SAM Silicon Animation Machine
Real Time Video Digitiser
SAM is a real time digitiser for the Atari ST
range of personal computers. SAM can accept video
inputs from devices such as video recorders or
video cameras. SAM can display the incoming video
live onto the ST's low res screen and also save the
images onto disc in the format of two popular
painting programs. SAM can also load previously
stored pictures from disc and replay them at any
desired replay rate. SAM consists of a box that
plugs into the ST's cartridge port and a disc with
the software needed to run the digitiser.
To use SAM the SAM box must first be plugged into
the ST's cartridge port, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES
MUST THIS BE DONE WITH THE ST TURNED ON
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Once the SAM box is plugged into the cartridge
port insert the program disc into drive A and turn
on the ST. Then use the standard techniques to run
the program SAM.PRG. SAM can only be run in the low
resolution mode of the ST. Any attempt to run it in
the other resolution will result in a message on
the screen and then the program will terminate. In
order to display video pictures through the SAM a
video source must be connected to socket 1 on the
side of the SAM box.
Software Operation
The SAM software uses the standard GEM methods of
selecting functions using the mouse and drop down
Menus and dialog boxes. SAM has the ability to
store within the ST's memory a number of frames of
video pictures. The precise number of pictures
depends on the amount of memory of the ST and the
amount of this memory is used up by other
applications such as the Control Panel. Typically a
520ST can hold 10 pictures in it's memory if no
desktop accessories are fitted. The SAM Menu bar is
now displayed across the top of the screen.
There are four sections to the SAM Menu :-
DESK
This section will provide access the any fitted
desktop accessories. The ABOUT box will give a
hello message for SAM.
FILE
This section allows the loading and saving of both
individual pictures and whole sequences of
pictures.
Also the disc drive from which pictures are loaded
or saved may be changed.
The last option is QUIT which will return you to
GEM desktop.
OPTIONS
This section allows the changing of the various
operational parameters of SAM, such as whether to
load/save pictures in Neochrome or Dagas format and
various replay or record options.
FUNCTIONS
This part calls the various operational commands
of SAM such as display live video, replay stored
pictures or look at individual pictures.
Menu Options
Save Sequence
Save sequence allows the saving of a whole
sequence of related pictures onto the disc. The Set
Sequence option determines which of the pictures in
the SAM's sequence will be saved to the disc. The
Save Sequence option will save all the specified
files after it has saved a special sequence file.
The sequence file (a .SAM file) contains the frame
numbers of the saved pictures as well as the
picture type and replay mode and speed. Thus a
sequence of pictures can be saved and then reloaded
at a later date using the same replay parameters as
when they where saved. If the sequence determined
in Set Sequence is larger than will fit on the disc
then the appropriate alert box will be given.
Load Sequence
Load Sequence is the opposite of Save Sequence and
enables a sequence of pictures to be reloaded from
disc. The pictures will be reloaded into the same
frame number as they were when they were
saved. The replay mode and speed will also be
reloaded from the sequence file. There are two
potential errors when loading sequences
1) The sequence on disc is larger than the
available memory. In this case the load can either
be abandoned or the sequence will be loaded until
there are no more frames left in memory.
2) The start or end frame numbers in the sequence
are larger than the largest frame number in memory.
Again the load can either be abandoned or the load
can proceed loading into frame number number 1
initially instead of the number the picture was
saved as.
Load Picture
Load Picture allows the loading into any one of
the available picture slots a previously stored
picture. The picture can be in one of two formats
(1) NeoChrome or (2) Dagas and can have been saved
to disc either by SAM or by any other program that
can save pictures as .NEO or .PI1 . When load
picture is selected the normal file selector Menu
is displayed and the picture chosen using the
normal techniques as in the ST Owners Manual. Next
the current picture is displayed along with an
alert box that asks whether you wish to load over
the top of the displayed picture. There are three
alternatives available
(1) Yes load over this picture,
(2) Do not save over this picture but move to the
next picture and ask me again,
(3) I have changed my mind about this so return to
the main SAM Menu without doing anything.
Option (2) will move the current picture fowards
by one. When the last picture is reached then the
first picture in the sequence is automatically
selected.
Save Picture
The Save Picture option can save a picture from
the sequence of pictures in the SAM memory in
either Neochrome or Dagas format. When Save Picture
is selected the current picture is displayed with
an alert box that asks whether this is the picture
that you wish to save. The options are the same as
for Load Picture. Yes this is the one, No not this
one go to the next one, Give up the whole idea and
return to the main SAM Menu. Once "yes" has been
selected the normal File Selector Menu is displayed
to allow the selection of the picture name.
Set Drive
Set Drive allows the setting of the disc drive to
Load/Save pictures from/to. The default drive is
the drive that the program was loaded from. Only
drives that have been installed (see Owners Manual)
may be selected.
Format
This option allows the formatting of a blank disc
in one of four different ways. WARNING Formatting
the disc will DESTROY ALL the data and programs on
the disc inrretrievably. There are four different
format options available and of these only the
first conforms to the Atari specified format. The
other three however allow more pictures to be
stored on the disc. The options allow the adding of
two extra sectors per track and also two extra
tracks to the disc. Selection of any option other
than the standard Atari format of 80 tracks and no
extra sectors per track is guaranteed to work on
all systems. All the other options are included
only to give the option of extra picture storage
space. Only Drives A or B may be formatted.
Quit
Leave this wonderful program to return to more
mundane things.
Set Sequence
Set sequence allows the selection of the frame
numbers to be a) saved/loaded or b) replayed
Set Picture
The Set Picture option allows the selection of the
format of the picture to load/save from the disc.
The two options are to save/load in the NeoChrome
format or in the Dagas low res format.
Set Replay
This option is used to determine the mode and
speed used when replaying a stored sequence of
pictures. The dialog box will initially display the
current mode and replay speed. The mode can be
changed by selecting the MODE button and the speed
changed by selecting the SPEED button.
Replay Modes
There are four replay modes, the first three are
automatic and the fourth uses the keyboard to
determine which frame to display (see the REPLAY
section for a description of which keys do what).
The three automatic modes are
Forwards
In this mode the frames in the sequence are
displayed in the same order as they were recorded.
Once the last frame has been displayed the first is
displayed again and so on ad infinitum.
Reverse
This is the same as forwards but in the other
direction.
Bounce
This is a combination of both forwards and
Reverse. Initially all the frames are displayed in
the forwards direction then in the reverse
direction and then in the forwards again and so on.
Selection of the mode is achieved by using the
ChangeMode button which will cycle round the
available modes. The OK button will return to the
main Set Replay Menu.
Speed Change
The replay speed is the measure of time for which
a particular frame is displayed. The current speed
is displayed in the dialog box and can be altered
by using the +/- buttons. As with the rest of SAM
the action of the +/- buttons can be altered by
using the left and right shift keys. The right
shift key held down will add/subtract 10 from the
speed and the left shift key will add/subtract 100
from the speed. There is another special
alternative option for the replay speed. If the
replay speed is set to zero then SAM will replay
the stored frames at full television speed (25
frames per second in Europe and 30 in the USA). If
the shift or alternate keys are held down while
either the + or the - option is selected then the
replay speed will go to SUPER mode. This is
reflected on the replay speed display. SUPER mode
will replay the stored pictures at twice the
television speed (50 frames per second and 60 in
the USA). This speed is twice as fast as live video
from the SAM's video source. The action of the
shift or alternate keys will undo the SUPER mode
and return to the previous speed.
Set Animate
Set Animate allows the toggling between the two
animate modes. The first and default mode is the
normal animate with only the live video displayed
on the screen. The second mode is the compare mode.
This will display the last recorded frame
superimposed onto the incoming live video. This is
so that alignment of objects between the two frames
can be easily achieved.
Set Record
The Set Record option allow the modification of
the parameters used by the record option. At full
speed SAM can display frames at the full video rate
of 25 frames per second. The dialog box shows the
number of frames to skip before storing a new frame
in SAM's sequence. Thus selecting 25 for the
Interframe Delay will set SAM to run at an
effective rate of 1 frame per second. The
Interframe Delay can be adjusted by the use of the
+/- buttons and the use of the left and right hand
shift keys. The +/- buttons will
increment/decrement the Interframe Delay by one.
Holding down the right hand shift key while using
the +/- keys will increment/decrement the
Interframe Delay by 10 and similarly the left hand
shift key wil affect the Interframe Delay by 100 in
the selected direction.
Set TimeLapse
The timelapse option allows the grabbing of frames
at intervals specified in hours or minutes. The
time interval can vary between 1 to 9999 minutes or
1 to 9999 years. The set timelapse option will
display the current interval. The buttons at this
point are +, - and OK. The OK will return to the
main Menu. The + and - buttons will respectively
increment and decrement the time interval. Holding
down the right hand shift key with either + or -
will increment or decrement the interval by 10.
Similarly the left hand shift key will increment or
decrement by 100. To change the time resolution
from hours to minutes or from minutes to hours hold
down the CONTROL key and select either + .
Set Palette
SAM can have several different palettes, the
selection of which change the way that the pictures
will appear on the screen. The palettes are
selected by number using the select palette option.
If a sequence of frames is recalled from disc, then
the palette that was selected when the sequence was
saved will be recalled. Palette 1 is the normal
monochrome SAM palette; if used with a domestic tv
with the colour saturation turned fully off then a
true 16 level monochrome picture is obtained - you
need to have an Atari with a modulator for this
function. Selection of other palettes will display
the pictures in reverse video and various false
colour modes. Selecting Auto will move the
palette selection in and out of auto mode as
indicated by an `A` in the palette selection field
of the dialogue. When in auto mode, each frame
displayed may have its own unique palette.
Initially the palette for each frame is set to
palette #1 and is disabled. Keys Mode for replay
can be used to enable, disable or change the unique
palette for each frame. If the unique palette for a
frame is disabled, the currently selected palette
will be used to display the picture. When the
unique palette is enabled then it will be used for
display. To Save a picture/sequence with unique
palettes the SAM must be in Auto mode with the
unique palettes enabled. Reloading
pictures/sequences will automatically enable the
unique palette for each particular frame.
Timelapse
The Timelapse Mode will grab a frame after a time
interval specified in the Set Timelapse Section. A
single frame is grabbed on selection of timelapse
and another on exit from timelapse by hitting a key
on the keyboard. The input from the video source is
constantly displayed on the ST's screen, so that
picture alignment can easily be achieved. When a
frame a saved into the SAM sequence the bell will
sound.
Record
Selecting this option will take live video from
the TaleTake Hardware and display it on the ST low
res output. Whether the display is Normal or
Inverse will depend on the Palette selected. The
rate at which the display is updated depends on the
parameters set using Set Record in the OPTIONS
Menu. In this mode the mouse is not used at all but
movement of the mouse may cause noise on the
displayed picture. To exit from the Record mode
type any key except the space bar. The space bar
has the effect of pausing the live display on the
currently displayed frame. Once the picture is
frozen typing space again will return to the live
display, any other key will return to the SAM main
Menu. On entry to SAM and also from the Display
Status option there is displayed the total number
of frames available within the SAMs memory. The
Record option will sequentially fill all the frames
in the sequence so that a historical sequence of
frames is stored. When the Record mode is exited
these frames will still be stored in the memory and
can be saved to disc or replayed using Replay.
Replay
Replay allows the sequential display of all the
frames currently in the SAM memory, whether they
came from disc or from the Record Option. Replay
can operate in any of four modes set from the Set
Replay option. The speed of the replay can also be
varied from the Set Replay option. Once Replay has
been selected there are two main modes of operation
depending on the Mode selected. If the mode is
forward, reverse or bounce then the display of
pictures will be entirely automatic and will
continue until the left hand mouse button is
pressed. If the mode is Keys then the selection of
the displayed frame is manually selected from the
keyboard.
The keys that are available and their functions are
shown below
Key Function
< ( or , ) Display the previous picture.
> ( or . ) Display the next picture.
F or f Display the first picture in
the sequence.
L or l Display the last picture in the
sequence.
Space Return to SAM main Menu.
1,2,3,4,5,6 Set the current palette. (see
Set Palette).
E or e Enable the unique palette for
this frame.
D or d Disable the unique palette for
this frame.
P or p Copy the current palette data
into the unique palette for
this frame.
If while using the using the next/previous keys the
end/beginning of the sequence is reached the
beginning/end picture will automatically be
selected. The frame displayed when the space bar is
used to exit this mode will become the current
frame for all other operations such as save/load
picture.
Animate
Animate allows the creation of animated sequences
of frames by running the program in a 'single shot
mode'. Selecting Animate will display an
information box that displays the number of the
current frame along with three buttons. These
buttons select
(1) The display of live video. This is the same as
Record except that only the frame indicated is
written into.
(2) Selection of the next frame in the sequence.
(3) Return to SAM main Menu.
There are two alternate Animate modes that can be
selected from the Set Animate Menu option. The
first and default mode is the normal animate with
only the live video displayed on the screen. the
second mode is the compare mode. This will display
the last recorded frame superimposed upon the
incoming live video. This is so that alignment of
objects between the two frames can be easily
achieved.
Sync Mode
Sync Mode allows the operator to change the output
frame rate of the ST between the European (50
Hertz) and American (60 hertz) video output rates.
By connecting the video output of a foreign video
source to SAM, it can be viewed on the `domestic`
television standard with the SAM/ST combination
performing the 6O/5O conversion. Note that if the
frame rate is wrong for the TV being used, the
picture will roll. The audio is connected back to
back as per normal.
Display Status
Display Status displays the total number of frames
available in the SAM memory and also the current
frame. The options available from this display are
to show the current picture and also to change the
current picture. The SHOW button will display the
current picture until the left hand mouse button is
pushed or until a key is pressed. The CHANGE button
will go to another dialog box which has three
buttons + - and OK. The OK button will return to
the Display Status dialog display. The current
frame number is displayed in the dialog box and the
+ and - keys will respectively add and subtract one
from the current frame. In this mode the left and
right shift keys on the keyboard modify the action
of the + and - buttons. Holding down the right hand
shift key while selecting the +/- buttons will
add/subtract 10 from the current number and holding
down the left hand shift key whilst selecting the
+/- buttons will add/subtract 100 from the current
number. If the current number is decremented below
1 (the minimum frame number) then the current
number will automatically be set to the maximum
frame number. Similarly if the current number is
incremented above the maximum number then the
current number will be set to 1 (the minimum
number).
Quantize
This allows one to alter the number of bits
required to represent a grey level from the
standard four bit, 16 level to 3,2 or 1 bit
representing 8,4 or 2 levels of grey. This feature
is usefull if you wish to colour parts of the
picture without destroying the existing brightness
levels e.g. use 8 levels to represent the detail of
the picture while selecting another 8 colours in
one of the painting pacages available.
WARNING
In some later versions of TOS, the file selector
dialogue in the loading and saveing of picture and
sequnce files may be unreliable. This can be
overcome by having the Control Panel ( or other )
Desk Accessory present when the machine is booted.
This software is the property of Silicon Solutions
Ltd, and may not be copied or otherwise distributed
without written permission from Silicon Solutions
Ltd.
Copyright (c) 1987 Silicon Solutions Ltd.
[ Version 3.O2 ] 11th December 1987