PiStorm Lite RTG vs AGA

[IvanEBC]

Hi Guys


I ALWAYS wanted RTG on my A1200 since using the ZZ9000 and VA2000 on my Amiga 4000. I had a terriblefire 1260 which was nice for speed but still no RTG.


So i decided to check the PiStorm and setup it up no hassles following a few YT documentaries


After doing some monitor switching while setting up modes in P96, i got it looking great. But now i got the same issue i originally had on my A4000 when i DIDN'T have the VA2000.... while anything on WB looks great, as soon as i go for a game or demo from WHDLoad, it wants to use the original output, which is not ideal. There was a hardware solution for the A4000, but can this be done on the A1200?


I know there's software from aminet that does mode promotions, but i'm sure that's only for workbench software and not games/demos etc that are hardcoded to AGA/ECS.


Thanks for any tips to what i believe is a common question.

[stx2199]

there is no solution yet for that until anyone implement a video mixer
while if you have a tv or monitor with composite video you'll have to settle for that
otherwise an european TV with scart and hdmi connectors auto selection will be a best choice

[derSammler]

The "video mixer" for the PiStorm is already done and working. There just is no final public version of it yet.

For now, you can use any RGB to HDMI scaler, just like you would when not having the PiStorm with RTG.

[stx2199]

Originally Posted by derSammler

The "video mixer" for the PiStorm is already done and working. There just is no final public version of it yet.

where is connected such video mixer? to the lisa chip?
do you have more info about that

[IvanEBC]

Is there a place to keep an eye out for this... ?

I did find this that is very WiP
[ Show youtube player ]

[Dunny]

Originally Posted by IvanEBC

Is there a place to keep an eye out for this... ?

I did find this that is very WiP
[ Show youtube player ]

Oh, we're way past that now - makers are ramping up to start producing it now. Follow Claude's twatter feed:

https://twitter.com/Claude1079/statu...73593989558507

And of course he hangs out on the PiStorm discord server where we all test these things and other stuff.

[alexh]

I think there was a mistake in the last PCB revision and so "1-more" spin is needed and then it should be ready for 3rd parties to make. Hopefully they release the A500/A2000 + A600 versions too. They were done first but I think were considered not as important due to RGB2HDMI solutions.

[Kin Hell]

Originally Posted by Dunny

Oh, we're way past that now - makers are ramping up to start producing it now. Follow Claude's twatter feed:

https://twitter.com/Claude1079/statu...73593989558507
<snip>

Twatter feed!??? - F'narrr.

I asked a while back over here:

https://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=116935

A600 version in progress.

[Dunny]

Originally Posted by Kin Hell

Twatter feed!??? - F'narrr.

I asked a while back over here:

https://eab.abime.net/showthread.php?t=116935

A600 version in progress.

Oh yeah

There is so much going on right now. New 3D driver. Wifi with WPA. Emu68 1.1 in the works. Framethrower (which is the Mipidipidoo, goddammit). The WHDLoad wrapper now with slave updater.

What a time to own a miggy.

[Kin Hell]

Originally Posted by Dunny

Oh yeah

There is so much going on right now. New 3D driver. Wifi with WPA. Emu68 1.1 in the works. Framethrower (which is the Mipidipidoo, goddammit). The WHDLoad wrapper now with slave updater.

What a time to own a miggy.

Amazing times right now, for sure.

[IvanEBC]

Thanks for the info.

While the pic on twitter is from Apr 2024, when i click the feed, there's no posts passed 2022... weird.. I don't use Twitter so i'm missing something here.

Discord - another unneeded social network in a sea of social networks.

I'll keep an eye out here

[alexh]

Originally Posted by IvanEBC

when i click the feed, there's no posts passed 2022... weird.. I don't use Twitter so i'm missing something here.

It's normal to have older pinned topics at the top of a feed. Scroll down.


Framethrower is only weeks away. Once it's out. Expect every Pistorm reseller to stock them.

[IvanEBC]

Originally Posted by alexh

Framethrower is only weeks away. Once it's out. Expect every Pistorm reseller to stock them.

Any updated news?

[Dunny]

Originally Posted by IvanEBC

Any updated news?

AIUI there are only one or two more features left to implement - deinterlace being one - and then it's off to production. Claude is eager to put a lid on it.

[alexh]

The main discussion is taking place in the "Hardware Hacking" sub-channel of the PiStorm Discord.

11/05/2024 : hallelujah ! this took waaaaay (way way way) longer as expected. NTSC handling, the difficult part is that the amiga sends on NTSC every alternating line a long line (228cck cycles) then a short line (227 cck cycles) . PAL is using always short lines . the problem is the detection of long lines . there is a strobe signal for that on the RGA Bus indicating a long line (STRLONG / http://oscomp.hu/depot/amiga_memory_map.html#strequ) . but I have only two pins on the TANG for : video blank signal , horizontal sync from RGA , vertical sync from RGA . so i made a trick circuit to mix the vertical strobes, horizontal strobes and blank into just two pins to the tang. unfortunately STRLONG wont fit into that all and two pins only

— 11/05/2024... slowly i think it must come to an end/milestone . working on Framethrower now for hundreds of hours so far , I feel my motivation declining

— 11/05/2024mode (ntsc/pal/laced) switching now automatic and fast

There are some minor discussions about scaling in NTSC mode and centering but I get the feeling that Claude thinks the A1200 version is done.

[Lemaru]

Originally Posted by alexh

The main discussion is taking place in the "Hardware Hacking" sub-channel of the PiStorm Discord.



There are some minor discussions about scaling in NTSC mode and centering but I get the feeling that Claude thinks the A1200 version is done.

Still needs de-interlacing implementing before it can be released

[alexh]

I saw he posted that.

Most HDTVs support 1080i, 720i & 480i over HDMI but I imagine results vary.

With a built in deinterlacer the quality will be a known quantity. But I imagine deinterlace techniques is a serious deep design hole. People have spent thousands of hours developing RetroTink and OSSC

[Jope]

It's better to have it in this device so that we can swap between progressive/laced without a seconds long resync.

[FOL]

Originally Posted by Jope

seconds long resync.

Not a whole second, how would we manage.
Oh wait, we used to sit watching a screen screech at us as kids for 30 mins at a time, .

[Jope]

Originally Posted by FOL

Not a whole second, how would we manage.
Oh wait, we used to sit watching a screen screech at us as kids for 30 mins at a time, .

Vittuiletko sä?!

There are demos and games that temporarily switch to an interlaced screen for such a short time that modern displays actually do not manage to sync quick enough to show that screen before it already goes away and then we wait again for it to sync back to the progressive mode.

This is an actual problem with these old retarded 15kHz computers and certain consoles when connected to modern flat panel TVs and monitors. It is not one measly second. "Seconds long" meant "a delay of many seconds". Sorry for not always switching on my English brain when typing these messages, sometimes a bit of Finnish grammar slips in. But everyone can understand English written in Finnish can't you? Why not? Skill issue?

Don't tell me you don't know of this problem? Seriously.

Oh and get this, some of us flip between prog/lace screens in regular Workbench use. It really kills your flow when you have to wait for some screens and some appear instantly.

In the 80s when the British microcomputers which you mentioned in passing played the tape noises through the speaker when loading, the CRT sets we had hooked up to our Amigas swapped between progressive and interlace without noticable resync delay.