OUYA - Android console

Exophase said:
Kayla isn't really anything new, nVidia has been making boards that pair Tegra with some GPU chip for a while now, for instance:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/seco-dev-kit.html

I think the idea is that in the future nVidia will be releasing compute platforms that have integrated Denver CPUs and are supposed to run autonomously w/o needing an x86 system. And they want to prepare people for this by sending out dev kits that let them develop with a similar environment. Problem is that it isn't that similar of an environment at all if the memory isn't unified.

Something like Kayla is probably a bad fit for future OUYA. Marrying a separate Tegra SoC and GPU chip also requires two sets of memory, where the GPU's will probably not be available in stacked (PoP) form. This adds a lot to cost and board space which are both highly constrained on OUYA. The thermal requirements also may be too high for the little box that can't fit much of a fan.
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Sorry, I explained it very bad. I was thinking in the possible future "OUYA 3 <-> TEGRA 5", "OUYA 4 <-> TEGRA 6",....
 
They say they want to update the hardware every year, that's going to have to come from somewhere. Although nVidia hasn't been making new Tegra devices available quite that quickly, it's been more like 15 months for them.
 
Exophase said:
They say they want to update the hardware every year, that's going to have to come from somewhere. Although nVidia hasn't been making new Tegra devices available quite that quickly, it's been more like 15 months for them.
Click to expand...

Not anymore.

T4 will be out within 3 months so that can be used for next years 2014 update.

And Nvidia's roadmap shows Logan in 2014 so again Logan can be used in 2015.

And finally shown Parker in 2015 which can be used in 2016.

TegraRoadmap.jpg
 
There's no "not anymore" here. nVidia has been showing Tegra roadmaps with 1 year cadences for years. That doesn't mean that products have actually been coming out a year apart. Even this roadmap is practicing revisionist history, given that Tegra 2 devices came out summer 2010 and Tegra 3 ones fall 2011. Amazingly, if you just give the year two products come out they can be as much as 23 months apart, but if you want them to continually be listed as a year apart they actually have to be a year apart.

I agree, they surely can make a Tegra 4 OUYA in 2014, if the price is right. It helps that Tegra 3 is pretty damn old as of OUYA's launch. But a Tegra 5 in 2015 is less of a given and a Tegra 6 in 2016 even less so.
 
I don't think they would be able to make annual OUYA refreshes for $100 if they shoved an additional discrete GPU in there.
 
Ouya to bolster launch games with NES, SNES, N64 emulation

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2013/03/ouya-to-bolster-launch-games-with-nes-snes-n64-emulation

Ouya will launch with NES, SNES, and Nintendo64 emulators available (hat tip to TechCrunch). NES emulation will be provided by EMUya, SNES emulation will be via SuperGNES, and N64 emulation will be via Mupen64Plus.

...

As TechCrunch observes, the noteworthy thing here isn't necessarily that emulation is coming to the platform, but rather that the emulators themselves appear to have been officially blessed by Ouya and can be installed directly, without side-loading.
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This just in: more Android stuff running on OUYA. Every Chinese Android gaming device comes with emulators bundled too (unfortunately some of them also come with ROMs D: )

The NES emulator with a homebrew store is a neat idea in theory but I doubt it'll get that much action. Still good to raise awareness of homebrew I guess.
 
OUYA Teardown

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Ouya+Teardown/14224/1

Earns a 9 out of 10 and is on Retail Version.

Full disclosure: The folks at Ouya tout this to be "the first totally open video game console." They have so much confidence in the Ouya, in fact, that they sent us a retail unit to take apart.
Click to expand...
Ouya Repairability Score: 9 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair)

  • The batteries are standard AA. Plus, they're easy to access and replace without tools.
  • Only standard-head screws are used (Phillips and Hex).
  • Many components are modular and simple to remove, making them easy and cost-effective to replace.
  • The heat sink is soldered in place, so if you need to replace the thermal pad, or repeated fan-swapping strips the threads, you'll need some soldering skills.
  • The joysticks are soldered to the circuit board, so if your button-mashing gets out of hand, you may need to replace the whole board.
Click to expand...
 
What are the clocks on the OUYA?
The fact that it has a heatsink and a fan suggests it may be much higher clocked than the regular T33 in tablets/phones.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
A1xLLcqAgt0qc2RyMz0y said:
I read a quote that the FAN was added so that the T3 could be clocked continuously at 1.7 GHz while gaming. The quote also stated that FAN was very quiet.

Link showing 1.7GHz clock: http://androidcommunity.com/ouya-cl...e-best-tegra-3-device-in-the-market-20130213/
Click to expand...

I didn't see any mention of clocks in that link, are you sure it's the right one?
It only says that'll be powered by a dedicated power brick so there's hardly any energy consumption concern.

And maybe they will also clock the GPU a bit higher?
Even if the fan is small and slow, the OUYA with fan+heatsink has a thermal dissipation that is at least an order of magnitude higher than Tegra 3's usual implementations.

I wonder how high a matured Tegra 3 can be clocked with a heatsink+fan and some 20W of available power.
I know the Asus Infinity has most of its custom ROMs with kernels that clock the CPUs to 1.8GHz and the GPU to 650MHz (from the original 525MHz). They use these values because they see no discernible difference in battery life or heat output.
I guess that achieving over 800MHz in the GPU for the OUYA may not be out of reach, especially if they're getting a hand directly from nVidia.
 
OUYA delayed to June 25th

We were expecting the console in early June, but that has slid back to 25 June. The time and money will in part be used to solve an issue with sticky buttons, something that usually only happens once consumers have taken some hardware home with them.

http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer...s-android-games-console-due-to-cash-injection
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More details:

Ouya has confirmed that the commercial official launch of the console will be delayed about three weeks. This has moved the retail launch from June 4th to June 25th. The change does not affect the shipment of units to Kickstarter backers

---

Since initial release, Ouya has released a number of updates to both the software as well as the hardware. The company is already talking about being able to take advantage of falling prices to deliver an Ouya that is better and more advanced than the current one as part of the company’s strategy to deliver an updated console every year. The games, of course, will be backward compatible across the different Ouya models.

http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/31338-ouya-confirms-launch-delay
Click to expand...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
ToTTenTranz said:
But those are just the specs of the T33.
Click to expand...

Well the T33 is a Tegra 3 so I am not really understanding your point. The T33 is stated to only run at 1.7 GHz on one core.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tegra

There is a quote (somewhere on the web) that quotes OUYA staff/president that the Tegra 3 on the OUYA had the FAN added so that the Tegra 3 could always run at 1.7GHz on all 4 cores when gaming.

http://androidcommunity.com/ouya-cl...e-best-tegra-3-device-in-the-market-20130213/

Device Specifications and Information
Device Info
  • Device Name : OUYA

  • Manufactuer : OUYA

  • Carrier : NA

  • Announced Date : July 10, 2012

  • Release Date : March 28, 2013

  • Also Known As :

Display
  • Screen Size : Inch
  • Resolution :
  • Screen Type : NA

Dimension & Weight
  • Height : NA
  • Width : NA
  • Depth : NA
  • Weight : NA

Battery & Power
  • Battery Capacity : mAh
  • Talk Time : NA
  • Stand By Time : NA

Software
  • Android OS:
  • 4.2.x

  • Audio Playback:
  • AAC
  • AAC+
  • AMR
  • MID
  • MP3
  • WAV

  • Video Playback:
  • h.263
  • h.264 / AVC
  • 3GP
  • MPEG-4 (MP4)

  • Messaging:
  • IM


Hardware
  • CPU : Tegra 3

  • CPU Clock Speed : 1700 Mhz

  • Core : 4

  • Ram : 1000 MB

  • Internal Storage : 8 GB

  • Front Facing Camera :
    acw_no.gif

  • Camera Resolution : NA

  • QWERTY :
    acw_no.gif

Cellular Network
Device Connectivity
  • Wi-Fi:
  • 802.11b
  • 802.11g
  • 802.11n

  • Bluetooth:
  • A2DP
  • Bluetooth 4.0

  • FM Radio :
    acw_no.gif

  • NFC :
    acw_no.gif
Click to expand...
 
Ouya, a console concept with a future?

I've vaguely followed Ouya through youtube unboxing's/examinations and the like, and i have to say, I think the concept may have merit and a future, and whether or not Ouya branding reigns or Google or somebody else comes in and does it.

As I say, some money and polish behind it, and a Tegra 4 instead of 3, would both help immensely.

Ouya is said to be planning yearly updated hardware. Normally I hate the concept, but in a ecosystem that already lives in an constantly upgrading world, aka mobile, maybe it's natural.

There's something appealing to me about a nifty, inexpensive console that can specialize in indie stuff, can do old school 2D SNES stuff/emulators, and can throw out a few new 3D games like Shadowgun too, or at least has the potential too. I just dont know that Ouya itself has the money to make it happen, or the money to polish it enough to succeed. Too much risk of being out of business in 6 months.


This thing can also be a nice set top box. It can be your roku box and run your netflix and every other media app. The price is low so you can get a zillion out there so you can actually be a set top box, unlike Microsoft's 499 Xbox. The thing is a little cube as far as that goes. Advertise it essentially as "a Roku that's gaming capable" and it'll sell itself I think. I'm thinking Google here, they could really really make this concept work.

On top of all that the idea of mobile games, on your TV with a controller where you can actually enjoy them, seems to have more and more merit to me. I just picked up Raiden Legacy on my SGS3. It was 1.99, for 4 arcade perfect Raiden 2D shooters. 1.99! It plays and looks beautiful on my SGS3, except oh yeah...that whole touch controls thing...I wouldn't mind at all playing this on a TV with a controller...did I mention 1.99?

Did I mention it's 99 bucks?

Think of all the sales from Aunt Gertie alone..."lil joe wants a games console, well I cant afford that Playstation 4, but this gaming thing looks pretty close he'll love it, and it's only 99 dollars"

With the yearly hardware updates, already being fed with games from the mobile ecosystem, you dont have to do anything special and it will keep encroaching on consoles in power too. Tegra 3, then Tegra 4, then Tegra 5, then Tegra 6 and hey, it's kinda getting close to XB1 isn't it...

Developers could be encouraged to create more console quality mobile games by virtue of targeting it, as well.

The more I think about it, the more I think this concept, probably done by google or Apple, could be absolutely huge eventually...Maybe I am wrong.

Here's a video discussing the emulation abilities to look at

 
I bought one on Friday from Best Buy for $99, I sold it 2 days later for $120. It's very much a v1 system. Controller felt... unrefined. System itself is nicely designed, very quiet. UI interface could use some work. I really wanted it for XBMC, but that doesn't work very well yet.

I'm not faulting Ouya for having lofty goals, but hopefully v2 with a Tegra 4 and better controller will be more appealing.
 
dagamer said:
I bought one on Friday from Best Buy for $99, I sold it 2 days later for $120. It's very much a v1 system. Controller felt... unrefined. System itself is nicely designed, very quiet. UI interface could use some work. I really wanted it for XBMC, but that doesn't work very well yet.

I'm not faulting Ouya for having lofty goals, but hopefully v2 with a Tegra 4 and better controller will be more appealing.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's what it seems like to me. I'd be wary of buying one just because it seems so flimsily supported. But put a Google behind it, and I think it'd be much more compelling, and the very fact you could buy it without fear of it being a dead product would make it much more attractive.

I think it's got a 4 core Tegra 3 at 1.7 ghz, so at least it's aggressive there. I wonder roughly how that is in console terms, I forget.
 
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