TF536 with ZZ9000 video card

[amimjf]

Hi,

So I got my ZZ9000 working in both my A2000 and my A500++, only problem was in the A2000 the upscaler is unstable if not using the PSU TICK, i.e Agnus internal tick. Works great in A500++ though.

It's actually pretty neat, got TCP/IP working and FTP to aminet and EAB which is really cool.

I hadnt realised that when using HDMI out Paula audio is lost, so I can't listen to mods, makes sense, there is no audio capture, but a hadn't thought it through.

[Mark Sealey]

Thank you for the reply.

Super cool....Whats it like on the A500++ ? nice speed increase with workbench etc...?

any videos or pictures ?

Am i right in saying that as we are Zorro II that ARM SDK will not work....?......I`m hoping at some point that i could use a ARM core to play MP3`s

Thank you

[amimjf]

Well a 16 colour ECS workbench compared to RTG is like night and day, the difference is just dramatic.

Stuff like DrawStudio/Photogenics looks better, lots more space for Wordsworth/FinalWriter etc.

The upscaled ECS output looks good in games, scales well to my HDMI monitor.

With ZII there is just a smaller memory space reserved for ARM interactions, so you could imagine that data would have to be broken up into chunks with some performance impact.

Apart from a few screenshots of ZZ9000 firmware beta 2.0.0 there is not much I've seen that actually uses the ARM SDK.

[terriblefire]

Well a 16 colour ECS workbench compared to RTG is like night and day, the difference is just dramatic.

Stuff like DrawStudio/Photogenics looks better, lots more space for Wordsworth/FinalWriter etc.

The upscaled ECS output looks good in games, scales well to my HDMI monitor.

With ZII there is just a smaller memory space reserved for ARM interactions, so you could imagine that data would have to be broken up into chunks with some performance impact.

Apart from a few screenshots of ZZ9000 firmware beta 2.0.0 there is not much I've seen that actually uses the ARM SDK.

The ARM should be able to do MPEG decode... if someone writes the software for it.

[amimjf]

The ARM should be able to do MPEG decode... if someone writes the software for it.

Heck, with the magic resource generator let's imagine OpenGL/ Warp3D.

Unfortunately i doubt there will be much 3rd party support and I think Lukas is a very busy guy.

I did look at the SDK when I got my card on order, it's a pretty thin structure around a blob thrower.

[terriblefire]

I did look at the SDK when I got my card on order, it's a pretty thin structure around a blob thrower.

I think OpenGL in software on an ARM is pushing it.. how fast is the ARM? Unless its ~1Ghz its gonna suck performance wise.

A really easy project would be to recompile mpeg2dec with gcc and have it spit the result into a framebuffer.

[amimjf]

I think OpenGL in software on an ARM is pushing it.. how fast is the ARM? Unless its ~1Ghz its gonna suck performance wise.

2x 666Mhz A9, although only one available to the SDK. No idea what performance that really gives, my ARM experience is all based on the M series.

[terriblefire]

I think OpenGL in software on an ARM is pushing it.. how fast is the ARM? Unless its ~1Ghz its gonna suck performance wise.

2x 666Mhz A9, although only one available to the SDK. No idea what performance that really gives, my ARM experience is all based on the M series.

Ok that could probably just about do a mesa implementation.. I thought those ARMs were softcores.

EDIT: i still think a really easy thing to to would be to compile mpeg2dec ... maybe mplayer too.

[Mark Sealey]

Awesome news....my zz9000 should be shipped in a few weeks....i have a Z-500 and tf536.....happy days

I think you have one of the early boards, did you get it updated with the new firmware yet?

No Ive done nothing to my TF536 as it is super stable untill i added my zz9000

My zz9000 came last week...plugged it into my A500+ with the Denice adapter for the zz9000

Booted ok...but had Glitches on normal workbench......so i made a copy of my Furia SD card(os.3.9) workbench runs fine...slight colour flickering on fonts and icons.....but stable.

Installed P95 from Icomp....and ZZ installer........i can change from Pal hi res int to any 8bit 256 colour....zz9000 screen....but the system is unstable...icons are ok untill you click on them....then there corrupted......if you goto the WB menus at the top the system crashes.

ZII firmware and 1.7 boot.bin

I`m doing more testing as this week goes on.....Any 16bit or higher screen modes and you get a instant crash.

any hints and tips would be great

Thanks

Mark

[amimjf]

Hi Mark,

My ZZ9000 + TF536 with an A500++ board in a checkmate case with ZII adapter is stable in the following setup.

- Kickstart 3.1.4
- MMUlibs
- P96 3.0
- Running from CF card, short cable no buffers
- Denese adapter to capture native screens
- ZZ9000 with 1.7.3 beta firmware for A500+ (2mb)
- mITX PSU

I had some initial problems because the ZZ9000 was not seated quite right, it would lockup as soon as I won't to a P96 mode. Only other problem was getting the correct firmware on the SD card, as I was messing around with an A2000 as well.

There is a ZZ9000 top or diag utility with the beta drivers, I presume that correctly detects the card and the draw t sts work ?