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Cinepak Jiffi?


Gunstar

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yes, it would be possible.

 

 

but that would require of lots of work and a lots of trashed cd-r :D

If you know how to make a cinepak cd using the tools already available, maybe you could start by using some command line video tools and batch files to do the automatic conversion.

 

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Is there really a point? Video on the JagCD is an interesting gimmick, but it gets old pretty quickly, especially given the (poor) video quality.

 

There's a point o me, and obviously others (like all the people actually making cinepack discs-hombrew AND Video61 movies, then there is a point). For the same reason some climb a mountain; becuase it's there. But beyond that, well... while HD video is fantastic, and I watch it often, many of us don't mind watching lower-res stuff still. I also have and still use CED, Laserdisc, VHS, SVHS,Video CD, DVD and even cinepak Jaguar CD's! I love watching video from my Jag! Nothing is obsolete to me, until it's broken and/or unrecoverable. Why do you think I still bother with a JAG?!? Or other classic systems?!? Aren't they also considered Obsolete and low res?!? It's all video man, games, movies, whatever. I like ALL new and old tech! I like to get the best quality possible out of each type of media, but I definately still enjoy watching the video collections I have for these formats.

Also, becuase I want to make my own videos and have cinepak editions as well as other stuff. I'm more of an artist than a software tech guru. While I have learned and forgotten to use a command line and cdrecord, etc. (for other things), and can learn how to do it all via command line and batch files, I want to spend my time making the movies, not the discs. I thought I'd ask becuase the software tech stuff is other people's art, my art wants to use their's.

I also have plans to release movies made by myself and a friend (not talking homemovies, but creative low-budget films). My friend already has films he made for sale on VHS and DVD and he wants to do them in cinepak for the Jag and possibly release them to the Jag community for free. Learning to create them myself is pretty intimidating and I don't have the money to burn through CDR's for testing. I want to share FMV of all types with the jaguar community, and cinepak is the way I want to do it.

 

It's FUN for many of us to watch FMV on our Jaguars, and make it too!

 

So there is a point, to some, if not to you. The important thing is the content. It's only a "gimmick" if not used in interesting ways.

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I was just thinking, a cinepak jiffi wouldn't really have to be able to accept multiple FMV formats, it could just use one popular video format and then transform it into cinepak and Jag CD image. The user could then just use some other random Windows video converter program to convert it into the compatible format. Unless Cinepak is still a standard format option on video conversion programs, if it ever was.

 

I just never realized how much I needed jiffi and didn't know it. Now I'd like to have it for Jaguar CD cinepak.

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well, I guess I'll have to study up on jagmod's tool and make my cinepak Jag CD's the hard way, one at a time through DOS. The thought of doing it like Jiffi would just end trepedation, knowing that the CD's will come out the way I want the first time and let me concentrate on making cinepak CD's instead of spending all my time getting ready to make the CD's. Making Cinepak discs with something like Jiffi instead of DOS is basically the difference between spending all day making an entire holiday dinner, or going through a drive-through for fast food, But, getting the same quality of food in the end.

 

I think if someone did make a cinepak "jiffi" we would see a lot more cool cinepak discs put out by people in the community that otherwise would never try. Cinepak only gets old if you are watching the same few FMV's over and over again. A variety of cinepak discs makes it fun and greatly expands the uses of the Jag CD. But I'm not just a gamer, I'm a video buff too, and I enjoy owning and watching as many video formats as I can. I currently enjoy VHS tape, Super VHS, CED, Laserdisc, JagCD Cinepak, VCD, DVD and blue-ray. It's more about using vintage and rare equipment and having an appreciation for it,than the actual picture quality. Though with my modern HDTV's and video upscalers the old stuff looks better than ever.

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Right, since my name has been mentioned here, I suppose I'd better give an answer on my behalf! (apologies to sh3 for having to post as my PR representative :)).

 

All CD tools we have made for the Jaguar so far have had a very weird development cycle. At the beginning only sh3 had a JagCD unit, which meant that to test the encrypter program, both sh3 and me had to be online and available (after all we live only live 3500km apart :)). I would fiddle with the code a bit, then send it to sh3, he'd run it locally and tell me how far the program got or what colour the background has turned to. This took 2 days of back-and-forth until we managed to get it working. Then it was CJ's turn with the ULS CD and loader which took a few days (and quite a few coaster CDs) to make.

 

At the time of writing, I still don't have a JagCD. CJ does but has zero interest in doing something with Cinepak. So the only way for me to do anything would be to have someone testing what I write on the fly and give me precise feedback (sh3 is really short for time at the moment. Although that should change soon, it doesn't mean we'll both be available - I also have my projects I want to dig into and so does sh3!). Also have a stack of CDs ready for burning and of course allowing for JagCD read errors from CDs it doesn't fancy reading, even if the code should work in theory. Also, I'm not sure if I'll have to transfer whole Cinepak'ed .cdi images over the internet for testing, which would mean lots of MBs transfered and of course a very slow code/test/crash/debug cycle (a real motivation killer). So, personally, until I get hold of a working JagCD and the inspiration to do it, I'll have to pass on the idea of making an automatic Cinepak creator program.

 

(that said, I've heard that offering people $500 cash prizes in open competitions can do wonders for Jaguar productivity, so you never know :P)

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