Screens are important because they determine the basic resolution and
maximum number of colors in the display. Once a screen is set up, these
attributes cannot be changed so any graphics work done on a given screen
is restricted to that screen's resolution and number of colors. Hence,
the type of screen used is a basic design decision.
With Intuition screens, a video display can be created in any one of the
many Amiga display modes. The basic parameters of the video display such
as resolution, total size, frame rate, genlock compatibility, support of
screen movement and number of colors are defined by these modes. There
are currently four basic modes available on all Amiga models. These basic
modes work with conventional monitors (15 kHz scan rate) and older
versions of the operating system.
Table 3-1: Basic Amiga Display Modes
Basic Amiga Resolution Maximum Supports
Display Modes NTSC PAL Colors HAM/EHB*
------------- ---------- ------- -------- -------
Lores 320x200 320x256 32 of 4096 Yes
Lores-Interlaced 320x400 320x512 32 of 4096 Yes
Hires 640x200 640x256 16 of 4096 No
Hires-Interlaced 640x400 640x512 16 of 4096 No
* HAM and EHB modes provide for additional colors with some
restrictions.
With Release 2 of the operating system, many other display modes are
available (these usually require a special monitor or ECS). All these
display modes, including the specialized modes, are integrated through the
graphics library display database. See the "Graphics Primitives" chapter
for a complete list of all Amiga display modes.
Multiple Screens
Public Screens and Custom Screens
Screen Components
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