Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!decwrl!sdd.hp.com!usc!cs.utexas.edu!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!purdue!haven!uflorida!unf7!tlvx!sysop
From: sysop@tlvx.UUCP (SysOp)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: Good news concerning Amiga graphics
Summary: Why Amiga?
Message-ID: <382@tlvx.UUCP>
Date: 28 Jul 90 14:29:48 GMT
References: <3664@crash.cts.com> <6653.26ae01cd@jetson.uh.edu>
Organization: Temporal Vortex BBS of Jacksonville, Florida
Lines: 82

In article <6653.26ae01cd@jetson.uh.edu>, honp9@jetson.uh.edu (Jason Tibbitts/The Blob Shop) writes:
> [Sorry to take this public]
> 
> In article <3664@crash.cts.com>, seanc@pro-party.cts.com (Sean Cunningham) writes:
> > In-Reply-To: message from honp9@jetson.uh.edu
> > 
> >  
> > What's the difference between this, and a clone with an AT/Vista board...the
> > TMS34020 does all the graphics work.  And what about the Levco RenderMan
> > accelerator for the Mac, using the i860?
> >  
> > Just because it isn't the Denise doing hires, 24bit graphics, this product is
> > a waste???  It's thinking like this that's still holding the Amiga back!
> >  

Someone once said to me, after you start adding cards like these, what
computer you plug them into is somewhat irrelevant.  I think he meant that
it was special-purpose, nomatter what you plugged it into.  About 2 or 3
years ago, I played with a Targa-type board in a 286, and you could only
run software that was specifically written for it.

> I think you misunderstand me.  There are many systems that could do this job
> adequately, but for some reason the Amiga was chosen.  Why?  
> 
> There are problems with the IBM PC bus and Apple's NuBus relating to transfer
> speed, etc.  I believe the Zorro bus is in some ways superior here.  In what
> ways?
> 
> What are the specific features that make the Amiga a better choice as a host
> for such a system?
> 
> (Maybe this should be in hardware)

I don't think it should be on the Amiga necessarily for hardware reasons,
but maybe for software ones!  I can imagine ray-tracers which will run in
HAM-mode or in 24 bit mode, depending on what your system supports.  The
24-bit mode  could be built-into the software, or a module.  Even if you
used 24-bit mode, the HAM still might be useful for something quick, like
a preview.

Now if you could have your 24 bit graphics and somehow change the graphics
library so that many programs would work without modifications, that would
be incredible.  I dunno what's involved there, myself.  Are programs too
tied to the current system to be quite that flexible?  (Because of # of
bitplanes or whatever?)  Could you be able to make a few modifications
(for things such as colors and bitplanes) and recompile, and have many
programs work?  In all the talk about 24-bit graphics, I seem to have
missed reading about what is required to use the hardware.  I think this
would be a very important factor.

Even if that wasn't possible (to make it "easy"), I still don't see a great
problem.  Plan a standard as best as you can, and give the software companies
some time to support it.   We have IFF as a standard (which in itself is
rather unheard of -- a standard that is), and many graphics programs, and
ray-tracers as a base to draw upon.

> > Sean
> ----
> \/ Jason L. Tibbitts III     // | THEnet: {George|Jane|Elroy|Judy}::HONP9
....

While I'm on the topic of graphics, in the latest Infoworld (around July 23'rd
or so?),  Cringley says something about developers trying to get full-motion
video from a hard disk, and finding that it can't be done.  While that may be,
I wonder what he would think of "diskanim"?  (I'd call him myself, but I have
no figures on frames-per-second or anything. :-(  )  Now, I'm curious and
would like to hear what can be done with "diskanim."  Anyway, if you could
get HAM mode to any reasonable fps rate, that would make a nice plug for
the Amiga, perhaps.  (Do you need a 24-bit palette to qualify for full-motion
video?  I'd prefer to have less colors, if the animation was otherwise
impressive enough, but of course, that's just my preference.)

Crazy thought here, maybe we should show him Dragon's Lair -- full motion
video from a floppy?  ( 1/2 :-)  How is that when run from a Hard Disk?


Er, sorry, private e-mail here:
To Robin C. LaPasha: I'm sorry, I lost your e-mail address.
Look on page 28 for the article on CDTV (6/11 InfoWorld).
--
Gary Wolfe, SYSOP of the Temporal Vortex BBS
..uflorida!unf7!tlvx!sysop, ..unf7!tlvx!sysop@bikini.cis.ufl.edu