#AmigaVision Pro ?
22 messages in this thread
Could anyone give me a brief rundown on the major differences between
AmigaVision (1.2) and AmigaVision Pro. I just installed 1.2 on a 4000. Looking
for something to replace Director, which doesn't seem to like DOS 3.0. TIA.
AV Pro is much improved. I haven't used it a lot but while it looks the
same outwardly it has extra bells and whistles and is generally more
bulletproof. I can't recall all the improvements (not listed in the new
manual). It came out before AGA and I don't think it supports that. Its
external-device control is improved and so, I think, is AREXX. There's an
accompanying tutorial and the manual is improved (no longer a ring
binder). It requires 4 megs of RAM rather than 3. A key improvement: The
runtime module is now free and included for you to distribute AV flows.
Also, CDTV hooks for doing CD-ROM flows, CDXL anim videos files supported,
In-between AV version from yours included 1.53 and 1.7, which made minor
adjustments and bug fixes.
But where are you going to get it?
An alternative that looks super (I've just played with the demo) is Helm,
a $90 commercial program with a built in paint package, which continues to
be supported and has been upgraded regularly. It doesn't have the dBase
functions of AV, and is not quite as straightforward as AV's flow-chart
metaphor, but is quite powerful. Safe Harbor sells it, and there should be
a demo on line.
— Ron Legro / MILWAUKEE WI USA via AUTOPILOT
["Phun, phun, phun on the Infobahn…"]
>> But where are you going to get [AmigaVision]?
As of April, it was available from SMG 610 363-4005 for $150+5 shipping; no
price break for upgrades. I was hoping it supported AGA and didn't rely on
library files from older versions of DOS.
Thanks for the description, and also for info about Helm, which may be
a better choice. I don't need 90% of AmigaVision. Just want something
reliable for dumping animated graphics to VTR. Needs to be able to intermix
1-pass and looping anims with glitch-free transitions, load next anim into
memory without affecting speed or display of current anim. Don't need any
interactive controls. AGA support would be nice. For transitions, fade to
black and cut is all I need; anything else would be done in post.
An updated Director would be ideal, but it seems to have gone the way of
Commodore.
One thing Helm does that is neat (or will do in the next version; I
forget) is a software-based picture-in-picture routine to do the Amiga
equivalent of little Quicktime movies or animations. In other words,
playback can occur in a window, with other stuff on screen.
For simple fades and such there was a package of utilities that handled
that and other chores in the public domain. Video Tools or something like
that. Do a library scan and maybe it'll turn up. It also did color bars,
countdowns, etc.
There are some animation playback enhancers/utilities that are expressly
designed for that purpose and might be better than a multimedia program.
Stuff like Magic Lantern, AnimWorkshop, Batch Factory (uses AREXX scripts
to handle things run under other programs), IVS MovieMaker (high end and
expensive). BigAnim is shareware that might do the trick. Do a file scan
in the libs here under ANIM and you might turn up something useful. Not
all of these will handle transitions but you could cook up a couple of
utilities to work in tandem.
Scala Multimedia 300 would be an excellent choice if you can afford
several hundred bucks. It does great transitions and DVEs, syncs to SMPTE,
handles music with anims, and lets you optimize anims and audio for fast
playback from disk. Also, it has an easy interface to program sequences.
It's meant ot serve as a CG/presentation program and is very easy yet
powerful to use. Astonishingly good results even on old Amigas. Blows away
just about anything on any other platform.
I see Oxxi has a deal going on its apparent Scala competitor, VideoStage
(ad in this month's Amazing Computing). Uses a similar interface but I
haven't actually used the product.
Another commercial product that you might find appealing though it is of
more limited scope: Adorage 2.0, which is a fast anim player that also
does very nice transitions and effects using a sort of Art Dept.
interface. It's European and I've seen demos in the US but don't know
where it might be bought.
— Ron Legro / MILWAUKEE WI USA via AUTOPILOT
["Phun, phun, phun on the Infobahn…"]
Ron,
Thanks for the compliments on our products! ;-}
Regards,
John Chang
Technical Support Manager
Scala, Inc.
Now sell me a freely distributable run-time module and I'll sing you some
more praises. 🙂
— Ron Legro / MILWAUKEE WI USA via AUTOPILOT
["Phun, phun, phun on the Infobahn…"]
Ron,
Sorry to disappoint you my friend. ;-{ However, we have been kicking around
the idea of selling a run-time dongle. Still don't know if that is going to go
through or not. I think it depends on where the Amiga technology goes. Hey, I
only work here! ;-}
Regards,
John Chang
Technical Support Manager
Scala, Inc.
Bill,
You said and I quote, "Just want something reliable for dumping animated
graphics to VTR. Needs to be able to intermix 1-pass and looping anims with
glitch-free transitions, load next anim into memory without affecting speed or
display of current anim."
From your above statement, it sounds like our Scala MultiMedia product will do
the job. Indeed, we are more expensive ($399.00 MSRP) but I can tell you our
software will perform better than AmigaVision Pro.
Regards,
John Chang
Technical Support Manager
Scala, Inc.
Always nice to be quoted. I think you own Ron a lifetime of free upgrades.
Could you tell me who stocks Scalia (LA area or mail order)? Thanks.
Bill,
Just about any Amiga dealer should be able to get Scala MultiMedia MM300 for
you. Just in case they have a "blank stare" look about what or where, just
tell them to get it from our exclusive distributor, Creative Equipment
International (CEI) in Miami, FL. Please note that CEI is not related to
Creative Computers in LA.
FYI, if anyone is interested, CEI is now bundling our Scala MultiMedia MM210
software (AGA compliant) with any Amiga 4000 for a limited time. If your
dealer does not know about this, tell them to give CEI a call at (800)
334-3122.
Indeed, I shall reward Ron Legro for his compliments. Ron, if you're reading
this, E-Mail me your address.
Thank you Bill for choosing our products!
Regards,
John Chang
Technical Support Manager
Scala, Inc.
Bill,
To add on to what Ron said: AVPro DOES support AGA but you cannot control
the palette. (According to the manual, as I have a ECS machine). AV also
has limited hypertext support (it's a little quirky, no where near as good
as Helm). One thing I like is that you can control objects (from the
object editor) by name, such as hiding, moving etc.. There is limited
support for animbrushes.
Unfortunately, there is no product (on any system???) that offers a GUI
interface and better control than Director. AVPro has some nice features
although I have had some problems. If you have any specific questions I
will be happy to answer them.
BTW, You might want to also consider Scala which doesn't offer a free
runtime but from what I know offers more control of visuals.
Andrew
Thanks, Andrew. I don't need anything fancy. Just want to dump animated
graphics to video. Mainly concerned with ability to load in background without
affecting currently-playing animation, being able to play a reasonable
combination of non-looping anims, looping amins, and still frames without
transition glitches — and, especially important, being absolutely consistent
about where an image is placed on the screen.
For that limited use, which would you consider most appropriate?
>> load in background without affecting currently-playing animation
You can pre-load in backgrounds as an anim plays but you will probably
have a hit on your playback speed. It doesn't work like Director where
you can predraw a buffer. Preloading only means it doesn't have to read
from disk.
>> play a reasonable combination of non-looping anims
In my experience I have had problems with non-looping anims as they will
end on the first frame. You can put in a wait for a specific frame but I
have found it doesn't always work.
>> looping amins
You can loop anims a specific number of times or infinitely. Does not
support Ping-Ponging.
>> still frames without transition glitches
Transitions are much improved in AVPro and there are quite a few that
don't care about the palette. I have found they can be somewhat slow (ie
2-5 seconds before anything happens) but that may have been because I had
only 1 MEG chip RAM.
>> being absolutely consistent about where an image is placed on the
>> screen.
I haven't had any problem with that but I may not be as picky as you. It
is possible to interactively position bitmaps (including super-bitmaps).
Also, you can position brushes interactively or by co-ordinates.
AVPro is great for interactive apps (kiosks, CBT etc) but I wouldn't
recommend it first for linear presentations where speed and presentation
are more important. It has lots of visual pizazz but lacks the exact
timing and speed that would be required for video. It would seem to me
that Scala or MediaPoint (or the Oxxi product whose name has escaped me)
might be your best bets. It doesn't sound like Helm would be appropriate,
either.
Hope this helps,
Andrew
>> Hope this helps
It does immensely. Thank you for such a clear description.
>> absolutely consistent about where an image is placed
I add dissolves between related anims (same background) in post production. If
the images don't match up exactly, it's expensive to fix in post ($600/hour)
and there's a loss in image quality because the NTSC is digitized, shifted,
then re-encoded. DPaint places the image differently depending on whether the
menu and toolbox were on screen when you started playing the anim — it's very
subtle and usually not noticeable unless you superimpose matching images. I
learned the hard way and used Director ever since, even for just a single anim.
I need the playback speed of the 4000, but the price is having to find
something else as reliable as Director.
Scala is very good for transitions not only because it can handle AGA and
mixed palettes but because the included DVEs are extremely slick. Also, it
will actually average palettes on the fly using Floyd-Steinberg dithering.
So if you have two images with different palettes, each of which has no
more than 128 colors, it will handle them in AGA mode. Even where that's
not possible, it makes very smooth transitions using color fades. The
Scala transitions have to be seen to be believed. They look like they're
hardware-based. I don't believe I mentioned that Scala comes with AnimLab,
a utility to optimize any animation so it will play back at the fastest
possible speed, even from disk. Scala is so good, even if you use only a
few of its features, you'll fall in love with it. For instance, you can
arrange scenes (stills, anims, CG, sound effects, whatever) via the
"shuffler" screen, which is a storyboard that shows you each scene as a
page. You can drag the pages around and then click on them to edit
details, like palettes, fonts for CG, etc. Simple.
I really think Oxxi's VideoStage product might offer potential.
Apparently, it's based on Animagic, the first Amiga software transition
creator, but has a storyboard format much like Scala. What it does in the
area of anims, though, I can't say. Noticed one review of it in a euromag
a few months back but didn't pay close attention.
— Ron Legro / MILWAUKEE WI USA via AUTOPILOT
["Phun, phun, phun on the Infobahn…"]
Ron,
Thanks again for the great compliments!
Regards,
John Chang
Technical Support Manager
Scala, Inc.
Thank you for those excellent leads.
Bill,
Hmmm, sorry, re: AVPro but I wouldn't know about the accuracy of screen
location.
Possibly another product that you might want to consider would be Amos.
Susposedly it has fast animation and it would likely provide the control
that you are used to with Director. I don't know as I have never used it,
however.
Andrew
Thanks for steering me in the right direction.
>> Thanks for steering me in the right direction.
A pleasure…any chance to blab off at the mouth.
Andrew