Lloyd Stewart

Thanks Mike! That's exactly the information I needed, and I suspect that will be helpful for others (especially those unfamiliar with pro audio) to know about as well. Lloyd

Thanks Mike, and everyone on the upgrade team! I'm sure I don't have to tell you this, but I believe that one of the reasons we become so loyal to Watchout is because of the continual improvements and upgrades which allow us to continue to improve our shows, dazzling the audiences with each new improvement. Additionally, over time, we come to believe that this is a product that overall, is stable and reliable and so trust grows and we know our money has been well spent on something that will stand the test of time and be relevant for years on end. So sir, I take my hat off to you, and those you work with, and to those here on the forum who so unselfishly help their fellow users to learn and grow with Watchout. Lloyd

>When I want to add or paste any media cue to the desired positon in the timeline is it somehow possible, that all following cues will shift automatically? Are you sure you'd want Watchout to do that, choosing the interval between your newly added media cue and the ones already on the timeline? Unless the interval is exactly the same bewteen all my media (something that is likely to hypnotize your audience to sleep), I personally wouldn't want Watchout to choose my interval between cues. You do know that you can easily open up a space to insert the new media by moving everything further down the timeline by using "Ctl-E", which selects all media from the point where your cursor is on the timeline to the end of your show, and then dragging everyting on the timeline, right? Or use the same "Ctrl-E" command to close the interval between cues when you delete something. Even if Watchout did somehow insert a media cue, moving everything else down the Timeline, very likely you'd still have to use Ctrl-E to adjust the interval between your newly added media and the next media cue, right? Does that answer your question, or did I completely miss what you were asking?

We are upgrading our audio from a home receiver/speakers to much needed powered speakers (we've chosen 2 QSC K10's and the QSC Ksub sub-woofer). Before moving to full multichannel 5.1 surround, we'd like to put together a simple 2.1 speaker arrangement using our powered speakers, but we know little about professional audio. On P. 17 of the Watchout manual it reads, "If you need to run the computer’s line level audio signal a long distance, you should use an audio line level transformer. This converts the unbalanced signal coming from the computer to a balanced signal, thereby reducing the risk of hum and noise when connected to a professional audio amplifier." Well, we do need to run the computer's line level audio a long distance to our new powered speakers. So, is this correct?: We would go from the display computer's 3.5 mm mini-jack audio output, using a "3.5 mm mini-jack to RCA" cable, that would plug into the line level transformer, that would convert that audio signal to an audio signal that would use XLR cables that could run the long distance to the powered speakers. Is that correct? If that is correct, would this be a good choice for a "line level transformer", that also controls volume? http://www.smproaudio.com/index.php/en/products/monitor-controllers/mpatch21 That Mpatch 2.1 is a rather pricey $229.00, so would some mixer be a better choice? Suggestions on what model mixer most appreciated! I'm not sure if I'm on the right track or not, so any input pointing me in the right direction or pointing me toward a better product or configuration would be most appreciated. Thanks! Lloyd

Great news, and reasonably priced too. Thanks Jonas!

Nice program. Looking forward to "Watchout Academy", or whatever it is that you guys have planned. The cookbook approach that Mike spoke of is quite appealing to me, and certainly would make WO more readily "available", and desirable for more people, as well as opening up understanding of what certain WO functions are good for and can accomplish. And hopefully, it will cover some of the deeper subjects systematically, in a very "learnable" fashion. I remember the Showsage training where David Branson started with, "how you create the red rectangles", and why. Back then I really needed to hear that. Sometimes I think some trainers are trying more to impress folks with their knowledge than they are trying to make a subject understandable. And it certainly is not uncommon to start in on a manual that could have be more understandable if clear step by step instruction was included, and a clear understanding of what those steps would accomplish. One thing that really came home for me after having heard the program was the opportunities available, and fully appreciating that WO is, for the most part, only limited by one's imagination and willingness to work hard to acquire skills that are readily available, such as After Effects, Photoshop, etc. Geez, it sounds like I'm doing a Watchout commercial. Anyway, thanks for posting Jacquie. I have a much better feel for where I am as respects this field of endeavor.

>Jonas: "We are in final testing with several multi-channel cards under Windows 7, we will be back with more on that." Hi Jonas. We are needing to move to a surround multi-channel arrangement pretty soon. Any results yet? Thanks! Lloyd Stewart WO 5.1 Windows 7, 64 bit

Jonas, Makkot, and Dimi: I hope you all realize how much your replies are appreciated. Excellent information. I don't know what I'd do without this forum. Thanks! Lloyd

What is the state of affairs as regards what David Branson used to call "black level build up", where if you go to black, there are darker shades of black where the blend is? I happen to love to go to black, especially when it fits the emotion of a moment. It kinda gives people a moment to digest what they've just seen, right? Woody Allen used that "going to black" effect brilliantly in his movie "Manhattan", so I've come to appreciate how effective it can be at times. But it loses a lot of that effect when you see the different shades at the blend. So I thought perhaps some solution may have been discovered by my fellow Watchout users by now? Any suggestions?

Will the presentation be the same as last years, or can we expect some new and interesting?

As wonderful as it is, it seems that the alignment software is rather costly, or at least it would be for me. In the 10K Euro range. I'm sure that's resonable because of the limited market, and the domeprojection.com people are wonderful, but I'm just not in a position to take advantage at the moment. Maybe someday. Come to think of it though, down the road, if a future version of Watchout included alignment software, I'd upgrade in a heartbeat. Hint, hint.

I would really like to have some way to quickly auto-align/calibrate my projectors when setting up to do a Watchout show. From time to time I'll come across interesting websites or videos like these: http://www.domeprojection.com/pdf/Alignment-Suite%202011.pdf http://scalabledisplay.com/products/software/easyblend/fx http://wn.com/Automatic_HD_Projector_Stacking_Blending ......that speak about automatic projector alignment and calibration. At the moment, I am mostly concerned about alignment. (At set up, I spend a considerable amount of time, adjusting projectors and then using Geometry Correction to get the perfect blend, but am rarely totally satisfied) Now don't get me wrong, geometry correction in Watchout is a wonderful, much, much appreciated thing, especially as compared to having nothing at all as in the initial versions of Watchout. But one can't help but wish that there was an automatic way to perfectly align/calibrate our projectors quickly for our Watchout shows, at a reasonable cost. Perhaps some might already be doing so with some form of auto-alignment/calibration and would be willing to point the way? Comments from anyone, but most especially our Watchout gurus, are most appreciated. Thanks! Lloyd

There's a lot of good information discussed on the old "Showroom Forum", due to shut down on Dec 31, 2011. I understand that it makes sense to only have one forum, and this new "Watchout Forum" is great. But will we still be able to search the old "Showroom Forum", especially when we remember that there is some info there that we may need to refer back to? Personally, I've had to do that several times. Or should I start going through all those old posts, copying and pasting everything I think might be useful in the future, into a document I can save on my own computer? Thanks!

I gotta try that. Quite inspiring. Nice job.

It's posts like this that help guys like me get a good mental framework for how it all fits together. And it helps so much to be able to see and understand just what the advantages are in doing things in certain ways. Really, it's critical information. Much appreciated!

Suddenly I have to upgrade some X48 display computers and am wondering if anyone has tried the Z68 chipset platform yet with Watchout 5.1? Specifically, I came across a fantastic deal on the top rated "ASRock Z68 Pro3" motherboards (only 1 PCI Express 2.0 x16 slot on these though) Unsure whether to advance to the Z68 chipsets or stay at the X58 level. Anyone have any suggestions or insight? Thanks!

Successful in upgrading all our display computers to Win7, 64 bit, except one. Having real trouble upgrading an X48 display computer (Asus P5E3 Pro) to Win7, 64 bit. BSOD many, many times. So it occurred to us to stick with Win7, 32 bit for that one troublesome computer and leave the rest at Win7, 64 bit. (I do know that WO5 is a 32 bit application and that what Dataton has recommended is Win 7, 32 bit) Also, I know that specific computer issues should be sent to support, but in general, can we say that mixing Win7, 64 and 32 bit computers should not generally be a problem?

Still hoping someone will reply to Neil's question about which network switch (brand and model number) works perfectly right out of the box with WO5, using Windows 7, 32 bit. Anyone?

Thanks Jonas! We're using WO5 now, so Windows 7, 32 bit upgrade for our display computers it will be.

Geez. You guys are scaring me, though I'm certainly happy you are working through the situation to get it resolved. I was seriously thinking about upgrading from ye old 32 bit XP display computers to Win7 64 bit, but now I'm having serious second thoughts. Think I'll stick with my old XP OS and simple/cheap Linksys switches with their high speed uploads.....at least for now. I guess that, about the time all the Windows 7 challenges are put to bed, Windows 8 will arrive and we'll get to go through it all over again. Well, as Tom Hanks' character said in "A League of Their Own", "If it was easy, everyone would do it."

Mercy Dan. I may as well just give up. I'll never be able to top that. (But I'll keep trying) Fantastic job!! Congratulations! Lloyd

As just a little historical note, when I first began doing Watchout shows, on my very first show where we had only 1 week to learn the software and put the show together, the one problem I had was "no sound". Retested all my audio equipment multiple times and finally, in desperation, contacted a quite prominent ShowSage person (whose name I won't mention for fear he'll get calls night and day). Anyway, he told me to simply move the audio icon to within the display (red rectangles) in the Stage window, and run the audio off the display computers. Problem solved. That one sticks with me.