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samsc
01-12-2010, 09:49 AM
Catalyst v4.4 m329 -

download m329 (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/16093785/m329.dmg)
password configfoam

This has been around and in testing for a while on lots of shows-

10.5.8 and above - Intel processors only.

Changes improvements
--------------------------

32 mixes 32 layers-
Maximum image size 4480x2600 for full RED image size
Improved proRes codec processing

New colour FX architecture

frame blending and other things-

New visual fx for text and on screen information


New layer playmodes
step once forward
bounce

Mix
Mix intensity -
mix colour fx
mix scaling and resize.

Video input-


New design for video input
Crash with quicktime after 10.6.2 fixed

Issues- things to look out for-


Check your mix positions - visibility and width and height - they might have moved- if you are currently using m257
This does not affect any presets or programming - just the saved onscreen position between restarts from m257

hdmcc
01-12-2010, 12:34 PM
what version of OSX does this require?

it works fine on my personal laptop (OS X 10.6.4) but wont run on the mac pro i use for catalyst which has OS X 10.4.11. which v4.20 runs fine on

samsc
01-12-2010, 12:38 PM
what version of OSX does this require?

it works fine on my personal laptop (OS X 10.6.4) but wont run on the mac pro i use for catalyst which has OS X 10.4.11. which v4.20 runs fine on

needs apple libraries from 10.5.8 for some features - this is an apple thing

tiger is not supported
PPC also removed for same reasons

RyWolf
01-12-2010, 01:48 PM
Is there any documentation on the frame blending? I know on other systems these have to be certain file types.

Is there a way to reload the preset file yet without closing the whole application?????

Ryan

samsc
01-12-2010, 02:22 PM
I forgot to attach frame blending doc will do later
Works with any movies

-

Changing presets files has some tricky issues I haven't finished dealing with yet.

MattMills
02-12-2010, 12:39 PM
Is it possible to get some DMX values documentation? Please :D

samsc
02-12-2010, 01:00 PM
Is it possible to get some DMX values documentation? Please :D

Dmx docs are in inbuilt webserver

Address is in catalyst help menu

Goto docs page

escueto
02-12-2010, 09:07 PM
Delighted with the new version, Richard.

I am working with DMX channels and I have a question about the difference between:

Channel 47 - Mix TYPE ------ >Fade Out.
Channel 1 - MIX COLOUR FX -->fade Out.

Still I could not test them on the DMX Grand Ma
A greeting and thank you very much for the new version.

Eduardo Cueto

samsc
02-12-2010, 09:13 PM
Delighted with the new version, Richard.

I am working with DMX channels and I have a question about the difference between:

Channel 47 - Mix TYPE ------ >Fade Out.
Channel 1 - MIX COLOUR FX -->fade Out.

Still I could not test them on the DMX Grand Ma
A greeting and thank you very much for the new version.

Eduardo Cueto

it looks like they do the same thing.

RyWolf
02-12-2010, 11:51 PM
Care to explain play mode 51 Autofade and the step modes.
I must be missing something

samsc
03-12-2010, 06:54 AM
Care to explain play mode 51 Autofade and the step modes.
I must be missing something

step play - change state between stop then step play it steps through the movie one frame at a time-
useful when you want to step from from image to the next- i had a show with 8000 still images in a movie

-

autofade is an experiment for some users - its not finished

proudlight
09-12-2010, 03:58 PM
Any changes in layer and mixes amount in dv and express?
/Björn

samsc
09-12-2010, 04:08 PM
Any changes in layer and mixes amount in dv and express?
/Björn

no- i kept all those the same.

Mick Murray
14-12-2010, 11:09 PM
Hi Richard,
Congratulation on new version frameblending is very helpful as are fx editor and new play audio modes. I recently started programming a show in version 257 but as the show developed it got really audio heavy so i migrated over to the new version. I noticed that all layers in mixes jumped down by one mix. So for my show i had layers 1 to 8 assigned to mix 3 only , these now were assigned to mix 2 and the same for other mixes moving down by 1, so i don't know if u had allowed for migration between the softwares or if this is a bug but either ways i've flagged it.
Mick

samsc
14-12-2010, 11:58 PM
Hi Richard,
Congratulation on new version frameblending is very helpful as are fx editor and new play audio modes. I recently started programming a show in version 257 but as the show developed it got really audio heavy so i migrated over to the new version. I noticed that all layers in mixes jumped down by one mix. So for my show i had layers 1 to 8 assigned to mix 3 only , these now were assigned to mix 2 and the same for other mixes moving down by 1, so i don't know if u had allowed for migration between the softwares or if this is a bug but either ways i've flagged it.
Mick

all layers in mixes? is this a dmx thing? you mean the dmx patch for layer assignment?

if it is - sounds like someone changed the patch or patch defintion you were using?
i dont believe i changed anything in this-

-

i try to aim for backwards compatibility at all times- too many shows out there - and much unhappiness if i break anything

Mick Murray
15-12-2010, 12:31 AM
Yep i had layers 1 to 8 in mix 3 , layers 10 and 11 in mix 4, layers 13,14,15 in mix 5
... up to mix 9. When i migrated it across everything jumped down 1 mix, so i had layer 1 to 8 in mix 2 , layer 10 and 11 in mix 3 . The mixes were correct sizes but the wrong mix number! I just tried to recreate the bug with the same file but it didnt work which is bizarre.
Mick

samsc
15-12-2010, 08:14 AM
Yep i had layers 1 to 8 in mix 3 , layers 10 and 11 in mix 4, layers 13,14,15 in mix 5
... up to mix 9. When i migrated it across everything jumped down 1 mix, so i had layer 1 to 8 in mix 2 , layer 10 and 11 in mix 3 . The mixes were correct sizes but the wrong mix number! I just tried to recreate the bug with the same file but it didnt work which is bizarre.
Mick

thanks -

i think thats a window position thing - as saved in general preferences between restarts

not anything thats stored in the presets- as mix position-

once you run m329 once- and move the windows back into the right position - this will go away-

a lot of settings change in a year and a half -

Mick Murray
16-12-2010, 02:16 AM
Hi Richard,
I've been programming a show on version 4.4 m329 using presets, i've 53 presets at the moment most of them only snapshotting the layers i'm using.
I now have 9 layers for mix 3 ( 1 to 9) , 2 layers for mix 4 (10,11) 1 layer mix 5 (layer 13), 2 layers mix 6 (layer 15,16), 5 layers mix 7 (layers 22 ,23,24,25,26), 3 layers mix 8 (27,28,29) one layer mix 9 (layer 31 ) and using layer 32 for audio only .movs. I programmed on my macbook pro up until 2 days ago ( with the idea of transferring to my real catalyst system which is on another job) , then the gui started to break down, the layers and presets controls lost most of their coherence and blocks replaces them instead, see pics attached, the faders could just about be made out from the blocks and they did have some functionality. The layers are spread over 1 output (output 2) 3096 x 1024 ( matrox triple head digital edition) and i have a preview on macbook desktop. I thought this was a graphics card problem / driving the macbook way too hard for the job, so i migrated over to the real system today, i just ran the show and i'm seeing the same problem, on a quick look is it use of too may layers causing this? I'm using int>0 playmode on all video with audio files and video files, there is never more than 3 layers active (int > 0 ) except for a few crossfade instances when it goes to 5 during the x fades. The video is all reasonably low res (most 640 x 480 or less) There is one large file which i have converted with the inbuilt convertor and reduced the size quite considerably. The Video all plays well and x fades fine, computer is running at about 20% on the blue bar. The mixes are so many as i have 8 objects in the foreground that i am mapping onto. I am using aspect correction in the mix as well as keystoning on 4 of the mixes to map the images correctly to the objects, one mix uses a curved screen correction.

In full screen the gui corrupts, its fine out of fullscreen
Reduced number of layer appearing on control makes it run a bit better, when u click on the layers tab it sometimes comes back

Just noticed
Putting all the mixes to flat constant aspect ratio, removes the problem, so i guess that may be the answer, am i asking way too much of my machine?
Mick

dont seem to be able to attach images will so so in next post

Specs on my macbook pro are :
2.33Ghz core 2 duo
3GB ram
ATI RADEON x1600
256gb crucial ssd
on the real machine:
Dual core 3ghz , macpro 1.1
ATI X1900XT
ssd Mtron 32gb drive
5GB ram

Mick Murray
16-12-2010, 02:20 AM
See attached photos for above post on GUI
Thanks
Mick

samsc
16-12-2010, 10:06 AM
See attached photos for above post on GUI
Thanks
Mick

which operating system are you using?

suggest you install all updates-

other than that - you are doing a lot on old hardware - with limited resources - your macbook is 2006

Orri
16-12-2010, 02:50 PM
I have installed the latest version 4.40_329_HD on my MAC (OSX 10.6.4). The layer window flickers like mad when I try to turn HUD off. Also the bar by the percentage figures at the bottom of the screen are flickering like mad (sorry for the non technical terminology).
When I run the pervious version on the same machine all is ok

Any idea what I can do?


Thanks,
Orri

samsc
16-12-2010, 02:53 PM
I have installed the latest version 4.40_329_HD on my MAC (OSX 10.6.4). The layer window flickers like mad when I try to turn HUD off. Also the bar by the percentage figures at the bottom of the screen are flickering like mad (sorry for the non technical terminology).
When I run the pervious version on the same machine all is ok
Any idea what I can do?


Which mac? What spec?
which previous version?

make sure you installed all 10.6.4 updates including graphics update.

hdmcc
18-12-2010, 03:09 AM
i also get the flickering windows when i close them, on both out puts.

On another subject, how do i activate the frame blending onto layers? i followed the document richard posted and i got it working the preview of that setup window, but now how do i make it so i can use it?

Thanks guys.

Hamish

samsc
18-12-2010, 08:17 AM
i also get the flickering windows when i close them, on both out puts.

On another subject, how do i activate the frame blending onto layers? i followed the document richard posted and i got it working the preview of that setup window, but now how do i make it so i can use it?

Thanks guys.

Hamish

make sure you have installed all apple updates for the system you are using including the 10.6.4 graphics update

--

frame blending - its a colour fx - put that colour fx on a layer- slow the playspeed down

proudlight
03-01-2011, 02:12 PM
Just tried out the frame blending fx, what I find strange and unwanted, is that when I select the frame blending fx via dmx, all colour info (CMY mix) that I put onto the black and white content dissapeared. Is this because it's a colour fx and you can't have both colour and an effect at the same time, or is it more likely to be a problem with my personality file?
Running on a macbook pro i7 with 10.6.5. Light desk is jands vista.
Best regards/ Björn Stolt

samsc
03-01-2011, 03:24 PM
I have installed the latest version 4.40_329_HD on my MAC (OSX 10.6.4). The layer window flickers like mad when I try to turn HUD off. Also the bar by the percentage figures at the bottom of the screen are flickering like mad (sorry for the non technical terminology).
When I run the pervious version on the same machine all is ok

Any idea what I can do?


Thanks,
Orri

orri tells me he has installed all updates and this has gone away-

i dont have any machines or graphics cards as old as the ones he has


thanks

samsc
03-01-2011, 03:26 PM
Just tried out the frame blending fx, what I find strange and unwanted, is that when I select the frame blending fx via dmx, all colour info (CMY mix) that I put onto the black and white content dissapeared. Is this because it's a colour fx and you can't have both colour and an effect at the same time, or is it more likely to be a problem with my personality file?
Running on a macbook pro i7 with 10.6.5. Light desk is jands vista.
Best regards/ Björn Stolt

did you get it to work in gui first without dmx?

show me a screen capture of what you did

doesnt sound like anything to do with catalyst

ryanww
04-01-2011, 05:28 AM
I had this happen once on my i7 17" MBP.. Can't remember much about it, other then it only happened a couple times in the same timeframe.. And either an update or deleting the show files in the catalyst reset it.. Or maybe I had put a newer version on.. Either way, works fine now.

samsc
04-01-2011, 10:11 AM
I had this happen once on my i7 17" MBP.. Can't remember much about it, other then it only happened a couple times in the same timeframe.. And either an update or deleting the show files in the catalyst reset it.. Or maybe I had put a newer version on.. Either way, works fine now.

you refer to flickering thing?

proudlight
04-01-2011, 03:42 PM
Richard, I am on a short holiday right now at my father, so I don't have the lightdesk here, but tried it directly in the GUI. This is what happens, on layer 4, same RGB settings, only difference is that on the "white" picture the frame blend fx is on.
So it is something strange going on here.
Can you try to recreate it? So we can make sure it's something with my computer, only having one mac here, so nothing else to try on.
/Björn

samsc
04-01-2011, 03:51 PM
Richard, I am on a short holiday right now at my father, so I don't have the lightdesk here, but tried it directly in the GUI. This is what happens, on layer 4, same RGB settings, only difference is that on the "white" picture the frame blend fx is on.
So it is something strange going on here.
Can you try to recreate it? So we can make sure it's something with my computer, only having one mac here, so nothing else to try on.
/Björn

you need to show me the fx designer setup please

thanks

proudlight
04-01-2011, 05:22 PM
How do I access that?
What I did was just choose a media file, subtract some colour and then turned the colour fx to frame blend, nothing else from a clean start.

samsc
04-01-2011, 05:55 PM
How do I access that?
What I did was just choose a media file, subtract some colour and then turned the colour fx to frame blend, nothing else from a clean start.

what do you see here?
in the fxedit window?

proudlight
04-01-2011, 06:38 PM
This:

Good way of learning how to find my way around these windows!
//Björn

samsc
05-01-2011, 12:45 AM
This:

Good way of learning how to find my way around these windows!
//Björn

you need to another another fx - RGBA- below the frame blend- then set the rgb mapping for each channel

clip on the mapping button-

then use the menu to select the map parameters for each slider in the rgb fx-

this sets the mapping between visual fx designer and the catalyst layer parameters.


as shown in images-

proudlight
05-01-2011, 01:29 PM
Ok, i Will give it a try!
Will it work on dmx if I set it up this Way for each layer in the gui?

samsc
05-01-2011, 02:25 PM
Ok, i Will give it a try!
Will it work on dmx if I set it up this Way for each layer in the gui?

of course - you can assign any function to any parameter - over dmx or not-

you dont do it on every layer- just once in the fx designer -

in the fx designer there arent any fixed assignments between parameters from dmx - you can set them up whichever way you want-

if you want RGB behaviour from the RGB channels - you set it up in the FX designer - if you dont - you dont have to set it up-

You can also set it up in any order you want-

you might want "frame blend -> black white -> RGB"

then you can colourise a black and white frame blend

i just added an image showing this
-

proudlight
05-01-2011, 08:23 PM
Great stuff!
More things to try when I get home!
Have not had any formalitet training on catalyst, so more questions Will probably arise when I use it more!
Best regards Björn

westintour
10-01-2011, 04:25 AM
I seem to remember talk about a text generator....am i correct in thinking this or did i mis interpret something? If there is i havent seen it

NevBull
10-01-2011, 08:47 AM
The text generator is there - FX 97.

Browse the the Inbuilt Web Server, then click on the Visual FX tab and select 97 from the list of FX numbers at the top of the page. When you get to the FX97 section, there is an option for Text Editor. Click on this, and you can enter up to 255 different text strings.

Then in the Catalyst software, apply FX 97 to a layer and your text will appear. The text entered in the web page above is selected using FX Parameter 1 and the Fonts are changed using FX parameter 2.

While looking at the text options, there are a couple of other FX which are useful - 95 & 96.

95 gives System text - eg time, date, mtc input, SMTPE time etc
96 give System info - clip info, video input previews, mix info etc

just use Parameter 1 to change the type of text required and parameter 2 to change the font.

I hope this helps

Nev.

westintour
11-01-2011, 12:14 AM
very much! thank u nev....do we get to see ur handy work on eurovision this year?!

Eric Holmberg
12-01-2011, 02:15 AM
I finally had some time to try out the new version. i really like the frame blending, works nice and easy, my first impression is that the frame blend is smother and looks better than the Hippo frame blending i will do an AB test and compare it to the Hippos frame blending. I just played around whit the new color FX and it really looks promising. I think i experienced increased performance but just upgraded my machines to OS X 10.6 at the same time, so it can be just the OS X.

Thanks for some sweet new software!

NevBull
12-01-2011, 07:37 AM
No problem.

I have no idea if we will be involved in the Eurovision this year. It all depends on which lighting designer is chosen and the hire companies!!

Fingers crossed!!!

Nev.

RyWolf
18-01-2011, 11:19 PM
Is there a fixture Update to add all the new play modes to the Road Hog Full Boar. I can only find 2 of the audio play modes and I know there are more now.
RHFB 3.1.7

*nevermind- it takes two buttons*
Ryan

NevBull
18-01-2011, 11:23 PM
Thats a question for High End I think!

Nev.

mlorenz
07-02-2011, 10:41 AM
I asked Steve to update the lib.
In the webserver I cant find the DMX Values for those new modes
Any idea where to look or where I can find an actual DMX Chart?

samsc
07-02-2011, 11:35 AM
I asked Steve to update the lib.
In the webserver I cant find the DMX Values for those new modes
Any idea where to look or where I can find an actual DMX Chart?

i need to add them to the webserver docs -

at the moment they are only on the pull down menu which selects the playmode

escueto
09-02-2011, 05:33 PM
Hi Richard,
I am working with Catalyst m329 in GrandMA console, I created some libraries to work with Mix Type, etc.
I am having the following problem, I pass in more parameters but I put this as an example.


MIX Type
Ch6 MIX Screen Left - 16 bit
NO Change 0
Position 1 to 30000.

It often happens that if we have the Encoder in coarse mode and spent a 1, 2 etc and returning to 0 (1 step in coarse encoder 256 steps in fine) is not well reflected the movement, since a value 0 corresponds to no change .
Thus the mix is half display when they should be left completely.

This happens with all the parameters that have values of 0 and NO change.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
E. Cueto

samsc
09-02-2011, 05:43 PM
Hi Richard,
I am working with Catalyst m329 in GrandMA console, I created some libraries to work with Mix Type, etc.
I am having the following problem, I pass in more parameters but I put this as an example.


MIX Type
Ch6 MIX Screen Left - 16 bit
NO Change 0
Position 1 to 30000.

It often happens that if we have the Encoder in coarse mode and spent a 1, 2 etc and returning to 0 (1 step in coarse encoder 256 steps in fine) is not well reflected the movement, since a value 0 corresponds to no change .
Thus the mix is half display when they should be left completely.

This happens with all the parameters that have values of 0 and NO change.

Any suggestions?

Thanks
E. Cueto

its absolutely essential to have a 'no change value'
otherwise you the poor end user -
have to program every single value to do something - to be a default- even when you dont need it-

you might just want to set one value in the mix setup -
but without a no change - you cant do this

mlorenz
11-02-2011, 12:44 PM
Update on lib for the HOG3.
I mailed Highend all infos, they will have an update ready in the next days.

escueto
18-02-2011, 11:38 AM
hi all
control through the window of catalyst mixer, I can get negative values for Screen 1 and 2, TOP, LEFT, but since arnet NOT possible?
Mix Type, channels 4,6, 12 and 14.

A greeting

E. Cueto

NevBull
18-02-2011, 02:49 PM
Hi there

not sure why you need to move the mix off of the screen? If you need to move content off, just use the Offset value instead?

Nev.

escueto
18-02-2011, 03:55 PM
I'm working on the libraries for Ma
It was just a technical question.
thanks

mlorenz
19-02-2011, 09:14 AM
Hi there

not sure why you need to move the mix off of the screen? If you need to move content off, just use the Offset value instead?

Nev.

I used it in touring situations, 4 LED-Circles, each used 3 mixes (1 covering 120°), in smaller venues where we only could setup half-circles, it was much easier to shift the mixes off the screen then to redo the programming.
I was necessary or easier to do it like this in combination with the mapping-controller for the LED-Screen (which was kind of "stupid")

escueto
23-02-2011, 09:28 AM
its absolutely essential to have a 'no change value'
otherwise you the poor end user -
have to program every single value to do something - to be a default- even when you dont need it-

you might just want to set one value in the mix setup -
but without a no change - you cant do this


Would you please explain a little more the concept of -No change-.
Referred to Catalyst.
When I turn off the lamp from a moving light, select -Lamp OFF- and that if the default parameter of the lamp does -not change value-
If I release the parameters of the -Clear ALL- lamp will turn back on past time.
Here that I understand the value of "No change"

But do not know, to transfer this concept to a Catalyst Mixer.

Sorry for my ignorance.

samsc
23-02-2011, 09:35 AM
Would you please explain a little more the concept of -No change-.
Referred to Catalyst.
When I turn off the lamp from a moving light, select -Lamp OFF- and that if the default parameter of the lamp does -not change value-
If I release the parameters of the -Clear ALL- lamp will turn back on past time.
Here that I understand the value of "No change"

But do not know, to transfer this concept to a Catalyst Mixer.

Sorry for my ignorance.

does not change values programmed already in catalyst gui


catalyst is not a lamp - it has its own cue lists and presets - and values

mlorenz
25-02-2011, 03:36 PM
Is there a fixture Update to add all the new play modes to the Road Hog Full Boar. I can only find 2 of the audio play modes and I know there are more now.
RHFB 3.1.7

*nevermind- it takes two buttons*
Ryan

Which version did you use in your RHFB?
HighEnd oder Catalyst as manufacturer?

You must use Catalyst, then it should all be fine.

I was in contact with Steve from Highend who takes care of the libs.
I did some screenshots of the actual values from the pulldown menu and send those to him. He checked all values for m329 and they should all be fine he told me.