Timothy Miller wrote:
Jeff Garzik pointed out that we didn't mention VESA. All I know about VESA is that it's some x86 BIOS way of doing beyond-VGA resolutions.
What I need to know is what kind of hardware support is necessary for it. Anyone have a clue or can find out for me?
I just downloaded and read the VESA VBE and VBE/AF specs. Basically, the requirements for us is squeezing more functionality into the same 32 KB of ROM. Since we already have to invent something to do text mode and less than 32 bpp in Protected Mode, VBE should be pretty easy to add even in ROM (the specs explicitly mention implementing it as TSR too). A problem may be that if we want to be _really_ VGA compatible, then the ROM will already be full.
VBE/AF defines a low-level 2D hardware abstraction layer, which is supposed to be implemented as a portable 32 bit x86 binary driver. Interesting things are only that filling of trapezoids with flat top and bottom is a possible primitive, and a specification about storing the driver on the card's ROM is supposedly in the works. The list of primitives is also a nice check-list for 2D things we should accelerate.
OT: A cool thing I found in the VBE spec is support for 3D liquid crystal shutter glasses. We can have it for free because we already have generic I/O pins :) Does anybody know how those glasses are controlled (pinout, voltage)?
- Viktor Pracht _______________________________________________ Open-graphics mailing list [email protected] http://lists.duskglow.com/mailman/listinfo/open-graphics List service provided by Duskglow Consulting, LLC (www.duskglow.com)
