 README FILE FOR STRATA 

- TABLE OF CONTENTS -

I. SPECIAL FEATURES
II. ENHANCED FEATURES
III. MISCELLANEOUS NOTES

*These topics are provided as supplemental documentation to the manual.

     In order to run this software you must have one of the editions of
Strata's PC animation software: StudioPro or SV3D.  These  will be referred to
simply as Strata.


SPECIAL FEATURES 

- 24-Bit (True Color) graphics -

     Strata now supports 24-bit graphics.  This makes the images
"photo-realistic" (the terms "true color" and "full color" are also used).
In order to optimize speed, images are shown in full color only when it is
appropriate.  For example, full color is displayed when a user loads a file
for display, but not during the rendering process.

     During the Installation Procedure, the environmental variable DISPLAYCFG
is set to VGA, SVGA or SVGA24, depending on the highest graphics mode
supported by the users graphics board.

VGA     320x200 with 256 colors
SVGA    640x480 with 256 colors
SVGA24  640x480 with 16.8 million colors

Note that you can always force a lower mode by changing the value of
DISPLAYCFG.

     Note that 6RN files are always rendered and saved in "full color"
regardless of the display board.  So, if you upgrade to a 24-bit board, your
previously rendered work can now be displayed in full color.

     Full-color display occurs in the options listed below, when the system is
set for full-color (that is, a 24-bit graphics board is installed and
DISPLAYCFG=SVGA24).

   1. In the Utilities System, the "Display 6RN or PCX file" will
      automatically display 6RN files in full color.
   2. In the Render System, when you "Display a rendered image", if the
      resolution is set for 640x480, it will automatically be displayed in
      full color.
   3. The Business Applications (bar graphs) area of the Effects System has an
      option to display 6RN files.  This is also in full color.
   4. The VTR Extensions work in full color.
   5. In the Drawing System, the gradient background is now displayed in full
      color.
   6. In the Picture Show, all 6RN files are shown in full color.  However,
      sequences of 6RN files are animated in 8-bit color, and PCX files are
      shown in the best graphics that the graphics board is capable of
      displaying.

     In the Custom Render dialog of the Render System, if the system is set
     for 24-bit, an additional option will appear on the Special Effects Menu.
     This item is: "24-bit final display" and the default is "Yes".  Clicking
     on it toggles between Yes and No. If it is set to Yes then, after an
     image is rendered, it will be automatically re-displayed as a 24-bit
     image.

- Keyboard input in the Draw System.

   On the Drawing System Menu there is a new option: "Keyboard entry".  If
this is selected, the cross-hairs appears along with the message: Press
Button 1 to use the keyboard.  (See below for the new messages about "swiping
bottom" to exit or select colors).  Pressing Button #1 at this point brings up
the data entry area at the bottom of the screen with instructions to enter
data.  For each point, the user enters the X coordinate (followed by <Enter>)
and the Y coordinate (followed by <Enter>).  When all of the points have been
entered, a final <Enter> brings the user back to the cross-hairs and the
options to use the keyboard to enter another segment, choose a new color, or
return to the Drawing System Menu.

- Targa support -

     For those users that have a Targa32, Targa+ 16/32, or Targa+ 32/64, there
is now an option to display 6RN and TGA files.  In the Miscellaneous Options,
of the Utilities System, select "Options for Targa32". The 6RN files are
displayed in full color and the TGA files are displayed with the same color
depth in which they were saved (full color, if converted from 6RN to TGA by
Strata).

- Transferring sequences to video tape -

     For many users, the ultimate goal is to produce animation on video tape.
Strata now provides a choice of several solutions.  The minimum
additional requirements are a VTR that can perform single frame-edits, one of
Strata's VTR Extensions and VTR controller for the VTR.  The most expensive
item is the VTR itself.  Sanyo has just released a single frame VTR with a
built in VTR controller that lists for less than $3000.  Strata has tested
this VTR and designed an extension specifically for it.  The model is GVR-S950
and it produces excellent S-video and composite output.  For more details on
hardware and software requirements, contact Strata's Technical Support.

    There is a new option on the Main Menu: "VTR Controller".  If you select
this option and have not purchased a VTR extension from Strata, a message will
appear with a brief explanation about these extensions and an option to try a
"Simulated VTR Controller".  As with all of the VTR extension, there is an
online README option which describes the workings of the controller.

     The Extensions offered by Strata are for the following controllers:

         1. BCD-5000
         2. SoftVTR
         3. SANYO GVR-S950 (VTR and controller combined)
         4. DiQuest (Call for availability)

 ENHANCED FEATURES 

    The Demo Diskette has a file called DEMOFILE which contains this list of
rendered images and a sequence of rendered images:

car2.6rn        page.6rn
welcm1.6rn      world.6rn
welcm2.6rn      tree1.6rn
welcm3.6rn      sculpt.6rn
welcm4.6rn      timeb.6rn
welcm5.6rn      page.6rn

     To start the show, just select Picture Show and the Run option.  Note
that even if you running in 24-bit graphics mode, the sequence WELCM still
animates in 8 bits (for speed), while the other images are full color.


- Installation -

     The Installation procedure has been completely revised. There is a "Quick
Install" and a "Custom Install" as well as context sensitive help options.

- Mouse control -

     The problem of the "lazy mouse" has disappeared.  Moving the mouse can be
done entirely on a small pad, without loss of resolution.  The mouse speed can
be set from the "Preferences" command in the Utilities system. The default
mouse speed has been set so that it works similar to the way the mouse works
in Windows.

- Coping with a full hard disk -

     When a sequence is being rendered, the process will halt automatically if
the hard disk fills to the point where it has less than one megabyte.
A descriptive message will appear.  After making more room, (e.g. transferring
to tape and then erasing, or backing up) you can continue rendering from where
you left off.  For example, if the last frame rendered was 200, while
rendering frames 1 - 300, go into the Generate Sequence/Make Batch File option
and set the Range of frames to 201 -300 for a total of 100.  Then generate the
last 100 frames.

- Subdirectories -

     The directories (from which you can select filenames by clicking the
mouse button) have been made more responsive.

- Grid Transformations -

     This option is accessed in the Effects System, on the button bar.  The
maximum number of lines in the X and Z directions have increased from 37 to 70.

- Tri-View/Full Screen in Layout Path -

    In the Window Options of the Layout Path option in the Animate System,
there is an option called "Viewing Mode". This can now be toggled between
"Tri-view" and "Full screen". In the Full screen mode, only one of the view
appears but it is much bigger so that you can move points around and perform
other operations with much more precision.  The Tri-view mode shows all three
views, as before.

- 6RN to FLC Conversion option

  Strata uses a type of compression that is compatible with the type used
by Animator Pro.  This should make it more compatible with all other players
as well.  The option to dither or not dither has been added, since some
players automatically dither.  For these players, this option would allow you
to avoid a doubly-dithered sequence.

 MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 

- Graphics boards and the VESA standard -

     Strata utilizes the VESA standard for graphics display boards.  In
particular, this means that it does not use any special graphics drivers.  Any
graphics board that is 100% VESA compatible will work with Strata.  The
newer boards all support VESA and most of them have their "VESA driver" in
firmware - no drivers to load.

     The less expensive graphics boards seem to cause fewer problems than the
more expensive ones.  This could be due to the fact that the less expensive
boards were designed for (and conform exactly to) to the latest VESA standards
whereas the others have been modified from older versions to conform.  Four
VESA boards, priced between $90 and $175, have been extensively tested and
only the most expensive one (Orchid Fahrenheit 1280) had problems.

     The Orchid Fahrenheit 1280 graphics board does not conform 100% to the
VESA standard.  For example it does not recognize the VESA 112H mode.  It does
have a 212H mode (not recognized by VESA) which has the same resolution
(640x480) and depth (24-bits).  By not checking to see if the board is in the
correct mode, this board can now be used for 24-bit display.  If you intend to
convert to composite video or S-video, first check the compatibility of these
boards with your encoder.

     If you are using an IBM PC that uses an XGA card, IBM supplies a driver
that will allow the XGA board to be VESA compliant.  A problem occurred on the
XGA card that caused the color palette to be incorrect. This was reported by
IBM and has been fixed.

- Running Strata under OS/2 -

The following information was supplied by IBM.  In order to run Strata under
OS/2 perform the these steps:
1. Copy c:\os2\mdos\command.com to c:
2. Create a full-screen DOS session with the following DOS settings:
          DOS_DEVICE        c:\os2\mdos\ansi.sys
          DOS_HIGH          on
          DOS_VERSION       sv3d.exe,5.00,255 or spro.exe,5.00,255
3. Add /e:2048 to the end of the SHELL=statement in CONFIG.SYS.
4. Make sure that the AUTOEXEC.BAT had the following statements:
          LOADHIGH APPEND C:\OS2\MDOS\;C:\OS2;C:\OS2\SYSTEM
          SET COMSPEC=C:\OS2\MDOS
          SET DISPLAYCFG=SVGA
5. Re-install Strata to create a swap file after re-installing OS/2.
