Re: Multimedia APIs

Mike Melanson wrote:
> 	I felt inspired to write another multimedia document of limited
> utility:

This is almost completely OT, but the phrase "limited utility" got me 
chuckling because I'm no better.  I was recently challenged by a colleague to 
write a video codec "of limited utility".  The challenge:

Create a video playback system capable of producing full-screen, full-motion 
video playback on an IBM PC/XT (4.77MHz 8088) equipped with a CGA card.  For 
extra credit, the scheme must support a low-quality/bitrate mode capable of 
streaming at least 30 seconds of video at 8fps or faster from a 360K floppy disk.

I'll pause here for a few seconds while you all stop laughing.  :-)

Here's the truly scary thing:  It is indeed possible.  Unless I'm making a 
horrible mistake, my initial tests and calculations show that the 360K 
floppy-disk version would be able to store 45 seconds without sound @ 8fps, 
and the hard-disk version would be able to play back 29.97fps with rudimentary 
Sound Blaster audio in as little as 64KBps, well within the playback rate of a 
10MB MFM hard disk of 1983.  The secret?  Anyone who knows how early SegaCD 
streaming CDROM video formats were constructed will figure out what I'm doing 
in short order :)
-- 
Jim Leonard ([email protected])                    http://www.oldskool.org/
Want to help an ambitious games project?             http://www.mobygames.com/
Or check out some trippy MindCandy at             http://www.mindcandydvd.com/


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