@DATABASE "Default" @NODE "MAIN" "IsisPPC documentation" @TOC "MAIN" IsisPPC - an MPEG-Player for PowerPC-equipped Amiga computers (C) Copyright 1997, 1998 by phase5 digital products Written by André Osterhues @{" Disclaimer " LINK "Disclaimer" } Please read this first @{" Introduction " LINK "Introduction" } What is IsisPPC? And what is MPEG? @{" Requirements " LINK "Requirements" } Which Hard- and Software is required? @{" Installation " LINK "Installation" } How to install IsisPPC? @{" Usage " LINK "Usage" } Things you have to consider @{" Options " LINK "Options" } WB ToolTypes and CLI arguments @{" Preferences " LINK "Preferences" } User's preferred settings @{" FAQ " LINK "FAQ" } Frequently Asked Questions @{" History " LINK "History" } History of versions @{" Bugs " LINK "Bugs" } Also called »Programmfehler« @{" Future " LINK "Future" } What will be supported in the future? @{" Thanks " LINK "Thank you" } Thanks to... @{" Author " LINK "Author" } The one who... @ENDNODE @NODE "Disclaimer" "Disclaimer" @TOC "MAIN" Disclaimer ========== This software contains parts that are Copyright (c) 1995 The Regents of the University of California. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BE LIABLE TO ANY PARTY FOR DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF THIS SOFTWARE AND ITS DOCUMENTATION, EVEN IF THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE. THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ANY WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE SOFTWARE PROVIDED HEREUNDER IS ON AN "AS IS" BASIS, AND THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA HAS NO OBLIGATION TO PROVIDE MAINTENANCE, SUPPORT, UPDATES, ENHANCEMENTS, OR MODIFICATIONS. @ENDNODE @NODE "Introduction" "Introduction" @TOC "MAIN" Introduction ============ IsisPPC is an @{" MPEG " LINK "MPEG"}-Player for Amiga computers. Some Features: - Starts from Workbench as well as from CLI - Display in 8/15/16/24 Bit on Workbench or any Public-Screen (auto-sensing) - Display in 8/15/16/24 Bit on CyberGraphX-Screens - Usage of the Video-@{" Overlay " LINK "Overlay"} in combination with the CyberVision64/3D - @{" Control-Panel " LINK "Usage"} - Automatic resizing at window size change - VideoCD/CD-I support (using external drivers from BurnIt) - Audio support via AHI V4 - Supports MPEG audio layer I-III @ENDNODE @NODE "MPEG" "MPEG" @TOC "MAIN" MPEG ==== The name MPEG refers to the Moving Pictures Experts Group, a consortium of digital video and audio processing experts. In the year 1993, the draft of this group was published by the ISO (International Organization for Standards) and thus declared a standard. There is a distinction between @{" MPEG video " LINK "MPEG video"}, @{" MPEG audio " LINK "MPEG audio"} and @{" MPEG system " LINK "MPEG system"} One of the goals has been to reach as good picture and sound quality as possible using as few storage memory as possible. As an upper bound for storage memory usage, 192 KByte per second was defined. For comparison: Without data compression, just the video data would consume over 3700 KByte per second. Additionally, there would be about 172 KByte per second for sound in stereo CD quality. @ENDNODE @NODE "MPEG video" "MPEG video" @TOC "MAIN" MPEG video ========== In MPEG video, an animation is divided into single pictures, called "frames". There are three different types of frames: I-, P- and B-frames I-frames (intra): ----------------- These frames are compressed similar to the well-known JPEG pictures. Data is stored independantly from previous or following frames. P-frames (predictive): ---------------------- Here, only changes concerning the previous I- or P-frame are stored. To display P-frames, data from the previous I- or P- frame must be decoded and available. B-frames (bidirectionally predictive): -------------------------------------- In B-frames, a steady motion of single picture parts between the previous and the following frame is being searched. In the best case, just the motion itself is coded and stored. B-frames require fewest memory, but can only be decoded after the previous and the following(!) frame has been decoded. A typical sequence of MPEG-frames would be (in order of display): I B B P B B P B B I... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 They would be ordered like this in the MPEG video file: I P B B P B B I B B... 1 4 2 3 7 5 6 10 8 9 With the SKIP option, you can control which types of frames will be decoded and displayed (see @{" Options " LINK "Options"}). @ENDNODE @NODE "MPEG audio" "MPEG audio" @TOC "MAIN" MPEG audio ========== In MPEG audio, we distinguish Layer-I, Layer-II and Layer-III. Together with the number in the term, also the complexity of the Layer increases; while Layer-I and -II are quite easily comprehensible (and can be played in real-time on 68060-equipped Amigas), Layer-III is rather complex. In practise, however, Layer-II is used for most VideoCDs/CD-Is. Layer-III is used for DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) applications. IsisPPC supports playback of all three layers. @ENDNODE @NODE "MPEG system" "MPEG system" @TOC "MAIN" MPEG system =========== Here, @{" MPEG video " LINK "MPEG video"} and @{" MPEG audio " LINK "MPEG audio"} data are stored together in a single file. This method is used mainly for Video CDs. @ENDNODE @NODE "Requirements" "Requirements" @TOC "MAIN" Requirements ============ Minimal configuration: - an Amiga with a PowerPC and 68040 CPU - AmigaOS 2.0 - a graphic card with CyberGraphX support (or AGA with CyberGraphX AGA) - CyberGraphX Version 3.0 (v41) - AHI V4+ - at least 4 MB RAM - a CD-ROM-Drive for VideoCD/CD-I playback Ideal configuration: - PowerPC 604e/200MHz and 68060 CPU - AmigaOS 3.x - a CyberVision64 or CyberVision64/3D - 16 MB RAM or more - a double-speed CD-ROM-Drive Memory requirements: - At least 2 MB free RAM @ENDNODE @NODE "Installation" "Installation" @TOC "MAIN" Installation ============ The installer script will install all required files for you. If you rather want to install IsisPPC by hand, follow these steps: 1. Copy the file IsisPPC into a directory of your choice. 2. Ensure that the following libraries are in the LIBS: drawer: - asl.library - cgxsystem.library - cgxvideo.library, if you want to use the overlay of the CyberVision64/3D - gtlayout.library - ppc.library 3. If you want to use the CD track option of IsisPPC, install these files to the LIBS: drawer: - BurnIt_Master.driver - the BurnIt_Drivers/BurnIt_CDRom subdirectory with the driver for your CD-ROM drive Please make sure you have AHI V4+ installed (can be found on Aminet). @ENDNODE @NODE "Usage" "Usage" @TOC "MAIN" Usage ===== IsisPPC can be started from Workbench as well as from CLI. The ToolTypes and CLI arguments are explained on the @{" Options " LINK "Options"} page. Right after the program start, a control panel will appear. The meaning of most of the tapedeck gadgets should be clear: > Play Start playback or continue after pause || Pause Pause playback or step if already paused << Backward Spool backward >> Forward Spool forward ^ Eject Eject MPEG (Note: this one doesn't quit the program) |< Previous Previous VideoCD track >| Next Next VideoCD track Below the tapedeck gadgets are three additional gadgets: Load Load MPEG and start playback Prefs Set/change @{" preferences " LINK "Preferences"} Quit Exit program There is also a menu with all these options. Keyboard settings (display window has to be activated): - ' ' Play - 'p' 'P' Pause/Step - '<' Backward - '>' Forward - 'e' 'E' Eject - '-' Previous - '+' Next - 'l' 'L' Load - 's' 'S' Prefs - 'q' 'Q' 'ESC' Quit - 'f' 'F' Full window size - 'r' 'R' Reset window size - 'h' 'H' Half window size - 'd' 'D' Double window size - 'z' 'Z' Zoom window - 'a' 'A' Window alignment (improves AGA speed) Should be selected this after dragging the window when using an AGA screen @ENDNODE @NODE "Options" "Options" @TOC "MAIN" Options ======= The following Workbench ToolTypes/CLI arguments are supported: NAME= The name of the MPEG file (with path) SCREEN Display on a 8/15/16/24bit screen PUBSCREEN= Display on a public screen OVERLAY Display in an @{" overlay " LINK "Overlay"} window (only possible with the CyberVision64/3D) COLORKEY Usage of color keying (see @{" Overlay " LINK "Overlay"}) BACKDROP Usage of Workbench-Backdrop (see @{" Overlay " LINK "Overlay"}) SCREENMODE= Screen mode string DEPTH Screen depth DITHER=ORDERED|FS2 Dither mode for 8bit display (ordered or floyd-steinberg2) CDTRACK= Playback from VideoCD/CD-I track FPS Number of frames per second Two values have a special meaning: 0 = as fast as defined in the MPEG file -1 = as fast as possible FAST Faster decompression with lower quality (slightly blurred picture) SKIP= Percentage of frames to be skipped (see also @{" FAQ " LINK "FAQ"}) MUTEAUDIO Turn off audio output LOOP The MPEG film will be repeated after the last frame has been displayed RESTART After playing one MPEG, the file requester pops up again STATS Print timing statistics after playing @ENDNODE @NODE "Preferences" "Preferences" @TOC "MAIN" Preferences =========== Input ----- Input Get MPEG stream from "AmigaDOS file" or "CD track" Default path Default path for file requester Device name SCSI device of CD-ROM drive Device unit SCSI unit of CD-ROM drive Display ------- Display Type of display: "PubScreen", "Screen" or "WB-Backdrop" Overlay Type of overlay: "No overlay", "Overlay" or "Colorkey" Dithering Dither mode for 8bit display (ordered or floyd-steinberg2) PubScreen name Name of PubScreen (if Display is set to "PubScreen") Screen mode Screen mode (if Display is set to "Screen") Speed ----- FPS Number of frames per second Skip Percentage of frames to be skipped Fast Faster decompression with lower quality (slightly blurred picture) Audio ----- AHI unit AHI unit to playback sound (setup with SYS:Prefs/AHI) Volume Sound volume (0 = silent, 100 = loud) Balance Sound balance (-50 = left channel, 0 = centered, 50 = right channel) Mute Turn off audio output Misc ---- Loop The MPEG film will be repeated after the last frame has been displayed Statistics Print timing statistics after playing @ENDNODE @NODE "Overlay" "Overlay" @TOC "MAIN" Overlay ======= The CyberVision64/3D has a special feature compared to convential graphics cards: the overlay. An Overlay is in priciple a rectangular part of the screen, which cannot be hidden by windows or other picture elements. To put it in other words: an overlay is always the frontmost element in the hierarchy. Using the OVERLAY option has the following advantages: 1) The CPU doesn't have to perform a colour space conversion (the conversion from YUV to RGB data is done by the graphics card). 2) The graphics processor also scales the output. That means that it (virtually) doesn't matter if the video is shown in a small window or on the whole screen. So, with an overlay, the graphics output speed is increased strongly Unfortunately, by using an overlay some parts of the original Amiga "look and feel" get lost. The screen on which an overlay is displayed cannot be dragged anymore. Further, it sometimes looks strange if one wants to drag another window on top of the IsisPPC window and the IsisPPC output covers that window. But this effect can be eliminated by using the COLORKEY option (other window can lay above the IsisPPC window then). Colorkey ======== When using color keying, the window background is filled with a specific color. The Overlay is only shown where this color is located. If another window lays above the IsisPPC window, the IsisPPC window's key color is covered by that window and only the non-covered part of the Overlay is displayed. @ENDNODE @NODE "History" "History" @TOC "MAIN" History ======= 20.02.1998 V2.5 Now audio-only files can be played Fixed bug with audio layer I mono files 15.02.1998 V2.4 Double-buffering file I/O 12.02.1998 V2.3 Design bug fixed Output of audio statistics 12.02.1998 V2.2 Improved Prefs design New Prefs subsection "Audio" Optimized audio decoder for layers II and III 06.02.1998 V2.1 Align menu on AGA screens 24.01.1998 V2.0 Bugfixes, completely reworked major parts of program ??.11.1997 V1.20 first public release @ENDNODE @NODE "FAQ" "FAQ" @TOC "MAIN" FAQ === Q: When selecting an MPEG stream with audio, audio playback stutters. A: Increase the "Skip" value in the "Prefs" window to about 50. Click "Use". If audio still stutters, you'll have to increase the value even further. Values >=90 mean "skip all B-frames" and a value of 100 means "skip all B- and P-frames". Take a look at @{" MPEG video " LINK "MPEG video"} for an explanation of B- and P-frames. You might also improve speed a bit by using the FAST option. Q: I use IsisPPC on an AGA screen. When moving the display window, it gets really slow. Why is this and what can I do? A: For AGA display, image data must be converted from chunky to planar and then it is blitted into the Bitmap, which lies in ChipRAM. When the left edge of the display window is not a multiple of 32, data has to be shifted. This requires additional computations, which have to be done in (noncachable) ChipRAM - it gets real slow. When the left edge is a multiple of 32, however, the shifting doesn't need to be done. This improves speed on AGA machines drastically. The "Align" function (from the "Window"-Menu) moves the window in order to assure the left edge lies on a multiple of 32. So, always select "Align" from the menu after dragging the window. @ENDNODE @NODE "Bugs" "Bugs" @TOC "MAIN" Bugs ==== - When using the video overlay (option @{" OVERLAY " LINK "Overlay"}), sometimes patterns appear on the right hand side of the window. This is due to hardware bandwidth limitations and has nothing to do with IsisPPC as other programs using the overlay feature suffer from it as well. The effect gets even stronger when using the COLORKEY option. Solution: Use the "CGXMode" program to decrease the display mode's pixel clock. Check if those stripes still appear and decrease further if necessary. - If you should discover further bugs, please contact the @{" author " LINK "Author"}. @ENDNODE @NODE "Future" "Future" @TOC "MAIN" Future plans ============ - Index feature for VideoCDs/CD-Is with only one track @ENDNODE @NODE "Thank you" "Thanks" @TOC "MAIN" Thanks to (alphabetical order) ============================== - Olaf Barthel, for gtlayout.library - Stefan Burstroem, for the audio decoder - Steve Krueger, for the excellent SAS/C (M68k and PPC) compilers - Frank Mariak, who gave me so much invaluable advice - Robert Reiswig, for the CyberGraphX, PPC, Osiris and Isis support pages and for the installer script - Ralph Schmidt, for ppc.library - Michael Siegel, for the BurnIt drivers and documentation @ENDNODE @NODE "Author" "Author" @TOC "MAIN" Author ====== André Osterhues Meitnerweg 13 D-44227 Dortmund Germany e-mail: osiris@develop.phase5.de The latest version of IsisPPC (as well as of my other programs) can be found here: http://studserver.uni-dortmund.de/~su0583/ Check out the official CyberGraphX support page at: http://www.vgr.com/ @ENDNODE