Short: CBM compat. device for MAS MP3 Player Author: hodges@in.tum.de (Chris Hodges) Uploader: hodges in tum de (Chris Hodges) Type: mus/play Version: V1.4 (17-Jun-01) Requires: Dirk Conrad's MAS Player (Pro-Version!) Architecture: m68k-amigaos MASMPegDevice V1.4 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Finally there is a commodore standard device for Dirk Conrad's MAS Player (mpeg layer 2 and 3 hardware decoding using the MAS3507D chip) which can be used in conjunction with AMPlifier (www.katodev.de, included with OS3.9) and other software that supports the mpeg device class (Frogger, MPEGMovie, etc.). The masmpeg.device is based on the framework of the melodympeg.device by Thorsten Hansen. This software is Freeware. Comments appreciated though. Requirements ~~~~~~~~~~~~ You will need the pro version of the MAS Player, the standard version is not supported. A 68020 CPU is mandatory, I have not tested if a 68020@14MHz will suffice, but probably not. Installation ~~~~~~~~~~~~ Just copy the masmpeg.device file into your DEVS: drawer. Give this device name for AMPlifier etc. (for Frogger, use the "AD MAS" option). Currently, only use unit 0. The MAS hardware must be connected to the internal parallel port. Included Extra Stuff ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ LoadModule by Torbjörn Andersson: This can be used to install the masmpeg.device as a romtag at boot time. Example: LoadModule >NIL: DEVS:masmpeg.device ; Safe to use before SetPatch BootupMP3 by Chris Hodges: Can be used in conjunction with LoadModule to install an MP3 jingle very early at every bootup. Example: BootupMP3 EndSequence.mp3 ; Installs the romtag, safe to use before ; SetPatch BootupMP3 REMOVE ; Removes the resident tag from memory BootupMP3 BREAK ; Stops the music from playing MASPlay by Thorsten Hansen: Simple CLI tool to play back an MP3 file. Slightly modified for MAS. Example: MASPlay EndSequence.mp3 EndSequence.mp3 by Chris Hülsbeck (truncated and encoded with low bitrate). Tech Bits ~~~~~~~~~ The device does not allocate a CIA timer for its interrupt. It does all its transfers during a soft interrupt. This means that you should be able to use your internal serial port in case you connected the power plug somewhere else. Moreover, all hardware resources are allocated in a system friendly way, so there should not be any interferences with other conform software trying to use the parallel port in any other way. Known Problems ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ - There is no detection if the MAS player is connected or not. If you try to play something and the hardware is not connected, it will drain lots of cpu power (it will not crash though). - Sometimes the sound is interrupted for a short period. Seems to be a bug in the timer.device that sometimes causes interrupts to be delayed. I tried very small intervals, but it still remained, so I guess it's either a bug in timer, or the system interrupt load causes high latencies. History ~~~~~~~ V1.4 (17-Jun-01): - Changed the init sequence to support new MAS Player revisions with G10/G12 MAS chips. V1.3 (21-Apr-01): - Removed the dynamic interrupt interval stuff as it caused too much troubles for most users. Interrupt interval is now at 5.5 / 4ms. - Fixed a missing AbortIO() call in BootupMP3. V1.2 (05-Apr-01): - Very big thank you must go to Dirk for supplying me a free MAS-Player! - CMD_RESET left MAS in an uninitialized state, therefore AMPlifier and probably also Frogger had problems playing back MPEG2.5 streams. - Fixed initial volume to 100% (sorry). - Volume is now logarithmic. - Removed CBM parallelport device stuff, as it is never going to be supported by any device. Much time wasted. But before I waste more time on implementing support for IOBlix or HyperCOM, it would be nice to get feedback on the demand of these modes. It is already evident that using HyperCOM instead of the internal parallel port reduces CPU load a lot! - Included the extra stuff. V1.1 (xx-Feb-01): - Interrupt interval is now shorter and adapts itself to the bitrate. Hopefully, this will eliminate any remaining drop out effects. V1.0 (24-Jan-01): - Initial public release. Contact address ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Any mail, comments or donations welcome: Chris Hodges Account: 359 68 63 Kennedystr. 8 BLZ : 700 530 70 D-82178 Puchheim Bank : Sparkasse Fürstenfeldbruck Germany Tel.: +49-89/8005856 WWW: http://www.platon42.de/ Email: hodges@in.tum.de IRC: platon42 on EfNet