Studio Technologies 5152 V.1 - Manual (Page 28)

Issue 5, September 2013 Model 5152 User Guide
Page 28 Studio Technologies, Inc.
Model 5152
Video Generator/Audio Embedder Module
it in the two required formats. So when the
Model 5152 generates either of the two
images (“720” or “1080”), a user will see
what appears to be an identical image.
But there is no reason why the two images
(“720” and “1080”) have to be based on the
same original graphics. Studio Technolo-
gies chose to create two different “720”
and “1080” bitmap files that are pre-loaded
in the Model 5152 at the time of manufac-
ture. They feature two unique background
images with text highlighting the main
requirements for updating them.
While the two bitmap files (img720.bmp
and img1080.bmp) are “standard” in the
sense that they are FAT32-compatible and
have the extension .bmp, they must adhere
to one important requirement that not all
personal-computer graphics programs sup-
port. Their DIB (bitmap information header)
must be a BITMAPINFOHEADER type.
The Microsoft Paint and Adobe Photoshop
applications will create .bmp files that meet
this requirement. But some other programs
may produce non-compatible files. For
example, the open-source GIMP graphics
program is very good but appears to save
.bmp files only as a BITMAPV4HEADER
type. These are not compatible with the
Model 5152. The possibility that various
.bmp files will have different header types
doesn’t seem to be an issue for displaying
them successfully with most personal-com-
puter programs. This is most likely due to
the PC’s large code space allowing es-
sentially all the possible header types to be
supported. But the Model 5152, due to its
target application, has limitations in the file
support area. (For additional background
information, please refer to the Wikipedia
online entry that discusses the structure of
.bmp files.)
A compatible 1280 x 720 (“720”) .bmp file
created using Microsoft Paint or Adobe
Photoshop will have a size of approximate-
ly 2.63 MB; a 1920 x 1080 (“1080”) .bmp
file will have a size of approximately 5.63
MB. The actual size of the files when creat-
ed in Microsoft Paint should be 2,764,854
bytes and 6,220,854 bytes, respectively.
When created in Adobe Photoshop, the
file sizes should be 2,764,856 bytes and
6,220,856 bytes, respectively. (Why are
they each two bytes in size different?
Who knows! But both use the appropriate
BITMAPINFOHEADER DIB type.)
Bitmap Image Update
Procedure
It’s expected that the Model 5152’s bitmap
(.bmp) files associated with the custom
“720” and “1080” images will always be
updated to best serve specific applications.
This will typically take place soon after a
Model 5152 has been installed. (While the
pre-loaded images are nice, they aren’t
really appropriate for actual active applica-
tions.) There’s no problem changing the
files whenever the application warrants
alternate images. The module has the
ability to automatically load revised files
by way of its USB interface. The Model
5152 implements a USB host function
that directly supports connection of a
USB flash drive.
Updating the Model 5152’s “720” and
“1080” images is quite simple but requires
some care. The process begins by pre-
paring a USB flash drive. The flash drive
doesn’t have to be empty (blank) but must
be in the personal-computer-standard
FAT32 format. Save the new image (.bmp)
files in the root directory. Their names
must be img720.bmp and img1080.bmp.