14.Jun.2024
Individual Computers (ANF)
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Individual Computers: Features of Indivision ECS V4
V4 of the Indivision ECS flickerfixer and scandoubler developed by Individual Computers will be available in limited quantities from 15 July. The previous version V3 is sold out. In a forum post, developer Jens Schönfeld explains new functions and details of the new version:
- the FPGA has almost twice the capacity. This lets us implement more features, yet keep the same form factor as the previous versions.
- all-new appearance in all-black. This is in line with the colour of our most successful product ever, the ACA500plus. Not that it matters much in a closed computer, but after 16 years, I felt it was time for a change from the blue that the three previous versions have used. Even the cable to the VGA connector is black!
- more sophisticated clock generation. While Indivision ECS V2 and V3 were completely async, we now have the possibility to generate precise whole-number multiples of the native Amiga pixel clock. This improves the VSync feature a lot, because the monitor's capability requirement is reduced to 50Hz for PAL or 60Hz for NTSC modes, but it doesn't have to be a specific V-Sync-capable monitor any more (like an expensive gaming monitor). Your choice of low-cost monitors with VGA input increases a lot with this - it's the same feature that Invidision AGA MK3 users already enjoy under the name "auto resolution mode".
- EDID monitor identification: The config tool can detect the monitor and read supported modes, so fiddling with monitor settings is vastly simplified
- CIA adapter for keyboard signals: This lets us implement the live-config feature, which is highly appreciated by Indivision AGA MK3 users. Bringing this to OCS/ECS machines, which are often used for gaming, was a "must" - you can pan/zoom the picture with the mouse after pressing a magic keyboard combination while the game is running.
- Graffiti false-positive avoidance: Generally, Graffiti mode is activated on a line-by-line basis using the Genlock Audio bit (GAUD). Some games set this bit without actually wanting to use Graffiti mode. We're developing a heuristic that also looks at more criteria to tell if it's really a program for the Graffiti hardware, or if it's a false positive that would otherwise result in garbled graphics.
- I have kept the amount of memory on the flickerfixer at 8MBytes. Although I'm constantly trying to reduce prices, it would not have made any sense to reduce the amount of memory to 2MBytes (whích is the next-smaller chip you can buy), because it would make double-buffering impossible. Instead, I have wired this Ram differently, so we can address it byte-by-byte. This doesn't impact the current functionality (which only uses 16-bit accesses to this memory), but will allow us to add things in the future that would be very slow to do on the previous versions of this flicker fixer.
- the OSD now has true transparency and can be positioned in any corner of the output picture. I know that many people find the OSD just annoying and always switch it off, which is of course still an option. For those of you who have the OSD visible, it can now softly fade out to complete transparency, adding a little modern "bling" to the look-and-feel.
- Improved interlace handling: If you drag sreens and you have a non-interlace screen in front of an interlace screen, the whole picture will turn to interlace if you drag the front screen down. Previously, this resulted in a screen mode change on Indivision, which may result in the monitor going into re-sync mode, showing a black screen for a few seconds. The new interlace handling can now avoid this.
As the developer goes on to explain, there are further plans. The price of Indivision ECS V4 will remain the same as that of V3 until the functions have been completed. There is no timetable for the implementation of the following features:
- change position and zoom factor in auto-resolution modes
- improve auto-resolution to support 3x and 4x pixels
- detect and support A2024 "Hedley monitor" screen modes
- make OSD auto-sizing, so readability on high-resolution monitors is improved
- inhibit Amiga's access to mouse movement data during live configuration (movement only - LMB can't be inhibited!)
- add a framebuffer mode with 256 colours out of 21 bits colour, 1024x768 and 1280x1024 pixels
- add 64x64-pixel sprite with 4 colours to framebuffer mode
- add 2D acceleration to framebuffer mode
- add second draggable screen to framebuffer mode (must have same resolution as first screen)
- implement P96 driver for framebuffer mode - don't expect wonders here! It's questionable if Picasso-II performance can be reached.
(dr)
[News message: 14. Jun. 2024, 06:32] [Comments: 0]
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