MagicHD Quick Mode

MagicHD Quick Mode is a slimline version of MagicHD designed for situations where only a single layer of media playback is required. It supports the ability to perform transitions on the one layer between the current and next media files all from a single head without the need to manage multiple layers.

It utilises the same Media Library and conversion process as MagicHD Full Mode, and integrates with MagicQ, providing thumbnails and easy control via the Media window. MagicHD Quick Mode also supports integration with an existing MagicQ Cue Stack, dynamically controlling the transition speed based on the Cue fade time.

Loading and Patching MagicHD Quick mode

To enable Quick Mode in MagicHD, this can be selected from the MagicHD menu bar under Media > Quick Mode when using the standalone MagicHD player, or by selecting a MagicHD Quick server patched in a MagicQ show file. When Quick Mode is enabled and is running in Standalone mode, you can configure which DMX channel it is patched on using the Settings dialog box. For the MagicHD Full mode, the DMX Channel is hard coded at channel 1 due to the size of the DMX personality required.

To patch a MagicHD Quick mode server, go to the Patch window, select CHOOSE DIM/MEDIA > MagicHD Quick, and continue the patch as normal specifying the universe and channel it is configured to run on. The Media Server can be named and managed using the standard sheet in Setup > VIEW SYSTEM > VIEW MEDIA, and should appear as type "MagicHD Quick". An alternative method patching is to select an unused server in the Media window, and select "MagicHD Quick" from the popup dialog which appears.

When MagicHD Quick is running as part of MagicQ, then the IP address field in Setup > VIEW SYSTEM > VIEW MEDIA should be set to "Local". Live thumbnails of the media output are loaded directly from the server. If MagicHD Quick is running on a separate computer via network, then Art-Net or sACN can be configured to control the output. Specifying the IP address of the remote server within the Setup > VIEW SYSTEM > VIEW MEDIA window will enable live thumbnails to be loaded over the network.

Usage

Once the MagicHD Quick mode server has been patched, open the Media window by pressing the MEDIA button, and the MagicHD Quick server should appear in the list of media servers. As there is only one head file required for the Quick Mode server, selecting the server will also select the first layer in the Media window.

Media files and folders are selected in the same way as MagicHD Full mode by selecting the thumbnails of the media or by using the Media File and Media Folder encoders under the Media attribute group.

When the Media File or Media Folder attribute changes, MagicHD Quick mode will transition to the new media file based on the current transition and loop settings. A transition type can be chosen using the "Transition Type" attribute. If a media file needs to be looped, then the "Loop" attribute can be used to make the media file repeat indefinitely.

If MagicHD Quick mode will be programmed to a Cue Stack, then setting the Transition Time channel to 255 will make MagicQ use the Cue Stack fade time as the Transition Time.

When MagicHD detects a Media change, it will use the settings as they were when the transition was triggered, and subsequent changes to these won’t affect playback.

MagicHD Quick Mode will scale media to fit the current screen size, and will either letterbox or pillarbox media to preserve their aspect ratio on screen. For finer grained control of positioning and scale, MagicHD Full mode can be used to apply different scaling modes, positioning, rotation and sizing to the media.

DMX Personality

The personality for the Quick Mode head consists of 7 channels.

Parameter Channels Offset Default Type

Intensity

1

0

0

Colour scale

xref:media-layers:media_layers.adoc#folder_and_file[Media Folder>>

1

1

1

<<_number,Number]

xref:media-layers:media_layers.adoc#folder_and_file[Media File>>

1

2

0

<<_number,Number]

Transition Type

1

3

0

Quick Transition Type

Transition Time

2

4

0

Quick Transition Time

Loop Mode

1

6

0

Quick Loop Mode

Transition Type

The transitions will use the timing specified in the Transition Time channels.

Value Function

0

Dissolve

1

Slide Down

2

Slide Left

3

Slide Right

4

Slide Up

Transition Time

Transition Time is a two channel attribute allowing selection of a time between 0 and 255 seconds. This maps the coarse channel to be a number of seconds, and the fine channel to be in 1/256 of a second.

When control of the MagicHD Quick Mode is via a Cue Stack in Cue Timing mode, and the Transition Time field is set to 255 or above, then the fade time on the active Cue will be used to set the Transition Time attribute. This currently works for Cue Stacks in Cue Timing mode, and not Chase mode currently.

Value (fine - coarse) Transition time

0 - 0

0s

128 - 0

0.5s

255 - 0

1s

0 - 1

1s

0 - 2

2s

0 - 254

254s

255 - 254

255s

0 - 255

Use Cue Stack fade time

255 - 255

Use Cue Stack fade time

Loop

There are two loop modes available to either play the media file once, and stop at the end, or to repeat the media file on a loop.

Value Function

0

Play Once

1

Repeat