Pinnacle Systems Interplay Central - 1.2 Administrator’s Guide

Interplay Central

Administration Guide

Legal Notices

Product specifications are subject to change without notice and do not represent a commitment on the part of Avid Technology, Inc.

This product is subject to the terms and conditions of a software license agreement provided with the software. The product may only be used in accordance with the license agreement.

Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following United States Patents: 5,309,528; 5,355,450; 5,396,594; 5,440,348; 5,467,288; 5,513,375; 5,528,310; 5,557,423; 5,577,190; 5,584,006; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; 5,724,605; 5,726,717; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,851; 5,799,150; 5,812,216; 5,828,678; 5,842,014; 5,852,435; 5,959,610, 5,986,584; 5,999,406; 6,038,573; 6,057,829, 6,069,668; 6,141,007; 6,211,869; 6,336,093, 6,532,043; 6,546,190; 6,596,031;6,728,682, 6,747,705; 6,763,523; 6,766,357; 6,847,373; 7,081,900; 7,403,561; 7,433,519; 7,441,193, 7,671,871; 7,684,096; 7,836,389 and 7,916,363; 7,930,624; 8,023,568; 8,082,226; D352,278; D372,478; D373,778; D392,267; D392,268; D392,269; D395,291; D396,853; D398,912. Other patents are pending.

Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following European Patents: 0506870; 0635188; 0674414; 0752174; 0811290; 0811292; 0811293; 1050048; 1111910; 1629675, and 0972256. Other patents are pending.

Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following United States Patents: 5,309,528; 5,355,450; 5,396,594; 5,440,348; 5,467,288; 5,513,375; 5,528,310; 5,557,423; 5,577,190; 5,584,006; 5,640,601; 5,644,364; 5,654,737; 5,724,605; 5,726,717; 5,745,637; 5,752,029; 5,754,851; 5,799,150; 5,812,216; 5,828,678; 5,842,014; 5,852,435; 5,986,584; 5,999,406; 6,038,573; 6,141,007; 6,211,869; 6,532,043; 6,546,190; 6,596,031; 6,747,705; 6,763,523; 6,766,357; 6,847,373; 7,081,900; 7,403,561; 7,433,519; 7,555,557; 7,562,099; D352,278; D372,478; D373,778; D392,267; D392,268; D392,269; D395,291; D396,853; D398,912. Other patents are pending.

Avid products or portions thereof are protected by one or more of the following European Patents: 0506870; 0635188; 0674414; 0752174; 1111910; 1629675. Other patents are pending.

This document is protected under copyright law. An authorized licensee of Interplay Central may reproduce this publication for the licensee’s own use in learning how to use the software. This document may not be reproduced or distributed, in whole or in part, for commercial purposes, such as selling copies of this document or providing support or educational services to others. This document is supplied as a guide for Interplay Central. Reasonable care has been taken in preparing the information it contains. However, this document may contain omissions, technical inaccuracies, or typographical errors. Avid Technology, Inc. does not accept responsibility of any kind for customers’ losses due to the use of this document. Product specifications are subject to change without notice.

The following disclaimer is required by Apple Computer, Inc.:

APPLE COMPUTER, INC. MAKES NO WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THIS PRODUCT, INCLUDING WARRANTIES WITH RESPECT TO ITS MERCHANTABILITY OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES IS NOT PERMITTED BY SOME STATES. THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THIS WARRANTY PROVIDES YOU WITH SPECIFIC LEGAL RIGHTS. THERE MAY BE OTHER RIGHTS THAT YOU MAY HAVE WHICH VARY FROM STATE TO STATE.

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Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software [i.e., the TIFF library] and its documentation for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that (i) the above copyright notices and this permission notice appear in all copies of the software and related documentation, and (ii) the names of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics may not be used in any advertising or publicity relating to the software without the specific, prior written permission of Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics.

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The following disclaimer is required by the Independent JPEG Group:

This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.

This Software may contain components licensed under the following conditions:

Redistribution and use in source and binary forms are permitted provided that the above copyright notice and this paragraph are duplicated in all such forms and that any documentation, advertising materials, and other materials related to such distribution and use acknowledge that the software was developed by the University of California, Berkeley. The name of the University may not be used to endorse or promote products derived from this software without specific prior written permission. THIS SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED ``AS IS'' AND WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software and its documentation for any purpose and without fee is hereby granted, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation. This software is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

Permission to use, copy, modify, distribute, and sell this software for any purpose is hereby granted without fee, provided that the above copyright notice appear in all copies and that both that copyright notice and this permission notice appear in supporting documentation, and that the name of Daniel Dardailler not be used in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of the software without specific, written prior permission. Daniel Dardailler makes no representations about the suitability of this software for any purpose. It is provided "as is" without express or implied warranty.

Permission to use, copy, modify, and distribute this software for any purpose without fee is hereby granted, provided that this entire notice is included in all copies of any software which is or includes a copy or modification of this software and in all copies of the supporting documentation for such software.

THIS SOFTWARE IS BEING PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTY. IN PARTICULAR, NEITHER THE AUTHOR NOR AT&T MAKES ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY OF ANY KIND CONCERNING THE MERCHANTABILITY OF THIS SOFTWARE OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

This product includes software developed by the University of California, Berkeley and its contributors.

The following disclaimer is required by Paradigm Matrix:

Portions of this software licensed from Paradigm Matrix.

The following disclaimer is required by Ray Sauers Associates, Inc.:

“Install-It” is licensed from Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. End-User is prohibited from taking any action to derive a source code equivalent of “Install-It,” including by reverse assembly or reverse compilation, Ray Sauers Associates, Inc. shall in no event be liable for any damages resulting from reseller’s failure to perform reseller’s obligation; or any damages arising from use or operation of reseller’s products or the software; or any other damages, including but not limited to, incidental, direct, indirect, special or consequential Damages including lost profits, or damages resulting from loss of use or inability to use reseller’s products or the software for any reason including copyright or patent infringement, or lost data, even if Ray Sauers Associates has been advised, knew or should have known of the possibility of such damages.

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“This software contains V-LAN ver. 3.0 Command Protocols which communicate with V-LAN ver. 3.0 products developed by Videomedia, Inc. and V-LAN ver. 3.0 compatible products developed by third parties under license from Videomedia, Inc. Use of this software will allow “frame accurate” editing control of applicable videotape recorder decks, videodisc recorders/players and the like.”

The following disclaimer is required by Altura Software, Inc. for the use of its Mac2Win software and Sample Source Code:

The following disclaimer is required by 3Prong.com Inc.:

Certain waveform and vector monitoring capabilities are provided under a license from 3Prong.com Inc.

The following disclaimer is required by Interplay Entertainment Corp.:

The “Interplay” name is used with the permission of Interplay Entertainment Corp., which bears no responsibility for Avid products.

This product includes portions of the Alloy Look & Feel software from Incors GmbH.

This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation (http://www.apache.org/).

This product may include the JCifs library, for which the following notice applies:

Avid Interplay contains components licensed from LavanTech. These components may only be used as part of and in connection with Avid Interplay.

This product includes FFmpeg, which is covered by the GNU Lesser General Public License.

This product includes software that is based in part of the work of the FreeType Team.

This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group.

This product includes libjpeg-turbo, which is covered by the wxWindows Library License, Version 3.1.

P41-RR02188 by the National Institutes of Health.

Portions relating to JPEG and to color quantization copyright 2000, 2001, 2002, Doug Becker and copyright (C) 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, Thomas G. Lane. This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group. See the file README-JPEG.TXT for more information. Portions relating to WBMP copyright 2000, 2001, 2002 Maurice Szmurlo and Johan Van den Brande.

Permission has been granted to copy, distribute and modify gd in any context without fee, including a commercial application, provided that this notice is present in user-accessible supporting documentation.

This does not affect your ownership of the derived work itself, and the intent is to assure proper credit for the authors of gd, not to interfere with your productive use of gd. If you have questions, ask. "Derived works" includes all programs that utilize the library. Credit must be given in user-accessible documentation.

This software is provided "AS IS." The copyright holders disclaim all warranties, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, with respect to this code and accompanying documentation.

Although their code does not appear in gd, the authors wish to thank David Koblas, David Rowley, and Hutchison Avenue Software Corporation for their prior contributions.

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U.S. GOVERNMENT RESTRICTED RIGHTS. This Software and its documentation are “commercial computer software” or “commercial computer software documentation.” In the event that such Software or documentation is acquired by or on behalf of a unit or agency of the U.S. Government, all rights with respect to this Software and documentation are subject to the terms of the License Agreement, pursuant to FAR §12.212(a) and/or DFARS §227.7202-1(a), as applicable.

Trademarks

003, 192 Digital I/O, 192 I/O, 96 I/O, 96i I/O, Adrenaline, AirSpeed, ALEX, Alienbrain, AME, AniMatte, Archive, Archive II, Assistant Station, AudioPages, AudioStation, AutoLoop, AutoSync, Avid, Avid Active, Avid Advanced Response, Avid DNA, Avid DNxcel, Avid DNxHD, Avid DS Assist Station, Avid Liquid, Avid Media Engine, Avid Media Processor, Avid MEDIArray, Avid Mojo, Avid Remote Response, Avid Unity, Avid Unity ISIS, Avid VideoRAID, AvidRAID, AvidShare, AVIDstripe, AVX, Axiom, Beat Detective, Beauty Without The Bandwidth, Beyond Reality, BF Essentials, Bomb Factory, Boom, Bruno, C|24, CaptureManager, ChromaCurve, ChromaWheel, Cineractive Engine, Cineractive Player, Cineractive Viewer, Color Conductor, Command|24, Command|8, Conectiv, Control|24, Cosmonaut Voice, CountDown, d2, d3, DAE, Dazzle, Dazzle Digital Video Creator, D-Command, D-Control, Deko, DekoCast, D-Fi, D-fx, Digi 003, DigiBase, DigiDelivery, Digidesign, Digidesign Audio Engine, Digidesign Development Partners, Digidesign Intelligent Noise Reduction, Digidesign TDM Bus, DigiLink, DigiMeter, DigiPanner, DigiProNet, DigiRack, DigiSerial, DigiSnake, DigiSystem, Digital Choreography, Digital Nonlinear Accelerator, DigiTest, DigiTranslator, DigiWear, DINR, DNxchange, DPP-1, D-Show, DSP Manager, DS-StorageCalc, DV Toolkit, DVD Complete, D-Verb, Eleven, EM, Euphonix, EUCON, EveryPhase, Expander, ExpertRender, Fader Pack, Fairchild, FastBreak, Fast Track, Film Cutter, FilmScribe, Flexevent, FluidMotion, Frame Chase, FXDeko, HD Core, HD Process, HDPack, Home-to-Hollywood, HYBRID, HyperControl, HyperSPACE, HyperSPACE HDCAM, iKnowledge, Image Independence, Impact, Improv, iNEWS, iNEWS Assign, iNEWS ControlAir, Instantwrite, Instinct, Intelligent Content Management, Intelligent Digital Actor Technology, IntelliRender, Intelli-Sat, Intelli-sat Broadcasting Recording Manager, InterFX, Interplay, inTONE, Intraframe, iS Expander, ISIS, IsoSync, iS9, iS18, iS23, iS36, ISIS, IsoSync, KeyRig, KeyStudio, LaunchPad, LeaderPlus, LFX, Lightning, Link & Sync, ListSync, LKT-200, Lo-Fi, Luna, MachineControl, Magic Mask, Make Anything Hollywood, make manage move | media, Marquee, MassivePack, Massive Pack Pro, M-Audio, M-Audio Micro, Maxim, Mbox, Media Composer, MediaFlow, MediaLog, MediaMatch, MediaMix, Media Reader, Media Recorder, MEDIArray, MediaServer, MediaShare, MetaFuze, MetaSync, MicroTrack, MIDI I/O, Midiman, Mix Rack, MixLab, Moviebox, Moviestar, MultiShell, NaturalMatch, NewsCutter, NewsView, Nitris, NL3D, NLP, Nova, NRV-10 interFX, NSDOS, NSWIN, Octane, OMF, OMF Interchange, OMM, OnDVD, Open Media Framework, Open Media Management, Ozone, Ozonic, Painterly Effects, Palladium, Personal Q, PET, Pinnacle, Pinnacle DistanTV, Pinnacle GenieBox, Pinnacle HomeMusic, Pinnacle MediaSuite, Pinnacle Mobile Media, Pinnacle Scorefitter, Pinnacle Studio, Pinnacle Studio MovieBoard, Pinnacle Systems, Pinnacle VideoSpin, Podcast Factory, PowerSwap, PRE, ProControl, ProEncode, Profiler, Pro Tools LE, Pro Tools M-Powered, Pro Transfer, Pro Tools, QuickPunch, QuietDrive, Realtime Motion Synthesis, Recti-Fi, Reel Tape Delay, Reel Tape Flanger, Reel Tape Saturation, Reprise, Res Rocket Surfer, Reso, RetroLoop, Reverb One, ReVibe, Revolution, rS9, rS18, RTAS, Salesview, Sci-Fi, Scorch, Scorefitter, ScriptSync, SecureProductionEnvironment, Serv|LT, Serv|GT, Session, Shape-to-Shape, ShuttleCase, Sibelius, SIDON, SimulPlay, SimulRecord, Slightly Rude Compressor, Smack!, Soft SampleCell, Soft-Clip Limiter, Solaris, SoundReplacer, SPACE, SPACEShift, SpectraGraph, SpectraMatte, SteadyGlide, Streamfactory, Streamgenie, StreamRAID, Strike, Structure, Studiophile, SubCap, Sundance Digital, Sundance, SurroundScope, Symphony, SYNC HD, Synchronic, SynchroScope, SYNC I/O, Syntax, TDM FlexCable, TechFlix, Tel-Ray, Thunder, Titansync, Titan, TL Aggro, TL AutoPan, TL Drum Rehab, TL Everyphase, TL Fauxlder, TL In Tune, TL MasterMeter, TL Metro, TL Space, TL Utilities, tools for storytellers, Torq, Torq Xponent, Transfuser, Transit, TransJammer, Trigger Finger, Trillium Lane Labs, TruTouch, UnityRAID, Vari-Fi, Velvet, Video the Web Way, VideoRAID, VideoSPACE, VideoSpin, VTEM, Work-N-Play, Xdeck, X-Form, Xmon, XPAND!, Xponent, X-Session, and X-Session Pro are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.

Avid Interplay Central Administration Guide • 9329-065179-00 Rev A • April 2012 • Created 4/24/12 • This document is distributed by Avid in online (electronic) form only, and is not available for purchase in printed form.

Using This Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Avid Training Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Chapter 1 Interplay Central Administration and System Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

The Administrator Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Signing In to Interplay Central. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Configuring System Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Configuring for Send to Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Understanding the Send-to-Playback Components and Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

Creating or Editing a Send-to-Playback Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Send-to-Playback Profile Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Configuring Settings in the Interplay Production Administrator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Chapter 2 Interplay Central User Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Opening the Users Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

The Users Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Understanding Users and Groups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Available Layouts: Administrators and Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Managing Users and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Importing Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Creating a New User or Editing User Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Creating a New Group or Editing Group Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Adding a User to a Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Removing a User from a Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Removing Groups from Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Adding or Removing Group Membership Through Selection in a Window . . . . . . . 49

Understanding the Unassigned Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Deleting Users and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Changing Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Creating, Deleting, and Assigning Roles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Creating and Deleting Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Assigning Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Displaying Information in the Details Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58

Searching for Users or Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Chapter 3 Scheduling and Restoring Backups for the Users Database . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Modifying Settings for Backup of the Users Database . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Restoring the Users Database from a Backup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Chapter 4 Monitoring and Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Log Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Troubleshooting Send to Playback Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66

Troubleshooting Mixdown Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Checking the Health of the User Management High-Availability Cluster . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

Appendix A User Management Utilities Tool. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Interplay Central Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Using This Guide

This guide is intended for all Avid®Interplay® Central administrators who are responsible for configuring and maintaining an Avid Interplay Central system. This guide describes product features and administrative procedures, such as Interplay Central system settings and user management.

For initial installation and configuration, see the Avid Interplay Central Installation and Configuration Guide.

Symbols and Conventions

Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

> This symbol indicates menu commands (and subcommands) in the

(Windows), (Windows only), (Macintosh), or (Macintosh only)

Bold font Bold font is primarily used in task instructions to identify user interface

A note provides important related information, reminders, recommendations, and strong suggestions.

A caution means that a specific action you take could cause harm to your computer or cause you to lose data.

A warning describes an action that could cause you physical harm. Follow the guidelines in this document or on the unit itself when handling electrical equipment.

order you select them. For example, File > Import means to open the File menu and then select the Import command.

This symbol indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple arrows in a list indicate that you perform one of the actions listed.

This text indicates that the information applies only to the specified operating system, either Windows or Macintosh OS X.

items and keyboard sequences.

If You Need Help

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

Italic font Italic font is used to emphasize certain words and to indicate variables.

Courier Bold font

Ctrl+key or mouse action Press and hold the first key while you press the last key or perform the

If You Need Help

If you are having trouble using your Avid product:

1. Retry the action, carefully following the instructions given for that task in this guide. It is especially important to check each step of your workflow.

2. Check the latest information that might have become available after the documentation was published:

- If the latest information for your Avid product is provided as printed release notes, they

are shipped with your application and are also available online.

- If the latest information for your Avid product is provided as a ReadMe file, it is

supplied on your Avid installation USB drive as a PDF document (README_product.pdf) and is also available online.

You should always check online for the most up-to-date release notes or ReadMe because the online version is updated whenever new information becomes available. To

view these online versions, select ReadMe from the Help menu, or visit the Knowledge Base at www.avid.com/readme.

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

mouse action. For example, Command+Option+C or Ctrl+drag.

3. Check the documentation that came with your Avid application or your hardware for maintenance or hardware-related issues.

4. Visit the online Knowledge Base at www.avid.com/onlinesupport. Online services are available 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. Search this online Knowledge Base to find answers, to view error messages, to access troubleshooting tips, to download updates, and to read or join online message-board discussions.

Avid Training Services

Avid makes lifelong learning, career advancement, and personal development easy and convenient. Avid understands that the knowledge you need to differentiate yourself is always changing, and Avid continually updates course content and offers new training delivery methods that accommodate your pressured and competitive work environment.

For information on courses/schedules, training centers, certifications, courseware, and books, please visit www.avid.com/support and follow the Training links, or call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843).

Avid Training Services

1 Interplay Central Administration and

System Settings

The following topics provide information about configuration of Interplay Central components:

• The Administrator Account

• Signing In to Interplay Central

• Configuring System Settings

• Configuring for Send to Playback

• Configuring Settings in the Interplay Production Administrator

The Administrator Account

During Interplay Central installation, a user named Administrator is created. This user is a member of the Administrator group by default, and as a result has administrator privileges.

During installation, you are required to set a password for the default Administrator account. The first time a user signs in with the user name Administrator, the user must supply this password. An administrator can later change the password. For more information, see “Changing

Passwords” on page 53.

After the first sign-in, the Administrator must configure system settings such as information about the Avid iNEWS and Interplay Production systems. For more information, see “Signing In

to Interplay Central” on page 12 and “Configuring System Settings” on page 13.

Additional Administrator Accounts

An administrator can add other users to the Administrators group. All members of the Administrators group have the same administrator privileges. For more information, see

“Creating a New Group or Editing Group Details” on page 46.

Layouts Available Only to an Administrator

Administrator tasks are performed in Interplay Central layouts. The following layouts are available only to an Interplay Central administrator:

• System Settings

•Users

Signing In to Interplay Central

To access an Avid iNEWS database and an Interplay Production database, an Interplay Central user or administrator needs to have a user name and password set in the iNEWS and Interplay Production sections of the User Settings dialog box.

The first time a user or administrator signs in to Interplay Central, you are asked to confirm or supply the user name and password of an Avid iNEWS account and an Interplay Production account. These credentials provide you with the appropriate access and rights to the iNEWS and Interplay Production databases, and enables you to supply only the Interplay Central user name and password at future sign-ins.

To sign in to the application:

Signing In to Interplay Central

1. Open a supported browser and type the URL of your Interplay Central server.

The URL is the computer name of the Interplay Central middleware server.

2. At the sign-in screen, type your user name and password.

3. Click Sign In, or press Enter or Return (Macintosh).

After a few moments, the Interplay Central application opens and displays the last layout that you used.

When you sign in to Interplay Central, you are automatically signed in to your iNEWS newsroom

computer system and Interplay Production system. If, however, the security settings for one of these integrated systems is inaccurate, you might see a warning similar to this:

If you get a message like this, click the link provided and verify your security settings.

4. (Optional) If the layout you want is not displayed, select the one you want from the Layouts menu.

To sign out of the application:

t Click Sign Out in the application menu.

Configuring System Settings

The Interplay Central administrator needs to specify configuration information before users can use Interplay Central. You specify these settings in the System Settings layout, which is only available to administrators. The System Settings layout includes a Settings pane, in which you select the group of settings, and the Details pane, in which you specify the settings.

Configuring System Settings

To configure Interplay Central system settings:

1. Sign in to Interplay Central as an administrator.

2. Select System Settings from the Layouts drop-down menu.

The System Settings layout opens.

3. In the Settings pane select a settings group, for example, General.

The Details pane displays the settings in that group.

4. In the Details pane, specify one or more settings, as described in the table at the end of this procedure.

5. Click Apply to save your new settings or click Revert to replace changed information with the previously saved settings.

Configuring System Settings

The following table describes the settings in each group.

Settings Group Setting Description

General Search Pane: Maximum Number The maximum number of items listed in a pane.

To view more items, click the Show More Results button. The range is 5 to 1000 items.

iNEWS iNEWS Server: Hostname The computer name of the server that hosts the

iNEWS database. If the computer name includes a suffix such as -a, do not include it. Not including the suffix allows for load balancing and failover.

Location for Script Sequences: Path A path for a folder in the Interplay Production

database to store the sequences created as part of an iNEWS script. Select whether you want sub-folders created by Queue name, Date, or Story name.

Pagination: Maximum Number The maximum number of items listed in the

Queue/Story pane or the Project/Story pane. To view more items beyond the number displayed, click the Show More Results button. The range is 5 to 255 items.

Interplay Production

Interplay Production Server: Hostname The computer name or the IP address of the

server that hosts the Interplay Production database.

Interplay Central Distribution Service: Service URL

A secure URL for the server that hosts the Interplay Central Distribution Service, which is used for send to playback. Provide the URL in the following format, including the port number: https://hostname:port. For example, https://localhost:8443. You can use an IP address instead of a hostname.

Assets Pane: Maximum Number The maximum number of items listed in a pane.

To view more items, click the Show More Results button. The range is 5 to 1000 items.

Modules (Reference only) Modules used in Interplay Central. Name,

version, location, state, fragment.

Configuring for Send to Playback

Settings Group Setting Description

Player Server: Hostname The computer name or the IP address of the

server that hosts the Interplay Common Playback service. For an Interplay Common Playback Service cluster, use the virtual computer name or IP address.

For more information on configuring the playback server, see the Interplay Central Installation and Configuration Guide.

User Name and Password The user name and password for a user that you

created during the Interplay Central middleware installation. This user account is a generic backend user account that the Interplay Central middleware server uses to connect to the Interplay Common playback server.

Send to Playback See “Creating or Editing a Send-to-Playback

Profile” on page 19.

Configuring for Send to Playback

The video and audio sequence that a user creates in the Interplay Central script editor is called the script sequence. When the script sequence is finished, the user can transfer it to a playback device or playout server for viewing or broadcast. This process is called send to playback, or STP. Users can also send to playback a sequence stored in an Interplay Production database to a playback device.

The following topics describe administrator tasks for sending a sequence to a playback device:

• “Understanding the Send-to-Playback Components and Process” on page 16

• “Creating or Editing a Send-to-Playback Profile” on page 19

• “Send-to-Playback Profile Examples” on page 23

The following topic provides troubleshooting information:

• “Troubleshooting Send to Playback Problems” on page 66

For information about how users send to playback, see the “Sending to Playback” chapter in the Avid Interplay Central User’s Guide.

Configuring for Send to Playback

Understanding the Send-to-Playback Components and Process

An Interplay Central system and an Interplay Production system are required for the send-to-playback process.

Required Components

Make sure the following components are correctly installed and configured:

• Interplay Central

- Interplay Central middleware server

- Interplay Central Distribution service. This component is installed on the Interplay

Central middleware server. It coordinates and monitors send-to-playback and mixdown operations. It determines if there is any preprocessing required. If it determines an audio mixdown is required, it submits a Transcode Mixdown request. If Long GOP media is required, it submits an STP Encode request.

The Interplay Central Distribution Service communicates with other Interplay Media Services,

but it is not an Interplay Media Service itself.

For information about installing and configuring these components, see the Avid Interplay Central Installation and Configuration Guide.

• Interplay Production

- Interplay Media Services Engine. This component serves as a broker for all Media

Services. The Interplay Transcode service and the STP Encode service are used for Interplay Central send-to-playback operations.

For installation and configuration information for the Media Services Engine and Media Services, see the Avid Media Services Setup and User’s Guide.

- Interplay Transcode service. This service mixes down audio for script sequences and

checks the sequence in to the Interplay Engine. No video mixdown is required when sending a script sequence to a playback device.

- STP Encode service. This service exports and encodes Long GOP media, then passes

the media to the Transfer Engine for a send-to-playback operation. The STP Encode service supports various XDCAM media formats.

- Interplay Engine. This component manages the Interplay database. Sequences that are

sent to playback are checked into the Send to Playback folder in the Interplay database.

- Media Indexer. This component is used to store information of all available resolutions

for an Interplay asset. It enables relinking of a clip to a particular resolution (Dynamic Relink).

Configuring for Send to Playback

Interplay Central Client (Browser)

eer

ISIS Shared Storage

Media Indexer

Interplay Central Middleware Server

Media Services Engine

Playback Server

ASF

Interplay Central Distribution Service

Interplay Transcode

Interplay Transfer

- Avid System Framework (ASF). This component is used for various Interplay

interactions. For send-to-playback, it identifies the high-availability group (HAG) that includes the Media Indexer used for relinking .

- Interplay Transfer Engine. This component sends the sequence to the playout device. If

you are sending to an Avid AirSpeed or Avid AirSpeed Multi Stream server, you do not need a separate Interplay Transfer Engine, because it is included as a component of the AirSpeed Multi Stream server. For installation and configuration information, see the Avid Interplay Transfer Setup and User’s Guide.

• Playback Servers

- AirSpeed Multi Stream. A playback server that can handle different formats, including

HD media. It includes a Transfer Manager as an installable component.

- AirSpeed (Classic). A playback server that can handle different formats but only one at

a time. There is no HD support.

- Other playback servers, for example, Omneon or K2.

Send-To-Playback Workflow: I-Frame Sequences

The following illustration shows a typical send-to-playback workflow for I-frame (non-Long GOP) sequences.

1. When the user starts an STP process in Interplay Central, the Interplay Central Middleware server (ICMS) creates an STP job and sends it to the Interplay Central Distribution Service (ICDS). ICDS performs an analysis of the sequence to determine if it needs an audio mixdown, a video mixdown, or both.

2. The ICDS uses ASF and MI to dynamically relink the sequence to media in the target resolution.

3. The ICDS sends a request for any required mixdowns to the Media Services Engine, which then sends the jobs to the Interplay Transcode provider.

Configuring for Send to Playback

Interplay Central Client (Browser)

eer

ISIS Shared Storage

Media Indexer

Interplay Central Middleware Server

Media Services Engine

Playback Server

ASF

Interplay Central Distribution Service

Interplay Transcode

Interplay Transfer

STP Encode

4. Interplay Transcode performs the mixdowns and saves the media on the Avid ISIS system.

5. ICDS initiates a transfer to the playback server, through Interplay Transfer.

6. Interplay Transfer transfers the sequence to the playback server.

Send-To-Playback Workflow: Long GOP Sequences

The following illustration shows a typical send-to-playback workflow for a Long GOP sequence.

- If an audio mixdown or video mixdown is needed, the ICDS will send a Transcode

mixdown job to the Media Services Engine, which sends the job to the Interplay Transcode provider.

- If no transcoding is required, the ICDS will send an STP Encode job to the Media

Services Engine, which sends the job to the STP Encode provider.

2. The ICDS uses ASF and MI to dynamically relink the sequence to media in the target resolution.

3. The ICDS sends a request for any required mixdowns to the Media Services Engine, which then sends the jobs to the Interplay Transcode provider.

After sending the Transcode jobs, the ICDS periodically checks the Media Services Engine to determine when to send the encoding job to the STP Encode provider.

4. Interplay Transcode performs the required jobs and saves the media on the Avid ISIS system.

5. When the transcode jobs are complete, ICDS sends an encoding job to the STP Encode provider.

6. STP Encode creates Long GOP OP1a media, stores it on the ISIS system, and initiates a transfer to the playout server, through Interplay Transfer.

7. Interplay Transfer transfers the sequence to the playback server.

Sending a Mixed-Resolution Long GOP Sequence to a Playback Device

In most cases, all media used in the sequence must be available in the target resolution to start an STP operation.

However, when you select a Long GOP resolution as a target resolution, you can mix media of different resolutions if the frame rates match. For example, if the target resolution is XDCAM-HD 1080i, you can include both XDCAM 1080i clips and DV25 411 NTSC clips in the same sequence. Both use an actual frame rate of 29.97 fps.

The DV25 clips do not need to be transcoded to XDCAM 1080i before the STP operation begins. For Long GOP sequences, any necessary transcoding takes place during the STP operation.

For more information, see “Sending a Mixed-Resolution Long GOP Sequence to a Playback Device” in the Avid Interplay Central User’s Guide.

Creating or Editing a Send-to-Playback Profile

Configuring for Send to Playback

A send-to-playback operation requires a profile, which an Interplay Central administrator creates in the Send to Playback settings Details tab.

The values displayed in some fields are retrieved from the Interplay Production system. Make sure the send-to-playback configuration in Interplay Production is done correctly before creating profiles in Interplay Central.

The following procedure provides general steps in creating or editing a send-to-playback profile. For more information, see “Send-to-Playback Profile Examples” on page 23.

The first time you sign in, information might not be available to create a profile. In this case, sign

out and sign in again to Interplay Central. Interplay Central can then get the send-to-playback information from the Interplay Production engine, and you can create a send-to-playback profile.

To create or edit a send-to-playback profile:

1. Sign in to Interplay Central as an Administrator.

2. Select System Settings from the Layouts list.

The Settings pane and Details pane open.

3. In the Settings tab, select Send to Playback.

Configuring for Send to Playback

The top part of the Details pane lists the send-to-playback profiles, and the bottom part lists the profile details.

If the menus do not display any values, the connection to Interplay Production might not be working. Try signing out and signing back in, or check the configuration between Interplay Central and Interplay Production. For more information, see the Interplay Central Installation and Configuration Guide.

4. Do one of the following:

t To create a new profile, click the + (plus) button in the Send to Playback Profiles

section.

A profile named “New Profile” is created in the Send to Playback Profiles section.

t To edit an existing profile, select the profile in the Send to Playback Profiles section.

5. In the Details tab, specify the required settings, as described in the table at the end of this procedure.

Configuring for Send to Playback

6. Click Apply to save the profile. If you are editing a file, click Revert to return to the original settings.

The following table describes the settings in each group.

Send to Playback Setting Description

Name A name for the profile. Choose a meaningful, descriptive name because

this name is displayed to users.

Individual Device or Studio Specifies if the profile applies to a single playout server or to an

AirSpeed Studio.

If you select Individual Device, the following fields are displayed:

• Servers. Select the Transfer Engine server for the profile. This list includes all Interplay Transfer Engines, AirSpeed Transfer Engines, and AirSpeed Multi Stream Transfer Engines in the Interplay Production workgroup. See “Selecting a Transfer Server” on

page 23.

• Playback Device. Select the playback device for the profile. This list includes device profiles created on an Interplay Transfer Engine as well as individually named AirSpeed and AirSpeed Multi Stream servers. This list can also include individual devices in an AirSpeed Studio if the following option is selected in the Interplay Transfer Settings view in the Interplay Administrator: “Show individual studio hosts in Send to Playback choices.”

If you select an AirSpeed Multi Stream server, you have a choice of a playback device with the name of the server and a playback device with the name of the server followed by -HD. Use the HD device for XDCAM-HD Long GOP media only. See “Selecting a Playback

Device” on page 24.

If you select Studio, the following fields are displayed:

• Studio. Select the AirSpeed Studio group for the profile. This list displays the AirSpeed Studio groups in the Interplay workgroup.

• Playback Device. Select the playback device for the profile. You have a choice of a playback device with the name of the server and a playback device with the name of the server followed by -HD. Use the HD device for XDCAM-HD Long GOP media only.

Configuring for Send to Playback

Send to Playback Setting Description

Video Options Long GOP: Select Long GOP if this profile will be used to transfer Long

GOP media (for example, XDCAM HD). Long GOP media is transferred through the STP Encode service.

AirSpeed: Select AirSpeed if this profile will be used to transfer to an Avid AirSpeed or AirSpeed Multi Stream server.

Accelerated STP: If you select both Long GOP and AirSpeed, the Accelerated STP option is activated. Select this option if this profile will be used with an AirSpeed Multi Stream server version 1.7 or later. This feature allows an AirSpeed Multi Stream user to play media while it is being transferred.

Video Target Resolution Select the resolution for the sequence that you want to send to the

playback device. This list includes video resolutions that are supported in the Interplay Production workgroup.

If you select Long GOP as a video option and a Long GOP (XD CAM) resolution, the Interplay Central Distribution Service uses the Interplay Dynamic Relink technology to link to media in a similar resolution (closest match) if media is not available in the target resolution.

If you do not select Long GOP as a video option, and media is not available in a target resolution, the send-to-playback operation fails with an error message.

In both cases, audio is linked to a similar resolution (closest match).

Video Frame Rate Select a frame rate that matches the selected video target resolution.

Some resolutions specify a frame rate and others do not. The frame rate is also a more exact value. For example, for XDCAM-HD 50 mbps 1080i 60, select 59.94.

Audio Target Sample Rate 48 Hz (this is the only choice)

The audio target format is always PCM

Audio Target Bit Depth Select 16 bit or 24 bit.

Audio Target Mixdown Mode Select Stereo or Direct Out. The maximum number of audio tracks

supported for send to playback is 16.

Interplay ISIS Workspace Select a workspace for storing media that results from an audio

mixdown or an STP Encode operation.

To delete a profile, select the profile you want to delete and click the minus (-) button in the Send to Playback Profiles section.

For information about performing a send-to-playback operation, see the Interplay Central User’s Guide.

Send-to-Playback Profile Examples

The following examples of send-to-playback profiles show settings for different resolutions and different playback servers.

Selecting a Transfer Server

When you select a server in an STP profile, the Servers list includes all Interplay Transfer Engines, AirSpeed Transfer Engines, and AirSpeed Multi Stream Transfer Engines that are specified in the Interplay Production workgroup. The following illustration shows the Servers list and the corresponding Interplay Transfer Settings in the Interplay Administrator.

Configuring for Send to Playback

Individual AirSpeed Multi Stream servers in a studio are listed because the option “Show individual studio hosts in Send to Playback choices” is selected

Configuring for Send to Playback

Selecting a Playback Device

When you select a playback device in an STP profile, the Playback Device list includes the playback devices that are associated with the Interplay Transfer server you selected.

• For AirSpeed servers, there is only one selection that matches the server name.

• For AirSpeed Multi Stream servers, there might be two types of selections:

- One selection that matches the server name. Select this playback device for all resolutions except for XDCAM-HD Long GOP media.

- One selection that adds -HD to the server name. The -HD suffix indicates that the AirSpeed Multi Stream server is equipped with an HD board. Select this playback device for XDCAM-HD Long GOP media.

• For Interplay Transfer Engine servers, the list includes all devices that have been configured for the selected Interplay Transfer Engine server. The following illustration shows the Playback Device list for an Interplay Transfer Engines server and the corresponding list in the Interplay Transfer Engine Configuration window.

Configuring for Send to Playback

XDCAM-HD on AirSpeed Multi Stream

This profile, named AMS1-XDCAM1080i60_50mb, specifies settings for an AirSpeed Multi Stream server that supports XDCAM-HD media.

Note the following:

• Servers: Airspeed Multi Stream includes a Transfer Engine, so A51-WG1-AMS1 is the computer name for the AMS server.

• Playback Device: Because this profile supports XDCAM-HD Long GOP media, the playback device name includes the -HD suffix.

Configuring for Send to Playback

• Long GOP and AirSpeed must be selected for this profile. With these options selected Accelerated STP (Send to Playback) becomes available, and can be used in this case because the AirSpeed MultiStream server is version 1.7 or later.

• The remaining media options specifically describe the target video and audio resolutions. The Mixdown Mode is set for Stereo, and the specified ISIS workspace will hold the mixed-down media.

XDCAM-HD on AirSpeed Multi Stream Studio

The following profile, named AMS_studio, is similar to the previous profile but is configured for an AirSpeed Multi Stream Studio.

+ 60 hidden pages

Pinnacle Systems Interplay Central - 1.2 Administrator’s Guide

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Using This Guide

Symbols and Conventions

If You Need Help

Avid Training Services

The Administrator Account

Signing In to Interplay Central

Configuring System Settings

Configuring for Send to Playback

Understanding the Send-to-Playback Components and Process

Creating or Editing a Send-to-Playback Profile

Send-to-Playback Profile Examples