Howto for this job?

[quote=kaptivate_ag]
...the way the graphics have been prepared - 16:9 PAL DV...

I take it you're in Europe right, running content at 25fps?
You mention 16:9 and even though that is true of the file spec, realize that 16:9 is not really practical unless your curtains and LED elements are wide aspect.
In most cases, the LED mediums I use are SD 4:3 and since most monitors are as well, think about what in your content is viewable and what is not. If you send the 16:9 content into your devices, then you'll be truncating pixels anyway depending on your aspect ratio of your LED elements so don't worry specifically about content ratio.
A note to expand on and a reason to bring attention is that if you are using LEDs, then most likely you will not be using devices with 3.4 megapixels so you can create content at a much lower resolution.
For instance, if you have an LED panel that is 300 x 300 LEDs then you only have 90,000 pixels. I only bring attention to this because the higher the content rez, the harder the Catalyst has to process which means less files and greater sync issues.
A rule of thumb is to keep the pixel count of your source content proportionate to the device your outputing on.

[quote=kaptivate_ag]
...all screens need to play back media in sync from either a external TC source or manually triggered...

...will two separate cat units (both using dual outputs) be able to have cues triggered by the one go button?...


In Catalyst, you can assign a sync ID number to each layer on each Cat. There are 20 available sync IDs. The Catalyst you have might only be 10 layers although the newest version is 12. What I do is pick my master catalyst and assign the sync IDs to its layers.
Then, if you use an Ethernet connection between Catalysts (try to keep the Cat network separate from other devices and turn off file sharing etc after setup) you can sync any connected Cat's layer to any of your sync ID layers. This will allow for sync although there is a small frame delay you can adjust for across physical machines.
You might not even need to sync to external TC then because it becomes your 1 button press to start.

If you are working between layers on a single Cat then the sync is frame accurate and works wonderfully but remember that there is an extra process running that can impede performance.

[quote=kaptivate_ag]
I'm a broadcast guy and am only just starting to get into cat and my knowledge of DMX programming isn't the best right now.


If you are using Cat for very very simple looks then you can actually program the whole show from the Cat itself and then use the new Catalyst Web interface to control features and functions.

If you have several cues or things begin to get complex then I strongly suggest a lighting console specifically designed for media servers. For a low budget solutions, I would say get a single universe of Hog PC and a computer to run it on. This will prove to be faster than the Cat interface.

I prefer Hog 3 as my console of choice but others that are also what I would call "media server ready" and I would use them before any cheap solution. Trust me!

[quote=kaptivate_ag]
Also, how would you pro's handle this job? I have gone the path of Cat/Media server because we have just bought it and it's about time to embrace it as Encore is overkill for this job and media managment is a pain. Anyone that has any tips for catalyst use SoftLED please chime in - i'm interested on your thoughts!


First of all, since you're using LEDs, you have a lower Rez than a standard projector. Therefore, devices can be run off the same outputs. A wonderful new feature in Cat v4 allows you to make what are called Sub Mixes.
In a very simple example, pretend you have 4 LED panels that are 300 x 200 pixels each. And a single screen that is 640 x 480 pixels. Then on one Cat output you can create 4 submixes in 4 quadrants of the output and each one could receive the layers assigned to it for separate file playback. Then on output 2, you can have a single group of layers assigned. In this scenario, pretend that since it's 12 layers of catalyst and 5 devices that the LED panels could each have 2 layers and you are still left with 4 layers for your big screen.
Then as long as your content creator made the resolution and rendering of the files very small, you could theoretically run two simultaneous layers of content on each device from a single Catalyst and maintain frame sync.
Or lighten the load by splitting it amongst 2 Cats.

I consult systems like this all the time and I would be interested in collaborating with you on this further. If you have more questions, the pros are here to ask but if you like, my contact information is available on my profile and you can reach me further.

[QUOTE=SourceChild]You mention 16:9 and even though that is true of the file spec, realize that 16:9 is not really practical unless your curtains and LED elements are wide aspect.

By default, all our production gear is 16:9 as we have made the full transition to HD. Now that you mention it however, it would probably be easier to make the whole composition a 4:3 comp as the softled wall will be 4:3. Several elements need to be greenscreened so i'm thinking it's probably easier to pull out a digibeta and just switch to 4:3 as there is no need for anything near HD quality.

Is it alright to mix aspect ratios in cat? All led content will be 4:3 but the plasma content will be 16:9. Also, all of the content will be coming out of After Effects. I plan on re-compressing the files through compressor as a batch. Does anyone have any base droplets they could share. (It's things like that that I think we should all get together and make. Would be so much easier for the community as a whole!)

[QUOTE=SourceChild]If you have several cues or things begin to get complex then I strongly suggest a lighting console specifically designed for media servers. For a low budget solutions, I would say get a single universe of Hog PC and a computer to run it on. This will prove to be faster than the Cat interface.

I prefer Hog 3 as my console of choice but others that are also what I would call "media server ready" and I would use them before any cheap solution. Trust me!

I was originally thinking of HogPC but also have access to a Hog2 and a Echelon. I'm guessing that these two really are not [i]Media Server Ready[/i] so I guess thats either a Hog3 or a GrandMA that most people use on more complex shows.

Would a GrandMA mini or lite suffice for less complex shows? And is there any advantage over using a HES console over a MA console?

Content Creation will start in the new year after the slew of NYE/NYD jobs get out of the way. We have about 1 month for creation which will involve shooting lots of greenscreen comps and then keying them in Aftereffects and a whole load of compositing. I just want to make sure we get everything right before we start getting deep into the project.

Thanks again!

[quote=kaptivate_ag]
...our production gear is 16:9 as we have made the full transition to HD...
...there is no need for anything near HD quality...


The only advantage to a specific aspect ratio is in aligning the file for your output. It's worth while to match stock codecs though and since DV codecs are the choice for maximizing processing. However, to really increase functionality, dropping rez and using photojpeg at a low % is the best way for odd sized LEDs if you want to run a bunch of files off of a media server at the same time.

[quote=kaptivate_ag]
...Is it alright to mix aspect ratios in cat...


Mix any aspect ratio, mix any resolution, that's fine. Just remember that lower rez means more files can run with less problems. A rule of thumb is to keep content size the same or smaller that the rez of your output device. Although if you have an HD device then remember you don't have to use it at its highest rez.

[quote=kaptivate_ag]
...plasma content will be 16:9...


Since DV PAL is 720 x 480 for SD then you don't need to worry about a different aspect ratio. You've already got your16:9. And since you don't want to kill your media server in playback, keep it SD. Besides, most people love Plasma for the Crispness of it and when eye candy is running the rez doesn't matter.

A thought though, if you do have some content pieces you want to run as HD, you have to make your whole signal path HD and that consumes hardware resources.

[quote=kaptivate_ag]
...I was originally thinking of HogPC...
...also have access to a Hog2 and a Echelon...


Not an Echelon, that would end up slowing you down. The Hog2 is perfectly fine but there are advantages to using a new generation console when it comes to going back and editing show files.

[quote=kaptivate_ag]
...a GrandMA mini or lite...


The advantage of using a smaller version of a bigger console is that you can build your show on the full size desk and then run it on the mini version. This is what I was referring to when I said Hog3 PC.