DECmedia

This document is the "DECmedia User's Guide," published by Digital Equipment Corporation in January 1992.

Its primary purpose is to guide users and technicians through the installation and troubleshooting of the DECmedia family of multimedia hardware options into DECstation 5000 series workstations, leveraging TURBOchannel technology. It also offers an overview of the DECmedia products and related software.

The guide covers three main hardware components:

• DECaudio module: For audio processing, supporting microphones, speakers, headphones, and telephone line connections (voice and CD-quality audio).
• TX color frame buffer: A high-resolution graphics card for monitors.
• DECvideo/PIP module: An add-on for the TX, enabling live video display (Picture-in-a-Picture), digital video conversion, and frame grabbing.

The guide provides detailed installation steps, including pre-installation safety (e.g., antistatic measures), module insertion, cable connections (audio, video, telephone), and peripheral setup (televisions, laser disc players, audio devices). It also explains how to verify installations via system configuration displays and use ROM-based diagnostics for troubleshooting.

Additionally, the document offers an overview of the accompanying XMedia software suite (including Runtime and Developers Kits, Video Server, Software Motion Pictures for video compression/decompression, and Audio Server for audio resource management) and provides hardware specifications for the DECmedia products. The intended audience includes anyone responsible for installing and maintaining these multimedia options.