RadioShack 3Com Bigpicture - Manual

I NSTALLATION 2 You’ll need these items from yourBigpicture TM box: NTSC camera video capture card Bigpicture CD-ROM Plus: screwdriver (not included) This section will guide you through installationof the hardware and software in yourBigpicture Videophone package. Thehardware (video capture card and...

I NSTALLATION 3 3. In the “System Properties” screen, look atthe system information under the General tab (circled in the following screen image).The number following the text “MicrosoftWindows 95” will end with “950”, “950a”,or “950b”. This indicates your version ofWindows 95. Write this number on ...

I NSTALLATION 4 Inserting the Video CaptureCard into Your Computer NOTE: Before installing your capture card, write down the card’sserial number in this space: ________________________________ You will find the serial numberunderneath the bar code on the whitesticker on the capture card and on yourB...

I NSTALLATION 5 CAUTION : To avoid risk of electric shock, make sure yourcomputer and all peripheral devices areturned off and unplugged fromelectrical outlets. 3. Remove the screws from your computer’scover and then remove the cover. Yourcomputer may not resemble the computerin the following diagra...

I NSTALLATION 7 PCI ISA 6. Unscrew and remove the expansion slotcover (the long, narrow piece of metal thatkeeps dust from entering through theopening perpendicular to the slot). Becareful not to drop the screw into the PC. 7. Holding the video capture card at eachcorner, with the gold edge facing t...

I NSTALLATION 8 8. Screw the video capture card firmly intoplace using the screw you removed in step6. 9. Replace the computer’s cover. Fasten itwith the screws you removed in step 3. 10. Plug the computer’s power cord back into the computer and reattach your peripheralsto the computer. Connecting Y...

I NSTALLATION 9 1. Plug the Bigpicture camera’s yellow RCA-type video plug into the yellow RCA-typevideo jack on the capture card. 2. Plug the camera’s power cord into thepower jack located just under the videojack on the capture card. 3. Plug the camera’s 1/8-inch audio outputplug into the sound ca...

I NSTALLATION 10 consult your device’s manual if thisconfiguration does not apply. The power jackon the capture card is of no concern when youare using a device other than the NTSCcamera included in your Bigpicture kit. To connect your device’s audio out to yoursound card, connect a phono plug to mi...

I NSTALLATION 11 NOTE: If you do not see the preceding screen, your Plug and Playinstallation was not successful. See “IfPlug and Play Does Not Detect YourCapture Card” (page 43). 2. Click Driver from disk provided by hardware manufacturer . 3. Click OK and insert the Bigpicture CD into your CD-ROM ...

I NSTALLATION 12 5. Next, you will see the following screen onyour desktop. Click OK . Windows will install the additional software. 6. Once the additional software is installed,you will see your normal desktop. Youshould now verify that the installation was asuccess. Click the Windows Start button ...

I NSTALLATION 13 7. Double-click the System icon (circled in the screen image below). 8. Click the Device Manager tab.

I NSTALLATION 14 9. Double-click Sound, Video and Game Controllers . 10. You should see “U.S. Robotics Video Capture” in the Sound, Video and Game Controllers listing. This indicates that the installation was successful.

I NSTALLATION 15 NOTE: If you do not see your video capture card listed in thepreceding screen, your Plug and Playinstallation was not successful. See “IfPlug and Play Does Not Detect YourCapture Card” (page 43). You are now ready to install the software forBigpicture. Turn to “Software Installation...

I NSTALLATION 16 2. When you see the following screen, click Finish . 3. Next, you will see the following screen onyour desktop. Click OK . Windows will install the additional software. 4. Once the additional software is installed,you will see your normal desktop. Youshould now verify that the insta...

I NSTALLATION 19 8. You should see “U.S. Robotics VideoCapture” in the Sound, Video and Game Controllers listing. This indicates that the installation was successful. NOTE: If you do not see your video capture card listed in thepreceding screen, your Plug and Playinstallation was not successful. See...

I NSTALLATION 20 This section will guide you through installingthe Bigpicture Setup Wizard, which installsyour Bigpicture software applications. 1. Click Windows 95 Start . 2. Then click Run . 3. Your Bigpicture CD-ROM should be inserted into your CD-ROM drive. If it isnot, insert it now. Type D:\se...

I NSTALLATION 21 4. You will see the following screen. TheSetup Wizard is preparing your system forinstallation. 5. After you read the “Welcome” screen,click Next .

I NSTALLATION 22 6. Fill in the blanks on the next screen withyour information, using the TAB key to move between the fields. Then click Next . 7. The next screen allows you to choose atypical or custom installation. Werecommend that you click Typical . If you click Custom , you can choose which sof...

I NSTALLATION 23 On the following page is a summary of thesoftware available on the Bigpicture CD-ROM. Review each item to familiarizeyourself with the applications. Keep in mindthat your Bigpicture system will be easier touse if you install all of the software included onthe CD-ROM by choosing the ...

I NSTALLATION 24 Bigpicture Software Summary Bigpicture - T h i s i s t h e a p p l i c a t i o n l a u n c h e r t h a t y o u u s e t o q u i c k l y a c c e s s a n y o f t h e s o f t w a r e i n t h eB i g p i c t u r e p r o g r a m g r o u p . I t a l s o p r o v i d e s e a s ya c c e s s t ...

I NSTALLATION 25 8. When you see the following screen, click Yes . 9. This is the first screen of the RegistrationWizard. After reading the screen, click Next .

I NSTALLATION 27 NOTE: You can also register by fax or e-mail if you have thoseoptions. We explain the By Mailoption to ensure that everyone canregister, regardless of theirsystem’s capabilities. 13. When the following screen appears, makesure the printer selected is the correctdestination for your ...

I NSTALLATION 28 14. This screen marks the end of the registration process. Click OK . Continue with the next section, which provides anoverview of the Bigpicture applicationlauncher. The Bigpicture ApplicationLauncher The Bigpicture application launcher is a quick and easy way for you to access the...

I NTERNET S ECURITY I SSUES 30 The Internet is an amazing new frontier ofhuman interaction. Almost anyone andanything can be found there in one form oranother. This is part of the appeal of gainingaccess to the Internet and the World WideWeb. It’s like having the world’s largestlibrary in your own h...

I NTERNET S ECURITY I SSUES 31 communications path. It should beconsidered a public “place.” Therefore,you should assume that any informationthat you send over the Internet can beviewed by strangers. If the software youare using includes security measures, werecommend that you take advantage ofthem....

I NTERNET S ECURITY I SSUES 32 The information that you provide here willbe available to anyone accessing the VDOdirectory while the VDOPhone software isrunning on your PC. Adding information tothe VDOPhone “Identity” section mighthelp friends and family identify who you arefor practical reasons. Ho...

I NTERNET S ECURITY I SSUES 33 than your real name to ensure that no onewill know who you really are. • Use a password your children don’tknow. If you have children who use your computer, you may want to keep yourVDOPhone password a secret from themto ensure that they don’t have access to thesoftwar...

I NTERNET S ECURITY I SSUES 34 can protect your identity and that of yourfamily. • Do not use “Auto Answer” whenusing VDOPhone. This setting automatically brings up any video imagesthat enter the VDOPhone directory,regardless of whether you want to seethem or not. By disabling this feature, youreduc...

T ROUBLESHOOTING AND O NLINE H ELP R ESOURCES 35 PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS POSSIBLE SOLUTION The computer or software You may have a conflict between Check to make sure you will not recognize the video your COM and IRQ ports. have the correct COM port capture card. and IRQ settings in yoursoftware and/or in...

T ROUBLESHOOTING AND O NLINE H ELP R ESOURCES 36 PROBLEM DIAGNOSIS POSSIBLE SOLUTION You do not see video… (cont.) The application may be set Set the video source to accept video from a option in the software non-existent source. to “composite.” Your software may be set to Change the video format th...

T ROUBLESHOOTING AND O NLINE H ELP R ESOURCES 37 IRQ Conflicts: Freeing an IRQ Your video capture card requires two system resources: an interrupt and a memory segment. If your systemis not immediately detecting the card, there is a high probability that there is an IRQ conflict involving thevideo c...

T ROUBLESHOOTING AND O NLINE H ELP R ESOURCES 38 NOTE: If your PC is loaded with many devices, there may not be a free interrupt available for the video capture card. If this is the case, you’ll need to findan unused device which has a reserved interrupt and free that interrupt for use bythe capture...

T ROUBLESHOOTING AND O NLINE H ELP R ESOURCES 39 IRQ Conflicts: Altering PCI BIOS Settings Your Bigpicture  package is a PCI-based system. While most PCI-based systems configure themselves automatically via a Plug and Play compliant chip set and BIOS, there are occasional problems. Some ofthese sys...

T ROUBLESHOOTING AND O NLINE H ELP R ESOURCES 42 Online Help Resources 3Com offers a number of online technical supportoptions. Choose any one of the following if youneed help with your new Bigpicture system orwant to learn more about it. Bigpicture 90-Day Installation SupportLine If you need furthe...

T ROUBLESHOOTING AND O NLINE H ELP R ESOURCES 43 of our Web page. Log on to http://www.3com.com . CompuServe Connect to the 3Com forum with the commandGO THREECOM. Leave a message on one ofour message boards or e-mail us throughCompuServe Mail for a response within 24 hours.Modem vendor forum addres...

T ROUBLESHOOTING AND O NLINE H ELP R ESOURCES 44 ∗ NOTE: 888-877-4VID is a 90-day installation support number. After 90 days, please call 847-982-5151. Priority “No Hold” Service 3Com staffs a 900 toll number for immediateassistance. These lines are staffed from 8 a.m. - 6p.m. CST Monday through Fri...

G LOSSARY 45 Cross references are printed in boldface . application A computer program designed to perform aspecific function, such as word processing ororganizing data into a spreadsheet. .avi (audio-video interleaved) Developed by Microsoft Corporation,.avi is a digital video architecture for use ...

G LOSSARY 46 bits per second (bps) The bits ( binary digits ) per second rate. Thousands of bits per second are expressedas kilobits per second or Kbps. .bmp This DOS three-character extension at theend of a file name identifies the file contents asbit-mapped graphics (FILENAME.BMP). byte A group of...

G LOSSARY 47 composite video A video signal in which all the imageinformation (color, brightness, line, field, sync,etc.) are mixed together. Cross-color artifactsbecome apparent in composite video. dynamic IP address A dynamic IP address is an address thatchanges every time a user logs into their I...

G LOSSARY 48 ISP Internet Service Provider. A company thatprovides users with Internet access for a setfee. ITU-T An international organization that definesstandards for telegraphic and telephoneequipment. The initials ITU-T represent theFrench name. In English it is known as theInternational Telegr...

G LOSSARY 49 RAM Random Access Memory. Memory that isavailable for use when the modem is turnedon, but that does not retain information whenthe power is turned off. The modem's RAMholds the current operational settings, a flowcontrol buffer, and a command buffer. ROM Read Only Memory. Permanent memo...

S PECIFICATIONS 50 V IDEO C APTURE C ARD Physical Properties Internal PCI half card Resolution 640x 480 (NTSC standard), supports burst PCI bus transfers Maximum Frame Rate 30 frames/sec at full resolution in overlay mode Power Output jack: +5V, 1A limit

S PECIFICATIONS 51 NTSC C AMERA Physical Properties Integrated 3.8mm lens mountBuilt-in microphone Dimensions: 77 x 62 x 84 mm Switches: Power on/off, WB auto/fixed, BLC, contrast, image neg./pos (or flickerreduction). Interface: One cable (video and audio cinch., DC power jack) Operating temp.: 0 t...

S PECIFICATIONS 52 Audio Signal to noise ratio: 48dB Audio output: 400 mV RMS in 10k Ω Power Power input: DC 5V+5% Power consumption: <2.5W (may be labeled FL )

R EGULATORY I NFORMATION AND L IMITED W ARRANTY 53 Manufacturer’s Declaration ofConformity 3Com declares that the product Bigpicture TM Videophone Camera & Capture Card (model 1689) conforms to the FCC’s specifications: Part 15: Operation is subject to the following two conditions: (1) this devi...

REGULATORY INFORMATION 54 UL Listing/CUL Listing This information technology equipment is UL-Listed and CUL-Listed for use with UL-Listed personal computers that haveinstallation instructions detailing userinstallation of card cage accessories. Radio and Television Interference This equipment genera...

REGULATORY INFORMATION 55 • Relocate the computer and/or the receiverso that they are on separate branchcircuits. If necessary, consult your dealer or anexperienced radio/television technician foradditional suggestions. You may find thefollowing booklet, prepared by the FederalCommunications Commiss...

REGULATORY INFORMATION 57 vary from state to state. Some states donot allow limitations on duration of animplied warranty, or the exclusion orlimitation of incidental or consequentialdamages, so the above exclusion orlimitation may not apply to you. To obtain service under this limitedwarranty, cont...