Description: Apple II Video Overlay Card: Product Description (11/96)
Header: Apple II Video Overlay Card: Product Description (11/96)

 Article Created: 03 April 89
 Article Reviewed/Updated: 18 November 1996

 TOPIC -----------------------------------------------------------

 Below is  a description of the Apple II Video Overlay Card. This product has
 been discontinued and is no longer available from Apple.

 DISCUSSION ------------------------------------------------------

 The Apple II Video Overlay Card product, for the Apple IIe and Apple IIGS,
 includes an interface card and VideoMix software.

 When in operation, the overlay appears as a computer image on top of a video
 image. The video image can be from any external video source: video tape,
 video disc, cable television, or video camera and the image can be shown on
 either a composite or RGB monitor. The NTSC signal output from the overlay
 card is of broadcast quality and can be recorded on a VCR.

 The Apple II Video Overlay Card brings previously expensive genlock
 capabilities to the Apple II family of computers, and creates new
 possibilities for learning and creativity.

 The overlay card has a complete, though modified, Apple IIGS graphics
 subsystem (Mega II, VGC, and supporting circuitry), which provides genlock
 and overlay capabilities, as well as improved composite video output. With a
 proper NTSC signal presented to the card, an FCC-legal output is supplied
 from the card, therefore the card is usable in professional broadcast
 environments.

 After genlocking to the incoming signal, the overlay card determines which
 pixels will be video and which will be graphics, or if there will be
 combinations. These combinations are selected by way of the VideoMix
 software, which sets up the card for the desired mix of graphics and video.
 The user chooses a key color (the color that is transparent to the incoming
 video and is treated separately from the other colors), and what the
 video/graphic mix will be. VideoMix also allows the user to adjust the tint
 and color of the RGB video, as on a color television. The user can also
 choose a color from the screen to be the key color.

 Because the overlay card is a completely independent subsystem, it functions
 with any existing Apple II painting, drawing, and animation software -- these
 being the more relevant products conducive to creating overlays. The overlay
 card works with virtually all Apple II software.


 Article Change History:
 18 Nov 1996 - Reviewed for technical accuracy, revised formatting.
 Copyright 1988-96, Apple Computer, Inc.
 Keywords:  specsht