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Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: motorollin on November 29, 2006, 07:46:12 PM

Title: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: motorollin on November 29, 2006, 07:46:12 PM
linkage (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/AmiVga-Scandoubler-for-Amiga-computers-connects-vga-mon_W0QQitemZ110062395266QQihZ001QQcategoryZ98928QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

Why does it need software???

--
moto
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: bobamu on November 29, 2006, 08:22:05 PM
"port adaptor and software driver" on the picture, my guess is it consists of enough "electronics" to make the amiga video output electrically happy with vga monitors

I suspect it's not a scandoubler and the "software" is some vga style screenmodes for your devs:monitors directory perhaps?

and it looks like it has a passthrough on it.

All guesswork mind, this is just the feeling I get from the listing, but I'd love to be completely wrong here, 40 quid is decent for a scandoubler; if I'm right, I think you can find the plans for something like this on aminet, and the listing doesn't mention anything about playing games on your vga monitor

or I could be talking complete cobblers of course
 :crazy:
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: amiga92570 on November 29, 2006, 08:35:16 PM
Only Pal compatible however. :boohoo:
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: Ilwrath on November 29, 2006, 08:55:13 PM
Quote
Box says Super Denise required.


It's not a scandoubler at all.  It's the same as the C= silver adaptor and the VGAOnly and DblNTSC or DblPAL drivers.

The full ECS chipset (which includes Super Denise -- everyone forgets poor Denise when they think of ECS) or AGA both allow these modes native.
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: Lemmink on November 29, 2006, 09:04:37 PM
Looking at the picture it has an 23pin RGB-passthrough with the 14pin VGA connector on one side. From that setup I guess it is some kind of a framebuffer like the DCTV. The software will probably be some pictureviewers that will output still images through the VGA connector or animplayers or the like.
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: Crumb on November 30, 2006, 12:18:50 AM
@motorollin

It's just an VGA adapter. It's not an scandoubler... I remember reading the review in an AUI some years ago.
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: alewis on November 30, 2006, 12:14:48 PM
Which I wrote....

And I cant remember anything about it, must have been sometime around 1995/6.

I'll have a look through the few disks I do have, and see if I can find any of the articles I wrote for AUI, it might be amongst them somewhere. Typically, I can still find one or two invoices and payments from AUI in my paperwork, but no articles!
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: kidkoala on November 30, 2006, 02:15:10 PM
Only a small notice: http://www.amiga-hardware.com/
search for amivga, some good pictures and a little text.
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: willow on November 30, 2006, 03:00:20 PM
I have an AmiVGA in front of me here together with an Eyetech EZVGA and Micronik ScanDex. The AmiVGA does not perform in the same way as the two later interfaces - the driver diskette with the AmiVGA should indicate to all potential buyers that the hardware interface itself performs neither scandoubling nor flickerfixing. :cry: Nice condition in box though :-)
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: Jope on November 30, 2006, 03:34:04 PM
Quote

kidkoala wrote:
Only a small notice: http://www.amiga-hardware.com/
search for amivga, some good pictures and a little text.

Why not post a direct link while you're at it..

http://www.amiga-hardware.com/showhardware.cgi?HARDID=356
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: motorollin on November 30, 2006, 04:58:00 PM
Quote
willow wrote:
the driver diskette with the AmiVGA should indicate to all potential buyers that the hardware interface itself performs neither scandoubling nor flickerfixing.

So what /does/ it do?

--
moto
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: hardlink on November 30, 2006, 06:25:56 PM
Quote

alewis wrote:
Which I wrote....

And I cant remember anything about it, must have been sometime around 1995/6.


Sad thing is, I OWN one of these gadgets (somewhere), and I can't remember aything about it either. Now where did I put my A4000 lockout key ....
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: willow on November 30, 2006, 06:55:33 PM

Does nothing more than the standard commodore part # 390682-01, routing the colour signals to a high density vga female sockets' appropriate pin and putting the sync signals through a buffer chip before routing those too..... Check out http://aminet.net/hard/hack/ami2vga.lha for details of the circuit. The software works with the commodore and the aminet DIY one but in my own experience, most games dont work since they need more than 16 colours (the ami.vga driver only supports 16 colours on a lowres screen on superdenise but upto 256 colour on aga)......
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: Lex on November 30, 2006, 07:00:57 PM
Quote
So what /does/ it do?


It tries to force all screens to use a Productivity like mode (thus it needs at least a Super Denise or AGA). Once the software (which is called "VGA") is started it'll ask at every reboot which output to use, VGA or Amiga. In VGA mode, the screenmode preferences will not allow to select any other screen modes but vga. The hardware is just a switch between the two ports, without the software running it just passes through towards the DB23 port. Resolutions and number of colours are the same as with the Productivity mode: 320x480 to 640x960i. On ECS with 4 or 16 colours, on AGA with 256.
Title: Re: Weird scandoubler on eBay
Post by: czarek on December 01, 2006, 11:12:29 PM
I bought it in hope that it will show at least guru screens and boot menu... Hoped that it will work with games but... I will have to think about VGA box instead :madashell: