Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!emory!hubcap!cgehman From: cgehman@hubcap.clemson.edu (Corey Gehman) Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.graphics Subject: Re: Framegrabber? Message-ID: <12768@hubcap.clemson.edu> Date: 23 Jan 91 23:44:17 GMT References: Distribution: comp Organization: Clemson University, Clemson, SC Lines: 40 ghost@bucsf.bu.edu (Jay Adelson) writes: >Could some people post some comments on the framegrabber? >I'm interested in purchasing one, and was wondering if anyone had >any reviews/comments. >Thanks! You're talking about Progressive Peripheral's FrameGrabber right? OK, I've had one since they came out (almost) and it works great. The biggest problem/limitation is the NTSC and amiga standards. It's limited to a 4096 palette and to 320x400 in ham mode which is fine if all you have is an Amiga but not so good if you want to display it on a 1024x800 display with 256 colors (very small pictures). I find the Framegrabber much easier to use than Digi-view. You have three potentiometers that you adjust for the picture and then press a button and about 30 seconds later you have a picture. It does it all real-time so you don't need to pause your vcr (LIVE! sucks). It even has a pass- through for the video so you can see the image on your monitor, but it looks far worse than what would be digitized so you can't really use that for adjustments. It does multiply minor problems into major problems. For example, I have a digital VCR that can freeze a picture perfectly (well as far as jitter goes), but there is a small amount of color aliasing. The framegrabber multiplies that error and makes something that was just barely noticable into a real problem. I hope this helps a little. Doesn't the Toaster have a video digitizer included? -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | Corey Gehman | "you will get to watch the Amiga | | cg377170@lion.eng.clemson.edu | FIREWORKS_DISPLAY mode." | | cgehman@hubcap.clemson.edu | - Intuition Reference Manual |