Card IEEE1394 on chip VIA

Thanks to reachings of modern electron technologies various resources of writing and audio and video information processing promptly enter into our daily life. The increasing popularity various digital devices, as, for example, gain TVs, MP3-players, videorecorders and videocameras, and also a photo and Web-chambers. They supplied with an intellectual stuffing give to users a wide spectrum of the various possibilities built in their construction.

However consumer properties of the specified arrangements considerably increase at their hooking up to modern, rather powerful personal computer by means of the specialised hardware-software resources providing support of appropriate interfaces.

As a rule, operation of such hardware-software resources is grounded on usage of the popular interface IEEE1394 created for the first time by Apple corporation for hooking up of various peripheral devices by means of special ports and appropriate cables.

The specified interface possesses rather high capacity exceeding, by the way, possibilities of other popular interface — USB 1.1 which transfer rate is limited by 12 value Mbit/with. Unfortunately, it is not enough given metric for operation, for example, videounits of standards Digital8 and MiniDV which operation is characterised by more intensive streams of handled data, than can provide USB 1.1.

It is necessary to mark, that now interface IEEE1394 is presented, as a rule, by variant IEEE1394a widely used as the interface of hooking up of many modern videounits which concern, for example, digital videocameras and videorecorders. High-speed properties of the specified variant of interface IEEE1394 (hereinafter under IEEE1394 it will be meant IEEE1394a) allow to reach rather high values of a stream of figures: 100, 200 and 400 Mbit/with, that, of course, exceeds possibilities of interface USB 1.1.

As a rule, the specialised hardware-software resources which are carrying out support of standard IEEE1394, provide not only hooking up, negotiation and input of audio and a video information in the personal computer, but also possibility of the control of the entered information, and also convenient and its operative editing.

Now similar specialised hardware-software resources are widely presented in the modern computer market and actively offered by many corporations and shops. The given resources differ among themselves both the price, and the potential possibilities defined by the architecture of cards and used as a part of these cards by units which basis make vysokointegrirovannye chip sets. Besides, the important parametre of competitive struggle is the applied specialised software on which possibilities consumer properties of products offered in the computer market in many respects depend.

Rather big possibilities the package considered more low possesses. The package includes following components: the card supporting interface IEEE1394, created on the basis of VIA corporation chip, cable IEEE1394, software Ulead VideoStudio, and also the short documentation.

• Plug and Play PCI with Bus Mastering,
• 3 external IEEE1394 plugs,
• 1 internal («»µї«ЎбЅэЎ« plug.

Parametres of video supported by a package:

• Format DV,
• The maximum permission 720х576,
• Output on DV/D8-camcorder or-deck.

The minimum system requirements to a system firmware:

• The processor of a class of Pentium,
• Dynamic storage (working memory) in size of 32 Mb DRAM, is recommended 128 Mb with usage of operating systems of Windows 2000 or Windows XP,
• Videocamera or the videorecorder of standards DV (MiniDV) or Digital8,
• The subsystem of a hard disk of the computer should provide speed not less than 4 Мбайт/c (satisfy all SCSI and majority UltraDMA),
• The manipulator of type the mouse,
• The CD-ROM drive,
• The operating system of type of Windows 98, either Windows 98 SE, or Windows ME, either Windows 2000, or Windows XP.

Complete with the card the specialised software is delivered. It is presented by the complete version of the product carrying name Ulead Video Studio Basic SE Version 4.0 both providing input and editing of audio and a video information, entered into the computer by means of the card supporting interface IEEE1394. Besides, by means of the specified product administration of the arrangement hooked up through the specified interface is exercised. For this purpose in structure Ulead Video Studio Basic SE Version 4.0 there are all necessary built in software.

Operation with the specified package of the software is subdivided into three stages:

1. Carrying over of fragments of a video film on a computer hard disk (Capture),
2. Editing of the entered information (Edit),
3. Writing of a ready film (Make movie).

Before to pass to operation with Ulead Video Studio Basic SE Version 4.0 it is necessary to hook up to the computer a demanded videounit, of course. It can be, for example, the Web-camera, digital the camera, the digital videorecorder, Digital8 or a DV-videocamera (MiniDV).

The selected arrangement is hooked up to the card installed in the computer, through special cable IEEE1394 delivered in a package. It is possible, of course, if the used arrangement supports the given interface. Thus it is necessary to mark, that after videocamera hooking up it is necessary to translate it in a playback mode — VCR.

Further the videounit, hooked up to card IEEE1394, will be understood as a videocamera.

First of all it is necessary to create or open already ready project. The start window is presented on fig. 4.

Window Capture is presented on fig. 5. In the given window it is possible to control a videocamera, carrying out both video information playback, and wind, and magnetic tape break. It is necessary to mark, that in the given mode such possibilities, as stop, a pause, time-lapse playback and fast wind are accessible at playback of the selected sites of the video map written to the magnetic tape. In the course of arrival of a video information from the camera, it will be displayed in a special window.

In a mode of playback and writing in a special window it is possible to inspect the information entered, for example, from a videocamera, the videorecorder, etc . It is possible to select from this mode also a disk and a folder where written fragments will be stored. It is necessary to mark, that one gigabyte suffices approximately for 4,5 minutes polnokachestvennogo a DV-roll (Full DV quality).

For break of process of writing it is necessary to press key ESC. To write some rolls which can be composed further in a uniform video file are possible at once.

After writing, it is possible to view the written information (now and with a sound), having selected an appropriate video fragment (at the screen bottom) and having pressed key PLAY (fig. 6).

It is necessary to mark, that except a continuous video stream, it is possible to receive separate static frames also. Buttons Capture Image can render the help in it.

After writing of video fragments on a hard disk from the videounit which have been hooked up to the computer, as a rule, it is necessary to carry out their editing.

Image processing and imposing of special effects occurs in appropriate windows — Storyboard, Effects, Title, Voice, Music. Operation occurs with so-called time-line – a bar where clips as the future playback are allocated. In this mode it is possible to superimpose various special effects, a caption, additional sounds and background tunes (fig. 7).

After the termination of an editing meaning, that the video film which is in processing, already is completely ready, it is necessary to fix a final output. At this stage it is useful to familiarise with the result received in the course of editing that is carried out by playing of a ready video film. For this purpose it is necessary to press key PLAY and to wait, while the program will complete film processing (rendering). This quite often long process depending, by the way, from computational capability of the computer system, is illustrated on fig. 8

After check review of the created video film it is possible or to return to video processing, or to write a ready video film in a file. For performance of operation of saving of a video information it is necessary to press key SAVE. As a result there will be an appropriate window with the sentence to write the handled video information in a file. At this stage it is possible to select written file type. It can be AVI, MPEG, ASF, RM etc. Besides, it is possible to select and customise also the codec (fig. 9, 10).

In summary it is necessary to mark, that narrow frames of given article do not allow to show to the full all functions of the hardware-software package possessing rather ample opportunities. Presence of these possibilities allows to speak about the resulted package as about an effective remedy of digital audio and the video-tape editing, carried out by means of the personal computer which has become by already usual, widespread home arrangement.