Fullscreen mode, volume regulator (please read the
readme.txt file if you have any problems using it), SAA7111
control center. A few nasty bugs have been replaced by
a few even nastier bugs.
What is Buz Live?
If you are a proud owner of an Iomega Buz video capture
card, most probably you've noticed the lack of one important
feature. The software shipped with the card does not allow
you to watch live video in a scalable window on your screen.
Yes, you can start MGI VideoWave software but it does
not let you move and resize the live video window. What's
worse, it usually finishes loading five minutes after
your favorite movie is over... Buz Live is a tiny utility
designed solely for the purpose of watching live video
from your VTR, camcorder or any other source attached
to your computer in a scalable window, which may be placed
anywhere on the screen. As a bonus the program is also
able to freeze video and grab frames to clipboard. As
an extra bonus Buz Live can enable processing of SECAM-encoded
video programs (first releases of native Buz drivers were
unable to show SECAM video in color).
Program status
The program is freeware.
Supported platforms
The program was tested on machines running
Windows 95 and Windows 98. However, I don't see any reason
why it shouldn't work with Windows NT (of course, if you
manage to persuade Iomega
to release Buz drivers for NT... ;-{)
Supported cards
The program was written for and tested with Iomega Buz.
However, it uses high level Windows API only and does
not rely on any card specific feature. Therefore it may
also work with other similar video capture cards. I've
heard that it works fine with Xtreme TV tuner cards. However,
I do not guarantee that all functions will work with other
cards. Also please keep in mind that SECAM enabling is
specific for the Iomega Buz. It will not work with anything
else. Honestly speaking, I don't see much sense in using
Buz Live with other cards. I think that the manufacturer
of your card (unlike Iomega) has supplied you with all
necessary software.
Installation
Sorry, no automatic installation procedure
available. Create a folder and unzip the archive. You
may want to place the program icon on your desktop or
put it in the Start menu. Please read your operating system
manuals on these subjects.
If you live in a country where the NTSC TV standard
is adopted (USA, for example) you've done with installation.
Connect your video equipment (VTR or camera) to the
Buz input, start the program and enjoy.
Otherwise, you're in trouble and the tricky part follows.
If you live in a country where the primary TV color
system is PAL or SECAM (Russia, for example) you have
to edit the file buzlive.ini manually. Open it with
Notepad or your favorite text editor and change the
line
NTSC=1
to
NTSC=0
and save the file. Connect your video equipment (VTR
or camera) to the Buz input, start the program and enjoy.
Please note: you have to close the program, edit this
line and restart the program every time you want to
switch from NTSC to PAL (SECAM) or vice versa.
In case of any problems please look into the configuration
file (buzlive.ini) and try to change anything that looks
appropriate. I'm very sorry but the configuration program
is not ready yet.
Uninstallation
Since the program does not write anything
into the system registry and does not put anything in
other folders, no special cleanup measures are necessary.
Just delete all files from the Buz Live folder and the
job is done.
Known bugs
Have you ever seen a bugless program?..
There should be a few... Haven't found them yet, though.
Of course, this does not relate to the Iomega Buz driver.
Problems and questions
Please don't ask me what the first four
menu items (Source, Format, Display, and Compression)
are for. They're provided by Iomega driver so please redirect
your question to Iomega. If you don't know what the controls
in these dialogs are for, you better don't fiddle with
them. The most important dialog among them is of course
the Source dialog because it allows you to adjust brightness/contrast/saturation
of the image.
Please don't ask me why the Display menu item is always
disabled. You better ask Iomega why their driver doesn't
provide this standard dialog. I just ask the driver
which dialogs it is capable to show and enable/disable
my menu items correspondingly.
Please don't ask me what is SECAM and if there's a
single reason for you to enable it. If you don't know
what is SECAM and haven't ever heard the word then you
don't need to know anything about it and don't have
to enable it. If you do then please note that SECAM
can be enabled only when PAL mode is set via the Source
dialog.
Please don't complain that the picture disappears
or gets corrupted when you resize Buz Live window wide
enough. This indicates only one simple (and sad) thing
- your SVGA card or PCI bus on your motherboard is too
slow and cannot provide the necessary data transfer
rate. Strange enough - this problem is not a driver
bug as I thought before but a real hardware limitation.
Please don't complain that sometimes there are visible
gaps between window's border and live image. Ask Iomega.
Please don't ask why my program initializes that long.
You better ask Iomega why their driver may take up to
10 seconds to initialize itself.
Please don't ask me what this SAA7111 Control Center
is for. If you don't understand its purpose yourself,
you definitely don't need it. If you do, please keep
in mind that the best source of information for an advanced
Buz user is Rob Lohman's BuzHack
page.
Don't forget to visit Steve Haehnichen's Iomega
Buz FAQ page if you have a question or experience
a problem with Buz.
Are Buz drivers
cool?
I'll better keep silent because my Web
space is limited and I am not good in dirty English.
