green@compsci.bristol.ac.uk (Stuart Green) (04/03/89)
Tektite, a new British company marketing transputer-based graphics products,
has just announced the Xtram - an Inmos TRAM module with a T4 or T8 transputer
and an Intel 82786 graphics coprocessor.
Unlike many other transputer graphics boards on the market, the Xtram
supports low level graphics drawing and display functions by employing a
special purpose processor, so that the transputer may be used to perform
higher level operations. The preliminary data describes the Xtram as
follows:
. 10 MIP Inmos Transputer with 2Mbyte memory plus optional 1.5Mflop
floating point unit.
. Powerful Intel 82786 Graphics Coprocessor plus 1Mbyte of display memory,
fully accessible by the controlling transputer.
. Hardware Windows - up to 16 window tiles per horizontal line.
. High Performance Hardware BitBlt - 24 Mbit/s plus hardware drawing of
lines, circles, rectangles, polylines, polygons, arcs, points and
patterns.
. Hardware character drawing with arbitrary character sizes, colours, paths
and rotations. Multiple character set support.
. Fully programmable display resolutions and display clocks, including
interlaced or non-interlaced displays. Integrated phase locked loop for
synchronising to external video sources.
. Palette allows display of 256 colours from a selection of over 16 million.
. Simplified programming interface, with no requirement for special purpose
compilers or development software. Comprehensive C software package
included.
. Size 4 Transputer Module (TRAM) package with 16 active pins; follows the
Inmos TRAM specification. 9.3x11.0 cm (3.66x4.35 inch.) Can be used in
PCbus, MicroChannel, Multibus-1, Multibus-2, NuBus, and VME bus systems,
or as a component in non-standard systems.
Further information can be obtained from:
Tektite Ltd.,
P.O. Box 5,
Felixstowe,
Suffolk,
IP11 7LW,
England.
Tel. 0394 672117
Telex 987458 TKTITE G.
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Stuart Green
University of Bristol
green@uk.ac.bristol.compsci