Genlock
for the 8-bit
An interview with
Michael St. Pierre, owner of MYTEK, an 8-bit Enhancement Company.
This is one of those phony interview articles, where a magazine gets information from someone and adds questions afterward What next? Doctored photos?
What got you interested in doing an 8-bit genlock?
Genlocking the 8-bit Atari became kinda a pet peeve with me about 2 years ago. I guess I've never liked people telling me something is flat-out impossible when my gut feeling says otherwise. Seems like most of the 8-bitters still in existence today, must share this feeling, defending their right to choose in a world ever more dominated by IBM's. Well Atari people had gotten their 8-bit machines to do just about everything imaginable, but genlocking was sadly lacking. Having worked in the video field for several years, I decided to make genlocking my offering to the Atari spirit.
So Prism Studio has been in the works a couple of years?
Like I said, two years ago it all began. An earlier attempt came in the form of a luminance only genlock board, which was written up in the SLCC Journal Nov '91 and offered to the Public Domain. As first attempts go, it wasn't bad, sure it had it's share of problems and limitations, but it did indeed allow 8-bit graphics to overlay external video.
What were some of the problems?
The main problem with this early design, was it's inability to handle disk drive access without locking up the entire computer in the process. It also lacked color, being a black and white only form of overlay. Hey, it was genlocking after all, and on an 8-bit Atari none the less!
Evidently, you still weren't satisfied.
Well, another year went by, I'd learned more about color subcarrier regeneration, phase lock loops, VCO's, and a bunch of other techno stuff that all seemed to point to a second generation genlock device. I worked on these ideas whenever I could, but unfortunately I was unable to get any real lab time on the project for some six months to come. You see I was living in an RV, based some 30 miles from civilization, up in the mountains. My only source of power was a 100 watt solar array charging a battery, with a small inverter suppling the AC I needed for short term uses. This had been my great escape from the nuisances that life can sometimes bring (which happens all too often I'm afraid). Don't get me wrong, it was actually quite refreshing in many ways, kinda like a long vacation can be. All things pass, and a girl by the name of Jennifer brought me out of my RV, and back to the city with a real house. Of course, this meant that I now had the means to do some serious hardware development, thanks to PG&E and an understanding girlfriend.
Behind every great man stands a woman and giant utility company.
It was still to be a grueling eight months to come, before I had a working color genlock, and as the time went by, I often found myself wanting to just give up. You see, it quickly became apparent that designs I had worked out in my head, and that had seemed so simple, were just not right. Like everything else that's worth anything, it required many cases of cola, some hair loss, and many dead brain cells to finally resolve all the problems. It also required several cardboard boxes to hold the carcasses of early design prototypes, but out of it all emerged what I have come to call PRISM STUDIO.
Why PRISM STUDIO?
Well, it just seemed appropriate, PRISM representing color, and STUDIO representing it's use as an editing, creative, studio-like tool. I guess the thing that seems most studio-like about it, is the TITLE FADER, which allows for dissolves.
And this time you decided to supply a finished product, rather than schematics?
Along with this new genlock product, has emerged a new company, MYTEK. I felt that this was such a significant accomplishment in the genlocking arena, that PRISM STUDIO needed to become a real product, available to anyone in the Atari 8-bit community. Establishing a company to produce this product was the only way to go, it's just too complex to be offered in kit form.
Good luck with this new offering.
With PRISM STUDIO as our launching product, MYTEK hopes to do well, and provide additional enhancements and/or products in the years to come.
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Genlock? What's genlock?
Have you ever wanted to generate titles on your home
video
productions, ones that could be merged with the live video, instead of
simply taking its place? Perhaps you'd like to do your own computerized
special effects for your next music video, or have PACMAN chase you
around on TV? This, and so much more, is now possible with nothing more
than your Atari 8-bit computer, PRISM STUDIO, and a creative
imagination.A genlock synchronizes the display signals between a computer and video output device, such as a camcorder or VCR. It allows the signals to be merged in a variety of ways. The merged signal can then be output for viewing or recording. PRISM STUDIO's Color Genlock Circuitry, can not only do what stand-alone video titlers do, but do it better and for half the price. Any image you can create on your Atari 8-bit -GRAPHICS or TEXT- can be combined with live video in every possible color. PRISM STUDIO, can overlay animation sequences, create CGI effects, use display lists for mixed graphics and text modes, virtually anything you can dream up. It also sports a TITLE FADER and a special FADE DISABLE SWITCH. Title sequences can be smoothly faded in and out, or using the FADE DISABLE SWITCH, some objects can remain solid, while others take on a transparent quality, making for some great effects. Interested? Contact: MYTEK P.O. Box 750396 Petaluma, CA. 94975-0396 |