                                                                              ImageMaker - PC

DISCLAIMER:

This program is a goodie.  No warranty is even remotely implied.  However, helpful comments to OptImage Support, will be accepted


INSTALLATION:

If you are reading this via the "Help" in ImageMaker, you've gotten 80% of the way there.   If you are viewing this via the readme note, this is new.  Either way, keep reading.


1.  Make a folder called C:\IMG_MAKER.   Copy the ENTIRE contents of the diskette to this directory.  If you downloaded the zip file from the BBS, unzip it in the IMG_MAKER directory.

2.  ImageMaker uses the dll version of master (not the .exe version).   VCD Toolkit 1.02, Script2Disc 2.2 or the PC Disc Building Package 4.3, all use Master and include one of three versions:  master.dll, vcdmstr.dll or mastdll.dll  Simply assure that a copy of any ONE of them is in the same directory you installed ImageMaker (IMGMAKER.EXE).

3. Start Windows.

4. Make a New Program Group and name it "Image Maker".   Add a New Item to this group, using the filename of C:\IMG_MAKER\IMGMAKER.EXE, or browse for the file if you used a different directory or drive.

5. Double Click on the ImageMaker Icon to start it.  


OVERVIEW:

Since MediaMogul's ScriptWriter cannot play MPEG (Digital Video) clips from the hard drive, it is necessary to place the MPEG files on a CD.   ImageMaker takes the toil out of putting MPEG Real Time Files on a WORM for use under ScriptWriter (simulation). 

ImageMaker allows you to browse for files that you desire to be on a CD.  It then builds the necessary CD-i disc image (a single file containing the individual MPEG files in a special format).  The disc image in turn is recorded to a CD for subsequent use with the ScriptWriter during the scripting of your title.


SELECT FILES WINDOW:

This window prompts for one or more files to be placed on the CD.   The standard Windows browser is provided to allow easy selection of files.  Shift-Click and Control-Click combinations can be used in the browser and "Select Files" Window to choose or remove multiple files.

Two types of files can selected:  Green and Yellow.

Green Files Button/Window:

Any file in the "Green Files" list will be translated to Mode2 Form2 on the CD- the required format for CD-i audio, video and Digital Video (MPEG).    Most of you will be specifying MPEG files here.   In addition, ImageMaker can properly process two types of MPEG files;  multiplexed files (.mmd or .mpg files) and Real Time Files (.rtf files).  Since ImageMaker does NOT actually examine the files before adding them to the Green list, it relies on a proper extension to distinguish between multiplexed and rtf files.   Multiplexed files MUST have the .mmd or .mpg extension, whereas rtf files can have ANY extension other than .mmd or .mpg.

Yellow Files Button/Window:

Any file in the "Yellow Files" list will be translated to Mode2 Form1 on the CD - the required format for critical data like programs, plug-ins, text files, etc.   There is no consideration of extension.   What you put in this list is simply laid down on the CD.

Channel # Option:

This option ONLY effects MPEG multiplexed files having the .mmd or .mpg extension.   Multiplexed Files are translated into Real Time Files and are assigned a sector channel number (required on a CD-i disc).    The Channel Number range is 0 - 15.   The MediaMogul Digital Video Plug-in also uses the sector channel number, and looks for MPEG data in Channel 0.   Video CD applications look for MPEG data in Channel 1.    The default for ImageMaker is Channel 0.

Build Disc Button:

This is chosen AFTER all the desired Green and Yellow files are selected.    A browser dialog is presented in which you can choose the location and filename for the disc image.    The disc image file can be very large (up to 740 Meg) and may be placed on a hard drive different from where Green or Yellow List files are.

After the disc image filename and location are selected, ImageMaker creates a master control script that details how the disc image file is to be assembled.   The disc image building program Master is started and fed the master script.   Master then builds the disc image.   This can take an hour or more, depending on the amount of data selected in the Green and Yellow file lists.

As Master works, the progress messages are displayed to the ImageMaker Window.   The screen messages are also recorded in a text file called "IMGMAKER.LOG" in the same directory as IMGMAKER.EXE.   Master will indicate when it has finished making the disc image.

The disc image can then be recorded to a WORM using CD-IT! or equivalent recording software that supports the CD-i format.   The recorded WORM is then used with MediaMogul and the ScriptWriter during title script development.


EXAMPLE USE:


The most common use for ImageMaker is creating a WORM containing MPEG clips to be played with MediaMogul's ScriptWriter.   The procedure for creating the WORM is:

1. If the MPEG files you received from the Encoding Service are in multiplex format, be sure those files bear the .mmd or .mpg suffix.   Simply select those files for the Green List, using the "Add green file..." button.   If the MPEG files are already in RTF format and just need to be included on the CD, then add those to the Green List, as is.

2. Choose any other files you wish to be on the CD (text files, Entry Point Lists, etc.) for the Yellow List, using "Add yellow file...".

2. Select "Build Disc".   Choose a drive with adequate free space to hold the disc image.   The space required is roughly the collective total of all files in the Green and Yellow lists.

3. Wait for the disc image to be built.

4. Start your recording software and record the disc image (usually rtf_image.cd) to a WORM.

5. Use the WORM in MediaMogul.

ERRORS:


"Can't locate master"


ImageMaker could not find the program;  vcdmstr.dll, master.dll or mastdll.dll.   Master is one of the programs included with the VCD Toolkit, Script2Disc or the PC Disc Building Package.   A copy of one of these dll's must be in the same directory as IMGMAKER.EXE.


"Cannot find FIL_UTIL.DLL"


This program must be present in the same directory as IMGMAKER.EXE.

"Size of real_time file xxxxx is not a multiple of 2352"

Master thought the file was in "green" or Real Time format.   All Real Time files sizes must be evenly divisible by 2352.  Files in the "Green List" MUST be either Real Time Files or multiplexed files ending with the suffix .mmd or .mpg.

This error also propagates an error similar to "file ident Green0001 is undefined"


"xxxxx is not an ISO stream"

A file in the "Green List" bearing the .mmd or .mpg suffix was not really an MPEG multiplexed file.

Also propagates the error "cannot allocate source xxxxx".


"[fatal] error writing to xxxxxx.  no space left on device"

The hard drive the disc image was being placed on ran out of free space.   The amount of free hard drive space required is roughly the collective file sizes of the Green and Yellow File list items.
