R4 DS R4DS

Are you looking for a low cost yet decent unit, the R4 DS original which is also called an R4DS is a Nintendo DS flash card for the DS Lite consoles. Ever since the release of them back in 2008 it has been hands down the most popular R4 card for the DS console range, this is mainly due to the surge in popularity with the name and still continues to be one of the most popular even today. They will unlock so many more possibilities for your consoles. They enable the consoles to play video files in DPG format, play your MP3 music and of course the main feature of the R4 DS is to play the vast amount of homebrew games and applications that have been produced to be used in conjunction with these units. The R4 DS is still a great little product, while the official team broke up late 2008 and there are no official firmware updates for them you can use 3rd party firmware’s such as the R4 Wood which has been built using the AceKard RPG backend, this firmware has great compatibility and is being updated by independent programmers for those that own the original cards.

Without a doubt the R4 DS has been the most successful DS flash card ever made, we put this down to their simple interface and now extremely good price, even given there are now newer units with MicroSDHC support the R4 DS still manages to sell really well, we think once again this is due to their simpler interface and entry level price point, they are a great first unit to own before you start looking at more advanced models such as the Supercard range or AceKard. Another bonus is the massive skins collection for the cards, for those that don't know what a skin is it's the graphic loaded for the interface, it's the icons and backgrounds that you see when navigating the menu. The R4DS has possibly the biggest skins collection out of any ds flash card on the market, this is great for kids and adults alike to personalize their's to their own likening. One of the best sites on the net for skins for them is NDSThemes which has literally thousands of skins, there is also another one called r4skins.net which has bundled theme packs of skins which you can sort though and find the ones you like while offline. We also need to make mention of how user friendly the R4 DS interface really is, there is no getting lost in too many settings or options, it follows a really basic setup that is perfect for kids and people that don't want to be overwhelmed by lots of settings, also being a basic setup the kids won't find their way into settings that could cause problems.

The R4DS now supports the homebrew media player Moonshell, for those that don't know Moonshell is an open source media player for the DS & DS Lite consoles that can be used to play you video files & mp3's. They have just released Moonshell v2.0 and this is the best version of this media player software which can be used with the R4 DS. There is only one downside to Moonshell when it comes to playing your video files is that they need to be converted to a special video format called DPG, with saying that though there are plenty of free DPG video converters out there that will convert your AVI files encoded with Xvid or Divx to the .dpg format, from memory we are pretty sure Moonshell itself comes with a AVI / DPG converter you can use on your PC to convert your video files to .dpg format. As for MP3's Moonshell can play them without any kind of conversion, just load them onto your MicroSD memory and Moonshell will allow you to play your MP3's. Also if you are looking at playing not only .nds homebrew games and applications but you would like to take advantage of the massive amount of .gba homebrew out there the R4 DS will allow you to use Slot-2 expansions like the EZ Flash 3in1, this expansion is needed to be used in conjunction if you wish to play .gba formatted homebrew as well.

The quality of the hardware used to produce the R4 DS is also great, we would have to say it's possibly the best we sell when it comes to returns along with the DSTwo, we practically get zero returns on these and we think it has to do with the perfected design along with the reliable packed main IC used in these units. We think if you are after an entry level ds flash card for yourself or the kids and not wanting MicroSDHC support right away the R4 DS is going to be a really good choice, low price with low faulty rate and extremely easy to use make this little unit a winner. Once again these cards are best off coupled with the R4 wood firmware, once you receive the product Google the R4 Wood firmware and use that on your MicroSD memory instead of the official firmware to even more enhance your cards function and compatibility. Buy original in Australia here today! 

               R4 DS R4DS Features

2nd generation NDS storage device. Supports any MicroSD, but not MicroSDHC  Supports Clean ROM, drag and drop. Works on any OS User friendly skinnable NDS interface. Touchscreen or button operation Save directly to MicroSD card, not to onboard chip Uses MicroSD , FAT16 or 32 Automatically detect save type Flush fitting slot 1 NDS card Built in NoPass

Supports Moonshell 1.6 and other homebrew. R4 Revolution Supports NDS rumble pak and memory pak Supports the WiFi, NDS Rumble Pak, NDS Browser Supports changes of the background of Operation Interface Supports Custom Skin for Main Menu and Rom Menu Supports 4scalelightness adjustment ( DS Lite only ) Supports Action Replay cheats Software Reset function DLDI autopatching