NetNews Offline 2/NetNews Offline Volume 2.iso/news/comp/sys/amiga/hardware-part1/7861

Text File | 1996-08-05 | 14.2 KB | 381 lines

Path: news.xnet.com!news-admin
From: [e-mail] (Michael Martin)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.hardware
Subject: Re: VLAB Motion/MovieShop "Data Transfer Phase Error"?
Date: 21 Mar 1996 22:22:46 GMT
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Here is the response i received from Sherwood Stockwell:

>Please Post the following to comp.sys.amiga.hardware, and I will also try
>to respond directly to some of SCSI specific issues later, yet I have not
>direct experience with the 3000T, which is slightly different than the
>A3000, as far as how the internal termnaltion of the external SCSI chain is
>concerned.

>As I understand it, the T model requires a Term block on the Port if not
>used, which in this case it sounds like his HDs are all external, So this
>may not be  really relavent? Whereas a 3000 Desktop had an active
>termination cirucuit that would automatically apply the proper resistance
>to the external port if there was nothing attached and the Resistors were
>removed from the motherboard near the SCSI cable socket.

>Another issue that causes wierdness is the difference between SCSI 1 and 2
>Ternaiantion resistors, which are 220/330 and 110 respectively. Leaving
>Resistors on the 3000T's motherboard near the SCSI socket, ( which I only
>am guessing they are there) which are of the older SCSI 1 variety, could be
>casuing the SCSI 2 devices to revert to SCSI1 behavior.

>Otherwise here is my general Commentary on Data transfer phase errors that
>seem to have become more common as of the 3.x releases of Movieshop:

>Installing Movieshop 3.x Software

>Before you begin. Save all your work in progress to scene files, prior to
>reinstalling a new version of Movieshop. Do so using the 'Save Scene as'
>Submenu in the Project Menu. While this may not be convenient, it is the
>safest way to carry work over from a previous project to a new project. You
>must use the same Project Settings you had used previously to load scenes
>into a new project. For this reason it would be smart to take note of the
>Project settings you are using prior to doing a vanilla installation as
>described below.

>Toccata Retina Check boxes

>Remember to check box the items relevant to your system. If you have a
>Toccata or Retina, check these items in the stage of the installation where
>this option is presented.

>Using The Movieshop 3.x Software

>Level Indicator Window

>In previous versions of the software the audio Level Indicator window did
>not seem to interfere with Movieshop operations, other than the fact that
>leaving this window open will mute the high frequencies, giving you a false
>monitoring of the actual audio Output. For that reason we recommended that
>the Level Indicator window should only be open when you are first
>establishing proper input levels. In Digital recording , no peaking should
>occur, unlike in Analogue where some degree of peaking is preferable . So,
>set the levels up to the point just before where the meter starts to change
>color.

>In the 3.x series Movieshop leaving the Level Indicator window  open can
>have detrimental effects, causing problems in either the Recording or
>Playback  of Video, So keep the window closed, unless you are adjusting the
>levels.

>Trouble Shooting 3.x Movieshop Installation

>If you are having problems, after installing the Movieshop 3.x series
>software, involving playback  and Data transfer phase errors, you may need
>to reinstall the software.

>Simple Reinstall

>If you are not sure that you check boxed the proper Toccata or Retina
>library items as described above, you may try to just rerun the install
>script, making sure you check box these items properly.

>Vanilla install

>A vanilla install consists of completely removing  all parts of the
>Movieshop software, including the Envarc:movieshop Drawer, which is located
>in the sys:prefs/env-archive Drawer, and the libraries that Movieshop
>installs in the SYS: Libs directory.

>These are: minloc,motioneffect,movieshop,multipic,mulitsnd,pfile,toccata,
>and vmotion

>This sort of clean install, will assure you have the proper combination of
>executables and Libraries, but it will also erase all you past settings for
>Movieshop, meaning you will have to go through an reset everything to the
>way you like it. You may want to review your settings prior to performing
>the Vanilla install.

>Restoring Basic Movieshop Settings

>Vanilla Settings


>Here are some of the basic settings that we use when I setting up Movieshop
>on a freshly installed NTSC system:


>From the Windows/Settings SubMenus:

>Input Selection

>CBVS for Composite; Y/C for S-Video
>VTR Checked if using Tape input.
>Line Input for Audio with your Audio input in the middle 1/4 inch Jack
>Audio Level +6-12dB as set with the level indicator ,as described above

>Project settings:

>JPEG 70%
>Top Edge 44 Left edge 140
>Width 624 Height 464
>Audio Type:Alaw/¿╡law Mono 32KHz

>Buffer Settings

>Size: 3MB, Bursts 256,Preload 1MB
>Audio Size 512KB-1MB Bursts and Preload 128kB

>Video Settings

>AGC Medium
>VNR Window, (use Free while feeding a signal from a device that is
>producing field swapping(jittery video), Do not leave set to Free, if not
>supplying a constant sync source externally)
>Prefilter               OFF
>Weight                  Off
>Bandpass                I
>Coring                  Off
>Auto Smoothing  Off
>Hsmoothing              2
>Vsmoothing              unchecked




>Audio Settings

>Record Sample Along With Scene checked
>Play Sample Along With Scene checked
>Muting
>        Audio Input During Play checked
>Calculation Type        Add


>Hardware Settings

>Input Mode NTSC (PAL where appropriate)
>Output Mode Auto
>Free Running Checked, when you want  Vlab to produce Black Burst/Sync
>Internally.
>(This may not be desirable if you are trying to use an external Sync source
>to stabilize Video  during Playback. Sometimes, providing an External Sync
>from the original source material,  will help to lock up video that is
>having timing problems playing back).
>Hue             0
>Subcarrier      -1

>Miscellaneous Settings

>Auto Save: 5-10 Minutes, or New Scene Checked
>Attach Area 5 pixels
>Duplicate Block..., as necessary if you are trying to hold a frame, by
>pasting numerous copies of itself to a scene.

>From Settings Menu


>Path/Filenames

>Use this submenu to assign a Video and Audio Partitions
>Set the Path for the Effect Modules to the location of the Operators Drawer
>in your Movieshop directory.

>Screen Type

>Unless You are using a Retina, or otherwise compatible Third Party Graphics
>Board, Do not Choose a Screen type that uses more than, 640x400  resolution
>or 8 Grey Levels, or you will get a an erroneous message that says you can
>not record because: 'Vlab cannot detect a full Frame video Source'








>Various Other Afflictions

>On Recording  'Vlab cannot detect a full frame video source'
>        See last section


>On Playback, Error In Data Transfer Phase:

>This seems to crop up after a recent installation of the 3.x series
>software. As far as we can tell, this is not due to a bug in the 3.x
>software, as much as, it is a problem in installation.

>It is also possible that you have left the Levels Indicator window open,
>see notes about that above. Reinstall software as outlined above if this
>problem persists.

>Also, it may be necessary to avoid loading Projects into Movieshop that are
>not the most recent Projects that have used the project specified Movieshop
>Partitions. Loading older Projects could cause problems. If in doubt save
>all you work to scene files prior to reinstalling a new version of
>Movieshop.

>Audio Partition Won't Initialize or Project type keeps reverting back to
>Video only.

>This usually is the result of having an inappropriate version of the
>Toccata Library. Reinstall making sure you are using the proper check box
>to install the Toccata Library.

>Trouble Hearing?

>If you do not hear Audio, But you have set an Audio and Video Project Type,
>and you have selected both an Audio and a Video Partition, and You have
>selected to 'record and Play audio along with scene', it may be necessary
>to move the Loopback slider up to its apex. Adjust that in the Audio Mixing
>Window. This assumes you are using the 'Line' Audio Input

>Trouble Seeing?

>Are the Cables Properly Connected, Have you chosen the appropriate Video
>norm (PAL/NTSC or CVBS/Y/C)?

>Trouble Comprehending?

>If the Program comes up in a language you do not speak, choose the
>appropriate Language from the Settings menu.


>>Sherwood,
>>
>>I saw this in comp.sys.amiga.hardware and bounced it to you since I
>>have also had the problem in #1. If you have any answers, Ill post it
>>there for all to refer to.
>>
>>
>>Michael
>>
>>
>>>Sorry about the sheer bulk of this post, but any help with the following
>>>queries would be much appreciated:
>>
>>
>>>1) Does anyone know what aspect of the data transfer phase produces the
>>>"Data Transfer Phase Error" of MovieShop's vmotion.library?
>>
>>>To explain, I have the VLAB and Toccata installed in an A3000T (Buster
>>>11), WARP Engine 32MB, using a Quantum XP34300 ATLAS 4.3GB HD (also
>>>installed are a TBCPlus, CV64 and OpalVision). I have tried everything I
>>>can think of to get rid of this recurring problem, that often prevents a
>>>clean playback of an entire project without a break. (Note: other SCSI
>>>devices attached and configuration issues are described below in query
>>>#3).
>>
>>>Is it known whether the error is referring to the SCSI or Zorro (or both,
>>>or any other) phases of the data transfer, and what system changes might
>>>influence it?
>>
>>>Also, with (high demand) cards like the VLAB Motion and CV64, does it
>>>matter in what order they are installed in their Zorro slots (ie., closest
>>>to CPU, to furthest away etc)?
>>
>>>                       ---------------------
>>
>>>2) I have also found that both times I have added an external sound track
>>>(ie., take a complete video that is comprised of camera video and audio,
>>>and then add a music track digitised from CD) the playback is now
>>>compromised by instability (irregular, occasional flashing frames) that
>>>makes the video unrecordable.
>>
>>>The first time this happened, the problem mysteriously disappeared as
>>>quickly as it appeared about 2 days later. The second time, it has
>>>gradually improved but not disappeared over the week since it happened.
>>>Any ideas?
>>>                       ---------------------
>>
>>>3) Does anyone know the orientation of the SCSI terminating resistors on
>>>the A3000T motherboard? In the SCSI.FAQ, it mentions that most
>>>controllers' terminating resistor sockets have a square hole, or similar,
>>>to identify pin #1. Naturally, the A3000T is unique in this case, by not
>>>having any identifier whatsoever as to which hole is intended for pin #1
>>>of each terminating resistor.
>>
>>>Basically, I have a terminated external CDROM (SCSI-2 Pioneer DRM-602x as
>>>SCSI ID#2) on the scsi.device (late revision AMD SCSI chip installed).
>>>There are no other SCSI devices, internal or external, attached to this
>>>controller, and it has no terminating resistors on the motherboard. Due to
>>>the problems mentioned above, I wanted to fit resistors to see if it
>>>helped in any way (I have 3 spare 221/331 8-pin resistors, while the
>>>schematics ask for 220/330 resistors. Should these work?).
>>
>>>I also have 3 x SCSI-2 (2 are FAST) HDs and a SCSI-2 Exabyte 4200c DSS-1
>>>(DAT) streamer attached internally to the warpdrive device, configured
>>>thus:
>>
>>> WARP           ID#0           ID#3           ID#4         ID#1
>>> Engine -> Quant LPS525S -> Quant ATLAS -> Exa 4200c -> Microp 4110
>>> (term)    (boot/system)   (video/audio)   (backup)   (general)(term)
>>
>>>I would prefer the chain to flow linearly from ID#0 -> ID#4 (terminated),
>>>but I have no terminating resistors or docs for the DAT unit, making it
>>>hard to terminate or change it's ID#.
>>
>>>I left termination on the Micropolis since it already was (before other
>>>units were installed), and physical placement makes the current config
>>>expedient as far as cabling is concerned.
>>
>>>While I know the warpdrive.device will scan it's SCSI bus from ID#0 to
>>>ID#6, I didn't think this arrangement would produce errors, as long as the
>>>physical chain is correctly terminated. Of course, the parallel existence
>>>of the A3000T's SCSI bus, with one external, and no internal devices
>>>attached, and with no termination on the motherboard throws confusion into
>>>the equation (as far I am concerned anyway).
>>
>>>Does this configuration offer any obvious explanation of problems being
>>>experienced (occasional SCSI READ error with Exabyte 4200c, and more
>>>common "Data Transfer Phase Error" from MovieShop's vmotion.library (that
>>>seems to happen more often with Quantum ATLAS than it did when using a
>>>much smaller partition on the Micropolis 4110 for video
>>>recording/playback)?
>>
>>>Note that in all other aspects, both SCSI busses appear to work extremely
>>>well, both individually and together.
>>
>>>                       ---------------------
>>
>>>Any and all help offered is much appreciated as these problems are
>>>compromising my ability to deliver product reliably and on schedule.
>>
>>>Regards,
>>
>>>         Mark
>>
>>>---
>>>   [e-mail]     -    Ph:[phone]     -         Cairns
>>>   Wishful Vision     -    Fx:[phone]     -      Australia
>>>---
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>******************************************************************
>>Michael Martin                               Video Graphics Artist
>>[e-mail]                   specializing in Nightclub Video
>>312-274-4946 voice                                312-274-4272 fax
>>******************************************************************

>Sherwood Stockwell

>0|:( 1|:)

>{false is sad true is happy; or 'Be happy dont worry'}




******************************************************************
Michael Martin                               Video Graphics Artist
[e-mail]                   specializing in Nightclub Video
312-274-4946 voice                                312-274-4272 fax
******************************************************************