|
Roland SCC-1
The Roland SC-55 ( Sound Canvas) is a GS MIDI sound module released in 1991 by Roland. The SC-55 was the first sound module to incorporate the new General MIDI standard. It was the first in the Roland Sound Canvas series. The SC-55 used both PCM and a cut-down version of the LA synthesis engine, to support 24-voice polyphony with 16-part multitimbrality. It came preloaded with the Roland MT-32's variation bank, but lacked the MT-32's re-programmability. Aimed at PC music enthusiasts, the SC-55 featured 317 instrument patches, including the GS drum kits and additional controllers. The selection of effects includes reverb and chorus. Alongside the SC-55, Roland released the SB-55 (Sound Brush), an inexpensive MIDI sequencer module the same size as the Sound Canvas. Both the Sound Canvas and Sound Brush could be rackmounted alongside each other. Other models with comparable tone generators include Roland CM-300, Roland CM-500 and Roland SC-155 sound modules. CM-300 and CM-50 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Roland Corporation
is a Japanese manufacturer of electronic musical instruments, electronic equipment, and software. It was founded by Ikutaro Kakehashi in Osaka on 18 April 1972. In 2005, its headquarters relocated to Hamamatsu in Shizuoka Prefecture. It has factories in Malaysia, Taiwan, Japan, and the United States. As of 31 March 2010, it employed 2,699 people. In 2014, it was subject to a management buyout by its CEO, Junichi Miki, supported by Taiyo Pacific Partners. Roland has manufactured numerous instruments that have had lasting impacts on music, such as the Juno-106 synthesizer, TB-303 bass synthesizer, and TR-808 and TR-909 drum machines. It was also instrumental in the development of MIDI, a standardized means of synchronizing electronic instruments manufactured by different companies. In 2016, ''Fact'' wrote that Roland had arguably had more influence on electronic music than any other company. History 1970s Having created Ace Electronic Industries Inc in 1960, Ikutaro Kakeh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
MPU-401
The MPU-401, where ''MPU'' stands for MIDI Processing Unit, is an important but now obsolete interface for connecting MIDI-equipped electronic music hardware to personal computers. It was designed by Roland Corporation, which also co-authored the MIDI standard. Design Released around 1984, the original MPU-401 was an external breakout box providing MIDI IN/MIDI OUT/MIDI THRU/TAPE IN/TAPE OUT/MIDI SYNC connectors, for use with a separately-sold interface card/cartridge ("MPU-401 interface kit") inserted into a computer system. For this setup, the following "interface kits" were made: * MIF-APL: For the Apple II. * MIF-C64: For the Commodore 64. * MIF-FM7: For the Fujitsu FM7. * MIF-IPC: For the IBM PC/IBM XT. It turned out not to work reliably with 286 and faster processors. Early versions of the actual PCB had IF-MIDI/IBM as a silk screen. * MIF-IPC-A: For the IBM AT, works with PC and XT as well. * Xanadu MUSICOM IFM-PC: For the IBM PC / IBM XT / IBM AT. This was a third party ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Shiny Show
''The Shiny Show'' is a British educational children's quiz show, broadcast in the United Kingdom by CBeebies, BBC One and BBC Two, that was produced by Open Mind Productions. It was aired in 2002 and 2003, and was aimed particularly at children between the ages of 3 and 6 years old. Each show featured a quiz with six questions, based around different subjects, and featured four star characters: Tigs the Tiger, Mukka the Monkey, Dogsby the Dog and Alarmorama the machine. Characters Tigs Tigs is an orange tiger, who is often portrayed as confident and big-headed. She is still extremely lively and always gets the starring role in the short plays or poems the group act out in between rounds. She has a lucky object called Mr. Cheese, a plastic lump of cheese that squeaks whenever it is squeezed. Voiced by Sue Monroe. Mukka Mukka is an extremely hyperactive purple monkey. He has a lucky object called Fluffy Stuff and a pet lump called Lumpy. Voiced by Wim Booth. Dogsby Dogsby is a b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tikkabilla
''Tikkabilla'' is a UK children's television programme, shown on CBeebies. The programme aims to educate pre-school children in an entertaining manner. The title "Tikkabilla" comes from the Hindi word meaning " Hopscotch", a popular children's game. Format The show features two different presenters and a small dragon puppet named Tamba, who resembles Spyro the Dragon in colouration. Tamba serves as the programme's naive child; the programme's educational content is introduced as the presenters explain things to Tamba. Whilst Tamba appears in every episode, a team of presenters take it in turns to pair-up in each show. These presenters include Justin Fletcher, Sarah-Jane Honeywell, Simon Davies, Lorna Laidlaw, Paul Ewing, Veejay Kaur (series 3–4), Toni Fruitin and Amit Sharma (both series 4 only) and Beverly Hills (series 1–2 only). Tamba is performed by puppeteers Sue Eves (series 1 to 4) who created the voice for Tamba; Alison McGowan (series 2 and 3) and Katherine Smee (s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Playdays
''Playdays'' (known as ''Playbus'' until December 1989) is a British pre-school television programme which ran from 1988 to 1997 on CBBC. The show was the successor to '' Play School'' and, like its predecessor, was designed as an educational programme. The show's name was changed after the BBC received a complaint from the National Playbus Association. In 2002, reruns were moved to the new CBeebies channel until August 2004. The stops The show would begin with an animated title sequence of the Playbus driving along until it reached the bus stop. The bus stopped at a different place each day. Monday – The Why Bird Stop Why Bird lived at the Lost Property Office, where things that were left on the Playbus were filed until someone claimed them. She interacted with the human bus driver – there were several throughout the series. She had a special computer called the Why-Tech, which had a variety of uses: it could provide music for songs, pictures for stories, instructions f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tweenies
''Tweenies'' is a British live action Puppet children's television series created by Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan. The programme is focused on four pre-school aged characters, known as the "Tweenies", playing, singing, dancing, and learning in a fictional playgroup in England. They are cared for by two adult Tweenies and two dogs. 390 episodes were broadcast between 6 September 1999 and 25 July 2002. In 2000, the show won a BAFTA award for Best Pre-school Live Action series, and singles featuring exclusive songs spent some weeks in the charts during the early 2000s. The series premiered on the BBC's children's block, and aired reruns on CBeebies from the channel's launch in 2002 until 2016. In the United States, it was shown on Noggin, a sister channel to Nickelodeon. It also aired on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. block from 18 July to 25 September 2003. Overview and history The idea for the programme came from Will Brenton and Iain Lauchlan, a pair with a track record of being i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ultima VI
''Ultima VI: The False Prophet'', released by Origin Systems in 1990, is the sixth part in the role-playing video game series of '' Ultima''. It is the third and final game in the "Age of Enlightenment" trilogy. ''Ultima VI'' sees the player return to Britannia, at war with a race of gargoyles from another land, struggling to stop a prophecy from ending their race. The player must help defend Britannia against these gargoyles, and ultimately discover the secrets about both lands and its peoples. ''Ultima VI'' continues to advance the technology of the Ultima series. The game world is larger, with a 1024x1024 tile map seamlessly connected and to scale. World interactivity is further increased with object manipulation, movement, and crafting. Graphics and sound are likewise advanced with the use of new sound card technology and VGA graphics cards, and the user interface is streamlined with the use of point-and-click icons. ''Ultima VI'' was followed by '' Ultima VII: The Black Gate ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Origin Systems
Origin Systems, Inc. was an American video game developer based in Austin, Texas. It was founded on March 3, 1983, by Richard Garriott and his brother Robert Garriott, Robert. Origin is best known for their groundbreaking work in multiple genres of video games, such as the ''Ultima (series), Ultima'' and ''Wing Commander (franchise), Wing Commander'' series. The company was purchased by Electronic Arts in 1992. History Brothers Richard Garriott, Richard and Robert Garriott, their astronaut-engineer father Owen K. Garriott, Owen, and programmer Chuck Bueche founded Origin Systems in 1983 because of the trouble they had collecting money owed to Richard for his games released by other companies. Origin was initially based in the Garriotts' garage in Houston, Texas. The company's first game was ''Ultima III: Exodus''; because of Ultima's established reputation and the fact that the company's games were released on computers and not consoles, Origin survived the Video game crash of 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Space Quest III
''Space Quest III: The Pirates of Pestulon'' is a 1989 graphic adventure game by Sierra On-Line, and the third game in the ''Space Quest'' series. Plot Roger Wilco's escape pod from the end of ''Space Quest II'' is floating in space until it is picked up by an automated garbage freighter. Finding a derelict spaceship amongst the freighter's garbage, Roger sets out to repair the ''Aluminum Mallard'' and leave the scow. Roger visits a variety of locations, including a fast food restaurant called Monolith Burger and a desert planet called Phleebhut. At the latter, he encounters trouble, as ''Arnoid the Annihilator'' (an Arnold Schwarzenegger-like android terminator) persecutes him for not paying for a whistle acquired in ''Space Quest II''. From information he picks up there and at Monolith Burger, Roger eventually uncovers the sinister activities of a video game company known as ScumSoft, run by the "Pirates of Pestulon". Pestulon, a small moon of the volcanic planet Ortega, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sierra On-Line
Sierra Entertainment, Inc. (formerly On-Line Systems and Sierra On-Line, Inc.) was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genre, including the first such game, ''Mystery House''. It is also known for its graphical adventure game series ''King's Quest'', ''Space Quest'', ''Police Quest'', ''Gabriel Knight'', ''Leisure Suit Larry'', and ''Quest for Glory'', as well as being the original publishers of Valve's ''Half-Life'' series. After seventeen years as an independent company, Sierra was acquired by CUC International in February 1996 to become part of CUC Software. However, CUC International was caught in an accounting scandal in 1998, and many of the original founders of Sierra including the Williamses left the company. Sierra remained as part of CUC Software as it was sold and renamed several times over the next few years; Sierra was formally disestablished as a c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Semitone
A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent notes in a 12-tone scale. For example, C is adjacent to C; the interval between them is a semitone. In a 12-note approximately equally divided scale, any interval can be defined in terms of an appropriate number of semitones (e.g. a whole tone or major second is 2 semitones wide, a major third 4 semitones, and a perfect fifth 7 semitones. In music theory, a distinction is made between a diatonic semitone, or minor second (an interval encompassing two different staff positions, e.g. from C to D) and a chromatic semitone or augmented unison (an interval between two notes at the same staff position, e.g. from C to C). These are enharmonically equivalent when twelve-tone equal temperament is used, but are not the same thing in meantone temper ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SysEx
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, Digital electronics, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and related audio devices for playing, editing, and recording music. The specification originates in the paper ''Universal Synthesizer Interface'' published by Dave Smith (engineer), Dave Smith and Chet Wood of Sequential (company), Sequential Circuits at the 1981 Audio Engineering Society conference in New York City. A single MIDI cable can carry up to sixteen channels of MIDI data, each of which can be routed to a separate device. Each interaction with a key, button, knob or slider is converted into a MIDI event, which specifies musical instructions, such as a note's Pitch (music), pitch, timing and Dynamics (music), loudness. One common MIDI application is to play a MIDI Electronic keyboard, keyboard or other controller an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
_logo.png "Click for more on -> Sierra On-Line"){kind=logo}
