CRISTAL Configuration:

To accommodate the image management and processing functions of
this CRISTAL application, an AT&T image capture board (Targa 16
series) and a 40 megabyte hard disk were included as part of the
system configuration.  Additionally, an optical disk storage
system based on "write once read many" (WORM) technology was used
to supplement the data storage capabilities of the system.  The
relatively high resolution of the frame grabbed images (512x480)
combined with a display palette of more than 32,000 colors make
the Targa 16 images memory intensive.  Each full screen color
image captured by the Targa 16 board requires more than 400K of
memory, and the image compression routine in the Targa Image
Processing Software (TIPS) reduces video captured image file size
by an average of only 10% to 15%.  An analog RGB monitor,
composite video monitor, or television with an RF adapter is
necessary for the display of the analog image that is output from
both the VCR (or videodisc) player and the Targa 16.  As
alternatives or supplements to the WORM storage system, a
videodisc player (capable of storing 54,000 single frame images
or 30 minutes of real time video in analog signal format per
side) or a CD-ROM system (capable of storing 600 kilobytes of
digital data per disk) could also be configured with the CRISTAL
System.  However, these devices were not available to this
project.

To enhance the degree of user interaction with the image
processing and manipulation functions of CRISTAL, both a
Microsoft compatible mouse and a "trackball" system were used in
the prototype applications.  Additionally, while a variety of
graphics printers (thermal, laser, dot matrix) and film recorders
can provide hard-copy output from the CRISTAL image system, only
a dot matrix printer and a laser printer were available for use
with the prototype system.

<dfile38>   CRISTAL: Hardware and Software
<dfile65>   CRISTAL: Data Storage
<cfile61>   Optical Disk Storage