HIPPOTIZER STAGE Manual v1.0 Software version 2.1.4

Transcription

1 HIPPOTIZER STAGE Manual v1.0 Software version Green Hippo Ltd Unit 365, Lee Valley Technopark London N17 9LN, UK

2 Table of Contents Table of Contents 1 Introduction 4 Important Notes 4 Media 4 Uploading Own Media 4 Software 4 Warranty 5 Firmware, BIOS and Drivers: 5 If there is a problem 5 Contents Checklist 6 Installation and Connections 7 Location 7 Precautions 7 Connections and Controls: 8 Quick Connections: 10 Switching on the Unit: 10 Shutting Down the Unit: 10 Display Devices 11 Display Modes 12 Single Output Mode 14 Dual Output Mode 18 Pan Output Mode 22 Additional Display Features 24 Configuring the Composite / S- Video output 24 Using Clone mode 25 Using the No Output option 28 Hands on with the Hippotizer _29 The Desktop 29 Understanding Media Flow within the Server 31 Processing Flowchart. 32 Control Parameters and the Control Centre 32 The Overview Screen 32 The Layer View 35 The Master-Canvas View 41 Functions in More detail 45 Mix Modes 45 Add 46 Sub 46 Darken 46 Lighten 46 Softlight 46 Softlight Inverted 47 Hardlight 47 Overlay 47 Difference 47 Gobo 47 Screen 48 Opaque 48 Sprite 48 Luma (Luminance Key) 48 Matte 49 Alpha 50 The Digital Effect Engines 51 General FXs 51 No-Effect 51 Radial Blur 52 Mask 53 SatHue 54 iluma 54 Multi 55 XYZ 56 Aspect 57 Colour Effects 58 Pall 58 Neon 58 C-Lab 59 CTB-O 60 Breakup Effects 60 Pixidust 60 Shift 61 Conc 62 Style 62 Bump 63 LED 63 Pixel 64 Movie 65 Distortion Effects 65 Plasma 65 Flow 1 & 2 66 Kaleidoscope 67 Glass 67 Aqua 68 2

3 Tunnel 69 Planes 70 Softedge Effects 71 Beat Detection Engine 73 Using the Matrix 74 Timecode 75 Controlling The Hippotizer 76 Interfaces 76 Control Centre 76 DMX 77 DMX setup 77 DMX (full mode) 77 DMX (preset mode) 78 ARTNET 79 MIDI 79 Keyboard 79 Show and Media Management _80 Organizing your media 80 Adding and removing media 81 The Show Manager 81 Viewing your media 82 Creating a New Show 82 Saving a Show 83 Loading a show 84 Preparing Media 84 Movie Files 84 Still Images 86 Utilities 87 The Settings Utility 87 General Settings 87 DMX full 88 DMX Preset 90 MIDI 90 RS Keyboard 92 Info 92 Engine Configurator 93 Video Input Setting 93 Additional information 96 Maintenance 96 Specifications 98 FAQ 98 FAX back registration form 99 3

4 Introduction This handbook contains important information about your Hippotizer Stage Media Server. It will help you get up and running with your unit quickly and ensure you get the most from the system. Please take a few minutes to read the following pages, as it will help you understand the unit s functionality and assist in achieving the best possible results during operation. Due to our programme of continuous updates for the Hippotizer range, you may find that your server contains functions and features which are either not shown or differ slightly from that described in this manual. Please check the support website for the latest version of this manual and system software. Occasionally you will see this symbol: These are Hippo-Tips. Hippo-tips are not definitive approaches or operating procedures but are useful hints on how to get the most from your system. Important Notes Media All video libraries are supplied By us at Green Hippo. Any queries regarding the use of these should be directed to us. Uploading Own Media It is your responsibility to handle all copyright issues relating to the media you create and upload. Green Hippo Ltd will not accept responsibility for any breach of copyright incurred in these processes. Software All Hippotizer software remains the sole property of Green Hippo Ltd and its suppliers. Any attempt to alter or replicate the contents of The Hippotizer is prohibited. Any attempt to copy or alter the software will render any warranties void. Green Hippo Ltd will initiate legal proceedings against anyone attempting to copy or replicate the software in any fashion. NOTE: Installing additional software on your system other than that supplied by Green Hippo Ltd is strongly discouraged. Your Hippotizer has a specific task, which is to play back video reliably. Any third party software may compromise this. If you wish to install 3 rd party software we recommend you contact us first. We will also endeavour to post information regarding known issues on our website. Any repairs relating to 3 rd party software are not covered under warranty. Additional hardware installation other than USB or external devices will invalidate warranties. Similarly, any removal of external casings should not be undertaken without consultation. 4

5 Under no circumstances install a second network device, either internal or external, as this may stop the Hippotizer program from running. For advice on this issue support@greenhippo.com Warranty Green Hippo Ltd will warranty the Hippotizer for one year from date of purchase. This is a full return to base warranty. NB: Any attempt to open the casing will invalidate your warranty. Any attempt to load any software onto the unit in any way other than that described in the manual will invalidate the warranty. Firmware, BIOS and Drivers: The system is built and tested using a fixed set of firmware, BIOS and drivers. Although there may be newer versions of these items readily available, do not download and install them unless otherwise instructed to do so. We will endeavour to keep you informed of any updates which will increase performance or stability. For a reference to all files please see our support website. If there is a problem If there is a problem and you need support Please follow these steps: 1. Consult this manual and the FAQ section 2. Contact your local dealer who sold this unit to you. 3. Contact us at support@green-hippo.com with the following details: Who are you? What system version do you have? (e.g. Express, Stage etc) When did you buy it and from whom? Describe what you are trying to achieve and what the problem is. The More information you give us, the more comprehensive our response will be. In your Hippotizer Settings you will find a tab labelled Info. In here you will find important information relating to your server including details of your software version, licensee, and so on. Access Hippo Settings using the shortcut on the desktop. 5

6 Contents Checklist Hippotizer IEC Mains Lead Hippotizer Manual (this one) disc Video Adapter S-Video to Composite Video DVI to VGA converter USB Mouse and Keyboard LCD monitor (optional) Assorted system discs 6

7 Installation and Connections In this section we will show you how to install your Hippotizer, how to connect your displays and how to configure them. Location The Hippotizer Stage comes in an industry standard 19 rackmount case. The ears on either side allow you to install it into a standard flight case or any environment employing the 19 standard. Alternatively you can position it on any flat surface. Precautions The unit is cooled by the flow of fresh air via fans in the unit. Therefore the unit must have a clear air-gap with no obstructions to the front and rear. The unit can run to high temperatures safely if well ventilated but damage to components will most likely occur if any of the vents are obstructed. Air flows through the front doors and out of the back of the unit. If installed in a rack ensure that there is a free flow of fresh air front and back. Never run the unit in an enclosure with a sealed back such as a rackmount case with the rear door still in place. Do not place drinks, or heavy objects on top of the unit. Any failure caused by fluid, shocks or misuse is not covered under warranty. NB: Take care not to push the unit too far back against a wall to prevent damage to the connectors positioned at the rear or restrict airflow through the unit. Periodically (once a month) clean the filters situated in the doors. 7

8 Connections and Controls: Fig 1.1 Front Connections and Controls A Power Button B Reset Button C DVD Rom Drive D USB connections x 2 E DMX Interface 8

9 Fig. 1.2 Rear connections. A - IEC Mains input for power (100V to 250V power range) B PS2 Mouse connector C PS2 Keyboard connector D USB connections E LAN connector (sometimes referred to as an Ethernet or network connector) F Sound connections Blue line in Green Speakers G VGA monitor Connection H S-Video Connector (converter supplied for Composite) I DVI connector (converter supplied for use as VGA port) J - Video inputs for external camera/video use 9

10 Fig 1.3 A DVI to VGA Converter B S-Video to Composite Video Converter Quick Connections: Connection options will be explained in depth later but to get started quickly, connect a power cable to A (fig 1.2) a keyboard and mouse (either B and C or if devices are USB use D) then your supplied VGA monitor to G. Switching on the Unit: Once you have connected the unit as described above, press the power button A (Fig 1.1), on the front of the unit. You will see the green power light on the front panel illuminate. The unit has an automatic power up sequence that takes around 90 seconds. NB: if you have a secondary monitor or video device connected, it is possible that the supplied VGA monitor will go into standby or display the message signal out of range or similar. This is not a fault. Wait for 60 seconds after which you should see the windows start-up screen. Shutting Down the Unit: To shut down the unit press the power switch once and allow the system to complete its shutdown sequence. You do not have to exit the Hippotizer programme to do this. It can be done at anytime. When complete the Power indicator lamp will extinguish. DO NOT shut down the unit by skipping the above procedure and terminating the power supply. It may damage the unit. Should the unit be accidentally shut down in such a fashion, allow a longer start up period while the self-test function works in the background. The start up process will be around 1 minute longer under these conditions NB: You may use the standard Windows XP shutdown technique on the task-bar if you so wish. 10

11 Display Devices NB: The following description applies to units shipped after February 2005 and each system should have 2 graphics cards running a maximum of 3 display devices. If your system was manufactured before this date you may only have one graphics card. Please contact Green Hippo to discuss an upgrade for your unit. The Hippotizer can run in several different modes with different output configurations. You can connect up to 3 independent display devices and these can be various combinations of VGA, DVI, S-Video or composite video devices. These options allow you to choose which display combination is best for your chosen application. This section will explain the types of displays you can connect and how to change the display settings correctly. NB: In most cases, display setup will be a 2-stage procedure. You may need to activate the desired mode in Stage Settings then adjust Windows Display Properties to suit. See subsequent sections for instructions on these adjustments. The system uses 2 ATI Graphics cards. These are dual head cards and allow you to connect a VGA monitor to the first head, and chose between either a DVI or video output on the second head. It is not possible to output DVI (VGA with converter) and Video at the same time. However, only one of the devices is capable of running the Hippotizer s display, with the second for the control centre if running in dual or pan mode. Be sure to follow the configuration settings carefully. You must use the following sections to configure which output format you use. FIG

12 Display Modes KEY: In this section this image represents the Control Centre on a VGA monitor: This Icon represents output on a second VGA device: This Icon represents output or control centre on a Video device. There are 3 different display modes for your Hippotizer. This allows you to configure the available outputs to achieve a suitable setup for your application. Display Mode Options shown in this section are accessed by double clicking Stage Settings (fig 1.5) on the desktop. 12

13 FIG 1.5 NB: with all modes, bear in mind that by default, the second screen is black when not displaying an output from the Hippotizer. You can test to see if your monitor is active by either moving your mouse to the right or by accessing the display properties (right click on desktop -> properties -> settings tab) and clicking the identify button. This will display a large number 2 on your second screen if it is active. Controls are as follows: 1 click the arrow to select your display mode. Choose from single, dual or pan. 2 Control Centre allows you to decide whether you wish to have the Control Centre active. If you are controlling the Hippotizer remotely (such as a lighting desk or midi device) you can disable the control centre here. 3 - Connections Summarises the settings you have made above. 4 The Change Display Settings button opens the ATI graphics card settings. You will have to make corresponding changes here when you change your display modes. More details in subsequent sections. The Hippotizer ships setup for a single screen. Just connect a monitor to the blue VGA on the left-hand graphics card and you can get used to the Hippotizer on the local monitor. 13

14 Single Output Mode With the Hippotizer turned off, add a second VGA monitor (or other VGA device) to the DVI connector on graphics card one (left hand card looking at the back). If your monitor or projector has a dvi input then you can connect it directly, otherwise you will need to use the supplied DVI VGA adapter. Switch on the Hippotizer and then double click Stage Settings on the desktop. Un-tick the no output box if it is ticked. (fig 1.6) FIG

15 You must now set up your graphics card to support Single Output Mode: Click change display settings button which will open the ATI Catalyst control Centre.First check you are in standard view (Click the VIEW button at top left) then click the DISPLAYS MANAGER button and you should see a screen similar to this one: FIG. 1.7 Next we will configure the settings by using the WIZARD. Press the Wizard button in the top right hand corner of the display manager. (fig 1.7) You will be shown a screen (fig 1.8) Select both monitors and then press Next. FIG

16 Next, you must select Extended Desktop Mode and then press Next. (fig 1.9) FIG 1.9 On the next screen you must select Apply and then Finish. Please note that sometimes pressing Apply will seem to do nothing this is fine, just go on to the next step and press Finish. (fig 2.0) If after selecting Apply you get a Displays Manager Notification telling you you have reconfigured your settings, select Yes and then Finish FIG

17 Your Display Manager should now look like Fig 2.1 and is now set up for Single Output Mode. FIG 2.1 (Ensure that display 1 has a screen Resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels) You should now be back in the main Display Manager screen, press Apply and then Done. This will close the Display Manager and leave you with the Hippotizer Settings screen. Press Save Changes. At this point, we advise you to re-start your machine this isn t essential but reconmended. Once your Hippotizer has restarted, run the Stage button on the desktop and you will have the control centre on one screen and output on the second monitor. 17

18 Dual Output Mode To run in Dual Output Mode (control centre on screen 3 with 4 layers on output 1 and 4 layers on output 2) connect a 3 rd monitor to output 1 on the SECOND graphics card (right hand card) run Stage Settings and select Dual from the dropdown window and un-tick the no output box, if it is ticked already. FIG 2.2 Click change display settings button which will open the ATI Catalyst control Centre. 18

19 First check you are in standard view (Click the VIEW button at top left) then click the DISPLAYS MANAGER button and you should see a screen similar to this one: Next we will configure the settings by using the WIZARD. Press the Wizard button in the top right hand corner of the display manager. (fig 1.7) You will be shown a screen (fig 1.8) Select both monitors and then press Next. Next, you must select Extended Desktop Mode and then press Next. (fig 1.9) On the next screen you must select Apply and then Finish. Please note that sometimes pressing Apply will seem to do nothing this is fine, just go on to the next step and press Finish. (fig 2.0) If after selecting Apply you get a Displays Manager Notification telling you you have reconfigured your settings, select Yes and then Finish Your Display Manager should now look like Fig 2.3 and is now set up for Dual Output Mode. FIG

20 Press Done this will close the Display Manager and leave you with the Hippotizer Settings screen. Press Save Changes. At this point, we advise you to re-start your machine this isn t essential but reconmended. Once your Hippotizer has restarted, run the Stage button on the desktop and you will have the Control Centre on one screen and output on the other two monitors. If your Display Manager doesn t look like (Fig 2.3), but seems to show the screens in the wrong order (Fig 2.4), just click and drag the screens into the right order. FIG

21 If on the Display Manager screen 1 & 2 are white but 3 seems to still be grayed out as in (Fig 2.5), Just right click on the grayed out screen and enable it. FIG 2.5 Run Stage and you will have 4 channels on screen 1, 4 channels on screen 2 and the control centre on screen 3. NB: Only use the second card (Radeon 7000) for the control centre. There are 2 reasons for this. Firstly rearranging the monitors in the software will cause problems and secondly the Radeon 7000 cannot run the DirextX9 functions, which are key to the Hippotizers functionality. TIP: It s a little strange because in 3 screen configurations, until you enter the Hippotizer Program, your desktop is on screen 1 which may be a projector or other device. There is currently no way around this. If you don t have sight of the desktop screen and this is a problem (racks in a different location to outputs) a solution is to set up your displays as you wish then select the run on boot up option in StageSettings. This will mean that your monitor 3 will load the control centre on startup. 21

22 Pan Output Mode To run in Pan Mode (one canvas of 2048 x 768 spread over 2 monitors and control on screen 3) run Hippo Settings, and select PAN from the dropdown window. Save and exit. Run catalyst Control Centre by RIGHT clicking on the Desktop and selecting ATI CATALYST control centre. Then, click the WIZARD button. (Fig 1.7) Ensure that 2 screens are showing and selected (Fig 1.8), then press NEXT. Click HORIZONTAL STRETCH MODE then press NEXT. (Fig 2.6) 22

23 FIG 2.6 FIG 2.7 Click APPLY (Fig 2.7). Then click FINISH when DONE. N.B. If a Displays Manager Notification appears, press YES. Press Done, this will close the Display Manager and leave you with the Hippotizer Settings screen. Press Save Changes. At this point, we advise you to re-start your machine this isn t essential but reconmended. Once your Hippotizer has restarted, run the Stage button on the desktop and you will have the Control Centre on one screen and output on the other two monitors. Run Stage and you will have one large canvas on your first 2 screens and your control centre on the second one. 23

24 Additional Display Features Configuring the Composite / S-Video output The Hippotizer can output composite video or S-Video directly which can be fed into monitors or vision mixers. The composite output is only availiable on the second output however, which means that in single mode you can have a composite output for the main output in Dual mode only the second screen can be output as composite and the same is true for pan mode. You must never connect a composite video device to the Hippotizer at the same time as connecting a monitor to the second output as this can overload the graphics card and may lead to permanent damage. To activate the composite output, switch off the hippotizer and connect a screen or video device to the S-Video connector in the middle of the graphics card as in fig 2.8 FIG. 2.8 If your device accepts an S-Video signal directly, then you can connect directly to this connector, but if your device requires a composite video signal then you will need to use the supplied S- Video to Composite adapter. Setting up your composite output is usually as simple as simply connecting the video device and then switching on the Hipopotizer. On boot up, the graphics card should auto-detect your screen and automatically make screen 2 appear on your new video device. If necessary, you can adjust the settings for your video output by going to the TV Monitor section of the Catalyst Control Centre. To do this, double click the Stage Settings icon on the desktop and then press the Change Display Settings button. Once into the Catalyst control centre, press the View button in the top left hand corner so that you get a screen similar to fig

25 Fig 2.9 By clicking on the TV Monitor label in the tree you can access all the settings for the composite video output such as the output standard (PAL / NTSC etc..) and the overscan feature. The overscan feature can be found under the Adjustments sub-menu, you can turn on the overscan option by moving the small slider all the way to the right. Overscan ensures that the image output by the Hippotizer will fill the entire screen of your video device and not leave any black borders around the outside. Using Clone mode The clone mode onhhippotizer allows you to have 2 identical copies of the main output from the Hippotizer sent to 2 screens. This is useful when you are in single mode and you want to have a local preview monitor without adding any extra external splitter boxes. The clone mode is only availiable when the Hippotizer is set to Single Mode. To activate clone mode, double click the Stage Settings icon on the desktop. If the clone mode is availiable then the Clone Output tickbox will not be greyed out. Tick the Clone Output tickbox, then press Change Display Settings, this will open the Catalyst Control centre. 25

26 First check you are in standard view (Click the VIEW button at top left) then click the DISPLAYS MANAGER button and you should see a screen similar to this one: Fig 3.0 Next we will configure the settings by using the WIZARD. Press the Wizard button in the top right hand corner of the display manager. (fig 3.0) You will be shown a screen (fig 1.8) Select both monitors and then press Next. Next, you must select Clone Mode and then press Next. (fig 1.9) On the next screen you must select Apply and then Finish. Please note that sometimes pressing Apply will seem to do nothing this is fine, just go on to the next step and press Finish. (fig 2.0) Next, right click on the screen 3 and select Enable from the menu, confirm the dialogue prompt by clicking yes. Your Display Manager should now look like Fig 3.1 and is now set up for Clone Mode. 26

27 FIG 3.1 Finally, click the Done button and you will be returned to the Hippo Settings screen. Click Save Settings and you will now be able to run Hippotizer in Clone Mode. At this point, we advise you to re-start your machine this isn t essential but reconmended. Once your Hippotizer has restarted, run the Stage button on the desktop and you will have the control centre on one screen and output on the other two monitors. 27

28 Using the No Output option Hippotizer always requires that it has the necessary number of monitors connected to it s outputs in order to function correctly. But sometimes you may want to use the Hippotizer Offline where you do not have access to the projectors or screens in your venue for programming presets or testing the system. In this case, you can use the no output mode. The no output mode simply switches off the output from the hippotizer, but still allows you to use the built in control screen, and as a result only requires that 1 local monitor (for the control screen) be connected to the system for the Hippotizer to be able to run. In this mode, you can still see a preview of the output using the built in output preview window, and then be able to program presets for use once you have gone into your venue. To activate No Output simply double click the Stage Settings icon on the desktop and make sure that the No Output checkbox is ticked. No Output is only availiable in Single and PAN modes, so if the checkbox is greyed out then you cannot use this mode. Next click Save Settings and you are done. 28

29 Hands on with the Hippotizer Now that your system is installed, powered up and all your chosen displays are configured, we can begin to familiarise ourselves with the operation of the unit and learn how to operate the system. Whilst working in this section, we recommend that you put your Hippotizer into single mode. The Desktop Power up the system. The Hippotizer will now boot into Windows and present you with a desktop displaying several icons: NB: If you have used the start on boot option in the Hippotizer Settings menu the programme will load automatically. In this case, access the desktop using the exit button on the overview ( O ) screen or press escape on the keyboard for 1 second. This will close the Hippotizer program and you will see the following: The Icons on the desktop are as follows:- 29

30 Starts the Hippotizer Program. Gives you access to the majority of set-up functions, such as devices, interfaces and run-mode selection Utility to manage your shows, back them up or restore them 30

31 Understanding Media Flow within the Server The Hippotizer Stage Media Server is, in principle 8 video players, a mixer and a selection of effects all in one box. You have instant access to over 250 parameters at any one time. It is possible to manipulate multiple parameters instantly and at random for any media or live camera feed. Any changes to these parameters are executed instantly, which is why we call the Hippotizer a realtime mediaserver. The above is true if running in either single screen mode or pan mode. When running in dual output mode the Hippotizer Stage will operate as two separate 4 layer machines But before we look at the functions and features of the unit it will help if we familiarise ourselves with the basic flow of information through the Hippotizer Engine. To help us we ll use the following diagram. 31

32 Processing Flowchart. The process begins with the media player of each layer, where we select source material. This can be a video clip, a static image a live video feed or the output of another layer (Relay). On each layer you can then add effects to the chosen media. There are 2 effects engines per layer. Also at this stage, each layer can be scaled, zoomed, rotated and positioned in the x and y plane of the final output. The mix mode for each layer decides, how that particular layer interacts with the layers underneath. Check out the section Mix modes to find out more about how these work. Once all 8 layers are mixed together this mix is then presented to the Master Canvas. This is the final layer and comprises a combination of effects, positioning and media created on all 8 layers. Any changes made in the master canvas affect the composition as a whole. The master Canvas is ideally suited to the setup of parameters such as master colour balance or keystone correction for a specific projection setup. Control Parameters and the Control Centre Double click to Stage Icon to start the Hippotizer. After a short load-up sequence the Hippotizer programme will start. The Overview Screen This is the first screen you will encounter when starting the Hippotizer. It allows you to see all eight layers simultaneously and monitor your final output. It also allows you to make basic changes to each layer. 32

33 Let s go through the elements one by one. Main Output A: Master Output Preview This shows the final output of the Hippotizer before applying the Level, so you can monitor what you ve created before bringing up the master fader and displaying the composition on your chosen display device. B: Master Level Controls the master level of the final output. Use the 100% and 0% Buttons to snap to on and off or use the fader to slowly fade in/out. Views Selector The View Selector allows you to navigate between the different views covered in subsequent sections. A: Overview screen - Displays the Overview screen 33

34 B: Master Layer View - Brings up the Master Layer screen C: Select Layer 1 to 8 - Selects a more detailed view of any one of the four individual layers for more specific controls. Layer Module This module allows control over basic playback options for the specific layers and gives access to general settings that you might want to adjust side by side with other layers. There is a module for each of the four layers. A: Reset Button - Resets all Parameters for this Layer back to their default values. B: Layer preview screen - Shows the currently playing media in that Layer. C: Preview Selection - Changes the preview mode to MIX, FX or SOURCE allowing you to monitor the media at different stages of processing. Check out Previews in the Working Principles section of this manual to find out more. D: Layer Matrix - Lets you to switch between different sources for this layer (see matrix section) E: Mix Mode Selection - This selects how this Layer is mixed with the layer underneath. Check out Mix modes in the next section to find out what they do. F: Level Control - Use this Control to fade the Layer in or out. You can use the max and min buttons to snap to full or zero respectively. G: Rewind Rewinds the video clip to the in point and then pauses it H: Pause Lets you pause and unpause the clip Exit / Reset Exit exits the Hippotizer Program and returns to the Windows Desktop. Reset resets all layers to the default settings. 34

35 The Layer View The layer view gives more detailed information and access to all the parameters for any chosen layer. Here you can also select your layer s media from the banks of clips loaded on your Hippotizer. Some of the functions are replicated from the overview mode here. You have an identical layer view for each of the 8 layers. All functions and features discussed in this section can be adjusted independently for each layer. Here is a rundown of the individual controls: 35

36 The Player A: The Layer Preview screen B: Preview selector - Changes the preview mode to MIX, FX or SOURCE to check the processed image at different stages. C: Layer Level Control D: Layer Matrix selection - This selects the source of the images on this layer(see matrix section) E: Speed - Changes the speed of the current video clip. Press R to reset it to the default value. F: In-point and Out-point Selection- Allows you to choose where your selected clip begins and ends during playback. Press the In -Button to the left of the fader to jump to the selected in-frame of the video clip. Then use the slider and the --,-,+,++ buttons or drag the slider to change the in-point. The slider has a huge range, so be careful when you nudge it along if you are working with a short clip. You can also use the left and right arrows on your keyboard to nudge the position or press and hold to scroll through. Repeat the process for your outpoint. The button moves on a frame at a time and the ++ button moves a second at a time. So to cut off 2 seconds or 50 frames, press the ++ button twice. Have a play and watch the statistics on the output G: Playback mode - Once plays the selected clip form in point to out point then stops, Loop plays the clip continuously Back will play the clip backwards, but only if it is encoded in a specific format (see media formats). Use these buttons to resume video playback following in or out point adjustment. N.B. If you were adjusting the out-point last, note that play once will not work as you are already at the end of the selection. 36

37 H: Rewind Rewinds the video clip to the in point and pauses it I: Pause Lets you pause or unpause the clip Media Selector J: Bank Selection Your media is arranged in banks. Each bank is a container for a group of clips. Simply click a thumbnail to jump to a different bank. The media thumbnails in the clips and images section will update automatically. K: Media Selection - Just click on one of the thumbnails to play back this clip. If you see a blue P in the top left corner, then the media file is a picture, an orange V indicates a video clip. L: Nudge Bank/Media Selection left or right. As you can only see 10 Banks and 20 media thumbnails at a time, use these buttons to scroll left and right to access more banks and media files. M: Reset Bank/Media Selection - Jumps back to the first bank or media files. i.e. hard left 37

38 Presets You can save or recall a previously saved layer at any time. Load - brings up the preset buttons at the lower third of the screen. To recall any of these presets simply click its thumbnail. The preset section allows you to store and recall all layer parameters except the Layer Level. So you can fade to black, recall a preset and then bring the layer back in smoothly. Save - saves a preset. Make sure the layer is as you would like it and the master output displays an image that represents this preset well. As soon as you hit one of the preset buttons, a snapshot of the output will be taken and put onto the button as a thumbnail. NB: Following a save command, the Preset Mode will automatically revert to load to prevent overwriting any previously saved layers. Hide - hides the presets and gives you access to the layer parameters underneath. 38

39 XYZ and Colour Control N: XYZ Control - Allows zooming and positioning of a layer. Use these controls to move the layer in the X and Y plane or zoom the layer in or out. The Rotate fader gives you absolute angles, but pressing the curved arrow button activates continuous rotation. The fader adjusts the speed. At it s centre point, rotation speed is zero so it is possible to continuously rotate clockwise or counter-clockwise with this slider. Press any of the small R buttons to reset that control to their default of press the larger reset button in the middle to reset all four controls. O: Colour Control - Use these five controls to manipulate Contrast, Brightness and Cyan, Magenta and Yellow levels. The three colour controls are at neutral in the middle position. By moving them up you use subtractive colour correction as if you were using colour filters. By moving the faders down you are using additive colour correction and by removing cyan you are adding red etc. Reset brings all controls back to normal. The button Q inverts the image. The FX Section On each layer you have access to 2 independent effects (FX) engines. Each consists of the FX selection, one effect level control and 3 parameter controls. The effects are grouped by category, to select an effect select the appropriate category from the drop down box and then click on one of the effect buttons to activate the effect. Clicking on the No FX button will cancel the effect on this effects engine. The function of each of the faders is dependant on the effect selected. With some effects all 4 faders may not have a function assigned. For more detailed information on the available effects look at the additional information in the separate FX sheet detailing all the FX and their functions. 39

40 You will see that at the bottom of each fader there is a speaker icon, when these are activated the internal beat-detection engine is activated and each parameter with beat detection activated is affected by the beat from an external sound input. The fader can adjust to what degree the chosen parameter is affected. At 50% the beat is not taken into account, but the more you move the fader towards 0% or 100% the more the beat will affect the parameter. (see Utilities section for more details) Mix-Modes The Mix-Modes dictate how the layers interact between each other. As this is hugely important and can get quite complex there is a separate section explaining their functions in greater detail. However, we recommend you experiment with these settings to view their effect. To do so, select a video clip or image on layer 1 as a background. (Remember to bring the Level up to full to see the layer on the Output) Then go to layer 2 and select another image or video clip. Select different Mix-Modes and play with the Level of layer 2 and you ll quickly get a grasp on the basic principles. Output and Views Menu P: Master Output - This Window shows the current output for the complete composition, so you can judge what effect your layer has on the overall output. NB: Does not display keystone correction applied on the master canvas. Only visible on a second display device. Q : Views - Select Layer 1 to 8 - Selects a more detailed view of any one of the eight individual layers for more specific controls. 40

41 The Master-Canvas View The Master Canvas view gives you access to the controls for the final output. The results of your creation at layer level are fed into the Master Canvas to allow adjustments to be made to all 8 layers simultaneously. These settings affect your complete composition before it is output to your display. Many of the functions mimic those found on individual layers but affect the composition as a whole. 41

42 Output A: Master Output - This gives you a view of the final output before applying master level, keystoning, XYZ and colour controls. You can see the results of your adjustments made globally to all 8 layers. NB: Keystone adjustments cannot be seen in the preview window. A second display device must be connected for these adjustments to be visible. B: Master Level - Adjusts the Level of your complete composition. Snap to black using the 0% button or to full using the 100% button. Presets Menu The Master Presets work in the same way as the Layer presets. Press save then select an empty slot and click it to save a preset. load will recall any previously recorded presets. Master presets contain all parameters including all layers except the master level. You can fade to black, recall a new preset and then fade the full composition back in. Keystone Correction When projecting onto screens from non-perpendicular positions, the projected image will be distorted. These 10 controls allow you to correct this by adjusting the geometric parameters shown below. 42

43 Play with the controls and you will see the effect each one of the parameter has. Squash X (SqX) and Squash Y (SqY) will affect all four corners together allowing you to resize the canvas across the X or Y-axis. (Can also be used to reverse/invert the image) XYZ and Colour Correction C: XYZ Control - Use these controls to shift the master canvas in the X and Y direction or change the zoom setting. The Rotate fader gives you absolute angles, by pressing the curved arrow button you activate continuous rotation and the fader adjusts the speed. Press any of the small R buttons to reset that control to their default of press the larger reset button in the middle to reset all four controls. D: Colour Control - Use these five controls to manipulate Contrast, Brightness and Cyan, Magenta and Yellow levels. The three colour controls are at neutral in the middle position. By moving them up you use subtractive colour correction as if you were using colour filters. By moving the faders down you are using additive colour correction and by removing cyan you are adding red, etc.reset brings all controls back to normal and the button with the white dot in the centre inverts the image (negative). 43

44 Master FX These work in the same way as the layer FX. You will see that at the bottom of each fader there is a speaker icon, when these are activated the internal beat-detection engine is activated and each parameter with beat detection activated is affected by the beat from an external sound input. The fader can adjust to what degree the chosen parameter is affected. At 50% the beat is not taken into account, but the more you move the fader towards 0% or 100% the more the beat will affect the parameter. (see Utilities section for more details) 44

45 Functions in greater detail Mix Modes Mix modes allow you to control how each layer interacts with other layers within the composition. If you are experienced in picture or video editing this will be familiar, albeit with a few key differences. For those not versed in the art of multi-layer compositions, simply look at Mix Modes as a way of deciding what the transparency properties of a layer are in order to view any layers beneath it. Experiment with these settings and use the following tutorials to get a feel for using these functions. Here are some examples and a few tips on how to use the 16 different mix-modes. The examples all use the same 2 images on Layer 1 and Layer 2. If you have your Hippotizer running, select 2 similar images on layer 1 and 2 and experiment using this guide. By switching the Mix-Mode of Layer 2 you get the following results: Layer 1 + Layer 2 45

46 Add This adds the pixel values in two layers. This is a good way to combine nonoverlapping images in two layers. Because higher pixel values represent lighter colors, adding layers with overlapping pixels lightens the image. Black areas in both layers remain black. White in either layer results in white. Sub This subtracts the pixel values in the source layerl from the corresponding pixels in the target layer. Darken When using Darken the white disappears. Anything darker than white has the potential of darkening the underlying image. Darken mode compares the active layer to the underlying image, only allowing those areas that are darker than the underlying image to show up. Lighten The Lighten mode is the exact opposite of the Darken mode. The black disappears and any thing brighter than black has the potential of lightening the underlying image. Lighten mode compares the active layer to the underlying image only allowing those areas that are lighter than the underlying image to show up. Softlight If the color being applied is lighter than mid-gray, the image is lightened. If the color being applied is darker than middle gray, the image is darkened. Depending on the image, Softlight can also be used to produces soft shadows and highlights. 46

47 Softlight Inverted This is the same as Softlight, just more intense. Hardlight If the colors being applied are lighter than mid gray, screen mode (lightens) is applied. If the colors being applied are darker than middle gray, multiply mode (darkens) is applied. Overlay Overlay uses the information on the underlying layers to change the contrast of the active layer. It multiplies (darkens), or screens (lightens) the colors depending on the base color. Totally unpredictable; try it and see if you like it. Difference This looks at the two colors, and, subtracts the less bright from the more bright one. Therefore, blending with white inverts the color values (you are subtracting color values of 100 % so you go all the way to the inverse), while blending with black makes no change (black has zero color values, so you subtract zero). This one changes the colors, not the brightness. Gobo This effect allows you to place an image over the top of the layer to create a mask. The lighter areas will let the image behind show through and the darker areas will cover or mask the image underneath. 47

48 Screen Screen mode is used for highlighting, and making the layer appear lighter. Since highlights cannot be shown with black, no effect will appear by applying the Screen mode to an entirely black layer, or part of a layer. Opaque Opaque takes the top layer and fully covers any layers underneath. Even if you resize the layer using the layer zoom control to a value less than 100% then the underlying layer is still covered. Sprite Sprite is very similar to Opaque in that, at 100%, it fully covers any layers underneath. However if you resize the layer using the layer zoom control to a value less than 100% then the underlying layer is revealed. Use this mode to create window in window type effects. Luma (Luminance Key) This mode uses the brightness of its layer to decide whether the underlying layer is visible or not. At 100% brightness, only the current layer is visible, however if you move the Level fader of layer 2 slowly down you will see that more and more of the underlying layer is revealed. The level fader determines the threshold at which the luminance key works. This is particularly useful for removing black surrounds from images and video clips. 48

49 Matte Matte uses 3 layers to work correctly. It uses layer 2 as a mask to determine which parts of layer 1 or layer 3 are visible. Layer 1 can be in any mode but layer 2 must be in Matte mode. Layer 3 must be in opaque mode to function properly. If you follow the example below, you will be able to see layer 1 through holes in layer 3. The shape of the holes is dictated by the contents on layer 2. In our example we combine the following three images: Layer 1 + Layer 2 (Matte) + Layer 3 (opaque) = Result! With the matte mode you can create your own custom wipes to mix between layers. This is useful if you want to create an interesting transition between, say, video on layer 1 and video on layer 3. There are a few greyscale wipe image supplied with you Hippotizer (bank 3 if you have just the default media). Load one of these into layer 2, adjust the contrast for that layer to about 80% and then fade between layer 1 and layer 3 using the brightness fader (not the level!) of layer 2. Layer 1 + Layer 2 (Wipe) + Layer 3 (Opaque) = Result! The above image represents the halfway stage of the wipe. When the brightness for layer 2 is at 100% you will see only layer 1. When brightness is at 0% you will only see layer 3. 49

50 Alpha The Alpha mix mode allows you to check the transparency contained in your image or video clip. Any fully transparent areas are filled white. NB: Transparency is an attribute given to an image or video at time of creation. See your preferred image or video creation package for details on how to create media with transparency. In Add mode on a single layer: In Alpha mode: When combined in Sprite mode all transparent areas of the image become see-through and reveal the underlying layers. This is an excellent method to overlay logos or text: These are just some basic principles for applying mix modes to your compositions. We suggest you chose some clips with which you are familiar and experiment with different mix mode combinations to familiarise yourself with the possibilities. 50

51 The Digital Effect Engines The effects panel contains 5 groups of effects in a drop down menu and gives you an overview of all the built in effects and their parameters. General FXs No-Effect This bypasses the effect engine. Always switch to this mode when you are not using an effect. Even when an effect Level is set to 0, the FX engine is still active and using resources. Level: n/a Parameter 1 : n/a Parameter 2 : n/a Parameter 3 : n/a Blur The Blur effect applies as Gaussian blur to the whole of the layer. Level : Blur amount Parameter 1 : n/a Parameter 2 : n/a Parameter 3 : n/a The original image before applying any effect. The original image with blur at 35%. 51

52 Radial Blur This effect uses repetitions of the source image to achieve a different blur effect. Level: Blur Amount Parameter 1 : Distance Parameter 2 : Rotation Parameter 3 : Quality (Number of repetitions) A Zoom-out blur effect using Level at 35% and Parameter 1-3 at 50%. An example of using the rotation parameter in radial blur. 52

53 Mask This effect allows you to place an image over the top of the layer to create a mask. The images that are used for this contain transparency information, which tells the Hippotizer which parts of the image show through and which do not. In most media servers this is often done using 2 layers, however this effect makes it possible without having to use another layer. The masked out area will become transparent, which means that if you have an image displayed on another lower layer then this will show through in the areas that have been masked. The mask images are stored in the c:\hippotizerv2\media\masks folder. You can have up to 255 mask images at any one time. In version we will be introducing and easy way to upload your own masks, but in the meantime please contact Green Hippo for information on how to do this now. Level: Strength of the Mask Parameter 1 : Select Mask Parameter 2 : Zoom Mask Parameter 3 : Rotate Mask Image with mask applied Image with a soft edged mask applied 53

54 SatHue This gives you control over hue, saturation and brightness. Level: Amount Parameter 1 : Saturation Parameter 2 : Hue Shift Parameter 3 : Brightness Using Hue Shift to change the colours Desaturating the picture to black and white iluma This is similar to the Lumakey mix mode except that it makes the light areas of the picture become transparent instead of the dark areas. Level: Amount Parameter 1 : Threshold Parameter 2 : Softness Parameter 3 : n/a Keying out the bright areas of the image 54

55 Multi This effect repeats the source image over and over similar to a multi-monitor wall. Changing the Level creates some interesting glass-wall effects. Level: Effect Level Parameter 1: Number of Images / Size Parameter 2: Aspect ratio Parameter 3: n/a The image repeated 9 times. The image repeated lots and lots of times. 55

56 This version makes the tiles much smaller, but also reduces the level of the effect resulting in a effect similar to viewing the image through glass blocks XYZ This effect creates a continuous motion wrap-around effect, great for multi display applications and when used in conjunction with the sound engine. Level: Amount Parameter 1 : Shift X Speed Parameter 2 : Shift Y Speed Parameter 3 : Zoom Image shift in X,Y planes 56

57 Aspect Allows adjustment of image aspect ratio, and allows for cropping of the image (shutters) Level: Amount Parameter 1 : Aspect Ratio Parameter 2 : Cropping X Parameter 3 : Cropping Y Image set to wide aspect ratio Image set to narrow aspect ratio 57

58 Colour Effects Pall This effect allows you to shift each of the individual colours around the spectrum. Level: Ammount Parameter 1 : Red Shift Parameter 2 : Green Shift Parameter 3 : Blue Shift Yellow and red channels shifted Neon Neon traces the outline of elements in the image. Level: Amount of Effect Parameter 1 : Amplification Parameter 2 : n/a Parameter 3 : n/a 58

59 C-Lab Similar to the Pall effect, this effect allows you to shift colours around the spectrum. Level: Ammount Parameter 1 : Colour Shift A Parameter 2 : Colour Shift B Parameter 3 : Brightness Boost Strobe An strobe effect with adjustable timing and colours. Level : Strobe Depth Parameter 1 : Frequency Parameter 2 : Symmetry Parameter 3 : Colour 59

60 CTB-O This is a colour correction effect for TV and Film which applies calibrated filers to the image similar to using CTO and CTB lighting filters. Level: Ammount Parameter 1 : Filter Select Parameter 2 : Brightness Parameter 3 : n/a Image with full CTB filter Breakup Effects Pixidust A dust style distortion effect Level: Amount Parameter 1 : Direction Parameter 2 : n/a Parameter 3 : n/a Pixie Dust 60

61 Shift A tile break and shift effect. Level: Amount Parameter 1 : Block Size Parameter 2 : Shift Parameter 3 : n/a Shift Block Effect Shift Blocks with larger blocks 61

62 Conc Creates a concentric circle breakup Level: Amount Parameter 1 : Number of Rings Parameter 2 : n/a Parameter 3 : n/a Style Another breakup effect using moving translucent squares with a waterfall style of motion. Level: Amount Parameter 1 : Cube Size Parameter 2 : Pattern A Parameter 3 : Pattern B 62

63 Bump This effect uses a virtual spotlight to be able to create the effect of a 3D textured surface from any 2D image, this works best with high contrast images. Level: Amount Parameter 1 : Bump Depth Parameter 2 : Light X Position Parameter 3 : Light Y Position Image with lightsource and some 3D texture LED Creates the look of an LED wall. Level: Amount of Effect Parameter 1 : LED size Parameter 2 : LED softness Parameter 3 : LED brightness Smaller hard LEDs mixed through with the original image. 63

64 Large soft LEDs. Pixel Pixelates the image. A great effect in combination with Neon for example. Level: Pixel Size Parameter 1 : n/a Parameter 2 : n/a Parameter 3 : n/a 64

65 Movie This effect simulates the attributes of old flickering movies. Use it together with the colour effect to de-saturate the original to black and white first. You can also use colour effects to create lots of different old film looks. Level: Effect Level Parameter 1: Intensity of Flicker Parameter 2: Flicker Frequency Parameter 3: Scratches/Dirt Mix Distortion Effects Plasma A liquid-like effect. Level: Amount Parameter 1 : Warp A Parameter 2 : Warp B Parameter 3 : Brightness Plasma with mild settings 65

66 Plasma with a stronger effect Flow 1 & 2 These are flower effects that distort the image into a pattern similar to the petals of a flower. Level: Ammount Parameter 1 : Size Parameter 2 : n/a Parameter 3 : n/a Level: Ammount Parameter 1: Number Of Elements Parameter 2: Rotation Parameter 3: Curvature Flow 1 Flow2 66

67 Kaleidoscope This effect takes a section of the original image and repeats it in the round. Level: Effect Level Parameter 1: number of segments Parameter 2: angle of segment Parameter 3: position of segment At a higher segment count interesting patterns develop. When using video clips these patterns constantly change. Glass A distortion effect as if looking though a moulded glass window. Level: Effect Level Parameter 1: Amount of distortion Parameter 2: n/a Parameter 3: n/a Using gentle distortion. 67

68 Or a bit more extreme Aqua This effect simulates distortions created by ripples on a water surface. Level: Effect Level Parameter 1: Amount of circular waves Parameter 2: Amount of horizontal waves Parameter 3: n/a The circular waves controlled by Parameter 1. 68

69 The more horizontally oriented waves of parameter 2. Tunnel Creates a 3D tunnel effect with the camera travelling through it. Level: Amount Parameter 1 : Tilt Parameter 2 : Depth Parameter 3 : n/a The tunnel effect 69

70 Planes Creates a 3D Planes effect with adjustable orientation, using the Level slider can create some great effects on it s own. Level: Amount Parameter 1 : Rotation Parameter 2 : Speed X Parameter 3 : Speed Y 3D Planes Effect 70

71 Softedge Effects The soft edge effects built into Hippotizer are quite simple, but very powerful indeed when used the correct way. The soft edge effects are designed to be used when the Hippotizer is connected to 2 projectors, or if you are using more than 1 Hippotizer and you want to create a wide screen panoramic image without seams. The soft edge effect is different depending on which one is used. The PAN soft edge effect is designed to be used with the Hippotizer in PAN mode, and should ideally be used on the master layer on Effect engine 2. Here, the image is split down the middle, and then a little bit of the left image is copied to the right and a little of the right is copied to the left. PAN soft edge effect with Hippotizer running in Pan mode The Hippotizer then creates a graduated fade to black on both of the inner edges and then sends each side out to a separate projector. This then allows the user to overlap the image projected from each projector creating a seamless blend between the two and creating a single wide screen image which is almost twice the width of just one. The left, right, top, bottom and both soft edge effects are used in a similar way but for when you have multiple Hippotizers. For example, if you have two Hippotizers and you are using each one in single mode, but you want to have a wide screen output you would set one to use a left hand soft edge and the other to use a right hand soft edge, you can then overlap the images to form a seamless join. 71

72 Right soft edge on Hippotizer 1 Left soft edge on Hippotizer 2 Any combination of soft edges can be used depending on the physical arrangement of your projectors. You can even mix soft edge effects by putting one on engine 1 and one on engine 2. The important thing to remember is that when using soft edge blending on multiple machines, it is very important to create the media correctly so that each Hippotizer is showing the correct part of the image, and then make sure that the movies on all of the machines run in perfect synchronization this can be done using the timecode sync method (see timecode section) In all the above cases, the parameter controls are as follows: Level: Width Parameter 1 : Gamma Parameter 2 : Width Adjustment Parameter 3 : Position Adjust The last soft edge selection is called frame and this produces a soft edge on all 4 sides of the image. This can be used in situations where you are using 9 or more Hippotizers to produce an extra high resolution multi screen setup, but it can also be used to create a soft edge frame around this layer which can then be placed on top of another layer creating a subtle blend between the two layers. For this effect the controls are slightly different: Level: Intensity Parameter 1 : Width Parameter 2 : Gamma Parameter 3 : n/a 72

73 Beat Detection Engine You will notice that just below all the effect engine parameters, there are some small speaker icons. When clicked they turn green and this indicates that this parameter or level control is now under the control of the Beat Detection Engine. The Beat Detection Engine on the Hippotizer is simple to use but is very advanced, it is able to recognise the patterns and rythms in music. Once it has heard a pattern, it will lock onto it and then provide a signal that can control any of the effect parameters in time to the rhythm. Once a parameter is under the control of the Beat Detection Engine, the slider then determines how much that parameter is affected by the beat engine try experimenting with the different settings and combinations. Please see the section Utilities/General on how to change the audio settings. 73

74 Using the Matrix The matrix control on each layer allows you to select the source of the media that is displayed on this layer. There are 4 types of sources that are available from this drop-down box. Player This is the default selection for a layer, and indicates that the source for this layer is the media (movies and still images) that are stored on the hard drive, and can be selected by clicking on the appropriate thumbnail. Live Input The Hippotizer can accept up to 4 separate live inputs using capture cards in the back of the machine. By default, all Hippotizers are fitted with a single channel Composite/S-Video input card giving you 1 live input, but an optional 4 channel input card is available. Using the matrix selector you can assign any of the 4 live inputs to any of the layers. Relay The relay option of the matrix selector allows you to feed the output of any other layer into the input of this layer. This makes it possible for more than 1 layer to share the same piece of media but be able to process it in a different way to the other layers using the same image and still keep all the layers in perfect sync. When using Pan mode, this is useful for being able to put the exact same image onto both outputs at the same time. Please note that when in Dual mode, it is not possible to relay signals between the layers on output 1 and the layers on output 2. Feedback The feedback option is similar to the relay option, but instead of taking the output from one of the other layers, it takes the master output and feeds that back into a layer which in turn will create a feedback loop allowing you to create some very exciting effects from very simple media 74

75 Timecode Any or all of the layers on Hippotizer can be synchronised to an external Midi timecode signal. Just to the left of the Loop button there are 2 small buttons, these allow you to toggle between timecode and non-timecode mode. When you are in timecode mode, the normal playback buttons are replaced by a timecode display as shown below. This is the timecode offset window, by clicking on the numbers (or using the appropriate DMX channels) you can set the timecode offset to anything you like. When Hippotizer receives midi timecode it will be in the format of Hours : Minutes : Seconds : 1/100 th Seconds The offset is in the same format, and works by listening to the incomming timecode and doing nothing until the incomming timecode matches the timecode offset, at which point the clip is started and is then kept in perfect frame by frame sync whilst the timecode continues. This allows you to set different start times on every layer and be able to synchronise layers between different machines by simply giving them the same timecode offset. This function is extreemly useful when using the soft edge blending between 2 or more Hippotizers, allowing you to create very wide panoramic displays. If your external timecode is SMPTE or VTC than you can easily convert this to Midi Timecode using some very inexpensive external convertors. 75

76 Controlling The Hippotizer Interfaces The most powerful server is useless if you cannot control it efficiently and in accordance with the application. With so many sophisticated third-party control options readily available, the Hippotizer can be integrated into any environment using external hardware/software. The possibilities are endless. But although there are many programs for external control, the majority of them use just a handful of established protocols to achieve their goals. The Hippotizer is capable of accepting commands from all of these protocols. The following section should give you details of all these options, helping you to integrate the system into any project, be it large or small. This section deals with control of the Hippotizer using the following options and protocols: CONTROL CENTRE DMX MIDI ARTNET RS232 Control Centre Although the server is capable of being controlled externally, we must not discount the merits of the built in Control Centre found on your system. For applications where hands-on operation is required, the Control Centre provides an easy to use and cost effective solution for creating stunning visuals without external devices. Extensive details regarding the use of the Control Centre can be found in previous sections and it provides a viable solution for many environments. However, the one thing the Control Centre cannot do is to automate functions and parameters over time. An example of this is a simple fade between two clips. Although it is possible to do this manually with the Control Centre there are many existing solutions readily available that will allow you to use, for example, timeline based features or adjustment of the Hippotizers presets dynamically. To allow you to do this, the Hippotizer can be connected to a variety of external controllers. Although these are many and varied, the protocols used by these devices are standardised meaning that you can control the Hippotizer from numerous external control devices or another computer to great effect. The following section gives details on how to configure your system for control via these protocols. All the functions available using the built-in control centre remain available via external control. For this reason we recommend you experiment with the easy to use Control Centre to help you visualise the results you wish to achieve with an external controller. 76

77 DMX DMX 512 has been the standard control protocol in the lighting industry for many years. Although it has its limitations we have endeavoured to make all the functions of the server controllable via an external device using this protocol. This means that where you are controlling DMX devices, you can add the Hippotizer to your setup as another fixture and integrate it into a larger show. The Hippotizer Express offers an optional DMX interface giving DMX 512 control of all parameters. Furthermore, there are many lighting consoles available that have the Hippotizer personality and with these you can sequence any series of commands easily. Please see our support website for a list of available drivers for lighting consoles. There are two ways to control the Hippotizer via DMX. The first one is Full DMX mode, which controls all parameters directly through the lighting-console and uses 455+ channels. However for simpler projects this can be laborious since it requires adjustments across all of the 455+ parameters. One way to counter this is to operate in DMX Preset Mode, which reduces the number of channels needed to 18. For both modes we recommend the following routine to setup the DMX interfaces and test them. DMX setup Before launching the Hippotizer under DMX control, make sure you have selected the correct mode and enabled the DMX interface in the Settings utility. By default DMX is switched off when the unit is shipped. See the Utilities section for information on these settings. The interface is built into the unit and you will find DMX connectors at the front of the unit inside the left hand door. The Crossover Ethernet cable should already be plugged in to the Ethernet adapter at the rear of the unit. Use DMX A as your DMX input. Power up the Hippotizer; open the Hippo Settings utility by double clicking the icon on the desktop. Select the DMX (full) tab. Open the DMX tester, which will give you a visual representation of a lighting desk. Any movements made using the first 18 faders on your lighting desk should move the corresponding faders on the Hippotizer. This will show you if your desk and the Hippotizer are communicating correctly. (For more info, see section Utilities/DMX). If you cannot move the faders of the virtual desk then check your connections, your DMX Start address on both your desk and the Hippotizer (use the Hippo Settings utility) and your universe selection on both the Hippotizer and the DMX to Artnet converter. Once you can control the virtual desk of the DMX tester from your lighting desk, enable the DMX full mode using the tick box on the DMX (full) tab and move on to the next step. DMX (full mode) After enabling this mode in the Settings utility and also checking the correct Universe and Start address, launch the Hippotizer main application by double clicking Stage on the desktop. If you wish, you can run the DMX interface at the same time as the Control Centre, however it is recommended to use the Control Centre as a monitor only and not move the faders. You are now controlling the unit externally and the Control Centre should only be used as a reference. All parameters should be controlled via the lighting console, however sometimes it is useful to see where certain values are. Once you have programmed the show, It is recommended that you run the Hippotizer in an Output only Display Mode (No Control Centre) since the Control Centre uses resources which can be freed up if not needed. 77

78 The Hippotizer Stage uses 455 channels of DMX in single and Pan mode, and 510 in Dual mode. The Master Canvas uses 50 Channels; the 8 media layers and other settings use the remaining 405. Please familiarise your self with the channel listing at the end of the manual in the Additional Information section. Check out our website for the currently available personalities for different makes of lighting consoles which make it very easy to control the Hippotizer. Alternatively, if you are skilled in programming lighting desks, you can create your own personality from scratch using the DMX channels listing. By experimenting with the parameters for controlling each layer and the master canvas, selecting media and applying effects you will soon be controlling the Hippotizer via DMX in full mode. Simply save your settings on your external desk (if possible) as you would for any other fixture. DMX (preset mode) The basic principle of Preset Mode is to create compositions on your Hippotizer for recall later via an external DMX device. Any preset composition you create can be recalled from any device generating DMX 512 protocol. This mode combines the Hippotizer s Control Centre and external DMX control to enable you to create presets quickly and easily, but then trigger and mix them later. Because this mode only uses 18 DMX channels it is handy for smaller shows with more modest lighting desks or where 2 operators are available. One person can create presets on the Hippotizer and once complete the other can then apply them as part of the overall lighting plot quickly and easily. If the lighting console is in use for other tasks, disable any DMX control in the Hippo Settings. Working on the Hippotizer, create compositions as you would normally using the Control Centre. Save these presets using the Save option on the Master Canvas or layer presets using the save command on each layer. You can apply effect, geometry etc as normal. Choose the mixmodes carefully as they will be very important when you combine the different layers together. Opaque can be very useful here as you will be able to easily cross fade from one layer to another by bringing the layer level to full. Once you have created your presets you can recall them from your lighting desk. Once you ve created your presets, activate DMX control. As with Full DMX mode, use the Settings Utility to switch on the DMX Preset mode (make sure you switch off the full mode as only one can be active at a time) Set the Universe and DMX start address to correspond with you lighting console then start the Hippotizer using the Desktop Icon. In Preset mode the Hippotizer only uses 18 channels of DMX on the lighting desk. The first 2 are used to adjust the Master Level and to recall Master presets. The following 16 channels of DMX are used to recall the layer presets and control the Level of each individual media layer. Please have a look at the detailed channel listing in the Additional Information section of this manual. Recall this first preset from you DMX console by moving the Master preset fader to 0 and the bringing the master level to full. Remember that the camera selection and effects are part of you layer presets and are stored just as media you have selected. See the listings at the back of this manual for more detailed information. 78

79 ARTNET Hippotizers use Artnet as their default protocol. If you are using standard DMX the converter (optional) will translate standard DMX 512 to Ethernet. However, there are more and more devices emerging that can generate Artnet over Ethernet without the use of traditional DMX 512. An example of this is the MagiQ desk from Chamsys If you are using these devices you can simply connect the external device to the Ethernet port (Connector E, fig 1.2) without the need for a DMX to ARTNET converter. All procedures described in the above DMX section remain valid when using this method of control. MIDI Although it has been around for the best part of 20 years now, MIDI is still the defacto control standard in the music world. Synthesisers, keyboards, recording equipment all speak MIDI and through this interface can control the Hippotizer Express. The possibilities are seemingly endless: Use a MIDI controller like the Behringer BCF 2000 to control any combination of Parameters, trigger clips using a MIDI Keyboard or record any sequence of commands on a Sequencer program such as Cubase and then edit and play it back at will. All parameters inside the Hippotizer have been mapped to specific MIDI commands, so using any controller you can access these parameters through your equipment. Check out a complete chart of supported MIDI commands under the section Additional Information Section v: MIDI Commands. We find the Behringer BCF2000 extremely useful when using the Stage live and we have created a profile for the Behringer that you can upload to the unit. Contact Scene Change Ltd for additional information. Most MIDI devices these days come with USB connectivity, so simply connect you device and install any drivers if required. Then run the Hippo Settings utility and configure your MIDI port. Use the MIDI Tester to make sure MIDI data is arriving and that s it: The power of the Express at you (musical) fingertips. Keyboard The keyboard device allows you to display additional information about the layer play-modes via a standard Windows keyboard. Shift + (1-8) shows information about that layer Ctrl + (1-8) will jump to that layers screen Alt + (1-8) will reset all the parameters on that layer Using the value 0 with the above will do the same for the master layer (except Shift + 0) Layer information will be displayed using white text on the layer in question, so be sure to have the level of that layer up and a dark background in order to see the text. 79

80 Show and Media Management This Section takes a closer look at the organisation of media on the system, how to create and upload your own media and how you make the system use them in your show. It explains the usage of the Show Management utility, which allows you to backup you media, presets and other settings. Organizing your media Your media is organized in banks. Stored within these banks are clips or images. When stored on the systems hard drive, banks are represented as folders and the files inside each folder are your media. The Hippotizer Stage uses D:\Media as the root folder for the media it is currently using. All folders inside D:/media/ will be converted to banks and all files inside these folders will be your media which you can playback with the system. When you first receive the Hippotizer you will find the following media pre-loaded into the folder D:\media: As you can see from the above diagram, the media folder is in the root of D: drive and contains 14 folders of preloaded media. Each folder within represents a bank on your Hippotizer. The majority of these are the DHA gobo libraries that come pre-installed with every system. In addition there is a DEFAULT_MASKS folder containing useful shapes and 100 media clips in DEFAULT_MOVIES. 80

81 Adding and removing media To add further clips and images to the system simply create a new folder inside D:\media. Each folder you add will appear a new media bank in the media selector. Any clips you add will appear within that bank when you next run the Hippotizer program. NB: do not create additional folders within the bank folders. The hierarchy D:/media/bankname/clip should be adhered to or the Hippotizer will not be able to display your media correctly. The Hippotizer automatically detects any new media on startup, and creates corresponding thumbnails. You can also add media to an existing bank simply by copying the files to that folder. Please note that the thumbnails and references for new files added to a current show are always added at the end, never inserted. This ensures that any references created in the presets or by external control devices remain unaffected. To remove a bank, clip or image from a show simply delete the file or folder and next time the Hippotizer is run, these media references will be removed. Note that deleting media will leave empty slots in your user interface. This is normal. It helps maintain any references created in the presets or by external devices. If you wish to remove these gaps but retain the media if, for example you are beginning a new project, then use the Show Manager s New Show facility. A maximum of 100 clips or images per folder must be adhered to. NB: This limit excludes the thumbnails created. I.e. if you have 100 clips in the folder there may be 200 files in total, 100 media files and 100 corresponding thumbnails. This is acceptable. The Show Manager The show manager is a utility for loading, backing up and resetting your shows. Double click on the desktop icon to launch the Show Manager utility. 81

82 Viewing your media Sometimes, the way Windows handles viewing of files in mixed formats makes viewing your media and its location somewhat difficult. The View Media option allows you to see what media you have, the type of file and which bank it can be found in. You can preview any of the files by clicking them. An orange V indicates a video; a blue P indicates a picture. Press the View Media button to have a look at the media references and how the system has organised them into banks. Creating a New Show To create a new show, backup any existing show in use. Creating a new show will delete any presets you have created and also reset all your media references. NB: You can create a new show without any media and add new media whenever you wish. The system will automatically check for new media each time you start the Hippotizer program and create thumbnails and references accordingly without affecting existing presets and references. You have a choice of keeping or deleting the media. Keeping it will leave you with the same media but clear out references and presets, deleting it will leave you with the same but an empty media folder. 82

83 Open the Show Manager using the shortcut on the Desktop. Select New Show. Follow the prompts and select accordingly. The next time you start the Hippotizer program you will have a fresh show with empty preset banks for layers and master canvas. NOTE THE FOLLOWING: If you wish to keep your current show, use the Save Show feature prior to creating a show. Creating a new show will result in the loss of the current references and depending on your choices, the media too. Be aware that the references used by any external DMX or MIDI devices may shift during new show creation. We do not recommend performing this task whilst programming a show on an external device unless you wish to start from scratch. If in doubt, backup the previous show before performing this task. If you wish to create a show including the default media, use the Restore Show function instead. Browse to C:/hippotizerv2/shows/Default Media Restore.hbup This will have the same effect as creating a new show but will copy the original factory shipped media back into the media folder. NOTE TO USERS OF EARLIER SYSTEMS PRIOR TO JANUARY 2005: If you do not have the Default Media Restore you can create it yourself. Download default media from support website. Perform a create new show command to reset the presets and references and select delete media when prompted (backup first if necessary). Add downloaded media to D:/media. Select Save Show. Name the backup Default Media Restore and place in C:/shows/. You can now restore the default media whenever needed. Saving a Show Once you have completed a show with many presets you may want to save all parameters associated with that show for re-use at a later stage or for archiving purposes. When you backup a show, the settings, presets, media references and media are stored. On pressing the Save Show Button the application will ask you to name the show. Enter a name and click next. You can select a folder (we recommend using c:\hippotizerv2\shows to keep backups). NB: you do not need to use the create new folder option unless you need to make a new folder for organisation purposes. The system will automatically put your files in a folder with the name you entered for the show. Next you will be asked if you wish to save your media. If you select yes, a folder in your backup location will be created with a copy of your media. Note that it may take several minutes to back up the media. All your settings and presets have now been stored and, if requested, your media has been copied to the specified location. 83

84 Loading a show In the Show Manager select Load Show. You will be asked if you wish to backup your current show. Choose an option accordingly. When prompted, browse to the folder for the show you wish to restore and click OK. Once complete, all your presets, media references and settings will now have been restored. Preparing Media The Hippotizer will accept a large range of media types, both still and moving images. All still images should be produced at 1024 x 768 pixels. Most movie files should be created at PAL or NTSC resolution (720 x 576) 0r (720 x 480), although Hippotizer will accept resolutions up to 1024 x 768 in Single and dual mode and up to 2048 x 768 in Pan mode. Movie Files Here is a list of some of the movie image formats that are accepted by Hippotizer: MPEG2 (.mpg.m2v.m2p.vob.mp2) This is the recommended format for all movie files on Hippotizer. MPEG2 files are the only movie files that are decoded in hardware which means that they will run faster, play smoother and enable you to play more files at the same time, than any other format. MPEG2 files are also very small in size, so you can store a large number of files on your hard disk. Genarally the best setting for your encoding program is to select MPEG2 for DVD which you will find on most video editing programs, this will give you a good quality picture and very smooth playback. If you are using an advanced encoding program then you should set the settings to: Generic ISO MPEG2 Program Stream Resolution 720 x 576 (PAL) or 720 x 480 (NTSC) Frame Rate 25 (PAL) or (NTSC) No audio Bitrate: 6000Kbps Standard GOP (15 frames) 84

85 In reality almost any MPEG2 file will play, even raw DVD VOB files, but the figures above give you a guideline to start from. If you need higher quality playback then you can increase the bitrate accordingly. Normal MPEG2 files are fine for most applications, but they have 2 drawbacks, they cannot be played backwards and you can only set the in and out points to the nearest 15 frames, not to the exact frame that you want this is due to the way that an MPEG2 file is created. To get over both of these problems you can encode your clips as MPEG2 I-Frame only with the following settings: General MPEG2 Program Stream Resolution 720 x 576 (PAL) or 720 x 480 (NTSC) Frame Rate 25 (PAL) or (NTSC) No audio Bitrate: Kbps GOP structure I-Frame only (or all I-frames) Only a few encoding and editing programs will let you create this sort of MPEG2 file, so please contact Green Hippo if you are not sure. Audio is not supported when using MPEG2 files. VERY IMPORTANT! All of the MPEG2 clips that are in your media folders must have exactly the same frame size. You cannot mix 720x576 clips with 720 x 480 clips for example. It doesn t matter if they are different frame rates, but they must be the same size. AVI Files (.avi) Hippotizer will accept any avi file that is encoded with a video for windows codec. This includes Indeo, Cinepac, Uncompressed and many more third party codecs. Some decoders are already installed on the Hippotizer, but you may need to install the appropriate codecs if you are using a non standard avi format. Please note that playback performance will vary greatly between different codecs. Hippotizer also supports Microsoft and Canopus DV AVI files, and these are the preffered avi format for movies on the Hippotizer if MPEG2 is not available. Please note that reverse play only works with MPEG2 I-Frame movies and does not work with any other format. 85

86 QuickTime (.mov) It is possible to play most quicktime files on the Hippotizer, however this requires an additional piece of software that is available free of charge from Green Hippo, or can be downloaded from the Hippotizer website at It is important to realize that the Quicktime engine on the windows platform is not as efficient as the equivalent Apple Macintosh version, and as a result the number of layers of quicktime content that can be played back at any one time may be reduced to 2 or 3 layers depending on the codec used. Windows Media (.wmv) Hippotizer will play windows media files, although the playback performance when using more than 2 layers may be poor. Alpha Channels Hippotizer supports alpha channels (transparency) in any movie format that supports it, which is currently Uncompressed AVI files and some Quicktime codecs. Sound Support Sound is supported in AVI files and Quicktime files, however there is only basic playback and no remote control of the level of the sound or fading of the sound. Still Images The Hippotizer can accept most non layered still image file formats which include (but is not limited to) : Jpeg files (.jpg) Bitmap Files (.bmp) Portable Network Graphics (.png) Targa Files (.tga) Tagged Image File Format (.tif) It will also support alpha channels (transparency) in those formats that support it. 86

87 Utilities The Settings Utility This utility will help you manage your Hippotizer and it s various settings such as the displaymode you want to use or to activate one of the built in interfaces and configure it. To start the application, double click on the Stage Settings desktop icon. Following any changes press Save Changes to apply your modifications or press Discard Changes to cancel. General Settings On the Tab General Settings you can modify 3 parameters. A: If you tick the Auto run on Bootup the Hippotizer will open in Run-Mode every time you power the system up. This is useful when the Hippotizer is fully configured and you don t want to start the Hippotizer from the desktop. B: The Hippotizer is designed to respond to an external sound input. You can either use the inbuilt microphone or connect your audio system directly to the Hippotizer using the mini-jack input at the rear of the unit. Both inputs are active and pre-set by default. 87

88 Press the Audio-Setup button to adjust the volume levels for the Hippotizer to react to incoming music in an optimal way. The Audio Setup utility gives you a LED style representation of the level coming into the system. Use the volume control to adjust the levels so that the bars stay just below 0dB. The BEAT indicator will show you the beat detection when playing some sample music. NB We don t recommend using line in and microphone simultaneously as it may cause erratic responses from the predictive Beat Detection Engine. Use microphone OR line-in except for advanced applications. DMX full 88

89 A: - To have direct DMX control over all the parameters and enable the DMX interface, tick Enabled. Below this you can see the current settings for the Artnet interface. If you are using a DMX to Artnet converter (optional), make sure that the universe here matches the setting on your converter. See Artnet interface documentation for further details. B:- Start Channel specifies the DMX start-address and Number Channels will inform you of the number of channels needed by the Hippotizer Stage. If you want to change these settings, press the modify button. Enter new settings for universe and start channel and click OK to apply those changes. DMX Tester The DMX tester is useful to confirm that DMX/ArtNet data is being received correctly. It will use the current settings and the faders represent the values of the incoming data. So if you move the lighting desk fader equivalent to your start channel, you should see fader one move and so on. You can only see response from the first 18 Hippotizer channels on your chosen DMX control device. 89

90 DMX Preset This option works in a similar fashion to the full DMX interface, the only difference being that only 10 channels of DMX are required to use this mode. Check out the relevant section in Interfaces to see if this profile suits your project and activate it using the Enabled tick box. Remember you can only have one DMX-interface active at any one time, so make sure DMX Full is disabled when using the Preset Mode and vice versa. Again use modify if you want to change the universe or start-channel. MIDI 90

91 The MIDI settings work very similar to the DMX settings. Tick Enabled to enable the MIDI interface. Click Modify to select an appropriate installed MIDI interface: The MIDI tester looks exactly the same as the DMX tester, however this time it reacts to MIDI controller changes. The faders react to controllers 1-18 on MIDI channel 1, however any incoming MIDI data will be displayed in the device description above: RS232 Here you can enable or disable the RS232 control protocol. The settings that you must use on your RS232 controller are also shown here for convenience. 91

92 Keyboard You can disable the keyboard shortcuts to display the additional player information by un-ticking the Enabled box, this is useful in cramped situations where it is possible to press a key on the keyboard accidentally. Info This tab provides additional information on your systems. If you have a problem Support may ask you to provide these details. 92

93 Engine Configurator The Engine Configurator can be accessed from the Hippotizer section in the Start Menu (Start/Programs/Hippotizer) NB: changing these settings is risky. Under normal circumstances you should not need to alter them. If you are having problems with the system check that you re media is created at the correct resolution and all other settings are correct. If in doubt contact Green Hippo by telephone or We only recommend changing these settings after instruction from Green Hippo or a qualified Hippotizer Engineer. If you have a problem with your Hippotizer we may ask you to change certain settings to debug a problem. Other than that the only time we anticipate using this utility is if you want to change the settings for your live-video input. Video Input Setting Your Hippotizer comes with a Video In card that allows you to display external inputs as part of your composition. It is switchable for composite or s-video input. To make changes do the following. Then select tab Drivers and click on the videolab4 driver. Press configure on the right hand side to change the settings: 93

94 This will bring up a list of available video input streams. On the Stage this is normally just one, unless you have the 4 Input card installed. Highlight it and press Setup Now you see the capture setup. First, select Video Capture Filter. Here you can select the Video Standard. If you have specified a video standard when ordering the system it should be set correctly, however you may need to change this if you want to use the system in a different country. The next step is the Preview Pin settings: 94

95 Here you can set frame rate (which is normally related to video standard 25fps for PAL 30 fps for NTSC), the colour space (default is RGB24) and the size of the captured stream (default is 720x576 for PAL and 720x480 for NTSC). Last but not least you can select the video input for the capture card. Select as required from the S-Video input or the composite input. Press OK to apply any changes and OK on all windows underneath. The changes will take effect next time you start the Stage. A reboot is not necessary. 95

96 Additional information Maintenance Under normal circumstances you should not need to perform any maintenance tasks with the Hippotizer. However, we recommend you check all air vents are clear once a week and any cleaning should be done with a damp cloth. Avoid using chemical based detergents as they may harm the finish of the case. The only software maintenance we recommend is Defragmentation of D:\ and E:\ Over time, especially if you regularly add and delete large quantities of media, the hard drive can become fragmented. This means that media files can be split into chunks and located in several sections of the hard-disc. The result is slower performance and in severe cases, brief pauses as the system hunts for the remaining portions. You can use the Disk Defragmenter supplied as part of Windows XP to cure this. Before embarking on this task, empty your recycle bin and delete any media you do not wish to keep. This will give the application more space to work with in rearranging files on your disc. To access the Disk Defragmenter, double click the My Computer icon on the desktop. Right-click on the c: icon and select properties. Select the Tools tab. You will see the following: Click Defragment Now. 96

97 You will see the following: Click Analyze. Windows will tell you whether or not you need to defragment your drive. Be aware that Defragmentation may take several hours. As a maintenance task we suggest you perform this function overnight or when the system is not in use. 97