Pinnacle Systems MediaCentral UX - 2.10.2 Administrator’s Guide

Avid MediaCentral | UX

Administration Guide

Version 2.10.2

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.

This product may be protected by one or more U.S. and non-U.S patents. Details are available at www.avid.com/patents.

This document is protected under copyright law. An authorized licensee of MediaCentral 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 MediaCentral 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.

The following disclaimer is required by Sam Leffler and Silicon Graphics, Inc. for the use of their TIFF library:

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.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS-IS” AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

IN NO EVENT SHALL SAM LEFFLER OR SILICON GRAPHICS BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, OR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER RESULTING FROM LOSS OF USE, DATA OR PROFITS, WHETHER OR NOT ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF DAMAGE, AND ON ANY THEORY OF LIABILITY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE USE OR PERFORMANCE OF THIS SOFTWARE.

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.

The following disclaimer is required by Videomedia, Inc.:

“Videomedia, 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.”

“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.

This product includes software developed by the OpenSSL Project for use in the OpenSSL Toolkit (http://www.openssl.org/)

Media | Distribute enables its users to access certain YouTube functionality, as a result of Avid's licensed use of YouTube's API. The charges levied by Avid for use of Media | Distribute are imposed by Avid, not YouTube. YouTube does not charge users for accessing YouTube site functionality through the YouTube APIs.

Media | Distribute uses the bitly API, but is neither developed nor endorsed by bitly.

Android is a trademark of Google Inc.

Attn. Government User(s). Restricted Rights Legend

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

Avid, the Avid Logo, Avid Everywhere, Avid DNXHD, Avid DNXHR, Avid Nexis, AirSpeed, Eleven, EUCON, Interplay, iNEWS, ISIS, Mbox, MediaCentral, Media Composer, NewsCutter, Pro Tools, ProSet and RealSet, Maestro, PlayMaker, Sibelius, Symphony, and all related product names and logos, are registered or unregistered trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. The Interplay name is used with the permission of the Interplay Entertainment Corp. which bears no responsibility for Avid products. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. For a full list of Avid trademarks, see: http://www.avid.com/US/about-avid/

legal-notices/trademarks.

Adobe and Photoshop are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Adobe Systems Incorporated in the United States and/or other countries. Apple and Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Windows is either a registered trademark or trademark of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and/or other countries. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners.

Footage

Hell’s Kitchen - Courtesy of Upper Ground Enterprises/Hell's Kitchen post team.

Avid MediaCentral Administration Guide • Created July 26, 2017 • This document is distributed by Avid in online (electronic) form only, and is not available for purchase in printed form.

Using This Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Avid Training Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Chapter 1 Administration and System Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

The Administrator Account . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Signing In to MediaCentral | UX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Configuring System Settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

MediaCentral System Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Configuring Image Quality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Configuring File-Based Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Configuring a Session Timeout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Configuring Messaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Configuring Interplay | Production for Sharing Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Configuring Message Archiving . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Configuring E-Mail Forwarding. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Configuring E-Mail Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Configuring Search . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Configuring for Send to Playback . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Understanding the Send-to-Playback Components and Process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Creating or Editing a Send-to-Playback Profile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Send-to-Playback Profile Examples. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Detecting Black Gaps in Video Sent to Playback. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Limiting Send to Playback to Selected User Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Configuring Settings in the Interplay | Production Administrator. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Configuring Interplay | MAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Checking Settings in Interplay | MAM User Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Configuring Interplay | MAM in the System Settings Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Checking the Bus Configuration. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Configuring Central Index for Interplay | MAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Enabling Progress and Tasks Pane Updates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Checking the FTP Server Configuration for File Attachments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

Creating Interplay | MAM Users in MediaCentral. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

Chapter 2 User Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Opening the Users Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

The Users Layout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Understanding Users and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Available Layouts: Administrators and Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Working with MediaCentral Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Configuring a Multi-Zone Environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Managing Multi-Zone Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62

Configuring MediaCentral Zones . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Managing Users and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

Importing Users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65

Creating a New User or Editing User Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72

Turning Off Secure Password Requirements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Creating a New Group or Editing Group Details . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Adding a User to a Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Removing a User from a Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Removing Groups from Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Understanding the Unassigned Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Deleting Users and Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78

Changing Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Creating, Deleting, and Assigning Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Default Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

MediaCentral | UX Client Licensing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Creating and Deleting Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Assigning Roles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

Assigning Layouts to a Role. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86

Displaying Information in the Details Pane . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Viewing and Ending Active Sessions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Chapter 3 Monitoring and Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Log Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Troubleshooting Send-to-Playback Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Troubleshooting Mixdown Problems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Appendix A User Management Utility Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

MediaCentral Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Using This Guide

This guide is intended for all Avid MediaCentral | UX administrators who are responsible for configuring and maintaining a MediaCentral UX system (formerly Interplay Central). This guide describes product features and administrative procedures, such as MediaCentral UX system settings and user management.

For initial installation and configuration, see the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide. For user information, see the Avid MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide.

Symbols and Conventions

Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

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

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

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

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

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 mouse

| (pipe character) The pipe character is used in some Avid product names, such as Interplay |

guidelines in this document or on the unit itself when handling electrical equipment.

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.

keyboard sequences.

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

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

Production. In this document, the pipe is used in product names when they are in headings or at their first use in text.

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. 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/support.

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/support. 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.

If You Need Help

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).

1 Administration and System Settings

The following topics provide information about configuration of MediaCentral UX components:

• The Administrator Account

• Signing In to MediaCentral | UX

• Configuring System Settings

• MediaCentral System Settings

• Configuring Image Quality

• Configuring File-Based Playback

• Configuring a Session Timeout

• Configuring Messaging

• Configuring Search

• Configuring for Send to Playback

• Configuring Settings in the Interplay | Production Administrator

• Configuring Interplay | MAM

The Administrator Account

During MediaCentral UX 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, the default Administrator password with the user name Administrator, the user must supply this password. Note that this password is context-sensitive. For security, the user must then change the password. For more information, see Changing Passwords and “User Management Utility Tools” on page 95.

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

“Signing In to MediaCentral | UX” on page 10 and “Configuring System Settings” on page 11.

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 74.

Avid123

is set. The first time a user signs in

Layouts Available Only to an Administrator

Administrator tasks are performed in MediaCentral UX layouts. The following layouts are available only to a MediaCentral UX administrator:

• System Settings

•Users

Signing In to MediaCentral | UX

Use a supported browser to connect to and sign in to your MediaCentral UX server. See the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services ReadMe for a list of supported browsers.

MediaCentral UX lets you use a single user name and password to access all Avid systems for which your account is configured. A journalist might have access to both an Avid iNEWS database and an Interplay Production database, while a logger might have access only to an Interplay Production database. MediaCentral UX credentials (user name and password) are created by a MediaCentral UX administrator in the Users layout. Access is determined by the user’s role. For more information, see

“Default Roles” on page 80.

• Interplay MAM users must sign in with MediaCentral UX credentials that match credentials set in the Interplay MAM system.

Signing In to MediaCentral | UX

• iNEWS and Interplay Production users have the option of using MediaCentral UX credentials that are different from their iNEWS and Interplay Production credentials.

The first time you sign in to MediaCentral UX, you must use MediaCentral UX credentials. You are then given the option of using your MediaCentral UX credentials to sign in to iNEWS and Interplay Production or to use different credentials. The credentials you use depend on the user name and password that you can use to sign in directly to iNEWS or Interplay Production. Supplying these credentials enable you to use only the MediaCentral UX user name and password at future sign-ins.

Your iNEWS and Interplay Production credentials are set in the iNEWS or Interplay Production sections of the User Settings dialog box, which you access from the Home menu. You can change these credentials at any time.

(Chrome v44 and earlier only) After you supply your credentials for the first time, a dialog box asks you if you want to use MOS plug-ins. For more information, see “Using Plug-ins and MOS Integration” in the MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide.

(MediaCentral UX 2.4 and later) After you supply your credentials for the first time, a dialog box asks you if you want to allow or block notifications from the MCS server. Click Allow or Block.You can change this decision later. For more information, see “Showing Desktop Notifications from Panes” in the MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide.

To sign in to MediaCentral UX:

1. Open a supported browser and type the URL of your MediaCentral Services server.

The URL is the computer name of the server.

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

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

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

When you sign in to MediaCentral UX, you are automatically signed in to your iNEWS newsroom

computer system, your Interplay MAM system, your Interplay Production system, or all three. If, however, the security settings for one of these integrated systems is inaccurate, you might see a warning message that states that the application is unable to authorize the sign-in name or password. If you receive this message, 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 Layout selector.

Left: Sign Out button. Right: Layout selector.

To sign out:

t Click Sign Out in the menu bar.

Configuring System Settings

The MediaCentral UX administrator needs to specify configuration information before users can use MediaCentral UX. 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

For information about these settings, see “MediaCentral System Settings” on page 11.

To configure MediaCentral UX system settings:

1. Sign in to MediaCentral UX as an administrator.

2. Select System Settings from the Layout selector.

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.

MediaCentral System Settings

This topic describes settings in the System Settings layout. For information about how to access and save these settings, see “Configuring System Settings” on page 11.

Load Balancer

Provides a view of server nodes and connections. See “Monitoring Load Balancing” in the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Concepts and Clustering Guide.

MediaCentral System Settings

Playback Service

Settings and user credentials for the MediaCentral Playback Service. This is the service responsible for the compression and playback of media. See “Configuring System Settings” in the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide.

Player

Setting Description

Server The computer name of the MediaCentral Platform server. The

MediaCentral Player uses this setting to communicate with the MediaCentral Platform server.

Media Composer | Cloud User The credentials that Media Composer Cloud uses to

communicate with the Media Central player. This user is automatically assigned a special Media Composer Cloud user role named “Playback-Only Client.” The user and role are listed in the Users layout.

You need to configure Media Composer Cloud to use this user name and password. For more information, see the Media

Composer | Cloud Installation and Configuration Guide.

Variable Speed Playback Control the speed of the L key (forward) and J key (backward)

for variable speed playback (J-K-L). The default settings are:

• Press 2 times: 2x normal speed

• Press 3 times: 3x normal speed

• Press 4 times: 4x normal speed

To change a value, type a number directly in a field. You can also use the Up Arrow and Down Arrow keys on the keyboard, or the up and down arrows next to the field, to increase or decrease the value by .10.You can include values with a decimal point. If you type more than two decimal places, the application rounds the value to two decimal places. The maximum value allowed is

9.99.

To save the new settings, click Apply. These settings apply to all users.

Image Quality Settings Define the image quality, which you set for a user group. For

more information, see “Configuring Image Quality” on page 17.

Media | Index

An administrator uses these settings to configure Media Index. For more information, see the Avid Media | Index Configuration Guide.

Assignments

An administrator uses these settings to configure the Assignments pane. For more information, see “Configuring the Assignments Pane” in the Avid MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide.

MediaCentral System Settings

General

Setting Description

System ID The identification number for your MediaCentral system, which

is required by Avid support. An administrator needs to enter this number, which is supplied as part of the MediaCentral installation. After the System ID is entered, it is displayed in the Home > About box.

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.

Session Timeout If you select Enabled, the number of minutes of inactivity before

a user’s session is disconnected. Session Timeout is enabled by default, and the default value is 30 minutes. You can set a time between 10 minutes and 1440 minutes (24 hours). For more information, see “Configuring a Session Timeout” on page 20.

Time Zone The default time zone for users signed in to this

MediaCentral UX server. This setting is used by the indexed search in MediaCentral UX to display dates and other formatted data correctly for users, depending on their time zone. Users can override this setting in the General User Settings.

Click the down arrow for a list of time zones and select the most appropriate one. The default setting is “Use System Timezone,” which uses the time zone that is set by the computer’s operating system.

Indexed search results using criteria that include time-based values display a timestamp for the default time zone and appended by a Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) offset. For example, a timestamp of 04:30:00 AM -4:00 appearing in the search results list on a New York City system indicates that the time zone difference between New York (EDT) and UTC is four hours. In Paris (CEST), the same asset in a search results list displays a timestamp of 10:30:00 AM +2:00.

MediaCentral System Settings

Setting Description

Date Format Administrators set the default date and time format in the

General System Settings. This setting applies to all date and time displays in MediaCentral UX. Users can override this setting in the General User Settings.

For MediaCentral UX v2.4 and later, system administrators and users can select one of the following formats for dates and times:

• MM/DD/YYYY hh:mm:ss A Z (U.S.)

• DD/MM/YYYY HH:mm:ss Z (European)

• YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss Z (International)

• DD.MM.YYYY HH:mm:ss Z (Alternative)

hh = 12h format A = AM or PM HH = 24h format Z = Time zone (offset from UTC)

The hour format (12h or 24h) is affected by the operating

system setting, as a result of a browser limitation. For example, an editable time value in the Search pane (such as Modified) is displayed in the format selected in the operating system, but search results are shown in the MediaCentral UX setting. If the operating system is set for 24h, but MediaCentral UX is set for 12h, the 24h format is displayed in an editable field and the 12h format is shown in the search results.

iNEWS

Setting Description

iNEWS Server: System ID The system ID for an iNEWS cluster, which is set in the iNEWS

/site/system file. Using this ID ensures load balancing and failover if necessary. Do not include a suffix such as -a or -b. Ensure that all MediaCentral servers can resolve the IP addresses of systemID-a, systemID-b, and if present, systemID-c. Address resolution can be through DNS or hosts file.

Update timing field when associating sequence with: Timing field

Update Tape-ID when associating a sequence with: Tape-ID

Pagination: Maximum Number The maximum number of items listed in the Queue/Story pane or

The value used to specify how the iNEWS timing field is updated when you associate a sequence with a story.

When you associate a sequence with a story, the iNEWS field name you want to update the sequence Tape-ID with — for example,

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.

video-id

MediaCentral System Settings

Interplay MAM

Setting Description

Interplay | MAM System The name of the Interplay MAM system shown in

MediaCentral UX and the version stack of the Interplay MAM system enabled in MediaCentral UX. For more information about this and other settings, see “Configuring Interplay | MAM

in the System Settings Pane” on page 48.

System Connection Specifies the registry server hosting the MAM Control Center:

• The computer name of the server where the MAM Control Center is installed.

• The base URL of the MAM Control Center

• The user name and password to connect to the MAM Control Center

• Information about the run-time status of the MAM Control Center

• Information about the Interplay MAM system version

• System ID and Bus Realm

Features Shows the features of the Interplay MAM system. Which

features are available depends on the assigned license.

System Connectivity Status Checks if the most relevant settings for the MediaCentral

connection are configured properly in the Interplay MAM configuration profiles. Provides information about misconfigured settings that must be resolved in Interplay MAM System Administrator.

Caches Provides an overview of cached information. Shows the number

of entries in several caches and lets you empty the caches.

Search Specifies the behavior of MAM Federated Searches.

If you check Auto-Append Wildcards, each search term is appended with an asterisk before submission. This allows a search behavior more similar to Interplay Production and iNEWS. Auto-Append Wildcards is unselected by default.

Limit Result Set: The default result limit is 1000. For performance reasons, each connected MAM system only returns 1,000 hits at maximum — even if you deselect Limit Result Set or enter a limit exceeding 1,000 hits.

MediaCentral System Settings

Interplay Production

Setting Description

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

Interplay Production database.

MediaCentral Distribution Service: Service URL

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

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

A secure URL for the server that hosts the MediaCentral Distribution Service (MCDS), which is used for send-toplayback operations. 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.

If your Interplay Production workgroup is configured for multiple MCDS servers, specify the multiple URLs separated by a comma and a space. The first server listed is the active MCDS server. Multiple MCDS servers provide a failover capability. See

“Failover for Multiple MCDS Servers” on page 30.

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

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

Maestro

Settings that are used to configure the Avid Maestro UX plug-in. For more information, see the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide.

Messages & Sharing

See “Configuring Messaging” on page 21.

Also see “Configuring Interplay | Production for Sharing Messages” on page 21.

Modules

Modules used in MediaCentral UX showing name, version, location, state, fragment. For reference only.

Send to Playback

See “Creating or Editing a Send-to-Playback Profile” on page 31 and “Limiting Send to Playback to

Selected User Groups” on page 42.

Statistics

The Statistics setting is intended for future use. This feature allows administrators to track a number of statistics related to the operation of MCS over time. Additional software and configuration is required to enable Statistics. For more information, contact your Avid representative.

Zones

An administrator uses these settings to configure two or more single-zone systems into a multi-zone environment. For more information, see “Working with MediaCentral Zones” on page 61 and the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide.

Configuring Image Quality

The Player system settings include options to improve the image quality that is displayed in the Media viewer:

• Maximum size of the proxy video. You can select the pixel dimensions of the image displayed by selecting the pixel width. This is especially useful if a user wants to work with a large Media viewer. The default pixel width is 480. As you enlarge the Media viewer, the pixel size of the image enlarges up to the maximum size.

• Option to display high-resolution video (for a multi-resolution asset). You can enable a button in the Media pane that lets the user view the highest resolution video that is available for an asset. If video is available only in one resolution, the video is displayed in that resolution.

This button also allows the user to view the asset in the STP Target Resolution. If the asset is not available in the target resolution (as specified in the selected STP profile), a Media Offline screen is displayed.

Configuring Image Quality

This option is available for both frame-based playback and file-based playback of Interplay Production assets. It is not available for Interplay MAM assets. See “Configuring File-Based

Playback” on page 19.

The Image Quality Settings also include an option to export MP4 video files for sequences loaded in the Media pane Output mode. For more information, see “Exporting an MP4 File” in the Avid MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide.

You set these options for a user group that is defined in the Users layout.

The following illustration shows all options enabled for the group named Journalists-Advanced.

Configuring Image Quality

Note the following:

• These settings apply only to users at the top level of the group. They do not apply to users in subgroups.

If you need to assign Image Quality settings to a group that includes subgroups, you can create a special group just for high-quality settings and assign Image Quality settings to this group. Then add the appropriate users to this group but do not use subgroups. Because a user can be a member of multiple groups, you can assign users to the new group without removing them from other groups.

• If a user is a member of more than one group, and different pixel sizes are associated with the groups, the user is assigned the largest pixel size.

• This setting does not apply to remote assets.

If workstations in a facility will regularly use enlarged images for proxy video or highresolution video, Avid recommends changes to the MediaCentral infrastructure. For more information, see MediaCentral Platform Services Hardware Guide.

You can also set the compression of the proxy video. Select Playback Quality in the Media pane menu. For more information, see “Selecting the Playback Quality” in the Avid MediaCentral | UX

User’s Guide.

To enable settings for image quality:

1. Sign in to MediaCentral UX as an administrator.

2. Select System Settings from the Layout selector.

The System Settings layout opens.

3. In the Settings pane, select Player.

4. In the Image Quality Settings section of the Details pane, do one of the following:

t To add a new group, click the plus button, then select the user group from the User Group

menu.

t To edit settings for an existing group, click the user group name.

5. To set the image size, select the width in pixels from the Maximum Size menu.

6. To enable a button for viewing high-resolution video, select MultiRez.

After applying this setting, a user who is a member of the selected group can select STP Target Resolution or Highest Resolution from the MultiRez button, which is displayed in Asset mode and in Output mode in the Media pane.

7. To enable an option for creating MP4 files, select MP4.

8. Click Apply.

Configuring File-Based Playback

Earlier versions of MediaCentral UX used only frame-based playback. Starting with v2.1, MediaCentral UX includes an option to use file-based playback. If you select file-based playback, the media is downloaded to your workstation and played back from the downloaded media. File-based playback provides good quality in low-bandwidth situations.

A user can select file-based playback for assets loaded in Asset mode or for basic sequences loaded in Output mode. For more information, see the Video Media chapter of the Avid MediaCentral | UX

User’s Guide.

File-based playback is the default mode for Interplay MAM assets. The user’s ability to select frame-

based playback depends on Interplay MAM rules. The credentials used to sign in to the Interplay MAM database determine if the user is allowed to use frame-based playback.

A MediaCentral administrator has the option of configuring the bit rate for file-based playback. There are two profiles available:

• Low-bandwidth: The default setting for file-based playback. This option is available for filebased playback of both Interplay Production and Interplay MAM assets. The default settings are 512 Kb/sec for video and 96 Kb/sec for audio.

• High-bandwidth: This setting applies to the MultiRez option for playback of high-quality media. This option is available only for playback of Interplay Production assets. See “Configuring

Image Quality” on page 17. The default settings are 5 Mb/sec for video and 128 Kb/sec for

audio.

Configuring File-Based Playback

To change the default bit rate for these profiles, you must edit a configuration file on the MediaCentral Platform server.

To configure the bit rate for file-based playback:

1. Log in as the root user on the MediaCentral Platform server.

2. Use the vi text editor to open the following file for editing:

/usr/maxt/maxedit/etc/fl_xmd.cfg

3. Locate the following lines:

<render_profile_low>video_bitrate=512000,audio_bitrate=96000,max_width=480 </render_profile_low>

<render_profile_high>video_bitrate=5000000,audio_bitrate=128000,max_width= 960</render_profile_high>

The above examples use the default bit rates, written as bits per second.

4. Edit the video bit rate and the audio bit rate as desired, then save and close the file.

The following are valid values. Enter the full bit rate.

Video Bit Rate Value for File Audio Bit Rate Value for File

256 Kb 256000 64 Kb 64000

512 Kb (low profile default) 512000 96 Kb (low profile default) 96000

1 Mb 1000000 128 Kb (high profile default) 128000

Configuring a Session Timeout

Video Bit Rate Value for File Audio Bit Rate Value for File

3 Mb 3000000 156 Kb 156000

5 Mb (high profile default) 5000000 512 Kb 512000

10 Mb 10000000

Use the following table to estimate the amount of media that can be transferred at different bit rates. This information was based on media transferred with the following specifications:

DNxHD 36 HD_1920x1080@25p@16:9, transferred with a maximum width of 960 pixels.

Video Bit Rate/ Audio Bit Rate

256 Kb/128 Kb 2.72 MB

512 Kb/128 Kb 5.6 MB

1 Mb/128 Kb 8.8 MB

3 Mb/128 Kb 22.8 MB

5 Mb/128 Kb 32 MB

10 Mb/128 Kb 32.4 MB

Approximate Media Transfer Per Minute

Configuring a Session Timeout

By default, MediaCentral UX is configured for a session timeout. After 30 minutes of inactivity, a user’s session is disconnected. An administrator can change the time or disable the option.

This setting applies to all users. If you change and apply the setting, the new setting takes effect the next time a user loads a layout.

Timeout is a good way of ensuring that a system license is released when a user leaves for the day without signing out of MediaCentral UX. With the implementation of auto-save for stories and sequences, any unsaved changes are saved in a recovery file. For more information, see the Avid MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide.

To configure a session timeout:

1. Sign in to MediaCentral UX as an administrator.

2. Select System Settings from the Layout selector.

The System Settings layout opens.

3. In the Settings pane, select General.

4. In the Session Timeout section of the Details pane, make sure Enable is selected and specify the number of minutes of inactivity before a user’s session is disconnected.

You can set a time between 10 minutes and 1440 minutes (24 hours).

Configuring Messaging

The following topics describe how to configure Messages & Sharing settings:

• “Configuring Interplay | Production for Sharing Messages” on page 21

• “Configuring Message Archiving” on page 21

• “Configuring E-Mail Forwarding” on page 23

• “Configuring E-Mail Options” on page 24

Administrators have the option of removing the Messaging feature from the MediaCentral UX user interface by editing the MediaCentral UX Configurator. For more information, see the Avid MediaCentral Platform and Services Installation and Configuration Guide.

Configuring Interplay | Production for Sharing Messages

Before you can send messages from MediaCentral UX to Media Composer or NewsCutter, you need to configure your Interplay Production database so it uses the correct MediaCentral UX server for the messaging service.

To configure Interplay Production for sharing messages with Avid editing applications:

Configuring Messaging

1. Start the Interplay | Administrator application and log in to the server for the appropriate Interplay Production workgroup.

2. In the Application Settings section of the Interplay Administrator window, click the Application Database Settings icon.

3. Click the Editing Settings tab.

4. In the database tree on the left, select the server used for your Interplay Production database (in most cases, the top-level database AvidWG).

5. In the MCS Settings section, type the URL for the server that hosts your MediaCentral UX Messages Pane:

6. Click Apply.

https://[MediaCentral server hostname]

Configuring Message Archiving

You can archive MediaCentral UX messages sent using the Messages pane. Messages are archived and stored on a server, and you can view archived messages using the Messenger Archive tool.

You can specify the interval for MediaCentral UX message archiving using the following increments: 1 day, 3 days, 7 days, 14 days, or 30 days. After this time, MediaCentral UX deletes messages from the users’ view.

Message archiving applies only to messages sent using the Messages pane.

You can use the Messenger Archive tool to retrieve the following information about the message archive:

• Number of messages in the archive

• Size of the archive

• The oldest message in the archive, including the date of the message

• The most recent message in the archive, including the date of the message

Configuring Messaging

You can also use the Messenger Archive tool to export the archive to a comma-separated values (CSV) file, with the options of compressing the file and of deleting the exported message archive from your server.

The Messenger Archive tool is located in the following folder:

root

archive utility program as

from a command line. You can run the tool on any of the Linux nodes

/opt/avid/bin

. You must run the

in your cluster setup.

To configure message archiving:

1. Sign in to MediaCentral UX as an administrator.

2. Select System Settings from the Layout selector.

The System Settings layout opens.

3. In the Settings pane select Messages & Sharing.

The Details pane displays the settings in that group.

4. Type a number in the Archiving Interval (days) text box.

The default period for archiving messages is 7 days. Any message older than the interval specified are moved from the Message list to the archive location.

5. Click Apply.

To use the Message Archive tool:

1. On one of the nodes in your cluster setup, use the standard Linux command to navigate to the directory containing the Messenger Archive tool:

cd opt/avid/bin

2. Type

acs-messenger-archive-tool

to run the utility, selecting the appropriate options from

the following table:

Option Description

-c

-o

-p

-z

Adds a command. You can use the following values:

•

info

(lists the number of messages and the size of the archive, as well as the first

and last messages)

export

•

Specifies the output folder for the exported CSV file. The default folder is

avid/share/message_archives

Specifies a time period for the exported messages. You can use the following values:

•day

•week

• month

• half_year

•year

•all

The default value is

Creates a compressed file (.zip) for the CSV output file.

(creates a CSV file with all messages in the archive)

all

/opt/

Option Description

Configuring Messaging

-d

If you do not specify any options, the command displays the help text for the Messenger Archive tool.

Deletes the exported data from the message archive.

Configuring E-Mail Forwarding

You can configure MediaCentral UX to forward messages to e-mail accounts so users can receive messages when they are not logged on to MediaCentral UX. You can also specify the protocols used to encrypt e-mails, using a Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), and by using or ignoring a Transport Layer Security (TLS) protocol.

E-mail forwarding requires a MediaCentral UX administrator to enable e-mail forwarding and to assign a valid SMTP server. When your administrator enables e-mail forwarding in the System Settings, MediaCentral UX users can then use the User settings to enable e-mail forwarding for their accounts and specify the e-mail address to which they want their messages sent when not logged in to MediaCentral UX.

To enable and configure e-mail forwarding:

1. Sign in to MediaCentral UX as an administrator.

2. Select System Settings from the Layout selector.

The System Settings layout opens.

3. In the Settings pane select Messages & Sharing.

The Details pane displays the settings in that group.

4. Select Email forwarding.

5. Type a valid SMTP server name for the hosting e-mail application, and then type the appropriate port number.

6. (Option) If you want to use Secure Sockets Layer protocol, select Use SSL, and then type a user name and password for your administrator e-mail account.

7. (Option) If you do not want to use Transport Layer Security, select Ignore TLS.

8. In the Email Test section, type a valid e-mail address in the Recipient’s e-mail field to send a test e-mail message.

9. Click Validate to ensure that your SMTP configuration is correct.

A test e-mail is sent to the address specified in the settings. If the address is valid, a check mark appears next to the Validate button.

An error message informs you if the validation process fails. If you receive an error message, try entering your configuration information again.

10. Click Apply.

Configuring E-Mail Options

Starting with MediaCentral UX v2.6, an administrator has the ability to customize an e-mail message with the following options:

• Disable the inclusion of an asset link

If a MediaCentral UX user sends a message with an asset through the Messages pane to an offline user (someone not signed in to MediaCentral UX), and e-mail forwarding is enabled, an e-mail with a link to the asset is sent to the offline user.

If the recipient clicks on the link, the recipient’s default web browser is launched. This link will not work correctly if the default web browser is not supported by MediaCentral UX (for example, Internet Explorer is not currently supported). The administrator can select an option to remove the link from the e-mail message.

• Add a custom default header and footer to the message.

The administrator can add default text that appears on all e-mail messages sent from the MCS server if the server is configured with e-mail forwarding. You can add text for a header, text for a footer, or both. This is useful if you select the option “Don’t include asset links in email.” For example,

Header: You have received a MediaCentral UX message.

User message: Here’s the link I was telling you about. (This link is removed from the e-mail message.)

Configuring Search

Footer: To access this message, open the message pane in MediaCentral UX.

To disable the inclusion of an asset link:

1. Sign in to MediaCentral UX as an administrator.

2. Select System Settings from the Layout selector.

The System Settings layout opens.

3. In the Settings pane select Messages & Sharing.

The Details pane displays the settings in that group.

4. In the Email Options section, select the check box “Don’t include asset links in email.”

5. Click Apply

To add a custom heater or footer:

1. In the Email Options section, type the information you want in the “Message header” text box, the “Message footer” text box, or both.

2. Click Apply.

Configuring Search

Starting with MediaCentral UX v2.7.2, an administrator can add a default message to the Search text field to provide users with suggestions or specific directions when initiating a search. The message appears in the search field as light gray text. For more information, see “Enabling Custom Text in the Search Field” in the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide.

Configuring for Send to Playback

You can transfer a sequence edited in MediaCentral UX 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.

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

• “Understanding the Send-to-Playback Components and Process” on page 25

• “Creating or Editing a Send-to-Playback Profile” on page 31

• “Send-to-Playback Profile Examples” on page 35

• “Detecting Black Gaps in Video Sent to Playback” on page 41

• “Limiting Send to Playback to Selected User Groups” on page 42

The following topic provides troubleshooting information:

• Troubleshooting Send-to-Playback Problems

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

Configuring for Send to Playback

Starting with v2.7, the User Settings include a Send to Playback page with an option that lets you preserve the state of the Overwrite setting.For more information, see “User Settings” in the MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide.

Understanding the Send-to-Playback Components and Process

A MediaCentral UX system and an Interplay Production system are required for the send-toplayback process.

Required Components

Make sure the following components are correctly installed and configured:

•MediaCentral

- MediaCentral Platform Services (MCS) server. The avid-central-service (sometimes referred

to as the middleware) handles STP requests.

- MediaCentral Distribution Service. The Distribution Service 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. You can configure your workgroup for more than one MCDS.

The MediaCentral Distribution Service communicates with other Interplay Production Services, but

it is not an Interplay Production Service itself.

For information about installing and configuring these components, see the MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide.

Configuring for Send to Playback

• Interplay Production

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

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

For installation and configuration information for the Production Services Engine and Production Services, see the Interplay | Production 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.

- Interplay 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 Production database. Sequences

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

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

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

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

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 5000/5500, Avid AirSpeed Multi Stream, or Avid AirSpeed Classic server, you do not need a separate Transfer Engine, because it is included as a component of the AirSpeed server. For installation and configuration information, see the Interplay | Transfer Setup and User’s Guide.

• Playback Servers

- AirSpeed 5000/5500, 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.

- Third-party playback servers

You can send to playback (STP) a sequence that includes an in-progress (edit-while-capture or EWC) clip. However, you cannot STP an in-progress clip. If you load an in-progress clip, the STP button is disabled.

For more information, see the following topics:

• “Send-To-Playback Workflow: I-Frame Sequences” on page 27

• “Send-To-Playback Workflow: Long GOP Sequences” on page 28

• “Send to Playback for a Mixed-Resolution Long GOP Sequence” on page 29

• “Monitoring STP Processes” on page 29

• “Failover for Multiple MCDS Servers” on page 30

Send-To-Playback Workflow: I-Frame Sequences

MediaCentral Client (Browser)

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Avid Shared Storage

Media Indexer

MediaCentral Server

Production Services Engine

Playback Server

Interplay Transcode

MediaCentral Distribution Service

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Interplay Transfer

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

1. The user starts an STP process in MediaCentral UX.

2. The MediaCentral server, through the avid-central-service, checks media status through Media Indexer.

3. The avid-central-service creates an STP job and sends it to the MediaCentral Distribution Service (MCDS). MCDS performs an analysis of the sequence to determine if it needs an audio mixdown, a video mixdown, or both.

Configuring for Send to Playback

4. The MCDS uses Media Indexer to dynamically relink the sequence to media in the target resolution.

5. The MCDS sends a request for any required mixdowns to the Production Services Engine, which then sends the jobs to the Interplay Transcode provider.

6. Interplay Transcode performs the mixdowns and saves the media on the Avid shared-storage system.

7. MCDS initiates a transfer to the playback server, through Interplay Transfer.

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

Send-To-Playback Workflow: Long GOP Sequences

MediaCentral Client (Browser)

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Avid Shared Storage

Media Indexer

Production Services Engine

Playback Server

Interplay Transcode

MediaCentral Distribution Service

Interplay Transfer

STP Encode

MediaCentral Server

The following illustration shows a typical send-to-playback workflow for a Long GOP sequence (for example, XDCAM-HD or AVC LongG).

1. The user starts an STP process in MediaCentral UX.

2. The MediaCentral server, through the avid-central-service, checks media status through Media Indexer.

Configuring for Send to Playback

3. The avid-central-service creates an STP job and sends it to the MediaCentral Distribution Service (MCDS). MCDS performs an analysis of the sequence to determine if it needs mixdown or Long GOP encoding.

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

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

- If no transcoding is required, the MCDS will send an STP Encode job to the Production

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

4. The MCDS uses ASF and Media Indexer to dynamically relink the sequence to media in the target resolution.

5. The MCDS sends a request for any required mixdowns to the Production Services Engine, which then sends the jobs to the Interplay Transcode provider.

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

6. Interplay Transcode performs the required jobs and saves the media on the Avid shared-storage system.

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

8. STP Encode creates Long GOP OP1a media, stores it on the Avid shared-storage system, and initiates a transfer to the playout server, through Interplay Transfer.

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

Send to Playback for a Mixed-Resolution Long GOP Sequence

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 MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide.

Monitoring STP Processes

The Progress pane is used to monitor send to playback processes as they happen. A single STP process is shown. For more information, see the Progress Pane topic in the Avid MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide.

Configuring for Send to Playback

An STP job might use Interplay Transcode and STP Encode to prepare the STP job for transfer. When this occurs, the Transcode and STP Encode jobs are listed in the Production Services and Transfer Status window while processing, but are removed from the jobs list after processing is complete. This behavior is different from typical job status reporting, in which jobs persist after processing is complete.

The following illustration shows the individual jobs as they are displayed in the Production Services and Transfer Status window (left) and the entire STP job in the Progress pane (right).

1 Audio Mixdown job (displayed in Production Services tab) 3 STP Encode job (displayed in Production Services tab)

2 Video Mixdown job (displayed in Production Services tab) 4 Transfer to Playout (displayed in Transfer tab)

A similar situation occurs for a Delivery job that uses Mark In to Mark Out. These jobs use Interplay

Consolidate and Interplay Production Services Automation to prepare the files for delivery. An Interplay Consolidate job is deleted after processing is complete. An Interplay Production Services Automation job persists.

Failover for Multiple MCDS Servers

You can configure your Interplay Production workgroup for multiple MediaCentral Distribution Service (MCDS) servers. Multiple MCDS servers provide a high-availability configuration and failover capability. For installation and configuration information, see the MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide and “Configuring System Settings” on page 11.

The MediaCentral server, through the avid-central-service, keeps an ordered list of the available MCDS servers to be used for send to playback (STP). The active server is determined by the order in which it is listed in the Interplay Production settings (see “Configuring System Settings” on

page 11). Initially, the first server listed is the active server. Each time you send an STP job, the

MediaCentral server checks if the currently active server is available. If not, the next available server in the list is made the active server. If none of the listed servers are available, the job will fail.

Example

The following example shows servers MCDS Server A, MCDS Server B, and MCDS Server C configured for MCDS high availability.

Configuring for Send to Playback

1. Server A is listed first, so it is initially the active server.

2. Server A stops responding, so all new jobs go to Server B.

3. Server A comes back up, but jobs continue to go to Server B.

4. Server B stops responding, so all new jobs go to Server C.

5. Server C stops responding, so all new jobs go to Server A.

6. Server A stops responding, Server B is not responding, so all new jobs go to Server C

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Pinnacle Systems MediaCentral UX - 2.10.2 Administrator’s Guide

Contents

Using This Guide

Symbols and Conventions

If You Need Help

Avid Training Services

1 Administration and System Settings

The Administrator Account

Signing In to MediaCentral | UX

Configuring System Settings

MediaCentral System Settings

Configuring Image Quality

Configuring File-Based Playback

Configuring a Session Timeout

Configuring Messaging

Configuring Interplay | Production for Sharing Messages

Configuring Message Archiving

Configuring E-Mail Forwarding

Configuring E-Mail Options

Configuring Search

Configuring for Send to Playback

Understanding the Send-to-Playback Components and Process