This is an archive of CompuServe forum messages from 1985 to 1995, as saved in transcripts by John Foust.
Search Results (93 messages)
Joel: Yeah, we'll have MCI for the VBers and Director folks. The best way for us to hook into Animator Studio would be to do a VFW codec, but that robs us of the all the cool things about Smacker – multiplatform, speed, color remapping, etc. Thanks, ->Jeff
Joel: Animator Studio support is iffy, but we will support 3D Maxx. Thanks, ->Jeff
John: I believe Fractal has a new human modelling package called Poser. Inexpensive, too, if I remember. ->Jeff
John: We make a program called Smacker that is specifically designed for compressing 8-bit flics. You can get all the details by calling us at 801-322-4300 or e-mailing me your fax number. HARC is a 24-bit compressor (so it won't do very well on 8-bit flics), and I know of…
Gary: The MechWarrior videos were down by DigitalDomain (same people that did True Lies, T2, Aliens 2, etc). It looks good because it was done by movie people – the camera angles and point of views were perfect. All that video was Smacked by the way – we wanted them…
Maj: Download the latest drivers from your video card vendor – this should fix the problem. ->Jeff
Brian: The notice only appears at the very end of a script, when it exits back to DOS. Thanks, ->Jeff
Brian: Yes, the scriptor has hot spots, mouse cursors, transparent animations, etc ,etc. Download SmackD.exe from this forum and it will give you a good example. ->Jeff
#Smacker
Message #187636
Terry: Hello, I'm Jeff, the head-Smacker-honcho. Licensing our new version is much easier – after an animation plays, a note is displayed that basically says "This was compressed with Smacker." If you don't mind this notice, then you are free to distribute the player (or scriptor) to anyone, anywhere. If…
Brian: The Smacker 2.0 utilities don't (yet), but our SDK will support it later this month. They're will changing it too rapidly to ship a product for it. (That's why the IKlowns for each version doesn't work with the other versions). ->Jeff
#Smacker 2.0 Available!!
Message #185913
It's here! It's here! ******************************************** Smacker 2.0 ships August 25, 1995!! ******************************************** Smacker 2.0 is now available for Windows, Windows 95, Windows NT and DOS. Smacker is a compressor for 8-bit (256 color) animation and video data. Smacker 2.0 has complete synchronized-sound support for all platforms. A powerful Smacker SDK…
Andy: A DIB is just a linear chunk of memory, if you've got code that will decompress a Flic frame into a piece of memory (the Dr. Dobb's article, or the Animation Support library has code for this), then you should be good to go. ->Jeff
Andy: They decompress each frame into a compressed-DIB which is displayed with the StretchDIBits commands. Neither AAStudio or AAWin do anything with device dependent bitmaps. ->Jeff
Yost: I had taped X-Files last week, and a commercial for the movie was taped as well. I was watching it, and thought I saw something familiar, so I backed up the video tape very slowly, and yup, an Autodesk logo flies out of this tube. The logo was up…
#New Phar Lap
Message #147087
Brian: Hey, I've noticed that you've told a couple of people that they can update the PharLap portion of ANI.EXE if they have ACAD R13. I've looked for a NewDX.EXE on the ACAD CD, but couldn't find it. Thanks, ->Jeff
LAM: The Smacker SDK support transparency under both DOS and Windows. And you get compression to boot! Call Mitch at 801-322-4300 and he can fax full info. ->Jeff
Glenn: Smacker for Windows will ship at the end of the month – the developer versions are available now. ->Jeff
Rich: Windows in two weeks! ->Jeff
Our SmackScript scripter has options for playing back transparently.
Nick: Same number, but you have to use the US country code, which is…let's see….1. So, use something like 011-1-801-322-4300. ->Jeff
Our developer's libraries for both DOS and Windows support sound currently. The Smacker end-user utilities with sound will probably be released in the next couple weeks. Sound is fully synchronized with the video on both DOS and Windows and is automatically compressed. We get 2 to 1 lossless compression, so…
Mark: Hi, Mark. I'm Jeff Roberts and I work for RAD. You can reach us at 801-322-4300. Thanks, ->Jeff
Brian: Hello, I'm Jeff Roberts from RAD Software, the people that make Smacker. Smacker is a compressor for 8-bit animations. You can download samples from the libs in this forum (search for Smack). If you have any question, or need to order, our phone number is 801-322-4300. Thanks, ->Jeff
There's a command line flic joining utility that we wrote here in the libs somewhere that will join any two flics (it only buffers a frame or two). ->Jeff
Gary: I think that the ratio they are quoting is not "flic to compressed" size. Most compression companies quote the size they shrink a non-deltaed animation, where we quote the size difference from flic (which is deltaed) to smk. If you multiply the number of frames times the width *…
John: QuickTime is the worst possible compressed file format. Deltas are not encoded well at all, and the data is stored in 24 bit format, so flics usually get larger rather than smaller. ->Jeff P.S. BTW, we'll have a MacSmack by the end of the year.
Roger: No prob, I'll get it uploaded soon. ->Jeff
Roger: This would be a piece of cake with SmackScript. I would just add a bitmap of the VCR controls at the bottom of my flic, set up the mouse areas, then just write a little code to respond to the mouse areas whenever they were clicked on. Backing up…
Jonas: No prob. If there are other flic utilities that people are clamoring for, let me know. I have C++ objects for reading and writing flics, so that utility only took me 20 minutes. ->Jeff
#Flic Joiner
Message #111039
Hey everyone, there's a utility in the library called "FLICJ.EXE". It is a simple utility to make it easier to join two large flics. Normally, Animator Pro requires you to load both flics in memory as they are joined. This utility will do a join from the command line, and…
#110480-
Flics and data rates!?
Message #110541
Peter: We have a product that doesn't do exactly what you're looking for, but it does solve your problem . Smacker will compress your flic file, and will then figure out the proper amount of data to preload for the frame rate that you choose. So, to play a 30…
Smacker 1.1 Files Now Up
Message #108298
The new Smacker player and a demo file have now been posted! SMACKP.EXE contains both the new player and the new SmackScript player. SMACKD.EXE contains a cool demo of SmackScript that has transparent flics, mouse input, transparent blitting, printing, file I/O, and other animation – check it out! ->Jeff
Reza: Ditto! Got your letter, I didn't know you had your own company – awesome! ->Jeff
Jim: Well, no, no one has everyone said that they couldn't read my messa___ ____ – ____ _ ___ ____. ____ ____ ____! ____ __ ____ ____, ____ ___. ->____
Yeah, we never planned to really publish that name, so we were going to call it, "Mere legal technicality, Inc." ->Jeff
Art: Our product Smacker can do this. It is a flic compressor that contains a scripting language called SmackScript. SmackScript can handle transparencies in both playing flics and static bitmaps. I posted a demo file called SMACKD.EXE in the libs here, that shows off just this. ->Jeff
Tom: Check out Smacker. It has compressed > 192 MB flics with no problems (there should be no limits at all). There are also no problems with multiple palettes. It will outcompress NIC by 20% to 50% with much, much greater quality. It isn't freeware, but we do have a…
Robert: Just a few more days on the scripter – I announce all the features then. (It will do everything you just asked however .) ->Jeff
Chris: No, a DCT is only useful when you can't do a brute force. Since there are so many possible combinations of colors in 24 bit, a DCT is used to decide what is the most probable non-noticable data that can be discarded. Since Smacker is 8-bit based, there are…
John: Most programmers have terrific senses of humor, they're just afraid to appear unprofessional. I don't care whether I look unprofessional or not, I only care that Smacker sells a zillion copies and everyone likes it. ->Jeff
Alec: Well, let's see, I guess telling you that it's just plain awesome isn't going to cut it, right? So what we need is a Jeff's Top Ten Reasons To Buy Smacker List: 10) It really does what I say it does! Check out our press release to get a…
(I don't know your name, so:) M&M: Smacker is a video and animation compressor designed specifically for 8-bit (256 color) data. Smacked-flics can be played back real-time, even off a CD-ROM. It can do many cool things, and it does them very well. Search the libraries for the keyword "SMACKER".…
jonas: Did you like that? Actually there are undocumented switches to interleave sound (or any other data actually) into the frame data. So, as the manual says, Smacker supports interleaved sound, it just doesn't play it. But I do plead guilty to writing that sentence, am I going to be…
#100141-
EXE Files
Message #100298
Dave: NIC is a great first try, and I'm sure it will keep improving. It's primary deficency is that the lowest-lossy level is way too high. Compress the dino flic with NIC and then download the Smacked version that's here in the libs. Smacker's lossy compression is variable from completely…
jonas: Isn't "losslessness" a great word? ->Jeff P.S. Thanks for the testimonial – who was it? We've sold more copies in Canada than in the US so far.
Chris: You may also want to check out the Smacker sample files in the libs here. Smacker will outperform MPEG on 8-bit data in both playback speed and compression ratio – and all in software. Smacker doesn't yet do 24-bit data, so if that's your data, Smacker can't help you.…
It's a neat idea – as machines get faster, the hardware will catch up. Check out Smacker – it our compression product. It may do what you need. Search for "SMACKER" in the libs. ->Jeff
Mark: Smacker is both (it includes player and fli/flc compressor). The playback utility is the only EXE uploaded here though. ->Jeff
Mark: Yup, if you want perfect quality, Smacker can still get you at least as good, or better than PKZIP. The really-high compression ratios need some loss, though. ->Jeff
Mark: Correct, the complete player is available for downloading to use for non-profit purposes. The complete Smacker product is only available from RAD. Thanks, ->Jeff
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