James - PixelRefresh.com

Hello everyone! About time I reintroduced myself... I'm James from the UK, a Freelance Journalist... I own & run Pixel Refresh, a website specialising in #retrogaming, gadgets & modern tech since 2006 www.pixelrefresh.com Articles, reviews, podcasts and video content.

I'm in a good mood! And so there's a 30% discount on me book and also the #BrokenSword templar key rings until Monday! Code: BEVIGILANT RT pls :) #promote ko-fi.com/A6714MSW

More fun with MIDI hardware... Upgraded the LCD screen on my Roland XV-5080 as the one it had was very faint, even adjusting the settings made it 10x worse. Just need to get used to it being blue now instead of green, but I do like it. #midi #roland

This is IT everyone One week to go! Lets make Urbx Warriors 16 Bit the best game ever! Read our latest update here. And back and share the campaign please: www.kickstarter.com/projects/ton... Thanks 🙏 everyone Tony and Stoo

With offers like this, how can I resist!

If you would like to be in the JMS MIDI Player for Android closed early access, please let me know.

Had a slow puncture in my rear tyre. The culprit was revealed by the garage, with the long section wedged right into the tyre... Fun! It's why when I'm on one of my walks, if I see anything on or close to the road, I move it out the way from harm.

16 bits of Goodness in our new game - UrbX Warriors for MEGA DRIVE & AMIGA Get your hands on all the goodies (rewards) here: www.kickstarter.com/projects/ton... Early bird rewards end next Monday - midnight UK

If you would like to be in the JMS MIDI Player for Android closed early access, please let me know.

My new app I'm creating for MIDI playback on Android is coming along nicely. Listening to classic MIDI retro gaming soundtracks on the move has been fun. MIDI files being wonderfully small also means massive libraries stored on device! JMS MIDI Player for Android is currently in private beta.

A great review for my PXR MIDI Player recently. It's a very niche macOS app in modern times, but I'm very pleased there is an audience that still enjoys MIDI music. Find out more here: www.pixelrefresh.com/product/pxr-... #midi #app #macos

THE BOSS IS BACK! 🦂 Good news! We now have a confirmed date and time for our 16 Bit launch. It's tomorrow! Tuesday 18th August 2026 - 4pm UK time Sign up to be notified when we go live: www.kickstarter.com/projects/ton... Thanks again, we really value your support. Stoo & Tony

PXR MIDI player for macOS has been out a number of months now and has been very well received... However I'm now also moving over the SoundFont engine to other platforms.. Coming soon, JMS MIDI Player for Android. #midi #android

CROWBARS AT THE READY - THE LOST CITY AWAITS UrbX Warriors: The Lost City (16-bit Edition) launches 4pm, Thursday 13th August 2026 Sign up to see it first: www.kickstarter.com/projects/ton... Early bird rewards available to the lucky few

Listening as Ryuichi Sakamoto surely intended (on a weird 90s Roland MIDI floppy boombox)

My PXR MIDI Player app for macOS has completed all of the SoundFont tests successfully and has been released in version 1.2.7. PXR has a custom built SoundFont engine and it sounds great! www.pixelrefresh.com/product/pxr-...

Just announced! 🎮 UrbX 16-bit Edition of Urbx Warriors announced today The formats are Amiga AGA and Sega Genesis / Mega Drive and the announcement launch page URL is www.kickstarter.com/projects/ton... Sign up now! We aim to go live on Thursday 30th July at 3pm UK time. @tonywarriner.bsky.social

My free PXR MIDI Player for macOS is now out of beta status! Thank you to everyone who has supported the project with ideas, reported bugs and donations. It's been a wonderful experience and the resulting app I am very proud of. www.pixelrefresh.com/pxr-midi-pla... #midi #app #macos

250 people have now downloaded my PXR MIDI Player for macOS. A lovely milestone for quite a niche application. You can find out more here... www.pixelrefresh.com/pxr-midi-pla...

Testing my new Roland MT-32, which arrived yesterday 🐒 🏝️

PXR MIDI Player for macOS version 0.99.0 has been released and it's a big one! Lots of major performance improvements and many new features. One of my favourites is the new editable mixer. MT-32 mode has also been improved. www.pixelrefresh.com/product/pxr-...

I just backed Metro Siege: A 16-bit Beat 'em Up for Amiga, Neo Geo, and PC on Kickstarter www.kickstarter.com/projects/met...

Another review for my PXR MIDI Player app for macOS... I'm considering an option to change the instrument in use on a channel within the mixer area... We will see 😉 www.pxrmidiplayer.com

PXR MIDI Player 0.98.5 for macOS has been released today with improved MT-32 mode, a new LCD for nostalgia and the main LCD improved too. Karaoke mode improved also. www.pxrmidiplayer.com

New feature for PXR MIDI Player, your own listening stats area. Important to note that this data never leaves your own computer! There is a new share option though social media style... #pxrmidiplayer

My Free PXR MIDI Player for macOS will see a HUGE update hopefully within the next few days... Lots of new features and improvements incoming in 0.80.0. www.pixelrefresh.com/product/pxr-...

There is something special when a family member asks if you would like their old CRT TV that might otherwise have gone to landfill! Even better, this one has hardly been used, picture is excellent and supports 50/60Hz as well as SCART RGB! Fabulous! #retrogaming #retroconsoles

If you've ever played Cannon Fodder, you'll be familiar with the "recruits" screen where new recruits come over the hill and get accepted. Did you know the music that plays there is a love song? It's called "Narcissus" and was written by Jon Hare in 1984. www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMqO...

I just backed Broken Sword Smoking Mirror: Reforged - Collector's Edition on @Kickstarter www.kickstarter.com/projects/rev...

We spend so much of our time in social media discussing AI slop, yet pitch correction and auto tune in music has been an absolute plague for many years and I don't see it getting mentioned. This is as artificial as it gets and now most singers sound like robots hitting notes so perfectly.

There is something beautiful about being able to play SEGA Dreamcast games (many of them anyway) in 480p on a VGA monitor. It was so ahead of its time. Dead or Alive 2 still looks amazing even though it's 26 years old!

Sonic Mania on the SEGA Dreamcast, a partnership that is meant to be... Well done everyone involved!

Fantastic, I know where I'm purchasing it from! 🫠

Can you remember Winamp? It was the music player to have back in the day. There was also a plugin that that added LEDs & speakers that attached to the player. Inspired by this, my PXR MIDI Player now has these optional additions... www.pixelrefresh.com/product/pxr-... #midi #macos #retrocomputing

My PXR MIDI Player for macOS has just been updated to version 0.94.2 with a few enhancements and bug fixes. If you love MIDI files and use macOS 14+, give it a go! It's free! www.pixelrefresh.com/product/pxr-... #midi #yamaha #roland #korg

My PXR MIDI Player for macOS has just been updated to version 0.94.2 with a few enhancements and bug fixes. If you love MIDI files and use macOS 14+, give it a go! It's free! www.pixelrefresh.com/product/pxr-... #midi #yamaha #roland #korg

First review is in...

I need BETA testers for my PXR MIDI Player application for macOS... It has not been out in the wild at all yet, but I have enjoyed working on it and playing MIDI files I have collected over many years within it. www.pixelrefresh.com/product/pxr-...

Buy my game dev book! (weekly marketing post) #indiegame #indiedev #pixelart #brokensword #8bit #16bit 👉 ko-fi.com/A6714MSW

It's handy to see SysEx commands on my Yamaha MU2000 menu options so I can trigger them through an app or music composition easily. XG MIDI files can be played in a Native mode or BASIC, backwards compatible which is spot on. Fumbling through menus isn't fun, but triggering using an app is great

It's been a rather fun Xbox system link gaming day today. Also had a chance to check the clock capacitors on these two, which is THE capacitor that will itself decide to ruin your original Xbox at some point if left unchecked. #retrogaming #retroconsoles

Welcome to my MIDI family... The Roland Sound Canvas SC-88 Pro. I'm surprised how many vocal samples it has. Very distinct instrumentations really enjoying it. Sadly the SC-55 mode isn't 100%, so I'll certainly keep that around but for what it is, I'm really happy with it.

Yamaha MU2000 with DX, VL, and SG Expansion MIDI was huge in the 90s. The MIDI file used here is a 64-channel demonstration provided by Yamaha, to show the sounds of the MU2000 and the optional plugin boards when combined together. Amazingly, the file is just 61KB! youtu.be/qo2pqp_dy9g?...

It's amazing how many tech news titles feature the word "Finally", even if it never needed the word!

This is a resolution we can support. Happy New Year from the Volunteer Team at RCM 🥰 bsky.app/profile/chan...