Intergraph StudioZ Central Plus Start Guide
StudioZ Central Plus
Quick-Start Guide
May 1998
DSA084010
Copyright
1998 Intergraph Computer Systems. All rights reserved. This document contains information protected by copyright, trade secret, and
trademark law. This document may not, in whole or in part, be reproduced in any form or by any means, or be used to make any
derivative work, without written consent from Intergraph Computer Systems.
Use, duplication, or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subdivision (c)(1)(ii) of the rights in
technical data and computer software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013. Unpublished rights are reserved under the copyright laws of the
United States.
Intergraph Computer Systems, Huntsville AL 35894-0001
Notice
Information in this document is subject to change without notice and should not be considered a commitment by Intergraph Computer
Systems. Intergraph Computer Systems shall not be liable for technical or editorial errors in, or omissions from, this document. Intergraph
Computer Systems shall not be liable for incidental or consequential damages resulting from the furnishing or use of this document.
All warranties given by Intergraph Computer Systems about equipment or software are set forth in your purchase contract. Nothing stated
in, or implied by, this document or its contents shall be considered or deemed a modification or amendment of such warranties.
Trademarks
Intergraph Computer Systems and the Intergraph Computer Systems logo are registered trademarks of Intergraph Computer Systems.
StudioZ and TD are trademarks of Intergraph Computer Systems.
Microsoft, Windows, Windows NT, and the Microsoft logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. SOFTIMAGE is a
registered trademark of SOFTIMAGE, a Microsoft affiliate. Adobe and the Adobe logo are registered trademarks of Adobe Systems
Incorporated. Intel, Pentium, and Pentium Pro are registered trademarks of Intel Corporation. WinZip is a registered trademark of Nico
Mak Computing, Inc. InstallShield is a registered trademark of InstallShield Corporation, a business unit of Stirling Technologies, Inc.
All other brands and product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
Contents
Preface................................................................................................................................v
Video Input.......................................................................................................................... v
Video Playback................................................................................................................... vi
StudioZ Central Plus Input and Output .............................................................................. vii
About This Document.......................................................................................................viii
Document Conventions.....................................................................................................viii
Hardware Information....................................................................................................... viii
Additional StudioZ Central Plus Information ...................................................................... ix
Customer Support...............................................................................................................ix
1 Getting Started................................................................................................................ 1
System Requirements........................................................................................................... 1
Obtaining the Latest StudioZ Driver .................................................................................... 1
Installing StudioZ Central Plus ............................................................................................ 3
Removing StudioZ Central Plus...........................................................................................4
Starting StudioZ Central Plus .............................................................................................. 4
iii
Hardware and Software Support Services..............................................................ix
World Wide Web................................................................................................... x
Intergraph Bulletin Board Service .......................................................................... x
FAXLink................................................................................................................ x
Telephone .............................................................................................................. x
More Support Options........................................................................................... xi
Stopping the Current Driver ................................................................................... 2
Loading and Starting the New Driver ..................................................................... 2
2 Capturing a New AVI.....................................................................................................9
Before You Begin................................................................................................................ 9
Configuring the Video Output Settings ................................................................................ 9
Configuring the Audio Settings.......................................................................................... 12
Capturing an Audio/Video Sequence.................................................................................. 13
3 Building an AVI from Bitmaps..................................................................................... 15
Before You Begin.............................................................................................................. 15
Configuring the Video Output Settings .............................................................................. 15
Loading a Raster Image Sequence...................................................................................... 18
Adjusting the Gamma ........................................................................................................ 19
Saving an Edited Sequence to an AVI................................................................................ 20
4 Setting Up a Batch Build .............................................................................................. 21
Before You Begin.............................................................................................................. 21
Configuring the Batch Build Settings................................................................................. 21
Specifying a Raster Image Sequence.................................................................................. 22
Scheduling the Batch Build................................................................................................ 24
Adjusting the Gamma ........................................................................................................ 25
iv
Following the Batch Job Progress....................................................................................... 26
Using the Summary Dialog Box........................................................................... 26
Using the Details Dialog Box............................................................................... 27
5 Playing the AVI............................................................................................................. 29
Before You Begin.............................................................................................................. 29
Playing an AVI.................................................................................................................. 29
Setting Playback Options................................................................................................... 30
Navigating the AVI ........................................................................................................... 30
Playing Part of an AVI....................................................................................................... 31
Using a Playlist for Multiple AVIs..................................................................................... 31
Creating a Playlist................................................................................................ 31
Saving Video Frames......................................................................................................... 33
Saving a Range of Files to an AVI........................................................................ 33
Saving Video Frames as a Raster File Sequence ................................................... 35
Saving the Playlist to a File .................................................................................. 36
Recording an AVI to Video Tape....................................................................................... 37
Displaying the VTR Control .............................................................................................. 37
Capturing from Tape to an AVI ......................................................................................... 38
Capturing Multiple Sequences from Tape .......................................................................... 38
Recording to Tape from an AVI......................................................................................... 40
6 Using the SDI Video Control........................................................................................ 41
Before You Begin.............................................................................................................. 41
Adjusting Brightness and Color ......................................................................................... 42
Changing the Luminance of a Video Sequence..................................................... 42
Changing the Chrominance of a Video Sequence ................................................. 43
Setting Default Values....................................................................................................... 43
7 Frequently Asked Questions......................................................................................... 45
Index................................................................................................................................. 49
Preface
Intergraph’s StudioZ Central Plus product is an audio/video capture, playback, and
animation frame-to-movie build solution for the Microsoft Windows NT operating system.
Video production professionals, computer graphics animators, and multimedia producers can
use StudioZ Central Plus to capture and play back real-time video or animated computer
graphics.
StudioZ Central Plus also has the capability to convert a sequence of individual frames into
an Audio/Video Interleaved (AVI) file, a Microsoft standard format for motion audio/video
files. StudioZ Central Plus works with standard graphics creation, animation, nonlinear
editing, computer-aided design, and visualization software. You can create images in a
separate graphical design application and then use StudioZ Central Plus to place them in a
presentation.
StudioZ Central Plus uses a nonlinear editing environment which reduces editing time and
increases productivity over traditional linear editing methods. Nonlinear editing allows
quick, random access to any part of video you want from a computer disk, as well as instant
rearrangement of video clips that follow a change. (With linear editing on video tape, the
editor has to reedit all material that follows the change.)
v
The all-digital design of StudioZ Central Plus prevents the generational loss of quality
common to hybrid and analog video editing solutions. This results in high-resolution, truecolor video images and high-quality audio captured in real time. StudioZ Central Plus
outputs data in real time directly from the hard disk. You can record this output to video
tape, view it on a video monitor, or convert it to any AVI format supported by Video for
Windows.
StudioZ Central Plus software is delivered as part of the Intergraph Computer Systems
StudioZ workstation solution. For detailed information on StudioZ hardware, refer to the
StudioZ Hardware User’s Guide and workstation documentation delivered with your
workstation.
Video Input
StudioZ Central Plus:
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Captures audio/video in real time directly to a system’s hard disk.
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Captures and (if specified) compresses video in a single step, requiring no file
conversion.
vi
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Provides a single solution for generating video that conforms to both NTSC (525 line,
59.94 Hz) and PAL (625 line, 50 Hz) video standards.
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Captures full frame sizes at the following field rates, which result in professional-quality
input, smooth motion, and no loss of video information during data capture:
−
NTSC: 720 x 243 pixels at 59.94 fields per second (720 x 486 frames).
−
PAL: 720 x 288 pixels at 50 fields per second (720 x 576 frames).
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Captures true-color images (YUV 4:2:2) for optimal image quality.
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Allows resampling while capturing images for users who want reduced resolution or
square pixel data.
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Allows adjustment of brightness, contrast, saturation, and hue of data while capturing
video.
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Uses motion JPEG compression technology for high-quality image compression (if you
select image compression options).
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Provides user-selectable JPEG compression ratios, which allow you to select between
increased online storage (high ratios) or optimal image quality (low ratios).
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Offers the option of uncompressed image capture for the highest image quality.
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Captures images to a standard Windows Audio/Video Interleaved (AVI) file, allowing
you to use standard Windows NT AVI editing tools.
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Captures single frames to raster files (TGA, PIC, and BMP files).
Video Playback
StudioZ Central Plus:
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Plays back video using full frame sizes and field rates. No video data is lost during
playback and motion remains smooth.
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Plays back true-color output for optimal quality.
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Allows adjustment of brightness, contrast, hue, and saturation of video as it is played
back.
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Can play a video loop for demonstrations and composition review.
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Plays back under Windows NT applications that use Media Control Interface (MCI)
device drivers.
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Offers accelerated playback over standard MCI playback.
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Allows the creation of a playlist to seamlessly play a series of AVIs, one after the other.
StudioZ Central Plus Input and Output
StudioZ Central Plus accepts input from a variety of sources, as shown in the following
figure.
vii
StudioZ Central Plus utilities send output to video tape or a video monitor, as shown in the
following figure.
viii
About This Document
The StudioZ Central Plus Quick-Start Guide is organized as follows:
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Chapter 1, “Getting Started,” introduces you to StudioZ Central Plus, lists the minimum
system requirements, instructions for obtaining the latest drivers, and instructions for
installing and removing the product.
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Chapter 2, “Capturing a New AVI,” shows you how to create new AVIs.
u
Chapter 3, “Building an AVI from Bitmaps,” describes how to build AVIs from raster
images.
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Chapter 4, “Setting Up a Batch Build,” describes how to schedule AVI batch jobs.
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Chapter 5, “Playing the AVI,” describes how to set the play options and use the AVI
Controls to play part or all of the AVI(s).
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Chapter 6, “Using the SDI Video Control,” provides instructions for manipulating
captured video sequences.
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Chapter 7, “Frequently Asked Questions,” addresses issues other users have
encountered.
Document Conventions
Bold
Italic Variable values that you supply, or cross-references.
Monospace
SMALL CAPS Key names on the keyboard, such as D, ALT or F3; names of files and directories.
CTRL+D Press a key while simultaneously pressing another key; for example, press CTRL
Commands, words, or characters that you key in literally.
Output displayed on the screen.
You can type filenames and directory names in the dialog boxes or the command
line in lowercase unless directed otherwise.
and D simultaneously.
Hardware Information
For more information about StudioZ hardware and compatible audio/video input and output
devices, refer to the StudioZ Hardware User’s Guide. For more information about your
StudioZ workstation, see the hardware documentation.
Additional StudioZ Central Plus Information
Additional StudioZ Central Plus information is available in an online reference guide, which
is installed on your system in the product \
There are four ways to activate the online reference guide:
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Inside the application, click the Help button on the application toolbar and select a
command to activate its corresponding Help topic.
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Choose Help Topics from the StudioZ Central Plus Help pulldown menu.
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Select Help from the application program group on the Start menu.
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In Explorer or My Computer, move to the StudioZ Central Plus product directory and
double-click the
NOTE If you are unfamiliar with using online documents, press F1 to activate Windows Help, which
provides instructions for using and customizing Help.
SZCENTRAL.HLP file.
The README.TXT file contains information about installation, documentation, training
courses, product fixes, new options and features for each utility, and known problems.
BIN directory (the file is called SZCENTRAL.HLP).
ix
Customer Support
Intergraph Computer Systems offers an assortment of customer support options.
Hardware and Software Support Services
Intergraph Computer Systems provides a variety of hardware services for Intergraph and
third-party equipment. Services include warranty upgrades, repair depot service, on-site
hardware maintenance, system administration, and network consulting. Hardware
purchased from Intergraph Computer Systems includes a factory warranty ranging from 30
days to three years. A detailed warranty description is available on the World Wide Web;
see the Support pages at http://www.intergraph.com/ics.
Intergraph Computer Systems provides complimentary software support for 30 or 90 days
following shipment of a hardware or software product. This includes World Wide Web
access, Intergraph Bulletin Board Service access, FAXLink service, and telephone (Help
Desk) support. At the end of the complimentary support period, you can purchase other
levels of software support.
x
World Wide Web
You can visit Intergraph Computer Systems on the World Wide Web at
http://www.intergraph.com/ics. On these pages, you can get news and product
information, technical support information, software updates and fixes, and more.
Intergraph Bulletin Board Service
On the Intergraph Bulletin Board Service (IBBS), you can get technical support information,
software updates and fixes, and more.
To connect to the IBBS:
1. Set your system’s communications protocol for eight (8) data bits, no parity, one (1) stop
bit, and any baud rate up to 14,400.
2. Using a modem, call 1-205-730-8786. Outside the United States, call one of the mirror
sites listed on World Wide Web; see the Software Support pages at
http://www.intergraph.com.
3. At the login prompt, key in your user ID. If you have not connected before, key in new
to create a user ID.
4. Follow the menus to find what you need. The IBBS provides clear choices and online
If you have trouble connecting to or using the IBBS, call the Customer Response Center at
1-800-633-7248 (product entry IBBS) or leave a message for the IBBS System Operator at
1-205-730-1413.
FAXLink
To use the FAXLink:
u
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Telephone
To get customer support by telephone:
u
help.
Call 1-800-240-4300 for information on how to get technical support information using
the FAXLink.
Call 1-205-730-9000 to get documents (up to five per call).
In the United States, call 1-800-633-7248 between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 7:00
p.m. Central Time, Monday through Friday (except holidays).
u
Outside the United States, contact your local Intergraph Computer Systems subsidiary or
distributor.
Have the following information available when you call:
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Your service number, which identifies your site to Intergraph Computer Systems. You
use your service number for warranty or maintenance calls.
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Your Customer Personal Identification Number (CPIN). You get a CPIN the first time
you call the Customer Response Center; it is associated with your service number for
future call logging.
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The product’s name or model number.
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The product’s serial number. Software product serial numbers are included in the
product packaging. Hardware product serial numbers are on a sticker affixed to the
hardware product.
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Your name and telephone number.
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A brief description of the question or problem.
More Support Options
xi
To get information on more customer support options:
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Visit the Support pages on the World Wide Web at http://www.intergraph.com/ics.
u
For hardware support questions in the United States, call 1-800-763-0242.
u
For software support questions in the United States, call 1-800-345-4856.
u
Outside the United States, contact your local Intergraph Computer Systems subsidiary or
distributor.
xii
1 Getting Started
StudioZ Central Plus provides video functionality and utilities for Intergraph Computer
Systems StudioZ workstation.
System Requirements
StudioZ Central Plus is loaded onto your StudioZ workstation prior to shipment. The
application is provided on two floppy diskettes that are delivered with your workstation in
case you need to reinstall the software. See the instructions in “Installing StudioZ Central
Plus” in this chapter for more information.
Your StudioZ workstation meets all of the requirements needed to run StudioZ Central Plus.
For more information on the StudioZ workstation, see the StudioZ Hardware User’s Guide
delivered with the workstation. The hardware requirements are as follows:
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Windows NT 4.0 operating system, Service Pack 3.0
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An Intel processor-based PC with a Pentium or Pentium Pro processor
1
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At least 32 megabytes of RAM
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6 megabytes of free disk space
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StudioZ SDI card
Obtaining the Latest StudioZ Driver
Depending on which board you have, you may need to upgrade the StudioZ driver. You can
obtain the latest driver from the diskette delivered with your workstation, or from the
Intergraph Bulletin Board Service (IBBS) File Libraries. See “IBBS” in the Preface for more
information on the IBBS. See “Loading and Starting the New Driver” in this chapter for
instructions on obtaining the driver from the IBBS.
There are two StudioZ drivers. The following table specifies which driver you need
according to the StudioZ workstation you purchased:
If you have this workstation:
StudioZ Solo, Duo, or Quattro STUDIOZ.ZIP (this is the StudioZ driver)
StudioZ T-RAX STUDIOZ.ZIP
StudioZ Pro STUDIOZ.ZIP
StudioZ for SOFTIMAGE|DS STUDIO~1.ZIP (this is the StudioZBurst driver)
Select this ZIP file:
2
Stopping the Current Driver
You must stop your current driver before you load the new one.
To stop the current driver:
1. From the Windows NT Start menu, go to Control Panel/Devices.
2. Scroll down the Device list and select the Intergraph StudioZ driver.
NOTE Depending on your workstation, the Device list will display either “Intergraph StudioZ Driver”
or “Intergraph StudioZBurst Driver.” See the “Obtaining the Latest StudioZ Driver” in this
chapter for a list of workstations and drivers.
3. Click Stop.
4. Click Close to dismiss the Devices dialog box.
Loading and Starting the New Driver
If you are installing the driver from the diskette delivered with your workstation, insert the
diskette into the floppy disk drive. In Explorer, select the floppy disk drive (usually drive
A:\), and double-click
displays, go to step 6 of the following instructions.
SETUP.EXE from the diskette. When the InstallShield setup wizard
To load and start the new driver:
1. Using your Web browser, go to the IBBS File Libraries page
(http://archive.intergraph.com/bbs/ibbsfile.htm).
2. Scroll down the list and select number 27, DIGSWH, to open the Digital Media StudioZ
Driver page.
3. From the driver page, select either
STUDIO~1.ZIP (the Intergraph StudioZBurst driver). The necessary files are downloaded
STUDIOZ.ZIP (the Intergraph StudioZ driver) or
to a temporary folder on your system. When the transfer is complete, WinZip displays
the contents of the
ZIP file.
4. In WinZip, click Extract and place all of the files in a directory on your machine (for
example, C:\
NOTE See the WinZip Help File if you need information on extracting files. From the WinZip Help
menu, select Search for Help on... and type extract in the first field of the Index tab. Select a
topic from the index entries and click Display.
TEMP).
5. In Explorer, move to the directory where you extracted the files and double-click the
SETUP.EXE file. The InstallShield setup wizard displays.
6. Follow the prompts to install the driver. See the
README.TXT file delivered with the
driver if you need more information.
NOTE If you select the wrong driver, a warning message will notify you that the driver could not be
started. If this happens, go back to the diskette or your web browser and select the other
file.
7. When you see a notification that the installation is complete, go back to Control
Panel/Devices.
8. Scroll down the list of devices to the Intergraph StudioZ Driver or Intergraph
StudioZBurst Driver and verify that it is started (the word “Started” should appear under
the Status column).
9. If the driver is not started, select it and click Start.
10. Click Close to dismiss the Devices dialog box.
Installing StudioZ Central Plus
StudioZ Central Plus is loaded onto your StudioZ workstation prior to shipment. These
installation instructions are provided in case you need to reinstall the product due to
upgrades, fixes, or system reconfiguration
To install StudioZ Central Plus on your workstation:
3
ZIP
1. Make sure that you are logged on with administrative privileges before attempting to
install the product. You must run the installation of StudioZ Central Plus as an
administrative user for it to install properly.
2. If you are installing over a previous version of StudioZ Central or StudioZ Central Plus,
make sure the application is closed (choose Exit from the File pulldown menu within the
product to close the application).
3. From the application’s program group, select the unInstallShield and follow the prompts
to remove the application from your machine.
In Explorer, double-click the drive:\
installation media. (Typically, the
SETUP.EXE file, where drive is the drive letter of the
SETUP.EXE file will be in the product \BIN directory.)
The InstallShield setup wizard is displayed.
4. Follow the prompts to load StudioZ Central Plus onto your workstation. Be sure to enter
a user name along with the serial number when you are prompted. The serial number is
included in the product packaging.
4
Removing StudioZ Central Plus
To remove StudioZ Central Plus:
1. From the Windows NT Start menu, go to StudioZ Central Plus/unInstallShield.
2. Follow the prompts to remove the StudioZ Central Plus application and all of its
components from your workstation.
Starting StudioZ Central Plus
To start StudioZ Central Plus:
From the StudioZ Central Plus program group in the Start menu, select SZCentral. The
StudioZ Central Plus application interface displays:
The following table provides a brief description of the parameters in StudioZ Central Plus.
Refer to the StudioZ Central Plus Online Reference Guide for detailed information about
each command.
StudioZ Central Plus Parameters
1 Menus
The menus contain commands for creating, opening, and saving
AVIs; parameters for customizing play and capture; and
parameters for controlling your VTR. Many of the commands in
these menus are also available on the toolbar.
2 Toolbar
The toolbar contains shortcuts to commands, most of which are
available from the pulldown menus. The exception is the SDI
Slider, which is available only from the toolbar. See Chapter 6,
“Using the SDI Video Control,” for more information on this
control
The toolbar should be displayed the first time you activate
StudioZ Central Plus. To show or hide the toolbar, select
Toolbar from the View pulldown menu.
3 Frame slider
The AVI Control frame slider lets you move through the frames
in the active AVI sequence. Select the slider and drag it back
and forth to move through the sequence. See “Navigating the
AVI” in Chapter 5 for more information on scrolling through
sequences.
4 Status bar
The status bar displays information that helps you use StudioZ
Central Plus. The status bar should be displayed the first time
you activate StudioZ Central Plus. To show or hide the status
bar, select Status Bar from the View pulldown menu.
Ready This part of the status bar displays the state of the
application (whether it is capturing, playing, and so on).
Also, when you hold the cursor over a control this field
displays the name of the control.
LP If you have Auto Loop turned on when you play or
capture a sequence, the sequence will run until you
press the Stop button. This part of the status bar shows
you how many cycles of the sequence have run.
DF Sometimes during play or capture, the video sequence
cannot be stored in memory or played back fast enough
to maintain full frame rates. This can cause dropped
frames. This part of the status bar lets you know how
many frames have been dropped. See the StudioZ
Hardware User’s Guide for tips on avoiding dropped
frames.
Field This part of the status bar displays the option you
selected under Stop Field (in the View pulldown menu).
You can choose Field 1, Field2, or Both.
5 Play
Plays the sequence of frames you have defined. See Chapter 5,
“Playing the AVI,” for more information.
5
6
StudioZ Central Plus Parameters, cont.
6 Stop
Stops the play or capture of an AVI. See Chapter 5, “Playing the
AVI,” for more information.
7 Record
Captures a new AVI. When you click the Record button, the
Capture AVI File dialog box activates. Fill it out to meet your
specifications and click OK to start recording. Click the Stop
button if you need to halt the capture process. See Chapter 2,
“Capturing a New AVI,” for more information.
8 Go to mark in
Moves the frame slider to the beginning of the sequence. If you
have not defined a mark in point, the slider moves to the first
frame in the AVI. See “Navigating the AVI” in Chapter 5 for
more information on scrolling through sequences.
9 Rewind
Rewinds the AVI to the first frame, disregarding any mark in
points you defined.
10 Fast forward
Advances the AVI to the last frame, disregarding any mark out
points you defined.
11 Go to mark out
Moves the frame slider to the end of the sequence. If you have
not defined a mark out point, the slider moves to the last frame
in the AVI. See “Navigating the AVI” in Chapter 5 for more
information on scrolling through sequences.
12 Clear marks
Clears any mark in and mark out points you set. See
“Navigating the AVI” in Chapter 5 for more information on
setting in and out points.
13 Set mark in
Accepts the current slider position (or a value you enter in the
Mark In field) as the first frame in the sequence. See
“Navigating the AVI” in Chapter 5 for more information on
setting in points.
14 Mark in
Specifies the beginning of the media sequence. See “Navigating
the AVI” in Chapter 5 for more information on setting in points.
15 Set mark out
Accepts the current slider position (or a value you enter in the
Mark Out field) as the last frame in the sequence. See
“Navigating the AVI” in Chapter 5 for more information on
setting out points.
16 Mark out
Specifies the end of the media sequence. See “Navigating the
AVI” in Chapter 5 for more information on setting out points.
StudioZ Central Plus Parameters, cont.
17 Current frame
Displays the current frame number or the current timecode of
the slider position. See “Navigating the AVI” in Chapter 5 for
more information.
18 Frame scroll
arrows
Lets you move back and forth through the sequence, frame by
frame. See “Navigating the AVI” in Chapter 5 for more
information.
7
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