BMC64 vs VICE

BMC64 is a free, bare-metal Commodore 64 emulator for selected Raspberry Pi boards. Its bundled release also emulates the C128, VIC-20, Plus/4 and PET, including C64 PAL and NTSC variants. It uses VICE, with Plus4Emu available on Raspberry Pi 3 for more accurate Plus/4 emulation. Frames are timed to 50/60 Hz display refresh for smooth scrolling, and the project advertises low input-to-audio/video latency. A reported C64 boot over composite takes 4.1 seconds, with no shutdown sequence required. Wi-Fi and Ethernet support uses such as BBS access and C64 OS networking. Installation involves writing a release ZIP or image to a FAT32 SD card. Required ROM files must come from a legal source, and the minimum C64 ROM set is needed to start. Supported boards are Pi Zero, Zero 2W, Pi 2 and Pi 3; Pi 4 and later are unsupported. An optional local-network web interface manages status and SD-card files and can use a PIN.

VICE runs programs made for classic Commodore 8-bit computers by emulating eight systems: C64, C64DTV, C128, VIC20, PET, PLUS4, SCPU64 and CBM-II. It aims for cycle-accurate operation, with 6502/6510 emulation covering documented and undocumented opcodes and precise timing. For C64 software, its emulators reproduce VIC-II video and SID sound, including synchronization, ring modulation and filters. Disk support covers up to four external drives, using disk images, filesystem directories or compatible real devices; joystick input can come from a keyboard or a host-connected joystick. VICE is available on Android, Linux, macOS and Windows, and is free software under GNU GPL version 2 or later. The download page lists Windows builds and macOS builds for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs; the latter require macOS 12.0 or later. Android binaries are listed separately. The manual warns that six systems—the C64DTV, C128, PET, PLUS4, SCPU64 and CBM-II—remain under construction and may be less capable than the C64 or VIC20 emulators.