DomesdayDuplicator VS openFPGALoader

I’m sure you’re aware of the Domesday Duplicator[0] and related projects.

There’s several MegaLD/LDROM² discs that need preservation that I hope I can help with one day.

0 - https://github.com/simoninns/DomesdayDuplicator/wiki/Overvie...

This is why the Domesday Duplicator project is so important; an effective 1:1 copy of LaserDiscs, and almost any other analog media you can tap RF maintenance points of (of the playback deck).

It can be done if you’re determined enough.

Also the rips you get from one aren't normal video files. It's like a raw RF log of what the laser is reading. You run the raw data through some code to get a playable video. But the quality is really unmatched, night and day difference. The time is ticking to get "perfect" rips of these LDs, as they've all started to degrade, I wish there were an easier way to do it..

I have some discs I'm keeping until I get a player and have a go at preserving them (https://github.com/simoninns/DomesdayDuplicator/wiki) but finding a unit where I live is a challenge on itself, nevermind a proper working and maintained one. I have no real interest on them as a collector but do surely appreciate the format.

Have you considered using a Domesday Duplicator to digitize your Laserdiscs?

Just a little bit of info - the Domesday Duplicator was created for this reason - it allows pit-perfect backups of the information contained on Laserdiscs.

Another way to flash the devices in Linux is to use https://github.com/trabucayre/openFPGALoader which supports a variety of cables and devices. It also supports the Xilinx Virtual Cable protocol, which allows you to use Xilinx tools like ChipScope with almost any cable.

Even though I saw multiple proposed solutions around the web, I could not get the Gowin cable to be detected under Ubuntu Linux as well, so neither the programmer nor GAO could work. I tried opensource openFPGALoader as an alternative to the programmer (but not GAO of course..), but got some issues as well (not with cable, but with certain bitstreams causing the programming to hang). So the easiest solution for me to stick with Windows version.

i could/should eventually open a ticket on the openFPGAloader indeed

Most Linux users seem to prefer openFPGALoader, but if you need GAO and the other suggestions don't work you might have to use a Windows VM, thankfully Gowin IDE supports (supported?) Windows XP/7 if you want a lightweight guest.

You might be able to use a tool like openFPGALoader to load a bitstream onto your board from macOS.

Try openFPGALoader. It works fine in Windows 10 and Linux for me. https://github.com/trabucayre/openFPGALoader

There's the open source openFPGALoader with explicit support for macOS if i remember correctly, I'm not sure if it supports all the features but it should be a good starting point.

u/PCB4lyfe all you need are just the drivers for the USB blaster. To load the bitstream you can use openFPGALoader https://github.com/trabucayre/openFPGALoader

OP, if that doesn't work, and you feel comfortable installing openFPGALoader (https://github.com/trabucayre/openFPGALoader), I can send you the GPIO demo bitstream to put on your board.