Re: screen video capture software

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

Mike Pfaiffer <pfaiffer@mbnet.mb.ca> wrote:

>Tan Beng Hau Ian wrote:
>
>> Can I capture my actions on the computer with screen video capture software
>> like Microsoft does to demonstrate the features of IE 5? Where can I find
>> such stuff?
>
>	An interesting idea if it is possible. I don't know about the video
>overlay card but I'm pretty sure it can not currently be done from the
>GS. Perhaps some of the people still writing programs for the GS would
>give it a shot. I gather from past conversations video is possible. The
>problem would be the decompression and video together would be too much
>for the computer. Suppose the GS were accelerated? Would this still be
>too much? What if there were a simpler (open source) compression scheme
>relying on "built in" instructions such as polygons? If anybody DOES
>take up this idea I would like to see some way of synchronizing sound
>and video built into the data definition. This is apparently a bit of a
>problem on the Mac and PC especially with streaming formats.

It can be done on the IIGS.  Use of the PaintWorks animation format
should do it.  The compression of this format is very rudimentary
(RLE) but it is fast and the IIGS can handle it.  There is a converted
Quicktime clip on ground that demonstrates this.  The only limitation
is that PaintWorks animations must be loaded fully into memory on
current players and thus even a short clip requires lots of memory.
The poor efficiency of RLE compression does not help.

However, the original question was capturing demo screens of the
IE program's features.  In this case, a series of still pictures in a
HyperCard or HyperStudio stack should do.  Or if the demo is to
be a stand alone file, a series of still video captures (using a
Visionary, Vision Plus (Enhanced) or ComputerEyes GS card)
linked as a PaintWorks animation set to a slow frame rate would be
a good option.