miroVIDEO DV 100 
README for Version 1.00.300			04Aug97

This file contains important information for miroVIDEO 
DV 100 users.
If you encounter any problems when working with miroVIDEO
DV 100, please read the manual and this text. 

Contents

1.	Compatible DV equipment
2.	Working with DV equipment
3.	Working with miroVIDEO StoryTools
3.1	Making a backup of databases
3.2	Compatibility with other video editing products
3.3	DV Codec Performance
4.	Known problems and limitations
4.1	Interrupt sharing
4.2	Windows font size
4.3	Maximum size of storyboard
4.4	Error: "Timecode not found"
4.5	Temporary DVF files
4.6	Blank spaces on a DV tape
4.7	Maximum size of an AVI file
4.8	Video standard (NTSC/PAL)
4.9	Changing the name of a database
4.10	Error "DV 100 not found"
5.	miro services

1. Compatible DV equipment

miroVIDEO DV 100 is compatible with the following DV 
equipment:

Sony (R) DCR-PC7 Digital Handycam (R) 
Sony (R) DCR-VX700 Digital Handycam (R)
Sony (R) DCR-VX1000 Digital Handycam (R)
Sony (R) DHR-1000 Digital Video Deck

Please note that only 32kHz 12Bit stereo audio is supported 
for the DHR-1000.
miro will add more DV devices in future updates.

2. Working with DV equipment

Please make sure that a DV camcorder connected to miroVIDEO 
DV 100 is in VCR mode. Neither Camera nor Photo modes will 
work with miroVIDEO StoryTools and may cause your system to 
lock up.
If this happens, press Ctrl-Alt-Del and terminate 
StoryTools.
When DV camcorders stay in VCR mode for several minutes 
without being used, they go into a standby state without any 
visual indication. When this happens, miroVIDEO StoryTools 
may no longer be able to communicate with the device and 
will report an error. In this case, turning the camcorder 
off and on again will remedy the problem.
Do not unplug the camcorder or change IEEE1394 ports during 
operation.
Do not connect more than one DV device to miroVIDEO DV 100, 
this is currently not supported.
Make sure that the video standard selected corresponds with 
the connected DV equipment.
In our experience, the IEEE1394 connector of the camcorder 
is quite fragile. Thus, please insert and remove the cable 
with great care, always observing the correct orientation of 
the plug.

3. Working with miroVIDEO StoryTools

3.1 Making a backup of databases

Both databases of scanned tapes and libraries of StoryPix 
you create are stored as files with the extension "SBD" on 
your harddisk and may be backed up and/or archived.
Media databases are located in 
..\windows\miro\StoryTools\Media, while StoryPix libraries 
are in ..\windows\miro\StoryTools\StoryPix.
Moving these to another system with a miroVIDEO DV 100 is 
only possible if

a. the drive letter and path to the StoryTools installation 
is identical on both systems and
b. the associated BMP files in 
..\windows\miro\StoryTools\bmp are also copied.


3.2 Compatibility with other video editing products

miroVIDEO DV 100 is compatible with miroVIDEO DC30 and 
miroVIDEO DC30plus. Converting a DV-coded clip into MJPEG 
for analog output through miroVIDEO DC30/DC30plus is made 
easy by predefined presets for Adobe Premiere.
miroVIDEO DV 100 also works with miroVIDEO DC20plus, 
miroVIDEO DC10 and miroVIDEO DRX, but since these products 
have limitations in resolution and data rate, they may not 
be the best solution for your application.
Other video editing products may be compatible with the DV-
coded AVI files produced by miroVIDEO DV 100 if they support 
the AVI standard.
With some products, the field order of DV data may be 
reversed. This can be adjusted by using the tool "miroVIDEO 
DV 100 Configuration" in the miroVIDEO DV 100 program group. 
This setting will affect the decompression of DV data 
already on the harddisk when transcoding to MJPEG or other 
codecs. It does not affect the download of data from DV 
equipment.

3.3 DV Codec Performance

miroVIDEO DV 100 includes a software DV decoder based on 
technology licensed from Sony, Inc. The algorithm used is 
identical to the one that is employed in Sony's DV 
equipment, thus guaranteeing the highest possible quality.
The performance of this decoder depends largely on the CPU 
of your system and your graphics device. For optimum 
results, the graphics adapter should be set to 16bits of 
color. 
The decoder also includes optimizations for smaller image 
sizes. When working with Adobe Premiere, setting the size of 
the preview window so that its width is 200 pixels or less 
will enable near real-time previews while sacrificing some 
quality.
This version includes optimized code for processors with 
multimedia extensions. This is detected automatically during 
installation. Thus, if you upgrade your processor, you 
should reinstall miroVIDEO DV 100 and miroVIDEO StoryTools.

4. Known problems and limitations

4.1 Interrupt Sharing

This version of the miroVIDEO DV 100 driver software has a 
known problem when sharing an interrupt with some other 
devices. If you have problems downloading DV data, please 
check the following:

a. Open the Control Panel via the Start menu and 
"Settings..."
b. Double-click on the System icon and select the tab 
"Device Manager"
c. Double-click the upper-left computer symbol 
d. In the list that is displayed, locate miroVIDEO DV 100 
board and check if any other devices use the same IRQ number

Problems frequently occur if miroVIDEO DV 100 shares an IRQ 
with a SCSI controller or a network adapter, while sharing 
an IRQ with a graphics board or another video editing board 
such as miroVIDEO DC30 is generally ok.
If you suspect IRQ sharing to be the cause of your problems, 
please try the following solutions:

a. Using the System Setup utility of your system, check to 
see if any IRQs are marked as "Used by ISA", but no device 
is actually using them. These can be freed for use by the 
PCI bus.
b. Swap the miroVIDEO DV 100 board to a different slot. In 
most systems, this causes IRQs to be allocated differently.

4.2 Windows font size

miroVIDEO StoryTools currently supports only small fonts and 
displays an error message during startup if these are not 
set. To select small fonts:

a. Open the Control Panel via the Start menu and 
"Settings..."
b. Double-click on Display and select the Properties tab
c. Select "Small fonts" from the list

4.3 Maximum size of storyboard

Version 1.0 of miroVIDEO StoryTools has a limit of about 30 
clips for one storyboard. This may vary somewhat depending 
on available memory. Exceeding this limit may result in a 
General Protection Fault.

4.4 Error: "Timecode not found"

Tapes that have been played frequently may show degradation 
in video, audio and/or timecode data. This may result in a 
"Timecode not found" error during clip download. In some 
cases, selecting different in and out points may solve the 
problem.
We have also noticed audio dropouts on worn tapes, resulting 
in short clicks in the audio track. Cleaning the heads of 
your DV equipment may improve this. In general, we recommend 
using Sony tapes with Sony equipment.

4.5 Temporary DVF files

miroVIDEO StoryTools creates temporary files with the 
extension DVF during clip download. Any remaining files of 
this type after an abort may be deleted to free up harddisk 
space.

4.6 Blank spaces on a DV tape

A blank area on a DV tape (i. e. areas that have not been 
recorded and thus do not have a timecode) will cause 
StoryTools to terminate scanning. Clips following the blank 
area may be downloaded manually by activating the DV 
Controller window via the File menu of the Storyboard 
window, setting in and out points and then selecting "Build 
AVI file from clip" from the File menu of the DV Controller.

4.7 Maximum size of an AVI file

The maximum size of an AVI file is 1GB. You may work on 
projects much longer than this by building Storyboard clips 
as individual files and not one large file. If a single clip 
is longer than 1GB, it may be split into two or more clips 
by setting the in/out points accordingly.

4.8 Video standard (NTSC/PAL)

During installation, you will be asked to select either PAL 
or NTSC as the video standard supported by miroVIDEO DV 100. 
Please note the following restrictions:

a. The video standard may be changed in miroVIDEO StoryTools 
by selecting "Preferences..." in the File menu of the 
Storyboard window.
b. The selected video standard must always match the DV 
equipment that is connected
c. Video standards may not be mixed in one project.

4.9 Changing the name of a database

If a StoryPix or clip window is open when you try to rename 
it, miroVIDEO StoryTools may crash. To avoid this, please 
close a database window before changing its name.

4.10 Error "DV 100 not found"

When you see this or any other error when first trying to 
access the camcorder, close miroVIDEO StoryTools and start 
it again. Also check the following:

a. Is the IEEE1394 connection made?
b. Is the camcorder turned on and in VCR mode?
c. Is a tape in the camcorder and is it positioned to a point 
with video?
d. Is the jumper on the board set according to the manual?

Try swapping PCI slots or reinstalling both the miroVIDEO DV 
100 driver software and miroVIDEO StoryTools.

5. miro services

For free miroVIDEO DV 100 driver updates, please see:

Internet:	ftp.miro.com or ftp.miro.de
		http://www.miro.com or http://www.miro.de
CompuServe:	GO MIRO

