Nintendo DS Modding Index

Video Players

Homebrew Video Players for the Nintendo DS(i) #

This page contains a list of working video players for the Nintendo DS and DSi that explains how each works.

Player name Supported containers/Codecs Drawbacks Max FPS
FastVideoDS .fv, FastVideoDS Confetti spam slows down high FPS video. 60fps (DSi mode), 30fps (DS mode)
Moonshell .dpg, MPEG1 Can only reach a certain framerate/bitrate. 24fps
Tuna-ViDS .avi, XVid Can only reach a certain framerate/bitrate. 15fps
MPEG4Player .mp4, MPEG-4 Can only play short videos. 24fps

Notes:

  • Actual max FPS is dependent on video content and length.
  • Moonshell v1.x and beta builds of v2.00 may lock-up later on, if video bitrate is higher than around 192. It is recommended to use v2.10.

FastVideoDS #

Note: If you get a message saying This encoder requires a cpu with support for AVX2 instructions, then you need to either install a newer CPU chip, or use a newer PC.

Windows #

  1. Download the .NET Runtime, and install it
  2. Download the FastVideoDS Encoder
  3. Download FastVideoDS.bat to the same place as the encoder .exe file
  4. Copy or move your video to the same place as the .bat file
  5. Drag and drop the copied or moved video into the .bat file

When this process is done, it should be easy as drag and drop to SD card. Once you put the video on your SD card, it will be ready for playback via TWiLight Menu++.

Moonshell video conversion (DPG4x) #

  1. Download DPG4x
  2. Open dpg4x.7z
  3. Open dpg4x-2.3.3.0.zip (3.0-1 gives out an error when opening, for an unknown reason)
  4. Open dpg4x-2.3.3.0_setup.exe, and proceed with installation
  5. After installation, open DPG4x
  6. Click the VIDEO tab
  7. Tick the Keep Aspect option
  8. Set Video Bitrate to your choice (higher should improve quality)
  9. Click the AUDIO tab
  10. Tick Normalize Volume, if your video is a bit quiet
  11. Click the SUBTITLES tab
  12. Set Subtitles Source to Disable Subtitles, as certain subtitle tracks may not display correctly
  13. Click the MAIN tab
  14. Click Add Media to open your video file(s)
  15. Set DPG Version to 4, if you’re using Moonshell v2.x, otherwise set to 3 or below
  16. Set Quality to your choice
  17. Click Start Encoding to convert the video(s)

When this process is done, it should be easy as drag and drop to SD card. Once you put the video on your SD card, it will be ready for playback via Moonshell.

TunaViDS Guide #

Windows #

First you want to grab your video of choice. It is recommended that your video be 4:3, but FFmpeg add black bars to the video if it isn’t.

Warning: Do not change the ROM settings of Tuna-ViDS, it will not boot properly. This guide assumes you have the latest build of TWiLight Menu++.

Next, download FFmpeg from this direct link and extract it to C:\ffmpeg or somewhere you can access without admin rights.

You should probably stay in the safe zone for converting videos (10-15fps), otherwise your video may crash your console. Slowdowns may occur on busy scenes (confetti, rain, etc).

To use FFmpeg everywhere, it is recommended to add the directory to your system environment variable path. This may break programs which rely on FFmpeg, so make sure to remove the entry when you’re done.

Drag and drop your video into one of these batch files to convert it:

  • xvid-ds.bat: Converts to 12FPS video optimal for DS consoles
  • xvid-dsi.bat: Converts to 12FPS video optimal for DSi consoles
  • xvid-ds-vol4.bat: Converts to 12FPS video optimal for DS consoles with 400% volume increase
  • xvid-dsi-vol4.bat: Converts to 12FPS video optimal for DSi consoles with 400% volume increase

If you want, you can change the following in one of the above .bat files:

  • 12 in -r 12 to a different one between 10 and 15 for a different frame rate
  • -2 in scale=256:-2 to your desired vertical resolution, if the video appears distorted

When this process is done, it should be easy as drag and drop to SD card. Once you put the video on your SD card, it will be ready for playback via TWiLight Menu++.

The video will quit to the menu after it is done playing, so if you want to loop videos, you are going to have to paste-repeat it in a video editor then convert it to an xvid avi using this method.

MPEG4Player #

Windows #

The process is the same for Tuna-ViDS, but you can have videos up to 24fps.