[English]
README.TXT                     MATROX GRAPHICS INC.                1999.05.03

                      Matrox Display Driver for Windows NT 4.0
                                   Rev. 4.13.050


Table of Contents
=================

- Release description
- Installation
- Using Matrox PowerDesk
- Registry settings
- Hardware-accelerated 3D
- Notes, Problems, and Limitations
- Matrox TV output
- Secondary display controller


Release description
===================

This is the Matrox Windows NT Display Driver. It supports Microsoft
Windows NT for x86 CPU's, version 4.0 (Build 1381).

This product includes:

- Display Driver
- Matrox PowerDesk for Windows NT 4.0

The driver can support up to 5 Matrox cards in a computer at the same time.


Installation
============

Refer to your Owner's Manual to install your card in your system.

If you're installing this software on many systems, there are setup options
to partially automate the procedure. For more information, see the
"setup_un.doc" file included with this software.

If you are installing multiple Matrox Millennium cards in your system,
please note that only one should be VGA-enabled through the on-board 
switch.

Other Matrox graphics cards are always VGA-enabled. If you're installing
multiple Matrox graphics cards in your computer, your computer's BIOS must
disable all VGA-enabled cards it finds after the first one. IF YOUR SYSTEM 
BIOS IS NOT FULLY PCI-COMPLIANT, MULTIPLE MATROX GRAPHICS CARDS MAY NOT WORK.

Multiple-card installations are similar to single-card installations.
The system will automatically assign separate addresses to each PCI card,
allowing the driver to issue commands to each card.

To use multiple-card configuration, each model of Matrox graphics card in your
computer must be supported by the display driver. (Certain models of Matrox 
graphics cards may not be supported by your display driver.) Each display
in your system will use the same resolution and color palette settings.

To install the Matrox driver, run the Setup utility supplied with the 
driver:

      - Start the Windows NT Explorer, or open a Command Prompt window.

      - Go to the drive and directory holding the driver installation files.

      - Double-click on the Setup application, or type "setup" and press
        Enter.

The Setup utility will query you about your preferred installation location
and the components you wish to install.  You must restart your computer
before the changes take effect.

You can also use the standard Windows NT procedure to install the drivers
(without the Matrox PowerDesk).  The general procedure is the following:

      - Right-click on the desktop, select "Properties". This will open
        "Display Properties".

      - Select the "Settings" tab.

      - Press the "Display Type" button.

      - In the Display Type dialog box, press the "Change" button.

      - In the Change Display dialog box, press the "Have Disk" button.

      - In the Install From Disk dialog box, type the location of the
        Matrox installation files (e.g. "A:\" or "D:\WINNT").

      - From the displayed list, select the model of your display adapter,
        and press "OK".

      - Answer "Yes" to the Third-party Drivers dialog box.

      - Press "OK" in the Installing Driver message box.

      - Press "Close" in the Display Type dialog box.

      - Press "Close" in the Display Properties applet.

      - In the System Settings Change dialog box, you should select "Yes"
        so that the new settings take effect.


Using Matrox PowerDesk
======================

Changing resolution, selecting a monitor, and using the Matrox PowerDesk is
covered in the "online.doc" file.  You can view this file with WordPad.


Registry settings (for advanced users only)
===========================================

Information held in the Windows NT registry can have a direct effect on the
whole system.  Introducing incorrect values can cause serious problems and
may make it necessary to reinstall Windows NT.  The changes outlined below
should have effects limited to the Matrox drivers.  However, if you
accidentally modify values that make your system unusable, please note that
it is often possible to undo the damage by using the "Last Known Good
Configuration" option at boot time.  It is also possible to save a copy of
your registry settings prior to any modification.

The configuration of the Matrox Windows NT driver and of Matrox PowerDesk is
saved in the registry.  The most important parameters can be modified through
the Matrox PowerDesk, but others can be accessed only through the Registry
Editor. Most users will find that the default values are best for their
system. However, specific problems will be solved through these switches.
The values are:

User.AllIntegerLines
                    When set to 1, some lines (for example, in a CAD drawing)
                    are drawn faster. However, with some programs, some
                    pixels may not be redrawn properly when this acceleration
                    is used. If you see this problem, try setting this value
                    to 0.

                    You can change this value to 0 by double-clicking the
                    "flineoff.reg" file, or to 1 by double-clicking the
                    "flineon.reg" file. These files are installed in your
                    "\Program Files\MGA NT PowerDesk" folder.

                    The default value is 1.

User.AlternateLines
                    When set to 1, allows lines defined by integer 
                    coordinates to be drawn using the faster AUTOLINE opcode 
                    of the drawing engine. The convention used to determine 
                    which pixels contribute to a given line is slightly 
                    different in AUTOLINE and in Windows NT.  Setting 
                    AlternateLines to 1 trades off compliance with the 
                    Windows NT conventions for performance. A value of 0 will
                    enforce compliance. Lines defined by non-integer endpoint
                    coordinates are not affected by this setting.

                    The default value of User.AlternateLines is 0.

User.CenterDialogs  Has no effect on Windows NT 4.0.

                    The default value of User.CenterDialogs is 0.

User.ComplexBlt
                    When set to 1, allows the hardware to accelerate some
                    complex raster operations (ROPs) by executing a sequence
                    of simple ROPs (ORing, ANDing, etc...).  A value of 0
                    will result in complex ROPs being performed in software.

                    The complex ROPs are performed directly on the display
                    through a succession of simple ROPs. Artifacts (flashing)
                    in the target display area may become visible when an
                    intermediate result in video RAM is displayed on a given
                    refresh cycle, to be replaced by the final image on the
                    next cycle.

                    The default value of User.ComplexBlt is 1.

User.DeviceBitmaps
                    When set to 1, allows use of off-screen memory for
                    caching bitmaps.  This will allow the hardware to
                    accelerate drawing to bitmaps.  A value of 0 disables
                    bitmap caching, allowing the CPU to draw onto all
                    bitmaps.  Bitmap caching is internally disabled when
                    a desktop requiring more than one card is in use,
                    regardless of the registry setting.

                    The default value of User.DeviceBitmaps is 1.

User.EnableUSWC
                    When set to 1, allows direct frame buffer access to use
                    the Write Combining feature of the Pentium Pro processor.
                    Setting this value to 0 may result in slightly lower
                    performance.

                    The default value of User.EnableUSWC is 1.

User.Filtering
                    When set to 1, the display quality of some video files is
                    improved when they're scaled up.

                    The default value is 1.

User.MgaInfoFile
                    When set to 1, allows use of the Matrox PowerDesk to
                    control refresh rates.  A value of 0 will allow all
                    available refresh rates to be listed.

                    The default value of User.MgaInfoFile is 1.

User.SynchronizeDac
                    When set to 1, will require the driver to wait for a
                    vertical sync before programming the ramdac with a new
                    pointer shape or a new palette.  If you notice stray
                    pixels flashing around the pointer, setting this flag
                    to 1 might fix the problem.  Setting it to 0 will result
                    in slightly better performance.

                    The default value of User.SynchronizeDac is 0.

User.UseBusMastering
                    When set to 1, the driver uses bus mastering for 2D
                    display operations. This improves performance on fast
                    Pentium computers (faster than 166 MHz). When set to 0,
                    this feature is disabled.

                    The default value is 1.

Mga.EnableMix
                    When set to 1, different models of Matrox graphics
                    cards can be used for multi-display mode. (The model
                    of each Matrox graphics card installed in your computer
                    must be supported by the display driver. Matrox display
                    drivers don't necessarily support all models of Matrox
                    graphics cards.) When set to 0, all Matrox graphics
                    cards in your computer must be the same model.

                    The default value is 1.

User.SynchronizeEngine
                    (This parameter is now obsolete.)

Modifying keys and values in the registry is done through the Registry
Editor.  The Registry Editor can be invoked in the following way:

      - Use Start/Run..., or open a Command Prompt window, and type
        "regedt32".  Alternately, from the Windows NT Explorer, go to
        SystemRoot\system32 and double-click on Regedt32.  The Registry
        Editor will come up.

To examine or to modify the values that govern the behavior of the Matrox
driver:

      - Select the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE window.

      - Travel down to the key named:
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\mga64\Device0.

You will find the values in the right window pane.  To modify any of
them:

      - Double-click on the selected value.

      - In the DWORD Editor, change the value to "0" or "1".  The new value
        will take effect the next time you reboot.

PowerDesk settings are kept under the key:
        HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\MGACtrl
and its subkeys.


Hardware-accelerated 3D
=======================

For 3D hardware acceleration, the Matrox Windows NT 4.0 display driver supports
the OpenGL interface with 2 driver types -- MCD (Mini Client Driver) and ICD
(Installable Client Driver). The Matrox Millennium, Millennium II, Mystique, 
Mystique 220, and G100-based graphics cards have MCD support. The Matrox
G200-based, G400-based and later graphics cards have ICD support. (An ICD has
more potential for optimization than an MCD.) 

3D hardware acceleration has the following restrictions:

      - Currently no acceleration is available when multiple cards are
        in use.

      - The MCD/ICD does not support 8bpp (256 colors) and 24bpp (16777216
        colors) modes. The 15bpp (32K colors), 16bpp (64K colors), and
        32bpp (True Color) modes are the ones that can be hardware-
        accelerated.

      - Limitations to the available resolutions are to be expected. All
        3D modes require extra memory to handle double buffering and/or 
        Z-buffering, and this memory is no longer available for display.

The 3D driver can be configured through Matrox PowerDesk or through
registry switches:

User3D.3DEnable
                    When set to 1, 3D (OpenGL) display operations are
                    accelerated. When set to 0, all types of Matrox 3D
                    acceleration are disabled.

User3D.TextureMapping
                    When set to 1 (and when "User3D.3DEnable" is set to 1),
                    the driver uses Matrox hardware to accelerate texture
                    mapping for 3D (OpenGL) programs. When set to 0, texture
                    mapping is done through software.

User3D.DoubleBuffer (This parameter is now obsolete.)

User3D.ZBuffer      (This parameter is now obsolete.)

The default value for these User3D switches is 1.  Setting all values to 0
effectively disables the hardware-accelerated 3D.  The recommended way of
modifying them is through the Performance tab of Matrox PowerDesk rather than
through the Registry Editor.

User3D.UseBusMastering
                    When set to 1 (and when "User3D.3DEnable" is set to 1),
                    the driver uses bus mastering to accelerate 3D (OpenGL)
                    programs. This improves performance on systems that
                    support bus mastering. When set to 0, this feature is
                    disabled.

                    The default value is 1.

The back- and Z-buffers can be allocated on a per-window basis.  This makes
the availability of 3D-acceleration difficult to ascertain, since it would
be possible to get 3D-acceleration for a small window even when offscreen
memory is scarce, while a request for full-screen buffers would fail even
when relatively large areas of offscreen memory are available.


Notes, Problems, and Limitations
================================

Computers with more than one PCI bus
        It is possible that a switch to a full-screen Command Prompt, or any
        change of mode, will result in a blue-screen crash if a card is
        installed on a PCI bus other than bus 0.  The problem is under
        investigation.  Moving the card to a different PCI slot is a possible
        workaround.

        There are systems where Windows NT reports conflicts between adapters
        installed beyond the PCI bridge.  In this case, the Matrox
        miniport driver cannot access its own card. If your system appears
        unable to find the card, try moving it to a different PCI slot.

        Installing Microsoft Service Pack 3 for Windows NT 4.0 should fix
        many of these problems.

DirectDraw with virtual desktops
        Some DirectDraw programs don't work properly with virtual desktops.
        We recommend you run DirectDraw programs with a normal desktop.

3D-Maze screen saver
        Display problems may appear while using the "3D-Maze" screen saver.
        These may happen after Microsoft Service Pack 2 for Windows NT 4.0 is
        installed. These display problems are apparently fixed by Service
        Pack 3.

GLDemo textures
        If you have a Matrox Millennium II graphics card, textured objects
        in GLDemo may be Gouraud-shaded instead of textured in 3D-accelerated
        display modes. This problem is apparently fixed by installing
        Microsoft Service Pack 3 for Windows NT 4.0.

Zoom feature with Matrox Millennium
        If you have a Matrox Millennium (*not* Millennium II) graphics card
        and you use the Matrox zoom feature, a vertical band may appear at
        the right edge of your desktop (beyond the 1152 pixel limit) because
        of a hardware limitation. This only happens if your display is
        using a 1152 x 864 resolution and a 256-color palette.

Running Winstone 97
        The CenterPOPUP feature should be disabled (which is the default
        setting) when running the Winstone 97 benchmark. Some tests may
        report a time-out error if CenterPOPUP is used.

Limitation with multiple graphics cards
        Windows NT 4.0 supports a maximum of about 280 different display
        modes (combinations of resolution, color palette and refresh rate
        settings). You may encounter this limit if you have more than one
        Matrox graphics card installed in your computer.

        If the Matrox "VESA settings" option button is selected when there
        are multiple Matrox cards in your computer, you're even more
        likely to encounter the Windows NT 4.0 limit in the number of
        display modes. This is because the "VESA settings" option supports
        several different refresh rates for each display resolution and
        color palette setting.

        Because of the limitation in the number of display modes, the 15-bit
        color palette setting is not available when multiple graphics cards
        are installed and the "VESA settings" option is selected.

        If you have more than one Matrox graphics card in your computer, we
        recommend you not use the "VESA settings" option. Note that changing
        your refresh rate through the Microsoft "Display Properties" dialog
        box activates the "VESA settings" option.

Display settings for Plug-and-Play monitors
        For each resolution, Plug-and-Play (DDC) monitors report to your
        computer the refresh rates they're capable of. At high resolution
        and color palette settings, your Matrox graphics card may not support
        the high refresh rates supported by some monitors.

        For example, at a 1600 x 1200 resolution with a 24- or 32-bit color
        palette setting, your monitor may report that it's capable of
        an 85 Hz refresh rate. However, at this display setting, your
        graphics card may only be capable of a 75 Hz refresh rate.

        When the refresh rate reported by your monitor can't be supported,
        the Matrox display driver uses the next highest VESA refresh rate
        supported by your graphics card. This is indicated by the text
        "(VESA)" in the "Refresh frequency" box in the "Matrox Display
        Properties" dialog box.

        If the Matrox display driver uses a refresh rate different from the
        capability reported by your Plug-and-Play monitor, the screen image
        on your monitor may need to be resized or repositioned.

3D Studio MAX 1.2
        If you have problems running 3D Studio Max 1.2 using the Matrox
        HEIDI driver, try disabling the "Use bus mastering (OpenGL)" check
        box under "3D settings". To access this check box, click "Start" ->
        "Programs"-> "Matrox PowerDesk" -> "Matrox Display Properties" ->
        "Performance".

3D Studio MAX 2.0
        Switching between HEIDI software emulation and OpenGL acceleration
        while 3D Studio Max 2.0 is running, may cause the viewports to
        flicker while playing animations. This problem may also happen if
        display settings (resolution or color palette) are changed while
        3D Studio Max is running. If you experience these problems, try
        closing 3D Studio Max, changing your display settings (resolution or
        color palette), and then restarting 3D Studio MAX.


Matrox TV output
================

Certain models of Matrox graphics cards support TV output. With TV output
support, you can view or record your computer display with a TV or video
recorder connected to your graphics card.

Notes
-----
When viewing the output of your computer on a TV, your computer monitor
also uses TV settings. TV settings have lower resolutions and refresh rates
than typical computer monitor settings. Lower refresh rates may result in
more noticeable flicker.

Because some computer monitors don't support TV settings, a computer
monitor may become garbled or unusable while TV output mode is used. If
this happens, simply turn off your computer monitor and use your TV to view
your computer display. Your computer monitor will work normally when you
disable TV output mode.

Recommendation
--------------
- While playing games using TV output, we recommend you use a 640 x 480 
  display resolution. This is because the resolution capabilities of TVs are 
  lower than most computer monitors. If you use a higher display resolution 
  (800 x 600 or 1024 x 768), the display on your TV may not look as sharp as 
  the display of your computer monitor -- that is, some of the extra detail 
  may be harder to see on your TV.

- Matrox default advanced TV output settings are good for viewing most 
  computer graphics (for example, computer games or your Windows desktop) on
  most TVs. Based on broadcast standards, there are advanced TV output 
  settings that are better suited for viewing full-screen video (for example,
  from a video file). These settings are:

  NTSC
     Brightness : 180
     Contrast   : 234
     Saturation : 137
     Hue        : 0

  PAL
     Brightness : 167
     Contrast   : 255
     Saturation : 138
     Hue        : 0

  Note: For ideal settings, you may also need to adjust the settings on your 
  TV. The default brightness, contrast, saturation and hue settings on most 
  consumer video devices are higher than broadcast standards. These settings 
  are usually OK for viewing video but may not look OK with computer graphics.
  (This is why Matrox default TV output settings are lower than what's ideal
  for video.) For more information on how to adjust settings on your TV, see 
  your TV manual.

More information
----------------
For more information on display settings, see your Matrox manual and online
documentation. For information on how to change the display resolution of a
game you're using, see its documentation.

Note: The Matrox zoom and virtual desktop features aren't supported in TV
output mode. Also, TV output mode isn't supported if you have more than one 
Matrox graphics card in your computer.


Secondary display controller
============================

Certain models of Matrox graphics cards support a secondary display 
controller. With one of these graphics cards, you can use more than one 
computer display at a time. A secondary display controller can be enabled
or disabled in Matrox PowerDesk software.

If a secondary display controller is enabled, note the following limitations
with the secondary display (the main display works normally):

- Only a 16- and 32-bit color palette is supported.

- The "Color" property sheet is unavailable and the "Colorific" program isn't 
  supported.

- The Matrox zoom feature is unavailable.

- The mouse pointer is drawn entirely by the software. As a result, the mouse 
  pointer may flicker or disappear while it's in an area of the display that's
  being redrawn quickly (for example, a video window).

- The secondary display may have a lower maximum display resolution and 
  a lower maximum refresh rate than the main display of your graphics card.
