Re: video card for IIGS

[andrew.webber2@btinternet.com (Andrew Webber)]

"binaryside" <binaryside@yahoo.fr> wrote in message news:<abg52d$qqi$1@wanadoo.fr>...
> Hello :)
> 
> Thank you very much for these information!
> 
> Fabrice
> 
> "Mitchell Spector" <a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca> a �crit dans le message de
> news: 3cda9dd0.2751332@news1.sympatico.ca...
> > "binaryside" <binaryside@yahoo.fr> wrote:
> >
> > >Please, where can I find a video card for my IIGS which could offer a
>  better
> > >resolution  than the original one?
> >
> >     There were two such video cards, unfortunately both have been out
> > of production for a number of years and now considered quite rare.
> >
> >     The Second Sight is obviously one. As it uses a more or less standard
> > VGA chipset (the Oak-087) it's technically capable of producing a wide
> > range of resolutions and color depths, though the IIgs will _not_
>  ordinarily
> > take advantage of them. Most native Apple II video modes are emulated
> > by the card and shadowed onto a fixed 640x400 signal at 70 Hz refresh.
> > Video remains the same number of pixels and colors per screen as before,
> > though with the advantage of being able to display on a VGA-compatible
> > display (albeit less attractive looking in some respects, due to
>  differences
> > between NTSC-RGB and VGA). I don't believe it would work with modern
> > LCD displays as those operate on fixed resolutions, unlike CRTs. At the
> > very least it would have to stretch image to the point of heavily
>  distorting
> > it, assuming it could be done.
> >
> >     It is possible to display higher resolutions and color with the Second
> > Sight but you must have software that specifically supports it. As that
> > stands this consists of about a half-dozen graphic viewers for GIF, TIFF,
> > JPEG, etc. From memory, these only supported a maximum of 640x480
> > in 15-bit color. Essentially the card is useful for connecting the IIgs up
> > to a modern CRT (and quite possibly an LCD overhead projector; yet
> > again I'd question the feasibility of flat panel LCD displays).
> >
> >     The other, which few people think of as a video card, is the Apple II
> > Video Overlay Card. Its main function is as a genlock device, but it
> > does duplicate the IIgs's built-in video and capable of driving a CRT
> > display independently. It supports interlaced video and can be used
> > to display 320x400 and 640x400 video on, say, an AppleColor RGB
> > display--unlike the IIgs. SuperConvert is one program that lets you
> > take advantage of this to display converted graphic images at higher
> > vertical resolutions.
> >
> >     Incidentally, there just happens to be Second Sight for auction on
> > eBay at the moment. Expect it to fetch a few hundred dollars though.
> > I have both a Second Sight and Video Overlay Card in my IIgs sitting
> > beside me, though I'm not likely to part with either.
> >
> > Mitchell Spector
> > a_specot@alcor.concordia.ca

Thanks Mitchell thats very useful. As I will be mainly playing games I
will just use my RGB screen and Bernie.

I did read somewhere that you can use both your RGB and Second Sight
card at the same time...

Andrew Webber
andrew.webber2@btinternet.com