MXGA
ZG94-0485 IBM Multiple XGA Display Device Drivers   83G8292

MXGA_OS2.IMA OS/2 2.11-4.0 Install Package created by Ryan Alwede
   2.11-3.0 installs as-is, 4.0 needs some twiddling.

NOTE: Ryan was looking for drivers for the Nth Graphics Double Edge XGA-2 adapter. While snuffling through the hard drives, he found the mythical MXGA drivers. Ryan foundt references to the I: drive [on a NetWare server], but the networked drive has not been foundt yet. So we don't have the full OS/2 - Win3.1 install package :(

  MXGA was co-developed [?] between IBM and Software 2000. Czeching the Internet Archive produced ZERO hits for MXGA on Software 2000's site.

  Perhaps we can compare MXGA [built on DMQS] to a "sordid" AI. The 8514 AI "hid" the 8514 registers and you operated the adapter via high level commands. -BUT- DMQS informs the operating system about the adapter's capabilities, leaving it up to the operating system to operate the adapter.

  DMQS depends on the existence of XGA-NI in order to seamlessly provide adapter capabilities. My SWAG is that information can be provided to XGA via drivers or setup files. Problem is that we don't know WHAT DMQS could provide to XGA.

  Does DMQS provide a "window" into the latest XGA-NI capabilities?

For example, DMQS has an "Optional Extension" for Display Color Characteristics. It refers to CIE color. Perhaps this is akin to W95's *.ICM files?


42G2193 PS/2 HITR Video Subsystems Sep 92 pages 319-354 [DMQS]

DMQS Information File Optional Extensions pages 331-334
The following optional extensions to the display information file have been defined. For the location of the optional extensions within the file see Figure 3-186 on page 3-195.

Display Color Characteristics: The precise color characteristics of the display can be encoded in the DMQS display information file, using an optional extension, to allow software to encode the palette or select colors to satisfy specific color requirements.

This color information consists of X,Y coordinate pairs of the primary color points in the CIE color chart, their peak luminance values, and their gamma correction values.

Each CIE chart coordinate pair consists of two 16-bit fractional integers in the range of 0 to 1. Each such integer is a fraction of 1, so that a field value of hex 8000 is equivalent to 0.5, and hex FFFF is (almost) 1.0.

Each peak luminance value is a 16-bit unsigned integer, which is that color's peak luminance multiplied by 10. For example, a field of decimal 175 represents an actual peak luminance value of 17.5.

Each gamma correction value is a 16-bit unsigned integer, which is that color's gamma correction factor multiplied by 100. For example, a field value of decimal 220 represents a gamma correction of 2.2.

Figure 3-188. DMQS Display Color Characteristics

Offset

Data Type

Description

00h

Word

Length of following optional extension data. 22h is the fixed length of the display color characteristics data.

02h

Word

Optional extension Identifier 0001h identifies display color characteristics data

04h

Word

Red Color Point

06h

Word

The X,V coordinate of the color red in the CIE color chart

08h

Word

Red Peak Luminance

0Ah

Word

Red Gamma Value

0Ch

Word

Green Color Point

0Eh

Word

The X,V coordinate of the color green in the CIE color chart

10h

Word

Green Peak Luminance

12h

Word

Green Gamma Value

14h

Word

Blue Color Point

16h

Word

The X,V coordinate of the color blue in the CIE color chart

18h

Word

Blue Peak Luminance

1Ah

Word

Blue Gamma Value

1Ch

Word

White Color Point

1Eh

Word

The X,V coordinate of the color white in the CIE color chart

20h

Word

White Peak Luminance

22h

Word

White Gamma Value



Pre-selected Colors: A list of pre-selected colors certified to comply with ISO 9241 may be encoded in the DMQS display file, using an optional extension. The colors in this pre-selected list are certified by the display manufacturer to be sufficiently far apart on the CIELUV space-distance measurement system. Software may use these pre-selected colors in ISO-conforming applications, or may alternatively use the color characteristics data described in "Display Color Characteristics" on page 3-197 to generate an alternative list.

ISO 9241 specified that sets of 6 and 11 colors be available. In this pre-selected list, a single set of 11 colors is presented, of which the first 6 comprise the set of 6, and all 11 comprise the set of 11 compliant colors.

The list consists of an 11-entry array, each entry consisting of a 13-character text string describing the color, and three 1-byte values representing the RGB values used to generate the color.

Figure 3-189. DMQS Display Pre-selected Colors  

Offset

Data Type

Description

00h

Word

Length of following optional extension data 0B2H is the fixed length of the pre-selected color data

02h

Word

Optional extension Identifier 002H identifies the pre-selected color list

04h

13-char string

Color name of first pre-selected color

11h

byte

Red color intensity of first pre-selected color

12h

byte

Green color intensity of first pre-selected color

13h

byte

Blue color intensity of first pre-selected color

14h

13-char string

Color name of second pre-selected color

21h

byte

Red color intensity of second pre-selected color

22h

byte

Green color intensity of second pre-selected color

23h

byte

Blue color intensity of second pre-selected color

24h

 

11 colors in all