CompuServe Thread

Black, Alpha, Video Post

4 messages in this thread
#124873From: Volker UffelmannSep 21, 1994 12:44 PM
I've run across a little problem while combining several 'layers' of alpha-rendered TGA frames. It seems that the black background gets dithered with quite a few dark grey pixels – a fact which decreased the compression efficiency of my animation program by a considerable amount. Is this an effect of 'Dither true color' and can therefore be disabled by switching this option to off, or is it an effect which is described in the manuals and somehow could manage to escape my ever so watchful eyes? (I haven't fiished reading the manuals, I confess) How can I avoid black areas turn into greyblack pixel storms? Any hint is appreciated. Volker
#124933From: Yost GroupSep 21, 1994 6:00 PM
Two things: 1) A true RGB 0,0,0 value will never get altered, no matter what the gamma setting. If you're seeing dithering in the background, something in the alpha channel somewhere is shifting a value somewhere. 2) Dither-true-color would surpress this. Additionally, if you've got any very low-level RGB values, like 1,1,1 or 0,1,0, having gamma on will increase them. – G
#125009From: Volker UffelmannSep 22, 1994 7:07 AM
Gary, meanwhile I've tracked down that little s*cker. It's _not_ alpha's fault, and it's _not_ Dither true color's fault, it's … strange, to say the least. It seems that there's sneaked a R0,G0,B1 (judging by the look of the TGA) into the background setup which is activated (admittedly by mistake). So far, so good. Now for the strange part of the story. If I click into the color definition area beside the 'Background' button and summon up the color definiton requester, it tells me the setting is 0,0,0. And – if I render the scene after pressing OK, it's absolutely black. Summary: A) You load the project, then render the scene – blueish background B) You load the project, look at the color definition, then render the scene – black background As you use to ask for reproducible settings: I could mail you the project file (177K, zipped), if you're interested, that is… Thanks for your assistance, Volker
#125035From: Yost GroupSep 22, 1994 9:58 AM
If you want someone to look at it for you, contact Jonas or Brian via email and I'm sure they'll try to find the time to go over it with you. – G