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Choosing a Display Mode

You can choose a display mode using the ScreenMode Preferences editor. Instructions on choosing the display mode and how to activate the monitor driver if it is not available appear in the ScreenMode editor description in Chapter 5.

The tables in this section list display modes available on the Amiga. They are grouped according to the Amiga chip set, showing the possible modes that all chips sets can use first, followed by those that require either ECS or AGA chip sets, and the those that are available for the AGA chip set only.

Within the groups, the modes are listed by the monitor file name. To use any of the display modes shown, you must have the full custom chip set required and the appropriate monitor driver icon must be present in DEVS:Monitors.

Screen Resolution is given in pixels, with the horizontal size followed by the vertical size. For example, 640 x 400 is a screen 640 pixels wide and 400 pixels high. The overscan sizes shown are the maximum visible size for the given mode. In the Color Palette column, the maximum number of displayable colors is given first, followed by a slash, and then the size of the palette for that mode. For example, 16/4096 is a maximum of 16 displayable colors from a total palette of 4096 colors.

Most display modes have an interlace option. Interlacing doubles the vertical resolution to allow you to get twice as much information on the screen. It also makes the output of many display modes video-compatible. Interlaced screens may, however, flicker when used with certain monitors. Consult your monitor documentation to make sure that it supports interlacing before selecting this feature.

Some display modes have a Super-High-Res option, which doubles the number of pixels displayable horizontally. On ECS systems, as this increase the screen resolution, it reduces the number of colors available.

The DBLNTSC and DBLPAL display modes are available for use on Amiga systems containing the AGA chips set. Although you can use them on ECS systems, they provide no benefit on systems without the AGA chip set. Additionally, these display modes do not work with some VGA-only monitors.

Monitor Drivers Available on All Amigas

Note:

On Amigas using the AGA chip set the color palette for all monitors is 256/16 million, except for A2024 monitors.

NTSC Monitor

Display Mode

Screen Resolution

Overscan Size

Color Palette

High Res

640 x 200

724 x 241

16 / 4096

High Res Laced

640 x 400

724 x 482

16 / 4096

Low Res

320 x 200

362 x 241

32 / 4096

Low Res Laced

320 x 400

362 x 482

32 / 4096

PAL Monitor

Display Mode

Screen Resolution

Overscan Size

Color Palette

High Res

640 x 256

724 x 283

16 / 4096

High Res Laced

640 x 512

724 x 566

16 / 4096

Low Res

320 x 256

362 x 283

32 / 4096

Low Res Laced

320 x 512

362 x 566

32 / 4096

Note that the Low Res modes are particularly helpful to users who are visually impaired since they offer an enlarged display.

A2024 Monitor

Display Mode

Screen Resolution

Color Palette

NTSC

1008 x 800

4 / 16

PAL

1008 x 1024

4 / 16

The following are additional display modes that are available under the original Amiga chip set. These display mode can be used by applications, but not the Workbench screen.

NTSC Monitor

Display Mode

Screen Resolution

Overscan Size

Color Palette

HAM

320 x 200

362 x 241

4096 / 4096

HAM Laced

320 x 400

362 x 482

4096 / 4096

Extra Halfbrite

320 x 200

362 x 241

64 / 4096

Extra Halfbrite Laced

320 x 400

362 x 482

64 / 4096

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