reVue 1.05 beta 6

After you download reVue 1.0b5, double-click it to install reVue 1.0. Setup will install reVue and create a reVue item in the All Programs part of the Start menu. When Setup is complete, start reVue.

The first time that you run reVue, it will display its Preferences dialog box. Here you can tell reVue where your copy of the RTVtools are located. (Don't worry if you don't yet have RTVtools; you can install them later and update your reVue preferences later.) The RTVtools are only required only if you want to create new videos files that exclude certain scenes, like commercials.

There are two main concepts that separate reVue from other media players: scenes and AutoSkip. Understanding them is key to getting the most out of reVue.

Scenes and Scene Types

Just as a DVD player divides a movie into chapters, reVue divides a show into scenes. Each scene is then classified as show content, commercials, opening or closing credits, or previews. (You can also create additional scene types, but that will be addressed later.)

reVue can't figure out where scenes begin and end on its own. For shows archived from a ReplayTV, reVue uses the .evt or .ndx file associated with the show's .mpg file. These files contain information about when each scene begins and what type of scene (content or commercial) it is. For other types of shows, reVue considers the entire show to be a single content scene.

reVue allows you to change the scene start times (for example, to fine-tune the time when a content scene ends and the commercials following it begin) and add new scene marks or remove old ones. These topics are covered later.

AutoSkip and AutoSkip Schemes

AutoSkip tells reVue which scene types to play and which ones to skip over automatically. It is used during playback, by the SceneReplay and SceneSkip buttons, and when creating a new video file.

Each AutoSkip scheme has a name and a list of which scene types to play and which ones to skip. Only one AutoSkip scheme is active at any time; the active scheme's short name is shown on the SceneReplay and SceneSkip buttons.

reVue comes with three AutoSkip schemes: Off (play everything), On (skip commercials), and Reverse (skip content). (You can also create additional AutoSkip schemes, but that will be addressed later.)

The reVue window contains a video area at the top and a control bar at the bottom. The control area, which can be hidden, contains the SceneBar, time indicators, SceneSelector, and control buttons. Of these, only the SceneBar is different than the controls usually seen in other programs.

The SceneBar packs a lot of information into a small space. You'll need to understand the SceneBar in order to get the most out of reVue.

The SceneBar is a timeline of the show. Tick marks divide that timeline into 5 minute (tall ticks), 1 minute (medium ticks) and 15 second (short tick) chunks. The SceneBar is comprised of colored bands that represent each scene in the show. The scene bands are color coded based on the scene's type (content scenes are shown below in blue; commercials are in light red).

Below each scene band is a green line that indicates that the scene will be played or a red line that indicates that the scene will be skipped; a scene's "skipability" is determined by the active AutoSkip scheme.

Below the scene bands is a green marker that shows the current playback position. The nearest scene line connects the marker to the nearest scene boundary; this is used when editing scene times, but can be ignored for now.

The current playback time is shown below the marker. If the mouse is pointing to the SceneBar, the type of scene and the time that it's pointing to are shown to the right of the current playback time. While the show is playing, the current playback time shows minutes and seconds; while paused, the precision increases to thousandths of a second.

You can play a show by double-clicking any reVue show information, ReplayTV 5000 event, or ReplayTV 4000 index file. If there's a shortcut to reVue on your desktop, you can also drag the icon for one of these files on top of the reVue icon to open the file with reVue.

If reVue is already running or you'd like to open another kind of video file, start reVue, click the File button, then select Open video.

If you need to change the reVue preferences after it is installed, choose Preferences from the File menu. You can quit reVue by clicking its close box at the upper right of the window, by pressing Alt+F4, or by choosing Exit from the File menu.

The other options in the File menu will be covered in the topics on scene editing and templates.

Although reVue cannot fast forward or rewind through videos, it does provide a set of navigation features that mimic those found on a ReplayTV digital recorder.

Play/Pause

You can pause or resume playback by clicking the Play/Pause button or by pressing the space bar. The button shows "||" while playing to show that clicking the button will pause playback; while paused it shows ">" to indicate that clicking it will resume playback.

InstantReplay

You can replay the last 7 seconds of a show by clicking the InstantReplay button or pressing the left arrow key. (Note that if you replay out of a scene, playback will resume near the end of the previous playable scene.)

You can adjust the duration of the InstantReplay by right-clicking the InstantReplay button and choosing a new duration from the popup menu. You can also cycle through the menu choices by pressing the "I" key.

You can replay a whole number of minutes by keying in a number then pressing the left arrow key. For example, pressing 1, 2, left arrow will jump back 12 minutes.

You can adjust the items that appear in the menu by editing the <instantreplays> section of the revue.xml file in the reVue installation directory.

QuickSkip

You can skip past 30 seconds of a show by clicking the QuickSkip button or by pressing the right arrow key. (Note that if you skip past the end of a scene, playback will resume at the beginning of the next playable scene.)

You can skip a whole number of minutes by keying in a number then pressing the right arrow key. For example, pressing 1, 2, right arrow will jump ahead 12 minutes.

You can adjust the duration of the QuickSkip by right-clicking the QuickSkip button and choosing a new duration from the popup menu.

You can also cycle through the menu choices by pressing the "Q" key.

You can adjust the items that appear in the menu by editing the <quickskips> section of the revue.xml file in the reVue installation directory.

SceneReplay

You can return to the beginning of a scene by clicking the SceneReplay button or pressing the down arrow key. (Note that if you use SceneReplay when playback is already at the beginning of a scene, playback will resume at the beginning of the previous playable scene.)

Refer to the AutoSkip section for more information on which scene types are playable and which are skippable.

SceneSkip

You can skip tp the beginning of the next playable scene by clicking the SceneSkip button or by pressing the up arrow key. (Note that if there are no more playable scenes, SceneSkip will not change the current playback time.)

Refer to the AutoSkip section for more information on which scene types are playable and which are skippable.

AutoSkip

You can choose a different AutoSkip scheme by right-clicking the SceneReplay or SceneSkip buttons and choosing a new scheme from the popup menu.

You can also cycle through the menu choices by pressing the "A" key.

You can adjust the items that appear in the menu by editing the <autoskips> section of the revue.xml file in the reVue installation directory.

Scene Selection

You can jump to the beginning of any scene by choosing it from the popup SceneSelector. The SceneSelector shows the start time and name of each scene in the current show.

The currently playing scene is always showing in the SceneSelector; the number of that scene is shown in gray to the left of the SceneSelector.

Direct Access

You can change the playback time by clicking the SceneBar; playback moves instantly to the point that you clicked.

You can jump to a specific time by keying in the time then pressing the "J" key. For example, pressing 1, 2, J will jump to the 12 minute mark. One- and two-digit numbers are interpretted as minutes; three-digit numbers are taken as hours and minutes. You can fine-tune the amount by using the colon key (to separate hours, minutes, and seconds) and/or the decimal (to enter fractional minutes or seconds).

You can also drag the green playback marker to another position to move playback there; while being dragged, a ghost marker continues to show the current playback position.

Playback Loops

You can create a playback loop by double-clicking a scene, selecting an area on the SceneBar, or using the keyboard.

To create a playback loop with the mouse, point to the time where you'd like the loop to begin (marked by the "B" in the diagram), hold down the mouse button, and drag to the time where you'd lik the loop to end (marked by the "E"). As you drag, a pale bar will be shown in the SceneBar to indicate the loop times and the loop times will be shown below the SceneSelector.

You can also create a loop by pressing the "B" key to mark a playback position as the beginning of the loop and the "E" key to mark another playback position ad the end of the loop.

To cancel a playback loop, click the SceneBar outside of the looped times, or press "B" and "E" again to reset their times.

reVue also lets you adjust the size and shape of the show being played. Any media player let's you change a show's size; only reVue gives you flexible shape options.

Size control

You can change the size of the video by changing the size of the reVue window. (Note that reVue will not distort the video, i.e., you can't make everyone thin by stretching the window's height.) You can also choose pre-set sizes from the Size buton. Click or right-click the Size button to display a menu of pre-set sizes for the video area.

You can also cycle through the pre-set sizes by pressing the "V" (for "video") key.

You can adjust the items that appear in the menu by editing the <zoomlevels> section of the revue.xml file in the reVue installation directory.

Shape Control

Televisions don't show you the whole picture -- and that's good. TV's are built to hide a bit around the edges (it's called the "overscan" area). reVue can do this so that the edges of the picture are sharp. reVue can also hide the black letterbox bars on "widescreen" broadcasts.

You can choose which "region" of the broadcast picture is shown from the Shape button; the region will, of course, define the shape. Click or right-click the Shape button to display a menu of pre-set shapes for the video area.

You can also cycle through the pre-set shaped by pressing the "R" (for "region") key.

You can adjust the items that appear in the menu by editing the <aspectratios> section of the revue.xml file in the reVue installation directory.

In addition to the pre-set shapes, you can choose a custom region. When you choose a custom region, reVue will show the entire recorded image (without any of the overscan area hidden) then replace the control area with instructions. You will need to decide which part of the video you want to see then click the upper left and lower right corners of that region. Areas outside of the selected region (shown below as faded) will be hidden from view.

After you set your custom shape, the control area will show you how much of the video you hid from each side. After a few seconds, the regular controls will reappear.
(Note, custom shapes work well up to a point; choosing a really small or odd shape may not work as expected.)

To show or hide the Control area, hold down the Control key while pressing Enter or clicking the video.

To show or hide the window's title bar and frame, hold down the Alt key while pressing Enter or clicking the video. While the title and frame are hidden, reVue will stay on top of all other windows.

To zoom the window full-screen, press Enter or double-click the video. To leave full-screen mode, double-click again, press Enter again or press Esc.

To close reVue, click its close box in the upper right of the window, choose Exit from the File button menu, press "X," or press Alt+F4.

When a video is archived from a ReplayTV 5000 or 5500, an "event" file is saved along with the MPG. With a ReplayTV 4000 or 4500, an "index" file is saved. (Note, there is an index file for the 5000/5500, but it is not used by reVue.) These ReplayTV-provided files mark off scenes that reVue classifies as content or commercials. However, with reVue you can fine-tune the imported scene times, split and merge scenes, and reclassify scenes.

Changing Scene Types

Each scene has a type. reVue figures out some types from the ReplayTV .evt and .ndx files, but you can change the type of any scene by right clicking it in the SceneBar and choosing a new type.

Splitting and Merging Scenes

To split a scene in two at the current playback time, click the "+" buttom (or press the "+" key). (reVue won't let you split a scene within 30 seconds of another scene.) To merge a scene with the previous one, click the "-" button or press the "-" key.

You can also split and merge scene with the mouse. Just right-click a time on the Scene Bar and choose Split or Merge from the popup menu.

Editing Scene Times with the Mouse

You can edit scene times with the mouse. Control-click the start of a scene (except the first scene) then drag the mouse left or right. The amount of the move and the new start time is shown below the SceneSelector. As you're resizing a scene, it's old start is marked by a red line (1) and the current position is temporarily shown (2) as a new scene.

If you hold the Shift key down while you move the mouse left and right, sensitivity will be increased by a factor of 10.

Editing Scene Times with the Arrow Keys

You can also adjust scene times with the keyboard. Alt-click the start of a scene (except the first scene) then use the left and right arrow keys to adjust the time in one-second increments, the amount of the move and the new time is shown below the SceneSelector. Press Enter to save the new time or Esc to cancel editing and restore the previous time.

If you hold the Shift key down while you press the left and right arrow keys, you can fine-tune times in tenths of a second.

Editing Scene Times during Playback

The easiest way to adjust scene information is during playback. As the playback position marker moves, the nearest scene line shows which scene boundary is closest to the marker. Pressing the "S" key slides that scene to the marker. Because AutoSkip continues to work during playback editing, moving a commercial (or othe skippable scene type) forward causes reVue to skip the scene and resume playback at the next playable scene.

Editing Scene Information

You can also edit scene information through the Show Information dialog box. Click the File button then choose Edit Show Information.

To edit a scene, click on its entry in the list box then change the title, time, or type below the list box. To save your update to a scene, click the Update button. Note that if you click a different scene before clicking Update, your updates to that scene will be lost.

To save the changes to scene information, click the OK button. Click Cancel if you do not want to change the scene information for a video.

Many parts of reVue can be customized by editing its revue.xml configuration file. This text file contains information about scene types, AutoSkip schemes, QuickSkip and InstantReplay durations, aspect ratios and zoom levels. reVue reads this file when it starts, so restart reVue if you make changes to the file. (Tips: keep a copy of the original file around just in case you break things.)

Overview

Scene Types

AutoSkip Schemes

QuickSkip and Instant Replay

Show Shape (Aspect Ratio Control)

Show Size (Zoom Level Control)

Any error in any section will cause reVue to abandon that section. If that happens, reVue will not work. Don't mess up this file.