Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!samsung!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!public!eeh
From: eeh@public.BTR.COM (Eduardo E. Horvath  eeh@btr.com)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Re: New computer?
Message-ID: <691@public.BTR.COM>
Date: 16 Oct 90 19:44:30 GMT
References: <33336@nigel.ee.udel.edu>
Organization: BTR Public Access UNIX, MtnView CA, Contact: cs@btr.com 415-966-1429
Lines: 61

In article <33336@nigel.ee.udel.edu> S36666WB%ETSUACAD.BITNET@ricevm1.rice.edu (Brian Wright) writes:
>Hello,
>
>     I have a peer that has been telling me about a new system to be coming
>out soon that runs OS/9.  It has/or is going to have a windowing type inter-
>face.  It will have a 256 color display at some fairly high resolution out
>of a total palette of 16 million colors.
>     I have no idea about the sound capabilities, but it probably will be 8 bit
>if not 16 bit sound.  The name escapes me at the moment.  He says this
>fully multitasking/windowing wonder will retail about $1000 including the
>monitor among other things.  It is supposedly running a 68070.  I have neither
>heard nor seen anything about such a system, but he keeps insisting that it
>will be released soon.  The last time I talked to him, he said that
>it would be coming out next month.  It is supposed to come decked with 8 megs
>and a hard disk (I think).
>     What I am wondering is this just an unsubstantiated rumor or is is to be
>a reality?  If so, it could really knock Amiga down the graphics list.  He also
>stated that the target market of this wonderbox is going be the multimedia
>market.  Any info would be appreciated...
>
>------------------------------------------------------------------------
> =======================================================================
>||NeXT- (nekst) N. The only computer to have sold less than 10,000     ||
>||      units and not be considered a flop.                            ||
>||------------------------------------------/ /------------------------||
>||---Brian Wright                    |     / /                         ||
>||---s36666wb@etsuacad.etsu.edu      | \ \/ /  Only Amiga              ||
>||---Commercial Artist and Amigaphile|  \/\/      Makes It Possible!!  ||
> =======================================================================

	Sounds like the Signetics/Phillips box.  The pricing is probably very
far off.  The technology is based on DVI.  The graphics chip running this was
announced early this year and designed especially for DVI.  I would believe
the computer would be something like CDTV, but *much* more expensive.  The 
basic package would be a box with a CDI drive, no HD, no keyboard.  To add
anything, several other boxes would need to be purchased.  It is anticipated
that only developers would be interested in using this as a full fledged
computer, so pricing on the peripherals may be quite high.  

	The actual hardware is equivalent to CDTV.  The 68070 is a 68010 with
some on-board glue.  The video chip does something like 384x280x256 in one mode
and 768x560x16 in another, but two video chips can be combined for a resolution
of 768x560x256.  There is some intimation that the video chip has the equivalent
of a blitter.  The 68070 and the video chip are designed specifically to work
together, and all you need are about 8 other chips (including DRAM, keyboard
controller, and disk controller) to have a functioning computer.  Video ram
(lets say CHIP ram) is limited to 1Meg.  The resolutions quoted are PAL.

	The video chip (SC66470) should be available for around $13 each when
production ramps up, so if some enterprising H/W hacker wants to, we could get
the same resolution on an Amy.  There does not seem to be any line-draw hardware
on the chip, though.  I wouldn't be very concerned about the machine.  It seems
like an interesting excercise, but it will not be a speed demon and will only
compete against CDTV.


=========================================================================
Eduardo Horvath				eeh@btr.com
					..!{decwrl,mips,fernwood}!btr!eeh
	"Trust me, I know what I'm doing." - Sledge Hammer
=========================================================================