From: gdonner@cyberlink-inc.com (Gregory Donner)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.amiga.reviews
Subject: REVIEW: MooVId movie player
Followup-To: comp.sys.amiga.multimedia
Date: 21 Sep 1998 11:23:13 -0400
Organization: The Amiga Online Review Column - ed. Daniel Barrett
Lines: 290
Sender: barrett@belvedere.cs.umass.edu
Message-ID: <6u5r11$4b1@belvedere.cs.umass.edu>
Reply-To: gdonner@cyberlink-inc.com (Gregory Donner)
Keywords: multimedia, video, Quicktime, AVI, shareware
X-Review-Number: Volume 1998 Number 18
NNTP-Posting-Host: belvedere.cs.umass.edu
X-NNTP-Posting-Host: belvedere.cs.umass.edu
Path: rcfnews.cs.umass.edu!not-for-mail
PRODUCT NAME
MooVId v0.33b
(NOTE: used to be AVId; the new name reflects the addition of
Quicktime movie support).
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
A Video for Windows (.avi) and Quicktime (.mov) movie player
for the Amiga.
AUTHOR/COMPANY INFORMATION
Name: László Török (pH03N1x/CDi)
Address: H-8900 Zalaegerszeg
Cserfa 31.
Hungary
Telephone: +36 92 310 396 (after 18:00 CET)
FAX: n/a
E-mail: torokl@alpha.dfmk.hu
REGISTRATION
15 German DM or $10 U.S. dollars, or the equivalent in another
currency. For Central & East European Amiga users only,
registration is just 5 DM.
To register, send the registration fee (in cash) to László at
the postal address listed above. Once the registration is
received, the full version will be sent to you as a binary
e-mail attachment. You may register via snail mail but please
include a self-addressed, stamped envelope and an error-free
3.5" DD diskette with your registration.
Please note that László's bank (Budapest Bank) is unable to do
money transfers outside of Hungary.
After registering, updates are free providing you have an
e-mail address.
If you are a registered user, please DO NOT spread your copy
of MooVId!
DEMO VERSION
The demo version (v0.99998) is available from Aminet as
gfx/show/AVId.lha, but has the following limitations:
· Plays only the first 400 frames (approximately 30 seconds @ 15 fps).
· No STORM support, and the GUI is disabled.
· No Intel Indeo support
SPECIAL HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS
HARDWARE
1 MB CHIP or FAST RAM and a hard drive is required.
A 68020 or faster processor, and an ECS/AGA Amiga or
graphics card is also required. (note: with an ECS
Amiga, output is limited to 16-color grayscale).
Recommended hardware: 68040/68060 processor (or 68030
w/graphics card), a hard drive with at least a 1MB/sec
transfer rate, and 1 MB FAST RAM.
SOFTWARE
reqtools.library v.38 or higher.
Amiga OS 3.0 or higher.
Picasso96 or CyberGraphX (currently untested) driver
software (always use the latest version).
MooVId works fine under Amiga OS 3.1, and requires it
for both the AKIKO and SDBL functions. I have not been
able to test it under other versions of the Amiga OS,
but it should run OK under 2.x, and even better on
3.0.
COPY PROTECTION
None.
MACHINE USED FOR TESTING
Amiga 2500 w/2630 (25MHz '030) w/68 MB Fast RAM, 1 MB Chip RAM.
PicassoII graphics card running latest Picasso96 driver software.
Toshiba XM-5701 SCSI-2 12X CD-ROM drive (internal).
AIR 1.76MB external floppy disk drive.
A2091 SCSI Controller w/Guru ROM.
Seagate 1 GB internal hard drive.
SyQuest EZFlyer 230 MB removable hard drive (external).
Sony15sf 15" multisync monitor.
AmigaOS 3.1.
INSTALLATION
Installation is simple, and therefore does not need the
standard installer utility. You may copy MooVId anywhere you
like on your hard drive as long as you have reqtools.library
v.38 (or higher) in your LIBS: directory.
REVIEW
MooVId supports both Video for Windows movies, as well as
Quicktime movies. Below is a list of the video and audio
types that can be viewed in the respective movie formats:
Note: Intel Indeo support is ready, and the license has been
promised, but not physically received as of this writing.
========================
Video for Windows (.avi)
========================
Supported video encoders:
Intel Indeo (IV31/IV32) 24 bit
Microsoft RGB (RGB) 8 bit
Microsoft RGB (RGB) 16 bit
Microsoft Video 1 (CRAM/MSVC) 8 bit
Microsoft Video 1 (CRAM/MSVC) 16 bit
Radius Cinepak (CVID) 24 bit
Radius Cinepak (CVID) 32 bit
Run Length Encoded (RLE) 8 bit
Supported audio codecs:
PCM MONO/STEREO 8/16 bit
MS-ADPCM MONO/STEREO 4 bit (16 bit)
=====================
Quicktime (.mov, .qt)
=====================
Supported video encoders:
Apple Video (RPZA) 16 bit
Intel Indeo (IV31/IV32) 24 bit
Radius Cinepak (CVID) 24 bit
Radius Cinepak (CVID) 32 bit
Supported audio encoders:
RAW MONO 8/16 bit
TWOS MONO 8/16 bit
STEREO and IMA4 (coming soon)
MooVId has a control GUI that can be used with both playback
modes: a window on Workbench, or a custom screen. The GUI
sports the following controls from left to right:
Top row -
Play/Pause button
Video track slider
Frames/sec Display & adjustment.
Bottom row -
Prev/Next AVI/MOV (when multiple files are selected)
Volume slider
Brightness slider
Repeat movie toggle
Skip frames toggle
DOCUMENTATION
MooVId comes with standard AmigaGuide documentation which
covers all the aspects of MooVId's features; how to get the
best playback for your Amiga's configuration,
troubleshooting/reporting bugs, and more.
Keep in mind that while László's native language is not
English, he does a good job of keeping the documentation clear
and to the point. Whether you're a beginner or a seasoned
Amiga user, you'll find the documentation helpful, and you
shouldn't have many questions left to ask.
LIKES
MooVId provides a very fast and stable movie player for the
Amiga. It not only supports the major codecs, but also has
optimized playback routines for 68040 and 68060 processors. It
sports a control GUI on both custom screens and Workbench
window configurations.
DISLIKES AND SUGGESTIONS
I have only two (major) suggestions for MooVId: add support
for as many audio & video codecs as possible, and add MPEG
audio and video support. I'm happy to say that these are
László's goals--as he gets time. He has already spent many
hundreds of man-hours on MooVId, and--shameless plug--is
likely to in the future, providing people register and show
their support.
COMPARISON TO OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS
MooVId is not the only player for Video for Windows (.avi) and
Quicktime animations (.mov). CyberAVI/QT, TapAVI (no longer
supported), XAnim, Mavi, and the Main Actor series also
support one or both of these movie formats to varying degrees.
Since I do not own either Mavi or Main Actor, I was unable to
compare either of these movie players with MooVId. However,
MooVId is without question from 2-3 times faster than
CyberAVI/QT, TapAVI, and far in excess of XAnim. MooVId is
optimized for fast playback speed even on modest Amigas, and
it shows.
BUGS
It's hard to complain about a product that is constantly being
updated; it may not (currently) support all the codecs that
CyberAVI/MOV does, but it supports all the major codecs, with
more on the way. Most importantly, it is FAST. Even on a 25MHz
'030, smaller movies (160 x 120) can get around 10-12
fps--rates you won't currently find with CyberAVI/QT, or
TapAVI.
Since MooVId is constantly being improved, it is almost
pointless listing bugs here--they would very likely be fixed
by the time this review is released. Suffice it to say that
any bug, properly reported, will be fixed.
VENDOR SUPPORT
Support is very good. László strives to answer all e-mail
within 24 hours, and is open to suggestions (register
first!). Any bugs I personally have reported have (or will be)
fixed and an updated version was sent to me via e-mail.
WARRANTY
N/A.
CONCLUSIONS
If you want a powerful movie player for your Amiga, get
MooVId. It is well supported, and is constantly being
improved. It is more than worth the registration fee when you
consider the immediate access you have to the literally
thousands of movies available from the Internet and PC
community in general.
I give MooVId a 9 out of 10.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Freely distributable.
Written by Gregory Donner (July 27, 1998).
e-mail: gdonner@cyberlink-inc.com
web: www.cyberlink-inc.com/gdonner
---
Accepted and posted by Daniel Barrett, comp.sys.amiga.reviews moderator
Send reviews to: amiga-reviews-submissions@math.uh.edu
Request information: amiga-reviews-requests@math.uh.edu
Moderator mail: amiga-reviews@math.uh.edu
Anonymous ftp site: math.uh.edu, in /pub/Amiga/comp.sys.amiga.reviews
Web site: http://math.uh.edu/~barrett/reviews.html