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Please do not post a support request without first reading and following the advice in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first

Libretro and bluetooth problems

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libretrobluetoohxbox one s
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  • M
    Meneer Jansen
    last edited by Meneer Jansen 25 Nov 2019, 12:15

    I recently, finally, got me a Bluetooth 4 dongle that works in Linux (link, only € 3.07!). So now I can use my Xbox One S controller in Linux/Raspbian/Retropie, which is a very good controller and I'm used to it. By the way, trick to get it working: add the line "options bluetooth disable_ertm=Y" to /etc/modprobe.d/bluetooth.conf

    But all libretro emulators are unplayable now because they are too slow. Had to replace them by non-libretro ones. I have a Pi 1B+. Anybody else experience this too? I know the Pi 1 is slow, but before using bluetooth most libretro emulators worked fine.

    Avid Linux user.

    B 1 Reply Last reply 25 Nov 2019, 12:37 Reply Quote 0
    • M
      mitu Global Moderator
      last edited by 25 Nov 2019, 12:21

      Can you please add some info about your system, as detailed in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first.

      M 1 Reply Last reply 25 Nov 2019, 12:37 Reply Quote 0
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        barbudreadmon @Meneer Jansen
        last edited by 25 Nov 2019, 12:37

        @Meneer-Jansen said in Libretro and bluetooth problems:

        I know the Pi 1 is slow, but before using bluetooth most libretro emulators worked fine.

        It's a fact that bluetooth will use more ressources than wired, on a slow setup still based on a rpi1 i'm not surprised it can be the difference between full speed and not, especially when using libretro cores which generally require slightly more ressources than their standalone counterpart.

        FBNeo developer - github - forum

        M 1 Reply Last reply 25 Nov 2019, 12:42 Reply Quote 0
        • M
          Meneer Jansen @mitu
          last edited by Meneer Jansen 25 Nov 2019, 12:37

          @mitu said in Libretro and bluetooth problems:

          Can you please add some info about your system, as detailed in https://retropie.org.uk/forum/topic/3/read-this-first.

          Pi Model: B1+
          Power Supply: don't know.
          RetroPie version: install script says 4.3.11
          Built From: Raspbian and then downloaded install script from https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Manual-Installation
          USB Devices connected: bluetooth dongle
          Controller used: Xbox One S
          Error messages received: none, only insane slowdown on libretro stuff
          Log found in /dev/shm/runcommand.log (if relevant): not relevant
          Guide used: https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Manual-Installation
          Emulator: anything LibRetro.

          Avid Linux user.

          1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
          • M
            Meneer Jansen @barbudreadmon
            last edited by Meneer Jansen 25 Nov 2019, 12:42

            @barbudreadmon said in Libretro and bluetooth problems:

            @Meneer-Jansen said in Libretro and bluetooth problems:

            I know the Pi 1 is slow, but before using bluetooth most libretro emulators worked fine.

            It's a fact that bluetooth will use more ressources than wired, on a slow setup still based on a rpi1 i'm not surprised it can be the difference between full speed and not, especially when using libretro cores which generally require slightly more ressources than their standalone counterpart.

            I can understand bluetooth eating up some more resources. But the difference between libretro and non-libretro emu's is very, very great. With BT on and non-libretro emu's I notice no slowdown whatsoever. Even when playing PSX games. Strange, don't you think...?

            Avid Linux user.

            1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
            • M
              mitu Global Moderator
              last edited by mitu 25 Nov 2019, 12:55

              Version 4.3.11 is a 2 years old release and I assume it's running a Raspbian Jessie release - a lot of Bluetooth improvements have been added since. To try and trace the slowdown, you could run - over SSH - top during the emulators' run and order by CPU usage (pressing P) to see which processes are the most CPU intensive.
              Do you have any non-default configuration for RetroArch - like a different input_joypad_driver (default being udev) ?

              If you have a spare SD card - 16 Gb should be enough - I'd recommend trying out the latest RetroPie release by installing it from scratch and testing if you get the same behavior.

              M 1 Reply Last reply 25 Nov 2019, 14:24 Reply Quote 0
              • M
                Meneer Jansen @mitu
                last edited by 25 Nov 2019, 14:24

                @mitu said in Libretro and bluetooth problems:

                Version 4.3.11 is a 2 years old release and I assume it's running a Raspbian Jessie release - a lot of Bluetooth improvements have been added since. To try and trace the slowdown, you could run - over SSH - top during the emulators' run and order by CPU usage (pressing P) to see which processes are the most CPU intensive.
                Do you have any non-default configuration for RetroArch - like a different input_joypad_driver (default being udev) ?

                If you have a spare SD card - 16 Gb should be enough - I'd recommend trying out the latest RetroPie release by installing it from scratch and testing if you get the same behavior.

                Thanks for the tips. As for a different joypad driver: I tried SDL once instead of udev. But I switched back to udev immediately.

                You're not gonna believe this: but after a remove & reconnect of my Xbox controller today (have to do this every time after using it w/ the Xbox) the slowdown is gone...

                However... I might try your tip on trying a new fresh install of Retropie. Because when I start a libretro game all sorts of quirks happen. It takes over 30 seconds for my controller or keyboard to be recognized (i.e. to work). I think that the buttons on my controller and keyboard aren't mapped right, because I cant play a game w/ the keyboard (I can start them however). I can, on the other hand, play games w/ the controller but I can't start them. Retropie GUI (RGUI) does not react to the keyboard when bluetooth is active. And RGUI does not react to the up/down buttons of my controller. RGUI does however react to the shoulder buttons but then the cursor goes down more than one item. Switching back and forth between keyboard and controller takes to much time because it takes over a minute each time I switch for one to get recognized. Unworkable.

                These problems mainly occur w/ LibRetro games. When plying Mame (advmame) I sometimes have to manually kill joy2key.py so that a keypress on my controller does not result in Mame trying to load a game when pressing "up".

                Top does not show any CPU hogs.

                Avid Linux user.

                1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
                • M
                  mitu Global Moderator
                  last edited by 25 Nov 2019, 14:32

                  Hm, I recall some reports about Xbox controllers taking long to initialize. Try using the xpadneo driver from - https://github.com/atar-axis/xpadneo, it might work better, but, given the age of your distro, I'm not sure how well it will behave with your kernel version.

                  These problems mainly occur w/ LibRetro games. When plying Mame (advmame) I sometimes have to manually kill joy2key.py so that a keypress on my controller does not result in Mame trying to load a game when pressing "up".

                  joy2key - should stop itself, it's only used by runcommand. Are you using it for other purposes ?

                  M 2 Replies Last reply 25 Nov 2019, 14:37 Reply Quote 0
                  • M
                    Meneer Jansen @mitu
                    last edited by 25 Nov 2019, 14:37

                    @mitu said in Libretro and bluetooth problems:

                    Hm, I recall some reports about Xbox controllers taking long to initialize. Try using the xpadneo driver from - https://github.com/atar-axis/xpadneo, it might work better, but, given the age of your distro, I'm not sure how well it will behave with your kernel version.

                    These problems mainly occur w/ LibRetro games. When plying Mame (advmame) I sometimes have to manually kill joy2key.py so that a keypress on my controller does not result in Mame trying to load a game when pressing "up".

                    joy2key - should stop itself, it's only used by runcommand. Are you using it for other purposes ?

                    Again, thanks for the tips. Nope: I am not using joy2key.py for other purposes as far as I know. Wouldn't know even how.

                    Avid Linux user.

                    1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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                      Meneer Jansen @mitu
                      last edited by Meneer Jansen 26 Nov 2019, 21:46

                      @mitu said in Libretro and bluetooth problems:

                      Hm, I recall some reports about Xbox controllers taking long to initialize. Try using the xpadneo driver from - https://github.com/atar-axis/xpadneo, it might work better, but, given the age of your distro, I'm not sure how well it will behave with your kernel version.

                      These problems mainly occur w/ LibRetro games. When plying Mame (advmame) I sometimes have to manually kill joy2key.py so that a keypress on my controller does not result in Mame trying to load a game when pressing "up".

                      joy2key - should stop itself, it's only used by runcommand. Are you using it for other purposes ?

                      Thank you for pointing me to the xpadneo (bluetooth) driver for my Xbox One S controller. It solves some probs not related to RetroArch. In the Libretro SNES emu I still experience a lot of slowdown, but the LR-Atari 2600 emu runs fine.

                      Lr-picodrive (Megadrive & Sega Master Sytem) appears to work fine. But I have to re-start my controller (on/off). Same thing for Lr-SNES: I can wait for 5 minutes to let the Pi / Libretro "find" my bluetooth controller or I can use the on/off button. "Yoshi's Island" won't run fine no matter what controller I use, ha ha (YI is a very hard game to run because of the extra chip it had in the cartridge).

                      [off topic] Still have that nasty problem that joy2key.py won't get killed after starting a game. This results in, for instance, the F10 keyboard key getting pressed by my controller in Mame4all. The F10 key makes Mame throttle to "ridiculous speed", just like the spaceships in "Spaceballs The Movie".

                      Avid Linux user.

                      1 Reply Last reply Reply Quote 0
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