bp@.acm.rpi.edu (Atul Jagga) (10/16/90)
For Sale:
RasterOps Colorboard 364
Requirements:
A Macintosh II,IIx,IIcx,IIci,IIfx computer.. (A Mac II Series)
One (1) NuBus slot.
3 megabytes of System RAM only when Frame grabbing.
A video source for FrameGrabbing (VCR,LaserDisc player,TV Tuner,etc.)
Features:
- 24 bit color graphics on standard Apple 13" RGB monitor.
- NTSC Frame Grabber (Composite and S-Video inputs)
- Real Time Display (in 24 bit color) of incoming NTSC video
- On board Video RAM
- Hardware Extended (Virtual) Desktop upto 2048x512
- Hardware Pan and Zoom
- Miscellaneous supplied software (Frame Grabbing, Init/DAs, HyperCard Stuff)
Price:
- $1300 (US $)
This is an excellent video board combined with RasterOps outstanding
technical support. From a personal opinion, I fell in love with this board
right from the start. The board does NOT use any main system RAM except for
an init/cdev to change board settings and the DA to display the real time
video display. The amount of RAM used is very small. The frame grabbing
software requires 3 megabytes of RAM to use when actively frame grabbing,
however. A toolkit is available from RasterOps for no additional charge for
developers. The frame grabber is quite powerful. The provided software will
allow pictures to be saved in PICT or TIFF format. I have had no problem
importing these pictures into other graphics packages. I find the extended
desktop indispensable;in essence this is a hardware implementation of
Stepping Out without the expense of system RAM. The panning of the screen
feels so natural. The screen can also be locked into place. The computer
is fooled into thinking that the screen size is actually larger. 99.99% of
software will run without problems. Of course you can switch to native
640x480 mode anytime (which is basically an Apple 8.24 board) and resolve
even the smallest software incompatibilty problem. There is also a built in
zoom function (of course in 24 bit color) upto 4x magnification
available at a keystroke. The menu bar is available anywhere on the desktop
at the touch of a keystroke/mouseclick. Everything works with perfection. Real
time video display is available either as a desk accessory or in the Frame
Grabbing software. One can frame grab multiple frames at once. The limit is
only memory or disk space. The window for real-time video can be adjusted to
any size (even full screen). Also available from RasterOps are a tuner for
television (in essence converting your mac with a window for a TV) and
an NTSC/PAL encoder to output your video back to a VCR for instance.
Considering the price of such technology, this board is quite afforable and
I recommend it highly. The board in itself is only 3 months old, I am selling
it because i do not need the frame grabber anymore for my work. I want to
switch to another 24 bit color video board. If you are interested and
have any questions, please reply to the email address in the header of this
article. Or send email to the address below. I do not read this newsgroup
normally.
Cheers.
--
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