Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ncar!tank!zem!troy
From: troy@zem.uchicago.edu (Troy Zerr)
Newsgroups: comp.binaries.ibm.pc.d
Subject: Re: Wacky results from "dbwrendr"
Summary: use CSHOW, PICEM
Keywords: ray tmp2gif ng
Message-ID: <1907@tank.uchicago.edu>
Date: 18 Feb 89 06:41:57 GMT
References: <1575@leah.Albany.Edu> <1897@tank.uchicago.edu> <884@ur-cc.UUCP>
Sender: news@tank.uchicago.edu
Reply-To: troy@zem.UUCP (Troy Zerr)
Distribution: usa
Organization: U. Chicago Math Dept.
Lines: 33

In article <884@ur-cc.UUCP> akk2@uhura.cc.rochester.edu (Atul Kacker) writes:
>I have used the dbwrender program and the accompanying tmp2gif program
>quite succesfully, except the GIF file that gets created isn't right.
>It is only about 2-3 thousand bytes in size and my GIF viewers don't
>read them.  The screen image looks just fine.  Is there some magic
>incantation that I need to do to get a good GIF file on disk?

1. Remember the -2 flag on the tmp2gif command.

2. What Gif Viewer depends on what display card you have.  PICEM ought to
work for VGA, since tmp2gif produces 320x200x256 pictures.  PICEM
won't work for the EGA since it doesn't know how to crunch 256 colors
into 16.

   If you have EGA, use CSHOW, from COMPUSERVE.  It can give you a
320x200x16 approximation.  However, expect it to look awful -- the
low resolution coupled with fewer colors wastes much of the picture
data.  CSHOW  (at least the version I have) won't do VGA modes.

   As I mentioned before, I'm working on a program to dither the
image.  I have an analog monochrome monitor, and I can get 48 shades
of gray out of it and it looks great.  One ought to get 64 colors from
a color monitor by using a similar dithering scheme, but obviously it 
would be hard for me to test on my system.

     If you have a CGA or Hercules card, don't bother.

If you do go through the trouble of calculating one of these beasts,
you owe it to yourself to see them on a color VGA.  They are REALLY NEAT.

Best of luck

Troy Zerr