Mike Fahl
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Posts posted by Mike Fahl
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Add internal variables, which value we can change like DMX outputs and using it to control tween parameters like input variables.
Isn't that what the Generic Input does? Please clarify.
Mike
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We've noticed that sometimes the key installer is rather slow in completing its task. Hence, if you start WATCHOUT immediately on after installing it, the ley installation may not have finished yet. You may want to wait 20 seconds or so after installing to make sure things have settled down before you launch WATCHOUT.
Mike
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When using a control system (including the iPhone app), you need a fixed IP to talk to. In this case, you need to assign a fixed IP to at least one computer in the cluster, to be used as the cluster master.
Mike
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What's in your MP4 files? Presumably H.264 video. If so, those should work fine. If they don't, please send a sample file to support@dataton.se, and we'll take a look. Note that WATCHOUT no longer depends on QuickTime to play such files, as it has native support for H.264 in MPEG-4 as well as MOV file containers.
Mike
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As "AMartin" says above:
Goto your Dataton program install folder: (yourProgramPath)Dataton>KeyInstaller - There is a execFile: CodeMeterRuntime32.exe. Running this replaced my missing dll file. Didnt even have to reboot.
This will fix any problems related to the license key installation. Those installers are left in your WATCHOUT program folder for just this reason; to fix problems related to their initial, automatic, install. Make sure you run the right installer for the OS at hand (32 or 64 bits).
Mike
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No, the image is loaded afresh from the URL each time it is displayed. That's the whole point. It could, for instance, be a weather map updated several times per hour.
Mike
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A comp may be up to 24 hours, just like other timelines. If it's that long, though, you shouldn't place it at a time offset into an enclosing timeline, since that would make the net result exceed 24 hours.
Could you please describe what you mean by "not working at all"? If possible, send an example to support@dataton.se for further investigation (contact them for FTP access if you need to upload something large).
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To use this to grab images fmor the Internet, you will need to have internet access from your display cluster. Using a regular NAT router should provide adequate protection while still allowing you to access the internet.
An alternative, depending on what images you want to bring in, is to use an in-house web server just for serving images to WATCHOUT. In this case, you only need access to this local web server, not to the Internet. This also gives you better control over the availability of the images, which you may not have to the same extent if you rely on an server you don't control.
Mike
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If it works from telnet, I see no reason it shouldn't work also from WATCHOUT assuming you send the same commands to the same TCP port on the same address as you do with telnet. But good that you found a way to make it work with RS232 anyway. Did you set up an access code? The docs mentioned such a four digit code. If so, you must use it as a password when connecting through TCP port, as far as I could tell from a cursory look at their protocol. Dunno what happens if you don't set a passcode, though.
Mike
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I suggest you try the commands fmor a telnet client first, just to make sure you have the syntax OK, before you try it from WATCHOUT. Their manual describes using a telnet client, so I suggest you start there. Once you get the syntax OK, you should be able to send the same strings from WATCHOUT.
Mike
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Page 51 of this manual seems to indicate that it should be possible to control power using a Telnet-style TCP connection:
020-000246-01-DHD800-Network-and-Operation-User-Manual.pdf
Mike
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No, only the display computer can send string through the RS232 port. But since the display computer is likely connected to the projector anywqay, why would you want to do it form the production computer?
Yes, you can also send strings using the network cable, either as TCP or UDP messages. Whether you rojector can receive and interpret such commands is of course another question.
Mike
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I would assume you can get this to work by arranging the interface used by WATCHOUT at the top of the interface list in Windows, which determines the default order of priority among interfaces. Presumably, the interface you use for your sound system is at the top of the list now, causing some WATCHOUT related traffic to take that route, resulting in failure to synchronize the computers in the cluster.
http://levynewsnetwork.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/windows-7-default-internet-connection-choice/
Please give this a try and let us know if it helped.
Mike
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You select the checkbox in the Display settings Advanced tab only for the computer acting as the sync master in the cluster. This also has to be set as the sync master in the S400 settings in the AMD control panel.
Hope this helps.
Mike
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we have some troubles with a new configuration, multi output.
What kind of problem do you have?
Mike
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The fact that you see a 'show will start shortly' message on screen indicates that there's a startup script. It could make sense to check what's in this script, as the show apparently runs properly when started form the production PC. It's likely started by a shortcut in the Startup folder, which indicates a text file containing WATCHOUT commands, where one command displays the above mentioned messager and other commands should load and start the show.
Mike
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Lloyd, I think it would be quite possible to compensate for black level buildup, if required. Try this:
- Make a gray rectangle, say 250 x 250 pixels, with a few (2-3) pixel wide edges that fade to black.
- Place one such rectangle between each overlap area on an aux timeline.
- Add a Scale tween track and adjust the rectangles to precisely fill the dark area between the overlaps.
- Set all those cues to blend mode "Lighten".
- Set the aux timeine to render above the blends.
- Put the aux timeline in Pause, so all those rectangles are displayed on screen
- Add a "Hue and Saturation" tween track to each cue.
- Reduce the "Gain" parameter (and possibly "Offset" as well) to get just enough brightness from those rectangles to compensate for the black level build-up in the overlapping areas.
Let's know if it worked out. I think it should. It's somewhat elaborate, but once set up, it should do the job. And in a really dark room, ot could make sense - particularly if you have to use projectors with a poor black level.
Mike
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Firstly, thanks for all excellent suggestions. Although we don't always respond, rest assured that we do read and listen. Here are a few comments.
- Add kerning in the text-module, like in AfterEffects.
The text media should do kerning already for fonts that have kerning pairs specified. It also supports typographic ligatures (somewhat related to kerning) for fonts that have those. Manual kerning is not supported, though, if that's what you meant.
- Add stepping in the timeline framewise with some keyboardshortcut. Very often I am asked to show a client some transition/section framewise...
You can sort-of do this by pressing the control key in conjunction with the scroll wheel. Press shift as well for larger increments (all this from memory - hopefully I recall the modifier keys correctly).
- Enabling/disabling single cues (like "ctrl B" in FinalCut) to quickly take some thing out of the show temporarily.
You could move such cues to a temporary adjacent conditional layer that's disabled. Not exactly the same thing, but could perhaps help
- Limit export of video/audio to quicktime to the actual screens as an option
It will only export the part of screens that are currently visible in the stage window. So you could limit to a smaller area by reducing the size of the window.
- Make the show folder of a display machine "transportable" in some way. At present they seem to be locked to their original IP-adress.
This is addressed by the "named display computer" feature of the upcoming version 5.5, where you can use assigned display names rather than IP addresses to make the show more easily portable to a different set of display computers.
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The sync multicast address is dynamically assigned, so it would be hard to set up forwarding manually.
Mike
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We've been able to reproduce this problem. It will be fixed in the upccoming version 5.5.
Mike
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Do you by any chance have multiple instances of the production software running?
Have you tried restarting the computer?
Do you have any "clipboard enhancement" programs running on the computer?
Please send a screenshot of the error to support@dataton.com
Mike
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Video Standard: 1080p 60
There should be no need to "deinterlace" a 60p signal. If you see jaggies in this video, it's caused by other reasons.
Are you sure the source (camera) is indeed 60p?
Mike
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Blue screens are always caused by OS/driver/hardware issues, and can not be caused by a user-level application, such as WATCHOUT. Since we have lots of customers using Blackmagic cards successfully with WATCHOUT, my guess is that it's something related to your hardware.
Mike
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1. In experimenting with ChannelShifter, I see 18 options for assigning audio. What do I need to do to so that it will show only the seven available? Or won't I be able to do that until the .wav files are inside Watchout?
The options you see are the various possible channel names supported by the WAV file format.
2. If that's the case, then when I drag the .wav file into ChannelShifter, will it know that there are only seven options?
No. Those 18 possible assignments will always be there. They're part of the WAV standard. However, when you drag a WAV file into the tool, it will only list the number of channels available in the file. Each of those channels can then be asigned to any of the 18 possible names.
3. Can we assign a single .wav file to multiple speakers?
Yes and no. Each channel in the file can only be assigned to a single output name.
4. What does "Standard Assignments" refer to?
That button removes any name assignments youve applied, returning the file to its initial (default) sequential assignent, where each channel is assigned in order to each possible output name.
5. Most of our .wav files are mono, others are stereo. How does this affect how the channels can be assigned?
For a mono file, there's only a single channel you can assign to an output. For a stereo file, there are two. Either channel can be assigned to any output name (although those need to be assigned in ascentind order, due to limitations in the WAV file format).
Hope this helps.
Mike
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VNC Control of Production Computer
in WATCHOUT FORUM
Posted
The main issues we've seen is on display computers where the VNC "hook driver" have caused problems. Even without this driver, VNC puts a significant strain on the system, which may lead to degraded performance and stability issues. But as long as you do your own testing and are happy with the results, "whatever floats your boat", I guess.
Mike