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The "Analyze" button is one of the most handy features in the RAD Video Tools. Use this button to check general bandwidth use. The Analyze window can tell you a bunch about a Bink or Smacker file without even having to play it. It displays a visual representation of the video file's data-rate. Here is an example of the Analysis window from a Smacker file:
The graph has three lines: the straight line is the data-rate of a double-speed CD-ROM, the line that starts at the top of the graph is the actual data-rate of the Smacker file, and the third line that starts at the bottom of the graph is the one-second data-rate average. The video's actual data-rate can spike above the CD-ROM data rate without too much trouble, but the one-second average should stay close to your target data-rate! If the one-second average exceeds your CD-ROM target, then you'll definitely have skipped frames. If the "one-second-average" goes above your target data rate, then you're very likely to have skipped frames. If the animation data-rate is way below the target data-rate, then you can improve the quality just by compressing it again.
The analysis option can not only tell you when you exceeded your target data-rate, but it can also tell you when you've over-compressed. If the analysis shows that you are well under your data rate, then you can go back and re-compress for better quality. I find the analysis option so handy that I now automatically check out my videos after every compression. That way I know I'm always getting the best possible quality for my target.
The analysis window has many other options that can be accessed by right-clicking on the graph. Right-clicking on the graph will present the following list of options:
Close: simply closes the analysis window.
Help: shows this help page.
Zoom: allows you to see the big picture or the really little picture.
Show Legend: hides and shows the legend in the upper right corner.
Show Values: will display the value of each point on the graph
(this is really only useful if you're zoomed in a bit).
Show Grid: controls the grid visibility.
Show 1 Second Average, Show 2x, Show 4x, and Show DVD, and Show 1x: all control whether the respective data line is shown in the graph.
Show as Bytes per Frame: controls whether you view the values in bytes-per-frame or bytes-per-second.
Copy Graph and Copy Values: copy the analysis data onto the clipboard.
Print Graph: prints the current graph view.
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