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samsc
04-08-2006, 08:50 AM
Catalyst v4 m67 beta 4:

Greater mix flexibility:

Global keystoning on mix and sub-mix outputs.

Support for Matrox ‘Triple Head 2 Go’ for 3 ‘full screen outputs’, or 2 'full screen' outputs from a mac mini or macbook using a 'Dual head 2 Go'

Picture in Picture mixes. Multiple mixes on screen with no HUD visible.

Preliminary left right top bottom edge blending on keystoned mixes with 10% 20% and 25% overlap
Left right panoramas and Up down panoramas.
Edge blending curve editor.
Mixes can be offset and joined together allowing panoramas.

Editable edge blending percentage, and editable mix offsets.

Much improved sync between layers on local and remote playback layers.
New ability to lock to exact monitor refresh rate.
Fixed artnet universe output mapping incorrectly restricted.
Added MMC ( midi machine control ) device.

Added Leitch video switcher device- uses 16 dmx channels to control the sources and destinations on a Leitch switcher.

Ability to select mix layers from DMX


Tiger compatibility only ( OSX 10.4.6 minimum )
Universal Binary. Intel and PowerPC ( G5 )

http://homepage.mac.com/goatee/.Public/Catalyst%204.06_m67UB_HD.zip

whats new pdf:
http://homepage.mac.com/goatee/.cv/goatee/Sites/.Public/whats%20new%20in%20v4%20110807.pdf-zip.zip

samsc
04-08-2006, 10:53 PM
whats fixed in m53:

keystone points reset button added.
default keystone position now on screen...
edge blend hud now on left and right

whats fixed in m54:

more mix presets. new sizes.
holding shift key removes more mix hud elements so you can see corners and drag keystone into them.
flat mixed screens can be offset. you can make panoramas with normal mixes.
updated some visual fx plugins for mix compatibility.

m55:
Edge blending curve editor added.

m56
Variable edge blend percentage 10% 20% 25%

m57
added top and bottom blend
added presets for dual head and single screen
mix layer select from dmx

m66
Editable edge blending percentage, and editable mix offsets.

Much improved sync between layers on local and remote playback layers.
New ability to lock to exact monitor refresh rate.
Fixed artnet universe output mapping incorrectly restricted.
Added MMC ( midi machine control ) device.

Added Leitch video switcher device- uses 16 dmx channels to control the sources and destinations on a Leitch switcher.

m67
i broke pixelmad export in m66 - fixed.
i increased the pixelmix size to 512x256 - at users request

Robenspiel
05-08-2006, 12:20 AM
does the triplehead box work on the 4.0 release or just the new beta? It looks like it might be a lifesaver for me, but I'm nervous about using beta for a show.

thx


Sven

samsc
05-08-2006, 07:01 AM
does the triplehead box work on the 4.0 release or just the new beta? It looks like it might be a lifesaver for me, but I'm nervous about using beta for a show.

thx


Sven

triple head is a clever vga splitter box - that tells the computer its connected to a very large screen - no drivers required.
so i believe it will work with any software - unless there are limits on the size of the screen the software expects.

what i did is make presets to put the sub-mixes in sensible places for the triple head- thats kindof all i did with this.

you should of course be concerned about using any piece of hardware or software on a show that you havent tested in your situation with your equipment.

---

triple heads are cheap -UKP200 - and whether they stand up to touring - who knows?

samsc
05-08-2006, 07:09 AM
there is also a twin head 2 go which has 2 outputs, i have tested this a little and it seems to work fine

Robenspiel
05-08-2006, 08:29 AM
thanks fr the info. What I think I'll do is stay with my current version and get a triple head box to experiement with.

thanks!


SX

samsc
05-08-2006, 10:30 AM
i had have most of the stuff here out on radiohead for 3 months now - using a quad g5. it went fine. but you should always check for yourself.

what computer do you have?

tharding
07-08-2006, 05:29 AM
I have had a quick play with the edge blending feature and the offsets. From my point of view I need to use the edge blending without keystoning most of the time. Is it possible to switch it on in "Flat mode".

I also notice that none of the offsets are equal to the edge blend border. A setting of 1 plus & minus gives me a perfect offset to butt two mixes together but I need the additional amount to account for the blend.

Cheers

Toby Harding

samsc
07-08-2006, 08:24 AM
I have had a quick play with the edge blending feature and the offsets. From my point of view I need to use the edge blending without keystoning most of the time. Is it possible to switch it on in "Flat mode".

I also notice that none of the offsets are equal to the edge blend border. A setting of 1 plus & minus gives me a perfect offset to butt two mixes together but I need the additional amount to account for the blend.

Cheers

Toby Harding

i will see if i can make the flat mode edge blend - a different technique is required.
you could drag the points into the corners for now.

i just added -.9 and .9 to the offsets - at the moment the blend is 10% -

tharding
07-08-2006, 12:30 PM
For the shows I do we usually have a projector overlap of 20% as a minimum. Seemed to work best with the Barco soft edge system built into the projectors.

Cheers

Toby

Gian
07-08-2006, 02:13 PM
I saw 10.4.6 Only ? Any problems with 10.4.7 ? or was just not tested ?

Tks

Gian

samsc
07-08-2006, 02:21 PM
For the shows I do we usually have a projector overlap of 20% as a minimum. Seemed to work best with the Barco soft edge system built into the projectors.

Cheers

Toby

ill try and add overlap options.

i started with 10%, Ill add 20%

samsc
07-08-2006, 02:21 PM
I saw 10.4.6 Only ? Any problems with 10.4.7 ? or was just not tested ?

Tks

Gian

10.4.6 or greater.
10.4.7 seems to work fine.

samsc
07-08-2006, 03:47 PM
For the shows I do we usually have a projector overlap of 20% as a minimum. Seemed to work best with the Barco soft edge system built into the projectors.

Cheers

Toby

m56 added 20% and 25% variable edge blending.

tharding
08-08-2006, 12:16 AM
Awesome!

Thankyou

tharding
08-08-2006, 01:39 AM
m56 added 20% and 25% variable edge blending.

Just tried it out, looks like it will work a treat. Unfortunately I don't have access to projectors today but will do so during the week.

I have some suggestions for other things that would be usefull alongside this feature.

1. Top and Bottom blends. I have done a couple of shows now where we have done the big portrait look. I can see there may be some issues if you have all edges on at once. The corners would end up over faded perhaps but it would be great to be able to stitch multiple projectors together up/down and left/right. Perfect for those situations when you don't have the rear projection distance for one or 2 big projectors.

2. Someway of saving presets for Mix positions/layout and assignments. I can see the need to be able to change which layers go where during a show. For instance there might be the Corporate bit at the start of the night over multiple screens but at the end of the night you want to have the maximum number of layers available behind a band and just holding logos on other screens.

Also once you have used a particular type of projector in a set up it would be nice to be able to recall the configuration that worked best. Especially with the edge blends.

With the use of the Matrox box I can now free the second output up to give myself a full screen preview of the panorama by using smaller mix boxes. This is especially helpful when you are setting up and there are no projectors up yet. You can preview the whole screen without the offsets or blends and continue to program onsite. Being able to save this as a preset/template would be great.

3. Maybe if the keystone default was to fill the Mix frame then the reset function would always give you a flat picture with edge blending and alleviate the need to have a separate process for doing flat edge blending. Just a thought. I have no idea how difficult that is to do.

All in all this is a fantastic addition and is going to make life so much easier for those of us that have been relying on hardware solutions for edge blends and panoramas. Not to mentioned how much easier the programming becomes when you don't have to incorporate offsets into your palettes.

Thanks Richard!


Cheers

Toby Harding

FxDrew
08-08-2006, 05:45 PM
When using global keystoning/edge blending on mixes, they do not apply to the XVGA outputs on the computer, is that correct? Do these new features only apply to pixel sub-mixes and when using Matrox 'Triple Head to Go'? Maybe I'm missing a step.

Thanks!

p.s. you must be excited about the new mac pros that were released. I'll be picking up one soon. I'll have to give Catalyst a try on it.

samsc
08-08-2006, 08:45 PM
they do apply to the xga outputs. you have to make a sub-mix the size of the xga output....

turn off the main output.

result is the same.

FxDrew
08-08-2006, 10:22 PM
Gotcha. Tried it and it works for Output 1, but I can't drag any mixes to the second output (they will drag over, but I see nothing on the screen). Currently using m56 beta 1.

samsc
08-08-2006, 11:15 PM
you dont drag any mixes to second screen.

you use the hud on the second screen to open the mix on that screen.
use 'z' and 'x' keys to turn on hud on second screen.

this way its more flexible than before - any mix can be 'full screen'- on any screen.

Gian
12-08-2006, 12:46 PM
What about a WideScreen option...

like Wide Left and Wide Right... or how i can make a movie moves from Mix 1 to Mix 2 and make the Panorama.... That works easily with the Matrox too ?

samsc
12-08-2006, 01:20 PM
easy.

with no keystoning-
set mix 1 with "Mix X offset" of -1
set mix 2 with "Mix X offset of +1

as shown.

select layer 1 on mix 1 and 2.

layer now moves seemlessly between mixes.

To work with matrox you just have to move the mixes to the right place on the screen.

Gian
12-08-2006, 05:06 PM
Thanks

samsc
12-08-2006, 06:59 PM
added top and bottom blend
added presets for Matrox dual head and single screen

mix layer select from dmx - you can select which layer gets patched to each mix via dmx.

samsc
12-08-2006, 07:45 PM
That works easily with the Matrox too ?

matrox triple head gives you 3 'full screen' vga outputs from a single dvi interface.
matrox dual head gives you 2 'full screen' vga outputs from a single dvi interface.

matrox is really easy to setup - no drivers.

samsc
12-08-2006, 07:48 PM
1. Top and Bottom blends. I have done a couple of shows now where we have done the big portrait look. I can see there may be some issues if you have all edges on at once. The corners would end up over faded perhaps but it would be great to be able to stitch multiple projectors together up/down and left/right. Perfect for those situations when you don't have the rear projection distance for one or 2 big projectors.

2. Someway of saving presets for Mix positions/layout and assignments. I can see the need to be able to change which layers go where during a show. For instance there might be the Corporate bit at the start of the night over multiple screens but at the end of the night you want to have the maximum number of layers available behind a band and just holding logos on other screens.



top bottom blends and mix offsets are in m57.

you can also select the mix layers from dmx in m57

im working on positions and layouts from dmx.

Spam Butterfly
14-08-2006, 11:45 AM
Nice!

Hugh

tharding
15-08-2006, 08:12 AM
Is it possible to get things like the kaleidescope, wave effects and wipes to work across the mixes as opposed to only inside their individual windows. I especially could use the wrap rotate effect if it worked wide screen instead of mapping onto the cylinder.

Also, I am not plugged into the console at the moment so I can't check, but where on the interface is the "smooth" function? I use it all the time in 3.3 for nice text crawls and the like. If it is still available via DMX that is fine but it would be great to have it to put into presets.

Cheers

Toby Harding

samsc
15-08-2006, 11:51 AM
Is it possible to get things like the kaleidescope, wave effects and wipes to work across the mixes as opposed to only inside their individual windows. I especially could use the wrap rotate effect if it worked wide screen instead of mapping onto the cylinder.


some of the fx havent been fixed yet for the new panoramas.
most fx work.



Also, I am not plugged into the console at the moment so I can't check, but where on the interface is the "smooth" function? I use it all the time in 3.3 for nice text crawls and the like. If it is still available via DMX that is fine but it would be great to have it to put into presets.

Cheers

Toby Harding

movement smoothness is still there.

tharding
01-09-2006, 08:39 AM
Up until now I have been playing with the keystoning & edge blending on a single screen using 2 mixes.

However, today I tried using the keystoning on a single 1280 x 1024 screen stretching one mix to cover the whole area.

I notice that the resolution of my images degrades considerably when I do this. Very pixelated. When I turn keystoning off or turn the straight screen output on it is back to normal.

This will be a major problem if this is the only way I can use the edge blending. I rely on the resolution for hi res stills and graphics. Is there any fix for this?

Cheers

Toby

samsc
05-09-2006, 02:39 AM
Up until now I have been playing with the keystoning & edge blending on a single screen using 2 mixes.

However, today I tried using the keystoning on a single 1280 x 1024 screen stretching one mix to cover the whole area.

I notice that the resolution of my images degrades considerably when I do this. Very pixelated. When I turn keystoning off or turn the straight screen output on it is back to normal.

This will be a major problem if this is the only way I can use the edge blending. I rely on the resolution for hi res stills and graphics. Is there any fix for this?

Cheers

Toby

still investigating algorithms with regard to limits of past systems and graphics cards.
needs a lot of VRAM - did some compromises for more compatibility - need to work through issues like this one you mention at hi-resolution output.

Guy Conger
12-09-2006, 12:19 AM
Playing with a Triple Head 2 Go on on the latested m57 build. Setup is as follows. One DVI monitor connected to the DVI out. One Triple head to go with three monitors connected to the VGA out. Mac and catalyst recognize both screens at the correct resolution DVI at 1024x768 Triple head at 3072x768. The problem is I can't get the HUD keys to appear on the triple head screen only on the DVI screen. If us the MAC control's to swap the Triple Head to Screen 1 and the DVI to Screen 2. Problem tracks, hud keys work on the DVI but not the triple head. Am I missing something?

Thanks!

Guy

Gian
12-09-2006, 01:45 AM
I am using triple head, without a problem.... The resolution of 3072x768 just work at 75 Hz, so i was having some work on that, but with the 2400 X 800 or 37XX X 1024 on 60 Hz evrething works fine, give it a try...

Gian

Guy Conger
12-09-2006, 09:42 AM
Gian, thanks for the response. I could get the HUD controls to appear when I set the output resolution to 2400x600 (not sure about the refresh rate.) Still no joy when set to 3072x768.

samsc
15-09-2006, 12:41 AM
depends on what the graphics card in the mac supports - it might not support that resolution?

not all cards will go that high.

which mac did you use?

Gian
16-09-2006, 02:27 AM
I know, me either,... I am very happy with 2400 X 600, and I tested with some monitors what do accept 75 Hz, and works fine on higher resolutions,

Gian

samsc
16-09-2006, 09:19 PM
not every graphics card - OR every monitor or combination of monitors supports the maximum allowable resolution at every refresh rate - from the triple head or dual head 2 go devices.

you have to play around to see what comes works and what doesnt.
try setting the monitor outputs, and if the sceen doesnt come back up - its not worked.

samsc
29-09-2006, 05:49 PM
Edge blending with fixed sync.

Much improved sync between layers on local and remote playback layers.
New ability to lock to exact monitor refresh rate.
Fixed artnet universe output mapping incorrectly restricted.
Added MMC ( midi machine control ) device.

Mike Redmer
29-09-2006, 06:56 PM
realy nice new things in it;-)

samsc
29-09-2006, 10:08 PM
Up until now I have been playing with the keystoning & edge blending on a single screen using 2 mixes.

However, today I tried using the keystoning on a single 1280 x 1024 screen stretching one mix to cover the whole area.

I notice that the resolution of my images degrades considerably when I do this. Very pixelated. When I turn keystoning off or turn the straight screen output on it is back to normal.

Toby

resolution has been increased - can you check to see whether its better for you?

It can be increased more if needed.

tharding
30-09-2006, 05:08 PM
Everything looks sharp now;-)

Having the edge blending in non keystoning mode is great.

Just been playing on the laptop but will give it a go on one of my G5s in the next day or so.

Thanks Richard

Cheers

Toby

samsc
30-09-2006, 05:24 PM
Everything looks sharp now;-)

Having the edge blending in non keystoning mode is great.

Just been playing on the laptop but will give it a go on one of my G5s in the next day or so.

Thanks Richard

Cheers

Toby

resolution might need to be increased in the future- depends on size of output screens.

edge blending without keystoning is important - its the way the EA stand worked at GC2006 in leipzig.

im not sure about performance of this on older systems. we will see.

tharding
01-10-2006, 01:53 AM
Is performance for this dictated by the graphics card or processor?

I have original G5s so I am interested to know if graphics card upgrades to X800 would help. That is assuming I run into difficulties. I will have a chance during the week to test fairly thoroughly.

Cheers

Toby

samsc
01-10-2006, 01:20 PM
Is performance for this dictated by the graphics card or processor?
Toby

depends on what you are trying to do.



I have original G5s so I am interested to know if graphics card upgrades to X800 would help. That is assuming I run into difficulties. I will have a chance during the week to test fairly thoroughly.

Cheers

Toby

this stuff gets harder the more complex things people want to do.

You need to test it for yourself and make sure it does what you need in your application.

there is so much that i have no control over - i have no control over graphics cpu or disc performance, i dont write much of the graphics or movie playback, im totally reliant on opengl and quicktime performance.

emilianomorgia
07-10-2006, 11:45 PM
the sub mix offsets are LEFT CENTER RIGHT , but what about if I'm using two matrox triple head on a dual head macpro ?

should not have six offsets ? LL L CC C R RR or LA CA RA LB CB RB ?

thanks

samsc
08-10-2006, 12:34 AM
the sub mix offsets are LEFT CENTER RIGHT , but what about if I'm using two matrox triple head on a dual head macpro ?

should not have six offsets ? LL L CC C R RR or LA CA RA LB CB RB ?

thanks

the offsets are independant on each screen?

emilianomorgia
08-10-2006, 04:45 PM
the offsets are independant on each screen?


Yes , let's say macpro with dual head , each head got triple head 2 go . how to set the second screen with the offset you provide right now ?

I wish to get offset for two screens

something like :

screen 1 L
screen 1 C
screen 1 R

screen 2 L
screen 2 C
screen 2 R

Improve
10-11-2006, 03:14 PM
they do apply to the xga outputs. you have to make a sub-mix the size of the xga output....

turn off the main output.

result is the same.

It took me a few hours to figure that out. It is nowhere described in no manual !!!! Why is it always so hard for Catalyst to get a proper manual...

Any way, now i got it working on a dual head to go... and it runs fine... So the triple head should not be more difficult i suppose.

Still i find behind the two output layers (dual head) a kind of total output... Is there a way to get rid of this??? in case of heavy keystone the output does not cover the whole 1024 x 768 screen....

samsc
10-11-2006, 05:10 PM
It took me a few hours to figure that out. It is nowhere described in no manual !!!! Why is it always so hard for Catalyst to get a proper manual...

Any way, now i got it working on a dual head to go... and it runs fine... So the triple head should not be more difficult i suppose.

Still i find behind the two output layers (dual head) a kind of total output... Is there a way to get rid of this??? in case of heavy keystone the output does not cover the whole 1024 x 768 screen....

sorry about the manual thing.
You will have to ask someone at HES about manuals.
they write them...

can you post a screen catpure of what you see?

Improve
13-11-2006, 10:29 PM
Hi Richard,

I was trying this on the MACbook pro, with a double head on the DVI output.. I suppose I forgot to turn of the output on output 2...

You should only apply submixes? Then I think it works...

Can you confirm file resolution still limited to 2048 x 2048 ???

samsc
27-11-2006, 03:55 PM
Hi Richard,

I was trying this on the MACbook pro, with a double head on the DVI output.. I suppose I forgot to turn of the output on output 2...

You should only apply submixes? Then I think it works...

Can you confirm file resolution still limited to 2048 x 2048 ???

yes its still 2048x2048 as that is a limit on the graphics cards - only very new cards support bigger sizes.