New to the Emulator scene...

Ok i'm picking up DS Lite this Sunday in the States, and I have some questions.

I was thinking of picking up the datel 4 gb hdd that can be hooked up with it. I know it plays videos and music, but the main thing i wanna know is if it can play downloaded ds/gba roms. Does anyone know if it can do this without buying seperate hardware? If I can't play roms, what hardware do i need to buy to run roms on the ds?

Also, if running roms does work, does it mess with the online capabilities of the game? Or do i have to get the original game at the store if i want wi-fi gaming?

running backup roms does not affect the online capabilities of the game but you can't play them off of a datel 4gb hdd. You will need a M3 adaptor or Supercard to do that as well as a passcard device.

I might be selling my M3 mini sd as well as a 2gb card and Datel Max Media Launcher(the passcard device) on ebay uk tonight, which would get you up and running on Homebrew in no time. If your interested PM me.

it cant do ds/gba but it can do nes, snes, etc

I had the 4Gb Max Media Player, it was the biggest mistake I have ever made. Games ran slow due to the DS having to read it off the hard drive. Movies studdered and went out of sync often.

If you want Movies and music to run great, get the Max Media Dock (not player), you will have to buy a CF with good speed (not SanDisk Ultra 2), screws up for some reason.

As for games, the MMD will run Snes, Nes, Genesis, and some GB color. But as for NDS games, you will need to patch them, which only works on about 35% of the games out there. Hardly any newer games.

From the research I have been doing, if you want something that will play movies, music, emulators, and almost 100% nds game compatibility, you will have to go with either the M3 or R4.

I'm planning on getting one of them, just can't decide which is better, as you can see from one of my threads.