[comp.sys.amiga] harddisk animation software

MOHLER-T@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Timothy W. Mohler) (08/08/90)

I heard recently that someone has released, or was about to release
a software package which will allow an amiga user to animate iff files in
real-time directly from a hard disk.  Has anyone heard of such a beast?  If
so, please say where we can get this because I know I would personally be
interested and the graphics lab here would certainly be interested in a 
"dirt cheap" method of doing animations for a variety of applications.

sjorr@cbmtor.UUCP (Stephen Orr) (08/11/90)

In article <12612173224011@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu> MOHLER-T@osu-20.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Timothy W. Mohler) writes:
>I heard recently that someone has released, or was about to release
>a software package which will allow an amiga user to animate iff files in
>real-time directly from a hard disk.  Has anyone heard of such a beast?  If
>so, please say where we can get this because I know I would personally be
>interested and the graphics lab here would certainly be interested in a 
>"dirt cheap" method of doing animations for a variety of applications.

Andy Thut, whose published is Mindware International, and who wrote
PageFlipper Plus/FX, also wrote a apps library called TASS. (Thut
Application Support System). One of the many functions built into TASS
is DiskAnim. I used TASS as the graphics engine in an interactive TeleTex
system at the last World of Commodore (Canada), and under ARexx getting
tass to deal with an IFF image is as simple as the TASS/REXX command

DISPLAY filename

if filename just happens to be an Anim (rather than an ILBM) then it plays
it of disk (2 frames in memory...) Frame rates range depending on the device
and machine, but in overscan 704x480 with 16 colours (read 0 spare bus time)
TASS was capable of 6.5 frames/sec on an '030 Amiga withg 2091, and Quantum
Frame rates as high as 15 frames/sec at lower resolutions are possible.

Noe the catch. TASS has not yet released commercially, and Andy is not on
the net. If you really need to get hold of him, then mail me. I'll put
you in touch.


						Stephen Orr
						SandIsoft
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it of disk. (2 frames in memory)