GeeXboX Wii

GeeXboX
General
Author	farter
Type	Media player
Version	0.1beta3 IOS/MINI
License	Mixed
Last Updated	2010/02/28
Links
Download
Website

GeeXboX for Wii is GeeXboX ported, UNOFFICIALLY, to run on Nintendo Wii game console. This has been made possible by the exellent work of Wii ‘hackers’ and homebrewers, especially TeamTwiizers and the gc-linux team.

Installation

[IOS version] This document assumes that Homebrew Channel (HBC) is used for loading homebrew applications. For other loaders, please consult their documentation and make necessay changes to what is written here.

[MINI version] Bootmii should be installed as either boot2 or IOS, or if you wish, both.

Setup

SD card

[IOS version] Both SD and (some) SDHC cards can be used. Whether a particular card can be used mostly depends on whether it can be recognized by your version of HBC. For instance, HBC beta 9 or higher is required for SDHC booting. (Note that SDHC support in HBC is achieved in a somewhat hackish fashion and as a result, not all SDHC cards are usable. A list of user-verified compatible cards is available here.

For non-SDHC, it is probably better not to use cards larger than 2GB.

[MINI version] Both SD and (some) SDHC cards can be used.

The card should be formatted in FAT/FAT16 or FAT32. It is not necessay to use ‘special’ formatting software, unless media defect is suspected or the card has been previously manipulated by certain boot managers, in which cases the Panasonic tool could be tried. If a digital device (mobile phone, DC, DV, etc.) that can use the card in question is available, formatting the card in such a device sometimes gives the most reliable result.

Extract to SD card

The downloaded package is usually a compressed archive. Open the archive and extract ALL the contents to the root folder of the SD card. There is NO need to manually move any file or folder around. If you have a previously installed GeeXboX for Wii version on the SD card, it is STRONGLY advised that the GEEXBOX folder is deleted before extracting a new version to the card.

Boot GeeXboX for Wii

[IOS version] Power up Wii, insert the SD card, launch HBC and GeeXboX for Wii (IOS) application banner will be displayed (among other applications if there are any on the card). Select the banner and click on ‘OK’ to load GeeXboX for Wii (IOS).

[MINI version] In Bootmii GUI, choose the SD card icon, browse to the /bootmii folder and select geexbox.elf file. Video modes other than 480i(NTSC) are untested. If the elf file fails to boot into GeeXboX for Wii splash screen, you might consider hex-editing the elf file to change the gcnfb parameters (see this link).

If you wish to make MINI start GeeXboX for Wii (MINI) automatically instead of going through Bootmii GUI, where wiimote is not supported, you could hex-edit the geexbox.elf file to set correct gcnfb parameters and rename it to ppcboot.elf.

Debugging booting problem

• [IOS version] GeeXboX for Wii not loaded by HBC

Typical symptoms include: GeeXboX for Wii banner not displayed by HBC; HBC refuses to load GeeXboX for Wii after the banner is clicked; HBC loads GeeXboX for Wii but HBC progress bar (NOT the GeeXboX splash screen progress bar) stalls midway.

All of the above are caused, almost without exception, either by a card that has not been properly inserted in place, or by corruption of GeeXboX for Wii files in /apps/geexbox folder, which is usually fixed by re-extracting the files.

Please note, it is absolutely NOT necessary to convert the boot.elf file to dol format, whichever version of HBC is being used. Doing this can result in HBC refusing to load GeeXboX for Wii.

• [IOS version] Black screen after HBC loading success

It has been noted that with recent HBC versions (post-1.0.5), sometimes HBC loads GeeXboX for Wii boot.elf fine (progress bar reaches 100%) but GeeXboX for Wii boot screen fails to come up, only a black screen is displayed.

How this happens is not very clear at the moment, but one possible solution to try is using an older version of HBC. Yes, it IS possible to have two different versions of HBC installed side by side, as long as they have different title IDs. For instance, HBC 1.0.1 (HAXX) alongside HBC 1.0.6 (JODI) works fine. It is mandatory to install JODI version first, otherwise HAXX version will be removed during installation. Note that GeeXboX for Wii will always return to, or launch, to be exact, the JODI version if it is installed.

• GeeXboX for Wii booting aborts or stalls

Here ‘abort’ refers to those situatiosn where GeeXboX booting process stops before completion and drops into console (text) mode, whereas ‘stall’ refers to those situations where GeeXboX boot splash progress bar stalls midway, but without dropping into console mode.

Such problems are caused, almost without exception, either by corruption of GeeXboX for Wii files in /GEEXBOX folder, or by corruption and/or errors in the SD card file system. If re-extracting the files does not fix the problem, re-formatting the card should be considered.

• Black screen or wrong color

[IOS version] Interlaced mode over progressive-capable component cables does not work. In other words, display devices set to 480i and connected to Wii using component cables may display black screen (loss of signal), garbled colors or split screen when GeeXboX for Wii is booted. This is caused by wii-linux kernel forcing 480p display when progressive-capable cables are detected. Set the display device to 480p or use S-video/composite cables to work around this. Note that this issue may have been fixed since 0.1alpha7.

Black Screen after boot success is usually caused by corrupt or incorrectly modified /GEEXBOX/etc/mplayer/mplayer.conf.

Usage

Control

Wiimote

• Setup

Wiimote is the default remote control device in GeeXboX for Wii. For unmodified versions, nothing needs to be changed to enable wiimote support. If in doubt, check that in /GEEXBOX/settings file, the ‘REMOTE=wiimote’ and ‘WIIMOTE=00:00:00:00:00:00’ lines are not modified or commented out.

• Connection/Disconnection

When GeeXboX for Wii has booted successfully, press ANY button, except the ‘power’ button, on wiimote and it will automatically tries to connect to GeeXboX for Wii. If connection is successful, LEDs on the wiimote will flash and wiimote will rumble for a short while.

The connection is automatically terminated by the power-saving feature of the wiimote after long periods of inactivity and can also be manually terminated by pressing the ‘power’ button. Reconnection is done by pressing ANY button, except the ‘power’ button, again.

• Controls

Only single and combo button-pressings on the wiimote are received by GeeXboX for Wii to trigger specific events. Therefore, it is useless to point wiimote at the sensor bar, which is powered off by the way, or to wave the wiimote in any fashion. Holding down button(s) will send repeated commands at a rate of about 4 times per second.

Detailed button commands can be viewed from the GUI ‘help’ menu. For customization of the commands, lircd_wiimote.conf and lircrc_wiimote files in /GEEXBOX/etc/lirc can be modified, which requires prior knowledge of lirc config file formats and is not advised for ordinary users.

Keyboards

• Setup

GeeXboX for Wii supports keyboard control by default and such support does not conflict with other remote control devices. Therefore, it is not necessary to try to enable or disable such support.

• Connection/Disconnection

USB devices are hot-pluggable in GeeXboX for Wii and USB keyboards are no exception. This is probably also true for RF wireless keyboards with USB receivers.

Bluetooth keyboards usually requires pairing before they can be used. To be able to use bluetooth keyboards in GeeXboX for Wii, the /GEEXBOX/etc/bluez file must be modified to set the correct paring key, specify the keyboard bluetooth MAC if targeted connection is desired, and uncomment proper HID-related options. Prior knowledge and experience of using bluetooth keyboards in linux is required.

• Controls

GeeXboX currently only supports single pressing of basic keys. Combo keys and multimedia keys are not yet supported. Simplified information about keyboard control is available from GUI ‘help’ menu and /GEEXBOX/etc/mplayer/input.conf. More detailed but slightly outdated information is available at GeeXboX wiki.

Bluetooth Mobile Phones

• Supported devices

Not all bluetooth-enabled phones are usable as remote control for GeeXboX for Wii. For an inexhaustive list of usable models, check out this anyremote page (GeeXboX for Wii does not use anyremote though). Models listed there as working in bluetooth AT mode should be usable.

• Setup

Please note that 1), wiimote support will be disabled when mobile phones are used as remote control; 2), prior knowledge and experience of using bluetooth devices in linux is required for setup.

To specify mobile phone as remote control device, the first step is to edit /GEEXBOX/settings file and change the value of ‘REMOTE’ to ‘bluemobile’. For some (Sony)Ericsson models, it is also possible to set ‘REMOTE’ to ‘bte’. Then /GEEXBOX/etc/bluez file should be modified to set the default pass key and specify the bluetooth MAC and serial service channel of the mobile phone by setting the respective options to correct values. Finally, on the mobile phone, bluetooth should be enabled and the phone should be made discoverable and connectable. Consult the phone’s user manual for detailed procedures.

• Connection/Disconnection

If setup is successful, upon booting of GeeXboX for Wii, you will be prompted on the phone to enter pass key for incoming connection. Enter the pass key specified in /GEEXBOX/etc/bluez and the phone will start to function as a remote control.

• Controls

Only single key-pressing-releasing events are supported. Key definitions in the released versions are based on Benq-Siemens S68 and specified in lircd_bluemobile.conf and lircrc_bluemobile files in /GEEXBOX/etc/lirc folder. Edit these files to customize for other models. If the bte driver is used instead of bluemobile driver, edit lircd_bte.conf and lircrc_bte files in the same folder to customize. Prior knowledge of lirc config file formats is requried for such editing.

Network

GeeXboX for Wii comes with built-in http server, which provides web-based playback control and is accessible through USB ethernet, bluetooth or wifi (MINI version only). The interface is straightforward and requires no explanation.

See the ‘Networking’ Page for more information about networking.

GeeXboX for Wii also supports, theoretically, remote control through lirc over udp. This is an untested feature and only advanced lirc users should attempt to make it work.

Changelog

2010-02-28: 0.1.3b

• Updated linux to 2.6.32.9
• Updated ffmpeg to r21465
• Updated MPlayer to r30437
• Fixed compatibility with certain charset encodings

2009-12-25: 0.1.2b

• Updated linux to 2.6.32.2
• Fixed compatibility with multi-channel audio
• Fixed issues with device mounting/unmounting

2009-10-16: 0.1.8a

• Updated linux to 2.6.29.6
• Updated MPlayer and ffmpeg to 2009-10-03 snapshots
• Added fuseiso to handle more disc image formats
• Fixed OSD and aspect ratio in FBI image viewer
• Added compatibility with new HBC title ID

2009-04-23: 0.1.7a

• Updated linux to 2.6.29.1
• Support for reading exFAT partition
• Fixed wiimote (re)connection

2009-03-21: 0.1.6a

• Updated linux to 2.6.27.19
• Updated MPlayer to r28852
• Map seeking to arrow keys too
• Fixed mounting usb storages at bootup
• Fixed unmounting disc images

2009-03-14: 0.1.5a

• Updated linux to 2.6.24.7
• Support for SDHC (partial)
• Updated MPlayer to r28184
• Fixed boot from SD cards with no partition table
• Support for SD cards with multi-partitions
• Use built-in unrar
• Dropped support for non-open binary codecs
• Disabled most playback-unrelated services by default

2008-10-18: 0.1.4a

• Reverted libswscale to fix GOOM audio visual rendering
• Improved GOOM audio visual performance
• Improved performance in lowering subtitle mode
• Made lowering subtitles work with DVD-VIDEO
• Made lowering subtitles work with on-the-fly aspect ratio change
• Support for optional mounting .nrg (DVD only) and .iso image file
• Display CPU version number in OPTIONS -> INFO
• Updated GCC to 4.3.2

2008-10-01: 0.1.3a

• Implementation of optional 'vsync' to improve screen tearing in certain cases
• Support for on-the-fly aspect ratio change
• Fixed DVD-VIDEO aspect ratio error when switching between menu and movie
• Disabled libass to fix lagging and freezing caused by text subtitles
• Disabled colored spu to fix DVD-VIDEO/vobsub subtitile display
• Support for vobsub subtitles in rar archive format
• Support for optionally lowering subtitles into blackbars
• Fixed subtitle charset conversion
• Updated to MPlayer r27630

2008-08-08: 0.1.2a

• Simplified wiimote connection and reconnection
• Auto-repeat wiimote commands when buttons are held down
• Updated Kernel patch
• Updated to MPlayer svn snapshot 2008-08-06

2008-07-30: 0.1.1a

• NTSC/PAL autodection (supposed to work)
• Improved support for widescreen mode
• Aspect ratio software compensation support
• Improved Wiimote connection/reconnection routine
• User-friendlier handling of boot failure

2008-07-17: 0.1a

• Based on whiite-linux-0.1a which has USB host controller enabled
• USB and network related functions of GeeXboX are therefore included in this release
• Fixed keypressing and OSD color bug in previous version

2008-06-24: Prototype release