CongoZombie Posted July 22, 2007 Report Share Posted July 22, 2007 Hey,I've been wondering for a while how easy it would be to use the VIC-II chip with a microcontroller to produce video. Now we already use the SID seperately, how hard do you think it might be to use the VIC-II? I think it'd be cool to be able to produce a little PIC/AVR video games system using the VIC-II (since most of us are in ample supply after killing C64s for Midibox SIDs :P)Am I just crazy, or is this doable...?I found some info on the chip:http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/pdf/ds_6567.pdfhttp://unusedino.de/ec64/technical/misc/vic656x/vic656x.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaicen Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 Sounds like a great idea if you ask me, are you wanting the PIC/AVR to replace the RAM etc, and address the VIC chip directly? I've no idea if it's even possible, but i'd guess it is. Personally, i'd settle for an extra core module that can connect to the MBSID to produce visualisations according to how the SID's are being addressed (like Media Player, but more lo-fi). Now that would make a great backdrop for live stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBunsen Posted July 24, 2007 Report Share Posted July 24, 2007 From the brief reading I did last night of the second link above, it looks like it would be simpler to map some RAM (Banksticks? ;D) to the VIC and use your micro to bit bash images into the RAM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CongoZombie Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I've done some digging around and I think I know which chips are needed, but there is a logic chip that sits between the VIC-II and the processor. I think this is for controlling use of the ram (VIC-II has the wheel in this respect- it can stop the processor accessing the ram if it needs access itself), but i'm not sure what I could remove and what I can keep.If I can find out the minimal configuration for using a VIC-II, the programming I believe will not be too difficult, and I think that in bitmap mode, a matrix of the screen is stored in RAM (320x200) so we'd be able to get a relatively high resolution display out of it (only 2 colours can be assigned per 8x8 pixel block though).stryd_one suggested use as a display for the SEQ, which I think is a brilliant idea, as a seperate display module could be made and linked to the core, and a cheap colour screen (like the ones for the psone which are about £20) It'd be cool if some of you could maybe have a look at this issue yourself, as I'm not sure that I'm experienced enough on the hardware front to pull this off (i'll definitely give it my best shot though ;)) I think that this could be a valuable addition to the MIDIBox lineup, and It'll save waste too- how many of us already have a load of SIDless C64s sitting around? ;)Okay... enough rambling :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wilba Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 I don't want to criticize the idea of recycling the VIC-II chip, that's a great idea... but it's a lot of effort to work out how to drive it properly and you're probably still stuck with issues like storing graphic fonts on the PIC and writing line drawing routines etc.Compared to pre-packaged solutions for microcontroller control of VGA monitors:http://www.dontronics-shop.com/home.php?cat=262it's a slow path to a far from perfect solution. These MicroVGA adapters might look expensive compared to recycling chips, but there's already a lot of the hard work done for you, no hardware design required, PCB manufacturing, firmware development, etc. Unlike the SID, there's nothing really special about the VIC-II.Again, I'm only providing a contrasting opinion. If you want to recycle VIC-II chips into a cheap TV controller, as further homage to C64s, for the technical challenge and for the fun of it, that's great, I'm all for it. I'm just posting to show you alternative ways of achieving MIDIbox connectivity to monitors etc.how many of us already have a load of SIDless C64s sitting around? ;)I gave all mine away to a guy who was competing with me on eBay for a C64! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CongoZombie Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Ahh, its mainly for the challenge really. As for the bitmap fonts, I was planning on using the Character rom from the C64. I'm not sure if it can be done without stupid amounts of effort, but I'm hoping that it's possible. Thanks for that link- it looks really interesting. I've been looking at ways to produce videos from micros, be it directly or with a device like the Video Critter, and I figured that the VIC-II was worth a shot as I already had one :)As I say, I'm not sure if I'll be able to get anything working, but if anyone else fancies having a go too, then that'd be cool :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrBunsen Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 What about leaving the VIC on the C64 board and using it as a serial terminal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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