ShowHiQHam8.gio - An improved HAM8 displayer for Photogenics® ------------------------------------------------------------- By Jolyon Ralph (based on code © Almathera 1994-5). Released: 3rd March 1995. This file is freely distributable on public domain collections, CD-ROMS, internet sites, BBS systems, via PD libraries, etc. It may not be included for sale in a commercial product (except CD-ROM compilations like Aminet) without my express written permission. Photogenics is a registered trademark of Almathera Systems Ltd. To Install ---------- Simply copy the file ShowHiQHam8.gio into the drawer 'Photogenics:Data/GIO' - that's it. The filename is case sensitive as it's a library, so be sure not to rename it in any way. Then start the program up as normal. ShowHiQHam8 will be available from the Savers menu or window. What does it do? ---------------- Normally, the Ham8 displayer on Photogenics suffers (as do most Ham8 display programs) from the inevitable ham fringing associated with Ham and ham8 displays. There are several ways to solve this, one is to calculate a best-match palette for the entire picture and make sure the 64 base colours are correctly chosen. This can take some time however... The other is to double the horizontal resolution, which instantly halves the amount of ham fringing you get. This is the technique used by ShowHiQHam8. The advantage: Much better quality ham8 display The disadvantage: It's slower and uses twice as much chipram. A 320x256 image will be displayed on a 640x256 (medium resolution) display (the image is stretched horizontally so it appears at the correct aspect ratio. A 640x512 image will be displayed on a 1280x512 (superhires laced) display, which gives an *excellent* quality ham8 display, virtually indistinguishable from an expensive 24-bit display... Default video modes are used, so if you want to record to video tape make sure you disable 'mode promotion' from your preferences/iprefs utility. Email/flames/suggestions/requests for source code, etc... to: jralph@cix.compulink.co.uk ------------------- PLUG MODE!!! -------------------------- About Photogenics ----------------- Photogenics is a totally new paint and image processing package for the Amiga range of computers. Unlike other Amiga IP/Paint programs it works entirely in a standard Amiga Intuition windows interface - multiple images can be loaded and worked on at the same time, each in its own resizable window. The program provides a powerful 'true' airbrush and other brush types (charcoal, crayon, pencil, watercolour, etc.) Unlike other programs, all image processing effects can be applied with the airbrush (or other brush types) to selected parts of an image. As all effects are not applied immediately to an image, you can use the right mouse button at any time to 'unspray' back to the original image to smoothly erase paint or effects. When you are happy with the effect, click on the FIX button to make the changes permanent. Powerful visual Alpha Channels, Secondary image and compose make it easy to combine 24-bit images on-screen in no time at all. Current effects include: AddDust, AddNoise, AlterHue, Antique, Balance, BasRelief, Blur, BrightMap, Brightness, Cloner, Contrast, Crosshatch, Defocus, Deinterlace, DisplaceMap, Emboss, FalseColour, Flip, GradientTint, Greyscale, Highlights, HueMap, Jitter, Limit, LineArt, Lowlights, MaskingPaint, Matrix, Maximum, Median, Minimum, Mix, Monochrome, MotionBlur, Negative, NegBright, Paint, Pixelise, Posterise, Randomise, Refract, Roll, Rub, RubMix, RubTexture, RubThru, RubTint, Saturation, Sharpen, ShiftHue, ShiftRGB, Solarize, Split, Stellate, Test, Tile, TileBrick and Tint! (and they can *ALL* be applied with an airbrush...) Photogenics is modular, loaders and savers can be added by simply copying them into the correct directory. Current loaders/savers include: IFF-ILBM (2 to 256 colour, EHB, HAM, HAM8, IFF-24), Windows BMP, GIF, JPEG (fast), PBM/PGM/PPM, CDXL, Screen Grabs, ASCII Art, IFF DEEP, GEM Img, QRT, Impuse RGB8/RGBN, Truevision Targa, Photo CD, V-Lab, Picasso II, Plasma, Streaks, Text, OpalVision, Noise, etc, etc, etc. Full programming documentation and example C and assembler source code for creating modules is included with every copy sold. System Requirements: -------------------- Kickstart 3.0 or higher 68020 processor or higher (FPU not required) at least 2Mb of RAM Display: Photogenics runs in fast Ham-8 on AGA Amigas. It can run in 256 colours (or 256 shades of grey) in display modes capable of 256 colours, and in 16 shades of grey on older ECS machines. Current version is V1.1a The price (INCLUDING Air-Mail shipping worldwide) is 62 UK Pounds (around $100), or £57.45 including first class delibery anywhere inside the UK. Full technical support by phone, email or fax is available directly from us. Phone Almathera on: (+44) 181 687 0040 Fax: (+44) 181 687 0490 email: jralph@cix.compulink.co.uk -------------- But don't just take our word for it! ------------- "Photogenics puts the Amiga back onto pole position as a very powerful low cost graphics platform. In these times of depression the entire Amiga community can look at Photogenics and say 'Thank God I've got an Amiga!" - Gary Fenton, Amiga User International (97%) "When it comes to image creation, composition and post production touch-up of either rendered or imported still images, Photogenics quite simply leaves all other IP and Amiga paint programs for dead... A truly inspired piece of programming." - Paul Austin, Amiga Computing (10 out of 10 - Blue Chip Award) "The most deserving Format Gold since Lightwave... Affordable and excellent - this must get the best value Amiga Format score in recorded history... Photogenics is the image manipulation tool the Amiga has been waiting a long time for." - Nick Veitch, Amiga Format (95% - Format Gold Award) "This program has more features than you can shake a very shakey stick at... This is the graphics package that everyone will be using.' - Graeme Sandiford, Amiga Shopper (92% - Amiga Shopper Best Buy Award) "Photogenics is a brilliant program, in many ways far more powerful than anything else available... Photogenics is the biggest thing in Amiga graphics since DPaint.' - Tony Horgan, CU Amiga (91% - Amiga Superstar award)