timofonic Posted July 7, 2005 Report Posted July 7, 2005 Hello,I'm really amazed with this giant and complete project, for me it seems a lot better than a lot commercial synth hardware I know!I'm technically clueless but I was seen that snes has the audio stuff in a module, very independient, that when it's used, it seems not uses the CPU, that's why it was "easy to do this: http://www.raphnet.net/electronique/snes_apu/snes_apu_en.php (connecting a snes-apu to parallel for sending it the songs and play it...)Even you can add sp/dif output, it's described for snes, but since you get the signals from the SNES APU, you can use it too: http://alpha-ii.com/Info/snes-spdif.htmlPersonally, I think that is very probably easy to do an MIDIBOX SNES-APU, sorry if don't (I'm very newbie about this)Look at this pretty sound piece of hardware: http://einsteinsbreakfast.com/images/snespics/spc700.jpgBest regards, Quote
AndrewMartens Posted July 8, 2005 Report Posted July 8, 2005 It's definitely possible to do a MIDIBOX-SNES... I had no idea that Nintendo put the APU in a neat little module like that! Hardware-wise, the control signals for the APU system seem to be very similar to those of the SID. Most of the hardware design can be cannibalized from the MBHP_SID board, at which point it just becomes a matter of writing a custom MIOS application to take control and do cool things of the SNES-APU.If you've got the time and motivation to do it, it would definitely be a very cool project! I have a few old-sound-chip projects in the pipeline, but since I don't have any time to even finish my MIDIBOX SID, they're not getting done anytime soon.I'd be impressed to see a MIDIBOX-SNES, though - I'm sure someone here could easily do it! Quote
timofonic Posted July 12, 2005 Author Report Posted July 12, 2005 About time, I have a lot of that, the problem is that I'm technically clueless... I want to learn a lot of stuff, and probably a lot of time (probably years or never) when I can do something like that... Quote
DrBunsen Posted July 14, 2005 Report Posted July 14, 2005 I've just been reading some of those links, such as this oneMaybe not so easy, and a pity, because that little module sounds very handy as a chipsynth device. One of the benefits of using the SID is that, coming from a general-purpose, end-user-programmable home computer, the information on how to control it is very well documented. However...This device consists of an 8-bit CPU (Sony SPC700) and 64KB of RAM ... a 16-bit DSP attached. ... Programs can be written for the SPC700 that play music with the DSP ...... A composer ... puts together a happy little tune using a sequencer on a PC. He then gives this song to the game programmers. They in turn place this song ... into a game. ... it uploads this program to the SPC's RAM.Here's where the problem arises. The format of this song could be anything ... But that doesn't matter, because the game programmers wrote a program that can play this song. Well, it doesn't matter to the common gamer anyway. For those of us who actually listen to video game music ... this is a problem because we don't know to play these songs!... The emulated SPC has in its RAM both the song and the program needed to play it. ... It's still unknown what the song is and how to play it, but you now have the program that can interpret it.So I conclude from that that it would be very difficult to program this module to play arbitrary notes, tunes, effects on demand. The only use suggested on those links is by uploading existing game tunes.Of course, feel free to go ahead and prove me wrong! Quote
AndrewMartens Posted July 15, 2005 Report Posted July 15, 2005 I think that the trick is you would need to write a custom program that runs on the SPC700 and contains a bunch of basic (or not-so-basic) waveforms, which would then accept input from the MBHP interface and load it into the DSP. http://emureview.ztnet.com/developerscorner/SoundCPU/spc.htmThen you'd still need to make your MIOS code to load code into and communicate with the SPC700. It'd be very difficult to do all of this, but it's possible... Quote
DrBunsen Posted July 23, 2005 Report Posted July 23, 2005 Well well well ...... the Famidev site has one good shareware assembler called TASM ... If you place my instruction set ... into TASM, you can assemble SPC-700 code. The list follows. So there's all your opcodes. He also includes info on the registers, the DSP the sample format and how to upload your code. So presumably someone with the requisite skillz or a severe case of the hunger could do it.Still, don't see how this will do anything that any old PC with a 16 bit soundcard couldn't do just as well. Apart from being tiny. Quote
dirge Posted August 13, 2005 Report Posted August 13, 2005 this would be amazing as a MIDIbox! i wish i had the technical knowhow to do it... Quote
Dr.Wily Posted August 23, 2006 Report Posted August 23, 2006 Certain games like Another World, Tales Of Phantasia, Star Ocean use streamed music or SFX in game.For example, Tales Of Phantasia use streaming and sequenced music at the same time (in introduction, music is sequenced and lyrics is streamed from the cartidge).In conclusion, it is possible to play arbitrary note. Moreover, the sound effect in game is in real time and when the SFx is too big for SPC's memory, it read from cartidge. Quote
napierzaza Posted December 12, 2006 Report Posted December 12, 2006 It is possible for the SNES to play music entirely by sending values to the SPC in real-time. For instance, it could modify the DSP registers as we did when we were restoring them, except it would modify them over time so as to produce music, much as other SPC code would. In this way, the SPC could produce music with the IPL ROM communications routine as the only code in its memory. Such SPC files would not even play in a player, since they rely on the SNES for information. Quote
bill Posted December 19, 2006 Report Posted December 19, 2006 This is a bit off topic but :How is it possible to open the SNES without the special nintendo screwdriver ?Thanks !!! Quote
timofonic Posted December 27, 2006 Author Report Posted December 27, 2006 This is a bit off topic but :How is it possible to open the SNES without the special nintendo screwdriver ?Thanks !!!http://www.tototek.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=281An useful thing to know if you want to open you Nintendo console without (!) a gamebit screwdriver...! You can use some plastic pens! Carefully heat up the tip som the pen, and as fast as you can put it over the screw! It worked for me!I did that too and it works ;) Quote
Theta_Frost Posted June 15, 2008 Report Posted June 15, 2008 I'll help anyway possible. Man I'd make this in a heartbeat! Sorry for bump Quote
JMS Posted June 15, 2008 Report Posted June 15, 2008 This is a bit off topic but :How is it possible to open the SNES without the special nintendo screwdriver ?Thanks !!!this is kinda old but you could grind a slot in the heads of the screws with a hand held rotary tool and use a flathead to back them out.. or grind the heads of completely.(i've been browsing through the forums looking for tips and ideas for my own midibox project.)bump MIDIbox_NES and MIDIbox_SNES Quote
Theta_Frost Posted June 18, 2008 Report Posted June 18, 2008 Come on people don't let this die! I don't want to be the only one working on it! Quote
stryd_one Posted June 19, 2008 Report Posted June 19, 2008 OK enough crossposting please :) Your enthusiasm is duly noted :) Quote
Shadyman Posted June 27, 2008 Report Posted June 27, 2008 I just saw the "SNES APU on a PC" link on Hack-A-Day, and immediately ran over here to post about it, but it looks like I was beaten to it! :o Quote
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