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The Enounce™ 2xAV™ Plug-In
Version: 3.06
Copyright © 1998-2001 Enounce, Incorporated
Powered by Enounce™ Time-Scale Tailor®
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US Patent #5,175,769 (Additional patents pending)
The Enounce 2xAV Plug-In for Windows Media Player is a component that enables Windows
Media Player to play a file and HTTP audio and audio/video streams at rates slower and
faster than normal. Currently, it cannot play streams coming from a Windows Media Server
over the MMS protocol at rates faster than normal. This is a limitation inherent to the
Windows Media Server, though Enounce has software in the works that will overcome this
problem. Over the next year, Microsoft has told us this problem will be addressed with
their Server.
After installing the 2xAV Plug-in, double click an .asf or .wmv file. Once the file has
opened, you will see a 2xAV Controls floating window that you can use to change the
playback rate.
This install has a 7 day demo period. If you wish to continue using the 2xAV Plug-In
you may purchase a a serial number from the Enounce e-Store which will unlock and activate
your plug-in permanantly.
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You can download and try the Enounce™ 2xAV™
Plug-In before you buy it! Enounce makes the 2xAV Plug-In available for free for a week.
If after seven days you decide you're happy to let others control your playback speed, you
owe nothing. If you decide that you like being able to control your playback speed, you
can purchase and register your 2xAV Plug-In on-line.
Download Free
Trial of 2xAV™ Plug-In for Windows Media Player®
You will see a reminder of how many days you have left in your trial
period once a day and after installation. You can choose to continue the trial or buy the
2xAV Plug-In at any time.
After seven days you will have only minimal use of your 2xAV Plug-In until
you go through the purchase and registration process.
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To buy the 2xAV™ Plug-In, go to the Enounce 2xAV Plug-In Purchase Page
web page.
If you are using the free trial version of the 2xAV Plug-In, you can
purchase the unrestricted version of the 2xAV Plug-In by clicking the "Buy Now"
button when the reminder dialog comes up, or you can launch the 2xAV Registration Utility
from the Start Menu on the machine on which you will be using the 2xAV Plug-In.
The 2xAV Registration Utility can normally be found from the Start menu
at:
Programs -> Enounce ->
2xAV Plug-In for WMP ->
2xAV
Unlock and Registration
This program will remind you that it needs to connect to a registration server over the
Internet in order to register your Plug-In. With your approval it will attempt to make the
connection,and then lead you through a simple three step purchase and registration
process.
- In Step One, you will be asked to enter your name and a valid email address;
- In Step Two, you will be shown a Button to the 2xAV Plug-In purchase page of the web
site from which you downloaded the 2xAV Plug-In. When you click on this button, your web
browser will take you to the web site from which you will purchase the 2xAV Plug-In.
When you have purchased the 2xAV Plug-In, you will be given a serial number. Please copy
the serial number into the box labeled "Enter Serial Number", and press
"OK". You do not have to browse to the purchase web site shown in
step two, unless you want to purchase additional serial numbers in order to use the 2xAV
Plug-In on additional machines.
- In Step Three, you should press the "Register and Unlock" button to complete
the registration of your 2xAV Plug-In.
When registration is complete, the 2xAV Plug-In will be unlocked on the machine that
you used to register. We will also send an email message confirming your registration to
the address you provided during the registration process. Please keep that email message
for reference.
Software Activation via email: If you do not wish to register
electronically using the Registration Utility described above, Click
Here to get information on how to activate your Plug-in via email.
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Requirements
Windows XP, Windows 98 second edition, Windows Me, 2000, Windows 95 with upgraded Internet Explorer
and Windows Media Player 6.4.
Windows Media Player version 10, 9, 7 or 6.4
Pentium II 400 or better (will run on lesser machines, but will consume most of CPU at
faster than normal rates)
64 MB RAM, 2 MB free disk space for install.
Known Issues
- The Fast Forward control built into the Media Player does not currenttly work when the
2xAV Plug-in is installed. We intend for this to use our variable speed playback in the
future.
- If you get an update to Windows Media Player after installing the 2xAV Plug-in, the
"2xAV Controls" window may no longer popup over Windows Media Player. The issue
here is the the 2xAV AudioRenderer registration has been overwritten by the update. If you
run the Verify2xAV.exe program enclosed with this release, it will re-register the 2xAV
AudioRenderer automatically and should solve this problem.
- Uninstalling will restore the state of your Windows Media Player to what it was before
installation.
File Listing
- <Common Files>\Enounce\2xAVEngine.ax
- <Common Files>\Enounce\2xAVAudioRenderer.ax
- <Common Files>\Enounce\tsmeng.dll
- <Common Files>\Enounce\tsmbreg.exe
- <Install Dir>\2xAVSettings.exe
- <Install Dir>\tsmui2.dll --> copied over the existing
\program files\real\realplayer\tsmui2.dll
- <Install Dir>\tsmadev.dll --> copied over the existing
\program files\common files\real\plugins\tsmadev.dll
- <Install Dir>\Verify2xAV.exe
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Please browse to our support page for the 2xAV™
Plug-In or go to Contact Us page
for information on how to contact us.
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Table of Contents
The floating 2xAV SpeedBar will automatically pop-up and float over
Windows Media Player after you start playing a media clip as long as there is a valid
license installed on your system.
The slider on the SpeedBar controls the playback speed of the Windows
Media Player. A setting of 1.5 (as shown in the figure) results in playback that is one
and half times as fast as normal. If the slider is set to "1.0", playback occurs
at normal speed. A setting of "0.5" results in playback at half normal speed.
Feel free to move the slider at any time, even (or especially!) while
media is being played: 2xAV gives you immediate control over
your playback speed! Once the slider is selected you can use the left and right
arrow keys on you keyboard to change the speed as well.
When Windows Media Player content is embedded in a web page a floating 2xAV
Controls window will float over the web page (not activated for the free 7-day
trial). This floating SpeedBar has the same behavior and control over the playback
speed as the SpeedBar described above. If the floating SpeedBar is not visible it
may be behind the web page you are viewing or minimized to the title bar of the web page
you viewing. For more information on the options associated with the floating
2xAV Controls window, see the Advanced Properties
section below.
The SpeedLimit function for the Windows Media Player Plug-In is currently
disabled but coming soon.
The 2xAV™ Plug-In's automatic SpeedLimit™ mechanism will attempt
to play media as fast as you request, so long as that speed doesn't cause gaps. Gaps can
occur if your Internet connection isn't fast enough to deliver media as fast as you are
trying to play it, or if your computer isn't powerful enough to process media fast enough
to keep up with your requested speed.
In the SpeedLimit™ mode, if the 2xAV Plug-In detects gaps it will
slow down the playback speed. The "thumb" of the speed slider will remain where
you set it, but the blue "thermometer" in the center of the slider may move to a
lower speed, indicating that SpeedLimit has momentarily lowered the playback speed in an
attempt to avoid gaps.
Please see the section When All You Can
Have Is Not Enough for more information.
To verify or modify the 2xAV™ Plug-In properties, click on the
Properties button on the SpeedBar. The following dialog box will appear:
In addition to "About" information, and a hyperlink to the
Enounce™ web site, the 2xAV tab of the
properties dialog contains settings to control the operation of the 2xAV™
Plug-In. These settings are discussed below.
The 2xAV™ engine can be set to any of three states:
On Normal: This is the normal setting. The engine uses our patented
digital signal processing algorithms to play back media at the rate you specify;
On Chipmunk: This setting is just for fun. It lets you change playback
speed the way you used to be able to do with an audio tape: put your finger on the record
and make it go around faster or slower. Faster makes people sound like
"chipmunks"; slower makes them sound like Darth Vader.
Off: This setting turns off the 2xAV engine. All playback is at normal
speed.
Note that you can change engine settings while audio is playing back, but
the engine settings only take effect after you stop playback. That is, the new settings
will be in effect the next time you start playback.
The 2xAV™ Plug-In software engine can trade off processing efficiency
and audio output quality. The Playback Quality slider on the property page controls this
tradeoff. For best quality, set the slider to the leftmost position. For most efficient
processing, set the slider to the rightmost position. The setting selected
determines the amount of CPU used for processing, so increasing the quality may cause
"gaps" in playback if the CPU cannot process data fast enough.
At this time the Windows Media Server will not deliver streaming content
at a rate faster then normal speed even though the Windows Media Player equiped with the
2xAV Plug-In is capable of playing these streams at a faster rate. Therefore, the
2xAV Plug-In will only beable to change the playback speed with Windows Media Player when
playing local files or files streamed from a standard web server using the HTTP protocol.
The Advanced Settings tab of the Properties dialog box controls the
interaction of the 2xAV™ Plug-In with a browser:
If the "Floating 2xAV Controls Window over Browser" checkbox
is checked, a floating window containing the 2xAV Speedbar will appear whenever a web page
contains the Windows Media Player ActiveX control or a Windows Media Player Netscape
plug-in (as long as the same web page doesn't contain a 2xAV ActiveX control). In other
words, a floating SpeedBar will appear if the designer of the web page has not provided a
SpeedBar on their page.
If you check this box, you will be able to control the playback speed of all web content
that uses an embedded Windows Media Player object..
If the "Floating Window" checkbox is checked, you can control
what happens when you close the 2xAV SpeedBar.
If you set "Close to Title bar", when you close the SpeedBar,
a "2X" icon appears on the title bar of the browser. You can reopen the SpeedBar
either by clicking on the icon, or by refreshing the web page.
If you set "Close normally", when you close the SpeedBar no
"2X" icon appears on the title bar of the browser. You must refresh the web page
in order to reopen the SpeedBar.
If the "Make Floating Controls Stay on Top" checkbox is
checked, the 2xAV SpeedBar will always float on top of all windows making it easier to
find the 2xAV Controls windows when you need it.
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The 2xAV™ Plug-In software engine is capable of slowing down or
speeding up almost any form of media, either from local files stored on your computer or
"streaming media" being delivered to your computer over the Internet.
(Note: At this time, the Windows Media Server will not stream files at a rate faster then
1.0, however files streamed from a standard web server using HTTP streaming protocol will
stream as fast as your connection will allow).
But sometimes we can't have everything we want. Even with media playback.
Sometimes you might want to play faster than your computer, or your
Internet connection, or your media server, can handle.
When that happens--and we'll explain why it may--you can get rebuffering
pauses or gaps in your playback.
Rebuffering pauses occur when the Windows Media Player are playing back
streaming media, and it's run out of media to play.
When your player is playing back streaming media, it can't play material
any faster than it gets it. If your Internet connection, or the server from which the
media is coming, can't deliver media as fast as you want to play it, the player may pause
from time to time as it "rebuffers" media. When the player has finished
rebuffering sufficient media, it will continue playing.
Many forms of media are stored and delivered to your player in an encoded
format. Your player decodes this media into a form that can be played. The process of
decoding media requires varying amounts of computing power. If you are trying to play an
encoded media stream twice as fast as normal, your computer was to process twice as much
data in the same amount of time, using twice as many computations. If your computer is not
fast enough to decode the media as quickly as you want to play it, there may be gaps, or
short silences, in the playback.
The simpliest solution to both of these problems is to slow down. If you
have turned on the 2xAV Plug-In's SpeedLimit™ feature, the 2xAV Plug-In will try to
prevent pauses and gaps from occurring, but will also repeatedly try to play at the speed
you have requested. For best results, don't request a speed that is significantly faster
than your player can manage.
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Release notes for version 3.0 of the Enounce™ 2xAV™ Plug-In.
Windows Media Player and Windows MediaServer
At this time the Windows Media Server will not deliver streaming content
at a rate faster then normal speed even though the Windows Media Player equiped with the
2xAV Plug-In is capable of playing these streams at a faster rate. Therefore, the
2xAV Plug-In will only beable to change the playback speed with Windows Media Player when
playing local files or files streamed from a standard web server using the HTTP protocol. |
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Copyright & Trademarks
Copyright © 1998-2001 Enounce, Incorporated. All Rights Reserved.
Send mail to support@enounce.com with questions
or comments about this document.
Please review our Privacy Policy
Enounce™, 2xAV™, and SpeedLimit™ are either
registered trademarks or trademarks of Enounce, Incorporated
in the United States and/or other countries.
RealPlayer® and RealPlayer Plus® are either
registered trademarks or trademarks of RealNetworks, Inc.
in the United States and/or other countries.
Last modified:April 15, 2002
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