Re: Commodore 128's VDC graphics superior to GS VGC graphics?

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

nathan@visi.com (Nathan Mates) wrote:

>Supertimer <supertimer@aol.com> wrote:
>>The GS sometimes uses tricks to get good looking video too.  It has
>>a palette of 4096 colors, but it can only display 16 of these per line.
>>In 3200 color pictures, the GS is loading a different 16 color palette
>>for every scan line.  That's the trick behind many of the impressive
>>looking screenshots.  A video memory upgrade would boost colors
>>per line to 256.
>
>   Do you have the faintest idea what the heck you're trying to
>propose, where video memory is located on the GS in relation to system
>globals, or what? All video memory accesses have to go thru the slow
>1Mhz bus, and there's only 2 64K chunks of ram that fits the
>bill. Large chunks of those banks are already in use by important OS
>vectors and I/O space, so you're not likely to get more space in them
>without rewriting the OS, building a new motherboard, and generally
>getting in way over your head.

Well now, I was just ASKING why a video upgrade can't be done with
a chip swap like the c128's.  If it can't be done that way, so be it.

The TurboRez would have accomplished the above improvement in
colors without a motherboard redesign.  According to RezTek, it
would have been integrated with normal GS video and output to the
video port.

>   Dreaming is nice, but you really should get back to reality and
>answer these questions: (1) Whom will do this hardware work (be quite
>specific-- name them), (2) Who will pay for such R&D and production
>costs, (3) What software will need to be developed and by whom to
>support such a project. When you actually propose a feasible plan and
>bounce it off hardware experts, then go off on long public spiels.
>
>   In short: ditch the vaporhardware and produce something already.

I don't want to start a flamewar here, but clearly more dreaming is
needed.  In comp.sys.cbm, questions are asked, ideas are proposed,
and people are eager to come up with solutions and products.

I saw an idea in comp.sys.cbm -- using Commodore drives on A2
units, and because of such dreaming and asking a question here,
it looks like (1) it is feasable to use Commodore drives and one CMD
model high density 3.5" drive on an A2 (2) a workable solution may
be made (3) a Commodore developer is actually interested in entering
the A2 market with a driver and cable for their existing disk drive.