CompuServe Thread

#A Few Questions

2 messages in this thread
#9962From: Chris YancharFeb 28, 1992 6:06 PM
I have a few general questions about 3D Studio and Animator Pro: (1) How would I capture an AutoCAD screen to use in Animator Pro? I've tried using Hijaak and created a .GIF file, but the the quality is pretty crummy. (2) When rendering to tape, can you combine a .FLC animation with an animation created by sequential .TGA files? Example: Say you create part of an animation in Animator and another part in 3D Studio (which is rendered to the .TGA files). (3) What is the actual end result difference between a .FLC animation and a .TGA animation anyway? (4) What is the optimum and/or typical resolution for rendering to video tape? (5) What is this Targa+ calibration kit I've been hearing about? Is it a good idea to get this before rendering an animation. By the way…..I am using a Targa+ graphics board. Thanks in advance, Chris Yanchar
#9983From: MARTIN G FOSTERFeb 28, 1992 9:01 PM
1. try PIXELPOP which comes with animator pro, see the documentation (I have never used it) 2. Sure, you can combine .flc and .tga animations, just keep an eye on matching resolutions and aspect ratios. 3. .flc animations will be limited to a maximum of 256 colours (8 bit), whereas .tga animations can be up to 16 million (24 bit). Flics files are meant for realtime playback on the pc, whereas .tgas must be recorded frame by frame to tape to be seen as animations. Pretty soon within a year or two we will be able to see 24bit animations played back in real time on a pc. Of course, .tgas can be converted to .flcs with NUMPIC in animator pro. 4. Typical resolutions for video are 512×486 in 24 bit colour, or, even better 756×486 24 bit colour (broadcast quality). 5. I don't think you really need a targa+ calibration kit in most circumstances. I have a targa+16/32 and I've never used or needed the kit.