PUBLISHED IN LIMA NEWSLETTER MARCH 1989 ^^^^^^ COLOR AND MONOCHROME MONITORS FOR USE IN ^^^^^80 COLUMN WORK WITH 99/4a AND GENEVE SYSTEMS EDITOR'S NOTES: by Charles Good. The following article and accompanying chart was prepared by DIJIT SYSTEMS to describe features of the limited number of color monitors that can be used with the Geneve computer, the DIJIT APVC card, and the Mechatronics 80 column peripheral (it doesn't go in the PE box, so I don't call it a card). All three of these use the same video chip. Although the article was prepared DIJIT for users of their product, it seems to me to be a good objective comparison of these color monitors. To view in color with any of these three hardware devices you can't use just any RGB monitor. You must use an "analog RGB monitor" and your choices are limited. You have to look a long time before you find any of the below described monitors in Computer Shopper advertisments. The key words to look for when shopping for GENEVE/AVPC compatible monitors in stores or in advertisments are "AMEGA" or "RGB ANALOG". Any monitor compatible with the Amega should work. You can, of course, also use an 80 column rated high resolution monochrome monitor with any of these hardware devices. Almost any monochrome monitor will work, and they usually cost well under $100. Based on my personal in store comparisons, the resolution of almost any 80 column rated monochrome monitor is BETTER than what you can get with a .42 dot pitch Amega compatible color monitor. When I configure FUNNELWEB for color combination F1 (white on black), the bright green text displayed on my monochrome monitor with FUNNELWEB's 80 column editor looks really great. Colors other than black or white show up as various shades of green. I have found no software that is rendered not usable because of the way "colors" are displayed on my monochrome monitor, although sometimes the monitor's "color" display leaves alot to be desired. The "list price" for color monitors shown in the chart below should only be used as a guide, as discounts are often available. For example, DIJIT sells the Magnavox 8CM515 for $295 plus shipping. ------------------------------------------------------ DIJIT Systems APPLICATION NOTE #1 Rev. 4/10/88 ^^^^^^^^^^^80 COLUMN ANALOG RGB MONITORS High resolution analog RGB monitors have been used in industry for a number of years in computer aided design and professional graphics work stations that make those spectacular animated sequences seen on television. These monitors generally have 19 inch picture tubes and are capable of displaying up to 1280 x 1024 pixels. Their costs range upwards from $2500. The need for analog RGB monitors in the personal computer field has emerged in the last couple of years. The Amiga and Atari ST have brought with them scaled down graphics capabilities not unlike that of their more expensive cousins. The plethora of graphics cards for the IBM-PC type computer has given rise to the "multisync" monitors with both digital and analog RGB inputs. Even in the world of the TI-99/4A, the DIJIT Systems RGB Conversion Kit requires an analog RGB monitor to display the shades of color generated. And the AVPC as well as other V9938 based video cards require analog RGB monitors to display the palette of 512 colors they are capable of generating. The accompanying chart was prepared as an aid in selecting an 80 column, analog RGB computer monitor. It omits two of the categories mentioned above, namely the industrial type, whose cost makes it inappropriate for the TI market (unless you can find a used or surplus one at a bargain price), and the "multisync" or "multiscan" types. A good review of the latter can be found in the February 1988 issue of Byte Magazine. The chart contains the best information available to us and will be revised periodically. As you can see, there is not an extensive selection. All of the below monitors comform to the EIA RS-343A standard requiring 0.7 volts p-p of video across 75 ohms input impedance. This signal level is the same as required by TV monitors and VCRs and is a worldwide standard. For simplicity we indicate 1 volt. The synchronizing signals required are combined (composite) horizontal and vertical sync having a negative sense at 0.3 volts p-p. The sync is on a line separate from the video. Two factors effect resolution. They are the dot pitch of the physical pixels on the face of the picture tube and the video bandwidth. The coarsest dot pitch with which you can comfortably view 80 column text on a 14 inch diagonal screen is 0.42mm, making the Thomson 4120 a marginal 80 column performer. Ten Megahertz is the minimum video bandwidth required to pass the high frequency components necessary for sharp edges on alpha-numeric characters. High quality monitors have a bandpass of 18MHz and up. In general, the higher the resolution, the higher the price. It all boils down to what you are comfortable with and what you are willing to pay. You are the final judge. The list prices shown are over a year old and are given for comparison only. Most monitors can be bought at substantial discounts by prudent buyers. ANALOG RGB ________________________________________________________________________________ ! ! LIST !SCREEN! DOT !HORIZ.!BAND- !VIDEO ! SYNCHRONIZATION > ! MODEL ! PRICE ! SIZE ! PITCH !PIXELS!WIDTH !INPUT !V !H !V+H! OTHER > !__________!_______!______!_______!______!______!______!__!__!___!_____________> ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! > !AMIGA 1080! 495 ! 13" ! .42mm ! 666 !>10MHz!1V p-p!Y !Y ! Y ! > ! ! ! ! TRIAD ! ! !75 ohm! ! ! ! > !__________!_______!______!_______!______!______!______!__!__!___!_____________> ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !REQUIRES > !ATARI ! 400 ! 12" ! .38mm ! 640 ! !1V p-p!Y !Y ! N !SYNC > !SC 1224 ! ! ! TRIAD ! ! !75 ohm! ! ! !SEPARATOR > !__________!_______!______!_______!______!______!______!__!__!___!_____________> ! MAGNAVOX ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! > ! 8CM515 ! 599 ! 14" ! .42mm ! 666 ! 14MHz!1V P-P!Y !Y ! Y ! > ! 8CM536 ! 749 ! 14" ! .31mm ! 800 ! !75 ohm!Y !Y ! Y ! > !__________!_______!______!_______!______!______!______!__!__!___!_____________> ! SONY ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! > ! CDP-9000 ! 600 ! 10" ! .25mm ! 640 ! 20MHz! !Y !Y ! Y ! > ! CDP-1201 ! 650 ! 13" ! .25mm ! 800 ! 20MHz!1V p-p!Y !Y ! Y ! > !KV-1311CR ! 630 ! 13" ! .37mm ! 640 ! 10MHz!75 ohm!N !N ! Y ! > ! ! ! ! STRIPE! ! ! ! ! ! ! > !__________!_______!______!_______!______!______!______!__!__!___!_____________> ! TEKNIKA ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! > ! MJ-305 ! 549 ! 13" ! .41mm ! 650 ! 16MHz!1V p-p!Y !Y ! Y ! > !__________!_______!______!_______!______!______!______!__!__!___!_____________> ! THOMSON ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! > ! 4120 ! 399 ! 14" ! .51mm ! 560 ! 12MHz!1V p-p!Y !Y ! Y ! > ! ! ! ! STRIPE! ! ! ! ! ! ! > ! 4160 ! ! 14" ! .38mm ! 640 ! ! ! ! ! ! > ! ! ! ! STRIPE! ! 12MHz!1V p-p!Y !Y ! Y ! > !__________!_______!______!_______!______!______!______!__!__!___!_____________> 80 COLUMN MONITORS DIJIT Systems 4/88 ________________________________________________________________________________ > ! ! ! >AUDIO!OTHER FEATURES! COMMENTS ! >_____!______________!_________________________________________________________! > ! ! AMIGA MONITOR. TWO VENDORS CURRENTLY SUPPLY COMMODORE - ! > YES ! ! TEKNIKA AND TOSHIBA. ! > ! ! ! >_____!______________!_________________________________________________________! > ! ! ATARI ST MONITOR. HAS PROPRIETARY 13 PIN PLUG NOT ! > YES ! ! READILY AVAILABLE. REQUIRES A SYNC SEPARATOR TO SUPPLY ! > ! ! SEPARATE VERTICAL SYNC. ! >_____!______________!_________________________________________________________! > ! ! ! > YES ! RGBI/ANALOG ! CURRENT MODELS. HAVE LOTS OF FEATURES. ! > YES ! RGBI/ANALOG ! ! >_____!______________!_________________________________________________________! > ! ! ! > NO ! RGBI/ANALOG ! ! > NO ! RGBI/ANALOG ! ! > YES ! TV, COMPOSITE! REQUIRES 34 PIN CONNECTOR AND EXTERNALLY SUPPLIED +5V ! > ! VIDEO, RGBI ! TO ACTIVATE ANALOG VIDEO AND AUDIO INPUT. ! >_____!______________!_________________________________________________________! > ! ! TEKNIKA IS A SUBSIDIARY OF FUJITSU. THIS MONITOR HAS NO ! > NO ! RGBI/ANALOG ! AUDIO AND REQUIRES AN EXTERNAL SPEAKER-AMPLIFIER ! >_____!______________!_________________________________________________________! > ! ! THOMSON IS A FRENCH CONGLOMERATE. ! > YES ! COMPOSITE, ! THIS IS A MARGINAL 80 COLUMN MONITOR. ! > ! RGBI ! ! > YES ! COMPOSITE, ! SAME MONITOR, HIGHER RESOLUTION PICTURE TUBE. ! > ! RGBI ! ! >_____!______________!_________________________________________________________!