ColorDMD Unveils New HD Color Upscaling for All Platforms!

ColorDMD Displays, the innovator of the multicolor dot matrix pinball display and SIGMA upscaling platform is pleased to announce the introduction of multicolor 14X upscaling across all new and existing display products!

This exciting new technology will be released beginning with the Simpsons Pinball Party in February! The new upscaling feature is compatible with all existing ColorDMD displays, and the company plans to release ROM updates for existing products.

All multicolor displays will soon include the ability to display classic dots, HD upscaled images, and a textured scan line effect. The unique 14X upscaling created for the ColorDMD provides the sharpest text possible while providing interesting visual effects for animation. Upscaling also produces the best display contrast possible by making use of all available pixels.

High-definition upscaling will be introduced as a FREE upgrade for all products, and keeps with the company's mission to innovate and provide as much value as possible to our customers.

We hope you are excited as we are by these renderings of TSPP! From the entire ColorDMD development team, we thank you all for your continued support!

EDIT: Video added

TSPP_Upscale_Car.PNG
TSPP_Scan_ExtraBall.PNG
TSPP_Upscale_Multiball.PNG
TSPP_Scan_Skateboard.PNG
TSPP_Upscale_Stash.PNG
TSPP_Scan_DareDevil.PNG
TSPP_Upscale_Bullies.PNG
TSPP_Scan_Couch-13.PNG
TSPP_Upscale_Otto-116.PNG

TSPP_Scan_I&S.PNG

Here's a few shots that might be interesting and show evolution of the ColorDMD with direct comparison of the original dot artwork and upscaled images. If you prefer dots, we're happy to provide them as both features are available at the press of a button.

Video will be posted later this week.

TSPP_Orange_Stash.PNG

TSPP_Dots_Stash.PNG

TSPP_Upscale_Stash.PNG

More previews from some recent releases.

RS_Scan_MonsterCab.PNG

JD_Upscale_BattleTank.PNG

LOTR_Scan_Gandalf.PNG

IJ_Upscale_ChooseWisely.PNG

While it's easy to forget, pinball displays are all about conveying information. Most of the time, you're looking at text!

We use color to make it easy to separate scores from other information. A primary focus of the ColorDMD scaler has been to deliver the sharpest text possible in a pinball display!

DW_Scan_Scores.PNG
FT_Upscale_MonsterFish.PNG
TOTAN_Scan_Cyclops-339.PNG
TOM_Upscale_Magic.PNG

More examples... from our monster phase.

CFTBL_Upscale_Title.PNG

MB_Scan_Doc.PNG

SS_Upscale_Coffin.PNG

WH2O_Upscale_Hotfoot.PNG

Last four to round out our current catalog. If you review the posts, that's one preview from every game we've done (in reverse order back to our first)!

Not sure what else I can show you.

STTNG_Scan_Borg.PNG

TAF_Upscale_Thing.PNG

MM_Upscale_Dragon.PNG

AFM_Upscale_Martian.PNG

Simpsons trailer is live! Chris did a great job producing this one. Hope you like it!

Thanks to Mark Jarzewiak for getting this one done!

We're trying to get the release for TSPP out tomorrow. LOTR will follow shortly after.

WPC games are starting beta testing to find/fix any issues. Barring any major issues, they should start rolling out by the end of next week.

Yes, all options are available in the MODE menu... similar to the SIGMA ROM.

The color ROM for The Simpsons Pinball Party has been released and is now available for download from the SUPPORT page of our site!

Thanks again to Mark Jarzewiak for the outstanding effort to get this released today!

Based on your feedback, we've decided to incorporate five different display modes in all the new ROM releases (Dots, Hi Resolution Upscaling, Textured Scan, Tiles, and 8-Bit)!

install_firmware.png

The LOTR 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

LOTR_Scan_Gandalf.PNG

No, the display modes are just different rendering options for the same underlying color data.

Since the engine has evolved over time, we do need to convert and test older titles to make sure they work properly with the new coloring engine.

Personally, I prefer the textured scan mode on all games with contrast at 5 or 6. Backlight can be turned down a bit for better blacks.

Check at power up that you're getting two flashes on the PROG LED and board is booting properly with DONE LED lit.

Sounds like something went wrong while trying to save the settings. Try reinstalling the firmware again. If it doesn't come back, please email me at [email protected].

Sorry to those experiencing a flashing issue. If you're seeing a problem and have some time to assist with debugging/testing, please send a video that shows the flashing to [email protected].

Thanks.
Randy

We have new builds available for TSPP and LOTR that resolved the flashing issue on two games we tested. I would like to test it on a few more before releasing it.

If you're experiencing this problem, please PM me for the link.

TSPP_Scan_Skateboard.PNG

LOTR_Scan_Gandalf.PNG

The MM 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

MM_Upscale_Dragon.PNG

The IJ 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

IJ_Upscale_ChooseWisely.PNG

The FT 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

FT_Upscale_MonsterFish.PNG

The DW 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

DW_Scan_Scores.PNG

Yes.

Waiting on feedback now from the beta test and to see experience with today's released ROMs. If all looks good, we'll push out the rest of the ROM updates before the weekend.

The JD 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

JD_Upscale_BattleTank.PNG

The RS 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

RS_Scan_MonsterCab.PNG

The TOTAN 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

TOTAN_Scan_Cyclops.PNG

The MB 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

MB_Scan_Doc.PNG

The SS 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

SS_Upscale_Coffin.PNG

The STTNG 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

STTNG_Scan_Borg.PNG

The WH2O 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

WH2O_Upscale_Hotfoot.PNG

The TOM 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

TOM_Upscale_Magic.PNG

The TAF 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

TAF_Upscale_Thing.PNG

The CFTBL 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

CFTBL_Upscale_Title.PNG

The AFM 3.0 update is now available for download from our site!

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

AFM_Upscale_Martian.PNG

The LOTR 3.1 and TSPP 3.1 updates are now available for download from our site. These updates address an issue that produces intermittent flashing on some systems.

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

LOTR_Scan_Gandalf.PNG

TSPP_Scan_Skateboard.PNG

There's no need unless you are experiencing an issue with flashing. There are no changes other than a fix to prevent a memory pointer from updating in the middle of a frame draw.

Thanks for the trouble reports and videos. We're looking into the issue and have made some updates to further improve the stability of the new engine. So far the issues only seem to affect a few systems, making it difficult to reproduce.

We hope to have something to test later this week or early next week.

Randy

A new update for Doctor Who (DW 3.1) is now available for download from our site! Mark made some improvements to help keep the coloring of the doctors in the background more uniform during bonus sequences.

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

DW_Scan_Scores.PNG

PM Sent.

Haven't heard any issues about FT video mode. The old ROMs are still on the site. Just change the version number in the link. Here's the one for Fish Tales.

http://www.colordmd.com/download.php?rom=FT_2_1

Please send any bug reports with video of the issue to [email protected] and we'll try to investigate.

That's a good observation! I don't think a different game ROM version would cause that though. It looks more like a bad ROM image or hardware problem reading the memory on the board. We're working to resolve it.

EDIT: Glad the reinstall worked!

If you're referring to the product key, just check the COLORDMD INFO screen that comes up when pressing the right button and see if you're running a 1.X version of the firmware. If so, you'll need to send a photo of that screen to [email protected] and we'll send you a new product key.

If version 2.X, you're good to go.

Randy

An update for Fish Tales (FT 3.1) is now available for download from our site!

This update fixes the uncolored blue boat during video mode, caused by a file conversion error migrating from 2.1 to 3.0.

FT_Upscale_MonsterFish.PNG

If the program light keeps blinking, it's showing an error coded that usually indicates that the colordmd.rom file could not be found on the USB drive. In order to try to reinstall the firmware, you'll need to clear the error code by resetting power to the display.

Please check to make sure the drive is formatted to FAT32 and that the file name is exactly "colordmd.rom" (without the quotes) with no extra characters or hidden extensions (like "colordmd.rom.rom").

With issues like these, often trying a different USB flash drive will work.

If you're on a Windows PC, right-click on the thumb drive and select Properties. It shows up under File System.

FAT32.PNG

Right-click this link and select Save Link As...

http://www.colordmd.com/download.php?rom=MB_3_0

Save it to the root directory of the USB drive with the name "colordmd.rom"

Can you try swapping in a different WPC DMD controller board to see if there's any change in behavior?

Sorry for the slow responses.

I just responded to Tom's email. The bright text on DW should light up yellow. We need to investigate why it's not detecting it's in attract mode on his game.

The LOTR issue for Grand Champion is different and will be updated. It was colored without realizing that the high score intials could extend behind the text. The empty space between the letters is covered by a red rectangle that isn't visible until the initial falls into that space.

I've been reworking a lot of the rendering engine for SAM. The improvements include features to prevent buffer overwrites and eliminate flicker issues. The changes will be folded back into a WPC engine update and we can see if the issues are gone. Due to the number of things I've been juggling, it's taking a little more time than I thought but I am continuing to work on a fix.

In the meantime, if you need help reverting back to an older version, just let me know.

Tom, Did you reply to Mark's question about which game ROM version you're running in DW?

All multicolor ROMs have been updated to include the new extra-large dot style (DOTXL) and an update to fix the flicker issue on WPC games.

The updates also include:
(1) A bug fix for RS to prevent the coloring engine from getting trapped in a sprite processing loop.
(2) Coloring updates for TSPP.
(3) A bug fix for LOTR to correct the appearance of high-score screens with wide initials.

An update for the single-color ROM (SIGMA 3.0) will be posted this week. It includes the extended backlight/contrast controls, new rendering modes (DOTXL, TILE, and 8-BIT), and some improvements when using an external RGB controller. The SIGMA ROM update is available now for beta-testing. PM me for a link if you'd like to test it.

http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

We have just posted an update for STTNG to correct a bug that was previously fixed in 2.1 but crept back into the 3.0 release due to a file conversion error. The bug could cause the coloring engine to enter and become trapped in a special processing loop for Riker's poker.

The STTNG 3.2 update is now available for download from http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

STTNG_Scan_Borg.PNG

At TPF, we were able to demo DW without removing/modding the lamp board. The extra mounting holes we added for the new Stern panels can be used to mount the display higher on the speaker panel and clear the lamp board.

The lamp board does need to be shifted down slightly on the speaker panel, and may require adding some new screw holes for the modified position.

I'm still hoping to find someone to offer a modified LED lamp board for games that need them.

We have just posted an update for Fish Tales to correct a bug that was introduced in FT 3.2 and caused stuttering during video mode.

The FT 3.3 update is now available for download from http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

FT_Upscale_MonsterFish.PNG

We have just posted an update for Indiana Jones to correct a bug that resulted in brightness errors due to intermittent frame drops.

The IJ 3.2 update is now available for download from http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

IJ_Upscale_ChooseWisely.PNG

We have just posted an update for Doctor Who to correct a bug that caused attract mode coloring to be incorrect when the match sequence is disabled. Thanks to Mark Jarzewiak for the update!

The DW 3.3 update is now available for download from http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

DW_Scan_Scores.PNG

We have just posted an update for ACDC to correct a critical bug that causes the screen to black out on triple jackpot awards (when all three multiball modes are active). Also added coloring for alternate extra ball awards. Thanks to Brandon Pennington for the update!

The ACDC 3.1 update is now available for download from http://www.colordmd.com/support_firmware.html

ACDC_Hires_Hrons.PNG