The following is an Edited transcript of the Boston Computer Society Special
Event held on December 12, 1989 in the Apple II Art & Graphics Forum 
Conference Room.  

AFL Scott  Good Evening!  Welcome to a BCS Special Event! 
AFL Scott  AGR is proud to be the host of yet another in 
AFL Scott  the Boston Computer Society's Simulcast series. 
AFL Scott  Joining as co-host tonight is BCS member AFL Wiggy. 
AFL Scott  On the keyboard at the actual event is BCS Skip! 
AFL Scott  BCS' special guest in Mark Abbate from Video 
AFL Scott  Technology Corp.  Mark will be demonstrating 
AFL Scott  Apple IIGS computer to control a video cassette 
AFL Scott  recorder.  VidClip is designed to extend the 
AFL Scott  multi-media potential of the Apple IIGS... 
AFL Scott  As a reminder to our America Online members, 
AFL Scott  the edited transcript of this event will be 
AFL Scott  available for downloading late this evening or 
AFL Scott  tomorrow afternoon. 
AFL Scott  Let's tune into the meeting... Hello, BCS!!! 
Erica MM   Hiya Scott!!!:) 
BCS Skip   Hi there, America Online! 
Erica MM   he is just starting now.... 
BCS Skip   Mark is describing the basic function of the unit.. 
BCS Skip   It's a toolkit that will allow the GS to control as many as 3
	   decks 
BCS Skip   using a set of Sony software controls. 
BCS Skip   The unit consists of a cable 
BCS Skip   with a 5 pin mini-DIN and a miniplug 
Erica MM   which he is now explaining. 
BCS Skip   Contol-L and Control-S, so called by Sony. 
Erica MM   You can send commands on either of these protocols 
Erica MM   You can turn your edit on and off...using a remote
	   control...things like that 
Erica MM   (as he says:)  ) 
AFL Scott  Sounds interesting!  
BCS Skip   Control-L is bi-directional 
BCS Skip   It allows input and output commands. 
Erica MM   Control-S is a one way protocol you can only send commands one
	   way 
Erica MM   out 
BCS Skip   Control-S allows you to daisy chain several units 
BCS Skip   and address a particular one. 
BCS Skip   Other devices accept Control-L protocol  
BCS Skip   Laser disks, CD players, and others 
Erica MM   That is the background of it... 
Erica MM   the cable is only Sony 
BCS Skip   The software drivers mimic the Sony protocols. 
BCS Skip   It's important to note that this only works on Sony with the
	   Control-S 
BCS Skip   protocols 
BCS Skip   Other brands have the Control-L protocol 
Erica MM   The control-L may be on some of the larger known companies such as
	   RCA.. 
Erica MM   but the Control-S is only on the Sony 
Erica MM   the protocol is mainly Sony specific 
BCS Skip   By the way, folks.. 
BCS Skip   Mark is running this very informally... 
BCS Skip   so if you have questions, let me know 
BCS Skip   and I'll relay them to Mark 
AFL Scott  I have a question! 
Erica MM   Shoot!:) 
Erica MM   He is answering another question right now...but would be able to
	   get right 
Erica MM   to yours 
AFL Scott  Does it work on all VCR's?  Is there a remote control adapter or
	   something? 
BCS Skip   They are considering developing a cable that will work with
	   Panasonic 
BCS Skip   Scott:  it primarily works on Sony's.  However, there are a few
	   others 
BCS Skip   that may accept some of the commands. 
BCS Skip   Mark is discussing the software now. 

Erica MM   The first thing that we are going to look at is an 8ml deck 
BCS Skip   There is a DA which appears much like a VCR remote controller... 
AFL Scott  Are there plans to make this device a more widely available item? 
	   To wit, a 
AFL Scott  device that will allow control via an infared remote control? 
Erica MM   he says interesting....:) 
BCS Skip   Sony makes an infrared device that has a Control S input, Mark
	   says.. 
BCS Skip   That is being investigated for development. 
AFL Scott  <--very interested in this device!  But we need a universal
	   interface. 
BCS Skip   They understand that, Scott..   
AFL Scott  Great!! 
AFL Scott  What is the target Market for this device?
BCS Skip   It is listed by APDA as a toolkit... 
BCS Skip   primarily intended for developers.. 
BCS Skip   The cable itself is the major development, and the 
BCS Skip   DA that comes with it is "icing on the cake" 
BCS Skip   Other 3rd parties are apparently also looking into the
	   possibility. 
BCS Skip   ...but Mark indicated already that 3rd party developers are  
BCS Skip   working with the unit.. 
AFL TimB   Can Mark mention any names? 
Erica MM   It is out being looked at by a few.....but he isn't sure that he
	   can mention 
Erica MM   any at the moment. 
BCS Skip   Recognising that developers may want anonymity. 
AFL Scott  I know I want one!  Please, Mark, do get a universal interface! 
AFL TimB   :) 
AFL TimB   Sounds great! 
BCS Skip   Mark is now showing how the unit works. 
Erica MM   You can do pause single pictures...and then work on that frame,
	   writing or 
BCS Skip   It allows single frame advance, and single frame reverse. 
Erica MM   drawing on it...then you can move on to the next frame 
HsBoyElroy Question: I have a Sony VHS with CTRL -S & L, what will Vidclip
	   allow me to do? 
BCS Skip   A point that Mark made is that only the higher end Sonys have the
BCS Skip   single step reverse capability. 
Erica MM   There are all whole series of commands for the deck to advance it
	   or reverse it 
Erica MM   it will always tell you where the deck is 
BCS Skip   Control-L allows you to tell what the deck is doing.. with its 
BCS Skip   input-output capability. 
Erica MM   You can advance the frames...and name the frame that you want, it
	   will then 
BCS Skip   It allows very fine location of a particular frame. 
Erica MM   fast forward and when it gets to that frame...it will stop 
AFL TimB   Has anyone mentioned the cost yet? 
BCS Skip   Nope, not yet, Tim 
GerryR5    Wondering that too, Tim! :) 
BCS Skip   The cost of the VidClip is $89  
BCS Skip   ...available through APDA 
Erica MM   or direct
Erica MM   and for the cables usually runs for $39  
AFL Scott  Whew!  That's reasonable!  
Erica MM   it sure is! 
BCS Skip   This includes all the necessary documentation, 
BCS Skip   the DA (which requires GSOS 5.0 or higher.. 
BCS Skip   ..and this also includes a one-time license 
BCS Skip   He located a particular frame, fast forwarded, 
BCS Skip   and then went to relocate it 
Erica MM   you have searching...and finding out where the deck is. 
BCS Skip   Amazingly, the exact same frame was relocated! 
AFL Scott  Outstanding!! 
BCS Skip   Mark says that it isn't usually that accurate... 
BCS Skip   thinks that the full moon may have contributed to this great demo!
	   :) 
Erica MM   even he is impressed!!!:) 
BCS Skip   ...but it is able to locate within a couple of frames of the
           original 
AFL Wiggy  Are there applications being planned to take advantage of this? 
	   Pre-programmed lessons using 
AFL Wiggy  Hypermedia? 
AFL Scott  I can see Wiggy's point!  Hypermedia on the GS with this product
	   and the VOC 
AFL Scott  is a natural!:) 
BCS Skip   The potential is certainly recognized. 
BCS Skip   In case any of you are signed on from the West Coast,  
BCS Skip   we bring you the following announcement: 
BCS Skip   Since our simulcast begins during Prime Time for some 
BCS Skip   of you, it may be advisable to sign off and back on 
BCS Skip   briefly when Prime Time hours have ended (9:00 p.m. 
BCS Skip   EST or 6:00 p.m. local time). 
BCS Skip   Note that billing status can not change automatically 
BCS Skip   from Prime Time rates to the lower Non-Prime Time 
BCS Skip   charges at 6:00 p.m. local time; you must sign off 
BCS Skip   and back on to switch to the lower charges. 
BCS Skip   If you don't wish to miss any of our event, then 
BCS Skip   remember to sign briefly off and on at its conclusion 
BCS Skip   so your charges revert to the lower rate. 
BCS Skip   Remember that it is Telenet and Tymenet policy  
BCS Skip   that makes this necessary. 
Erica MM   Skip...that is an excellent reccomendation! 
BCS Skip   Are there any other questions? 
BCS Skip   A question from our floor:  is there a complete list 
BCS Skip   of all the Control-L and Control-S protocol functions? 
BCS Skip   ...Mark's reply: not that he knows of. 
BCS Skip   He'd love to find one! :) 
Erica MM   :) 
BCS Skip   Mark is demonstrating how you can set up, load and run previously
	   prepared 
BCS Skip   clips. 
AFL Scott  So it is scriptable!  It's a good thing to have! Again, a natural
	   for Hyper- 
AFL Scott  Media presentations! 
Erica MM   :) 
BCS Skip   Sure is! 
AFL Scott  <S-Video for ever!> 
AFL Wiggy  Are there Sony VCRs in all formats capable of working with
	   VidClip? (Beta, 8mm, and VHS) 
AFL Scott  Good question, Wigs! 
BCS Skip   Good question, Wiggy..  I'll ask it in a moment... 
Erica MM   The answer to your question Wiggy is coming up! 
BCS Skip   Some recent machines will support it, Wiggy... 
BCS Skip   If a particular machine has the remotes and supports the
	   protocols, 
BCS Skip   it will work. 
BCS Skip   He's now showing how, using the two different plugs (Control-L &
	   -S) 
BCS Skip   the one cable can easily control 2 different decks 
BCS Skip   He's got a VHS deck and an 8mm deck that he's controlling.. 
Erica MM   he is now going to go back and control the 8mm machine  
BCS Skip   He can search for clips on one machine, and copy onto the other
	   one. 
Erica MM   one of the frames is in record standbye and what it is doing right
	   now is 
BCS Skip   It makes this a great editing tool 
Erica MM   searching for the first clip that he showed. and Repeat doing that
	   until you 
Erica MM   get what he says....as story:) 
BCS Skip   The screen allows you to see both screens simultaneously.
AFL Scott  A Question...For commercial enviroments, and frame grabbers that
	   might be 
AFL Scott  coming down the pike.... is there a provision for standard RS-232
	   communication 
AFL Scott  between the Vid Clip, the host, and the VCR?   
AFL Scott  I'm very interested in recording GS video slide shows frame by
	   frame. 
AFL Scott  (or for that matter, computer movies). 
BCS Skip   I'll ask that in a moment, Scott.. 
BCS Skip   Scott:  re your question,  
BCS Skip   the machines that support RS-232 are such high-end machines 
Erica MM   he is now recording another clip...and he is going to be doing
	   this four 
Erica MM   times with four different clips. 
BCS Skip   that he currently isn't developing anything for them 
BCS Skip   ..they are out of reach for most everyone. 
AFL Scott  Ok!  Thanks! 
BCS Skip   Your source machine could be a CamCorder.. 
BCS Skip   you can edit directly fromthe CamCorder to another deck. 
BCS Skip   You can work with live input, in other words... 
AFL Scott  Has anyone thought of the home survielance angle, yet? 
BCS Skip   Re surveillance, it hasn't come to his attention, 
BCS Skip   but it certainly would be possible 
BCS Skip   Are there any other questions? 
AFL Scott  It's just another of my strange ideas!:) 
BCS Skip   It could work, that's for sure.. 
Erica MM   It is a GREAT idea...and a lot of members in the audience thought
	   so to! 
AFL Scott  It would be easy to implement, too!:) 
BCS Skip   We have a question about it's use with the VOC... 
BCS Skip   Mark says that the VOC won't handle the shuttle speeds of 
BCS Skip   most decks. 
BCS Skip   We're now trying to find out what that means! :) 
AFL Scott  LOL! 
AFL Wiggy  Thanks...  I was about to ask.  :) 
AFL Scott  (I don't know either!) 
BCS Skip   Basically, the card jumps in and out of grabbing the frame 
BCS Skip   so there is some "snow" visible in the screen. 
BCS Skip   It works, but isn't a sharp image. 
AFL Scott  Probably has to do with the sync... So is Mark saying that VidClip
	   doesn't work 
AFL Scott  with the VOC? 
AFL Scott  <devils advocate> 
BCS Skip   It works, but doesn't give clean images.. 
HyperNiche Is "snow", the same as dropout? 
Erica MM   Any other questions??? 
BCS Skip   Dropout is a short burst of no signal. 
BCS Skip   ...from whatever cause. 
BCS Skip   ..so not quite the same thing. 
HyperNiche Aha, thanks. :) 
AFL Scott  Sure.... Presentations... Can this be used in the board room as
	   sort of 
AFL Scott  video Slide show controller, or as a cueing device? 
BCS Skip   Yes, it certainly could, Scott! 
BCS Skip   Well, folks, the meeting here is breaking up.. 
BCS Skip   Mark has certainly shown us a remarkable piece of technology 
BCS Skip   ..and you can get it through APDA 
Erica MM   thank you so much for having us!! 
BCS Skip   Video Production Controls, located in Boston, 
BCS Skip   is a subsidiary of Videocraft Productions, Inc., 
BCS Skip   one of New England's largest video production 
BCS Skip   houses. 
BCS Skip   They are the people who produced the VidClip. 
AFL Scott  Thanks to Mark for coming!  Thanks to Skip and Erica for hosting
	   in Boston! 
Erica MM   Scott...I am glad that we were able to help you make the decision
	   to get one!! 
AFL Wiggy  And don't forget we have the Education Forum Beginner's conference
	   tonight...  Tonight's 

AFL Wiggy  conference is all about ways to begin Telecom in your school!
AFL Scott  Thanks to AFL Wiggy for co-hosting the simulcast with me!  It was
	   fun!  And  
AFL Scott  Don't forget... the edited transcript of tonight's show will be in
	   our New 
AFL Scott  files library in about an hour!    
BCS Skip   I want to say how grateful we at the BCS are 
AFL Scott  Thanks to all of you who attended tonight on America Online!  
BCS Skip   for the assistance of AFL Scott and AFL Wiggy 
BCS Skip   of the Art & Graphics and the Education forums. 
AFL Scott  Thanks Boston Computer Society!  It was our pleasure!  Let's do it
	   again! 
Erica MM   yes...thanks to you all on America Online!!! You were
	   Wonderful...and made our 
Erica MM   job MUCH easier!!!!