brent@well.UUCP (02/12/87)
Well, I just received my JITTER-RID monitor from Ideas Created, and I
thought I'd post a quick review. The package contains a heavy plastic plexi-
glass-like filter, 4 velcro pads, and an instruction sheet. To install the
critter, you must simply affix the velcro pads to the corners of the filter
and to your Amiga monitor, just outside of the bezel area. The effect is much
as advertised: a dramatic reduction (I'd estimate approx. 80%) of interlace
"jitter", and enhanced contrast.
Pros: The price, $14.95, is low enough to make the purchase painless.
Installation is simple and reversible.
The product works very well, though is not perfect under all color
combinations, or, perhaps, some lighting conditions.
Cons: The quality is somewhat cheap -- a bandsaw-cut piece of plastic;
not obviously custom-made for the Amiga.
Summary: For the occasional user of hires, interlaced displays, this is
the lowest-cost alternative to a long-persistence monitor. Also,
there is no "smearing" during animation which accompanies such a
monitor. In an application such as DPaint II or Aegis Draw Plus
in which you can adjust screen colors, you can truly eliminate all
noticable flicker (white-on-black is still noticable, but that's
a worst-case situation). Although it's not beautiful aesthetically,
after you become accustomed to the filter, you won't notice its
appearance. Recommended.
JITTER-RID is available from:
Ideas Created
407 Kickerillo Dr.
Houston, TX 77079
(713) 558-7645
retail price is $14.95, and it may be ordered UPS Blue C.O.D.
- Brent Southard
NOTE: I am not at all affiliated with Ideas Created, although I enjoy
their product, and they're fun people to talk to.walton@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (02/14/87)
In the referenced article, Brent Southard describes Jitter-Rid, a
plastic filter for reducing interlace filter on the Amiga's 1080
monitor.
I have my doubts. It sounds like the piece is either a polarizing
filter or a simple neutral density filter. In either case, its effect
is much the same as simply turning down the brightness knob on your
monitor. The only additional effect would be a reduction in room-light
glare if the Jitter-Rid has a non-glossy surface. Brent, do you use
your Amiga under flourescent lights? They noticeably increase
interlace flicker, since they flash at the same rate as the screen.
(I've noticed this effect on the Sun workstations at the office.)
Has anyone thought about how to build a frame buffer which would
store and display an entire interlaced image all at once? Seems to
me that such a box would be less than the $500 for a new monitor.
Steve Waltonfarren@hoptoad.UUCP (02/14/87)
In article <1781@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> walton@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (Steve Walton) writes: > Has anyone thought about how to build a frame buffer which would >store and display an entire interlaced image all at once? Seems to >me that such a box would be less than the $500 for a new monitor. The BOX would cost less than $500, but the new monitor you'd need to view 640 X 400 directly would cost more than that... I'm strongly in favor of keeping the NTSC compatibility at whatever cost. Long persistance monitors do the job just fine, and being able to videotape the images (something which isn't really possible with any other micro system as they stand) is a real advantage. Of course, when they come out with the Amiga that can handle 1K X 1K images, I'd be willing to give up compatibility - anyone for high- res TV? -- ---------------- "... if the church put in half the time on covetousness Mike Farren that it does on lust, this would be a better world ..." hoptoad!farren Garrison Keillor, "Lake Wobegon Days"
mikeb@cbmvax.UUCP (02/16/87)
In article <1781@cit-vax.Caltech.Edu> walton@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (Steve Walton) writes: >In the referenced article, Brent Southard describes Jitter-Rid, a >plastic filter for reducing interlace filter on the Amiga's 1080 >monitor. > I have my doubts. It sounds like the piece is either a polarizing >filter or a simple neutral density filter. In either case, its effect >is much the same as simply turning down the brightness knob on your >monitor. The only additional effect would be a reduction in room-light >glare if the Jitter-Rid has a non-glossy surface. > Steve Walton It is a bit different than turning down the lights. The neutral density filter keeps ambient light off the phosphor plane. In addition to increasing perceived contrast, it removes the "beat" between ambient and display light. Jitter-rid does help even under flourescent and vapor lighting. -Mike-
walton@tybalt.caltech.edu.UUCP (02/26/87)
I went into a local store yesterday which carries Jitter-Rid and had a look. Here is a bit of speculation on what it does. What is it? The salesman said it isn't a polarizer; he'd put one in front of another one and rotated them relative to each other. To me, it looked like a piece of relatively dark plexiglas with less than 50% transmittance (perhaps 25%, since it was not as dark as my Bausch and Lomb Ray-Ban glasses which come it at 15%). The opacity was such that "black" areas of the screen became truly black on the Amiga monitor he was using (with its brightness and contrast controls centered; I checked.) The effect was the same as you'd get by turning down the monitor's brightness down quite a bit and shutting off your room lights. However, the brightness knob on the 1080 doesn't go down nearly far enough to reduce it to the point the Jitter-Rid does. It's also difficult to work in the dark, especially during daylight :-). Conclusion: You could probably duplicate the Jitter-Rid yourself by cutting a piece of dark plexiglass into a rectangle the size of your 1080's bezel, gluing Velcro eye material to each corner, and gluing Velcro hook material to corresponding points on your monitor. You can decide for yourself whether it's worth spending $15 to save yourself this hassle. Stephen Walton ARPA: ametek!walton@csvax.Caltech.EDU BITNET: WALTON@CALTECH UUCP: ...!ucbvax!sun!megatest!ametek!walton
sanchez@gmu90x.UUCP (03/02/87)
If you are using a Jitter-Rid, the velcro that is supplied is not strong enough to hold it to the amiga. I complained to Ideas-Created, the supplier, and was supplied with a longer strip of velcro and a short letter saying that any having that problem could write to ideas-created and send them $1 to get the longer velcro strips. In my opinion, you can go to ace hardware and get velcro cheaper/easier. They asked me to post this for them so here it is. Jim Sanchez