SPARCbook Portable Workstation User Guide
11-3
Using Displays
Display Interface Operating Modes
Display Interface Operating Modes
The display interface provides two operating modes:
•
Native mode which provides accelerated graphics.
•
Emulated mode which provides pan and zoom facilities.
When you set the display type in the NCE Display panel, the native
mode is selected by default, with the Xserver set to the same resolution
as the physical display.
Native mode
Native mode is selected when Xserver resolution has the same
resolution as the physical display. Pixels within the physical frame
buffer are mapped directly onto the display by the interface hardware,
allowing the P9100 graphics chip to operate at a higher speed. For this
reason, native mode can be considered to provide accelerated graphics;
the two terms can be used interchangeably for the SPARCbook.
For example, if you enable an external display of 1024 x 768 pixels and
have the Xserver resolution set to 1024 x 768 pixels, then your system
operates in native mode with accelerated graphics.
Emulated mode
Emulated mode is selected when the Xserver resolution and display
resolution are set to different resolutions. This mode does not support
accelerated graphics but enables the display to simulate a much larger
display, allowing a whole 1600 x 1200 image, for example, to be
viewed on an 800 x 600 display by panning and zooming.
Applications operate independently of the physical display’s resolution
because they are only aware of the emulated frame buffer’s resolution.
This mode should be used if an application requires specific Xwindows
resolution in order to operate.
S3UG4_Book Page 3 Friday, August 8, 1997 11:37 am
