------------------------------------------------------------------------------ miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) Release Notes for Version 2.10 09/12/1997 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ This text contains important information for the miroVIDEO PCTV (pro)user. If you encounter any problems when working with the miroVIDEO PCTV (pro), please read the manual and this text. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Contents: 1.00 Installation miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) 1.10 Before starting the installation 1.20 Windows95 - installation 2.00 Tips and tricks for miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) 2.10 Use of PCTV as an overlay monitor 2.11 Video overlay support in general 2.12 Installing the miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) with S3 Model 868 and 968 graphics adapters 2.20 miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) as overlay monitor with the DC1/DC20 2.21 miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) as tuner card with miroVIDEO DC10/DC30 2.30 Incorrect colors during TV playback 2.40 Blue TV-screen 3.00 Important hints on miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) 3.20 Changing resolution during capturing with active video overlay 3.30 Interrupt sharing 3.40 Hard disks 3.41 Enhanced-IDE hard disks 3.50 VidCon32 3.51 VidCon32 and NTSC standard 3.52 VidCon32 and PAL standard 3.53 VidCon32 and Media Player 3.54 Known bugs with VidCon32 3.60 Single-frame capturing 3.70 Remote 3.80 miraser 4.00 Known restrictions 4.10 Cropping 4.20 Windows NT 4.x 5.00 Video conferencing 5.10 H.324 5.20 How does H.324 work? 5.30 What types of products support H.324? 5.40 What kind of quality can I expect? 5.50 Can I use any modem? 5.50 Data transfer rates supported 5.60 H.324 glossary 6.00 Videotext 6.10 TOP 6.20 FLOF 6.30 VPS 6.40 WSS 6.50 Hidden text 7.00 Intercast 7.10 Intercast installation 7.20 Intercast installation error message 10.00 miroVIDEO services 11.00 Changes to the last driver versions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.0 Installation 1.1 Before starting the installation If there is already a TV tuner board installed in your system, make sure to remove it before installing the miroVIDEO PCTV board. !!! Important: Driver conflicts may result!!! 1.2 Windows95 - installation Please turn off the computer. Plug the miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) card into a free, PCI-BUSMASTER-capable PCI slot. Start Win95. During Windows 95 hardware detection, the following message appears: "New hardware component found - PCI Multimedia Device" Then the "New hardware component found" dialog box appears. Select the "Have disk" option. Follow the instructions given by the Hardware Wizard. You will find the drivers in this directory: :\disksets\win95 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 2.00 Tips and Tricks for the miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) board 2.10 Use of miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) as an overlay monitor. The miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) board allows you to monitor the video capture of the miroVIDEO DC1/DC20 boards. This means that you do not need a second TV set for this purpose. 2.11 Video overlay support in general In general, state-of-the-art PCI graphics adapters with S3 Trio 64V+ or S3 Virge graphics processors are able to support a PCI overlay. Some manufacturers don't support this function in their Windows 95 drivers. If you notice any disturbances in the overlay windows during capturing, try changing the resolution and/or color depth of your graphics adapter. Do not change resolution or color depth "on-the-fly" with active video overlay. 2.12 Installing the miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) with S3 Model 868 and 968 graphics adapters If your system is equipped with a graphics adapter with S3 868 or 968 chips, make certain in Windows 95 that the graphics adapter actually occupies a 64 MB memory area. You can verify this in the Windows 95 Device Manager. In machines with an older AWARD BIOS, only 32 MB is reported back to the Device Manager. This can result in system crashes following attempted installation of an expansion card,. e.g., miroVIDEO PCTV (pro), with a memory area directly above that of the graphics adapter. Solution: - Update the AWARD BIOS - Change the memory area of the graphics adapter in the Device Manager For details, please read the manual. 2.20 miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) as overlay monitor with the DC1/DC20 Hardware installation: The video source supplying the master video signal has to be connected to the "Video IN" connector of the miroVIDEO DC1 and the miroVIDEO DC20 board. Then, connect the video output of the miroVIDEO DC1 or the miroVIDEO DC20 board to the "Video IN" connector of the miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) board. Software description: IMPORTANT!! : Premiere always uses the first Codec which was entered, regardless of whether it is a DC1/DC20 codec or another one. Therefore you should install the miroVIDEO DC1 or miroVIDEO DC20 software first to ensure that this board (or to be more precise the codec) is entered first. Install the miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) board afterwards. For miroVIDEO DC20/DC1 start DC20/DC1 Control and switch the video-loopthrough on. You should configure the Vidcap program for the miroVIDEO DC1/DC20 Motion JPEG Capture/ Codec board. (//Options//) Select "Composite" in the miroTELEVISION program afterwards. The actual video capture is done using Vidcap (DC1/DC20). 2.21 miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) as tuner card with miroVIDEO DC10/DC30 For Adobe Premiere and Ulead Mediastudio, it is necessary to deactivate the unneeded capture drivers. (Start//Control Panel//Multimedia//Advanced//Video Compression Codecs) 2.30 Incorrect colors during TV playback Some graphics adapters do not support the overlay function. These adapters run in the so-called "Primary Surface" mode. In an 8-bit resolution (256 colors) the TV image is dithered. Solution: either use a graphics adapter that supports the overlay function or select a higher color depth. 2.40 Blue TV screen Possible reasons: - the source does not supply a signal - the source supplies a weak signal - the channel is just being changed Solution: - select an input with a sufficient signal 2.50 Screensavers When applications are inactive ( miroTelevision or miroVIDEO Manager ), the screensaver may activate. This can lead to graphics problems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 3.00 Important hints on miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) 3.20 Changing the resolution during capturing with active video overlay Avoid changing the resolution during capturing AVI files with enabled video overlay. The video overlay can be enabled in VidCon32 or in the Premiere capture program. 3.30 Interrupt Sharing This miroVIDEO PCTV version supports PCI interrupt sharing. This function is necessary if the motherboard allocates a single interrupt to all PCI slots. In this case, all PCI devices have to share one interrupt which means that every driver has to check if the current interrupt comes from its device. If this is not the case, the driver must not handle this interrupt and has to pass it to the next PCI device. If only one of the devices involved (or its driver) fails to do so, the system will not function properly. Because the devices which are mostly used for recording and playing back video are SCSI hard disks and SCSI controllers, we test the behavior of SCSI controllers. Under Windows95, we tested miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) together with several SCSI controllers. 3.40 Hard disks Windows 95 supports 32-bit hard disk access. Please check in Control Panel/System/Device Manager whether your hard disk drive or your SCSI controller has been detected by Windows95 correctly. If not, the data transfer rate of your hard disk will not suffice for a satisfying quality when recording and playing back video. If possible, install a second hard disk for capturing and saving all of your video clips. You can save temporary files to your system hard disk or another partition. Windows 95 accesses system files during recording and playback,. If these files are located on the same hard disk as the video clips, the head has to be repositioned, which leads to one or more dropped frames (unsmooth playback). 3.41 Enhanced-IDE hard disks With some E-IDE hard disks, high data rates result in an unsmooth playback when playing back AVI files, because the hard disk is recalibrated while a file is read. This is not a miroVIDEO PCTV malfunction but is due to the functionality of your hard disk and the other system components. If you received a disk with special busmaster drivers with your hard disk, please install these drivers in your system, because the disk performance will be improved considerably. Please ensure that the correct PIO-mode has been set in the mother bios for the hard disk. 3.50 VidCon32 For using the miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) in Windows 95, we recommend VidCon32 for capturing AVI files. VidCon32 will be copied during installation of the miroVIDEO PCTV (pro). VidCon32 fully supports the 32-bit capture-class, so you can attain substantially higher data rates during capturing. Ensure that the option "No master" is enabled in the VidCon32 menu under "Edit| Preferences| video and audio synchronization". To attain maximum performance during capturing, shut down any programs that may be running in the background. 3.51 VidCon32 and the NTSC standard Before capturing NTSC movies with VidCap32 you should set the "frame rate" in the Capture/Video menu exactly to 29.97 frames/s and not 30 frames/s !!! Only with this exact setting it is possible to capture NTSC movies lip-synch for a long period of time. 3.52 VidCon32 and the PAL standard In some systems, it may be impossible to capture smooth video although the frame rate is set to 25 frames/s and there is sufficient system performance (CPU and hard disk). In this case, we also advise setting the "Frame rate" to 30 frames/s under PAL in the menu under Capture | Video. 3.53 VidCon32 and Media Player We advise against starting VidCon32 or any other video capture program while using Media Player to play back AVI files captured with the miroVIDEO PCTV (pro). miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) does not permit simultaneous capturing and playback of AVI files. If you want to activate both devices at the same time, then you MUST start the Media Player first. 3.54 Known bugs with VidCon32 By default, VidCon32 sets the capture file to C:\CAPTURE.AVI. You can select another drive for capturing. Occasionally, VidCon32 may terminate with a General Protection Fault (GPF). Restart VidCon32, ignore the error message that the device is already active, and set the desired drive for capturing. Close VidCon32 now and restart Windows 95. Now start VidCon32 and open the menu items "Capture" and "Video". A window with the title "Capture Video Sequence "opens. Now click the "Video" button to check the video format and/or the data rate selected. No matter what, avoid clicking the "OK" button in the "Video Capture Sequence" window as long as the video format dialog box is still open. This leads to a General Protection Fault in the module User.exe 3.60 Capturing single-frames When capturing single-frames, please make sure that the "24 BIT RGB" format (Vidcap//Options//Video Format) has been selected. This format is compatible with all common graphics programs (also Kaiīs Power Goo). Note: Vidcap does not specify a filename extension. (You should enter, for example, [Name].BMP.) 3.70 miroVIDEO AV-Control This application is miroTELEVISION without video playback. This makes it possible for you to control the audio and video parts of the miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) even when using programs such as VidCon32, Premiere or other capture programs. 3.80 miraser Use this tool to remove the miroVIDEO PCTV (pro) entries from the Windows Registry. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 4.00 Known limitations 4.10 Cropping This function is not supported at this time. 4.20 Windows NT 4.x - no support of the "pro" features - no Teletext - capture of videosquences is not supported - In France only SECAM will be supported. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 5.00 Video conferencing Video conferencing systems consist of various (sub)systems. The minimum configuration for video conferencing is as follows: Video source: e.g., video camera Capture board that supports the standard capture formats, e.g., miroVIDEO PCTV Sound card Means of communication, e.g.: analog modem, ISDN modem, network Video conferencing software, e.g., CU-SeeMe, VDO-Videophone, Microsoft Netmeeting, just to mention a few. The interaction of these components is standardized (H.324). Optimum transmission speed and quality can be expected, provided all the individual components comply with this standard. Please note that, as a rule, the software packages are not (yet) mutually compatible. 5.10 H.324 The H.324 standard specifies the methods by which video, speech, and data are transmitted together via a high-speed modem connection. 5.20 How does H.324 work? H.324 is based on a standard - 28.8kb - modem connection. Once the connection has been made, H.324 defines how the data is converted into digital signals and compressed. With a 28,800 bps connection, speech is compressed to 6.000 bps. The remaining bandwidth is allocated to video data, which is also compressed. 5.30 What types of products support H.324? 1) Stand-alone videophones - Installation and operation comparable to a "normal" telephone - additional LCD display 2) TV-based videophone - looks like a cable box with an integral video camera - placed on top of the television set - picture is displayed on the television set - Connects to a normal telephone line 3) PC-based solution: videophone, video conferencing - Display via PC monitor - Communication via analog modem (>28,800 bps) - Software application - Intel Pentium performance is utilized for compression and decompression 5.40 What kind of quality can I expect? Although the quality of the video solutions is improving continually, the results obtained are still not TV-quality. Using a resolution of 192x144 pixels on both ends of the connection, the maximum rate attainable is 15 frames per second. The result depends heavily on the relative motion of the object pictured. The sound is transmitted in standard telephone quality. See also "Data transfer rates supported" 5.50 Can I use any modem? To use H.324, the modem must support V.80. This standard is not (yet) supported by the broad base of installed modems. Please contact the manufacturer of your modem regarding the possibility of an update to V.80. See also "Data transfer rates supported" 5.50 "Data transfer rates supported" Frame Rate : 4 - 8 fps with a 28.8 Kbps Internet connection Frame Rate : 8 -15 fps with a 128 Kbps Internet connection Frame Rate : 5 - 15 fps with a H.324 Kbps direct connection 5.60 H.324 glossary BPS Bits per second G.723 Speech compression algorithm implemented in H.324 H.223 Multiplex control protocol used in H.324 H.245 Multiplex control protocol used in H.324 H.263 Video compression algorithm implemented in H.324 H.324 Communications standard for simultaneous transmission of video, speech, and data via an analog modem connection V.34 Industry standard for 28.800 bps analog modems V.8 bis Describes products with Voice-Call-First capability V.80 International Standard for V.34 modems "Videophone ready" Voice-Call-First is the easiest way to establish a connection with a picture phone videophone solution. The objective is to make using a videophone like using a "normal" telephone, with the exception that there is an additional button for additional video transmission. 6.00 Videotext Videotext, which is also called teletext, is a text-based communication method. The data is transmitted in the unused lines of the television picture. Main features - 8 magazines per 100 pages - Sub addressing, i.e., multiple pages - Page format 24 lines containing 40 characters each - Text displayed in 7 colors. Character background color may be one of 8 colors - additional display possibilities - Teletext pages are transmitted at a rate of approx. 8 pages/s 6.10 TOP Table Of Pages This is a service, provided to teletext users by the broadcasting networks, that permits user-friendly retrieval of pages from the videotext cycle. This ensures fast orientation in the teletext program offered and efficient user prompting. This service is optional, however. The basic principle is that of transmitting a table, as a normal teletext page, on which all of the pages of the videotext program currently being broadcast are marked. This often includes a link to the next page or the previous page, as well as the next "card-index box" (e.g., news, sports...) and the next "groups" (e.g., sports: soccer, tennis,...). 6.20 FLOF Full Level One Features Various links are defined from each page to additional pages so that this page can be selected quickly. In teletext, a FLOF page can be recognized by the four-color bar on the bottom edge of the page. 6.30 VPS Video Programming System Used to program VCRs for unattended recording; conveys station names. 6.40 WSS Wide Signal Scaling WSS is a process for distinguishing certain transmission attributes (dolby surround sound, PAL plus,...) so that the decoder can adjust accordingly. 6.50 Hidden Text On some pages, e.g., ones containing a riddle, . the answer is hidden when the page is first started. A special function can be used to make this text visible. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 7.10 Intercast installation The Intercast (TM) Technology allows the broadcasting of text and images in HTML format (e.g. format of this document) via a conventional TV broadcast signal. HTML is the page layout (exactly: the document desciption language) which is commonly used in the Internet. Thus, the Intel Intercast Viewer seems to create an access to the Internet. Of course, such a "real" Internet access will not be given simply by installing the Intercast Viewer. However, you can use your existing Internet access assuming an appropriate configuration of the Internet Viewer. When selecting a "hyperlink" (link to an Internet document location) of an Intercast page, an Internet connection will be created, visible through the animated Intercast logo in the upper right corner. Intercast Technology offers a very convenient and attractive alternative to teletext providing a seamless bridge to the World Wide Web. 7.10 Intercast installation Please install the software in the following order: 1. the boardīs driver 2. Microsoft Internet Explorer 3. the Intercast software The miroSETUP Manager also uses this order. !!! IMPORTANT !!! At the time, the Intercast Viewers is only available in English and in German. 7.20 Intercast installation error message You received the following error message: "ICI***.LRC not loaded" and the setup program exits. Cause: The Intercast Viewer only supports German and English systems at the time. Solution: If you want to install the Intercast Viewer anyway, set the country settings to German or English (Control Panel//Country Selection) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 10.00 miro services You can obtain new drivers at no extra charge via: miro MAILBOX: +49 531 2113-112 Internet: ftp.pinnaclesys.com http://www.pinnaclesys.com http://www.pinnaclesys.de http://www.miro.com CompuServe: GO MIRO ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 11.00 Driver version changes Version 2.00 -> Version 2.10 ---------------------------- - new basis driver (DirectX5 is necessary) - Intercast support [brand new] - Twain driver [brand new] - miroMEDIA Manager is not supported anymore - new miroTELEVISION-application - Windows NT 4.x Version 1.00 -> Version 2.0 --------------------------- - VideoText [brand new] - AV control [brand new] - Radio (Pro version only ) [brand new] - Television - Stereo (Pro version only) [brand new] - Two-channel sound (Pro version only) [brand new] - 16 : 9 format - Format infinitely scalable - Automatic station identification (VPS) - Video - Color formats supported - 8 bit grayscaleY8 - 9 bit YUV9 - 12 bit BTYUV 4:1:1 - 12 bit YUV12 - 16 bit YUY2 4:2:2 - 15 bit RGB - 24 bit RGB - 32 bit RGB - Resolutions supported - PAL - 192 x 144 - 240 x 180 - 320 x 240 - 360 x 288 (CCIR601) - 384 x 288 - 640 x 480 - 768 x 576 - NTSC - 160 x 120 - 240 x 180 - 320 x 240 - 360 x 288 (CCIR601) - 640 x 480