%JHtH VD-RQM BUYERS GUIDE: 100+ TITLES! -p. 3t Plus! \l\ui\\'j Big '^vju^ WJih p&3£J NEWCOLUMNS! mHHv ggjjgjg§gyi Denny on DOS ► Prime-Time PD ► Video in Focus ► CD32 Games •ADPro 2.5 «Scala MM300 •Aladdin 4D 3.0 ...More! BBafl /In HJG Communications Publication THE WRITE WAY HAS TWO DIRECTIONS. Writ^ ^£°&rtt %^f ,94, ...Final Writer is the top Amigal^to proces- Amiga (England), January 1994. Final . all of Final Copy II 's major features plus n 't includes: Table of Contents. Table of fens, Endnotes, Bibliography, and Index gen- Actions; multiple master pages; EPS k ort: movable text blocks: rotated text fcpd a user configured button strip for Ization of the program's interface, '"ss complete "Undo" capabili- * Italic, and Underline *" tools, user buttons, and t features drop ' nt size: and opti style ! down rri additionar interface. I a hard drive e user " of RAM. SoftWood, Inc. P.O. Box 50 1 78 Phoenix. Arizona 85076 1(800)247-8314 1(800)247-8314 S^ST ipt is a registered trademark ol Adobe Systems Incorporated. Readers' Choice Awacgp93", Amazing Computing: -'AwardJ|^Best Software Product", Amiga Plus (Gag^), -'Product of the Year 1993" ^Germany). What more can we sa* .. . Bst popular and most used word A r on the Amiga today. it features a 1 1 cf speller; 1.4 million word thesaurus; aujg^ hyphenation; search and replace; tab stood adjustable margins; word and sentenced paragraph sorting: on-screen math;,*' style sheets; drawing tools; imperii master pages; Compugraphic, ^ NimbusQ outline font suppo-^ possible on any Workben _,i er or PostScript® deviceJ of 1 megabyte < wwisaiiwiiBi. Circle 48 on Reader Service card CONTENTS VOLUME 10, NUMBER 6, JUNE 1994 ^ FEAT I RES The Fundamental Things (STILL) APPLY By Geoffrey Williams ..20 In the video-editing world, "nonlinear" is long on promise and short on delivery. Bui die latest offerings in more traditional editing systems are in great supply and belter than ever — so cheek mil lliis com- prehensive roundup designed for bod) consumer-level and pro needs. The Compression Game By Steven Blaise 26 More complex, higher-qualm graphics ami video are imposing increasingly severe demands on your system resources. Meet the crunch I))' finding mil how image- compression schemes can help and which formats suit your needs best. ARTICLES THE CD BOOM By Julie Petersen 31 llieres a vast quantity ol'good CD-ROM titles out there — if you know where and how to look lor it. Come browse our buyer's guide li> ( ID-based software. Data on Command By Pain and Joe Rothman J 7 Here's a hands-on tutorial for using the Amiga's premier database — SBasc4 Pro — to help von design customized applications that handle almost any home or business project you can think of. The Best Things in Life ARE C: PART 2 By Dave Haynie 41 The master programmer concludes his luo-part CI tulorial with more examples plus some handy lips lo help von nunc- oul on votir own. COLUMNS Editor's Drawer By Dennis Brissmi - We've made some additions In the maga- zine ibis month and the editor wants to give you a rundown on ihe new goings-on. Denny on DOS By Denny Atkin 6 First llew lace in [he .ill' line-up is an old pro, nosed Amiga expert and author Denny Alkin, with a brand-new column on mastering the Amiga's operating system. I ideo-editing systems share (he spotlight this month with a slew of new AW features, all mailing their debuts this month. Chech nut our brand-new minimis in) AnngaDUS (p.6), PD software (fi.S), video [p. 62), and CDj2 games (p. SO). Prime-Time PD By Tim Walsh 8 Our own nii-line guru, Tim Walsh, starts I' up another new .ill' column on searching mil sources for freely distributable software and monitoring activities on the nets. Accent on Graphics By Joel Hagen 60 iliis month, graphics maestro |oel shows you bow exploring the alpha channel via popular popular image processors can add new dimensions to your images. Video in Focus By Panlv de Andrade . 62 )n dje video front, .ill' also introduces atiew column anchored by Paulo de Andrade, who kicks things off with a rundown of some hot items coming out of the recent NAB convention. A W Product Information . 94 To comae! the vendors of products mentioned in this issue of. imigaWmid. consult our all-in-one "ManulaciurersV Distributors' Addresses" list. DEPARTMENTS Overscan 4 AW continues to bring you news, newsmakers, and new products Brora all over. Help Key 8» Tim wears several hats at /111", so when he's al iliis end of die book iie's your "answer man" for lech questions and teasers. The Last Word 96 lite "rear vent" to even - issue of.-) If is always open for readers to air il out. REVIEWS Art Department Pro 2.5 (ASDG) 12 Easier lo use. more extensive support, and added Icatures descrilie the latest ADl'ro. Tandem Controller (Alfa Data) 14 Controls both CD-ROM and IDE drives. SCALA MM300 (Scale) 13 Major improvements to a lop multknedia- prescnlaliou package, Aladdin 4D 3.0 (Adspec) 17 Better-than-ever 3-D modeling/rendering, MEGALOSOUND (Oregon Research) ... I 9 [.ow-cosl, no-frills 8-bit sound sampler. FASTLANE Z3 (Advanced Systems) and DKB 4091 (DKB) 68 Zorro ill SCSI-2 hard-disk controllers. GAMES By Peter Olafion The Settlers (Blue Byte) and GENESIA (Mindscape UK) 72 Two new "( aid sims" for control beaks. Microcosm (Psygnosis) 76 Effects galore in a CD-ROM 3-D shooter. CD32 Games . 80 .III' debuts its new monthly roundup of games designed especially lor CDI52. VAGAmes 82 Capsule reviews ol games developed m' adapted for AGA Amigas. COVER BY [ACK HARRIS / VISUAL LOCK; AmigaWorid 1 EDITOR'S DRAWER Hey, look us over! This issue features new columns and changes that strengthen AWs focus. Familiarity breeds complacency, among oilier things. -So — in response to reader suggestions and feedback — we've decided to shake things up a bit. Beginning with this issue, you'll note several editorial changes that reflect the evolving Amiga market and interests of our readers. First, you said you wauled more tips about using your Amiga. Bingo, we present a new column entitled "Demi)' on DOS," Successor to the popular "Digging into DOS" series, this column focuses primarily on AniigaDOS. It will familiarize you with operating system issues and provide tips to exploit ils powerful capabilities. Oil, if you haven't guessed by now, the Denny in die column title refers to none other than AniigaDOS expert Denny Atkin, known to many as one of the more knowl- edgeable and well-respected voices in the Amiga commu- nity. He is die author of the popular Best Amiga Tips and Secrets, is a familiar presence on the various on-line ser- vices, and has served as editor oi Amiga Resource. Glad to have you on board. Video/multimedia production is an area where the Amiga really shines, and we're also pleased to welcome one of its brightest stars, Paulo de Andrade, who will share his video expertise each month in a new column entitled "Video in Focus." Paulo will help von to make your video-production operation run more smoothly, spice up your video presentations, and save money. Ami- ga desktop videomakers of all abilities and persuasions — from the novice to the pro. Toaster and non-Toaster users alike — will discover the latest developments in the video field and learn what new tools are available and how to use them in creating videos. AmiguWorid boasts a very active on-line readership always on the lookout for network news and especially good software to download. Senior Editor Tim Walsh has adequately filled thai need with the scoop on the hi it lest downloads in fiis "On-line Scan" reports. In response to reader requests for more, we have cut Tim loose from the confines of his half-page section of "OverScan" and given him a full-page column, entitled "Prime-Time PD." Tune in to an expanded look at this all-important market, as Tim brings you the latest on-line happenings and choice PD and shareware offerings. To accommodate the influx of exciting new V.D'32 titles to the burgeoning games market, we've also commis- sioned games guru Peter Olafson to beef up his "Game Present'" column. Peter will be sharing his insights and perspective on the potential of this exciting new game machine and casting a critical eye at the new titles that are arriving daily. In addition to CD32. Peter will continue coverage of the entire Amiga games market, and review non-game CD32 titles in the "Reviews" section. Denny on DOS, Paulo on video, Tim on PD, and Peter on games. We've got it covered, as we adapt to changes and reader requests to help you get the most out ol your computer system. Check it out. Dermis Brisson Editor-in-Chief Dale Strang, Publisher Dennis Brisson, Editor-in-Chief Daniel Sullivan, Executive Editor Barbara Gefvert, Senior Editor Tim Walsh, Senior Editor/Reviews Ann Record, Assistant Editor Peter Olafson, Games Editor Denny Atkin, Paulo de Andrade, Joel Hagen, Contributing Editors Howard G. Happ, Art Director Laura Johnson, Assistant Art Director Ann Dillon, Designer Alana Korda, Manufacturing Manager Michael McGoldrick, Advertising Director Barbara Hoy, Sales Representative Heather Guinard, Sales Representative Meredith Bickford, Advertising Coordinator Advertising: 1-800-441-4403; 1-603-924-0100 FAX: 1-603-924-4066 Giorgio Saluti. Associate Publisher, West Coast Sales 533 Airport Blvd., Fourth Floor, Burlingame, CA 94010 1-415-375-7018; FAX: 1-415-375-7019 Wendie Haines Marro, Marketing Director Mary McCole, Promotion Coordinator Lisa Jaillet, Desktop Publishing Manager Johanna Rivard, Circulation Promotion Manager Debbie Bourgault, Circulation Fulfillment Manager Subscription Services: 1-800-827-0877 or 1-815-734-1109 TechMedia Publishing Dale Strang, President Darlene Sweeney, Administrative Assistant William M. Boyer, Director of Credit Sales & Collections Kemco Publishers Services, Newsstand Circulation «DG IN I IRNATIONAI. DATA GROUP AmtgtrW'oil/1 ( ISSN 0883-2390) i* an independent journal not connected with ( ;ihii modot c busi- ness Machines. ][ic-.tiwrvrir<"M is published monthly b, [ ediMedia Publishing. Int.. .in UK. Company. 80 Elm Si.. Peterborough. Ml 1)3458. US subscription rati- in $29.97, one yean Srw.ilT. two years: $8:1.97, three jreara Canada, HI. 97 (includes GST), and Mexico $38.97. Foreign Surface $19.97. Fine-inn Ail mail $84.97. IS funds drawn on t'S hank Pirpannrnl is required on all foreign subsaipiiora. Ail foreign rates are one-year on};. Second-dan postage paidal Peterborough. NH, and at additional mailing unices. Phone: HD3-924-0 1(111. On-line on BIX: Amiga .World (In Amiga .exchange); CompuServe: 78:17(1,2137: Portal: Co Amiga- World. Entire contents copyright 199-1 by TechMedia Publishing, Inc. No pan olthis public ation may be printed or oibcnvise ix-produccd without written permission from (lie publisher. Postmaster: Send addles* changes uAvuratt'mld, Subscription Services. It ) Rot: 595, Mt. Mor- ris, 11. 61054-79119. Nationally distributed hv k.ihlc Now to lmt£t354«9495 ■ FAX 610* J37«9922 USA EGS Z8/24 Spectrum, Pertornunce Series II. ImageFX., G-Lock. IV-Z4. G-Force '040-40. GForce '040-33, 4IH3 SCSI Z fASJ. ioExtender, PhonePak VFX, and DSSfl* are trademarks ol Great Valley Products. Inc. All other trademarks are the property ol their respective owners. Circle 5 on Reader Service card. OVERSCAN s NAB: No Gamble for Amiga LAS VEGAS — With our favorite machine now a veritable veteran of computer/ broadcast applications, this year's National Association of Broadcasters* (NAB) convention drew dozens of Amiga developers and countless Amiga users among more than 70,000 attendees. The Amiga's representation was solid, and Amiga developers had a lot to show. Gearing Up A handful of pre-show events attracted Amiga users. At one, six ex-NewTek em- ployees announced their new company, Play, which will reportedly develop for PC. Creative Equipment (CEI; RS# 120), which distributes Commodore hardware and add-ons to dealers in the US and Latin America, hosted a dealer meeting. CEI bundles Amigas with various prod- ucts for distribution through its dealer- ships. For instance, its CEI 4000mc (S3595). consists of an .Amiga 4000 and an Emplant (Utilities Unlimited) Mac emulator. Other system bundles include GYP's -40 MHz 4000/040 accelerator (the CEI 4000turbo, S3595) and Macro- Svstem's 40 MHz '040/SCSI-2 board (CEI 4000warp, $3495). CEI's announcement of a new, AGA- supporting monitor thrilled dealers who have been unable to get Commodore 1 942s. The swivel-based CEI 1962 (S499) scans 15 to 40 MHz horizontally and has a .28 mm dot pitch. The 1962 promises to support Super 72 modes; it also offers a built-in international power supply, CEI will also fill the gap left by Com- modore's discontinued A2065 card with the CEI A4066 Ethernet board (S295). .Although the board's specs look similar to those of the A2065, it promises 25% better performance. The Show Goes On On the show floor, several firms boasted alliances that should serve the .Amiga well; you will see the results of these relation- ships in various products. PAL compati- bility and video editing were also [hemes. In fact, rumors had circulated prior to the show that NewTek (RS# 121) would introduce a nonlinear editor. And so it did. The Video Flyer, still in its early stages of development, was advanced enough to demonstrate and seems very promising. Due for release late this year at less than $4000, the Flyer uses a scat- able proprietary compression scheme to generate real-time digital video in up to D-2 quality. Flyer demos should show up in dealerships by late summer; units should ship late in the year. Those looking for the Screamer, which NewTek announced last year, found instead the Raptor, by Desk- Station Technology, to replace it. The Raptor includes two RISC processors and 128MB of RAM, and is designed expressly to accelerate LighlWave. Rap- tor is shipping now for less than S 1 5,000. (RS# 135.) Complements to the Toaster A few companies have been working with NewTek, One of them, SunRize, an- nounced an audio switcher designed to work transparently with the Toaster. When you perform a video switch on the Toast- er, this product will automatically perform an audio switch, as well. SunRize is also workingwith NewTek to port its Studio 10' sound software to the Flyer. (RS# 122.) Prime Image had NewTek's support in producing Passport 4000 (S6750), which, together with the Toaster, provides fiill production and graphics capabilities, with standards conversion in and out (the box is PAL, PAL-M, PAL-N, SECAM, and NTSC 4.43 compatible), lite impressive, self-contained, self-powered unit also offers a transcoding TBC/synchronizer, digital-video effects, and IBM/PC-ATbus slots. Passport 4000 employs a "pass- through" interpolation technique that promises not to degrade signal charac- teristics, and operates with a 6+ field memory per channel. (RS# 123.) Among other Toaster add-ons, Dev- Ware demonstrated its Crouton Tools ($149.95, now shipping). This interface for controlling the Toaster also promises 150 new functions for the board. DevWare's Atomic Toaster Catalog (.$49.95) oilers information on buving and using Toaster-based products and should be ready in May. (RS# 124.) Positron Publishing showed off Dynamic Motion Module (SI 79.95), which calculates keyframes and detects collisions to make LightWave objects involved move appropriately. (RS# 125.) PreVue demonstrated InterVue, which comes in two flavors. The Basic T-Bar (SI 29) gives you hardware control over the Toaster's on-screen T-bar. T-Bar Plus, meanwhile, lets you select all 4096 possible background colors, and provides Take and Transition buttons plus three assignable buttons. Evcntuallv, the com- pany plans hardware replacements for all the Toaster's controls. (RS# 152.) Y/CPlus, demonstrated its Y/C adapter for the Toaster, plus other products. The VL-1A low-pass filter promises to elimi- nate interference from improper NTSC composite encoding from S-VHS cam- corders. The brand-new VL-2 Y/C is a Y/C version that banishes high-band "spurs" from the Y/C signal. "Hie company's KDP A-750 interface works with the Panasonic AG-750 and NV-5 1 decks, adjusting the trigger point from preroll start to edit point. 'Hie KDP-440 interface works with Sony's RM-440, triggering effects at the edit point. (RS# 126.) More and Better Also supporting the Toaster — and Cen- taur's OpalYision — is Scala's new VE500. The package combines all the multimedia authoring capabilities of Scala's MM300 with A/B roll video-editing software and a new RS-422 controller. The controller provides four ports and two GPI triggers; you can even use two cards for up to eight VTRs. The card supports most frame- To locate the vendors of products mentioned, see the "Manufacturers'/Distributors' Addresses" list on p. 94. 4 June 1994 N e ws and N e w Pro ducts accurate decks, too, from S-VHS to D2, ;incl ii fill • control a slew oi hardware (via Scala's KX extensions), including (.A'P's IV-24 display hoard, SunRi/.c's AD516 sound board, laserdisc and (ll)-ROM drives, and more. It also provides scal- able, antialiased character generation. IC500, Scala's newest version of the InibChannel multimedia network prod- uct, is a major upgrade, providing "the industry's first multimedia commercial insertion capability." It allows for auto- matic logging and invoicing of ads run on cable channels and soon. MI'KG support comes in the form of software thai encodes audio, video, and system data and can convert JPEG to MPEG. Improved authoring features should eliminate the need for external products. (RS# 127.) Just down the aisle, Digital Micronics showed version 1.0 of its long-awaited Digital BroadCaster, the Motion J PEG- based nonlinear video system. ( RS# 1 30.) Fast Forward Video showed oil its own random-access digital video recorder. Bandit, which supports Amiga and other systems. The stand-alone unit connects to your serial or SCSI port, uses JPEG for compression, and costs S5995. (RS# 132.) Promising Signs The giant Centaur and ROB booths Desktop Organizer Do you wish your workspace were the perfect "paperless of- fice" that high-tech promises? On the Ball (S40, Pure Logic Software) could be what you need — it's a calendar, address book, to-do list, and notepad all rolled into one. The calendar fea- ture can organize your day, week, or month for you so you won't waste time fishing to find those crumpled appointment slips. With the software's address book feature, you can atlatch reminder notes to a database of phone stood side by side, seeming to symbol- ize their new agreement. RGB now bun- dles Centaur's Opal Vision in a new turnkey system called UniSuite, which includes an A4000, a 350MB hard drive. 18MB ofRAM, and, of course, AmiLink video editing, for SI 0,000. RGB expects thai the new system, slated for release toward the end of '9-1, will find a huge market in Europe, given the P.M. adaptibility. (RS# 129.) Centaur has won praise for its Opal- Vision 24-bit display device and frame- buffer ($695), and Opal Paint is widely regarded as the Amiga's best paint pro- gram. But the firm's tardiness in deliv- ering modules has met with less enthu- siasm, so Centaur seems determined to deliver better-than-cxpected results. I he Opal Vision Video Processor mod- ule (including the Roaster chip; $995), provides an elegant approach to creat- ing impressive 3-D digital-video ef- fects — and it comes with InnoVision's Montage character generator. The Video Suite module ($995), a rack- niouniable audio/video mixer, switcher. r Let On the Ball be your assistant to a better organized office. numbers and date-stamp your calls to help you keep track. and transcoder, has nine video inputs, and video in and out available simulta- neously in RGB or Y/R-V/B-Y, Compos- ite, and S-Video. While Centaur is re- luctant to stale release dates, the modules did look close to completion. (RS# 128.) DPS showed off a PAL-standard ver- sion of its popular Personal Animation Recorder; its version 2.0 software is imminent. (RS# 131.) ASDG announced a new VP of Sales (ex-CBMer Rick Inland), and the licens- ing of its HUP (Host Independent Imag- ing Protocol), a programming interface to enable image portability across platforms, applications, and formats. (RS# 133.) Finally, lots of other Amiga develop- ers, including reps from InterWorks, Warm and Fn/./y Logic (whose newest l.ightRave supports LigbtWave 3.1), DKB, Oxxi, Caligari, Anti-Gravity, Tex- ture City, and Digital Creations roamed the show floor. So, while Amiga users missed the cancelled World of Amiga show this spring, we found plenty to chew on at NAB. ■ — BG UPDATE SCAN Learning about your roots? Origins II ($85, The Puxxle Factory) is ;i database thai will help you track your family's history. Once you've entered the data, you can list it by person, marriage, or parent and then generate reports to share with your whole family. Started a database with another genealogical program? No problem — you can import and export data between Origins and most other programs. You can even store picture hies so that Origins can double as .t photo album. I lie new version requires Workbench 2.0 or later, 1MB of HAM, and (wo lloppy drives. Want to acid some pi/./a/. to your videos? TV Text Professional 2.0 (SI 99.95, Zuma Group) video-tilling software now supports PostScript Type I. Intel! ifont, and QFonl scalable typefaces and nn-screen lexi sizing and stretching so you can create all kinds of effects lor your text. It supports AGA and all graphics modes (including Super Hi-Res) except HAM. The program includes 25 scal- able outline touts. AmigaDOS 2.04 or later and 1MB of chip RAM are required (a hard disk is recommended). BibleScholar 3.0 {$159.95. EasyScript) features AGA support, an improved inter- face, enhanced editing functions, and more maps. It also supports new reference modules Troiii KasyScript such as The People's New Testament (S74.9">), which offers commentary and references lor each verse. Another module, the Treasury of Knowledge References (S74.95). includes the new Topical Texl Book, the Spurgeoits' Catechism, the Puritan Confession, and other sources of interpretation. The upgrade costs $34.95, □ AmigaWorld 5 Denny on DOS HINTS & TIPS FOR MASTERING THE OPERATING SYSTEM By Denny Atkin # 1 Ka^S tO tkt Shell Welcome to a new 4Wcolumn de- signed to help yon make better use of your Amiga's operating system — including ihe Work- bench, ihe command-line Shell, and ihe underlying files used by the OS and your applications. Over the com- ing months, we will explore both basic and advanced aspects of the OS. Although some of the material covered in this column will applv lo Amiga- DOS 1.3. mosi will focus on AmigaDOS 2.0-1 and later, If you're currently using 1.3 or earlier, you really should upgrade vour svsiem to AmigaDOS 2.1. The Amiga 500 'and 2000 can be up-" graded to 2.1 simply by changing a ROM chip. (The common misconception that you also need lo upgrade lo ihe Enhanced Chip Set isn't true.) Adapter boards are even available that will let you plug a Kickstart 2 ROM into the venerable AI000. Not only does AmigaDOS 2+ provide an enhanced Workbench and a more powerful Shell, but it also adds new capabilities to your system that can make your third-party applications work better. It's one of the best upgrades you can pur- chase for your Amiga. To Smell and Back This mouth we'll look at some ways lo gel the most out of the Amiga's com- mand-line interlace. Re- ferred to by the acronym CLJ in the earlier versions of AmigaDOS, it was signifi- cantly enhanced in Amiga- DOS 1.3 and renamed the Shell. To open a Shell win- dow, you can either double- click the Shell icon in the System directory on your Workbench disk, or take the mouseless route: Hold down the Right Amiga key and press E. and then type Newshell and hit Return. If you want to have the Shell always a double-click away, dick once on the Shell icon and then select Leave Out from the Workbench Icons menu. Unlike the CLI, the Shell gives you comprehensive Quick Tip II you want to close a Shell window, you don't have to type ENDCLI or END- SHELL and press Return, nor do you have to reach for your mouse. Simply hold down Ctrl and press \ and the Shell will disap- pear immediately. controls for editing the com- mands you type. You can use the Cursor Left and Cursor Right keys (arrow keys) to move across the command line. Shifted, these keys move you to the beginning and end of the line, respectively. Especially handy are the Cursor Up and Cursor Down keys. Each shell keeps a history of the last 2K of com- mands you've typed. Pressing the Cursor Up and Down keys let you move through the command history list Once the command you want is shown at the prompt, simply press Return to exe- cute it (or edit it lirst. ifvou wish). If you're looking for a particular command you've entered, you can type the first lew characters of that command and then press Shift and Cursor L'p (or the key combination Clrl-R). The first command that matches these characters will appear at the Shell prompt. If that's not the command vou're looking for, continue press- ing Shift-Cursor Up until you find the match. If you want lo make a quick note to yourself, type a semicolon (;) to mark the current command line as a comment, and llien type your note and press Return. You can then recall the note later by typing ; and hitting Shift- Cursor Up. There are a number of key combinations that make editing recalled commands easier. Ctrl-W deletes the word to the left of the cur- sor, while Clrl-L" deletes everything to ihe left of the cursor. Ctrl-Is will eliminate everything from the cursor to the end of the line; if you change your mind, pressing Ctrl-Y restores the deleted text Finally. Ctrl-X will delete the entire line. Short Clips Another way lo save typing is to take advantage of the clipboard support added to the Shell in AmigaDOS 2. Using the led mouse button, you can highlight a filename listed in the Shell by clicking on the first character and dragging the pointer across ihe filename, then press Right Aniiga-C lo copy the filename lo the clipboard. Now type a command, such as List, and hit Right Amiga- V to paste the filename after the command. Normally, die Dir and List commands do not list the entire directory name, bin you can create a command that does by typing ALIAS LS LIST [) LFORMAT %s%s Now use the LS command when you want to list the entire path. This comes in bandy if you want to copy and paste multiple file- names, perhaps lo append them after the Delete com- mand. An Extra Set of Keys Some commands, particular- ly long directory listings, will display more information than will fit in your Shell window. You can stop a listing with Clrl-S and re- sume it with Ctrl-Q. Howev- er, typing an)- kev will slop the scrolling, so often I simply use the spacebar to stop the scroll and Back- space to resume it. If you want to issue multi- ple commands, press Clrl-J instead of Return after each command in the sequence except the last. After typing the final command, hil Return; all of the commands will now execute in sequence. If you're looking for an even more powerful com- mand window, check out Wishful Thinking Develop- ment's WShell 2.0. This commercial Shell replace- ment adds belter ARexx support, filename comple- tion, a scrollback bar, and more — it's a must-have if you spend much time at the command line. ■ Denny Atkin is author of the hook Denny Atkin 's Best Amiga Tips and Secrets. Send suggestions to him via e-mail at DennyAmiga@aol.ccrm, or write to him c/o AmigaWorld. 6 June 1994 The Color Printer You've Been Waiting For Since „.-. You Bought Your First Amiga®! - *• * ^ ur ^w The wait is over for low-cost, high-quality color printing. Introducing the Primera 1 " Color Printer. For only $995.00*, you can now print spectacular full- color animations, 3-D renderings, video captures, and color photographs. Print on plain laser paper, transparencies - even T-shirt transfer sheets! Use Primera with vour favorite programs like Brilliance™, Art Department ProfessionaP, OpalVision : ", Video Toaster 1 , ImageFX", PageStreanT and nearlv all other Amiga software that uses the Amiga Preferences driver. Primera is the perfect color printer for every Amiga user. Why wait any longer for brilliant, full-page color? Call today for more information and a free sample print. • Works with all Amiga computers Version 1.3 (or higher) • Printer drivers also available for Windows 3.1'" and Macintosh* • Thermal transfer print quality Now Available! % $ Dye-Sublimation Upgrade Kit iL For only S249.95*, turn your Primera into an advanced dye sublimation color printer! Produce true continuous- tone, photo-quality images. ELECTRDNICS. INCORPORATED 7901 Flying Cloud Drive Eden Prairie, MN 55344 U.S.A. 1-800-327^622 612-941-9470 FAX: 61 2- 941 -78 36 -.Mbcrn?5«=w«raai -Sjqr*B!USfetjflWft.DBfepmBHrwT. Prime-Time PD ON-LINE SOURCES FOR FREELY DISTRIBUTABLE SOFTWARE By Tim Walsh Like one of Pavlov's dogs. 1 had condi- tioned myself to await patiently the opportu- nity in expand AmigaWorld's coverage of freely distrib- utable software. That time has now arrived — with the debut ol '"Prime-Time PD." You'll see more in-depth coverage, more screen shots of Amiga PD programs, and, space permitting, occasional updates on happenings on the Internet, as well as on both established and emerg- ing networks. .Also, since few Amiga users stick only to the I l.'M tKdrw Al [\n:\i Cmwl... At iil'« mi llll'l Fll ■ tl^jl l tj.l,] ,„;■< . .,-■ - Kn'..., M I- VIII unit JUI"! F J»llfc Hirer) .ill r i.. HlMlH I:mi t-:i l'..:l - I) loll J llndlrt Ink ^j tirt-f t«H (•tbarl Cvtni Y] twill jj ;■ 1 r It Iff tttfl "t ,' r * ll I "r I -JtliJ Magic Menu lets you control both pull-down (top) and instant pop-up menus (bottom). Amiga camps on the net- works, this expanded column will give me the freedom to discuss topics beyond just the software offerings in the Amiga areas. Magic Menu To celebrate the new look of ibis column, it's only lining 1 mention a program that gives your Amiga a new look. Magic Menu by Martin Korndorler fits the bill. Recently updated to version 1.29, it remarkably improves i he look and feel of your Workbench and virtually every program that uses Intuition menus. And unlike some screen utilities, Magic Menu is designed mi thai II does not severelv hamper the performance of imaccel- erated Amigas. In a past issue, I noted thai Silicon Menus is one of my favorite Amiga utilities. Wherever you position the pointer, that's where your menus appear when von press the right mouse billion. Magic Menu works the same way — von no longer have to move the pointer to the top of the screen to access the mentis. But Magic Menu holds an advantage over Silicon Menus because it oilers more options and llcxibility. It even lets you choose between standard. 2-1) type menus and those of the increasingly popular 3-D variety. Simultaneously press- ing the Control and All keys toggles currently displayed menus between 2-D and 3-D. Magic Menu version 1 .29 (an 108K archive) places an al tractive configuration interface on the screen. Selections from its font- sensitive, hot-key activated control panel let you set up Magic Menu with numerous options. By pressing a cou- ple of on-screen bullous, you select how pop-up and pull-down menus appear. (I'op-up menus are those created by Magic Menu thai appear wherever the pointer is positioned on the screen; pull-down menus are com- monly "pulled down" from the top of the Workbench.) ( ^implementing the iuiei- litce is a program icon thai supports a variety of ToolTypes entries, allowing you to set a number of Magic Menu parameters to your liking. The program's most redeeming quality, though, is the well-written, easv-to- understand documentation, which is available in Amiga- diiicle format. You can also find plenty or cross-refer- enced hot-buttons in the docs. Alier months of using il, I can state with no uncertainty that all programs using Intu- ition screens work flawlesslv under Magic Menu. The only exception I encountered is Deluxel'ainl 4.5 AC'.A. whose combination of custom screens and menu system won't allow the program to take advantage of Magic Menu. No big deal, reallv, as any Intuition menus multi- tasking in the background remain under Magic Menu control. Whether you are using Workbench 2.0, 3.0, or anything in between. Magic Menu seems to work like a charm. And Furthermore . . . While on the subject of screen utilities, MousoMeter by Wolfgang Brcyha and Michael Matzl, is a little program found only in the AmigaUser area of Compu- Serve as of this writing. MousoMeter measures the "mileage" (actually the frac- tions of a kilometer) von accumulate by moving the mouse. A calibration pro- gram, a special Magic \VB version, documentation in English and German, and an April Fool's prank accompany this archive. In the process of gelling MousoMeter to work, I discovered that 1 was lac king a library, I promptly down- loaded Magic User Interface (MU1), a $15 shareware program by Stefan Stunt/ of MFRfame. ML'I is a big (tinOK) archived file that adds a host of files for creat- ing and designing various program interfaces, plus the Muimster.library required In MotisoMetei . I he demo version you download is slightly disabled, so pay the shareware fee and you'll receive a fitll working ver- sion from the author. I would encourage anyone interested in creating pro- gram interfaces to get ML'I and take a look at the exam- ples. At the very least, you'll get some innovative ideas liir new designs. Network Voice Numbers BIX 800/695-4882 617/354-4137 CompuServe 614/457-0802 800/848-8199 Delphi 800/695-4005 GEnie 800/638-9636 Portal 408/973-9111 ■ Write to "Prime-Time PD" c/o AmigaWorld Editorial, 80 Elm St., Peterborough, NH 03458; or contact Tim through the Internet at "twalshtQ bix.com ". 8 June 1994 \RT DEPARTMENT PROFESSIONAL VERSION 2.5 The Best Don't Rest icts: \DPro is 9 only age p races r to consis- itiy rank in 3 Amiga's top ) best sellers. \DPro has won the nazing Computing Reader's loice Award every time. \DPro is now more powerful and isier to use than ever before! ith the track record and reputation DPro has earned, you might think we'd be intent to rest on our medals. Fat chance. fact, we've just made our biggest improvements er, including \n all new (totally style lide compliant) user inter- ne where no major feature more than a mouse click /ay Support for many new aphics boards including 3 Video Toaster, Retina, casso II and all EGS mpatibles • Over 1 00 pre-written ARexx programs ready to go • The best poster printing around, especially on the new FARGO Primera Dye Sub Printer • More special hardware support (like the DPS PAR and Digital Broadcaster) More image formats • More tutorials • More image processing operators • And the list just keeps on going you're a seasoned professional, ADPro has been listed as a "Must ave" for years. And if you're just starting out, you can't make a safer, ore secure choice than the easiest-to-use ADPro ever. 3 see your dealer right away and get the best — get ADPro! asses* Circle 39 on Reader Service card. 925 Stewart St. Madison, Wl 53713 (608)273-6585 Art Department Professional is a registered irademark of ASDG, incorporated. Other trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Buy one Timebase Corrector... ...and get a second one FREE! The Kitchen Sync is TWO complete S-Video compatible infinite window lime base correctors on one IBM AT/Amiga compatible card. And at a price that you would normally pay for a single TBC, Completely synchronize not one, but two independent video sources for use with virtually any switcher or digital video effects system requiring synchronous video inputs. Two complete time base correctors on one card that can plug into any IBM AT compatible slot. Check out these great features: ♦ Plugs into any IBM AT compatible or any Amiga A2000. A3000, or A4000 PC slot ♦ Plugs into Digital Crealions new Video Slot Box ♦ Works with any video source, even consumer VCRs and camcorders * Use multiple Kitchen Syncs, together for more channels ♦ Completely accurate sync generator built in : totally regenerates all sync and blanking signals; guaranteed accurate S/CH phase relationships ♦ Built-in proc amp ♦ Broadcast quality output ♦ Completely digital design ♦ Microprocessor controlled ♦ Easy to adjust external LCD control panel ♦ Advanced sync output • Inputs are S-VHS and Hi-8 compatible. Use either composite or S-Video into either channel ♦ Great for use with the Video Toaster ♦ S-Video output option for full S-Video operation ♦ Control operation independent of Amiga, PC, or Toaster operation ♦ Easy installation ♦ No timing adjustments necessary for small stand-alone applications ♦ Genlock option available for house system integration ♦ Jitter-free freeze frame, fieldl or fields (channel independently selectable} ♦ Variable rate strobe ♦ External contact-closure interface for freeze ♦ Three user presets and one factory setting stored internally The Kitchen Sync makes it easy to complete your desktop video installation. Everything you need is here. ♦ All on one card « All at one great price The Kitchen Sync $1295.00 ♦ At this price its like buying one TBC and getting the second one free. ♦ S-Video option S99.00 ♦ Genlock Option $150.00 ^ Both composite and S-video in an external genlock TheSuperGenSXis our newest genlock and overlay system for Amiga computers. The "S" in "SX" stands for S-Video. The new SuperGen SX is a full featured S- Video genlock. The "X" stands for external. The SX is an external device lhat attaches to any Amiga computer through the RGB port. We have taken the best features of both the SuperGen and the SuperGen 2000s and combined them along with some great new features to make the ultimate new genlock for the new Amiga computers. True broadcast quality video output ♦ True Y/C genlock and overlay ♦ Two independent dissolve controls ♦ Software controllable ♦ S-Video to composite or composite to S-video transcoding built in ♦ Interpretive dissolve mode ♦ Switchable 3.58MHz notch filter ♦ Switchable video input selection * Switchable Genlock Disable tor productivity mode uses ♦ One S-Video Input ♦ One S-Video Output ♦ One Composite Video Input SuperGen SX ♦ One Composite Video Output ♦ Professional Key Out for use with switchers ♦ Switchable Chroma Notch filter * Selectable blanking * BNCand S-Video connectors ♦ Fast Sync Tip Clamp * Key Output ♦ Internal RS-170A Blanking Generator ♦ Switchable Setup Adder ♦ Compatible with all Amiga models. The new SuperGen SX external S-Video compatible genlock for the new series of Amigas has everything you want in a genlock and overlay system for your Amiga. $749.00 V&f* Break the single video slot barrier! I ♦ Four Video Br Slots! * Three " ■■- " PC/AT bus slats (power S ground only} ♦ 230W switching power supply * Two 5.25" and two 3.5" drive bays The Video Slot Box is a revolutionary new mini-tower that expands any Amiga A2000, A3000, or A4000 to have four complete video slots, three additional PC AT bus slots (Power and Ground only) for compatible cards such as our Kitchen Sync TBC, room for two 5.25 inch half height devices and two 3.5 inch devices (You can use this room for SCSI hard drives, optical drives, ilopticals, tape drives, or anything else that fits.), and a beefy 230 watt switching power supply, The Video Slot Box provides these solutions: Use the Video Toaster with an Amiga A3000. Use more than one video slot product in your Amiga. Easily move your desktop video environment between Amigas. Video Slot Box The slots in the Video Slot Box are complete video slots with all the capabilities of the video slot within the Amiga. You can place up to four video slot products into the Video Slot Box. A front panel selector lets you choose which product is actually in control of the video slot within the Amiga. With products that are "video slot masters" such as the Video Toaster or a genlock, only one of them can be active at a time. The video slot box allows you to easily switch instantly between several such products within one machine without having to ever swap boards. ♦ Coming Soon To order direct call Digital Direct at 1-800-645-1 164 (orders only please) ^^ Free shipping on all VISA and MC orders in the US. COD - Cash only - add $10.00. Call by 2:00pm California time for same day shipping. Technical information please dial 916-344-4825, Digital Creations, Inc. • P.O. Box 97 • Folsom CA 95763-0097 • Phone (916) 344-4825 ■ FAX (916) 635-0475 SuperGen. SuperGen 2000s, SuperGen SX. Vxfeo Slot Bo». and Kitchen Sync are trademarks ot D.giml CrnsTions, Inc Video Toaster is a sradamark ol Newtok, Inc. IBM and IBM AT ore tegistered trademarks ol IBM. Inc. Amiga is a registered trademo* oJ Commodrxe-Amioa, Inc. Circle £3 on Reader Service card. DIGITAL A T I The Reviews are in... "The program is so last and flexible that it makes its Amiga predecessors feel like the old Doodle! program on the Commodore 64. Nothing out there can match its feature set, and it's the one paint program I've used that's so fast that it never gets in the way of your creativity." Amiga Computing, October 1993 (UK) "For many years, DPaint ruled the roost when it came to supplying incredible graphics power at an affordable price, but no longer. Brilliance has assumed centre stage and is now the Amiga's number one art package." C U Amiga, January 1994 (UK) "Brilliance is now — leaving DPaint trailing in its wake — the best art package available for the Amiga. It's very hard to express why I'm so taken by Brilliance, there's just a feeling of 'rightness' about the way that it works. " C U Amiga, October 1993 (UK) "After using Brilliance for just a couple of days, I'm hooked. It is the only package to be released for the Amiga which can rival DeluxePaint for animation capabilities, and it is a class act. " Amiga Down Under Nov/Dec1993 (New Zealand) "Excellent! Brilliance is loaded with useful drawing and animation features, but it's not just the sheer number of tools on offer that impresses. Two other big points arise. First, the program is very easy to use, thanks to its intuitive, flexible and well thought- out panel system. The second major factor is Brilliance's speed. Even in HAMS mode, everything zips along beautifully quickly." Amiga Format, October 1993 (UK) "II took a while, but Deluxe Paint IV has finally met its match. If you're looking for the best AGA paint program on the Amiga, look no further than Brilliance." Amazing Computing, November 1993 (USA) . NNOUNCING VERSION 2.0 Version 2.0 of Brilliance has been gned with productivty in mind. era! new features enhance already powerful program. tures like Flip Frames that vs the animatorto flip through irings. Rub Thru that make compositing easier. Load and Save Tween paths enabling much longer and repeatable brush moves. Faster and more accurate Tweening. True View option for magnification. And much, much Brilliance! The best just got better! "Brilliance is user friendly, doing an excellent job with nearly every function and option that it offers... " AmigaWorld. December 1993 (USA) "It is solid as a rock. Never have I known a first version of any program stand up like this or be so perfectly polished." Amiga Shopper, December 1993 (UK) ...Brilliance kicked Tut's Butt! r^ * COMPARE! Deluxe Paint IV Vs. Brilliance Overall Speed Picture Size Limited By: Chip RAM Total RAM Number of Brushes Number of Anim Brushes Number of Screens Levels of Undo Levels of Redo Load/Save Paths Flip Frames Realtime Preview Mode Full Screen HAM Gradient Fill Max # of Colors Gradient Fill True 24 Bil Editing Load DCTV Pics as HAM Max Animation Speed Ground-up Design for AGA * Limited only by total RAM Slow Fast Yes No N/A Yes Yes Yes No Yes No Yes Slow Fast 3Qfps 1 99(ps No I Yes Still Not Convinced? 30 Day Money Back Guarantee when purchased directly from Digital Creations as a Competitive Upgrade to Ver. 2.0. Call 800-645-1 164 to order. Circle t6 on Reader Servics card. DIGITAL Digital Creation*, PO Box 97. Folsom. CA 95763-0097 Product Information 916-344-4825 • FAX 916-6"-'"" T I O N Powerful image- processing software. Art Department Professional 2.5 ASDG, $299 All Amigas. 2.0/3.0 compatible. Hard-drive installable. Not copy protected. Accelerator recommended. Minimum system: 1MB, hard drive. Recommended system: 4MB, AGA or display card. Get out your birthday hats — ADPro has just turned 2.5! ASDG's acclaimed image-pro- cessing program has donned a new party dress and slimmed down, for its bulk)', lo-res custom screen has given way to a collection of svelte, style-guide-compliant windows on the Workbench screen. To top things oft', there's nary an older ADPro 2.0 loader or driver that won't work under 2.5. Spring/Summer Fashions You can now select between two nifty front-ends and can accessorize ADPro to your liking, A button- driven interface combines an uncluttered window of just a few user-configurable buttons with separate tear-off menus for all the operators, loaders, and savers. ADPro is also now fully mobile, able to sport its main interlace on any public screen. When on the Workbench, ADPro acts as an AppWindow — to load a file, simply drag it into ADPro. When it is elsewhere, it leaves an Applcon and AppMenu item behind. The program is fully style-guide-compli- ant ancl Workbench 2.0/3. 0-friendly; you can even modify its Applcon image. ADPro's strength has always been its ability to convert just about any kind of graphics-file format ADPro 2.5 does away with the clunky, over- sized interface of previous versions. 5S - ■ tc i I To locate the vendors of the products reviewed, see the "Manufacturers'/Distributors' Addresses" list on p. 94. into another. It supports GIF, BMP, JPEG, FLC, Icon (.info), ANIM-5 and ANIM-8 formats, to name a few. The Professional Conversion Pack has been upgraded to include Silicon Graphics (SGI) and Wavefront formats, as well. But ADPro's modular design is what makes il a powerful tool. Modules provide support for Digital Processing Systems' Per- sonal Animation Recorder, flatbed scanners, the Video Toaster, and an assortment of other hard- ware. The program also comes with utilities that disassemble and reassemble large files on Mac and PC floppies. ADPro's display options give graphics-card own- ers reason to rejoice, too. The Execute and Redis- play buttons now can render directly to Picasso, Retina, EGS-Specirtim, ancl other cards as if they were .Amiga displays. You may also render your im- ages in a window on the Workbench or any public screen. If you like to see everything at once, try run- ning .ADPro atop FRED's (ADPro's Frame Editor) 256-color AGA screen while displaying your image in a window on the same screen. While many people are drawn to ADPro for ils file-conversion prowess, I find myself using it most often for automated file processing. L 7 sing FRED or Sentry (the software equivalent of an obedient robot), your Amiga becomes a remote-controlled graphics workstation. If you're rendering a 500-frame Caligari animation but don't have room lor all those 24-bit images on your hard disk, don't worry: Sentry stands guard and uses Workbench 2.0's file notification to turn them all into JPEGs as they are created. Or you can use FRED to automatically resize, process, and animate a batch of Fractal Pro frames. Although AD- Pro, F"RED, and Sentry use ARexx to work all this magic, you don't have to become an ARexx pro- gramming whiz kid; AD Pro includes dozens ofplug- and-play scripts for most common tasks. Composite Materials ADPro's compositing tools have improved to the point that I'd now call them formidable. Not only IZJme 1994 am yon use any image formal as an al- pha channel, but yon can specify a range of colors as transparent — an increasing- ly important feature in these clays of multimillion-color images. An example of how nifty ADPro is to work with is the fact that I've taken to using i he DPainl loader to create alpha channels on the fly. I save the background image out to DPaint, turn it into a matte, and load it back into ADPro. It's seamless and fast — just the ticket lo keep those creative juices Mowing. The compositor is now- housed on a high-resolution screen and looks much like the visual operators found elsewhere in ADPro. You can even nudge the overlay image around the screen with die cursor (arrow) keys lor precise i ■ mlrol. All is not rosy with ADPro, however. ASDG has made great strides toward improving the user interface, but die vi- sual operators arc still a bit spartan. You can enter colors only by typing numbers, and there's no palette box to display the colors you've concocted. Also, there's no undo or zoom, and FRED is still a lad quirky. For instance, the program hic- cups and promptly aborts unless lile- names have the correct extension. This problem is made worse because FRED runs onlv in 2f>i) colors on AGA ma- chines, resulting in sluggish responses. Image-Processing Warfare Gone are the days when .ADPro was the only kid on the image-processing block. It excels in most areas, but for heavy- duty image processing, you mav wan! to complement it with Black Belt's Image- master R/t or CAT's IniagcT'X. Image- master R'l has hundreds of processing tools not found in ADPro, and ii can process regions of an image, instead of having to work with the entire image as does ADPro. I'd recommend buying both ADPro and Imagemaster lo capi- talize on their individual Strengths. No other package, however, matches the depth and breadth of ADPro's file- ADPro 2.5 offers a multitude of capa- bilities, image- processing options, and tools. (Top) Display 24- bit images from any number ol graphics cards, [Middle) "Antique" your images for an old-fashioned look. (Bottom) Zero in on small sections of an image with its elaborate crop- ping editor. . * . owp.ihibim. JD-Fb LFirtth 4 Put fjtf? 1 •*»»" tr*1 1*1 1 Olrwtr (f*l 3t J in«X 1**1 1 1 «n«y (Fir J 1 1 Vnitl I E**U*h Utrftfc tin) f .Till 1 lUtafct fin) liiTfl 1 ^1 HIT ^fl llli* 1 ' *ip*tt Tntl *.t. Sic* CM I4t>: 244.392 j Zaan In Rfeort Ikcnt Exit AmigaWorld 13 R K \ I E W S conversion tools, enhanced 24-bit print- ing, or flatbed-scanner-driver selections. ADPro also includes, a DPaiut IV-AGA |jLitcl i that upgrades version 4.5 to 4.61, and lets you modify DPaitU images on the fly. Finally, v. 2. 5 has an interlace other programs would die for. All things considered. ADPro is the kind of program that, while slightly ini- pcrlcri. continues lo deline the Amiga itself. I can hardly imagine the Amiga without Art Department Professional. — Dave Johnson Combination CD- ROM and IDE hard-drive con- Tandem Controller Alfa Data, S1 39.95 To paraphrase what every set needs is a good. A2000/A3000/A4000. 2.0/3.0 compatible. Hard-drive installable. Not copy protected. Accelerator compatible. Thomas R. Marshall, ions Amiga user really low-cost internal CD- Inslallation: Moderately easy. Minimum system: 2MB. Recommended system: 4MB, A4000, hard disk. Natural Graphics I'.O, Boa 1963. RocMin. CA 95677 USA (9)6) 624-1436 FAX (916)624-1406 Circle 183 on Reader Service card ROM drive, preferably one that doesn't already have a Mac or PC attached to it. When Alfa Data's new Tandem IDFVCD- ROM Controller and Mitsumi FX-001D CD-ROM drive arrived, that's what I got. More than just another prettv controller card, the Tandem punted my A4000/040 squarely into the age of multimedia with dual-speed CD-ROM capabilities. CD User in Paradise The Tandem (imported from Germain) is a pint-sized combination IDF/CD-ROM Zoito II/fII controller card of admirable quality. The package includes an IDE- type cable, a disk's worth of software, and a tiny English/German manual that is sur- prisingly helpful. The Tandem's "combi- nation'" designation implies that you can add another IDE-type hard drive to your system, along with a CD-ROM drive. It's up to you lo supply the CD-ROM drive, and you're limited to three high-quality Mitsumi units available from Alia Data — two single-speed (designated the LU-005S and FX-001S) and a dual-speed (FX-001D, S429) that offers better over- all performance. With the controller and the FX-001D in front of me, next caine the real chall- enge: installing iliem in my A4000. The controller slid like any other half-length card into a vacant slot, but installing the drive unit in the top 5,25-inch bay proved a ten-minute exercise in skinned knuck- les, acquired mostly in removing the vir- tually inaccessible securitv-switch locknut. With the front cover off, wedging the unit into the top bay requires no special skills, but the wire harnesses to the CD- ROM drive rest disturbingly close to the power supply's fan. Once you've packed all the pieces into place and completed the connections, the drive extends an unobtrusive 1/4-inch and is closely color- coordinated with the computer. I was particularly smitten by its tiny green activity light — a perfect match for the A-1000's power light. Violent system crashes were the order of the day with most of the 1991-vintage CDTV titles 1 tried, but those problems could be addressed through judicious experimentation with Degrader and booting the A4000/040 system with the original chip set. To perform functions MJune 1994 bevond viewing images or loading text from Mac- or PC-specific CD-ROMs, vnu'll need a hardware emulator. Per- formance-wise. I recorded read speeds of about 290K per second from an ISO- 9600-f'ornianed CD in the drive — re- spectable, but not even one-third as quick as the A4000's built-in IDE drive Mitsumi's dual speed FX 001 D CD-ROM drive works perfectly with the Tandem. (over lMB/second), Disks peed 4.2 did not recognize the CD-ROM as a valid device, but Syslnfo 3.23 did. Cue the Music, Maestro Accompanying die controller are four R E V I i: tt s utilkv programs: EjectCD, KillDEY, Force- PhotoCD.and PlayCD. EjectCD places an open/close button on the Workbench, while KillDEV removes the CD driver from the mountlist EorcePhotoCD is un- necessarv unless, to t|tiote the documen- tation, you're using "very earl)- LU-005S drives," which apparently experienced problems using Photocells, 'lb an FX- 00 1 Dot EX-DO 1 S, PhotoC;D's perform as well as any other CD-ROM. When yon launch PlayCD, the CD- ROM drive is disabled from other activ- ities. Plug a set of headphones (Radio Shack Micro .'Wis work quite nicely) into the micro jack on the front of the Mit- sumi and listen to your favorite limes on music CDs without hampering your Amiga's overall performance. In summary, the Tandem/Mitsumi CD-ROM combo is a worthy hardware addition. It's inexpensive, installs with minimal fuss, performs admirably, and is your ticket to the exciting world of CD-ROMs. With the right combination of hardware (A-1000) and soliware.you may find that a few CDS 2 titles might work, as well. — Tim Walsh Scala MM300 Scr.ln. $399 All Amigas with ECS or AGA support. 2.04/3.0 compatible. Hardware dongle copy protection. Accelerator compatible. Minimum system: 1MB chip RAM, 2MB fast RAM, hard disk. Recommended system: Accelerator, 4+ MB fast RAM. Multimedia authoring and presentation software. In the past few years, Scala's crisp, dis- tinctive backgrounds and unmistak- able displays seen in kiosks and cable TV stations have helped the company win over believers and skeptics alike. Now, its revamped presentation weapon — Scala MM300 — has the potential to promote the pioneer of multimedia even further. The MM300 package builds on its pre- decessor's reputation for power, flexibil- ity, and simplicity of operation by adding a veritable laundry list of fea- tures, most of which are more incre- Okay, Okay, So It's A Digital Time Base Corrector, But can it...? The Plus Means Yesi Following GVP's philosophy of complete feature integration pioneered by our G -Force Comba'" accelerators (used in a majority of Amiga s Video Toaster'* Work- stations), we are proud to present a professional TBC with time and money saving features. You would demand a TBC to be 100% digital, have 4:2:2 throughput, and an integrated ProcAmp. You would want it to be under Sl,(100. We agree. What does ihe Plus get you' f-JLii - Real-rime 16.7 Million Color Frame-Grabber/FrameBuffer for use as a digital video stillstore or signal generator, Included IrnageFX™ modules allow direct editing and manipulation in the framebufr'er. /*-Juii - Full Transcoding between Composite and Y/C |SVHS] Input and Composite anii Y/C (SVHS) Output. /■-JUt-i - Real-Time Professional Special Effects Generator featuring sobrization, strobing, pseudo-color, monochrome effects, and more. Tti pL* -NTSC/PAL/SECAM Signal Standards Conversion to NTSC/PAL for integration into worldwide video environments automatically. /-Jim - Complete Amiga Software Control and ARexx 7 " Interface that allows seamless integration of all TBCPlus features into an exisiting automated video studio installation. pirn - Full Processing Amplifier |ProcAmp] Control for correcting or adjusting incoming video "on-thc-fly" quickly and professional ly. /^JLut - 3 inputs |2-composite, 1— Y/CJ that can be connected simultaneously and 'Hot-Switched' with software without having to play with cable connections. J—stuA - Convert the 2-compositc inputs into a single Y/C input, providing iwu switchable Y/C inputs. /■— 'bi& - Full SM1TE/EBU encoding/decoding/striping available as an option j~Jlui - iruiclv, ituicii lixiAC-l 1 his is simply the most powerful and flexible video stabilization device for the Amiga computer. The TBCPlus makes an excellent complement to any GVP IV24'. NcwTek Video Toaster", ar Centaur OpalVision" Graphics System. The Plus means it also offers more!" Gary Cabman. Vii'uthsn'. \ !jJv:j, Hulkt CumnmniitlV.i>h.y. /fit CHEAT VALLEY PRODUCTS, INC. 657 ClARK AVENUE XING OF PRUSSIA, FA 19406 • USA PHONE 215«354'9495 ■ FAX 2I5»3J7«9922 HGVP ©1993 Great Vafiey Products, Inc. I TBC Plus. G-foftt- Cfjrr^o. irr^jefXanc 1V24 are t-ad*nsr«ji d Gre^iVai ey Prodjds Inc. Amigais a regiitetEfd tracemark cl CamTiodare Amga inc., .All otfrer tFadflinarics. Ere xhs property of ttim respective nwiers ^^^^^^^^^^m Circle 4 on Reader Service card. AmigaWarld /5 k i: \ i i; w s mental than revolutionary in nature. Absolute Power As with earlier incarnations, Scala MM300 allows users to create high-qual- ity, professional, self-running or tnter- active presentations that combine IFF pictures, text, video, sound, and music. Scala EX, the part of Scala that controls external devices, can directly control ex- ternal laserdisc players, CD "IV, Xapshot, genlocks, and MIDI instruments. Though Scala can create stand-alone presentations, it is mainly a multimedia package. It lacks the program-building implements of a software-creation tool like CanDo, hut instead creates presentations packed with video, audio, and transitional effects. Via powerful color controls, you can remap IFF images to a wide variety of palettes. 'Text handling is a snap, using any mix of Amiga fonts and styles. Scala can even display analog DCTV pictures, though the incompatibility in signals prevents die addition ol'texl. Besides displaying pictures, Scala What' ft lUtona? ike, ike 24-Btl tUeTTwk So.!!! The TALON rsie>\A/ Main Objectives X£7 Lowest Cost rriCQ. Video Option Retargetable Graphics FCC Approved Paint Pro gram Zorro II S, III 6U-Bit Display Controller rlulttmonitor Support EG5 Workbench Emulation Programmable resolution 50240 W Pontiac Trail Wxom, Michigan 48393 Tech Support (810) 960-8750 Sales (810)960-8751 Fax (8 10) 960-8752 The EA5IC is t^km5 Flight!!! Circle 26 on Reader Serwce card. MM3O0's interface — clean and lean. MM300 excels in whisking them about with a superb array of transitional effects that range from subtle to explosive. New wipes (bringing the total In more than 100) now look dazzling in AGA modes. A new "Automagic" feature instantly turns any screen object (brushes, text, structured-drawing items) into bullons. You can add Amiga Soundtracker MODs and sound effects simultaneously as music plays. There are basic controls For manipulating sounds in a variety of sound formats — from IKK samples and SMUS 10 GVP's 8-bit DSS formal. Long sound samples won't affect video pre- sentations, either. Video Star The crucial new benchmark of presen- tation software is video. Scala uses a pro- prietary 32-bit animation format called ANIM-32 to play back continuous digi- tal video read in real lime direct Iv from the hard drive. Videos and animations can be as lenglhv as data-storage space permits. An accelerated Amiga with a fast hard drive is needed, but von net real-time video power in return. In order to stay ahead of ihe rest of the video pack, Scala MMS00 beefs up its already robust set of animation tools with SMFTE timing codes (to sync with video) and AnimLab, a powerful animation con- verter. AnimLab creates ANIM-32 files from the old Scala video formal, ANIM- 5 (DPaint), and AiNIM-8W and -8L (Bril- liance). AnimLab rapidly converts video files between NTSC or PAL resolutions, formats, and palettes. It can even turn animation files into separate frames of stills, give them smoother playback, and handle files loo large to lil in RAM. New Knickknacks New features in the MM 300 make an already professional environment even belter. Picture handling is vastly im- proved, with belter antialiasing, improved palette calculation, 24-bil support, Floyd- Steinberg dithering for East picture and 16 June 1994 brush remapping, easv picture and brush resizing, basic structured-drawing tools, and better wipes and text crawls. The work environment is more convenient, with thumbnail images on (ile requesters and instant font-requester loading. File formatting lias been improved to allow the transparent loading of multiple file formats, like GIF and PCX. You must purchase each formatting module sepa- rately, but no price has been set. Scala MMSOO's work environment makes building multimedia applications a breeze. The nonstandard interface is well thought out. with a clean, uncluttered look. The :> 311-page manual oilers plenty of reference material, clear tutorials, and a full chapter on scripting and ARexx. The brief index, however, is buried be- tween sections, and some images don't accord with the text. The familiar hardware dongle for copy protection imposes a burden on some users. Also, while the library of art, louts, sounds, and animation is superb, it is rather diminutive. Now thai many PC titles offer full CDs of multimedia resources, Scala needs to close the only remaining gap — although to its credit. REVIEWS the resources it does have are gems. 1 have evaluated a host of multimedia and presentation environments on other computers, and the MM30Q out- performs most of them. Its power, flex- ibility, and price continue to give the Amiga a distinct multimedia advantage. — Daniel Greenberg Aladdin 4D 3.0 Adspec Programming, S499 All Amigas. 2.0/3.0 compatible. Hard-drive installable. Hardware dongle copy protection. Accelerator compatible. Minimum system: 2MB and math coprocessor. Recommended system: Hard drive, accelerator, 4MB, 24-bit display board. Powerful 3-D rendering package. L ike so many 3-D modeling and ani- mation developers. Adspec Pro- gramming realized that no matter how many bells and whistles were packed into its premier rendering program, Aladdin -11), there would always be room for new functions. Version 3.0 is a modular rendering package that makes good use of external modules. We'll lake a look at Aladdin's more prominent attributes. From the Beginning Aladdin's polvgon editor lets you look into 3-D space. Unlike packages such as Imagine and LightW'ave. Aladdin does not use a tri-view editor for point and polvgon manipulation. Instead, you work in one 3-D space where Aladdin's "virtual" camera controls I he three pri- mary views associated with the editor (called llat views, for the x, y, and i axes). Aside from the ability to control the perspective of your view by moving this virtual camera, Aladdin also sup- ports an isometric view, which displays your drawing in nonperspective mode — useful for the precise placement of polygons. The program features a point-based editor, where polygons are usually con- EGS-28/24 SPECTRUM Takes your amiga beyond aga! The EGS-28/24 SPECTRUM elevates your Amiga 2000, 3000, or 4000 Above and Beyond AGA and rockets you into the world of powerhouse workstation resolutions and real-time 24-bit true-color, at a mere fraction of the cost! Look at the colors and features in our SPECTRUM. • Programmable resolutions up to an amazing 1600x1280 — 800 x 600 in 24-bit! • Real-Time 24-bit display and graphics operating system! • High-performance 24-bit EGS-Paint package for professional painting and photographic editing. Look for new stand-alone releases coming soon! • Amiga-RGB Pass-Through so the Amiga and the EGS-28/24 SPECTRUM can share a single monitor! • Zorro-11 ( 1 6-bit) and Zorro-III (32-bit) AutoSensing for maximum performance on all Amigas! • Workbench driver to run Workbench directly on the EGS-28/24 SPECTRUM board, freeing up valuable Chip RAM! ■ Hardware blitter to accelerate all GUI operations, including the Workbench driver! • System conforming applications can use the EGS screenmodes directly from the Display Database! EGS requires Kicksi.-irt 2.04 or higher. HGVP GREAT VALIEV PRODUCTS, INC. I 65 7 CLARK AVENUE KING OF PRUSSIA, PA 19406 • USA PHONE 610*354»949.i • FAX blO'337'9922 ■ EGS 23/24 Spectrum is a trademaik of Great Valley Prc-ducts, inc. !GS is a irarJemark qC Vlgna Development. All other trademarks are the property of Sheir respective owners, i Circle 2 on Reader Service card, AmigaWorld 17 R E V I E W S structed by setting and moving points. Creating rendered objects is accom- plished in several ways. You can draw Freehand, create primitives (such as planes, spheres, and rubes), or use draw- ings from programs such as ProDraw and import the resulting EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) files into the editor. While mam ,'i-l) :n lists use polygons locnnslrucl objects, Aladdin's 3-D spline capability lets you draw smooth curves, then traits- late the points into three dimensions or onto other standard polygons. A plethora of tools lets you edit, move, manipulate, and otherwise control the environment within the editor. Modu- larity is lifted to a new level by including what Adspec calls external tools or gad- gets. These stand-alone programs that exist outside Aladdin are launched from within the program. The more interest- ing of these external items are modules to extrude, sweep, stretch, scale, con- form, explode, or twist polygons. L'sing external tools facilitates updating exist- ing tools or adding new features to v^S*^ Selected as the best professional productivity software at the last two North American Amiga Developers' Conferences, the SAS/C Development System now includes C++. If you are currently using another commercial C compiler, call now for details on our special trade-in offer! For more information and to order, call SAS Institute at 919-677-8000, ext, 7001. SAS and SAS/C are registered trademarks ur trademarks nl'SAS Institute toe. in the ISA and other countries. ® indicates USA registration. Other brand and prmliui nann's an- n-tfisiiTed trademarks or trademarks uf their respective holders. Amazing SAS Institute Inc. SAS Campus Drive Cary.NC 27513 Qrele 40 on Reader Service card. Aladdin 4D 3.0 lets you use all the latest techniques in lighting, texturing, and special effects in your 3-D rendering. Aladdin, since a full program update isn't required. Animation Effectuation Aladdin supports basic timeline and keyframe animation techniques, and moving objects though your animation can be as simple as drawing a path and assigning the object to it. But on top of this, the program controls the way your objects look across a span of time through the use of control splines (Csplines), which control nonlinear effects in an animation. Csplines can direct the rotation, scaling, texture attributes, transparency, and many other attributes For each object. You can render animations in any resolution supported by your machine and save them in standard ANIM-5 format. Grouping models together does not necessarily make for photorealistic pic- tures or animations. Texture mapping, special effects, and lighting control dis- tinguish trtilv gorgeous scenes from the ho-luim. Aladdin's built-in or bitmapped texture options, true lens flares, and gas effects let talented non-Light\V'ave .'i.O animators create opening scenes of such shows as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or Babylon 5. Procedures that simplify the creation of interesting wave effects, use- ful for simulating rippling water, are also available. Lighting options let yon achieve the right look for your scene. You can control lights according to color and strength and even assign them to a path in an animation. And if you don't mind the extra rendering lime, you can set up lighls to cast shadows or to affect highlights on objects. Aladdin ID supports all Amiga modes (including AGA), DCTV. and a host of 2-1-bit cards such as Retina, Firecracker, and OpalYision. While it is not a true ray-tracing rendering engine, the gouraud or phong shading effects are stunning, especially in 24-bit mode. If! June IWI REVIEWS Depending on the complexity of a scene, the rendering times in Aladdin can range from quite speedy to excruciat- ingly slow. While .Aladdin is indeed an outstand- ing program, it's not a true ray-tracer, so don't throw away your Imagine 2.0 yet. Since Aladdin can only trace shadows, you can't achieve refraction or object- reflection ellet'ts, although you can sim- ulate some effects such as chrome by means of bit- and texture-mapping. Be warned that the learning curve for those used to conventional tri-view programs can be quite high. A Manual Look-See The manual is divided into two parts: an extensive tutorial and a tool/com- mand reference. If you invest the time and practice, the manual explains jusl about everything you need to use your creativity. A quick-start tutorial has you creating simple animations within a few minutes. 1 would, however, like to see more high-end effects in a package of this magnitude. For example, there doesn't seem to be an easy way to achieve such dynamic effects as magnetism and grav- ity. Also, Aladdin does not support col- lision detection or inverse kinematics (which is gaining popularity in high- end rendering programs). Moreover, since the program generates splines, its lack of support for density-based mod- eling tools or lattice and mesh effects might be an oversight. But I'll temper this bit of disappointment by saying that no rendering program can include eveiy possible option. Moreover, such effects could seriously impact render- ing times. The uninitiated may be daunted by Aladdin -ID's apparent complexity, but Adspec's customer support and its quar- terly newsletter (which includes a disk) olfer outstanding help and guidance. At this writing, Adspec is allowing users of other 3-D packages to buy Aladdin 4D at roughly half price. Call Adspec (216/337-3325; FAX 216/337-1158) to learn how you can take advantage of its special offer. So, whether you are new to the 3-D world or looking to expand your Amiga graphics arsenal, vou can't go wrong with Aladdin ID. —John Ryan Megalosound Oregon Research, S59.95 All Amigas except the A1000. 2.0/3.0 compatible. Hard-drive installable. Not copy protected. Accelerator compatible. Installation: Easy. Minimum system: 1MB, sound source. Recommended system: Hard drive and/or second floppy, extra memory. Entry-level, 8-bit sound sampler. If an eight-bit stereo sampler and edit- ing package thai records at rates up to 70 KHz in mono and 39 KHz in stereo sounds good, the price — just $59.95 — is downright enticing. Bundled with a complement of software utilizing cut- and-paste features, Megalosound sam- ples IFF, 8SVX, and RAW formats di- rectly tt) your hard disk, so only a meager amount of RAM is needed for even lengthy sound samples. You can also add special effects to the samples. Continued mi j>. 68. ImageFX TRULY INTEGRATED IMAGE PROCESSING.. .A REALITY, HERE AND NOW The concept is simple: ImageFX is the only Image Processing package that you will ever need. Period. Some Image Processing packages make a lot of promises, hut end up making you do all the work— as they work on your pocketbook! But not ImageFX from GVP; we've done it right the first time, saving you time and money. J5M M Scanning The way we see it, Virtual Memory "Professional" means Complete Painting Tools Truly Integrated. That's Real-time WYSIWYG Preview why ImageFX gives you Dua| , B(rffere everything up front. We „ . „. , wouldn't think of doing it U ^ a Channel any other way! Undo * "•*> you won't find any other Image Processing software with these inte- grated features. Perhaps other Image Processing packages will someday catch on to the power ana flexibility of « fT XI X\ g[ a\<*\M D KHfl««l Gl Fuji i Balapce JCobposHiH fjotate 1 5m £plor \ Convolve [Transform! FJIter Effect Buffer }; Brush | Slpha„| Hook „ j, , (texfj , | print 1 Erafgj flult ImageFX. However, Regionalized Processing . Edge Feathering Brush Handling Color Transparencies Separate RGB Masking CMY/HSV Operation if you're serious now about Image _ Processing, you need the software that was born ready. No limitations. No costly additions! You still want more? OK! With ToasterFX '" from Byrd's Eye Software, you now can ntegrate the power of HGVP YUV/YIQ Operation "2\£ I j™g ? f W ' th y ° Ur Vi«5 « :* ■ v 98 ".■• '••"' HflB B Mij^(S| ■ ~^^Si JPj-// Fundamental Things A Apply /} Am as 5^7/ « fes — and cwfo, inserts, and transitions are still the stock-in-trade of the video editor. While the vanguard awaits the advent of nonlinear editing, the rest oj us can benefit from this roundup of the latest offerings from among more traditional video-editing systems — both consumer-level and pro. I e are aL an interesting crossroads in the world at any kind of reasonably affordable price, of video editing. The future, as most people So for Amiga users who want to do video editing know, lies with nonlinear editing (i.e., being now, we're slill going to need traditional editing able to play your source tapes into your com- tools. White this may seem a bit primitive to those puter and store them anywhere on your bard drive, visionaries contemplating the dazzling promises of and to then play them back and edit them in any tomorrow, for the rest of us there are any number order — from disk, not from videotape). Unfortu- of solid products to keep us going until then. nately, the technology is not quite here yet — at least Before we look at these, however, lei's briefly ►• By Geoffrey Williams tlXUSTRATHD BYJERRY BLANK AmigaWorld 21 I i) i; o i; i) i r i \ c cover a few editing basics. Video editing has always been somewhat problematic. Film was easy: You just cut and spliced il all together. With video, however, everything must be planned out in advance, because once you have recorded onto your master tape, you cannot insert additional video without erasing part of what is already there. Video editing breaks down into two basic types. In cuts-only edit- ing, you record From one VCR to another. With A/B roll editing, however, you use two YCRs for source material, which you then record onto a third deck. The latter method allows you to do such things as Toaster transitions between video seg nients; it is also faster, as one deck can be cueing up to the next segment while the other deck is playing. Fortunately for Amiga users, the current selection of traditional video-editing systems is quite diverse. We'll examine a representative sampling both of basic con- sumer-level editors and state-of-the-art pro systems, finally, we'll take a look at a few products that will even give you a taste of nonlinear editing. (To contact l!u- developers of products covered hoc. consult Ike "Miniu- Ittctttrm'/Distrilmtors' Addresses" list on p. 94. Also, see the "I "ideo Editor's Glossary" on p. 25 if there are terms you are not familiar with.) Consumer-Level Editing THERE ARE SEVERAL video-editing systems designed to work with consumer-level editing decks rather than the more expensive industrial and pro- fessional ones. They range from die very simple to the quite capable, although even l he better ones often may still lack the features an experienced video y Scala Multimedia MM300 SCALA LflNC controller Counter 0:11:291 Set out 6:12:47 When you edit with Scala Echo, you use the Scala MM300 interface. At bottom, Echo's LflNC control panel sports VCR-like buttons that control the source VCR. K I \ I) I P editor would want. They all work much i he same way. The play-back VCR usu- ally a camcorder, is controlled though a L.ANC (or Control-L) port or a Panasonic 5-pin port, one of which is generally found on most consumer and prosumer cam- corders and YCRs. The record VCR is controlled though an external programmable infrared controller, which means that it will work with almost any VCR. This method is not highly accu- rate, but acceptable for non- demanding tasks where a second or two is not critical. Video Director Gold Dish SI 99.95 Since the developer has left the Amiga market, ibis product is now an orphan and you won't see future upgrades or support. It is a very simple program, lacking such things as support for ARexx or multi- tasking. It can display a picture if you have a gen- lock — and it will directly control Digital Creations' SuperGen 2000S — but you can't use it to play ani- mations or sounds or to show anything but standard IFF pictures. It lets you make a list of clips from var- ious tapes and record them, either through audio and visual cueing or automatically if you have a source deck with a I.ANC port. The control cable plugs into the serial port, Scala Echo Scala S199 The Scala Echo EE100 is an add-on product for the Scala MM300 (see this month's "Reviews") or Info- Channel IC500 multimedia programs. As an editing system it is quite simple, but combined with the full power of Scala, ii offers a lot of capability. The con- trol cable is similar to the one for Gold Disk's Video Director, providing both I.ANC and infrared control from the serial port. Instead of working with a list of video events, however, you use the Scala interface, where record and plav events are a part of an entire presentation. This makes it very easy to record Scala presentations to tape along with inserted video clips. You can also use its infrared capability to control other infrared-controlled devices such as a CD player or laserdisc player from within a presenta- tion. You set in and out points by using the VCR-like buttons of the LANC control panel to control the source V( !R, MediaPhile Interactive MicroSystems S250 (software only) I he Mcdial'hilc Desktop Video Svstem is an editor of significant ambition and capability. Interactive Micro- systems has been improving it since I98(i. and over time it has developed into a very unique product. It 22 June 1994 \ i i) e o i; i) i t i \ (; k o i \ I) i v controls not only LANC and JVC swap port-equipped decks, but also decks von would no) nonnallv he able to u.se at all: in addition, you can upgrade ii to control industrial-level decks with RS-422 ports. Unlike Video Director and Scala Echo, MediaPhile can per- form A/B roll editing — via luler- aetive's standard serial edit con- troller (S150), which connects to the LANC ports of your decks and uses the Amiga serial port. For decks that do not have a LANC port, the company also offers a universal tape con I roller (SI 50) that connects internally lo any deck and keeps track of tape motion pulses. The device uses the p allel port. Interactive provides basic instructions on using it with more than 45 popular decks. (The company will also install il lor vou in any deck.) The developer also offers an indus- trial controller ($150) for RS-422 decks, lull for mul- tiple decks you will need a serial-port expansion card. Keep in mind, also, that to make use of infrared control in a fully multitasking environment requires using one of the Amiga's audio channels. MediaPhile hardware can be used with Cold Disk's Video Director, Future Video's EditLink, and even the Nucleus Personal Single Frame Controller (which lets you control decks with RS-422 ports). Even with decks you might never conceive ol using for editing. MediaPhile offers remarkable accuracy. The significant feature here is its capability to write time code directly from your Amiga's audio output to the tape — no additional hardware is required. For many decks, near frame accuracy is possible, with the worst case being +/- 5 frames for decks that have only tape-reel pulses. I'sing time code will mean losing one of your tape audio channels, so Interactive has also provided another method. MediaPhile's "no stops" option keeps the tape head in constant contact with the tape, so that it employs pause and fast-play modes instead of making you stop to use the normal fast for- ward or rewind. This is a lot slower, but it provides much more accuracy. The included edit decision list (EDL) processor is full featured — letting vou preview edits before actually making (hem, do audio and video inserts, and perform assemble and insert editing. Its script commands allow you to control the SuperCeu 2000S and the Video Toaster, to make use of ARcxx and execute programs, and to automate MediaPhile actions. There is a lot of power here and many unique features that make it worth serious consideration. EditLink Put ure Video $595-1295 For many years now, Future Video has been making editing systems for the Mac, PC, and Amiga. The company currently offers several versions ol its EditLink controller, ranging from lhe lower-cost EC- 1000 (S595), which provides two-machine control and one CPI trigger, to the 3300 (ST295) series, which has three-machine con- rol and Iwo CPI triggers. Packaged in attractive black cases with numer- ous status-indicator lights, both can read Ht8 RTC time code, and each can be expanded to read SMPTE time code. too. EditLink controls the VTRs through Coutrol-L, Panasonic 5-pin, or RS-2S2 ports, and it is accurate to within +/— 1 frame on low-end industrial-level decks using time code. Toaster control is provided i In ough ,i ( d'l trigger. 'Fhe editing software is quite basic — controlling single events dIv. There is. however, a third-party oducl, CyberEdit ($395, CyberCalt) that can add more sophisticated edit con- trol to EditLink. "Fhe professional version ($595) includes A/B roll editing capability that allows you to perform both assemble and insert edits, as well as to control the Video Toaster (includ- ing the display of CG pages). As mentioned earlier, you can also control EditLink using MediaPhile. Professional Editors THE SYSTEMS BELOW work exclusively with higher- end decks in the industrial and professional classes. Personal Editor Nucleus Electronics S645 From the makers of the Personal Single Frame Con- troller, the first product to make single-frame record- ing affordable, this is a low-cost cuts-only editing system for frame-accurate decks. It oilers all of the Personal SFC's single-frame animation capabilities, as well as the ability to control two decks that have RS-» EEC PAUSE muiMimum flEII J. si STOP J Ff » xJ J l> RSHE2 Oparat i on Moda PUTS TfiHE EDIT LAPSE Anill EJECT gmnwj The Nucleus Personal Editor can provide you with precise control over two RS-422 frame-accurate decks with internal time code. . UnigaWorld . ^ V I I) E E D I T I K V, KOI \ 1) 1 1' 422 ports with internal rime code. In addi tion, it can display fFF pictures and Toaster Frameslnrcs. It also provides direct control ofVideo Toaster tran- sitions (unlike the more limited GPI triggering), and future versions promise support 1'or ChromaFX and CG pages. The Personal Editor also has a two-way ARexx port allowing it to control, and be controlled by, other programs, h also supports pseudo A'B roll editing (see Glos- sary), as well as being the least expensive way to control RS-422 frame-accurate decks. Because it is a brand-new product, by the lime you read this Nucleus is likely to have added many other new fea- tures to it, as well. The Personal Editor rep- resents excellent value as a low-end profes- sional editor. AmiLink Professional RGB $3630 RGB produced the first professional editing system for the Amiga, and Ami Link has only gotten better over time. For experienced editors, the .AmiLink Pro- fessional, combining optional, well-implemented Toaster control with its "Pod" feature (which oilers an external control panel with a jog shuttle dial), is a dream system. It has the features you would expect from a high-end system, including: control over 16 source and 4 record decks and expandable up to 51 GPI triggers per edit; control over industry-standard audio mixers; a complete EDL that can save in CMX 3600 format; and the kind of stability that conies with a system that has been around awhile. AmiLink also has the ability to launch ARexx scripts and programs at an edit point. And, unlike all of the other systems described, which tie up the serial port, it comes on an internal card. FULL USER COMMENTING AND EDL MANIPULATION 3 B THPE3245 SEARCHING ..i bb:bi:B3:12 OUT 1 1 8 B : DUR ■minimi ' ami " 88:11:49:89 18:11:55:27 BB:BB:86:18 ■:I:H-.t:H;MHiM I MttlttMM ee:aa:iz:ei out EC :8& 118 IDUR ■■■,I«E;' | j SPLIT | liwiiiil fiMi mi nnflkimitiJtmmJjmmmmmm PREVIEW ■ PERFORM II REVIEW WIPE 832 125 AMIklUE f 823 111 REC RLL mlh TRIM CLEAR XFBjl stop il«ii PiBy|;^ f lMtaRDJ PRUSE JlSHUTTf.il JOG jl EJECT 1 AmiLink Professional is a premium system offering such niceties as ani- mation control for single-frame recording and complete ARexx support. Beyond solid edit control, AmiLink has a lot of nice extras. It offers built-in ani- mation control for performing single- frame recording. It can be com- pletely controlled though ARexx, It provides useful utilities, including a lime-code calculator. And, it also has a detailed, well-organized manual that explains a lot of the basic terminology and docs not assume you alreadv are a con- summate video expert. All of this conies at a price, though. Even the entry-level Aim'Link/CIP system that controls decks witli LANC ports is quite expensive (S1795). The Professional version, which uses the industry-stan- dard V-LAN for deck control, will set you back an additional SI 835. If you can afford it, this is a great svstem. Nonlinear Editing WE ALL WANT it, bin the technology is not quite here yet. There are, however, several products available now that in one form or another deliver on some of the promise of nonlinear editing. Keep in mind thai non- linear editing requires massive storage space and pro- cessing power to store all of that digitized video and audio and to move it around the system. Digital Broadcaster 32 Digital Micron ics S3 3 49 One of the first nonlinear editing products to be announced, Digital Broadcaster 32 is now shipping (ver- sion 1.0 was shown at the National Association of Broad- caster's convention early this spring). It is not in wide dis- tribution, however, and AmigaH'orld has yet to tesi one. According to the developer, it has not been made avail- able for review because it is not yet able to do audio and video ai the same time. Digital Bnxadca.sicr32 plugs into the Zorm III bus of the Amiga 3000 and A-1000, and it supports component. SATIS. NTSC, and PAL inputs and outputs. It offers full editing capabilities with a number of transition effects, and it supports Motion J PEC .. Until we get our hands on a unit, though, we can't tell vou much more. Personal Animation Recorder Digital Processing Systems $1995 PAR is not really an editing svstem at all, but vou can use it along with the same company's Personal TBC- IV ($999) to record video to its dedicated hard drive (newer Metropolis drives let you digitize incoming video at the highest-quality setting). You can then cut and paste sequences together, or even trigger separate segments from a multimedia program. Synchronized 1 (i-bit audio is possible using SunRi/e's AI) j 1 ("> audio digitizer. While vou don't have a convenient editing front-end to work with, it would not he all that diffi- 24 fmif 199-1 V I I) I. E I) I I 1 \ (. cull f'oi ' you io pui together a commercial ready to go, and even make several ver- sions using the same source material. The quality from the PAR hoard is extremely good. MovieMaker Interactive Video Systems S895 After showing it as a demons! ra- tion for years, IVS finally released its MovieMaker software hist year. It is not a true nonlinear editor hecausc there is no convenient way to get video frames into it in the first place. The source man-rial should he in separate DCTV frames (although MovieMaker can also play hack AGA frames at a slower speed, or non-AGA IFF frames of lesser quality), li works fine for ani- mations and computer-generated imagery, and it even has 1 fi-bit synchronized soum 1 capabilities and its own digitizer. You might also want software capable of editing 16-bit IFF sound samples, though, as the program's audio-editing features are quite primitive. MovieMaker requires a dedicated hard drive, and it works best in the Amiga SOOO. Getting lull speed out of complex moving images requires a little effort, but it is possible to produce quite impressive results. Editor's Note: Readers looking for information on Pride Integrated Video Systems' PIV-200I should note thai the product is currently off the market as a result of certain legal proceedings. No further information is available at this time. R U \ I) I P but AmigaWorld will report any information we get thai will impact readers. Final Cuts With any of the editors presented in this article, it is wise to contact the manufacturer before you buy to make sure that it supports the VTRs you currently have and those you plan to add in the future. As for recommendations, if you want a fully professional editing system, the choice is RGB's Amilink. For an inexpensive, cuts- only editing system for pro machines, your best choice is clearly the Nucleus Personal Editor. On the low end, I'd have to choose the MediaPhile system, as the other systems do not come close to offering true video-editing capabilities. Although I did not get a chance to actu- ally work with GyberF.dit in conjunction with future Video Product's Editl.ink, 1 believe MediaPhile is still the better value. A CyberEdit upgrade was underway at the time of this writing, though, so stay tuned for a review. Stay tuned also for details on NewTek's Video Flyer (a nonlinear editor designed for use with the Toaster) and on Scala's additions to its video- editing lineup! ■ Geoffrey Williams, director of Creative Business Presenta- tions, is a frequent contributor to computer-video publications. Write to him e/o AmigaWorld. Editorial Dept., 80 Elm St., Peterborough, \'H 03458. 1>uh a eo &(/((Ot ^9 MlOSSltMi W Assemble Editing see "Insert Editing" Edit Decision List An EDI. is a list of all the edits and source tapes, and how long each segment will be, along with transitions such as dissolves In A B roll systems. It is used to automate the editing process. Frame Accuracy How well an editing system does its job is determined by how accurately It is able to make edits. At 30 frames per second, a deck that is accurate to within +/- 10 frames could be off by as much as a third of a second in either direc- tion. "Frame accurate" means that there Is no +/- tolerance at all. Frame accuracy is determined by the capabilities of both the edit controller and the video decks being used. GPI Trigger A pulse that can be sent to the left joystick port and used to trigger a tran- sition in the Video Toaster, or plugged into other devices to trigger a single, preset action. Insert Edit instead of recording sequen- tially one section of video after another onto the master as in assemble editing, insert editing lets you add video onto the master without disturbing the previously recorded video that follows. LANC Port Also called a Controi-L port, this Sony-developed standard is found on many machines. Pseudo A/B Roll Editing Using cuts-only editing, you grab the last frame of video and hold it as a still so that it can be used with a transition (fade, dissolve, wipe) into the next video sequence; sometimes referred to as ax editing. FtS-422 Port Basically a 9-pin or 25 serial port, it Is commonly found on more expen- sive industrial-level video decks. RS-232 ports are a less robust version that do not offer balanced control lines and work only with very short cabies. Time Code A standard method of assign- ing every frame of video a unique number. Time code is necessary for achieving frame accuracy in editing. The SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture Engineers) standard records the time-code signal in either the vertical interleave or onto one of the audio tracks of the videotape. RTC time code is a special variation supported by HI8 camcorders and some video decks. □ —GW AmigaWorld 25 ■Jjjs f 1 - r ' l\ \ f _ LL If you feel choosing an image-compression scheme is like playing a game of chance, then listen up. We'll explore how the various formats compress image data and why one might work better for you than another. 26 J a m' 1994 ILLUSTRATION BY S 1 1.\ I "1 1 1( >K\ r AS I K( HNOU >GY improves, we are able to manipulate and generate increasingly higher quality images. Today, we can create 24-bit, photorealistic: images (phis effects, animal ions, and even digital video) that could not be produced on dedicated high-end workstations a few short years ago. Because such quality demands more bytes, this phenomenon has created a problem in terms of storage. The solution has come in two forms: larger, faster bard disks and data-compression techniques. Dozens of image-compression formats are now available for storing 24-bit images, and they all vary in terms of storage quality and compression efficiency. Which is best to use? As with most issues, there is no single, definitive answer. Most quality display devices and image-processing programs can now load and save many popular file formats. Therefore, your decision to use one or another is not as restricted as it once was. You will, of course, need to use a format supported by all the software and hardware involved in your project. The image quality you require and the amount of disk storage available for your project are other considerations. We'll dig into specifics of the various formats, but before we do, let's discuss file compression in general. If you run into unfamiliar terms along the wav, turn to the sidebar glossary. Wherefore and Why Not long ago. still Amiga images were limited to 4096 colors, and resolutions of 720x480 were adequate. Animations were often generated at 320x200 with as few as 16 colors. Third parties developed and Commodore approved specifications on file formats for both images (IFF) and animations (ANIM). Com- modore has since improved the standard Amiga display by releasing the AGA-based A4000 and Al 200, which support images and animations in 256 or 256,000 (HAMS) colors. And the standard IFF specifi- cation has been updated to include full-color 24-bit images required For tnie photorealism (IFF-24). Aggressive and creative developers have taken us beyond the Commodore-sanctioned formats. Now, IFF files can contain the 8-bit alpha channel, and the ANIM-7 and ANIM-8 formats have been devel- oped to run high-resolution animations effectively on newer AGA Amigas. Developers such as Centaur (creator of the OpalVision 24-bit display card), have proprietary formats for playing 24-bit animations in real time. Meanwhile, Digital Processing Systems' Personal Animation Recorder uses a combination of proprietary compression and fast hard disks to store and play back high-quality animations andi 6 1 S I 1 ? I I I I i I 1 E . [miga World 27 I M A (i E COMPRESS \ digital video. Development of proprietary file for- mats and the popularity of certain programs are responsible for the large number ol formats commonly used today. For example, Apple developed the TIFF specification for use on the Mac- intosh system. e staying hin those i i d e 1 i n e s , v ario u s developers revised the format to allow for t h e storage of more infor- mation and to eclively reduce iize. There are now more than two ozen flavors of TIFF! format, while ion efficient, because it was nth the high- boards for the the efficient PARED What happens when you save the same 24-bit image file using several different file formats? You get several different size files. I saved the opening image (see p. 26) as a 720x460 pixel file under each of the single-image formats discussed. While this Is not a scientific method of comparison, it should help you judge compression efficiency. Format IFF-24 Framestore TIFF: uncompressed RLE LZW Targa: uncompressed compressed PCX PICT WMF BMP GIF (256 colors) EPS JPEG (at 80% in ADPro) ARC (IFF-24 source) ZIP (IFF-24 source) LHARC (IFF-24 source) size (bytes) 514,534 524,064 1,064,666 1,062,898 504,060 1,062,898 914,781 577,372 572,208 1,083,096 1,082,934 34,886 2,964,848 87,029 435,462 400,254 389,053 Framestore format is used by NewTek's popular Video Toaster. Newer file formats like JPEG (created by the Joint Photographic Experts' Group) can efficiently reduce your disk file size by 10 to 80 percent. This dramatic compression comes at the price ol image quality, how- ever: the more you compress a file, the more data is lost, and the more the image is degraded. JPEG intro- duced lliis concept of "lossy" file compression to the Amiga; by compromising some of the pixel colors in your image, it can reduce the file size significantly. Generally, the applications software you use (such as ASDG's Art Department Pro for the Amiga) lets you choose the level of trade-off between quality and size. A great deal of research was done for this compression format and it includes careful analysis of colors in the image that the human eye cannot resolve. In fact, the difference between a J PEG file and the original is often imperceptible — even though data may be lost. Unlike other file formats, JPEG requires the file to be decompressed before further processing. Hardware compression/decompression (CODEC) chips have been developed to increase the speed of processing these files. So significant are these developments that Motion JPEG boards are used to record and play high- quality full-motion digital video where each frame is stored as a separate JPEG file. The desire for full-motion digital video introduced another compression format: MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts' Group). It is a conceptual derivative of JPEG, but additional compression of frame differences is added for more efficiency. JPEG compression was designed for the requirements of prim media, and thus for still images. The MPEG compression algorithm is oriented only for use with full-motion recording and playback. The MPEG specification does not include the ability to edit or pick out and replace specific frames without corrupting the play-back ability. Older compression formats commonly used in telecommunications are very effective on text and data- base type files (particularly in compressing several files together into one package). They offer very little ben- efit, though, for graphics and animation files. Images compressed with the ZIP, LHARC, and ARC: formats require decompression (via freely distributable stand- alone programs) before you can use them. Format Dossiers Different 24-bit file formats are veiy useful and effi- cient b certain circumstances but not in others. The following sections briefly describe single-image and animation file formats, and outline their strengths and weaknesses. The most popular formats are covered. Single Images Thanks to the initiative of such programs as ASDG's Art Department Professional, the Amiga can now exchange still-image files across computer platforms with ease. Except where noted, all the image formats are lossless. To discover how these formats compare in terms of compression efficiency on a sample file, see the sidebar "Compression Compared." IFF-24 (Interchange File Format) The Standard Amiga file format supports 24-bit images, and some developers have added support for 28 June 199-1 IMAGE COMPRESSION 32-bit files. This format supports both bitmapped and vector (object-oriented) graphics, and is average in size. Although IFF-24 support is de rigueur among Amiga products, ihe formal is not widely supported on other platforms. Framestore This proprietary format, introduced by NewTek's Video Toaster For display and editing, supports 24-bit images and an alpha channel. Framestore provides good I lie compression and supports only bitmapped images. It is difficult to find Framestore support on platforms other than the Amiga; support is scam even among non-Toaster Amiga programs. TIFF (Tagged Image File Format) This popular format has been used for some time on all platforms, ll supports 32-bit bitmapped images — uncompressed or processed with RLE or LZW com- pression. The two compression methods can produce average space savings depending on the composition of the image (an image with large strips of the same color generally reduces well with RLE, for instance). Even with compression, TIFF format files are consid- ered lossless. While this format is widely used, there are dozens of variations and not all software that claims to load TIFF files can handle all varieties. Taiga Another popular bitmapped format, Targa is well sup- ported on most platforms and offers both an uncom- pressed and compressed format for up lo 32-bit files. As with TIFF, the uncompressed version produces a large bitmapped file. The compressed version, which is not as frequently used, produces average-size files. PCX Made popular in the early development (if DOS paint programs, this bitmapped format supports 32-bit files and produces average-size files, PICT Considered I be standard lossless format for the Mac- intosh platform, PICT is becoming more widely used by other platforms and software. It supports both bitmapped and vector-format graphics in up to 32 bits, and offers average compression. WMF (Windows Mela File) This counterpart to PICT format supports boih bitmapped and vector graphics up to 32 bits. File compression is average — very similar to PICT. This format is used a lot by the large Windows user base, but is not used much by software on the Mac and Amiga platforms. BMP {Bitmapped Picture) This Microsoft-based bitmapped file formal can handle lossless 32-bit graphics and is used heavily on both Windows and Macintosh platforms. GIF (Graphic Interchange Formal) This bitmapped file formal is widely used on bulletin- board systems, and can be loaded with software on every platform. The format supports only up to 256 colors, however, and therefore offers efficient file size \ at the expense of image quality. EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) .Some programs let you load EPS graphics, although the files are consid- ered noned- itable. EPS f o r in a t supports bitmapped and vector graphics up to and beyond 32 bits. Compression is minimal; EPS files are used pri marly for printing purposes. JPEG (fimil Photographic Experts ' Group) Currently the most widely used compressed still-image format, JPEG is available on every platform through most popular software and hardware. While this formal is lossy, you can generally control the amount of loss, and frequently the image degradation is undetectable. The compression efficiency is excellent With special hardware (such as Digital Micronics' Digital Broadcaster), you can achieve Motion JPEG for full-motion playback and recording. ARC/ZIP/LHAKC These formats use different compression schemes and are best for text and database files. In some unusual situations, an image compressed using these formats could actually be larger than the original file. Animations Animation-sequence formats are not yet as inter - changable among platforms as still-image formats. Cur- rently, only ANIM and MPEG are supported by .Amiga products. This situation will change, however, once Amiga developers make animation sharing a priority. ANIM The standard Amiga format for real-time animation playback, ANIM has been updated by developers and Commodore to handle up to 256,000 colors and sound in animation playback on AGA machines. The com- pression of tiles is very efficient for delta change-type animation storage. This format handles only bitmapped graphics and is not supported for playback on other platforms. QuickTime The standard lor real-time playback on Macintosh sup- ports bitmapped and vector graphics in 24-bit color, with sound and text. Hardware can be used lo speed playback and increase usable colors. Software is available for play- hack of QuickTime "movies™ for several platforms. Video for Windows (AVI) This is the format for real-time animation on Windows-based machines. Like QuickTime movies, Video * AmigaU'orU! 29 I 11 A (1 E C It I' K E S S 1 .\ . for Windows files support bitmapped graphics in 24-bit color along with sound. The files can be played with software support only, Iml support hardware lets you use higher resolu- tions and more colors. Intel Indeo Video This Video for U' i n d o w s compel i tor offers the same type of support for full- colu r graphics and sound, with hard- ware assisting in speed for better resolution ntd color. FIJ/FLC This format, introduced by Autodesk, provides ani- mation playback under DOS or Windows and is supported by software on other platforms. It supports only up to 256 colors and limited resolutions, however; plav- bai L spued is li ilalb dependent upon mat bine speed. / Motion JPEG 1 hi s formal was developed for digital recording, editing, and playback lor high-quality, full-motion video or animation. JPl'IG-compressed files are used as the individual frames of the animation, and spe- cial hardware is necessary to compress and decom- press them in real time. Some developers use spe- cial hardware and software to sequence si mi id with thi' digital video. This formal is currently one of the best choices lor digital video that needs editing, because you can add or replace any specific frame. MPEG (Moving Pictures Experts' Group) Very similar in quality recording and playback to Motion JPEG, MPEG also uses special hardware to record and play digital video. The compression method is much more efficient, however, and it does not allow you to add, delete, or replace a specific frame in the sequence. You can edit sections in an MPEG dig- ital video, but cuts need to be made in certain spots or the quality of the edited area will suffer. As in the past, third-parties will create new technology for better speed, quality', and efficiency. Digital-video and still-image formats that are just emerging today may become tomorrow's standards. So keep your eye on the future as yon compress files. Your wish for belter, faster, and more efficient formats is sure to come true! ■ Steven Blaize Ls the owner of Creative Fire, a multimedia- presentation company in the Ijos Angeles area. Besides writing about the Amiga and PC platforms, he also does consulting. Contact him c/o AmigaWorld Editorial, HO Elm St.. Peterborough, Nil 03458. 24-bit Image — An image containing any of 16.7 million colors and shades. The subtle color changes allowed produce photorealistic results, that is, the human eye sees a believable image instead of individual pixels. 32-bit Image — A 32-bit file contains no more colors than a 24-bit one, and no more are necessary for photorealism. The only thing extra that a 32-bit file does contain is an 8-bit alpha channel, which is useful for transparency during image compositing. Alpha Channel — An 8-bit range of color used to control transparency. The 256 gray shades within the alpha channel let you determine how much of one image is composited with another image — or even video — underneath. Bitmapped Image — A graphic defined by coloring individual pixels (screen dots). In a black-and-white graphic, each pixel is either black or white. Each pixel in a 24-bit image can be any of 16.7 million different colors. (Com- pare to Vector image.) Delta Change — The difference between two adjoining frames in an animation. In some cases, the only change might be the position of a hand, for Instance. By storing only the differences between frames instead of the entire frames, some animation formats can achieve good compression and retain quality. Lossless/Lossy — Prior to the introduc- tion of lossy formats, the term lossless did not exist. All formats were lossless, that is, they retained complete image quality. Lossy formats such as JPEG achieve such good compression by reducing the number of colors in the image. The algorithm removes subtle color variations not perceived by the human eye, and, in doing so, compro- mises image quality. Altering and recompressmg a lossy-format image can introduce undesirable artifacts. Vector Image— A vector-based, or object-oriented, image is mathemati- cally defined. Under this scenario, a shape comprises not of an arrange- ment of pixels, but connected points that can be filled or outlined. Vector files are typically smaller than bitmapped files in terms of bytes. What's more, they can be scaled without quality loss, although you cannot change the color of individual pixels. □ —SB 10 June 1994 TtiC CD rjOOtt CD-ROM is becoming more exciting and more accessible. Here's where to look to find CD-based software to use with your Amiga. h r Julie PcTcestn "Hie US Library of Congress has accepted CD-ROMs into its holdings. Scientific American has announced plans to publish the respected magazine on CD. New CD-ROM software announcements have increased to about 40 per week, with no slow-down in sight! With so much CD software being developed, why aren't Amiga magazines overflowmgwith CD titles? There are two reasons: not all CD-ROM software is compatible with the Amiga operating system, and not all software that is Amiga compatible is promoted as such. PHOTO COURTESY OF FPG INTERNATIONAL There's an old saying, "Teach a man to fish, and you'll Feed him for a lifetime ..." So in addition to listing Amiga titles currently available on CD, I'll discuss the issues involved in accessing CD-ROM software. I'll start with the titles developed specifically Tor the Amiga. Then, I'll lead you through the sea of ftware designed for other platforms but accessible via the Amiga. Although you'll see the CD32 name come up once in awhile, I'll stick to titles that work with the whole Amiga line. Look for coverage of CD32- AmigaWorld 31 C S V T WAKE specific releases in the "Game Preserve" and Reviews sections each month, and perhaps in a roundup in some Inline issue. (To comacl llie com- panies mentioned in this article, see the "Manu- f'acuirersVDistributors' Address List" on p. 94.) low pLfliiita On firtKJS What you can access depends upon what kind of system and CD-ROM drive vou have. Commodore s older CDTV and its brand-new CD32 both provide built-in players, but because they have different custom chip sets, only CD32 can access software designed for AGA (Advanced Graphics Architecture). Commodore's dis- continued A570 drive provides CD-ROM access to the Amiga 500. Amiga 3000s come with a SCSI interface and thus are directly compatible with CD-ROM ^ On Disc This is not a comprehensive listing of all CO-ROM software available for the Amiga, but it is a good start. While most of the titles listed here were designed specifically for use with the Amiga, I've also thrown in a few multiplatform titles that 1 have found to be particulary good. Resource Libraries Title Retail Price, Company Description Developed For Aminet CD-ROM $29.95, Walnut Creek 4000+ utilities, games, music, etc. from the on-line Amiga library Amigas AMUCCD1 S20.AMUC Contents of the Amiga Users of Calgary's BBS Amigas Audio Resource Library 1 $20, Knowledge Media 1000 sound files, mixers, generators and music editors Multipiatform The Clipart Warehouse $29.95, Chestnut More than 11,000 images in PCX and TIF format Multiplatform Fred Fish Online 1.5 $45, Fred Fish Resource software, utilities, source code, games, more Amigas GIFs Galore CD-ROM $20 Walnut Creek Thousands of fractals, clip-art pics, photos, etc. in bitmapped GIF format Multiplatform Graphics Resource Library $19, Knowledge Media Hundreds of graphics images, animations, programs CDTV Mega Media 1 $26, Knowledge Media 1000+ graphics and audio files for multimedia CDTV Pandora's CD $10, Optonica Multimedia demo, 2000 color clip-art pics, 100 photos, textures, sounds Multiplatform Pro Volume 1 & II $149 each, Wayzata Clip-art images in EPS format Multiplatform Quick Art Delite $119, Wayzata 300-dpi images in both TIFF and Mariah format Multiplatform Quick Art Deluxe 3349, Wayzata Quick Art Delite plus 1,700 images of animals, plants, toys, and more Multiplatform Rick Doyle Digital Imagery $34.95, Rick Doyle Action water sports and scenic landscapes; 24-bit TIFF and gray-scale Multiplatform Serial III Typecollection $50. Parallel Motion 4000 PostScript sign-making fonts Amigas Super Clip Art $25, Groupware 6000+ Clip-art images Multiplatform Super Fonts $25, Groupware 2000+ Adobe and True Type fonts Multiplatform Super Space $25, Groupware High-quality NASA photos Multiplatform Super Wallpaper $25, Groupware Collection of wallpaper-like backgrounds Multiplatform Syndesis 3D-ROM $180, Syndesis 500+ 3-D objects in common formats incl. DXF, plus IFF, TIFF, GIF images Multiplatform Texture City CDs $79, Texture City Hi-res textures and backgrounds for video and publishing Amigas Texture Heaven CD $56, Asimware 24- and 8-bit wood, marble, scenery, tiles, abstracts; symbols, thumbnails Amigas REFERENCE Title Retail Price, Company Description Developed For Advanced Military Systems $39.95, Dominion More than 1000 action shots of the world's military systems CDTV Americana $30, Aris Entertainment Multimedia clip art and landmarks of America; sounds, MPEG drivers Multiplatform American Heritage lllust. Encyclopedic Dictionary S34.95, CE1 Houghton Mifflin's reference comes alive with illustrations, pronouncer, more CDTV Animals in Motion $34.99, On-line Insight into animal locomotion using footage from Eadward Muybridge CDTV Bibles and Religion $29.95, Chestnut All popular New and Old Testament versions plus study guides Multiplatform Complete Legal Guide $29.95, Chestnut 500 legal forms, including contracts, residential leases, wills Multiplatform Compton's Encyclopedia $360, Compton's MultiMedia School Edition; based on 26 book volumes Multiplatform Connoisseur Fine Arts $31, Lascelles 400+ classical through 19th century works of art CDTV Desktop Bookshop $25, CD-ROM Source Anthology of e-texts, from Bible to War & Peace; extensive index Multiplatform Elysian Archive $25, Groupware More than 6000 files: games, utilities, tracker modules, demos, graphics, fonts Multiplatform Gardening S29.95, Chestnut Topics includes garden planning, pest control, organic methods Multiplatform Grolter Encyclopedia 2 $395, Commodore Encyclopedia on CD-ROM CD32 Guiness Disc of Records $50, New Media About 3500 records, 800 Images; picture database indexed alphabetically CD32 The Illustrated Holy Bible $50, Animated Pixels Old and New Testaments CDTV Illustrated Shakespeare $50, Animated Pixels The complete works of the Bard with concordance, bookmarking, and more CDTV Illustrated Shelock Holmes $50, Animated Pixels Complete with music, search facilities, more than 250 grapphics, and more CDTV Insight: Dinosaurs $60, Optonica Dino facts, puzzles, quizzes; done with British Natural History Museum CD32 Insight: Living Body $60, Optonica Human body's form, function, systems; illustrations, animations, motion video CD32 Insight: Technology $60, Optonica 260 modern discoveries, inventions; graphics, sound, animation CD32 NASA ... The 2Sth Year $20, Troika Multimedia Overview of space program; CDXL motion format CDTV New Basics Cookbook S59.95, CEI The award-winning Silver Palate collection of more than 1800 recipes CDTV 32 June 1994 i: n s o i t w \ k [•: players; just add CD file-system software from Asimware Innovations (AsimCDFS, $79), Xetec (CDX Disk Set. S50), or Canadian Prototype Replicas (CDROM-FS, $37.50). Other Amiga models can access a CD-ROM drive with the addition of this software plus a third-party SCSI card. (For information on recent CD-ROM drive releases, see "CD-ROM '93," p. 30, Oct. '93.) The three developers of CD file-system software have added support for Kodak PhotoCD so that any Amiga with a CD-ROM drive can access film images printed to CD. And now dial licensing arrangements have been worked out between Commodore and Kodak (according to a Commodore representative), you can expect to see direct PhotoCD compatibility on CD32. Resource-library discs are designed for cross-plat- ■ New York $29.95, Aris Multimedia clips, sounds, animatons of NYC landmarks; with MPEG driver Multiplatform Our Solar System $29.95 Chestnut Photos of planets, moons, comets, galaxies, and more Multiplatform Project Gutenberg -1 S39.95 Walnut Creek Aesop's Fables, Moby Dick, the Magna Carta Multiplatform Space & Astronomy S39.95 Walnut Creek 1000 images and 5000 text files on space exploration, planets, astronomy Multiplatform Time Table of Business, Politics, and Media S59.95 CEI Explores the acquisition of wealth, power, and knowledge in human history CDTV Time Table of Science and Innovation S59.95 CEI The history of science and technology; all entries cross-referenced CDTV Time Table of the Arts and Entertainment S59.95 CEI Multimedia effects include museum references, portraits, quotes, and music CDTV Women in Motion S34.99 On-line insight into human locomotion using pictures of Eadward Muybridge CDTV World Traveller $29.95 Chestnut Images in PCX and GIF format of Grand Canyon, Maine, and more Multiplatform Games and Educational Title Retail Price, Camp any Description Developed for A Long Hard Day on the Ranch S29.95, Discis Story by A. Nelson about a boy's adventures at a ranch; grade 2+ reading CDTV Alfred Chicken $39, Mindscape Arcade game CD32 Barney Bear Goes to School S15, Free Spirit Preschool learning game CDTV Battle Chess S59.95, Interplay Classic chess with a medieval war twist; in 3-D CDTV Cinderella $29.95, Discis The classic story; grade 3+ reading level CDTV Classic Board Games S49.95, Merit Software Chess, checkers, backgammon CDTV Dominion S49.95, Dominion International strategy game challenges you to take control CDTV Fantastic Voyage $49.95, Centaur Traverse the human bloodstream to wipe out a bloodclot in the brain CD32 Future Wars $59.95, Interplay Travel through time to save the earth from destruction by aliens CDTV Heather Hits Her First Home Run $29.95, Discis Story by T. Plantos about children facing crucial moments; grade 2 + CDTV Hound of the Baskervilles $34.95, On-line Recreates Sherlock Holmes' greates ease from contemporary evidence CDTV Jurassic Park $35, Ocean Arcade game based on the movie CD32 The Labyrinth of Time $55, Electronic Arts Ray-traced graphic exploration maze All Amigas Lemmings $49.99, Psygnosis The classic arcade adventure with 120 increasingly difficult levels CDTV Lunar Rescue $49.99, Odyssey Multi-language game with digitized NASA footage and facts database CDTV Moving Gives Me a Stomach Ache $29.95, Discis Story for children facing a move by H. McKend; grade 2+ level CDTV Mud Puddle $29.95, Discis Story of a walking mud puddle by Robert Munsch; grade 1 + CDTV My Paint $39.95, Saddleback Painting and learning for children CD32 CDTV North Polar Expedition $49.95, Virgin Games Role playing adventure for groups of five to ten players The Night Before Christmas S29.95, Discis Clement C. Moore's poem; grade 2+ reading level CDTV The Paper Bag Princess $29.95, Discis Our heroine learns an important lesson; grade 2+ reading level CDTV Psycho Killer 1 and II $29.95, On-line Realistic games uses digitized images and audio; play can affect story CDTV Scary Poems for Rotten Kids S29.95, Discis Chills and chuckles in outlandish vocabulary; grade 3+ reading level CDTV Sherlock Holmes Detective $69.95, Viacom Match your deductive abilities against the master sleuth Multiplatform Sign of Four $34.95, On-line The detective's cases become multimedia advantures CDTV Space Wars $39.99, Odyssey Outer-space action combat ; in multiple languages CDTV Spirit of Excalibur S59.95, Virgin Games Epic adventure game involving Arthur's Roundtable CDTV Super Games Pack $39.99, Odyssey Three games: Jailbreak, Byteman, and Deathbots CDTV The Tate of Peter Rabbit $29.95, Discis This rendition of the classic tale includes Spanish translation; grade 2+ CDTV The Tale of Benjamin Bunny $29.95, Discis Another close encounter with Mr. McGregor; grade 2+ reading level CDTV Thomas' Snowsurt $29.95, Discis How Thomas avoids wearing his detested snowsuit; grade 1 + reading CDTV Town with No Name $39.95, On-line Story game CDTV Wrath of the Demon $49.95, ReadySoft Graphic adventure with multilevel parallax scrolling CDTV Project Gutenberg is an ongoing effort to collect more than 10,000 significant books on disc by the year 2001. AmigaWorld 33 \- C l) S t T W A R E form use and provide equal-opportunity access. Bui what about games and applications? For guaranteed access to CD'IV applications, yon still need CDTV or an Amiga 500/A570 drive setup. Beyond that, things are a bit murk)-. Of the three driver-software packages, Xetec's CDX Disk Set seems to offer the best compat- ibility with CDTV titles. Xetec claims a 90% success rate thanks to its CDTV emulation software. IJv contrast, Peter Sahhit $: But Peter, who was very na^htj 1 , ran straight away to Mr. McGregor's garderij and squeezed under the gate! \ V Discis' "Kids Can Read" series includes interactive books such as Peter Rabbit Optonica's Insight: Dinosaurs helps make dinosaurs come alive — without genetic engineering. Asmiware promises about 50% compatibility: acceler- ators, hard drives, and other add-ons all impinge upon CD'IV software compatibility. Keep in mind, too, that older lilies will run only under Amiga DOS 1.3. Still, 1 was able to run Discis' The Tale of Peter Rabbit CD TV release under AmigaDOS 2.04 and 2.05. One caveat: Because they were designed specifically for CDTV, many of these titles do not allow you to exit without rebooting the system. If, however, a program needs a last processor and AGA (i.e., if it is designed for CD32), you can't just pop it into your stock A2000 and expect it to run. Man)' of the new games take advantage of enhancements in the design of the CD32 hardware and AmigaDOS 3.x. While most CD32 titles are developed on the Amiga 4000, they may run on a CD-ROM equipped A4000— but they may not. And experts might even be able to coax CD32 titles into working on an A2000 or A3000 by adding a third-party graphics card such as Expert Services' Picasso II, CVP's ECS Spectrum, or MacroSystemUS's Retina (see "AGA Fixes, p. 38, Apr. '94 for more on AGA emulation). In the case of the A2000, however, you'll also need an accelerator and a few carefully chosen incantations. Unfortunately, there are no clear guidelines here beyond actually (tying it. As a consumer, the best thing you can do is ask your vendor or the developer of the software. One CD32 offering that demonstrates how such titles can run on many systems is The Labyrinth of Time (Terra Nova/Electronic Arts). By skillful use of RAM (Hold and Modify) images, the authors have created a game that not only rivals the best AGA graphics, but also tuns happily on almost any CD-ROM-equipped Amiga. In searching for Amiga-specific CD software, 1 found more than I expected. Though some are combination discs, and not easily pigeon-holed, most fall under a few basic categories. The titles are listed in the sidebar called "On Disc." The Pnn-Pifiifo&n S a o e g n s t> o e d Now that you know about .Amiga titles, let's get a better understanding of how CD software works in general so you can expand your librarv. Single-level Directories CD-ROM single-directory libraries are easy to access: You open a disc, put it in your player, type D1R CD0: (or appropriate device name) and the contents of the library (up to (500 megabytes) will be listed on the screen just like a (loppy directory. These basic-compilation CDs are easily inter- changeable between IBM-PCs and Amigas. Graphics usually use such standard formats as IFF-ILBM, 'OFF, GIF, and JPEG, all of which are accessible on the Amiga thanks to ASDG's ADPro and similar programs. As long as the disc itself follows a standard format such as ISO-9660, you can put it in an Amiga or IBM- compatible computer, display the single director)', and read files from the disc. You may also be able to read the PC High Sierra format, but your best chance will be with ISO-9660 discs, which are the most common type. (Some CDs list the format in small letters on the back of the package.) Reading Mac discs is also sometimes possible with Mac CD driver software, and if you own an A-Max or Emplant Mac emulator, you may wish to access some of the graphics and clip-art discs available lot video and desktop publishing to use on the Amiga. Be aware that Mac files differ from Amiga and PC] files by being split into "data" and "resource" forks. Check your CD-ROM driver software documentation for utilities that support MacBinary format (which combines the forks) or MacHFS. If you have these, you can add some single- level directory Mac CD-ROMs to your collection. Multi-level Directories CD-ROM libraries with "nested" information, that is, 3-1 June 1994 C I) S !■ T H A R i; files that i e irdered in levels. take a little more file manipu- lation to determine what's on the disc, but readability — and sometimes search and sorting — are enhanced. The Fred Fish collection fits into ibis category; you can locate all the files in its nested directories with your Amiga. If, however, you try to read that same CD-ROM from another platform, like the IBM. you're out of luck. Von may see the top level of die directory Structure, but since the IBM doesn't speak Amiga DOS, it cannot find the rest of the information. Such CDs are not directlv interchangeable unless vou have a utility that recognizes the foreign file structure. Fortunately, if you have a Bridgeboard (or PC. file utility), you can extract files from a 1'C CD-ROM and then use the 'awrile filename ,/b' command to transfer them over to your Amiga directory. This opens up enormous libraries of ready-to-use information from the PC side. Applications If you take a CD-ROM title designed to use Amiga AOA, stereo sound and pre-emptive multitasking, no amount of cajoling will make it work on a -Mac or IBM. The opposite is true too — unless, of course, you have a PC or Mac emulator. Emulators such as Kmplam have a SCSI port where vou can attach vour CD drive. The folks at ReadvSoli told us they had tested A-Max I with CD-ROM drives by NFC and Apple, and were successful in running Mac applica- tions from them. Be aware that the Mac is fussy about some of the low-end CD-ROM drives (this is a Mac characteristic and not directly related to the func- tioning of A-Max or F.mplant) and may display the files without allowing you to actual!) access them. Moderate and high-end CD-ROM drives that we tested work more reliably. Rolling Your Own PhotoCDs, accessible via any desktop computer with the right driver software, contain graphic images derived from your negatives and slides that are scanned and copied onto a disc in predefined sizes and resolutions. Printing a 24-exposure roll of film to CD costs about $50. You get five copies of each image in different resolutions, a fact thai limits the capacity of a PhotoCD (o only about 100 images (less if the images are added in several sessions). PhotoCD image quality is remarkable, equivalent to what scanners in the $25,000 range produce. Speaking of creating your own discs, the decreasing cost of CD mastering makes it possible for "the rest of us" to achieve quantity distribution. Mastering costs have dropped dramatically. Asimware. for instance, recently began mastering discs for S90 each. 1 have seen mail-order ads in imaging magazines offering mastering services for as low as $S")-560, with copies running S.50-S2 (depending on quantity). Organiza- tions such as the Amiga Users of Calgan have adopted this method of distributing the contents of more than 700 floppies, The group's AMUG CD I contains files that have been uploaded t< ironic bulletin board. the club's five-line elec- The Sound of CD-ROM Many people are not aware that they can play music CDs on their CD-ROM drives. If your drive has an audio-out jack, just plug in a set of headphones or small speakers, cue up vour favorite album, and run the audio driver The Labyrinth of Time by Terra Nova/Electronic Arts is a a visually stunning exploration game Audio driver software such as that provided in Asimware's AsimCDFS package, gives you all the controls necessary to play your favorite tunes using the Amiga. provided with your CD file-system software. The CD audio driver software works by mimicking the internal electronics in a component CD player. Thai is. the normal buttons and knobs associated with a stand-alone CD player are simulated on the screen. To start the music, simply i li< k the Play bum in with the mouse. The software controls may give you more random, shuflle-plav, and memory options than your dedicated CD player! With newer CD-ROM drives (such as NEC's 3x- series units), you might not even need the software driver. Some smart manufacturers realized a CD-ROM drive is just like a portable CD player and built the audio controls into the drive. While some music CDs contain graphics that you may be able to view on your monitor, the CD+G (G for graphics) formal is now somewhat dated. The pro- portion of audio CDs with graphics is small, and tiying to find out which discs are CD+C is like hunting in the *- AmigaWorld } 5 C D SOFT W ARK dark. What's more, although CDTV can read the graphics from CD+G discs, an Amiga with CD-ROM driver software may not be able to. According to Xetec, most CD-ROM hardware does not support CD+G. A more recent graphics-based innovation in the audio CD world is truly interactive music where the artist provides the "building blocks" and the listener puts them together. Unfortunately, the discs released thus far from creative artists such as Todd Rundgren and Peter Gabriel are in Phillips' CD-I format (a competitor to CD'IV and CD32). A New Spin I'erhaps the must exciting development in CD software is full-motion animation. Amiga ANIM and Mac QuickTime animation formats are generally incom- patible, but MPEG, which is gaining popularity on all platfonns, is being picked up by entertainment soft- ware companies. Aris Entertainment's Americana is one title that uses MPEG animations to guide you through a miniature "movie" tour of America. Or, if you like chills and thrills with motion added, the Jurassic Park game can provide it. MPEG, like PhotoCD, is a licensed technology (C- Cubed), so you must have the right software to interpret and display the motion graphics. Thankfully, most pro- grams containing MPEG video include the driver. That's not all there is to the story, though. You also need MPEG hardware, and possibly a software link, as well. Commodore promises to release an MPEG module for CD32 soon, and has also discussed MPEG for the A4000. Owners of odier machines can get MPEG com- patibility through such boards as Digital MediaCaster (Digital Micronics), or an upcoming MPEG decoder from Scala. Be aware, though, that these hardware pack- ages do not by themselves guarantee the ability to play MPEG selections from CD-ROMs. Digital Micronics, for instance, says that special software, still under develop- ment, is necessary for compatibility. The expanding realm of CD-ROM holds much for Amiga users — especially for those willing to explore beyond the obvious. Abundant software — from graphics collections to applications programs using the latest technology — are available. And CD-ROM is destined to become more important: NewTek's announcement of its Video Flyer mentions that the software will be available on CD-ROM only. Developments such as MPEG and interactive music point the way toward an interesting future; we can expect not only more but also different kinds of CD software. If you are willing to experiment, this is an exciting time! ■ Julie Petersen is an award-winning computer artist, software designer, arid writer. She is hnown on line as Lady- Hawke@cup.porial.com. Music Software for a Song At The Blue Ribbon to the state-of-the-art. products, you '11 find • Bars&Pipes • Bars&Pipes Pro • MusicBox A • MusicBox B • Multi-media Kit • Internal Sounds • Pro Studio Kit • Creativity Kit SoundWorks, we're dedicated With over 20 Amiga music everything you're looking for! • Rules for Tools • Power Tools • Performance Tools • SuperJAM! • Classical Styles • Cutting Edge Styles • Dance Mix Styles • Movie Soundtrack « Pop/Rock Styles • World Music Styles • Triple Play Plus • SyncPro • One-Stop • Media Madness • The PatchMeister • The Miracle Tools Our experienced product support specialists can help you design the best music solution for video, multimedia, home recording or just plain fun... all at an excellent price! Can't Find It? Call Us! I»800°Z26°0SI2 404/315-0212 tel • 404/315-0213 fax 404/315-0211 bbs • CIS: Go BlucRibbon Amiga Artists AmigaWorld wants to see your stuff... still images in 2D or 3D, or even collages con- taining Amiga-generated works. We're build- ing a new catalog of Amiga artists and we want to include you! We'll keep your submissions on file and, if your work nr style fits our needs. Contact you. If we call, we will either ask you to create an illustration, or contract a completed work. We find il easiest to work with a slide, photo, or printout of each image accompanied by an IFF file (preferably JPEGged at 100':.. quality). Please indicate whether your sub- missions have been used elsewhere, and what software you used to create them. If you've worked previously as an illustrator or have oth- er related experience, send along a resume or short bio as well. Address your package lo: .'liuix'iill'rirM Art Submissions 80 Elm Street, Peterborough, NH 03458. "lo jfiont n fine fih tmr isfarmore ii iltmi to sett it," t-.ml Edward Aldcnlewell. mi scllin] mU is nothing I eh? Circle 72 on Reader Service card. 36June 1994 (uommand Oxxis powerful SBase4 Pro can handle a lot more than just three wishes when it comes to organizing your data and putting it to efficient use in customized applications. Follow this tutorial and we'll conjure up a sample database to show you how Pro can work its magic for your home or business needs. WHILE SUPERB ASE has been the Amiga's only viable full-fledged database program for some time, Amiga users haven't done much complaining about that fact. The program's latest incarnation — renamed SBase4 — is highly capable and versatile. We'll use it to set up a sample database that demon- strates some of SBase's powerful features — and offer pointers on adapting the example for your own business or personal applications. Oxxi distributes two versions of the program: SBase4 Personal (S 149.95) and SBase4 Professional ($299.95). The two programs cl i f f e r only in the degree of automation they allow, but most of the operations covered here will apply only to SBase4 Pro because we want to make particular use of some of those advanced Pro features., especially its DML (a database- programming language that allows you to write Basic-like programs to control applications) and its extensive Form Designer (which allows you to build custom applications that behave as if they were stand-alone programs). Links: Making the Right Connections Some of SBase4 Pro's superior power resides in its ability to handle relational databases, in which the user can ►• By Pant and Joe Rothman II.Ll'STRATKD BY BOH SCHl'CHMAN . ImtgaWorld s? I) \ T \ \ C M \l A N I) connect the information in several databases via links. For instance, if you were going to track customer accounts and payments, your database would be greatly improved with links. A typical ( usiomer-accnunts database would lohmsi of customer names, their addresses, and a list of pay- ments. One could make tip such a database using records whose fields look like this: Customer File Customer Name (indexed) Customer Address, etc. Payment One Payment Two Payment Three, etc. 889452 mm ^888254 02232 MULTI-SERIAL PORT ADAPTER $318.88 888963 1WF0 CHANNEL HflSTER UNIT S SU22.88 2 IH)&2 MO CHANNEL SLAVE UNIT 5 $(36.89 '888486 CHIPS 10 UPGRADE AMGffS TO 3HEGS C 888248 0518 RF HOMATi S COLOR tllDEO $35.88 ^'888355 CABLE DB25 MBLE TO DB25 FERflLE N 515,88 ir I p.i-ii M lata! _j ■ uiu i L„[t | rrmt | {^258.88 58.88 Retail Escort fluot* Font ¥2.3.4 - S 1991-94 Hr. " Extended $1688.88 $4288.88 $318,88 1 $1622,88 3 $1968.88 4 $488,88 3 $185,88 3 $45,88 ToUl 18258,88 iij_ ! JiUjMj_U^J_Ll SBase4 Pro's Form Designer allows you to build cus- tomized applications, like the form screen above, that work as if they were stand-alone programs. The index is on the Customer Name field, so it is easj to lookup customers by name. The problem is that some customers have three, four, or even more payments. Thus each record in the database must include as many I ic- U Is lor payments as the customer with the most pay- ments. Records for customers with few payments will wind up containing lots of blank lines. Also, as each cus- tomer makes payments beyond diose fields already in the dai abase, new fields would have to be added. The solution is to create two database files whose data can be linked. The files would have records that look something like this: Customer File Customer Name (indexed) Customer Address, etc. Payments File Payment Customer Name (indexed) In ibis example, the payments for each customer are separate entries. The link between the payments is the customer, which is indexed in both databases. (A link must be indexed in both database files.) The strength of the link approach isn't just that von don't lake up space with unnecessary blank lines. Searching and updating the dala is much simpler, as well. Wlthoui links, a search for a particular payment would email searching each possible field — first Pay- ment One. then Payment Two. and so forth. Using links, a search would look at the entries in a single Payment field and quicklv find the requested payment for that customer. Using links gives a much more llexible and usable shape to the data because you can regard ii as sepa- rate bits of information, instead of big clumsy blocks of data. Each payment account can be as large as needed, since the Payments file will allow unlimited entries For each customer. Linked databases must be displayed on a "form" (or si urn) created with the Sllase-I Form Designer. The Form Designer can be used to link the information together via two main tools: SB File Link and the Transaction lines on the Define menu. L\ct\ link operates on the principle of "lew in many." (here are comparatively few customers to be linked to ihe many payments. You can show as mam payment lines as will fit by multiplying the single pay- ment field with transaction lines. When a customer is selected, the form will display all the payments linked In that customer in the transaction lines. More payments ihan there are irausai don lines'- Here is where SBasc I Pro's DMI. programming language comes in. DMI. can be used in conjunction with on- screen buttons corresponding to two DMI. language commands: Select Form Next Page(todispla) morepay- ments) and Select Form Previous Page (to return to the pre\ ions page). By clicking one or the other of these bill- ions, you can access all ol the payments — no matter how many there are — in a given customer account. DML: A Smooth Operator Programs can be written in DMI. in automate opera- dons and make daia handling smooth and simple. When adding a new customer, use DMI. to enter the information into requesters. A DML program can automatically re-enter the customer name for each payment, so you don't have to type it over and over again. (Remember, the customer name hum he stored wiih each entry in the Pa) ments database file to satisfy the requirements of the links.) DML can do anything the SBase4 menus can do. and much more. There are many different kinds of requesters that can be used via DML. They can contain Yes/No or OK. 'Cancel bullous, exclamation points, question marks, slop icons, string gadgets to type information in, and editable text strings thai can say whatever you want. There's even a password requester that doesn'i show what's being tvped into it. DML use-- keywords, such as File, Request, If and Then, which are recognized as commands and are automatically capitalized when entered into the pro- gram editor. DML tan also employ filters and If Then logic to allow vour database to make decisions. A DML program to check your database for payments due would look somethiti"' like ibis: FILE "Payments" SELECT WHERE Due.Payments > = <= (TODAY + 14) TODAY AND Due.Payments 18 June 1994 D \ T A \ C M M A X D SELECT FIRST IF EOF ("Payments") THEN REQUEST "No Payments Due.","MOO,ok%:SELECT WHERE:END VIEW END The first line selects the File "Payments," while the next line sets up the (liter for any payments due between todav and two weeks from today. Line 3 moves to the beginning of the selected entries. 11' there are no pay- ments cine within that time period, 5Base4 detects an end-of-file marker (EOF) and a requester conies up indicating "No Payments Due." The filter is taken off with the Select Where command and the program ends. (In line 5. note that you can type DML commands on the same line ifilicy are separated by a colon (:).) If there are payments due within that lime period, SBase4 does not detect the end-of-file marker and skips the rest of line 4, It then goes on to display (View) the first payment due and the program ends. While ihis program runs, a subprogram can check for past payments that have already been made. II you put a GOSU B on the second line, it will skip to another part of the program, run the subprogram, and then SBase4 Pro Tips & Tricks ou you construct your database, and then use the SBase4 Pro Form Designer to label the fields with their correct designations. #2 You can enter date information into your database in any number of ways: with separators or spaces, {3/1/94, 3-1- 94, 3 1 94) or with leading zeros (030194) where appropriate. No matter how you enter the date, it will always be dis- played using the format you chose when you set up the file. Tunes can be entered in military format or with AM or pm. Either way, the AM or I'M indicator will show after you hit Return. #3 An important section of the Superbase Professional 3 manual was inadvertently omitted from the Superbase Pro 4 and SBase4 Pro manuals. The section deals with command-line options and Icon ToolTypes. Some of these items do not have equivalents in either the SBase4 Pro menus or DML programing language. The format and functions of the command line options are: SBase4Pro [-cj [-r] [-fformname] [-p] [-s] [-2] [-1] -c Selects custom screen. -r Disables Returns (Chr$(13)) when writing to disk files. -f Loads specified form at startup time. -p Removes control panel. -s Removes scroll bars liom SBase4 Pro window. -1 Removes sizing gadget and disables window sizing. -1 Sets interlace mode on for a custom screen. Use the AmigaDos Stack command to set the stack to 20000 before running SBase4 Pro from the CLI or Shell, The following Icon ToolTypes are also supported: SCREEN =WORKBENCH SCREEN =CUSTOM SCREEN =LACE RETURN =ON RETURN=OFF SYSTEM=NOPANEL SYSTEM =NOSCROLL SYSTEM=NOSlZE Use Workbench screen Use custom screen Sets interlace mode on custom screen Enables Returns Disables Returns Removes control panel Removes scroll bars Removes sizing gadget #4 A new feature has been added to the SBase4.ini file that will allow greater control of screen pen colors when building custom database applications. This feature is explained in the Pens.Readme text file, which is automatically copied into the same directory as SBase4 Pro by the installation program. #5 Since database file access is extremely disk intensive, a hard disk is highly recommended. Even a fast hard disk will benefit greatly from a disk-caching program such as Michael Berg's PowerCache shareware utility (PCACHE.LHA in Amiga User library 9 on CompuServe; file #22427 in GEnie's library 4). The more complicated the application, the more disk-caching software will help speed things up. □ — PR &JR Amiga World 39 I> \ T V return to where it started, as in the following: FILE "Payments" GOSUB pastpayments \ ■" pastpayments: UPDATE Pastdue.Payments = "N" WHERE Due.Payments < TODAY and Pay.Payments > END UPDATE RETURN 1 his subprogram operates in similar fashion lo the SBase4 Process/Update menu option, but works in the opposite order. The line beginning with UPDATE is the operation to be performed, such as marking up- to-daie payments as not past due. The line beginning with WHERE is (he filter line to instruct SBasc-l which entries will be updated. The third line, END UPDATE. returns control to DML, while RETURN' goes back to the program line beneath the GOSUB. If yon want to use check boxes or radio buttons in a form, DML can control them for you. When placing a check box or radio billion, you set variables to make it go on or off, such as checkbox'/? = for no check mark in the box, and checkbox',! = 1 to display a check mark in the box. For example, the following program would turn on the check box: checkbox% = 1 VIEW END DML can also extract information from your data- base and display it within a requester. For instance, if you want to know how much money is past clue, a sep- arate program could be put on a buiion marked "Due" as follows: FILE "Payments" SELECT WHERE Due.Payments < TODAY SELECT FIRST IF EOF ("Payments")) THEN REQUEST "No Past Dues!","",113,ok% :END due% = WHILE NOT (EOF ("Payments")| due% = Due.Payments + due% SELECT NEXT WEND dueS = "S" + LTRIMS( STRS (due%,4,2K + " is Past Due." SELECT WHERE REQUEST dueS,"",100,ok% FILE"Payments" VIEW END This program sets a filter for any payments that are past due via the Select Where command in the second line. If the program doesn't find anyone who owes yon money, it will bring up a requester with an exclama- tion-point icon in it that says "No Past Dues!" If it does find past-due payments, ii will go through each entry with the program lines between WHILE and WEND. When the end-of-file marker (EOF) is not detected, it will add each past due amount to the variable due%. The program then turns due9f- into a text string and puts it into the Request command, as in: "$424.56 is Pasi Due." You can also change the filter so the program can check past-due payments for a single customer, instead G \1 \I A \ I) of checking all pasi-due accounts, as follows: FILE "Payments" SELECT WHERE Due.Payments < TODAY AND Customer Name. Payments = "George Smith" SELECT FIRST IF EOF ("Payments")) THEN REQUEST "No Past Dues!","",113,ok%: END due% = WHILE NOT (EOF ("Payments")) due% = Due.Payments + due% SELECT NEXT WEND dueS = "S" + LTRIMS( STRS (due%,4,2)| nameS = CustomerName. Payments + " Owes" SELECT WHERE REQUEST nameS,dueS,100,ok% FlLE"Payments" VIEW END fhe resulting requester might read: "George Smith Owes $37.85." You can see that the filter in the second line and the wording in the requester (line 13) have changed, but the rest of the program is essentially the same. Since the program editor has cut, copy, and paste functions just like a word processor, such changes are easy to make. The power of DML is virtually limitless. With more than 100 DML commands available, you can exercise nearly complete control over the operation of a custom database. Fancy Forms SBase4 Pro's extensive Form Designer can be used lo create forms with far more advanced features and enhancements than those contained in our fairly simple examples. You can choose from a wide variety of screen resolutions, colors, and fonts. You can set text in italics, bold, or underlined, fields can he labeled. Outlined, resized, justified, moved about, and aligned to an adjustable grid. Create bullous, boxes, circles, and lines lo enhance the on-screen aesthetics of your forms; sixteen area-fill types and six line lypes are available to choose from. In addition, vim can add depth and dimension lo buttons and other gadgets, and you can also use stan- dard IFF images as backdrops for your data. You can even control the object-display hierarchy of all the ele- ments that make up a form. For example, text can be displayed over images, boxes, or circles. Each screen element can be made printable or noupriniable as you desire. No matter what type of data you need to keep track of. or how simple or complicated the database required to manage it. Sl'.ase-l Pro can provide ihe magic to gel the job done efficiently and effectively. Whatever your wish, this program probably has the command to grant it. ■ Pam and Joe Rothman run Mr, Hardware Computers, a 100% Amiga dealership in Central Islip, New York. Besides having contributed to a variety oj Amiga publications since 1986, they also produce high-end database applications based an SBase4 Pro. Contact (hm c/o AmigaWorld, Editorial Dept, 80 Elm St., Peterborough. NH 03458. 40 June 1994 The bfsi Initios in Lift Hue... Part Two concludes our C-language tutorial with more examples and a few pointers. The best tools. The best support. The best cross-platform standards. All of these characterize C, the most widely tised programming language in the industry today. C is well worth knowing, and last month we introduced a two-part series on the language that included a couple of examples. This article will expand on that introduction (if you haven't seen Fart One yet, you might want to study that first; it begins on p. '59 of the May '94 issue). This time, I'll provide more complex exam- ples of C and I'll offer some tips for going further on your own. The Power of Functions: Example 2 In the previous examples, we used various types of functions. Now it's time to write one. The commands in Example 1 (see Part One) draw a box. A box is a pretty common shape — one you might want to use again and again — so whv not build a C function that draws it? That's what Example 2 demonstrates. In all C programs, the C compiler wants to know about an item before it can use bT Dave tlnrniE ILLUSTRATED HYJOEI. PETER JOHNSON imigaWorld 41 I V N G U A G i: P A K T 2 ample 2 This example demonstrates user-defined functions by building one that draws boxes- This function then proceeds to draw four boxes of varying sizes. #indude "turtle.h" void boxfint size) { PenDownf); Forward(size); Rightist)); Forward(size|; Right[90|; Forward(size); Right|90|: Forwardfsize); Homed; } void main(void) { OpenTurtleO; box(SO); Right(90); box(40); Right(IBO); box[30); Right[270); box(20|; CloseTurtlej); } Here's what Example 2 draws onto your screen. that item, so first we must create the box() function. Consider now the size of the box. It doesn't make much sense to write box()just to draw 50-pixel boxes. So box() is given a "parameter" variable. This para- meter is called "size," and it is of type "int." which is C- language notation for "integer." Except for this, box() contains the same movement and turning functions as Example 1 . An extra Home() call at the end returns the turtle to the home position so that subsequent functions don't have to figure out where box() left the turtle. Note also that the group of statements comprising box() are enclosed in braces {}. C uses braces when a set of statements are to be treated as a whole. finally, look at the main() function. First the turtle is opened, then box{) is called. When box() is called, the parameter "size" is set to the corresponding argu- ment value, which is 50. Next, the turtle is moved by 90 degrees, and box() is called with a value of 40, which becomes the value of "size" for that execution ofbox(). This continues for boxes of sizes 30 and 20. While this example shows just one parameter, you can define C functions with man}' parameters. As we saw with the printf() function in (he "Hello. World" example last month, parameters can be of various data types, not just ints. In C, all parameters are passed "by value." This means the parameter is a copy of the argu- ment, not the argument itself Parameters changed within a function have no effect on the argument. Variables and Loops: Example 3 The box() function is modified in Example 3. though it still does the same thing. Here, a "loop" is used to repeal a set of instructions several times. The first line in box() declares a local variable, called count. This is created with no predefined value, and exists only within box(). A variable, whether local or parameter, behaves much the same way. Because count starts with no defined value, the statement "count = ();" sets the value of count to the integer "0." Count is defined as the "control variable" for our loop. C defines three kinds of loops; this kind is called the do/while loop, and it is always executed at least once, A set of braces defines a statement block for the loop, much as they have before for function definitions. This loop calls the Forward() and RigluQ routines. Next, it assigns the value of the expression "count H- 1 " as the new value of count. Since count was originally 0, its new value will be I once this statement is executed. When the "while" keyword is reached, the expression in parentheses is evaluated. In this case, the value of count is compared to the constant 4 by the relational operator "<." Hie result is 1 if the test is true, if false. Execution passes back to the top of the loop as long as the result is not 0; otherwise it continues at the state- ment alter the while () expression. Once count reaches 4, the loop terminates and the turtle is sent home. The main() function shows a different kind of loop — the "for" loop. In C, this loop takes three statements. The first is run only once, before the loop starts. That sets the variable "angle" to in this case. The next Statement is a test. Before going through the loop, this expression is evaluated. If it evaluates to 0, the loop is terminated; otherwise a single pass is run. When one pass through the for loop is completed, the last state- meni is evaluated. In this example, the angle variable increments 20 degrees. The sequence continues: test- >loop-> increment, until the test produces 0. In the example, the loop finishes once angle reaches 360 degrees. This illustrates the power of a loop. This loop exe- cutes 18 times as it is now set up. By simply changing the loop, different figures can be drawn with little change to the rest of the program. The next program shows this, with a dillereni iteration mechanism. Recursion and Command Parameters: Example 4 Our final example includes sidio.h and stdlib.h, two standard C libraries. A few C library functions are used here, l hough most C compilers come with hundreds of library functions. Next comes an integer valued function, subl(). This function lakes an integer parameter, "num." and returns "iium - 1." In a C expression, subl(num) is 12 June 1994 <: l v \ (i I \ (, I ]■ \ K T identical to (num-1 ). Vou would not normally write such a Function in a C program; this is shown here to illus- trate a function with a return value. More of these arc used in "turlle.c" itself (see Listing A from Part One), Following is the graphQ function — an enhanced version of box(). Upon close inspection it should be noted that graph(size,0,90,4) is similar to box(size). Rather than use a loop, graphQ is said to he recursive — it is used in its own definition. In early languages such as FORTRAN and BASIC, a function cannot call itself. In C, this is perfectly legal, and also quite useful. All recursive functions must have a termination ease, just as a loop does. In graphQ, the value of count is checked in an "if statement. When the expression given to if evaluates non-zero, the statements in its block are exe- cuted. In this case, move forward by "size" pixels, rotate by "angle" degrees. Next, it calls itself with a pos- sibly larger size, the same angle and growth rate, and a count parameter set to one less. This is the impor- tant part. Because count is always decremented, it will eventually reach zero, so the recursion will terminate. This function is deceptively simple. When called with odd angles and large counts, graphQ can produce com- plicated spiral pictures. The illustrated example was made by calling graph( 1,2, 256,300). Note that since the turtle graphics routines were purposely kept simple, graphQ will often draw into the borders of its window. This may look ugly, but it doesn't hurt anything. The main{) function introduces a final concept. I. mil now, the examples have relied on constants you supply in main(). That's fine for some simple boxes, but if you're willing to play further with graphQ, there is a better way. Most Shell programs, the C compiler included, take arguments on the command line itself, after the pro- gram name. C has a standard wav of accessing this infor- mation. Until now, main() has been declared without parameters, but in fact, C can pass two parameters into mainf ). The first, traditionally called "argc," is an integer that counts the number ol arguments passed (the count is always one more than the number of arguments). 'Hie second is an array of strings, each string corresponding to a command-line parameter. In C, a "string" is an array of characters of any length, ending in the *\0' character. In most cases, an array parameter can be written as arrayf] or *array. There is a distinction, bin il isn't impor- tant at this point. In any case, the notation *argv[] indi- cates "argv" is an array of character arravs. The main program first tests to see if the argument count is 5. In C, the operator " = = " is a test for "is equal to." while "=" is the assignment operator. These are different in most oilier languages; be careful not to gel them confused. As I mentioned, command-line arguments are passed into a program as C strings. The standard library function atoi() converts a string to an integer value, which is what graphf) is expecting. You can produce the Example ! picture from the CLI as 1> exam pi e4 1 2 256 300 This example also does simple error processing. If the aforementioned test on argc fails, the statement in the conditional's "else" clause is executed. This simply passes a string to the printfQ function, which will tell the user the proper command-line format lo use. Going Further I hope this article series has helped get you started in Example 3 Mere is a demonstration of local variables and two dtffereni loops. This example uses the box function lo draw a fancy graphic made by a loop of rotated boxes. #include "turtle. h" void boxfint size) { int count; PenDownf); count = 0; do{ Forward(size); Right(90); count = count + 1; } while (count < 4); Homed; } void main(void) { int angle; OpenTurtleO; for (angle = 0; angle < 360; angle : Right(angle); box(SO); } angle + 20] { CtoseTurtled; > Turde Graphics Window B Given a loop of rotated boxes, a turtle creates fancier graphics. C. language. While ii alone cannot teach you any prac- tical amount ol C, a start may be all you need. With your C compiler installed and a little hacking with the turtle package under vour belt, vou may be ready to try more programming. Most compilers come with examples vou can learn from. Compile them, change them around, learn how they work (see last month's "Resources" sidebar for more information on playing with public-domain sample code). The sidebar "From Here to C" lists common func- tions in C along with their BASK' and Pascal equiva- lents. If you're familiar with another language, or jtisi plain adventurous, von might try some of these. I recommend gelling a book on the C Language if you're serious and don't already have one. There are numerous books on C in the computer section of most *■ ArmgaWorld43 c l a k g i ; a <; i: P A R fpon Here To C It seems to be popularly accepted that no one should learn the C Language as a first computer language. After all, C is terse, C is cryptic, C is for professional use only, isn't it? The answer, in a word, is no. C can he terse, and it can be cryptic (there's a contest for this held every year on the Internet), but it doesn't have to be. Nonetheless, lots of people do learn another language first. If you're learning on your own, you probably learn BASIC. In a school course, perhaps Pascal. The same basic constructs are present in most computer languages. If you know one language, learning the second is much easier, though it is important to realize that some languages, particularly traditional BASIC, tend to encourage poor programming practices. Use what you already know, but try to learn what any new lan- guage adds to the art of programming. The table below summarizes some simple similarities. Construct Structure Statement AmigaBasic by line Block no general blocks CI ID _f,, . A CTATIr 1 Procedure Function Comment SUB p(x,y) STATIC N/A REM Data Declarations Integer 1 6-bit Integer 32-bft Integer Single float N/A i% ifj f! Double float Character Dynamic strings Fixed string Array Structure f# N/A $ N/A DIM a(n) N/A N/A rui 1 i [1 ■ 1 Operators Basic Math Modulo Bitwise Logic Boolean Relations Catenation + -*/() MOD NOT AND OR XOR use logical = <> < > <= >•= + Reference-to Dereference Selection VARPTR(a) PEEK(p) N/A Index x(a,b,c) Assignment Control Conditional IF exp THEN ELSE Switch END IF Head Loop WHILE exp Tail Loop WEND N/A Index Loop FOR i = x TO y STEP z NEXT Highspeed Pascal ";" delimiter BEGIN ... END; PROCEDURE P(x:type,y:type| FUNCTION F(x:type,y:type) : type (* ... "> VAR i: Integer; VAR i: Integer; VAR i: Longlnt; VAR f: SinglB; VAR f: Real; or VAR f : Double; VAR c: Char; N/A VAR s: PACKED ARRAY|0..n] of char; VAR a: ARRAY[0..n] of datatype; RECORD ... END; VAR p: " datatype; +'-*/<) MOD NOT AND OR XOR SHR SHL use logical + Ptr(a) ptr~ v.field x[a,b,c] or x[a][b][c] IF exp THEN BEGIN END ELSE BEGIN END; CASE exp OF a : ...; b : ...; END; WHILE exp DO BEGIN END; REPEAT UNTIL (exp); FORi:=xTOyDOBEGIN END; ANSIC ";" delimiter {...} void Pltype x, type y) type P(type x, type y) r ... */ inti; short i; long i; float f; double f; char c; N/A char sin}; datatype a[n]; struct { ... }; datatype *p; + -*/<) % - & | A >> << 166 || = = != < > <= > = strcat(] 6a *ptr v.field xMlbHcj if (exp) { } else { } switch (exp) { case a ; ...; break; case b : ...; break; } while (exp) { > do{ } while (exp); for (i = x; i < x+y; i = i + z) { ■l-IJum- 1994 L A N G 11 A G P A R T Example 4 Recursion and command-line arguments come into play now. Example 4 defines a more flexible version of the box function; it uses recursion rather than iteration for its definition and produces complex Spirograph -type drawings. #include "turtle.h" #indude #include int sub1(int num) { return num - 1; } void graphlint size, int grow, int angle, int count) { if (count I = 0) { Forward (size); Right(angle); graph(size +grow,grow, angle, subl (count)); } } void main(int argc, char *argv[]) { rf (argc == 5) { OpenTurtleO; PenDownO; graph(atoi(argv[1]),atoi(argv[2]),atoi(argv[3]),atoi(argv[4]|); CioseTurtlel); } else { printf("Please enter size, growth, angle, and count\n'); } } a Turde Graphics Window |[& i$\l 'if- Spirograph? No, a turtle with a recursion-defined box function. bookstores. The C Programming Language by Brian W, Kernighan and Dennis M. Ritchie was at one time the defini- tive work, but it is now dated. Most, books provide an adequate reference, but make sure you get a newer one that mentions the ANSI standard. 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PAGE : C8MA1560TRISYW: MONITOR S1O.50 523.70 $712 55.59 $20.79 ..S5.50 53.96 .55.00 518.75 .59.59 .S9.59 .59.59 ...51.45 ..51.98 ..52.45 .52.10 ..53.85 51.52 SHOD ...SI.50 ...S0.97 ..,58,00 ... 52.03 .51.62 ...51.75 57.00 ..S5.3B ,' 55.50 ..53.54 .511.55 .510.90 53 M 5175 $210 52,16 5465 SC PLAYER . .....S1.19 51.19 52.73 . . 51.05 - 50.69 . _ 51.19 .- 52.79 . $70) ... S10.33 57.51 ; . : 50.75 S6.50 ... 54.24 ..54.95 ...53.00 515.00 ;..;■ =5; ;f ...S55.3B .5175.5: ...S425.0O CDTY3104 CDTV45I1 ECU 1832 EDU 3245 EDU355! EDU3S27 EDU 3590 EDU 3582 EDU 3583 EDU 35S: EDU 4261 EDU 4565 EDU 5602 GUIS 0561 GMS 1570 GMS 1770 GMS 1S42 J"; 2^:: GMS 2832 GMS 2842 GMS 2921 GMS 3242 GMS 3549 GMS35S5 GMS 3593 GMS 3955 GMS 3973 GMS 4134 GMS 4362 GMS 4407 GMS 4434 GM54516 GMS 4576 GMS 4713 GMS 4938 GMS SOD] GMS 5023 G'.'S 6335 GM3J135 GMS 5162 GMS 5173 GMS 5191 GMSE304 GMS 5305 GMS 5306 GMS 5337 GMS 5341 ' ■: - GMS.SSSi GV3 34?: G'.'S 5412 CIS;:-; GPH 0153 GPH 1761 GPH 2364 GPH 2378 GPH 2756 GPH 3143 GPB3156 GPH 3222 GPK372S GPH 3772 GPH 3787 GPH 4021 GPH4111 ■'-■:■ GPH4Z72 GPH 4262 GPH 4283 GPK.IJI3 GPH 4319 GPH 4360 GPH 4991 GPH 5003 GPH 5082 GPH513I GPH 5151 GPH 5171 GPH 5405 64K MEMORY CARD CDTV _ S3T.50 SHERLOCK HOLMES: THE CONSULTING DETECTIVE $17.49 BARNEY BEAR MET SANTA ..... 53.50 MAVIS BEACON TYPING $1459 AUDIO GALLERY SPANISH _ 518.09 VOYAGER S22.49 FRACTION ACTION 55.99 AESOP'S FABLES S5-99 WORD MASTER S7.50 ALL ABOUT AMERICA 57.50 AUD O GALLERY ENGLISH FOR S=AMSH SPEAKERS 520.44 INTELLITYPE SIM DEC I UW. 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PORTS OF CALL SOCCER KID ONE STEP 8EY;ii- ■■ vmolile DIGITAL SOUND S1JDID softwaie. o mjllifaceied progmn for sampling, editing, yang compos ei i cm. siereo ioiini play bod and MOD fotrmii song He ((cation TBCPlus Professional qualify, all digital time base corrector with reai-tlme frame grabber and 1 6.7 million color frame buffer PLU programmable video special effects! Comb Filter Option ... $ 99 9£ Omi if MQMbt Iw T/( will tiMS ttlw tail Frame RAM Option $ 199 95 1 ME eitra Fiase RAM; iraj^ave speciot efkls liiil A4000 G-FORCE 040 WITH 4MB RAM! Now you can accelerate your Amiga 4000 and expand Hie RAM in one product! The GVP G-FORCE 040 is 40-MHz, and will expand to 32 MB RAM on board. PLUS: You can add an optional SCSI II and/or RAM Adapter Board. NO ZORRO SLOT TAKEN! Compatible with A3000, Newtek Video Toaster, Centaur Op a I Vis ion, GVP EGS Spectrum, MacroSystemsllS Retina, and Picasso II • Now $ | COO available! I J7/ EEZ3 i GVP A4000 G-Force 040 40MHz/16 MB ...2399 EE3 B SCSI II Option CALL PhonePak 2.0 A complete voice mail system for your Amiga! If you would tike to have automated, scheduled, time/date stamped voice mail and faxes with unlimited mail boxes, the ability to fax from any program that prints, catl in remotely, and more get PHONE PAK VFX 2.0 tH s 285 M EGS 28/24 SPECTRUM rtlBG GO BEYOND AGA GRAPHICS with this real-time, 24-bil, true-color graphics enhancement fard. Programfnablefesoliriioits up to 1600x1280! 800x600 In 24-bit! Incudes a custom display pass-lhrgifg.li cobfe lor single : monitor use. Many applications are ready to ion end It iniludes the acclaimed EGS PAINT as a I bonus, loo! Bimg workstation pawei to your Amiga! EXCLUSIVE! NOW GET IMAGE F/X 1.5 FROM GVP for s 19" |EGS tanipaliblr; soon| /J'l 1 TT'I ^firlivi.l pfcSM $ 499 Image F/X 1.5 EGS offer valid only wiHi purcho&e of EGS. kept past 30- duyMHG.SIV.v5lt Order Hotline U.S. Orders 800-8728882 Canada 800-548-2512 NEW GAMES 5705 TOTAL CARNAGE AGA 33.95 NEW BENEATH A STEAL SKY CALL ' NEW DARKMERE - CALL NEW MB. 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SANSERIF' 1395 VIDEO FOOTS: SAN SERIF 2 1995 VIDEO FONTS; SERIF 1 19 95 VIDEO FOOTS: DECORATIVE 1 19 95 VIDEO FONTS: DECORATIVE 2 19 95 PUBLISHER FONTS - DECORATIVE FONTS PRO PAGE OSHtWE FONTS ... PRO PAGE TEMPLATES 5TUDIOPRWER SOFTWARE CAD SOFTWARE DYNACAOOSD . DYNACAD0 3-D CLIP ART AND TEXTURES TEXTWECiTYCDFtOM TEXTURE CfTY PROW VOL' lEXIUflEClTYPFtOMVOL 2 .. SOFTCLIPS VOLUME I SOFTCUPSVOL.III SOFTCLIPS VOL. III. SOFTCUPSVGLIY . WORD PROCESSING FWAI WRlTERjf.EVt ALL THE FEATURES OF FINAL COPY II PLUS «69 UK 4701 NEW DTP FEATURES) FINAL COPY 11 RELEASE 2. PRO WRITE 3 3 PROPER GP.MMAfl II SCANNER ACC. MICE ASDG HPIIC SCANNER DRIVER EPSOM S€f;R DOC FEED CABLE.AHISATOEI UlC RJD SV.im 300 Opt 3 BUTTON MOUSE .. ALPHA:. '.':■! 00OPI ALPHA DATA MEGA IAOUSE 400 DPI 2-BUT CD32 TITLES TOTAL CARNAGE C032 ERUTAl SPOR1 ■ ■_ LABYRINTH OF WECD32 THE CHAOS ENGINE CEii MICROCOSM 11995 r 3lS5 Professional Publishing] Pagestream 2.2 OEM #1 in Amiga DTP, Winner of Amiga World's Experts' Choke Award and Amazing Amiga's Users' Choke Award*. Upgrade to 3.0 for only' 1 25" $ to 95 PageStream 3.0 PogeSh-eam 3 .0 has over 1 000 new features, including AGA color, recordable ARexx, and the ability to load ProPoge documents. COMING SOON TypeSmith 2.0 CREATE & EDIT YOUR OWN TYPEFACES! "A must have" -Compute! "A must have" •Amazing Computing "It's a mustl" -Amiga Format CALL FOR PRICING ON PAGESTREAM 3.0!! Creative Computers Color Monitor • 14" Phillips tube • .28 dot pitch • Full OverScanning (no black borders) • Supports all new modes (including Super 72) Tested with the most < current versions of the Monitors Drivers. 499* 42E3- 24-pin printer ap-3250 HigheU quality, high speed dot matrix printer for the a ^^. ^«- Amigal 19? NO ONE HAS MORE AMIGA DTP THAN CREATIVE! CD-HOM TITLES 5259 GOUATH.CLIPASTWAREiOUSt ST29 .JWB0EESOURCEUBrOT¥ OVER 500 OBJECTS IN UCHTWJKE. DMOHE I DXF FORMATS 1 100 SEAULESSTEKTUHE MAW . . 1t&« MRU UEDCA 1 am m» nECAien*! „ ■ _ajs 5DJ FRACTAL FRENZ* own n musts in of format ims S72T S3PSHFONTS OVER IMC TYPE 1 POSTSCRIPT FOOTS — _. 1B.95 5729 GAROEWIC i . )S,B S7M BUSMESSiUBALFORIO IMS 53i6 LANGUSOEOS CD-ROM . :. 5«3 SPACE 1ASTRONOMYCD-10M 5342 ELYSIMi ARC WES 1995 .1995 5333 53M 5219 VBI KWa — r.snr w _ KtrorsGiSLS PROVOCAWEt. FORMAT . MUST HAVE VKWTEX OACOHVS1TTOIFFTOVWK. .. CD-PIOM DRIVES ; 3XE MUITJSPM EXTERNAL 599.95 S 3X1 MUtTiSPlN INTEflNAL 512.95 C 3XP MULTISPIN PORTABLE 4S9.0O TQSHiSA [XMHMB NT ERNAL2X SPEED 379 95 MAXTOR HARD DRIVES MAXTOR 734SA1DS 345KB . 335.00 MAXTOR 7345S SCSI 345MB 365,00 MAXTOR 7245 SCSI 245MB 299 00 c reative COMPUTERS Prices good through May 31, 1994 Minimum Order is $20.00 in U.S.A. Minimum Order to Canada is S50.00 Minimum Foreign Order is $100.00 HAVE YOU always wanted access to the massive volume of CD-ROM software, objects, fonts, clip art, graphics and text information, but couldn't afford the drive to get started? WELL NOW YOU CAN!!! Primera Full-Color Thermal Printer Media Vision CDR-MV2 CD-ROM Drive* • SCSI-based drive. • No caddy required! • Single-speed operation, • Comes with cab e, SCSI terminator and power supply •One-year warranty. TheMedia Vision CDR-MV2 also works as a audio CD player, so you can listen to music while you work. The CDR-MV2 has more abilities than your home system and allows you to catalog your CD collection! True 4-cotor printer designed to give you stunning, high quality color oupul on paper, transparency, even T-shirt transfer paper! Winner Best of Comdex 93 "Rookie" Award. It was the hit of World of Commodore, too! One year warranty. Photo- realistic upgrade avail- able. Includes Amiga driver software! The CDR-MV2 comes complete with: ASIM CD-ROM Driver v2.0 OEM Version Gold Fish Double CD-ROM 1 thru 1000 uncompressed. Texture Heaven CD-ROM How many of you want to digitize audio but have your CD player in another room? Now for you Multimedia folks who need 16-Bit audio, the included Audio CD player program is AREXX-ready! Emplant Users! | Take Advantage of your SCSI port! Mac CD-ROM deals available: Encyclopedia Bundle Home Bundle Reference Bundle World and U.S. Alius CDs Family Doctor CD, Complete GuinrKif Book of World Gf oiler;' Encyclopedia CD ShakMpecre CD, Audubon Bird; CD, R« Prices valid through May 31, T994 Call for latest pricing & availability! Order Hotline U.S. Orders 800-872-8882 Canada 800-548-2512 SYQUEST REMOVABLE DRIVES 61945 VMDQUEST 105MB EXT, W/CART 559.00 5352 VIVIDOUEST 105 3.5 INT, W'CART - 2-WAY SCSf CABLE 469.00 61241 105MB CARTRIDGE 75.00 61944 VIVIDQUEST 88C REMOV. EXT. W/CART4e9.00 5353 VIVIDQUEST INTERNAL SBC REMOV. DRIVE W/CART, + 2-WAY SCSI CABLE 450.00 3304 BSMB CARTRIDGE 97.00 MISC HARDWARE 5737 X-CAUBUJU40CK)33MHZACCELERATOR12«.95 1657 BIGFOOT12004600&500PWRSPLY .. 85.95 5036 BIGFOOT 2000 POWER SUPPLY 139.95 5379 DATAFLVER4000S25 99 95 5178 FAST LANE Z3 SCSI-2 W,0K ZORRO III .. 494.95 5153 A4091 SCSI-2 CONTROLLER 299.95 45265 PICASSO 1 GRAPHICS CAHO W.1MG .... 449.00 5615 PICASSO II GRAPHICS CARD W 2MB . . 499.00 MEGACHIP5O0.'2000W.' AGNUS 193.09 511 MULTIFACE ill 10 EXTENDER BOARD ..86.95 3881 MULT1STARTIIREV6A 5582 KOSS 7001 SPEAKERS 5583 KOSS HD4SPEAKEH KIT 5628 PRO MIDIINTERFACE - .'. 5297 ALPHA DATA DISK DRIVE 1164 TAC-2 JOYSTICK 5639 PYTHON 1 JOYSTICK WAUTO FIRE 5640 APACHE 1 JOYSTICK VY/BIO CHIP .. H QUANTUM HARD DRIVES 4356 170M8 ELSSCSI HARD DRIVE 1B900 3136 270MB SCSI 2 VEftY FAST LPS.- 29900 S2 270MB IDE-VERY FAST LPS - .. ,28500 >37 340VB LPS SCSI'S 369.00 63194 540MB SCSI 2. .699 00 5508 108GIG SCSI 2EMPIRE SERiES J99C0 I SGig SCSI 2 PRO DRIVE 9 5ms 3 5 - HH1299 00 22.95 25.99 49.50 29JK.- ..9.95 VISA At CREATIVE WANTS TO BE YOUR ONLY SOURCE FOR AMIGA PRODUCTS! IT YOU DON'T SEE SOME- THING LISTED, PLEASE ASK! We offer the lowest overnight rates in the business** DHL OVERNIGHT f O CANADA AS LOW AS s 15 WORLDWIDE EXPRESS U.S. Robotics Sportster on THE BOX 1 50 L-MzGA Makers o/RernouUi Now you cart have the reliable mass storage medium used by Hollywood professional*! Used by developers at NewTek, by Amblin Imaging (seaQuestj and Foundation Imaging [Babylon 5\. Amiga World says "...the cost and reliability of Iomega Bernoulli drives can't be beat!" Bernoulli means security for yaur data! THE BOX 150 is an external drive with famous Bernoulli reliability! Each cartridge holds up to 150MB of storage. BERNOULLI THE BOX 1 50 INSIDER Internal version of THE BOX 1 50. M95 1 4.4 Kbps High-Speed FAXModem from an industry leader in telecommunications A serial coble £ ^^ Q K is required to V ^^M 7*J o use ihis modem with Amiga 199 EiKinxi IVrMA TRAPFAX Class 2 Version FAX from any program. Network aware. 2.0 look and feel, graphic output incredible! Phone book, automatic send and receive, timed faxing, fax viewer with zoom and aspect adjustment. Requires 2.04 OS <^%^%Q5 or higher, 51 2K RAM. ' 99 Ml AMID DltPJl DATAFLYER Finally a hard drive that is truly practical. The DotaFtyer 105SQ features proven SyQuest removable technology. Special version direct from manufadurerwi (hour special driverguorantees compatibility with the A4000 including diskchange! Fast access times, 14msavg., 1.6 lo 2.3 MB/sec. max transfer rate (to and from media). Unlimited storage with 1 05MB cartridges. Very quiet unit. Small, only 3.5 x 1 " drive. 2 Year Warranty. Includes one 105MB cartridge. 45561 DataFlyer 105SQ Internal IDE A4000 #5653 Data Flyer 1 0S5Q Internal SCSI for Amiga! ... s 465' 5 #5654 EtataFlyer IOSSO External SCSt for Amigas ... S 545' s NEW DatoFlyer 270SQ Internal IDE for Amiga* ... ! 639" NEW DataFlyer 270SQ Internal SCSI for Amigos ... ! 639* 3 CALL FOR SPECIAL PRICING ON 105SQ/4000S BUNDLE DATAFLYER 4000S with Extemol 25DB SCSI connecter. #5379 NEW LOWER PRICE! DATAFLYER XDS IDE -Add external (inexpensive] 3.5" IDE hard drives to A 1 200 systems. Comes with all cables and external case! #5267 dec-. %95 95 .J 105MB idges ji S 69 95 DATAFLYER 1 2 005 is a standard SCSI card mat plugs onto hSe IDE header and converts it to SCSI. It still allows the use of IDE devices and does not fake up o slot. NEW! Coming Soon - first week of June availability. s 99 95 CR EATIVE H AS ALL THE HOTTEST AMIGA PRODUCTS IfLt FREE MONTAGE 24 Software with every OpalVision! MONTAGE 24 PALVISION MAIN BOARD The core unit of the modular OpalVision system. A true KMJ, Z4-D/f name buffer, it operates in any Amiga with a video slot, hallows smooth fading of pictures, color-cycling effects, and smooth, double buffered 24-bit animation. Includes connectors to the Video Processor and Scan-Rate Converter/TBC (optional modules}. Includes a wealth of software. he popular, best-selling 5 Software is yours for the taking. But only for a limited time. Just purchase an OpalVision Main Board * jtween April 1 and Jun« ), 1994. Send Centau evelopment a copy ■ " ' dated invoke with name and address an Card and they'll send you a free copy of MONTAGE 24 for OpalVision. Centaur Development will even pay for the shipping am handling fees! MONTAGE 24 features teck'ree font staling, embossing and shadowing, color spreads and trospci cnty effects with an effective resolution of I nanosecond. The many image processing capabili- ties of MONTAGE 24 include iranslu- ceacy blending, image compositing and beveled boxes. ft JxV sJ ilVlsion Main Board , P4-— Hih > Processor GfflDiliCS & Scan Rate Converter/TBC System OpalVision Workstation #2 Amiga 4000 Computer OpalVision Main Board, 10MB RAM, 240 MB HD Installed $f%t% Af%% and ready to go... 2849 Consr's tently rated the best image processing software an the Amiga, OpalPaint allows you to easily create your own images or enhance and modify existing framestores. In addition to image processing, it has powerful pain ting and drawing capabilities. A full range of tools, real-time, full 24-bit. ,...,.. ,.,.. ■ Ifif ' OPALPAINT SOFTWARE includes an expandable library of image processing modes, texture mapping, color and transparency gradients, multiple work modes, nozzle brushes and many other tools OpalAnimMATE plays animations at rates of up to 60 frames per second. It works in 8, 12, 15, 18 and 24-bit modes and features selectable screen sixes from 32 x 20 to 768 x 286 pixels. OPAL PRESENTS! Every main board includes Opa/j Presents!, an icon-driven presentation program offering complete display j control of OpalVision images, Amiga j graphics and live video. Create sales presentations, clip libraries of your work, educational videos or whatever you can 1 1 iBl » ■ ■ iiinii i_i ill • • / Presents! imagine. 1 ] : ... 16 Million colors, Superlative 32-Bit Painting, Awesome 24-Bit Animation, and now... Professional-Quality Video Titling! JMBGI Centaur Development WINNER AMAZING COMPUTING READER'S CHOICE AWARD 1993 "BEST GRAPHICS CARD" $ 399° BONUS!! Buy anything from Creative Computers and you can purchase AMIBACK 2.0 - great drive back-up utility software for ontfmi* (OEM Version) -* g J Wj Limited Supp! Mediapoint 3 "Better than SCALAl" If you want to creote, combine and synchronize graphics, text and animation with audio and video, you'll need MediaLink 3.0 software. Meets CBM Guidelines for look and feel, including menus! 40 window transforms, and 80 smooth wipes. Import 24-bit graphics, remap and scale. Supports EGS, AGA, PAL, NTSC. Sizable windows. MIDI and SMPTE support. Text editor. Thumbnail previews. ARexx support. Optional remote support. Full OS 3.0 support. VERSION 3.7 Creative will provide furure upgrades an all purchases from Creative. #565 1 Ciicln 13 on Render Service card nal remote support. $ 289 Video Heaven ^fB^hva Cr vmpuiBrs Order Hotline U.S. Orders 800-872-8882 Canada 800-548-2512 Byrd's Eye Software Color Special Effects for Amiga 4000 Based Video Toaster System Swipes! ta kes full advantage of the Video Toaster 4000's graphic abilities, adding two full banks of colorful, dynamic effects including: • Color Transperency Effects • Special Effects Overlays • Color Animated Transitions • Alpha Channel Dissolves ByrdJ's Eye Software Integrate GVP's Paint Directly on the Video Toaster's 24-Bit Program Output witfi: B| ImaOjeFX wlttl ft* TOASTER FX The Replacement Paint, Image Manipulation and Special Effects System for the Video Toaster Now with ToasterFX and GVP's ImageFX, working with Video Too ster graphics becomes a TR LIE "What-you-sefris-what-you-get" operation. Perform painting, image processing, morphing and scanning - all directly viewed on any Video Toaster's output buffer. Bundle Package includes Toaster FX, ImageFX and ImageFX Video . ; 329" £2£IJ W * ^ lcmserFX requires GYP s ImageFX soflwcre For aperolkrrt (ImcgeFX lot incfudedl. Video Twsler wflwore 3.0 or higher required- Direct pairling on ihe Forcler's program aulpjl require 2MB Chip RAH 119 HI-DENSITY FLOPPY DRIVES! Power High-Density External Floppy Drive. #5367 only $159 NEW! DKB 4091 SCSI II HARD DRIVE CONTROLLER A new high-performance board that allows your Amiga to connect to SCSI II devices. With full Zorro III implementation. Direct Memory Access |DMA). Fast SCSI-2 implementation. Now access CD-ROMs, Removable Media, Scanners, Modems and more wirii more power thon ever before! 299 95 DKB 3 128 The "must-have" Toaster add-on! Now you can crush the 16 meg fast RAM barrier! With the DKB 3128 you can access up to 128 megs of contiguous memory. Compatible with either the Amiga 3000 or 4000. Eren $ 295 MegaChip 500/2000 with Agnus chip Add another megabyte c of Chip RAM! 189 Required to run Toaster 3.1 upgrade ' DKB A 1200 CLOCK Add the convenience of rime- keeping and accurate file date stamping to your AMIGA 1 200 at the LOWEST PRICE EVER! (Hurry - limited Supply!) H H-j DKB 1 202 BOARD Now DOUBLE THE SPEED of your Amiga 1200 just by adding this board and RAM. Comes with math-coprocessor socket and ^| clock, plus 2 slots for 72-pin RAM. CREATIVE PLUGS YOU INTO THE LATEST HARDWARE! LightWave without the Toaster? The solution is LIGHT RAVE LightRove is a custom hardware module that emulates all of the Toaster functions needed by LightWave 3D™ . It enables any Amiga to run LightWave without requiring a Video Toaster to be installed. UGHTRAVE adds a suite of professional features never before available to Wave users. LIGHTRAVE will renderimages faster than a Toaster equipped Amiga, as no lengthy display time to the Video Toaster™ is required. iiiium • Compatible with all Amiga models • True 24-bit display - render to Opal Vision, DCTV, Retina, IV24, GVP EGS and Amiga AGA • FASTER than a Toaster equipped Amiga • Requires: Lightwave 3D or 3.0, Workbench and Kickstart 2.04 or later • EGS support may require Image FX TTTOl RENDERS DIRECTLY TO PAL RESOLUTIONS • FASTER HAM RENDERING • IMPROVED FRAME STORE SUPPORT • LIGHTWAVE 3.1 COMPATIBLE! LOWEST PRICE ANYWHERE d 1 . 1 FutureVideo ~~- - : ' EditUnfe 3300 WKKM A/B Roll Edit Control System Multi-tasking edit controller can sync three VCRs simultaneously. Can read Hi8 RC Time Code, 8mm TC, and SMPTE/EBU TC (optional). Includes control software for Amiga, as well as IBM and Macintosh. Easy to use A/B Roll editing software lets you set edit points, assemble, video insert, A/V insert, audio insert editing. PRICED TOO LOW TO QUOTE! Eureka 1200 Expansion Card for the Amiga 1 200 4 MB RAM Expansion 25MHx 68882 Math Coprocessor & Clock \&dd DataFlyer SCSI 0pffon...W i B4g| BLACK BELT SYSTEMS Imagemaster R/t vL5 A brand new image manipulation product. Designed to replace imagemaster and Image Professional. New features oflmagemasterR/tincludenewunified filesaver, newmultiframe processor, new Radial Wave, newmorph controls, newGuossian Blur, faster display, loads Toaster alphas, new area select tools, tablet support, unlimited zoom and pan, "onionskin" compositions, Toaster framestore support, Online Help. The January issue of Amiga World says "Imagemaster R/t is a tool no serious artist should be without!" Support Opalvision, Firecracker, AGA . #5282 Video Toaster A4000 orkstation jjjl'J'J -'J f J r J ( J Syj'ijpujs/ ■> I bv/iiJ: V'id^j'f^'Juiar ■> 'j-\-j >\\l> i-Jurd Dfhb VideoToaster 4000 ...Price too low to quote New from fnnovision Technology! MONTAGE features real time font staling with Ins effective resolution. Automated sequencing. Hetwork quality 24-bit titles & graphics! MONTAGE for the Video Toaster 316 95 MONTAGE 24 for AGA, IV24, OpalVisian, NTSC 226 95 MONTAGE 24 far AGA, IV24 OpdVision, PAL $ 226 95 Circle 13 nn Reader Service card Accessories BUSINESS/UTILITIES Compuiars Order Hotline U.S. Orders 800-872-8882 Canada 800-548-2512 Hours: Mon. - Fri. 7am - 6pm Saturday 8am - 5pm (Pacific Standard Time] USE OUR TOLL-FREE INTERNATIONAL ORDER LINES Australia 0014-800-125-712 Denmark 0434-0297 France 0590-1099 Italy 1678-74086 Japan 0031-1 1-1351 Netherlands 06-022-8613 Norway 050-12029 Switzerland 046-05-12029 United Kingdom 0800-89- 11 78 £222 4923 5106 3899 5245 52S0 4124 5105 tM'VlVJUJtm'hWtS: HO PAGE, MORPH PLUS, CED. ,£R 350 SCRIPTS AND - RENDERING ; EXPANDS Ay z m \ 9 ^ . Order Hotline: 80Q-872-88J r OUR POLICIES ilea -rime cIPef expires S.'3 I 54 and only oppheilo Ihe ifldiCQT-sa proa wet* Vou mult CQil Cuitomer Service to obtain a Hoi urn Author :olian number, Delate lending in* ii*m(i) Dock TTie> ■toir-tJ) muil tj* In original condition and In anginal packaging, wllh blank wocanty COid No damaged items mil be acctfpied Jtefunds Is tued within U dayi ol leceial al the returned Hem (M. Refund It limited to 53.000 per cuslomer Ho relunds on fr»iQh1 or lobar charges. CUSTOM I Sfftt FCI 'or t»cn support call 31 0-543-2292 liom 1 1 a.m. to 7 p.m. PST. ' - Ha by Federal Esipiess t* not available in oil areas Those Extended Areas" tales Two days Check with yaui local Fedetal Express notion (or detivery confirmation and delivery limes COD"s add it-Ho Personal /Company Checks Call lor all otfter shipping Information All advertised prices are CASH prices. VisoMaitei Card sam* Ol cetfi. D