Here is a bit fixed version of the information, we have collected about controlling this device on ML:

#7E00-#7EFF: Read buffer. Will return 256*256 picture. After one byte is read, next one will be returned. (LDIR/OTIR is used to read multiple bytes at a time)


#7FFC R/W: %ABC***XX
A Read: Busy or something like that (Z=Idle, NZ=Busy) Usually you can skip with ESC key.
B Read: Sync something (Wait to be NZ and wait to be back Z)
C Read: Sync something else (Wait to be Z and wait to be back NZ) (Video refresh?)
XX Write: Command
		00 = Terminate
		01 = Digitize
		10 = ??
		11 = ??


#7FFD R/W: %A**DXXYY
A Read: Even/Odd frame
D Read: Video signal detected (NZ = No video signal)
XX Write: Start block Y
YY Write: Start block X

#7FFE Write: %XXYYYZZZ
XX = Screen mode
	00 = SCREEN 12
	01 = SCREEN 10/11
	10 = SCREEN 8
	11 = Other / Clear memory

YYY = Block size Y
ZZZ = Block size X

#7FFF Write: 8bit data (???)

To reset, write 0 to #7FFF - #7FFC (=backwards)




BIOS Routines:
--------------

#4010 "SONY HBI-V1 V10",0

#4020 Digitize

	Input:
	C	0 = Copy to VDP
	B	0 = Don't loop
	E	Nuber of frames to wait (0 = No wait)
	HL	Pointer to 7 bytes parameter table

	Table pointed by HL:

	n	0-255
	n+1	0-3	Screen mode
	n+2	0-7 	Block size Y ???
	n+3	0-7	Block size X ???
	n+4	0-3	Start block Y ???
	n+5	0-3	Start block X ???
	n+6	0-3	Command

#4023 DCOPY or something like that

	Input:
	HL	Pointer to parameter table 

	Table pointed by HL:
	Lucky guess: x,y,x,y,x,y

#4026 YJK color adjust (Similar to CALL YJK)
	Input:

	Color table pointed by HL

#4029 DCLS
	Input:

	None

	Explanation:
	Calls digitize routine (#4020) with following values:

	BC=1
	E=0
	Table pointed by HL: 0,3,0,0,0,0,1

#402C Start digitize software
	Input:

	None

	Explanation:
	Same as CALL DG in BASIC. Loads the BASIC program from ROM.

#402F Send command to hardware
	Input:
	HL	Pointer to 7 bytes parameter table

	Table pointed by HL:
	Same as in Digitize routine.

#4032 Copy Digitizer RAM to VRAM.
	Input:

	None

Quote:

I will scan the manual!

Done. The (Japanese) manual is scanned and online at http://www.hansotten.com - Whats new on the MSX Info pages. Also new is the (dutch) Turbo5000 manual and sources of the SVI.738 CP/M format utility.

Does the HBI-V1 show a live preview of the video on the screen while you have the digitize software menu open? I noticed that it sends command 1 (to #7FFC) after the menu has been drawn and when you choose "start", it sends command 2. Perhaps cmd 1 means init and 2 digitize?

No, the way it was done makes it too slow for that. The digitized data needs to be transferred to VRAM first before you can view the result which takes up some time and because of that, live preview while the menu is displayed is not possible. The only live preview is without the menu using another monitor connected to the cartridge.

Hi, well i got an German userguide for the HBI-v1 digitizer, this is an direct translation, but maybe usefull ?

but again , nothing about programming the digitizer in asm, only basic , but stilll its , the manual its self is ore clear then japanese

Ow i forgot, the swith is indeed for the brightness of he digitized image, but the connector towards the msx is the input, not the other one, it will also give an signal but it's ment to be connected to a monitor, so you cant controll the brightness on this connector sinds its an output

For the people that are interested in the complete dis-assembly of the rom, i just made one (i assume thats legel if you got the original ??) also an hex/ascii dump of the compleet rom.
For me its just to get a better reference when displaying ans searching in de source on my laptom while testing it on my msx2+

It would be nice to have that translation online! Some of the Basic calls have obscure arguments, their meaning can only be guessed.

ok, i will scan the manual to PDF, but i can't host it on a web site sinds i don't have one!

I have send a email to msx hans , maybe he's interested in putting the translated docs on his web-site ...

I also started to subdivide the HBI source in subroutinens to get a more clear view of things and to find out what every peice of code does before i start playing with the i/o ports them self.

Ow i saw that the 'art'of converting the hb1 module to from NTSC to PAL is lost, wel mine is fixed in germany in 1991 , so i can make some good pictures of it to see wats different ...
I saw that there is 1 little extra home made pcb in my module on the and of the original pcb, its connected with 2 wires to the original....but sinds i'm not in to electronics (but i can see its home made because of the soldering and color)...

Nice! msxhans at yahoo dot com wil do fine. The pdf will eventually be stored at funet.

Yes, but i stil got no answer ..;-(( tonight -- when everybody here sleeps -- i will scan the manual, maybe i start my own home page for this purpose, i allready got a domain name (www.macabre.nl) but stil hadn't got the time to put something on it ....(thats what you get with children , they even take youre beloved msx ;-))

I don't know if i can put the source on there, i'm already sorting the subroutines altough its an disassembly of 880 kb in plaint asc-ii text , its well written.

the only diffecultie is that the data and code are not sepperated , so there is some 'random opcodes' , but its easy to see where the data is and where the code.

First of all i'm searching for the actual copy routine -- digitizer ram --> video ram--
This shouldent be to hard to find sinds the I/O for the VDP is well documented.

I want to work up from there to see how the parameters for the hardware and basic are interpreted.

Maybe then i'll get a better view of how its been done, and maybe to write a more modern routine to use the cardwridge (hopefully a better 'realtime' view and better use with harddisk or BIG memery mappers like mine 4 mb msx2+)

You can send the pdf to msxhans at yahoo dot com (thats me!)

ow ok ,Thanx!

There should be somthing like this in the code:

ld a,0d4h
ld b,0
ld hl,7e00h
otir

That's where the VRAM of the HBI-V1 is copied to the VRAM of the MSX. I'm working on a disassembly and documenting stuff as well. It's a hell of a job to do, but it's progressing... slowly.

Yes, i already made some blocks --after every RET-- now looking wats connected with relative jumps, then looking wats been called from where and documenting the nows calls to lets say BIOS and use of known I/O.


I just Mailed the german documentation of the digitizer to Hans, so it will be soon on funet.