Mainly Neat Stuff --> Vintage Macintosh --> Vintage Radius Documents
This is a reconstruction of original Radius support documentation. All links on this page are now defunct. For more information, refer to the document Vintage Radius Documents.
July 11, 1996
#3580 pg.
Q: What's the difference between Adobe Premiere and
VideoFusion?
A: Premiere and VideoFusion complement each other nicely. While
VideoFusion offers a wide variety of dazzling special effects for
digital video, users with a traditional video editing backg round may
find Premiere s editing interface more familiar. VideoFusion s
editing interface may be more intuitive to those who use graphics
packages or who have Macintosh experience. Either package alone
offers both editing and special effects for QuickT ime movies, but
the combination is extremely effective. Both Premiere and VideoFusion
are offered in the Radius VideoVision Studio bundle.
Q: What's the difference between CoSA v2.0 After Effects and
VideoFusion?
A: CoSA v2.0 After Effects costs almost t wice as much and has a
steeper learning curve, but it is flexible for layering QuickTime
movies and still images. With After Effects, you can adjust layers up
until the time you render the final QuickTime movie. VideoFusion also
offers a vast number of ways movies can be layered, but layering
operations are done one at a time creating new QuickTime movies at
each step. VideoFusion has many high-quality special effects
including the ability to pan, zoom and rotate QuickTime movies over
plain backgrounds , still images, or other QuickTime movies.
Q: Is VideoFusion a special effects or a multimedia presentation
package?
A: VideoFusion is a movie making and special effects tool for
QuickTime movies and PICT images. You can create and play back
QuickTime movies or print movies to tape (with appropriate
hardware).
Q: What file formats are supported?
A: VideoFusion can import and export PICT, PICT series, Kodak Photo
CD, PICS, QuickTime, Raw, OMF, and AIFF files, and can save custom
effects like Warp, PZR, Tr ansitions, and Morph data points.
Q: What makes VideoFusion 1.6.1 different from previous
versions?
A: VideoFusion 1.6.1 includes:
1) Optimized support for Apple's Power Macintosh(TM) . A Power
Macintosh computer running VideoFusion 1.6 will give video producers
a 300% average increase in performance.
2) Support for Avid Technology's Open Media Framework Standard.
QuickTime movies created and edited on the Macintosh using
VideoFusion 1.6 can be transferred, edited and played on other
platforms such as W indows-based IBM PC and PC compatibles, and
Silicon Graphics workstations. And
3) Enhanced chroma key filtering. Improvements to this feature have
resulted in much sharper and cleaner mattes with fewer keying
artifacts for more dramatic chroma key overlays, mattes, and special
effects.
Q: What do users create with VideoFusion?
A: Users create movies for use in interactive CD-ROM titles, training
programs, multimedia presentations, or for export to videotape.
VideoFusion is also used to create special e ffects for short clips
of video or film. VideoFusion has been used in projects such as Peter
Gabriel s XPlora! and Eleanor McEvoy s music video Only a Woman s
Heart.
Q: Does VideoFusion support QuickTime 2.0 and System 7.5?
A: VideoFusion 1.6.1 offers basic compatibility with QuickTime 2.0
and System 7.5.
Q: Do you have a Windows version of VideoFusion?
A: Currently, VideoFusion is available only on the Macintosh
platform.
Q: Does VideoFusion support SMPTE timecode?
A: Currently, VideoFusion provides a time ruler in the Time View
which displays a SMPTE format time for each frame, with the beginning
of the file (frame 1) always starting at time zero. This feature
allows the user to make selections of a specific duration for
editing, and to place t he insertion point after a specific time
interval. However, the representation of SMPTE timecode in the Time
View does not reference timecodes which may be striped onto a video
source tape.
Q: What effects does VideoFusion have?
A: VideoFusion offers a wide variety of special effects,
including:
1) Changing the size of the movie (Resize, Crop)
2) Changing its speed or direction (Set Duration, Vary Speed,
Reverse)
3) Combining movies (Blend, Chroma Key, Composite, Mix, Arithmetic,
Logical)
4) Channel operations (Replace, Merge or Extract Channels)
5) Color operations (Balance, Cycle, Negative, Palette, NTSC
Safe)
6) Filters (Threshold, Window, Convolve, Posterize, Mosaic)
7) Transitions (extensive library includes fades, wipes and
dissolves, over 100)
8) Motion (Pan-Zoom, Pan-Zoom-Rotate). And
9) Altering the image (Warp, Morph)
The above list is not exhaustive. One important feature of
VideoFusion s effects is that most of them can vary over time. The
user can set key frames at the beginning and ending of an effect, and
VideoFusion calculates the in-between frames.
Q: What kind of computer can I run VideoFusion on?
A: VideoFusion requires at least a Macintosh II series computer.
While it will run on a Macintosh II, Performa, Centris, Quadra or
Power Macintosh computer, it offers better performance on the more
powerful computers (Quadra, Power Macintosh).
VideoFusion requires a minimum 5Mb partition, so the Macintosh should
have at least 8Mb of RAM. Realistically, a user should have a minimum
of 16Mb of RAM (24Mb minimum if they are working with 640x480
full-screen media). The Power Macintosh series seem s to consume more
RAM consider 24Mb and 32Mb respectively.
Q: Does VideoFusion have EDL support?
A: No. VideoFusion cannot read or generate an Edit Decision List,
commonly called an EDL. VideoFusion lacks machine control capability,
so it cannot control a tape deck or set In/Out edit points. Recording
is done manually by pressing Record and Stop.
Q: Can VideoFusion control a tape deck?
A: No. VideoFusion does not support any type of machine control.
Digitizing is performed by manually pressing the Record and Stop
buttons in the Record Window. The Print to Video command has a time
delay feature to facilitate recording to tape, but the VCR must be
operated by the user.
Q: Can you put VideoFusion out to tape frame by frame?
A: VideoFusion has a Print to Video feature which will allow the user
to step through the movie manually by pressing the Right Arrow key to
advance one frame. However, a much better way to generate frame by
frame output (although more expensive) is to us e a DiaQuest Animaq
controller card to control a frame-accurate tape deck, and to use
their software QuickPass to play QuickTime movies back a frame at a
time. Self-containe d QuickTime movies created with VideoFusion can
be used with the QuickPass software.
Q: When using VideoFusion with the Media Suite Pro, does it matter
if the video is compressed or uncompressed when transferring OMF
files back and forth?
A: VideoFusion 1.6 supports several Avid AVR levels. The higher the
AVR level, the better quality the video. Video compression offers
None, JPEG (high quality), and several choices that allow Avid
systems to import data directly.
VideoFusion 1.6 can import and export video and audio files in the
AVID standard Open Media Framework Interchange Format. This is a
cross platform standard developed by AVID and adopted by the
Interactive Multimedia Association (IMA) as a recommended practice
for data exchange. This allows transfer of video and audio files to
other programs on the Macintosh that support OMF interchange, as well
as other platforms that support it, such as Windows and Silicon
Graphics. When importing OMF files, VideoFusion will present the user
with a dialog that enables the user to choose to import an audio or
video track. If the OMF file has multiple tracks, the user must
import each track separately.
Q: What customers use VideoFusion?
A: VideoFusion s primary customer base is CD-ROM producers, and those
people using digital technology to create interactive experiences on
the Macintosh or PC. VideoFusion also has users in the professional
video arena and the business, education and hom e markets.
VideoFusion provides powerful special effects making it an attractive
tool for these markets.
Q: Will VideoFusion s native version run on both a regular
Macintosh and a Power Macintosh?
A: VideoFusion 1.6 and later is a fat-binary application, meaning
that it contains code for both the Power Macintosh and the 68K or
Motorola 68000 processor-based Macintosh. The program will run on
either type of Macintosh, although it will be faster on a Power
Macintosh.
Q: What advantages does the native Power Macintosh version of
VideoFusion offer?
A: A Power Macintosh computer running VideoFusion 1.6 or later will
give video producers a 300% average increase in performance.
Q: How long is rendering time?
A: Rendering time depends on many factors, including frame size and
compression settings. Larger frames take longer to compress than
smaller ones. Additionally, some compressors, such as Cinepak, have
very slow algorithms. Rendering speed is usually va stly improved on
a Power Macintosh.
Q: Do I need anything else besides VideoFusion if I want to get
video on and off the Macintosh?
A: VideoFusion by itself is a software package. While it can work
with a variety of QuickTime video capture hardware devices, it cannot
by itself bring video on or off the Macintosh. One option would be an
AV-equipped Macintosh computer, which has the v ideo capture hardware
built-in. For non-AV Macintosh computers, a separate video capture
hardware device such as VideoVision Studio must be purchased. Prices
can range from a couple hundred dollars to thousands of dollars
depending on image q uality and features offered.
Q: Can I create full screen movies with VideoFusion?
A: Because of QuickTime s scalability, VideoFusion can create movies
that are full motion, full screen. The user must have the correct
capture and playback hardware necessary for digitizing at the
preferred resolution and frame rate. Using appropriate hardware like
Radius VideoVision Studio, users can print their movie to videotape
in real time, eliminating the need for multiple tape decks or frame
controlled decks.
Q: If I want to do full screen videos, what should I buy?
A: A Power Macintosh or Macintosh Quadra, a Radius VideoVision Studio
(VideoFusion is included), and lots of disk space. The faster the
hard drive the better, because the more bytes/sec the disk will
transfer, the higher the quality of the video you can achieve. You
may want to consider purchasing a fast disk array.