CompuServe Messages

Hello to all, We 've had our new PAR\TCBIV for about a week now and it is fantastic! It is installed in a Gateway2000 4DX2-66V, 32meg RAM, w\ Micrpolis 2217A. My NTSC monitors are a Magnavox combination VCR/13" screen, and a Philips 31" TV. Both are around 1 year old. The 13" mantains a very high resolution and is comparable to our new Sony Trinitron 31". The Philips resolution basically stinks but if I can achieve an acceptable result on it the rest is cake & pie. The problem – our images are distorting when viewed through the PAR, Almost full screen at the bottom of the TV screen and narrower at the top of the screen. This narrowing phenomena only happens on the right side of the TV screens. The right side of the image is about 1/2 inch from the edge of the screen at top and the bottom on the higher resolution screens and about an 1\8 of an inch from the right side at the bottom of the screen and 1\2 inch at the top on the lower res screen. Also, when there is a moderate to extreme horizontal light transition in the image from the PAR, the verticle edges of the screen are distorted inward and continue to the top of the screen from the line where the light changes from dark to lighter. This happens on both verticle sides of the TV monitors. The greater the light transition from dark to light the greater the distortion. This distortion is reproduced on all the monitors as well as the tape recording. A real life example is this- We are animating a manufacturing process. The area where the machines are located is illuminated by floresent lights hung from the ceiling about 3\4 of the floor to ceiling highth distance from the floor. At the factory the work area is bright while the area above the lights is dark. We would like to reproduce this effect. Reducing the light transition solves extreme distotion problems but the diagonal "squinching" at the top of the TV monitor is always there. The Targa board produces these undesired affects to a lessor degree,( not as squinched or distoted by light diferences ), but are not within the viewing area when overscan is on. The Targa card is installed in a different computer, same brand and configuration as stated above. I understand Genlock in theory, but in practice I'm not sure I have everything connected correctly or my settings right. The PAR genlock is set to internal, the horizontal position is set to .069us, and the subcarrier is set to 90deg, the default. I have experimented with these settings, does'nt change anything in respect this problem. Have also disconnected the TCBIV but this has no effect either way. The monitors are connected to the NTSC\Composite port on the PAR. I have checked the dB output and it is 7dB, have attenuated this to 1dB and amplified to 10 dB, no change. I could probably live with this development if I could produce the overscan results on the PAR as with the Targa. I havn't found that option available on the PAR if there is one. Anybody know if it is? Anyway, does anyone know what causes this sqinching and distortion? Is there a solution? I've thought about having the TVs calibrated but the distortion occures with any recording device that we use so I havn't done that. Thanks for putting up with this long winded explanation. Randy Jackson ComWorks Communications, Inc. Lexington, Kentucky