Sony PCM-F1 & PCM-48K Simulator

Welcome to the Sony PCM-F1 Simulator. This application provides a window into early digital audio and modern high-fidelity "over-video" protocols. It allows you to encode 16-bit audio into professional video signals, ready to record onto physical VHS hardware.

Note

This application was coded by Gemini 3.1 Pro and has not been tested on actual hardware or PCM encoded videos. It is meant primarily as a proof of concept and educational tool. If you are looking for a production-ready application, please use the original Sony PCM-F1.

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Anatomy of a PCM-F1 Video Frame

To understand how this encoder works, we must look at how digital data is mapped onto a television screen. An entire interlaced video frame (such as NTSC) is divided into specialized sections to allow VHS recording without data loss.

1. VBLANK (Vertical Blanking Interval): The top 17 lines are forced to black. This originally allowed the CRT electron beam to reset and gives VCR switching heads time to align.
2. Control Word Header: The first active line contains a repeating 0x3333 signature. A hardware decoder hunts for this to align its vertical phase clock.
3. PCM Audio Data Block: The main part of the screen is a dense flickering matrix encompassing the raw 16-Bit interleaved PCM audio data, parities, and checksums.
4. Horizontal Pillarboxing: Deep black borders prevent data loss due to overscan on older CRT displays.

Inside a Single Row of Audio Data

Each of the 240 active audio lines contains exactly 137 bits of data:

• STC Sync Pulse (9 Bits): A 101010101 wave that calibrates the hardware clock.
• Audio Words (84 Bits): Six 14-bit data words carrying the actual PCM sampled audio (interleaved L/R stereo pairs).
• Parity P/Q (28 Bits): Error correction blocks used to reconstruct damaged audio from VHS dropouts.
• CRC-16 (16 Bits): A checksum used to verify if the line was corrupted by noise.

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The PCM-48K Protocol (High Fidelity)

For modern users, the simulator includes a custom PCM-48K protocol. This mode trades the legacy error correction for pure audio fidelity, allowing for 48kHz / 16-bit stereo playback with zero pulsating artifacts.

PCM-48K Specifications

• Sample Rate: 48,000 Hz (Professional Standard).
• Resolution: 16-Bit Linear PCM.
• Line Density: 8 samples per line (4 stereo pairs).
• Frame Structure: 400 active audio lines per frame.
• UI Features: Includes real-time vertical VU meters and metadata telemetry injected into the video padding.

Tip

Fidelity vs. Robustness: While PCM-48K sounds better, it lacks the P/Q parity of the Sony PCM-F1. This means it is "fragile"—a single VHS dropout will cause a pop or skip, whereas the PCM-F1 mode can "calculate" its way through tape damage.

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1. Prerequisites & Installation

Install Java Runtime Environment (JRE)

This software is a standalone Java Archive (.jar). You must have Java 8 or newer installed.

• Download from the Java Downloads Page.
• Install the Windows Offline (64-bit) version.

Install FFmpeg (Optional, Highly Recommended)

While the app has built-in Java codecs for video streams, FFmpeg is required to multiplex a synchronous audio track into your final video file.

• Windows (Winget): winget install ffmpeg
• Manual: Download from ffmpeg.org.

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2. Running the Simulator

Option A: Double Click

If Java is correctly associated with .jar files, simply Double-Click PCMF1Simulator.jar.

Option B: Command Line

If double-clicking fails, open a terminal (cmd/PowerShell) and run:

java -jar PCMF1Simulator.jar

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3. Usage Instructions

A. Encoding Audio to Video (For VHS Recording)

1. Open the application and select your Protocol (Legacy PCM-F1 or High-Fidelity PCM-48K).
2. Choose an Encoder (JCodec for pure Java, or FFmpeg for full audio/video muxing).
3. Select your Format (NTSC for USA/Japan 44,056Hz, PAL for Europe 44,100Hz).
4. Click Encode Audio and select your source file (.WAV, .FLAC, .MP3, etc.).
5. The app will generate the video matrix in real-time. When complete, a .mp4 will be saved.

B. Decoding Video to Audio (Realtime Playback)

1. Click Decode Audio and select a valid STC-007 compliant MP4.
2. The application will play the audio through your speakers in real-time, syncing to the video framerate.
3. The GUI tracks corrected P/Q Parity dropout errors simulating hardware recovery.

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4. Hardware VHS Recording

Caution

Attention Video Enthusiasts: You cannot use cheap scaling "HDMI-to-RCA" converter boxes. These "smear" the picture, destroying the binary data.

To record successfully to tape, you must output a raw, unscaled 480i 15kHz signal (e.g., using a Raspberry Pi's native composite jack).