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This "What's New" chapter lists updates from Pandoras Box including its tools. For updates regarding Widget Designer, please go to the next chapter.
At the first glimpse, you won't notice anything new in the Preview tab or Rendering window but that's just the outside - the inside is a completely new render engine which is based on DirectX 11. We have reworked, optimized and improved the entire video rendering process from ground up. The advantages you can witness already today are a better performance and a higher color depth (see below) but the future will reveal more. |
In the Configuration dialog > Render Engine you can now find the option "Back Buffer Color Depth" which can be set to 8bit, or 10bit on Servers. As this is available for each Client separately, you can save performance on those Clients which are not connected to 10bit capable displays or projectors. Christie is now offering 10bit HDR support throughout its entire product offering. |
In addition, you can make use of a new image (sequence) format called DPX (Digital Picture Exchange) which is a common format for uncompressed still frames. If you have not heard from dpx, you can think of it as a bitmap format that can be saved with more variety in color depths. Pandoras Box accepts dpx files with a color depth of 8, 10 or 12bit per channel. However, any content will always be rendered in 8 bit or 10bit, according to the render engine. This happens automatically, i.e. no re-rendering is needed. All image formats are explained in detail in the chapter "Image Formats". To sum this up: If you render images or image sequences with a color depth of 8bit there is no advantage of using dpx files over bmp files, it is just another possibility. Various QuickTime codecs containing 10bit or more are also supported. |
The export functionality has been extended and includes dpx files with 8 or 10bit color depth, with or without transparency. Thus, the new Image Converter allows to transcode 16bit png or tiff files into 10bit dpx files to be efficiently used in Pandoras Box. For more information please see the Image Converter chapter. |
Similar to SDI audio, the new HDMI audio options are displayed in the Assets tab. Simply open the "Live Inputs" folder of the respective Client or Master system and look for the HDMI audio entries. HDMI supports up to eight channels which are displayed as four stereo channels in the Assets tab. Select an entry and drag it to the Project tab. From there you can assign it to an ASIO Track. To playback the audio part you always have to play the video part on a Video Layer simultaneously. Pandoras Box supports sample rates of 44.1k and 48k. As Inputs are not resampled please make sure that the audio device matches this sample rate (Configuration tab > ASIO Audio). The sample rate of the HDMI audio channel is displayed in the Inspector when selecting it in the Project tab. More information can be found in the chapter about the HDMI input card. |
We have seen a higher show performance when we checked this option working ... : As the name suggest, this option splits textures internally which has the effect that the system handles smaller (but more) textures instead of one very large one. As a result, the loading process of large textures gets smoother and thus increases the "show performance", which we state on our Performance Sheets found in the Download-Center. The show performance defines the maximum number of videos which can be started and stopped without interfering other videos. |
This version includes important bug fixes for issues which occurred when adding audio files with an unsupported audio format to Pandoras Box. |
To change a view to your needs, open the "Views" folder in the Project Tree, right-click the according View and choose "Update". This saves the current layout. When saving a new layout, you can now choose between two options from the right-click menu of the "Views" folder. With "Create View" you save the entire layout as usual (with a small structural change as explained further down). With "Create Partial View" you are saving only a specific part of the interface. A dialog asks which of the four sub-views should be included: When creating a View (via "Create View"), all four sub-views can be found as sub entries in the Project tree. They can be applied, updated or removed separately. The seven new default views change only the "Layout" part, so that the currently loaded Sequence, Preview and Device Tree do not change. You can add a new View to the View Bar to access it faster. You can either drag it there from the Project tab, or right-click it and choose "Add to View Bar" or make a right-click in the View Bar and choose "Add". In the View's right-click menu, you can also find the new option to "Export" a view, which saves the "Layout" sub view as a pbv file to the hard disc. |
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The Pre Roll Time, which can be found in the Clip Inspector, allows to load content before the Nowpointer enters the Container which is stored in the Sequence. Per default, this time is now 2 seconds. In addition, you can find the Pre Roll option when a Live Input is stored in the Container. When importing an Image Sequence, the default frame rate is now proposed with 50 FPS. |
From now on, you can multi-select folders in the Assets tab, right-click them and choose "Import as Image Sequence". If you don't need to set up individual frame rates, set up your frame rate under Configuration > User > Resources > Image Sequence Initial Values and uncheck the option "Show Popup..." In addition, you can multi-select Sites in the Device Tree and choose "Toggle Preview". |
From now on, QuickTime files support embedded audio again. |
Starting with Pandoras Box version 6.4.1 we are supporting the original Deltacast drivers (version 6.14) which we have added to our driver package in the Download-Center. When having two or more cards in a single computer they have to run with the same driver version. Therefore, a DVI board cannot be used along with the 12G board in a single computer. Using different driver version on separate machines is not a problem. Furthermore, we have optimized the behavior of live inputs in our software, so that they only use system performance when being assigned to a layer. |
The new environment allows to address more memory so that you can load more layers with large content at a time. Further it can do more processing in parallel. This is why the overall performance increases and is especially visible when playing back various codecs. Obviously, whenever the bandwidth of your hard drive or PCIe bus is the limiting performance factor, this cannot be overcome. But especially with compressed video files (HAP, MPEG-2, etc.), the performance increases substantially on most systems. Depending on the used hardware, even uncompressed videos get a boost as more frames can be simultaneously cached in the system memory now. We will update our Performance Specs for content playback in the near future. |
The QuickTime decoder that was part of the 32bit installations has been replaced with a new decoder. This not only enables you to playback more videos in parallel due to better performance, but also opens up a new world of video codecs. Pandoras Box now easily digests videos encoded with H.264, HEVC, ProRes of multiple flavors or even DNxHD. We will provide a full list of supported codecs and its performance when coming closer to the next release. In this version, embedded audio in QuickTime files is ignored and the GUI states "no audio" in the Inspector. Video performance for QuickTime based files now also benefits from hardware acceleration. Depending on your Nvidia GPU, you can hardware decode codecs such as H.264 or HEVC. You will witness a massive CPU usage drop when Pandoras Box automatically activates the hardware acceleration. You can double-check your GPU charts to verify which files can be accelerated, e.g. on https://developer.nvidia.com/video-encode-decode-gpu-support-matrix (the right side of the table). |
File and device trees (project tree, asset tree, device tree, patch tree,...) have been rebuilt to include new functionality. The tree item selection now follows Windows defaults and does not maintain selections when single-clicking on an already selected device. In the Device Tree tab, you will now find distinct columns for different information: parameter names, values and various icons are placed separated: Please activate "ClearType" to have a clearer font and, as always, make sure that the "DPI scaling" is set to 100% for a correct scaling of our interface. The chapter "User Interface - Master" explains this in more detail. |
Also, the log files and crash dumps got a new location to prevent the need to navigate into system locked installation folders when grabbing a file for support. A bigger change is the new content folder: As introduced many years ago, Pandoras Box prefers and defaults into C:\coolux\content. Christie hardware always mounts content drives (RAIDs) into this folder to act as a regular folder and all content data is placed into the right location. This way the OS-drive is not overloaded with content or cache files. Pandoras Box 6.4.0 also finally removes all mentioning of coolux and transitions to Christie (Digital Systems Germany GmbH). This requires us to mount content drives into C:\Christie\content going forward. No worries, we do care for compatibility! You will not even realize that this has changed as we continue to use the coolux folder if it exists already. Only when installing Pandoras Box 6.4.0 on a brand-new system, the Christie folder will be created. Existing hardware can be used as it is and also a mixture of hardware configurations is no issue at all. |
Step-by-step instruction: |
The Thumbnail Viewer tab is still available but as always, you can open it only once and the displayed content changes dynamically whenever you select another folder. The File Browser on the other hand is more static as it keeps displaying the same content. |
Pandoras Box Media Encryption is a technology that encrypts media in order to protect content from being played back by unauthorized persons or systems without permission. More information... |
When working with HDMI inputs, you can now choose another chroma sub sampling, i.e. RGB 4:4.4, in addition to YUV 4:2:2. You can find this option in the configuration window from the input. Master: add input from Assets tab to Project tab and select it; click "Configure" button at the bottom of the Inspector |
With this Pandoras Box version, the older Jog/Shuttle and Playback Extension are not supported anymore. Please make sure to use the newer version of the Jog/Shuttle Control (depicted below) and Fader Extension. |
MA-Net version 1 is no longer supported in Pandoras Box. MA-Net 2 (v2.9xx) and other protocols can be activated in the Configuration tab > Remote Control Protocols. |
Please make sure to have Input Card driver version 6.0.1 installed when using video inputs with Pandoras Box version 6.4.0. Older input card driver versions are no longer supported. |
The installer now includes the USB driver which you need for various Pandoras Box USB devices. |
We also updated the software "PB Menu" which is pre-installed on all Pandoras Box hardware. "PB Menu 6.4.0" reflects the changes with the new file paths for the installation of Pandoras Box as well as for the Logs and Content folders. Besides, it includes bug fixes. Please download it from the Download-Center. |
This version includes bug fixes to prevent possible crashes. Pandoras Box 6.1.4 is the last version in a 32bit environment. Following PB versions are 64bit applications. |
More information can be found in the chapter Programming in the timeline. |
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Pandoras Box version 6.1.3 introduces the possibility to recalibrate (transform) CMSH-files from Widget Designer (version 6.1.0). You will need the Projector Recalibration tool from WD and the hardware device "Calibration Link". |
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Touch induced mouse events now work for CEF browser as well. Up until now, touch events only worked in the Awesomium browser engine. More information can be found in the chapter Configuration > Resources(Global). |
The button "Toggle Overview" shows (or hides) a table with all Universes and Subnets. The table can also be clicked to see all channels from a respective universe. Alternatively, you can choose the universe with the drop-down list(s) on the left side. You can either choose a "Universe" and "Subnet" or a single "Universe #" in case the option "Universe As Single Number" is checked. A new drop-down list lets you select the network adapter that is used for Art-Net. If channel values cannot be received anymore (e.g. because the connection is interrupted) the displayed blue values turn gray. In that case you can erase them with the "Clear" button. Now, "---" is displayed per channel until values are received again. |
Pandoras Box version offers three optimizations regarding the outgoing Art-Net data when Sites or Layers are patched. From Neuer Linknow on, Art-Net output values are only sent when a Channel is patched. Further, channels are reset to 0 when a patch is removed. And lastly, Art-Net universes stop sending when they are not used anymore. |
New TCP Device for simple communication to TCP/IP Server (e.g. projectors or video switchers). |
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The playback performance of tif image sequences equals the one for bmp or other uncompressed files. The performance specs can be found online in the Download-Center. Note that tif sequences are only supported when the images are saved uncompressed with a color depth of 8 bit and with or without an alpha (transparency) channel. For importing tif still images, you can also choose other tif saving options like image or layer compression but the above recommendation gives you the best quality and performance. Note that multiple layers are discarded as the file can only be assigned to one Layer in PB, e.g. a Graphics Layer. Please see the chapters Image Formats and Image Sequence Formats for more information. |
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The File Location Table, e.g. in the File Inspector, informs about the location and status of the selected file on each system connected to the Master. In former versions this included only Clients, but now also Multi-User Places are listed to give you a proper overview where the file exists. |
Furthermore, it is now possible to multi-select remote Clients and drag them into the Device Tree. |
The command that stores active values only for those Devices that are currently selected, has now the shortcut [Ctrl + Alt + D]. As in previous versions, it is still available in the Edit menu or in the Sequence Button Bar via this icon |
As a reminder, you can right-click a pane and choose to split it horizontally or vertically and then drag the second Device Viewer to the new location. This is explained in the chapter "Layout". |
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Note that you can also change the Site ID in its Inspector. |
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The first possibility for Multi-Users is to work in a "Sync Session" where all changes are synced continuously and seamlessly between all Users. However, you can also activate the "Blind Mode" within the Sync Session for working with an independent Nowpointer and Active Values. This allows you for example to jump to "your" time in the Sequence to store content or to view content in the Preview. Alternative to (fully or partly) synchronized programming, you can work asynchronously in a separate project and send ("push") your changes at a certain time, e.g. checked or newly encoded content, warp and softedge settings, parts of a Sequence, etc. The "Run Operation" button in the Multi-User tab opens a dialog to define these Pull and Push Operations. Note also that the Configuration is newly structured. All settings that are listed in the Global category apply to all Multi-Users whilst the other ones apply only locally. |
In case you maximize the Preview to full screen (shortcut [Ctrl + Shift + F]) a new window "Button Bar" opens and shows all modes and associated tools. Its shortcut is [T] to show and hide it. See the Preview chapter for full and accurate information about all the new options or read on for a short description of the new Preview features. |
In the Output layer you may find a new "Edit Warp Mesh" button. It either selects the Output Mesh or creates a new one for you and enters the "Editable Mesh" mode. All this and more is explained in the chapter about the Mesh Editing Mode. |
The planar one probably reminds you of how you worked in the Warper. You have the choice between two differently sized planar maps and the default 1:1 map. |
Read more in the chapter about the UV Mapping Modes in the Preview... |
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If you now click on the Camera rectangle it highlights blue and you can drag it around. This changes the X and Y Offset parameters. Cameras of a Server have more parameters available. First, click the "Camera Visibility" button to toggle the Camera icon and frustum as seen in the left picture. Now you can either drag the Camera icon around which influences the Camera Viewpoint and Target simultaneously, or you can drag the Viewpoint and Target separately. Hold the [Alt] key down to move the Camera / Viewpoint only and the [Alt] and [Shift] key for the Target. |
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Independent from the number of view ports, it is possible to maximize the Preview to full screen. This is especially of interest in case you warp several Outputs in the Manager using the Editable Mesh feature. |
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For existing products nothing changes with the installation of version 5.10 at first sight. At second sight you might notice that the number of Layers or Sequences has increased. Note that the software features of all Servers have been unified and include the Server PRO features with unlimited Audio, Graphic, Video Layers and since 5.10 unlimited Sequences. Existing Server PRO products are upgraded automatically. It is possible to upgrade a LT or STD Server. All products have now unified software features with the exception that each product group (Server, Player, Compact Player, Software Player) is available with a different number of Output layers. The hardware is separated into the categories ULT, PRO, STD and LT. The Product Overview chapter includes more detailed information and an overview table with all products and their features. |
In addition there is an improvement when working with two (Dual View) outputs on the Master PC. In earlier versions it was only possible to render the Preview on the primary output. Now, it is visible on any output! Note that it can only swap between outputs. It's not possible to see it on two outputs at the same time. Last but not least, we made it easier to toggle Cameras and Outputs into the preview. Right-click them in the Device Tree and choose "Load in Preview". |
In the Patch tab you decide to include a layer in the patch by ticking the check box next to it. The number to the left is the total number of patched channels in this layer. To exclude a parameter from the patch open the layer and uncheck the according check box. Note that the total patch count drops. When you have decided for all layers, you can patch them from the top to bottom with a "Start Address". Enter the start address for the site to affect all layers included in it at once. You now simply assign different starting addresses for all sites and all patched parameters will have unique DMX addresses. You can do this in the Patch tab as described above, or by right-clicking a site in the Device Tree and choosing the option "Patch > Set Patch Start Values". The entire patch state (parameters and channels) can be exported as a csv file when right-clicking on a site (or layer or parameter) and choosing this option. You may want to exchange this with the lighting desk operator. When you have created a layer template or folder with various layer templates and you like to use it again, you will find the options to export and import templates in the Project tab. Note that in a new project, you will now be able to adjust your patch without the need to work in the Patch tab itself. |
With a right-click in the title line, you can adjust which rows show according information: Cue ID, Name, [Internal] Note, Type, Time, Countdown, Jump/Wait [Time], Target [Time / Cue]. |
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By the way, it is still supported to drag Particle Systems or Text Assets to a normal Video Layer. The new layer types simply provide an easier workflow or save the number of Video Layers. All new layers can be added unlimited times. So, on a system with a reduced amount of Video Layers, you can now add an unlimited number of Text Layers for example to display scrolling text. |
In the Sequence section from the Configuration tab, there is an initial value for the Line Height. |
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Any Pandoras Box Master versions now support the product SpaceNavigator from 3Dconnexion. In short, this is a mouse device that allows to navigate in three axes (position and rotation). After installing the driver, go to the Configuration tab > 3D hardware and enable the new mouse input. Now you have the choice to either control selected layer(s) with it, or to control the camera selected in the Preview tab. Note that the mouse input alters the parameters relatively, not absolutely. |
The second new parameter "Pixel Warp" is for internal use and will be described in the future. |
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First, you change the length of the container in the sequence, then you select the container and look in the Inspector. You will find a new check box called "Loop". Per default this option is on, resulting in a looping video when the length of a container is longer than the clip itself. When deactivating the "Loop" option, the last frame is hold. |
Current Pandoras Box Server hardware can be customized with DVI or SDI input cards. For the SDI input cards this revision offers the possibility to synchronize genlocked input feeds with the same resolution and framerate. This is of interest for a "mask-and-fill" setup or for creating a larger format like a 4K texture. For a Dual SDI card, you can synchronize both feeds from the same card. For a QUAD SDI card, you can synchronize two pairs (the first two and the last two) and for the QUAD 3G SDI card, you can in addition synchronize all four inputs. Very important: Please do not update yet when you use DVI inputs. Currently there is an issue with Dual Link signals! |
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coolux has developed a codec for use on PC and Mac. With this codec, content artists can directly produce image sequences for Pandoras Box without any further transcoding step. Keep in mind that image sequence playback is mainly aimed for SSD based systems. Pandoras Box is able to playback uncompressed image sequences. So if the sequence was rendered in an according lossless file format, you can play it back without any quality loss as Pandoras Box never compresses files internally! |
With this revision we now support a new format for images and image sequences: .snp files. The tools Dome Master, Splitter, Image Converter and the new Quicktime Converter offer to save images using the snappy format. Pandoras Box itself can playback the format. To be accurate, the snappy format is actually not an image format itself but a compression library offered from Google. So if you have a .jpg, .png, .bmp or .dds image, snappy compresses the file size but keeps the available quality as it simply reduces the file data. If you work with .snp files, the saving or reading process does not need more time, as the (de-)compression works in highspeed and real-time. In other words, Pandoras Box can decompress snappy image sequences on the fly. |
You may find the Converter along with all other coolux tools (Warper; Matrix Patcher,...) in the "Tools" menu. Choose "Convert Single File" or, in case you have multiple files, "Add Files to batch" and select the original .mov file(s). The Converter requires an installed Quicktime Player. Keep in mind that .mov is a container format not a codec itself. Thus, the container can contain any common or uncommon codec. To convert a .mov, the codec used in it, must be installed on the PB system as well. |
Simply select a single or multiple devices (i.e. Video Layers, Cameras, etc) to open the Video and Graphic Layer Inspector. There you click on the color field and choose any new color. The button "Reset" applies the default color again. |
With this version we introduce the support of a protocol called KiNET. KiNET is a lightweight UDP/IP based protocol used to communicate via Ethernet with Philips Color Kinetics light fixtures and power supplies. The KiNET settings are available in the Matrix Patcher only. |
The following shortcuts have been added or changed: See here all keyboard shortcuts for a Master system and for a Client system. |
There is a considerably improved import / conversion of older Pandoras Box projects saved under version 4. Before, the entire timeline was missing. Now, all sites and devices, as well as cues, containers and other timeline settings are converted. Please note that still there are elements that are not possible to be imported: Depending on your project, there might be further attributes. Please check and edit the converted project thoroughly to make sure it works as you expect. |
Until this version, the Blend Mode parameter was only available on Servers. It is used to determine how two layers are blended into each other. The default called "Normal" simply hides the lower layer with whatever is present in the top layer. With other modes you can for instance "add" the top layer's pixels to the ones from the lower layer, or set up a Mask and Fill combination. All Player version have now the included this Blend Mode. More information about Blend Modes... |
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Please find below descriptions for the most important features and new hardware devices. Not mentioned are minor settings as this version comes with an exceptional amount of small but helpful changes. Most of the new options and settings can be found in the Inspector of each item and in the right-click menus. For additional information, see the changelog (e.g. C:\Program Files (x86)\coolux\Pandoras Box... Rev 9929)
Regarding real Clients, you include them into the sequence by dragging them from the Assets tab or from the Device Types tab into the Devices tab. You render content on them by spreading media files to it and assigning these resources to layers. With respective settings (opacity, scaling, effects) the resources appear in the 3D space of Pandoras Box. Whenever a Camera Device sees a resource, it renders it as part of its camera texture. Then this texture is send to the Output Device to be re-rendered with the output settings (warping, keystone, softedge). This texture is the real output of your graphics card and is connected to a display device. Regarding Venue Sites, you include them into the sequence by dragging them from the Device Types tab into the Devices tab. You render content on them by routing textures to it and assigning these textures to Venue Layers. A valid texture is either a camera or output texture from a real site. It can be a real media file too. Mind, that the site needs to be toggled into the preview. Besides the texture, you would mostly apply a 3D object to a Virtual Layer too. The object represents a part of your stage. This can be for instance a flat 2D object representing a display, or it can be a curved object representing a curved projection screen, or it can be a chair object, moving head object, human object. From that point on, the render pass is the same as above. The Venue Layer is captured by a Venue Camera which sends its own texture to the Venue Output, again offering the known output settings. But the Venue Output does not send its result to a real display but to the Preview tab. You may also preview a Venue Camera and animate it on the timeline. This way you can fly through your 3D stage and look at the content from different angles. Of course you can always export this animation using the Video Export feature. As with other sites, all settings for Venue Sites can be kept as active values or be stored to the timeline in form of containers. Or you remote control them using for instance the Widget Designer. There is the possibility to (roughly) simulate projectors including the deformation when hitting screens. That is what makes keystoning and warping necessary. Softedging can be roughly simulated too. A sample project can be found in C:\coolux\content\projects\VenueSites_Training_Stage |
++ ADDING MULTIPLE CAMERAS AND ENHANCED CAMERA FEATURES ++
Find new individual settings including the size of the camera texture in the Camera Inspector. This allows for higher (or lower) resolution for rendering the individual passes which helps in many applications: First Pass Anti alias, Flexible texture mapping, Video Export,… The navigation in the preview tab developed to be more direct which makes the orientation in preview tab easier and more efficient. First of all, you may now choose to preview a camera just as you used to do with an output (right-click in Preview tab > Select Preview). Then the chosen camera view can be navigated similar to the global preview. It is a great time saver that the navigation changes reflect as active values for the controls of the Camera Device. By storing these to the timeline, you can create great camera fly-through animations in a glimpse of an eye. Another option is to create accurate views, e.g. top view, site view, isometric view, particular video export view etc. |
Secondly, the rendering from 3D objects has been reformed: object default color, grid appearance and a default light source can be set up to meet your needs. |
Create a text input as usual (right-click in the Project tab > Add Text Input), the Inspector tab now offers new options and the button "Open in Resource Editor". There you may find the full scope of possibilities. |
You may input ASIO sound and route it to any ASIO output by assigning the input to the according ASIO track. This means that audio inputs can be arranged on any Pandoras Box timeline, or can alternatively be triggered via external commands. Audio delay settings are available per Resource, Layer or on Clip Level. That enables you to set up different delays for different output signal chains. Next to the feature to input, route and delay audio inputs, it is possible to record ASIO inputs via the Video Recording tab. |
The Compact Player comes with an included Compact Player license (no sequence, 2 Video Layers, unlimited Graphic Layers, 1 Output). The allowed playback performance is 2 x 1920x1080 for MPEG2 or DDS image sequence. Regarding audio support, the Compact Player license has no included ASIO Tracks as other licenses do. Eventhough the hardware does not nativly support ASIO, to install the ASIO4ALL driver is possible. When using this driver, coolux cannot guarantee synchronization. Audio playback on Video Layer (with MP3, WMA, WAV format and embedded sound) is supported. The connections in the back and front: |
Regarding the hardware features, the NET Link is a customizable device and comprises: The Calibration Link is a small NET Link device equipped with two analog fibre input boards for the input of 16 fibre cables (single-core, diameter of 0.98mm²). It is specially designed for an automated re-calibration of a projection setup, e.g. in a fixed installation where a projector or a screen have been moved. Show example... |
It can be used to generate and constantly hold an EDID whenever a display device is not able to send a correct or the exact needed EDID to the source. In addition the EDID Link will ensure, that a monitor is simulated even when none is connected to it, or powered down. The EDID Link does not need any separate power. Per default, the EDID Link comes with preinstalled EDIDs (i.e. a preset list) and can be used without additional software. The software addresses more advanced users and allows to read and modify EDIDs or create new ones and store them to the available preset list. Read more about the hardware and software. |
When you right-click on a container, you find additional options in the context menu. You may split one clip at the nowpointer's position. If you have several container within the same track selected, you may merge them. If they have different options regarding Lock to time or free-run, media file, mesh file etc., the first container in time wins. |
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You may adjust the global appearance of 3D files in the Configuration tab > Preview Display and for each file separately in the File Inspector. |
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Amongst many settings you may define for instance the properties of a container (Lock To Time, Preroll, Fade In, Duration) or the type for a cue or whether resources should have FluidFrame enabled per default. Each newly created container, cue or resource, is initialized with these settings. |
The Aeon FX tab awaits you with three improvements. A new Search Field helps all who forgot the exact name of a particular effect or just the folder containing it. It also makes finding an unknown but suitable effect easier too. Simply start typing into the Search Field (e.g. Color) and automatically it filters effects and shows only those somehow including the typed letters, e.g. Color Only, Target Color Burn, .... Secondly, an Effect Explorer has been developed. You may find it under Tabs > Launch FX Explorer or within the right-click menu from an effect. Last but not least, there is a new effect type: so called generic effects allow to generate moving content in real time, without the need of pre rendering anything. In addition they are independent from the pixel resolution from your outputs as the layer with the effect can be scaled as you wish. |
Pandoras Box version 5.7 added a new set of softedge blending shaders to the Aeon FX tab. The main change to the default softedge options for an Output device is that the curve parameter controls are strength and width of the curve instead of shifting it left and right. Plus, there is an additional Offset parameter that lets you control the center /white/grey point of the blend. Thirdly, there are parameters for RGB gamma corrections which might need to be applied when you want to adjust a good projector to a bad one. |
In short, the motorized distometer measures points with great accuracy and in return can laser to any point, measured before. It draw our attention as it can be used in complex 3D scenarios to measure projector positions and object position. It reduces setup times significantly. |
When the "Unit Translation Mode" is set to "Fixed relationship" you can enable in the Configuration tab section "Devices / Parameters" a Pixel Readout for Parameter Values. The Device Control tab then allows to type pixel values for parameters like Position. Using this decidedly "pixel oriented workflow" makes it easy to set up and use split pictures, and also aids the communication flow between operators and content designers, who are used to thinking in terms of pixel values anyway. |
Pandoras Box revision 9055 now supports a new format for images and image sequences. The dds format claims to perform better than other formats like jpg, png or bmp. In Comparison to these formats dds images save performance. In addition, always depending on the kind of content, it possible to achieve better results regarding the quality than the mpeg format can provide with videos. The Image Converter supports the dds format as well, thus it is possible to convert images and provide them for Pandoras Box. More information about image sequences in general and the Image Converter. |
There is a new media type provided by Pandoras Box and Widget Designer: a so called "Canvas". To create a Canvas in your Pandoras Box project, right-click in the Project tab and choose "Add Canvas". It can then be applied to a layer of your choice, e.g. a Graphic Layer. The Canvas consists of graphical elements that may be created in Widget Designer. It is for example possible to draw on it and create other elements on the fly. Hence, the Canvas changes the appearance dynamically and Pandoras Box renders the image interactively in real-time. In Widget Designer (higher Rev 506) please find the "Canvas Template Manager" under "Tools". It lets you create a template which is seen in a preview window. Then you can set a background color and when right-clicking in the preview, you may add text, ellipses and rectangles. Furthermore, there are dedicated nodes under "Create > Nodes > Interaction". They can be used to draw on an existing Canvas Asset in Pandoras Box based on the local mouse movement. To visualize these movements in Widget Designer as well, you may use the item "Drawing Canvas" under "Create > Panel". |
If you like to shift a container without moving it to another layer, hold down the [Shift] key. This locks the layer "borders". Holding down the [Ctrl] key whilst dragging a container activates the copying function. As soon as you let go on the same layer or on another layer you have created a copy from the original container. You might do this with multi selected containers or keys as well. More information about programming in the sequence... |
Furthermore, you may decide whether you like to store ALL active parameters or just those belonging to a certain device or parameter group. In order to store, for example just the X Position, expand all parameters in the Device Tree (e.g. using the +-symbol) and make a right-click on the parameter "X Pos" and say "Store active". If right-clicking on a level higher, in our case "Position", keys for X Pos, Y Pos and Z Pos are created if they were all active. In the same manner active values can be stored per layer or per Server / Player / DMX device. Last but not least, if you have an active value and then create a key by right-clicking in the timeline on the parameter track, the newly created key will adopt instantly to the value and thus deactivate the active status from the parameter. More information about the right-click menus in the Device Tree tab... |
In the example depicted left (click to enlarge the picture),a fade in and out scenario is set up with the default time of one second. As soon as a right-click is now made in the Sequence tab, for example in the opacity track or X Pos track, a container is created holding automatically four keys, two for the fade in and two for the fade out. Besides, these four keys are generated as soon as an active value is stored (creating a container) or when an asset is dragged from the Project tab into the sequence. |
Pandoras Box version 5.5 includes the feature to access internet pages and render them as so called "Browser Assets" in order to make them visible on graphic or video layers. Please note that the render and loading process might take up to 15seconds depending on the texture size and web site complexity. This is also subject to the internet connection. In addition, version 5.5 features the possibility to accept click events (click inputs) happening on the Master or Client system, for example when a mouse button is clicked or when an AirScan is used. The click input is then routed to the visible layer and in case it is a browser asset, it executes the underlying link. These click inputs can be single touch inputs when using Win XP or multi-touch inputs when using Windows 7 and higher. Routing them to a Widget Designer Device requires this device in your Device Tree and allows to monitor and work with the mouse input information in the Widget Designer. This recently introduced feature is called Layer Picking. The chapter includes a step-by-step example and detailed information about Layer Picking. As a third feature we introduced "Pointer Layers" to make the mouse pointer visible. Right-click in the Device Tree tab, choose "Add Layer > Pointer" and assign a media to it. Now, depending on the layer's opacity, this pointer layer is automatically shown: |
The Web Server settings can be found in the Configuration tab - Web Server. Please note that the internal Pandoras Box Web Server can be used without access to the internet, it is meant to be used in (secure) local networks. For bigger installations it might be of interest that external web servers can be used in combination with the PB web server. For example, an Apache HTTP Server can be used or any other web server that supports the scripting language php. This server is then used to deliver the web sites to the browser and forward commands to or receive information from the PB web server. This setup has advantages for larger installations and for those that need access to the internet (as the PB server can be invisible), or for database applications. |
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These configuration settings can be found as usually in the Configuration tab which has been restructured into several chapters. The configuration settings for Clients were moved from the Inspector tab to here as well and can be viewed after selecting the according Client from the drop-down list. The tab in general includes some new options, e.g. regarding the behavior of the Pandoras Box Web Server. All configuration changes concerning software settings are stored in the show file itself and are loaded when opening the project on a different computer. Settings concerning the hardware (the system itself) are stored on the local machine. |
We now support a relative path whereto content can be saved. This is especially of interest for users that use the "Bundle Project" feature. When saving a project a folder named "assets" is generated just next to the show file. If you copy content files to that folder and drag them from here into your Pandoras Box project the content links are relative. That means that you can move the project folder ( including the *.xml and asset folder) to every path wanted without the need of re-linking the content. |
Firstly, you may turn a folder in the Project tab into a so called "Watch Folder" by clicking on it to view its properties in the Folder Inspector and, there, ticking the according check box. If the folder already contains files, the check box can be found after clicking on the +-symbol in front of "Attributes of Folder". Secondly, it is possible to open the Windows Explorer or any other file explorer and simply drag files and folders from there into Pandoras Box. You may either complete the mouse drag in the Project tab, in the Preview tab or in the Device Tree tab as depicted left. |
All files in the project are monitored constantly on the hard drive and as soon as a file changes, an automatic reload is executed by Pandoras Box. In addition the reloaded file is spread to connected Clients. In former versions you only had the possibility to reload content manually, either by restarting Pandoras Box entirely or by clicking the Reload button in the File Inspector. A reload is necessary when content has changed on the hard drive after having been imported to Pandoras Box. This concerns especially still images as Pandoras Box saves them as a separate cache file. With the triggered reload, this cache file is now renewed automatically. If you like to turn the monitoring off, please uncheck this option in the Configuration tab, section "General Settings". There you find as well the option to deactivate an automatic spread triggered by a file change. |
The default value for the opacity parameter has changed to be 255 or 100%. In former versions the default value has been 0. If you like to return to that behavior you may uncheck the check box "Default Opacity is full" in the Configuration tab, section "General Settings". Please note that this option results in a different show appearance when switched during or after show programming. The default volume parameter for video layers and ASIO tracks has changed from -96dB to 0dB and can be toggled with the same check box. |
Setting up parameter smoothing is now possible per each Layer and Parameter separately not only for translation, rotation and scaling parameters per system. The default smoothing setting for all parameters is still 500. That means that active values are applied to the parameter not instantly or abruptly (0ms) but within 500ms in order to smooth movement. If you like to change the time frame or deactivate the smoothing entirely, e.g. when working with a lighting console and color effects on the layers, select the Client in the Device Tree tab and turn to the Inspector tab. The system-wide smoothings are still modifiable in the Inspector directly, whereas the button "Individual Parameters" opens the Smoothing dialog that enables specific modifications. |
In the Project tab's right-click menu, you may find the command to add a Playlist. In order to add media files to it, select the Playlist and look for the new tab "Playlist" (next to the Particles tab). Now you may drag and drop images, videos and audio files from the Project tab into the Playlist tab. Each newly dragged resource will simply be added at the end of the list (even when the Playlist is already playing back). If you like to put the files in another order, (multi-)select an entry and drag it between to others or assign a different "Index" number. Deleting files is possible with the Delete key on your keyboard or by choosing the respective command in the right-click menu. The overall duration of all files (minus the fade times, as there, two files are played back at the same time) results in the length of the Playlist. This is displayed in the Playlist Inspector. It offers general settings like Folder and File ID, resolution or aspect mode. As a last step, the Playlist needs to be assigned to a video layer. You may assign it as an active value or program it on the timeline as one single container. Please note, that you may assign the same Playlist to several video layers. Then the playback status can be different per layer, e.g. one layer can be in pause mode showing the file with index 5, the other in play mode between index 10 and 11. The Playlist tab offers a drop-down menu containing all layers the Playlist has been assigned to. Depending on this drop-down menu, the Playlist changes and displays the layer's playback mode and the currently active index file with a green highlight. In the image to the left (which can be enlarged) the chosen Playlist on Layer 1 is currently fading between two images. |
Version 5.5 includes a new version of the Warper. In addition to the import of third party 3D objects it is now possible to attach so called "Markers" on them. They are available using the tab "Marker". First add some markers and position them on the virtual object looking at your screen. In the "Calibration Mode" you may position the marker's second instance within the projected image on the real object. Having done so, the button "Update Cal" calculates the camera position that fits the best to the relative distance of the two marker instances. |
We developed a new interplay of Pandoras Box and our tool "Matrix Patcher" that is more time-saving and opens up new possibilities when working with Art-Net LED walls. Create a patch in the Matrix Patcher and export (or update) it in real-time to your Pandoras Box project with one click. Drag the new format ".pbx file" on any(!) output and save it onto the timeline. The preview can be toggled between the visualization of the DVI output and the Art-Net patch. The maximum number of controllable panels has increased enormously as it is now possible to save a specific network card and target IP address within a fixture. This allows as well to separate the Art-Net data from the Pandoras Box show data. From now on, Art-Net data for matrix patches can be sent within any IP range, it is not tied to the Art-net specification to be sent over a 2.x.x.x network anymore! |
The Configuration tab offers per each protocol a drop-down lists with all network cards installed on the system. Select one and restart the application. Now the entire Pandoras Box communication of Master and Clients will be transferred by this defined adapter and its IP address. |
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In addition we do offer SSD drives for our Server hardware. Compared to normal hard drives they allow better playback performance regarding image sequences and other uncompressed video formats. |
Primarily, Widget Designer has a built-in script language allowing you to create customized routines of commands that control specific features of Pandoras Box, Widget Designer or other 3rd party products and protocols but it was only possible to call these commands from Widget Designer itself. Currently there are over 800 commands available. Now it is possible to execute commands as soon as Pandoras Box' timeline calls them up, that means at a defined time in the show. This topic explains in detail how to program Widget Designer commands directly into the timeline and how to get trigger values from it. |
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Combined with new effects, it allows to set up blacklevel compensation when working with multi-softedged projection(s). |
The Image Converter is able to render a mpeg video from an image sequence. In version 5.3 it includes the feature to generate a black-and-white mask in addition to the main video. You may choose to include the b/w information side-by-side like, resulting in one video. In Pandoras Box, the Masking effect "Alpha Left Right" (respectively "Alpha Top Bottom") separates the two videos again and renders them while applying a keying effect to the main video. This workflow leads to transparency (alpha channel) in mpg-videos and saves far more performance than other codec solutions. |
There are new functions within the Pandoras Box SDK (PB Automation). Please refer to the chapter SDK that has been revised and now offers many examples and detailed description. |
The number of available ASIO Tracks has been increased. Unlimited audio tracks for synchronized audio playback, are available for: See Audio Tracks for more information. The Product Overview informs about the available number of ASIO Tracks on other products. |
There is a new version for the Widget Designer. Among many features and enhancements, the new build-in Web Server allows to export pages to be accessed online with using a standard web browser. |
StreamiX is a TCP based Desktop Streamer that works as a Live Input in Pandoras Box. This tool streams any Windows XP / Win7 desktop region without using capture cards. |
Pandoras Box Media Encryption is a technology that encrypts media in order to protect content from being played back by unauthorized persons or systems without permission. To decrypt the media it is necessary to possess the correct key and policy. They can be transmitted digitally or be bind to an optional additional hardware Media Dongle to make the process even more safe. It is possible to set a time limit for the playback. |
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All Pandoras Box 5.1 playback products support ASIO Audio Tracks. In most cases the number of ASIO Tracks available to each playback product is equal to the number of Video Layers. For detailed information please have a look at the Product Overview. |
Users can now animate and control the Warper via keys in the timeline or any other Art-Net sending device. In return the warping object influences the layer on the timeline in real-time. With version 5.1 there are two different Warper variations available. The Warper 2D is available for all Player products. The new Warper 3D is available on Server products. The Warper 3D will be explained in detail in the next version of this manual. |
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V5 QUAD Server and QUAD Player workstations now support 3G. The manual explaining the Quad setup can be found here. |
The Inspector has been improved, allowing a faster and easier work flow. It is now possible to multi-select items and modify them all at once. This applies to all possible items such as key frames and containers, cues, files and layers. The Inspector informs you how many items are selected and applies the new settings to all in the same way. |
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Pandoras Box is featuring an easy and fast work flow when working with rotated LED video tiles. Previously the Matrix Patcher was only used if working with LED tiles controlled via Art-Net. From now on it plays also an important role if working with LED video tiles that are connected via DVI and a LED video processor. Most LED video processors are capable of creating only horizontal and vertical layouts for the video tile alignment. As soon as any of the tiles are rotated (in any angle), content mapping can be very difficult and complex to setup. |
Pandoras Box Image Converter now supports direct Mpeg Encoding (where PB Encoder license is available). This will decrease render and converting time significantly. |
Pandoras Box Splitter now allows to export 24bit png files requiring less space on the hard disk. In addition a new function "Output Auto-Alignment" allows easier and faster work flow. |
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The video export offers users to greatly improve their work flow and export entire scenes as HD video while having the flexibility of a real-time editing system. For live video ingest, you can now record & capture from any live input source up to 2K/HD. |
The dynamic shader effects engine enables users to create and combine an almost unlimited number of effects. All effects and animations are automatically synchronized across the system network, see AEON™ FX Engine. |
FireFly™ allows for the creation of elaborate real-time particle effects in a true interactive 3D compositing space. Various emitters can be setup and applied with forces such as Wind & Gravity, see FireFly Particles. |
The new QUAD Server and QUAD Player workstations offer users up to four independent HD DVI outputs with built-in EDID Management. |
The Pandoras Box Manager Software now supports ASIO audio interfaces and offers synchronized multi-channel audio playback, see Audio Tracks. |
It is now possible to re-structure individual layers easily per drag & drop. This way the rendering order can be instantly re-ordered and organized according to your project setup. Arranging your layer structures has never been easier, see Device Tree chapter. |
Create and add any number of graphic layers depending on your project needs. Make use of the new efficient source routing to route any video layer sources to any other layer. |
IMAGE CONVERTER
DOME MASTER
SPLITTER |
With Pandoras Box version 4.7 50/60p video playback has introduced a "High Performance Mode" that requires more system and gpu ram. |
FluidFrame™ Technology addresses a challenging and highly complex topic in frame rate conversion common to all media servers, live video processing units as well as signal processing in general. |
The File Menu now allows you to bundle your project under a new name and location. All content used in the timeline will be copied to the new location as well as the show file. This option allows you to only have one folder to archive your show on a external hard drive. To play your show again, just copy this folder at its original location on your hard disc and all paths will be recovered. |
Choose for each layer how it should handle the aspect ratio of the loaded media files. Example:
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