Re: Compact Flash card project for Apple II / IIGS

[mjmahon@aol.com (Michael J. Mahon)]

Tim Haynes replied:

>"Michael J. Mahon" <mjmahon@aol.com> wrote in message
>20040908153212.25764.00000335@mb-m07.aol.com">news:20040908153212.25764.00000335@mb-m07.aol.com...
>> Tim Haynes wrote:
>>
>> >I recommend continuing with the graphics card.  There are lots of people
>who
>> >would line up to get either VGA output or clear 80 column text on a
>regular
>> >NTSC display using an RCA cable.
>>
>> A video card that precisely echoed Apple II video modes on a VGA
>> monitor would apparently have a lot of people's interest.
>
>Well, it would sure have mine anyway!

You do realize that it won't look like VGA--it will look like Apple
video with two scan lines displayed per line.

You should also note that Apple video starts looking pretty chunky
when displayed with a raster bigger than 10" diagonally, except
for game graphics, for which disbelief is in full suspension.

We've become accustomed to expect about 70 pixels per inch.

>> Sharp 80-column text on an NTSC color monitor is not possible,
>> because of the design of the monitor video circuits.  The only
>> "exception" is the AppleColor Composite display, which has
>> unique circuitry for switching out the chroma filters when it
>> detects the absence of a color burst.
>
>"Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." ...
>    Lord Kelvin - British mathematician, physicist, and president of the
>British Royal Society, c. 1895.
>
>Hee hee... :-)

Right.  But no one debates conservation of energy seriously.  ;-)

In this case, its a bandwidth issue.  The _nature_ of NTSC
color imposes a limit on the luminance bandwidth which
guarantees that 80-column text will not be crisp.

There are still plenty of AppleColor Composite monitors around--
get one and have the best of both worlds.

-michael

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