Microsoft KB Archive/108804

Video for Windows 1.1: Contents of Macintosh Utilities

Q108804
The information in this article applies to:
Microsoft Video for Windows, version 1.1
SUMMARY

The following information was taken from the Microsoft Video for Windows, version 1.1, Macintosh Utilities readme file.
MORE INFORMATION

NOTES ON THE VIDEO FOR WINDOWS 1.1 APPLE MACINTOSH UTILITIES
============================================================

This file contains information on the programs for moving AVI files
to the QuickTime environment and for converting QuickTime files to
AVI format.

NOTE  To use these programs, your computer must have System 7 and
QuickTime 1.5 or better.

NOTE  The program for moving AVI files to the Macintosh does not
alter the data of your source file. Rather, it creates a resource
fork so that AVI files are recognized by the QuickTime operating
environment.

This file is divided into the following sections:

1. CONTENTS OF THIS DISK
2. INSTALLING THE VIDEO FOR WINDOWS 1.1 APPLE MACINTOSH UTILITIES
3. HINTS FOR THE VIDEO FOR WINDOWS 1.1 APPLE MACINTOSH UTILITIES
4. FINAL RELEASE NOTES


1. CONTENTS OF THIS DISK
========================

This disk contains the following files:
* Read Me file.
* QuickTime-to-AVI conversion program.
* Utility for moving AVI files to the Macintosh.
* Windows Compressors system extension, which contains
  compressor/decompressors (codecs) for Microsoft RLE, Microsoft Video
  1, and Microsoft Full Frame formats.


2. INSTALLING THE APPLE MACINTOSH UTILITIES
===========================================

To install the Video for Windows 1.1 Utilities on your Macintosh:

1. Drag the Windows Compressors icon to the Extensions folder
   which is located in the System folder on your hard disk.

2. Restart your computer.

3. Drag the two utilities to any location on your Macintosh hard
   drive.


3. HINTS FOR THE VIDEO FOR WINDOWS 1.1 APPLE MACINTOSH UTILITIES
================================================================

When you create a movie that you plan to play back with QuickTime,
consider the following factors:

* You must have a compressor/decompressor for both Video for Windows
  and QuickTime environments.

* To ensure a movie file plays effectively, author it to reflect the
  restrictions of the Macintosh hardware.

* Optimum interleaving for QuickTime is different from that of Video
  for Windows.

In order to play back a compressed AVI file on the Macintosh, the
compatible decompressor for that file must exist on the Macintosh.
Currently supported are: Microsoft Video 1, Microsoft RLE, Microsoft
Full Frame, and Cinepak by SuperMatch (if you have the Apple Compact
Video or the Apple Cinepak installed).

By default, Video for Windows creates CD-ROM movie files that play
back at 150 KBytes per second, the standard CD-ROM data-transfer rate
for multimedia personal computers. However, CD-ROM drives on many
Macintoshes do not have the same playback capacity. Playback rates in
the 90-100 KBytes per second range are common. If you play back a
movie file authored for 150 KBytes per second playback on such a
CD-ROM drive, you are likely to experience problems (for example,
audio breakup or dropping frames from the video). To ensure
successful playback on the widest possible range of Macintosh
hardware, capture the movie file at 90 KBytes per second. If your
target platform is higher-end Macintosh machines, you may be able to
capture at a higher frame rate.

Video for Windows normally interleaves audio with every frame of
video. For optimum playback on the Macintosh, you should change the
interleaving factor so that audio is interleaved every second of
video. For example, if your movie file plays at 15 frames per second,
specify an interleaving factor of 15.

When you convert a compressed QuickTime movie to a compressed AVI
file, consider the following factors:

* You must have a compressor/decompressor for both Video for Windows
  and QuickTime environments.

* You may wish to adjust the quality and temporal settings for each
  compressor.

The AVI files will not play back on Video for Windows, unless a
decompressor for that compressor exists.  Currently supported are:
Apple Compact Video (also called Apple Cinepak), Microsoft RLE,
Microsoft Full Frame and Microsoft Video 1.

The quality and temporal settings for the Video for Windows Converter
are both set to High.  You may be able to improve the visual quality
of the movie by increasing the quality and temporal settings for the
compressor.  Increasing these settings will have a direct effect on
the resulting file size: the higher the quality, the larger the file
size.  (To change the temporal setting, move the mouse pointer onto
the quality slider, and press the Option key.)


4. FINAL RELEASE NOTES
======================

The Video for Windows Converter:  Files converted to AVI format with
the Video for Windows Converter are not interleaved. To improve
playback of these files on a CD-ROM, you may want to interleave the
files again with VidEdit or some other tool.

The AVI to QuickTime Utility:  Files compressed with versions of
Cinepak for Windows earlier than 1.5.0.29 may display artifacts when
played back on the Macintosh. Recompress those source files with
Cinepak for Windows version 1.5.0.198 or later. Version information
on Cinepak may be obtained through the Drivers applet in your Windows
Control Panel.

You might significantly improve the playback of AVI files on the
Macintosh by increasing the preferred memory requirements of
MoviePlayer.  This can be done with the Get Info command in the
Finder.
Additional query words: 1.1 readme mac, quicktime, convert, avi
Keywords : vfw
Issue type :
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