Videomaster
VideoMaster was (at the time) the best video modulator ever produced for the Amstrad CPC.
The connectors are:
- 6 Pin DIN plug for connecting into the CPC
- Composite video-output for the display
- connector for CPC disc drive power connector (if using on a CPC6128)
- plug to connect to 12V power on CPC monitor (GT64 or CTM644 monitor required)
The video master doesn't have a video input so doesn't have the capability by itself to create titles for videos - it was planned but it was never made - so to do that you would need to use a program on another computer which allows mixing more than one video source.
Made by Campursoft
Quality
On a modern flat screen LCD television the image quality from the Videomaster is worse than the SCART cables you can buy and worse than a native green screen or colour monitor. (This is using a composite to SCART cable).
Mode 0 is fine, mode 1 is useable, but mode 2 is hard to read. This is down to ghosting in the image. With the yellow on blue the ghosting is black. I (arnoldemu) have seen similar when using the SCART output from a KC Compact on a television so it may be that the signals are not acceptable to the modern TV.
The colour reproduction is good although bright white is a little dull for me. My television also has trouble with bright green in that there is visible moving dot crawl around the edges. There is also some noticeable banding between main display and border when the border colour is different from the main area.
Like the SCART, register 3 scrolling can be used (use values 5/6 for hsync length - any lower and the picture loses sync), and like the SCART if you try to use lower hsync lengths and if the border is not black then the main display will become darker.
It has also happened that when the television looses sync and when you then re-sync the picture is black and white with noticeable dot crawl all over it. I don't see this with a SCART cable.
I believe the problems I am seeing are down to the higher R,G,B voltage output from the Videomaster and using a composite to SCART.
Unfortunately I am unable to compare this with Amstrad's modulator. I will try the Videomaster with a composite cable (if I can find one) and on an older Sony Trinitron CRT television.
Technical
The PCB is single sided.
IC1 TEA2000 (PAL/NTSC Colour Encoder supporting 64 colours) RV1 variable resistor VC1 variable resistor L1 variable resistor
Pictures
User Manual
See also
Review of VideoMaster in CPC Attack :
All pics by Terje Grind (Thank you man!)
