Graphics Video Board

[Marco Maccaferri]

Hello,

Here is my new project for the RC2014 a video board for tile and sprite
graphics. The resolution is up to 320x240 pixels with 64 colors, 8x8
pixels tiles and 8x8 to 32x32 pixels sprites. Output video drivers
allows to connect to VGA or PAL/NTSC TV sets with RGB input (SCART) or
adapters for composite / HDMI.

The project is derived from my P8X Game Console
https://dev.maccasoft.com/propgame/ so the final capabilities will be
almost the same, including the connections to monitors and TVs.

This is not a replacement for my other ANSI / VT-100 board, there is no
input of any kind nor any terminal emulation. It uses its own port range
from 40H to 43H for programming.

There is still a lot of work to be done for the firmware, the plan is to
have a generic board capable of different video modes 320x240, 256x192
and 256x240 (horizontally stretched). It should be possible to also
allow bitmap graphics with limited resolution due to the 32k of ram
available to the Propeller chip, 320x240x2bpp or 256x192x4bpp should be
possible.

Since it is completely programmable, it would be possibile to emulate
other video chips as long as they can be programmed via I/O ports.

A repository on Github will be created once the firmware is in a usable
state. In the meantime I'm attaching the schematic, images and a small
video on Youtube https://youtu.be/xJV3yi1prmI (horrible, can't do better).


Best regards,
Marco.

[Chris Scullion]

Must... HAVE!

[Eric Matecki]

I thought the same...

But I didn't wan't to encourage Marco too much, so I have some more time to put some money on the side :)

[Marco Maccaferri]

Il 09/03/2018 15:35, Eric Matecki ha scritto:

> But I didn't wan't to encourage Marco too much, so I have some more
> time to put some money on the side :)

Ah, I understand :-)

The tests I did so far shows everything is working as expected, so now I
have to clean up the code a bit, define a good API to program the
graphics and find a way to update the eeprom from CP/M.

Best regards,
Marco.

[Marco Maccaferri]

Few updates.

The firmware source and design files are available on GitHub
https://github.com/maccasoft/propeller-graphics-card and some
documentation on the Wiki pages.

The firmware looks good so far, I haven't yet implemented the self
update, was concentrating on testing the programming interface.

For those who feel adventurous and / or want to help with the
development I have put some bare PCBs to sell on Tindie
https://www.tindie.com/products/maccasoft/graphics-video-card-for-rc2014/
and also shared on OSHPark https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/1gud4wQD

Best regards,
Marco.

[Marco Maccaferri]

The firmware is complete!

It supports 3 graphics modes with 8x8 pixels tiles and 64 colors:
320x240 pixels (40x30 tiles), 256x192 pixels (32x24 tiles) and 256x224
pixels (32x28 tiles).

All modes includes support for up to 32 sprites with 8x8 (1 tile) up to
32x32 (4x4 tiles) pixels, full screen scroll and overlay graphics for
score, indicators or other effects.

There are 3 user-selectable video drivers that can generate VGA, PAL or
NTSC RGB signals.

I have included a software folder with demo programs and the utility to
update the firmware directly from CP/M without the need for an external
programmer.

All available from GitHub:
https://github.com/maccasoft/propeller-graphics-card


Best regards,
Marco.

[david david]

This is very impressive indeed.

How does it compare with 9918 based ones?

[Marco Maccaferri]

Il 21/10/18 13:14, david david ha scritto:

> How does it compare with 9918 based ones?

The main difference is that my graphics card outputs only RGB signals,
with timings compatible with VGA monitors or TV with RGB inputs (either
PAL or NTSC), while the 9918 outputs composite NTSC video only.

Of course the graphics capabilities and programming model are much
different from the 9918.

Best regards,
Marco.

[david ledbury]

It does look your board iscertainly is more advanced with features. And with colour support.

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[david david]

I noticed that you've recently added an update to support more 9918 features as well? That is certainly looking very interesting indeed.

Thanks

D