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VideoHound User Guide Welcome Requirements Installation • REX Registration • Updating Getting Started Sample Review Movie Manager
Welcome VideoHound supports any Palm® device with OS 3.5 or later and 3.8MB of free memory. A color device and expansion card is recommended. The VideoHound application and database can be downloaded from the internet in either .zip or .sit compressed format. If the file doesn't automatically de-compress onto your PC, please refer to your Web browser's instructions to obtain the necessary plug-in. Inside the Videohound folder are two files: videohound.prc and vgmr.pdb These files can be installed on either the handheld device or an external memory card. The most common method is to install the prc file onto the device and the pdb file onto the memory card. The files should be placed in the /PALM/Launcher directory of the memory card. If you do this through the HotSync mechanism, this will be occur automatically. REX (Review Expansion Library): If you have purchased REX (review expansion library) you may install the rex.pdb file rather than the vgmr.pdb file that is included in the standard VideoHound download. This will generate full movie reviews for every entry in VideoHound. Once you have purchased VideoHound you will receive a registration code with your receipt. Launch the VideoHound application on your device and tap the VideoHound titlebar to display the menu. Select Options > Registration... to activate the Registration dialog. Enter your code on the dotted line labeled Registration code. If you have purchased REX as well you may enter its code in the space labeled Expansion code. Tap Register to activate the software. Updating: Updating to the latest version of VideoHound (and REX) is as easy as installing the current demo version over your previously registered copy. Your registration information will be retained and the new full version automatically enabled.
Getting Started
Titles are arranged on a word-by-word basis, including articles and prepositions. Leading articles (A, An, The) are ignored in English-language titles. The equivalent foreign articles are not ignored, however: The Abyss appears under "A" while Les Miserables appears under "L." Other points to keep in mind:
There are a number of ways to locate a specific movie. Name Field: Enter a film's name in the rectangular text-entry field to advance to that part of the index. Tap the circular button with an "X" to clear the entry field or the circular down-arrow button to see the history menu of past searches.
A-Z Tabs: Along the right side of the movie index you will find tabs AB, CD, EF...through WZ. Tap a tab to instantly "open" the index to that letter range. You will note that the tabs themselves are mapped such that if you tap on the top part you will enter the early part of the letter range and the bottom portion of the tab will take you to the last part of the letter range.
Thumb Wheel: The thumb wheel behaves exactly like those found on some tape editing machines. Tap and hold the thumb indent on the thumb wheel and drag down slightly to start marching through the list of movies. Drag down further to speed up the pace through the list. Moving the thumb indent back up toward the neutral position will slow you down again. Tap the arrows above and below the thumb wheel to proceed through the list one item at a time.
Custom Lists: Tap the List button to choose from movies you have assigned to either the predefined categories or to ones you set up yourself (see Movie Manager > Editing a Listing).
Pick of the Day: Tap the "film strip" button to the left of the List button to view the Golden Movie Pick of the Day.
Retrieve: Tap the round button with a magnifying glass symbol to activate the search menu. Tap the VideoHound logo... to enter the Retrieve dialog. The simplest search you may perform is by part of a movie's title, but if you tap any of the pick lists on the left side of the dialog you will find there are many criteria you may search by.
Searching by Status: Tap the round button with a magnifying glass symbol to activate the search menu. Tap any of the choices listed in the top tier of the pick list to find those movies that have been set with that status (see Movie Manager > Editing a Listing > Details).
Tap the A-Z button (found between the name field and the search button) to activate a pick list of the other available indexes in VideoHound.
Actor/Director: The Actor Index provides full videographies for all actors and actresses listed in VideoHound with more than two movies on their resume. The Director Index lists the works of any director who has made it to video and to VideoHound. Although listed in a first name, last name sequence, the names are alphabetized by last name. Film titles, complete with initial year of release are arranged in chronological order, starting with their most recent. A (V) designation after the film title indicates that the actor lent only vocal talents to that movie, as in animation features. An (N) depicts narration duties. Cross-references for actors and actresses who have appeared under more than one name have been added.
Writer: Scriptwriters and script doctors are listed with their vital works. Names are arranged alphabetically by last name. Works are arranged chronologically.
Cinematographer: Directors of Photography are listed alphbetically by last name, along with their work, which is arranged chronologically.
Composer: Videographies of movie music composers, arrangers, lyricists, and so on are listed. Arranged alphabetically by last name.
Kibbles: Subject categories ranging from the orthodox to slightly eccentric permit you to video sleuth from broad type to significant themes to signature scenes. The mix, arranged alphabetically by category, contains hundreds of traditional film genres and sub-genres as well as a feast of VideoHound exclusives. Kibbles also span the literary side of movie-making (Adapted from a Play, Books to Film: Ernest Hemingway) and point out key producers and special effects masters. Yearly box-office winners (that are now on video or DVD) since 1939 are listed along with classic movies, four-bone delights, trash films, modern Shakespeare, Disney fare, significant on-screen and director/actor pairings. The Series portion of this index provides listings of major movie series, ranging from James Bond to National Lampoon to Indiana Jones. Recurring cinematic collaborations and partnerships of note are also listed, including Hope & Crosy, Abbott & Costello, De Nire & Scorcese, and Rafelson & Nicholson.
Sample Review
In the above example the movie's 1) title is The Atomic Brain, 2) rating is WOOF!, 3) alternate title is Monstrosity, 4) year released is 1964, 5) MPAA rating is (R), 6) review, 7) length in minutes is 72, 8) format is BW (other possibility is C for Color), 9) format is VHS (other possiblities are DVD, CD-I, Widescreen, closed captioned, or 8mm), 10) country of origin is GB (Great Britain), 11) cast includes Fran Gerst, etc., 12) Director is Joseph Mascelli, 13) Writer is Jack Pollexfen. The Rating Scale (Four Bones) (Three Bones and a Half) (Three Bones) (Two Bones and a Half) (Two Bones) (One Bone and a Half) (One Bone) (WOOF!)
Movie Manager In any index (other than Kibbles) you may tap the colored square proceeding the listing to edit that particular record. Use the picklist in the upper-right corner to assign the item you are editing to a category of your choosing. Details: Every movie listing has a screen allowing you to set the status and details of the video from Owned, On Order, Rented, Borrowed to Loaned.
Tech Specs: Here you may provide technical specification for the copy of the movie you own including the media type, subtitles and sound specs.
Pix & Sound Clips: All listings (Movie, Actor, Director, Writer, Cinematographer and Composer) allow you to attach a sized JPEG image or WAV sound file from your memory card. For hi-res devices the size should be 132 x 85 pixels and for lo-res devices, 264 x 170. If the image is larger than the screen size only the upper-left portion will appear.
Notes: All listings (Movie, Actor, Director, Writer, Cinematographer and Composer) allow you to add notes for study, reference, trivia--you name it!
You may add a movie title that isn't found in VideoHound by choosing Edit > New Movie from the menu bar. The New Added Movie dialog will come up with text entry fields for the movie's title, year, rating and review.
Once you have created some new movie listings you may access them by tapping the round magnifying glass button and choosing Added from the menu. To re-edit an entry or to delete it tap the title while viewing the review to re-activate the edit/delete dialog.
Frequently Asked Questions Customer: I have a grayscale device. Can I use VideoHound? Sensei: You bet. It just won't appear in those rich golden hues. Customer: Do I need to install the vgmr.pdb file if I am also going to be installing rex.pdb? Sensei: No, my child. REX contains all the information in the VGMR.pdb database so you do not need to install both. Customer: I don't see any movie stills. Where are they? Sensei: Not every entry features an image for memory considerations. While VideoHound comes with a dozen or so built-in pictures, you may add your own JPEGs as outlined in the guide or add MotoDodo's VideoHound Pix for even more images. Customer: Where on the SD card do I install data files like rex.pdb or the blockbuster picture packs? Sensei: If you are installing data files via HotSync, then the default location will work automatically. If you want to install the files into a directory, then you may use: root or "/Applications" or "/Palm/Launcher" as a valid directory. Customer: I installed the blockbusters picture packs, but I still don't see any pictures. Sensei: If you have installed the files to the SD card please make certain that the preference "Look for Pix Packs on SD Card" is enabled. |
