#VistaPro
19 messages in this thread
John,
In my opinion those display manufacturers should provide enthusiastic
support to all software developers. It's the software that makes the hardware
run. I believe that Opal Tech will provide that support if asked. They are
helping Impulse provide OpalVision support for Imagine. I have owned every
version of Vistapro since it came out & I love it. The clouds are outstanding
on OpalVision.
Have you guys considered a CD-Rom of landscapes? I think that would be a
big money maker for you. You'd be surprised how well CD-Rom's are selling.
Ask the venders.
———————————————-Don- via Whap!
Don,
I think Opal did offer a board a while back — but Clint was too busy at the
time. His priority at the time was to get all the AGA modes working. Having
been a hardware developer myself I know that you get tons of request from
"developers, reviewers and beta testers" for free samples — you have to pick
and choose since you can't afford to send free product to everyone who asks.
And early on there's usually a shortage of boards and your cash-poor so you
need to ship to _paying_ customers.
Vistapro has a reputation as a product that can take good advantage of 24 bit
video so most manufactures have been willing to supply samples. Some of the
boards that were given to VRLI in the past include DCTV, HAME, Toaster, and
FireCracker24. Actually, NewTek supplied a toaster but wouldn't tell us how to
program it so nothing much came of that except that we changed the default
overscan image height to 482 since the Toaster didn't like 484. I believe that
there's a library now that you can use to talk to the Toaster?
Anyway, now is the time for all you manufactures (if you're reading this) to
send VRLI sample boards if you want support in VP4! Don't wait until the last
minute…
Once I started using 24 bit video (FireCracker24 at the time) I couldn't stand
looking at a regular Amiga or PC screen anymore!
A CD-ROM is seriously in the works right now. It will officially be a CD-ROM
version of VP3 for the PC, but since it's ISO-9660 compliant, you'll be able to
read the DEM files (thousands of 'em) from the Amiga too. As usual, Vistapro
owners will be eligible for a low priced upgrade to the CD-ROM when it's
available.
Thanks for your enthusiastic support over the years!
John.
John:
I'll be sending letters out just as soon as I get a breather between
VistaLite, VistaPro Warp, my own programs (GeoForge, Fridae) and a
possible VistaPro 3.1 interem release. At least I don't get bored very
easily! <grin> (But hopefully I will get boards easily. <ducking>)
Clint <VRLI><Chaocity>
Yeah, I use the latest Amiga version of Vista with DCTV and am quite happy
with the results. I'm pleased that DCTV options show up right in Vista's
menus, too.
— Ron Legro from Milwaukee via AUTOPILOT
(The only way to fly)
John,
The news about the CD-Rom is the best thing I've heard in, let's see,
well, days. Seriously though, I'll be anxiously awaiting it's release. I
wonder if one of my PC emulators will run the PC VistaPro….Nah..Why even
bother? A CD-Rom full of dems…Yea.
———————————————-Don- via Whap!
Don,
I would be curious to see how fast your PC emulators run Vistapro. You will
need a 386 or better (either real hardware or software emulation) and 4MB RAM
(actually VP3 PC will run with 2MB RAM but we say 4 to be safe).
The CD ROM should be available before Christmas…
John.
John,
Actually I do have a 486 33 Mhz at work that I can try it on. I could
probably do some overnight renders on that machine. The problem would be
converting to Amiga graphics modes after the renders.
———————————————-Don- via Whap!
Don,
I don't need benchmarks of "real" 486 machines, I know how fast they are.
You'll find that a 486-33 runs Vistapro about twice as fast as an A4000. What
I'm curious about seeing on the Amiga is how fast the IBM emulators can run
Vistapro. Those with real 80×86 processors (bridge cards) should be able to
run about the same speed as an equivalent DOS machine. Those that emulate the
processor should run about 1/10 to 1/20 that speed — if they can run Vistapro
at all.
If you get a chance to try out the DOS version on the Amiga, please let me know
what you find….
John.
John,
To be honest I don't relish the thought of using VistaPro on PCTask but I
definitely will for your benefit.
———————————————-Don- via Whap!
Donald,
Is PCTask a software PC emulator? I suspect most of the software emulators
won't be able to run VP3 since it runs in protected mode and uses the x86's MMU
for virtual memory management. If PCTask can run Windows in "enhanced" mode it
will probably run VP3 — and vice versa. If you just can't wait to try it out,
there's a demo version available in GraphAVen (GO VRLI)! <g>
John.
Interesting note…. From early tests… the PC module for the Emplant
is surpassing DX2/66 in many benchmarks.
-Jonathan
// Amiga online via Autopilot
\\// MAC IIcx & 486 emulation via Amiga!
Jonathan,
What exactly is the PC module for the Emplant? Is is a software x86 emulator
or is is an actual x86 processor?
John.
It's mostly a software emulator, though different than other software
emulators, that interpret each instrucion, each time it's executed.
Emplant translates it all at once, (allowing optimiztion.) It does
however use some of the hardware on the emplant board, for other things
than translation.
Bob Comer — Flying high and fast with my A1200HD'030 on Autopilot!
From Cheyenne, Wyoming U.S.A.
Bob:
Is PC emulation available on the Emplant yet? I have an Emplant, and so
far havn't seen any available.
// -Mike Schiller
\X/ AMIGA! On AutoPilot in sunny Fort Lauderdale
Nope, it's not available yet…
Bob Comer — Flying high and fast with my A1200HD'030 on Autopilot!
From Cheyenne, Wyoming U.S.A.
Is the emplant available for the a1200? How long has the PC module
been around, and how much? I do a lot of uni work on pc's, and it'd
be great to be able to do it at home! The ol' A500 with AT-Once lacks
a little in the speed and compatability depts. 🙂
zzzzz…..
The Sandman…..
The PC emulation module for the Emplant like the MAC module is a
combination of both hardware and software to do emulation. The PC module
will run 386/486 (depending on Motorola CPU speed) emulations in protected
mode. It will utilize the Amiga's ISA slots and uses the Emplant's
hardware to keep track of hardware interrupts, etc… From early alpha
tests, the Emplant on a 25Mhz 040 has a Norton SI rating of about a DX2/66
Intel 486 Overdrive with the PC emulation. No Intel or equivalant
processors are used. The emulation will be able to Windows in enhanced
mode and will use the various video drivers already used for the MAC
emulation for usage in the PC emulation. Sound Blaster is duplicated with
Paula. To find out more about it, you're gonna have to talk to Jim Drew
of Utilities Unlimited.
You are probably doubting this possibility right now. Well, I did as well
with the MAC emulation. I am multitasking with the Emplant MAC emulation
right now, so my doubts are gone! My 040 A2000 runs the MAC emulation at
Quadra 700 speeds!
-Jonathan
// Amiga online via Autopilot
\\// MAC IIcx & 486 emulation via Amiga!
Jonathan,
Thanks for the detailed information about the Emplant.
Mac emulation is trivial on the Amiga since the Amiga can directly execute Mac
programs — all the "emulator" does is replace low level Mac system calls with
equivalent Amiga routines. Under these conditions you would expect to see an
A4000 run about the same speed as a Quadra — maybe even a little faster since
the Amiga can use it's VLSI chips to offload low level graphics and sound from
the processor.
PC emulation is a completely different story. Unless the Emplant actually has
an 80×86 on board, it's likely to run _much_ slower than a real 486. Any claims
to the contrary are probably just marketing hype.
John.
MAC emulation may be trivial… but interestingly enough… I am
running the emulation and getting Quadra throughput while the CPU is
still multitasking running AmigaDOS. Sure, the ROMS of the MAC are
mapped out into Amiga memory, but it is much more than that. As for
the PC emulation, true x86 functions are translated into 680×0 code.
Apparently, a table exists of all low level functions as well as PC
BIOS functions on the Emplant hardware. There is more to it, but I
believe Jim Drew when he tells me that he can run Windows apps as
fast a 486 on an A4000.