Amiga Computing - Commodore Is Awesome

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video is well t hwithin a n the reach of h the a Amiga, a
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.! already al or about proven, composite full-screen quatity. real-time digital
( I Not ) surprisingly, or the majority Scala of haven't Amiga wasted users
[ any time in recognising Mpeg's potential
for presentation. As a result, the
f tuned the Amiga's only dedicated Mpeg
t Bo encoding and decoding card for direct
S application within Into Channel. MM300
c and their latest creahon MM400.
a Although originally known as the Peggy
n card, the same hardware has now been
d reincarnated as the MD100, complete with
i Wish packaging and a degree of ease of
n
use within both the controls and utilities
a that have made Scala a multimedia giant.
v The main reason for incorporating hard-
i ware directly into a primarily software-
a based system iS, of course, to minimise the
n demand for even more hardware. At pre-
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sent the expense and hassle involved in
u
incorporating traditional video into multime-
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dia productions simply doesn't make it an
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option for most multimedia productions.
1In
i PROVISIONS
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the past, Scala offered provision for
e
incorporating traditional video and even
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laser disks into presentations via their EX
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standard. However, both methods had
a
their limitation_ Laser disks offer little in the
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way of interaction as well as being very difficult
to master. Traditional tape offers
many of the same problems plus the evils
of hardware maintenance, slow interaction
and, of course, degradation of the tape.
With the arrival of the MD100, Scala
finally has lull frame or partial digital video
that will never degrade. unlimited video
clips with no tape swapping, hardware that
is unlikely to need any maintenance, and
it's all in one box.
Once the hardware is firmly entrenched
in the Amiga's video slot and the appropriate
cable linked either to a composite
video, S-VHS, or RGB outputs, plus an
Mpeg audio out on the rear of the board,
you effectively have a traditional genlocked
video single directly beneath the Scala presentation.
Unfortunately as it stands, Mpeg
audio is only available via pre-recorded
Mpeg movies, primarily from CD - CDs
being supported directly in the control software_
As a result, direct encoding Mpeg
Dol the uedit5
Needless to say, MD100 is a product
dedicated to serious multimedia producbon.
and if you're looking for the ultimate
in Scala impact it's arguably the ultimate
addition. Full frame genlocked 24-bit
video at 25 fps. amidst all the other goodies
that Scala can throw into the action -it
has to be tempting for animators and
multimedia types alike.
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Paul Ilu5tin etiolore5 todeo
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graphic animations. Atter selecting an
existing Mpeg or creating your own, its
addition to the production simply means
clicking on the newly acquired Mpeg box in
Scala's main layout.
s
A quick click reveals the Mpeg decoder
a
controller, and it's from here you can con-
n
trol the Mpeg action. The first step is to
o
select the file, at which point you're
m
provided with an impressive array of
a
customising options.
t
As you can see from the screen grab
p
you can play and pause, add a definable or
a
video is a the only option, although audio
accompaniment t is still available thanks to
Scata's asample
and mod playing abilities
The tability
to connect up to such a wide
variety sof
display media is a real bonus,
and should ; provide enough scope for
pretty _much
any production. Obviously,
quality
_
Mpeg streams doesn't exactly grow
_
on trees. As a result, after initial set-up,
.
encoding an Mpeg animation is likely to be
.
the first step.
Assuming you've installed the Mpeg EX
software in the Scala start-up drawer, a
quick trip to the system menu will reveal
the encoding side of MDI00. From here
you simply select a sequence of frames to
AN the usual Scala goodies
plus hill frame digital video,
impressive by any standard,
and only 1.1 bib to store the
entire 300 frame animation
infinite loop, apply definable slow-motion,
and even make the Mpeg wail when you hit
the appropriate point in the production.
Tape deck transport controls allow instant
scans of the Mpeg stream and once you're
happy, a simple OK adds the Mpeg and
play settings to the production.
During testing I had at least five separate
Mpegs, combined with mods. samples,
wipes and all the other Sonia classics with
no appreciable drop in overall performance.
import and where to save the new Mpeg
Zorro video
file, adjust the resolution and setting as
required, and click on encode. Now it's
time to make lots of coffee.
slot
Although the end results are impressive,
it must be said that encoding is a slow
process. The example 300 frame anim
listed took roughly an hour and a half to
encode from full video-res frames.
Originally exported from a PAR card, they
were then scaled and converted into the
Mpeg format and resolution.
Slow import and the lack of real-time
capture is perhaps the only chink in
MM100's armour. Unless you're lucky
enough to have either a PAR card or a
VLab Motion, your Mpeg productions are
likely to be limited to traditional computer
Amiga Computing
-
GRAPHICS
All the options
Ease of use a
Implementation 8
Value for money 8
Overall 8
R
ACg
RED sysTEm Esse ntia l BLAC rss[nTiRtsl_
K R e comme nde d
The bottom line
Product: MD100 Mpeg
encode/decode
Supplier.' Scala UK Ltd
Price: £599
Tel: 01920 444294