Automatic Clip Trimming

Clips (not still images or titles) in a playlist are automatically trimmed to accommodate the addition of transitions between clips when necessary (If there are no unused frames to display during a transition, motion appears frozen during the transition, which is usually undesirable.)

To reset a clip to its full file-length boundaries, press the G key (multi-selection is supported, too).

File Operations

• Click the Add Media (large +) button at left beneath the playlist pane to open a custom Media Browser. Alternatively, double-click in an empty part of the Playlist pane.

• Newly-added files become selected items in the Playlist pane.

• Drag (appropriate type) file(s) from one module’s playlist to another module.

• Right-click in the Playlist pane to show a menu with context-relevant items from the following list (operations affect selected playlist items):

  • Cut

  • Copy

  • Paste

  • Remove

  • Split at Current Frame
    
    

  • Audio Level (clips with sound and audio icons) – note that the default per-clip audio level applied to imported media files can be set in the Dashboard Options menu.

  • Duration

  • Speed

  • Use Current Frame as Icon

  • Angle

  • Automation

  • Edit Title

  • Properties
    
    

  • Transcode

  • Add to Export Media

  • Send to > Buffer n (Still image and title icons – see Speed)
    
    

• Standard Cut, Copy, Paste and Delete keystrokes are supported for playlist entries.

• Unplayable (missing, corrupt, or unsupported) file icons are dimmed.

Speed

The playlist context menu item Speed permits you to give each clip a custom playback speed. It’s important to realize that this Speed setting is separate from the Media Player’s primary Speed control, located in the footer, below the Scrub bar. The latter setting applies to all playlist items.

Both Speed settings are applied during playback. So, for example, if you play a clip with both Speed values set to 50%, the actual playback rate is just 25%.

Macro Triggers

We’ve discussed in Input Configuration how you can assign macros to any Switcher source, including Media Player. Beyond this, though, the playlist context menu item Macro Triggers allows every item in a playlist – every clip, still image, audio file or title page – to control its own unique macros.

• Any macro you can record or create can be triggered automatically on either playback or end of play for any and every individual playlist item.

• Multi-selection support in the playlist makes it a breeze to assign macros to multiple items.

Transcode

When clips are added to the DDR playlist, their suitability for real-time playback is evaluated. When appropriate, a small T icon is added to the entry’s label, indicating that the item can be transcoded to a more suitable format.

To transcode the clip, select the Transcode option in the clip’s context menu. The process proceeds in the background, and the DDR’s link to the original file is automatically replaced when it is complete.

Properties

Trimming Clips and the Scrub Bar

Just beneath the playlist pane is a full-width Scrub bar. The width of the Scrub bar represents the full run time of the current clip or other media file.

• Drag the knob to change time position.

In and Out Points for newly added Media are automatically adjusted when necessary to accommodate motion when transitions you add require it.

• To reset the file to its full length, press the G key.

• To trim a clip manually, move the knob to the desired frame and press I or O on the keyboard (to set the In Point or Out Point, respectively).

During playback, the Scrub bar knob traverses the span between the In and Out Points.

- The duration (taking into account trimming operations) is displayed as a countdown in the upper of two timecode fields at left.
- The lower time display shows embedded clip timecode.

• Drag the knob to move quickly backward or forward in the clip.

• Audio is normally muted during scrubbing.
  Hold down CTRL to unmute it.

• Hold SHIFT while dragging the Scrub bar knob to increase precision.

Time-Shifting

You can use growing clips to time shift your program:

1. Initiate Recording.

2. Add the captured clip to a DDR.

3. Press G on the keyboard to clear its Out Point.

4. Trim the In Point to taste.

5. Assign the DDR to an output.

6. Wait some length of time and then begin playing the clip (All this could easily be performed by a macro, too.)

Alpha Channel Support

For files with transparency, such as 32-bit image files, use non-premultiplied (or straight) alpha channels in Media Players (premultiplied files will not give correct results when overlaid on other imagery).

Location List

The Location List is a column of favorite locations, grouped under headings such as LiveSets, Clips, Titles, Stills, and so on.

File Pane

Icons appearing in the File Pane represent content located inside the sub-heading selected at left in the Locations List. These are grouped under horizontal dividers named for sub-folders, which allows related content to be organized conveniently.

Time Display

During playback, the uppermost timecode field beside the transport controls displays the current countdown time for active playlist item or for the entire playlist when the Playlist mode button is enabled. (The time show below is the embedded clip timecode.)

• Left-click the field to type in a timecode, then press ENTER to jump to that point in the file (or playlist).

Playlist Mode

Normally, Media Player playback stops when the Out Point of the current playlist item is reached (unless Loop is also enabled, in which case playback of the current item repeats until manually interrupted).

• Clicking the Playlist mode button tells the Media Player to operate in continuous play mode, advancing through the playlist items until the last one has played.

Transport Controls

A simple set of controls beneath the playlist pane provides all playback-related functions:

• *Previous button – go to previous playlist entry

• Stop (clicking Stop when already stopped goes to the first frame)

• Play

• *Next button – go to next playlist entry

• (Not shown) – Double-click an entry in the playlist pane to begin playback at the start of that playlist entry

Speed

The DDR supports variable speed playback between 25% and 400% of the normal rate (100%). Speed can even be adjusted during playback.

As is common for numeric input controls in the interface, drag left or right to adjust the Speed value, or click the slider to access a direct entry field allowing you to type a value using the keyboard.

Loop

Enabling Loop repeats playback continuously (respecting the Single switch state).

Autoplay

When enabled, the Autoplay switch has several important effects. First, it initiates playback automatically when the associated Media Player is placed on Program Out by a (Switcher) Take or Transition operation either directly (as a Switcher row selection) or indirectly: Such as by being displayed via an M/E channel or DSK operation.

If player output is displayed on Program the reverse Switcher transition occurs automatically as the end of play approaches, whether the Out Point of the current item for Single play or the end of the playlist (this behavior is optional for M/Es – see Mix and Effect Modes and File Menu).

In either case, when the Media Player is in standard operating mode (as opposed to Playlist mode), the current play position advances to the next item after playback is automatically stopped.

M/E on PGM

In a variation on this operation, the On PGM switch, which is available whenever the target is an M/E, provides a different mode of operation. In this case, the output of the Media Player is immediately selected as the top row source of the target M/E, and the M/E is transitioned in on the main Switcher’s PGM (Program) row.

This unique feature allows you to use the main Switcher to display the Media Player output – including instant replays – with KEY layers (such as scorebugs) composed above it.

Previewing MEM Slots

At times you may wish to preview the contents of a different Media Player MEM slot without disrupting playback of the current playlist. When a clip is playing, a small white play indicator is shown over the icon for the currently selected entry in the fly-out MEM slot bin.

If you select a different MEM slot while the current clip continues to play, the playlist bin view updates, but the original item continues to play. The transport controls (Play, Stop, etc.) at the bottom of the tab remain *dedicated to the active playlist – that is, the one actually playing, rather than the one currently being previewed in the tab.

To change to the previewed MEM slot immediately – ending playback and display of the current item – you can do so by any of the following means:

• Double-click an icon in the previewed playlist.

• Or press Stop twice, and then Play (playback of the active item ends with the first Stop command; the second sets the playhead to the start of the current item in the new playlist).

Normally, pressing Stop a second time when a clip is playing resets the playhead to the start frame in the same clip. The exception above occurs only when you are previewing the content of a different MEM slot during playback.