ZxCam for iPhone
ZxCam is a free iPhone app that converts images taken with the camera into Spectrum style images. You can also convert images that you have transferred to the phone. The converted image can be mailed back as a scr for an emulator, or a png if you want to use it on one if those modern computers. ZxCam can also output the image as audio for an authentic tape loading experience. It'll work on an iPod touch too, but you'll miss out on the camera.
I've only tested the tape loading on an emulator. If someone could give it a go on a real Spectrum and report back it would be much appreciated.
I've only tested the tape loading on an emulator. If someone could give it a go on a real Spectrum and report back it would be much appreciated.
Post edited by JamesW on
Comments
works well for camera roll images though, i'm gonna have fun with this
thanks muchly
Dean
I noticed a similar problem a day or two after I first submitted it to the App Strore, and I re-submited a fixed version before it was vetted. I thought I might have screwed that up and submitted the wrong version, but I've downloaded the version off the App Store myself, and the camera is working for me! I'm using an iPhone 3G and OS 3.0.1 for what it's worth. Anyone else having trouble?
interestingly if you use the camera function, the picture that comes up to alter is the previously chosen one from the camera roll
But I'd fixed that, and uploaded the fixed version to the store! I've just deleted ZxCam off my phone, which also deletes any associated data, and downloaded it again from the store. I'm at work, so there is no way that any development versions have slipped on by mistake. I started it up, and immediately took a picture. It worked! Could you give that a go and let me know how you get on? I can't believe the OS version has anything to do with it. 3.0.1 was just a security fix - the SDK is unchanged.
Also, has anyone else tried it out? How did you get on? Camera working, or knackered?
(3G phone, 3.0.1 software)
I've just posted the source code for those that like that kind of thing.
One other thing is the "i" button is incredibly hard to use, 9 times out of 10 you get the "mail to" option instead of the settings, and thats when carefully only hitting the i.
Other than that its an awesome app, am well impressed !!!
Am on a 3GS at 3.0.1 btw.
www.flickr.com/photos/bleugh
That's mighty impressive looking app. Although I can't try out the Tape out feature, it looks pretty nifty. Am gonna try out your app a bit later when I get to office. ;)
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
Arjun: why can't you test the tape output? You should be able to hear the noise it makes, even if you don't have a Speccy to plug into the headphone socket.
bleugh: I love the Sydney harbour bridge picture! One feature I would like a future version to have would be an option to upload to some shared gallery. Or Spectrum pictures on 'the cloud' if you're a marketroid. I'm not sure the best (easiest) way to go about this though.
Womble: yes, the 'i' button is a pain. I left it in the bottom right so that Apple's reviewers didn't have an excuse to deny the app. They seem to deny distribution for all sorts of silly reasons. I'll move it up to the top right in the next release and see if that's accepted.
*Technical details for those who care:
[strike]Australians are being punished because their side is too good at cricket.[/strike]
Bringing up the camera view was sometimes releasing the application's main view. The OS was doing this - I didn't request it, so I wasn't expecting it. When the camera is dismissed, the OS re-loads ZxCam's view. My code responds by loading the last image saved to the preferences, and this old image overwrites the new camera image. I guess it doesn't happen all the time as it is a decision the OS makes. Presumably when it is pushed for memory. The solution is to update the saved preferences as soon as I get an image back from the camera, but before dismissing the camera view.
Because I don't own an iphone, and the one I'm gonna test the app on belongs to a mate in office. :) That won't necessarily prevent me from going on a nostalgic trip listening to the loading noise though! ;)
Bytes:Chuntey - Spectrum tech blog.
He's probably forgot to press 'play'...dumbar$e :-P
was in st kilda for a couple of years, i've moved over to Sydney a couple of months ago though.
should update that location info sometime!
how long you been in Newport?, nice down there, had friends over in Yarraville so often went down that way for munchies
Link doesn't work for me... I'd love to take a look though.
Andrew
Here's two StormTroopers that visited our local Summer Fayre recently.
Toby
Verboten!
50mm Nikkor lens shrunk to 29x29 pixels. Should be allowed I hope.
I've had a fantastic idea for _ages_, but not got around to getting the iphone devkit yet, mainly because I don't have a Mac and haven't the time to try and get OSX to run on my Linux machines...
What I want to do is create an application that can browse the WOS archives for .tzx files, download them and then play them "like a cassette recorder", with forward, stop, rewind, play etc (just like your cassette recorder in zxcam).
That would be totally groovy. Instant access to any speccy prog, anywhere you have phone signal or wifi (just wifi in the case of ipod touch).
You can archive your favourite files, or ones you create yourself, or just download them on demand.
I was porting the tzx play code from playtzx - it's in C.
Go on. Have a go! I'll never get around to it, what with the book, Harlequin and other projects...
Chris
What are you going to do with the tape sounds? The obvious thing to do with over-the-air access to the WoS archive would be to load them directly into an iPhone port of Fuse, which wouldn't need audio, but Apple are never going to allow that anyway. That leaves you with the option of playing the audio through a computer's mic socket, and into an emulator, or into a real Spectrum. In the first instance you could just download the files on the computer. The second is likely to be a minority pastime. I asked if anyone has loaded a picture from ZxCam into a real Spectrum, but so far no-one has reported back.
I suspect the audio facility is used as a novelty; reminding people of days gone by. A bit of vanity searching supports this suspicion:
I love this app! I will be trying it on my real speccy later on tonight!
I will post back when I have something to tell!
Andy
hi
great app, had lots of fun
trying to loading images into FUSE its get so far and stops loading.
ade