User:Trevj/Replay (software)
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{{Infobox software
| name = Replay
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| author = Sophie Wilson
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| released = {{Start date|1992|df=yes}}
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| operating system = RISC OS
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| genre = Multimedia framework
| license = Proprietary freeware
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In computing, Replay is a multimedia framework{{cite book|author=IEEE Computer Society|title=Proceedings, IEEE Compcon 97: San Jose, California, February 23-26, 1997|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=6AdWAAAAMAAJ|year=1997|publisher=IEEE Computer Society Press|isbn=978-0-8186-7805-9|page=128}} developed by Acorn Computers, capable of handling various formats of digital video, picture and audio under {{nowrap|RISC OS}}. It was written by Sophie Wilson and released in 1992 for the Acorn Archimedes.
The software allows {{nowrap|RISC OS}} computers to play videos on the desktop or full-screen. When reported on by Jack Schofield in The Guardian in 1992, it was described as "the highlight" of the recent BETT exhibition. He added that it "looks better than QuickTime".{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/Acorn_User_Issue_117_1992-04_Redwood_Publishing_GB#page/n17/mode/1up | title=News in brief | work=Acorn User | date=April 1992 | accessdate=29 October 2013 | pages=16 | issue=117}}
Features
Replay uses software decoding to render a 160x128 film at 25fps (ARM3) or 12.5fps (ARM2).{{cite book|author1=R. I. Damper|author2=W. Hall|author3=J. W. Richards|title=Multimedia technologies and future applications|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=K59QAAAAMAAJ|year=1994|publisher=Pentech Press|isbn=978-0-7273-1320-1|page=90}} Audio capability is for stereo sound of multiple channels.{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/Acorn_User_Issue_117_1992-04_Redwood_Publishing_GB#page/n104/mode/1up | title=Action Replay | work=Acorn User | date=April 1992 | accessdate=29 October 2013 | author=James, Paul | pages=103 | issue=117}}
Support for the file format was included before launch in packages such as Magpie and Genesis.
Components
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Files can be played via !ARPlayer, a standard desktop application which installs itself on the icon bar.{{cite AV media | url=https://archive.org/details/cdrom-riscos-replay | title=Acorn Replay CD-ROM Demonstration Disc (1992) | publisher=Acorn Computers | date=1992 | medium=CD-ROM}} The playback of audio alone is facilitated via !MultiSound, and the software's codecs are available as system resources via !ARMovie.
= ARPlayer =
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= ARMovie =
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= MultiSound =
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Development
Work by Acorn on {{nowrap|Replay 3}} was reported in January 1996.{{cite news | url=https://archive.org/stream/Acorn_User_Issue_164_1996-01_IDG_Media_GB#page/n10/mode/1up/search/replay | title=Acorn model range tweaked | work=Acorn User | date=Janury 1996 | accessdate=29 October 2013 | pages=11 | issue=164}}
= Codec =
Use of the codecs for video capture with Irlam Instruments' {{nowrap|Replay DIY}} expansion card typically result in one minute of raw video (around 37MB) being compressed to 5MB.{{cite book|title=Screen Digest|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=M1nvAAAAMAAJ|year=1993|publisher=Screen Digest Limited|page=65}} The compression system used facilitates 25fps from hard discs and 12.5fps from slower media such as floppy disks and CD-ROMs. An 800k floppy disk could typically store {{nowrap|12 seconds}} of compressed video at 12.5fps.
The compression process employs lossy compression on each sprite, as individual frames. Delta encoding is then employed to remove further unneeded data.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://archive.org/details/cdrom-riscos-replay 1992 Acorn Replay CD-ROM demonstration disc] at the Internet Archive
{{RISC OS}}