XPost: comp.sys.sinclair, comp.sys.atari.8bit, comp.sys.apple2   
   XPost: comp.sys.cbm   
   From: thewises@enter.net   
      
   "Michael J. Mahon"  wrote in message   
   news:zICdnakhW_hIzCvenZ2dnUVZ_sadnZ2d@comcast.com...   
   > Richard wrote:   
   >> [Please do not mail me a copy of your followup]   
   >>   
   >> mjmahon@aol.com spake the secret code   
   >>  thusly:   
   >>   
   >>   
   >>>As Linards points out, the Apple ][ had color long before the   
   >>>Commodore computers.  And it was able to do so without using any   
   >>>more memory than for a monochrome display.  It's color is all   
   >>>NTSC "artifact" color--an extremely clever design in 1977,   
   >>>inspired by video games.   
   >>   
   >>   
   >> What's "artifact color"?   
   >   
   > Color which is displayed as a result of a monitor's interpretation   
   > of a pixel pattern which is synchronous with the color subcarrier   
   > frequency.  It is often seen as false color appearing when a fine   
   > vertical monochrome "grating" is shown on an NTSC monitor--like   
   > a finely striped tie, shirt, or coat.   
   >   
   > Several machines harness this effect to produce color displays.   
      
   The IBM CGA cards did this; by turning the color burst on in the CGA   
   640x200x2 mode, you would get 160x200x16 graphics if you used the CGA card's   
   composite output. If you were using a RGB monitor, however, you would just   
   get the 640x200 graphics. The composite color palette was different then the   
   RGB palette; it was similar to the Apple II's color palette. This makes   
   sense, given that the CGA composite signal was generated almost the same way   
   as the Apple's video signal.   
      
   However, most PC users had RGB monitors, and so got ugly 4-color graphics.   
   Of course, not every game supported the 16-color composite mode, and often   
   you got 4 colors even with the composite output. This was partly because of   
   most people using RGB monitors, but also because it required more effort to   
   program. Morever, some clone CGA cards(eg. the AT&T 6300 video cards) didn't   
   have a composite jack.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)