Playback Settings
General
The “General” tab is split up into four key parts; Intensity Mixing, Fader Function, Fader Controls... and Button Function.
Highest takes precedence (HTP) – This default option will output the highest value of all the playbacks – so if an intensity is at 50% on one active playback, and at 75% on another active playback, it will output at 75%. As that playback is pulled down, the intensity will reduce to 50%, but stay at 50% as that becomes the highest value for that fixture.
Latest takes precedence (or “Soft LTP”) –the intensity of fixtures will match the latest command, rather than the highest. If one active playback has a fixture at 100%, and another playback is at 50%, set to LTP, as this fader is raised, the fixture will fade down to 50%, as this is the “latest” command.
LTP Catch – This is an alternative version of LTP, where control of a value will only happen when the fader goes past the current value. This is useful to “catch” values that are currently high, to bring them back down to a lower intensity. When this fader is lowered all the way to 0, by default it will release, meaning it looses control again of the fixtures. Release on Lower can be disabled.
Inhibit – Inhibitive playbacks do not output the programmed intensities of the current cue, but instead act as a “proportional scale” for those channels. When changing cues, these values change, allowing multiple Inhibitor states to be stored onto a single playback.
Fader Function
The operation of the playback fader may be one of the following options:
HTP Master – Simply controls the maximum level of the programmed HTP channels. Cues are triggered via the GO button. This is the default option.
Manual Fader (1 Way) - Raise the playback's fader, and the first cue is output. Lower the fader, and the next time the fader is raised, the next cue is output. The fader controls the HTP levels; the LTP channels are triggered when the fader is moved from zero and then fade according to the times defined in the incoming cue. As the playback's fader position is used to advance through cues, the GO button is disabled.
Manual Fader (2 Way) – Raise the playback's fader, and the first cue is output. Lower the fader, and you cross fade into the next cue. Raise the fader, and you crossfade into the next cue, and so on. Moving the fader creates a dipless cross-fade between the two cues. The fader controls the HTP levels; the LTP channels are triggered when the fader is moved from the end stop and then fade according to the times in the incoming cue. As the playback's fader position is used to advance through cues, the GO button is disabled.
Fader Function options are not available if the playback is a chase.
“Loop Playback” can be enabled / disabled per-playback, and provides the ability to stop a playback from looping back to the first cue after the last cue. “Loop Playback” is enabled by default on all Playbacks apart from the Master Playback.
When “Loop Playback” is disabled, the last cue's “Settings” button will display “(Stop)”. Upon going into this cue, the "Next" will no longer be defined. This means the GO button will no longer function until a cue is manually selected to be the next cue. This can be done by tapping on the cue you'd like to go to next, or by using the arrow keys.
When “Loop Playback” is enabled, the Cue Settings of the last cue will display “(Next:X)”, where “X” is the first cue of the Playback. The brackets indicate the “Next Cue” has not been set manually and so could automatically change. If a “Next Cue” has been defined manually, this takes precedence.
The setting is also available in the “Cue Settings” of the last cue of each Playback.
Pressing the down arrow key from the last cue highlights the first cue in the playback as the “Next” cue, even when “Loop Playback” is disabled.
When a fixture goes dark for the last time in a playback, if Loop Playback is enabled Move On Dark also loops, meaning fixtures will be prepared ready for when they are first used.
Fader Controls…
By default, Colour, Beam, Shape and Position attributes, will go to their programmed levels when a cue is triggered, using the cue's fade time. However, Fader Controls allows you to force attributes to follow the movement of the fader for its crossfade. This is great for building playbacks which move fixtures out into the audience – as the fader moves up, the fixtures move up. Another application commonly used is to create three playbacks – one for Red, one for Green and one for Blue. To use this feature, simply tap the attributes required using the on-screen buttons to enable them, indicated with a red stripe. Yet another application is to enable Fader Controls for “effects”, so the effects grow in size and speed as the Playback is moved up.
Button Function
This is where you can configure the function of the playback's button under the fader. Available options are Flash, Latch, Solo, Go (Fade), Go (Snap), Pause and Tap Tempo (“Tap Tempo” is only available if the playback is set as a chase).
- Flash - the next cue of the playback (highlighted in yellow in the Cues window) will be output at full when the button is held.
- Latch - the next cue of the playback (highlighted in yellow in the Cues window) will be output at full when the button is tapped, and can be turned off by tapping the button again, a bit like a light switch.
- Solo - all other playbacks will be taken to 0%, and the next cue of the playback (highlighted in yellow in the Cues window) will be output at full when the button is held.
- Go (Fade) - the next cue of the playback (highlighted in yellow in the Cues window) will fade in using the cue's fade times, and will output dependent on the level of the fader.
- Go (Snap) - the next cue of the playback (highlighted in yellow in the Cues window) will snap in ignoring the cue's fade times, and will output dependent on the level of the fader. Subsequent auto cues will not run automatically after this cue. If you are using a playback with a dedicated pause button, it will flash to indicate this. If the playback is a chase, it will be paused.
- Pause - pressing pause will pause the cue stack, and any cue transitions from running. A second press of pause will go back up through the cue list.
A secondary “shifted” option can be chosen whilst holding down the Shift key on the console. This means every playback will have two button functions - a function when pressed, and a function when pressed with Shift.
The default option changes dependent on the “status” of the playback:
- For a playback with a single cue (submaster), the default is Flash (shifted default: Solo).
- For a playback with multiple cues (cue stack), the default is GO (Fade) (shifted default: GO (Snap)).
- For a playback which is set to a chase, the default is Tap Tempo (shifted default: GO (Snap))
Once the button function has been customised, it will not change again automatically, even if the playback “status” changes.
If you tap the currently selected button function, this will deselect the option, meaning the playback's button has been disabled.
Tip - Want to be able to prep your fixture's colour, beam, shape or position, prior to raising the playback's fader, to avoid see beams swing across your stage? Change the button function to a Go option, to allow you to give the playback's button a tap, prior to raising the fader, so you simply raise the intensity over the top.