Microsoft Knowledge Base

Video for Windows 1.1: Contents of Release Notes

Last reviewed: May 13, 1996
Article ID: Q108795

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Video for Windows, version 1.1

SUMMARY

The following is a summary of the Video for Windows, version 1.1 Release Notes. The Release notes are divided into three sections: Distributing the Microsoft Video Runtime, Documentation Updates, and Operating and Performance Tips.

MORE INFORMATION

Distributing the Microsoft Video Runtime

Your license agreement for Microsoft Video for Windows allows you to create AVI sequences and distribute them along with the Media Player so that others can view those sequences. The runtime disk of your package contains the software necessary to setup another user's machine to play AVI sequences.

Terms

Microsoft grants to you the right to reproduce and distribute the runtime modules of the SOFTWARE provided that you: (a) distribute the runtime modules only in conjunction with and as a part of an application program or data file, and not as part of any operating system or utility program, or on a standalone basis; (b) do not use Microsoft's name, logo, or trademarks in any marketing or advertising; (c) include a valid copyright notice on your product; and (d) agree to indemnify, hold harmless, and defend Microsoft and its suppliers from and against any claims or lawsuits, including attorneys' fees, that arise or result from the use or distribution of your product which incorporates the runtime modules. The "runtime modules" are those files in the SOFTWARE so identified in the written materials accompanying the SOFTWARE. If required in the SOFTWARE documentation, you agree to display the designated patent notices on the packaging and in the README file of your product. The license in this section to distribute the runtime modules is royalty-free provided that your application program or data file incorporating the runtime modules is created for operation on the Microsoft(R) Windows(TM), Windows NT (TM), or Modular Windows (TM) operating systems. Please contact Microsoft for the applicable licensing terms for all other uses of the runtime modules.

Files

The specific files covered by the license agreement appear below: This is the complete list of all files required by the Video for Windows runtime setup.

Filename                    Setup Directory
-------------               ----------------------
acmcmprs.dll                WINDOWS\SYSTEM
avicap.dll                  WINDOWS\SYSTEM
avifile.dll                 WINDOWS\SYSTEM
cleanup.reg                 WINDOWS\SYSTEM
compobj.dll                 WINDOWS\SYSTEM
ctl3d.dll                   WINDOWS\SYSTEM
dispdib.dll                 WINDOWS\SYSTEM
dva.386                     WINDOWS\SYSTEM
iccvid.drv                  WINDOWS\SYSTEM
imaadpcm.acm                WINDOWS\SYSTEM
indeov.drv                  WINDOWS\SYSTEM
ir_30.dll                   WINDOWS\SYSTEM
ir21_r.dll                  WINDOWS\SYSTEM
indeo.ini                   WINDOWS\SYSTEM
map_win.hlp                 WINDOWS\SYSTEM
mciavi.drv                  WINDOWS\SYSTEM
mciole.dll                  WINDOWS
mplayer.exe                 WINDOWS
mplayer.hlp                 WINDOWS
mplayer.reg                 WINDOWS
msacm.dll                   WINDOWS\SYSTEM
msacm.drv                   WINDOWS\SYSTEM
msadpcm.acm                 WINDOWS\SYSTEM
msvidc.drv                  WINDOWS\SYSTEM
msvideo.dll                 WINDOWS\SYSTEM
ole2.dll                    WINDOWS\SYSTEM
ole2.reg                    WINDOWS\SYSTEM
ole2conv.dll                WINDOWS\SYSTEM
ole2disp.dll                WINDOWS\SYSTEM
ole2nls.dll                 WINDOWS\SYSTEM
ole2prox.dll                WINDOWS\SYSTEM
profdisp.exe                n/a
storage.dll                 WINDOWS\SYSTEM
typelib.dll                 WINDOWS\SYSTEM

You can provide the runtime distribution disk to all users who want to play back Video for Windows files. They install the Microsoft Video for Windows Runtime by running the setup program included on the disk.

If you want to include an AVI sequence, you must either include it on the runtime distribution disk or provide another disk for this file.

To set up the Microsoft Video Runtime:

Insert the runtime distribution disk into your PC's floppy drive.
From within Windows Program Manager, choose the Run command from the File menu.
From the Run dialog, enter your drive letter followed by the word SETUP. For example, if the distribution disk is in drive A:, then you would type

A:\SETUP
Choose OK. This installs the Microsoft Video for Windows Runtime and updates the Media Player accessory. You can now play AVI sequences with the updated Media Player.

Documentation Updates

This information is not available in the printed documentation or in online Help.

You might see a "profiling display" message after installing or changing the display driver. This is normal. The system is determining the fastest method to access your display driver.
If you have upgraded from Video for Windows 1.0 to 1.1, and do not have an Intel Action Media II card or do not have Adobe Premiere installed on your system, you might get better performance playing your old Indeo (version 2.1) AVI files by changing the VIDC.RT21 entry in the [Drivers] section of your SYSTEM.INI file. Change the entry from INDEO.DRV to INDEOV.DRV. Refer to SYSINI.WRI for more information on how to modify your SYSTEM.INI file.
When you load a DIB sequence into VidEdit, it uses 256 colors as the palette by default. Create an optimal palette for the sequence before you save it as an AVI file.
If your Windows 3.1 or 3.11 REG.DAT file is damaged or lost, you can restore the Video for Windows information in the file by using the following procedure:

In File Manager, double-click the following files in the SYSTEM directory of your Windows directory. Double-click the files in the following order:
```
     1. MPLAYER.REG
     2. OLE2.REG
     3. CLEANUP.REG
```

Operating and Performance Tips

If your computer uses the double buffering feature of MS-DOS 6, AVI files may play slowly on your computer. If your CONFIG.SYS file contains command that starts SMARTDRV with the DOUBLE_BUFFERING parameter, add the /L switch to the SMARTDrive command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If adding the /L switch doesn't increase the playback speed enough, try removing the DOUBLE_BUFFERING parameter altogether. Before you remove DOUBLE_BUFFERING parameter, consult your Windows documentation or MS-DOS Help to determine whether your computer needs the parameter to run correctly.
Switching between greater than 236-color palettes and other palettes can cause the colors shown by MCIAVI.DRV in an AVI sequence to look wrong.
This release does not work with the Notebook accessory that comes with Windows for Pen Computing.
Current 16-bit color drivers may have performance problems because they do not yet directly support 16-bit DIBs and must translate from 24-bit.
During a Save as operation, the VidEdit caption will not change to the new file name until the save operation is completed.
From the VidEdit application, when you play a sequence from the Synchronize dialog with Play Duration settings other than 0, you may notice some slight synchronization problems at the very beginning of the playback sequence.
If you use older versions of Windows Sound System and other drivers, the audio may be out of synch with the video. Obtain updated Windows Sound System drivers from the Windows Driver Library (WDL). (For more information about the WDL, contact Microsoft Product Support.) For third-party drivers, contact your audio board manufacturer's technical support department to get an updated driver.
When using VidCap to save captured video sequences for the first time, make sure you include the .AVI file extension to the filename.
If you capture a video sequence and discover that it doesn't include any audio in the audio stream (an error is displayed and the status bar shows 0 bytes of audio), you may have a hardware conflict between your video capture board and your audio board. Double check the hardware settings of both boards to ensure no conflicts exist.

If you have PASTED multiple video sequences of different

    compression formats into a file, do not use the EXTRACT command
    with the "Compression Format" set to "No Change" .  This action
    would create an invalid file.

VidCap requires plenty of memory when capturing. Make sure to

    close all unnecessary applications before running VidCap. In
    particular, don't run VidEdit and load AVI files into memory when
    using VidCap for capture.

In some cases, AVI files compressed with the Indeo compressor may
```
    load a bit slowly if Indeo hardware is present.
```

If your computer uses the Et4000 chipset, runs a VGA driver, and

    full-screen playback does not work correctly, add the following
    line to the [386Enh] section of your SYSTEM.INI file:

    SysVMInSecondBank=FALSE

If your computer is connected to a network, high network traffic

    can impede the performance of your video capture. If you are not
    running Windows over the network, you may want to disconnect from
    the network when capturing video.

If you need the SVGA256.DRV driver, obtain it from the Windows

    Driver Library (WDL). For more information about the WDL, contact
    Microsoft Product Support.

If your computer is running Windows for Workgroups 3.11 turning

    the 32-bit cache off might increase the video capture performance.

VidEdit can only load single audio and video stream files.

If you use a Sound Blaster Pro driver, and use Media Player to

    play certain AVI files with a 16-bit, 22khz file format, the files
    will play incorrectly. The audio will play first, and then the
    video will play. To fix this problem, contact your sound board
    manufacturer for an updated driver.

Some Turtle Beach drivers play 44 khz stereo MSADPCM files

    incorrectly. If you are having problems playing these files,
    contact Turtle Beach for an updated driver.

If you install the Microsoft Multimedia Pack after installing

    Video for Windows, you need to update the Media Player information
    in the registry. To do so, carry out the following procedure:

    1. Start File Manager and switch to the Multimedia Pack CD drive.

    2. In the root of that drive, double-click the MPLAYER.REG file.

Versions of ATI's video accelerator prior to 2.1 do not work well

    with Video for Windows version 1.1. Installing the accelerator
    software after installing Video for Windows can overwrite Video
    for Windows version 1.1 components with components from the
    previous version. Avoid installing any version of the video
    accelerator unless it is specifically noted to be compatible with
    Video for Windows version 1.1.  The vidc.rlec=ativdacc.drv entry
    in the [installable compressors] section of the SYSTEM.INI file
    can cause problems when playing large RLE-compressed movies.
    Remove this entry from the SYSTEM.INI file.  For update drivers,
    contact ATI Technologies Inc.

The products included here are manufactured by vendors independent of Microsoft; we make no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding these products' performance or reliability.

KBCategory: kbmm kbsound kbref kbdisplay kbsound

KBSubcategory: wfw wfwg vfw
Additional reference words: wss vfw 1.1 video penwin Explorapedia Solar
System MSB Magic School Bus

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Microsoft KB Archive/108795

Microsoft Knowledge Base

Video for Windows 1.1: Contents of Release Notes

SUMMARY

MORE INFORMATION