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Topic: Sega Saturn sound format (Read 5190 times) previous topic - next topic
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Sega Saturn sound format

A friend of mine want to know what is the format of the sega saturn music, and how to play it in CoolEdit. Can you enlighten me?
He asked me that question because he wants to make a plug-in for a saturn emulator.
 

Sega Saturn sound format

Reply #1 –
It could be something as simple as ADPCM. Most old consoles used that.

Have a look at the different types of ADPCM in hex and compare it to what is on the saturn... it may be similar.

Ruairi
rc55.com - nothing going on

Sega Saturn sound format

Reply #2 –
I'm not 100% sure here, but i seem to remember that Mike Melanson from the Xine development team is an expert on SEGA audio and video formats, you may ask him on the xine-user ML ....

Sega Saturn sound format

Reply #3 –
From a FAQ:
Quote
* ADPCM audio source
* 24 Channels
* 44.1KHz sample rate
* Digital effects include:
- Pitch Modulation
- Envelope
- Looping
- Digital Reverb
* Load up to 512K of sampled waveforms
- Supports MIDI Instruments


This site may also have some useful information: http://www.helsinki.fi/~ammonton/sega/docs.html

Sega Saturn sound format

Reply #4 –
Thanks a lot.

Sega Saturn sound format

Reply #5 –
many of the ss games use plain redbook audio as well...  but the soundchip in the saturn was amazing, so if they had no space for redbook audio on the cd, frequently the midi was so good it almost didn't matter.  Hopefully one day a 'psf' type format for listening to saturn tunes emerges.

Sega Saturn sound format

Reply #6 –
The sound was pretty amazing, it had a whole Motorola 68000 devoted to sound, iirc. This chip was the main CPU of of some other consoles at that time. Near the end of its life, people started to switch to RedBook audio, so that the 68000 could be harnessed for data processing for the game. Since the Saturn was a dual CPU machine anyway (Twin SH4's, i think), in at least one game, you had 3 CPU's simultanously crunching data. It was seriously impressive stuff, and also, a bitch to program for.

Sega Saturn sound format

Reply #7 –
I guess that's why its taken so long to emulate it!

Ruairi
rc55.com - nothing going on