Creating and Editing
MPEG1 Files with the
VideoSphinx / VideOH!

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FutureTel / VideoSphinx Home Page

N.B. The FutureTel VideoSphinx and the Adaptec VideOH! are virtually identical external video capture devices with a parallel (printer) port interface. Any references to the former also include the latter.

Basic Process

1. Capture video to clip file
2. Edit videoclip to remove unnecessary content at beginning and end
3. Verify playback quality with system video player by double-clicking on file name
4. Save to CD-ROM and/or Webserver for backup and archiving

Before you Start

1. Create a new folder for your clips.
   Add a shortcut to the VideoSpinx program to this folder.
2. Add a shortcut to this folder to the Desktop
3. Think up a naming scheme for your files which follows these rules:
   • Choose a name that identifies your video uniquely (i.e. not just "videoclip.mpg" but "Viaje_a_Buenos_Aires.mpg")
   • It is good practice to use long expressive names and capital letters, but be consistent on usage within a series of clips (e.g. always capitalize the same words; Windows ignores capitalization, but the Webserver cannot retrieve a file without the exact capitalization; an inconsistent scheme makes it more difficult to create a link page to the clips, a guarantee of future grief).
   • Avoid spaces in names (our Webserver cannot handle them); use dash or underscore instead, or else identify separate words with capital letters (e.g. "ViajeaBuenosAires.mpg"
   • If you wish to use numbers in your names, put them at the beginning, not the end of your clip name, to ensure they will show up on directory lists (very long names are often displayed with the end truncated). Determine what the highest number of digits will be and "pad" numbers with fewer digits.
     01Viaje_a_Buenos_Aires.mpg ...
     24Viaje_a_Buenos_Aires.mpg
4. Keep a log with at least this information on each clip digitized, and store it along with the original tapes in our digital "vault" :
   • Purpose of clip (course, target audience)
   • Means of distribution (Web, CD-ROM etc.)
   • Where archived (name of CD-ROM or Web directory)
   • Location of original
   • Source of copyright permission (subscription or other agreement, personal or government-produced video, fair use etc.)
   • Date digitized
   • Source information, including all markings on tape, RTC (real-time counter -- reset to 0:00 at first video on tape) reading
   • Person performing capture

   Remember: Standards are always subject to change. Future improvements or new hardware standards may make it desirable or necessary to recapture your clips. Access to the original video and accurate records are essential to future-proof your work.

Relevant Windows 9x Principles

To use VideoSphinx, you must be familiar with basic Windows conventions and operations, as well as the use of the audio and video equipment for reproducing the original video. Understanding the following Windows 95 principles will make your learning of the VideoSphinx system less frustrating:

• To move a window, click on its title bar (top of window -- avoid the control boxes in the corners), hold the mouse button down, move the mouse until the window is in the desired position, then release the mouse button.
• Many commands have keyboard shortcuts, which are shown on the drop-down menus. Particularly helpful while coordinating several devices, such as tape "Play" button and computer "Capture" function, when it may be difficult to use the mouse.
  • Menu bar shortcuts are indicated by an underlined letter on the menu, which means "Hold down the Alt-key, then press the underlined letter", e.g. File means enter Alt-F to activate the File Menu. (For subsequent levels "below" the top-level menu bar, it is irrelevant whether you continue holding down the Alt-key.) A convention to show the series of Alt-key menu shortcuts is: Alt-F > N > M, which means "Hold down the Alt-key and press the F-key, followed by the N-key, then the M-key (Shift-key unnecessary).
  • "Speed-key" shortcuts typically involve the Control or Function keys, and are shown after the menu entry. Many speed-keys are the same for almost all Win95 applications, such as :

    Ctrl-C	Copy Selected Text or Object to Clipboard
    Ctrl-V	Paste Text or Object from Clipboard
    Ctrl-Z	Undo last action
    Ctrl-S	Save
    Ctrl-P	Print
    F1	Help
    Alt-F4	Exit

  • The default button in a dialog box (like the "Ok" button), recognizable by a dotted line around its caption, can be "clicked" by pressing Enter or Space Bar.
• Click on a window's title bar to activate it to receive keystrokes for shortcut keys (note change of titlebar color when the window is activated).

Launching the VideoSphinx / Clipview control program

To start, Double-click the program icon in your project folder. This application encompasses Capture, Playback and Edit, in addition to functionality not relevant for our needs.

Capture

Warning
VideoSphinx has a default folder (directory) for (a) capturing clips, (b) opening clips to play and edit them, and (c) saving edited clips. Newly captured clips are always saved in this folder as "Capture.mpg". VideoSphinx does not warn you when you are about to overwrite a pre-existing clip named "Capture.mpg".
Avoid confusion and destruction by always resaving any captured video you intend to keep under a unique name before capturing additional clips or or exiting the program. See Tips and Quirks below for a warning and some suggestions
When playing back and editing clips, make that VideoSphinx is looking in the proper directory before you despair about lost clips.

1. Safeguard existing clips. Ensure that any video previously captured which you wish to keep has been saved under a unique name. (You can do this by renaming "Capture.mpg"; see Tips etc. below.)
2. Set capture mode: click on the video camera at the top of the toolbar on the left-hand side of VideoSphinx window.
3. Connect or select on the switch box video source you are using. Reset counter on tape player to 0:00 if necessary. Cue up the video to about 5-6 seconds before the start of the segment you wish to record (preview the video on a separate TV monitor -- preview on the computer may cause the program to freeze). 
4. If you have already captured 1-2 clips, reset the Sphinx by turning it off momentarily, then on again with the switch on the power console or by unplugging (sporadic hardware glitch). 
5. Click the "sunshine" "Prepare to Capture" button (leftmost icon underneath the TV screen) and wait 3-4 seconds until the "Press Record to Start Capture" message appears on the TV screen.
6. Start Capture by clicking on the red circle Record button under the TV screen.
7. To end Capture, click the black square Stop button. Wait for video to be processed and saved (can take up to several minutes depending on the clip length).
8. Replay the clip to verify video and audio quality. Recapture if desired.
9. Edit clip to remove unnecessary material preceding and following the desired segment. (See below.)
10. If you expect to need it in the future, save the raw capture clip under a unique name (File > Save As...), or else rename "Capture.mpg" using Windows Explorer.

Tips, Quirks, and Gotchas

1. Tip: All buttons display explanations of their functions at the bottom left of the VideoSphinx window when you hover the mouse pointer over them.
2. Quirk: the audio signal is heard via one set of speakers connected to the VideoSphinx unit during capture, but via a second set of speakers connect to the computer during playback. Differences in volume between capture and playback can reflect differences in the settings of speaker volume or in the Windows volume control (Speaker icon in system tray at bottom-right of screen) or playback mixer (double-click aforementioned icon). You should always check a sample clip on a different computer without amplified speakers to ensure sufficient volume without distortion.
3. If you hear no audio in a captured clip, you may have neglected to reset the VideoSphinx unit by cycling it off then on again (see above). 
4. Gotcha: When you save a clip via File > Save, the Sphinx prompts you to save it in the C:\ directory. Switch to your personal project directory before naming and saving the clip.
5. Tip: Instead of saving your raw clip via File > Save (which copies the file), simply rename the Capture.mpg file in your project folder. Click on the filename to highlight it, then choose File > Rename and enter the new name. Make sure it ends in the extension .mpg
6. Change the default Capture / Playback / Edit directory via Setup > Preferences.
7. Set Preferences for a Capture Rate of 1-1.2 megabits per second, which permits archiving one hour of video on a single CD-ROM.  Higher data rates may not allow playing directly off the intranet.
8. Edit the clip to eliminate excess lead-in / lead-out.
9. Archive to CD-ROM and publish to web if required.

Editing

1. Click on the Scissors Slicing Film button at bottom of the toolbar on the left to slide out the TrimPanel (editing bar) seen above. If the Scissors button is not visible, click on the Capture (camcorder button, top of toolbar on left) to restore it.
2. Load a clip to edit if necessary by clicking on the Open File icon under the TV screen.
3. Define the Start and End frames of the subclip by one of two methods (or combine the methods as desired):
   • Click the Play button under the TV screen. Mark subclip Start and End by clicking the respective buttons (see image). (You can use the slider bar under the TV screen to mover around within the clip.)
   • Drag (click and hold mouse button down, then release when done dragging) the mini-TV windows on the edit bar to set the boundaries.
     • Refine clip definition a frame at a time by clicking step forward [ >| ] / back [ |< ] buttons under respective mini TVs.
     • Replay currently-defined subclip with play button [ > ] under left-hand mini TV.
4. Save subclip by clicking on the checkmark icon. Make sure you give it a unique name and save it in the correct folder.
5. When saving is completed, test your new clip with the Windows Mediaplayer by double-clicking on the filename from the folder for your project.
6. The Editor program tends to freeze after extensive "tweaking" of clip start / stop frames. To limit this misbehavior, exit and relaunch the program after editing each clip.
7. When you have completed your clips, archive (CD-ROM and / or FTP to website) and tested them, delete any scratch files on the drive.

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