ChamSys
MagicHD User Manual
Version 1.6.5.0
Monitoring for new files, and converting them, are background activities and do not impact
playback. MagicHD only looks for changes to files, or the addition of files or folders. Any files
already in place when MagicHD starts will be ignored. To trigger conversion of existing files just
edit the file or folder name: adding or removing a leading zero is sufficient. Within MagicQ PC, the
menu item Media Player → Convert Media can be used to force MagicHD to re-convert everything
in the
convert
folder. This can be useful if new media has been prepared
in situ
before starting
MagicHD.
The criteria for triggering conversion (rather than just copying the media) are:
Movie content
Action
Non I-frames
Converted to .mp4 (H.264 video [3]) with all I-frames. Note that this
process decompresses the video, usually resulting in a much larger
file than the original.
Audio
Converted to 2-channel stereo 16 bit PCM if present.
Video codec
Any content encoded with the jpeg2000 or cinepak codecs is
converted to H.264. These codecs have been found to cause problems
with thumbnail extraction.
Pixel Format
MagicHD can only decode a fixed number of pixel formats (the
representation of colour data within each frame). Content that uses
unknown formats is converted to H.264 with a known pixel format.
Pictures and text files are copied unchanged, as are any movies that already meet the criteria above.
If you wish to exercise full control over the quality and format of your content, prepare it offline
before placing it in the conversion area. If the content meets the basic criteria of all I-frames and no
audio, it will not be converted, thus preserving the original quality and format.
This diagram illustrates the relationship between the
convert
folder and the resulting media:
User files
Resulting media
.../MagicQ PC
.../MagicQ PC
│
└─ show
└─ convert
└─ media
├─ 10myclips
├─ 010
│
├ 1_sky.avi
│
├ 001_sky.avi
│
├ 2_planets.mp4
│
├ 002_planets.mp4
│
└ 3_concert.mov
│
└
003_concert.mp4
(1)
├─ 011_masks
├─ 011
│
├ 10_mask1.bmp
│
├ 010_mask1.bmp
│
├
30_mask2.jpg
(2)
│
│
│
├ 30_mask2a.jpg
│
├ 030_mask2a.jpg
│
└ 40_mask3.png
│
└ 040_mask3.png
└─ 99text
└─ 099
├ 001_banner.txt
├ 001_banner.txt
├ 2_story.txt
├ 002_story.txt
└ 9_orion_lyrics.txt
└ 009_orion_lyrics.txt
Note:
(1) 3_concert.mov was converted to .mp4 because it was compressed video.
(2) 30_mask2.jpg was overwritten by 30_mask2a.jpg because both files had the same media
number.
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