17 Oct
2008
17 Oct
'08
1:38 p.m.
That's true of many (but not all) the B&W
vector games, such as
Battlezone and Red Baron, but not of the color vector games. In the
color vector games, the CRT itself introduces pixelization, because of
the holes in the shadow mask and the discrete phosphor dots. The
resolution isn't really all that great.
Did anyone try using 3 monochrome CRTs and combining the outputs
optically (e.g. by back projectuion)? That would get round the need for a
shadowmask
(The reverse, splitting up the image into primary colours using dichroic
prisms and imaging the result with 3 vidicon tubes, was not uncommon in
colour video cameras at one time).
There was a color vector display technology that didn't use a shadow
mask or phosphor dots, but it was very uncommon. It used two layers of
phosphor with different activation energies, and the high-voltage supply
was actually switched between two voltages. The lower voltage only
activated one phosphor, but the higer voltage activated both, so two
different colors were available. This was used in the DEC VR20 monitor,
of which few units were believed to have been sold.
I haev an HP1350 'graphics translator' here -- it's an HPIB input vector
display generator. The manual mentions an HP colour vector monitor for
this unit, which would appear to work as you described, alas I've never
seen one (I have the HP1311 monochrome monitor only). I cna dig out the
model number if anyone wants to look for one.
-tony