PC ReadMe File - This ReadMe file contains tips about operating ACTUAL REALITY. Most of these tips come up automatically when you install the ACTUAL REALITY CD-ROM in your system, but just to be safe...we have included longer explanations.
IMPORTANT NOTE -- 16-bit video
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ACTUAL REALITY is optimized for 16-bit color (high color) video. ACTUAL REALITY also runs well in 24-bit or 32-bit color video.
16-bit (65,536 colors) video offers better looking full-motion video and images and is offered with most newer video cards with at least 1MB of memory.
To run in 16-bit color, your video card setting must be set to that color bit depth. If you are comfortable with changing color bit-depth in Windows, try the 16-bit version! The ways to switch color bit-depths vary from computer to computer, usually it is a control panel installed along with the video card. In Windows95, go to Control Panel -> Display -> Settings and change the color palette there.
INSTALLING QUICKTIME(TM)
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ACTUAL REALITY requires the 16-bit version of QuickTime for Windows 2.1.2 (or
later). If you have the 32-bit version of Quicktime 2.1x installed, that is fine, they have been designed to coincide on the same system with no conflicts.
When installing QuickTime, the installer program may ask you if you want to remove old versions of QuickTime. Go ahead and have the installer delete these old versions. You must do this for the installation to succeed.
In order to run the Quicktime installer, follow these directions:
* Windows95: Right-click the CDROM drive in My Computer and Explore.
* Run the file "QT32.exe" in the QT folder
* Follow all instructions
Note: A QuickTime for Windows program group will be created on your Windows desktop. The installer will place several files into this group. YOU DO NOT NEED TO RUN ANY OF THESE FILES IN ORDER TO ACCESS ACTUAL REALITY. These icons are just there as part of the QuickTime installation program and may be used to run QuickTime movies externally, such as ones that are downloaded from the internet.
ERROR MESSAGES
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Freeze on "Loading" screen in ACTUAL REALITY. If it seems your computer has frozen, try hitting alt-f4 to exit out of the current application.
"QuickTime not installed" - In order to run ACTUAL REALITY, you must install
QuickTime. We have included version 2.1.2 on our CD. See below details for installation instructions.
"General Protection Fault" errors: Reinstalling QuickTime for Windows 2.1.2 from the ACTUAL REALITY CD will usually solve this problem. Make sure you have the installer remove any previous QuickTime files.
WINDOWS95 USERS
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MULTITASKING - We do not recommend launching other applications while our program is running. Our software is very demanding and bad things may happen if you try this.
CD-ROM CACHE - depending on the speed of your CD-ROM drive, an increased
cache may help performance. Go to Control Panel -> System -> Performance ->
File System -> CD-ROM and experiment with the access pattern optimization
setting.
PERFORMANCE ISSUES
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ACTUAL REALITY uses the highest-quality 16-bit audio and video, there may be some performance problems on lower end machines.
JUMPY/SKIPPING VIDEO -- in the Quicktime control panel, try experimenting with the video optimization method, try the "Video Driver" setting if you are having problems.
AUDIO NOTICEABLY OUT-OF-SYNC (ESS sound cards) -- in the Quicktime control
panel, first try checking the "Auto Rate Adjustment" box in the Audio section of the Quicktime control panel. If that is ineffective, try changing the rate algorithm to "Manual Override", the requested rate to 22050, and then experiment with the actual hz (usually 22000-22200). Different sound cards will require different rates, refer to the Quicktime readme file for more info.
REQUIREMENTS
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Be sure your system has at least:
* 8 MB of Ram (16 MB preferred)
* 486 33MHz processor (Pentium preferred)
* 2x CD-ROM drive (4x preferred)
* Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0
* 16-bit sound card preferably
* Quicktime 2.1.2 drivers
BUGS AND OTHER PROBLEMS
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We have worked really hard to make ACTUAL REALITY bug-free and easy to use. But
there may still be some problems that you will encounter. If you are having problems, first check to see that your computer is set up properly and review some of the suggestions in this README file.
If you are convinced that everything is OK with your computer, you may have discovered a bug or design problem. If so, we'd like to hear about it.
Please send e-mail to: actualreality@juno.com
or a fax to the attention of ACTUAL REALITY Technical Support, 614-433-9570.
Or, you can call the ACTUAL REALITY Technical Support at 614-433-0057.
We also have an on-line Technical FAQ available at our website:
http://www.actreal.com
Describe the problem in as much detail as you can. Describe where and how it happened. Include all the details about your computer too (e.g. 486 66DX2 GATEWAY Computer Model xxx, a display card, sound card, DOS version, Windows version). There are so many different combinations of equipment and software, that it's difficult to know what is going on without all the information describing a system.
To find out more about Actual Reality, Inc. please write:
