Vidi Q&A
Here are a few questions and answers about Vidi. More Q&A will be added to this page in the future. If you have a question about Vidi that is not answered here, send it to Mitz Pettel using the feedback form.
Q: How do I stop or disable Vidi Server?
A: The Vidi Server process is used by Vidi to communicate with the DV device. Even when Vidi is not open, Vidi Server is responsible for performing scheduled recordings and maintaining the Vidi status menu and control palette. When Vidi isn’t open or recording in the background, Vidi Server uses virtually no system resources. Therefore, if you are using Vidi, you should not stop or disable Vidi Server. If you want to turn off the Vidi status menu, open Vidi Preferences and deselect the option “Show status in menu bar”.
If you are not using Vidi, you can stop Vidi Server using the Process Viewer utility (in Mac OS X 10.2) or the Activity Monitor utility (in Mac OS X 10.3 and later): open the utility and select Vidi Server in the process list, then choose Quit Process. Do not Force Quit or “kill” Vidi Server.
You can also use this AppleScript application to quit Vidi Server.
Since Vidi Server adds itself to your Login Items (in Mac OS X 10.2 or 10.4 and later) or Startup Items (in Mac OS X 10.3) every time it runs, if you don’t want it to run again the next time you log in, go to System Preferences > Login Items (in Mac OS X 10.2) or System Preferences > Accounts > Startup Items (in Mac OS X 10.3) or System Preferences > Accounts > Login Items (in Mac OS X 10.4) and remove Vidi Server from the list.
Q: How do I remove or uninstall Vidi?
A: If you want to remove Vidi from your computer, you can put it in the Trash. However, you will not be able to empty the Trash immediately if Vidi Server is still running. In order to be able to empty the Trash, either log out and log in again, or stop Vidi Server using one of the ways described in the previous answer.
Q: Can I use Vidi with Fast User Switching?
A: Vidi cannot be used by more than one logged-in user. If your computer is shared by several users, make sure only one of them has Vidi Server in their Login Items (in Mac OS X 10.4 and later) or startup items (in Mac OS X 10.2), and that the others don’t open Vidi. If you started recording manually, or scheduled a recording, Vidi will perform the recording as long as you are logged in, even if you are “switched out”. When Vidi is open and you switch to the Login Window or to a different user, Vidi automatically mutes the audio.
Q: Can I use full screen mode on a display other than my main display?
A: Unfortunately, when switching to full screen mode on any display other than the main display, Vidi does not display video at all. This is a known issue with Vidi.
Q: Does Vidi support PCI TV cards, such as Formac’s ProTV card, or MPEG-based devices?
A: No. Vidi does not support PCI TV cards and MPEG-based devices, and there are no plans for Vidi to support them. For Mac OS X software that may work with your PCI TV card, see XTelevision and iTV.