--- /dev/null	Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000
+++ b/README	Tue Jun 03 10:23:04 2003 +0000
@@ -0,0 +1,156 @@
+xmms-sid - SIDPlay input plugin for X MultiMedia System (XMMS)
+==============================================================
+
+XMMS-SID is originally by Willem Monsuwe.
+Additional fixes, features added were added by
+Matti "ccr" Hamalainen of Tecnic Software productions (TNSP),
+who also nowadays maintains this package.
+
+!! NOTICE: Please do not contact Willem about this version,
+since the bugs and quirks are probably made by me (ccr) now. !!
+
+General Introduction
+====================
+XMMS-SID is a plugin for XMMS (X MultiMedia System) which provides
+support for playing the so-called "SID tunes". For the actual playing,
+XMMS-SID uses the excellent libsidplay SID-chip/6502 emulator engine.
+(See "INSTALL" where to get libsidplay)
+
+If you are not familiar with the term "SID tune" or "SID" concept at
+all, a short (yes it is! ;-) explanation follows:
+
+SID is the sound chip that was used in many of the old 8-bit home
+computers manufactured by Commodore Inc. in 1980's. Best known of
+those was the Commodore 64 home computer (aka C64 or CBM64, also
+known as VIC-64 in some countries).
+
+
+The Sound Interface Device (SID) was one of the most advanced sound
+chips at the time. It's capabilities surpassed all of the other chips
+on the 8-bit home computer market and even most of the ones used in
+arcade game systems. Thousands of games were produced for C=64 in
+1980's and beginning of 1990's, many of them having excellent musical
+score. Best of those tunes are still regarded at least legendary,
+such as songs by Martin Galway (for games Arkanoid, Green Beret,
+Yie Ar Kung Fu 1 & 2, Parallax...), Rob Hubbard (Commando, Auf
+Wiedersehen Monty, Monty on the Run, Warhawk, Sanxion, Delta...),
+Ben Daglish (Jack the Nipper 1&2, Way of the Tiger, Cobra, Avenger...)
+and numerous other legendary composers. Some of them quit their
+composing quickly after the 8-bit period, but some are still working
+in the computer music business. (Like Maniacs of Noise, Chris
+Huelsbeck, Richard Joseph and ex. MON member Charles Deenen who
+worked with Fallout 1's musical score)
+
+
+Today, years after the decline of 8-bit computers, many composers
+(mainly from C64 demoscene) continue to compose tunes for SID and
+get most amazing things out of it -- things that the designers of
+the SID would have never believed.
+
+For example: SID has only three sound channels, but there are tunes
+that use special techniques to "multiplex" them to sound like four
+or even six channels. Also these three channels are "limited" to
+synthesized sounds, kind like the FM sounds produced by old Sound Blaster
+cards on PC. But again, using a certain 'bug' in SID chip, composers
+were able to push the limits farther ... Martin Galway's very famous
+piece on Arkanoid game was the "first" (later it has been proven that
+Chris Huelsbeck's Bad Cat was the first but was released later) to
+feature DIGITIZED SAMPLES like speech, etc.
+
+...
+
+So this is the story in short. The "SID tunes" are usually understood
+to be the files that contain the C64 machine code and data that plays
+the music. SID players (or emulators) are programs that emulate the
+SID chip capabilities and other parts of C64 hardware to produce
+almost authentic re-creation of the original music. SID-files (aka
+SID tunes) can be created by ripping the music routines and data from
+some game or just composing the music with some editor.
+
+XMMS-SID is interface for one of those emulators, probably the best
+one: (lib)SIDPlay by Michael Schwendt.
+
+...
+
+Hopefully I didn't make you bored with my chit-chat :)
+
+-ccr/TNSP
+
+
+Where to get SID tunes?
+=======================
+There are many collections of SID tunes on the Internet, but
+probably the best one and best known one is the High Voltage
+SID Collection aka HVSC.
+
+It is available at: http://hvsc.c64.org/
+
+HVSC contains the tunes ripped from all legendary C64 games,
+loaders, etc. And more. There are over 15,000 tunes in the
+HVSC version 4.0 and more are coming. HVSC also contains the
+STIL database (SID Tune Information List) that contains lots
+of information about many of the tunes included in HVSC.
+XMMS-SID supports the STIL database and info about the playing
+tune can be viewed with the "XMMS fileinfo" window (CTRL+3).
+STIL information can contain comments from composers, information
+about if the tune is a cover and historically interesting facts
+about games, etc...
+
+
+Usage
+=====
+Using the plugin is quite simple, if you are familiar with XMMS,
+then you already know how to use XMMS-SID. The configuration of
+the plugin should be quite self-explanatory and the default settings
+are usually satisfactory. The only thing that you probably
+need to touch in the config dialog is the "STIL-database path"-setting,
+if you have the HVSC-collection and want to use STIL-database.
+
+Simply point the STIL-db path to "STIL.txt"-file that resides
+under "DOCUMENTS"-subdirectory of HVSC-rootdir. For example,
+I use the following path: "/usr/src/C64Music/DOCUMENTS/STIL.txt".
+(My HVSC resides under "/usr/src/C64Music")
+
+
+Notes
+=====
+* If the plugin doesn't recognize your sidtunes, try checking the
+  'Determine filetype by contents' option in the xmms-sid config window.
+  This is horrendously slow if you're reading a 10000-tune playlist,
+  though.
+
+* For those who don't know it: Autopanning and stereo are not native to
+  the original SID chip on C64&all, but are extra options implemented in
+  libsidplay. So if you think that the tune does not sound as it sounds
+  on the real C64 (or other SID using machine), use the Mono setting.
+
+* xmms-sid's configuration panel has been enchanged (from v0.6)
+  to have the libsidplay's SID filter configuration parameters. You
+  can tune them if you know what you're doing and maybe want to make
+  xmms-sid sound more like your own C64's SID (as some of you may
+  remember, the original SID 6580 had the infamous filter bug that
+  made every chip sound somewhat different!). If you don't know what
+  to do with these settings, just press the Reset Values button to
+  get the working defaults of libsidplay.
+
+* The "kb/s rate" box is actually the play rate in Hz, so you can
+  see if it's an NTSC or PAL song (if you haven't set the Force Speed
+  option).
+
+* Read file "README.songpos" for additional fun.
+
+
+Contacting and where to get new versions
+========================================
+New releases of this plugin should be available at TNSP's WWW
+homepages, see below for address. Bug reports, suggestions,
+patches, etc. should be sent to ccr.
+
+ccr's e-mail: mhamalai@ratol.fi
+
+	OR  : ccr@iobox.com (if the one above does not work)
+
+TNSP's WWW  : http://www.tnsp.org/
+
+TNSP e-mail : tnsp@iobox.com
+