Intel Indeo(R) Video R3.2 Update -- V3.23.01.01
Microsoft Video for Windows 1.1d
February 22, 1994
This software update is provided to enhance your existing Indeo(R)
Video drivers to the latest video technology for compressing, editing
and playing back video on your Intel microprocessor-based desktop
computer, using Microsoft's Video for Windows* Version 1.1d.
Indeo Video technology gives you the capability to capture and
compress video in a single step using Intel's Smart Video Recorder (ISVR)
and ISVR Pro. It also allows you to encode and decode (i.e. play back)
video using only software on your PC.
The ISVR Pro works with camcorders, VCRs and laser disks to capture
Indeo Video. It immediately compresses NTSC or PAL format files at
320x240, 240x180, and 160x120 pixel resolutions at up to 30 frames
per second (fps).
In addition, the built-in scalability of Indeo technology
automatically adjusts the playback frame rate depending on your
computer's performance capabilities. This allows you to play Indeo
video files on any Intel Pentium(R) or Intel486(TM) processor-based
computer.
Readme.txt Topics:
------------------
* Improvements
* Indeo Video Drivers
* Differences from Microsoft's VfW 1.1d Update
* System.ini Entries
* AVI File Editors
* Known Operating Characteristics
* Software Requirements
* Optimum System Recomendation
* Technical Support and Updates
* Microsoft Readme.txt file for VfW 1.1d
Improvements:
-------------
This version of the Indeo Video R3.2 driver is an update to Indeo
Video R3.1 and Video for Windows V1.1d. It provides:
* Supports the Display Control Interface (DCI).
* Supports active palette.
* Improved visual quality. There is significantly more foreground
and background detail for most sequences, particularly at 15fps
with data rates of 135KB/sec or higher.
* Improved video playback performance at low data rates.
* Improved 16-bit image quality and playback performance.
* Improved audio playback at low data rates.
* Compression and decompression of images up to 640x480 size in
4-pixel increments. Note: 640x480x10 video with a 240KB/sec transfer
rate, has been measured to play back at close to 10 frames per second.
* Improved software encoder performance (2 to 5 sec/frame on a Pentium
processor system).
* Faster initialization.
Improvements in V3.23.01.01 over V3.22.01.44:
1) Less memory allocated during playback.
2) More tolerant of errors in the video bit stream. Not as likely to
GPF if a bit stream error is encountered during playback.
3) Subsampling changed to minimize color bleeding.
Improvements in V3.22.01.44 over V3.22.01.43:
1) Fixes a potential problem with the floating point library not being
exited correctly while compressing a file.
Improvements in V3.22.01.43 over V3.22.01.30:
1) Fixes color shift when using Active Palette support.
2) Fixes sustained palette flash when video is placed in the background.
3) Correctly rejects AVI files with odd size images.
4) Fixed a possible GPF when insufficient memory was available.
5) The new Raw driver displays correctly under Adobe Premiere*.
Indeo Video Drivers:
--------------------
Indeo(TM) Video R3.2 -- V3.23.01.01 incorporates the new Indeo
Video R3.2 software codec that produces
the highest quality video for software
playback on Intel microprocessor based
desktop computers.
[filename: ir32.dll]
Indeo(TM) Video Raw -- V1.10.1.6 incorporates the raw/YVU9 codec.
[filename: iyvu9.dll]
Indeo(TM) Video R2.1 -- V2.17.003 incorporates a decompressor only.
It plays back files created with the older
R2.1 codec.
[filename: ir21.dll]
Differences from Microsoft's VfW 1.1d Update:
---------------------------------------------
The Setup utility used to install this update is a modified version of the
Setup utility Microsoft provides with their runtime package. It is
possible to make further changes to this program. The Microsoft Setup
program used to come with V3.1 of the Windows SDK. It is now available to
registered users of Visual C++ by calling Microsoft Product Support.
All of the Intel and non-Intel codecs are installed by this update.
Listed below are the differences between this update and the one supplied
by Microsoft:
1. Installs R3.2 V3.23.01.01 driver rather than V3.22.1.43.
2. The Raw driver (iyvu9.dll) is updated.
3. A file called ir30.dll is installed. See the following section
for details.
4. The R2.1 driver is renamed to ir21.dll.
5. The readme.txt and copyrite.txt files are added. This
readme.txt file may be deleted prior to distribution.
6. The files in this update do not all fit on one 3.5" diskette.
7. The file dcisvga.drv is not installed.
System.ini Entries:
-------------------
The Setup program installs the Indeo video drivers along with the
latest Video for Windows runtime. It places the following entries
in the system.ini file for the Indeo video drivers:
[drivers]
VIDC.RT21=ir21.dll
VIDC.YVU9=iyvu9.dll
VIDC.IV31=ir32.dll
VIDC.IV32=ir32.dll
Previously, the recommended system.ini entries for Indeo video R3.1
looked as follows:
[drivers]
VIDC.RT21=indeov.drv
VIDC.YVU9=indeov.drv
VIDC.IV31=indeov.drv
Indeov.drv was an "umbrella" driver that used a text file called
indeo.ini to point to the various Indeo video drivers. The indeo.ini
file had the following entries:
[GLOBAL]
DRIVERS=IV31,RT21,YVU9
[IV31]
DEC=ir30.dll
[RT21]
DEC=ir21_r.dll
[YVU9]
DEC=ir21_r.dll
Indeov.drv and indeo.ini are no longer used and may be deleted if desired.
However, older applications, which install the Indeo video drivers, may still
use indeov.drv and indeo.ini. Since the name of the latest Indeo video driver
has changed from ir30.dll to ir32.dll, this would prevent IV31 files from
accessing the latest driver. To avoid this problem, an exact copy of the
latest ir32.dll file, named ir30.dll, is also installed by this setup program.
It is hoped the ir30.dll file will not be used. But if another setup program
should change the system.ini entries to point to indeov.drv, then the correct
driver will still be accessed through ir30.dll. In the future, this precaution
should not need to be taken.
AVI File Editors:
-----------------
This is a recommendation for developers of AVI file editors.
To avoid unnecessary recompression, it is recommended the IV31 and
IV32 video formats be treated as the same video format. This speeds
up editing operations and improves video quality. When a video editor
saves an edited AVI file, the video formats of the source video frames
are compared to the video format chosen for the target file.
Typically, any frames not in the target format are recompressed. If
a clip contains a mixture of IV31 and IV32 frames, and the output
format is IV32, it is not necessary to recompress the IV31 frames.
The Indeo video R3.2 codec will play back both video formats.
Known Operating Characteristics:
--------------------------------
1) The new Indeo Video R3.2 driver can play back AVI files
compressed using the older R3.0 and R3.1 drivers. However, AVI
files created by the R3.2 software encoder cannot be played back
using the Indeo video R3.0 or R3.1 drivers. Microsoft's Media
Player will report the error "Video not available, cannot find
'vids.iv32' decompressor."
2) The R2.1 driver does not display a setup dialog box from
the Control Panel.
3) Digital Video Arts, Ltd. has an Indeo video R3.2 driver that
supports hardware playback. Call 215-576-7920 to inquire about
their NewWorld Operating Environment.
4) The Setup utility could fail unexpectedly at the end of installation.
If this occurs, it is usually due to low memory conditions. Close all
other applications before installation.
Software Requirements:
-----------------------
* Video for Windows V1.1d
* Windows 3.1
Optimum System Recomendation:
-----------------------------
For the highest image quality and playback, the following system
requirements are recommended:
* Intel Pentium processor
* System RAM: 12+ MB
* PCI bus graphics controller with DCI-enabled drivers
* SCSI or Enhanced IDE hard drive
For best frame rate performance, put the graphics card in 8-bit
color mode. For best image quality, put the graphics card in
24-bit color mode.
Technical Support and Updates:
------------------------------
For technical assistance, post a message on the IntelArch forum
of CompuServe in library #9.
As new Indeo video drivers are released, they will be made available
on CompuServe INTELARCH forum and Intel's Application Support BBS at
(916) 356-3600. Updates are also available on Internet at
ftp://ftp.intel.com/pub/IAL/Indeo_video and at
http://www.intel.com/IAL/indeo/indeo.html.
Microsoft Readme.txt file for VfW 1.1d:
---------------------------------------
Dear Video for Windows Developer:
Enclosed you will find the Video for Windows 1.1d Runtime. This release includes some important
enhancements requested by you, including improved palette support, Display Control Interface
(DCI) support and overall improvements in performance.
The files that have changed are the following:
File Name Change Description
AVICAP.DLL Added application pre-roll and post-roll support.
DVA.386 Added DCI support.
ICCVID.DRV Cinepak Codec: Added palette support.
IMAADPCM.ACM IMA ADPCM Codec: Change in the compression algorithm used in order to fully meet the official format specifications.
IR32.DLL Indeo Codec: Updated to version 3.2, added palette support.
MSVIDEO.DLL Added palette and DCI support.
MSVIDEO.NT Updated the Windows NT 3.5 to support 16 bit capture.
OLE2DISP.DLL Updated to current release of OLE.
OLE2NLS.DLL Updated to current release of OLE.
SETUP.INF Updated to new file sizes, versions and dates.
STDOLE.TLB OLE file missing from original VfW runtime.
TYPELIB.DLL Updated to current release of OLE.
Palette Support
Video for Windows has always allowed the application to select a specific
palette for playback on 8 bit displays. Unfortunately, the codecs
(compressor\decompressors) were never aware of this palette request.
Instead the codecs would dither to their own standard palette. Video for
Windows would then further dither the video to the requested color palette.
The net result was 24 bit videos, when played back with a requested palette,
were dithered twice. This would compromise the quality of the video.
This problem has been solved with this new drop of MSVIDEO.DLL, and the
Cinepak and Indeo codecs. The codecs will now decompress directly to a
requested palette. You can request the codecs to use a palette with either
the SETVIDEO <alias> PALETTE HANDLE TO <hpal>, or REALIZE <alias> BACKGROUND
MCI commands. You can find these commands in the Video for Windows 1.1
documentation.
DCI Support
DCI allows Video for Windows to take advantage of the enhanced capabilities
of your display cards. Video for Windows will support all DCI-enabled
display adapters. Furthermore, the performance of stretched and clipped
videos will be drastically improved for all displays.
For further information on API changes, please see the "New Performance
APIs" listed in the DEV_KIT.TXT of the Video for Windows SDK. This SDK is
available from the Fall '94 addition of the MSDN Level II.
Sincerely,
The Video for Windows Team
_____________________________________________________________________
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