From: grr@cbmvax.commodore.com (George Robbins)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: Avoid the Amiga 4000
Date: 11 Oct 92 03:51:07 GMT
Reply-To: grr@cbmvax.commodore.com (George Robbins)
Organization: Commodore, West Chester, PA

In article <OD.6badnetOA92-901-302p0_5134449a@piraya.bad.se> Roger_Nordin@atb.bbs.bad.se (Roger Nordin) writes:
> > Me and my freinds have a phrase that we use for people like you: "You are
> > on BIG DRUGS!".  You're completely clueless.  The A4000 doesnt NEED a
> > display enhancer.  The Flicker-Fixer was a HACK!  It was a way of patching
> > the system to get around a shortcoming in the original chips, a shortcoming
> > that has been FIXED in the AGA chipset.
> 
> Not quite. While the AGA chipset does offer flicker-free video via the Double-
> NTSC/PAL resolutions, it *requires* applications written specifically with 
> support for these modes via the graphics screenmode-database. What about all 
> the existing applications (both commercial and freely distributable software) 
> that is hardcoded to use Hires with (often optional) Interlace? Those will be 
> running interlaced. Flickering.

I think you're substantially off base here.  The system software works at it
harder than you describe, but I'll leave it to one of the software guys to
describe the details.

> Yes, but that will take up one Zorro III slot in the A4000, as the video slot 
> is located in-line with one Zorro III slot. Only three left. And then, you 
> probably need that SCSI host adaptor card too. Only two left. What if you have 
> three cards already in your A3000, will be pretty hard to upgrade then.
> 
> > the A4000 that is inferior compared to the A3000.  Show me ONE MODE that
> > the A4000 cannot do that the A3000 can?
> 
> The A4000 cannot host a genlock AND a flicker-fixer at the same time, to allow 
> you to work with video and still have a flickerfixed monitor picture to work 
> with, because although the video slot has improved in the A4000, it is only 
> one slot. It cannot host two video slot cards at the same time. Perhaps you 
> can find a genlock with builtin flickerfixer...

Yes, some subset of users may feel some pain due to this mutual exclusivity.
How many?   There are plenty of non-video slot genlocks out there in any case.

> But the real problem, which Marc is refering to, is that the A4000 cannot 
> produce non-interlace hires-interlace resolutions, that the A3000 can, with 
> the help of the flicker-fixer. This is a quite important features, considering 
> the wast array of applications that use this display mode currently!
...
> 
> Sorry, but I disagree. Sure, it would be nice if applications would support 
> the displaydatabase and be able to use any screen resolution. But most 
> applications does not support this. For instance, I love CygnusEd Pro, but on 
> an A4000 it will operate in interlaced mode -- and there is no flickerfixer 
> that will convert it to a non-lace display. It would be useless, I'm afraid.

Do you know this, or are you must making an inference based on what
you've "heard"?
 
> Although I don't agree with Marc in everything he says, I think he was quite 
> right this time. For people like me, that wants higher non-lace resolutions 
> rather than lots of colours, the A3000 seems to be a better deal. Especially 
> as the A3000 prices are dropping steady right now!

If you don't want more colors and are either happy with an '030 or already
have an '040 card, then the A3000 might be the best deal.  Marc's error is
in asserting that some particular user profile, his or yours applies to
the 90'th percentile of the target market.

This especially comes across in the flaming about the IDE drive.  Nobody
seems to want to really talk about how well it works or doesn't, just that
SCSI is what they think it should have and *everyone* should pay for.
Just about everyone needs a hard disk to make effective use of a machine
like this.  Not many really care about the interface, only is it big enough
and can you get/attach a larger or second drive.  Nowhere near as many
folks as should have have SCSI attached backup devices.  All the A4000 does
is say that folks with special needs have to pay some increment over the
base model to address those needs.

-- 
George Robbins - now working for,     work:   to be avoided at all costs...
but no way officially representing:   uucp:   {uunet|pyramid|rutgers}!cbmvax!grr
Commodore, Engineering Department     domain: grr@cbmvax.commodore.com