X-MASS, a mass-storage expansion for all CPC.

[CraigsBar]

SyX is close to finish the ROM. Only the SAVE function left to code.
Actually, the ROM can do someting like :
- |D, |DIR, |MKDIR, |CD, |ERA, |REN
- CAT, LOAD, RUN

I will send to peoples the preordered floppies with doc when all will be OK.
(the download section will be added on the X-MASS page with the files too)

Excellent. One question, is there going to be an amsdos file copier to actually get the single file games onto the X-mass in the first place? The one thing amsdos always missed IMHO was a |copy command. OK and |format.

Craig

[TotO]

Yes, it is planned to add a copy and format features.
Unlike BDOS, ACMEDOS is AMSDOS friendly and not require to "switch" between them.

[Kris]

Great news !!
I think a lot of people are waiting for this ROM for a while    I'm in a hurry to test it asap...

[TFM]

Being in a hurry doesn't make things better - and patience is a virtue. Embrace the chance to make this experience. 

[Joseman]

SyX is close to finish the ROM. Only the SAVE function left to code.
Actually, the ROM can do someting like :
- |D, |DIR, |MKDIR, |CD, |ERA, |REN
- CAT, LOAD, RUN

I will send to peoples the preordered floppies with doc when all will be OK.
(the download section will be added on the X-MASS page with the files too)

Great news!!

Pitty that now i don't have time to test it!

but trust me... i have plenty of multiload games cracked by me (that i don't released because of incompatibilites with BDOS) that i *REALLY* like to test with it!

@SyX @TotO , thanks for this hardware, for this software (fat32 much needed by the community), really really THANKS!

[Joseman]

Excellent. One question, is there going to be an amsdos file copier to actually get the single file games onto the X-mass in the first place? The one thing amsdos always missed IMHO was a |copy command. OK and |format.

Craig

With Fat32 support, now you can use symbos and symcommander to copy all what you need!!... I can't wait to test it... Symbos + AcmeDOS, just think on the possibilities...

[CraigsBar]

With Fat32 support, now you can use symbos and symcommander to copy all what you need!!... I can't wait to test it... Symbos + AcmeDOS, just think on the possibilities...

Hell yeah! @Prodatron , any chance of a client for aft using the minibooster for symbos?

Craig

[radu14m]

Great News Toto !!!!


thanks 

[MacDeath]

So now we will be able to watch full porn movies in mode1 with 6 extra sound channels while playing PacMan... on a CPC ?

[Prodatron]

Exactly! 

[Prodatron]

Hell yeah! @Prodatron , any chance of a client for aft using the minibooster for symbos?

There is still some progress with the Minibooster network project
Beside that now I think that a client for AFT should be quite easy as well, as the network driver for SymbOS will have these routines for serial communications with the MiniBooster anyway. I need to read some specs now.

[ZbyniuR]

1. Is X-Mass have a mechanism to boot up some program after reset?
I mean some kind system startup, for example run"start  if it exist, if not - just show Ready.

2. Is it files games, I mean those that you can easily copy files to tape or disk of different format will work with X-Mass?

3. What is largest capacity card supports it?

4. Is it any emulator can pretend this hardware?

5. Is anyone already working on some kind Video Player for of CPC, and some kind conversion program for PC to create such files?

6. Any chances for version with SD card, and USB mouse adapter in one?
Or version to connect directly for CPC without MotherX4 ?

[CraigsBar]

1. Is X-Mass have a mechanism to boot up some program after reset?
I mean some kind system startup, for example run"start  if it exist, if not - just show Ready.

2. Is it files games, I mean those that you can easily copy files to tape or disk of different format will work with X-Mass?

3. What is largest capacity card supports it?

4. Is it any emulator can pretend this hardware?

5. Is anyone already working on some kind Video Player for of CPC, and some kind conversion program for PC to create such files?

6. Any chances for version with SD card, and USB mouse adapter in one?
Or version to connect directly for CPC without MotherX4 ?

1. Not as yet. Unless this is also in acmedos? If you use symbos, then you can autostart apps in symbos.

2. So long as the ROMs are not reinitialised I see no reason why unprotected releases should not work. Cngsofts list will be my first port of call once acmedos is released.

3. No sure anyone has tested yet... TotO?

4. Its exactly the same as the symbiface HDD, so winape already emulates it, not sure about any others.

5. In symbos yes. A video player already exists, and works very well.

6. If you can find one a symbiface will provide all of that in one board so no mother 4x needed, but will cost you more than the X-mass, xmem, mother 4x and a Bryce mouse adaptor combined. OK the symbiface mouse is much better than the Bryce adaptor, but is also less compatible with old software.

[ZbyniuR]

Bootable partition with USB mouse (and DigiBlaster) it's all I need to be happy CPC owner.  I'm not interested other stuff.

If you have partition on SD/CF card, standard 128K RAM is enough to play games and watch demos...
It's enough to copy whole disk (even 800K) at once with one disk drive only...
It's enough to play some kind CPC version WAV or AVI files by hours without loading it to RAM whole at once...
Enough to edit realy big files without keep it whole in memory.

Era of cassette recorder already Gone with the Wind, so we don't need a lots of ROMs to enjoy loading in one second. With one ROM capable to use big partition and some starter program and mouse, you can start all in second, even without touch keyboard like on 16bit computer with hard drive.

Thats why I think to make this kind ROM is sooo important to bring joy for all CPC owners.    So, no rush, just do it right.

With whole respect, but PlayCity? Bluetooth? For what? 
If you think few channels is better than DAC, why most people prefer Amiga music than AY? 
SD/CF card take from one computer to put into other and transfer is faster than radio wave.

And one more. I believe shape like (64K dk'Tronics) is more "space on my desk" frendly than MotherX4.


About answer 5 - Sorry but 4 colors in small window it's not interesting for me. I thought rather about something like this:

Amstrad CPC playing a scene from the movie "Elvira - Mistress of the dark" -   ... but with sound of course.

Where I can find this acmedos to try it on WinApe?

[CraigsBar]

Bootable partition with USB mouse (and DigiBlaster) it's all I need to be happy CPC owner.  I'm not interested other stuff.

If you have partition on SD/CF card, standard 128K RAM is enough to play games and watch demos...
It's enough to copy whole disk (even 800K) at once with one disk drive only...
It's enough to play some kind CPC version WAV or AVI files by hours without loading it to RAM whole at once...
Enough to edit realy big files without keep it whole in memory.

Era of cassette recorder already Gone with the Wind, so we don't need a lots of ROMs to enjoy loading in one second. With one ROM capable to use big partition and some starter program and mouse, you can start all in second, even without touch keyboard like on 16bit computer with hard drive.

Thats why I think to make this kind ROM is sooo important to bring joy for all CPC owners.    So, no rush, just do it right.

With whole respect, but PlayCity? Bluetooth? For what? 
If you think few chanels is better than DAC, why most people prefer Amiga music than AY? 
SD/CF card take from one computer to put into other and transfer is faster than radio wave.

And one more. I believe shape like (64K dk'Tronics) is more "space on my desk" frendly than MotherX4.


About answer 5 - Sorry but 4 colors in small window it's not interesting for me. I thought rather about something like this:

Amstrad CPC playing a scene from the movie "Elvira - Mistress of the dark" -   ... but with sound of course.

Where I can find this acmedos to try it on WinApe?

Sounds like you want a whole new expansion! An X-mass with 1 ROM socket, USB, mouse, DAC audio hardware but no ram expansion. You might be on your own with that I'm afraid, which is why the modular design of the mother4x is so good. Everyone can buy just the boards they want.

[MacDeath]

Also I guess it will work as well with FutureOS, more specifically the MacDeath graphics icons  pack edition...

[TotO]

...

Q: Is X-MASS have a mechanism to boot up after reset?
A: It should be possible with something like an AUTOBOOT file. We think about it.

Q: Is it files games, I mean those that you can easily copy will work with X-Mass?
A: Games in files versions work on X-MASS, as well as they not force to acces to a different drive unit. (A for example)

Q: What is largest capacity card supports it?
A: The X-MASS drive size is limited by the OS or BIOS. ACMEDOS will support 128MB first (X-MASS default drive size).

Q: Is it any emulator can pretend this hardware?
A: Any emulators who support IDE drives on CPC with SymbOS/BDOS compatilbe ports

Q: Is anyone already working on some kind Video Player/Converter for CPC?
A: I don't know. I watch video on my PC to not kill my eyes.

Q: Any chances for version with SD card and USB mouse adapter in one?
A: No chance. The X-MASS is a fast and reliable SSD unit using SLC memory.
Use the HxC or the MiniBooster for exchanging files. Mouse and RTC should come as MiniBooster add-on.

Q: Or version to connect directly for CPC without MotherX4?
A: Sure. Connect it without the MotherX4, using a ribbon able.

[Prodatron]

I thought rather about something like this:

Amstrad CPC playing a scene from the movie "Elvira - Mistress of the dark" -   ... but with sound of course.

This is not possible on a CPC. This 40MB video stream is played at about 24 fps, which is nearly 400KB/s.
With the CPC-IDE (SYMBiFACE II, X-MASS) you have a theoretical maximum speed of 162 KB/s (6 microseconds/byte) minus IDE managing stuff minus file system overhead, so something around 130KB/s is realistic. And this is still without sound.

I recorded these videos back in 2004 showing my real CPC playing fullscreen video streams (16K frames) from a FAT32 harddisc at about 8fps:

SymbOS movieplayer with Matrix2 trailer - YouTube

SymbOS movieplayer with Troy trailer - YouTube
This is the reality for a 4MHz CPC.

[ZbyniuR]

I think 8fps (16K) with sound about 11kHz mono should be possible and quite fine.
Are you use some compress or just whole 16K for frame?
And I don't see reason to not use Mode 0.

[Prodatron]

I think 8fps (16K) with sound about 11kHz mono should be possible and quite fine.

In this case you need a special sector read routine which is written for exactly playing a video and sending bytes to the DigiBlaster at the same time. Within a 512byte sector you will have a few PCM bytes between the bitmap bytes.
Example:
Every 16byte is a PCM byte. Then you have 15x writing a byte to the screen (=15x6=90 microseconds) and 1x sending a byte to the DigiBlaster (=10 microseconds if my little calculation is right). That means you have a raw bitmap rate of 100/15 microseconds/byte, which is 150KB/s and a sound frequency of 10KHz. Minus overhead you will end up at about 7fps and 8,5KHz mono 8bit PCM.
So yes, something like this is possible, but not with a general purpose filesystem implementation.

Are you use some compress or just whole 16K for frame?

The 16K frames are not compressed: As long as the mass storage device can send bytes faster than the CPU is able to receive compression doesn't make sense but would even slow down the transfer.

And I don't see reason to not use Mode 0.

Sure, these videos back at this time were more for testing and demonstrating the new FAT routines

[ZbyniuR]

So, maybe 4bit 11kHz by AY ?

I wonder about way of compress video on CPC.
Use doublescreen &C000 and &4000. And load not directly but by buffer.

In first byte two bits 11000000 mean what to do with next bytes. And rest bits 00111111 mean how many next bytes treat the same.

00 - mean next (3 to 63) bytes just copy to screen memory.
10 - mean next (3 to 63) bytes in screen memory just skip because in present frame there is the same what already is in memory.
01 - mean next (3 to 63) bytes in screen memory fill up by value from next byte.
11 - mean end of frame. And if in rest bits is more than 0, mean so many next frames is the same picture.

Why 3 to 63? Because less it's no makes sens comparing to quantity of bytes without compress.

What you think about it?  Is it make sens or it's gibberish?

[Prodatron]

Sending 4bit PCM bytes to the AY (using the volume register) is much slower unfortunately.
Compression doesn't make sense, because...
- speed-wise: it will be always slower than transfering the bytes directly to the screen memory, no matter what algorythm you use.
- filesize: this doesn't matter at all on a FAT16 or FAT32 partition 

[KaosOverride]

Also we have the CPCBooster, with DAC. There is no PPI in the middle so could be a little faster.

And minibooster has some DAC compatible pins at the SPI+serial expansion conector. (LOL, PlayCity+Minibooster is a real sound card combo!!!)

[TotO]

The MiniBooster allow stereo PWM sound.

[TFM]

Also I guess it will work as well with FutureOS, more specifically the MacDeath graphics icons  pack edition...

That's right! The MacDeath Icon Graphics Pack is a defined prerequisite.    I plan an update in 3-6 weeks anyway.