jme

Hi Benoit, Yes, that is a good idea, I will put it on the list for setup tutorials to make, but it will probably not be on the top of the list since it is a bit to the geek-side. 😉 Thanks! /jme

Today you can use capture cards from Deltacast, if you have a Nvidia Quadro GPU. Datapath works by using WMF and so does most of the USB based capture devices, like Epihpan, Magewell, Yuan etc. However we seen issues with latest driver version from Magewell and also issues that some devices using WMF does not report the signal/range correctly so the picture quality may not be as good as it could be. This is nothing we can fix quickly since this outside our control. Concerning support for capture cards from Blackmagic, we are looking into this, but we have no timeframe for this at the moment. Best regards, /jme

Hi, It is not 100% done yet, but the first approach for WATCHOUT 7, will probably be that we move the "condition" part into the cue and not on the layer. Also the condition will be a expression evaluated from any number of variables, internal or external, where the external can be controlled by MIDI/ArtNet/OSC/TCP/UDP. If you want to mimic a condition on a layer you can multiple select all cues on a layer and set the same expression for all of them. So in short, the concept of conditional layers will not be, initially, implemented into WATCHOUT 7, but replaced by a more generic "enable/disable" a cue on the fly approach. This unless the community screams out loudly, then we might implement the old conditional layer function later. /jme

Hi Kai, Sorry, as Jim says, WATCHOUT 6 does not have any feedback command to return the status of the active layers. But I have in this post included a small example program that have one timeline "ActiveLayers" that, when run, will send feedback to a UDP host with IP 192.168.10.10 / port 12345, with the number of the active layers 1-5. So what you need to to do in your control system is listen to the port you setup in WATCHOUT as feedback and the correct IP number pointing to your control system. Send the command "run ActiveLayers" to WATCHOUT production computer on port 3040, using UDP or TCP, also make sure you enabled external control under File/Preferences/Control. The timeline will return a number 1,2,3,4,5 or a combination of numbers indicating which layers that is active, back to your control system. If you want status of more layers, just add more layers to the timeline "ActiveLayers", set the correct condition on the layer you add and copy paste the string out cue and change the number that you send in the string out cue to indicate the layer that is active or not. Hope this helps. Cheers! /jme ReturnActiveLayers.watch

Hi, Just an update on this issue that you reported. This bug is fixed in the latest version (6.7) of WATCHOUT. Best regards, Dataton support /Mikael

Hi, Yes, we have noticed this bug and it has been addressed in the next release of WATCHOUT V6. Thank you for bringing this to our attentions and sorry for the inconvenience. Best regards, Dataton support /Mikael

Hi, The following information concerns the newly discovered Log4j security issue which has already generated some questions from users. Here is a summary of the situation with regard to Dataton products: WATCHOUT version 6, all versions There is no part of the Apache-libraries, containing the Log4j function, included in any version of the WATCHOUT source code. This goes for the production software, the display software and the dynamic image server. So, there is no reason for doing any updates or special security actions regarding the Log4j security issue. WATCHPAX As a result of the above, display servers manufactured by Dataton (WATCHPAX series) do not have any heightened risk of being hacked due to the Log4j security issue. WATCHMAX WATCHMAX servers in their original state as shipped from Dataton (ie, that have not been re-configured or had any additional software added) should not be affected by this security threat. Custom-built servers For custom-built servers running WATCHOUT, you need to check with the manufacturer of the server to see if any additional software installed on these servers may contain the Apache-libraries, containing the Log4j. If this is the case, it is up to the server manufacturer to resolve the issue. WATCHNET WATCHNET is Java-based and WATCHNET does have the Apache-libraries, containing the Log4j function, included in the code library. However, the version of the Log4j module is quite old, version log4j-1-2-17, and according to several sources it is only Log4j version 2.0 to 2.14.1 that is affected by this security threat. Some sources mention that there is an elevated risk, albeit low, that Log4j versions pre-2.0 can be affected. However, this does not apply to WATCHNET as the source code is encrypted. As always, Dataton strongly recommend that any system using WATCHNET or WATCHOUT should be used on an isolated network environment (not just because of this specific threat). If this is not possible a robust and freshly updated firewall should always be between the internal network and the rest of the world. Mikael J. Ena Senior Product Specialist Dataton AB

Hi Rainer, I will make a note on this and make sure that it is added in the autostart.txt for any newer model of the WATCHPAX series or if there is a image update. Best regards, /jme

Hi Jonsth, I know that the setIP command is not documented in the standard WATCHOUT users guide but we added the documentation for this command in the specific documentation for the WATCHPAX series of server. Mainly because this command is only valid for this range of servers. The command setIP only works in the startup scrip if run on a WATCHPAX server and needs to be preceded by a "authenticate 2". It takes one mandatory parameter and three optional: setIP IP_number_to_set [Network_Mask] [Default_Gateway] [Default_DNS_server] example: authenticate 2 setIP 192.168.0.100 255.255.255.0 192.168.0.1 8.8.8.8 Note that you need to have a space between each parameter, a single dot between the number and no leading zeros on the numbers. I have tested the parameters you used, on a WATCHPAX 4, and as far as I can tell it works as expected: Please check if there is a typo or some illegal characters in startup script that prevent the system from setting the correct network parameters. Best regards, /jme Senior Product Specialist Dataton AB

Hi Eddy, The Command ID tagging works in the way that the ID you set before a command you send to WATCHOUT will be added before the reply back from WATCHOUT on that specific command. So if we look at your example: [18]getStatus 1 "TaskList:mItemList:mItems:TimelineTask \"Intro\""<CR> [18] Status "TaskList:mItemList:mItems:TimelineTask \"Intro\"" 2 6427 1858406 Status "TaskList:mItemList:mItems:TimelineTask \"Intro\"" 2 11460 1863418 Status "TaskList:mItemList:mItems:TimelineTask \"Intro\"" 2 16459 1868434 Status "TaskList:mItemList:mItems:TimelineTask \"Intro\"" 2 21475 1873450 The only line containing a command is the first one with a [18] at the beginning. Since the command "getStatus 1 ..." does not have any reply the system will only reply with the ID, [18] in this case. The "Status .... " replies are not coming from the "getStatus" command, they are generated by the system as a request on a "getStatus" subscription. Unfortunately this is how the system works and the same goes for the reply time for the subscribed timeline status which is fixed and cannot be changed. Hope this answers some of your questions. Best regards, /jme

Hi Orf and Rainer, This has been confirmed as a “bug” in WATCHOUT and it will be addressed in a future version of WATCHOUT. Thanks for bringing this to our attention. Best regards, Mikael J. Ena Senior Product Specialist Dataton AB

Hi, The link error is fixed (since last week) and I also unlinked the faulty link in the message from Tim. Thanks for bringing this to our attention and if you find any other links that are broken or wrong please let us know so we can fix it asap. Best regards, /jme

To be able to playback .swf file in the dynamic image server you need to have Flash installed on the computer running the Dynamic Image Server. A good test is to start Internet Explorer on the computer you intend to run the DIS on and manually load the .swf file into the browser. If the file work inside the browser they should also work in the DIS. But as Jonas says you will not get any "high frame rate" movies/animation to work this way. I would guess 10-15fps maximum with low-res .swf files if you have a good computer and a very fast network connection to the display computers. Best regards /jme

Hi, As far as we tested the AMD FirePro W7100 (used in example the WATCHMAX) do not need active adapter to get four outputs. We still recommend for different reasons to use active adapters and also always use the same brand/model of adapters on the same card. Example if you want to use the hardware sync option by using the AMD FirePro S400 Sync Card you must have identical active adapters if you want to use DVI or HDMI signals. Best regards /jme

Hi, No you are wrong. Sending Art-Net from the display cluster master works perfectly fine. All you need to do is go offline with your production computer and re-load the show by sending a load command to the cluster master and when the show runs the cluster master computer will be the new Art-Net transmitter. A note, some Art-Net receiving devices can be confused when they see a new transmitting device and try to merge the data from the old one (production computer) and the new one (cluster master) but it usually helps to restart the receiving devices to clear this confusion. Hope this helps. Best regards /jme