[comp.sys.amiga] Wanted: Single Frame Recording VCR

steelie@pro-charlotte.cts.com (Jim Howard) (06/06/88)

I'm looking for any kind of VCR (preferably VHS) that will allow me 
to record one frame of video at a time. I am wanting to make a 
movie of ray traced images, and I dont have 15 million megs of ram
to use 'Movie' with..  I heard that the new version of VideoScape
has an option for controlling a VCR through the serial port for recording
animations to video tape, but thats all I know..  I can spend up
to a maximum of about 700 dollars.. Any help?
 
Thanks

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cmcmanis%pepper@Sun.COM (Chuck McManis) (06/07/88)

In article <3077@crash.cts.com> (Jim Howard) writes:
>I'm looking for any kind of VCR (preferably VHS) that will allow me 
>to record one frame of video at a time ...  I can spend up
>to a maximum of about 700 dollars.. Any help?

Sorry to burst your hopes but it cannot be done. Period. The cheapest
single frame capable VCR I have ever seen was a used Beta 1" deck that
was $3,500 and needed a digital timebase corrector before it would 
work with external video. However, there is an alternative. And that
is a regular deck with "Flying Erase Heads". These let you splice/edit
together short segments without the jitter and tearing normally associated
with VCR's. All of the current CamCorders use these. Using one of these
machines you can build up a movie 5 - 10 seconds at a time (depending on 
your RAM capacity). With the some custom software it should be possible
to keep a "Movie" partition on the hard disk that can be read and played
back in real time. Depending on it's size you could conceivably produce
scenes of several minutes of length (using Videscape 3D). If someone
would send me the *source* to a PlayANIM type program I would be able
to put it in fairly easily.


--Chuck McManis
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These opinions are my own and no one elses, but you knew that didn't you.

ewhac@well.UUCP (Leo 'Bols Ewhac' Schwab) (06/08/88)

In article <3077@crash.cts.com> steelie@pro-charlotte.cts.com (Jim Howard) writes:
>I'm looking for any kind of VCR (preferably VHS) that will allow me 
>to record one frame of video at a time.

	NFW.  Standard VHS format can't handle frame-accurate video insert.
You'll have to go with S-VHS or three-quarter inch.

	I have heard rumors that the new 8mm editing deck from Sony will be
able to do it.  So far, I have been unable to verify this.  My attempts at
getting frame-accurate video insert on the new 8mm Sony deck were
unsuccessful.  A Sony rep suggested that if I hooked up their external
editing control panel, that it may work, but I don't have much faith.

>I heard that the new version of VideoScape
>has an option for controlling a VCR through the serial port for recording
>animations to video tape,

	This is true.  VideoScape can control external VCR's or, if you're
lucky, videodisk recorders.  However, the thing VideoScape talks to has to
be intelligent enough to do frame-accurate video insert, which generally
require a VCR controller interface.  Allen Hastings or Stuart Ferguson
(Happy Birthday!) may be able to provide more details.

>I can spend up to a maximum of about 700 dollars.. Any help?
> 
	Sorry, but the minimum buy-in for known working equipment is about
$5000 (S-VHS deck).  You might be able to fake it by getting a 14 MHz 68020
instead, and playing ANIM scenes directly out of RAM onto videotape in real
time, but that will cost you a minimum of $800 or so.

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