From: tsullivan@trentu.ca (The OTHER One True God)
Subject: Re: TECH: Amiga VR?
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 92 01:13:23 -0500
Message-ID: <10DEC199201131290@trentu.ca>
Organization: Trent Computing and Telecommunications Department


In article <1992Dec9.203314.29551@u.washington.edu>, spittman@nyx.cs.du.edu (Steve Pittman) writes...
>In article <1992Dec2.200114.4156@wvnvms.wvnet.edu> un040367@wvnvms.wvnet.
>du writes:
>>
>>        I was just wondering, does anyone know if any software is
>>available via FTP or otherwise for Amiga VR applications, such as a
>>PowerGlove controller and or software that makes use of it?  How about
>>the Sega glasses?  Anything else I may have no idea about?
>
> If you're getting a PC for VR applications, my advice is not to do it. 
>There may be more software, etc. for the PC, but, hardware-wise, from what
>I've seen, the Amiga is much better equipped for VR.  I was recently
>looking around in an Amiga store, and they had an A2000 (I think) set up
>w/a Video Toaster, etc, and the WHOLE setup was like, $5000...the VT is
>expensive as hell, from what I hear, but the stuff they added was like,
>the controller equipment for the VT, and a processor upgrade (to
>68030)....so I'm sure you could get a damn good (graphics-wise) Amiga for
>about the same price as a PC that couldn't do as much graphics-wise...
> 
> i.e. if you were to buy a PC fast enough to handle the graphics
>processing, and then spring for the SVGA monitor, etc, along with a video
>accelerator (so you don't sit around all day waiting for it), you could
>get a pretty damn good Amiga that already has that stuff built in.
> Plus, you can get a card for (I think...dont' quote me on this) $300 or
>so that makes your Amiga act exactly like an IBM...and it's not software,
>so as far as I know, it's reasonably fast...

   For $5000 you can get a 486-33 with an i860 math coprocessor which will 
give you as much computing power as your average Cray. That would be more 
than enough for any home-VR app you could think of. You culd probably rig 
it up with a 24-bit graphics card and you'd be set, making the Amiga with a 
video-toaster look like a toy (no flames, please! This isn't in the realm 
of PC/Amiga war, rather co-processor power!)

   Tim Sullivan
   tsullivan@trentu.ca
   cstes@blaze.trentu.ca

Disclaim THIS, buddy!
---
I looked over Jordan, what did I see?
Saw a US Marine in a pile of debris.
          - Roger Waters, Amused to Death