[English] PDREADME.TXT MATROX GRAPHICS INC. 1999.09.07 Matrox PowerDesk for Windows 95/98 Revision 5.25.019 Contents ======== - Description of this release - Installation - More information - Notes, problems, and limitations - Matrox TV output Description of this release =========================== Matrox PowerDesk software includes a display driver and display utilities. With this software, you can take full advantage of your Matrox graphics hardware and you can access additional Matrox display-related features. Installation ============ To install Matrox PowerDesk, start the "setup" program included with it, then follow the on-screen instructions. The setup program will only install software if a Matrox graphics card model supported by the setup program is installed in your computer. More information ================ For more information on Matrox PowerDesk, see the help file included with it. For information specific to your Matrox graphics card, see your Matrox or system manual. Notes, problems, and limitations ================================ - DirectDraw, Direct3D and DirectVideo support The DirectDraw driver we provide is compatible with DirectX 2 (and later) and includes Direct3D support. For our DirectDraw/Direct3D driver to be called, and benefit from hardware acceleration, Microsoft DirectX 2 (or later) MUST be installed, even for programs originally made for DirectX 1. Also, if a recent version of DirectX isn't installed, some Matrox PowerDesk features may not be available. We provide DirectX on the Matrox CD-ROM. The latest DirectX is available from the Microsoft Web site, and is included with many DirectX programs. IMPORTANT: If the DirectX setup program prompts you to replace the existing display drivers, click "No". Otherwise, the setup program installs display drivers which are not as optimized as the Matrox drivers and which do not support PowerDesk software. Note that depending on the origin of your Microsoft DirectX software, it may not include DirectVideo support. For faster playback of Indeo and Cinepak AVI files, you should install Microsoft DirectVideo support. - Matrox bus mastering This driver supports bus mastering. Bus mastering is a feature that allows expansion cards to perform tasks at the same time as your computer's CPU. If you have a fast Pentium computer (faster than 166 MHz), the display performance of most programs is improved when bus mastering is used. To use bus mastering with 3D (DirectX) programs, your graphics card needs an interrupt request (IRQ). Most computers automatically assign an IRQ to graphics cards, but some do not. If your graphics card hasn't been assigned an IRQ, programs that use Matrox bus mastering may not work properly. For more information, see your Matrox or system manual. - Adobe Type Manager limitation With Adobe Type Manager installed, you cannot run the driver if the "Advanced Graphics Acceleration Settings" is set to none. Note that ATM is installed as part of Adobe Acrobat Reader. This is an Adobe problem documented in the Windows 95/98 "display.txt" file. - Monitors in interlaced mode Some older monitors such as the NEC 3D and many "SuperVGA" monitors do not support non-interlaced mode in all resolutions. The Matrox display driver does not properly handle interlaced mode with the Windows 95/98 monitor selection method. If you have one of these monitors, please use the Matrox Monitor selection method. - DirectDraw and Automatic Power Management As stated in "Microsoft DirectX release Notes", September 30, 1995, a DirectDraw game may be unable to restore properly if it is suspended by Automatic Power Management utilities. - Installation in different language versions of Windows 95/98 If you install software in a language different from the language of your operating system (for example, English software on a Japanese system), you may have problems with text and dialog box controls being cut off. This is because of differences in system fonts. - Matrox "DualHead Zoom" feature with digital video If your Matrox graphics card has DualHead support and you're using Windows 95/98, the "DualHead Zoom" feature doesn't display digital video that is using the video overlay feature of your Matrox graphics card. Programs that use the video overlay feature include Microsoft Media Player, Zoran SoftDVD and other programs that use ActiveMovie or DirectX Media. If the "DualHead Zoom" feature is used on a region that's using hardware-based video overlay, that region will appear as a solid color on your secondary display. (If your secondary display is a TV, you can use the "DualHead DVDMax" feature to view this type of video full-screen on your secondary display.) - DualHead Multi-Display with other graphics cards With Windows 98, certain Matrox graphics cards (for example, Millennium G400 graphics cards with the DualHead feature) support the "DualHead Multi- Display" feature. With this feature, one graphics chip is used to control two separate displays. Because of problems with Windows 98, this feature may not work with more than one graphics card in your computer. Matrox TV output ================ Certain models of Matrox graphics cards support TV output. With TV output support, you can view or record your computer display with a TV or video recorder connected to your graphics card. Recommendation -------------- - While playing games using TV output, we recommend you use a 640 x 480 display resolution. This is because the resolution capabilities of TVs are lower than most computer monitors. If you use a higher display resolution (800 x 600 or 1024 x 768), the display on your TV may not look as sharp as the display of your computer monitor -- that is, some of the extra detail may be harder to see on your TV. - For Matrox G100/G200 cards with TV output support -- Matrox default advanced TV output settings are good for viewing most computer graphics (for example, computer games or your Windows desktop) on most TVs. Based on broadcast standards, there are advanced TV output settings that are better suited for viewing full-screen video (for example, from a video file). These settings are: NTSC Brightness : 180 Contrast : 234 Saturation : 137 Hue : 0 PAL Brightness : 167 Contrast : 255 Saturation : 138 Hue : 0 Note: For ideal settings, you may also need to adjust the settings on your TV. The default brightness, contrast, saturation and hue settings on most consumer video devices are higher than broadcast standards. These settings are usually OK for viewing video but may not look OK with computer graphics. (This is why Matrox default TV output settings are lower than what's ideal for video.) For more information on how to adjust settings on your TV, see your TV manual.