Demos come in all shapes and sizes, 4k, 64k, intros, demos and more, but I think this is the first time I’ve seen a demo running on a Commodore 64 disc drive, or 1541 drive. You can read more about it on the Freespin homepage.
The 1541 family of drives have the same CPU as the Commodore 64 so adapting code to run on it will be easy for anyone familiar with the machine but what’s different here is that the drive is hooked up directly to the monitor to display the demo.
Sound is supplied by the drive, and as expected is the usual buzzing sounds until the end when it changes and becomes slightly more musical.
Worth a watch, even if you have no interest in demos. The idea of running software on a disc drive like this blows my mind!
Found this HN thread about the demo. Lots of interesting discussion!
Wow. That really is amazing! I was wondering how he got the screen to update so fast, considering the normal speed of the 1541, but then I saw a comment about speed loaders in the thread you posted, so that make more sense. Not exactly a 320 x 256 pixel output anyway. Are we going to see video leads now sold for the 1541??! 😀