animation record start
Allows you to record the animation. The video file is saved in the current working directory.
Format:
animation record start |
|---|
image_prefix = | string |
image_type = | string |
avi_frames_per_sec = | integer |
avi_compression = | boolean |
avi_quality = | integer |
avi_keyframe_every = | integer |
mpeg_ngop = | integer |
mpeg_round_size = | boolean |
window_size = | integer |
Example:
animation record start & |
|---|
image_prefix = | ".jpg" & |
image_type = | jpg & |
avi_frames_per_sec = | 15 & |
avi_compression = | no & |
avi_quality = | 10 & |
avi_keyframe_every = | 25 & |
mpeg_ngop = | 2 & |
mpeg_round_size = | yes & |
window_size = | 2 |
Description:
Parameter | Value Type | Description |
|---|
image_prefix | String | Set the prefix used to name the set of files. |
image_type | String | Select the format: .avi, .tif, .jpg, .bmp, .mpg, .png, and .xpm |
avi_frames_per_sec | Integer | Enter the number of frames per second used in the recording. |
avi_compression | Boolean | Enters yes or no depending on whether or not the avi needs to be compressed. |
avi_quality | Integer | Enters a value or use the slider to set the image quality. |
avi_keyframe_every | Integer | Sets the interval between key frames. The default is a key frame every 5000 frames. |
mpeg_ngop | Integer | "1" is the same as not using "Compress using P Frames", and setting it to "12" means using "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). |
mpeg_round_size | Boolean | Specifies yes or no if size is to be rounded to multiples of 16. |
window_size | Integer | Enters an integer number to specify window size. |
Extended Definition:
1. 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).
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Some playback programs require the pixel height and width to be multiples of 16. Turning the mpeg_round_size option ‘on’ ensures that your movie plays in many playback programs.
5. One can successfully record .avi movies of animations even if during the recording other windows are placed in the foreground over top of the Adams PostProcessor window or if the Adams PostProcessor window is moved (for example, to another monitor) or if it is minimized. Though, in the case of window minimization, only the model animation records successfully; any adjacent panes of plot tracking animation will not appear correctly.
Caution: | AVI format is only available on Windows. |
Tip: | 1. Turn off compression to improve the quality of the images. 2. 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. |