of Contents
- SF2000
Hardware
CPU
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. No SDK is currently available for it, and the device is closed-source.
Display
The SF2000 features a 240x320
IPS display panel (not OCA laminated), which has been rotated 90° clockwise to give a 320x240
display. It demonstrates screen tearing for all emulators, running from the right of the console to the left due to the panel rotation.
Buttons
The ABXY are basically a clone of the original SNES controller buttons. Although everyone seems to be getting two purple and two lilac coloured buttons, there's a disparity to the type of buttons folks are getting - some get two convex and two concave buttons, others have gotten three concave and one convex, etc..
Both the buttons and the underlying membrane from an original SNES controller can be swapped into the SF2000, which may improve the "feel" of the buttons. Note that the SF2000 uses ABXY buttons that have two plastic tabs sticking out to keep them in the shell (at 180 degrees from each other); some after-market SNES-style buttons have three tabs, and won't fit the housing.
Some folks have modded the stock ABXY buttons on their SF2000s by adding a thin strip of tape or other thin material into the circular depression under each button - this causes the buttons to be raised a bit higher out of the shell, and to not sink as far into the shell when the button is pressed.
D-Pad
Just like the ABXY buttons, the d-pad is a clone of the SNES d-pad. An original SNES d-pad and membrane can be swapped into the SF2000 as well.
Thumb Stick
The SF2000 uses a Switch-style thumb stick that does not depress for L2/R2. It is compatible with Switch thumb stick third-party covers.
Battery
The SF2000 takes a 18650 type rechargeable battery, which is easily user replaceable (it's behind a battery door with a screw), and comes with a 1,500mAh one which runs for about 4 hours. 18650 batteries with and without "nubs" both fit fine. The console has built-in over-charge protection, but does not have under-charge protection, so for safety do not leave the console turned on when the battery is low. From when it displays a full-screen low battery indicator, it takes about 3.5 hours to charge the stock battery. The green charging light does not turn off when fully charged.
Wireless Connectivity
The SF2000 does not feature wifi or Bluetooth, but it does have a 2.4Ghz antenna to support local wireless multiplayer using a compatible 2.4Ghz wireless controller for Player 2. The Y2 SFC wireless controller and the SF900 wireless controller have both been reported to work fine.
A/V Output
The SF2000 features a mini-jack for analogue composite A/V output. The device is capable of output a user-selectable PAL or NTSC video signal. Only the left audio channel is output - the device does not down-mix to mono, which results in missing audio channels in games that expect to output stereo sound.
There's some limited evidence to suggest the A/V output is at 576i. When outputting a PAL signal, while the signal is indeed 50Hz, it seems like the emulators are still targeting 60Hz output - PAL scrolling is "jerky". Switching the device to output NTSC, scrolling becomes smooth. This holds true regardless of using a PAL or NTSC version of a ROM. Depending on your external display, video output over A/V may be somewhat heavily cropped on all screen edges - if so, this can result in UI elements at screen edges in games (health bars, remaining credits, etc.) being out-of-frame. Switching between PAL and NTSC doesn't alter the visible screen area. I've tested with a modern flat-panel Panasonic TV (cropped), a 1980s Commodore 1702 monitor (cropped), and with an el-cheapo USB 2.0 "EasyCap" video-capture USB stick (not cropped).
On my own unit, plugging in a charging cable while outputting over A/V introduces a lot of video noise in the A/V signal; so those planning to use the SF2000 as a TV console may need to do so while running on battery for the best experience.
Emulators
The device advertises support for arcade, NES, SNES, Genesis/Mega Drive, Game Boy, Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance; it also supports loading Master System ROMs. SNES and GBA performance are very hit-or miss (more miss than hit, really); the other consoles actually perform fairly well. All consoles currently stretch their output to fill the display, and do not maintain aspect ratio.
The SF2000 appears to be using Libretro with a custom front-end (i.e., not RetroArch).
Arcade
The device is running some version of Final Burn Alpha. Thanks to some truly exceptional work by adcockm#8175
from the Retro Handhelds Discord, we know it supports an unusual mix of ROM sets, largely based on MAME 0.106 and Final Burn Alpha v0.2.97.42. adcockm#8175
has gone ahead and compiled two separate Clrmamepro dat files - one for all sets technically supported by the SF2000's current BIOS (as of May 2023; though note that "supported" does not mean working or playable), and one for all playable sets with duplicates removed (and note, "playable" may include games with missing sound, graphical glitches, performance issues, but are otherwise technically functional). If you want to build a working set from the dat files, adcockm#8175
has further provided a list of "hints" as the sets you'll need to track down - for obvious reasons neither I nor anyone else can provide links to such material, but hopefully the hints will get you something you can start searching for. Finally, there's also a HTML document with a list of all of the supported sets along with some useful metadata, such as the set's full name, playability information, screen orientation, etc..
adcockm#8175
also provided the following interesting statistics:
- Number of arcade ROMs known by the SF2000's firmware:
1431
- Number properly rotated:
1291
- Number with vertical orientation:
134
- Number with screen upside-down:
6
- Number "playable" (maybe no sound, some slowness, minor graphics issues):
949
- Number unplayably broken but technically running:
175
- Number fully broken (load hang/crash, etc.):
307
- Number of playable unique games (dupes filtered out) in proper rotation:
354
- Number of playable unique games (dupes filtered out) with rotated display:
61
- Number of different versions of Street Fighter 2:
60+
😵💫 [Von Millhausen: I think this stat is only half a joke!] - Playable set total size:
3.10 GB
(3,336,344,502 bytes) - Full set total size:
11.4 GB
(12,245,306,389 bytes)
NES
Appears to be a version of FCEUmm. There are references in the firmware to different NES palettes, but there's no interface or configuration for the emulator itself to choose one. On the original firmware, the A and B buttons were swapped. See "Button Mappings/Key Bindings" section below.
SNES
With the April 20th version of the firmware, SNES games appear to run very slowly on first launch; but if you exit the game and load it again, it usually starts performing much better.
Genesis/Mega Drive
Works pretty well. This emulator is capable of loading Master System ROMs if placed in the user ROMs folder on the microSD card; Game Gear ROMs do not load. Some PAL-region games may run too fast; NTSC-region games seem to always run at the correct speed. On the original firmware, A was mapped to A, B was mapped to B, and RB was mapped to C for some reason. See "Button Mappings/Key Bindings" section below.
Game Boy
Uses a black and white colour palette, which currently cannot be changed. On the original firmware, the A and B buttons were swapped. See "Button Mappings/Key Bindings" section below.
Game Boy Color
On the original firmware, the A and B buttons were swapped. See "Button Mappings/Key Bindings" section below.
Game Boy Advance
Performance is fairly poor. On the original firmware, A and B buttons are mapped correctly, but the GBA shoulder buttons are mapped to X and Y for some reason. See "Button Mappings/Key Bindings" section below.
Firmware/BIOS (bisrv.asd)
The firmware for the SF2000 is actually located on the microSD card, in a file called bisrv.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. Data Frog have issued some firmware updates for the device since launch; the updates have added new features (e.g., additional language support, favourites, history, etc.), but have also introduced bugs (e.g., some SNES games run very slowly until they are quit and launched again, etc.). Data Frog have published a YouTube video showing how to update the firmware on the device, which you can find here; the video's description contains a link to where you can download the latest firmware.
Known firmware versions are currently (dates approximate):
Date | Version | Notes |
---|---|---|
Mid-March | ? | The original firmware that shipped with the first batch of devices |
April 20th | ? | The first official firmware update; fixed some button mappings for Genesis, added support for 15 new languages. Also partially broke SNES compatibility - many SNES games will run very slowly on first launch, but quitting and immediately re-launching the game will have it run at normal speed (normal for the SF2000, anyway) |
May 15th | ? | Added a built-in UI for global button mapping (which is broken in several ways, mainly SNES and Genesis controls are swapped, and no support for setting Player 2 controls), added a History feature, added a Favourites feature |
May 22nd | 1.5V | First firmware with an official version number. Fixed the SNES/Genesis swapped button mappings, and now sets Player 2 controls to be identical to Player 1 (no way to set independently) |
There is not currently any custom firmware (CFW) for the device. The stock firmware is currently being investigated; here are some findings from it:
Button Mappings/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.EXT.kmp
). They also discovered where in the bisrv.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 both their findings, we now have a tool which can be used to update both the global button mappings for the emulators, as well as create per-ROM mappings - you can find this tool here.
Note that the game-specific key bindings function have been removed from the May 15th firmware onwards.
Boot Logo
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 bisrv.asd
, (towards the end; exact offset varies between BIOS revisions). It's a 512x200
RGB565 Little Endian raw image file, and looks like this:
The image is actually displayed at half-resolution on the internal display though, 256x100
, centred in the middle of the screen. The boot logo can be changed to an arbitrary 256x100
image using a web-based tool I wrote, which you can find here.
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 various firmware versions (the numbered columns, in approximate mm.dd
format) and what they are used for, grouped by broad categories. Resolution and format given are for the latest firmware version only; details may be different for older firmwares. The icons in the firmware columns have the following meanings:
- ✨: file is new to this firmware version
- ✅: file is unchanged this firmware version
- 🚩: file is changed this firmware version
- ❌: file is removed this firmware version
Fonts
Filename | 03.15 | 04.20 | 05.15 | 05.22 | 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 20230515
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 on the internal panel. I've written a generic image tool for the SF2000 - it lets you convert SF2000-formatted images to PNG files, and lets you convert PNG or JPEG images to SF2000 formats (which may be useful if you want to theme your device); you can find this tool here.
Filename | Resolution | Format | 03.15 | 04.20 | 05.15 | 05.22 | Description | View |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
aepic.nec |
1008x164 | BGRA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and 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 |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and 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 |
cketp.bvs |
640x816 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | ✅ | The console selection images at the bottom of the new button mapping feature screen | view | ||
d2d1.hgp |
640x480 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | In-game menu (position 2) | view |
dism.cef |
640x480 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | In-game menu (position 1) | view |
djctq.rsd |
40x24 | BGRA | ✨ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | SNES game-list indicator | view |
djoin.nec |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and 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 |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | ✅ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and 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 |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and 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 |
gakne.ctp |
576x256 | BGRA | ✨ | ✅ | A new copy of the English menu labels image, identical to older versions of dxkgi.ctp (which was changed entirely in 05.15 ) |
view | ||
gkavc.ers |
576x256 | BGRA | ✨ | ✅ | A new copy of the Chinese menu labels image, identical to older versions of itiss.ers (which was changed entirely in 05.15 ) |
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 |
igc64.dll |
217x37 | BGRA | ✨ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | "Yes" and "No" text, with "No" selected; used when being asked if you want to overwrite a save-game slot | 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 |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and labels in Dutch | view | |
itiss.ers |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | ✅ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and labels in Chinese | view |
jccatm.kbp |
640x480 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | "Battery Empty" screen | view |
ke89a.bvs |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and labels in Portuguese | view | |
kmbcj.acp |
640x480 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | ✅ | The full-screen background image for the new button mapping screen | 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 |
lk7tc.bvs |
52x192 | BGRA | ✨ | ✅ | Transparent labels for the button assignments in the new button mapping feature; these are the ones overlaid on the big SF2000 image showing the current assignments | view | ||
lkvax.aef |
640x480 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | ✅ | History game-list background | view | ||
mkhbc.rcv |
640x1440 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | ✅ | Six vertically-stacked images of the SF2000 with different buttons highlighted, used as part of the new button mapping feature's UI | 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 |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and labels in Japanese | view | |
normidna.bin |
40x24 | BGRA | ✨ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Search game-list indicator | view |
ntdll.bvs |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and labels in Polish | view | |
nvinf.hsp |
16x240 | BGRA | ✨ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Latin numbers 0 to 9 listed vertically, used for the number of games available in each main menu category | view |
okcg2.old |
32x32 | BGRA | ✨ | ✅ | The star icon that appears beside favourited games in the game-lists | view | ||
pcadm.nec |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and 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 |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and labels in German | view | |
sdclt.occ |
120x240 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | 🚩 | 🚩 | ✅ | TV system selection icons | view |
sensc.bvs |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and labels in French | view | |
sfcdr.cpl |
576x1344 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | ✅ | Main menu system logos | view |
subst.tax |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and labels in Russian | view | |
ucby4.aax |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and labels in Arabic | view | |
urlkp.bvs |
640x480 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | NES game-list background | view |
uyhbc.dck |
640x480 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | ✅ | Favourites game-list background | view | ||
vidca.bvs |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and labels in Hebrew | view | |
vssvc.nec |
1008x164 | BRGA | ✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | User settings screen icons and labels in Malay | view | |
wshrm.nec |
217x37 | BGRA | ✨ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | "Yes" and "No" text, with "Yes" selected; used when being asked if you want to overwrite a save-game slot | view |
xajkg.hsp |
640x480 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Game Boy main menu background | view |
ztrba.nec |
64x320 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | ✅ | Non-transparent labels for the button assignments in the new button mapping feature; these are the ones that pop up when you go to change a button assignment | view |
Images (Unused)
To the best of my knowledge, the following image files are currently unused by the 20230515
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 | 03.15 | 04.20 | 05.15 | 05.22 | 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 |
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 |
mhg4s.ihg |
400x192 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | ✅ | Background and buttons for a "warning" prompt with "OK", "Yes" and "No" buttons. Also has rounded edges stored in a separate image file, zaqrc.olc |
view | ||
mrtac.klo |
40x24 | BGRA | ✨ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Neo Geo 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 |
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 |
x86e.hgp |
640x480 | RGB565 Little Endian | ✨ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | Neo Geo game-list background | view |
zaqrc.olc |
8x224 | BGRA | ✨ | ✅ | Rounded ends that pair with the warning dialogue stored in mhg4s.ihg |
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 | 03.15 | 04.20 | 05.15 | 05.22 | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Archive.sys |
✨ | 🚩 | ✅ | ✅ | Stores the settings for UI language and TV system. Two 32-bit words (4-bytes), little endian. The first is UI language; 0x00000000 is English, 0x01000000 is Chinese, etc.. The second is the TV system setting; 0x00000000 is NTSC, 0x01000000 is PAL. Note the "🚩" icon here indicates the format of the data, or the permissible values were changed (as opposed to the data itself, which will vary from device to device based on user settings) |
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) |
History.bin |
✨ | ✅ | Used to store the history of played ROMs; only appears after the first game is played after installing the 05.15 or later firmware. User ROMs are not added to history, only built-in games. If a built-in game that is referenced in history is removed from the device, the device will crash when trying to view the History screen. You can delete the History.bin file to clear the device's history; there is no built-in functionality to do so | ||
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 |
|
KeyMapInfo.kmp |
✨ | ✅ | Used to store the user-assignable global button mappings for each emulated system | ||
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 FROGTOOL. 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 FROGTOOL, 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 | 03.15 | 04.20 | 05.15 | 05.22 | 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. If you don't like background music, and would rather just have silence, you can find a replacement silent pagefile.sys here - just replace the one in the Resources folder (don't forget to backup the original file first, in case you ever want that jaunty tune again!) |
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 | 03.15 | 04.20 | 05.15 | 05.22 | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
Tools and Links
All of these are linked above already in their relevant sections, but just in case you prefer to see them as a pulled-out list, here they are again:
- Boot Logo Changer
- Button Mapping Tool
- Data Frog's firmware update tutorial
- FROGTOOL (for updating the built-in game lists)
- Generic Image Tool
- Silent background music file (replace the file in the
Resources
folder on the microSD card)
Version History
-
20230524 - 1.11
: Added my new Generic Image Tool. Added more exceptional information fromadcockm#8175
in regards to arcade emulation on the SF2000, and cleaned up the old info accordingly. Corrected some typos related tobisrv.asd
(thanksLuke#4448
!). Usage ofnvinf.hsp
was tracked down to the numbers of games available on the main menu pages (thankskid_sinn#9691
!). -
20230522 - 1.10
: Updated resource tables for the new05.22
firmware (no changes); added a table with details about known firmware versions. Added a "Tools & Links" section. -
20230516 - 1.9
: Updated most of the Resources file lists to include firmware-related information (added, (un)changed, removed). Added new image resources for the latest May 15th firmware. Updated some images files previews to contain the fake name extensions as well. Added detail about the removal of per-game button maps from May 15th firmware. Renamed the sound previews to contain the fake name extensions as well. -
20230513 - 1.8
: Discovered two "unused" images (the yes/no buttons) are indeed actually used, when being asked if you want to overwrite a saved game. Fixed a few typos. Changed formatting of file names used throughout. A bit more info on A/V out. -
20230512 - 1.7
: Added a note about stock battery runtime. Added a section with information about A/V output performance. Added a bit of info about PAL/NTSC region speed for Genesis/Mega Drive. Retitled the "bisrv.asd" section to make it clearer that's the BIOS/firmware. -
20230511 - 1.6
: Added a quick note about the display panel to the Hardware section, and added a new section for Emulators, including an incredible collection of ROM notes for Arcade thanks toadcockm#8175
! Also added a "silent" background music file for download, and a table of contents (this page is getting fairly long 😅). Added afavicon.ico
to get rid of that one annoying console error. -
20230510 - 1.5
: Added additional detail to the Hardware section about the buttons, d-pad, thumb-stick, battery, and wireless controller support. -
20230510 - 1.4
: Added my own version ofosaka#9664
's button mapping tool at their request, and changed the link in the Key Mapping section accordingly. -
20230509 - 1.3
: Added more details about how the boot logo ends up scaled on the screen, as well as a link to a new tool I wrote for altering the logo. Corrected one small formatting error. -
20230508 - 1.2
: Added details forArchive.sys
- thanks toosaka#9664
for the hints on what it related to! -
20230507 - 1.1
: Some "unknown" files from theResources
folder identified withtaizou#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.