morpheus operators guide v01

8/9/2019 Morpheus Operators Guide v01

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MORPHEUS AUTOMATION SYSTEM

Issue 1

OPERATOR’S HANDBOOK


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MORPHEUS Operator’s

Handbook

2 Issue 1

CONTENTS

1 Introduction 6

2 The Morpheus Editor 7

2.1 The schedule 8 2.1.1 Schedule basics 9

2.1.2 Event parameters 10

2.2

The Palette 14

2.2.1 Searching the database 15

2.2.2 Using the palette to place items in the schedule 16

2.2.3 Material type 17

2.2.4 Hotlist 17

2.2.5 Browse preview from palette 18

2.3 Modifying the schedule 18 2.3.1 Changing the order of events 18

2.3.2 Ripple 19

2.4 Interpreting the screen 20 2.4.1 Text colours and types 20

2.4.2 Background colours 20

2.4.3 Database warning 21

2.4.4 Status bar 21

2.5 Guard Source 21

2.6 Overriding the schedule 22

2.6.1

The Manual Intervention Panel or MIP 22

2.6.2 Take next 22

2.6.3 Hold 23

2.6.4 Skip next 23

2.6.5 Other MIP buttons 24

2.6.6 Manual take 25

2.6.7 Hardware MIP 25

2.7 File Operations in the Schedule 25 2.7.1 Save 25

2.7.2

Save As 26


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2.7.3 Load 26

2.7.4 Append 26

2.7.5 Insert 26

2.8 Schedule summary 27

2.9 The Off-line editor 27 2.9.1 Creating a Schedule off-line 28

2.9.2 Exporting a Schedule created off-line 28

2.9.3 The ‘Schedule Append’ service 28

2.10 The Property Inspector 29

2.11 The Event Ruler 32

2.12

The Channel Bar 33

2.13 The Tool Bar 33

2.14 The Menu Bar 35 2.14.1 File Menu 35

2.14.2 Edit Menu 35

2.14.3 Tools Menu 36

2.14.4 Window Menu 36

2.14.5 Help Menu 36

2.15 The Event Countdown 36

2.16 Event types 36 2.16.1 Main Events 36

2.16.2 Start mode 37

2.16.3 Duration mode of main events 38

2.16.4 In point 38

2.16.5 Secondary Events 38

2.16.6 Start mode of secondary events 38

2.16.7

Offset 39

2.16.8 Duration mode of secondary events 39

2.16.9 End Time Offset 40

2.16.10 Secondary Events Duration Mode Reference 41

2.17 DSK Events 42 2.17.1 About DSK events 42

2.17.2 Examples of DSK events 42

2.17.3 Creating a DSK event from scratch 42

2.17.4 Adding a preconfigured DSK event to the schedule 42

2.17.5

Modifying a DSK event in the schedule 42


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2.18 DVE Events 43 2.18.1 About DVE events 43

2.18.2 Examples of DVE events 43

2.18.3

Creating a DVE event from scratch 43

2.18.4 Adding a preconfigured DVE event to the schedule 43

2.18.5 Modifying a DVE event in the schedule 43

2.19 GPI Events 44 2.19.1 About GPI events 44

2.19.2 Examples of GPI events 44

2.19.3 Creating a GPI event from scratch 44

2.19.4 Adding a preconfigured GPI event to the schedule 44

2.19.5 Modifying a GPI event in the schedule 44

2.20 Audio-Over Events 45 2.20.1 About Audio-Over events 45

2.20.2 Examples of Audio-Over events 45

2.20.3 Creating an Audio-Over event from scratch 45

2.20.4 Adding a preconfigured Audio Over event to the schedule 45

2.20.5 Modifying an Audio Over event in the schedule 45

2.21 MediaBalls® 46 2.21.1 Example of a MediaBall 46

2.21.2

How to add a preconfigured MediaBall 46

2.21.3 How to create a MediaBall 46

2.21.4 How to export and import a MediaBall® 46

2.21.5 How to Edit a MediaBall 47

2.22 Header Events 47 2.22.1 Break Header 47

2.22.2 Opt-out Header 47

2.22.3 MediaBall® header 48

2.23

Transitions 49

2.23.1 Transition types and their associated parameters 49

2.24 The Transition Editor 52

2.25 Split Audio and Video Transitions 52

3 Special facilities & procedures 58

3.1 File Ids 58

3.2 Segmenting a programme 58


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3.2.1 Segmenting a programme using long file IDs 58

3.2.2 Segmenting a programme using short file IDs 58

3.3

“X-ing out” 59

4 Configuring the Editor 60

4.1 The configuration window 60

4.2 Changing text and background colours 61 4.2.1 To change the background colour for an event type 61

4.2.2 To change font colours 61

4.2.3 Background colour for the property inspector and palette 62

4.2.4 Colours for the Event Countdowns & HUD over/underruns62

4.3 Table of terms 63

4.4 Displayed columns 64 4.4.1 Order and width of the schedule columns 65

4.4.2 Source column configuration 66

4.5 Manual intervention panel 66

4.6 Editor Toolbar 66

4.7 Rolling hour function 66

4.8 Gang take channels 68

4.9 Additional checkboxes 68

4.10 Browse settings 69

4.11 Connection to the Database 70

4.12 Query button configuration 71 4.12.1 Event query options 71

4.13

Search and replace Query options 71

4.14 Missing Material report 72

4.15 To create and delete roles 73

4.16 To create a new role by cloning an existing role 73

4.17 To create a new role from scratch 74

4.18 To delete a role 74


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1 IntroductionMorpheus Enterprise is Pro-Bel’s flagship TV transmission automation product, and is a powerful,

highly sophisticated, stable, fully scaleable, feature-rich system offering facilities which satisfy the

most demanding TV Transmission requirement.

Morpheus Automation has a large worldwide customer base. It is used by broadcasters of all

types; from single channel, fixed play-list operations, to large-scale, multi-channel systems with

live programming and events rich in secondary content. It can control virtually any broadcast

equipment, and its many resilience features can be fully tailored to suit any requirement.

Morpheus Enterprise has unlimited channel, device and secondary event structure, and provides

the user with tools for customising their configuration with complete flexibility.

This handbook provides the operator with a complete guide to operating the on-line and off-line

edit workstations.


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2 The Morpheus Editor

Figure 2-1 - The Morpheus Editor window

The Morpheus Editor is the operator’s basic tool for viewing and manipulating the schedule. The

editor window contains six panes as shown in Figure 2-1, namely the schedule area, the property

inspector, the icon bar, the channel bar, the event ruler and the status bar, and also a time-of-day

clock and event countdown. In common with all automation systems, Morpheus is based around

the idea of Events - an event is simply an instruction to one or more pieces of equipment in the

broadcast chain, usually referred to as devices, to do something at a specific time, such as play a

clip, make a selection or superimpose a logo. Often what appears in the schedule as one event is

actually accomplished by a group of commands, for example server ports and VTRs must be

started from the right inpoint and then stopped, and a mixer selection made, but much of this is

generally made invisible to the operator.


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Figure 2-2 - The different areas of the editor window

The schedule area is arranged in the form of a table. The rows in the table represent the events,

and the columns contain the parameters of the event, such as what clip is required, when it

should be played out, how long is it, what kind of transition is to be used to get into it, what device

is it to be played out from, and are there any audio overs, keyers or DVEs associated with it.

The Editor is available as two versions, Online and Offline. Both have essentially the same

features with the important difference that the Online version accesses the on-air schedule, and is

easily recognized since it displays the system time in the top right-hand corner. The Offline versiondoes not access the on-air schedule, and displays the caption ‘OFFLINE’ where the system time

would normally be displayed. It used for viewing, editing and checking material for any schedule

configured for that channel.

2.1 The schedule

The schedule is the list of events to be played out. Each automation channel has its own

schedule. Each event has a number of parameters, which may be related the material being

played, or to information loaded with the schedule. Some of these parameters are essential, such


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as start-time, source and duration; many others are optional.

The automation system communicates with the Morpheus Database, which holds all necessary

metadata (that is, the various parameters associated with each piece of material) for video serverand tape-based material. The automation system extracts information from this database and

uses it to populate the relevant fields of the schedule. This process is fully configurable, and it is

usually the job of the operator to determine if material parameters, such as duration or title, are

taken from the database, or manually edited.

2.1.1 Schedule basics

• Each line in the schedule represents one event.

• The event which is currently playing out is called the on-air event

or current event.

• The event which is to be played out next is called the preset event.

• An event is highlighted by left-clicking it once. Its parameters

appear in the property inspector. (Section 2.10)

• A range of events can be highlighted by clicking the first and shift-

clicking the last.

• To highlight the whole schedule, highlight the current event and

select Edit > Highlight to End.

• The columns in the schedule represent the parameters of the

events. See section 2.1.2, ‘event parameters’.

• Secondary events can either be shown on their own lines, or

collapsed down so that only the parent event is displayed. See

section Error! Reference source not found., ‘secondary events’.

• To expand the secondary content in an event, click the sign in

the ‘link’ column. To collapse it, click the sign. (This is very

similar to expanding and collapsing branches in the Windows

Explorer folder display).

• To collapse all secondary content in a schedule, click the

icon:

• To expand all secondary content in a schedule, click the

icon:

• When an event is in the past, it is greyed out for 1 minute (or other

time if configured), then removed from the schedule and appended

to a temporary file. At the end of the 24-hour period this file

becomes the as-run log and a new temporary file is started. From


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this point on, past events are appended to the new temp file.

• The schedule column widths can be altered by dragging the

heading boundaries in the normal way

• The order of the schedule columns can be changed by dragging

and dropping the column headers in the normal way.

2.1.2 Event parameters

Every event has parameters, or settings, which define its behaviour. Some of these are displayed

in the columns of the schedule:

Start time column

• The time the event is to start. Displayed in hh:mm:ss:ff

• Blue text indicates that the event is a follow-on event. (Blue is the

most commonly-used colour but can be changed in the

configuration: see section 4.2.2)

• Red text means the event is a fixed-start event. See section 0 for

details. (Red is the most commonly-used colour but can be

changed in the configuration: see section 4.2.2)

• Underlined text means the event has been set for manual take (see

section 2.6.6) and therefore requires manual intervention.

• If two start times are shown, the upper one shows the time the

event was set to start, the lower one shows the earliest time it can

start. Such an event will not play without manual intervention - see

section 2.6.3

Link column

• Shows how the event is linked to the previous event.

• For a sequence of main events, a simple dotted line is shown,

indicating that events merely follow on one after the other.

• Secondary events are shown with a sign and branched dotted

line in the link column when expanded, see 0

• Secondary content is indicated in the link column with a sign if

collapsed

• This column may need to be widened to show all detail.

Title and Material ID column

The title field of the schedule contains two items of information relating to the event, namely the

Title and the Material ID.

• The Material ID is an alphanumeric string of up to 20 characters


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which uniquely identifies a piece of material. It is generated by the

broadcaster using an agreed ‘formula’ and may incorporate

elements which relate to the date, the channel, the production

company, the client, and so on.

• The Title is extracted from the database, using the Material ID as a

reference, It can be edited from the property inspector if the

configuration allows.

• The Material ID may be edited in the property inspector if the

configuration allows

Duration column

The duration of the event in hh:mm:ss:ff extracted from the database.

• Can be edited in the property inspector if the event type

configuration allows it.

• Beware of increasing the duration - this will probably result in

playing out black.

• Decreasing the duration will truncate the item

Transition column

The mixer transition chosen for the start of the event.

• The default transition is ‘Cut’

• Use the property inspector to choose another transition from the

drop-down box

• Transitions other than cuts are only possible if the system includes

a mixer.

• See section 2.23 for full details of transitions.

Source column

The device from which the event will be played out, such as a server port or VTR.

•

Can be changed from the property inspector

• If the event has been transferred from the palette, it will

automatically be available on the device selected during search.

See section 2.2

Secondary content column

This field contains icons which indicate what secondary events are associated with the main

event.


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Table 2-1: Secondary event types

DSK event Indicates a keyer event, for example a station logo

DVE move Indicates a DVE event. The move number is shown in the propertyinspector

GPIIndicates a GPI event which has been previously set up to control adevice

Audio overIndicates a pre-recorded audio file to be played through the audiomixer at the appointed time

The status of the secondary event is indicated by the background colour of the icon as follows:

None The event is in the future and will play

RedThere is a problem with the event, such as a device allocation conflict. It willnot play

Green The event is playing out now

Greyed out The event is in the past (note that the parent event may still be playing out)

Status column(s)

The status of an event is indicated by means of two ‘barrels’.

• The left-hand barrel indicates the status of the item in the material

database

• The right-hand barrel indicates its status as reported by the bridge,

i.e. from the device.

• If the two barrels are the same colour they are combined into one

larger barrel.

Here is the full list of status icon colours and their meanings:


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Guard column

This field shows the status of the guard, or backup, event in the same way as the main event. If

there is any problem with the status of the guard source, resilience will be lost.

Notes column

This field shows the notes icon to indicate that a note has been added to the event. The note

itself appears in the notes field of the property inspector.

Status

Symbols

Symbolson the leftare from

theDecorator,& on theright fromthe Bridge,

a singlesymboldenotesthe same

statusfrom both

No response from Decorator or Bridge

Material OK but no response from Bridge – willnot play (or event outside execution window)

Material will play, but decorator not respondin

Material not on server, cache request has been issued

Material only exists as an Item in database

Cache Request failed, material not on server

Material not in database & will not pla

Caching in progres

Material cued

Material playing

Event in the past

Material will pla

Material orphaned in database, will not pla

Material not on server, no caching available, willnot play, or mixer has failed


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2.2 The Palette

Figure 2-3: The Palette

The palette is the operator’s tool for searching the material database.

• Items can be dragged and dropped directly from the palette into the

schedule.

• The palette is opened by clicking the icon on the icon bar

in the editor (right)

• The palette has three parts, namely, the search criteria area, the

search results area and the icon area.

• At the top of the search results area there is always an “unknown”

event which is used as a placeholder or default event for

modification.


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SEARCH RESULTS

ICONS

SEARCHCRITERIA(DEVICES)

SEARCHCRITERIA

(PARAMETERS)

Figure 2-4: The Palette database query window layout

2.2.1 Searching the database

• The simplest possible search is one that lists all items in the

database. To do this, leave all fields blank and select ‘All’ in the

‘type’ dropdown. Then press the Search button. The results are

displayed in the results pane of the palette window.

• The ‘wildcard’ character is %. This represents ‘any number of

characters’, at the beginning or end of the search string, or within it.

• The ‘wildcard’ character for a single character is ‘_’ (underscore)

• The material database may contain a large number of items, and so

search criteria should be entered to limit the number of items listed.

•

The actual number of items retrieved is shown just below the resultspane

• Enter additional information into the other search fields: Material ID,

Title, Type (dropdown), duration (inclusive upper and lower limits),

Device ID

• Other options can be brought up by selecting Options > Search

Options

• A device can be highlighted in the Devices area. This will only

return items which are available on that device.


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• After a ‘search all’, if an item is highlighted in the search results

area, the devices on which it is available will highlight in the devices

area to indicate what devices that item can be played out from.

Clearly this does not apply if the device was entered as a search

criterion, since all results will be available on that device in any

case.

2.2.2 Using the palette to place items in the schedule

• Highlight the desired device, then drag-and-drop the event from the

palette into the schedule;

• Or (if enabled in the editor configuration for the current role) an item

can be double-clicked in the palette to insert it below the highlighted

event.

• The item goes in immediately below the event it is dropped on to. If

the item is to go at the end of the schedule, simply drop it into the

space below the last event

• While dragging, the mouse pointer shows these icons, Indicating a

follow-on event, a sibling event, a default

event

• The default start mode is follow-on.

• To enter an item into a schedule as fixed start, drag it from the

palette into the Start Time column of the

schedule. The mouse pointer icons change

to these, where the clock icon indicates a

fixed start event.

• Right-click and drag brings up an options menu as the item is

dropped:

•

• The above example shows the pop-up menu for a default DSK

event.


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2.2.3 Material type

The Material Type allows a category of material to be entered into the event parameters which

aids searching, and since they are displayed in different colours in the schedule, they also aid

rapid identification of items on the screen. There are five Types:

Table 2-2: Material types

Material Type Display colour Description

Programme Blue Main programme items

Commercial Magenta Revenue-generating advertisements

Junction Red Channel idents and other interstit ials

Live Brown A live studio item

Live record Brown An item which was recorded live or crash recordedand may contain unexpected black etc

It is worth taking care to classify only revenue-generating advertisements as ‘commercials’

because it enables a display of the total time of the commercials using the ‘schedule summary’

function, which can be used to ensure that the schedule keeps to mandatory guidelines. See

section 2.8

2.2.4 HotlistThe hotlist facility allows frequently-used material to be kept in a ‘scratchpad’ for quick access. It

is accessed by pressing the ‘Show Hotlist’ button in the palette when in the Database Query

window.

To bring material into the hotlist:

• With the hotlist open, right-drag and drop from the schedule directly

into the hotlist, OR

• Left-drag and drop material from the palette search results window

onto the ‘Show Hotlist’ button.

To take material from the hotlist into the schedule

• Right-drag and drop from the hotlist into the schedule area of the

editor.

To delete an item from the hotlist

• Highlight the item and press ‘delete’ on the keyboard

To clear the hotlist

• Press the ‘Clear Hotlist’ button.


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2.2.5 Browse preview from palette

Material can be browse-previewed from the palette if a browse (low-resolution) copy of it exists on

a browse server. This is indicated in the Source column of the search results window.

• Highlight the item and click the browse preview

icon (right)

• A browse application window opens giving play,

pause, search, jog/var/shuttle and mark

inpoint/outpoint functions.

2.3 Modifying the schedule

2.3.1 Changing the order of events

Events in the schedule can be highlighted and then cut, copied and pasted in the usual way to

change their order. The following table summarises these operations:

Table 2-3: Cut, copy and paste events

Keyboard Keyboard alt Icon bar Menu Function

CUT Ctrl+X Alt+E, T Edit > CutRemoves event(s) from

schedule and puts it/themon clipboard

COPY Ctrl+C Alt+E, C Edit > Copy Puts copy of event(s) onclipboard

PASTE Ctrl+V Alt+E, P Edit > PastePastes clipboard event(s)

immediately after highlightedevent

PASTETOP

Ctrl+N (None)Edit > Paste

top

Pastes clipboard event(s)immediately after on-airevent, displacing preset

event

• A single event is highlighted by clicking it once.

• A range of events is highlighted by clicking the first event in the

range and shift-clicking the last event.

• Highlighting non-adjacent multiple events is not permitted.

• The above operations can also be accessed highlighting an event

or range of events and then right-clicking.

• When pasting an event, it goes into the schedule immediately below

the event it is dropped on to.


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• Cut or copied events can be pasted any number of times.

Deleting an event

• To delete an event from the schedule completely, highlight it and

press Del on the keyboard. There is no ‘are you sure’ and no

‘undo’. Use with care.

• To delete it and move it to the clipboard, cut the event as above

Clearing a schedule

• Select Edit > Clear or press the clear icon (shown)

to leave the on-air event running but remove all other

events. There is an ‘are you sure?’ prompt, but no ‘Undo’.

2.3.2 Ripple

About rippling• Rippling is the alternating of two or more playout devices or ports. In

the case of a VTR-based system it is obvious that at least two

machines are needed to play out alternately, so that there is time for

tapes to be changed. Three or even more machines could be

necessary for short items. A similar principle applies to server-

based systems since a server port needs a certain time (preroll) to

guarantee a stable output.

• If a series of very short files (1 or 2 seconds) are to be played out,

three ports could be necessary.

• Rippling also distributes the load evenly between devices or ports

• It allows transitions such as crossfades or wipes, which require two

ports to play out simultaneously.

How to ripple a schedule

• Highlight the range of items or schedule and

either press the Ripple icon (right) or select Tools

> Ripple

• The ‘Select a Ripple’ dialogue opens. Choose

which devices are to be rippled and check the

options as required.

• Press OK. The schedule is now rippled.


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2.4 Interpreting the screen

2.4.1 Text colours and types

Table 2-4: Text colours & types used in the schedule

Text Example Field Indicates

Red 21:29:30:00 Start time Fixed start event

Black 21:29:30:00 Start time Follow-on event

Black PRO-BEL TV IDENT Title Programme

Purple PRO-BEL TV IDENT Title Commercial

Brown PRO-BEL TV IDENT Title Live event

Green PRO-BEL TV IDENT Title Live recorded materialBlue PRO-BEL TV IDENT Title Junction

Underlined 21:29:30:00 Start time Manual take*

Green MID AFT BREAK 1 Title Break header

* Note that setting the present event to ‘manual take’ is the same as holding thecurrent event. See section 2.6.3

2.4.2 Background colours

The following table summarises the colours commonly used to indicate varioiustypes of events in the schedule:

Table 2-5: Background colours commonly used in the schedule

Backgroundcolour

RGB values Description Meaning

192,192,192 25% grey Event background

255,185,185 Pale pink On-air event background

131,131,131 49% grey Selected event (highlighted event)

255,250,240 Very light cream Selected event unfocussed

255,165,0 Orange Focussed event border colour

173,255,47 Light green Search & replaced events

255,255,191 Pale yellow Break header

255,99,71 Salmon pink Back-to-back sources

255,255,255 White Opt header

255,255,255 White Region header

255,192,203 Pale lilac Insertion point highlight

135,206,250 Baby blue Sec event overhangs main event

245,245,245 4% grey Tracked event


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These colours can be changed in the editor configuration for a channel and role:see section 4.2.1

2.4.3 Database warning

• If there is a problem with any of the barrel indications which

means an event wil not play, the icon on the right will appear

next to the column heading.

• The database warning icon also appears next to the icon for the

relevant channel in the channel bar, thereby alerting the operator if

the displayed schedule is for a different channel.

2.4.4 Status bar

Figure 2-5: The editor status bar showing the function of each part

2.5 Guard Source

A guard source is an alternative playout device to be selected in case of a fault with the primary

device. Its purpose is to give resilience and minimise the duration of any disturbance to the

channel output.

• It is associated with a device, not an event, and is set up in the

device configuration.

• Plays out the same material at the same time as the primary playout

device

• Can be selected from the MIP by clicking the ‘Take Guard’ button, or

by cutting to the appropriate source on the PGM bus on the TX

mixer panel if present.

• The guard source can be invoked for the preset event by clicking

the ‘Take Guard Preset’ button in the MIP, or by cutting to the

appropriate source on the PST bus of the TX mixer (if present)


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• It will remain activated for every event using that device until de-

activated either from the MIP or the TX mixer panel.

• If activated, its use is recorded in the as-run log.

2.6 Overriding the schedule

2.6.1 The Manual Intervention Panel or MIP

• The Manual Intervention Panel is activated by pressingthe icon in the editor toolbar (right), pressing F9 on thekeyboard or by selecting Tools > MIP in the editor menu.

• It is deactivated by pressing the icon in the editor toolbar(right) or by clicking the cross in the top right of the MIPwindow.

Figure 2-6: The Manual Intervention Panel

2.6.2 Take next

• Aborts the on-air event and plays out the preset event.

• This button has exactly the same function as ‘Preroll And Take’ on

the Pro-Bel TX Mixer panel. (‘Take’ on the mixer panel is not the

same.)

• All follow-on event timings up to the next fixed event will be modified

(see also section 0)

• If there is a fixed event to come later in the schedule, there will be

an under-run (i.e. a gap) immediately before it if Take Next has

been used. (This also happens if Preroll And Take is pressed on

the mixer panel)


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• If the preset event is on the same server port, there will be a delay

as it prerolls.

• The Take Next button has an arrow button next to it. This brings up

a further small window in which any subset of the list of channels

can be selected for Gang Take, that is, performing a Take Next in a

number of channels simultaneously.

• The as-run log reflects the schedule as actually played out, in other

words, the shortened duration of one event and the earlier start time

of the subsequent ones are shown in the log after pressing Take

Next.

2.6.3 Hold

• Holds the current event until either (a) Take Next is pressed, or (b)

Hold is pressed again to release it, (c) Preroll And Take is pressed

on the Pro-Bel TX mixer (if present) or (d) the ‘manual take’

checkbox is unchecked for the preset event.

• If there is a fixed event to come later in the schedule, there will be

an over-run, and the fixed event will start at the correct time,

truncating the event preceding it . . .

• . . . unless the start time of the fixed event has already passed, in

which case it will not play, and the current event will be heldpending manual intervention.

• Hold is only relevant to the on-air event. If it is necessary to hold a

future event, set the event following it to ‘Manual Take’ in the

property inspector: see section 2.6.6

• The as-run log always reflects the schedule as actually played out,

in other words, the extended duration of one event and the later

start time of subsequent ones are shown in the log after a Hold has

been performed.

2.6.4 Skip next

• Deletes the preset event, and the event after it becomes the new

preset event.

• The old preset event is lost. It is not put on the clipboard.

• Ensure there is time for the next event to preroll

• This might be used if there is a known problem with the preset

event or device playing it out, or if the schedule is over-running and


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is now in in the MIP

• See Morpheus Configuration Reference for details on how to set up

a flexible channel

2.6.6 Manual take

This is a check box in the property inspector.

• When checked, the event will not start until either (a) Take Next is

pressed in the MIP or (b) Preroll And Take is pressed on the

hardware panel or (c) Manual Take is unchecked in the property

inspector.

• While waiting for the ‘take’ command, the start times of all schedule

items after the manual take item will be continuously updated.

• If the schedule contains a live event whose duration is uncertain the

‘manual take’ box for the following item should be checked so that it

can be run using ‘take next’.

2.6.7 Hardware MIP

A hardware MIP can be used. This consists of a set of physical buttons whose functionsare those in the software MIP. These could be, for example, the bank of user-definablebuttons on the TX520 panel, or a custom-made enclosure fitted with illuminated pushbuttonswitches.

2.7 File Operations in the Schedule

2.7.1 Save

The ‘save’ function should be used with care. If in doubt, use ‘save as’ instead. This isbecause if a schedule has been loaded from a previously saved file and then modified inthe editor, merely saving it will overwrite the file that had been loaded, which may not havebeen wanted. Some systems have the ‘save’ icon disabled for this reason, in which case itwill appear greyed out.Saving a schedule for the first time

• To save an entire schedule, press the Save icon, select File > Save

or alt+F, S on the keyboard. The user is prompted for a path andfilename.

Saving a schedule which has already been saved, or loaded from a file

• To save the entire schedule, press the Save icon, select File > Save

or alt+F, S on the keyboard. The file previously saved, or the file

loaded, is overwritten.

• If a schedule has been created in the off-line editor (see section

2.9.1) it can be saved there and then loaded or appended to the live

schedule in the online editor.


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2.7.2 Save As

• To save a schedule to a new filename, press the Save As icon,

select File > Save As or alt+F, A on the keyboard. The user is

prompted for a path and filename.

2.7.3 Load

• Load Schedule should be used with care!

• To load a previously saved schedule, press the Load icon, select

File > Open or alt+F, O on the keyboard.

• Browse to the desired folder and file

• Press Open or double-click the file name

• The saved schedule appears in the schedule window

• If there was an active schedule running, the on-air event will remain,

but ALL OTHER EVENTS will be replaced with the new schedule.

• If the loaded schedule begins with a fixed start event, it will be

placed in the future on the first date which has that time slot

available.

• If the loaded schedule contains a fixed start event later on, this

event and events following it will be delayed to the first date which

has that time slot free.

2.7.4 Append

• Appending a saved schedule puts it after the last event in the

current schedule.

• Appending is useful when a schedule for (say) the next day or time

period has been created off-line and saved. The next day’s

schedule is simply appended to the current day’s schedule.

• If the schedule being appended contains fixed events they will be

put in on the first date which has that time free. Subsequent follow-

on events will follow on from it.

2.7.5 Insert

• A saved schedule can be inserted into the current schedule or an

off-line schedule.

• Highlight the event immediately preceding the place where the

saved schedule is to be inserted, and select File > Insert or Alt+F, I

on the keyboard.


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2.8 Schedule summary

• This feature is useful for viewing statistics of, for example, the

number and total duration of commercials in a schedule.

• It is accessed by right-clicking in the schedule and selecting ‘display

summary’.

• To highlight the whole schedule, highlight the current event and

select Edit > Highlight to End.

• If statistics are required for part of a schedule, for example, a two-

hour slot, highlight the desired range of events and right-click.

• A pop-up information box appears which lists the the number of

events, the total time as hh:mm:ss:ff and as a percentage of the

total for each Material Type.

2.9 The Off-line editor

• The off-line editor is launched from the Morpheus Rescale

Shortcuts folder and can run on any machine on the Morpheus

network

• It is not connected to the live system but has many of the features

common the Online-Editor.

• Its appearance is the same as the on-line editor, except that the

word ‘Offline’ appears in place of the clock display, and there is no

live event countdown.

• It can be used for building up schedules for the future without any

risk of jeopardising the on-air schedule.

• It can be useful for checking the timing and flow of sequences prior

to inclusion in the on-air schedule.

• Schedules created in the off-line editor can be saved and appended

to the on-line schedule

• The off-line editor can be used to check the status of material in the

database by highlighting the item and selecting Tools > Check

Material.

• The ‘Missing Material Report’ feature can be launched in the Offline

Editor in the same way as in the Online version

• The off-line editor has no connection to the event store or bridge


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2.10 The Property Inspector

The Property Inspector displays the properties of the highlighted

event and allows them to be changed.

CHANGING EVENT PARAMETERS

• Find the parameter in the property inspector

• Click on the property to be edited and type the new text from the

keyboard, or, in the case of a dropdown list, click the arrow and

select a new item from the list

• For timecodes, the up/down keys can be used to increase or

decrease the figure in each digit pair. For example, to increasethe minutes, position the cursor on either digit of the minutes pair.

Increase it with the up-arrow key and decrease it with the down-

arrow key.

• To enter a negative value, such as for an offset, the minus sign

can be typed from the keyboard, or the down-arrow key can be

used and the value allowed to go beyond zero. If the negative

value cannot be entered, the parameter has not been configured

to allow it.

• When a parameter has been changed, a blue bar appears to the

left of it. To accept the change, click OK or press Enter on the

keyboard. If the blue bar remains, this means the change has not

been accepted - ensure the value entered is valid for that

parameter.

• To abandon the change, click the blue bar, or click on Cancel.

• If a changed parameter reverts to the original value, this is

because that parameter has been configured not to allow

changes. (“Decorate Always” has been set in the channel

configuration)

• Any number of changes can be made in the property inspector. A

blue bar appears beside each one. Press OK or Enter on the

keyboard to accept all of them. Click the blue bar beside any of

them to reject that change only.

• The width of the property inspector can be changed by dragging

its left-hand edge with the mouse.


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Certain fields in the property inspector are populated from the database

by an application known as the ‘material decorator’, using the Material

Id as the identifier. These fields can include:

• Duration

• In point

• Material type

• Title

• Notes

• Quality check

Each channel has a setting determining which values are ‘decorated’ (a

Pro-Bel term for a value being taken from the database), the operator

has no access to this setting. Usually, these values are constantly

updated, which means that if the operator tries to edit this value, it will

immediately change back.

There is another system setting, known as ‘Decorate Once Only’,

which if set, extracts the parameters from the database but they can be

modified afterwards in the property inspector. If the operator wants to

revert back to the original database settings, the ‘Query’ button can be

clicked at the bottom of the Property Inspector.

If the operator wants to change a value that is being constantly‘decorated’, there is a workaround , known as ‘X-ing out’. (See section

3.3). If an ‘x’ is added to the material ID in the property inspector, the

decorator no longer recognises that item and the parameters can be

edited. However the event will still play out because the vital

information (device, file ID and inpoint) are still there. The ‘status’

column in the editor will show DB error from the database and a green

barrel from the bridge.

The appearance of the Property Inspector is configurable, both in terms

of which parameters appear, in what order and if the operator is

permitted to edit them. The application used to edit this configuration is

known as ‘Event Store Test’, which is not normally accessible to

operators. This configuration, including the ‘decorate once only’ option,

are usually set up during initial system configuration, according to the

required method of operation.

The Property Inspector background colour can be customised. See

section 4.2.3


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A schedule event consists of two or three parts. The server or

tape event consists of an instruction to play out the material.

The main event consists of the router or mixer event which goes

with it. The property inspector displays the properties of the

mixer event at the top, and those of the server event lower

down. If a guard source is configured (see section 2.5), two

such events will be shown. A darker coloured band separates

the mixer and router events. This is shown in the screenshot

here: the divider between the main event and server event is

where the title HOLLYWOOD HILLS appears again about three

quarters of the way down. If a backup mixer is present, its event

parameters can also be set to appear in the property inspector.

Query

This allows quick entry of material whose Material_ID is known.

If the Material_ID is entered, pressing Query will retrieve the

other main parameters (title, File ID, inpoint and duration) from

the database. The subset of fields to be populated is

configurable - see section 4.12

Manual take

This box is checked if the event is to wait for manual interventioneither from the MIP or the mixer panel.

Is Guard Event

If a guard source is set up for an event, the material event

relating to it is shown at the bottom of the property inspector with

this box checked.

Cancel

Abandons any changes and reverts all parameters to their

previous values.


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2.11 The Event Ruler

• The Event Ruler provides a

visual indication of the timing

relationship between parent

and child events.

• Parent events are shown in

yellow, child events in light blue

• If child events overlap, the

intersection is shown in a

darker blue

• The event ruler time runs from

top to bottom, and the absolute

start and end times are

displayed

• The gradations down the left-

hand side are arbitrary units

• Hovering the mouse over any

of the bars in the event ruler

will give a pop-up box showing

the title and main properties of

the event. If overlapping

events are present, repeatedly

right-clicking the overlap region

will cycle through the basic

parameters of all the

overlapping events.

• Note that the Event Ruler

shows only the parent and one

level of children

• The width of the Event Ruler

area can be changed by

dragging the left-hand edge

with the mouse.


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2.12 The Channel Bar

•

The channel bar is to be found down the left-hand side of the editorwindow.

• All channels configured to be displayed are listed here. Some

channels may be disabled for certain roles.

• Channels are shown along with their chosen icons. If no icons are

chosen, default icons based on the channel number are displayed.

• To display the schedule for a channel, simply click the channel icon.

2.13 The Tool BarThe tool bar contains icons selected from the list in the following table. Note that icons are

disabled unless they are specifically enabled in the editor configuration - see section 4.6


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Table 2-6: Icons in the editor tool bar

Open schedule file

Append Schedule

Save schedule file

Save as

Clear schedule

Cut

Copy

Paste

Paste top

Search and replace

Palette

Configuration

MIP: MIP inactive, press to activate; MIP active, press to close

Ripple

Go to top of schedule

Go to end of schedule

Collapse secondary content

Expand secondary content

Collapse all break headers

Expand all break headers

Track programme event:

Enabled, press to disable; disabled, press to enable


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Add a default event

2.14 The Menu Bar

Like most Windows programs, the Morpheus Editor has a menu bar immediately below the title

bar. Some of the menu items are also available as Icons in the tool bar (see section 2.13).

2.14.1 File Menu

Open Loads a schedule, overwriting the active schedule apart from the currentevent.

Insert Inserts a schedule immediately below the highlighted event Append Appends a schedule to the end of the active schedule

Fill Regions

Save Saves the active schedule to the source filename.

Save As Saves the active schedule to a new filename

Change Role Changes the current role without closing the editor and logging in again

Clear from Time Clears the active schedule from a given time onwards

Clear Clears the active schedule apart from the current event

Exit Shuts down the editor

2.14.2 Edit Menu

Cut Moves the highlighted item or items to the clipboard

Copy Copies the highlighted item or items to the clipboard

Paste Pastes the item or items on the clipboard immediately below thehighlighted event

Paste top Pastes the item or items on the clipboard immediately after the currentevent, displacing the preset event

Search and Replace Allows a schedule to be searched by title or Material ID, and the resultsreplaced with a specified item.

Find next highlighted

event

Self-explanatory. Used after a search and replace.

Clear Highlights Self-explanatory. Used after a search and replace.

Highlight to end Highlights all events including and after the highlighted event, to the end ofthe schedule

Next Highlights the event after the one currently highlighted

Previous Highlights the event before the one currently highlighted


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2.14.3 Tools Menu

Configuration Opens the editor configuration dialogue (see section 4)

Ripple Opens the ripple dialogue (see section 2.3.2)

Missing Material Report Brings up a printable list of material which could not be transferred.See section x.x.x

Rescale Server Status Shows how many event stores are expected, and how many arecurrently active

Alarms Brings up the list of engineering alarms

2.14.4 Window Menu

Next Window

Previous Window

Channel BarMain Grid

Property Inspector

Palette Opens the palette (alternatives: F8 or toolbar icon)

MIP Opens the MIP (alternatives: F9 or toolbar icon)

2.14.5 Help Menu

About Gives version information

2.15 The Event Countdown

• The event countdown gives a visual countdown in hours, minutes

and seconds, either to the next live event or to a highlighted event

• Ensure that the relevant live event actually has ‘live’ as its

programme type as shown in the property inspector, otherwise the

countdown will not be activated.

• To toggle the countdown between ‘next live event’ and ‘any

highlighted event’, double-click the clock display.

2.16 Event types

2.16.1 Main Events

A main event is a top level event which is not the child of another event. It does notnecessarily have any child events of its own. Sometimes called a primary event.

MORPHEUS NOMENCLATURE

The terms Primary Even t, Top -Level Event, Parent Event and Owner allbasically mean the same thing. The terms Parent and Owner tend to be used

when the event has secondary events or child events associated with it.


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2.16.2 Start mode

The start mode of a main event determines how its start time is set. This is viewed andedited in the property inspector. There are two start modes:

FixedUsed when the event is intended to start at a specific time regardless of anything else. Inthis mode, if the timing of a previous event is changed, the start time of the fixed start eventremains fixed. A fixed start event in a schedule can cause confusion if a change is made to an eventtiming before it.

• If a previous event is modified to end earlier, leaving a ‘gap’ in the

schedule, this is flagged by means of an additional time shown in

the duration column of the schedule. The implied plus sign (“+”)

means that material needs to be added to the schedule. If the

schedule is left to run in this condition, the broadcast result will

depend on what the previous item is. If it is a server event, it will

simply run to its end and stay there on a still frame or black until the

fixed event starts. If it is a tape event the tape will play on until the

fixed event starts. This could of course result in unwanted material,

black or ‘shash’ being broadcast.

• If a previous event is altered to make it end later, in effect giving an

overlap, this is flagged with an additional negative time shown in the

duration column of the schedule. The minus sign (“-“) indicates that

material needs to be taken out of the schedule. If the schedule is

left in this condition and allowed to run, the item before the fixed

event will be held pending manual intervention.

• If a fixed start event follows an event which is held using the hold

function (see section 2.6.3), two times are displayed in the start time

column of the schedule: the upper one indicates when the event

was intended to play out; the lower one indicates the earliest time

that it can be played out (i.e. if the hold is taken off the current

event)

• If a fixed start event follows an event which is held after theintended start time of the fixed start event, so that the schedule

events are now out of sequence, once the preset event is in the

past, it will not play. It will be held pending manual intervention.

• If a fixed start event follows an event which is held so long that its

intended start time is in the past, the fixed start event will not play. It

will be put into manual mode pending operator intervention.

Follow-on

• A follow-on event starts as soon as the previous event has finished.


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• In this mode, if the timing of a previous event is changed, the start

time of the follow-on event is altered accordingly so that it still

follows on immediately afterwards.

• If an earlier event is being held, the start times of all follow-on

events thereafter are updated continuously, up until the next fixed

start event.

2.16.3 Duration mode of main events

The duration mode of an event determines how its duration is set. There are five options,but only one of them, ‘Specified’, applies to a main event:Specified

• The only mode applicable to a main event

• Used when the duration of the event is to be set in the event

parameters and not dependent on anything else.

2.16.4 In point

• The inpoint of an event determines at what timecode in the tape

item or server file the device cues up and plays from.

• Normally this would be 00:00:00:00 for a server event or

10:00:00:00 for a tape event (depending on the station’s method of

working).

• This is a ‘kernel parameter’ which means it is passed to the 2330

controller card to be used for device control.

2.16.5 Secondary Events

A secondary event is an event which is the child of another event, which is to say that it isassociated with it, and it takes some or all of its parameters from it. This could for examplebe a logo keyed over an event for some or all of the time, or a DVE squeeze of the credits.

• The term ‘child event’ or ‘child’ is to all intents and purposes

synonymous with ‘secondary event’.

• The start type of the first child event is always fixed, even if the

parent event is a follow-on event.

2.16.6 Start mode of secondary events

The start mode of a secondary event (not to be confused with start type) determineswhether it uses the beginning or end of the parent event as its reference.Reference to Parent’s BeginningFixes the start of the secondary event to the beginning of the parent event, plus or minusany offset (see section 2.16.7)Reference to Parent’s EndFixes the start of the secondary event to the end of the parent event, taking into accountany offset (see below)


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2.16.7 Offset

This setting determines the difference in time between the start of the secondary event andthe start or end of the primary event.

•

A positive offset means that the secondary event starts after thestart (or end) of the primary

• A negative offset means that the secondary event starts before the

start (or end) of the primary.

• The offset is entered in hh:mm:ss:ff.

The following table summarises this:

Table 2-7: Offset

Start mode Sign of offset Result

Offset is positive Start of secondary event is afterstart of primary eventReference toparent’s beginning

Offset is negativeStart of secondary event is beforestart of primary event

Offset is positiveStart of secondary event is afterend of primary eventReference to

parent’s endOffset is negative

Start of secondary event is beforeend of primary event

2.16.8 Duration mode of secondary events

The duration mode of a secondary event determines how its duration is to be set.

Specified

• Used when the duration of the secondary event is to be specified in

the event parameters and not derived from the parent event.

Use owner

• Sets the duration of the secondary event to be equal to that of its

owner.

End with owner

• Makes the secondary event end at the same time as the primary

event.

• The start time of the secondary event is determined by an offset

from the end of the primary event.

• Start mode ‘Reference to Parent’s End’ is used.

• The duration of the secondary event is the same as the offset.

• This should be a negative offset, making the secondary event start

before the end of the primary.

• This duration mode can also be used with a positive offset and start

mode ‘Referenced to the parent’s beginning’.


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Use children

• Sets the duration of the event to be the total duration of its child

events.

• It is generally used for Break Headers.

Relative to owner

• This mode allows two offsets to be set, one from the start and one

from the end of the parent event.

• This is the only mode which uses the End Time Offset setting (see

below)

2.16.9 End Time Offset

• This setting determines the difference in time between the end of

the secondary event and the end of the primary event.

• A positive offset means that the secondary event ends after the end

of the primary

• A negative offset means that the secondary event ends before the

end of the primary.

• The offset is entered in hh:mm:ss:ff.

• The End Time Offset setting is only used for duration mode

‘Relative to Owner’.

• The ability to enter a negative End Time Offset has to be specifically

enabled in the configuration for that event type.


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2.16.10 Secondary Events Duration Mode Reference

PARENT EVENT

CHILD EVENT Duration mode: specified

Start mode: Reference to parent’s

beginning

Offset: zero

PARENT EVENT

CHILD EVENTDuration mode: specified

Start mode: Reference to parent’s end

Offset: negative, equal to duration of child

Offset (negative)

PARENT EVENT

CHILD EVENT

Duration mode: End With Owner


Offset: negative, equal to duration of child.

Offset (negative)

Offset

PARENT EVENT

CHILD EVENT Duration mode: SpecifiedStart mode: Reference To Parent’s Beginning

Offset: as required. Can be negative (if config

allows)

PARENT EVENT

CHILD EVENT

Duration mode: Specified


Offset: as required. Example shown needs

negative offset

Offset (negative)

PARENT EVENT

CHILD EVENT

Duration mode: Relative To Owner

Start mode: Reference to parent’s beginning

Offset and endtime offset as shown. Positive or negative as required

OffsetEnd time offset

(negative)


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2.17 DSK Events

2.17.1 About DSK events A DSK, or Downstream Keyer, event, is a secondary event which controls thesuperimposition of a video signal, such as a logo, over the main programme. This caneither be done using one of the built-in keyers in the Pro-Bel TX mixer, or an externaldevice.

2.17.2 Examples of DSK events

• Station logo keyed over a whole programme

• Station logo keyed over the first 20 seconds of a programme, then

fading out

• ‘Coming next’ strap cutting in 1 minute from end of programme,

lasting 15 seconds, then fading out

2.17.3 Creating a DSK event from scratch

• In the palette, go to the DSK tab

• If available, drag and drop the ‘System Default DSK Event’ into the

schedule

• Edit its parameters in the property inspector

• Use the event ruler to ensure that its behaviour is as expected

• If desired, right-drag and drop it back into the DSK tab for future

use. In the dialogue box which opens, enter a helpful name and

choose a suitable icon. (The name then appears in the tab and will

be used in future for selecting the appropriate event)

2.17.4 Adding a preconfigured DSK event to the schedule

• In the palette, go to the DSK tab

• Left-drag and drop the desired DSK event onto an event in the

schedule

• Use the event ruler to ensure that it will behave as expected

2.17.5 Modifying a DSK event in the schedule

• Highlight the DSK event in the schedule. Its parameters appear in

the Property Inspector

• Modify them as required, and press OK or Enter

• Use the event ruler to ensure that its behaviour is as expected


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• Parameters can only be edited if the event is configured to allow it.

2.18 DVE Events

2.18.1 About DVE events

A DVE, or Digital Video Effects event, is a secondary event which controls a DVE move,such as a squeeze, spin, roll, page turn or any of the wide range of moves which exist.This would normally be done either using the optional DVE in the Pro-Bel TX mixer.

2.18.2 Examples of DVE events

• Credits squeeze to half width at the end of a programme

• Spin & condense a final still to a point in the centre of the screen

2.18.3 Creating a DVE event from scratch• In the palette, go to the DVE tab

• If available, drag and drop the ‘System Default DVE Event’ into the

schedule



• If desired, right-drag and drop it back into the DVE tab for future

use. In the dialogue box which opens, enter a helpful name and

choose a suitable icon. (The name then appears in the tab and will

be used in future for selecting the appropriate event)

2.18.4 Adding a preconfigured DVE event to the schedule

• In the palette, go to the DVE tab

• Left-drag and drop the desired DVE event onto an event in the

schedule


2.18.5 Modifying a DVE event in the schedule

• Highlight the DVE event in the schedule. Its parameters appear in






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2.19 GPI Events

2.19.1 About GPI events

GPI (General Purpose Interface) is a facility found on some equipment which enables it tobe controlled by an external switch. In Morpheus, the control card is the switch, a cableconnects this to the equipment, and the operation of the switch is a timed event in theMorpheus schedule. Usually the function needs the GPI to stay active for as long as thefunction is required. Some equipment has an ‘on’ GPI and an ‘off’ GPI.

2.19.2 Examples of GPI events

• Activation of an ARC (Aspect Ratio Converter) if a specific

programme needs it

• Activation of a logo inserter

• Insertion of cue tones (could be used for downstream switching of,

say, a transmitter function)

2.19.3 Creating a GPI event from scratch

• In the palette, go to the GPI tab

• If available, drag and drop the ‘System Default GPI Event’ into the

schedule


• Use the event ruler to ensure it will behave as expected

• If desired, right-drag and drop it back into the GPI tab for future use.

In the dialogue box which opens, enter a helpful name and choose

a suitable icon. (The name then appears in the tab and will be used

in future for selecting the appropriate event)

2.19.4 Adding a preconfigured GPI event to the schedule

• In the palette, go to the GPI tab

• Left-drag and drop the desired GPI event onto an event in the

schedule

• Use the event ruler to ensure it will behave as expected

2.19.5 Modifying a GPI event in the schedule

• Highlight the GPI event in the schedule. Its parameters appear in



• Use the event ruler to ensure it will behave as expected.



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2.20 Audio-Over Events

2.20.1 About Audio-Over events

An audio-over event is one which plays a sound over the main programme sound. It couldbe live or recorded. It is mixed using the programme audio mixer which also comes underautomation control, just as the video mixer does. Audio material may be stored on aseparate server.

2.20.2 Examples of Audio-Over events

• Playing a pre-recorded announcement over a caption to promote an

upcoming programme item

2.20.3 Creating an Audio-Over event from scratch

• In the palette, go to the audio-over tab

• If available, drag and drop the ‘System Default Audio-Over Event’

into the schedule



• If required, right-drag and drop it back into the audio over tab for

future use. In the dialogue box which opens, enter a helpful name

and choose a suitable icon. (The name then appears in the tab and

will be used in future for selecting the appropriate event)

2.20.4 Adding a preconfigured Audio Over event to the schedule

• In the palette, go to the Audio Over tab

• Left-drag and drop the desired Audio Over event onto an event in

the schedule


2.20.5 Modifying an Audio Over event in the schedule

• Highlight the Audio Over event in the schedule. Its parameters

appear in the Property Inspector





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2.21 MediaBalls®

A MediaBall® is Pro-Bel’s proprietary name for a collection of secondary events which canregarded as one entity for ease of transferring to another primary event. Althoughprincipally used for collecting secondary events together, in fact resources permitting, anyevents can be gathered as a MediaBall® if desired. These are very useful for channelbranding and the creation of a ‘house style’. Note that MediaBalls have to be enabled inthe editor configuration for a given role.

2.21.1 Example of a MediaBall

Combination of (a) ‘Coming Up’ strap; (b) credit squeeze to half width (c) space filled with agraphic (d) voice over promoting a later programme

2.21.2 How to add a preconfigured MediaBall

• In the palette, go to the MediaBall tab

• Left-drag and drop the desired MediaBall onto an event in the

schedule

• If necessary, expand it and ensure it contains the expected items

• The MediaBall header should have the same start time and duration

as the parent event


2.21.3 How to create a MediaBall

• Verify using the event ruler and preferably by previewing, that the secondary events in

the proposed MediaBall behave as intended.

• In the editor, open the MediaBall tab of the palette

• In the schedule, highlight the events to be gathered together in the MediaBall. They must

of course be contiguous

• Right-drag from any of the highlighted events into the MediaBall tab.

• A dialogue opens which asks the user to select an icon and type in a name for the new

MediaBall.

2.21.4 How to export and import a MediaBall®

• Launch the Configurator and click on the MediaBall icon (shown

right)

• Highlight the MediaBall in the list of Event types

• Click the small ‘export’ button below the event types list window

• Enter a path and filename as prompted.


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2.21.5 How to Edit a MediaBall

• Launch the Configurator and click on the MediaBall icon

• Each parameter of the mediaball can be edited separately in the ‘event type parameters’

section under the ‘all parameters’ tab

• The Kernel Parameters tab only lists parameters which are needed by the kernel.

• The Display Order tab is self-explanatory.

2.22 Header Events

A header event is a dummy event which is used as a label or ‘wrapper’ for other events which it is

convenient to manipulate together as one entity. There are three types of headers: Break Header,

Opt-out Header and MediaBall Header.

2.22.1 Break Header

• A break header is used as a wrapper for the commercials in an advertising break. Its

default title is ‘Default break header’ but this can be changed in the Property Inspector.

• The duration mode ‘use children’ is useful for ensuring that its

duration is the total duration of the commercials within it.

• To insert a break header, drag the icon (right) from the palette

window onto the item immediately before the intended position of

the break.

2.22.2 Opt-out Header

An opt-out header has one important characteristic which distinguishes it from the otherheader types: it appears automatically across all the channels in the opt-out group. If, forexample, a service has several regions whose programming is the same, but have differentcommercial breaks, then all these channels would be configured to be in the opt-out group,

and any opt-out header placed in one channel would automatically appear in the others.This ensures that the commercial breaks are synchronised across all the regions.The individual schedules for the six channels are then edited separately.Regional schedules have to be expressly configured to be in an opt-out group.

• To insert an opt-out header, drag the icon (right) from the palette

onto the item immediately before the intended position of the

break.

• The duration mode for an opt break is normally configured to be Fixed.

• If the opt breaks in the opt-out channels are not the same, large + and – signs appear

against the durations of the break headers to indicate this.


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• The opt-out header has no use in a single channel system, or in a multi channel system

where the channels are independent.

2.22.3 MediaBall® headerSee section 2.21 for full details on MediaBalls®


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2.23 Transitions

A transition refers to the way in which the viewer sees one item move on to the next. In theMorpheus editor, a transition is associated with the NEW item, in other words, the transitiontype tells you how you transition into an item, not out of it.

Figure 2-7: Transitions in the schedule

In Figure 2-7: Transitions in the schedule above there is a U-fade (fade to black and fadeup) into RADDA BARMEN, then a crossfade from RADDA BARMEN into PIMP MY RIDE

and finally a wipe from PIMP MY RIDE into KARPE DIEM PIANO.

2.23.1 Transition types and their associated parameters

These are specific to the mixer device installed, so the following description is of generictypes likely to be found.Cut

This is the simplest way of moving from one item to another. The transition is made byrapidly switching the mixer output to the new source during frame blanking, and the viewersees an instant switch from one picture to the next at the start time of the new item. Thereare no parameters to be set. A cut may be represented graphically as follows. The red line represents the currentpicture and the blue line represents the new picture.

Figure 2-8: Cut transition


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V-fadeThis means fade the current item to black, cut to the new item, and fade it up.

Figure 2-9: V-fade transition

The diagram makes it clear that the transition duration set in the Property Inspectorincludes the fade down and the fade up. The fade-down of the current event begins n frames before the new event start time, and is complete by the start time of the new event.The fade-up of the new material begins on the start time, and is complete n frames later.On the nth frame after the new event start time, the picture consists of 100% new material.It is not possible to set the two fade rates independently on a V-fade; if for example a slowfade down and a quicker fade up is required, use a U-fade (see section 0 below) withparameters chosen to give zero black duration between the fade-out of the old and thefade-in of the new material.

Take and fade

Figure 2-10: Take and fade transition

In a take and fade transition, the effect is that of cutting away from the current event andimmediately starting a fade-up of the new event at a rate set by the transition duration.There is no actual frame of black during this transition.

Fade and take

NEW EVENTSTART TIME

TRANSITIONDURATION

Figure 2-11: Fade and take transition


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In a fade and take transition, the effect is that of fading down the current event at a rate setby the transition duration and immediately cutting to the new event. There is no actualframe of black during this transition.

Cross-fade (also known as X-fade, Mix or Dissolve)

A cross-fade consists of simultaneously fading the current item down and fading the newitem up, and superimposing the two, so that at any point during the transition, a certainproportion () of the new picture will be superimposed on a proportion (1- ) of the old.

Figure 2-12: Mix transition

It is important to make sure that the material is suitable for cross-fading for the duration ofthe transition. Picture should be present in the material throughout the transition - forexample, this would not be suitable if the old or new material was black during thetransition, or if there were a shot change. The transition offset setting does not apply to acrossfade.Note that a cross-fade requires the use of two playout devices.

Wipe

A wipe is a method of progressively revealing the new picture by means of a movingboundary. The boundary can be of any shape - a line from top to bottom, left to right,diagonal, or a circle or other shape which widens revealing the new picture, even acheckerboard pattern. As far as the parameters are concerned, a wipe is just like acrossfade. It also needs two playout devices as a crossfade does.

U-Fade (fade to black)

A U-fade is really a fade to black with a pause before fading up the new programme.


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2.24 The Transition Editor

The transition editor allows the visual setting of transition parameters, which is sometimesmore convenient, particularly for the more complex transitions. To open the transition

editor, click on the button next to the Transition Type drop-down in the PropertyInspector.

The main purpose of the transition editor is to provide a useful visual method of setting

transition parameters. It can be used either way - the handles on the graphic display canbe dragged to produce the desired transition rates and timings, and the settings in theparameter boxes change accordingly; or, the figures can be entered into the boxes and theeffect observed in the graphic.

• Use the drop-down box to select the desired transition type. The default profile forthat transition appears in the graphic display.

• Press the Synchronise With Video button to make the audio transition match thevideo transition. It can then be edited again if desired.

• The audio transition will always follow the video transition if the Track Video box ischecked.

• When OK is pressed, the figures in the transition editor are automatically passed tothe property inspector.

•

Press Cancel to abandon any changes made.Note that the transition editor has to be enabled in the editor configuration for each role. Ifit is not, the transition editor button will not be displayed.

2.25 Split Audio and Video Transitions

Sometimes it is necessary to fade the sound before or after the vision transition. This canbe fully automated in Morpheus. A TX mixer must be present such as the Pro-Bel TX520or equivalent. In the transition editor, the black and blue lines represent the old and newaudio respectively. First it is necessary to uncheck the ‘Track Video’ box in the TransitionEditor, then the relevant parameters must be set, either numerically using the PropertyInspector, or visually using the Transition Editor.

• The reference point for all transitions is the event start time.


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There are two types of parameters in this context:

• Parameters which affect the timing of the audio fade;

• Parameters which affect the rate of the audio fade.

Table 2-8: TERMINOLOGY

Term Definition Comments

EARLY

LEAD

The audio is faded up before the

event starts

Very common

LATELEAD

The audio is faded up after theevent starts

Lesscommon

EARLYLAG

The audio is faded down beforethe event ends

Lesscommon

LATELAG

The audio is faded down after theevent ends

Very common

LEADRATE

The duration of a fade-in

LAGRATE

The duration of a fade-out


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Table 2-9: PARAMETER DESCRIPTIONS

Parametername

Definition Comments

Audio lag The amount by which thestart of the audio fade-out isdelayed (late lag) oradvanced (early lag) at theend of the item

Audio lagout

The amount by which thefade-out of the previousitem is delayed

Same as Audio Lagsetting for previousitem

Audio lagout rate

The duration of the fade-outof the previous item

Same as Audio LagRate setting for

previous item

Audio lagrate

The time taken for the fade-out, measured in ss:ff .Zero indicates a cut. Themaximum setting is 99frames

Increasing the timemakes both leadsand lags end later.The start timeremains the same.

AudioLead

The amount by which thestart of the audio fade-up isdelayed (late lead) oradvanced (early lead) at thebeginning of the item

AudioLeadRate

The time taken for the fade-up, measured in ss:ff. Zeroindicates a cut. Themaximum setting is 99frames

Increasing the timemakes both leadsand lags end later.The start timeremains the same.


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The following diagrams make this clear:

Previous event lag

timing can be set in

present event

parameters -

Audio Lag Out

Early lag = negative

EVENT 1 EVENT 2 EVENT 3

audio for event 1

audio for event 2

audio for event 3

Changing Audio

Lead alters transition

start time:

early lead = negative

LEAD begins at

the transition time

Changing Audio

Lag alters transition

start time:

early lag = negative

LAG begins at the

transition time

Figure 2-13 - Audio lead and lag timing settings


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Previous event

lag can be set

in present event

parameters -

Audio Lag Out

Previous event lag

rate can be set in

present event

parameters -

Audio Lag Rate Out

EVENT 1 EVENT 2 EVENT 3

audio for event 1

audio for event 2

audio for event 3

An AUDIO LEAD

begins at the

transition time +/-the Audio Lead

time settingChanging Audio Lead

Rate keeps the

transition start point

the same and changes

the end point

An AUDIO LAG

begins at the

transition time +/-

the Audio Lead time

setting

Changing AudioLag Rate keeps the

transition start

point the same and

changes the end

point

Figure 2-14 - Audio lead and lag rate settings


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SETTING UP INDEPENDENT AUDIO TRANSITIONS

• The audio transition begins at the event start/end time plus or minus whatever audiolead/lag time has been set. This applies to both leads and lags.

• An audio transition with zero duration is a cut, and takes place at the event start/endtime plus or minus whatever audio lead/lag time has been set.

• If a non-zero audio transition rate is set, the transition begins at the event start/endtime plus or minus whatever audio lead/lag time has been set, and the transition endsa certain number of seconds and frames late

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