Smart Video Player - Dec/Jan '03

Smart Video Player

Working with videos can be a tricky business unless you are a Hollywood director. In most cases, you hope your counter is reliable when you fast forward or reverse to pertinent frames in your case. Plus, you either have to fumble with a cumbersome remote control or the main unit to find the spot you want to play on the videotape.

Smart Video Player is a convenient tool for viewing and annotating video and graphics so you can write over your video, pause or freeze certain frames, and save your annotations or clear them completely. With Smart Video Player, you can be like John Madden and annotate portions of your own replay during a hearing, trial preparation or in the courtroom.

Why would you need to use the Smart Video Player in a courtroom scenario? Imagine you have an undercover videotape of a drug buy or a traffic stop. The ability to freeze the video and write the names of the persons involved on the frame shot can stick in the mind of a juror much better than having someone verbally testify without freezing the video and annotating it directly.

Also, by saving your annotations, Smart Video will automatically send a screen capture to a Smart Notebook file, thereby not affecting the original video.

It’s also helpful if you enable the Smart Video Player to automatically pause whenever you pick up a stylus from the Smart Pen Tray. This works by the optical sensors in the Pen Tray, which detect when you are picking up the marker and freezes the video. To activate this function, go to “Options,” then “Video Player Settings” and check “Always on Top” and “Pause When Tool(s) Lifted.”

Not everything worked smoothly when I was trying out Smart Video. In some instances, the video controls didn’t respond immediately. I discovered the problem was not the Smart Video Player but the capabilities of my own computer.

If you are going to use this feature, you need to check your computer’s capability before using it. Don’t skimp on the requirements. For better performance, you will need a Pentium III, 800MHz or higher processor (I recommend higher than 800MHz), 128MB RAM, 200MB of free hard drive space, DirectX 8.0a or higher, application-programming interface support and Windows Media Player.

Smart Video works great with video files, but you also can capture clips from a VCR or TV reception; however, you will need a video card with a video-in capability.

Smart Technologies recommends you use DirectX-compatible video hardware that complies with the DirectX application-programming interface. Laptop users must purchase the universal serial bus editions of the DirectX-compatible video hardware.

For Windows operating systems, you also can use Smart Video Player to view and annotate over video and graphics from a video camera, projector, scanner, document camera or other hardware connected to your computer.

On the Mac OS X operating system, you can use QuickTime Player software to annotate over moving or still video on a Smart Board interactive whiteboard.

You can’t purchase Smart Video separately. The video player is part of a free upgrade to previous editions of Smart Board software. This means you have to have a Smart Board in order to get the upgrade. The video player is included with Smart Board driver 7.1 and Smart Notebook 2.5.

If you already have a Smart Board, go to the Web site (www.smartech.com/support/software) to download the upgrade for free. The Smart Tech Web site also offers an extensive library of tutorials and support documentation to help you.

Also, this latest version of Smart Board software now is available in 10 languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Japanese, Korean, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Simplified, Portuguese and Italian.

If you already have a Smart Board, it’s definitely worth your while to download the new upgrade. If you don’t have a Smart Board, you might want to consider the many versions of Smart Boards available to find the one that fits your needs and your budget.

Smart Technologies Inc.
(403) 802-2556
www.smarttech.com

Price: Available as a free download to Smart Technologies Inc. customers.
Windows 98 SE/Me/2000/XP; Mac OS X

Reviewed by Milton Hooper, a litigation
support specialist in Macon, Ga.

Dec/Jan '03 Issue

PROS
A great tool to have if you are using any format of video evidence. Pausing the video when you pick up the stylus is a helpful feature.

CONS
You can’t get it unless you have a Smart Board. You also might need additional hardware for your computer to use it effectively.

VERDICT
A must-have for Smart Board users.