XVS - 2 - Log in - Barco

XVS - 2 

System overview & Installation 

R9852227 

R5976955/02 

14/03/2007

Product revision 

Software version: 2.3 

Barco nv Media 

Noordlaan 5, B-8520 Kuurne 

Phone: +32 56.36.89.70 

Fax: +32 56.36.83.86 

E-mail: sales.media@barco.com 

Visit us at the web: www.barco.com 

Printed in Belgium

XVS-2 update 

The following features are no longer supported by XVS-2. Any and all references to these features, related 

setup, and hardware information should be disregarded. 

- Standby operate including support for a separate Data Server. 

- Content storage installation (for Operate systems only Operate, XML Blaster, Live Data, and Data Services 

installs are needed and supported). 

- Live video capture for both Operate and Playback systems. 

- Digital Audio - support to play audio files or audio embedded in video files is still supported though as 

analog audio. 

May 2010

Copyright © 

All rights reserved. No part of this document may be copied, reproduced or translated. It shall not otherwise 

be recorded, transmitted or stored in a retrieval system without the prior written consent of Barco. 

Changes 

Barco provides this manual ’as is’ without warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied, including but not 

limited to the implied warranties or merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. Barco may make improvements 

and/or changes to the product(s) and/or the program(s) described in this publication at any time 

without notice. 

This publication could contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. Changes are periodically made 

to the information in this publication; these changes are incorporated in new editions of this publication. 

Trademarks 

Brand and product names mentioned in this manual may be trademarks, registered trademarks or copyrights 

of their respective holders. All brand and product names mentioned in this manual serve as comments or 

examples and are not to be understood as advertising for the products or their manufactures.

Table of contents 

TABLE OF CONTENTS 

1. System Overview ...................................................................................5 

1.1 Barco’s solution ................................................................................................ 5 

1.2 System & workflow overview ................................................................................. 6 

1.2.1 XVS system overview.................................................................................... 6 

1.2.2 XVS workflow............................................................................................10 

1.2.3 Setup .....................................................................................................10 

1.2.4 Pre-game actions........................................................................................11 

1.2.5 In-game actions..........................................................................................11 

1.2.6 Post-game actions ......................................................................................12 

1.3 XVS Operate ..................................................................................................12 

1.3.1 General...................................................................................................12 

1.3.2 System Manager ........................................................................................12 

1.3.3 Message Editor..........................................................................................14 

1.3.4 Action Manager..........................................................................................14 

1.4 XVS RTD.......................................................................................................15 

1.4.1 RTD management.......................................................................................15 

1.4.2 RSS services ............................................................................................16 

1.4.3 RS232 service ...........................................................................................17 

1.5 XVS Play.......................................................................................................17 

1.5.1 General...................................................................................................17 

1.5.2 Ultimate visual creativity................................................................................18 

1.5.3 Optimized for fascia and perimeter solutions.........................................................18 

1.5.4 Optimized for video cube solutions....................................................................18 

1.5.5 Principle of segmentation...............................................................................18 

1.5.6 Principle of mirroring (repeating).......................................................................19 

1.6 Director Toolset integration...................................................................................21 

1.6.1 About the use of Director Toolset......................................................................21 

1.6.2 How to make a configuration...........................................................................21 

2. XVS features ...................................................................................... 23 

2.1 Overview list...................................................................................................23 

2.2 Supported file formats ........................................................................................25 

3. XVS Hardware Configurations ................................................................ 27 

3.1 XVS hardware configuration overview......................................................................27 



3.4 XVS lightweight Play..........................................................................................33 

3.5 XVS Playback Integrated miniPC ...........................................................................34 

3.6 XVS Dataserver...............................................................................................35 

3.7 Specified hardware components ............................................................................36 

3.7.1 Digital audio card Playback computer.................................................................36 

3.7.2 Video card Operate computer..........................................................................37 

3.7.3 Video card Playback computer.........................................................................39 

4. Installation ......................................................................................... 41 


4.1.1 Hardware connections..................................................................................41 

4.1.2 Software installation.....................................................................................41 


4.2.1 Hardware installation....................................................................................46 

4.2.2 Software installation.....................................................................................47 

4.3 Installation of H264 support in XVS-2.......................................................................56 

5. XVS - WAN support .............................................................................. 57 

5.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................57 

5.2 Supported WAN setups for n computers ...................................................................58 

5.3 About Internet providers......................................................................................58 

R5976955 XVS - 2 14/03/2007 1


5.4 Possible ISP restrictions .....................................................................................59 

5.5 Installation and configuration ................................................................................61 

5.6 FTP installation and configuration...........................................................................61 

5.6.1 FTP installation on a Play computer...................................................................61 

5.6.2 FTP configuration on the Play side....................................................................62 

5.7 Configure Syncback with FTP profile on the Operate computer.........................................63 

5.8 Troubleshooting ...............................................................................................63 

5.8.1 Introduction...............................................................................................63 

5.8.2 Operate does not start up ..............................................................................64 

5.8.3 Display creation fails....................................................................................64 

5.8.4 Scheduling fails..........................................................................................65 

5.8.5 Real time data fails......................................................................................65 

5.8.6 No feedback in Action Manager queue ...............................................................66 

5.8.7 No diagnostics in Operate..............................................................................67 

5.8.8 Reporting fails ...........................................................................................67 

5.8.9 Storage service on Play computer needs a different port...........................................67 

6. Automatic Playback Redundancy Installation ............................................ 69 

6.1 Some definitions ..............................................................................................69 

6.2 Hardware.......................................................................................................70 

6.3 Configuration of the redundancy playbacks................................................................73 

6.4 States of the Redundancy Controller .......................................................................74 

7. Troubleshooting .................................................................................. 75 

7.1 General.........................................................................................................75 

7.1.1 Where to find back logging information in case of failure ...........................................75 

7.1.2 XVS fails when using VOB files with Dolby 5.1 or 7.1 sound on systems that have Cyberlink 

PowerDVD installed........................................................................................76 

7.1.3 Errors during upgrade...................................................................................76 

7.1.4 DVI resolution switch with Director Toolset in remote mode .......................................76 


7.2.1 General...................................................................................................77 

7.2.1.1 Startup of XVS operate fails......................................................................77 

7.2.1.2 Startup of XVS Operate takes a long time ......................................................77 

7.2.1.3 Cannot connect to database after installing video drivers .....................................78 

7.2.2 System Manager ........................................................................................78 

7.2.2.1 Menu bar appears at the wrong location........................................................78 

7.2.2.2 No events received in diagnostics panel........................................................79 

7.2.2.3 Display creation fails ..............................................................................79 

7.2.2.4 Cannot select items in Layout tree using keyboard shortcuts.................................81 

7.2.3 Message Editor..........................................................................................81 

7.2.3.1 Excessive CPU usage (100%) in text edit mode ...............................................81 

7.2.3.2 The preview of a scene that contains a video item has an offset of 10 seconds after dropping 

an empty scene in front of it. ........................................................................81 

7.2.4 Action Manager..........................................................................................82 

7.2.4.1 Some content actions triggered from System tab do not execute. ...........................82 

7.2.4.2 Scheduling an item asap when loop first is checked does not override current schedule ..82 

7.2.4.3 Null pointer exception when no active layout on a display ....................................83 

7.2.4.4 A changed preset configuration not reflected in the action....................................83 

7.3 XVS RTD.......................................................................................................83 

7.3.1 General...................................................................................................83 

7.3.1.1 RTD fails to startup ................................................................................83 

7.3.2 RSS feed manager......................................................................................84 

7.3.2.1 Problem deleting RSS feeds when the same feed exists more than once...................84 

7.3.2.2 RTD does not start after installing a webcam...................................................84 

7.3.3 RS232 Templates .......................................................................................84 

7.3.3.1 MP70 online conflicts when mouse driver is installed on same COM port ..................84 

7.3.3.2 Newly installed MP70 device only visible after PC reboot.....................................85 


7.4.1 Large JPEG files do not play correctly................................................................85 

2 R5976955 XVS - 2 14/03/2007


7.4.2 Director Toolset configuration must be done before setting XVS Play online.....................86 

7.4.3 Newly imported (large) content file does not play when scheduled immediately.................86 

7.4.4 Playback generates many font errors .................................................................86 

7.4.5 Scrolling text is not smooth.............................................................................87 

7.4.6 The procedure entry point FreeAddrInfoW could not be located in the DLL WS2_32.dll........87 

7.4.7 RS232 combiner.........................................................................................87 

7.4.8 Both DVI outputs on different resolution ..............................................................87 

7.4.9 XVS Playback Integrated PC freezes after a few hours.............................................87 

7.4.10 MP4 content does not play.............................................................................88 

A. Adobe Flash® support in XVS-2 .............................................................. 89 

A.1 Overview of features and limitations........................................................................89 

Index .................................................................................................... 91 




1. System Overview 

1. SYSTEM OVERVIEW 

Overview 

• Barco’s solution 

• System & workflow overview 

• XVS Operate 

• XVS RTD 

• XVS Play 

• Director Toolset integration 

1.1 Barco’s solution 

Overview 

Barco’s solution is specifically designed to control scoring, timing & display devices for Sport facilities and 

out of house displays for the media market. The sports displays include indoor or outdoor LED displays, 

LED scoreboard displays, ribbon and perimeter displays, timing devices, lobby displays, etc. . 

Barco’s solution includes both, the control hardware and software. 

Barco’s solution is optimized for a quick response to live events by providing real-time content management 

which includes content scheduling and content creation. 

The operator can display by a simple click or by pressing a button, scoring information, commercials, team 

logos, animations and so much more other content. 

Image 1-1 

Stadium example 



1 Video LED display 

2 Perimeter 

3 Fascia ribbon 

4 Message center 

5 Lounges and VIP suites equipped with LD or LC displays 

6 Operator room with Barco’s Control solution XVS - 2 

XVS - 2 components 

As XVS - 2 is a total solution, it comes with: 

• Software components: 

- XVS Operate: to set up & manage the complete environment. 

- XVS RTD: to interface with real time data sources such as scoreboard control devices, RSS feeds. 

- XVS Play: for a creative visualization. 

• Hardware components: 

- XVS Operate PC 

- XVS Play Control PC 

- Optional XVS Operate Standby PC 

- Optional Data server 

- Optional MP70 scoreboard controller 

- All necessary peripheral equipment and cables 

XVS hardware is always supplied by Barco. Barco does not support nor guarantee compatibility 

of XVS software with third party hardware vendors. 

1.2 System & workflow overview 

1.2.1 XVS system overview 

Overview 

Two possible system setups are possible: 

• A typical system, Operate - Playback. 

• A typical system with standby possibility, Operate, Operate standby, Data server - Playback 



A complete typical system contains 2 big parts 

• The XVS Operate side. This side contains: 

• an operate PC running: 

o System manager 

o Message editor 

o Action manager 

o XVS RTD for real time data interfacing with RSS feeds and scoreboard controllers. 

- Scoreboard controller 

• The XVS Play side (multiple Play sides possible with one Operate). This side contains: 

• A Play computer running 

o XVS Play 

- an image processor (e.g. D320 based or Ledpro) 

- A LED display such as perimeter, cube or LED wall. 

A complete typical system with standby possibility contains 3 big parts 

• The XVS Operate side. This side contains: 

• two operate PCs running: 

o System manager 

o Message editor 

o Action manager 

• One Data Server PC 

o XVS RTD for real time data interfacing with RSS feeds and scoreboard controllers. 

o XML blaster 

o Data services 

o Content storage 

- Scoreboard controller, connected to the data server 

• The XVS Play side (multiple Play sides possible with one Operate). This side contains: 

• A Play computer running 

o XVS Play 

- an image processor (e.g. D320 based or Ledpro) 

- A LED display such as perimeter, cube or LED wall. 

The system comes as a total package and contains at least 3 dedicated PC platforms, one server platform 

and software as well as the necessary cables and peripherals. 

In a typical configuration, the Operate PC is the workstation for the system where the majority of operator 

interface occurs. In a system with standby function, when the main Operate PC fails, the standby Operate 

PC can take over all functionality without interrupting the event. The Playback system assembles the input 

from the Operate (data server) machine along with live data and captured video and feeds it to the image 

processor as one image. 



Typical system: 

Operate side 

System Manager 

Message Editor 

Scoreboard controller 

MP70 

Action Manager 

RS232 

XVS RTD 

Ethernet connection 

Operate 

Installed software 

RSS feed 

LAN network 

RS232 

DVI 

DVI 

Playback 1 

Perimeter 

RS232 

Playback 2 

DVI 

DVI 

Cube 

Playback side 

Image 1-2 

System overview 



Typical system with standby function: 

Operate side 

System Manager 


Operate 

Action Manager 

Operate Standby 

XML Blaster 

Data services 

Data server 

Content storage 

RS232 


MP70 

XVS RTD 

Installed software 

RSS feed 

LAN network 

RS232 

DVI 

DVI 

Playback 1 

Perimeter 

RS232 

Playback 2 

DVI 

DVI 

Cube 

Playback side 

Image 1-3 

System overview 



1.2.2 XVS workflow 

Overview workflow 

Setup 

Hardware installation 

Software installation 

Support Engineer 

(only once) 

Pre-game 

Content creation 

Layout creation 

Action creation 

Testing 

Content creatives 

& 

Operator 

In-game 

Trigger actions 

Monitors displays 

Manages RSS feed 

Operator 

Post-game 

Creating reports 

Diagnostics review 

Operator 

& 

Support engineer 

Image 1-4 

Workflow 

The workflow includes the following 4 big steps: 

• Setup: hardware and software setup of XVS Operate and XVS Play, eventually data server setup (by 

support engineer and operator) (has to be done once) 

• Pre-game: create new content and import content delivered by third parties, create playlists and 

actions necessary for the coming event, and organize, prepare the event (by operator and content 

creatives) 

• In-game: scoreboard control, running playlists, starting actions, monitor display status (by operator) 

• Post-game: create reports (by operator) and review diagnostics (by support engineer) 

1.2.3 Setup 

Physical system installation 

Setup to be done by the support engineer: 

• Display components, consult the installation manual of the corresponding component. 

• Display configuration with Director Toolset. For more information, consult the Director Toolset reference 

manual. 

• Set up of the Play PC. 

• Set up of the Operate PC. 

• When a standby system: 

- Set up of the Operate Standby PC 

- Set up of the data server 



Software installation 

Installation to be done by software engineer for a typical system (the software is normally pre-installed on 

the PC): 

• Installation of the playback software on the play PC. 

• Installation of the Database on the Operate PC. 

• Installation of the XML Blaster on the Operate PC. 

• Installation of XVS RTD on the Operate PC. 

• Installation of XVS Operate on the Operate PC. 

Installation to be done by software engineer for a typical system with standby option (the software is normally 

pre-installed on the PC): 

• Installation of the playback software on the play PC. 

• Installation of XVS Operate on the Operate PC. 

• Installation of XVS Operate on the Operate standby PC. 

• Installation of the Database on the Data server PC. 

• Installation of the XML Blaster on the Data server PC. 

• Installation of XVS RTD on the Data server PC. 

• Installation of Content storage on the Data server PC. 

Software configuration 

Configure the real time data such as scoreboard controller MP70, RSS feeds... 

1.2.4 Pre-game actions 

Create content 

Create content with: 

• 3rd party tools 

• Message editor, to build a message with text, video, graphics, real-time data and effects. 

Manage content with System Manager and Action Manager 

With System Manager, the Operator organizes the content into dedicated folders and creates playlists. 

With Action Manager, he creates actions. 

The necessary displays must be created (connected). When it is a fixed installation with always the same 

hardware configuration, this can be done during the setup phase. 

Create the layout which will be used during the game and send this layout to the display. 

The necessary tests must be done to make sure that everything works fine. E.g. schedule the content or 

playlist and activate the created actions. 

1.2.5 In-game actions 

Control function with Action Manager 

The following functions can be done by the operator during the game: 

• Trigger actions on certain events in the game 

• In-game scheduling 

• Controlling the video replays 

Scoreboard controlling 

Operator monitors the incoming scores and statistics from the MP70. 

The operator monitors the incoming RSS feeds and sends them to the display when necessary. 



The referee or jury operates the scoreboard controller which is connected to the Operate PC or data 

server. 

Monitoring 

Operator monitors the display diagnostics and the D320 output. 

1.2.6 Post-game actions 

Reporting 

Operator creates the necessary proof-of-performance reports and operational reports. 

Diagnostics review by support engineer 

Diagnostics review such as text logging operate and play, event logging play and operational reports. 

1.3 XVS Operate 

1.3.1 General 

Overview 

XVS Operate is the main tool for the Operator. This tool is used during the complete process, to: 

• Setup and monitor displays 

• Create layouts 

• Send layouts 

• Create playlist 

• Schedule content on a display 

• Create actions and trigger actions 

• Create complete messages that can contain graphics, video, live data elements, text. 

Components 

XVS Operate contains 3 components: 

• System Manager 

• Message Editor 

• Action Manager 

1.3.2 System Manager 

Overview 

The System Manager contains 4 modules: 

• Display management 

• Content management 

• Playlist creation 

• Layout editor 

which are selectable via the navigation buttons in the button bar. 



Image 1-5 

System manager 

Consult the System manager reference guide (R5976946) for more detailed information. 

Display management module 

This module allows to connect the different displays that must be controlled by XVS. 

It enables scheduling layouts and content on any connected display. 

Diagnostics information and reports about each display can be consulted. 

Content management module 

This module allows to import almost any content and to organize this content into typical folders. Names 

and descriptions of this content can be changed and almost any type of content can be previewed. 

Playlist creation 

This module allows to create a sequence of different contents which can be saved as a playlist. This 

playlist can then be scheduled as a single content. Once scheduled, each item out of the playlist will play 

one after each other. 

A playlist can be organized and managed as content. 

Layout editor 

This module allows to create a layout for a single display. This layout can be one channel layout or a multichannel 

layout on different layers. When using different layers, each layer will have a different Z-order. 

This Z-order is important for the playback of content as some content can overlap other content. This 

functionality becomes useful when triggering hot red actions which has to show content on the top layer. 



1.3.3 Message Editor 

Overview 

The Message Editor is a ’What you see, what you get’ authoring tool that allows to create custom messages 

in a similar way as a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. These messages can contain video, graphics, 

text and paint items, Live data elements as well as custom made items. Each of these items can have 3 

types of effects: entry, hold and exit effect. A lot of properties can be set so that the message reaches the 

expectations of the customer. 

To make it even more flexible, one message can contain different scenes which will be played back one 

after each other. 

Image 1-6 


1.3.4 Action Manager 

Overview 

The Action Manager is a real time interactive tool to create and to organize custom actions or commands 

that can be executed on a display. An action is always created for a single display or even for a specific 

layer on that display. 

Actions are represented by a thumbnail and can have 3 different priorities: normal, hot and red hot. Actions 

can be content related to show a specific content, or display related to control the display settings. 

Actions can be stored in categories so that it is easy to find them back during the game. Activating an 

action is as simple as double clicking on it. A triggered action will be added to the real time queue and 

can change the queue sequence depending on the priority of the action. 

Within the Action Manager, the different queues can be controlled. 



Image 1-7 

Action manager 

For more information about the Action manager, consult the Action manager reference manual 

(R5976954). 

1.4 XVS RTD 

1.4.1 RTD management 

Overview 

XVS RTD allows the system to interface with a 3rd party data source. This 3rd party source can be anything, 

scoreboard information, statistics, official time as well as latest headlines. 

Real time data can be delivered from a hardware device connected through RS232 such as MP70 or a 

software application as Internet RSS feeds. 



Image 1-8 

RTD management 

Components 

The following components are available: 

• RSS services: to import headlines from internet sites. 

• RS232 services: to connect with external hardware. 

1.4.2 RSS services 

Overview 

An RSS service allows to define existing RSS feeds as a RTD service. RSS is an XML format designed for 

sharing web content like news headlines. An RSS service consists of a list of items, each with a headline, 

description and a link to a web page. 



Image 1-9 

RSS services window 

1.4.3 RS232 service 

Overview 

The RS232 service allows to define a RTD service from any RS232 device by defining/configuring the 

device specific protocol. 

The MP70 scoreboard controller is supported by default and each sport is pre-defined by a separate 

RS232 template. Any RS232 device can be supported by customizing an RS232 template. 

1.5 XVS Play 

1.5.1 General 

Overview 

XVS Play generates one DVI source which holds a mixture of animations, maybe a captured video source, 

graphics and real-time data sources. XVS Play supports standard scoreboard configurations, fascia and 

perimeters solutions around the sports theater as well as out of house displays. 

The XVS software is designed for 

• real-time segmentation of content with extreme aspect ratios, without stretching, mirroring nor tilting 

of the content. 

• endless repetition of content across the board without suffering any performance 



1.5.2 Ultimate visual creativity 

Overview 

• Supports complex layouts with multiple layers and each layer can contain multiple channels. 

• Support for industry standard video formats, graphics formats and audio formats. 

• Support content mixing, scaling, ordering and positioning. 

• Support for multiple effects (entry, hold and exit) on any type of content. 

• Static and real-time character generation. 

• Support for audio playback: video encoded with audio and as background audio. 

1.5.3 Optimized for fascia and perimeter solutions 

Overview 

• Create complex layouts in real resolution, define multiple layers to put the content on. 

• Render contents in their native resolution (e.g. 30.000 x 64 pixels) on a fascia board, the player will 

convert in real-time to single DVI output using real-time segmentation. 

• Repeat static and dynamic advertisements endlessly by mirroring. 

1.5.4 Optimized for video cube solutions 

Overview 

Control a cube as 1 display, use integrated mirroring to repeat/synchronize the content or use unique 

content. 

Use multiple layers and mix graphics, video files, live video capture, static and real-time text and effects. 

1.5.5 Principle of segmentation 

Overview 

When the (horizontal) resolution of the created signal is higher than the (horizontal) resolution of the video 

card, then the software will apply automatically segmentation on the source signal. The result on the 

display will look like the original source. 

The software will render 1 file (content) with a higher resolution then the video card resolution. 

The content will internally be segmented (e.g. content A will be split into A1, A2, A3, A4, A5). 

This new created DVI output will be sent to the display and the content will be correctly displayed. 



Content file A 

A1 

A2 

A3 

Internal XVS Play computer 

A4 

A5 

Result to display 

Image 1-10 

Use Director Toolset for the segmentation of the tiles of the display. 

1.5.6 Principle of mirroring (repeating) 

Overview 

When individual content is smaller than the resolution of the display, mirroring or repeating becomes possible. 

One content can be sent to different locations on the display. 

A few examples will follow. 

Perimeter example: 

Take a display with a resolution of 30000x64. The display should display 10 pieces of content each 

3000x64. Some contents are the same, e.g. 4x content A, 3x content B and 2x content C. 

The result should be as: 

Ch1 Ch2 Ch3 Ch4 Ch5 Ch6 Ch7 Ch8 Ch9 Ch10 

A B A B C A A C B B 

Image 1-11 

How to handle: 

1. Create a layout with one layer. 

2. Add 3 clusters to that layer. 

3. To display content A, add channel 1, channel 3, channel 6 and channel 7 to cluster 1. 

4. To display content B, add channel 2, channel 4, channel 9 and channel 10 to cluster 2. 

5. To display content C, add channel 5 and channel 8 to cluster 3. 

That gives the following layout tree: 

Layout 

Layer 1 

Cluster 1 

Channel 1 



Channel 3 

Channel 6 

Channel 7 

Cluster 2 

Channel 2 

Channel 4 

Channel 9 

Channel 10 

Cluster 3 

Channel 5 

Channel 8 

Schedule content A on cluster 1, content B on cluster 2 and content C on cluster 3. 

Note that content scheduled on a cluster, each channel inside that cluster will display that content. 

Cube display example: 

A cube contains 4 displays. It is possible to display the same content on each display or to display different 

content on each display just by working creatively with the layers and channels. 

With Director Toolset, the 4 walls in the cube can be configured as one complete flat wall. 

Create the following layout on that wall: 

Layer 1 Layer 2 

Channel 1 Channel 2 




Image 1-12 

Layout 

Layer 1 

Cluster 1 

Channel 1 

Channel 2 

Channel 3 

Channel 4 

Layer 2 

Channel 5 

Channel 6 

Channel 7 

Channel 8 



If you want to display the same content on all 4 side of the cube, sends content to cluster 1 and no content 

to channel 5, 6, 7 and 8. 

If different content on the 4 sides of the cube must be displayed, sends different content to channel 5, 6, 

7and8. 

If e.g. 2 sides must display the same content and both other sides different content, then send content to 

cluster 1 and content to channels 5 and 8. Due to the fact that layer 2 has a higher Z-order, channel 5 and 

8 will be displayed instead of channel 1 and 4. 

1.6 Director Toolset integration 

1.6.1 About the use of Director Toolset 

Overview 

Director Toolset is a software tool, used to set up, configure, manage and control a Barco LED display 

system of any kind. 

For the XVS integration, Director toolset must be configured in remote mode. Director Toolset is operated 

from the XVS Operate computer and controls the LED display through the XVS Play. 

Install Director Toolset on the XVS Operate computer. 

1.6.2 How to make a configuration 

Overview 

Create a new setup for each display connected to the XVS system. 

Select status online. 

Set Driver connections. Select Remote connection and fill out the display’s host name. 

Fill out the serial connection setup. This connection is the serial connection between the XVS Play computer 

and the digitizer of the LED display system. 

Click OK to create the setup. Start creating a Configuration. 

Only one configuration allowed per XVS Play computer. 

For more information about Setups and Configurations, consult the Director Toolset Reference manual 

(R5976850). 




2. XVS features 

2. XVS FEATURES 

2.1 Overview list 

User interface 

• Windows-style application with menus, icons, pull-down menus, and mouse and keyboard operations. 

Output 

• Animation display rate of at least 60 frames a second. 

• Ability to insert graphics and text over animation. 

• Ability to display live alphanumeric data feeds. 

Interconnectivity 

• Ability to control multiple signs and multiple sign sizes from one controller. 

Quick operations 

• User-defined thumbnail buttons which can be assigned a single action or a series of cascading actions. 

• Quickly display the current content you are creating/editing on a sign (


Play/Preview function 

• Preview messages with the correct aspect viewing ratio. 

• Preview a message immediately after making changes. 

Scheduling 

• Schedule message files or display controls with assigned play properties such as date, time, number 

of times to play, etc. 

• Mix graphic, text, animation, audio files and display controls in a single schedule. 

• Independently schedule on different zones. 

• Repeat content on zones. 

Layout 

• Partition a sign into user-definable zones that can be controlled independently. 

• Overlap zones with transparent backgrounds for a “picture-in picture” effect. 

Live Video 

• Accepts one video input in all common video formats. (NTSC, PAL, SECAM, VGA as composite, 

component, and S-Video inputs). 

• Video and effects managed in same manner as all other content. 

• Send video feed in real time to full matrix display or any defined zone. 

Interactive functions 

• User-defined action buttons launch any combination of content, play lists, and schedules for quick, 

easy display. 

• Trigger action on multiple displays at the same time. 

• Organize messages into categories for interactively displaying messages (e.g. score, half-time, concessions, 

advertisements, etc.). 

• Prioritize actions to play in sequence, after the current message, or interrupt the current message. 

• Determine a hold time for static images. 

• Change the properties (priority, hold time, etc.) on multiple actions simultaneously. 

Logging and reporting 

• Logging of each message as it plays including time and status. 

• Create a log report that can be sorted by sign. 

Interfaces to real-time data sources 

• Time of day (from PC clock). 

• Count-down timer. 

• RSS feed. 

• Barco MP70 Sport Scoring device (RS232). 

• Custom interfacing of live data stream or scoring devices on demand. 



2.2 Supported file formats 

Image formats 

File extension 

JPG/JPEG 

BMP 

DIB 

PNG 

DDS 

PPM 

HDR 

PFM 

GIF 

TGA 

PGM 

TIF/TIFF 

PCX 

PSD 

IFF 

RGB 

PIC/PICT/PCT 

WMF/EMF 

Video formats 

File 

extensions 

AVI 

Description 

Joint Photographics Experts Group compressed file format 

Microsoft Windows bitmap format 

Windows device-independent bitmap format 

Portable Network Graphics format 

Microsoft DirectDraw surface format 

Portable Pixel map format 

High Dynamic Range image format 

Portable float map format 

87a, 89a and Animated GIFs 

Truevision Targa format 

Portable Greymap format 

Tagged image file format 

ZSoft IBC PC Paintbrush format 

Adobe Photoshop file, final image only. Individual layers are not accessible 

Amiga Interchange File Format 

SGI RGB image file 

Apple Macintosh QuickDraw PICT file 

Windows Meta-file. Only rendered at the default image resolution. 

Description 

Microsoft Audio Video Interleave format 

Video Codecs: Uncompressed, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4v1, MPEG-4v2, 

Cinepak, Indeo 5.10 Also support for AVI files with a transparency channel (32 bit 

ARGB). 

Audio Codecs: PCM, MPEG-1 Layer 2, MPEG-1 Layer 3, WMA formats compatible 

with Windows Media Player 9 excluding the Windows Media Audio Voice 9 Codec. 

MPEG/MPG/MPE Motion Picture Experts Group video/audio formats) 

Video Codecs: MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4v1, MPEG-4v2 

Audio Codecs: PCM, MPEG-1 Layer 2, MPEG-1 Layer 3 



File 

extensions 

WMV 

Description 

Microsoft Windows Media Video format 

Video Codecs: WMV7, WMV8, WMV9 Excluding HD video formats and Windows 

MediaVideo9ImageCodec. 

Audio Codecs: WMA formats compatible with Windows Media Player 9 excluding 

theWindowsMediaAudioVoice9Codec. 

VOB 

DVD Video Object format 

Non-encrypted DVD format only. 

Video Codecs: MPEG-1 or MPEG-2 

Audio Codecs: MPEG-1 Layer 2, or PCM 

SWF Adobe Flash up to Flash Player 9 

SWF can be used with some limitations. See "Adobe Flash® support in XVS-2", 

page 89. 

MP4 

Optional with H264 codec. 

When the option is installed, MP4 standard files created with either Quicktime 7.1 

Pro or higher, or with Elecard H264 encoders are supported: 

• Video Codecs: all high or Main profiles of the H264/AVC codec. 

• Audio Codecs: AAC, including hi-definition multi-channel audio features. 

Audio formats 

File 

extensions 

WAV 

MP3 

WMA 

Description 

Raw PCM Format 

MPEG-1 Layer 3 format 

Windows Media Audio 

All WMA formats compatible with Windows Media Player 9 excluding the Windows 

Media Audio Voice 9 Codec. 

MID / MIDI 

Any unsupported codecs may work but the stability cannot be guaranteed ! 


3. XVS Hardware Configurations 

3. XVS HARDWARE CONFIGURATIONS 

XVS hardware is always supplied by Barco. Barco does not support nor guarantee compatibility 

of XVS software with third party hardware vendors. 

The given hardware specification are minimum hardware specification for the XVS application 

and are subject to change. 

Overview 

• XVS hardware configuration overview 



• XVS lightweight Play 

• XVS Playback Integrated miniPC 

• XVS Dataserver 

• Specified hardware components 

3.1 XVS hardware configuration overview 

Overview 

Two configuration are possible: 

• a typical configuration with one operate, acting as data server as well. 

• a typical configuration with a standby function. A second operate can take over the full job of the first 

operate when this is down for a reason. Mostly used in critical applications. 



Typical configuration 

Operator Desk 

19" Peripheral Rack 

O p e r a t o r D e sk 1 9 " P e r ip h e r a l R a ck 

CCat5 

a t 5 

Reach R e TTX 

X 

CCat5 

a t 5 

Reach R e RRX 

X 

KVM Switch 

KVM sw 

it ch 

S p o r t sB o x 

XVS 

a Playback 

D320 

D 3 2 0 

Short h o r t HHaul 

a u l 

Modem o d e m TTX 

X 

Short S h o r t HaulH a u l 

Modem M o d e m RXR X 


Operate 


O p e r a t e 

Fiber TX 

Fib e r T X 

MP70 

M P 7 0 

NNetwork 

e t w o r k 

H u b 

Hub 

to t o LED L wall 

a NetworkN e t w o r k 

Image 3-1 

Hardware overview 

List of materials for a typical configuration 

Group Description Qty CHK 

Computers XVS Operate 1 

XVS Playback 1 

USB Keyboard (Country code) 1 

USB Mouse 1 

17” LCD monitor 1 

Scoreboard 

controller 

MP70 1 

Software XVS software DVD 1 

License XVS software license 1 

Manuals XVS Operate System Manager 1 

XVS Operate Action Manager 1 

XVS Operate Message Editor 1 

XVS RTD 1 

XVS system overview 1 

Cables KVM cable 3 

RS232 cable 2 

CAT5 cable 2 




Network interfaces 1/4 KVM switch 1 

Gigabit switch (16 inputs) 1 

CAT5 reach TX 1 

CAT5 reach RX 1 

Nul Haul Modem TX 1 

Nul Haul Modem RX 1 

KVM 

Short for keyboard, video, mouse switch, a hardware device that enables a single keyboard, 

video monitor and mouse to control more than one computer one at a time. 

Typical configuration with standby functionality 

Operator Desk 

19" Peripheral Rack 

O p e r a t o r D e sk 1 9 " P e r ip h e r a l R a ck 

CCat5 

a t 5 

Reach R e TTX 

X 

CCat5 

a t 5 

Reach R e RRX 

X 

KVM Switch 

KVM sw 

it ch 



a Playback 

D320 

D 3 2 0 

Short h o r t HHaul 

a u l 

Modem o d e m TTX 

X 

Short S h o r t HaulH a u l 

Modem M o d e m RXR X 

Data 

server 


O p e r a t e 

Fiber TX 

Fib e r T X 

MP70 

M P 7 0 

H u b 

S p XVS o r t sB o x 

OperateO p e r a t e 

to t o LED L wall 

a Network 

Hub 

XVS S p o rStandby 

t sB o x 

O p e r a t e 

Operate 

NetworkN e t w o r k 

Image 3-2 

Typical configuration with standby functionality 



List of materials for a typical configuration with standby functionality 


Computers XVS Operate 2 

XVS Playback 1 

Data server 1 

USB Keyboard (Country code) 1 

USB Mouse 1 

17” LCD monitor 1 

Scoreboard 

controller 

MP70 1 

Software XVS software DVD 1 

License XVS software license 1 

Manuals XVS Operate System Manager 1 

XVS Operate Action Manager 1 

XVS Operate Message Editor 1 


XVS system overview 1 

Cables KVM cable 5 

RS232 cable 2 

CAT5 cable 2 

Network interfaces 1/4 KVM switch 1 

Gigabit switch (16 inputs) 1 

CAT5 reach TX 1 

CAT5 reach RX 1 

Nul Haul Modem TX 1 

Nul Haul Modem RX 1 


System specs 

Specification 

OS 

Detail 

Windows XP Professional (SP2), English version 

Processor One Dual-Core Intel® Xeon Processor 3.00 GHz (667 MHz FSB / 

2x2 MB) 



Specification 

Memory 

Drive bays 

I/O ports and connectors 

Slots 

Dimensions 

Detail 

2.0 GB (2x1024 MB DIMM) 400 MHz DDR2 533 Quad Channel FBD 

Memory 

2 internal 3.5 inch hard drive bays (2 x 1 inch) 

• 2 x 9 pins serial connectors; 16550 compatible 

• 25 pins parallel connector (2 directions) 

• 6 pins mini-DIN PS/2 keyboard & mouse connector 

• RJ45 NIC connector 

• 8 x USB 2.0 connectors (4pins) 

• 1/8 inch minibus audio input 

• 2 x 1/8 inch minibus for headphone (front & back) 

• 1/8 minibus microphone input 

• 1 PCI Express x16 slot with support for graphics up to 150W 

• 32-bits/33 MC PCI-slot 

• 64-bits/100 MC PCIx-slot 

hxwxd 

(44.7 x 16.8 x 44.5) cm 

(17.5 x 6.6 x 18.0) inch 

Weight 

Power supply 

Hard drives 

SCSI controller 

Raid 

CD, DVD drives 

Video 

Monitor 

Network Card 

Keyboard 

Mouse 

18.6 kg (41 lbs) 

550 W power supply 

1 x 73GB (15.000 rpm) SAS hard drive 

U320 SCSI Controller Card 

SAS 5I R Controller 

48x CDRW/DVD Combo drive 

Video card Operate computer 

Dell E173FPC 17” LCD TFT 

Integrated network interface - Intel® 82545GM, 64 bits, PCIx, Gigabit 

Ethernet (10/100/1000) 

Dell USB Enhanced Multimedia keyboard 

Dell 2 button USB Scroll mouse 

Operating temperature 10° to 35°C 

Storage temperature -40° to 65°C 

Relative humidity 

20% to 80% (non-condensing) 




System specs 

The given specifications are the minimum specifications for the hardware. The delivered hardware can 

have better specifications. 

Specification 

OS 

Processor 

Memory 


Slots 

Dimensions 

Detail 


Two Dual-Core Intel® Xeon Processor 3.00 GHz (667MHz, 2x2MB, 

int NIC) 

2.0 GB DDR2 533 Quad Channel FBD Memory (2x1GB) 












hxwxd 

(44.7 x 16.8 x 44.5) cm 


Weight 

Power supply 

Hard drives 



Video 

Network Card 

Keyboard 

Mouse 

18.6 kg (41 lbs) 


3 x 73GB (15.000 rpm) U320 SCSI hard drive 


48 x CDRW/DVD drive 

Video card Playback computer 

Integrated network interface - Intel® 82545GM, 64 bits, PCIx, Gigabit 

Ethernet (10/100/1000) 

Dell USB Enhanced Black Multimedia keyboard 




Relative humidity 

20% to 80% (non-condensing) 



3.4 XVS lightweight Play 

System specs 



Specification 

OS 

Processor 

Memory 


Slots 

Dimensions 

Detail 


1 Dual-Core Intel® Xeon Processor 3.00 GHz (667 MHz FSB /2x2 MB) 

1.0 GB (1x1024 MB DIMM) 400 MHz DDR2 533 Quad Channel FBD 

Memory 












hxwxd 

(44.7 x 16.8 x 44.5) cm 


Weight 

Power supply 

Hard drives 



Audio 

Video 

Network card 

Keyboard 

Mouse 

18.6 kg (41 lbs) 


1 x 73GB (15.000 rpm) U320 SCSI hard drive 


48 x CDRW/DVD drive 

No audio card 

Video card Playback computer 

Network interface - Intel® 82545GM, 64 bits, PCIx, Gigabit Ethernet 

(10/100/1000) 

Dell USB Enhanced Black Multimedia keyboard 




Relative humidity 20% to 80% (non-condensing) 



3.5 XVS Playback Integrated miniPC 

System specs 

Specification 

OS 

Processor 

Memory 


Slots 

Dimensions 

Weight 

Power supply 

Hard drives 

CDRW + DVD Drives 

Audio 

Video 

Network 

Detail 


1 Dual-Core Intel® Processor T5600 1.83 GHz (667 MHz /2x2 MB) 

1.0GBDDR2667SODIMM 

1xDVIorS-Sub 

1 x Multi-TV 

2xUSB2.0 

1 x IEEE 1394 6pins 

• 1 x internal Mini PCI 

165 x 51 x 165 mm 

6.5” x 2.0” x 6.5” 

1.49 kg (3 pound) 

65 W power supply (19V, 3.5A) adapter 

110/240 AC auto sensing 

60GB (7.000 rpm) 2.5” SATA hard drive 

Slim 24x12x24x8 CD-ReWritable Drive + DVD Combo 

AC97 5.1 CH 

1xLine-in 

1 x Line-out 

1xMic-in 

1 x Built-in Speaker 

1 x S/PDIF Optical Out 

Onboard Video Intel 945GM Chipset 

Intel® 10/100/1000 Mbps 

Operating temperature Ambient temperature < 40°C 


3.6 XVS Dataserver 

System specs 




Specification 

Detail 

OS 

Processor 

Additional processor 

Memory 

Internal hard drive 

Configuration 

Hard Drive Backplane 

1st Internal Main Bay 

Hard drive (hot plug) 

2nd Internal Main Bay 


3rd Internal Main Bay 


4th Internal Main Bay 


Primary controller for 

internal hard drives 

CD/DVD drive 

Hot-Plug power supplies 

Uninterruptible power 

supplies 

I/O Riser Card options 

TCP/IP Offload Engine 

enablement 

Chassis Rack rails 

Bezel options 

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 R2, Standard Edition with 5 client 

Licenses 

Dual-Core Intel® Xeon 5060 Processor 3.20 GHz (1066 MHz FSB 

/2x2 MB) 

Dual-Core Intel® Xeon 5060 Processor 3.20 GHz (1066 MHz FSB 

/2x2 MB) 

2 GB 533 MHz Memory (4x512MB single rank DIMMs) 

C4 Integrated SAS/SATA, RAID 5, using add in PERC5/i 

controller, min3/max4 Hard Drives 

1x4 Backplane for 2.5 inch hard drives 

36 GB, SAS, 2.5 inch, 10000 rpm Hard drive 



not included 

PERC 5/i Integrated RAID Controller Card 

8x DVD Drive, Internal, half height 

Two hot plug Power supplies for redundancy 

APC Smrat-UPS 2200i, 1980 Watt, rack mounted (2U) 

Riser with PCIe Support (2x PCI Express slots) 

Broadcom Dual Port TCP/IP Offload engine not enabled 

Rack chassis with static rapid rails 

PE1950 bezel assembly 



3.7 Specified hardware components 

3.7.1 Digital audio card Playback computer 

Technical specifications 

Analog I/O, Number / Type 

Analog I/O, Level 

Analog I/O, Input 

Impedance 

Analog I/O, Output 

Impedance 

Analog I/O, Output Drive 

Capability 

Analog I/O, A/D and D/A 

Type 

Analog I/O, Sample Rates 

Analog I/O, Bit Depth 

Analog I/O, On-board 

Buffer Size 

Analog performance, 

Frequency Response 


Signal-to-Noise 


Channel Crosstalk 

Analog performance, Input 

Dynamic Range 

Analog performance, Input 

THD+N 


Output Dynamic Range 


Output THD+N 

Digital I/O, Number / Type 

Two inputs and two outputs / cross-coupled electronically balanced or 

unbalanced, XLR connectors on Audio cable 

+4 dBu nominal /+20dBu max. or -10dBV nominal / +6dBV max. 

Balanced mode: 24 kW , Unbalanced mode: 12 kW 

Balanced mode: 100 W , Unbalanced mode: 50 W 

600W impedance, 0.16 µF capacitance 

Crystal Semiconductor, 24-bit, 128X oversampling, delta-sigma 

8 kHz to 50 kHz, including all standard rates with high-resolution 

adjustment 

8, 16, 24 or 32 bits 

8 Kbytes X 2, for L/R input and output 

20-20kHz,+0/-0.35dB 

>99 dB, A-wtd., analog in to analog out 


Digital I/O, Sample Rates 

Digital I/O, Bit Depth 

Digital I/O, On-board 

Buffer Size 

Midi I/O, Number / Type 

Midi I/O, Buffer Size 

Clock I/O, Number 

Clock I/O, Level / 

Impedance 

Clock I/O, Input Frequency 

Range 

General, PCI Bus 

General, Power 

General, Size 

General, Shipping Weight 

General, Certifications 

Connections, Audio Port 

Connections, MIDI/Clock 

Port 

Cables, Audio (included) 

Cables, MIDI/Clock 

(included) 

32 kHz, 44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz 

8, 16, 24 or 32 bits 

8 Kbytes X 2, one each for input and output 

Two ports each with input and output / Standard opto-isolated, 5-pin 

female DIN connectors on MIDI/Clock cable 

64 bytes, receive and transmit 

External: one BNC input and output on MIDI/Clock cable 

Internal: one input and output on board-mounted headers 

TTL / 75W 

25 kHz to 27 MHz 

Version 2.1 compliant, Transfer rate: up to 132 Mbytes/sec 

+5V @ 400 mA, +12V @ 220 mA, -12V @ 95 mA 

5.0" H X 7.4" W X 0.75" D (half-size PCI card) 

2.7 lbs. with cables 

CE and FCC Class B 

Bracket-mounted 25-pin female D subminiature connector for L/R 

analog in, L/R analog out, digital in and out 

Bracket-mounted 15-pin high-density female D subminiature connector 

for MIDI port 1 in and out, MIDI port 2 in and out, clock in and out 

Six foot, 25-pin male D-sub to (3) male XLR and (3) female XLR 

connectors, shielded twisted pair cabling 

Two foot, 15-pin high-density male D-sub to (4) 5-pin female DIN 

connectors with shielded twisted pair cabling and (2) female BNC 

connectors with 75W coaxial cabling 

3.7.2 Video card Operate computer 

Technical specifications (minimum specs) 

Bus type 

RAMDAC 

Memory 

Connectors 

Multi-monitor support 

PCI-Express x16,


Additional product 

features • 128 KB BIOS 3.3V Flash ROM reprogrammable by SW 

• Hardware accelerated Overlay Planes 

• Hardware accelerated two-sided lighting 

• Hardware accelerated anti-aliased points and lines 

• Quad-buffered Stereo 

• 3D Volumetric Texture support 

• Hardware accelerated Occlusion Culling 

• Scalable Link Interface (SLI) technology 

• Compliant with Microsoft®/Intel® PC2001 Workstation 

requirements 

• Video Timings compliant with VESA DMT 1.0 and VESA GTF 

1.0 specifications 

• DDC2B+ Monitor support on all OS platforms 

• ACPI Version 1.0b Power Management support (all modes) 

Shading architecture 

Supported graphics APIs 

Available graphics drivers 

• Fully programmable GPU (OpenGL1.5/DirectX 9.0c class) 

• Long fragment programs (up to 65,536 instructions) 

• Long vertex programs (up to 65,536 instructions) 

• Looping and subroutines (up to 256 loops per vertex program) 

• Dynamic flow control 

• Conditional execution 

• Optimized compilers for Cg, OpenGL shading language, and 

Microsoft HLSL 

• OpenGL 1.5 ICD with immediate mode support for all OGL 

primitive types 

• DirectX 9.0c 

HP-tested: Microsoft Windows® XP, Windows 2000 and Linux. 

HP qualified drivers may be preloaded or available from the HP 

support Web site: http://welcome.hp.com/country/us/eng/software_drivers.html. 

Maximum resolution 

Dual DVI-I output - drivers dual digital displays at resolutions up to 

1920x1200@60 Hz 

Internal 400 MHz RAMDACs - drives dual analog displays up to 

2048x1536@85 Hz each 



3.7.3 Video card Playback computer 

Technical specifications (minimum specs) 

• RADION TM X1900 GT core (575MHz) 

• 256MB GDDR3 onboard memory (1200 MHz) 

• 36 pixel shader processors 

• 256-bit Memory Bus 

• PCI Express x16 

• ATI CrossFire by pairing the Radeon X1900GT with a Radeon X1900 CrossFire Edition card. 

• Video Acceleration of: MPEG-2, MPEG-4, DivX, WMV9, VC-1 and H.264 

• Dual display support 

• Dual DVI/VIVO/HDTV 

• Sapphire Select 




4. Installation 

4. INSTALLATION 

Overview 



• Installation of H264 support in XVS-2 


Overview 

• Hardware connections 

• Software installation 

4.1.1 Hardware connections 

Overview 

• Connect the DVI output of the graphical card of the computer to the DVI input of the digitizer. 

• Connect the RS232 output of the computer to the RS232 input of the digitizer. 

• Connect the audio output of the computer to the audio amplifier input. 

• Connect the computer the local LAN network using a UTP cable. 

• If live video is necessary, connect the video playback device to the video in of the graphical card of 

the computer. 

to LAN network 

RS232 

UTP cable 

Video cable 

DVI 

DVI 

Image 4-1 


Audio cable 

4.1.2 Software installation 

The software is pre-installed on the playback computer. The XVS Play DVD is only necessary 

to reinstall the software when something happens with the computer. 



CAUTION: Software installation should be done by a Barco authorized service technician 

! 

How to install playback software 

1. Place the installation DVD in the DVD drive. 

2. Open My Computer andbrowsetotheDVDdrive. 

3. Open folder DVDWizard and double click on setup.exe . 

The install window opens. 

Image 4-2 

DVD installation wizard 

4. Check Playback and click Next >. 

5. Click Install. 

The software checks if the correct version of IIS is installed in your window environment. If not, a 

message is displayed and the installation will be interrupted. Install first IIS, follow the procedure below. 

Image 4-3 

If all necessary components are available, follow now the instructions given in the different install windows. 

6. Enter the 3 parts of the serial number in the three boxes and click Next >. 



Image 4-4 

Enter serial number 

A welcome message is displayed. 

7. Click Next >. 

The license agreement is displayed. 

Image 4-5 

License agreement Playback 

8. Read this license agreement and if you agree, select the option I accept the terms of the license agreement 

and click Next > . 

9. Make a choice between Complete or Custom install and click Next >. 



Image 4-6 

Installation choice 

Complete: a full install of all necessary components will be done. 

Custom: allows to install some typical components, such as Power management, Time service client 

and Time service server. Check or uncheck the desired components and click Next >. 

10.Enter the name of the Operate host. When a single operate system is used, fill out the name of this 

Operate as Operate host 1 and leave the Operate host 2 blank. When using an Operate with standby 

function, enter the host name of the main Operate as Operate host 1 and enter the standby Operate as 

Operate host 2. Click Next >. 

Image 4-7 

Operate computers 

11.Enter the name of the computer that is running Live Data or click on the browse button and browse to 

the desired computer. Click Next >. 



Image 4-8 

Live data computer 

When using a typical configuration with a single operate, enter the name of this Operate computer. 

When using a configuration with standby operate, enter the name of the data server computer which is 

running live data. 

12.Enter the computer that will serve as Primary Time Server (eventually also the name of a Backup Time 

Server). Click Next >. 

Image 4-9 

Time server 

XVS Playback is installed. A reboot is necessary before the software can be used. 

Click on the radio button of your choice. 

13.Click Finish. 

When restart is selected, the computer restarts and software can be used. 

How to install the Internet Information Services (IIS) software 

1. Click Start → Control panel. 

2. Select Add and Remove programs. 

3. Select Add/Remove window components. 

4. Check Internet Information Services (IIS). 



Image 4-10 

Window components wizard 

5. Click Details and uncheck all items except Common Files, Internet Information Services Snap-In and 

World Wide Web Service. 

6. Click OK. 

7. Click Next. 

Note: The Windows XP installation CD is necessary to finish the installation. 


Overview 

• Hardware installation 

• Software installation 

4.2.1 Hardware installation 

Connection overview typical installation 

• DVI connection from computer to monitor. 

• Ethernet connection with local LAN network via an UTP cable. 

• Serial connection from Score board controller to RS232 in on the computer. 

• Optional: If live video is necessary, connect the video playback device to the video in of the graphical 

card of the computer. 

• Optional: Audio connection with external audio device. 




MP70 

RS232 

DVI 

Image 4-11 



Connection overview typical installation with standby possibility 

• Connect monitor, mouse and keyboard to KVM input switch. 

• Connect each monitor output, mouse output and keyboard output of each computer to an input of the 

KVM switch. 

• Ethernet connection of each computer with local LAN network via an UTP cable. 

• Serial connection from Score board controller to RS232 in on the data server computer. 

• Optional: If live video is necessary, connect the video playback device to the video in of the graphical 

card of the computer. 

• Optional: Audio connection with external audio device. 

KVM 


MP70 

RS232 

Image 4-12 



4.2.2 Software installation 

About the software installation 

For a typical installation with a single Operate, the following software must be installed: 

• Content storage 

• Data services 

• XMLblaster 

• Live data 

• Operate 



For a typical installation with an Operate standby and data server, the following must be installed on: 

the Operate and Operate Standby computer: 

• Operate 

the data server computer: 

• Content storage 

• Data services 

• XMLblaster 

• Live data 

The software is pre-installed on the computers. The XVS Operate DVD is only necessary 

to reinstall the software when something happens with the computer. 

Installation order 

Always install in the following order for a system with one Operate. 

1. Content storage: installs the content management. 

2. Data services: installs Oracle database, required to store all Operate data & monitorware for diagnostics. 

3. Xmlblaster: installs a communication service, required to communicate from XVS Operate to XVS 

Players. 

4. XVS Live Data: installs the XVS real-time data manager which registers real-time data services like 

MP 70. 

5. XVS Operate: installs the XVS Operate UI containing System Manager, Message Editor and Action 

Manager. 

General installation steps 

1. Place the installation DVD in the DVD drive. 

2. Open My Computer andbrowsetotheDVDdrive. 

3. Open folder DVDWizard and double click on setup.exe . 

The install window opens. 

4. For a single Operate, check Content storage, Data services, Live Data, Operate and XML Blaster and 

click Next >. 

For a standby system, when installing the Operate or standby Operate, check only Operate and click 

Next>. 

When installing the data server, check Content storage, Data services, Live Data and XML Blaster and 

click Next>. 

Content storage 

To be installed on a single Operate or on the data server. 


and click Next >. 



The software installation starts. 

Image 4-13 

Content storage installation 

2. Make the choice between rebooting the PC immediately or later and click Finish. A reboot is necessary 

before the software can be used. 

Data services 




Image 4-14 

License agreement for Data services 

2. Wait until the Data services installation is finished. 

This process can take up to 30 minutes. 

Then make the choice between rebooting the PC immediately or later and click Finish. A reboot is 

necessary before the software can be used. 



Image 4-15 

Installation message 

XML Blaster 




Image 4-16 

XML blaster installation 

The installation starts. When the installation is completed a message window is display. 

2. Click Finish to continue. 

XVS Live Data 





Image 4-17 

Enter the serial number 

When it is a correct serial number, a welcome page is displayed. 

2. Click Next > on this welcome page. 




Image 4-18 

XVS Live Data License agreement 




Image 4-19 



Custom: allows to install some typical components. Select the desired components or deselect the 

non-desired components and click Next >. 

5. Make a choice between configuring by computer name or by fixed IP address. 

Image 4-20 

Computer name or IP address 

If the network does not have a Name Server (DHCP) then you should configure the XVS software to 

use Fixed IP addresses. When a Name Server is available, then the choice exists between Computer 

name or fixed IP address. Both of these are displayed with the local systems values so there is no 

confusion as to what will be configured. 

6. Database selection. Select None as XVS uses its own database. Click Next >. 

7. Depending on the installation, select the Sports Network Option to install. Click Next >. 



Image 4-21 

Sports network option 

8. Enter the computer that will serve as Primary Time Server (eventually also the name of a Backup Time 

Server). Click Next >. 

Image 4-22 

Enter primary time server 

XVS Live Data is installed. A reboot is necessary before the software can be used. 


9. Click Finish. 

XVS Operate 

To be installed on a single Operate and on the standby Operate. 




Image 4-23 

Enter serial number 

A welcome page is displayed. 

2. Click Next >. 


Image 4-24 

License agreement 






Image 4-25 



Custom: allows to install some typical components such as Time server client and power management. 

Check the desired components and click Next >. 

5. Enter the name of the computer that will run XML blaster and the data services and then click Next >. 

In a single Operate configuration, the Operate computer runs the XML blaster and the data services. 

In an Operate standby configuration, the data server computer runs the XML blaster and the data services. 

Image 4-26 

Enter Live Data computer 

6. Enter the computer that will serve as Primary Time Server (eventually also the name of a Backup Time 

Server). 

XVS Operate is installed. A reboot is necessary before the software can be used. 


7. Click Finish. 



4.3 Installation of H264 support in XVS-2 

About H264 support 

XVS-2 can play MP4 files with H264 AVC and AAC streams. These files can be created by software tools 

such as Quicktime 7 or Elecard codecs. This option must be purchased by a customer as an add-on, and 

therefore, the codecs must be installed manually in the system. 

When the option is installed, MP4 standard files created with either Quicktime 7.1 Pro or higher, or with 

Elecard H264 encoders are supported: 

• Video Codecs: all high or Main profiles of the H264/AVC codec. 

• Audio Codecs: AAC, including hi-definition multi-channel audio features. 

How to install the support 

1. Close down the XVS-2 Playback and Operate Software on all computers. 

2. Unzip the delivered XVS-2_H264_Addon.zip file to a location on each operate and playback machine. 

3. Copy the “XVS Playback” folder in the zip file over the top of the C:\Program Files\Barco\XVS Playback 

folder on the playback computers. 

4. Copy the “XVS Operate” folder in the zip file over the top of the C:\Program Files\Barco\XVS Operate 

folder on the operate computers. 

5. On the Operate computers, open config\sysconfig.xml for editing, and add the following to configuration: 

 

 

 

 

 


5. XVS - WAN support 

5.XVS-WANSUPPORT 

Overview 

• Introduction 

• Supported WAN setups for n computers 

• About Internet providers 

• Possible ISP restrictions 

• Installation and configuration 

• FTP installation and configuration 

• Configure Syncback with FTP profile on the Operate computer 

• Troubleshooting 

5.1 Introduction 

Overview 

XVS setup can be extended from a LAN environment to a WAN environment by using the internet as 

transport medium. Both sides, the XVS Operate side and the XVS Play side are connected to an Internet 

Service Provider (ISP) 

When the connection is established, it is preferable to create a VPN tunnel for security reason when transferring 

the information through the internet. 

Using a WAN setup with dynamic IP addresses is a low cost solution taking the advantage of high bandwidths. 

The negative side is the performance, delay and throughput which is not guaranteed over the 

internet. 


XVS Play 

(XVS Plays) 

Firewall 

Firewall 

VPN Tunnel (optional) 

ADSL/ 

Cable modem 

Leased line or 

ADSL/Cable 

with modem 

Internet 

ADSL line or Cable 

Image 5-1 

Setup example 

ISP 

Internet Service Provider 



5.2 Supported WAN setups for n computers 

Overview 

The following setups are possible: 

• WAN with n fixed IP addresses. 

• WAN with 1 fixed IP address (Operate) + n - 1 dynamic IP addresses (Playbacks). 

• WAN with n dynamic IP addresses. 

Considerations 

• All setup should be deployed with VPN using a hardware firewall/router. 

• When using dynamic IP addresses, a DNS + DHCP server must be used for dynamic hostname resolving. 

When using a firewall/router, NAT (network address translation) must be setup. 

Either your internet provider provides DNS support or the PIX firewall can be configured with a public 

DNS server. The public DNS server might by slower. 

• Options: 

- Public DNS server = 4.2.2.1, 4.2.2.2 

- Use dynamic DNS, register at dyndns.org 

VPN 

Virtual Private Network. A VPN is a way to use a public telecommunication infrastructure, 

such as the Internet, to provide remote offices or individual users with secure access to their 

organization’s network. A virtual private network can be contrasted with an expensive system 

of owned or leased lines that can only be used by one organization. The goal of a VPN is to 

provide the organization with the same capabilities, but at a much lower cost. 

DNS server 

Computers, Projectors connected to a network are referenced by their IP address. The only 

problem is that remembering IP addresses is not easy. If you need to use hundreds of addresses 

then it will become impossible to remember them. This is why domain names are created. 

Internet names (domain and host names) are just aliases to these IP addresses. When 

you use an Internet address it is automatically translated to an IP address. In fact a program 

or device that translates those Internet names to IP addresses is called a DNS Server. 

DHCP 

Dynamic host configuration protocol. DHCP is a communications protocol that lets network 

administrators manage centrally and automate the assignment of IP addresses in an organization’s 

network. Using the Internet Protocol, each machine that can connect to the Internet 

needs a unique IP address. When an organization sets up its computer users with a connection 

to the Internet, an IP address must be assigned to each machine. Without DHCP, the IP address 

must be entered manually at each computer and, if computers move to another location 

in another part of the network, a new IP address must be entered. DHCP lets a network administrator 

supervise and distribute IP addresses from a central point and automatically sends 

a new IP address when a computer is plugged into a different place in the network. 

5.3 About Internet providers 

Cable/ADSL 

Cable and ADSL require different modems. 



The choice depends on the ISP availability and on the cost feature. Dynamic IP address are used. 

One solution, a cable solution or ADSL solution, can be used exclusively in the WAN setup. Or, a mix can 

be made between cable and DSL solutions. 

Leased line 

A leased line must have a fixed, publicly known IP address. Bandwidth is not shorted and it the line is 

always active. Instead of a leased line connection, a DSL connection with fixed IP address is also possible. 

This is in most cases a professional cable/DSL solution which is more expensive than a normal cable/DSL 

connection. 

DSL 

Digital Subscriber line, a technology that exploits unused frequencies on copper telephone 

lines to transmit traffic typically at multi-megabit speeds. DSL can allow voice and high-speed 

data to be sent simultaneously over the same line. 

5.4 Possible ISP restrictions 

Port blocking 

Some providers block some ports by default. These ports can even be standard ports like FTP ports, etc. 

. Ask your provider a list of all blocked ports. 

When ports or blocked, it is possible that the Customer Service Engineer has to: 

• configure other ports then the default ones on XVS Operate and XVS Play. 

• request the Internet Service Provider to unblock some ports for a range of IP address. 

The following ports are used for outside communication: 

On the XVS Operate machine: 

Port number 

Description 

2345 Real-time data nameserver. 

3412 XMLblaster port, configured for COBRA communication. 

7607 XMLblaster port, configured for socket communication. 

On the XVS Play machine: 

Port number 

Description 

80 IIS HTTP port 

21 FTP server port 

5900 VNC server for remote connection 

VPN setup 

The cable/ADSL connection must offer a fully transparent IP connectivity in order to setup a VPN. IPSec 

and IKE may not be blocked as these are the key elements to setup the VPN or tunnel through the Internet. 

IKE 

Internet Key Exchange 



IPSec 

Internet Protocol Security is a developing standard for security at the network or packet processing 

layer of network communication. 

Data volume 

The data volume restrictions of some ISP’s must be checked to be sure the volume is large enough to 

meet the requirements for a particular setup. 

XVS Operate is synchronizing content files with all connected XVS Plays. That means that all content 

available on XVS Operate is synchronized/transferred automatically to all XVS Play sides even when this 

content is not explicitly scheduled. 

So, your monthly data volume must be equal the total size of all new content files that are imported in the 

XVS Operate system. 

Also check whether the ISP has different data volumes for upload and download. If so, the synchronization 

data volume will be limited by the upload data volume. 

Take the following rule: 

Max synchronization data volume = max ISP data volume / number of Play sides 

Transfer speed (download and upload) 

ISPs typically handle different transfer speeds for download/upload. The upload speed is typically must 

lower. 

E.g. ADSL could have: 

• Download speed: 2 Mbps - 4 Mbps 

• Upload speed: 128 - 256 Mbps 

When XVS Operate synchronizes content with the Play sides, it will upload the files to the Play sides. A 

lot depends on the file format, video or graphics. Video takes a longer time than graphics to upload. 

Take the following rule: 

Max synchronization speed = max upload speed / number of Play sides 



5.5 Installation and configuration 

Some considerations 

• When no DNS service is available, use only IP addresses during the installation and configuration of 

XVS Operate, XVS Play and XVS data services. A hostname can only be resolved locally but not 

remotely as there is no DNS available. 

• Before installing and configuring the XVS software (Operate, Dataservices, Play), make sure the network 

infrastructure is completely operational. 

• To the following test: 

• Using fixed IP addresses 

o Ping IP address(es) of Play(s) from the Operate. 

o Ping IP address of Operate from one Play. 

• Using hostnames 

o Ping hostname(s) of Play(s) from Operate. 

o Ping hostname of Operate of one Play. 

• The computers are delivered with the software pre-installed. Always avoid configuring network settings 

manually. Use the install CD. 

• Network sharing configuration for content transfer. When using a VPN, it should be possible to use 

network sharing transparently. If not, it is advised to switch to a FTP configuration on the Play. For 

more info about the installation and configuration, see "FTP installation and configuration", page 61. 

5.6 FTP installation and configuration 

5.6.1 FTP installation on a Play computer 

How to install 

1. Click Start → Control Panel. 

2. Select Add or Remove programs. 

A new dialog window opens with an overview of all installed programs. 

3. From the left icon list, choose Add/Remove windows components. 

The Windows Component Wizard starts. 

4. Select Internet Information Services (IIS) and click the Details button. 



Image 5-2 

FTP service setup 

5. Select File Transfer Protocol (FTP) services. 

6. Click OK to install the service. 

The system can ask for the Windows installation disk. 

5.6.2 FTP configuration on the Play side 

How to configure 

1. Click Start → Control Panel. 

2. Select Administrative Tools. 

3. Select Internet Information Services (IIS) 

4. Select the node of the tree. 

It is possible that the computer name is already listed. If not, right click to open the context menu and 

select Connect. Type in the hostname or the IP address of the Play computer. 

5. Click on the FTP sites node and open Default FTP Site. Right click this node to open the context menu 

and select Properties. 

6. On the Default FTP site Properties dialog, select FTP Site tab. 

When using fixed IP addresses, make sure to fill in the correct IP address. Do not use hostnames. 

When working with DNS, use the hostname. 

When the default FTP port (port 21) is blocked by the ISP, configure the FTP server with a different port 

that is not blocked. 

7. Click on the Home Directory tab end select the Local Path. 

The local path must point to the playbackmedia folder. The complete path can be found in the sysconfig.xml 

file inside the player install folder. 

 

C:\PlaybackMedia\ 

 

8. Enable Read, Write and Log visits. 



9. Click on the Security Accounts tab. Enable Allow Anonymous Connections. 

10.Click the Start button on the tool bar to start the FTP server. 

5.7 Configure Syncback with FTP profile on the Operate 

computer 

How to configure 

1. Open Syncback. 

2. In Profiles menu, select New. 

3. For Profile Type, selectSynchronisation. 

A New Profile dialog box opens. 

4. Enter a name that looks like Ftp_[playername]. 

5. Fill out the top edit fields Source and Destination. 

- Source: [Drive]:\Barco\Media\Contentmap 

- Destination: \ 

6. Select Simple tab and select Synchronize the source directories with the destination directory. 

7. Select Advanced tab and select Delete file from destination. 

8. Click on Expert to switch to Expert mode. 

9. Click Background tab and enable Run this profile every selection box. Select 5 seconds. 

10.Click FTP tab and enable The destination directory is on a ftp server. 

Fill out: 

- Hostname 

- Username (anonymous if anonymously) 

- Password (blank if anonymously) 

- Port (change it only when not using the default) 

11.Press OK to create the profile. 

Delete all syncback profiles that do not begin with Ftp_ . 

When a display is created in the Operate, a syncback profile is automatically created. 

5.8 Troubleshooting 

5.8.1 Introduction 

Before starting with the troubleshooting 

Make sure that the following works before you start: 

• Ping from Operate to Play(s) and from Play(s) to Operate. 

• All ports as listed in are open (not blocked/filtered) 

• Syncback is up and running and correctly configured. 



Location of log files 

Operate logging 

XMLblaster logs 

C:\Program Files\Barco\XML Blaster\logs\xmlBlasterServer.log 

C:\Program Files\Barco\XML Blaster\logs\wrapper.log 

Operate logs 

C:\Program Files\Barco\XVS Operate\deploy\operate.log 

Real-time data logging 

C:\Program Files\Barco\XVS Operate\deploy\renderer_std.log 

RDE logs 

C:\Program Files\Barco\XVS Live Data\rde\logs\RDE.log 

C:\Program Files\Barco\XVS Live Data\rde\logs\wrapper.log 

RTD logs 

C:\Program Files\Barco\XVS Live Data\rtd\deploy\rtd.log 

Player logging 

Player logs 

C:\Program Files\Barco\XVS Playback\playerframework\renderer_std.log 

5.8.2 Operate does not start up 

Overview 

• Check if the Oracle service is up and running in Windows services. 

• If Operate does not start, it is possible the service was configured with a different network configuration 

(e.g. configured on domain and deployed on a workgroup). 

• Try Database configuration Assistant to re-configure the Oracle service. 

5.8.3 Display creation fails 

Overview 

• Check if XMLblaster is running as a service in windows services. Check XMLblaster logs. 

• Check the Operate logs. 

• Check the Player logs. If a command is logged, communication to player is working. 

• Check if the player is configured correctly (XMLblaster server should be the Operate hostname or IP 

address). 

 

 

 

false 

 

 

OPERATE 

 

 

3412 

 

 

Player 

 

 

 



5.8.4 Scheduling fails 

Overview 

• Check: 

- Player logs 

- Windows event log on player system 

• If no command is logged, it can be a communication error. 

• Check if the file is synchronized correctly. Check the syncback configuration. 

5.8.5 Real time data fails 

Overview 

• Check if the RDE service is running Window services. Check the RDE logs for errors. 

• Check if the RTD software is running. Check the RTD logs for errors. 

• Check the player configuration if the RDE server is correctly configured. 

• 

 

RDE hostname 

 

 

2345 

 

 



• If no errors are found in RDE/RTD logs, check the player logs. 

- Fails to resolved RDE object. CORBA::Object_var rdeObject = _communicator->getObjectRef(rdeNameService, 

name); 

Check the RTD and RDE configuration files. 

Make sure that the RDE/RTD server are configured on the hostname or the IP address when using 

afixedIP! 

Do not use hostnames when NO DNS is available. Hostnames can still be resolved locally but not 

remotely ! 

- FATAL 2006-09-06 17:12:24 [3136] root : CORBA exception raised in getObjectRef: 

TRANSIENT 

FATAL 2006-09-06 17:12:24 [3136] NTEventLogger : An error code has been 

reported 

: PFW01005 

Please consult the NT Event Log and documentation to resolve the issue. 

FATAL 2006-09-06 17:12:24 [3136] LiveDataMirror : Failed to find live 

data serve 

r(RDE) : ItfMirrorToRDE is nil. 

ThiscanbecausedbythefactthatthenameserverisconfiguredonahostnamewhennoDNSis 

configured ( so only locally resolved ). The nameserver is configured in the registry as a registry 

setting. 

o Registry key = HKLM\Software\Ace\tao 

• Registry value = -ORBEndpoint iiop://[IP]:[port] 

o Make sure when using hostnames the correct hostname is filled in and in case of no DNS, use 

the IP. Possibly check if you are using the correct port cfg ! 

o Chance will only be effective when restarting the TAO naming service in windows services. 

• Enable TAO logging on Operate side for advanced debugging : 

• In HKLM\Software\Ace\Tao, enable logging by adding the following options : 

o -ORBDebug => to enable debug mode 

o -ORBDebugLevel 10 => the higher the number, the more logging 

o -ORBLogFile c:\\taolog,txt => redirect logging to a text file 

5.8.6 No feedback in Action Manager queue 

Overview 

• Check the Operate logging for Action Manager logging. 

• If no Action Manager feedback, check the player configuration at the bottom. Make sure that the 

feedback is enabled (true) and the displaylistenerhost is configured as the operate xmlblaster origin ! 

• 

true 

 

 

Operate XML blaster origin 

 

• If the logging does not report any error, try to delete the display in display management and add it 

again. Check the action event queue again. 

• If the previous did not help, try restarting the Operate computer to force starting all services and software 

applications. 



5.8.7 No diagnostics in Operate 

Overview 

• Make sure the events are actually logged in the player windows event log. If not, check the player 

Adiscon Monitorware configuration and player logging configuration ! 

• For Player Monitorware configuration, check if the servername that is configured for send SETP action 

is correct. To see if the SETP action is actually forwarded, enable logging to a Monitorware debug file 

in General Options . 

5.8.8 Reporting fails 

Overview 

• Check if ISS web service is running on the Play computer. 

• Check if Payload Sync service is running on the Operate computer. 

5.8.9 Storage service on Play computer needs a different port 

Overview 

If using WAN support it is possible you may have to re-configure the storage service on the playback 

machine to use a port different than 80. 

How to change the storage service port 

1. Click Start → Control Panel → Administrative Tools → Internet Information Services. 

2. Open the tree of the Play computer and go to Web Sites → Default Web Site. 

3. Right click to on Default Web Site to open the context menu and select Properties. 

4. Select the Web Site tab and change TCP Port to something other than 80. Click OK and close all 

windows. 

5. Edit the playback sysconfig.xml file to use this new port and save the file. 

 

 

 

 

80 

 

 

 

6. Restart the Play computer. 




6. Automatic Playback Redundancy Installation 

6. AUTOMATIC PLAYBACK REDUNDANCY 

INSTALLATION 

Overview 

• Some definitions 

• Hardware 

• Configuration of the redundancy playbacks 

• States of the Redundancy Controller 

6.1 Some definitions 

Primary Playback 

Theplaybackwhichwhenthereisatieintryingtobecomeactivewillwin. 

Standby Playback 

The playback which will remain in a standby state should both systems attempt to become active at the 

same time. 

Active Playback 

The playback (primary or standby) which is currently sending feedback, processing display actions, logging 

payload information, and is outputting video to the Display. 

Inactive Playback 

The playback (primary or standby) which is actively rendering all content that the primary is but is performing 

the operations in a mode where it is ready to take over all functions of the primary should the primary 

fail. 

Redundant Pair 

A set of playback systems configured as Primary and Standby Playbacks which control a single display. 



6.2 Hardware 

Overview 

XVS-2 Operate 

RS232 

DVI 

XVS-2 Play Primary 

RS232 

RS232 

RS232 combiner 

DVI 

DVI 

DVI switch 

RS232 

RS232 

DVI 

RS232 combiner 

XVS-2 Play Standby 

RS232 

Image 6-1 

Automatic redundant playback 

Stepstobetaken 

1. Install 2 Playback computers on the same LAN network 

2. Install a DVI switch 

3. Install the digitizer D320 

Installation playback computers 

The installation of a Redundant Playback is done using the same Install package as a normal Playback. 

1. In order to install a Playback as a redundant system you simply choose to do a Custom install. Then 

select the option Redundant Playback Support. Most steps will be equal to a single playback installation 

except the next steps. 



Image 6-2 

Support for redundant playback 

2. Continue the setup by entering all other computers in the system and when the choice for the playback 

computer must be made between Primary or Standby, select for the first computer Primary and for the 

second Standby. 

Image 6-3 

Setup selection Primary - Standby playback 

3. Enter the name of the other computer in the Redundant Pair 



Or, 

click on Browse and browse to the desired computer in the network. 

Image 6-4 

Redundant pair computer name 

4. Continue with the normal installation. 

DVI switch, technical info 

• Frequency bandwidth: 1.65 Gbps (Single Link) 

• Supporting Graphic Resolution: UXGA (1600 X 1200 at up to 85Hz) (1920 X 1080 at up to 60Hz) 

• Inputs: Dual DVI-D Female ports 

• Output: DVI-D Female port 

• Control input: RS232 input 

• Infrared Remote Control Included 

• Power supply: DC 5V, 2A Adapter included. 

• Dimensions (W X D X H): 170.2 x 120.7 x 30.9 mm (6.7 X 4.75 X 1.2 Inches) 

• Weight: 613g (1.35 lbs) 

• HDCP (High-bandwidth Digital Content Protection) Compliant. 

RS232 Combiner, technical info 

• Dimensions: 4.01 x 2.00 x 0.9 in (10.19 x 5.08 x 2.29 cm) 

• Connectors: 3 x DB-9 female, RS-232 DCE configuration 

• Power Supply (required): 12-17VDC 

• Current Draw: 95 mA 

• Operating Temp: 0-50 °C (32-122 °F) 

DVI switch installation 

1. Install a first RS232 Combiner (with its power). 

2. Connect a straight RS232 cable from Playback Primary COM2 to port 1 on the first RS232 Combiner. 

3. Connect a straight RS232 cable from Playback Standby COM2 to port 2 on the first RS232 Combiner. 

4. Connect a Male/Male gender changer on the first RS232 combiner master port. 

5. Connect a straight RS232 cable from the Male/Male gender changer on the first RS232 Combiner to 

the RS232 input on the DVI Switch. 



6. Connect a DVI cable from the Playback Primary video card DVI output 1 to the first port of the DVI 

switch. 

7. Connect a DVI cable from the Playback Standby video card DVI output 1 to the second port of the DVI 

switch. 

8. Connect a DVI cable from the DVI switch output to the D320 input module. 

D320 installation 

1. Install a second RS232 Combiner (with its power). 

2. Connect a straight RS232 cable from Playback Primary COM1 to port1 on the second RS232 Combiner. 

3. Connect a straight RS232 cable from Playback Standby COM1 to port 2 on the second RS232 Combiner. 

4. Connect a Male/Male gender changer on the RS232 Combiner master port. 

5. Connect a Null Modem cable (crossover RS232) from the Male/Male gender changer on the RS232 

Combiner. 

6. Attach a second Male/Male gender changer on the other end of the Null Modem cable. 

7. Connect the D320 RS232 Connector to the gender changer and plug the transmit cable into COM1 of 

the D320. 

6.3 Configuration of the redundancy playbacks 

Overview 

Redundancy Controller can be configured using the file C:\Program Files\Barco\XVS Playback\RedundancyController\RedundancyController.exe.config 

. 

• Under appsettings set which ComPort to use in the “com_port_name” key. 

Should be the form COM1, COM2, etc. Normally the driver uses COM1 so the RedundancyController 

should use COM2. 

• Configure the signal sent to the DVI switch when activating by setting the “com_port_data” field. This 

is dependent on the DVI Switch. 

For the DVI switch we are using, Playback Primary (which is connected to DVI Switch input 1) should 

be configured with @001* and Playback Standby (connected to DVI input 2) should be configured with 

@002*. 



6.4 States of the Redundancy Controller 

Overview 

• The Redundancy Controller is the helper application which controls which Playback is Active and 

which is Standby. There are 3 possible states of the Redundancy Controller: 

- Active 

- Standby 

- Failure 

• The Redundancy Controller communicates its state with the Redundancy Controller on the other Playback 

System in the Redundant Pair. The communication of this state and the status of the local Renderer 

determine what the state of the Redundancy Controller is set to. 

• When the Redundancy Controller initializes, it always starts in Failure mode. 

When the Renderer comes online then the status will change to Standby. If the controller determines 

this Playback should be the active one it will upgrade its status to Active. This can be determined by 

the other Controller transmitting a failed state or by not responding at all which is when the assumption 

is made that the other system is not operational. 

• The Redundancy Controller will go to a failure state if the Renderer becomes non-responsive or terminates. 

• You can switch which Playback is active by forcing the currently active Playback into a standby mode. 

This is done by right clicking the Redundancy Controller’s system tray icon (Barco Eye) and clicking 

“Force Standby”. If force standby is not enabled then that system is not currently operating as an 

Active Playback. 

• The current state of the Redundancy Controller can be determined by right clicking the system tray 

icon and expanding the “Current State” fly out menu. 

• If both Redundancy Controllers are in a standby mode the Primary Playback will activate while the 

Standby Playback will remain in standby. 


7. Troubleshooting 

7. TROUBLESHOOTING 

Overview 

• General 


• XVS RTD 


7.1 General 

Overview 

• Where to find back logging information in case of failure 

• XVS fails when using VOB files with Dolby 5.1 or 7.1 sound on systems that have Cyberlink PowerDVD 

installed. 

• Errors during upgrade 

• DVI resolution switch with Director Toolset in remote mode 

7.1.1 Where to find back logging information in case of failure 

The default install directory is c:\Program Files\Barco. 


dir1 = [install directory]\XVS Operate\deploy 

files1 = operate.log, renderer_std.log 

dir2 = [install directory]\XML Blaster\logs 

files2 = wrapper.log, xmlBlasterServer.log 

XVS Live Data 

dir1 = [install directory]\XVS Live Data\rtd\deploy 

files1 = rtd.log 

dir2 = [install directory]\XVS Live Data\rde\logs 

files2 = rde.log, wrapper.log 

XVS Play 

dir1 = [install dir]\XVS Playback\playerframework 

files1 = font_errors.log, renderer_std.log 

dir2 = [install dir]\XVS Playback\launcher 

files2 = launcherlogging.xml 



7.1.2 XVS fails when using VOB files with Dolby 5.1 or 7.1 sound on systems that 

have Cyberlink PowerDVD installed. 

Description 

On a PC where Cyberlink PowerDVD is installed, XVS fails when using VOB files with Dolby 5.1 sound. 

XVS Operate crashes when trying to preview such a file in the System Manager or Message Editor. 

XVS Play crasheswhentryingtoplaysuchafile. 

Cause 

Cyberlink Power DVD comes with a codex (claud.ax) that is not compatible with XVS. 

Solution 

Cyberlink Power DVD is not supported and not pre-installed. 

Unintall Cyberlink Power DVD. 

The Elecard codecx should be used as MPEG-2 decoder (both on XVS Operate and Play) 

7.1.3 Errors during upgrade 

Description 

If one of the components of XVS (Operate, RTD or Play) is upgraded without removing the previous version, 

error messages are shown during the upgrade. 

Cause 

XVS software is still running during the upgrade. 

Solution 

Stop all components of the XVS software (Operate, RTD and Play) using the Quit or Exit option from their 

system tray menu before starting any upgrade. 

7.1.4 DVI resolution switch with Director Toolset in remote mode 

Description 

A standard XVS - 2 setup and Director Toolset configured in remote mode. Switch (change) the DVI 

resolution of the source. An error is thrown: “Could not open the DDC file ...”. 

Cause 

Director Toolset has problems accessing DDC and flash files in remote mode . 

Solution 

Copy the DDC sub-folder to the XVS Play computer to the following location: "C:\Program Files\Barco\XVS 

Playback\playerframework" 




Overview 

• General 

• System Manager 

• Message Editor 

• Action Manager 

7.2.1 General 

Overview 

• Startup of XVS operate fails 

• Startup of XVS Operate takes a long time 

• Cannot connect to database after installing video drivers 

7.2.1.1 Startup of XVS operate fails 

Description 

Operate does not start and an error is reported. 

Cause 

The following causes are possible: 

• Wrong video drivers are used (e.g. the bundled ASUS drivers) 

• The memory allocated to the JVM is too high (over 850 MB) 

Solution 

• Use the specified drivers. CATALYST 5.8.5.9 or 5.10 have been tested and approved. 

• Do not change the setting of the JVM memory (set the XMX to 850 or lower). 

7.2.1.2 Startup of XVS Operate takes a long time 

Description 

After starting the XVS Operate an extremely long time elapses before the tool bar or system tray icon 

appear on the screen. 

Cause 

Too many items in scheduling history for one or more of the displays. 

Solution 

Delete some of the items from scheduling history or clear the scheduling history by re-scheduling the 

layout to the affected display(s). 

Preventive measures 

Limiting the number of items in the scheduling history through the sysconf.xml file of XVS Operate. 

 

50 

 



7.2.1.3 Cannot connect to database after installing video drivers 

Description 

When video drivers are installed via the following procedure: 

1. Uninstall the video drivers. 

2. Reboot PC. 

3. Install video drivers for ASUS ATI X850 XT. 

4. Reboot PC when prompted. 

5. Restart XVS Operate. 

No connection is possible with the database. 

Cause 

Cause is unknown. 

Solution 

1. Reboot the system 

2. If the reboot does not solve the problem, re-configuration of the Oracle Listener is necessary. 

a) Go to Start → Run on the machine containing the database and type in netca. 

3. After a few seconds a wizard will pop-up. 

a) Select Listener Configuration and click Next. 

b) Choose Reconfigure and click Next. 

c) Use the defaults on the rest of the pages and click Next. 

d) Click Finish after the reconfiguration is completed. 

e) Reboot again. 

7.2.2 System Manager 

Overview 

• Menu bar appears at the wrong location 

• No events received in diagnostics panel 

• Display creation fails 

• Cannot select items in Layout tree using keyboard shortcuts 

7.2.2.1 Menu bar appears at the wrong location 

Description 

When starting up System Manager, the menu bar is wrongly positioned. The default module is not shown 

or the display tree is wrongly positioned. 

Cause 

This can happen: 

• when the registry settings for the preferences of the UI layout become corrupted. 

• when switching between different local settings (e.g. from English to Chinese). 

• when upgrading or repairing the XVS Operate software. 



Solution 

1. Stop XVS Operate using the Quit option from its system tray menu. 

2. Use RegEdit to correct the Windows Registry 

a) Click Start → Run and type REGEDIT. 

3. Delete the following entries: 

- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JavaSoft\Prefs\A/C/T/I/O/N_/M/A/N/A/G/E/R 

- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JavaSoft\Prefs\/Message/Editor 

- HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JavaSoft\Prefs\barco-system-manager-2.0 

4. Start XVS Operate again. 

7.2.2.2 No events received in diagnostics panel 

Description 

In display diagnostics, no events are listed/received from the playback. 

The performance report is empty. 

Cause 

• The display name is different from the host name of the Player (computer name). 

Note: This only affects the diagnostics part of the software. This does not prohibit the correct functioning 

of the rest of the XVS software. 

• MonitorWare service is not running. 

• Newly generated events for a selected display are not automatically shown in the event list. 

Solution 

Check MonitorWare service and start if necessary. 

Configure the display name to be the Player host name. 

Refresh the diagnostics panel by selecting the workspace in the display tree and then select the display 

again. 

7.2.2.3 Display creation fails 

Description 

The creation of a new display fails and the error message No response was received within timeout ... is 

displayed. 

Cause 

Possible causes: 

• Config_0.xml file on playback computer is read only. 

• Player communication protocol is not correctly configured. 

Solution 

Make Config_0.xml on playback computer writable. 

Configure Player protocol correctly in Sysconfig.xml. Set to IOR instead of SOCKET. 

On player side: 

 

 

 

 



false 

 

 

 

KUUCLT08801 

 

 

 

3412 

 

 

 

IOR 

 

 

 

KUUCLT08801 

 

 

 

On Operate side: 

 

 

 

3412 

 

 

 

IOR 

 

 

 

KUUCLT08801Operate 

 

 

 



7.2.2.4 Cannot select items in Layout tree using keyboard shortcuts 

Description 

• Press L in rapid succession to select different layouts. 

• Press C in rapid succession to select different channels. 

• Press L and then press C or vice versa, nothing happens on second key press. 

Cause 

Issuewithtreeusedtodisplaylayout. 

Solution 

Wait a few seconds between two key presses. 

Use mouse or arrow keys to select different items. 

7.2.3 Message Editor 

Overview 

• Excessive CPU usage (100%) in text edit mode 

• The preview of a scene that contains a video item has an offset of 10 seconds after dropping an empty 

scene in front of it. 

7.2.3.1 Excessive CPU usage (100%) in text edit mode 

Description 

Excessive CPU usage occurs when creating a new text item in a message and switching that text item 

into edit mode. When the mouse pointer is on that text item, the CPU usage jumps to 100%. 

Cause 

This can happen with some graphics chip sets and is depending how DirectX is copying bits. 

That problem does not occur with the specified hardware. 

Solution 

In sysconfig.xml, settheforce_window_stretch parameter to true. 

 

true 

 

7.2.3.2 The preview of a scene that contains a video item has an offset of 10 

seconds after dropping an empty scene in front of it. 

Description 

The video item can be previewed with a delay of 10 seconds in the following case: 

• Create a scene with an embedded video item (duration > 10 seconds). 

• Enlarge the duration to e.g. 5 minutes (default behavior: loop video item) 

• Add a new scene and drag and drop that scene just before the scene withthevideoitem. 

• Select now the scene that contains that video item. The preview is positioned at the beginning of that 

scene. 

The preview of the video has an offset of 10 seconds (equal to the length of the empty scene). 



Cause 

”Positracking” in Message Editor is wrong. 

Solution 

Reorder the scenes to get the “positracking” back normal. 

7.2.4 Action Manager 

Overview 

• Some content actions triggered from System tab do not execute. 

• Scheduling an item asap when loop first is checked does not override current schedule 

• Null pointer exception when no active layout on a display 

• A changed preset configuration not reflected in the action 

7.2.4.1 Some content actions triggered from System tab do not execute. 

Description 

The target of a system tab content action a certain channel on a display. Triggering this action does not 

start playing the content. 

Cause 

The current active layout on the target display does not contain the target channel for that action. 

That can happen when the operator works with different layouts on a single channel and keep the actions 

from an obsolete layout in the system tab. 

Example: 

• Layout A has a full screen channel ch[1], a content action A[1] is defined on ch[1]. 

• Layout B has 2 channels ch[1] & ch[2], 2 content actions B[1] and B[2] are defined on ch[1] and ch[2]. 

If now layout A is the active layout and the operator triggers action B[2] on the system tab, nothing will 

happen as there is no reference to channel 2. 

Solution 

As actions are not removed automatically from the system tab when a new layout is applied, handle as 

follow: 

• remove the actions manually (these actions can be restored later when necessary) 

• categorize the actions per layout type 

7.2.4.2 Scheduling an item asap when loop first is checked does not override 

current schedule 

Description 

Schedule an item to play asap while another item was scheduled to play forever and loop first was checked. 

Current schedule is not overwritten even not when loop first is unchecked. 

Cause 

Schedule does not overwrite current action queue, so un-checking has no effect. 

Solution 

Skip the content that was looped and restart scheduling. 



7.2.4.3 Null pointer exception when no active layout on a display 

Description 

Create a content action for a display with no active layout. When closing the Action Manager, a null pointer 

exception is thrown in the log files. 

Cause 

Due to no active layout on the display, a null pointer exception is thrown. 

Solution 

1. Stop XVS Operate using the Quit option of its system tray menu and restart again. 

2. Go to System manager and schedule a send a layout to the display. 

7.2.4.4 A changed preset configuration not reflected in the action 

Description 

A changed preset configuration in Director Toolset is not reflected in a created display action. 

Cause 

The content of a preset is loaded in the database during the creation of the display action. This content 

cannot be overwritten. 

Solution 

After changing a preset with Director Toolset, recreate the display action in Action manager. 

7.3 XVS RTD 

Overview 

• General 

• RSS feed manager 

• RS232 Templates 

7.3.1 General 

Overview 

• RTD fails to startup 

7.3.1.1 RTD fails to startup 

Description 

Startup of RTD fails (even after a re-install) 

Cause 

RTD cannot read its database files. These have become corrupt. 

Solution 

1. Browse to c:\Program Files\Barco\XVS Live Data\rde\deploy. 

2. Delete all files with the extension .db . 

3. Start RTD again. 



7.3.2 RSS feed manager 

Overview 

• Problem deleting RSS feeds when the same feed exists more than once. 

• RTD does not start after installing a webcam 

7.3.2.1 Problem deleting RSS feeds when the same feed exists more than once. 

Description 

When an RSS feed is created more than one time with other capitalization. Try to delete one of those 

creation. An exception is thrown. When trying to delete the second feed, this instance is not deleted. 

Cause 

Duplicated RSS feeds. 

Solution 

Currently now solution for it. Try to avoid in the future to create twice the same RSS feed. 

7.3.2.2 RTD does not start after installing a webcam 

Description 

Install the webcam and the driver for it on the RTD machine. Reboot the machine as required after the 

driver installation. 

Try to restart RTD management. Restart fails 

Cause 

The installation of a webcam creates another local area connection with a bad IP address. 

Solution 

Reboot the PC again. 

7.3.3 RS232 Templates 

Overview 

• MP70 online conflicts when mouse driver is installed on same COM port 

• Newly installed MP70 device only visible after PC reboot 

7.3.3.1 MP70 online conflicts when mouse driverisinstalledonsameCOMport 

Description 

The mouse pointer is behaving strangely and jumps/selects around. When disconnecting the mouse, the 

cursor keeps jumping around. 

Cause 

When booting the computer with the MP70 switched on, the computer interprets it as a serial mouse. That 

means that the computer recognizes 2 mouses what causes the cursor jumps on the display. 

Solution 

Try one of the following solutions: 



1. Disable the serial mouse device in device management. 

2. Switch off the MP70 and reboot the computer. 

3. Install a handshaking cable (normally delivered with the MP70) between the computer and the MP70. 

This causes the PC to see the MP70 as a device requiring handshaking. 

7.3.3.2 Newly installed MP70 device only visible after PC reboot 

Description 

After installation and configuration of the MP70 service, check the RTD manager for online services. The 

newly installed MP70 service is not visible as an online service in RTD manager. 

Cause 

Real time data engine (RDE service) requires a restart after a OM port template is installed in order to 

detect the MP70 service. 

Solution 

Perform one of the following solutions: 

• Restart the PC. This will restart the RDE automatically. 

• Restart the RDE manually: 

a) Close XVS RTD by right clicking the system tray icon and selecting Quit. 

b) Click Start → All Programs → Barco → XVS RTD → Shutdown. This should kill the Comport- 

TempalteSource.exe in the task manager. If it is not killed automatically, kill it manually in the Task 

manager. 

c) Restart the RDE, click Start → All Programs → Startup → RDE. 

d) Click on the XVS RTD desktop shortcut to restart. MP70 RTD service should be visible now. 


Overview 

• Large JPEG files do not play correctly 

• Director Toolset configuration must be done before setting XVS Play online 

• Newly imported (large) content file does not play when scheduled immediately 

• Playback generates many font errors 

• Scrolling text is not smooth 

• The procedure entry point FreeAddrInfoW could not be located in the DLL WS2_32.dll 

• RS232 combiner 

• Both DVI outputs on different resolution 

• XVS Playback Integrated PC freezes after a few hours 

• MP4 content does not play 

7.4.1 Large JPEG files do not play correctly 

Description 

When scheduling a large JPEG file, at playback side, it can happen that the file takes a long time to load 

or it fails to play (could show a white background instead) 



Cause 

The problem is related to the texture size limitation video hardware. Current hardware is usually 

2048x2048 or 4096x4096. Because of that, images need to be scaled down to fit in the maximum size. 

The main problem is due to scaling down of a progressive jpeg. A non-progressive jpeg has much better 

scaling performances. 

Solution 

Try one of the following solutions: 

• Convert the image to a non-progressive jpeg. 

• Scale down the image to the maximum supported texture size of the graphics card (4096x4096). 

Note 

When the player is not configured in the segmentation mode, the texture size limitations must be taken 

in account for all supported graphics formats. When configured in segmentation mode, the player will 

automatically segment extreme resolutions and fit them automatically within the texture boundaries. 

7.4.2 Director Toolset configuration must be done before setting XVS Play online 

Description 

Start Director Toolset while XVS Play is running. When closing Director Toolset errors will be generated 

in the playback (system_0.cfg is unloaded). 

Cause 

No cause is defined yet. 

Solution 

Only start XVS Play after configuring the display with Director Toolset and Director Toolset is closed. 

7.4.3 Newly imported (large) content file does not play when scheduled 

immediately 

Description 

Import a large video file and schedule this file to play immediately. The file does not play and errors are 

seen in the playback. 

Cause 

The file is not yet copied to the playback. 

Solution 

Follow the recommended operating procedures. Importing content should be done during the event preparation 

and not during the event itself. 

7.4.4 Playback generates many font errors 

Description 

The error log is unusually large. 

Many errors reported about not being able to display certain characters with the chosen font. 

Cause 

The font which is used, does not support some or all of the characters which must be displayed. 



Solution 

Use only a font that contains all characters that should be displayed. 

For Chinese texts, use one of the these fonts: SimSun, SimHei and PMingLiu. 

7.4.5 Scrolling text is not smooth 

Description 

Scrolling text is not scrolling smoothly when played on the LED wall. 

Cause 

There is no dual processor available and hyperthreading is not enabled and the LED wall is not configured 

full screen. 

Solution 

Use hardware with dual processor and enable the hyperthreading. Configure the LED wall full screen. 

7.4.6 The procedure entry point FreeAddrInfoW could not be located in the DLL 

WS2_32.dll 

Solution 

Install Window XP Service Pack 2 

7.4.7 RS232 combiner 

Description 

Standby Playback does not communicate with the D320. 

Causes 

• RS232 Combiner not properly installed. 

• Driver is configured with wrong Serial flow control. 

Solution 

• Follow the instructions for RS232 Combiner installation found in xxx. 

• Edit the Config_0 file. the flowctrl attribute under Communication → Serial should read “DTRDSR”. 

7.4.8 Both DVI outputs on different resolution 

Description 

When having both DVI outputs from the graphics card connected to the D320 you may have the error 

where one of the outputs plays out in a different resolution as the other one. 

Solution 

Change the graphical card settings to clone mode and then put it back in extend horizontally mode. 

7.4.9 XVS Playback Integrated PC freezes after a few hours 

Causes 

Incorrect Driver 



Solution 

Install the driver included with the XVS-2 DVD 

7.4.10 MP4 content does not play 

Description 

MP4 content does not play on the Playback system but other content does. An error is given in addContent. 

Causes 

• Codecs not installed properly. 

• A different codec has registered a DirectShow codec with the MP4 extension. 

Solution 

• Verify correct codec installation following the guidelines set forth in "Installation of H264 support in 

XVS-2", page 56. 

• Check to see if another application has registered the MP4 extension. 

- This can be done by opening the Registry (Start->Run type in Regedit and click OK) and opening 

the registry key "HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Media Type\Extensions" and looking for the subkey 

".mp4". 

If this key exists then more than likely this is the cause of the problem. You can sometimes discover 

what application has registered this support by examining the values in the key and seeing if there 

is a path to an installed application. If the application that has registered support can be determined 

it is recommended to uninstall that application as it would normally be an application that would 

conflict with XVS Playback performance. 

• Some CD/DVD burning software though may conflict and in that case you can manually remove 

the extension registration. 

a) First export the ".mp4" key by right clicking and selecting export. That will safeguard the key in 

case there is a stability issue. 

b) Second you delete the entire ".mp4" key and all of the contents. 

c) Restart the Playback software 


A. ADOBE FLASH® SUPPORT IN XVS-2 

A. Adobe Flash® support in XVS-2 

A.1 Overview of features and limitations 

Introduction 

Flash is supported from XVS-2 version 2.3. 

Support of Adobe Flash® files in XVS-2 bring a wealth of new possibilities. However, there are a few 

limitations and performance guidelines that should be considered when choosing to take advantage of 

the new format support. 

Feature Support 

Here is an overview of Adobe® Flash support in XVS-2 v2.3 

• Vector-Based Scaling – When a content is sent to a channel larger than the actual size of the content, 

the content is rendered at its higher resolution. 

• Content Transparency – XVS-2 is able to render Flash® content that supports transparency, thus 

allowing for flash content to overlay other content, or to be mixed in with other content in a message. 

• Support Up to Flash Player 9 – XVS-2 is able to support even the latest features in Flash® Player 

9, including new embedded video and ActionScript features. 

Feature Limitations 

These are the basic limitations of the format support in XVS-2: 

• SWF files only – Only SWF files are supported, and it is recommended that they are created for use 

with Flash® version 6, 7, 8 or 9 Players. 

• No UI Interactivity – Because of the nature of XVS-2 Operate and Playback, the normal user interface 

interactivity of Flash® files is not supported, neither in XVS-2 Playback or anywhere in XVS-2 Operate. 

Keyboard or mouse events are not forwarded to the Flash® content during rendering. However if 

interaction signals are red from an external data source such as XML using ActionScript features then 

that is still a possibility. However, the external data source must be referenced in such a way that does 

not depend on the location or name of the SWF file. It must be also noted that the default duration of 

the imported content might be incorrect, requiring the content to only work properly as a continuously 

looping content, or in a message or playlist that can alter the duration content. 

• Size Limitations – The Flash® content has a known limitation of 2880 pixels wide or 2880 pixels 

high, and Adobe does not support resolutions beyond that. Caution needs to be taken when creating 

content for fascia video walls. Flash® is a vector-based format, and thus XVS-2 will allow the format 

to be stretched to an even larger size. This however can only be reasonably done up to around 4000 

pixels without starting to suffer in rendering quality. 

• ScalinginaMessage– Currently when a Flash® file is embedded in a message format, it will only 

scale to the size given it in the message. When a message is sent to a channel larger than the size it 

was made for it does not improve the resolution of the embedded Flash content. 

• Audio Support – The Adobe Flash® Player is used for all rendering of Flash® content, so all playing 

of audio in the file is supported. However, XVS-2 is unable to mute audio in a Flash® content, nor is it 

able to detect if there is audio contained in the Flash® content, to know when to disable background 

audio when it is playing. Because of this, all audio from Flash® content is fully mixed with other audio 

streams that are playing, and it will play regardless of the kind of channel it is placed in. If it is sent 

to a Audio Only channel, it will not show the video portion still, but the audio stream still will not mute 

itself when interrupted. 


A. Adobe Flash® support in XVS-2 

Other Format Guidelines 

Since Flash® has several unique qualities that make it different than any other content formats that XVS-2 

supports, there are some guidelines that need to be considered. Also there are several known issues with 

Flash® support in XVS-2 that should be avoided. 

• Flash® is Meant Primarily for Web Graphics – It states on Adobe’s website that Adobe Flash® 

Player is optimized for publishing graphics on the web or similar computer interfaces. Therefore, if use 

of the format deviates too far from this paradigm, then you are running the risk of instability problems 

with the content in XVS-2. Here are some of the issues you need to watch for: 

- Do not play more than one instance of the same SWF file at the same time in different channels. 

- Do not “stress” the Flash® player by loading too many different files at once, or by running playlists 

of flash content too rapidly, or shorter than the duration that the file was created for. 

- Caution needs to be taken when creating file sizes too big or stretching the file too large in size. 

- High frame-rates should normally be avoided where possible. 

• Use ActionScript with Care – The scripting engine in Flash® files is extremely powerful. Caution 

must be taken when using some of it’s features. For example: 

- It is possible to create a Flash® content that completely ignores commands from the control interface 

to Play, Pause, or set the CurrentFrame. This of course translates to loosing playback control 

on the content in XVS-2. 

- The Flash® content should never popup or load other programs, or other web pages, as it will 

disrupt the stability of XVS-2. 

• Manage Resources Wisely – Proper memory management in ActionScript becomes more important 

as XVS-2 must handle potentially number of different content format types at the same time, and 

resources should not be wasted. 

• Be careful when using RealVNC – RealVNC (http://www.realvnc.com/) is a separate program, used 

to remotely control player computers through the network. There are known issues in XVS-2 where 

the Flash® ActiveX control will fail to render properly in the player after VNC has connected with the 

player machine. It would be a good practice to reboot the player computer after VNC has connected 

with it, or restart the player software just before closing the VNC client, so that this issue does not 

occur. 


Index 

INDEX 

D 

Director Toolset 21 

About the use 21 

Configuration 21 

F 

Flash support 89 

Features 89 

Limitations 89 

H 

Hardware 27, 30, 32–37, 39 

Components 36–37, 39 

Audio card 36 

Video card 37, 39 

Overview 27 

XVS dataserver 35 

XVS lightweight Play 33 

XVS Operate 30 

XVS Play 32 

XVS Playback Integrated 34 

I 

Installation 41, 46–47, 56 

H264 support 56 

XVS Operate 46–47 

Hardware installation 46 

Software installation 47 

XVS Play 41 

Hardware connections 41 


L 

Logging information 75 

P 

Playback redundancy 69–70, 73–74 


Redundancy controller 73 

Hardware 70 

Redundancy controller 73–74 


States 74 

Some definitions 69 

S 

System overview 5–6, 10–12 

Barco’s solution 5 

Components 6 

Workflow 10 

Workflow in-game 11 

Actions 11 

Monitoring 11 

Scoreboard control 11 

Workflow post-game 12 

Diagnostics 12 

Reporting 12 

Workflow pre-game 11 

Create content 11 

Manage content 11 

Workflow setup 10 

Physical system installation 10 


T 

Troubleshooting 75–79, 81–88 

Action Manager 82–83 

Actions do not execute 82 

Null pointer exception 83 

Preset action 83 

Schedule item asap 82 

General 75–76, 78 

Cannot connect to database 78 

Cyberlink PowerDVD installed 76 

DVI resolution switch 76 

Logging information 75 

Upgrade error 76 

VOB files with Dolby 5.1 or 7.1 sound 76 

Message Editor 81 

CPU usage 81 

Offset of 10 seconds 81 

System Manager 78–79, 81 

Display creation fails 79 

Item selection layout tree 81 

Menu bar at wrong location 78 

No events in diagnostic panel 79 

XVS Operate 77 

XVS Operate general 77 

Startup fails 77 

Startup takes long time 77 

XVS Play 85–88 

DVI outputs 87 

FreeAddrInfoW not located in the DLL 

WS2_32.dll 87 

Large content does not play 86 

Large JPEG files 85 

Many font errors 86 

Mini-PC freezes after a few hours 87 

MP4 content does not play 88 

No configuration 86 

RS232 combiner 87 

Scrolling text is not smooth 87 


XVS RTD general 83 

RTD fails to startup 83 


Index 

XVS RTD RS232 templates 84–85 

MP70 conflicts 84 

MP70 not visible 85 

XVS RTD RSS feed manager 84 

Deleting RSS feed 84 

W 

WAN support 57–59, 61–67 

About internet providers 58 


FTP configuration 61–62 

Play computer 62 

FTP installation 61 

Play computer 61 

Installation 61 

Introduction 57 

Possible ISP restrictions 59 

Syncback configuration with FTP profile 63 

Operate computer 63 

Troubleshooting 63–67 

Display creation fails 64 

Introduction 63 

No diagnostics in Operate 67 

No feedback in AM queue 66 

Operate does start up 64 

Real time data fails 65 

Reporting fails 67 

Scheduling fails 65 

Storage service Play computer 67 

Workflow overview 6 

X 

XVS features 23, 25 

Fill formats 25 

Overview list 23 

XVS Operate 12, 14 

Action Manager 14 

Message Editor 14 

System manager 12 

XVS Play 17–19 

Creativity 18 

Fascia solutions 18 

General 17 

Mirroring principle 19 

Perimeter solutions 18 

Segmentation principle 18 

Video cube solutions 18 

XVS RTD 15–17 

RS232 service 17 

RTD management 15–16 


Revision Sheet 

To: 

Barco nv Media/Documentation 

Noordlaan 5, B-8520 Kuurne 

Phone: +32 56.36.89.70, Fax: +32 56.36.83.86 

E-mail: service.media_and_entertainment.emea@barco.com, Web: www.barco.com 

From: 

Date: 

Please correct the following points in this documentation (R5976955/02): 

page wrong correct 

R5976955 XVS - 2 14/03/2007

XVS - 2 - Log in - Barco

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