Re: video card for IIGS

[a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

 andrew.webber2@btinternet.com (Andrew Webber) wrote:

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

    I should point out it works very nicely for playing 8-bit II+/e/c games
that work in Hi-Res graphic mode. From what I remember, it keeps up
frame and speed-wise for the most part. There is scanline doubling but
it looks respectable overall (unlike Super-Hi-Res modes). Double-Hi-Res 
games will not work, they lock up the machine if there is a Second Sight
present. The card will also not work in an Apple IIe (unless there is a
different firmware version I'm not aware of; anyone know?)

    I thought it was very cool sitting in front of a 19" SVGA monitor with
*real* Apple equipment driving it. It was almost like using an emulator
as far as video was concerned, but felt a few steps above since I was
handling 5.25 floppy disks, an Apple joystick and Apple keyboard.

>and Bernie.

    I find KEGS32 so close to the real thing, I sometimes forget I'm using
a PC. Incidentally scanline emulation under Windows 95/98/ME now 
works correctly, it really looks incredible! Next I'll have to ask for video
interpolation and hardware video stretching. :)

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

    Yep, that's correct. Both displays will mirror the same image, though it
is possible to have two independent screens. I believe Spectrum is one
program that supports this, you could be using Desk Accessories or the
editor in Spectrum on the AppleColor RGB, while full-screen ANSI text
is displaying on the SVGA display.

    The card can also operate an AppleColor RGB display (it came with 
two cables connectors for this purpose) though it seems to operate at
a frequency just outside what the monitor normally uses as I can hear 
this high-pitched squeal. Video looks the same as it would coming from 
the IIgs (no scanline doubling in this case) but it suffers the same 
choppiness and frame dropping you'd see on an SVGA monitor.

Mitchell Spector
a_specto@alcor.concordia.ca