Transport Controller Equipment Compatibility Guide 29 Dec 88 by Mike Berro (c) Mike Berro All Rights Reserved Views expressed herein are the author's only. All prices, specifications and opinions subject to change without notice. Information is provided as-is, and no guarantee is provided by author as to it's accuracy. 1.0 Requirements 1.1 Computer: Transport Controller runs on an Amiga 500, 1000 or 2000 computer with 512K and one disk drive. To record animations on the Amiga 500 or 2000, a "genlock" or "encoder" must be used to convert the RGB output to standard video (whether NTSC or PAL), acceptable to the VCR. Encoders include the Creative Microsystems Inc. (CMI) model V-I500 and V-I2000, which each list for about $60. Genlocks include the Commodore 1300 (for the 1000) and 2300 (for the 2000), Mimetics' AmiGen, Progressive Peripherals' ProGen, Digital Creations' SuperGen, the Neriki and the Magni. 1.2 Interface Hardware and VCR: Currently, a hardware interface device is required between the Amiga and the VCR to be controlled. This device is usually called a Video Animation Controller (VAC). The VAC connects to the Amiga via the serial port, and to the VCR by means of a special cable supplied with the VAC. Each VAC on the market supports a different range of VCRs. If you currently use a VCR supported by one or more of the available VACs, then you must choose one of those VACs. The difference between VACs (other than which VCRs they support) is primarily in their ease of setup and use. Generally, the more expensive units are easier to setup and quicker to use, and more reliable as well. However, the end results are the same, because all of the VACs supported by Transport Controller are completely frame-accurate. If you are putting together a system from scratch, you will no doubt want to select a VCR that best suits your needs. Format is the first choice you must make, which includes VHS, S-VHS (Super VHS), 3/4", 3/4" SP, or 1". This choice is primarily based on your budget (as are most choices in video). Once you have chosen the format, refer to table 1 for a list of VCRs that are currently compatible with Transport Controller. This list shows which VACs will work with each VCR. At this point, you may want to contact your dealer or the manufacturers directly to get the latest prices for the VACs, which as of this writing start at $2000. The price of the VAC may affect your selection of VCR. It may be that you want to record to various formats, and not be tied to one model VCR. Some of the VACs must be ordered for a particular model (e.g. the Videomedia VLAN), while others work with a wide range of VCRs (e.g. the Lyon Lamb) by simply changing the cable. In the latter case, Transport Controller allows you to select the model number from the Amiga! 2.0 Software Applications 2.1 Recording Animations: Recording animations is the primary purpose for Transport Controller. Transport Controller allows you to overcome the two basic limitations of the Amiga, speed and memory. For high-resolution and/or overscan images, the Amiga is just not fast enough to playback at 15 frames per second (the standard rate for smooth animation in NTSC) or 12.5 frames per second (in PAL). You are also limited as to the length of the animation that can reside in memory. Although compression schemes allow greater lengths, they also do not playback an animation at a constant rate. Rather, the speed of decompression is dependent on the pixel difference between one frame and the next. This is not suitable for professional timed animations. Transport Controller allows you to record animations of any length at any video frame rate on the minimum Amiga system (see Hardware Requirements, above). It does this in one of two ways: it loads and records each frame one at a time from a disk ("page-flipping"), or, in the case of rendered images, it records each frame immediately after it is rendered. In the latter case, neither extra memory or extra disks are required! 2.2 Page Flipping Transport Controller is supplied with a page-flipping program on the disk called TC-PageFlip. TC-PageFlip operates in three modes; Manual, Script and Sequence. In Manual mode, you must type in the filename of each image. After you type in the name, TC-PageFlip loads the image and records it onto the tape. In Script mode, you must first create a script using a text processor, such as "ED" (on the Amiga Workbench disk). The script automates the process of loading and recording each image file. This also allows you to specify the duration of each image, allowing, for example, a title screen to be recorded for a long duration. Scripts can be "chained" together, so that one script calls another. In Sequence mode, files are displayed and recorded according to a sequence of numbers in the filename. If you are creating your own images, simply save them in sequential filenames (such as file1, file2,... file34). If you are using a program that generates images for you, the program will create sequential filenames automatically. If all of the files will not fit on one disk, TC-PageFlip will prompt you to insert each disk. The ultimate in page flipping is Cel Animator, also by MicroIllusions. Cel Animator allows you to preview the animation in memory, so that you can both edit and fine-tune it. Cel Animator also contains a direct interface to Transport Controller, so that you need not save and load files from disk to record them. A complete tutorial on using Transport Controller is included in the Cel Animator manual. 2.3 Rendering The rendering interface in Transport Controller is the most efficient method for recording animations. This obviates the need for either extra memory or for disk swapping. Currently, Aegis' Videoscape 3D version 2 supports the rendering interface. Work is proceeding on incorporating the rendering interface into other programs as well. Contact the publishers of you favorite software to enquire if their latest version supports Transport Controller. The rendering interface greatly simplifies recording animations. You just set the starting location of the recording, and the duration of each image (e.g. 2 frames for 15 frames per second in NTSC), and then put Transport Controller into "Remote" mode. You then ignore Transport Controller. Now you run the rendering program as you normally would. When an image is rendered, the program stops and waits. At this point Transport Controller takes over the VCR and records the image. When the recording is complete, the rendering program is notified, and begins rendering the next image. Since some renderers may take hours to render each image, the advantages of unattended recording should be obvious. If you do not want to record the rendered images, you can "disconnect" Transport Controller from the rendering program without quitting either program. You do this by exiting the "Remote" mode on Transport Controller. 2.4 TimeLapse Video Photography: Transport Controller is very useful for producing time-lapse video sequences. A program called TimeLapse is supplied on the disk that allows you to set the time-lapse interval from between 5 and 99 seconds. In addition, you can set a "wake- up" time for the recording to begin (useful for sunrise sequences). The uses for time-lapse photography are many, but have not been thoroughly explored because up until now it was very expensive. Now it is within reach of even the amateur. Time-lapse has primarily been the domain of film cameras, which require film developing before you can view the result to see if it was what you wanted. With Transport Controller, you can see the result as it is being recorded! This is due to the five second preroll before each frame is recorded. It is a fascinating process to watch. Besides the obvious artistic uses, practical applications include scientific studies of plants, animals and the weather, engineering studies of traffic flow (both automotive and human), and in a retail environment, studies of customer interests (for example, determining which displays attract the most attention). Transport Controller has made watching grass grow an interesting experience! ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 1: VCR Compatibility Manufacturer Model Number VAC Manufacturer Sony SLP-303,305 BCD VO-2611,2811 BCD VO-2850,2860 BCD 5850 Videomedia, Lyon Lamb, BCD BVU series Videomedia, Lyon Lamb, BCD BVW series Videomedia, Lyon Lamb BVH series Videomedia, Lyon lamb BKU-701 Videomedia JVC CR-600 Videomedia CR-850 Videomedia, Lyon Lamb, BCD BR-8600 Videomedia 6650 Videomedia 8250 Videomedia BR-6400(w/mod) BCD Panasonic MII Videomedia AG-6500 Videomedia, Pico Systems, Lyon Lamb, BCD AG-7500 Videomedia, Pico Systems, Lyon Lamb, BCD NV-9200A,9500A BCD NV-9240,9600 BCD NV-8170,8200 BCD NV-8500 BCD AG-6100,6200,6300 BCD Ampex VPR-2 Lyon Lamb VPR-3 Videomedia, Lyon Lamb VPR-6 Videomedia VPR-80 Videomedia, Lyon Lamb Hitachi HR-210 Lyon Lamb ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 2: Video Animation Controller Hardware Manufacturers BCD Associates 205 Broadway Tech Center 7510 N. Broadway Ext. Oklahoma City, OK 73116 (405) 843-4574 Lyon Lamb Video Animation Systems, Inc 4531 Empire Avenue Burbank, CA 91505 (818) 843-4831 Pico Systems 819 Marshall Avenue Webster Groves, MO 63119 (314) 962-6103 Videomedia Professional Television Systems 211 Weddell Drive Sunnyvale, CA 94089-1674 (408) 745-1700 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Table 3: Red Tape The following are registered trademarks: Aegis Ampex BCD Associates Commodore Hitachi Impulse JVC Lyon Lamb Magni Mimetics Neriki Octree Panasonic Progressive Peripherals ProGen Sony Videomedia