AGA-VGA-Scandoubler questions

[cybernoid]

Hi there, I need some help. I never understood about the aga-vga, etc sort of. So here they come!

- If I buy a Retina/ Picasso/ CybergraphX, another RTG card for my 4000/040 Bust9 will I still need to buy a scandoubler?
- Does will I be able to run ecs/aga whdload games/ demos, protracker, etc (everything) using the cybergraph or will i need to switch the cable to run them on a 1084s, using the rgb out?
-Does that cards have an vga-output to connect to the monitor, or i will must to buy a rgb-vga cable?

And to finish:
If i get a mediator and a pci gfxcard, well the same questions before... (Does the gfxcard start all the aga/ecs applications/games, need scandoubler or I have to got two monitors, one vga and the other 1084s...)

Those are questions that keep me annoying for some time... years... i hope somebody can clear it up.

If the answer is YES, you have to got 2 monitors on your table - well, I hope thats not the answer!

Many tks.

[Smiley]

1. You will still need a scandoubler if it isnt built in

2. Usually native programs such as games and demos wont run through RTG

3. Yes a gfx card has a vga out. (HD15)

Im not sure about mediators.....

You only need 2 monitors on your table if you dont have scandoubler. Otherwise you can get a KVM switcher or some have a switcher built in.

[keropi]

without a scandoubler, pure aga stuff won't show up on the screen, unless u use a 2nd monitor connected to the amiga rgb port.
good rtg cards like cybervision64 or piccoloSD64, have also an INPUT for the scandoubler and make the switch automatically. PicassoIV has the scandoubler built-in so everything is automatic too.
if you get a PCI busboard then u will need a manual video switch, amigakit.com has some, look there...
if u use a PCI board that uses CGX4 (like g-rex) then the proper video-switcher will turn automatic with the method discussed HERE. unfortunatelly that won't work with mediator boards.
better start saving for a pIV or a cv64+sd combo....

[alewis]

OR

Buy an monitor with dual inputs. An excellent CRT for this is the Sony Multiscan 400PS. 19" with DSUB and BNC inputs.

An excellent LCD is the Dell 2001FP, with DSUB, DVI, S-Video, and Comp Video.

I have used both with Amigas, with excellent results. The "downside" to 20" LCD though is that image quality can suffer if the screen res differs from the LCD native res. ie, the Dell's native res is 1600x1200. Some RTGs can manage this, but only 8bit and interlaced. Solutions are:

1. Use 1:1 mapping, with a black border around the scereen, much like watching a widescreeb film on a traditional 4:3 TV, except the border is at the sides as well as the top and bottom. At 1024x768 this isn't too bad, 1180x852 is better. 1280x1024 is ok, provided the card can do it.

2. Use a screen res which is a 1:1 proportion, such as 800x600 which gives a [pretty] nice image quality, but does under-utilise the card capabillity

On a CRT, these are not issues, although the image doesn't have the pixel sharpness of an LCD, it does display crisply at any resolution. Oddly enough, 800x600 on the Sony looks gorgeous. Its just not big enough work area for me though!

Yes, both monitors are old models, coming up to 8 years now in the case of the Sony. This means prices are dirt cheap. The Dells cost me £500 + VAT back in 2004, far cheaper than when first released. Will go for a couple hundred quid a throw now. And who cares they are "only" 16ms. Still more than good enough for DVD, TV, games. No smearing, motion blur or anything (I use 3 in triple head via the DSUB on a Parhelia, and dual head via the DVI on an ATI. Next purchase a DVI kvm!)

[cybernoid]

Many tks for the help.
So, and updating my help, i believe that a gfx card with picasso96 doesn't work. I really need a scandoubler... or the picassoIV that are selling on ebay for 250€... (200£ or so).
I read the picasso96 docs and it says it fools the Kickrom and presents the native amiga modes in a 640res (or 800/600, i dont have sure). According to your help, that modes will still be with 15hz even using picasso96 driver. Or, perhaps, whdgames/demos, wb applications that use native modes, like protracker are not recognized by picasso96. Or the picasso96 drivers makes a 68040/25mhz work very slow. Even to makes me more confusion, I heard about cybergfx drivers that are better than picasso, but i couldn't find them. So I presume they do not fool the kick about the native modes.

(As you see, a little more help would be very appreciated.)

[keropi]

don't expect games to work in rtg screenmode. never. nomatter what software tries to full KS....
and in generall, and I tend to agree with that, cgx is better than p96.... I have used both.... and using p96 with a picassoIV _only_ because the paloma has no driver for cgx....

[blade002]

Im still trying to figure out why my scandoubler makes the screen zig zagged on a PC montior when i use the high res interlace mode. ?