ChamSys MagicHD User Manual

MagicHD User Manual i

MagicHD User Manual

MagicHD User Manual ii

REVISION HISTORY

NUMBER DATE DESCRIPTION NAME

v1.6.7.1 24/07/2015 ChamSys

MagicHD User Manual iii

Contents

1 Introduction 1

1.1 Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1.2 Known Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.3 Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.4 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2 Getting Started 3

2.1 Super Quick Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.2 Quick Start . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

2.3 Adding a Mask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.4 HUD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

2.5 Keystone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.6 Projector Colour Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.7 Displaying Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.8 MagicHD Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.9 Adding Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2.10 Converting Existing Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.11 LED Wall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.12 Playing Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

3 Troubleshooting 7

3.1 Blank Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3.2 Media Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3.2.1 New files are not being converted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

3.2.2 MagicHD won’t play new file . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3.3 Thumbnails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3.4 Network Configuration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3.5 Keystone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3.6 No Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3.7 No Live Preview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

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4 Using MagicHD 11

4.1 MagicHD Versions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

4.1.1 Stand-alone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

4.1.2 Combined . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

4.2 MagicQ Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4.2.1 Combined Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4.2.2 Stand-alone Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

4.3 The Application Window . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

4.4 Full Screen Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

4.5 Split Output Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

4.6 Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

4.6.1 MagicHD Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

4.6.2 Combined Version . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4.7 Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4.8 Window Size Dialogue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

4.8.1 No Border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4.8.2 Fixed Size . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

4.8.3 Live Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

5 Media 18

5.1 Adding Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

5.1.1 Automatic Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

5.1.2 Manual Conversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

5.1.3 Deployment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

5.1.4 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

5.1.5 Tips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

5.1.6 Thumbnail Regeneration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

5.1.7 Index Regeneration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

5.2 Masks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

5.2.1 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

5.2.2 Flipping and Inverting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

5.2.3 Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

5.3 Audio . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

5.3.1 Media Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

5.3.2 Output Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

5.3.3 Output Device . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

5.3.4 Status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

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6 Media Layers 26

6.1 Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

6.2 Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

6.3 Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

6.4 Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

6.5 Mirror/Flip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

6.6 Stretch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

6.7 R/G/B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

6.8 Colour Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27

6.9 Blend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

6.10 Folder and File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

6.11 Start and End Frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

6.12 Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

6.13 Play Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

6.13.1 Once . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

6.13.2 Once-then-black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

6.13.3 Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

6.13.4 Bounce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

6.13.5 First frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

6.13.6 Last frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

6.13.7 Pause . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

6.13.8 Next frame . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

6.14 Transition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

6.15 Mask Opacity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

6.16 Mask Folder and File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

6.17 Mask Invert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

6.18 Mask Mirror/Flip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

6.19 Mask Stretch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

6.20 Audio Gain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

6.21 Audio Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

6.22 Physical Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

7 Text Layer 32

7.1 Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

7.2 Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

7.3 Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

7.4 Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

7.5 R/G/B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

7.6 Background R/G/B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

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7.7 Background Transparency . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

7.8 Text Folder and File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

7.9 Font . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

7.10 Text Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

7.11 Scroll Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

7.12 Scroll Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

7.13 Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

7.14 Scroll Char . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

7.15 Scroll Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

7.16 Scroll Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

7.17 Border . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

8 Output Layer 40

8.1 Intensity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

8.2 Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

8.3 Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

8.4 Rotation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

8.5 Mirror/Flip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

8.6 R/G/B . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

8.7 Colour Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

8.8 Mask Folder and File, Invert, Mirror/Flip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

8.9 Keystone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

8.10 HUD Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

8.11 Audio Volume . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

8.12 Physical Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

9 Head Up Display 43

9.1 HUD Anatomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

10 DMX Personality 45

10.1 Universe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

10.2 Output Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

10.3 Text Layer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

10.4 Media Layers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

10.5 Parameter Types . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

10.5.1 Angle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

10.5.2 Audio Pan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

10.5.3 Audio Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

10.5.4 Blend Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

10.5.5 Colour Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

MagicHD User Manual vii

10.5.6 Colour Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

10.5.7 Control Enable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

10.5.8 Control Function . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

10.5.9 Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

10.5.10 Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

10.5.11 Flag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

10.5.12 HUD Control Bitmask . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

10.5.13 Keystone . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

10.5.14 Layer Stretch Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

10.5.15 Mirror / Flip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

10.5.16 Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

10.5.17 Physical Effect . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

10.5.18 Play Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

10.5.19 Scale . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

10.5.20 Screen Offset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

10.5.21 Scroll Position . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

10.5.22 Scroll Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

10.5.23 Speed Factor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

10.5.24 Text Loop Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

10.5.25 Transition Type . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

11 Background Information 55

11.1 Video Clips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

11.2 Files and Folders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

A Changes To DMX Personalities 56

A.1 Changes in Version 1.6.6.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

A.2 Changes in Version 1.6.1.4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

A.3 Changes in Version 1.6.1.6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

A.4 Changes in Version 1.6.5.0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

A.5 Changes in Version 1.6.5.1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

A.6 Changes in Version 1.6.6.6 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

A.7 Changes in Version 1.6.6.8 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

A.8 Changes in Version 1.6.6.9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

MagicHD User Manual viii

This manual is designed for operators of the MagicHD media player to help them quickly and effectively learn how to use the
software. The reader is assumed to have a basic familiarity with the concepts of media players and lighting control systems.
Since MagicHD is designed to be controlled by the MagicQ range of lighting consoles, the reader should also be familiar with
MagicQ. Readers who are tight for time and just want to find out how to quickly program a working show should turn straight to

Getting Started.

ChamSys Ltd

The features and functions of the MagicHD media player and the ideas contained therein are the property of ChamSys Ltd.
The media player is intended for the control and display of moving and static images. No warranties are expressed or implied
regarding the use of the MagicHD media player. No liabilities are accepted for the accuracy of the information contained within
this manual. The MagicHD media player product is supplied and designed by ChamSys Ltd. Products containing ChamSys
Ltd software and firmware embody proprietary information and are licensed not sold and may not be duplicated in any way.
ChamSys Ltd does not guarantee the accuracy, adequacy, suitability or completeness of any information or products and is not
responsible for any errors or omissions or the results obtained from use of such information or products. ChamSys Ltd does
not accept responsibility for the consequences of misuse or abuse of its software. None of the equipment or software supplied
by ChamSys Ltd may be used in any life-critical or potentially life-endangering situations or in situations where personal injury
may result. ChamSys Ltd reserves the right to make any changes and/or improvements or to discontinue any and all of their
products or services without prior notice, and advises customers to obtain the latest version of relevant information to verify,
before placing orders, that information being relied on is current and complete. All products are sold subject to the terms and
conditions of sale supplied at the time of order acknowledgement, including those pertaining to warranty, patent infringement,
and limitation of liability. Some of the available functions of products may be altered over the life of the product. All other
product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. No part of this publication may be reproduced
or distributed, transmitted, transcribed, stored in a retrieval system, or translated into any language in any form by any means
without the prior written permission of ChamSys Ltd.

Copyright 2014 by ChamSys Ltd. All rights reserved.

www.chamsys.co.uk

MagicHD User Manual 1 / 58

Chapter 1

Introduction

MagicHD is a DMX controlled media player. Media playback is managed in layers. MagicHD can display up to 8 media layers
(depending on product), one text layer and a final output layer for overall control of the output.

MagicHD runs on Windows, Mac and Linux, and can exist as a stand-alone player, or be launched from MagicQ PC. It can be
installed on dedicated hardware, either supplied by the user, or purchased from ChamSys[1].

Each media layer layer can display one media file (movie, picture or audio) and optionally apply a mask. Layers are stacked
from 1 (the bottom) to 8 (the top). Subject to masking and blending, higher layers will hide lower layers. The output layer can
also apply a mask, with the intention that this is used for shuttering, edge blending and similar projector control effects. You can
of course use the masks for anything you wish.

The text layer can display static or moving text. The text is displayed in a window whose colour, position and orientation can be
controlled. Content is supplied as raw text files.

Both the media and output layers can apply a number of colour effects. Effects applied in the output layer affect the appearance
of the whole output.

Conceptually, the output seen by the viewer is the top of a stack of layers:

Top Colour control

Final mask
Text
Media N
. . .
Media 3
Media 2

Bottom Media 1

MagicHD has no user interface as such, being entirely controlled by DMX. It does provide a Head Up Display (HUD) which
shows a lot of useful information, live, superimposed on the output.

The DMX control personality is deliberately simple: complexity is added by the lighting console. Since everything is controlled
by DMX channels, the console can be used to add effects to any channel by simply altering the values sent to the player.

1.1 Disclaimer

This product is not fully released so the DMX personalities used to control it may change without notice. If such a change occurs
then show files using MagicHD will have to be manually updated. Changes will be detailed in Appendix A.

MagicHD User Manual 2 / 58

1.2 Known Problems

Known major problems with MagicHD:

• Playback of multiple layers of some HD media content types can be jerky or slow the system down: load management is not
yet implemented (whereby lower layers will skip frames to ensure the correct frame rate is maintained).

• When the text layer fills the screen rendering can be jerky due to huge font sizes.

• Aspect ratio appears to change when objects are rotated.

• With Windows 8 MagicHD must be run as administrator for media conversion to work.

• Some content encoded with the jpeg2000 codec causes ffmpeg (the tool used to convert media) to crash. If this happens the
user will have to convert the media offline with a different tool.

1.3 Changes

Changes to DMX personalities are described in Appendix A. These are changes that might break shows based on older versions.

1.4 References

MagicHD User Manual 3 / 58

Chapter 2

Getting Started

The following instructions assume you are using MagicHD as part of MagicQ PC (the combined version). Most steps are the
same for other system configurations.

2.1 Super Quick Start

setup → NEW SHOW

patch → CHOOSE DIM/MEDIA → MagicHD → PATCH IT

In the patch keypad, type 1 and ENTER, then NO.

setup → VIEW SYSTEM → VIEW MEDIA

From the MagicQ menu:

Media Player → View Media Output

Media Player → Select Server, close.

Select the MagicHD window, position it in the required screen and press F11 (Mac: Shift-Cmd-F, Linux: Shift-Ctrl-F).

media → Output → LOCATE → Layer 1 → LOCATE

2.2 Quick Start

setup → NEW SHOW

patch → CHOOSE DIM/MEDIA → MagicHD → PATCH IT

In the patch keypad, type 1 and ENTER, then NO.

MagicHD takes one whole DMX universe so there are no alternative configurations.

patch → VIEW DMX

to confirm.

setup → VIEW SYSTEM → VIEW MEDIA

should show server 1 being a MagicHD with Local as the IP address. This means it will be accessed directly, not over the
network.

Edit the name if you wish: double click the name, or select the cell then press set twice.

Enable live previews for the server: double click on the Live prev cell and select YES, or select the cell and type 1, ENTER.

MagicHD User Manual 4 / 58

From the MagicQ menu:

Media Player → View Media Output

to start MagicHD. A blank window should appear. This can be moved around your screen(s) and maximised (without a border)
by pressing F11 (Mac: Shift-Cmd-F, Linux: Shift-Ctrl-F).

Media Player → Select Server

allows you to choose the ID for the local MagicHD window.

media

will show the MagicQ media window. The MagicHD that you just patched should appear as a button, along with buttons to select
the media, text and output layers. If you have media, thumbnails should appear below the layer buttons:

Output → LOCATE → Layer 1 → LOCATE

will display the media from Media Folder 1/Media File 1 at full intensity.

2.3 Adding a Mask

media → MagicHD → Layer 1 → Mask

then use Mask Folder and Mask File to select a mask. Thumbnails should be displayed for each folder: simply select the mask
by clicking a thumbnail.

2.4 HUD

media → MagicHD → Output → Media

will allow encoder wheel A to select the HUD. Alternatively press and hold “HUD Control” to bring up soft buttons for each
option, or click the top and bottom of “HUD Control” to cycle through the options.

MagicHD User Manual 5 / 58

2.5 Keystone

media → MagicHD → Output → Frame

2.6 Projector Colour Control

media → MagicHD → Output → Col

Red, Green and Blue encoders control the colour balance of the output.

2.7 Displaying Text

media → MagicHD → Text → LOCATE

Use Text Folder / Text File to select your text file. At this point you should see your text.

Use Pos to size and position the text layer (default is full screen)

Use Media → No Of Lines to control how much text is shown in the window

Use Media → Scroll Dir to control how the text scrolls if it doesn’t fit into the window.

2.8 MagicHD Window

MagicHD is launched from the MagicQ PC application via the Media Player menu. It can also be closed from here, or by closing
its window.

The MagicHD window can be positioned and sized just like any other application window.

To go full screen with no borders (i.e. ready for output to a projector):

• select the window and press F11 (Mac: Shift-Cmd-F, Linux: Shift-Ctrl-F)

• in the MagicQ application: menu → Media Player → Full Screen, or

• in the MagicHD application: menu → View → Full Screen.

MagicQ will remember the position and size of the window for when you next open it.

2.9 Adding Media

• From the MagicQ PC application: menu → Media Player → Convert file, or

• From the MagicHD application: menu → Media → Convert file

• Select the file you want to convert and press Open.

• Select the folder and file you want to convert to.

• Press Convert.

Wait for conversion to take place. Progress is reported on the HUD, and in the input display window (bottom right) in MagicQ
PC.

MagicHD User Manual 6 / 58

2.10 Converting Existing Media

• From the MagicQ PC application: menu → Media Player → Convert Media

• From the MagicHD application: menu → Media → Convert Media

Once MagicHD is running, the Convert Media action allows you to force it to convert files already in the convert folder. This
means you can prepare media when MagicHD is not running. This is worth while if you are preparing a lot of content: if
MagicHD is running it will keep trying to convert files as you edit their names and move them around (unless you prepare the
files elsewhere).

Note

Everything under convert folder will be converted, regardless of file age or previous conversion status.

2.11 LED Wall

To setup MagicHD with a low resolution output (e.g. an LED wall):

If you are using the stand-alone version, from the menu → View → Output on separate window.

• From the MagicQ PC application: menu → Media Player → Window. . .

• From the MagicHD application: menu → View → Window. ..

• Use the window size dialogue to set the size and position of the window.

• Select No Border

• Select Fixed size.

2.12 Playing Audio

To play media that includes audio:

media → MagicHD → Layer 1 → Locate

then select some media that has audio

media → MagicHD → Layer 1 → Int

set Audio Gain to a non-zero value.

media → MagicHD → Output → Locate

media → MagicHD → Output → Int

Ensure Audio Volume is not zero.

To change audio output device:

Make sure the MagicHD window is not full screen, so that the menu bar is visible.

From the MagicHD menu: Media → Audio Devices.

MagicHD User Manual 7 / 58

Chapter 3

Troubleshooting

3.1 Blank Screen

If MagicHD starts with a blank screen and you can’t get media to display:

• If you are running MagicHD on the same PC as MagicQ

– you must launch MagicHD from within MagicQ. The MagicHD window title will show MagicHD (Server 1 ‘MagicHD’)

or something similar

– you must ensure the media player is configured correctly.

• If you are running MagicHD on its own PC:

– the MagicHD window title will show MagicHD (Art-Net universe 0) or something similar

– you must patch MagicHD to an Art-Net universe that is being output by MagicQ

– you must ensure the media player is configured correctly.

– you must tell MagicHD to use the right universe. The protocol and universe are changed under File → Settings in the

MagicHD application menu.

• If the MagicHD window has filled the screen and hidden other applications you can leave full screen mode by

– on a PC press F11 to leave fullscreen, or Alt-Tab to cycle round your applications

– on a Mac press Cmd-Shift-F, or Cmd-Tab to cycle round your applications. Although you can’t see the mouse pointer, if

you move it to the extreme top right the application menu bar should re-appear, including the fullscreen button which you
can press to leave fullscreen.

3.2 Media Conversion

3.2.1 New files are not being converted

For MagicHD to spot a new media file that needs to be converted, the file must be in the right place.

• Does the filename start with a number and underscore? e.g. 001_example.mov

• Is the file in a numbered directory? e.g. 99/001_example.mov

• Is the directory under MagicQ PC/convert? e.g .../MagicQ PC/convert/99/001_example.mov

MagicHD User Manual 8 / 58

Check for the new file in the show. Continuing the example above, you should see .../MagicQ PC/show/media/99/

001_example.mov

If the new media file is not getting converted, you might see an error message flash up on the HUD or MagicQ input window.
Even if you miss this, there is a conversion log file. Check here for warnings or errors.

Tip

To make it easier to analyse the log file restart MagicHD and try the conversion by itself. The log file will be small and should
only contain messages relating to the problem file.

3.2.2 MagicHD won’t play new file

For MagicHD to play a media file it must be in MagicHD’s index. The automatic conversion process normally does this for you.
If media has been added directly, or conversion was interrupted, the index file might be out of date. To ensure the index is right,
either delete the index file or regenerate it via the menu.

If you still can’t play the media check in the MagicHD log file for errors or warnings.

Tip

To make it easier to analyse the log file restart MagicHD, locate the output layer and layer 1, then in layer 1 select the problem
media file. The log file will be small and should only contain messages relating to the problem file.

3.3 Thumbnails

The most common cause of incorrect or missing thumbnails is a mismatched network configuration. This only applies to the

standalone configuration. Symptoms include

• Missing thumbnails

• Out of date thumbnails

• No result from RELOAD THUMBS or RELOAD ALL THUMBS in the media window

Thumbnails are retrieved via the CITP/MSEX protocol which requires both peers (in this case MagicHD and MagicQ) to be able
to “see” each other. Normal control of MagicHD is via Art-Net which is a broadcast protocol. Traffic is one way (MagicQ to
MagicHD) and does not require MagicHD to be in contact with MagicQ.

3.4 Network Configuration

The PC running MagicHD, and the MagicQ console, must both have their IP address and netmask set so that they are on the
same subnet. For example:

MagicHD

IP Address 10.0.0.100

MagicQ

Netmask 255.0.0.0

IP Address 10.0.1.1

Netmask 255.0.0.0

MagicHD User Manual 9 / 58

Both machines are on the 10.x.x.x subnet so they should be able to see each other.

To test this, ping MagicHD from MagicQ and vice versa:

• In MagicQ, type “. . .” followed by the IP address of the MagicHD PC. The result is displayed in the input window.

• On the MagicHD PC, open a DOS box, terminal or equivalent and type “ping” followed by the IP address of the console.

If you have multiple network adapters, make sure you are looking at the settings for the right one. You can find out which address
MagicHD is using by selecting Settings or About from the application menu.

Once the networks settings are correct, MagicQ must be configured to talk to MagicHD. The Con State entry should show
“Connected”.

3.5 Keystone

If you can’t see your media, and get a collection of letters on the screen like this

your keystone parameters are causing one corner of the media to be folded over. The letters correspond to the 8 encoders that
control the position of the 4 corners. The side(s) of the media rectangle are shown in green where they are OK, and red where
they are invalid. In this example the corner (A,B) has moved inside the line from (C,D) to (E,F). As you change the encoders you
should see the corner points move. As soon as the keystone area is valid the media will appear again.

Tip

• A quick way out is to LOCATE the output layer. This sets all parameters back to default.

• If the problem persists check that you are using the latest head file for the MagicHD output layer. The personality changed in

version 1.6.1.6.

3.6 No Text

If you have recently added a text file you need to re-index the media before MagicHD will display the file.

The display of different fonts depends on the underlying operating system. If a particular font is not installed, or can’t be
displayed at large point sizes, the text might vanish. To overcome this select a different font. Font 0 should always display.

MagicHD User Manual 10 / 58

Tip

A quick way to test the text layer is to LOCATE it. This sets all parameters back to default. Then select the text file you want,
then alter other parameters to get the desired effect.

3.7 No Live Preview

If MagicQ is not showing live previews from MagicHD the most common cause is the network configuration on the MagicHD
machine. Previews are sent by multicast so there must be a network route from MagicHD to MagicQ for the network packets to
reach the console.

The simplest way to fix this problem is to add a default route, on the MagicHD machine, that uses the ethernet connection to
MagicQ. Instructions for showing and setting network routes are highly OS specific so you are advised to search the internet for
details.

MagicHD User Manual 11 / 58

Chapter 4

Using MagicHD

4.1 MagicHD Versions

All MagicHD versions are available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

4.1.1 Stand-alone

MagicHD is available as stand-alone software. It can be run separately from MagicQ PC.

• Controlled by Art-NET, ACN or Pathport.

• Window has simple menus for changing settings, including DMX protocol and address.

• All 8 layers unlocked when a MagicQ console, or a Wing system with encoder wheels, is detected on the network.

• One layer supported when no MagicQ console or Wing system is detected on the network

• Opens full-screen by default (for quick show startup or recovery).

4.1.2 Combined

MagicHD is launched from the Media Player menu in MagicQ PC

• Controlled directly by MagicQ (no network comms).

• All 8 layers always available

• Starts full screen if a MagicQ Wing is connected, and MagicHD was previously used full-screen (for quick show startup or
recovery)

• Can be selected to duplicate the output of any MagicHD that is patched in the show (e.g. to see the media output while
programming a show).

• Can be used in its own right to output to a projector from a second monitor output.

MagicHD User Manual 12 / 58

4.2 MagicQ Setup

4.2.1 Combined Version

When MagicHD is launched from MagicQ PC it does not use the network. The connection is direct, within the software. The
media server settings ( setup → VIEW SETTINGS → VIEW SYSTEM → VIEW MEDIA) should be as highlighted in this
screenshot:

Note

The IP address column shows “Local”. To select Local, enter 0 in that cell.

If you have networked MagicHDs patched in the show, you can use the local window to duplicate any one of these: from the
MagicQ PC application menu: Media Player → Select Player. A dialogue box will pop up listing all the patched MagicHDs:

Note

The players are listed by name: you should ensure that each player has a distinct name.
To change a player’s name, go to setup → VIEW SETTINGS → VIEW SYSTEM → VIEW MEDIA.

4.2.2 Stand-alone Version

To connect to a MagicHD using Art-Net, the MagicQ media server settings should be as highlighted in this screenshot: