You can control the Abekas A66 videodisk via an RS-232 connection. If you have the Ethernet option installed and want to control your A66 via Ethernet, see page 271.
If you have multiple A66s on your network, you may want to create a configuration entry for each of them. The syntax is:
device video controller name
server_name server
server_id socket
server_host host
buffer buffer
display display
defn
format format
ttydev device
mode mode
D1_port port
beta
enddefn
enddevice
device video controller name
The name is the name you want to assign to this device.
The server is the name of the executable that controls the Abekas. It resides in the product_bin. The server should be vtca66 for the A66. (If you relocate the server executable, or if the server is running on a different host than your application, you must specify the server as a full UNIX pathname.)
server_id socket
The socket is the socket number through which your application communicates with the Abekas server process. This number must be unique to your UNIX system for each defined device and (Alias|Wavefront and non-Alias|Wavefront) server process. If you are defining multiple Abekas configurations, you must use a different socket number for each Abekas.
server_host host
The host is the name of the workstation to which your Abekas is connected. This is typically the workstation on which you are running your application, but can be any of the workstations on your Ethernet network. If you are using one workstation for your application and another for the Abekas, you must install your application on both machines. The host should be localhost if the Abekas is connected to your workstation.
buffer buffer
The buffer is optionally used to specify the name of a frame buffer device that is related to the Abekas A66. If it is defined, this corresponding frame buffer is opened whenever the Abekas A66 video controller is opened.
display display
The display entry is optionally used to specify how you want the disk location to be displayed. The default, timecode, displays disk locations using time code. To display disk locations as frame numbers, specify frame. Note that this setting does not affect the display format on the Abekas A66 console.
format format
The format indicates whether your Abekas recognizes NTSC or PAL video. If this line is omitted, NTSC is used by default.
ttydev device
The device indicates the name of the UNIX device port through which the workstation communicates with the Abekas. On SGI workstations, it is typically ttyd1, ttyd2, ttyd3, or ttyd4, which corresponds to the RS-232 ports on the back of the computer.
mode mode
The mode indicates whether your Abekas is operating in frame or field mode. We recommend frame mode.
D1_port port
The port indicates how the D1 video input port is to be used. The port must be either 1 or 2, meaning that the Abekas expects to receive D1 video input via port 1 or 2, respectively. A video frame buffer is required to convert the RGB image into D1 video.
beta
The beta entry indicates that the Abekas is using software older than version 1.4.
Tip: When using the Abekas, ensure that the Remote Aux. Protocol is in ASCII mode. For more information on connecting serial devices, see appendix A, "Connecting RS-232 Devices."