C-Media Multi-Sound Spezifikationen

SENSATION CREATION Version 5.2

10 Chapter 1 Introduction Minimal System Configuration Although you can use the WATCHOUT production software on its own in order to get acquainte

100 Chapter 7 Windows3D Views When working with images positioned in 3D space, or rotated around their X or Y axes, it is sometimes hard to see wh

Chapter 7 Windows 101MAIN TIMELINE WINDOW The timeline window holds the cues that make up your presentation. Cues are arranged along layers, repre

102 Chapter 7 WindowsSetting the Current Time Position Click the time ruler to jump to a time position. To set the time numerically, choose “Timel

Chapter 7 Windows 103Adding and Removing Layers Layers can be added, removed and renamed using the corresponding commands on the Timeline menu (pa

104 Chapter 7 WindowsLock all Cues on this Layer This checkbox is equivalent to the padlock symbol in the layer’s header pane. Selecting it preven

Chapter 7 Windows 105Normally, the Stage window previews media on enabled conditional layers only. You can override this using the Preview menu (s

106 Chapter 7 WindowsAUXILIARY TIMELINE WINDOW The window associated with an auxiliary timeline is very similar to the main timeline window. The m

Chapter 7 Windows 107MEDIA WINDOW The Media window lists all media items that have been added to the presen-tation. It provides a thumbnail previe

108 Chapter 7 Windowschoosing “Select Unused” on the Media menu. It is not possible to remove media that’s currently in use in the presentation. R

Chapter 7 Windows 109Editing the Media File To open a media file in its associated application, double-click its thumbnail. This provides convenie

Chapter 1 Introduction 11 Images, Sound and Video A WATCHOUT presentation uses multiple media, such as still images, video clips, sound files, et

110 Chapter 7 WindowsINPUT WINDOW The Input Window lists external inputs available for use in expressions. Expres-sions are used to control tween

Chapter 7 Windows 111TASK WINDOW The Task window lists all the auxiliary timelines of your presentation, along with their status and triggering ex

112 Chapter 7 WindowsTo move an auxiliary timeline closer to the front, drag it towards the top of the Task window.◆ NOTE: This behavior can be ov

Chapter 7 Windows 113MESSAGE WINDOW The Message window lists the messages sent to you by WATCHOUT. Such messages may originate from the production

114 Chapter 7 Windows

Chapter 8 Commands 1158COMMANDS 8FILE MENU The File menu provides commands related to the entire presentation, such as Opening old presentations o

116 Chapter 8 CommandsOpen Opens an existing WATCHOUT presentation.Open Recent Provides a list of recently opened presentations. Choosing an item

Chapter 8 Commands 117Consolidate To Moves or copies the entire presentation, including its media files, to a folder. You can use this command to

118 Chapter 8 Commandsthe show. Unused media files are left in their old locations, and are not cop-ied or moved.Move. Instead of copying them, th

Chapter 8 Commands 119being used. The formats available may vary depending on the version of Quicktime you have installed.Exporting an Auxiliary t

12 Chapter 1 Introduction SOFTWARE OVERVIEW This section gives a brief introduction to the WATCHOUT production software. Stage Window The Stage w

120 Chapter 8 CommandsPreferences Allows you to specify miscellaneous settings of the presentation.Display Address Prefix The IP addresses assigne

Chapter 8 Commands 121Display Framerate Specifies the frame rate used by the display computers. This setting lets WATCHOUT optimize its behavior t

122 Chapter 8 CommandsControl This tab provides various options for controlling the WATCHOUT production software from the outside. ◆ NOTE: For mor

Chapter 8 Commands 123DMX-512 Universe. Specifies the Artnet protocol “universe” number to be used to receive and transmit DMX-512 data. This rela

124 Chapter 8 CommandsVideo In Associates video input cards in the production computer with video input device numbers, subsequently used in “Live

Chapter 8 Commands 125perspective. You may think of this value as controlling the focal length of a lens used to view the images, where a wide ang

126 Chapter 8 CommandsCut Transfers selected objects to the clipboard, allowing them to be pasted in else-where. Use this, for example, to move cu

Chapter 8 Commands 127Specifications Opens the Specifications dialog box for the selected object. This is equivalent to pressing the Enter key or

128 Chapter 8 CommandsFind/Replace Finds and optionally replaces specified text. When applied to the Media window, this allows you to locate media

Chapter 8 Commands 129production. You have now copied these files into a folder named “Media” located in the same folder as the WATCHOUT presentat

Chapter 1 Introduction 13

130 Chapter 8 CommandsSnap When enabled, objects exert gravity on each other as they are dragged with the mouse, making them snap together. This m

Chapter 8 Commands 131STAGE MENU The Stage menu applies specifically to the contents of the Stage window.Add Display Adds a new display of the spe

132 Chapter 8 CommandsManage Display Computer The commands on this sub-menu allows you to operate the display computers from the production comput

Chapter 8 Commands 133▲ IMPORTANT: There are a two prerequisites for this command to work:• The computer must be configured to “Wake on LAN” (some

134 Chapter 8 CommandsOnline Connects the production computer to the display computers. Once connected, the display computers will follow you as y

Chapter 8 Commands 135PREVIEW MENU The items on this menu control the preview of cues shown in the Stage window. These commands do not affect the

136 Chapter 8 CommandsBest Quality. Renders high quality preview of all cues except those explicitly set to “Stage Preview: Reduced” (page 175).◆

Chapter 8 Commands 137Preview Standby Layers When activated, the Stage window will show the same images as the display computers while in standby

138 Chapter 8 Commandsspecified on the Stage Tier sub-menu. Selecting “Specific Tiers” brings up a dialog box where you choose any combination of

Chapter 8 Commands 139MEDIA MENU The Media menu applies specifically to the contents of the Media window.Add Media File Opens a dialog box where y

14 Chapter 1 Introduction WATCHOUT Training Videos To learn more about WATCHOUT, you may want to watch the training videos available here:http://

140 Chapter 8 CommandsPre-split This option applies to video media only. Check this if you have pre-split a large movie, as described on page 42.

Chapter 8 Commands 141File/Folder The title of this field reads “Folder” if “Pre-split Files for Multiple Displays” or “Use Separate Left and Righ

142 Chapter 8 CommandsThumbnail Allows you to choose a thumbnail image to represent the proxy in the Media window, inside cues and in the Stage wi

Chapter 8 Commands 143Add Composition Add a Composition to the Media window. A composition allows you to group images together (including their tw

144 Chapter 8 Commandsimages are sent across the network to all display computers, you can show the computer display across multiple display compu

Chapter 8 Commands 145Add Live Video This feature allows you to display live video, such as a camera feed, as part of your WATCHOUT presentation.

146 Chapter 8 CommandsTo use Live Video in your presentation, do as follows:• Add a Live Video media item to the Media list using the command on t

Chapter 8 Commands 147device designed to be used with computers, results in visual artifacts often referred to as “combing” around the edges of mo

148 Chapter 8 CommandsUsing Multiple Video Inputs WATCHOUT supports up to eight video input devices. The number of video inputs that can be displa

Chapter 8 Commands 149nient to enter a different value here, which will make the dynamic image server scale the image accordingly.Server Path. The

Chapter 2 Installation 15 2 INSTALLATION 2 This chapter tells you how to install the required software components as well as how to hook up the h

150 Chapter 8 Commandsthat has been changed or all media regardless of the file’s last modified time-stamp.Select Unused Selects all unused items

Chapter 8 Commands 151TIMELINE MENU The Timeline menu applies specifically to the contents of timeline windows. It is only available when a timeli

152 Chapter 8 CommandsTimeline Settings Choosing this command while the Main Timeline Window is active will display the settings associated with t

Chapter 8 Commands 153Stacking Order; Task List Order This is the default stacking order. In this mode, multiple active auxiliary time-lines rende

154 Chapter 8 CommandsComposition Settings To displays its settings, choose “Timeline Settings” while a composition’s time-line window is active.L

Chapter 8 Commands 155to select and manipulate the composition as a whole when used as a media item on other timelines.◆ NOTE: The reference frame

156 Chapter 8 Commands

Chapter 9 Displays 1579DISPLAYS 9Displays include projectors, monitors, video wall cubes and plasma screens. Make sure you install and configure y

158 Chapter 9 DisplaysRemoving and Duplicating Displays To remove a display, first select it, then choose “Cut” or “Clear” on the Edit menu. To du

Chapter 9 Displays 159address is “192.168.0.51”, you would put “192.168.0.” into the “Display Address Prefix” field in Preferences (note the trail

16 Chapter 2 Installation NETWORK The production computer and all display computers must be interconnected using a TCP/IP compatible Ethernet net

160 Chapter 9 DisplaysRotation. Rotates the display to an arbitrary angle. This allows you to use a vertical display format, as well as other crea

Chapter 9 Displays 161Smooth. Avoids abrupt kinks in points by keeping all tangents straight. Uncheck to allow opposing handles to move independen

162 Chapter 9 DisplaysHorizontal or Vertical Correction Adds bezier handles to the top/bottom or left/right sides, allowing you to compensate for

Chapter 9 Displays 163Full Correction Adds bezier handles to all sides, allowing you to compensate for projection on spherical surfaces.White circ

164 Chapter 9 DisplaysAdding Correction Points In Full correction mode, you can add control points to the grid by Control clicking at the desired

Chapter 9 Displays 165COLOR & STEREOSCOPY Ideally, all projectors in a system should be properly color matched. However, sometimes you may hav

166 Chapter 9 DisplaysStereoscopic Assignment Controls the stereoscopic channel reproduced by this display device. You must use separate projector

Chapter 10 Cues 16710CUES 10Cues are the active objects of WATCHOUT. They control when media appear on stage, as well as more dynamic behavior suc

168 Chapter 10 CuesYou can also select a cue by clicking its preview image in the Stage window. This allows you to determine which cue corresponds

Chapter 10 Cues 169• For precise adjustments press Control-arrow. Add the Shift key for greater increments. • Double-click a cue and change its “I

Chapter 2 Installation 17 DISPLAY DEVICES WATCHOUT can be used with most display technologies, including DLP and LCD projectors, LCD monitors, vi

170 Chapter 10 CuesTo set the duration precisely, type the desired duration into the cue’s dialog box (see “Cue Specifications” on page 170).◆ NOT

Chapter 10 Cues 171The time when the media will appear on stage.How long the media remains visible on stage.Media will be pre-rolled auto-maticall

172 Chapter 10 CuesIn-Time Specifies a starting offset for a sound or movie. For example, a certain movie may have ten seconds of black at the beg

Chapter 10 Cues 173Pre-Roll Video needs to be pre-loaded and prepared a few seconds ahead of its appearance. When set to “Automatic”, this time is

174 Chapter 10 CuesHowever, certain video files may require extensive computer resources when prepared. This may have an adverse effect on already

Chapter 10 Cues 175Looping Causes sound or movie media to loop (re-start from the beginning) when played past its duration. This is particularly u

176 Chapter 10 Cuesaltogether. When set to anything besides “Best Quality”, the name of the cue is shown in italics to indicate this.◆ NOTE: The p

Chapter 10 Cues 177Mask” mode. Otherwise chose “Luma Mask” to use the brightness of the image to create the mask. Choose the “Inverted” version of

178 Chapter 10 CuesAuto-orient along Motion Path Causes an image to rotate according to its motion direction at any given time. This is useful whe

Chapter 10 Cues 179TWEEN TRACKS Tween tracks control the appearance of media on stage over time. Depending on the type of media associated with th

18 Chapter 2 Installation Using Multiple Sound Channels You can have multiple display computers playing at the same time, thereby providing multi

180 Chapter 10 CuesOpacity Controls the opacity (transparency) of an image. To change the opacity, either drag the tween point vertically in the t

Chapter 10 Cues 181Scale Scales an image in relation to its anchor position (see “Anchor Position” on page 172).You can specify either the scale f

182 Chapter 10 CuesPosition Positions an image on stage. To change the position, drag the image or one of the motion path handles shown in the Sta

Chapter 10 Cues 183edit the Z position by dragging the image or its position tween points in the Stage window. ◆ HINT: In some cases, it may be ea

184 Chapter 10 CuesRotation Z Rotates an image around its anchor point (see “Anchor Position” on page 172). You can rotate the image by a specifie

Chapter 10 Cues 185Rotation X and Y Similar to the Rotation Z tween track described on the previous page, but rotates the image around its X (hori

186 Chapter 10 CuesCorners Offsets the four corners of an image individually, allowing it to be mapped onto another image or real-world object. As

Chapter 10 Cues 187Black & White Makes the image monochrome based on the color chosen in the Hue and Satu-ration parameters. Adjust the Mix pa

188 Chapter 10 CuesCrop Use a Crop tween track to move the edges of an image inwards. You can use this to remove unwanted parts of an image, or as

Chapter 10 Cues 189Color Use a Color tween track to specify the overall color of an image. The colors in the image will be multiplied by the color

Chapter 2 Installation 19 Software Driver Installation Most capture cards require specialized software drivers. Although such a driver is usually

190 Chapter 10 Cues• RGB Sliders specifies the color using an additive method based on the amount of the three primary colors Red, Green and Blue.

Chapter 10 Cues 191When using the HSB model, note that merely changing the Hue has no effect unless you also specify a saturation and brightness g

192 Chapter 10 CuesTint Use a Tint tween track to add color to an image. You can think of the Tint tween track as specifying the color of transluc

Chapter 10 Cues 193Channel Mixer Re-mixes any amount of the original Red, Green and Blue color components to the Red, Green and Blue color compone

194 Chapter 10 CuesCreating Loops You can use the “Jump to” option to create loops – causing a section of the timeline to be repeated. When jumpin

Chapter 10 Cues 195Using Find and QuickFind Named Control cues can be used with the Find command to locate a position along the timeline by name.

196 Chapter 10 Cues

Chapter 11 Inputs and Outputs 19711INPUTS AND OUTPUTS 11Inputs and outputs act as gateways between WATCHOUT and other external devices. Using indu

198 Chapter 11 Inputs and OutputsConnecting a MIDI device Connect your MIDI device to a USB port (or other suitable MIDI interface) on your WATCHO

Chapter 11 Inputs and Outputs 199Enter the MIDI channel number and controller number to use, if you know them. If not, click “Learn” and move the

20 Chapter 2 Installation VNC SERVER SOFTWARE If you want to use the Computer Screen media item in WATCHOUT to integrate a live computer display

200 Chapter 11 Inputs and OutputsMIDI Note Input A MIDI Note Input brings in MIDI keyboard messages, often referred to as “Note On/Note Off” messa

Chapter 11 Inputs and Outputs 201DMX-512 Input A DMX-512 Input brings in the value of a DMX channel. DMX-512 is a protocol used by most lighting c

202 Chapter 11 Inputs and OutputsControlling Tween Tracks Inputs can be used to control parameters of cues, similar to the way tween tracks are us

Chapter 11 Inputs and Outputs 203The TweenValue identifier represents the tween track itself. To control the parameter using an input, simply ente

204 Chapter 11 Inputs and Outputs▲ IMPORTANT: Most media cues need some time to prepare before they will appear properly on stage. Therefore, it i

Chapter 11 Inputs and Outputs 205DMX-512 Output Use a DMX-512 Output to control lighting and other devices which accept the DMX-512 protocol. Spec

206 Chapter 11 Inputs and OutputsString Output Use a String Output to control devices that accepts text strings or other discrete data packets thr

Chapter 11 Inputs and Outputs 207Using a Serial Port To use a serial port, connect the device to the COM1 port on any display computer, and select

208 Chapter 11 Inputs and OutputsSending a Data String A String Output is controlled using a String Cue, created by dragging the output onto a tim

Chapter 12 Tasks and Expressions 20912TASKS AND EXPRESSIONS 12The Task window allows you to create multiple auxiliary timelines, and to specify th

Chapter 2 Installation 21 The first time you run the VNC server software, you will be prompted to enter a password. The VNC server software then

210 Chapter 12 Tasks and ExpressionsAUXILIARY TIMELINE Double-clicking an item in the Task list opens its associated auxiliary timeline.◆ HINT: Ch

Chapter 12 Tasks and Expressions 211Starting from an Input Alternatively, you can trigger an auxiliary timeline using an external signal, brought

212 Chapter 12 Tasks and ExpressionsStopping an Auxiliary Timeline An auxiliary timeline will stop automatically after playing to its end.◆ HINT:

Chapter 12 Tasks and Expressions 213Using Numeric Operators In some cases, you may want to combine multiple values. For instance, in the previous

214 Chapter 12 Tasks and Expressionsvalue is effectively clipped to the range 0 through 1 (as the image can’t be more than fully opaque or fully t

Chapter 12 Tasks and Expressions 215List of Operators This is a list of the operators supported by WATCHOUT, shown in their order of precedence.Mo

216 Chapter 12 Tasks and Expressions

Chapter 13 Dynamic Images 21713DYNAMIC IMAGES 13The WATCHOUT Image Server is a separate program that allows you to incor-porate up-to-date text, i

218 Chapter 13 Dynamic ImagesAlternate File Location By default, image files are served from a folder relative to the location of the Image Server

Chapter 13 Dynamic Images 219SERVING SWF FILES For even greater flexibility, you may choose to serve Flash (SWF) files. Such a file can dynamicall

22 Chapter 2 Installation COMPUTER SETTINGS Each computer needs to be configured for TCP/IP networking. Click the Start button and choose Control

220 Chapter 13 Dynamic ImagesExample SWF: A News Reader To develop custom solutions, you need to be familiar with Flash Professional and its Actio

Chapter 13 Dynamic Images 221Displaying Server Files Put the image and SWF files to be served into a folder on the computer running the WATCHOUT I

222 Chapter 13 Dynamic ImagesFlash Parameters For SWF images, any parameters specified in the Dynamic Image Specifica-tions dialog box are passed

Appendix A System requirements 223ASYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AThis appendix lists what you need in order to install WATCHOUT on a PC.COMPUTER A WATCHOUT

224 Appendix A System requirementsLIVE VIDEO INPUT To integrate live video into WATCHOUT, each display computer used to show live video must be eq

Appendix B Computer Issues 225BCOMPUTER ISSUES BWhile the basic configuration of the display computer outlined in Chapter 2 “Installation” is suff

226 Appendix B Computer IssuesFor best performance, you should create a smaller (50 GB or so) partition for Windows, and any other applications yo

Appendix B Computer Issues 227Specifying a larger than usual allocation size greatly reduces the tendency of disk fragmentation, at the cost of a

228 Appendix B Computer Issues• Remote updating of WATCHOUT software and components. Since an application under UAC doesn’t have permission to wri

Appendix B Computer Issues 229GENERAL PERFORMANCE The performance of a PC is often degraded by numerous small programs and services running in the

Chapter 2 Installation 23 Ensure that “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)” is available and selected.

230 Appendix B Computer Issues◆ HINT: The names listed in the Running Tasks and Startup Programs lists are often cryptic, and may be hard to assoc

Appendix B Computer Issues 231Removing Background Programs Once you have identified any undesired background programs, you should either remove or

232 Appendix B Computer IssuesAnother way to locate and disable startup programs is by using the System Configuration utility. To open this utilit

Appendix B Computer Issues 233System Services Most background activities are not run as regular programs, but as System Services. You can view the

234 Appendix B Computer IssuesDefragmenting the Disk After using WATCHOUT for some time, adding and removing media or other files, the hard disk m

Appendix B Computer Issues 235DISPLAY PERFORMANCE WATCHOUT is based on the latest technology in computers and graphics cards. For this to work opt

236 Appendix B Computer IssuesDisplay Drivers and DirectX If you run into display problems or system errors, it’s often a good idea to look for an

Appendix B Computer Issues 237Defect Drivers Performance and reliability problems may be caused by defect software drivers. Such problems can be h

238 Appendix B Computer Issues

Appendix C Display Issues 239CDISPLAY ISSUES CWATCHOUT can be used with most display technologies, including DLP and LCD projectors, LCD monitors,

24 Chapter 2 Installation Choose “Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4)”, click “Properties…” and enter the numbers as shown below.◆ NOTE: The e

240 Appendix C Display Issuesvery bright projectors on a small screen. Avoid using stronger projectors than necessary for your screen size and amb

Appendix C Display Issues 241LCD Projectors LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) projectors are in many ways similar to DLP projec-tors, and share many of

242 Appendix C Display IssuesWIRING When connecting the display to the display computer, keep the following in mind:• Keep analog (VGA) cables sho

Appendix C Display Issues 243HDMI Connector The HDMI connector is similar to the DVI connector in many ways, but is gener-ally limited to carrying

244 Appendix C Display Issuesyou’ve plugged in another display and change its behavior (for example, its refresh rate), thereby causing the proble

Appendix C Display Issues 245If using a CRT or known good LCD display makes the video playback look considerably smoother, you’re most likely expe

246 Appendix C Display Issuesfrom most professional screen manufacturers (for example, “Aeroview 100” from Stewart Filmscreen Corporation; http://

Appendix C Display Issues 247room. Often, however, the best solution is to avoid large, dark areas in the presentation altogether.Thin, Dark or Br

248 Appendix C Display IssuesHOT-SPOTS Hot-spots appear as bright areas near the center of front or rear-projected images. As you move your vantag

Appendix C Display Issues 249OPTICAL LINEARITY When using multiple overlapping projectors, optical linearity is important. Deficiencies in optics

Chapter 2 Installation 25 Firewall Settings The Windows firewall may interfere with normal operation of WATCHOUT. You can avoid this either by di

250 Appendix C Display Issues

Appendix D Production Computer Protocol 251DPRODUCTION COMPUTER PROTOCOLDOverview You can control a WATCHOUT production computer from an external

252 Appendix D Production Computer ProtocolA command consists of a command name, sometimes followed by parameters. Commands are encoded using the

Appendix D Production Computer Protocol 253LIST OF COMMANDS The table below shows the available commands, with some commands explained in more det

254 Appendix D Production Computer ProtocolgotoTime Jumps to a time position along the timeline. The time can be specified in milli-seconds:gotoTi

Appendix D Production Computer Protocol 255load Loads a show by name. The name is specified as a quoted string containing the full path to the fil

256 Appendix D Production Computer ProtocolsetInput Sets the value of a named input (see “Inputs” on page 197):setInput "uno" 0.5The val

Appendix E Display Cluster Protocol 257EDISPLAY CLUSTER PROTOCOL EOverview You can control a cluster of WATCHOUT display computers using a local c

258 Appendix E Display Cluster Protocol(possibly located in the Startup folder), add the name of the command file to the Target field of the short

Appendix E Display Cluster Protocol 259for any other computers in the WATCHOUT display cluster to become ready, and then runs the show.authenticat

26 Chapter 2 Installation ◆ NOTE: As an alternative to disabling the firewall entirely, you may configure the firewall to allow WATCHOUT and any

260 Appendix E Display Cluster ProtocolUse a Telnet program to check the communication. Open the port specified above, then type “ping” and press

Appendix E Display Cluster Protocol 261parameters. Commands are case sensitive. Commands are encoded using the UTF-8 UNICODE character format, whi

262 Appendix E Display Cluster ProtocolLIST OF COMMANDS The table below shows the available commands. Some are explained in greater depth on the p

Appendix E Display Cluster Protocol 263load Load a complete show specification from a local file associated with the show name specified by the fi

264 Appendix E Display Cluster ProtocolgotoTime Jump to the specified time position along the timeline.gotoTime 5000gotoControlCue Jump to the tim

Appendix E Display Cluster Protocol 265enableLayerCond Change the set of enabled layer conditions. While the layer conditions can be specified as

266 Appendix E Display Cluster ProtocolResponds with a Reply with the following parameters:delay Wait the number of milliseconds specified by the

Appendix E Display Cluster Protocol 267setInput Sets the value of a named input (see “Inputs” on page 197). See “setInput” on page 256 for more de

268 Appendix E Display Cluster ProtocoltimecodeMode Controls the LTC timecode receiver of the display computer. The timecode receiver is initially

Appendix E Display Cluster Protocol 269FEEDBACK The WATCHOUT cluster master sends feedback messages to the controller. Note that the controller mu

Chapter 2 Installation 27 DISPLAY COMPUTER SETTINGS To achieve best performance and reliability in your WATCHOUT system, you need to adjust sever

270 Appendix E Display Cluster ProtocolBusy Sent repeatedly while busy doing lengthy tasks, such as downloading or caching files.Busy "Transf

Appendix E Display Cluster Protocol 271Error Sent when any error occurs, either as a direct result of a command, or for any other reason.Operating

272 Appendix E Display Cluster ProtocolRendering API Error Error occurred specifically related to rendering. This is similar to other oper-ating s

Appendix E Display Cluster Protocol 273Authentication Error The second parameter gives further details:The third parameter may provide additional

274 Appendix E Display Cluster ProtocolInformation Sent to convey some general information.Reply A Reply feedback message is sent as a direct resp

Appendix F MIDI Show Control 275FMIDI SHOW CONTROL FMIDI Show Control (MSC) allows WATCHOUT to be controlled from a lighting console, or similar d

276 Appendix F MIDI Show ControlThe cue number, if specified, makes WATCHOUT locate a Control cue with that name (that is, the name of the cue mus

Index 277INDEXNumerics3D 86, 100, 124Aacceleration 76Add Composition command 143adding a control cue 151adding a display 131adding a media proxy 139Ad

278 Indexcue 12, 64, 167adding 102, 167control 151cutting 168deleting 168duration 67, 169media position 168pasting 168pause 68positioning 167replacing

Index 279edit menu 125enableLayerCond 265Ethernet 16Ethernet port 206expression 203, 212external control 83Ffile menu 115find and replace 128Find comm

28 Chapter 2 Installation Display Properties • Right-click your computer’s desktop and choose “Screen Resolution.” • Set “Resolution” to match th

280 IndexLLarge Thumbnails command 149layer 66changing height 102collapse 101condition 104current 102deleting 151disabling preview of 103inserting 151

Index 281MIDI show control, MSC 122, 275MOV file format 37movie 37assembling individual frames 39audio embedded in 46computer generated 38pre-splittin

282 Indexpreviewbackground color 138conditional layers 137outline dimmed images 136stage tiers 137standby layers 137wireframe 135preview menu 135Previ

Index 283stacking 175stacking order 153stageadding displays 97adding media 97background color 138online 134positioning displays 159positioning media p

284 Indextween point 70copying 70corner 70editing numerically 71removing 70smooth 70tween track 12, 69, 179adding points to 70opacity 72position 75red

Chapter 2 Installation 29 • Click “Advanced settings.”• Click the Monitor tab and set “Colors” to “True Color” and “Screen refresh rate” as set i

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION ... 7 System Overview... 8Softwa

30 Chapter 2 Installation If you don’t intend to use video, or if you have mixed PAL and NTSC video, choose “60 fps” in the WATCHOUT Preferences

Chapter 2 Installation 31 Sound Settings When using a display computer for sound playback, you must enable the correct sound output and turn up i

32 Chapter 2 Installation Once you have selected the desired output in the list shown on the previous page, click Properties and turn up the volu

Chapter 3 Media 33 3 MEDIA 3 WATCHOUT is a compositing tool; it does not include any media creation or editing functions. All media to be used in

34 Chapter 3 Media STILL IMAGES Still images can be used as backgrounds or superimposed on other images. You can control the degree of transparen

Chapter 3 Media 35 Transparency Some image formats include transparency information in addition to the image itself. This transparency informatio

36 Chapter 3 MediaImage Specifications Double-click the name of an image in the Media window to change its specifi-cations. Click the Browse butto

Chapter 3 Media 37MOVING IMAGES WATCHOUT can play back movies and videos saved in a Windows Media (DirectShow) or QuickTime-compatible format, suc

38 Chapter 3 MediaComputer-generated Animations When using computer-generated moving images, you must specify the frame rate and resolution of the

Chapter 3 Media 39Assembling Individual Frames Some applications, most notably 3D animation software, often save the resulting frames as individua

7 WINDOWS ...95 Stage Window ... 97Main Timeline Window...

40 Chapter 3 MediaUsing Transparency Some applications support inclusion of transparency information in the gene-rated movie file. Such transparen

Chapter 3 Media 41MPEG-2. High quality. Used on DVD video discs. Optimized for camera video at normal frame sizes. Also supports high definition f

42 Chapter 3 MediaPre-splitting Large Movies Modern computers are generally capable of playing at least one high defini-tion video file. Fast comp

Chapter 3 Media 43This can all be avoided by splitting the image using the originating application, prior to compression. Most applications allow

44 Chapter 3 MediaThis is how you would split a movie using Adobe After Effects:Crop the resulting movie as required on each side.

Chapter 3 Media 45AUDIO Audio is used in WATCHOUT in a way that’s very similar to moving images. Simply bring the sound file into WATCHOUT and pla

46 Chapter 3 MediaUsing Embedded Audio Some video files contain an audio track in addition to the video. In this case, the sound will play from th

Chapter 3 Media 47LIVE VIDEO Live video can be integrated into your presentation. This is particularly useful in speaker support applications, sin

48 Chapter 3 MediaFrom a production point of view, you use the live computer image just like any other image. Simply add a Computer Screen object

Chapter 3 Media 49The advantage of this media type is that it requires no additional hardware installed in the computer and that it adds new kinds

C DISPLAY ISSUES ... 239 Display Technologies ... 239Wiring...

50 Chapter 3 MediaURI Enter the Uniform Resource Identifier of the stream’s source. The details here vary with the camera or application sending t

Chapter 3 Media 51• Provide content for the image server in the form of still images or Flash (SWF) files.• Choose “Add Dynamic Image” on the Medi

52 Chapter 3 MediaTEXT This media type makes it easy to add headings and other texts to your WATCHOUT show without having to use an external progr

Chapter 3 Media 53Width Specifies the width of the resulting text image, in pixels. The height will be determined automatically by the amount and

54 Chapter 3 MediaBullets and Numbering These checkboxes display a bullet or a paragraph count in front of each selected paragraph. Use the Hangin

Chapter 3 Media 55Style You may define text settings that can subsequently be applied across several Text media items, thus maintaining a consiste

56 Chapter 3 MediaAdd/Delete Style Click Add to create a new, named style based on the current settings, then enter a style name. To delete a styl

Chapter 3 Media 57DMX-512 RECORDING WATCHOUT can control individual lighting channels directly (see “DMX-512 Output” on page 205). However, when u

58 Chapter 3 Media• Drag this new item from the Media window onto a timeline. Note that the symbol on the cue is displayed in yellow, indicating t

Chapter 4 Production 594PRODUCTION 4This chapter goes through the steps required to produce a presentation using WATCHOUT. It assumes that you hav

Dataton WATCHOUT™ software and this manual © Copyright 2012, DATATON AB (“Dataton”). All rights reserved. Dataton and the Dataton logo are registered

60 Chapter 4 Productionarrangement and separation of the monitors or image areas, images that span multiple display areas will line up properly. T

Chapter 4 Production 61Complex Display Arrangements If you have complex display arrangements, such as multiple display areas or different sets of

62 Chapter 4 Production▲ IMPORTANT: Whenever possible, store media files in a sub-folder of the folder containing your WATCHOUT show file. This al

Chapter 4 Production 63the file name in the Media window and choose another file. This will affect all cues that use this media list item.◆ NOTE:

64 Chapter 4 ProductionTIMELINE The Main Timeline window shows the temporal relation of cues and effects, as well as the layering of overlapping m

Chapter 4 Production 65Positioning Media on Stage When media is added to the timeline, it also appears in the upper left corner of the top/left di

66 Chapter 4 ProductionLayering Media The horizontal layers in the timeline window allow you to control the stacking order of images in the Stage

Chapter 4 Production 67Changing a Cue’s Duration When adding moving images or sound, the duration of the cue is set to the duration of the file. W

68 Chapter 4 ProductionUsing Control Cues In addition to media cues, you can also add control cues to the timeline by choosing “Add Control Cue” o

Chapter 4 Production 69TWEEN TRACKS Tween tracks control the behavior of media dynamically throughout the cue. For instance, you can use an Opacit

Chapter 1 Introduction 7 1 INTRODUCTION 1 Welcome to Dataton WATCHOUT™, a fully digital, multi-screen display tech-nology. It combines the qualit

70 Chapter 4 ProductionAdding Points Adding a tween track to a cue generally has no effect in itself unless you use it to change the value governe

Chapter 4 Production 71A corner is represented by a diamond-shaped tween point. A sequence of corner points causes the value to change gradually,

72 Chapter 4 ProductionOPACITY Use an opacity tween track to fade objects in and out, or to make objects semi-transparent. An opacity tween track

Chapter 4 Production 73ROTATION Z Use a rotation tween track to control the angle of images, or to make an image rotate over time. Rotate the imag

74 Chapter 4 ProductionANCHOR POINT Images scale and rotate around the anchor point. The anchor point is indicated by a white crosshair in the Sta

Chapter 4 Production 75POSITION Use the position tween track to position an image on stage, or to make an image move along a path. Select one or s

76 Chapter 4 ProductionMoving Along a Path To make the image move along a path, first add a tween point by clicking at the desired time position a

Chapter 4 Production 77Dragging the direction handle farther away from the point increases the curva-ture. Add tween points for better control ove

78 Chapter 4 Production3D/STEREOSCOPY WATCHOUT allows you to produce and present stereoscopic presentations, to be viewed using appropriate displa

Chapter 5 Presentation 795PRESENTATION 5This chapter tells you how to take your WATCHOUT presentation from your production computer onto the displ

8 Chapter 1 Introduction SYSTEM OVERVIEW This section provides a brief introduction to the various components in a very basic WATCHOUT system, an

80 Chapter 5 PresentationDownloading Media Whenever you go online, WATCHOUT will check to make sure that all required media files have been transf

Chapter 5 Presentation 81Updating the Stage If you make changes to your show while online, transfer them to the display computers using the “Updat

82 Chapter 5 PresentationExternal Control Options You can use a touch panel, such as an iPhone/iPad, or other external control system to remotely

Chapter 5 Presentation 83EXTERNAL CONTROL For more complex applications, you may want to integrate WATCHOUT with other control systems. This can b

84 Chapter 5 PresentationDisplay Cluster Control Instead of controlling the WATCHOUT production software, as discussed above, you may choose to co

Chapter 5 Presentation 85Controlling the Display Cluster Connect the timecode signal to Line In of the primary display computer and activate timec

86 Chapter 5 PresentationSTEREOSCOPIC PRESENTATIONS WATCHOUT includes full support for stereoscopic (“3D”) presentations. In terms of production,

Chapter 6 Using Compositions 876USING COMPOSITIONS 6A composition allows you to group a set of cues together on their own sub-timeline. This can t

88 Chapter 6 Using CompositionsCREATING A COMPOSITION Start by choosing “Add Composition” on the Media menu. Give the composi-tion a name, and typ

Chapter 6 Using Compositions 89Open the composition’s timeline window by double-clicking the newly added composition item in the Media window.Noti

Chapter 1 Introduction 9 The production computer talks to the display computers through the network, transferring media files for you as required

90 Chapter 6 Using CompositionsADDING CUES You add cues to a composition in the same way as you do to other timelines. In this example, we will ad

Chapter 6 Using Compositions 91USING THE COMPOSITION To use your newly created composition as a whole, simply drag it from the Media window onto t

92 Chapter 6 Using CompositionsNESTING COMPOSITIONS A composition may be used inside other compositions. This can be applied in a hierarchical fas

Chapter 6 Using Compositions 93Once the single “Piston Loop” composition works as desired, go ahead and create the next, outer composition, naming

94 Chapter 6 Using CompositionsOnce the complete engine works as desired, create the next outer level. This level puts the complete cylinder engin

Chapter 7 Windows 957WINDOWS 7Stage window, showing the display areas and a preview of the presentation.Main Timeline window, showing the layers,

96 Chapter 7 WindowsManipulating Windows All WATCHOUT windows reside inside a desktop window, with a menu bar running along its top. You can resiz

Chapter 7 Windows 97STAGE WINDOW The Stage window is used to add and arrange the display areas used in the presentation. It also provides a previe

98 Chapter 7 WindowsPositioning Media on Stage You can position media on stage by dragging its preview in the Stage window. To do so, first select

Chapter 7 Windows 99Merely adding all six displays to the stage will not work as desired for the following reasons:• The large plasma display over