Copyright: © Copyright Pinnacle Systems 1998


Adding Transitions to your Movie

Transitions are placed on the Video track by dragging them from the Album like any other item. To quickly add Transitions, the Storyboard view is recommended, but you can add Transitions in any view.

To add a transition:

1.	Click the Storyboard View button in the Movie window menu bar. Locate a boundary between two Clips that you want to connect with the Transition, or an Overlay Image to which you like to add a Fade in or out.

2.	Click the Transitions Tab in the Album.

3.	Locate the Transition you wish to use, and drag it to the chosen Clip or Overlay Image boundary.


Adding a Full-screen Still Image

Still images such as photographs, Clip art and so on are added from the Graphics Section of the Album.

To add a full-screen still image:

1.	Locate the position in the Movie Window where you want the image to be added.

2.	Click the Show Graphics tab on the Album, and locate the image you want to add.

The Album Graphics Section is displayed, along with a set of default images (if you chose to install them). You can use your own images by clicking the File Cabinet button and navigating to the folder containing your images.

3.	Drag the image you want to add to the desired position in the Movie Window.

You can also incorporate still images into titles created with TitleDeko.


Adding an Overlay Still Image

Overlays are created in two ways. The primary method is through the title editor TitleDeko; however, you can also import a still image file. One difference between the two methods is the way the transparent portion of the Overlay Image is determined.

See Transparency in Overlay Images for more information.

To Add an Overlay Still Image

1.	Click the Graphics tab on the Album, and locate the image you want to add.

2.	Select the Timeline view in the Movie Window, and locate the position where you want the image to be superimposed.

3.	Drag the chosen image from the Album into the desired position on the Movie Window’s Title Overlay track.


Capture Mode

The Studio DC10plus Capture mode enables you to capture the source video to your hard drive. That source video can be a camcorder, a TV tuner, a VCR or a live camera. As the Capture process proceeds, the Album is populated with video scenes and the Player shows the incoming video. Concurrently, the Diskometer monitors the free space on your hard drive.

The Player during Capture Mode: During capture the Player shows you the incoming source video, and the Counter displays an accurate running length of the video being captured.

Start/Stop Capture Button: The Start/Stop Capture button begins and ends the capture process.

Diskometer: The Diskometer tells you how much hard drive space is available in both graphical and numerical form. The Diskometer also allows you to select the quality of the video you capture. The higher the quality you choose, the more disk space you’ll need for each second of video captured.


Capturing Video

Capturing digitizes video that you use in Studio editing sessions. During capture, your source video passes through the Studio DC10plus board where it is digitized, and then stored on your computer hard drive. After the video is captured, the Studio software can perform automatic detection, and populates the Album with scenes. After you have captured your video, you script it by editing scenes, inserting transitions, creating titles, and adding sound effects. Finally, you make a tape or a digital movie.

Studio gives you complete control over the video and audio you choose to digitize. You can specify the type of video signal (composite or S-video), video capture quality, how video levels are set (brightness, contrast, sharpness, hue and color saturation), how high or low you set individual clip audio levels, whether you capture stereo or mono audio, and at what sample rate you capture your audio.

After the capture process, Studio DC10plus can detect each edit or scene change on your source video, and create a separate video scene in the Album. You then use the Studio DC10plus editing capabilities to choose those scenes you want in your final movie from the Album containing all the available scenes.

Follow these links to explore the video capture process in detail:

The Diskometer - monitoring disk usage

SmartCapture - Automatic Scene Detection

Step by step - Video capture by the numbers

Configuring Capture - Video and audio capture options.

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Changing Settings

Options are provided to adjust certain factory-preset default values. The default values work well for the vast majority of situations and hardware. However, you may wish to modify them to suit either your work style or your specific equipment configuration.

Audio Options

Video Options

The Options Dialog

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Changing the Thumbnail Frame

By default, Studio uses the first frame of each Scene as the thumbnail. You can easily select a different frame for the thumbnail.

To change thumbnails in the Album:

1.	Select the scene to be changed.

2.	Use the Player control to find the frame you wish to be the thumbnail.

3.	Right-click on the scene and choose Reset Thumbnail from the pop-up menu.


Combining and Subdividing Scenes

SmartCapture automatic scene detection is very fast and a great labor-saving tool; however, you might not want a particular scene to begin or end at the points Studio DC10plus has chosen for you.

You might want to combine multiple scenes into a single scene or split one scene into smaller scenes. Both techniques are easy, and are similar to each other. These operations are accomplished on the scenes in the Album, not in the Movie window.

To combine scenes in the Album:

1.	Select the scenes to be combined.

2.	Right-click on one of the scenes.

3.	Choose Combine from the pop-up menu, or select Album > Combine Scenes from the main menu bar.

The selected scenes are combined into one. Only selected adjacent scenes are combined. Furthermore, they are joined in the order in which they appear in the album, regardless of the order in which they were selected. Album order proceeds across rows and then down the page. To revert, press Ctrl+Z, or click the Undo button.

If you marquee two or more discontinuous sets of scenes using the shift-drag technique, each set of adjacent scenes is combined, but the two sets are not combined with each other.

To subdivide scenes in the Album:

1.	Select the scenes to be subdivided.

2.	Right-click on one of the scenes.

3.	Choose Subdivide from the pop-up menu, or select Album > Subdivide Scenes from the main menu bar. The Subdivide Selected Scenes dialog box appears.

4.	Choose the length of the subdivided scenes by typing in a value.

The smallest increment of subdivision is one second. Any video remaining after subdivision is added to the last scene.

5.	Click OK.

A progress bar appears, the scene is subdivided, and new scenes are added to the Album. To revert, press Ctrl+Z, or click Undo.

You can subdivide these scenes still further, provided they retain a duration of at least one second.

To split an individual scene in the Album:

1.	Select the scene.

2.	Use the Player transport controls to locate the frame where you wish to split the scene.

3.	Right click in the screen and select Split Scene.


Configuring Capture

Studio provides slide-out Option control panels for video and audio capture options to suit either your work style or your specific equipment configuration.

Capture options affect both the video and audio you are digitizing. This is a critical point in the non-linear editing process, since you are locking in the brightness, contrast, hue and saturation values of each clip you digitize. This becomes significant when you mix different video sources within a single project.

Setting your video options correctly as you capture will give your project consistancy from beginning to end in terms of flesh tones, brightness, and contrast.

Setting your audio options correctly as you capture will ensure consistent volume levels and quality.

Video Options

First choose the type of video you wish to digitize by clicking the appropriate Source button (S-video or composite). The slide-out Video Options tray then allows you to control the brightness (video gain), contrast (black level), sharpness, hue, and saturation of each video clip digitized.

Audio Options

You can digitize the audio that accompanies your video by clicking the Audio Capture On button. If your clip is video only, click the Audio Capture Off button. The slide-out Audio options tray includes settings for Volume, Channels and Sample Rate. Channels and Sample Rate affect the sound quality, and also the file size. The higher the quality, the larger the file.


Studio DC10plus Help File Contents

What Studio DC10plus Does for You

The Studio DC10plus Interface

Capturing Video

Working with Video Scenes

Working with Still Images

Working with Transitions

Working with Title Deko

Working with Audio

Making Your Movie

Changing Settings

The Studio DC10plus Control

Tips and Tricks

Studio DC10plus Troubleshooting Guide

About JPEG Image Compression

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Creating Titles with TitleDeko

TitleDeko is an integrated title editor program that allows you to quickly and easily create professional quality titles and graphics. Titles can contain words, shapes, background colors, and photos or graphics imported from other programs. TitleDeko offers preset, professionally-developed styles for quickly making titles, along with virtually endless custom styling. You can modify titles by adding transitions for a wide variety of effects, such as titles that fade in or slide, and adjust the duration the title appears in your movie.

Launching TitleDeko

You can launch TitleDeko in three ways. The way in which you launch TitleDeko determines if the title is an overlay or full screen. (You can change this later.) A full-screen title is placed on the Video track, and fills the entire screen, replacing the video. An overlay title is placed on the Title Overlay track, and is superimposed on the video.

Launching from the Movie Window

For an overlay title, double-click on the Title Overlay track where you want the title to appear. For full-screen titles, right-click on the Video track.

Launching from the Toolbox

Click the Toolbox button to open it, then click the Title button. This displays the Title tool. Click either the Title Overlay or Full Screen Title button.

Launching from the Main Menu Bar

Choose Toolbox > Create Title, then click either the Title Overlay or Full Screen Title button to launch TitleDeko.

See Using TitleDeko


Creating and Using Still Images

Studio offers a variety of capabilities for creating and using still images. You can import images, such as photographs or drawings in most standard formats, and video frames, which can be grabbed with the Studio DC10plus Frame Grabber. Titles are also a type of still image, and may themselves contain imported images and grabbed frames.

Still images can be placed on the Video track or the Title Overlay track. Still images on the Title Overlay track are superimposed on top of the video.

When you place a still image in the Movie window, a copy of the image file is imported into the Studio project. This makes the Studio project more transportable; however, changes to the original image file are not reflected in the Studio project. If you do need to change the original image, replace the image in Studio.

Full Screen Images

A full screen image is one that is placed on the Video track, and fills the entire screen, replacing the video. When the preceding video clip ends, Studio plays the still image clip. The visual effect is that the video ends, and is replaced by the graphic until the next video clip or still image begins.

Overlay Images

An overlay image is placed on the Title Overlay track and is superimposed on top of the moving video, without replacing the video. The video continues playing in the background, while the overlay image appears stationary in the foreground. The visual effect is that a still image, such as title words or a graphic, appears on top of the video.

Creating titles with TitleDeko

Adding a Full-screen Still Image from the Album

Adding an Overlay Still Image from the Album

The Frame Grabber

Trimming Still Images

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Edit mode

The Edit Mode display includes three main areas: The Album, the Player and the Movie Window. In addition, multilevel Undo and Redo buttons are located in the upper right corner along with the Help button. Clicking Undo repeatedly steps you back through the previous changes you made. It is essentially unlimited. You can feel free to experiment with editing because you can always Undo your way back to where you started.

The Edit mode display includes three main areas: the Album, the Player, and the Movie window. Use the links below, or the browse arrows in the Help window tool bar, to explore each main area in turn.

The Player lets you play back a selected clip (such as a video scene or title) from the Album, or play back parts of your edited movie from the Movie Window.

The Player

The Album lets you choose which captured video scenes, transitions, graphics and sound effects you want to include in your edited movie.

The Album

The Movie Window lets you preview and edit the clips and effects that make up your movie.

The Movie Window


Formatting and Transforming Text and Objects

You can format text and objects by choosing a style with preset attributes, or manually by adjusting attributes such as boldness, size, typeface and spacing.

To select and change the typeface, click the down arrow and choose the typeface from the drop-down list, or click the Typeface Browser button for a graphical display of typefaces, and double-click the one you want.

To change the point size of text, type a new value into the Size field or click the arrow buttons.

To change text to bold, italic and/or underline, select the text to be changed. For bold, italic and underline, click the corresponding button in the Editor menu bar, or use the shortcuts (Ctrl+B), (Ctrl+I) and (Ctrl+U).

Applying Looks to Text and Objects

One of TitleDeko’s most powerful features is its library of preset looks. Looks include color, texture and transparency attributes that are applied to the face, edge and shadow of objects. With a click of the mouse you can instantly change the appearance of an object from glowing purple neon to blue metallic.

To select and change looks, click the Looks button. The Looks browser graphically displays the looks you can pick. Just double-click the look you want.

Justifying Text

Justification operates differently in a video character generator than in a word processor. TitleDeko uses justification controls to position all objects, including rectangles and ellipses, as well as text. You can Justify objects via menu selections, buttons, keyboard shortcuts and keypad shortcuts. The next sections explain how to use these techniques.

Justification Buttons

Three buttons provide access to the same functions: Justify, Horizontal Justify, and Vertical Justify.

The Justify button provides the same Bottom, Middle, Top functions as does the Justify menu, and also has Left, Center, Right controls for each. Click the Justify button to display a grid that resembles a Tic-Tac-Toe grid.

To use the grid, select the text or object, and click the button that indicates how you want the text justified, or where you want the object positioned.

The numeric keypad also emulates the functions of the grid, and thus offers a quick way to position or justify text and other objects, which is particularly useful if you have many repetitions to do. Hold down the Ctrl key, and press one of the numbers on the numeric keypad to quickly justify text (and objects). Notice that the position of the marker in the grid button changes, as do the Horizontal and Vertical Justification buttons.

The Horizontal and Vertical Justify buttons display controls to manipulate text and objects in those directions. In addition, these buttons also contain Full and Spread functions that apply only to text. Select the text or object, click the button that indicates how you want the text justified or where you want the object positioned. The choices are obvious except for Full and Spread.

Full Horizontal, Full Vertical and Spread Justification

Full horizontal justification makes the text flush or even with both the left and right sides of the text field box, except for the last line of text which remains left justified. Full vertical justification makes the text flush or even with both the top and bottom of the text field box. Spread justification makes all lines of text flush with both the left and right sides of the text field box, including the last line.

Tools and Selection Handles

Three buttons (Move/Resize, Rotate/Skew, Kerning/Leading) have dual functions depending on the handle you select. The current function is denoted by cursor shape. The following text explains these cursor shapes and how they function on text and other objects.

When you select an object, handles appear on the corners and midpoints as shown in the illustration on the left. In the case of Rotate and Skew, a single handle appears in the upper right corner as shown on the right.

Kerning / Leading Tool

This multifunction tool is used to change several characteristics. The associated cursors appear only on the handles.

Kerning

Kerning is adjustment of the space between words and letters. Kerning is typically used for very large letters. Some characters in combination with each other produce spacing that is visually unpleasing.

To kern text, click the Kerning/Leading button, select the characters to kern, hold down Alt and press the right/left arrows to increase/reduce the space between selected characters. Or, use the cursor to drag the handle at either side of the selected text.

Leading

Leading is the amount of space between lines of text. To change the leading, click the Kerning/Leading button, select the text, and use the cursor to drag one of the handles above or below the text block.

Layers

Layers allow you put one object in front of another. To move a layer forward or backward, select the object. From the Layer menu, choose one of the menu commands such as Layer > Send Back One Layer, or press its command key equivalent (Ctrl+[-]).

Move / Resize Tool

Moving

The Move cursor indicates moving is enabled. It appears everywhere on the selection box except at the handles.

Resizing

Corner handles control height and width together; middle handles on the right or left control width only; and middle handles on the top or bottom control height only. Hold down Shift while dragging a corner handle to constrain the aspect ratio during scaling.

In the following example, the word in the center has not been changed. The widths of the words on the left and right are narrowed and expanded respectively.

Rotate / Skew Tool

Rotating

The Rotate cursor indicates rotating is enabled. It appears everywhere on the selection box, except at the upper right handle.

Skewing

The Skew cursor appears only when you position it on the upper right handle. Use the Skew function to make objects appear slanted.


Frame Grabber Basics

You can choose a frame to grab from one of three sources:

−	Captured video

−	Video or digital camera

−	External video sources, such as television.

After you grabbed the frame, the Frame Grabber offers two options for using it:

−	Adding it to the Video track

−	Saving it to your hard drive as a graphic file.

Adding it to the Video track places the grabbed frame before the video clip that is currently selected. When you save to your hard drive, a full-resolution image is stored. You can save the file in most standard graphic formats.


About JPEG Image Compression

What is JPEG image data compression?

JPEG image data compression is a so-called "lossy" compression procedure, i.e. a portion of the original data is lost during compression.

JPEG data compression provides considerably higher compression factors than loss-free procedures. Lossless compression procedures can only compress at a factor of 2-3, which is not sufficient for storage of video data.

The lower the compression factor, the better the results appear.

How does JPEG image data compression work?

JPEG data compression occurs in the following steps:

4:2:2 Subsampling

The first step of JPEG data compression is the image conversion from the RGB format (i.e. computer image) to the YUV format. In this format Y contains the brightness information (luminance), U and V deliver the color information (chrominance).

Since the human eye can discern differences in brightness better than differences in color, the Chrominance Subsampling method (reduced scanning of color information) can be used to capture video. The Studio DC10plus uses the 4:2:2 ratio where there are four bits for brightness information and two bits for color information: the U and V color information of every second pixel only is used.

A TV image delivers YUV signals so that no information is lost when digitizing video.

Discrete Cosine Transformation

Each TV image delivers one brightness signal and two color signals per pixel. The DCT (Discrete Cosine Transformation) converts these signals into a frequency coefficient containing the color and the brightness information.

Then the signals can be compressed more easily. The Discrete Cosine Transformation is the most computation-intensive step of the JPEG data compression. The DCT is lossless.

Quantization

By applying complex mathematical operations the quantization ensures that image parts which are important to the human eye are represented precisely and irrelevant information is represented with less precision.

Run Length Encoding

The Run Length Encoding (RLE) method makes use of the fact that many parts have the value "zero" after the DCT and the quantization operation have been applied. Instead of saving all "zeros" individually, "zero" is only saved once, together with a counter, which states how often it occurs in succession.

Huffman-Coding

The last step of image compression is the Huffman Coding method which makes use of the statistical properties of the data to be coded. This method evaluates how often and with what probability certain values occur. Values that seldom occur receive a long code, while values occurring often receive a short code.

Playback

When playing back video the JPEG image compression steps occur in the reverse order.

Studio DC10plus and JPEG image data compression

The Studio DC10plus controls compression so that each image contains a specific amount of data. The amount of data generated depends on the size and contents of the image.

If you crop the invisible areas around an image, the image that needs to be compressed is smaller.

If the image is not very detailed (e.g. a landscape), less image data must be compressed than for very detailed images (e.g. building, synthetic material). If only a small amount of image data needs to be compressed (compression factor: low), then the result is better than with large amounts of image data (compression factor: high).

Blurry image material, such as that created when material is copied several times, is a problem. Even if the image material itself is not very detailed, the blurriness must also be compressed. The amount of data needed for this can sometimes exceed the amount of data needed for just the image.


Interactive Editing with Instant Preview

With Studio DC10plus, you can quickly assemble movies on the fly using an intuitive, interactive interface. Using the Instant Preview window, you can also play your movie any time during editing. You see a "what-you-see-is-what-you-get" (WYSIWYG) view of your movie as you are building it. Just drag and drop video scenes, transitions, titles and audio (effects, background music and voiceovers). Then click the Play button to play the movie.


Make Movie Mode

The Make Movie mode allows you to make final videotapes of your movies, as well as digital versions that are saved to disk. As the make movie process proceeds, the Timeline scrubber advances across the Movie window, and the Preview window shows the clip currently being recorded.

Making Videotapes: The Movie window is visible so you can see the contents of your movie.

Making Digital Movies: You can also make digital movies (also called AVI files) to email to your friends or to put on a Web page. The controls for making a file are displayed by clicking the disk symbol at the top of the Make Movie window menu bar. This window includes options for including audio, the type of compression and so forth. In addition, it contains the Diskometer, which is a convenient way to monitor the amount of space on your hard drive versus the amount of space used in saving the digital movie file.


Making Tapes and Digital Movies

Once you have created the script for your movie, you are ready to share it with friends and relatives. Studio offers two ways you can share your movie: as a videotape or as a digital movie.

The Make Movie Mode

Click the Make Movie button on the main menu bar. The portion of the screen above the Movie window changes to display the Make Movie window, with the controls needed to make a videotape or digital movie. The default display has the controls for making a videotape. To display controls for making a digital movie, click the Make File button.

Making a videotape

Making a digital movie

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Opening A Captured Video File

Captured source video files are stored on your hard drive. They are selected and opened with standard Windows file/folder navigation tools found at the top of the left Album page.

Note that Studio can combine video files of different qualities within a movie, but at a price. If all the files in your movie have the same quality, Studio does not have to render the entire movie before you can output it to videotape. If, however, you use captured source files of different quality, Studio must render the entire movie, which may be quite time-consuming.

To open and select a captured video:

1.	If the Video Scenes section of the Album is not already on top, click the Show Video tab on the left edge of the album.

The Album flips to the Video Scenes section and displays file navigation tools in the upper left corner.

2.	Select a video from the drop-down list, or press the File Cabinet button to navigate to a different folder.

The Album is now populated with the detected scenes from your captured video. Each scene is denoted by a picture of the first frame of the scene.


Re-detecting Scenes

If you combine or subdivide scenes and later decide that you’d prefer to revert to their original state, you may re-detect any scene or selection of scenes. The detection results are identical to those that resulted from opening the captured video.

To re-detect scenes:

If you have subdivided scenes, you must first recombine them. Even if you cannot remember exactly what you did and recombine more than is necessary, the detection process will restore the original scene sequence.

1.	Select any scenes you have subdivided, right-click on one of the selected scenes, and chose Combine from the pop-up menu.

2.	Select the resulting scenes that you wish to re-detect.

3.	Right-click on any of the selected scenes and choose Detect Scenes from the pop-up menu.

The following window appears as Studio DC10plus redetects the scenes and repopulates the Album with the original scenes.


Resetting Trimmed Scenes

You can Undo if you don’t like the results of a trim, or you can manually reset the trimmed scene.

To reset a trimmed scene.

1.	Drag the scene edge directly on the Timeline until it stretches no further, or drag the Trim tool to the end; or,

2.	Use the Trim tool to drag the Caliper to the end; or,

3.	Use the Trim tool, but click to go to the clip start; then click under the first frame preview window to set the start frame.


Reviewing Video Scenes in the Album

Scenes are displayed in the order in which they were captured. This order cannot be changed in the Album, but scenes can be assembled in the movie in any order.

After you have opened your captured video, you may want to review the scenes and make adjustments before placing them on the Video track. You can decide to combine, split or detect new scenes within specific scenes. However, the sequence of scenes within the Album always remains in the order in which you digitized your video clips.

Immediately after selecting the captured video, the Preview window displays the first frame of the first scene. When you select a scene, the Preview window displays the first frame of that scene. To play back the contents of the Album from thecurrent position, click the Play/Pause button.

To review the captured video starting from a selected scene:

1.	Click on the first scene to select it.

The Preview window displays the first frame of the selected scene.

2.	Click the Play button in the Preview window.

The Preview window now plays the scenes in the Album. Progress is indicated in three ways.

−	Studio highlights the scenes successively as the are played.

−	The Player scrubber in the Preview window shows the current point of play relative to the entire captured file.

−	Each Scene window contains a Progress indicator that shows the point of play relative to that scene. As the movie continues to play, the Progress indicator travels from scene to scene.


Selecting Text and Objects

TitleDeko is character-oriented. You can select individual characters, words, lines or pages to change their position, size, or style. Consequently, text selection feels a little different than in other software, particularly word processors.

To select all text characters or objects:

Type several lines of text, then try the following selection methods until text selection seems comfortable.

•	Choose Select All from the Edit menu, or press Ctrl+A. A selection box with handles appears around all of the text.

To select a single word or object:

•	Double-click the word or object. Or, use the arrow keys to move the cursor to the beginning or end of the word, then hold Shift and press the right or left arrow.

A selection border with handles appears around the word or object.

To select an arbitrary section of text spanning more than one line:

•	Drag across, then down or up the text, or diagonally.

•	Or, position the cursor at the beginning or end of the desired selection area, and press arrow keys while holding the Shift key. Also, the Tab key moves the cursor from one word to the next.

Selected text within blocks is denoted by a series of fine parallel black lines as shown in the following illustration. The entire block is surrounded by a selection border with handles.

To deselect text or objects:

•	Click anywhere outside the selected area.


SmartCapture Automatic Scene Detection

SmartCapture is a key feature of Studio. SmartCapture’s automatic scene detection eliminates the drudgery of manually marking the beginning and end of video scenes. When Studio captures your source video to your hard drive, it automatically detects natural breaks that occur in that video. For example, Studio knows when a camera operator stopped shooting one scene and began reshooting. Studio automatically creates separate scenes for you when it detects these situations. SmartCapture saves many hours of tedious scene logging, so you can move right onto drag-and-drop video editing.

The way Scene Detection operates depends on the options you select. The Scene Detect Options are found at Setup > Edit, and present three choices:

Selecting Do Scene Detection enables Automatic Scene Detection. If you do not want a particular scene to begin or end at the points Studio has chosen for you, it is easy to combine or split scenes.

•	Selecting Create Scene Every X Seconds directs SmartCapture to create a new scene thumbnail every X seconds (where X is a number you choose).

•	Selecting Do Nothing bypasses Automatic Scene Detection entirely, and your Album displays a single thumbnail of the initial frame of that video capture file.

Automatic scene detection can occasionally produce unwanted scene changes under unusual lighting circumstances. For example, a video shot in a nightclub with a strobe light would produce a scene each time the strobe light flashed. However you can easily combine these scenes into a single scene.

Conversely, video shot in a situation where there is very little change in brightness produces the opposite result: too few scenes detected. Fortunately, there is an easy solution to this condition: subdividing scenes.

Problem situations for scene detection

Automatic scene detection is sensitive to abrupt changes in brightness, and can falsely detect scene changes under some circumstances.

•	Weddings and other events where a large number of people take flash photos

•	Other flashing lights, such as nightclub strobe lights and emergency vehicle lights

•	Sunlight reflected on moving surfaces

•	Whip pan" shots in which the camera pans fast instead of making an edit

Conversely, stationary cameras or stationary subjects may produce the opposite problem of too few scene breaks being created.


Sound Effects and Music

You can add a great deal of polish to your video by adding background music, recording voice-overs, and inserting audio effects such as applause. Studio accesses and plays common digital audio file types. For example, you can add audio files stored on your hard disk in WAV format, or import audio directly from an audio CD. In addition, the audio track of all video clips is captured along with the video, and is always available.

Studio also provides some exciting new features. You can record voice-overs and other audio into your movie directly from your computer, and automatically create any length and type of background music.

Audio clips are selected and placed on their tracks in the same way as video clips. Once an audio clip is placed on its track, you edit it the same way as you would a video clip. You can move its location on the Timeline, adjust the volume, and trim from the beginning or end.

The Timeline Audio Tracks

Audio Clips In The Album

Placing Audio Clips On The Timeline

Adjusting Audio Levels

Trimming Audio Clips

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Special Effects

Studio DC10plus creates professional-quality scene transitions such as fades, dissolves and wipes. Studio DC10plus uses some of the same Emmy award-winning technology found in Pinnacle Systems professional editing systems.

Title Deko

Use Title Deko to make simple or elaborate titles, or mix still images with your video. Adding voice-overs is a breeze: just pick up the microphone, click a button and start speaking. Audio effects, such as applause or sound tracks from an audio CD can be added easily using the Studio DC10plus point-and-click interface. The SmartSound feature creates custom background music quickly and easily: choose the type of music and its length, and it appears on the sound track.


Splitting Clips

If you want to insert another scene or a still image into the middle of a clip, you can split any type of clip on the Video track in the Movie window into two parts and then insert the new item. This includes video scenes and still images.

To split a clip in the Movie window:

1.	Place the clip in the appropriate track in the Movie window.

2.	Choose the split point.

You may use any method that adjusts the current position, such as moving the Timeline scrubber, clicking Play and then Pause, or changing the Counter.

3.	Right-click within the Movie window Video track, but not on the scene itself.

4.	Select Split Clip from the drop-down menu.

The clip is split at the point of the current position.

To split a scene in the Album:

1.	Select the scene.

2.	Use the Play controls to locate the point you wish the scene split.

3.	Right-click on the scene and select Split Scene from the menu.

Restoring a Split Clip

To restore a split clip you can Undo, replace it, or use the Trim tool.

To restore a split clip:

1.	First try to Undo. Even if you performed other actions after you split the scene, the multilevel Undo allows you to restore the split scene; or

2.	If you elect not to Undo other actions as well, you can replace both halves of the split clip with an original from the Album; or,

3.	Delete one half of the split clip, and trim out the other.


Studio DC10plus Troubleshooting Guide

If you run into a problem with your Studio DC10plus, you may be able to save time and a call to Technical Support by looking for a speedy solution among the topics below. The material is organized according to the type of problem you may be experiencing. Follow the troubleshooting link that seems most appropriate.

Installation

−	My computer crashes when I start the DC10plus configuration test or the Capture program, or crashes during capture.

−	VSYNC IRQ was not activated by the DC10plus hardware test.

−	Hardware was not found during the DC10plus hardware test.

Operation

−	No output to video or to the PC monitor.

−	Images are missing from the recording.

−	Video and audio are out of sync after playing 15 minutes

−	VidCap32 is not supported by Pinnacle Systems or Microsoft.

Windows 95/98

−	Hardware not found during installation.

−	General crash or error function.

−	Overlay does not work.

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The Background

Backgrounds fill the screen behind all the text and objects. Full-screen titles always have an opaque background. Overlay titles have either no Background, in which case the text and objects appear directly on top of the video, or a semi-opaque background that the video shows through.

Replace Background Window

You control all aspects of the background with the Replace Background window.

Transparent Backgrounds

Select this to create an overlay with no background. This is the default choice for overlay titles.

Solid Color Backgrounds

Selecting this creates a background consisting of a single color. In the case of an overlay title, this background could be semitransparent.

Gradient Backgrounds

Gradient backgrounds consist of two or more colors that are blended smoothly together. In the case of an overlay title, each color can have its own level of opacity.

To make the top a single color that merges into a single color at the bottom, choose the same color for both of the top buttons and a different color for the bottom pair of buttons.

Picture Backgrounds

To use a picture as the background, type in the path name, or click the Browse button, navigate to the directory that contains the file, and choose the file.

Selecting Colors and Opacity

Colors

To select color and opacity for a sold or gradient background, click on the corresponding Color button. The Color Picker appears. Except for opacity, the choices in this screen are self-explanatory and conform to Windows Color Picker standards.

Opacity

The following illustrations show that, as you adjust the opacity slider down from 100%, the background becomes increasingly transparent.


The Diskometer

The Diskometer occupies the bottom half of the Capture window. Its main purpose is to display the amount of space on your hard drive and how much space is available for the current capture. It also contains four Quality button pre-sets that let you select different video capture qualities. The higher the quality you choose, the more disk space you’ll need for each second of video capture. There are option control panels which slide out from either side of the Diskometer. To the left of the Diskometer is the Video Capture options, and to the right is the Audio Capture options control panel.

Disk Space

Disk space available is indicated in two ways. A Disk Space pie chart shows used and available space. In addition, the Diskometer also shows the amount of capture time available at the current Quality setting.

Quality Buttons

When Studio captures video, it digitizes the video and allows you to choose the quality at which the video is captured. The higher the quality, the more disk space needed for each second of video. You can choose four quality settings using the push buttons.


The Frame Grabber

The Frame Grabber can capture a still image from any video source, and save it in many standard graphic formats. You can use the grabbed frames in other software applications, or reinsert them back into your movies as still images. You can also import them into title images with the title editor, TitleDeko.

Here are some examples of using the Frame Grabber:

•	Edit grabbed images back into a video production using overlay or full screen effects. For example, you can point your camera at your old family photos, grab images of them, and insert them into your movie.

•	Grab still pictures from any video source, including any videotape, TV, video games, etc.

•	Turn your camera into a scanner by pointing it at photos or documents and grabbing a picture. You can place documents on a copy stand or just tape them to a wall.

•	Save grabbed images for use in desktop publishing programs, including page-layout software, paint programs, word processors, e-mail, and Web pages.

Frame Grabber Topics

Frame Grabber Basics

Using the Frame Grabber


The Movie Window

The Movie window menu bar contains several important controls and displays. The Toolbox button on the left opens the Toolbox, which is discussed in greater detail in the next section. To the right of the Toolbox button is the project file name, along with an area that displays messages about the action you are performing. At the right are three view buttons.

The Movie window has three views: Timeline, Storyboard and Text. Each one gives you a different way to look at your movie. You switch between them by clicking the View Selection buttons in the upper right corner of the Movie window menu bar.

−	Storyboard View: The Storyboard view shows the order of video scenes and transitions. It is useful for quickly structuring a movie.

−	Timeline View: The Timeline view shows the position and duration of clips relative to the Timescale. This view also displays the four tracks on which you can place various types of clips: video scenes, title overlays, sound effects/voiceovers and background music.

−	Text View: The list in the Text view shows the start and end times of clips, as well as their duration. In addition, custom names for clips are visible in this view.


The Playback Controls

The Player's Playback Controls, below the Preview Window, let you navigate your scenes.

Transport controls

−	Play/Pause. Click the Play button to preview the movie from the current position. Once preview begins, Play becomes a Pause Button. When paused, the scene or clip on which Preview stopped becomes selected scene.

−	Cue. Plays the movie in fast-forward mode at 10x the normal speed.

−	Review. Plays the movie in fast-reverse mode at 10x the normal speed.

−	Start. Click this button to start preview from the first scene.

−	Jog Buttons. Click the Jog buttons to step the movie forward and backward by frames.

Player Scrubber

Use the Player Scrubber to quickly traverse forward and backward through the movie. The Scrubber also shows at a glance the relative position of the current position. Regardless of actual movie length, the Scrubber bar represents the entire length of the movie. The left edge is the beginning.

As you move the Scrubber, the Preview Window shows the current position of the movie.

The Counter

The counter seeks to and displays the current position in, and also lets you select the exact point at which to start play. To seek to or play from an exact point, click on the number you wish to change and type in a new value.

Counter Shortcuts

−	Step through the fields: Tab or Left/Right cursor keys

−	increment/decrement field values: Up/Down cursor keys. Hold the Up/Down keys to continuously increment/decrement.

Current Position Feedback

Regardless of which control you use to change the current position, Studio DC10plus provides intuitive feedback on your current position. The feedback mechanisms provide a range from a "big picture" view all the way down to the specific frame. In increasing order of fineness they are as follows.

−	With one or more scenes selected in the Album, the Player Scrubber shows current position within the capture file. This is very useful if your album contains many scenes spanning multiple pages.

−	The Timeline Scrubber shows the current position within the movie.

−	The Progress Indicator within the current scene shows the current position within the Scene.

−	The Counter displays the exact current position in numerical values.


The Player in Edit Mode

The Player displays a preview of the movie, or shows what is selected in the Album. The Player also offers controls to navigate the movie you are editing.

The Player consists of two main areas: the Preview window and the Playback controls. The Preview window displays the video at the current position. The Playback controls allows you to play the video, or go to an exact position within it.

The Preview Window is used in many ways throughout Studio DC10plus, from monitoring video during capture to previewing transitions between scenes.

The Preview Window

The Playback Controls let you navigate within the material displayed in the Preview Window.

The Playback Controls


The Preview Window

The Preview window is a central point of focus in Studio DC10plus because you use it so often. It displays moving video during play. It displays still frames (or another image such as a Title) at your current position when you select a scene in the Album or clip in the Movie window, or if you advance via single frames (using the jog buttons, for example). The Preview window is also used in functions such as capture and trimming.


The Studio DC10plus Control

The DC10plus Control regulates the Studio DC10plus output. You cannot see changes you make with the StudioDC10plus Control while a movie is running. Any changes will take effect the next time you play a movie.

To use the Studio DC10plus Control:

1.	Click the StudioDC10plus button on the taskbar to open the StudioDC10plus Control. To see all the available controls shown, click on the More button.

2.	Make the desired changes.

Studio DC10plus Control options

Output device: Use this option to select the type of device to which you wish to output. You can choose Composite or S (Super)-Video.

Overlay Adjust: Here you can select the overlay quality (high, medium, low) and determine if you want to view an overlay during playback or not. When you enable the "Pinnacle logo" check box, the Pinnacle logo is overlaid on the video during playback.

Synchronized start: If the Synchronized start button has been enabled, a dialog appears when you start to play back a movie and all frames have been loaded into the cache. When you click OK, the playback starts immediately. This mode is useful when you want to record to videotape and wish to avoid delays during playback.

Overlay

If your graphics board supports DirectDraw digital overlay, you will be able to display live video in a window on your PC monitor.

If digital overlay does not work, go to the Windows 95/98 control panel (Control panel, Display, Settings) and change the resolution, color depth, or refresh rate. You may need to obtain updated drivers for your graphics board.

Depending on the graphics board, horizontal resolution may be limited during overlay, resulting in the overlay having a grid-like appearance. This grid will only appear on the overlay, and this limitation has no influence on the quality of the video you capture or output. Reducing your display resolution and/or color depth can improve the quality of the overlay.

You define the overlay quality (high, medium, low) in the DC10plus overlay window (accessible via VidCap32 or the Studio application), and specify whether or not you want the overlay to appear on the monitor during recording. When you enable the "Pinnacle logo" check box, the Pinnacle logo appears overlaid on the video, in the window.


The Studio DC10plus Interface

Studio DC10plus has three operating modes, which correspond to the three steps needed for making a movie. The mode is selected using three buttons under the main menu bar.

As described earlier, you make a movie in three steps: Capture, Edit and Make Movie. These modes are represented by three buttons under the main menu bar, and are ordered in the sequence used to make a movie: Capture the video, edit the video, and then make the movie by recording a videotape or creating a digital video file.

The three-step process of making a movie is represented by three buttons under the main menu bar, each of which selects the corresponding Studio DC10plus mode:

1. Capture       2. Edit       3. Make Movie

You spend most of your time in the Edit Mode, so that mode is initially selected each time you run Studio DC10. This is a good place to begin getting acquainted with the program.

Edit mode

The first step in making a movie is to capture your video onto your hard disk.

Capture Mode

When all your editing is done, it's time to create the final product - to make a movie on videotape on your VCR, or output a digital movie file to disk.

Make Movie Mode


The Toolbox

The Toolbox gives you fine control over the clips in your movie, and lets you add and edit a variety of effects. Open the Toolbox by clicking its button at the top left of the Movie Window. The seven Tool Selector buttons occupy a panel down the left side of the Toolbox:

Change Clip Properties

The Change Properties Tool adjusts the start and end times of any type of clip. This is also called trimming. It also allows you to type in descriptive names.

Grab Frames

This Tool takes a snapshot of a single frame. You can use it in your movie, or save it for use in other applications.

Titles and Graphics

Titles and Graphics are created and trimmed with this Toolbox window.

Record a Voiceover

Recording a Voiceover is a snap - all you do is click the Record button and begin speaking into your microphone.

Create Background Music

The Create Background Music Tool lets you add or trim background music. Studio DC10 offers a powerful background music generator. Just choose a Style, Song and Version.

Add Audio CD Music

You can easily add audio tracks from an audio CD, and control their length, disk name and track names.

Adjust Track Volumes

Studio DC10 offers three tracks that can contain audio: the audio that accompanies your source tape, and separate tracks for sound effects/voiceovers and background music. The Volume window displays the audio levels with volume meters, and lets you control the volume of each track with respect to the others.


The Transitions Album

Like the other raw materials for your movies, such as Scenes and Titles, the available Transitions have their own Section in the Album. Using the Transitions tab to open the section.

Displaying Transition Type

As you move the cursor over the transition icons in the Album, the cursor changes to a grabber symbol. If you pause momentarily on the icon, the transition type is displayed. If you leave the cursor on the transition, the display persists for several seconds.

Previewing Transition Effects

Select a transition icon and watch the Player Preview window. The Player demonstrates the effects of the transition using the conventions of "A" and "B" where A represents the first clip and B the second. To see a detailed view, stop the Player and use the Frame Reverse/Forward buttons to step through the effect one frame at a time.


Tips and Tricks

Check out these topics for inside information and advice that will help you get the most out of your Studio DC10plus.

Compression Tips

Equipment recommendations

Hard-disk tips

System software

Increasing the frame rate

Digitizing

Computer animation

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Tool Functions

At the top and sides of TitleDeko are two Toolbars that offer fast access to frequently used TitleDeko functions. In addition, all functions can be selected via the menus. Frequently used functions also have keyboard shortcuts.

New, Open and Save Files; Cut, Copy and Paste

These are standard Windows functions.

Typographical Characteristics

Before you can change typographical characteristics, select the text you want to change.

Click the drop-down list arrows to choose a typeface and size.

To preview the typeface before you select it, click the Typeface Browser button, then choose the face you want from the browser window.

To make text bold, italic and/or underline, click the appropriate button.

Look Browser / Edit Looks

Click the Look Browser button to display a window that contains all the preset looks. Clicking on a specific look applies a set of appearance attributes to the selected text or object.

Click the Edit Look button to modify the currently selected look. There are numerous fine adjustments that are explained in greater detail later.

Grid / Horizontal / Vertical Alignment Browsers

Alignment browser tools are active depending on whether the selected object is text or a non-text object (such as a circle). For example, you can right align a circle, but you can’t justify it like text by spreading out the words and letters.

Click the Grid button for a browser that gives you a fast way to align objects.

To change the horizontal or vertical alignment and/or justification of text characters, click the respective button and choose the type of alignment you wish. Some alignments also work on objects.

Undo / Redo

Click Undo to undo the last action. Undo will undo multiple levels of action, limited only by available memory. Redo undoes the last Undo.

Accept / Reject Title

Accepts or rejects the title or overlay and returns you to Studio.

Move / Scale, Rotate / Skew

Depending on how you select the text or object, these tools have different functions. The cursor will change to show the active function.

Text Kerning / Leading

Spreads text lines vertically (leading), or words and letters horizontally (tracking), or adds/removes space between individual letters and words (kerning).

Add Rectangle, Ellipse

Click to add these shapes. Hold the Ctl key down while drawing the shape to constrain the shape to a square or circle.

Insert Picture

Click to insert an image from your hard disk or other media. Pictures are treated like other objects in that you can scale, skew, and size them. Please note that pictures do not get a transparent background.

Replace Background

llows you to make adjustments to the color, opacity and other details of the background, or select a picture to be used as the background.

Additional Menu Commands

Coarse / Fine

From the main menu bar, select Transform > Coarse or Fine to change the increments used in moving the cursor via the keyboard.

Make Full Screen

From the main menu bar, select Layer > Make Full Screen to enlarge a picture to fill the screen.

Find, Find Next and Replace

From the main menu bar, select Edit > Find, Find Next or Replace to perform text search and replace functions analogous to those of a word processor.


Transition Types and Their Uses

Transitions are used based on the content of the video and what you are trying to do with your movie. Properly used, transitions let you subtly reinforce the meaning of the movie and how it plays without the audience becoming aware that a transition is employed. If you watch professionally-produced video on television, you’ll see many ways to improve your own tapes. Generally, it is advisable to refrain from overusing transitions that tend to cause abrupt changes or otherwise draw attention to themselves. There’s a big difference between a subtle Dissolve from one clip to the next, and employing a heart-shaped Wipe.

Cuts

A cut is actually the absence of a transition. It produces an abrupt shift from one scene to the next.

Fade

This transition fades the first portion of the video clip up from a black screen, or fades the last of the clip down to a black screen. If Fade is used between clips, the video clip that is playing fades down. The incoming video clip then fades up. The Fade transition is the first transition in the Transition section of the Album.

Fade is typically used when there is a large break in the continuity. Examples include fading up from black at the beginning of your movie, or down to black at the end. It also can be used to indicate a new section has started. For example, a movie of a play might benefit from fading down to black an the end of one act, and then fading up from black as the next act opens.

Dissolve

A Dissolve is a gradual change between one video clip and another. The Dissolve is a widely used transition that avoids abrupt cuts from one clip to the next. Unless you intentionally want a cut, which can also be considered a type of transition, consider a Dissolve. While a short Dissolve can take the edge off a cut, a long Dissolve is useful to suggest the passage of time.

Wipes

A Wipe appears as if the incoming video clip is wiping over and into the video clip that is playing, replacing the playing video with the incoming one using one of many directions or patterns. Studio offers many types of Wipe transitions, along with numerous variations of each. Some Wipes draw a lot of attention to themselves, so consider their use carefully.

Slides

A Slide appears as if one video clip is sliding over the previous clip, and pushing it off the screen. Studio offers eight types of Slide transitions. Again, the content of the video and your intention as the producer dictate what type of Slide you use and how you use it. For example, you might use a Slide Right to begin a scene of a car entering the screen from the left.


Transparency in Overlay Images

An Overlay Still Image appears to have a solid background, yet - when you place it on the Title Overlay track in the Movie Window’s Timeline view - the background disappears allowing the video to show through. How does Studio DC10plus do this? The processes are different for imported graphics compared to TitleDeko images.

Controlling Transparency for TitleDeko Still Images

TitleDeko images automatically handle transparency, and give you easy control using the Opacity slider.

Controlling Transparency for Imported Still Images

For still images placed on the overlay track, Studio DC10plus uses the color of the top-left pixel of the image to determine the transparent color. All pixels that match this color are assigned Opacity of 0% (fully transparent or clear). Because these pixels become transparent, the pixels of video behind them show though.

This function works well for still images that have consistent solid background colors. However, if you find that your particular overlay image background color does not work well for this, change the color Studio DC10plus uses for the background. You can use an image editing program to change the top-left pixel to the desired color.

If you do not want a transparent background for your image, use an image editing program to change the top-left pixel to a color that is not used in the image.

Note: Graphics imported into TitleDeko are not given transparent backgrounds.


Trimming Scenes

Video scenes and other clips that are too long can be trimmed to remove the excess. Unlike traditional trimming processes, no data is lost: Studio sets new start and end points for the clip in the Movie window, but does not alter the original Album scene. This means you can always reset scenes to their original state, or select different trim points.

Studio offers two ways to trim.

Directly on the Timeline

With the Trim tool

The basic process involves selecting a point near the beginning of the scene to which you want to trim (the "in" point). Once this point is selected, the Trim command trims the excess from the beginning of the scene to this new point. Trimming from the end (the "out" point) works the same way.


Trimming Still Images

Still images are trimmed in one of two ways:

−	Directly on the Timeline

−	With the Change Clip Properties tool

Trimming on the Timeline

Trimming still images directly on the Timeline works in a similar fashion to trimming scenes on the Timeline: grab the left or right edge and drag.

Trimming Scenes on the Timeline

Trimming with the Change Clip Properties Tool

Double-click on the image while in Timeline view to display the Change Clip Properties tool. Because there is little about a still image that can be changed, the Change Clip Properties tool offers only two options for still images.

−	To set the length the still image is displayed, change the fields in the Duration counter.

−	To give the image a custom name, type the name in the Name field.

−	For titles, the Edit Title button is enabled. To edit a title, click this button. The title editor, TitleDeko, opens with that title in its editing window, ready for you to make changes. Click the Accept button when you are finished. The revised title appears in the Movie window.


Trimming Titles and Graphics

Titles and graphics are trimmed in one of two ways: directly on the Timeline, or with the Transitions Trim tool.

Trimming on the Timeline Using Handles

Trimming transitions directly on the Timeline works in a similar fashion as trimming scenes on the Timeline: grab the left or right edge and drag.

Trimming Scenes on the Timeline

Trimming with the TitleDeko Tool

To display the TitleDeko tool, select the title and click the Toolbox button.

The two functions you can perform in the TitleDeko Trim tool are changing the duration or end point, and renaming the image. The duration is changed by entering new values in the Duration fields, or by clicking the Up/Down arrow buttons. You can use the Player to preview the effect. But you must use the Duration fields. You can also type in a custom name for the image. This name appears in the Text View of the Movie window.


Trimming Transitions

Transitions are trimmed in one of two ways:

−	Directly on the Timeline

−	With the Transitions Trim tool

Trimming On The Timeline

Trimming transitions directly on the Timeline works in a similar fashion as trimming Scenes on the Timeline: grab the left or right edge and drag.

Trimming Scenes on the Timeline

Using the Trim Transitions Tool

The Trim Transitions Tool works similarly to the Trim Scenes Tool.

To display the tool, double click on the Transition or select the Transition and click the Toolbox button.

The Start Frame, End Frame, Transport Controls, as well as the Name and Duration fields, work identically to their counterparts for the Trim Scenes Tool.

You can use the Scrubber to control the playback of the Transition in the Player’s Preview window.

Reverse Direction Checkbox

You can change the direction of some Transitions by checking the Reverse Direction checkbox.


Trimming on the Timeline

The quickest way to trim is by dragging the edges of scenes directly on the Timeline. Watch the Preview window as you trim, so you can find the frame on which you want the scene to end or begin.

It takes a little practice to become accurate with this technique, but once you do, it is very fast. The easiest way to learn is with only one scene on the Timeline, as in the following example.

To trim a single scene on the Timeline:

The following exercise shows how to trim scenes directly on the Timeline by trimming the end of the first scene.

1.	Delete all but one scene from the Timeline. If no scenes are on the Timeline, drag one to it from the Album.

2.	Fine adjustments are easier when the time scale is expanded.

Position the pointer anywhere on the Timeline except directly over the Edit line. The pointer becomes a clock symbol; move it to the right to expand the Timescale.

3.	Position your mouse pointer over the right edge until it becomes a left-right arrow.

4.	Click-drag to the left. The Preview window shows the current frame. As you trim, the frame displayed in the Preview window becomes the last frame.

Release the mouse button. The scene is now trimmed.

To trim with more scenes on the Timeline:

When more than one scene is on the Timeline, you first need to select the scene to be trimmed.

1.	Select File > New Project to open a new file, or simply delete all the scenes from the Timeline (press Ctrl+A, then Delete).

2.	Drag the first two scenes from the Album onto the Timeline. (If you are using A Day in the Park, note that the Timescale is relatively short.)

3.	To expand the Timescale, right-click in the time ruler. Choose 30 seconds from the pop-up menu.

4.	Select the left scene.

5.	Move your pointer over the dividing line between the two scenes until it becomes a left-right arrow.

6.	Click and drag the edge to the left. Note how the Preview window changes.

Note that the last frame of the first scene is displayed in the Preview window. As long as the left scene remains selected, you can continue to trim more video by dragging the edge to the left again, or restore some of the trimmed video by dragging the edge to the right.

7.	Select the second scene. Move your cursor over the left edge of the second scene until it become a right arrow.

8.	Drag the left edge of the second scene to the right.

9.	Release the mouse button. The left edge of the second scene snaps back against the right edge of the first scene.

The beginning of the second scene is now trimmed. The first frame of the second scene is displayed in the Preview window.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you are having difficulty manipulating the edges of scenes, try the following:

−	Verify that the scene you wish to trim is selected, and that it is the only scene selected.

−	Expand the Timescale until it is easier to make fine adjustments.

−	Be careful not to expand the Timescale too far. If that does happen, scenes will appear very long. Undo enough times until the scale is restored, or use the scale tool to reduce the Timescale.


Trimming with the Change Clip Properties Tool

The Change Clip Properties tool provides a convenient place to perform trimming functions for any type of clip, including video scenes. It includes the benefits of the prior two methods in that you can perform precise and fast trimming. As you work, you receive visual feedback. Once you have completed a trim, you can preview the scene to make sure you like it, and reset it if you don’t.

Click the button at the left of the Movie window menu bar to open and close the Toolbox, or double-click on the clip in the Movie window.

Orientation to the Change Clip Properties Tool

When trimming video scenes, the Change Clip Properties tool is configured as shown in the following illustration. On the left and right the beginning and ending frames are shown. In between these is a set of Transport controls that play the scene as you are working. A set of Trim Calipers is found at the bottom. At the top are a Name field in the center and a Duration field on the right.

Start/End Trim Scene Preview Windows

The Trim Scene Preview windows show the first and last frames of the scene. Before you trim, they display the first and last frames of the original scene in the Album. As you trim, they display the new start and end frames.

At the bottom of the Preview windows are several controls for setting trim points. The left and right Trim To buttons with bracket symbols trim the start and end to the current frame shown on the Player. The Counter displays the current start/end times. You can also manually type in values on the Counter to set new trim points. The Up/Down arrow buttons increment/decrement the current position by single frames.

The Player Window During Trimming

During trimming, playback is controlled from the Toolbox, and the Preview Player controls are not displayed.

Using the Movie Window Scrub Slider

A convenient way to rapidly move to the general area you want to trim is to use the Timeline scrubber in the Movie window. As you move it, the Trim scrubber and Player scrubber track its movements.

Transport Controls

Between the Start/End Preview windows is a set of Transport controls. From left to right their functions are:

−	Click the left-most button to go to the untrimmed start of the scene.

−	Click the second button to go to the new trimmed start time.

−	The third button plays the scene, and changes to a Pause button during play. The Player stops when you click it a second time.

−	As you play, the Trim scrubber moves from one segment to the next so you can accurately review the trimmed and untrimmed portions.

−	Click the right-most button to loop the scene continuously. The button’s function changes to Pause.

Trim Calipers

The Calipers provide a fast way to make accurate trims, and provide instant graphical feedback on how much you have trimmed. Slide the left and right markers to the point at which you want the scene trimmed. Move the Trim scrubber to scrub the trimmed scene.

Duration Counter

This Counter shows the length of the scene, and operates in the same way as other counters in Studio . However, changing its value manually increases or decreases the scene length by adding or subtracting from the end of the scene.

Scene Name

You can give your scenes names that are more meaningful to you by typing them in this box. These names are visible only when the Movie window is in Text view.

Tip: to see the new name, move the cursor over the scene’s thumbnail in the Album or on the Storyboard.


Using Title Deko

TitleDeko is an integrated title editor program that allows you to quickly and easily create professional quality titles and graphics. Titles can contain words, shapes, background colors, and photos or graphics imported from other programs. TitleDeko offers preset, professionally-developed styles for quickly making titles, along with virtually endless custom styling. You can modify titles by adding transitions for a wide variety of effects, such as titles that fade in or slide, and adjust the duration the title appears in your movie.

TitleDeko appears in a separate window with its own user interface. It creates titles that are inserted in your Studio movie. You can also save titles separately to use in other Studio movies.

You create the title in the Preview window. You type in text, apply a style, and complete it by resizing, repositioning, or rotating, or by adding shapes or pictures. When you’re done, click the Accept button and the title is automatically inserted into the Studio Movie window.

To launch TitleDeko from within Studio Creating Titles with Title Deko.

Tool Functions

Selecting Text and Objects

Formatting and Transforming Text and Objects

Using and Modifying Styles and Looks

The Background

Trimming Titles and Graphics

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Using Transitions

Studio offers sophisticated video effects called transitions that give your movie a professionally-produced look. Once you begin to use transitions, you’ll recognize many of these effects in professionally-produced videos.

Transitions are placed on the Video track between two video clips, between full screen graphics, or between a combination of these clip types. Transitions can also be placed on the Title Overlay track, to bring titles on and off the screen. Transition types include Fade, Dissolve, Wipe and Slide. Studio offers numerous variations of Wipe and Slide transitions. For all transitions, except Fade, you can set the duration and direction to suit each movie’s specific requirements. The only variable for Fade is duration.

Transition Types

The Transitions Album

Adding Transitions to your Movie

Trimming Transitions


Working with Video Scenes

This chapter explains how to use video scenes. You learn how to open a file of captured source video, and how Studio detects and creates an Album of scenes from which you can assemble your movie.

The process of creating a movie starts with capturing source video clips. If your hardware is connected, capture and use your own video for the examples in this chapter. If not, use the pre-captured video, A Day in the Park, which was installed along with the other Studio software if you performed a default installation.

Displaying Scene Start and Length

As you move the pointer over scenes, the pointer changes to a grabber symbol. If you pause momentarily on the scene, the start time and length is displayed. Note that the start time is the time on the original tape.

Selecting Scenes

Studio offers a variety of ways to select scenes in the Album and in the Movie window. Selection techniques follow standard Windows conventions. Selected scenes are indicated by a highlighted border. You can use combinations of these techniques.

•	Choose Edit > Select All from the menu bar, or press Ctrl+A to select all the scenes in the Album, including subsequent Album pages not visible.

•	Shift-click to select a range of continuous scenes.

•	Ctrl-click to select discontinuous selections.

•	Click-hold-drag to marquee select an area.

•	Press the arrow keys to navigate through the Album grid.

Scene Topics

Opening_a_Captured_video_File	Opening the captured video

Reviewing Video Scenes in the Album

Trimming_Scenes	Trimming Scenes

Splitting Clips

Combining_and_Subdividing_Scenes	Combining and Subdividing Scenes

Re_detecting_Scenes	Re-detecting Scenes

changing_the_thumbnail_frame	Changing the thumbnail frame

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Using and Modifying Styles and Looks

About Looks and Styles

Applying a look changes the appearance of text and objects. A look changes how the face, edge and shadow of the object appears. Each of those has a variety of parameters you can also adjust.

Styles change more than just the face, edge, and shadow. A style includes a look, plus any other formatting or transformations that can be applied to text or objects. For example, styles can include typeface, size, and rotation, in addition to a look.

Applying Looks to Text and Objects

To select and change looks, click the Looks button. The Looks browser graphically displays the looks you can pick. Just double-click the look you want.

Editing Looks

To create your own custom effect, change the detail attributes of the current look. You cannot save your changes in the Looks browser. However, you can save them as part of a style.

The look details (face, edge and shadow) each have its own set of attributes such as color, size and blur, which you change to create a custom look. The face is the font rendered in the current attributes. The edge is an additional line around the face, and the shadow is an offset second image of the face and the edge.

Select View > Look Editor, click the Edit Current Look button. The Look Editor window appears, with a tab for each of the three details.

The Details and Attributes

Most of the Attribute controls are obvious, so the following does not explain those in depth. In addition, a small preview window in the lower left corner shows your adjustments, which makes it easy for you to experiment.

Face, edge and shadow details have several items in common:

Choice of solid or gradient colors. These operate the same as described later in this chapter in the section on Backgrounds.

−	A Blur slider, which varies the fuzziness of the face, edge or shadow detail. You can adjust the slider, or type in a precise number.

Face, edge and shadow details differ in these respects:

−	The face detail has a checkbox that turns off the face altogether, leaving only the edge and shadow.

−	he edge detail allows adjustment of the edge size or thickness, either with the slider or by typing in a precise value.

−	The shadow detail also allows you to change the direction of the shadow.

Note that the edge and shadow of some sophisticated custom looks cannot be modified.

Accessing the Style Window

Styles are accessed in the Style window.

To display the Style window, select View > Preset Styles from the menu bar. The Style window contains graphic representations of 24 preset styles. To select a style, click on it.

Creating your own Styles

You can replace any of the 24 preset styles with a style of your own. Create text or an object with the attributes you want for your new style. Next, right-click on the preset style you wish to replace. Select Deposit Current Style Here.


Using the Frame Grabber

The Frame Grabber is a versatile tool that lets you grab frames from several types of source, and save them either as clips in your movie or as files to disk.

To grab a frame from a video source and add to a movie:

1.	Click the Open Toolbox button and then the Frame Grabber button.

The Frame Grabber tool is displayed in the Toolbox.

2.	Verify that Studio is receiving your source video.

3.	Click the Frame Grabber’s Grab from camcorder radio button.

4.	Check Reduce flicker if motion in the source video causes would cause unacceptable flicker in the captured frame. The trade-off is that flicker reduction also reduces resolution.

5.	Play the source video to the frame you wish to capture.

6.	Click the Grab Frame button.

To grab a frame from a movie and save it:

1.	Click the Open Toolbox button and then the Frame Grabber button

2.	The Frame Grabber tool is displayed in the Toolbox.

3.	Click the Frame Grabber’s Grab from movie radio button.

4.	Use the Player control to locate the frame you wish to grab.

5.	Click the Grab Frame button..

To save a captured frame to disk:

•	Click the Frame Grabber’s Save to Disk button.

A "Save As..." dialog appears. Select the graphic file format and bitmap size you want, and click Save.

To add a captured frame to a movie:

•	Click the Frame Grabber’s Add to Movie button.

Studio places the grabbed on the Video Track of your movie just ahead of the currently selected Video Clip.

To save a captured frame to disk:

1.	Click the Frame Grabber’s Save to Disk button.

2.	Choose the file folder in which to save the image.

3.	The default file type is BMP. To choose another file type, click the pull-down arrow to drop down the file type list. Scroll down to select a file format.

4.	Choose the resolution for the image.

5.	Click the Save button.


Video Capture Step by Step

To capture video:

1.	Verify the source video is connected to the Studio DC10plus card Composite or S-Video input.

2.	Verify the source audio is connected to the audio inputs of your PC’s sound card.

3.	Click the Capture button in the Movie menu bar. The Capture Mode interface is displayed.

4.	Select Quality--the higher the Quality, the larger the captured files. You are presented with 4 choices (each choice has differing picture size and compression characeristics; refer to Appendix A for details):

−	Good quality is comparable to multimedia or CD-ROM video quality

−	Better is comparable to VHS videotape

−	Best is comparable to SVHS videotape

−	Custom can be any quality you choose (depending on the capabilities of your hard disk.

5.	Click the Start Capture button. The Capture Video dialog box is displayed.

6.	Type in a name for your source video. Next, enter the duration for this capture.

Video for Windows does not allow captures larger than 2GB. Studio will calculate the duration of video that will fill 2GB at the selected quality, and display this as the maximum duration for this capture.

7.	If you’re capturing pre-recorded material, start your playback device.

8.	Click the Start Capture button in the Capture Video dialog box.

During capture, the Preview window displays the incoming digitized video that is being saved to your hard drive.

9.	Click the Stop Capture button to end capture at a point you select (the Start Capture button toggles to Stop Capture while you are capturing video). Studio automatically stops capture if your hard drive fills up or when the duration you entered is reached.

To preview your captured video, drag the scenes to the Movie window and click the Play button in the Player.

Studio will perform Automatic Scene Detection based on your setting in the SmartCapture Options dialog box (Setup > Options > Edit).


What Studio DC10plus Does for You

Studio DC10plus lets you use your personal computer as a complete video editing system. Studio DC10plus gives excellent results without expensive, dedicated video-editing equipment.

The Studio DC10plus video-editing process is easy:

•	First, capture your video to your hard drive.

•	Next, arrange the video scenes in order. Drag and drop transitions, titles and still images. Complete your movie with sound effects, background music and voiceovers.

•	Create your final videotape or digital movie.

Studio DC10plus uses unique technology to minimize or eliminate the tedious parts of the video editing process. Its powerful features include:

−	Interactive Editing - with Instant Preview

−	Smart Capture - automatic scene detection

−	Special Effects - Professional-quality scene transitions.


The Timeline Audio Tracks

The Movie window contains two tracks on which you may place audio. In addition, the Video track also contains the audio portion of video scenes.

Video Scene Audio Track

In addition to the video scenes, the Video track also contains the audio captured with your video. A scene's audio is part of the scene itself and cannot be split from it. When you move or trim a scene, the audio is correspondingly moved or trimmed.

Sound Effects and Voice-overs Track

The most common uses for this track are voice-overs and sound effects; however you can place any WAV file on this track, containing any type of content. Examples include sound effects such as applause, or music saved in WAV format.

Background Music Track

Use this track to include music from audio compact disks (CDs) and SmartSound background music. Although SmartSound will always be background music, the CD audio can be any type of audio. You can also place WAV files on this track.


Audio Clips in the Album

Selecting Audio Clips in the Album

Studio offers a variety of ways to select audio clips in the Album. You can Shift-click to select contiguous clips, Ctrl-click for noncontiguous selections, area select with the marquee, and use combinations of these techniques. In addition, you can use the arrow keys to navigate through the Album. Selection techniques follow standard Windows conventions.

Previewing Audio Clips

You will probably want to preview the audio effects before placing the clips on the Timeline to get a better feel for their length and how they fit in with your move. Any audio clip in the Album can be previewed. After you select a clip (or clips), they play automatically.


Placing Audio Clips on the Timeline

WAV files are placed from the Album whereas CD music, voice-overs and SmartSound background music are added via their Toolbox tools. The following two sections explain both techniques.

Placing WAV File from the Album

Place WAV audio clips on their tracks the same way you would drag a scene from the Album.

To place a WAV file on the Voice-over and Sound Effect track:

1.	Click the Sound Effects Album tab.

2.	The Album displays the section for Sound Effects. The page is populated with sound files (if you chose to install them).

3.	Place your pointer on the icon for the sound effect you would like to use.

4.	Click on the sound if you wish to preview it.

5.	Drag the clip to the Voice-over and Sound Effect track. The clip remains selected.

6.	To hear the sound again, click the Play button.

Placing other Types of Audio Using the Toolbox

The other types of audio clip are created with the Toolbox:

Creating a CD Music Clip

Creating Background Music

Creating a Voiceover

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Creating a CD Music Clip

To Place a CD sound track on the Background Music track:

1.	Click the Toolbox button, then the Background Music button in the Tool Selector area.

The Name and CD Title drop-down lists contain Untitled until you insert a CD, type in the CD name and select a track. Subsequently, Studio remembers the CD name and track number.

2.	Type in a name for the CD, or click the down arrow button in the CD Title drop-down list and choose a CD you have previously named.

3.	Click the down arrow button in the track drop-down list and select the track you wish to place in your movie. You can select a portion of the track by trimming it using the Trim Calipers.

See Trimming Audio Clips

4.	Click the Add to Movie button.

The CD track is placed on the Timeline. Note that you can place the audio CD music clip at any point on the Timeline by first positioning the Timeline scrubber at that point. If no clip is selected, the CD music is placed at the beginning.

5.	To hear the sound clip when it is on the Timeline, click the Play button on the Player, or double-click the sound clip and click the Play button in the CD Music Tool.


Trimming Audio Clips

Audio clips are trimmed in one of two ways:

−	Directly on the Timeline

−	With the Audio Trim tool.

Trimming on the Timeline

Trimming audio clips directly on the Timeline works in a similar fashion as trimming scenes on the Timeline: grab the left or right edge and drag

See Trimming Scenes on the Timeline.

Trimming with the Audio Tools

The Trim Audio tool works the same way as the Trim Video Scenes tool

To display the Trim tools for audio, double-click on the audio clip, or select the transition and click the Trim button in Toolbox tool selection area.

Whereas the Trim Scenes tool shows the start/end video frames, the Trim Audio tool shows the audio clip. In the case of a WAV file audio clip, a waveform that represents the sound is displayed.

Trimming WAV sounds: The controls for the WAV Trim tool operate in exactly the same way as those for the Video Scenes Trim tool. The only difference is that a waveform of the WAV file is displayed instead of the Start/End video frames.

Trimming CD Clips: For CD music, the CD and track names are displayed instead. As with the WAV Trim tool, the controls operate the same way as in the Video Scenes Trim tool.

Trimming background music: The Trim tool display for background music is a slight variation: The Background Music tool is displayed, except that the Trim Tool button is selected. As with the Transition Trim tool, the only adjustments you can make are the duration and name. Duration is changed by entering new values in the Duration fields, or by clicking the Up/Down arrow buttons. Trimming does not remove music. Rather, it generates a new song of the desired length that has a proper beginning and end.

You can also type in a custom name for the music. This name appears in the Text view of the Movie window.


Creating Background Music

Without Studio, background music can be difficult to add to a movie. You need to decide on the right kind of music, and select an exact duration that matches your video without causing the beginning and end to have abrupt transitions.

SmartSound easily avoids this. SmartSound creates music, automatically and precisely tailored to your specifications. Need exactly 10 seconds and 24 frames of a piano solo for your introduction? You can have it with SmartSound.

SmartSound combines a style of music along with a specific type to produce an appropriate background sound track.

SmartSound consists of two main software components: the program built into Studio for choosing and controlling music creation, and the sound files themselves. Because the sound files are large (around 250 Megabytes), the default install does not include them. If you didn’t install them, and you find yourself using this feature a lot, you can install these files any time for more convenient access, or continue to use them directly from the CD to conserve hard disk space.

To create background music with SmartSound:

1.	Select the clips to which you which you want the SmartSound added.

2.	Click the Toolbox button, then the Create Background Music button in the Tool Selector area.

The SmartSound window appears.

3.	Choose a style, song and version from the lists.

The number of versions that appears depends on the duration of the selected clips. By increasing duration, more versions may appear in the window.

4.	Choose the length of the music in seconds, if you want it to be longer or shorter than the clips you selected.

The SmartSound clip is placed on the CD Audio track.


Creating a Voice-over

Studio makes voice-overs as easy as a telephone call. Just turn on the Voice-over Recorder and speak into the microphone. You can narrate as you watch the movie play so your words are in sync with the action on the screen. You can also use the recorder to record other sounds with your microphone.

Note: Before you can record a voice-over, you need to connect a microphone to the input jack of your PC sound board.

To record a voice-over:

1.	Before you begin recording, review the video scenes in your movie and decide when you want the voice-over to begin (the cue) and end.

2.	Select Tools > Record Voice-over from the main menu bar or click the Voice-over button in the Toolbox.

The Voice-over Recording window appears. Note that the Recording lamp is not lit.

3.	Select the point on the Timeline at which the voice-over is to begin. You may do this by selecting a clip, playing the movie and stopping it at the desired point, or moving the Timeline scrubber.

4.	Pick up the microphone, then click the Record button.

The unlit Recording lamp changes to Standby, then a 3-2-1 countdown so you are prepared. (Even if you don’t start speaking exactly on cue, you can always reposition the beginning of the voice-over clip on the Timeline.)

5.	When the Recording lamp lights and the movie begins playing, begin speaking. As you speak, watch the movie so you can stay in sync.

6.	When you are finished, click the Stop button.

The lamp goes out, and the voice-over clip is automatically placed on the Voice-over track of the Timeline.

7.	Review your voice-over by clicking on it and clicking the Play button.

Voice-over Volume

The recording volume for a voice-over is set when you record the voice-over, and cannot be changed; however, you can adjust the playback volume any time. Recording volume is set with the Recording Volume slider on the right of the Voice-over window. Generally, you will leave the slider set at zero gain. To the right of the slider is a volume meter. Watch this meter to make sure your recording levels don’t get too high or low.

Editing Voice-overs

Edit the voice-over in the same way as any other audio file. You can reposition the voice-over clip on the Timeline, adjust the volume, and trim the beginning or end.

Recording Quality Options

You can adjust factory-preset values for recording quality. Voice-over Recording Options include Channels and Sample Rate adjustments. These options control the quality of voice-overs or other recorded audio. Set them at the highest quality level you anticipate needing, but keep in mind that increasing quality requires more disk space.

See Changing Settings


Adjusting Audio Volume

Anatomy of an Audio Clip

An audio clip icon on the Timeline has several parts. Clip length is denoted by the vertical bars. The actual content of the audio is indicated by the waveform. A continuous type of sound, such as a car engine, would have many pulses packed closely together. A staccato sound has sets of pulses spaced apart.

Two other lines indicate the normal and adjusted audio levels. The normal, or unadjusted, audio level of 0 db is the grey line; adjusted audio is the red line.

Adjusting Audio Levels

Audio levels of individual clips can be adjusted directly on the Timeline, or in the Volume window. Each technique offers its own advantages. Adjusting on the Timeline gives you a good sense of time versus volume, whereas the Volume window facilitates adjusting the relative volumes of the tracks with respect to each other.

Adjusting Audio Clip Volume on the Timeline

The audio level can be adjusted directly within the clip. Use the pointer to move the dark line that represents the audio level.

To raise or lower volume:

1.	Select the clip whose volume you wish to modify. Note that the unadjusted (0 db) Volume Level line is displayed.

2.	Position the pointer over the Volume line until it becomes an Up/Down arrow.

3.	Click-drag the line up to increase the volume, down to decrease it. You can change the volume profile of the Clip as desired by altering the volume at different points.

4.	When you release the mouse button, Studio places a volume adjustment handle at the point where you release the button. These adjustment points can be further modified as required.

To reset volume level:

•	Right-click within the audio clip you adjusted. Choose Remove Volume Changes from the menu. All adjustment points are removed.

Adjusting Audio Levels with the Volume Tool

The Volume tool offers a greater degree of adjustment functionality organized into one convenient location. The Volume tool operates in a similar way to a traditional audio mixer. You can control the volume of the individual tracks with respect to each other, on the fly or with playback stopped. In addition, you can fade the audio in or out at any point. The Volume tool also displays the volume with meters similar to those on stereo equipment.

Tracks are indicated by the symbol in the upper left corner of each section. Volume is controlled by clicking on the Volume sliders and adjusting them up or down. The buttons with the ramp symbol fade the volume up or down.

For example, if you’re adding a voice-over, reduce the video clip volume so the voice-over predominates.

Changes you make with the Volume tool apply from the current position of the Timeline scrubber to the next adjustment point on the affected audio track.

Fade In and Fade Out Buttons

Above each Volume slider is a set of Fade buttons that contain ramp symbols. Clicking these produces a Fade In or Out at the current position of the movie. The fade is reflected in the Volume Line for any affected Clips as usual.

You may notice that sometimes the Fader buttons are grayed out, which means a Fade is not possible at this point because the scrubber is at the beginning or end of a clip.


Making a Videotape

To begin the make videotape process, click the Make Movie button on the menu bar.

Make Videotape Process Controls

The Make Video and Cancel buttons in the lower right corner of the Make Movie window control the status of the make videotape process.

Making a Finished Videotape

First, connect the VCR as shown in Chapter 11 of your user manual. Once you have connected your VCR and prepared a Studio movie, you can begin the process of making the finished videotape.

You can cancel the make videotape process at any time by clicking the Cancel button.

To make a videotape:

1.	Verify that the VCR is turned on, and that you have inserted a tape cued to where you wish to begin recording.

2.	Click the Make Video button Studio begins the make tape process by starting Intelligent Rendering.

Intelligent Rendering is entirely automatic, except that you may be asked to insert another audio CD. During Intelligent Rendering, Studio gives you complete feedback on the status of the process. It tells you what part of the Intelligent Rendering process it is performing via messages in the Status window.

A status message will inform you that Intelligent Rendering is complete, and your movie is ready to be played to video.

See About Intelligent Rendering

Canceling the Make Video Process

You can terminate the recording of the output videotape at any point in the make video process. Once you do, however, you cannot continue. If you wish to record a finished videotape of the same movie, you need to start from the beginning.

To abort the make tape process, click the Cancel button in the Make Tape window and the process stops immediately.


About Intelligent Rendering

Most digital video editing programs must render the entire movie before it can be played to video. This can be very time-consuming and can require large amounts of disk space.

Using Intelligent Rendering, Studio DC10plus renders only the parts of your movie where you have added effects (wipes, dissolves, title overlays, etc.). Intelligent Rendering saves you time and disk space.

Intelligent Rendering works best when all files in a movie are of the same quality. If this is not the case, Intelligent Rendering converts all lower-quality files to match the highest-quality file in the movie.

Intelligent Rendering also overcomes the 2 GB file limit in Microsoft Video For Windows. The duration of your movie is not limited to a single 2 GB file, Studio can seamlessly output multiple video files which exceed a total of 2 GB.


Making a Digital Movie

You can save your Studio DC10plus movie as a digital movie if you want to use your movie in a multimedia presentation on your computer, to send it to a friend via e-mail, or to put it on a Web page.

Studio saves digital movies in the AVI file format. AVI files can be fairly large because they contain all the video and audio from the various digitized clips in the Studio DC10plus movie.

An AVI is a complete file unto itself and can be played on any Windows PC and most other computers. AVI movies can also be imported into other video applications as video clips.

To make and play a digital movie:

1.	Click the Make Movie button on the main menu bar.

2.	Click the Make File button on the Make Movie window menu bar.

3.	Type a name for your file in the File Name field.

The default directory in which your file will be saved is C:\Program Files\Studio\Movies. You can change this by clicking the File Cabinet button and navigating to a new directory.

4.	Verify that the Include Video and Include Audio checkboxes are selected.

Options are provided for turning these off because you may want to make an AVI audio-only file to save the sound as an AVI for import into another program. You also might not want to include audio in a video, such as a small Web page animation, and can reduce the file size by removing audio.

Under each option is the compression setting currently in effect.

See About Compression

5.	Check the Diskometer to make sure you have enough drive space.

6.	Click the Make Movie button

7.	Studio automatically creates the digital movie and saves the AVI file into the selected folder with the same file name as the Studio Project, except that the extension is .avi instead of .sdc.

Checking your Results

Once your movie has been rendered, there are two ways to play it back and review it:

1.	If you rendered your movie using the Studio DC10plus M-JPEG CODEC, and you have a television or video monitor connected to the Studio DC10plus board, click the Play button in the Preview window. Your movie will play in the Preview window and on your television or video monitor.

2.	If you wish to view your movie at full-size on your PC monitor, click the Play button located next to the File Cabinet button on the Make Movie controller. The Microsoft Active Movie player will launch and play your movie.


About Compression

A Studio DC10plus native file (.sdc file type) is essentially an edit list that points to the clip data, and is quite small. An AVI file (.avi) contains the actual video frames and other data, and is significantly larger. Compression algorithms are employed to compact the AVI data, using a software Codec (compressor/decompressor).

The default Codec included with Studio DC10plus is the Studio DC10plus MJPEG(16) Codec. While the Studio DC10plus MJPEG CODEC is a very efficient compressor, the files it creates can be played only on a PC that has a Studio DC10plus board installed. If you want to share files with others, you might want to compress your movie in a more universal format such as the Intel Indeo Codec. You can use any Video for Windows-compatible Codec installed on your PC.

You have control over several Codec settings. Files can be greatly reduced; however, do keep in mind the trade-off between file size and quality: the more you compress, the more you reduce quality. Both video and audio compression are adjustable. Video compression adjustments include frame size and frame rate. For audio, you can select a single channel (that is, monaural) and adjust the sampling rate.

Adjusting Compression Settings

You may want to adjust compression settings because the files are too large, you want higher quality, or you are creating them for a special purpose, such as Web files, where you may want a specific frame size and other characteristics.

Compression settings are changed in the Movie File Settings dialog box. Click the Make Movie button , then the Make File button below the main menu bar and finally the Settings button.

Video Compression Settings

Same as Project Button: To Use the same video quality settings as the highest quality file in your movie, click the Same as Project button.

Compression: Choose the compressor (Codec) that is most suitable for your intended use. The default is Indeo, which is an efficient and universal compressor found on all Windows PCs. You can use any other suitable compressor, but be aware that not all PCs may play the resulting file.

Width and Height: Width and height are measured in pixels. The default setting of 640 by 480 is the resolution at which Studio captures. Decreasing width and height greatly decreases file size because the amount of data greatly decreases with the size, but compression reduces the effect. As you adjust one parameter, the other also changes to maintain a standard 4:3 video aspect ratio.

Quality/Data Rate: Depending on the CODEC being used, you can adjust either the quality or the data rate of your movie. The higher the data rate or quality you choose, the larger the resultant file.

Frame Rate: The default is the same frame rate at which Studio captures your video. You may want to set the frame rate lower for applications such as Web video. Increasing the frame rate above the default value does not increase quality, but does increase file size. Most Pentium-based computers can play 160 by 120 at 15 frames per second.

Audio Compression Settings

If you want to keep file sizes to a minimum, audio for many digital uses can be set to 8-bit mono at 11 kHz. For a general rule, try 8-bit 11 kHz for audio that is mostly voice-overs, and 16-bit stereo at 22 or 44 kHz for audio that is predominantly music. By comparison, CD-ROM music is 16-bit stereo sampled at 44 kHz. Another way to consider evaluating an audio compression choice is that 11 kHz is comparable to AM radio quality, 22 kHz comparable to FM and 16-bit stereo, 44 kHz to audio CD quality.

Type: In most cases, you will choose either PCM or ADPCM.

Channels: You may choose between 8- and 16-bit mono and stereo sound. Sound quality and file size increases as when you add a second channel or increase bit depth.

Sample Rates: Digital audio is produced by taking small discrete samples of the continuous analog waveform. The more samples, the better the sound. For example, audio CDs are recorded at 44 kHz, 16-bit stereo. Audio can be sampled at 11 kHz for most digital uses, particularly for voice-overs.


Audio Options

Audio options are accessed using the slide-out audio control panel on the Diskometer.

Capture

This allows you to capture video with or without an associated audio track

Volume

This allows you to vary the signal strength (volume level) of your incoming audio.When you output to tape or save a digital movie, the volume level change will be reflected in that version.Some sound cards do not support the volume meter. In that case, the volume meter is not displayed.

Balance

This allows you to place incoming audio to the left or right channel, or balance (center) it equally on both channels.

Audio Input

Some sound boards have only a Line input or only a Mic input, while other sound boards have both a Mic and a Line input. Be sure to select the input to which your source audio is connected,


Video Options

Input

This is how Studio chooses between the composite (RCA female connector) and the S-Video (4-pin DIN female connector) on your Studio DC10plus board. Even though you have video connected to the Studio DC10plus board, you must choose the correct video input.

Brightness

This adjusts the black-and-white portion of video signal, also known as luminance.

Contrast

This adjusts the difference between a picture's brightest and darkest areas. A high-contrast image contains crisp blacks and whites, whereas a low contrast-image is limited to variations in gray tones.

Sharpness

This is an electronic enhancement to the edges of a video image. Moving the slider up increases the sharpness.

Hue

With the slider at the mid-point, color of the incoming video is unaffected. Moving the slider up shifts the colors of the video towards red, and moving the slider down adds green to the video. Hue is analogous to the Tint control on television receivers.

Note: if you are using PAL video, the Hue slider is not displayed.

Saturation

With the slider at mid-point, the amount of color is unaffected. Moving the slider up increases the color.

Quality

These buttons allow you to easily select the quality of your captured video. There are three pre-set qualities, each with its own frame size and compression ration.

The fourth button selects the Custom quality setting. This setting allows you to choose any settings you wish, including data rates up to the Studio DC10plus’ maximum of 6 MB/sec. Note that Studio DC10plus tests your capture hard disk to determine its maximum possible data rate. Studio will not allow you to select a data rate that exceeds the hard disk’s capabilities.


The Options Dialog

The options dialog box is accessed by choosing Options from the Main Menu. The Options dialog box contains four tabs, representing the three main Studio processes: Capture, Edit and Make Video/Make File.

Once you change an option, it remains changed for all subsequent Studio sessions. There is no master reset. If you want to return to the factory preset values, use the information in the following sections.

Capture Tab Settings

Edit Tab Settings

Make Video Tab Settings

Make File Tab Settings

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Capture Tab Settings

This tab on the Options Dialog controls options relating to Capture Mode.

The Capture Options tab is divided into two areas: one for Video adjustments and another for Audio. Changes affect the entire capture. If you want to change only one capture session, make sure you reset the values before the next session.

In making these adjustments, keep in mind that your computer monitor and speakers contain their own set of adjustments (and other characteristics) that may affect the apparent brightness of the source video, as well as the audio volume and quality.

These controls are only available if you have selected Custom quality. If you have selected one of the three pre-set quality settings, the controls will show you the pre-set values, but will not allow you to change them.

Video Capture Options

Audio Capture Options


Video Capture Options

These options are available on the Capture Options Tab of the Options Dialog.

Frame Size: This is the width and height of the video frame you capture, measured in pixels. It is important to capture all the video in one project at the same frame size to avoid both increased rendering times and loss of picture quality (when Studio needs to increase a clip’s frame size to match that of other clips in a project).

Crop: When left unchecked, this allows capturing a full television frame. When checked, Studio automatically deletes the 10% from the edges of a television frame that is never seen on home receivers, to save disk space and rendering times.

Horizontal Resolution: You can choose to sample the entire horizontal scan line of each field, or half or each scan line. Your choice affects the size of your captured video frame.

Vertical Fields: This allows capturing both fields of your source video, or just one, and offers you a trade-off between smaller captured video file size and captured video quality.

Video Compession: Studio can compress captured video as much as 23:1 (at Good quality) or as little as 3:1 (at the Custom setting). The lower the compression, the higher the video quality.

Test Max Rate: This is a Studio feature that automatically tests whichever drive you choose, and gives you the maximum video capture data rate video on that drive. Studio will not allow you to select a capture rate that exceeds the drive’s capabilities.


Audio Capture Options

These options are available on the Capture Options Tab of the Options Dialog.

Channels: Keep in mind that higher quality levels increase the size of a captured movie, and you must capture the audio at the same quality level you intend to use for your finished movie.

Example: You capture at 8-bit mono, but you make a digital movie with its Audio Channels options set to 16-bit stereo. The digital movie will contain two 16-bit channels, however the sound will have been made from an 8-bit mono signal. The net effect is a larger file size with no increase in quality.

Sample Rate: Sample rate operates in a similar way to Channels: capture at the highest quality level at which you expect to output. Roughly speaking, an 11 kHz sampling rate is equivalent to AM radio quality, 22 kHz is similar to FM radio and 44 kHz to audio CD-ROM quality. Another way to look at this is that 11 kHz is adequate for voice, but 22 or 44 kHz is better for music. For the highest possible audio quality, set Channels to 16-bit stereo, and Sample Rate to 44 kHz. You might want to do this for an audio-only AVI.


Edit Tab Settings

This tab on the Options Dialog controls options relating to Edit Mode.

The Edit Options tab is divided into four areas: one for durations of certain items such as fades, one for the quality of voiceover recordings, one for the size of storyboard thumbnails, and one for Automatic Scene Detection choices.

Duration Options

Duration times are measured in seconds and frames. After 29 frames for NTSC or 24 frames for PAL, the counter increments to the next second.

Transitions and Graphics: This setting controls the time a transition or still image will be visible, unless you trim it on the Timeline or change the value of its Duration field in the Change Clip Properties tool. Note that the default time values are different: one second for transitions; four for graphics. The maximum duration is 10 seconds for transitions. For still images, it is 59 seconds and 29 (or 24) frames, depending on whether the video standard is NTSC or PAL.

Volume Faders: This option changes duration values for the Volume Fade buttons found in the Change Volume tool. Specifically, it sets the amount of time audio volume is increased or decreased from the current position to the new volume level.


Make Video Tab Settings

This tab on the Options Dialog controls options relating to video output.

Video Settings

Output: This is where you choose what type of video signal you wish to output. You then should verify that you have the appropriate cable connected to your recording device.

Audio Settings

The Make Video audio settings default to the highest audio capture quality used in your project. These settings cannot be changed.


Make File Tab Settings

This tab on the Options Dialog controls options relating to digital video output to disk.

Make File Tab Settings

This tab accesses the settings found in the Movie File Settings dialog box. Access to them is duplicated here for your convenience.

See About Compression


Tips and Tricks: Compression

Studio DC10plus regulates compression so that each frame contains a fixed amount of data.

The amount of data generated depends on the size and the content of the frame. If the non-visible portions around the image are eliminated, the image to be compressed is correspondingly smaller.

The more detail a frame contains, the more compression is required to reach the specified data rate. For this reason, at a given data rate, frames with less detail will appear better than frames with more detail.

Video with a high noise level, for example, a tape that has been repeatedly copied, presents a particular problem. Even if the video itself does not have a high level of detail, the noise itself has detail that must still be compressed. The amount of data represented by the noise may actually be greater than the amount of data of the image itself. To counteract this problem, use the Video Settings dialogue to reduce the sharpness.


Tips and Tricks: Hard disk

We recommend you capture to a hard disk other than the disk upon which Windows and the Studio software is installed.

Since recording video sequences with S-VHS quality produces up to 6,000 KB/sec of compressed data, your hard disk should be correspondingly sized and have the necessary speed.

You should calculate that it takes at least two minutes of raw material to produce one minute of finished video material (fully edited). This corresponds to between 96 MB and 696 MB of data. Added to this, is the amount of data required for any sound you may be adding: each second of high fidelity sound represents 172 KB of audio data.

Because of their automatic internal calibration, standard hard disks regularly interrupt the continuous data stream in order to recalibrate themselves. During capture, this is not apparent since images are temporarily stored in memory. However, during playback, only a limited number of images can be temporarily stored in this manner. For smooth playback, a continuous data stream - with no interruptions - is required. If not, the image will "jerk" at regular intervals, even though all frames are present and even if the hard disk is very fast. A/V-rated drives do not have this problem.

Preparing your hard disk

Prior to capturing video, you should defragment your hard disk using Start Menu/Programs/Accessories/System Tools/Disk Defragmenter or a similar tool.

Moving files

To ensure the fastest possible playback, you should defragment your hard disk again after making your movie.

With many hard disks, you can increase the access speed for specific files by moving them to the start of the disk: If the file is written to the start (outside) of the hard disk, access to this area is notably quicker than to the end (inside) of the disk.

You should therefore use an appropriate utility (such as PCTools) to move all AVI files to the front of the hard disk, ahead of even any ".COM", ".EXE", and ".BAT" files.


Tips and Tricks: Equipment Recommendations

Motherboard

You should use at least a Pentium 133 system, with burst capable PCI slots.

Not recommended are motherboards based on the Intel FX chipset, due to the fact the PCI bus performance on these boards does not meet common requirements.

Refer also to your computer’s user manual regarding rates.

Hard disk

We recommend Wide SCSI AV hard disks for best performance when 6 MB/s Video data rate is desired. For datarates up to 4MB/s generally a separate and modern E-IDE Disk is usually adequate.

RAM

The more RAM you have, the easier it is to work with the Studio DC10plus. You will need at least 32 MB of RAM to work with the Studio application; 64 MB or higher are recommended.


Tips and Tricks: System Software

Here are some tips that may help you get peak performance from StudioDC10plus by optimizing your Windows settings.

Color depth adjustment: A high Windows resolution, high color depth and high refresh rates may result in poor overlay quality. Reducing the resolution, color depth, and/or the refresh rate will improve overlay quality.

The overlay settings eaffect only the display on the computer monitor, while recorded sequences will always appear in full color and resolution at the video output.

Hard disk setting: Set read-ahead optimization for your hard disk to zero. To do this, select the Start menu, Settings/Control Panel/System, then Performance and File System. Set the Read-ahead optimization sliding scale to zero.

CD-ROM drive setting: Under Windows 95, you can specify automatic notification for a CD change. Select Start Menu/Settings,/Control Panel/System/Device Manager, then click on CDROM and your CD-ROM drive. Select Settings and, under Options, deactivate Auto insert notification.

Taskbar: Switch the clock on the taskbar off. To do this, click the right mouse button on the taskbar and select Properties. Deactivate the Show Clock option.

Closing programs/applications: Before capturing or playing back you should close all other applications and background tasks.


Tips and Tricks: Increasing the Frame Rate

If your system is unable to achieve an adequate frame rate (25 fps for PAL/SECAM, 29.97 fps for NTSC), try the following:

Deactivate network driver and applications: Because network operations often cause interruptions during recording and playback, we recommend not working in a network.

Audio recording: Only record sound when you actually need it, because sound requires a great deal of processor time during video recording. When recording at the highest Video Datarate of 6 MB/s we recommend a PCI Soundboard.


Tips and Tricks: Digitizing

Improving image quality: The image quality depends on the quality of the video source. S-VHS provides higher quality video material than do composite devices, however, they also cost more. You will, however, obtain better color saturation, sharper color transitions, and less noise.

There is an inherent loss of quality when copying analog video material. Transferring the video recording directly from the video camera to the hard disk is the best method, since it avoids the second step of recording from videotape. Tape that has been reused often will also reduce quality.

Format: Decide on one format (one quality level) before you begin a project. This applies to both the video as well as to bitmaps and animation. This will save a great amount of time when you output your movie for recording.

TV Cropping: When digitizing video images, it is not necessary to include the entire image, because the frame will contain unimportant areas around its borders, that are not displayed on your television screen. These areas can be cropped without the loss of any information.

Cropping reduces the amount of data and, in turn, permits digitizing to be carried out at a higher level of quality and without dropping frames.

Data rate: The Studio DC10plus data rate remains constant and is continually adjusted to the image material. This results in optimum quality.

Whenever there is a scene change, the image content changes dramatically. A particular problem in this respect is a change from an image with few details to one with a high degree of detail. If the data rate is too high, such a change can result in a "dropped frame" (an unrecorded image). For straight cuts, a dropped frame is unimportant. However, for soft editing or fade-outs, a dropped frame will be very obvious. If too many frames are being dropped, you should reduce the data rate.

For the highest quality video editing, no frames should be dropped. For a digital video that is only intended for playback on a computer, individual dropped frames are not important.

Digital video with sound: When recording digital video sequences with sound, remember that the sound also takes up hard disk space:

−	CD quality (44 kHz, 16 bit, stereo) requires about 172 KB/sec.;

−	Stereo quality (22 kHz, 16 bit, stereo) approx. 86 KB/sec., and

−	Mono quality (22 kHz, 8 bit, mono) still requires 22 KB/sec.

The better the sound quality, the less time remains for recording the images. The highest quality (CD) is rarely required. However, the lowest quality (11 kHz/8 bit, mono) rarely provides acceptable audio sequences.


Tips and Tricks: Computer Animation

If you are editing computer animation (i.e., Flics) with the DC10plus or wish to combine them with digital video, please note the following important information:

Match frame sizes: Create your animations using the same frame size and image refresh rate as your original video. Failure to do this will result in unnecessarily long rendering times and, after the rendering, flaws may be visible when the animation is played back.

Specify TrueColor format: Computer animation in FLC format is saved in 8 bit palettized format. To save computer animation in Motion-JPEG format, you must convert it to a TrueColor format (24 Bit) before compression.

Compress Motion-JPEG: Before editing computer animation with a video editing program, you should compress it in Motion-JPEG format. This will drastically reduce processing time.


Troubleshooting: Installation

Problem

My computer crashes when I start the DC10plus configuration test or the Capture program, or crashes during capture.

Solution

Some graphics boards only request 32 MB, while actually accessing 64 MB. The system maps the DC10plus directly behind the graphics boards, so that the graphics driver is reaching into the DC10plus area. You must change the graphics board mapping manually.

Details: If the DC10plus memory area is located directly after one of the graphics board’s memory areas, you must use the device manager to move the graphics board memory resources to a different area. For example, if the current setting is:

Graphics board:	at F0000000-F1FFFFFF,

DC10plus:	at F2000000-F2FFFFFF,

you must move the graphic board memory to, for example E0000000-E1FFFFFF.

Proceed as follows to change the mapping for your graphic board’s memory area:

1.	From the Start menu and the Settings command, open the Control Panel.

2.	Click the System folder and activate the Device Manager.

3.	In the Device Manager, select Computer and Graphic Cards. The current graphics board is displayed.

4.	Mark the graphics board and click Settings.

5.	In the next window, click on the Resources register.

6.	Deactivate the Automatic adjust control box.

7.	Click on the Change Settings switch.

8.	Select a new memory area, then click OK. Windows 95/98 must not indicate any other conflict, otherwise you must select a different free area.

9.	Exit the Device Manager.

10.	Restart Windows 95, so your changes take effect.

Problem

VSYNC IRQ was not activated by the DC10plus hardware test.

Possible cause

The PCI slot, in which the DC10plus is installed was not assigned an IRQ in the BIOS.

Solution

If you cannot explicitly assign an IRQ to the PC slot in the BIOS, you must define an IRQ as AVAILABLE for the PCI bus.

Details: In this case, each PCI board must be assigned an IRQ via the corresponding PCI slot during installation.

The DC10plus supports IRQ sharing; that is, the DC10plus shares the IRQ with another PCI board (of course, this board must also support IRQ sharing!).

This operating mode can, however, lead to performance loss when recording and playing back videos.

Problem

Hardware was not found during the DC10plus hardware test.

Solution

1.	 From the Start menu and the Settings command, open the Control Panel.

2.	 Under System, select the Device Manager and the Sound, video- and game controllers option or Other Devices.

3.	 If necessary, delete the following entry: PCI Multimedia Video device.

4.	 Restart Windows 95. The following message should appear during startup:

New hardware component detected! Insert data medium.

5.	If this message does not appear during startup, install the DC10plus in a different PCI slot. If this still does not solve the problem, either the DC10plus is defective or the video board is having problems with your system’s motherboard.

6.	Confirm with OK.

7.	Place the DC10plus CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive and enter the drive identifier for your CD-ROM drive (i.e., D:) in the Windows command line.

8.	Click OK.

9.	Restart the hardware test from the DC10plus configuration program.


Troubleshooting: Operation

Problem

No output to video or to the PC monitor.

Possible cause 1

The DC10plus can operate in two modes that can be selected from the DC10plus Control (Video Output and Preview only) The DC10plus Control program is located in the DC10plus program group. This program is always operational.

Possible cause 2

The AVI file to be output was not compressed with Motion-JPEG.

Solution 2

You must first import this file to, for example, Studio, then, using Make Movie, to convert to an AVI file with Motion-JPEG compression.

Problem

Images are missing from the recording.

Possible cause

Your hard disk’s transfer speed is too low.

Solution

In this case, you must continue reducing the data rate (quality) until no more frames are dropped.

Details: When working with some E-IDE hard disks, the playback may "jump" when an AVI file is played back at higher data rates. This can be traced back to the fact that the hard disk carries out a recalibration while reading the file, thus interrupting playback.

This problem is not caused by the DC10plus, but is the result of the manner in which the hard disk operates and interacts with other system components.

There are several solutions you can use to increase the speed of your hard disk:

1.	From the Start menu and the Settings command, open the Control Panel.

2.	Open the System file, then activate the Performance, File System, and Troubleshooting commands.

3.	Activate the Disable write-behind caching for all drives option and click OK.

4.	In the Control Panel, click System, Performance, File System and Hard Disk.

5.	Set the Read-ahead optimization option to None.

In general, this will result in an increase in the data transfer rate. CAUTION: In some hard disks, however, this can result in a decrease in the write rate!

Problem

Video and audio are out of sync after playing 15 minutes.

Possible cause

The soundboard clock and the DC10plus clock are not 100% in sync. This problem can occur with any combination of separate sound and video digitizer boards

Solution

Divide your project in parts of maximum 10 minutes length. If Audio-Video Sync is already lost after 5 minutes, please use another soundboard.

Problem

VidCap32 is not supported by Pinnacle Systems or Microsoft.

Possible cause

This is a "give away" freeware program.

Known problems

The standard VidCap32 setting is to place the capture file on C:\CAPTURE.AVI. To use a different drive, change the drive designator.


Troubleshooting: Windows 95/98

Problem

Hardware not found during installation.

Solution

1.	From the Start menu and the Settings command, open the Control Panel.

2.	Under System, select the Device Manager and the Sound, video- and game controllers option.

3.	Delete the following entry if it exists:

PCI Multimedia Video device
Studio DC10plus, MotionJPEG Capture/CODEC board.

4.	Restart Windows 95/98. The following message should appear during startup:

New hardware component detected!
Insert data medium.

If the above message does not appear during startup, install the DC10plus in a different PCI slot. If this still does not solve the problem, either the DC10plus is defective or the video board is having problems with your system’s motherboard.

5.	Confirm with OK.

6.	Place the DC10plus CD-ROM in your CD-ROM drive and enter the drive identifier for your CD-ROM drive (i.e., D:) in the Windows command line.

7.	Click OK.

8.	Restart the hardware test from the DC10plus configuration program.

Problem

General crash or error function.

Solution

Make sure the DC10plus driver has been completely installed in Windows 95.

Details: Use the Control Panel, Multimedia, Advanced, Video Capture Devices to configure the Studio DC10plus, Motion-JPEG Capture/CODEC board driver.

The Use this capture device option must be activated if you want to use the DC10plus to record.

If other drivers are listed under Video Capture Devices, make sure the DO NOT use this capture device option is activated for them.

Problem

Overlay does not work.

Solution 1

Your color depth may be set too high ot too low. Set the color depth to 16 bit in Display Properties and retry the test.

Solution 2

Your desktop area may be set too high. Set the desktop area in Display Properties to 800 x 600 and retry the test.

Solution 3

You may be using either a Generic Windows driver or an older version of your graphics card. Your graphics card driver may also be corrupt. Please contact your graphics card vendor to ensure you have installed the most current driver properly. Reinstall your graphics driver with the help of their Technical Support.

Solution 4

You may not have Direct-X installed properly. Please contact your graphics card vendor for support on this.


The Album

The four sections of the Album store Video Scenes, Graphics, Transitions and Sound Effects. Click the tabs down the left side to access the section you want.

Video Scenes

Studio DC10plus does away with one of the more tedious jobs in traditional video editing by automatically dividing your captured video into individual scenes. Just drag the ones you want from the Album into the Movie Window.

Graphics

Studio DC10plus comes with lots of ready-made titles for you to use in your productions, and the powerful TitleDeko title editor lets you create titles of your own. Your graphics can also include bitmaps and captured video frames.

Transitions

Slick professional transitions - fadeouts, dissolves, and wipes - add instant pizzazz to any production.

Sound Effects

Enliven your videos with more than 150 supplied sound effects in 13 categories - or add your own!