Thomas Leong

Got it! Thanks Andrew. Hex result of -2147024770 is 8007007E. Unfortunately, could not find the code in the link that Mike gave : https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/dd375623 In any case, the solution to the error was to uninstall Watchout v5 and the previous beta of v6, with a registry clean just in case, and re-install v6 alone or per Mike's guidelines for v5 and v6 to co-exist : http://forum.dataton.com/topic/1694-wo6-and-wo5-on-the-same-computer/

Sending from Watchout, each byte must have a $ sign to indicate that it is a hex byte, with no spaces in between, so your - $BE EF 03 06 00 63 92 01 00 05 24 01 00$0D should be - $BE$EF$03$06$00$63$92$01$00$05$24$01$00$0D If that does not work, try without the $0D at end - $BE$EF$03$06$00$63$92$01$00$05$24$01$00 (Note: I have not checked against the manual whether the bytes you gave are correct)

I do not get the same result. My result is Hex CC1C242 (Windows 8.1). Entered numbers with Dec and QWord enabled. the '-' does not show as a prefix to the number 21402770, i.e. keying the '-' does nothing. Only the umber 21402770 shows thereafter, not -21402770. Key Hex thereafter gives me CC1C242. With Dec and DWord enabled, my resultant Hex is 1469492. Can't key more than 5 digits with Word, and more than 2 digits with Byte. In all cases ,the '-' does not show up as a prefix.

How are you connected between Watchout and the projector: 9-pin D-sub RS232 or TCP/IP? If 9-pin D-sub RS232, for Christies, the pins are crossed if I'm not wrong whereas, for example, Barcos are straight through. Also, what syntax have you tried? Maybe someone here can spot the error.

From what I read, per the Christie manual http://www.christiedigital.com/SupportDocs/Anonymous/020-000664-02-Christie-LIT-MAN-USR-Q-Series-TECH-GUIDE.pdf do not use AVMT (AV Mute) on Page 41, use the Lens Shutter commands on page 23.

Problem solved! It was due to different versions of Watchout between Production and Display, and somehow the 'auto-update' did not trigger. All good now.

Mike, Care to explain how you converted the error code to hex? I tried but do not get the same result as you. Customer has a "Operating System error: -214024770; Directshow media error" message in Production PC when he goes online to transfer mp4 videos to Display PC without success (Display PC is a Mac Pro running Windows 7 with Bootcamp). Thomas

It would seem that one has to make sure you are addressing the input selection to the correct window for it to work. And it would seem that there are only 2 windows for the CLM: 0x00 for main, and 0x01 for PIP. Therefore, try this - 0xfe 0x00 0x8f 0x88 0x00 0x01 0x18 0xff In Watchout, it is - $fe$00$8f$88$00$01$18$ff and maybe - $fe$00$8f$88$00$01$18$ff$0D if the carriage return is required. where - $fe is the Start byte $00 is the projector address (check with the onboard CLM menu for projector address; or use the menu to set it to 0 $8f$88$00 is the prefix 'layout window selection' per 2.49 of the CLM manual (and where $00 is the main window selected) $01 is input 1 selected; else change it to $02 for input 2 selected $18 is the checksum byte (modulo 100 of the sum of 8f + 88 + 00 + 01, i.e. to work in Decimal, convert each hex byte to decimal, sum and subtract 256, and convert the remainder to hex) $ff is the stop byte Hope that works!

Thanks for the insight, Kaarlek. Any chance that usage was for a reknowned American composer's live performance? There is not that many Image Pros available in my part of the world (only 2 units if we are lucky), so chances are I'll have to ask client to bring their own.

I have received a request for the above, but can't figure out why 7 Image Pro units are needed for a Watchout system. Have requested for clarification but the overseas client has not yet replied. Perhaps those with experience at using an Image Pro may be able to guess at a reason for wanting an Image Pros for each Watchout output? Thanks! Thomas Leong

The one and only time I did this was use an intermediary show control software between Watchout and a Pearl 2000. To trigger Watchout Tasks and/or the Main Timeline, the software sent the 'run' control command via TCP/IP. To trigger the Pearl 2000, the software sent MIDI Notes which triggered 15 presets on the Pearl. Mix the presets with a couple or more MIDI Notes and one gets a mix of pre-programmed light cues. The Pearl manual shows how to set it to receive MIDI In. In theory, I suppose MSC is another way to trigger Watchout with the Pearl if the latter can send MSC out.

The Gigabyte seems to have an attractive allocation of PCIe 3.0 lanes, similar to the EVGA, versus the ASRock: x16/x16/x8 with i7 5930K or 5960X, else x16/x8/x4 with the i7 5820K. This means you can have a gfx card in slot 1 using the full PCIe 3.0 x16 lanes, and the Decklink Duo in slot 2 or 3 without having to compromise, and with other slot available for a Datapath card should you want to, or even an Intel SSD 750 PCie (http://www.anandtech.com/show/9090/intel-ssd-750-pcie-ssd-review-nvme-for-the-client). And if you use a single slot graphics card like the Firepro W7100, the x1 slot is then available for a Firewire x1 card (for multi-channel audio expansion with Watchout 6). However, its M.2 is only PCIe 2.0 x2 like the EVGA, rather than the PCie 3.0 x4 as in the ASRock - if, and only if, you intend to use and maximize the throughput of the Samsung XP941 or latest SM941 M.2 PCIe SSD. Else other SSD M.2 cards will be fine with the Gigabyte, eg. those from Plextor. (Beware with the EVGA's M.2 slot space - seems to cater for a short M.2 only, not the 80mm variety). Overall, the Gigabyte is a good choice; should not have a problem with Watchout; and has slots for expansion later.

Instead of furthering the question of latency from the Decklink Duo inadvertently diverted within another discussion ( http://forum.dataton.com/topic/1617-blackmagic-decklink-duo-problems/ ) thought it would be better to start a fresh one here. Recently, I used the Decklink Duo and noticed no latency between the live IMAG video and the stage mics on the LED panels used. To date, I have not received a reply from the audio guy as to whether any audio delay was used. Personally, I doubt if audio delay was applied since - 1. It is not usual in my country for the audio desk to be so equipped unless specifically asked for BEFORE equipment is brought to the venue, and in this case, the venue was about 1 hour away from the city up in a mountain casino resort; and 2. As I was only present as a consultant to Watchout, any latency involving Watchout's use would have been referred to me to solve as the operator/user is new to Watchout, and no such questions were raised during rehearsals and showtime (by final client, the event organizer, nor anyone else). Here are the installation facts: Watchout Production PC: Mac laptop running Bootcamp; no live video feed; used built-in webcam as guide. Watchout Display PC: ASRock Z97 Extreme6 motherboard, i7 4770K at 4.2GHz, 16GB 1600MHz RAM, ASUS HD7970 Matrix Platinum graphics card with 4 of the Display Ports used to output to the LED's Processor-Sending Card. HD7970 occupied the first x16 slot; Decklink Duo occupied the second x16 slot, but since this was a Z97 + 4770K, the 16 available PCIe 3.0 lanes were re-distributed to x8/x8 for both slots. Live Video: Decklink Duo with only 1 input used, fed by a DataVideo mixer via a 100m cable (3 Sony cameras to mixer) Result: I did not see any latency. Neither did the Watchout operator when I pointed out that there was no latency, and he concurred. Question: Could it be that, in our case above, because the Decklink Duo was installed in a slot with lanes direct from the cpu rather than from the PCH, there is significantly less latency than should be expected, to the extent that the human eye cannot detect the latency, if any. I do not have a SDI camera to test. If someone who has, can test and report back, it would be appreciated. Try a PCIe 3.0 slot that has lanes direct from the cpu rather than from the PCH (Platform Controller Hub; a'ka Z87, Z97, X79 or X99). Thomas Leong

Walter, I did not check with the audio man as t whether he had initiated a delay in the audio. I'll ask the audio guy and revert later. Thomas

We just used a Decklink Duo last night into Watchout 5: perfect signal - no imperfections, no latency with IMAG - lip-sync was perfect with the audio from the on-stage mics sent to the audio desk separately. Details: 3 Sony cameras to a Datavideo mixer/switcher (therefore one source to the Decklink Duo) 100m SDI cable (I'm informed it was just a 75ohm video cable with a thick single core for SDI use); no boosting in between. Watchout Production PC: Mac laptop with Windows 7 via Bootcamp. Display PC: i7 4770 clocked to 4.2GHz, 1600MHz 16GB RAM; SSD for OS, SSD for Watchout; ASUS HD7970 with 4 Display ports-DVI each at 1920x1080 to LED Processor-Sender Card to 4 outputs to 60 LED panels providing 6480 x 756 pixels with each Sender Card handling 15 panels = 1620 pixels (1920 edge-to-edge did not work, truncating the media; but overlapping the 1920 outputs by 300pixels worked with edge-blend set to zero in Watchout); No external EDID Manager (we had Gefen DVI Detective N but they were not required). As the Video source was 1080i50, deinterlace was used in Watchout: 'None' was not a good signal; 'Good Quality' was used. We than had a perfect signal. Therefore, is your source interlaced? Did you try the deinterlace settings in Watchout? Thomas Leong

I'm not in the position to answer the other questions you have, except for "Syphon for Windows". It is called "Spout for Windows", but in beta mode I think. I have not tried it.

AFAIK, the adjective itself (aka 'virtual') should mean that no physical display is connected or 'can be connected' as output. So whether it can be pixel mapped is a moot point. In any case, WO5 can be pixel mapped, so there is no reason to lose it in WO6 since LED Displays are quite common. From what I know, pixel mapped merely means that you position your media in the stage window exactly matching the number of pixels of the LED Displays, or larger than that, but any excess of pixels in the media over and above the pixels in the LED Displays in the Stage Displays will not/can not be seen, and the rest remain black. If ever you scale the media to match the size/total pixels of the LED Displays, it would not be pixel mapped, and you lose sharpness/definition because your output pixels are being shared by adjacent LED pixels. Your other question: "Will this work via Artnet right out of Watchout? Will there be a limitation of Artnet Universes?" Not sure what you mean by this. But whatever exists in WO5 should exist in WO6.

Quote Yes - If I can play back a clip at 2x or 0.5x 'normal speed'(the framerate at which it was encoded). Quote OR Better yet, The clip starts at -2x(twice as fast in reverse), with an in time of 10 seconds in clip preferences, then 10 seconds into the 'clip'(along the timeline) I had a key frame that switched it to 1x normal speed, and played out. This would be somewhat of a 'rewind' effect. From the answer given, I assume key-framing the playback speed along the timeline is not available in the upcoming version?...yet??? Thomas

Q1: how can I make a midi trigger that will automatically stop everything? and play only the one I trigger. Create an Aux Timeline, named appropriately, which has a cue for each and every other Named Aux Timelines instructing each to Stop. Unfortunately, if you have 100+ Aux Timelines, this means 100+ cues inside this Stop All Aux timeline!! Q2: how can I make the button on the task window bigger? Unfortunately, I don't think you can internally within Watchcout. However, you could use a second pc/laptop running Watchout Remote from the Watchout Systems Manager download which effectively provides a bigger button for Play and Pause. The pc running this need not be a powerhouse - small laptop will do. Just needs LAN or wireless connection to the Watchout Display cluster master, Adobe Air installed, and Windows Firewall and Media Centre both disabled. Be reminded that Watchout Remote only 'talks' to the Display PC and not to Production PC. Other alternative is the Watchout Remote Application for IOS or Android mobile devices. I'm not familiar with this but should provide simialr features to Watchout Remote in Watchout Systems Manager. Q3: how can I see a time remaining on the clip I'm playing so I can warn the directed how much time is left. Watchout Remote has a feature for this.

May I say that your experience is difficult to confirm as being universally applicable to all because different motherboards have varying specs for various slots depending on which slot is occupied. Some x4 slots drop to x2 or even x1 when another slot or even an M.2 slot is occupied. The main reason is because a Z87/Z97 chipset has only 16 PCIe 3.0 lanes available and a limited number of PCIe 2.0 lanes - all to be shared by various resources plus add-on cards like the Blackmagic. Likewise with a X79 or X99 chipset though these have more lanes for distribution. The motherboard's manual will reveal its limitations/conditions for slot usage, if any.

Quick fix: Play the audio from the Production PC. Non-quick fix: - is the audio a wave file? - Is Media Centre disabled in the said Display PC? - Does the Display PC play audio under normal circumstances, i.e. outside of Watchout? - Are the proper audio drivers installed - motherboard audio or 3rd party audio card?

You may want to enquire with Epson. A month or two ago, they launched their new range of projectors here in South East Asia, and one (or two?) of the new models cater to portrait mode, with a different lamp or lamp housing for that specific purpose. ANSI lumens, however, is not in the 'very high' range - maybe about 6K up, but definitely not over 10K.

This has occurred on a non-Watchout system of mine years ago. Somewhere along the way, something is broken - another media player and its codecs has taken priority/current codec(s) broken/Directshow filters broken/who knows? The fastest way to solve the problem rather than the hours of trouble-shooting, which may turn out fruitless, especially since it is intermittent, is to re-install Windows either from scratch or over the existing one. Then tweak again to Dataton's specs which takes seconds. Thomas Leong

Thanks Bill for the tip re Windows Calculator. Works a treat...even with Win 8.1. Now I know who I can turn to when I have a problem with the Barco. I have had "to extract lamp hours" from 5 units of HDX-W18. I was using ISEO show control which fortunately allowed me to split the 2-digit hex codes and work on them in order to obtain the lamp hours. Having said that, the client, located in another country, has not yet replied as to whether my exercise was successful. Presently I think he is continuing to use Barco's toolset to read his lamp hours till we can update his master show control program. Thomas Leong

Mmm...the table reference I gave seems to be missing Decimal 0 - 31 which you can get/add to the printout from the 'ASCII codes' tab on the left of the page given. Also, additional to what I've just posted, it would seem that simple low valued Hex numbers can be shortcut to 'a Decimal addition' to get the Checksum in Hex. Examples, re Shutter there are 2 ways with Barco - Shutter Close: $20 + $42 +$00 = $62 (Command 3.258 - set Shutter Position, write) Shutter Open: $20 + $42 + $01 = $63 (Command 3.258 - set Shutter Position, write) or using Cowboyclint's codes which are Commands 3.31 (pg 24 - Decrement Shutter, write) and 3.161 (pg 89 - Increment Shutter, write) - Shutter Close: $23 + $42 + $00 = $65 Shutter Open: $22 + $42+ $00 = $64 BUT, this does not work for all values. Best to double-check via the 'Hex-Decimal-Hex' route unless one's Hex maths is good. Thomas