Mercurial > hg > xmms-sid
annotate README @ 173:7515712b4af7
Tweakity tweak.
author | Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org> |
---|---|
date | Fri, 13 Aug 2004 06:47:00 +0000 |
parents | 78e06aecad7f |
children | bdf3d81fb937 |
rev | line source |
---|---|
7 | 1 XMMS-SID - SIDPlay input plugin for X MultiMedia System (XMMS) |
1 | 2 ============================================================== |
162
d3425d53be3a
Updated documentation, upgraded libtool to 1.5.6 which should fix problems
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
160
diff
changeset
|
3 Programmed and designed by Matti 'ccr' Hamalainen |
d3425d53be3a
Updated documentation, upgraded libtool to 1.5.6 which should fix problems
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
160
diff
changeset
|
4 (C) Copyright 1999-2004 Tecnic Software productions (TNSP) |
1 | 5 |
7 | 6 MD5 Algorithm code for song-length database handling |
7 by L. Peter Deutsch <ghost@aladdin.com> | |
8 (C) Copyright 1999 Aladdin Enterprises. All rights reserved. | |
1 | 9 |
10 | |
146
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
11 Short Introduction |
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
12 ================== |
7 | 13 XMMS-SID is a plugin for XMMS (X MultiMedia System) which provides |
146
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
14 support for playing Commodore 64 "SID tunes", which are music |
7 | 15 from old Commodore computer programs like games, demos, etc. |
1 | 16 |
146
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
17 For the actual playing, XMMS-SID supports numerous emulator |
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
18 engines, including the excellent libSIDPlay v1 and v2. |
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
19 |
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
20 |
171 | 21 Installation requirements and recommendations |
22 ============================================= | |
23 Refer to file "INSTALL" for information about what XMMS-SID requires, | |
146
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
24 where to get those required packages and how to install. |
1 | 25 |
171 | 26 Some words on which emulation library you should select - it depends |
27 somewhat on your system and personal preferences. | |
28 | |
29 | |
30 - libSIDPlay v1: This is the old SIDPlay v1 emulation library. Its | |
31 emulation is "frame-based" and not very accurate. The waveforms | |
32 produced are harsher and emulation if SID filter is far from | |
33 accurate. | |
34 | |
35 libSIDPlay v1 requires very little CPU power, it is faster and | |
36 may have fewer bugs due to being more mature software. Many | |
37 distributions have pre-built packages of it, not something that | |
38 can be said of libSIDPlay v2. Some people may even like the | |
39 harsher sound produced by libSIDPlay v1. | |
40 | |
41 Drawbacks are: worse emulation, eventually weakening compability | |
42 as new SID-tunes/files are ripped into "RSID"-format which | |
43 libSIDPlay v1 does NOT support. | |
44 | |
45 | |
46 - libSIDPlay v2: New, next generation modular SID-emulation framework. | |
47 Along with reSID-library it produces probably most accurate emulated | |
48 representation of SID-chip available. This, however, comes at high | |
49 cost: libSIDPlay2 tends to eat CPU like popcorn, depending on the | |
50 selected emulation options. It is also less spread, not as many | |
51 distributions/operating systems come with pre-packaged libSIDPlay2, | |
52 so you may have to roll your own. | |
53 | |
54 Also the API-stability of libSIDPlay2 is not yet 100%, there may | |
55 be changes. Bugs are evident, though many of them will be fixed | |
56 eventually. | |
57 | |
58 | |
173 | 59 - libNanoSID: An obscure binary-only emulation library that only plays |
171 | 60 special ZSID-format files, which are not compatible with PSID-formats. |
61 Pros: Fast emulation, supposedly good filter-emulation. | |
62 Cons: Does not support normal PSID-files directly, binary-only library | |
63 which only works on x86-Linux architechture. | |
64 | |
65 | |
66 Conclusion thus is as follows: If you are using an old system with not | |
67 much spare CPU-power, choose libSIDPlay v1. On a new system (more | |
68 powerful than Pentium III 650MHz at least) you may choose libSIDPlay v2. | |
69 | |
70 libNanoSID is for those who need support for ZSID-format, most people | |
71 don't have any reason to concern themselves with it. | |
72 | |
1 | 73 |
74 Usage | |
75 ===== | |
7 | 76 Using the plugin is quite simple: if you are familiar with XMMS and |
77 SIDPlay, then you already know how to use XMMS-SID. Configuration | |
146
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
78 should be self-explanatory for most part, here are few tips: |
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
79 |
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
80 * XSIDPLAY-compatible song-length database is a file that contains |
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
81 lengths for most songs in High Voltage SID Collection (HVSC). I |
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
82 highly recommend that you download the database and configure |
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
83 XMMS-SID to use it. The SLDB is available at |
d9d776c6f4cd
Added information about SLDB, cleanups.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
134
diff
changeset
|
84 http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Lakes/5147/sidplay/sldb.html |
7 | 85 |
112
fb16fc1fd506
Minor updates to docs, added reference to IRC-channel
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
93
diff
changeset
|
86 * SIDPlay2-emulation is heavier, but more accurate. So you need to have |
7 | 87 more CPU-power for it. |
1 | 88 |
7 | 89 * Oversampling is available with SIDPlay2-emulation, it can further |
55 | 90 enchange the audio quality, but you need some really powerful |
91 hardware to run it smoothly. | |
1 | 92 |
7 | 93 * Filter-settings can be usually left as they are, unless you know |
94 what you're doing. | |
1 | 95 |
7 | 96 * If the plugin doesn't recognize your SID-tunes, try checking the |
97 'Determine filetype by contents' option in the XMMS-SID config window. | |
1 | 98 This is horrendously slow if you're reading a 10000-tune playlist, |
99 though. | |
100 | |
101 * For those who don't know it: Autopanning and stereo are not native to | |
102 the original SID chip on C64&all, but are extra options implemented in | |
103 libsidplay. So if you think that the tune does not sound as it sounds | |
104 on the real C64 (or other SID using machine), use the Mono setting. | |
105 | |
106 * The "kb/s rate" box is actually the play rate in Hz, so you can | |
107 see if it's an NTSC or PAL song (if you haven't set the Force Speed | |
108 option). | |
109 | |
7 | 110 Also see FAQ for more tips, notes and such. |
111 | |
1 | 112 |
158 | 113 License |
114 ======= | |
115 XMMS-SID is distributed under GNU General Public License version 2, | |
116 see COPYING for more information. | |
117 | |
118 If you like XMMS-SID, you can thank me by distributing message | |
119 about it's existence and voting it on freshmeat.net. | |
120 | |
121 | |
122 Contact, support and new versions | |
123 ================================= | |
7 | 124 New releases of this plugin should be available at TNSP's WWW- |
125 homepages, see below for address. Bug-reports, suggestions, | |
158 | 126 patches, etc. should be sent to ccr at least for now, please see |
127 the homepage for latest information. | |
1 | 128 |
160
450fea61cad5
Updated IRC-channel information.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
158
diff
changeset
|
129 IRC : The #xmms-sid on freenode has been TERMINATED. |
450fea61cad5
Updated IRC-channel information.
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
158
diff
changeset
|
130 But I do idle on #xmms at irc.freenode.net (see http://www.freenode.net/) |
1 | 131 |
112
fb16fc1fd506
Minor updates to docs, added reference to IRC-channel
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
93
diff
changeset
|
132 E-mail : ccr@tnsp.org |
1 | 133 |
112
fb16fc1fd506
Minor updates to docs, added reference to IRC-channel
Matti Hamalainen <ccr@tnsp.org>
parents:
93
diff
changeset
|
134 Homepage : http://www.tnsp.org/xmms-sid.php |