Compaq Multimedia Services
for OpenVMS Alpha
Run-Time Environment Guide

8.6 How to Use Sleep Hot Spots

If you move the cursor to the extreme lower left corner of the screen, the screen saver will start immediately without waiting for the sleep time to elapse.

As long as the cursor remains in the extreme lower right corner of the screen, the screen saver will be disabled.

8.7 Video Odyssey Options

The following list specifies the present Video Odyssey options:

-bg ColorName
-background ColorName
specifies the background color for the Video Odyssey control panel. Valid names are red, black, steel blue, and so forth. Color names may be substituted with color values.
-f VideoFile
specifies the JPEG-compressed video file to be played back. The file should be in Microsoft's AVI format.
-fg ColorName
-foreground ColorName
specifies the foreground color for the Video Odyssey control panel. Valid names are red, black, blue, and so forth.
-geometry +X_offset +Y_offset
positions the upper left corner of the control panel's window at the specified value relative to the upper left corner of the screen.
-iconic
brings up Video Odyssey as an icon.

Note

Video Odyssey is compute intensive. Video playback rate is highly dependent upon system speed, the number of background processes, and speed of the frame buffer. Video Odyssey is meant for workstations with single users. Enabling Video Odyssey when other users are remotely logged in to the system may result in poor performance for both Video Odyssey and for users who may notice their applications slowing down.

For protection against degrading the system's response time to remotely logged in users, Video Odyssey runs at a low priority. Video Odyssey voluntarily gives up the processor to any other processes running at higher than the lowest system priority.

To find your base priority, type SHOW PROCESS/ALL . Set your base priority to a lower value by typing SET PROCESS/PRIORITY=n where n equals a value lower than the present base priority.

Chapter 9
The AlphaVCR Utility Program

The AlphaVCR utility program records and plays AVI files having both audio and video, plays MPEG files, and records single frames in .bmp format.

When invoked, the AlphaVCR utility program brings up the AlphaVCR menu bar and the AlphaVCR television screen (see Figure 9-1).

Figure 9-1 AlphaVCR Television Screen

Note

AlphaVCR can play AVI files that contain JPEG and Motion JPEG format compressed video data, and 8-bit X image and YUV uncompressed video data. It can also play files containing 24-bit X image data, but this format requires either the FullVideo Supreme (AV301) or FullVideo Supreme JPEG (AV321) option module.

AlphaVCR can play MPEG-1 files but not MPEG-2 files. AlphaVCR cannot play Cinepak or Quicktime files. The File Info menu lists the video format for AVI or MPEG files.

9.1 Syntax for AlphaVCR

To invoke the AlphaVCR utility program, create a foreign command. The following example defines the symbol alphavcr as a foreign command:

$ alphavcr :== $SYS$SYSTEM:MMOV$ALPHAVCR.EXE

AlphaVCR uses the following command line options:

[-live]
plays live video and audio on startup as captured by a videocamera or any other input source such as a videocassette recorder or a television signal.

[-play filename]
plays a specified AVI or MPEG file on startup.

[-out filename]
plays a file specified on startup to the output device.

[-record filename]
records the AVI file specified on startup. You cannot record MPEG files. When recording, the default audio format is 11 kHz 16-bit PCM.

[-pal]
tells the program to use the PAL video format. This option applies only to the Live Video and Record modes.

[-secam]
tells the program to use the SECAM video format. This option applies only to the Live Video and Record modes.

[-ntsc]
tells the program to use the NTSC video format. This option applies only to the Live Video and Record modes. This is the default format.

[-colormap type]
specifies which colormap type for AlphaVCR to use. The two types are default (for default colormap) and private (for private colormap). To get the correct colors while playing 8-bit X image format files, you must use the private colormap. A 24-bit X graphics display automatically uses the private colormap. When using the private colormap for 8-bit X image format files, the display will flash while the cursor is in the TV screen. This flashing does not occur when using a 24-bit graphics display.

[-graphics type]
specifies the display image format. The two formats are X image (default) and YUV. Type ximage to specify X image format and type yuv to specify YUV format. If you play an 8-bit X image file, you must use the X image display type using either YUV or X image display.

The -graphics YUV option displays YUV format images. When using a 24-bit graphics display, this option will display a true color image instead of an 8-bit dithered image. The -graphics YUV option requires graphics hardware that supports YUV display. If you choose YUV display and it is not supported on your system, AlphaVCR automatically uses X image display instead.

When using YUV display, display images are scaled up using the graphics hardware. This results in much better performance for large image sizes for both 8- and 24-bit displays, especially for full screen display. This also results in more scaling options for playing MPEG files. For Live Video, the maximum capture size when using YUV display is 320 x 240 for NTSC, and 384 x 288 for PAL and SECAM. To capture full frame sizes during Live Video, use X image display. For Record AVI File, a File Image Size of "double" will capture and record full frame images.

[-exit]
exits the program once the operation is complete.

[-loop mode]
tells the program whether or not to continuously play the specified file. The two mode types are off and on. Off (default) tells the program to play the file once (do not loop). On tells the program to loop while playing.

[-nowait]
tells the program to start the operation without waiting for the user to click on the designated function button for that operation. Unless this switch is used, the operation will not immediately start. Nowait is functional on initial operation, and only if an additional operation has been chosen in the command line.

[-help]
displays help information.

9.2 AlphaVCR Menus

The AlphaVCR utility control panel menus are described in the following sections.

9.2.1 File Menu

The following items are available under the File menu:

Play File
Prompts for a file name and displays the TV screen, the player component, and the status area. This option is used to play either an AVI file or an MPEG file. The first frame of the file will be displayed. Click on the Play button to start playing the file and the Pause button to stop it. While the play is stopped, you can move to a position within the file using the slider. This will display the video frame at that position. You can also play the file in fast forward or fast reverse by pressing the appropriate keys. To stop playing in fast forward or fast reverse, click on the Pause button. Figure 9-2 shows the AlphaVCR player component and status area.
Figure 9-2 AlphaVCR Component and Status Area

The TV controls can be used to adjust the image displayed on the screen. The status area displays the current frame number and number of video frames being displayed per second.
Record AVI File
Prompts for an AVI file name and displays the TV screen, the record component, and the status area. The video and audio will be started, but nothing will be written to the file until you click on the Record button. Clicking on the Pause button will stop and restart the sending of data to the file. Clicking on the Stop button will stop and close the file. At this point, you will not be able to do anything more with the Record button. If you want to record another file, choose Record File from the File menu again.
The TV controls can adjust the image displayed on the screen, but have no effect on the image written to the file. The status area displays a running total of the number of frames recorded, plus the average number of video frames being recorded per second. The total includes frames that have both audio and video, and audio only. The frame rate (average number of frames per second) counts only the video frames being output to the file.
You can also use Record AVI File to "snap" a frame from an AVI file. The following steps describe how to do a frame snap:
1. Choose Record.
2. Choose a file.
3. Start recording the file.
4. Pause the file and click on the mouse button to take a snapshot of the displayed frame.
Play to Output Device
Prompts for a file name and displays the TV screen, the player component, and the status area. The first frame of the file will be displayed. Click on the Play button to start playing the file and the Pause button to stop it. While the play is stopped, you can move to a position within the file using the slider. This will display the video frame at that position.
Some file formats (for example, YUV and X image 24-bit formats) will display the image to only the output device and not to the AlphaVCR TV screen.
The TV controls can be used to adjust the image displayed on the screen. These controls will not affect the image displayed on the output device. The status area displays the frame number being played and the frame rate to the output device.
Live Video
Displays the TV screen and automatically starts displaying the video and outputting the audio. The controls are available in the display settings screen.
The status area displays the current video capture frame rate.
Save As...
Saves the current file that is being played to a new format.
You can use AlphaVCR to capture and save a single frame file while in Play, Record, or Live mode. The following steps describe how to perform this single frame capture:
1. Pull down the AlphaVCR File menu.
2. Click on Save As.... A File Selection screen is displayed.
3. Select Frame from the Class field in the AlphaVCR File Selection Screen.
4. Select either BMP or PPM as a file format type.
5. Enter a file name.
6. Click on OK to capture (grab) a frame.
Figure 9-3 shows the AlphaVCR TV screen with a paused frame.
Figure 9-3 AlphaVCR Television Screen with Paused Frame

You can also use AlphaVCR to record and compress an AVI file. This can be done during Play File or Video Out in YUV format only (uncompressed). The following steps describe how to record and compress a movie clip:
1. Pull down the Options menu.
2. Click on Record/Live Settings.
3. Choose YUV or YUV, No Display from File Record Formats. Click on OK.
4. Pull down the File menu.
5. Click on Record AVI File.
6. Record the file.
7. Bring up the File menu. Click on Play or Video Out.
8. Choose the movie.
9. While the file is open, click on Save As....
10. Choose a file format. The choices are JPEG monochrome, JPEG color, and Motion JPEG color.
11. Enter a file name.
12. Choose a compression quality factor (0 to 100).
13. Click on OK.
Info...
Prompts for a file name and brings up a separate screen describing the file format, number of frames, and if the file has audio and/or video. Other video information includes number of bits per pixel to distinguish the 8-bit
X image format from the 24-bit X image format. If you choose Info..., any other function being performed, such as Play File, will be terminated.
You cannot use this menu item for MPEG files.
Exit
Exits from the AlphaVCR utility.

9.2.2 Options Menu

The following items are available under the Options menu:

Audio Settings
This item sets up the input and output settings for the audio device and audio format. The input settings are used for Live Video and Record. When this item is selected, an Audio Settings screen is displayed. Figure 9-4 shows an Audio Settings screen.
Figure 9-4 AlphaVCR Audio Settings Screen

The screen is divided into an Input Audio and an Output Audio area. The Input Audio area has a Device box in which you select the audio hardware device from the list of available devices. It also has a Format box that lets you select an audio format. The Output Audio area has only a Device box.
For Live Video, the output audio format will be the same as the input audio format. When you play a file, the output audio format is the same as the audio format used when the file was recorded.
Record/Live Settings
Click on this item to bring up the AlphaVCR Record/Live Settings screen. Figure 9-5 shows the AlphaVCR Record/Live Settings screen.
Figure 9-5 AlphaVCR Record/Live Settings Screen

This screen shows video device settings that affect Record AVI File and Live Video. Record/Live Settings cannot be selected when the capture devices are active during Live or Record. These settings include:
- Hardware Device (Video Capture Device)
  The Hardware Device setting is the selected input video capture device to be used during the session.
  Clicking on this setting displays the available video capture devices.
- Video Standard
  The Video Standard setting choices are PAL, NTSC, SECAM, SVIDEO525, and SVIDEO626. Clicking on one of these choices selects the video standard format.
- Input Port
  The Input Port 1 and Input Port 2 settings identify the input port number being used for this session. The chosen Video Standard setting determines if the port selection is available.
- File Record Format
  The File Record Format setting choices are Motion JPEG Color, Motion JPEG Color No Display, JPEG Color, X image 8-bit, X image 24-bit, and YUV No Display. The formats shown in the Record File Format setting menu are those supported for the selected capture device.
  Click on the preferred setting. If the Motion JPEG, JPEG, or X image 8-bit formats are used, the output may be shown both on the display screen and the output device. This is currently supported by the FullVideo Supreme JPEG card. Other devices may not display the output on both the display screen and the output device.
- Compression Quality Factor
  When recording in JPEG format, a Compression Quality Factor slider will appear in the Video Selections dialog box. This slider allows you to choose the quality factor for your recording. Moving the slider to the right improves the image quality but requires more disk space. When the image quality increases, the output performance (frame rate per second) decreases.
  Moving the slider to the left reduces image quality and requires less disk space. As the image quality decreases, the output performance (frame rate per second) increases. If space is a consideration, you may want to choose the lowest acceptable image quality.
  After a file is recorded, a status box is displayed. The status box would display the following information:
  newfile.avi 224 frames recorded (7.5 seconds) at nominal rate of 29.97 fps 1 frames dropped (0.4%) Total size 0.497 MBytes (66.5 KBytes/second)
  The nominal rate is the same as the file record rate. To reduce the number of dropped frames or reduce the size of the file adjust both the File Record Rate and the Compression Quality Factor. File size can also be reduced by changing the Image Size in the Display Settings screen (see Figure 9-6).
- File Image Size
  The File Image Size setting sets the image size that will be used when recording a file. The default size is 320 x 240 for NTSC, and 384 x 288 for PAL and SECAM. While recording, the size of the image displayed on the screen will be the same as the file image size, and the display image size setting will be ignored.
- File Record Rate
  The file record rate setting brings up a menu to select the frame rate for recording a file. The menu selections are:
  - Full
    This is the default. The full rate is 30 frames per second for NTSC and 25 frames per second for PAL/SECAM.
  - One-half
    This selection will record the file at half the full rate (15 frames per second or 12.5 frames per second).
  - One-third
    This selection will record the file at one third of the full rate.
  - One-quarter
    This selection will record the file at one fourth of the full rate.
  Figure 9-6 shows the AlphaVCR Display Settings screen.
  Figure 9-6 AlphaVCR Display Settings Screen
  
  Figure 9-6 contains the following controls:
- Brightness Control
  The brightness control is the left-most control. Click on the right arrow to brighten the display. Click on the left arrow to darken the display. If unavailable, this control is grayed out. This usually occurs when playing 8-bit X image format AVI files and when using the -graphics YUV display option.
- Contrast Control
  The contrast control is the center control. Click on the right arrow to increase the contrast. Click on the left arrow to reduce the contrast. If unavailable, this control is grayed out. This usually occurs when playing 8-bit X image format AVI files and when using the -graphics YUV display option.
- Saturation Control
  The saturation control is the right-most control. Click on the right arrow to increase the saturation. Click on the left arrow to reduce the saturation. If unavailable, this control is grayed out. This usually occurs when playing 8-bit X image format AVI files and when using the -graphics YUV display option.
- Image Size
  This screen contains Image Size. The Image Size menu offers the following choices:
  Default Size
  Half Size
  Quarter Size
  Double Size
  Triple Size
  
  Default Size is 320 x 240 for NTSC and SVIDEO525 and 384 x 288 for PAL, SECAM, and SVIDEO625 for Live and Record File. For Play File and Play to Output Device, whatever size image is in the file is used as the default. The other settings are 1/2, 1/4, 2 times, or 3 times these values, respectively.
  If the Image Size is set to Half Size, the image in the video window will be 160 x 120. Unless nothing is currently active, this selection takes effect immediately.
  Image Size may be limited to the software codes and hardware that you are using with your system.
  For Live Video, these settings determine the size of the image on the screen. For Play File and Video Out, they also determine the size of the image displayed on the screen, based on the size of the image in the file.
  For Video Out, the image sent to the output device is not affected. (Basically, the output image always fills the TV screen.) For some data formats (such as MPEG), the decompressors will not always be able to perform the appropriate scaling. In these cases, a warning message displays and the size is set back to the previous value. If this happens when the file is originally brought up, an " unsupported video format " error is displayed instead.
  For Record File, the Image Size is used both on the screen and for the data written to the file. The Image Size can only be changed during Preview mode. Once the Record button has been pressed and data is sent to the file, the size cannot be changed.
The File Playback screen contains the settings used for Play File and for Play to Output Device. Figure 9-7 contains the AlphaVCR File Playback Settings screen.
Figure 9-7 File Playback Settings Screen
- Decompression Device
  The output video device and output video standard entries are used for Play to Output Device. The menu for the decompression device used for Play File is similar to the following menu:
  Default
  Compaq MPEG
  Compaq SoftJPG
  
  The menu will list only those devices that are available (installed). AlphaVCR will choose the Default decompression device based on the type of file being played. The Default device should be used most of the time. The other items should be used to specify Software JPEG instead of hardware JPEG. If a device is chosen to play a file with a different format, a warning message will be displayed and AlphaVCR will automatically select and use the correct decompressor.
  For output video, these settings include:
  - Hardware Device
    The Hardware Device setting is the selected output video device to be used during the session. Video capture is used for Live Video and Record AVI File.
    Clicking on this setting displays the available video capture devices.
  - Video Standard
    The Video Standard setting choices are PAL, NTSC, SECAM, SVIDEO525, and SVIDEO626.
  All selections take effect immediately.

9.2.3 Help Menu

When you choose On Version from the Help menu, the title page AlphaVCR Help is displayed. You can view the version, date, and trademark information for the AlphaVCR utility.

Contents

Index

Compaq Multimedia Services for OpenVMS AlphaRun-Time Environment Guide