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Export QuickTime is a LabChart Extension that enables you to save LabChart
data as a QuickTime movie. The movie can then be viewed using the QuickTime
Player (available from the Apple
web site) or embedded in other applications such as Microsoft Word
documents, PowerPoint presentations or HTML web pages. The movie file
can be played back and inserted into applications on both Macintosh and
Windows platforms.
The movies can be used as interactive aids in lectures or laboratory
preparation, or generated by students in the lab class for use in their
write-ups or visual presentations.
To export a movie, record some LabChart data or open an existing LabChart data
file then choose Save As from the File menu. This will save the entire
file as a movie.
Alternately you can make a selection in the LabChart data and choose Save
Selection from the File menu. In the Save As dialog box (or the Save Selection
dialog box) choose QuickTime Movie from the Format pop-up menu (Figure 1).
 Figure 1. The Save As dialog box with Format pop-up
menu.An Options button will appear in the Format area (Figure 2)
which will invoke the Export QuickTime Options dialog box when clicked (Figure
3).
 Figure 2. The Save As dialog box with Options button. Figure 3. The Export QuickTime Options dialog box.In the Export QuickTime Options dialog box you can choose which channels
will be exported and set movie options.
Channels: The Channels buttons are used
to select which channels will be saved in the QuickTime movie. At least
one channel must be selected.
Comments: Check this checkbox to save
comments and exclusions in the movie file. These can be clicked on (like
the comments and exclusions in the LabChart window) to show the associated
text in a pop-up window.
Waveform cursor: Check this checkbox to
include a tracking waveform cursor readout in the movie. When viewing
a movie saved with this option turned on, you can move the mouse over
the data area to examine data values at points of interest as in LabChart.
Note that QuickTime 4.1 or higher is required for this option.
For playback on systems with an older version of QuickTime this option
should be turned off. Also note that this option will be disabled if LabChart
is running on a system with an older version of QuickTime installed.
Separate cursor file: Check this checkbox
to save the waveform cursor information as a separate file. When this
option is off the cursor information will be included in the same file
as the main movie. You should turn this option on when saving large movies
(more than ~1500 samples of data e.g. 15 seconds at 100 samples per second)
otherwise the save process will take a very long time and the readout
may fail.
Note that this limitation is caused by QuickTime 4.1 and will be rectified
with the release of QuickTime 5 and future versions of the Export QuickTime
extension.
Compressor: The Compressor pop-up menu
is used to select the compression/decompression (codec) method used to
compress the exported movie. The user can select from any codec installed
on their machine. Usually these are installed as part of the standard
QuickTime installation. The "Graphics" codec seems to give the best results
in terms of compression time and compressed movie size.
Movie frame rate: The Movie Frame Rate
pop-up menu is used to select the frame rate of the exported movie. The
frame units are in frames per second (fps). 10,12, 15, 25, 30 fps are
available. In choosing a rate, you should be aware of the tradeoff between
playback smoothness and movie file size. High frame rates produce a better
quality result, that is, smoother animation. Low frame rates give smaller
files, and are more suitable for internet and streaming use.
Movie speed multiplier: Normally, the
movie is played in 'real-time', such that one second's worth of data is
scrolled in one second. If you wish to have the movie play at a speed
other than real-time, choose a factor other than x1 from the Speed pop-up
menu. Values of x1/2, x1, x2, x5, and x10 are available.
Movie size: The Movie Size pop-up menu
is used to select the dimensions of the exported movie in pixels (width
x height). There are standard sizes to choose from or you can set a custom
size.
To download the extension, see the following
pages:
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