Playlist

Hi John,

Playlist is a great function for some type of shows. Seems like you've understood the basic ideas about Playlists already.
About the problem you describe, which way did you change sequences when it happened, did you load them to the playback with # SEQ & PLAYBACK? This might make the Playlist get a little out of sync, which could then look like it load the "wrong" sequence. By using Goto in the Playlist this shouldn't happen. I've used Playlist on many shows and have not seen any strange things happening.

But a few things that could help when using Playlist:
- Seq+/Seq- keys always work within the active sequence (and these functions do not trigger any other actions from the steps like wait times, master links, etc.). So if you come to the end of a sequence, with Playlist active, by using Seq+, it will not auto-load the next sequence to the Playback.

- If you have Playlist active you can also get the Playlist shown on the main LCD on the Congo console (syntax: DISP LIST (next to the trackball) & Playlist or if you hold DISP LIST you can see all contents for the main LCD on the Direct selects). Then set the trackball to Disp List mode (green) and use it to navigate up/down in the list and use one of the trackball select keys to load the focused sequence to the playback.
On CongoJr the same can be done by using a Console Mimic dock area (See Help > General settings > Dock areas > Console mimic for more info).

- It's also fully possible to use the Playlist without activating the Playlist function. Just use the Playlist as a qucik selection list to load sequences from. This could be very useful in busking shows. Just build your Playlist, put it onto the main LCD and select which sequence to jump to when. Or use Goto in the Playlist tab.

Oskar
 

Hi John,

Playlist is a great function for some type of shows. Seems like you've understood the basic ideas about Playlists already.
About the problem you describe, which way did you change sequences when it happened, did you load them to the playback with # SEQ & PLAYBACK? This might make the Playlist get a little out of sync, which could then look like it load the "wrong" sequence. By using Goto in the Playlist this shouldn't happen. I've used Playlist on many shows and have not seen any strange things happening.

But a few things that could help when using Playlist:
- Seq+/Seq- keys always work within the active sequence (and these functions do not trigger any other actions from the steps like wait times, master links, etc.). So if you come to the end of a sequence, with Playlist active, by using Seq+, it will not auto-load the next sequence to the Playback.

- If you have Playlist active you can also get the Playlist shown on the main LCD on the Congo console (syntax: DISP LIST (next to the trackball) & Playlist or if you hold DISP LIST you can see all contents for the main LCD on the Direct selects). Then set the trackball to Disp List mode (green) and use it to navigate up/down in the list and use one of the trackball select keys to load the focused sequence to the playback.
On CongoJr the same can be done by using a Console Mimic dock area (See Help > General settings > Dock areas > Console mimic for more info).

- It's also fully possible to use the Playlist without activating the Playlist function. Just use the Playlist as a qucik selection list to load sequences from. This could be very useful in busking shows. Just build your Playlist, put it onto the main LCD and select which sequence to jump to when. Or use Goto in the Playlist tab.

Oskar
 

Thanks Oskar!

I think what happened is exactly what you described.  When I loaded the sequence, I thought it would put me back into the playlist, but it remembers to goto the next step in the playlist regardless of what sequence you are in.  It makes perfect sense now that I have played with it.

The playlist as a recall of existing sequences to jump to is a great idea.

Take care,

John

Oskar,

I don't use Playlist very often, but on occasion it is a lifesaver. My question is this: at what point do I need to activate Playlist in order to be sure it plays the sequences in order? If I remember to activate it before loading the first sequence into the main playback (or even after), it seems to run properly, but if I forget to enable Playlist at the start of a show and do so halfway through, it gets out of sync.

Is there a way to get it back in sync neatly? I ask, of course, because I have just done this and it's tricky to deal with on the fly.

Yours,

Anne 

Hi Anne,

Sorry for the long response time.. But here's a small suggestion.

I'd say it's always best to activate Playlist before the show starts, obviously ;o) The way I load sequences from the playlist after that is by using the Playlist view on the MovingLight LCD on full-size Congo. You know that area above the ML encoders and between the softkeys. You can get that area to show the playlist by pressing and holding Display list button and selecting Playlist from the Direct selects (on a full-size Congo) or by pressing & holding Display list and the Playlist button in the softmenu. The Playlist on the LCD will then show the Playlist and show which seq is loaded. You can also use the list to load a different sequence, the great thing is that when using the list on the LCD to load sequences to the Main playback, the Playlist will focus on that sequence and keep running the playlist from there.

If you have a CongoJr or Kid console or Offline, you can use the Dock area: Console mimic (use Format if needed to change which mimic you wish to see, remember to focus the dock are first). On Jr or Kid or Offline, press Ctrl (from keyboard) + DispList (in the mimic) and then Playlist (in the soft menu Misc) to get the Playlist shown. Then you can use the wheel in the mimic to focus a sequence and DispSel to load it to the Main playback.

You can even use the Playlist view without having Playlist active to load sequences from the Playlist to the Main playback. This is an easy way to load sequences, but not have Playlist automatically advance to the next sequence once the current one comes to the end.

Hope this helps,

Oskar