feature request Feature Request ? Post here

[matkeane]

Hi Walter,

 

That sounds like a job for a script, just in case nobody has a huge number of inputs ready to copy and paste.

 

And I agree with your feature request - a lot of tedious setup work could be avoided if there was a way to automatically create a specified number of identical inputs/compositions/tasks/etc...

 

Matthew

[jfk]

Would like to see support for .mkv / h.265 codec.

This codec is becoming a very popular for 4K content.

 

http://www.divx.com/en/software/technologies/mkv

[TomT]

 

 

Would like to see support for .mkv / h.265 codec.

one up 

[Quim]

New request feature:

 

-Geometry correction for Virtual Displays or single media (not only Corner tween)

-To be able to read and trigger actions being more compatible with external systems, way not to have a kind of Parsing from an external input.

 

Quim

[TimFranklin]

The ability to delete media files out of watchout that are in a timeline would be great.  Currently my workaround is to copy all the my aux timelines into notepad and search the file name to find what timeline it's in and delete it manually. It can be quite a tedious process. Is there already a better way to do this?

-Tim

[Myngus]

New feature request.

Could the text rendering engine be redesigned so it functions more like photoshop, keynote, ppt etc? So that you can draw a text box in a location in the stage, and have the text auto size to this box, with options available like kerning and sizing etc...

Some text transition effects would be great as well.

Also the ability to duplicate a text media item in the media bin, and then edit that new item.

Thanks guys... Keep up the awesome work....

[Bluetonesblue]

Hear Hear!!!

[Thomas Leong]

Since Tiers could be used for a hot Display PC(s) backup per Jonas' suggestion in Redundancy

this is a Production PC Backup feature request.

 

The ability to specify a backup Production PC with its IP address perhaps in Preferences > Control tab area such that the Display PC(s) would automatically look for the backup Production PC specified if and when the original Production PC disconnects. The Backup Production PC could be triggered manually, or by an Output string from the Timeline(s).

 

One complication is when the Production PC disconnects by choice, as in going offline, to purposely do something else. Perhaps, any such coding could be limited to 'only during playback mode'.

 

Thomas Leong

Edited May 20, 2016 by Thomas Leong

[RoccoDNYC]

This is a minor thing, but I think it would be a great feature. I want to be able to drag an auxiliary timeline from the task window into the main timeline to automatically create a control cue that runs the auxiliary timeline. All it would do is create a play control cue with the name of the task to be ran. Just a simple time saver.

[matkeane]

RoccoDNYC's drag-and-drop suggestion would be great for adding control cues for Tasks. An alternative would be to replace the 'enter the cue name without making any typos if you want it to work' text box with either a drop-down menu with the list of Task names (although this might get unwieldy or slow when you have a couple of hundred tasks), or a text box with a auto-complete function, so you can just start typing the name of a Task and select the correct one from the list. Better still, when selecting a Task in a control cue, link to it using an internal unique ID that doesn't change so that, if a task name is changed later on, it doesn't break all the links.

[Bluetonesblue]

RoccoDNYC's drag-and-drop suggestion would be great for adding control cues for Tasks. An alternative would be to replace the 'enter the cue name without making any typos if you want it to work' text box with either a drop-down menu with the list of Task names (although this might get unwieldy or slow when you have a couple of hundred tasks), or a text box with a auto-complete function, so you can just start typing the name of a Task and select the correct one from the list. Better still, when selecting a Task in a control cue, link to it using an internal unique ID that doesn't change so that, if a task name is changed later on, it doesn't break all the links.

 

I like the "unique ID" idea, since having a changeable name (as a descriptor field,) and an unseen ID that keeps the links would be a real help in complex setups!

 

[jfk]

RoccoDNYC's drag-and-drop suggestion would be great for adding control cues for Tasks. An alternative would be to replace the 'enter the cue name without making any typos if you want it to work' text box with either a drop-down menu with the list of Task names (although this might get unwieldy or slow when you have a couple of hundred tasks), or a text box with a auto-complete function, so you can just start typing the name of a Task and select the correct one from the list. Better still, when selecting a Task in a control cue, link to it using an internal unique ID that doesn't change so that, if a task name is changed later on, it doesn't break all the links.

 

 

I like the "unique ID" idea, since having a changeable name (as a descriptor field,) and an unseen ID that keeps the links would be a real help in complex setups!

 

 

I agree with with what you are looking for.

autocomplete would be useful.

It may be a bit unwieldy,

when I write a control cue to manipulate an aux timeline,

I always go to that timeline, Cntrl-J, copy the name, and esc.

then go to the original timeline and paste the name in the control cue

Eliminates typos, etc.

 

Another way to accomplish preservation of control cue links

is the way it worked in Dataton TRAX back in the day.

Internally, each TRAX timeline is defined by a specific internal ID.

If you changed the text name of a timeline,

it would automatically propagate that edit

to all control cues on any timeline or task

that referenced the original timeline name.

i.e. the links remain intact

I checked WO 5.5.1 and 6.1.1, it does not do that in WATCHOUT.

BTW I suspect a unique internal fixed ID for each timeline already exists in WATCHOUT,

would be surprised if it did not.

[matkeane]

when I write a control cue to manipulate an aux timeline,

I always go to that timeline, Cntrl-J, copy the name, and esc.

then go to the original timeline and paste the name in the control cue

Eliminates typos, etc.

 

That's exactly what I do too... but every time I do the 'double-click, ctrl+J, ctrl+C, Esc, ctrl-P, click, ctrl-V' sequence, I think to myself "In the 21st century, shouldn't the software be doing this instead of me?" - plus my pinky finger is getting worn out from using the ctrl key all day! I appreciate all the work that has gone into developing Watchout 6 and solving difficult problems like 3D camera mapping; now it would be great to see some solutions for little UX/UI problems that would make everyday life more efficient while encoding... Just off the top of my head:

 

- A 'stop all Tasks' function, instead of having to create a task with control cues to stop all my tasks (and doing the task name copy-paste manoeuvre for every... single.. task!), for when the client interrupts a rehearsal and you have umpteen different tasks running which aren't all readily visible in the tasks window. Or the ability to add active tasks to the status window?

- The ability to relink more than 1 media item at a time when something gets moved. Other software recognises automatically when other media which need re-linking are in the same folder, but with Watchout there's a lot more clicking, searching and waiting involved.

- A better way to add easing to keyframes for scale/rotation/etc - A curve editor, or inspector window so that it's easier to get a smooth animation curve, or maybe just a keyboard shortcut to expand the selected tween track in the timeline window to manipulate the values, then shrink it back to normal size so the other timeline layers are still visible.

[cowboyclint]

Could we get a new Feature request page started for WO6? Most of this thread was dedicated to WO5, and it would be nice to differentiate. I do use the go to unread posts button, but I'd rather sort by V5 vs V6 for simplicity.

Thanks,

[Bluetonesblue]

That's exactly what I do too... but every time I do the 'double-click, ctrl+J, ctrl+C, Esc, ctrl-P, click, ctrl-V' sequence, I think to myself "In the 21st century, shouldn't the software be doing this instead of me?" - plus my pinky finger is getting worn out from using the ctrl key all day! I appreciate all the work that has gone into developing Watchout 6 and solving difficult problems like 3D camera mapping; now it would be great to see some solutions for little UX/UI problems that would make everyday life more efficient while encoding... Just off the top of my head:

 

- A 'stop all Tasks' function, instead of having to create a task with control cues to stop all my tasks (and doing the task name copy-paste manoeuvre for every... single.. task!), for when the client interrupts a rehearsal and you have umpteen different tasks running which aren't all readily visible in the tasks window. Or the ability to add active tasks to the status window?

- The ability to relink more than 1 media item at a time when something gets moved. Other software recognises automatically when other media which need re-linking are in the same folder, but with Watchout there's a lot more clicking, searching and waiting involved.

- A better way to add easing to keyframes for scale/rotation/etc - A curve editor, or inspector window so that it's easier to get a smooth animation curve, or maybe just a keyboard shortcut to expand the selected tween track in the timeline window to manipulate the values, then shrink it back to normal size so the other timeline layers are still visible.

 

I REALLY like the ability to add other Tasks to the Status window. And PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE an ability to set them to countdown to end of Task! PLEASE??

Thanks.

[Mike Fahl]

I checked WO 5.5.1 and 6.1.1, it does not do that in WATCHOUT.

BTW I suspect a unique internal fixed ID for each timeline already exists in WATCHOUT,

would be surprised if it did not.

 

 

An internal ID does indeed exist, but is not exposed anywhere in the UI. While using it would allow the binding to "stick" even when the target is renamed, it gets more complicated if/when you want to copy/paste stuff between shows, since the ID numbers are show specific. Hence, a combination of ID with a name fallback would likely be the best solution, where the ID then gets discarded when pasted into another show to not confuse things.

 

That's something that would require changes to the applicaiton, though, and not something users could take advantage of right away. But since this is a "feature request" thread, I thought ot could till make sense to post my proverbial "2 cents" here.

 

Mike

[Bluetonesblue]

 

An internal ID does indeed exist, but is not exposed anywhere in the UI. While using it would allow the binding to "stick" even when the target is renamed, it gets more complicated if/when you want to copy/paste stuff between shows, since the ID numbers are show specific. Hence, a combination of ID with a name fallback would likely be the best solution, where the ID then gets discarded when pasted into another show to not confuse things.

 

That's something that would require changes to the applicaiton, though, and not something users could take advantage of right away. But since this is a "feature request" thread, I thought ot could till make sense to post my proverbial "2 cents" here.

 

Mike

 

 

I would think that having a check built in to the pasting of a Task object so that it takes "Current tasks in file" and adds 1 to that to create new task number. I know... I don't program, so I think everything is "easy"...  

 

Kevin Lawson

[matkeane]

 

An internal ID does indeed exist, but is not exposed anywhere in the UI. While using it would allow the binding to "stick" even when the target is renamed, it gets more complicated if/when you want to copy/paste stuff between shows, since the ID numbers are show specific. Hence, a combination of ID with a name fallback would likely be the best solution, where the ID then gets discarded when pasted into another show to not confuse things.

 

That's something that would require changes to the applicaiton, though, and not something users could take advantage of right away. But since this is a "feature request" thread, I thought ot could till make sense to post my proverbial "2 cents" here.

 

Mike

 

 

Thanks for the insight Mike. I think that when copying-pasting tasks between shows, I wouldn't really expect links to keep working, so assigning a new ID at that point would be OK.

 

I REALLY like the ability to add other Tasks to the Status window. And PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE an ability to set them to countdown to end of Task! PLEASE??

Thanks.

 

Another thing I would find really helpful would be more feedback about a Task timeline. In the tasks window we can see the current time position, but memorising what that corresponds to across dozens of tasks is a bit tricky. I was wondering if, when a Task hits a pause cue - and if that pause cue is named - the cue name could be displayed instead of the current time. That way, glancing at the Task window, I would be able to see that, for example, my "Logo" Task is paused at "Fade-out Logo", and my "Live Camera" Task at "Fade-in Cam", etc. If a task is playing, or paused at a cue without a name, the current time would be shown as it is at the moment.

[TimFranklin]

A keyboard shortcut to close a task timeline would be very helpful. Is this already possible?

[borovayz]

Since Watchout is able to listen to incoming MIDI cue triggers from something such as a lighting console, how about the ability to see all incoming MIDI numbers? Lets say the lighting console sending out cues 1,2,3,4 and 5, but Watchout only has a matching cue 1 and 5. I would like to have a little window that shows me any incoming MIDI data. That way I'd see 2, 3 and 4 go by before we hit cue 5 which triggers the next WO cue. 

[Yousefjuma]

I have a simple wish. WO is mainly mutli-display presentation software, and mostly the refresh rate of the display is 60hz or 75hz, thus the timeline should be divided into time slots of 1/60 second or 1/75 second respectively. And not in Milliseconds. I'm not quite sure if some users need it to be in Milliseconds or not, but there must be an option. Thanks in advance.

[Yousefjuma]

Another request. Since WO's timeline is pretty similar to that of editing softwares, I end up doing a lot of cross-fade transitions between two visual objects manually (by tweening values of opacity). Whereas it can be done automatically just be overlapping two visual objects on the timeline on the same layer. Just like how its done in Sony Vegas for example. That would be very help in terms of time saving as well as reducing the number of layers needed. Keeping this an option in preferences will do good for all. Thanks.

[jfk]

... mostly the refresh rate of the display is 60hz or 75hz ...

 

We see 30HZ (mostly 4k) and 120 Hz as well, WATCHOUT can do those without issue.

I would not mind a pop-up with alternate time scale choices (much the way it was done in TRAX),

but keep in mind that ultimately the same internal time increments

will be maintained and some rounding errors will occur.

 

BTW You can already get a main timeline cursor position readout in an alternate time scale

by placing a "Main timeline positon" object in the Status Widnow,

double clicking on that status object time display,

and changing the pop-up menu to the time format you want.

Although 60 is not a choice there 

[Yousefjuma]

BTW You can already get a main timeline cursor position readout in an alternate time scale

by placing a "Main timeline positon" object in the Status Widnow,

double clicking on that status object time display,

and changing the pop-up menu to the time format you want.

Although 60 is not a choice there 

 I'm aware of these methods and I do use them, the problem is the accumulated time it consumes doing it that way. But what I'm hoping for is a timeline that just snaps everything to 1/X seconds units on the timeline. X being the refresh rate of the monitor which can be set by users.

[Claude.Rivet]

Good day,

 

I have been working much with Watchout6 and I love it, what a fantastic upgrade however when you use a product a lot you tend to wish for a few things, here are mine:

 

Virtual displays:

-Warp, seriously warping the virtual display is at the very top of my wishlist. I would use the warp at the output to correct the projection (geometry, linearity, blend, basically get a perfect grid on the surface) and then use a virtual display to Warp and correct the content itself, whatever content I send to the virtual display, I could even have different warp settings and crossfade between them. I would also let us warp intelligently after camera placement when working in 3D, rather then correcting a camera we would correct the texture itself.

-Nesting seems to cause issues also and I do use it a lot. For example I will have a virtual display as the target of all my "PiP" so that if I move/fade the PiP I don't have to move/fade all the content and plan the move. I then place this VD in another VD that covers all my surface so I can fade the whole show for example or create a preview/program workflow in live update mode. Basically nesting lower performance and playback becomes less predictable, especially more than two nest.

 

Warping:

-Please give us an on-surface indicator we can toggle on or off when we select point so we can see where in the real world that point is located.

 

Live update

-Playback stops when adding medias in a live update workflow, I understand it will affect performance but it would be nice to still be able to update without playback stopping, to have some room.

-We need to have an indicator on live update, in the screen list for example that clearly indicates which computers are currently updating and where they are in the process. This is a big issue when working in 3D has we have no way of knowing if the display is busy updating or if it crashed/hung.

 

Watchout logo:

-I would be nice to update without seeing the logo or progress bars on the displays, bonus if we could have a custom image/video loop when updating. I understand the whole branding issue but all it achieves is showing everyone which system crashed during their shows, client, spectators, everyone is now aware Watchout is the problem even if it's not. Because let's not fool ourselves, this is the only moment your logo is reaching someone not using the software. I bought it, no need to sell me the package, so showing me the logo when I work is pointless, the only other time an update/startup happens is during the rehearsals and during the event when things go wrong, not really a winner way to present your brand. Maybe during rehearsals when changes are requested you then reach a few people in the room, producers, graphic artist and techs that could be unaware of your existence but that's it.

 

Thanks for your time reading this and thanks Dataton for a great product, hope this make sense and will be supported by the community.