Real-Time Video Streaming on Game Boy Color Using Raspberry Pi Pico

Just a few days back, YouTuber ChromaLock shared an intriguing project on his channel, diving into the world of retro gaming. This time, he revealed a fascinating build: a Game Boy Color pimped out to play video via its classic link cable, leveraging a Raspberry Pi Pico and some ingenious custom software.

The trick to achieving smooth video playback largely lies in keeping things simple. Simpler videos maintain higher frame rates, offering impressive clarity and fluidity—something that stands out when compared to the original Game Boy Camera. However, most videos look better in monochrome due to the system’s color limitations, which only allow a palette of four colors. This makes it a real challenge to render videos on the modest 160 x 144-pixel screen of the Game Boy Color.

To make this magic happen, ChromaLock developed a tool called CGBLinkVideo, which he uploaded to GitHub. It’s crafted specifically for use with a Raspberry Pi Pico, a Game Boy Color, and a link cable. The tool smartly compresses video down to 1 Megabyte per second, a necessity since the Link Cable’s bandwidth caps at just 64 Kilobytes per second. As a result, the final video is heavily compressed, occasionally leading to dropped or split frames—but overall, it’s surprisingly functional!

ChromaLock’s video breakdown on YouTube isn’t just a showcase. It’s also an exploration of the technical hurdles encountered with the Game Boy Color’s hardware. Under optimal conditions, video playback can hit a maximum of 60 frames per second—if you stick with grayscale or monochrome. Introduce color into the mix, though, and you’re looking at around 12 frames per second.

He even tried streaming some games, but the experience was subpar when compared to running those games natively. Classic Game Boy titles didn’t translate well, and newer 3D games like Doom Eternal were essentially illegible on the Game Boy’s limited resolution.

For ChromaLock, the crux of this experiment seemed to center around bringing the iconic Touhou Project music video “Bad Apple” to life on the Game Boy Color. Given that “Bad Apple” is monochrome, achieving 60 FPS on the handheld was within reach. The end result was impressive, though the dithering from the streaming process was noticeable.

For fans of tech and retro games, this project is a testament to what’s possible when you mix creativity with nostalgia. If you’re curious about such tech adventures, ChromaLock’s channel is definitely worth a visit!