Skip to content

Hardware Testing

Jump to bottom
Ant edited this page Jun 16, 2026 · 10 revisions

This page provides an overview of the hardware setups and device tested so far with 240-MP. Depending on your device, performance levels and output capabilities (especially for analog/CRT configurations) will vary.

Summary

Device Potential Video Playback CRT TV Output Modern TV Output
Raspberry Pi 3B Up to 720p stable (1080p with transcode/low bitrates) Yes (480i/576i) Yes (up to 1080p)
Raspberry Pi 3B+ Up to 1080p (Standard Bitrates) Yes (480i/576i) Yes (up to 1080p)
Raspberry Pi 4B Up to 1080p (High Bitrates / HEVC) Yes (480i/576i) Yes (up to 4K)
Raspberry Pi 5 Up to 4K -- Yes (up to 4K)

Device Details

Raspberry Pi 3B

Raspberry Pi 3B
  • Video Performance: Optimized for resolutions up to 720p. High-bitrate 1080p files may experience stuttering or require transcoding.
  • CRT TV Output:
    • Method 1: Composite via the 3.5mm TRRS Composite A/V Jack
      • Target Resolution: 480i/576i
      • Cable Used: Adafruit A/V Composite Cable
      • Configuration Tested (config.txt): 
        # --- Global ---
arm_64bit=1
disable_fw_kms_setup=1
disable_splash=1
disable_overscan=1
dtparam=audio=on
# Composite
enable_tvout=1
sdtv_mode=0      # 0 = NTSC, 2 = PAL
sdtv_aspect=1    # 1 = 4:3
# --- Pi 3B ---
[pi3]
# Drivers & Video
dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d,cma-256
# Overclocking
over_voltage=4
arm_freq=1300
core_freq=450
sdram_freq=500
# --- Global ---
[all]
  • Modern TV Output:
    • Method 1: HDMI Cable via the HDMI Port
      • Target Resolution: up to 1080p
      • Cable Used: Standard HDMI Cable
      • Configuration Tested (config.txt): 
        # --- Global ---
arm_64bit=1
disable_fw_kms_setup=1
disable_splash=1
disable_overscan=1
dtparam=audio=on
# HDMI
display_auto_detect=1
hdmi_force_hotplug=1
# --- Pi 3B ---
[pi3]
# Drivers & Video
dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d,cma-256
# Overclocking
over_voltage=4
arm_freq=1300
core_freq=450
sdram_freq=500
# --- Global ---
[all]

Raspberry Pi 3B+

Raspberry Pi 3B+
  • Video Performance: Optimized for resolutions up to 720p. High-bitrate 1080p files may experience stuttering or require transcoding.
  • CRT TV Output:
    • Method 1: Composite via the 3.5mm TRRS Composite A/V Jack
      • Target Resolution: 480i/576i
      • Cable Used: Adafruit A/V Composite Cable
      • Configuration Tested (config.txt): 
        # --- Global ---
arm_64bit=1
disable_fw_kms_setup=1
disable_splash=1
disable_overscan=1
dtparam=audio=on
# Composite
enable_tvout=1
sdtv_mode=0      # 0 = NTSC, 2 = PAL
sdtv_aspect=1    # 1 = 4:3
# --- Pi 3B+ ---
[pi3+]
# Drivers & Video
dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d,cma-256
# Overclocking
over_voltage=2
arm_freq=1500
core_freq=500
sdram_freq=500
# --- Global ---
[all]
  • Modern TV Output:
    • Method 1: HDMI Cable via the HDMI Port
      • Target Resolution: up to 1080p
      • Cable Used: Standard HDMI Cable
      • Configuration Tested (config.txt): 
        # --- Global ---
arm_64bit=1
disable_fw_kms_setup=1
disable_splash=1
disable_overscan=1
dtparam=audio=on
# HDMI
display_auto_detect=1
hdmi_force_hotplug=1
# --- Pi 3B+ ---
[pi3+]
# Drivers & Video
dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d,cma-256
# Overclocking
over_voltage=2
arm_freq=1500
core_freq=500
sdram_freq=500
# --- Global ---
[all]

3. Raspberry Pi 4B

Raspberry Pi 4B
  • Video Performance Expected: Full hardware acceleration up to 1080p across high bitrates. Handles Direct Play flawlessly inside modules.
  • CRT TV Output Methods:
    • Method: 3.5mm TRRS Composite A/V Jack
    • Cable Used: Standard Pi-compatible RCA compound video cable breakout.
    • Configuration Used (config.txt): 
      arm_64bit=1
disable_fw_kms_setup=1
disable_overscan=1
dtparam=audio=on

# Composite config
enable_tvout=1
sdtv_mode=0
sdtv_aspect=1

# Pi 4 Specific Video Blocks
[pi4]
dtoverlay=vc4-fkms-v3d,cma-256
dtoverlay=rpivid-v4l2
over_voltage=2
arm_freq=1750
gpu_freq=600
  • Modern TV Output Methods:
    • Method: Micro-HDMI Port (HDMI0 recommended)
    • Performance: Clean rendering on digital flat screens up to 4K resolutions.

4. Raspberry Pi 5

Raspberry Pi 5
  • Video Performance Expected: High performance up to 4K Ultra HD video workflows. Blazing fast navigation within complex or heavy library views.
  • CRT TV Output Methods:
    • Method: Experimental / Custom Hardware Add-on only. * ⚠️ Crucial Note: The Raspberry Pi 5 does not feature a native 3.5mm analog composite headphone jack.
    • Cable/Hardware Used: Requires external hardware conversion such as a specialized GPIO HAT (e.g., RGB-Pi, VGA666), a dynamic DPI-to-Scart interface, or active external HDMI-to-Composite/Component conversion boxes.
    • Configuration Used: Dependent entirely upon the specific GPIO adapter overlay used (e.g., dtoverlay=vga666).
  • Modern TV Output Methods:
    • Method: Micro-HDMI Port x2
    • Performance: Pristine 4K playback at 60Hz with maximum fluidity.

💡 Configuration Tips for Contributors

  • When switching between modern displays and CRT monitors, ensure your /boot/firmware/config.txt files are updated accordingly to match target screen aspect parameters.
  • If you experience layout issues on small-resolution CRT screens, the UI engine scales automatically via structural variables, but look over the overscan parameters to prevent menu cropping.

Clone this wiki locally