New RadeonHD 2.4 drivers from A-EON Technology

[amigakit]

New RadeonHD 2.4 drivers
Digital Composite Video Support

A-EON Technology Ltd is pleased to announce the forthcoming release of new and updated RadeonHD drivers for AmigaOS 4.



A-EON Technology have once again commissioned Amiga graphics developer, Hans de Ruiter, to update the existing RadeonHD V1.0 drivers to add support for the new range of RadeonHD graphics cards  in the R5, R7 and R9 series. Existing registered owners of the RadeonHD v1.0 drivers can update to v1.2 free of charge on AMIStore or through the A-EON secure download server.

New RadeonHD V2 driver
In our ongoing and continued commitment to the AmigaONE X1000 platform, we also commissioned Hans to deliver hardware accelerated video playback using the RadeonHD graphics card’s own GPU.  The delivers full screen 1080p video playback for AmigaOS 4 using RadeonHD graphics cards for the X1000 and compatible next generation AmigaOS systems.  In addition we commissioned Hans to implement DMA support for the X1000 which unlocks the raw graphic power of the RadeonHD cards. The grpahics DMA work has additionally benefited other compatible AmigaOS plaforms.

The main features of the V2 driver are:

●   YUV bitmaps with CompositeTags(). YUV420p bitmaps are 37.5% the size of 32-bit ARGB bitmaps so there's less data to copy to the graphics card.
●   While overlay is restricted to 1-2 surfaces and does not respect transparency, Composite Video can render an unlimited number of surfaces and can perform alpha blending instead of chroma keying which can be used for advanced video effects.
●   Videos can be Rotated, warped and even projected into another video.
●   Alpha blending/compositing can be used for cross-fade between video files & other effects.
●   Full 1080p Video playback with supported video files
●   Support for the latest generation of AMD Radeon Rx graphics cards from the R5, R7 and R9 series**

The RadeonHD V1.2 & V2 drivers reaffirm our ongoing commitment to support the AmigaONE X1000 and our future hardware systems.

www.a-eon.com

[kamelito]

Nice but what does the "**" next to series means? It seems like there's a missing text.
Got it, it's in the pdf > "**See Hans de Ruiter's compatibility list"
Kamelito

[Niding]

http://www.a-eon.biz/PDF/News_Release_Radiance.pdf

[AmigoSteve]

Ok, so I am a bit confused. I am hoping for 3D for my radeonhd and have been waiting sooo long.

So, to get this 2.4driver I am going to have to buy the radiance pack and prob another graphics card. I assume my radeon 4650 is not supported...

Looked on amigakit, do they even sell the latest radon cards that I am expected to buy now?

[amigakit]

@AmigaSteve

The new version 2.4 driver is compatible with the 4000 series too

All customers that paid for the RadeonHD v1.0 driver from A-EON will qualify for a special upgrade price of the 2.4 driver, so they dont need to pay full price.

Ok, so I am a bit confused. I am hoping for 3D for my radeonhd and have been waiting sooo long.

So, to get this 2.4driver I am going to have to buy the radiance pack and prob another graphics card. I assume my radeon 4650 is not supported...

Looked on amigakit, do they even sell the latest radon cards that I am expected to buy now?

[Darrin]

@AmigaSteve

The new version 2.4 driver is compatible with the 4000 series too

All customers that paid for the RadeonHD v1.0 driver from A-EON will qualify for a special upgrade price of the 2.4 driver, so they dont need to pay full price.

Will X1000 owners get a special price too?

[amigakit]

Yes X1000 owners paid for their licence in their purchase of the X1000 initially so they qualify for special pricing.

[Darrin]

Yes X1000 owners paid for their licence in their purchase of the X1000 initially so they qualify for special pricing.

Excellent.  I'll check it out when I get home... in about a month.  

I'm hoping to be in Cardiff in January.  I missed calling in on your guys last time because of those storms (had to leave early as trees were falling on the tracks and cancelling the trains).  With a bit of luck you'll be able to entice some cash out of my wallet if you're open to customers around the 10th.

[Everblue]

So, if I understand correctly, Amiga OS4.1 FE disc will come with a lite version of these drivers on it so Sam460CR can at least get a picture out of the box, right?

[Hans_]

So, if I understand correctly, Amiga OS4.1 FE disc will come with a lite version of these drivers on it so Sam460CR can at least get a picture out of the box, right?

Yes.

Hans

[amigadave]

Can Hans or AmigaKit explain the current work on the graphics drivers with regard to 3D support?  I thought that there was some discussion many months ago about Warp3D support being updated as a temporary solution, until true 3D support for the newer HD Radeon video cards with Gallium, or some other kind of 3D support could be incorporated into the new drivers.  I also thought that I read that no work has even started on true 3D support in any of the video card drivers (unless work is being done on the Gallium system), but I am probably confused on what exactly is happening with AmigaOS4.x 3D support and what is actually being worked on, or planned for (which is why I am asking these questions).    I don't even understand exactly what Gallium is, or how it will work to give us 3D support.

I only ask because it seems to me that we would need some kind of new 3D support, before any real 3D software could be ported or written for AmigaOS4.x.  Most popular new games are 3D, and I would guess that we would need full shader and 3D hardware acceleration support to run any of the popular 3D games from the past 5 to 10 years, unless there are work-arounds to simulate 3D support with compositing, or other methods.

Can any of you give us a "Layman's" version of the current state of 3D for AmigaOS4.x, and describe what the plans are for future 3D support, and if this future support will be available before AmigaOS4.2 is released?

[Hans_]

Can Hans or AmigaKit explain the current work on the graphics drivers with regard to 3D support?  I thought that there was some discussion many months ago about Warp3D support being updated as a temporary solution, until true 3D support for the newer HD Radeon video cards with Gallium, or some other kind of 3D support could be incorporated into the new drivers.  

Development of a Warp3D driver for Radeon HD 5xxx/6xxx cards was announced a while back. It's been so long, that some people thought that it had silently been cancelled. However, Trevor said at AmiWest that it's still being worked on, but various problems (incl. developer health and at least one major roadblock) have delayed it. Progress is being made.

I also thought that I read that no work has even started on true 3D support in any of the video card drivers (unless work is being done on the Gallium system), but I am probably confused on what exactly is happening with AmigaOS4.x 3D support and what is actually being worked on, or planned for (which is why I am asking these questions).    I don't even understand exactly what Gallium is, or how it will work to give us 3D support.

You probably just read wild speculation. Gallium3D is the new driver system for mesa. One of its goals is to make it easier to write platform independent 3D drivers. Mesa is an open-source implementation of the OpenGL specification. It currently implements everything up to OpenGL 3.1.

Can any of you give us a "Layman's" version of the current state of 3D for AmigaOS4.x, and describe what the plans are for future 3D support, and if this future support will be available before AmigaOS4.2 is released?

In brief:
Warp3D is the current 3D system. It's already supported on old Radeon cards (up to Radeon 9250) and various other old cards. It works, but it's old and doesn't support modern features like shaders.

A Warp3D driver is in the works for Radeon HD 5xxx/6xxx cards. It's meant to be a stop-gap while we wait for Gallium3D. We're all hoping that this will be released ASAP.

Mesa + Gallium3D is the future of 3D that will arrive with AmigaOS 4.2. It will give us full modern OpenGL support, including shaders. Gallium3D is also a prerequisite to using the video decoder that's built into Radeon HD cards.

Hans

[Niding]

Excellent summary Hans. Thanks.

[kamelito]

My question is simpler, what does Gallium/Warp3D will bring to the platform if we subtract old games, open source games and software and others candy effects?
Which lead to an another one which is related to the first, what are Amigans expecting in this area since they're "begging" for this feature?

Kamelito

[amigakit]

If anyone has any specific questions relating to their existing RadeonHD licence, please pmail me and I can help out.

@Darrin

Look forward to your visit to our offices in January.