Viz Mosart Administrator Guide

Version 5.5 | Published July 22, 2024 ©

Graphics Configuration Files

This section contains the graphics type:

Pixel Power Control Center (PPCC) Configuration File

The PPCC configuration file is called PPCCConfiguration.xml

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<DeviceConfig name="PixelPowerConfiguration" connectionString="localhost:0">
<Properties>
<!-- Default channel nubmer to use -->
<item name="SystemNumber" value="1"/>
<item name="ClientApplication" value="Overlay Graphics"/>
<item name="ClientName" value="Vizrt Mosart"/>
<item name="DefaultOverlaysTriggerCount" value="2"/>
<item name="EnableOutputBlackOnTakeOut" value="true"/>
<item name="PreventPreloadOverlayIfItemsAreOnAir" value="true"/>
<item name="RundownPrefix" value=""/>
<item name="ConvertStoryIdToDecimal" value="false"/>
<item name="ConnectedWhenIdle" value="false" />
<item name="ConnectedWhenInStandBy" value="false" />
</Properties>
</DeviceConfig>

Properties

  • DefaultOverlaysTriggerCount: Number of triggers used for take-in and take-out from PPCC in overlays.

  • EnableOutputBlackOnTakeOut: True if OutputBlack should be sent when continue points still exist on item.

  • PreventPreloadOverlayIfItemsAreOnAir: Will prevent selecte page of next overlay if the engine currently has items on air (only overlays).

  • RundownPrefix: The prefix to be used in the roId of the commands. (The same as set in the mosconfig.xml file in the Avid MOS Gateway.

  • ConvertStoryIdToDecimal: Specifies whether the story id should be converted from Hex to Decimal value.

  • ConnectedWhenIdle: This value determines if the connection to the graphic devices are maintained while Viz Mosart Server is in Idle mode.
    True = Maintain connection to graphic devices while in Idle mode. This setting will also initialize a connection to devices if Viz Mosart Server is started in Idle.
    False = Do not start/maintain connection while in Idle mode.

  • ConnectedWhenInStandBy: This value determines if the connection to the graphic devices are maintained while Mosart is in Standby mode.
    True = Maintain connection to graphic devices while in Standby mode. This setting will also initialize a connection to devices if Mosart is started inStandby.
    False = Do not start/maintain connection while in Standby mode.

Note:

  • You can specify Channel on the PPCC for each PPCC engine in AV Automation and Overlay Graphics.

  • This channel will only be used for OutputBlack messages (clearing an engine).

  • It's possible to define multiple channels using both comma and semicolon as separator.

  • Be aware that the channel will be cleared on the PPCC regardless of the connection information.
    For example, clearing channel 1 clears all graphics on this channel.

Pixel Power (Clarity) Configuration File

The Pixel Power (Clarity) configuration file is named PixelPowerConfiguration.xml.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<DeviceConfig name="PixelPowerConfiguration" connectionString="localhost:0">
<Properties>
<!-- Connection parameters, may be overridden -->
<item name="Server" value="localhost" /> <!-- Not in use -->
<item name="Port" value="10220" /> <!-- Not in use -->
<item name="DefaultTakeOutPage" value=""/> <!-- Not in use -->
<item name="OutputBlack" value="false"/> <!-- Not in use -->
<item name="JobPath" value="c:\Pixel_Power\Jobs\"/> <!-- Not in use -->
<item name="Extension" value=".pjz"/>
<item name="LowPageRange" value="1-999"/> <!-- Not in use -->
<item name="FullScreenPageRange" value="1000-1999"/>
<item name="CgPageRange" value="2000-9999"/>
<item name="ClarityProtocolVersion" value="1.0"/>
<item name="UseAsUpdateJob" value="false"/>
<item name="CreatePageMode" value="true"/>
<item name="WaitHandle" value="2000"/>
<item name="HeartbeatInterval" value="10"/>
<item name="PathCriteria" value=":"/>
<item name="DisableAVAutomationLoadJob" value="true"/>
<item name="DefaultOverlayPage" value="999" />
<item name="UseDefaultPageChannel" value="true" />
<item name="WaitForStories" value="3000"/>
<item name="AskPageInfo" value="false"/>
<item name="AskPageImage" value="false"/>
<item name="AskFieldInfo" value="false"/>
<item name="ConnectedWhenIdle" value="false" />
<item name="ConnectedWhenInStandBy" value="false" />
</Properties>
</DeviceConfig>

Note: Items that are no longer supported for Viz Mosart’s Pixel Power implementation are noted with <!-- Not in use -->.

Properties

  • Extension: The file extension for the Pixel Power job to be loaded.

  • FullScreenPageRange: Defines the range of Pixel Power page numbers used by Viz Mosart for full screen pages.

  • CgPageRange: Defines the range of Pixel Power page numbers used by Viz Mosart for CG (lower third) pages.

  • UseAsUpdateJob: Set if Pixel Power is to treat the loaded job as an update job.

  • CreatePageMode: Informs Pixel Power to create the page from Viz Mosart or not.

  • WaitHandle: Defines how long Viz Mosart should wait before removing a layer from the cued page after sending a trigger animation char command to Pixel Power.

  • HeartbeatInterval: Defines how often Viz Mosart should check if the connection to Pixel Power is valid. The value is given in seconds.

  • PathCriteria: Defines criteria that must be met (if any) for a job path to be valid.

  • DisableAVAutomationLoadJob: If this value is set to true, only Overlay Graphics will load jobs on Pixel Power. Note that the current implementation will not handle other job/page logic from AV Automation (such as delete pages). This value is expected to be true.

  • DefaultOverlayPage: Defines the overlay page to use as default on which to add layers to. This is the CG page that will be transferred on taking overlay graphics.

  • UseDefaultPageChannel: Lets the pages created use the default page channel defined in Pixel Power. If set to false, the pages created will use the channel defined in engine settings.

  • WaitForStories: Defines how many seconds Viz Mosart should wait for a story before deleting old/non-existing pages (handles shortcut keys from Viz Mosart GUI).

  • ConnectedWhenIdle: This value determines if the connection to the graphic devices are maintained while Mosart is in Idle mode.
    True = Maintain connection to graphic devices while in Idle mode. This setting will also initialize a connection to devices if Mosart is started in Idle.
    False = Do not start/maintain connection while in Idle mode.

  • ConnectedWhenInStandBy: This value determines if the connection to the graphic devices are maintained while Viz Mosart is in Standby mode.
    True = Maintain connection to graphic devices while in Standby mode. This setting will also initialize a connection to devices if Viz Mosart is started in Standby.
    False = Do not start/maintain connection while in Standby mode.

  • AskPageInfo: Defines whether Viz Mosart requests Pixel Power for page info when creating a page.

  • AskPageImage: Defines whether Viz Mosart requests Pixel Power for page image when creating a page.

  • AskFieldInfo: Defines whether Viz Mosart requests Pixel Power for a pages field info when creating a page.

    Note: It is not necessary to ask for the last three items when creating a page.

Vizrt Graphics Configuration File

The Vizrt Graphics Configuration file is named VizrtGraphicsConfiguration.xml.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<DeviceConfig name="VizrtGraphicsConfiguration">
<Properties>
<item name="default_effect_dsk" value=""/>
<item name="default_effect_wall" value=""/>
<item name="default_effect_full1" value=""/>
<item name="allowUpdateOfOnAirItems" value="true"/>
<item name="RemoveUnusedChannelsOutputs" value="true"/>
<item name="SetConceptOnOutputChannel" value="true"/>
<item name="TakeInCommand" value="" />
<item name="TakeOutCommand" value=""/>
</Properties>
</DeviceConfig>

Properties

Note: For a complete list of available properties, refer to the comments in VizrtGraphicsConfiguration.xml . This file is usually located under folder C:\channeltemplates.

  • default_effect_dsk: Default effect to be used on the dsk handler (must be lower case)

  • default_effect_wall: Default effect to be used on the wall handler (must be lower case)

  • default_effect_full1: Default effect to be used on the fullscreen graphics engine 1 (must be lower case)

  • allowUpdateOfOnAirItems: Allows an item to be updated even if it is onair (default = true)

  • RemoveUnusedChannelsOutputs: When enabled, MSE Mosart Profile will synchronize to the Overlay Graphics Configuration, i.e. all outputs that are not used in Viz Mosart will be deleted. (default = true)

  • SetConceptOnOutputChannel: Current Concept Override functionality sets a context environment variable named "alternative_concept" when scheduling an operation to the MSE. This variable will override any Concepts defined for an Output in the VCP/Trio profile editor. In a setup where there are multiple outputs assigned to a Channel where each output has Concepts assigned except the first, all outputs will run with the main concept. The following setting will set the Concept of all outputs under Mosart control in the Profile to the currently selected Concept and this will be the default behavior. The old way of sending the value in the environment for ScheduleElement can still be used by setting the property SetConceptOnOutputChannel to false. (default = true)
    The following Viz Trio properties are used when connecting to Viz Trio. They were originally stored in VizTrioConfig.xml. Viz Trio connections must use port 6200.

  • TakeInCommand: Used to override take in commands. Use this if you require something other than page:take

  • TakeOutCommand: Used to override take out commands if you require something other than page:takeout

Vizrt Media Sequencer VDom Logic Macros

It is possible to send custom commands to the Media Sequencer. This can be done by VDom logic which can run on the Media Sequencer as macros from Viz Mosart.

An optional VizrtUserMacros.xml file should be created and placed in the config files folder with the following format:

Macro file format:

<macros>
<macro name="myMacroName">
<!-- Place a single VDom element here, for instance <env /> -->
</macro>
<macro name="StartScene">
<env>
<viz>RENDERER*STAGE START</viz>
</env>
</macro>
</macros>

The macros are executed with the following variables:

Variable

Value

Comment

profile

/config/profiles/MOSART


viz

The viz handler for the engine targeted in the MACRO call


channel

The profile channel name for the engine targeted in the MACRO call

Only send if channel names are applied to elements

Chyron Configuration File

The Chyron configuration file is named ChyronConfig.xml.

The configurable parameters are documented with self-explanatory values in the code below.

<DeviceConfig name="DeviceConfig">
<Properties>
<!-- Macro for taking out graphics on Chyron channel x -->
<item name="TakeOutMacro1" value="BREAKOUT_A" />
<item name="TakeOutMacro2" value="BREAKOUT_B" />
 
<!-- Configure settings for taking out with transition graphics on Chyron channel x for Intelligent Interface Rules Engine (IIRE).
Specify the transition to be used to effect out the graphic. In the examples below, 2 take out commands have been defined for port 1 and 2
with tranistion "animate". {GraphicID} is a placeholder and must be given in the specified format. -->
<item name="IIRETakeOutMacro1" value="L\{GraphicID}\animate" />
<item name="IIRETakeOutMacro2" value="L\{GraphicID}\animate" />
<!--
Encoding: Default encoding utf-16
Page containing valid .Net encodings:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/shawnste/archive/2009/08/18/alternate-encoding-names-recognized-by-net-ie.aspx
-->
<item name="Encoding" value="utf-16"/>
<!-- If true the connection to the graphics devices are maintained while Mosart is in idle mode -->
<item name="ConnectedWhenIdle" value="false" />
<!-- If true the connection to the graphics devices are maintained while Mosart is in standby or idle modes -->
<item name="ConnectedWhenInStandBy" value="false" />
<!--Whether to send the NEW Check Existence command. (Requires Lyric build 2021 or higher. Use Help / About Lyric to find out.)-->
<item name="ShouldCheckExistence" value="false"/>
<!--Timeout for the NEW Check Existence command-->
<item name="TimeoutCheckExistence" value="1000"/>
 
<!--
Enable the PreviewOnOutput to keep the old behavior of cueing and taking an item for preview.
Leave as false for previewing on the local preview output of the Chyron. Note that when the below
setting is enabled, preview of CGs will be taken directly to air and is a misconfiguration of the system.
-->
<item name="PreviewOnOutput" value="false"/>
</Properties>
</DeviceConfig>


Deko, Orad, Xpression Configuration File

Several graphics drivers use variants of the common config file IntelligentInterfaceConfiguration.xml. These include

  • Deko

  • Orad

  • Xpression

Their respective parameters are documented with self-explanatory values in the code below.

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8" ?>
<DeviceConfig name="IntelligentInterfaceConfiguration">
<Properties>
<!-- Config file for all Intelligent Interface Graphics Devices -->
<item name="IgnoreCreateCommandInStandby" value="false" />
<item name="LoadInBackground" value="false"/>
<!-- Encoding to be used for communication. Typical values: "utf-16", "utf-8" -->
<item name="Encoding" value="utf-16"/>
<!-- The name of the Xml attribute containing the graphics id used when communicating with the graphics devices -->
<item name="GraphicsIdAttribute" value="graphics_id" />
<!-- If true the connection to the graphics devices are maintained while Mosart is in idle mode -->
<item name="ConnectedWhenIdle" value="false" />
<!-- If true the connection to the graphics devices are maintained while Mosart is in idle mode -->
<item name="ConnectedWhenInStandBy" value="false" />
 
<!-- DEKO -->
<item name="UseEffectsAttachedToTemplates" value="true"/>
<item name="TakeInWithCueAndTransferKeyCodes" value="false"/>
<item name="IgnoreKeyCodesOnTakeIn" value="false"/>
<item name="ClearScene" value=""/>
<!--<item name="TakeInPrefixFileName" value="\xF7"/>
<item name="TakeInPostfixFileName" value="\xF8\xF7"/>-->
 
<!-- XPRESSION -->
<item name="XpressionResumeBeforeTakeOffline" value="false" />
<!--true/false-->
<item name="XpressionTakeOfflineDelay" value="2000" />
<!--milliseconds (req. XpressionResumeBeforeTakeOffline to be true)-->
<item name="XpressionSuppressAlfanumericTemplates" value="false" />
<!--true/false-->
<item name="XpressionRetryIndexGenerator" value="10" />
<!--true/false-->
<item name="XpressionOverlayIndexLimit" value="100000" />
<!--true/false-->
 
<!-- GRAPHICS : ORAD -->
<!-- Activates preload in preview for given destinations.
Syntax: comma separeted list of destinations: Example "DSK,WALL" -->
<item name="OradPreloadDestinations" value="" />
<!-- Either [1,2]. The number of response message expected after a preload command V\5\13. Default 1-->
<item name="OradPreloadNumResponses" value="1" />
<!-- Orad Heartbeat interval in seconds. Set to 0 to disable -->
<item name="OradPollInterval" value="60" />
<!--seconds-->
<!-- Minimum time to wait after take command before sending new commands to Orad -->
<item name="OradTakeBlocks" value="10" />
<!--milliseconds-->
<!-- Minimum time to wait after cue command before sending new commands to Orad -->
<item name="OradMaxWaitTillCued" value="6000" />
<!--milliseconds-->
<!-- Obsolete: Use general Encoding property instead -->
<!--<item name="OradEncoding" value="unicode" />-->
<item name="OradSkipRecue" value="never" />
<!-- Either [last,loaded,never]. Controls when to skip recue-->
<!-- If set, responses from last preview operation will be stored. Corresponding play will not take place if cue is not verified -->
<item name="OradEnableCueVerification" value="false" />
<!-- If set, a Select Output command is sent as part of preview. Complient with Orad/CII protocol, section 4.13-->
<item name="OradEnableSelectOutput" value="false" />
</Properties>
</DeviceConfig>