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=================================================
Quick Start Guide for Using PCIS AVI Movie Discs:
=================================================
----------------------
Important Information:
----------------------
You must have Windows 3.1 or Windows 3.0 with the Multimedia Extensions to
install the Video for Windows runtime drivers for use with the Media Player
accessory. If you already have the Video for Windows runtime drivers
installed, please skip to step #6. (If you are unfamiliar with the operation
of Microsoft Windows, review the Chapter 2 of your Microsoft Windows User's
Guide for assistance.)
-----------------------
Information For Review:
-----------------------
If you are a user new to Microsoft Windows or you are unfamiliar with the some
of the items discussed so far in the this document and the tray card insert
you may want to find your Windows 3.1 Users Guide and review the following
chapters for further information:
----------- ----- --------
Section: Page: Subject:
----------- ----- --------
Chapter 2 53 Starting Applications Using The RUN Command
Chapter 2 51 Starting An Application
Chapter 3 78 Working With Program Items
Chapter 12 451 Media Player
Chapter 15 559 Installing Device Drivers Not Supplied With Windows
Review of these chapters of the manual are important to review to achieve the
best results using PCIS movie discs.
-------------------
Basic Instructions:
-------------------
1. Place the CD-ROM disc into your CD-ROM drive. (Assumes CD-ROM drive is
already installed.)
2. Start Windows, this is typically done by typing "WIN" from the WINDOWS
directory.
3. From the "Program Manager", select "File" from the pulldown menu list on
the left side of the function bar at top of the Program Manager window.
Now, select "Run".
4. Type "x:\runtime\setup" (the 'x' should be your CD-ROM drive letter)
5. The Video for Windows runtime will be installed and the Media Player will
be updated.
6. To play a movie clip, select the Accessories group from the Program Manager
and then the Media Player icon. Click on "Device", then select "Video for
Windows". Choose your CD-ROM drive letter, and the AVI directory. You
should now see the list of .AVI files contained on the CD-ROM. Select
the AVI for the chapter which you wish to view. The movie will now play
on your screen.
If you experience any problems please refer to the following sections on
improving movie quality and choosing the correct video mode.
-----------------
Quality Of Movies
-----------------
The quality of a PCIS Video movie depends on several factors. Playback on a
fast 486 doesn't necessarily guarantee that playback will be flawless. A slow
CD-ROM, or a slow video card adapter can cripple video playback. Our AVI's are
customized for playback on a CD-ROM with a data transfer rate of 150 kilobytes
per second to provide the smoothest video playback. PCIS Video Productions has
taken a great amount of time developing an AVI which will provide the best
playback on the widest range of PC's possible. It might be helpful to know that
Video for Windows is restricted to a maximum of 15 fps (Frames Per Second) and
movement still might appear some what "jagged". Normal Television is a 30 fps
device and the "jagged" effect is not as noticeable to the human eye at this
frame rate.
--------------------------------
Resolutions & Viewing Distances:
--------------------------------
When selecting your viewing resolution, you will get better results if you
watch the video at the recommended viewing distance (the distance between the
viewer's eyes and the monitor screen) for that particular resolution. If
viewing the movie at the default resolution of 160x120, a distance of 3 feet is
sufficient. However, if your resolution is "times 2" at 320x240, or
fullscreen, distances of 6 feet and 12 feet will provide the best results.
The suggested rule of thumb is the further back from the monitor you are the
better quality of "fluid motion" you will appear to get. This is a factor of
the human eye, not the software.
Make sure that Windows is running in 640x480 video mode. If Windows is running
in 1024x768 or 800x600, the video playback may appear jerky and not smooth if
running on a 386 or slow 486. 24 bit color will provide the highest color
depth of video, but may cause the video to become choppy. If you are using a
true color video card which supports 24 bit color, we recommend lowering the
color depth to 32,000 or 65,000 colors to improve playback. Running Windows in
256 color mode will allow for the smoothest video playback but with the least
amount of color depth.
----------------------------------
Changing The Windows Video Driver:
----------------------------------
As stated above changing the Windows Video driver is one the best ways to
achieve better results viewing movies under Windows. The video driver handles
the communication between the Windows operating system and your system's video
card. Although, most systems are able to handle more colors than the standard
16 (BASIC VGA) color, many users do not know how to change the video driver.
When windows is installed it checks your video sub-system and attempts to set
it at the highest resolution possible. In most cases this is 16 color VGA mode
at 640x480. This is very fast, but it doesn't provide for much depth in color.
In order to change the Video Driver, you need to know what kind of VGA card
you have. If you have no idea, we suggest you call the company/person that
sold you the computer and ask them. The proper question to ask is "Who makes
the VGA board that is in my computer?" You also may want to ask if they make
the "chipset" also. Many VGA cards are made by different companies, but they
use the same "chipset" as other VGA cards. (Example: Trident makes VGA cards
for a lot of different people, but they don't sell the cards themselves. You
might have an AST SVGA card with 1MB of memory on it, but it might have been
made by Western Digital using a Paradise "chipset" hence it would need a
Paradise driver disk by AST. Western Digital's drivers, but the disk might
have AST's name on it.) It is also important to find out how much Video Memory
is on the video card itself. This memory is not the same as the RAM that is
on the system's mother board. Most of the time (but, not always) you will need
to have at least 512K of RAM on the video card in order to achieve more colors
than 16. Most of the new video cards coming out have 1MB to 2MB of video ram
on them and are optimized (accelerated) for performance with Windows. It has
been our experience that video cards that are optimized for added performance
with Windows are a big help in getting movies to run better. (If you are now
finding out that you are going to need a better video card, you might want
to consider a VESA Local Bus Video card if your mother board is able to support
it. Again, you will need to check with the company/person who sold you the
computer to find out what your video upgrade options are.)
Once you have figured out what kind of VGA card you have the next phase is to
get a copy of the driver disk for your VGA card. Most of the time this disk
comes with your computer, but not always. This disk has the drivers to support
different video modes with Windows. It is not a Microsoft product. It is not
on your original Windows 3.1 disks. (However, you will most likely need your
original Windows 3.1 disks while changing video drivers.) In chapter 15 of your
Microsoft Windows 3.1 Users Guide it explains in detail how to change device
drivers using the setup program. The SETUP program is located in your Windows
directory. It can be run from either DOS or Windows.
---------------------------------------
This is how to change the Video Driver:
---------------------------------------
(1) From the MAIN group in the Windows Program Manager choose Windows Setup
(2) From the Option Bar, choose OPTIONS
(3) From the Options Menu, choose Change System Settings
(4) To open the list for the settings that you want to change, click the
arrow at the right of the list
OR
Press TAB to move to the setting that you want to change, and then press
ALT + DOWN ARROW to open the list
If the Device Driver for your Video Board appears, continue with step 8
If the Device Driver for your Video Board does not appear, continue with step 5
(5) Scroll to the bottom of the list, and then select OTHER
(6) Insert the driver disk containing your Video Board Drivers into one of your
floppy disk drives.
OR
If the Video Board Driver is in a directory on the hard disk, enter the
directory path of the drivers.
(7) Choose the OK button (Setup Will Display A List Of The Drivers On The Disk)
(8) Choose the Video Driver you want (Drivers are selected by resolution and
the number of colors. [i.e. 640x480x256 means 640x480 Screen Resolution
with 256 Colors. This is our suggested resolution for best performance.])
(9) Choose the OK button.
You might be prompted for additional disks if more than one disk was
provided by the video card manufacturer. You also might be asked to
insert several of your original Windows 3.1 disks to copy the WinLogo
and fonts.
Should the SETUP program find the selected device driver already on your
hard disk, Windows will ask you if you wish to use the current driver or
install a new one. You can use can use the current one, unless you are
attempting to update the driver.
(10) Choose the OK button.
A dialog box should then appear with a message asking you if you want
to RESTART Windows or REBOOT. Choose the REBOOT selection. Make sure
that no disks are in the A: floppy drive and restart Windows.
Here is one other important tip. Check the file date on the driver file that
is on the video driver disk you have. If the file date is more than 6 months
old chances are that a newer version of the video is available for your video
card. If you have a modem, you might be able to download a newer driver from
CompuServe, Genie, or a local BBS. If not you might want to call the video
card manufacture and ask for a new copy of the driver disk, if the drivers
have been updated. It is possible you might get them for free or for the
cost of shipping. Some some video card makers have their own support BBS from
which video drivers can be downloaded. Because of the vast amount of data
be handled by the video card it is important to get the best drivers possible.
Many video card makers have realized how important it is to have an efficient
driver and many companies regularly update and optimize drivers to improve
card performance. The newer the video driver is, chances are the better the
performance of the movie will be. Some 3rd party companies even offer 3rd
party video drivers for some video cards. These are drivers that are not
written or supported by the video card maker, but we have seen 3rd party
drivers that can improve card performance by 30%. This is another option to
consider if the maker of your video card doesn't have a resent updated video
driver. Some manufacturers provide a test program to run once you have
completed the installation to verify that everything has been setup correctly.
--------------------------------------
Tips To Improve Component Performance:
--------------------------------------
The next Several Sections will provide you with some of our best tips and
tricks to trouble shoot problems and improve component performance. Please
be fully aware that some of the material covered in the next several sections
might be a little advanced for the novice user. If you have further questions
about some of the material covered in this section we suggest that to ask
someone at a local computer store to explain it to you. Although, some of these
suggestions may sound extreme, please understand that these are suggestions.
Improving Processor Performance:
--------------------------------
Having good processor performance doesn't necessarily mean good video playback
performance. CPU usage can be in the good or satisfactory range and you can
still have problems playing AVI files. If this is the case (and you are not
running networking software) your system's processor may not be able to
efficiently handle the necessary tasks. Suggestions for improving processor
performance include:
* Install a video board that does hardware decompression of video. If your
processor does not have to handle the decompression of the incoming video
performance will improve. Be aware that you must have a card that is able to
be used under Windows and that supports decompression via device driver
support.
* As a last resort, consider upgrading your processor by replacing the mother
board or replacing the current processor with faster one. The possibilities
on processor replacement include using chips that double the internal clock
speed. New processors coming out from Cyrix allow you to replace your 386
chip with a faster Cyrix chip. With ZIF sockets becoming more wide spread
it is possible that trading your 486SX processor for a 486DX processor
could just give you the performance boost you need. Check with your local
computer reseller to find out what upgrade processor upgrade options are
available to you.
Improving Video Performance:
----------------------------
A display subsystem includes the video board and the display monitor. Some
suggestions for improving the performance of your video subsystem include:
* Update your video drivers! (This is covered in depth in this document.)
* Add more Video RAM to your display board. (However, only some boards can
accept and benefit from more video RAM.)
* Add a Windows Video Accelerator card to your computer. (Consider getting
a VESA bus video card if possible, they are only a few dollars more. Your
system has to have a VESA slot in order to use a VESA card.)
* Contact the video board manufacturer of your video board and ask about
more recent or improved versions of the board itself.
* Consider getting a 3rd party video accelerator driver. Some 3rd parties have
written additional drivers for several video cards that perform as much as
30% better than the manufacturer's video drivers.
Improving Audio Performance:
----------------------------
Audio performance is rarely a problem in playing AVI files. Breaks in the audio
track usually indicate a blockage in the system itself. Evaluate other possible
problems before placing the blame on the audio board itself. Some suggestions
for improving the audio performance include:
* Update your audio board's Windows device driver. You may have to contact the
audio board manufacturer to get a newer version of the driver. Updated
drivers improve performance most of the time.
* As a last resort ask the audio board manufacturer about an improved or
updated version of the board itself. It is possible that enhancements to
to board have been made since the revision of the board you have.
Improving Data-Streaming (CD-ROM) Performance:
----------------------------------------------
Most AVI files that come on CD-ROM are optimized for playback for 150 kilobytes
per second. Your CD-ROM subsystem must be able to deliver the data at this
rate for best performance. Performance can be improved sometimes by copying the
AVI files to the hard disk and playing it from their. However, some AVI files
are so large that they will not fit on the average size hard drive. However,
even copying the AVI file to the hard drive doesn't mean the performance will
improve if the hard drive is badly fragmented. (Fragmented means that the
AVI file stored on the hard disk is not stored in noncontinuous sectors) Here
are a few suggestions for improving CD-ROM performance:
* Update your CD-ROM Device Driver if possible. Sometimes this can improve
performance.
* Add CD-ROM caching software. The trade off is that caching software uses
memory. We would not suggest caching the CD-ROM drive unless you have over
4MB of memory on your system.
* Consider as a last resort replacing the CD-ROM drive with a drive that is
double, triple, or quad spin. These drives for the most part are able to
deliver far more than 150 kilobytes per second. (Ask your dealer to make sure
that the new CD-ROM Drive you are considering delivers more than 150
kilobytes per second sustained transfer rate.)
* One additional suggestion would be to contact the drive manufacturer and ask
about more resent or improved versions of the CD-ROM drive itself.
One additional thing to think about. Look for the weakest link in your
performance. Start there and try to fix it first. In order to get the
best possible results all of the components must be able to perform
together.
All references to companies and specific products are referenced for
compatibility only. PCIS Video Products does not reccomend or suggest that
any one product may perform better than any other. Examples in this document
may not apply to other products that use the AVI format.
Windows is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corp.
Video for Windows is a registered trademark of the Microsoft Corp.
All Trademarks Acknowledged.