CDP/DOSv. Alpha-2.2
2001 Daniel L. Nice









This program allows you to control your Sony MegaCD player from your computer.  It allows you to enter real names for your CDs and the tracks on them.  It also allows you to create playlists of virtually unlimited length, and provides a convenient means of managing these lists.

Sony has left out many features from their CD players, and I have decided to add them.  Also, if you wanted to buy that $700 model but settled for the $300 model, you'll be happy to know that you can do everything the more expensive model does and more, and this is much easier to set up.

While other programs are available to run Sony CD Players, most require Windows and Sony's $200 add-on box for computer interface.  This program requires only DOS and a cable you can make for less than $5 from parts from Radio Shack, or for free from parts you have laying around.

This program is still being developed, and so you may encounter bugs and/or features that are not functional or not fully functional.  Please e-mail me about problems you encounter, as well as how to reproduce them.  Also e-mail me with suggestions on improvements in interface and features.  I will try to implement any suggestions I like into the next version.

System Requirements
Make the Cable
Program Overview with Screen shots
Download CDP/DOS version Alpha-2.2  (224kb, ZIP) (updated 6/6/2001)

Release History of CDP/DOS
 

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System Requirements

Computer Hardware Requirements:

Computer Software Requirements: Other Required Equipment:
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Make the cable.

To begin, we will need to make a cable to connect the computer and the CD player.
The computer will talk to the CD player by the LPT1 (parallel) port.

Make a wire with a monaural headphone jack at one end (for the CD player), and a parallel-port plug at the other (25 pin male D connector).

Connect the "inside" wire to pin 3 (they are numbered), and connect the "outside wire" to the collar of the parallel port connector.  That is all there is to it.
 
 

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Program Overview/Screen Shots
CDP/DOS is built on the DOS Start graphics routines; it is a graphical DOS application.
After the program loads, calibrates,  and initializes the CD player, you will be presented with a simple, logical control screen like this:

The "Browse" menu allows you to choose to browse your collection by Disc, by Artist, or by PlayList.
After you choose from that menu, the second menu allows you to choose a Disc, Artist, or Playlist.
The third menu is where you choose the track to start the playback from.

CDP/DOS has context-sensitive on-line help:

But, before you can play any CDs, you must enter information about each CD in your collection.

To enter or edit information stored about your CDs, click the "Edit CD Information" button on the main screen.
That will bring up the "CD file/number Manager".  It allows you to choose which slot in your CD player each disc resides at:

 

After you choose a slot, you enter the CD's information in the "Edit CD Properties" window by double-clicking the slot:

After your data is entered, you can create custom PlayLists of virtually unlimited length.
Click "Build/Edit Playlists" from the main screen to bring up the "PlayList Manager":

The "source list" is on the left.  It can be browsed just like the main screen and is read-only.
The "target list" on the right contains a playlist to be edited.
You copy selections from the source list to the target to build a playlist.
After a playlist is built, you can "shuffle" it to put the selections in random-order.

Note that on all screens, the status-bars at the bottom of the window has two functions:

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