CompuServe Messages

Tim, It depends on which model you have. The old A1000 has a phono jack on the rear panel which you could connect to your VCR's video input. It's the only model with such a jack, and the reason it was discontinued was because the quality of the video signal was pretty poor. The new models — A500 and above — have RGB outputs but no NTSC color output. So in order to connect any of them to your VCR you're going to need additional hardware to take the RGB signal and transform (encode) it into NTSC. This is NOT simply an adapter cable; the technique of NTSC encoding is fairly complex and requires a fair amount of electronic massaging. The most common device to accomplish this process is a device referred to in Amiga circles as a "genlock" (although in actuality they typically combine the functions of genlock, encoder, and keyer — but you don't have to worry about that). Basically a genlock does two things: it will connect to your RGB port (and provide a passthrough connection for your monitor) and give you a recordable NTSC video signal you can hook up to your VCR. And it will also allow you to send a live video signal THROUGH the genlock, overlay Amiga graphics over that signal, and output the mixture of live action and animation to tape. Genlocks range in price from about $150 (stay away from them — they're terrible!!) to over $3500 (great units if you're a television station or have mounds of cash you don't know what to do with). At about $600 street price the SuperGen from Progressive Image Technology (and marketed by Digital Creations) is a best buy. Hope this helps. Pete