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Conference hydra::amiga_v1

Title:	AMIGA NOTES
Notice:	Join us in the NEW conference - HYDRA::AMIGA_V2
Moderator:	HYDRA::MOORE

Created:	Sat Apr 26 1986
Last Modified:	Wed Feb 05 1992
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	5378
Total number of notes:	38326

4958.0. "FF and WB2.0" by COMICS::HOGGAN (No, I am not kidding !!!) Mon Aug 12 1991 05:22

Hi,

Do you still need a Flicker Fixer when running Workbench 2.0? I'm planning
on buying one, but I also want to get the new workbench when it appears. If I
buy a FF now am I wasting my money? I do know that the new 'productivity' modes 
still need a FF, but do the existing 'normal' modes?


Dave

T.R	Title	User	Personal Name	Date	Lines
4958.1		PAMSRC::63643::BARRETT	Keith Barrett; DECmessageQ Expertise Cntr	`Mon Aug 12 1991 11:37`	2
	The need for an FF is based on hardware, not OS. If you want to use the hi-res interlaced modes without flicker, you'll need an FF.
4958.2		ELWOOD::PETERS		`Mon Aug 12 1991 11:51`	9
	Workbench 2.0 doesn't effect the current video modes. A Flicker Fixer has the same effect under 1.3 as 2.0 . As for the new "Productivity" modes, I have not found a use for them yet. I have switched to a interlace workbench. Steve P.
4958.3	To expand....	COMICS::HOGGAN	No, I am not kidding !!!	`Mon Aug 12 1991 12:00`	11
	Hi, I've read that the flicker fixer reduces the picture size..... Is this still the case (especially for the Microway FF)? Also, does anybody use a Taxan Multisync and know the pinouts for a lead? Re .0; I was talking about whether the FF is still needed with the ECS. But I believe that it is... Dave.
4958.4	A Flicker Fixer is still a good idea	TLE::RMEYERS	Randy Meyers	`Tue Aug 13 1991 01:08`	40
	Re: a few back There have been some rumors to the effect that the ECS upgrade will be made available at the same time the Workbench 2.0 upgrade is made available. I suspect that is what is causing the confusion. Re: .0 Yes, a flicker fixer card is still valuable even with the Enhanced Chip Set. In fact, the 3000 comes with both the ECS and the equivalent of the flicker fixer on the motherboard. The ECS adds several new graphics modes to the Amiga, but it also supports all of the existing graphics modes. Not surprisingly, the existing graphics modes that flicker also flicker under ECS. The ECS also adds some new "productivity" modes, which are non-interlaced, non-flickering 400+ scan line modes. However, these new modes have two disadvantages: 1. They cause a lot of cycle-stealing. Amiga's without fast RAM will really slow down. Even Amiga with fast RAM will have graphics operations slow down. 2. They are limited to a maximum of four colors and they a limited palette of colors to choose from (512? instead of 4096). What this means is that if you get a flicker fixer, and use the interlaced modes instead of the productivity modes, you will get the same resolution and lack of flicker, but you also get more colors and a faster machine. With either a flicker fixer or the new productivity modes, you need a multisync monitor. The old 1080 and 1084 monitors can't handle the faster scan rates. I've been very happy with my MicroWay FlickerFixer, but I'd recommend getting one of the new Commodore flicker fixer boards, since it has a few features that that the MicroWay board lacks. See previous notes about the differences between the two boards.