This chapter provides information on how to adjust Video Panel settings. For additional information, use the Help menus on the Video Panel and digital media tools, or the O2 video man pages. If you are creating high quality digital movies, you might consider using a third party application such as Adobe Premiere.
If you haven't already installed the O2 digital video option software and hardware, refer to Chapter 1, “Installing the O2 Digital Video Option Module.”
The following topics are covered in this chapter:
The instructions in this section are based on current operating system software. If you have upgraded to a subsequent operating system, some of the instructions may no longer be valid. If this is the case, check the latest information by using the online documentation and the Help menus on the Video Panel and digital media tools.
For more technical information on the O2 digital video option, refer to the O2 Video man pages. In a shell window, enter
man 7 O2VideoFor the latest information, read the release notes on the CD.
For detailed information on using the digital media tools such as MediaRecorder, MediaConvert, and MovieMaker, see the online Digital Media Tools Guide. (From the Toolchest choose Help > Online Books > SGI_End User > Digital Media Tools Guide.)
Use the online Help for digital media applications such as Media Recorder, MediaConvert, MovieMaker, and so on.
Browse the Silicon Graphics Technical Publications Library. Enter the following in your Web Browser location window:
http://techpubs.sgi.com/library/
You can use the Video Panel to adjust video parameters such as input and output timing, default input source, and output genlock source and content.
There are several ways to start the Video Panel:
From the Toolchest, choose Find > Control Panels and double-click the videopanel icon.
Type videopanel in a shell window.
From the Options menu of MediaRecorder, choose Video Panel.
The video panel for the O2 digital video option is shown in Figure 2-1.
For details on adjusting settings in the Video Panel for the O2 digital video option, use the O2 Video man pages. In a shell window, type
man 7 O2Video
Table 2-1 explains the settings in the Output Enable control panel of the Video Output-Signal window in the Pro menu.
Table 2-1. Output Enable Control Panel Settings
Output Enable Settings | Channel 1 Primary 601 Output | Channel 2 Secondary 601 Output |
|---|---|---|
Pixels/Pixels | 4:2:2 YCrCb | 4:2:2 YCrCb |
Pixels/Alpha | 4:2:2 YCrCb | 4:0:0 A |
Alpha/Pixels | 4:0:0 A | 4:2:2 YCrCb |
Alpha/Alpha | 4:0:0 A | 4:0:0 A |
Passthru/Passthru | Sends input from input source to both outputs without traversing memory. | Sends input from input source to both outputs without traversing memory. |
To lock the PCI digital audio option board with the digital video option board, you must apply house sync to both boards, as shown in Figure 2-2.
For information on using analog audio with the digital video option board, see the online Digital Media Tools Guide. (From the Toolchest choose Help > Online Books > SGI_End User > Digital Media Tools Guide.) Or, use the online help for the Audio Panel and digital media applications.
House sync is a timing signal generated to synchronize video equipment in a studio environment. The O2 Digital Video Option can be synchronized to a house sync source as follows.
Connect the house sync signal to the red Genlock In connector on the breakout cable.
In a shell window, enter videopanel to open the Video Panel.
From the Pro menu, choose Video Output > Signal Controls.
For Output Sync choose Genlock.
For Genlock Source choose External.
 | Note: With current software, genlock can only be selected for Output Sync if an application performing video output from memory is running. (This will be corrected in future releases.) |
For more information on adjusting parameters in the Video Panel, refer to its online Help, or to the O2 video man pages. (Type man 7 O2Video in a shell window.)
From a UNIX shell, you can use the video tools listed below. Each of these tools has man pages.
| videoin | Displays video input in a window on the graphics screen | |
| videoout | Sends graphics from a portion of the screen or the full screen to a video output port | |
| vintovout | Receives video input and sends it to a device attached to the output port | |
| vidtomem | Saves single frames from video input to memory | |
| memtovid | Sends single frames from memory to an output port |
Use the tools with the -v flag and a number to select inputs. To obtain the number, enter vlinfo in a shell window. For example, to display input from Primary 601 In and output it to digital, use the command
vintovout -v 1
The default input is selected in the Device Controls Default Input panel in the Video Panel. All outputs are active on the O2 digital video option.
The O2 digital video option module and the analog audio-visual module are interchangeable. The system recognizes either module, however, you should remove or rename your ~/.videopanelrc settings file. (In future operating system releases, you won't have to do this.) If you plan to make this switch frequently, you may want to save the above commands in a script file to save time.
| Note: The settings file is saved in your $HOME directory (denoted by the ~ in the examples below). You should make the change in all home directories for any user (including root) who starts up the Video Panel. |
Follow these steps:
If the analog audio-visual module is currently installed and you saved the video panel settings, rename the ~/ .videopanelrc file as follows:
In a shell window, enter
mv ~/.videopanelrc ~/.videopanelrc.analogOr, if the digital video module is currently installed and you saved the video panel settings, rename the ~/ .videopanelrc file as follows:
mv ~/.videopanelrc ~/.videopanelrc.digitalTo switch between the two modules, link to the appropriate ~/.videopanelrc as follows.
To switch to the digital video module, enter
rm -f ~/.videopanelrc
ln -s ~/.videopanelrc.digital ~/.videopanelrcTo switch to the analog video module, enter
rm -f ~/.videopanelrc
ln -s ~/.videopanelrc.analog ~/.videopanelrc