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+ <META NAME="Author" CONTENT="Joshua Neal">
+ <META NAME="Description" CONTENT="Pure VGA/SVGA hardware programming (registers, identification, and otherlow-level stuff.)">
+ <META NAME="KeyWords" CONTENT="VGA SVGA hardware video programming">
+ <TITLE>FreeVGA Project Home - Hardware level VGA and SVGA programming info</TITLE>
+</HEAD>
+<BODY>
+
+<CENTER><A HREF="home.htm">Home</A> <A HREF="#news">News</A> <A HREF="#mirrors">Mirrors</A>
+<A HREF="#preface">Preface</A> <A HREF="#background">Background</A> <A HREF="#vga">VGA</A>
+<A HREF="#svga">SVGA</A> <A HREF="#tricks">Tricks</A> <A HREF="#references">Links</A>
+<A HREF="#warn">Disclaimer</A> <A HREF="#product">Products</A> <A HREF="#feedback">Feedback</A>
+<A HREF="home.htm">Back</A>
+<HR><B>Hardware Level VGA and SVGA Video Programming Information Page</B></CENTER>
+
+<CENTER>Home
+<HR WIDTH="100%"></CENTER>
+
+<CENTER> </CENTER>
+
+<CENTER><TABLE BORDER WIDTH="600" CELLPADING="2" >
+<TR ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=CENTER>
+<TD WIDTH="75">7</TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75">6</TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75">5</TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75">4</TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75">3</TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75">2</TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75">1</TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75">0</TD>
+</TR>
+
+<TR ALIGN=CENTER VALIGN=CENTER>
+<TD WIDTH="75"><FONT SIZE=+4>F</FONT></TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75"><FONT SIZE=+4>R</FONT></TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75"><FONT SIZE=+4>E</FONT></TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75"><FONT SIZE=+4>E</FONT></TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75"><FONT SIZE=+4> </FONT></TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75"><FONT SIZE=+4>V</FONT></TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75"><FONT SIZE=+4>G</FONT></TD>
+
+<TD WIDTH="75"><FONT SIZE=+4>A</FONT></TD>
+</TR>
+</TABLE></CENTER>
+
+<CENTER>This page is home to the <A HREF="freevga.htm">FreeVGA Project</A>
+-- dedicated to providing a totally FREE source of information about video
+hardware. <A HREF="freevga.htm">Additional goals/information are
+located here.</A></CENTER>
+
+<CENTER>"Keep on rocking in the free world." - Neil Young</CENTER>
+
+
+<P><A NAME="news"></A><B>Latest News</B>
+<BR><B> 08/01/1998</B> -- More
+information is now up, including a large portion of the "standard" VGA
+reference. Some other minor changes have been made to other information.
+Expect more updates in the not too far future.
+
+<P> <B>06/20/1998</B> -- The
+work contiues. Added three new mirrors. Some of the information
+that was located in the VGA reference, but really applies to video programming
+in general has been moved to the new Background Information (formerly Introduction)
+section of this page, and has been released. Also, a glossary has
+been added defining terms related to video programming, but is not very
+comprehensive at the moment, although this should improve over time. Many
+minor corrections have been made to the released material after being pointed
+out by the insightful people reading the information. Thank you!
+
+<P><B> 06/08/1998</B> -- The
+mirror list has been updated with the new entries. Special thanks goes
+out to all those who have donated their personal resources to advance the
+project's goals. Also, the first section of *real* information is
+online, the low-level programming introduction. This section has
+been relatively stable for quite some time, and seems to be releasable.
+It is my goal to release the information after it stabilizes, and has been
+verified for accuracy.
+
+<P><B> 06/04/1998</B> --<B> </B>If
+you are looking for the current work-in-progress, and have been given the
+passwords for the archive for review purposes, it can be downloaded <A HREF="http://www.goodnet.com/~tinara/wip.zip">here</A>.
+For those with current problems/questions that this page addresses, please
+feel free to use the <A HREF="#feedback">Feedback Form</A> to contact the
+author. If a link is marked with <B>(WIP)</B>, it is not posted online
+and at this time is available only for review, upon request, and under
+specific limitations.
+
+<P><A NAME="mirrors"></A><B>Mirror Sites</B>
+<BR> At this time, the project
+is experimenting with the feasibility of maintaining mirror sites to make
+this information more widely available. The following mirror sites
+are provided for your convenience. If you are interested in hosting
+a mirror site of this information, please contact the author for more information.
+If you are experiencing problems with any of these mirrors please use the
+<A HREF="#feedback">Feedback Form</A> to contact the author, as it is likely
+my fault that the problem has arisen.
+<UL>
+<LI>
+<A HREF="http://www.goodnet.com/~tinara/FreeVGA/home.htm">USA, Arizona,
+Phoenix</A> -- hosted by <A HREF="feedback.htm">Joshua Neal</A></LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="http://sf.znet.com/~vhold/FreeVGA/home.htm">USA, California, San
+Francisco</A> -- hosted by <A HREF="http://sf.znet.com/~vhold/">Marty Price</A></LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="http://hardware.doa.org/FreeVGA/home.htm">USA, Massachusetts,
+Boston</A> -- hosted by <A HREF="http://hardware.doa.org/">Leif Hardison</A></LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="http://www.pacwest.net/byron13/FreeVGA/home.htm">USA, Oregon,
+Eugene</A> -- hosted by <A HREF="http://www.pacwest.net/byron13/">Byron
+Miller</A></LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="http://hups.apana.org.au/~scuffer/FreeVGA/home.htm">Australia,
+Canberra</A> -- hosted by <A HREF="http://hups.apana.org.au/~scuffer/">David
+Murn</A></LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="http://nightmare.euroweb.hu/~ytiddo/FreeVGA/home.htm">Hungary</A>
+-- hosted by <A HREF="http://nightmare.euroweb.hu/~ytiddo/">Justin Doiel</A></LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="http://www.inter.uunet.nl/hcc/S.Weijgers/FreeVGA/home.htm">The
+Netherlands, Apeldoorn</A> -- hosted by <A HREF="http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/S.Weijgers/">Simon
+Weijgers</A></LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="http://n152.apeldoorn.telekabel.euronet.nl/FreeVGA/home.htm">The
+Netherlands, Nijmegen</A> -- hosted by <A HREF="http://web.inter.nl.net/hcc/S.Weijgers/">Simon
+Weijgers</A></LI>
+</UL>
+<A NAME="preface"></A><B>Preface</B>
+<BR> This page's purpose is to
+provide free low-level programming information to programmers interested
+in the low-level details of programming the VGA and Super VGA adapters,
+in a format independent of operating environment or programming language.
+This page is not intended to be a reference to graphics or game programming
+algorithms but rather a reference for those people attempting to implement
+such algorithms in whatever environment they are using. This page is not
+intended to be a showcase of web technology and thus will use HTML features
+and graphics only when it is necessary to convey information. For example,
+I have left the colors and fonts set to the default, so you can actually
+use the default preferences in your browser. I am continuously adding material
+to this page and have tried to incorporate links to other sites with valuable
+information.
+<UL>
+<LI>
+<A HREF="#intro">Introduction</A> -- An introduction to low-level programming</LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="#vga">Standard VGA Chipset Reference</A> -- Documents the common
+functionality of all VGA and SVGA adapters.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="#svga">Super VGA Hardware Chipset Reference</A> -- Documents the
+specifics of VGA and SVGA adapters.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="#other">Other Video Hardware Reference</A> -- Documents video
+related hardware other than VGA and SVGA adapters.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="#tricks">Tricks and Techniques</A> -- Articles detailing the use
+of low-level programming for optimization or special effects.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="#references">Other References</A> -- Gives pointers to other related
+material.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="#warn">Warnings and Disclaimer</A> -- Reading this section before
+utilizing any information contained within is both recommended and required.</LI>
+</UL>
+<A NAME="background"></A><B>Background Information</B>
+<BR> Foremost, this page is meant
+to be a place online where one can learn about low-level programming (If
+everyone knew all of this information then this page would be redundant!)
+This section contains general information that can be very helpful when
+attempting to use the programming information located on this site.
+<UL>
+<LI>
+<A HREF="llintro.htm">Introduction to Low-level Programming</A> -- Answers
+general questions about the topic. <B>(Released 6/08/1998)</B></LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="hardovr.htm">Overview of Video Hardware Functionality</A> -- Describes
+the job of the video hardware and what components it uses to perform that
+task. <B>(Released 6/15/1998)</B></LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="vtiming.htm">Video Timing Information</A> -- Gives information
+about video timing that is useful for video programmers.<B> (Released 6/15/98)</B></LI>
+
+<LI>
+<A HREF="glossary.htm">Video Programming Glossary</A> -- Defines terms
+that are related to video programming. <B>(Added 6/15/1998)</B></LI>
+</UL>
+<A NAME="vga"></A><B>Standard VGA Chipset Reference</B>
+<BR><B> </B>This section documents
+the subset of functionality present on nearly all computers today. The
+VGA BIOS utilizes only a fraction of the capability of the VGA hardware.
+By programming the hardware at the lowest level, one gains the flexibility
+to unleash the hardware's full potential.
+<UL>
+<LI>
+<A HREF="vga/vga.htm">VGA Chipset Reference</A> -- Documentation of the
+"Standard" VGA implementation. <B>(Released 8/01/1998)</B></LI>
+</UL>
+<A NAME="svga"></A><B>Super VGA Hardware Chipset Reference</B>
+<BR> This section documents the
+known functionality of specific VGA/SVGA chipsets. Because developers of
+chipsets and video cards face incredible competition, they have added features
+and functionality far beyond the standard VGA hardware. Unfortunately to
+programmers, these features have been implemented differently in each particular
+chipset, and even differently between products by the same manufacturer.
+It is difficult to obtaining information on these chipsets and their implementations,
+particularly so if the chipset is considered "obsolete" by the manufacturer.
+Because of the open-ended nature of this topic (chipsets are under constant
+development) this page will be updated constantly as new information becomes
+available.
+<UL>
+<LI>
+<A HREF="svga/svga.htm">SVGA Chipset Reference</A> -- Documentation of
+specific VGA/SVGA hardware implementations. <B>(WIP)</B></LI>
+</UL>
+<A NAME="other"></A><B>Other Video Hardware Reference</B>
+<BR><B> </B> This section is for
+video hardware that does not specifically fit into the category of VGA
+or SVGA, such as MPEG hardware, video capture hardware, non-integrated
+3D accelerators, virtual reality gear, digital video cameras, stereoscopic
+3D goggles, TV tuner cards, non-VGA compatible video adapters and the like.
+This is another open-ended topic but is not the primary focus of this page.
+
+<P><A NAME="tricks"></A><B>Tricks and Techniques</B>
+<BR> This section contains useful
+information on how to utilize the VGA/SVGA hardware to optimize specific
+tasks or implement visual effects. Many of these techniques have been utilized
+by game and demo programmers alike to push the envelope of the hardware's
+capacity.
+<UL>
+<LI>
+<A HREF="tricks/tricks.htm">Tricks and Techniques</A> -- Details on using
+the hardware to your advantage. <B>(WIP)</B></LI>
+</UL>
+<A NAME="references"></A><B>Other References:</B>
+<BR><B> </B>This section gives
+some pointers to other available VGA hardware information available. Note
+that they are listed here because
+<UL>
+<LI>
+<B>Online Information</B></LI>
+
+<UL>
+<LI>
+The <A HREF="http://www.heartlab.rri.uwo.ca/vidfaq/">COMP.SYS.IBM.PC.HARDWARE.VIDEO
+Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)</A> document, although not programming
+oriented does contain much useful information about video hardware. The
+site also includes links to nearly every vendor of video cards and monitors,
+as well as links to pages covering monitor specifications. If you are looking
+for video hardware related information not covered by the FreeVGA Project's
+goals, you will likely find it or a link to it here.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+Finn Thøgersen's <A HREF="http://www.datashopper.dk/~finth/">VGADOC
+& WHATVGA Homepage</A> -- An excellent collection of information for
+programming VGA and SVGA.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+Boone's <A HREF="http://www.strangecreations.com/library/hardware/vgaregs.txt">Programming
+the VGA Registers</A> -- Contains a very sketchy "Documentation Over the
+I/O Registers for Standard VGA Cards" by "Shaggy of The Yellow One." It
+is free and distributable over the "Feel free to spread this to whoever
+wants it....." licensing agreement.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+Andrew Scott's <I>VGA Programmers Master Reference Manual</I> (<A HREF="ftp://ftp.cdrom.com/pub/demos/code/hardware/video/vga-info.zip">click
+here to download from ftp.cdrom.com</A>) -- A dated ('91) document that
+is interesting if only because it attempts to document the VGA hardware
+(actually the Trident TVGA8900 hardware) in a form useful for "writing
+an applications specific BIOS." Begins with a very general description
+the topic (a wordy definition of computation in general) and ends with
+detailed register descriptions. Unfortunately, it lacks much material between
+these areas. Worse, far from being a free resource, it requires shareware
+registration fees that must be sent to the U.K. by means of a check drawn
+from a U.K. bank only!</LI>
+
+<LI>
+Richard Wilton's <I>Programmer's Guide to PC and PS/2 Video Systems</I>
+(<A HREF="http://www.dc.ee/Files/Programm.Docs/videoprg.arj">click here
+to download from www.dc.ee</A>) An older reference, covers MDA, Hercules,
+CGA, MCGA, and VGA. Not much VGA material but does have some register documentation.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+IBM's RS/6000 <I>CHRP I/O Device Reference</I> <A HREF="http://www.rs6000.ibm.com/resource/technology/chrpio/vga_app.mak.html">Appendix
+A: VGA Programming Model</A> -- A good VGA reference from the makers of
+the IBM VGA. Better than most on-line references as it contains programming
+information in addition to a register description of the hardware; however
+it is still vague in many areas. Especially interesting as it begins with
+an acknowledgment of the many "clones" of the VGA hardware.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+Some brief VGA register info is available from the <A HREF="http://www.hitex.com/chipdir/reg/vga.txt">Chip
+Directory</A>, also mirrored at other sites (see <A HREF="http://www.hitex.com/chipdir/">Chip
+Directory home page</A>).</LI>
+
+<LI>
+Eric S. Raymond's <A HREF="http://sunsite.unc.edu/LDP/HOWTO/XFree86-Video-Timings-HOWTO.html">The
+XFree86 Video Timings HOWTO</A> -- explains video mode and timing information
+used in configuring XFree86 to support a given monitor, intended to be
+used by the end user. Much of the information is not sepcific to
+XFree86, and can be used by a programmer as an example of how a low-level
+video routine can allow the end-users to setup video modes that pertain
+to their monitors, as well as being useful to an end-user of such a program
+attempting to configure such a routine to work with their monitors.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+Tomi Engdahl's <A HREF="http://www.hut.fi/Misc/Electronics/docs/">electronics
+info page</A> has some information about video and vga timings, as well
+as a section on VGA to TV converters and homemade circuitry. The
+<A HREF="http://www.hut.fi/Misc/Electronics/circuits/vga2tv/cindex.html">VGA
+to TV converter page</A> contans much information that pertains to driving
+custom TV and monitors with a VGA or SVGA card that doesn't have the capability
+built-in.</LI>
+</UL>
+
+<LI>
+<B>Offline Information</B></LI>
+
+<UL>
+<LI>
+Richard F. Ferraro's<B> </B><I>Programmer's Guide to the EGA, VGA, and
+Super VGA Cards, Third Edition</I> -- A good text, one of the few good
+books on a subject as broad and as complicated as low-level I/O.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+Frank van Gilluwe's <I>The Undocumented PC, Second Edition -- A Programmer's
+Guide to I/O, CPUs and Fixed Memory Areas</I> -- An excellent book, which
+is the likely the most complete PC technical reference ever written, and
+includes 100+ pages of video programming information, although very little
+VGA register information.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+Bertelsons, Rasch & Hoffman's PC Underground: Unconventional Programming
+Topics -- I bought this book on markdown, due to it having some VGA information
+in it. I was surprised to find that not only did it have a register
+description, but it also described some possible effects that can be done
+with that register.</LI>
+</UL>
+
+<LI>
+<B>Miscellaneous Information (Information not specific to video hardware,
+but useful to video programmers.)</B></LI>
+
+<UL>
+<LI>
+Norman Walsh's <A HREF="http://nwalsh.com/comp.fonts/FAQ/index.html">The
+comp.fonts FAQ</A> -- An excellent resource on fonts, typefaces, and such.
+Particularly helpful is the section on intellectual property protection
+for fonts, as the copyright legality of fonts and typefaces is somewhat
+confusing. Note -- Norman Walsh has ceased maintaining the FAQ, however,
+this link will remain until a new version of the FAQ is produced.</LI>
+</UL>
+</UL>
+<A NAME="product"></A><B>Product Recommendations</B>
+<BR> The FreeVGA Project does
+not make hardware recommendations as pertains to hardware covered by the
+documentation, in an attempt to prevent any conflicts of interest.
+However, there are other products that can be extremely helpful when implementing
+the information found here, such as monitors, test equipment, and software.
+I will not refuse any request to list a product on this page, however I
+will categorize it depending upon its importance and suitability for video
+related software development using opinions of myself and others.
+If you disagree with the opinion here, please use the Feedback Form to
+voice that opinion, such that it can be taken into account.
+<UL>
+<LI>
+<A HREF="hardrec.htm">Product Recommendations</A> -- Listing of products
+that can be beneficial to the target audience of this site.</LI>
+</UL>
+<A NAME="warn"></A><B>Warnings and Disclaimer</B>
+<UL>
+<LI>
+<B><U>Danger</U>: </B>Monitors are designed to operate within certain frequency
+ranges, or for fixed frequency monitors at certain frequencies.<B> <U>Driving
+a monitor at a frequency that it is not designed for is not recommended
+and may cause damage to the monitor's circuitry which can result in a fire
+and safety risk</U>. </B>It is wise to know and understand the specifications
+of the monitor(s) that you will be driving in order to prevent damage.
+Consult the manufacturers documentation for the monitor for the information,
+or if not available, contact the manufacturer directly. If the monitor
+makes unusual noises, or the internal temperature exceeds the rated temperature
+of its components, the monitor is likely to experience failure. This
+failure may not be immediate, but is under most circumstances inevitable. <B>
+<U>Monitor failures can be violent in nature, and can explode and produce
+shrapnel, as well as overheat and catch fire</U>. </B>In no circumstance
+should one leave a monitor unattended in an uncertain state. Furthermore,
+exceeding the rated maximum frequencies of a monitor may cause the phosphors
+to age prematurely, as well as<B> <U>increase the amount of harmful radiation
+projected towards the viewer beyond the specified maximums</U>.</B></LI>
+
+<LI>
+<B><U>Warning</U>: </B>Clock chips and RAMDACs as well as other components
+of the video card are designed with a maximum frequency.<B> <U>Programming
+these chips to operate at a frequency greater than they were designed for
+causes the chips to run hotter than they were designed to operate, and
+may cause the component to fail</U>. </B>It is wise to know and understand
+the maximum operating frequency of the components of any video subsystem
+you will be programming. Do not assume that the component is safe to operate
+at a particular frequency because it can be programmed to operate at that
+frequency. The rated frequencies are rated and verified according
+to batch yield. As clock frequencies increase, the failure rate of
+the chips during manufacturing testing increases. It is impossible
+to predict the actual point at which a given semiconductor will fail, thus
+manufacturers monitor the failure rate statistically to determine the frequency
+that gives an acceptable batch yield. <B><U>These failures are typically
+unobservable and require a method of testing every gate on the chip, as
+many failures may only be observable under very specific circumstances,
+typically resulting in intermittent failures, although complete "meltdown"
+due to a newly formed short is also possible.</U></B> If they
+occur, the entire semiconductor must be rejected due to these failures
+being irrepairable. As you exceed the rated frequency you are taking
+a semiconductor that has passed a thourough test at its rated frequency
+and entering the realm of statistical probability. Attempting to
+find the maximum frequency is impossible, as by the time a failure is noticable
+the semiconductor has already been permanently damaged. Cooling the
+external package by using a heat sink and/or fan may increase the frequency
+at which a semiconductor can operate; however, there is still no way to
+determine the frequency at which a specific semiconductor will fail as
+it can only be done statistically and practically undetectable without
+being able to determine the proper operation of every gate on the semiconductor.
+Semiconductors such as fast CPU's are rated with the required heat sink
+and/or cooling fan in place. Aftermarket cooling devices are sold
+as "performance coolers" due to the inability to determine the statistical
+likelyhood of failure and the inability of the end user to simply reject
+failed semiconductors. <B><U>Under no circumstances should a programmer
+develop software that overclocks an end-user's hardware without the end
+user being warned of the statistical likelyhood of failure.</U></B>
+Making any claims about the safety of the software's operation can leave
+the programmer with legal liability that cannot be excluded by disclaimer.</LI>
+
+<LI>
+<B><U>Disclaimer</U>: The author presents this information as-is without
+any warranty, including suitability for intended purpose. The author is
+not responsible for damages resulting by the use of the information, incidental
+or otherwise. By utilizing this information, you as the programmer take
+full liability for any damages caused by your use of this information.
+If you are not satisfied with these terms, then your only recourse is to
+not use this information. While every reasonable effort is made to ensure
+that this information is correct, the possibility exists for error and
+is not guaranteed for accuracy, and disclaims liability for any changes,
+errors or omissions and is not responsible for any damages that may arise
+from the use or misuse of this information. License to use this information
+is only granted where this disclaimer applies in whole.</B></LI>
+</UL>
+<A NAME="feedback"></A><B>Feedback</B>
+<BR> I can be reached online
+via the <A HREF="feedback.htm">Feedback Form</A>. Consider it your
+moral obligation to send feedback about the page, including inaccuracies,
+confusing parts, missing info, questions/answers and other feedback type
+thingies.
+<BR>
+
+<P>Notice: All trademarks used or referred to on this page are the property
+of their respective owners.
+<BR>All pages are Copyright © 1997, 1998, J. D. Neal, except where
+noted. Permission for utilization and distribution is subject to the terms
+of the <A HREF="license.htm">FreeVGA Project Copyright License</A>. <IMG SRC="http://www.goodnet.com/~tinara/cgi-bin/imgserv.cgi?logo.gif" >
+</BODY>
+</HTML>
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