CompuServe Messages

OK Scott I'll try to explain; The 3000 knows nothing about reducing flicker. It produces the same video output as a 2000 or 500. It DOES, at the flick of a switch, have hardware (same as used in the 2320) that "flicker fixes" the signal on the way out the door so to speak. That means that all 3000 output can be passed through this hardware. To the end user the result is a consistent environment. Interlace screens are "fixed", but so are non interlace screens (scan lines removed), and even games that take over the system are "fixed" since it is done with hardware as a last step before the signal goes out to your monitor. Also since all screens come out as a constant scan rate a simple VGA monitor can be used quite effectively with the 3000. The 1200 & 4000's new AGA chips DO know about scan doubling. If the software asks WB 3.0 for a flicker free display you get it. If it doesn't – you don't! The system produces the type of output you get AT THE TIME IT IS CREATED. That means that screens can come up either "fixed" or not and at a variety of different scan rates (Which is why you may have heard others talking about NEEDING a multisync monitor for the 1200 & 4000.). Now you can turn on a system wedge called "Mode Promotion" which will force most, but not all screens to come up as "fixed" even though the software did not ask for it. This of course has no effect on self booting games, since the system's "Mode Promotion" is never seen. What is wrong with this approach? Well IMHO: 1.) It presents the user with a confusing, multisync switching, "how come my screen's not centered", nonconsistent environment. 2.) It requires multisync monitors with a wide scan range – few of which are being produce outside C=. 3.) The system takes a performance hit when it is asked to produce a "flicker free" display since it is doing extra work. The 4000 is so fast that most users might not notice (I did 😉 ), but I don't know about the 1200. It seems that C= also saw the these limitations since they are going to produce a 4000 display enhancer that eliminates all these problems and does even more! 🙂 When they designed to 4000 first they eliminated the 3000's SCSI interface, and now have to put it back in. Then they eliminated the display enhancement stuff, and they are going to put that back as well. What were they thinking of? Oh well we can just blame it on that X PC engineer – you know the one who designed the PC Jr.'s chicklet keyboard. 😉 …AutoPilot Engaged… -Paul-