Video doesn't play when cued to do so

[VidHoosier]

I'm working on a show where when I press the space bar to roll a video cue it just doesn't play. Sometimes it takes multiple times pressing the space bar to play. I just bought another wired keyboard to eliminate that being a possibility. It will do this randomly in shows where nothing has changed. Sometimes everything works fine, sometimes it doesn't. I optimized the system per the tweak list. I'm playing HD files and the system drive and watchout media files are on seperate partitions but on the same drive. I'm cat5 directly to master cpu to the display cpu. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[limeworks]

I'm working on a show where when I press the space bar to roll a video cue it just doesn't play. Sometimes it takes multiple times pressing the space bar to play. I just bought another wired keyboard to eliminate that being a possibility. It will do this randomly in shows where nothing has changed. Sometimes everything works fine, sometimes it doesn't. I optimized the system per the tweak list. I'm playing HD files and the system drive and watchout media files are on seperate partitions but on the same drive. I'm cat5 directly to master cpu to the display cpu. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

 

If you press the space bar to advance on the production machine, does the time progress ? Or does the production machine not respond?

 

If the time progresses but your display machine does not, i would ensure your video is encoded correctly, replace ethernet cables, etc.

 

If the time doesn't progress, the issue is with your control machine. Turn off video preview if you haven't already. 

 

Without knowing which machine is causing the delay, it will be hard to debug.

 

Rob

[Neil Stratton]

When you say the cue doesn't play do you mean the timeline rolls over the cue but doesnt play the cue? Or does the timeline position not move?

Have you tried putting a longer pre-roll in the cue?

Is the video encoded as per Watchout encoding guidelines?

[cowboyclint]

Sometimes I have accidentally hit ALT + Spacebar, and it won't take the cue. I have to reselect the timeline window or press the play button to make it work.

I don't know what ALT+Spacebar does in the system, but it throws the focus out of the timeline window, and feels like you have a broken spacebar button on your keyboard.

[Jonas Dannert]

What version of WATCHOUT are we talking about?

 

/jonas

[VidHoosier]

Hey thanks everyone, so I press the space bar and 90% of the time the timeline indicator didn't move, just nothing happens. The other 10 percent of the time the time line indicator moves for a second or two and it's just black then the indicator stops and this is sometimes followed by the display computer watchout logo popping up. I'm running the most current version of watchout available. The videos are all encoded in watchout approved codecs ect. The video does play a little choppy on the master/show machine occasionally. I can try the thumbnail route. One thing is this happens completely randomly and sometimes I do a complete show with no issues. Thanks everyone! !

[Jonas Dannert]

The video does play a little choppy on the master/show machine occasionally. I can try the thumbnail route. 

 

On this specific subject I reiterate what's been recommended above earlier, and also recently in this thread:

http://forum.dataton.com/topic/1333-loading-a-video-crashes-watchout-displayproduction/?do=findComment&comment=5313

 

If your Display PC hardware is faster than your Production PC hardware, that's quite normal.

Don't expect WATCHOUT to automagically fix the performance difference, in the Production PC software, though.

 

Turning off Preview "Video as Best Quality" usually helps a bit.

But if you need Full Preview when producing/running a show, you'll also need Display PC grade hardware or faster.

 

I view it as a severe risc to run a live event/show with Preview "Video as Best Quality" ON,

but your mileage and hardware resources may vary here, of course.

 

/jonas

[VidHoosier]

Jonas Thanks, I'm going to go with the thumnail route from now on. It almost seems like I have two separate issues, I think u just solved the choppy playback. The second part of my problem is the watchout logo popping up randomly. It has done this while I'm not even touching the computer. I have eliminated the switch, I have a new cat5 going directly between both units which I actually tested. It's extremely random. Again thanks everyone for your help I'm new to Watchout.

[Mike Fahl]

The other 10 percent of the time the time line indicator moves for a second or two and it's just black then the indicator stops and this is sometimes followed by the display computer watchout logo popping up.

This indicates the display computer is crashing out for some reason. What kind of video file are you trying to play when this happens, and how was it encoded? Could you send a sample video file to support@dataton.com for a closer look? (Check with them for FTP access if it is large, or use dropbox if you have one.) Make sure you have no software installed on your display PC that may add codecs of its own, as such software has been known to interfere with WATCHOUT from time to time. Such software sometimes comes with "DVD burners" and other media-related programs.

 

Mike