FlyerHDTools 1 Last Updated December 1, 1995 FlyerHDTools Abstract FlyerHDTools is a multi-purpose hard drive utility that you can use to format hard drives, and evaluate and adjust their performance. FlyerHDTools will: * Format hard drives for Flyer use * Test a hard drive's ability to record and play back video * Adjust a hard drive's Mode Page settings to improve its performance Overview FlyerHDTools consists of four primary screens, each of which serves a specific purpose. The use-flow within FlyerHDTools follows one of several possible scenarios: testing a drive, formatting a drive, or adjusting cache parameters. Generally, you will start the program and select a drive, then follow a variety of procedures related to that drive. Main Screen The Main Screen allows you to select which hard drive will be tested (from this screen), formatted (from Format Options), fine-tuned (from Cache Options), or just studied (using View Log). Format Options... The Format Options screen allows you to format the hard drive selected from the Main Screen. Drives may be formatted for either A/V use or Audio use only. Cache Options... The Cache Options screen allows you to view and adjust the internal settings of the hard drive selected from the Main Screen. By doing so, it may be possible to improve a drive's performance characteristics. View Log... The View Log screen displays a log for the hard drive selected from the Main Screen. This button is only available for drives that have been tested during the current session FlyerHDTools has been running. The log shows drive information, test results, test summary, and cache settings of the drive at the time the test was run. Using FlyerHDTools Before You Start FlyerHDTools can be run either with the Toaster software running in the background (concurrently), or as a standalone program. No other software programs should be running when you use FlyerHDTools. The output of your Video Toaster should be terminated correctly. Like SCSI signals and cables, video signals and cables must be properly terminated. If your Toaster is active when you choose to run FlyerHDTools, make sure it has proper video termination. Improper termination can cause incorrect hard drive test results, which would force you to re-test and re-format drives at another time. Important! Avoid double-termination on the Toaster's main output, especially when using the Flyer. This can cause the Toaster to appear to "hang" during startup. (If you disconnect the main output at that time, you'll see the hard drive access lamp begin to flash on and off again, confirming that the over-terminated main output was keeping the system from starting up.) Double-termination drags down the video signal and will make your picture look dim. Splitting a video signal with a "Y" cable so that it runs into two devices is a common cause of over-termination. (You can usually do this with audio wiring without noticeable problems. Not so for video.) To Format a Drive: 1) Start FlyerHDTools. The SCSI Buses will be scanned and FlyerHDTools will display the list of drives it has found. (If problems occur, check the status line at the bottom of the screen for information. A lengthy delay, after which no drives appear, or only some of the drives appear, means you should check SCSI termination, cabling, and that all SCSI IDs are unique for each SCSI chain.) 2) Select a drive from the list (by clicking on it). Its name will appear in the indented box at the bottom of the drive list, confirming that this drive has been selected. 3) Click on Format Options... to go to the formatting screen. The upper portion of this screen displays the current information for the selected drive. The middle contains three gadgets for you to work with. 4) If this is a new hard drive that has never been formated for Flyer use, or if you wish to change a formatted drive's name, enter a name in the New Volume Name box. See "Understanding Format Options" if you have any questions about this or the next two buttons. 5) Select the type of formatting for this drive using the Format Volume For cycle button (click this button repeatedly to cycle through its options). 6) If you have just tested this drive, and wish to short stroke it when you format it, select the short-stroke option you want using the Short Stroke cycle button. We recommend using the Blocks option, with the block value FlyerHDTools recommends based on its tests (and inserts automatically when you choose the Blocks option). 7) Click the Format button to begin formatting. 8) When FlyerHDTools is finished formatting the drive, return to the Main Screen where you may either exit the program or select another drive for formatting or testing. Understanding Format Options: The format options include New Volume Name, Format Volume For, and Short Stroke. Here's what these items mean. New Volume Name: New Volume Name always displays the current name for the selected drive. If you wish to change the name of the drive, simply click in this box and enter a new name. When the drive is formatted, it will be renamed to this name as well. Format Volume For: This option allows you to choose the type of Flyer formatting for the selected drive (based on your intended use for the drive in your Flyer system). This cycle button has two options, Audio/Video and Audio. Audio/Video: When the drive is formatted with this option, it will be able to record and play back Video clips (with their accompanying audio). Use this option for all drives that will handle video. Audio Only: When the drive is formatted with this option, it will be able to record and play back Audio clips. Use this option for all drives that will handle audio only. Note: Although you can record and play back audio-only clips on video drives, we do not recommend that you attempt to sequence a mixture of audio and video clips from the same drive. If you record audio only to a video drive, make sure to move those clips to an audio drive before using them in a sequence. Short Stroke: The term short stroke is a drive manufacturer's term for "short formatting" a drive. For example, you might short stroke a 9GB drive as an 8GB drive so that it had 8GB of usable storage space (and it appeared to FlyerHDTools to be an 8GB drive). But why would you do this? The primary reason for short stroking a drive is to make use of only the "fastest part" of the drive for video storage (video demands fast data throughput). All drives can read and write data faster to their outer tracks than to their inner tracks. This means that a given 9GB drive from Manufacturer X might be able to handle the Flyer's HQ5 recording mode over 92% of its surface area, but that the remaining 8% is too slow for HQ5. For example, if you format Manufacturer X's 9GB drive fully, then do a project using HQ5 quality video clips, you would likely have problems during sequencing because the Flyer must make temporary "video head" files in order to sequence properly. It is possible that these "temp files" will be written to the slower portions of the drive, meaning that an HQ5 video clip will now play off of a non-HQ5 part of the drive. The result will be garbled playback or an error message. However, if you short stroke format Manufacturer X's 9GB drive to just the HQ5-capable 92% of its surface area, then the Flyer will be able to make temp files freely and you will not experience bad video when sequencing. The slow portion of the drive is invisible to the Flyer and will remain unused. Note: FlyerHDTools and the Flyer report slightly different amounts of space for a Flyer drive. The reason for this is that FlyerHDTools reports space based on the definition of a "Megabyte" being 1,000,000 bytes of data (this is the same figure that manufacturerer's use in marketing a drive). However, in computer terminology, a megabyte is usually 1,024,000 bytes of data, which is the figure the Flyer uses. Therefore, you may notice a slight difference in the amount of space reported. Short Stroke options include None, Percent, and Blocks. None: With this option selected, the drive will be formatted normally. Its entire surface area will be available for audio or video storage and playback. Percent: When you select this option, a percentage box next to the button becomes active. You can enter the percentage of the drive that you would like short stroked, or use the tested value (if any), or use the highest block that supported the target speed (see Blocks, below). Default values will be available if you have just tested this drive. For example, testing a drive for HQ5 mode will tell you whether the drive can handle HQ5 footage across its entire surface and, if not, what Short Stroke value you should use if you intend to use the drive for HQ5. Blocks: With large hard drives, particularly those over 4GB, using a percentage (above) to specify a short stroke value can leave a certain amount of HQ5-compatible drive space unused. This can be wasteful. After a drive test, use the Blocks setting to format the maximum amount of compatible drive space for video storage (at whatever target speed was selected from the test just run). FlyerHDTools will automatically enter the highest block value that supported that target speed. Using the Blocks setting is preferable to the percentage setting. To Test a Hard Drive: 1) Quit any other programs that are running (it's okay to leave the Flyer running, however). Start FlyerHDTools. The SCSI Buses will be scanned and FlyerHDTools will display the list of drives it has found. 2) Select a drive from the drive list (click on its name). Its name will appear in the indented box at the bottom of the drive list. Again, check cabling, termination, and SCSI ID's if drives do not show up properly. 3) Enter your name in the Tester box. All tests require a user name. 4) Select a test type from the Test Type cycle button (click this button repeatedly to cycle through its options). We recommend the default setting: Read/Write. See "Understanding Test Options" if you have any questions. 5) Select a test length from the Duration cycle button. We recommend Repeat 3 6) Select a target speed from the Target Speed cycle button. For video drives, this will be either Standard or HQ5. Probably you will be testing drives for their ability to handle HQ5, so this is usually best. For an audio drive, select Audio. 7) Select Start Test to begin testing the drive. The Status bar near the bottom of the screen doubles as both an information bar and a "fuel gauge." During testing, the fuel gauge will fill up as the test progresses. Tests can be interrupted by pressing the Left Amiga key and the letter b simultaneously. (You can also use the mouse, but the pointer cannot respond in real time during testing since the computer is quite busy.) Understanding Test Options The testing options include Test Type, Duration, and Target Speed. Here's what these items mean. Test Type: Test Type refers to the type of test to be performed on the selected drive. There are three options: Read, Write, and Read/Write. Read/Write: The best type of test is one where you both read information from the drive and write information to the drive. This option tests the drive's ability to store data on its surfaces and retrieve data from its surfaces. Use this option for new drives that have never been formatted, or drives that contain data you no longer need. Do not use it for drives that contain data you need to keep! Read: This tests the drive's ability to retrieve data that has been stored. Use this option when you wish to test a drive that has important data you do not wish to lose. Write This tests the drive's ability to write data that it is receiving. This test is useful only if you have acceptable read times, but unacceptable write times, and you wish to test different parameters that affect write values. Duration: Duration refers to the length of the test you wish to perform. Important: Flyer owners should always use the Repeat 3 option (the default setting) when testing a hard drive. The remaining settings do not report reliable results, and are included for programmer use. There are two types of duration, time-based and full. A time-based test lasts for a set number of minutes. A full test runs the entire surface of the drive and may take hours. There are several duration options: 10 min., 20 min., Custom, Repeat, and Full. 10 min., 20 min. These options will run the test for the length of time you select, from 10 to 20 minutes. Use this if you have a limited amount of time in which to run a test, or when you just want to get a quick idea if the drive's current cache settings have altered its performance noticeably. Custom (min.) This allows you to enter the length of the test you wish to run in the box beside the button (the value represents the number of minutes). Use this if you have a limited amount of time in which to run a test, or when you just want to get a quick idea if the drive's current cache settings have altered its performance noticeably. Full This option will run the test for the entire surface of the drive (from the outermost tracks to the innermost tracks). It is not a time-based test. For drives that you hope will qualify for the HQ5 recording mode (best quality), you should perform at least this test. For more absolute certainty, use Repeat with a value of 3 (see below). Repeat (3) (number of full tests) The repeat option allows you to run several full tests in a row (enter the number of full tests in the box beside this button). This choice is best for determining a drive's ability to hold up to HQ5 recording, since it operates the drive for a longer period of time (and better emulates repeated use, as the drive would experience during actual usage). The default repeat value is 3 (3 full tests). Target Speed: Target Speed refers to the "ideal speed" that you hope this drive is able to sustain in actual usage, and that you wish FlyerHDTools to use in its drive summary. For example, if you use a target speed of 5 MB/s, when the test is complete FlyerHDTools will report how much of the drive was able to meet that criterion. There are five target speed options: Standard, HQ5, Custom, None, and Audio. Standard: This option matches the Flyer's Standard recording mode (3.70 MB/s). If you select this, FlyerHDTools will test the selected drive to see if it is able to sustain a 3.70 MB/s data rate, and report its results based on this value. HQ5: This option matches the Flyer's High Quality 5 recording mode (4.80 MB/s). If you select this, FlyerHDTools will test the selected drive to see if it is able to sustain a 4.80 MB/s data rate, and report its results based on this value. Custom: This option allows you to enter a data rate value of your own choosing. The value is read a MB/s (megabytes-per-second). FlyerHDTools will test the selected drive to see if it is able to sustain this data rate, and report its results based on the entered value. None: This option allows you to test a drive without setting a specific target speed. Audio: This option allows you to test a drive for its capability to handle multi-track audio playback. After you run this test, select View Log and read the written description that defines how well the drive performed. Look for a line of information that gives the drive's Maximum Full Stroke Seek Time performance (usually in milliseconds). Compare this number with the specs given in the booklet/manual that came with the drive you just tested. If your manual indicates that the drive's maximum acceptable full stroke seek time is less than the figure that FlyerHDTools reports, this drive will be fine for 4-track audio use. ( That is, 2 tracks of stereo audio in addition to the 2 stereo pairs playing back with video clips during sequencing). What to Look For in Test results: Ideally, you want FlyerHDTools to report that the tested drive is fast enough for the Flyer's HQ5 video recording mode and displays a small Maximum Idle Time, as shown below. If you are unsure what the figures below mean, or how to interpret them, see "What to do with the Test Results," which follows this section. Values for a drive that is fast enough for Standard* recording and playback: Lowest Speed 3.70 MB/s or higher Average Speed 3.70 MB/s or higher Maximum Idle Time under 300 ms *The Standard recording mode can preserve very simple and clean (noise -free) video. If you are recording well-lit and well-shot material in Standard mode, you can expect about the quality that you would receive if recording to another VCR that matched the format you recorded in. However, if the complexity of the video increases (greater noise exists either from: a low-quality video format, low light levels in the recorded material, or highly detailed imagery) the playback quality may lower noticeably as the Flyer must respond with higher compression levels. Values for a drive that is fast enough for HQ5** recording and playback Lowest Speed 4.80 MB/s or higher Average Speed 4.80 MB/s or higher Maximum Idle Time under 300 ms **The HQ5 recording mode can handle much more complex video than Standard mode, rivaling that of BetaCam SP and D2 VCRs. Ideally, drives should be able to handle HQ5 mode across over 80% of their surface area, or more. FlyerHDTools displays its test results to the right of the main screen in a box labeled Read/Write. The figures in the box show the read and write characteristics for the selected drive in two forms: the lowest speed that FlyerHDTools recorded at any time during the drive's test, and the average speed that the drive was able to maintain throughout testing. FlyerHDTools also shows the Max(imum) Idle Time for the drive. In order to understand the figures that FlyerHDTools reports, you first need to know what the labels mean. Here's a short description for each. Lowest Speed (MB/s) These figures identify the rate at which data was read from (and written to) the slowest portion of the drive. Ideally, they will show that even the slowest portion of the drive was fast enough to read and write video data. There is no specific lowest speed value to look for. Instead, you must compare the lowest speed value against the target speed value. Since the preset target speed values represent the Flyer's two record quality levels, a comparison of the lowest speed and target speed values will tell you whether the drive is fast enough to handle video at the quality level you wish. Look for a drive where the lowest speed meets or exceeds the target speed. Then you know that the entire drive is at least fast enough to handle the target speed setting (provided all other figures look good as well). If the lowest speed is below the target speed, then this drive is too slow to handle video at the quality level you want. (It may benefit from adjustments to its cache parameters. Only experimentation will tell.) Average Speed (MB/s) These figures take into account the entire tested portion of the drive and display its average speed. Ideally, they will show that the entire drive reads and writes data at an average speed that is at or above the target speed for video data. Look for a drive where the average speed meets or exceeds the target speed. Then you can be reasonably sure that this drive will handle video data just fine (provided all other figures look good as well). If the average speed is below the target speed, then this drive is too slow to handle video at the quality level you want. (It may benefit from adjustments to its cache parameters. Only experimentation will tell.) Max Idle Time (ms) As the Flyer reads data from a drive there may be slight interruptions that keep the video from streaming off the hard drive at a steady rate. Error Map delays, caused by the drive heads jumping to the remap location and back in order to skip drive imperfections, slow down a drive. Thermal calibration, where the drive resets its head position, also serves to introduce delay. FlyerHDTools displays all such delays in one figure as the drive's Maximum Idle Time. Look for a drive where this figure is under 300 milliseconds (under 200 milliseconds is best). If Max Idle Time approaches 300ms or higher, the drive may be prone to stuttering when playing back video. What to Do with the Test Results If the drive meets the specifications for Flyer use and passes tests within FlyerHDTools, try it with the Flyer to make sure it functions correctly in real-world use. If the drive reads data too slowly, writes data too slowly, or both, you have the following options: * If you feel comfortable with changing the drive's internal settings, you may wish to attempt to do so. Then retest with FlyerHDTools to see if your changes were successful. In this way you might find a setting that causes the drive to read and write data effectively for the Flyer. * Contact NewTek's BBS and look to see if anyone else who has purchased this model drive has posted revised cache parameters with Flyer-ready settings. * If you purchased the drive with the understanding that you could return it, you may wish to exchange it for a drive that works better with the Flyer. To Change the Cache Settings for a Drive Let's assume you have added a new drive to your system: a Zeke II drive from Manufacturer X. You already have a pair of Zeke II drives, which work well with HQ5 footage. However, when you test the new drive you find that it has different settings and performs poorly in comparison. Assuming you had never used FlyerHDTools before, here's how to use FlyerHDTools to load the cache settings from your original drives and write them to the new drive to improve its performance. 1) Start FlyerHDTools. The SCSI Buses will be scanned and FlyerHDTools will display the list of drives it has found. Select one of your original Zeke drives from the drive list (click on its name). Its name will appear in the indented box at the bottom of the drive list. 2) Click on Cache Options. FlyerHDTools informs you that the selected drive is not using any of FlyerHDTools' currently known cache settings. It asks if you would like to add these settings to the master config file. Answer YES and enter the following comment: "Zeke II drive, good settings." Press Return. 3) Now you are at the Cache Options screen. Click on Save Config File. Answer YES when FlyerHDTools asks if you are sure you want to do this. (This adds the newly recorded settings to the config file permanently.) 4) Click on Main Screen to return there. 5) Now select the new Zeke II drive (the one that performed poorly when tested). Again, click on Cache Options. Again, answer YES to add it to the config file, and this time enter a new comment: "Zeke II drive, Factory settings, not good." Press Return. 6) On the Cache Options screen, click on Save Config File. Answer YES when FlyerHDTools asks if you are sure you want to do this. (This adds the newly recorded settings to the config file permanently. Just in case, you may need these, so it's a good idea to save the master config file with the bad settings as a part of it.) 7) Select the settings file that you named "Zeke II drive, good settings." Now click on the Set Drive Cache button. This writes the selected settings data (the good settings) to the current drive (with bad settings). 8) Return to the main screen and test the drive. With its new settings intact, it should respond as well as the original drives. If not, at least you can repeat this process and restore the original factory settings. Using a drive editing utility, you may even be able to edit specific parameters of a drive's "mode pages" in an attempt to improve performance. Of course, this procedure is beyond the scope of FlyerHDTools and should only be attempted by a qualified technician who has done this kind of work before. Understanding Cache Options Cache options allow you to read cache settings from a file, view them, and write them to the current drive (which can improve a drive's performance). Here's what these items mean. Read From File: Select this option to read cache settings data from a previously saved file (either an individual drive's log file or a FlyerHDTools config file). These settings will be retained in memory until replaced (by using Read From File again). Write to File: Select this option to write the current cache settings data from memory to an individual drive log file. View Selected: Select this option to view the cache settings for the selected drive entry (the entry that has been highlighted in the drive list box). Copy Selected: Select this option to create a duplicate of the cache settings for the selected drive entry (the entry that has been highlighted in the drive list box). Use this option when you want to make a backup of a given drive's settings. To preserve the new copy in the config file, use Save Config File afterward. Edit Comment: Select this option to the comment that accompanies the cache settings for the selected drive entry (the entry that has been highlighted in the drive list box). It's a good idea to use unique comments that refer to the drive's make, model, size, or all three items, and whether the settings are "factory" or otherwise. Delete Selected: Select this option to remove the highlighted settings entry from the list box. (Warning: if you delete an entry, then save the config file, that entry is lost forever. However, if you delete an entry and wish to recover it, simply quit FlyerHDTools and do not save the config file upon doing so.) Set Drive Cache: Select this option to write the cache settings in memory to the current hard drive. Save Config File: FlyerHDTools maintains a master file list of drive cache settings for all drives that it has read data from. Any time you add a new, unknown drive to the system, start FlyerHDTools, and select this new drive, the program will ask if you wish to add its current cache settings to the config file. It's best to do so, with a comment that reminds you that these settings are the "Factory" or "Default" drive settings, just in case they ever get changed on the drive and you need to restore them from this file. Main Screen: Select this option to return to the main screen. Pull-Down Menu Items These items are available from the main screen only. Project menu: Save Log File: A Log file is generated after you have run a test for a given hard drive. During the current FlyerHDTools session, every drive that you test will retain an individual log file in memory. Select a drive that has been tested in order to activate the View Log button. Select the View Log button to view the log results for that drive. Use the Save Log File button to save the log file for the currently active drive as a viewable text file. Save Config File: FlyerHDTools maintains a master file list of drive cache settings for all drives that it has read data from. Any time you add a new, unknown drive to the system, start FlyerHDTools, and select this new drive, the program will ask if you wish to add its current cache settings to the config file. It's best to do so, with a comment that reminds you that these settings are the "Factory" or "Default" drive settings, just in case they ever get changed on the drive and you need to restore them from this file. Quit: This option will quit FlyerHDTools. Options menu: Long Log File? Select this option for FlyerHDTools to save longer log files (which contain additional data on the drive's test results). AutoSave Log File: Select this option for FlyerHDTools to prompt you *now* for a log file name (the log file itself will be saved immediately after the next hard drive test). Drive Settings menu: Add New Drive: The Add New Drive menu item allows you to add the cache settings from a new drive to the master cache settings file (the config file) that FlyerHDTools maintains. When you pull down this option, you will need to select whether you wish to add new settings from a drive on the system (From Drive), or from a file on disk (From File). From Drive: Select this option to read data from the current hard drive and add it to the master cache settings config file. From File: Select this option to read data from a log file (or config file) and add it to the master cache settings config file. Note: FlyerHDTools is able to read cache settings from Log Files as well as the config file saved from someone else's copy of FlyerHDTools.