#SuperGen vs A2320
17 messages in this thread
I'm looking for any information regarding the compatibility (or in-) of
SuperGen (original external) and Commodore's A2320 display enhancer board.
I have no luck using them together though they both work perfectly alone.
Commodore and Digital Creations both confess never having actually TESTED
these together. DC upgraded me for $45 but it just seemed to get worse!?!
Any experience with this out there? Thankx.
Chris:
I have a 2320 installed in my machine, and reciently hooked up a SuperGen
to my system, and I couldn't get the 2320's display to stabilize with the
Supergen hooked up. I eventually removed and returned the supergen.
-Mike Schiller
In sunny Fort Lauderdale
Mike, have you found any genlocks with which the A2320 is compatible?
Despite the claims in the manual, it cannot operate simultaneously with any
of the genlocks we have tested it with at Microway. This is one of several
problems that are turning up with the A2320. Peter.
Peter –
Do you mean that simply plugging the 2320 card into the video slot
causes the RGB port to mess up? Or maybe I just don't understand completely
… Is it at all possible to use the RGB port when there's a card in the
video slot? I've been interested in the 2320 for a while but this
information will greatly affect my purchase. Thanks …
Harry
Harry, it's the other way around. If an external genlock is connected to
an Amiga with an A2320 installed, then the monitor connected to the display
enhancer is messed up. The genlock works ok with the NTSC monitor
connected to it. To use the enhanced display it is necessary to power down
the Amiga and remove the genlock. This is the same as the behavior of the
flickerFixer without a genlock compatibility option. When the option is
installed, the flickerFixer is able to operate simultaneously with most
genlocks.
I have been quite concerned about this question because the A2320 manual
claims that the board is compatible with genlocks while our tests at
Microway have indicated that it is not. The flickerFixer with the Genlock
Compatibility option will operate simultaneousy with SuperGen, Amigen,
Neriki, Omnigen, Vidtech and other genlocks. With the Denise Extender Board
internal genlocks like the SuperGen 2000S or the Video Toaster can be used
simultaneously.
Peter.
Peter:
Is the DEB board compatible with the 2320?
-Mike Schiller
In sunny Fort Lauderdale
The one we have tested did not work. Presumably the sync signals it
derives are not acceptable to the 2320. Peter.
Peter –
OK, thanks for the clarification. I still don't really understand why
the output device attached to the RGB port affects a totally separate card
in the video slot, but then I'm not really a hardware type 8^). Is there an
input line in the RGB port or something that interferes with the
electronics of the video slot? I would have thought the RGB would be
output-only and the signal mixing would happen in the genlock box leaving
the video slot/card alone, but I'm sure they have a good reason for why it
works this way … I guess I'll have to check it out real good before I
plunk down the bucks.
Harry
Harry, when a genlock is attached to the RGB port the Amiga operates in a
special "genlock mode". In this mode, the HSYNC and VSYNC lines from the
agnus chip are inputs rather than outputs. The signals on HSYNC and VSYNC
are generated by the genlock and synchronize the Amiga display to the
external video signal. The amiga checks to see if a genlock is attached at
boot time and switches to fenlock mode if it finds one. Peter.
Peter –
Thanks again. Now I think I got it … 8^). I'm definitely going to have
my dealer demo a 2320 with a SuperGen before I buy one.
Harry
Peter:
I havn't really looked for another Genlock, as I realised that I really
didn't need one, and that it'd just be an expansive toy (even if it did
work).
-Mike Schiller
In sunny Fort Lauderdale
Chris,
I own an external SuperGen, but not the A2320 or any other display
enhancer, so I can't offer any advice on this one. I am, however,
intrigued by your mention of a $45 upgrade from DC. Can you give me more
details on this? I have been having problems with my Supergen's RGB
passthrough….text jitters on my workbench screen when my Supergen is
connected. Might the upgrade cure this?
Nick
Nick, I'll tell you what I know but it's not much. I called Digital
Creations (916-344-4825) on the advice from the A2320 dealer (The Computer
Room, Denver) when I found the SuperGen wouldn't work along side the A2320.
A technician named Greg advised me that the A2320 was identical
(electronicaly) to the video hardware of the Amiga 3000 and I should
therefore have the SG modified with the "A3000 Modification". Well, after
weeks of waiting the SG was finally returned. The problem did not go away.
I called Greg back and asked if they had tested it under the conditions
that I described to him in the first place; he said "no" but they had
tested it with a 3000 and he assumed this would work for my situation. He
asked me to check all kinds of stuff like votages which I did (I ran up a
nice phone bill). He finally said he'd look into it further and get back to
me. That was January 11; I've heard NOTHING since (I have an answering
machine so I know he never called).
My advice is: don't send it to Digital Creations! They're preoccupied with
DCTV. Ask a local service for advice. Good Luck!
P.S. the problem you described is different from mine. What monitor are
you using? If you check the pin-out voltages from the A2000 (or 3000 for
that matter) be advised: THE APPENDIX IS WRONG!, look at the schematic for
proper votages.
Chris,
Thanks for the information regarding your problems with the Supergen. I
called Digital Creations once regarding my problem, which was with the RGB
passthru (the composit output was fine, but I had to disconnect my Supergen
when not in use so I could use my Amiga for other things). The technician I
talked to said he had never heard of my problem before and advised me to
try the unit with other Amigas, even though I explained that I had the same
problem with two different motherboards in my A2000.
And so it goes…I haven't had my Supergen hooked up in months. When it
comes time determine what I'm going to put in my Video slot, somehow I
don't think it will be a Digital Creations product.
Bummer! But to be fair to DC, the supergen is a real good genlock, DC is
just too busy right now to bother with the old cash cow. The problem you
described sounds like a bad monitor or a bad supergen but I don't know.
I've had mine unhooked for months also. good luck.
Another point in fairness to Digital Creations, is that the original
problem was the introduction by Commodore of an incompatible product long
after de facto standards for genlock operation had been established. There
was no technical necessity for there to be any problem in the first place.
Peter.
Yes, you are right. The old Supergen is a good product. Upon re-reading
my previous message, I guess it sounded a bit too harsh. Mea culpa, DC.