TABLE OF CONTENT 1. INTRODUCTION... 1 2. NEW OPERATIONAL FEATURES IN VERSION 5.8.... 1 3. SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS AND MANUALS... 14 1. Introduction This section of the Newsletter gives an overview on the main operational functionalities that have been improved or implemented in this new release of the IPDirector application. 2. New Operational Features in Version 5.8. 2.2. Playlist Improvements Preview of playlist in the Software Player It is now possible to also load, play and browse playlists in the Software Player. However, the Software Player will not play transition effects between the playlist elements. All transitions will be viewed as Cut. Different codecs are supported by the Software Player including LoRes onces (preview) File elements in Playlist Panel It is possible to insert a file stored on a nearline storage into a playlist (a preview and trim of this file is possible through the Software Player) When the playlist is complete o an online copy can be made of it - all the nearline elements are automatically restored to the EVS server and the playlist can be played out o it can be sent to a target corresponding to the NLE system that will further edit the playlist without having to send it first to a server 1
Export of playlists There are different ways now to transfer a playlist to a target (e.g. NLE system as Avid, Apple FCP or CleanEdit) or nearline. This is defined in the target or nearline definition in the Remote Installer. EDL and clips : EDL file (XML format) that describes the playlist and backup of each clip used in the playlist EDL and flatten file : EDL file (XML format) that describes the playlist and consolidated file that represents the A/V result of the playlist, with the defined A/V effects EDL only : EDL file (XML format) that describes the playlist Flatten file only : Consolidated file that represents the A/V result of the playlist, with the defined A/V effects Example - File in Playlist workflow A removable drive comes back from an OB truck and plugged in an XF2 The drive is the automatically detected by IP Drive A playlist can be made with association of the Software Player directly from the files on the drive Afterwards it can be sent to NLE for post production 2
Virtual elements From IPDirector 5.8, playlists can be created with elements whose corresponding clips are not yet available on the EVS video server where the playlist will be played out: An element can be created in an online Playlist before the element is present in the system When the element is restored to an EVS server, it is automatically re-associated In some production workflows, the playlist definition is based on a rundown managed by a Newsroom Computer System (NRCS). The playlist definition is thus automatically imported into IPDirector, whereas the clips themselves are not yet available on the XNet network or on the Ethernet network. In other workflows, the playlists are created manually in IPDirector, but some clips will only be available on the XNet network or on the Ethernet network later on. The playlist elements that are not yet available are created as virtual playlist elements in IPDirector. Once an element becomes available on the XNet Network, it is automatically associated and the virtual element disappears. A new presentation of the Playlist Panel has been developed to reflect these changes. Playlist Element Statuses In the Playlist Grid, the Status column provides two kinds of status information on the playlist element: Playback status Availability status (availability on an EVS server) The list below specifies the possible statuses for playlist elements: Icon Description Playback status The playlist element is being played. Availability status (on an EVS server) The playlist element is cued and is the next element that will be played. The playback has been paused on this playlist element. The playlist element is available locally on the EVS server where the playlist is stored. The playlist element is available on another EVS server of the XNet network. The playlist element is not available on an EVS server. It only exists as a file stored on a nearline folder, or as a virtual element. You need to restore the playlist element of type file to be able to play it out on a player channel. You can however play it on the Software Player. However, the PLAYING status will not be applied to the missing elements. 3
New functionalities in the Playlist Contextual Menu Copy clips locally: Only available if the playlist is on-line on an EVS server. This function copies the distant clips of the loaded playlist to the local EVS server, i.e. the server of the controlled channel. The Status icon of the playlist elements changes from to But it also restores nearline elements to the local server. The Status icon changes then from to Flatten to XT: Displays a list of hi-res EVS servers and pages available on the XNet network to which the user can store a consolidated file out of the current playlist. The flattened file will have the same VarID as the original playlist. Backup to Nearline: Provides a submenu with the list of nearline folders to which the user can back up the current playlist to a file. The transfer type and file format are defined in the Nearline definition in the Remote Installer (EDL and clips, EDL and flatten file, EDL only, flatten file only). Copy/Move Playlist: This allows the users to: o create an off-line or on-line copy of the current playlist o move the playlist to another EVS server o make the playlist off-line The copy or move buttons enable to select the operation. Selecting a server in the list will automatically put the playlist online by moving or copying it to the selected server. Selecting Offline will copy or move the playlist offline. 4
New Editing Features Freeze: a Freeze effect can be inserted in a playlist element, at a certain time code. The frame on which the Freeze is inserted will become a still image for the specified duration Audio mix, video cut effect : new combinations of video and audio effects compared to IPDirector s previous version. Audio/Video effects of the Release 5.8 Audio/Video effects of the Release 5.6 Audio level adjustment : The audio level of selected playlist elements can be increased or decreased by step of +/- 1 db. The audio level ranges from -100 db to +20 db. The default value is 0 db. 5
AB Roll module (extensible to ABCD) The AB Roll Playlist application is used to control and play material on 1 to 6 channels at the same time. The operator plays clips in sequence from the controlled outputs (e.g. A-B-C- D), using the MPlay remote control. Playlists from IPDirector or third party applications, or rundowns from NRCS (Newsroom Computer Systems) can be used as input for the AB Roll Playlist application. The operator can also play elements manually on other channels. Several AB Roll Playlist windows can be opened on the same workstation at the same time, on different channels. The AB Roll Playlist application (associated to the same channels) can be opened on different workstations at the same time. Rundowns that are managed in third party NRCS applications can be used in AB Roll Playlist. Live interaction between AB Roll Playlist and a third party application can be achieved by custom interface plugins. 2.3. BEPlay Remote The BEPlay remote is a remote dedicated to IPDirector and is used as a controller for browsing, editing and playing content. It can be configured to control selected channels of any server and to send media to predefined destinations. The configuration of the BEPlay remote device is performed from the Remote Control Manager window. You can access this window from the IPDirector main window, via Tools > Remote Control Manager. There can only be one BEPlay remote per IPDirector workstation. 6
2.4. Nearline Improvements Non native codecs on Near Line Some codecs not present on the EVS servers (like DV25 or XDCAM HD) are supported A new LoRes codec is also supported : H-264 Configuration through XTAccess directories Seamless transcoding when backing up or restoring from/to EVS servers. Multi files formats supported Some multi-files formats, having separate files for audio, video, and sometimes a reference file, are now supported by IPDirector. With such files, IPDirector links the different components and only one file appears in the media files list. This is the case for QT Ref, OPAtom and MPEG 1 Elementary System Transcoding on the fly workflow XTAccess is configured to backup HiRes files and transcode on the fly (could be transcode only) LoRes is generated in real time Hi-Lo Res files are associated in IPDirector No need for an XL server to generate the LoRes files. 7
2.4. API (and MOS integration) Integration with Avid inews Thanks to IPDirector MOS protocol support and the introduction of a new EVS ActiveX browser for inews clients, full communication between both worlds is now possible. The ActiveX browser allows inews operators to explore the IPDirector database, view clips and drag & drop them to the rundown of inews. inews rundowns create and update IPDirector playlists The status of the clips ( online, playing, cued ) in the IPDirector playlist is immediately visible and updated in the rundown of inews. 8
2.5. IPEdit This section gives an overview of the main changes and new features of the IPEdit application for the new Release. Support of growing clips Growing clips are now supported in timelines. They can be identified by the growing clip icon and, usually, by the percentage of the material already recorded displayed on the timeline element: All editing operations available : all editing actions are possible on growing clips placed in timelines, except extend actions when the growing clip is stopped before reaching the size of the corresponding element in the timeline. Locators The locators in IPEdit have the following characteristics: They are represented by a reverse triangle They have a user-defined color They need to be associated to a timeline element on a single video or audio track You can add metadata to the locator. The locator icons enable to move directly to the next locator or the previous locator defined in the timeline Go to next / previous Select/Replace camera on multi selection Select all elements in the timeline created on a specific camera : allows to select the timeline elements recorded on the camera you will choose from the list displayed in the contextual menu. This command is used in combination with the Replace by command. Replace camera angle for selected elements (ex: dirty to iso) : allows you to change the camera angle for the selected timeline elements. 9
Set element timecode (TC slip) Allows to slip the selected elements by defining a new TC IN or TC OUT. As in all slipping action, the element duration, its position in the timeline and the surrounding elements are not impacted. Minimum clips duration The media placed in the timeline, or generated after editing actions, needs to have 3-frame duration at least. However consecutive clips of less than 10 frames can lead to a freeze during playout. For this reason, the user is warned as follows when consecutive clips of less than 10 frames are detected in the timeline: A red triangle is displayed on the timeline to indicate the presence of consecutive small clips The following warning message is displayed in the message bar: In this case, it is recommended to consolidate the small clips into a single clip using the Replace function. 10
Timeline flattening to XT and File: This function displays a list of hi-res EVS servers and pages available on the XNet network to which the user can store a consolidated clip out of the open timeline. Timeline export to Final Cut Pro and Avid: Gives the possibility to send to any target destination visible on the GigE network that has been defined in the Remote Installer (CleanEdit targets, Avid targets, Final Cut Pro targets, File targets, XT targets). 11
Find blank elements: Lists the blank elements inside the opened timeline, which allows the user to easily localize and manage them. From the Find Blank Element window which lists the blanks (track, TC IN, TC OUT and Duration), you can double-click the row corresponding to a blank element to position the nowline on the corresponding TC New replace case: «Create clip from timeline» This function aims at replacing a part of a timeline that includes several effects defined in IPEdit in order to consolidate the A/V material in the timeline. Typical use is to consolidate several consecutive small timeline elements into a single clip, to ensure a smooth playout. 12
2.6. E2A (Play While Editing) The Play While Editing mode of IPEdit allows content recorded on an EVS production server (XT2 or XS) to be edited while playing out to air, as the recording is still in progress. The timeline editing is performed on the IPEdit engine PGM3/4. The edit timeline is called the TLE. The timeline playout is performed on the IPEdit engine PGM1/2. The on-air timeline is called the TLO. Workflows The Play While Editing mode offers two typical workflows: Workflow «Speed to Air» where a highlight is played out while it is still under editing progress. Workflow «Time zone Editing» where content is edited multiple times for different playouts. In this case, it is possible to replace, correct, insert material before each playout related to each time zone. Master/slave management The Master/Slave redundancy feature is available with the Play While Editing mode. It makes it possible to synchronize the content of a timeline being edited on the Master (main) EVS server running IPEdit to a Slave (backup) EVS server also running IPEdit. This redundancy allows providing a failover mechanism when using the Play While Editing mode of IPEdit. 13
3. Software Downloads and Manuals Please refer to the Download Center of the Website (Support Package 10) for manuals and software packages to download. 14