Category : Music and Digitized Voice
Archive   : DSP10.ZIP
Filename : DSP.DOC

/----------\
| TAG | Presents
| SOFTWARE | . . . . Digital Sound Player 1.0
\----------/

Digital Sound Player 1.0 (DSP) is a program that plays a
digital sound file on your Sound Blaster, AdLib Personal
Computer Music System, Disney Sound Source or 100%
compatibles.

DSP 1.0 features a menu-driven interface with both mouse and
keyboard input. While keyboard command-driven sound players
have their place (see our DAPLAY product), this menu-driven
program allows you to quickly scan, select, and play your
sound files.

DSP 1.0 supports .VOC, .WAV, .SND, .AU, .DAS, and raw sound
files. It will actually allow you to play any file.
However, remember that the principle of Garbage In Garbage
Out applies. Playing non-sound files can be hard on the
ears. For the Sound Blaster, DSP 1.0 uses a double buffered
Direct Memory Access (DMA) technique that allows it to play
very large digital audio files. For the AdLib, Disney
Sound Source and the PC Speaker, DSP 1.0 uses a Double
Buffered background playing technique that again allows it to
play very large digital audio files.

Digital Sound Player 1.0 requires an IBM PC or compatible, a
Sound Blaster, AdLib Personal Computer Music System, Disney
Sound Source or 100% compatibles, and only 256K of available
RAM.

Digital Sound Player 1.0 is distributed as Shareware: if you
like the program, please become a registered user. See the
Section "Registration Benefits" at the end of this file for
more information. Print or list the file REGISTER.DOC for
ordering information. Distribution of this shareware program
is encouraged.

The Digital Sound Player 1.0 source code, object code,
executables and manuals on paper or on disk, are COPYRIGHT
(c) 1993 by Carole & Allen Grider.

DISCLAIMER

This program is provided "AS IS" and it is WITHOUT warranty
of any kind that it will work correctly in any or all
situations. No liability shall be assumed for direct or
consequential damage caused by the use of this software.
The only claim TAG SOFTWARE makes is that there are no
intentional bugs or fatal errors in any original copy of
the program that you receive directly from TAG SOFTWARE.

MANIFEST

DSP.DOC . . . . . Text, Documentation (This file)
DSP.EXE . . . . . Digital Sound Player executable 1.0
README.DOC . . . . Text, Last minute information
REGISTER.DOC . . . Text, Registration order form
CATALOG.DOC . . . Text, Catalog of TAG SOFTWARE Products
BING.DAS . . . . . Digital Sound, Monty Python
BUGSBUNY.VOC . . . Digital Sound, Bugs Bunny "What's up doc"
KLAXON1.WAV . . . Digital Sound, Ship's klaxon
ILLBEBAK.SND . . . Digital Sound, Terminator 2 "I'll be back"

DISTRIBUTION

Distribution of this program is encouraged as long as the
following Shareware principles are observed:

All of the above-mentioned 9 files should be
included in the distributed disk and should not be
altered in any way. TAG SOFTWARE authorizes the
distribution ONLY of the 9 above-mentioned files.

If archiving this program for BBS use or library use,
please include all files and use the name: DSP10, ( e.g.:
DSP10.ARC or DSP10.ZIP ). This will provide
consistency for future updates.

Note for Disk and Rack Vendors: Please contact TAG SOFTWARE
for the latest version of this and all our programs. Disk
and Rack Vendors are allowed to include their own
installation package. Also contact us if you require
customization. We will consider non-exclusive registration
handling agreements.

Rack Vendors: Please contact TAG SOFTWARE regarding discounts
to your customers for registering our shareware. We will
consider discounting some or all of the rack price from our
registration fee, if we receive some kind of proof-of-purchase.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND OPTIONS

COMPUTERS: IBM/PC/XT/AT or compatibles. 256K free memory.
SOUND CARD: Sound Blaster, AdLib Personal Computer Music System
Disney Sound Source, or 100% compatibles.

OPERATION

Digital Sound Player is invoked from the MSDOS command line
or batch file:

DSP [ -a ] [ -d ] [ -p ]

Options:

-a Play sound files on a Sound Blaster in AdLib FM
mode. May be required on some Sound Blaster clones.

-d Play sound on a Disney Sound Source connected to
your parallel port (LPT1).

-g Use graphical mouse cursor (EGA/VGA only).

-p Play sound files on your PC Speaker.


SCREEN DISPLAY

+--------------------------------------------------------------------+
|+------------------------------------------------------------------+|
|| ||
|+------------------------------------------------------------------+|
|+----------------------+ Digital Sound Player (DSP) version 1.0 |
|| | COPYRIGHT (c) 1993 by Carole & Allen Grider|
|| | Shareware Version -- Please Register |
|| | +-----------+ +-----------+ +----------+ |
|| | | Help | | Info | | Quit | |
|| | +-----------+ +-----------+ +----------+ |
|| | +-----------+ +-----------+ |
|| | | Play | | dRive | |
|| | +-----------+ +-----------+ |
|| | +-----------+ +-----------+ +----------+ |
|| | | Speed | | Force | | Default | |
|| | +-----------+ +-----------+ +----------+ |
|| | |
|| | |
|| | |
|| | Speed: TAG |
|+----------------------+ SOFTWARE |
+--------------------------------------------------------------------+

Screen Areas and Windows:

- This window displays the current directory.
- This window displays the files in the
current directory along with their size.
- If in default mode, this area will display
"If raw " or if in force mode,
this area will display "Forced ".
- Speed at which raw sound files will be played
in default mode or speed at which all files
will be played in forced mode.

Popup windows: (Windows that will appear as needed.)

- Will appear when playing a
file. Shows file name, type,
and speed being played.
- Will appear when switching disks.
Shows valid disks to select from.
- Will appear when changing
playing speed.

GENERAL OPERATION

When you start the program, the will
contain your current directory and the
will contain as many files as will fit. The topmost entry in
the will be highlighted. When DSP 1.0 is playing
a file, a will appear with the file's name,
its identified type, and its speed. When the highlight bar
is on a directory (indicated by as the size), playing
it will move you into that directory. Both the WINDOW> and the windows will be updated.

Typing H or clicking on the HELP button will display a
a quick summary of DSP 1.0 commands using both keyboard and
mouse.

Typing I or clicking on the INFO button will display
information about this program.

Typing F10 (Function key 10), ESC, Q, or clicking on the QUIT
button will exit the program.

Typing P, ENTER, SPACE, or clicking on the PLAY button will
attempt to play the highlighted directory entry in the WINDOW>.

Typing R or clicking on the DRIVE button will bring up the
. This window will display the valid
disk drive letters for your system. Typing a valid disk
driver letter or clicking on the displayed drive letters will
cause DSP 1.0 to switch to the current directory on that drive.
The and the will be updated.
If ESC is typed while in the the
window will be exited without changing disk or directory.

Speed selection for raw sound files (in default mode) or all
files played (in force mode) is done using the S key or Speed
mouse button. A will appear with
the current speed displayed. The UPARROW key will cause the
speed to increase by one unit. The PLUS (+) key will cause
the speed to increase by ten units. The PAGEUP key will
cause the speed to increase by one hundred units. The
DOWNARROW will cause the speed to decrease by one unit. The
MINUS (-) key will cause the speed to decrease by ten units.
The PAGEDOWN key will cause the speed to decrease by one
hundred units. The ENTER key sets the default playing speed
and the will be removed. The ESC
key will exit the without changing
the default playing speed.

What a unit is depends on the sound device. The Sound
Blaster only plays speeds which can be expressed as Speed =
1000000 / (256 - X). Where X can range from 0 (3906) to 0xd5
(23255). Each change in units affects X in the equation
above. For both the AdLib and the Disney Sound Source, a
unit is 1 Hz.

This player can be in one of two modes. The first mode
(default mode), plays a selected file using speed information
taken from the file's header if it is of type .AU, .SND,
.VOC, or .WAV. If DSP 1.0 is unable to determine the file type,
it will play the file as if it is a raw sound file, using
the speed set by the S key or Speed mouse button. The second
mode (override or force mode), always plays the file using the
speed set by the S key or clicking on the Speed mouse button.

KEYBOARD OPERATION

The following keys are used to select and play sound files.
The highlight bar can be moved to other files using the
UPARROW and DOWNARROW keys, the PAGEUP and PAGEDOWN keys, or
the HOME and END keys. When the highlight bar is on a file,
pressing P (for Play), ENTER, or SPACE will cause DSP 1.0 to play
that file on your Sound Blaster, AdLib, or Sound Source.

KEYBOARD OPERATION SUMMARY

KEY FUNCTION

SPACE, ENTER, . . .(Play) Plays the file highlighted. If
or P the highlighted entry is a directory,
DSP 1.0 will switch to that directory.
F10, ESC, or Q. . .(Quit) Will exit this program.
D . . . . . . . . .(Default mode) When playing a file,
use speed given in file header.
F . . . . . . . . .(Force mode) When playing a file use
speed defined by user using S (Speed)
key.
F1 or H . . . . . .(Help) Give a summary of keyboard and
mouse operation.
R . . . . . . . . .(dRive) Switch to a different disk drive.
S . . . . . . . . .(Speed) Set speed for over-ride of speed
in sound file header or set speed to play
raw sound files.
HOME. . . . . . . .Move highlight bar to the top of the
directory listing.
END . . . . . . . .Move highlight bar to the bottom of the
directory listing.
PAGEUP. . . . . . .Move to previous page in directory
listing.
PAGEDOWN. . . . . .Move to next page in directory listing.
UPARROW . . . . . .Move highlight bar to previous entry.
DOWNARROW . . . . .Move highlight bar to next entry.

MOUSE OPERATION

Mouse operation of DSP 1.0 is very similar to keyboard operation,
except that the mouse is used to select and play sound files.
Clicking on an entry will either play that entry (if is a
file) or switch to that directory (if it is a directory).
The slider bar to the right of the can be used
to move through the files. Clicking on the up arrow will
cause the highlight bar to move one entry up. Clicking on
the down arrow will cause the highlight bar to move down one
entry. Clicking on the slider bar, above the slider will
move up one page. Clicking on the slider bar, below the
slider will move down one page.

The HELP, INFO, QUIT, PLAY, DRIVE, SPEED, FORCE, and DEFAULT
areas of the screen are mouse buttons and perform the following
actions:

HELP Display a command summary window.
INFO Display a DSP 1.0 information window.
QUIT Exits the program.
PLAY Plays the highlighted file.
DRIVE Invokes the .
SPEED Invokes the .
FORCE Puts DSP 1.0 in force mode.
DEFAULT Puts DSP 1.0 in default mode.

CONFIGURATION

Sound Blaster CONFIGURATION

An environment variable can be used to inform DSP 1.0 of the
information it requires to play sounds on the Sound Blaster.
This environment variable is set up by newer versions of the
Sound Blaster's installation program, but older Sound
Blaster's (and clone's) installation programs do not set up
this environment variable.

Digital Sound Player can obtain its configuration from the
environment variable BLASTER. The format of the information
in this variable is as follows:

SET BLASTER=Annn In Dn Tn

Where:

Annn nnn specifies the I/O Address of your sound card.

Sound Blaster 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0:
Possible values: 210, 220, 230, 240, 250, 260
Factory Default: 220 (if not changed via hardware jumper).

Sound Blaster Pro:
Possible values: 220, 240
Factory Default: 220 (if not changed via hardware jumper).

Sound Blaster 16:
Possible values: 220, 240, 260, 280
Factory Default: 220 (if not changed via hardware jumper).

In n specifies the IRQ of your sound card.

Sound Blaster 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0:
Possible values: 2, 3, 5, 7
Factory Default: 7 (if not changed via hardware jumper).

Sound Blaster Pro
Possible values: 2, 5, 7, 10
Factory Default: 7 (if not changed via hardware jumper).

Sound Blaster 16
Possible values: 2, 5, 7, 10
Factory Default: 5 (if not changed via hardware jumper).

Dn n specifies the 8-bit DMA Channel used by your sound card.

Sound Blaster 1.0, 1.5, and 2.0:
Possible values: 1
Factory Default: 1 (not changable)

Sound Blaster Pro
Possible values: 0, 1, 3
Factory Default: 1

Sound Blaster 16
Possible values: 0, 1, 3
Factory Default: 1 (not changable)

Note that DSP 1.0 only supports DMA channel 1.

Tn n specifies the Type of your sound card.
See NOTES ON SOUND CARDS below for more information.
Possible values:
1 Sound Blaster 1.0 or 1.5
2 Sound Blaster Pro
3 Sound Blaster 2.0
6 Sound Blaster 16
Currently DSP does nothing with this value.

For a Sound Blaster just out of the box (before you muck with
the jumpers) use:

SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 T1

or:

SET BLASTER=A220 I7 D1 T3

For a Sound Blaster 1.5 (what we have) on IRQ 5 (like us, most
people have a printer on IRQ 7):

SET BLASTER=A220 I5 D1 T1

The Sound Blaster Pro and Sound Blaster 16 supports
additional DMA Channels. However, Digital Audio Player does
not support the additional DMA Channels. If your card's
configuration fits the ranges given above, then Digital Sound
Player 1.0 should work. If you have problems, please
contact us.

Digital Sound Player 1.0 has the ability to auto-detect the
Sound Blaster. But, if it has trouble (please let us know)
you can set the BLASTER environment variable to get around
the problem.

AdLib CONFIGURATION

Digital Sound Player 1.0 has the ability to auto-detect the
AdLib Personal Computer Music System sound card.

Disney Sound Source CONFIGURATION

Digital Sound Player 1.0 cannot auto-detect the Sound Source.
Therefore you have to inform it that a Sound Source exists on
your system. Use the "-d" option to do this. For example:

DSP -D

PC Speaker CONFIGURATION

Digital Sound Player 1.0 assumes a IBM PC/XT/AT clone
speaker. If you have a Sound Blaster or AdLib sound card you
can override DSP's autodetection and play sound files on the
PC Speaker by using the "-p" option.

NOTES ON SOUND FILES

It seems that every sound card manufacturer has developed its
own digital audio file format. Creative Labs, being the first
with the cheapest, has prevailed with their .VOC format.
This was true until MicroSoft released Windows with the
Multi-Media Extensions. The Windows Multi-Media Extensions
uses the .WAV formatted digital audio files. Another (older)
format are the .SND files. Some seem to be MacBin format
with the original Data Fork and Information Fork information
intact. Others come from older sound packages called SOUNDER
and SoundTools. Another source of sound files are Sun/NeXT
systems with their .AU format.

Currently .VOC files are the most prevalent, with .WAV files
catching up fast. .SND files are seen here and there, but
sometimes contain really unique sounds not seen in .VOC or
.WAV format. This is very strange, because it is trivial to
convert between these various formats. Digital Sound Player
1.0 should play all .VOC, .WAV, .AU, and most .SND files.
There are actually several file formats that all use the .SND
extension. We currently support two of them. If you have
trouble getting a particular file to play properly, please
send it to us. We will take a look at it and see if we can
fix the problem. Please send us suggestions on other file
formats you would like to see supported. Note, it is easier
for us to support a file format when we have examples.

Sound files can use up a very large amount of disk space.
Understand that a high quality 8-bit sound file sampled at
23kHz uses 23,000 bytes every second. Things will only get
worse when the newer sound cards with stereo and higher
sampling rates prevail in the market. Imagine a 44kHz stereo
16-bit sound file. Only 10 seconds of sound will tie up
1,760,000 bytes (44,000 * 2 * 2 * 10). No wonder the
Multi-Media standard calls for a CD-ROM.

We at TAG SOFTWARE have been working on this problem. We
have come up with a compression technique that generally
achieves better compression than general purpose compressors.
This technique can be used to lossless and lossy compress
sound files. And, these compressed sound files can be
decompressed and played on-the-fly. We call this sound file
type .DAS. The file BING.DAS is an example of this file
type. The original sound file was Mono, 8-bit, 22Khz and was 69999
bytes long (3.175 seconds). BING.DAS has been compressed at
loss level 2 and is only 21920 bytes long. A compression
ratio of 68% (3 to 1). If you are interested in compressing
your own sound files look for Digital Audio Sound Compressor
(DASCMP10.ZIP) at your favorite disk vendor, BBS, or rack.

If you have trouble getting good digital audio files, see our
Digital Sound Collection Series. We have selected some of
the best audio files available and can supply them in .VOC or
.WAV format.

NOTES ON SOUND CARDS

Creative Labs Sound Blaster

Creative Labs has issued several different sound cards - all
under the name Sound Blaster. The cards and their differences
are listed below:

Sound Blaster 1.0 - The original. Mono FM. Comes with CMS
chips. 100% AdLib, GameBlaster compatible plus mono
8 bit DAC 4kHz-23kHz / ADC 4kHz-12Khz.

Sound Blaster 1.5 - Same as above but they made the CMS
chips optional (CMS chips are required for

GameBlaster compatibility).

Sound Blaster 2.0 - Same as above but the CMS support was
dropped completely (Seems they weren't selling).

Sound Blaster Pro - Same as Sound Blaster 2.0 but adds
stereo support.

Sound Blaster 16 - Same as Sound Blaster 2.0 buts adds
both stereo and 16-bit support.

Digital Sound Player 1.0 should work properly with all five
types, but currently only supports Mono 8-bit sound files.
If you have any problems, please let us know.

Various Sound Blaster clones have been produced with
different levels of compatibility. Digital Sound Player 1.0
should work with any Sound Blaster clone with 100% register
level compatibility. If you have any problems, please let us
know. If you are unable to get DSP 1.0 working with your Sound
Blaster clone, you can try the AdLib FM option "-a".

AdLib Personal Computer Music System

AdLib produced the first sound card with 9 FM voices. But,
it has no direct digital audio support. We have come up with
an algorithm that allows playing of digital audio sound files
on the AdLib with surprisingly good results.

Disney Sound Source

The Disney Sound Source is a parallel port Digital to Analog
Converter (DAC). Currently DSP 1.0 only supports this device
when it is connected to LPT1 (the first parallel port). The
sounds that came with ours were really grotty and are not
representative of the really good digital sound this device
can produce.
PC Speaker

The PC's speaker is a truly amazing beast. Orignally
designed to only produce beeps and simple tones, it can
actually perform an amazing range of sounds. However, one
has to have a speaker with sufficent volume to be heard. On
our 16Mhz machine, the speaker is buried behind a solid front
and is not loud enough. Our 25Mhz, on the other hand, the
speaker's sound is quite acceptable.

DOCUMENTATION AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

If you have a printer, please print out and read this
documentation file DSP.DOC. We would like to thank
Creative Labs for shipping a perfectly awful VOC player with
their sound cards.

We would like to thank all the graphic file viewers in the
market for this idea. You can think of this program as a
sound file viewer.

We would like to thank Dave Kirsch for making his graphic
mouse cursor in text mode routines available and freely
usable.

FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS

We do not like the way the speed selection works. It will be
improved. Any suggestions are welcome.

We would like to add support for stereo sound files. The
newer sound cards support stereo, but we need a mixing
algorithm for playing these files on the older cards.

We would like to add support for 16 bit sound files. The
newer cards support this data width, but we need a downsizing
algorithm for playing these files on the older cards.

We would like to expand the support for the Sound Blaster Pro
sound card, to include its expanded DMA Channels, 8 bit
stereo, 16 bit mono, etc.

We would like to add support for the Covox Speach Thing and
clones. This should be in the next release. We know how to
do it, but do not have one to test with. If anyone has one
and would like to be an alpha tester or if you would sell us
one cheap, please let us know.

We would like to add support for the PC Speaker. We know the
techniques involved, but just have not had the time to
implement them.

We would like to add support for other sound cards including
Pro Audio Spectrum 16, Sound Blaster Pro (stereo), Sound
Blaster 16, and the Gravis Ultrasound. If you have
programming information on these devices, contact us, maybe
we can work a deal.

We would like to add support for sound files compressed by
archivers such as PkZip. Sound files can absorb huge amounts
of disk space and text based archivers have a difficult time
getting good compression of sound files. However, we all
like to tweak as much out of our disk as possible. Plus
there is the saving in the MSDOS cluster overhead.

REGISTRATION BENEFITS

Digital Sound Player 1.0 is distributed as Shareware: if you
like the program, please become a registered user by sending
$10 to TAG SOFTWARE. List or print the file REGISTER.DOC for
more information. List or print the file CATALOG.DOC for a
complete description of all of TAG SOFTWARE's products.

For registering Digital Sound Player 1.0:

- You will receive the latest registered version of this
program.

- You will receive one FREE disk from our Digital Sound
Collection Series. See the file CATALOG.DOC for details as
to which audio clips are on what disk.

- Technical Support. Please write TAG SOFTWARE. Or you
can contact us through The Programmer's Corner BBS
301-596-7692 or 410-995-6873.

As always, we will respond to your suggestions and comments.
Sometimes we can incorporate your suggestions in the latest
version of the program that you receive from us.