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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: p388l3s on March 09, 2006, 08:17:27 PM
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Hi,
I've just recently gotten my hands on my A1200 again ( i was on the otherside of the world from it for about 6 years ) what i have is an A1200 in a Plastic case with various bits added to it, still no sure what they all are it's been so long, it's a UK version ( PAL ) i'm now in the states, so for now i don't have an easy way to view the output from the Amiga i'm going to setup my old 3dfx 3500tv card in a puter and get it going that way for now but what i'm really posting here for is this:
is there a definitive easy way for me to get the mig running thru a monitor ( i have literally dozens of the things ) if so what do i need to make this happen.
I've had alook around and it seems i need a scan doubler but the last discussion i read on this board was over 2 yrs ago, has there been any progress or are there better options?
Any help would be appreciated as i love my A500 ( still in the UK ) and espcially my 1200, i miss the workbench of my youth.
As a side note, how many amigans now run Slack?
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Hum,
apart from getting a Pal monitor,
do you have a cheap TV card for your PC?
Just put the RF output through that....
Or just use WinUAE....
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Hi
You can get the 1200 to boot into NTSC by holding down both mouse buttons as you boot, to take you to the early start up screen. Then from there you can toggle PAL or NTSC out put. Form memory you just have to press any key. Then just hook the cmpsite out to a TV, its not the best but itll work.
Robert
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Sorry double post. Not sure how that happened.
Sorry
Robert
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my 3dfx 3500tv card is a pal tvcard, so it'll do what i need the only problem i have right now is finding the darn Blue cable with the inputs for it, it's been so long i just don't know where i put it! grrr! :lol:
any options for getting things running using a gfx card or some such would be appreciated, it's been so long i don't evan know what my options are and i was thinking about the timeline it's been over 8 years since i last played with my trusty A500 or A1200, man thats a long time with no amiga!
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Welcome back!
You could also use a Scandoubler/Flicker Fixer (http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=414) or a simple Amiga to SVGA converter (http://amigakit.leamancomputing.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=183) and change the Amiga screenmode to 31Khz. The former option is better for games though.
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Hi
AFAIK these only really 2 ways to go on the 1200. Get a BlizzardPPC card and BVisionPPC. Or get a PCI backplane and a PCI gfx card. Neither is very cheap and the second method means you need to tower your 1200. Also native screen modes are a bit of a pain then.
Robert
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hows this for bad, my A1200 has a Blizzard 1230IV Phase 5 Card in it, i don't evan remember buying such a card! :lol:
The case i believe is a Infinitiv or some such, one of the first cases to be made for the A1200 it's all bits of plastic that barely fit together well, i'm looking inside the puter right now looks like i broke a few wires during the shipping so i'll be soldering them pretty soon.
Thanks for the replies so far guys all helpful stuff
Edit1:
Just found my Tower make it's a Micronik Infinitiv 1200, i remember buying that at the novatel show back in the mid 90's, but i'm still blown away by the Blizzard card though! can't for the life of me remember buying that!
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well, you know, s... happens sometimes :-)
but really, the bliz030 is a great piece of hardware :-)
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toca180 wrote:
You can get the 1200 to boot into NTSC by holding down both mouse buttons as you boot, to take you to the early start up screen. Then from there you can toggle PAL or NTSC out put. Form memory you just have to press any key. Then just hook the cmpsite out to a TV, its not the best but itll work.
That's fine if he's going to be happy with a black-and-white output!
My advice to you is to just get a scandoubler, it is well worth it, and you'll be able to use it with your A500 as well.
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So the question is an internal or external scandoubler? what are the advantages and dis-advantages of each?
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Hang about, doesn't the Infinitiv Tower have the option of a Zorro busboard for the attachment of a Picasso?
I saw one on eBay with a Blizzard 1230-IV and Picasso-II. Looked pretty neat and the hardware was nicely balanced.
If you used an '060 then a Picasso-IV might be a good sibling!
If you have a tower you will want an internal scandoubler/FF because the external ones will poke out of the 23-pin video port about 4". If no support is given it could well do damage to the pins... and internal avoids RGB-composite-RGB conversion.
A lot of people are chattering now about 15KHz compatible LCD TVs since they'll take an Amiga video mode and due to their technology will not need flicker fixing.
:-)
blobrana: Suggesting UAE over a real Amiga!? People have gone to hell for less!
:-D
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alenppc wrote:
That's fine if he's going to be happy with a black-and-white output!
Since when does the A1200 composite output B/W? Mine (CBM and AT versions) all output colour. Or is that because I have PAL and is the B/W thing an NTSC issue?
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Doppie1200 wrote:
alenppc wrote:
That's fine if he's going to be happy with a black-and-white output!
Since when does the A1200 composite output B/W? Mine (CBM and AT versions) all output colour. Or is that because I have PAL and is the B/W thing an NTSC issue?
The colorburst signal on the chrominance line is different for PAL and NTSC.
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is there a definitive easy way for me to get the mig running thru a monitor ( i have literally dozens of the things ) if so what do i need to make this happen.
A flicker fixer does just that. You can get one from this store: http://www.amigakit.com/ (http://www.amigakit.com/)
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Doppie1200 wrote:
alenppc wrote:
That's fine if he's going to be happy with a black-and-white output!
Since when does the A1200 composite output B/W? Mine (CBM and AT versions) all output colour. Or is that because I have PAL and is the B/W thing an NTSC issue?
I believe changing to ntsc in early boot menu will only change the refresh rate, so the colours will still be in pal mode and hence why it will be black and white on ntsc tvs that does not support pal.
I find it odd that modern ntsc tvs does not also support pal, as nearly all newer models of pal tvs also supports ntsc just nicely.. Why not also the other way around?
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I find it odd that modern ntsc tvs does not also support pal, as nearly all newer models of pal tvs also supports ntsc just nicely.. Why not also the other way around?
Perhaps it's an immigration thing? People in Europe are more likely to immigrate to N. America than vice versa, so if you buy your TV in Europe, it will work when you bring it over to N. America. :-D
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either that or your video data is being held up at passport control... :-D
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I believe changing to ntsc in early boot menu will only change the refresh rate, so the colours will still be in pal mode and hence why it will be black and white on ntsc tvs that does not support pal.
Exactly.
I find it odd that modern ntsc tvs does not also support pal, as nearly all newer models of pal tvs also supports ntsc just nicely.. Why not also the other way around?
That's a good question, but probably because there isn't much demand for PAL compatibility (also it is more difficult to implement).
What I also dislike is the lack of RGB signal input on an NTSC tv, therefore it's not really an option to be used with an Amiga.
Because we use lots of PAL (but also NTSC) consoles (PS2, xbox...) where I work we have to use PAL/multisystem TVs. You can notice an amazing difference in picture quality when you hook up a PAL console -- even though it is essentialy the same TV, you can run the same software on it, even put it to PAL-60 Hz mode if you like, but the picture is never as blurred and as faded as with an NTSC console... The system just sucks. :-)
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p388l3s wrote:
So the question is an internal or external scandoubler? what are the advantages and dis-advantages of each?
Well, considering that prices used to be about the same for both types (I don't know if they still are), an external one is preferable IMHO as there is no need to install it, it won't overheat your AGA chips, plus you can move it to another Amiga whenever you need it.
On the other hand an internal one won't take up any space on your desk. ;-) I can't think of any other advantages.
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You can notice an amazing difference in picture quality when you hook up a PAL console -- even though it is essentialy the same TV, you can run the same software on it, even put it to PAL-60 Hz mode if you like, but the picture is never as blurred and as faded as with an NTSC console... The system just sucks.
I totally agree there.. I have been doing some video editing of both ntsc and pal videos as a hobby, and i can definitely say that NTSC is clearly inferiour to PAL in most areas.
I personally think it is about time that we drop all this different standards in favor of just one.
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Thanks for the replies guys, looks like in the short term i'll just get my PAL TV card up and running and use the Amiga thru that, and look into either an internal Scan doubler or possibly a picasso II if they are still around to be bought, as for the standards thing it's all kind of messed, cos the US likes to use 120Volt which i believe is why they also use NTSC, where-as the UK and some parts of europe use 240Volt and have PAL, i read a lot about it some time ago and it was all linked somehow but right now i'm too tired and in pain to remember.
Here's a tip guys and gurls, don't let dental problems get out of hand, it's more pain than it's worth in the long run!!!
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I thought the difference between NTSC and PAL was the frequency of the AC power in, ie NTSC 60Hz and PAL 50Hz. I could be wrong. :inquisitive:
p388l3s wrote:
Here's a tip guys and gurls, don't let dental problems get out of hand, it's more pain than it's worth in the long run!!!
I feel your pain :-o
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rustednail wrote:
I thought the difference between NTSC and PAL was the frequency of the AC power in, ie NTSC 60Hz and PAL 50Hz.
Thats what i was alluding to, but couldn't wrap my mind around last night, IIRC the 120/240 Volt has a hand in the decision as to which one you use. Also i thought it was Pal 60Hz NTSC 50Hz. oh well looks like i'm off to wikipedia to refresh my brain.
Edit:
Well i had half my facts right i suppose, 60Hz was chosen because it matched the 60Hz of Alternating Current in the US power system, which was for the black and white standard, later changed to 59.94 for color, and i was wrong about Pal and NTSC, NTSC 60Hz, Pal 50Hz. :lol:
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Hi
I can run my A1200 through a PC monitor in MULTISCAN productivity mode without any scandoubler or graphics card. Trouble is you need to see the native Amiga mode to see the prefs. You could use the telly I guess. You just need the special connector to connect the monitor cable to the Amiga port. Problems start when you want to go Low or High Res. I fitted an internal scandoubler flicker fixer to my A1200 tower and I use this with an Iiyama.
scuzz
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p388l3s wrote:
Thanks for the replies guys, looks like in the short term i'll just get my PAL TV card up and running and use the Amiga thru that, and look into either an internal Scan doubler
[...]
I think you might want an external one... :-)
Anyway, for those interested in world TV standards and power specs I can recommend these two websites:
http://www.ee.surrey.ac.uk/Contrib/WorldTV/
http://users.pandora.be/worldstandards/electricity.htm
The latter one also explains why a 110V system is used in North America and Japan.