The “RasterOps Drivers” and “RasterOps VDIG” system extensions provide QuickTime compatibility to digitize video (and sound with MediaTime) using any of the following RasterOps boards:
RasterOps ColorBoard 364
RasterOps 24STV
RasterOps 24MxTV
RasterOps 24XLTV
RasterOps MediaTime
RasterOps VideoTime
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
The video digitizer will work with any QuickTime-capable Macintosh II family computer. QuickTime will run on 68020, 68030, and 68040 Macintosh computers with at least 2 MB of memory and a hard disk. Apple recommends the following system configuration for QuickTime: System software version 6.0.7 or later, a hard disk, 2 MB of memory if using System 6.0.7, 4 MB of memory if using System 7. If your Macintosh supports virtual memory, RasterOps recommends that you turn it off while recording video.
INSTALLATION
Drag one copy of each RasterOps extension file into your System folder. The extensions will have no effect if there are no RasterOps boards found in your Macintosh. The video digitizer contains a ‘vdig’ CODE resource that controls all of the above-mentioned RasterOps boards. When the machine boots, the vdig extension will search NuBus slots 1-14 for available RasterOps boards. It will register a ‘vdig’ component for each board found. You can use Apple’s Things! control panel to check vdig registration.
The Component Manager always maintains a “default” component of a certain type. For vdig’s, this is typically the last ‘vdig’ component registered. RasterOps registers vdig’s in reverse slot order. For example, if you have a 364 in slot 10, and a 24STV in slot 11, the 364 will be the default vdig after system startup. The default component is often the first component used by certain applications, e.g., MoviePlayer from Apple. If you have Apple’s Things! control panel you can set the default vdig and re-launch the application.
WARNING: The RasterOps VDIG extension must load AFTER QuickTime. Because the Mac loads extensions in alphabetical order, there should not be a problem. We recommend you do not rename either init so that this problem will never occur.
QUICKTIME DEVELOPER NOTES
(1) VideoTime
Because VideoTime overlays video on a given monitor, the vdig clears the background of the video on the screen to black to make the appearance look normal. Otherwise the image becomes too saturated with pixel data behind the overlay. Some applications should be careful not to draw over the video after starting it with VDSetPlayThruOnOff (unless that is the desired effect). Processing a window update event after the video has started previewing can cause the window to be redrawn, removing the black background the vdig had erased. Currently, it is the application’s responsibility to handle this since there is no way the vdig can compensate for it.
(2) Clipping
The RasterOps vdig supports clipping for all boards except the ColorBoard 364. The clipping behavior defined in the QuickTime developer documentation is somewhat ambiguous, so Apple has recommended that we support the concept of “system” and “user” clip regions. It is anticipated that the system clip will clip video from overlapping windows and menus. The user clip is available for the application’s use. A system clip region is specified in the call to VDSetPlayThruDestination. At this point the user clip is cleared and disabled. The application can control the user clip region by calling VDSetClipRgn, VDClearClipRgn, and/or VDSetClipState, after calling VDSetPlayThruDestination.
(3) Capture Rates
The ColorBoard 364 has a peak capture rate of 15 fps NTSC (12.5 PAL/SECAM). The 24STV and MediaTime boards normally have a peak capture rate of 15 fps NTSC (12.5 PAL/SECAM), but are able to capture up to 30 fps NTSC (25 PAL/SECAM) when grabbing small fields (approx. 80x60) using VDGrabOneFrame. The 24XLTV currently has a peak capture rate of 15 fps NTSC (12.5 PAL/SECAM). The 24MxTV and VideoTime boards can capture up to 30 fps NTSC (25 PAL). The capture rate depends on many factors: signal type (NTSC, PAL, or SECAM), pixel depth, capture to memory/disk, on-the-fly or post-compression, and image size just to name a few. We recommend you close all open control panels on the desktop before starting to record a sequence to obtain higher capture rates. If you are able to capture audio with your movies, turning off audio capture will usually increase the video capture rate.
(4) Supported Video Digitizer Selectors
The following is a complete list of QuickTime 1.0 vdig selectors. All selectors are supported unless otherwise noted. If followed by “na”, the selector is not supported.
VDAddKeyColor (na)
VDClearClipRgn (not 364)
VDDone
VDGetActiveSrcRect
VDGetBlackLevelValue (only 364)
VDGetBrightness
VDGetClipState (not 364)
VDGetCLUTInUse (na)
VDGetContrast
VDGetCurrentFlags
VDGetDigitizerInfo
VDGetDigitizerRect
VDGetFieldPreference
VDGetHue
VDGetInput
VDGetInputColorSpaceMode (na)
VDGetInputFormat
VDGetInputGammaRecord (not 364)
VDGetInputGammaValue (not 364)
VDGetKeyColor (na)
VDGetKeyColorRange (na)
VDGetMaskandValue (na)
VDGetMaskPixMap (na)
VDGetMaxAuxBuffer
VDGetMaxSrcRect
VDGetNextKeyColor (na)
VDGetNumberOfInputs
VDGetPlayThruDestination
VDGetPLLFilterType
VDGetSaturation
VDGetSharpness (na)
VDGetVBlankRect
VDGetVideoDefaults
VDGetWhiteLevelValue (only 364)
VDGrabOneFrame
VDGrabOneFrameAsync
VDPreflightDestination
VDPreflightGlobalRect (na)
VDSetBlackLevelValue (only 364)
VDSetBrightness
VDSetClipRgn (not 364)
VDSetClipState (not 364)
VDSetContrast
VDSetDigitizerRect
VDSetDigitizerUserInterrupt (na)
VDSetFieldPreference
VDSetHue
VDSetInput
VDSetInputColorSpaceMode (na)
VDSetInputGammaRecord (not 364)
VDSetInputGammaValue (not 364)
VDSetInputStandard (not 364)
VDSetKeyColor (na)
VDSetKeyColorRange (na)
VDSetMasterBlendLevel (na)
VDSetPlayThruDestination
VDSetPlayThruGlobalRect (na)
VDSetPlayThruOnOff
VDSetPLLFilterType
VDSetSaturation
VDSetSharpness (na)
VDSetupBuffers
VDSetWhiteLevelValue (only 364)
VDUseThisCLUT (only 364)
(5) TROUBLE SHOOTING
If at some point your application is unable to instantiate (open) an instance of the vdig component, the following may be the cause:
a) The vdig is unable to allocate the memory it requires.
b) The vdig is already opened by another application.
c) The vdig is unable to read the necessary resources from its extension file.
Also it has been observed that the recording rate suffers when leaving any control panel open on the desktop. Close all control panels before recording to increase the capture rate.
TECHNICAL SUPPORT
If you have any questions or problems, contact RasterOps Technical Support at 800-SAY-COLOR (800-729-2656) or 801-785-5750 (voice), 801-785-5775 (FAX), AppleLink address RASTERHELP or America Online address RASTERHELP.
