This help file contains information about some of the dialog boxes in the programs. You can access this help file by clicking the Help button in that particular dialog box.


Options dialog box

General tab

Data track Specify whether to create the video file or the video track only or include the audio track.

Frame rate Specify the frame rate to use for the resulting video file.

Frame size Select the size of the frame or define your own for the video file.

Keep aspect ratio Select to maintain the relationship between the width and height based on standard video frame sizes when defining your own frame size.


Options dialog box

Advanced tab

Target playback drive Specify the data rate of your storage device.

Interleave audio and video Select to be able to specify the interleave ratio between the audio and video data.

Pack audio data for every Specify when the next portion of audio data follows the video data.

Pad frames for CD-ROM Select to help make your CD-ROM more efficient in playback by standardizing the video data structure when saving.


Options dialog box

Compression tab

Compression Shows the available compression schemes. A no compression option is also available.

Quality Drag the slider to control the compression of a file.

Key frame for every option Specify the distance between "key" frames used by the compression scheme.

Data type Select from the list of available data types of the currently selected video compression scheme.

Preview Click to open the Preview dialog box to display the quality of the video compression settings. (For Video Save Options dialog box)

Use common palette Select the color palette to use for saving the video.

Load Click to load a previously saved color palette. (For Video Save Options dialog box)

Audio Click to open the Audio Format dialog box where you can change the audio characteristics. (For Video Save Options dialog box)

About Click to open an information box with proprietary information about the selected compression method.

Configure Click for additional compression options.


This setting determines how many key frames the compression method uses. The more key frames used, the larger the resulting file. If your video contains fast motion and many changing scenes, you need to set this number low to retain accurate reproduction. However, if the video is slow moving, with few drastic changes, a higher setting may yield significant space savings with practically no effect on playback quality.


Preview dialog box

Preview window Drag the slider to preview the quality of video output in the current compression settings.

Quality Drag the slider to control the compression of a file.

Compression ratio Represents the size of the video file produced without compression divided by the size of it when compressed based on the current settings.

Preview with the specified frame size Select to open another window with the dimensions specified in the Video Save Options - General tab dialog box.


Options dialog box

Compression tab

Audio Select Joint Stereo for high quality musical sound. Otherwise, select Stereo for better compression. For voice or mono sound, try a bit rate of 64. For music or stereo, try 128 or 256.

Optimize for CD-ROM Select to ensure data is more efficiently stored for optimum CD-ROM playback.

Estimated video compression ratio is Represents the size of the video file produced without compression divided by the size of it when compressed based on the current settings.


A high bit rate increases the file size. In general, bit rates greater than 64 kbits/sec have almost no effect on improving the quality of voice recordings. For quality music recordings, the bit rate should exceed 192 kbits/sec.


Load Palette dialog box

Look in Find the desired folder.

View the contents of the next higher folder in your system.

Create a new folder.

View files as icons.

View files by names with statistics.

File name Type in a file name or select from the list of files displayed.

Files of type Select a particular file format for opening palette files.

Browse Click to find files or folders.


Define Image Sequence dialog box

Select image sequence Click to select the starting image from the sequence when played back.

First image file Displays the path, file name, and file format of the selected image file from the sequence.

Total frames Displays how many frames the image sequence contains.

Frame rate Specify the frame rate to use for the resulting video file.

Image sequence file Displays the path and file name of the image sequence file.

Subject Assign a subject to the file (optional) to give you an idea of the file’s purpose.

Description Type a description of the file contents (optional) to describe in more detailed the file’s purpose.


Select Image Sequence dialog box

Look in Find the desired folder.

View the contents of the next higher folder in your system.

Create a new folder.

View files as icons.

View files by names with statistics.

File name Type in a file name or select from the list of files displayed.

Files of type Select a particular file format for opening image files.

Number of frames to collect Specify the numbers of frames to collect images from.

File information Displays information about the currently selected image file.

Preview Click to display a thumbnail preview of the selected image file.

Options Click to display the open options dialog box for file formats that provide options. There are only few file formats that support open options.

Browse Click to find files or folders.


Duration dialog box

This can be used to select certain frames of a video file to view and edit instead of having to open the entire video file. This is particularly useful if you have a large video file but only want to edit a few selected frames.

Mark in Specify the location of the beginning of a time selection area to open.

Mark out Specify the location of the end of a time selection area to open.

Edit duration Displays the duration of the frames selected for opening.

Current frame Displays the position of the current frame in hours, minutes and seconds.

Total duration Displays the total duration of the video file.

Preview window Displays the current frame. Drag the slider below the window or use the Navigator buttons to move through your clip.


Open dialog box

Look in Find the desired folder.

View the contents of the next higher folder in your system.

Create a new folder.

View files as icons.

View files by names with statistics.

File name Identify the file(s) selected for opening.

Files of type Select a particular file format for opening.

Subject Displays the subject assigned to the file (optional).

Description Displays the description of the file contents (optional).

Total frames Displays how many frames the selected video file contains.

Selected frame Specify the frame number in the video file to use as the first frame in the project.

Preview window Displays a preview of the selected file. Drag the slider to view other frames of the video file.

Info Click to open a dialog box containing information about the selected file.

Browse Search for files or folders.


Change Clip Sequence dialog box

Clip file name Displays all the selected files in the order they are going to be inserted. Click and drag any file to change the order of insertion.

Mark in and Mark out Display the start and end timecodes of each clip where only a selected part of it will be inserted. If there is no selected part, then it displays start and end timecodes of the entire clip.

Duration Click to define Mark in and Mark out timecodes of the selected clip if you don't want to insert the entire file.


Options dialog box

Advanced tab

Video quality Specify the ratio of compressing a file relative to its playback quality.

Audio attributes Specify the audio characteristics.

Check data rate Displays the data rate selected from the Target Playback Drive in the standard options. Change this rate to more closely match the data rate of the target storage device.


Moving the indicator to the right produces more precise image reproduction at the expense of smooth motion. Moving the slider indicator to the left produces more fluid motion, at the expense of picture quality and clarity.


Audio frequency Higher frequencies produce better sounds, but file sizes also get larger.

16 bit Gives greater range of sound than 8-bit, but produces larger file size. (For human voice, a 16-bit sample size is recommended.)

Stereo  Produces better sound than Mono, but results to larger file size.


If you are unsure of what the data rate of your storage device is, consult your hard disk manual or use a utilities program such as Norton utilities or PC Tools to find out.

Note: If you wish to play the file on another PC, then you must save the file at the target PC's data rate.


A higher frame rate will provide greater quality of video recording and more natural motion. A lower frame rate results in a more "jerky" effect. A frame rate of 15 frames per second is recommended . This should be enough to provide continuous motion, while at the same time saving disk space and processing time.


Moving the bar to the right produces higher file quality at the expense of motion. Moving the Slider bar to the left produces more fluid motion, at the expense of picture quality and clarity.


The type of options is dependent on the compression scheme itself. If there are no options, the button will be disabled.


For example, a pack audio data rate of 1 results in an AVAVAV... file and a pack audio data rate of 5 results in an AVVVVVA... file. (The length of the audio track remains the same, the only difference is how it is interleaved.


8-bit samples use less disk space than 16-bit, but 16-bit gives greater range of sound. (For human voice a 16-bit sample size is recommended.)


Options dialog box

Palette tab

Use common palette Select the color palette to use for saving the video.

Load Click to select a previously saved color palette.


Options dialog box

Format tab

Image file format Lists all available file formats for saving your images.

Data type Specify the data types for the selected file format.

Image save options Click to open the Save Options dialog box for file formats that provide more detailed saving options.

Save alpha channel Select if you want to save your image keeping its mask marquee for future use. (This is only available for some file formats.)


Options dialog box

Audio tab

Sampling rate Select the Sampling rate for saving. A higher rate produces better sound quality but increases file size.

Channels Select if the file to be created is mono or stereo.

Sample size Select the Sample size for saving. A 16-bit Sample size can contain more details of your audio information reproducing more accurate sounds, but the resulting file size is doubled compared to an 8-bit.


Sampling rate is the number of times the recording device collects audio data every second.


Sample size is the number of bits per sample for recording information.


Audio Format dialog box

Name Lists the predefined audio formats.

Save As Click to open the Save As dialog box where you assign a name to the specified audio attributes.

Remove Click to delete a predefined audio format from the name list.

Format Select a compression scheme. For 8 kHz files, try IMA ADPCM. For other types, use Microsoft's ADPCM option.

Attributes Select from the drop-down list of audio characteristics to use for saving.


Options dialog box

Compression tab

Audio Click to open the Audio Format dialog box where you can specify the audio characteristics.


Options dialog box

Advanced tab

Target playback drive Specify the data rate of your storage device.

Check data rate Select to compare the data rate selected from the Target Playback Drive in the standard options. Change this rate to more closely match the data rate of the target storage device.


Options dialog box

Compression tab

Compression Shows the available compression schemes. A no compression option is also available.

Quality Specify the ratio of compressing a file relative to its playback quality.

Key frame for every Specify the distance between "key" frames used by the compression scheme.

Data type Select from the list of available data types of the currently selected video compression scheme.

Audio Click to open the Audio Format dialog box where you can change the audio characteristics. (For Video Save Options dialog box)

About Click to open an information box with proprietary information about the selected compression method.

Configure Provides additional compression options.


Open dialog box

Look in Find the desired folder.

View the contents of the next higher folder in your system.

Create a new folder.

View files as icons.

View files by names with statistics.

File name Identify the file(s) selected for opening or relinking.

Files of type Select a particular file format for opening or relinking.

File information Displays information about the selected file’s data type, size, and compression used, if any.

Preview window Displays a thumbnail preview of the selected image file.

Options Click to display the open options dialog box for file formats that provide options. There are only few file formats that support open options.

Browse Search for files or folders.


Relink Source Video dialog box

Look in Find the desired folder.

View the contents of the next higher folder in your system.

Create a new folder.

View files as icons.

View files by names with statistics.

File name Identify the file(s) selected for relinking.

Files of type Select a particular file format for relinking.

Subject Displays a pre-defined subject of the selected file.

Description Displays a brief description of the selected file.

Auto play Select to automatically play a thumbnail version of the selected video clip in the preview window.

Mute Silences any sound associated with the video file when the file is played during the preview.

Play button Click to playback a preview of the selected file if not in Auto play mode.

Preview Click to display a thumbnail image of the selected file.

Info Displays the file name, file size, duration of the video file and audio information.

Browse Search for files or folders.


Data Rate Analysis dialog box

Video Displays detailed information about the selected file.

Preview Displays the currently viewed frame with keyframe controls for moving from one frame to another and adding or deleting keyframes.

Data rate graph Displays a visual representation of the data size (the sizes of the different frames in the clip) and the location of each keyframe.

Save As Click to save the current keyframe position to a file and you can use this keyframe file when creating creating a video file.

Restore Click to restore the orginal keyframes positions based on the first analysis.


By adding keyframes to peaks in the graph, the frames following the image marked with a keyframe will have a more accurate reference. You can then rearrange their order later to achieve the maximum benefit when compressing files.


The horizontal black line in the data rate diagram indicates the average data rate of the video files, the vertical blue bars represent keyframes, and the vertical magenta bar is the currently viewed frame. You can manage the current keyframes by using the add and delete keyframe buttons in the Preview window. The keyframe position information can be saved to a file and then used in the keyframe control in the Create Video File Options dialog box.