#VLAB MOTION
13 messages in this thread
I WOULD LIKE TO GET SOME INFORMATION ABOUT VLAB MOTION THE NON-LINEAR SYSTEM
FOR THE AMIGA. I'VE HEARD IT WORKS WELL. IS ANYONE USING IT?
Bryan,
Why ya YELLING???
I'm about to configure an A3000 VLAB_M system, very soon I'll be on line :^)
Just got a used A3000/040 sys and I'll be loading a VLAB-M and 2gig HD ASAP. It
will mostly be a digital deck for my A2000 Toaster/LW sys.
Its not a Flyer but….<$$$$
There are other VLAB-M users hear I think?????? Reinforcment Please?
….John
Bryan,
The VLAB-M is an incredible system. I've been playing with mine for a couple
months now and it continually amazes me with the capability and performance it
really offers. I have it installed in an A3000/040 and I'm feeding it a
Micropolis 1Gb drive for video and a SyQuest 270Mb for audio. The VLAB-M will
drive your desires for `more horsepower' up significantly since all effects are
rendered (it takes more time if you don't have those extra horses!).
I'm aware of at least two other folks using the VLAB-M that you can find in
the Amiga forums if you want other opinions. If you have any specific questions
fire away or you can call NoahJi's (US distributor) at 303-499-1975.
EdV
Good to hear from you Ed,
Glad to hear your happy with your VLAB-M sys. I should be online early next
week with an A3000 PPS 25/040, native SCSI, and 2gig 9ns HD. Probably feeding
the VLAB-M with my Toaster system.
Whats your A3000 sys configuration? Are you using native SCSI? I hope this all
works like I expect or better. It should pay for itself with the first few
projects I have planned I hope. But I'm not betting the farm yet. :^)
….John
John,
My A3000 is strangely similar to yours! I've got the PPS 25/040 also. Other
aspects of my system: OS3.1, 18Mb RAM, 1Gb FFS HD with a 1Gb dedicated video
HD, and a IV24 to top it off. I am using the A3000's SCSI — that controller is
one impressive design still FLYING after all these years. The IV24 makes for a
very nice addition to the VLAB-M. With the IV24's PIP feature, I can do all
editing on one monitor. OK, I'll admit it — it's more gee whiz than anything
else since I have a dedicated NTSC monitor but it leaves one heck of an
impression on observers!
When you get around to working with your VLAB-M, let me know because I've got
some things you might want to experiment with concerning your buffers settings.
Also have an AmigaGuide doc I'm putting together that may help or may even
hinder your use of the VLAB-M.
I thought I saw some postings from you recently about moving down to a
pentium system <grin>. Do I have you confused with somebody else or did you
recompute without floating point math?
EdV
Ed,
I traded my Beefed A1200 sys for a Loaded A3000, came with Firecracker24
display and Ethernet. Hopefully the FC24 display will come in handy with
MovieShop.
Decided to keep the video end of things where they are the most mature for now.
I need to go to Tape and why bail on the Amiga now?, I'm already in VERY
deep:^) I'll have a system that would make a Harry Suite jealous :^) Not to
mention the Mac/VideoVision guys at work.
When LW 4.0 ships for WinNT I may go to the bank for a loan on a DEC Alpha 275
render engine. Why go mainstream now, Its just not in my blood.
I'll be grateful for any help you can give me concerning the VLAB-M when I get
it going. Do you think I'll have any problem if I install the 2gig HD in an
external case? I'll probably put it internal either way.
Later,
….John
John,
Don't you just wish the A3000 had those AGA custom chips! It would be the
ideal machine … oops, sorry I was gone but now I'm back <grin>!
I don't know if MovieShop will open on a FireCracker24 screen, but I can
assure you that MovieShop works extremely well on a 4 color public screen. I
doubt there is any advantage to running MovieShop on the FireCracker24 since
the MovieShop screen is primarily for control/setup and you will need a NTSC
monitor to view the VLAB-M output.
DEC Alpha — we have to be serious rendering fools, no <big grin>?
My 1Gb Micropolis video hard drive is mounted externally because I already
have a 1Gb Conner internally moounted. As long as you obey all the rules of
SCSI, there is absolutely no reason you would have to mount your 2Gb
internally. In fact, for cooling purposes you may want to put it in an external
case.
Here is my first tip for you when you install VLAB-M: if you make any changes
to your buffer settings, save them as defaults, quit MovieShop, and then
restart it! If I didn't do this little ritual, I was sure to face a crash
shortly after the changes — and that can get real annoying.
EdV
I saew this at EXPO '94 in florida. It looked interesting but I am concerned
about those render times. Is it a serious delay?
Any comments, please.
Zeddock
Zeddock,
Rendering time is a function of how sophisticated you want to get with your
effects and how long of a period of time you want them to occur over. The most
complex effect I've done so far involved scaling one video clip down to about
quarter size, putting a blue colored box around it, and then placing it on top
of another video clip in the upper right corner of the screen (kind of like
those news reports you see on TV all the time). Rendering this effect at 60
fields per second was a chore for my 25MHz 040 — I calculated it took almost
14 minutes real-time for every second of running video rendered! More
tradition simplistic effects like fades and wipes are much faster, but I don't
have any specific time ratios to report.
So, is that a serious delay? If the show is going on the air in the next 15
minutes, you've got a problem <grin>!
EdV
I have a 2000HD and my understandings is that I should be using a Magnum SCSI /
Accelerator board (040) to run VLAB. It's not cheap. I have an opportunity to
purchase an Amiga 3000 for less than this SCSI board. Does the SCSI native on
the 3000 work well with VLAB or would upgrading my 2000HD with a Magnum, Retina
II, and toccata sound card be the way to go?
Bryan
Bryan,
I don't have any experience with the A2000/Magnum combination so I can't
really tell you which would be better. The A3000 SCSI works extremely well with
my VLAB-M but I know one user that is getting incredible perfomance with his
WarpEngine SCSI-2 setup. If the Magnum SCSI is a fast SCSI-2 then you might
expect better perfomance with it than the A3000's SCSI. The 040 on the Magnum
is a definite plus for rendering purposes with the VLAB-M. I would call
NoahJi's and ask them if they have any particular recommendations concerning
these two setups.
EdV
Ed.
Thanks for the reply. The magnum is a SCSI 2 device therefore I guess it
will perform well. Has anyone seen any report comparing the VLAB motion to
others such as Video Machine, Targa 2000, and Radius Videovision? I would like
to know if it's on equal terms with the above mentioned.
Bryan,
I haven't seen any substantive reports comparing the VLAB-M. I don't have any
video test equipment and therefore can't report on it's output signal quality.
All my "tests" have been done visually on the NTSC monitor. Anything I've done
with the VLAB-M set above a 75% JPEG factor has looked great on my system.
EdV