#Genoa 8500VL w/CL-GD5428
>Talk about timing….. I downloaded the new Vibrant drivers that have been
>recently added and all is well now. What exactly is the difference between
>RCPADI and Vibrant? Rendering speed? Display speed?
The Inline driver uses a proprietary interface which is functional based
instead of packet-based like ADI. The primary reasons/advantages are –
(1) ADI has no support needed by the FLIC playing module. The
R1/R2 releases of 3D studio had 'auto-detecting' code for
this which resulted in LOTS of problems because the
'auto-detect' code couldn't properly recognize and use
many of the video boards on the market. (Those of you who
remember know that this was a BIG deal for users of boards
like the Diamond Speedstar 24… The only resolution flic
that could be universally played back was 320×200).
(2) 24-bit color access was not supported by ADI for anything
other than 'RENDERING' devices. This means that using Vibrant
allows a true 24-bit color Materials Display. Users of ADI
will notice that even in 24-bit color modes, switching the
active material viewport remaps the palette.
(3) Performance. ADI's packet structure is slower than direct
calls. Also, ADI drivers reside in their own segment, resulting
in 'FAR' calls and memory access. Vibrant resides in the same
memory segment as 3D Studio, so all calls and data-passing is
'NEAR'. This makes for a much faster interface.
(4) Robustness. ADI was bascially 'adapted' for 3D Studio and
is primary driven to support AutoCAD. There are lots of
weird nuances with the way AutoCAD uses ADI, so 3D Studio
couldn't duplicate them all. Making an ADI driver FULLY
work with 3D Studio is not a trivial matter–we spent a year
of work keeping our ADI driver up with R1 and R2's usage.
The Inline is a simple, clean interface for 3D Studio and
there are no hidden problems with the operation of the
driver. Also, our draw-code is being used by drivers for
AutoCAD, 3D Studio, Microstation, Cadkey, and Animator Pro,
and most of it has been in production for years.
(5) Configuration. ADI's configuration was dependant upon the
vendor who developed it and many were VERY difficult to get
setup correctly. Vibrant's Inline driver has an integrated
configuration which covers 90% of all users.
(6) Support. The Vibrant Inline Driver supports hundreds of cards
out of the box with 3D Studio with very extensive resolution
and color-depth support.
Chuck Walbourn – Vibrant Graphics