For some time i have purchased an RG40XXH console, from Anbernic. For what it is, the console is great. Nothing too much, just enough to play the retro games i love and fulfill my nostalgia. It doesn't matter which console you have chosen, if it's the 35,SP,40 or Cube model. They all have the same specifications and only a few of them, like the SP, some other functions. So, if you have one or want to get one your self, read the following tips/advices, that may help you.
Firmware?
Nope... these devices, don't have a firmware, they don't have some type of software embedded in the hardware of them. You just write the OS you like (Knulli, Mu etc.) on an SDCard and they boot from that. Often in the Internet you will hear the term "firmware" about these devices, but they only mean the OS.
OS - Booting, up...
The great thing about these devices, is that you can write an OS on an SDCard and boot them up. No need to flash a ROM or something and even best, you can have multiple SDCards with whatever OS you like. Just flip the card and you have a different OS running on the device. If you can't decide which OS to install, just get all of them and have some play time with all of them, you just can and so easy...
OS - Selecting, one...
Well, it's up to you to decide. For me is Knulli, because it's Batocera. I can get the files from my main PC or my other devices that use Batocera, throw them into Knulli and have all my saves, cheats etc, in minutes. MuOS has this, stock OS has other features, Knulli has its own features... blah blah blah... but i don't care. I just wanted to be easy to transfer my files, between my devices.
Malfunctions
Mostly, two causes...
- SDCard
- Corrupted
- Not flashed/written correctly
- Wrong OS version
- Battery
- Faulty connection (open and re-attach the cable)
- It's a total crap... just replace.
Consolize them...
All of the RGxx devices have a HDMI plug to connect to a TV and also have Bluetooth. You can easily convert them to a video game console, for your leaving room, hidden, out of sight. They do are little/tiny and fit in tight places ;) I think it's the perfect solution for retro gaming with friends.
Not just for games...
With these consoles you can also:
- Watch movies with MPV (MuOS and knulli supports it) Specially for those 4:3 old tv shows/anime.
- Have a full Linux XFCE environment // https://github.com/MrJackSpade/RG35XXP-XFCE
- Read eBooks/PDFs
- Use them to transfer files. Knulli supports SSH and ADB connection.
- They do have a Linux installed in them, limited a bit, but still ;)
