SYNnovation presents : ____________________________________ | | | graphics...the final frontier | | ____________________________ | |---| |---| |---| T U R B O R E Z G S |---| |---|____________________________|---| | | | taking you there and beyond | |____________________________________| Seasons Greetings and a Happy New Year to all IIGS Graphics enthusiasts !! Included with this cover sheet are several pages of text that are a basic overview of the features of the TurboRez GS (as of late December '89). For those of you reading this who were unable to attend the 89 AppleFest in San Francisco, a little back- ground is in order. We demonstrated a rough, 1st stage prototype of TurboRez at the show, in part to get GS users initial reactions to a graphics enhancement product. Despite the prototype being a little cranky and our limited demo software, the response was very positive. So positive, in fact, that we're forging ahead and doing the design work on the 2nd stage TurboRez prototype. The information that follows outlines the present config- uration in a general fashion. Availability ? Probabably no sooner than late fall of '90, unless things go exceptionally smooth. With luck, we should be at AppleFest '90 in Boston with the 2nd stage prototypes. Price ? Probably in the $350-400 range. Anyway, plunge into the following pages (which we hope whets some appetites) and enjoy ! _______________________________________ | | | TurboRez GS - Product Features | |_______________________________________| ===( Basic Configuration )=== The TurboRez GS card is mounted in the slot 1/2 area. (Clear of a TransWarp card, for instance) The card has its own video ram, of which it comes with 256 to 512K. The cards memory is user expandable to 1 meg, initially, and later to 4 meg, when higher density ram chips are more reasonably priced. The stock GS RGB monitor is used, and it is still plugged into the same connector. ( For info on resolution, see Resolution Notes, below ) The video ram is used to store image data, pattern data (see Pattern Inject), pallette data, and display list data. A display list configures TurboRez output on a line-by-line basis, similar in concept to SCB data associated with a SHR image. One type of display list data available for a given scan line is Horz Zone Bits. If a scan line is thought of as being broken into 40 zones of equal time, then each of those zones can have several configuration bits associated with it. These bits can be used to effect changes horizontally such as : Pallette switching, Vid Scanner switching, 320/640 pixel resolution switching, etc. On a stock SHR screen, changes similar to this can only apply to entire scan lines, not horizontal sub- sections. ===( Color Resolution/ Pallette )=== There are 4 basic pixel configurations : 1) Pure 320 mode (8 bits per pixel - 256 colors) 2) Pure 640 mode (4 bits per pixel - 16 colors) 3) Pure 320 mode (4 bits per pixel- like SHR) 4) Mixed 320/640 (8 bits per 320 pixel, except where D6,7 = 1 then we have a pair of 3 bit, 640 mode pixels) The pallette system consists of 8 groups of 256 colors. Each pallette can be assisgned to a given scan line. Also, in certain situations, sub sections of a pallette can be designated. (sub-pallettes) ===( Vid Scanners )=== There are 3 Vid Scanners. (These are are the guys that access the desired areas of video ram that make up the current image) These are Vid Scan A, B, and C. The Vid Scanners can be pointed to anywhere in the vid ram range. This allows us to do several things : > Page Flipping - Unlike the single SHR screen in a stock GS, now there are as many screens as there is ram. One "page" can be displayed while another is being drawn on. > Scrolling - The "images" in the video ram can be "larger" than the display screen; that is, wider and/or deeper. This allows the Vid Scanner address to be altered and the screen becomes a moveable window into the bigger image. Contrast this with scrolling done on the SHR screen, whereby huge amounts of memory must be shuffled about by the poor, overworked CPU. (Whew!!) With the help of the Horz Zone Bits in the Display List, a scan line can be set up to display a screen image that is generated by a combination of the 3 available Vid Scanners. Say your overall image is fairly static, but within are several areas of movement. Vid Scan A is set to access the main background image, while Vid Scan B and C can be switched on at various horizontal locations to allow inserting of mini page-flipping animations. This not only maximizes use of the available video ram, but minimizes the load on the CPU as well. ===( The Blitter )=== To assist in high-speed bitmap drawing operations, a Blitter is incorporated. This is a fairly "standard" type of blitter and includes the following modes : > S -> D : Move a block of data from a Source location to Destination location. Pretty straightforward. > D -> M -> S -> D : Get the current data from the Destination block, "and" it with a Mask block, "or" it with the Source block, and then write it back to the Destination block. This is normally for "sprite-like" insertions of objects into a background. Note that the boolean operations can be varied between the various blitter stages of operation. Data handling is done at appx 2.8 mbytes per second. ===( Pattern Inject )=== This feature is similar in concept to the patterns used in most paint/drawing programs that allow an area to be filled with some pre-defined, repeating pattern. ( This pattern can be thought of as a small, graphic "tile", usually about 8 by 8 pixels in size. ) With TurboRez, there are hardware generated patterns available. These patterns can be "injected" into desired screen areas by setting the inject bits for a particular pallette color. The patterns can be configured at 16, 32, or 64 pixels in size. The larger the size, the fewer are simultaneously available for use on a given scan line. Since these patterns are hardware generated, and the source pixel maps in memory can be switched by mere address changes, a very minimal load is placed on the CPU. This pattern feature might be thought of as configurable graphic "tiles" that are easily micro page-flipped. ===( SHR Sprites )=== The stock GS video output is always available, even with TurboRez video enabled. Since these two operate in parallel, it is possible to "mix" them in selective e the of a sprite object. In its simplist form, this SHR "sprite" can key itself into the TurboRez image. You would say, at this point, that the SHR sprite has total priority over the TurboRez image. To make things more interesting, though, there is a Sprite OverRide bit in each pallette color that, if set, locks out the sprite insert action. This allows the SHR sprite to appear to "pass behind" a selected TurboRez image area ( a tree or building, for instance ). ===( Resolution Notes )=== Use of a stock GS RGB monitor limits us to a maximum of 640 pixels in width and 200 lines in depth. Not to worry. Even though the absolute pixel density hasn't been increased, the Image Information has. By allowing a jump from 16 colors on a line to 256 colors, the amount of hue and shading data that reaches your eye is tremendously increased. This results in images that take on an almost photographic appearance. Ease of animation also increases the Image Information density, as well. As an example, looking at a simple line drawing of a cube doesn't reveal much about its actual shape, due to the crudeness of the rendering. But, if the drawing is rotated in real time, it seems to take on a more "solid" feel, even though it still consists of line drawings. OK...but what about CAD or Desktop Publishing work, where a true 400 line display is almost indespensible ? We're investigating the possibility of an add-on to the TurboRez that would allow just that, with a hitch. The catch is, you'd need to also get a multi-sync monitor. Since our goal is to provide a high level of perfor- mance at an affordable price, staying with the stock monitor initially is a must. For those users that need a little extra oomphh, we hope to provide an easy upgrade path. --------------------------------------------------------- Questions ? Comments ? Suggestions ? SYNnovation - We can be contacted at : Bill St.Pierre Mike St.Pierre 2301 Cotton Ct P.O.Box 750396 Santa Rosa, Ca