A few days back, ChromaLock, a YouTuber known for his intriguing hardware projects, released a video showcasing his latest innovation. This time around, he revealed a clever modification: a Game Boy Color that can play videos through its original link cable using a Raspberry Pi Pico and specially crafted software designed to handle this workload.
When it comes to video playback, simpler content translates to higher frames per second (FPS). Surprisingly, the clarity and smoothness achieved with a connected USB webcam even outshine the iconic Game Boy Camera. However, the best video playback occurs in monochrome since the color limitations—restricted to just four shades—make it tricky for videos to run smoothly on the Game Boy Color’s modest 160 x 144-pixel display.
The key to this streaming magic is an app called CGBLinkVideo, which ChromaLock uploaded to GitHub. This tool, developed from other open-source software, is designed for use with a Raspberry Pi Pico, Game Boy Color, and link cable. Despite the video compression compressing quality to 1 Megabyte per second, the Link Cable’s capacity is only 64 Kilobytes per second, which means videos are heavily compressed, leading to occasional dropped or split frames. Yet, the playback genuinely “works” overall.
ChromaLock’s video isn’t just a demonstration of video playback on the Game Boy Color. It dives deep into the development process and the challenges of working within the system’s constraints. When videos are played back in grayscale or monochrome, they can reach up to 60 FPS. However, if you introduce color, you’re looking at a reduction to approximately 12 FPS.
He also tried out streaming video games. However, even original Game Boy titles didn’t stream as seamlessly as they run natively. And as for contemporary 3D games, such as Doom Eternal, they appeared virtually indecipherable due to the Game Boy Color’s outdated, low-res screen.
ChromaLock seemed primarily driven by the challenge of playing the legendary “Bad Apple” music video from the Touhou Project on a Game Boy Color. Since the video already exists in monochrome, achieving smooth 60 FPS playback on such old hardware became quite doable. Although the method introduces significant dithering, it’s an impressive accomplishment nonetheless.
