Newsgroups: comp.sys.atari.st
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From: logajan@ns.network.com (John Logajan)
Subject: Re: Graphics on the STE - v. generally speaking...
Message-ID: <1991Apr3.051045.1894@ns.network.com>
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Organization: Network Systems Corporation
References: <1245@exua.exeter.ac.uk>
Date: Wed, 3 Apr 91 05:10:45 GMT

SAMcinty@exua.exeter.ac.uk (Scott McIntyre) writes:
>1)	I have a 520 STE (w 4/meg add on)...and the SM 124.
>GIF stuff...  and viewing them on the PC that does the
>downloading - they all look brilliant.  But when I get them home they look
>crap.  

The secret to photo quality pictures is (for black and white) the number of
brightness levels (greys) or (for colour) the number of RGB combinations
available per pixel.

Consider that USA broadcast television can only send about 250 equivalent
color "pixels" per scan line, and you can see that the issue is not one
of the number of pixels per line (of course, more don't hurt) but of the
"shades" those pixels can assume.

A GIF on a 640 VGA is BETTER quality than anything I've seen on my broadcast
television set.  An Atari ST or STe is much worse.  Not because of the
number of pixels in a scan line (which exceeds broadcast TV) but simply
because the Atari has only a few shades to pick from in color mode (4 or
16) and only black and white for high-res mode.

You see, VGA has 256 colors (or 64 shades of grey, I believe) per pixel.
There in lies the secret, and there in lies the disappointment of Atari's
stone age graphics modes. 

>4)	Is it possible to get Gif images to look remotely nice on a STE?

No.  Even ST's in color mode have only 8 shades of grey, and the STe's
have only 16.  In high-res mode you just got on or off.

-- 
- John Logajan @ Network Systems; 7600 Boone Ave; Brooklyn Park, MN 55428
- logajan@ns.network.com, 612-424-4888, Fax 612-424-2853