Seeking Windows 3.1 driver for Dolch Pit Viper 535 21-1001-0133

nc_mike · Jul 19, 2016

Anyone know where I might find a Windows 3.1 driver for this video adapter? It uses a Chips and Technologies BIOS.

Regards,
Mike

Caluser2000 · Jul 20, 2016

Whats the video chip sets part number?

nc_mike · Jul 20, 2016

Caluser2000 said:
Whats the video chip sets part number?

I don't have the card in hand yet, but I believe it Chips & Tech 65535.

Regards,
Mike

Caluser2000 · Jul 20, 2016

Looks like there's OS/2 and NT4 drivers available.

You can try the SVGA driver from WfW 3.11

nc_mike · Jul 20, 2016

Caluser2000 said:
Looks like there's OS/2 and NT4 drivers available.

You can try the SVGA driver from WfW 3.11

That might work. The card is coming with an Intel-IBM ActionMedia II Digital Video Interactive (DVI) video capture and playback set. That Dolch card appears to have been designed to work with the ActionMedia II with a special ribbon cable DVI connector to the DVI board. I got one of the very ActionMedia II sets that were made back in the late 1980's and used it to create early prototypes of embedded video in electronic books about three years before the debut of the Web, mosaic, and HTML (I was a GML/SGML geek at the time). The ActionMedia II was one of the first cards that could digitize video on an IBM PC; it was jointly developed by IBM and Intel and wasn't heavily marketed. About that time the Mac was far more popular and superior at the time for video production, but the i750 Intel DVI processor was a real break through providing clean 30fps digitized video., although the DVI format would never catch on.

I am not at all surprised there is only an OS/2 and NT driver available - I did find the NT driver as well. I am not surprised because most DVI was done using PS/2s with the IBM MicroChannel (MCA) version of the card, but they did have 16-bit ISA versions which is what I'm getting now, so I suspect finding a Win311 driver won't be easy, but as you say, maybe the WFW 3.11 SVGA driver might work. Getting that card working isn't critical; I've got a Mach 8-based card in the machine and also have the VGA bridge (overlay) cable to use any video card with the ActionMedia II. I'll be using some digitized clips with the IBM Audio/Visual Connection software, which is what we user in the late 80's to create multimedia applications. On a 40MHz system with 16MB of RAM and a CF HDD, the AMII ought to perform very well, though it was no slouch on a much less capable PS/2 Model 80 when I originally had one. I'll also be playing with a Targa 2000 PCI with Adobe Premier 4.0 on a 500MHz system with 768MB of RAM and an SSD HDD - that also should have impressive performance with better video format support.

Regards,
Mike

Trixter · Jul 20, 2016

nc_mike said:
That might work. The card is coming with an Intel-IBM ActionMedia II Digital Video Interactive (DVI) video capture and playback set. That Dolch card appears to have been designed to work with the ActionMedia II with a special ribbon cable DVI connector to the DVI board. I got one of the very ActionMedia II sets that were made back in the late 1980's and used it to create early prototypes of embedded video in electronic books about three years before the debut of the Web, mosaic, and HTML (I was a GML/SGML geek at the time). The ActionMedia II was one of the first cards that could digitize video on an IBM PC; it was jointly developed by IBM and Intel and wasn't heavily marketed. About that time the Mac was far more popular and superior at the time for video production, but the i750 Intel DVI processor was a real break through providing clean 30fps digitized video., although the DVI format would never catch on.

I am VERY jealous. Please post a video on youtube of the DVI stuff encoding and playing back a video if you could when you get it. I've always wanted to see what the result was. The first digitization gear I could get my hands on was a Pro Movie Spectrum in 1992, it encoded to 160x120 @ 30fps or 320x240 @ 15fps with hardware encoding to MSV1 (based on MotiVE, a vector quantization codec which Microsoft licensed from Media Vision).

I'd love to know what the DVI codec details were. There are some details at http://www.manifest-tech.com/dvi/dvi_chron.htm but they don't go into too much depth.

nc_mike · Jul 21, 2016

Trixter said:
I am VERY jealous. Please post a video on youtube of the DVI stuff encoding and playing back a video if you could when you get it. I've always wanted to see what the result was. The first digitization gear I could get my hands on was a Pro Movie Spectrum in 1992, it encoded to 160x120 @ 30fps or 320x240 @ 15fps with hardware encoding to MSV1 (based on MotiVE, a vector quantization codec which Microsoft licensed from Media Vision).

I'd love to know what the DVI codec details were. There are some details at http://www.manifest-tech.com/dvi/dvi_chron.htm but they don't go into too much depth.

Will do my best - I'll take video and pics of the HW, SW, and make a few sample clips. Luckily all of the associated AMII software, doc, and drivers are readily available - rather surprising! http://ohlandl.ipv7.net/video/actionmedia.html

Mike

njroadfan · Jul 22, 2016

Native Windows 3.1x drivers for the C&T video chipset should be out there somewhere. They were fairly common in laptops, and the Apple DOS Compatibility Card used a C&T 65XXX series chip as well. Windows 9x should have it built in too.

nc_mike · Jul 22, 2016

I'm still looking

I'm still looking

njroadfan said:
Native Windows 3.1x drivers for the C&T video chipset should be out there somewhere. They were fairly common in laptops, and the Apple DOS Compatibility Card used a C&T 65XXX series chip as well. Windows 9x should have it built in too.

Yah, they have to be out there....just have to keep hunting and avoid those virus-pits they call driver download sites.

The card showed up today. Here's the card: