# | README file for | | ELSA VICTORY 3D Windows driver, ver 5.30 | | Copyright (c) 1994-96 ELSA GmbH, Aachen (Germany) | | Subsidary: | ELSA GmbH ELSA Inc. | Sonnenweg 11 2150 Trade Zone Blvd. | D-52070 Aachen Suite 101 | Germany San Jose, CA 95131 | USA | | Phone : +49-241-9177-0 Phone: +1-408-935-0350 | Support Fax: +49-241-9177-213 Phone: 1-800-272-ELSA | BBS (modem): +49-241-9177-981 Fax : +1-408-935-0370 | BBS (ISDN) : +49-241-9177-7800 BBS : +1-408-935-0380 | CompuServe : GO ELSA CIS : GO ELSA | WWW : http://www.elsa.de WWW : http://www.elsa.com | | 02/01/96, qn Table of Contents: 1. Overview 2. Contents 3. Installation 4. Release notes ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Overview This directory contains the ELSA VICTORY 3D Windows drivers as well as ELSA Windows applications, e.g. WINman and SETUP. The Windows drivers support all resolutions and color depths available with the ELSA VICTORY 3D graphics boards. All Windows drivers on this disk take best advantage of the VICTORY 3D graphics hardware, thus enabling the full feature set of the boards for use in Windows. Ergonomics as well as Windows performance are significantly enhanced by the drivers. WINman is a Windows utility program to configure the rich feature set of the drivers. It features a intuitive user interface that allows you to configure resolution, color depth, refresh rate and the virtual desktop. WINman offers extensive online help, describing it's own and the Windows drivers' configuration options. Please take the time to read the online help! It will help you better take advantage of your VICTORY 3D graphics board. SETUP is an installation program for the installation of the ELSA VICTORY 3D Windows driver and the ELSA Windows utilities. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2. Contents Almost all files are compressed, their names are slightly changed. Please note that the files can NOT just be copied from this directory. (see installation) This directory contains the following files: DATE.DOC file identifying the disk, prod. date, etc. README.TXT the file you currently look at LIESMICH.TXT german version of README OEMSETUP.INF control file for Microsoft SETUP WINVCT08.DR_ 256 color driver ( 8 bpp) WINVCT16.DR_ 64k color driver (16 bpp) WINVCT24.DR_ 16M color driver (24 bpp) WINVGA.2G_ grabber file VDDWIN.38_ virtuell device driver WINVGA.3G_ grabber file 8514FIX.FO_ several system fonts for the both 8514OEM.FO_ font/captionbar sizes 8514SYS.FO_ " VGAFIX.FO_ " VGAOEM.FO_ " VGASYS.FO_ " WINMAN.EX_ WINman program WINMAN.MO_ WINman monitor configuration file WINMADEU.DL_ german resource DLL for WINman WINMADEU.HL_ german help file for WINman WINMADEU.DL_ english resource DLL for WINman WINMAENG.HL_ english help file for WINman SETUP.EXE Setup Programm: loads WSETUP.EXE WSETUP.EX_ Wsetup program WSETUP.INF Wsetup installation description file WSETUDEU.DL_ german resource DLL for WSETUP WSETUDEU.HL_ german help file for WSETUP WSETUENG.DL_ english resource DLL for WSETUP WSETUENG.HL_ english help file for WSETUP In case of trouble during or after installation, please make sure you have all the files mentioned above! ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3. Installation 3.1 Installation of the ELSA Windows driver with ELSA SETUP.EXE You can install the ELSA VICTORY 3D Windows drivers with the program SETUP.EXE on this disk "Drivers for Windows 3.1x" or with CD ROM. Start Windows, call in the "Program Manager" "File"/"Run ...", enter the commandline "a:setup" or the corresponding path on the ELSA CD (e.g. D:\VICTORY\WIN31\SETUP.EXE) and confirm with "OK". SETUP asks for your language, installs the VICTORY 3D Windows drivers and configures with WINman a fitting graphics mode. Afterwards (and also at following calls of SETUP), when the Windows driver installation is o.k., you may install additional Windows utility programs. 3.2 Installation of the ELSA Windows driver with Microsoft SETUP.EXE Make sure to have the original Windows 3.1 distribution disk present. The installation procedure will ask you for some of these disks. To install the ELSA VICTORY 3D Windows drivers, please exit Windows and change to your Windows directory and run the Microsoft SETUP program. Select the menu 'displays', scroll down to the end of the list and select 'Other'. SETUP will ask for a floppy disk. Please insert the ELSA VICTORY 3D Windows disk into your floppy drive and press . SETUP will offer a list of choices of ELSA VICTORY 3D graphic boards to install from the floppy. Please locate and select the entry that corresponds to product name of your VICTORY 3D board.' SETUP will install and change all neccessary files for you. If you update an existing installation, SETUP will ask whether it should update or keep old files. Please be sure to press to update the existing files. After SETUP completes the installation rerun Windows. ELSA WINman will automatically be launched. WINman is a tool to help you configure and customize the VICTORY 3D board and your monitor. You can request help in WINman anytime by pressing the key. CAVEAT: Do NEVER enter the path to your Windows system directory if SETUP asks for a DISK. Otherwise the update fails possibly. 3.3 User Hints WINman WINman installs itself in the Program Group ELSAware in Windows. After the initial installation and first call, you can call WINman from your Program Group ELSAware. At first use you should run "First ..." completly inclusive storing a Windows graphicmode. Later you may modify your graphics mode under "Graphicmode ...". After storing more than one graphicmode, WINman starts with a fast graphics mode switching menu. Then you may switch your Windows graphics mode very fast without testing with test screens. In all menus you will find context sensitive help (with "Help"- button or with F1-key). 3.4 Video-acceleration with DCI 3.4.1 Installation of DCI-support To activate the DCI capability of the graphics board, you have to install VfW 1.1d (or higher) from the delivered ELSA CD. Even when you have installed VfW before, it is necessary to run the installation from the ELSA CD, because some additional files are copied to the windows system directory and the file SYSTEM.INI is modified, too. To install VfW you have to run SETUP.EXE under windows from the directory \ELSAWARE\VFW from the ELSA CD. The following files are copied to the windows system directory: UDH.DLL (Universal Draw Handler) DCIMAN.DLL (DCI-Manager) The installation-software also modifies the SYSTEM.INI-file: [DRIVERS] DCI=display vids.draw=udh.dll [WINNER.DRV] DCI-SUPPORT=1 3.4.2 Hints - If an application doesn't use DCI, there will be no acceleration. - DCI allows direct access of visible display-memory (called "Primary Surface"). If no DCI is available, an application needs two steps to render an image: First it renders the image into a bitmap in the computer's main memory. Then it uses GDI to copy the bitmap onto the visible display. With DCI the program can write directly into the display's memory, which is faster than using GDI and a bitmap. The disadvantage is, that the data must be compatible to the display's color-depth (e.g 8-bit palettized, 16-bit hicolor, 32-bit true-color), otherwise the application has to convert the color-space itself, which takes a lot of time. - The VICTORY 3D-gui-accelerators have integrated circuitry to minimize the amount of CPU-power needed to playback video. These boards support access to invisible display-memory (called "OffScreen Surface"), managed by our VICTORY-DCI driver. When an application finished drawing into offscreen, it advises the DCI-driver to render the offscreen-image into visible display-memory. The DCI-driver uses the accelerator- hardware to perform shrinking, stretching and/or color- conversion. Increasing resolution and color-depth shrinks available offscreen-memory, so that a video may not fit into it anymore. This causes the DCI-driver to switch back to "Primary Surface". - When using DCI with 256 colors, activate color-scheme "windows standard". ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4. Release Notes VERSION 5.30: First release.