Apr 6, 2014

PlayStation One emulator, FPse, runs on MK802 IV with many issues.

I believe it was last July. I ordered an interesting Android device called, MK802 IV, made by RikoMagic: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Android_Mini_PC_MK802.
 
I was comparing the video play performance to Raspberry Pi. The hardware spec seemed much better because MK802 IV had quad core CPU and 2GB memory while Raspberry Pi has a known to be weak CPU and 512MB memory. From my simple movie play testing, Raspberry Pi was much faster for high definition video play. I think it was because Raspberry Pi has dedicated Hardware video decoding unit.

I was disappointed because it was double times more expensive than Raspberry Pi and whatever I was trying to do, it was super frustrating due to software issues. Many documents were written in Chinese and I couldn't find official firmware downloading website.

I put it in a box and forgot about it until last Friday. What I thought was that it may do better job on Play Station One emulator because it has good CPU power. I tried psx_ReArmed on Raspberry Pi but the CPU wasn't strong enough to emulate it. One of PlayStationOne emulators, FPse, was running very well on MK802 IV. There were some frame drops but it was still playable. I was happy to see old familiar games.

I thought I can take another step further. I was trying to use two gamepads but it didn't go well.
  1. First problem was that although the manufacture didn't mention it, it wasn't able to provide enough power to two USB gamepads. It seems like one gamepad was limit without a USB hub that can supply additional power.
  2. Second problem was that even though I solve power issue, one of gamepad was stuttering a lot. Only one gamepad was working smoothly. This means no two player games. I still don't know if it is my device only issue or Android general issue.
  3. Third problem was where I wasted most of time. MK802 IV has built-in Bluetooth but rumor is that BT feature is not fully implemented. I was trying to use my PS3 controller via the Bluetooth. I found many people gave up. I could give up early and save some time. This means no wireless controllers.

Although it is still not perfect, I am still happy about the fact that I can enjoy old good games.

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