[Boatanchors] Status On Halligan Video
Duane Fischer, W8DBF
dfischer at usol.com
Sun Nov 20 03:29:18 EST 2005
The company that was selected to produce the digital video product encountered
technical format difficulties They did not initially anticipate during our early
on discussions. As of this date, they still have not resolved them. Thanks to
the assistance of several Hams, not boat anchor family members, yet!, who are
employed in the video production field, I have found the answer myself.
Not the 'cause'! But an answer, as in solution.
The original digital video disk had both the actual video files and ninety-two
additional .tif files in separate directories. None of the .tif files were in
any way affecting the two directories the digital format uses for video and
audio files. Yet the software used to produce the master DVD, a glass master,
was somehow seeing the .tif files as non-video files and demanding that the
format be changed to one compatible with the ones in the DVD video and audio
directories. Which is not possible to do.
Even though this temporarily stopped the production of the video product, it has
actually turned out to be a good piece of what seemed at the outset like bad
news.
Many of those who requested the video product planned to play it on a stand
alone DVD unit, not their computer. (You can view the video on either a computer
having a DVD drive or by using a stand alone DVD unit connected to your TV)
However, you can "NOT" access the .tif files from a stand alone DVD player!
Commercial DVD products often include additional fillers, teasers and extras
that require a computer to enjoy. This is stated on the products case.
Although you may play the video on either/or, you must use a computer having a
DVD drive to view the additional ninety-two files.
For whatever the reason, about twenty percent of those who ordered the package
did not read about the contents of what was on the DVD. All of which is shown on
the HCI web site. Numerous mentions were made, both here, on the air and in
private e-mails. No matter, as the video would play and the rest could just be a
pleasant unexpected bonus. unless of course, the person did not have a DVD drive
in their computer!
It turns out that the drives used in computers are very liberal and will work
with a reflection percentage as low as 60%. This is why a DVD will work in
almost any computer out there! There is a price though, isn't there always! The
resolution is lower, failures are more common etc. The stand alone units require
a reflection percentage of at least 80%, and many even more. Hence, it is not
uncommon for a DVD to play in a computer and fail in a stand alone unit!
Because of the technical format issues encountered by the company in southern
California, I was forced to consider an alternative. This resulted in my doing
considerable research into the topic, something I had no intention of doing
originally. Let's call a spade a spade, gentlemen, I am totally blind and I
can't see the video on the CRT or the TV! Hence, I never even remotely
considered doing any of the video work myself. All those rumors about Duane's
Braille TV that he can 'feel' the Playboy channel... Well, all I get from doing
that is fingerprints on the screen! I obtained similar copies of the software
and did some experimentation on my own while waiting for the company's technical
wizards to solve their issues.
When I asked on this list how many planned to play the video on a computer and
how many were going to use a stand alone unit, the results surprised me. All but
one of you were using a stand alone unit! This immediately complicated things,
as that format is far more difficult to generate than the very liberal one for
the computer! That gave me an idea! And when the old blind Magician/Illusionist
gets an idea, get out of his way people! Seek immediate shelter in an
underground bunker, abandoned missile silo or Cheyenne Mountain!
I decided to produce the video myself, since I already had the expensive
software and necessary hardware on site to do it. I would put only the actual
Halligan video on the digital video disk and all the .tif files in their various
directories on a CD. Then the video would play on either a more fussy stand
alone unit or the more generous computer DVD drive and those wanting to view and
print the various .tif files with their computer could do so. It also eliminated
waiting for the company to resolve the issue, and with the holidays fast
approaching, I had visions of Santa not dropping down chimenys come Christmas
with the much anticipated, and eagerly awaited, Halligan video and accompanying
original text transcripts, hand written letters, dozens of previously never seen
photos, original catalog images from 1933 (the first ad!), newspaper/magazine
clips etc. This would make people joyous! It would also mean I spent
Thanksgiving producing video and audio products and not going 'sighted' staring
at the TV hearing football games!
I plan to start shipping the DVD + CD on Monday November 21st and "if" doable,
no promises here!, the two CD set with them.
I have been putting in twenty-one hour days for the past two weeks now trying to
find a solution, then test it, have others test it, refine it, and then test it
again. I now have a product I hope will cover all the bases. If not, i will
solve them on an individual basis, as any issues that surface are apt to be
peculiar to each system.
One thing is for sure, it "IS" worth the wait! I appreciate all who have
contacted me with offers to help and for the patience of everyone involved. As
we have all learned, it is very rare that everything goes as planned, no matter
how much research and forethought went into the original plan. A quirk of fate
here may have actually resulted in a better product! I know that I have learned
more about video production than I 'ever' wanted to know!
Because all of the copies being shipped are certified, you should have read,
signed and returned by regular mail the copyright agreement you were sent when
you originally ordered the video and two CD audio package. If you have not sent
it back, please do so right away!
If you have questions, please contact me by telephone! I am way too busy right
now to handle e-mail. If you need my area code and number, send a request to:
netcontrol at w9wze.org
A friend is handling this, but she is not answering questions. Just sending you
back the contact info!
Thanks to all for your assistance, patience and participation.
Duane Fischer, W8DBF
Historic Halligan Radio Project
More information about the Boatanchors
mailing list