VisualReality
Help
Main Table of Contents
Using the TV Remote Control
Using the TV Menu System
Using the TV Video Window
What is a Skin?
Advanced Features
Troubleshooting and Q&A
About
TV REMOTE
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QUICK NOTE: Since you can download other skins or design your own, it is possible that some of the
following buttons will not be on every remote. The following help
is for the default 3dfx skin.
To learn more about what a skin
is, click
here.
|
TV
TUNER BUTTON This
button changes the video input to TV Tuner. (i.e. Cable,
Antenna, etc.)
This is NOT a required
button of skin construction, and therefore you may or may
not see it on every skin.
S-VIDEO BUTTON
This button changes the
video input to the S-Video device attached to the custom
3dfx A/V-I/O Pod. If no devices are attached, you should
see a blue screen. Typically, the S-Video device is a DVD
or LaserDisc player.
This is NOT a required
button of skin construction, and therefore you may or may
not see it on every skin.
COMPOSITE BUTTON
This button changes the
video input to the COMPOSITE device attached to the
custom 3dfx A/V-I/O Pod. If no devices are attached, you
should see a blue screen. Typically, the composite device
is a VCR or Camera.
This is NOT a required
button of skin construction, and therefore you may or may
not see it on every skin.
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VOLUME BUTTONS
These buttons control the audio level of the program. The
top volume button increases the audio volume, the lower
volume button decreases the audio volume.
These ARE required buttons of skin
construction,
and therefore you WILL see some variation of these
buttons on every skin. |
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CHANNEL BUTTONS
These buttons control the channels. This function only
works if VisualReality is set to TV Tuner mode (i.e. not
composite or S-Video mode). The upper button is used to
go up a channel, the lower button is used to go down a
channel. These ARE required buttons of skin
construction,
and therefore you WILL see some variation of these
buttons on every skin. |
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VCR BUTTON
This button enables you to record video from the source
that you are currently watching on the video screen. When
you press the button, it will prompt you for a file name
and the target location for the file. Once you have
entered this information, it will display a dialog box
with a ‘START’ recording button that will
toggle to ‘STOP’ recording upon pressing.
Settings for capturing video are located in the VIDEO section of the menu.
This is NOT a required button of skin
construction,
and therefore you may or may not see it on every skin. |
 |
CAPTURE STILL BUTTON
This button will capture a snap shot of the current video
source. Upon capturing an image, the data will be shown
in a flipbook that will allow easy viewing of
currently captured still pictures. Resizing this video flipbook is as easy as resizing any
windows program. To save, delete or delete all pictures
in the flipbook, right click on the picture (in
the flipbook) of interest. Pressing the
right mouse button will pull up a small menu that will
tell you what capabilities you have.
This is NOT a required button of skin
construction,
and therefore you may or may not see it on every skin. |
 |
FREEZE
FRAME BUTTON
This button will cause the video window to FREEZE. This
feature is particularly useful when trying to write down
a number that is displayed on the screen. Pressing the
FREEZE button again will UN-FREEZE the image.
This is NOT a required button of skin
construction,
and therefore you may or may not see it on every skin. |
 |
ZOOM BUTTON
This button will restore your video window to the 1:1
non-zoomed ratio.
QUICK NOTE: Another
way you can restore the zoomed video back to the normal
1:1 ratio is to right click on the video screen, then
select the RESTORE zoom option.
This is NOT a required button of skin
construction,
and therefore you may or may not see it on every skin. |
 |
SURF BUTTON
This button will launch channel surfing. Channel Surfing
allows you to browse through several pre-selected
channels at once. Before you can use this option, you
must go into the menu, then to the Channel
TAB and select
the channels you want to surf.
This is NOT a required button of skin
construction,
and therefore you may or may not see it on every skin. |
 |
RECALL BUTTON
This button recalls the last channel used. For example,
if you were just watching channel 4 then changed to
channel 18, using the recall button will jump you back to
channel 4, using the button again would jump you back to
channel 18.
This is NOT a required button of skin
construction,
and therefore you may or may not see it on every skin. |
 |
MUTE BUTTON
This button mutes the audio. Pressing the button again
will restore the audio.
This is NOT a required button of skin
construction,
and therefore you may or may not see it on every skin. |
 |
NUMERIC BUTTONS
This keypad is for convenient entry of channel numbers.
These are NOT required buttons of skin
construction,
and therefore you may or may not see them on every skin. |
 |
DISPLAY BUTTON
This button makes the program display the current channel
and volume strength. This information will be displayed
temporarily in green on the video window.
This is NOT a
required button of skin construction, and therefore you may or may
not see it on every skin. |
 |
ENTER BUTTON
This button will manually enter any number you select
with the numeric button pad. By default, the number you
enter will be automatically selected in 3 seconds if you
don’t use the ENTER button. This button is basically
used to speed up entry of a manually-entered number.
This is NOT a required button of skin
construction,
and therefore you may or may not see it on every skin. |
 |
HIDE BUTTON
This button minimizes the remote, effectively hiding the
remote. To restore the remote, click on the button down
on the Windows Taskbar or use the ALT-TAB keys to return
to the remote.
This is NOT a required button of skin
construction,
and therefore you may or may not see it on every skin. |
 |
HELP BUTTON
This button is used to launch this help file.
This is NOT a required button of skin
construction,
and therefore you may or may not see it on every skin. |
 |
POWER BUTTON
This button is used to turn the application off.
This IS a required button of skin
construction,
and therefore you will see some variation of this button
on every skin. |
Using the TV Menu System
Video Settings TAB
Tuner
TAB
Channels
TAB
Audio
TAB
Video Capture TAB
Timed Record TAB
Video Standard TAB
Skin
TAB
About
TAB
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Video
Setting TAB
Video
Settings
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Brightness –
This option allows you to
adjust the brightness of the video image.
Contrast –
This option allows you to
adjust the contrast of the video image.
Color -
This option allows you to
adjust the color of the video image.
Tint -
This option allows you to
adjust the tint of the video image.
Restore settings to default:
– RESTORE Button
This button allows you to
restore the application's default values for Brightness,
Contrast, Color and Tint.
Save current settings as a
custom settings: - SAVE Button
 |
This button allows you to save your new
Brightness, Contrast, Color and Tint settings. You can
name the settings anything you wish within 30 characters.
Later you can select that setting in the Select a custom setting selection box. |
- Delete the current
custom setting: - DELETE Button
This button deletes the currently highlighted custom
setting. If you accidentally press the delete button, you
can press the cancel button at the bottom of the page to
exit the menu without saving.
Select
a custom setting:
- This drop box allows you
to select one of the custom video settings. The following
three settings are provided.
DEFAULT – Standard Brightness
MOVIE - Brightness and Contrast boosted to enhance
picture
SPORTS - Brightness and Contrast reduced to enhance
picture
OK Button
Closes the Menu screen applying and saving all changes.
Cancel Button
Closes the Menu screen without
applying or saving any changes.
Apply Button
Applies the current selections
without closing the Menu screen.
Help Button
Opens this Help file.
Tuner TAB
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to Main Table of Contents
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This page gives the user control over source
selection, closed caption options and the ability to scan
for new channels.
This allows the user to
select the source of his video feed. Select Broadcast if
you have an antenna hooked up to your TV Tuner or Select
the Cable option if you have CableTV hooked up to your TV
Tuner. NOTE: Windows 98 users don’t have to specify
which version of cable they have. Thanks to
Microsoft™, the new operating system takes care of
the cable mode selection. If you have Windows 95 and
don’t know which cable version you have, either call
your local cable company and ask them or simply try one
of the settings and see if the AutoScan picks up all of your channels.
Click on this button if
you want the program to automatically search all
frequencies for valid tv stations. This information will
be sent to the Active Channels list located on the Channels
TAB.
These radio buttons are
used to select the closed caption channel you want to
view, if any. Channel One is the standard channel that is
used for transmitting closed caption data. Some stations
use Channel Two for displaying alternate language closed
caption. (i.e. Spanish) To select the option you want,
click on the small circle next to the option you want,
then click on the OK button located on the bottom of the
page.
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OK Button
Closes the Menu screen applying
and saving all changes.
Cancel Button
Closes the Menu screen without
applying or saving any changes.
Apply Button
Applies the current selections
without closing the Menu screen.
Help Button
Opens this Help file.
Channels TAB
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This page gives the user control over selecting
which channels are active, which channels are surfable
and which channels are blocked using the parental channel
blocker. Other uses of this page include renaming
channels, activating the channel blocker and assigning a
password to the channel blocker. |
Active
Section –
 |
This section shows the channels that are
currently active in the computer. If you have never scanned the channels, this list will be
blank. You can disable channels that are recognized as
valid channels simply by clicking in the small box next
to the name of the channel. A checked box means the
channel is Active and will be viewed, a box that has no
check is a NON-Active channel that will not be viewed.
This feature is useful for channels that are recognized
as valid stations, but don’t have good enough
reception to make it work watching. In this section you can also
RENAME the channels. To rename a channel, right click on
the desired channel and a small pop-up menu will appear.
From this menu select the Edit Name option. After
selecting Edit Name, you will now have an edit window for
the name so you can change or modify it. See picture
below for an example.
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Surfing Channel Section
–
 |
This section allows the user to select the
channels that he/she would like to view when he/she uses
the SURF button located on the remote control. You are
limited to viewing 36 different channels at once. To
enable a channel as a surf channel, simply check the box
next to the name of the channel by clicking on it. Notice
how in the associated picture, Channel 6 doesn’t
have a box next to it, this indicates that the channel is
not active. Channels that are not shown as active
channels in the above ACTIVE
CHANNELS SECTION
will not be shown as checkable channels. To be able to
surf a channel that does not appear to be active, go to
the active section and enable that channel first. |
Channel Blocker Section
–
 
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This section allows the user to activate the
channel blocker, change a password, edit a password and
edit the list of channels to be blocked.
- Adding and
Removing channels from the Channel Blocker list
–
Before you can activate
the channel blocker, you must first setup a password for
the channel blocker, then select the channels that you
want blocked. If this is your first time using the
channel blocker, it will automatically prompt you with
the change channel password window. If you have never
entered in a password, the ‘Enter the current
password:’ section will be greyed out as in the
sample picture.
When you enter in a new
password, you will be required to type it in twice to
make sure you have spelled it the right way. If you have
already entered in a password, the ‘Enter the
current password:’ section be open to input,
annotating that there is a password already set. Unless
you enter in the correct password, you will not be able
to change the password.
Once you have either
entered in the current password or setup the password,
you will then be allowed to edit the channel blocker
list. This list looks the same as the active and surf
channel lists, and behaves basically the same way. Any
channel that you check will be blocked, and channel that
is not, won’t be blocked. Notice how the XXX Channel
is marked for being blocked. This feature is particularly
useful for keeping children out of channels that they
shouldn’t be watching. After selecting the channels
that you wanted blocked, click on the OK button. Clicking
on the CANCEL button will disregard any changes to the
list you have made.
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- Activate channel blocking
–
 
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To activate the channel blocker, click on the
box next to the words ‘Activate channel
blocking’. If this is the first time you have
activated the channel blocker during this use of the
application, the program will prompt you for a password.
This password will be the same one that you set during
the selection |
- Changing your channel
blocker password –
|
Changing your password is as simple as clicking
on the CHANGE button and following the described
instructions. If you have never entered in a password,
the ‘Enter the current password:’ section will
be greyed out as in the sample picture. When you enter in a new
password, you will be required to type it in twice to
make sure you have spelled it the right way. If you have
already entered in a password, the ‘Enter the
current password:’ section be open to input,
annotating that there is a password already set. Unless
you enter in the correct password, you will not be able
to change the password.
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OK Button
Closes the Menu screen applying
and saving all changes.
Cancel Button
Closes the Menu screen without
applying or saving any changes.
Apply Button
Applies the current selections
without closing the Menu screen.
Help Button
Opens this Help file.
Audio TAB
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to Main Table of Contents
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Settings Section This section contains the
balance slider and the RESTORE button that restores the
default settings for the balance slider.
Channel Section
This section allows the
user to select between the different audio channels that
are sometimes available. Normal Audio Programming is the
default setting that all audio output is usually played
on. Secondary Audio usually holds other data like a
different language.
Source
Section
This section allows the
user to setup the AUDIO source used by the TV Tuner or
Multimedia card.
This is the source
selector that you configure for your audio. Click on the
arrow in the drop down box to see which Mixer Sources are
reported by your sound card, then highlight and click on
the audio source that you connected the Audio Cable to.
Typically, you would connect your CD-ROM drive's audio
cable to the TV Tuner card, then run an additional cable
from your TV Tuner card to the CD-ROM Audio Input on your
sound card. Some newer sound cards have multiple audio
line-in connectors, so make sure you carefully examine
your sound card, and it's manual to be sure you select
the appropriate one.
QUICK NOTE: If your
sound card does have multiple inputs, it is recommended
that you DO NOT use the Mic-In or Modem-In input
connectors. These inputs typically are mono and low
power, which is not appropriate for quality audio use.
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OK Button
Closes the Menu screen applying
and saving all changes.
Cancel Button
Closes the Menu screen without
applying or saving any changes.
Apply Button
Applies the current selections
without closing the Menu screen.
Help Button
Opens this Help file.
Video
Capture TAB
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to Main Table of Contents
 |
Still Capture Section This is the section that allows
you to configure what size stills you want the Still
Capture button
to take. Your options are as follows: 640x480, 320x240 or
160x120. The Freeze Frame after capture button is
selected by default, and acts exactly like it states. The
Browse button allows you to go back and use the flipbook
to review some of your latest still captures that you
have not already deleted. If there are no stills in the
current flipbook, this button will be greyed out.
Stream Capture
This section allows the
user to select the desired resolution for the captured
.AVI. Your options are as follows:320x240 and 160x120.
For best performance, 320x240 and below are suggested
values. Performance for capturing at 320x240 will be
directly related to the hard drive sub-system in your PC.
In this section, Frame
Rate is also selectable. As noted above, your ability to
capture at higher frame rates depends directly on the
performance of your hard drive subsystem. People with
faster hard drives, such as UltraSCSI Media drives, will
typically be able to capture at higher rates for long
periods without problems. For best performance, capture
at 320x240 at 30fps for less than 20 minutes.
|
Timed
Record TAB
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Main Table of Contents
 |
Setup Timed Recording This page contains all of the
controls that are available for configuring a timed
recording event. Select a starting time for the recording
in the "Start Time" control, and select an
ending time for the recording in the "Stop
Time" control.
Select one of the TV
input options for the recording. If you select the
"Tuner" option, then you will also need to
select the channel for the recording using the
"Channel" control.
If you select the
"Normal program" option, then the program will
only be recorded one time according to the settings in
the "Start Time" and "Stop Time"
controls, and using the selected TV input. If you select
the "Daily..." or "Weekly..." option,
then the program will be recorded again each day or week
(respectively) according to the settings in the
"Start Time" and "Stop Time"
controls, and using the selected TV input.
You will need to enter
a filename in the space provided under "Capture
File", and you can also use the "Browse"
button to find an appropriate location where the file can
be saved.
The other cntrols on
this page allow you to select the screen size of the
recorded video program, the storage format (AVI or
MPEG-2), the frame rate to be used during the recording,
and to select a name for the program.
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Video
Standard TAB
Return to
Main Table of Contents
 |
Select the Video Standard for your location Use the drop-down list box to
select the combination of Country and Video Standard you
require to receive TV broadcasts in you area. More than
fifty separate countries or locales are provided in the
list. For each of these options, the prevailing video
broadcast standard for that region is automatically
selected by the VisualReality TV Tuner application.
|
Skin TAB
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to Main Table of Contents
 |
Select a Skin This scroll box contains all the
skins that are currently available on your system. Each
skin will have its own name by which it is selectable. To
change skins, simply click on the name of the skin that
you want to use and click on "apply", or you
can use the arrow keys or the mouse to scroll up and down
the list, looking at the preview of each skin first.
|
You may download more skins or
find more information on installing and using new skins at the
3dfx web page at this address. http://visualreality.3dfx.com
Additional Information
This area contains information
about the Author of the skin that you currently selected. The
Description block may contain data such as what resolution is
best used for the skin, or other information form the skin's
designer.
Preview Window
This area shows a preview of
the currently selected skin.
OK Button
Closes the Menu screen applying
and saving all changes.
Cancel Button
Closes the Menu screen without
applying or saving any changes.
Apply Button
Applies the current selections
without closing the Menu screen.
Help Button
Opens this Help file.
About TAB
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to Main Table of Contents
 |
Info This page contains information regarding the
software version/build numbers and copyright dates.
OK Button
Closes the Menu screen
applying and saving all changes.
Cancel Button
Closes the Menu screen
without applying or saving any changes.
Apply Button
Applies the current
selections without closing the Menu screen.
Help Button
Opens this Help file.
|
TV VIDEO
WINDOW
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 |
The Video Window is the frame that houses your
video image. By
double clicking on the top part of the window, you can
make your video switch to full screen mode. Double
clicking again on the video window will return it to its
previous windowed state.
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WHAT
IS A SKIN?
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A SKIN is the terminology used
for a Graphical Image that is wrapped around the skeletal
controls or model of an interface. Just like different clothes
you can wear, you can also put different skins on your interface,
giving it a complete and totally unique look. This skin concept
was first pioneered by Id Software for Quake™ and later by
implemented by Nullsoft for WinAmp™.
Skin implementation allows the
user to pick the remote control that he/she likes the most. No
longer are the users bound to one type of interface, which to
them, may be cosmetically unappealing.
Skin Pak's, containing several
skins, are shipped with this product, and several more are downloadable via our web page.
If after searching though our
library of skins, you still haven’t found one that you like,
you can build your own skin. Refer to the skin
construction section
under Advanced Options for more information on building your own
skin.
Several Examples of skins are
shown below:
SKIN
CONSTRUCTION
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With VisualReality, it is
possible to construct your own skin, however, this process is
designed for ONLY EXPERT USERS and
artists. For more information on how to design your own skin,
please refer to our web page at this link. http://visualreality.3dfx.com
TROUBLESHOOTING
and Q&A
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Q. What do I do if I
accidentally deleted some of my skin graphics.
A. Just re-install the Skin
pak.
Q. The volume buttons
don't seem to do anything.
A. Make sure you have already configured
your audio so that
you're using the correct audio input. Click on the 'CONFIGURED'
link to go straight to that section to learn more.
Q. After I
install WaveTop, it gives a message that there is no tuner
present, what is the problem? (# 36&60)
A. The version of
WaveTop that is located on the Windows 98 CD doesn't support
3dfx's Voodoo3 3500 TV card. In order to use WaveTop, it is
necessary to install the updated WaveTop files located on your
installation CD.
Q. When
WebTV's Video and Data services are running, I can't open
VisualReality, what's the problem?
A. When WebTV is
actively using the tuner on your DesktopTV card, no other program
can use it. When WebTV or WaveTop run for the first time, it
takes approximatly 40 hours to download all the data from each
service, and during that time, no other Tuner programs like
VisualReality or MGI's VideoWave can run. (Suggestion: Start the
WebTV services when your at work, or going to be gone for a long
period of time. You CAN pause the services by left clicking on
the small WebTV Data Services Icon located in the systray in the
lower right had corner of your screen.)
Q. When I let my machine go into sleep
mode while WaveTop is running, WaveTop gives me a GPF (General
Protection Fault)??? What's wrong?
A. Currently WaveTop has some issues with Power
Management modes such as sleep. WaveTop is currently working on
this issue, and should have it resolved soon. Check their web
site for updated software.
Q. If I have a DVD program running and
start the TV application, I notice that I can't see any Closed
Caption Data. What's wrong?
A. If another device is using the 'OVERLAY'
surface of your videocard, the TV software will be forced into
'PRIMARY SURFACE' mode. Primary surface has several limitations,
one of which is that no other data can be superimposed on it.
(e.g. You won't be able to see CC data or volume & channel
display information.)
Q. If I have a Software MPEG-2 program
running and start the TV application, I notice that I can't see
any channel or volume display data. What's wrong?
A. If another device is using the 'OVERLAY'
surface of your videocard, the TV software will be forced into
'PRIMARY SURFACE' mode. Primary surface has several limitations,
one of which is that no other data can be superimposed on it.
(e.g. You won't be able to see CC data or volume & channel
display information.)
Q. Monster Truck Madness by Microsoft
Corp (c) cause the TV software to terminate. Why does this
happen?
A. Actually, this issue is not limited to
Monster Truck Madness, in fact, any game that goes full-screen
and initiates a resolution change will cause VisualReality's TV
program to close. (Cause: When a DirectX application goes to
full-screen, it usually grabs control of and terminates the
overlay surface that VisualReality's TV application is using.
When VR notices that this has happened, it shuts down.)
ABOUT
VisualReality
Copyright © 1999
3dfx Interactive, Inc.
Version 2.0
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