IS-TWL

Developed by Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd. ^[1] for Nintendo, the IS-TWL development kits were offered by Nintendo to develop software for the Nintendo DSi. These kits served as the successor to the IS-NITRO development kits.

The IS-TWL was available as 2 different development kits:

DEBUGGER
CAPTURE

The IS-TWL-DEBUGGER was the standard development kit used to debug and test Nintendo DSi software. It contains 32 MB of RAM, twice that of a retail console.

The IS-TWL-CAPTURE was used by developers, publishers and reviewers to capture screenshots and video of DS games. It contains 16 MB of RAM, similar to a retail console.

Options

Stickers on the bottom of an IS-TWL-DEBUGGER^[2]

The IS-TWL-DEBUGGER came with two options: CAPTURE and WIRED. The IS-TWL-CAPTURE only had one option, WIRED.

CAPTURE

DEBUGGER units equipped with the CAPTURE option could output video via the connectors on the back. Unlike the IS-NITRO, only units with the CAPTURE option had the video output hardware built-in, so it is not possible to unlock the video output functionality via software on non-CAPTURE units.

WIRED

Units equipped with the WIRED option could perform wireless communications using a physical cable. Most units seen do not have this option enabled.

IS-TWL-CAPTURE Versions

There are 2 versions of the IS-TWL-CAPTURE: dev-keyed (red faceplate) and retail-keyed.

The retail version of the IS-TWL-CAPTURE is significantly rarer and is identified by a black faceplate at the front. This version can play retail game cartridges unlike all the other IS-TWLs (which are dev-keyed). This would usually be used at events.

Stickers on the bottom of a retail IS-TWL-CAPTURE^[3]

Front of the Unit

Unlike the IS-NITRO, the cable is detachable on the IS-TWL end, although it is still hardwired to the controller.

DS CARD

This is where you would insert a DS (or DSi) flash cartridge.

Unlike the IS-NITRO, the IS-TWL can boot games from cards inserted into this slot. However, similar to the IS-NITRO, since the IS-TWL does not emulate backup/save memory, when loading a ROM image from the IS-TWL-DEBUGGER software, a card with the correct save memory chip has to be inserted into this slot to provide save functionality.

The LED above this slot lights up when accessing a card.

SD CARD

Similar to a standard SD card slot on a retail DSi unit.

CONTROLLER (BLACK) & CONTROLLER (RED)

These are where the red and black labeled cables from the controller connect to.

POWER

The power LED lights up when the power switch at the back is turned on, and turns off when the power switch is turned off.

Back of the Unit

Back of an IS-TWL-DEBUGGER with the CAPTURE option^[5]

Back of an IS-TWL-DEBUGGER without the CAPTURE option, metal plate unscrewed^[6]

AV OUT 1 and AV OUT 2 (CAPTURE option & CAPTURE unit)

Output both top and bottom screens using a Nintendo Wii AV cable (RVL-009) or Component cable (RVL-011).

CAPTURE USB (CAPTURE option & CAPTURE unit)

Connect via a USB type-B cable to a PC in order to capture images or video.

ANTENNA

Connect a wireless LAN antenna for wireless communications.

POWER

Power switch to turn off or on the unit.

DC IN

Plug in a standard Nintendo Wii power adaptor (RVL-002) for power.

USB (DEBUGGER unit)

Connect via a USB type-B cable to a PC.

DSP

Between the 2 USB type-B ports is a metal plate that, when unscrewed, reveals a 5x2 2.54mm pin header. The purpose of this is unknown.

Dummy Controller

The handheld controller is similar to a retail Nintendo DSi. There are a few differences:

Stylus cannot be removed
SD card slot cannot be used
Hardwired cable extending out of the top of the controller

All of the DSi "brains" are inside of the actual IS-TWL box.

Inside of the Unit

Depending on the type of IS-TWL, different boards would be installed in the unit.

IS-TWL-DEBUGGER (no CAPTURE option)	IS-TWL-DEBUGGER (CAPTURE option)	IS-TWL-CAPTURE
-	ISX CAP (A)
ISX TWL CPU5( )
ISX EMU MP(A)		ISX CAP CARD( ) ISX CAP POW( )

Note: Other board revisions exist and the above is only one example

Thanks to pcy for the close-up images.

Cover removed

The unit consists of multiple boards stacked together with standoffs.

Side view of an IS-TWL-DEBUGGER without the CAPTURE option, showing the CPU board^[7]

ISX CAP

This board provides the video output hardware. It has the two Wii AV connectors and USB port for capturing screenshots and video.

It uses the same audio/video encoder chip as the Nintendo Wii, the AVE-RVL. Two AVE-RVLs are present.

ISX TWL CPU

This board provides the DSi hardware, containing the CPU, RAM and NAND.

The board also contains the SD card slot, the two connectors for the dummy controller and the antenna connector.

The CPU is marked "LR359A12" instead of the usual "CPU TWL", except on the retail IS-TWL-CAPTURE, which uses a standard retail "CPU TWL".

The NAND chip is a Samsung KMAPF0000M-S998, same as retail.

For RAM, DEBUGGER units have two Fujitsu 82DBS08164D-70L chips (16MB each), while CAPTURE units only have one.

There is a battery holder populated with a CR2032 for RTC.

There is a BPTWL chip, same as retail.

DEBUGGER units have two Altera MAX II CPLDs (EPM240T100C5N), while CAPTURE units only have one.

There is a National Semiconductor DS90CR483VJD LVDS serializer, to send the screen display data over the cables to the dummy controller.

There are a few 74VCX164245 buffers/level shifters.

ISX TWL CPU5( ) - front, from a DEBUGGER unit^[11]

ISX TWL CPU5( ) - back, from a DEBUGGER unit^[12]

ISX TWL CPU5( ) - front, from a retail CAPTURE unit^[13]

CPU chip
CPU chip
NAND chip
Two RAM chips
BPTWL chip
Altera MAX II CPLD (1)
Altera MAX II CPLD (2)
LVDS serializer
74VCX164245 chips
74VCX164245 chips

ISX EMU MP

This board performs emulation of a DS game card and regulates power to the unit. It was used in the DEBUGGER units.

The board has 2 DDR2 RAM slots, of which one is populated with a 512 MB stick. The 512 MB (4 Gbit) of RAM is used to emulate a game card and limits the maximum size of flash cards that can be written to.

The board also contains the game card slot, LEDs, power switch, power jack and USB port.

There is a Xilinx Virtex 5 FPGA (XC5VLX30), an NEC uPD703111BGM-10 V850/ME2 microcontroller, a Cypress CY7C68013A-128AXC FX2LP USB microcontroller, an NEC UPD442012AGY-BB70X-MJH 256K 16-bit parallel SRAM, and a Spansion S29JL032H70TFI02 4 MB parallel flash.