Help_Index
 CHIPS TV Help Index

Freeze/Unfreeze

Save

Load

Show Always

Proportional

Tv Styles

Color

Audio

Video Align

Tv/Video

Tuner/Presets

Wakeup/Sleep

BroadCast

Save Settings

Hide/Find Remote

Help


Find/Hide remote...

Hides or redisplays the remote control  window. This is a toggle control. It can be activated by using the menu or by using the R  key. The remote can be iconized by double clicking the left mouse button on the remote.


Show Always
Show Always...

This option is either on or off.  If on, the TV window will always be displayed on top of other windows on the screen.  If off, the TV window will behave like any other window and can be obscured by other windows. This control is temporarily disabled if windows help screen or dialog box is active.  It is enabled automatically if the help window or dialog box is exited.  The help window can be iconized  to enable this control.

This function can be activated from the menu or by using the F key.


Configure
Configure...

This brings up the Configure dialog box allows user to switch the external video format between NTSC and PAL, and two edit boxes for the user to set the sizes of image to capture to the video frame buffer.  The user must beware that the image size to be acquired is limited by the bandwidth capability of the hardware.


Broadcast
Broadcast...

   For  countries which support NTSC format we have the following choices. The US of A Canada and most Pacific rim countries have adopted this standard.

a. USA Broadcast

b. USA Cable

c. Japan

 For countries which support PAL format we have the following choices. Most European countries have adopted this standard.

a. UK Broadcast

b. CCIR Channel

c. CCIR Cable


Color

Colors...

This menu option brings up the Color dialog box with seven scroll bars to control brightness, contrast, tint (hue), color (saturation), red green and blue. The color dialog box can be activated by using the C key.

If more information is required, please click on any of the underlined topics.


Audio Control

Audio...

This function can be activated by using the A key or by menu selection. It brings up the Audio dialog box to control the following audio settings:

a. Volume

b. Bass

c. Treble

d. Balance

e. Mute

f:  Set Default

g: Audio Source(Tuner, external, CD or sound board)

If more information is required, please click on any of the underlined topics.


Channel Presets
Channel Presets and Selecting Favorite Channels...

 This function is accessed through the Tuner/Presets choice in the floating menu or in the Configure menu in the menu bar or by using the N key. The dialog box, has two list boxes. One labeled Preset Channels and the other labeled Favorite channels.

The preset channel list box has preset keys labeled F2 to F12 (F1 is reserved for obtaining help). These correspond to keys, similarly labeled on the keyboard. Through this list box, it is possible to associate a channel (along with broadcast standard and fine tune value) with one of the eleven keys mentioned above. Once this association is made, pressing one of these keys will switch the TV to the corresponding channel.

An edit box is provided to enter the desired channel number. A vertical scroll bar is also provided for the same purpose. The benefit of using the scroll bar is that, the limit on channel numbers, imposed by the broadcast standard chosen, is automatically built in to the scroll bar control. Once it reaches either extremes, it will wrap around. The Broadcast COMBO box is used to set the desired broadcast standard. A name edit box is also provided for optionally adding the program/channel name.

The list box labeled Favorite channels, is used to associate channel numbers with the favorite channel key on the remote. Favorite channel list is positional and circular. By clicking on top of the favorite key, the list is traversed top to bottom and vise versa, wrapping around at either end. The same controls, used to compose the preset channel entry are also used in this case.

The ADD and DELETE buttons, are used to edit these lists. When an entry is highlighted, it's contents appear in the edit controls mentioned above. These can then be edited, for change. The ADD button can then be used, to add the entry back into the lists. Only one entry can be selected, from either list at any given time, and only one list can be edited at one time. If an entry/preset key is selected in the Preset Channel list and the ADD button is used, that entry gets modified, as per the contents of the channel and broadcast controls. If no entry in either list boxes is selected, and the ADD button is used, the favorite channel list box , gets an extra entry. Use of  the DELETE button requires that an entry be first selected. In this way a single set of ADD/DELETE keys is sufficient to edit two channel lists.

If the Tuner/Preset dialog box is on top of the TV screen, the user needs to uncover the TV screen first. When the user edits the channel/broadcast controls, the TV will also switch to that channel/broadcast standard. The user can then use the horizontal scroll bar labeled, "Fine Tune", to visually finetune the channel before activating the ADD button. This fine tune value is saved along with the channel and the broadcast standard. This allows the user, to get the best possible reception on the Preset/Favorite channels.


Help

Help...

Displays a Windows help screen explaining the functions of the program. Help is made available in two ways.

  a) Click on the "?"  button on the remote. Then click on any remote button or a menu item. Instead of performing the function, help on the function will be displayed.  The same functionality can be achieved by using SHIFT F1 key combination. When the cursor moves into the TV window, it will change shape to a "?". This implies to the user, that a menu selection would result in help on the use of the function.

b) When the cursor is on top of the TV window, press F1, or select help from the menu. This displays the help index. Select any topic by clicking the mouse on it and help on that topic will be displayed.  This function can be disabled using the Disable F1 for help menu item under HELP

Note help is arranged in a hierarchical fashion. By clicking the mouse on an (green colored) underlined term/topic on the help screen, further help on that term/topic can be obtained.  Also note that every help screen, has a search button. By activating it a list of  keywords are displayed. The keywords match the functions made available to the user. By selecting any of these, help can be displayed.


Disable/Enable F1 for help...

  As per normal windows convention, when ever the Application window has    focus, and F1 is pressed, the application puts up an Index Help screen. Since F2 through F12 are used for activating Preset channels, it may be convenient for the user to disable F1 as the help key. This can be done using the Disable F1 for Help menu item under Help. Once this is done F1 will have no effect. The menu item string will change to Enable F1 for Help as the next obvious choice.


Video Align
Align video...

This brings up a Video Align dialog box that allows the user to reposition the video window to match the VGA display screen.

Video Window Position Horizontal and Vertical - This control aligns the edges of the video window with the VGA raster. Use the vertical and horizontal window  scroll bars, to adjust for minimal magenta edges at the borders of the video window .

Video Position Horizontal and Vertical - These scroll bars allow you to slide or "pan" the video picture,  such that it completely fits within the screen boundary. Adjust horizontally then vertically to only show the live moving image, with no "frozen" video at the left or right sides,  and top or bottom edges of the displayed window.


Exit
Quit...

Brings up the QUIT dialog box where the user specifies whether to leave the audio on or off after the program exits. It can be invoked by using the menu under Display or by using the Q key.

Note:   By default audio is disabled when the program is closed.


          The Jump Button...

                The jump button or the "J" key allows the user to jump back and forth between

                 the current and previous channels.


Channel selection...

When the TV input is selected (through the TV/Video button or menu option), the channel can be changed in the following ways:

a.  Enter a (maximum] three digit number using the number keys on the remote or the number keys on the key board.  The number of digits depend on the broadcast option selected.  Most non cable options will restrict the channel number to a maximum of two digits. Most cable options will accept a three digit number.

     For channels requiring only one digit, a short delay is needed to confirm that the whole channel number has been entered.  If a second digit is not entered before a certain amount of time, the channel is set using just the single digit.  If an invalid channel is selected, the number entered is reflected on the LCD, but after a few seconds the current channel number is redisplayed.  For two digit channels no delay is needed.  Only the currently selected channel number is shown at the top right corner of the TV screen.  This is removed after a few seconds. The delay required for a three digit number is slightly greater, then a two digit number.

b.  Use the Channel button to move up and down through the channels.

     Pressing the top of the channel button increases the channel number and pressing the bottom decreases it.   Only those channels available in the currently selected broadcast standard will be displayed.  For example, for USA Broadcast the range of channels is 2 through 69.   At the bottom and top of the range the channel number will wrap around.

c.  Use the up and down arrows on the keyboard.

     This is functionally the same as using the channel button on the remote.

d. The Jump button on the remote switches between the last two channels selected.   The J key can also be used to jump between channels.

e. Specify through the Presets/Tuner dialog box.  This dialog box is invoked by choosing the Presets/Tuner item from the floating menu or from the Configure menu on the menu bar.

f. Use function keys F2 through F12 once channel presets have been set through the Presets/Tuner dialog box.

g. Move up or down through favorite channels selected in the Presets/Tuner dialog box . To select the next favorite channel use the PAGE UP/PAGE DOWN keys , or use the favorite channel  remote button.


Channel Display...

     When the TV input is selected, the current channel number (displayed in the LCD panel) can also be displayed on the top right corner of the TV screen by activating the Display  button on the remote.


Power Key...

     The power key turns off the power to the TV. In order to view the picture again, the user needs to turn the power back on.


Fine Tuning

Fine tuning...

The fine tuning can be adjusted two ways:

a.  Use the Fine Tune button on the remote.

      Pressing the top of this button increases the frequency and pressing the bottom decreases it.

b.  Use the control + and control - key combinations on the keyboard to increase and decrease the tuning frequency. The +/- keys from the number keypad must be used for this purpose.


Brightness...

Changes in the brightness level of the video are reflected with a row of vertical bars at the bottom left corner of the TV screen.  The word Brightness is displayed above the row of bars.  The brightness can be adjusted three ways:

a.   Use the Brightness button on the remote.

Pressing the top of the button increases the brightness and pressing the bottom decreases the brightness.

b. Use the B and control B key combinations on the keyboard to decrease and increase the brightness, respectively.

c.   Select Colors option from the floating menu or from the Configure menu in the menu bar.  This will bring up the Colors dialog box with scroll bars for color adjustments.   A Brightness scroll bar will allow adjustment of the brightness level.


Contrast...

Changes in the contrast are reflected with a row of vertical bars at the bottom left corner of the TV screen.  The word Contrast is displayed above the row of bars.  The contrast can be adjusted three ways:

a.   Use the contrast button on the remote.

Pressing the top of the button increases the contrast and pressing the bottom decreases the level.

b. Use the K and control K key combinations on the keyboard to decrease and increase the level, respectively.

c.   Select Colors option from the floating menu or from the Configure menu in the menu bar.  This will bring up the Colors dialog box with scroll bars for color adjustments.   A Contrast scroll bar will allow adjustment of the contrast level.


Tint (hue)...

Changes in the tint (hue) of the video are reflected with a row of vertical bars at the bottom left corner of the TV screen.  The word Tint is displayed above the row of bars.  The tint can be adjusted three ways:

a.   Use the tint button on the remote.

Pressing the top or bottom changes the hue in different directions.

b. Use the T and control T key combinations on the keyboard to change the tint.

c.   Select Colors option from the floating menu or from the Configure menu in the menu bar.  This will bring up the Colors dialog box with scroll bars for color adjustments.   A Tint scroll bar will allow adjustment of the hue.


Color (saturation)...

Changes in the saturation of the video are reflected with a row of vertical bars at the bottom right corner of the TV screen.  The word Color is displayed above the row of bars.  The saturation can be adjusted three ways:

a.   Use the Color button on the remote.

Pressing the top of the button increases the saturation and pressing the bottom decreases it.  At the lowest level the picture will be black and white.  At the top of the range the colors will become very bright.

c.   Select Colors option from the floating menu or from the Configure menu in the menu bar.  This will bring up the Colors dialog box with scroll bars for color adjustments.   A Color scroll bar will allow adjustment of the saturation level.


 Red level...

Changes in the red level of the video are reflected with a row of vertical bars at the bottom left corner of the TV screen.  Note that this control may or may not be valid depending on the decoder.  The word Red is displayed above the row of bars.  The red level can be adjusted two ways:

a. Use the Red button on the remote.

Pressing the top of the button increases the red level and pressing the bottom

decreases it.

b. Select Colors option from the floating menu or from the Configure menu in the menu bar.  This will bring up a dialog box with scroll bars for color adjustments.   A Red scroll bar will allow adjustment of the red level.


Green level...

Changes in the green level of the video are reflected with a row of vertical bars at the bottom left corner of the TV screen. Note that this control may or may not be valid depending on the decoder.  The word Green is displayed above the row of bars.  The green level can be adjusted two ways:

a. Use the Green button on the remote.  Pressing the top of the button increases the amount of green in the picture and pressing the bottom  decreases it.

b.   Select Colors option from the floating menu or from the Configure menu in the menu bar.  This will bring up a dialog box with scroll bars for color adjustments.   A Green scroll bar will allow adjustment of the green level.


Blue level...

Changes in the blue level of the video are reflected with a row of vertical bars at the bottom left corner of the TV screen. Note that this control may or may not be valid depending on the decoder.  The word Blue is displayed above the row of bars.  The blue level can be adjusted two ways:

a.   Use the Blue button on the remote.  Pressing the top of the button increases the amount of blue in the picture and pressing the bottom decreases it.

b.   Select the Colors option from the floating menu or from the Configure menu in the menu bar.  This will bring up a dialog box with scroll bars for color adjustments.   A Blue scroll bar will allow adjustment of the blue level.


 Volume...

Changes in the volume are reflected with a row of vertical bars at the bottom left corner of the TV screen.  A red bar moves along the row to indicate the current volume level. The word Volume is displayed above the row of bars.  The volume can be adjusted three ways:

a.   Use the Volume button on the remote.  Pressing the top of the button increases the volume and pressing the bottom decreases it.

b. Use the - and + keys on the keyboard to decrease and increase the volume, respectively.

c.   Select the Audio option from the floating menu or from the Configure menu in the menu bar.  This will bring up a dialog box with scroll bars for audio adjustments.   A Volume scroll bar will allow adjustment of the volume level.


Mute...

Mute temporarily turns the audio off.  When mute is turned off the volume is restored to its original setting.  Mute can be turned on and off as follows:

a. Use the Mute button on the remote.  This button toggles mute on and off.

b. Use the M key on the keyboard to turn mute on and off.

c. Use the Mute button in the Audio dialog box reached the Audio item in the floating menu or in the Configure menu in the menu bar.


#

Bass...

Changes in the bass level of the audio are reflected with a row of vertical bars at the bottom left corner of the TV screen.  The word Bass is displayed above the row of bars.  The bass level can be adjusted three ways:

a. Use the Bass button on the remote.

Pressing the top of the button increases the bass and pressing the bottom decreases it.

b. Use the L and control L key combinations on the keyboard to decrease and increase the bass, respectively.

c. Select the Audio option from the floating menu or from the Configure menu in the menu bar.  This will bring up the Audio dialog box with scroll bars for audio adjustments.   A Bass scroll bar will allow adjustment of the bass.


Treble...

Changes in the treble are reflected with a row of vertical bars at the bottom left corner of the TV screen.  The word Treble is displayed above the row of bars.  The treble can be adjusted three ways:

a. Use the Treble button on the remote.

Pressing the top of the button increases the treble and pressing the bottom decreases it.

b. Use the H and control H key combinations on the keyboard to decrease and increase the treble, respectively.

c. Select the Audio option from the floating menu or from the Configure menu in the menu bar.  This will bring up the Audio dialog box with scroll bars for audio adjustments.   A Treble scroll bar will allow adjustment of the treble.


Balance...

Changes in the balance between the volume of the right and left audio channels are reflected with a row of vertical bars at the bottom left corner of the TV screen.  The word Balance is displayed above the row of bars.  The balance can be adjusted three ways:

a. Use the Balance button on the remote.

Pressing the top of the button increases the ratio between volume in the left and right  channels.   Press the bottom to increase the volume of the right channel relative to the left.

b. Use the right and left arrow keys on the keyboard to increase ratio of right volume to left volume or the ratio of left to right, respectively.

c. Select Audio option from the floating menu or from the Configure menu in the menu bar.  This will bring up the Audio dialog box with scroll bars for audio adjustments.   A Balance scroll bar will allow adjustment of the balance.


Sleep Timer
Sleep timer...

The function of the sleep timer is to turn off the TV after a period of time. When the sleep timer expires, the TV and the remote will iconize. They will reappear, only when a wakeup event occurs. If for some reason you need the TV screen activated, double click on the TV icon. The sleep timer is programmed through the Wakeup/Sleep dialog box in the Configure menu.  The function can be enabled or disabled as follows.

a.  Use the Sleep button on the remote.  Pressing once enables the function.  Pressing a second time disables it.

b. Use the S key on the keyboard to enable or disable the function.


Wakeup Function

Wake up function...

The wake up function switches to a specific channel at a predefined time. If the TV is iconized or the power is turned off, wakeup will switch on the TV.  The time and channel are programmed through the Wakeup/Sleep dialog box invoked via the Configure menu.  The function can be enabled via a check box in the Wakeup/Sleep dialog box. This dialog box can also be invoked using the W key.

The channel edit control and the vertical scroll bar control, allow a channel to be selected. The scroll bar control is more convenient to use for this purpose. The limits imposed on the channel numbers by the broadcast standard, is built into these controls.

A broadcast COMBO box is provided, to allow the choice of broadcast standards. A program name (optional) edit control is also provided. The time is set, using the time edit control along with the AM/PM radio buttons. The time format is hh:mm. The length of the program is in minutes. The day is set using the "Day" DROP-DOWN COMBO box. The "All" option activates the event every day. When the ADD button is pressed, the event is displayed in the "EVENT" list box. The program start and stop times are clearly displayed. An "*" is placed beside the event, to mark it as active. It could be disabled by double clicking on it. The entire wakeup mechanism can be disabled by un-checking the "Enable" check box, at the bottom of the dialog box.

After the program runs for the given length, the TV screen disappears. This can be prevented by  an overlapped (or back to back) wakeup event, or by switching to a different channel before the program finishes.

The user can choose to install the TV in such a way, that only the wakeup event daemon is active, ( the user can also choose to activate the TV) when windows boots. The TV screen or remote will be inactive and iconized, only if there are wakeup event enabled. When a wakeup event occurs, the TV will activate. Note that if this mode of installation is used, the TV can be activated anytime by double clicking on the icon. If no TV icon appears on the screen, the TV can be activated from the CHIPSTV Program Group.

CTRL D key combination is same as instant sleep. It iconises the TV and remote but keeps the wakeup event daemon active.


Go Dormant...

The Go Dormant Menu Item under the Display menu, or the Dormant check box in the wakeup dialog box, or CTRL D key combination is same as instant sleep. It iconises the TV and remote, but keeps the wakeup daemon active. The TV can be activated by double clicking on the icon.


Clock Display
Clock display...

The current time can optionally be displayed at the bottom right corner of the TV screen.  This is enabled or disabled as follows:

a.  Use the Clock button on the remote control

b.  Through the Clock display choice in the floating menu or  the Configure menu

b.  Use the D key on the keyboard to turn clock display on or off.


Selecting the audio source...

There are three audio sources that can be selected; the tuner, an external source from a laser disk or VCR, and an internal source which could be a sound board or CD-ROM drive.  The tuner source is selected by default.

The audio source can also be selected through the Audio dialog box.  The audio dialog box can be invoked through the Audio option of  the floating menu or the Configure menu on the menu bar.  It can also be invoked using the A key.


Selecting the video source...

The tuner card has two video sources, the tuner and an external video source such as a laser disk player or a VCR.   The user can select between the two video sources as follows:

a. Use the TV/Video button on the remote.  This switches both the video and audio sources to either the tuner or an external video source.

b. Use the V key on the keyboard to toggle between video and tuner inputs.

c. Select the TV/Video option of the floating menu or the Configure menu in the menu bar.

d. Selecting Tuner through the Peripheral menu on the menu bar or from the floating menu switches the video source to the tuner and brings up the Presets/Tuner dialog box.


Snap Shot
Still image capture (snapshot)...

An image can be captured and written to a pre-specified file type, using the Snapshot button on the remote.  The file name and type, are specified by selecting Save from the Display  menu.  This brings up a dialog box, where the user can specify a six character name, and choose the append number option. This will append a two digit number, to the six character file name, each time a new image is captured. This gives 100 unique names, before the two digit number will wrap around to 00. Thus a series of images can be saved, using the Snap Shot  button or the * key. The SAVE dialog box, can also be invoked using the CTRL S key. The user can also specify an eight character name, if the append number option is not selected. If this method of saving images is used, the user will be asked for "file overwrite" permission every time, after the first image is saved. The following file formats can be selected:

a. Windows device-independent bitmap 24 bit RGB, 8 bit color, or 8 bit grey-scale

b. Targa  32, 24, or 16 bit RGB,

c.  PCX  8 bit color or 8 bit grey scale,

d. TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)  24 bit RGB, 8 bit color, or 8 bit grey scale,

e.  and IBM M-Motion (4:1:1) compressed luma/chroma format.


Image Load

Still image display...

Still images can be loaded by selecting the Load option from the Display menu, or the CTRL V keys.   A dialog box will display two list boxes, one to select the directory or disk drive, the other to display image files available in the current directory.  A file is selected by double clicking on the file name in the list box, typing  the name into an edit box, or selecting the file through the list box and clicking on the OK button.  The Cancel button is provided to abort the file load.  The file format is automatically detected. Following formats are supported:

a. Windows device-independent bitmap 24 bit RGB, 8 bit,  and 4 bit.

b. Targa  32, 24, and 16 bit RGB,

c.  PCX  8 bit color and 8 bit grey scale,

d. TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)  24 bit RGB, 8 bit color, or 8 bit grey scale,

e.  and IBM M-Motion (4:1:1) compressed luma/chroma format.

A dialog box with the message, "Unsupported file format" will be displayed if the user tries to load a file that is not in one of the formats listed above.  Monochrome images or images that do not fit into the video buffer will also result in error messages.


Freeze/unfreeze video...

Video can be frozen or unfrozen through the Freeze/Unfreeze option in the floating menu or in the Display menu in the menu bar. If live video is frozen, and the TV style is changed to cabinet, the frozen video will be unfrozen. This is done to prevent, uninitialised parts of the video buffer from being exposed.


TV Styles

Select the user interface...

The Set TV style option in the floating menu or the Configure menu of the menu bar  selects the TV interface. User can also cycle through all three Tv Styles by using the I key. When the TV style is set to Cabinet or Screen only choices are made through the remote, the keyboard, or the floating menu. If the style is set to Screen only or Standard Window, the screen is arbitrarily resizeable.  When Standard Window is selected a standard pop-up Window is used to display the video. The menu choices can be made using the standard windows convention or by using the remote buttons.


Set channel presets...

Channel presets are setup in the Presets/Tuner dialog box which is invoked by choosing the Presets/Tuner choice from the floating menu or the Configure menu of the menu bar.  The user is allowed to set up to 11 presets corresponding to function keys F2 through F10.  (F1 is reserved for Help by convention.)   When the tuner source is selected, the user can switch to preset channels using  the function keys.


Set favorite channels...

Favorite channels are the channels the user watches most often.  To access these channels there is a special Favorite button on the remote that behaves like the Channel button except that it only tunes in the favorite channels.  The Presets/Tuner dialog box allows the user to add, delete, or change favorite channels.  The PAGE UP/DOWN keys  can also be used to move up and down through these channels..


Save Settings

This menu selection will allow user to save the CHIPS TV settings the user have changed, and the changes will be affective the next time CHIPS TV starts up.  The TV settings include video, audio, and TV styles settings.