Video Information Player by MagicBox User Manual v2.00 Copyright © 2008 MagicBox, Inc.
Table of Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................................1 Hardware ........................................................................................................... 1 Software ............................................................................................................. 2 About This Manual...........................................................................................
VIP Composer Installation..................................................................................33 VIP Composer Configuration.............................................................................35 VIP Composer Tutorial ..........................................................................................43 Launching VIP Composer.............................................................................. 43 The Tutorial Project.........................................................
Introduction The VIP (Video Information Player) system allows you to create slides on your PC with graphics and text which can then be played back on a video monitor using the VIP unit. A variety of applications can be served by a VIP, including advertising, announcements, schedules, point of sale displays, and more. Use the VIP wherever you have one or more monitors that need to display messages in the form of still images.
Software Each VIP unit comes with a version of MagicBox’s “VIP Composer Professional” software. This software can be installed onto a Windows (2000, XP, Vista) computer allowing you to place text messages over graphical backgrounds. The backgrounds can come from many sources, including other Windows applications, your own scanned photos or digital camera images, the MagicBox background library, and more.
Customer Support Should you have any questions about installing or using your MagicBox VIP system, please call our technical support line at 541-752-5542, send a fax to 541-752-5614, or write to: MagicBox, Inc. 1600 SW Western, Suite 130 Corvallis, OR 97333 You can also send email to: support@magicboxinc.com Your email inquiries will be answered within one business day, usually the same day. Email is also the best way to communicate with us after hours or on weekends.
The backgrounds and fonts present on the VIP CD-ROM are copyrighted by their original distributors and are present under a special arrangement with MagicBox, Inc. These images and fonts are provided for use in commercial and educational video production, broadcast, cablecast, and closed-circuit applications. The image files may not be redistributed in other media, including print; nor may the original image files be translated into other formats for other platforms.
Warranty The VIP player unit hardware is warranted against defects in parts and labor for a period of one year from the date of purchase. This warranty does not apply to damage caused by misuse or external forces such as power fluctuations, extreme temperatures, exposure to excessive moisture, or other acts of nature. The CD-ROM and floppy disks are warranted to be free from media defects for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase.
The licensed software and all associated documentation, and all proprietary and intellectual property rights therein, are and shall remain the exclusive property of MagicBox Inc.
Important Safety Instructions ⌧ The following instructions describe how to prevent physical injury to yourself or others, as well as how to prevent damage to the unit. Read these instructions thoroughly before attempting to setup or install your unit. 1. Please read these instructions thoroughly. 2. Please keep this guide for future use. 3. Please disconnect the device from the main supply before cleaning. Do not use any liquid or aerosol spray cleaners. 4.
14. Do not open the device unless instructed to do so by authorized customer service personnel. 15. If the following conditions occur, the device must be disconnected from the main power, and it must be checked by a qualified service center: A. Power cable or power plug are damaged. B. Liquid has entered the device. C. The device was exposed to moisture. D. When the device does not operate according to the manual, or you do not achieve any improvement with the aid of the manual. E.
What’s New in 2.00 If you are familiar with the VIP, here is a quick update on the new features: Use of the Keypad The VIP no longer has a keypad, but is now controlled through the keypad. See page 20 for a description of the buttons. Video Modes The VIP now supports up to 4 video modes depending on which model you purchased: Model VIPtv VIP Resolutions 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768 640x480, 1024x768, 1280x720, 1280x768 On the VIP model, 1280x720 is also known as HD 720 or 720P and is true 16x9 Widescreen.
Uploading Projects with VIP Composer All projects must now be uploaded via the network. When setting up a new site in the VIP Composer, use the “TCP\IP” option. Within this option, the default** method uses DHCP (Dynamic Host Control Protocol). (Refer to “Network Setup” on page 26). Using DHCP In the VIP Composer there are two ways to set up a site using DHCP (see “The Setup Menu” in the VIP Composer Configuration section of the user manual): 1.
Hardware Setup Box Contents Before you begin setup of your VIP unit, make sure that the following components are included in the original packaging: __ VIP Main System Unit __ Power Cord __ Software Installation CD __ This User Manual __ Warranty/Registration Card __ Quick Reference Sheet (TV model only) __ RCA to BNC Adapter Plug __ RCA Video Cable (By Request) __ S-Video Cable Be sure to fill out and send in your registration card or go to our website and complete the registration process there.
Find a Suitable Location The VIP unit should be placed on a stable, flat, level surface. Ensure that the unit is not in a place where it may be easily knocked over, have its cords tripped over, or have liquids spilled into it. The VIP unit warranty does not cover damage caused by accidents or misuse. Connections Most of the VIP’s connections are found on the rear panel, shown below. In addition, a USB port is located on the front of the unit.
⌧ Ensure that the VIP unit’s power cord is unplugged, or that the power switch is in the off position before adding or changing any other connections. Connecting cables while the power is applied may cause damage to your VIP unit. Such damage is not covered by warranty. Connect a Monitor The VIP unit supports several different types of display devices as shown below: The “VGA” port supports any PC-style RGB monitor.
View the Demo Project Once you’ve connected a monitor to your VIP unit and have applied power, you should see one of the menu screens on your unit, such as the one shown here: At this point, wait for the auto project load to occur (about 5 seconds) or press ‘enter’ on the disk icon. The unit should change to a “gallery” screen like the one shown below (the individual images may vary), and you will see each page being loaded from the hard drive.
Configure the VIP Unit At any point you may press the “Menu” button on the keypad, and the VIP unit will enter the Setup Screen: Set the Date ) on the keypad, highlight Using the arrow buttons ( “Time/Date” and press the Select ( ) button. A sub-menu will appear with the options “Set Time” and “Set Date”. Highlight “Set Date” and press the Select ( ) button. A 6-digit digital display showing the current Month, Day, and Year will appear.
It is important to set the date and time because the VIP unit uses this information to determine when to play certain pages that you have created. When you create pages on your PC, you can set starting and ending dates and times. Set the Time ) on the keypad, highlight Using the arrow buttons ( “Time/Date” and press the Select ( ) button. A sub-menu will appear with the options “Set Time” and “Set Date”. Highlight “Set Time” and press the Select ( ) button.
Exit the Setup Screen When you are done setting the date and time, highlight “Exit Menu” and press Select ( ). The unit will return to the main menu or gallery view, depending on where you originally started. If you want to resume playback of images, press Play ( ) on the keypad. For more details on the Setup Screen, refer to the next section of this manual, “VIP Unit Reference.” The network information is under the heading “Network Setup.
VIP Unit Reference Player Unit Capabilities Ethernet Networking The VIP uses the Ethernet port and built-in network software to receive all images for projects. This must be done over a corporate LAN or even the Internet when properly configured. Ethernet networking can be a complex subject. If you are not familiar with terms such as “TCP/IP”, “IP Address”, “Subnet Mask”, etc., then it is recommended that you have your Network Administrator assist you with the initial setup of the VIP unit.
Ensure that the date and time are set correctly. The VIP unit takes into account the current time and date when playing back pages. When you create pages in VIP Composer, you can schedule them to only show up at certain times. Because of this, it is important that the VIP unit be set to the correct date and time. See the previous chapter on setting up the hardware for information on programming the date and time.
Using the Keypad The VIP unit’s functions are accessed using the included USB keypad. If you intend to use the VIP unit purely as an automatic playback device, you will not need the keypad after you have set things up the way you like. Store the keypad in a safe place where it will not be lost, and where you will be able to find it easily again should you need to change a VIP setting later. At the top of the keypad is the Opt 1 light. If this light is off, the ‘Esc’ button and center button are disabled.
Esc The Esc button will take you out of a sub-menu back to the main setup menu. Opt 1, Opt 2, (-) These buttons are reserved for new functions in the future and are not currently used by the VIP unit. Starting the Unit When you first turn the unit on, you will see the following splash screen for five seconds: When first applying power, the unit will boot in less than 30 seconds. Once booted, the splash screen will disappear and the main menu screen will appear.
The Main Menu Screen After the splash screen disappears, you will be taken to the Main Menu screen when you turn the unit on. This screen appears below: The main menu screen offers two choices: Load Pictures From the VIP Hard Drive Selecting the disk icon will make the VIP unit start loading your pages from the hard drive. Normally, this is done automatically after several seconds, but sometimes the VIP unit might not have a stable project load file.
Loading a Project To play a project created using the VIP Composer software, see “Publishing to a VIP Unit” on page 80 to upload a project to the VIP. The unit will switch to the Gallery screen and begin loading the pages from uploaded project. As the pages load, a progress bar at the bottom will be updated: In this example, the display shows “6 / 15”. The first number indicates the page currently being loaded, and the last number indicates the total number of pages.
The Gallery Screen In addition to playing pages automatically, you can use the VIP unit’s keypad to access pages individually. This is useful for live presentations, where you can use the VIP just like a slide projector. You can enter the Gallery screen while pages are playing by pressing the Select ( ) button on the keypad. The Gallery screen shows you thumbnail images of all your pages. You can change which image is highlighted by using the arrow buttons on the keypad.
The Setup Menu The setup menu allows you to change some of the settings used by the VIP unit. The changes you make are remembered by the unit even after a power failure. Use the up and down arrows on the keypad to highlight a menu item. Once the desired item is highlighted, press the Select ( ) button.
Selecting any of these settings will change the VIP output to that display resolution. Any graphics created in modes greater than the one you have set will be scaled down to fit the current display resolution. This may cause an apparent decrease in image quality or change in overall proportion. If you attempt to display an image that is a smaller resolution than the current display, the image will appear smaller, surrounded by a black boarder.
To change this setting, use the up/down arrows on the keypad to adjust the digital display to match the IP address you want to assign to your VIP system. (This address is provided by your network administrator.) When you are finished, select the “Set” button. You will be returned to the Setup Screen. Set the Subnet Mask From the Setup Screen, select “Network” and then select “Subnet”. The following display should appear: Use the up/down arrows on the keypad control to adjust the digital display.
The “Domain” Menu As with the Gateway setting, this setting is required if your VIP unit is behind a router. Enter the address of your Domain Server here, or let it be filled in by the router if using DHCP. Verifying the Network Setup Once the VIP unit’s networking hardware has been installed and its settings have been configured, your Network Administrator should verify that the network is operating properly. One way to verify that the VIP unit is connected to the network is to use the Ping command.
Preferences The Preferences menu allows you to select how the VIP unit will behave when performing certain functions. Show Gallery/ Hide Gallery Normally, whenever a project is published, the unit switches to the Gallery screen while the pages are loaded from the disk. If you do not wish for the gallery screen to appear while pages load, select “Hide Gallery” instead. This will cause a black screen to appear during loading, with only the progress bar showing at the bottom.
Show/Hide Time Overlay Selecting “Show Time Overlay” will display the current time in the lower right hand corner of the screen. By selecting “Hide Time Overlay”, the time will not be displayed. **Dwell times for pages to display the time must have a minimum of 4 seconds** Time / Date The VIP unit uses the current time and date to determine when to display pages from your project. Setting the Date A 6-digit digital display showing the current Month, Day, and Year will appear.
Setting the Time A 4-digit digital display showing the current Hour and Minute, will appear. Use the left and right arrow buttons to select which digit you wish to modify, and use the up and down arrow buttons to change the value of that digit. This menu uses 24-hour notation, meaning that hours range from 00 to 23 instead of the usual 1-12 a.m./p.m. For example, Midnight is 00:00, 8am is 08:00, Noon is 12:00, 1pm is 13:00 and 11pm is 23:00.
Do NOT use this menu to reboot the unit. Just use the Power ( ) button on the front of the unit. Using this menu will lose any of your changes to the preferences settings. Password This menu will tell you whether a remote-access password has been set. If it has, then it will give you the option of resetting it (in case you have forgotten it). A password can only be set through MagicBox VIP Composer. Updating the Unit’s Software Occasionally, MagicBox may issue upgrades to the VIP software.
VIP Composer Installation Requirements To install the VIP Composer software, your computer must meet the following requirements: • Windows 2000, XP, or Vista • 50MB Hard Drive Space • CD-ROM Drive • Super VGA card with True Color (24-bit or 32-bit) modes (800x600 or higher resolution recommended) • Color Monitor Windows 95, 98, ME, and Windows NT 4.0 are not supported. Starting Setup… Insert the “VIP Composer” CD into your CD-ROM drive.
Using Setup When the setup program first runs, it will take a few seconds to prepare its files for installation. After this is complete, the Wise Installer will be started and will guide you through the installation process. You will be prompted for your name, organization, who should be allowed to use the application (current user or all users), and a location to install the application to. If you are unsure on a particular item, simply proceed with the default setting and click ‘Next’.
VIP Composer Configuration This section will describe how to launch the VIP Composer software and configure the program’s settings. Launching VIP Composer To launch the VIP Composer software, use these steps: Click on the Windows “Start” button on the taskbar. Click on “Programs” Click on “MagicBox”, and finally… Click on “VIP Composer” The program will launch, and you should see a main menu screen similar to the one below.
The Setup Menu Click on “Setup” from the main menu to enter the setup menu. You will see a window similar to the one below: The “Preferences” Tab The Preferences tab, shown above, allows you to set the default font style, size, and justification. This saves time if you have a favorite font, as you won’t have to change it every time you create a new page or paragraph. The factory setting is “Arial”, “20”, and “Center”.
Click on “Add” to create a site description. You will be presented with the following window: The first thing to do is type in the site’s name. In the example above, “Lobby Monitor” has been entered. Use whatever short word or phrase that best describes your VIP unit’s location. Below the site name you may type in whatever brief comment information you’d like, such as a mailing address or contact name and phone number. The “Password” section will need to be filled in if a password is required.
If a password has been set, you will be required to enter in the old password. Otherwise, select a new password that is 4 to 10 characters in length and enter it into the two fields labeled “New Password.” After clicking “OK” you will be prompted as to whether the new password was successfully set on the VIP unit. If it was successful, the Password field on the ‘Sites’ tab will be filled in with your new password. This will also cause the VIP to restart its software.
“Serial” Sites The “Serial” publish method is for VIP units connected directly to your PC via a serial cable. Select the “COM” port that corresponds with the cable connection. At publish time, VIP Composer will automatically connect with the VIP unit and send over the pages of your project. “Modem” Sites The “Modem” publish method is for remote VIP units that are accessed over the phone using your PC’s modem.
“Network” Sites The “Network” publish method is for VIP units that are connected to your corporate LAN or to the Internet. The default setup for the IP Address is to use a DHCP server. There are two ways to set up this connection using DHCP: (both use the MAC address which is unique to every VIP unit). 1. Leave the MAC Address 00:00:00:00:00:00. Click the “Get IP/Unit” button.
To use an IP address that was previously assigned, uncheck the DHCP box, and enter the address in the “IP Address” field. At publish time, VIP Composer will automatically connect to the VIP unit across the network and send your project’s pages. Completing Site Setup After you have setup your site’s name, preferences, and connection method, click on “OK”. You will be returned to the setup window with the Sites tab still selected.
VIP Composer Tutorial This section will introduce you to the main concepts in creating pages for the VIP unit using the VIP Composer software. Be sure that you have already installed and configured the software using the instructions in the previous two chapters. The instructions on launching the program are repeated below for first-time users: Launching VIP Composer To launch the VIP Composer software, use these steps: Click on the Windows “Start” button on the taskbar.
The Tutorial Project Your player unit should have come with a project pre-loaded on the unit’s hard drive. If you have not done so already, set up your player as described earlier in this manual. If your player unit is not set up nearby, you can still perform this tutorial. Make sure your player is set up on the network so that you can complete the section on “Publishing”. When the player completes the loading process, you will see the tutorial’s pages begin to play.
Opening the Tutorial Project A “Project” is a collection of pages created for display on the VIP unit. This tutorial works with a project that has already been created. After completing this tutorial, you will be ready to create your own projects from scratch. Click on “Open Project”. You should see a list of existing projects similar to the one below: Click on “Tutorial.VIP” to select the tutorial project. Then, click on “Open”.
A closer view of the List Mode: A closer view of the Thumbnail Mode: To change the mode between, click on the “View” menu at the top of the page and select or deselect the checkmark next to “Pages As List”.
The Project Editor The Project Editor displays a list of all the pages in your project. This list is in the order that the pages will appear when played. The tutorial project contains 15 pages. The Project Editor list shows the number and name of each page, the duration and transition effect, and other information relating to the scheduled dates and times for a particular page.
Selecting a Page To select a page you want to work on, simply click the mouse once on that page’s entry in the list. For this example, click on Page #15 – “Background”, which is the last page in the tutorial. The entry will now appear highlighted like this: To work on the selected page, click on the “Edit” button on the right of the screen. Alternately, you can double-click on an entry in the list. You will now be taken to the Page Editor screen where you can change the appearance of a particular page.
The Page Editor The Page Editor is the main workspace where you can create and modify pages. You should now see the layout of Page 15 of the Tutorial, a simple black page that says “This page needs a background.” Technically speaking, this page does have a background – a plain black background. In this example, you will change the background to something new. But first, a few words about the Page Editor environment.
The Safe Text Area Guides Notice that besides the black background and the “This page needs a background” text, there is a thin white rectangle: This rectangle represents what is called the “Safe Text Area”, or sometimes the “Safe Title Area.” Computer monitors and television screens are somewhat different in how they display images. A computer monitor shows you the entire image, usually surrounded by a thin black border.
Changing the Background To modify the background, click on the Page Background icon on the Tool Palette. The Page Background dialog will now appear: There are many types of backgrounds available. To see the list of background types, click on the arrow of the pull-down menu: A pull-down menu like the one below will appear. Click on the type “Ramp Vertical”. A “Ramp” is a gradual change from one color to another across the screen, in this case from top to bottom.
Some ramp styles use four colors. The “Ramp Vertical” style uses just two. “Color 1” is the top of the screen, and “Color 2” is the bottom. Currently, “Color 1” and “Color 2” are set to black. Click on the “Color 1” button. A Color Dialog like the one below will appear: VIP Composer lets you select from a palette of 64 predefined colors designed to look good on video. You can also design your own custom colors – see the reference section of this manual for details.
Click the “Apply” button again, and now the background will ramp (continuously change) from blue at the top to purple at the bottom. Feel free to try other color combinations and ramp styles. When you have finished experimenting with the ramp backgrounds, click “OK” to return to the Page Editor. You can now see the whole image without the Page Background dialog in the way.
The Page Background can also be from an image file, instead of just a solid color or ramp. The VIP Composer software includes 100 backgrounds to get you started, but you can use backgrounds from just about any common file format, including .JPG and .BMP. Click on the Page Background icon again (remember to turn the Tool Palette back on using the View menu if you have turned it off), to return to the Page Background Dialog: This time, select “Image File” from the Background Type pull-down menu.
Click on “OK” to return to the Page Editor and see your selected background. Changing the Text Now that your page contains a background, it is time to change the text that says “This page needs a background.” Items of text on the screen are referred to as “Text Objects”. Every Text Object can contain its own message, and have its appearance (color, font, etc.”) and position. This example page has just one text object. To select an object, simply click on it once with the mouse.
To edit the contents of this Text Object, either double-click on the text, or click once with the right mouse button (called right-clicking). An “Object Properties” dialog will appear. You can also get to this dialog by clicking on the “Object Properties” icon on the Tool Palette. The Object Properties dialog (shown below) lets you change the message in a Text Object, as well as set the text font, size, color, shadow, and outline using various controls.
Feel free to make other changes to the text, including changing the font and color, and see how they are affected by the Tracker Control. When you are done editing this example page, click on the Exit icon on the Tool Palette, and you will be returned to the Project Editor. Text Object Enhancements The same boxes that allow you to adjust image coordinates and size are also available on VIP text objects.
Initially, the “Filename” field will be blank. To select an image file, simply click on “Browse My Images” or “Browse Stock Images” and select the file you want to display on your page, then click on OK to return to the page editor. You can drag your image object around on the page to where you want it, and resize it by dragging the corners of the image.
To prevent an object from being accidentally moved once you have it positioned where you want it, you can click on one or both of the “Locked” checkboxes. Selecting “X-coord Locked” will prevent horizontal movement, and “Y-coord Locked” will prevent vertical movement. The “Lock Aspect Ratio” checkbox prevents the overall proportion of and object from changing. Thus, if you make an object wider, it will also become taller by the same ratio.
Page Properties Every page in a project has what are called “Properties.” These are settings other than those that control the actual contents of the page. For example, the duration a page appears and the transition effect used are page properties. Click on the first page in the list – “Welcome” – and then click on “Edit”.
Pass the mouse over the tool palette. Notice that as you pause over any icon, a text message pops up describing the function of that icon. One of these icons is labeled “Page Properties” as shown here: Click on the Page Properties icon ( will appear: ) and the Page Properties dialog The Page Properties dialog is divided into two tabs – “General” and “Time Domain.
Dwell Time This is how many seconds your page will be displayed by the player before the next page is displayed. A typical dwell time would be ten to twenty seconds. Note, however, that this dwell time is filled in as zero. Entering just a zero tells the player to display this page for the “Default” dwell for your project. Normally, this default is 15 seconds, but you can edit it to be anything you want, and all of the pages that are set to use the default dwell will automatically change.
Output Quality The Output Quality setting determines how much disk space will be occupied by a page. The VIP system saves disk space by using a method known as JPEG Compression (JPEG stands for Joint Picture Expert Group – the committee that developed the standard) which is widely used in the video industry as well as the World Wide Web. In JPEG, picture quality is traded for smaller file sizes, so if you want to fit more pictures in the same amount of space, you can lower their quality.
Time Domain The “Time Domain” tab allows you to control when a page appears by date and time of day. Normally, pages are set to “Run Always”, meaning that they show up each time the player repeats through the project. However, you can click on “User Domain” and set this particular page’s Time Domain to a set of parameters you specify. Here are the options: Starting Date / Ending Date These settings control the starting and ending dates during which a page is allowed to appear.
Note that the page will appear all day on the Ending Date. (On some other software programs, the page would not appear.) By clicking on the pull-down menu ( ) next to the Starting or Ending Date fields, a calendar will pop up allowing you to browse through the months. Starting Time / Ending Time The Starting and Ending Time fields set a window of time during the day that a page is allowed to appear.
Starting Date: Ending Date: Starting Time: Ending Time: Run On: 03/15/01 04/30/01 10:00:00AM 02:00:00PM [Mon] [Wed] [Fri] After you have practiced editing the Page Properties, click on “OK” to return to the Page Editor, and then on “Exit” to return to the Project Editor. You can also edit a page’s properties directly from within the Project Editor by clicking on a page in the list and then clicking on the Page Properties button.
The Project Properties dialog allows you to edit supplementary information about your project as well as set the default dwell. Author / Company / Notes These fields allow you to indicate who created this project. This is for reference purposes and will not appear on the player unit. Version / Created By These fields tell you what program created this project. In the future, other utilities besides VIP Composer may be able to output VIP projects.
Click on “OK” to exit the Project Properties dialog. You will then see any change to the default dwell take effect. “ Logo Bug ” Many TV networks today display a continuous logo in a corner of the screen. This is known as a “Logo Bug”. Now your VIP projects can have a logo or graphic in the corner of all or most of your pages as well. To select an image for use as a Logo Bug, click on the “Project Properties” button in the Project Editor.
First, select the “Enable Logo for all pages” checkbox. This will enable display of the Logo Bug. By default, all pages will display your logo. If you want certain individual pages to omit the logo, you can use the Page Settings dialog of those pages to disable the logo. Next, click on “Browse” to select the image file you want to use. The image file should be small enough that it won’t cause an obstruction of your pages. If it is too large, you can use the “Scale” factor to reduce the size of the image.
Reordering Pages You may have noticed earlier in this chapter how some of the pages seemed out of order. In particular, the following three pages: When played back, first “ABC” would appear, then just “AB”, and finally “A”. This exercise will show you how to change the order of pages. When done, these three example pages will come up in the right order. Notice that the Project Editor screen has two buttons, labeled “Up” and “Down”.
Next, click the “Up” button once. The page will move up one in the list to become Page 3 – bumping the old Page 3 down to Page 4. Your list should now appear like this: Now click “Up” one more time, and your page will move to Page 2. The phrase “Easy as A.” is now the first in the sequence: Things still aren’t quite right, though. The order is now “Easy as A”, “Easy as ABC”, and “Easy as AB”.
Saving Your Work By now you’ve made a lot of changes to the project. It is important to save your work as you go along so that if the power fails or your computer has problems, you don’t lose all the changes you have made. To save your changes to the project, you can either exit from the project editor (you will be asked if you want to save the changes), or you can click on the Save icon on the toolbar. Save your work now by clicking on the Save icon ( ).
You can see the Time Domain settings of all of these pages in the Project Editor by scrolling the list view to the right. You should see the following columns: Each of the above pages is set to run from January 1, 1999 through December 31, 2999 (essentially forever), but with only the appropriate day of the week set. For example, the “Today is Wednesday” page shows up with “ - - - W - - - “. The dashes indicate the other days of the week which are not set.
This page is set to run from March 1, 1999 to March 31, 1999, a date that has already passed. This page still exists, and still takes up disk space, so now that it has expired it should either be deleted, or set to run again. For this example, set the page to run again. First, click on the pages’ entry in the list. Now, click on “Page Properties”. The Page Properties dialog will appear: Now, click on the “Time Domain” tab. Notice that “User Domain” is already selected.
To Publish a project file, click on the “Publish” button from the main menu. The Publish Wizard will now appear. The first step in the Publish Wizard is selecting if you want to publish to disk, to a single site (VIP Composer supports creating projects to multiple VIP units. Each unit is referred to as a “site”.), or to multiple sites in one publish session: For the purposes of this tutorial, select the “Publish to Floppy” method and then click “Next.
Now click on “Finish”. A file dialog will appear asking you to select a file to publish. Before you continue, insert one of the supplied “Project Transfer” disks into your PC’s floppy drive. (Do not use the Tutorial Disk – preserve the original tutorial for future users). After inserting the Project Transfer disk, select “Tutorial.VIP” from the file list. (Click on the file name and then on “Select”.) You can also just double-click on the file name as a shortcut.
Insert the disk into your VIP unit’s floppy drive. The unit should automatically detect the presence of the floppy and begin loading. When the VIP unit loads and plays back your project, it should resemble the one below. The “Today is Sunday” page will be the one matching the current day of the week. You have now completed the VIP Composer tutorial and are ready to begin creating your own projects. Feel free to experiment further with the tutorial by changing the text and backgrounds of the pages.
Creating Your Own Project Once you are comfortable with performing all of the modifications to the tutorial project, you are ready to create your own project. Generally, if you own only one VIP unit, you will probably stick with just one project for all of your work. Owners of multiple VIP units usually have one project for each unit, although sometimes the same project will be sent to two or more units.
Resolution Modes This section describes each resolution mode. 640x480 (Standard Aspect 4:3) This is the standard mode supported by all VIP players and all editions of VIP Composer. Use this mode if you intend to output compose video or S-Video, or want to create a project that is compatible with any VIP player regardless of version. 800x600 (Standard Aspect 4:3) This mode is for creating content intended for display on a VGA monitor – it provides improved clarity over the 640x480 mode.
Portrait 450x800 (Wide Aspect 16:9) The portrait mode allows you to rotate your widescreen monitor vertically and use it like a poster display. VIP Composer Professional takes into account the rotation of your monitor (clockwise or counter-clockwise) and adjusts your pages and transitions to appear “right side up” even though your monitor is turned on its side. Use this 450x800 mode if your monitor does not support anamorphic stretching of images (see below.
You will now be in the page editor, with a blank background ready to accept your text and background selections. Edit pages the same way you learned earlier in this tutorial. Continue to add pages using the “Append” or “Insert” functions, and save your work by clicking on the “File” menu and then “Save”. The very first time you save, you will be re-prompted for the Project Name, in case you have decided to change it.
Once you have selected the file, VIP Composer will check it for suitability. Files that are larger than 800x600 pixels in size, or have a large file size, will be rejected with an error message. Consult your image creation software’s documentation to find out how to save your creations in JPG format. Try to save your images as 640x480 if your software allows, and to keep the file size under 100K.
Click on the site to which you want to publish, then click on “Finish”. Now skip ahead in this tutorial to the heading “Project Selection”… Publishing to Multiple Sites From the first screen of the Publish Wizard, select “Publish to Multiple Sites”: You will now be shown a special split-screen list, with all of your sites initially shown in the left list: The list on the right (initially blank) is a list of all the sites to which you want to publish in this session.
After you have selected all the sites to which you want to publish, click on “Finish”, and move on to the next heading of this tutorial: “Project Selection”. Project Selection VIP Composer is just about ready to begin publishing. But first, it needs to know what project to publish to the current site. (This step will be repeated for each site if you are using the “Publish to Multiple Sites” option.
The “Close” button will generally cancel publishing to the current site, depending on what stage of the publish process is occurring when the button is clicked. Here is an overview of the status displays for each publish connection method: Floppy The “Floppy” publish method will first prompt you to insert a disk and remind you that the disk will be overwritten: Click on “Yes” to continue.
Serial The “Serial” publish method displays the following status window: The top progress bar indicates the overall publishing process for this site. A bottom progress bar will appear for each file that is being transferred. Modem This publish method works in a very similar fashion to “Serial”, with the addition of modem dialing at the beginning of the process. Network The “Network” publish method uses TCP/IP networking to connect to a VIP unit at high speed.
The top progress bar shows the overall publishing process for this site, while the bottom bar shows the progress of the current file being transferred. Status Report After publishing is complete, a Status Report window will appear: This window will list all sites published-to, as well as any errors that may have occurred. If you wish to print a copy of the log for your records, or for technical support reasons, click on the “Print” button. The status report also lists a file name near the top.
Frequently Asked Questions What images types are supported by the VIP? VIP Composer will recognize images with the following extensions: .JPG, .JFIF, .PCD, .PCX, .PNG, .TGA, .TIF, .WMF, .WPG, .BMP, .JP2, & .GIF. Currently only static .GIF images (non animated) are supported. Can I preview my project in Composer before publishing it to the VIP? VIP Composer does not have a specific preview function at this time. I installed the VIP behind a firewall and cannot publish.