Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!husc6!mailrus!cornell!uw-beaver!tektronix!tekig5!wayneck
From: wayneck@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM (Wayne Knapp)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga
Subject: Overscan overrated?
Keywords: ... sour owl ..
Message-ID: <3118@tekig5.PEN.TEK.COM>
Date: 7 Aug 88 20:11:15 GMT
Organization: Tektronix Inc., Beaverton, Or.
Lines: 34




Okay, I'll bite.  Just why do so many Amiga people think that overscan is
such a big deal for desktop video?  The big guys like PIXAR don't seem
concerned about overscan.  So why shouldn't desktop video mirror the big guys.

Okay so you what NTSC.  Fine a lot of TV's out there won't even show the 
fancy overscan stuff (that is why it is called overscan).  Also note, by
using overscan you use a LOT more memory per frame of video, which means
you can't have as many frames for animation.  Unless of coarse you have
big bucks and can afford a single frame VCR that can support SMPTE timimg. 
(Talk about Mac ][ being expensive -- take a look at stdio quality VCR's)

So it seems the cheap solution is record frames on to film.  Well if you
do that you don't care about overscan or even having NTSC level resolution. 
(By the way the Amiga can change colors much faster than you can with NTSC,
which causes all kinds of color smearing, so things like dittering aren't
very useful for NTSC recording)

So if you what to really get outstanding animation done on your desk, you
will probably want to use a camera of some sort to record the highest
resoulition with the most colors the Amiga can produce.  Then your finished
film could be recorded into video format, but you would probably keep the
film as a master. 

I think the Amiga is becoming a outstanding desktop video machine in the 
near term.  Long term depends on C=.  It the Amiga doesn't improve there
could be trouble from the Reds and Blues a year or two down the road.  I
just have trouble believing the "overscan" is a lock out feature in the 
desktop video market.  So what do you all HONESTLY think?


                                     Wayne Knapp