Grzyb wrote:Windows 3.x, however, is a product of the 1990..93 era.
It was designed primarily for 386+ and VGA+
Version 3.1 no longer shippe […]
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FAMICOMASTER wrote:I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "Toy computers."
It's a 20MHz 286 with a 287XL, EGA, 7MB RAM, and a 70MB hard disk. Would have been quite the machine in 1986-1987 when these parts were being made.
Windows 3.x, however, is a product of the 1990..93 era.
It was designed primarily for 386+ and VGA+
Version 3.1 no longer shipped with CGA driver - I guess they decided that 640x200 was not enough to be useful...
That's what I meant to express, thank you.
640x350 was the standard resolution of EGA, as was 640x480 on VGA (and 720x400 in text mode, too).
Unfortunately, I can't change it, it simply was like that. 🙁
Even the Atari ST from '85 had 640x400 which was required by commercial/business software.
200-something and lower line modes were primarily used by video games and simple telegames consoles (pong, breakout),
since they allowed graphics to be displayed on cheap television technology of the day,
without requiring the tele game consoles to support complex interlacing.
On the bright side, this avoided or lowered flickering, too. 😎
Hence CGA is using it, too. A CGA monitor is like a cheap, cannibalized TV set with the RF modulator removed
and the individual Red/Green/Blue electron guns of the CRT tube wired up directly to a plug.
Well, that's utterly simplified, of course. There's also intensity for the RGB channels, etc. But in essence, it's true.
A CGA monitor can be seen as a modified TV set or an analog video monitor (C1702 etc) that was converted to digital input.
That's why CGA cards also generate Composite Video (Color VBS or CVBS) just fine.
In fact, the monochrome part, VBS, is related to syncronisation (VBS contains intensity "luma" and sync).
Sync is available at CGA connector pins 8 and 9 in separate form (horizontal, vertical).
Once combined, it results in a valid HV sync signal that can be fed into the sync input of an analog TV set (see SCART below).
"Modern" TV sets from Europe or Japan using SCART are essentially CGA monitors with built-in TV tuners,
even though their RGB inputs are analogue and do not contain filters for the digital (pre-defined, "fingered") RGB(I) levels
that CGA cards did normally spit out.
VBS was the original base band signal that was generated by, say, monochrome Vidicon CRT cameras and
was used internally for black/white television before it was sent to an RF modulator/after it was received from an RF tuner.
In essence, the early RGB color tube cameras had three separate monochrome camera tubes each, with filters applied to them.
Long story short, both television and analog monitor technology is heavily related.
Today, fake progressive modes are known as 240p or 288p in the retrogaming scene.
In simple words, for a TV set, such a specially generated non-interlaced 200 line signal looks identical to a
400 or 576 line signal sent in interlaced form (named 480i or 576i).
Edit: Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Low-definition_television
Again, this is just a very, very simplified description of the matterb and I'm speaking under correction here.
I just wanted to slightly dive into the mechanics and roots of CGA and its crappy 2xx line mode limit. 😉
(In theory, the original CGA circuit could do 640x200 in 4 colours if its address logic wasn't flawed.)
Anyway, if the OP is lucky, the OP will find a weird third party device driver for 80's Windows that indeed
supports that 640x200 resolution. Maybe it's worth tracking down old 5,25" driver diskettes that belonged to
other EGA or Super EGA cards. They may include this uncommon EGA mode simply for the sake of completeness.
As I said, if the driver is Windows 2.x Real-Mode compatible (compatible with plain Win 2.03/Win2.11
or Windows/286 editions) chances are good it will continue to run on Windows 3.0 in Real-Mode.
If that's not the case, then I can think of several other workarounds..
a) Replacing the CGA monitor by a cheap SCART TV and the making of a CGA-SCART adapter/converter.
Together with a switchbox and a VGA to SCART converter/adapter someone is able to get both native CGA
and VGA/EGA via that converter box..
b) Same as above, but going the Composite Video route.
Use the composite output of the EGA card (or "EGA" RGBI) along with its analogue RGBHV ("VGA") output.
By using a VGA to Composite converter box, someone is able to get CGA and EGA/VGA resolutions displayed.
A switchbox then can be used to change source signals.
c) Hacking the CGA monitor to support analogue Composite Video (CVBS), too.
Then feed it with a signal comming from a VGA to Composite converter box that's connected to the EGA card's EGA/VGA port.
An installed switch can then be used to connect/disconnect the Composite/CVBS connector from the CGA monitor.
Or some just uses an external switch build into the cable.
d) Just use a modern LCD/TFT monitor and a simple CGA-SCART circuitry.
It has inputs for VGA, SCART, Composite, RF etc.
f) Using a classic RGB or RGBI monitor with additional Composite (CVBS) inputs.
With the help of a VGA to Composite converter box, the EGA's RGBHV "VGA" DAC output can be
hooked up to the monitor via the Composite input anytime desired.
Source: https://youtu.be/niKblgZupOc?t=440
g) It may also be possible to hack a CGA monitor and remove the digital logic,
making it a normal analogue RGB or RGBI monitor..Thus turning it in some sort
of SCART TV that would accept signals comming from a converter box, too.
FAMICOMASTER wrote:I'm not sure I understand what you mean by "Toy computers."
It's a 20MHz 286 with a 287XL, EGA, 7MB RAM, and a 70MB hard disk. Would have been quite the machine in 1986-1987 when these parts were being made.
Pardon, I didn't mean to sound rude.
While I personally think Windows 3.10 runs just fine on a 286 (long time 286 user here),
given enough contingous memory (2MB, better 4MB+), VGA resolution and a reasonable fast fixed disk,
I can't deny the fact that it evolved from more advanced tech like Windows/386 and its 386 kernal.
CGA or 640x200, by comparison, was pre-286 tech, even.
The original IBM 5170 was introduced ~'84 with EGA and its IBM 5154 monitor.
Even on such an authentic setup, some Windows 3.1 programs may not run properly (appear cutted off).
The appoximate minimal viewport assumed by programmers was 640x400 to 640x480, along with the VGA standard palette (16c).
If you're lucky, your EGA card can simulate that palette, at least, since it was in turn based on EGAs beforehand.
Edit: Some edits, typos fixed.
Edit: Another update.
Edit: Link added.
Edit: Another idea added (f).
Edit: Another idea added (g) and link to releated thread ar vcfed.org added:
ibm ega +/- composite video modification questions