Newsgroups: alt.cd-rom,comp.sys.ibm.pc.video Path: cdrom.com!barrnet.net!decwrl!hookup!europa.eng.gtefsd.com!library.ucla.edu!csulb.edu!csus.edu!netcom.com!netcomsv!torii!kirk From: kirk@triple-i.com (Kirk Rader) Subject: Re: Reel Magic Card - how to play VideoCD's Message-ID: Sender: usenet@triple-i.com Nntp-Posting-Host: pak+ Organization: Information International Inc., Culver City, CA References: <2qpaj9$c3f@amsgate.ams.com.sg> <2qpg14$3fh@nuscc.nus.sg> <2qsprt$klt@amsgate.ams.com.sg> Date: Fri, 13 May 1994 13:44:01 GMT Lines: 58 In article <2qsprt$klt@amsgate.ams.com.sg> slim@amsgate.ams.com.sg (Lim Sau Tsien) writes: >Ee Poh Khiam Lincoln (fbap3010@leonis.nus.sg) wrote: >: Lim Sau Tsien (slim@amsgate.ams.com.sg) wrote: >: : Laurence Chiu (lchiu@crl.com) wrote: >: : : Out of interest, I hear the Reel Magic card allows you to play the >: : : new MPEG compressed VideoCD's. If you have a compatible CDROM drive >: : : and a VGA card with the right passthru connector, plus the Reel >: : : Magic card itself, what software do you use to play the VideoCD's? > >: : Yes. All CDROM/XA drive can be used to play VideoCD. Two software is >: : provided by ReelMagic to play VideoCD, a small test program and >: : the MCI driver. The MCI driver is the recommended one and when >: : installed will enable the Media Player (mplayer) of windows to >: : play even CD-I titles (provided that you have CD-I capable drive such >: : as the Sony CDU-33A drive with ROM version BC or better). > >: I've managed to get VideoCD's to play on the ReelMagic but have not been >: able to get CD-I (I've only tried "Smithsonian" actually) running. >: I rationalized that "real" CD-I titles actually have RTOS code that needs >: to be run by an actual CD-I machine to give you the "interactive" features >: and therefore there was no way to run that off a PC without some kind >: of 68x00 emulation. Am I mistakened and missed something here? > >I have no idea what "Smithsonian" CD-I is and thus cannot elaborate on >it. However, I am able to playback CD-I digital video titles such >as "Hunt for Red October", "Start Trek VI" and "Bonjovi" music videos. > >: Regards. > >slim... >-- >Lim, Sau-Tsien >AV/Information Research Center >Asia Matsushita Electric >e-mail: slim@ams.com.sg Addr: BLK 1022 Hougang Ave 1 >Tel: (65)381-5486 #04-3526 Tai Seng Industrial Estate >Fax: (65)285-7237 Singapore 1953 The CD-I spec (aka "The Green Book") defines not just the data formats for audio and graphical data but specifically mandates the use of a particular processor, 680x0, and operating system, CDRTOS (actually OS-9 with a few extensions to deal with streaming CD-I off the CD-ROM in real time using the CD-I specific hardware.) This sort of scheme is the only way to make sure that any software manufacturer's CD-I disk will play in any hardware manufacturer's CD-I player. Given the right combination of CD-ROM drive, controller, audio, and video hardware it is possible to play the so-called "real-time files", i.e. the audio, animation, and MPEG video clips, on a PC, but, as was stated earlier in this thread, to actually run the programs that are stored on the disk as well you would either need a real CD-I player, or a way of emulating the 68000 and CDRTOS on your PC. I have heard various rumours and proposals from time to time for a "CD-I player on a card" to fit into a PC that would do all of the above, but I don't personally know of any such products that are actually for sale. ------------------------------------------------------------ Kirk Rader kirk@triple-i.com