README.TXT For REALmagic DVR (TM)
Release 2.2 (Build 58/139_5/139_5-Enc,Dec,App) for Win 2000
June 15th, 2001
===============
Congratulations on your purchase of REALmagic DVR DVD/MPEG2
multimedia encoder/decoder. This file contains important information for
installation of the drivers and application software for this card.
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FOR FUTURE UPDATES VISIT OUR WEB SITE
www.sigmadesigns.com
Latest Drivers & FTP Access - DVR
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GENERAL HINTS AND PRECAUTIONS :
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- PLEASE TURN OFF THE SCREEN SAVER AND ALL POWER MANAGEMENT/STANDBY
FEATURES (MONITOR, DISK, CPU, ...) WHEN ENCODING OTHERWISE YOU STOP
THE ENCODING AND GET A VIDEO OVERFLOW ERROR.
- There is no 2 GB limitation on the encoded file size (limitation
in Win 9x and Win NT drivers). The file system is the limiting
factor (FAT16, NTFS, ...). But the RMP file (used to link
fragments of 2 GB files) is still created.
- Fix for False Macrovision detection from non protected VCR tapes.
- The TV/VGA switch button in the bottom right corner of the
DVR Station control panel is disabled during the encoding process.
To switch the preview to TV, go Options, Settings, TV, ... Please
avoid switching a lot to avoid lip synch problems.
- If you are using Microsoft Office XP and you have its utility
CTFMON.EXE running, it'll stop DVR Station - the DVR -
DVD player from playing encrypted movies. This utility injects
MSCTF.DLL in the memory space given by Windows to hardware and
software manufacturers. A workaround is under investigation to
avoid this conflict. A temporary solution is to disable this
utility before the playback of movies : press CTRL+ALT+DEL,
click on CTFMON.EXE, and click "End Task". After the movie
playback, restart CTFMON.exe from Start-Run : ctfmon.exe & OK.
- More in section VI - Known Limitations.
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PLEASE MAKE SURE, WHEN ENCODING, THAT YOU ARE SELECTING THE CORRECT
COLOR FORMAT OF YOUR VIDEO INPUT SIGNAL - NTSC, PAL, OR SECAM -
OTHERWISE YOU MIGHT GET CORRUPTED MPEG FILES
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The REALmagic DVR Win 2K drivers are on one CD and this README file will
be copied on the hard disk with the installation.
The other CD contains the installation software for Vitec Multimedia
Video Clip MPEG-2 SE and the Sonic Solutions DVDit! LE. It also has the
manuals for DVR Station, DVDit! LE, and Video Clip MPEG-2 SE in PDF
format.
\Adobe This includes setup program for Adobe Acrobat Reader v4.05.
\DirectX This contains setup file for Microsoft DirectX Media 6.0
which are drivers necessary to run REALmagic DVR software.
\Sonic This includes setup program for Sonic DVDit! LE v1.1
\Vitec This includes setup program for Vitec Video Clip MPEG-2 SE
\Manuals This includes manuals in Adobe PDF format. Need to have
Adobe Acrobat Reader or install it from the \Adobe directory.
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- FOR A QUICK START, PLEASE READ THE TUTORIAL PAMPHLET IN YOUR PACKAGE.
- THE SERIAL NUMBER FOR THE INSTALLATION OF DVDiT IS ON THE FIRST PAGE
OF THE DVDiT SECTION OF THE MANUAL. IF THE SERIAL NUMBER SHOWS AS
NOT VALID, CALL TECH SUPPORT AT SIGMA DESIGNS (408) 957-9866 or
WRITE TECH_SUPPORT@SDESIGNS.COM FOR ANOTHER NUMBER GIVING THE NUMBER
YOU HAVE.
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WHAT'S NEW IN THIS RELEASE 2
============================
-
- Support for VCD format compatible with Nero 5.0, Adaptec VCD Creator
4.0, and WinOnCD 3.7.550
- Better support for low audio and video bit rate
- Support for audio only encoding in the absence of a video signal input
- Support for more than 2 GB file size in encoding and depending on the
file system used. The encoding stops at 1 MB below the available
space on the target disk.
IN THE REL 2.0 DRIVERS FOR WIN 98 & NT 4.0:
Long time encoding produces MPG files of 2 GB size and linked by an
RMP extension file linking all the files as one unit to the system
(for example you will get test.MPG, test001.MPG, test002.MPG, 2 GB ea,
with test.RMP when encoding a large file named "test.mpg" -
producing a combined 6 GB large file - use the RMP file to play this
large file and NOT the individual files)
- When clicking the current drive in DVR Station (Options Dialog,
Settings) you force a refresh to its contents.
- More extensive Help file
- Limitation : bitrate is limited to 7Mbps for DVD/DVR and 10 Mbps
for MPEG 2.
CONTENTS
========
I - DRIVER AND APPLICATIONS INSTALLATION
II - BORDER ADJUSTMENT AND COLOR CALIBRATION
III - DVD REGION CODE CHANGE
IV - TV OUT
V - FULL SCREEN PLAYBACK
VI - KNOWN LIMITATIONS
I - SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
=====================
Note : You need to have the Administrator rights to be able to
install this software because of its modifications to the
registry.
After the hardware installation of the card do the following:
1. For an existing installation (if not go to step 2): uninstall the
previous software by going to the REALmagic Group - Uninstall,
reboot, and follow next steps 2 to 7 below.
NOTE : You do not need when running SETUP of step 6 to set the
region code again as mentioned in step 7.
NOTE : for users with drivers on diskettes, please point to
drive A while you have the decoder, encoder, or application
inserted in the drive for steps 2, 3, and 4 respectively.
If Windows does not recognize the decoder diskette in
step 2, insert the encoder diskette and later insert the
decoder diskette in step 3.
2. On booting your system, Windows 2K will detect the card. Insert the
REALmagic DVR CD in your CD-ROM drive and click Finish. This will
install the decoding drivers on your hard disk.
3. Another Plug-n-Play detection will show up for the encoding
function. Point to the same CD.
4. To install the DVR recording/playback application run SETUP from
the same CD.
5. The Setup program will show two options: Install the REALmagic DVD
application or Change the DVD region code.
6. Check the REALmagic application installation option and follow the
instructions.
7. After the files are copied, set a DVD region code as part of the
setup program.
Note: Setup will not ask you to set the DVD region code if you
install the card later in the same region.
8. Click Finish to complete the installation process by performing
Auto Calibration.
------------------------
NOTE : To uninstall, double click the "Uninstaller" icon from the
REALmagic DVR group. This will delete all specific files
and will remove the REALmagic DVR group.
NOTE : You need to run Setup a second time but, this time, you'll
get a message if you want to install or change the region
code of the decoder. Select the latter and set the
board to your region (more in section III).
NOTE : The utility DVD Drive Region is not for all DVD-ROM drives.
The RPC1 drives (the majority in the market now) can play
any region movie and the control is thru the DVR board
region code. The RPC2 drives, the standard for drives at
the start of year 2000, will have their own region code.
The region code of the RPC2 DVD-ROM drive has the priority
over the code of the DVR. This means that if the
movie code is the same as the DVD-ROM drive, the REALmagic
DVR code is irrelevant. If not, this above mentioned
utility will be used to change the drive code. Only five
times are allowed for a drive region change, after which
you need to contact the drive manufacturer.
II - BORDER ADJUSTMENT AND COLOR CALIBRATION
=======================================
NOTE: If the border is not adjusted properly after Auto Calibration
you may need to set the Border Adjustment to get more
accurate adjustment. You need to set the Border Adjustment
only once for each setting of display resolution.
1. At the Start button, click Programs and select REALmagic DVR
program group. Click REALmagic Configuration.
2. Click on Adjust Border and use the proper buttons to adjust the
black rectangle in the magenta box.
3. Change different values to adjust stability if you are viewing
jumping pixels on MPEG video. Click OK when you are done.
4. The Reset Default button will reset the color calibration and
border adjustment values to the factory default settings.
Note 1: Color calibration is required if the colors are not
normal or the screen is pink or not clear. If color
calibration is required, Click on "Auto Calibration". The
screen will flash for 5 to 10 seconds then displays a
message that the calibration is complete. Click OK.
Note 2: In the cases where this calibration is unsuccessful,
you can click on Advanced..., then the Manual
Calibration. This will involve fixing the R, G, B
sliders as shown in the window four times. You can use the
up/down arrow keys for fine tuning and you don't need
necessarily to see the cross but just the disappearance
of the vertical bar.
III - DVD REGION CODE CHANGE
======================
1. Run SETUP from Disk #1 (will ask for 2 & 3). Select DVD Region Code
change option. Set the region code of the REALmagic DVR according
to the country you are in.
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Note: The setup program will allow you to change the region code
for five times. If you want to reset the region code settings
after five times contact an authorized distributor or service
center. A nominal handling fee will be charged.
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Note: If the system includes an RPC2 DVD-ROM drive that carries
its own region code, DVR Station will check this code against
the movie's and will issue an appropriate message if not
matching (the REALmagic DVR region code is ignored in this
case). Movies will not playback if the RPC2 drive is new and
has NOT been set for a region.
IV - TV OUT
======
The REALmagic DVR can display on a VGA monitor or a TV.
To switch between these modes an icon is provided on the left
corner of the DVR Station control panel that toggles between
computer monitor and TV.
In order to display on a TV, some additional settings may be
required. From the DVR Station control panel click Options button.
This will open a window for options setting. Click the Settings tab.
Select the options according to your TV type. The color control,
brightness, and contrast controls have also been provided for TV.
Note : Some TVs are sensitive with video frequency input and may
show Black and White video on TV. This has specially been
noticed on some PAL TVs. In such a situation do the
following WHILE the TV-Out option is active and DVD/MPEG is
playing on TV:
1. From the MCI Media Player, while in a Pause mode of
the MPEG playback, click Device - Properties -
Advanced Settings.
2. Select Expert Settings and click the mouse. This
will open a pop-up window. Adjust different values
until you have color picture on TV. Notice that you
need to keep on going in one direction when changing
the values i.e. either always increasing or
decreasing because of the hysteresis nature of this
adjustment.
V - FULL SCREEN PLAYBACK
====================
In order to playback in full screen, double click the left button
of mouse anywhere in the MPEG window or press Ctrl+Z. This will
playback the video in full-screen mode. In order to go back to the
window mode, press Space in full-screen mode and it will resume
playback in the restored MPEG window.
VI - KNOWN LIMITATIONS
=================
Most of these limitations will be eliminated in future releases.
1) With DVDiT, use WAV format and not MPA format for elementary audio.
2) During Preview or Recording mode, do NOT unplug Video input source.
Stop the Preview or Recording before unplugging the source. Same
applies for switching channels when encoding from TV broadcasting.
3) Preview/Recording support for Elementary, System, and Program
streams. No support for multiplexing Transport Streams, only
playback.
4) Please be accurate in specifying NTSC, PAL, or SECAM as the source
type to avoid irregularity with the created MPEG file.
5) Pause is not supported in the recording mode. It will stop
the recording.
6) The REALmagic DVR will not play Audio CDs.
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END OF FILE
Download Driver Pack
After your driver has been downloaded, follow these simple steps to install it.
Expand the archive file (if the download file is in zip or rar format).
If the expanded file has an .exe extension, double click it and follow the installation instructions.
Otherwise, open Device Manager by right-clicking the Start menu and selecting Device Manager.
Find the device and model you want to update in the device list.
Double-click on it to open the Properties dialog box.
From the Properties dialog box, select the Driver tab.
Click the Update Driver button, then follow the instructions.
Very important: You must reboot your system to ensure that any driver updates have taken effect.
For more help, visit our Driver Support section for step-by-step videos on how to install drivers for every file type.