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┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ │
│ Drivers and Utilities │
│ │
│ for │
│ │
│ SPEA Crunch It │
│ │
│ Video for WINDOWS driver v3.11 │
│ Video for WINDOWS 95 driver v3.11 │
│ CritInit v1.00 │
│ Video for Windows Runtime v1.1 │
│ │
│ SPEA Software GmbH Rel.: 0696 │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
This Readme file contains the following information:
A) What's new with this Release?
B) Installation and Configuration of the Crunch It driver
C) Installation and Configuration of Crunch It Init
D) Notes and known problems
E) Changes and Additions to the manual
F) Notes about Video Maestro from Software Dynamics
!!! Changed Software Dynamics Hotline Number !!!
G) Notes about Pixel Shrink from CeQuadrat
H) Notes about Windows 95
I) Notes about using Crunch It and Mirage Video with MPEG
Module
A) What's new with this Release?
The current driver is a completely new driver which fixes several problems.
- Video Overlay using the SPEA MovieBus is now available under Windows and
Windows 95 with the following SPEA Graphics boards:
* Showtime Plus (PCI)
* Showtime Plus (VL)
* Showtime Plus TV
* Mirage Video with MPEG Module
* Mirage Video TV with MPEG Module
- With various System configurations the playback of recorded sequences was
not continously.
The reason therefore is a problem due to Video for Windows, it was fixed
by integrating an asynchronous video buffer into the driver. This buffer
is configured in that way so that the playback is continous and
synchronous to the recorded sound.
B) Installation and Configuration of the Crunch It driver
Start Windows and in the Program Manager select FILE-RUN.
Enter the command A:\SETUP. The setup routine will automatically install
the right drivers for Windows or Windows 95.
During the installation you will be prompted to specify an I/O address and
an interrupt (IRQ) for the Crunch It board. If you are doing an update
installation, the formerly used values will be taken as default.
You will also be prompted to specify if you want to have a video overlay
when using the Crunch It together with a SPEA Showtime Plus (TV) or SPEA
Mirage Video MPEG (TV).
After the installation terminate and restart Windows.
To change settings after the installation the following steps are
required:
Windows 3.1x:
In the Control Panel open the 'driver' settings box and select the
'Crunch It Motion JPEG CoDEC driver' or the 'Motion JPEG Capture Driver'
and click on the button 'Add'. You now have the possibility to change
the base address and the interrupt (IRQ) of the SPEA Crunch It. You can
find additional notes about selecting a base address and an interrupt in
the manual in Appendix B - Technical Details and in Appendix C -
Troubleshooting.
If you use the SPEA Crunch It in combination with a SPEA ShowTime Plus
(TV) or a SPEA Mirage Video MPEG (TV) you should switch the dialogue
'Overlay' from 'Disable Overlay' to 'Enable Overlay (MovieBus)'. This
activates the SPEA Movie Bus which makes it possible to see an overlay
image of the currently edited video image using video software.
If a SPEA Showtime Plus (TV) or SPEA Mirage Video MPEG (TV) is not
installed in your system, or if you want to remove it, switch (back) to
'Disable Overlay' to communicate this to the driver.
Windows 95:
In the Control Panel ('Start'\'Settings') open the 'Multimedia' settings
and select the 'Advanced' page. Select the 'Crunch It Motion JPEG
Capture Driver' from 'Video Capture Devices'. Press the buttons
'Properties' and 'Settings...'. You now have the possibility to change
the base address and the interrupt (IRQ) of the SPEA Crunch It. You can
find additional notes about selecting a base address and an interrupt in
the manual in Appendix B - Technical Details and in Appendix C -
Troubleshooting.
If you use the SPEA Crunch It in combination with a SPEA ShowTime Plus
(TV) or a SPEA Mirage Video MPEG (TV) you should switch the dialogue
'Overlay' from 'Disable Overlay' to 'Enable Overlay (MovieBus)'. This
activates the SPEA Movie Bus which makes it possible to see an overlay
image of the currently edited video image using video software.
If a SPEA Showtime Plus (TV) or SPEA Mirage Video MPEG (TV) is not
installed in your system, or if you want to remove it, switch (back) to
'Disable Overlay' to communicate this to the driver.
C) Installation and Configuration of Crunch It Init
After you switch on or reset your PC, the Video output of the SPEA
CRUNCH IT finds itself in an undefined state. If this signal is sent to
a TV or video monitor for a longer time period, the device can be
damaged.
To avoid this, the SPEA CRUNCH IT can be initialized with the program
CRITINI.EXE
To do so, copy the file CRITINI.EXE from the SPEA installation disk onto
your hard disk and include the following command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT
file:
<path>CRITINI $<address> <norm>
<path> stands for the drive and directory you have copied the
file to
<address> stands for the base address, for which you have configured
your SPEA CRUNCH IT under Windows.
<norm> stands for the video format for which the video output of the
SPEA CRUNCH IT should be initialized. Possible video formats
are PAL and NTSC.
Example:
C:\SPEA\CRUNCHIT\CRITINI $280 PAL
C:\SPEA\CRUNCHIT\CRITINI $300 NTSC
D) Notes and Known Problems
Please read the notes in Appendix C - Troubleshooting in the
manual too!
Q: The playback of recorded sequences sometimes is not continous at the
beginning of the playback (less than 1 second).
A: This problem may occur with particular systems. A new driver
architecture with an internal asynchronous buffer for video playback is
the reason for this problem. On a Pentium 90 in general only the first
2-4 frames are concerned.
As workaround it is recommended to insert a fade from black screen at
the beginning of the video editing. The problem can also be avoided by
switching off the Showtime Plus Overlay.
Q: With the usage of Adobe Premiere 4.0 often problems occur during the
capturing and playback of sequences.
A: Adobe Premiere has some problems cooperating with the Video for Windows
devices.
This problem should be resolved with Premiere 4.0A. Please contact Adobe
about that.
Q: The Recording and Playback of video sequences produces 'dropped frames',
is not continous or the display quality is badly (Compression losses).
A: Check the settings for the compression / data rate for recording. You
find these options in Video Maestro in the Video Capture Program by
pressing the button with the scroll bars (modify capture settings) and
then the buttons 'Format' and 'Setup'.
Here you can define the compression in one of the four areas. It is
advised to modify the setting 'KBytes per Second'.
Typical values for full PAL- /NTSC resolution are 900 to 1300 KBytes per
second and 400 to 700 KBytes per second for 1/4 PAL-/NTSC resolution.
Is the playback not continously or if 'dropped frames' occur, reduce
the value.
Increase this value if the playback quality is bad (compression losses).
Q: In the Program Video Capture from Software Dynamics only single frames
of the input signals are displayed and during playback the windows
remains black.
A: If the Crunch It is used without a Showtime Plus (No PIP), displaying
live video on a Windows desktop via software is not possible. Please
use a video monitor or a TV with video in for checking the recording. If
you use the Crunch it in combination with a Showtime Plus, please check
the settings of the Crunch it (PIP activated or not), the cable
connection of the SPEA Movie bus and if the capture software is
configured to activate the overlay.
Q: The german version of Video Maestro's program Video Edit from Software
Dynamics often produces protection faults under Windows and Windows 95.
A: Via the known SPEA support forums (BBS, CompuSerce, Internet) an update
for the Video Editor is available from Software Dynamics which fixes
this bug.
Q: Under the german version of Windows 95 the capture program of Video
Maestro produces a protection fault as soon as you start recording.
A: Via the known SPEA support forums (BBS, CompuSerce, Internet) an update
for the Video Capturer is available from Software Dynamics which fixes
this bug.
Q: The updated capture program of Video Maestro (v 1.01) produces a
protection error during startup.
A: This problem occures when no sound drivers are installed. An updated
Version that will fix this problem will be released by Software
Dynamics in the first week of July 1996. Via the known SPEA support
forums (BBS, CompuServe, Internet) the update will be available.
Q: When recording a video sequence, the capture software always reports,
that xx frames have been dropped during the recording.
A: You have chosen the settings for the video data stream (video format,
compression, frames per second and sound quality) in a way, that
the system was unable to follow it. Reduce the data quantity, so that
the system can handle it.
Install a 32 bit driver for the hard disk under Windows, if not
already installed. You can find additional information about
this in your Windows manual and in the operating instructions of your
hard disk (IDE) or of your hard disk controller (SCSI, ESDI).
Defragment your hard disk on which you want to store the video data.
MS-DOS provides the utility DEFRAG for this purpose.
Switch off the option 'write caching' for the drive where you are
storing the video data.
Q: It seems that the video playback is not smooth.
A: If the video data stream contains dropped frames, the video is not
played back smoothly. Please take note of the steps described
above. If the data flow defined is very close to the maximum data
rate, it may occur that Video for Windows doesn't receive the
necessary data in time.
Reduce the data flow as far as possible until the effect disappears.
It can also help to add a read cache for the drive with the video
sequences.
Install the 32 bit driver for your hard disk system under Windows -
if not already the case. You can find additional information about
this in your Windows manual or in the operating guide of your hard
disk (IDE) or your hard disk controller (SCSI, ESDI).
Defragment your hard disk on which you are storing the video data.
MS-DOS provides the utility DEFRAG for this purpose.
Set up a permanent swap file with double the size of the available
RAM of your PC, the minimum should be 20MB!
E) Changes and Additions to the SPEA CRUNCH IT manual
P. 5 Delivery Scope Checklist:
─────────────────────────
Your SPEA package should contain the following items:
- 1 SPEA Crunch It
- 1 SPEA Movie Bus connection cable
- the following 3,5" disks:
2 SPEA Crunch It installation disks
3 disks or 1 CD-ROM 'Video Maestro' from Software
Dynamics
2 disks with 'Pixel Shrink' from CeQuadrat
- SPEA ExpertLine info sheet
- SPEA Crunch It manual
- Pixel Shrink manual
P. 13 Deactivate the Cache function / Defragment your hard disk
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
If the 'Write Caching' function is activated, the continuous
data flow to the hard disk can be interrupted.
Deactivate the 'Write Caching' or switch if off completely.
Windows works very slowly with a deactivated cache . It is
advisable to reorganize your hard disk into two partitions and
to deactivate the cache function for the partition which
will contain the stored video sequences.
In some cases (not always) it makes sense to deactivate the read
cache for the drive which is used for storing the video sequences.
This depends on your individual system configuration. A
generalisation is not possible.
Setup a permanent swap file
───────────────────────────
Setup a permanent swap file under Windows. This will improve your
performance under Windows and the used Windows applications, e.g.
the video editing software Video Maestro.
P. 14 Software Configuration of the SPEA Crunch It under Windows
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
If you use the SPEA CRUCH IT together with the SPEA SHOWTIME PLUS
If you use the SPEA CRUNCH IT in combination with a SPEA SHOWTIME
PLUS, you should switch the dialogue 'PIP' from 'No PIP' to
'ShowTime Plus PIP'. Thus, you activate the SPEA Movie Bus which
makes it possible to see an overlay image of the currently
edited video image within a video software.
If a SPEA SHOWTIME PLUS is not installed in your system, or if you
want to remove it, switch (back) to 'No PIP' to communicate this
to the driver.
P. 15 Image Dimensions
────────────────
1/4 PAL: 384 x 288 pixels
NTSC: 320 x 240 pixels
This resolution is also called SIF.
P. 15 Video Control
─────────────
Saturation: controls the colour saturation
P. 16 Utilities
─────────
At that time besides CRUNCH It Init (see above) no other
utility is delivered with the SPEA CRUNCH IT. That is the reason
why no C:\CRUNCHIT directory will be created on your hard disk.
The utility Crunch It Init (CRITINI.EXE) can be found on the first
SPEA Installation disk.
P. 19 IRQ Settings
────────────
IRQ 2, 3 or 12 Mouse
IRQ 15 E-IDE Interface 2
F) Notes concerning Video Maestro from Software Dynamics
Attention !
Software Dynamics has new telephone and fax numbers:
Hotline: +49 421 20266 - 90
Fax: +49 421 20266 - 99
You won't need a manual for the easy-to-use video editing software
'Video Maestro' from Software Dynamics .
To install the software, please insert the first disk of Video Maestro
in your disk drive and under Windows and in the Program Manager select
the options FILE -RUN.
Enter the command A:\SETUP.
After the installation is finished you will find the new Video
Maestro program group in the Program Manager.
Read the README file in this program group if you want more information
about this video editing software.
All features of the Video Maestro Software are described in the online
help of the single features.
G) Notes concerning Pixel Shrink from CeQuadrat
To install the software insert the first disk of PixelShrink in your
disk drive and select the options FILE-RUN in the Windows
Program Manager.
Enter the command A:\SETUP.
To encode MPEG 1 with PixelShrink successfully, please take care of the
following:
- MPEG 1 used by definition 24, 25 or 30 frames per second. The source
video needs to have one of these rates. According to this, the frame
rate within PixelShrink has to be adjusted.
- MEPG 1 uses the SIF resolution, which is one fourth of normal PAL or
NTSC. The Video you want to encode may not have a higher resolution
than this.
H) Windows 95
The SPEA Crunch It installation on disks and the SuperCD-ROM will
detect whether you run Windows (for Workgroups) 3.1x or Windows 95 and
install the drivers corresponding to the system you run.
Video Maestro by Software Dynamics has been developed to run under Windows
and Windows 95.
Changes:
In the 'Control Panel' the entry 'Drivers' is not available any more. To
configure the Crunch It driver you need to select 'Multimedia' in the
'Control Panel'. The 'Control Panel' can be reached by selecting 'Start'
and 'Settings' on the 'Task-Bar'. In the 'Multimedia' Dialog you need to
select the page 'Advanced'. On this page all installed 'Multimedia devices'
are listed hierarchically.
The 'Crunch It MJPG Capture Driver' can be found in the group 'Video Capture
Devices'. By double-clicking this driver or by selecting this driver and
pressing the button 'Properties' you get to the 'Crunch It MJPG Capture
Driver Properties' dialog. Here the driver can be activated or deactivated
by selecting 'Use this video capture device' or 'Do not use this video
capture device'.
By selecting the button 'Remove' the Crunch It Driver can be deinstalled.
The 'Crunch It MJPG CoDEC Driver' can be found in the group 'Video
Compression Codes'. By double-clicking this driver or by selecting this
driver and pressing the button 'Properties' you get to the 'Crunch It MJPG
CoDEC Driver [MJPG] Properties' dialog. By selecting the button 'Remove',
the Crunch It Driver can be deinstalled.
Settings to optimise hard disk access for the recording of video sequences:
By pressing the button 'File System' on page 'Performance' of the 'System'
entry that can be found in the 'Control Panel' you will get to the 'File
System Properties' dialog. On page 'General' you can set 'Hard disk
optimisation' to 'Desktop Computer' or 'Network server'. Selecting 'Network
server' may give better results when playing and capturing video-sequences
as more resources are reserved for I/O operations.
On page 'Trouble shooting' the option 'Disable write-behind caching for all
drives.' should be activated. Depending on your System activating the
option 'Disable protected-mode hard disk interrupt handling' may give
some advantages. You can find out whether it does or not by try and error.
Settings to optimise virtual memory:
Although Windows 95 has a virtual memory (swap file) handling that has been
improved a lot compared to Windows 3.1x it may be advantageous to specify
your own virtual memory settings. The swap file for virtual memory should
be placed on the fastest disk of the system. If this disk is also the disk
you use for sampling video it may be necessary to use another disk for the
swap file. The minimum size of the swap file should be twice the system
memory of your PC and no maximum size should be specified.
By pressing the button 'Virtual Memory' on page 'Performance' of the
'System' entry that can be found in the 'Control Panel', you will get to
the 'Virtual Memory' dialog. To specify your own settings for 'Minimum'
and 'Maximum' swap file size and define on which 'Hard disk' the swap file should be
placed enable the 'Let me specify my own virtual memory settings.'
When finished you have to save and confirm all changes by pressing the
'Apply' and 'OK' buttons.
I) Notes about using Crunch It and Mirage Video with MPEG Module
Attention: Using the Crunch It together with a Mirage Video with MPEG
Module or Mirage Video TV with MPEG Module requires the MPEG Module to be
revision 10A03 or newer.
Older MPEG Modules may not work correctly with the Crunch It.
MPEG Modules revision 10A03 or newer can be identified by a Sticker on the
backside of the module showing the actual revision.
If you own an older MPEG Module and want to use it with Crunch It please
contact our service department for replacement.