128 lines
6.3 KiB
HTML
128 lines
6.3 KiB
HTML
<HTML>
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<HEAD>
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<META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1">
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<META NAME="Author" CONTENT="Joshua Neal">
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<META NAME="Description" CONTENT="Pure VGA/SVGA hardware programming (registers, identification, and otherlow-level stuff.)">
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<META NAME="KeyWords" CONTENT="VGA SVGA hardware video programming">
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<TITLE>FreeVGA - Product Recommendations for Video Developers</TITLE>
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</HEAD>
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<BODY>
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<CENTER><A HREF="home.htm">Home</A> <A HREF="#intro">Introduction</A> <A HREF="#monitors">Recommended</A>
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<A HREF="#failures">Failed</A> <A HREF="#test">Test</A> <A HREF="home.htm#product">Back</A>
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<HR WIDTH="100%"><B>Hardware Level VGA and SVGA Video Programming Information
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Page</B></CENTER>
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<CENTER>Product Recommendations for Video Developers
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<HR WIDTH="100%"></CENTER>
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<A NAME="intro"></A><B>Introduction</B>
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<BR> This page is to provide
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hardware recommendations for those implementing the information on this
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site. There are no recommendations for video cards, as the goal is
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to increase programmer support for all cards, existing or otherwise, rather
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than try to influence people to buy a specific video card implementation.
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I will, however recommend hardware, other than the video cards themselves
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that are helpful in the development of software for video cards in general.
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Monitors are a strong issue to me, both for safety concerns, and financial
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concerns, as it is usually advantageous to buy an new, indestructable monitor
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than to burn through many cheap, expendable monitors.
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<P><B> <A NAME="monitors"></A>Monitors Recommended</B>
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<BR> For a monitor to be recommended
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it must meet all of the following criteria:
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<UL>
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<LI>
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It should be able to tolerate improperly formed video inputs for an extended
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period of time without the possibility of being damaged. It should
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also be tolerant to extremely frequent mode changes. Damage due to
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this kind of operation should not be excluded by the standard manufacturer's
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warranty. This is critical due to the replacement cost of high-performance
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monitors, and due to the possible safety and fire hazards failing monitors
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may cause.</LI>
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<LI>
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It should be able to synchronize to a wide variety of properly formed signals,
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including both standard and custom video timings. This important
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for developing the modes required for special applications.</LI>
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<LI>
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It should handle the maximum frequencies/resolutions that can be generated
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by current and future (to a reasonable extent) video chipsets.</LI>
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<LI>
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It should be compliant to all levels of display to host communication and
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power mamagement so code can be developed that implements these features
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of the video hardware.</LI>
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<LI>
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If the monitor allows the picture controls to be saved/restored on changes
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in mode, it should be allowed to defeat this feature so that the generated
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video timings can be adjusted to minimize the visible effects of mode change.</LI>
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<LI>
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It should be currently available on the market and covered by manufacturers
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warranty for the period of time required to develop the desired application.</LI>
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<LI>
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It has been put through my own personal monitor torture tests, as well
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as operated for an extended period of time under conditions related to
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video software development.</LI>
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</UL>
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The following monitors have been evaluated by myself personally, and have
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been determined to meet all these criteria.
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<UL>
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<LI>
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At this time, there are no monitors that I have determined meet all these
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criteria.</LI>
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</UL>
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<A NAME="failures"></A><B>Monitor Failures</B>
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<BR> This section lists monitors
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that have either died for me while testing, or have died for others in
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a fashion that would imply that the programmer was responsible for their
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failure. This does not imply that the programmer was at fault, as
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these things naturally happen when developing drivers. I strongly
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recommend the purchase of one of the recommended monitors, to avoid damaging
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a valuable monitor
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<P><B>Compaq VGA (not SVGA)</B> -- I do not know the model specifically.
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It was a fixed frequency model, and the horizontal circuitry was damaged.
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The problem was repeatable after repairs were made, so I believe that the
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monitor can be damaged by normal mode testing. I have met others who claim
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to have experienced this same problem. Not recommended.
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<P><B>CTX CMS-1561LR</B> -- The problem with this monitor occured when
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driving the monitor at the high end of its frequency envelope. The
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monitor synced to the frequency, but may have been slightly overdriven.
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The horizontal output transistor and some capacitors were replaced and
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the monitor was restored to working order. The problem has not been
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repeated, so ordinary failure is likely.
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<P><B>NCR MBR 2321</B> -- This one comes from a friend in Fayetteville,
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AR, whose monitor blew caps while writing a svgalib video driver.
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The explosion from the capacitors shattered the rear of the picture tube,
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damaging the monitor beyond repair. Not recommended due to the catastrophic
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nature of the failure. The operation being performed when the failure
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occurred was frequent mode changing.
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<P><A NAME="test"></A><B>Test Equipment Recommended</B>
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<BR> There are certain pieces
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of test equipment that can come in handy when working with video cards.
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This can be especially important when verifying that the video signal being
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generated is, in fact the one intended by the programmer. Failure
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to do this can cause catastrophic failure when the driver is used in conjunction
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with a fixed-frequency or other monitor that can be damaged by improper
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inputs.
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<UL>
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<LI>
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At this time, I cannot recommend any test equipment other than a good frequency
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counter, as this is really not in my area of expertise. If you can
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help me in my research into this, I would be greatly appreciative.</LI>
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</UL>
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Notice: All trademarks used or referred to on this page are the property
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of their respective owners.
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<BR>All pages are Copyright © 1997, 1998, J. D. Neal, except where
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noted. Permission for utilization and distribution is subject to the terms
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of the <A HREF="license.htm">FreeVGA Project Copyright License</A>. <IMG SRC="http://www.goodnet.com/~tinara/cgi-bin/imgserv.cgi?logo3.gif" >
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