🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <18152@ucdavis.ucdavis.edu> jpgorrono@ucdavis.edu (Jon Gorrono) writes:

   Can(and would) someone(PC-VCR owners?) please tell me if while recording
   video using a NEC (or other-- they have stop making them, haven't they)
   PC-VCR, one could poll the VCR to get SMPTE codes "real time?"

   The task is to record video and simultaeously record data into a file
   with the SMPTE codes as markers.

I don't believe that the NEC can respond nearly quickly enough to
satisfy you.  By the way, the NEC doesn't use SMPTE timecode; it has
its own proprietary timecode scheme, but if your concern is
frame-accurate information, then the NEC's timecode is good enough.

The PC-VCR has a command called "RP" that takes one argument.  This
argument tells the NEC whether to report frame numbers once only or
continuously during playback (I'm not sure about whether it'll work
during recording).  However, the manual says that the continuous mode
output will produce information only once a second.  In other words,
the NEC can't seem to produce output 30 times a second, which is what
I would guess you want.

However, from our experience working with the Sony Vdeck (CVD-1000),
it looks like the Vdeck could do the job.  Its response time for
timecode inquiries is pretty darned quick (I don't know how many
decimal places are in "pretty darned quick"), so using the Vdeck might
be a solution.

Another plug for MAEstro here: we have drivers with source code for
both the NEC PC-VCR and the Sony Vdeck, ready to use.  And I expect to
release a new version of the software in the next week or two, if
things continue to go well.  The point is, you can use the software as
a headstart to help you find out what deck might work best for you.

I hope this helped some.

	George
--
______________________________________________________________________________
George D. Drapeau			Internet: drapeau@sioux.stanford.edu
Libraries and Information Resources
Stanford University

jpgorrono@ucdavis.edu (Jon Gorrono) writes:
> PC-VCR, one could poll the VCR to get SMPTE codes "real time?"

   um... the PC-VCR (PV-S98A) does not use SMPTE. it uses its own proprietary
time-code... and, no, you cannot even read this info in real-time... 
"It is impossible to read frame numbers continuously in real-time play mode"
(p. 103, PV-S98A User's Manual)  --> essentially, the time-code is incremented
by seconds, and you can move to a specified code location (ie: 19876) and then
to a specific frame within that code location (frames: 0-29) ... it is not,
however, exactly frame accurate... it's +/- 1 frame... so, it's essentially
not what you need <grin> ...  

the Panasonic industrial-grade decks do support SMPTE, though, with the 
addition of the SMPTE module... :>  and i have no available info on whether or
not you can read the SMPTE in real-time, but it'd be a good guess that you
could, with a DiaQuest, or ARTi, or similar controller...
> Thanks in advance,
  no problem....  it's what i'm here for :>
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