.PIC images

[Dec]

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---------------------------------------------------------------
               MODE 4   MODE 8   MODE 16   MODE 32   MODE 33
                                           (Intel)   (Motorola)
---------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for the list. Could you mark in this list what is an emulator and what is a real board? I ask this because I want to find and read technical documentation for real boards. I want to find out what is the screen resolution in a particular mode, and what PAR is used.

And I want to clarify the terminology. MODE 4 and MODE 8 are basic modes? Is this not the same as GD2 MODE 4 and GD2 MODE 8? Also GD2 describes modes 7, 15, 31 and 64. Are these modes supported by any hardware?

Depends on how you define "real hardware". The QXL boards use mode 32 and definitely are "real hardware". Screen output, however, is done on a PC that is hijacked by the "parasite" QXL.

IMHO this is "real hardware".

Each extra bit doubles the range so a 1-bit left shift for each sample does the trick ... it's not explained in any of the QPC2 pdf's

Ok, thanks, got it.

[dilwyn]

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---------------------------------------------------------------
               MODE 4   MODE 8   MODE 16   MODE 32   MODE 33
                                           (Intel)   (Motorola)
---------------------------------------------------------------
QL             yes      yes      no        no        no
AURORA         yes      yes      yes       no        no    (QL compatible motherboard)
Q40            yes      ?        ?         no        yes   (hardware)
Q60            yes      ?        ?         no        yes   (hardware)
Q68            yes      yes      yes       no        yes   (FPGA QL board)
QLem           yes      yes      no        no        no    (emulator)
QPC1           yes      yes      no        no        no    (emulator)
QPC2           yes      yes      yes       yes       no    (emulator)
SMSQMULATOR    yes      yes      yes       yes       no    (Java based emulator)
QL2K           yes      yes      no        no        no    (emulator)
QLAY           yes      yes      no        no        no    (emulator)
QEMULATOR PC   yes      yes      yes *     no        yes * (emulator)
QEMULATOR Mac  yes      yes      ?         ?         ?     (emulator)
uQLx           yes      yes      no        no        no    (emulator)
sQLux          yes      yes      no        no        no    (emulator)
QDOS4Amiga     yes      yes      no        no        no    (emulator)
QDOS Classic   yes      yes      no        no        no    (emulator)
ATARI ST-QL    yes      yes      no        no        no    (original plug-in board QL mode 4 and 8 only)
ATARI ST-QL    yes      no       no        no        no    (Extended4 board, QL mode 4,only with 768x280 resolution)
ATARI ST-QL    yes      no       no        no        no    (QVME board, mode 4 only, resolutions up to 1280x900)
QXL            yes      yes      no        yes       no    (ISA card hardware for PC)
MESS emulator  yes      yes      no        no        no    (emulator)
MIST-QL        yes      yes      no        no        no    (emulator - I know little about it)
MISTer         yes      yes      no        no        no    (hardware based emulation system)
ZEsarUX        yes      yes      no        no        no    (emulator)
---------------------------------------------------------------

*=with relevant version of SMSQ/E on QemuLator

Emulators indicated in the updated table above.

Other questions:

Extended Mode 4 and Mode 8. These modes on more recent hardware and emulators are generally the same bit layout as those modes on an original QL, but often with the option of greater resolutions. On some systems, there are a selection of fixed resolutions. Others can within reason have any display resolution specified. The pixel layout (bit patterns) in those two extended modes will be the same, but obviously with greater numbers of pixels across and down the video screen. The original QL could not vary the number of pixels in these modes. So the number of bytes between the start of one line and the next varies depending on how many pixels across. An exception here is the Aurora card, which uses a fixed line width in QL colour modes 4 and 8, but you had better see Aurora documentation to clearly understand what I mean there.

If a machine runs QDOS operating system, there is usually no support for greater resolutions, with the sole exceptions of uQLx and sQLux emulators and the Atari ST-QL boards (patched QDOS) which offer a small selection of fixed greater resolution displays. XorA on this forum maintains the sQLux and may be able to expand on this. Any support for high colour modes is only possible with the SMSQ/E version of the QL operating system.

Also GD2 describes modes 7, 15, 31 and 64. Are these modes supported by any hardware?

The GD2 (or Graphics Driver 2) documents offered the specifications for what at the time were offered as possible future additional display mode options. In practice, no hardware or emulator yet known supports these display modes. There is the existing possibility of using them purely for graphical sprites via the operating system's ability to adapt sprite colour modes, I think that is the only place where they may be found at present.

It means that your DaDither software need not concern itself with trying to convert those modes, at least until any future hardware or emulator supports modes 7/15/31/64.

I have most available documentation on the display modes and resolutions as documents on my site - if you require help finding a particular one, I may be able to help you find it if the search box on my site does not find it. The other source of valuable information is the publicly available sources of the SMSQ/E operating system from Wolfgang Lenerz's website. You'd need some familiarity with Motorola processor assembly language and a degree of familiarity with the QL operating systems though.

[tofro]

There were actually two (or, rather, three) different ST-QL boards (as far as I remember):

1. The "Mode 4/8" board for the original ST and Mega ST, that could do MODE 4 and MODE 8 in original resolutions, so actually identical to the original QL
2. The "Extended Mode 4" board, of the same origin, and hardware-wise close to the above and intended for the same Atari models, but dropped MODE 8 support in favour of an extended MODE 4 with a higher resolution of (I think) 768 x 280 pixels
3. The QVME board which went into the Atari Mega STe or TT's VME slot and provided much higher resolutions up to 1280x900 in MODE 4 only

The boards (at least the first two) were originally made by a company in Norway (Futura Datasenter, that still seems to exist under a newer name) (I can't recall whether QVME was also one of their products or if Jochen sourced it from somewhere else, but think the latter). Those boards came originally with a simple patch program for original JS ROMs, that made them a little rough around the edges. After Tony Tebby had built support for these boards into SMSQ/E, Jochen Merz in Germany was (I think) their sole distributor, and provided the software support for SMSQ/E that really made the ST into a smooth "Super QL". None of the Atari boards suppported anything better (in terms of colour depth) than the original MODE 4 and 8 (as said above, some versions actually dropped MODE 8 completely)

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi,

I have 3 Atari ST QL Emualtor boards: two Exenteded 4 and one Mode 8 Emulator, all were working in Atari STFM. Which gave a very fast QL system.

SMSQ/E can be run on the QL Emulation boards as well.

I did have a QVME, but sold it when my TT030 seemed to fail. But the TT030 is now working, after replacing a faulty reset switch.

The TT030 can run SMSQ/E in mono mode, buit I am not sure of the screen mode, maybe Mode 33?

[dilwyn]

There were actually two (or, rather, three) different ST-QL boards (as far as I remember):

Thank you tofro. I've updated the list in my last post.

[tofro]

Dilwyn,

MIST and MISTER are easy - they do what the QL does - nothing fancy beyond "normal" MODE 4 and MODE 8, even if the hardware, at least that of the latter, should be capable to do a lot more.

[dilwyn]

Dilwyn,

MIST and MISTER are easy - they do what the QL does - nothing fancy beyond "normal" MODE 4 and MODE 8, even if the hardware, at least that of the latter, should be capable to do a lot more.

Thanks.
List pretty complete now except for the Q40/Q60 - can they do mode 8 and mode 16?

[tofro]

Dilwyn,

MIST and MISTER are easy - they do what the QL does - nothing fancy beyond "normal" MODE 4 and MODE 8, even if the hardware, at least that of the latter, should be capable to do a lot more.

Thanks.
List pretty complete now except for the Q40/Q60 - can they do mode 8 and mode 16?

Q40 and Q60 do the following:

• QL mode 8 256x256 pixel, 8 colors (MODE 8, no FLASH)
• QL mode 4 512x256 pixel, 4 colors (MODE 4)
• High color mode 512x256 pixel, 64K colors (MODE 33)
• High color mode 1024x512 pixel, 64K colors (MODE 33)

So, no MODE 16.

[XorA]

If a machine runs QDOS operating system, there is usually no support for greater resolutions, with the sole exceptions of uQLx and sQLux emulators and the Atari ST-QL boards (patched QDOS) which offer a small selection of fixed greater resolution displays. XorA on this forum maintains the sQLux and may be able to expand on this. Any support for high colour modes is only possible with the SMSQ/E version of the QL operating system.

This only works on minerva and the rom is live patched to support this. I think max size is only limited by ram size and has to have an xres as a multiple of 8 i think.

[Derek_Stewart]

Hi,

The Q68 supports all Modes except Mode 32, an impossible wish would be to switch between Mode 32 and Mode 33.