Basic Amiga Vision Questions...

[giZmo350]

Hi all, just sitting here on rainy Sundy afternoon and would like a little info on Amiga Vision. It looks like a real fun program to create some interactive presentations. I found a new, still shrink wrapped, set on ebay that looks real nice. I Googled for info on AV and can't seem to find a Wiki page. So here are the Q's...
 
1. The guy doesn't say what version it is and I would like to know what the latest version of AV was produced so I can ask him (her) before I spend a fair sum of $$. (To get the best input/output support).
 
2. What format of files do I need for ready made music, pictures and video? Are there sources for these types of files readily available on the net? Public domain?
 
3. I did recently order Deluxe Paint 4 & Final Writer 97 for import possibilities... will they help in creating compatible input into AV? Would I need a midi program for any audio input? What's the best and most ompatible animation program to use for input? Would Deluxe Music (latest version) be of any help?
 
4. Can I use a modern digital camera to create video to import into AV (either using just the Amiga or with some help from a PC)? Put on CD first maybe?
 
5. Can AV create a compiled output file so that I can share the presentations with other Amiga folks without them having to use Amiga Vision? Can the presentations be inserted into webpages (sort of like a youtube video)? I don't want to go full blown toaster hardware - just keep things simple.
 
6. Would I need any special hardware for files to be used in Amiga Vision?
I'm going to use my A2000 for this - I have 2MB chip and 8MB fast ram - Amiga OS2.1. Will this be sufficient? The A2000 seems perfect for this if I need any additional hardware. I don't have an accelerator in it.
 
Thanks for any and all input!
Rog..........

[Matt_H]

1. The guy doesn't say what version it is and I would like to know what the latest version of AV was produced so I can ask him (her) before I spend a fair sum of $$. (To get the best input/output support).

Amiga Vision "Professional" should be the latest version - 2.something.
 

2. What format of files do I need for ready made music, pictures and video? Are there sources for these types of files readily available on the net? Public domain?

The traditional Amiga formats will work - ILBM, 8SVX, SMUS. I don't think it supports datatypes.
 

3. I did recently order Deluxe Paint 4 & Final Writer 97 for import possibilities... will they help in creating compatible input into AV? Would I need a midi program for any audio input? What's the best and most ompatible animation program to use for input? Would Deluxe Music (latest version) be of any help?

DPaint and DMusic should both produce usable files.

4. Can I use a modern digital camera to create video to import into AV (either using just the Amiga or with some help from a PC)? Put on CD first maybe?

If you convert it to an Amiga ANIM, you can probably use it directly. Otherwise, you'll need to Genlock it. The video features of Amiga vision were intended to be used with a serial-controlled LaserDisc machine, genlocked over the Amiga output.
 

5. Can AV create a compiled output file so that I can share the presentations with other Amiga folks without them having to use Amiga Vision? Can the presentations be inserted into webpages (sort of like a youtube video)? I don't want to go full blown toaster hardware - just keep things simple.

Standalone programs? Yes. There's also an AVPlayer (freely distributable) to run non-compiled scripts on other machines. Web embedding? Not a chance - this is 1992 software here. Although I suppose you could conceivably reverse engineer a version of AVPlayer that works as a browser plugin. If you're making rolling demos in AmigaVision (i.e., no interactivity) then you could of course convert them to a modern video format and embed them. WinUAE would be easiest for that.

6. Would I need any special hardware for files to be used in Amiga Vision?
I'm going to use my A2000 for this - I have 2MB chip and 8MB fast ram - Amiga OS2.1. Will this be sufficient? The A2000 seems perfect for this if I need any additional hardware. I don't have an accelerator in it.

Should be fine.
 

Thanks for any and all input!
Rog..........

Hope this helps. There's a good book on AmigaVision published by Amiga World Magazine. It doesn't reference the most recent version of the program, but it's still worth a look.

[SamuraiCrow]

The traditional Amiga formats will work - ILBM, 8SVX, SMUS. I don't think it supports datatypes.

It doesn't support datatypes but it does support AREXX ports so if you want to use an external music player like HippoPlayer for playing music modules, you can do that.

The palette cycling effects are supported but buggy.  I've gotten better results by making a regular IFF Anim5 with a different palette for each frame than I did using a traditional-style color cycle image.  The Anim player complains a little bit about a non-standard format but plays it back fine.

Also, not all effects support AGA on AmigaVision.  It was designed with Kickstart 2.x in mind when it was designed since Kickstart and Workbench 3.0 were just released at the same time AmigaVision Pro was.