solomon@chaos.utexas.edu (Thomas Solomon) (04/03/91)
Another question related to disk drives and storage: I just found out that a package called STACKER can compress data on the fly, while an application program is writing to the hard disk on a PC. STACKER can be obtained as a _hardware_ data compression device, so, apparently, it can go quite fast. Unfortunately, STACKER is made to be compatible all the way down to the XT level, which means that it uses only 8-bit data transfers. Presumably, a 16-bit board would be faster (i.e., have a higher throughput), and a 32-bit board (i.e., EISA or MCA) would be faster still. My question: is anyone aware of other data compression add-in boards that may be able to outrun STACKER. Does anyone have experiences with this type of data compression technique (i.e., on the fly). Speed is of the utmost importance for us, as we hope to be able to use this technique to store (compressed) video images in real-time. Thanks. I'll post a summary if there is interest. Tom Solomon solomon@chaos.utexas.edu
edm@hpfcmdd.hp.com (Ed Moore) (04/06/91)
Be sure to look at 3/12/91 PC Magazine, page 38.