Thomas Leong

Yousefjuma, please clarify what you mean by the following - "RAM: 16 GB DDR4 1600Mhz (1 chip)" The '1 chip' qualification is confusing. Do you mean: 1. 1 stick of RAM at 16GB?; or 2. 2 sticks for RAM, each at 8GB, i.e. 2 x 8GB = 16GB?; or 3. 4 sticks of RAM, each at 4GB, i.e. 4 x 4GB = 16GB? This is because the LGA2011-3 processor supports quad-channel RAM, meaning one needs 4 sticks of RAM (preferably matched) for optimum performance. Thomas Leong

Have you updated the ASRock BIOS? With my ASRock Z270M, I had to update the BIOS to get smooth playback with Hap codec files, changing nothing else.

No, but I have tried W4100 with driver version 17.Q2.apr26, and it did not work out well. In fact 'did not install well' would be a better description. After tries backwards, I finally settled on about 3-4 versions back for the W4100, though my WX4100 runs fine with 17.Q2.apr26. So my own conclusion on this is that the Radeon Pro drivers do not work well with the previous Firepro W series but would be ok with the Radeon Pro WX series. Thomas Leong

"Network Connection Lost" can be caused by many things. Therefore, much information of your systems and connections are required to help you troubleshoot. 1. Operating System on - a. Production Computer? b. Display Computer? 2. Is Display Computer tweaked to Watchout recommendations? 3. How is Production Computer networked to Display Computer - i) Direct CAT5 cable from pc to pc? ii) or using a simple ethernet switch? 4. Any extenders from Display PC to monitors/projectors - fibre optics, HDMI-CAT5 extenders, etc? 5. Have you DISABLED any other network adapters in the both the Display PC and Production PC, eg. wireless adapter? "Not connected" is often not good enough. DISABLE is better. There are more info required, but these will do for starters. As for the numbering of Display monitors, I just solved a similar problem with my Firepro W4100, so need to know - i) the graphics card you are using in the Display PC and the driver version. ii) are you using any adapters - eg. DP-DVI? Are they ALL active, or a mix of passive and active? Thomas Leong

I've never had this problem with a normal Windows install and tweaking per Dataton's Tweak List. All cores are automatically enabled, unless manually set otherwise via msconfig > Boot > Advanced Options > and No. of Processors is enabled and the drop-down list of cores-and-threads left at default of 1...indicating someone did not know what he was doing! The 'No. of Processors' should be left un-ticked, and BIOS will auto enable all cores + hyperthreading (assuming hyperthreading has not been disabled in the BIOS). Thomas Leong

Hi Miro, Unfortunately, most of us, even systems integrators, are unable to buy the LTSB version from retail stores...perhaps because we do not buy in quantities. In my country, only OEM versions seem to be sold over the counter. Thomas

Here is the authority from Microsoft that when downgrading, "...the media/key should come from a previously licensed product from the OEM or retail channel." - https://dpcenter.microsoft.com/en/Windows/License/cp-understanding-downgrade-rights Also, under "Downgrade Rights" of https://dpcenter.microsoft.com/en/Licensing/OEM-Activation/cp-Licensing-FAQ - Q. Where do end users get the CD/media to install the downgrade software? A. End users must install the downgrade software using a legally licensed copy of the specified previous version of the Windows desktop or server operating system. The downgrade software may be from the retail, OEM system builder, or Volume Licensing channels. Seemingly confidently confirmed by a forum 'well-known member' going by the name of nlinecomputers in - https://www.technibble.com/forums/threads/downgrade-windows-10-pro-to-windows-7-pro-license-key.70395/ Thomas Leong

And if I may add to Claude's suggestions, go to nVidia's Control Panel > Manage 3D Settings, and ensure the GTX 1050 is the Preferred gfx card to use for Watchout, and not the onboard gfx.

1. AFAIK, you can re-use a Windows 7 key to activate another computer. Think the idea is that since you do own a genuine Windows 7 Pro previously, and now a Windows 10 Pro, and is therefore allowed to 'downgrade' the Windows 10 to 7 using 'prior owned Windows 7 key'. That's what I've read anyway. Have not tried it myself. 2. The way I'm dual booting between my Windows 10 Pro OEM and Windows 7 Pro OEM is via the motherboard/BIOS facility provided by my ASRock Z270M Pro4 either by going into BIOS or F11 on boot up and choosing the hdd/ssd/M.2 I want to boot from. Win 10 was installed first on an old PCIe2.0x2 Plextor M.2, then the M.2 was physically removed, and Win 7 installed on an old 60GB Corsair SSD. I then connected back both and booted from F11 choice. There is another option(s) where one gets a menu screen to 'Choose an Operating System' but the process is quite involved and I have not tried it - https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/wiki/windows_10-windows_install/how-to-dual-boot-windows-7-or-windows-8-with/9ac7acc1-2152-4907-a9de-bd507273a57d or https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/2108-dual-boot-windows-10-windows-7-windows-8-a.html or https://www.howtogeek.com/197647/how-to-dual-boot-windows-10-with-windows-7-or-8/ 3. My experience so far with Win 10 as a Display PC operating system is stable. During installation and after, however, it involves a lot more disabling/uninstalling of apps, etc since Win 10 is targeted towards internet connectivity. As for using Watchout (6.1.6) there are at least a couple of problems - i) I needed to update my BIOS to the latest to run Hap codec files smoothly. Nothing else changed but the BIOS and earlier BIOS versions gave me stuttering playback on Hap files. ii) With Win 7, Watchpoint started with Displays 1,2,3,4 in the order they are connected on the outputs. With Win 10 on the same hardware (i7-7700K - a Kabylake cpu; Firepro W4100), Watchpoint gave me Display 1,2,4,3!! So I had to swap Outputs 3 and 4 in the Stage Window to correct the anomaly. iii) Presently unresolved is the fact that H264 files play with a little stuttering at times with Win 10. Win 7 plays the same files smoother overall. iv) This is obviously hardware related: So far, I have found that ordinary cheap RAM fixed at 2133MHz performs better under both Win 7 and 10 versus more expensive Kingston HyperX with XMP Profile at 2800MHz. Probably needs more testing to confirm, and maybe another set of RAM from another manufacturer. Thomas Leong

From what I have googled, all you need is a prior Windows Pro key (sort of as proof that you do own a Windows 7 Pro), even though it was activated before on another computer. In other words, activation does not depend on the key but on the fact that you have previously owned one. Not sure if this applies to OEM versions. Alternatively, do a dual-boot installation. Thomas Leong

Here's a shot - May be a preset Task being started/executed and interferes with Watchpoint running. With such precision and occurrence, it may be easy to track down. Possible Solution Area - On the Display PC, hit Windows key > Task Scheduler Look down the list for one that starts every Thurs at 17:50. Highlight it > Delete If that solves it, please report back here as to the Task Name. We would like to know the culprit too! Thomas Leong

Songyost, Per TomT's suggestion, you can use AutoIt to run the autorun Main Timeline of Production PC. AutoIt is available from - https://www.autoitscript.com/site/autoit/ Execute Autoit3.exe and the script. An example of the script has been provided by TomT above. OR compile the script into a standalone executable with Aut2Exe. Thomas

I'd try it on another Production PC other than a Lenovo. Better yet, try with a desktop without 'bloatware' as Prodn PC to see if the problem persists. I have an i5 Lenovo, and in the initial weeks of ownership, something from it was interfering when I went online with Watchout. Could be that IGMP snooping that Miro mentioned. In any case, I found that my problem went away after un-installing some of the pre-installed apps that came with the laptop. Can't exactly remember which app(s). Thomas

MediaInfo from https://mediaarea.net essentially gives you all the info you require with a right-click on the media file.

Buyer Beware! Not all M.2 slots provided by motherboard manufacturers are made equal. To get the 2-3+GB/s Sequential Read Speed one desires, the slot must be capable of 32Gbits/s transfer speed, or PCIe Gen3 x 4. Some are only capable of 10Gbits/s (Gen2 x2). In particular, the ASUS X99M-WS (a workstation class board), the Gigabyte GA-X99M Gaming 5, and the EVGA X99M Micro (the Micro2 upped the slot to 32Gb/s). One would naturally think that a HighEndDeskTop X99 cpu and motherboard with its plentiful PCIe lanes over the enthusiast class Z, H or B series would have that speed without question, but that is not the case with some motherboards. The above-named example motherboards may have been limited to mATX, but there are ATX motherboards with only 10Gb/s M.2 slots as well. So do your research before buying. Thomas Leong

An idea would be to project to the 3 screens and blend with Watchout. The Watchout Display server must be fitted with a capture card that has low latency, eg. Datapath range, and capable of capturing the resolution the game.exe is outputting, or at best as high a resolution as possible and scaled to fit 5760x1080? (probably a 4K capture card scaled to fit 5760x1080). This would take care of Q1 - realtime capture of the interactive movie. One computer is required during playback - the Display Server. But prior to this, the Production PC is required to set up and test all these out. Thereafter, the Production PC can be disconnected, and only the Display Server re-booted straight into Watchpoint, the Watchout Display Server software with the capture activated. Latency with Datapath capture cards are about 4 frames. But not sure about the framerate. Think at best it would be 60fps. Thomas Leong

'Retrying automatically...' means just that: automatically. No need to retry manually, and no need to connect a keyboard. In fact, doubt if a keyboard works with Watchpax owing to the locked-down and embedded Windows. Patience is the key. By powering it down and up again mid-way through the process, all bets are off. Thomas Leong

Try with a 2nd Production PC/laptop connected to the same sub-net as the 1st Prodn PC. The idea is to use the 2nd Prodn PC under MSC Control, to trigger the Aux Timelines of your 1st Prodn PC. With this 2nd Prodn PC, set it to respond to MIDI Show Control and connect this to the GrandMA. On this 2nd Prodn PC, open an Output Window > Add String Output > and specify the 1st Prodn PC network address, Port 3040, etc. The 1st Prodn PC must of course have TCP/IP Control enabled under Preferences > Control. In the Output String, enter - run "YourAuxTimelineName"$0D Quote marks per above are required for name string. Should work. Thomas Leong

I have just discovered that HWInfo64 v5.30 and later allows remote monitoring of performance via the network. In Display PC, start HWInfo64 to run the Sensors only (with a right-click on the group headers or individual items, one can also Hide groups of parameters or individual parameters not required). Click on the 'Manage Network Connections for Remote Monitoring' icon located at the bottom of HWInfo64 and enable it as a 'Server Role', minimize it, or in Settings (before choosing run Sensors), set it to start with Windows. In Production PC, start HWInfo64 to run Sensors (must be same version as Display PC), and also click on the 'Manage Network Connections for Remote Monitoring' icon located at the bottom of HWInfo64, connect up, and voila! Thomas Leong

Thanks gentlemen for the insights and input. Since my initial post, I proceeded to discover how I could 'crash' Watchpoint to see if I could replicate the problem my client faced recently with WO 6.1.6. What I have discovered is that Watchpoint opening multiple instances of itself is normal. The Display PC opens a number of Watchpoint instances directly related to the number of physically connected Displays. Example, 4 instances if there are 4 physically connected Displays, 2 instances if there are 2 connected Displays, etc. Additionally, there is an extra instance/application (of 'Watchout', not Watchpoint) which is the Watchout Logo screen or black if the -NoLogo command is enabled. One can stop this (logo) application and still continue to run a loaded show. To test for yourself, have a keyboard and mouse attached to your Display PC, and the necessary Displays connected. Load Watchpoint. No network connection to Production is necessary, therefore no shows are loaded. When the logo and ip address comes up, Ctrl+Alt+Del to Start Task Manager, and you will see the number of Watchpoint instances reflecting the number of Displays connected + 1 Watchout (logo) application running. Close any of the Watchpoint instances and the rest will also close, and one has to start Watchpoint again (thereby solving any initial problem). Though I was able to crash Watchpoint by forcing it to try play 16 layers of H264 and/or ProRes422 videos - more than my old 4th gen i7 + hardware can handle - I could not get Watchpoint to autoload additional instances. On 'crashing', it merely defaulted to the logo screen and sat there, until a Ctrl+L offline followed by online keypress from Production PC brought back any running show, but no additional instances of Watchpoint. The problem with any crash therefore lies somewhere else. Thomas Leong

Display PC specs: Asus X99-Deluxe, i7-5830, Windows 7 Pro on Samsung 850 Pro, Watchout on Samsung SM951 PCIe M.2 onboard, 16GB RAM, W7000 gfx card, Datapath VisionAV-SDI. Tweaked to Dataton's recommendations. Watchpoint set to autoload on PC Startup with 10-sec delay, and NoLogo. Production PC: Same hardware specs as Display PC except that there is no Datapath VisionAV-SDI installed. Network is connected to Unmanaged Ethernet Switcher. Watchout version 6.1.6 via Update procedure from Production, not uninstall followed by install procedure. Recent Problem: Using Live Update feature during show production for about 4-5 hours, 'Display Connection Lost' surfaced, and eventually traced to Watchpoint having started 3 instances of itself. Definitely not manually started/restarted by clicking on shortcut icon or via Remote from Production. Manually closing all instances and re-starting from shortcut icon solved the 'Connection Lost' problem. But the question remains: How or Why did Watchpoint load an additional 2 instances of itself during production/live update work? Any hints or insights into what's happening to prevent future occurrence would be appreciated. Thomas Leong Addendum: Could be related...I tried with my own Production laptop, and managed to open 4 instances of Watchmaker 6.1.6 and load and run 4 different shows...all offline. Question then is how and why does Watchout allow more than one instance of itself to be loaded? This is dangerous. Adobe After Effects defaults to making the opened instance the active window instead of allowing another instance to start. I think Watchout should do the same.

Hi TomT, I am not familiar with the DMX4all Stage-Profi 1.1 but if Watchout PC (either Prodn or Display) sees it in the Network Connections, then it should work. With LED lights, I've found that usually Ch 1 is the Intensity, and Channels 2,3,4 are the RGB channels. If so, to get it to work, it is 1+2, 1+3 or 1+4 for each color, or 1+2+3+4 to get all RGB colors to work, i.e. Ch 1 must always be on. Some use certain values of Ch 1 to flash at different rates instead, such that Ch 1 @value 1-55 flashes/strobes the LEDs, @value 56-100, it stops the strobe and sets the intensity. Check the manual of your LED spot on the DMX channels. Additionally, for other LEDs, I've seen a Ch 10 which sets the on/off of DMX usage! So it depends on the LED manufacturer. Good luck! Thomas Leong

songyost k., The decklink intensity is installed in the Display PC. On Prodn PC, if you do not have a capture card there, then just set Media for Live Video to 'Thumbnails' or if using a laptop with a webcam, set Media for Live Video to 'live video' (and you should see yourself in the webcam!). Additionally, from Prodn PC, you would have to access the Display PC via Stage > Manage Display Computer > Remote Access (or Ctrl+Shift+A from Prodn PC), and in the popup remote window, choose the Capture Card Input 1, 2 or 3, etc on the Display PC, then Ctrl+W to get back to fullscreen Display PC. Steps 1, 2 and 3 in the pictures above are from the Display PC, the pc where the Decklink capture card is installed in. Steps 4 & 5 in the pictures are settings from Watchout Production PC. Hope that solves your problem, else let us know and we shall have to try again, or make a trip (I to Thailand if that is where you are, or you to Kuala Lumpur) to do it hands-on. Thomas

Hope you are aware that WO Remote works only with Display clusters, not Production PC. My WO Remote on Android works fine with WOv6.16 Display PC.

Googling brings up a lot of problems between 1394 drivers with Windows 7. Solutions vary from: - changing the 1394 driver to "1394 OHCI Compliant Host Controller (Legacy)" - opting for the driver from Texas Instruments - removing or stopping any Apple related services (eg. Apple Mobile Devices, Bonjour Service, iPod Service) except Quicktime, or uninstalling them altogether. - using the original 1394 cable that came with the hardware Guess you just have to try one by one. Worst case scenario is, if possible, to revert back to XP on this new PC. Thomas Leong