I response to Dr. Xia's question regarding connecting a
Mitsubishi video copy processor (VCP) to an SGI workstation for
screen dumps, we have implemented a solution which does not require
buying a new video printer. We too were faced with this problem when
we upgraded from an X32 to a SGI-based console. I investigated
several new video printers which could work at the horizontal scan
rate of the Indy's console monitor (51 to 78 kHz for 1280 X 1024
resolution) , but these were all quite expensive ($5000 or more).
Finally, we decided to buy a special video board which is installed
in one of the Indy's expansion slots (the other one is generally used
for a second ethernet interface dedicated to the spectrometer) and
which can generate a video signal with a sufficiently slow scan rate
that the old Mitsubishi VCP could still work. This board is called
the "Indy Video" option on SGI Indy's and costs about $2000 MSRP. The
software to run it is included with the board and allows you to do
screen dumps to the VCP (or to any video device, such as a VCR for
recording MRI movie loops) in one of two modes: full screen or
window. In the window mode, you get a fixed-size window which can be
moved across the screen by mouse. Whatever portion of the screen lies
inside this window is output to the VCP or other video device. The
software has probably been improved since we bought the Indy Video
option and I'm sure there is an analogous option for more modern SGI
computers, such as the O2 and Octane series. Please contact me if you
need more details on this solution or are still interested in buying
a newer, directly-compatible VCP.
Best regards,
Ken Fishbein
Facility
Manager, NMR Unit
NIH/NIA/GRC
Ph. (410) 558-8512
FAX (410) 558-8323
E-mail: fishbein@vms.grc.nia.nih.gov
Address: Ken Fishbein
NIH/NIA/GRC
5600 Nathan Shock Drive
Baltimore, MD 21224 USA