VGMPlay for MSX | MSX Resource Center (Page 53/55)

Ascended (10767)

17-03-2021, 14:39

sdsnatcher73 wrote:

Wait what? Replace YM2610 with YM2610B. Anything special needed (or just replace old with new)?

The biggest challenge is to find an YM2610B. Most of the chips sold on eBay, Utsource, Alibaba, etc. are a relabeled YM2610. You can’t trust the label on the chip, the only way to know for sure is to test it. Probably best bet is to find a reputable seller who has taken the chips off an arcade board themselves and thus can guarantee it’s a B type.

As for where I got my chips, I bought a couple on a whim from eBay years before the Neotron was developed, and only once I got the Neotron I was able to confirm whether they were really the B type. It seems I was very lucky. So I can’t really point you to a reliable source.

If you do have one you can just replace it, it is pin-compatible. The SDIP pins and holes on the board are small so make sure you have the skills and equipment or let someone else do it for you. You don’t want to damage the board. Then update the ROM so that it identifies as YM2610B to VGMPlay.

sdsnatcher73 wrote:

Actually VGMPLAY already tells me it is playing to Neotron B, but I guess it is not detecting difference between YM2610 / YM2610B?

The vast majority of tracks on VGMRips are for YM2610, even most marked as YM2610B are actually not. To check whether the chips I had bought were a B type I tested with Psychic Force - 01 Fire & Ice. I had a few extra which I gave to Supersoniqs so it is possible you got one of those. If it came flashed with the B type ROM then I would expect that to match the chip.

Par sdsnatcher73

Prophet (3951)

17-03-2021, 14:54

Hmm the chip inside is marked YM2610 (no B), when I play the track you mentioned it plays but there is at least 1 track missing (the twirly sound). So it seems there is a mismatch between the ROM and the chip. Could this mismatch impact playback of regular OPNB (YM2610) tracks?

Par Grauw

Ascended (10767)

17-03-2021, 17:12

Ah, I was already surprised by it. A SIOS chip identifier mismatch doesn’t currently affect playback, but in future versions VGMPlay will use the detection for more things, so I recommend to flash the sios_0a3.rom firmware to match the chip.

Par sdsnatcher73

Prophet (3951)

17-03-2021, 20:38

I am getting an error on Rusty:

file:///Users/peter/Sources/vgmtransmute/ym2610b.js:164
throw new Error("Expected YM2608 DELTA-T ROM data.");

Par Grauw

Ascended (10767)

17-03-2021, 21:51

Thanks for testing! That’s probably because Rusty uses PSG “sample drums” instead of ADPCM ones… I hadn’t considered that. I can let vgmtransmute pass the sample data through and convert the stream control commands as well, however be aware that VGMPlay MSX isn’t able to play them at the moment, so they will be missing.

Par sdsnatcher73

Prophet (3951)

18-03-2021, 05:20

Okay no problem. I converted all PC-88 and PC-98 YM2608 packs from vgmrips.net and only Rusty has this ‘issue’...

Par sdsnatcher73

Prophet (3951)

18-03-2021, 10:08

BTW I ordered 4 YM2610B (from 2 different sources), I will inform you when they arrive and if they work (and where I got them in case they do

I refreshed to the 0a3 release of SIOS and I am inclined to say it sounds better than before...

Par Grauw

Ascended (10767)

18-03-2021, 12:41

Good luck!

The issue with Chinese sellers on eBay like polida and utsource is not that they are unreliable themselves (my YM2610Bs are from polida), however they do not actually have them in stock themselves. They are intermediaries based near local chips marketplaces, and when you order chips they buy them from various sellers (scrappers, in a way), so they have no quality control over the chips they acquire for you. If you order some good chips one time, the next time you might get bad ones.

And these scrappers are the ones who engage in practices to increase the value of their product, such as polishing and relabeling chips to make them appear new, but also more dubious practices such as relabeling YM2149s as AY-3-8910s and YM2610s as YM2610Bs because those fetch higher prices.

Par Grauw

Ascended (10767)

20-03-2021, 20:01

grauw wrote:

sdsnatcher73 wrote:

I am getting an error on Rusty:

file:///Users/peter/Sources/vgmtransmute/ym2610b.js:164
throw new Error("Expected YM2608 DELTA-T ROM data.");

Thanks for testing! That’s probably because Rusty uses PSG “sample drums” instead of ADPCM ones… I hadn’t considered that. I can let vgmtransmute pass the sample data through and convert the stream control commands as well, however be aware that VGMPlay MSX isn’t able to play them at the moment, so they will be missing.

VGM Transmute now supports this, and SSG volume control for balancing was added as well.

Par denjhang

Rookie (30)

08-05-2021, 20:28

Are you currently interested in studying OPN VGM playing on Moonsound? I found that vgm-conv can convert OPN (4OP FM) to OPL3 (2x2OP FM), and it can also convert SSG to FM, which seems to mean that vgmplay plays OPN in Moonsound and even OPM VGM can be processed in a similar way.
What I am most looking forward to is to use Moonsound to play OPNA (FM only) and OPM VGM, because Moonsound (OPL3 part) supports up to 8 2x2OP FM channels, so this seems to be feasible, although some timbres will change after using vgm-conv conversion It's strange.