Charlie<charlieDOTd@vereyezon.net> wrote:
The problem is that any device that proposes to generate VGA video from an
Apple II (of any stripe) must also faithfully (instantaneously) render the
results of rapid video mode switching--a very difficult feat for non-native
video generation.
I'm not sure I see the problem. To switch video modes you need only "watch"
for accesses to the appropriate soft-switches. When a soft-switch is
accessed the card switches to the appropriate circuitry, probably faster than
the Apple II. While "playing around" with the Carte Blanche VGA video I
often have two monitors (one with the native Apple video and the other from
the Carte Blanche) side by side and I see no perceptible difference when
video modes are switched. The hardest part (for the designer) is knowing
what happens when certain soft-switch combinations are accessed. The
documentation is a little vague on some modes.
The difficulty arises when soft switches and video ram are changed _while the
screen is being drawn_. In this case, the converter must be synchronized to the
native video scanner.