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Text File  |  1995-12-03  |  6KB  |  132 lines
  1. 066030003040000132006000006008000
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  5. 9[....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆....◆...]0110
  6. ÇVIDEOMASTER-BYMICRODEAL(C)1993
  7.  
  8. Microdeal,asallSTguysandgirlsinthescenewillknow,have
  9. beendevelopingsoundsamplersforanumberofyearsnow.Titles
  10. suchasReplay(uptoVIII),StereoReplay,Quartet,Stereo
  11. Playbackcertainlyspringtomindhere.
  12.  
  13. But,now,VideoMasterisMicrodeal'slatestproduct.It
  14. consistsofavideodigitiserunitPLUSsoundsamplingunitall-
  15. in-one,andIbelievethatitiscertainlythefirsttimethis
  16. typeofunithaseverbeenreleasedfortheSTandFalcon.
  17.  
  18. VideoMasterconsistsofahardwarecartridgeandsomesoftwareon
  19. discforboththeSTandFalcon.Thecartridgeplugsin(aswe
  20. allknow)intothefabledcartridgeportontheleft-handsideof
  21. theST,STEandFalcon,andthesoftwareisloadedinfromdisc.
  22.  
  23. Onloadingupthesoftware,firstimpressionsareexcellent.
  24. Nice,clear,easytoread(anduse)menuspresentthemselves,and
  25. awealthofoptionscomestoyourattention.Itispossibleto
  26. digitisepicturesinblackandwhite(albeitnotonamono
  27. monitor)andinCOLOUR!!!
  28.  
  29. Theirarefouroptionstothemainmenuwhichisdisplayedon
  30. loadingthesoftware.Video,Audio,SequencerandSystem
  31. functionsadornthetopofthescreen,anditisjustacaseof
  32. clickingontheoptiontochoosewhichpartofthepackageyou
  33. wouldliketouse.
  34.  
  35. TheVideooptionissimplyalayoutofthevariousvideooptions
  36. youcanuse.Thereisanoptionforwatchingthefilmcoming
  37. infromthecartridgelive(albeitwithnosound),theoptionof
  38. doingeitherfull-screenorquarterscreendigitising,theoption
  39. todigitiseincolour(onfull-screenonly),theoptiontoselect
  40. thescreentintyouwantetc.Full-screencolourpicturescanbe
  41. savedtodisc(andloadedagain)asSpectrum512format(512
  42. coloursdoeslookverynice...)orasstandardDegas16colour
  43. format.Whendigitisingincolour,theRGBsplitter(assupplied
  44. byRombo)canbeusedasMicrodealhavenotreleasedoneyet.
  45.  
  46. TheaudiooptionisstandardasinMicrodeal'searliersound
  47. samplers-thereis,amongotheroptions,thefacilitytolisten
  48. tothesoundbeforeyousampleit.Samplescanbesavedand
  49. loadedbutpleasenoteherethattheycanbejustabitonthe
  50. BIGsidetobeloadedintoAudioSculptureoranyotherTracker
  51. program-ofcourse,ifanyonehasfoundawaytoovercomethe
  52. samplebufferlimitsinAudioSculpture,pleasetellmecareof
  53. theMaggie.
  54.  
  55. Thesequenceroptionisverypowerful-unfortunatelyIhaven't
  56. useditasyet,butfromwhatIcangatheritisidealfor
  57. creating'movie'-styledemos(suchastheinfamous1Meg-only
  58. demofromthefilm'WhenHarryMetSally').
  59.  
  60. Thesystemoption(thelastone)isjustthestandardtype,ie
  61. youcanchoosehowmuchmemoryyouwantforvideo/audiosamples,
  62. Çwhetheryouactuallywanteitherjustvideooraudiosamples.
  63. However,howmuchmemoryyouhaveinstalleddoesmatterifyou
  64. wishtorecordaparticularlylongpieceofvideooraudio.
  65.  
  66. Onallscreens,thereistheoptiontorecorddirectly,both
  67. videoandaudiotogetherthroughthecartridge.Again,depending
  68. onhowmuchmemoryyouhave(ona21/2MBSTFMwhichIcurrently
  69. have,shortlytobeexpandedto4MB)youcanrecordafair
  70. minutesworth(say...)offilm,whichcanbesaved,replayedetc
  71. toyourheartscontent.
  72.  
  73. TheVideoMastercartridgewilldigitisefromcamcorderaswell,
  74. butIhavenottriedthisoptionout.However,forthe
  75. technicallyminded(whichprobablyincludeseveryoneinthe
  76. groups-HiDeltaForce,RippedOffetc)VideoMasterwillgrab
  77. video,audioandfilm(bothtogether)fromanyvideofilm,even
  78. ifitisinaweirdformat.
  79.  
  80. Toexplainthisfurther,IusedtousetheSAMdigitiser(you
  81. know-thatoldslab-likeunitthatretailedveryhighlypriced
  82. indeedandisnowunobtainable).TheSAMfailedtodigitisefrom
  83. oneparticularfilm-'TheKiss'-starringthelovelyactresses
  84. JoannaPaculaandMeredithSalenger(plug:Buythisfilmifyou
  85. can,youwillenjoyit).OntheSAM,thepicturekeptflickering
  86. toomuch.But,onusingVideoMaster,thepictureandsoundwere
  87. perfect-idealforgrabbingpictures.
  88.  
  89. UnfortunatelyIcan'tmakeacomparisonagainstanyoftheGerman
  90. digitisers(asusedintheMegafunpartypictureslideshowthat
  91. wasspreadrecently)-however,ifanyonethinksthatanyof
  92. thesearebetterthanVideoMaster,pleasewriteinandtellus.
  93. Whoknows,wecouldhavea'head-to-head'videodigitising
  94. contestfortheMaggie(similartootherverymuchinferior
  95. projectsinSTFormat).
  96.  
  97. Microdealmustbecongratulatedforproducingwhatisan
  98. excellentproductfortheST-whosays,ehMicrodeal,thatthe
  99. STisdeadwhenallofyourproductssellanddeservetosellso
  100. well?Iwillobviouslybeonetocongratulatethem-andhope
  101. thatweseenewprojectsofthesamecalibreasthisoneinthe
  102. UK,thereisadearthofgoodSTstuffatthemoment(hardwareor
  103. software!!!)
  104.  
  105. Thereisamanualincludedinthepackage-andwhatamanual.
  106. Itisnotyourusual'referencemanualwithnoexplanationsof
  107. howtousetheprogram(takeheedSTandAmigaflightsimulator
  108. writers(especiallyDomark!!!!!))',completelytheopposite,in
  109. fact.
  110.  
  111. Themanualisveryreadableandveryclear,butIwouldn'tsay
  112. thatitissuitableforthecompleteSTnovice(asaremost
  113. people(notRipped-OfforanyothersIhaveheardof)wetendto
  114. callthemthe'Nintendo-lamerssociety').However,fortherest
  115. ofuswhoareleft(thisincludesDeltaForceandRippedOffplus
  116. othercrews)VideoMasteriseasytogettogripswith.
  117.  
  118. ÇVideoMasterisavailablefrommostgoodSTshops(notplaces
  119. likeWHSmithandBoots,Imeantheindependentcomputershops)
  120.  
  121. Rating:10outof10(andthisistrue!!!!)
  122.  
  123. (c)Felice1993.
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  125.  
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  129.  
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