In Episode 19 of BackBit Impawsible, the host experiments with a bold new technique: using 128 character frames to describe each frame of his C64 video project. The goal? To speed up processing enough to approach that elusive 24 frames per second mark. It’s a clever workaround with a few kinks—and plenty of charm.
The episode takes viewers deep into the thought process behind optimizing character sets. One half of the C64’s 256-character set is now permanently reserved, allowing each frame to access 128 predefined characters. It’s a strategic move to reduce rendering time. He walks through the concept of “branching paths”—a sort of Huffman-like selection process where the most common character values are locked in, and arrays of possibilities are narrowed down based on frequency and usefulness. It’s part brute-force, part brainwave, and it sits right at the intersection of creativity and computation.
By mid-episode, we see early results: the system spits out frames in about 20 seconds each. Not bad, but it comes with caveats—image quality dips, and colors aren’t quite right yet. The video plays back, but looks like someone ran it through a potato filter. Still, the progress is undeniable, and the coder saves his work for possible reuse. “It’s a mess,” he admits, but a mess with potential.
A test playback follows—chunky, imperfect, but functional. It’s clear these 128 character frames are a step forward, even if they’re a little rough around the edges. And while this isn’t the final form of the project, it’s one of those delightful side quests that make watching these coding experiments so fun. The episode wraps with a promise: more progress ahead, fewer distractions, and yes—possibly fewer roses to sniff (or pee on).
