https://www.dosbox.com/wiki/api.php?action=feedcontributions&user=Stillquest&feedformat=atomDOSBoxWiki - User contributions [en]2024-03-28T14:25:55ZUser contributionsMediaWiki 1.34.1https://www.dosbox.com/wiki/index.php?title=MIDI_software_devices&diff=4093MIDI software devices2010-10-19T17:01:43Z<p>Stillquest: </p>
<hr />
<div>DOSBOX currently does not provide emulation of general MIDI or the MT-32 Roland, instead passing the music data along to the MIDI device installed on your system. However, most modern PCs provide only very basic MIDI functionality, and therefore attempts to use general MIDI/MT-32 music under DOSBOX usually end up sounding rather poor.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, at least for Windows users, there are a couple of free software projects that provide emulation of these MIDI devices, resulting in a great boost to music quality:<br />
<br />
==Roland MT-32==<br />
<br />
[http://sourceforge.net/projects/munt/ Munt] is an open source project that aims to emulate the MT-32 hardware by way of a Windows XP WDM driver. Using it, however, requires a copy of the original ROM images from a Roland MT-32, and these are not included with the download. Installation notes are provided within the distribution archive.<br />
<br />
==General MIDI==<br />
<br />
[http://www.wg7.com/en/wgdl.html WinGroove] has apparently been abandoned mid-development, but is still an excellent sounding general MIDI synthesizer. The latest available version, 0.A4 Beta-2, can be freely obtained from the site.<br />
<br />
Installation note: After downloading wg0a4_e.exe, run it in order to extract the installation files into a temporary directory. Then, from within that directory, go to START -> RUN and type "WGINSTLR.EXE FULLSET.LST". The rest of the process should be trouble free - but do not skip restarting Windows at the end.<br />
<br />
==Using MIDI software devices under DOSBOX==<br />
<br />
After installing either/both of these devices, you will need to make sure DOSBOX actually uses them. You can either edit the [MIDI] section in the .conf file (instruction are provided inside the file itself or in the README), or change the default MIDI device in Windows. To do the latter, Go to START -> SETTINGS -> CONTROL PANEL -> SOUND AND AUDIO DEVICES, select the "Audio" tab and choose the device you wish to use under the "Midi music playback" section.</div>Stillquesthttps://www.dosbox.com/wiki/index.php?title=MIDI_software_devices&diff=4092MIDI software devices2010-10-19T17:00:47Z<p>Stillquest: </p>
<hr />
<div>DOSBOX currently does not provide emulation of general MIDI or the MT-32 Roland, instead passing the music data along to the MIDI device installed on your system. However, most modern PCs provide only very basic MIDI functionality, and therefore attempts to use general MIDI/MT-32 music under DOSBOX usually end up sounding rather poor.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, there are a couple of free software projects that provide emulation of these MIDI devices, resulting in a great boost to music quality:<br />
<br />
==Roland MT-32==<br />
<br />
[http://sourceforge.net/projects/munt/ Munt] is an open source project that aims to emulate the MT-32 hardware by way of a Windows XP WDM driver. Using it, however, requires a copy of the original ROM images from a Roland MT-32, and these are not included with the download. Installation notes are provided within the distribution archive.<br />
<br />
==General MIDI==<br />
<br />
[http://www.wg7.com/en/wgdl.html WinGroove] has apparently been abandoned mid-development, but is still an excellent sounding general MIDI synthesizer. The latest available version, 0.A4 Beta-2, can be freely obtained from the site.<br />
<br />
Installation note: After downloading wg0a4_e.exe, run it in order to extract the installation files into a temporary directory. Then, from within that directory, go to START -> RUN and type "WGINSTLR.EXE FULLSET.LST". The rest of the process should be trouble free - but do not skip restarting windows at the end.<br />
<br />
==Using MIDI software devices under DOSBOX==<br />
<br />
After installing either/both of these devices, you will need to make sure DOSBOX actually uses them. You can either edit the [MIDI] section in the .conf file (instruction are provided inside the file itself or in the README), or change the default MIDI device in Windows. To do the latter, Go to START -> SETTINGS -> CONTROL PANEL -> SOUND AND AUDIO DEVICES, select the "Audio" tab and choose the device you wish to use under the "Midi music playback" section.</div>Stillquesthttps://www.dosbox.com/wiki/index.php?title=MIDI_software_devices&diff=4091MIDI software devices2010-10-19T16:57:21Z<p>Stillquest: </p>
<hr />
<div>DOSBOX currently does not provide emulation of general MIDI or the MT-32 Roland, instead passing the music data along to the MIDI device installed on your system. However, most modern PCs provide only very basic MIDI functionality, and therefore attempts to use general MIDI/MT-32 music under DOSBOX usually end up sounding rather poor.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, there are a couple of free software projects that provide emulation of these MIDI devices, resulting in a great boost to music quality:<br />
<br />
==Roland MT-32==<br />
<br />
[http://sourceforge.net/projects/munt/ Munt] is an open source project that aims to emulate the MT-32 hardware by way of a Windows XP WDM driver. Using it, however, requires a copy of the original ROM images from a Roland MT-32, and these are not included with the download. Installation notes are provided within the distribution archive.<br />
<br />
==General MIDI==<br />
<br />
[http://www.wg7.com/en/wgdl.html WinGroove] has apparently been abandoned mid-development, but is still an excellent sounding General Midi synthesizer. The latest available version, 0.A4 Beta-2, can be freely obtained from the site.<br />
<br />
Installation note: After downloading wg0a4_e.exe, run it in order to extract the installation files into a temporary directory. Then, from within that directory, go to START -> RUN and type "WGINSTLR.EXE FULLSET.LST". The rest of the process should be trouble free - but do not skip restarting windows at the end.<br />
<br />
==Using MIDI software devices under DOSBOX==<br />
<br />
After installing either/both of these devices, you will need to make sure DOSBOX actually uses them. You can either edit the [MIDI] section in the .conf file (instruction are provided inside the file itself or in the README), or change the default MIDI device in Windows. To do the latter, Go to START -> SETTINGS -> CONTROL PANEL -> SOUND AND AUDIO DEVICES, select the "Audio" tab and choose the device you wish to use under the "Midi music playback" section.</div>Stillquesthttps://www.dosbox.com/wiki/index.php?title=MIDI_software_devices&diff=4090MIDI software devices2010-10-19T16:46:52Z<p>Stillquest: </p>
<hr />
<div>DOSBOX currently does not provide emulation of general MIDI or the MT-32 Roland, instead passing the music data along to the MIDI device installed on your system. However, most modern PCs provide only very basic MIDI functionality, and therefore attempts to use general MIDI/MT-32 music under DOSBOX usually end up sounding rather poor.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, there are a couple of free software projects that provide emulation of these MIDI devices, resulting in a great boost to music quality:<br />
<br />
==Roland MT-32==<br />
<br />
[http://sourceforge.net/projects/munt/ Munt] is an open source project that aims to emulate the MT-32 hardware by way of a Windows XP WDM driver. Using it,however, requires a copy of the original ROM images from a Roland MT-32, which are not included in the software download. Installation notes are provided within the distribution archive.<br />
<br />
==General MIDI==<br />
<br />
[http://www.wg7.com/en/wgdl.html WinGroove] has apparently been abandoned mid-development, but is still an excellent sounding General Midi synthesizer. The latest available version, 0.A4 Beta-2, can be freely obtained from the site.<br />
<br />
Installation note: After downloading wg0a4_e.exe, run it in order to extract the installation files into a temporary directory. Then, from within that directory, go to START -> RUN and type "WGINSTLR.EXE FULLSET.LST". The rest of the process should be trouble free - but do not skip restarting windows at the end.<br />
<br />
==Using MIDI software devices under DOSBOX==<br />
<br />
After installing either/both of these devices, you will need to make sure DOSBOX actually uses them. You can either edit the [MIDI] section in the .conf file (instruction are provided inside the file itself or in the README), or change the default MIDI device in Windows. To do the latter, Go to START -> SETTINGS -> CONTROL PANEL -> SOUND AND AUDIO DEVICES, select the "Audio" tab and choose the device you wish to use under the "Midi music playback" section.</div>Stillquesthttps://www.dosbox.com/wiki/index.php?title=MIDI_software_devices&diff=4089MIDI software devices2010-10-19T16:19:37Z<p>Stillquest: </p>
<hr />
<div>DOSBOX currently does not provide emulation of general MIDI devices or the MT-32 Roland, instead passing the MIDI data along to MIDI synthesizer installed on your system. However, most modern PCs provide only very basic MIDI functionality, and therefore attempting to use general MIDI/MT-32 music under DOSBOX usually results in poor sounding results.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, there are a couple of free projects that provide software emulation of these MIDI devices, which provide a great boost to the music quality:<br />
<br />
==Roland MT-32==<br />
<br />
[http://sourceforge.net/projects/munt/ Munt] is an open source project that aims to emulate the MT-32 hardware by way of a Windows XP WDM driver. Using it,however, requires a copy of the original ROM images from a Roland MT-32, which are not included in the software download. Installation notes are provided within the distribution archive.<br />
<br />
==General MIDI==<br />
<br />
[http://www.wg7.com/en/wgdl.html WinGroove] has apparently been abandoned mid-development, but still provides excellent sounding General Midi emulation. The latest available version, 0.A4 Beta-2, can be freely obtained from the site.<br />
<br />
Installation note: After downloading wg0a4_e.exe, run it in order to extract the installation files into a temporary directory. Then, from within that directory, go to START -> RUN and type "WGINSTLR.EXE FULLSET.LST". The rest should be trouble free. You will need to restart your computer at the end, though.<br />
<br />
==Using MIDI software devices under DOSBOX==<br />
<br />
After installing either/both of these devices, you will need to make sure DOSBOX actually uses them. You can either edit the [MIDI] section in the .conf file (instruction are provided inside the file itself or in the README), or change the default MIDI device in Windows. To do the latter, Go to START -> SETTINGS -> CONTROL PANEL -> SOUND AND AUDIO DEVICES, select the "Audio" tab and choose the device you wish to use under the "Midi music playback" section.</div>Stillquesthttps://www.dosbox.com/wiki/index.php?title=MIDI_software_devices&diff=4088MIDI software devices2010-10-19T16:14:43Z<p>Stillquest: </p>
<hr />
<div>DOSBOX currently does not provide emulation of general MIDI devices or the MT-32 Roland, instead passing the MIDI data along to MIDI synthesizer installed on your system. However, most modern PCs provide only very basic MIDI functionality, and therefore attempting to use general MIDI/MT-32 music under DOSBOX usually results in poor sounding results.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, there are a couple of free projects that provide software emulation of these MIDI devices, which provide a great boost to the music quality:<br />
<br />
==Roland MT-32==<br />
<br />
[http://sourceforge.net/projects/munt/ Munt] is an open source project that aims to emulate the MT-32 hardware by way of a Windows XP WDM driver. Using it,however, requires a copy of the original ROM images from a Roland MT-32, which are not included in the software download. Installation notes are provided within the distribution archive.<br />
<br />
==General MIDI==<br />
<br />
[http://www.wg7.com/en/wgdl.html WinGroove] has apparently been abandoned mid-development, but still provides excellent sounding General Midi emulation. The latest available version, 0.A4 Beta-2, can be freely obtained from the site.<br />
<br />
Installation note: After downloading wg0a4_e.exe, run it in order to extract the installation files into a temporary directory. Then, from within that directory, go to START -> RUN and type "WGINSTLR.EXE FULLSET.LST". The rest should be trouble free. You will need to restart your computer at the end, though.<br />
<br />
==Using MIDI software devices under DOSBOX==<br />
<br />
After installing either/both of these programs, you will need to make sure DOSBOX actually uses them. You can either edit the [MIDI] section in the .conf file (instruction are provided inside the file itself or in the README), or change the default MIDI device in Windows. To do the latter, Go to START -> SETTINGS -> CONTROL PANEL -> SOUND AND AUDIO DEVICES, select the "Audio" tab and choose the device you wish to use under the "Midi music playback" section.</div>Stillquesthttps://www.dosbox.com/wiki/index.php?title=MIDI_software_devices&diff=4087MIDI software devices2010-10-19T16:09:17Z<p>Stillquest: </p>
<hr />
<div>DOSBOX currently does not provide emulation of general MIDI devices or the MT-32 Roland, instead passing the MIDI data along to MIDI synthesizer installed on your system. However, most modern PCs provide only very basic MIDI functionality, and therefore attempting to use general MIDI/MT-32 music under DOSBOX usually results in poor sounding results.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, there are a couple of free projects that provide software emulation of these MIDI devices, which provide a great boost to the music quality:<br />
<br />
==Roland MT-32==<br />
<br />
[http://sourceforge.net/projects/munt/ Munt] is an open source project that aims to emulate the MT-32 hardware by way of a Windows XP WDM driver. Using it,however, requires a copy of the original ROM images from a Roland MT-32, which are not included in the software download. Installation notes are provided within the distribution archive.<br />
<br />
==General MIDI==<br />
<br />
[http://www.wg7.com/en/wgdl.html WinGroove] has apparently been abandoned mid-development, but still provides excellent sounding General Midi emulation. The latest available version, 0.A4 Beta-2, can be freely obtained from the site.<br />
<br />
Installation note: After downloading wg0a4_e.exe, run it in order to extract the installation files into a temporary directory. Then, from within that directory, go to START -> RUN and type "WGINSTLR.EXE FULLSET.LST". The rest should be trouble free. You will need to restart your computer at the end, though.<br />
<br />
==Using MIDI software devices under DOSBOX==<br />
<br />
After installing either/both of these programs, you will need to make sure DOSBOX uses them. You can either edit the [MIDI] section in the .conf file (instruction are provided inside the file itself or in the README), or change the default MIDI device in Windows. To do the latter, Go to START -> SETTINGS -> CONTROL PANEL -> SOUND AND AUDIO DEVICES, select the "Audio" tab and choose the device you wish to use under the "Midi music playback" section.</div>Stillquesthttps://www.dosbox.com/wiki/index.php?title=Talk:Sound&diff=4086Talk:Sound2010-10-19T16:05:32Z<p>Stillquest: </p>
<hr />
<div><br />
== Software emulation of MT-32/General Midi ==<br />
I added a couple of links to a short article about software emulators/synthesizers of the Roland mt-32 and General Midi devices, as I didn't find any data on it in the Wiki.<br />
<br />
== Additional info on the DOSBox Disney implementation ==<br />
<br />
Since version 0.73 the Disney device is actually about four devices in one. The type needed by the game is figured out by looking at how it controls the port.<br />
<br />
- Disney device: FIFO-buffer with DAC and a fixed sampling rate of 7KHz.<br />
<br />
- COVOX/R2R-DAC: Simple converter directly connected to the parallel port data lines.<br />
<br />
- Latched mono DAC<br />
<br />
- Stereo-in-one-DACs: Stereo playback on one port. Used by some demos.<br />
<br />
<br />
== Adlib card is possible ==<br />
<br />
With sbtype=none, you can still specify an oplmode which will be your Adlib card. <br />
<br />
--[[User:H-a-l-9000|H-a-l-9000]] 22:54, 2 December 2009 (UTC)</div>Stillquesthttps://www.dosbox.com/wiki/index.php?title=Sound&diff=4085Sound2010-10-19T16:02:34Z<p>Stillquest: </p>
<hr />
<div>DOSBox is capable of emulating several sound devices. By emulating the hardware the user can utilize whatever audio device they have installed in their PC, while the DOS [[GAMES|Game]] or [[Software|Application]] believes it is running on the emulated hardware.<br />
<br />
Sound was sometimes difficult to set up in the DOS era. Unlike Windows, DOS did not keep a list of the system's sound devices, nor did it expose generic drivers for them. Software had to include separate support for each sound device it wanted to give the users the option of using. If a game did not support a user's audio hardware, no sound was possible. And the game had to be configured with the memory addresses of the hardware by hand. Also, different devices supported different features, resulting in games that could sound very different (maybe high-quality music on one card, but voice-acting on another) depending on the hardware available. Thankfully, DOSBox can emulate all the most popular sound systems of the DOS era, so one can usually find something that sounds good.<br />
<br />
Most of the sound devices are capable of existing inside the same computer at the same time, so when configuring DOSBox sound you need to think of them as separate devices that can be enabled or disabled. Sound devices that are not in use do not use many resources, so you don't gain much in the way of performance by reducing the number of sound devices enabled. A game will likely only use a single device at a time anyway. (The one notable exception being routing music and sound effects through different devices, which was common for people with both a Sound Blaster and a separate MIDI device.) DOSBox also makes sure the appropriate environment variables are defined for each device, so game audio device auto-detection usually works, if the game attempts it.<br />
<br />
DOSBox's output to your real computer's sound system is configured under the '''<tt>mixer</tt>''' category. Each emulatable device has its own configuration section. Note that almost all sound devices have a configuration setting to enable or disable them, as well as one for the sample rate of the emulation. The sample rate of a device must never exceed the '''<tt>rate</tt>''' setting under the '''<tt>mixer</tt>''' heading, as this will cause undefined behavior.<br />
<br />
DOSBox can emulate the following devices. Although the sound quality you will get depends heavily on your configuration and what the software you are running supports, they are listed here in roughly ascending order of audio processing power.<br />
<br />
==PC Speaker==<br />
<br />
The most ubiquitous audio device of all time. Built into every personal computer to this very day, the PC Speaker acts as diagnostic device during the initial booting up of a computer. (to inform the user, in a series of beeps, if there is any low level hardware issue) Early game developers utilized the PC Speaker to generate music and sound effects - to good effect. Later, some developers invented ways to generate complex audio through the PC Speaker, even reproducing voice. Very few games utilized the PC Speaker in this way, as the CPU requirements were high and the quality was severely limited. However, a Windows driver was written that allowed Windows games to utilize the PC Speaker in this manner, which was useful if the user had no other sound device.<br />
<br />
The PC Speaker is configured under the '''<tt>speaker</tt>''' category. There are no special options to configure for the PC Speaker. If enabled, it just does what it does.<br />
<br />
==Tandy 1000 Speaker==<br />
<br />
The Tandy 1000 was based on the IBM PCjr and like the PCjr it included not only the standard PC speaker but also the TI-SN76496 sound chip which provided three square wave tone generators and one white noise generator. This made for much higher quality sound effects and music than the standard PC Speaker. The Tandy 1000 TL and SL added an 8-bit DAC for realistic sound effects.<br />
<br />
The Tandy 1000 Speaker is configured under the '''<tt>speaker</tt>''' category. The setting for controlling whether Tandy emulation is enabled is worth mentioning. It can be set to '''<tt>on</tt>''' or '''<tt>off</tt>''', but it can also be set to '''<tt>auto</tt>''', in which case it will be turned on if the system type (near the top of the configuration file) is set to '''<tt>tandy</tt>''' and off otherwise.<br />
<br />
Some people have reported needing to turn on Sound Blaster emulation in order to support the Tandy 1000 TL/SL DAC.<br />
<br />
==Disney Sound Source==<br />
<br />
The Disney Sound Source was an external audio device that connected to a PC via a Parallel Port, also known as the Printer Port. An enhanced version of the Covox Speech Accelerator with "Mickey Mouse" ears on top, the device was surprisingly capable of producing polyphonic audio and voice. The sound quality is distinctive and tinny, though by no means high quality. One notable game that supported the device was Sierra's [[GAMES:King's Quest 6|King's Quest 6]] which managed to provide an audio experience similar to the Sound Blaster audio card.<br />
<br />
The Disney Sound Source became popular due to its brand name and ease of configuration: There are no Base Address, IRQ, or DMA settings because it connects to any available Parallel Port. However, applications that utilize a printer might lock up if they try to talk to this device by mistake, so if you are having parallel port trouble and are not using this device for audio, you may want to consider disabling it.<br />
<br />
A Windows driver exists (as with the PC Speaker) that can let the device work as an audio device in Windows 3.11.<br />
<br />
The Disney Sound System is configured under the '''<tt>speaker</tt>''' category. As mentioned before, it has no special configuration. (And does not even have a rate setting.)<br />
<br />
==Sound Blaster==<br />
<br />
The Sound Blaster is widely considered the most popular audio device standard. In the DOS era of games, it came in several editions. In most cases '''<tt>sb16</tt>''' is the best option for DOSBox, though many older games that were produced before the SB16 was manufactured might have some issues with working with the otherwise backwards-compatible device. Here is a list of the different capabilities of the various Sound Blaster cards.<br />
<br />
{| style="font-size: 90%; text-align: left;" cellpadding="3"<br />
|-<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Device<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Name<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Bits<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Top Sample Rate<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Stereo<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Synthesizer<br />
|-<br />
| none<br />
| Sound Blaster Emulation disabled<br />
| ''n/a''<br />
| ''n/a''<br />
| ''n/a''<br />
| ''n/a''<br />
|-<br />
| sb1<br />
| Sound Blaster 1.0<br />
| 8<br />
| 22 KHz<br />
| No<br />
| CMS / OPL-2<br />
|-<br />
| sb2<br />
| Sound Blaster 2.0<br />
| 8<br />
| 44.1 KHz<br />
| No<br />
| OPL-2<br />
|-<br />
| sbpro1<br />
| Sound Blaster Pro 1.0<br />
| 8<br />
| 44.1 KHz<br />
| Yes<br />
| Dual OPL-2<br />
|-<br />
| sbpro2<br />
| Sound Blaster Pro 2.0<br />
| 8<br />
| 44.1 KHz<br />
| Yes<br />
| OPL-3<br />
|-<br />
| sb16<br />
| Sound Blaster 16<br />
| 16<br />
| 44.1 KHz<br />
| Yes<br />
| OPL-3<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Due to its advanced features, competitive price point, and backwards-compatibility with AdLib cards, Soundblaster became considered the "standard" for special effects reproduction in many applications and games. (Sadly, once they drove all the competition out of business, the "competitive price point" went away.) Although they have internal synthesizers, Sound Blaster cards are not MPU-401 compatible, and were therefore often coupled with a MIDI card for enhanced music emulation.<br />
<br />
The Sound Blaster is configured under the '''<tt>sblaster</tt>''' category. There are several options for configuring this device, which are explained in the comments in that category.<br />
<br />
===AdLib===<br />
<br />
DOSBox does not emulate the AdLib Music Synthesizer Card directly. However, it does emulate Sound Blaster cards that feature AdLib support in their synthesizers.<br />
<br />
The AdLib/synthesizer support of the Sound Blaster is configured separately from the rest of the card, with the '''<tt>oplmode</tt>''' and '''<tt>oplrate</tt>''' settings. The OPL Mode controls what synthesizer is emulated. The following settings are available:<br />
<br />
<br />
{| style="font-size: 90%; text-align: left;" cellpadding="3"<br />
|-<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Device<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Name<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Number of Channels<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Stereo<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Notes<br />
|-<br />
| auto<br />
| Auto-Select Synthesizer<br />
| ''n/a''<br />
| ''n/a''<br />
| This will pick whichever synthesizer was actually present on the model of Sound Blaster you are trying to emulate. Note that it will always pick AdLib-compatible settings, never '''<tt>cms</tt>'''.<br />
|-<br />
| cms<br />
| Creative Music System / GameBlaster<br />
| 6<br />
| Yes<br />
| Supported stereo, but fewer channels than AdLib cards. Never gained popularity due to its poor audio quality. Note that turning this on in DOSBox will disable AdLib support, as CMS is the one option that is not AdLib-compatible.<br />
|-<br />
| opl2<br />
| AdLib / OPL-2 / Yamaha 3812<br />
| 9<br />
| No<br />
| The gold standard of PC synthesis for many years.<br />
|-<br />
| dualopl2<br />
| Dual OPL-2<br />
| 9<br />
| Yes<br />
| The Sound Blaster Pro 1.0 used two OPL-2s in tandem to support stereo sound.<br />
|-<br />
| opl3<br />
| AdLib Gold / OPL-3 / Yamaha YMF262<br />
| 18<br />
| Yes<br />
| Became the new gold standard after AdLib. Supported by the ubiquitous Sound Blaster 16.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Gravis Ultrasound==<br />
<br />
The Gravis Ultrasound was an advanced synthesizer released by an unlikely manufacturer: Canadian joystick company Advanced Gravis. Its audio was far ahead of any other consumer device of the time, supporting wave-table synthesis, stereo sound, 14-channel playback at 44.1 KHz or a ''whopping'' 32 channels of playback at 19.2 KHz.<br />
<br />
However, the Ultrasound eschewed any attempt at backwards-compatibility with AdLib or Soundblaster cards. Programs had to be written to specifically take advantage of its capabilities. Many DOS users kept a Sound Blaster in their PC in addition to an Ultrasound, in case they needed to run a program that did not support the more advanced card. (And in DOSBox, this can be imitated by turning on both devices in your configuration file, which is recommended.)<br />
<br />
One quirk of the Ultrasound is that, unlike most synthesizers, it did not come with any voices pre-installed on the card. All voices had to be installed from disk either at driver load time or by the application. Because of this, a set of drivers and "patch files" is needed in order to use the Ultrasound in DOSBox. Due to incompatibilities between the license of the patch files and DOSBox's GPL license, these files cannot be distributed with DOSBox, so you will need to download them from another website:<br />
<br />
'''HuggyBaby's Ready-To-Use DOSBox Ultrasound Folders (featuring the original GUS 4.11 set and the enhanced Pro Patches Lite 1.61 set)'''<br />
<br />
http://www.dosgames.com/forum/about10574.html<br />
<br />
'''GUS Install Disk Set Version 4.11'''<br />
<br />
http://ftp.isu.edu.tw/pub/Hardware/multimedia/Gravis/gus411/index-e.htm<br />
<br />
More sites with patch files can be found on the [[Wikipedia:Gravis Ultrasound#External links|Gravis Ultrasound page on Wikipedia]]. The patch files must be unzipped to a folder that can be accessed from DOSBox's command line. It is common practice to put these in a folder called "ULTRASND" under whatever folder you will mount as your C: drive.<br />
<br />
The Gravis Ultrasound is configured under the '''<tt>gus</tt>''' category. It has several options, which are explained in the comments in the configuration file. Of particular note is the '''<tt>ultradir</tt>''' option, which must be set to the path to the patch files ''inside'' DOSBox. (Which is likely not the same as the path on your real hard drive.)<br />
<br />
An Example:<br />
<br />
If you have a folder called "Games" on your C: drive that you mount as X: in DOSBox, and then you install the patch files to C:\Games\ULTRASND\, the config entry will be<br />
<br />
ultradir=X:\ULTRASND\<br />
<br />
==General MIDI (MPU-401)==<br />
<br />
General MIDI isn't a specific piece of hardware so much as a standard that has been supported by various sound cards (and other devices such as mixers, instruments, lighting control panels, etc...) throughout computing history. DOSBox is able to emulate MIDI in either regular or uart modes.<br />
<br />
Since MIDI support is still common on computers, DOSBox passes MIDI data along to any MIDI synthesizer installed on your system rather than trying to emulate a particular device. General MIDI in DOSBox sounds exactly like any other program on your host computer that plays MIDI files because it is generating its output through the same device. You can think of the General MIDI as more a pass-though interface than a piece of emulated hardware.<br />
<br />
General MIDI is configured under the '''<tt>midi</tt>''' category. There are several options, which are explained briefly in the comments in the configuration file and at greater length in the README file. Owners of Yamaha MIDI Synthesizers and other external synthesizers may find [[Using Yamaha MIDI synthesizers|this guide]] useful, while those without may want to use the [[MIDI_software_devices|guide to software emulation of MIDI]] instead.<br />
<br />
===Roland===<br />
<br />
The Roland synthesizers, particularly the MT-32, are worth mentioning separately. Many DOS games included separate support for the MT-32 (or the MT-100, LAPC-I, CM-32L, or CM-64) in addition to basic General MIDI support. People who have a real Roland MT-32 or a [[MIDI_software_devices|software synthesizer that emulates one]] can take advantage of this support. Since DOSBox only passes along MIDI data to your synthesizer without looking at it, simply route DOSBox's General MIDI to your Roland and configure your DOS software to use Roland mode.<br />
<br />
A Roland MT-32 can be connected to the PC using a USB to MIDI adapter. The MT-32 output can be connected to the line-in on a sound card. Dosbox can be configured to use the MT-32 for music when it is connected this way. At the Dosbox command prompt, type '''mixer /listmidi''' to get a list of the midi devices attached to the machine. Locate the USB midi adapter in the list and note the number that it is associated with. Change [[Dosbox.conf#midiconfig = id of MIDI device|Dosbox.conf's midiconfig = id of MIDI device]] to the ID of the USB midi device (e.g. midiconfig=0) Once that is done, the MT-32 should operate.<br />
<br />
==External Links==<br />
<br />
* A comprehensive overview of DOS-era sound systems and DOSBox's support (or lack thereof) for them: http://ipggi.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/dosbox-sound-emulation/</div>Stillquesthttps://www.dosbox.com/wiki/index.php?title=Sound&diff=4084Sound2010-10-19T16:00:57Z<p>Stillquest: </p>
<hr />
<div>DOSBox is capable of emulating several sound devices. By emulating the hardware the user can utilize whatever audio device they have installed in their PC, while the DOS [[GAMES|Game]] or [[Software|Application]] believes it is running on the emulated hardware.<br />
<br />
Sound was sometimes difficult to set up in the DOS era. Unlike Windows, DOS did not keep a list of the system's sound devices, nor did it expose generic drivers for them. Software had to include separate support for each sound device it wanted to give the users the option of using. If a game did not support a user's audio hardware, no sound was possible. And the game had to be configured with the memory addresses of the hardware by hand. Also, different devices supported different features, resulting in games that could sound very different (maybe high-quality music on one card, but voice-acting on another) depending on the hardware available. Thankfully, DOSBox can emulate all the most popular sound systems of the DOS era, so one can usually find something that sounds good.<br />
<br />
Most of the sound devices are capable of existing inside the same computer at the same time, so when configuring DOSBox sound you need to think of them as separate devices that can be enabled or disabled. Sound devices that are not in use do not use many resources, so you don't gain much in the way of performance by reducing the number of sound devices enabled. A game will likely only use a single device at a time anyway. (The one notable exception being routing music and sound effects through different devices, which was common for people with both a Sound Blaster and a separate MIDI device.) DOSBox also makes sure the appropriate environment variables are defined for each device, so game audio device auto-detection usually works, if the game attempts it.<br />
<br />
DOSBox's output to your real computer's sound system is configured under the '''<tt>mixer</tt>''' category. Each emulatable device has its own configuration section. Note that almost all sound devices have a configuration setting to enable or disable them, as well as one for the sample rate of the emulation. The sample rate of a device must never exceed the '''<tt>rate</tt>''' setting under the '''<tt>mixer</tt>''' heading, as this will cause undefined behavior.<br />
<br />
DOSBox can emulate the following devices. Although the sound quality you will get depends heavily on your configuration and what the software you are running supports, they are listed here in roughly ascending order of audio processing power.<br />
<br />
==PC Speaker==<br />
<br />
The most ubiquitous audio device of all time. Built into every personal computer to this very day, the PC Speaker acts as diagnostic device during the initial booting up of a computer. (to inform the user, in a series of beeps, if there is any low level hardware issue) Early game developers utilized the PC Speaker to generate music and sound effects - to good effect. Later, some developers invented ways to generate complex audio through the PC Speaker, even reproducing voice. Very few games utilized the PC Speaker in this way, as the CPU requirements were high and the quality was severely limited. However, a Windows driver was written that allowed Windows games to utilize the PC Speaker in this manner, which was useful if the user had no other sound device.<br />
<br />
The PC Speaker is configured under the '''<tt>speaker</tt>''' category. There are no special options to configure for the PC Speaker. If enabled, it just does what it does.<br />
<br />
==Tandy 1000 Speaker==<br />
<br />
The Tandy 1000 was based on the IBM PCjr and like the PCjr it included not only the standard PC speaker but also the TI-SN76496 sound chip which provided three square wave tone generators and one white noise generator. This made for much higher quality sound effects and music than the standard PC Speaker. The Tandy 1000 TL and SL added an 8-bit DAC for realistic sound effects.<br />
<br />
The Tandy 1000 Speaker is configured under the '''<tt>speaker</tt>''' category. The setting for controlling whether Tandy emulation is enabled is worth mentioning. It can be set to '''<tt>on</tt>''' or '''<tt>off</tt>''', but it can also be set to '''<tt>auto</tt>''', in which case it will be turned on if the system type (near the top of the configuration file) is set to '''<tt>tandy</tt>''' and off otherwise.<br />
<br />
Some people have reported needing to turn on Sound Blaster emulation in order to support the Tandy 1000 TL/SL DAC.<br />
<br />
==Disney Sound Source==<br />
<br />
The Disney Sound Source was an external audio device that connected to a PC via a Parallel Port, also known as the Printer Port. An enhanced version of the Covox Speech Accelerator with "Mickey Mouse" ears on top, the device was surprisingly capable of producing polyphonic audio and voice. The sound quality is distinctive and tinny, though by no means high quality. One notable game that supported the device was Sierra's [[GAMES:King's Quest 6|King's Quest 6]] which managed to provide an audio experience similar to the Sound Blaster audio card.<br />
<br />
The Disney Sound Source became popular due to its brand name and ease of configuration: There are no Base Address, IRQ, or DMA settings because it connects to any available Parallel Port. However, applications that utilize a printer might lock up if they try to talk to this device by mistake, so if you are having parallel port trouble and are not using this device for audio, you may want to consider disabling it.<br />
<br />
A Windows driver exists (as with the PC Speaker) that can let the device work as an audio device in Windows 3.11.<br />
<br />
The Disney Sound System is configured under the '''<tt>speaker</tt>''' category. As mentioned before, it has no special configuration. (And does not even have a rate setting.)<br />
<br />
==Sound Blaster==<br />
<br />
The Sound Blaster is widely considered the most popular audio device standard. In the DOS era of games, it came in several editions. In most cases '''<tt>sb16</tt>''' is the best option for DOSBox, though many older games that were produced before the SB16 was manufactured might have some issues with working with the otherwise backwards-compatible device. Here is a list of the different capabilities of the various Sound Blaster cards.<br />
<br />
{| style="font-size: 90%; text-align: left;" cellpadding="3"<br />
|-<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Device<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Name<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Bits<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Top Sample Rate<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Stereo<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Synthesizer<br />
|-<br />
| none<br />
| Sound Blaster Emulation disabled<br />
| ''n/a''<br />
| ''n/a''<br />
| ''n/a''<br />
| ''n/a''<br />
|-<br />
| sb1<br />
| Sound Blaster 1.0<br />
| 8<br />
| 22 KHz<br />
| No<br />
| CMS / OPL-2<br />
|-<br />
| sb2<br />
| Sound Blaster 2.0<br />
| 8<br />
| 44.1 KHz<br />
| No<br />
| OPL-2<br />
|-<br />
| sbpro1<br />
| Sound Blaster Pro 1.0<br />
| 8<br />
| 44.1 KHz<br />
| Yes<br />
| Dual OPL-2<br />
|-<br />
| sbpro2<br />
| Sound Blaster Pro 2.0<br />
| 8<br />
| 44.1 KHz<br />
| Yes<br />
| OPL-3<br />
|-<br />
| sb16<br />
| Sound Blaster 16<br />
| 16<br />
| 44.1 KHz<br />
| Yes<br />
| OPL-3<br />
|}<br />
<br />
Due to its advanced features, competitive price point, and backwards-compatibility with AdLib cards, Soundblaster became considered the "standard" for special effects reproduction in many applications and games. (Sadly, once they drove all the competition out of business, the "competitive price point" went away.) Although they have internal synthesizers, Sound Blaster cards are not MPU-401 compatible, and were therefore often coupled with a MIDI card for enhanced music emulation.<br />
<br />
The Sound Blaster is configured under the '''<tt>sblaster</tt>''' category. There are several options for configuring this device, which are explained in the comments in that category.<br />
<br />
===AdLib===<br />
<br />
DOSBox does not emulate the AdLib Music Synthesizer Card directly. However, it does emulate Sound Blaster cards that feature AdLib support in their synthesizers.<br />
<br />
The AdLib/synthesizer support of the Sound Blaster is configured separately from the rest of the card, with the '''<tt>oplmode</tt>''' and '''<tt>oplrate</tt>''' settings. The OPL Mode controls what synthesizer is emulated. The following settings are available:<br />
<br />
<br />
{| style="font-size: 90%; text-align: left;" cellpadding="3"<br />
|-<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Device<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Name<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Number of Channels<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Stereo<br />
! style="font-size:110%; text-align: center; background-color: #ccccff;" class="summary" | Notes<br />
|-<br />
| auto<br />
| Auto-Select Synthesizer<br />
| ''n/a''<br />
| ''n/a''<br />
| This will pick whichever synthesizer was actually present on the model of Sound Blaster you are trying to emulate. Note that it will always pick AdLib-compatible settings, never '''<tt>cms</tt>'''.<br />
|-<br />
| cms<br />
| Creative Music System / GameBlaster<br />
| 6<br />
| Yes<br />
| Supported stereo, but fewer channels than AdLib cards. Never gained popularity due to its poor audio quality. Note that turning this on in DOSBox will disable AdLib support, as CMS is the one option that is not AdLib-compatible.<br />
|-<br />
| opl2<br />
| AdLib / OPL-2 / Yamaha 3812<br />
| 9<br />
| No<br />
| The gold standard of PC synthesis for many years.<br />
|-<br />
| dualopl2<br />
| Dual OPL-2<br />
| 9<br />
| Yes<br />
| The Sound Blaster Pro 1.0 used two OPL-2s in tandem to support stereo sound.<br />
|-<br />
| opl3<br />
| AdLib Gold / OPL-3 / Yamaha YMF262<br />
| 18<br />
| Yes<br />
| Became the new gold standard after AdLib. Supported by the ubiquitous Sound Blaster 16.<br />
|}<br />
<br />
==Gravis Ultrasound==<br />
<br />
The Gravis Ultrasound was an advanced synthesizer released by an unlikely manufacturer: Canadian joystick company Advanced Gravis. Its audio was far ahead of any other consumer device of the time, supporting wave-table synthesis, stereo sound, 14-channel playback at 44.1 KHz or a ''whopping'' 32 channels of playback at 19.2 KHz.<br />
<br />
However, the Ultrasound eschewed any attempt at backwards-compatibility with AdLib or Soundblaster cards. Programs had to be written to specifically take advantage of its capabilities. Many DOS users kept a Sound Blaster in their PC in addition to an Ultrasound, in case they needed to run a program that did not support the more advanced card. (And in DOSBox, this can be imitated by turning on both devices in your configuration file, which is recommended.)<br />
<br />
One quirk of the Ultrasound is that, unlike most synthesizers, it did not come with any voices pre-installed on the card. All voices had to be installed from disk either at driver load time or by the application. Because of this, a set of drivers and "patch files" is needed in order to use the Ultrasound in DOSBox. Due to incompatibilities between the license of the patch files and DOSBox's GPL license, these files cannot be distributed with DOSBox, so you will need to download them from another website:<br />
<br />
'''HuggyBaby's Ready-To-Use DOSBox Ultrasound Folders (featuring the original GUS 4.11 set and the enhanced Pro Patches Lite 1.61 set)'''<br />
<br />
http://www.dosgames.com/forum/about10574.html<br />
<br />
'''GUS Install Disk Set Version 4.11'''<br />
<br />
http://ftp.isu.edu.tw/pub/Hardware/multimedia/Gravis/gus411/index-e.htm<br />
<br />
More sites with patch files can be found on the [[Wikipedia:Gravis Ultrasound#External links|Gravis Ultrasound page on Wikipedia]]. The patch files must be unzipped to a folder that can be accessed from DOSBox's command line. It is common practice to put these in a folder called "ULTRASND" under whatever folder you will mount as your C: drive.<br />
<br />
The Gravis Ultrasound is configured under the '''<tt>gus</tt>''' category. It has several options, which are explained in the comments in the configuration file. Of particular note is the '''<tt>ultradir</tt>''' option, which must be set to the path to the patch files ''inside'' DOSBox. (Which is likely not the same as the path on your real hard drive.)<br />
<br />
An Example:<br />
<br />
If you have a folder called "Games" on your C: drive that you mount as X: in DOSBox, and then you install the patch files to C:\Games\ULTRASND\, the config entry will be<br />
<br />
ultradir=X:\ULTRASND\<br />
<br />
==General MIDI (MPU-401)==<br />
<br />
General MIDI isn't a specific piece of hardware so much as a standard that has been supported by various sound cards (and other devices such as mixers, instruments, lighting control panels, etc...) throughout computing history. DOSBox is able to emulate MIDI in either regular or uart modes.<br />
<br />
Since MIDI support is still common on computers, DOSBox passes MIDI data along to any MIDI synthesizer installed on your system rather than trying to emulate a particular device. General MIDI in DOSBox sounds exactly like any other program on your host computer that plays MIDI files because it is generating its output through the same device. You can think of the General MIDI as more a pass-though interface than a piece of emulated hardware.<br />
<br />
General MIDI is configured under the '''<tt>midi</tt>''' category. There are several options, which are explained briefly in the comments in the configuration file and at greater length in the README file. Owners of Yamaha MIDI Synthesizers and other external synthesizers may find [[Using Yamaha MIDI synthesizers|this guide]] useful, while those without may want to use the [[MIDI_software_devices|guide to software emulation of MIDI]] instead.<br />
<br />
===Roland===<br />
<br />
The Roland synthesizers, particularly the MT-32, are worth mentioning separately. Many DOS games included separate support for the MT-32 (or the MT-100, LAPC-I, CM-32L, or CM-64) in addition to basic General MIDI support. People who have a real Roland MT-32 or a software synthesizer that emulates one can take advantage of this support. Since DOSBox only passes along MIDI data to your synthesizer without looking at it, simply route DOSBox's General MIDI to your Roland and configure your DOS software to use Roland mode.<br />
<br />
A Roland MT-32 can be connected to the PC using a USB to MIDI adapter. The MT-32 output can be connected to the line-in on a sound card. Dosbox can be configured to use the MT-32 for music when it is connected this way. At the Dosbox command prompt, type '''mixer /listmidi''' to get a list of the midi devices attached to the machine. Locate the USB midi adapter in the list and note the number that it is associated with. Change [[Dosbox.conf#midiconfig = id of MIDI device|Dosbox.conf's midiconfig = id of MIDI device]] to the ID of the USB midi device (e.g. midiconfig=0) Once that is done, the MT-32 should operate.<br />
<br />
==External Links==<br />
<br />
* A comprehensive overview of DOS-era sound systems and DOSBox's support (or lack thereof) for them: http://ipggi.wordpress.com/2008/04/26/dosbox-sound-emulation/</div>Stillquesthttps://www.dosbox.com/wiki/index.php?title=MIDI_software_devices&diff=4083MIDI software devices2010-10-19T15:56:56Z<p>Stillquest: </p>
<hr />
<div>DOSBOX currently does not provide emulation of general MIDI devices or the MT-32 Roland, instead passing the MIDI data along to MIDI synthesizer installed on your system. However, most modern PCs provide only very basic MIDI functionality, and therefore attempting to use general MIDI/MT-32 music under DOSBOX usually results in poor sounding results.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, there are a couple of free projects that provide software emulation of these MIDI devices, which provide a great boost to the music quality:<br />
<br />
[http://sourceforge.net/projects/munt/ Munt] is an open source project that aims to emulate the MT-32 hardware by way of a Windows XP WDM driver. Using it,however, requires a copy of the original ROM images from a Roland MT-32, which are not included in the software download. Installation notes are provided within the distribution archive.<br />
<br />
[http://www.wg7.com/en/wgdl.html WinGroove] has apparently been abandoned mid-development, but still provides excellent sounding General Midi emulation. The latest available version, 0.A4 Beta-2, can be freely obtained from the site.<br />
<br />
Installation note: After downloading wg0a4_e.exe, run it in order to extract the installation files into a temporary directory. Then, from within that directory, go to START -> RUN and type "WGINSTLR.EXE FULLSET.LST". The rest should be trouble free. You will need to restart your computer at the end, though.<br />
<br />
After installing either/both of these programs, you will need to make sure DOSBOX uses them. You can either edit the [MIDI] section in the .conf file (instruction are provided inside the file itself or in the README), or change the default MIDI device in Windows. To do the latter, Go to START -> SETTINGS -> CONTROL PANEL -> SOUND AND AUDIO DEVICES, select the "Audio" tab and choose the device you wish to use under the "Midi music playback" section.</div>Stillquesthttps://www.dosbox.com/wiki/index.php?title=MIDI_software_devices&diff=4082MIDI software devices2010-10-19T15:52:36Z<p>Stillquest: Created page with 'DOSBOX currently does not provide emulation of general MIDI devices or the MT-32 Roland, instead passing the MIDI data along to MIDI synthesizer installed on your system. However…'</p>
<hr />
<div>DOSBOX currently does not provide emulation of general MIDI devices or the MT-32 Roland, instead passing the MIDI data along to MIDI synthesizer installed on your system. However, most modern PCs provide only very basic MIDI functionality, and therefore attempting to use general MIDI/MT-32 music under DOSBOX usually results in poor sounding results.<br />
<br />
Fortunately, there are a couple of free projects that provide software emulation of these MIDI devices, which provide a great boost to the music quality:<br />
<br />
[Munt] is an open source project that aims to emulate the MT-32 hardware by way of a Windows XP WDM driver. Using it,however, requires a copy of the original ROM images from a Roland MT-32, which are not included in the software download. Installation notes are provided within the distribution archive.<br />
<br />
[WinGroove] has apparently been abandoned mid-development, but still provides excellent sounding General Midi emulation. The latest available version, 0.A4 Beta-2, can be freely obtained from the site.<br />
<br />
Installation note: After downloading wg0a4_e.exe, run it in order to extract the installation files into a temporary directory. Then, from within that directory, go to START -> RUN and type "WGINSTLR.EXE FULLSET.LST". The rest should be trouble free. You will need to restart your computer at the end, though.<br />
<br />
After installing either/both of these programs, you will need to make sure DOSBOX uses them. You can either edit the [MIDI] section in the .conf file (instruction are provided inside the file itself or in the README), or change the default MIDI device in Windows. To do the latter, Go to START -> SETTINGS -> CONTROL PANEL -> SOUND AND AUDIO DEVICES, select the "Audio" tab and choose the device you wish to use under the "Midi music playback" section.</div>Stillquest