Topaz Labs LLC
A Video Enhancement Company
Topaz Moment V3.4 PE
(Production
Edition)
User’s Guide
November 2007
Copyright © 2006,2007
Topaz Labs LLC. All rights reserved.
www.topazlabs.com
1 Introduction.................................................................................................................... - 1 -
2 Getting Started............................................................................................................. - 2 -
3 Keyboard short-cuts.................................................................................................. - 5 -
4 Enhancement Options.................................................................................................. - 6 -
5 Save Options..................................................................................................................... - 8 -
6 Capturing From DVD DISK.......................................................................................... - 10 -
7 Thumbnails...................................................................................................................... - 11 -
8 Batch Capturing.......................................................................................................... - 13 -
9 Other Settings.............................................................................................................. - 14 -
10 cmdline Options.......................................................................................................... - 18 -
11 TM Batch......................................................................................................................... - 20 -
12 More Information...................................................................................................... - 22 -
Congratulations
on your purchase of Topaz Moment, Production Edition!
Topaz
Moment, Production Edition, consists of two programs: Topaz Moment captures and
enhances still images from video. TM Batch enables you to automatically capture
large numbers of still images from multiple video files.
Topaz
Moment V3.x is a big step up from the highly acclaimed Topaz Moment V2.1. It
comes with a completely new user interface based on the open-source Media
Player Classic. This is both more user-friendly and offers better functionality
than the former one. Many codecs are internally built in and therefore with
less need to download codecs. The enhancement engine itself was dramatically
improved, producing even higher quality of pictures with less parameter to
adjust.
Other
upgrades include the new ability to automatically detect whether a video is
interlaced or progressive, removing a bothersome part of the frame capturing
process. The user interface is much more intuitive and easier to use, and is
optimized for maximum efficiency. This means fewer settings to tweak but more
quality image to enjoy.
TM Batch automated the work flow of capturing large
number of video files. It is mostly
useful to turn a collection of video files into still image database.
We hope that the new Topaz Moment will fulfill your
video still capturing needs. If you have any questions, comments, or feedback,
please contact us at: support@topazlabs.com
This section will explain how to get your first
high-resolution still from a video. Instead of explaining the nitty-gritty (and
forgettable) details first, we’ll go over the basics of Topaz Moment.
Before we begin, however, please note that Topaz Moment user
interface is based on one of the best open-source Media Player Classic. The
Media Player Classic features, however, are not explained here. For detailed
help documentation on Media Player Classic, please visit http://sourceforge.net/project/showfiles.php?group_id=82303&package_id=144472
.
Here’s an overview of
the layout of Topaz Moment:
1.
This section is where
the video or DVD is viewed much like any media player. In fact you will find
Topaz Moment becomes your favorite player for any video very soon.
2.
This section contains
commonly-used video navigation buttons such as Start, Stop, Pause, etc. The
Navigate menu, there are many advanced video playback controls to make your view
video and finding the desired frame a snap. Notice there are step one frame
forward and step one frame backward buttons (or use the right arrow or left
arrow keys), which can be used to find the exact frame you wish to capture.
3.
This section contains
the unique Topaz Moment features.
a.
Clicking the camera
button will enhance the frame currently displayed on the screen.
b.
Clicking the other
button will bring up Topaz Moment Option dialog.
It’s extraordinarily easy to capture quality video
stills using Topaz Moment. First, load up a video either using File > Open File… (Ctrl-O) or File > Quick Open File… (Ctrl-Q). Quick Open File is more convenient for opening
single videos, but Open File… is
better for opening multiple videos into a playlist. More on that later.
Now that
we’ve opened up a video file, scroll to the portion that you want captured.
Once at the desired frame, pause the video. Now look to the bottom of the
program at the bar containing the Topaz features (#3).
Click the small icon that looks like a camera to capture a frame.
The video
will step through a few frames as Topaz Moment makes use of neighboring frames
per its default settings. The image file will then be saved and a preview opened
in Windows Picture/Fax Viewer.
Congratulations
on capturing your first high-resolution video still! It’s that easy.
All
operations of Topaz Moment can be achieved using menu commands and
buttons. However you will find commonly
used actions can be done via keys. Some
of the most commonly used keys are:
·
Right Arrow: step one frame forward,
·
Left Arrow: step one frame backward,
·
Space key: play and pause video,
·
Ctrl-Q: Quick open a video file.
·
F5 Function Key: Capture and save an image.
You can get
a complete list of the short-cut keys from the Option Dialog. You can also customize them.
The enhancement settings are all
adjustable. This is where the degrees of enhancement and image processing are
determined by the user.
Save Raw Video Frame: Essentially a frame-grab. The frame
is saved without any processing.
Save Enhanced Video
Frame: Save with
enhancements, most of which are tweakable:
Frame Type: Typically set to “Detect Automatically”. This tells the
program what kind of video it is – interlaced or progressive. If you know for
sure whether your video is interlaced or progressive, adjust this to the
appropriate option. If not, let Topaz Moment do it for you.
Noise Reduction: Level of noise reduction from 0-100. Caution – using an
excessive value for this option may obscure details.
Sharpness: Level of sharpening from 0-100.
Caution – using an excessive value for this option may create unwanted
artifacts. 0 disables sharpness.
Auto Level: Degree of automatic histogram adjustment for brightness and
contrast. Basically determines the extent that Topaz Moment balances the
histogram for the captured image. Recommended to be set around 50. Set it to 0
to disable this function.
Auto Color: Degree of automatic histogram adjustment for color. Determines
the extent that Topaz Moment balances the Color histogram for the captured
image. Recommended to be set around 50. Set it to 0 to disable auto color
adjustment.
Image Size – Zoom: One way to set the factor that Topaz Moment will increase
the image’s resolution by. If Zoom is selected and set to 2.0, e.g., the size of the captured
image will be twice as large, both horizontally and vertically, as the original
video frame size.
Image Size – Resize To: The dimensions (in pixels) that Topaz Moment will resize
the image to.
Cropping: How much Topaz Moment should chop off the original frame. It is used to crop out black/bad border of
DVD movies or some videos.
Save Multiple Frames as
Tiles:
This
option will capture a batch of frames as tiles in a single image. The option
determines the number of tiles on an image. Great for examining the progression
of the video.