|
|
|
|
|
|
Above and Beyond Software
Frequently Asked Questions
Please select a question:
Performance:
Graphics:
Error Messages:
Sound/Music:
| Q |
Why does the screensaver run slowly or "choppy" and how can I improve this? |
| A |
There are several reasons that this could be happening. If you have an older computer (CPU or Video card), your system will have to run the screensaver with some lower settings to achieve smooth animation.
To see a detailed list of steps you can take to remedy this situation, click on the button labeled "Help!" on the configuration window (you can get there by opening up Display Properties and then clicking on the Screen Saver tab and then clicking "Settings"). This will launch the screensaver's help documentation. Now click on the topic titled "Improving screensaver performance". This documentation should tell you everything you need to know. If not, check the support forum for suggestions. |
| Q |
The screensaver appears to "jerk" while it's running. |
| A |
Certain types of programs are known to cause some problems of this sort. Specifically, if you have a program like Winamp running while the screensaver is running, you can encounter this sort of problem. The only known work-around is to close the program that is known to interfere. |
| Q |
The screensaver displays the "Loading..." message but takes a really long time before it starts running. Why? |
| A |
This will happen if you are on a slower computer and/or you have several large images selected (ex: 1024x1024). It takes a considerable amount of computing resources to load a very large image, scale it, and then load it as a 3D texture. If you have several of these selected and/or you are on a somewhat older computer, you will encounter this.
A possible solution is to make copies of the images you are using and scale (resize) them down with an image editing program to a size more like 512x512 pixels.
Another possible improvement can be to lower the image quality setting to "Low". This causes the screensaver to use a less intensive resize filter and should lead to somewhat reduced load times. |
| Q |
The pictures appear fuzzy, how can I fix this? |
| A |
Assuming your original images aren't fuzzy, this can be caused by a couple of factors. Try one or more of the following:
- One thing to try is to increase the "Display Mode" setting to a higher number (the first two numbers are what matter, the last number is just the color depth and will not affect the screen resolution).
- Another option is to increase the size of the cube.
- A third option is to raise the "Image Quality" setting.
NOTE: By default, the screensaver's Display Mode is set to 640x480. This is a rather low resolution and should usually be increased. However, on slower computers this may be the highest you want to go. In such a case, try simply changing the cube size and/or the Image Quality setting.
The reason these three all affect the picture "fuzziness" is because when the screensaver starts, it first looks at the display mode (resolution) you have selected, and then looks at how much of the screen the cube will occupy given the size of the cube. So if you have a low resolution to begin with and then a somewhat smallish cube, the screensaver calculates that the cube will only occupy a small number of pixels on the screen. If you have the "Image Quality" setting set to High, the screensaver will make the pictures of the cube a bit higher resolution than they need to be. If you have it set to "Low", they will be at most the minimum resolution, and probably a bit lower than optimum. If you have it set to "Med.", the screensaver will try to go with the closest fit (either higher or lower than the visual optimum).
|
| Q |
The screensaver won't load one or more of my pictures, why? |
| A |
This could be a couple of things:
- The image(s) you selected has become corrupted somehow and is no longer readable by the screensaver.
- The image(s) you selected are on a remote volume or on some sort of removable media (CD-ROM, floppy disk, etc.). The screensaver will read these files successfully as long as the media is attached. But once it is removed from the system (the CD-ROM is removed from the drive, the floppy is removed, etc.), the screensaver will no longer be able to read those files when it starts. The following are some solutions if this is the case:
- Either copy the file(s) to your local hard disk volume so they will always be accessible and then tell the screensaver where you copied them.
- Do not remove the media containing the files you want.
- Select different files that are on non-removable media volumes.
NOTE: 3D Picture Cube Saver should have no problem loading image files with the following extenions:
|
JPG
JPEG
GIF
|
TIF
TIFF
BMP
|
PCX
TGA
PNG
|
|
|
In addition to those listed to the left, there are also "undocumented" file types that should work:
| PPM, PBM, PGM, IFF, ILBM, RAS, EPS, ICO, MNG, JNG, WMF, EMF, APM, PSP, JP2, JPC, YUV, CUT |
|
|
| Q |
The "Glossy Pictures" feature doesn't look quite right, why?
|
| A |
It is a known issue that some video cards have difficulty properly displaying the "gloss" effect. The 3DFX "Voodoo" series of video cards is one such example. |
| Q |
I'm getting the error "The Requested Display Mode Is Not Supported By Your Video Card." What should I do?
|
| A |
This message means that, for one reason or another, your video card does not support the resolution you have selected. This could be either due to the fact that you have selected a resolution that is too high (the first pair of numbers [ex: 1024x768]) or you have selected a color depth that is too high for your video card to handle (the third number [either 16 or 32]).
Try lowering (using a lower number) the "Dispaly Mode" setting incrementally until you find a mode that works. 640x480x16 should work on pretty much any video card and should afford very smooth animation, but it doesn't provide the highest visual quality. |
| Q |
The screensaver won't play my MP3s, why not?
|
| A |
MP3 support will be added shortly but is not currently implemented.
In the meantime, there are other audio formats that are supported. For details, click the button labeled "Help!" on the configuration window and then select the help topic titled "Selecting Music".
|
| Q |
How do I select/create a playlist?
|
| A |
Selecting an existing playlist file is the same as selecting a single music file. And the process for doing this is virtually identical to the process of selecting an image file. But note that you cannot create playlist files using the screensaver. The screensaver supports several playlist file formats but the playlist file must already exist somewhere on your computer.
To create a playlist you can use a variety of applications. Winamp is one of the most popular. Windows Media Player also provides some playlist functionality, but it is not as easy to use.
|
| Q |
I have a song or playlist selected but do not hear anything, why not?
|
| A |
Make sure that if you have a playlist selected, that it is a list of files on your computer. If it is a list of files available over the internet, you will have to have an active connection that is fast enough to stream the files over the internet.
Also make sure your speaker volume is turned up, and that the music volume setting on the configuration window is turned up sufficiently high.
Finally, varify that the "Play Music" option is enabled on the configuration window.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
