DIVE INTO SOFTWARE /
	dive into video
	For many years, the synchronized playback of audio and video was the threshold of computer innovation, exclusive to high-cost production studios. Now, as contemporary consumer equipment surpasses this marker, its is becoming increasingly less difficult to find software developments geared to the computer video enthusiast that are free to download and freely modifiable. There are players, effect generators, animators, compositors and live performance applications; each with their own constellation of features ranging from the simple and routine to the complex and robust. My selection is not meant to be all-encompassing, but to display a range of possible solutions in the field of digital moving image. There are a number of softwares, besides the ones listed, that are similar or vary by degree. Cthugha, FreeJ, Gimp, Gstreamer, Hasciicam, Image Magick, Jahshaka, PDP (PiDiP), GridFlow and SDL are some of the notables that didn't make the cut. I chose the ones I did based on attractiveness, utility, and level of development - concentrating on remaining inside the scope of this CDrom. Also, I have tried where possible, to include applications that are broad in capacity and available on multiple platforms. To the reader, I feel I should note that digital video is a complicated subject. The concepts at hand are neither easy to grasp nor simple to apply. Interlacing, synchronization, file formats, and color space are tricky hair-pulling topics even for the most disciplined of the field. Except for xine, bomb, and effectv, the listed applications will require at least a glance at the manual pages to see how things fit together. If, when trying these applications, you become frustrated, I can only urge that you remain patient and work systematically.