Rogier Tuinte

When you copy a tween track with an input parameter from a media element to another media element. The new tween track will not respond to a change in the input value. You first have to open the tween track parameter and select OK before it works. Kind regards, Rogier Tuinte

Sometimes when audio starts I am greeted with a short click or pop sound. As long as the music plays its faultless just when you first start to play. We’re using the external Motu 828 MKII USB connected to the production machine with Windows 7 Sound files are WAV. Beside this, when i change the in-time of a audio media element to for example 10.8 seconds (in our case, just before a beat in the music) It seems to me that the audio not always starts at exact the same in-time. When I first play other parts in the main timeline and then jump back to the specific audio part. The first time it starts not at the exact in-time, but when I restart that audio for the second time, it’s OK. I also noticed this with a voice over in a video file (audio as a separate WAV) Sometimes it´s also not lip sync. Is this something specific with this sound card, or a windows 7 issue? Kind regards Rogier Tuinte

We struggled a short while with media elements in a composition which are apparently not updated / uploaded to the display computers. When you create a new composition (for example a slide show with 6 pictures and a total duration of 1 minute) Add this composition to the main timeline and set the duration at 20 seconds and the behavior at free running and looping. In this situation only the pictures which are in the first 20 seconds of the composition are uploaded to the display machines. Since the behavior is set to free running and looping you expect to see the other pictures in the composition as well but this is not the case. In the stage window you’ll see them but not on the display machine. You first have to add the composition the the timeline with it’s full length, than update the display machines and then you can shorten the length of the composition. Just want to let you all know. Rogier Tuinte

When a font which is used in a psd is not installed either on the production machine or the display machine. What is Watchout/Quicktime (who is handling the psd files?) doing with the text / font inside the psd? It seems to me that it is replaced with another (default) font?

Hello, I've a free running / looping movie which is in a standby track. During the show I've to update the text in a psd file. While Watchout is running in standby mode, I change the PSD file, refresh the media in the production software and finally select update. During the update the free running movie in the standby layer stops playing. Is it only possible to update media elements while watchout is online and in standby mode with still images or is there also a workaround for movie files? (so that the audience will not notice it) Kind regards, Rogier

Hopefully someone can help us / give us advise quickly. I'm on location for a show and we're having problems with the video playback which is not sync. We've a watchout setup v5.0 with 3 display machines (each 3 DVI outputs outputting 1920 x 1080) edgebutted The graphic card is a AMD 6950 eyefinity. The encore is for the edge blending and live video feeds. While playing a movie across the 9 dvi outputs the synchronisation is unsync. Even the sync between the 3 outputs of 1 display machine which is playing one movie across the 3 outputs is unsync. Can someone advise us? Is it a setting within the encore system (genlock) or is it the cables between the watchout en encore system or is it something with the watchout software / system? Kinds regards, Rogier Tuinte

Hello, We've to program a little flash app which shows twitter messages. It seems to me that we can make the layout in Watchout and use flash only for generating the text against a solid color background. Then we can use the mask functionality to put the layout behind the text. I'm wondering if the Dynamic Image server can handle this relative simple application?? Rogier

So is het correct that the (audio) display machine runs stable with Watchout version 5 and XP?

Hello Hmm, while using the onboard sound card with 7.1 everything works... So it seems that there is something with the drivers for the external sound cards. Maybe it's something with DirectSound devices that does not appear to work properly?? The problem occurs with common applications such as Windows Media Player, but also with audio production apps that can use DirectSound The sound cards work with professional applications while these offer alternatives like ASIO. Rogier

Hello, Anybody successfully realised a multichannel audio playback with Watchout v5 and Windows 7? I'm trying to realise a 8 channel audio project. We've 2 different sound cards. M-Audio Firewire 410 Motu 828 MKII USB Both sound cards worked before with Windows XP and Watchout v4 Within Windows 7: If I use the test button in the Control Panel, it does work - Windows can access all channels but, Windows Media player and other applications give an error message when trying to playback multichannel audio files using the FW 410 Multichannel device if it is in 10-channel shared mode. Watchout giva a Directshow media error Audio playback with the Quicktime player is not working when the audio settings in the control panel is set to multichannel and the quicktime audiosettings is set to 7.1 Does anyone have any suggestions on an audio interface capable of 7.1 surround which works with Windows 7 and Watchout v5? Or am I doing something wrong? Rogier

I'm not sure. I've to check it tomorrow. But i think we're using Codemeter version 4.30C with windows 7 sp1. Of course in this case it's always a consideration between user-friendly and software protection. But I think most important is always the reliability ans stability of the software during operation. Rogier

Hello Jim, I agree, normally most display settings / arrangements are done before. But for show we're we've to change a lot of geometric corrections for example. Like projections on buildings or decor elements, then it's handy to do this once for the displays. Of course after setting everything up i can copy the displays to another tier, but you know in situations when it's getting late and you're are running out of time it's not the first time that someone forgot to change/update the settings for the backup display as well. Then it's very handy to have backup option in the display settings dialog, were we can specify the IP address of the backup display computer. Rogier

First of all. Maybe it's an idea to create a seperate ´Feature Wishlist´ section. For the bigger productions we´re using extra display machines for backup. For this I create a new ´backup stage tier´ with ´backup displays´ on exactly the same location as the displays on the base tier. The disadvantage. Everytime I move a display on the base tier I´ve to change the displays on the ´backup stage tier´ as well. Is it an idea to add an option in the display properties dialog, were we can specify the IP address of the backup display computer? Or are there any other usefull workarounds? Kind regards, Rogier

Just wondering, I always thought and hoped that Watchout is only performing a license key check during startup of the production or display software and maybe also during a update or online command. Last week we had a production, while the software was online, I had to start the next cue. Pressed the space bar for play. Suddenly a Watchout popup window appeared with a message that the license key was not found. I had to close the production software. Restart it and go online again. This message appeared 2 times during about 1,5 hour. Again in my opinion Watchout should online check for a license key during non critical moments. For example during startup, online or update moments. Not during a show. Watchout version 5 Windows 7 Kind regards, Rogier

Same problem with long audio files. As a work around you can re-encode the sound files as: WAVE format IEEE Float 32bit float Little Endian Maybe this helps. Rogier

Hello, I'm wondering this already for a long time. But last weekend we had a presentation for which we had to update the media during the presentation several times. Everytime you select update or online, the audience also see the watchout logo with the progress bar. Is there a option or workaround to hide this?? Maybe it's an idea to show the progress of the update process only in the status window? Rogier

Hello, We've a display computer with windows 7, watchout version 5, a blackmagic intensity pro and osprey 440 capture card. The display machine is online. When we jump to a live video cue on the timeline (both HDMI or one of the video inputs from the 440 card) it takes a few seconds before the feed is visible on the output. If we jump to other (non live video) media elements, the machine responds normal. Also when I press update, the live video feed on the output freeze for a few seconds. Once when the live video is active, it responds normal to opacity changes with an external input. Rogier

What if you accidentally scroll the stage window before the show.... and then when you start the show.....oops no audio... or when most of the sound icons are visible, but the programmer accidentally placed one of the icons somewhere outside the stage window and during the show... the shows starts with music, after the music the video with a important speech is visible but.... oops no audio with the speech. While programming a show you want to scale the stage window to make some fine tuning (positioning small media elements) and see / listen if the timing is correct. Then it's very annoying when there is no audio. But even during a show I sometimes scroll and scale the stage window so that I've more space on my desktop for the timeline, input, task en status windows.

Since version 5 it's possible to have multiple displays per computer. We're using the radeon 6950 graphics card. I'm a little bit disappointed that the resolution of each display should be the same, but OK. In the release notes I read that each display can be placed freely on the Stage, and fully supports all the standard capabilities such as display density, rotation and edge blending to each output. I connected 6 displays to our display machine (each running 1024 x 768), display 1 and 2 are not rotated, display 3 (-90 degrees), display 4 (90 degrees) and display 5 and 6 are not rotated as well. When I put the alignment grid for example over all the displays. The alignment grid is only visible on display 1,2,5 and 6. The rotated displays are black.... No output. When I remove the rotation, the alignment grid is visible on all the displays.

Just tested this in version 4.3 When you create a new project, add a wave file to the media window, drag the wave file somewhere on the stage window and then press play, you'll hear the audio on the production machine. During playback, when you move the horizontal or vertical slider of the stage window so that the icon is outside the stage area, you still hear the audio. I'm pretty sure that this behaviour was also in older versions of Watchout. In Watchout version 5 the audio indeed stops, as soon as the icon of the sound media file is outside the stage window. Also when you zoom in the stage window. This is pretty tricky during show playback. Kinds regards Rogier