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Computer Concepts Eagle M2 User Manual

Multimedia expansion card
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Summary of Contents for Computer Concepts Eagle M2

  • Page 2 USER GUIDE...
  • Page 3 Manual issue 1.4 January 1994 Computer Concepts and Wild Vision have no direct control over the use to which this product is put and therefore offer no warranty, implied or otherwise, relating to its use for any purpose other than that for which it is intended.

  • Page 4: Table Of Contents

    Contents About this manual Typographic conventions Mouse buttons 1. Introduction About MultiMedia The Eagle package What Eagle can do... Abbreviations System requirements Movie-making Possible extras The internal speaker 15-bit and 24-bit display The applications suite 2. Installation What you should have received Installing the Eagle expansion card Remove the computer's cover Archimedes only...
  • Page 5 4. Viewing and grabbing images Viewing a live video image Grabbing a still image Grabbing a movie Grabbing a movie soundtrack Viewing movies Playing only the soundtrack 5. TakeTwo Live display window Picture controls dialogue box Grab choices dialogue box 6.

  • Page 6: About This Manual

    About this manual This manual describes the key aspects of the Eagle MultiMedia package: the expansion card itself, hardware connections and peripherals, and its associated software. It describes in depth the use of software applications which are provided exclusively with this product.

  • Page 8: Introduction

    1 . I n t r o d u c t i o n About MultiMedia Taken literally, the term 'MultiMedia' implies the use of many different kinds of communication media to convey a single message. However in recent years the word has earned a more specific meaning, namely the combination of a computer with video, audio and the printed page, united for the purpose of adding colour and depth to the information presentation process, with the help of a...

  • Page 9: What Eagle Can Do

    1. Introduction What Eagle can do... It can receive video signals from a wide variety of sources (from, for example, a camcorder or VCR) and then: • Display the moving image in a window on-screen. (You can watch TV on your computer monitor.) •...

  • Page 10: Abbreviations

    1. Introduction Please return your product registration card to ensure swift technical support and eligibility for any future software upgrades. Abbreviations These abbreviations are used in this manual: bpp bits-per-pixel – measures colour depth. fps frames-per-second – measures the video frame rate. System requirements Eagle can be used with Acorn computers having standard, half- width expansion slots.

  • Page 11: Possible Extras

    1. Introduction If you wish to use your Eagle card for movie-making you will require a computer with: • at least 4 Megabytes RAM, • a high-data-rate hard disc (IDE or SCSI), • an ARM3 processor. The only Acorn computers that meet these requirements as standard are the A5000 (4 MB+ versions) and A540.

  • Page 12: 15-Bit And 24-Bit Display

    1. Introduction 15-bit and 24-bit display A multisync monitor greatly enhances the functionality of the Eagle. It is recommended that a monitor such as the AKF18, normally minimum supplied with the A5000, is the specification monitor that should be considered. To appreciate fully the quality of the live image display facility of the Eagle it is best to use 15-bit display modes.
  • Page 13 1. Introduction On AudioWorks disc 1: !AudioCtrl– this has two uses: • to play audio samples, and • to set-up audio parameters. !AudioWrks– use this to record and play back audio samples. For more information on these applications, refer to the Audio- Works manual.

  • Page 14: Installation

    2. Installation Caution! Static electricity can damage the Eagle expansion card. Store the card hi its protective bag until you install it, and do not allow the board to come into contact with static-productive materials such as man-made fibres, wool, polystyrene or plastic bags not designated anti-static.

  • Page 15: Remove The Computer's Cover Archimedes Only

    2. Installation Tools The only tool required is a No. 2 (medium) cross-head screwdriver. Disconnect power Before installing the Eagle, switch off the power to the computer. However, leave the power lead connected. Disconnect all other leads to the computer. Remove anything (such as a monitor) that may be on top of the case.

  • Page 16: A5000 Only

    2. Installation Remove the computer's cover — A5000 only The cover is secured by six screws (three each side) located underneath the case. Take care tilting or lifting the A5000 as the screw-heads can scratch a wooden or polished surface. Remove all six screws.

  • Page 17: Connecting The Ribbon Cable

    2. Installation Connecting the ribbon cable... The ribbon cable supplied is for connecting the Eagle to the computer's internal sound system. This option is not possible for users of the A3000 (see System requirements). Caution! Incorrectly connecting the ribbon cable can damage your computer. Carefully follow the instructions in this manual and pay particular attention to the orientation of the cable.
  • Page 18 2. Installation an Archimedes 300 & 400 series ...on The cable plugs into connector PL2 on the far right of the Archimedes circuit board, partly under the right-hand expansion card (looking from the front of the machine). Note that the cable turns through 180°...

  • Page 19: Fitting The Expansion Card Archimedes & A5000

    2. Installation an A5000 ...on The cable plugs into connector LK3, which is towards the centre of the A5000 circuit hoard. Make sure the cable is not twisted; the rearmost pin on the Eagle card connects to the rearmost pin on the A5000 circuit hoard. Fitting the expansion card —...

  • Page 20: A3000

    2. Installation Fitting the Eagle expansion card — A3000 Before plugging Eagle into an A3000 you must change two links on the Eagle card. These are: LK4 and LK5 Change both jumpers from pins 2-3 to 1-2. (Pin 1 is marked with a dot.) The position of these links is shown in 9.

  • Page 21: Copying The Software

    2. Installation Copying the software Copying !ARMovie, !ARPlayer & !MultSound These are on the Replay disc and are in compressed format. ! ARMovie is used by TakeTwo to record and play movies. As described earlier in The applications suite, !ARPlayer and !MultSound duplicate functions provided by TakeTwo and AudioWorks.

  • Page 22: Updating !System

    2. Installation RInstall copies !RCompress into the same directory as !ARMovie. (! RCompress controls the compression routines and is described later.) If you have an existing version of !ARMovie, the compres- sion routines inside !ARMovie are updated if necessary. RInstall fronts the directory window showing !ARMovie and ! RCompress.
  • Page 23 2. Installation...

  • Page 24: Getting Started

    3. Getting started Connecting a video input Eagle provides two video connectors: • a 4-pin mini-DIN connector for S-Video sources, and • a BNC (bayonet-style) connector for Composite video ( standard VHS) sources. Different manufacturers use alternative names: • S-Video may be called Hiband, S-VHS, Hi8.

  • Page 25: Connecting An Audio Input

    Getting started Make sure that power is supplied to your video source. In particular, users of the Canon Ion camera should note that a time-out function may come into operation if the camera is left standing for a time. See 8.

  • Page 26: Playback Using The Computer's Internal Speaker

    3. Getting started Use !AudioCtrl to set the variables affecting the level and quality of the sound being played back - refer to the Audio options section. Playback using the computer's internal speaker To play back through the computer's internal sound system using Eagle's superior sound reproduction facilities, the ribbon cable must be connected.

  • Page 27: Connection To Midi

    3. Getting started Connection to MIDI Caution! Use only the MIDI cable supplied. A cable has been supplied especially for use with the Eagle's MIDI circuitry. This terminates in three 5-pin DIN sockets, for: • MIDI in (blue hand), • MIDI out (red band) and •...

  • Page 28: Viewing And Grabbing Images

    4. Viewing and grabbing images This section provides an overview of using the facilities in Eagle. Later sections give more details. Viewing a live video image Load TakeTwo. (Refer to 5. TakeTwo for a detailed description of this application.) You can either: •...

  • Page 29: Grabbing A Movie

    4. Viewing and grabbing images To grab an image: 1 Load !Scanner. 2 Click on the Scanner icon on the icon bar. This opens the Scan dialogue box. 3 When ready to grab the image, click on Scan. This opens a window (called the Original window) showing the grab.
  • Page 30 4. Viewing and grabbing images Grab choices 3 Display the dialogue box either using Grab choices on the TakeTwo menu or by clicking on the live display window. Replay. 4 Set the file format to Grab choices dialogue box 5 Set up the file save path – see more information.

  • Page 31: Grabbing A Movie Soundtrack

    4. Viewing and grabbing images Grabbing a movie soundtrack You can grab just the soundtrack (and not the associated video image) by using AudioWorks to produce a sound sample. This is described in detail in the AudioWorks manual. Viewing movies Before you can play a movie, the !ARMovie application must have been "seen"...

  • Page 32: Taketwo

    5. TakeTwo TakeTwo is a digitising program written especially for Eagle. It makes full use of the 24-bit video capabilities of the Eagle video hardware. It provides the necessary controls to: • display a video image, • capture still images in colour or monochrome, •...

  • Page 33: Live Display Window

    5. TakeTwo Live display window This window displays the received video image. If the window is black, the picture is unstable or the colours are wrong, you need to change the Video settings in the Picture controls dialogue box ( described below).

  • Page 34: Picture Controls Dialogue Box

    5. TakeTwo Pause has no effect. Frame advance has no effect. Mute has no effect. When replaying a movie: Record has no effect Stop stops the movie. Play starts or resumes playing a pre-recorded movie. (Refer to Playing a movie.) Pause freezes the current image in the window.
  • Page 35 5. TakeTwo Composite selects input from the BNC connector on the Eagle hack panel. This is suitable for standard CC1R sources, such as Video cameras, recorders, and so on. S-Video selects input from the 4-pin mini-DIN connector on the Eagle hack panel. This is suitable for S-Video (S-VHS) sources, including Hi-8.
  • Page 36 5. TakeTwo Auto-Zoom/Pan & Scan These affect the scaling of the live image. Auto-Zoom – this switches to an image scaling function, where resizing the window automatically scales the whole of the video image to fit within the window. The aspect ratio of the image adheres to the chosen shape of the window and may therefore be distorted vertically or horizontally to achieve "squashed"...

  • Page 37: Grab Choices Dialogue Box

    5. TakeTwo Grab choices dialogue box To display this either: • choose Grab choices from the TakeTwo menu, or • click Select on the live display window. This dialogue box sets options for grabbing an image or movie. However, an image grab is not initiated from this box but from the Record button on the live display window.
  • Page 38 5. TakeTwo Clear— this format also allows "deep-colour" images. Some older applications can display Clear format but not deep- colour Sprites. Replay— the Acorn digital movie format. File icon and editable field These let you tell the computer where to save the grab: 1 Type a suitable file name into the editable field.
  • Page 39 5. TakeTwo Still frame grabs: Format Options: Sprite 8bpp, 15bpp, 24bpp TIFF 15bpp, 24bpp Clear 24bpp Replay see movie grabs (below) Number of colours: 8bpp 15bpp 32 thousand (approximately) million (approximately) 24bpp 16.7 Which option you choose is based on: •...
  • Page 40 5. TakeTwo M o v i e g r a b s : Format This menu is in two parts – Replay movie save options and sampling format. For more information on sampling format, refer in the AudioWorks manual. Introduction Replay save options: ESCaPE–...
  • Page 41 TakeTwo Rate This menu is in two parts – frame rate and audio frequency. You have a possible choice of12.5 or 25 fps, depending on the hardware resources available. 25 fps gives better results but requires more memory and processor power.

  • Page 42: Audio Options

    6. Audio options AudioWorks gives extensive audio manipulation options. It lets Eagle users create and play back audio samples in stereo or mono and up to 12 bit in resolution. Detailed instructions on using AudioWorks are given in the accompanying manual. However, AudioWorks includes extra features when used in conjunction with an Eagle card.
  • Page 43 6. Audio options When Eagle is installed in your computer, an Eagle option appears in the !A udioCtrl preferences window. Clicking upon the Eagle icon opens the mixer preferences window: This window allows you to configure the Eagle mixer settings to adjust signal levels for the sound input and output channels.
  • Page 44 6. Audio options Normal operation Sampling Using the mixer controls...
  • Page 45 6. Audio options • the computer's internal (VIDC) sound system, and • the line input socket at the back of the Eagle card. Monitor Line Out This controls the output volume from Eagle's line out. There are further options available at the bottom of the window: Sampling Gain control The input signal can be boosted with two different gain levels ( Low, 0.5V r.m.s.

  • Page 46: Acorn Movie Compression Routines And Rcompress

    7. Acorn movie compression routines and RCompress Acorn movie compression routines These are an alternative to the optional Eidos ESCaPE routines. The Acorn routines compress movies in two stages. They operate on the stored movie. (Unlike ESCaPE, which can compress a 12.5fps movie as it is stored to disc.) However, they let you compress 25fps movies.

  • Page 47: Acorn Movie Compression Routines !Rcompress

    7. Acorn movie compression routines & RCompress You can then play the movie to check it. If the quality is satisfac- tory, you can delete the exploded movie directory and the original, uncompressed movie. !RCompress Load !RCompress in the usual way by double-clicking on it. Setting the compress options Click on the !RCompress icon on the icon bar to display a dialogue box:...
  • Page 48 7. Acorn movie compression routines & RCompress movie from any key frame. (Applications such as TakeTwo and ARPlayer always play movies from the beginning. Therefore, this option is only useful if you want to use the compressed movie with editing software.) The disadvantage is that compression is less efficient.
  • Page 49 7. Acorn movie compression routines & RCompress Output quality This specifies the minimum permitted compression. The default values are those recommended by Acorn. You can specify the output quality in three different ways: Data rate/latency This lets you set a quality suitable for a particular storage device.
  • Page 50 7. Acorn movie compression routines & RCompress Make any changes you wish to the editable fields and then click Compress. This displays a standard Save box. The default name of the directory is the first eight characters of the original movie name with _E appended. For example, if the original movie is called Gerry Wave, the compression directory is called GerryWav_E You can rename this file if you wish.
  • Page 51 7. Acorn movie compression routines & RCompress Either: • drag the icon from the Save box to a suitable directory window, or • click OK to save the joined movie in the same directory as the exploded movie. We recommend playing the movie to check it before deleting the exploded movie.

  • Page 52: If Problems Occur

    The ABI module covers the user interface of TakeTwo and other Computer Concepts applications. The above error message means that the application requires a more recent version of ABI than is currently in your !System folder: To remedy this, run !SysMerge – see 2.

  • Page 53: Live Display Is Greyscale Only

    8. If problems occur... If the window remains black, the reason could be: Picture controls • dialogue box is not set-up correctly (set Video Source according to the video source you are using), • the video cable is not plugged in, or •...
  • Page 54 8. If problems occur... First try using Load and display the mixer Audio Works. AudioCtrl panel. Drag the mixer to its top setting, and set Playback Lineln the sampling gain to Check the button is not pressed. Mute (You may wish to use an external amplifier connected to LineOut as a monitor for this procedure if you are sure that this works whilst a sound source is connected to the Eagle board.

  • Page 55: Sound Output Does Not Work

    Device preferences appear: Click on the icon to open the window. Click Menu over the playback device, and select Eagle M2 44.1kHz st. Click OK. Now select Repeat play in the AudioWorks sample window and press Play. The play cursor should move indicating the sample is...

  • Page 56: Sound Playback And/Or Recording Are Punctuated By Bursts Of Noise

    8. If problems occur... You should hear the sound playing through the internal speaker: If not, you have probably connected the audio connector incorrectly or have set-up the mixer panel incorrectly. If you wish to test the connection of the Eagle to an external amplifier, note that the Eagle's output is at line level, and is not suitable for driving equipment designed for direct connection to a headphone socket.

  • Page 57: Sound Recording / Playback Is Of Poor Quality

    (try Mode 12). Alternatively, you might consider purchasing a ColourCard from Computer Concepts or Wild Vision. This reduces the processor bandwidth needed to display equivalent screen modes (as well as offering you greatly enhanced graphics performance).
  • Page 58 8. If problems occur.. Movie recording fails with the error 'Your machine is not fast enough to record with these settings' The Eagle card offers movie recording at rates beyond the capabilities of many Acorn computers. Refer to Movie making in System requirements.
  • Page 59 8. If problems occur...

  • Page 60: Technical Information

    9. Technical information 1. Eagle link positions The following diagram illustrates the position of various links on the Eagle which may or may not be shorted by default. Do not alter any of these link settings unless you are sure what you are doing. If in any doubt, you should in all cases first contact Wild Vision.

  • Page 61: Stereo Line-Level Socket: Pin-Out

    9. Technical information 2. Stereo line-level socket: pin-out. The following is the pin-out for the stereo audio line-level connector on the rear panel of the Eagle, provided for those users needing to make up their own connecting cables. (Viewed from back panel with expansion card PCB held away) 3.

  • Page 62: Exploded Movie Format

    9. Technical information 4. Exploded movie format As described in 7. RCompress, the first stage of the Acorn compres- sion routines generates several files in a special directory. These files form the exploded movie. The exploded movie directory contains these files: Header Contains 14 lines of text that form the Acorn Replay movie header: You can edit the second, third and fourth lines (title,...
  • Page 63 9. Technical information Sprite !ARPlayer Contains a single sprite. This is displayed by TakeTwo as the title frame. You can edit or replace this sprite with a 256-colour sprite of the same dimensions to create custom titles. Stopped (three files – optional) If compression is suspended, these files record the suspen- sion point.
  • Page 64 Index bpp, explained Bursts of noise when recording 6, 14, 24 !ARMovie 6, 14, 24 Cannot record sound !ARPlayer ! AudioCtrl 6, 34, 36 Canon Ion camera 18, 28 CfsReader application 6, 14 'AudioWrks 6, 14 Clear file type 31-32 !CfsReader 6, 14, 24 Composite...
  • Page 65 Sampling format Key frames Sampling frequency Keyboard characters ScanLight application 5, 21-22 SCART connector SECAM TV standard Lack of memory when recording 50 Select mouse button Live display is black Serenade application Live display window 21, 26, 45 Show live display LK4 on Eagle card 13, 53 Sound output does not work...
  • Page 66 GADDESDEN PLACE HEMEL HEMPSTEAD HERTS HP2 6EX TEL.: 0442 63933 FAX: 0442 231632 15 WITNEY WAY BOLDEN BUSINESS PARK B0LDEN COLLIERY TYNE & WEAR NE5 9PE TEL.: 091 519 1455 FAX: 091 519 1929...

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