fdoeve Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Hi all! I have been struggling with a rather annoying thing for quite a while now and i hope someone regicnizes the problem and can help me solve this... here it is: When i take a picture, created in Photoshop, and i make it move across multiple screens from right to left (using position tween) to create something of a marquee effect, i often get a 'stutter' in the movement at random moments. I have tried making the pictures as small as possible (in kB) to make it as easy as possible for WO to create the movement, but this doesnt seem to have any effect. Since i use watchout it combination with videowall a lot (Seamless plasma) the stutter is VERY visible. I have had this issue as long as i can remenber and have seen it using Watchout 3, 4 and 5. Also switching Display computers from Asus Cube PC's (XP) to custom built i7 Shuttle PC's (W7) didn't really do anything in solving the problem.. Am i doing something wrong in using the position tween and should i make the pictures/text move in some other way? or could there be some other setting i am forgetting? Hopefully someone can help me out here.. Thanx! Frank Doeve R&D Communications BV The Netherlands frank@rend.tv 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator jfk Posted January 19, 2012 Moderator Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 ... When i take a picture, created in Photoshop, and i make it move across multiple screens from right to left (using position tween) .. i often get a 'stutter' in the movement at random moments. ... ... i use watchout it combination with videowall a lot (Seamless plasma) the stutter is VERY visible. ... Might help to clarify a bit. Is the random stutter occurring at the intersection of outputs? i.e at the seams If so, what you identify as stutter may be a result of small variations in synchronization of the outputs. Hardware contributes to this issue. Even a single multi-headed WATCHOUT Display computer may randomly exhibit such synch float. Seamless multi-channel displays are particularly unforgiving in this respect. The small variations are somewhat masked when using overlapped or mullioned projection or flat panels with mullions. AMD / ATi addresses this issue with FirePro GPU series compatible with the optional ATI FirePro S400 Synchronization Module. For links to these proudcts, see: FirePro 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fredrik Svahnberg Posted January 19, 2012 Report Share Posted January 19, 2012 Moving a bitmap in WATCHOUT should be absolutely smooth. In the past we have always suggested a test with an analog VGA signal cable and a CRT monitor (this combo will never lie or introduce any digital artifacts). I realize this old stuff can be hard to get these days. If you can't, please try to source a display/projector that you can trust, and connect it directly to WATCHOUT. No Scalers or Switchers in between. If your graphic card (in the WATCHOUT Display Computer) is set to 60 Hz and WATCHOUT set to 60 Hz in preferences (default) everything should be fine. All projectors and displays can sync to 60 Hz. If your issue is indeed happening in the blend/joint area, Jim's post above gives the correct answer. Best regards, Fredrik Svahnberg Dataton 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonas Dannert Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 What graphic card are you using? What is the driver version? Hardware specs on the machine you use for this? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdoeve Posted January 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 (edited) Thanx for your replies! The problem i am seeing doesnt just happen around the seams of the multiple monitors, it will happen smack in the middle of one too. And i have seen the problem not just with the seamless plasmas, have also seen it happen with projection and edge blending.. The pictures i'm moving around aren't Bitmaps. I mostly use PNG format or PSD (for ease of adaption and the transparency), could there be a problem in the format? The specs of the machines: http://dropbox.rend.tv/SPECS/Shuttle%20Specs.htm Must say i have seen the problem before, using a 100% different setup, so different PC's, different WO version, different Screens, etc.. EDIT: Oh and i forgot to mention i am currently running my show on 2 display computers, each running at 1706 x 960 (weird res, i know, needed for the plasmawall) Edited January 20, 2012 by fdoeve 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fredrik Svahnberg Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 PNGs and PSDs are bitmaps as well (in WATCHOUT). I suggest you study my previous post carefully. Animation of still images (bitmaps) should be absolutely silk smooth in WATCHOUT if all frequencies match Best regards, Fredrik Svahnberg Dataton 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator jfk Posted January 20, 2012 Moderator Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 ... The pictures i'm moving around aren't Bitmaps. I believe all pictures / still images - png, psd or otherwise, are still forms of bitmaps. I mostly use PNG format or PSD (for ease of adaption and the transparency), could there be a problem in the format? Because of the way WATCHOUT functions, all picture / still image formats - png, psd, jpg, tiff, .bmp, .pict, etc. etc. are equal during playback - regardless of original file size or type. Only thing that matters is the pixel count and color depth. This is because the still image is converted prior to playback, during file transfer (caching). The conversion result is stored on the HD in a proprietary WATCHOUT format for rapid transfer to the graphics card during playback. The original still image file, even though it is locally available, is not read during playback. All that said, and I doubt it will make any difference here, when I experience anomalies with files that do include Transparency (such as png and psd), for peace of mind, I will set the transparency explicity in the media item Transparency: Pop-Up. reference: WATCHOUT 5 User Guide, Chapter 3 Media pg 36 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fredrik Svahnberg Posted January 20, 2012 Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 Jim, all respect for your vast knowledge. But in this case you complicate the matter for the gentleman above. I repeat: Animation of still images (bitmaps) should be absolutely silk smooth in WATCHOUT if all frequencies match. It does not really matter how large or in which format they are saved. A test should be performed with just one bitmap and one position track on the timeline (no videos or other images playing at the same time). Smooth or not? The problem is most likely due to mismatch of frequencies or the display itself, unless there is a lot of media action going on at the same time on the WATCHOUT timeline. Then it is a completely different issue. Good luck. Happy Weekend Fredrik S PS Jim and I are very good friends since 1990 ;-) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fdoeve Posted January 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2012 Thank you both! i will get to work on this immediately! Start from scratch and paying attention to frequencies 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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