RELEASE NOTES
 
This document includes last minute product information about     
GEAR 3.2 for OS/2 Warp. The information provided in this document isn't available in the printed or online documentation.     


Supported recorders

GEAR supports besides the recorders mentioned in the documentation also the Pinnacle Micro RCD200, Pinnacle Micro RCD1000, JVC XR-W2001, Sony 920, Philips CDD2000, Pioneer S114X and the Olympus 615.


Supported Jukeboxes

GEAR already supported the Pioneer DRM 5004X CD-ROM auto changer, ASM jukebox and the Kodak disc transporter. New is our support for DSM jukeboxes, the K&S MCD10 and the K&S CDJ-30.


WARNING!	

When using a K&S CDJ-30, exported discs must always be removed. GEAR can not detect a disc it the mailbox until a second export is executed. No error message is given but the operation is halted.

When using a K&S MCD-10 with a Yamaha CDR100, defective discs or empty caddies should not be placed in the jukebox. The recorder will eject these and cause the computer to hang.

Sometimes it may occur that the Jukebox status is not properly reported by the Jukebox. This can be fixed by reinitializing the Jukebox.


New functionality

The following new features have been added to GEAR:

It is possible to optionaly load hidden and system files in the Volume Settings	dialog.

Elektroson uses double buffering techniques when writing to the recorder. This 	can cause problems when both the recorder and harddisk are on the same 	controler. It is now possible to turn off this buffering by setting DoubleBuffering item in the GEAR.INI file to false.

Gear now has an option to verify a data track after being written. This option can be set in the Recording Setup dialog.

The Tools menu now has an item that will allow you to fixate an unfixated disc.

It is possible to use Disc At Once writing when using the Sony 920 recorder. This option can be set in the Recording Setup dialog.


Known Problems
	
The Yamaha CDR100, JVC, Pinnacle and Ricoh 1060C recorders do not support the 
Verify-After-Write option for XA images.


Temporary files

When GEAR is running, a temporary files with the name *.CTN is created. 
In case the GEAR software is unexpectedly stopped, this file will remain. 
You can savely remove these files if GEAR is NOT running.


Compuserve support

Elektroson is of the CDROM Vendors B forum. Once on line users can GO GEAR for the latest GEAR news and demo's, or to leave a message for our support team. 


Increased formatting speed

The new GEAR product line offers you more formatting speed than ever! You can close the status window of GEAR to improve the formatting speed with a factor 4 or more (depending on your graphics card).

SCSI controllers

Not all recorders on the market can work with the faster SCSI controllers like the VESA and PCI controllers. The Ricoh RS-9200CD, the Pinnacle CDR200 and CDR1000, the JVC XR-W1001 and JVC XR-W2001 all have problems with faster controllers. This isn't caused by GEAR but a hardware incompatibility between recorder and controller. In some case it might help to lower the DMA speed and/or to disable disconnection on the SCSI controller (refer to your SCSI controller manual).
Depending on your firmware revision, the Philips CDD2000 also might have problems with faster controllers.


Audio	

Audio files on your hard disk must always fulfill the following requirements (the so called Red Book format):
	- sample frequency must have been 44.1 KHz
	- audio must be stereo
	- each sample must consist of 16 bits
	- the byte order should be the same as the byte order used on the computer 	
	running GEAR. If this is not the case the option 'MSBAudio= ' in the [generic] 
	section of the GEAR.INI can be used  so that GEAR will swap the audio bytes 
	for all tracks.
	
OS/2 Warp:	LSB audio default, with MSBAudio=TRUE each track will be 				swapped by GEAR.

 You can also use the readtrack option of GEAR to copy a digital audio track from CD to a file on hard disk. This option can work with the Philips CDD522 and the Yamaha CDR100. The readtrack option creates no header so the resulting file can be used directly. GEAR will store the audio read from the recorder in the same format as the default of the system running GEAR (for DOS that is LSB).

Audio CD's with variable (or zero) pauses can be created with GEAR using a so called Tracklist File. This is a simple ASCII text file which can be created with any standard editor. Each line in the file contains the full path to a RedBook compliant audio file.
Each file will be loaded into a separate track. Behind the name a number of options must be given. First the 'DA' option should be added to identify the track as an audio track.  The following option will describe the pause added to the track. The syntax of this option is [+,-] P:xxx. The + ,- specifies whether the pause is included in the audio file. If so the + should be used. If not the the - should be used and GEAR will generate the pause automaticaly. The xxx will specify the length of the pause in frames (2 seconds = 150 frames). It is possible to specify a length of 0. If the pause option is not included the a default pause of 150 frames is added.

examples:
C:\TRACK1.AUD DA		Default 150 frames pause is added
C:\TRACK1.AUD DA +P:150	A pause of 150 frames is included in the file
C:\TRACK1.AUD DA +P:225	A pause of 225 frames is included in the file
C:\TRACK1.AUD DA -P:0		No pause
C:\TRACK1.AUD DA +P:0		No pause
C:\TRACK1.AUD DA -P:225	A pause of 225 frames is added to the track.

Variable pause recording can only be used with disc-at-once recording. Currently GEAR supports disc-at-once recording for the Sony 920E, Sony 920S, Sony CDW-E1/W1 and the Yamaha PDS-301.


GEAR for Backup

GEAR can be extremely useful for CD-R backups. Two special options in GEAR give you all the functionality to do backup on CD-R.  The Generator setup contains the items Archives Only and Archives Reset. When the Archives Reset check box is enabled GEAR will reset the archive bit for each file that is loaded in to the image. When the Archives Only check box is enabled GEAR will only load files with the archive bit set and then after loading reset the archive bit (Note: The Archive bit of a file is set by DOS when a file has been modified).
These powerful features can be used in the following way
	1. Enable the Archives Reset feature
	2. Create a new CD-Image
	3. Load all files in to this new image. All archive bits will be reset.
	4. Write the CD-Image to CD-R in multi session format. Your files are now all 
                saved on CD-R.
To update your backup on this CD you can do the following
	1. Enable the Archives only feature
	2. Put the CD back in the Recorder and choose Append Next Session
	3. Load all files in to the next session. Only modified files will be loaded 
                because only the modified files will have the archive bit set by DOS.
	4. Write the CD-R. The modified files will be saved on CD-R. The CD will                  	     now contain 2 sessions, together forming the complete backup!

You can repeat this as long as there is space left on your CD!


GEAR for Automated image generation

GEAR has new options which allow you to create images completely unattended! The GEAR batch programs can now run in unattended mode. In this mode all user dialogs will be automatically handled by GEAR. The default value for each dialog will be selected. Error dialogs will always appear to assure the high data integrity of GEAR. The automated option can also be used if GEAR is called from within another program by using:

	GEAROS2 [<batch file>] [/A]
When the /A is specified, GEAR will run in automated mode.


GEAR for CD-Enhanced

GEAR has new options for creating CD-Enhanced discs. CD-Enhanced discs allow you to 'hide' the audio from the data and vice versa. CD-Enhanced discs are multisession discs with multiple audio tracks in the first session and data in the other sessions. CD Audio players will only 'see' the first session and thus only play the audio. Multi session CD ROM players will automatically present the last session on the disc and thus only show the data. CD-Enhanced discs can be created as follows:
	1) Create a new GEAR CD-image with a number of audio tracks.
	2) Write the image to CD-R and make sure multi session is enabled.
	3) Choose Append Next Session and use the last track on the CD-R as
	     starting point for the next session.
	4) Enter the name and type of the data part of the CD-R.
	5) A new session will be created and you can add data as with any other image
	6) Write the session to CD-R and your CD-Enhanced disc is ready!


GEAR for Video-CD

GEAR has the possibility to write video-CD images to CD-R disc. GEAR has no direct video-CD formatting support, but GEAR can write any video-CD image to CD-R. Video CD images can be written via the foreign image options as follows.
	1) Select the 'Open' dialog from the file menu.
	2) Select 'External image files' for the 'Show Files of Type' option.
	3) Select your video CD image file and click on 'OK'.
	4) The dialog for 'External image parameters' appears.
	5) Select the correct image type. Most video CD images are of type
	 'CD-ROM XA sector size 2336'. Refer to the documentation of the tools 
	you created the image with, in case you are not sure about the image type.
	6) Select 'OK', the GEAR status bar will show the selected image type.
	7) Write the image like any other image using the 'Write' menu.


For more information contact your dealer or:

Elektroson Europe			Elektroson USA
PO Box 2436				10 Presidential Boulevard, Suite 125
5600CK EINDHOVEN		Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
The Netherlands			USA
Tel: +31 40 515065			Tel: +1 610 617 0850
Fax: +31 40 514920			Fax: +1 610 617 0856
