VT8601 Apollo ProMedia
Revision 1.3 September 8, 1999
-8-
System Overview
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Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller Overview
The Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller is a highly integrated display control device that incorporates a 64-bit 3D/2D graphic
engine and video accelerator with advanced DVD video and optional TV output capability. It provides a flexible and high
performance solution for graphics and video playback acceleration for various color depth and resolution modes.
The Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller supports a video capture port to import captured live MPEG 1 or MPEG 2 video
streams, or DVD decompressed video streams to be overlaid with a graphics stream of mixed color depth displays. In supporting
dual live videos, the Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller offers independent dual video windows ready for videoconferencing
and with linear scaling capability.
Integrating the programmable phase lock loop with high speed LUT DACs, the Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller is a true
price/performance solution for the modern multimedia based entertainment PC.
Capability Overview
The Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller is a fully integrated CRT and TV 64-bit 2D/3D Accelerator. The high performance
graphics engine offers high speed 3D image processing in full compliance and compatibility with IBM® VGA and VESA™
extended VGA. As an integrated controller, it allows unprecedented cost and performance advantages by eliminating the need for
an external frame buffer while at the same time gaining local access to a larger amount of memory. Many functions can now be
eliminated that previously consumed large amounts of bandwidth.
The Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller, equipped with a single-cycle 3D GUI Engine, pipelines 3D rendering process
architecture in hardware, providing real-time interactions with solid 3D models in CAD/CAM, 3D modeling, and 3D games. It
supports all key 3D rendering operations, including: Gouraud shading for smooth object surfaces, texture mapping for realistic
object textures, 16-bit hardware Z-buffering for fast 3D depth calculations, and Alpha Blending for transparency effects.
The Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller’s highly innovative design, a full 64-bit memory interface with a high performance
graphics engine which can support a RAMDAC™ running up to 230MHz, dramatically improves GUI functions and significantly
promotes overall system operation.
The Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller supports a full AGP implementation internally to remain compatible with existing
software and programming models. However, since the engine is integrated it enjoys a higher bandwidth and lower latency than is
possible with discrete solutions. AGP operations can include direct access of the system memory by the 2D/3D engine to provide
increased texture memory.
To meet the requirements of a PC99 graphics adapter in a multimedia PC, the Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller supports
planar video format for MPEG-1, MPEG-2, and DVD-video playback. The dual video playback is capable of overlaying windows
for videoconferencing and multimedia displays. Advanced features of the Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller, such as color
space conversion, video scaling, dual video windows, dual-view display, Video Module Interface (VMI), Vertical Blanking
Interleave (VBI), a 24-bit True Color DAC, and triple clock synthesizers allow performance at peak levels.
By using an extended 16-bit VMI port the Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller can support DTV resolution. This port can
operate as either an input for Video Capture or as an output for Video display. The Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller is
capable of supporting three simultaneous displays: CRT, Flat Panel & Video, each with a different “window” or desktop.
Apollo ProMedia Graphics Controller supports a rich featured flat panel interface that can be used to directly control a flat panel
device.
Alternatively, it can drive an LVDS or TMDS transmitter to support the latest Flat Panel displays requiring these
interfaces.
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