OnTheAir Video Express User Manual
Contents
1. Closed Captioning with OnTheAir Video Express Closed Captioning is used widely in many countries including the United States of America Captioning information is encoded on to special lines in the Video Signal It is also possible to add Captioning signals to your video output with the following additional components e Captioning and Encoding Software that enables encoding to an audio track during post production e A video card that will decode the audio track and encode Captioning to the video signal when so it can be read by all TV monitors One solution to encode Captioning information to Audio is Mac Caption http www cpcweb com Mac Caption can import existing caption files or create new captions from scratch and exports a true 708 caption track to ensure the video is compliant with all FCC regulations supports all EIA 708 features OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Installing amp Setting up In this second part we will explain how to install and set up the OnTheAir Video Express preferences Please read this section carefully Not only will it provide valuable information on how to set up your hardware and software correctly but also because much of the information provided will be helpful in your every day use of OnTheAir Video Express Il 10 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Installing and licensing 3 1 Installing OnTheAir2. Softron Media Services OnTheAir Video Express User Manual 2011 Softron Media Services All rights reserved Contents OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services PART I Welcome to OnTheAir Video Express l 4 Chapter 1 About OnTheAir Video Express l 5 e Some quick facts l 5 e Get Support Additional Information l 6 Chapter 2 System Requirements l 7 e Computer Requirements l 7 e Video Audio output l 7 e Storage l 8 e Supported Codecs File format l 8 e Playing Still images l 8 e About File Wrappers QuickTime AVI MXF l 8 e About VANC l 9 e Closed Captioning with OnTheAir Video Express l 9 PART Il Installing amp Setting up 11 10 Chapter 3 Installing and licensing 11 11 e Installing OnTheAir Video Express Il 11 e Using OnTheAir Video Express in DEMO mode Il 11 e Licensing OnTheAir Video Express Il 11 Chapter 4 Setting up OnTheAir Video Express Il 12 e General preferences 1 12 e Metadata 1 12 e Playback preferences 1 13 e Defaults Il 13 e Renaming a Player Il 14 e Setting up to output on the main LCD screen of your Mac Il 14 Output to a second monitor or a projector using DVI Il 16 Output to a FireWire Converter Camera Il 16 Output to a Video Card Il 17 Lower Field First DV DVCPro Il 17 ARGB and Keying modes Il 18 Metadata preferences Il 19 GPI preferences Il 20 Select the GPI Commander to use Il 20 GPI Input Actions Il 21 GPI Ou
3. 6 The Metadata Tab will show you all the Metadata available in your QuickTime file You can use this as a convenient guide to setup the Metadata Lines in OnTheAir Video Express preferences OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Menus Overview The Menu Bar for OnTheAir Video Express has quite a few very useful features that can assist you with your operations The first thing to note is that some Menu Bar Options are part of your op erating system and some are part of the software the following section will discuss the menu bar gt 6 1 Menu File e New Playlist Creates a new playlist e Open Playlist Opens an existing playlist e Open Recent Playlist Opens a list with the 5 last opened playlists among which you will be able to choose e Check For Missing Clips will check if all the clips that are in the playlist are still present on your disk or if some Offline files became online again Remember to do this check regularly as if a file is deleted from your disk it won t be shown offline in the playlist unless you ve Checked for Missing Clips e Close Playlist Closes the current playlist e Save Playlist Saves the current playlist e Save Playlist As Saves the playlist with another name or at another place Menu Edit e Undo Undo an action e Redo Redo an action after an Undo e Cut Cut a clip from the playlist removes it from the playlist and place it in the clip
4. however we can not guarantee support of all QuickTime Components as manufacturers vary in standards and in protocols If you are using a specific codec or file format make sure to run tests to determine if the component performs adequately Playing Still images OnTheAir Video Express can play any still image and graphic that is compatible with QuickTime You can set the default duration of still images and also modify the duration of individual files in the playlist About File Wrappers QuickTime AVI MXF OnTheAir Video Express supports mov QuickTime wrappers and avi without the need of additional software or plug ins OnTheAir Video Express supports MXF files and flv with the appropriate QuickTime component You can purchase such component to read MXF files from MXF4Mac or Calibrated or from Adobe for FLV files OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services l 9 PAV 2 8 About VANC Additional information can be encoded in video lines VANC e g Closed Captioning in the USA or Teletext in Europe OnTheAir Video Express does not read or write into the VANC lines it acts as a pass through for this information thus allowing the video card to process it accordingly Closed Captioning and Teletext functionality is entirely dependent on the functionality and features of the video card and is not blocked in any way by OnTheAir Video Express VANC is not compatible with Mac System HDMI or DVI outputs
5. 13 2010 04 01 15 29 06 0200 i Sports Basketball mov _ 02 00 00 00 Commercials 2010 09 27 13 18 34 0200 00 00 11 09 EER Entertainment 1 52 min mov _00 56 00 02 ae Entertainment 2010 05 27 12 12 58 0200 00 00 03 08 es a aM es 00 00 15 01 S Dive in Slow Mo mov 00 00 21 26 2010 04 01 15 32 01 0200 00 00 15 02 My Beautifull Movie copy mov 02 00 00 00 k 2010 09 27 13 18 34 0200 ed 00 00 23 02 LE My Seller Episode 2 mov 00 23 00 02 END mn 2010 09 27 12 25 41 0200 e 00 00 24 18 SM Dolphins 1 mov 00 00 11 21 ee 2010 04 01 15 34 26 0200 Il 33 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services gt Il 34 7 2 7 3 Creating a playlist manually Creating playlists is relatively simple Simply by using the drag and drop feature in OSX you can add and copy between the finder and a playlist or between two playlists The advantage of drag and dropping clips between two playlists is that the clip settings will also be kept To create a new playlist choose File gt New Playlist or press N To place the clips you want where you want them you have several options e Next to the playlist window open a finder window or another playlist window From this window find the clips that you want to use Select a clip or many clips hold t
6. Broadcast operations and can be installed in as many stations as needed Live can control a playout server from anywhere within the network and can assist in monitoring throughout the broadcasting facilities OnTheAir Live also features A B Roll which allows two independent playout channels to be controlled in a single playlist providing a sophisticated nant EE cueing method that is unrivaled in the field msn mnt OnTheAir Manager OnTheAir Manager is a complete solution for broadcasters that need 24 7 playout scheduling and a full set of automation options OnTheAir Manager runs as a client application to OnTheAirNode and is capable of controlling and scheduling as many channels as the network can handle A single seat of OnTheAir Manager can schedule GPI events CG Inputs Logo Insertion Matrix Switch control and Keying for multiple channels across the network 00 08 34 atali Iip Clouds Ori Fi Lt pel OHO ba bP hage Palei AT APTE aT Amid LE o T 1 00 LL ET Drun erie 09 eee LE Fe tre FELA ETETE Mie Pres LT TIEN poA PRAT imh im 01i Ibiti Chive in Sipa bebo titti Wit ii ik i ii iE orahin EPLER TESEN Apa Popii LT CAS DOME NT imd ET doi 10 hoiii miai iiit at Miaa ti ba hate Popei LT 10a TUT ed LS Laan Seri E Hisn MiE di db L pi date Popes LT CAE SPT nd ML erga 1a a june i FLH cl ER TE LE ia EJ seb aioy LA k 3 kars Prades iT Le bba ZT imh ih COL 147 ia jue 2 PET FLE CETTE Ra dond
7. _ lt None gt Stop lt None gt 1 to on when playing so it changes the Play Selected Clip lt None gt Stop to Black lt None gt selected source in the Video Mixer Re Cue Current Clip _ lt None gt Pause lt None gt Re Play Current Clip Release Pause _ lt None gt Click on the popup menu in front of Cue Next Clip lt None gt Play Next Clip lt None gt Playing and select Out 1 Now if nn lies your Video Mixer is properly configured Wise nes and connected to GPI Commander the eo source will be modified when you play Outs j a clip be Fe po Out 6 Out 7 oo Out 8 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 Us _ Softron Media Service Using OnTheAir Video Express In this third part now that you ve learned how to setup OnTheAir Video Express we will go more into details on how to use OnTheAir Video Express Il 23 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Overview of the user interface gt 5 1 Playlist TETTA L J Clouds mov r 00 00 12 24 2010 04 01 15 27 22 0200 00 00 12 24 MR New York Streets mov __ 00 03 13 26 Documentary DAMES 2010 04 02 13 57 52 0200 00 00 00 06 ml Evening News mov g0 22 00 02 00 00 01 22 T7 QU 00 00 09 13 00 00 03 09 BR Sports Basketballmov _ 02 00 00 00 f Commercials k 2010 09 27 13 18 34 RG a 00 00 11 09 M Entertainmen
8. board e Copy Copies the clip leaves it in the playlist and place it in the clip board e Paste Pastes the clip from the Clip Board Place it on the top of the selected clip e Delete Erases the selected clip in the playlist e Select All Selects all the clips in the same playlist Menu Window e Minimize the current Playlist window and place it in the Dock e Zoom e Show Clip Inspector Shows the Clip Inspector window e Bring All To front Shows all the Playlists that were hidden by other Applications e At the bottom of this menu you can also see all the opened Playlists You can select and show them from here e Search will search in OnTheAir Video Express menus and Help topics for the Mac OS e OnTheAir Video Express Help Opens the OnTheAir Video Express Manual Il 32 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services How to create a playlist 7 1 Basics A playlist is aa compilation of clip data stored on your disk as a vpls document The file is written in XML format The User Interface will present a playlist as seen below 00 00 00 00 E Clouds mov _ 00 00 12 24 2010 04 01 15 27 22 0200 00 00 12 24 M New York Streets mov 00 03 13 26 de Documentary 2010 04 02 13 57 52 0200 ooog 00 06 Bi mi Evening News mov 00 23 00 02 2010 05 27 1225 41 0200 M 00 00 01 22 amp Desert mov 00 00 09
9. limitation in QuickTime you should not output interlaced movies to the HDMI DVI or Mini DisplayPort of your Mac as you may experience some random field inversion sometimes it will work but sometimes it will not When outputting video from the HDMI DVI or Mini DisplayPort output we recommend that you use only progressive content OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services gt 2 3 l 8 Storage You can use any external or internal hard drive or storage device with OnTheAir Video Express It is important to check the devices data read rate to ensure that it is fast enough to handle the files you intend to use If you are working with over 1000 files or with Uncompressed High Definition files we recommend a Fibre Channel storage system from a third party supplier Supported Codecs File format OnTheAir Video Express can output any file that QuickTime can read this means you can play movie files still images audio files and motion graphics in a variety of different formats and Codecs The general assumption is that if you can open the file with QuickTime you ll be able to output it with OnTheAir Video Express To expand the capabilities of OnTheAir Video Express you can add QuickTime components e g MPEG IMX Perian flash Avid etc To enable more formats in QuickTime there is more information available at http www apple com quickTime extending We test most components available
10. monitor projector you want to show your videos on When you have two Monitor Projectors you will have a control monitor and a display monitor this allows you to see the OnTheAir Video Express user interface when playing videos modify playlists and creating new ones NOTE Remember to press the Escape key if you have not selected the correct monitor for your output AA Output to a FireWire Converter Camera OnTheAir Video Express can also output to a FireWire Converter such as the ones from Canopus or to a Camera Deck via FireWire connection First make sure that you device is properly connected to your computer Then select the Player you want to use in the list then in Player Settings choose FireWire ana Preferences 1 ya Video Players New Player Built in HDMI DVI Output v FireWire O1tVO Apple FireWire PAL Lower Field First DV DVCPro _ ARGB output lower performance but alpha support External key output instead of internal keying OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 17 Then in the Video Format popup menu select the Video format you are using PAL NTSC ann Preferences WE Video Players New Player Player Settings Output Device FireWire etd f Apple FireWire PAL Apole FireWire DVCPRO NTSC Apple FireWire DVCPRO PAL Apple FireWire DVCPROSO NTSC Annie FireWire POSA DA WARS Out
11. need to deactivate your software if you want to move it to another computer reinstall your operating system replace critical hardware or replace your system drive Internet access is required to activate and de activate serial licenses You will not need to de activate the serial license for software updates For more Information on the Software Licensing download the Application Licensing Explained document available from the Document download page of the website http www softron tv support download_docs html Il 11 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Setting up OnTheAir Video Express 4 1 General preferences The first tab of the OnTheAir Video Express preferences window is the General preferences AE T Metadata Metadata Metadata Line 1 Metadata Line 2 Last File Modification Date _ Defaults T Loop by default Chain by default l Cue by default Key by default Still images default duration 10 seconds Each clip in the OnTheAir Video Express playlist can show 3 lines of Information e The first line of information is dedicated to the name of the file e The second and third lines of this cell can be customized in Metadata Line 1 and e Metadata Line 2 Line 1 gt mul 2010 09 27 12 25 41 0200 lt Line 2 When you click on the popup menu you can see a list of available Metadata lines by default you will see e Finder La
12. our web site www softron tv for information about updates as well as to contact us for support In the first part of this manual we will briefly introduce you to OnTheAir Video Express You will learn about the different configurations and how to install and launch the software OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services About OnTheAir Video Express I 5 1 1 Some quick facts OnTheAir Video Express OTAVE is an OS X application that allows you to output and broadcast a wide variety of media and file formats from video cards HDMI and DVI outputs It can be used by television stations large or small networks or closed circuits as a video player for news or live television programming or for presentations in entertainment and educational environments live performances shows exhibitions trade shows information kiosks etc Its use is only limited by the imagination Simplicity The OnTheAir Video Express User Interface has been designed for the video professional and beginning user alike The clean and easy to use interface is key to the success of OnTheAir Video Express Flexibility OnTheAir Video Express is also very flexible it supports multiple formats in both SD and HD None of the Codecs supported are proprietary which means it integrates easily with past present and future systems A Quick export from Final Cut Pro allows your product to be aired no need to reformat compress or conve
13. Clip Inspector AA In Out ACOA Clip Inspector Current Position Duration 00 00 02 09 00 00 02 19 00 00 03 20 Movie Time Indicators e Current Position the timecode start at 00 00 00 00 at the position where the play head is located e Duration the Clip Duration considering the in out points Preview Window Video Preview of the Movie Timeline Scrub Play into the Movie you can use standard JKL and arrows shortcuts to move the playhead In Out Points e n Point the timecode where the In Point is set Press current position of the playhead e Out Point the timecode where the Out Point is set Press o to set the out point to the current position of the playhead 659 I to set the in point to the To set in and out points Go to a position in the timeline and e Use the i and o shortcuts to set the in out point to the current position of the playhead e Click on Mark Go Clear button e Manually type the Timecode In Out Beware that these in out settings are set only for the selected clip in this playlist It will not change the in and out points of all the occurrences If you want to do that you ll have to re export the clip or copy paste it from one playlist to another OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 31 WE Metadata com softronmedia clip displayName com softronmedia clip durationString com softronmedia
14. Select Input 1 from the popup menu Cue Next Cl In Play Next Clio lt None gt in front of Cue Selected Clip mr Cutput Actions fi Ing j i Playin In 10 Now go back in a playlist select a clip er and hit the key on your video mixer the CRE 412 clip should be cued in your playlist In 15 In 16 In 17 In 18 In 19 In 20 In 21 In 22 In 23 In 24 Il 21 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 22 ATE GPI Output Actions Once you have selected the GPI Commander to use modify the Output Actions settings if you want to control an external device from OnTheAir Video Express Lutin Cue Selected Clip Stop Play Selected Clip lt None gt 4 Stop to Black Re Cue Current Clip Pause Re Play Current Clip Release Pause Cue Next Clip Play Next Clip Playing _ lt None gt Paused Cued lt None gt gt Below you will find a diagram showing what type of action is achieved with GPI output in OnTheAir Video Express Operator hits a Key OnTheAir Video Express GPI Commander Change the selected Play Stop Cue a Clip source in Video Mixer In the Output Actions window you will see different lines with each a popup menu By default the value of these popup menu is set to lt None gt GPiCommander to use Let s say you want OnTheAir Video Input Actions Express to send put the status of Output Cue Selected Clip
15. Softron Media Services Additional Information Il 35 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Troubleshooting Il 36 For the latest troubleshooting information you should check the Knowledge Base http softron zendesk com forums 266406 playout general tips tricks http softron zendesk com forums 176673 ontheair video express The output Quality doesn t look as good as it should http softron zendesk com entries 246333 troubleshooting the video output quality doesn t look good field inversion The application is in DEMO mode even if i activated it Download the Application Licensing document and or check these Knowledge base articles http softron zendesk com forums 178563 de activations and dongles OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Overview of Softron playout products 9 1 About Softron Media Services Playout Solutions Softron Media Services has over 25 years of experience in developing software for Mac based systems The focus of the software has been to provide professional broadcasting Ingest and Playout Solutions Below are brief descriptions of our line of playout software for further information you can visit this page on our website http www softron tv products playout_specs html a OnTheAir Video Express OnTheAir Video Express is the entry level playout application that can ms output any file QuickTime can read
16. Video Express e Download the latest version of OnTheAir Video Express from the http www softronmedia com Double click on the compressed file to unzip it e Drag the OnTheAir Video Express icon into the Applications folder on your Mac e Double click on the OnTheAir Video Express icon or select the icon in the Applications folder and use your File gt Open command to launch the application e When prompted with the message that OnTheAir Video Express app is an application downloaded from the Internet Are you sure you want to open it Click on Open e An empty blank OnTheAir Video Express Playlist will open Using OnTheAir Video Express in DEMO mode OnTheAir Video Express can be used in DEMO mode as long as you wish The DEMO mode will include a DEMO watermark on the HDMI DVI outputs or a moving Softron logo on all outputs through video cards This also means that you can use a DEMO version to build playlists save them and re use them Once you ve tested OnTheAir Video Express thoroughly and would like to purchase a copy just contact your nearest re seller or go the Softron online store You will receive a Serial number or a dongle option Licensing OnTheAir Video Express All Softron applications can be licensed using either Serial Numbers by default or Dongles optional Serial Numbers can be sent quickly you will receive them by e mail and are also stored in our database should they be lost You will only
17. adcast quality playout server all over the world It has proven to be highly reliable and is the ideal solution for broadcasters of 24 7 Schedules and live events OnTheAir Video can playout most QuickTime Codecs provided they are i frame and Offers advanced features that are provided optionally such as Logo overlay High Definition multilingual support and Scheduling For Live shows OnTheAir Video also has Cue mode time code starts midi and GPI trigger capabilities and can be used as a Motion Alpha Graphics playback channel with ARGB files ee Oaz2625 Il 37 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 38 9 2 OnTheAir Live OnTheAir Manager and OnTheAir Server In 2010 Softron Media released its long awaited Client Server playout solution With this new set of applications one can convert a few MacPro s and a couple of MacBooks or Imacs into a complex and robust broadcasting operation The software is completely scalable and allows for an amazing set of features that professional businesses demand The server application is called OnTheAir Node and provides the playout power for the applications below OnTheAir Live OnTheAir Live is a client application that works with Softron s suite of Client Server Products OnTheAir Live is included with OnTheAir Node which is the server playout application As the name implies Live was created to be integrated in Live
18. bel Using the Apple operating system you can customize features in your finder to assign colors and label names these options are located in your finder preferences e Last File Modification Date The Date amp Time of the last modification to your file e Display Name A QuickTime Metadata line this permits you to create a different naming convention and it is easily modifiable with QuickTime Pro OnTheAir Video Express can retrieve this information and show it here e Absolute File Path the full path to access the media file e Frames Per Seconds the frames per seconds of your media file Il 12 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 13 You can customize Metadata further by selecting Edit this will bring you to the Metadata tab of the OnTheAir Video Express preferences Check the Metadata tab section for more Info on how to edit the Metadata List gt 4 1 2 Defaults Set the way playlists are created by default If you check the Loop by default option all playlist you create will have the Loop option enabled For more Information on all these modes Loop Chain Cue Key see the playlist chapter You can also set the default duration for Still Images that you drop in a playlist This is a default value but you can also modify the duration of a still image if you ctrl click on it in a playlist and select Set Image Duration Playback preferences The se
19. clip inPointinSeconds com softronmedia clip durationinSeconds com softronmedia clip duration com softronmedia clip thumbnail com softronmedia clip mediaFileDuration com softronmedia clip hasinPoint com apple finalcutstudio media history uuid com softronmedia clip volume com softronmedia clip statusindex com softronmedia clip OutPointDuration InString com softronmedia clip relativeStartTimelnSeconds com softronmedia clip hasOutPoint com softronmedia clip isStilllmage com softronmedia clip pathToMediaFile com softronmedia clip finderLabelName com softronmedia clip cutPointinSeconds com softronmedia clip relativeStartTimestring com apple finalcutstudio media uuid com softronmedia clip dropFrame com softronmedia clip mediaFileDurationInSeconds com softronmedia clip lastModificationDate com softronmedia clip framesPerSecond com softronmedia clip lastModificationDateString com softronmedia clip finderLabellndex Clip Inspector Value Desert mov 00 00 09 13 1L040026054785655 9 442776 lt 8c6e0000 00000000 b50b0000 00000000 lt NSilmage 0 2431ad30 Size 60 44 Reps lt 8c6e0000 00000000 b50b0000 00000000 l BODIC4D1 A07E 4816 B506 5EDbASCF4E2 1 L g 00 00 02 19 25 602333333333313 L 0 Volumes RAID For Manager Commercials Desert mov Commercials 3 813428 726899073 00 00 00 00 DDSE4CEB O4AE 4254 9124 1865 1DD7 BEER L 9 442775726318359 Thursday April 1 2010 3 29 06 PM Belgium Time 29 97 2010 04 01 15 28 06
20. cond tab of the OnTheAir Video Express preferences window is the Playback preferences where you can configure different players A player is a specified and configured output If your computer has multiple video outputs you can create multiple players each with a different output and with its own settings ai Player Settings Video Format item 1 r Lower Field First DV DVCPro _ ARGB output lower performance but alpha support I External key output instead of Interna keying OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services VAE Renaming a Player When you start the application you will see a New Player available for configuration To rename a Player double click on the name and type the desired name for your player ane Preferences ane Preferences hat Video Mayers Output 1 Player Settings Player Settings Output Device Output Device a Video Format Video Format La Lower Field First DV DVCPro Lower Field First DV DVCPro ARGB output lower performance but alpha support 2 ARGB output lower performance but alpha support External ke tput instead of Internal keying External kev output 4 cu of internal keying a a L l After having renamed your Player you can modify its settings Depending on the type of video output you will be using you will have different potential config
21. e Prolin LT Dera DO EA had Eh 4 kapir Polley LT EIRA IDEA 20007 end En FRE O00 17 23 LEE OFHI miarat iki EA ELE ETETE kapia Femin LT Harte Ee FELT da Eh Der Lear Lights S002 muii LE 4a L GeO Lal does aan iF Ce D eT hea Dr 00 CA og bell LA HA Se EM miert iLi G Ce 29 2608 15 14 BEET Ost 21 EL LE LI Gh oo iT LE LS Soro HIbB BE F7 LAF CEET LAS Tamem Tia 10 1 La Vi SL pe pte con tas oe aA LES m York Sirewis copy ddk Li Tibe TL OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 39 ra OnTheAir Server OnTheAir Server is a server application that can link together multiple seats of OnTheAir Manager and Nodes As a database store and a media server it acts as a gateway for nodes within the network Large broadcasting operations can use OnTheAir Server to centralize and coordinate all scheduling and playback operations while maintaining flexibility and high level of control throughout your network OnTheAir server completes the full line of playout solutions from Softron Media Services OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 40 9 3 Different possible setups Softron Media Services offers a variety of playout solutions in both standalone or single unit set ups or Client Server installations below are a few diagrams to assist you in researching current or future projects With OnTheAir Video or OnTheAir Video DV o
22. hat is present in the ARGB clips OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services gt 4 3 Metadata preferences We have seen in the General preferences that you can display some Information about the clips in the playlists information lines The list of Metadata available in the popup list in that menu is populated from this tab You can add delete and modify this list here This Metadata tab works as all Metadata and XML values as you need to give it e A Name the name that the user will see in the popup menu e A Value this is a unique value that is used retrieve the appropriate value from the Metadata ar Preferences A A A Name Key Finder Label com softronmedia clip finderLabel Name Last File Modi com softronmedia clip lastModificationDate Display Name com softronmedia clip displayName Absolute File P com softronmedia clip pathToMediaFile Frames Per Se com softronmedia ciip framesPerSecond You can add or delete Metadata Keys by clicking on the and icons at the bottom of the list and you can rename them simply by double clicking on any of the lines Make sure that you enter a correct value for the Key OnTheAir Video Express will search the QuickTime Metadata file for the presence of this value if it is not exactly the same OnTheAir Video Express will not find it Metadata with MovieRecorder Some applications can write Metadata Informat
23. he click on it and move it in the playlist window then release the mouse button when it is at the place you want it to be This new clip will go at the top of the selected clip in the playlist where you dropped it e Open two playlists and select one or more clips then press C or choose Edit gt Copy Then select the playlist in which you want to copy these files and select the clip on the top of which you want to place them Then press V or choose Edit gt Paste e You can select multiple clips by holding down the Apple key and you can select consecutive clips by holding the shift key e Once a playlist is opened and if one of the files becomes unavailable deleted from the disk or not valid anymore it will be shown as offline you have to go in the menu File gt Check For Missing Clips to force OnTheAir Video Express to check if all files are still available Creating a playlist in XML Third party integration The Easiest way to see the XML architecture of an OnTheAir Video Express playlist is to create a playlist save it right click on the playlist file and choose in the menu Open With Then choose a text editor like Text Edit or Text Wrangler Many lines of information are referenced in the XML if you create playlists manually or through a database or traffic system all you need to do is generate a file that matches the architecture of the playlist file OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1
24. ing of the playlist e Ifthe playlist is NOT in Chain mode it shows the elapsed time since the beginning of the clip Indicates the duration e Ifthe playlist is in Chain mode it shows the duration of the playlist e Ifthe playlist is NOT in Chain mode it shows the duration of the clip 3 Indicates the remaining time e If the playlist is in Chain mode it shows the remaining time until the end of the playlist e If the playlist is NOT in Chain mode it shows the remaining time until the end of the clip The Big time indicators remaining and elapsed have a limit of 99 minutes and 59 seconds above that they will show You can find more Time Indicators at the bottom of the playlist Dolphins 1 mov 4 01 15 34 26 0200 ey Indicates the total duration of the playlist and the number of items it has Indicates the duration of the selected clip s and the number of items selected Note that you can select more than one item and it will show their added duration OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services REA Scrub bar and name of playing clip You can use the scrub bar to navigate in the playlist or the clip e If the playlist is in Chain mode when using the scrub bar you go through the whole playlist e If the playlist is NOT in Chain mode you will scrub only within the playing clip Additionally below the scrub bar the name of the currently playing clip i
25. ion The first column indicates the relative start time of each clip It will also show the eventual In and out points 00 00 00 06 The third column has 3 lines e The Name of the file or the QuickTime Title e The Metadata Line 1 configured in preferences e The Metadata Line 2 configured in preferences Evening News mov we M D UN News g 2010 09 27 14 25 41 0200 The forth column shows only the duration of the clip considering the eventual in out points uns 00 23 00 02 Ers B z REA Color Codes e In Mac OS you can set Finder Labels to your clips In OnTheAir Video Express playlists the clips text will then be tinted in the color of the finder Label e A clip tinted in blue indicates it is selected e A clip tinted in green there will also be a green triangle on the Thumbnail indicates that the clip is now playing e A clip tinted in red there will also be a red cross on the thumbnail indicates that the clip is xX offline Perhaps the clip and or the folder in which it was has been moved or renamed Be careful when you move rename or delete Files and or folders Il 28 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 29 AR Operations in playlists Within the playlists you can perform several operations Inserting and ordering the clips by drag and drop With drag and drop the clips are inserted at the top of the clip where your pointer is You can organi
26. ion in the QuickTime files MovieRecorder Pro Option by Softron Media is one of these applications Il 19 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services 44 GPI preferences Il 20 OnTheAir Video Express can be controlled by an external device using a GPI It can also control an external device using a GPI GPI stands for General Purpose Interface It is a simple on off protocol that is used with many devices including video mixers RS Select the GPI Commander to use You can connect multiple GPI Commander on your Mac if for example you need more than the 24 inputs 8 outputs of a single GPI Commander The first thing you need to do is select which GPI Commander you want to use When you click on the popup menu below GPI Commander to use you will get a list with at least one number This is the serial number of your GPI Commander LE i gt P x t Cue Selected Clip Stop lt None gt Play Selected Clip lt None gt Stop to Black lt None gt Re Cue Current Clip Pause lt None gt Re Play Current Clip lt None gt Release Pause Cue Next Clip Play Next Clip Output Actions o p paying lt None gt Paused Cued lt None gt 2 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services CEE GPI Input Actions Once you have selected the GPI Commander modify the Input Actions settings that you want to use to c
27. laying immediately the clip will be paused on the first frame When pressing the space bar again or clicking on Play the clip will start to play until the end and hold the last frame for the duration set in preferences then hold the first frame of the next clip This is very useful for News and live shows when the subject is ready on the first frame It should be used in combination with Chain Mode when Chain Mode is enabled the clips will play one after another when disabled OnTheAir Video Express will stop after each clip and select the next one so that it is ready to be cued LK Key This option will only be available if you have enabled ARGB output in the playback preferences for this Player and that you have a video card that supports Keying You should enable the Key mode if you want to overlay graphics on top of Video If it is disabled you will not see the background video Note that when you switch it on and off there may be a few dropped frames while the Video card switches modes RS Playback Controls en a OnTheAir Video Express 00 23 00 01 P E My Serie Episode L mow T4 D Ds Here are convenient playback buttons you can use to start playing the selected clip pause stop skip to next previous clip OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services RP Playlist Clip Cells A playlist is a list of videos to be played in success
28. n from a MacBook Pro Once you have exited the black screen you can start using OnTheAir Video Express Create a new playlist drag and drop clips in it and play them You will notice in single monitor mode that as soon as you hit the play button the user interface is hidden and you will only see the video output you can still interact with the playlist and stop pause play the playlist but you cannot modify it To retrieve full control of OnTheAir Video Express and return to your user screen hit the Escape key Using OnTheAir Video Express with only one screen connected can be useful in hotels expositions museums etc Or anywhere a single playlist may run for the whole day only on one screen But if you wish to modify the playlist during playout you will need two monitors OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 16 AA Output to a second monitor or a projector using DVI If you have a second monitor connected to your Mac or a projector you should see it in the list of the Video Format pop up menu ane Preferences i z gt a Video Players Output 1 TV als Player Settings Output Device Built in HDMI DVI Outou out video Formats Color LCD MDP Adapter ARGE output lower performance Out alpha support External key output instead of internal keying The names may differ depending on the brand of the Monitors Projectors connected Select the
29. ontrol OnTheAir Video Express from an external device ane Preferences Ja ia GPiCommander to use 00002A63 Input Actions Cue Selected Clip lt None gt 44 Stop lt None gt Play Selected Clip lt None gt Stop to Black lt None gt Re Cue Current Clip lt None gt Pause lt None gt Re Play Current Clip lt None gt Release Pause lt None gt Cue Next Clip lt None gt Play Next Clip lt None gt Output Actions Playing lt None gt Paused Cued lt None gt Below you will find a diagram showing what type of action is achieved with GPI input in OnTheAir Video Express Operator hits a Key GPI Commander OnTheAir Video Express Play Stop Cue a Clip In the Input Actions window you will ane freres see different lines each with a pop al C i p up menu By default the value of these pimi popup menu is set to lt None gt r GFiCommander to use Let s say you want OnTheAir Video RERERAES Express to cue the selected clip when ipur Bc Here you press a key on your video mixer Cue Selected Clij v lt None gt Stop lt None gt First make sure that when you pressed Play Selected Clif a Stop to Black lt None gt the desired key on your video mixer it Re Cue Current Clij In 3 Pause lt None gt triggers for example the GPI 1 Then Re Play Current Cli i Release Pause lt None gt
30. put to a Video Card With OnTheAir Video Express you can also output to a Video card from third party manufacturers like AJA Blackmagic Design Matrox or MOTU To use a video card make sure that the card is properly installed and using the latest drivers With a compatible video card installed you should be able to select it in the Output Device pop up menu When you have selected the video card you want to use in the Output Device you will be able to choose the video format you want to use The available video formats will depend on 2 things e The video card you have installed e and whether you have ARGB output enabled see below WADE Lower Field First DV DVCPro ane Preferences a lS Video Players Video Card Output Player Settings Output Device Blackmagic Video Output i Video Format Blackmagic NTSC 8 Bit gt You should enable the Lower Field First option when you are outputting Codecs that have a Lower Field First such as DV or DVCPro Codecs to a Video card If you do not enable it when playing Lower Field Codecs then you will see a field inversion in the output OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 18 APA ARGB and Keying modes j Player Settings Output Device Blackmagic Video Output Video Format Blackmagic NTSC 8 Bit ARGB output is only available with some video cards To find out abo
31. r OnTheAir Video Express One client controls one or 2 output but only local you need to be on the computer to control it With OnTheAir Node OnTheAir Manager or OnTheAir Live One client OnTheAir Manager or OnTheAir Live controls one output OnTheAir Node on the same computer One client OnTheAir Manager or OnTheAir Live controls 2 output OnTheAir Node on the same computer A V signals Network OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services One client OnTheAir Manager or OnTheAir Live control multiple output OnTheAir Node remotely by connecting to the Nodes with Ethernet gt a bee LLLLEL CIE LEE TA EE ER TETE EE TEEN SEEN es a TTOEOATEREVEREEUER ETA COPIER PTOEEDAEEDE 0 i One or multiple output OnTheAir Node can be controlled by multiple clients only OnTheAir Live for OnTheAir Manager you will need OnTheAir Server A V signals Network Il 41 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services With OnTheAir Node OnTheAir Server OnTheAir Manager One and or multiple clients OnTheAir Manager control one and or multiple output OnTheAir Node by connecting to a Server OnTheAir Server A V signals a Network 1 42 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services
32. rt it OnTheAir Video Express does not require any proprietary hardware A new PowerMac or MacPro and a DVI HDMI or a compatible Video Card are all you need to start using the application For higher capacity needs you will need a Fibre Channel RAID server Apple Xserve Raid for example or an Xsan Because the playlists from OnTheAir Video Express are in XML format they can be easily integrated into traffic or automation systems Security OnTheAir Video Express is based on a Macintosh Unix architecture which is known for its reliability and flexibility All solutions developed by Softron Media Services are fully tested and approved before released Prompt and personalized support is also what we do best OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services gt l 6 1 2 Get Support Additional Information If this document doesn t bring you enough information our website have additional and or updated information available Visit the OnTheAir Video Express product page to check for specifications codec and video card supported etc http www softron tv products playout_standalone ontheair_video_express html Then if you require more information and support you can also visit the Knowledge Base here http softron zendesk com categories 4590 playout And if you didn t find any answer to your questions you can still submit a support ticket here http softron zendesk com anonymous_reques
33. s shown RES Player Selection MMMM MPA We have seen earlier in preferences that we can add multiple players for one OnTheAir Video Express application and thus have multiple output configurations on one Mac with the limitations explained earlier The first thing you want to do before playing out is to select the correct player Il 26 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 27 RER Playback Settings Chain Loop Queue Key ere OnTheAir Video Express 06 55 00 06 54 2353 00 23 00 01 16 05 i My Serie Episode L mov Player 1 mn Here are the different play modes 2 Chain in this mode the clips will play one after the other in the order of the playlist If unchecked OnTheAir Video Express will stop after each clip Important Note in Chain mode the playlist can not be edited when playing you can still edit another playlist but not the playing one You can not enable or disable the chain mode when the playlist is playing Le Loop at the end of the playlist OnTheAir Video Express will go back to the beginning and replay the playlist Note that due to the fact we are using QuickTime for playout without buffering you may experience freeze frames when the playlist Loops Cue when double clicking on a clip or when selecting a clip and pressing on the space bar or clicking on Play instead of p
34. t 1 52 min mov 00 56 00 02 eae Entertainment 2010 09 27 12 12 58 0200 00 00 15 01 vy Dive in Slow Mo mov 00 00 21 26 2010 04 01 15 32 01 0200 Bay Rinse Fl Movie copy mov 02 00 00 00 k 3810 09 27 13 1834 0200 00 00 15 02 00 23 00 02 00 00 11 21 Time Indicators Will give you information about the Elapsed duration and remaining time of the current clip or playlist Player Selection Playback Controls Playback Modes e Playback Controls Skip to previous stop pause play skip to next e Playback Modes Enable disable the Chain Loop Cue e Player selection Select the desired Player to add more players go in preferences Playlist The list of clips to playout with information such as Clip Thumbnail Clip Name Last modification date Duration Languages Clip End Behavior Items Selected Number and Duration of selected items OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 24 Il 25 RS Playlist Time Indicators The Time Indicators provide information about the time Elapsed Time Duration Remaining Time for the entire playlist or the clip depending on wether you are in chain mode or not Both times the one in big and the small one indicate the elapsed time one shows it in big with only minutes and seconds and the other one in small show hh mm ss ff e If the playlist is in Chain mode it shows the elapsed time since the beginn
35. to any available Video output If you pm ne z can open a file with QuickTime you can output it with OnTheAir Video CS fecal TE Express It can also read ARGB files You can export a file in Animation 00001225 RR vor 20031326 codec or Apple ProRes 4444 and overlay that file on top of an incoming Se signal making it a really efficient Character Generator with tools you Bi mtn already use like After Effects or Motion OnTheAir Video Express is not a playout application recommended for 24 7 or for multiple playout streams on a Single system ane _ OnTheAir Video Express Evening News mov New 2 a OnTheAir Video DV The FireWire Version of OnTheAir Video is called OnTheAir Video DV and works only with FireWire Converters OnTheAir Video DV is a very light and efficient application that can run from a laptop Mac mini or most modern Macs with a FireWire input With the multichannel video option you Can output up to 4 video signal from one computer with additional FireWire card and the appropriate number for FireWire converter lt can be used to schedule in a 24 7 broadcast operation Compared to OnTheAir Video PCI version it does not have the Logo HD or multi language options It only plays DV stream files it does not playout HDV ue OnTheAir Video The PCI version of OnTheAir Video uses Softron s own playout engine mm released in 2004 the playout engine has been used as a reliable bro
36. tput Actions Il 22 PART III Using OnTheAir Video Express Chapter 5 Overview of the user interface e Playlist e Playlist Time Indicators e Scrub bar and name of playing clip e Player Selection e Playback Settings Chain Loop Queue Key e Playback Controls e Playlist Clip Cells e Color Codes e Operations in playlists e About Still images in Playlist e Inspector e In Out e Metadata Chapter 6 Menus Overview e Menu File e Menu Edit e Menu Window e Menu Help Chapter 7 How to create a playlist e Basics e Creating a playlist manually e Creating a playlist in XML Third party integration PART IV Additional Information Chapter 8 Troubleshooting Chapter 9 Overview of Softron playout products e About Softron Media Services Playout Solutions e OntTheAir Live OnTheAir Manager and OnTheAir Server e Different possible setups OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services 1 23 Il 24 Il 24 Il 25 Il 26 Il 26 1 27 Il 27 Il 28 Il 28 Il 29 Il 29 Il 30 Il 30 Il 31 Il 32 Il 32 Il 32 Il 32 Il 32 Il 33 Il 33 Il 34 Il 34 11 35 Il 36 Il 37 Il 37 Il 38 Il 40 Welcome to OnTheAir Video Express Remarks In this manual pop up menus will be indicated as File gt Save As The word File before the sign gt indicates the menu from the menu bar The information after the gt sign is a command that you can choose within the menu You can visit
37. ts new OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services System Requirements gt 2 1 Computer Requirements OnTheAir Video Express requires e Any Mac Based Intel Computer e Minimum 4 GB RAM e Mac OS X version 10 5 8 or later e One or more video outputs such as A Compatible video card AJA Blackmagic Design Matrox MOTU A FireWire converter Canopus A built in HDMI port of the 2010 Mac mini A built in Monitor in your MacBook MacBook Pro iMac A DVI or a Mini Display Port 2 2 Video Audio output OnTheAir Video Express can output to just about any audio video output that is recognized by QuickTime To know more about supported video cards simply visit our website specifications page http www softron tv products playout_specs html Some card manufacturers support more than one card installed in a single system AJA since drivers 7 5 and Black Magic Designs since drivers 5 8 This enables you to have multiple outputs on a single Mac We currently do not recommend a multiple output configuration with OnTheAir Video Express suitable applications for multiple output are OnTheAir Video or OnTheAir Node Additionaly to outputing to a video card you can also output to the built in DVI Mini DisplayPort HDMI output of your Mac OnTheAir Video Express can play out interlaced movies to PCI cards such as the those from AJA Blackmagic Design Matrox or MOTU However due to a
38. urations With OnTheAir Video Express you can use different outputs these are a few common ones e The LCD screen of your laptop iMac e The DVI or Mini Display Port output of your Mac e The built in HDMI output of your Mac mini e A FireWire converter connected to a FireWire port of your Mac e A Video card AJA Blackmagic Matrox MOTU e Any video output that is supported by QuickTime AAA Setting up to output on the main LCD screen of your Mac To be able to change settings you must first select a player in the list Then click on the Output Device popup menu and this window will appear A B idi Preferences Video Players Output 1 TV a 0 GPI t Player Settings C evice Y Built in ATOV Output J FireWire SoftVOut External key output instead of interna keying Select Built in HDMI DVI Output Il 14 OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 15 Then in the Video Format po pup window select the screen you want to output your signal to C Lower Field First OV DVCPro LT ARGE output lower performance but alpha support Lt External key output instead of internal keying If you only have one screen connected to your Mac or if you are using a MacBook MacBook Pro or iMac you will be able to choose only one output device and monitor The name of the monitor can vary depending on brand etc The screen shot above has been take
39. ut cards that can output in ARGB visit this page on our site http softron zendesk com entries 303926 which video cards can you use to key You must enable ARGB output if you want to play ARGB clips and key over an incoming video signal or output a Fill amp Key signal When you enable the ARGB mode the Video format switches to RGB output of the video board Note that RGB output uses twice as much bandwidth and data as YUV output make sure your computer can sustain this mode Internal Keying When you enable ARGB output the Keying is done internally on the card This means that you enter a video signal in the input of the video card and that OnTheAir Video Express will overlay an alpha layer on top of the RGB values from the incoming video signal External Keying Some cards in addition to internal Keying allow for External Keying where the Keying is not done by OnTheAir Video Express but by an external device such as a Video Mixer with Keying capability When you enable External Keying instead of keying over an incoming signal OnTheAir Video Express will instead output the Fill amp Key signals and use the 2 different output of the video card so it sends e On one output the Fill the video signal complete with colors etc e On the other output the Key a Black White Grey signal that will tell the external device which part of the signal must be transparent and which ones are opaque This is the translation of the Alpha Channel t
40. ze the clips even in a playing playlist as long as the clip is not locked Copy paste one or more clips Select one or more clips in a playlist then press command C or select Edit gt Copy then in another playlist or the same playlist select a clip and then press command V or select Edit gt Paste The copied clips will be pasted at the top of the selected clip You can also Copy Paste one or more clips by holding the option key while moving a clip within a playlist control click or Right click on one clip and select Reveal in finder to see where the file is located on your disk control click or Right click on one clip and select Replace to replace the current clip with another one a new window will open AR About Still images in Playlist In OnTheAir Video Express preferences you can set the default duration that a still image will play for If you want to play it longer or shorter than this duration you can press control click or right click on it in the playlist and select Set Image Duration A window will open that allows you to set a new duration in seconds New Duration 10 seconds Cancel OK OnTheAir Video Express 1 1 User Manual vers 1 Softron Media Services Il 30 5 2 Inspector The Inspector enables you to preview the clips and trim them To show it press command i or select the menu Tools gt Show
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