Avid Technology, Inc CountDown™ Version 2.9 Release Notes
Contents
1. when installed from the Custom install selection is only provided briefly following a reboot of the CountDown Controller PC Recording e In version 2 9 1 5 last record durations are now remembered e TOD Playout DAILY events are now recued in the TOD Event List properly In some previous versions if aTOD Playout event was manually played from the playlist it would be removed from the TOD Event Listing and would no longer playout at the scheduled time TOD recording is allowed only when the Allow Recording check box is selected in the Server General Preferences The TOD record function includes a weekly record mode For TOD recordings when the time entered has passed and frequency is to record daily the event timeis set to the same time for the next day For weekly recording the event is set to the same time for the next week In the case of a one time recording an error message is displayed indicating when the scheduled record time has already passed CountDown Time Record Datestamp on warns the user that a record will fail due to the length of the ID when the AirSPA CE is set to 8 character event Ids since enabling the timestamp to be appended onto the event ID will result in greater than 8 character event IDs CountDown warns the user that a record will fail when the controller is in remote CountDown VTR controller no longer closes when attempting to record a clip shorter than one 1 second Pressing the Enter2. locked or unlocked by selecting Lock Channel Assignment This preference is found in both the Playlist menu and by right clicking on the target clip The Auto Channel Assignment function has no effect on locked clips the algorithm ignores locked clips and assigns unlocked clips in the normal sequence Once locked channel reassignment may be accomplished by first selecting Unlock Channel Assignment from the aforementioned menu A yellow and black L symbol displayed next to the channel assignment indicates when a clip s channel assignment has been locked Clips In version 2 9 1 4 automatic channel assignment works on imported text files In version 2 9 1 4 automatic channel assign does not assign Comments as a channel When deleting multiple clips CountDown no longer deletes the wrong clips In CountDown the Shotbox clip no longer terminates early In version 2 9 0 4 invoking Clip Editor on a Placeholder now displays the Placeholder dialog box To edit items in a playlist that is to change Mark In or Mark Out double click a Placeholder The Placeholder dialog box appears allowing editing of the Placeholder ID name or duration In version 2 8 0 5 pressing the Enter key for Clip Editor is no longer used for filling in timecode fields General Preferences Dialog Box In version 2 9 1 3 the conflict between a RECUE command and the Delete After Playout preference is resolved The Recue command now overrides the
3. need to be held active they are stored for execution on the Yor 2second according to the interval setting e An Automatically Sort M edia List checkbox has been added to the Server tab of the General Preferences dialog box When checked CountDown resorts the media list as items are added or updated Shotbox Window e In version 2 9 1 3 CountDown no longer terminates abnormally after opening a shotbox and selecting Insert Placeholder or Insert Comment Error Messages e When attempting to rename or delete a delete protected event an error message appears e In Time of Day TOD recordings when the time entered has passed and frequency is to record once an error message is displayed indicating the time has passed e When the controller is in remote during a Timed Record a warning is displayed to the user stating the record will fail Miscellaneous SimulPlay Also Known As Play While Transfer e SimulPlay also known as Play While Transfer PWT status is dynamically updated in the M edia Server List as events are transferred to the server Text Importation e The Unicode character set is supported e Inversion 2 9 0 4 text import correctly skips the Unicode identifier byte e Inversion 2 9 0 4 text import sets item type to default setting M anual or Follow On E E Events Text e In version 2 7 1 CountDown has support for E E Events MOS Control e For MOS control specific support for interfacing with AP Ele
4. Avid Technology Inc CountDown Version 2 9 Release Notes This document includes hardware and software requirement changes feature enhancements a list of Known problems and workarounds and references to other CountDown documents N ote Before installing CountD own for thefirst time ensure that you arefamiliar with the contents of all CountD own Release N otes and the CountD own for AirsPACE User M anual provided by Avid Technology Inc Table of Contents Other Documentation Documentation available from Avid that pertains to AirSPACE and SPACEnet A pplications is e AirSPACE Installation and U ser s M anual e SPACEnet Applications for AirSPACE U ser s Guide e CountD own for AirSPACE User M anual e ParalldSPACE Release N otes e AirSPACE Release N otes Documentation available from Avid that pertains to TransferM anager is e Avid Unity TransferM anager Setup and User s Guide e Avid Unity TransferM anager Release N otes Fixed Problems amp Enhancements License e TheCountDown Application will now run if there are both a demo and CountDown license on AirSPACE e During CountDown installation a license agreement appears e Inversion 2 8 0 1 the overnight license checking was temporarily disabled e In version 2 5 2 CountDown has serial number recognition User Interface Display e Inversion 2 9 1 5 the countdown monitor display has been enlarged to ensure that all of the words within it arereadable This display
5. When CountDown version 2 9 is used with AirSPACE version 2 0 10 or earlier the TOD Datestamp selection is disabled User Interface e When aPlaylist or Shotbox is on air the user is unable to jog shuttle forward or reverse e ThePlaylist menu has an Alternate Channels feature This assigns items to the A or B channel as appropriate to maintain correct AB rolls functionality To use this feature select an item and choose Alternate Channels from the Playlist menu The channel assignment for the selected item is not changed however the following item is set to use the alternate channa as well as all subsequent items modified if necessary to maintain the sequence This process may be automated in most circumstances if the Automatically Assign Channels checkbox in the Playlist tab of General Preferences dialog box is checked With this checked most playlist editing functions will maintain the correct AB sequence The UI needs to be corrected Composition Name Length e CountDown version 2 9 uses appropriate Louth commands for playing according to the AirSPACE maximum composition name length setting e CountDown version 2 9 composition name length is restricted according to the maximum composition name length setting on AirSPACE 12 Copyright and Disclaimer 2003 Avid Technology Inc All rights reserved All Avid products are covered by U S and foreign patents issued and pending Information in this publication supersedes that
6. ad Basingstoke H ants RG24 8NE UK Tel 44 1256 814300 Fax 44 1256 814700 Avid 315 Alexandra Road 03 01 Performance Centre 159944 Singapore Tel 65 3789 534 Fax 65 475 7666 Avid Tegel Forum BreitenbachstraBe 10 Berlin 13509 GERMANY Tel 49 30 5900993 0 Fax 49 30 5900993 24 CountDown Version 2 9 Release N otes Part 0130 05626 01 Rev B May 16 2003 13
7. ctronic Newsroom Production Systems ENPS using Main and Buddy servers is included e Inversion 2 9 0 0 CountDown has MOS status reporting e In version 2 7 2 countdown has a MOS handler for Playlist queries User Interface e Inversion 2 9 1 5 password protection protects server preferences e Inversion 2 9 0 6 CountDown allows sorting of media lists by selecting a server preference e Inversion 2 9 0 6 the Shotbox displays count up time e Ctrl A selects all the media in the server frame or all items in a playlist or shotlist depending on which frame is in focus e Pressing the Alt key with the New File icon or Alt Ctrl N will create a new Shotbox In other cases the Alt key may be used to invoke menu items such as Alt for the Edit menu e Inversion 2 9 1 2c Insert Place Card now updates properly when the media list is filtered to exclude the event ID for the placeholder e Inversion 2 9 0 4 the Enter key is no longer used to confirm the entry of timecode values in the Media and Clip editors After a value is entered the TAB key may be used to validate the timecode entry For instance to confirm that IN lt OUT or to convert the entry to a valid timecode such as 00 00 02 41 to 00 00 03 16 in PAL Timecode entries are also validated if the user clicks any other field or presses any other button and when the OK button pressed or Enter key is pressed to accept the change e Inversion 2 9 0 4 Ctrl Z may be
8. deletion In version 2 9 1 3 RECUE commands no longer cause abnormal terminations of AirSPACE In version 2 9 1 3 GPI triggers were enhanced to be more consistent and rdiable In version 2 9 1 3 in the General Preferences Dialog box on the Logging amp Security tab the set password button is now functional In version 2 9 1 3 Status information was corrected with RECUE GPI usage In version 2 9 1 2 A Recue Current Event Immediately option was added under the Extended GPI O tab in General Preferences dialog box When this option is selected the current clip is stopped and recued immediately as soon as the GPI line is sensed In version 2 8 0 2 GPI debounce is 20MS In version 2 8 0 2 the Shift F1 through Shift F8 key commands mimic the actions of the GPI in 1 8 CountDown no longer terminates abnormally when the user selects the GPI or VTR tab in the General Preferences dialog box Parallel Port GPI inputs have been modified A combo box was added to the Extended GPI O tab in the General Preferences dialog box for selecting the value of the GPI trigger If zero 0 is selected as a value for the trigger the specified action is taken immediately as soon as the GPI line is sensed When other trigger values are used the GPI values set within an interval are stored for execution according to the interval setting For instance if the setting were 4or Y2 triggers are sent in 4or 1 2 second intervals The triggers do not
9. he event will be distinguished by having its start time highlighted Setting this flag has no effect on the CountDown operation but it does allow for an external application to query CountDown for the time at which this event will go on air An external application on the same PC may query CountDown for the following information about its on air playlist o Current on air item ID and Title o Current cued item ID and Title o Timeremaining to the end of the current on air item o Start time for the next Key Event This feature requires writing an external application to gather use this information and may be useful to someone with the Pluto A pplication Programming Interface PAPI documentation In version 2 5 1 an API was added for on air querying This may be useful to a developer who would havea listing of all Pluto A pplication Programming Interface PAPI commands Looping Functionality Channels In version 2 9 0 4 the looping item type is now extended to allow creation of looping playlists without using reference playlists This improves the portability between systems of the Playlist files Playlist loops can run forever for a pre defined number of repeats or until a particular time is reached In version 2 9 0 4 looping is not available if the Delete Playlist Items After Playout check box is checked in the Playlist Preferences dialog box In version 2 9 0 4 loops may extend over one item several items or the entire
10. ich channel they are activein and the event currently cued to air is saved in afile called AutoRecoverData dat inthesame location as the CountDown application If CountDown is terminated normally this fileis deleted as part of the termination process When the application starts up following an abnormal termination the contents of the Aut oRecoverData dat file are read This information is used to re open the playlists re activate them in their original channels and cue the items that were cued at the time that the AutoRecoverData dat file was last saved If the cued item is an auto follows type it will also be played The auto recovery process restores only playlists that were active in single channels The second feature called CountDown Monitor is included under the custom install option It is a small application installed typically in the Start Up folder This application checks at the same intervals set by the Auto Recovery preferences to see that a copy of CountDown is actually running If it does not find an instance of CountDown running it will launch the application e Inversion 2 9 0 0 the on air list is highlighted in the Title bar e Inversion 2 9 0 0 alist time display was added to the Title bar Other e Inversion 2 9 1 0 in server media RENAME ITEM was changed to RENAME MEDIA TITLE and CHANGE MEDIA ID was changed to RENAME MEDIA ID to conform with other SPACE net applications e In version 2 7 4 a non interacti
11. in all previously published material Specifications and price change privileges reserved The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement and is protected under the copyright laws of the United States and other countries U S GOVERN MENT USERS RESTRICTED RIGHTS Use duplication or disclosure by the U S Government is subject to restriction as set forth in subparagraph b 2 of the Technical Data and Computer Software Commercial items clause at DFARS 252 211 7015 or in subparagraph c 2 of the Commercial Computer Software Restricted Rights clause at FAR 52 227 19 as applicable Avid is aregistered trademark of Avid Technology Inc Media Browse ControlAir iNEWS ControlAir and iNEWS are trademarks of iN ews LLC Microsoft the Microsoft logo MS MS DOS Win 32 Windows Windows NT Windows 2000 Windows NT Server and the Windows operating system logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States of America and other countries UNIX is a registered trademark of X Open Company Ltd All other trademarks and registered trademarks used herein are the property of their respective owners Avid Technology Inc Avid Technology Park One Park West Tewksbury Massachusetts 01876 Tel 1 978 640 6789 Fax 1 978 988 1673 Avid Technology Inc Broadcast Division 6400 Enterprise Lane Madison Wisconsin 53719 USA Tel 1 608 274 8686 Fax 1 608 273 5876 Avid Intec 1 Wade Ro
12. key no longer causes the VTR record tool to go into record erroneously CountDown VTR record tool Cancel and Record buttons change to Cancel and OK respectively after the first recording The CountDown VTR Record dialog box has been modified A radio button in the dialog box may be used to enter duration or out time An orange or red colored box indicates cue and record IN and OUT point duration in the Clip Editor Media Editor Manual Record and VTR Record is validated when the user clicks on any other field or uses the Tab key to shift the focus to another control In version 2 9 0 6 VTR timecode entry allows IN DUR entry when the Alt key is pressed In version 2 8 0 5 the Enter key on the keyboard and on the numeric keypad have the same effect they set values and exit when valid In version 2 8 0 5 the Tab key validates single timecode entries In version 2 7 0 1 CountDown uses rules to resolve problems with duplicate IDs in timed records In version 2 7 0 1 CountDown has drop down menus for the Server and Events lists Playlist In version 2 7 the record tool retains the last entered duration for subsequent clip recordings The first time the record tool is used the clip length is zero 0 and it must be made greater than zero 0 to record In version 2 5 5 a Record Channel Names feature was added to the Record dialogs The check box for inserting a playlist as a reference now works as expected In some previous
13. mination of CountDown In version 2 9 0 4 since an Event on AirSPACE may not have an ID with certain characters such as an asterisk slash a comma or a question mark the same restriction is applied in the case of placeholders to avoid trapped ID characters in the placeholder entry dialogue and text file import In version 2 9 0 4 there are now two time displays One on the left with red digits displays the time remaining for the current item The one on the right displays with green digits showing either the time remaining for the entire list or the elapsed time for the current item The preferences are set in the General Preferences dialog box The Playlist Clip Editor includes a check box which when checked locks the playlist preventing the item from being updated when the server media changes This lock overrides the Automatically Update Playlist Items preferences option when selected A small padlock in the item number column indicates locked items In version 2 7 2 Playlists may be activated individually multiple channels as configured in the Server preferences or now in channel pairs of A B or C D In version 2 7 the Spacebar may be enabled as a hot key for issuing play commands on the General tab of the Playlist Preferences dialog box In version 2 5 1 a Key Event item was added to the Playlist menu A playlist item has an internal flag set marking it as a Key Event When Key Event is selected t
14. n this box is not checked black is output for the duration of the placeholder and the playlist counter will countdown through the duration of the event In version 2 9 1 3 deletion while on line was buggy and unreliable Deleting items while on line now works properly CountDown no longer displays abnormal playlist behavior when U pdate While Off Line is enabled Reference playlists are now expanded correctly during playout regardless of how deeply nested Checks are included to ensure that endless recursive loops will not result from playlists that mutually reference each other File name truncation with reference playlists is corrected although if the reference playlist is the first item in a playlist its path is limited to 68 characters Playlist transitions may be previewed using aright mouse click This may only be used when the channel is not currently on air as this feature requires Video Disk Communication Protocol VDCP control To preview atransition right click the item whose outpoint is to be previewed and Select Preview Transition from the pop up menu CountDown puts the playlist into on air mode and cues up the last two seconds of the selected item After cueing the item plays normally cueing and playing the next item Playout continues as normal and may be terminated using the OFF AIR button In version 2 9 0 4 playlists where item duration frame fields are over one half second no longer cause abnormal ter
15. playlist More than one loop may exist in a single playlist but loops may not be nested or overlapped The first or last item in aloop may not be deleted or cut from the playlist In version 2 9 0 4 a loop is identified by a dark highlight in the item number field of all members of the loop In version 2 9 0 4 when a loop is configured to continue until a particular time the start time field of the item displays the loop break time and is highlighted in green In v2 9 1 5 when the Auto Channel Assignment preference is enable the following rules apply OFF Air rule unless the channel assignment is locked all events in a playlist will be reassigned when the playlist is edited ON Air rule only events which have not played below the current cued clip are automatically reassigned when the playlist is edited The played section above the current cued clip is no longer reassigned when the playlist is edited In version 2 9 1 5 the channel of a clip in PLAY may no longer be reassigned Previously you could manually change the displayed channel assignment of a clip however the clip would continue to playout on the original channel Now a notification message explaining that you can not change the channel assignment of the playing clip is displayed You may manually reassign a clip which is cued however and the clip will then be recued and playout in the new channel In version 2 9 1 5 a clip s assigned playout channel may now be
16. used to restore the IN and OUT values to those that existed when the editor was first displayed e In version 2 9 0 4 when the Media Editor remains open IN or OUT points may be freely changed and reviewed The AirSPACE mediais only updated when the new values are accepted with the OK button or Enter key The Clear IN and Clear OUT buttons only clear the points marked in the M edia Editor they do clear any points already associated with the clip When it is necessary to remove any IN and or OUT points associate with the clip click the Clear IN or Clear OUT button This will close the browser and remove any IN or OUT points currently associated with the clip There will bea short delay while these values are updated e Inversion 2 9 0 4 the On Air Tally indicator was removed in order to provide simultaneous playlist and item time displays On air and tally status is now indicated by highlighting the entire controller bar in the appropriate color The color is set in the GPI Preferences dialog box e Inversion 2 9 0 4 two features are available to aid recovery following an abnormal termination of CountDown They are Auto Recovery and CountDown Monitor Logging and Security Preferences now includes an Auto Recovery check box with an Auto Recovery period setting With Auto Recovery enabled CountDown saves key data about on air playlists at intervals specified by the period setting This data that includes details of the Playlist files wh
17. ve locator operation was added e Inversion 2 7 4 a handler was added for deleting event errors e In version 2 5 2 support was added for changing media ID Known Problems amp Limitations Version Compatibility e Neither CountDown versions 2 9 1 2b or 2 9 1 2c are event backward compatible with version 2 9 1 1 Due to added preference settings all preferences need to be reset when the newer version of this application is launched for the first time 10 CountDown version 2 9 will not open a Playlist or Shotbox file saved with a CountDown version older than 2 9 11 Recording e In version 2 9 when using either VTR or manual recording the duration of the clip to be recorded must be at a minimum 1 second in duration e When recording media according to the specified time of day TOD if a manual recording is done at the same time so that the time remaining for the event to happen is less than 5 seconds the manual record and the event recording will not work e In version 2 9 1 5 Time of Day TOD Playout events display the channel in the Event listing but the channel being displayed only reflects the channel assigned within the playlist for that event For instance if a playlist is created with only channel A events and is put on air on channel C the TOD event list incorrectly shows the events are going to playout on channel A They will playout on the correct channel but the TOD display is incorrect Time of Day TOD e
18. versions it would always expand the playlist at the point of insertion Playout behavior of the reference playlist is the same as the reference is reached during playout the reference is expanded to display the events within the referenced playlist In version 2 9 1 5 the GPO display in the Playlist rundown now includes GPO7 In version 2 9 1 4 playlists may be built in DEMO mode without a server In version 2 9 1 3 the Automatically Assign Channels feature assigns channels ABCD The user may select any combination of channels For instance A B A C A D A B C B C and so on and so forth An Automatically Assign Channels check box appears on the Playlist tab of the General Preferences dialog box If this box is checked the Ellipsis button next to it is enabled When the Ellipsis button is clicked The Auto Assign Channels dialog box appears allowing for selection of channels that will be used in the playlist This feature assigns playout channels alternating assignment to the channels selected in the preferences setup The first channel in the playlist is always the first channel selected in the channel assignment Each time the playlist is modified the channel assignment is adjusted accordingly In version 2 9 1 3 a Skip Place holder when On Air check box is added under the Playlist tab in the General Preferences dialog box When checked playout will skip over placeholders as they are reached to mimic the behavior of ControlAir Whe
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