Hi Everyone 👋I'm aware that as of this week the JELOS team has stopped supporting JELOS for the RGB30. I had already finished filming and editing this video before hearing the news. If you order an RGB30, there's a chance yours will still come with JELOS but I can't say for sure. Even if it does, you won't be able to update it anymore so some of the bugs won't be fixed. In light of this news, I'm going to move forward on working on an ARKOS video for the RGB30 so that you can get a better experience with the console! I'll make sure to link to that video when it's published. Asside from the OS issue, this is still an amazing device with an amazing screen! Thanks for the support! Enjoy the video!
Thanks for the video. I had a GB from launch and loved it and this device is amazing. I flashed ArkOS 2 days ago and have been playing with it since but despite the JELOS problems I much preferred it so I've switched back. It works fine for me and my use case, continued support would have been nice but it works great as is so I'm sticking with it now. Regards.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve been using the latest build with JELOS before they dropped support and I’m not having any major issues either. Good to know that you have both options
@@themarketbarber1893 The JELOS GitHub includes the latest version (March 13) for the RGB30 with no indication that it will be the last. The system automatically updated to that version after a period of time not being able to contact the update server when they first ceased support. I'm not one hundred percent certain that it will go forward, but it looks more promising than it did a couple of weeks ago.
This video convinced me to buy the RGB30 a month ago and I'm loving it! Thanks a lot! P.S.: you can play the North American version of Sonic Adventure 2 and change the audio to Japanese in the options menu :)
FWIW, in my first week of ownership of a RGB30 and running stock and updated JELOS, I experienced the same recharging, audio, and game crashing issues. I switched to ArkOS thereafter and spent the time to learn it. All the bugs went away as soon as I had ArkOS installed. I've never seen any charging issues since. I have in the ArkOS settings the option for the power button to fully shutdown the RGB30 and now I can pick it up a few days later with plenty of battery life left. Even better, ArkOS for the RGB30 enables support for a rumble motor soldered to the internal PCB. Drill Dozer and Pokemon Pinball can now be emulated with proper rumble too.
ArkOS has sleep mode but you have to turn it on in the settings and then its a button combo. JELOS doesnt have a sleep mode but it will turn the screen off and some other high power use components by tapping the power button.
The sleep mode issue isnt a bug, its a limitation of these linux systems. this happens with every single one of these systems, miyoo, r36s, etc, anything that isnt android based anyways.
You can enable quick resume and change the power button to turn off at a tap. Then when you turn it back on it starts exactly where you were. Doesn't work for all emulators but most do . It's game changing. It isn't even in sleep mode it's completely off then quickly back into your game
Doesn't that have more to do with the processor supporting it than the OS? The Linux system supports sleep, hibernate, and their hybrid modes. The way I understand it the processors that these budget handhelds use do not support Sleep Mode which is why the battery drains at an average of 4% every hour when the screen is shut. That's because the processor is still working. One workaround I've seen done (at least for the RG35XX SP) is that the OS creates a snapshot of your state (effectively a system-wide save state) then shuts down. The downside is that when you resume, the device goes through the entire boot up process then loads the save state. It's not true sleep mode, but at least your battery doesn't drain.
I had nothing but trouble with JelOS. Switched to ArkOS and it's be super smooth sailing since apart from the sound dropping out once. Upgrading the OS fixed that.
I have never enjoyed emulating DS until the Rgb30 lol any game with a mostly superfluous second screen looks and plays great. My favorite is Spider Man Web of Shadows
I love my rgb30. I just ordered the funny playing fpgbc kit. It’s about 80 bucks. It’s a GAMEBOY color build. Plays carts. With nice screen. Also powkiddy is releasing the vertical version of the rgb30 soon called the rgb20sx. So it’ll have that same screen but in vertical gameboy style! Just wish they got rid of the analogue sticks.
I had to open it up and add some tape to the d-pad contacts. Wasn't able to play tetris and other games like i was used to. Also looking forward to your thoughts on rocknix and arkOS
@@8bitbongo 8bitdo pro 2 controller. However, in current JELOS release (20240313) Bluetooth become broken so just try to use other version like 20240206
@@8bitbongo hello -- just some additional notes: the 8bitdo Bluetooth Ultimate controllers (designed for Nintendo Switch) doesn't work because when you connect to RGB30 they're detected as switch pro controllers and quickly disconnect. I guess the reason why 8bitdo Pro 2 controllers work is because when you switch the controller to Xinput mode it's recognized as an Xbox Series S controller which has the best compatibility with many devices including RGB30. Btw, I returned my 8bitdo Pro 2 controllers as I've noticed a laggy input (big enough to notice when playing action games,) I'm now waiting for 8bitdo 2.4g Ultimate controllers (unlike the Bluetooth version, they're designed for Xbox and PC) which I think will have good compatibility with RGB30 as they'll be recognized as Xbox controllers with low latency using 2.4g. I think it'll be worth doing a video to compare how controllers work with retro game consoles, as many people have mixed experience.
I loved mine after turning the front end music off. Omg that was awful. I also did something to completely lose my favorites file by accident.... This is indeed my favorite for GB, GBC, GBA and Atari 2600. I added all the 2600 roms from my flashback 9 SD card and was sort of proud since I'm not a techie. I also managed to add PlayStation roms I love everything else on it but those are great.
you can probably chance subtitle settings to english from options in sonic adventure 2, in original english and japanese voice acting was always an option and i kinda preferred japanese time to time
I got one. I paid extra for preloaded roms then i managed to add some roms. Not very easy for me but did it. I realize this is a stupid question for some people.....BUT...how do I play N64 games when there are not enough buttons as the N64 controller? I have to try to remap buttons for N64 to work? I have no clue how to do that. I managed to get all my other settings the way I want them.
Actually there are enough buttons because the right stick ends up functioning as the the C buttons. It actually works really well, just need to get used to using a joy stick as your C buttons.
Hope you figured out what the "RIGHT ANAL... " setting was! Thanks for the review, there are so many great choices out at the moment. A Miyoo Mini + with this screen would be nearly perfect for me.
You are selling yourself short by not using ArkOS. ArkOS takes a great hand held and makes it significantly better. If you love the hand held now, you will be mad at yourself for not switching over to ArkOS before now. It is super simple and quick to install.
Thabks for this video. How is the durability of this device? I have the anbernic rg35xx h and it fell from my couch from knly a foot height. And now the display is faulty
I haven't dropped it or put it through any durability tests, but given it's powkiddy and the materials are cheaper, I would be careful not to drop it. Especially with that larger screen being an easy target.
@@8bitbongo thanks for the reply. Do you happen to know if you can port save states or save files that have been saved within the PS1 emulator for instance from an anbernic to a powkiddy?
Mine came with a Koxia one for the OS which is fine in my opinion. You'll need a second card though to load all your games. There are 2 SD slots, one for the OS and one for games.
Cave Noire, it’s actually super fun. It’s a rogue like game believe it or not. You’ll want to get an English translation patch for it though because it was only released in Japan.
@@piplup7995 yes. I wonder if rk2023 also has these issues cause I am looking for a good handheld on this under 100 dollar price category. I have steam deck and switch but owning a handheld not too much bulky but smart I what I feel I'm missing.
Hi Everyone 👋I'm aware that as of this week the JELOS team has stopped supporting JELOS for the RGB30. I had already finished filming and editing this video before hearing the news. If you order an RGB30, there's a chance yours will still come with JELOS but I can't say for sure. Even if it does, you won't be able to update it anymore so some of the bugs won't be fixed. In light of this news, I'm going to move forward on working on an ARKOS video for the RGB30 so that you can get a better experience with the console! I'll make sure to link to that video when it's published. Asside from the OS issue, this is still an amazing device with an amazing screen!
Thanks for the support! Enjoy the video!
Thanks for the video. I had a GB from launch and loved it and this device is amazing.
I flashed ArkOS 2 days ago and have been playing with it since but despite the JELOS problems I much preferred it so I've switched back. It works fine for me and my use case, continued support would have been nice but it works great as is so I'm sticking with it now.
Regards.
Thanks for sharing. I’ve been using the latest build with JELOS before they dropped support and I’m not having any major issues either. Good to know that you have both options
I believe that JELOS support has now been restored.
@@CFWhitman has it? Source please
@@themarketbarber1893 The JELOS GitHub includes the latest version (March 13) for the RGB30 with no indication that it will be the last. The system automatically updated to that version after a period of time not being able to contact the update server when they first ceased support. I'm not one hundred percent certain that it will go forward, but it looks more promising than it did a couple of weeks ago.
This video convinced me to buy the RGB30 a month ago and I'm loving it! Thanks a lot!
P.S.: you can play the North American version of Sonic Adventure 2 and change the audio to Japanese in the options menu :)
Glad you’re enjoying it! Also thanks for sharing I didn’t know you could do that!
FWIW, in my first week of ownership of a RGB30 and running stock and updated JELOS, I experienced the same recharging, audio, and game crashing issues. I switched to ArkOS thereafter and spent the time to learn it. All the bugs went away as soon as I had ArkOS installed. I've never seen any charging issues since. I have in the ArkOS settings the option for the power button to fully shutdown the RGB30 and now I can pick it up a few days later with plenty of battery life left. Even better, ArkOS for the RGB30 enables support for a rumble motor soldered to the internal PCB. Drill Dozer and Pokemon Pinball can now be emulated with proper rumble too.
I think it's time for me to give ArkOS a shot!
Will get my RGB30 tomorrow and first thing will be to install ArkOS.
Great review on a great little device that's a worthy addition to any retro gamer's arsenal.
ArkOS has sleep mode but you have to turn it on in the settings and then its a button combo.
JELOS doesnt have a sleep mode but it will turn the screen off and some other high power use components by tapping the power button.
Nice video, well done. Keep up the good work!
Thank you very much!
Give this man more subs
gameboy advance should be a perfect 3x integer scale, that way it wont be stretched at all
The sleep mode issue isnt a bug, its a limitation of these linux systems. this happens with every single one of these systems, miyoo, r36s, etc, anything that isnt android based anyways.
You can enable quick resume and change the power button to turn off at a tap.
Then when you turn it back on it starts exactly where you were. Doesn't work for all emulators but most do .
It's game changing. It isn't even in sleep mode it's completely off then quickly back into your game
@markthoel9437 is quick resume in retroarch settings?
Doesn't that have more to do with the processor supporting it than the OS? The Linux system supports sleep, hibernate, and their hybrid modes.
The way I understand it the processors that these budget handhelds use do not support Sleep Mode which is why the battery drains at an average of 4% every hour when the screen is shut. That's because the processor is still working. One workaround I've seen done (at least for the RG35XX SP) is that the OS creates a snapshot of your state (effectively a system-wide save state) then shuts down. The downside is that when you resume, the device goes through the entire boot up process then loads the save state. It's not true sleep mode, but at least your battery doesn't drain.
inside retroarch audio settings is a volume gain setting which artificially boosts or decreases volume, if you want to fine tune it later
Thanks for sharing!
I had nothing but trouble with JelOS. Switched to ArkOS and it's be super smooth sailing since apart from the sound dropping out once. Upgrading the OS fixed that.
I have never enjoyed emulating DS until the Rgb30 lol any game with a mostly superfluous second screen looks and plays great. My favorite is Spider Man Web of Shadows
I love my rgb30. I just ordered the funny playing fpgbc kit. It’s about 80 bucks. It’s a GAMEBOY color build. Plays carts. With nice screen. Also powkiddy is releasing the vertical version of the rgb30 soon called the rgb20sx. So it’ll have that same screen but in vertical gameboy style! Just wish they got rid of the analogue sticks.
I’ve had my eye on the funny playing kit for a while! Might have to pull the trigger
It doesn’t play flash cards tho right?
@@nick2coo21 it does. But certain ones might be a bit finicky
I had to open it up and add some tape to the d-pad contacts. Wasn't able to play tetris and other games like i was used to. Also looking forward to your thoughts on rocknix and arkOS
I haven't tried direct USB cable connecting comtrollers, but I'm already able to connect multiple Bluetooth controllers and do multiplay on RGB30.
Which bluetooth controllers were you using? I was struggling to get mine to connect.
@@8bitbongo 8bitdo pro 2 controller. However, in current JELOS release (20240313) Bluetooth become broken so just try to use other version like 20240206
@@8bitbongo hello -- just some additional notes: the 8bitdo Bluetooth Ultimate controllers (designed for Nintendo Switch) doesn't work because when you connect to RGB30 they're detected as switch pro controllers and quickly disconnect. I guess the reason why 8bitdo Pro 2 controllers work is because when you switch the controller to Xinput mode it's recognized as an Xbox Series S controller which has the best compatibility with many devices including RGB30. Btw, I returned my 8bitdo Pro 2 controllers as I've noticed a laggy input (big enough to notice when playing action games,) I'm now waiting for 8bitdo 2.4g Ultimate controllers (unlike the Bluetooth version, they're designed for Xbox and PC) which I think will have good compatibility with RGB30 as they'll be recognized as Xbox controllers with low latency using 2.4g. I think it'll be worth doing a video to compare how controllers work with retro game consoles, as many people have mixed experience.
@@sooo0kie thanks for sharing!
@@sooo0kieplease share an update regarding what controller we need for the best experience. Thanks
It would probably be great for the Supervision with that big square screen
I loved mine after turning the front end music off. Omg that was awful. I also did something to completely lose my favorites file by accident....
This is indeed my favorite for GB, GBC, GBA and Atari 2600. I added all the 2600 roms from my flashback 9 SD card and was sort of proud since I'm not a techie. I also managed to add PlayStation roms I love everything else on it but those are great.
Great video!
I must have lost the Dpad lottery because it was unusable for me, nonstop accidental drops in Tetris Rosy. Quickest return in my life
You could have just fixed the dpad with some electric tape, a scissor and 10 minutes.
Brilliant review ❤
Thank you!
you can probably chance subtitle settings to english from options in sonic adventure 2, in original english and japanese voice acting was always an option and i kinda preferred japanese time to time
True. Although I've played this game a million times I have memorized what everyone says haha
What are your Gameboy settings? It looks amazing on here
I actually left it with the default settings lol I tried integer scaling but I preferred the stock settings.
I got one. I paid extra for preloaded roms then i managed to add some roms. Not very easy for me but did it. I realize this is a stupid question for some people.....BUT...how do I play N64 games when there are not enough buttons as the N64 controller? I have to try to remap buttons for N64 to work? I have no clue how to do that. I managed to get all my other settings the way I want them.
Actually there are enough buttons because the right stick ends up functioning as the the C buttons. It actually works really well, just need to get used to using a joy stick as your C buttons.
now, remapping the buttons for the standalone n64 emulator is a whole other enchilada
OMG DUDE, I HAD TO GET MY STEP MUM TO CALL HER SON AND ASK HIM HOW DO I GET OUT OF THE FIRST BUILDING!!! WOAH
Hope you figured out what the "RIGHT ANAL... " setting was!
Thanks for the review, there are so many great choices out at the moment.
A Miyoo Mini + with this screen would be nearly perfect for me.
I would buy that 100%
They're sub $60 on aliexpress at this moment!
This^^ I recommend taking advantage of this sale.
You are selling yourself short by not using ArkOS. ArkOS takes a great hand held and makes it significantly better. If you love the hand held now, you will be mad at yourself for not switching over to ArkOS before now. It is super simple and quick to install.
I'm about to get mine tomorrow and I will install ArkOS first thing. Any specific thing to care about for a novice?
I had sound issues as well. I had to actually go into a bunch of menus to turn it off and back on again.
Thabks for this video. How is the durability of this device? I have the anbernic rg35xx h and it fell from my couch from knly a foot height. And now the display is faulty
I haven't dropped it or put it through any durability tests, but given it's powkiddy and the materials are cheaper, I would be careful not to drop it. Especially with that larger screen being an easy target.
@@8bitbongo thanks for the reply. Do you happen to know if you can port save states or save files that have been saved within the PS1 emulator for instance from an anbernic to a powkiddy?
Can I use the sd card that comes with it without any problem?
Mine came with a Koxia one for the OS which is fine in my opinion. You'll need a second card though to load all your games. There are 2 SD slots, one for the OS and one for games.
@@8bitbongo thanks for the information
You wanted a red gameboy and pokemon BLUE?
Hey now, I don't tell Santa how to do his job
How do i remove the gameboy advance purple bar??????
Wait, does it have games on it already or i have to download them from a computer?
Mine did not come with games, but adding them is a simple process.
@@8bitbongo is there an option to get them with games?
yours rattles a lot. never noticed that in mine.
Interesting, maybe I got a faulty unit. It’s loud lol
Mine came without rattles, early ones had rattles
They added some foam padding in the shoulder buttons, so I saw in another video.
You never made the video with ArkOS by the way😢
This is true... it got sidelined while I started working on other videos. It's on my very long list of things to do lol
what game is that at 8:27?
Cave Noire, it’s actually super fun. It’s a rogue like game believe it or not. You’ll want to get an English translation patch for it though because it was only released in Japan.
Why cant i use a nintendo switch usb c charger for this device, i tried and doesnt charge up
Voltage probably
I would use a standard 5V phone charger.
@@8bitbongo how would i be able to tell if a charger is 5v ? Or it will say it on the box when i buy it?
Did you name your pokemon nemesis "Butt"?
Yes, I always name him "Butt", I thought everyone did.
does it really have mine craft or 3d games?
Old 3D games yes, mine craft no.
Rg35xx H or this?
I would not recommend it as it has serious charge issues.
@@bongoosebondman7065 thank you, as stated by other people, it has some build quality issues too i suppose
@@piplup7995 yes. I wonder if rk2023 also has these issues cause I am looking for a good handheld on this under 100 dollar price category. I have steam deck and switch but owning a handheld not too much bulky but smart I what I feel I'm missing.
I haven't tested the RG35xxH, I wasn't aware of the charge issues but that is something I'll be looking out for when i end up testing it out.
@@8bitbongo thank you
Hall Cynthia Lee Donna Harris Christopher
Why are we still saying “real estate” 🤢🤢🤢
Personally I think it sucks. The software is buggy and none of the N64 games worked. Impossible to connect it to the wifi. An easy return.
The problem was probably in front of the device or the device was faulty. Works fine for me
@@GaryCrant😂