The GBA Movie Player, abbreviated GBAMP, is a device that reads CompactFlash/Secure Digital cards to upload data onto the Game Boy Advance (it is also fully compatible with the Nintendo DS's GBA compatibility mode). The latest version is called the M3 adapter. With this device, a user can play NES games through the PocketNES emulator, play GBA games smaller than 250 KB, watch video clips, listen to converted music files, and read .txt files (referred to as e-books). With the addition of the Game Boy emulator, Goomba, it can also play original Game Boy or dual-mode Game Boy Color games. The firmware update E19 adds a built in launcher for Game Boy files from the menu system, whereas in previous firmware versions it was necessary to build Goomba compilations. A 64 MB CompactFlash Type I card CompactFlash (CF) was originally a type of data storage device, used in portable electronic devices. ... 16Mb SD Card Secure Digital, or SD, is a flash memory data storage device based on Toshibas earlier Multi Media Cards (MMC). ... The Game Boy Advance (GBA) is a handheld videogame console developed, manufactured and marketed by Nintendo. ... The Nintendo DS, (sometimes abbreviated NDS or just DS), is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. ... This is a unique logo based on the Super Mario Bros. ... A console emulator is a program for a computer, or other computing device, that can emulate a video game console or handheld, so a computer can be used to play games that were created for that console or to develop games for that console. ... An ebook is an electronic (or digital) version of a book. ...

The built-in NES and Game Boy loaders have size limitations; the emulator plus game must fit inside 256 KB of memory. Special versions of PocketNES and Goomba were created to overcome these limitations. One special version of PocketNES, called PocketNES-compy, uses compression to shrink the game before it is loaded. In that version, games are limited to 256k instead of 192k. Another version can load files directly off the CompactFlash card using virtual memory techniques, bypassing all size limitations of the usual built-in software but creating slowdown on some of the larger games. The special versions were created independently of the company which makes the movie player, using information discovered through reverse engineering. The memory pages of the virtual address space seen by the process, may reside non-contiguously in primary, or even secondary storage. ...

The PC-side software uses DirectShow technology to convert videos to the GBA Movie Player's format. It is also possible to install the conversion software's DirectShow filters and then use low-level DirectShow tools such as GraphEdit to convert files, rather than using the official conversion tool. Logo of the DirectX Media SDK - the first time DirectShow was distributed under its current name DirectShow (sometimes abbreviated as DS), codename Quartz, is part of the Microsoft Platform SDK and is used for dealing with media files. ...

Additionally, Chishm has created an unofficial firmware modification which allows owners of a Nintendo DS with old firmware and PassMe (or with FlashMe firmware) to run Nintendo DS homebrew code from the GBAMP. The Nintendo DS, (sometimes abbreviated NDS or just DS), is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. ... The PassMe chip is an unofficial compact passthrough that fits into the main cartridge slot of the Nintendo DS. It is designed to bypass the encryption security present when booting from that slot. ... FlashMe is a firmware mod for Nintendo DS. It allows running of both homebrew code and copies of commercial games. ...

A lockout feature was used to try to stop other manufacturers from copying the player's firmware and making knockoff products, but it was ineffective. Unauthorized knockoffs appeared on the market, and attempting to upgrade the firmware on a knockoff causes the product to reboot to the message "Update Failed! This card is a FAKE!! System Crash!!!" every time it is turned on. Moreover, the ROM locking feature frequently prevents the real GBAMP from booting, especially after quickly turning the power off and on.

NES gameplay aspects

• Multiplayer can be done via GBA link cable on GBA, GBA SP, and Game Boy Player.
• The NES screen is bigger than the GBA screen. PocketNES can display the NES game's graphics in a window that the player can scroll up and down, or it can scale the graphics to fit the smaller screen.

A Game Boy Player showing clearly simple set up of the player. ...

GBA Homebrew

The GBAMP will also load and run multiboot homebrew GBA code. Because it loads programs into the GBA's 256 KB RAM, ROM sizes are limited to 256 KB, although the more expensive M3 adapter has 32 MB of onboard RAM for use with full-size GBA programs. Here are some good sites on GBA programming: Homebrew video games are video games written by hobby programmers. ...

• Gameboy Advance Development
• GBA Game Programming Crash Course
• My First GBA Demo (provides extra insight into multiboot)

See also

• GP2X - a more versatile handheld console that serves similar purposes; except that it serves these purposes via the console itself rather than a game cartridge.
• Play-Yan

The GP2X is a 2xAA battery-powered handheld game console, media player, and video game device, created and sold by GamePark Holdings of Korea. ... Play Yan player The Play-Yan is a media player for the Game Boy Advance. ...

External links

• M3 Adapter website
• Unofficial M3 Wiki
• Why you should get the M3 Adapter, and not a similar product
• Buy M3 Adapter in Canada or USA
• GBA Movie Player website
• Special version of PocketNES which uses compression
• Special version of PocketNES which loads files directly off the CompactFlash card
• Special version of Goomba which loads files directly off the CompactFlash card
• Chishm's unofficial firmware update