Amiga.org
Amiga computer related discussion => Amiga Hardware Issues and discussion => Topic started by: tasmanian guy on March 02, 2011, 10:41:28 AM
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One night searching on ebay for Amiga stuff as one does, I came across a DCTV and purchased it.
I then realised I was on the ebay.com web site and not ebay.com.au and realised it is NTSC (well it doesn't say it is but will assume it is).
Is the hardware controlled by the software, that is if I use PAL software will that work with the DCTV or must I boot up in NTSC mode on the Amiga and use the NTSC software.
Don't ask why I purchased it, I guess I always wanted one back when I owned an Amiga 500 but I'm sure it will be fun to play around with!
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I have used DCTV and as far as I know it's only NTSC. I love the paint program.
If you can get your system to be NTSC, then you are good to go. Sorry I can't help with that. I'm an artist, not a HW geek.
btw: little known fact about DCTV
When we were making the HBO series "From the Earth to the Moon" we used DCTV to transfer Lightwave rendered files to video tape.
These LightWave files were the animatics (animated storyboards) of the Apollo capsules. They were sent to the director to decide how the final special effects would look like.
It was the last time we used Amigas in the company (except at home, of course). This was in the mid 90's
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DCTV really needs 2mg chip ram to work properly. A stock 500 will struggle tremendously with DCTV setup and stomp all over your funtimes. I tried long ago and ended up running it on an A2000 with 2mg chip, Supra28, 8mg ram, harddrive, etc. A second monitor for the output is also handy as the DCTV unit displays a composite signal. Not to mention, the capture is a slow scan and not an instant grab. The paint program was awesome for it's time.
Good luck.
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Well I forgot to add it will be running on my Amiga 1200 rack, with 030 50mhz and 64mb ram.
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I'll be testing one on a PAL machine soon and will try to remember to post the results here.
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I've got a few of these units and they have PAL stamped on the box end
I brought my first one from the Parts Warehouse in Auckland in the late 90s for $735.00+GST
Used to use Imagine to generate DCTV images and record them as Animations through DCTV hardware if I remember correctly
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If i'm not mistaken, an a1200 is capable of selecting pal/ntsc video on the early startup. I think that switching to ntsc could let you use your dctv on a ntsc monitor/tv.
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DCTV really needs 2mg chip ram to work properly. A stock 500 will struggle tremendously with DCTV setup and stomp all over your funtimes. I tried long ago and ended up running it on an A2000 with 2mg chip, Supra28, 8mg ram, harddrive, etc. A second monitor for the output is also handy as the DCTV unit displays a composite signal. Not to mention, the capture is a slow scan and not an instant grab. The paint program was awesome for it's time.
Good luck.
Why would the DCTV need 2 meg of chip ram?
The DCTV came out before the A3000 and 2 megs of chip
The DCTV uses the same 3-bit and 4-bit plane IFF that the Amiga uses. The memory usage is similar to any standard OCS/ECS 8 or 16 color IFF hires or hires-interlaced image. The decompression is done on the fly and does not require CPU.
The first line of the image has the compression information that the DCTV uses. Just about any iff viewer, including deluxe paint, can be used to view DCTV compressed IFFs, as long as it shows the first line of the image. However in you want you manipulate DCTV compressed IFFs you need a DCTV compatible paint program or image converter (like ADpro).
1 meg of chip is more than plenty for image viewing. I used a DCTV with my A500 with 1 meg chip for years without any problems. In fact you probably get away with 512k of chip ram. If anything you probably need some fast ram. A 1meg chip/2meg fast ram A500 or A2000 with a stock 68000 works just fine.
Where things get screwy with the DCTV is digitizing. some 030, including the A3000, had timing problems with the digitizer. This was suppose to be later fixed in software.
I do agree a second monitor is nice to have with the DCTV or RGB/composite button on a A1084 works well.
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1 meg of chip is more than plenty for image viewing. I used a DCTV with my A500 with 1 meg chip for years without any problems.
I got a DCTV for my A1000 recently after seeing clusteruk's vid on his A1000 with a DCTV, displaying PICs and VIDs.
So, my guess is, if you are an end-user just wanting to disply things (or maybe some basic conversion / rendering), even 512k CHIP will be OK..
I do agree a second monitor is nice to have with the DCTV or RGB/composite button on a A1084 works well.
That was something that confused me when I got my DCTV. I thought it was broken. :) I couldn't see any DCTV images on my monitor normally.
(I didn't get any manuals with it, and I still haven't found any scanned ones online)
THEN I found out that it outputs DCTV images via it's composite output, not RGB. So, I couldn't do some of those things without a second monitor or RGB/composite switch on the 1084...
Luckily I was able to acquire a DCTV RGB converter not too long ago, so I can see that flower pic in 24bit color. ;-)
I haven't tried any digitizing on my DCTV / A1000 yet as I still haven't made my parallel port adapter. (The A1000 parallel port is wired a bit different.. I didn't know that before I got my 1000...)
desiv
p.s. I had a HAM-E for my Amiga 500 (512k CHIP) back in the day, but it was RGB only (well, it might have worked with a GENLOCK??? Never tried).
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Well here's what I just amassed to play with:
SuperGen and SuperGen +
ChromaKey + (with blue screen).
DCTV
DCTV RGB Adaptor
Cannon Camera (actually I've had that for a while)
All NTSC, both my Amigas are PAL. Might have to buy a NTSC A600, will see.
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Well here's what I just amassed to play with:
SuperGen and SuperGen +
ChromaKey + (with blue screen).
DCTV
DCTV RGB Adaptor
Cannon Camera (actually I've had that for a while)
All NTSC, both my Amigas are PAL. Might have to buy a NTSC A600, will see.
All my Amigas are NTSC and my DCTV is NTSC, but my guess and this is only a guess, is the difference between and NTSC and PAL DCTV is probably on the Digitizing end, as timing is important.
Again I am guessing, but image viewing would probably be the same whether the image is PAL or NTSC. It has been years since i used my DCTV, I should bring it out of storage, but I think I could display both PAL and NTSC hires/ hires-lace on an A1084 monitor with it.
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All my Amigas are NTSC and my DCTV is NTSC, but my guess and this is only a guess, is the difference between and NTSC and PAL DCTV is probably on the Digitizing end, as timing is important.
Unless you have the DCTV RGB converter as well, your DCTV image output will be coming from the composite output on the DCTV unit.
I would expect that they will be generating NTSC output from there..
It's possible they just pull the timing from what they see coming out of the Amiga, but I have my doubts..
Will be interesting to see what the results of the test are..
desiv
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Well here's what I just amassed to play with:
SuperGen and SuperGen +
ChromaKey + (with blue screen).
DCTV
DCTV RGB Adaptor
Cannon Camera (actually I've had that for a while)
All NTSC, both my Amigas are PAL. Might have to buy a NTSC A600, will see.
To quote the Joker, "Where does he get all those wonderful toys?"
Seriously man, you get your hands on some of the coolest things! Hope they work for ya! :)
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I got it all, RGB Converter included. Should have everything in the mail from New York sometime this week. Will let ya'll know the results for sure.
It would be nice if I didn't have to buy another Amiga...
...well unless it were a 4000 or Natami of course. :)
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Well I can confirm it works fine on a PAL Amiga in NTSC mode, having said that I do "believe" that if someone can source me the PAL software, that it would work just as well!
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Is there a difference between the NTSC and PAL software? If so, I want the PAL software too! ;)
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Well I can confirm it works fine on a PAL Amiga in NTSC mode..
Just for clarification, you're using a PAL Amiga (1200??) running in NTSC mode with an NTSC DCTV and outputting DCTV images via the DCTV composite output to an NTSC device???
desiv
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guys
I'm looking foe a DCTV RGB CONVERTER. I have a DCTV but want the converter. Please PM if you have one I have paypal waiting or trade.
Also want to make a note that ImageFX has a very nice DCTV render module built in!
Also Vista Pro dumps straight to dctv files as well. :)
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Well I can confirm it works fine on a PAL Amiga in NTSC mode, having said that I do "believe" that if someone can source me the PAL software, that it would work just as well!
do you have 50 HZ power lines in Tasmania?
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Congrats. Good to hear..
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Just for clarification, you're using a PAL Amiga (1200??) running in NTSC mode with an NTSC DCTV and outputting DCTV images via the DCTV composite output to an NTSC device???
desiv
A PAL Amiga 1200 with a NTSC DCTV outputing it to a LCD Australian TV via the DCTV composite output.
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A PAL Amiga 1200 with a NTSC DCTV outputing it to a LCD Australian TV via the DCTV composite output.
Nice..
I know my LCD TVs don't do either PAL/NTSC, but just NTSC here. If that TV does NTSC, then your're doing true NTSC all the way from your PAL 1200 in NTSC mode out.
Man, I wish more of our LCD's did both modes or we had SCART here.. :(
Oh well.. Nice!
Would be interesting to see what the PAL software (It's different? I only have NTSC.) does on the 1200 in it's native PAL mode.
My guess is that the DCTV has PAL or NTSC crystals, which is why they sold them separately. But if it pulls it's timing from the Amiga connected, it could be just the SW...
desiv
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guys
I'm looking foe a DCTV RGB CONVERTER. I have a DCTV but want the converter. Please PM if you have one I have paypal waiting or trade.
Also want to make a note that ImageFX has a very nice DCTV render module built in!
Also Vista Pro dumps straight to dctv files as well. :)
What are you planning on doing once you aquire a DCTV RGB converter?
I just nabbed one on Ebay, it was VERY Pricey I thought, but I was willing to pay the price considering that I don't see them up for auction very often.
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"NTSC and PAL DCTV is probably on the Digitizing end, as timing is important."
That would make sense.
I have the NTSC DCTV, it was the most fun for me back in the nineties. Wonderful paint program, I did my first digital painting on DCTV. I'll post it soon as I can get it off my A2000. I was able to get away with 1 mb chip ram with an 030 at 50 mHz and still play my 3D animations. However it was a big step up using the DCTV with my A1200 060. I rendered them in Caligari 24 and later LightRave followed by Lightwave after Newtek unbundled it from the Toaster. Off course they were only a few seconds long though.
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"I'm looking foe a DCTV RGB CONVERTER. I have a DCTV but want the converter. Please PM if you have one I have paypal waiting or trade."
Does this convert the DCTV to to PAL?
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Actually it just came back to me. I think I do recall seeing ads for that converter years ago in the Amiga magazines.
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So now I have my Chroma Key +, SuperGen +, DCTV, and DCTV RGB Converter...
I'm kind of lacking manuals, so I got to spend the day tomorrow figuring out what goes where first, then I'm on to get familiar with everything.
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Well I can confirm it works fine on a PAL Amiga in NTSC mode, having said that I do "believe" that if someone can source me the PAL software, that it would work just as well!
Mine only shoes B/W. I have a PAL A1200 and NTSC DCTV. I switched to NTSC in the early boot menu.
Thanks,
-nate