Updated: July 7, 2003

Operation of GL4 VGA/Video Sync board with Matrox Millennium II card

Install this card in a PCI or AGP slot with the rear panel board in the slot next to the card. Run the Setup command in the MGA98 directory on the installation CD. When Installation is complete, run the Customize command in that directory, this will add the Sparkology monitor descriptions. You can then select the monitor speed from the Matrox Display Properties panel. If you have a Rainbow Runner board, run the installer in RR210ENG.

There are two BNC connectors on the rear panel sub board.
The top one is the Sync Pulse Output, this gets run to other machines or the camera sync box. This outputs a TTL pulse that goes from +5V to ground. It has a 10% duty cycle. It won't work with some video devices. It will work with a Cinematography Electronics Film/Video Syncronyzer and an Arri ESU. This signal won't work with some Movicam Syncoboxes.

The bottom one is the Sync Input. This input can be either a TTL pulse or a composite video signal. The first three dipswitches route the input BNC to either the pulse input, or the video input and applies a 75 W termination resistor to the video input. Choose the input selection that gives you a stable green light. This input is only needed when the computer is running with other computers or video equipment.
1 - Pulse in, 2 - Video In, 3 - Termination.

There is a time base generator that generates sync at 48.00, 50.00, 59.94, 60.00 Hz, and 60KHz. The 60KHz is for tuning the TCXO to another TCXO. The frequencies are selected with the dipswitch on the rear panel. This is a very accurate generator, it should not need tuning.

Be sure to attach the dipswitch guide sticker to a blank panel near the I/O panel.

Search / Locked LED – A bicolor LED that is red for searching, green for locked, and off when there is no internal or external reference signal. Also included is an LED for the front panel. This connects to the two pin connector behind the ribbon to the I/O panel. If its color is opposite from the rear LED, reverse the two pin connector.

The trim pot is for use when the internal reference signal is off and there is no external signal. This is used when you need to work at a speed other then 24, 25, 29.97, or 30. When the LED is on this trim has no effect.

On the daughter board there is a trim on the time base generator, do not adjust this unless absolutely necessary! This has been factory set for the best speed.

When there is an external signal, the TBG gets reset by the external pulse so it can stay in phase when the external signal is removed.
 

	Dipswitch ß =On Ý =Off X=Don't Care
Function	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
Pulse In	ß	Ý	ß	X	X	X	X	X	ß	X
Video In - Terminated	Ý	ß	ß	X	X	X	X	X	ß	X
Video In – Un-terminated	Ý	ß	Ý	X	X	X	X	X	ß	X
47.95 (23.97FPS) HD	Ý	Ý	ß	ß	ß	Ý	ß	ß	Ý	X
48.00 (24FPS)	Ý	Ý	ß	ß	ß	Ý	Ý	ß	Ý	X
50.00 (25FPS)	Ý	Ý	ß	Ý	ß	Ý	Ý	ß	Ý	X
59.94 (Video)	Ý	Ý	ß	Ý	Ý	Ý	ß	ß	Ý	X
60.00 (30FPS)	Ý	Ý	ß	Ý	Ý	Ý	Ý	ß	Ý	X
Tune - 60.000KHz	Ý	Ý	ß	Ý	Ý	Ý	ß	Ý	Ý	X

This chart is read with the card installed in a tower machine. The input connector is towards the motherboard which is to the
left of the dipswitch. Click this to download an RTF file that can be used as a sticker for the dipswitch.
 

Shooting Monitors…

When using these cards the Matrox Display Properties MUST be set to the same speed as the internal generator or the external sync source.
You can also choose a speed that is double the sync speed, i.e. 96 for 48 or 120 for 60.
If you are running this computer by itself and are at one of the film speeds, then the generator must be switched to the matching speed and turned on.
If the GREEN light is out then you are not running at a crystal speed.
The film camera shutter angle must be set to 180 degrees for best results.

When shooting monitors you should always use the highest speed the monitor will take. That means 96Hz for 24 FPS and 120Hz for 30 FPS. Many new monitors won’t go down to 48 so 96 will be the only option. If the monitor is giving you some problem, you may be able to find a better set of settings for it by using the Matrox display properties system to tweak it. Just make sure the green light is on when you get it tweaked.

These boards have an internal sync generator that is very accurate. You do not need an external sync generator when working with this system. If you are doing multiple computers then make one the master and slave the others to it. You can loop the sync signal through each machine. Make sure only the master has its generator on and the others are off. If you are running only one machine then the internal generator MUST be on.

Troubleshooting…

Can't find display control panel… Look for the Matrox Display Properties by right clicking the monitor icon on the end of the toolbar where the clock is. You can also find it in the start menu under the Matrox Power Desk tab.

Can't find Sparkology monitors… Go to the Matrox Display Properties panel and select the Monitors tab. Then select the Matrox Monitor button under the Windows Monitor button on the upper left of the panel. If the Sparkology monitors are not listed then you need to re-install the MGA.MON file in the MGAPowerDesk/Mon directory in the Program Files directory. There should be a program called Sparkmga.exe in the MGA98 folder to reset the MGA.MON file. WARNING: This will erase all your custom monitor settings and reset you back to the Sparkology initial monitor settings. Or you can upload the Sparkology Customize.exe file at the bottom of this page.

If you can't find the Matrox display Properties panel, you may not have Matrox Power Desk running. Be sure it is installed and running. There is a link to the driver at the bottom of this page.

Can't get computer to lock to external sync…

Is the signal Pulse or Video, only 1 can be selected at a time. Pulse comes from other computers and Phase Constant boxes, Video comes from video generators. If the LED blinks and goes out, try changing switch 1 & 2. Only one of those can be on at a time. Some Phase Constant boxes output a negative sync pulse, use the Video setting for these. In most cases the generator in this unit is as accurate as a Phase Constant so you can skip the one at the computer end.

Is the internal generator turned off, If you are feeding an external signal you must turn off the internal generator with switch 9.

Do you have the right monitor speed selected in the Matrox Display Properties panel?

Check to see if the system will lock to the internal generator with no external source.

Front panel LED is Red when the rear panel LED is green… The plug for the front LED is backwards.

If you think of more questions to add to this list please email them to help @ sparkology.com and we'll add them to the list.

If you have the CD that came with the board, explore it. There are many useful programs there.

Links:
If you don't have the CD, here are some links to the things you need from it.

Matrox Drivers - Download the drivers for the Millennium II card that match your system. Load this first after installing the board.
Rainbow Runner tools - Be sure to get the Rainbow Runner drivers loaded too.
Sparkology Customizer file - This is Sparkology's version of the MGA.MON file that contains the film speed monitor settings.
Run Customize.exe after loading the Matrox Drivers.

Diamond drivers - This is the Sparkology customized driver for the older Diamond Video 3000 boards. Spark3K.exe is
a self extracting zip file that will expand into a directory called Diamond. Run the install program in there.

Pstrip - This is a monitor control panel that allows color correction for the Diamond boards. Please register it with the vendor.

Sparkology Utilities - These are some useful little utilities from Sparkology.