Hello everyone, HVSC Update #35 is now available for you to download at www.hvsc.c64.org This update is the first from our new administrator Jan Harries. Please note: you must use update tool version 2.8.2 to run this update successfully. The Windows version is included with the update, for other OSes please see the Downloads page at the HVSC web site at http://www.hvsc.c64.org/Downloads/ After this update, the collection should contain 20,660 SID files. This update features (all approximates): 276 new SIDs 102 fixed/better rips 38 fixes of PlaySID/Sidplay1 specific SIDs (ie: RSID files) 6 repeats/bad rips eliminated 368 SID credit fixes --------------------------------- HardSID Quattro PCI Now Available --------------------------------- The HardSID Quattro PCI is now available for purchase, with hopefully the option of a HardSID PCI with just one SID to come in the future. For all you PC owners who don't have an ISA slot, this could be the upgrade you need. The Windows drivers work with anything from Windows 98 upwards, and there's already an unofficial version of the VICE emulator available which supports the card (as of course does Sidplay2/w) More information at http://www.hardsid.com/ --------------------------------------- Catweasel Mark 3 PCI card Now Available --------------------------------------- The HardSID isn't the only PCI card for the PC which allows you to use a real SID, though. The Catweasel PCI is also out there and already looks like a worthwhile purchase, not least as there's C64 joystick ports so you can use your old favourite C64 sticks on the PC. The card is a "flipper" card, so upside down it can also be used in the Zorro port of an Amiga. The product is already supported in various Linux, MacOS and BeOS products, with Windows support to follow soon (the 1.12 release of the VICE emulator will support it, apparently.) http://www.jschoenfeld.de/products/cwmk3_e.htm ------------------------- MacOS SID-related updates ------------------------- Andreas Varga, one of the HVSC Team, has been very busy on the MacOS front lately. He's been involved in three new Mac OS X releases which are: * Sidplay 3.1.2, which supports the Sidplay1 and Sidplay2 emulation libraries, as well as the Catweasel card, as well as many other great features including auto-updating of HVSC * Sidplug, the browser SID plug in, which now has Sidplay2 emulation library support, meaning you can play RSID files from web pages if you wish, as well as having better SID emulation in the plugin. (Hopefully someone can port this over to Windows, too) * GoatTracker, the C64 music editor for PC, now ported to the Mac, which again also has Catweasel support built-in. If you're a Mac OS X user, you simply have to download the lot: http://www.sidmusic.org/sidplay/mac/ --------------------------- Back in Time Live - Germany --------------------------- Saturday June 21, 2003 is the date for the first Back in Time Live! event held outside the UK. Not only are there going to be a wealth of C64 remixers there, but also C64 high score competitions, celebrities including Thomas Detert and Markus Schneider, and other C64-scene related people from Europe coming along as well. To pre-register for the event, and to find out more, go here: http://www.backintimelive.de/ ------------------------------------------------ SIDWine2 Competition Results and SIDLin Magazine ------------------------------------------------ Recently, SID fan and author of SIDLin magazine, Stefano Tognon, held the second online SIDWine music competition. There were a total of twelve entries, with a wide range of musical styles featured. Voting has closed and the end results were very close indeed. The tunes should be in the next HVSC Update, but if you're eager to listen to them before then, why not pay a visit to the competition page to download all the tunes, including a nice C64 music selector program at: http://digilander.libero.it/ice00/tsid/sidwine2/ Stefano's SIDLin magazine is also a good read too, and features not just about the music, but the technical aspects as well. Very interesting reading here: http://digilander.libero.it/ice00/tsid/sidin/ ------------------------------------ Winamp SIDPCC64 plugin now available ------------------------------------ Jakub Wozniakowski has released a plugin for Winamp that doesn't just play SID tunes (bearing in mind the old SIDamp plug in is hopelessly out of date these days) - he's gone one better than that. The plugin actually allows playing back SID files on a real C64 connected to the PC by using the PC64 cable. So your real C64 does all the playing work using something like HVSC stored on your PC. Neato, eh? Find out more at: http://strony.wp.pl/wp/xray64/sidpc64/ ----------------------------------------- Domination Disk Magazine SID chip special ----------------------------------------- The new issue of Domination, Issue #18 deals with the SID chip indepth. It has a lot of interesting articles based around the SID chip, tips and tricks by one of the best modern-day composers, Søren Lund (Jeff), four interviews with SID composers, a broad opinion poll, etc. Why not find out more by downloading the issue here: http://www.demodungeon.com/zip/domination18.zip -------------------------------- Press Play on Tape live concerts -------------------------------- The C64 tribute/remix band, Press Play on Tape recently played a storming live concert at The Gathering Party in Norway. In their new very Kraftwerk-like outfits, the band produced a tight set which will be well worth a listen (the band recorded the whole concert and it may well be available soon). They also played a small warm up concert in Copenhagen, Denmark prior to their Gathering gig. For information and pictures of both events, go here: http://www.pressplayontape.com/ ------------------------------ New version of PSID64 released ------------------------------ Roland Hermans has kindly taken time to update his .sid->.prg converter, PSID64, which is commonly used to transfer .sid files onto a real Commodore 64. Version 0.6 has some incompatibility problems fixed and is definitely worth a download, as Roland cooperates with the HVSC team and his program is progressing so it could play back all tunes from HVSC flawlessly - and is getting close to that point. Note that HVSC team _strongly_ encourages you to use PSID64 for playing .sid files on a real machine, as some of them will not play otherwise (e.g. those using NMI interrupts and going back from INIT with the RTS command). Get this program today from http://psid64.sourceforge.net ------------ C64audio.com ------------ C64Audio.com announced that it has now paid over £20,000 to C64 composers since 1997, in royalties and other payments: many of the composers were also given generous sales bonuses because we respected them so much, and because C64Audio.com's mission has always been to work on behalf of the original composers, form a commercial link between them and the fans (for both SID covers and original music), and work to bring the SID music we love into the mainstream. This £20,000 represents over 50% of the profits generated on the CDs: the rest has gone into live events, funding future CDs and artists, and of course the running costs involved in creating a professional infrastructure. C64Audio.com also now administers the copyrights of many of the main composers, and has given explicit permission to HVSC (and only HVSC) to carry these SIDs. This protects the scene from ripoffs of HVSC, and ripoffs of SID music by bigger companies who only care about making a quick buck. The site will shortly be relaunched with a brand new shop, brand new content and a brand new mission! ------------------------ Other interresting sites ------------------------ In-depth info about the SID. The site really is worth visiting. http://www.kubarth.de/sid/