Pixelcade Sidekick User Guide

How to get a Pixelcade Sidekick display running, connect it to your arcade computer, and set it up with Pixelcade Companion.

1. What Sidekick does

A Pixelcade Sidekick is a small companion screen for your arcade cabinet. It shows information about the game or system you've selected in your front end, and it changes automatically as you browse, just like a Pixelcade marquee.

A Sidekick can show:

• Game artwork: box art, logo, fan art, screenshots, and for arcade games the marquee, flyer and cabinet art
• Game information: description, history, control layout, move lists, high scores and the game manual
• RetroAchievements for the selected game
• System information when you're browsing a system rather than a game
• Live scores while you play select MAME and FBNeo games
• Widgets such as weather, sports scores, stocks, a clock and Retro Trivia

On a touchscreen model, swipe to move between cards, open a menu to jump straight to one, or tap a favorite game to launch it.

Sidekick displays mount wherever suits your build: next to the marquee, in the control panel, or anywhere else. A cabinet can have as many as you like.

Sidekick works with the Pixelcade software on your arcade computer:

• Your front end tells the Pixelcade software which system and game you've selected.
• The Pixelcade software draws each card and sends it to the Sidekick, over USB or WiFi.
• The Sidekick shows the card and sends your touches back.

You can use Sidekick on its own or with a Pixelcade LED or Pixelcade LCD marquee.

2. Before you start

You'll need:

• A Sidekick display. There are two ways to get one:
  • Buy from Pixelcade: a ready-to-use unit with an arcade mount. It comes with Sidekick already unlocked and the firmware installed.
  • Bring your own board: buy one of the supported displays from your usual retailer. They range from a 1.91" AMOLED to 10.1" panels, including a round display and a long bar display. See the list, with where to buy each one, at pixelcade.org/sidekick.
• A USB cable from the display to your arcade computer. The display is powered by the same cable, so it doesn't need its own power supply. If you run several displays, a powered USB hub keeps them all supplied.
• The Pixelcade software installed on your arcade computer, with your front end set up. It's the same software as for Pixelcade LED: Windows (LaunchBox / BigBox, HyperSpin, GameEx, Arcade One, Core Type R), Batocera, RetroPie, Recalbox, EmuELEC, MiSTer, and AtGames Legends Ultimate with R-Cade / Legends Unchained. See the Pixelcade LED User Guide to install it.
• A Sidekick unlock for your arcade computer, unless your display came from Pixelcade (see section 4)
• An internet connection, for the Sidekick artwork, game information and updates

3. Get your display ready

A display bought from Pixelcade is ready to use: skip to section 4.

A display you bought yourself needs the Pixelcade Sidekick firmware installed once. You can do this from Companion:

1. Plug the display into your arcade computer with a USB cable.
2. Open Companion and go to Settings → Sidekick. The display appears in the list within a few seconds.
3. Most boards can't identify themselves until Pixelcade's firmware is on them. If Companion asks, choose your Display model from the list.
4. Install the firmware from the display's ⋯ menu or its update button. Don't unplug the display while it's installing.

If installing from Companion doesn't work, use the Pixelcade Sidekick web flasher instead. It runs in Chrome or Edge on a desktop computer (it isn't available in Safari, Firefox or on phones). Plug the display into that computer, open the flasher, pick your board and follow the steps.

4. Connect and unlock Sidekick

1. Plug the Sidekick in to a USB port on your arcade computer. Pixelcade finds it automatically within a few seconds. No restart is needed.
2. Open Companion and go to Settings → Sidekick.
3. Unlock Sidekick, if it isn't already. Sidekick is a one-time purchase per arcade computer, and it unlocks unlimited Sidekick displays on that computer. Owners of a Pixelcade LED or LCD marquee get a discount, which Companion applies automatically. Click Purchase Pixelcade Sidekick and complete the payment; Sidekick unlocks as soon as payment completes, with no code to enter. If you have a gift or discount code, enter it under Have a gift or discount code? first.
   • A display bought from Pixelcade is already unlocked. Companion marks it DIRECT-SOLD.
   • The purchase needs an internet connection. If Companion says the price is unavailable, check your connection and reload the page.
4. Turn on Enable Sidekick.
5. Install the Sidekick Artwork when Companion offers it. It's a download of box art, logos, fan art, screenshots and console information, so most games show artwork right away.
6. Check the display's settings, such as its orientation and which card it shows first (see section 7). To check it's working, choose Send test card from the display's ⋯ menu: it shows Galaga, and you can swipe through its cards.

Now select a game in your front end. The Sidekick shows it, along with your LED or LCD marquee if you have one.

5. Using a Sidekick

When it connects, a Sidekick shows its startup card: System Info by default, or the weather, a clock or another card you choose. As soon as you select a game, it switches to that game.

Touch

The card menu lists every card: tap one to jump straight to it. Along the bottom you can switch between Landscape and Portrait, turn the picture upside down with Flip 180°, turn the Carousel on or off, open the on-screen help (i), or close the menu (X).

Long cards, such as the game description, have PREV and NEXT buttons and page dots at the bottom: tap them to page through.

The 2.1" round display also has a dial: turn it clockwise for the next card, counter-clockwise to go back.

Carousel

With the carousel on, the Sidekick steps through the selected game's cards by itself, every few seconds. It skips cards that have nothing for that game. Touching the display stops the carousel for that game; selecting the next game starts it again.

Displays without touch

A display without a touchscreen shows the card you chose for games (or for systems) in Companion, and changes when you select another game. Turn on the carousel to cycle through the cards.

6. The cards

For a game

Swiping cycles through these cards in this order:

Cards that only exist for arcade games, such as High Scores, Marquee and Flyer, are skipped when you swipe through a console game.

For a system

When you're browsing a system rather than a game, swiping cycles through Console Info, Console Controller Image and Console 3D Box. The system card menu has an Image Only checkbox that hides the text. Selecting a game switches back to the game cards.

Startup cards

The cards a Sidekick can show before you select a game: System Info (software versions and how the display is connected), Weather, Stocks, Sports, Retro Trivia, What to Watch, Clock, and the Game Launcher where your front end supports it (see section 11). These can also be chosen as the first card for games or systems.

7. Display settings

Each Sidekick has its own settings in Settings → Sidekick. They save automatically.

The display's ⋯ menu has:

• Send test card: shows Galaga, to check the display works
• Identify this display: shows a large card on that display only, so you can tell which one it is
• Change display model: if the wrong model was chosen
• Calibrate touch: on resistive-touch models. Tap the crosshair as it appears in each corner.
• Enable touch / Disable touch
• Reflash current firmware and Flash beta firmware (over USB)

Settings that apply to every Sidekick, such as the language and the artwork, are at the bottom of the page under Setup (see section 14).

8. More than one Sidekick

You can connect as many Sidekicks as you like, and each one has its own settings. For example, one can show box art while another shows the control layout.

• Plug them all in. A powered USB hub helps if your computer is short on ports or power.
• If two displays are the same model, Companion asks you to tell them apart: choose Identify this display from the ⋯ menu, then give each one a name with the pencil.

9. Connecting over WiFi

Most Sidekick models can connect over WiFi, so they only need a USB cable for power, from any USB charger. WiFi is set up from Companion while the display is connected by USB:

1. Connect the display to your arcade computer with a USB cable.
2. In Settings → Sidekick, click Configure WiFi on the display.
3. Choose your network, enter the password and save. The display joins your WiFi and pairs with this computer.
4. Companion then shows Connected over WiFi. You can unplug the display from the computer and power it from any USB charger.

• Pairing: a Sidekick on WiFi only works with the computer it's paired to, so another cabinet on your network can't take it over. To move it to another computer, connect it to that computer by USB and choose Configure WiFi there.
• Sidekicks on your network: Companion lists Sidekicks it finds on your network. An unpaired one can be paired with Pair to this computer.
• Turn off WiFi switches the display back to USB only.
• Manual IP: if your network blocks automatic discovery, enter the display's IP address under the display's WiFi Advanced settings.
• Firmware updates need USB. See section 15.

10. Phones, tablets and web browsers

Once Sidekick is unlocked, a phone, tablet or computer can also be a Sidekick display. These count toward the same unlimited unlock.

Sidekick apps for iPhone, iPad and Android

The free Pixelcade Sidekick app turns a phone or tablet into a Sidekick display: App Store link Google Play link.

1. Put the phone or tablet on the same network as your arcade computer.
2. Open the app. It lists the Pixelcades on your network: choose yours. If yours isn't listed, choose Enter an address instead and type the arcade computer's IP address.
3. The app shows your cards right away. Turn the device to switch between landscape and portrait.

Touch the screen to show the settings gear. To see what the app looks like without a Pixelcade, choose See a Demo.

Any web browser

Any tablet, old phone or computer with a web browser can be a Sidekick display, including older iPads that can't run the app. On that device, open:

http://<arcade computer IP address>:8080/sidekick/web

Companion shows the exact address in Settings → Sidekick. Needs Pixelcade software version X or newer

• Full screen: on an iPad or iPhone, use Share → Add to Home Screen and open it from there. This also keeps the display's settings.
• Keep the screen on: set Auto-Lock to Never in the device's settings. Many browsers can't keep the screen on by themselves.
• Sounds start after you first touch the screen.
• Opening the same display in a second tab or window moves it there; the first one stops.

11. Game Launcher

The Game Launcher card shows your favorite games. Tap one to launch it on the cabinet.

It works on Batocera, Recalbox, MiSTer (with Zaparoo installed and running), and Windows with HyperSpin and RocketLauncher, or LaunchBox. On other systems the card isn't offered.

1. In Settings → Sidekick, open Favorite Games and add up to 30 games. Drag them to change the order.
2. The card shows 15 games per screen. With more than 15, swipe on the card to reach the second screen.
3. Open the Game Launcher from the card menu, or choose it as a display's startup card.

12. Widgets on Sidekick

Many Pixelcade widgets also show on Sidekick displays, with cards designed for them: for example weather, sports scores, stocks, What to Watch, Retro Trivia, the clock, the Earthquake Monitor and Planes Overhead. When one of these widgets runs, your Sidekicks show it too.

Each widget's settings page in Companion has a Pixelcade Sidekick section that explains what it shows there, and for some widgets, how long each card stays on screen. Widgets that use online data need the arcade computer to have internet access.

13. Live scores and sounds

With Pixelcade's In Game Effects, a Sidekick becomes a live score display while you play select MAME and FBNeo games. It shows your score, game statistics and messages such as "Extra Life", then goes back to the game's cards when you finish. Sidekicks with a speaker also play sound effects, such as for a new high score or an achievement.

In Game Effects are powered by DOFLinx on your arcade computer. They're supported on Windows (select MAME games) and on Batocera, R-Cade and Recalbox (games on the FBNeo wheel). Set them up in Companion under Settings → In Game Effects. More information: pixelcade.org/doflinx

14. Artwork, ScreenScraper and RetroAchievements

These settings apply to all your Sidekicks. They're under Setup at the bottom of Settings → Sidekick.

15. Keeping Sidekick up to date

• Firmware: when an update is available for a display, Companion shows an Update button on it in Settings → Sidekick. Only displays whose firmware changed are offered the update. Beta firmware, when available, is offered too.
• Firmware updates need USB. For a display on WiFi, connect it by USB, click Turn off WiFi, update, then use Configure WiFi to go back to WiFi. Or plug it into any desktop computer and use the web flasher (Chrome or Edge).
• Don't unplug a display while its firmware updates. If an update is interrupted and the screen stays black, plug it back in and update again.
• Sidekick Artwork: update it from Settings → Sidekick or the Updates page.
• The Pixelcade software is updated from the Updates page in Companion.

16. Troubleshooting

The Sidekick isn't listed in Companion

• Make sure Enable Sidekick is on and Sidekick is unlocked.
• Try another USB cable (some cables only carry power) and another USB port. If you have several displays, use a powered USB hub.
• A board you bought yourself needs the Sidekick firmware first (see section 3).

The Sidekick doesn't change when I select a game

• Check that your front end is set up for Pixelcade: in Companion, go to Settings → Front End Setups and fix anything marked with a red X.
• Check the display's model in its ⋯ menu (Change display model).
• Use Send test card to check the display itself works.

A card is missing or shows no artwork

• Install or update the Sidekick Artwork, and add your ScreenScraper login.
• Some cards only exist for some games: High Scores, Move List, Marquee, Flyer and Cabinet are for arcade games, and High Scores needs your MAME or FBNeo high score folder.

Touch is in the wrong place or doesn't respond

• Check that touch is on (the display's ⋯ menu).
• On a resistive-touch model, use Calibrate touch.
• Check Orientation and Flip 180° match how the display is mounted.

Installing firmware fails

• Hold the board's BOOT button while plugging it in, then try again.
• On boards with two USB ports, use the port named in the board's notes at pixelcade.org/sidekick.
• Try the web flasher from another computer, in Chrome or Edge.

WiFi is slow or keeps dropping

• Keep the display away from the computer, or at least power it from a separate USB charger a few feet away. USB 3 ports and cables can interfere with WiFi right next to them.
• Hotel and guest networks block devices from talking to each other. Use your home network or USB.
• If it still won't connect, use USB. Everything works the same over USB.

Contacting support

1. In Companion, go to Settings → Support and copy the information. Include which Sidekick model you have.
2. Post it, along with a description of the problem, in the #support channel on the Pixelcade Discord.