Norwood, Massachusetts-based Phoenix Technologies Ltd has introduced PhoenixVIEW/XG, which it says is the industry’s first video BIOS for the high performance Extended Graphics Array, or XGA, video standard defined by IBM Corp. Available immediately, PhoenixVIEW/XG supports the XGA chip sets G200 and G201 from SGS Thomson Microelectronics NV, a key IBM partner in the XGA market. The XGA standard currently addresses the high end graphics market for personal computers, though Phoenix reckons it will be the general standard in the future. It is backwards compatible with existing VGA and Super VGA standards though it provides higher screen and colour resolutions – 256 simultaneous colours at 1024 by 768 screen resolution, or 65,536 simultaneous colours at 640 by 480 screen resolution – and faster execution of graphics operations through a graphics co-processor.
SGS-Thomson
The XGA standard is compatible with Video Electronics Standards Association’s requirements and is optimised to accelerate the Windows and OS/2 graphics. Features of PhoenixVIEW/XG Video BIOS include full support for IBM’s XGA standard and its advanced graphics features; full support for Video Electronic’s Standards Associations XGA Extensions standard, version 1.0; backwards compatibility with VGA and SVGA calls; complete support for SGS-Thomson’s XGA chip sets G200 and G201; compatibility with Phoenix’s system BIOS products for desktops; support for bus-mastering; XGA extended graphics modes; VGA-compatibility for running VGA appliations faster, and 132 column text to extend VGA text modes; full Interrupt 10h and extended Interrupt 15h support; support for IBM’s XGA drivers for Windows and OS/2; advanced monitor support through Display Mode Query and Set compact relocatable code for high performance; adaptability for add-in board or motherboard designs; compatability with a wide variet of personal computers. Phoenix has worked closely with IBM and SGS-Thomson Microelectronics in Phoenix on development of PhoenixVIEW/XG to ensure the system can be be easily configured by a diversity of customers. Certain components, for example, are available in compact ROM-based form, or in Terminate-and-Stay Resident form to allow better monitor-specific support or to support designer-specific extended video modes. In addition, the Display Mode Query and Set support allows a designer to load monitor-specific information in the ROM or make it available in an MS-DOS file. This enables computer designers to differentiate their products, and to design in the same XGA hardware in their low-end as well as high-end products. In addition to various forms on source and object code licences, PhoenixVIEW/XG is also available in custom format through the company’s Custom Engineering programme. Customisation options include customer-specific code development or optimisation and system ROM configuration. Phoenix can also help develop support for customer’s extensions to XGA standard, and to exactly match hardware specifications of different monitors.
