by Rob Tidrow
Over the past three or four years, the availability of digital video clips for PCs has increased dramatically. Many of the clips available are intended for entertainment or marketing purposes. However, a significant number of video files and applications that incorporate video for business, education, and information dissemination (such as news, weather, and sports) are also available.
One way that digital video has found its way onto the desktop of corporate business users, for example, has been the wide-ranging appeal of the World Wide Web. Video clips of news events can be downloaded from USA Today's or MSNBC's Web sites. This way, executives or staff members can easily download news items throughout the day to stay abreast of late-breaking news. Or users who want control over when they listen to and watch the news can access it when they have the time. The Web is not the only source for PC video. Some applications such as games, education programs, and interactive music CD-ROMs include video events.
If you're upgrading from Windows 95, you know that Windows provides a nice environment in which to play back full-motion video and animations. Windows 98 provides the same multimedia architecture as Windows 95 but provides additional features to make Windows 98 a richer platform on which to play and record video.
Video files, like other multimedia files, are very large. A one-minute video clip saved to disk straight from video would take up more than 1GB of hard disk space. To enable PCs to record video efficiently, compression software is used. During playback, decompression software expands the file so that you can view it on your screen. Windows 98's multimedia component architecture includes the Video Compression Manager (VCM), which handles video and image data compression. Within the VCM, the software that handles compression and decompression is known as codec. How well a video file plays compared to its original noncompressed format depends on the codec's compression method and compression parameters.
When multimedia developers design video titles to run on Windows 98, they can provide a codec with their titles or use one already installed on Windows. If they provide a codec, it must be installed on your machine prior to running the multimedia title. Usually, this installation is part of the general installation process for the title.
In most cases, multimedia developers rely on the codecs that are preinstalled with Windows 98. They include the following:
Another important aspect of video files is the file format in which a title is saved. The following points summarize the formats supported by Windows 98:
FIG. 16.1 This AVI movie is running in 320x240 resolution.
NOTE A new technology introduced by Microsoft and supported by Windows 98 is Surround Video. Surround Video enables full-screen, interactive multimedia movies to play on PCs. Users can interact with Surround Video titles in a 360-degree "environment," which provides training, game, and other multimedia title developers a rich development tool in which to create breathtaking and realistic-looking video. You can learn more about Surround Video on the Web at http://www.microsoft.com. Search on the word surround.
Windows 98 includes built-in support for AVI, MOV, and MPEG video files. This support enables you to download these file types and play them on your desktop without worrying about downloading and configuring a separate video file player. It also means that you can send files in these formats to other people who use Windows 98 and feel confident that they can play the files you send them.
Depending on the components you install during Windows 98 Setup, you may or may not have video support installed on your system. The Media Player and Video Compression (codecs) components must be installed to play back video on your system. To find out, open the Add/Remove Programs Properties page and click the Windows Setup tab. Click the Multimedia option and then click Details. Make sure the two components just mentioned are installed. If these components are not installed, install them now.
TIP You also can look in the Start, Programs, Accessories, Multimedia folder for the Media Player applet. However, you cannot easily see whether the Video Compression components are installed.
Windows 98 provides two primary tools to use and display information about video files. You can view information about video files by using the Video Properties page. To display this page, locate a video file, such as an AVI file, on your system. If you elected to install all the Help files during the Windows Setup, for example, look in the Windows\Help folder for a collection of AVI files. You also can look on the Windows 98 CD-ROM in \Cdsample\Videos for a few AVI and MPEG files.
Right-click the file in Windows Explorer and select Properties. This action
displays the Video Properties page with the name of the file in the title bar of
the property page, as shown in Figure 16.2. On the General tab, you can see information
about the video file, including size, creation date and time, and its attributes.
You can change the attributes of the file to make it read-only, hidden, or archive.
FIG. 16.2 The General
tab of the Video Properties page shows information about the selected AVI
file.
For AVI files, the Details tab shows information about the contents of the
files (see Figure 16.3). This information includes the name of the file, who holds
the copyright to the file, the length of the video, and audio and video compression
information. At the bottom of the Details tab for some files, you may see the Other
Information area. In this area, you can click an item in the left panel to see the
description of the item in the right box. The items in the Other Information area
vary depending on the file. Some files may show only one item in this area, whereas
others may have several items.
FIG. 16.3 The Details
tab shows information about the contents of an AVI file.
Click the Preview tab (for AVI files only) to see the starting frame of
the AVI file. Click the play button to view the entire video (see Figure
16.4). You can click the stop button to pause the AVI.
Click OK after you finish viewing the Video Properties page.
FIG. 16.4 The Preview tab
includes a play button to enable you to play back the selected AVI file.
The Media Player application is used to play back many multimedia file types, including AVI files, Autodesk Animator files, MIDI, and QuickTime, and video files.
You can launch the Media Player by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories,
Multimedia, Media Player. This action displays the Media Player application (see
Figure 16.5).
FIG. 16.5 Media Player
enables you to play back many types of multimedia file types.
To see which types of multimedia file types are configured for your copy of Media
Player, select the Device menu. To run an AVI file, for example,
select the Video for Windows option. This action displays the Open dialog box, from
which you can select an AVI file to run.
TIP You also can select File, Open and select the Files of type drop-down list to display the types of files you can play back in Media Player.
After you open a video file, a window appears under the Media Player main window (see Figure 16.6). The buttons on the Media Player window are activated so that you can control the playback of the video. The following list describes each of the VCR-type controls you can use to run and control the video file:
FIG. 16.6 Media Player
provides controls to let you start, pause, or stop a video, or jump to a specific
section of a video.
Although the Media Player does not have many user-configurable options, you can do
a few things to change the way Media Player looks. You can, for example, resize the
Media Player window by grabbing the window edges and resizing it with your mouse.
One problem with this method is that it may distort the image somewhat. To resize
the Media Player window more precisely, select Device, Properties (available
with AVI files) to display the Video Properties dialog box (see Figure 16.7).
Next, click the drop-down list next to the Window option to choose the size of the window. The default setting is Original size, which is usually 320x240 or 160x120 pixels. You also can select from Double original size, 1/16 of screen size, 1/4 of screen size, 1/2 of screen size, or Maximized. If you don't like any of these choices, exit the drop-down list and click the Full Screen option. This action displays the video in a window that covers the entire Windows 98 desktop, including the taskbar. Click OK to exit and view the AVI file in the window size you select.
You also can set playback options to customize how the video window looks and behaves during playback. Select Edit, Options to display the Options dialog box (see Figure 16.8). The following is a description of each of the options in this dialog box:
Click OK to exit the Options dialog box and save your settings.
FIG. 16.7 The Video Properties
dialog box enables you to set the size of the video window.
FIG. 16.8 Use the Options
dialog box to configure how Media Player looks and plays back AVI files.
You may find that optimizing your system in general will provide a better platform on which to run any multimedia file, including video files. You can, however, maximize your environment for video files in some ways.
First, if you plan to work on the World Wide Web, you should prepare your system so that it can use the ActiveMovie control to play AVI, MPEG, and QuickTime files. By default, when you run Internet Explorer 4.0, ActiveMovie is installed. On some systems, ActiveMovie may not run properly due to hardware incompatibilities. Table 16.1 lists a number of common video adapters that currently support ActiveMovie.
| Adapter Manufacturer | Adapter Product Name |
| ATI Technologies | ATI 8514-Ultra (mach8) |
| ATI Technologies | ATI Graphics Pro Turbo (mach64) |
| ATI Technologies | ATI Graphics Pro Turbo PCI (mach64) |
| ATI Technologies | ATI Graphics Ultra (mach8) |
| ATI Technologies | ATI Graphics Ultra Pro (mach32) |
| ATI Technologies | ATI Graphics Ultra Pro EISA (mach32) |
| ATI Technologies | ATI Graphics Vantage (mach8) |
| ATI Technologies | ATI Graphics Wonder (mach32) |
| ATI Technologies | ATI Rage/Rage II PCI (ati_m64) |
| ATI Technologies | ATI Rage/Rage II+ PCI (ati_m64) |
| ATI Technologies | ATI VGA Wonder |
| ATI Technologies | ATI WinTurbo (mach64) |
| Cardinal Technologies | Cardinal VIDEOcolor (Cirrus Logic) |
| Cardinal Technologies | Cardinal VIDEOspectrum (Cirrus Logic) |
| Chips & Technologies | Chips & Technologies Accelerator |
| Chips & Technologies | Chips & Technologies Super VGA |
| Chips & Technologies | Chips & Technologies 64310 PCI |
| Chips & Technologies | Chips & Technologies 65545 PCI |
| Chips & Technologies | Chips & Technologies 65548 PCI |
| Chips & Technologies | Chips & Technologies 65550 PCI |
| Chips & Technologies | Chips & Technologies 65554 PCI |
| Cirrus Logic | Cirrus Logic |
| Cirrus Logic | Cirrus Logic 5429/30/34 |
| Cirrus Logic | Cirrus Logic 5430/40 PCI |
| Cirrus Logic | Cirrus Logic 5434 PCI |
| Cirrus Logic | Cirrus Logic 5436 PCI |
| Cirrus Logic | Cirrus Logic 5446 PCI |
| Cirrus Logic | Cirrus Logic 5462 PCI |
| Cirrus Logic | Cirrus Logic 7542 PCI |
| Cirrus Logic | Cirrus Logic 7543 PCI |
| Cirrus Logic | Cirrus Logic 7548 PCI |
| Compaq | Compaq Notebook Display (WD) |
| DFI | DFI WG-1000 (Cirrus Logic) |
| DFI | DFI WG-1000VL Plus (Cirrus Logic) |
| DFI | DFI WG-1000VL/4 Plus (Cirrus Logic) |
| DFI | DFI WG-3000P (S3) |
| DFI | DFI WG-5000 (Tseng) |
| DFI | DFI WG-6000VL (WD) |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond SpeedStar (Tseng) |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond SpeedStar 24 (Tseng) |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond SpeedStar 24X (WD) |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond SpeedStar 64 |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond SpeedStar Pro (Cirrus Logic) |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond SpeedStar Pro SE |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth 24 (S3) |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth 32 (Tseng) |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth 64 DRAM PCI |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth 64 DRAM VLB |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth 64 PCI |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth 64 Video VRAM PCI |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth 64 Video VRAM VLB |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth 64 VRAM VLB |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth Pro |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth SE PCI |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth SE VLB |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth Video PCI |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth Video VLB |
| Diamond Multimedia Systems | Diamond Stealth VRAM (S3) |
| Digital Equipment Corp. | DEC PC76H-EA (S3) |
| Digital Equipment Corp. | DEC PC76H-EB (S3) |
| Digital Equipment Corp. | DEC PC76H-EC (S3) |
| Digital Equipment Corp. | DEC PCXAG-AJ (S3) |
| Digital Equipment Corp. | DEC PCXAG-AK (S3) |
| Digital Equipment Corp. | DEC PCXAG-AN (S3) |
| ELSA | ELSA WINNER 1000Trio (S3) |
| ELSA | ELSA WINNER 1280 (C&T) |
| ELSA | ELSA WINNER 2000 VL (S3) |
| ELSA | ELSA WINNER 2000PRO (S3) |
| ELSA | ELSA WINNER/2-1280 (C&T) |
| Genoa Systems | Genoa Phantom 32I (Tseng) |
| Genoa Systems | Genoa Phantom 64 (S3) |
| Genoa Systems | Genoa WindowsVGA 24 Turbo (Cirrus Logic) |
| Genoa Systems | Genoa WindowsVGA 64 Turbo (Cirrus Logic) |
| Hercules Computer Technology | Hercules Dynamite (Tseng) |
| Hercules Computer Technology | Hercules Dynamite Pro (Tseng) |
| Hercules Computer Technology | Hercules Graphite 64 (S3) |
| Hercules Computer Technology | Hercules Graphite Terminator 64 (S3) |
| Hercules Computer Technology | Hercules Graphite Terminator Pro (S3) |
| IBM | IBM ThinkPad 755cx (WD) |
| Matrox Graphics | Matrox MGA Millennium |
| Matrox Graphics | Matrox MGA Mystique |
| NeoMagic Corporation | NeoMagic MagicGraph 128V |
| NeoMagic Corporation | NeoMagic MagicGraph 128ZV |
| Number Nine Visual Technology | Number Nine 9FX Motion 531 (S3) |
| Number Nine Visual Technology | Number Nine 9FX Motion 771 (S3) |
| Number Nine Visual Technology | Number Nine 9FX Vision 330 (S3) |
| Number Nine Visual Technology | Number Nine FlashPoint 32 (Cirrus Logic) |
| Number Nine Visual Technology | Number Nine FlashPoint 64 (Cirrus Logic) |
| Number Nine Visual Technology | Number Nine GXE (S3) |
| Number Nine Visual Technology | Number Nine GXE64 (S3) |
| Number Nine Visual Technology | Number Nine GXE64 Pro (S3) |
| Number Nine Visual Technology | Number Nine Imagine 128 |
| Orchid Technology | Orchid Fahrenheit 1280 Plus (S3) |
| Orchid Technology | Orchid Fahrenheit Pro 64 (S3) |
| Orchid Technology | Orchid Fahrenheit VA (S3) |
| Orchid Technology | Orchid Kelvin 64 (Cirrus Logic) |
| Orchid Technology | Orchid Kelvin EZ (Cirrus Logic) |
| Orchid Technology | Orchid ProDesigner II (Tseng) |
| Paradise | Paradise Accelerator Ports O'Call (WD) |
| Paradise | Paradise Accelerator VL Plus (WD) |
| Paradise | Paradise Bahamas (S3) |
| Paradise | Paradise Barbados 64 (S3) |
| Paradise | Paradise Super VGA (WD) |
| Rendition, Inc. | Rendition Verite 1000 PCI |
| S3 | S3 Vision864 PCI |
| S3 | S3 Vision868 PCI |
| S3 | S3 Vision964 PCI |
| S3 | S3 Vision964 PCI |
| S3 | S3 Vision968 PCI |
| Spider Graphics | Spider 32 VLB (Cirrus Logic) |
| Spider Graphics | Spider 32Plus VLB (Cirrus Logic) |
| Spider Graphics | Spider 64 (Cirrus Logic) |
| Spider Graphics | Spider Tarantula 64 (S3) |
| Trident Microsystems | Trident 9320 PCI (v6.00.20) |
| Trident Microsystems | Trident 9440 PCI (v6.00.20) |
| Trident Microsystems | Trident 9685/9680/9682/9385/9382/9385-1 PCI (v6.00.20) |
| Tseng Labs | Tseng Labs ET4000 |
| Tseng Labs | Tseng Labs ET4000/W32 |
| Tseng Labs | Tseng Labs ET4000/W32 PCI |
| Tseng Labs | Tseng Labs ET6000 PCI |
TIP If your video adapter is not listed in Table 16.1, contact your manufacturer to find out whether an updated driver supporting ActiveMovie is available. Also, visit the Hardware Compatibility List Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/hwtest/hcl and search in the Display Adapter category (see Figure 16.9).
FIG. 16.9 The Hardware
Compatibility List is helpful when you want to know whether your video adapter will
work with Windows 98 and ActiveMovie.
To increase video performance, you shouldn't look only at which adapter you have
installed. You also should look at the following optimization items for your adapter
and other system components :
© Copyright, Macmillan Publishing. All rights reserved.
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