The DrasticDDR version 3 software was the last version available for the VVW series of Digital Disk Recorders.  Many of those systems have been upgraded to the latest version 4 software.  For those that haven't, the final version of the software installers are available here.

BlueFish444 HD/SD QuickClip Pro DDR Software Download

QuickClip software provides advanced DDR capture and playback functionality for your your BlueFish444 Fury, Lust, Vengeance HD or Wildblue, Deepblue, Envy SD card. It supports standard RS-422 serial communications, digital 422 extensions, Louth and Odetics protocol. It also controls external VTRs for frame accurate batch digitization, EDL import/export, variable speed and playlist playback.

These are some of the web panels in use in 2005.  Contains the previous generation VVW DDRs and the early versions of many products still available today.

AJA Xena HD/SD QuickClip Pro DDR Software Download

QuickClip software provides advanced DDR capture and playback functionality for your AJA Xena HD or SD card. It supports standard RS-422 serial communications, digital 422 extensions, Louth and Odetics protocol. It also controls external VTRs for frame accurate batch digitization, EDL import/export, variable speed and playlist playback.

DTReplay, DTReplay Live, HDReplay, BBReplay and Hurricane are slow motion replay systems developed by Drastic.  Originally developed for officiating and broadcast replay, Drastic has now partnered with XOS who handle HDReplay, BBReplay and Hurricane exclusively.

Drastic's Version 2 and Version 3 software supported a wide variety of cards that are no longer supported.  These include DVS cards, Matrox cards, Winnov cards, Vela CineView cards, Vela Argus encoders, and Stradis cards.  If you require these software versions or more information, please contract This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Drastic's DDR technology has been used in a wide variety of SAN environments. This page includes documents on the three most widely successful customer configurations Drastic has found.

QuickClipDVI Software

QuickClipDVI software provides advanced DDR playback functionality directly from your computer's DVI output. QuickClipDVI supports: AVI, MOV, GEN, JS, DVS, TGA, DPX, Cineon, TIFF, YUV, v210, RAW and MPEG playback at resolutions up to 4096x3112. Standard SD, HD and Vesa rasters are supported at standard frame rates, as well as user definable custom raster and frame rates. QuickClipDVI will run on any Windows XP computer system, but fast Fibre, SCSI or SATA/PATA arrays are recommended as well as a high end NVidia (1000~4400FX, 5200/6800/7800) or ATI (9800/x800) graphics adapter. By default 2 channels of audio are supported; for 8 channel audio you will need a supported ASIO audio card. Please contact Drastic for best configuration.

Many companies have claimed to have created a Digital Disk Recorder, or DDR, yet the term remains largely undefined. Drastic Technologies has been working with and creating nonlinear VTR and animation solutions for over ten years. Drastic's background in single frame animation, broadcast VTR control, MIDI systems and automation, audio post editing and traditional video editing systems have culminated in the design and implementation of the Titan Series DDRs. The following description serves as a guide to Drastic's interpretation of what constitutes a DDR. This synopsis is based on Drastic's experience in the markets it has been serving.

Setting up the Antex SC-2000 for Analog or Digital (AES/EBU) inputs.

Drastic Technologies VVW Digital Video Disk Recorders

After pioneering digital video disk recorder technology with the successful VVCR line of products, Drastic Technologies has introduced its next generation digital media products, the VVW Series digital disk recorders, featuring QuickClip clip control and MediaReactor file conversion software. Once again, Drastic Technologies is poised to revolutionize the way digital video is acquired, managed and delivered in broadcast and post-production facilities.

This is the last version released of the VVCR system sofware.  The disks are self booting and self installing for all VVCR models.

Drastic Legacy License Troubleshooting

Unfortunately, a number of years ago, Drastic purchased a copy protection system from Kenonics call CrypKey. This rather weak and buggy software has been a problem from the beginning and despite repeated releases from Kenonics, has not improved in the many years we have used it. The most difficult issue is reported by our software as the -103 "Network driver reply is bad". As Kenonics will no longer assist us in circumventing any bugs in their software, we have set up this page to help our customers work around Kenonics problems.

Please note: This page only refers to version 3.0 or earlier releases of QuickClip software and version 2.2 or earlier releases of MediaReactor software. All new versions will NOT be using the CrypKey copy protection software, for obvious reasons.

This is one of the original VVCR advertisements from 1995.

This is the very first version of the VVW interface.  It has been replaced by the more modern interfaces QuickClipXO, VTRIF, MediaNXS and HTML/Ajax interfaces.  These are here just for historical purposes.

The VirtualVCR or VVCR was Drastic's first Digital Disk Recorder.  Based on Intel 486 CPUs with a custom built Unix like operating system, the VVCR used Matrox video and compression boards to save high quality SD motion JPEG frames to a standard FAT32 disk or custom, shared disk operating system.

After pioneering digital video disk recorder technology with the successful VVCR line of products, Drastic Technologies released its next generation digital disk recorder, the VVW Series, featuring QuickClip capture/control/playback software and MediaReactor file transcoding. These robust devices have been installed around the world and satisfy a wide range of demanding applications in real world environments.

The Drastic YCbCr codec for QuickTime, Video For Windows and Direct Show allowed third party applications to use files (AVI and MOV primarily) generated by Drastic's Titan Series DDRs, MediaNXS batch I/O software and MediaReactor file transcoding software.  This codec is a legacy software from Drastic.  It has been incorporated into the MediaReactor Workstation software for Windows and OS-X.<

Originally Drastic DDRs could be purchased with full featured software, or with a base software and a la carte options.  The original options were the Advanced File Format Option, the Network Control Option and the AutoProxy Option.  These options are now a standard part of Drastic's new Titan series DDRs.

This is a partial description of the Sony 9 Pin protocol as supported by Drastic's original VVCR products.  While the basis of this protocol, Sony 9 Pin, has not changed, many of the extended commands have. This document is made available for historic interest only.  For control of current Drastic DDRs, please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .

Drastic VVW Software Download

To update your VVW, please select VVWUpdate below. If your VVW requires a complete re-installation, download VVWSetup below and contact a Drastic technician for futher assistance.

The SMPTE-X Active-X control is no longer offered as a standalone Drastic SDK. Its functionality still exists within the Drastic product line and the below information is provided for reference.

SMPTEX is a time code reader and generator that uses a standard audio board to produce and read SMPTE longitudinal time code (LTC). It provides both a simple interface where the control handles the audio board and a more advanced interface where the caller deals with the audio board. The control is intended to replace the functionality of PC based time code boards (costing as much as one thousand dollars in the old days) without dedicating a slot or being obliged to work with proprietary hardware.

From 1998 to 2006 Drastic Technologies produced the VVW series of Digital Disk Recorders.  The 5000 (standard definition) and 7000 (high definition) were the most popular.  These are the brochures for those DDRs.

There has been a lot of confusion in marketing literature concerning video compression. Most of the confusion stems from a misunderstanding of the math and the terms involved in compression calculations. What follows is a reasonably accurate method for correlating various ways of describing video compression. NOTE: This method may not allow accurate comparison with some manufacturer's hardware specifications, as their calculations have been found to be inaccurate by up to twenty five percent.