Scala, Inc. - Hardware FAQ / Hardware Stability Guide

Of the various Video-chips families that are in current production from existing PC hardware suppliers, the following "chipset product families" are known to have stable device drivers for Windows2000 and XP:

The Intel "i810E/i815E" motherboard chipsets.
The ATI "Rage" & "Rage Mobility" PRO, TURBO, PRO TURBO, -LT, -Mx, and -XL chips.
The ATI "Rage128", RADEON, "RADEON MOBILITY", and "RADEON VE" chips.
The S3 Savage4 and VIA/S3 PL/PM/PN-133(T) integrated "ProSavage" chips.
The VIA/TridentBlade PLE133 integrated graphics motherboard chipsets.
The SiS 630E and SiS 630ET integrated graphics motherboard chipsets. The nVidia RIVA TNT/TNT2/TNT2m64/GeForce2/GeForce2MX/GeForce3Ti chips.

The Intel "i810E/815E" chipset often is available with a "TV-OUT" S-Video riser card. Solutions based on these chips appear to have a very nice "pro-sumer/corporate" NTSC/PAL video signal quality.

The "ATI Rage-xxx-xx" products are "End Of Life". PCI and AGP 8 MB "Xpert@Work98" products are still very plentiful. The former "Xpert@Play98" variation that had "S-Video TV-OUT" is no longer available in retail distribution. The "Mobility" versions of these chips, (only available in laptops), have TV-OUT capability on some laptops.

The "nVidia RIVA TNTx/GeForceX" products are nice & stable high performance, video chips. The low-end "TNT2 m64" variants are fine for use at up to 800x600x32bpp. [NTSC/PAL TV Applications] The "GeForce2MX" parts are suitable for "higher end" applications. [Example: driving 1280x720 & 1920x1080 Plasma Panels or high resolution video walls] Many "nVidia-based" graphics cards have some form of "TV-OUT" option. We do _not_ consider the "TV-OUT" offered by any of these products to be suitable for *ANY* Scala application! In "TV" environments the "nVidia-based" products tested to date are only acceptable when used with either a "Scan Converter" or a "GenLock/Scan Converter".

Examples of various "nVidia-based" graphics cards: [there are *many* vendors--this is a very partial list!]

http://www.asus.com.tw/products/Addon/Vga/agpv7100/spec.html
http://www.leadtek.com.tw/2834/Egeforce2mxdhp-1.htm
http://us.hercules.com/products/video/3dp2mx/product.php3
http://tw.msi.com.tw/showroom/vga/eng/8808v20.htm
http://tw.msi.com.tw/showroom/vga/eng/8818.htm

Microsoft Hardware Certification.

Microsoft now certifies hardware and driver software for many PC components which is available for anyone to review online at http://www.microsoft.com/hcl/default.asp. For a more complete list of drivers (both certified and non-certified), an excellent source for third party links
is at http://www.driverzone.com/video.html.

Two points of guidance are:

1. Check a vendor's track record with the user community. Many of the major players in the graphics industry have better than ten year histories -- how have their previous products been supported?


2. Has the vendor obtained Microsoft certification for its device drivers? While this may not tell you much about a product's performance, it is an indicator of product stability.