COMP.SYS.CBM: General FAQ, v3.1 Part 6/9
CBM FAQ Information
Archive-name: cbm-main-faq.3.1.p6
Comp-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part6
News-answers-archive-name: commodore/main-faq/part6
Comp-sys-cbm-archive-name: main-faq/part6
Version: 3.1
Last-modified: 1996/04/13
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Table of Contents (for this file)
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7. Exchanging Data
7.1. How do I exchange data among Commodore 8-bit machines?
7.2. How do I exchange data between an IBM(tm) and my Commodore?
7.3. How do I exchange data between an Amiga and my Commodore?
7.4. How do I exchange data between a Macintosh(tm) and my Commodore?
7.5. How do I exchange data between an Atari ST(tm) and my Commodore?
7.6. How do I exchange data between a UNIX(tm) machine and my Commodore?
7.7. Are there other ways to exchange data between computers?
8. Operating Systems
8.1. What Operating Systems are available?
8.2. What is GEOS?
8.3. What is UNIX?
8.4. What is CP/M
9. Demonstrations
9.1. Just what is a demonstration, or demo?
9.2. What does NTSC and PAL mean?
9.3. Where do I get demos?
9.4. What is a demo competition?
9.5 What does FLI, DYCP, etc. mean?
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7. Exchanging Data
At some point in time it becomes necessary to move data from one machine to
another. Sometimes this is easy, sometimes it is not. This section will
| help you decide which way of transferring files is best. For those who have
+ WWW access, additional information is at
+ http://www.funet.fi/pub/cbm/transfer/
+ and also at:
+ http://hem.passagen.se/bacchus/tools2.htm
7.1. How do I exchange data among Commodore 8-bit machines?
You can exchange data between Commodore machines in a number of ways, but
each way requires an exchange medium, whether it be tape, disk, modem, or
null modem.
To transfer files between any Commodore machines besides the Plus/4
series that have datasette ports, the file can be save to tape and
exchanged. The Plus/4 series tape drives read and write data in a format
not compantible with any other CBM system.
To transfer files between any Commodore computers with disk drives, you
need to find a drive that can be connected to either computer, or two
drives with compatible disk formats. Some examples of two drive setups:
2031 1541
4040 1541 (Read but not write compatible_
8050 8250 (can't use back side of 8250 disk)
8050 SFD1001 (can't use back side of SFD1001 disk)
1551 1541
1571 1541 (can't use back of 1571 disk)
Modems can be used to exchange the information, if both computers can
use modems. Just perform a dowload on one end, and an upload on the
other. Null modems can make this job simpler, by removing the data->
telephone line step performed in a modem.
With all of these methods, data files should transmit fine, but program
file written in ML will most likely not work, and BASIC programs will
usually fail is loaded on a machine with a differing version of BASIC.
7.2. How do I exchange data between an IBM(tm) and my Commodore?
+ Commodore computers use a disk format that is not compatible with MS-DOS
+ style machines. However, there are two ways around this. One is to use
+ a 1571 or 1581 drive (which can read and write IBM-style disks) with a
+ special program to transfer files. The otehr is to connect a CBM drive to
+ the IBM. There are multiple options for each way you choose. Note that
+ the 1541 cannot read or write MS-DOS disks without some hardware
+ modifications. Most of the programs run in either 64 or 128 mode, although
+ there are a few CP/M MS-DOS utilities available that work in C128 CP/M
+ mode.
Big Blue Reader
+ Big Blue Reader
+ SOGWAP Software (Author)
+ CMD (Distributor).
+ Platform: 64/128
A commercial package, The Big Blue Reader, from SOGWAP software, runs on
either a 64 or a 128, will read and write MS-DOS format 3.5" (with a 1581)
and 5.25" (with a 1571) disks.
Crosslink
+ Crosslink
+ Platform: 64/128
+ ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/
| A free program to transfer MS-DOS files from. Limited to reading files
| 43K in size or smaller.
RUN Reader
+ RUN Reader
+ Platform: 64/128
+ RUN (Author)
+ CMD (Distributor)
RUN magazine (4/89 to 6/89) published a series of programs that would use
1571/1581 drives to transfer MS-DOS files to and from a C= drive. It is
also limited in file size handling ~43-44K.
Little Red Reader
+ Little Red Reader
+ Platform: 128
+ Craig Bruce (Author)
+ csb...@ccnga.uwaterloo.ca (Internet Contact)
Issues 4 and 5 of C= Hacking magazine presented a program called Little
Red Reader for the 128 that will copy files to and from MS-DOS floppy
disks. The menu-driven program requires two disk drives to work, where the
one containing the MS-DOS disk must be a 1571 or 1581 (or compatible). The
program does not buffer data internally, so the only size restriction on
copying is the capacity of the target disk. The program provides PETSCII/
ASCII conversion but will work only with the root directories of MS-DOS
disks. The program is also available via FTP and is FREE.
1541-dos
+ 1541-dos
+ Platform: 64/128
+ ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/documents/1541-dos (WWW URL)
To read and write to MS-DOS disks with 1541 disk drives you have to make a
small hardware modification. The 1541-dos package contains instructions on
how to modify Commodore 1541 and Oceanic OC-118/OC-118N disk drives, and
programs to read disks in MS-DOS format and to write to disks in a format
that can be read by MS-DOS computers.
x1541
+ x1541 (1.0)
+ Platform: IBM
+ Leopoldo Ghielmetti (Author)
+ Leopoldo....@epfl.ch (Internet Contact)
+ http://www.funet.fi/pub/cbm/ (WWW URL)
+ This father of all transfer programs first made use of the cable now
+ referred to as the X1541 cable. This new version of X1541 is actually
+ two pieces. A I1541 driver that talks to the U1541 user program.
+ Although the U1541 program is lacking, anyone can write to the I1541
+ driver. To read CBM disks on an IBM, you can use this program
+ This program uses the PC parallel port to emulate a C= serial port.
+ You need to have a unique cable built to make the connection. The cable
+ is connected to a 1541 drive. The documentation has a schematic for the
+ cable.
+ If you would rather not build the X1541 cable, the following individual
+ offers them for a nominal cost:
+ Paul MacArthur
+ attn: X1541 Cable Offer
+ 24 Central Street
+ Braintree, MA 02184
22DSK
+ 22DSK (1.4.2)
+ Platform: IBM
+ ftp://oak.oakland.edu/Simtel/msdos/diskutil/22dsk142.zip. (WWW uRL)
If you own a Commodore 1581, there is a PC program which can read
| 1581 formatted disks. Note that this program will only handle CP/M
| formatted disks.
C64-Connect
+ C64-Connect (0.99)
+ Platform: IBM
+ Ville Muikkula (Author)
+ vmu...@raahenet.ratol.fi (Internet Contact)
+ ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbm/transfer/CBM-to-PC/
A very fast way of transferring one file programs between the Commodore and PC
is C64-Connect. All you need is a simple cable between user port of C64
and PC's parallel printer port (LPT). Loading of a 50 KB program takes about
3.0 seconds and transferring the same program from C64 to PC takes 4.5
seconds. (Times were measured on a PAL-C64 and 486DX-40, NTSC units will see
slighly faster times) This program is a boon for every C64 user that has
only a cassette drive, as the loader program needed fori the C64 is shorter
than most cassette turbos and aboyt 45 times faster.
C64-Connect stores C64 programs on PC in the standard PRG format, so
you can easily convert them to various file formats used by emulators.
Email Ville Muikkula at vmu...@raahenet.ratol.fi for more information.
PC2VIC
+ PC2VIC
+ Platform: VIC-20 and IBM
+ Adam Bergstrom (Author)
+ adam.be...@um.erisoft.se (Internet Contact)
This package enables you to send programs (and other data) to your VIC20.
The data is sent from the PC:s printerport to the VIC20:s userport, which
makes the transfer rather fast.
adam.be...@um.erisoft.se
Adam Bergstrom
Storgatan 92,2
903 33 Umea
SWEDEN
+ Anadisk
+ Anadisk
+ Platform: IBM
+ Anadisk will allow you to read, write, and edit sectors of 1581 disks in
+ an IBM PC floppy drive. The current version is 2.07 and has the filename
+ ANAD207.ZIP.
+ The Star Commander
+ The Star Commander
+ Platform: IBM
+ The Star Commander (0.73)
+ Joe Forster/STA (Author)
+ s...@ludens.elte.hu (Internet Contact)
+ http://ludens.elte.hu/~sta/sc.html (WWW URL)
+ - user interface, colors and hotkeys just like in The Norton Commander
+ - high speed routines handle disk images (35 or 40 tracks, with or
+ without error info), tape images (C64S) and file images (PC64)
+ - handles files and disks in a Commodore 1541/1571 drive connected via
+ the X1541 interface cable
+ - three modes for transferring disks from and to the Commodore drive:
+ normal (reads a disk in 7:50, writes in 9:55), turbo (2:25, 2:25) and
+ warp (1:15, 1:20) with retry on disk errors for all modes
+ - three modes for transferring files from and to the Commodore drive:
+ normal (reads a 210 block file in 2:20, writes in 2:25), turbo (1:00,
+ 1:00) and warp (0:25, write not yet implemented) with retry on disk
+ errors for warp read
+ - fast execution of CBM DOS commands and some extended CBM DOS commands
+ - powerful disk editor similar to Disk-Demon for disk images and disks
+ - optionally runs with the C64 character set on EGA/VGA video cards
+ - highly configurable for total comfort, context sensitive online help
+ - an external setup program for even more options and full color setup
+ - a viewer for DOS files and for Commodore files inside images
+ - user-defined menus and extension files for associating commands,
+ external viewers and editors with DOS file extensions
+ - external programs to handle Arkive, LHA, Lynx and ZipCode archives
+ to list disk and tape images and to collect multiple file images
+ into tape images
+ Email the author if you want to join the SC mailing list to get the
+ latest version by email the day it comes out.
+ Look into the URL "http://ludens.elte.hu/~sta/sc.html" for news about
+ the beta versions being developed.
+ Trans64
+ Trans64 (V1.24)
+ Platform: IBM
+ Bernhard Schwall (Author)
+ sch...@informatik.uni-bonn.de (Internet Contact)
+ ftp://ftp.armory.com/pub/user/spectre/EMUL-UTIL/tr64*.zip (WWW URL)
+ Uses X1541/Disk64 cable. Transfers to and from CBM-Drives/Disk-images/
+ Tape-images/virtual disks/IBM-PC with normal/fast/turbo mode. Window
+ driven GUI. Supports reading of GEOS-VLIR files (icons, graphics, text)
+ and CBM files. DiskMonitor and Charsets for CBM-reading included.
+ Availiable at all common CBM-FTP-sites (/emulator)
+ prlink
+ prlink
+ Platform: IBM and 64/128
+ ftp://pub/cbm/transfer/CBM-to-PC/prlink-0.9.5a.tar.gz (WWW URL to Source)
+ ftp://pub/cbm/transfer/CBM-to-PC/prlink095.zip (WWW URL to IBM EXE)
+ prlink is a program that uses the a parallel port to C64 User port cable
+ to transfer data from the Commodore to the IBM
+ READ81
+ READ81
+ http://www.magnamedia.de/64er/aktuell/aktuell.html#News 2 (WWW URL)
+ Don't know much about this, as the blurb was sent ot me in German, but
+ it will read 1581 disks in a PC and is available for 30 DM. It can also
+ read GEOS disks and converts from multiple formats, ASCII to PETSCII, and
+ soem graphics formats.
+ Performance Peripherals Europe,
+ Silcherstr.16, 53332 Bornheim,
+ Tel. 02227/912097, Fax: 02227/3221
There are no programs that will read a 5.25" Commodore disk in a 5.25" PC
drive.
7.3. How do I exchange data between an Amiga and my Commodore?
TransNib
+ TransNib (1.00)
+ Platform: Amiga and 64/128
+ ftp://ftp.wustl.edu/systems/amiga/aminet/misc/emu/TransNib100.lha
The TransNib 1.00 package for Amiga allows transferring files
C64<->Amiga at up to 60000 bps. It uses a parallel<->user port cable that
currently transfers 4bits at a time. Uses 2-way handshaking. 2 versions
of the 64software are in the archive. Requires a disk drive. 1541
fastloader compatible. The Amiga side software can be run from shell of
WB, multitasks fine and has nice simple GUI.
PData
+ PData (3.51)
+ Platform: Amiga and 64/128
+ ftp://ftp.doc.ic.ac.uk/computing/systems/amiga/mods/chip/NemeSIDs-Extra.lzh
The PData 3.51 package for the Amiga allows transfer of both binary and
text files between the C64/C128 and the Amiga. It's about 25 times faster
than a null modem cable, and it even leaves your Amiga serial port free for
other applications.
You can transfer up to 255 files in both directions in multitransfer mode.
The program works with an cable attached between the 64 user port and the
Amiga parallel port. The Amiga software can be run from any Amiga,
although Kickstart v37.175 (v2.04) is required to utilize all functions.
prlink
+ prlink
+ Platform: Amiga and 64/128
+ Olaf Seibert and Marko Makela (Authors)
| ftp://pub/cbm/transfer/CBM-to-PC/prlink-0.9.5a.tar.gz (WWW URL to Source)
+ http://www.funet.fi/pub/cbm/transfer/Amiga/prlink-amiga-0.9.5b.zoo (Binary)
| prlink is a program that uses the a parallel port to C64 User port cable
| to transfer data from the Commodore to the Amiga.
+ Over5
+ Over5
+ Platform: Amiga and 64/128
+ Daniel Kahlin (Author)
+ t...@stacken.kth.se (Internet Contact)
+ http://www.stacken.kth.se/~tlr/computing/over5.html (WWW URL)
+ Over5 (successor to OverFour) is a program that uses a standard 3 wire null
+ modem cable to transfer files between the Amiga and the 64/128. No special
+ serial port cartridges are needed. Only a simple votga econverter for the
+ 64/128 user port to generate RS-232 level voltage is needed.
+ FEATURES:
+ * filecopy with wildcards !!IMPROVED!!
+ * builtin diskturbo
+ * Read/Write memory !!IMPROVED!!
+ * Read/Write file
+ * Read directory
+ * Send disk command
+ * Read disk status
+ * do RUN/SYS
+ * both PAL and NTSC versions
+ * the Amiga as harddisk server !!IMPROVED!!
+ * fastformat with verify
+ * Read/Write raw disk !!IMPROVED!!
+ * ZIPCODE archive depacking
+ * ZIPCODE archive packing
+ * timeout handling on the c64
+ * source code included !!NEW!!
+ * protocol documentation !!NEW!!
+ The author:
+ Daniel Kahlin <t...@stacken.kth.se>
+ Vanadisvdgen 6, 2tr
+ s-113 46 Stockholm
+ Sweden
+ 08-34 84 73 (+468348473) (Phone)
7.4. How do I exchange data between a Macintosh(tm) and my Commodore?
+ Currently, to exchange data between a Commodore and a Macintosh, a null
+ modem serial connection is needed. See Section 7.7 for more information.
Atari ST can read and write 3.5" DD disks formatted for PC. You need to use
TOS 1.4 or higher to format. Using Big Blue Reader to write 3.5" PC
format on CBM will permit transfer.
ST also has RS-232 port, so one can transfer data by using RS-232 adaptor
on the C64 and some terminal/handshaking programs to control the transfer.
7.6. How do I exchange data between a UNIX(tm) machine and my Commodore?
One way is to use PC and then ftp to UNIX, unless the UNIX runs on a PC.
Some Sparctations have drives with MSDOS filesystem emulation, but it has
problems even with Atari/DOS disks.
cbmfs
cbmfs is a read-only filesystem driver which allows transparent reading of
1581 disks under Linux. It is installed as a loadable kernel module and
allows mounting Commodore 1581 disks in a standard 3.5" floppy drive, and
1541 disk images (.D64 files) copied to any floppy disk. PETSCII to ASCII
conversion can be automatically performed. Partitions on 1581 disks are
accessed as subdirectories. The publically-released version will be
available at <ftp://ftp.wimsey.com/pub/linux/incoming/cbmfs-1.0.tar.gz>
and at <ftp://sunsite.unc.edu/pub/Linux/system/Filesystems/cbmfs-1.0.tar.gz>.
prlink
+ prlink
+ Platform: UNIX and 64/128
+ Olaf Seibert and Marko Makela (Authors)
| ftp://pub/cbm/transfer/CBM-to-PC/prlink-0.9.5a.tar.gz (WWW URL to Source)
| prlink is a program that uses the a parallel port to C64 User port cable
| to transfer data from the Commodore to Linux (or any UNIX).
7.7. Are there other ways to exchange data between computers?
+ If you are transferring data to another computer that possesses an
+ IEA-232 (RS-232) I/O "serial" port, you can exchange data by linking the
+ two machines via the RS-232 ports and transferring data in much the same
+ way one does when connecting to a remote machine over a modem. In this
+ case, however, the modems on both computers are eliminated and a special
+ "null modem" cable is used in their place. This cable is simply a regular
+ RS-232 cable with the transmit and receive lines crossed. This allows
+ data transmitted from one computer to appear on the receive pin of the
+ other computer and vice versa. To exchange data using this method,
+ equip your Commodore computer as if you were connecting it to a modem.
+ (See Section 5.2). At this point, attach the null modem cable between
+ the CBM and the other computer. Finally, run telecommunications programs
+ on both machines. Transferring a file is then as simple as uploading a
+ file on one machine and downloading it on the other.
+ This method is the most reliable and most compatible of all of the
8. Operating Systems
Most Commodore users aren't aware that each machine has an operating
system. Since all Commodore systems come complete with a built in
operating system and BASIC programming language, the need for an
operating system is minimized. However, Commodore's internal OS is
not always the right tool for the job, so alternate OS systems are
available for the CBM.
8.1. What Operating Systems are available?
Well, Commodore computers come with a standard operating system
built in ROM. They also contain a built in BASIC interpreter which is
normally activated after switching on or resetting the computer.
If you want alternative options to replace the existing OS, there are a few
that may suit your needs. GEOS is the best known, but a number of people
have made UNIX-like operating system replacements for the Commodore 64 and
128. Also, on the 128, CP/M is available out-of-the-box. (see below for
details on different OS types.)
8.2. What is GEOS?
GEOS stands for Graphical Environment Operating System. It is a Graphical
User Interface (GUI) style of OS, and it brings to the Commodore 64 and 128
integrated applications. The graphical nature of GEOS allows applications
to use fonts of any size, bitmaps, and menus and mice. The system was
Designed by Berkeley Softworks, now GEOWorks, and is supported now by CMD.
There are a number of graphical style GEOS applications, like GEOWrite,
GEOPaint, GEOPublish, GEOTerm, etc. The system is very easy to use, and
is very fast, even when compared to other GUIs like Windows and OS/2.
GEOS can make very effective use of a Ram Expansion Unit, a RAMDrive or
RAMLink, or GEORam. GEOS allows you to configure your REU to appear just
like another (very fast) disk drive, although it does not keep its contents
when you turn your computer off. So, any GEOS software that works off of
a disk will work out of your REU. Since GEOS is very disk-intensive, this
greatly improves the performance of your system. Indeed, some firm GEOS
adherents have said that they would not use GEOS without a RAM device of
some sort.
GEOS will not work with a stock 1700. To have a RAM drive, in GEOS, you
must have at least 256K of expansion. Thanks to patches developed by Jim
Collette(configure2.1), GEOS also supports 1 Meg, 1.5 Meg, and 2 Meg REUs.
GEOS files are structured differently from standard Commodore files. They
cannot be uploaded or downloaded directly. Before you upload a GEOS file,
use the freeware GEOS application convert2.5 by W.C. Coleman to convert it
to Commodore format. When you download a GEOS file, you must use the same
program to convert it to GEOS format. By convention, GEOS format files
converted to standard Commodore format have a .cvt on the end; however,
many converted GEOS files just have the same name as the original GEOS file.
As a rule of thumb, any GEOS file you download, regardless of the extension,
must be converted to GEOS format with convert2.5.
If you download an archive of GEOS files (e.g. a .arc or .sda file
containing GEOS files), you must first dissolve the archive using your C64
or C128 in native mode. The constituents of the archive will be converted
GEOS files, whether or not they have the .cvt extension. Each of these
constituents (which are GEOS files) must be individually converted to GEOS
format with convert2.5.
If you need some help with GEOS or any aspect of it, I refer you to Myles
Skinner at mski...@julian.uwo.ca. He is one of many people who use GEOS
every day and can be of help.
8.3. What is UNIX?
UNIX is an OS that was developed by Bell Laboratories in the 1960's and
is now used on many workstations. It is a multi-user, multi-process
OS that has extensive support from the educational and commercial
communities. Internet and Usenet are primarily a collection of UNIX
workstations networked together. The UNIX-like OS replacements for
Commodore computers mainly emulate the shell of UNIX, where programs are
run by merely typing in their name. Other aspects of UNIX, such as
multiple processes are supported by some of the offering, which are:
Asterix. - A UNIX-Look-and-feel Shell replacement for 64
UNIX128. - A small implementation of UNIX for the 128.
ACE 128/64.- A new offering which borrows the UNIX shell look for 64
| and 128. It is available at:
ftp://ccnga.uwaterloo.ca/pub/cbm/os/ace/
+ LUnix - A new offering which attempts an implementation of UNIX
+ for the 64. It is available at:
| http://wwwcip.rus.uni-stuttgart.de/~etk10217/lunix/lunix.html
+ ftp://ftp.funet.fi/pub/cbmc64/os/lunix/
+ CS/A65 - Andre Fachat's multitasking OS. At:
+ http://www.tu-chemnitz.de/~fachat/csa/
| CXII - http://www.cynapses.com/ry/cx2/index.html
8.4. What is CP/M
CP/M stands for Control Program for Microcomputers and is available on
every Commodore 128. There is also a CP/M cartridge available for the
Commodore 64, but it cannot read CP/M disks, just 1541 formatted disks, and
there are questions concerning its ability to work with all revisions
of the Commodore 64. CP/M was very popular in the early eighties before
MS-DOS became popular. It requires a Z-80 microprocessor, which the 128
has, or an 8080 processor, and a disk drive capable of reading CP/M disks,
such as the 1571. If you don't need to read existing CP/M formatted disks,
then a 1541 could also be used. This operating system is the one that
MS-DOS was modeled after, so there are a lot of similarities. If you are
interested in using CP/M as your primary OS, then please check out the
newsgroup comp.os.cpm, as they have more info on the current events
concerning CP/M.
The version of CP/M used on the 128 is 3.0, commonly called CP/M Plus.
It is compatible with earlier versions of CP/M but adds some new features.
The copy of CP/M 3.0 that ships with the 128 was specially modified to allow
use of the features of the 128, such as the Ram Expansion Unit as a RAM
disk, the SID chip, and the extra RAM of the 128.
In the March 1994 issue of dieHard, Mike Gordillo gave an overview of the
CP/M operating system. It is one of many such articles that should be read
by anyone new to CP/M.
9. Demonstrations
Very few Commodore enthusiasts have never seen a demonstration, yet
many aren't really sure what one is. Well, since these programs are still
alive and strong in the 1990's, we need to answer some of their mysteries
(but not all of them, as their job is to amaze).
9.1. Just what is a demonstration, or demo?
A demonstration, or "demo" as they are known, is a piece of software that
is designed to provoke a visually and aurally pleasing effect from the
computer. This usually involves large amounts of multi-colored graphics,
complex synthesized or digitized sounds, and orchestrated movement of
shapes or color schemes on the screen. Demos originated as introductions
to "cracked" games, games in which the copy protection had been rendered
useless. As time wore on, the standard abilities of the computer were all
used in demos, and rival "cracker" teams raced to bring out the best demo.
In the search for the "best demo", demo authors, or "coders", tried to
maximize the use of the computer in a demo program. Also, they exploited
any undocumanted feature the computer could provide. Since most of the
circuits in the Commodore computers were multi-purpose, experienced coders
could use some of their features in non-standard ways. Some examples:
Removing the top and bottom border.
Removing the side borders.
Placing text (text mapped sprites) in the open borders.
More than 8 sprites on screen at once.
pseudo interlacing to create illusion of up to 640*400 resolution.
Since the commercial game market has shrunk significantly over the past
few years, and since demos are sometimes too involved to be classified
as a game into, many demos are packaged so they can "stand-on-their-own".
Users can download a demo, load it up, and run it like any other program.
As demos got more involved, some coders produced cutting-edge technology
demos intended to "one-up" their rival coders, while others made artistic,
but less technically challenging demos for arts sake. Either way, it is
important to note that demos are not usually interactive. They are meant to
be viewed and listened to. Demos are mostly passive entertainment, and
appreciation for the effects generated in a demo increases as one
realizes the normal limitations of the Commodore line of computers.
So, sit back, load up a demo, run it, and enjoy.
9.2. What does NTSC and PAL mean?
These two acronyms refer to the type of TV broadcasting signals used
to create the video picture on your TV or monitor. American, Japanese, and
Canadians use NTSC, while a good part of Europe uses PAL. This usually
makes no difference to programs, as the C64 and C128 in C64 mode always
present 200 lines of pixels to the video display. However, since the PAL
standard allows more lines to be displayed on the screen and has a slower
screen refresh time, the PAL computer has more time before screen
refreshes to perform other operations, and also can put more information
on the screen in some cases, since there are more lines in a PAL dislpay.
Since demos use highly optimized timing and complex routines to perform
the effects, some demos can only be written for PAL machines. Sometimes,
a demo is written for a PAL machine, but it can be made to run on an
NTSC machine. Demos that can run on both machines without any code
modification are called regular demos, those that can only run on PAL
machines are PAL demos, PAL demos that have been modified to run on NTSC
machines are called NTSC-fixed demos, and NTSC demos that have been
modified to run on PAL machines (rare) are called PAL-fixed demos.
The mean difference between NTSC and PAL is that the mathematical
description of NTSC will fit on one page while PAL takes a phone-book
style book full of integral/Fourier/Laplace equations.
From a demo coder's point of view, the difference lies in how many cycles
you get per scan line and how many scanlines there are:
VIC type cycles per line lines per screen frame rate
old NTSC-M 64 262 60 Hz
new NTSC-M 65 263 60 Hz
all PAL-B 63 312 50 Hz
9.3. Where do I get demos?
There is a whole site full of demos. They are located in the
/pub/cbm/c64/demos directory of nic.funet.fi. See section 5.4 for
directions on how to transfer files from this site.
9.4. What is a demo competition?
This is a "convention" where people from the demo "scene" get together.
They are usually held in Europe, although other countries do have them.
Coders get together and exhibit previously unreleased demos in a competition
where the best ones are ranked according to a subjective scoring system.
At the end of the competition, the demos are released to the public. To
make things somewhat fair, demos are judged according to computer type, so
Amiga demos do not get judged alongside 64 demos. These competitions are
usually held in conjunction with music or art competitions.
Most demo competitions are held within Europe due to copyright laws and
stuff.
Previous pardies (demos parties, or competitions) held were:-
Event Location Date
----- -------- ----
Radwar Pardy Germany January 1994
Pardy III Denmark Decemeber 1993
Chormance & Faces Pardy Hungary December 1993
Elysium Pardy Poland Decemeber 1993
Entropy Pardy Holland June 1993
Assembley '93 Pardy Finland May 1993
The Computer Crossroads Sweden April 1993
Radwar Pardy Germany January 1993
Duration 1993-1994 (March 1994)
Most pardies are held when all the schools are on hoildays.
The point of a copy pardy is to go there with your computer, meet other
computer friends from other groups and swap different warez, meet other
members of your group and using the combined skills from the members
(graphics/coding/musix/spreading), write a demo before the closing time for
the pardy so it can get voted on. The winner comes away with about 300
Kronar or similar.
9.5 What does FLI, DYCP, etc. mean?
Writing a successful demo often means tweaking routines and hardware
to reach beyond the normal capabilities of a computer system. Such is
partially why such programs are called "demos". To tweak the system and
hardware, programmers utilize undefined routines, use hardware in non-
standard ways, and create tming loops that force events to happen at
certain intervals. When these components are composed together, they
create an effect, either via video or sound. The effect is known by a
name or phrase. Some phrases are known by their acronyms, as the two in
| the heading are known. FLI is Flexible Line Interlace, while DYCP
| is Differential Y Character Position. It is beyond the scope of the FAQ to
discuss all the effect names, but a somewhat complete list can be found
| at http://www.jbrain.com/pub/cbm/faq/demo-acronyms.txt on WWW or as file
demo-acronyms.txt on Jim Brain's MAILSERV server (See Section for more
information on mailservers.)
--
Jim Brain, Embedded System Designer, Brain Innovations, Inc. (BII) (online sig)
b...@mail.jbrain.com "Above views DO reflect my employer, since I'm my employer"
Dabbling in WWW, Embedded Systems, Old CBM computers, and Good Times! -Me-
BII Home: http://www.jbrain.com CBM Info: http://www.jbrain.com/vicug/