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MBOX EXTREME® MEDIA SERVER

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1. MBOX EXTREME A MBOX EXTREME Figure 1 5 Network Switch and Multiple Media Servers 10 MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL Output Configuration Single Media Server with Plasma Display and LCD Projector In the following configuration a Plasma Display and LCD Projector are connected to a single Mbox Extreme Media Server VGA IN PLASMA DISPLAY LCD PROJECTOR DVI 1 OUT Figure 1 6 Single Media Server with Plasma Display and LCD Projector MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL 11 FIXTURE DESCRIPTIONS Mbox Extreme Environment Concept In order to get the most out the Mbox Extreme Media Server it is important to understand the overall concept of the Mbox Extreme environment which is essentially a building platform for virtual scenery The final look of this virtual Scenery can be comprised of backgrounds 3D objects camera angles and lighting all of which are controllable elements within the Mbox Extreme environment Likewise each of these elements has a set of controllable parameters such as color texture size and movement When all combined you can
2. 5 Components Mbox Extreme Case Assembly anrea eben dt Rihanna EE rada k REKE RR H MAA M EE Ee RE h ER n QARA HA Ma Aku bA GA oA SFR ken E add KES RA 6 boxe m 7 Auxiliary Input PAR A a S V h de V wed p W ke w ew Re a 8 Theory of Operation DMX512 Input Configuration Single Media Server with DMX512 Devices cooooocccnoccccnoncccnncnnononnnnnnnn conan cnn nro n nn nano KAK KAK KK KAKA KAK AKA A AA 9 Art Net Input Configuration Network Switch and Multiple Media ServerS iiEEE kk kk k kk kk kK KAK kK KA AKA A AKKAYA 10 Output Configuration Single Media Server with Plasma Display and LCD Projector 11 Fixture Descriptions Mbox Extreme Environment Concept us 454 4 a err ere ae cadran huba da wad ed raa du n na DDR Rc ua re Ku y k pane d nab n 12 Ambient Eightand Spot Lights xi centi aia se Crane prie d ka arre ex Fc da REOR duw HA yea v 4 ku Ra k NABE cia 13 ecce Dc OP 13 Shutter Control e 13 Keystone COMMON ait sich ou dc A da de 13 TEXtune Object Way M 14 I MHOH
3. 800 x 600 stretched r Colors Millions E 832 x 624 848 x 480 Refresh Rate 60 0 Hertz FH e AMA 1024 x 768 1024 x 768 stretched 1152 x 870 1280 x 720 Rotate Standard HH 1280 x 960 y 1280 x 1024 Y M Show displays in menu bar The three sets of EDID data held within the Dual I O module provide the necessary information to work with standard computer display resolutions and frequencies and typical SD and HD SDI resolutions and frequencies The three standard sets include common VESA and SD HD SDI resolutions at different frequencies Set 1 PRG MbE 60 Hz 60Hz 30Hz 24Hz Set 2 PRG MbE 59 94 Hz 59 94Hz 29 97Hz 23 98Hz Set 3 PRG MbE 50 Hz 50Hz 25Hz However at times one of these standard sets of EDID data may not be appropriate for the connected display devices At such time special steps can be taken to provide display specific EDID information to the computer 41 EDID Capture Any EDID compliant device can be connected to the Dual I O module and have its EDID data read and captured Captured data is stored in non volatile memory in the module until it is replaced when the firmware is updated or the EDID data is intentionally reverted to standard settings Capturing EDID data from a specific device requires a DVI or VGA connection When performing this procedure it is recommended that you quit the Mbox Extreme application have a monitor connected to the preview output of the other output section
4. Connect monitor data cable to DVI N To AC Power Monitor USB and Ethernet Connections permanenitly connected do not alter Step 4 At front of case connect local monitor data cable to DVI Preview connector Step 5 Connect local monitor power cable to UPS or to local AC power service Step 6 Connect UPS power cable to local AC power service 16 Step 7 Turn on UPS Step 8 Turn on computer System Connections All Mbox Extreme computers are provided with two Ethernet ports as standard equipment The computer s first Ethernet port is connected to the two Ethernet ports on the front of the I O module and is dedicated to Art Net reception Therefore this port on the computer and the two ports on the 1 0 module should not be used for any other purpose If you want to network your Mbox Extreme servers together for the purpose of content distribution or remote monitoring you must use the second Ethernet port located on the Auxiliary Input Panel at the rear of the rack refer to Auxiliary Input Panel on page 8 The Mac s two Ethernet ports have preset addressing for this purpose and their settings should not be modified as changing these settings may lead to a loss of functionality Some exceptions do apply see Pixel Mapping chapter on page 75 for details CAUTION Using File Sharing or Apple Remote Desktop will affect the performance
5. 14 Gg P 14 Chapter 2 Installation Setup Case COMPONEN SEED 16 System COMECHIONS aa A A re ae reed oi 17 Getting Started Patching RIXIUTOS ica A A a aA UAI 18 E mL 20 DIMX MappinG rc 21 Powering UD E cd cr Selva any seo ici 24 Instant ratifica E 24 Chapter 3 Media Content Content Specification Image and Video Files C ti a A aati anni Sa kad 26 Recommended Practices Content Management i M E Folder and File Numbering Additional Media Organization Guidelinies 5 ius canens cerent AND k va ka ep a Tha pan die y d s a k a w ak Raa uk Eua raa a adn ei 29 Adding COM m TET 30 Mdeo and Image Files scc DD isis a tai WW r 30 CIBLE o er TE ii da AA da ses data taa 30 Chapter 4 Operation Application Window Starting the Mbox Extreme Application 22 531 Emerxan xe xen kaxe kena ii sapan pek Pen S kek kk kre rk KA KAR KK KA HA KA KAK KAKA KK KHK KK KAK HANA nn 32 eT AI ERE o H r e h ea knee Qa ka sada w TTE E du EE Wa k dka Sev A AMAR IE ect ee ERE RET EYBE Eku Ku ce AB Ak a s Re W ka dun E Kek k uk ak DW h k aka k 32 A 1r e A TO 33 Heads Up Displays HUDs USING HU DS N M O O 38 Dual I O Module O A EEE TE E E EEA AE A
6. 65 Synchronization Timecode Synchronization Timecode Sync Playmode uuEE EEE kerek kk ek kak ke K KHK kr Ak KK A KK A KAK HK A A AA A KA A KA A r A A KA A HAA KRA 67 Layer To Layer SYnchroniZa HON g cues ye ra ada aai rad uova dikan dak devia ay Ek D ne k ena a ak b y Re a iro E DEA eL Doa d 68 Alignment Rectangles Using Aligr nent RECtAR ICS va ascii fais dlak nk lae lkae a di helak k neke l al b e n k ka dak dukan Had weka k aya 4b aka s ka i DA 69 Thumbnails Creating Thumbnail MAGES iis c onde io tab oet iita nana it a Eu E La pesa a b vani ci do PATER REG 71 Effects and Transitions Effects and Transitions with Additional Input Files ooonnoocccncnninicccccnnoncccconcnnoncccncnnnnnnncnnnnnnnn cnn nn rra nn cnn nan n nn KK nnn KA KA KK sr nenne KK nsn KK KA 72 AddingiCustom Effects or Tal SINO iii na Slee H a cce dune es WER kn a kan EPIS vik ii c d PUB EL Eee EE eO w EVDEN ERE ERE eT 72 Chapter 6 Pixel Mapping Concept About PIXGIEIVESEIBBEERS 2er ERE ertet aaa ea Teo setseasdacemese acacd savazadousesasusaoaedsrazensiecesuzab 76 Basic Setup Basic Pixel Magping Setup 25223851 MEIEHTU HH Henne wu dad kk direk nenne a dalal wa ka da ku ka a yin d a aa dinek a add A 77 Advanced Pixel Mapping Gustom Fine uajo s ds ss te Z ya A dee cc be Sees eae o Lao cae dic ke ar nde Ku kin d aa deere 80 e
7. For still images not requiring transparency JPEG is the best choice Mbox Extreme supports the use of transparency in TIFF files f you want to use files with varying transparency PNG is the best choice Movie Files QuickTime format mov for movie files Photo JPEG Medium 50 6096 is the recommended codec for movie clips DV DVCPro Medium 50 60 also works well Note File extensions are not case sensitive For example files with extension JPG and jpg are the same 3D Model Files Objects Custom 3D models can be added to the Mbox Extreme Media Server The Mbox Extreme server supports the Alias Wavefront 3D obj format There are several third party applications that can export files to this format including Maya Poser Bryce and Cheetah3D to name a few File extensions for 3D object files obj is the standard format vle is a PRG proprietary format for encrypted model files Additional File Types Scalable Vector Graphics svg and Adobe Illustrator ai for digital gobo files aiff for audio files and rtf or txt for text files 26 Recommended Practices JPEG and PNG file types are recommended for creating still image content for optimum output on the Mbox Extreme Media Server For movie content Photo JPEG medium quality is the recommended codec for optimum video playback Mbox Extreme will play movies that use other QuickTime codecs if the appropriate codec is installed on the
8. USB 1 TDVIIN d ETHERNET A ETHEI Aa Emo USB 2 DVIIN 2 DVI Inputs Ethernet Art Net 1 amp 2 Ports A amp B Her VIDEO SYNC 1 VIDEO j 2 Video Sync Ports 1 amp 2 Connected Display Devices and EDID Without special hardware or software a typical computer can only output video resolutions and frequencies that are supported by the display equipment that is connected to it Display devices communicate their required input configurations via EDID Extended Display Identification Data In order to provide some of the specialized outputs typically the various SDI signals from the Dual I O module the computer must be told that it can output certain frequencies or resolutions that are required For this reason the module incorporates EDID spoofing for both video outputs on the computer The Dual I O module always tells the computer what frequencies and resolutions are available EDID from connected devices is never passed through directly to the computer Note You can determine the currently selected EDID set for each output by opening the Displays Preference Pane on the Mac When you open this preference pane each output of the server will show a window similar to that in the picture below The header of each window will display the name circled in red below of the EDID set e g PRG MbE 60Hz or the name of the captured EDID e g LCD 2408WFP eoo Display Arrangement Color Resolutions
9. 12 Effect NONE L R Shutter B T Shutter Move Center Shake Strobe Object Tile Z Position Specular Highlight Texture Scale Rotation Texture X Y Position Allegiance Crop to Alignment Rectangle MbE Y Y Y Description no effect mask LHS RHS of layer mask Bot Top of layer shift rotational center of image X Y shake effect strobe effect tiling effect changes z position of object creates specular highlight from spotlights adjusts scale amp rotation of texture on gobos adjusts X Y position of texture on gobos determines ownership of layer in dual independent mode owner crops content to Screen area defined by alignment rectangle Control 1 left bottom X 127 det X off time number position amount scale X 1 63 no action 64 127 screen 1 128 191 screen 2 192 255 both screens alignment rectangle number MbE Y Built in N Supplementary File Control 2 right top Y 127 def Y on time spacing spread rotation 1563 no action 64 2127 center content 125 HIER IBI H H EII Iaido es BU 535455 38 55 bertet MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL 126 Mbox Extreme Media Server User Manual Version as of October 15 2010 PRG part number 02 9800 0001 32 PRO Production Resource Group Dallas Office 8617 Ambassador Row Suite 120 Dallas
10. In some circumstances you may need to use a large output resolution but your content is not sized to fill that large output resolution and you wish to keep pixel accurate or your show has 1280 720 720 o seo already been programmed using a smaller output resolution Mbox AGP GeForce 860 Extreme allows you to embed a custom active screen area the Screen area that Mbox Extreme can use within a larger output 1920 i raster E To enable this feature you must select the Custom fullscreen mode then check the Active Area Controls checkbox and edit the values to the right In the example screen capture above the fullscreen mode has been set to 1920 x 1080 but the active area has been limited to 1280 x 720 and moved to the top left of the output raster At this point Mbox Extreme will not be able to display content outside of the rectangle defined by the active area The portion of the raster outside the active area will be colored black by default Note Remember that Mbox Extreme s screen origin is the bottom left of the output raster When Active Area controls are enabled the Window mode size will be a percentage of the Active Area size rather than the Fullscreen mode size Update Rate The Mbox Extreme software will always try to output video frames to the Mac s graphics card at the same rate as the current output frequency However in some circumstances heavy load Mbox Extreme is unable to deliver the full number o
11. text tool and the pencil All of these tools except the line tool will create a filled object Filled objects will be compiled as solid areas in Mbox Extreme and will be the areas that accept a texture if one is applied If you want to make an outline of an object you need to turn off the object s fill and then expand the object To turn off the fill in Illustrator select the object in question and then make sure the Fill Stroke s portion of the toolbar looks like the picture to the right To expand an object first select the object then choose the Object menu in the menu bar From there choose Expand This will open a pop up a window You don t need to change any of the options in the window just press OK Add more objects as desired You can use multiple layers Text is a special case Use the text tool to create the text you want Switch to the Selection Tool and select the text Select Type in the menu bar and then select Create Outlines You cannot make outlined text stroke only it has to be filled If you are creating an SVG gobo you need to apply a crop area to the document The size and location of this crop area will determine whether your digital gobo will fall under Option 1 or Option 2 The texture applied to the gobo will fill the crop area when the gobo is used in Mbox Extreme Note It is not recommended that the crop area be sized or positioned so that any portion of an object fall outside the crop area Option
12. MUS as Fa MAPA ARS m E o A EE WMA NA A ee Can ZA E DERTEN Interlaced Odd Field Interlaced Even Field Progressive Frame In order to obtain the best results when using Mbox Extreme you should deinterlace any interlaced content that you want to use on the server this applies to movie content and to the video input It is fairly easy to tell if your content or video input is interlaced When you view it on the screen it will typically show artifacts that are known as the comb effect 106 Guide to Deinterlacing 1 3 Movie content when rendering movie content the rendering application will almost always give you the option to create progressive content You will receive the best results when content is created in the progressive format from inception One exception to the progressive rule is DV content which is natively interlaced and may not respond well to deinterlacing algorithms You can force Mbox Extreme to deinterlace DV content by changing the file extension from mov to dv Decklink Video input many but not all of the video input formats that can be connected to the Decklink card will be interlaced However if you have the option of using a progressive signal you will be rewarded with better looking results If you must use an interlaced video input you can force Mbox Extreme to deinterlace that signal by checking the Deinterlace Video Inputs checkbox on the Setup tab The results are quite good but you
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14. dissolve that comes in more slowly dissolve that comes in even more slowly simple 3d rotate effect simple 3d rotate effect simple 3d rotate effect simple 3d rotate effect simple 3d rotate effect Transitions Continued ID 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 101 110 111 120 255 Transition Rotate Center Horizontal Zoom Out Zoom In Horizontal Bars Horizontal Bars Blend Vertical Bars Vertical Bars Blend Circle Center Circle Center Blend Concentric Circles Push Right Push Left Push Down Push Up Split Right Split L R Center Split Down Split Up Split U D Center Split XY Bar Swipe Right Bar Swipe Left Bar Swipe Up Bar Swipe Down Custom Hard Wipe 1 10 Custom Soft Wipe 1 10 Object Fade Description simple 3d rotate effect zoom out and back in zoom in and back out 10 horizontal bars hard edge 10 horizontal bars blended edge 20 vertical bars hard edge 20 vertical bars blended edge circle out from center circle out from center blended edge circles out from center blended edges new image pushes in left to right new image pushes in right to left new image pushes in top to bottom new image pushes in bottom to top old image splits and slides to the right old image splits and slides left and right from the center old image splits and slides down old image splits a
15. opaque layer s colors are subtracted from underlying colors blacks appear transparent underlying colors are inverted where layer color is lighter layer s colors are then added to underlying colors blacks appear transparent underlying colors are subtracted from layer s colors blacks appear opaque layer s colors are inverted and are added to inverse of underlying colors blacks appear transparent Refer to notes at end of Texture Effects table Texture Effects ID 0 1 10 11 12 18 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Effect NONE Monochrome Sepia Tone Invert Color Reduce Bright Cont Saturation Hue Gamma Exposure Solarize Black amp White Black Alpha X Ray Bloom Gloom Sharpen Median Color Switch Vertical Lines Color Shift Blur Gaussian Blur Circular Screen Dot Screen Line Screen Description no effect convert colors to grayscale convert colors to sepia tone image color invert reduce color space brightness and contrast controls saturation control adjustment hue gamma adjustment exposure adjustment solarize effect convert image to black white dark areas transparent inverted grayscale soften edges add glow dulls highlights increases image detail by sharpening reduce noise with median calculation RGB gt RBG BGR BRG GBR GRB spread single row over vertical space dynamic color shift
16. 1 Any layer can be set to Master and Stream 1 16 and any layer on any server set to Slave and the same Stream will sync to that master layer 2 Stream 2 3 Stream 3 and so on up to 16 Stream 16 The Timecode Offset channel of the slave layer can be used to fine tune the sync by up to 127 frames in a forward or backward direction Specifying the Network Port for Layer to Layer Sync When using Layer to Layer sync you must tell each Mbox Extreme server which Ethernet port to use for synchronization The Synchronization popup menu in the Network area of the Setup tab allows you to select which of the server s Ethernet ports to use There are three possible ports Local Ethernet 1 and Ethernet 2 Only the currently connected ports will be shown in the pop up menu If you do not want to transmit the sync signal from a particular server you can select Local Otherwise you should select which of the other two ports you want to use for the sync signal In typical setups the port should be the same on every machine whether the server is sending or receiving sync Ethernet ports used for Layer to Layer sync on all Mbox Extreme servers must be configured using compatible network setups 68 ALIGNMENT RECTANGLES Using Alignment Rectangles Alignment Rectangles can be used to aid in the placement of content on Mbox Extreme s video outputs Oftentimes you will need to program content to conform to a particular area of the output
17. 1 If you just want to apply a texture to your gobo so that the texture completely fills the gobo then create the crop area so its borders are just outside the edges of all of the objects in your composition Option 2 If you have a texture that you do not want scaled or want scaled to a specific size and only want to show that texture in the positive areas of the gobo without any further scaling then create the crop area at the size of your content and arrange the objects in the file inside that crop area In this case the gobo acts as a mask since the result is like putting a black mask over areas of an unscaled texture If you are creating an Al gobo you can t use crop areas and the applied texture will be stretched or squashed automatically to cover all of the objects in the file You can use rectangles with no dimensions Opx x Opx to affect how the texture is applied To add a rectangle with no dimensions select the rectangle tool and click and release on the drawing area In the dialog box that opens enter 0 for the horizontal and vertical size of the rectangle You won t be able to see these objects in Mbox Extreme but they will affect how the texture is applied Before you save the file you still need to consider where the center of the file should be By default the center of a digital gobo will appear in the center of Mbox Extreme s screen and the gobo will rotate around that center point If you save the file as an Al file you can
18. A A T TT 39 Connected Display Devices And EDID lk eterno tr nik kan keba Er e ia 41 EDID Capture cm 42 SDI Output SD Standard Definition amp HD High Definition nennen nennen nnne huk kn A MEN Hak 43 Genlock Generator LOCK m O 45 Chapter 5 Advanced Features Objects and Digital Gobos About 3D Models arid Digital Gobos OBJECTS evoca a cd a SY ENE e dk ra kla dire ad e E Ye E ua k du kata ne dea 48 Creating a Digital Gobo with Adobe Illustrator CSS niit crai inne ke tne tu A R Kun k ke d n eaae EE aieiaa 50 Animated GODOS e 51 Animated Textures About Animated Textures E 55 Layer Copy Using Layer Goy ERI kd bk a a ae 56 Drawmodes Using DIAWIMOGSS crm 57 Drawmode t6 Orthographie MW ad aa 58 APPS I 59 Layer Blending MOdES vista 61 Decay Bevor 62 Fog FO laya c id 63 Text Files SUPPOM fOr Te XE Fl m T ker SN 64 Audio Output nell h n NS y NN e EA A a a aiid ect Dolo RA
19. BALANCED AUDIO OUT SMPTE IN MIDI IN MIDI OUT SDI IN COMPOSITE R YIN B YIN SDI SD HD R Y Input Input Y Input B Y Input composite The Decklink card supports three types of video input format Composite NTSC or PAL Component and SDI SD and HD The resolution and frequency of supported signals will differ based on the video input type e g the composite input only supports NTSC and PAL resolutions The list below represents the available streams Stream Signal Resolution Frequency NTSC 720 x 480i non square pixels 59 94Hz Blackmagic NTSC PAL PAL 720 x 576i non square pixels 50 00Hz 720p 50 1280 x 720p 50 00Hz Blackmagic HDTV 720 720p 59 94 1280 x 720p 59 94Hz 720p 60 1280 x 720p 60 00Hz 1080p 23 976 1920 x 1080p 23 976 23 98Hz 1080p 24 1920 x 1080p 24 00Hz Blackmagic HDTV 1080 1080p 25 1920 x 1080p 25 00Hz 1080i 30 1920 x 1080i 30 00Hz Note The Decklink card will support both 8 bit and 10 bit video input signals Mbox Extreme only supports 8 bit input You should therefore use only the available 8 bit streams and not select one of the 10 bit input streams USB FireWire Input Mbox Extreme can use a video input from a Mac compatible USB or FireWire camera Any camera that works with QuickTime based applications on the Mac should work fine But because there are a wide variety of cameras of this type we aren t able to verify that all of them work with Mbox Extreme Therefore you should test your ca
20. Blend Bottom Layer Edge Blend Left amp Right Layer Edge Blend Top amp Bottom Alpha Mask From File Drop Shadow Drop Shadow 2 Luma Lines ASCII Art Description renders black areas as true black divides image into rectangles reverse of pos lattice two color duotone effect separates RGB channels renders bright areas transparent renders dark areas transparent posterizing halftone effect pixelates image hexagonal Rectangular Tile Effect Four sided Tile Effect Six sided Tile Effects Six sided Tile Effect Twelve sided Tile Effect Soft edge to transparent Soft edge to transparent Soft edge to transparent Soft edge to transparent Soft edge to transparent Soft edge to transparent Mask using additional file Drop Shadow w position 1 Simple drop shadow Color 4 Luma block effect Converts image to characters Control 1 intensity divisions divisions mode horizonta intensity intensity scale rotation rotation rotation rotation rotation Amount Amount Amount Amount Amount Amount File number X offset Offset Width Scale Control 2 threshold size size threshold vertical threshold threshold size size size size size Softness Softness Softness Softness Softness Softness Flip Mode Y offset Amount Rows Desat Texture Effects Continued ID 103 104 105 106 107 108 Effect Oval Crop w X Y Pos
21. Click the Mbox tab at the top of the window to return to the Window view and play some content Initially there is nothing different but if you press F5 on the keyboard your view will change press once to see the context view a Second time to see the patched fixture view a third time to return to the normal view Pressing F5 affects both the preview output and the stage outputs so if you are using one Mbox Extreme for both pixel mapping and video output you should not leave the view set to context view or patched fixture view when outputting video for your show Initially the patched fixture view may not look any different from the context view Both views will appear to be blocky versions of the content that you are playing Cew Coren me Save As Go back to the Pixel Map tab and adjust the slider for the DMX Ghosting control Reduce the level of this control to about 30 and then return to the Window view Now the patched fixture view will display patched fixtures at full brightness and unpatched pixels at a reduced intensity This enables you to better visualize the result of your setup both context sizing and fixture placement without needing to set up the rest of your equipment Mbox b Set Rep 92255255251 SSS SSS DMX Ghosting 100 DMX Ghosting 30 78 Finally in order to properly output Art Net data with the configur
22. Control functions for server HUDS macros etc Draws trails behind moving content Applies fog Makes 3D objects further from camera darker No function Intensity master for pixel mapping Art Net output Control functions for pixel mapping Level master for audio output 113 Mbox Parameter Descriptions Continued Fixture Shutter 114 Parameter Shape Shutter X Shutter Y Red Green Blue Shutter Scale Shutter Edge Shutter 1A Shutter 1B Shutter 2A Shutter 2B Shutter 3A Shutter 3B Shutter 4A Shutter 4B Shutter Rotation Description Selects the shape of the shutters from four modes Moves the shutters left and right Moves the shutters up and down Red additive Green additive Blue additive Adjusts the size of the shutters Adjusts the soft edge of the shutters Bottom left corner L R adjustment Top Left corner L R adjustment Top Left corner U D adjustment Top Right corner U D adjustment Top Right corner L R adjustment Bottom Right corner L R adjustment Bottom Right corner U D adjustment Bottom Left corner U D adjustment Rotation of shutters Mbox Parameter Descriptions Continued Fixture Keystone Parameter Curve Keystone X Keystone Y Tile Mode Tile Overlap Keystone Scale Edge 1 Edge 2 Edge 3 Edge 4 Corner 1X Corner 1Y Corner 2X Corner 2Y Corner 3X Corner 3Y Corner 4X Corner 4Y Keystone Rotation Description Selects the am
23. Endian The sample rate of the audio file must match the default sample rate of the computer for it to play at the correct speed 44 1kHz A triggered audio file will always loop when the triggering movie loops at the movie s out point If the audio is triggered by a still image it will play once and not loop To play any associated AIFF audio files you must check the Audio Playback checkbox on Mbox Extreme s Setup tab Remember that for this preference to take effect you must quit and restart the application after changing the setting If you trigger an audio file with a movie with that movie s playmode set to Forward Loop the audio file loops at the exact same time as the movie This means that audio files that are longer or shorter than the triggering movie will not loop at the end point of the audio file If you want an audio clip to loop properly you must have a movie of exactly the same length down to the frame Oftentimes you may be extracting an audio file directly from the QuickTime movie file that it goes with If you do this properly then your audio file will be exactly the same length as the movie Rather than having its own in and out points AIFF playback uses those of the associated movie If you modify the in and out points of the associated movie the audio file s in and out points will be modified as well If you modify the play speed of a movie that triggers an audio file the audio file will continue to play at norma
24. IMPORTANT For the Decklink card video input make sure the compression is set to Uncompressed 8 bit 4 2 2 and nothing else If necessary click on the Compression tab at the top of the window and select this from the popup menu on that tab Video Adjustments Compression Source Blackmagic HDTV 720p 50 Blackmagic HDTV 720p 59 Blackmagic HDTV 720p 60 Blackmagic HDTV 720p 50 Blackmagic HDTV 720p 59 Blackmagic HDTV 720p 60 v Blackmagic NTSC PAL Blackmagic NTSC PAL 8 Bit Blackmagic NTSC PAL 10 a Preview Waveform we Capture from Blackmagic HDTV 720 Blackmagic HDTV 720p 60Hz 8 Bit 2 2 Compress with Uncompressed 8 bit 4 Len Step 7 If your video input is connected to the server and if you have selected the correct input stream matching the resolution and frequency of the input signal then you will see a live thumbnail of the input at the top right of the video input setup window In the picture above the 7596 color bar signal is being received at a resolution of 720p and a frequency of 60Hz If you have picked the correct stream and no preview appears try disconnecting the video input from the Aux panel and reconnecting it This will cause the Decklink card to reacquire the signal and generate a preview image 105 Step 8 Once you have everything set up correctly you can press the OK button and the window will close Step 9 You must make sure that you
25. Light 4 Camera Control Shutter Control 1 Keystone Control 1 Shutter Control 2 Keystone Control 2 Layer 1 Layer 2 Layer 3 Layer 4 Layer 5 Layer 6 Layer 7 Layer 8 Layer 9 Layer 10 Layer 11 Layer 12 Universe 1st 508 Total DMX Channels 2nd 372 Total DMX Channels 111 Summary Dual Output Independent Universe Offset 0 Start 1 5 9 13 17 21 53 73 95 157 219 281 343 405 112 Size 4 ARK A 466 Type Ambient Light Spot Light 1 Spot Light 2 Spot Light 3 Spot Light 4 Camera Control Shutter Control Keystone Control Layer 1 Layer 2 Layer 3 Layer 4 Layer 5 Layer 6 Total DMX Channels Summary Dual Output Independent Universe Offset 1 Start 1 5 9 13 17 21 53 73 95 157 219 281 343 405 Size 4 RRSP AK 466 Type Ambient Light Spot Light 1 Spot Light 2 Spot Light 3 Spot Light 4 Camera Control Shutter Control Keystone Control Layer 1 Layer 2 Layer 3 Layer 4 Layer 5 Layer 6 Total DMX Channels Mbox Parameter Descriptions Fixture Ambient Light Spot Light 1 Spot Light 2 Spot Light 3 Spot Light 4 Parameter Intensity Red Green Blue Intensity Red Green Blue Intensity Red Green Blue Intensity Red Green Blue Intensity Red Green Blue Mbox Parameter Descriptions Continued Fixture Description The ambient light washes 3D objects evenly from all sides no shadows Red s
26. Maximum Quality Setting This setting has six possible values five levels of quality from minimum to maximum and preserve If you choose one of the five quality settings any movie processed by the application will be converted to the Photo JPEG codec if possible If you choose the preserve setting processed movies will only be converted to Photo JPEG if they use the Animation codec But no matter which quality setting is selected the application will always attempt to correct any errors in the file You may need to test several levels of quality to get the results that you require Use PMA Setting This setting is only used when converting Animation movies If left unchecked the application will not pre multiply each pixel s color values by its alpha value If checked each pixel s color will be pre multiplied by its alpha value Note Pre multiplied alpha when you pre multiply alpha you are multiplying the color red green and blue values for each pixel by that same pixel s alpha value Each of these values range between 0 0 and 1 0 0 0 is none 1 0 is full Therefore when using pre multiplied alpha a pixel with an alpha value 1 0 i e it has some amount of transparency will be rendered with the intensity of its color values reduced This is very useful for reducing the white or grey fringe seen around some objects in content that uses an alpha channel The Mbox Extreme File Converter application has one additional funct
27. Orthographic View 3 Cut plus Light 7 Draw Thru plus Light Drawmodes 0 9 listed above can be used in various combinations with the Orthographic mode page 58 and the Layer Blending mode page 61 to achieve the desired result For example If you want to have a layer use Orthographic drawmode cut the stencil and use Subtractive Layer blend mode you would add the three values together to get the value to assign to the Drawmode channel 16 Orthographic 2 Cut Stencil 128 Subtractive Blend 146 Mode 1 Light automatically raises the ambient lighting level to 10096 for the selected layer only This control works with both gobos and 3D objects and enables you to see objects and their applied textures without affecting the lighting on other layers Set the Camera intensity to 10096 and then on Layer 1 only with all 4 other attributes set to default values set the opacity to 100 You should see a white square With Layer 1 still selected choose object folder 3 file 0 You cannot 2 see anything Go to the Drawmode control and change it from 0 to 1 Now you can 3 see the gobo Feel free to experiment with the gobo at this point Because it is essentially a 3D object but with no thickness on the Z axis you can do pretty much everything to it that you can do to a 3D object scale rotation spin and X Y Z position Most importantly you can apply a texture Here is the same gobo with a texture applied In this
28. Shutter Scale 65535 N 1 1 Edge Blending Mode 255 Y 11 1 Shutter Edge 0 N 2 2 Keystone X 32767 N 12 1 Shutter 1a 0 N 4 2 Keystone Y 32767 N 13 1 Shutter 1b 0 N 6 1 Tile Mode 0 Y 14 1 Shutter 2a 0 N 7 1 Tile Overlap 0 N 15 1 Shutter 2b 0 N 8 2 Scale 65535 N 16 1 Shutter 3a 0 N 10 1 Edge 1 0 N 17 1 Shutter 3b 0 N 11 1 Edge 2 0 N 18 1 Shutter 4a 0 N 12 1 Edge 3 0 N 19 1 Shutter 4b 0 N 13 1 Edge 4 0 N 20 1 Shutter Rotation 127 N 14 1 Corner 1 X 0 N 20 Total DMX Channels 15 1 Corner 1 Y 0 N 16 1 Corner 2 X 0 N 17 1 Corner 2 Y 0 N Shutter Shape 18 1 Corner 3 X 0 N 19 1 Corner 3 Y 0 N Values Shape Notes 20 1 Corner 4 X 0 N 0 9 Disabled 21 1 Corner 4 Y 0 N Separate controls for each end of 22 1 Keystone Rotation 127 N Moving 10 19 Light Mode shutter If both controls are zero 22 Total DMX Channels shutter disappears Distance and angle controls If 20 29 Leko Mode Hune is zero shutter Edge Blending Mode isappears A round iris scale is magnified to Values Mode Curve 30 39 Iris Mode enclose the screen No other 0 9 Eighth Order Steep Controls 10 19 Fourth Order Medium 20 Second Order Shallow Tile Mode Value Mode 0 Tiling Disabled 1 2x2 10f4 2 2x2 20f4 3 2x2 30f4 4 2x2 4 of 4 5 3x3 1 of 9 6 3x3 2 of 9 7 3x3 3 of 9 8 3x3 4 of 9 9 3x3 5 of 9 10 3x3 6 of 9 11 3x3 7 of 9 12 3x3 8 of 9 13 3x3 9 of 9 14 4x4 1 of 16 15 4x4 2 of 16 16 4x4 3 of 16 29 4x4 16 of 16 Tiling Positio
29. Z Z Z Z Z lt Z Z lt Control Channel Values 10 19 20 29 30 39 40 49 50 59 60 69 70 79 80 84 85 89 90 94 95 99 100 109 110 119 220 230 231 232 233 240 242 250 251 252 253 Play Mode Version HUD Performance HUD FPS Display Lights Camera Shutter Keystone HUD Texture HUD Objects HUD DMX HUD Show pix map context view Show pix map fixture view Show alignment rectangles Show alignment rectangles with circle amp X Show pix map sample areas Timecode HUD Cancel keyboard HUD File Sharing On File Sharing Off ARD On ARD Off Rescan Media Library Enable Blend and Overlap controls Quit Application Shutdown Computer Restart Computer Restart Application Special commands require that the DMX value be held for three seconds followed by an immediate change to DMX 0 without any other DMX values in between When the control channel stays at this value for three sec onds the Camera Fog and Blur controls are mapped to Blend and Overlap respectively These controls are used to make changes to the blend for use with the Wide Pan oramic mode Shutter Shape Shutter Control Values Shape Notes Chan Size Function Default Snap Blob A Bezier curve is drawn touching 1 1 Shutter Shape 0 Y 40 49 si Nek ndar sk Ps 2 2 Shutter X 32767 N 4 2 Shutter Y 32767 N 6 1 Red 0 N Keystone Control 7 1 Green 0 N 8 1 Blue 0 N Chan Size Function Default Snap 9 2
30. addition the pixel map control channel should be set to its default value 0 to allow all Art Net levels to pass settings of 254 or 255 will suppress some or all of the Art Net output MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL 79 ADVANCED PIXEL MAPPING Custom Fixture Creation The Mbox Extreme Media Server allows you to create custom fixture profiles for use in your patch At the Pixel Map tab click on the Fixture Type pop up menu and choose Create New Profile A window will open to enable you to set up a new fixture profile You can select the shape of the pixels rectangle or circle that your new fixture will display on the screen the type of fixture RGB CMY CYM or Intensity and its default rotation in 90 increments The Pixel Fill slider will determine the fill factor of the fixture s pixels i e whether they completely fill their context grid rectangle or not The pixel fill control has no effect on the Art Net output it is merely used to help you better visualize certain fixtures On Cancel WE Okay the other hand the Fixture Level slider does have an effect on the Art Net output The fixture level is a mastering control for the Art Net levels generated by this fixture type At any level below 100 the fixture will be dimmed proportionally Botom eft He The Mask checkbox allows you designate fixtures that will be suppressed all color or intensity levels sent to 0 when the pixel map control channel
31. better to the ambient light fixture or to Drawmode 1 Vertex Array files Compiling When you want to display a 3D model or digital gobo file on the screen that file is read from the hard drive just like the 2D content But loading model and digital gobo files in their original format obj svg and converting them to be used within the Mbox Extreme environment can be a slow process Instead Mbox Extreme generates a new version of files in the Mbox Models folder using a proprietary format The resulting vertex array files have been optimized to allow for shorter load times when the files are requested for display The process of creating the vertex array files is called compiling All appropriate files in the Models folder will be compiled automatically the first time that Mbox Extreme finds them upon startup Thereafter files in the Models folder will only be compiled if they are new or if they have been modified since the last time Mbox Extreme was used Compiling all of the stock files in the Models folder takes some time but this task occurs in the background all other functions are available during this process If you try to display models or digital gobos that are still waiting to be compiled Mbox Extreme will display a substitute image until the requested file has been compiled If you request a file that hasn t been compiled yet you will see the Waiting for Gobot gobo If you place a large number of new files in the Models fol
32. have any resolutions that are higher than the requested setting the operating system will pick a resolution from among those in the current EDID set In this situation the Mbox Extreme software has no control over what resolution the operating system provides If the EDID set does have higher resolutions then the next highest available resolution with a similar aspect ratio will be used and the selected fullscreen resolution will be inserted in the bottom left corner of the screen inside the higher resolution The extra screen area outside the requested fullscreen dimension will be rendered in black You are not able to place any content in that area As in the prior case the Mbox Extreme software has no control over the actual resolution that the operating system provides See Active Area section below for further information It is strongly recommended that you set the Mac s desktop resolution and refresh rate frequency to be identical to your Fullscreen mode settings If these settings are not the same then any devices connected to the media server s outputs both Preview and Stage will temporarily lose sync when you switch between the Fullscreen and Window modes or when you launch or quit the Mbox Extreme application With some display devices the results of losing Sync even temporarily can be quite disruptive With identical settings for the Mac s desktop and Mbox Extreme s Fullscreen mode there will be no loss of sync Active Area
33. is used to cut the stencil that cut will not affect Layer 1 or 2 no matter what Drawmode they are set to For useful results the layer you use to cut the Stencil must have some transparency use a 3D object or gobo or apply a texture effect to the texture on that layer to give it transparency in some areas If you set an unaltered rectangular image or movie clip to cut the Stencil all you will get is a rectangular hole in the Stencil Here is a blue rectangle that represents the Stencil and a red gobo that will cut the Stencil Here are the two together and then showing the holes being cut into the Stencil by the gobo And finally here is the Stencil on its own showing the holes cut into it 59 Here is an example of using the Stencil to affect a higher numbered layer On the left a digital gobo on Layer 1 in Drawmode 1 Light so it can be seen And then next to it a movie clip on Layer 2 in Drawmode O idle The movie on Layer 2 obscures the gobo on Layer 1 ES Now on the left Layer 2 has been set to Drawmode 6 Draw thru Stencil and on the right it has been set to Drawmode 8 Draw onto Stencil In both cases the gobo on Layer 1 has been set to Drawmode 2 Cut otherwise it would not have any effect upon the Stencil Note that the lighting on the gobo is off since the Drawmode has been changed draw thru stencil draw onto stencil It is important to realize that when a layer s Drawmode is set to 6 the term Draw
34. make sure the additional input image file is the same size as the content you wish to use it on i e If you want to mask content that is 1024 x 768 you will require a mask file that is also 1024 x 768 To use the Alpha Mask effect on the Camera fixture you need to make sure the input image file is the same size as your fullscreen output size To use the Custom Wipe transition you need to make sure the additional input image file is the same size as the content that you are using it with For best results the outgoing and incoming content also need to be the same size Furthermore the input image files themselves need to be formatted correctly to work The Alpha Mask input image file must be either a PNG or TIFF file saved with an alpha channel The effect uses the alpha channel information in the input file to generate the mask The Custom Wipe input image file can be a JPG PNG or TIFF and can be grayscale or color No alpha channel is required since that information is ignored The grayscale file will provide you with the best indication of how the transition will work as this effect uses luminance values to create the wipe The darker areas will start to show the incoming content first followed by lighter areas Adding Custom Effects or Transitions Mbox Extreme provides the user with the ability to add their own effects and transitions or to make custom versions of existing effects and transitions This process is quite complex and the followi
35. object In this example the foremost layer has been rotated on the Y axis B mod 127 B mod gt 127 Snow v1 2 002 002 The Snow animated gobo is quite complicated In order to have complex snowflake shapes you must create a folder named snowflakes within the Mbox folder and place numbered 1 to 254 vtxa files into it You can copy vxta files from the model cache folder into the snowflakes folder if you like In the left hand image you see the default 000 snowflake shape a round flake In the right hand image you see several different flake shapes the shape is set to random 255 If you set the shape to a particular value between 1 and 254 you will get the corresponding numbered shape from the snowflake folder If no corresponding shape exists you will get the default shape Animation Speed controls the rate at which the snow falls The A modifier selects the shape of the flakes The B modifier selects the number of flakes on the screen at one time Texture Scale on the same layer will affect the size of the flakes and Z rotation will affect the direction in which the flakes fall 52 Tunnel v1 1 002 003 To make the Tunnel easier to see in this example X and Y rotation have been adjusted the Tunnel s default position is directly head on to the camera Animation Speed controls the rate and direction in which the rings move The A modifier controls the number of rings and the B modifier controls the thickness o
36. of the Dual I O module and that the Displays preference pane found in the computer s System Preferences be open Note You will need to capture EDID for each output section separately When using one of the dual output modes you must use the same EDID set on both outputs To capture EDID for each output Step 1 Remove all DVI or VGA connectors from the output section you wish to program Step 2 Onthe appropriate section reconnect only the device from which you want to capture EDID data When capturing EDID the module looks at the ports in a specific order Stage DVI Stage VGA Preview DVI and the first connected device found is the only data that is captured Typically only one device would be connected to the stage DVI or VGA connector as appropriate To reduce the possibility of incorrect capture it is best if only one device is connected at this time Step 3 IMPORTANT Set both the Blackout and Preview Dim switches to their ON position to the left Step 4 Flip the momentary EDID capture switch to the right and hold it in that position The indicator LED will flash rapidly for four seconds During this time you can release the switch and no capturing action will take place Step 5 After four seconds the LED will stop flashing and will remain on for a period of time During this time the EDID data is being captured Step 6 Once the capture is complete the LED will again flash but more slowly than before At this point you c
37. screen than smaller files The amount of compression used when creating a file will also affect performance Given equal file resolutions higher quality lower compression files will not play as well as higher compression lower quality files Depending on your final display device high resolution or low compression files may not look better than lower resolution more highly compressed files For best results you need to find a compromise between quality and performance All stock movie and object content on the Mbox Extreme server has been copy protected It will not play on another computer You may use the Media Lock application to lock your own custom content if desired see Mbox Extreme Media Lock on page 91 27 CONTENT MANAGEMENT Overview The Mbox Extreme Media Server offers a flexible media folder structure Media can reside locally on the Mbox Extreme server hard drive or on additional hard drives or storage devices connected to the computer However using external devices is not recommended because playback performance will suffer The v3 server hardware includes four internal hard drives One drive is used for the OS the computer boots from it while the other three drives are striped as RAID 0 and are used for content At startup the Mbox Extreme application performs a media scan to search all folders that reside within the Mbox Media and Mbox Models folders on the boot drive of the Mbox Extreme server External media ca
38. server However sometimes those movies may not load as quickly or play as smoothly as movies that use the preferred codecs For best results all custom content should be created in a single common format The Photo JPEG codec is strongly recommended Note In this manual preferred movie codecs refers to Photo JPEG DV Apple Intermediate Animation and Apple ProRes 422 All other movie codecs are non preferred Typically movie files should not have embedded audio tracks although in certain cases embedded audio tracks in movies can be made to play To remove audio tracks from movies you can use your preferred application to re render or export the movie without its audio tracks or you can try dropping the file onto the MbE Movie Converter application see Mbox Extreme File Converter on page 92 If you change the file extension of a DV movie file from mov to vid you can cause Mbox Extreme to deinterlace that movie on the fly The results of de interlacing on the fly are not as good as when using deinterlaced content but this feature means that you can play interlaced content without it looking as noticeable Refer to Deinterlacing on page 106 As is the case with all media servers the Mbox Extreme server s playback performance decreases as the resolution of the files used increases You can play content up to and including 1080p two layers as a recommended limit Extremely large still images may take slightly longer to appear on
39. set the center by modifying the origin of the file in Illustrator To modify the origin of a file in Illustrator you need to click and hold on the small dotted set of crosshairs at the top left of the document window then drag the crosshairs to where you want the origin to be For optimal results your new origin must be within the boundaries of one of the objects in the file Note You must have rulers turned on to see the origin and crosshairs If you save your file as an SVG file then the rotational center of the file can either be the center of the crop area or you can add a rectangle with no dimensions which then defines an alternate center point This Opx x Opx rectangle can be either inside or outside of other objects in the file and inside or outside the crop area 50 When you save your file you need to pick either the SVG or AI format Both file types will give you a secondary pop up window to set options when saving the file If you are saving as an SVG file you do not need to modify any of the default values If you are saving as an Al file you need to make sure that Use Compression is not checked Animated Gobos Mbox Extreme animated gobos are similar to SVG gobos but they have built in functions which have their own controls Animated gobos are located in the Mbox Models 002 Animated gobos folder Unlike normal digital gobos these files do not need to be compiled so there will be no corresponding vtxa files Like other digital g
40. sine function simple quick image blur more sophisticated slow blur circular shaped halftone screen dot patterned halftone screen line patterned halftone screen Control 1 Control 2 amount amount amount brightnes S saturatio n hue contrast gamma exposure amount threshold threshold amount radius intensity radius intensity sharpnes S mode intensity row range speed amount amount sharpnes S width width angle width angle Texture Effects Continued ID 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 Effect Hatched Screen CMYK Halftone Tiles Circular Crop Rectangular Crop Mirrors Horizontal Bars Vertical Bars Double Vision Circular Crop w X Y Position Rectangular Crop w X Y Position Rippling Flicker Shake Wobble Bump Distortion Hole Pinch Torus Twirl Vortex Lozenge Edge Work Edge Detect Crystallize Pixelate Pointillize Kaleidoscope LED Wall Description hatch patterned halftone screen color halftoned rendition image tiling circular image crop with edge blur rectangular image crop with edge blur various mirror modes break image into bars break image into bars offset image and overlay Crop that can be repositioned Crop that can be repositioned simple ripple effect dynamic
41. the functions For example Drawmode Draw thru stencil has a value of 6 Blend Mode Exclusion has a value of 128 To use these two items together set the drawmode channel to a value of 6 128 134 61 DECAY Decay Effect The control for the Decay effect is on the Camera fixture Since it is on the Camera fixture decay works on the composite image created by all five layers In the example to the right a gobo has been given a Z spin value and decay has been applied Note Decay will only work against a background of nothingness This means the absence of content no texture or object If no layer is above 096 opacity all you have is black nothingness the absence of content If you put a gobo on Layer 1 texture it and then rotate or move it with decay turned on you will see the effect If you put a gobo on Layer 2 in front of a full screen texture on Layer 1 and then turn on decay you will not see any decay You cannot tell that the gobo is rotating from the picture but it is But you see no decay as there is no nothingness behind it However if you reduce the opacity of Layer 1 behind the gobo you can begin to see the decay 62 F0G Fog Effect The control for the Fog effect is also found on the Camera fixture Like Decay it works on the composite picture created by all five layers However fog only has an effect on 3D objects or digital gobos if they have been lit The objects can be lit by the
42. the object or the camera In order to properly scale the object this drawmode causes a section to be taken through the object s center of depth Due to the constraints of the modeling process this mode only works well with rectilinear objects which have one major face perpendicular to the camera The following illustration show an example of Drawmode 16 Moos faena Moor taveme A cube from the front centered on The same cube positioned off the The cube off axis using Drawmode the screen center axis Note the perspective 16 Note that the cube appears to shift be smaller This is because the section is taken through the center of the object The following illustration shows an example of when Drawmode 16 is not very useful a pig using Drawmode 0 the same pig using Drawmode 16 not useful 58 The Stencil To explain the Drawmodes other than Light requires an explanation of the Stencil and what it means to cut it draw onto it and draw through it The Stencil is an imaginary layer that can be cut as if cutting holes in a piece of paper The Stencil can then be used as a tool to tell other layers how their textures are applied either onto the areas where the stencil is whole or the areas where the Stencil has holes in it There are two important things to note When you use a layer to cut the Stencil the holes that it makes in the Stencil will only affect higher numbered layers if Layer 3
43. to the following manuals V676 Control Console User Manual 02 9814 0001 10 Virtuoso Series Control Console User Manual 02 9651 0001 For more information regarding DMX512 systems refer to the DMX512 1990 amp AMX 192 Standards publication available from United States Institute for Theatre Technology Inc USITT USITT 6443 Ridings Road Syracuse NY 13206 1111 USA 1 800 93USITT phone www usitt org For more information regarding Art Net protocol refer to the specification for Art Net Il Ethernet Communication Standard available from Artistic Licence Ltd Artistic Licence UK Ltd Registered Office 24 Forward Drive Christchurch Avenue Harrow Middlesex HA3 8NT United Kingdom 44 0 20 88 63 45 15 phone 44 0 20 84 26 05 51 fax www artisticlicence com Customer Service Our comprehensive technical services department ensures you get the full benefit of being a PRG customer Whether your needs are simple or complex our full time staff of experienced professionals are on hand to provide support For assistance contact your nearest PRG office PRG Dallas International Service 8617 Ambassador Row Suite 120 Dallas Texas 75247 Ph 214 630 1963 Fx 214 630 5867 Service Fx 214 638 2125 Service Email orders prg com PRG Chicago 90 Rawls Rd Des Plaines Illinois 60018 Ph 847 227 5171 Fx 847 557 9033 PRG Los Angeles 9111 Sunland Blvd Sun Valley California 91352 Ph 818 252 2600 Fx 81
44. video outputs from the server The two outputs create two independent display surfaces Each output has its own set of lighting camera shutter and keystone fixtures Each output can display up to six content layers IMPORTANT Mbox Extreme v3 works with the following consoles PRG Virtuoso consoles MA Lighting grandMA consoles High End Systems Hog 3 or iPC consoles running Hog 3 software only the ChamSys MagicQ console and the Martin Maxxyz console Mbox Extreme v3 is not compatible with the High End Systems HogQ 2 or iPC consoles running Hog 2 software Neither PRG nor High End Systems will support the use of Mbox Extreme v3 on any console running Hog 2 software In general if you are using Mbox Extreme with any console other than Virtuoso or grandMA it is a good idea to contact PRG for more information One Mbox Extreme Media Server running v3 software requires at least 466 DMX512 channels You will need at least one DMX512 universe per server for Single Output Panoramic Wide and Panoramic Dual modes and two DMX512 universes per server for the Dual Independent mode You are not able to patch more than one Mbox Extreme to a single universe By default Mbox Extreme is configured to respond to Art Net universe 0 This allows the server to respond to DMX512 data via the DMX to Art Net converter built into the I O module If you wish to control an Mbox Extreme server with Art Net rather than DMX512 you must choose a unique Art Net unive
45. 0 through 4 The Group number only comes into play when the Camera control channel is set to a value that makes alignment rectangles visible There are new values for the Camera control channel to achieve this functionality Control Channel Value Result 90 Show all alignment rectangles w o circle amp X 91 Show Group 1 alignment rectangles w o circle amp X 92 Show Group 2 alignment rectangles w o circle amp X 93 Show Group 3 alignment rectangles w o circle amp X 94 Show Group 4 alignment rectangles w o circle amp X 95 Show all alignment rectangles w circle amp X 96 Show Group 1 alignment rectangles w circle amp X 97 Show Group 2 alignment rectangles w circle amp X 98 Show Group 3 alignment rectangles w circle amp X 99 Show Group 4 alignment rectangles w circle amp X 70 THUMBNAILS Creating Thumbnail Images Each Mbox Extreme server can create thumbnail images of the content on the machine To create thumbnails on a server press 8 T ZA CAUTION While thumbnails are being created playback performance on the server will be severely affected Thumbnail creation time will depend on the amount of content in the Media and Models folders While thumbnails are being created you will not be able to view them from either a browser or the Mbox Remote application Thumbnail images are stored in a standard location on every server and are grouped with HTML files that allow any networked computer Mac or PC to use an HTM
46. 2 On RAID hard drive open Mbox Models folder At File menu select New Folder and enter a unique 3 digit number that is not already being used followed by a descriptive name For example 012 mymodels Copy model files into the new folder For each file add a unique 3 digit index value to each file between 0 254 along with a descriptive name that includes the file extension For example 001 man obj 002 hammer obj 003 airplane obj etc OPERATION This chapter provides instructions for setup and operation of the Mbox Extreme server APPLICATION WINDOW HEADS UP DISPLAYS HUDS DUAL I O MODULE APPLICATION WINDOW Starting the Mbox Extreme Application The Mbox Extreme application should start automatically when the computer is turned on If the application does not start automatically locate the Mbox Extreme icon on the Apple Dock and click once Upon launch Mbox Extreme will begin in Window mode Depending on the preference settings the application may stay in Window mode or switch to Fullscreen mode once the media scan has finished When starting the application if a large number of 3D models have been selected to preload there may be a brief delay While 3D models are preloading the computer will not respond to any user input Overview The Mbox Extreme application window allows you to view the Mbox Extreme Media Server output in either Window or Fullscreen mode on the local monitor While in Wind
47. 3 seconds and 15 frames The timecode sync does not control the opacity of a layer That function must be programmed separately If a movie is Set to the timecode sync playmode it will sit paused on the in frame until the appropriate time is reached Thereafter the movie will play in time until it reaches the out frame upon which it stops on that frame It will not loop or fade out If timecode is dropped or stopped then the movie will pause playback Timecode is followed strictly therefore rolling the clock backwards will cause the movie to run backwards this is not recommended as an actual function If you modify the in point of the movie playback will start from that point when the correct time is reached The Timecode Offset channel on each layer allows you to modify a file s start time by approximately 4 seconds without having to rename the file and rescan the content 0 gt 126 Positive offset movie plays later 1 point 1 frame 127 Default no offset 128 gt 255 Negative offset movie plays sooner 1 point 1 frame SMPTE Timecode LTC SMPTE timecode input can be achieved either directly through the audio line in port on the Mac or via the Auxiliary Input Panel s SMPTE input XLR The input on the Aux panel is connected to the line in connector on the Mac Therefore line in must be selected as the audio input source in the Sound preference pane in the Mac s system preferences The input volume may need to be adjust
48. 8 252 2620 PRG New Jersey 7777 West Side Avenue North Bergen New Jersey 07047 Ph 201 758 4000 Fx 201 758 4312 PRG Canada 2480 Tedlo Street Mississauga Ontario L5A 3V3 Canada Ph 905 270 9050 Fx 905 270 2590 PRG Europe The Cofton Centre Grovely Lane Longbridge Birmingham B31 4PT England Ph 44 0 845 470 6400 Fx 44 0 845 470 6401 PRG Atlanta 1053 Willingham Dr Atlanta Georgia 30344 Ph 404 214 4800 Fx 404 214 4801 PRG Las Vegas 6050 South Valley View Blvd Las Vegas Nevada 89118 Ph 702 942 4774 Fx 702 942 4775 PRG Nashville 8351 Eastgate Blvd Mount Juliet Tennessee 37122 Ph 615 834 3190 Fx 615 834 3192 PRG Orlando 1902 Cypress Lake Dr Orlando Florida 32837 Phone 407 855 8060 Fax 407 855 8059 PRG Asia Asagami Fukagawa Logistics Center B 4F 2 2 1 Shiohama Koto ku Tokyo Japan 135 0043 Ph 81 3 5683 0011 Fx 81 3 5683 0330 Essential Lighting Unit E Imber Court Trading Estate Orchard Lane East Molesey Surrey KT8 OBY England Ph 44 0 208 335 6000 Fx 44 0 208 398 7205 For additional resources and documentation please visit our website at www prg com OVERVIEW This chapter provides an overview of product features components and operations DESCRIPTION COMPONENTS THEORY OF OPERATION FIXTURE DESCRIPTIONS DESCRIPTION Features The Mbox Extreme Media Server allows for advanced integration of video playback and effects with a
49. 80i 720 x 480 60Hz non square pixels SD PAL 576i 720 x 576 50Hz non square pixels HD 720p 1280 x 720 O 59 94 60Hz HD 1080i 1920 x 1080 50 59 94 60Hz HD 1080p 1920 x 1080 23 98 24 25 29 97 30Hz Note Many standard resolution frequency combinations can be selected in the Fullscreen Mode section of the application Setup tab If you want to use a resolution and or frequency that is different from the standard choices you need to select custom on the popup menu and manually enter the resolution and frequency in the fields below the pop up 43 For example to get Mbox Extreme to output 720p 59 94Hz Step Step Step Step 44 1 2 3 Open the Displays preference pane Using the switch combinations outlined on page 42 change the EDID set on both outputs of the I O module to the PRG MbE 59 94Hz set Press the Detect Displays button on the Displays preference panel Reset the desktop resolution frequency of both displays to 1280 x 720 and 59 94Hz On the Mbox Extreme Setup tab refer to page 33 in the Fullscreen mode section select Custom in the mode pop up menu enter 1280 and 720 in the width and height fields respectively enter 59 in the combo box for frequency and 1 778 in the aspect ratio box Note The Frequency combo box has preset values that cover most of the desired frequencies although this is not obvious at first glance When using the 59 94Hz EDID set the combo
50. 91 Mbox Extreme File Converter Mbox Extreme may not be able to play QuickTime movies MI created by some applications In such cases you may find that they do not play properly or at all If No Diagnostics is not checked on the Setup tab you will see the broken movie image when Mbox Extreme cannot play a movie This image indicates that there is a problem with the movie file If you experience poor playback or see the broken movie image first confirm that the movie uses one of Mbox Extreme s preferred codecs If it is not using one of these codecs you should convert it before doing anything else If your movie is already using the one of the preferred codecs then you can drop it on the Mbox Extreme File Convertor icon or application window to attempt to eliminate the problem In some cases movies that do not use one of the preferred codecs can also be converted If you drop files directly onto the application s icon then they will be processed with the most recently used settings if applicable If you open the application and drop files onto the app s window you can adjust the settings first There are two settings that can be modified when using the application Quality and Pre multiplied Alpha PMA The Quality setting applies to any movie that is converted The Use PMA setting only applies to the conversion of Animation codec movies box 000 004 Mbox Extreme File Convertor v1 3 Minimum Medium High
51. Ambient fixture any of the four Spot fixtures or by having their Drawmode set to one of the modes that includes lighting The fog effect causes objects that are further from the camera to be dimmer harder to See than objects that are closer to the camera In this picture there are three objects that are all at different distances from the camera their Z Position has been modified The teapot is closest followed by the cube and then the sphere They are all using the same lighting created by the four spot fixtures They have been scaled and arranged so that they all appear to be roughly the same size They look as if they are all the same distance from the camera 63 TEXT FILES Support for Text Files The Mbox Extreme Media Server can display text from documents saved as RTF Rich Text Format files You can quickly create an RTF file by using the TextEdit application on the Mac computer Just type some text into a document and then save that document as an RTF file Give the document a numerical prefix make sure it has a file extension of rtf and put it in the Media folder There are a few basic rules to follow for RTF files Do not use multiple fonts on the same line of text Keep font sizes large Justification in the document is ignored use spaces in the text instead You can also display text by creating a txt file If there is more than one line of text in the file Mbox Extreme will play that file line by
52. L browser to view the thumbnails on the server Individual thumbnails can also be used by consoles connected to the server e g ChamSys MagicQ consoles The thumbnail files are located in folders on each server at Library Webserver Documents Mbox The HTML pages can be browsed by entering Atip P Address of remote server Mbox MboxContent html in the address line of the browser application 71 EFFECTS AND TRANSITIONS Effects and Transitions with Additional Input Files Effects and transitions that require additional image input files will use numbered files placed in a specific location inside the Mbox folder on the RAID hard drive The actual parent folder of the image files will depend on the effect or transition in question Alpha Mask From File Effect RA D arive Mbox plugins images masks Custom Wipe Transition and Shaded Material Effect A D arive Mbox plugins images grayscaler Within each of these folders you may have numbered files In the case of the Alpha Mask effect you may have up to 255 files numbered 001 255 In the case of the Custom Wipe transition you may have up to 20 files ten are hard edge wipes 001 010 and ten are soft edge wipes 011 020 Numbering naming and file extensions conventions follow the same rules as standard Mbox Extreme content e g 001 MyFile png The input image files must be sized appropriately for their intended purpose To use the Alpha Mask effect on a layer you need to
53. PR WWW PRG COM MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER AutoPar Bad Boy PRG Series 4000 Mbox Extreme V676 Virtuoso Virtuoso DX and Virtuoso DX2 are trademarks of Production Resource Group LLC registered in the U S and other countries Mac QuickTime and FireWire are registered trademarks of Apple Computer Inc All other brand names which may be mentioned in this manual are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies This manual is for informational use only and is subject to change without notice Please check www prg com for the latest version PRG assumes no responsibility or liability for any claims resulting from errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this manual Mbox Extreme Media Server User Manual Version as of October 15 2010 PRG part number 02 9800 0001 32 Production Resource Group Dallas Office 8617 Ambassador Row Suite 120 Dallas Texas 75247 www prg com Mbox Extreme Media Server User Manual 2006 2010 Production Resource Group LLC All Rights Reserved FOREWORD Safety Notice oar 0 N N 8 Read these instructions Keep these instructions Heed all warnings Follow all instructions Do not use this apparatus near water Clean only with dry cloth Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators heat registers stoves or other apparatus including amplifiers that produce heat Do not defeat the safety purpose of t
54. Panel The Auxiliary Input Panel provides input output connectors for signals other than video and DMX Art Net Balanced Audio Out Left and Right ETHERNET SMPTE IN ACETA ZA T87 a9 y SU BALANCED AUDIO OUT Ethernet Port 2 SMPTE In Unbalanced Audio Out 3 5mm Mini Jack Y Input composite YIN R YIN B YIN COMPOSITE SDI SD HD B Y Input Input R Y Input THEORY OF OPERATION DMX512 Input Configuration Single Media Server with DMX512 Devices In the following configuration DMX512 control signal is distributed from one DMX512 console to multiple DMX512 devices and one Mbox Extreme Media Server Data is then distributed from the Mbox Extreme Media Server to the other components as shown below VIDEO OUT PROJECTOR VIDEO OUT VIDEO QUT PROJECTOR PREVIEW MONITOR DMX CONSOLE VIDEO OUT VIDEO IN PREVIEW MONITOR VIDEO CAMERA REAR VIEW FRONT VIEW Art Net Input Configuration Network Switch and Multiple Media Servers In the following configuration Art Net control signal is distributed from one control console to one network switch The network switch then distributes the control signal to all Mbox Extreme Media Servers K 2 Es NETWORK SWITC
55. Synchronization Mbox Extreme also offers the ability to synchronize playback of a designated master layer on one server to a layer on another server You can have a layer on one server sync to the same numbered layer on another server or select one of 16 sync streams for both sync mastering and slaving Layer to Layer sync typically requires that most or all of the layer playback settings between two synced layers would be identical with exception of the playmode which would designate master or slave 140 gt 149 Layer to Layer Slave 150 gt 159 Layer to Layer Master FWD Loop 160 gt 169 Layer to Layer Master FWD Once In practice it is possible to modify the in and out points of the layers and to change the movie This can lead to odd results however if the length of the resulting clips is not the same Also other settings on the server Tile modes edge blending etc can be modified If you initiate a crossfade at the same time with both layers the outgoing and incoming images will stay in sync To select which stream is used by a server when using Layer to Layer sync you need to adjust the Sync Stream channel appropriately on both Master and Slave O0 Layer to Layer by layer number If Layer 1 on a server is set to one of the Master playmodes and Stream 0 then if Layer 1 on any other server but not the same server is set to the Slave playmode and Stream 0 the slave will sync to the master layer 1 Stream
56. These elements require additional input files in order to obtain the desired result Users will need to provide their own additional files 123 Transitions ID Transition 0 Dissolve 1 Dissolve2 2 Wipe Right 3 Wipe Left 4 Wipe Down 5 Wipe Up 6 Wipe Diagonal 7 Wash Right 8 Wash Left 9 Wash Down 10 Wash Up 11 Wash Diagonal 12 White Right 13 White Left 14 White Down 15 White Up 16 White Diagonal 17 Through Black 18 Through White 19 Through Red 20 Bright First 21 Dark First 22 Dots 23 Big Dots 24 Burst 25 Flash 26 Slow Dissolve 27 Slower Dissolve 28 Rotate Left 29 Rotate Right 30 Rotate Down 31 Rotate Up Rotate Center 32 Vertical 124 Description dissolve EX1 dissolve slightly blended right to left wipe slightly blended left to right wipe slightly blended top to bottom wipe slightly blended bottom to top wipe slightly blended diagonal wipe more blended right to left more blended left to right more blended top to bottom more blended bottom to top more blended diagonal blended white stripe left to right blended white stripe right to left blended white stripe top to bottom blended white stripe bottom to top blended white stripe diagonal fade to black and back in fade to white and back in fade to red and back in transition by brightness of new image transition by darkness of new image fade with small dots fade with big dots white star burst transition white flash transition
57. This is especially true when outputting to a device that will crop the video signal or when using one server to drive multiple LED screens using one layer per screen Alignment rectangles are drawn on the screen as the outline and can optionally display a crosshair and circle inside the rectangle The crosshair and circle can be useful for assistance with overlapping and to check for proper aspect ratio Alignment rectangles can be turned on and off by using the keyboard see page 38 or by using the Camera control channel see page 116 There are two modes of display for alignment rectangles rectangle only and rectangle with crosshair and circle Mbox Extreme Mbox Extreme box Setup Pixel Map Setup Pixel Map Alignment rectangles have five settings four are unique to each rectangle and one is global to all simple rectangles Every rectangle has and Origin X Origin Y Width and Height setting All simple rectangles share a common lineweight setting and can only be white in color You can create basic white rectangles by using the Mbox Remote application Refer to Control Tab on page 98 for more information on the Control tab of the Mbox Remote application Like many other settings for Mbox Extreme the alignment rectangle settings are stored in a plist file This file s default location is Mbox alignment alignment plist You can also create more complex rectangles with alternate colors variable linew
58. VI and SDI preview and DVI VGA RGBHV and SDI SD HD stage outputs The two output sections are functionally identical but are completely independent each can be configured depending on output requirements The Dual I O module allows the DVI signal from the computer to be easily reconfigured to work with many display devices without the need for an external scan converter Whether you need DVI VGA or SDI all of these options are now available with some simple changes to settings on the Dual I O module or on the Mbox Extreme Setup tab refer to Setup on page 33 The preview outputs are for local monitors and are not affected by the hardware dimmer in the Dual 1 0 module controlled by the intensity channel on the Camera fixture The DVI VGA and SDI stage outputs can have their output intensity mastered by the Camera fixture LED Indicates Preview Active Server Stage Dim LED Blackout Switch EDID Capture Indicates FRONT VIEW Switch Switch USB a el Teme ud rd rid ACTIVE USB box S treme Dual I O Module MX ETHERNET STAGE BLACKOUT it Rom C ML u eou C C 2 C PREVIEW 2 SDI 2 GENLOCK 2 INPUT 1 INPUT 2 PORT1 SERVER DVI OUTPUT 1 RGBHV VGA Output to Preview Genlock DMX512 Ethernet Art Net Ports Output to Stage Stage Monitor Input Output Inputs Output OUI SDI SD HD Preview Output SDI SD HD TEMP DIEI Stage Output The fi
59. achieve an infinite number of possibilities for your virtual scenery At first the interaction of these elements may seem complicated but as they are broken down into individual components you will find that they are similar to automated lighting parameters which you may already be familiar with The only difference is that luminaire parameters coincide with physical hardware e g a motor that controls an iris while the Mbox Extreme parameters coincide with software elements For example just as you would control a luminaire s beam color from a console encoder or keypad you can control the color of an Mbox Extreme 3D object Once configured the entire Mbox Extreme environment i e the virtual scenery can be sent to any compatible video device connected to the unit The following illustration is a virtual representation of each element within the Mbox Extreme Environment More detailed descriptions of each element are provided on subsequent pages 3D OBJECT 3D OBJECT DIRECTIONAL DIRECTIONAL SPOT LIGHT SPOT LIGHT S 3D OBJECT DIRECTIONAL SPOT LIGHT 7 3D N OBJECT AMBIENT Quem 7 CC ORBITY ORBITX 3D OBJECT 6 A 3D OBJECT 3 3D OBJECT 1 Note This concept drawing shows six backgrounds and six 3D objects The system allows up to 12 active entities at one time For example 12 backgrounds 6 backgrounds and 6 objects 3 DIRECTIONAL backgrounds and 9 objects 1 background and 11 SPOT LIGHT object
60. act your PRG representative for assistance If you have placed a fixture onto the context grid you can select that fixture or multiple fixtures and edit fixture properties pixel shape pixel type fixture level slew rate and mask Select one or more fixtures and then choose Edit Fixture from the Pixel Map menu on the menu bar This will open a window where you can modify those settings Edit Fixture This feature can be used to modify both stock and custom fixtures It only modifies patched fixtures though not the read only profiles used when adding a new fixture to the context grid Take care when editing multiple fixtures as the modifications shown in the window will overwrite all of the existing properties on all of the selected fixtures C Cancel J Okay Sampling Areas The most complex aspect of the Mbox Extreme pixel mapping is the Sample Area Sample Areas are powerful objects that allow you to sample different areas of the screen in different ways so as to better map on screen content to fixture types with different resolutions Without Sample Areas you always have the same fixed relationship between Screen pixels and pixels on fixtures no matter what type of fixture you are using Typically this works well but only if you are using one type of fixture To create a new Sample Area click the New Sample Area button in the context area to open the Sample Area creation window There are two areas that you need to define in ord
61. an release the switch Step 7 On the computer in the Displays preference pane press the button that says Detect Displays The computer will re sync the outputs and the new EDID will be applied You can connect your display devices at this point Step 8 You should have a viewable resolution on the output that you were reconfiguring You may still need to change this resolution using the Displays preference pane to a specific desired resolution Step 9 Perform steps 1 8 on the other output section of the Dual I O module If the custom EDID data in the Dual I O module is no longer needed you can revert that data back to one of the standard data sets In this case you should quit Mbox Extreme have a monitor connected to both output sections and have the Displays preference pane open prior to performing the following steps To revert back to standard EDID data Step 1 For the PRG MbE 60Hz EDID set 24 30 60Hz move both the Preview Dim and Blackout switches to their OFF position to the right For the PRG MbE 59 94Hz EDID set 23 98 29 97 59 94Hz move the Preview Dim switch to its ON position to the left and the Blackout switch to its OFF position For the PRG MbE 50Hz EDID set 25 50Hz move the Preview Dim switch to its OFF position and the Blackout switch to its ON position to the left 42 Step 2 Follow steps 4 9 in the previous section CAUTION When using the 59 94Hz and 50Hz EDID sets you should never use the
62. annel of the Shutter fixture mode controls the mode shape of the shutters it must be set to a value other than default to activate the shutters Each shutter has two channels of control for its position angle these channels operate differently depending on the chosen shutter mode two depth controls in moving light mode or depth and angle controls in leko mode Keystone Control The Keystone fixture controls geometrical keystone adjustments edge blending and tiling To allow precise keystone corrections there are individual X and Y controls for each corner of the output Scale rotation and overall X Y position controls allow further manipulation of the keystone frame The keystone adjustments act upon the composite image created by the twelve content layers If you are using arrayed display devices to create one larger image Mbox Extreme can assist with edge blending and tiling There are four independent edge blend controls and three blending curves that may be selected steep medium and shallow The tile mode tile scale and tile overlap controls allow you to automatically subdivide or tile a single image to play on multiple display devices With the tile mode control you can select a 2 x2 3x 3 or 4 x 4 array and the grid position within that array which corresponds to the desired position for each server s output To help in creating the best edge blend between servers the tile scale and overlap controls allow you to control how lar
63. ant to see some video play Step 1 At your console select the Camera fixture and set its intensity to full Very Important the Camera fixture s intensity controls the built in hardware dimmer on the I O module If this channel is at 0 you will get no output from the stage outputs on the I O module though you will see output on the preview monitor Step 2 Select the Layer 1 fixture and set its opacity to full at this point you should see a white square in the center of the display Step 3 With Layer 1 still selected choose the folder library attribute and set it to a value of 1 Next choose the file texture attribute and set it to a value of 1 You should see an image of bubbly water on the display Every Mbox Extreme media server comes preloaded with approximately 1400 content files Step 4 Atthis point you can adjust the folder and file attributes to scan the stock content 24 MEDIA CONTENT This chapter provides instructions for managing media files which reside on the Mbox Extreme Media Server and for adding your own custom content CONTENT SPECIFICATION CONTENT MANAGEMENT CONTENT SPECIFICATION Image and Video Files The Mbox Extreme Media Server supports Apple QuickTime technology for rendering and playback of images and video files The following file types are supported Still Image Files JPEG jpeg or jpg PICT pict or pct PNG png TARGA tga TIFF tiff or tif for still image files
64. ation you have created you should modify the Art Net connection settings for your system Go to Pixel Map in the menu bar at the top of the screen and select Connection Settings to open the pop up window This window allows you to customize the Art Net output In the IP Address field you should see 2 255 255 255 as the default setting In virtually all instances this setting should remain untouched In more advanced setups the first octet in this field will match the first octet of the second Ethernet port on the Mac computer If you chose the network location called 2 ArtNet then your first octet here should remain as 2 If you chose the 10 ArtNet location then your first octet here should be 10 The Protocol field should be left at Art Net The Universe From and Universe To fields need to be updated to reflect which Art Net universes you are using in your patch If you are using universes 1 through 3 in your patch you need to make sure that the same range is shown in the fields here Once you are done modifying the connection settings click Okay to accept the changes and close the window Make sure you save your file before continuing When you return to the Mbox tab you will be outputting Art Net Note The pixel map level channel on the Camera fixture masters the overall Art Net output levels generated when pixel mapping If this channel is at 0 then you will be outputting valid Art Net but all levels will be suppressed In
65. b displays the final output of all connected servers on the network Selected tab displays the final output and the twelve layers of the active server selected in the Selected Server popup menu Layer 1 thru Layer 12 tabs display the state of one layer on the active server plus textual information about the content on that layer Note Remote video monitoring of Mbox Extreme servers will have a slight impact on their playback performance 97 Control Tab eee MboxExtreme_123 Setup Status Control Thumbs Commands M Panoramic Wide Set The conitrol tab allows you to remotely change settings on the active server Some settings may not take effect if a server is in Fullscreen mode Some settings may require the Mbox Extreme application to be relaunched before they can take effect You can relaunch the Mbox Extreme application on remote machines from this tab by using the Commands popup menu Thumbs Tab Types of Content eco Content Folders Textures Objects Effects Transitions 3D Effects 3D Transitions 036 Winter Lit 037 Winter Scenes The Thumbs tab opens an HTML browser window that allows you to view thumbnails of the content Textures Objects Transitions and Effects on any connected Mbox Extreme servers The links at the top of the window select what type of thumbnail you are viewing The links along the left side of the window all navigation through folders of content 98 Example Setup o
66. bject fill information in these file types Path and Stroke information is ignored unless you take special steps with the file Read the Illustrator documentation for more information on path fill and stroke 49 Creating a Digital Gobo with Adobe Illustrator CS3 Note Newer or older versions of Illustrator may require slightly different steps to achieve the same results Before you begin you should decide the intent of your digital gobo If you create an SVG gobo file you have two options for how a texture is mapped to the digital gobo Option one scale to fit is to have a texture stretched or squashed to fit onto the digital gobo if you have a shape that you want to accept a texture Option two arbitrary fit is to have a texture applied to a digital gobo with a specific fill factor given to the texture if you are using a digital gobo as a texturable masking aid or if you don t want the texture scaled If you create an Al gobo file you are limited to Option one and the procedure is slightly different Start a new document and name it appropriately The size of the artboard and orientation of the document don t matter too much Just make the document big enough to hold all the objects that you put into it The document color space RGB or CMYK doesn t matter Use the various drawing tools to compose your gobo The best tools to use are the objects ellipse rectangle polygon or star the paintbrush the linear tools line arc spiral
67. ble to you on any Mbox Extreme server if you enter the same username and password into the Media Lock application on that machine Mbox Extreme Media Lock can be found in the MboxEx Utilities folder Open 595 MIOS the application and you will see this window on the screen There may already be some existing usernames entered on the server You can view the existing usernames but not the passwords by pressing the and buttons Do not remove any existing usernames as this may lead to the stock content becoming unplayable To add your own username and password to the system type each into the appropriate box Do not use spaces or any punctuation marks in either field letters and numbers only Capitalization does matter so if in doubt do not capitalize anything Once you have entered a username and password click the Add button to add this information to the system If you want to remove yourself as a user click the or button until your username appears in the field password will not appear and click the Remove button Once again do not remove any usernames other than your own Once you have entered yourself as a user you can begin to lock your content To lock your content make sure that your username is being displayed and either choose Lock Files from the File menu on the menu bar at the top of the Screen or press 3 L on the keyboard This will open a file selection dialog window Navigate to the file you wish to
68. box entries for 30Hz and 24Hz are used in lieu of 29 97Hz and 23 98Hz respectively The result of the settings will depend on the current EDID set an X indicates an invalid combination that should not be used Frequency Entry 60Hz EDID Set 59 94Hz EDID Set 50Hz EDID Set 60Hz 60Hz X X 59Hz X 59 94Hz X 50Hz X X 50Hz 30Hz 30Hz 29 97Hz X 25Hz X X 25Hz 24Hz 24Hz 23 98Hz X The result of any selection when using custom EDID captured from an external display device will depend on which frequencies the device supports If the frequency that you select is supported in the custom EDID Set you will get it In all cases when you attempt to use an unsupported frequency you will get an undesirable result Genlock Generator Lock The Mbox Extreme Dual I O Module provides the user with the ability to synchronize or genlock the stage video outputs of the module to an external genlock source The Dual I O module can also output a genlock signal to other devices if desired There are two genlock in and two genlock out connectors on the face of the Dual I O module Only the top pair of connectors on each module is active Note The Dual I O Module only supports composite sync input It does not support tri level sync Genlock on Mbox Extreme uses an additional connection between the rear of the I O module and a card in the Mac This card is located just above the graphics card and has two LED indicators one red and one green If the
69. card is receiving power but no data the red LED will turn on When the card is receiving data i e when a genlock input is connected to the I O module the red LED will turn off and the green LED will turn on When a genlock input is first connected to the I O module a green LED to the left of the Genlock In connector will flash rapidly This is to indicate that the module has recognized the presence of an incoming signal and is attempting to synchronize to it Once synchronization has occurred the LED will stop flashing and stay illuminated It may take up to two minutes for the synchronization process to complete so it is advisable to establish sync a few minutes before you need it To ensure that genlock input and output work successfully you must make sure that the devices you are attempting to synchronize are set to refresh at identical rates If Mbox Extreme is set to output video with a refresh rate of 60Hz then its output can only be usefully connected to another device that is set to refresh at 60Hz Similarly if you intend to synchronize Mbox Extreme s video output to a video source refreshing at 59 94Hz you must set Mbox Extreme to output video with a refresh rate of 59 94Hz Please note that not all video refresh rates are available on all devices or are compatible with all devices You will need to find a rate that works with all of your equipment If you attempt to synchronize Mbox Extreme s video output to an external source with a
70. case it is acting 4 like it is a mask the texture is applied onto the gobo but it looks like you re looking through the gobo to a layer behind it But you re only using one layer not two You can set the Drawmode back to 0 and try out the other lighting fixtures to see how they affect the gobo O Drawmode 16 Orthographic View Drawmode 16 causes 3D objects to be drawn using orthographic projection Typically when 3D objects are drawn in Mbox Extreme they all share one vanishing point which is a fixed point at the center of the screen assuming the camera is in its default position Because of this any object that has depth will show some amount of perspective shift as it is moved around the screen or as the camera moves If the object is being used as a mask or to simulate a shifting piece of scenery the perspective shift within Mbox Extreme may not match that of the actual object This situation may arise when using a projector The degree to which the perspective shift causes issues will depend on many factors including the type of projector used the throw distance of the projector the type of lens used the amount of movement of the object and the object s depth To eliminate the perspective shift you can tell Mbox Extreme to draw an object using an orthographic projection mode This will cause the object to me drawn so that its vanishing point is always directly behind the object no matter the position of
71. ce Scrub Mirrored L R Bounce Once Scrub Mirrored T B Bounce Once Scrub 55 LAYER COPY Using Layer Copy There are times when you need to play the same movie content on more than one layer at the same time As before you can still request the same content on multiple layers But doing so causes the content to be read from the hard drive more than once as well as being decompressed more than once This is a waste of resources if you intend to display the same frame of the same movie on multiple layers at the same time The Layer Copy function allows you to copy the content from one layer to another and to receive the source layer s effects and transitions or to ignore the Source layer s effects and transitions There are three modes of Layer Copy FX FX and Raw FX is defined as being a layer copy where the source layer sends its effects and transitions to the destination layer The destination layer cannot add more effects via its own controls FX is defined as being a layer copy where the source layer sends its effects and transitions to the destination layer The destination layer can add more effects via its own controls allowing up to four effects to be visible on a destination layer Raw is defined as being a layer copy where the source layer does not send its effects or transitions to the destination layer The destination layer can add more effects via its own controls Layer Copy functionality is selec
72. ceptable Alternately lowering compression will provide a higher quality movie but due to a higher bit rate playback performance may suffer At a certain limit in either direction there will be a point of diminishing returns where either quality or playback is unacceptable Typically Mbox Extreme will provide the best performance to quality ratio at Medium or 5096 6096 Higher quality settings may not look noticeably better for the trade off in performance As a rule of thumb movie bit rates should be kept below 65Mbits sec if you want to play content on multiple layers at the same time In special circumstances Mbox Extreme can handle bit rates up to approximately 200Mbits sec Frame Rate You also need to consider movie frame rate when creating content for Mbox Extreme For optimal results content should be rendered at a frame rate that is a divisor of the current Fullscreen mode output frequency Therefore if the Fullscreen mode has a 60Hz refresh movies that play at 30fps will synchronize nicely with the output of the graphics card each frame of the movie will be repeated twice to equal two fields of the output While content with lesser frame rates will work there may be some noticeable effects In the above example if the movie has fewer than 30fps then the graphics card will need to repeat some frames more than twice and the movie may appear to play less smoothly Depending on the frame rate of the movie this effect may be more or less no
73. der don t expect them to be available as soon as the application launches but once compiled the files will Waiting For Gobot be available immediately Compiled object files are automatically placed in the Mbox mmodel cache folder These files are given a numerical prefix and the vtxa vertex array suffix You cannot edit or renumber the vertex array files Any additions deletions or renumbering of model or digital gobo content should be done in the Models folder rather than in the model cache folder Preloading 3D objects into system RAM If large complex 3D models are used you may find that they do not appear on screen as quickly as desired You can force Mbox Extreme to preload specific 3D models into system RAM at application startup In order to force a file to preload you can either append preload to its filename or to the name of its immediate parent folder which would cause all of the files in that folder to be preloaded file 001 Object preload obj o der 002 LargeObjects preload Preloading a very large number of objects will cause Mbox Extreme to take longer to start up and should only be done if the models in question do not appear on screen as rapidly as desired When models are preloaded it is the vertex array file that is preloaded rather than the original obj or vle file Because of this preload time is reduced but could still be longer than desirable 48 Normalization By default both model and digi
74. dissimilar refresh rate the two devices will never synchronize The genlock LED on the front of the Dual I O Module will continue to flash forever Additionally it is strongly recommended that you configure the Mac s desktop resolution to be the same as Mbox Extreme s Fullscreen mode setting see Setup on page 33 for more information on Fullscreen mode as failing to do So will result in a loss of genlock synchronization every time you quit Mbox Extreme or switch from Fullscreen to Window mode 45 HIER IBI H H EII Iaido es BU 535455 38 55 bertet MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL 46 ADVANCED FEATURES This chapter provides instructions for using the advanced features available on the Mbox Extreme Media Server OBJECTS AND DIGITAL GOBOS ANIMATED TEXTURES DRAWMODES DECAY FOG TEXT FILES AUDIO OUTPUT SYNCHRONIZATION ALIGNMENT RECTANGLES THUMBNAILS EFFECTS AND TRANSITIONS OBJECTS AND DIGITAL GOBOS About 3D Models and Digital Gobos Objects Lighting All 3D models and digital gobos require some amount of lighting to be properly visible If you attempt to use an object file without turning on one of Mbox Extreme s lighting fixtures or using Drawmode 1 Light then the object will appear on the screen as a black silhouette 3D models will respond well to the spotlight fixtures the resulting shadows can help enhance the 3D nature of the model Digital gobos respond
75. dule The Dual I O module handles DMX and Art Net input for the computer and also the video outputs from the computer The unit receives two DVI outputs from the computer and uses these two signals to provide two separate output sections with DVI and SDI preview and DVI VGA RGBHV and SDI HD amp SD stage outputs The two output sections are functionally identical but are completely independent and each can be configured depending on output requirements OUTPUT 1 LED Indicates Preview Active Server Stage Dim LED Blackout Switch EDID Capture Indicates FRONT VIEW Switch Switch USB TA One ons rew px pi TS USB VGA 1 STAGE BLACKOUT Ores E wo SERVER OUTPUT 1 RGBHV VGA ou Output to Stage SERVER OUTPUT2 REAR VIEW ss YA NS 100 240 VAC JJ gie NSS 1A MAX A C Input Connector OUTPUT 2 PREVIEW SDI 1 GENLOCK 1 MODEL 20 9804 0100 gt POWER e Dual I O Module PREVIEW DIM v EDID CAPTURE Ces c no Oo Q PREVEW2 GENLOCK 2 Di ETHERNET 1 DVI tputto Preview Genlock Stage Monitor Input Output Output SDI SD HD SDI SD HD Preview Output Stage Output USB Ports 18 2 USB 1 DVIINA ETHERNET B ETHERNET A USB 2 DVIIN 2 DVI Inputs Ethernet Art Net 1 amp 2 Ports A amp B DMX512 Ethernet Art Net Ports VIDEO SYNC 1 Video Sync Ports 1 amp 2 Auxiliary Input
76. e Restart Movie from In Point Video Input and Utility Texture Library 255 is reserved for special uses such as selecting live video inputs and the Layer Copy function Texture Value 0 101 112 121 232 141 152 252 253 254 255 120 Input Patch info display Layer Copy FX Layer 1 Layer 12 Layer Copy FX Layer 1 Layer 12 Layer Copy Raw Layer 1 Layer 12 Local Video Input 4 Local Video Input 3 Local Video Input 2 Local Video Input 1 Draw Mode Values Mode 0 NONE 1 Light Trim 2 Cut 3 Cut Light 4 Cut amp Draw 5 Cut amp Draw Light 6 Draw thru Stencil 7 Draw thru Stencil Light 8 Draw onto Stencil 9 Draw onto Stencil Light Orthographic 16 A Projection 32 Additive 64 Screen 96 Multiply 128 Subtractive 160 Exclusion Invert Is Subtractive 224 Invert Additive Description no effect automatic ambient lighting of object trims edge of backgrounds cuts holes in stencil mask as above w lighting as mode 2 but texture is drawn on object too as above w lighting this layer s texture is drawn where holes have been cut in stencil as above w lighting this layer s texture is drawn where stencil is not cut as above w lighting shows 3D object in ortho mode layer s colors are added to underlying colors blacks appear transparent similar to above with less of underlying color blacks appear transparent multiplies layer s color with underlying color blacks appear
77. e playback while the rescan takes place 29 Adding Content Video and Image Files Step 1 Step 2 Step 3 Step 4 On RAID hard drive open Mbox Media folder At File menu select New Folder and enter a unique 3 digit number that is not already being used followed by a descriptive name For example 075 mycontentfolder Copy image and or video files into the new folder For each file add a unique 3 digit index value to each file between 0 255 along with a descriptive name that includes the file extension For example 001 earth jpg 002 wind mov 003 fire mov etc Note When adding files it is recommended that you create new unique folder numbers However it is possible to have more than one folder with the same numerical prefix as long as the content files within such folders don t have the same numerical prefix Also folders need not have numerical prefixes Caution Numbered content files will be assigned a folder number that is equal to the numerical prefix of their immediate parent folder Therefore using folders without numbers requires care A file at this location Media 022 Water BlueWater 001 SomeWater mov will be assumed to be in folder 000 because the immediate parent of the numbered file has no numerical prefix The correct method Media BlueWater 022 Water 001 SomeWater mov would work as desired assigning the file to folder 022 3D Objects Step Step Step Step 30 1
78. ed accordingly Both balanced and unbalanced SMPTE signals are accepted as are both 30fps non drop frame and 30fps drop frame formats MIDI Timecode MIDI timecode input is achieved through the MIDI in connector on the Auxiliary Input panel This connector passes signal to a MIDI USB adapter and from there into the Mac Setup of Mbox Remote Application for Timecode Input The Mbox Remote app has a tab called Setup which allows you to set the preferences for incoming timecode Here you select the timecode input Generator Audio Input via Auxiliary Input Panel or line in or MIDI timecode and also an output local only or a destination Ethernet port selected from those available on the computer There is a Start Stop button to enable the processing of timecode data The AutoStart checkbox will cause Mbox Remote to automatically start listening for timecode when it is opened Since Mbox Remote can retransmit the timecode data via Ethernet you are able to connect a timecode source to only one Mbox Extreme server and to sync multiple units The servers must be networked together using a compatible network setup 67 When using a timecode input multiple layers on one Mbox Extreme server or layers on multiple servers can respond to the same timecode but need not have any other layer properties set the same except the Timecode Sync playmode of course Refer to Mbox Remote Operation on page 96 for more information Layer To Layer
79. edia folder 255 that will be used to recall the camera input i e On any layer you can set the Texture folder to a value of 255 and the Texture file to a value of 255 and you will get whatever signal is being received on video input 1 1 Blackm 1080 b Step 4 Click on the popup menu for the input that you want to configure If the popup says Disabled your first action must be to select the entry named Enable Y Disabled N A 104 MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL Step 5 When you first enable an input the software will select an available input stream This may not be the stream you want to use in which case you will need to select the correct stream Click on the popup again and then select the entry named Setup Y Blackmagic HDTV 720 1280x720 60 00 fps Disable Setup Step 6 This will open the Video Input setup window where you can select the desired input stream If it is not already selected click on the Source tab Select the input resolution and frequency in the menu at the top of the window Because the names of the streams are so long and get truncated you need to be careful to select the correct stream Remember that Mbox Extreme only supports 8 bit inputs exactly half of the streams are 10 bit and cannot be used The 8 bit streams come first in the list Your selection can be verified by looking at the summary information at the bottom of the window circled in red in the picture below
80. eight no crosshairs and adjustable opacity Please contact a PRG representative for more information on complex rectangles For an example setup of Alignment Rectangles on a server using the Mbox Remote application s Control tab refer to Example Setup of Alignment Rectangles on page 99 It is possible to automatically crop and center content to any alignment rectangle This is accomplished through the use of the Object effect called AutoCrop Name Description Mod A Mod B 012 AutoCrop Crops content to Alignment Rectangle Rectangle 0 255 Value gt 64 Center content If you choose not to center the content in the alignment rectangle then only the portion of that content that overlaps the position of the alignment rectangle will be shown You can designate if a rectangle appears on only the first output screen on only the second output screen or on both output screens 69 These features rely on additional information stored in the alignment plist file At present time the Mbox Remote application is unable to create some of these additional properties but it is able to edit them after they have been created The supplemental application called MbE Alignment Rectangles will help you to create and edit these more complex alignment rectangles Alignment Rectangle properties Color amp Opacity any rectangle can be assigned a custom color and opacity value Group rectangles can be assigned to one of five groups
81. elevant manual sections for more information F10 allows you to cycle through the five display positions for the Timecode Activity HUD center top right top left bottom left and bottom right Activity Timecode On Screen Notification F10 Program activity and timecode input can be monitored on the display Since the screen may be programmed to go black at certain points in time this provides an indication that Mbox Extreme is still running and also provides an on Screen indication of current timecode Using the Camera control channel page 116 you can display the notification in five different positions on the screen center top right top left bottom right and bottom left The green rectangle moves across the gray notification area from left to right indicating program activity When valid timecode is being received using the Mbox Remote application the current timecode value HH MM SS FF will be displayed in the notification area If timecode stops the timecode notification will go away but the green activity rectangle will continue to move 38 MBO VIES MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL DUAL 1 0 MODULE Overview The Mbox Extreme v3 server rack includes a new version of the I O module This new Dual I O module handles DMX and Art Net input for the computer and also the video outputs from the computer The unit receives two DVI outputs from the computer and uses these two signals to provide two separate output sections with D
82. er to use sampling the Sample Area and the Output Area The sample area is the rectangular area of the screen image from which pixel information is taken The output area is the rectangular area of the pixel mapping context to which the information from the sample area is applied Each of these two areas has an origin setting found at the lower left corner of the rectangle The sample origin is a point within the screen image Texture Size and the output origin is a point within the context grid Without the use of Sample Areas the entire pixel mapping context is sampled from the entire screen image see illustration on page 79 When using Sample Areas each rectangle is a sample of only part of the screen image Furthermore each sample can be scaled uniquely and applied to a specific portion of the context For example you are programming a show that uses two different types of LED fixtures Fixture type A has large pixels that are fewer in number and widely spaced center to center Fixture type B has many smaller pixels whose centers are close together It is your intent to play low resolution content on fixture type A but to play higher resolution content on fixture type B The problem is that you have only one media server Sample Areas allow you to use one server to provide appropriately sampled content to both fixture types at the same time In fact you can even play the exact same content on both fixture types at different sampling resolution
83. erating mode of the software refer to Setup on page 33 The primary purpose of the operating mode is to configure the screen arrangement and required DMX profile for the server The four primary operating modes are as follows Single Output Mode one video output from the server The output has one set of lighting camera shutter and keystone fixtures The output can display up to twelve content layers Panoramic Wide Mode two video outputs from the server The two outputs create a single display surface and the overlap and blending between the two outputs can be adjusted Outputs can be arranged either horizontally or vertically The two outputs share one set of lighting camera shutter and keystone fixtures Any of the server s twelve possible content layers can be displayed on either screen or across the overlap with a portion on each Screen Panoramic Dual Mode two video outputs from the server The two outputs create two cooperative display surfaces The outputs have separate geometrical correction and the overlap and blending between the two outputs can be adjusted Outputs can be arranged either horizontally or vertically The two outputs share one set of lighting and camera fixtures but each output has its own shutter and keystone fixtures Any of the server s twelve possible content layers can be displayed on either screen or with a portion on each screen with or without an overlap Dual Independent Mode two
84. ers Additionally you must make sure that the server is set to only use six layers if you are patching another server in the next consecutive universe The data to control a full server including lighting fixtures camera etc will cause problems if it is on the same universe that another server thinks its extra layers are patched to Additional layers are patched beginning at address 1 on the consecutive universe The only exception to this being Dual Independent mode where added layers are patched on the universe that corresponds to each screen immediately after the existing layers Additional layers have all of the functionality of the fist six layers However the more layers you use the higher the impact on the performance of the machine 20 DMX Mapping All 16 bit values are in Big Endian format For example the value 23 would be presented as 0 in the first channel and 23 in the second channel Note In addition to the four modes outlined on the following pages the Mbox Extreme software can be configured to operate in several legacy modes See Appendix D on page 109 for more information Start 1 5 9 13 17 21 53 73 95 157 219 281 343 405 63 125 187 249 311 Size Bb Bb HR A 32 22 62 62 62 62 62 62 62 62 62 62 62 62 Type Ambient Light Spot Light 1 Spot Light 2 Spot Light 3 Spot Light 4 Camera Control Shutter Control Keystone Control Layer 1 Layer 2 Layer 3 Layer 4 Layer 5 Laye
85. es If you fail to use the correct type or an appropriate value for a property then it is likely that the entire effect or transition will fail when used with Mbox Extreme It is best to start by modifying values to a small extent to examine the result of those changes The Quartz Composer application that is available as part of Apple s Developer tools can be helpful in determining how the various properties of an Image unit work However keep in mind that the values used in Mbox Extreme s effect and transition property list don t always match the values you will see in Quartz Composer Properties and values used for the White Diagonal transition Filter Name string C SwipeTransition This is the name of the Image Unit for this particular transition The CI portion is an acronym for Corelmage From this you can tell that this Image Unit is one that Apple has created Most PRG Image Units will begin with ME short for Mbox Extreme inputAngle Value number 0 7854 This is the angle of the swipe of the transition inputColor Color array four values Red Green Blue Alpha 7 7 7 1 These four values relate to the color of the swipe of the transition Although this includes a value for alpha in the case of this transition there is a separate control inputOpacity that controls the opacity of the edge inputExtent Extent array two values X Y 7 7 These two values relate to how far across the image the tran
86. f Alignment Rectangles Mbox Remote can be used to quickly define alignment rectangles refer to Alignment Rectangles on page 69 for more information to be displayed on the video outputs of the server To create a simple alignment rectangle take the following steps The following is an example setup of Alignment Rectangles on a server using the Mbox Remote application s Control tab Step 1 With the Mbox Remote application running press the Control tab On the popup menu at the top of the application window select the name of the Mbox Extreme server that you would like to create alignment rectangles on Step 2 Press the Get List button to read the preferences from the server 000 MboxExtreme_MboxExtreme_200 Setup Status Control Thumbs E Step 3 Onthe Settings popup menu select Alignment Rectangles Step 4 Press the button to add a rectangle or to delete a rectangle 000 MboxExtreme_MboxExtreme_200 Setup Status Control Thumbs Alignment Rectangles z EU Em Um ea i Step 5 When a rectangle is added it will receive an index number beginning with 0 You may have up to 16 rectangles 0 15 Step 6 In the edit field to the right of the index number you can edit the origin and size of the rectangle When you add a rectangle it is given the default settings of 100 100 100 100 Origin X Origin Y Width Height Keep in mind that the origin 0 0 of Mbox Extreme s displays is
87. f frames per second and must automatically reduce the number of frames it delivers to the graphics card Note This does not affect the output frequency from the graphics card By default the Mbox Extreme software will automatically adjust its update rate However if you experience poor playback smoothness you may want to force Mbox to output a lower number of frames per second to the graphics card There are multiple entries in the Update Rate pop up menu Your selection should be limited to default which will result in Mbox automatically adjusting the update rate or to the numerical value that is 5096 of the current fullscreen frequency e g If fullscreen output frequency is 59 94Hz then update rate would be set to 29 97 License Every server should be licensed when you receive it Even without a valid license key the Mbox Extreme software will be licensed as long as the I O module remains connected to the computer via USB If the server is unlicensed and the I O module is disconnected then the video output will be a watermarked and the application will quit automatically after 30 minutes of use 35 Texture Size The Texture Size setting should be set to the resolution of the largest content still or movie that you intend to display Setting the Texture Size to overly large values can negatively affect performance this setting should be kept as small as possible If you attempt to display content that is larger than the Tex
88. f the corners of the fixture You then select whether the scan moves in a vertical or horizontal fashion this will depend on the fixture and its orientation Finally you select if the scan is linear moves across one row and then 80 MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL across the next in the same direction or if it is zigzag moves across one row and then across the next in the opposite direction Go ahead and create a new fixture profile Give the profile a name and then a width and a height Select a shape for the pixels in the fixture and then a pixel type and a fixture rotation if desired For the time being leave the slew rate mask fixture level and pixel fill controls at their default settings Finally adjust the scan order of your fixture appropriately When you are done with your fixture creation click the Okay button to return to the Pixel Map and place some of your fixtures on the context grid You can import custom fixture profiles from previous show files by selecting the last entry in the Fixture Type pop up list and then selecting the patch file in which the custom fixtures are included If you create numerous custom fixture profiles save your patch file to an external drive and take them with you for the next show PRG has the capability to create special fixture types that cannot be created by the on board fixture creation tool If you require a custom fixture type that cannot be created with the profile creator please cont
89. f the rings Flag v1 0 002 004 To make the Flag easier to see in this example X rotation has been adjusted Animation Speed controls the rate and direction of the ripples Modifier A is the amplitude of the ripples and modifier B is the number of ripples Ring Stripe 002 005 Animation Speed controls the scale Modifier A is the segment thickness and modifier B is the number of segments value 1 53 Stripe Ring 002 006 Animation Speed controls the central diameter Modifier A is the line thickness and modifier B is the number of lines value 1 NG ZN Fisheye 002 007 Animation Speed controls the seam blending and mirroring 0 126 mirrored 127 255 normal Modifier A is the push from center and modifier B is the push from edge fisheye fisheye mirrored CylinderScreen 002 008 The Oylinder Screen gobo allows you to have a surface similar to the TV Screen gobo that you can also bend around its Y axis Animation speed default 127 controls the amount of the curved surface that is covered by the texture applied to the layer Adjusting this control makes it look like the texture is being scaled up and down but you will notice that the apparent curvature of the texture changes as it fills more of the curved surface Modifier A default 127 controls the radius of the curve of the screen and the direction of the curve Modifier B default 127 controls the rotation of the Sc
90. f the size of the original a file named 023 DigiGobo svg would be renamed as 023 DigiGobo scale 0 50 svg If you create an object that is scaled to match a particular piece of 2D content which is measured in pixels and you want Mbox Extreme to treat generic units as pixels you can add the suffix pixels to the file s name before it is compiled a file named 001 NewObject obj should be renamed as 001 NewObject pixels obj In this case an object that is 200 generic units tall will appear as 200 pixels tall in Mbox Extreme And a piece of 2D content that is 200px high would fit exactly when applied to that object More About Digital Gobos A selection of DHA and VAREKLITEG gobos are included in the Models folder They are digital gobos and are treated much like 3D models in many regards There are four folders of gobos 003 004 005 and 006 saved as svg Scalable Vector Graphics files The files are copy protected using the same scheme that copy protects the stock movie content You can create your own custom digital gobo content in two formats These formats are SVG and AI Adobe Illustrator Adobe Illustrator is the best application for the purposes of creating custom digital gobos because it provides the best toolset for features that Mbox Extreme supports You will have the most success compatibility with SVG files they provide better functionality than Al files Mbox Extreme s vertex array compiler pays attention to o
91. flickering effect dynamic shaking effect dynamic wobbling effect bump distortion hole distortion pinch distortion torus distortion twirl distortion vortex distortion lozenge distortion B amp W conversion edge detection with color break up into crystal pattern pixelates image square break image into points geometric distortion break up into dots Control 1 Control 2 width angle width angle divisions size edge size edge mode number width number width x offset y offset Size Softness Size Softness granularit size y size speed size speed size speed radius scale radius radius scale width radius angle radius angle width radius intensity radius scale radius angle dot dot size amount 121 Texture Effects Continued ID 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 11 72 73 74 75 76 17 122 Effect Cartoon White Alpha Red Alpha Green Alpha Blue Alpha White Only Red Only Green Only Blue Only Zoom Blur Unsharp Mask Motion Blur Op Tile Circular Wrap Circular Splash Orth Shutter Horiz Crop Vert Crop Vertical Roll Vertical Roll Up Horizontal Roll Horizontal Roll Left Black Alpha 2 Description cartoon effect white areas transparent red areas transparent green areas transparent blue areas transparent everything but white areas transparent everything but red area
92. frequency setting for 60Hz that the Displays preference pane offers ZA CAUTION Because the EDID data in the Dual I O module can be reprogrammed the computer can output resolutions that your display devices may not be able to support If you connect a display device and cannot get a picture even with the Mbox Extreme application not running you may see a message like Unsupported resolution on the display then you should revert the EDID data to the standard 60Hz set SDI Output SD Standard Definition amp HD High Definition The Mbox Extreme hardware supports an SD HD SDI output directly from the Dual I O Module no scan converter required You can output SDI from both outputs of the I O module simultaneously You will still need to have a standard DVI monitor connected to the Preview output s of the I O module so that you can view the Mac s desktop when Mbox Extreme is not running in Fullscreen mode In order to output SDI the Mac s graphics card must be set to display output resolutions and frequencies that some computer monitors may not support The EDID spoofing built into the Dual I O Module allows the module to output the special resolutions and frequencies In order to output SDI you merely need to ask Mbox Extreme to use the appropriate Fullscreen mode setting and the Dual I O module will automatically output SDI at that resolution and frequency setting refer to Connected Display Devices and EDID on page 41 for further info
93. ge the image is and the overlap between each server s output Texture Object 2 Layer Each of Mbox Extreme s twelve content layers incorporates both Texture 2D and Object 3D functionality The Texture element displays still images and movies as backgrounds The Object element displays 3D objects or gobos The combination of the Texture and Object elements make up the final composition of each layer CAUTION Even if you are not actively using 3D objects or digital gobos there are object related controls on each layer that can affect a background texture on that layer e g X amp Y Scale Z Rotation Texture In addition to texture selection the Texture controls allow further manipulation of each layer For the most part the Texture controls act in 2D space You can color each layer individually change the position aspect ratio and scale affect the playback mode rate in out points and frame blending modify the transition type and timing and apply effects Each layer has two texture effects that are applied in order There are approximately 90 different texture effects to select from and each effect has up to two modifying controls IMPORTANT Mbox Extreme can transition from one texture to another on the same layer This feature makes Mbox Extreme both powerful and convenient The ability to transition on the same layer speeds up programming and can help in live situations No need to worry about two or more layers when transition
94. ges for in depth explanations of each of the window settings MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL 33 DMX Profile In the DMX Profile section of the Setup tab you can set the operating mode for the software As noted earlier there are several modes that can be used with Mbox Extreme Therefore take care to match the operating mode to the console profile that you are using If you do not match the operating mode to the console profile you will have little or no control over the server Refer to Patching Fixtures on page 18 for more information regarding the modes The Universe field refers to the Art Net universe that Mbox Extreme is listening to for its control information Mbox Extreme responds to Art Net data even when DMX512 is connected to the I O module The I O module incorporates a built in DMX512 to Art Net converter whose two DMX ports are preset to universe 0 and universe 1 Therefore you should leave the server s universe set to 0 if you use DMX512 for control If you use a direct Art Net connection then you should modify the server s universe to match that of the control signal There are several methods of referring to the 256 available universes within the Art Net protocol Mbox Extreme numbers these universes 0 255 and therefore universe 0 is the first universe Other Art Net devices may call this first universe universe 1 or subnet O universe 0 Window Mode The Window mode settings only affect the startup behavi
95. haracter file extension to the appropriate category movie extns or still extns If you are unsure what to add or where to add it please contact PRG The Video Input Settings section allows you to define cropping for the first two local video inputs When using some cameras you may notice that the input image has black lines around the outside or that the edges appear to be jagged By entering a value in the top bottom left right fields for the appropriate camera you can cause the incoming image to be cropped by a certain number of pixels on the corresponding side Take care to note the size of the incoming signal and make sure not to crop the image to the point that image has a negative dimension In 1 would be the installed video capture card and In 2 would be a USB FireWire amp camera 94 MBOX REMOTE APPLICATION This appendix provides operation instructions for the Mbox Remote Application MBOX REMOTE OPERATION MBOX REMOTE OPERATION Using Mbox Remote The Mbox Remote application is used for remote control and monitoring of the Mbox Extreme application The application is included on all Mbox Extreme servers and can also be used on any Mac computer 10 5 Leopard required to monitor from a remote location Mbox Remote has four tabs Setup Status Control and Thumbs The Setup tab allows for setup and monitoring of timecode SMPTE or MIDI inputs to the computer The Status tab allows monitoring of Mbox Extreme servers and pr
96. he polarized or grounding type plug A polarized plug has two blades with one wider than the other A grounding type plug has two blades and a third grounding prong The wide blade or the third prong are provided for your safety If the provided plug does not fit into your outlet consult an electrician for replacement of the obsolete outlet Protect the power cord from being walked on or pinched particularly at plugs convenience receptacles and the point where they exit from the apparatus Only use attachments accessories specified by the manufacturer Use only with the cart stand tripod bracket or table specified by the manufacturer or sold with the apparatus When a cart is used use caution when moving the cart apparatus combination to avoid injury from tip over Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel Servicing is required when the apparatus has been damaged in any way such as power supply cord or plug is damaged liquid has been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus the apparatus has been exposed to rain or moisture does not operate normally or has been dropped Z N WARNING To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock do not expose this apparatus to rain or moisture CAUTION These servicing instructions are for use by qualified service personnel only To reduce the risk of electric shock do not perform any servicing
97. he screen differently Unless you intend to create a pixel for pixel sample between the screen image and the pixel mapping context your sample area and output area will not be the same size Once a sample area has been created you can right click on it in the Pixel Map window to edit its attributes or to delete it In the picture to the right the red sample area denotes the cx Estrena type A low res fixtures and the green sample area denotes the type B hi res fixtures The 800px x 300px screen area has been sampled to map to the type A fixtures This will give an impressionistic effect with large blocks of color but there will not be much visible detail A smaller screen area has been sampled to map to a larger number of the type B fixtures Since the type B fixtures are higher resolution they can display the video mapped to them more accurately This layout will look like the following three pictures when in Window mode Normal View Context View Patched Fixture View You can press F6 on the keyboard while in Window mode to see the outlines of the screen sample areas overlaid on the screen image The outlines will be the same color as the sample area they belong to This helps to align your content to fit within and to fill if necessary the sampling areas Like the context view and patched fixture views the outlines are visible on the stage video output and should be turned off if a video output is being used However you
98. ia Server along with content management and conversion utilities CONTENT CREATION GUIDELINES MEDIA UTILITY APPLICATIONS CONTENT CREATION GUIDELINES Creating Movies and Audio Files As discussed earlier in this manual Mbox Extreme cannot play some QuickTime movies as well as those created using preferred codecs While Mbox Extreme will do the best job possible to play any movie if you do not optimize your movie content specifically for Mbox Extreme you may experience poor results There are many elements of movie files that need to be considered when creating content file extension codec compression frame rate movie resolution and audio We ll take a look at them in that order File Extension Mbox Extreme can open any file that QuickTime on the Mac computer can open However Mbox Extreme will only open movie files with either a mov or vid file extension unless you intervene and tell the application to use other extensions e g mp4 qtz By default some of these extensions have been enabled but you may find that you need to enable additional extensions Keep in mind that any movie file that does not have a mov or vid file extension is treated as a special case for playback and as such may respond differently to playmodes effects and transitions You should always test such clips in advance In order to add file extension types to Mbox Extreme you can use Mbox Remote or the MbE plist Editor application that is included i
99. in capture Black Jen To all the video outputs Requires restarting your computer Set reference output timing Reference input connected Step 5 In the input list the three possible selections are SDI Video Y R Y B Y Video and NTSC PAL Y in These correspond to SDI Component and Composite video input types Because Mbox Extreme does not use the audio input on the Decklink card you can ignore the audio type in each of the inputs Select the appropriate input Step 6 Quit the System Preferences application MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL 103 Configuring Video Input within Mbox Extreme Once you have selected the appropriate video input for the Decklink card you need to tell Mbox Extreme which of the Decklink card s QuickTime streams to listen to Put simply if you are receiving a 720p 59 94 signal on the input to the Decklink card Mbox Extreme needs to listen to the 720p 59 94 stream and not one of the others Step 1 Start the Mbox Extreme application Step 2 Make sure that no layer on Mbox Extreme is being told to display a video input Send all fixtures to their default state on the console to be sure Step 3 While in window mode go to the Setup tab Video input settings are modified in the lower left area of the window Typically input 1 is used for the Decklink card and input 2 for a USB FireWire camera The number in parentheses refers to the Media file number within M
100. ing just one You can set a transition style e g dissolves wipes bleeds and a time for the Texture transition on each layer If a layer s transition time control is set above 0 Mbox Extreme will use the layer s current transition mode to change from one image to the next in the time designated Object The Object controls govern the selection of 3D objects and digital gobos Additionally the Object controls allow further manipulation of the layer in 3D space as well as control over transitions and effects within the 3D environment The Object controls included scaling on all three axes rotations and spins on all three axes object transitions on the same layer transition rotation and transition timing control over animated gobos and object effects two per layer INSTALLATION This chapter provides instructions for unpacking the Mbox Extreme case connecting to the system and powering up for the first time SETUP GETTING STARTED SETUP Case Components To interconnect the case components Step 1 Remove front and back covers from case Figure 2 1 Step 2 Remove keyboard and trackball from case Step 3 Atrear of case verify that Monitor 2 USB 3 Ethernet 2 Video In 2 and Power cables are connected to computer Remove covers 2 Remove components Verify rear connections a r Fr ez Auxiliary Input Connect monitor Connections AC cable to UPS or local AC
101. ion It can apply pre multiplied alpha to a TIFF or PNG file that was created using straight alpha As noted above this can help to reduce fringing around the edges of these files if they were created improperly When pre multiplying alpha in still image files there is no conversion of file type or quality adjustment 92 Mbox Extreme File Convertor will accept file drops of more than one file at a time It processes four files simultaneously and will queue additional files The application creates new copies of the original file in the same location as the original file The new files will have the same numerical prefix and name as the original but will have either MbE or _PMA appended to the end of the file name prior to the file extension MbE is appended for movie files PMA for still image files 023 My Content mov wou d be renamed as 023 My Content MbE mov or 011 My Picture png would be renamed as 011 MyPicture PMA png After conversion you will need to manually remove the old files from the folder so that there are not two files with the same index value Mbox Extreme plist Editor Mbox Extreme uses Apple s standard Property List plist format to store all configuration settings The most important plist is the Mbox Mbox Extreme plist This file stores the startup settings for the Mbox Extreme application and the variables that define its operating parameters window size screen size etc The most important of these set
102. ition Keystone Compensatio n Reserved MultiKeyston e 3 Dim Alignment Rectangles Shaded Material Description Control 1 Control 2 Crop that can be B 2 Size Softness repositioned Linearity Amount Direction compensation For future effect n a n a Adjust overlap Overla Blend blend keystone B Crop that can be of Start repositioned channels Addr Additional file File creates relief Amount number map Notes for TEXTURE EFFECTS Table 1 These effects require that the second effect channel on the corresponding layer be set to 255 At that point Mod 2A controls X position and Mod 2B controls Y position The default value for both additional controls is 127 This effect requires that the second effect channel on the corresponding layer be set to 255 At that point Mod 2A controls X position and Mod 2B controls Y position The default value for both additional controls is 127 Also the shape of the oval can be manually preset contact a PRG representative for more info This effect requires that the second effect channel on the corresponding layer be set to 255 At that point Mod 2A controls Keystone amount This effect requires that the second effect channel on the corresponding layer be set to 255 At that point Mod 2A sets the half universe for the start addr This effect is quite complex and you should contact a PRG representative if you want to use it as further settings are required
103. l 21 32 Camera Control 53 20 Shutter Control 53 20 Shutter Control 73 22 Keystone Control 73 22 Keystone Control 95 62 Layer 1 95 62 Layer 1 157 62 Layer 2 157 62 Layer 2 219 62 Layer 3 219 62 Layer 3 281 62 Layer 4 281 62 Layer 4 343 62 Layer 5 343 62 Layer 5 405 62 Layer 6 405 62 Layer 6 466 Total DMX Channels 466 Total DMX Channels Powering Up To power up the Mbox Extreme Media Server be sure the UPS is powered up then press the power button on the front of the computer and allow it to boot The Mbox Extreme application should start automatically If it does not start automatically click on the icon in the dock Alternately locate the application in the Mbox Extreme folder and double click on it Mbox Extreme can start in either Fullscreen or Window mode You can toggle this startup behavior on the Setup tab In Window mode three tabs Mbox Setup and Pixel Map can be found at the top of the application window At program launch the Mbox tab will be selected The Setup tab allows you to configure the program The Pixel Map tab provides the interface for configuring the pixel mapping setup Note While Mbox Extreme is running there are two important key combinations that may be used To toggle between Fullscreen or Window mode press F To quit Mbox Extreme press 3 Q Instant Gratification The console is connected you have patched the Mbox Extreme fixtures your display device is turned on and you just w
104. l speed This means that the audio will be out of sync with the video and that it will loop too early if the play speed is increased or too late if play speed is decreased You can trigger an audio file using a still image rather than a movie Though in this case the audio file will not loop You would need to request a different content file on the same layer and then return to the initial triggering image to cause the audio file to play again If you want to play an audio file but not see the content that is triggering it you can simply request the triggering content with an opacity of O The audio file will play but you won t see the triggering content 65 Embedded Audio Tracks in QuickTime Movies Mbox Extreme can also play audio that is embedded in a movie clip To get Mbox Extreme to play the embedded audio in these files you need to rename the file a file named 001 MyMovie mov would be renamed as 001 MyMovie audio mov In order to do play back the embedded audio tracks Mbox Extreme must play the movie in Main Thread Mode Main Thread Mode is the mode that allows playback of some less desirable codecs and embedded audio When playing audio in this manner you do have the advantage that movie and audio playback are always synced the playspeed can be adjusted and you can scrub the movie But Main Thread Mode also has drawbacks See Appendix A for more information on Main Thread Mode Embedded audio tracks can use any audio for
105. le Output Dual Independent Panoramic Wide and Panoramic Dual Digital Dual I O Module with built in DMX to Art Net conversion and Ethernet switch VGA RGBHV DVI and SDI SD HD stage outputs DVI preview output Accepts live video input SDI HD SD composite and FireWire DV 1080p HD Video playback Movable camera viewpoint Ambient and directional light sources Up to twelve interactive scalable layers that can be configured as backgrounds or 3D geometric objects 4 Digital gobos that can be used as backgrounds masks or for advanced layer blending effects Image tiling and edge blending for multiple server configurations Pixel mapping Mapping of textures videos or still images to 3D objects and digital gobos Real time crossfades and transitions between videos images and objects on the same layer Effects including blur pixelate LED wall twirl color exposure and alpha adjustment can be applied individually or in combination Advanced video playback with direction speed and in point out point control User configurable aspect ratio and output resolution control Control by DMX512 or Art Net Stores up to 65 535 videos and still images Stores up to 65 535 3D objects Controllable Elements Light Intensity Color Camera 4 Intensity Orbit X and Y Dolly Pitch and Yaw Camera Roll Spin Theatrical Framing Shutters fou
106. line Adjusting play speed will cause the file to play faster or slower Text quality is quite low in comparison to that of RTF files Also the txt format does not allow for text sizing or custom fonts 64 AUDIO OUTPUT Audio Output Features In addition to movies still and 3D objects Mbox Extreme can also play audio files Audio can be played through the internal speaker on the Mac through the XLR connectors for balanced output or 3 5mm jack for unbalanced output on the Auxiliary Panel or through the Mac s SPDIF audio jack You must select the appropriate audio output device in the Mac s Sound preference panel If you want to use the XLR or 3 5mm connectors on the Auxiliary Input Panel you should choose the Mac s Line Out output External Audio Tracks Associated AIFF Files AIFF audio files can be placed in the media folder with texture files They are triggered when a content file with the same folder and file number is played You must have an identically numbered movie or still image to trigger the audio file There are several rules regarding audio files and how they play back Associated audio files will only play in the forward direction and their play speed cannot be modified You cannot use Play Modes other than Forward Loop or Forward Once If you pause or scrub movie playback the audio will not follow Audio files must be AIFF files Stereo L amp R 16 bit Integer Linear PCM encoding Big Endian or Little
107. lock select and click the Open button to lock You can select multiple files in one folder by using the Shift or 3 keys while selecting files You can also select an entire folder by selecting a folder that holds numbered files After pressing the Open button the dialog window will disappear and Media Lock will lock the items If you are locking a great number of files this process may take a minute Mbox Extreme will display an indication of how many files were processed and if there were errors Look at the fields Files and Errors for information If errors occurred you can click the Log button to open the console log and see more information about the errors Errors will occur if content is already locked or if the file type is not compatible To render your custom content unplayable on an Mbox Extreme server simply remove your username from the system To make it playable again re enter the username and password with which the content was originally locked If you attempt to play locked content on an Mbox Extreme server and the correct username and password are not in the system you will see the locked content image on the screen CAUTION There is no undo function Once content is locked it box cannot be unlocked 001 001 You will only see this image if No Diagnostics is not checked on the Setup tab Otherwise you will receive no notification that a file is locked as nothing will appear on the screen
108. mat and rate They can also use as many channels as can be handled by the computer typically 5 1 Please note however that any audio output using more than two channels will require the use of the optical digital audio output on the Mac The Audio Playback checkbox on the Setup tab need not be checked for this feature to work 66 SYNCHRONIZATION Timecode Synchronization Timecode Sync Playmode Mbox Extreme v3 allows you to synchronize movie playback to both external SMPTE or MIDI timecode as well as a simple internal clock Timecode sync works with both 30 fps non drop and 30 fps drop frame timecode Timecode sync requires the use of the Mbox Remote application refer to Mbox Remote Operation on page 96 In addition to its monitoring and remote control functions Mbox Remote acts as the receiving host for timecode signals and can then pass that information locally or over the Ethernet network By default with no action taken by the user every movie file is automatically linked to a time of 01 00 00 00 HH MM SS FF Therefore to simply trigger any file you can set it to the timecode sync playmode see below and then run the clock signal up to 1 hour If you want a file to respond to a specific time you need to modify the name of the file appropriately For example a file called 001 Movie mov could be renamed as 001 Movie TC 03 15 23 15 mov In this case the movie would play when the clock signal reaches 3 hours 15 minutes 2
109. may want to test with both settings first USB FireWire input virtually all of these input signals will be progressive and do not need to be deinterlaced Note By default deinterlacing of video inputs is enabled in Mbox Extreme Deinterlacing a progressive input will result in a loss of sharpness in the video image If you know you are receiving a progressive signal you should uncheck the Deinterlace Video Inputs checkbox 107 HIER IBI H H EII Iaido es BU 535455 38 55 bertet MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL 108 DMX512 MAPPING This Appendix contains tables for the combined DMX512 channel map as well as additional controls such as play modes tiling shutter shapes aspect control blending control texture effect transitions and built in shapes DMX512 MAPPING CHARTS DMX512 MAPPING CHARTS Mbox Extreme Control Channel Breakdown One Mbox Extreme Media Server running v3 2 software is made up of between 14 and 22 fixtures depending on the operating mode For ease of use some consoles may split the Layer fixture into two separate fixtures Previous operating modes have significant differences in the arrangement of DMX channels In all cases a show programmed to run in one particular operating mode will not be compatible with a server running another mode This configuration includes lighting camera shutter keystone and object controls Note Several legacy operational modes do exi
110. me s preferences Refer to Mbox Extreme plist Editor on page 93 37 HEADS UP DISPLAYS HUDS Using HUDs Mbox Extreme can display Heads Up Displays HUDs that provide you with detailed information on the state of the server There are two methods for calling up most of these HUDs the Camera fixture control channel or the keyboard Refer to the chart on page 116 for a listing of discrete values for the Camera control channel For keyboard activation of the HUDs you will need to press one of the function keys listed below Note On some keyboards you may need to press a combination of the fn key and the function F1 F10 key since the function keys are mapped to OS specific tasks F1 Lights Camera Keystone Shutter HUD F2 Objects HUD Texture F3 Objects 3D HUD F4 DMX HUD F5 Pixel mapping previsualization F6 Pixel mapping sample areas F7 Alignment Rectangles F8 Software version HUD F9 Performance HUD F10 Timecode Activity HUD Any HUD called from the keyboard will override a request for a HUD from the Camera control channel You can press esc to clear any keyboard HUD or press the activating key a second time HUDs activated from the keyboard can also be cleared from the control console through the use of the Camera control channel F5 and F7 allow you to cycle through the two modes for Pixel mapping and Alignment Rectangles respectively Mode 1 Mode 2 Off Please see the r
111. mera with the Mbox Extreme software in advance Because USB FireWire cameras are not professional equipment the quality resolution and framerate from these types of cameras will not be very high 102 Setting Video Input for Decklink Card Before attempting to use a video input from the Decklink card you must configure the card for the type of video signal that it will be receiving This configuration is done outside the Mbox Extreme application Follow the steps below Step 1 Quit the Mbox Extreme application if it is running Step 2 Open the Apple System Preferences application Step 3 Click on the Blackmagic preference button at the lower left of the System Preferences window Step 4 On the Blackmagic pref pane you will need to click on the set input popup menu to select the appropriate input type eoo Blackmagic Design DeckLink 7 2 1 Settings for your DeckLink HD Extreme Set output Use video setup in NTSC When not playing video send Processing Video Levels Audio Levels Y Set inpu ATAR SDI Y R Y B Y m For video and audio output connections SDI Video amp AES EBU Audio SDI Video amp Analog XLR Audio Y R Y B Y Video amp AES EBU Audio Y R Y B Y Video amp Analog XLR Audio NTSC PAL Y In amp AES EBU Audio NTSC PAL Y In amp Analog XLR Audio S Video amp AES EBU Audio S Video amp Analog XLR Audio Set black ref on SDI video output
112. n You may select a fixture on either the grid or in the table it will become highlighted in both places Below the context grid you will find various controls that modify the pixel mapping setup mosense New Open Save em The first step is to define how large your pixel mapping context should be Set this by modifying the values in the boxes labeled Context Width and Context Height Trying to determine how large to make the context may be difficult before you place your fixtures however it is possible to modify the size of the grid at any time Each rectangle on the pixel mapping context not only represents an area of the screen image the grid is laid directly over the video image which is divided accordingly but additionally each grid rectangle relates to one pixel on a patched fixture For the purposes of pixel mapping the screen image size is the same size as the FullScreen mode selected on the Setup tab or twice that size if one of the Panoramic output modes is being used see Setup on page 33 The pixel mapping context s origin is at the bottom left of the grid and that origin is position 0 0 800px x 600px Screen size 50 x 50 Context Grid overlay One pixel In the illustration above a 50 x 50 context has been applied over a fullScreen size of 800px x 600px Each rectangular subdivision of the context will be 800px 50 x 600px 50 or 16px x 12px Mbox Extreme will average sample
113. n be attached to these folders through aliases Aliases must link to folders on the supplemental media they cannot be aliased to files An alias cannot refer to another alias The main Mbox Mbox Media and Mbox Models folders must reside on the boot drive and cannot be aliases Each time the Mbox Extreme Media Server completes a media scan a text file is created with all media files found and their corresponding combined file numbers This text file can be found at Mbox Media_Report txt Note The initial media scan allows for the locations of files to be resolved at startup therefore the distance of a file from the main folder has no effect on the time required to find a file In addition the content in the Media folder is allowed to be nested folders within folders to a limit of 64 folders deep Folder and File Numbering Content files are located within the Mbox Med a or Mbox Models folders on the Mbox Extreme computer s hard drive array and are arranged in 7 MboxExtremeRAID Mbox Media individual Library folders Each folder name must begin with a 3 digit index value In turn each file within the Library folder must be named using 7 001 videos a 3 digit index value between 000 to 255 as a prefix Two control channels on the console will be used to select a Library folder and the numbered file p 001 rain mov within that folder p gt 002 drops jpg Library folders within the Media folder must have a number prefix a
114. n the MboxEx Utilities folder see Mbox Extreme plist Editor on page 93 for information about this application Codec Beyond the file extension the movies codec compressor decompressor is very important Mbox Extreme will try to play any QuickTime movie no matter what its codec is However only movies using the Photo JPEG Apple Intermediate Apple Animation Apple ProRes 422 or DV codecs will receive preferred treatment and be able to take advantage of all of the Mbox Extreme functionality Photo JPEG should be your first choice when creating content for Mbox Extreme Apple ProRes and DV will work very well though there are some additional considerations when using these codecs Any other codec will be treated as non preferred and may not play as well as a movie that uses a preferred codec Photo JPEG is a high quality scalable format that does not use any temporal compression As such it is perfect for use with Mbox Extreme You can create a quality movie of any resolution within performance limits and take full advantage of Mbox Extreme s many playmodes Photo JPEG is a processor intensive codec so care must be taken to keep movies to a reasonable quality setting otherwise playback will not be smooth Typically a setting of Medium or 5096 6096 is appropriate for Mbox Extreme Apple Intermediate is a scalable codec that uses spatial compression In many ways it is similar to Photo JPEG but tends to place a lighter load on the proces
115. nd can pe etc have a descriptive name separated from the number by a period or a space For example 025 Central Park o0r025 Central Park Files within each library folder must have a numerical prefix can have a descriptive name if desired and must have a three letter file extension Each of these parts should be separated by a period 001 Great Lawn jpg or 001 jpg Video and still image files may be numbered between 000 and 255 and placed in folders numbered 001 254 Models and digital gobos may be numbered between 000 and 255 and placed in folders numbered 001 255 Folder 000 in both the Media and Models folders is reserved and should not be used You will find the stock PRG video and still images in Media folders 001 038 and 248 254 Media folder 255 is reserved for video inputs and layer copy functionality You will find the stock PRG 3D objects animated gobos and digital gobo files in Model folders 001 006 28 Additional Media Organization Guidelines Media folders 000 and 255 are reserved for default files and video inputs respectively Every Mbox Extreme v3 server has a standard video input card that can receive an SDI SD HD component or composite video signal This input can be used to display video from an external source on any layer as if it were content on the server s hard drive You may also display video from a USB or FireWire amp camera connected directly to the computer To view video fr
116. nd slides up old image splits and slides up down from the center old image splits slides out from center old image slides to right in strips old image slides to left in strips old image slides upward in strips old image slides downward in strips hard edge wipe generated from additional image file soft edge wipe generated from additional image file fade out on current object fade in on new object These elements require additional input files in order to obtain the desired result Users will need to provide their own additional files Object Transitions ID 0 1 10 Transition Dissolve Implode X Y axis zoom Z axis zoom Impact Wheel Loose Wheel Orbit Newsflash 1 Newsflash 2 MbE Description Y Y Y dissolve old object scales down to zero then new object expands in its place object moves out in in x y plane variable w Object XFade Angle object moves out in along z axis new object knocks old object out in x y plane variable w Object XFade Angle objects change as if on gobo wheel variable w Object XFade Angle as above but mechanically unsound variable w Object XFade Angle new old objects spin around each other variable w Object XFade Angle objects spin in out both in same direction variable spin w Object XFade Angle as above but objects spin in opposite directions MbE Y Built in N Supplementary File Object Effects ID 0 1 10 11
117. ng information only outlines the process If you wish to modify existing effects or create your own effects the process should not be attempted without talking to a PRG representative for further instruction The Mbox Extreme software can access Image Units placed in the folder Library Graphics Image Units In order to enable Mbox Extreme to use these Image Units properly a file must be created to define the parameters of the effect These files are saved in the standard Apple Property List Editor format but with special file extensions not plist For effects the file extension will be txfx texture effect and for transitions the file extension will be txtx texture transition Creating a working Image Unit the basis of effects and transitions is far harder than generating the definition file and this document will not go into the process or creating an Image Unit It is much easier to modify existing effects and transitions to create new versions In order to do so you must know the predetermined input structure of the Image Unit you are using The easiest way to do this is to look at the plist file that dictates how the stock Image Unit is used You can then modify certain variables in that file to end up with a different version and then save your new version appropriately for use with Mbox Extreme 72 Example Reworking the White Diagonal Transition This is how the White Diagonal transition normally looks about halfway thr
118. nge eas Ye qd po baway MAS duy USB Elre Wire Input Aie Setting Video Input tor Decklink Gata 2 cio aan Gide indivi rhon ie Het ERE DOR a ad HUNER HO W KEKE Wed a KEM Sad Se VA WAR N Configuring Video Input within Mbox Extreme Deinterlacin iia di id A A dE da e a ties dl Radial Interlaced i vs Progressive p Content Input Deinterlacing ooccconnccconoccconococononnnnnncnnonnrncnnnnnnnnnnnnn rca nn nan nn rk kK kk KA kk KA 106 Guide to DeinterlaciOg iii e ii 107 Appendix D DMX512 Mapping DMX512 Mapping Charts Mbox Extreme Control Channel Breakdown ssssssseeseeeeeeee eene nennen nnne KA KAK KAKA AA HH HA HA HK KAKA KAKA KA HA HH HK KA KAKA KA A HH HK KHK A KRA 110 HIER IBI H H EII Iaido es BU 535455 38 55 bertet MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL VI INTRODUCTION About This Manual This manual provides necessary information regarding product safety installation and operation for the following PRG equipment Mbox Extreme Media Server v3 2 Familiarizing yourself with this information will help you get the most out of your PRG product WARNING It is important to read ALL accompanying safety and installation instructions to avoid damage to the product and potential injury to yourself or others Additional Documentation For more information on using the Mbox Extreme Media Server with PRG consoles refer
119. ns are in row major order rows are filled in order For example the 3x3 arrangement is laid out as follows 118 LAYER 2D Texture Chan Size Function 1 1 Effect 1 see Texture Effects 2 1 Effect Control 1a 3 1 Effect Control 1b 4 1 Effect 2 see Texture Effects 5 1 Effect Control 2a 6 1 Effect Control 2b 7 1 Transparency 8 1 Red 9 1 Green 10 1 Blue 11 1 Texture Library 12 1 Texture 13 1 Play Mode 14 1 Play Speed 15 2 In Frame 17 2 Out Frame 19 1 Sync Stream 20 1 Sync Offset 21 1 Aspect Control 22 1 Frame Blending Control 23 1 XFade Type see Transitions 24 1 XFade Timing 25 2 X Position 27 2 Y Position 29 2 Scale 31 2 Z Position N Total DMX Channels About Full Layer Objects Each layer is made up of one Layer 2D object and one Layer 3D Default 0 O O O O 0O0 255 255 255 127 65535 127 255 32767 32767 32767 32767 Snap Z Z Z Z lt lt Z Z Z lt Z Z Z lt lt lt Z Z Z Z Z Z lt Z Z lt object The split layout is designed to group the 2D controls separately from the 3D controls to facilitate usage on some consoles Alternately the two objects can be combined into one single fixture Aspect Control Values Mode 0 Square Points default 1 126 i d scaling from 1 4 to 127 1 1 Values Mode Aspect Control 128 Ratios scaling from 1 1 to 255 4 1 LAYER 3D Object Chan Size Function 1 2 Z R
120. obos the animated gobos are treated as objects and most of them require lighting The animated gobos use three other previously unused channels on the Object fixture Animation Speed Animation Modifier A and Animation Modifier B Animation Speed will affect the rate and in some cases the direction of the gobos motion and modifiers A and B will manipulate other traits EuroFlag 002 000 The EuroFlag is quite basic The layer s texture is applied to each star and the Animation Speed channel controls the speed at which the stars rotate The A and B modifiers have no effect TV Screen v1 4 002 001 The TV Screen allows you to place a texture onto a plane in 3D space and manipulate it as you would a 3D object It allows you to rotate and spin a texture on all three axes remember a texture on its own will only rotate on the Z axis The TV Screen will automatically light itself you do not have to set the Drawmode to 1 for it to be visible If you set the A modifier above 127 the TV Screen will display a direct pixel per pixel representation of the applied texture rather than an interpolated representation For better clarity scale has been greatly increased in this example A mod 127 l A mod gt 127 51 If you set the B modifier above 127 the TV Screen will no longer obey the rules of 3D space and will always be completely in front of a lower numbered layer whether it s a background texture or a 3D
121. of the Mbox Extreme server It is not recommended that these features be used during show situations They can both be disabled in the System Preferences on the Mac or from a connected console by using the Camera control channel A local preview monitor can be connected to the DVI connector labeled Preview on the face of the I O module Your stage output should be connected to one of the other outputs as desired Please note that you may require adapters or converters to convert these outputs to your needs Note All of the DVI connectors on the Dual I O module are DVI D digital only There is no analog signal present on these connectors Therefore a DVI to VGA adapter will not work Review the front and rear panel illustrations provided in Components on page 6 if you are unsure of the connections to and from the Mbox Extreme server GETTING STARTED Patching Fixtures The Mbox Extreme server is designed to work with moving light consoles Consequently most of its features are not compatible with conventional consoles If you are unsure about which consoles are compatible with Mbox Extreme please contact PRG for more information PRG can provide a console profile for your console if one is available Mbox Extreme v3 has four primary modes of operation that allow flexibility of operation and several legacy modes that allow compatibility with previously programmed shows or older consoles Mbox Extreme s Setup tab allows you to change the op
122. olution frequency and aspect values will be automatically set to match If you select the custom mode you can manually adjust these values to meet your needs All video output connectors on the I O module will output a signal with the same resolution frequency and aspect ratio The only exception being the SDI outputs which will not output signal if the Fullscreen mode is not compatible with a standard SDI format The Fullscreen mode settings will also be applied to the video signal that is output from the Preview connectors on the I O module You should make sure that your preview monitor is able to display an image when receiving a signal with that resolution and frequency If the native aspect ratio of the monitor does not match that of your Fullscreen mode you may see an image with the wrong aspect ratio but you will see an image It is more important to tailor your Fullscreen mode settings to the stage device than to the preview monitor The Dual I O module does allow you to set output resolutions that may not work with some preview monitors The most likely case being when SDI output is used see SDI Output SD Standard Definition amp HD High Definition on page 43 for further details 34 If you select a custom fullscreen resolution that does not match a resolution listed in the current EDID set see Connected Display Devices and EDID on page 41 for further details there are two possible outcomes If the EDID set does not
123. om video inputs select library 255 and either texture 255 254 253 or 252 the Setup tab allows you to assign up to box four video inputs to these values If no capture card or camera is detected 255 255 and diagnostics are enabled you will see the No Camera image on the display when requesting one of these media locations 2 No Camera Remember that when you add content you should not duplicate existing folder and file number combinations It is best to make new folders for custom content Leading zeros are not required when numbering folders or files but they can help by making the file listing easier to read Folder 255 texture 000 will display Mbox Extreme s Art Net universe and start address The Mbox Extreme Media Server also supports 16 bit file numbers When a file name uses a 16 bit number prefix the folder number is derived from the upper 8 bits of the 16 bit number and the file number from the lower 8 z bits When using 16 bit file numbers the folder number of any parent Address folders is ignored Mbox Extreme scans for content at application startup If new content is added while the Mbox Extreme application is running you must rescan the Media and Models folders to use that new content You can rescan these folders while Mbox Extreme is running by pressing 3 R on the server s keyboard or from the console by using the control channel on the Camera fixture There will be a brief pause in movi
124. on frequency settings When SDI has been enabled normal VGA or DVI monitors connected to the Dual I O module may not be able to display a picture DVI monitors provide the most compatibility but compatibility is not guaranteed However the two SDI connectors A amp B on the face of the module do act as Preview and Stage SDI outputs SDI connector A will be the Stage output and connector B will be the Preview output In this way you can have a local monitor when using the SDI output Please note that most SD SDI monitors cannot display an HD SDI signal but HD SDI monitors can display SD SDI signals When you enter Fullscreen mode with Mbox Extreme set to output an SDI compatible resolution the SDI indicator LED to the left of SDI connector A will illuminate SDI will be output if you select one of the pre determined SDI settings or if you use the Custom mode and enter a resolution that matches one of the possible SDI resolutions When using SDI output it may not be possible to run the Mac s desktop at the same resolution and frequency as your selected SDI Fullscreen mode If you are also using Genlock this means that genlock sync will be lost when switching between Fullscreen and Window modes or when quitting the Mbox Extreme application see Setup on page 33 for more information on Fullscreen mode You should plan accordingly to enter Fullscreen mode with enough time to allow the genlock to sync Supported SDI Resolutions SD NTSC 4
125. on the Camera fixture is set to 254 suppress masked fixtures The mask attribute is intended for use with fixtures that have two sources of color information from both the Mbox Extreme server and a lighting console For shared control in these situations a DMX512 merger in HTP mode can be used to merge the outputs of the Mbox Extreme server and the lighting console In order to give the lighting console control over the fixtures color Mbox Extreme must reduce its Art Net levels for the fixture to 0 At times it may be impractical to reduce Art Net output from only a few fixtures especially if the Mbox Extreme server is also outputting video Suppressing fixtures even just a few would require dimming the output or removing content to make screen pixels black and would affect other fixtures and the video output as well The mask attribute allows you to turn off fixtures without affecting the overall video composition while still retaining output from fixtures that do not have the mask attribute turned on When masked fixtures are suppressed the lighting console can be used to modify the attributes that the Mbox Extreme server would otherwise have control over The Slew Rate setting provides the ability to limit the speed at which fixtures can change color This control is particularly useful with moving lights as the rapid color changes possible when pixel mapping may cause excessive noise or even damage to the fixture The default slew rate is 0
126. or and window size when Mbox Extreme is not running in Fullscreen mode It is intended that you see an accurate representation of the fullscreen output while in Window mode The Window Mode controls allow you to pick a window size that is a percentage of the fullscreen size 5096 is a good place to start The resulting window size is shown under the scale pop up menu 960 x 540 in the example to the right By default window mode will be sized to an exact percentage of the fullscreen mode dimensions 5096 of 1920 x 1080 is 960 x 540 However if you want the aspect ratio of fullscreen mode to be taken into account in window mode you must check the Keep Aspect checkbox This will cause the window mode dimensions to take the fullscreen aspect into account and size the window appropriately Keeping the aspect correct can be critical for correct aspect viewing in window mode For example NTSC SDI has a resolution of 720 x 480 but a true aspects ratio of 1 364 A window scale setting of 5096 results in a window size of 360 x 240 which is an actual aspect ratio of 1 5 the image will be stretched Checking the Keep Aspect checkbox will result in a window that is 327 x 240 thus keeping the aspect ratio at 1 364 Fullscreen Mode In most cases the Fullscreen mode settings will be set to the native resolution frequency and aspect ratio of the stage display device you are using If you select one of the standard modes e g SDI 720p the res
127. otation 3 1 Z Spin 4 2 X Rotation 6 1 X Spin 7 2 Y Rotation 9 1 Y Spin 10 2 X Scale 12 2 Y Scale 14 2 Z Scale 16 1 Object Library 17 1 Object 18 1 Anim Speed 19 1 Anim Control 1 20 1 Anim Control 2 21 1 Object XFade Type see Object Transitions 22 1 Object XFade Timing 23 1 Object XFade Angle 24 1 Draw Mode 25 1 Effect 1 see Object Effects 26 1 Effect Control 1a 27 1 Effect Control 1b 28 1 Effect 2 see Object Effects 29 1 Effect Control 2a 30 1 Effect Control 2b 30 Total DMX Channels Values Mode 0 Sync Stream Layer to Layer Stream default 1 16 Stream Number Frame Blending Control Values Description 0 Default Snap 32767 127 32767 127 32767 127 32767 32767 32767 127 o O O O O O Z Z lt Z Z lt lt Z lt lt Z Z Z lt lt Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z No Frame Blending more accurately blend time 0 119 Play Mode Values 0 9 10 19 20 29 30 39 40 49 50 59 60 69 70 79 80 89 90 99 100 109 110 119 120 129 130 139 140 149 150 159 160 169 250 255 Play Mode Forward Loop Reverse Loop Forward Once Reverse Once Forward Bounce Reverse Bounce Random Forward Once Restart on In Frame Change Scrub In Frame Scrub Out Frame Forward Loop Crossfade on Out Frame Reverse Loop Crossfade on In Frame Forward Loop Restart on In Frame Change Timecode Sync Layer Slave Layer Master Forward Loop Layer Master Forward Onc
128. other than that contained in the operating instructions unless you are qualified to do so Revision History Version 02 9800 0001 02 9800 0001 22 02 9800 0001 30 02 9800 0001 30 A 02 9800 0001 32 02 9800 0001 32 A This manual has been revised as follows Release Date September 27 2006 October 23 2007 October 15 2010 March 28 2009 February 15 2010 October 15 2010 Notes Initial release Updated to include v2 2 changes Incorporated QuickStart Guide Updated for to include v3 0 changes Updated to include Dual I O Module Revised Important Safety Instructions on page i Updated to include v3 1 1 and v3 2 changes Re organized and updated the DMX512 Mapping Charts at the end of the manual Updated book format No changes to technical information TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction About This Manual cnn erre ARMEN A RE CARERE ERE ke da sus ae n tra ed Eod ded d k a EF aa PERO k wa a ka rd ae ad 1 Additional BoeumentallOl 5 Conti cud cased dian le Fee ee V Wan Yee e ke su Zav sanan ee Er l ve rd Re KEV DE WENA VPS N k co Ded a b a awan calce S WE A EA S R 1 Customer SEVICE e eeep P p ep pepeo o eMr rororarararararwXRyaebebebebebbbwwwwwwwwwwrr gt gt R _ me 2 Chapter 1 Overview Description POATUIOS me 4 Controllable Elements
129. ough the transition It moves from top left corner to bottom right corner The stripe at the transition point is white and has a particular thickness Mbox Extrem This is what the plist information for this transition looks like v 016 Filter Name v Parameters wv inputAngle Value wv inputColor v Color Item 1 Item 2 Item 3 Item 4 v inputExtent y Extent Item 1 Item 2 v inputimage Imageln v inputOpacity Value v inputTargetimage Imageln winputTime FadeStatus wv inputWidth Value y outputimage ImageOut Thumbnail UserVisibleName Dictionary String Dictionary Dictionary Number Dictionary Array Number Number Number Number Dictionary Array Number Number Dictionary Number Dictionary Number Dictionary Number Dictionary Number Dictionary Number Dictionary Number Data String Setu ixel Map 4 items CISwipeTransition 9 items 1 item 0 7854 1 item 4 items 1 1 1 1 rej item N items Ro 1 item 1 item 1 1 1 item 0 1 item 150 1 item 0 re item lt ffd8ffe0 00104a46 49460001 01010048 004 White Diagonal 73 All of the various properties of this transition have been expanded to show their children It is critical to get all of the properties set to both correct types and appropriate values with the only real exceptions being the Thumbnail and UserVisibleName properti
130. ount of blending for the edge blend Moves the entire keystoned image left and right Moves the entire keystoned image up and down Selects the tile position within a variable array Adjusts the amount of overlap between tiles Adjusts the size of the entire keystoned image Adjusts the position of the top blend Adjusts the position of the left blend Adjusts the position of the bottom blend Adjusts the position of the right blend Bottom left corner L R adjustment Bottom left corner U D adjustment Bottom Right corner L R adjustment Bottom Right corner U D adjustment Top Left corner L R adjustment Top Left corner U D adjustment Top Right corner L R adjustment Top Right corner U D adjustment Rotation of entire keystoned image Mbox Parameter Descriptions Continued Fixture Texture 2D Parameter Texture Effect 1 Modifier 1A Modifier 1B Texture Effect 2 Modifier 2A Modifier 2B Opacity Red Green Blue Texture Folder Texture File Play Mode Play Speed In Frame Out Frame Sync Stream Sync Offset Aspect Frame Blending X Fade Type X Fade Timing X Position Y Position Scale Z Position Description Fixture 2D effect applied to the layer First modifier Second modifier 2D effect applied to the layer First modifier Second modifier Transparency of the layer Red subtractive Green subtractive Blue subtractive Selects numbered content folder from w in Media folde
131. ovides the ability to see several different views of the connected servers all servers one server one layer on a server The Control tab allows you to change the setup or preferences of any connected server Note Some settings may not be available or may not take effect unless the Mbox Extreme application is relaunched on the remote server The Thumbs tab lets you view thumbnails of the content on any connected Mbox Extreme server See Thumbnails on page 71 for additional information on how to create and view them At the top of the Mbox Remote window you will find the Selected Server popup menu When monitoring one server changing settings remotely or viewing thumbnails the server selected in this popup menu will be the active server Setup Tab Timecode Status Control Thumbs Settings 04 23 25 15 MAE 04 43 00 00 Input popup menu use this menu to select the source for timecode Generator internal clock Audio Input SMPTE from XLR connector on the Auxiliary Input Panel MIDI Time Code MTC from MIDI connector on Aux Input Panel If this menu is set to Generator values for Start time and End time will appear below the Start Stop button Output popup menu use this menu to select whether or not the timecode signal is rebroadcast from this machine Local no rebroadcast Other name of Ethernet port used for rebroadcast Note While multiple Mbox Extreme servers can receive a timecode signal locally if you are rebroadcas
132. ow mode you can access tabs to change the information that Mbox Extreme displays ZA CAUTION In Window mode there is no output from the stage outputs of the I O module The application window contains four tabs Mbox tab for viewing the server s video output Setup tab for configuration of the server Pixel Map tab for configuration of the Pixel Map and its Art Net output See Pixel Mapping chapter on page 75 32 Setup The Setup tab is used to Set operating mode and address for this media server Set application default to start in Window mode and specify window size Set application default resolution when starting in Fullscreen mode Set Texture size Configure other options Input License Key to authorize the application Set FullScreen Mode size and preferences Set Window Mode Select preferences Operation Mode Mbox Pixel Map Set Server Address Slot 1 ATI Radeo 60 00 e Set License Key ls Ss Alt Screen d z Select Camera s Remember Modules Dual I O Sel Texture Module Control Size Set Active Area preferences Set Network Synchronization Port Set screen arrangement preferences Set Options Diagnostics it is recommended that this option be checked during show conditions Deinterlace Video Inputs Pixel Map Enable Disable Audio Playback Enable Disable requires restart to take effect Refer to the following pa
133. r Selects numbered file from within folder Selects play mode of movie content Adjusts play speed of movie content Sets in frame of movie content Sets out frame of movie content Selects 1 of 16 channels for playback synchronization Adjusts layer s playback sync offset later earlier Adjusts the aspect ratio of the layer Adjusts the amount of interframe blending for movie content Selects the type of crossfade for 2D content on the layer Adjusts the timing of 2D crossfades on the layer Moves the layer left and right Moves the layer up and down Adjusts the size of the layer Moves the layer towards and away from the camera 3D objects only Object 3D Parameter Z Rotation Z Spin X Rotation X Spin Y Rotation Y Spin X Scale Y Scale Z Scale Object Folder Object File Animation Speed Animation 1 Animation 2 Obj X Fade Type Obj X Fade Timing Drawmode Object Effect 1 Modifier 1A Modifier 1B Object Effect 2 Modifier 2A Modifier 2B Mbox Parameter Descriptions Continued Description Adjusts rotation of the layer through the Z axis Adjusts spin of the layer through the Z axis Adjusts rotation of the layer through the X axis 3D objects only Adjusts spin of the layer through the X axis 3D objects only Adjusts rotation of the layer through the Y axis 3D objects only Adjusts spin of the layer through the Y axis 3D objects only Adjusts the width of content on
134. r 6 Layer 7 Layer 8 Layer 9 Layer 10 Layer 11 Layer 12 Universe 1st 466 Total DMX Channels 2nd 372 Total DMX Channels 21 Summary Dual Output Panoramic Wide Summary Dual Output Panoramic Dual Start Size Type Universe Start Size Type Universe 1 4 Ambient Light 1 4 Ambient Light 5 4 Spot Light 1 5 4 Spot Light 1 9 4 Spot Light 2 9 4 Spot Light 2 13 4 Spot Light 3 13 4 Spot Light 3 17 4 Spot Light 4 17 4 Spot Light 4 21 32 Camera Control jn 21 32 Camera Control S 53 20 Shutter Control 53 20 Shutter Control 1 xs S 73 22 Keystone Control 466 Total 73 22 Keystone Control 1 DMX Channels 95 62 Layer 1 95 20 Shutter Control 2 508 Total DMX Channels 157 62 Layer 2 115 22 Keystone Control 2 219 62 Layer 3 137 62 Layer 1 281 62 Layer 4 199 62 Layer 2 343 62 Layer 5 261 62 Layer 3 405 62 Layer 6 323 62 Layer 4 1 62 Layer 7 385 62 Layer 5 63 62 Layer 8 447 62 Layer 6 2nd 125 62 Layer 9 1 62 Layer 7 187 62 Layer 10 372 Total 63 62 Layer 8 DMX Channels 2nd 249 62 Layer 11 125 62 Layer 9 311 62 Layer 12 187 62 Layer 10 372 Total DMX Channels 249 62 Layer 11 311 62 Layer 12 22 Summary Dual Output Independent Summary Dual Output Independent Universe Offset 0 Universe Offset 1 Start Size Type Start Size Type 1 4 Ambient Light 1 4 Ambient Light 5 4 Spot Light 1 5 4 Spot Light 1 9 4 Spot Light 2 9 4 Spot Light 2 13 4 Spot Light 3 13 4 Spot Light 3 17 4 Spot Light 4 17 4 Spot Light 4 21 32 Camera Contro
135. r Texture Size width and height settings are as big or bigger than the camera input resolution width and height Failing to set the Texture Size correctly will result in an unusable image when the video input is requested for display Step 10 As a final step you should now quit and restart the Mbox application Deinterlacing Interlaced i vs Progressive p Content Input Deinterlacing Because Mbox Extreme outputs a progressive video signal from the MacPro you will get the best results if you use progressive movie content This recommendation also applies to the video input signal When using a video input you need to be especially aware of the difference between interlaced video signals and progressive video signals If you imagine a frame of video whether it s one frame of a movie or a video input as bunch of horizontal lines of pixels it is easy to explain the difference between interlaced and progressive signals An interlaced frame is drawn as two fields of information The first frame draws the odd numbered lines of pixels 1 3 5 and the second frame draws the even numbered lines of pixels 2 4 6 Because the signal flips very rapidly between one field and the next the human eye can t tell that each field only includes half of the information to make up an entire frame A progressive frame draws the lines of pixels in one continuous stream 1 2 3 4 ESMAS AA ELE A A CE A 47 2 ee GAS ME DEE SS MO A En
136. r application no changes are saved so make sure to click the Save button if you intend to keep the changes The MbE plist Editor allows you to easily set some of the Mbox Extreme operating parameters including some of the higher level variables Because you can modify some of these higher level variables using incorrect settings can lead to unexpected results You should never enable or modify settings if you are not familiar with the impact that those changes may have on the application The most common settings you may alter are the file types and the camera settings To restore the default settings for Mbox Extreme right click on the plist Editor icon and click the Default V3 x button in the notification window that appears You will notice that some preferences are not available for you to edit MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL 93 These preferences are considered higher level and should not be adjusted without prior experience Please contact your PRG representative for more information Mbox Extreme can only index and display content that has a file extension that it recognizes When the Mbox Extreme application launches it creates a text file that is an index of the recognized files that it finds Mbox Media Heport txt The natively recognized movie and 2D file extensions are mov vid jpeg jpg pct pict png rtf tga tif tiff and txt If you want Mbox Extreme to play additional file types you can add the three or four c
137. r modes Shutter X and Y Shutter Scale and Rotation Keystone X and Y Keystone Scale and Rotation Edge Blending Tiling with overlap control Master Effect 2 Master Color Fog and Decay Pixel mapping output level Audio output level Layer Texture Object Opacity Texture Object Texture Effect 2 per layer Object Effect 2 per layer Color Playmode and Playspeed Frame Blending Transitions Type and Timing X Y Z Position Rotation and Scale Sync Timecode and Layer to Layer COMPONENTS Mbox Extreme Case Assembly The following illustrations show the case components for the Mbox Extreme v3 hardware Dual I O Module Auxiliary Input Panel UPS Power Unit UPS Power Unit FRONT VIEW REAR VIEW ap e E T j FA Headphone and USB Connections Mac ji Computer Mac Computer under faceplate cover DETAIL Rear Connections Y Refer to Dual I O Module on page 7 Refer to Auxiliary Input Panel on page 8 Video Capture Card Ethernet L Genlock Audio Graphics Card FireWire SPDIF Audio In Out Figure 1 1 Mbox ie v3 S 6 MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USE Dual 1 0 Mo
138. reen around its own Y axis rather than around the global Y axis of Mbox Extreme s 3D environment 54 ANIMATED TEXTURES About Animated Textures Animated Textures can be found in folder 248 of the Media folder They are similar to the Animated Gobos in the Models folder but are controlled differently and cannot have a texture movie still image etc applied to them Each animated texture has white areas and transparent areas The white areas can be colored using the RGB controls on the layer The layer s movie playback controls are retasked to set the parameters for the animation speed direction etc Playback Controls n Point thickness of objects lines rays etc A value of 0 gives a default thickness Out Point number of objects A value of 65535 gives a default number of objects PlaySpeed speed and direction control A value of 127 equals no movement PlayMode see chart below Frame Blending decay A value of 0 equals no decay 255 is full decay PlayMode FWD Loop REV Loop FWD Once REV Once FWD Bounce REV Bounce Random FWD IPR Scrub In Scrub Out FWD Loop XF Rev Loop XF FWD Loop IPR Timecode sync Layer Slave Layer Master Radar Texture 248 001 Sweep Bounce Once Scrub Mirrored sweep Bounce Once Scrub Mirrored fan Bounce Once Scrub n a n a n a n a Stripe Texture 248 002 Left Right scroll Bounce Once Scrub Top Bottom scroll Bounce On
139. rmware allows one of the SDI ports to be an SDI preview output and the other to be an SDI stage output The ports follow the action of the Blackout and Dim switches just as the Also found on the front panel are two DMX connectors and two Ethernet connectors The DMX connectors can be used to input DMX signal to the server The left hand connector will be converted to Art Net universe 0 the right hand connector to Art Net universe 1 The two Ethernet ports can be used for Art Net input and daisy chaining Art Net from server to server 39 Each output section on the Dual I O module has three toggle switches on the front panel When active the left most Switch blacks out the stage outputs When active the middle switch causes the preview outputs to dim in parallel with the stage outputs The right hand switch controls the EDID capture functions of the 1 O module refer to Connected Display Devices and EDID below for more explanation The rear panel of the 1 0 Module provides DVI connectors for the signals from the computer The rear panel also includes two USB ports and two Ethernet ports The USB allows for control of the unit from the computer and must be connected for proper function The Ethernet allows DMX Art Net control signals to pass from the Dual I O module to the computer Finally there are two connectors for Genlock Only one of these two connectors will be connected at any time USB Ports 1 amp 2 A C Input Connector 40
140. rse for each server This setting can be modified on the Setup tab of the application For ease of operation the many channels that make up one Mbox Extreme v3 server are divided into multiple fixtures Unless you are an advanced user it is strongly recommended that you patch all fixtures that are part of the Mbox Extreme profile If you do not patch all of the associated fixtures undesirable results may occur The chart on the following page shows all fixtures that make up a single Mbox Extreme server The fixtures must be patched in the order shown Layers Mbox Extreme allows you to use up to twelve content layers The additional layers are available in all of the v3 x modes Single Output Panoramic Wide Panoramic Dual and Dual Independent but not in any other modes The use of more than six layers requires an additional universe of control data This additional universe can only be the next sequential universe to the one that the server is patched to So if the server is patched to universe 0 the additional layers will be controlled by universe 1 If you are plugging DMX into the server these two universes will always be 0 and 1 if you are using Art Net you may use any two consecutive universes When using more than six layers it is important that the server be receiving correctly patched data on the second universe If you fail to do this layers 7 and above will not receive appropriate values and will interfere with the first six lay
141. s etc 3D OBJECT 4 Ambient Light and Spot Lights 1 4 The Ambient and Spot lighting fixtures are used to light 3D objects or digital gobos and have no effect upon textures used as backgrounds If no lights are turned on you will not be able to see 3D models on the screen Each lighting fixture has an intensity parameter and red green and blue controls for adjusting the color of the light Camera The Camera fixture s primary function is to adjust the perspective view of 3D objects You can control Orbit Dolly Roll Spin Field of View Pitch and Yaw The Camera s secondary function is to provide mastering controls for the final output s color intensity pixel mapping intensity and control and audio output volume The Camera s intensity control must be above 0 to see any output from the stage DVI VGA or SDI outputs on the I O Module Textures that are not applied to 3D objects or digital gobos are referred to as backgrounds Backgrounds remain in a fixed positional relationship to the camera The camera cannot move around them as it can with 3D objects and digital gobos The Camera fixture has overall color mixing and two texture effects that affect the composite image created by the twelve content layers Shutter Control Mbox Extreme has shutters much like a leko Shutters can be positioned scaled rotated colored and softened The shutters act upon the composite image created by layers 1 through 6 The first ch
142. s if desired If you want to play different content on each of your fixture types then first split up the screen in some manner and use part of it for one fixture type and the other part for the other fixture type Use separate layers to place content on each area of the screen Your sample area for fixture type A is the entire bottom half of the screen If your Texture Size is set to 800px x 600px then the sample area will be 800px x 300px and its origin is 0 0 the bottom left corner of the Screen Your sample area for fixture type B is the top left quarter of the screen so it is 400px x 300px and its origin is 0 300 81 The second task is to determine the portion of the context grid onto which each screen sample will be mapped Without Sample Areas the entire screen image is mapped directly to the context for conversion to Art Net so something at the top of the screen will always be mapped to fixtures that are placed at the top of the context grid Because Sample Areas allow you to manually select how the areas are applied on the grid it does not matter where on the grid your fixtures lie any area of the screen can be mapped to any area of the context grid Two things to remember are 1 that each group of fixtures needs to occupy an area that can have a rectangular boundary drawn around it and 2 that no sample areas can overlap on the context grid You can however overlap the screen sample areas if you want to sample the same area of t
143. s transparent everything but green areas transparent everything but blue areas transparent blurs from center of image increases image detail by sharpening blurs along a variable axis glass block tile effect wraps image into tube shape clamps image from center outwards horizontal 8 vertical 90 shutters horizontal 90 shutters vertical 90 shutters vertical roll vertical roll up horizontal roll horizontal roll left revised black alpha effect Control 1 line width threshold threshold threshold threshold threshold threshold threshold threshold size intensity intensity scale size size H insertion insertion insertion speed speed speed speed intensity Control 2 color reduction radius direction tile size rotation V insertion center 127 def center 127 def pause pause pause pause threshold Texture Effects Continued ID 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 Effect Black Threshold Pos Lattice Neg Lattice Simple Duotone Channel Shift LumaKey LumaKey Inverse Comic Effect Hexagonal Pixelate Glide Reflected Tile 4 fold Rotated Tile 6 fold Rotated Tile 6 fold Reflected Tile 12 fold Reflected Layer Edge Blend Left Layer Edge Blend Right Layer Edge Blend Top Layer Edge
144. s of the QuickTime file to the point where Mbox Extreme cannot play it However you can use QuickTime Pro to convert a movie from one codec to another or to trim an existing movie It is recommended that you perform more complex tasks changing the framerate in such a way that the movie s source elements are re rendered into a new file This is especially critical if audio is involved 90 MEDIA UTILITY APPLICATIONS Mbox Extreme Media Lock The Mbox Extreme Media Lock application allows you to lock copy protect custom content that you place Wa on the Mbox Extreme server Before going any further please note that you should never lock your original copy of any content Once you lock content it can only be played on Mbox Extreme and not on any other computer On y lock content that you place onto an Mbox Extreme All of the stock movie object and digital gobo content on Mbox Extreme is also locked and cannot be used on any other computer or media server Media Lock can lock mov obj ai and svg files Media Lock is based upon a username and password system You can enter a username and password and then lock a piece of content under that username password combination Once locked content cannot be unlocked and can only play on another Mbox Extreme server where the same username and password have been entered into the Media Lock application This means that you can lock your content on one Mbox Extreme server and it will always be availa
145. seconds Mbox Extreme will allow the fixture to change color as fast as it can The other settings allow you to reduce the speed of the changes progressively up to a maximum of 8 seconds While the slower speeds are impractical for realistic video mapping they can be used to create a particular look The final step in fixture creation is to define the scan order of the pixels in the fixture A fixture s scan order is the order in which the pixels of the fixture are addressed For a fixture that is a single line of pixels this is easy it goes from one side to the other in order If you create a linear fixture the only scan order selection that matters is the origin setting the direction and sequence will be determined by the height and width A horizontal fixture s origin would be left or right and a vertical fixture s origin would be top or bottom For either of these linear fixture types you can select either of the choices that include the side on which you want the origin to be placed For example if your fixture is 16px x 1px W x H then its orientation can be on the left or the right Choosing either Top Left or Bottom Left for the origin pixel will ensure that the origin is at the left side of the fixture For a rectangular fixture the origin is far more important Again width and height should be set to match the orientation in which the fixture will typically be used Now you must select the origin of the fixture which is always in one o
146. sition will move from beginning to start To ensure a complete transition these two values must be left at 1 0 inputOpacity Value number 7 This is the opacity of the colored swipe of the transition ineptitudes Value number 750 This is the width of the colored swipe of the transition inputlmage inputTargetlmage inputTime outputlmage You should not edit these values So if we d like to change the transition around a bit you can change the following properties inputAngle 0 7854 inputColor 0 1 0 1 inputOpacity 0 5 inputWidth 500 UserVisibleName Green Diagonal You should always keep in mind that if you edit an existing entry in the effects or transitions plists all instances of that effect or transition will be changed If you want to make a new version of the effect or transition you should add a new entry to the appropriate plist and give it a new unique number Alternately you can save your edits to a new txfx or txtx file and place it in the correct folder ox Extreme Setup Pixel Map 74 PIXEL MAPPING This chapter provides a description of setup and operation for the pixel mapping functionality of the Mbox Extreme Media Server CONCEPT BASIC SETUP ADVANCED PIXEL MAPPING CONCEPT About Pixel Mapping The Mbox Extreme Media Server allows you to map certain functions of DMX512 controlled fixtures RGB Intensity CMY etc to each of the pixels in the composite
147. slan elin DD E 81 Ghapter 7 Maintenance Routine Maintenance Cleaning or Replacing the Alr dci 84 REMOVING THE COM PULSE irritada dd AO ba Pea a DS data AAA A A a kad kK ad R 85 Appendix A Content Creation and Utilities Content Creation Guidelines ASE AA 88 Alpha Channel iin Movies the Animation COGdec cit ia 90 Applications tor Content Creatina A it loa a eat ea es 90 Media Utility Applications Mbox Extreme Media Ll OCK 1 rrr dcir Ee d k n dek k pnr kk d na nak H k kn xaka rap Pe Ra RES RA ahaaa iana Eiig 91 Mbox Extreme File GOY LEL s s 1er tale an r Acer ay buk gece eu Sh e le k Zl yar a AE ad yep dira pee dua edes o Des ge y na li 92 Mbox Extreme plist Edito cion T a 93 Appendix B Mbox Remote Application Mbox Remote Operation USING MDOX ROMO iii A A ie 96 DOTUP TAD 96 Status AD su no x kul n leka yaki gian kaka y r k WEN AK EY din 97 Control Fabia n 98 Th mbs MAD A din ELO do didas 98 Example Set p ot Aligmmeft Rectangles iii a eee 99 Appendix C Video Input Video Input Setup V VM Quicklime Streaming Capture Carnivoros ed id da deer pie N SENA neta K RA du nn na dh car a
148. sor Animation is the only codec that allows for an alpha channel and which Mbox Extreme can use The only reason to use the Animation codec is if you need to have a movie with transparency Be aware that the bit rate of Animation movies can be very high as its compression scheme is actually optimized for large areas of the same color essentially for animated cartoon content If you want to play movie files with alpha channel information the MbE Movie Converter application see page 92 provides a method of re rendering Animation codec movies to a format that may be easier to play Apple ProRes is a high quality codec that was designed to compress HD content sufficiently to keep bit rates at SD levels Like Animation the bit rate of ProRes content can be very high so care should be used when creating movies DV is a compression format typically used by video cameras For best results DV encoded movies must conform to either NTSC or PAL resolutions and therefore you should not use any random resolution The quality of DV is typically not as high as that of Photo JPEG either although it is less processor intensive DV movies from a camera or DVD source will often be interlaced If you have an interlaced DV movie file you can change the file extension from mov to vid and Mbox Extreme will deinterlace the file as it plays However you may get better quality by converting re rendering such movies to Photo JPEG in advance DV movies may also ha
149. st for the Mbox Extreme media server Please contact your PRG representative for more information on this functionality Note All 16 bit values are in Big Endian format For example the value 23 would be presented as 0 in the first channel and 23 in the second channel 110 Summary Single Output Start Size Type 1 4 Ambient Light 5 4 Spot Light 1 9 4 Spot Light 2 13 4 Spot Light 3 17 4 Spot Light 4 21 32 Camera Control 53 20 Shutter Control 73 22 Keystone Control 95 62 Layer 1 157 62 Layer 2 219 62 Layer 3 281 62 Layer 4 343 62 Layer 5 405 62 Layer 6 1 62 Layer 7 63 62 Layer 8 125 62 Layer 9 187 62 Layer 10 249 62 Layer 11 311 62 Layer 12 Universe 1st 466 Total DMX Channels 2nd 372 Total DMX Channels Summary Dual Output Panoramic Wide Start Size Type 1 4 Ambient Light 5 4 Spot Light 1 9 4 Spot Light 2 13 4 Spot Light 3 17 4 Spot Light 4 21 32 Camera Control 53 20 Shutter Control 73 22 Keystone Control 95 62 Layer 1 157 62 Layer 2 219 62 Layer 3 281 62 Layer 4 343 62 Layer 5 405 62 Layer 6 1 62 Layer 7 63 62 Layer 8 125 62 Layer 9 187 62 Layer 10 249 62 Layer 11 311 62 Layer 12 Universe 1st 466 Total DMX Channels 2nd 372 Total DMX Channels Summary Dual Output Panoramic Dual Start 1 5 9 13 17 21 53 73 95 115 137 199 261 323 385 447 63 125 187 249 311 Size 4 A SS HK Type Ambient Light Spot Light 1 Spot Light 2 Spot Light 3 Spot
150. t on Mbox Extreme the non preferred playback engine will handle it One positive is that when played in this manner Mbox Extreme is able to use the alpha channel information in the movie and to display transparent areas as transparent However unless the movie is quite small and or has a low bit rate 60mbits sec the movie may not play very smoothly and all other playback on the server may be affected to some extent Another way to create a movie with an alpha channel is to use the Animation codec conversion built into the Mbox Extreme File Converter application This application will convert the movie into a format that Mbox Extreme is better able to play while still retaining the alpha channel information When the movie is played in Mbox Extreme the bit rate is significantly lower allowing for better playback and the transparent areas are still transparent See Mbox Extreme File Converter on page 92 for more information Applications for Content Creation There are many applications that you can use to create movie content for Mbox Extreme They vary from the higher end Adobe After Effects Apple Final Cut amp to the lower end QuickTime Pro All of them have their uses but there are some warnings You should never create a movie with compressed headers or prepare a movie for internet streaming If you want to modify both the framerate of a movie and trim the movie you should not use QuickTime Pro as this will modify the header
151. tal gobo files are normalized when they are compiled Mbox Extreme s vertex array compiler performs this task to ensure that the files appear at a usable scale rather than being too large or too small Given the wide variety of applications that can be used to create models or digital gobos an object that appears to be just right when created might appear to be gigantic or tiny when displayed by Mbox Extreme Different applications may use different units of scale pixels inches meters but each of these units of measure may be saved as a generic unit in an obj or svg file Therefore when compiling Mbox Extreme s default action is to normalize all models and digital gobos Normalization is accomplished by scaling objects to fit into a bounding cube that is 480px on each side Objects are scaled up or down so that their largest dimension is 480px and their other dimensions are then scaled proportionally If you create an object that you do not want the compiler to normalize you can add the suffix noscale to its name before the file is compiled and the file will not be normalized when it is compiled If you use this option one generic unit will equal 240 pixels in Mbox Extreme s 3D environment a file named 001 MyObject obj shou d be renamed as 001 MyObject noscale obj If you create an object and wish to apply a scale factor relative to other files you can use the scale switch In this example the second file would appear at hal
152. ted as if it were a piece of content in the media folder Folder 255 is selected and the file number attribute controls which layer is being copied and which mode of copying takes place Folder 255 File Mode Layers Note 101 112 FX 1 12 File numbers 101 112 correspond to the FX mode for Layers 1 12 ji j ji i e 101 Layer 1 FX copy mode 102 Layer 2 FX copy mode and so on 121 132 FX 1 12 File numbers 121 132 correspond to the FX mode for Layers 1 12 ji ji i e 121 Layer 1 FX copy mode 122 Layer 2 FX copy mode and so on 141 152 R 4 10 File numbers 141 152 correspond to the Raw mode for Layers 1 12 ji aw ji i e 141 2 Layer 1 Raw copy mode 142 Layer 2 Raw copy mode and so on Notes Layer Copy does not work with transition 255 Object Dissolve at present time When using the Raw copy mode if a source layer makes a timed transition any destination layers using that source will not receive the transition Their content will change immediately Alayer cannot copy another layer that is already copying a third layer 56 DRAWMODES Using Drawmodes The Drawmodes feature provides control over how a 3D object is lit and how it interacts with other layers Drawmode has its own control channel with several modes The different Drawmodes are 0 Idle 4 Cut and Draw 8 Draw Onto Stencil 1 Light 5 Cut Draw plus Light 9 Draw Onto plus Light 2 Cut Stencil 6 Draw Thru Stencil 16
153. tensity fixtures dimmers and moving light fixtures both CMY and CYM To begin pick one simple type of fixture from the list To place one or more of these fixtures in the pixel mapping context click the Place New Fixtures button it will darken to indicate that you are in fixture placement mode then click anywhere on the grid This will place a fixture on the context grid Notice that the fixture when highlighted has one red pixel the origin and the remaining pixels are blue Even when not highlighted the origin pixel will be slightly darker than the rest When you place a fixture on the context grid an entry for that fixture is added to the table on the right of the grid Mbox Extreme will automatically patch fixtures in order as you place them beginning with Art Net universe 1 Therefore you can reduce your patch time by placing fixtures in order However you can modify the patch information for any fixture at any time Note If you edit your patch and allow two fixtures to share a range of DMX512 channels the name universe and address of both overlapping fixtures will turn red Once you have placed several fixtures on the context grid you are ready to see what they can do Press Return or the Place New Fixtures button to exit fixture placement mode You should save your file by clicking the Save button at this time The text field above the file action buttons displays the location of the current pixel mapping file
154. the color intensity values for each 16px x 12px area of the screen image Each sample is used to create one pixel in the map This pixel is then used to generate Art Net levels The size of the pixel mapping context plays a large role in how the pixels in the screen image are converted into Art Net You could create a 1 x 1 context or one that is 1000 x 1000 In the first case the entire screen would be reduced to one pixel in the map and the results would be pointless In the second case you could have a very high resolution setup but it would require a great number of fixtures and Art Net to be worthwhile You should try to avoid extremely large context sizes as doing so requires extra processing If you need a large amount of pixel for pixel mapping of your video to LED fixtures you may be better served by using an existing video pixel mapping product rather than the Mbox Extreme pixel mapping You should strive to create a pixel mapping context that is as small as possible while still allowing you to map your content to fixtures in the manner that you desire Initially some trial and error may be 77 required If you are unsure where to begin start with the context at its default size of 50 x 50 and then experiment once you have patched your fixtures If you click on the pop up list in the fixtures area you will find a list of stock fixture choices The fixtures in this list are mainly RGB LED fixtures but there are also selections for in
155. the bottom left corner 99 Step 7 Press the Set button to apply the rectangle If rectangles are not currently being displayed all rectangles will appear briefly to show the location of the new rectangle If rectangles are being displayed the new rectangle will appear and remain until the alignment rectangle display is turned off TP Setup Status Control Thumbs E Alignment Rectangles H l m oie 200 100 200 100 Step 8 If you would like to change the lineweight of the rectangles select Alignment Line Width on the settings popup menu and edit the value in the edit field below The default lineweight is 1 Don t forget to press the Set button to apply your changes 100 VIDEO INPUT This appendix provides setup instructions for the four video inputs VIDEO INPUT SETUP VIDEO INPUT SETUP Overview The Mbox Extreme software allows for up to four video inputs to each server Each input must be set up in advance for it to work properly with the video signal that is being used The two types of supported video inputs are QuickTime streaming capture card and USB FireWire QuickTime Streaming Capture Card A BlackMagic Decklink HD Extreme PCle card supplies the QuickTime streaming input in Mbox Extreme This card is installed in every Mbox Extreme server and you will find the input connectors on the Auxiliary Panel at the rear of the Mbox Extreme rack LEFT RIGHT E O O CB S
156. the layer Adjusts the height of content on the layer Adjusts the depth of content on the layer 3D objects only Selects numbered content folder from w in Models folder Selects numbered file from within folder Adjusts speed and or direction of animations animated gobos only First animation modifier Second animation modifier Selects the type of crossfade for 3D objects on the layer Adjusts the timing of 3D crossfades on the layer Adjusts various methods of drawing blending the layer 3D effect applied to the layer First modifier Second modifier 3D effect applied to the layer First modifier Second modifier Ambient and Spot Lights Chan Size Function Default Snap 1 1 Intensity 0 N 2 1 Red 255 N 3 1 Green 255 N 4 1 Blue 255 N 4 Total DMX Channels Camera Control Chan Size Function 1 1 Effect 1 see Texture Effects 2 1 Effect Control 1a 3 1 Effect Control 1b 4 1 Effect 2 see Texture Effects 5 1 Effect Control 2a 6 1 Effect Control 2b 7 1 Intensity 8 1 Red 9 1 Green 10 1 Blue 11 2 OrbitX 13 2 Orbit Y 15 2 Dolly 17 2 Roll 19 1 Spin 20 2 Field of View 22 2 Pitch 24 2 Yaw 26 1 Control Channel 27 1 Decay 28 1 Fog 29 1 Blur 30 1 Pix Map Level 31 1 Pixelmapping Control Channel 32 1 Audio Volume N Total DMX Channels Pixelmapping Control Channel Values Command 0 Enable All 254 Disable Masked 255 Disable All 116 Default Snap Z lt Z Z Z Z lt Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z Z
157. thru Stencil really means Draw this layer s texture only where the holes are in the Stencil In the opposite case if a layer s Drawmode is set to 8 the term Draw onto Stencil really means Draw this layer s texture only where the Stencil hasn t got holes By setting Layer 1 to Drawmode 5 Cut and Draw plus Light and applying a texture to Layer 1 Layer 1 s texture can be shown instead of the black areas seen in the right hand image above In the illustration above Drawmode 5 causes the shape of Layer 1 s gobo to be cut into the Stencil Also Layer 1 s texture is applied to the gobo and therefore that texture is shown in the holes in the Stencil In this particular example the same result could be achieved without using Drawmodes by placing the green clip on Layer 1 and placing the textured gobo on Layer 2 with Layer 1 s Drawmode set to 1 The benefits of the various Drawmodes become more apparent when the holes cut into the Stencil are used to affect more than one layer You can achieve very interesting results if you use a movie with a transparency effect applied to cut the Stencil The left hand illustration shows a movie playing on Layer 1 and on the right that same movie with the White Alpha Effect 056 turned on 60 In the next two illustrations Layer 1 is using Drawmode 5 and a movie is placed on Layer 2 shown with Drawmode 6 on the left and then with Drawmode 8 on the right draw thru stencil draw onto stencil La
158. ticeable If the movie s frame rate divides evenly into 60 then the movie will play more smoothly so 20fps 15fps and 10fps will look better than other frame rates So if Mbox Extreme s output frequency is 50Hz then it would be best to create content that is rendered at 25fps If output frequency is 59 94Hz then content should be rendered at 29 97fps and so on Resolution As noted above movie resolution has an impact on the performance of the Mbox Extreme server To put it simply the larger the movie s pixel dimensions the harder it is to play For best results you should always try to play the smallest movie possible Furthermore you should always make sure that the Mbox Extreme texture size setting is no larger than the largest piece of content that you intend to play Setting the texture size larger than necessary will affect movie playback Of course there are factors outside of Mbox Extreme that need to be taken into consideration when choosing a content resolution type of output signal display device native resolution size of projection surface But for the most part there isn t much point in playing content that has a higher resolution than your selected fullscreen output size But admittedly sometimes the smallest possible movie isn t the one that looks the best with your setup so make sure you test in advance if possible Audio Audio file manipulation for Mbox Extreme is one of the more complicated tasks in content creation Par
159. ticularly AIFF audio files that are associated with movie files rather than audio that is embedded in movies that use non preferred codecs Remember that you can t speed up or slow down audio playback when using associated AIFF files and that audio files will loop when the movie hits its out point So it is imperative to make sure that your audio file s playback rate matches the movie s default playback rate and that the audio file is exactly the same length as the movie The best way to do this is to keep the audio and video tracks of your movie together until the very last minute all throughout the editing process Once the editing process is complete then you create the two files You should avoid any manipulations of either file especially the movie file once the two have been separated You can always shorten the movie or play portions of it by adjusting the in and out points 89 AIFF audio files for playback on Mbox Extreme must be encoded as 2 channel Stereo L amp R LPCM 16 bit Integer Big or Little Endian at a sample rate of 44 1 kHz Other sample rates will play but will not play at the correct speed Mbox Extreme cannot play more than one AIFF audio file at a time The most recent file requested will play There is a slight crossfade between tracks that play back but this is only there to eliminate any pops or clicks when the audio switches files On the other hand if you choose to play the audio that is embedded in movies refer
160. ting timecode then only one server can receive timecode locally and rebroadcast it All other servers will receive timecode over the Ethernet network Start Stop button this button performs two functions depending on the Input setting If then Input menu is set to Local this button starts or stops resets the internal clock The internal clock will only run from the current Start time to the End time upon which it stops automatically Pressing the Stop button will stop the internal clock and reset it to the Start time If the Input menu is set to Audio or MIDI the Start Stop button will enable or disable the reception of timecode signal AutoStart checkbox check this box to cause the Start button to be pressed automatically when the Mbox Remote application is launched Typically this checkbox will be selected if you are receiving external timecode Timecode value displays the current timecode value as Hours Minutes Seconds Frames HH MM SS FF 96 Start Time displays the start time for the internal clock HH MM SS FF End Time displays the end time for the internal clock HH MM SS FF Note In order to receive timecode that had been broadcast via Ethernet from another Mbox Extreme server the Mbox Remote application does not need to be running Status Tab ontrol MboxExtreme 000 ontrol Control Thumbs Multiple ETTEERCTHNTINN INN INN INN INN IN Layers ae es ie e ie ae ies es Selected Multiple ta
161. tings can be adjusted from the Setup tab within Mbox Extreme However there are some advanced settings that cannot be adjusted from the Setup tab You can add certain elements to the Mbox Extreme plist file to cause Mbox Extreme to operate in a particular manner Every Mbox Extreme server includes Apple s Property List Editor application but it does not cater specifically to Mbox Extreme To make modifications to the Mbox Extreme plist use the application called MbE plist Editor located in the MboxExtreme Utilities folder CMA AA Bi A The Mbox Extreme application only writes information to the MboxExtreme plist when the application quits Therefore while Mbox Extreme is running any changes made to the plist file will be over written when Mbox Extreme quits In order to properly use the MbE plist Editor Mbox Extreme should not be running When the MbE plist Editor application is launched it will automatically read the information from the MboxExtreme plist file This file must be in its default location in the Mbox folder There are two action buttons at the lower right of the plist Editor window The Save button allows you to write any changes to the MboxExtreme plist file while the Revert button allows you to restore the information from the plist file as you first opened it If you make changes and do not save them you can always revert the information to the prior settings by pressing the Revert button When you quit the plist Edito
162. tions in the System Preference pane make sure that you click the Apply Now button These two additional locations are called 2 ArtNet and 10 ArtNet This is because virtually all Art Net devices work on either a 2 x x x or 10 x x x network subnet You need to select the network location based on the subnet of the Art Net devices that you are using either 2 dot or 10 dot To function correctly on the same network all of the Art Net devices must use the same network subnet You cannot mix 2 dot and 10 dot devices on the same physical network and have them communicate with each other Note In order to use the previsualization features and to output Art Net data the Pixel Map Enable box on the Mbox Extreme Setup tab must be checked See Setup on page 33 76 BASIC SETUP Basic Pixel Mapping Setup While in Window mode select the Pixel Map tab at the top of the Mbox Extreme window If there is no current pixel ESSE fae vene Mes mapping file you will see an empty configuration like the one to the right If a pixel mapping configuration already exists you can click the New button and choose a name and save location for your new file The gridded area to the top left is the pixel mapping context This is where you will arrange your fixtures so as to assign their pixels to various areas of the screen image The grid lines are colored white every tenth division The table to the right of the grid shows the fixture patch informatio
163. to Audio Output on page 65 for further info you can play more than one audio track at a time This can get messy since there is no crossfade or volume control when playing embedded audio You can use the audio volume control channel on the Camera to modify the volume of AIFF audio file playback However at present time the volume control does not affect embedded audio tracks in movies that use a non preferred codec Alpha Channel in Movies the Animation Codec It is often very useful to be able to add areas of transparency to a layer when using Mbox Extreme So as to see other layers behind to create a knockout for IMAG or for proper display of a movie that uses green screen technology When creating content there are several QuickTime codecs that allow an alpha channel transparency information to be embedded in the movie For the purposes of Mbox Extreme the only useful codec is the Animation codec The name of this codec hints at why it was created for use in rendering cartoon animation Because of this the compression scheme is optimized for large areas that are the same color So using the Animation codec ends up being a bit of a compromise for live action movies it isn t the best choice Re rendering a typical Photo JPEG movie into the Animation codec will drastically increase the bit rate of the movie even if there is no variation in the alpha channel information If you create a movie that uses the Animation codec and play i
164. ture Size either in width or height it will automatically be reduced in size in 5096 increments until it fits within the Texture Size This automatic resizing affects image quality but ensures that oversized content can be displayed quickly You should find a compromise between keeping the Texture Size as small as possible and keeping your image quality as high as required Because the majority of stock content on the Mbox Extreme hard drive is 720px x 480px the Texture Size should never be set lower than this value if you intend to use any stock content UN CAUTION If you make any changes to the Texture Size settings you must quit and restart the Mbox Extreme application for these changes to take effect Screen Selection Screen Arrangement When using the Single Output operating mode you are able to select whether the Mbox Extreme application will enter Fullscreen mode on the Main output 1 on the I O module or Alt output 2 on the I O module screen The other output will continue to display the Mac desktop Alternately you can select the Mirror Screens checkbox to cause the single output to appear on both screens at the same time When using either of the Panoramic Wide or Panoramic Dual operating modes you are able to set and adjust the overlap between the two screens and whether they are horizontally or vertically arrayed You may also swap the outputs by selecting the Swap Screens checkbox Video Input Setup The video set
165. ubtractive Green subtractive Blue subtractive Spot 1 washes 3D objects from top right casting shadows Red subtractive Green subtractive Blue subtractive Spot 2 washes 3D objects from top left casting shadows Red subtractive Green subtractive Blue subtractive Spot 3 washes 3D objects from below casting shadows Red subtractive Green subtractive Blue subtractive Camera Spot 4 washes 3D objects from above casting shadows Red subtractive Green subtractive Blue subtractive Parameter Texture Effect 1 Modifier 1A Modifier 1B Texture Effect 2 Modifier 2A Modifier 2B Intensity Red Green Blue Orbit X Orbit Y Dolly Roll Spin Field of View Pitch Yaw Control Decay Fog Blur Pixel Map Level Pixel Map Control Audio Volume Description 2D effect applied to the final image First modifier Second modifier 2D effect applied to the final image First modifier Second modifier Intensity of the video output from the I O module hardware dimming Red subtractive Green subtractive Blue subtractive Moves the camera horizontally around 3D objects Moves the camera vertically around 3D objects Moves the camera towards and away from 3D objects Rotates the camera on its lens axis Spins the camera on its lens axis Adjusts the FOV of the camera lens Tilts the camera up and down in relation to 3D objects Angles the camera left and right in relation to 3D objects
166. up controls allow you to select and configure the local video inputs to the server These inputs can be the standard Blackmagic Decklink Extreme HD card or an optional USB or FireWire camera When setting up the video inputs make sure that none of the layers are attempting to display the camera that you are configuring You may also need to open the Decklink Preference Panel in the Mac s System Preferences to select the type of signal that is being received SDI Composite or Component by the Decklink card Refer to the Appendix Video Input on page 101 for more information Options The settings in the Options section turn on and off various software features Checking No Diagnostics will disable the Mbox Extreme automatic error reporting images checking this box is recommended during show situations Checking Deinterlace Video Inputs will cause Mbox Extreme to deinterlace the video signal that it receives on the local video inputs Pixel Map Enable toggles the processing of pixel mapping patches and the resulting Art Net output Unless you are using pixel mapping this box should be left unchecked If you enable or disable Audio Playback you must quit and restart the Mbox Extreme application for the change to take effect 36 I O Module The I O Modules settings area is used for verifying the configuration of the connected I O module output sections This is important when using Dual Independent mode as Mbox E
167. utomated lighting Powerful real time rendering built in effects and interactive 3D objects provide tools for combining prerecorded video and still images to create visual imagery which can be displayed by any projector LED wall plasma screen or low res LED lighting fixture The Mbox Extreme server can be programmed and operated directly from DMX512 based moving light consoles allowing ease of coordination between video image effects and lighting cues Intricate Mbox Extreme sequences can be generated instantly on site without the need for offline video processing rendering or editing The Mbox Extreme stock library includes a wide variety of video clips still images and 3D objects Custom media files may also be added The Mbox Extreme software runs on a rack mounted Apple Mac computer controlled by DMX512 or Art Net All video still images and 3D objects are stored directly on the Mbox Extreme hard drive allowing instant access to any file The Mbox Extreme is a single server rack unit equipped with two video outputs that can be used to drive a variety of video display devices The included dual I O module provides VGA DVI SDI SD HD stage outputs for video along with DVI preview capability Note The provided Mac Pro computer requires the LeopardTM 10 5 operating system Feature List Single server rack with integrated UPS I O module and Auxiliary Input panel Dual video output per server with multiple operating modes Sing
168. ve embedded audio tracks that should be separated from the video before you attempt to play the movie with Mbox Extreme 88 Other codecs when treated as non preferred are played in a QuickTime wrapper rather than natively in Mbox Extreme Because of this playback may be poor playmodes other than FWD Loop and FWD Once may not work movies may not loop unless the in out points are rolled inwards slightly frame blending will not work some transitions and effects may not work properly On the plus side embedded audio tracks in movies with non preferred codecs may play when the movie is played You can force Mbox Extreme to attempt to play non preferred codecs natively however this is not recommended Please contact your PRG representative if you would like further information about this feature Compression Bit Rate Movie compression can have a large impact on playback performance There is a balance between quality and performance that can be tipped in either direction by adjusting the amount of compression when you render a movie Typically compression is labeled as Compressor Quality or something similar and the scale goes from least to best or 096 to 10096 more compression to less compression The more compression you use the smaller the movie file will be and the bit rate or data rate of the movie will be lower Lower bit rates theoretically lead to better playback performance but below a certain point the quality may be unac
169. video image Art Net data is generated from the screen image and is output from the second Ethernet port of the Mac computer You may need to use an Art Net to DMX512 converter to change the data into a more suitable protocol if the device you wish to control cannot receive Art Net directly When pixel mapping Mbox Extreme retains both the stage and preview outputs so you can still send a video signal to a display device Mbox Extreme also gives you the ability to previsualize the pixel mapping setup on your video monitor When using pixel mapping with Mbox Extreme in single output mode the entire screen can be mapped However in the dual output modes you should keep the following in mind In Panoramic Wide and Panoramic Dual modes the entire width of the two screens can be mapped In Dual Independent mode only first screen can be mapped When pixel mapping you must always use the second Ethernet port on the Mac to output the Art Net data If both Art Net input and output share a single Ethernet port the volume of network traffic generated by complex pixel mapping configurations will affect the reception of Art Net control data Because of this each Mbox Extreme server has two supplemental Network Locations that enable you to quickly configure the second Ethernet port on the Mac for Art Net output without affecting the first port You can change network locations from the Apple menu or from the System Preferences Network pane If you change loca
170. will probably not be using a video output if you are using Sample Areas Outlines of sample areas Layers placed inside areas Previsualization 82 MAINTENANCE This chapter contains procedures for extended care of the Mbox Extreme Media Server ROUTINE MAINTENANCE 84 ROUTINE MAINTENANCE Cleaning or Replacing the Air Filter The air filters located at front of the computer should be cleaned or replaced as needed To clean remove air filter Step Step Step Step Step Te Disconnect power from case 2 At front of rack remove six screws to release grill 3 Remove grill and air filter 4 5 Re install Clean filter with compressed air or water if allowed to fully dry Air Filter Screw 6 Removing the Computer The Mac Pro amp computer can be removed from the case to be cleaned or replaced To remove computer Step 1 At rear of rack disconnect all cables from computer Step 2 Atfront of rack remove grill and air filter Refer back to Figure 7 1 on page 84 Step 3 Carefully slide computer out of case Figure 7 2 Step 4 Remove side brackets from computer 85 HIER IBI H H EII Iaido es BU 535455 38 55 3444454443 333544553 NBI HB MBOX EXTREME MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL 86 CONTENT CREATION AND UTILITIES This Appendix contains information on the proper formatting of content for playback on the Mbox Extreme Med
171. xtreme has to know which output to dim with Camera 1 and which to dim with Camera 2 When using Dual Independent mode if you find that Camera 1 dims the right screen and Camera 2 dims the left screen then your output sections are reversed Each light grey button in the I O Modules section serves a purpose The numbered buttons underneath the words Left and Right indicate that an I O module output section has been found If you see on one or both buttons this would indicate that the Mbox Extreme application cannot find the I O module circuit board in question These buttons also serve to identify which output section is which If you press the left hand button the top I O module output section should flash its LEDs rapidly Likewise pressing the right hand button should cause the bottom output section s LEDs to flash rapidly If you find that the left button flashes the bottom LEDs and the right button flashes the top LEDs you should press the lt gt button to swap the order of the sections You can then verify the swap by pressing the numbered buttons again Once you have verified the correct ordering you should always press the Remember Modules button to save the information This information will be used whenever the Mbox Extreme application launches If this occurs you should check all USB connections between the Mac and the I O module Note The Mbox Extreme plist Editor application can help in setting Mbox Extre
172. yer Blending Modes There are seven layer blending modes Many of these layer blending modes have been chosen to best replicate common modes found in commercial image editing software e g PhotoShop After Effects The modes and their values are 32 Additive layer s colors are added to underlying colors blacks appear transparent 64 Screen similar to above with less of underlying color blacks appear transparent 96 Multiply multiplies layer s color with underlying color blacks appear opaque 128 Subtractive layer s colors are subtracted from underlying colors blacks appear transparent 160 Exclusion underlying colors are inverted where layer color is lighter layer s colors are then added to underlying colors blacks appear transparent 192 Invert Subtractive underlying colors are subtracted from layer s colors blacks appear opaque 224 Invert Additive layer s colors are inverted and are added to inverse of underlying colors blacks appear transparent The blending modes are accessed using the Drawmode control on each layer Their discrete values have been structured so that you can still use the pre existing drawmode controls in combination with the new blend modes As noted in Using Drawmodes on page 57 the Drawmode control uses values between 1 and 31 to select combinations of functionality These original values can be added to the blend mode values noted above to in order to combine

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