&LQH0DVWHU DVD Playback Card C-1.
Table of Contents Preface.......................................................................................................ii Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 CineMaster Overview ....................................................................................... 1 Features ....................................................................................................... 1 CineMaster C-1.2D Specifications.............
Preface Trademark Notice and Warranty Disclaimer CineMaster, DVD Player, and VideoInlay are trademarks of Quadrant International, Inc. Copyright 1996, 1997 Quadrant International, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Windows, Video for Windows, and Windows Explorer are trademarks of Microsoft, Inc. All other trademarks mentioned in this manual or accompanying materials are for identification purposes only and are in no way intended to infringe on the copyrighted properties of their respective owners.
FCC Statement NOTE: This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class B digital device, pursuant to Part 15 of the FCC rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference in a residential installation. This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in accordance with the instructions, may cause harmful interference to radio communications.
iv CineMaster User’s Guide
CE Statement This equipment has been designed to comply with the requirements for CE Mark Certification, pertaining to products intended for sale within the European Union.
VCCI Statement This equipment has been designed to comply with the requirements for VCCI Certification, pertaining to products intended for sale within Japan. It has not formally been certified. Dolby® Statement Manufactured under license from Dolby Laboratories. “Dolby”, “Pro Logic” and the Double-D symbol are trademarks of Dolby Laboratories. Confidential Unpublished Works. ©1992-1997 Dolby Laboratories, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Introduction CineMaster Overview This User’s Guide covers the CineMaster C-1.2D DVD Decoder board and DVD Player software. Features MPEG-2 video decoding in hardware MPEG-2 is the compression standard used with DVD. This compression method allows over two hours of crisp, clear video to be stored on the first DVD discs. Dolby® Digital Sound (AC-3) decoding in hardware CineMaster delivers full 5.1 channel digital audio out to the S/PDIF connector.
Navigation Commands Users can interact with and customize the presentation of the DVD video material because CineMaster supports DVD Navigation Commands issued by the DVD playback application. Windows 95 Plug-and-Play Installation CineMaster is a Plug-nPlay card and is Windows 95 compatible. Just insert the card into a PCI slot, install the driver software, and enjoy the powerful new digital video features. There are no installation hassles, no IRQ conflicts, and no I/O Port settings to adjust! VMI 1.
Getting Started General Installation Instructions PCI Bus Compatibility Guidelines CineMaster must be installed in an open 32-bit PCI slot with PCI bus mastering. Refer to the manual shipped with your computer or motherboard to make sure that the open PCI slot that you select has bus mastering capabilities. For example, the manual should contain a statement similar to: “Each 32-bit PCI slot supports PCI mastering”. Video Port Compatibility Guidelines VMI Interface CineMaster uses a VMI 1.
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Hardware Installation Before you begin installing the CineMaster card, check your computer’s reference manual to locate the internal PCI expansion slots with bus mastering. Read any instructions in the manual describing how to use the expansion slots before installation. WARNING: To install the CineMaster card, you must open you computer and handle some of he internal components. Exercise caution at all times when working with AC powered equipment.
4. Remove the slot cover for an open PCI slot designed for bus mastering on the computer’s motherboard. A single screw is generally used to secure the cover. Save the screw for installing the CineMaster card later. Refer to Figure 1. Figure 1: Removing the slot cover from an open PCI slot. 5. 6 Carefully remove the CineMaster card from its anti-static envelope.
6. Hold the CineMaster card by its edges and insert it into the open PCI slot. Press the card firmly into the slot connector applying even pressure until the card is completely seated in the connector. You may have to gently rock the card from end-to-end in order to seat it properly. Refer to Figure 2. Figure 2 : Inserting the CineMaster card into the open PCI slot. Note: The CineMaster card must be seated properly and should not touch any other card or components on the motherboard in you system.
8. Connect one end of the long audio cable to CineMaster’s MPC-3 Audio Input connector, and the other end to the DVD-ROM drive’s Audio Out connector. Then connect CineMaster to the sound card’s connector that formerly went to the DVD drive, by connecting one end of the supplied short audio cable to CineMaster’s MPC-3 Audio Output connector, and the other end to the sound card connector. Refer to Figure 3. Figure 3: CineMaster cable connections 9.
Note: Be sure to align the connector properly with the pins. Typically, the ribbon cable will have a red stripe running along one edge. This edge should be nearest to Pin 1 on the Video Port Connector, located nearest to the metal bracket. 10. Replace the computer cover and plug in the computer. 11. At this point you can connect an AC-3 Decoder/Amplifier to the S/PDIF output connector on the rear bracket.
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Software Driver Installation CineMaster is a Plug and Play device, and Windows 95 will recognize the card the first time you boot after the card is installed. Once Windows 95 recognizes the card, it will look for CineMaster device drivers and if it does not find any, it will ask you to insert the disc containing the device drivers. These device drivers are contained on an installation CD-ROM.
2. Windows 95 will examine the floppy drive (A:\) for drivers, and when it doesn’t find any, it will display the following window. Insert the installation CD-ROM into the DVD-ROM drive and click on the Other Location button. Figure 5: Unable to locate drivers 3. In the new window that opens, select Browse, and then the DVDROM drive, and then the language directory that you wish to use for the installation (e.g. D:\English\) and then click on OK.
4. Windows 95 will detect the drivers and present the window below. Click on Finish and the drivers will be copied to your hard disk. Figure 7: Finish the installation 5. When the installation is complete, you will be prompted to reboot your computer. Click on OK to do so. When Windows 95 restarts, the CineMaster drivers will be installed and ready for use.
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DVD Player Software Installation Installation Note: The installation procedure described in this section assumes the application is supplied on floppy disks. If the application is provided on a single CD-ROM, the following procedure still applies wherever references are made to individual floppy disks, simply insert the single CD-ROM disc and reference the appropriate drive letter for your DVD-ROM drive (e.g. D:\ or E:\).
Starting DVD Player To start the software, Click on the Start button in the bottom left corner of the Windows 95 screen, then select Programs, then DVD Player and then DVD Player. DVD Player opens a playback window that is the same size as the playback window when you last exited DVD Player, and opens the Panel Control window in the same location as it was when you exited DVD Player. (If you have not used DVD Player yet, it will use internal defaults.
Improper DVD Disc in Drive If you have a DVD Disc in your DVD-ROM drive when the DVD Player is started and the region code does not match the region code of your CineMaster board the title will not play and an error message (shown in figure 8) will be displayed. Figure 8: Error message displayed when attempting to play content with a region code that does not match the region code of the CineMaster hardware.
No DVD Disc in Drive If you do not have a DVD Disc in your DVD-ROM drive when the DVD Player is started the window on the VGA display will display the default DVD logo (shown in Figure 9).
Using DVD Player Once you have opened the DVD Player, you can access DVD Player functions by moving the mouse pointer over the DVD video viewing area (window or full screen mode) and single- clicking the right mouse button. The following menu items will appear. Each are described in detail following this summary. 1. Panel Control This is the main Control window for playing DVD titles. 2. Angle Control Opens a window to change the viewing angle to any angle supported by the current DVD title. 3.
8. • Full Screen - This menu item resizes the video window to Full Screen using DirectDraw Overlay capabilities. Any other DVD Player windows that are open will remain open (e.g. Chapter/Title Search, Settings, etc.) • Window - This menu item resizes the video window to a nonfull screen window with a title bar; mostly used when in FullScreen mode.
Panel Control The Panel Control provides the main Control window for playing DVD titles.
Bottom Row: • Adjust the volume of the DVD Playback • Toggle the LED display between the Time Elapsed, Time Remaining, and Total Time • Navigate LEFT when in a Root or Title menu • Navigate DOWN when in a Root or Title menu • Navigate RIGHT when in a Root or Title menu • Jump to the Root menu • Rewind the DVD Video to the beginning of the current chapter • Back up one level from within a Root or Title menu • Jump back one Chapter in the current DVD Video title • Jump forward one Chapter in the current DVD V
For example: You select Angle 3 Angles Available: Angle Played: Chapter 1 1 1 Chapter 2 3 3 Chapter 3 4 3 Chapter 4 2 1 Time Search • Time Search has a slider to display and control the current playback location of the current DVD title. The slider can be dragged to any position in the title.
Numerical Keypad The Numerical Keypad allows you to enter numerical information for DVD menu selections, such as Root or Title menus. The most common example of this would be to select a specific scene to jump to. However, these numeric sequences are "requests" and they may or may not be used by the DVD title.
SubTitle This allows you to select which of the languages available on the current DVD title you want the subtitles to appear in. Check the Enable SubTitles box to display subtitles. Uncheck Enable the box to not display subtitles. When this box is unchecked, the language selection is not used. SubTitles Note: DVD titles have the ability to execute software on the playback system. Occasionally, a DVD title will instruct DVD Player to do something that will override a setting that was in force.
Parental This allows you to request which rating level of the current DVD title you wish to view. Note: If the rating you select is not available in the current DVD title, the default rating level will be played! This setting should not be relied on to prohibit playback of sensitive material! If you want to prevent unauthorized users from changing rating levels, click on the Enable Password Protection box. The first time you change a rating level you will be prompted for a password.
Display This allows you to control the DVD playback window on your VGA screen. • Always on • Resize Top will make the DVD video window stay on top of windows from other applications, even when they are active. Proportional will restrict window sizes to proportional sizes only. • • will restrict the video playback window to scale to only those sizes that exhibit minimal downscaling artifacts.
Picture This allows you to the brightness and temperature of the displayed on your monitor. adjust color video VGA The Brightness slider adjusts the brightness of the video; left is darker, right is brighter. The R, G, and B sliders adjust the individual values of the Red, Green, and Blue components of the video. Moving these sliders left reduces the amount of that color in the video, and moving these sliders right increases the amount of that color in the video.
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Advanced Settings and Troubleshooting Determining Driver Versions When trying to determine the cause of a potential problem, it is important to know the versions of various drivers and applications that are in use in your system. The CineMaster driver version is displayed in the Version tab of the CineMaster Properties driver dialog box. To access this tab, open Windows Explorer, single-click with the right mouse button on the file C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM\CINEMST2.
Determining DVD Player Versions The DVD Player version is displayed in the About DVD Player… dialog box for the application. To access this box, single-click with the left mouse button on the DVD icon in the upper left corner of the video playback window, select the About DVD Player… menu item, and the version will be displayed in the dialog box that appears.
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General Troubleshooting: Questions, and Answers Installation Questions Q: When I re-installed Windows 95 in my system, CineMaster would no longer play back DVD titles. How do I get it to play again? A: When Windows 95 is re-installed on a system that previously had CineMaster installed, it resets some important system settings that CineMaster needs to be able to playback DVD content.
Playback Questions Q: Why does my AC-3 audio sometimes pause or pop when I’m playing movies? A: Windows 95 supports background processes, which are small software programs designed to improve performance of certain applications or perform other functions without requiring you to manually launch them. These background processes can sometimes interfere with continuous processes such as playing audio and/or video which have specific requirements for sustained data rates.
Q: Why can’t I play certain unencrypted (*.vob) files with MediaPlayer? A: Attempts to play unencrypted .VOB files works properly with most DVD-ROM drives, although some newer drives do not allow the playback of unencrypted .VOB files without at least basic authentication functionality. If you experience problems playing unencrypted content with Media Player, try using DVD Player to play the same content. If it plays, the drive does not completely support the playback of unencrypted DVD data.
1. Select CONTROL PANEL from the SETTINGS list in the START menu. 2. Double-click on the SYSTEM icon, then select the DEVICE MANAGER tab. 3. Locate the CD-ROM listing, and single-click on the entry for your DVD-ROM drive. 4. Click on the PROPERTIES button, and then the SETTINGS tab. 5. Locate the checkbox labeled AUTO INSERT NOTIFICATION and click on the checkbox to select it. 6. Click on OK to save the change. At this point, you may need to restart Windows 95 for the change to become active.
Appendix A Keyboard Shortcuts DVD Player supports keyboard equivalents to allow more efficient operation. The chart below lists the keyboard equivalents and their functions. For more detail on the functions themselves, refer to the User's Guide. Note: no Function keys (F-keys) are defined except the standard Windows 95 ALT-F4 [Quit].
Keys Available in all Controls (continued): Key Combination End Page Up Page Down Home Function Navigate back to the previous DVD menu Jump to previous chapter Jump to next chapter Jump to start of current title p Depends on current player activity: • Pause – if playing • Pause off – if paused • Load DVD – if DVD tray open • Stop Scanning – if scanning (forward or backward) • Start Presentation – if in a menu r g s t b f e m I Access Root Menu Enable / Disable Bitstream data rate gauge Stop video playb
Keys available in Numerical Keypad: Key Combination 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9 Delete Backspace Return ESCape Function Enter the corresponding numeric value Clear all values Clear all values Select the current value Close the window Keys available in Settings: Key Combination o c ESCape User’s Guide Function Select the OK button Select the CANCEL button Select the CANCEL button CineMaster 39
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Appendix B RIVA 128 Video Resolutions Supported The nVidia RIVA 128 VGA chip, used in the STB Velocity 128 VGA card, is capable of displaying high resolutions in various color depths. Many of these displays also support the bandwidth necessary to display DVD video. The table below lists these display modes.
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Appendix C Glossary AC-3 (Dolby Digital) – A Dolby Laboratories specification for digital audio. An AC-3 stream contains 5.1 channels of digital audio (full 44.1 kHz, 16-bit digital channels for left, right, center, left surround, right surround, and an additional low bit rate channel for subwoofer information). AC-3 data is normally transferred digitally from a coaxial or optical S/PDIF output connector to an AC-3 decoder or amplifier for playback.
Bandwidth – The amount of data that can be transferred to or from a graphics card in a given length of time. Typically, when playing back digital video, the write data bandwidth of the VGA card is most important. The amount of bandwidth available is dependent on the type and speed of memory used on the VGA card, on the efficiency of the VGA controller’s hardware, and on the current display mode (because high-end modes consume more memory read bandwidth due to display updating).
Compression – Reduction of the amount of data used to represent a signal. Uncompressed video data requires an enormous amount of digital data, making it impractical to store or transfer without processing. Compression algorithms were carefully developed to minimize the perceived quality loss; these are applied to reduce the data rate for storage and playback. CVBS – Composite Video Baseband Signal. Often referred to as composite video signal or CVS.
DVD – A specification for storing digital data (usually high-quality video and audio) on a read-only disc that is the same physical size as a CD-ROM. DVD discs have much higher data capacity (4.7 GB per layer) than CD-ROMs (680 MB). This enhancement allows them to contain not only 2.5 hours of video, but also 5-channel 16-bit digital audio, multiple language playback, closedcaptioning, and hypertext content. DVD is a standard that was developed by ten companies known as the Consortium.
Interlace – The process of repeatedly displaying (scanning) all the lines in an odd field followed by displaying all the lines in an even field. Interlacing became part of video technology because early video equipment and televisions could not operate at high enough frequencies to scan every line on the display fast enough to produce a good quality image. It became so common that it has been adopted as a standard part of the video industry. See also: Field, Frame, De-interlace.
MPEG-1 – A international standard of the Moving Picture Experts Group, describing a compression method for digital video and audio. By eliminating both temporal and spatial data redundancies, the MPEG-1 algorithm drastically reduces the data size of digital video. Up to 72 minutes of full motion video and audio can be compressed (up to 200:1) using the MPEG algorithm and stored on a single CD-ROM.
Overlay (DirectDraw Hardware Overlay) – One of the “capabilities” (functions) supported in DirectX. This particular capability, which may or may not be supported by a particular VGA chip (or its driver) provides the ability to scale video up to larger than its original size (as defined in the NTSC or PAL video standard). Overlay capability is necessary (but not sufficient) to do fullscreen video playback on the VGA screen when the desktop display resolution is 800×600 or higher. PAL - Phase Alternate Line.
Resolution – In video terms, resolution is the relative density of information that can be displayed, expressed in terms of the total number of horizontal and vertical pixels. The higher the pixel count, the higher the resolution and the greater the amount of detail that is displayable. A display that is 1024×768 has 1024 pixels per line and 768 lines per frame. Together with Color Depth, it defines the video mode.
Y/U/V - A format for representing digital video using a color coordinate system where Y provides brightness information and both U (also called Cr) and V (also called Cb) contain color information. Digital video is typically stored in this format. YUV data must be converted to RGB before it is displayed on a monitor.
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Appendix D Technical Support Quadrant International prepares specific releases of CineMaster for each integrator of our product into their overall DVD product (either a DVD-ROM Upgrade Kit, or as part of a DVD-ROM enabled computer system). For that reason, it is necessary for the end owner of this product to contact that manufacturer for technical support and service. If you encounter any problems with the operation of your CineMaster DVD Decoder, Dell provides a number of tools to help you.
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