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DVM-8400
User's Manual
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Alcorn Mcbride DVM-8400 User's Manual

Digital Video Machine HD
User's Manual
DVMHD-8400
August 21, 2009
Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information contained in this manual, and the reliability of the Alcorn McBride Digital Video Machine HD hardware and software. Errors can sometimes go undetected, however. If you find one, please bring it to our attention so that we can correct it for others. Alcorn McBride welcomes comments and suggestions on the content and layout of its documentation.
Applications described herein are for illustrative purposes only. Alcorn McBride Inc. assumes no responsibility or liability for the use of these products, and makes no representation or warranty that the use of these products for specific applications will be suitable without further testing or modification. Alcorn McBride products are not intended for use in applications where a malfunction can reasonably be expected to result in personal injury. Customers using or selling Alcorn McBride products for use in such applications do so at their own risk, and agree to fully indemnify Alcorn McBride for any damages resulting from such improper use or sale. Alcorn McBride Inc. reserves the right to make changes to these products, without notice, in order to improve their design or performance.
Digital Video Machine™ is a trademark of Alcorn McBride Inc., all rights reserved. Copyright © 2009 Alcorn McBride, Inc. All rights reserved.
Dolby is a trademark of Dolby Laboratories.
Hardware Design: Jim Carstensen, Scott Harkless, Jeremy Scheinberg Firmware Design: Scott Harkless Software Design: Scott Harkless, Joy Burke, Adam Rosenberg Documentation: Jim Carstensen, Scott Harkless, John Conley Mechanical Design: Martin Chaney
Document Number: 110-103464.50
Alcorn McBride Inc. 3300 S. Hiawassee, Suite 105 Orlando, Florida 32835 Tel: (407) 296-5800 Fax: (407) 296-5801 http://www.alcorn.com support@alcorn.com
Table of Contents
WELCOME .............................................................................................................................................................3
STANDARD FEATURES............................................................................................................................................4
TECHNICAL SUPPORT.........................................................................................................................................5
GETTING STARTED..............................................................................................................................................7
PLAYING A TEST VIDEO ..........................................................................................................................................7
HARDWARE INFORMATION.................................................................................................................................9
DISPLAY AND MENU WHEEL..................................................................................................................................10
Front-Panel Menu Map .................................................................................................................................11
INDICATOR LEDS.................................................................................................................................................12
Status LED....................................................................................................................................................12
Lock LED ......................................................................................................................................................12
Sync LED......................................................................................................................................................12
CONFIGURATION DIP SWITCHES ...........................................................................................................................13
L2 - Restore Factory Defaults .......................................................................................................................13
L4 - Ground Lift .............................................................................................................................................13
R3 - 75Ω Video Sync Termination.................................................................................................................14
R4 - Sync Input Type (C-Sync/Blackburst) ...................................................................................................14
POWER CONNECTOR ...........................................................................................................................................15
AUDIO/VIDEO OUTPUTS ....................................................................................................................................... 15
SERIAL PORT: DB-9 CONNECTOR .........................................................................................................................15
INPUT/OUTPUT CONTROL: 20-PIN CONNECTOR ......................................................................................................16
CONTROL INTERFACES ....................................................................................................................................17
SERIAL CONTROL ................................................................................................................................................17
ETHERNET CONTROL ...........................................................................................................................................17
PLAYLIST CONTROL .............................................................................................................................................18
Overview.......................................................................................................................................................18
Special Playlist Commands...........................................................................................................................19
Example Playlist............................................................................................................................................20
Using Playlist Builder ....................................................................................................................................21
SCHEDULER CONTROL .........................................................................................................................................22
Schedule File Format....................................................................................................................................22
Schedule Builder...........................................................................................................................................27
GPS CONTROL ...................................................................................................................................................29
Overview.......................................................................................................................................................29
Using GPS Builder Software.........................................................................................................................30
Creating a GPS Playlist ................................................................................................................................34
Configuring the DVMHD for GPS Operation .................................................................................................35
Overlapping GPS Routes..............................................................................................................................35
INPUT/OUTPUT CONTROL .....................................................................................................................................36
Input Control .................................................................................................................................................36
Status Outputs ..............................................................................................................................................39
COMMAND PROTOCOL .....................................................................................................................................40
PLAYBACK COMMANDS.........................................................................................................................................40
Search File....................................................................................................................................................40
Play...............................................................................................................................................................41
Loop Play......................................................................................................................................................41
Play File ........................................................................................................................................................41
Loop File .......................................................................................................................................................42
Play Next ......................................................................................................................................................42
Loop Next .....................................................................................................................................................42
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Still ............................................................................................................................................................... 43
Pause ........................................................................................................................................................... 43
Stop.............................................................................................................................................................. 43
Audio Mute ................................................................................................................................................... 43
Video Mute ................................................................................................................................................... 44
Status Request............................................................................................................................................. 44
Clip Request................................................................................................................................................. 44
CONFIGURATION COMMANDS ............................................................................................................................... 45
Set Colorspace............................................................................................................................................. 45
Set Video Output Format.............................................................................................................................. 45
Set User Name............................................................................................................................................. 46
Set Password ............................................................................................................................................... 46
MISCELLANEOUS COMMANDS ............................................................................................................................... 46
Format Media ............................................................................................................................................... 46
Set Device ID ............................................................................................................................................... 47
Software Reset............................................................................................................................................. 47
Send Serial String ........................................................................................................................................ 47
Set Relay Output .......................................................................................................................................... 48
COMMAND PROTOCOL SUMMARY.......................................................................................................................... 49
Playback Command List............................................................................................................................... 49
Configuration Command List ........................................................................................................................ 50
COMMAND ERROR CODES ................................................................................................................................... 51
MEDIA FILES....................................................................................................................................................... 53
SUPPORTED VIDEO FILE TYPES............................................................................................................................ 53
FILE NAMING ...................................................................................................................................................... 54
VIDEO FORMATS ................................................................................................................................................. 55
MPEG-2 Video Specifications ...................................................................................................................... 55
H.264/MPEG-4 Video Specifications............................................................................................................ 56
VC-1 Video Specifications ............................................................................................................................ 57
AUDIO FORMATS ................................................................................................................................................. 58
FILE SYSTEM LIMITATION – 4GB FILE SIZE............................................................................................................ 58
TRANSFERRING FILES TO THE DVMHD................................................................................................................. 59
Copying Files Using a Compact Flash Card Reader .................................................................................... 59
Copying Files Using an FTP Connection (FileZilla) ...................................................................................... 59
SYNCHRONIZATION .......................................................................................................................................... 62
CONFIGURING THE DVMHD FOR EXTERNAL SYNC ................................................................................................. 62
SYNCHRONIZING MULTIPLE DVMHD’S.................................................................................................................. 63
Sharing Video Sync Between DVMHD’s ...................................................................................................... 63
Triggering Synchronized DVMHD’s Simultaneously..................................................................................... 64
POWER UP OPERATION ................................................................................................................................... 66
UPDATING FIRMWARE...................................................................................................................................... 68
TROUBLESHOOTING GUIDE / FAQ.................................................................................................................. 70
MECHANICAL INFORMATION ........................................................................................................................... 73
Mechanical Dimensions................................................................................................................................ 73
Surface Mounting ......................................................................................................................................... 74
Rack Mounting ............................................................................................................................................. 75
SPECIFICATIONS ............................................................................................................................................... 77
INDEX .................................................................................................................................................................. 79

Welcome

Thank you for purchasing The Alcorn McBride Digital Video Machine™ HD. The Digital Video Machine HD, or DVMHD for short, is designed to be an ultra reliable HD video playback source for permanent installations. It can provide hours of superb digital video and audio. We’ve tried to think of everything you’d need in a stand-alone HD video player – five types of video outputs, three types of audio outputs, GPS and numerous control interfaces make the DVMHD incredibly flexible.
The DVMHD was designed to be a solid-state drop-in substitute for many different brands of DVD players and other types of video players, in a wide variety of applications. With no moving parts, it’s far more than a DVD player replacement, offering standard features that go way beyond what ordinary video playback solutions can offer including SMPTE 292M HD-SDI digital video, HDMI, RGB, YPbPr or Composite (SD) analog video, unbalanced audio, Dolby Digital bit stream or S/PDIF digital audio, voltage/contact input control, built-in real-time scheduling, playlists, Ethernet, RS-232, and many other features. The DVMHD is the ultimate choice for almost any installation that requires high quality and reliable video playback
We hope you enjoy using it as much as we enjoyed designing it. Have fun with your new Digital Video Machine HD!
For the most recent documentation, firmware upgrades, and other information on the Digital Video Machine HD, please visit our website at:
http://www.alcorn.com
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Standard Features

The Digital Video Machine HD offers a wide variety of standard features including:
• Playback of several popular video formats, including H.264 (MPEG4), MPEG2, and VC-1
• Bit rate up to 40 Mbps
• Removable solid-state Compact Flash card
• Scheduled playback using built-in Real Time Clock
• Operates from 9VDC to 36VDC (power supply included)
• GPS (Global Positioning Satellite) triggering capability
• HD video on YPbPr component, HDMI, HD-SDI (SMPTE 292M) outputs
• SD composite video output for easy integration with monitoring systems
• Unbalanced analog audio (stereo) on RCA connectors
• Digital Audio on coax (RCA), HDMI and HD-SDI (SMPTE-292M) connectors
• 1080i, 720p, 480p, 576p, 480i, 576i video output resolutions
• Ethernet interface for control and content transfer
• Stores hundreds of individual video files (Compact Flash)
• Serial RS-232 Control is Pioneer LDP compatible.
• 8 isolated inputs (voltage or contact) provide control of up to 255 files, including playlists.
• Relay outputs provide indication of playback status
• 2x16 LCD display and knob for navigation of system settings and playback features.
• External sync input that supports both C-Sync and Blackburst sync sources
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Technical Support

You can obtain information about specifying, installing, configuring, updating and programming your Alcorn McBride Digital Video Machine HD from several sources:
For… Contact… When?…
Firmware Updates http://www.alcorn.com/support Any Time
Knowledge Base http://www.alcorn.com/kb Any Time
E-mail Support support@alcorn.com Any Time
Fax Support (407) 296-5801 M-F 9am-5pm (EST)
Telephone Support (407) 296-5800 M-F 9am-5pm (EST)
Alcorn McBride Digital Video Machine HD User’s Manual Rev 1.0
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Getting Started

Throughout this manual you will find detailed discussions on all the features of this product. However, you’re probably anxious to see your DVMHD play some video first before you dive in to all of that. Below are a few easy steps to show you how to play video from DVMHD right out of the box!

Playing a Test Video

Every DVMHD comes with a Compact Flash card that is preloaded with an Alcorn McBride test clip. The card is already installed in the DVMHD’s Compact Flash socket. To get the DVMHD to play this test clip, please follow these step-by-step directions.
• Connect the DVMHD to your display using one of the following outputs:
o Analog Component Video and Analog Audio o HDMI o HD-SDI
• Power up the DVMHD using the included power supply. The status LED should briefly blink green and then remain off. The LCD display will also indicate that the DVMHD is initializing, and then display its current status when it’s finished.
• When the DVMHD has finished initializing, press in the menu knob. This will enter the ‘Main Menu’ of the DVMHD’s display interface.
• Select ‘Play Menu’ by pressing in the knob again.
• Select ‘Play Test File’ by pressing the knob once more. After this, the
DVMHD will begin playing the preloaded test clip. The status LED will turn green to indicate that the DVMHD is playing. Assuming your display is on and configured for the correct video input, you should be seeing video and hearing audio.
NOTE: If you have any trouble identifying any components mentioned is this guide, refer to the diagrams in the Hardware Information section.
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Hardware Information

The Digital Video Machine HD provides controls that can accommodate a wide variety of installations. The front panel incorporates a menu wheel, two-line LCD display, status indicators, and a Compact Flash Socket. The rear panel provides the Sync in, HD-SDI, HDMI, Component and composite video, S/PDIF and unbalanced audio outputs, parallel controls as well as GPS, serial and Ethernet ports.
LCD Display
Power
Input
Sync Input
USB
HD-SDI
Menu Wheel
Parallel Control
Connecto
Status LEDs
HDMI
L/R Line-Level Audio Out
SPDIF
Compact Flash
Socket
uts
Analog Video
Out
uts
GPS
RS232
Connector
Ethernet Jack
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Display and Menu Wheel

Note: The menu wheel ‘clicks’ when rotated to provide tactile feedback between selections.
The DVMHD is equipped with 2x16 character LCD Display. This display is primarily used to indicate the current status of the DVMHD. Here’s an example of that status display:
The current playback state is indicated at the top-left of this screen. This state can be any one of the following:
Stopped – Not playing a file
Playing – Playing a file
Searched – File is searched and ready to play. 1st video frame on-screen.
Paused – Playback is paused, screen is black.
Stilled – Playback is paused, screen displays stilled image
Error – DVMHD has encountered an error (i.e. bad command)
When the DVMHD is Playing, Searched, Paused, or Stilled it is actively working with a video or playlist file. Therefore, when in these states the status display also shows the current file on the bottom half of the screen. In the example screen above, the DVMHD is currently playing a file named VID00001.MPG. If the DVMHD were playing a playlist, the screen would look something like this instead:
In addition to providing system status, the display can also be used in conjunction with the nearby Menu Wheel to access both configuration settings and simple playback controls for the DVMHD. To enter this menu, simply press in the menu wheel.
After you do this, you can navigate through the various menus of the DVMHD’s front­panel interface by rotating the menu wheel to change the selection, and pressing it to select the current item. For a full list of the available menu options, see the Front- Panel Menu Map on the following page. When you are finished, simply browse to the ‘Exit’ selection and push the menu wheel to return to the status screen. If you don’t select ‘Exit’, the menu interface will return to the Status screen automatically after 30 seconds of inactivity.
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Front-Panel Menu Map

MAIN MENU
PLAY MENU
Play Test File
Stop
UNIT SETUP
VIDEO SETUP
IO SETUP
NETWORK SETUP
Device ID
0-126)
Video Format
1080i, 720p, etc.
Colorspace
YPbPr / RGB
Input Type
Contact / Voltage
Input Mode
Play, Encoded Play, Combo
IP Address
192.168.0.254
Subnet Mask
255.255.255.0
Gateway
192.168.0.1)
CLOCK SETUP
Set Time
Set Date
Set DST Mode
None, USA, UTC
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Indicator LEDs

The Digital Video Machine HD has 3 LEDs that are used to indicate the status of various features of the product. Two of these LEDs are located on the front panel to the left of the Compact Flash socket. The bottom one is the Status LED and the top one is the Lock LED. The third LED, the Sync LED, is located on the rear panel of the DVMHD, and is right next to the Sync input. As you can probably guess, it indicates when a supported video sync source is being detected by the DVMHD’s video sync input. Below you will find a detailed description of each LED and their behavior.

Status LED

LED Status Meaning(s)
Steady green Playing
Steady orange Searched, Paused, Stilled, Formatting Media, Updating
Steady red Audio Muted
Flashing red Fault (i.e. bad command, hardware problem, etc.)
Flashing green Power-on initialization, Search in progress
Single pulse of green Flash card inserted and detected
Single pulse of red Flash card removed
Off Idle (Stopped)
Firmware

Lock LED

Sync LED

LED Status Meaning(s)
Off Not receiving GPS input from GPS antenna
Pulse red Received message from GPS antenna, but the antenna
has not locked on to any GPS satellites.
Pulse green Received coordinates from GPS antenna
LED Status Meaning(s)
Off No video sync detected on sync input
On Locked to external video sync.
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Configuration DIP Switches

Two sets of 4-position configuration DIP switches are located on the side of the DVMHD. These switches allow you to configure various hardware related settings which are explained in this section. In the explanations below, ON refers to the DIP switch being in the DOWN position, while OFF means the UP position.
NOTE: For DVMHD’s that are being installed in equipment racks, it’s always a good idea to configure the DIP switches before installing the rack mount kit.

L2 - Restore Factory Defaults

L4 - Ground Lift

Switch #2 of the left bank of DIP switches allows you to restore all of the DVMHD’s configuration settings to the factory default settings. This includes things like IP Address, Username, Password, Video Output Format, etc. For normal operation, this switch should always remain in the ON position. When you wish to restore the settings, simply set the switch to the OFF position for a few moments while the DVMHD is powered on. Leave the switch in the OFF position until the status LED pulses RED to indicate that the settings have been restored, and then return the switch to the ON position.
Restore
Normal
Operation
Left
The Ground Lift feature can sometimes help in situations where audio hum, video banding, or other noise is being caused by potential ground loops. A Ground Lift disconnects the internal ground from the DVMHD’s metal chassis, reducing the chance of ground noise affecting the DVMHD’s electrical systems (i.e. audio outputs, video outputs, etc.). This feature is configured using switch #4 on the left bank of DIP switches. By default, this switch is set to the ON position which grounds the DVMHD to its chassis. You can implement a ground lift by setting this switch to the OFF position. After that, the DVMHD’s ground will be isolated from the chassis.
Ground
Ground Chassis
Left
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R3 - 75Ω Video Sync Termination

When distributing video sync, it’s standard practice to terminate every dedicated video sync line with 75Ω. An ideal system design would provide a dedicated sync line for each DVMHD from the video sync generator. However, there are circumstances where you may need to split a single sync line (typically done using BNC ‘T’ connectors) so that it can be shared with multiple DVMHD’s. In this situation, having termination enabled on every DVMHD in the chain could easily over terminate the line, degrade the signal, and result in the DVMHD’s being unable to lock to the sync input. When video sync is distributed in this way, you should disable the 75Ω termination in every DVMHD except for the last one in the chain.
Switch #3 of the right bank of DIP-switch allows you to disable the 75Ω termination if necessary. By default, the DVMHD ships with this switch in the ON position. If you need to disable the termination, just set this switch to the OFF position
75Ω
75Ω
On
Right

R4 - Sync Input Type (C-Sync/Blackburst)

There are two common types of video sync sources; Composite Sync (C-Sync) and Blackburst. A typical C-Sync signal operates at a peak-to-peak voltage of 4V. However, Blackburst sync signals are typically much lower at less than 1V peak-to­peak. This DIP switch settings allows the DVMHD to reliably support both types despite this drastic difference in signal amplitude.
Switch #4 of the right bank of DIP switches is used to select between the two sync types. By default, the DVMHD ships with this switch in the OFF position, which configures the sync input for Blackburst. If you want to connect a C-Sync generator to the DVMHD, you’ll need to set this switch to the ON position for C-Sync operation.
Blackburst C-Sync
Right
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Power Connector

The power input is a captive 2.5x5.5x10mm barrel connector with center pin (+) and the outer rim (-). The Digital Video Machine requires 9.0 VDC to 36.0 VDC at 2 Amp. This is useful for mobile applications where an automotive battery is used to power a DVMHD. An external 100-250 VAC 50/60Hz input universal switching power supply is provided with the unit.
DO NOT EXCEED THE SPECIFIED INPUT VOLTAGE RANGE!

Audio/Video Outputs

The audio RCA outputs provide a standard -10dbu unbalanced signal.
The video output format (1080i, 720p) can be configured using the front-panel menu or with Serial or Ethernet command.
The composite video output always provides a scaled down Standard­Definition output. No configuration necessary.
Every DVMHD comes equipped with many audio and video outputs. Audio is available on the unbalanced RCA, digital coax, HDMI, and HD-SDI connectors. Video is available on the YPbPr component, Composite, HDMI, and HD-SDI connectors.
In most circumstances, all of these outputs are on simultaneously. The only exception is when you are playing content that is encoded with a surround sound format, such as Dolby or DTS. In this case, the analog audio outputs will remain silent.
With the exception of the composite video output, all of the video connectors will output High-Definition video using the configured video format. The composite output, on the other hand, always scales the current output down to a Standard­Definition NTSC or PAL video format. This makes this connector ideal for interfacing to monitoring equipment like rack monitors or touch-panel control systems that accept composite video.

Serial Port: DB-9 Connector

A serial cable is provided with each Digital Video Machine.
This input is a standard DB-9 male RS-232C connector. This port is designed to connect to a Show Controller, Computer, or other control device using a straight­through (not null-modem) 9-pin cable. The connector pin assignments are listed in the table below.
Pin Function
2 TXD (data from DVMHD)
3 RXD (data to DVMHD)
5 GND
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Input/Output Control: 20-pin Connector

Remember to configure the DVMHD’s inputs for Voltage or Contact Closure. If you do not, the inputs will not be damaged, but they may not operate correctly. This setting can be configured using the front-panel or via Serial or Ethernet command.
A wiring harness that mates to this connector is included with the DVMHD.
The Input/Output Control connector provides 8 configurable inputs, and 2 dry contact relay outputs. The inputs are software configurable for either Voltage or Contact Closure operation. The behavior of these inputs is also software configurable. The outputs are primarily used to indicate when the DVMHD is in either the Playing or Error state, although this functionality can be changed in software as well.
For more information on how to use this connector to control the DVMHD, please refer to the Input/Output Control section of this manual.
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+
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Control Interfaces

Serial Control

The Digital Video Machine HD can be controlled using the male DB-9 RS-232 connector on the rear panel. If you are interfacing to the DVMHD with a PC or other type of controller, you will need to use a straight-through DB-9 Female to DB-9 Female serial cable. For your convenience, this cable has been included with your DVMHD.
This serial interface operates at 9600 baud, no parity, 8 bits per character, and one stop bit (9600,8,N,1).
All serial commands are ASCII based, and are terminated with a carriage return (hexadecimal value 0x0D). The complete list of supported commands can be found in the Command Protocol section as well.
For your convenience, Alcorn McBride distributes an application called AMI Terminal, which allows you to control the DVMHD via RS-232 with the click of a button. This free application can be obtained at

Ethernet Control

The Digital Video Machine HD is equipped with an Ethernet interface that allows you to control the DVMHD using a standard Ethernet Protocol called UDP (User Datagram Protocol).
UDP is a very simple Ethernet protocol that allows an Ethernet device to transmit a generic string of data to another Ethernet device. Since UDP is such a broad standard, UDP packets can be generated easily by a large variety of controllers and PC applications. The UDP packet handles all of the complexities of getting the message where it needs to go in one piece. The good news is that you do not have to understand those complexities. As a matter of fact, you only need to know the following information to send a UDP message.
1. Destination IP Address – This needs to be the IP address of the
2. Destination Port – This value needs to be the UDP port that the
3. Source Port - This is the UDP port the PC or controller will use to send
4. Data – This is the actual message that you are sending to the DVMHD.
All UDP commands are ASCII based, and are terminated with a carriage return (hexadecimal value 0x0D). The complete list of supported commands can be found in the Command Protocol section.
For your convenience, Alcorn McBride distributes an application called AMI Terminal, which allows you to control the DVMHD using UDP with the click of a button. This free application can be obtained at
http://www.alcorn.com.
DVMHD you intend to control. The default IP address of the DVMHD is 192.168.0.254.
DVMHD is listening to for UDP commands. This value is always 2638.
the UDP message. It does not matter what port you choose, as long as it is a legal UDP port. If you have no idea what a legal UDP port is, just use 2638.
This message needs to be a Command Protocol message (i.e. 1PL<CR>).
http://www.alcorn.com.
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Playlist Control

Playlists provide a mechanism for the Digital Video Machine to automatically execute commands in a predefined sequence. Playlists often allow the DVMHD to be used to perform complex functions that would normally require an external controller. Since Playlists can execute any of the commands listed in the Command Protocol section, they can perform a variety of functions. These functions could be something as simple as looping a single track, or as complex as user-prompted pacing of playback.

Overview

A playlist zero (PLY00000.LST) will automatically play on power-up.
It is not a good idea to have both a playlist file and a video file with the same number (like PLY00002.LST and VID00002.MPG). If you do, commanding the DVMHD to play file #2 may not produce the desired result (whatever that may be) since the DVMHD is forced to prioritize which file type it should play in that circumstance.
A playlist file is nothing more than a list of DVMHD commands in a text file.
These commands, which are listed in the Command Protocol section, are the same commands that are used by all of the DVMHD’s control interfaces. Although any of the supported commands can be used, playlists usually contain Play commands, which cause the DVMHD to play video clips from the Compact Flash card. When a playlist is being used, the commands are processed in the order in which they appear in the list. The playlist is an ASCII text file and can be made using any ASCII text editor (like notepad) or using the Playlist Builder program available from
http://www.alcorn.com/support/software.html
A playlist can be triggered by Serial or Ethernet commands, as well as Inputs on the Input/Output Control connector. As a matter of fact, triggering a playlist is exactly like triggering a video file to play. For example, let’s say you send the DVMHD the following serial command:
2PL<CR>
This command will cause the playlist file PLY00002.LST to start playing. Using Input/Output Control to play file #2 will also start PLY00002.LST.
It is a very common requirement in applications for the DVMHD to power up and launch a playlist on its own. This can easily be done by naming the playlist file PLY00000.LST. This assigns the playlist file to be clip #0, which directs the DVMHD to play the file upon power up. Since this playlist is associated with clip #0, you can manually start the playlist using any of the control interfaces by specifying clip #0 as the file parameter.
It is also common practice to have one playlist launch another playlist. This is done in the same fashion as playing a video; by using a command like 2PL (where 2 is the number of another playlist). When another playlist is launched, execution of the current playlist will be terminated and the new playlist will begin immediately.
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Special Playlist Commands

In addition to regular Digital Video Machine commands listed in the Command Protocol section, there are a few additional commands for the Playlist Control
interface. These single-character commands further modify the behavior of the playlists to provide additional features that only apply to the Playlist Control interface of the DVMHD. These characters and their functions are listed in the following table:
Command Description
U
I
S
G
W
<
;
Uninterruptible. Causes the Digital Video Machine to ignore all Input/Output Control triggers (with the exception of ‘Stop’) and any ‘Play’ commands. This behavior continues until the playlist becomes interruptible once again using the ‘I’ command listed below, or by the playlist ending.
Interruptible. Restores normal functionality to the Input/Output Control interface as well as the ‘Play’ command. In this mode, all commands can interrupt the playlist or cause it to advance to the next playlist entry. This is the power-up default.
Seamless. Whenever PL commands are located immediately after one another, the playlist will seamlessly transition between video clips. Seamless playlist requires the use of the Play File command. See the Command Protocol section for information on how to use this command. This is the power-up default.
Segmented. In this mode, the playlist will not transition between clips seamlessly. There will be a brief delay between clips.
Wait. Playlist waits until a ‘Resume’ input or a ‘Play’ command occurs before moving on to the next playlist command. This is useful for applications where a user decides when the playlist should move on.
Loop. Tells the playlist to loop upon completion. This looping will continue indefinitely until a Stop condition occurs, or another video or playlist file is played.
Comment. Ignore all characters until the next line.
Commands may be entered into the Playlist in either upper or lower case. All text following a semicolon (;) is interpreted as comments, until the next line in the file. You may put anything you want in comments, including the special command characters normally used in the Playlist.
One thing to be cautious of when making a playlist is creating an unintended endless loop or uninterruptible wait. For example, if a Playlist contains a ‘U’ followed by a Loop Play command, it doesn’t matter how many more tracks may occur in it, there is no way to get to them! When using the ‘U’ command, always include an ‘I’ command before the next Loop Play or W command, unless this is the desired behavior. Of course, you can always terminate the loop or wait with a Stop command.
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Example Playlist

Here’s an example playlist that will be discussed in detail below to explain the concept of how playlists work in the Digital Video Machine HD.
I 1PL ;You can comment your Playlist file by using 6LP ;semicolons. All text after a semicolon is 37PL ;ignored until the end of the line where a ;carriage return is encountered. 5PL <
The first command in the playlist is the “I” command. This character places the Digital Video Machine HD into “interruptible” mode, which means that the unit will respond to discrete Select inputs and serial play commands by jumping immediately to the next command in the list. The unit remains in interruptible mode unless a “U” character is encountered.
The next command, which is “1PL”, causes the DVMHD to play video #1. If the user issues a Play command during the playback of video #1, it will be interrupted and the playlist will move on to the next command. If a Play command is not received, the DVMHD will not advance to the next playlist command until video #1 has played to completion.
When video #1 has finished playing, the “6LP” command is executed. This command causes the DVMHD to loop video #6 continuously. This file will continue looping indefinitely until the user issues a Play command or activates the Play input.
If advanced by the user, video #37 plays followed by video #5. Once video #5 finishes, the “<” character causes the playlist to loop back to the beginning. This means that video #1 will start playing once again.
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Using Playlist Builder

For convenience, Alcorn McBride provides a free Windows application for making playlists using a graphical interface. This program is called Playlist Builder, and it can be downloaded from the software section the Alcorn McBride website at
http://www.alcorn.com
Here is a step-by-step guide to get started making playlists with Playlist Builder.
1. Open the Playlist Builder application
2. Select the DVM8400 in the list of supported devices and click OK.
3. Select the event you wish to insert into the playlist. Since “Play Clip” is the event used to play a video, we will use it for this example.
4. Using the arrows in the ‘parameters’ box, you can select which type of Play command you wish to use. For example, “By Number” would allow you to enter a clip number. “By File” would allow you to enter the actual file name. If you are using the compact flash card that shipped inside your DVMHD, select ‘By Number’ and enter the number ‘1’ in the field.
.
5. Click OK to add the event to the playlist
6. Add as many commands as you like! Once you are done, you can save the playlist file and transfer it to your DVMHD!
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Scheduler Control

If you plan on using the Scheduler, you should verify that the DVMHD’s time and date are set correctly.
The Digital Video Machine has a built-in real-time clock, which can be used to trigger events based on time and/or date. For example, a schedule could be created to play a video at exactly 3:00PM on January 15th 2015, or start looping a video at 8AM every morning and stop looping it at 8PM every night.
The DVMHD can accomplish this type of task using a feature called the Scheduler. With a user-created schedule file, the Scheduler can execute any event listed in the Command Protocol section of this manual. These scheduled events are accurate down to the minute, and can be programmed to execute once, or repeat periodically (i.e. repeat every Monday, every January 1
The Digital Video Machine HD obtains schedule information from a file on the Compact Flash card named schedule.scl. This file is created using either a text editor (i.e. Notepad) or a free Alcorn McBride application called Schedule Builder. The remainder of this section contains information on how to make this schedule file using either method.

Schedule File Format

The schedule.scl file itself is nothing more than a formatted ASCII text file. In this file, each line contains a DVMHD command as well as data fields that specify when that command should be executed. This section covers these fields and how they are used to schedule command execution.
Field Summary
st
, every morning, etc.).
Here is a list of the fields that can be used within a scheduled event. Below this table, there are several examples that show how these fields can be used to change the behavior of a scheduled event.
Delimiter Field
T:
D:
I:
A:
E:
1:
R:
P:
S:
;
Starting time (hh:mm) (military time – leading zeros for hours required)
Starting date (mm/dd/yy or mm/dd/yyyy . You can use periods, slashes, or dashes to separate dates)
Ending time (hh:mm) (military time)
Ending date (mm/dd/yy or mm/dd/yyyy . You can use periods, slashes, or dashes to separate dates)
Event – This field always contains the COMMAND event
Parameter 1 – This always contains the DVMHD command wrapped in quotes.
Repeat Number: repeat after this number of periods has expired
Repeat Period: Time to wait between executions, used with Repeat Number and Set when necessary
Repeat Set: special case usage described below
Although not a field, this marks a comment
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