Chris_F_Chiesa@cup.portal.com (06/20/91)
Hello All.
Our latest high-pressure get-it-out-the-door-quick project is to provide
a color screen for displaying our high-resolution 24-bit color images. We
have a Peritek, Inc. VCT-Q just arrived for "evaluation," but if I don't
evaluate it DAMN QUICK I am going to end up using it for production products
whether it works right or NOT.
In theory (and advertising) one can program the VCT-Q's on-board TI 34020
processor OR drive the board from "host-based" code, using "library" routines
provided by Peritek. I had fond visions of rapidly prototyping a simple
image display, testing the process of reading the mouse and displaying a
hardware cursor, drawing a rectangular "selection box" based on that infor
mation, then "doing things" based on the area selected. No such luck --
the VCT-Q comes with mouse and keyboard but no software for reading either
(nor cables; they tell you what connector to buy and how to make your OWN
cable). 80 to 90 percent of the documented "library" routines are "not
available from host-based applications," and those that ARE available are
described only as "described by" a TI 34020 manual Peritek did NOT supply.
(We could go to the additional eense of buying the "on-board code develop-
ment system," from TI or Peritek or whomever, but that's a C environment and
we are NOT a C shop, by and large.) I could go on, but the gist is that
it's going to be damn near impossible to even PROTOTYPE with this thing,
much less write production code. I'm looking for a 24-bit display system
that comes with VMS-linkable and fully functional library routines that
I can call to do the types of things described at the top of this para-
graph; I'm rather disappointed in Peritek so far.
Therefore, I ask:
1) does anybody have any experience with the Peritek VCT-Q with regard
to programming it? (Peritek sells an X Server that runs on this thing
but they themseves "didn't recommend" we use it.)
2) what other 24-bit color displays exist, and are people using, on the
VAX platform? (We're running a 4000-200, and it would be nice if
whatever we choose would also work on VAXserver 3400's and de-DEC-
video-board'ed VAXstation 3200's.)
3) What do they come with, vis-a-vis programming support, pre-written
libraries, etc.? I want to put 24-bit color rasters (which I have
to massage into compatible format no matter WHAT the output device)
onto the screen as fast as possible and be able to mouse-select
rectangular regions thereof, as a BARE MINIMUM.
3) If you use, or HAVE used, more than ONE kind of display, compare/
contrast the one(s) you know, in the areas of
- resolution
- accuracy of color reproduction
- flexibility, # of display modes (I'd like "true color" with a
modifiable colormap for gamma-correction etc. on the board if
possible, but can do that in the host if need be)
- documentation (was it easy to get going and start programming?)
- software support (what came with it, did it work, do they answer
the phone if you have problems?)
- any other comments you think I've overlooked!
Thanks in advance; replies via ANY of the following channels!
-= this newsgroup, of course
-= e-mail: Chris_F_Chiesa@cup.portal.com
-= US mail: Chris Chiesa
c/o Light Valve Technology
100 Kings Highway, Suite 1400
Rochester, NY 14650-0823
-= phone: (716) 724-2029
-= FAX: (716) 724-9862
(boy I wish I had all of that in a .signature file! Or that Portal
SUPPORTED a .signature file!)
Chris Chiesa
(address above!)