Recalbox can display on much more than a modern TV: monitors, cathode-ray tubes (CRT), DSI touchscreens, vertical screens… Here is what is supported in 10.1, machine by machine.
| Machine | Video output(s) |
|---|---|
| Raspberry Pi Zero 2 | 1 × mini-HDMI |
| Raspberry Pi 3 | 1 × HDMI |
| Raspberry Pi 4 / 400 | 2 × micro-HDMI |
| Raspberry Pi 5 / 500 | 2 × micro-HDMI |
| PC (x86_64) | depends on the graphics card: HDMI, DisplayPort, DVI, VGA |
| Odroid Go Advance / Super, Anbernic | screen built into the handheld |
This is the nominal case: plug in, Recalbox detects the screen and picks a suitable resolution — nothing to configure. All standard HDMI displays (TVs, PC monitors, projectors) are compatible; on PC, a passive HDMI→DVI adapter works too.
To fine-tune resolutions (interface, games, 3D systems) and enjoy 16/9, see HD and widescreen modes. To adjust the picture on small screens, see Pixel Perfect.
Recalbox is one of the few systems offering a true native 15 kHz RGB signal on CRT televisions — the period-accurate picture, no compromise. This support is built into every Raspberry Pi image (Zero 2, 3, 4, 5):
Once the board is detected, a dedicated CRT menu appears in the settings (240p/480i resolutions, calibration…). The 240p Test Suite test virtual system is enabled automatically along with CRT.
On Raspberry Pi, screens connected to the DSI ribbon connector (including the official Raspberry Pi touchscreen) are handled by the standard video driver: enable them with a dtoverlay in the boot configuration — see editing the boot configuration files.
Screens built into handheld cases (GPi Case 2 and 2W, PiBoy…) are supported directly: Recalbox ships the drivers for these panels — see cases.
Small TFT screens on the SPI bus are no longer supported since Recalbox 10: the
fbcputility this setup relied on has been removed from the system. Prefer an HDMI or DSI screen.
Advanced feature: a second mini TFT screen (marquee style) can display the scraped artwork and videos of the current game, through the system.secondminitft.* keys of recalbox.conf.
For a screen rotated vertically — shoot'em ups demand it — Recalbox 10.1 offers the MAIN MENU → TATE SETTINGS menu: