njd@ihuxl.UUCP (DiMasi) (09/19/86)
*** RELINE THIS PLACE WITH YOUR MESS ***
I am on the verge of purchasing CDY's OMNIVIEW 80-column chip for my 130XE,
especially since CDY now advertises that an 80-column terminal emulator is
included with it, but I am a bit concerned about the possibility that I
will not be able to read the 80-column display on my composite color monitor
(an AMDEK Color-1 Plus). RGB monitors have become very affordable recently,
but the 130XE (like all other 8-bit Ataris) lacks an RGB monitor output.
I have heard that composite monitors exist which have a monochrome high-
resolution setting, but I have not been able to find one by looking in
stores or in ads by mail-order outfits.
So, I would appreciate any information anyone may have on any of the
following:
1. CDY recommends that a non-composite monitor be used with OMNIVIEW for
"serious" 80-column work. Some time ago (last year?) someone posted
an article saying that he could easily read OMNIVIEW's display on his
TV set! Does anyone else have any experience with reading the display on
TV sets, composite monitors, monochrome monitors, etc?
2. Does anyone know of any composite monitors with a "high-res" monochrome
mode that are currently available? Is there any way to "tweak" a
composite monitor to make it display "high-res" monochrome?
3. Does anyone know if a commercial "box" exists to convert composite video
output to RGB (somehow, I doubt it)? Failing that, has anyone ever
built one? If so, how well does it work (resolution, etc.)? Are
modifications to any circuits inside the computer required? Can I get
plans (please keep in mind that I have no experience in building circuits
straight from schematics)? Do the other graphics modes (I understand
that OMNIVIEW uses GR. 8) look any better on an RGB monitor than on a
composite monitor? BTW, thanks to John Sangster at MITRE for letting
me know about the existence of the SIGNETICS chip.
I realize that there are a lot of questions here. So, if I receive replies
by mail, I will summarize to the net.
Thanks in advance,
Nick DiMasi {:-{)>
..!ihnp4!ihuxl!njdDYOUNG@D.ISI.EDU (C. David Young) (09/22/86)
Nick, What you evidently don't realize is that your 130XE actually has three video outputs, a composite (what most people use with low resolution color monitors) and separate chrominance and luminance outputs. If you have a monochrome monitor (amber or green screen) you use the luma output. If you have a monitor that has separate chroma and luma inputs then you use the chroma and luma outputs from the ATARI. Two color monitors that I recommend for 80 column work are the Commodore 1702 or 1802, or the Teknika MJ10 (or later model). In any case, the resolution is very satisfactory for 80 columns. There is no need to try to convert the video signals to RGB unless you just happen to have an RGB monitor. David Young -------