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Chapter 1: Basic Concepts And Tips
Hardware vs. Software Playback
In most video-editing applications, you are generally asked to choose the type of
compression/decompression (CODEC) method for saving the file. This allows the files to
be exchanged between applications or between PCs. There is however, a difference
between the various CODECs. Some of them are software methods of compression/
decompression, and some are hardware methods. Software CODEC schemes do not need
special hardware to playback a video saved with a software CODEC format. Therefore,
video created with a software CODEC scheme (such as Cinepak) can be played back on
any PC and do not require a specific compression board. The disadvantage of software
CODECs is the time duration it takes for compression, and the fact that with decompression
(playback) there are usually dropped frames (which gives a “jerky” motion)
The TARGA 3000 system uses a hardware CODEC for compression/decompression. The
advantage of this architecture is that the TARGA can compress video in “real time”; which
means, as video is captured it is also compressed with no time loss. Added to this
advantage, when the video is decompressed on the TARGA 3000, there are no dropped
frames during playback. This capability makes the TARGA 3000 compatible with almost
all desktop animation and compositing systems for both video and key processing. And,
because TARGA created files are not TARGA specific, most equipment with hardware
decompression capability should be able to playback TARGA created files without dropped
frames. (Depending on the TARGA 3000 compression format chosen, playback could be in
real time as well.)
Note: Any file created (compressed) on a TARGA 3000 installed PC, but played on a PC which does not
have a card similar to TARGA, will retain its “full frame” capability, but may not retain the guaranteed
“full motion” (no dropped frames) capability possible with a TARGA 3000.
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