Connecting a TurboPlayer GUI to a TurboPlayer
Q: You are offering a GUI only version of TurboPlayer. How does this work?
A: There is a TurboPlayerGUI.exe which is used for workstations which are not equipped with audio boards but should display the schedule and the actions happening on the current show.
TurboPlayerGUI does not establish a communication to a BCS. It is connected to a running TurboPlayer via IP communication.
This means: You will need to have a running TurboPlayer to work with TurboPlayerGUI on another PC.
All actions done with this TurboPlayerGUI will be executed on the TurboPlayer workstation. Therefore it is possible to start items from the GUI-only PC or to modify the schedule list.
It is possible to connect more than one TurboPlayer GUI to a single TurboPlayer.
TurboPlayerGUI can also view and edit the RTF texts.
As explained the communication will be established using IP communication. The concept is based of dedicated ports on all machines. Your PCs and the network must offer a number of free communication ports to establish the connection between TurboPlayerGUI and TurboPlayer.
By default ports 9981 - 9999 are used.
There have to be two direct communications for TreeManager and RundownKernel.
Each GUI has to have a own dedicated GUI number.
For dedicated real time communication we recommend using separate network interface cards for establishing the communication between the TurboPlayer PCs. This is not a requirement for a viewing client, but it could be important in case of avoiding delays for fader starts.
Technical background
TurboPlayer is a modular software solution. TurboPlayer.exe contains
- Tree Manager
- Rundown Kernel
- IO Manager
- GUI
All these modules have to have an intercommunication. This is a requirement for internal communication and also for external communication for e.g. attached GUI-only TurboPlayers.
Each communication has its own dedicated port number. Please note that this is also a requirement for the internal so called "InProc" communication.
Example:
Each GUI communicats with the Rundown Kernel and the Tree Manager.
Internal GUI --> Rundown Kernel = 9981 (internal GUI = GUI #1)
Internal GUI --> Tree Manager = 9991
External GUI #2 --> Rundown Kernel = 9982
External GUI #n --> Rundown Kernel = 9980 + n
External GUI #2 --> Rundown Kernel = 9992
External GUI #n --> Rundown Kernel = 9990 + n
Result:
Each TurboPlayer (Main and GUI-only) must have a unique GUI ID:
Local Settings \ TurboPlayer \ Communication \ GUI \ GuiNumber = n (Integer)
TurboPlayer (Main) must allow IP communication:
Local Settings \ TurboPlayer \ Communication \ ComTypes = InProc, MMF, IP
TurboPlayer (Main) must allow the access from all GUI IDs:
Local Settings \ TurboPlayer \Communication \ FullAccessForGUIs = 1,2,...,n
TurboPlayer (Main) must be configured to allow the required port connections:
Local Settings \ TurboPlayer \ Communication \ RundownKernel \ PortsForGUIs = 9981-9982 (or 9981-9980+n, which means: 9981 is used for internal communication, 9982 for GUI PC #2, etc.)
Local Settings \ TurboPlayer \ Communication \ TreeManager \ PortsForGUIs = 9991-9992 (or 9991-9990+n)
TurboPlayer GUI PCs need to be configured to find their target TurboPlayer:
Local Settings \ TurboPlayer \ Communication \ GUI \ RundownKernelAddress = IP-Address=192.168.0.1:9982
Local Settings \ TurboPlayer \ Communication \ GUI \ TreeManagerAddress = IP-Address=192.168.0.1:9992
System Requirements
To install a TurboPlayer GUI you need to have at least the following files in your local DigaSystem folder:
- DigaRTF.ocx (register it)
- DigaSQL.dll
- DVCCON.exe
- MP2.SYS
- MultiRec_2.ocx (register it)
- TurboPlayerGUI.exe
User Management
The TurboPlayer GUI has to use the same user like the TurboPlayer which will be used for connecting t
BCS Import: How to import audio files by an import module
Q: We've got a BCS environment with very special music rotation software. This software does not only provide the schedule list but also the filenames for the audio files. Is it possible to do a combined import in DigAIRange for the schedule list and the audio files?
A: Normally the music files are stored in our database. Therefore a standard import does not import the files but it imports reference numbers like MusicID to get an alignment to the database items.
But it is also possible to do a combined import by using the StandardIE.dll since build 1.4.0.34
The StandardIE.dll will expect a ASCII file with [SECTIONS] which describe the schedule list. Every single line of the ASCII file represents a new entry.
Here is an example:
[LINETYPE]S[STARTTIME]22:00:00
[LINETYPE]M[SOURCE]Harddisk[FILENAME]\\server\share\filename.mus[STARTTYPE]Floating[STARTMODE]Sequenced[TITLE]Music Title[PERFORMER]Performer Name
The first line will assign the show, starting at 10 p.m.
The second line will create a new entry with class 'Music'. The most important value is the source which has to been set to 'Harddisk'. The default value for source is CD which has to be overwritten by this value. This is important to reach the file from DigAIRange. Of course, CD titles are not reachable through the scheduling client.
To get a working import it is necessary to manage the import settings. You have to edit the field selection by changing all fields from 'database' to 'import' to be sure that all information will be received from the import.