A500 capture opinion time!
category: general [glöplog]
And amiga users complained about the compatibility hell of dos machines!
Quote:
I never had kickstart 2.0 (cept with zkick) and my A500 had a 'fatter agnes' in it. My A1000 of course has the OCS Agnes. Ok. not HAD, HAVE. But they are not HERE. Nor can I send them to Trixter which might help.
Truck, leave your key under the door matt and we'll pick up your A500/A1000. :-)
Quote:
I never had kickstart 2.0 (cept with zkick) and my A500 had a 'fatter agnes' in it. My A1000 of course has the OCS Agnes. Ok. not HAD, HAVE. But they are not HERE. Nor can I send them to Trixter which might help.
Truck, leave your key under the door matt and we'll pick up your A500/A1000 while you're gone. :-)
Trixter: If you want to check what custom chip you have then check out these two websites.
http://www.vgr.com/tbocl/MAIN.html
http://www.l8r.net/technical/t-achips.shtml
If you like you can have my A500 with chinon diskdrive or i can send the chinon diskdrive alone.
Cheers
http://www.vgr.com/tbocl/MAIN.html
http://www.l8r.net/technical/t-achips.shtml
If you like you can have my A500 with chinon diskdrive or i can send the chinon diskdrive alone.
Cheers
Ooo another tip i read on a bbs years ago.
Push the socketed chips with a little force. Sometimes after a while the sockets push/move the chip a little which can give rise to some signal lost. Its a long shot but its worth trying out.
There was a commercial disk calibration program called Ami-alignment system by free spirit. Dont know where you can't find it though.
I also found ftp://de.aminet.net/pub/aminet/hard/misc/TrackDiskSync.lha
Another disk calibration program but i never used it myself so i advice to be careful.
If you have any more problems i suggest you check the forum at www.amiga.org and www.amigaworld.net.
There are alot more amiga folks there than in pouet.
Push the socketed chips with a little force. Sometimes after a while the sockets push/move the chip a little which can give rise to some signal lost. Its a long shot but its worth trying out.
There was a commercial disk calibration program called Ami-alignment system by free spirit. Dont know where you can't find it though.
I also found ftp://de.aminet.net/pub/aminet/hard/misc/TrackDiskSync.lha
Another disk calibration program but i never used it myself so i advice to be careful.
If you have any more problems i suggest you check the forum at www.amiga.org and www.amigaworld.net.
There are alot more amiga folks there than in pouet.
I know this seems very much like compatability issues to an outsider, but we really didn't have them on Amiga. We ran demos on the hardware we had, and it worked. That is, you would download the demo, undms, boot, and it worked.
However, we are talking about something completely different here - making captures for a DVD. For that, you want it to be perfect, so you're going to look to get the best possible output.
Yes I realize I've been trolled. I'm reading the pouet bbs, pretty much a given.
However, we are talking about something completely different here - making captures for a DVD. For that, you want it to be perfect, so you're going to look to get the best possible output.
Yes I realize I've been trolled. I'm reading the pouet bbs, pretty much a given.
Thanks to all for the excellent suggestions!! I'm going to try everything mentioned here and in email over the next few days, and will let you know if I find the problem. Thanks again!
Update: Thanks to all of the advice here, I started to suspect the floppy drives, and sure enough, the alignment on my A4000 (where I was burning the disks) is ever so slightly off. Re-burnt them with my 2nd external drive and things are looking MUCH better. Thanks again!!!
Now that that's out of the way, let's get a quick opinion on scrollers: Yes or no? Long scrollers could get boring, but at the same time this *is* a historical archive DVD we're working on. Let's get some opinions...
Now that that's out of the way, let's get a quick opinion on scrollers: Yes or no? Long scrollers could get boring, but at the same time this *is* a historical archive DVD we're working on. Let's get some opinions...
On Mindcandy 1 you cut the scrollers, and I think that's right. You could fill the entire DVD with two demos if you let the scrollers running.
I always liked reading scrollers, but why not rip the text and put it in bonus material for each demo?
Endscrollers... My answer is "depends on the context". Tint woulndn't be that cool without the music in the last scroller. Many other demos aren't any different without scrollers. Sprocket's idea is cool, too.
I fully support Sprocket's idea
sprocket's idea is good.
but don't cut the scrollers too short.
Along with the text, put the .dms file so people can watch them themselves on original equipment or under emulation.
I hate limiting scrollers. I guess 1 minute max. I hate that idea. hate hate hate. I mean, people have fast forward buttons on their remotes... Anyway I'd say don't cut any endscrollers, but if it's a demo that is mainly scrollers...
See, Lokien, Accident/Accession's son, LOVES scrollers. He follows them around the TV, looking for where they come out, etc. We can't find any good scrollers because people keep CUTTING them!
Anyway, my opinion is don't cut them at all, let people fast forward thru them. I'll lose but that's my suggestion.
Just be sure you also do Sprocket's idea and include the dms file. (dms rather than adf cuz it's smaller, and an a500 will deal with it better than adf.bz)
I hate limiting scrollers. I guess 1 minute max. I hate that idea. hate hate hate. I mean, people have fast forward buttons on their remotes... Anyway I'd say don't cut any endscrollers, but if it's a demo that is mainly scrollers...
See, Lokien, Accident/Accession's son, LOVES scrollers. He follows them around the TV, looking for where they come out, etc. We can't find any good scrollers because people keep CUTTING them!
Anyway, my opinion is don't cut them at all, let people fast forward thru them. I'll lose but that's my suggestion.
Just be sure you also do Sprocket's idea and include the dms file. (dms rather than adf cuz it's smaller, and an a500 will deal with it better than adf.bz)
I was thinking of just putting all the DMS/LHA files on a download web page, like the ZIPs we have now for volume 1. But we may be more flexible with disc space this time. We'll see.
I have a feeling the scrollers will be edited. The length will depend on a) the length of the scroller, and b) other effects during that part. Take Desert Dream, that endscroller is on a blank screen and is pretty short before it loops, so it could fade after the first loop. Arte, on the other hand, has some 3D scenes to go along with the endscroller so that may show for as long as a minute or two.
Again, if we have the room, we MIGHT be able to do something like put an icon on screen during the scroller, and if you press Menu on your remote it will jump to the full scroller, at a reduced bitrate, otherwise the scroller will fade out. Or maybe put them under special features. I'm just throwing out ideas here.
I have a feeling the scrollers will be edited. The length will depend on a) the length of the scroller, and b) other effects during that part. Take Desert Dream, that endscroller is on a blank screen and is pretty short before it loops, so it could fade after the first loop. Arte, on the other hand, has some 3D scenes to go along with the endscroller so that may show for as long as a minute or two.
Again, if we have the room, we MIGHT be able to do something like put an icon on screen during the scroller, and if you press Menu on your remote it will jump to the full scroller, at a reduced bitrate, otherwise the scroller will fade out. Or maybe put them under special features. I'm just throwing out ideas here.
Oh yes, and my mom's cat Ginger loves scrollers too. She bats her paw on the left side of the screen.
I like those last 2 ideas, as it allows the original demo to be preserved in it's original state, as intended. But if space is an issue, Sprocket's idea as the absolute MINIMUM.
And if you don't wanna watch scrollers in demos, think of the children! and cats.
And if you don't wanna watch scrollers in demos, think of the children! and cats.
Trixter :
To solve this problem, first see if it's a real one.
You see it nowadays because you compare old demos with new ones.
You also old hardware with new ones.
New ones had bugs fixed, hardware improved, different colors.
What is important is that they look like or as musch as the originals.
So :
1/ get 1 OCS amiga 500 + 512Kb fake fast, rom 1.3, 100% working with a drive able to read most disks (coders have their own trackloaders so compatability around the whole range of Amiga isn't 100% and will never be )
2/ get another OCS A500 same config with a different drive
3/ sort demos in two colums :
Column a.those which runs on config 1/
Column b. those which runs on config 2/
4/ do the rip / video grabbing
Most demos and I have watched a lot : too much in fact, and I garantee you none use the hardware of A500+ (ECS if I remember).
5/ if some demos don't look as espected, create a new column
c.need some special hardware.
6/ while you do the rip, try to contact as much people to get A500 different than yours and send them the c. demos and ask them if they run fine. If yes, you know the hardware to get, if not you can on a piece of paper ask people about their hardware so you know the relevant demo don't work on this specific hardware and must be sent to people who don't own such hardware.
With time and patience, you will find people who are able to run these demos on the specific hardware they need. You will know so how to encode and with which hardware to do so.
Hope I've been clear (complex like Amigas are...)
To solve this problem, first see if it's a real one.
You see it nowadays because you compare old demos with new ones.
You also old hardware with new ones.
New ones had bugs fixed, hardware improved, different colors.
What is important is that they look like or as musch as the originals.
So :
1/ get 1 OCS amiga 500 + 512Kb fake fast, rom 1.3, 100% working with a drive able to read most disks (coders have their own trackloaders so compatability around the whole range of Amiga isn't 100% and will never be )
2/ get another OCS A500 same config with a different drive
3/ sort demos in two colums :
Column a.those which runs on config 1/
Column b. those which runs on config 2/
4/ do the rip / video grabbing
Most demos and I have watched a lot : too much in fact, and I garantee you none use the hardware of A500+ (ECS if I remember).
5/ if some demos don't look as espected, create a new column
c.need some special hardware.
6/ while you do the rip, try to contact as much people to get A500 different than yours and send them the c. demos and ask them if they run fine. If yes, you know the hardware to get, if not you can on a piece of paper ask people about their hardware so you know the relevant demo don't work on this specific hardware and must be sent to people who don't own such hardware.
With time and patience, you will find people who are able to run these demos on the specific hardware they need. You will know so how to encode and with which hardware to do so.
Hope I've been clear (complex like Amigas are...)
Before the scroller, in the menu dvd, choose for scroller "jump on" or "jump off". I don't want to see icons during the visualization. I think it's the best thing to do. I hope you will do that.
In fact, how long are the scrollers ?
ep: That is exactly what I have (A500, OCS, 512c/512fast, KS rom 1.3, working drive because I replaced it) and yet Mental Hangover still doesn't run just the endpart. I'm thinking it needs KS 1.2 or something.
I've been contacting some demo authors about some glitches I've seen and most have been fixed with the new drive. The two remaining ones are mental hangover and the "pixel noise" on the "Laxity" screenshot of Desert Dream (which may actually be part of the demo, I'm not sure).
You have been clear, not to worry :-)
I've been contacting some demo authors about some glitches I've seen and most have been fixed with the new drive. The two remaining ones are mental hangover and the "pixel noise" on the "Laxity" screenshot of Desert Dream (which may actually be part of the demo, I'm not sure).
You have been clear, not to worry :-)
Endscrollers: -- Lots of ideas! I think here's what I'm going to do:
1. If endscroller is short and loops, fade out after the first loop.
2. If endscroller is quite long, fade out (gracefully) after a minute (or clockwipe if we're still in the middle of a demo). Think of Mindcandy's presentation of Spacepigs' Megademo of Cronologia on the first DVD.
I'll use my judgement, essentially. Having the full endscrollers as some bonus part is a good idea and if there is enough space, we will investigate that.
3.
1. If endscroller is short and loops, fade out after the first loop.
2. If endscroller is quite long, fade out (gracefully) after a minute (or clockwipe if we're still in the middle of a demo). Think of Mindcandy's presentation of Spacepigs' Megademo of Cronologia on the first DVD.
I'll use my judgement, essentially. Having the full endscrollers as some bonus part is a good idea and if there is enough space, we will investigate that.
3.
Just out of curiosity.. Do you have much bonus material? Did you contact the authors for previews of effects, gfx and music, internal notes etc?
It would be so great!
And I'm asking partly because I have some previews of the effects for Razor 1911 - Voyage from Sim, with a letter describing things.
I don't know if he would let it be on the dvd though, as I've never talked to him, I just discovered it among a bunch of disks I got from Sector 9.
It would be so great!
And I'm asking partly because I have some previews of the effects for Razor 1911 - Voyage from Sim, with a letter describing things.
I don't know if he would let it be on the dvd though, as I've never talked to him, I just discovered it among a bunch of disks I got from Sector 9.
So far there isn't much bonus material planned because we want to pack the disc with as much (high quality) demos as possible. The core features so far that are scheduled are:
1. At least 30 demos, maybe more
2. Three audio tracks: Original audio, 5.1 remixes, commentary
3. Featurette by the always talented Blue 7 Media
That is all that is 100% required; everything else is just ideas or an "if we can get to it without significantly delaying the project further" status.
1. At least 30 demos, maybe more
2. Three audio tracks: Original audio, 5.1 remixes, commentary
3. Featurette by the always talented Blue 7 Media
That is all that is 100% required; everything else is just ideas or an "if we can get to it without significantly delaying the project further" status.
Have you already received responses for the audio commentaries ?