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ShowMaster/ShowBuilder


Overview:

ShowBuilder and ShowMaster are the two parts of this CD-i authoring tool for the PC. ShowBuilder is used to define and assemble the basic presentations (called shows), to create the disc image containing your shows, and to record the CD-i compact disc. ShowMaster is the CD-i runtime display engine for the shows, and can also be used to define custom shows using both the data already recorded on the disc and user defined custom slides.

ShowBuilder:

ShowBuilder consists of three modules:

In ShowEditor the assets for a show are assembled and their order is defined. Asset types that can be used are:
Items to note are:
  1. Still images must be converted to DYUV format and, if needed, scaled to 384 x 280 (PAL size) prior to adding to a slide. The built-in converter can be used for this, or the images can be converted to DYUV and / or scaled to 384 x 280 using other tools.
  2. Audio must be converted to ADPCM B mono prior to adding to a slide. The built-in converter can be used to convert 16 bit RIFF WAV or AIFF PCM audio sampled at either 37.8 KHz or 44.1 KHz, or other tools can be used for the conversion.
  3. MPEG must be 352 x 240 (NTSC) encoded and multiplexed at CD-i bitrates.

NOTE: For a complete list of the file types that the built-in converter will work with, please refer to the ShowBuilder manual.

In ShowMaker shows created with ShowEditor are selected and ordered, and the default show is specified. Then a disc image of the CD-i disc is created.

In DiscWriter the CD-i disc image created with ShowMaker is recorded to a CD.

NOTE: DiscWriter does not presently work with Windows 95.

ShowMaster

ShowMaster is the CD-i runtime program for displaying shows created and recorded with ShowBuilder. Beyond simply allowing you to play a pre-recorded show off of the disc, ShowMaster allows for temporarily altering the default show from the one set in ShowBuilder, and for creating new shows using elements from any show recorded on the disc. Additionally, custom slides can be created for use with new shows.

Items to note are:

  1. Custom shows are stored in player memory. If you use a different player, the custom shows will need to be re-created on that player.
  2. Custom slides are stored in player memory, thus the same constraints as above apply.
  3. Changes to the default show are also stored in player memory and are subject to these same constraints.
  4. Due to the amount of available of player memory, a limited number of custom shows and / or slides may be stored at one time in a player.

NOTE: For further information on memory requirements for custom shows and slides, please refer to your ShowMaster manual.

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