Orchid Kelvin MPEG
The Orchid Kelvin MPEG graphics card arrived in 1995 and used the Cirrus Logic CL-GD5434 alongside a CL450 video decoder from C-Cube Microsystems.
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Released | 1995 |
| Bus | VESA Local Bus | |
| Chipset | Cirrus Logic CL-GD5434 graphics accelerator C-Cube CL450 video decoder Analog Devices ADSP-2105 DSP. |
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| Standards | 2D Graphics: Hercules, MDA, CGA, EGA, VGA Video: MPEG-1 |
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| Memory | 1 MB or 2 MB DRAM | |
| RAMDAC | (Integrated) | |
| Ports | 15-pin DSUB (analogue video out) 3.5mm jacks for speaker out and line-out, and a volume thumbwheel. |
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| Part # | - |
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| FCC ID | - | |
| Price | Aug 1995: $299 | |
| See Also | Orchid Fahrenheit ProVideo 64, Orchid Kelvin Video64 |
Hardware MPEG decoding was an important factor in 1995, as the multimedia boom was in fully swing. PCs came with sound cards and CDs were hugely popular for music playback. Playing audio through a CD-ROM was nothing new, but watching a digital video stream on a PC... that was the next desirable thing, and various games and movies used formats such as Philips CD-i. The first MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) standard, MPEG-1, was established in 1992 to support CD, CD-i and Video-CD formats. MPEG-1 usually came in the Standard Interchange Format (SIF). which was 352 x 240 pixels for NTSC at 1.5 Mbit/sec - a quality level about the same as a VHS cassette - while keeping file sizes low enough to be stored and played back on a single-speed CD-ROM. While the standard supported bit rates up to 4-5 Mbits/sec, its strength was in its high compression ratio while retaining relatively high quality. MPEG-2 was established in 1994, designed to produce higher quality images at higher bit rates. At its specified bit rates of 3-10 Mbits/sec at its maximum resolution of 720 x 486 pixels NTSC. It was the standard set for DVD and satellite broadcast quality. MPEG-4 wouldn't be finalised until the end of 1998.
The first hardware MPEG decoders for home PCs came from Sigma Designs, called the RealMagic. It connected to a separate VGA card's feature connector, inserting the video image into the monitor image. The limitations of add-on MPEG decoder cards such as loss of image sharpness when connected to the VGA feature connector meant that manufacturers looked to integrate MPEG decoders directly onto the VGA card. The Orchid Kelvin 64 and Kelvin MPEG were two such cards, though Sigma also released a combined VGA/MPEG card called the RealMagic Rave.
The Kelvin MPEG supported screen resolutions (not video playback) up to 1280 x 1024 in 256 colours, or 800 x 600 in 16.7 million colours. Video playback was limited to 640 x 480 in 65,536 colours, 800 x 600 in 256 colours, and 1024 x 768 in 256 colours.
The Kelvin MPEG could be configured to run in the following vertical refresh rates:
| Resolution | Vertical Refresh Rates Supported |
| 640 x 480 | 60 Hz - 75 Hz |
| 800 x 600 | 56 - 75 Hz |
| 1024 x 768 | 43.5 - 75 Hz |
| 1280 x 1024 | 43.5 - 70 Hz |
2 MB of video memory was required for screen resolutions of 800 x 600 in 16.7 million colours, 1024 x 768 in 65,536 colours, and 1280 x 1024 in 256 colours.
The Kelvin MPEG came with appropriate software on a CD-ROM, including the Kelvin MPEG VideoCD Movie Player, MPEG CD Station, and a Windows 3.1 MCI device driver.
The BIOS directly supported VESA VBE v1.2.
Board Revisions
I have no information on the various board revisions of the Kelvin MPEG card. A PCI version was planned, but to my knowledge was never released.
Competition
In the Media
Setting it Up
I have no information of the hardware set up for the Orchid Kelvin MPEG.
Downloads
User Manual For Orchid Kelvin MPEG. |
Original Utility Disk Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
VGA ROM BIOS Get in touch if you can provide this missing item! |
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