
Spin Browser™ video explorer software configuration info
Last updated January 31st, 2008
Preamble
The sophistication of the Spin Browser VE system is quite high (the full manual is over 45 dense, technical, pages), while the actual functionality used in any given installation typically employs only a tiny fraction of available features. Because of this, when 3rd parties wish to configure things themselves, we have found the easiest thing (given our current clients and market) is to simply walk people through the parts relevant to them at the time when they are ready to set things up.
Step 1 - Allow TechnoFrolics access to the computer upon which you are setting things up.
(Note that you will be able to see everything we are doing, and can (reversibly) disable the remote access program immediately upon completion of setup. We have simply found that allowing us remote access will save both you and us vast amounts of time compared with alternative strategies.)
Install the Logmein remote access program. (We recommend Logmein because it passes through all firewalls and routers we have tried with 0 configuration required.) We recommend either the Free version, or the Pro version. The Pro version allows direct file copying between machines (which can be convenient vs. FTP/email, but either is fine), while the Free version does not. (As of January 2008, the Pro version subscription was $70/year.) If you are a first-time user of Logmein, you may download the Pro Trial which automatically converts to the Free version in 30 days (unless you subscribe) - this is the ideal solution in such cases.
To install Logmein, what you want to do is:
(Note that Logmein periodically changes their screen layout, so please adjust as needed if minor details in the directions below become out of date.)
- Go to the computer where you will be installing things, making sure it is properly connected to the Internet.
- Go to www.logmein.com.
- Create a general Logmein account for yourself, with Username and Password. (This will be how you use Logmein, from any Internet-enabled computer, to remotely access any computer you wish onto which you have previously installed the Logmein application.)
- Install the Logmein "Free" or "Pro Trial" software onto your installation machine.
- Go to the Logmein screen in a web browser. Navigate to the "My Computers" tab. You should see the very computer you are on, active and in blue.
- Click on the "Edit" button to the right of the computer name.
- Click on the "Users" button on the left of the screen, and then on the "Secondary Users" button in the upper left middle of the screen, and then on the "Add New Secondary User" button just below.
- For the email address of the Secondary User, choose david@technofrolics.com.
- Then choose the
"Specify the groups and computers the selected User can access". In the left hand box, click the Check Box for the computer for which you want to allow TechnoFrolics access (only one will be visible if you are just starting out with Logmein).
- Finally, click the "Send Invitation" button. This will send us an email invite.
To reversibly disable Logmein on a given computer, just right click on the Logmein icon on the lower right of the Taskbar.
Step 2 - Get the most recent version of the Spin Browser VE application code
We are constantly updating our application code, and it is in everyone's best interest that you receive the latest version. Therefore, when you are actually ready to begin configuration and testing, let us know the details of your installation - specifically, whether you have accompanying audio or not, and whether you are employing pre-produced video or live capture. (If live capture, there will be additional questions.)
We will then upload a zip file with all code to our FTP site, configured to be a reasonable starting point for your particular installation, and email you when it is ready.
Step 3 - Install the most recent version of Quicktime
Free. Location http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/. (No need for iTunes.)
Step 4 - Download and install the HASP USB Key software drivers (and update HASP license if needed)
The Spin Browser VE software is copy protected by a “HASP” USB Key. For the system to run without showing a TechnoFrolics watermark, this device must be plugged into one of the computer’s USB ports.
Download (free) drivers from http://www.aladdin.com/support/hasp/hasp4/enduser.aspx - the top entry labeled "HASP4_driver_setup.zip". Installing this driver will allow all USB ports to be automatically HASP-enabled without Internet connection, though there will be a slight install delay for each new USB port into which you plug the HASP key for the first time.
If your HASP key has already been properly programmed, you are now all set. If not, either because the key is blank, or because you are changing your license details (in terms of content length, HD vs. SD, realtime capture vs. pre-produced content, etc.), then you have two choices: a) Have TechnoFrolics logon and deal with things (by far the easiest). b) While the key is plugged in and detected (red light), run the program "hasprus.exe" located within the "Application,Config&Logs" folder. Save the file that results and email it to us. We will then email you back a file to execute on the machine with attached HASP in order to update it.
Step 5 - Install core Spin Browser VE code with included test movie
- Download the zip file link that was emailed to you from TechnoFrolics' FTP site.
- Expand it on the installation computer which has Logmein installed.
- If you already have your Spin Browser VE dial hardware handy, install it and connect it to your computer.
- Double click on the "SpinBrowserVE.exe" executable within the "Application,Config&Logs" folder. Things should start up and you should see a very short B&W test movie, labeled as such, and where after 20 seconds of no user activity, a short Attract sequence will be entered.
- As provided, the movie will be controlled by Y direction mouse movement. To allow your encoder-based dial to control things instead, see the directions below regarding accessing the Graphical User Interface, go to the "Input Devices" tab, select "US Digital AD4", choose the appropriate COM port if not 1, and change the "Resolution (ticks per revolution)" to (positive) 512.
Step 6 - Install your movies, and schedule a brief intro session with TechnoFrolics
- Transfer a movie, prepared as described in our production document, to the "Movies" folder generated through unzipping the above.
- After confirming your movie has no spaces in the filename, open the file "tracklist.txt" within the "Application,Config&Logs" folder using a text editor such as Windows Notepad, and change the name "TestMovie640x480.mov" to the name of your movie and save the file. If your movie formatting was correct, you should now be able navigate through your content using the Spin Browser system!
- It is now time where a brief walkthrough intro from TechnoFrolics is indicated. Before arranging a time with us however, please read the below and poke around the configuration Graphical User Interface (GUI) (just enough that you have a flavor of what's there) and, for pre-produced systems, the "tracklist.txt" file previously mentioned. (We strongly recommend before changing anything, to make a complete backup copy of the "Application,Config&Logs" folder. )
Brief Functionality Crib Notes
While, as mentioned in the Preamble above, the system is too complex for it to make sense to list everything, there are a few items worth knowing about.
Common to pre-produced and live capture systems
- To enter the Spin Browser VE application, double click on the SpinBrowserVE.exe file, or a shortcut you make to it.
- To exit the Spin Browser VE application, type ESC.
- To enter the configuration GUI, hold the Shift key down continuously before and after double-clicking the EXE until the GUI appears. You may also type the F2 key during Spin Browser VE operation if keyboard input is enabled (see #8 below).
- To set the screen resolution, see the the "Graphics" tab within the GUI. (Generally you will want to leave the Refresh rate at 0, the system default.)
- To cause the Spin Browser VE application to start automatically on system boot, place a shortcut to "Autostart.bat" (located within the "Application,Config&Logs" folder) within your "Documents and Settings | (Your Profile) | Start Menu | Programs | Startup" folder. (Do not put the shortcut directly to the EXE file, as a wait delay needs to occur to let the computer finish booting before starting up the Spin Browser VE.)
To have Windows auto-logon without human intervention, you can either use "Start | Run | control userpasswords2" or, in the odd cases where the resulting screen does not allow setting auto logon, you can install Microsoft's TweakUI and use it to achieve the same result http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx.
Finally, to have the computer automatically turn on upon application of AC line power, go into the BIOS and look for the appropriate setting (exact wording differs depending on BIOS manufacturer and version).
- There are System and Designer Overlays, both pre-existing and available to be custom-created by the designer.
A small subset include:
- Exponential and Velocity cap System Overlays that appear when the dial movement is such as to engage those indicators. (These popups greatly help tweaking dial movement parameters in tracklist.txt.)
- Information Bar System Overlay that gives info about what movie one is currently in, frame number, size of the jpeg frame in KB, etc. (Type "i" to toggle in and out of view.)
- Movie Timecode. (Type "t" to toggle in and out of view.)
- RGB histograms of the content (relevant primarily to adjust live capture auto exposure).
- Many more.
To adjust an Overlay (move it on the screen, hide it, determine when it appears (unless it has a dedicated key), etc.), type the Tab key until the Overlay is selected (it will be highlighted by a dotted white outline). Then:
- Arrow keys will move it.
- Delete key will permanently delete if it it is a Designer Overlay. (System Overlays cannot be deleted.)
- Typing "Enter" will engage a popup box that allows adjusting many Overlay parameters. (If you wish to hide a System Overlay, as you eventually will with, for example, the EXP and VELCAP ones), you may uncheck all visibility check boxes.)
- To regain visibility of an Overlay that you have "lost" or intentionally hidden, note: CTRL-F5 will center on the screen all Overlays that are offscreen (due to their x and y coordinates), F3 will toggle showing hidden Designer Overlays, and CTRL-F3 will toggle showing hidden System Overlays.
- Much diagnostic system information may be found within several flavors of log files located within the folder specified under the "Log files (1)" tab of the GUI (typically the"Logs" folder within the "Application,Config&Logs" folder).
- Final System Lockdown, Etc.
- To disable inadvertent keyboard input during operation (strongly recommended for after configuration is complete), go to the "Input Devices" tab of the GUI and check the "Disable all keyboard commands (other than ESC)" checkbox.
- It is also recommended, once configuration is complete, to check the "Keep the application window in the foreground" checkbox in the "Graphics" tab of the GUI. Otherwise, a popup system message (from an antivirus program for example) can cause the Spin Browser VE application to go into the background, required staff intervention or reboot to reset.
- It is recommended that the system be rebooted daily. One method to achieve this, assuming the system is powered continuously, is by navigating to the "Troubleshooting" tab of the GUI, check the "Automatically restart or turn off the computer as specified by a script" checkbox, and then for the script choose ".\Scripts\Reboot daily at midnight.script". If power will not be continuously applied, and you will not be performing some other form of graceful shutdown, please talk to us. (For pre-produced content systems, daily hard 120VAC shutoff/turnon is no big deal. For live capture systems, hard shutoff will corrupt the drive file structure and video dataset integrity and must never occur.)
- On the same "Troubleshooting" tab as mentioned above, you will find a section "Send error and status report e-mails". Here you may put in the email addresses of persons you wish to be automatically notified in the event of a Spin Browser VE system error. In the case of realtime capture systems, you can also request to be emailed upon completion of a successful automated data backup, and well as upon completion of several other tasks. (Typing ALT-E during operation will force an error to be generated so you can test your email configuration.)
Pre-produced content systems
- Within the "tracklist.txt" file, note that the parameter values listed at the top of the file before the "VIDEOTRACK" token are either globally-applicable, or are the default values. To change a particular movie line parameter value from the default, simply put the new value for that parameter on that line - for example, to limit the maximum traverse speed through a title movie "TitleMovie.mov" to 20 seconds (20,000 ms) of track time per second of real time, you would have:
"MOVIE ..\Movies\TitleMovie.mov ENCODERVELCAP 20000".
- To create a temporal path Attract mode: (One can also create a separate Attract mode movie, or can have static graphic overlay (say with directions) appear during temporal Attract mode.)
- Be sure keyboard input is enabled as described above.
- Choose an Attract script file name via the F2 GUI "Attract Mode" tab. (File will be created during the recording below if it does not exist, and if it does exist, it will be erased and overwritten.)
- Employ ALT-A to start and stop dial motion recording.
- Typing "A" itself will cause the Attract mode to be immediately entered with no delay.
- It is generally far better to create lots of little Attract files which are then referenced by a Parent Attract file, rather than just having one huge file. That way, you can adjust the order of snips, redo a little snip without redoing the whole sequence, jump from place to place, etc. To reference a Child Attract script from the Parent, simply have each line of the Parent be of the form:
#include Child1.script
#include Child2.script
(etc.)
- The Attract mode files are simply ASCII text files which can be edited with Notepad (for example, this allows manually tweaking the pause at the start and end of each snip, etc.). The format of the Attract files is multi-faceted, but the main elements to understand are those of (for example):
1210 time_change videosource ..\Movies\WaterBalloon.mov 00:00:04.200 (This means go to the start of movie "WaterBalloon", advance 4.2 seconds in, and stay there for 1210 ms.)
60 time_change relative -00:00:00.033 (This means back up 33ms and show that frame for 60ms.)
42 time_change relative -00:00:00.050 (This means back up 50ms and show that frame for 42ms.)
(End)