Please do NOT ask me to write drivers, I just do hardware. 

MEV2 Card
MZB1 Card
MGE2 Card
MRV2 Card
IrisVision Block Diagram
Product Description
Timing Parameters

MZB1 24 Bit Video Buffer FRU: 42F6889

MGE2 Geometry Engine FRU: 42F6842

MRV2 Raster Video FRU: 71F1151

   This is the MicroChannel Raster Video Engine. It is based upon the RE 2.1 raster engine chip from SGI. The raster engine provides all the per-fragment and -pixel operations. It also contains the raster scanning hardware and video signal generation circuitry. It only obtains power and ground from the bus, no other bus signals are used. In addition to the two ribbon cables from the Geometry Engine, a third connection services the Genlock features of the Raster Engine. 
   On the card edge connector, are the VGA passthrough connector and the HiRes video output connector. The Raster Video card contains the basic 8-bitplanes of framebuffer memory as well as 2 bitplanes of overlay framebuffer and 2 bits of window ID bitplanes, for a total of 12 bpp.
   This card features an RGB video output connector (large w/plug-style connectors) and a genlock input/output connector (15-pin DSUB). If you happen to find an IBM-style card set and need the RGB video cable, let me know. (I'll pass it on to Roger).
   The MZB1 plugs onto the back (circuitboard side) of this card (use the short screws). The MEV2 plugs on to the front side (component side) of the card (use long screws).

Removing Connector Cable
   Squeeze the metal clips on the ends of the connectors and pull the connector off the header. 

Plugging Connector Cables Back On
   Sqeeze the metal clips so that the loose ends of the clip enter the catch on the header. 

  The following block diagram is derived from the IrisVision Block Diagram on The Very Unofficial IrisVison Home Page

Stolen from Roger Brown's The Very Unofficial IrisVison Home Page

Hardware:
   The IrisVision  hardware is nearly identical to the graphics sub-system in the SGI Personal Iris workstation introduced in 1988. The hardware supports a 5th generation geometry processing pipeline, the GE5, an 8 or 24 bit per pixel frame buffer, and a 24-bit per pixel z-buffer for hidden surface removal. The card set implements in hardware, the entire IrisGL graphics Application Programming Interface (API). 

Notable differences from the Personal Iris graphics are: 
     Uses 256K VRAM instead of 64K VRAM for reduced size 
     Has a 3 color cursor instead of 1 color for increased visibility 
     Has VGA pass-through capability for PC compatibility 

The card has a rich set of video and rendering modes consistent with the Personal Iris. 

Origins of the IrisVision
   The product came to life originally as an OEM graphics board set based upon the VME bus in the Personal IRIS . Later, IBM approached SGI to develop a Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) version of the card for use in their newly introduced RS-6000 Unix workstation. IBM licensed the MCA card design as well as the IrisGL graphics library from SGI. 
   In the process of testing the product, it was discovered that an IBM PS/2 model 70 personal computer running OS/2 could be used to run diagnostics and test programs on the card much easier than using the RS-6000. So a minimal device driver was written for the card and soon IBM was shipping product.  (Ed. Roger Brown can't find the "minimal OS/2 drivers" and he works for SGI.) 

   At some point, the light went off in someone's head; "Why don't we sell this board set for use in PCs?". IrisVision was born. Initially, the MCA card was re-designed to offer some features critical for the PC market, including standard 15-pin VGA-style video output and a 15-pin VGA passthrough input connector. The IBM genlock connector was moved to the top of the card, and stereo display signals were also brought out to the VGA passthrough connector. The card occupied 1 32-bit MCA slot and an adjacent 16/32 bit slot. One or two daughter boards provided framebuffer and z-buffer memory. 
   Work then began on the design of an Industry Standard Architecture (ISA or AT-bus) version of the card. It would occupy 2 16-bit ISA slots and use the identical daughter cards as the MCA (and IBM) versions of the board set. 

Software:
   The IrisGL API is implemented in a C-language library developed with the Metaware High-C 32-bit C compiler and the PharLap 32-bit DOS-Extender. It was designed to run in a full screen DOS environment. At the time, M/S Windows did not offer a 32-bit programming environment, so the PharLap DOS-Extender technology was the most sophisticated solution available. It features full 32-bit virtual addressing (2 GB application space), virtual memory support, and seamless integration of real and protected mode programs. The MetaWare High-C compiler is ANSI compatible and is just the ticket for compiling Unix source code to run under DOS-Extender on the IrisVision card. 

Original HERE

  I usually don't mess with Trademarks, but that of SGI is very classy Trademark Info just was too damn good. Class act, SGI! I wish M$ and their bloodsucking shark team was only a tenth as smooth as you! Sorry, SGI, Netscape makes them durned TM's and Registered marks look like ASCII. 

   SGI does not endorse any of the information on this page. They retain all rights to their trademarks. Further, this information is furnished on an "As Is" basis. If you fry your monitor or card, that's your problem.