Switcher


Feature The How To's

Audio Improvement:

16 Channel Audio Mixer

The most significant change to 3.1 is the addition of eight mixer channels for a total of sixteen configurable mixer channels in Switcher.

Eight mixer channels are dedicated to the eight back panel input analog channels, and the remaining eight channels are dedicated for digital channels, such as the Time Machine audio channels or DVIO audio. In addition to these 16 mixer channels, there is also the dedicated Return stereo pair channels. The Audio Mixer Panel and Mixer Preferences Panel have been modified to reflect these changes.

The Audio Mixer Panel now has ten audio channel columns. The first 8 columns represent either mixer channels 1 through 8 or mixer channels 9 through 16. You can switch between these via the mutually exclusive toggle buttons to the left of the sliders ("1-8" and "9-16"). The last two columns represent the Left & Right Return channels. Above the Return channels is a picon of the Audio Settings, which can be dragged into a bin to save the current settings to a file. An audio settings file can be dropped on the picon in order to load the audio settings.

Additionally, the Trim knobs now honor Stereo mode. When the trim knob of one channel of a stereo pair is modified, its stereo complement is modified with the same value. However, unlike the Level sliders, when turning Stereo mode on, the Trim knobs are not averaged. This way, the user can keep the Trim knobs at different values if necessary and still change the Level Sliders in stereo.

The Audio Mixer panel that is shown in the preceding figure represents the settings in the Mixer Preferences Panel shown in the figure below. There's a few things to note: because the second mixer is unassigned, all of the controls in the 2nd column are ghosted. Also, mixer channels 3/4 and 5/6 are assigned to the Time Machine audio channels so the corresponding Trim knobs are disabled because only analog input audio channels support Trim. Trim isn't supported for Return channels either.

Audio Improvement:

Mixer Preferences improvements

The Mixer Preferences Panel now supports 16 mixer channels. The configuration is eight analog channels (1-8) and eight digital channels (9-16). See this diagram for an example of the first eight configured channels.

The panel shows only eight of the 16 channels. You can switch between channels 1-8 and channels 9-16 by clicking on the Mixer button, which brings up a pop-up menu. Select "Mixers 1-8" to configure the first eight channels, or "Mixers 9-16" to configure the last eight channels.

Another addition to the Mixer Preferences panel is the Lock option. This option allows you to "lock" a mixer channel so the resource will not be "stolen" when a timeline is loaded. Simply click on the lock button in the appropriate mixer row to toggle it from locked (Y) to unlocked (N).

Also, those mixer channels that do not have video associated with them (unlike Time Machine channels and VTR Decks, which have an associated video source) can be linked to a video source (such as Live Video Input or a FrameStore).

To do so, you can left-click on a channel's Audio Input button and select "Link Video..." from the pop-up menu, or simply right-click on the channels Audio Input button. If the channel does not have an inherent linked video source, the Link Video pop-up menu will appear. Simply select a video source, or click on "Do Not Assign" to clear a linked video source. A linked video source is indicated on the Audio Input button.

Audio Improvement:

Sound Effects

It is now possible to associate a sound effect with a video effect. Please Note: You must have Time Machine installed in your GlobeCaster system to use this feature.

If you look at the Effect Controls of the main Switcher panel, it can be seen that the FX, DSK1, and DSK2 effect picons now have a new SoundFX picon above and to the left. If no sound effect is loaded, or if no sound effect is assigned to the video effect, the SoundFX picon is grayed out. Otherwise, the SoundFX picon is shown with full intensity to indicate that a sound effect will play when the corresponding effect is run. Once the sound effect has been selected, the user simply has to hit Auto as before to run the effeect and the sound effect will automatically play.

The sound effect is a Time Machine audio clip.(Perhaps the easiest way to create an audio TM Clip is to drop a wav file in the timeline in Editor to digitize it and then save the resulting clip as an lcp file in a bin for quick access.) Simply drag the TM Clip (either from the Time Machine bin or an lcp file) onto the SoundFX picon to load it. If there is an effect loaded in the corresponding video picon, then the sound effect should be prepared to run when the effect is activated. You can also batch digitize audio files to the Time Machine as well.

Just like the effect picon has a right-click pop-up menu to switch between video effects or unload them, the SoundFX picon also has a right-click pop-up menu. The top section of the menu lists all of the sound effects that have been loaded. (Unlike the effect right-click pop-up menu which lists only those effects that are loaded to that "picon", any sound effect that has been loaded can be linked to any video effect.)

Simply click on the name of the clip to have it played when the effect is executed. The remaining menu items are listed below:

  • Play Entire Clip: Play the entire audio clip when the effect is run. (Otherwise, the audio clip is stopped when the effect is over.)
  • Link To Effect: Associate, or "link", a sound effect with a video effect. (See below for more information on linked effects.)
  • Stop Clip: Immediately stop the clip from playing. (May be useful if an audio clip is longer than a video effect and "Play Entire Clip" was selected.)
  • Disable Sound: Do not play an audio clip when running an effect (this will gray out the SoundFX picon).
  • Unload Current: Unload the current sound effect audio clip (this will disable the sound).
  • Unload All: Unload all of the sound effect audio clips.
  • Play on TM SoundFX Audio 1: Use the first SoundFX audio stereo pair.
  • Play on TM SoundFX Audio 2: Use the second SoundFX audio stereo pair.
  • Linked Sound Effects

    A linked sound effect is associated with a video effect. When you switch from one video effect to a new one, the linked sound effect of the new video effect is automatically selected, too. That way, once a sound effect is linked to a video effect, the user no longer has to manage the sound effect as well as the video effect when selecting different effects.

    Furthermore, you can save a sound effect link in the video effect's file. Right-click on the effect picon and select "Properties..." to bring up the Effect Properties Panel. Then drag a TM audio clip from a bin and drop it onto the effect picon or the Effect Info Box. This will add an AudioClip property that is displayed in the Effect Info Box. Then save over the original file or save to a new name using the Save button or by dragging and dropping the picon into a Bin. Note that an audio glyph will show up in the upper right corner to indicate that an AudioClip property is associated with the file.

    This AudioClip property can be removed later, if necessary. Once again, invoke the Effect Properties Panel to show the Effect Info Box. Click on the Effect Info Box where the AudioClip property is displayed, which will pop-up a small menu. Select "Remove Audio Clip" to remove the AudioClip property. You must save over the file, or create a new file, to save your change. (You may also want to click on the Set Picon button to change the picon since the audio glyph is part of the picon)

  • SoundFX Audio

    In order to play sound effects without stealing the resources from any Time Machine clips that may be playing, the two additional audio stereo pairs from the Time Machine are used. You can use the Mixer Preferences Panel to configure which mixer channels are connected to these Time Machine channels, similar to the standard Time Machine channels. Simply click on the Audio Input button to bring up the Audio Device pop-up menu and select "TM SoundFX Audio 1" or "TM SoundFX Audio 2". Although there are three SoundFX picons, there are only two stereo pairs available; the SoundFX Picon right-click menu allows you to choose which stereo pair is used for which SoundFX picon.

  • Tab Order

    The keyboard's Tab key can now be used to tab through the source label editboxes on the main Switcher panel. The Tab key used to be associated with the Toggle Bus Row accelerator; now [Alt+B] should be used instead

    ClipGrab Improvement:

    Input Monitor Panel

    The Input Monitors Panel is accessed by clicking on the Panels button in the main Switcher interface and selecting "Input Monitors" from the Panels pop-up menu. Like the "Monitors" menu item, this will toggle the visibility of the Input Monitors Panel.

    The Input Monitors Panel allows you to monitor up to 8 additional sources. There are 8 small monitors, and two large monitors. The top large monitor covers the top four monitors, and second large monitor covers the bottom four monitors as shown here. Like the Monitors Panel, the images are grabbed using a ClipGrab card. Performance will increase with the addition of a second ClibGrab card.

    Each monitor has a Monitor Button next to it that lets you specify which source to monitor. By clicking on the button next to the small monitor, a (Small) Input Monitor menu pops up and lets the user select one of the eight video inputs or one of four loaded Framestores. You can click on the "Start" menu item to start monitoring. To stop monitoring, click on the button again, and click on the "Stop" menu item (which replaces the "Start" menu item when the monitor is active).

    Clicking on a Large Monitor Button, on the left, pops up the (Large) Input Monitor menu. You can select one of the eight video inputs. If the monitor is not visible, you can select "Show" to make the large input monitor visible. If the monitor is visible, select "Hide" from the menu (which replaces "Show") to hide the monitor and reveal the four small monitors beneath it. Like the Small Input Monitor menu, there is also a "Start" option (and "Stop" option). Selecting "Start" will automatically show the large input monitor if it is not already visible.

    Selecting "Stop" from the Input Monitor menus will stop the updates. However, the last frame that was grabbed will still be visible, so you still has a reference as to what the source was. It should also be noted that if a Time Machine uses an input card that a monitor is associated with, then the frames of the Time Machine will be grabbed/displayed rather than the input card's video source.

    Another thing to keep in mind is that the more monitors that are running, the slower the update speed will be for all monitors, including Program and Preview on the Monitors Panel. (See the "User-specified Monitor Priority" section below for configuring your update rate.) When the Input Monitors panel is closed, all monitors are automatically stopped. The "Start All" button starts running all input monitors that are visible. The "Stop All" button stops all input monitors that are running.

    ClipGrab Improvement:

    User-specified Monitor Priority

    The Monitors Panel now has a Monitor Priority button to the right of the Outputs button. This button pops up a menu that allows you to choose the update rates of the Program & Preview Monitors in conjunction with the Input Monitors (see above). There are different choices depending on how many ClipGrab cards are in the GlobeCaster.

    If there is one ClipGrab card in the GlobeCaster, clicking on the Monitor Priority button pops up a menu with the following options:

    • Program Priority: Program has the highest priority and will be updated once every two times. Preview and the active Input Monitors have equal priority and will be updated in round robin fashion every other time. (Example: Pgm, Prv, Pgm, 1, Pgm, 2, Pgm, 3, Pgm, Prv,...)
    • Program & Preview Priority: Program and Preview have the highest, and equal, priority. Program and Preview will be updated once every three times. The active Input Monitors have equal priority and will be updated in round robin fashion every third time. (Example: Pgm, Prv, 1, Pgm, Prv, 2, Pgm, Prv, 3, Pgm, Prv,...)
    • Equal Priority: Program, Preview, and active Input Monitors all have equal priority and will be updated in round robin fashion. (Example: Pgm, Prv, 1, 2, 3, Pgm, Prv,...)
    If there are two ClipGrab cards in the GlobeCaster, clicking on the Monitor Priority button pops up a menu with the following options:

    • Program on CG1; Preview & Inputs on CG2 (Preview Priority): Program is updated every time using the first ClibGrab card. Preview and the active Input Monitors use the second ClipGrab card, where Preview is displayed once every two times, and the active Input Monitors will be updated in round robin fashion every other time. (Example: Pgm/Prv, Pgm/1, Pgm/Prv, Pgm/2, Pgm/Prv, Pgm/3, Pgm/Prv,...)
    • Program on CG1; Preview & Inputs on CG2 (Equal Priority): Program is updated every time using the first ClibGrab card. Preview and the active Input Monitors use the second ClipGrab card, where Preview and the active Input Monitors have euqal priority and will be updated in round robin fashion. (Example: Pgm/Prv, Pgm/1, Pgm/2, Pgm/3, Pgm/Prv,...)
    • Program & Preview on CG1; Inputs on CG2: Program and Preview are alternately updated every time using the first ClipGrab card. The active Input Monitors use the second ClipGrab card and will be updated in round robin fashion. (Example: Pgm/1, Prv/2, Pgm/3, Prv/1, Pgm/2, Prv/3, Pgm/1,...)

    Save As Link Effect

    A "Save As Link Effect" button has been added to the Effect Properties Panel. Upon enabling this, you can save a "link effect file" by clicking on the Save button or by dragging the picon and dropping it into a bin.

    The effect link file only contains the picon and properties, but does not contain the effect; instead, a property stores the name of the reference effect file. (Make sure you don't delete the effect that is being referenced; otherwise, the link effect file become broken.) This is particularly useful if you wish to save multiples instances of an effect with slightly different properties (e.g., fade in and fade out) without using up a lot of memory to save the effect multiple times. Link effect files have a .lfx extension, and a "link" glyph will be added to the top right of the picon to indicate that it is a link effect file.

    Software Preview Effect

    A "Preview Effect" menu option has been added to the effect picon's right-click pop-up menu. Selecting this option will temporarily disable the Preview ClipGrab and display the previewed effect in the Preview Monitor.

    For DSKs, it is recommended that you use the DSK Preview button to view the effects; however, this feature is particularly useful for previewing transition effects which can't be previewed in hardware. When the preview is running, the "Preview Effect" menu option changes to "Cancel Preview" and upi can select it to abort the preview and restore the Preview ClipGrab. (This option is available only when the Preview Monitor of the Monitors Panel is visible.)

    Minimizing Preroll

    The standard preroll for any transition (Cut, Auto, etc.) is 8 fields. If you absolutely need the transition to be as fast as possible, an option to minimize the preroll has been added to the Switcher Options panel. Specify the (even) number of fields and toggle on the "Enable Minimum Preroll" button. When this button is enabled, a Cut is performed in the shortest number of fields possible that is no lower than the number of fields specified.

    CS-1000 VTR Transport Control

    The number keypad keys of the CS-1000 now translate to VTR transport control commands when NumLock is OFF. The mapping is as follows:

    CS-1000 Numpad ==> VTR Mapping

    Num
    Lock
    / * - Num
    Lock
    Select
    Prev VTR
    Record Backward
    1 Frame
    7 8 9 + Jog
    Forward
    Fast
    Forward
    Shuttle
    Forward
    Forward
    1 Frame
    4 5 6 + Play
    Reverse
    Pause Play Forward
    1 Frame
    1 2 3 Enter Shuttle
    Reverse
    Rewind Jog
    Reverse
    Select
    Next VTR
    0 0 . Enter Stop Stop Eject Select
    Next VTR

    New Accelerators

    New Switcher Accelerators
    Ctrl+IToggle Input Monitors Panel
    Ctrl+CToggle Camera Settings Panel
    Alt+Page DownDo Fade Mix
    (exists in 3.0, but incorrectly listed as Ctrl+Page Down in 3.0 manual)
    Ctrl+Page DownDo Fade Mix (to make 3.0 manual correct)
    Alt+BToggle Key Preview/Aux Bus
    TabToggle Key Preview/Aux Bus
    (exists in 3.0, but also used for Tab Order so it is recommended you use Alt+B instead)

    Remote Control Camera Settings Panel

    The Camera Settings Panel has been added to control a Sony BRC-300 camara remotely from the Switcher application. To open this panel, click on the Panels button in the main Switcher interface to invoke the Panels pop-up menu and select "Camera Settings".

    The Camera Settings Panel's user interface elements are described below:

    • Camera Index: Pops up a menu that lets you select which camera's properties to modify.
    • Reacquire: If for any reason a camera is not shown in the Camera Index pop-up menu, try clicking on this button to reacquire the cameras that are connected to the GlobeCaster's serial ports.
    • Standby: Toggle on to put the Camera in Standby mode. The LED should indicate the mode.
    • Pan: The user can change the Pan either via knob or editbox.
    • Tilt: The user can change the Tilt either via knob or editbox.
    • Pan Speed: The user can change the Pan Speed using the vertical slider underneath the Tilt knob
    • Tilt Speed: The user can change the Pan Speed using the vertical slider underneath the Tilt editbox
    • Pan/Tilt 2D Slider: The user can change the Pan & Tilt simultaneously using the two dimensional slider between the Pan Speed and Tilt Speed sliders
    • Zoom: The user can change the Zoom either via knob or editbox.
    • Zoom Speed: The user can change the Zoom Speed via the horizontal slider to the right of the Zoom editbox
    • Focus: The user can change the Focus either via knob or editbox.
    • Focus Speed: The user can change the Focus Speed via the horizontal slider to the right of the Focus editbox
    • Auto-Focus: Toggles Auto-Focus on or off
    • One Push Auto-Focus: Performs an auto-focus once; unnecessary if Auto-Focus is enabled
    • WB/Gain/Brightness: Displays the White Balance, BGain, RGain, Gain, and Brightness controls. The White Balance control has a pop-up menu and a Trigger button, while the other controls have a linked knob and editbox. (See your camera manual for a description of these properties.)
    • Aspect/Iris/Shutter: Displays the Aspect Ratio, Iris, Aperture, Shutter, and Exposure Compensation controls. The Aspect Ratio control has a pop-up menu, while the other controls have a linked knob and editbox. (See your camera manual for a description of these properties.)
    • Enable Title: A toggle button that lets the user enable the two lines of title text.
    • Title Editboxes: Editboxes that let the user specify the title text.
    • Camera Settings Picon: A picon that lets you drag camera settings into a bin to save a file, or lets you drop a file onto the picon to load the settings.
    • Camera Preset Picons: Lets you load/save camera presets, either internal to the camera or to the host PC. These picons also have drag/drop functionality and a right-click menu (described below). Each picon represents a different setting/preset. (Note: there may not be as many presets on the camera as there are picons.)
    Right-clicking on the Camera Preset Picons will pop-up the Camera Preset Picons menu. The menu items are described here:

    • Store Preset: Saves the current camera settings as a camera preset
    • Recall Preset: Uses the saved camera preset, if it exists
    • Save Current Settings: Saves the current camera settings to the registry
    • Load Saved Settings: Loads the saved camera settings from the registry, if it exists
    • Left-Click on picon restores preset: When this is enabled, the user may simply left-click on this picon to recall the preset. The user may disable this option.
    Dragging a file from the bin onto the Camera Settings Picon loads the settings from the file and adjusts the camera properly.

    Dragging a file from the bin onto a Camara Preset Picon loads the settings from the file and saves them to the registry.

    Dragging a file from the Camera Settings Picon onto the Camera Preset Picon saves the current settings to the registry (similar to the Save Current Settings menu item).

    Dragging a file from a Camera Preset Picon to the Camera Settings Picon loads the settings in the registry (similar to Load Saved Settings menu item).

    Dragging a file from a Camera Preset Picon to the bin saves the registry setting to a file