Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!swrinde!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!uupsi!sunic!isgate!krafla!kvj
From: kvj@rhi.hi.is (Kristjan Valur Jonsson)
Newsgroups: eunet.micro.acorn,comp.sys.acorn
Subject: Re: Graphics boards
Keywords: graphics boards
Message-ID: <2554@krafla.rhi.hi.is>
Date: 18 Dec 90 12:50:41 GMT
References: <5711@ecs.soton.ac.uk> <1990Dec12.123723.15587@maths.tcd.ie> <1511@tharr.UUCP>
Followup-To: eunet.micro.acorn
Organization: University of Iceland
Lines: 27

In <1511@tharr.UUCP> altman@tharr.UUCP (Hugo Fiennes) writes:


>Yes the graphics board *does* exist and the spec has been considerably
>enhanced - it will go into production in January. The spec is:

>640x256x256 with fully definable palette (SWIs will set palette at
>frame rate if needed, so you can have nice fades). Genlock-able.
>Modified colourtrans supports the extra colours, but does not support
>setting of them. An example of this is defining palette to grey levels
>(+ normal desktop colours) and loading the 256-grey level 'gradtint'
>file from Impression into !Draw - it is displayed perfectly. Desktop
>works as if you were in Mode 15. Higher resolutions available (highest
>requires a multisync).
.
[stuff deleted]
.
>Hope this news is encouraging! :-)

Will be, if you tell us that the card includes it's own screen memory and
processor, thus freeing the main memory and disabling screen DMA.  In other
words, an independent podule, receiving only vdu codes and producing display.
(A device like that would speed up the arc a lot.)  Since RISC OS is so
beautifully designed such a card would (should!) be invisible to applications.

Regards,
The curious Kristjan Valur Jonsson