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Greetings.

In article , Andreas Kohlbach wrote:
>> and most modern media players cannot play Sidplayer files.  The only
>> modern player I'm aware of that plays Sidplayer music is sidplayfp, but
>> even it has problems with about half the tunes I try.
> 
> There is VLC I mentioned.
>
> I would assume most everybody has installed by now, because it plays
> about every media format available and is open source. Since version 2.0
> (that came out in 2012) it also plays SIDs.

VLC does not currently play Sidplayer files, nor has it ever been able to 
do so.

As I mentioned before, you are confusing Sidplayer with the SID format used 
by the HVSC.  Sidplayer was a particular Commodore 64/128 music editor and 
player authored by Craig Chamberlain and Harry Bratt in 1985 and published 
by COMPUTE! Books.  It was hugely popular on online services such as Q-Link 
in the 1980s and 1990s, with hundreds of independent arrangers contributing 
over 13,000 songs.  Sidplayer uses a number of file formats (with 
extensions .mus, .str, .wds, and .ani) which encode not only 3- or 6-voice 
music, but also synchronized lyrics and text-mode animations.  Sidplayer 
files are incompatible with the HVSC's SID format (which was developed much 
later).  VLC can play files in the HVSC SID format, but not Sidplayer 
files.  Only a tiny minority of modern media players can play Sidplayer 
files, and to the best of my knowledge none of them do it very well.

Of course, you don't need to take my word for it.  The difference between 
HVSC SIDs and Sidplayer is covered in the HVSC FAQ: 


>> Of course, if you want a more authentic experience, you can fetch tunes
>> from the CGSC and play them on a real Commodore 64 or 128, or on an
>> emulator.  The YouTube channel is really for the convenience of those
>> who lack the time or inclination to get an emulator or real C64 up and
>> running.
> 
> Those using the VICE emulator might have vsid (I have it on Linux) as
> external sound emulation of the VICE emulator. You can just load SID
> files into it.

VICE also has no native support for Sidplayer files.  The only way to use 
VICE to play Sidplayer files is to launch an emulated C64 or C128 and run a 
compatible media player, such as Chamberlain & Bratt's original Sidplayer 
program, or Mark A. Dickenson's Stereo Player.

Regards,
Tristan

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