README.TXT For REALmagic Maxima Pro(TM) Version 2.34m -- 1/20/98
================================================================
Congratulations on your purchase of the REALmagic Maxima Pro MPEG multimedia
playback controller. This file contains important information not
available at the time the manual was printed. Please take time to read
through it for the latest updates.
Software Release Notes :
======================
- Modification for a fast "STEP" MCI command.
- Modification for repetitive "LOAD" and "UNLOAD" MCI commands leading
to "Interrupt not detected" message.
- The "WINDOW HANDLE" command will implement the position and the size of
the MPEG window before issuing the "PLAY" command.
CONTENTS
========
1 - SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
a - NOTES ON SETUP Windows 3.x
i - Improved Error Handling
ii - Command Line Options
b - PnP INSTALLATION Windows 95
i - CHANGING A RESOURCE
2 - BORDER ADJUSTMENT AND CALIBRATION
3 - REALmagic MIXER
4 - FILTER PROGRAM
5 - RUNNING DOS TITLES
6 - ISSUES with PROTECTED MODE 32 bit CDROM DRIVERS
7 - SPECIAL FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS OF MPEG TITLES
8 - REALmagic FILE DESCRIPTIONS
9 - MISCELLANEOUS
1 - SOFTWARE INSTALLATION
=====================
NOTE :
a - After installation, the resources used by the board such as the I/O
address and the IRQ number will be shown in a blue panel at booting time.
They can also be seen in the FMPDRV.INI file in the REALmagic directory
(usually REALMAGC).
b - Calls to "MpegVideo", the MPC standard Windows driver name for MPEG
decoders is supported.
c - This release installs an OM-1 Compliant DOS driver (OM1DRV.EXE) with
the following entry in the AUTOEXEC.BAT file :
SET OM1=C:\REALMAGC\OM1DRV.EXE
a - NOTES ON SETUP Windows 3.x
==============
i - Improved Error Handling
-----------------------
It is possible that with some hardware configurations, the I/O address,
IRQ, and DMA channel scanning done by the SETUP program will cause the
system to crash (in almost all cases, this is due to poor resource
management of another component). The SETUP program maintains a status
file in the root directory of your boot drive. If the system crashes
during the scanning, SETUP will make a note in the status file. When
your system reboots, re-run SETUP that will automatically continue
scanning your system, skipping the IRQ, I/O address, or DMA channel
test that had caused the system to crash previously. This process
may repeat before all of the offending causes are eliminated. If there
are no errors, the status file is automatically deleted upon the
completion of SETUP.
Note: It is possible that if you use a disk caching program other
than the Microsoft SMARTDRV (version 4.0 or later), the
status file will not be updated if the system crashes.
This is most likely to occur for a delayed write type of
disk cache program. In such instances, disable the disk
write caching program in the CONFIG.SYS or AUTOEXEC.BAT
file before running SETUP again.
ii - Command Line Options
--------------------
You can manually disable the scanning of the I/O address, IRQ, and
DMA channels. Modify the SETUP command line to look as follows :
SETUP /NOTEST
Also, if SETUP still crashes while trying to identify the board,
you can force the board ID by adding the parameter /RMPRO
as follows
SETUP /RMPRO
You can combine the parameters as follows :
SETUP /NOTEST /RMPRO
b - PnP INSTALLATION for Windows 95
----------------------------------
After the hardware installation do the following :
1 - Boot your system.
2 - After the Windows 95 logo display, the system will recognize that a
new board was installed (Plug-N-Play feature of the REALmagic Pro
board). You will get the window "New Hardware Found" with the
REALmagic Pro signature.
3 - Choose the option "Driver from disk provided by hardware manufacturer".
4 - Click OK.
5 - A new window "Install from Disk" will display. Insert the REALmagic Pro
diskette in your floppy drive. Make sure the text box specifies the
correct drive specifier ( e.g. A:\). Click OK.
6 - The system will start copying all the software to the C:\REALMAGC
directory. Then it will return to the desktop.
7 - Click on Start. Choose Run. Type A:\SETPRO.EXE. Click OK.
8 - Reboot the system (Start, Shut Down, Restart System).
NOTE :
The board will show that it is using a 16-bit DMA channel in Win 95
while it is not. This is due to the use of a DMA channel on other platforms.
You can use that same DMA channel for another peripheral, even if it shows
a conflict with this board.
i - CHANGING A RESOURCE (for Advanced Users) in Windows 95
-------------------
If you wish to change a resource (I/O address or/and IRQ number) assigned
by the Plug N Play feature of Win 95, do the following :
1- Start System from the the Control Panel group.
2- Choose Device Manager and double-click on "Sound, video, and game
controllers".
3- Double-click on "Sigma Designs REALmagic Pro".
4- Select the tab "Resources".
5- Double-click on the required resource. Click "Change Settings".
6- Modify the settings to the required value. Make sure there is NO conflict
specified in the Conflict Information box. Click OK.
7- Edit the file C:\REALMAGC\FMPDRV.INI as follows :
- under the [REALMAGIC] section the line Port= for the new I/O Address
- under the [MPEG] section the line Interrupt= for the new IRQ.
8- Reboot.
2 - BORDER ADJUSTMENT AND COLOR CALIBRATION
=======================================
NOTE : You must set the Border Adjustment and Color Calibration settings
to finalize the installation. You need to set the Border Adjustment
and Color Calibration only once for each display settings
(resolution, number of colors, and refresh rate) under Windows, and
run Border Adjustment only one time in the DOS mode.
This utility can be called also from the RM Mixer utility.
Windows:
-------
1- Start Border Adjust program in the REALmagic group.
2- Use the H-POS and V-POS buttons to align the top left corner of the
black and magenta rectangles, then use the H-SIZE buttons to resize
the black rectangle to cover exactly the magenta area. This should
work for the majority of the VGA boards available.
IMPORTANT NOTE : For the following rare cases :-
a -If the black area height is HALF the magenta area height, click the
button "NI" (non-interlaced) and then "EXIT". Restart "Border Adjust".
b -If the black area height is DOUBLE the magenta area height, click the
button "I" (interlaced) and then "EXIT". Restart "Border Adjust".
It is recommended NOT to use the buttons "NI" and "I" other than the
above indicated conditions.
3- Click the Save button to save the settings.
4- If you observe jittering at the right or left edge on the aligned
black box, click on the Horizontal Stability "+" and "-" buttons
until you get the smoothest sides among the 16 values.
5- Next, click the Auto button to automatically calibrate the color for
your VGA card. Color bars will be displayed on the screen followed
by a vertical white line flashing in the middle of a black screen.
When the Border Adjust program is redisplayed, calibration is complete.
- If you are using the SVGA drivers of Windows 3.x, add the following
line in the [VGA] section of the file FMPDRV.INI in the REALMAGC
directory:
SVGA = 1
(If you select manual calibration, then follow the instructions
provided on the screen to adjust the colors in three steps.)
6- Click the Done button.
DOS:
---
1- At the DOS prompt (in Real Mode MS-DOS FOR Windows 95), type
DOSCALIB and press <Enter>.
2- Repeat step 2 above - aligning the black and magenta borders -
(and 4 if necessary - smoothing the jittering) and press Exit.
This procedure will repeat THREE times for text and graphics modes.
3 - REALmagic MIXER
===============
Besides the volume adjustment for the MPEG audio signal, the RM Mixer
has got three additional TV set-like faders for the following :
- Fader "B" for Brightness Control
- Fader "C" for Contrast Control
- Fader "S" for Saturation Control
You can adjust these faders while playing an MPEG file for a better
control of your setting.
There is also a button for "Border Adjust and Calibration". Just click
it to activate this utility.
4 - Filter Program
==============
This program is a demo feature to show you the difference in having the
filtering option or not having it when playing back an MPEG file. For a
better display you should have the filter On. "Up" and "Down" refer to
upscaling and downscaling. The difference is very clear if you zoom in
the video playback using the right button of your mouse to define the
area to be zoomed (while in the CD Station application).
5 - RUNNING DOS TITLES (on a Windows 95 system)
==================
The way DOS works has slightly changed under Windows 95. In order
to optimize performance of DOS MPEG titles, please run the titles in
the real mode MS-DOS:
1- Select "Shut Down" from the Taskbar (after quitting Windows
applications).
2- Select "Restart the computer in MS-DOS mode".
3- At the DOS prompt after reboot, enter the command for the title,
such as :
C:\>D:
D:\>DOSTITLE
4- To start Windows after exiting from the title, type :
c:\>EXIT <Enter>
6 - ISSUES with PROTECTED MODE 32 bit CDROM DRIVERS:
==================================================
If you play VideoCD's in the Protected Mode of the CD-ROM driver
(32 bits) and the CD-ROM drive is installed as a slave drive
on its own controller (if it is an IDE drive), the playback wll
suffer some breaking.
Solution : Install the CD-ROM drive as a MASTER drive on a
secondary IDE controller, OR use the Real Mode.
NOTE : CDi movies (Green Book standard) can be played only in
Real Mode.
Real Mode is activated by removing the CD-ROM controller
from the Device Manager, adding the CD-ROM driver in the
CONFIG.SYS, and re-activating the MSCDEX.EXE line that
was used before Windows 95 installation.
7 - SPECIAL FOR SOFTWARE DEVELOPERS OF MPEG TITLES
==============================================
Version 2.21 of REALmagic drivers is using a new algorithm to reach
the best accuracy in Frame Seeking. This might not work for titles
developed using earlier versions of REALmagic drivers.
To force the driver to use the old algorithm, modify or add the
following line in the [MCI] section of the FMPDRV.INI in
the REALMAGC directory to be :
SeekAccurate=False
8 - REALmagic FILE DESCRIPTIONS
===========================
The following are the descriptions of the files contained in the REALmagic
directory:
CBARS VBS Video BitStream file
CDIMOVIE DR_ CD-i/Video CD movie driver
CTL3D DLL 3D resource file for the Windows 3.x Setup program
DIGITALV MC_ MCI Digital Video translation table
DOSCAL EX_ Border adjustment and color calibration program for DOS
DOSCALIB BA_ Batch file to run calibration software in DOS
DOSMIX EX_ Mixer program for DOS
DPLAYER EX_ Demo CD player for Windows
DPLAYER IN_ Initialization file for Demo CD player
DRAGON BA_ Batch file to run Dragon's Lair using DOS MPEG driver
DSP BI_ Audio DSP code
EGAVGA BG_ EGA graphics library
EMPEGDEC DL_ File for high resolution pictures in MPEG
FILTER EX_ Filtering On/Off program
FLYLOGO EX_ Test program
FMPDRV EX_ MPEG driver for DOS
FMPDRV IN_ Initialization file
IMPEG DR_ Driver for Windows 95
MCIFMP DR_ MCI driver
MPGBKGND TS_ Background Task file to help low-level driver
MPGCONF EX_ Border adjustment and color calibration program for Windows
MPGDEV SY_ MPEG device driver
MPGPIC BI_ MPEG DSP code
MPGSCSVR SC_ Screen saver
MPGTEST BA_ Batch file to verify hardware installation
MPGWMIX EX_ Mixer program for Windows
OM1DRV EX_ OM-1 DOS Compliant driver
PRO INF Installation information program
README TXT Text file containing updates and technical notes
REALMAGC GRP Windows group file
REBOOT COM Program to reboot the computer
RM ID Identification file
RMSETUP DLL Setup library
RMTESTS DLL Test library
SETPRO EXE Program to complete Windows 95 installation
SETUP EXE Setup program for Windows 3.x
SETUP INI Initialization file for the Setup program
SETUPLGO BMP Setup program logo bitmap file
SSCONFIG EX_ Screen saver configuration program
TEST BA_ Batch file to run DOS MPEG file player
TESTFMP EX_ MPEG file player for DOS
UNINSTAL EX_ Uninstall Program for Windows 95
UPDATE EXE Update program
VGA256 BG_ VGA graphics library
VPLAYER EX_ Video CD player for DOS
WVPLAYER EX_ CD Station program
WVPLAYER HL_ CD Station program help file
YUV2RGB DL_ File for High Resolution pictures in MPEG
9 - MISCELLANEOUS
=============
Help for REALmagic CD Station
-----------------------------
Windows On-Line Help is available for the REALmagic CD Station from
the Control Menu Box or just press <F1> key any time. Pull down
the Control Menu Box and select Help!. Then select the topic you
want from the list.
Playing DRAGON'S LAIR
---------------------
Dragon's Lair requires the REALmagic DOS driver to be loaded in memory
before it will play. We provide a batch file in the REALmagic
directory called DRAGON.BAT that handles all this for you. To play
Dragon's Lair, place the CD in your CD-ROM drive and type:
CD \REALMAGC and press <Enter>
DRAGON and press <Enter>
Note: the batch file assumes your CD-ROM drive letter is "D". If this is
not the case, you will need to use a text editor to modify the batch
file. The line which reads:
D:
should be changed to reflect your CD-ROM's drive letter (e.g. "E:").
Playing THE HORDE
-----------------
Make sure your sound card is 100% SoundBlaster(TM) compatible. Some
sound cards, such as the Media Vision ProAudio Spectrum 16(TM) and
boards that use the Media Vision PAS 16(TM) chip set, will not work
with The Horde (no sound). Crystal Dynamics has provided a fix for
this in the form of a new HORDE.EXE. It is available on the Sigma
Designs BBS for download.
Another sound card, the Sound Galaxy Pro(TM) from Aztech, requires
a special command when starting The Horde. Modify the PLAY.BAT file
in the \HORDE directory (created by the INSTALL program) to start
The Horde with the command line "HORDE /S:SBLASTER" (between FMPLOAD
and FMPLOAD /U). Without this command line option, the volume
controls of the Sound Galaxy Pro will be set to zero each time you
start The Horde.
If you use disk caching programs, such as Microsoft SMARTDRV, you
MAY experience hanging problems. If you do, try turning off the
"write-caching" to the hard drive where The Horde has been installed.
For example, if you use SMARTDRV and The Horde is installed on drive
C:, use the command SMARTDRV C to turn off "write-caching" on drive C:.
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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.