InFoFax Volume 7 Number 12
Member Issue. 
To our regular readers.

Plug & Play pre COMDEX issue.

 (Previously InFoFax.)        Volume 7 Number 13 Circulation over 1,200

I would like to meet as many 'Plug & Play' readers as possible while at
COMDEX, so if you are going to be there please drop me an E-mail and tell me
your name and which booth you are on.  If you have something new and
interesting, that affects our industry, make sure I know about it, so that I
can mention it in the next 'Plug & Play.'
For those who are attending COMDEX as visitors, Panasonic are kindly providing
space for the IDMA on their booth number L1014 at the Las Vegas Convention
Center, so please come and say, "Hello."   It is a huge booth so we may take
some finding.
Thanks to the generosity of Panasonic, we are also able to offer a $50
reduction in membership during COMDEX.  Anyone visiting the Panasonic booth
and asking for the IDMA, has the opportunity to become a member for a year at
$200 instead of the normal $250.  If you want to know why you should join, see
below.  If you cannot be at COMDEX the offer is open to everyone, during the
week, Nov 16 - Nov 20, just send me an e-mail and I will send you the
application by e-mail.
Of course, the main reason we want you to visit the Panasonic booth is to see
a demonstration of their new M2X player.  This interesting new product won the
Gold award in the 'Best new Player, Peripheral or Software for 1998' category
at the IDMA seventh annual awards last month in Orlando.  
Also, being demonstrated by Rick Hallock of MTC is the 'CD Motion for M2' an
easy entry authoring software, which will allow you to create your own M2
titles.
If you have not realized it yet, M2 is being hailed as the missing link for
Television Based Multimedia.  It is an alternative to DVD, has most of the
advantages of DVD, but is much easier and quicker to get into.  So if your
'Boss' or your 'Clients' are asking you for a title with, MPEG2 quality video
and lots of interactivity, on a simple Multimedia player, make sure you visit
Booth No. L1014.

On the same booth, Panasonic and four of its strategic partners will also be
demonstrating real time video, graphics, storage and delivery using the
Panasonic's rewritable DVD drives and removable media. 
ATI Technology, LaCie, NSM Jukebox, and Sigma Designs will show Panasonic DVD-
RAM Drives Enabled with DirectShow, Digital Video Development/Playback, and
Rewritable DVD Storage Solutions.

Unashamed 'Plug' Have you been here yet?  (They have a hit counter so I will
know)

Christmas presents for all those Ladies in your life.  
Need a present for the women in your life; Wife, Mother, Sister, Secretary,
(Girlfriend)
Try this site for great jewelry at very good prices, delivered anywhere in
Europe or North America.  www.j-o-n.demon.co.uk   (I am not biased, it's my
daughters site.)
 New affordable CD-I development software.

I am often asked if there is a way that one can create CD-I titles without
using an expensive development station.  Well now there is.  A company from
the UK, are offering a CD-I Utility for Windows, at a price of $500.00
It is called Mogulike and it is a new and self-contained software utility from
Cambridge Multimedia.  Mogulike enables you to generate CD-i applications on a
normal PC, using Script2Disc software, with no authoring board.  

For those interested, Mogulike has the following features.

� Displays CD-I graphics files in a window
� 3 main utilities, Script Creator, Menu Creator, Playback and Analysis
� Compatible with Media Mogul scripts and menus
� Automatic mapping of OS9 drive to PC drives
� Very fast, most operations are instant
� Cut, copy and paste
� Logs playback to a text file
� Emulates saving variables to NVRAM
� Playback allows a project preview without building an image
� Keyboard shortcuts for most functions
� Logging of playback events and analysis to text files
� Example scripts, graphics and menus
� Comprehensive help file
� Includes separate CD-I picture viewer and CL7 converter
� Emulates saving/loading variables to NVRAM

To download a demo version: go to:
http://freespace.virgin.net/robin.burrows/cdiutil.htm or
http://surf.to/cdiutil
The demo version will enable you to work on one script and one menu per
session and Playback is limited to two branches.  The full version will not
have these limitations.  Please address any questions to the helpfile. 
If you still have queries email: [email protected]  Note that QHY and RL3
are not currently supported; also see the notes on DYUV in the help file.

The PC specification.  Runs on Windows 3.1, 3.11, WFWG, 95, 87 and NT. Display
setting should be 32,000 colors (15 bit).  You will need Win32s by Microsoft
for Windows 3.1, 3.11 or WFWG for 32 bit applications.

When Ordering please mention that you read about this product in 'Plug &
Play.'
You can order a copy of Mogulike by email: [email protected].  
Otherwise by fax: (+44) 1638 743 572  Or by phone: (+44) 1638 743 121.
Visit the Cambridge Multimedia Group website: www.cmgroup.co.uk



More news from Philips, Mastering and Duplication division.

As well as their top end DVD-Authoring line, (US$ 300,000) Philips intend to
introduce a very interesting alternative for smaller studios who want to get
into the DVD authoring business.  The working name is "ELDA" and they expect
it to sell for around US$75,000.
ELDA is a single PC Workstation dedicated to authoring DVD-Video titles.
An equally interesting offering is the solid state video player system, which
uses a PCMCIA memory card to hold short MPEG2 video clips for constant
repetition.
There is also a switchable sound system.  At an airport in Australia (Cairns)
the speakers switch on as the plane unloads and the sound follows the
travelers through customs and baggage claim before switching off when they
have all gone.  As people move around the concourse, movement sensors detect
their presence and switch the speakers on.  When there is no movement the
speakers switch off.

Complete sub $40,000 DVD authoring system

A company called Blossom Technologies has unveiled the first sub $40,000 DVD
Mastering System   It is called DaViD 4000. (That is how it is supposed to be
spelt.)
The Blossom DaViD 4000, provides a total Windows NT 4.0 DVD mastering
solution. This establishes a new price point for a wide range of applications
in areas such as corporate communications, education, commercial productions,
training, video content, archiving, multimedia display stations and much more.
In fact all the areas our members work in.  It is a complete solution for
encoding broadcast quality audio/video and mastering DVDs to DLTs or DVD-
writers. With the NLE option, it becomes an intermodal DVD authoring system.
This gives the user the power and flexibility to capture video, edit the video
including transitions, titles and advanced effects, then master the DVD. Add
the optional DVD-writer for "one-offs" and no system on the market offers this
power or flexibility. 

This authoring system features Pentium II processor, Windows NT 4.0 operating
system, built-in high capacity DLT unit, on board DVD playback system, 128MB
High speed Ram and a total of 20GB of hard disk space. DVD-MPEG2 encoding is
performed by a real time encoder subsystem that provides Composite and Y/C
video input. 

DaViD 4000 includes a powerful suite of tools to quickly master DVDs.  All the
authoring tools are included.  When the project is complete, simply transfer
DVD content via modem, or save it to the optional high-speed DLT unit, or
"burn" a DVD with the optional DVD writer.  With the optional Blossom NLE
subsystem, DaViD 4000 has the capability of editing video, adding transitions,
special effects, filters, titles and animations If you need instant DVDs, the
DaViD's optional DVD recorder is available. The DVD recorder is ideally suited
for quick "one-offs" or when sensitive data must be controlled. 

Every DaViD workstation includes 8 hours of training at Blossom Technologies. 
The DaViD 4000 is priced at $39,999.

If you are interested in more information, contact Blossom Technologies  at
http://www.blossomvideo.com  Please mention that you saw it in 'Plug & Play'

Don't Forget,

For those who want to try DVD, but to whom even $40,000 is way out of reach,
don't forget there is the MTC suite of DVD authoring tools.  For details, send
an e mail to [email protected].  MTC also has authoring tools for CD-
ROM, CD-I, VideoCD and now of course M2.
_____________________________________________________________
Plug and Play, the Interactive newsletter of the IDMA, is sent you by the
Interactive Digital Media Association. 5623 Spring Grove Drive Solon Ohio
44139 USA.
e-mail [email protected]
Telephone number (440) 349-9661 Fax (440) 349-3311
It is provided free to members and thanks to the generous sponsorship of
Panasonic, Pioneer, Sony, Sonic systems, Toshiba, Philips, and other
companies, it is sent free of charge to over 1,250 individuals involved in the
professional multimedia market.
Web-Sites:  www.IDMANET.org and  www.ICDIA.org
McGill Multimedia and Novare International host the IDMA and ICDIA web sites. 
The webmaster is Richard Maynard of Maynard & Associates.  [email protected]

About the Interactive Digital Media Association.
                                        
The members of the IDMA are all professional multimedia developers.  
Among these members are experts in every facet of Interactive Digital Media.  
Our member's client list includes most of the top corporations, in both Europe
and North America. 
Between them, they hold the key to success in this very competitive market
place.
The members of IDMA specialize in developing for Television Based Platforms,
such as 
WEB-DVD, VideoCD, CD-I and Panasonic's M2 multimedia player.
Successful developing for Television Based Multimedia requires years of
training and experience.  Our members offer both this experience and also
access to their clients, through the relation ships and trust they have built
up over the years.
If you are a professional developer, in the fields of Training, Marketing or
Kiosks, then you should be a member of the IDMA.
If you are a supplier to this industry, of such products and services as,
Authoring software, Disc replication, Video encoding or Playback equipment,
then your company should be a Sponsor of the IDMA.
If you are just looking for somewhere that you can get unbiased help and
information about; Which products to purchase; Who's services to use; The
capability of developers and most important the most cost effective platform
to use, then you should consult the IDMA.  

If you wish to join the IDMA please send an e-mail to [email protected]
____________________________
If for some strange reason you do not want any more copies of Plug  & Play,
just send me an e-mail telling me to stop.  (Please do not refer to it as Spam
it makes me very cross.)

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All Rights Reserved.