[English] README.TXT MATROX GRAPHICS INC. 2003.03.14 Matrox PowerDesk for Windows NT 4.0 Rev. 5.05.019 Contents ======== - Release description - Installation - Using Matrox PowerDesk - Hardware-accelerated 3D - Notes, problems, and limitations - Matrox TV output Release description =================== This is the Matrox Windows NT Display Driver. It supports Microsoft Windows NT for x86 CPU's, version 4.0 (Build 1381 -- or later). This product includes: - Display Driver - Matrox PowerDesk for Windows NT 4.0 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. Using Matrox PowerDesk ====================== Changing resolution, selecting a monitor, and using the Matrox PowerDesk is covered in the "online.doc" file. You can view this file with WordPad. Hardware-accelerated 3D ======================= For 3D hardware acceleration, the Matrox Windows NT 4.0 display driver supports the OpenGL interface with 2 driver types -- MCD (Mini Client Driver) and ICD (Installable Client Driver). The Matrox Millennium, Millennium II, Mystique, Mystique 220, and G100-based graphics cards have MCD support. The Matrox G200-based, G400-based and later graphics cards have ICD support. (An ICD has more potential for optimization than an MCD.) 3D hardware acceleration has the following restrictions: - Currently no acceleration is available when multiple cards are in use. - The MCD/ICD does not support 8 bpp (256 colors) and 24 bpp (16777216 colors) modes. 16 bpp (64 K colors) and 32 bpp (True Color) modes are the ones that can be hardware-accelerated. - Limitations to the available resolutions are to be expected. All 3D modes require extra memory to handle double buffering and/or Z-buffering, and this memory is no longer available for display. Notes, problems, and limitations ================================ - Service Pack 4 or later recommended To avoid potential problems, we recommend you install Service Park 4 (or later) for Windows NT 4.0. - Computers with more than one PCI bus It is possible that a switch to a full-screen Command Prompt, or any change of mode, will result in a blue-screen crash if a card is installed on a PCI bus other than bus 0. The problem is under investigation. Moving the card to a different PCI slot is a possible workaround. There are systems where Windows NT reports conflicts between adapters installed beyond the PCI bridge. In this case, the Matrox miniport driver can't access its own card. If your system appears unable to find the card, try moving it to a different PCI slot. Installing Microsoft Service Pack 4 (or later) for Windows NT 4.0 should fix many of these problems. - DirectDraw with virtual desktops Some DirectDraw programs don't work properly with virtual desktops. We recommend you run DirectDraw programs with a normal desktop. - 3D-Maze screen saver Display problems may appear while using the "3D-Maze" screen saver. These may happen after Microsoft Service Pack 2 for Windows NT 4.0 is installed. These display problems are apparently fixed by Service Pack 4 (or later). - Running Winstone 97 The CenterPOPUP feature should be disabled (which is the default setting) when running the Winstone 97 benchmark. Some tests may report a time-out error if CenterPOPUP is used. - Limitation with multiple graphics cards Windows NT 4.0 supports a maximum of about 280 different display modes (combinations of resolution, color palette and refresh rate settings). You may encounter this limit if you have more than one Matrox graphics card installed in your computer. If the Matrox "VESA settings" option button is selected when there are multiple Matrox cards in your computer, you're even more likely to encounter the Windows NT 4.0 limit in the number of display modes. This is because the "VESA settings" option supports several different refresh rates for each display resolution and color palette setting. If you have more than one Matrox graphics card in your computer, we recommend you not use the "VESA settings" option. Note that changing your refresh rate through the Microsoft "Display Properties" dialog box activates the "VESA settings" option. - 3D Studio MAX 1.2 If you have problems running 3D Studio MAX 1.2 using the Matrox HEIDI driver, try disabling the "Use bus mastering" check box under "General settings". To access this check box, click "Start" > "Settings" > "Control Panel" > "Matrox Display Settings (double-click)" > "Performance". - 3D Studio MAX 2.0 Switching between HEIDI software emulation and OpenGL acceleration while 3D Studio MAX 2.0 is running, may cause the viewports to flicker while playing animations. This problem may also happen if display settings (resolution or color palette) are changed while 3D Studio MAX is running. If you experience these problems, try closing 3D Studio MAX, changing your display settings (resolution or color palette), and then restarting 3D Studio MAX. - 15-bit color palette support A 15-bit color palette is no longer supported. - OpenGL support Note the following limitations related to the OpenGL (3D) driver included with your Matrox display driver: - If you have a newer Matrox product or your Matrox software was provided by the manufacturer of your computer, full OpenGL support may be disabled with your Matrox display driver. For a Matrox display driver with full OpenGL support enabled, see the Matrox Web site (www.matrox.com/mga). (If your Matrox product was provided by the manufacturer of your computer, check the Web site of that manufacturer for a display driver. A display driver provided by the manufacturer of your computer is more likely to be tested with your computer model.) - In multi-display mode under Windows NT 4.0, OpenGL acceleration is only available if DualHead graphics hardware is the only graphics hardware you're using. (Multi-display OpenGL acceleration isn't supported with Matrox MMS products or with more than one graphics card in your computer.) - Using 3D Studio MAX 2.0, you may experience problems with the viewports being improperly redrawn. If this happens, simply click in a viewport to properly update their display. This problem isn't present with version 2.5 (or later) of 3D Studio MAX. - System memory requirements Because of a limitation in Windows NT 4.0, you may experience problems if your computer doesn't have more system memory than the total amount of graphics memory used in your computer. To determine the amount of graphics memory used in your computer, add the total amount of graphics memory on each installed Matrox graphics product in your computer. Depending on your total amount of graphics memory, here are some recommended amounts of system memory for Windows NT 4.0: | Graphics memory | System memory | | (total) | (recommended) | +--------------------+--------------------+ | 32 MB | 64 MB or more | | 64 MB | 128 MB or more | | 128 MB | 192 MB or more | | 160 MB | 256 MB or more | - Full-screen DOS support with multiple graphics chip If you have more than 10 graphics chips in your system (for example, 3 Matrox MMS-Quad cards), your system may stop responding when running a DOS program in full-screen mode. If your DOS program supports it, run it in a DOS window. 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 graphics 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 okay for viewing video but may not look okay 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. More information ---------------- For more information on display settings, see your Matrox manual and online documentation. For information on how to change the display resolution of a game you're using, see its documentation. Note: The Matrox zoom and virtual desktop features aren't supported in TV output mode. Also, TV output mode isn't supported if you have more than one Matrox graphics card in your computer. Note: For TV output with full-screen DOS display modes under Windows NT 4.0, only text display modes (02h, 03h) are supported.