Dataton WATCHOUT User's Guide

Table of Contents
1 Introduction.............................................. 7
Welcome ......................................................... 7
System Overview .............................................. 8
Software Overview ......................................... 10
Related Technologies ...................................... 12
2 System Requirements............................ 15
Production Computer ...................................... 15
Display Computer........................................... 16
Network......................................................... 16
Displays......................................................... 16
3 Installation ............................................. 21
Production Software........................................ 21
Display Software ............................................ 22
Network Hook-up ........................................... 24
License Keys................................................... 27
Displays......................................................... 28
Projection Screens........................................... 30
Sound............................................................ 30
4 Configuration ......................................... 31
Production Computer ...................................... 31
Display Computer........................................... 33
Displays......................................................... 42
Sound............................................................ 46
Maintenance .................................................. 47
5 Planning ................................................. 49
Application Areas........................................... 49
Presentation Environment................................. 50
Display Considerations.................................... 52
Storyboarding ................................................ 55
Media Production ........................................... 55
6 Media Files ............................................. 59
Still Images..................................................... 59
Text ............................................................... 67
Moving Images............................................... 67
Audio ............................................................ 81
7 Production .............................................. 85
Stage............................................................. 85
Media............................................................ 87
Timeline ......................................................... 90
Tween Tracks.................................................. 96
Opacity ......................................................... 99
Volume .......................................................... 99
Position .......................................................... 99
8 Presentation......................................... 103
Connecting to the Display Computers ............. 103
Running the Presentation ............................... 105
External Control............................................ 107

9 Windows...............................................109
Stage Window ............................................. 111
Timeline Window ......................................... 112
Media Window............................................ 114
Message Window ........................................ 117
10 Menus....................................................119
File Menu..................................................... 119
Edit Menu .................................................... 122
Stage Menu ................................................. 125
Media Menu ................................................ 127
Timeline Menu.............................................. 130
11 Displays.................................................133
Display Specifications ................................... 134
12 Cues .......................................................137
Cue Specifications ........................................ 140
Tween Tracks ............................................... 141
Tween Points ................................................ 142
A. Serial Protocol ......................................143
List of Commands ......................................... 145
Index .....................................................149

Dataton WATCHOUT software and this manual
© copyright 2000, DATATON UTVECKLINGS AB
(“Dataton”). All rights reserved.
Dataton TRAX, TOUCHLINK, Dataton PAX and the
Dataton logo are registered trademarks of DATATON
UTVECKLINGS AB. WATCHOUT, TOUCHDOWN,
SMARTPAX, SMARTPAX QC, AIRLINK, SMARTLINK are
trademarks of DATATON UTVECKLINGS AB. All other
company and product names are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners. Use of a
term in this publication should not be regarded as
affecting the validity of any trademark.
Products or manufacturers mentioned do not constitute a
recommendation or endorsement by Dataton.
The information in this manual has been carefully
checked and is believed to be accurate. However,
Dataton assumes no responsibility for any inaccuracies
that may be contained in this manual. In no event will
Dataton be liable for direct, indirect, special, incidental,
or consequential damages resulting from any defect or
omission in this manual, even if advised of the possibility
of such damages. The technical information contained
herein regarding features and specifications is subject to
change without notice.
Dataton AB
Box 1257
S-581 12 LINKÖPING
Sweden
http://www.dataton.com/
Phone: +46-13-10 24 50
Fax: +46-13-13 84 45
E-mail: info@dataton.se
WATCHOUT suggestions: watchout@dataton.se
Technical Support:
support@dataton.se
WATCHOUT software was produced on Apple Macintosh
computers using Metrowerks CodeWarrior. This
manual was produced on Apple Macintosh computers
using Microsoft Word, Adobe Illustrator, PhotoShop and
FrameMaker.
Printed in Sweden.
Document number: 3955

Welcome
1
1
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to WATCHOUT, a fully digital, multi-screen display technology. It
combines the qualities of traditional multi-image with digital imagery, video
and the graphics power of contemporary computer technology. Use it with
projectors for large, seamless images, or hook it up to monitors, video wall
cubes or plasma screens for other creative screen arrangements.
About This Manual
This manual is divided into the following sections:
Chapters 2 through 4. How to install and configure your WATCHOUT
system.
Chapters 5 through 8. A guide to planning, producing and showing
your presentation.
Chapters 9 through 12. This constitutes the reference section of this
manual, providing details on all windows, commands and other functions.
◆ HINT: If you’re reading the electronic version of this manual, the table of
contents, index and all cross references can be clicked to jump directly to
the referenced page.
WATCHOUT Version 1.1
This manual refers to WATCHOUT version 1.1. The latest version of the software
and its documentation can always be obtained at this web address:
http://www.dataton.se/products/watchout/
Chapter 1: Introduction 7

System Overview
This section provides a brief introduction to the parts that make up a
WATCHOUT system, and how they fit together.
Go Faster!
• Safety
• Speed
• Tires
Main display
area with
overlapping
images
Display
1
Display
3
Screen
4
Display
5
Production
computer
Display
2
Projectors
100MBit Ethernet
Production Computer
Display
computers
This is the focal point for your WATCHOUT production work. This is where you
collect all the source material, or media, to create your presentation. Using the
WATCHOUT production software (see page 11), you simply drag media into
your presentation, positioning it in the Stage window and along the Timeline.
8 Chapter 1: Introduction

The production computer talks to the display computers through the network,
transferring media files for you as required, as well as controlling the playback
of the show.
Display Computers
Network
You need one display computer for each display device (projector, monitor,
etc) used in you presentation. Display computers handle all the hard work
associated with rendering still images and video. They apply edge blends and
playing sound files.
The fact that there’s one computer for each display device makes the system
scalable to virtually any size; as more screens are added, you also add more
computing power to drive these screens.
A fast network ties the parts together, allowing the production computer to
manage all display computers remotely. Once the WATCHOUT software has
been installed on the display computers, most vital functions will be managed
over the network.
As you add new media to your presentation, or revise existing media, these
changes are automatically propagated, via the network, to the appropriate
display computers. The network also transfers your display configurations,
timeline programming and other aspects of your presentation to the display
computer. With all this material residing on the display computers, very little
information needs to be sent over the network during playback, avoiding
network congestion.
Chapter 1: Introduction 9

Software Overview
Stage Window
Timeline
Media
Cues and Tween Tracks
System Management
This section gives an introduction to the WATCHOUT production software.
The Stage window allows you to organize the displays (screen areas) to reflect
their expected placement. It also provides a preview of the end result, and
allows you to manipulate the placement and movement of images.
Media files are dragged from your hard disk into the Timeline window, where
they appear as cues. Each cue features a thumbnail icon of the media. You
determine timing and duration by adjusting the position and length of these
cues. The horizontal layers in the Timeline window represent the order of overlapping
images, back-to-front.
As media is added, thumbnails representing the media files also appear in the
Media window. This acts as a central repository for all media used in your
presentation. It provides information about each media file, and allows the file
to be easily accessed for editing or other purposes.
The cues in the Timeline window can be enhanced by applying tween tracks.
These control the dynamic behavior of media on stage, such as position or
transparency.
As you make changes to the presentation, those changes can be transferred to
all the display computers by a single keystroke. This will automatically transfer
any media you have added, or modified to the relevant display computers,
and show the result on stage. As the media files and cues are cached locally
on each display computer, the show is ready to run at any time by simply
pressing the space-bar.
10 Chapter 1: Introduction

Chapter 1: Introduction 11

Related Technologies
QuickTime
Java
WATCHOUT is based on a number of industry standard technologies. This
section provides some additional background information on these technologies
for the technically interested user. You do not need to know this in order
to use WATCHOUT.
WATCHOUT uses Apple’s QuickTime system software extension to handle
many of its media-related functions, such as:
• Importing still images of virtually any format.
• Playing moving image files.
• Playing sound files.
WATCHOUT automatically benefits as new codecs and other improvements
are added to QuickTime. As new computer hardware becomes available,
QuickTime is enhanced to improve its performance. Third party companies
often provide plug-ins for QuickTime that allow you to take advantage of
specialized hardware or access custom file formats.
WATCHOUT production software is written in the Java programming
language. This means WATCHOUT can run on any computer platform that
supports Java (compatible with Sun’s Java Runtime Environment version1.3)
and Apple’s QuickTime.
◆ NOTE: For installation on Windows computers, WATCHOUT incorporates
and uses its own Java runtime environment (VM and required libraries).
You do not need to have Java on your computer prior to installing
WATCHOUT.
12 Chapter 1: Introduction

Fast Computer Hardware
TCP/IP Network
For best performance, WATCHOUT display software is written as a native
application for the target platform. Furthermore, the rendering engine takes
advantage of system software support and hardware acceleration to achieve
best possible image and sound reproduction quality.
Computer speed, display hardware performance, hard disk space, etc, are
developing at a phenomenal pace. As these technologies move forward,
WATCHOUT will move along with them, resulting in even better performance
over time.
WATCHOUT uses the TCP/IP networking standard – the core protocol of the
Internet. This distributes the media files to the display computers, the contents
of the timeline and control/timing information.
The data is typically sent over regular 100 MB Ethernet wiring and hubs,
thereby reducing cost of installation and maintenance.
Chapter 1: Introduction 13

14 Chapter 1: Introduction

2
2
SYSTEM
REQUIREMENTS
Production Computer
This chapter lists what you need in order to install WATCHOUT.
The production computer has the following system requirements:
• Microsoft Windows 98 or 2000.
• 500 MHz or better.
• At least 64 MB of RAM.
• At least 100 MB of free hard disk space.
• Ethernet (100 MBit recommended).
• A free USB port.
• 15 inch color monitor.
• Mouse and keyboard.
◆ NOTE: As the WATCHOUT production software is based on Java (JRE 1.3)
and QuickTime, we also expect it to run under MacOS X, when available.
Chapter 2: System Requirements 15

Display Computer
Network
Displays
The display computer has the following system requirements:
• Apple Macintosh G4, running Mac OS 9.0.4.
• ATI RAGE or NEXUS display card with at least 16 MB of video memory,
such as the standard card that comes pre-installed in the G4.
• 128 MB of RAM.
• At least 100 MB of free hard disk space.
◆ NOTE: A PC-compatible version of the display software is planned.
The production and display computers must be connected using a TCP/IP
compatible network.
A typical system has 100 MBit Ethernet network ports on all computers and an
Ethernet hub with the required number of ports to connect the computers. It is
also possible to use 10 MBit Ethernet, although this will slow down media file
transfers. The network speed does not, however, have impact on the runtime
timing precision of the system.
WATCHOUT can be used with most display technologies, including CRT, DLP
and LCD projectors, LCD and CRT monitors, video wall cubes and plasma
screens. Generally, you can use any display device that’s compatible with the
display card in the display computer.
Avoid mixing brands and models of displays on adjacent or overlapping
areas, since they most likely will differ in their image reproduction. As the light
intensity and color temperature of many projectors may degrade over time, try
to use projectors that have been in use roughly the same number of hours.
16 Chapter 2: System Requirements

The following sections provide an overview of display technologies, with
special emphasis on aspects related to WATCHOUT.
CRT-based Displays
DLP Projectors
CRT projectors have the unique advantage of being able to reproduce a true
black. This is important in a totally dark environment, such as a planetarium,
when using the smooth edge-blending built into WATCHOUT. Without a true
black level, it is often impossible to avoid grey banding of the screen in the
overlap areas, due to the fact that there are two or more overlapping projectors
in this area.
CRT monitors and CRT-based video projectors and wall cubes may, however,
need extensive adjustment and calibration by a professional installer in order
to obtain acceptable color matching, convergence and image uniformity. Their
analog nature may also affect long-term stability.
DLP (Digital Light Processor) uses a microscopic mirror chip to modulate the
light. This display technology has the advantage of being 100% digital,
resulting in excellent, long-term image stability and reliability – particularly
when using a digital computer connection, such as DVI (see “DVI connector”
on page 29).
There are two primary kinds of DLP projectors; single chip and three chip. In a
single chip projector, one micromirror device handles all three primary colors
using a color wheel synchronized with the modulating mirrors. A three chip
projector uses a prism which splits the light into the three primary colors,
bouncing off three micromirror devices and combining the result to provide a
brighter image, suitable for very large displays.
The most significant problem with DLP projectors when used with WATCHOUT
is the lack of a true black level. The poor black produced by most DLP projec-
Chapter 2: System Requirements 17

tors often results in grey banding in overlapping image areas. This is particularly
noticeable in a totally dark room, and, conversely, is less of an issue in
installations at, eg, a shopping mall, a trade-show or similar environment. This
problem is magnified when using very bright projectors on small display
areas. Hence, you should avoid using a stronger DLP projector than you actually
need for your screen size and ambient lighting.
Another slightly related problem is “light leakage”. In a DLP projector, light not
designated for the screen is bounced to another corner inside the projector.
Inevitably, some of this unused light will find its way out of the projector,
resulting in unwanted stray illumination outside the image area.
To determine the suitability of a particular model of projector, always perform
proper tests under realistic screen size and lighting conditions. Details vary
widely among manufacturers and projector models, and are not always stated
on specification sheets. As most projectors today have sufficient ANSI lumens
for their applications, projector manufacturers will eventually focus more on
other aspects, such as true image contrast.
Read more about the DLP technology here:
http://www.ti.com/dlp/
18 Chapter 2: System Requirements

LCD Projectors
LCD Display Panels
LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) projectors are in many ways similar to DLP projectors,
and share many of the same advantages and disadvantages. Instead of
bouncing the image off a mirror, an LCD projector uses an “LCD slide” to
modulate the light. The more analog nature of this technology means some LCD
projectors may require more adjustment than DLP projectors, and exhibit less
long-term stability.
LCD projectors may also suffer from a poor black level. The problem may be
even more noticeable on LCD projectors than on DLP projectors, and there’s a
wider span of variation due to the large number of LCD chip manufacturers.
Apply the same precautions as for DLP projectors.
Modern LCD displays typically have very good color matching, brightness and
long-term stability – particularly when connected digitally. However, when
using multiple LCD displays to build larger display areas, bear in mind the
often limited viewing angle.
Most LCD displays are designed for optimal image quality when viewed from
the front, with image quality degrading drastically as you move off-center.
Often, the viewing angle is better when moving horizontally than when moving
vertically (as would be the case when placing multiple landscape-oriented LCD
displays in a column).
Chapter 2: System Requirements 19

Plasma Displays
Plasma displays are similar to LCD panels in many ways. Although they are
expensive, they have gained ground in applications such as trade show
exhibits and retail store displays. This can be attributed to their unique combination
of large image size, wide viewing angle, bright images and shallow
depth.
Generally, you can use any plasma display as long as it is compatible with the
display card in your display computer. Note, however, that many plasma
displays distort the image in order to display a regular 4:3 aspect ratio image
in a wide screen format. While this may look acceptable in some single-screen
applications, it is usually not desirable in a multi-screen system. To avoid this,
ensure that the display accepts a computer signal that has the true number of
horizontal and vertical pixels for its aspect ratio.
A 4:3 aspect ratio image.
Same image stretched to a 16:9 aspect ratio.
20 Chapter 2: System Requirements

3
3
INSTALLATION
This chapter tells you how to install the required software components as well
as how to hook up the hardware.
Production Software
Installing QuickTime
▼ IMPORTANT: When installing
QuickTime manually, make
sure you install all components
by choosing the Custom install
option. If you don’t do this,
some functions in WATCHOUT
(eg, use of certain image formats)
may not work.
Obtain the “WATCHOUT Production Software Installer”, either by downloading
it from the web at
http://www.dataton.se/products/watchout/
or by ordering the WATCHOUT CD-ROM.
Run the installer and follow the onscreen instructions.
If you installed the WATCHOUT production software from the WATCHOUT
CD-ROM, QuickTime has already been installed as part of the CD-ROM installation.
If you downloaded WATCHOUT from the web, QuickTime is not included due
to licensing restrictions. In this case, unless you already have QuickTime
installed, you need to obtain it from Apple:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/
The above installer is small and downloads quickly. However, it will need
Internet access to install QuickTime itself, since it downloads the various
components piecemeal. If you prefer to get the complete package before
installing, you can do so here:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/support/
Chapter 3: Installation 21

Display Software
Obtain the WATCHOUT display software using either of the two methods
mentioned under “Production Software” on the previous page. The display
software consists of three components. They are installed simply by dragging
the files to the appropriate locations on your hard disk.
Start by dragging the “WATCHOUT Display” application to a new folder on
your hard drive.
Next, drag the two license key driver components into the Extensions folder,
located inside the System folder.
22 Chapter 3: Installation

Display Card Drivers
The software components required to manage the display card in your
computer usually come with the computer’s operating system or, in the case of
a third party display card, from the display card manufacturer.
For your convenience, a set of well known Macintosh/ATI display card drivers
are included on the CD-ROM in a folder named “ATI Display Card Drivers”. If
you suspect you’re having trouble with the drivers that came with your hardware
or system software, you may want to try these drivers instead.
▼ IMPORTANT: Before installing new display drivers, move the old drivers
from the Extensions folder to another folder of your choice, so you can restore
them later if desired. All display-related software in the Extensions
folder begins with the word “ATI”. To locate them, open the Extensions folder,
choose “As List” on the View menu and click the Name column.
Install the included display card drivers simply by dragging them into the
Extensions folder. You must drag the individual files themselves – not the folder
containing them – into the Extensions folder.
Chapter 3: Installation 23

Network Hook-up
Stand-alone System
The production computer and all display computers must be interconnected
using a TCP/IP compatible network. In most practical cases, this means
Ethernet, which comes standard on many computers. Although 100 MBit
Ethernet is recommended for best performance, 10 MBit can also be used.
Connect all computers to a hub with the required number of ports. Most hubs
have indicators that identify proper connection as well as data rate (for 10/
100 MBit auto-sensing hubs).
Production
Computer
Display
Computers
100MBit Ethernet hub
For stand-alone operation of a WATCHOUT system, this is usually all you need
to do in terms of hardware hook-up.
24 Chapter 3: Installation

Connecting to a Larger
Network
In some cases you may want to connect a WATCHOUT system to a larger
network. This can be useful during the production phase for accessing media
files located on servers, allowing graphics artists to continue working on the
media files during the production process.
In this case, you can connect the larger network to the WATCHOUT subnet in
either of two ways:
• Using a simple up-link from the WATCHOUT hub to another hub on the
larger network.
• Using an up-link connected to a smart switch or router.
The first option is suitable for smaller networks, or networks with relatively low
usage. The disadvantage is that all traffic on the large network will also be seen
by the WATCHOUT subsystem, and may impair its performance. Chaining
multiple hubs in this way may also adversely affect overall network reliability –
particularly for 100 MBit networks.
Chapter 3: Installation 25

Using Switches
The second option uses a “smart hub”, referred to as a switch, to forward only
data destined for a computer on the WATCHOUT sub-net. This avoids collisions
with data not related to WATCHOUT, thereby improving the performance
of the entire network. It also allows you to chain a large number of
switches together without the risk of data degradation due to multiple hub
hops.
To other parts
of the network
Switch/Router
Up-link
Hub
In some rare cases it may be desirable to have the production computer on
another subnet than the display computers. When using only dumb hubs, this
is not a problem. But when using smart switches, this may be an issue. In this
case, you must make sure that the switches are configured so that they allow
“UDP broadcasts” to pass through from the production computer to the display
computers. It is not advisable to split the display computers that make up a
single WATCHOUT system on more than one subnet when using smart
switches.
26 Chapter 3: Installation

License Keys
The license key connects
to the USB port.
Each computer in the system requires a WATCHOUT license key, including the
production computer. Plug the key into any free USB (Universal Serial Bus) port
on the computer.
If a computer does not have a free USB port, install a USB hub to increase the
number of USB ports. If the computer doesn’t have USB at all, install a USB
interface card. USB-hubs are occasionally built into computer monitors or
keyboards.
◆ NOTE: You can run the production software off-line without a license key
connected. A key is only needed when you go on-line to communicate with
the display computers.
Chapter 3: Installation 27

Displays
15-pin Mini D-sub Connector
WATCHOUT can be used with most display technologies. See “Displays” on
page 16 for an overview of display technologies. You connect one display to
each display computer using a recommended display interface card (see
“Display Computer” on page 16).
When connecting the display to the display computer, keep the following in
mind:
• Keep the display cable short. If possible, place the display computer close
to the display, powering both from the same outlet.
• If you must extend the cable, make sure you use high-grade extension
cables and distribution amplifiers.
Usually, the display is connected by using an analog 15-pin, VGA-style
connector or a digital DVI connector.
The 15-pin mini D-sub connector is by far the most common way of interfacing
a computer to a display device. Although often referred to as a “VGA
connector”, it is also used to connect higher resolution displays, such as SVGA
and XGA.
Advantages include the ability to extend and distribute the signal, using extension
cables and distribution amplifiers (DAs) available from many manufacturers.
Due to the analog nature of the signal, it is also susceptible to hum and noise
as well as signal interpretation and digitalization artefacts. This can result in
pixel jitter and poor or varying color fidelity. Some of this may be reduced by
careful adjustment and tweaking of the display device and/or display card.
28 Chapter 3: Installation

DVI Connector
Digital Visual Interface
connector.
Other Digital Display
Standards
The DVI (Digital Visual Interface) connector is gaining popularity in LCD flat
panels as well as DLP video projectors. As the data to be displayed is digital to
begin with, it makes little sense to convert the signal to analog, pass it through
a VGA-style connector, and then convert it back to digital form again in the
display device. The DVI connector solves this by keeping the signal in the
digital domain all the way.
The advantages include a rock-solid image, no pixel jitter and best possible
image and color precision. This is usually provided with little, or no, need for
manual adjustment, resulting in improved image consistency and stability.
The high speed digital signal makes it more difficult to run long cables or to
distribute the signal to multiple display devices. However, solutions to these
needs are beginning to appear from some manufacturers as the DVI standard
gains in popularity.
Read more about the DVI standard here:
http://www.ddwg.org/
A few other digital display connection standards also exist, more or less similar
to the DVI standard. Most of them share the pros and cons of DVI, and differ
mainly in terms of maximum display resolution or refresh frequency.
Chapter 3: Installation 29

Projection Screens
Sound
Sound output jack symbol.
As in all multi-screen projection applications, it is important to choose the
screen material with caution. Make sure you buy your screen material from a
screen manufacturer familiar with the requirements of multi-image projection,
or similar applications.
For front projection, avoid using high-gain, or “silver” screens. Such screens
often cause uneven brightness or banding when projecting using multiple
projectors and/or when viewing from non-optimal angles.
A related problem when using rear projection screens is the “hot-spot” caused
by the projection lens showing through the projection surface.
Sound can be provided through any of the display computers. Simply connect
the sound output from the computer (usually a 3.5 mm mini-jack) to the amplifier
or powered speakers.
If you need to run the computer’s line level audio signal a long distance, you
should use an audio line level transformer, or similar adapter. This converts the
unbalanced signal coming from the computer to a balanced signal, thereby
reducing the risk of hum and noise when connected to a professional audio
amplifier.
You can have multiple display computers playing sound at the same time,
thereby providing multiple audio channels. The synchronization between
computers is generally good enough for multi-language support or special
effects sound tracks, but not for true multi-channel (eg, “phase accurate”)
sound reproduction.
30 Chapter 3: Installation

4
4
CONFIGURATION
This chapter discusses how to configure and maintain the system for best
performance and reliability.
Production Computer
The production computer needs to be configured for TCP/IP networking. Click
the Start button and choose Settings > Control Panel. Open the Network
control panel. Click the “DNS Configuration” tab and select “Disable DNS”.
Alternatively, if your computer will be used on a network that has an accessible
DNS (Domain Name Server), select “Enable DNS”, and enter the IP number of
the DNS.
▼ IMPORTANT: Do not enable DNS unless you know your computer has
access to a domain name server. Otherwise you may experience difficulties
communicating with the display computers and as transferring files to them.
Chapter 4: Configuration 31

Next, choose the “IP Address” tab and enter the numbers, as shown below.
The address shown above is appropriate if you’re building a stand-alone
WATCHOUT system. If your WATCHOUT subnet is connected to a larger
network, you should consult your network administrator for the correct IP
number and subnet mask. Alternatively, if your network provides automatic
assignment of IP numbers (eg, through a DHCP server), you may choose
“Obtain an IP address automatically”.
32 Chapter 4: Configuration

Display Computer
To achieve best performance and reliability of your WATCHOUT system, you
need to set a number of settings on all your display computers. The settings
listed below are found under Apple menu > Control Panels.
TCP/IP • Open the “TCP/IP” control panel.
• Choose “Configurations” on the File menu.
• Click “Duplicate” and name the new configuration “WATCHOUT”. Click
“Make Active”.
Enter a unique number here for
each display computer; eg, 10,
11, 12, etc.
Chapter 4: Configuration 33

• Set “Connect Via” to “Ethernet”.
• Set “Configure” to “Manually”.
Enter IP address and subnet mask, as shown in the illustration above, changing
the last group of IP address digits so that each display computer is assigned a
unique address.
As an example; in a stand-alone system consisting of one production computer
and three display computers, you would end up with IP addresses assigned like
this:
192.168.0.1
Production
computer
192.168.0.10 192.168.0.11
192.168.0.12
Display
computers
If your WATCHOUT subnet is not stand-alone but connected to a larger
network, you should consult your network administrator for the correct IP
number, subnet mask, and other parameters.
▼ IMPORTANT: Each display computer must be manually assigned a
unique IP address. Unlike the production computer, the display computers
can not use automatic (dynamic) IP number assignment.
34 Chapter 4: Configuration

Memory • Open the “Memory” control panel.
• Set “Virtual Memory” and “RAM Disk” to Off.
• Set “Disk Cache” to “Default Setting”.
Chapter 4: Configuration 35

Energy Saver • Open the “Energy Saver” control panel.
• Set the slider to “Never”.
• Click the “Schedule” button and make sure that the scheduled sleep and
wake-up features are turned off.
36 Chapter 4: Configuration

• Click the “Advanced Settings” button and activate “Wake for network administration
access”.
• Make sure that “Allow processor cycling” is not activated.
Chapter 4: Configuration 37

Monitors • Open the “Monitors” control panel.
• Set “Color Depth” to “Millions”.
• Set “Resolution” to match the design of your presentation and display device,
eg, 800 x 600 for SVGA.
• Choose a refresh frequency (xxHz) that is as high as possible while still being
compatible with your display device and a multiple of your video frame
rate. Eg, if the video material to be used in your presentation is PAL (which
has a refresh rate of 25 frames per second), set the refresh rate to 50, 75
or 100 Hz. Likewise, for NTSC, choose 60, 90 or 120 Hz.
38 Chapter 4: Configuration

• Click the “Color” button and choose “Generic RGB Profile” in the list.
▼ IMPORTANT: The color profile must be identical on all display computers,
since this affects the color temperature of the displayed images.
Date and Time • Open the “Date & Time” control panel.
• Turn off the “Use a Network Time Server” option.
• Set the “Menu Bar Clock” option to “Off”.
General Controls • Open the “General Controls” control panel.
• Turn off the “Warn me if the computer was shut down improperly” option.
Chapter 4: Configuration 39

Control Strip • Open the “Control Strip” control panel.
• Choose the “Hide Control Strip” option.
File Sharing • Open the “File Sharing” control panel.
• Make sure that file sharing is turned off (ie, the button in the File Sharing
section reads “Start”).
Apple Menu • Open the “Apple Menu Options” control panel.
• Turn off the “Remember recently used items” option.
40 Chapter 4: Configuration

Extensions Manager • Open the “Extensions Manager” control panel.
• Choose “Mac OS 9.0.4 Base” on the “Selected Set” pop-up menu.
• Click “Duplicate Set”, naming the new set “WATCHOUT”.
• Choose “As Items” on the View menu and click the “Name” column heading
to sort the list by name.
• Turn off the following extensions: AppleShare, AppleTalk, Application
Switcher, Desktop Print Spooler, Desktop Print Monitor, FBC Indexing
Scheduler, File Sharing, File Sharing Extension, Find By Content, Folder Actions,
Launcher, Printer Share, ShareWay Personal IP Bgnd, Time Synchronizer.
• Turn on the following extensions: USBWibuKeyDriver, WkMAC.LIB.
• Click the “Restart” button.
Chapter 4: Configuration 41

Displays
General Set-up
Considerations
Display devices to be used with WATCHOUT basically fall into two categories;
monitors and projectors. This section provides some general guidelines for
setting up display devices. Please refer to the user’s guide of the display device
at hand for further details.
When using multiple displays of the same kind, make sure all controls are set
in the same way on all displays. Some displays may have a button or menu
item to recall “factory defaults”, which is often a good starting point.
If the images still differ, it may be caused by differences in manufacturing, age
or running hours of the display. Try to compensate for such discrepancies by
tweaking parameters like brightness or contrast. Double-check that the monitor
settings on the display computers match.
Turn off the auto-contrast mode, if any. Otherwise, an image spanning multiple
displays may look darker on one display compared to another when that part
of the image contains brighter areas.
42 Chapter 4: Configuration

Projector Set-up and
Alignment
For DLP and LCD projectors, ensure that the image fills the active display area
exactly. The easiest way to do this is to quit WATCHOUT on one display
computer at a time. This displays the computer’s desktop, which typically fills
the entire screen. Furthermore, on the Mac, the rounded corners make it easier
to detect any overshoot. Adjust image height, width and centering to ensure
that the desktop exactly fills the active display area, with no undershoot or
overshoot in any direction.
▼ IMPORTANT: You must ensure that the image fills the entire display area
precisely. Any overshoot or undershoot will show up as a dark band in the
overlap areas.
◆ NOTE: This adjustment may not be necessary when using a digital interface,
such as DVI (see “DVI Connector” on page 29).
If your projector has optical zoom, make sure that all projector lenses are set
identically. As zoom lenses may cause image distortion in their extreme positions,
try to avoid these positions. If not, setting the zoom lens to one of the
extremes is a good way to ensure that they are all set uniformly. If you need to
tweak the size of images during the alignment, it is generally better to shift the
projector slightly forward or backward than to use the zoom lens.
Set any electronic zoom function to its neutral position. If not, fine details in
images, such as thin lines, may disappear or become distorted.
Image scaling – a feature allowing you to use an input signal that has a higher
or lower resolution than the projector’s native resolution – works like an electronic
zoom. Use of this feature should also be avoided, when possible, by
using the native resolution of the projector.
Chapter 4: Configuration 43

A keystone-shaped image
resulting from tilting the projector
Some projectors provide electronic keystone correction. This compensates for
image distortion caused by tilting the projector. Electronic keystoning will have
an adverse effect on image quality. To avoid it, put the projector on a flat
surface without tilting, display an image, and set the keystone correction
control to give a square image. Again, projecting the desktop of the display
computer’s OS can help in ensuring that vertical lines are smooth, with no
jaggies (as caused by electronic keystone correction).
◆ NOTE: Optical keystone correction (ie, by shifting the projection lens vertically),
or electronic keystone correction in CRT projectors, doesn’t cause
jaggies, and can therefore generally be used without problems.
Many projectors are designed to project an image with the baseline level with
the lens, or even slightly above the lens, when the projector is placed on a flat
surface; a kind of fixed keystone correction. The angle is usually illustrated in
the projector’s manual, and can be used to calculate optimal projector placement.
Projector with built-in, optical
keystone correction
44 Chapter 4: Configuration

Alignment
2
E
Adjusting the Edge Blend
Curve
1
B
Calculating the projector
alignment:
C 1 = A + B / 2
D 1 = C 1
C 2 = C 1 + B – E
A
C
D
When using multiple overlapping projectors, the projectors must be placed
carefully so the images match up, with no visible differences in the overlaps.
Each projector must be placed exactly in front of its proposed image center on
screen. There should be the same distance between the projectors as between
as the image centers (assuming a flat projection surface). You may want to
produce a separate alignment image for this purpose, with horizontal and
vertical lines outlining the display surface and the centers of the edge-blends,
and cross-hairs marking the center of each image.
In the example to the left, the wall of the room is used to ensure correct alignment.
A is the distance from the wall to the edge of the image and B is the width
of the image. Position the right-most projector so that both distances C and D
equals A plus half of B. The second projector’s C and D distances equal the
right-most projector’s values plus the image width B minus the edge-blend
overlap E. When measuring D, use the center of the lens as your point of reference,
not the projector’s body.
The projectors must be placed on a steady surface, out of reach for the audience.
Even the slightest nudge may ruin the alignment of a projector.
◆ HINT: By putting the alignment image past the edge blend layer(see “No
Edge-blend Past Layer” on page 130), you can view the full size of each
display. This makes it easier to ensure that the image fills each display exactly.
Use a one-pixel wide outline along the edge of the alignment image.
You can adjust the curve of the edge blends in the Preferences dialog box.
After making any changes, choose “Update” on the Stage menu to see the
effect. See “Edge-blend Curve” on page 122 for more details.
Chapter 4: Configuration 45

Sound
The sound system should be properly configured –possibly including equalization
–for the show environment. Keep in mind that a large audience often has
a significant impact on the acoustics.
The placement of individual speakers in multi-channel systems needs to be
thought out carefully, and taken into consideration in the production process.
◆ HINT: Special screen material exists that allows you to conceal loudspeakers
behind a screen, if desired.
Once adjusted, the sound system should require little or no maintenance.Ifg the
number of viewers, or their age range, varies significantly, you may want to
install a general volume control.
For large or complex installations, a separate control system – such as Dataton
TRAX – can be used to manage sound levels, crowd flow and other aspects of
the environment.
46 Chapter 4: Configuration

Maintenance
Display Degradation
Projector Alignment
A WATCHOUT system is 100% digital, which means it requires little or no
maintenance once installed. There are, however, a few details to keep in mind,
depending on the chosen display technology.
Most display technologies degrade over time. For example, projector lamps
eventually burn out and LCD displays with fluorescent back-lighting fade. The
anticipated lifetime is usually available from the manufacturer. Some displays
and projectors have built-in meters that can tell you the number of hours of use.
Analog technologies, such as CRT-based monitors and projectors, often
require re-calibration at regular intervals to maintain image quality. Especially
when used side by side or overlapping, with the same image split across
several display areas.
Projector alignment also tends to deteriorate over time. This largely depends on
how or where the projectors are mounted. If your WATCHOUT system is to run
for an extended period of time, it usually pays to ensure that all projectors are
mounted firmly and out of reach.
Even so, it’s advisable to check the alignment using an alignment image at
regular intervals. This will also alert you to any color shift or similar degradation
that needs to be adjusted.
Chapter 4: Configuration 47

Removing Unused Files
All files transferred to the display computer’s hard drive will remain there
indefinitely. In addition to the source media files, WATCHOUT also creates
various cache files. These files are stored in a folder hierarchy on the display
computers that looks like in the illustration to the left.
When you’ve finished running a show, delete all its associated files by moving
the folder having the same name as the show to the trash and emptying the
trash. This is particularly important if you regularly run new shows using the
same set of display computers. The hard drive would eventually become full,
resulting in failure to download new shows.
Likewise, as you edit your presentation, you may add many media files which
are later removed or replaced with other files. Such media files, once transferred
to the display computer, will not be discarded automatically. You can
remove unused files by deleting the show folder, as described above, and then
updating the system to get a fresh set of files downloaded. When downloading
files, only the files actually required on each display computer will be transferred
to that computer.
Folder containing data
related to the show named
“Seminar.watch”.
Folder containing all shows,
located in the same folder
as the WATCHOUT Display
application.
48 Chapter 4: Configuration

5
5
PLANNING
This chapter covers some of the things you should bear in mind before you set
out to create a WATCHOUT presentation. It gives you an overview of potential
uses for WATCHOUT. It also provides some hints on show design and production
techniques.
Application Areas
WATCHOUT is particularly suitable for the following kinds of presentations:
• Corporate presentations. The high resolution and unique formats
supported by WATCHOUT knock out the average computer-based slide
presentation. A WATCHOUT presentation is also easy to revise and
change.
• Speaker support at conferences. With features like fast editing and
automatic updating of the entire system, WATCHOUT is ideal when you
need to make those inevitable last minute changes.
• Trade show displays. The flexibility in terms of display types and
placement gives you unparalleled creative freedom.
• Retail displays. Manage multiple display areas from one central location.
Update or replace individual images and sections to highlight new
products or special offers. Changes are distributed automatically throughout
all store display areas.
• Museums. Integration with Dataton TRAX® or other control systems
means your presentation can be integrated with lighting, sound and even
interactive control. Use existing TCP/IP compatible network wiring to manage
the system.
Chapter 5: Planning 49

The scalability allows you to create large, impressive presentations using
multiple, small displays rather than a single, large and often very expensive
one. This also gives you greater creative freedom; multiple image walls,
columns, strips or individual, scattered image areas are now within reach.
Presentation
Environment
Lighting Conditions
As a WATCHOUT presentation is typically large-scale, the presentation environment
plays an important role in the overall experience of the viewer.
The lighting conditions of the room play a major role when choosing the right
display technology and arrangement.
A fully dark room, eg, a dedicated “cinema” or corporate theater, means you
can choose virtually any display or projection technology. The only issue to
keep in mind is that the poor black level of most DLP and CRT projectors may
cause grey banding and color shift when using overlapping display areas.
A semi-dark room, say in a visitor center or a museum, gives you similar
freedom, since most modern display and projection technologies are developed
with this environment in mind. As a matter of fact, the grey banding
caused by poor black levels of overlapping display areas is often less of an
issue in a semi-lit environment.
A fully lit room, eg, a retail store or an airport lounge, may limit your use of
projection technology – particularly so if the lighting conditions may vary
throughout the day. In this case, plasma screens, monitors or wall cubes are
often a better choice than projection. Some of these issues can be overcome by
reducing the size of the projected image, or by using more powerful projectors.
50 Chapter 5: Planning

Outdoor presentations are particularly challenging. Using carefully placed
shades or specialized outdoor display technology may help. Here you’re
strongly advised to team up with a manufacturer or staging company specializing
in outdoor display technology.
Audience Placement
In determining the location and arrangement of display areas, the expected
location and size of the audience is an important factor. Many display technologies
– most notably LCD panels – are more or less directional, making the
viewing angle an important consideration.
For a small, stationary and concentrated audience, you may arrange display
areas so they face the expected location of the audience. This gives you the
greatest freedom in choice and placement of the displays as well as the sound
system.
If the audience is large or spread out for other reasons, take this into account
by choosing displays and screen material with very wide viewing angles. This
is particularly true if displaying images that span across multiple displays,
since color shifts or other phenomenons caused by differences in viewing angle
often become very obvious.
In some cases, the audience move through the presentation environment; for
example, a museum, an amusement park ride, or similar. This is even more
challenging, especially in terms of the sound system and loud speaker placement.
In this case, multiple sound channels for local sound effects are often very
effective. Also keep in mind that any given person in the audience may only
see a small portion of the overall presentation at a time, which is easy to overlook
in the story-boarding phase.
Chapter 5: Planning 51

Controlling the Environment
Display Considerations
The environment plays an important role in the design and experience of a
WATCHOUT presentation. Integrating WATCHOUT with a presentation
control system, such as Dataton TRAX, may allow you to control some aspects
of the presentation environment as well as the audience flow. This cuts the
number of possibilities you need to consider in the production process. It also
gives the audience a better general experience.
Many factors determine the choice and arrangement of display technology:
• Budget. How many and what kind of display technology can you afford
What impact will the number and size of display areas have on the production
cost
• Environment. As you can see under “Presentation Environment” on
page 50, this is an important factor in choosing the right display technology.
• Audience flow and placement. Some WATCHOUT applications call
for multiple displays by their very design, eg, an amusement park ride. See
“Audience Placement” on page 51.
There are two primary kinds of display technology:
• Projectors (CRT, LCD and DLP technologies).
• Monitors, panels, plasma screens and video wall cubes.
Projectors stand apart since they allow display areas to overlap, making it
possible to build larger, seamless display areas using the automatic edgeblending
built into WATCHOUT. Please refer to “Displays” on page 16 for
more details on the various display technologies.
52 Chapter 5: Planning

Overlapping Display Areas
Using projectors, you can build larger, seamless image areas by allowing each
projector to overlap its neighbors. The amount of overlap is usually referred to
in terms of its percentage. With a 50% overlap, half of the projected width or
height intrudes into the adjacent projection area. In general, the larger overlap
you use, the more seamless the image will appear. Acceptable overlap ranges
from 20 to 50 percent. Due to the consistency and long-term stability of
modern computer projectors, you can often apply a smaller amount of overlap
in WATCHOUT than you could with traditional slide-projector, multi-image
techniques.
In WATCHOUT, you specify the amount of overlap simply by locating the
screens at the corresponding positions, specified in pixels. The Stage window
has a coordinate system with its origo in the upper left corner. Place the leftmost/topmost
display slightly into the Stage window; eg, at position top: 100
and left: 100. This allows you to place images outside visible display areas, eg,
to fly them in.
You continue to calculate the screen positions from here, taking the desired
amount of overlap into account. Assuming that each projector displays 800 by
600 pixels, the first display extends from the horizontal position 100 through
to 900 (100 + image with). A 30% horizontal overlap out of 800 pixels is
800 x 0.30 = 240 pixels, so the second display area will start at horizontal
position 900 – 240 = 660 pixels.
Chapter 5: Planning 53

These positions can be entered numerically into the dialog box of each display
by double-clicking the display in the Stage window (see “Display
Specifications” on page 134).
Stage
x:100, y:100
800 – 30%
x:660, y:100
Screen 1 Screen 2
▼ IMPORTANT: You are strongly advised to make realistic tests with typical
image material and the desired kind of projectors under realistic image size
and lighting conditions. This will show you if the amount of overlap you’re
considering, as well as the kind of projection technology chosen, is suitable
for your presentation.
54 Chapter 5: Planning

Storyboarding
WATCHOUT Launch _________
WATCHOUT Launch _________
WATCHOUT Launch _________
WATCHOUT Launch _________
Once you have determined the overall style and format of the presentation, the
next step is usually to make a storyboard, roughly outlining the various sections
and even individual images.
Alternatively, you jump right into WATCHOUT and use it to create the storyboard.
The Stage window gives you a rough rendition of what the end result
will look like, and the Timeline allows you to arrange the parts of the
presentation.
Media Production
Still Images
WATCHOUT doesn’t include any media production or editing tools. You can
obtain graphics, sound, video and animation software from companies such
as Adobe, Macromedia and Digidesign. If you’re already producing such
material, you most likely already have what you need in this area, since
WATCHOUT can import most media file formats.
Once your display arrangement has been determined and your storyboard
has been approved, start producing the images. The still images can be
divided into three categories:
• Large background images.
• Smaller images to be superimposed or animated.
• Texts.
Chapter 5: Planning 55

A large image spanning multiple
display areas.
A smaller image with transparent
background.
All images must be produced at the proper scale to begin with, as WATCH-
OUT does not provide any scaling functions. For large background images that
are to cover several display areas, you don’t need to do anything in particular,
except to ensure that the image size is appropriate for the total area to be
covered by the image.
Smaller images can be superimposed on larger backgrounds or each other. All
images – large and small – can be made to fade in and out. In addition, small
images can be dynamically positioned, allowing them to move along a line or
path.
Although large background images often cover entire display surfaces as a
rectangle, smaller images frequently have a non-rectangular outline. For
example, you may want to make an arrow that can be moved around to point
out details on an object, as shown to the left. This can be accomplished by
means of transparent areas in the image; defining the shape of image areas or
their degree of transparency. See “Transparency” on page 61.
Text is handled in the same way as small images, and must be created and
rendered in an image editing application (eg, Adobe Illustrator). Static text can
of course be added to a background beforehand. Dynamic text, to be superimposed
on backgrounds or animated, must be saved as individual media
files. Again, the use of a transparent background ensures that the text appears
smooth on top of other images.
See “Still Images” on page 59 for more details.
56 Chapter 5: Planning

Moving Images
Background image
Masked video
Result
Moving images (eg, Video) are typically produced by one of the following
means:
• Shot using a video camera, and then transferred or digitized to a computer
file.
• Scanned in, frame by frame, from film or other forms of high resolution
source material.
• Computer generated, using compositing applications or 3D animation and
rendering software.
Using a modern digital video camera is probably the easiest way to obtain
video footage. In WATCHOUT, such a video file can often be used as is, with
no further processing required. However, in many case you’ll need a video
editing software package to edit the material. This also allows you to scale the
video, save it to a variety of file formats, etc.
Scanning from a high resolution source, such as film, can give you even higher
resolution source material to work with. Often, such material is scanned frame
by frame to individual files, which must then be combined into a single file
using the desired frame-rate and compression format.
Compositing and authoring applications such as Adobe After Effects, Macromedia
Director or 3D animation software such as Alias/Wavefront Maya can
be used to produce “synthetic” moving images. In some cases, such material
can also include transparency information, allowing you to overlay nonsquare
video on top of other material or background images. Even if the video
started out as square, it’s often possible to post-process it to add transparency,
eg, to make a hole in a video clip, or to change its shape.
Chapter 5: Planning 57

Video playback requires powerful playback hardware. Performance varies
depending on the size, frame-rate, resolution, color depth and compression
format used. You may need to make some tests on the hardware you intend to
use for playback to determine the best combination for your source video
material.
Regardless of the method used to produce the material, it must end up being
stored as a file on your hard disk that can be played back using QuickTime,
often referred to as a movie file.
See “Moving Images” on page 67 for more details.
Sound
Sound is usually produced and edited entirely within the digital domain. Most
computers include sound input ports that can be used to convert analog audio
to digital formats. There’s a large number of sound editing software to choose
from, ranging from basic ones such as Macromedia SoundEdit to sophisticated
applications such as Sonic Foundry’s SoundForge and Digidesign’s ProTools.
Sound can also originate from video material, where the sound is embedded
in the video file. Such sound can be used either as is, playing together with the
video, or extracted from the video file to be used separately.
When using multiple display computers, each display computer is capable of
supplying two audio channels (ie, stereophonic sound). This can be used, for
example, to provide additional sound effects channels, or for providing multilingual
sound tracks.
See “Audio” on page 81 for more details.
58 Chapter 5: Planning

6
6
MEDIA
FILES
WATCHOUT is a compositing tool; it does not include any media creation or
editing functions. All media files to be used in your presentation must be
supplied or edited using other means.
This chapter provides an overview of the media and file formats supported by
WATCHOUT, as well as examples of popular applications used to create or
edit such media files.
▼ IMPORTANT: Keep a show’s media files in a folder that is located in the
same folder as the WATCHOUT show file, or in a sub-folder. This allows
the software to use relative file access paths, making it easier to move the
show to another disk or computer.
Still Images
Supported Formats
Still images can be used as, stationary backgrounds, or as smaller images
superimposed on other images and moved around the stage. You can also
control the degree of transparency for all images.
WATCHOUT reads most popular image formats, including BMP, GIF, JPEG/
JFIF, MacPaint, Photoshop, PICT, PNG, RGB Planar, SGI, Targa and TIFF.
In general, you should choose an image format native to the application used
to create/edit the images. For example, if you use Photoshop to edit images,
save the images as Photoshop files. Although most image editing applications
support saving or exporting to other file formats, doing so generally causes a
loss of information. This may make it difficult to edit the image later.
Chapter 6: Media Files 59

For photographic images (eg, scanned or shot using a digital camera), JPEG
at a high quality setting often provides the best compromise between image
quality and file size. Keep in mind that JPEG is a lossy compression format.
This means that minor, normally unnoticeable, details in the original image
may be lost in the compression process. You may therefore want to save a copy
in a loss-less format as well, in case you later want to manipulate the image
again. Examples of loss-less formats are Photoshop, Targa (TGA) and PNG.
For computer-generated images with large, smooth areas (eg, screenshots),
PNG is a suitable cross-platform format. Alternatively, use the native PICT
format under MacOS or BMP under Windows.
Apple’s QuickTime technology is used to read all image files into WATCH-
OUT. As QuickTime evolves, additional formats may be added. A complete list
of image file formats supported by QuickTime can be found under Apple’s
QuickTime support page:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/resources/qt/us/help/
60 Chapter 6: Media Files

Transparency
Some image formats include transparency information in addition to the image
itself. This transparency information is sometimes referred to as an “alpha
channel”, although some image editing applications use this term for other
functions (eg, editing masks in Adobe Photoshop). Transparency can be used
to create non-square images, holes inside images or semi-transparent areas,
such as drop shadows. Photoshop, PNG, TIFF and Targa file are examples of
file formats that support transparency.
+ =
Background image.
Image with a transparent background
and a semi-transparent
shadow.
Result when composited in
WATCHOUT.
▼ CAUTION: Even if an application supports writing to a particular file format,
it may not support transparency in that format. Perform tests with images
to determine the suitability of particular formats and applications.
Chapter 6: Media Files 61

Using Adobe lllustrator
Follow these steps to create a still image for WATCHOUT using Adobe Illustrator
version 9.
1. Open Adobe Illustrator.
2. Choose “New” on the File menu.
3. Set the Color Mode to “RGB Color”.
4. Draw the image.
5. Save it as an Illustrator file, allowing you to edit it later.
6. Choose “Save for Web” on the File menu and save it as a PNG file using
the settings shown on the next page.
7. Use the resulting PNG file in your WATCHOUT presentation.
62 Chapter 6: Media Files

Settings in Adobe Illustrator for
use with WATCHOUT.
Choose PNG-24,“Transparency”
and “Anti-Alias”.
Chapter 6: Media Files 63

Using Adobe Photoshop
Follow these steps to create a still image for WATCHOUT using Adobe Photoshop
version 5.5.
1. Open Adobe Photoshop and choose “New” on the File menu.
2. Set the Mode to “RGB Color” and Contents to “Transparent”.
◆ HINT: Use multiple layers in Photoshop
for more flexible control
over image composition. Layer
masks allow you to “paint” additional
transparency onto
individual layers.
Choose “Transparent”. This
shows as a grey checkerboard
in Photoshop and becomes transparent
in WATCHOUT.
3. Paint the image and save it as a Photoshop file for use in your
WATCHOUT presentation.
64 Chapter 6: Media Files

Using Macromedia Freehand
Follow these steps to create a still image for WATCHOUT using Macromedia
FreeHand version 9.
1. Open Freehand and choose “New” on the File menu.
2. Draw the image.
3. Save it as an FreeHand file, allowing you to edit it later.
4. Choose “Export” on the File menu, choosing PNG as the file format.
Choose the “PNG” format…
…then click “Options”.
5. Click the “Options…” button.
Chapter 6: Media Files 65

6. Set the options as shown to the left.
7. Click the “More…” button and choose “32-Bit with Alpha”.
8. Close the two secondary dialog boxes by clicking “OK”, then click
“Export” to save the file.
◆ HINT: You only have to go through this procedure once. Choose “Export
Again” on the File menu to re-export using the most recently specified
settings.
66 Chapter 6: Media Files

Text
Anti-aliasing
Moving Images
Formats, Capabilities and
Performance
WATCHOUT has no built-in support for text creation and editing. Text must be
created and saved as images using other applications, such as those described
above under “Still Images”.
When overlaying texts on other images, it is important that the application
used to save the text image supports transparency. It must also be able to
render the edges of the text using a variable amount of transparency; often
referred to as anti-aliasing. If that is not done properly, the edges of the text
will appear jagged, or there will be a thin contour or halo around the characters.
See the illustrations on page 63 and page 66 for information on how to turn
on anti-aliasing when exporting from Illustrator and FreeHand.
WATCHOUT can play back moving images saved in a QuickTime-compatible
format. QuickTime can read or import most industry-standard moving image
formats, including AVI, DV and MPEG. Regardless of the origin, type and
format of material, a QuickTime file is often referred to as a movie.
◆ NOTE: Only the display computers will render moving images. The production
computer displays a static icon representing the moving image. This
icon is taken from the Poster Frame of the QuickTime movie file. This is the
first frame in the movie, unless set explicitly.
There are many factors that determine the capabilities and performance of a
QuickTime movie:
• The resolution of the movie frame, in pixels.
• The frame rate and frame format (interlaced vs non interlaced).
Chapter 6: Media Files 67

• The origin of the movie; eg, computer generated or camera.
• The quality and “cleanness” of the movie’s source material.
• The codec used to compress the movie.
• The color depth at which the movie is stored.
When using material originating from video, the resolution is determined by
the video format; 720 x 480 for NTSC and 720 x 576 for PAL (DV). Sometimes,
using a resolution of precisely half the video resolution can be useful –
particularly for smaller video inserts. Reducing the size in this way dramatically
reduces the load on the computer for reproducing the material, and also
removes any interlacing artefacts from the resulting image. This may also allow
you to use a higher quality codec.
The frame rate for video is determined by the source format, with NTSC
playing back at 29.97 frames per second (fps) and PAL at 25 fps. Use the
“Base Frame rate” setting in WATCHOUT’s Preferences dialog box to tell
WATCHOUT which frame rate to optimize for (see “Base Frame Rate” on page
121).
Note that both the PAL and NTSC formats are interlaced, meaning that they
reproduce each image in two phases, called fields, each containing half of the
image’s resolution. When played back, these two fields are interwoven to
reproduce the full image frame. This may sometimes result in an undesirable
“comb effect” when played back on non-interlaced (sometimes referred to as
“progressive scan”) computer displays, such as those typically used with
WATCHOUT. This is particularly noticeable for objects moving horizontally, or
during pans. Some specialized applications, such as Media Cleaner Pro, can
de-interlace interlaced movie files.
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Start out with the best quality video footage. It will look, compress and play
better. A low quality video, eg, video shot in poor light or using a camera
that’s not steady, contains more “noise” than a professional video. Noise and
unnecessarily moving backgrounds place a heavy burden on the codec,
resulting in reduced playback performance. In some cases, an application such
as Media Cleaner Pro can be used to filter and enhance the quality of the
source footage prior to compression.
Improving Perceived
Playback Quality
Keep in mind that WATCHOUT allows you to composite still images with
moving images. Thus, it is often possible to achieve a higher perceived resolution
and quality by combining large background images with video inserts
than by using a single, large video image. See also “Optimizing Playback of
Large Videos” on page 94 for more suggestions on how to improve playback
performance.
Video inserted into a high
resolution background.
Chapter 6: Media Files 69

Computer Generated Material
When using computer-generated moving images, you must specify the frame
rate and resolution of the resulting movie during rendering. Generally, when
combining computer generated and live video material, the frame rate is
dictated by the live material.
In terms of resolution and frame size, you have two main choices:
• Smaller inserts, less than a single display area in size.
• Large areas, spanning multiple displays
It’s often advantageous to use smaller compute-generated moving images
layered on top of larger still images. By rendering only the parts of an image
that actually move, not only do you lower the burden on the playback machine,
but you also reduce rendering times. Keep in mind that you can make nonsquare
movies, or even holes inside movies, by using transparency options in
supporting applications and codecs.
As computer generated movies are by nature resolution independent, it is also
possible to make movies that are larger than a single display area. Such large
movies must be pre-split in order to be used in WATCHOUT (see “Pre-splitting
Large Movies” on page 76).
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Assembling Individual Frames
Some applications, most notably 3D animation software, often save the
resulting frames as individual image files. This may also be the case when
scanning images frame by frame from film. Such a sequence of images must
be converted into a QuickTime movie, with the appropriate frame rate, before
it can be incorporated into WATCHOUT. This can be done using, for example,
Adobe After Effects or Media Cleaner Pro.
The individual images must be saved as files all ending in a frame number.
Under Windows, this number precedes the file name extension; eg,
File000.bmp, File001.bmp, File003.bmp, etc. Under MacOS, file extensions
are typically not required.
Assembling using Adobe After Effects. To assemble a movie from still
images using Adobe After Effects, choose “Import, Footage File” on the File
menu, select the first file in the sequence, and select the “ Sequence”
checkbox. The desired frame rate can be specified in Preferences prior to
importing the images, or can be altered at any time by choosing “Interpret
Footage, Main” on the File menu.
Assembling using Media Cleaner Pro. Using Media Cleaner, choose
“Open Image Sequence” on the File menu and locate the first image in the
sequence. Media Cleaner will prompt you for the desired frame rate.
Chapter 6: Media Files 71

Using Transparency
Computer generated movie with
transparent background and semitransparent
drop shadow playing
over a background image.
Some applications support inclusion of transparency information in the generated
QuickTime movie file. Such transparency can either come from the source
material (eg, a computer generated animation), or be added afterwards (for
example, a feathered, round mask applied to a video clip).
Being able to create arbitrarily shaped movies, or movies with holes in them,
means you can combine moving and still images in many creative ways.
In order to include transparency information in the movie file, you must choose
a codec that’s capable of handling “Millions+” of colors. The “+” at the end
stands for the transparency information. This is sometimes also called
“Millions+Alpha”. You must also use an application that’s capable of reproducing
and/or generating transparency information, such as After Effects).
See “Making a Round Movie” on page 73 for more details.
When masking video material in this way, crop the resulting movie to minimize
the size of the enclosing frame while still retaining all important image information.
For example, if you need only the upper left portion of a video frame,
only save the minimum rectangular area (see illustration). Doing so cuts the
amount of processing required to play back the video as time is not wasted on
de-compressing parts of the image that will never be shown anyway.
Original movie size.
Masked out circle.
Crop rectangle.
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Making a Round Movie
A feathered, black
mask named “Face-
Mask.ps”, created in
Photoshop.
Using an application such as Adobe After Effects, you can apply arbitrarily
shaped masks to movies. This can be used, for example, to make a round
movie, or any other shape. Furthermore, the mask can have a feathered edge,
making it blend smoothly into the background image when composited in
WATCHOUT.
Start by creating a mask of the desired shape. The example to the left shows a
round mask with a feathered edge, created using Adobe Photoshop. Add this
mask to a layer in After Effects, making it appear on top of the video you wish
to mask. Turn off the video for this mask track by clicking the eye symbol of the
track. In the video track, apply the mask as an alpha matte.
Turn off the rendering of the
mask once positioned.
Apply the mask as an
“Alpha Matte” to the video
track.
Resulting image, before and
after applying the alpha
matte.
Chapter 6: Media Files 73

Choosing a Codec
Codec stands for encoder/decoder. It’s the part of the editing and display
technology responsible for storing and playing back digitized video. Due to the
large amount of raw data in a video stream, storing and playing back uncompressed
video is usually not practical or possible.
There’s a wide variety of codecs available in QuickTime, each optimized for a
particular kind of source material and playback requirements. Here’s a
rundown of some of the more commonly used codecs:
Cinepak. Low quality. Optimized for camera originated video. Plays well on
most machines.
Video. Medium quality. Optimized for camera originated video. Can typically
be used up to full video frame size with full frame rate.
Graphics. High quality. Low compression. Optimized for computergenerated
material. Supports transparency when set to “Millions+” of colors.
PNG. High quality. Optimized for computer-generated material. Supports
transparency when set to “Millions+” of colors.
Sorenson. Medium-to-high quality. Generates small files. Optimized for film
or camera originated video. Can be used up to full video frame size at full
frame rate, depending on encoding settings.
DV. High quality. Medium compression. Optimized for video editing. Generated
directly by most digital video cameras. Native frame size is fixed, based
on video format’s frame size.
MPEG-1. Medium quality. Generates very small files. Optimized for camera
video. Native frame size is fixed, based on a quarter of the video format’s
frame size.
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MPEG-2. High quality. Optimized for camera video. Used on DVD video
discs. Not yet supported by QuickTime, but will be in QuickTime version 5.
Choosing the right codec and codec settings for your source material and playback
hardware may require some experimentation. As computer hardware
and system software evolves, the capabilities in this area will improve as well.
For an overview of the standard codec types, see this web page:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/resources/qt/us/help/
More information about additional codecs can be found here:
http://www.codeccentral.com/
Chapter 6: Media Files 75

Pre-splitting Large Movies
In order to play a movie that’s larger than a single display, the movie must be
split into multiple movies, one for each display. A single display computer is
generally not capable of playing back a movie that’s larger than its display
size, even though some of the image would fall outside the visible display area.
While this function is built into WATCHOUT for still images, it is not handled
automatically for moving images. The primary reason for this difference is that
the original, large-size movie would most likely have to be compressed in
order to be stored and distributed to the display computers. These could then
handle the splitting, as they do for still images. In doing so, they would have to
decompress each frame, split it and then re-compress the result again for final
playback. This would mean that each movie frame will be compressed twice,
most likely using lossy compression in both cases. The end result would be a
loss of image quality.
In addition to this quality aspect, there are also storage and bandwidth considerations
related to distributing and storing the original (large) movie in order
to split it, as well as the processing time involved in compressing it twice. The
latter would be significant for such a large movie, particularly to achieve the
best quality).
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A 1200-by-480 movie to be presplit
across two overlapping 800 by
600 display areas.
Crop left
by 480
pixels.
Crop right
by 480
pixels.
This can all be avoided by splitting the image using the originating application,
prior to compression. Most applications allow you to crop the output to any
desired rectangle. In some cases, you can even set up batches to generate all
the individual movie files in one go.
Assuming that you have two 800 by 600 pixel displays with a 30% overlap,
and want to display a movie of 1200 by 480 pixels, the split would appear as
in the illustration to the left.
Include the overlap in the split, since the portion of the image in the overlap will
have to play on both displays. Likewise, if the displays aren’t overlapping you
will have to factor in any gap between the edges of the display areas by specifying
a corresponding gap when making the split.
Note that most applications specify cropping relative to the initial image size.
This means that the bottom and right edges need to be calculated based on the
height and width of the original (large) image.
▼ IMPORTANT: When splitting a large movie into smaller pieces like this,
avoid using a heavily compressed movie as the source. Doing so would introduce
an additional de-compression/re-compression step, resulting in
lower quality. Thus, whenever possible, start out with the original material,
such as individual, computer-generated, frame image files.
Chapter 6: Media Files 77

This is how you would split a movie using After Effects:
Crop the resulting movie as
required on each side.
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This example is from Media Cleaner Pro:
To incorporate your pre-split movie into your WATCHOUT presentation, use a
“Video Media Proxy” as described on page 89 and page 127.
Example Applications
This section gives an overview of some applications you can use to generate
and manipulate moving images.
Apple iMovie and Final Cut. Mac-only video editing applications,
based on QuickTime. iMovie is somewhat basic but also easy to use, and it is
currently available for free. Final Cut is a fully featured video editing application.
Both function well with digital video cameras that connect through the
FireWire port on the Mac.
Adobe Premiere. This is another popular video editing application, available
on both Mac and Windows. If you feel that iMovie is too basic and Final
Cut is too expensive, Premiere should fit the bill. It’s also one of the oldest applications
around for video editing, and is considered by many as an industry
workhorse in terms of reliability and capabilities.
Other Video Editing Applications. You can use essentially any video
editing package on Mac or Windows as long as it provides full access to the
codecs provided by QuickTime. When choosing a Windows based application,
make sure that it gives you full access to QuickTime – not just the ability
Chapter 6: Media Files 79

to export the video in a “QuickTime compatible” file format, which may not
include the latest advancements in QuickTime codec technology.
Adobe After Effects. After Effects, available on both Mac and Windows,
is one of the most popular computer tools for doing video compositing and
effects. As in WATCHOUT, you can layer video and still images and control
their properties over time. However, its rendering method means that it can
apply many more effects to the material (usually accompanied by a corresponding
increase in rendering time).
After Effects is a professional tool for incorporating video into WATCHOUT
presentations in creative ways. It handles masking of video into non-rectangular
shapes, cropping, splitting large movies for multiple displays, etc.
Macromedia Director. Director is most often used for creating interactive
CD-ROMs and games. However, it can also be used to create animated Quick-
Time movies in a way similar to After Effects. If you want to incorporate a
Director animations into a WATCHOUT presentation, just export it as a Quick-
Time Movie (Video). As with most computer-generated material, use a highquality
codec such as Animation or PNG.
◆ NOTE: Director does not support transparent background, and therefore
can only be used to make square movies unless post-processing is performed
in another application.
Macromedia Flash. Flash is another program that is in many ways similar
to Director, although somewhat less confusing for a novice user. It’s become
very popular for creating interactive web-site animations.
Just like Director, it can also export to QuickTime. Although QuickTime
includes a Flash codec, allowing you to play Flash animations directly, this is
generally not recommended for use in WATCHOUT due to the unpredictable
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playback rendering times related to the native Flash vector format. Instead,
export it as a “QuickTime Video”, using any suitable codec (this feature is
available under MacOS only – use the extra step outlined below under
Windows).
Flash does support transparency (“alpha channel”). However, background
transparency is currently (as of Flash version 4) not preserved when exporting
as a “QuickTime Video” directly. To preserve background transparency,
export it as “QuickTime” (ie, a QuickTime movie containing a Flash track), then
open this using the QuickTime Player and re-export it using the desired codec,
choosing a color depth of “Millions+”. Although this extra step is inconvenient,
it does not reduce the quality of the end result since the first step uses the Flash
vector format, and therefore doesn’t suffer any quality loss due to compression.
Audio
Audio File Formats
Audio is used in WATCHOUT in a way that’s very similar to moving images.
Simply bring the sound file into WATCHOUT and place its icon on the display
in the Stage window where you want to the sound file to play.
◆ NOTE: Do not place the sound file’s icon so that it straddles multiple displays,
unless you specifically want the same sound file to play from multiple
display computers. Having the sound file play from a computer that isn’t really
used for sound reproduction places an unnecessary processing load on
that computer.
WATCHOUT can play any sound file format that QuickTime can handle.
However, the recommended sound file formats are AIFF (a popular sound
format under MacOS) and WAV (common under Windows). There’s usually
no reason to use a compressed sound file format, such as MP3, and the additional
decompression step adds unnecessary load. The size of uncompressed
Chapter 6: Media Files 81

sound files is usually not an issue with the kind of computers used to play back
WATCHOUT presentations.
Using Embedded Audio
Some video and movie files contain an audio track in addition to the video. In
this case, the sound will play from the same display computer(s) as the video
does. If you don’t want this, cut the sound track out of the movie and place it in
a file of its own, thereby ending up with two media files; one containing the
video and one the audio. This allows you to place them separately in
WATCHOUT, making the sound play from any computer. You’ll need two
separate cues along the timeline to start them at the same time.
You can use QuickTime Pro or any QuickTime compatible video editing software
to split the audio and video tracks of a movie into two separate movies.
In QuickTime Player, open the
composite movie then choose
“Extract Tracks” on the Edit
menu.
This extracts the sound track
into its own movie, which you
can then save.
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When saving the movie, make sure
you save it as “Self-contained”.
Once you have extracted the sound track in this way, you may remove it from
the original movie using the “Delete Tracks” command. Alternatively, just
disable the sound track using the “Enable Tracks” command. Keeping the
sound in the original file can be an advantage if you need to go back to that
file to make changes.
In WATCHOUT, add both the video and sound movies to the presentation, as
separate tracks, see the illustration on the next page. You can now position
Chapter 6: Media Files 83

84 Chapter 6: Media Files
them independently in the Stage window, allowing the sound track to play
separately.

7
7
PRODUCTION
This chapter goes through the steps required to produce a presentation using
WATCHOUT. It assumes that you have already planned the presentation and
produced the source media files, as described in the previous two chapters.
Stage
Adding and Removing
Displays
Arranging Displays
The Stage window allows you to arrange the display areas and provides a
preview of your presentation. Portions of images that appear inside a display
will be shown by that physical display. By arranging displays side by side or
vertically, you can make images span multiple displays.
To add a display to the Stage window, choose “Add Display” on the Stage
menu. This menu item provides a choice of standard display sizes. Once a
display has been added, set its IP address and other settings through its Specifications
dialog box (see “Display Specifications” on page 134).
To remove a display, select the display by clicking it with the mouse so it shows
a bold outline, then choose Clear on the Edit menu.
◆ NOTE: If the “Lock Displays” item on the Stage menu is activated, you can
not select, change or delete displays.
Displays may overlap each other. When they do, images that span multiple
displays will be automatically blended at the edges. Alternatively, displays can
be positioned edge-to-edge, or with a small gap between them, for a videowall
look. By positioning the displays in the Stage window according to the actual
arrangement and separation of the monitors or image areas, images that span
Chapter 7: Production 85

multiple display areas will line up properly. You thereby avoid manipulation or
adaptation of the images themselves.
Non-overlapping displays,
eg, plasma screens.
Overlapping displays, using
projectors.
To arrange the displays, simply drag them to their desired positions using the
mouse. Alternatively, you can position them numerically by selecting a display
and choosing Specifications on the Edit menu. Type in the desired position, in
pixels, relative to the upper left corner of the Stage (see “Display
Specifications” on page 134).
◆ NOTES: The Stage window must be selected in order to manipulate the displays.
To select the Stage window, click its title bar. You can not select the
Stage window by clicking inside the window, as this is used to select and
move images when the window is not active. If the “Lock Displays” item on
the Stage menu is activated, you can not select, change or delete displays.
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Media
Adding Media
The term “media” refers to moving and still images as well as sound. These
media types are treated in very similar ways, with only minor differences
where appropriate. See Chapter 6 “Media Files” for more details.
To add media to your presentation, drag the media file to the desired position
in the Timeline or Stage window. Media can be dragged from the disk or
folder where it is stored, or you can drag existing media items from the Media
window.
Media file dragged into timeline…
…appears as a cue in the timeline
as well as being displayed in the
Stage window.
▼ IMPORTANT: Whenever possible, media files should be stored in a folder
located in the same folder as the WATCHOUT show file. This allows
Chapter 7: Production 87

WATCHOUT to use relative file access paths, making it easier to move the
show to another disk or computer.
Editing a Media File
Refreshing Media Information
Purging Media
Changing the File Association
of a Media List Item
You can open any media file referred to in your show by double-clicking its
icon in the Media window. To access the media from a cue in the Timeline
window, first double-click the cue and choose “Show Media”, then proceed as
described above.
After making changes to media files, choose “Refresh” on the Media menu to
load those changes into WATCHOUT. Then choose “Update” on the Stage
menu to update the stage with these changes as well.
After working with a show for a while, you may have added many media items
that are not included in the final version. These media references persist in the
Media window, regardless whether any cues actually use them. To remove
such unused media from the Media window, choose “Purge Unused” on the
Media menu.
◆ NOTE: This operation will only remove unused entries from the Media window
– it will not remove any corresponding files from your hard disk
Sometimes, when editing a media file, you may want to keep both the old and
the new version of the file around, in case you change your mind. In this case,
you end up with two or more similar media files with different names. To
change the link between an item in the Media window and a file, double-click
the file name in the Media window and choose another file. This will affect all
cues that use this media list item.
◆ NOTE: You can only relink it to another file of the same kind. You can not
change from an image file to a sound file, for example.
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Using Media Proxies
Occasionally, you may want to use media in your presentation but can not
import it simply by dragging. This would happen in the following cases:
• The media file isn’t recognized by the production computer, but you know
it can be handled by the display computers. Perhaps the media requires a
specialized codec in the playback computer, possibly using dedicated
hardware, that’s not available in the production computer.
• The media file is a large movie that has been pre-split into multiple files (see
“Pre-splitting Large Movies” on page 76).
• The media may not yet be available, or may for other reasons need to be
provided or replaced manually on the display computer at a later time.
Use a media proxy to accommodate any of these cases. Once a media proxy
has been added to the media list, it can be used on the timeline just like other
media items. See “Add Proxy” on page 127 for more details.
Chapter 7: Production 89

Timeline
The Timeline window shows the temporal relation of cues and effects, as well
as the layering of overlapping media. Cues control the display and presentation
of media, and use tween tracks to control various aspects of the media.
The amount of time displayed in the Timeline window can be controlled using
the buttons in the lower left corner. Zoom in to increase the precision by which
you can position cues and set their duration, or zoom out to get a better overview.
The rightmost button allows you to change the scale gradually. Changing
the time scale has no effect on the behavior of the timeline or its cues.
Zoom buttons that
control the time scale.
Adding Media Cues
To add a media cue to the timeline, drag the media onto the timeline and drop
it at the desired layer and time position, as shown on page 87. Cues can be
dragged along the timeline to change their timing relationship. Select multiple
cues by shift-clicking the cues, or by clicking and dragging diagonally, starting
from a point where there are no cues.
◆ IMPORTANT: Do not overlap cues on the same layer. Doing so may
cause images to display incorrectly. When you want images to overlap in
time, always put their cues on separate layers. Overlapping cues are indicated
by a red warning line above the cues.
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Positioning Media on the
Stage
When media is added to the timeline, it also appears in the upper left corner
of the top/left display in the Stage window. To make the image appear elsewhere,
drag the image’s preview in the Stage window to the desired position.
Drag the image in the Stage
window.
◆ NOTE: You can also control the stage position numerically using the Cue
Specifications dialog box, displayed by double-clicking the cue (see “Cue
Specifications” on page 140).
If the image isn’t visible in the Stage window, it may be obscured by larger
images. In this case, drag the cue to a layer further down in the timeline
window to move its image closer to the front.
▼ IMPORTANT: Make sure that the Timeline window is selected before
moving the image in the Stage window.
Chapter 7: Production 91

Layering Media
The horizontal tracks in the Timeline window allow you to control the layering
of images in the Stage window. To move an image closer to the front, drag its
cue downwards to a layer with a higher number. To move the cue without
changing its time position, press the Shift key while dragging. To add a new
layer, drag a cue down below the last layer in the Timeline window.
The height of each layer in the
Timeline window can be adjusted
by dragging the bar located at the
bottom of the layer’s title area.
Changing the Media Association
of a Cue
You can change the media association of a cue by dragging a new media list
item or media file onto the cue. This changes the media association of that cue
only, while retaining all other relevant properties.
◆ HINT: This can be used to duplicate a complex move or other effect using
different media. First make a copy of the cue to re-use, then replace its media
association as described above.
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Changing a Cue’s Duration
Cue Specifications
When adding moving images or sound, the duration of the cue is set to the
duration of the media. When adding still images to the timeline, the duration
of the cue is set to a default value of one second. You can change the duration
by selecting the cue and dragging the bar located at the end of the cue.
◆ NOTE: If the cue contains any tween tracks, their tween points will, by default,
remain stationary in relation to the timeline. To make the tween tracks
contract or expand with the cue, press the Alt key while dragging the bar.
For still images, the image will simply remain on the stage for the duration of
the cue. A moving image or sound file can be cut short by decreasing the duration
of the cue. Increasing the duration beyond the actual length of the media
will make a movie stop with its last frame visible. Extending the duration of a
sound file has no effect.
In addition to direct manipulation of cues in the Timeline window, you can also
set most parameters numerically using the Cue Specifications dialog box.
Select the cue and choose Specifications on the Edit menu, or simply doubleclick
the cue. See “Cue Specifications” on page 140 for more details.
Chapter 7: Production 93

Optimizing Playback of Large
Videos
When using overlapping display areas, you may want to play a video that fits
within one display but also intrudes into adjacent, overlapping displays. Even
though the video fits entirely within one display, it normally also plays on those
other, intersecting displays. While this is generally not a problem, it places
unnecessary burdens on those display computers by using two or more
computers to play a video that could actually be handled by just one. In particular,
this can be an issue if you want to play other videos on those display
computers at the same time, as a single display computer may not be capable
of sustaining more than one large video at a time.
This can all be avoided by compositing the video onto the display after the
edge-blend has been applied. This avoids the edges of the video becoming
feathered by the edge blend, allowing it to play entirely within one display
computer. To do this, specify the edge blend layer in the Timeline Settings
dialog box (see “No Edge-blend Past Layer” on page 130), then put the video
below the last edge blended layer of the Timeline (as indicated by a heavy,
black line).
◆ HINT: Depending on the image shown on adjacent displays, you may
have to add a black box behind the video, since adjacent displays may
otherwise superimpose their part of the overlap on the video.
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Using Pause Cues
In addition to media cues, you can also add pause cues to the timeline by
choosing “Add Pause Cue” on the Timeline menu. When reached during playback,
a pause cue causes the timeline to stop. This is useful when cueing a
presentation manually.
A Pause cue being added to the
timeline.
◆ NOTE: If you want a pause cue to coincide with the start of another cue,
then put the pause cue on a separate layer. If you don’t do this, the Pause
cue may be hidden behind the other cue. You may want to dedicate a layer
for pause cues only.
Chapter 7: Production 95

Tween Tracks
Adding a Tween track
Tween tracks control the behavior of media dynamically throughout the cue.
For instance, you can use an Opacity tween track to make an image fade in
and out, or a Volume tween track to reduce the volume of a sound or movie
file.
To add a tween track, first select the cue then click the yellow arrow that
appears in the lower left corner of the cue. This drops down a menu that allows
you to add (or remove) relevant tween tracks, depending on the type of media
managed.
Click the yellow triangle of a
selected cue to add a tween track.
Adding a tween track causes the cue to grow downwards. If this causes parts
of the cue to become obscured by the next layer, increase the height of the
cue’s layer by dragging the horizontal bar located below the layer’s title area.
Likewise, you can change the displayed height of each tween track by drag-
96 Chapter 7: Production

ging the bar along the bottom of the tween track. This also increases the precision
by which you view and edit the tween track’s information.
Click here to collapse a
layer.
Drag here to change the
height of a tween track.
Drag here to change the
height of a layer.
Adding Points
Adding a tween track to a cue has no effect in itself unless you use it to change
the value governed by the tween track. This is done by adding and adjusting
tween points along the tween track. These tween points provide values acting
as key-frames along the cue’s tween track.
To add a tween point, click anywhere along a tween-track where there isn’t
already a tween point. To edit the value of a tween point, drag it using the
mouse. As you edit the cue in this way, the Stage window provides a preview
of the result. Press the shift key while dragging to constrain the movement of the
tween point.
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Corners and Smooth Tween
Points
There are two kinds of tween points: corners and smooth points. A corner is
represented by a blue dot, and is added by clicking the left mouse button. A
sequence of corner points causes the value to change gradually, and linearly,
between the points. Often, this is the desired behavior, particularly when
controlling opacity or volume.
A smooth point is represented by a red dot, and is added by clicking the right
mouse button. It acts as a pin attached to the curve by a rubber band. When
you move the smooth point away from the curve, the rubber band stretches,
causing the curve to bend. While this can be used for all kinds of tween tracks,
it is particularly useful for making smooth movements using a Position tween
track.
Add a blue corner point by leftclicking.
Add a red, smooth tween point by
right-clicking.
Removing a Tween Point
To remove a point, drag it away from the tween track until it disappears. It is
not possible to move or remove the first tween point.
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Stretching Tween Tracks
Opacity
Volume
Position
When changing the length of a cue using its duration drag bar, you have the
option of either leaving its tween points at their current time positions or
making them expand and contract with the cue, as if the cue was a rubber
band. Press the Alt key during the drag to get the rubber band effect.
Use an opacity tween track to fade objects in and out, or to make objects semitransparent.
To cross-fade from one image to another, you only need to fade
the opacity of the front-most image. You don’t need to do anything to the
image behind it, as this will be obscured by the front image.
There is one exception to the above rule. If the image contains transparent or
semi-transparent areas, the back image will show through (see “Transparency”
on page 61). In this case, you may also need to fade out the image below to
perform a smooth cross-fade.
An opacity tween track can be applied to still and moving images.
Use a volume tween track to control the volume of sound files and movie files
containing embedded sound. You can play several sound files simultaneously,
and cross fade between them by fading up one while fading out the other.
Use a position tween track to make an image move along a path on stage. To
make the image move to a specific stage location, first go to the desired time
position, then drag the image in the Stage window to that location.
◆ NOTE: To change the initial location of the image for the cue, make sure
the timeline is positioned at the very beginning of the cue before dragging
the image in the Stage window. If not, a new tween point will be added instead.
To ensure that the timeline is positioned at the beginning of the cue,
first de-select all cues by clicking in an empty track area, then click the cue.
Chapter 7: Production 99

Editing Position Points
Moving Along a Curved Path
To change a position, click the position tween point then move the image in the
Stage window. You must click the tween point first to make sure that the timeline
is positioned at the correct time. If not, a new tween point will be added
instead.
Alternatively, double-click the tween point to type in the desired location of the
image. Note that the location you enter is relative to the initial location, as
determined by the cue itself (see “Cue Specifications” on page 140).
To make the image move along a curved path, first add a smooth tween point
by clicking at the desired time position along the tween track using the right
mouse button. Then drag the image to the desired position in the Stage widow.
A yellow line indicates the image’s motion path in the Stage window.
Add a smooth tween point then
drag the image in the Stage
window to move along a smooth
path.
Controlling the Velocity
A smooth tween point also allows you to make the image accelerate or slow
down gradually. To accomplish this, first add a smooth tween point, then drag
the point itself along its tween track. Moving it closer to the previous tween
100 Chapter 7: Production

point, makes it move faster at the beginning and slower at the end, and vice
versa. Add more tween points for greater control.
Faster at the start.
Faster at the end.
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102 Chapter 7: Production

8
8
PRESENTATION
This chapter tells you how to take your WATCHOUT presentation from your
production computer onto the display computers, and run the presentation. It
discusses the various ways in which your presentation can be used and
controlled.
Connecting to the
Display Computers
Stop icon indicates a problem
connecting to the display computer.
After installing and configuring the production and display computers,
producing the presentation, and starting the display software on each display
computer, you can select “Online” on the Stage menu. This causes the production
computer to connect to the display computers and transfer all required
information to them, ready for playback.
Failure to connect to a display computer is indicated by a stop sign in the Stage
window.
If you get a stop sign, quit the WATCHOUT display software on the offending
display computer and double-check the network configuration to ensure that it
has been set up properly (see “Network Hook-up” on page 24 as well respective
network configurations on page 31 and page 33). Also confirm that the IP
address of the display computer matches the settings in the Display Specifications
dialog box (see “Display Specifications” on page 134).
Any further problems encountered after connecting to the display computers
will be reported in the Message window in WATCHOUT and/or on the display
computer.
Chapter 8: Presentation 103

Downloading Media
Whenever you go online, WATCHOUT will check to make sure that all
required media files have been transferred to the display computers.
WATCHOUT will only transfer the files actually required on the individual
computer. If you modify a media file, WATCHOUT will detect this and transfer
the updated file.
While media files are being transferred to a display computer, a wristwatch
symbol will be displayed in that display in the Stage window, as well as
progress messages on the display computer itself. You may continue working
in WATCHOUT while files are being transferred, but you will not be able to
further update or access the display until the previous update has completed.
◆ HINT: You can abort an update in progress by deselecting “Online” on the
Stage menu. If you do this, any file transfer currently in progress will finish
before stopping.
Note that all media files transferred to the display computer will remain there
until removed manually. The media related to a show is stored in a folder with
the name of the show. This is located in a “Shows” folder in the same folder as
the WATCHOUT display software application.
After using a display computer to run a show, you may want to clean up the
Shows folder by putting its contents into the trash and emptying the trash
before using that computer to run another show. This stops old shows from
occupying hard disk space unnecessarily.
The “Shows” folder contains a folder
related to each show that has been
transferred to the display computer.
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Updating the Stage
Running the
Presentation
Manual Control
If you make changes to your show while online, you can transfer them to the
display computers using the “Update” command on the Stage menu. This
includes adding new media or cues, as well as making changes to existing
cues or other aspects of your presentation.
Once all media has been transferred to the display computers, the
WATCHOUT logo on the display computers will disappear. You are now
ready to run your presentation. To run it, click the play button in the lower left
corner of the Timeline window, or press the spacebar.
You can jump to any point along the timeline by clicking in the time ruler at the
top of the Timeline window. Alternatively, choose “Timeline Settings” on the
Timeline menu and type in the time to jump to.
For speaker support, or other manually controlled presentations, you can add
Pause cues to the timeline. When a pause cue is hit, WATCHOUT will stop
running, just as if you had stopped it manually. To resume the presentation,
press the spacebar again.
If you want to run your presentation from a distance, you can use a remote
control for your computer, such as the Keyspan Digital Media Remote:
http://www.keyspan.com/products/usb/remote/
Chapter 8: Presentation 105

Looping the Presentation
For a tradeshow, or similar application, you may want your WATCHOUT
presentation to restart automatically at regular intervals. To accomplish this,
choose “Timeline Settings” on the Timeline menu, select the “Auto Start” checkbox,
and type in the desired cycle time.
Select “Auto-restart” and
enter the total cycle time.
◆ NOTE: The interval is based on the actual clock time when you start the
show. It is not related to the current timeline position when the show is started.
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External Control
For more complex applications, you may want to integrate WATCHOUT with
Dataton TRAX or some other control system. This can be accomplished by
means of external serial control of the WATCHOUT production computer.
Connect the external controller to a free serial port on the production computer
and activate that control port using the pop-up menu in the Preferences dialog
box.
Activates external control through
a serial port on the production
computer.
The control protocol is based on the Pioneer laserdisc serial control protocol. It
provides the ability to start, stop and locate any position in the show. The frame
number command allows you to jump to any position in the show, using a PALbased
(25 fps) frame number. See Appendix A for more details on the protocol
implementation.
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108 Chapter 8: Presentation

9
9
WINDOWS
Stage Window,
showing the display
areas as well as a
rough preview of the
presentation.
Media Window,
listing all media used
in your presentation.
Timeline Window,
showing the layers and
the cues.
Message Window,
listing any messages,
such as warnings and
errors.
Chapter 9: Windows 109

Manipulating Windows
All WATCHOUT windows reside inside a desktop window, with a menu bar
running along its top. You can resize the desktop window by dragging any of
its outer borders or corners. Minimize or maximize it using the buttons in the
upper right corner. Clicking the close box is equivalent to choosing Quit on the
File menu.
Move a WATCHOUT window by dragging its title bar. Resize a window by
dragging any of its corners or outer borders. Minimize and maximize a
window using the buttons in the upper right corner. Windows can not be
closed – only minimized into a small tab along the bottom of the desktop
window.
Minimize, maximize and close
the WATCHOUT desktop.
Menu bar.
Minimize and maximize.
Drag border or corner to resize.
Minimized windows. Click to
restore.
110 Chapter 9: Windows

Stage Window
The Stage window is used to add and arrange the display areas used in the
presentation. It also provides a preview of your presentation as you move
along the timeline, and lets you to position media on stage.
Off line indicator, corresponding
to the “Online”
Stage menu item.
Displays added to the Stage
window.
Selected display.
Adding Displays
Adding Media
Positioning Media Preview
Images
To add a display to the Stage window, choose Add Display on the Stage menu.
See Chapter 11 for more details on displays.
You can add media to your presentation by dragging it to the desired location
in the Stage window. A corresponding cue will be added to the Timeline
window at the currently selected layer and time position. To remove the media,
you must remove the cue from the timeline.
You can position media on stage by dragging it in the Stage window. To do
so, first select the Timeline window, then drag the image in the Stage window.
Press the Shift key to constrain the move. Or set its position numerically by
double-clicking the cue or a position tween point.
▼ IMPORTANT: To change a position tween point in this way, first click the
tween track point then move the image. If you don’t click the tween point
first, a new tween point may be added instead.
Chapter 9: Windows 111

Timeline Window
The Timeline window holds the cues that make up your presentation. Cues are
arranged along layers, representing the back-to-front stacking order of images
on stage. Increasing layer numbers move the image closer to the front.
Current time position and indicator.
Currently selected layer.
Drag to resize layer.
Collapsed layer.
Jump button.
Time ruler
Disabled layer preview.
Play button.
Layer
Time scale buttons.
Selecting the Current Layer
Changing Layer Height
Click a layer’s name to make it the currently selected layer. When pasting an
individual cue, it will be pasted at the currently selected time and layer. Likewise,
when adding media by dragging into the Stage window, a new cue will
appear at the currently selected time and layer.
Drag the separator below the layer’s name to resize it vertically. Alternatively,
use the collapse triangle to minimize and restore the layer height. Shift click to
collapse/expand all layers.
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Disabling Layer Preview
Adjusting the Time Scale
The Jump Button
Starting and Stopping
Jumping to a Time Position
Adding Cues
To disable the layer preview in the Stage window, click the layer preview
symbol to turn it off. Shift click to disable/enable all layers. Disabling a layer
allows you to manipulate images in the Stage window that otherwise would
have been obscured behind images on the disabled layer. Disabling a layer’s
preview has no effect on its playback on screen.
Click the magnifying glass buttons to zoom in and out by a fixed amount. Drag
the button to the right of the magnifying glass buttons to change the scale gradually.
Click the jump button, located to the right of the time ruler, to jump to the
current time position if scrolled out of view, or to jump back to the previous start
time.
Click the play button to start and stop playback. If the stage is online, this also
controls playback on screen. During playback, the Stage window shows a
coarse preview of the images and applied effects. Movies do not play in the
Stage window. Pressing the space bar is equivalent to clicking the play button.
Click the time ruler to jump to a time position. Alternatively, choose “Timeline
Settings” on the Timeline menu and type in the time to jump to.
To add a cue, drag media from your hard disk or the Media window to the
Timeline or Stage window. See Chapter 12 for more details on cues.
Chapter 9: Windows 113

Media Window
The Media window lists all media items that have been added to the presentation.
It provides a thumbnail preview of each item, along with a description of
its type, name, modification date, file location, size and other information, as
appropriate for each kind of media.
Drag to change icon column width.
Thumbnail and description of each
media item.
Double-click to open the media in
its associated application
Double-click to change media file
association.
Adding Media
Add new media by dragging the file from your hard disk into the Media
window. Files dragged directly into the Timeline or Stage windows are automatically
added to the Media window as well. Each media file used in your
presentation will only appear once in the Media window, regardless of how
many times it’s being used.
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Removing Media
Media File Location
Changing the File Association
Remove unused media items from the Media window by choosing “Purge
Unused” on the Media menu. It is not possible to remove media that’s currently
in use in the presentation. Removing media list items in this way does not affect
the files stored on your computer’s hard disk.
The location of each media file is indicated on the second line in the textual
description. If the file is located in or under the folder in which the presentation
itself is saved, the path to the file will be relative to this folder. Otherwise, it will
be an absolute path, beginning with a ‘/’-character.
▼ IMPORTANT: Whenever possible, store media files under the same folder
as the presentation file, since this allows the use of relative path names to
the files. Doing so allows you to move the entire presentation to another
folder, disk or computer intact. Using absolute path names may cause problems
if the specified location is not available after moving the presentation.
◆ HINT: If you change you mind concerning file locations, you may move the
files to a more appropriate location (eg, to a folder under the folder containing
the show file), and then use the Find/Replace command to update
the locations in the Media window accordingly. See “Find/Replace” on
page 123.
You can change the file associated with a particular media list item is by
double-clicking the Description field and choosing another file. This will affect
all cues associated with this media list item. You can only replace a media file
with another of the same type (ie, you can not replace an image with a sound).
Chapter 9: Windows 115

Editing the Media File
Refreshing Media Information
Adding a Media Proxy
To open a media file in its associated application, double-click its Icon field.
This allows you to access a media file in order to view or edit it.
◆ NOTE: Your computer must have been set up properly in order to associate
each file type with the appropriate application.
After editing media files, you can update the Media list in WATCHOUT
accordingly by choosing “Refresh” on the Media menu. See “Refresh” on page
129 for more details.
In some cases, media files can not simply be dragged into the Media list (see
page 89 for some examples on when this would apply). In such cases, you can
instead add a proxy item to the Media window using the “Add Proxy”
command on the Media menu. See “Add Proxy” on page 127 for more details.
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Message Window
The message window lists the messages sent to you by WATCHOUT. Such
messages may originate from the production software or from the display
computers. Some messages are merely informative while others indicate errors
requiring your attention.
An information message reporting
the result of the Refresh command.
An error message from a media list
item telling you that it can’t find its
associated media file.
◆ NOTE: The Message window appears automatically when the first message
is posted.
Removing Messages
To remove messages, select them (either by Shift-clicking or by choosing
“Select All” on the Edit menu) then choose “Clear” on the Edit menu.
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118 Chapter 9: Windows

File Menu
New
10 MENUS
01
The File menu provides commands related to the entire presentation, such as
Opening old shows or creating new ones.
Creates a new presentation, specifying the name and location of the
WATCHOUT show file.
Navigate to the desired folder
using this pop-up menu and by
double-clicking folders.
Type the name of the presentation
here, then click Save.
◆ HINT: To re-use objects such as display arrangements and cues, simply
copy them from the old presentation then paste them in the new one.
Chapter 10: Menus 119

Open
Opens an existing WATCHOUT presentation.
Navigate to the containing folder
using this pop-up menu and by
double-clicking folders.
Select the presentation then click
Open.
Save
Quit
Saves the currently open presentation. It is saved in the file and folder chosen
by the most recent Open or New command.
Quits WATCHOUT after displaying a confirmation alert.
120 Chapter 10: Menus

Preferences
Allows you to specify some miscellaneous settings of the presentation.
Enter the common part of the
display’s IP Address here.
Edit the gradient of the edge
blend by dragging this tween
point. Click to add more points.
Set the frame rate used by any
video material in your presentation.
Activate external control port,
eg, for controlling
WATCHOUT from TRAX.
Display Address Prefix
Base Frame Rate
The IP addresses assigned to the displays usually only differ in the last few
digits (see illustration on page 34). By entering the common initial part in this
field, you then only have to enter the last few digits into the specifications
dialog box of each individual display (see “Address” on page 134).
▼ IMPORTANT: You must enter the period that separates the last two
groups of digits here. The complete IP address is made by simply concatenating
the contents of the “Display Address Prefix” field with the contents
of the display’s Address field.
Specifies the primary type of video used in your presentation, if any. This
setting lets WATCHOUT optimize some of its behavior to match the target
frame rate.
Chapter 10: Menus 121

Edge-blend Curve
External Serial Control
Edit Menu
Undo
Cut
Copy
Drag the red dot to adjust the curve of the edge blend. Although it is possible
to add more points to the curve, this is generally not required.The same curve
is applied to all edges. The left of the curve corresponds to the outer edge of
the gradient, which is always black.
◆ NOTE: For better precision in adjusting the curve, enlarge the window by
dragging one of its corners. To see the result of your changes, click OK then
choose Update on the Stage menu.
Activates external serial control of the WATCHOUT production software. This
allows you to control your WATCHOUT presentation from TRAX or other
control systems. The control protocol has provisions for positioning, starting
and stopping the presentation. See “Serial Protocol” on page 143 for more
details.
The Edit menu contains commands applying to the current window or currently
selected objects (eg, displays, cues).
Undo is not yet available in WATCHOUT.
Transfers selected objects to the clipboard, allowing them to be pasted in elsewhere.
Use this, for example, to move cues to another position along the
timeline.
Copies selected objects to the clipboard, allowing the copies to be pasted in
elsewhere. Use this, for example, to transfer display configurations or cues
between presentations. When transferring cues between presentations in this
way, any media associated with these cues will transfer along with the cues,
and will be automatically added to the media list in the target presentation.
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Paste
Clear
Select All
Specifications
Find/Replace
Pastes the most recently cut or copied objects into the current window.
Removes selected objects without altering the contents of the clipboard.
Selects all objects in the current window.
Opens the Specifications dialog box for the selected object. This is equivalent
to pressing the Enter key or double-clicking the object. See “Display
Specifications” on page 134 and “Cue Specifications” on page 140 for more
details.
Finds and optionally replaces specified text. This applies to the Media window
only, and allows you to locate media items by specifying the name of the
media file, or any part of the path name. You can also find folder names, etc.
The command looks at the Location information, as displayed for each item in
the Media window, indicating the relative or absolute path to the media file.
Text to find in the Location field of
media list items.
Check this box if you want to
replace the found text.
Searches currently selected media
list items only.
Text to replace the found
text.
Finds/replaces one at a
time or all at once.
Chapter 10: Menus 123

You can use the Replace function to update the path to media files after they
have been moved to another disk or folder. For instance, if you start out with
your media files on a shared server during the early stage of production, you
may later want to consolidate all media files into a sub-folder of the folder
containing the presentation file. After copying the files, use the Find/Replace
command to change the absolute part of the path name (beginning with a ‘/’
character) to a relative (ie, beginning with the name of a folder located in the
same folder as your presentation).
As an example, assume that the media files were stored in a folder named
“WATCHOUT/Production1/Media” on a network volume named “E:” during
production process. You have now copied all these media files into a folder
named “Media” located in the same folder as the WATCHOUT presentation
file. You would then enter the following values into the Find/Replace dialog
box to update all relevant media paths accordingly.
The leading ‘/’ character indicates
an absolute path.
Check to replace.
Choose “All at Once” to change
all matching items, or “One at a
Time” to review each change
before proceeding.
No leading ‘/’ indicates a
path relative to the folder
containing the presentation
file.
Find/Replace Again
Repeats the most recent Find/Replace command.
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Stage Menu
Add Display
Lock Displays
Preview Scale
Background Color
Wireframe Preview
The Stage menu applies specifically to the contents of the Stage window.
Adds a new display of the specified size to the Stage window. After adding a
display, you must open its specifications dialog box and enter its specifications
(see “Cue Specifications” on page 140).
The secondary menu provides some common display sizes as shortcuts. You
can, however, enter any size in the display’s dialog box as long as it is
supported by the physical display and the interface card in the display
computer.
When checked, locks all displays in the Stage window, avoiding changing
their settings or positions once set. You would normally turn this option on once
you have configured all displays for your presentation.
Determines the viewing scale of the Stage window. A larger preview gives you
greater precision in positioning displays and images. It also limits how much
you can see and will perform slower when previewing images.
Allows you to set the background color of the Stage window. If your source
material is hard to see on the default color then change to another color. This
has no effect on the background color of the images shown by the display
computers.
Displays all images as boxes that contain the name of the media item, rather
than showing the image. This results in faster updating of the Stage window
preview, and is often useful when trying to position images.
Chapter 10: Menus 125

Outline Dimmed Images
Online
Update
When an image is dimmed using an opacity tween track, it may become hard
to see and manipulate in the Stage window. Selecting this option causes a
frame to be displayed around such images, making them easier to see.
Connects the production computer to the display computers. Once connected,
the display computers will follow you as you jump on the timeline and start/
stop the presentation.
Failure connecting to a display computer is indicated by a stop sign inside that
display in the Stage window (see “Connecting to the Display Computers” on
page 103). Other errors are reported in the Message window.
Updates all connected display computers with any changes you’ve made to the
presentation, including transferring new or modified media files to the display
computers.
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Media Menu
Add Proxy
The Media menu applies specifically to the contents of the Media window.
Adds a proxy media item of the kind specified. Use a proxy to handle media
that can not be added simply by dragging it into the Media window, as
described under “Using Media Proxies” on page 89.
Which options are available vary based on the kind of proxy being added.
Pre-split or Multiple Displays. This option applies to video and other
moving image media only. Check this if you have pre-split a large movie, as
Chapter 10: Menus 127

described under “Pre-splitting Large Movies” on page 76. In this case, the
resulting files must be placed in a folder specified in the File/Folder field. This
folder will contain one file per display that intersects with the movie. Each file
must be named after its target display.
As an example, assume you start out with a large movie called “LargeMovie”.
This spans two displays named “Display 1” and “Display 2”. You would then
pre-split the movie into two files. Name those files “Display 1” and “Display 2”
and put them in a folder named “LargeMovie”. You then specify that folder in
the File/Folder field.
File/Folder. The title of this field reads “Folder” if “Pre-split or Multiple
Displays” is selected, otherwise it reads “File”. In field you specify the file or
folder associated with the media item. You can use the “Choose” button next
to the field to choose an existing file/folder. If you set “File Transfer” to
“Manual”, you would instead type the fictive, relative path to a file that may not
exist on the production computer, but will be provided manually to the display
computer.
File Transfer. Specifies whether the file will be transferred manually or automatically
from the production computer to the display computers. Normally,
you would choose “Automatic”. You may choose “Manual” if the file is to be
provided later, directly to the display computer, or if the file is not yet available.
◆ NOTE: If you choose “Automatic”, WATCHOUT will make sure that the
file/folder you specified exists prior to closing the dialog box. If you choose
“Manual”, it becomes your responsibility to provide the file, and
WATCHOUT will not verify its existence.
Duration. Enter the duration of the media here. Applies to moving images
(video) and sound only.
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Icon. Allows you to choose a thumbnail image to represent the proxy in the
Media window, inside cues and in the Stage window preview. If not specified,
a default icon with a question mark will be displayed.
Transparency. Allows you to specify whether the image contains transparency
information. Normally. WATCHOUT determines this from the information
in the media file, but when using a proxy, you must specify this manually.
Setting this incorrectly may cause the image to display without transparency or
not at all. Applies to still and moving images.
Dimension. Specifies the size of the image. Applies to still and moving
images.
Refresh
Purge Unused
Refreshes items in the Media list by reloading their information from the associated
media files. A dialog is displayed allowing you to only refresh media
that has changed (ie, that has a different modification date than the one indicated
in the Media window) or all media.
Removes unused items from the Media window, ie, media items not used by
any cue along the timeline.
◆ NOTE: This cleans up the Media window only. It does not remove the corresponding
media files from your computer.
Chapter 10: Menus 129

Timeline Menu
Add Pause Cue
Timeline Settings
The Timeline menu applies specifically to the contents of the Timeline window.
Adds a pause cue at the current time and selected layer. When reached during
playback, the pause cue will stop the timeline, just as if you had stopped it
manually.
◆ HINT: When using pause cues, dedicate a layer to pause cues rather than
mixing them with other cues. This makes them easier to find and prevents
them from getting obscured by other cues.
Displays the Timeline Settings dialog box.
Enter the desired time position.
Makes the timeline restart automatically
at the specified interval
time.
Total duration of your presentation.
Extended automatically
as more cues are appended.
The cycle time is based on the
time of day tat which he show
started, not the timeline time it’s
started from.
No Edge-blend Past Layer. Turns off edge blending for images placed
past specified layer in the timeline. This is indicated by a black divider line
below that layer in the timeline window.
This is useful in cases where you may want images to appear unaffected by the
edge blend gradient, such as a line-up image used to align projectors to the
130 Chapter 10: Menus

screen. In this case, you want to see the entire alignment image, all the way to
its edges, to make sure that the image precisely covers the display area.
Another use for this feature is when playing a video that fits entirely within the
confines of a single display, but which may extend into the edge-blended
zones. While WATCHOUT is capable of handling this correctly (by playing the
video in all intersecting display computers) this may impair performance.
Particularly if you want to play other videos simultaneously on adjacent display
areas.
By placing such a video past the edge blend layer, it won’t be masked by the
edge blend gradient, allowing WATCHOUT to play it on a single display
computer only (assuming it fits entirely within this display).
◆ NOTE: Although the image is unaffected by the edge blend gradient of its
display computer, images shown by overlapping projectors may be superimposed
on it. In this case, you must manually add a black box behind the
video, on a layer included in the edge blend but past the image causing the
problem.
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132 Chapter 10: Menus

11 DISPLAYS
1 Displays include projectors, monitors, video wall cubes and plasma screens.
You can read more about different display technologies on page 16.
You need to install and configure your displays properly, as described on
page 28 and 42.
The display technology chosen may also have an impact on the creative
aspects of your presentation, as described under “Display Considerations” on
page 52.
Adding Displays
Selecting Displays
Positioning Displays
To add a display to the Stage window, choose Add Display on the Stage menu.
You can choose any of the standard display sizes. The size of the display can
be altered afterwards using the Display Specifications dialog box (page 134).
Click a display to select it. Shift-click to select multiple displays. Alternatively,
drag from a point outside all displays to use the selection rectangle. Use “Select
All” on the Edit menu to select all displays. To de-select all displays, click
outside all displays in the Stage window.
◆ NOTE: You must activate the Stage window before you can select displays.
To activate the Stage window, click its title bar. Displays can not be manipulated
if “Lock Displays” on the Stage menu is active.
Drag a display to the desired position using the mouse. Press the Shift key
while dragging to constrain the movement to horizontal or vertical only. For
best precision, enter the exact position using the Display Specifications dialog
box.
Chapter 11: Displays 133

Removing and Duplicating
Displays
Display
Specifications
To remove a display, first select it, then choose “Cut” or “Clear” on the Edit
menu. To duplicate it, first choose “Copy” then paste the duplicate back into
the Stage window. When pasting a display, keep in mind that the duplicate
initially occupies the exact same location in the Stage window as the original
did. You must move the duplicate to another location and change its name and
address before using it.
To open the Display Specifications dialog box, first select the display in the
Stage window then choose “Specifications” on the Edit menu, or simply
double-click the display.
You must activate the Stage window before you can select displays. To activate
the Stage window, click its title bar. Displays can not be manipulated if “Lock
Displays” on the Stage menu is active.
Name. Specifies the name of the display.
▼ IMPORTANT: This name is also used to identify pre-split movie files, as
described under “Pre-splitting Large Movies” on page 76. Thus, if you use
such pre-split movies, you should not change the name of the display after
creating those movies, or you’d have to rename the movies accordingly.
Address. Specifies the IP address of the display computer that manages this
display. This is typically the numeric address of the display. However, if the
display computer is accessible by name (by means of a Domain Name Server),
you may enter the name in this field instead.
◆ HINT: In most cases, all display computers are on the same sub-net, which
means that the first part of their IP address is identical, and only the last
group of digits differ (as shown in the illustration on page 34). In this case,
it’s more convenient to enter the common part of the IP address in Prefer-
134 Chapter 11: Displays

ences (see “Display Address Prefix” on page 121), and then enter only the
last group of digits in the Display Specificatins dialog box.
Peer and Connect. Indicates the on-line status of the associated display
computer. You can use the Connect button to verify the ability to connect to that
particular display computer. This can be useful when trouble-shooting a
system.
Color and Change. Allows you to change the color of the display’s outline
in the Status window. Using different colors for overlapping displays makes it
easier to tell them apart.
Stage Position. Determines the position and dimension of the display.
WATCHOUT allows you to specify any display size. However, when using the
system, each display computer will ensure that it’s set up accordingly, causing
an error message to be displayed in case of any discrepancies. The allowable
dimensions are ultimately determined by the display and display card being
used.
Chapter 11: Displays 135

136 Chapter 11: Displays

12 CUES
21
Cues are the active objects of WATCHOUT. They control when media appear
on stage, as well as more dynamic behavior such as positioning and opacity.
Cues exist on layers in the Timeline window. The layers determine the back-tofront
stacking order of media on stage.
Adding Cues
Selecting and Positioning
Cues
To add a cue to a layer in the Timeline window, drag a Media window item,
or a media file, to the layer or the Stage window. Media files can be dragged
directly from your hard disk.
▼ IMPORTANT: Whenever possible, keep all media used in a presentation
in a sub-folder of the presentation file folder. Doing so allows WATCHOUT
to refer to the file using a relative path specification, making it easier to
move the presentation with all its media references intact.
When you drag media into the Stage window, the cue will appear on the
currently selected layer (as indicated by a red line under the layer’s name) and
at the current time position. When dragging into the timeline, the cue appears
at the layer and time you drag it to.
Click a cue to select it. Shift-click to select multiple cues. Alternatively, drag
from a point outside all cues to use the selection rectangle. Use “Select All” on
the Edit menu to select all cues on all layers. To de-select all cues, click in the
white space of any layer in the Timeline window.
You can also select a cue by clicking its preview image in the Stage window.
This allows you to determine which cue corresponds to a particular image on
stage.
Chapter 12: Cues 137

To position selected cues, drag one of them using the mouse. To drag cues to
another layer without altering their time positions, press the Shift key while
dragging.
If you want to position a cue numerically, cut it, go to the desired time position
using the Timeline Settings dialog box (page 130), then paste it. Alternatively,
use the cue’s dialog box (see “Cue Specifications” on page 140).
Cutting, Pasting and Deleting
Cues
Changing a Cue’s Media
Position On Stage
Use Cut, Copy and Paste on the Edit menu to move or copy cues within a
presentation or to other presentations via the clipboard. When transferring
cues to other presentations in this way, any media associated with those cues
will automatically be added to the target presentation.
To delete cues without altering the content of clipboard, select the cues then
choose “Clear” on the Edit menu.
Cues contain information on where on stage media is to appear. To change the
stage position, drag the preview image in the Stage window while the cue is
selected. You can change the stage position of multiple cues at the same time
by first selecting those cues.
▼ IMPORTANT: If a cue has a positioning track, the timeline must be positioned
at the starting time for that cue in order to change the position information
in the cue itself. Otherwise, you’ll add or alter a position tween point
instead.
Alternatively, change the stage position through the Cue Specifications dialog
box (see “Cue Specifications” on page 140).
138 Chapter 12: Cues

Changing a Cue’s Duration
Drag to change
cue’s duration.
Replacing a Cue’s Media
To change the duration of a cue, drag the bar at the end of the cue. Alternatively,
type the desired duration into the cue’s dialog box (see “Cue Specifications”
on page 140)
◆ NOTE: If you extend the duration of a moving image beyond its natural
duration, it will fill the remainder using the last frame of the movie.
To change the media associated with a cue, drag new media onto the cue. You
can drag either an item from the Media window, or a new media file from your
hard disk.
When replacing media in this way, the cue will lose tween tracks that no longer
apply (eg, any Volume tween track will disappear if you replace a movie with
a still image).
◆ HINT: If you want to replace all instances of a certain media file, you can
change the file association of the item in the Media window instead, as described
under “Changing the File Association” on page 115. Doing so will
affect all cues associated with that media item.
Chapter 12: Cues 139

Cue Specifications
To open a cue’s specifications dialog box, select the cue and choose “Specifications”
on the Edit menu, or simply double-click the cue.
The time of this cue along the
timeline.
The initial position of this cue’s
media on stage.
The duration of this cue along
the timeline.
Displays associated item in the
Media window.
Initial Media Position
The values in this area determine the initial stage location of the top left corner
of the media controlled by this cue, relative to the top left corner of the Stage
window. For cues without a position tween track, this is the static position of the
media on stage. For cues that have a position tween track, this is the initial
position, which is then modified by the tween track.
◆ HINT: When changing the initial media position of a cue that has a position
tween track – either by dragging the image in the Stage window or
through the Cue Specifications dialog box – all other positions will be offset
in the same way. This can be used to clone a move at another stage position
by first copying the cue and then changing the initial position of the duplicate.
140 Chapter 12: Cues

Tween Tracks
Tween tracks allow you to control the appearance of media on stage over time.
Depending on the type of media associated with the cue, you can add one or
more of the following tween track types:
• Opacity, applies to moving and still images (see “Opacity” on page 99).
• Position, applies to moving and still images (see “Position” on page 99).
• Volume, applies to audio and moving images with embedded audio (see
“Volume” on page 99).
Click the yellow triangle of a
selected cue to add or remove
applicable tween tracks.
See “Tween Tracks” on page 96 for more details on how to use tween tracks.
Chapter 12: Cues 141

Tween Points
Add points to a tween track to control how the value changes over time (see
“Adding Points” on page 97).
There are two kinds of tween points:
• Blue corner points. When you use multiple subsequent corner points, the
tweened value changes linearly between the points.
• Red smooth points. These act like pins with rubber bands attached to the
curve, bending the curve in the direction you move the point.
For more information see “Corners and Smooth Tween Points” on page 98.
Add a blue corner point by leftclicking.
Add a red, smooth tween point by
right-clicking.
Moving along a Path
When using a position tween track with smooth points, you can make the
image move along a curved path (see “Moving Along a Curved Path” on page
100). You can also control the velocity of the move by shifting the time position
of such smooth points (see “Controlling the Velocity” on page 100).
142 Chapter 12: Cues

A SERIAL . A
PROTOCOL
You can control WATCHOUT from an external device or control system, such
as Dataton TRAX®, using commands sent through a serial port on the production
computer. To simplify integration with an external control system, the
control protocol is based on the popular Pioneer laserdisc protocol, assuming
a CAV, PAL disk (ie, 25 frames per second).
◆ NOTE: The protocol always uses a 25 fps frame rate, regardless of the
video material you may have used in the presentation as well as the “Base
Frame Rate” setting in the Preferences dialog box. This results in a control
accuracy of 0.04 seconds.
Command Format
The protocol runs at 9600 bits per second, 8 data bits, 1 stop bit and no parity.
Commands are sent as ASCII character strings, terminated by a carriage
return character (0x0D).
Example; start to play the timeline in WATCHOUT:
PL
A string can contain multiple commands. Commands are designated by a two
character command code, as listed in the table on page 145. Many commands
accept a numeric parameter which then precedes the command code in the
string. Such a numeric parameter is represented by “nnn” in the table. If the
numeric parameter is optional, it is shown in square brackets; eg, [nnn]. Only
significant digits need to be entered; leading zeros can be omitted.
Appendix A: Serial Protocol 143

Example; set frame 1234 as the stop marker then play:
1234SMPL
Command Responses
Queries
Successful completion of a string containing one or many commands is
acknowledged by this response:
R
where represents a carriage return character (0x0D).
If an error occurs in processing a command, an error response is returned
instead:
Enn
where nn is the error code number; 04 is “Unknown or Bad Command” and
06 is “Missing Parameter”.
You can use queries to determine certain status information. Queries send
replies back to the controlling device instead of the above mentioned command
response. The format of the reply varies with the query.
Example:
F
00125
In the above example, the first line is the Frame Number query, sent to
WATCHOUT from the external controller, and the second line (shown in italics)
is the reply, indicating the current frame number.
144 Appendix A: Serial Protocol

List of Commands
The table below shows the available commands, with some commands
explained in more detail on the following pages.
Code Name Description
[nnn]PL Play Play, with optional target frame number (page 146).
PA Pause Pause at the current position.
ST Still Pause at the current position.
SF Step Forward Step forward one frame and pause.
SR Step Reverse Step backward one frame and pause.
nnnSE Search to Frame Jump directly to specified frame number and pause.
nnnSP Set Speed Set the multi-speed play speed (page 146).
nnnSM Stop Marker Set the target frame for subsequent play commands.
[nnn]MF Multi-speed Play Forward Play forward at variable speed, with optional target frame (page 146).
[nnn]MR Multi-speed Play Reverse Play reverse at variable speed, with optional target frame (page 146).
nnnVD Video Display Command acknowledged but ignored.
CL Clear Clears the stop marker and current playback target frame.
RJ Reject Pauses and clears the stop marker and current playback target frame.
D Disc Status Query Replies with 10000.
F Frame Number Query Replies with nnnnn, where nnnnn is the current frame number.
P Play Mode Query See “Play Mode Query” on page 147.
X Model Name Query Replies with Dataton WATCHOUT x.x.
Appendix A: Serial Protocol 145

Code Name Description
D* Acknowledged but ignored, second character may be any character.
A* Acknowledged but ignored, second character may be any character.
F* Acknowledged but ignored, second character may be any character.
Play
Set Speed
Multi-speed Play
If the Play command is used on its own, the response code is sent immediately.
If using the optional target parameter of the Play command, the response is
sent when the target is reached. If preceded by the Stop Marker command, the
response to the Play command is sent immediately, and no additional response
is sent upon reaching the target frame set by the Stop Marker command.
Sets the speed for subsequent multi-speed play commands (MF and MR, see
below). The speed is calculated as “speed = nnn/50”, where nnn is the parameter
to the Set Speed command.
Eg, to play forward at twice normal speed, give this command:
100SPMF
Using the Multi-speed Play Forward and Multi-speed Play Reverse commands,
you can play at other speeds than normal, using the speed set by the Set Speed
command, as described above.
▼ IMPORTANT: Although this command allows you to play at other speeds
than normal, WATCHOUT playback will only be smooth when using the
normal playback speed. Other speeds are simulated by causing the timeline
to jump repeatedly.
146 Appendix A: Serial Protocol

Play Mode Query
Returns one of the following replies, followed by a :
Reply
P04
P09
P06
P05
Description
Currently playing at normal speed.
Currently playing at other than normal speed.
Paused with no picture.
Paused with picture displayed.
Appendix A: Serial Protocol 147

148 Appendix A: Serial Protocol

Index
A
acceleration 100
Adobe
After Effects 71, 73, 80
lllustrator 62
Photoshop 64, 73
Premiere 79
alpha channel 61, 72
anti-aliasing 67
audience 51
audio see sound
B
base framerate 121
C
codec 74
command
add display 125
add pause cue 130
add proxy 127
background color 125
clear 123
copy 122
cut 122
find/replace 123
find/replace again 124
lock displays 125
new 119
online 126
open 120
outline dimmed images 126
paste 123
preferences 121
preview scale 125
purge unused 129
refresh 116, 129
save 120
select all 123
serial control 143
specifications 123
timeline settings 130
undo 122
update 126
wireframe preview 125
Index 149

control panel
apple menu 40
date and time 39
energy saver 36
general 39
memory 35
monitors 38
control strip 40
CRT projector 17
cue 10, 90, 137
adding 113, 137
cutting 138
defined 137
deleting 138
duration 93, 139
media position 138, 140
pasting 138
pause 95, 130
positioning 137
replacing media 92, 139
selecting 137
specifications 93, 140
tween track 96, 141
D
DHCP server 32
display 133
adding 85, 111, 125, 133
address 134
address prefix, in preferences 121
arranging 85
configuring 42
considerations 52
CRT 17
drivers 23
duplicating 134
DVI 29
installing 28
LCD 19
locking 125
maintaining 47
name 134
online 126
overlapping 53
plasma 20
positioning 133
removing 134
requirements 16
selecting 133
specifications 134
stage position 135
150 Index

display computer 9
configuring 33
connecting to 103
installing software 22
requirements 16
distribution amplifier 28
DLP projector 17
DNS 31
domain name server 31
DV video format 74
DVI connector 29
E
edge-blend 121
disabling for layers 130
edit menu 122
Ethernet 24
extensions manager 41
external control 107
F
file menu 119
file sharing 40
files, removing unused 48
Final Cut 79
find and replace 123
Flash, Macromedia 80
framerate 121
Freehand 65
H
hub 24
I
iMovie 79
IP address 32, 34
J
Java 12
jump button 113
K
keystone correction 44
L
layer 92
changing height 112
collapse 112
current 112
disabling preview of 113
selecting 112
LCD display 19
LCD projector 19
license key 27
installing 22
lllustrator 62
looping presentation 106
Index 151

M
Macromedia
Director 80
Flash 80
Freehand 65
maintenance 47
media 10, 87
adding 87, 114
changing file association 88, 115
changing path to files 124
downloading files 104
dragging to stage 111
editing file 88, 116
locating file 115
opening 116
positioning 111, 138
production 55
proxy 89, 116, 127
purging 88, 129
refreshing 88, 116, 129
removing 115
window 114
Media Cleaner 71
menu
edit 122
file 119
media 127
stage 125
timeline 130
message 117
removing 117
movie see moving images
moving along a path 142
moving images 57, 67
assembling individual frames 71
audio embedded in 82
computer generated 70
formats 67
masking 57, 72
optimizing playback 94
performance 67
pre-splitting 76
quality, improving 69
round 73
MPEG 74
N
network 9
connecting 24
requirements 16
switch 26
O
online 103
opacity 61, 72, 99
P
pause cue 95, 130
152 Index

Photoshop 64, 73
Pioneer, laserdisc protocol 143
plasma display 20
play 113
position
animating 99
editing 100
moving along a path 100
preferences 121
presentation
controlling 107
environment 50, 52
looping 106
making new 119
manual control of 105
opening 120
saving 120
pre-splitting large movies 76
preview 125
production computer 8
configuring 31
requirements 15
production software
installing 21
obtaining 21
projection screen 30
projector
alignment 43, 45
CRT 17
DLP 17
LCD 19
maintaining 47
proxy 89, 116, 127
Q
QuickTime 12
file formats 60
installing 21
obtaining 21
R
remote control 105
S
serial control 107, 122, 143
Sorenson codec 74
sound
configuring 46
file formats 81
installing 30
planning 58
producing 81
speed of movement 100
Index 153

stage
adding displays 111
adding media 111
background color 125
online 126
outline dimmed images 126
positioning displays 135
positioning media preview 91, 111
preview 125
updating 105, 126
wireframe preview 125
stage menu 125
stage window 10, 85, 111
still image 55
formats 59
producing 59
storyboard 55
sun icon, in layer header 113
T
TCP/IP network 13, 33
text, using in presentation 67
time scale, adjusting 113
timeline 10, 90
adding cues to 90, 113
jump button 113
jumping to time 113
layer 92
playing 113
settings 130
starting 113
window 112
timeline menu 130
transparency see opacity
triangle, in layer header 112
tween point 97, 142
blue 98
corner 98
red 98
removing 98
smooth 98
tween track 10, 96, 141
adding points to 97
opacity
position 99
stretching 99
volume 99
U
USB port 27
154 Index

V
velocity 100
VGA connector 28
video see moving images
virtual memory 35
volume 99
W
WATCHOUT
application areas 49
desktop window 110
installing 21
obtaining 21
screenshot 11
system overview 8
window
manipulating 110
media 114
message 117
minimizing 110
overview 109
stage 111
timeline 112
Index 155