dmconvert(1) dmconvert(1)
dmconvert - digital media file conversion utility
dmconvert [options] infile1 [... infileN] [outfile]
dmconvert converts between different digital media files. Input files
are combined, converted, and written to an output file of a selected
format. dmconvert may also be used to describe input files without
converting to an output file.
Supported files include the following audio, image, and movie formats.
The output file format is specified with the -f option, and may be any of
the formats except those marked describe-only or read-only.
Format Description
Audio aifc Audio Interchange File Format w/ compression
aiff Audio Interchange File Format
avr Audio Visual Research
bicsf Berkeley/IRCAM/CARL Sound File Format
iff Amiga IFF/8SVX
d midi Musical Instrument Digital Interface
mpeg1a MPEG-1 audio bitstream
next NeXT/Sun audio
rawaudio Raw audio data
sd2 Sound Designer II
sf2 Creative Labs SoundFont2 Compatible
smp SampleVision
voc Creative Labs VOC
wave WAVE audio
Image bmp Microsoft Windows Bit Map
cur Microsoft Windows Cursor
w eps Encapsulated PostScript
fit File Format for Image Tiling
gif Graphics Image File
hdf Hierarchical Data Format
ico Microsoft Windows Icon
icon Sun Icon and Cursor
jfif JPEG File Interchange Format
mpnt Apple Macintosh MacPaint
pbm Portable Bit Map
r pcd Kodak PhotoCD
pgm Portable Grayscale Map
pic PIXAR Picture
pict Apple Macintosh QuickDraw/PICT
pix Alias Pixel
pnm Portable Any Map
ppm Portable Pixel Map
w ps PostScript
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dmconvert(1) dmconvert(1)
ras Sun Raster
w rawrgb Raw pixels packed as rgb
rgb SGI RGB image
rgbA SGI RGB image with generated alpha
rgba SGI RGB image with alpha
rla Wavefront Raster
rle Utah Runlength-encoded
rpbm Raw Portable Bit Map
rpgm Raw Portable Grayscale Map
rpnm Raw Portable Any Map
rppm Raw Portable Pixel Map
r soft SoftImage PIC
synu SDSC Synu
tga Truevision Targa
tiff Tagged Image File Format
viff Khoros Visualization Image File Format
x Stardent AVS X
xbm X11 Bit Map
xwd X Window Dump
Movie avi AVI movie
mpeg1s MPEG-1 systems bitstream
mpeg1v MPEG-1 video bitstream
qt QuickTime
sgimv SGI movie
r difdv DIF/DV bitstream
(d = describe-only, r = read-only, w = write-only)
At most one audio track and one video track is converted for each file.
Input QuickTime files with multiple tracks are rendered as a single
combined audio track and a single combined video track.
The audio track in the output is obtained by concatenating audio tracks
from the inputs, and likewise for the video track. Tracks to be written
out may be selected and converted with the -p option.
Sequences of image files may be specified in place of regular filename
arguments by using special template strings. These template names
contain a '#' character, and are defined using the -n option.
If dmconvert is stopped with SIGINT (<Ctrl C>), a valid output file is
written with whatever data has been processed. The signal SIGTERM also
stops the program, but causes the output to be deleted.
The next six sections discuss the many features that are supported. At
the end of each section, several examples are provided to illustrate
program usage.
Options
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File Suboptions
Audio Suboptions
Video Suboptions
Template Suboptions
Conversions with Cosmo Movies
-h
Display help. No output file is generated.
-D
Describe the contents of the files. No output file is generated.
-d
Describe files as they are converted.
-s
Use short format for describing files.
-l
Use long format for describing files. Currently, this provides
additional information only for some audio files.
-q
Quiet errors. Do not print error messages.
-v
Verbose progress. Print percentage completed during conversion.
-f file_format[,suboptions]
Output file specification. File_format may be any of the digital
media formats except those that are read-only. Some file
characteristics may be set with the suboptions described in the
File Suboptions section.
-p path[,suboptions]
Enable the specified path to the output file. Path is a track type
and may be "audio" or "video". Data conversion operations on enabled
paths may be characterized by using the suboptions described in the
Audio and Video Suboptions sections.
If this option is not used, all tracks are enabled by default. If
this option is used, each track to be written out must be explicitly
enabled.
-n template_name[,suboptions]
Image sequence templates. Each filename may be in the form of a
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template that specifies a sequence of image files. This option
defines a template_name that may be used subsequently in place
of any of the arguments infile1, ..., infileN, or outfile.
template_name is a string with '#' characters designating integer
indices to be filled in. The number of '#' characters indicates
the minimum field length for each index; left padding with zeros
is performed as needed in order to meet this minimum. By default,
indices start at 0 and increment by 1 until either no more files
exist (for inputs) or no more files need to be written (for outputs).
A template may be customized using the suboptions described in the
Template Suboptions section.
If this option is not used, a filename with '#' characters is
automatically interpreted as a template if the filename does not
already exist as a regular file and, for outputs, if the selected
file format is an image format.
------------
* EXAMPLES *
------------
Print help information.
dmconvert -h
Describe the input files.
dmconvert -D -l in.aiff in.rgb in.movie in.mps
Describe the digital media files in the current directory.
dmconvert -D -s -q *
Make an MPEG-1 audio bitstream from an AIFF audio file.
dmconvert -f mpeg1a -p audio in.aiff out.mpa
Make an audio/video SGI movie from an AIFF-C audio file and a
video-only SGI movie.
dmconvert -f sgimv -p audio -p video in.aifc in.movie out.movie
Make a video-only QuickTime movie from an audio/video SGI movie.
dmconvert -f qt -p video in.movie out.mov
Make a sequence of SGI rgb files from the video track of an SGI movie.
The output files will be named out00.rgb, out01.rgb, ...
dmconvert -f rgb -p video -n out##.rgb in.movie out##.rgb
Make an AIFF audio file from a NeXT file and a WAVE file. Also
describe the files and print progress information.
dmconvert -f aiff -p audio -d -v in.next in.wave out.aiff
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The file suboptions are specified as a comma-separated list of
subopt=value pairs. These provide additional information about the
output file. The available suboptions are
brate
overall bitrate of the output file. Supported for files
that use MPEG-1, Cinepak, or Cosmo JPEG compression. For
files that contain only one track, this sets the bitrate
of that track.
loop
default looping mode of the output movie during playback
("once", "loop", or "swing"). Supported for SGI movies.
interleave
granularity in seconds of audio and video interleaving.
For example, to write audio and video in alternating chunks
of duration 0.5 seconds each, use an interleave value of 0.5.
Supported for SGI/QuickTime movies.
paramfile
parameter file for customizing outputs. Supported for MPEG-1
audio, video, and systems bitstreams. For an example, see
/usr/lib/dmconvert/mpeg1.par.
------------
* EXAMPLES *
------------
Make an MPEG-1 video bitstream at 1.5 Mbps.
dmconvert -f mpeg1v,brate=1500000 in.movie out.mpv
Make an SGI movie with a specific looping mode and interleave.
dmconvert -f sgimv,loop=swing,interleave=0.1 in.movie out.movie
Make an MPEG-1 systems bitstream using a parameter customization file.
dmconvert -f mpeg1s,paramfile=mpeg1.par in.movie out.mps
The audio suboptions are specified as a comma-separated list of
subopt=value pairs. These are used to configure the processing of audio
data from input to output. Processing consists of a pipeline of
individual conversion operations. Suboptions may be specified in any
order, but the actual order of operations is given by
rate->channels->pcmmap/format/width->compression
The available suboptions are
rate
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frame rate of the output audio track. If the input track
has a different rate, automatic rate conversion is performed.
For conversions between the standard rates, 8000, 11025, 16000,
22050, 32000, 44100, and 48000 Hz, high quality filters are used.
For conversions with other rates, simple algorithms of lower
quality are used.
In the special case of converting from 8012.8210513 Hz audio
(common in NeXT files) to a rate other than 8000 Hz, the input
samples are automatically interpreted as 8000 Hz so that the
high quality filters are used. To avoid this small pitch shift,
first convert to an 8000 Hz sound track (the simple algorithm
should be acceptable), then to the desired rate.
stopatten
stopband attenuation of the rate conversion filter (78.0, 96.0,
or 120.0 dB); applies only to conversions between the standard
rates. Higher values produce better quality but require more
computation.
transw
transition bandwidth of the rate conversion filter (1.0, 10.0,
or 20.0 percent); applies only to conversions between the standard
rates. Lower values produce better quality but require more
computation.
chan
number of channels in the output audio track (1, 2, or 4).
pcmmap
PCM mapping of the output audio track. Value may take the form
"slope/intercept/minclip/maxclip" or just "slope", which is
equivalent to "slope/0/0/0". This maps output sample
values to the range [intercept-slope,intercept+slope]. If
minclip<maxclip, clipping to these limits is performed as well.
format
sample format in the output audio track ("2scomp", "unsigned",
"float", or "double").
width
sample width in the output audio track (1-32 bits). Not
relevant for float or double sample formats.
comp
compression scheme to apply to the output audio track ("none",
"g711a", "g711u", "g722", "g726", "g728", "gsm", "dvi", "mpeg1",
or "multirate"). Supported for AIFF-C, NeXT/Sun, VOC, and WAVE
files. Not every compression scheme is supported by each of
these.
brate
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bitrate to use for the output audio track. Supported for
MPEG-1 compression. If the output file has only one track
and the file bitrate suboption is also specified, the file
bitrate takes precedence.
layer
encoding layer to use for MPEG-1 compression (1, 2).
chanmode
channel mode to use for MPEG-1 or Multirate compression
("stereo", "joint", or "dual"). Related channels should be
encoded as "stereo" or "joint". The latter exploits interchannel
redundancy for better compression. Independent
channels should be encoded as "dual".
bratepol
bitrate policy to use for MPEG-1 or Multirate compression
("fixed", "constqual", or "lossless"). MPEG-1 encoding may
operate at either a fixed bitrate or constant quality.
Multirate encoding may operate at either constant quality
or in lossless mode.
nmr
noise-to-mask-ratio to use for constant quality MPEG-1
compression (-13.0 to 13.0 dB). Zero yields a theoretically
imperceptible noise level. Positive values provide more
compression but more noise, and negative values, vice versa.
byteord
byte ordering of the output audio track ("big" or "little"
endian). Supported for uncompressed raw audio output.
The following suboptions describe the input.
inraw
indicates whether the input files consist of raw audio data
("true" or "false"). If true, no other input file formats
are recognized.
indataoff,inframecnt
the data offset in bytes from the beginning of file, and the
total number of audio frames. Relevant only for raw audio
inputs.
inrate,inchan,informat,inwidth,incomp,inbyteord
frame rate, channels, sample format, sample width, compression,
and byte ordering of the input. Relevant only for raw audio
inputs.
inpcmmap
the PCM mapping that describes the input sample range. Value
is given in the same form as the output PCM mapping. Input
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clipping will be performed before main conversions such as
frame rate, channels, etc.
------------
* EXAMPLES *
------------
Make a 32 KHz AIFF file from an 8KHz input using the highest quality
rate conversion.
dmconvert -f aiff -p audio,rate=32000,stopatten=120.0,transw=1.0
in.aiff out.aiff
Make a two-channel AIFF file from a mono input.
dmconvert -f aiff -p audio,chan=2 in.aiff out.aiff
Make a NeXT file that has float samples. Scale the samples to the range
[-5.0,5.0] and also clip values less than -4.5 and greater than 4.5.
dmconvert -f next -p audio,format=float,pcmmap=5.0/0.0/-4.5/4.5
in.aiff out.next
Make an AIFF file that has 8-bit twos-complement samples.
dmconvert -f aiff -p audio,format=2scomp,width=8 in.aiff out.aiff
Make an AIFF-C file that uses Layer II MPEG-1 compression at 192 Kbps,
with the channels encoded under "joint" mode.
dmconvert -f aifc -p audio,comp=mpeg1,brate=192000,layer=2,chanmode=joint
in.aiff out.aifc
Make an AIFF-C MPEG-1 file using constant quality encoding and a low
noise-to-mask ratio.
dmconvert -f aifc -p audio,comp=mpeg1,bratepol=constqual,nmr=-10.0
in.aiff out.aifc
Make a file of raw audio samples that are written as little-endian.
dmconvert -f rawaudio -p audio,format=2scomp,width=16,byteord=little
in.aiff out.raw
Make a WAVE audio file from raw input samples. The samples are extracted
from the middle of the input file, and their characteristics are fully
described.
dmconvert -f wave -p audio,inraw=true,indataoff=100,inframecnt=4000,
inrate=44100,inchan=2,informat=2scomp,inwidth=16,incomp=none,
inbyteord=big,inpcmmap=30000 in.raw out.wave
The video suboptions are specified as a comma-separated list of
subopt=value pairs. These are used to configure the processing of video
data from input to output. Processing consists of a pipeline of
individual conversion operations. Suboptions may be specified in any
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order, but the actual order of operations is given by
rate->interlace->layout/orientation->crop->filter->size->compression
The available suboptions are
rate
frame rate of the output video track. If the input track has a
different rate, automatic rate conversion is performed.
ratecvt
type of rate conversion to use ("rptdrp" or "inv32"). Repeat-drop
is the simpler scheme. Inverse 3:2 pulldown may be used to convert
30 to 24 fps, or 29.97 to 23.976 fps.
il
interlacing of the output video track. May be "none" (noninterlaced),
"even" (even lines temporally first), or "odd"
(odd lines temporally first).
ilcvt
type of interlace conversion to use. Supported types are
"pn_interfield" (odd/even parity to non-interlaced)
A non-linear filter is applied between the fields for
high quality de-interlacing.
"pn_combine" (odd/even parity to non-interlaced)
The fields are temporally combined without modification.
"np_separate" (non-interlaced to odd/even parity)
The fields are temporally separated without modification.
"pp_swap" (odd to even parity, or vice versa)
The fields are temporally swapped without modification.
fl
frame layout of the output video track. May be "full" (full
frame) or "split" (split fields). The frame layout indicates
how video lines are stored, and is not the same as interlacing,
which indicates how the lines are temporally sampled. For
example, interlaced video may be stored as full frames or split
fields, whereas non-interlaced video is usually stored as full
frames only.
This suboption is supported for image files. For SGI movies,
the frame layout is currently restricted to split fields for
interlaced data and full frames for non-interlaced data, so the
interlacing suboption also serves to specify the output frame
layout.
or
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orientation of images in output video track. May be "b2t"
(bottom-to-top) or "t2b" (top-to-bottom). Supported for making
SGI movies.
cropl,cropr,cropt,cropb
number of pixels to crop from left, right, top, and bottom
borders of input images. For interlaced material, top and
bottom cropping should be even numbers.
filt
filter to apply during conversion. The following values
are recognized.
"vblur"
blur images with vertical 1-2-1 convolution, where the
center tap corresponds to the field opposite to that of
the outer taps. Useful for reducing flicker if output
images are played back through video. Supported for
making image files and SGI/QuickTime movies.
"soft", "softmax"
soften images with normal or maximum settings. Useful
as a preprocessing step before compression. Supported
for MPEG-1 movies.
sx,sy,size
size of output image in pixels. Supported for making image
files and movies. sx and sy are used to specify individual
dimensions. size is used to specify both dimensions, where
the value is expressed as WxH (e.g. 640x480) or one of the
strings "orig" or "sif". For interlaced material, the height
should be an even number.
lbox
letterboxing flag ("true" or "false"). If false, the input
images are scaled as needed to fill the output size, which
may require different scale factors in each dimension. If
true, a common scale factor is used and any remaining space
is filled with black. Supported for making image files and
SGI/QuickTime movies.
comp
compression scheme to apply to the output video track ("none",
"jpeg", "mvc1", "mvc2", "qt_anim", "qt_video", "qt_cvid",
"qt_mjpega", "rle", or "rle24"). The Compact Video scheme,
"qt_cvid", is also known as Cinepak. The "qt_mjpega" represents
Quicktime's Motion JPEG Format A. Supported for SGI/QuickTime
movies. SGI movies cannot use scheme's with the "qt_" prefix.
engine
engine used during the conversion ("cosmo" or "sw"). Supported for
JPEG compression or decompression.
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brate
bitrate to use for the output video track. Supported for MPEG-1,
Cinepak, and Cosmo JPEG compression. If the output file has only
one track and the file bitrate suboption is also specified, the
file bitrate takes precedence.
squal
spatial quality factor used in compression (0.0 - 1.0). Supported
for SGI/QuickTime movies. This is useful for setting the spatial
quality of video tracks compressed with JPEG or a QuickTime scheme.
tqual
temporal quality factor used in compression (0.0 - 1.0). Supported
for QuickTime movies. This is useful for setting the temporal
quality of tracks compressed with a QuickTime scheme.
kdist
distance between key frames. Supported for QuickTime and MPEG-1
video compression schemes. For MPEG-1 this is equivalent to the
N parameter, which gives the distance between I frames.
rdist
distance between reference frames. Supported for MPEG-1 video
compression. This is equivalent to the M parameter, which gives
the distance between I or P frames. For example, the pattern
IBBPBBI (M=3,N=6), would be specified by rdist=3 and kdist=6.
The following suboptions describe the input, and are useful for adding
information about image files.
inrate,inil,infl
frame rate, interlacing, and frame layout of input images.
inpixasp
pixel aspect ratio of input images. This is a float defined as
the vertical extent of a pixel divided by its horizontal extent.
It may also be specified as one of the following strings - "sq"
(square pixels), "c525" (CCIR601 525), or "c625" (CCIR601 625).
Used in making SGI movies or MPEG-1 movies.
------------
* EXAMPLES *
------------
Make a 23.976 fps MPEG-1 video bitstream from a 29.97 fps SGI movie
using inverse 3:2 pulldown.
dmconvert -f mpeg1v -p video,rate=23.976,ratecvt=inv32 in.movie out.mpv
Make a non-interlaced SGI movie from an even-interlaced SGI movie
using interfield filtering.
dmconvert -f sgimv -p video,il=none,ilcvt=pn_interfield in.movie out.movie
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Make a sequence of split field image files, out0.rgb, out1.rgb, ...,
from an odd-interlaced SGI movie.
dmconvert -f rgb -p video,fl=split -n out#.rgb in.movie out#.rgb
Make a top-to-bottom SGI movie.
dmconvert -f sgimv -p video,or=t2b in.movie out.movie
Make an SGI movie by cropping, blurring, and resizing the input video.
Use letterboxing during the resize.
dmconvert -f sgimv -p video,cropl=10,cropr=10,filt=vblur,size=320x240,
lbox=true in.movie out.movie
Make an SGI movie with JPEG video at 10.0 Mbps, and use Cosmo to assist
in the compression.
dmconvert -f sgimv -p video,comp=jpeg,engine=cosmo,brate=10000000
in.movie out.movie
Make a QuickTime Cinepak movie at specific spatial and temporal qualities.
dmconvert -f qt -p video,comp=qt_cvid,squal=0.9,tqual=0.5 in.movie out.mov
Make a QuickTime Motion JPEG Format A movie which has odd interlaced
fields. This is a good format for cross-platform field based movies.
dmconvert -f qt -p audio -p video,comp=qt_mjpega,il=odd movie out.mov
Make an MPEG-1 systems bitstream with a video frame pattern IBBPBBI.
The audio track is also written out.
dmconvert -f mpeg1s -p audio -p video,kdist=6,rdist=3 in.movie out.mps
Make an MPEG-1 video bitstream from the input image files in0.rgb,
in1.rgb, ..., and provide information about the input data.
dmconvert -f mpeg1v -p video,inrate=15.0,inil=even,infl=split,
inpixasp=c525 -n in#.rgb in#.rgb out.mpv
The template suboptions are specified as a comma-separated list of
subopt=value pairs. These customize how the template name is expanded
when it is used in place of a regular filename.
The available suboptions are
start
starting index for the sequence of image files.
end
ending index for the sequence of image files.
step
increment to apply to the construction of indices.
------------
* EXAMPLES *
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------------
Make an SGI movie from the images in.rgb.9, in.rgb.10, and in.rgb.11.
dmconvert -f sgimv -n in.rgb.#,start=9,end=11,step=1 -p video
in.rgb.# out.movie
Make a sequence of ten SGI images from an input movie, and name them
out01.rgb, out03.rgb, out05.rgb, ..., out19.rgb.
dmconvert -f rgb -n out##.rgb,start=1,end=19,step=2 -p video
in.movie out##.rgb
CONVERSIONS WITH COSMO MOVIES [Toc] [Back] dmconvert may be used to convert from movies recorded with the Cosmo
Compress option board (cl_cosmo(3dm)), or to produce movies that are
playable by Cosmo.
Cosmo movies are just SGI movies with particular video characteristics.
No special treatment is necessary to use these movies as input files, but
certain settings are required for creating movies playable by Cosmo. The
output video track should be constructed with comp=jpeg and or=t2b.
Further, the dimensions, interlacing, and frame rate should match one of
the following modes.
width height interlacing frame rate
----- ------ ----------- ----------
NTSC 640 480 or 496 odd 29.97
CCIR601-525 720 480 or 496 odd 29.97
PAL 768 576 even 25
CCIR601-625 720 576 even 25
Half-widths and half-heights are also accepted in each mode.
------------
* EXAMPLES *
------------
Make an MPEG-1 movie from a Cosmo movie.
dmconvert -vf mpeg1s -p audio -p video,sx=320,sy=240 cosmo.movie out.mps
Make a QuickTime Cinepak movie from a Cosmo movie.
dmconvert -vf qt -p audio -p video,comp=qt_cvid,sx=320,sy=240,rate=15.0
cosmo.movie out.mov
Make a Cosmo movie from another SGI movie.
dmconvert -vf sgimv -p audio -p video,comp=jpeg,or=t2b,sx=640,sy=480,
il=odd,rate=29.97 in.movie cosmo.movie
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NOTES
In order for some image files to be recognized, the filename should have
an extension that matches the file format. For example, if a Targa file
"foo" is not recognized, then rename it as "foo.tga".
MacPaint image files are always written as 576x720.
Alpha channel is supported only for SGI images and SoftImage PIC files.
The "rgbA" output file format computes alpha based on pixel luminance.
Some command-line syntax changes have been made since previous releases.
o the "sgirgb" file format is still supported, but the new
equivalent is "rgba".
o the "-p all" option should no longer be used. This
functionality is available from the "-f file_format",
"-p audio", and "-p video" options.
o the MPEG-1 "file" suboption is now called "paramfile".
When reading TIFF images with 16 bits/component, the upper 8 bits are no
longer ignored. Its possible to revert to the old behaviour by setting
the environment variable DMCONVERT_DISABLE_SCALE.
This version does not support writing DIF/DV files. A workaround is to
generate a quicktime file and then convert that to DIF using a separate
utility (such as the DVlink application included with the DVlink 1394
card).
When converting to MPEG-1 systems streams, conversion of large amounts of
data (typically over 1 GB) stops with the following message:
dmconvert: SGI Compression Library error. mux: buffer underflow; use
higher systems bitrate
Increasing the systems bitrate may or may not cause the problem to go
away. If possible, breaking up the data into chunks and encoding them
separately should work.
Silicon Graphics Computer Systems. Portions developed at the San Diego
Supercomputer Center.
dmconvert uses the SGI Audio File, Compression, ImageVision, and Movie
Libraries to access digital media data.
Many of the image file formats are supported through the San Diego
Supercomputer Center's image library (libim, libsdsc). This library is
available from anonymous ftp at sdsc.edu in the
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/pub/sdsc/graphics/imtools/ directory. For more information, contact
[email protected].
/usr/lib/dmconvert/mpeg1.par -- sample mpeg1 parameter file
dminfo(1), dmplay(1), dmrecord(1),
soundplayer(1), soundeditor(1),
imgcopy(1), imginfo(1), imgview(1), imgworks(1),
mediaconvert(1), movieplayer(1), capture(1), moviemaker(1),
AFintro(3dm), CLintro(3dm), cl_cosmo(3dm), IL(3il), mvIntro(3dm), mpeg(4)
PPPPaaaaggggeeee 11115555 [ Back ]
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