Questions About the Installation of the ELSA VICTORY Erazor
Where can I get the latest drivers and BIOS versions?
The current drivers and BIOS flash tools can be found on our home page at
http://www.elsa.de/DOWNLOAD/FILES/GRAPHICS/VICTORY/ERAZOR/INDEX.HTM
After installing the drivers, my Windows 95 only displays 16 colors. I also get the error message 'No ELSA driver active'.
The driver is not installed correctly. This can have a number of causes. In addition to the installation notes in the README.TXT file of the ELSA graphics driver, please check the following potential problems:
No interrupt (IRQ) was assigned to the ELSA VICTORY Erazor: To function correctly, the ELSA VICTORY Erazor must have an interrupt. This must be assigned in the BIOS of the mainboard. This can be checked in the 'Device Manager' under 'Settings -> 'Control Panel' -> 'System'. Click on 'Computer', then on 'Properties'. This window must contain the interrupt assignment of the graphics board - the interrupt must be reserved exclusively for the graphics board. If this is not the case, check the documentation of your mainboard for information on assigning an interrupt to the graphics board. An update of the mainboard BIOS may also be necessary.
Computer type: The ELSA VICTORY Erazor is designed for computers with Pentium or Pentium-compatible processors. It is not suitable for computer systems based on i486 or compatible processors.
Old drivers and tools are still installed or the installation was not reset to VGA: Please uninstall all of the tools and drivers for your old graphics board before removing it (e.g. under Settings -> Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs). Next, install the standard VGA Driver or PCI-compatible graphics board.
Mainboards with new chipsets: Recent mainboards (e.g. Intel TX) often come with a diskette or CD with a patch for Windows 95. This patch must be installed to ensure that all hardware components, such as other PCI devices or special mainboard system components are correctly recognized. The failure to install this patch can lead to massive difficulties with the installation.
DirectX 5 is not installed: The DirectX5 software interface must be added to Windows 95 to ensure that all applications can interact closely with the hardware of the graphics board. This can be accomplished by running DXSETUP.EXE, which you can find under \ELSAWARE\DIRECTX5\DIRECTX\ on your WINNERware CD. DirectX 5 must be on your system before installing the graphics drivers.
IMPORTANT
In many cases, it is also advisable to delete information on old graphics boards in the Windows 95 registry. Please perform the following steps in order: Use Start -> Run to start 'REGEDIT'. Next, open the folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/Enum/PCI/. Delete all entries associated with graphics boards. The folder to be deleted (beginning with VEN_...) can be identified in the first subordinate branch BUS_00... by the entry 'Driver'. Graphics boards are always identified here with 'Display\00xx'.
Next, switch to the folder HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/Class/Display/ and delete all subfolders (e.g. 0000, 0001). Close the registry editor.
Open the Windows Explorer and delete the file ELSA.INI in the C:\WINDOWS folder.
The following steps depend on the Windows 95 which you are using:
If you are running the Windows 95 version 4.00.950 or 4.00.950a: Delete the OEM files belonging to graphics board installations in the folder C:\WINDOWS\INF. These can be opened with a text editor such as Notepad. The purpose of the file should be listed in the header.
If you are running the Windows 95 version 4.00.950b: Delete the files ELSAxx.INF in the folder C:\WINDOWS\INF\OTHER.
Which tools are installed with the ELSA VICTORY Erazor?
Windows 95
The following new tabs are added to the 'Display Properties' window (Settings -> Control Panel -> Display):
'ELSA Settings': lets you select your monitor from a database and set the resolution, refresh rate and color depth. Virtual resolutions are only available optionally in ELSA graphics drivers and cannot be activated under Windows 95. Windows 98 will provide support for this as a standard feature, however.
'ELSA 3D Settings': lets you select multiple settings for Direct3D and OpenGL. There is also a very comfortable gammacorrection (colour correction) implemented.
'ELSA Info' provides detailed information about your graphics system (graphics card driver, DirectX version, etc.). It can also be used to disable DDC (communications between graphics board and monitor) and the bitmap cache for troubleshooting purposes.
The 'ELSA Video and Teletext Preview' also permits the continuously scaled direct display of onscreen videos. A convenient teletext decoder has also been included for quick access to the teletext of a TV channel through a connected video-in source. This tool integrates into the ELSA WINman Suite (see below) andis included with the driver version 4.10.01.0210-0003 or higher.
All of the tools mentioned above can easily be accessed using the ELSA WINman Suite, which can be called up from an icon in the toolbar tray.
Other tools (ELSA GAMMAman, ELSA ERGONOmeter, etc.) are not supported by the ELSA VICTORY Erazor.
Windows NT 4.0
No ELSA tools are currently available.
Windows NT 3.51
No ELSA tools are currently available.
Windows 95 questions
Why can't I select higher resolutions and refresh rates supported by my monitor in the ELSA settings?
Please ensure that your monitor has been entered in both the ELSA and Windows 95 settings. Both settings are absolutely necessary, as the resolutions and refresh rates may be restricted otherwise.
The screen stays black when starting Windows 95
This may be due to the driver installation problems mentioned above, or problems with the DDC polling (communications between the monitor and the graphics card).
DDC polling may be permanently disabled in the registry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/System/CurrentControlSet/Services/Class/Display/ 000x/Default. Change the value from 1 to 0.
An error message appears after Windows 95 starts: 'VGARTD2.VXD...'?
AGP graphics boards are also supported starting with driver version 4.10.01.0202-0003. This can lead to problems in some Windows 95 versions. Delete the following registry entry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\VxD\VGARTD.VXD
Video-in/out questions
What does the video support have to offer?
The ELSA VICTORY Erazor provides video-out and video-in functionality in S-video and VHS quality under Windows 95. This is not a video editing board, but an additional RIVA 128 feature which permits the display of games on TV, videoconferencing and small capture functions. The graphics chip does not support compression of the video stream, however.
A software switch between PAL and the American NTSC TV standard was implemented with the tool PALNTSC.EXE to provide the greatest possible flexibility for the connected Video-Out devices. The ELSA VICTORY Erazor is set to NTSC by default to ensure that at least a black and white picture is available when output to a PAL TV - with PAL as the default setting, no usable picture whatsoever would be visible on an NTSC TV. Please run PALNTSC.EXE if you are using a PAL TV. This feature is only supported by the current hardware version of the ELSA VICTORY Erazor (which may be recognized by the .../SW/... in the first line of the graphics board BIOS) - the switching has not been realized in the other versions.
The current driver supports video-in resolutions of up to 704 x 576 pixels. The supplied MainActor application provides the basis for the recording of small video sequences and stills (capture) without compression. Recording without compression requires the storage of large quantities of data on the hard disk, so that generally only low resolutions can be recorded in real time at the full frame rate. This can be remedied with the special ELSA video compressor which lowers the amount of data to be transferred.
http://www.elsa.de/DOWNLOAD/FILES/GRAPHICS/ELSAWARE/MAINACT.ZIP
The video support of this driver conforms to Video for Windows (VfW), so that any program which uses the capture driver under Control Panel -> Multimedia -> Advanced -> Video Capture Devices will be supported by the ELSA VICTORY Erazor. In the event that more than one capture driver is entered there, be sure that the 'ELSA Video Capture Driver' is marked as active, not only in this menu, but also in the 'Drivers' pull-down menu of the MainActor application.
When calling up the video recording format and source under the ELSA WINman Suite, the option window only appears briefly and closes again immediately.
This is no longer an issue as of the driver version 4.10.01.0202-0003 (or higher).
There's no capture driver to be found under Control Panel -> Multimedia -> Advanced -> Video Capture Devices. How can I install a suitable driver?
You may have a driver version older than 4.10.01.0202-0003. Please install the current graphics driver and the associated ELSA WINNERware A-98 video-in/out tools (or later).
I would like to connect a TV to the ELSA VICTORY Erazor, but all I get is either a rolling picture or no picture at all.
It is possible to connect either a monitor or a TV to the ELSA VICTORY Erazor, but it is not possible to operate both at the same time. The switching of the output is hardware-based according to whether a monitor is connected or not. Please unplug the monitor cable if you would like the video signal to be output to the TV. The computer must be restarted after swapping the connections.
If you have disconnected your monitor but you are still not getting a picture on the TV, please ensure that your cables are suitable for the signal direction (scart-out/scart-in).
The video-out image on the TV is only black and white.
An NTSC version of the ELSA VICTORY Erazor always displays a black and white image on a PAL TV. Please check the serial number sticker (on the graphics board or on the packaging) for the video standard (PAL or NTSC). In the event that you accidentally received an NTSC version of the ELSA VICTORY Erazor, please consult your dealer with regard to this error.
The current hardware version of the ELSA VICTORY Erazor (which can be identified by the .../SW/... message in the first line of the graphics BIOS) supports software switching between PAL and the American NTSC TV standard. This switching is realized using the PALNTSC.EXE utility. The ELSA VICTORY Erazor is set to NTSC by default to ensure that at least a black and white picture is available when output to a PAL TV-with PAL as the default setting, no usable picture whatsoever would be visible on an NTSC TV.
Please run PALNTSC.EXE if you are using a PAL TV and are using this version of the ELSA VICTORY Erazor - this switching is not realized in other versions (see above).
Adapters which switch from composite to S-video generally should not be used. If problems still occur, please send the card in for TV-out conversion after consulting (!) with ELSA Support. You will receive your modified card back as soon as possible.
The ELSA VICTORY Erazor does not completely fill the TV screen. Black bars remain visible at the top and bottom. In addition, a small strip of the upper desktop appears at the lower edge of the screen under Windows 95.
The size of the TV image depends on the type of television; tolerances are possible at the edges of the screen. This behavior has been improved in BIOS version v1.54.03.
Scrambled characters appear in the lower part of the screen during the mainboard BIOS message and the Energy Star logo is distorted.
This is caused by a fault in the initialization of the graphics board. This problem was corrected in the BIOS version v1.54.03 (and higher). Sections of the video image of some games cannot be seen when using the video-out (e.g. the status line).
The video-output of the ELSA VICTORY Erazor displays a maximum resolution of 640 x 400 pixels. As a result, games which use a higher resolution will be missing sections of the video image such as the status bar at the bottom of the screen. This was improved for most games in the BIOS version v1.54.03 (and higher).
The TV image is not sharp and flickers slightly.
The video quality of the ELSA VICTORY Erazor is not comparable to that of a professional video editing board, but is designed mainly for displaying games on televisions. A slight lack of sharpness does not affect 3D filtered games negatively. While the TV screen is not a suitable medium for a user interface, BIOS version v.1.54.03 (and higher) does offer an improved display quality for DOS text modes, however.
Differences in quality are also apparent depending on the choice of video-out connection. Generally, S-video offers a somewhat better quality than composite.
A Direct3D error message appears when calling up a Direct3D game via the video-out. The screen also splits up into 4 vertical sections.
This problem was fixed with the driver version v4.10.01.0210-0003. Before starting a game, we recommend changing the color depth to 16-bit and the resolution to 640 x 480. This is necessary even if the resolution and color depth have already been set in the 'ELSA Settings'.
My computer crashes when starting 'Video Capture:Format' and 'Video Capture:Source' in the WINman Suite or calling up a capture program.
Some older monitors do not support DDC polling and have pins 12 and 15 earthed. This blocks the Video-In connection. Unfortunately, this can only be corrected by using a new monitor or by improvising an adapter which does not conduct these pins.
How can I raise the frame rate in MainActor?
Switch off the 'Record Audio' option under Video Capture -> Options if you do not want to record audio as well. This will result in higher frame rates and smaller files.
How can I record a film with audio using MainActor?
The cable from the audio source must be connected to your sound card. Connect the cable for the video source to one of the Video-In connections of the ELSA VICTORY Erazor. If the 'Record Audio' option is activated in the MainActor application, the sound will now be recorded as well.
What is the maximum desktop resolution at which video-in is still possible, and which overlay resolutions can be realized with video-in?
TrueColor/16.7 million colors
<br>
Resolution
Refresh Rate
Video-in Overlay Window
Remarks
1024 x 768
75 Hz
176 x 144
Full PAL resolution
not available
HighColor/32,768 colors
<br>
Resolution
Refresh Rate
Video-in Overlay Window
Remarks
1600 x 1200
72 Hz
-
Video-in overlay window
not available
1280 x 1200
85 Hz
-
Video-in overlay window
not available
1152 x 864
100 Hz
-
Video-in overlay window
not available
1024 x 768
75 Hz
704 x 576
Full PAL resolution
Note
Overlay is not possible with 256 colors (8-bit color depth). Preview works but the quality of the video window is very poor. Rebooting is necessary after changing the resolution or color depth, as the video capture driver is deactivated.
Can I use the ELSA VICTORY Erazor as a TV board?
The ELSA VICTORY Erazor does not have its own TV tuner. A video source such as a TV or VCR which can be connected to the Video-In of the ELSA VICTORY Erazor is thus required. 'ELSA Video Preview', available since ELSA WINNERware C-98, can be used to display the Video-In image directly, as can any other capture program. 'ELSA Video Preview' is available in the WINman Suite. General Questions and Answers
Is OpenGL support available?
The following ELSA drivers are supporting OpenGL:
Windows 95: v4.10.01.0300-0012 (or higher)
Windows NT 4.0 : v4.02.00.25 (or higher)
Can I use a 3D add-on card (such as 3Dfx) in addition to the ELSA VICTORY Erazor?
No general problems have been detected in conjunction with 3D add-on cards. Be sure to check first whether your mainboard supports such a combination, however. Please consult the manufacturer of your mainboard or your dealer.
Will 3Dfx games run on the ELSA VICTORY Erazor?
Pure 3Dfx games, which are either programmed directly for that chip or which are based on the API Glide, will not run on the ELSA VICTORY Erazor. All games based on Direct3D and those not dependent on special functions of the 3Dfx chip are ideally suited for it.
Are special games offering AGP support suitable for the ELSA VICTORY Erazor PCI?
The PCI version of the ELSA VICTORY Erazor also supports the storage of textures in the RAM. The special functionality of AGP games is therefore also supported.