MONITORING DETAILS
A colour monitor is a little like the phone, it may seem like you can do without it but once you get it you'll wonder how you could possibly have managed before.
The Chromographica colour monitors are not, in absolute terms, cheap but they are terrific value for money. There are certainly monitors around for less (the Ferguson monitor/TV for one) but the resolution of the Chromographic is significantly higher. What this means is that your software will look even more stunning than usual and you'll be able to read every misspelt word in every text adventure. It also has advantages when used with word processors like Tasword Two which pack in the letters on a redefined 64-character screen.
Using Heavy on the Magick and 3D Starstrike as test programs, the difference between viewing the games smudgily on a normal TV screen and seeing them pixel by pixel on the monitor is considerable. You begin to realise what you have been missing all these years. The odd semi-teletext style graphics of Magick were not an obvious test for a high-res monitor but nevertheless the clarity and sharpness of the monitor image enhanced the animated effects. Starstrike is pretty much your classic, 3D arcade bash 'em, collect 'em and dodge 'em, chock full of odd monsters, bizarre landscapes and multi-coloured explosions. It looked magnificent.
There are essentially four machines all of which use the same tube and electronics. The differences are in the casing and the sound. Wooden casings are marginally cheaper than metal and either casing option may come either with or without sound facilities. A Spectrum 128 will plug directly into the monitor. Other Spectrums need an interface which costs £29.42.
If you have a Spectrum 128 then you will have come to expect a decent level of sound output through the TV loudspeaker. Ordinarily this works like a TV signal and is fed down through the coaxial cable - on the 128 this is also true. Since the monitor uses the 128 RGB socket getting sound out has to be a separate process. There is a special sound version of the monitor which has a built-in loudspeaker and takes the sound out from the Ear socket of the Spectrum. Using the monitor with a conventional Spectrum is obviously less of a disappointment since the usual TV isn't sent any sound input anyway. Again, if you want sound you buy a special version of the monitor.
The monitor is designed functionally so there is little to say about the look of the thing - it's a box with controls along the bottom - it won't be up for any design awards but it'll do. There are a few extra features that are of some marginal use. Most significant is a green screen mode - the best colour for word-processing supposedly.
The screen resolution is 585 x 895 pixels which means you could use it quite successfully with an Amiga on its higher graphics modes if you wanted, or a QL. As a high-res monitor it is astoundingly cheap.
Chromagraphica, 135 Cliff Road, Hornsea, North Humberside. Tel: 0482 881 065.
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