1 bit on dmg-01 (Page 2) - Nintendo Consoles - Forums

17 Dec 30, 2012 9:05 pm

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alex_mauer wrote:

i think that none of you are realizing what defines "x-bit"... if so called "8-bit" music is generated on a device w/ an 8-bit processor... then 1-bit music would require a device with a 1-bit processor - and the gameboy doesnt have one

this is the answer i was looking for. thanks.

18 Dec 30, 2012 9:15 pm

Delek

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

Technically speaking, any song using only pulses with constant volumes could be minimized to a 1 bit song...

Last edited by Delek (Jan 1, 2013 12:00 am)

19 Dec 30, 2012 9:15 pm

egr

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Abandoned on Fire

Cooshinator wrote:

I believe it's a 4-bit machine; 2^4 = 16 levels

Ah, yeah that makes sense.

As for calling something 1bit: this is a special "extreme" case where the name is referring to the method of generating the audible sound, toggling the speaker or whatever on and off with no amplitude control. "Beeper music" is probably a less inflammatory and even more descriptive term. Let's go with that instead.

20 Dec 30, 2012 10:43 pm

Cooshinator

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ohio gozaimasu

alex_mauer wrote:

i think that none of you are realizing what defines "x-bit"... if so called "8-bit" music is generated on a device w/ an 8-bit processor... then 1-bit music would require a device with a 1-bit processor - and the gameboy doesnt have one

True, but I don't see a problem in calling it "1-bit music" if the song only uses one bit of the 4-bit soundchip's hardware.

21 Dec 30, 2012 11:15 pm

Zef

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Cooshinator wrote:

alex_mauer wrote:
i think that none of you are realizing what defines "x-bit"... if so called "8-bit" music is generated on a device w/ an 8-bit processor... then 1-bit music would require a device with a 1-bit processor - and the gameboy doesnt have one
True, but I don't see a problem in calling it "1-bit music" if the song only uses one bit of the 4-bit soundchip's hardware.

Yes it is a 4 bit system, and but using 1 of 4 channels still doesn't make it 1 bit. And even if you limited yourself to one volume level for that channel it likely still wouldn't end up as true 1 bit. Someone could probably program the gameboy to output in beeper fashion, and but I wouldn't be convinced by anything coming from lsdj. Maybe suggest it in nitro's thread for rom suggestions.

22 Dec 30, 2012 11:17 pm

Delek

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Buenos Aires, Argentina

Cooshinator wrote:

True, but I don't see a problem in calling it "1-bit music" if the song only uses one bit of the 4-bit soundchip's hardware.

There IS a problem, because it is an ambiguous term, "x-bit music" already exist to describe the music done with certain CPU word size (8 bits CPUs, 16 bits CPUs, etc), I think that 1bit-depth music is a better term for this type of stuff.

Last edited by Delek (Dec 30, 2012 11:18 pm)

23 Dec 30, 2012 11:19 pm

ant1

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uhajdafdfdfa

i think a gameboy is 6 bits

you can make 16 volume levels on each channel for a total of 64 volume levels

or is it seven bits because you can get an extra level by turning on your prosound?

or is it eight bits because a channel panned only to one side is half as loud as a channel panned to both?

on the 8th day of christmas my true love gave to me
8 bits of gameboy
7 bits of gameboy
6 bits of gameboy
5 GOLDEN RINGS
4 bits of gameboy
3 french hens
2 turtle doves and a
1 bit gameboy

24 Dec 30, 2012 11:23 pm

egr

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Abandoned on Fire

beeper music. done.

25 Dec 30, 2012 11:37 pm

defPREMIUM

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next question. if i put 1 bit through a bitcrusher do black holes?

26 Dec 31, 2012 12:21 am

Cooshinator

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ohio gozaimasu

Zef wrote:

Yes it is a 4 bit system, and but using 1 of 4 channels still doesn't make it 1 bit.

I don't believe I ever said anything like that.

Zef wrote:

And even if you limited yourself to one volume level for that channel it likely still wouldn't end up as true 1 bit.

If you stick to one volume level, and the level you choose is either 1, 2, 4, or 8, from my understanding (correct me if I'm wrong), the Gameboy's soundchip will use only one specific bit to output sound. I am hesitant to see how that cannot, in the very least, be described as 1-bit music.

Zef wrote:

Someone could probably program the gameboy to output in beeper fashion, and but I wouldn't be convinced by anything coming from lsdj.

I don't really see how that would change anything; two different pieces of software that use the hardware in the same manner still use the the hardware in the same manner.

Delek wrote:

There IS a problem, because it is an ambiguous term, "x-bit music" already exist to describe the music done with certain CPU word size (8 bits CPUs, 16 bits CPUs, etc), I think that 1bit-depth music is a better term for this type of stuff.

Very true; "1-bit-depth" music is a term much more apt for describing the music this thread is inquiring about. I however feel that, because "1-bit music" is such an ambiguous term, using it in this situation could easily be acceptable. The soundchip is outputting the music through only one of its bits, creating music that is one-bit. Forgive me if there is some standardized definition of the term that I am currently unaware of.

27 Dec 31, 2012 1:13 am

irrlichtproject

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Nomad's Land

Delek wrote:

Cooshinator wrote:
True, but I don't see a problem in calling it "1-bit music" if the song only uses one bit of the 4-bit soundchip's hardware.
There IS a problem, because it is an ambiguous term, "x-bit music" already exist to describe the music done with certain CPU word size (8 bits CPUs, 16 bits CPUs, etc), I think that 1bit-depth music is a better term for this type of stuff.

well, if i remember correctly there is just one existing 1-bit CPU architecture, and I don't think it has ever been used for making music. So I don't see any ambiguity here. I know of no instance in the past where the term 1-bit music/1bit audio has been used refer to something other than a bitstream being send/read through a DAC/ADC.

in regards to gameboy and using one channel with one output level: no, that would not make it 1-bit music. Flipping a single bit would mean to simply switch the channel on or off - theoretically it's doable (even within lsdj, i suppose), but currently no such software implementation exists on Gameboy.

btw for those who are new to the subject, i recommend this article by Shiru for a start.

ed: not sure about the existance of 1bit cpus, if anybody has knowledge on the subject i'd be insterested

Last edited by irrlichtproject (Dec 31, 2012 1:16 am)