reintom@rocky2.UUCP (Tom Reingold) (11/10/86)
[]
Does anyone know how, if at all, I can do graphics in monochrome
with an EGA card? So far, I have followed the hardware manual for
the card. I set the switches and jumper to say that I have a
monocrhome monitor connected to the card. Now the card emulates
the monochrome card. I did not get an EGA card to do this. It can
be done, can't it?
I will thank you after I get info, rather than in advance, like
everyone else :-).
--
########################################################################
Tom Reingold -- Rockefeller Univ, 1230 York Av, NY 10021; (212) 570-7709
UUCP: {seismo|philabs|phri|harvard|ihnp4}!cmcl2!rna!rocky2!reintom
ARPANET: reintom@rockefeller.arpa <<<<<<<->>>>>> BITNET: REINTOM@ROCKVAXperkins@bnrmtv.UUCP (Henry Perkins) (11/10/86)
> Does anyone know how, if at all, I can do graphics in monochrome > with an EGA card? > > Tom Reingold To my knowledge, IBM has never provided any type of monochrome graphics standard. This leaves Hercules graphics. Many (most) EGA cards do Hercules graphics. IBM's EGA, of course, does not. The era of monochrome monitors is passing rapidly. I suggest you invest in a good color monitor, such as NEC's MultiSync or Sony's MultiScan. -- {hplabs,amdahl,3comvax}!bnrmtv!perkins --Henry Perkins It is better never to have been born. But who among us has such luck? One in a million, perhaps.
timothym@tekigm2.UUCP (Timothy D Margeson) (11/11/86)
In article <895@bnrmtv.UUCP> perkins@bnrmtv.UUCP (Henry Perkins) writes: >> Does anyone know how, if at all, I can do graphics in monochrome >> with an EGA card? >> Tom Reingold >To my knowledge, IBM has never provided any type of monochrome graphics >standard. This leaves Hercules graphics. Many (most) EGA cards do >Hercules graphics. IBM's EGA, of course, does not. >The era of monochrome monitors is passing rapidly. I suggest you >invest in a good color monitor, such as NEC's MultiSync or Sony's >MultiScan. >{hplabs,amdahl,3comvax}!bnrmtv!perkins --Henry Perkins I have seen data sheets on a board from ATI of their EGA Wonder board. This board will support EGA, CGA, MDA, and Hercules on ANY type of monitor, and do autoswitching between modes too. Which means that you can display EGA stuff on a CGA monitor, or Monochrome monitor, or an EGA monitor. You tell the card which monitor you have, the card then converts the video so that the sync rate is compatible with your monitor. I believe that they interlace the CGA monitor to give you EGA capability (this implies lots of flicker). Anyway, you can run an EGA monitor, and do Hercules emulation at the same time. Or a CGA monitor and EGA emulation. Or a monchrome monitor and CGA, EGA, or Hercules emulation. Then if you run different programs that use say an EGA, the card sets up and emulates EGA, then the next program is set up for a Hercules, the card adjusts automatically and emulates the Herc. (without you having to do anything). I plan on buying one as soon as they're available, which I'm told by ATI is December. My use is with a Compaq Deskpro, and it's monchrome monitor. The folks at ATI say it will work fine, so I'm going to try. (Compaq has a display board that emulates a MDA and CGA using the same monitor, and this combination has spoiled me for most anything, so when I saw the ATI ads, I rushed to the phone and had them send data sheets). The phone numbers I have are FA Components, a regional distributor for ATI (800) 321-6012, or ATI themselves at (416) 477-8804. Give them a call and tell them that you want this board now! If enough of us do it, they might just listen. By the way, this card is one up on the Paradise Autoswitch because you are not limited by the monitor connected to your system. (With the Para- dise, if you have a monochrome monitor, all you can do is Hercules, or MDA emulation, likewise, if all you have is a CGA monitor, you're locked into CGA mode only). Good luck all, and ring the phones off the hook! p.s. I have tried the Multi-sync by NEC (model 1402-jp?) and found it to be less than acceptable (of course I work for Tek, and I know the difference between good and bad graphics). The NEC had some real problems when they started their manufacturing line. The quality of CRT's they used suffered, and had a very noticable astigmatism in the lower portions of the display any time the beam intensity was set high. I talked to NEC reps at a show in Chicago and they played ignorance (even though the monitor on their desk showed the symptoms I described). I might add that I saw about 75 of the NEC monitors at the show, and at least 50 of them had this problem. I haven't seen the Sony monitor yet, and it could well be made well enough to meet my needs, but only a reasonable test period will tell. But if they make the monitor as well as their TV's, I will probably buy one. AND KEEP IT (not like the NEC(s) I bought and returned). Thanks for the ears.... -- Tim Margeson (206)253-5240 PO Box 3500 d/s C1-937 @@ 'Who said that?' Vancouver, WA. 98668 {allegra..inhp4..decvax..ucbvax}!tektronix!tekigm2!timothym
zhahai@gaia.UUCP (Zhahai Stewart) (11/12/86)
In article <279@rocky2.UUCP>, reintom@rocky2.UUCP (Tom Reingold) writes: > Does anyone know how, if at all, I can do graphics in monochrome > with an EGA card? Yes, the EGA will support graphics on a TTL monochrome monitor, such as the IBM Monochrome Display, the Amdek 310A, Princeton MAX 12, etc. The new BIOS extension on board the EGA supports 640x350x3 brightness levels as video mode F (hex). Unfortunately, before the EGA came out, Hercules had already established a defacto monochrome graphics "standard", emulated by many other vendors. This provides 720x348x2 levels, and is totally incompatible with the EGA in address, bit mapping, etc. This "standard" is much more widely supported than IBM EGA monochrome. So if you have or are considering a package with "monochrome graphics" features, be very careful to check that it supports EGA monochrome mode. Also, some packages (applications or graphics libraries) may support the EGA, but only in color modes (color is pretty popular nowadays, since the EGA provides similar resolution in color or monochrome). Check. Last warning: Some people connect a CGA (color Graphics Adapter) or clone to a single color monitor, usually via composite video (RCA plug rather than DB-9 connector) [ Exception for Princeton Graphics MAX-12E which can connect with CGA in TTL/DB-9 mode monochrome. ]. This allows 640x200x2 graphics (or 320x200), but is totally incompatible with either of the above monochrome modes (EGA or Hercules). This appears to be color graphics to the software level. This is seldom done with the EGA, since it does not have composite video outputs (besides, why use an EGA with a low resolution monitor - waste of money). Hope this helps. zhahai / HiSystems
bright@dataio.UUCP (Walter Bright) (11/12/86)
In article <895@bnrmtv.UUCP> perkins@bnrmtv.UUCP (Henry Perkins) writes: >> Does anyone know how, if at all, I can do graphics in monochrome >> with an EGA card? >To my knowledge, IBM has never provided any type of monochrome graphics >standard. This leaves Hercules graphics. Many (most) EGA cards do >Hercules graphics. IBM's EGA, of course, does not. All EGA boards (including IBM's) support graphics on a monochrome display. It is mode F. It offers 4 colors (black, white, intensity and blinking). I use it, it looks nice.
joel@peora.UUCP (Joel Upchurch) (11/14/86)
>From: perkins@bnrmtv.UUCP (Henry Perkins) >The era of monochrome monitors is passing rapidly. I suggest you >invest in a good color monitor, such as NEC's MultiSync or Sony's >MultiScan. I think you overstate the case. A decent monchrome system always costs a lot less than a decent color system. For example a Hercules clone card and a monchrome monitor go for less than $200, while you would be hard put to find a decent EGA card and monitor for less than $600. Yet the monochrome system is better for most applications than the color one, because of the higher resolution. For most applications higher resolution and lower cost are more important than color. I find it significant that a standard for monochrome graphics managed to get established without the support of IBM. Also notice that the new EGA chip from Chips and Technology includes support for the Hercules standard. In fact I think we are going to see a resurgence of monochrome monitors for applications requiring very high resolutions, such as, desktop publishing and CAD. Displays like the Viking 1 and WY-700 are going to find a good market for these applications. -- Joel Upchurch @ CONCURRENT Computer Corporation (A Perkin-Elmer Company) Southern Development Center 2486 Sand Lake Road/ Orlando, Florida 32809/ (305)850-1031 {decvax!ucf-cs, ihnp4!pesnta, vax135!petsd, akgua!codas}!peora!joel