Datavideo CG-300TC-KIT, CG-350TC-KIT User's Guide

CG-300/350

User Guide

Information in this document is subject to change without notice. No part of this document may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, for any purpose, without the express written permission of Datavideo.

© Datavideo. All rights reserved. All Datavideo products are trademarks or registered trademarks of Datavideo. Other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Limited Warranty

Datavideo warrants for a period of three (3) months after the date of delivery to you, (the “Warranty Period”), the following: (a) that the Software will perform in substantial compliance with the “Users Guide”, provided that it is used on the computer and with the hardware for which it was designed; (b) that the magnetic media on which the software is distributed is substantially free from significant defects in materials and workmanship; and (c) that the “Hardware Key” is substantially free from significant defects in materials and workmanship.

In the event of a breach of this warranty, Datavideo sole obligation is to replace or repair, at Datavideo option, any product or component thereof, free of charge. Warranty claims must be made in writing during the Warranty Period, accompanied by evidence satisfactory to Datavideo. All products should be returned to the distributor from which they were purchased (if not purchased directly from Datavideo) and shall be shipped by the returning party with freight and insurance paid.

This warranty does not cover abuse, shipping damage, neglect, tampering by unauthorized personnel, damage inadvertently caused by the user, or any system or part thereof whose serial number has been removed or defaced.

EXCEPT AS STATED ABOVE, THERE IS NO OTHER WARRANTY, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE PRODUCT INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Datavideo Technologies Co., Ltd.

10F, 176 Jian-Yi Rd, Chung Ho City, Taipei Hsien, Taiwan 235 Tel: +886 2 8227 2888 info@datavideo.com.tw www.datavideo.com

Table of Contents

INSTALLATION ......................................................................................... 1

System Requirements .............................................................................. 1

Operating System ................................................................................................. 1

Processor CPU...................................................................................................... 1

RAM ................................................................................................................... 1

Hard Disk Space .................................................................................................. 2

Graphics Card ..................................................................................................... 2

Video Interface Card ............................................................................................ 2

USB Port .............................................................................................................. 2

Installing the Software ............................................................................ 3

Installing the Hardware Key .................................................................... 3

Checking the Installation ......................................................................... 3

Connecting to your facility ....................................................................... 3

Downstream Connection ....................................................................................... 4

Upstream Connection ............................................................................................ 4

INTRODUCTION TO CG-300/350 .............................................................. 7

CG-350 User Interface ............................................................................. 7

Graphic Composer Tab ............................................................................ 9

Menu ................................................................................................................ 11

Toolbar ............................................................................................................. 11

Page Manager ................................................................................................... 13

Project Pages .................................................................................................. 14

Page Templates .................................................................................................. 14

Graphic Compose Window ................................................................................. 14

Layer Manager .................................................................................................. 15

On Air Buttons ................................................................................................... 16

Layer Controls ……………………………………………………………………………… 16 Text Control Tabs ………………………………………………………………………….. 17

Color Box Controls ……………………………………………………………………... 18

Background Graphic Controls .......................................................................... 19

Animation Controls …………………………………………………………………...... 19

Status Bar …………………………………………………………………………………… 20

Main ON AIR Tab ………………………………………………………………………… 21

Media Catalogs ……………………………………………………………………………. 21 Playlist ………………………………………………………………………………………. 21

Preview Window ………………………………………………………………………….. 22

ON AIR Controls ................................................................................................ 23

Animations Tab ..................................................................................... 24

Animation Catalog ………………………………………………………………………… 24

Animation Controls ............................................................................................. 25

Banner Crawl Tab ……………………………………………………………………….. 26

Crawl Catalog ……………………………………………………………………………. . 27 Banner Crawl Controls ……………………………………………………………………. 27

TUTORIAL .............................................................................................. 29

Editing Text ........................................................................................... 29

Create a new Project .......................................................................................... 29

Create New Page ............................................................................................... 30

Graphic Compose Window ................................................................................. 30

Typing Text ........................................................................................... 31

Moving the Cursor .............................................................................................. 31

Editing .............................................................................................................. 31

Saving the Page ................................................................................................. 32

Erasing Text ....................................................................................................... 32

Backspace ......................................................................................................... 33

Row Space Allocation ......................................................................................... 33

Setting Cursor Position with Mouse ....................................................................... 33

Text Attributes Styles …………………………………………………………………… 34

Cursor Handles ..................................................................................... 37

Scope Selection ..................................................................................... 38

Row Spacing (Leading) .......................................................................... 39

Grabbing and Applying Attributes ......................................................... 39

Text Style Gallery .................................................................................. 40

Changing Preset Text Styles ................................................................................. 40

Layers ................................................................................................... 41

Main ON AIR …………………………………………………………………………...... 44

Animations ………………………………………………………………………………… 47

Banner Crawl …………………………………………………………………………….. 53

Chapter

Installation

This chapter explains how to install the Software and Hardware Key (dongle) for the Software. It also describes the type of system you will need before you can run the program.

System Requirements

Operating System

CG-300/350 is designed to run under Windows XP, Vista, Windows 7, or Windows 8. You will need one of these operating systems (or later versions) on your computer in order to run the program.

Processor CPU

The type of processor that you will need depends on what you will be doing with the program. If you are going to display still titles and images without any animation, then a single core 1GHz 32-bit processor will be sufficient. However, if you will be running full screen animations with multiple layers you should have at least a Dual Core 64-bit CPU running at a speed of at least 3GHz.

RAM

The RAM requirements also depend on what you are using the program for. If you are displaying Standard Definition stills, then 2GB of ram is sufficient, providing your copy of Windows will run with that much of ram. For High Definition stills, you should have at least 3GB. If you are displaying animations you must have at least 4GB.

Although the CG-300/350 will play animations with only 4GB of memory, please keep in mind that if you are displaying large animation files, the animations will run smoother if there is enough memory to load the entire Animation before it starts. Otherwise the Animation may pause while the rest of the file is loaded from the disk drive. In most cases 10GB should allow the software to perform to its full potential.

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Hard Disk Space

You must have at least 100 Mbytes of unused Hard Disk space to install the CG300/350. If you intend to create many Background Graphics, or save a lot of pages as graphic images (i.e. BMP, TGA, etc), make sure that you have enough Hard Disk space available. Saving pages in the CG-300/350 Page (PAG) format doesn’t require large amounts of disk space (approx. 2-4 Kbytes per page) unless logos or textures are added to the page.

Graphics Card

The graphics card is connected to the computer’s monitor and is used to display the program’s User Interface. The Graphics card must be set to 16, 24, or 32 bits per pixel. If you run your graphics card in 16 bits per pixel mode, the color gradients may not appear smooth on your computer monitor. This will not affect the quality of the Title Graphics that are produced. They should appear very smooth in 24 or 32 bits per pixel mode. The program will not run if the Graphic mode is set to 8 (or less) bits per pixel.

The Graphics Card should also be set to a resolution of at least 1280 by 720 pixels. The program will still run at lower resolutions, but you may not be able to see the entire User Interface.

Video Interface Card

This card is different than the Graphics card. This card is used to generate the output of the CG-300/350 and to connect it to the rest of your facility. If you intend to key the graphics over video, this card must either be capable of doing this, or of generating the signals required by an external Keyer (typically your switcher).

The Video Interface cards that are currently supported by CG-300/350 are:

Black Magic Design’s - Decklink Cards

Black Magic Design’s – Intensity Cards

AJA Video’s – Kona Cards (LHe and LHe+)

A second Video Output of your computer. (Does not support keying)

The choice of which card you should use is determined by your studio setup, requirements, budget and personal preferences.

USB Port

The computer must have at least 1 unused USB port to install the Hardware Key (Dongle).

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Installing the Software

NOTICE: DO NOT INSTALL THE HARDWARE KEY (DONGLE) UNTIL THE SOFTWARE HAS BEEN INSTALLED.

The software can be installed from either a CD or from a Setup file that has already been copied to your system by downloading from the Datavideo website or by other means. To install from a CD, place the CD into the drive. If the “Install Window” does not automatically appear after a few seconds, run the “SETUP.EXE” program from the CD. Select the program to install (CG-300/350) and the system will begin installing the software. If you are installing the software from a Setup file that has already been copied to your system, run it to begin installing the software. Follow the installation instructions on the screen until the software is completely installed. Once the software installation is complete, your computer may restart.

Installing the Hardware Key

Once the software is installed and the computer has restarted (if necessary), the Hardware Key (dongle) can now be inserted into one of your computer's unused USB Ports. A “Found New Hardware” window may appear the first time that the dongle is inserted. Once this window goes away, the program is ready to run.

Checking the Installation

Run the program to test the installation by double clicking the “CG-300/350” Icon on the desktop. The program will start and the program's windows should appear after a few seconds.

Connecting to your facility

There are two different ways to connect a Character Generator into your television facility. The simplest configuration is to connect the CG to the output of your switcher or camera and let the CG overlay (key) the graphics over the video. This is called “Downstream” or “Internal” keying. The other method is “Upstream” or “External” keying. In this mode, you use your switcher to do the keying. This mode requires that both the “Key” and “Fill” outputs of the CG be connected to the switcher. Not all video cards support both of these two outputs.

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Downstream Connection

When using the CG in a downstream configuration, the system uses the Internal Keyer of the video card. To configure the system for downstream mode you will need to connect the video that you want the graphics to be keyed over to the input of the video card. Different video cards have different types of video input connections. These may include one or more of the following:

1. Serial Digital Interface (SDI/HD-SDI)

2. HDMI

3. Analog Component – YPrPb

4. S-Video – Y/C

5. Composite Video – CVBS

Only one video input type is active at one time. For example, you cannot key over an SDI and composite video source at the same time. If your video card has multiple types of inputs, you will need to select which one you want to use. This is usually selected in the Video Settings window. Some video cards (such as the Decklink) have a control panel where you can select the desired input. The Video Card will now output the input video with the graphics keyed over the top of it. Most video cards have multiple types of video outputs (SDI, Analog, etc). These are frequently simultaneously active so that you don't need to configure the video outputs. However, some cards do use the same connectors for different video output types. For example, the same connectors on the AJA Kona LHe+ card can be configured as either component or composite outputs. In these instances you will need to configure the outputs. See the documentation that comes with your video card for more information. Warning: When connecting a video source to the input of the CG from a switcher or a video router, make sure that it is not derived from the video output. This causes a video feedback loop and your video will become very unstable.

Upstream Connection

To configure your system for upstream mode you will need to feed the Character Generator a “Reference” sync signal. This is used to synchronize the output of the CG to the rest of the video in your facility. The requirements for this reference signal varies depending on the video format and the video cards that you are using. See the documentation that came with your video card for more information.

The Upstream configuration uses a Keyer that is external to the Character Generator. In order for this external Keyer to work properly, it needs a “Key” and a “Fill” signal from the video card. The Fill signal contains the graphics to be keyed. The Key signal tells the Keyer which pixels to display as background and which pixels to display as the graphic. It should also be able to control the “ratio” of background video and foreground graphic to display semi-transparent graphics and anti-aliased text.

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Not all video cards support both Key and Fill outputs. These cards cannot be configured for upstream keying.

Chapter

Introduction to CG-300/350

The CG-300/350 is an extremely powerful Video Titling Program designed specifically for the Live Broadcast and Video Post Production environment. It comes with a very flexible, easy to use Graphic Composer for creating High Quality Title Pages. Once the page has been composed, they can be displayed automatically or completely under manual control.

A Playlist can be created ahead of time to make On Air usage a simple one Keystroke Operation, or you can randomly select the Title Pages while On Air. Even with a Playlist, you still maintain the flexibility for those “Last Minute” changes.

CG-350 can also be used to display Standard Format Graphic Images as well as Animation Sequences. Animation sequences can be created in your favorite Animation program and played On Air using CG-350. Title Pages, Graphic Images, and Animation Sequences can be freely intermixed with one another in any order.

Title Pages can contain Text (of course), Background Color boxes, Geometric Shapes, Full Color Graphic Images as Logos or Background. With the Snyper option (CG-350 only) you can also add both Foreground and Background Animations to the page.

CG-300/350 User Interface

If you don’t have the software installed yet, please follow the directions in Chapter 1. The first time that you run the program you will be asked to setup the Video Interface Card(s). This includes settings such as Video Format (NTSC, PAL, 1080i 59.94, etc.), Video Inputs/outputs, Internal/External keying, etc. These settings vary depending on which type of Video Interface Card(s) you have installed. See the Chapter 13 – Video Hardware Settings for more information.

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Start the program just like you would any other program under Windows. After a few seconds, the CG-300/350’s User Interface will appear. The software will automatically adjust the User Interface to fit your screen. It will appear similar to the figure shown below.

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The User Interface is made up of two or more tabs depending on which options are enabled in the software. These tabs are “Graphic Composer”, Main ON AIR”, the optional “Animations” and “Banner Crawl” tabs. Animations and Banner Crawl are available only on the CG-350.

The Graphic Composer tab is used to Compose Title Graphics. This tab is normally used to create Title Graphics before going On Air, although Graphics can still be composed “Live” while On Air.

The Main ON AIR tab is used to display the Title Pages, Graphic Images, and Animations On Air. A Playlist can be created if you know the order that the graphics will be used, or you can skip the Playlist and select the next graphic to display at any time. Even if you do create a Playlist, you can still randomly select the next graphic to display for those “Last Minute” changes.

If you have the “Snyper” option (CG-350 only), the “Animations” tab will appear. An Animation or “Snipe” is a graphic animation that is usually displayed at the beginning of a program or just after a commercial break. The Program can display two Animations simultaneously (Foreground and Background) in addition to whatever the main graphic layer may be doing. It's almost like having two CG's in one.

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The Foreground Snipe is commonly used to let the viewer know of coming attractions without using your valuable Air Time that could otherwise be sold to advertisers. The Background Animation can be used to display an animated background behind a Title Graphic.

If you have the “Banner Crawl” option, the “Banner Crawl” Tab will appear. The Banner Crawl option gives CG-350 the ability to crawl text anywhere on the screen, completely independent of any other function that the system may be performing. The Banner Crawl can be used to display Stock Tickers, News Tickers, Emergency Alert Messages, or just about anything else you can think of. There is even an EAS option that will interface the program to a DASDEC decoder from Digital Alert Systems to automatically display Emergency Alert Messages.

Graphic Composer Tab

The Graphic Composer is used to create Title Graphics. The Title Graphics can contain Text (of course), Color Boxes, Geometric Shapes, full-color Graphic Images as logos or a Background, all keyed over External Video. If you have the Snyper option you can even add Background Animations and Animated Logos to your Title Graphic pages.

The text can be created using TrueType typefaces and can be sized, rotated, and italicized. Each character can have up to two edges and three shadows. The character’s edges and shadows can be colorized with a solid color, a vertical color spread, a color gradient (4pt, 5pt, or linear), or with a texture.

Background color boxes can be created any size and position on the screen. They can be colorized with all of the same color options as the characters, they can even be made semi transparent.

Geometric shapes can be created at any size and position on the screen. The roundness of the shape can be controlled. The shape can be made square, completely round (as a circle or ellipse), or anywhere in between. Shapes can be sized, rotated, italicized, edged, and colorized just like any other character.

Standard graphic format graphics can be loaded as either full-color logos or as a background image. When graphic images are loaded as logos, they can be sized, edged, and positioned anywhere on the screen.

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The Graphic Composer tab is the default tab that is displayed when CG-300/350 is first started. It will be similar to the image shown below.

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From this tab you can compose your Graphics and Display them On Air. This tab is divided into 8 sections:

1. The Menu – at the top of the tab

2. Toolbar – below the menu

3. Page Manager – at the left side of the screen

4. Graphic Compose Window – in the center of the screen

5. Layer Manager – at the right side of the screen

6. ON AIR buttons – either above or to the right of the Graphic Compose Window

depending on your screen configuration

7. Layer Controls – Below the Graphic Compose Window and Layer Manager

8. Status Bar – at the bottom of the screen

The menu (shown below) is just what you would expect in a Windows program. It has a “File” entry that can be used to open, create, and save the types of files that the Graphic Composer uses. It has an “Edit” entry that is used for the normal Undo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Insert, Delete, and Erase functions.

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The “Page” menu is used to set the various Page Attributes that can be stored with a page such as Transition Type, Audio to play, etc. The “Move Text” menu has commands for Word Wrap/Unwrap, Centering, Justifying, and Positioning. The “Layers” menu can be used to change the priority of each layer as well as to navigate between layers. The “Settings” menu is used to setup the Graphic Composer. This includes things like setting User Preferences, Loading Typefaces, Setting Tabs, Adjusting Margins, among other things.

Toolbar

The Toolbar (shown below the menu) is a quick way to access common functions. The Graphic Composer actually displays up to two Toolbars at once. The first Toolbar is the Main Toolbar (shown below) that is always displayed. The Main Toolbar includes buttons used to create a new Page, Open an Existing Page, and Save the Existing Page. If you move the mouse over these buttons and let it sit there, it displays a prompt that helps to remind you what that button does.

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The Second Toolbar is the Text Toolbar. This Toolbar (shown below) only appears when the cursor is on a Text Layer.

This Toolbar has buttons that allow you to quickly Check Spelling, Cut/Copy/Paste Text, Center and Justify Text, Grab and Apply Text Attributes, Expand the Graphic Compose Window, and Change the Transition Type and speed that the Page will be displayed with.

The Text Toolbar also has a mode selection box that defaults to “Selected Text”. This determines which text will be affected when Character Attributes (font, size, edge, color, etc.) are changed or when text is repositioned. The options include the following:

1. Selected Text – Changes the text selected by the cursor

2. to End of Word – Changes the text from the cursor position to the end of word

3. Entire Word – Changes the entire word

4. to End of Row – Changes the text from the cursor position to the end of the row

5. Entire Row – Changes the entire row

6. to End of Layer – Changes the text from the cursor position to the of the layer

7. Entire Layer – Changes all of the text on the layer

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Page Manager

The Page Manager (shown below) has two tabs. One is the Project Pages tab and the other is the Page Templates tab.

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Project Manager

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Project Pages

Projects keep the settings and pages from different projects separate from one another. The Project Pages tab displays the Current Project and gives you quick access to all of the pages in the project.

A selection box that displays the name of the current project is at the top of the Project Pages tab. This selection box can be used to quickly select a different project as the Current Project. When a Title Graphic Page is saved, a miniature image of the page (Picon) is created. These Picons, along with the name of the Title Graphic in the Project is displayed in the Project Manager. Just click on a Picon to select a new Title Graphic Page.

Page Templates

Page Templates are Title Graphic Pages that have Text Fields that can be entered when the Page Template is recalled. These are used to quickly create pages with a preset format by just be entering the text in each character field. The text may even by cut and pasted from another document.

The Page Templates Tab displays all of the Page Templates that are on your system. To create a page from one of these templates, click on the desired template; enter the text for each field in the window that appears, and press OK.

Graphic Compose Window

The Graphic Compose Window is where the Title Graphic Pages are composed. The flashing rectangle is the cursor. It indicates where text will appear when it is typed. If the cursor is positioned over existing text, the attributes and position of the selected text can be changed.

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Layer Manager

The Graphic Composer can place Text, Color Boxes, Images, Shapes, etc. on multiple layers. Up to 1000 layers can be used on each Title Graphic Page. Changing something on one layer will not affect the text on the other layers.

The Layer Manager (shown below) helps you to keep track of and control the layers.

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Layer Manager

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The selection box at the top of this window allows you to select which layers will appear in the Graphic Compose Window. Normally “All Layers” are shown. There will be times however when you will want to work on a layer that is behind other layers. The layers in front of the layer that you are working on are just in the way. When this happens you can select “Current Layer & Below” to hide all of the layers that are above the current layer, or you can select “Current Layer Only” to hide all layers but the one that you are currently working on.

For each layer on the page, the Layer Manager will display a miniature image (Picon) of what is on each layer. The order that they appear in the list indicates which order they will appear in the Title Graphic. The layer at the top of the list will appear in front of all other layers, the layer at the bottom of the list will appear behind all other layers.

You can move the cursor to another layer simply by clicking on the Picon that represents the layer that you want to move the cursor to. You can change the order of a layer by clicking on the desired layer and dragging it to the position in the list you want it to appear. Dragging the layer up will move the layer in front of the other layers. Dragging the layer down will move the layer behind the other layers.

Press the “New Layer” button to add a new layer to the Title Graphic. This will display a window that allows you to select the type of layer that you want to add.

On Air Buttons

You can Preview and Display the current Title Graphic on air without switching to the Main ON AIR tab. To do this, use the On Air Buttons. These buttons appear either above or to the right of the Graphic Compose Window depending on your screen configuration. There are two sets of these buttons. The first set labeled “Channel 1” while display the Title Graphic on the Channel Outputs. The other set labeled “Channel 2” will be enabled if you purchased the dual channel option of the software and you have multiple Video Interface Cards installed.

When a Title Graphic is previewed, it will be preloaded and displayed on the Preview monitor/window. When “Take” is pressed the page is displayed on the Program Video Output. A Title Graphic does not need to be previewed before you can “Take” it to Air, but there might be a slight delay while the page is preloaded if you don’t preview it first.

Layer Controls

The Layer Controls are below the Graphic Compose Window and the Layer Manager. Different types of layers require different types of controls. So the controls that appear will change based on the type of layer that is currently selected. The CG-300/350 supports 4 different types of layers. These are Text, Color Boxes, Background Graphics, and Animation Layers.

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Text Control Tabs

The Text Control Tabs (shown below) appear when a Text layer is selected.

Text Control Tabs CG-300/350 gives you a lot of control over the appearance of the text. So much so, that all of the controls required to set all of the different parameters, that can be controlled, would not fit in the Layer Controls area of the screen at one time. So we have divided them into groups and placed each group of controls on its own separate tabbed box.

The “Character” tab is used to set the Typeface, Size, Italics, Rotation, Kerning, Blur, and Underline of the text. The “Edges” tab is used to set the Edge Type, Direction, Depth, and Blur of both of the edges. The “Shadows” tab is used to set the Shape and Offset of the 3 different shadows that can be applied to the text. Use the “Colors” tab to change the color of each of the components of the character (character, edges, shadows, etc.). Each of the components can be set to a solid color, semi-transparent, color gradient, or a texture.

The “Positioning” tab can be used to fine position the text, wrap and unwrap words, as well as to center and justify the text. The “Row Spacing” tab is used to adjust the amount of spacing (leading) between the rows of text.

Text Variables are used to display data that comes from an external data source that may change from time to time. These can be things like Temperature, Vote Counts, Sports Scores, or any other data that you may want to automatically update. When a text variable is added to a page, that page will appear with the current value that is assigned to that variable. If the value of a text variable changes while the page is displayed On Air, the screen will automatically update to show the new value. The “Text Variables” tab is used to add these variables to the page. This tab is also used to add Template Fields when editing a page template.

The “Clock” tab is used to add “Time”, “Date”, and “Timer” information to a page. It can also be used to set the format that the time and date are displayed with. The Timer information can be controlled using the CG-300/350 Timer application or any other compatible timer program.

Use the “Shapes” tab to add geometric shapes to your Title Graphic Page. Shapes are boxes that you can control the roundness and aspect ratio of. Once a shape has been placed on a page you can size it, colorize, add edges and shadows to it, and even rotate

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it. In fact you can do anything to a shape that you can do to any other character (except change its’ typeface of course).

The “Images” tab is used to add full color logos to the page. Up to 16 logos can be added to a page. The logos can be loaded directly from GIF, TIF, TGA, BMP, PNG, JPG, or JPEG files. If the logo includes an alpha channel, the alpha channel will be used as a “mask” to determine shape of the logo.

As text is entered, sized, and repositioned, rows may begin to overlap each other, or may appear with too much spacing between them. This may or may not be what you want. To set the row spacing back to what it should be (based on the text on the row), press the “Reset Row Spacing” button. This will reset the height of every row on the layer.

Color Box Controls

When a Color Box layer is selected, the Color Box Controls (shown below) will appear.

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Color Box Controls

The Color Box can be sized and positioned using the handles that appear with the cursor around the color box. The color of the box is controlled using the Color Box Controls. You can give the Color Box a solid color (with transparency and background video), a color gradient, or even a texture. Solid colors can be selected using the Picker, Sliders, or a preset color palette.

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Background Graphic Controls

The Background Graphic Controls (shown below) are displayed when the background graphic layer is selected.

Background Graphic Controls

A Background Graphic can be added to the Background of your Title Graphic. This Background Graphic can be displayed Full Screen, Original Size, or Tiled. When a Background Graphic is loaded as a full screen image, it is scaled to match the size of the screen. When an Image is loaded in its original size, it will not be scaled. But a set of positioning buttons will appear to allow you to set the position of the image on the page. Tiling a Background Image that is smaller than the screen will repeat the graphic horizontally and vertically to fill the entire screen.

Animation Controls

If your program has the Snyper option (CG-350 only) enabled, you can add Animations to the Title Graphic. Each Title Graphic can have a Foreground Animation and a Background Animation. A Foreground Animation will appear in front of all other layers. A Background Animation will appear behind all other layers. These animations will be played automatically when the page is displayed.

When an Animation layer is selected, the Animation Controls (shown below) will appear.

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Animation Controls

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Use these controls to select how many times the animation will repeat, what it will do when it is done. When the page is removed from the output you have the option of Ending the Animation or allowing the animation to continue.

Status Bar

The Status Bar (shown below) appears at the very bottom of the Graphic Composer tab.

Status Bar

The Status Bar displays the current page and project name, the current layer, the mouse position in the Graphic Compose Window, the cursor position, and the current typing mode.

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Main ON AIR Tab

The Main ON AIR tab (shown below) is used to display the Title Pages, Graphic Images, and Animations On Air. This tab is divided into 4 sections. These sections are Preview Window, Playlist, ON AIR Controls, and the Media Catalogs.

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Media Catalogs

The Media Catalogs normally appear at the bottom of the User Interface Screen. In some screen configurations they may appear on the right side of the Screen. The Media Catalogs are divided into 3 catalogs (tabs) based upon the type of media each one contains.

There are separate catalog tabs for Title Pages, Graphics, and Animations. The Title Page Catalog shows the pages that are in the current Title Page project. The Graphics Catalog displays the graphic images that are stored in the folders that have been included in the catalog. The Animation Catalog shows the Text Animations that have already been imported into CG-350.

Playlist

The Playlist (shown below) allows you to organize your graphics ahead of time. Once a Playlist is created, the graphics can be displayed On Air by simply pressing the <Enter> key. This will Take the previewed graphic image to Air, and preview the next graphic in

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the Playlist. This reduces On Air operation to a single key operation, thus cutting down on "On Air" errors.

Playlist

Using a Playlist does not limit your flexibility for those “Last Minute” changes. You can change the order of the images in the Playlist by clicking on the entry and dragging to the desired location. You are also free to randomly select the next graphic to Air from the Playlist or the Media Catalogs.

The selection box at the top of the Playlist displays the name of the Playlist that is currently selected. Use this selection box to select a different Playlist.

Preview Window

Before a Title Page, Graphic, or Animation can be displayed On Air, it must be previewed. This gives you the opportunity to catch embarrassing errors before they are broadcast. There are 3 ways to preview an image. You can drag it from the Media Catalog and drop it into the Preview Window, select it from the Playlist, or right click in the Preview Windows and select “Select Page for Preview” from the Pop Up Menu.

The Previewed image can also be displayed on a video output if you have multiple Video Interface Cards installed on your system and configure one of them as the Preview Output.

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ON AIR Controls

Once a graphic image has been selected and previewed, you are now ready to display it on the Program Output. This is done using the On Air Controls (shown below).

ON AIR Controls

There are four ways to display the previewed page On Air. They are as follows:

1. Press the “Display Previewed Page” button or the <+> key on the 10 keypad.

2. Press the “Display Page and Preview Next” button or the <Enter> key on the 10

keypad. This will display the image and preview the next image in the Playlist.

3. Press the “Fade” button. This will make the image “Fade In’ at the rate specified

by “Fade In Rate”.

4. Press the “Start Auto Sequence” button. This will display the previewed image

followed by all of the other images in the Playlist. When the end of the Playlist is reached, it will begin playing from the beginning of the Playlist. When the program starts Automatically Sequencing a Playlist, the button is changed to “Stop Auto Sequence”. Press this button again to stop Auto Sequencing.

There are three ways to remove an image from the Program Output while it is being displayed.

1. Replace it using one of the methods above. The new image will replace the

existing image using the specified Page Transition that the page was created with.

2. Press the “Page Off” button or the <-> key on the 10 keypad.

3. Press the “Fade” button. This will make the image “Fade Out” at the rate specified

by “Fade Out Rate”.

You can adjust the transparency of an image over the background video source by moving the slider in the “Fader Controls” or by changing the “Fade Level” value.

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Animations Tab

If your software has the Snyper option (CG-350 only) enabled, the “Animations” tab will appear in the User Interface. Selecting this tab will display the “Animations” control screen (shown below). This screen is used to control Foreground and Background Animations (also known as Snipes). These animations can be played completely independently of anything else the CG-350 is currently doing, whether it is performing a Credit Roll or displaying a Static Title. It’s almost like having two CG’s that you can use simultaneously without having to pay for the hardware.

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Animations Tab

The Animations Control tab is divided into 3 sections. Foreground Animation Controls (top left), Background Animation Controls (lower left), and the Animation Catalog on the right.

Your screen may appear different from that shown above depending on your screen layout. If your screen is too small to display all of these controls, the Foreground and Background Controls may be merged into a single control with tabs added to switch between them.

Animation Catalog

Animations can be created in any Animation program as long as it can export the Animation as a sequence of still images. The best graphic format to use is either TGA or PNG because they can support an Alpha Channel. The Alpha Channel tells the program which pixels are parts of the Animation, and which pixels are transparent and should show the background behind it. This allows the Animation to have a shape other than just a rectangle.

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