CodeCalc v1.3 ------------- Author: Paul Bowlay E-Mail: otser@yahoo.com WebURL: http://members.xoom.com/otser/ Legal And Distribution Info --------------------------- Please refer to the document named "Legal.txt" in this archive. By using this program, you signify that you have read and agree to all the terms and regulations set out in that document. Introduction ------------ "CodeCalc" is a timecode calculator made for the TV/film industries, however, anyone with a need to calculate times will find it useful. Specifically, I wrote it for myself (a TV presentation co-ordinator) and thus it's slightly biased towards the TV industry. In fact, the only film support is that it allows calculations based on 24 fps. Installation ------------ (1) Put the "CodeCalc.opa" file inside the "App" directory of any disk on your Psion 3c. (2) Install the program icon by pressing Psion-I at the System Screen. Using The Program ----------------- When you first run CodeCalc, you'll see the following display: CodeCalc (25 fps) HH:MM:SS Enter "h" for help > This display is known as the CodeCalc "console". All calculations are done by entering commands into this console. This may seem strange at first, but from one TV dude to another, I guarantee that you'll find it very quick and logical! :) Looking at the display, you'll see the current Psion's time in the top right of the screen. You should now (if working in the TV industry) immediately synchronise your Psion's clock to your facility's clock. Refer to your Psion's manual for details on setting the clock. The next thing you'll notice is that you're working at 25 fps (PAL). To change this to NTSC (30 fps) or Film (24 fps), type either the letter "n" or "f" (without quotes) and press the Enter key. Voila! When you exit CodeCalc, the current fps setting is saved and will be used again when you re-start it. Most functions of CodeCalc are done by entering a single letter and pressing Enter, as you just saw. For example, type "h" and Enter to obtain online help. This is different to the normal Psion practice of pressing the Help key, but due to the nature of the program the Help key remains unfunctional. Maybe in a future release... no promises. I will now explain how to fully use CodeCalc via its console commands. Please read on! :) Exiting CodeCalc ---------------- To exit CodeCalc and return to the Psion's System screen, type "x" and press Enter. All current settings (fps, time results, etc) are saved and will be in effect when you re-start the program. Obtaining Online Help --------------------- Type "h" and press Enter. Then select a subject and press Enter. Changing FPS (Frames-Per-Second) -------------------------------- To use PAL (25 fps), enter "p" and press Enter. To use NTSC (30 fps), enter "n" and press Enter. To use Film (24 fps), enter "f" and press Enter. To use Secam (25 fps), enter "p" and press Enter. Peforming Time and/or TimeCode Calculations ------------------------------------------- NOTE: Only addition and subtraction are supported in this release. The format for time/timecode calculations is as follows: hhmmssff<+/->hhmmssff Obviously, hhmmssff means hours,minutes,seconds,frames. Thus, to calculate 1 hour 36 minutes + 9 hours 13 seconds, you would enter: 01360000+09001300 The result of 10:36:13:00 is displayed. To save typing, you can omit any TRAILING zeroes of a time/timecode. Thus, the above calculation could be entered as: 0136+090013 and the same result would be shown. Remember, only TRAILING zeroes can be omitted, and not LEADING zeroes! Also, do NOT have any spaces in the calculation, or incorrect results will appear. When you have the result of a calculation, you can add or subtract to it without entering the result again. This is done by completely omitting the result and entering the second half of the calculation. For example, to add a further 7 minutes to our result of 10:36:13:00, you would simply enter: +0007 Understand? Here's the whole procedure shown again as you would enter it into the console: >0136+090013 10:36:13:00 >+0007 10:43:13:00 As you can see, CodeCalc acts a bit like a paper roll as you do your calculations. You simply keep adding or subtracting to the current result. If you want to start a totally new calculation, just enter it with both values again (ie: hhmmssff<+/->hhmmssff). To clear the result of a time/timecode calculation, type "tc" and press Enter. The result now becomes 00:00:00:00. Performing Time/Timecode Calculations Past 23 Hours --------------------------------------------------- By default, CodeCalc wraps any calculations that exceed 23 hours in total. That is, if you try to add 2 hours to 23 hours, the result would be 2 hours instead of 25 hours. Why? Because in my profession (television broadcast), any calculations past 23 hours needs to wrap back to early hours for broadcast reasons. That is, if I start a TV programme at 11pm (2300 hours) and it runs for 2 hours, I like to know that it'll end at 0100 hours (1am) rather than 2500 hours. Luckily, this automatic wrapping is not set in stone. Typing "w" and pressing Enter will toggle this wrapping, allowing or disallowing calculations past 23 hours and up to a total of 100 hours. Converting Minutes/Seconds/Frames To Time Format ------------------------------------------------ You can convert a large number of minutes, seconds, and frames to time format (hh:mm:ss:ff). For example, you may wish to know what 20570 seconds is in time format. To perform such conversions, enter the value desired and follow it with "m", "s" or "f". Thus, to convert our example of 20570 seconds to time format, you would enter: 20570s The result, 05:42:50:00, is shown. There is a limit to the value that you can use, depending on which time unit you're converting. This limit is imposed due to the slowness of the Psion when producing the result. Basically, the maximum result for any conversion won't be allowed to exceed 17 hours. This means that a maximum of 999 minutes can be converted, and 99999 for seconds and frames. In practice, this limit doesn't really affect any calculations that you may need. Calculating A Broadcast Reel's TX End-Time ------------------------------------------ Another custom feature for the presentation co-ordinators. :) If you ever need to switch playback VTR's for a broadcast reel, your on-air system (eg. Alamar) may not accurately reflect when the programme will finish. Thus, to find out, follow these steps: Firstly (and VERY importantly!), ensure that your Psion's clock is perfectly synchronised with your facility's clock. Otherwise, the result given by CodeCalc will just be a load of rubbish. :) Next, specify the broadcast reel's timecode out-point by typing "o" and the timecode, that is: ohhmmssff. Thus, if the out-point was 01:02:03:04, you would enter: o01020304 CodeCalc is now halfway ready to calculate the TX end-time for you. The next thing you must do is tell CodeCalc when an upcoming timecode point of that reel is due to arrive. Look at the reel's current timecode point and mentally add 10 seconds (more or less) to it, and type "g" (for "get") and that point. Thus, if the upcoming timecode point was 01:01:00:00, you would type: g01010000 IMPORTANT: Do NOT press Enter yet! You ONLY press Enter when this future timecode point actually arrives! To recap: You've told CodeCalc of the reel's timecode out-point, and you've typed an upcoming timecode point but not pressed Enter for that upcoming point. The cursor should be flashing at the end of the "g" timecode line. When this future point arrives, THEN you press Enter. A time will be displayed: this is the time that the broadcast reel will finish. Performing Normal Mathematical Calculations ------------------------------------------- CodeCalc has its own built-in calculator to save you from switching to the Psion's version when you need one. To perform a calculation, type "c" and the expression. For example, to calculate 913 + 9745, enter: c913+9745 You can use the result of a calculation with a new value by typing "cr" and the new expression. For example, to multiply a previous result by 7, you'd enter: cr*7 You can clear the result to 0 by entering "cc" in the console. Miscellaneous Console Commands ------------------------------ To see program copyright and author info, enter "i". To see a summary of all CodeCalc values, enter "s". To exit the program, enter "x". ======================================================================