37: Clip Recorder, Clip Converter, Watch Folder

Overview

Recordings can be made from a selected input using Clip Recorder.

Add and configure power clip recorders

View the Clip Recorder

Once Clip Recorders are added in the PRIME Playout Configuration they will become accessible in the “View” menu

Clip Record functions:

• Quick Record: Starts recording immediately from the selected input.
• Record: Brings up the record dialog allowing users to enter metadata to be associated with the clip and select clip compression.

• Frame Grab: Grab a single frame of video input

• Stop: Stops recording the Quick Record

Clip Converter and Watch Folders

About watch folders

The Watch Folder detects incoming media, such as AVI files or image sequences, and automatically transcodes them to the Chyron-native GTC format.

The following parameters are displayed in the Watch Folder Settings panel:

• Name: The name given to the Watch Folder.
• Enable on Startup: If enabled, the Watch Folder will be enabled every time PowerClips is started.
• Folder: The file path of the folder to be used as a Watch Folder.
• Status: Will display enabled or disabled as the status of the Watch Folder.

Add a watch folder

To add a Watch Folder:

1. Select Watch Folder on the top menu bar of the Watch Folder Settings panel.

Configure watch folder settings

There are a variety of options that may be configured while adding a Watch Folder.

The General submenu in the Add Watch Folder Settings panel has the following parameters:

• Enable On Startup: If enabled, the currently selected Watch Folder will be automatically enabled each time that PowerClips is started.
• Watch Folder: Select the ellipses icon to specify the file path of the folder to be used as the Watch Folder. This file path is displayed in the text box.
• Clear Cache: Select this option to clear the cache.

Conversion settings

The Conversion submenu in the Add Watch Folder Settings panel has the following parameters:

• Convert Files to Clips: Enable this option to automatically convert files in the Watch Folder to the PRIME GTC format.
• Output Folder: Specify the file path of the location the converted clips will be added to.
• Override Input Settings: Enabling this option allows the user to determine the input settings of the clips to be converted.
  • The Input Images drop down menu allows the user to choose between Progressive Frames, Individual Fields and Interlaced Frames. Progressive Frames contain a full frame with no shift or motion. Individual Fields contain a single field with an alternating scanline shift to create a frame. Interlacing Fields contain two fields used in conjunction to create a frame.
  • The Field Order determines how the fields are laid in an Interlaced Field. Since the two interlacing field lines are drawn in an alternating patter, the order must be determined. Selecting Upper First will draw the second field first, generally used for PAL and HD formats, while selecting Lower First will draw the first field first, generally used for NTSC formats.
• Override Output Settings: Enabling this option allows the user to determine the output settings of the clips to be converted.
  • The Resolution drop down menu allows the user to determine the Resolution at which the clip will be played out. The options are: Detect from source, PAL (4x3 & 16x9), NTSC (4x3 & 16x9) and HD (720 & 1080).
  • If an Alpha is used in the Packaging Type, then enabling Premultiplied Alpha will multiply the color by the alpha value to save on additional multiplications during composting.
  • The Packaging Type drop down menu allows the user to determine how the output will be packaged. The choices are RGB + Alpha, Alpha or YCbCr422.
  • The Compression drop down menu allows the user to determine the type of compression used for the files. LZO is slower read/ higher compression, JPEG is fast read, high compression and RLE is fast read/low compression.
  • Enabling ‘Strip trailing non-alphanumeric characters from file name’ will take any non-alphanumeric characters found in the file name and delete them.
  • Enabling ‘Use parent directory as clip name if file sequence names are entirely numeric’ will replace the file name with the name of the parent directory if the original file name comprises of only numeric characters.
  • Enabling ‘Rename if a clip with that name already exists’ will automatically rename the clip if a clip with the same name already exists.
• Post Conversion Settings: If enabled, determines what should be done with the source files once the conversion is complete. Selecting ‘Upon successful conversion, delete source files permanently’ will delete the source files permanently from the system. Selecting ‘Upon successful conversion, move source files to the Recycle bin’ will move the source files to the system Recycle bin. Selecting ‘Move source files’ allows the user to determine a file path where the source files will be moved to upon successful conversion.

Configure clip import settings / watch folder settings

The Clip Import in the Add Watch Folder Settings panel displays the following parameters:

• Use File Name: Enabling this option keeps the original file names from the Watch Folder.
• Override File Name: Enabling this option takes the original file names from the Watch Folder and alters it in a number of ways:
  • Append Number Range: Enabling this option adds a number after the file name starting from the minimum and ending with the maximum as defined by the user.
  • Use Number Range: Enabling this option replaces the original file name with a number starting from the minimum and ending with the maximum as defined by the user.
  • Prepend Text: Enabling this option adds text before the original file name as defined by the user.
  • Description: Enabling this option will add a description of the clip as defined by the user.
  • Keywords: Enabling this option will add keywords of the clip as defined by the user.
• Preview: The preview panel displays how the file name will look if the Override File Name option is enabled.

Edit or delete a watch folder

To edit a Watch Folder:

1. Make sure that the Watch Folder you would like to edit is disabled, then select Edit on the top menu bar of the Watch Folder Settings panel.

To delete a Watch Folder:

1. Select Delete on the top menu bar of the Watch Folder Settings panel.

To enable/disable a Watch Folder:

1. Select Enable/Disable on the top menu bar of the Watch Folder Settings panel.