Media
Clarity
Operator Manual
Page 110
19
Media
19.1
OVERVIEW
Media servers provide video and graphics playback for visual projection on video screens or
LED walls. Clarity allows you to control media servers and program them just as if they were
another lighting fixture. Therefore, their output can be tightly integrated into a complete
lighting and visual show.
19.2
PATCHING MEDIA SERVERS
Media servers that you control from Clarity must be patched just like you would patch a lighting
fixture. Many media servers use a “master” fixture that controls global aspects of the server such
as brightness, contrast, mask, keystone etc. Each
layer of the media server is also patched as a
separate fixture. Servers usually require that the master and layers are patched in a contiguous
fashion. This means that the last DMX channel used by the first fixture of the server must be
immediately followed by the first channel of its next fixture, etc.
In the
Patch
window's
Library
pane, select the manufacturer then the model of the media
server. Drag and drop the media servers “
master fixture
” and each “
layer fixture
” onto
the required DMX universe and starting slots (as set in the media server).
Refer to your Media Servers documentation for details on its DMX control and set-up.
19.3
NETWORK CONNECTION
Media servers broadcast their presence over Ethernet. If Clarity is on the same network, it
picks-up these broadcasts and automatically connects to supported media servers. Clarity will
then download the available thumbnails of the media in the server. Usually these are just
media thumbnails but some will also supply effect thumbnails. Most media servers also
broadcast their configuration, including their number of available layers and patch status. Once
thumbnails are downloaded they are saved to a cache file so that they are available for (off
line) programming without the physical media server being connected.
When the show is loaded, if the media server is not physically present, “cached” is shown on
the relevant media.
19.4
CONFIGURATION
To configure a media server, in the encoder wheel touch screen’s
Media
mode select
Menu
,
Configure
,
Auto Configure
,
OK
.
When a new media server is discovered on the network, its identity (name and IP address) is
compared to the existing cached servers. If the identity of the new media server exactly
matches that of an existing cached media server then it is automatically used. If the new media
server has not been used before, a Configuration Wizard is displayed to walk you through some
configuration choices. These choices include whether to replace another existing cached media
server and whether to patch new matching devices or re-use some existing patched devices
that are suitable for this media server.
19.4.1
Reload
The thumbnails for the selected media server can be updated by reloading them from the
server. Select the tab of the media server to be reloaded (described below), then on the toolbar
click
Reload
. A progress bar shows the status of the reload operation.
19.5
MEDIA SERVER OPERATION
In the Programmer window, the
Media Servers
tab allows you to control a media server in the
same manner as you would program the attributes of a lighting fixture and then to record your
settings as cues in a cue-list. You can of course include Timing values and Dynamics in the
cues that you record.
See the “Timing” and “Dynamics” sections for details
.
The available media servers are organized into individual tabs at the bottom of the screen and
each server has two sub-tabs, the
Browser
tab and the
Controls
tab.
