Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    Is this related to the new display mode being developed by Steven
    Derek Schaem in California?  Usenet has carried a long string of
    messages about how many colors you can display in a hi-res picture
    using the Copper chip to swap palette colors on the fly.  Consensus
    on the net was that between the 68000 and the Copper, you could
    change about 14 colors per scanline.  And have no computes left
    over for anything else!
    
    But is sure sounds nifty...
    
    Wes

    
    I don't think this is the same effort Wes, but it wouldn't surprise me
    if more than one faction were working towards that goal.  This effort is
    actually by some Compute! publications people.
    
    Anyway, I've uploaded some goodies to NORSE""::AMIGA:[UPLOAD].
    
    Shamview.zoo	Viewer for Sliced HAM images, and some VGA=>SHAM
    			conversion tools.  Also some documentation.
    
    Face.arc		256 color SHAM image of a female(?) face.
    
    Orang.arc		256 color SHAM image of an Orangutan and her kid.
    			This image is stunning.
    
    By the way, the author states in the included docs that his SHAM code
    is pretty slow and sloppy at this point, and will someday be written in
    68000 ML.  I can testify that this mode beats up on the Copper pretty
    badly, since sliding a custom screen down is like watching a glacier. 
    However, it is one of the more interesting things to come along in a
    while.  Check it out.
    
    All files are in Stream_LF format for Xmodem downloading.
    
    Enjoy, Ed.
    				
    
    
    

>    Orang.arc		256 color SHAM image of an Orangutan and her kid.


	Ed, can you post some more info?  i.e.

	
Are there only 256 colors allowed, or is this the `base' color and others
can be obtained by changing them (like HAM)?

Are they hi or low res, interlaced?

How glacier-like is it?	

thanx,
--mikie--

    
    The documentation included is a bit incoherent, but I inferred that the
    256 color images were 320 x 200 VGA conversions.  The author claims
    that real 4096 color images are possible, and is working on displaying
    24 bit DigiView images.
    
    From the included docs:
    
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Introduction
    
    Welcome to Sliced Ham. Over the last year I've been thinking about
    writing a 24-bit paint program for the Amiga. Sliced Ham is a
    byproduct of that product.
    
    In effect, Sliced Ham gives you HAM images that lack the fringes so
    commonly found in that mode. It works by changing the palette on each
    and every scan line. 15 colors are changed each line during the
    horizontal retrace period. It just so happens that there is precisely
    enough time for these changes. Just as well, because you wouldn't want
    the background color to change on each line (although I suppose you
    could cover up the mess with sprites--I'll have to think about it).
    
    This package provides you with a way of looking at those great
    256-color 320 by 200 VGA GIF files. Soon I'll have conversion units to
    let you view 24 bit Digi-View, Framegrabber, and other files in
    (virtually) all their glory. I'd appreciate any information about file
    formats, including Mac II pictures.
    -----------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    My own opinion is that I've seen much better HAM images, but these
    pictures have a unique quality that's hard to define.  Certainly worth
    the download.
    
    Ed.
    

    Does anybody think that in the future somebody will figure out some
    trick to do 4096 colors in hi--res??
    
    matt
    

    Re: .5
    
    If Heiko modified his CopV hack a bit, he could do it right now.
    The REAL problem is to display any color at any position.
    This is impossible with our current hardware.
    Like someone on UseNet said, you can't change the color register by
    far not often enough per horizontal scan line to achive the desired
    effect.
    But using this technique, some very stunning (and CPU/Copper intensive)
    pictures should be possible.
    
    Regards,
    
    <CB>

	I downed these last night.  There were only a few net glitches (some
pixel problems).  But I didn't find them overly impressive.  Maybe it's 
because they were 320x200.   I've seen regular HAM images that look that 
good, so I'm not sure of the use of SHAM.  Unless there are 640x400 pictures
in that format.  Then I'm sure the pix would really cook.

--mikie--