Chronicles of a Galaxy Nexus Console

Wolfman

Wolfman

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In the interest of experimentation and general droidism I'm working on changing my Galaxy Nexus into an ad hoc gaming console. The goal is to play NES/SNES/PSX and native Android games on a HD TV using a controller, ultimately with phone just needing to be docked into the "console" with the option of wired/wireless keyboard and mouse added later.

I know that many approaches and how-to's already exist online on the topic so I'm not pretending this is an original goal. Here the focus is on a consolidated how-to evolving over time and discussion. Feel free to contribute or give your views on what hardware/software/approach would work best.

When I'm happy with the project I'm planning on writing up the results as a blog post.

My current setup:
-Samsung Galaxy Nexus (GNEX) running ROOTED STOCK JellyBean (4.1.1)
-Samsung MHL MicroUSB to HDMI adapter
-Charger for MHL adapter (same as phone charger)
-Non OTG micro-USB to female USB cable

NOTE: Most approaches mentioned should equally apply to Galaxy SII and possibly SIII (I've had no experience with SIII yet so can't be sure). I heard that next month may see the official JellyBean release for the Galaxy SII which means ROM issues should be the same.
 
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TV Video and Audio via HDMI / MHL MicroUSB to HDMI adapter

First thing's first, there's not much point to playing without a big screen. You will need a Samsung MHL MicroUSB to HDMI adapter.

Resist the temptation to use your USB port on your TV to power the adapter. I've found that it is incapable of supplying enough electricity and may cause the image and sound to intermittently cut out. Rather use your GNEX (or other) micro-USB charger. Another cause of cut outs may be the data connection of the phone (I do not know whether this is a design flaw or a software bug). The best solution I could find is to disable mobile data and rather rely on wifi, which gave me no issues.

A related issue is the scaling of the image on screen, which generally cuts out a few pixels on both the right and left side (GNEX has a resolution of 1280x720). You will need to consult your particular TVs manual (i.e. Google it) or look for aspect ratio/scaling settings. I found on a Sony Bravia TV that these settings were missing but it worked fine on a Samsung TV (can't confirm the model as it was stolen). Your mileage may vary.

I will cover efficiently removing the soft buttons (back/home/recent apps) from the bottom of the screen once I've experimented more with it. It is very possible to do, but the approach I found that worked, needed a phone reset to apply/remove which IMHO interferes with the general use of soft buttons on the phone.
 
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USB functionality / OTG cables

An intermediary goal is to obtain a micro-USB to Female-USB OTG (on the go) cable. The reason for this is that the GNEX, SII and SIII have USB host controllers which, with the proper drivers, allow them to use USB devices such as flash drives and keyboards. It is also apparently possible to make use of USB hubs to connect multiple devices while charging the phone (I still need to research this).

Sadly, I only learned the difference between an OTG cable and a normal micro-USB to Female-USB cable after ordering two. While it is possible to convert one cable to the other as SleeplessNinja proves. I don't recommend it. Rather hit bid-or-buy/ebay or other online stores and find one.
 
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Hey Wolfman

That's a pretty ambitious project you've got going there. You've probably heard of this already but I'll put it out for anyone else reading this thread.

There's a console in the works based on Android and using cellphone tech to power it, it's called the Ouya. It was recently on kickstarter and got a ton of money. Literally millions of dollars.

I reckon taking a look at their progress would aid in your setup as the two projects are so similar. As a bonus point they are very pro hacking and will be releasing their console with and SDK, you won't even void the warranty if you root it.
 
I second the Raspberry Pi idea, but the Galaxy Nexus has got a significant leg-up CPU-wise (if not GPU-wise as well).

Did you manage to get USB and MHL running at the same time on the Galaxy Nexus? I know the Galaxy SIII has a completely different pinout on the Micro USB-like connector (which is why you can't use an SII's MHL adapter with an SIII) and the reason given was that the extra lines allow for USB+MHL.

Your other option is to use the sixaxis app, and pair a PS3 controller via bluetooth to your phone. Lots of games (FPS'es in particular, and The Bard's Tale) support it nowadays.
 
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