Wouldn't want anyone stealing your hard work, right. Hey wait, you are selling Copyright material that you just colored over. This is illegal. Funny how you don't want people giving away your work for free but you are happy to profit off someone else's work.

Based on this it doesn't seem to be an issue with the game. Elwood are you using the Discovery board and shield solution from Rappelbox? If so I ran into this issue which is a design problem with the signal enhancer circuit not working.

This issue has been fixed a longer time ago...

Thank you for your help.
I will make a video this afternoon.

I have the black card from Luis.

I'm new to this product so bare with me. What I've read though I'm confused as to the intention.

Is it mainly used for virtual pins to colorize (similar to color dmd effect) or is it also used in real pinballs? If the latter, is it just a price point question then b/w color dmd and this? As for virtual pins, is it as simple as install and then install files so it can display all games in full color?

You get a compact overview of all it's capabilities on pin2dmd.com

It is capable of both, virtual and real pinball machines.

There are several machines already colorized with pinball browser and pin2dmd-editor.
Each device has several modes.

Single color mode:
-8 predefined palettes

Single palette mode:
-you predefine a single palette of 4 to 16 colors/shades depending on what type of game you have (B/W 4 colors, Stern 16 colors)

Complex colorization:
-can be achieved by either using pinball browser or pin2dmd-editor

this was just a very short overview

Greetings,
Dom

I'm not familiar with using PIN2DMD, but I understood these were just some palette/color/index files that don't contain anything from the ROMs. What is the copyright material you are referring to?

Is there a more proper way to distribute colorization without copyright material?

Doing the 4 color pallets and things is not illegal, but it looks like garbage.

What vbobrusev is "selling" is actually artwork taken from the game using the pinball browser software, colored and repackaged. This is illegal. It is not for personal use only when distributed, when sold it becomes a big deal. While the virtual world was pretty much ignored in the past this is now being placed on hardware going into actual Stern machines.

Correction: Is illegal in the United States. He is not in the US and I have no idea if there are any repercussions outside the US.

So are you saying there's not a way to generate color files with more than 4 colors and just distribute those that a user can apply to the data from his own ROMs?

What vbobrusev is "selling" is actually artwork taken from the game using the pinball browser software, colored and repackaged. This is illegal.

Is this the only way to get more than 4 colors? Is there no way to distribute this kind of customization separate from the image data?

You must distribute the bitmap images (copyrighted content) if you want more than 4 colors. Because instead of telling PIN2DMD to use a color for each shade, you are instead telling it to replace the frame with another piece of content entirely. There are 4 shades built into the original display architecture. If you want to exceed 4 colors you must import colorized (modified) custom frames (copyrighted content).

I have not looked at any of this code but I think it would be possible to detect a frame without actually including it into the distributed material. Thus avoiding any copyright.

That is the basis for the ColorDMD patent.

Oh right, I forgot you can patent anything in the US. Not that I blame ColorDMD for wanting to protect their work. But they should not be able to stop people from working and sharing stuff for free. The idea of patenting the detection of an image or frame is pretty silly, it's everywhere.

Even if you replace frames with colorized ones I don't think you are technically storing any copyrighted info because the original info was a greyscale in 3 shades and your really only storing a fully colorized version of that, not the greyscale original version. Probably would have to talk to a lawyer if you really cared, personally I don't. I can buy the parts to build 3 pin2dmds for the price of 1 colordmd and if people start releasing more and more colorizations I will build more and more of them. The editor has improved so much over the past year and even the past month that I am excited to see some more colorizations using the editor. Great job on the project and keep up the good work!

Thank you for debunking Lucky1's previous post, and exposing the Pin2DMD project for what it is.

The same group behind the Pin2DMD (Lucky1, Steve, and Rappelbox) has also worked to create knockoffs of PinDMD, the Run-DMD clock, and Pinsound.

If you respect the time, investment, innovation, and contributions of these original projects, please support the businesses created to bring them to market and provide for future development. We really do appreciate it!

To be fair, the project was clearly started as a virtual pinball solution but upgraded to also work using real pinball signal input. I really like colordmd but I can't spend $400 on my $2000 pinball machine just to make the screen look cool(I realize I might be a minority on this forum). also just because colordmd costs too much that is not luckys fault.

No, just because you cannot afford something [or do not want to spend that much] does not give you the right to steal it.

It is all conjecture my friend.

Les Misérables? No you are not.

But dude you make a heck of a car wreck? (in a Junkyard good way)

I put a ColorDMD in a Popeye. Was I not supposed to do that for that Game to Mod ratio?

As Lucky1 has now supported with evidence in his previous post...

The same group behind the Pin2DMD (Lucky1, Steve, and Rappelbox) has also worked to create knockoffs of PinDMD, the Run-DMD clock, and Pinsound.

If you respect the time, investment, innovation, and contributions of these original projects, please support the businesses created to bring them to market and provide for future development. We really do appreciate it!

There is no "group" or what you want to call it.

Without me it would still be a hobby project, it was intended to be! So blame it on me, not on them...

I found the system amazing so I decided to spread it. Same with GoDMD. I love the fact that everyone is free to use his/her personal skills to colorize a game to his personal liking, and not been forced to use a certain preset, given by someone else.
If I understand US copyright laws correct then its legal to spread macros (pinball browser), config files (no copyrighted material included) etc.
None of the people mentioned above sells complete colorizations. In fact i'm not even selling/providing presets.
There are other people trying to make profit of it and i'm not talking about the guys colorizing their own games and taking donations.

There was never an attempt to copy colordmd or other systems, which would be surely possible, but that would be illegal. So there hasn't been even thought of, at least by me and I would bet from Steve45 and Lucky1 either.

I see a legit competition, running different systems to colorize formally single colored DMDs, given different hardware and different techniques.
I see:
-ColorDMD
-PIN2DMD
-pinDMD
-SmartDMD
-prototypes of other systems etc.
-PROC
So this looks to me like "state-of-the-art", and not a ColorDMD-unique and patentable thing. But i live in Europe, so I might have a different understanding of patents then you!

It sounds to me like you are trying to protect your monoploy, given the circumstances that your biggest donor (stern) is not delivering its Pinballs with classic DMDs anymore...
If I had the will to compete with you i had colorized different games and sold them just a few bucks cheaper then your sets.
But, like lucky1 and steve45, that is not my intention.

Great products always lead to some kind of intimidators, but like mentioned SEVERAL times before, it has never been the intention to COPY your product.

Just MY 2 cents.

@taxman:
I love the effort you did on T2, but i don't like the colors you used. That's why i will use my own colorization, for my personal use!

No one is forced to use a ColorDMD or a PIN2DMD, just give people the chance to decide on their own which system to use, with all it's benefits and drawbacks. But i think thats exactly the point where you think your patent comes into game.

I wish all the best to all involved parties, may we find a satisfactory solution to this.
Dominik

Why are you copying and pasting the same post twice? We get it the first time.

I'm a ColorDMD user and supporter, but I'm really disappointed in how they handle their patent and have to try and threaten anybody who colorizes games. It seems like they think anybody who does this infringes on their patent which is just not true. I can understand why they do this from a business perspective I just do not like it. Reminds me of how PPS Rick spews BS sometimes (Capcom patent for example).

I like the colors you used in T2 taxman. I will copy them exactly for my Pin2dmd.

Didn't the PinDMD/Pin2DMD guys have the LED panels working before ColorDMD anyways? I thought ColorDMD didn't start releasing their LED panels until after Pin2DMD was out.

No you won't. You're too lazy. You bought two of them how long ago without getting them installed?

Correct, they did it first. It was implemented and tested before ColorDMD announced their version. I have a feeling ColorDMD's product would have been delayed or not released at all if it weren't for PIN2DMD's proof of concept.

ColorDMD LED would have happened anyway on the same schedule:

The original ColorDMD concept was inspired by 8x8 RGB color LEDs back in 2009 but they were not yet available in a small enough form factor and were outrageously expensive. LCD was only investigated and used when I couldn't obtain an LED display that would fit the backbox.

We had been looking for an alternate to our LCD screen that could fit the CV playfield. We had the LED driver and prototypes working for some time before it was introduced to the public, as we were still trying to assess it's reliability and video quality. Early LED displays had some problems, and still now, there's room for improvement.

This is also why ROMs were rolled out slowly with early availability for only a few games like CV and T3 that really needed it due to backbox limitations.

Ok cool, I wasn't stating this as fact, just a guess.

This isn't true. Pin2DMD's original implementation of using colors to replace graylevel shades steered clear of any ColorDMD methods and presents no issues whatsoever. They later chose to directly implement methods disclosed in the ColorDMD patent.

There are other methods for adding color to pinball images that also would not weigh on ColorDMD, but unfortunately this team hasn't been particularly innovative and takes pride in knocking off other's contributions.

With 59 supported titles, a large repeat customer base, and a host of other IP that we've developed over the past five years that hasn't been disclosed (or copied), ColorDMD's position in the market is secure.

This is really about principle for me at this point, and speaking out against a pattern of behavior that became apparent after hearing from the Pinsound guys at TPF about what they have been doing with regard to their project. You can read back earlier in this thread and find similar concerns from the PinDMD creators.

It's a bit ironic that the original topic of this thread (still visible in the browser url) was "stolen-pin2dmd-color-rgb-controller-from-pinballspcom". Lucky1 was the first to cry foul about another project misusing his IP, yet continues to defiantly justify his own behavior.

I'm having trouble finding a true statement anywhere in this last post, especially where ColorDMD was asked multiple times to provide anything. Unfortunately any attempt to address Pin2DMD directly has been dismissed with intentional misrepresentations like the one above and others simply not rational.

If you'd like to support innovation in the hobby, please look to original projects like PinDMD, ColorDMD, Run-DMD clock, PinSound and others who have invested and are working every day to create and support exciting new elements for the hobby. Your support is greatly appreciated and helps drive new innovation.

Otherwise, support these characters.

Are you just bent on making yourself come off as a bit if a jerk in this thread? All they ask is the section of your code the project infringes upon so we can clarify this issue and hopefully put this disagreement behind us so both parties can move on and enjoy pinball.

I'm not sure what you mean by section of my code. If you're referring to the patent, it would be a legal test against the patent claims. Claim 1 and claim 10 here are independent claims which stand alone. Any device (or method) which satisfies all the elements of the claim would infringe that claim.

http://appft1.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&d=PG01&p=1&u=/netahtml/PTO/srchnum.html&r=1&f=G&l=50&s1=20120190440.PGNR./

The issue with Pin2DMD relates to their decision to incorporate frame tagging and color lookup in conjunction with all the other elements of the claim. They are aware of this and were asked privately to remove this specific feature.

FWIW, if a court finds that the independent claim is too general, then the dependent claims listed beneath come into play to bring higher specificity. Any one dependent claim is sufficient and it does not need to satisfy all.

The truth is that Pin2DMD doesn't care about the patent or claims (and have stated so in emails), so there won't be any resolution on this unless we bring suit. I don't expect a resolution here.

The disappointing thing to me as an inventor is that for such a small community, a patent would be needed in the first place or that we'd have a group that proudly engages in a pattern of exploitive behavior to reproduce any new invention that shows a promise of success.

ColorDMD is capable of protecting itself but many other projects don't have the resources or legal standing to do the same, nor should they be needed. Which way this goes is basically up to the pinball community and what they choose to reward.

I find this point often gets lost in the shuffle. Many thanks to freezy and yourself for continuing to support my pinDMD3. I do hope support from the source returns one day. If I had to do it over again though I would go the PIN2DMD route.

Is there also an coloration for the ghostbusters?

Is there anywhere an instruction to make it by My own?
Perhaps in German, because the guy who want make it is not so good in english and i didnt want translate all for him

Will this work on the previous hardware version ??

Will the firmware be different? If so will you continue to make firmware updates for the old version as well? Please say yes.

Oh also, this looks great. Thank you for continuing the support for this and continuing to make improvements.

Thank you.