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- What is WhiteCap?
- WhiteCap is a real-time music visualization plug-in
for media players and can also visualize auxiliary or "line-in"
audio. WhiteCap features several hundred effects,
a morphing slideshow, savable and scriptable effects, video
file export capabilities, control over specific effects,
and expandability. WhiteCap is designed to be visually
engaging and extremely dynamic while allowing you to customize,
control, and script it.
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- What
are the system requirements?
- WhiteCap only requires a fast computer and doesn't require
3D or other special video hardware. It's recommended you
have at least a PIII processor. If you plan to use
WhiteCap as a plugin to your audio player, you need to have
the player already installed, and if you plan to use the
stand-alone version of WhiteCap (to visualize line-in audio)
then you don't need anything more.
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- Can
WhiteCap visualize "line-in" audio?
- Yes. The first method is to simply use the stand-alone
version of WhiteCap (see the WhiteCap
as an Application section for more). The second method
to visualize line-in audio is some audio players allow you
monitor line-in audio.
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- How do I increase
frame rate?
- WhiteCap doesn't use any special hardware, so even the
newest graphics hardware won't increase your frame rate--your
CPU and RAM speed are the most limiting factors. However,
here's other ways to increase frame rate:
- Quit background processes
- Decrease full screen resolution
- Limit the frame size -- When WhiteCap is told
to draw in a given rectangle, you can confine WhiteCap
to an even smaller rectangle using the MaxX and MaxY
parameters. This is useful because it sets an upper
limit on how many pixels WhiteCap must render, allowing
you to avoid low frame rates when screen resolution
is set high (1024x768 or greater). To edit MaxX and
MaxY, see "How do I customize WhiteCap?" (below).
- Use pixel doubling -- Press 'P' turn turn
on pixel doubling.
- Disable CPU power saving features.
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- How do I change
the full screen resolution settings?
- Your display device may show WhiteCap best in a resolution
different than the default full screen resolution (640x480).
640x480 is the default because most monitors and projectors
show it well, it's very compatible, and it yeilds good frame
rates for a typical PC setup. If you have a faster setup
or use a display device that only supports a specific resolution,
you'll want to change the full screen resolution mode. While
running WhiteCap in window mode, press the "Switch
full screen resolution" key (M by default) in order
to step through the available full screen resolutions. Be
warned that because WhiteCap's frame rate is proportional
to how many pixels it must draw, frame rate is low when
full screen resolution is set high. Also see "How can
I increase frame rate?" (above).
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- How do
I specify which display device WhiteCap uses for full screen?
- Whichever display device the WhiteCap window sits in is
the device WhiteCap will use for full screen mode. For example,
if you have a LCD projector and want WhiteCap to use it
as the fullscreen device (ie, not the monitor), first drag
the WhiteCap window so it's in the projector screen rectangle,
then start full screen mode.
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- How do
I customize WhiteCap?
- There's two files that determine how WhiteCap is configured:
the preferences file and the "boot" file. See
the Customizing section for
more.
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- What is a
"config"?
- A "config" is WhiteCap slang for a text file that
arbirarily insrtructs WhiteCap how to function, much like
how a video game cartridge arbitrarily intructs the video
game console. Particular selections of configs running together,
each defining unique WhiteCap visual behavior, determine
WhiteCap's visual output. Because configs are text files,
users can create new configs that add to the WhiteCap expereince.
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- How do I undo
changes I've made to the WhiteCap prefs file?
- You may accidentally edit some settings in the prefs file
that causes problems. If you delete the prefs file, WhiteCap
will create a fresh prefs file with "factory" settings the
next time it starts. Because WhiteCap writes its prefs file
when it exits, you must delete the prefs file when WhiteCap
isn't running.
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- How do I
store a good-looking config and recall it?
- Sometimes, you may spot a config you really like. WhiteCap
allows you to "save" the current config for later
recall by writing out a script that switches to the given
config when the script run.
- To save the currently running config as a key on your
keyboard, press CTRL+SHIFT and the key you want associated
with the script.
- To run the script, press CTRL and the key you used
to store the script.
For example, suppose you chose '8' to be associated with
a config (ie, you pressed CTRL+SHIFT+8). The above steps
makes WhiteCap generate a text file named "8 Key" inside
your "Scripts" folder. When you now press CTRL+8, WhiteCap
will search for a script named "8 Key" to run. Scripts are
capable of much more, but this method is meant to be an
easy way to store and recall appealing combinations of configs.
See the scripting section for
more.
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- Where can I
get more WhiteCap config files?
- At www.soundspectrum.com you can download the standard edition of WhiteCap containing additional and bonus conifg
archives. Since there's so many configs created for WhiteCap,
only the sharpest and most creative configs that are submitted
make it to the distributed WhiteCap archive.
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- Can I capture
or take a "snapshot" of the WhiteCap window?
- To take a 'snapshot' of the WhiteCap window, press the
key that does so ('`' by default). When you press this key,
the contents of the WhiteCap window will be saved to a BMP
file on the desktop.
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- Can I make
WhiteCap into a screensaver or desktop background?
- If you want to learn the language WhiteCap and WhiteCap
use in their config files, you should already have some
familiarity with programming or script writing of some sort.
The more programming or script experience you have, the
easier you'll learn the config language. See the Config
Programming section.
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- Can I
make my own WhiteCap config files?
- If you want to learn the language G-Force and WhiteCap
use in their config files, you should already have some
familiarity with programming or script writing of some sort.
See the config
programming section.
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- Can I resize
the WhiteCap window?
- Depending on what player and platform WhiteCap is running
in, you may not be able to resize the WhiteCap window. For
example, for the standalone versions, drag near the bottom
right of the window.
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- Why doesn't
WhiteCap respond to my keyboard or mouse input?
- Depending on what player and platform you're using, it
may not be possible for WhiteCap to receive mouse clicks
or keystrokes. For example, certain media players simply
don't pass mouse and keyboard events to visual plugins.
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- Why should
I submit feedback, bug reports, or configs to SoundSpectrum?
- WhiteCap can't improve unless
you send us ideas, feedback, and bug reports. Most of the
features added to WhiteCap started out as user comments.
When WhiteCap was first released, it came with about 20
configs. Today, thanks to users who sent in configs they
made, several hundred configs now come with WhiteCap. WhiteCap
is the same way: if you submit new configs, you'll make
WhiteCap that much better for everyone else.
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- Can I control
how much of my CPU goes to WhiteCap?
- The function SetDesiredFPS() in the boot.txt file sets
the desired frame rate. WhiteCap monitors the current frame
rate and attempts to adjust its system priority until the
desired frame rate is achieved. Because WhiteCap uses feedback
to change its system priority, it can take take several
seconds for WhiteCap to arrive at the desired frame rate,
so be patient when you resize its window (or do anything
that significantly changes its load on your system). When
WhiteCap has raised its system priority to the highest limit
or "peg" (and cannot raise it further), you will
see frame rate start to fall below the desired frame rate.
See the customizing section
to learn about the boot file.
- How do
I pre-plan/script a WhiteCap performance for a particular
audio track?
- Using WhiteCap's scripting services provides some exciting
ways to synchronize events in WhiteCap with events in audio
tracks. See the following question and read the scripting
section.
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- How do
I coordinate the start of an audio track or WhiteCap capture
with a script?
- When a new audio track starts in your media player, WhiteCap
will look for a script with a matching name to run (note:
if the audio track is an mp3 file and contains ID tag data,
then WhiteCap will use the ID track name instead of the
track's filename). For example, suppose you have a script
that's timecoded for "Andy Sings Opera.mp3". Rename your
script to "Andy Sings Opera.txt", restart WhiteCap, play
the audio track, and WhiteCap will automatically start the
script. The scripting section
describes scripts in detail, allowing you to coordinate
WhiteCap with an audio track in exciting ways. In its GUI,
SoundSpectrum Darkroom allows you to specify a
script to run as the specified audio track is exported to
a video file, allowing you to create your own customized
music video.
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- How do I display
multiple configs at the same time?
- Make a folder in the "Configs" folder and move the config
files you want to be displayed at the same time inside that
folder. See "RGB Rave" as an example.
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- Can I edit
configs while WhiteCap is running?
- If you develop your own configs, you'll need to test them
out as you go along. However, WhiteCap caches its files
when it starts up, so changes to config files won't have
any affect until you restart WhiteCap. However, you can
get WhiteCap to load a fresh copy of a config from disk
by pressing the key that "reloads current configs." Pressing
this key will cause WhiteCap to reload the currently running
config from disk.
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- Could
WhiteCap benefir from MMX (for Pentiums)?
- Two-thirds of the CPU power that goes to WhiteCap is spent
mostly running WhiteCap's virtual machine (the thing that
makes "running" configs possible). These hardware technologies
can't be used here to get an increase in performance. However,
3D hardware could aid in the 3D rendering, but it the overhead
wouldn't be worthwhile for just wireframe rendering. In
other words, until WhiteCap uses intensive 3D effects (surface
rendering, etc), 3D hardware isn't worth using.
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- How do
I uninstall WhiteCap?
- Use the OS to search for a folder named "WhiteCap".
Once you've found the correct folder (see what it contains
and what its parent folder is), simply delete it. In Windows,
WhiteCap doesn't use the registry at all.
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- What
was used to make WhiteCap?
- The applications is written in C++ and compiled using
Metrowerks
Codewarrior, a C/C++ development environment. WhiteCap has
evolved over the years to contain many intricate parts.
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