#DPS Driver Support
11 messages in this thread
Hi all,
I just wanted to mention that with my goings on about Matrox providing an NT
driver for the Illuminator Pro, I've noticed that DPS has been cranking out all
kinds of drivers lately, including for those 25 some people who haven't
downloaded them yet… a new one which converts AVI to ANI and ANI to AVI
converter, which was the second in a series the first being MCI support to link
WAV files with ANI's so that could be played syncronously….
Now if that isn't impressive… I don't know what is… (yes a rather
melodramatic statement, but when one considers how much effort I've gone to to
try to get Matrox to write a driver for the Ill Pro… I think I can really
appreciate what DPS has done for its PAR owners…)
And one might also take this as an indicator, that DPS is not going to stop
supporting its customers when it comes to driver support… heads up on the PVR
NT issue… heck I'm sold…
And as an additional side note… isn't it interesting that DPS was a year and
a half behind development with a SCSI based DDR and their solution and support
is going to win the day… I find it truly astounding… and I give them alot
of credit for what they've been able to do over the last couple of years…
John
Hello,
Sounds like you may be able to help me. With the new MCI drivers for the PAR,
do I now have a choice between Razor Pro and Adobe Premiere as an editor? I'm
about to buy a PAR and need to buy an editor. Any comments?
Thanks,
Scott
Hi Scott,
>> do I now have a choice between Razor Pro and Adobe Premiere as an editor…
<<
Yes and several other possibilities open up as well including Animator
Studio… which is what I'm working on linking. Basically instead of converting
the whole file it provides a pointer and allows you to read in an ANI as though
it were an AVI and vice versa… I'm not quite sure how sophisticated this
particular version is… I haven't been able to play a reduced size set of
images yet… but it will run on the second monitor and it may be because I
don't have the small compression chip on this older PAR. The new ones come with
the chip I believe. These smaller images then become your reference for
editing. And it does seem that it should be a very rapid way of handling these
animation files… maybe not as fast as RP I don't know but it seems very
quick… I like the idea of linking Ani Studio to this process as it is in
many ways an ideal companion for this arrangement, its different than RP which
is really set up for editing, where as Ani Studio is set up for layering and
painting… but its pretty evident where you could use the layering in much the
same way and create some very unique transitions almost seamlessly…
So yes this opens up alot of possibilities in fact anything that can read an
AVI file and manipulate it is a candidate… 🙂 You'll want to get the TBC
btw, something I've lived without, but once you get into this, your hard drive
shrinks and your appetite for importing video grows… <G>
John
John,
Thanks for the quick reply. The PAR system I'm buying is used, it has the
decimator chip, the TBC-IV capture card, and (2) 1.2gb drives. The system
won't be available for a couple weeks but I thought I'd get the editing
software now so I can get a head start learning that. I've seen better reviews
of Premiere than I have Razor, and the guy I'm buying the PAR from wasn't to
impressed with Razor. BTW, I tried Animator Studio for a day or two and it
seemed very very slow to me (on 90mhz Pentium 32mb ram), with lots of disk
hits. What is your experience with it?
Thanks
Scott
Scott,
Two things… the reviews on RP have been terribly biased of the two I would
definitely go with Razor Pro… as many here who use it will attest to its
strengths… Second I agree on the speed issue with Ani Studio, but that is
what is so significant about the MCI and AVI codec that have been created by
DPS as this essentially eliminates alot of the time involved… now I haven't
got it all working yet, so I'm not exactly sure how its going to work but first
off ANI images are much smaller than TGA's so big boost in speed there, second
because there is a pointer to the ANI rather than a direct conversion, its very
very quick. The question then becomes what about when you have to do a
conversion, at this point I don't know… but say you are editing and you want
an effect for 15 frames… theoretically you could just pull those frames from
both sides for a total of 30 frames create your effect and tie them all
together… that way you don't need to read in the whole file… sounds very
doable to me… I've just got to get this driver situation straightened out…
I've got 3 versions of Video for Windows, some of which allow for small images
1.1 and some that don't 1.0 and then… well each program has loaded its own
and they are conflicting…
But it seems to me with all the tools available in Ani Studio and working on
sets of images in this manner you can not only edit but create some great
transitions…
And of course your decision will be based on primary application… if you plan
to do mostly straight editing then I'd highly recommend Razor Pro… if you can
combine paint and edit features I'd get AS… Premiere is way over-rated and
won't support the PAR any better than AS and without all the tools AS has… so
its your call, but if you ask here (the home of the PC PAR no doubt) most
people will tell you RP is the way to go for a variety of reasons if editing is
your primary goal…
Nice setup you're getting btw… its all there. 🙂
John
John,
Thanks for the great info. I think I'll play it safe and get Razor. If you
think I'll need more documention than is supplied with the PAR system and with
Razor Pro to get up and running, I'd like to know of a source.
BTW, I plan to use the system for technical animations, presetations, and short
informational videos for the Navy.
Thanks again,
Scott
Hi Scott,
>> I think I'll play it safe and get Razor. <<
That's definitely a good move. Especially as most of your work is technically
oreinted. Mostly I assume you'll be using it as an editor which is Razor's
forte.
As far as the manual goes its pretty good and pretty straightforward. Cooling
is a big issue, especially if you're going to have 2 1.2 Micropolis cooking in
there… whatever case you get or use, make sure you have alot of air flowing
through… other wise it _should_ go fairly smoothly… you know take you time
read the manual… <g> and if you get a problem, post a question here before
you start dinking with something… chances are very good that someone has
encoutered the same situation… You're getting your system after the PAR has
had the majority of its bugs worked out. And its been pretty well field tested.
The PAR does have some quirks, so once its up and running give yourself time to
find out it limitations…
How you intend to use it btw is perfect IMO and will be a good value for you…
Take care, and you're most welcome…
John
John,
Thanks for the great advise.
Scott
Scott,
>> Thanks for the great advise.<<
Sure and if you have any problems, just holler, there's a bunch of people here
to help. 🙂
John
Help! If you're qorking today, how do you configure the PAR MCI drivers'
ANI2AVI to write an AVI that readable by Premiere 4.0? Desparate for an answer
for a client!
Dennis,
I'm not using Premiere so I can't help you. The docs from DPS do mention
Premiere as an example. I would refer you to them as I don't know the
particulars on Premiere working with the PAR. I'm working on configuring it
with Animator Studio, as I have an interest in increasing its potential.
John