Animation Dashboard - Record
Animation dashboard -> Record tab
Lets you set up the options for recording an animation as a series of files, each containing one frame of the animation. Adams PostProcessor saves the files to your current working directory. Once you've recorded the animation, you can import the images into a third-party multimedia tool to create movies.
If the simulation control or animation control dialog box is in opened state in Adams View, close it before movie recording start.
To record the animation:
■From the dashboard, select 
, and then select 
.
, and then select . For the option: | Do the following: |
|---|---|
File Name | Set the prefix used to name the set of files. Adams PostProcessor appends a unique number to the prefix to form the name of each file. For example, if you specify a prefix of suspension, then each .tif file is named suspension_0001.tif, suspension_0002.tif, and so on. If you do not specify a name, the prefix is frame (for example, frame_001.tif). |
Format | Select the format: .avi, .tif, .jpg, .bmp, .mpg, .png, and .xpm (AVI format is only available on Windows). |
Frame Size | Select to define an area of the viewport (see Viewports) to record according to the values in Width and Height (see below). If the frame size exceeds the area currently on the screen, a warning message appears. You can fit the frame on the screen by resizing the dashboard, hiding toolbars, or increasing the size of the Adams PostProcessor window. Tip on Resizing and Resetting Interface Objects. |
Width/Height | Define the frame of the animation (see above). |
Next options are for AVI format only: | |
Movie replay rate | Set the frame rate. |
use compression | Turn off compression to improve the quality of the images. The default is compression. Note: When you set use compression when recording in AVI format, the playback program may restrict the size of image frames, usually to a multiple of 2 or 4. Therefore, your recording may appear cut off on one or more sides. The workaround is to change the animation window size before recording. |
Key frame every | Set the interval between key frames. The default is a key frame every 5000 frames. Note: When a digital movie stream is encoded with compression, the pixels of each frame are evaluated against previous frames (those designated as key) and only pixels that changed are stored. For example, a movie of a car traveling along a road can have many pixels in the image background that do not change during the entire movie. Therefore, storing only the pixels that change allows for significant compression. In many cases, however, it can degrade movie quality, especially with movies where a large percentage of pixels are changing from frame-to-frame, such as with wireframe graphics. Because Adams PostProcessor lets you set the key frame rates, you control both the compression factor and the movie quality. Movies with many key frames will have high quality, while movies with few key frames, such as the default every 5000 frames, will have lower quality. For a typical 20-second AVI movie of a shaded Adams model, a key frame rate would be 12. |
Quality | Enter a value or use the slider to set the image quality. |
Next options are for MPG format only: Tip: | |
Compress Using P Frames | Turn off the compression using P frames to ensure your movie plays in many playback programs, including xanim. It results, however, in a much larger file (up to 4 times as large). |
Round Size to Multiplies of 16 | Some playback programs require the pixel height and width to be multiplies of 16. Turning this option on ensures that your movie plays in many playback programs. |