Avid INEWS | Command User's Guide I News 3.2 User’s NEWSCommand V32 UG EN

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Avid iNEWS | Command User’s Guide

Avid® iNEWS® | Command

User’s Guide

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Avid iNEWS Command v3.2 User’s Guide • 9329-65264-00 Rev B • Created 9/9/14 • This document is

distributed by Avid in online (electronic) form only, and is not available for purchase in printed form.

Contents

Using This Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

Symbols and Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

If You Need Help. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

How to Order Documentation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

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

Chapter 1 Introduction to Avid iNEWS | Command. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Architecture and Workflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Starting Avid iNEWS | Command at a Workstation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

The User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Menu Bar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

Status Bar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Support Dialog Box . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Chapter 2 Panels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Working with Panels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

Playlist Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26

Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

Customizing the Inventory Panel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

Searching for Items in Inventory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Deleting Items in Inventory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Protecting Items in Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34

Editing Items in Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35

Playout . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

Media Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

Displaying Thumbnails in Media Viewer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Editing Fulfillment Data and Time Codes in the Media Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

Chapter 3 Playlist Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Types of Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44

Overview of Playlist Viewer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46

Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

Hiding a Playlist’s Playout or Channel Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49

Channel Groups Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Customizing the Channel Toolbar for Tally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

Viewing Playlist Items by Component . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51

Graphic Trigger Count . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52

Customizing the Playlist Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Customizing the Cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Customizing Playlist Clocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

Customizing Columns in Playlist Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Time of Day Column . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Resizing the Playlist Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Displaying Thumbnails in a Playlist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Locking and Unlocking Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Working with Channel Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Locking Channel Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Assigning Channels in Playlist Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74

Setting the Graphics Style for a Channel Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

Setting Workstation Alias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Working with Standalone Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77

Inventory Versioning. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

Working with Embedded Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

Editing Embedded Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82

Using Time of Day Playlists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83

Chapter 4 Shotbox Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Overview of the Shotbox Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85

Toolbars . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Configuring the Channel Toolbar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

Customizing the Shotbox Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90

Customizing the Shotbox Behavior . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

Customizing the Clocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94

Resizing the Shotbox Viewer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Displaying Thumbnails in a Shotbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96

Creating a Shotbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98

Loading a Shotbox from iNEWS or NRCS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Deleting a Shotbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100

Working with Channel Groups in a Shotbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Locking a Channel Group. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102

Replacing a Channel Group in a Shotbox . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Assigning Channels in a Shotbox. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103

Pinning Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Setting the Graphics Style for a Channel Group . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

Chapter 5 iNEWS Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107

Inserting Machine Control Events into Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

Auto-assigning Media IDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

Using an NRCS ActiveX Plug-in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Time-Code Triggered Graphics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Loading Rundowns to Command . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

Loading and Unloading Playlists from iNEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112

Duration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Monitor LOAD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

Monitor Off and Unload . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Event List Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115

Composite Queue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116

Item Status After Load . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Changing Channels. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117

Chapter 6 Working with Stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Inserting New Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

Deleting Stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120

Updating Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Editing an Item’s Media ID . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121

Rearranging Stories . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122

Floating & Unfloating Stories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123

Chapter 7 Command Tablet Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

Connection Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124

The iPad. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Setting up Your First Connection . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Viewing Command Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126

Starting the Command Tablet Application. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128

The Sidebar and View Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129

Locking or Unlocking Shotbox Channel Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

Working with Shotboxes in Tablet Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131

Working with Graphic Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135

Chapter 8 Playout Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

UI Controlled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Playout Media from Command Workstation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Resolving a Mismatch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Disabling the Keyboard at the Command Workstation. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Looping and Follow-on Playout. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142

USB Keypad Controlled . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147

Channel-Specific Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150

GPI Controlled. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151

Toggling Between GPI and UI Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152

Appendix A Control Room Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Failover . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154

Appendix B Icon and Button Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Playlist and Shotbox Viewer Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157

Playlist Viewer Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159

Shotbox Viewer Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160

Channel Group Icons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Inventory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162

Alerts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Playlist Explorer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163

Appendix C Action Quick Reference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Actions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165

Using This Guide

Congratulations on your purchase of your Avid iNEWS® | Command system.

Command offers a considerable amount of functionality for the state-of-the-art newsroom,

including newsroom system integration and playout control. With Command, newsroom

personnel can easily create and manage playlists.

This publication provides information on how to use the Command system.

nThe documentation describes the standard features of a basic system configuration.

Therefore, your system might contain certain features and hardware that are not covered in

the documentation.

Symbols and Conventions

Avid documentation uses the following symbols and conventions:

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

nA note provides important related information, reminders,

recommendations, and strong suggestions.

cA caution means that a specific action you take could cause harm to

your computer or cause you to lose data.

wA warning describes an action that could cause you physical harm.

Follow the guidelines in this document or on the unit itself when

handling electrical equipment.

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

order you select them. For example, File > Import means to open the

File menu and then select the Import command.

This symbol indicates a single-step procedure. Multiple arrows in a list

indicate that you perform one of the actions listed.

(Windows), (Windows

only), (Macintosh), or

(Macintosh only)

This text indicates that the information applies only to the specified

operating system, either Windows or Macintosh OS X.

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, 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, view error messages, access troubleshooting tips, download updates, and to

read or join online message-board discussions.

How to Order Documentation

To order additional copies of this documentation from within the United States, call Avid

Sales at 800-949-AVID (800-949-2843). If you are placing an order from outside the United

States, contact your local Avid representative.

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

items and keyboard sequences.

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

Courier Bold font

Courier Bold font identifies text that you type.

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

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

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

Interplay | Production. In this document, the pipe is used in product

names when they are in headings or at their first use in text.

Symbol or Convention Meaning or Action

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.

To learn about Avid's new online learning environment, Avid Learning Excellerator™

(ALEX), visit http://learn.avid.com.

For information on courses/schedules, training centers, certifications, courseware, and

books, please visit www.avid.com/training or call Avid Sales at 800-949-AVID

(800-949-2843).

1Introduction to Avid iNEWS | Command

Avid iNEWS | Command is a device automation system that integrates with any iNEWS or

MOS-enabled newsroom computer system (NRCS) and provides broadcasters precise control

over a range of playout devices, including video servers, still stores, and character generators in a

broadcast news environment. Backup services and mirrored playout make this system reliable

while the user interface allows you to control multiple production devices. Command works with

Avid Service Framework applications and services to ensure you always have the best

system performance.

This chapter contains the following main sections:

•Overview

-Architecture and Workflow

-Features

•Starting Avid iNEWS | Command at a Workstation

•The User Interface

•Support Dialog Box

Overview

The basic iNEWS Command system is comprised of iNEWS Command Servers, workstations

that run the client software, and devices, such as Avid AirSpeed video servers, Thunder

production servers and Deko graphics system. The system is designed to be an extension of your

current Avid system. It allows you to receive playlists from Avid iNEWS (or a MOS-based

newsroom computer system) while controlling your video and graphics devices, or even create

standalone playlists using drag-and-drop functionality from an inventory of media items.

The iNEWS Command system supports industry standard protocols that make it compatible with

many other products.

For newscast control your iNEWS Command system provides automated playlists, tracks script

changes, and automates control of production and playback devices including video servers, and

character generators. It integrates with the iNEWS rundown—or any other MOS-enabled

newsroom computer system—allowing a producer to change a show while it is on air, and

reflecting those changes in their iNEWS Command system. MOS commands are provided so

that journalists can use MOS plug-ins within the newsroom computer system script.

Production playout devices, including Avid Deko and Avid Thunder on-air graphics solutions

and AirSpeed video servers, are triggered based on the events in the rundown.

News graphic and text templates for news elements can include logos and station IDs,

lower-third captions or superimposed graphics, and full-screen backgrounds with text.

Journalists, using iNEWS newsroom computer system, fill in the templates and insert them into

their stories in a variety of ways. For instance, machine control commands can be entered using

Deko Select or Thunder Select plug-ins. They can be entered manually or by using a macro.

They might also include clips and stills in their script by entering the ID of the graphic in the

story as a production cue. At air time an iNEWS Command operator triggers the graphics

playlist, which is synchronized with the iNEWS rundown.

Architecture and Workflow

Avid iNEWS Command is scalable and can adapt to work in traditional newsroom-based playlist

creation to production-centric workflows where running orders are created inside the iNEWS

Command playback application. All of the components can run on a single computer, or they can

be spread out across multiple computers with redundant services configured to take control if the

primary services should become unavailable.

An example of a basic Command system architecture is shown in the following illustration:

Overview

In the most common news workflow, playlists are created using the iNEWS newsroom computer

system and the video and graphic assets are referenced in stories using their IDs or by dragging

and dropping them from an Active-X plugin, such as Deko Select.

Playlists can be saved to use later, standalone playlists can be created, and multiple playlists can

be embedded in a single running order. You can set a playlist to playback at a specified time, or

you can set groups of assets within a playlist to play in follow-on mode.

A basic workflow is shown in the following illustration.

Overview

Features

The Avid iNEWS Command system provides the features described in the following table:

Feature Description

Playlist Functionality You can load a playlist from the newsroom computer system or create the

playlist manually within Avid iNEWS Command. You can also embed

within other playlists. This provides the flexibility to control event playout

locally, at the desktop, or from a rundown. It also allows seamless transitions

between shows or segments produced by separate editorial teams.

Manual and Automated

Triggering

Items can be played back manually by the operator, via keyboard, X-keys, or

GPI. Items can also be played automatically, using the follow-on or looping

playout setting. And a playlist can be set to start at a specified time of day.

This provides total integration with the facility, its systems, processes,

and staff.

Redundant Failover Mirrored playback allows a single Play command to initiate playback on two

channels simultaneously for seamless failover. All Command services are

redundant.

Advanced Playback Features These features include: autocue, play while record, and play while transfer.

Frame Accuracy Avid iNEWS Command provides frame accurate video playout for

follow-on items assigned to the same channel.

Flexible Device Configuration Actual device channels can be configured into multiple virtual possibilities

through channel groups.

Starting Avid iNEWS | Command at a Workstation

Avid iNEWS Command client software requires no password to log in and is easy to start.

To start iNEWS Command at a workstation:

1. Do one of the following:

tDouble click the iNEWS Command icon on the desktop.

tClick the Start button and select Programs > Avid > Avid iNEWS Command.

The iNEWS Command window opens.

The User Interface

The Avid iNEWS Command window is the graphical user interface that contains panels, a menu

bar, a status bar, and a workspace area.

Flexible Integration You can configure the Avid iNEWS Command system to control any

combination of supported video or graphics devices that are operating in an

Avid iNEWS, ENPS, or other MOS environment.

User Interface The intuitive user interface provides visual tools, including clocks that show

time elapsed and time remaining, channel assignments for easy

identification of transmission paths, and color-coded status indicators that

illustrate the inventory of assets based on availability and playability on all

devices. This improves operation, reduces training time, and ensures

complete synchronization of devices with the playlist

Status Updates The Command user interface reflects playability status of inventory assets;

display of playout and channel group lock status; and status-based colors

and fonts for stories and items at a glance. These status updates speed up

decision-making saving time, while maintaining accuracy.

Feature (Continued) Description (Continued)

The User Interface

Not pictured is the Shotbox Viewer, which opens in the same area as the Playlist Viewer. For

more information, see “Shotbox Viewer” on page 91. Also not shown are thumbnails in the

playlist. For more information, see “Displaying Thumbnails in a Playlist” on page 68.

Panels

Panels are components that appear in the application and provide information in various

ways.The iNEWS Command window contains panels that you can dock, undock, move, resize,

or even hide from view. Each panel is easily identified by the name appearing in its title bar.

For more information about the panels, including the Inventory Explorer, used in iNEWS

Command, see “Panels” on page 29. The workspace area contains either the Shotbox Viewer

panel, Playlist Viewer, or both simultaneously. For more on them, see “Playlist Viewer” on

page 50 and “Shotbox Viewer” on page 91.

Menu Bar

The menu bar for iNEWS Command contains the following:

•File

•Edit

•View

The User Interface

•Playlist

• Shotbox

•Media

•Tools

•Help

Each menu, its options and descriptions are described in the following tables:

Menu Submenu Menu Option Shortcut Keys Description

File New Playlist Ctrl+Shift+N Opens the Create New Playlist dialog box.

Shotbox Ctrl+Alt+N Opens the Create New Shotbox dialog box.

File Import Playlist Imports a playlist to Command.

Shotbox Imports a shotbox to Command.

Export Playlist Exports a playlist from Command.

Shotbox Exports a shotbox from Command.

nCommand can export a playlist in .csv format so that users can keep track of their playlists in an Excel

spreadsheet; however, .csv files cannot be imported back into Command. Exported data includes the ID,

Title, Duration, and Channel, and puts in a separate line for Breaks.

Exit Closes the Command program.

Edit Cut Ctrl+X Cut selection.

Copy Ctrl+C Copy selection.

Paste Ctrl+V Paste selection.

Delete Delete selection.

View Playlist Explorer Ctrl+Shift+E Displays or closes the Playlist Explorer.

Inventory Ctrl+Shift+I Displays or closes the Inventory.

Shotbox Displays or closes the Shotbox Viewer.

Clock Displays or closes the Clock.

Playout Displays or closes the Playout panel.

Media Viewer Ctrl+Shift+M Displays or closes the Media Viewer.

Alerts Ctrl+Shift+A Displays or closes the Alerts.

The User Interface

Playlist View Next Ctrl+Tab Displays next playlist

Previous Ctrl+Shift+Tab Displays previous playlist

Set Focus Ctrl+F Sets the keyboard focus to the active view.

Close Ctrl+W Closes the current playlist.

Close All Ctrl+Shift+W Closes all playlists.

Maximize Maximizes the Playlist Viewer.

Playlist Select Next item Ctrl+Down Select next item in current playlist.

Previous Item Ctrl+Up Select previous item in current playlist.

Next Row Alt+Down Select next item in current playlist.

Previous Row Alt+Up Select previous item in current playlist.

Item In

Following Story

Ctrl+Page Down Select next item after story.

Playlist Edit Properties Opens Playlist Properties dialog box.

Edit Selection Ctrl+E Edit current selection in playlist.

Edit Channel Ctrl+* (asterisk) Sets focus to current playlist item’s

Channel column so the user can manually

assign a channel.

Edit Trigger Ctrl+/ (slash) Sets focus to current playlist item’s Trigger

column so the user can select manual or

follow-on playout.

Edit Media ID Sets focus to the current playlist item’s ID

column so the user can alter the ID.

Cut Cut selection.

Copy Copy selection.

Paste Paste selection.

Delete Delete selection.

Playlist Show Inventory Ctrl+I Opens the Inventory panel.

Playlist Insert New Story Ctrl+N Insert new story.

New Break Insert new break.

Menu Submenu Menu Option Shortcut Keys Description (Continued)

The User Interface

New Item Insert new item.

Playlist Channels Assign Ctrl+R Assign channel.

Lock All Ctrl+L Lock all channels.

Unlock All Alt+L Unlock all channels.

Add Existing... Add an existing channel group.

Add New... Add a new channel group.

Playlist Playout Cue . (period) Cue Selection. Additional submenu options

include: Selection Cue All Channels

(Shift+hyphen), Last Played (Ctrl+hyphen),

and Home, Select and Cue All

(Alt+Home). The last submenu option

moves the cursor to the first available item

in the playlist and cues all channels.

nThe Alt+Home keystroke combination works only when the Home key on the keyboard is used, not the

Home (7) key on the numerical keypad.

Play Enter Play media.

Pause + (plus) Pause media that is playing. Submenu

options include: Selection and Last Played.

Stop 0 (zero) Stops media from playing. Submenu

options include: Selection and Last Played.

Shotbox View Next Ctrl+Alt+Tab Displays next shotbox

Previous Displays previous shotbox

Set Focus Ctrl+Alt+F Sets the keyboard focus to the active view.

Maximize Maximizes the Shotbox Viewer panel.

Close Ctrl+Alt+W Closes the current shotbox.

Close All Closes all shotboxes.

Shotbox Edit Selection Ctrl+Alt+E Edit current selection in shotbox.

Edit Channel Ctrl+Alt+*

(asterisk on

numeric keypad)

Sets focus to current shotbox item’s

Channel list so the user can manually

assign a channel. This “pins” the channel to

that item.

Menu Submenu Menu Option Shortcut Keys Description (Continued)

The User Interface

Unpin Channel Alt+Shift+*

(asterisk on

numeric keypad)

Removes pinned channel assignment from

all selected items in shotbox.

Cut Cut selection.

Copy Copy selection.

Paste Paste selection.

Delete Delete selection.

Shotbox Show Inventory Ctrl+Alt+I Opens the Inventory panel.

Shotbox Insert Item Alt+Shift+Insert Inserts a new item in a shotbox.

Shotbox Playout Cue Cue media. Submenu options include:

Selection, Last played, or Items 01-12.

Play Play media. Submenu options include:

Selection or Items 01-12.

Pause Pause media that is playing. Submenu

options include: Selection and Last Played.

Stop Stops media from playing. Submenu

options include: Selection and Last Played.

Media Play Ctrl+Space Play media.

Go To Mark In Alt+Q Go to the marked In point.

Go To Mark Out Alt+W Go to marked Out point.

Set Mark In Alt+I Mark the In point.

Set Mark Out Alt+O Mark the Out point.

Forward One Frame Alt+. Move forward one frame.

Forward One

Second

Ctrl+. Move forward one second.

Forward ten

Seconds

Ctrl+Alt+. Move forward ten seconds.

Backward One

Frame

Alt+, Move backward one frame.

Menu Submenu Menu Option Shortcut Keys Description (Continued)

The User Interface

Status Bar

The status bar provides status information regarding channels and channel groups. It also shows

an indication of GPI playout control and the name of the system’s alias.

For more information on the possible icons that appear on the status bar, see “Channel Group

Icons” on page 168.

Whether the status bar appears in the user interface is customizable.

To show or hide the display of the status bar and channels:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

Backward One

Second

Ctrl+, Move backward one second.

Backward Ten

Seconds

Ctrl+Alt+, Move backward ten seconds.

Restart Alt+6 Restart media.

Eject Alt+J Eject media.

Tools Options Opens the Options dialog box.

System Settings Opens the System Settings dialog box.

These options apply to the workstation only

and are not system-wide settings.

Enable GPI playout Ctrl+G If selected, it enables the use of a GPI

keypad for playout control.

Help Command Help Displays help information for users.

Support Opens the Support dialog box.

About Display information about iNEWS

Command.

Menu Submenu Menu Option Shortcut Keys Description (Continued)

Support Dialog Box

2. In Category, select Status Bar.

3. Do any of the following:

tSelect Show status bar to display the status bar in the Command window.

tDeselect Show status bar to hide the status bar in the Command window.

tSelect Show channels to display status of channels on the status bar.

tDeselect Show channels to hide status of channels on the status bar.

4. Click OK.

Support Dialog Box

The Support dialog box is provided for Command users to log information about any issues

encountered that might require contacting Avid.

To log support information:

1. Select Help > Support.

2. Enter a description of the issue in the Support dialog box.

The following example shows a sentence regarding a GPI device:

Support Dialog Box

3. Click Save.

4. Select the name and location where you want the zipped file to be saved.

5. Click OK.

The system saves your comments inside a zipped file that also contains other vital

information, such as system settings and software versions, which enable support personnel

to troubleshoot the issue. This file can then be e-mailed to support personnel at Avid.

2Panels

The iNEWS Command interface is made up of panels, which provide information in various

ways.

This chapter contains the following main sections:

•Working with Panels

•Playlist Explorer

•Inventory

•Clock

•Playout

•Media Viewer

•Alerts

Working with Panels

The iNEWS Command window contains numerous panels that a user can dock, undock, move,

resize, or even hide from view in the main window.

You can also dock the Clock, Playout and Shotbox panels above the Playlist. When there is more

than one panel docked at the top, you can switch between panels using the tabs. The following

illustration shows the Shotbox and Clock panels overlapping:

Working with Panels

Panels can be arranged so that they are tiled within available screen space, or layered so that only

one is visible and the rest are accessible via tabs. An example of tiled panels is shown in “The

User Interface” on page 20. The following graphic shows layered panels—as indicated by the

tabs at the bottom—with the Alerts panel on top. The layering option is helpful in conserving

screen space. Panels can be layered on either the left or right side of the main window.

Each panel is easily identified by its title bar that bears its name. The available panels are:

•Playlist Explorer (shown below)

•Inventory

Working with Panels

•Clock

•Shotbox Viewer (See “Shotbox Viewer” on page 91.)

•Media Viewer

•Alerts

nPanels are docked by default.

To undock a panel, do one of the following:

tClick the Restore button located on the panel’s title bar, next to the X button.

tDouble-click the panel’s title bar.

tClick on the panel’s title bar and drag it from its docked location.

To redock a panel, do one of the following:

tClick the Restore button located on the panel’s title bar, next to the X button. It will redock

in its previously docked location.

tDouble-click the panel’s title bar. It will redock in its previously docked location.

tClick on the panel’s title bar and drag it to an alternative docking location—until the title bar

touches the border of the area to which you want it docked.

To layer panels:

1. Click the panel’s title bar and drag it to the top left (or right) corner of the window.

2. Repeat the process with each panel. Command will automatically layer the panels and

provide tabs at the bottom of the screen. A user can then click any tab to bring that panel to

the top.

Playlist Explorer

nIf layered panels include the Alerts panel, the Command system is designed to automatically

bring the Alerts panel to the top whenever an alert message is received. If this removes focus

from the Playlist or Shotbox Viewers in which you are working, you can restore focus quickly by

using the following keystroke combinations. Ctrl+F sets focus back to the Playlist Viewer.

Ctrl+Alt+F sets focus back to the Shotbox Viewer.

To hide a panel:

tClick the X button on the title bar of the panel you want to hide.

To view a hidden panel:

tSelect View and then the name of the panel from the submenu.

To resize a panel:

1. Position your mouse pointer on the edge of a panel. The pointer will change to a resize

indicator.

2. Click and drag to the new size.

Playlist Explorer

The Playlist Explorer shows a list of:

• Newsroom playlists that have been loaded to iNEWS Command from an iNEWS newsroom

computer system

• MOS-based newsroom playlists that are MOS active and have been marked ready-to-air

from a MOS-enabled newsroom computer system, such as ENPS

• Standalone playlists, including those set to air at a specified time of day

• Disconnected newsroom playlists

• Shotboxes

nThe Playlist Explorer can be configured to show MOS-based newsroom playlists that are MOS

active but have not been marked ready-to-air. By default, this feature is not enabled. The

procedure for turning it on is provided later in this section.

Depending on what newsroom system Command integrates with at your site, various icons will

appear to the left of playlist names. For instance, when iNEWS Command has received all items

and/or stories in the rundown from an iNEWS newsroom computer system, the “purple I” icon

will appear.

When Command is integrated with a MOS-based newsroom computer system, such as ENPS,

the MOS icon appears—either gray for a MOS Active playlist (when option is enabled) or black

for one that is both MOS Active and ready-to-air.

Playlist Explorer

When a lightbulb appears, the playlist is on air. Double-clicking one of the playlists (or

shotboxes) will open it with its stories, media, channels, and so forth in preparation of locking

channel groups and taking a show to air.

The icons used in relation to newsroom playlists also appear in the Playlist Viewer’s Playlist

toolbar. For more information about these icons and others in Command, see “Icon and Button

Quick Reference” on page 163.

The Playlist Explorer can be configured to open a playlist automatically when it’s loaded directly

from iNEWS or when it’s marked ready-to-air from a MOS-enabled newsroom computer

system.

To configure Playlist Explorer to automatically open loaded or ready-to-air playlists:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

Playlist Explorer

2. In Category, select Playlist Explorer.

3. Select Auto-open playlist.

4. Click OK.

To enable the display of MOS active playlists that are not ready-to-air:

1. Select Tools > Options.

The Options dialog box opens.

2. In Category, select Playlist Explorer.

3. Select Show all playlists (even if not ready-to-air).

4. Click OK.

nYou can disconnect a MOS active playlist, which would turn it into a standalone playlist

controlled by Command, by right-clicking on that MOS-based newsroom playlist and selecting

Disconnect. The option appears disabled when right-clicking on other non-newsroom playlists.

You can also delete a standalone playlist or shotbox from the Playlist Explorer via a context

menu option by right-clicking on the shotbox or standalone playlist in the Playlist Explorer

panel.

Playlist Explorer

Tabs

Whether the same playlist can be opened onto multiple tabs in the Playlist Viewer is a

configurable setting.

Changing this setting does not affect existing tabs already opened in the current session.

To turn on or off the multi-tab option for playlists:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

2. In Category, select Playlist Explorer.

3. Do one of the following:

tSelect One tab per playlist if you want any playlist opened from the Playlist Explorer to

appear on only one tab. If its already open, its tab will appear on top of other tabs. Avid

recommends using this setting.

tDeselect One tab per playlist if you want a playlist to appear on a new tab each time it’s

opened from the Playlist Explorer.

4. Click OK.

Inventory

nFor more information on the Auto-open playlist option, see “Playlist Explorer” on page 32.

Inventory

The Inventory panel shows an alphabetical list of channel groups, a search bar, and the inventory

(media) for a selected channel group in a table or spreadsheet-style format. Below the inventory,

you can see the total number of inventory items displayed and any chosen media item’s

availability, clip ID, name (slug), duration, the time when it was last modified, and whether

media is protected from deletion.

You can also double click on a media item to open it from the Inventory panel.

Inventory

nOpening items from the Inventory panel is dependent on having a playlist open that contains a

browse channel on the same device. If the user opens the playlist first, Command will

automatically select the first channel group in the Inventory panel.

For more information about channel groups, see “Working with Channel Groups” on page 74.

nWhen controlling a third-party video device via the Avid Video device service (using VDCP), the

device’s inventory will appear in the Inventory panel only if the device service is configured to

use one port for inventory purposes. If the device service is configured with playback channels

only, the inventory will not appear; however, the playlist in Command will still reflect inventory

status, and an unavailable item promptly changes to available once it is transferred to the device.

The Inventory panel provides graphical indicators to show status of availability and delete

protection:

nWhen no shield icon is present, that indicates the item is not protected, and therefore can be

deleted from the inventory.

When an item appears unavailable on some, you can view the specific devices by clicking the

plus (+) to the left of Availability in the Details section of the Inventory panel. When an item

appears partially protected, you can view the specific devices by clicking the plus (+) to the left

of Devices in the Details section of the Inventory panel.

Inventory Status Icons

Available on all

Unavailable on some

Item is protected against deletion across all

devices in the channel group.

Item is partially protected. Problem with one or

more devices in channel group.

Detailed Status Icons

Available on specific device

Unavailable on specifc device

Inventory

Command users can drag media directly from the Inventory panel to the Playlist Viewer and drop

it into an open, locked standalone playlist with the same channel group assigned to it. If a

different channel group applies, the system will ask the user whether to add the channel group to

the playlist.

To view inventory from a different channel group:

tSelect a different channel group from the list.

nIf you want to view items from more than one channel group, hold the Ctrl key down as you select

multiple channel groups in the Inventory panel. The list is provided in alphabetical order.

The user can select any column header to sort the table by that column. The user can also

rearrange the order of columns.

To sort inventory:

tSelect the column by which you want to sort, such as Slug, which is the name or title of the

item.

To rearrange column order:

tClick on a column header and drag it to a new position.

Customizing the Inventory Panel

The Inventory panel is divided into multiple areas that display information, such as channel

group list, a search bar, inventory, and media details. A user can customize some features of the

panel by modifying the font or adjusting the size of each area within the confines of the panel.

For instance, a user can move one of two resize bars to adjust the areas of the Inventory panel to

view more inventory or longer channel group lists.

To resize areas of the Inventory panel:

tClick either of the two resize bars, which are located in the pane between the channel group

list area and the search bar or between the inventory and details areas at the bottom of the

pane. Then drag the bar up or down to make your adjustment.

To modify the font in the Inventory panel:

1. Click Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box appears.

Inventory

2. Modify the font by clicking the Change button. A sample of your settings is provided as a

preview.

3. Click Apply to save your changes.

Searching for Items in Inventory

Avid iNEWS Command lets users search for specific items in the inventory via the Inventory

panel. The search is not case sensitive.

To search for an item:

1. Use the drop-down arrow next to the Search field in the Inventory panel to select the filter by

which you want to search. Your options are: ID, Slug, or All (meaning both the item’s slug

and ID).

2. Type the ID or slug in the Search field.

As you type, the list of items shown in the Inventory panel is filtered to show only those

items with the criteria you specified. Also, when switching channel groups in the Inventory

panel, any entered search term will be reapplied to the newly chosen channel group.

Inventory

Deleting Items in Inventory

Avid iNEWS Command enables users to delete items in the inventory via the Inventory panel.

However, if an item is cued, playing, paused, or done, you cannot delete it from the Inventory

panel; if an attempt is made to do so, an alert will appear to provide an explanation.

To delete an item:

1. Select the item and then right-click on it.

2. Select Delete from the menu.

nHold the Ctrl or Shift key down as you click to select multiple items for deletion. If the menu

option is unavailable, see your system administrator who might have disabled this feature. When

multiple items are selected for deletion, the Delete Confirmation dialog box appears with a

confirmation question stating the number of items selected for deletion. For instance, the

question might appear as: “Delete the 10 selected inventory items?”

Protecting Items in Inventory

Avid iNEWS Command enables users to selectively protect items in the inventory from deletion

via the Inventory panel.

To protect an item:

1. Select the item (or items) and right-click.

2. Select Protect from the menu.

nHold the Ctrl or Shift key down as you click to select multiple items for delete-protection. If the

menu option is unavailable, see your system administrator who might have disabled this feature.

A silver shield appears in the Inventory panel next to protected items. Protection applies to

that item across all devices in the channel group (selected at the top of the Inventory panel).

If there is a problem with protecting the item on any of the devices, the shield icon appears

yellow and with an exclamation point.

You can view additional details for the specific devices by clicking the plus (+) to the left of

Devices in the Details section of the Inventory panel.

To remove delete protection from an item:

1. Select the item (or items) and right-click.

2. Select Remove Protection from the menu.

Clock

Editing Items in Inventory

Users can change an item’s slug or video ID from the Inventory panel. However, if an item is

cued, playing, paused, or done, you cannot rename it from the Inventory panel; if an attempt is

made to do so, an alert will appear to provide an explanation.

nRenaming of the video ID is a feature that a system administrator can turn off.

To change an item’s slug:

1. Right click on the item in the Inventory panel.

2. Select Change Slug.

To change an item’s video ID:

1. Right click on the item in the Inventory panel.

2. Select Change ID.

Clock

The Clock panel can be used to display the current time based on the Command Workstation’s

time or times normally associated with the clocks featured in the Playlist Viewer, such as times

related to clips or a show.

In the previous example, the clock is configured to display the time remaining in a clip, such a

minute and eight seconds.

nBecause the Clock panel can be undocked, it may be moved to a second monitor in the control

room, if the Command Workstation is a computer with dual-monitor capabilities.

The font, background, and foreground colors of the Clock panel are configurable, and the time

can be set to display values in a 12- or 24-hour format.

Clock

To configure the clock:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

2. In Category, select Clock.

3. In the Time of Day Clock section, set the clock’s text color and background color.

4. Select the Display Time of Day check box if you want to display current time based on the

workstation’s time.

5. Set the clock to either a 12- or 24-hour format.

6. Click the Change button to set the clock’s font. A sample of your settings is provided as a

preview.

7. In the Channel Duration Clocks section, select the Display Channel Durations check box if

you want to display duration clocks. Command offers a Clock panel that automatically

displays up to two duration clocks—also known as count up/down clocks—for all video

channels in the active (open) playlist, and users can customize the size and color of the

clocks for that panel in this section of the Options dialog box.

Playout

8. If you want the clocks to flash during the last 10 seconds of an item’s duration, select the

check box called Flash red last ten seconds. This is a global setting. If selected, when a

playing item reaches 10 seconds remaining, the countdown clock will change the text color

to red and then alternate every second between that color and the standard pre-defined color.

9. Click the Change button to set the font for the duration clocks. A sample of your settings is

provided as a preview.

10. Select the text color and background used for channel names.

11. In each of the Left Clock and Right Clock sections, select the behavior of the clocks:

tHide—Choose this option if you do not want to display the clock.

tTime elapsed in clip—Choose this option if you want to display how much time has

elapsed since the current clip began playing.

tTime remaining in clip—Choose this option if you want to display how much time

remains of the clip that is playing.

12. Select the text color and background for each of the duration clocks.

13. When done, click Apply, then OK.

Playout

The Playout panel displays transport controls, thumbnails, duration information and IDs or slugs

for media items.

The panel has two main uses:

• Lets users access channel specific transport commands from within the Command user

interface. This is most useful for sites with touch screen monitors.

• Lets users monitor the currently playing item from a workstation that does not have the

channel group locked.

The Playout panel can display either video or graphics. The following illustration shows a

Playout panel with a sample video item.

Media Viewer

The following illustration shows a Playout panel with a sample graphic.

To view the Playout panel:

tSelect View > Playout.

nFor information on configuring this panel for use with touch screen devices, see “Setting up the

Playout Panel for Touch Screens” in the Avid iNEWS Command Installation and Configuration

Guide.

Media Viewer

The Media Viewer provides Browse controls within the Command user interface that you can

use to play, stop, and set mark in and out points of video on devices, such as an Avid AirSpeed

video server. The panel does allow for the display of static images, called thumbnails, which

represent media items, but an external video monitor must be used to watch the video.

Media Viewer

nA browse channel must be configured in the channel group to browse video. Command supports

shared browse channels, too, so that users can open items in Media Viewer from multiple

workstations. For shared browsing, a second browse-only channel group must be created.

Editing the mark in and out points of video items and timecode graphics can be done from the

Media Viewer with or without a browse channel.

The Browse controls are:

The Play button changes to a Stop button when media is playing. The keyboard’s spacebar can be

used to play or pause the play of video in the Media Viewer. The clock on the bottom left of the

Media Viewer displays the timecode of current position indicated on the position bar. The clock

on the right provides the duration.

nThe duration between mark in and out points is shown on the item in the playlist. Setting a mark

in or out point for an item in Media Viewer is a “soft” mark, which means that the mark in or out

point only applies to that specific item in the playlist, but the original item in the inventory is

unchanged.

Displaying Thumbnails in Media Viewer

Thumbnails in Command are small graphical representations of the media, which could be a

character generated graphic or a frame of video. In regard to video, although sometimes referred

to as headframes, thumbnails are created from within the first five frames of video and therefore

might or might not be the first or “head” frame.

When thumbnails are displayed, a static image representing the media appears in the Media

Viewer above the Browse controls.

Go To In Go To Out

Set Mark In Set Mark Out

Set

Mark In

Set

Mark Out

Position Indicator

Timecode Duration

Play/Stop

Eject

Media Viewer

To display thumbnails in the Media Viewer:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

Media Viewer

2. In Category, select Media Viewer.

3. Select Show thumbnails.

4. Click OK to save the settings.

Editing Fulfillment Data and Time Codes in the Media Viewer

The Media Viewer can also be used to edit fulfillment data in graphics, create standalone

playlists with time code playout, and override time code values from newsroom playlists.

By setting the start and duration times of a video item, you instruct Command to send Play and

Eject commands when the story’s video reaches the appropriate points. For graphic items, this

lets you overlap graphics by using start and duration times. For instance, you can set the start

time of a second graphic to happen before the end time of the first graphic, so that an Eject

command is not sent for the first before the second one plays, allowing for an update motion

when transitioning from one graphic to another.

Command display a Curled Arrow icon in the playlist to indicate when graphics overlap.

nThis feature works only with devices that support it. For a list of compatible devices, see the

latest Avid iNEWS Command ReadMe.

Alerts

To edit fulfillment data or alter time code values:

1. Open the item in the Media Viewer.

If the graphic has fulfillment fields, those will be displayed. If the item is a blank template,

you can use the Plus (+) button to add fields.

2. Edit the fulfillment data in the fields provided.

3. (Optional) Modify the time code values for Start and Duration.

All changes to the item are applied immediately and appear in the Media Viewer, so no

saving in necessary.

cChanges made that override fulfillment data from newsroom playlists are not sent back to

the newsroom computer system, and would be lost if the story is floated/unfloated from

within the rundown.

Alerts

The Alerts window provides a list of recent alerts. The alerts contain these properties:

• Title (mandatory)

Alerts

• Text (optional-not shown in the list)

• Alert type

The types of alerts include:

nThe succeeded alert with its check mark icon will only appear as a followup to previously

reported warnings and critical alerts.

Each alert will appear along with a timestamp for when the alert was issued.

If the alert’s title extends beyond the size of the panel, resize the panel or mouse over the alert to

view the entire title in a tooltip. A user can also select any alert and view additional details as

well as clear alerts from the list.

To view details:

tSelect an alert and view the details below the list area.

tDouble-click on an alert to view details specific to that alert in a diagnostics dialog box.

To clear alerts:

tRight-click and select Clear Alerts.

Icon Alert Type

Critical

Warning

Information

Succeeded

3Playlist Viewer

The iNEWS Command interface provides an area known as the Playlist Viewer, with which

users can view and manage playlists for on-air playout.

This chapter contains the following main sections:

•Types of Playlists

•Overview of Playlist Viewer

-Toolbars

-Viewing Playlist Items by Component

•Customizing the Playlist Viewer

-Customizing the Cursor

-Customizing Playlist Clocks

-Customizing Columns in Playlist Viewer

-Resizing the Playlist Viewer

-Displaying Thumbnails in a Playlist

•Locking and Unlocking Playlists

•Working with Channel Groups

•Working with Standalone Playlists

•Working with Embedded Playlists

•Using Time of Day Playlists

Types of Playlists

There are different types of playlists. For example, a playlist created at a Command Workstation

is considered a standalone playlist. It can be locked and managed from any Command

Workstation on the Command system.

Types of Playlists

A playlist created through a newsroom computer system and uploaded to the Command system

is called a newsroom playlist. When the newsroom rundown is uploaded to Command, the

resulting playlist can be viewed at the Command Workstation, but the newsroom system retains

the lock on the playlist.

nAlthough the newsroom system retains the playlist lock, a user at a Command Workstation can

still control playout functionality by obtaining the locks on channel groups associated with the

newsroom playlist. Channel group locks for playout are not the same as playlist locks, which

prevent altering the structure of the playlist itself.

A user at a Command Workstation can obtain the playlist lock from a newsroom system, in

which case the newsroom playlist becomes a standalone playlist. For more information, see

“Locking and Unlocking Playlists” on page 67.

When a playlist is inserted into another one, the one inserted is called an embedded playlist. The

one containing the embedded playlist is known as the container playlist. A standalone playlist

can contain a newsroom playlist or another standalone playlist as its embedded playlist. A

newsroom playlist can contain a standalone playlist or another newsroom playlist.

nNewsroom playlists that contain the word “shotbox” in the name can be loaded to Command as

shotboxes.

Finally, a playlist set to air at specific times is called a time of day playlist. For more on this type

of playlist, see “Using Time of Day Playlists” on page 83.

Overview of Playlist Viewer

Among the many capabilities featured in the Playlist Viewer, a user can:

• View existing playlists—standalone, time of day, or newsroom playlists

• Choose to display playlist items based on component type, such as video or graphics.

• Create standalone playlists

• Lock channel groups

• Control a playlist for broadcast

• Embed a playlist into standalone playlists

When you double-click on a playlist in the Playlist Explorer, iNEWS Command will open it on a

tab in the Playlist Viewer to display all the stories with attached media, including character

generator graphics (CGs), if any.

You can have different playlists open simultaneously. All are accessible through tabs located at

the top of the Playlist Viewer.

nThe Playlist Viewer opens in the same area of the workspace as the Shotbox Viewer panel. If the

Shotbox Viewer panel is also open, the two can split the space, one atop the other. The Playlist

Viewer cannot be split to view multiple playlists simultaneously; only one tab can be viewed at a

time.

The appearance and some behavior of the playlist is customizable. For example, depending on

your system’s configuration, thumbnails or a film strip icon might appear for certain media

items. In the following example, the display of thumbnails are enabled. Other examples in this

chapter show playlists with that feature disabled. For more information on custom options, see

“Customizing the Playlist Viewer” on page 53. For more information on thumbnails, see

“Displaying Thumbnails in a Playlist” on page 63.

nIf a video item is unavailable, Command will display the video ID but not the item’s title (also

called the slug).

Toolbars

For more information, see “Toolbars” on page 47, and “Customizing the Playlist Viewer” on

page 53.

Toolbars

Below each tab in the Playlist Viewer are various toolbars, which might appear. The top one is

the Playout toolbar containing two clocks and several buttons for playout control. With the

Playout toolbar, a user at the Command Workstation can play, pause, or stop events.

Control buttons allow users to control playout of events on locked devices associated with the

loaded playlist. For more information about the clocks on the Playout toolbar, see “Customizing

Playlist Clocks” on page 60.

Toolbars

Below the Playout toolbar is the Playlist toolbar, which enables users to lock and unlock channel

groups to playlists. It also contains check boxes for each channel group that a user can select to

determine by component the display of items in a playlist. If no channel groups are associated

with the playlist, no Channel Group buttons or check boxes will appear. For more information,

see “Channel Groups Buttons” on page 50.

On the far right of the Playlist toolbar is another button used to lock playlists or disconnect

playlists from newsroom rundowns.

The icons on the buttons that appear on the Playlist toolbar will vary depending on variety of

factors: whether the channel group or groups are locked, whether the playlist is a time of day

playlist, standalone playlist, newsroom playlist, and whether it’s locked.

Beneath the Playlist toolbar is the Channel toolbar, which might appear when a channel group is

locked. It shows status icons on a per channel basis. To see the various types of icons you might

see on the toolbar, see “Channel Group Icons” on page 162. This toolbar can be turned off so that

it does not appear. Regardless, the status icons are also available on the Status bar at the bottom

right corner of the Command window.

Like the Playlist toolbar, the icons that appear on the Channel toolbar will vary depending on the

status of the individual channels in the channel group. When the tally signal is active, the color of

a channel on the Channel toolbar might also change color.

For a breakdown of the types of icons you might see on these toolbars, see “Icon and Button

Quick Reference” on page 157.

Hiding a Playlist’s Playout or Channel Toolbar

A user can choose whether to display the Playout and Channel toolbars.

To hide the Playout or Channel toolbar:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box will appear.

Toolbars

2. In Category, expand the Playlist and Shotbox Viewers.

3. Expand Playlist Viewer and select Toolbars.

4. Do one of the following or both:

tDeselect Show playout toolbar.

tDeselect Show channel toolbar.

5. Click OK.

Channel Groups Buttons

Channel Group buttons represent a channel group that is associated with the loaded playlist and

are used to individually lock channel groups for playout control and unlock them afterward.

When playlists are loaded to Command from a newsroom computer system, the Channel Group

button for the appropriate channel group associated with that playlist will automatically appear

in the Playlist toolbar. If multiple channel groups are configured for the playlist, then more than

one button will appear. For standalone playlists created at the Command workstation, a channel

group must be added to the playlist, which can be done when the playlist is created or added later

at any time.

Toolbars

If a user drags an item from the Inventory panel into a standalone playlist, Command will prompt

the user to automatically add the channel group associated with that item. For more information,

see “Working with Channel Groups” on page 69.

Customizing the Channel Toolbar for Tally

Avid iNEWS Command can provide a visual indication of when a channel’s tally signal is active.

This indicator appears as a color change on the Channel toolbar.

The following illustration shows two channels, A and B, and the tally is active for channel B.

The colors for the background and text are customizable.

To set the colors for tally:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

2. In Category, expand Channel and select Appearance.

Viewing Playlist Items by Component

3. Set the colors for both the background and the text.

4. Click OK to save the settings.

nThe settings for Tally High apply to the Channel toolbar in both the Playlist Viewer and the

Shotbox Viewer panel.

Viewing Playlist Items by Component

In some cases, a user might want to view playlist items associated with a particular component

and not any others, such as only character generator (CG) graphics or only video.

Command provides users with a way to do this via check boxes on the Playlist toolbar.

To display items based on component type:

tSelect the check box next to the channel group associated with that type of component.

In the following illustration, the channel group associated with a video server is selected, as

indicated by the black X, so only video items would be displayed in the playlist, not CG

items. If both were selected, then video and CG items would appear in the playlist.

nThe display of items is independent of whether the channel group or groups are locked.

Graphic Trigger Count

When integrated with a graphic component, such as certain character generator devices,

Command playlists can display the total number of triggers for graphic items with a trigger count

greater than one.

nDevices using Chyron Intelligent Interface protocols will show the trigger count in the Trigger

column of a playlist. Third-party GDS plug-in implementation, such as Vizrt, may show the

trigger count in the Trigger column.

The graphic trigger count must be entered in the Graphic Inventory Editor (for CII

inplementation), or reported to Command by the Graphic device service’s plug-in.

For instance, when a graphic item is cued, Command displays values in the format 0/x, where x

is the numerical value for the item’s total trigger count. In the sample illustration, the display is

0/2, because the graphic item in this example has a trigger count of two (2).

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

Next, when the item is played, it goes to a paused state after completing the first trigger, and the

first numerical value changes accordingly. In this example, the graphic trigger count changes to

1/2.

Then, after the item is played again and executes its last trigger, it goes to a Done state, and the

graphic trigger displayed in Command changes to 2/2.

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

When first installed, Avid iNEWS Command uses default colors and fonts to display information

about playlist events; however users can customize how that data is displayed on the Playlist

Viewer tabs. For example, a user might want an unplayable event to appear in red so that it easily

stands out on the screen.

nChanges made to the Appearance settings apply to the Playlist and Shotbox Viewers; only a few

settings are not applicable to shotboxes, such as Story, Embedded Playlist, and Break entries.

Additionally, the behavior of the cursor within the playlist can be set to perform in certain ways.

For example, a user might want the cursor to move when pressing the Page Up key. By default

the cursor does not move.

To customize the appearance and behavior of the Playlist Viewer:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

2. In Category, expand Playlist and Shotbox Viewers and select Appearance.

3. You can alter the font, as well as the color of text and backgrounds. As you click on each

entry in the Playlist section, your settings for that entry will appear in the Sample section at

the bottom of the dialog box. Using the Ctrl or Shift keys, you can select and modify

multiple entries simultaneously.

4. (Optional) Click Apply to save the settings without closing the dialog box, so further

modification can continue.

nThe Restore Defaults button is used to restore settings to the system’s original default settings.

5. Select Playlist Viewer.

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

6. Select the check box in the Playlist creation section if you want to enable item-only playlists.

This option is selected by default. You can insert breaks in item-only playlists. If you intend

to embed newsroom playlists or other standalone playlists, you must deselect this option to

keep stories in the playlist.

7. Select Show thumbnails if you want to view thumbnails of media in the playlist.

nFor more information on thumbnails, see “Displaying Thumbnails in a Playlist” on page 63.

8. Select whether you want a default icon displayed in the playlist for items that do not have

thumbnails.

Default Icons

Default icon for graphics

Default icon for videos

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

If this feature is turned on and Command is controlling video and graphic devices that do not

support thumbnails, then default icons for each are used as shown in the following

illustration.

9. In the Filters section, select the check box if you want story rows with no visible items to be

hidden in the playlist.

10. In the Unplayable description section, select a radio button corresponding to the manner in

which you want Command to display unplayable status information. Options include:

tShowing the description before the title.

tShowing the description after the title.

tHiding the description and not displaying it at all.

11. (Optional) Click Apply to save the settings without closing the dialog box, so further

modification can continue.

12. Select Behavior.

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

13. Select whether to allow use of arrow keys to move the cursor up or down a playlist to the

nearest media or next adjacent row.

14. Select whether to enable the Page Up, Page Down, Home, and End keys to move the cursor

up or down a playlist, scrolling as needed. By default, this feature is off, so pressing any of

these four keys would scroll the view without moving the cursor within the playlist.

15. The autocursor feature applies to cursor behavior in a playlist when using channel specific

playout—in regard to GPI or X-keys with actions assigned to indices. Set Autocursor to one

of the following options:

16. Select how many rows should remain displayed above the cursor. This will lock the cursor in

place—once it reaches the row specified—so that the playlist scrolls up or down instead of

the cursor moving up or down.

17. Select whether the autoscroll lock applies to the row containing the last-played item, instead

of cursor position.

18. Select whether double-clicking on an item should cue that item or open it into the Media

Viewer.

19. Click OK to save the settings.

Customizing the Cursor

In a playlist, the cursor can appear as a rectangle around a row or as a solid bar in all or specified

fields. Additionally, a drop indicator is provided when dragging copied rows to different

locations within a playlist. It appears as a solid line between rows.

A user can customize the colors for both the cursor and the drop indicator.

nThe behavior of the cursor when a user presses the keys Page Up, Page Down, Home, or End can

also be customized. By default the cursor does not move when any of the four keys are pressed.

For more on setting cursor behavior in a playlist, see “Customizing the Playlist Viewer” on

page 53.

Option Description

None Select this option if not using channel specific playout. When set to

None, the cursor will follow standard movement patterns.

To next playable

after last-played item

Select this option if you want the cursor to move to the next available

item after the one that’s just been played via channel specific GPI or

X-keys commands.

To last-played item Select this option if you want the cursor to move to the item just played

via channel specific GPI or X-keys commands.

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

To change the cursor’s appearance:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

2. In Category, expand Playlist and Shotbox Viewers and select Cursor.

3. Set the color of the cursor.

Setting Description

Active The color of the cursor when the focus is on the Playlist Viewer. By default this

color is black.

Inactive The color of the cursor when the focus is on a different panel in the iNEWS

Command window or on another software application. By default this color is

gray.

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

4. Set the color of the drop indicator.

5. (Optional) Click Apply to save changes without closing the Options dialog box.

6. Expand Playlist Viewer and select Columns.

7. Set the Background options per column accordingly.

Setting Description

Drop

Indicator

The color of the line used to indicate where copied rows will be dropped into

the playlist when dragged to a new location. By default this color is blue.

Options Description

Cursor The cursor’s color will also apply to the field’s background. This makes the

cursor in that column appear to be a solid bar.

Status The cursor’s color only applies as an outline on the field. This allows the

background in that column to reflect status colors, such as playability or

transport status.

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

In the following example, the cursor’s active color is set to black, the Thumbnail and Trigger

columns are set to Cursor, while the rest is set to Status. The cursor—located on the video

item between story lines 04 and 05—appears as shown:

nIn the previous example, the display of thumbnails was turned off, so the cursor color is clearly

visible. A filmstrip icon appears for all video items instead of thumbnail graphics. When

thumbnails are displayed, the graphic fills each cell in the column; therefore, the cursor color in

that column appears more as an outline. For an example of a playlist showing thumbnails, see

“Displaying Thumbnails in a Playlist” on page 63.

8. Click OK to save settings and close the Options dialog box.

Customizing Playlist Clocks

The clocks on either side of the toolbar can be hidden or customized to provide certain timing

functions, which include:

• Time elapsed in clip

• Time remaining in clip

• Time remaining in show

nIf an item is added to a playlist, the Time Remaining in Show will update immediately.

Each clock’s background color, as well as the font and color of text, can be altered from the

defaults, which are: black, 24 pt., bold MS Shell Dlg font on a yellow background. While the

font setting is shared by both clocks, the colors can be set independently of one another.

To change clock functions:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box appears.

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

2. In Category, expand Playlist and Shotbox Viewers.

3. Expand Playlist Viewer and select Clocks.

4. Set each clock’s behavior, text color, and background color.

5. To change the font used for both clocks, click the Change button.

6. If you want the clocks to flash during the last 10 seconds of an item’s duration, select the

check box in the Both clocks section. If selected, when a playing item reaches 10 seconds

remaining, the countdown clock will change the text color to red and then alternate every

second between that color and the standard pre-defined color.

7. When finished modifying the look and behavior of the clocks, click OK.

Customizing Columns in Playlist Viewer

A Command user can rearrange, rename, and hide any column or columns in a playlist.

To rearrange columns:

tClick on the column header and drag it right or left to a new location.

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

To show, hide, or rename a column:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

2. In Category, expand Playlist and Shotbox Viewers.

3. Expand Playlist Viewer and select Columns.

4. Under Show, select or deselect the check box for each column you want to display or hide.

5. Under Header, double-click the text field corresponding to the column you want to rename

and type in the new name.

6. Click OK.

nThe Story Field option enables the user to display—in the playlist—certain metadata obtained

from the newsroom computer system related to a story. Options include: Page number, Story

slug, and Story ID. This data will appear only on a story line in the playlist in the specified

column.

The Background column setting pertains to the appearance of the column fields when the

cursor is on them in the Playlist Viewer. For more information, see “Customizing the

Cursor” on page 57.

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

Time of Day Column

There are two ways you can use the Time of Day column:

•Lock the channel group and play an item in a playlist that contains follow-on items. If

displayed in a playlist, the Time of Day column will show the time all subsequent follow-on

items will trigger for playout. Manually playing another item will cause the Time of Day

column to update. Closing and reopening the playlist will clear the values in the Time of Day

column.

nFor the Time of Day column to display follow-on values, you must enable Assign follow-on to all

items in a playlist’s properties. If you want follow-on to continue through breaks as well, ensure

that Assign follow-on to all breaks is also selected. This turns follow-on on or off for all current

breaks in the selected playlist.

• Right-click on an opened playlist and edit its properties by setting the playlist to

automatically begin playing at a specified time. That time will appear in the Time of Day

column. If a user changes the specified time in the playlist’s properties, the Time of Day

column will update.

nManually playing an item will overwrite the values set in the playlist’s properties.

Resizing the Playlist Viewer

By default, the Playlist Viewer splits the main portion of the Command window with the

Shotbox Viewer panel if both are opened. A user can adjust the division of the space for the

Shotbox Viewer panel and the Playlist Viewer by clicking on the divider bar between them and

dragging it up or down.

nIf the size is adjusted too small, some features will be hidden. More space is required if

thumbnails are shown in playlists.

The Playlist Viewer can also be maximized to fill the entire window.

To maximize the Playlist Viewer:

tType Alt+Z.

tSelect Playlist > View > Toggle Maximize.

Displaying Thumbnails in a Playlist

Thumbnails in Command are small graphical representations of the media, which could be a

character generated graphic or a frame of video. In regard to video, although sometimes referred

to as headframes, thumbnails are created from within the first five frames of video and therefore

might or might not be the first or “head” frame.

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

nFor video clips, the marked in time does not affect the creation of thumbnails, which are created

from within the first five frames of recorded video.

In a playlist, when thumbnails are available and displayed, they appear in the far left column.

The following example shows a playlist with thumbnails of video:

The thumbnails in the example are for SD media, but Command can display thumbnails for HD

media, too, in which case the HD media appears with a white matte across the top and bottom of

the thumbnail.

Resizing the Thumbnail column will also resize the thumbnail; the system retains aspect ratio.

When display of thumbnails are not enabled, or if Command cannot find or make a thumbnail for

a media item, an icon similar to a film reel is used to indicate a video item, as shown in the

following illustration.

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

In the following example, the playlist shows items with thumbnails for a different component, an

Avid Deko graphics device instead of a video server:

If Command is controlling video and graphic devices that do not support thumbnails, then

default icons for each are used instead, as shown in the following illustration, which is a sample

playlist displaying both default video and graphic icons in their default 16 x 16 pixel size.

Customizing the Playlist Viewer

nIf Command is controlling a device that supports thumbnails, the default size for icons in the

playlist gets bigger (up to 48 pixels) if the thumbnail column is widened. The following

illustration shows the larger size thumbnail and default video icon for a playable and unplayable

item:

To turn on the display of thumbnails:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

Locking and Unlocking Playlists

2. In Category, expand Playlist and Shotbox Viewers.

3. Select Playlist Viewer.

4. Select Show thumbnails if you want to view thumbnails of media in the playlist.

5. Click OK to save settings.

Locking and Unlocking Playlists

When a playlist is loaded from a newsroom computer system, iNEWS Command sends that

system updates any time changes occur to the playlist at the Command workstation and receives

updates from the newsroom computer system when changes are made to the rundown. The

playlist is controlled and therefore considered “locked” by the newsroom system. However,

should that connection be broken, the playlist is considered to be “disconnected”.

When a disconnect occurs, playout can continue from the Command workstation; however, any

changes to the playlist in Command will not be sent to the rundown in the newsroom computer

system. Also, the playlist will not display any modifications that might be made to the rundown.

At that point, it is equivalent to a standalone playlist.

Locking and Unlocking Playlists

cIf a disconnect occurs, reloading the playlist from the newsroom computer system will

restore the connection and provide the most up-to-date playlist in the Playlist Explorer or,

if configured to do so, on a new tab in the Playlist Viewer. The channel groups (devices)

locked to the original, disconnected playlist must be manually unlocked, and then relocked

from the reloaded playlist on the new tab.

On the far right side of the Playlist toolbar is the Playlist Lock button. Its appearance varies

depending on the status of the playlist:

This icon indicates that the playlist is controlled (locked) by an iNEWS newsroom

rundown. Clicking it will prompt the user with an Override Lock dialog box. The user must

type in the system administrator password to override the lock and disconnect the playlist

from the newsroom rundown.

Whenever the lock held by an iNEWS newsroom rundown is overridden, the icon will

change to one with a blinking red X to indicate the playlist is disconnected from the

newsroom rundown.

This icon indicates that the playlist is MOS active and marked ready-to-air by a MOS-based

newsroom rundown. Clicking it will prompt the user with an Override Lock dialog box.

If overridden, the playlist is disconnected; when this occurs, the icon will change to one

with a blinking red X to indicate the playlist is now disconnected from the MOS-based

newsroom rundown.

This icon indicates that the playlist is locked by the user at the Command Workstation.

When locked, the user can insert, move, or delete items in the playlist. Clicking it will

unlock the playlist at the workstation. When it is unlocked, the icon will change to indicate

the playlist is unlocked.

This icon indicates that the playlist is unlocked. Clicking it will lock the playlist at the

Command Workstation.

Working with Channel Groups

Whenever a playlist is locked by another user, and you attempt to edit the playlist such as

dragging and dropping an item into the playlist, Command will display a dialog box explaining

that you must first lock the playlist yourself before being allowed to make such edits.

Selecting Yes in the dialog box will lock the playlist by you and permit edits.

Working with Channel Groups

A channel group is a group of one or more device channels that might or might not be across

multiple devices.

This icon indicates that the playlist is MOS active and marked ready-to-air by a MOS-based

newsroom rundown. Clicking it will prompt the user with an Override Lock dialog box.

If overridden, the playlist is disconnected; when this occurs, the icon will change to one

with a blinking red X to indicate the playlist is now disconnected from the MOS-based

newsroom rundown.

This icon indicates that the playlist is locked by the user at the Command Workstation.

When locked, the user can insert, move, or delete items in the playlist. Clicking it will

unlock the playlist at the workstation. When it is unlocked, the icon will change to indicate

the playlist is unlocked.

This icon indicates that the playlist is unlocked. Clicking it will lock the playlist at the

Command Workstation.

Working with Channel Groups

nAvid recommends that each channel group pertains to the same “type” of device. For example, a

channel group called AS is a grouping of channels from two or more AirSpeed video servers,

while a different channel group named CG is a grouping of channels on a Deko character

generator.

In this example, a station has two AirSpeed video servers, each with two channels that are

numbered 2 and 3. The first AirSpeed is called AS1 and the second one AS2. With channel

groups on Command, the station’s system administrator can set up numerous different channel

groups and call them anything, such as the following:

As shown in the table, some channels are used for actual broadcast while others are reserved for

off-air browsing, hotswapping, and mirrored playout purposes.

nIf the channel group contains playback and browse channels, double-clicking on an item in the

Media Viewer will lock that channel group.

Hotswapping is an automatic channel failover protection feature available at sites with more than

one video server. A hotswap channel takes the place of a standard playout channel in the group

should that channel fail. For playout purposes, Command displays in the Status area the channel

that replaces the failed one. It also displays an icon on the Channel toolbar to indicate when a

hotswap occurs. For more information, see “Channel Group Icons” on page 162.

Channel

Group

Channel

Names Actual Device Channels Purpose

AS-Morning A

AS1 - channel 2

AS1 - channel 3

AS2 - channel 2

Playout

Browse

AS-Noon A

AS1 - channel 2

AS1 - channel 3

AS2 - channel 2

Playout

Hotswap

AS-5PM A

AS1 - channel 2

AS1 - channel 3

AS2 - channel 2

AS2 - channel 3

Playout

AS-10PM A

AS1 - channel 2

AS2 - channel 2

AS1 - channel 3

AS2 - channel 3

Playout

Mirrored

Playout

Mirrored

Working with Channel Groups

nAlthough the hotswap channel in Command retains the original name of the failed channel, it is

still a different physical channel. So, to achieve playout, the person at the switcher must be aware

of its physical channel location when taking the hotswap channel to air.

In the Playlist Viewer, users can add new or existing channel groups to standalone playlists, as

well as lock or unlock channel groups. For more information on assigning channels, see

“Changing Channels” on page 117.

To add an existing channel group to a standalone playlist:

1. With the playlist open, right-click on the Channel toolbar (anywhere in the gray area).

2. Select Channel toolbar > Channels > Add Existing....

3. Choose one or more of the channel groups from the list.

nTo select multiple channel groups, hold the Ctrl key down and click the groups.

4. Click OK.

A button or buttons for selected channel groups appears on the Playlist toolbar.

There is also another way to add an existing channel group to a standalone playlist. When

dragging and dropping media from the Inventory into a standalone playlist, if the media

belongs to a channel group not already added to the playlist, an Add Channel Group dialog

will appear (shown below) asking the user to confirm the addition of the channel group to

the playlist. Clicking OK adds the channel group.

Working with Channel Groups

To add a new channel group:

1. With the playlist open, right-click on the Channel toolbar (anywhere in the gray area).

2. Select Channel toolbar > Channels > Add New....

The Add New Channel Group dialog box opens.

3. When prompted for the administrator password, type it in and click OK.

The Add New Channel Group to Playlist dialog box opens.

Working with Channel Groups

4. Enter the name of the new channel group and any notes you want.

5. Click Add to add a channel to the group.

6. In the Channel Details section, select the Channel Type, Primary, Mirror, and Preview

options for that channel.

7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 as needed. You can use the Up and Down buttons to rearrange the order

of channels in the group.

8. Click OK.

To remove a channel group from a playlist:

1. Remove any media in that group from the playlist.

2. Right-click the button for that channel group on the Playlist toolbar.

3. Select Remove from the menu.

For more information, see “Assigning Channels in Playlist Viewer” on page 74.

Working with Channel Groups

Locking Channel Groups

Channel group locks are not the same as playlist locks. A channel group lock pertains to control

of playout on channels in a group. A playlist lock pertains to ability to modify the structure of the

playlist itself. Users can lock one or more channel groups for a playlist from a Command

Workstation.

To lock a channel group:

tClick the Channel Group button associated with that channel group in the Playlist toolbar.

The icon on the button will change to indicate the channel group’s locked status.

To unlock a channel group:

tClick the Channel Group button associated with that channel group in the Playlist toolbar.

The icon on the button will change to indicate the channel group’s unlocked status.

nChannel groups are numbered by the system from left to right as they appear on the Playlist

toolbar, beginning with 1. This enables alternative keystroke combinations for locking and

unlocking individual channel groups. For example, to lock an individual channel group use:

Ctrl+1 for the first channel group, Ctrl+2 for the second, and so forth. To unlock, use the Alt key

instead of Ctrl.

To simultaneously lock all of a playlist’s channel groups:

tEither press Ctrl+L or select Playlist > Channels > Lock All.

To simultaneously unlock all of a playlist’s channel groups:

tEither press Alt+L or select Playlist > Channels > Unlock All.

When a channel group is locked, the status of those locks appears on the status bar at the

bottom right corner of the window, if configured to be displayed in the user interface. For

more information, see “Status Bar” on page 20.

In the following illustration, a closeup of the locked status for both channels A and B of a

channel group named AB is shown:

The per-channel status can also appear on the Channel toolbar, if configured to be displayed

in the user interface. For more information, see “Hiding a Playlist’s Playout or Channel

Toolbar” on page 49.

Working with Channel Groups

Assigning Channels in Playlist Viewer

After a channel group is added to a playlist, channels can be assigned to or edited for specific

items in the playlist.

For some sites, channels are automatically assigned when the playlist’s channel group is locked.

Whether this occurs depends on system settings in Avid iNEWS Command. Contact your system

administrator for more information.

There are other methods for assigning channels at a workstation as well.

To assign channels in Command:

tDo one of the following:

- Click the field in the Channel column of the playlist opened in the Playlist Viewer and

type the first character of the channel name, such as A, B, or C.

- Type Ctrl+*, type the first character of the channel name, and press Enter.

- Right-click and select Channel > Assign.

-Type Ctrl+R.

nEither of the last two steps will result in the assignment of alternating channels throughout the

playlist. For example, if there are two channels, A and B, then Command will automatically

assign A to the first item, B to the second, A to the third, and so forth. Auto-assignment only

applies to channels that are locked.

To assign a channel to multiple items:

1. Click the first item to select it.

2. Do one of the following:

tHold the Shift key down to select all items between your first selection and your last.

tHold the Control key down to select multiple non-sequential items.

In the following example, items for pages 06, 08, and 10 are selected, while 07, 09, and 11

are not:

Working with Channel Groups

3. Do one of the following:

tPress Ctrl+* (asterisk) to set the focus on the Channel field, then type the first letter of

the channel you want. (This will change all selected items.)

tWith the Shift or Ctrl key still held down, as chosen in the previous step, double-click in

the last item’s cell located in the Channel column. This will give you a drop-down

arrow. Then, click the arrow and select the channel from the list, as shown in the

previous graphic.

4. Click anywhere else in the playlist. It’s at this point that the channel is reassigned to the

selected items.

In the following example, the user clicked on row 11 as indicated by the black outline, and

the channel assigned to items 06, 08, and 10 is now A:

Working with Channel Groups

Setting the Graphics Style for a Channel Group

Graphics styles are system settings you can assign to a channel group in a playlist or shotbox. If

the one you are looking for is not listed, contact your system administrator to have it added. A

graphics style can be set per channel group, allowing for multiple styles in a single standalone

playlist or shotbox.

To set the graphics style for a playlist:

1. Right-click on the channel group in the Playlist toolbar.

2. Select Edit Properties for this Playlist... (This option will not appear if you right-click on a

channel group associated with a video device.)

The Playlist Channel Group Properties dialog box opens.

3. Enter the graphics style.

4. Click OK.

Setting Workstation Alias

Command has a workstation alias that, once set, is displayed on the Playlist toolbar next to the

Channel Lock icons whenever a channel group is locked. This lets users see which workstation

has the lock on the channel group.

For instance, the image on the left shows the ABCD channel group locked by the local

workstation called TD. The image on the right shows the view from another workstation while

the same ABCD channel group is still locked by the workstation called TD.

To set the workstation alias:

1. Select Tools > Options > Startup.

2. Enter the alias for the workstation.

Working with Standalone Playlists

3. Click OK.

nCommand Workstation options are user specific; they are saved in each user’s Windows profile.

If users log in to a workstation using their own user names, they will not see the workstation

alias until they have set it for their own profile.

Working with Standalone Playlists

A standalone playlist is one that is not directly associated with (or disconnected from) a

newsroom rundown. Users can create or delete standalone playlists at the Command

Workstation. They can also edit them, add breaks, and even add placeholders into standalone

playlists.

Placeholders can be used to associate media with a story before the media is actually available.

Since each placeholder must have a unique ID to avoid playback of the wrong media, the format

of the placeholder should be predefined in System Settings. See the Avid iNEWS Command

Administration Guide for more information.

nDisconnected newsroom playlists contain stories with items. By default, newly created

standalone playlists do not contain stories and are considered item-only standalone playlists.

This section pertains to the latter type of playlist. For more information, see “Inserting New

Stories” on page 119 and “Customizing the Playlist Viewer” on page 53.

To create a standalone playlist:

1. Select File > New > Playlist (or use the shortcut keystroke combination, Ctrl+Shift+N).

2. When the Create New Playlist dialog box opens, enter a name for the new playlist.

3. Click OK.

4. Assign a channel group or groups to the new standalone playlist by clicking the Add/Lock

Channel Group button. You can add either a new channel group or an existing one. For more

information see “Working with Channel Groups” on page 69.

5. Drag and drop items (existing machine control events) from the Inventory Explorer into your

playlist.

6. Repeat step 5 as needed.

After a standalone playlist is created, the items in that list can be modified as needed, such as

rearranging the order or deleting items.

To edit a standalone playlist:

1. Open the playlist.

2. Do any of the following:

Working with Standalone Playlists

tAdd new items to the playlist by selecting Playlist > Insert > New Item or by dragging

them from the Inventory Explorer. You can also drag items from a shotbox into a

playlist.

nIf the channel group associated with the item is not already assigned to the playlist, then a dialog

box will appear to confirm the assignment of the channel group to the playlist. Once confirmed,

the channels are assigned to the playlist and the item added.

tDelete items by selecting the item and pressing the Delete key.

tRearrange the order by dragging and dropping items into new locations within the

playlist.

To add breaks between items:

1. Type Ctrl+B.

2. Select Playlist > Insert > New Break.

To add a placeholder in a standalone playlist:

1. Do one of the following:

tType Alt+Insert.

tRight click and select Insert > New Item.

2. When the Insert Placeholder dialog box appears, click OK.

To delete a standalone playlist:

1. Select the playlist in the Playlist Explorer.

2. Press the Delete key.

cTo delete a playlist, it must not be on air.

Inventory Versioning

The ID field in a standalone playlist enables users to view (via a drop-down list) the inventory

available in two ways. By default, all available inventory for the channel group appears in the

drop-down list when a user clicks in the ID field. However, with Command’s Playlist Viewer

options, a user can configure the system to display only those versions of items matching a

defined prefix and separator.

For instance, an inventory has numerous items with various IDs, but one item has a video ID

called “clip”. In the inventory, there are three versions of the item, clip, which are clip-01,

clip-02, clip-03. By default the separator is a hyphen, and the numerical values are the versions.

So if a user clicks on the ID field for that item in a standalone playlist, the drop-down list will

Working with Standalone Playlists

only display the three existing versions of the item. If a user clicks on another item that does not

have anything in the ID to match the configured prefix and separator, then the entire inventory

will appear in the drop-down list.

To set options for versioning:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator. The Options dialog box opens.

2. In Category, expand Playlist and Shotbox Viewers.

3. Expand Playlist Viewer and select Inventory Versioning.

4. Do one of the following:

tSelect Show all inventory for channel group.

tSelect Show inventory with matching prefix and separator. Then define the separator

and/or prefix. By default the separator is defined as a hyphen (-).

5. Click OK.

Working with Embedded Playlists

Avid iNEWS Command supports embedding playlists, which enables users to insert one playlist

into another one. In the following example, a newsroom producer is setting up a newscast in

which there will be a segment on sports. The ability to embed playlists enables a user to work on

one rundown without requiring access to another—the person setting up the sports segment no

longer needs full producer-level access to the newscast rundown. Instead, two rundowns can be

created: one for the overall newscast and another for the sports segment. The newsroom producer

can embed the sports rundown inside the news rundown, as shown below:

Another example of this workflow is a newscast that contains segments produced at different

locations. The primary rundown could contain one or more embedded rundowns from remote

sites.

A user can embed playlists from the Command Workstation or from the iNEWS Workstation.

nWhen using Command Workstation, the playlist can be embedded only into a standalone playlist.

When using the iNEWS Workstation, the playlist can be embedded only into a newsroom

rundown, which appears as a newsroom playlist in Command once the monitor server is loaded.

For more information on monitor server, see “Loading Rundowns to Command” on page 111.

To embed a playlist using Command:

1. Open (or create) the container playlist in the Playlist Viewer.

2. Select a playlist you want to embed from the Playlist Explorer.

3. Drag it to the location in container (standalone) playlist. It must be dropped before a story,

not an item; otherwise, the system will display a warning to that effect.

Working with Embedded Playlists

When the playlist is successfully embedded, no icon appears, but the color of the top row is

different, as is a matching bar that continues down the left side to indicate all items included

as part of the embedded playlist.

In the previous example, the embedded playlist is called Special and contains four

items—the first of which is called China Trade and is playing, and the last of which is called

Closing Bell. The cursor is on the last item in the embedded playlist, as indicated by the

row’s black rectangular outline. The I-WORLDCUP story is not part of the embedded

playlist, as indicated by the absence of the bar on the left edge.

To embed a playlist using the Avid iNEWS newsroom computer system:

1. Open the rundown in which you want to embed another rundown.

2. Insert a new story where you want the other rundown embedded.

3. In the Title field (usually named Slug), type

EMBED:

followed by the pathname of the

rundown that you want to embed. For example:

EMBED: SHOWS.6PM.RUNDOWN

The

EMBED:

token is configurable, so check with your system administrator.

cDo not add machine control events to the story.

This icon appears in the container playlist as the system is embedding the playlist.

If a problem occurs, This icon might appear to indicate that the system was unable to embed the

playlist, resulting in an error. Mousing over the row referencing the embedded playlist will

provide a tooltip with more deatils about the error. An example of an error is:

This embedded

playlist was deleted.

Using Time of Day Playlists

Editing Embedded Playlists

Embedded playlists are not copies of the original playlist. So, changes made to the actual playlist

will appear when viewing the embedded playlist. Like stories in an iNEWS rundown, embedded

playlists can be moved or floated.

Whether editing can be done is determined by the type of playlist regardless of whether that

playlist is a container for an embedded playlist or the embedded one itself. Users can edit a

standalone playlist (or a disconnected newsroom playlist) from the Command Workstation.

Newroom playlists locked by the newsroom computer system must be edited from a workstation

running the newsroom computer system software.

If the embedded playlist is a standalone playlist, to edit it, you must open the actual playlist in

the Playlist Viewer at a Command Workstation.

cDo not try to edit it from its embedded location.

Using Time of Day Playlists

In Avid iNEWS Command, playlists can be set to air at specific times. These playlists are called

time of day playlists.

cThe playlist’s channel group must be unlocked so the time of day process can lock it for

playout. Otherwise, it will not occur as scheduled. For example, if the time-of-day playlist

shares the same channel group or if it's a different channel group but it shares an

individual channel with a group that's locked, the time-of-day playlist won't play.

To set a playlist to air at a certain time of day:

1. Open (or create) a playlist in the Playlist Viewer.

2. Select Playlist > Edit > Properties.

The Playlist Properties dialog box opens.

Using Time of Day Playlists

3. In the Time of day section, select the check box and set the time you want Command to

automatically begin playing the playlist.

nAllow at least thirty second lead time when setting up time of day playlists.

4. Click OK.

A new button will appear on the Playlist toolbar along with the time the playlist is set to

begin.

nYou can click on the Time of Day button to open the Playlist Properties dialog at any time, such

as if you want to change the time setting or remove the scheduled time altogether.

4Shotbox Viewer

The iNEWS Command interface provides a panel known as the Shotbox Viewer, with which

users can view and manage on-air playout of media for a single channel group in any random

order. For example, a newscast has segments with stories arranged to air in a specific order. For

this a playlist is used, but what if a portion of the show will consist of live interviews? Because

the live broadcast is not scripted, a more flexible arrangement for media playout is necessary.

This is where the Shotbox Viewer panel comes in.

nCommand supports the use of touch screen monitors, and Avid recommends a touch screen

monitor for all sites that heavily use shotboxes.

This chapter contains the following main sections:

•Overview of the Shotbox Viewer

-Toolbars

-Configuring the Channel Toolbar

-Customizing the Shotbox Viewer

-Customizing the Shotbox Behavior

-Customizing the Clocks

-Resizing the Shotbox Viewer

•Creating a Shotbox

•Loading a Shotbox from iNEWS or NRCS

•Deleting a Shotbox

•Working with Channel Groups in a Shotbox

-Locking a Channel Group

-Assigning Channels in a Shotbox

-Setting the Graphics Style for a Channel Group

Overview of the Shotbox Viewer

Among the many capabilities featured in the Shotbox Viewer panel, a user can:

Overview of the Shotbox Viewer

• View a set of media items

• Lock a channel group

• Control playout of items in any order for broadcast

• Pin a media item for playout on a specific channel.

The window can have different shotboxes open simultaneously. All are accessible through tabs

located at the top of the Shotbox Viewer panel. The following illustration shows three shotboxes

open in the panel, with the on-air one called 6PM News on top. In the example, thumbnails are

not displayed. For more information on how to view shotboxes with thumbnails, see “Displaying

Thumbnails in a Shotbox” on page 96.

In the preceding illustration, the channel group is AB. One item is playing on channel B, two

items are cued, and another called Hurricane flyover is stopped. Four items are pinned to specific

channels.

nSimilar to the Playlist Viewer, the Shotbox Viewer cannot be split to view multiple shotboxes

simultaneously; only one tab can be viewed at a time. However, items can be copied or cut and

pasted from one shotbox to another so long as the shotboxes use the same channel group.

The appearance and some behavior of the shotbox is customizable. For more information, see

“Customizing the Shotbox Viewer” on page 90.

Overview of the Shotbox Viewer

The cursor appears as an altered border around an item in the Shotbox Viewer. For example, in

the previous graphic, the cursor is on the F5: Block 1 item, as indicated by a bolder black border.

The color specified for the cursor is used for both shotboxes and playlists. For more information

on how to set or modify the cursor’s color, see “Customizing the Cursor” on page 57.

To open a shotbox:

tDouble-click on a shotbox in the Playlist Explorer. Command will open it in the Shotbox

Viewer to display the shotbox of media for a specified channel group.

nBy default, the Shotbox Viewer panel opens above the Playlist Viewer area. The Shotbox Viewer

can be moved, resized, and docked like other panels, enabling the user to customize the window

to suit his or her needs.

Shotboxes are identified in the Playlist Explorer by their icons. Newsroom playlists that have

the word “shotbox” in the name can be loaded to Command as shotboxes and therefore will

appear with different icons than those created in Command as standalone shotboxes. For

more information on these icons, see “Playlist Explorer” on page 163.

Toolbars

Below each tab is the Shotbox toolbar containing two clocks and several buttons for playout

control, as well as buttons for locking the channel group or shotbox. With the toolbar, a user at

the Command workstation can cue, play, pause, or stop items via the Control buttons.

Control buttons allow users to control playout of events on locked devices in the channel group

associated with the loaded shotbox. For more information about the clocks on the Shotbox

toolbar, see “Customizing the Clocks” on page 94. A user cannot choose whether to display the

Shotbox toolbar.

The Channel Group button represents the channel group that is associated with the loaded

shotbox and is used to lock the channel group for playout control and unlock it afterward. Unlike

playlists, multiple channel groups cannot be configured for shotboxes, so only one Channel

Group button will appear in the Shotbox toolbar.

Overview of the Shotbox Viewer

On the far right side of the Shotbox toolbar is the Lock button. This lock is obtained

automatically whenever a shotbox is created or opened. Similar to the Playlist Lock button, the

Lock button’s appearance varies depending on the status of the shotbox’s lock:

Configuring the Channel Toolbar

Below the Shotbox toolbar is the Channel toolbar, which displays an icon representing the status

of each channel in the channel group. For more information, see “Channel Group Icons” on

page 162.

nThe number of channels that appear on the Channel toolbar will vary depending on the number

of channels configured for the channel group associated with the shotbox.

The border around the channel on the Channel toolbar indicates the next channel on which an

unpinned item will be cued. Clicking another channel on the toolbar can switch the border to a

different channel. When tally is active, the colors of the border and the toolbar inside the border

can change. What colors appear are determined by an option in Command, which the user can

set. For more information, see “Customizing the Channel Toolbar for Tally” on page 50.

Icon Description

This icon indicates that the shotbox is locked by the user at the Command Workstation.

When locked, the user can insert, move, or delete items in the shotbox. Clicking it will

unlock the shotbox at the workstation. When it is unlocked, the icon will change to indicate

the shotbox is unlocked.

This icon indicates that the shotbox is unlocked. Clicking it will lock the shotbox at the

Command Workstation.

This icon indicates that the shotbox is locked by a user at a different Command

Workstation. When locked by another user, only that user can insert, move, or delete items

in the shotbox. Clicking the icon will override the other user’s lock. The user must type in

the system administrator password to override the lock.

This icon indicates an unusual lock condition.

Overview of the Shotbox Viewer

Since the same per-channel status information that appears on the Channel bar is also available

on the status bar at the bottom right of the main window, a user can choose whether to display the

Channel toolbar.

To show or hide the Channel toolbar:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

2. In Category, expand the Playlist and Shotbox Viewers, then Shotbox Viewer, and select

Toolbars.

3. Do one of the following:

tSelect the Show channel toolbar option to display the toolbar.

tDeselect the Show channel toolbar option to hide the toolbar.

4. Click OK.

Customizing the Shotbox Viewer

When first installed, Avid iNEWS Command uses default colors and fonts to display information

about events; however users can customize how that data is displayed on the Shotbox Viewer

tabs. For example, a user might want an unplayable event to appear in red so that it easily stands

out on the screen.

Users can also customize the layout of shotboxes by adjusting other display options, such as

whether to show the video ID or the video item’s slug (title).

nChanges made to the Appearance settings apply to the Playlist and Shotbox Viewers; only a few

settings are not applicable to shotboxes, such as Story, Embedded Playlist, and Break entries.

To customize the appearance of the Shotbox Viewer:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

2. In Category, expand Playlist and Shotbox Viewers and select Appearance.

Customizing the Shotbox Viewer

3. You can alter the font, as well as the color of text and backgrounds. As you click on each

entry in the Playlist section, your settings for that entry will appear in the Sample section at

the bottom of the dialog box. You can select and modify multiple entries simultaneously.

4. (Optional) Click Apply to save the settings without closing the dialog box, so further

modification can continue.

nThe Restore Defaults button is used to restore all settings to the system’s original default

settings.

5. Click OK to save the settings and close the dialog box.

To customize the layout for shotboxes:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

2. In the Main Label section, select whether you want to display the video’s slug or ID, then

click Change to set the font for that display. A sample of your settings is provided as a

preview.

3. In the Duration section, select whether to display the duration, and then click Change to set

the font for that display. A sample of your settings is provided as a preview.

Customizing the Shotbox Viewer

4. (Optional) Click Apply to save the settings without closing the dialog box, so further

modification can continue.

5. Click OK to save the settings.

nFor more information regarding thumbnails in shotboxes, see “Displaying Thumbnails in a

Shotbox” on page 96.

Customizing the Shotbox Behavior

Other features of the Shotbox Viewer that a user can define is how the system should behave in

regard to auto-assignment of channels and whenever a user clicks on items in a shotbox.

To customize the behavior of the Shotbox Viewer:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

2. In Category, expand Playlist and Shotbox Viewers, then the Shotbox Viewer and select

Behavior.

3. Do one of the following or both:

Customizing the Shotbox Viewer

tSet what behavior should occur when clicking an item:

tSet what behavior should occur when channels are automatically assigned:

4. Click OK.

Customizing the Clocks

The clocks on either side of the toolbar can be hidden or customized to provide certain timing

functions, which include:

• Time elapsed in clip

• Time remaining in clip

Each clock’s background color, as well as the font and color of text, can be altered from the

defaults, which are: black, 24 pt., bold MS Shell Dlg font on a yellow background. While the

font setting is shared by both clocks, the colors can be set independently of one another.

To change clock functions:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box opens.

Option Description

Play on first click A mouse click on an item in the shotbox will cause it to

begin playing on the assigned channel.

Cue on first click, play on

second

A mouse click on an item in the shotbox will cause it to cue

on the assigned channel. The item would begin playing on

that channel with a second mouse click.

Option Description

One channel All unpinned channels are automatically assigned to a

single channel in the channel group.

Alternating channels All unpinned channels are automatically assigned to

alternating channels in the channel group. This could be

two or more channels, such as A, B, C, and D for a video

server.

Customizing the Shotbox Viewer

100

2. In Category, expand Playlist and Shotbox Viewers, then Shotbox Viewer, and select Clocks.

3. Set each clock’s behavior, text color, and background color.

4. To change the font used for both clocks, click the Change button.

5. When finished modifying the look and behavior of the clocks, click OK.

Resizing the Shotbox Viewer

By default, the Shotbox Viewer splits the main portion of the Command window with Playlist

Viewer if both are opened. A user can adjust the division of the space for the Shotbox and

Playlist Viewers by clicking on the divider bar between them and dragging it up or down.

nCommand is designed to adjust the size of the columns within the Shotbox Viewer so that no

partial columns are shown. If the size is adjusted too small, some features will be hidden, such as

the icon used to indicate when an item is pinned to a channel. More space is required if

thumbnails are shown in shotboxes.

To resize the boxes in the Shotbox Viewer:

1. Position the mouse pointer between two items.

2. Click and drag left or right to shrink or enlarge the box.

Customizing the Shotbox Viewer

101

The system is designed to adjust the height whenever the width is modified to maintain

aspect ratio of thumbnails.

The Shotbox Viewer can also be maximized to fill the entire window.

To maximize the Shotbox Viewer:

tSelect Shotbox > Maximize.

Like other panels in the Command user interface, the Shotbox Viewer can be docked or

undocked, as well as layered with other panels. For more information, see “Working with

Panels” on page 23.

Displaying Thumbnails in a Shotbox

Thumbnails in Command are small graphical representations of the media, which could be a

character generated graphic or a frame of video. In regard to video, although sometimes referred

to as headframes, thumbnails are created from within the first five frames of video and therefore

might or might not be the first or “head” frame.

nFor video clips, the marked in time does not affect the creation of thumbnails, which are created

from within the first five frames of recorded video.

The following is an example of a shotbox with thumbnails:

Customizing the Shotbox Viewer

102

In the preceding example, the panel is sized to display three items per row, but that is adjustable.

For more information on how to resize the shotbox, see “Resizing the Shotbox Viewer” on

page 95.

To turn on the display of thumbnails:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box will appear.

2. In Category, expand Playlist and Shotbox Viewers.

3. Select Shotbox Viewer.

Creating a Shotbox

103

4. Select Show thumbnails if you want to view thumbnails of media in the shotbox.

5. Click OK to save settings.

Creating a Shotbox

A shotbox is a set of media items, such as video or character generated graphics, that can be

played in any order. You can create shotboxes from any Command Workstation; however, unlike

playlists, there is no newsroom equivalent.

To create a shotbox:

1. Do one of the following:

tSelect File > New > Shotbox.

tType Ctrl+Alt+N.

2. When prompted, give the shotbox a name and select the channel group.

nEach shotbox requires only one channel group, which will appear in the Shotbox toolbar but not

be locked. For more information, see “Locking a Channel Group” on page 102.

The new shotbox will open with its lock already set and twelve empty slots for media. More

than twelve can be added. Each of the first twelve slots aligns to a function key (F1-F12),

which can be used to cue and play the media.

Creating a Shotbox

104

When a shotbox opens, the Inventory panel automatically switches to the channel group for

the shotbox.

To add an item to a shotbox do any of the following:

tSelect a single item from the Inventory panel, then drag and drop it into the shotbox at the

position to which you want it to appear.

tUsing standard Windows-based keystrokes, copy an item from a playlist that uses the same

channel group and paste it into the shotbox.

tDrag and drop an item (or items) from a playlist that uses the same channel group to the

shotbox.

nDropping an item onto a slot designated as an F1-F12 slot will position the item at that location.

Dropping an item after those twelve slots will add the item to the shotbox beyond those twelve

slots.

Loading a Shotbox from iNEWS or NRCS

105

To add multiple items to a shotbox:

tUse the Shift or Ctrl keys and the mouse to select multiple items in the Inventory panel, then

drag and drop them into the shotbox.

If using the Ctrl key and mouse to select multiple, nonconsecutive items from the Inventory

panel, the order in which you click the items determines their arrangement once you drag

and drop them into the shotbox.

Loading a Shotbox from iNEWS or NRCS

You have the ability to load a shotbox from iNEWS or ENPS.

To load a shotbox from iNEWS or NRCS:

tMake sure the playlist has the word “shotbox” in its name.

For example, if you had an iNEWS rundown called SHOW.SHOTBOX.6P, the rundown

would appear as a shotbox when loaded to Command, with new icons differentiating

between a normal rundown and a shotbox.

nThe Command shotbox still only supports a single channel group. The iNEWS/ENPS rundown

can only have one story, and all items (video or graphic) must be added to that story.

Deleting a Shotbox

A user can delete items from a shotbox or delete an entire shotbox.

To delete an item from a shotbox:

tSelect the item and press the Delete key.

You can select multiple items for deletion by using the Shift or Ctrl keys.

Working with Channel Groups in a Shotbox

106

nDeleting an item assigned to a function key will leave that slot empty. The others will not shift in

the shotbox to fill in the slot. Deleting any item located after the twelve slots associated with

function keys will cause items to shift accordingly and fill in the vacancy. If you want to force a

shift within the F1-F12 slots, you must hold down the Shift key when you delete the item assigned

to a function key.

To delete a shotbox:

1. Right-click on the shotbox in the Playlist Explorer.

2. Select Delete from the context menu.

3. When prompted to confirm deletion, click OK.

Working with Channel Groups in a Shotbox

A channel group is a group of one or more device channels that might or might not be across

multiple devices.

nAvid recommends that each channel group pertains to the same “type” of device. For instance, a

channel group called AS is a grouping of channels from two or more AirSpeed video servers,

while a different channel group named CG is a grouping of channels on a Deko character

generator.

In the following example, a station has two AirSpeed video servers, each with two channels that

are numbered 2 and 3. The first AirSpeed is named AS1 and the second one AS2. With channel

groups on Command, the station’s system administrator can set up numerous different channel

groups and call them anything, such as:

Channel

Group

Channel

Names Actual Device Channels Purpose

AS-Morning A

AS1 - channel 2

AS1 - channel 3

AS2 - channel 2

Playout

Browse

AS-Noon A

AS1 - channel 2

AS1 - channel 3

AS2 - channel 2

Playout

Hotswap

Working with Channel Groups in a Shotbox

107

In the Shotbox Viewer, users can lock or unlock the channel group. For more information on

assigning channels, see “Changing Channels” on page 117.

In the above examples, some channels are used for actual broadcast while others are reserved for

off-air browsing, hotswapping, and mirrored playout purposes. A hotswap channel takes the

place of a standard playout channel in the group should that channel fail, and it retains the

original channel’s name for playout purposes. Command displays an icon on the Channel toolbar

to indicate when a hotswap occurs. For more information, see “Channel Group Icons” on

page 162.

nAlthough the hotswap channel in Command retains the original name of the failed channel, it is

still a different physical channel. So, to achieve playout, the person at the switcher must be aware

of its physical channel location when taking the hotswap channel to air.

Locking a Channel Group

Channel group locks pertain to control of playout on channels in a group. Users can lock or

unlock the channel group for a shotbox from a Command Workstation.

To lock or unlock a specific channel group:

tWith the shotbox open, click the Channel Group button. The icon on the button will change

to indicate whether it is locked or unlocked. For more information, see “Playlist and Shotbox

Viewer Buttons” on page 157.

When a channel group is locked, the status of those locks on each channel in the group

appears on the status bar at the bottom right corner of the window, if configured to be

displayed in the user interface. For more information, see “Status Bar” on page 20. In the

following illustration, a closeup of the locked status for both channels A and B of a channel

group named AB is shown:

AS-5PM A

AS1 - channel 2

AS1 - channel 3

AS2 - channel 2

AS2 - channel 3

Playout

AS-10PM A

AS1 - channel 2

AS2 - channel 2

AS1 - channel 3

AS2 - channel 3

Playout

Mirrored

Playout

Mirrored

Channel

Group

Channel

Names Actual Device Channels Purpose

Working with Channel Groups in a Shotbox

108

The per-channel status can also appear on the Channel toolbar, if configured to be displayed

in the user interface. For more information, see “Configuring the Channel Toolbar” on

page 88.

Replacing a Channel Group in a Shotbox

Avid iNEWS Command does provide a way for users to replace a shotbox’s channel group with

another channel group.

cDo not replace a shotbox’s channel group if that group is already locked. The replaced

group remains locked, but no indication of such will appear in the user interface.

Also, do not replace a shotbox’s channel group if the shotbox contains items from the

original group. If the latter occurs, those items will become unplayable. You can delete

them from the shotbox. You can also change the channel group back to restore playability

for those items.

To replace a shotbox’s channel group:

1. Right click on the Channel Group button in the Shotbox toolbar.

2. Select Replace.

3. Choose another channel group.

4. Click OK.

Assigning Channels in a Shotbox

For some sites, channels are automatically assigned when the shotbox’s channel group is locked.

Whether this occurs depends on system settings in Avid iNEWS Command. Contact your system

administrator for more information.

With shotboxes, items can be automatically assigned to playout on a single channel or on

alternating channels. If configured for alternating channel assignment, the items in the shotbox

will at first appear to be assigned to one channel, but the user can select a different channel to

begin with by clicking on the Channel toolbar. Also, the moment an item is played, all other

unpinned items in the shotbox will switch to the next channel in the group.

nFor more information on how to configure shotbox channel assignment behavior, see

“Customizing the Shotbox Behavior” on page 92.

Working with Channel Groups in a Shotbox

109

In the following illustration, a shotbox is open in the Shotbox Viewer with the channel group

locked (and thumbnails turned off). At first, all channels appear set to A and the cursor is on the

F1: Hurricane flyover item in the top left corner:

In the following illustration, the channels for all items have switched to B after the user clicked

on channel B in the Channel toolbar:

Working with Channel Groups in a Shotbox

110

If the user then plays the first item in the shotbox, it will play on channel B, and the channel

assignment for the rest of the items—none of which are pinned—will automatically switch to C,

the next channel in the group, as shown in the following illustration:

Working with Channel Groups in a Shotbox

111

Pinning Channels

When a user pins an item’s channel in a shotbox that means the item will play on the pinned

channel and not be affected by any automatic channel assignments.

To pin a channel:

1. With the cursor positioned on the item, type Ctrl+Alt+* (the asteriskon the numeric keypad).

2. Type the channel name, such as A for channel A, B for channel B, and so forth.

3. Press Enter.

nA user can also use the mouse to click on and select a channel from each item’s drop-down list;

however, care should be taken if the shotbox is set to single-click play. In such cases where

single-click play is enabled, the above procedure is preferred.

To unpin a channel:

tWith the cursor positioned on the item, type Alt+Shift+* (the asterisk on the numeric

keypad) and press Enter.

Setting the Graphics Style for a Channel Group

Graphics styles are system settings you can assign to a channel group in a shotbox or playlist. If

the one you are looking for is not listed, contact your system administrator to have it added.

To set the graphics style for a shotbox:

1. Right-click on the channel group in the Shotbox toolbar.

2. Select Edit Properties for this Shotbox... (This option will not appear if you right-click on a

channel group associated with a video device.)

The Shotbox Channel Group Properties window opens.

3. Enter the graphics style.

4. Click OK.

5iNEWS Integration

The iNEWS Command system is a device automation system for on-air operations, which can be

integrated into the iNEWS newsroom computer system, or into another MOS-enabled newsroom

computer system. The interface between Avid iNEWS Command and the Avid iNEWS

newsroom computer system provides for rundown updates between the products. Command can

also operate in a standalone environment if the Avid iNEWS connection is lost.

This chapter contains the following main sections:

•Overview

•Inserting Machine Control Events into Stories

-Using an NRCS ActiveX Plug-in

-Auto-assigning Media IDs

•Loading Rundowns to Command

-Loading and Unloading Playlists from iNEWS

-Event List Queue

-Composite Queue

-Item Status After Load

•Changing Channels

Overview

This section provides an overview of the Avid iNEWS workspace and instructions on different

methods for inserting machine control events into scripts in iNEWS for the iNEWS Command

system.

The Avid iNEWS workspace consists of three main panels:

Panel Name Description

Directory panel The portion of the workspace that displays the directory or file structure of the

Avid iNEWS database.

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Inserting Machine Control Events into Stories

Users cannot add machine control events to a newsroom playlist from a Command Workstation.

This does not apply to standalone playlists, which could be a disconnected newsroom playlist.

For more on how to edit standalone playlists, see “Working with Standalone Playlists” on

page 77.

For newsroom playlists, the iNEWS Workstation provides a scripting function that places

unformatted stories into a split-screen script format with production cues, in the left column

(referred to as the Instruction panel) and story text in the right column (referred to as the Story

Text panel).Production cues might include the following: Take VO, On Camera, Take SOT, Take

Live, and so forth. When interfacing with iNEWS Command, production cues in the iNEWS

newsroom computer system might include commands for devices, such as character generators

(CGs) and high-resolution video servers.

nBy default, Avid iNEWS generally refers to all video playback devices—for instance, Avid

AirSpeed video servers—as “video” type devices.

A production cue containing a command for a device is known as a machine control event. Each

command is preceded by an asterisk (*) and should be written in a special format. The format for

machine control events, following the asterisk, starts with a code for the type of device the

instruction is for, such as CG for a character generator or Deko for an Avid Deko graphics

system. For Command, this “code name for the device” is the name of the channel group.

Queue panel The portion of the workspace that displays a list of stories in a queue. Stories

are added, deleted, moved, and ordered through this panel.

Story panel The portion of the workspace that displays the story text; however, the panel

might be split, as shown in the figure below, into the following three subpanels:

Instruction panel—for production cues and machine control instructions. It

appears on the bottom left side o the Story panel.

Story Form panel—containing fields for data typically appearing in the queue

(rundown). It appears across the top of the Story panel.

Story Text panel—containing the script of a story and production cue markers

also known as grommets that coincide with production cues and machine

control instructions in the Instruction panel. It appears on the bottom right side

of the Story panel.

The Story Text panel is the only subpanel that always appears; the other two

might be removed from view by users at iNEWS Workstations.

Panel Name Description

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After the command, the format specifies a particular item or template. If additional comments or

information, such as replaceable text, is required it would follow on succeeding lines in the same

Production Cue text box. For example, in iNEWS, a machine control event for a 2-line character

generator graphic might look like the one shown below:

In the above example, the Story panel is split to show both the Instruction and Story Text panels,

but not the Story Form panel. The Take VO production cue is information for the director; it is

not a machine control event. The machine control event for the character generator is in the

second Production Cue text box.

nMachine control event formats will vary based on styles set up by your system administrator.

Check with your system administrator for a list of styles used at your location.

Production Cue

Text Box

Machine Control Event

for a Character Generator

Instruction Panel

Story Text Panel

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To insert a machine control event into an iNEWS story:

1. From an iNEWS Workstation, open the script into the Story panel.

2. Click in the Story panel at the location where the production cue is to be placed.

3. Type Alt+Insert.

An Instruction panel appears to the left of the Story Text panel.The Instruction panel has a

Production Cue text box where the cursor is placed so that a production cue can be entered.

A production cue marker (also known as a grommet) is inserted in the script text at the

cursor position.

Auto-assigning Media IDs

The default token name in Avid iNEWS to request auto-assigned IDs from Command is

ASSIGNID.

To auto-assign media IDs from an iNEWS Workstation:

1. Open the story from the iNEWS rundown.

2. In the story’s Video ID field of the Story Form, type ASSIGNID and press Enter.

Command will automatically generate an ID and send it back via the iNEWS monitor server

so the ID will be displayed in the iNEWS story, replacing the text, ASSIGNID, in the Video

ID field.

nThe monitor server (utility program) must be on for the chosen iNEWS rundown so it can

establish a connection to the Avid iNEWS Communication service on the Command Server.

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Using an NRCS ActiveX Plug-in

Most graphic systems (such as Avid Motion Graphics, VizRT, or Chyron) support an NRCS

ActiveX plugin, which lets users view and fulfill graphics and drop them directly into the script.

When the rundown is loaded to Command, the graphics are added to the Command playlist. For

specifics about ActiveX plugin usage, see the graphic system’s product documentation.

Time-Code Triggered Graphics

Command supports the ability to trigger graphics automatically based on the video elapsed time.

When using an NRCS, such as iNEWS, this feature requires that the graphic system’s iNEWS

ActiveX plugin, such as AMG Journalist, support the ability to set an In and Out/Duration (some

graphic systems use Duration, and some use Out). When the rundown is loaded to Command, it

parses the itemEdStart and itemEdDur fields in the graphic. This feature is not supported with

hand-entered graphics. After the video is played, when the video elapsed time reaches the In

value, Command sends an Play command to the graphic device channel, and when the item’s

duration is reached, sends an Eject. If the In point of the next graphic is before the Duration/Out

value, Command sends a Play command for the next item, and does not send an Eject. This

allows the graphic device to execute an update motion, rather than having to eject and play

consecutive items.

Operators can override the In or Duration/Out value in the Command Workstation by opening

the graphic in the media viewer and adjusting the time. Likewise, users can create standalone

playlists with time-code triggered graphics. The feature requires Stories in the standalone

playlist, which can be turned on by going to Tools, Options, Playlists, and unchecking Create

item-only standalone playlists.

nThe video must be in the iNEWS story form, or if added as a production cue, it needs to be the

first item in the story.

Loading Rundowns to Command

This section provides some basic user information about the Avid iNEWS monitor server, which

is used to load iNEWS rundowns to Command. The monitor server is not an actual part of Avid

iNEWS Command software, but is a utility program on the iNEWS Server.

For iNEWS Command, it is used to scan stories in the iNEWS rundown, check that show’s event

requests for errors, and search for machine control events to build event lists (playlists) for the

production devices. It continues monitoring the rundown for changes to machine control events

and sends them to the iNEWS Command system until the show goes off the air.

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The system administrator must set up monitor servers on iNEWS Servers to ensure proper

integration between Avid iNEWS Command and an iNEWS newsroom computer system.

The monitor server is turned on when a user at an iNEWS Workstation turns it on. When on,

monitor server checks its assigned rundown for machine control events, and builds playlists. It

continues to monitor the rundown for changes and performs as much error checking as it can

without communicating with any broadcast equipment, including Command. The monitor server

loads data to the Command system when a user instructs it to do so from an iNEWS Workstation.

nIt is recommended that producers or production assistants turn the monitor server on as show

time approaches so it can check the rundown queue throughout much of the show’s development.

Monitor server scans through the scripts and builds Event Lists for CG and video if these events

are present in the scripts. Monitor server will also create a Composite list if configured to do so.

Instructing the monitor server to load data should be done later, such as just before taking the

show to air.

Loading and Unloading Playlists from iNEWS

The monitor server is used to monitor playlists before broadcasting, load newsroom playlists to

Command and unload them.

To load a playlist from Avid iNEWS to Command, using the monitor server:

1. Log in to an iNEWS Workstation.

2. Open the appropriate rundown in the Queue panel.

3. Select Tools > Monitor.

The Monitor dialog box opens.

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The system displays the current status for and name of all devices available for the opened

rundown.

The duration (or automatic quit time, if configured) appears at the bottom of the dialog box.

For more information, see “Duration” on page 114.

4. Select a monitor mode based on the following options:

If you select Load, specify the device or server to load from the Devices list, or select the All

Devices checkbox to load all devices associated with the rundown queue. To select up to

three devices from the list, without selecting all, press the Ctrl key while you click on each

item. If you select a server, the data will be loaded to all devices associated with that server.

Option Description

On Turns the monitor server on and creates an event list for each device in the

rundown queue.

Load Instructs the monitor server to load event lists to devices you select. See “Monitor

LOAD” on page 114 for more information.

Unload Disconnects from the selected device or server without turning the monitor server

off. (If all devices/servers are unloaded, the monitor server returns to the On mode.

See “Monitor Off and Unload” on page 114 for more information.

Off Turns the monitor server off, overriding the Duration setting. See “Monitor Off

and Unload” on page 114 for more information.

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Duration

Monitor server uses a large amount of system resources. If monitor servers are left on after the

end of their shows, they could degrade the efficiency of the Avid iNEWS system.

To protect system resources, a quit time or a duration can be set by the system administrator. A

quit time will automatically switch off the monitor server at the specified time, ensuring the

integrity of the system. A duration will automatically switch off the monitor server after the

allotted time is achieved. However, for the best results, Avid recommends that monitor servers be

manually turned off at the end of each show.

If configured, the quit time or duration time appears at the bottom of the Monitor dialog box. The

monitor server’s quit time or duration is determined by configuration settings in the

SYSTEM.MAP

story of iNEWS. For more information, see the iNEWS documentation for system administration

and configuration.

Monitor LOAD

Before Command is able to view the list of machine control events (known as items in

Command) in an iNEWS rundown and control those events for playback, they must be loaded

from the rundown in iNEWS. For more information on using monitor server to load events from

a newsroom rundown to iNEWS Command, see “Loading Rundowns to Command” on

page 111.

Events are loaded from Avid iNEWS to Command and then communicated to appropriate

devices. After Command receives the entire list, it will notify the user that it has received the list

by sending a message to the iNEWS Workstation. Confirmation messages might look like the

following:

LIST RECEIVED “SHOW.5P.Rundown”

SHOW.5P.RUNDOWN: Download Complete

If the monitor server is not on, loading events will automatically switch the monitor server on.

Monitor Off and Unload

Monitor Off is used after the show is over. Switching the monitor server off stops the system

from scanning scripts for updates and sending those updates to Command.

If a user at a Command Workstation disconnects the show, the broadcast can continue with

playout controlled from that workstation instead of the newsroom computer system; however, no

updates to the rundown from Avid iNEWS will be received in Command and no changes to the

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disconnected playlist are sent to iNEWS. Turning the monitor server off, back on, and loading it

will create a new newsroom playlist in the Playlist Explorer, which will bear the same name as

the original “disconnected” playlist.

Monitor Unload clears the playlist, if Command has not disconnected it from the show, but

continues to scan the scripts and update the event lists with changes.

nTurning off the monitor server while the channel groups for the rundown are still locked in

Command creates a disconnected playlist. Such disconnected playlists must be manually deleted

by the user.

Event List Queue

After the monitor server is on for a few seconds, event lists are built. In iNEWS, the Event List

queues—each one representing a different channel group—are generally built in the same folder

as the rundown, such as:

Rundown:

SHOW.6PM.RUNDOWN

CG Event List:

SHOW.6PM.CG

Video Event List:

SHOW.6PM.VIDEO

nThe name of the event list queue in iNEWS must match the name of the channel group in

Command for events to appear.

Any script or rundown changes will be picked up automatically by the monitor server, which will

then make the appropriate changes in the event lists. All changes must be made in the rundown

queue, not in the event build queues.

The following figure shows a CG event queue for a rundown, listing the CGs for that show:

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Composite Queue

It is possible to configure Avid iNEWS to also create a Composite List queue. This is a single

queue that contains a list of all machine control events for all channel groups (for all devices

associated with a rundown) that are required during the show. This list represents what will be

seen on the newsroom playlist at a Command Workstation. The Composite List Queue is usually

found in the same folder as the rundown, such as:

Composite List Queue:

SHOW.6PM.COMPOSITE

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Item Status After Load

Playability is shown in Command through a variety of icons that appear in the Playlist Explorer

and Playlist Viewer. For a quick reference on what each icon means, see “Icon and Button Quick

Reference” on page 157.

Changing Channels

Channel assignment can be accomplished from either a Command Workstation or an iNEWS

Workstation. In iNEWS, depending on how a rundown is configured, there are multiple locations

where channel assignment is displayed and therefore a variety of ways to assign channels or

change channel assignments.

To assign channels in iNEWS:

tDo one of the following:

- Type the channel name, such as A, B, or C, in the Channel column of the rundown

opened in the Queue panel.

- Type the channel name in the Channel field of story’s Story Form panel.

- Type Shift-Alt-C and enter the channel in the Assign Channel dialog box, then click

OK.

Channel Column

Channel Field in Story Form

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nFor more information on how to change channels from a Command Workstation, see “Assigning

Channels in Playlist Viewer” on page 74 and “Assigning Channels in a Shotbox” on page 102.

6Working with Stories

In Avid iNEWS Command, when a newsroom playlist is loaded, it presents the machine control

events grouped by story according to the order of the rundown from which it was loaded.

During the final preparations and as a show goes to air, that order might change as producers add,

remove, or rearrange stories in the rundown to reflect the changing demands of late-breaking

news and production developments.

While a newsroom playlist is locked to the rundown in iNEWS, updates will appear in both the

rundown and the playlist whenever a change is made at an iNEWS Workstation. While the

newsroom computer system retains the playlist lock, changes cannot be made to the newsroom

playlist from a Command Workstation.

However, if a standalone playlist is created at a Command Workstation or if a newsroom playlist

is disconnected from the rundown and the lock obtained from a Command Workstation, then

changes to the stories in those playlists can be done from the Command Workstation.

This chapter contains the following main sections:

•Inserting New Stories

•Deleting Stories

•Updating Stories

•Rearranging Stories

•Floating & Unfloating Stories

Inserting New Stories

New stories can be inserted in a disconnected newsroom playlist at a Command Workstation.

nSince standalone playlists can contain items only, stories are not necessary. Therefore, by

default, the system’s settings do not permit stories in newly created standalone playlists.

However, should you want the ability to use stories in a standalone playlist, the feature can be

enabled so that any newly created playlist would contain one story and permit the addition of

more. For more information, see the procedure in “Customizing the Playlist Viewer” on page 53.

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To insert a new story in a playlist in Command:

1. Position the cursor in the playlist on a story, not an item.

nIf a user attempts to insert a new story before an item, the system will display a warning

instructing the user to insert the story before another pre-existing story.

2. Do one of the following:

tPress Ctrl+N.

tSelect Playlist > Insert > New Story.

The Create New Story dialog box opens.

3. Enter the name for the new story.

4. Click OK or press Enter.

Deleting Stories

Stories can be deleted in two ways:

• From a standalone or disconnected newsroom playlist at a Command Workstation.

• From a rundown at an iNEWS Workstation.

nDeleting a story From a rundown at an iNEWS Workstation can be accomplished even after the

show’s newsroom playlist has been loaded to Command.

To delete a story from a standalone or disconnected newsroom playlist:

1. At a Command Workstation, select the story you want to remove.

2. Do one of the following:

tSelect Playlist > Edit > Delete.

tPress Delete.

cDeleting a story in a standalone playlist will remove all items (sometimes called events) in

that story from the playlist.

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To delete a story from a rundown:

1. At an iNEWS Workstation, select the story you want to remove by clicking on the selector

button to the left of the story.

2. Do one of the following:

tSelect Edit > Kill.

tPress Delete.

3. When the confirmation dialog box opens. Click OK.

nDeleting a story from a rundown (and therefore from its newsroom playlist) does not delete the

story and its machine controls events from the newsroom computer system’s database. It only

removes the story from appearing in the show’s rundown and newsroom playlist.

Updating Stories

Although a show’s newsroom playlist is loaded to Command, updates to a story in the rundown

can still occur, such as the need to add or alter a machine control event. For newsroom playlists

in which the playlist lock is retained by the iNEWS newsroom computer system, updating can be

accomplished only from an iNEWS Workstation, unless the newsroom playlist is disconnected

from the newsroom and therefore becomes a standalone playlist locked by the Command

Workstation.

For more information, see “Inserting Machine Control Events into Stories” on page 108.

nUpdating the text in the body of a story must be done from the newsroom computer system and

not Command.

For more information about editing iNEWS stories, see the Introduction to the iNEWS

Workstation Training Manual available on the Avid Knowledge Base.

Editing an Item’s Media ID

When media is created, a unique identifier is assigned to it to distinguish it from other media in

the Command inventory. This ID appears in the ID column of a playlist whenever an item is

inserted into the playlist, but a user can manually modify the ID from the Playlist Viewer.

To edit the media ID:

1. Do one of the following:

tDouble click on the field in the ID column.

tSelect Playlist > Edit > Edit Media ID.

2. Do one of the following:

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tUse the Up or Down Arrow keys on your keyboard to select from the list.

tClick and select from the list.

tType a new ID.

cSelecting from the list can reduce the risk of mistyping an ID. Caution should be taken

when editing any item’s media ID.

3. Click elsewhere on the playlist or press Enter on the main keyboard.

It’s only at this point that the media ID is saved.

Rearranging Stories

Changing and updating the order in which stories appear in the course of a show is a frequent

task for a show’s producer. As new stories develop and urgent bulletins come in, a producer must

decide the sequence in which stories should appear in the course of a news program and update

the show’s rundown accordingly.

The integration between Command and the Avid iNEWS newsroom computer system provides

for seamless communication regarding the changes that occur in the iNEWS rundown and the

order of events in the newsroom playlist in Command. When the order of stories in a show is

altered after the monitor server has loaded its playlist to Command, the order of events

associated with each story is also rearranged accordingly.

cThis updating occurs in newsroom rundowns for which the playlist lock is retained by the

newsroom system. If the playlist is disconnected from the newsroom rundown, then

updates will no longer be communicated between Command and iNEWS, or vice versa.

To rearrange stories in a standalone or disconnected newsroom playlist:

1. At a Command Workstation, select the story.

The system will select all items associated with the story.

nMultiple rows can be selected and include stories, playlist references, items, and breaks. If the

selection contains only items, the user must insert them only where items can be placed. If the

selection contains a story, break, or playlist reference, it must be pasted where such row types

can be inserted—for instance, not between items. The system issues an alert when an

inappropriate cut-and-paste or drag-and-drop action occurs.

2. Drag the story from its current location to its new location within the playlist.

A drop indicator, which appears as a solid line between rows, will show where the copied

selection will be dropped within the playlist when you release the mouse button. The color

of the drop indicator varies depending on customization. For more information, see

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“Customizing the Cursor” on page 57.

For standalone playlists, Avid iNEWS Command provides the standard copy and paste

functionality as options in the Playlist > Edit menu as well as via keystroke combinations,

such as Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V.

nThe system always attempts to paste above the current cursor location.

To rearrange stories in an iNEWS rundown:

1. From an iNEWS Workstation, select the story in the rundown by clicking the selector button

to the left of the story. (To select multiple stories, hold the Ctrl key down first.)

2. Drag and drop the story’s button to its new location within the rundown.

Floating & Unfloating Stories

The Avid iNEWS system provides producers with a way to “float” stories when they are unsure

where they should go in the rundown, if at all.

Floating stories can only be accomplished from the iNEWS Workstation, not a Command

Workstation. However, if the rundown’s playlist is already loaded to Command, then floating an

iNEWS story removes it, including any associated machine control events, from the newsroom

playlist in Command.

nFloated stories appear in the iNEWS rundown in a different color (usually blue text) than other

stories, and their times are removed from the rundown’s show timing.

To float an iNEWS story:

1. From an iNEWS Workstation, select the story in the rundown by clicking the selector button

to the left of the story.

2. Select Story > Float.

To unfloat a story, repeat the above procedure.

nCommand prevents items that are in a Done state from being removed from the newsroom

playlist until the Done state has been cleared. This means graphic items that have been played

but not yet ejected will not be removed from the newsroom playlist in Command when a story is

“floated” from the iNEWS rundown. Command only keeps the Done item; all other items in the

story are removed. After the Done item is ejected, that item and the remaining story is removed

from the playlist.

This protection also applies to video items during the hold last frame period.

7Command Tablet Application

The Command tablet application is a native user interface designed to run on your iPad® mobile

device and enable direct, secure access to your station’s newsroom computer system.

The following main topics describe basic user information about the mobile device and

application.

•Connection Basics

-The iPad

-Setting up Your First Connection

•Setting up Your First Connection

-Viewing Command Settings

•Starting the Command Tablet Application

•The Sidebar and View Area

•Locking or Unlocking Shotbox Channel Groups

•Working with Shotboxes in Tablet Application

-Working with Graphic Items

Connection Basics

You can use the Command tablet application to control playout from anywhere there is a wireless

connection.

There are various types of connections available when using the Command tablet application:

•WiFi

• Carrrier specific cellular service (such as 3G)

nThe application is designed to automatically select the first available connection from the list of

options according to the priority shown in the list.

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131

The iPad

Before using the Command tablet application, familiarize yourself with key features of the

touch-screen tablet on which the application is run.

There are very few exterior buttons on the iPad. Most navigation is accomplished with touch

gestures on the screen, such as touching an icon to start an application. Swiping your fingertip

across the screen can navigate you to other pages of additional application icons or do something

entirely different within an application.

nRemember, the more applications that you have running, the more memory and battery power

your tablet uses. To optimize the performance of your tablet, try to close applications when you

are finished with them.

Setting up Your First Connection

The first time you use the Command tablet application, some setup is required. You must create a

connection by providing specific information.

The following procedure is provided for first-time users of the Command tablet application. If

you already have at least one connection and are wanting to create another new one, see

“Viewing Command Settings” on page 126.

Button Description

The Home button wakes the tablet when it is sleeping and exits applications, returning

you to the home screen.

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132

To create a new connection:

1. Start the Command tablet application. If this is your first time, your only connection option

will be to Create New.

2. Tap Create New.

The New Connection information will appear.

3. Fill in the requested data according to the following table.

4. Tap Done.

nIf you save the above settings, then attempt to connect, and receive a message stating that your

tablet has not been authorized, contact your system administrator to have connection from your

device to the Command workgroup authorized.

Viewing Command Settings

The Command tablet application lets users create multiple connections via the Command

Settings, which can also be used to define other configuration options as well.

Setting Description

Name This is the name of the connection to your Command system, such Studio A.

Hostname This is the name of the Command server or the computer running the Avid

Remote Communication Service.

Port This is the port on the server.

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The following table provides information on the settings available for you to configure. Except

for the first, which is vital for connection to your Command workgroup, the rest of the settings

pertain to the look and behavior of the application.

Setting Description

Connections This section displays any connections already created and gives the option to

create new connections.

nBefore you can connect the first time, your site’s system administrator must authorize your

mobile device to connect to the newsroom system’s Command workgroup.

Item Description Choose whether you want the item’s slug or ID to be displayed.

Orientation Lets you lock the device’s screen orientation to landscape, portrait, or allow the

device to auto-rotate between the two depending on how you hold the tablet.

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134

To view or modify Settings at any time from within the tablet application:

tTap the Settings icon.

Starting the Command Tablet Application

When the Command tablet application is installed on your touch-screen tablet, an icon

representing the application is also installed.

To start the application and connect to your system:

1. Tap the Command icon.

The Connect screen will appear.

nIf this is the first time you have ever started the application, you will see Create New as your only

connection option. For more information, see “Setting up Your First Connection” on page 125.

2. Select the system (if there is more than one) and tap the Connect button.

When you are connected, a list of existing shotboxes will appear in the sidebar.

nWhile the Avid iNEWS Command tablet application is open, it will prevent the tablet from

shutting down, regardless of any auto-lock setting.

Item Resizing Turns on or off the “pinch-to-resize” feature of the touch screen tablet as it

relates to resizing item cells within the Command tablet application.

Video Pause

Control

Choose whether you want to see the Pause icon when video items are playing.

This should only get turned on if you intend to pause video

Setting Description

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135

To view the help system:

tTap the Help icon.

To exit the application:

1. Press the Home button.

2. Select Close.

The Sidebar and View Area

After you connect to Command with the Command tablet application, you can view the sidebar,

located along the left side of the screen when displayed, and use it to access various shotboxes.

Use the Show/Hide button to toggle the display of the sidebar.

nThe look of this button changes depending on the display status of the sidebar.

Shotboxes are only created at a Command Workstation.

nWhile it is possible from a workstation to create shotboxes that have multiple channels, the

channel is not displayed in the tablet application. To avoid confusion, Avid strongly recommends

creating shotboxes that control only one channel.

In the tablet application, existing shotboxes are listed in the sidebar.

Different icons are used to distinguish between the various types of shotboxes available in

Command. When you open a shotbox, the icon representing that type of shotbox will also appear

in the title bar of the view area.

Button Description

Tap this button to display the sidebar.

Tap this button to hide the sidebar.

Icon Description

This icon represents a standalone shotbox.

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136

Items in a chosen shotbox are displayed to the right of the sidebar in what is called the view area.

The name of the chosen shotbox appears in a title bar across the top.

Locking or Unlocking Shotbox Channel Groups

From the Command tablet application, you can lock a shotbox channel group, see if the channel

group is locked by another user, and even override a channel group lock.

The following table shows the various icons used to indicate whether the channel group is locked

by you, by someone else, or is unlocked.

To lock a channel group:

tTouch and hold the Unlocked icon, located in the title bar of the view area.

You will see the icon change to the Locked icon and hear a sound when the channel group

lock is engaged.

This icon represents a connection to an iNEWS shotbox.

This icon represents a disconnected iNEWS shotbox.

This icon represents a connection to a MOS-based shotbox.

This icon represents a disconnected MOS-based shotbox.

Icon Description

Unlocked icon—the channel group is not locked.

Locked icon—the channel group is locked by you.

Other Lock icon—the channel group is locked by someone else.

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To unlock a channel group:

tTouch and hold the Locked icon, located in the title bar of the view area.

You will see the icon change to the Unlocked icon and hear a sound when the channel group

is unlocked.

To override a channel group lock:

1. Touch and hold the Other Lock icon, located in the title bar of the view area.

2. Confirm your request to override the existing lock on the channel group.

Working with Shotboxes in Tablet Application

From the Command tablet application, you can cue, play, pause, and eject items from a shotbox.

Touch an item in a shotbox to select it and view the transport controls.

nTransport controls only appear when the shotbox channel group is locked. For more information,

see “Locking or Unlocking Shotbox Channel Groups” on page 130.

All items in a shotbox must be added or deleted from a Command Workstation. Neither can be

done from the tablet application; however, you can rearrange the order of shotbox items that you

view from the tablet application and do so independently from the workstation shotbox.

nIf you remove and reinstall the Command tablet application to your mobile device, shotbox items

will revert back to the order set in the Command Workstations, and the device will need be

reauthorized by your system administrator.

Transport Control Description

Tap the Cue control to cue an item in a shotbox.

Tap the Play control, which appears centered over the shotbox image, to

play an item in a shotbox.

Tap the Pause control, which if enabled appears centered over the shotbox

image, to pause play of an item in a shotbox.

Tap the Eject control to eject an item from a shotbox.

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New items added to a shotbox from a workstation will appear at the bottom of the shotbox items

in the view area of the tablet application, and a yellow Plus icon appears located in the title bar of

the view area until the screen is scrolled.

To rearrange item(s) in a shotbox:

1. Touch and hold the item you want to move.

2. Drag your fingertip to a new location in the shotbox where you want to put the item.

The item will be dropped into the new location when you lift your fingertip from the tablet’s

touch screen. Any item in the destination location will be moved down, right, or left to make

room for the item you move.

The following illustration demonstrates the moving of an item from the far right position of

the first row to the middle of the second row. In this example, the item located in the

destination position would move left, and the first item on the second row would move up to

the far right side of the first row to accommodate the rearrangement.

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To play an item:

1. Select the item you want to play.

Once selected, the item will have a thin yellow outline and show the transport controls.

When cued, the border around the video item turns yellow.

2. Tap the Play control.

While a video item is playing, the border appears red, and the count up and count down

clocks will roll.

If enabled, the Pause control will also appear centered in the box, and its circular outline will

change color to show the progress of the playing item.

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To pause playing video:

tTap the Pause control.

When paused, the border appears blue, the clocks stop, and the Play control will also appear

centered in the box. Its circular outline that changes color to show progress will also freeze

at the current position of status.

You can tap the Play control to resume playout of the video item.

To eject finished video:

tTap the Done icon to eject the item.

When a video or graphics item finishes playing, Command presents a Done icon, as shown

in the following illustration

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Working with Graphic Items

The Command tablet application uses colors to indicate transport status for graphic items as well

as video in shotboxes.

For instance, when a graphic item is cued, the border turns yellow.

To play a graphic item:

1. Tap the Play control.

If there are no multiple triggers in the graphic, once played, the item goes into a Done state

as indicated by a red border.

nMulti-triggered graphic items automatically go into a Pause state, indicated by a blue border

and the appearance of the Play control centered in the box. To play the next trigger, tap the Play

control.

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When unplayable, the border around the item turns pink.

When there is an error, the border around the item turns purple.

8Playout Control

Playout control through Avid iNEWS Command varies from site to site depending on workflow.

Some television stations might want to control playout through the software’s graphical user

interface, while others choose to use USB or GPI keypads.

This chapter contains the following main sections:

•UI Controlled

-Playout Media from Command Workstation

-Resolving a Mismatch

-Disabling the Keyboard at the Command Workstation

•Looping and Follow-on Playout

•USB Keypad Controlled

-Channel-Specific Actions

•GPI Controlled

•Toggling Between GPI and UI Control

UI Controlled

Playout control from a Command Workstation can be accomplished through the use of the

tabbed workspace known as the Playlist Viewer. This section provides details on controlling

playout from the Playlist Viewer. Playout control can also be done via the Shotbox Viewer. For

more information, see “Toolbars” on page 87.

While some functionality is described in this section, for additional information on such features

as customization options, see “Playlist Viewer” on page 44.

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Command uses various icons, as well as customizable colors, to indicate the status of machine

control events (items) in the playlist. Some of these are shown below:

Another possible icon is called a mismatch icon, which is used to warn users whenever two or

more video devices in a channel group contain different versions of the same clip. Other possible

icons indicate when video is only available on the primary video server or the mirrored backup.

For more information on the various icons for playlists, see “Icon and Button Quick Reference”

on page 157. For more information on what to do in the event of a mistmatch, see “Resolving a

Mismatch” on page 139.

Icon representing a

“Follow-On Playout” event.

This event is cued.

This event is unavailable.

Cursor location can appear solid

or as an outline; varies by field.

This event will loop twice.

Icon representing a

Looped event.

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nIf a third-party video device is being controlled via the Avid Video device service (using VDCP),

the playlist in Command will reflect status of items on that device—an unavailable item promptly

changes to available once it is transferred to the device—regardless of whether the device’s

inventory is shown in the Inventory panel.

Playout Media from Command Workstation

Users can cue, play, pause or stop the playout of media from a Command Workstation, using the

Control buttons on the Playlist toolbar or keys on the numeric keypad. For information on the

buttons, see “Toolbars” on page 47.

nThe Control buttons are also available in the Shotbox Viewer, which is explained in “Shotbox

Viewer” on page 85. Also see “Toolbars” on page 87.

To control playout, using the numeric keypad on a keyboard:

1. Select the event in the playlist.

2. Do one of the following:

tPress the Decimal key (.) to cue the media.

tPress Enter to play the media.

tPress the Plus key (+) to pause the media.

tPress zero (0) to stop playing the media.

nPlayout options are also available by right-clicking on the event and selecting the options from

the Playout submenu.

Resolving a Mismatch

Avid iNEWS Command provides an indicator in both playlists and shotboxes to warn users

when two devices in a channel group have different versions of the same media. This situation

could result in the broadcast of either version depending on which channel is used at the time.

An example of how this situation might occur is:

You have two video servers in a channel group. Let’s call them Video A and Video B. Both have

a video clip called Clip C. As long as Clip C is not playing at the time a new version of the video

comes in, it will be updated on both servers without issue. However, if Clip C is playing on

Video A when a new version comes in, the system cannot update the on-air copy. It can only

update the version on the Video B server. The two versions are now mismatched.

The following illustration shows a closeup of a couple of mismatched video items, called

Pentagon and China Trade, in a playlist. The cursor is on the first item:

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146

The following illustration shows the same two items in a shotbox:

To view more details about the mismatch:

1. Do one of the following:

tSelect the item in the playlist and type Ctrl+I.

tSelect the item in the shotbox and type Ctrl+Alt+I.

tRight-click on the item in the shotbox or playlist and select Show > Inventory.

2. The Inventory panel will switch to the proper channel group and display the details of the

mismatched item. View the last modification times and dates to determine which video is the

latest.

3. Reload that video when you are certain that the clip is not on-air or playing on any of the

devices in that channel group.

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Disabling the Keyboard at the Command Workstation

Some sites use alternative devices to control playout from Command, such as a GPI device or an

X-keys USB keypad, and therefore do not want the computer keyboard at the workstation

enabled.

nUsers at some sites might want to keep the keyboard available as an alternative should the need

to switch between GPI and UI control arise. Command provides a quick and easy way to do this

via a menu option or keystroke combination. For more information, see “Toggling Between GPI

and UI Control” on page 152.

To enable or disable the keyboard:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

The Options dialog box will appear.

2. In Category, select Keyboard.

3. Do one of the following:

tSelect Enable keyboard.

tDeselect Enable keyboard.

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4. Click Apply.

5. Click OK.

nIf the keyboard is disabled, the numeric keypad cannot be used to control playout from the

Command Workstation. Disabling the keyboard does not affect the use of the keyboard for

software on the workstation PC unrelated to the Command client software.

Looping and Follow-on Playout

Looping is the repeated playing of a media event for either a specified number of times or

indefinitely, which is continuous until manually stopped. Avid iNEWS Command provides users

with a way to loop a specific item within a playlist or an entire playlist. Loop count can be set

from an iNEWS or Command Workstation. After looping is set, a Looping icon is displayed

along with the current count and total number of loops in an X/Y format, where X equals the

current count and Y equals the total loop count set for the item. For example, when Command

displays 3/5, that means the item is in its third of five loops.

nUsers cannot cue another item until the last loop has started; Command will show an alert. Also,

item looping is not supported in embedded playlists.

When a looped item gets to its last loop, Command will automatically cue the next item in the

playlist.

Users can also set playout of an item in a playlist to automatically occur immediately following

the completion of the previous item. This functionality is called follow-on playout and is

indicated by an icon in the playlist that looks like a bent blue arrow.

Command supports follow-on playout with or without looping. If an item is set to follow-on

playout with looping, the total loop count is shown along with a Follow-on Looping icon.

nUsers must have only one playout channel set up for the follow-on feature to work. Both looping

and follow-on playout require Autocue be turned on in Command. Looping is supported in

Command with VDCP devices.

Playout Trigger Icons

Looping (only)

Follow-on playout

with looping

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To set loop count from iNEWS:

tAdd @ and the numerical value for the loop count to the end of the video ID in iNEWS. For

instance, to loop an item four times, add @4 to that item’s video ID.

To set loop count to infinity from iNEWS:

tAdd @888 to the end of the video ID in iNEWS.

nFor setting loop count from iNEWS to work, it must be enabled in Command. Instructions for

how to do this is provided in the Avid iNEWS Command Administration Guide.

To loop an item within a playlist from a Command Workstation:

1. Select the item you want to loop in the playlist.

2. Do one of the following:

tPress Ctrl+Shift+L.

tRight-click and select Edit > Edit Loop Count.

The Loop Count dialog box appears. By default, an item is set to play once.

3. Do one of the following:

tSelect Play this many times and set the number.

tSelect Play indefinitely.

4. Click OK.

When playout of an item is set to loop in a playlist, the Looping icon and the numerical

values set for looping—current count and how many times the item will play in

total—appear in the Trigger column of the playlist. If you do not see them, widen the

column. It must be set wide enough to view both the icon and the numerical values for

looping.

If the item is set to play indefinitely, the infinity symbol will appear in the Trigger column.

nThe previous procedure only applies to looping a single item in a playlist. To loop multiple items

within a larger playlist, Avid recommends creating a separate playlist of those items you want to

loop, set the properties for that playlist to loop, and then embed the looping playlist within the

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larger playlist. For clarity, Avid also recommends including the word Loop in the name of any

playlist set to loop in its entirety. For more information on embedding playlists, see “Working

with Embedded Playlists” on page 80.

To loop an entire playlist:

1. Right-click anywhere in the playlist.

2. Select Edit > Properties.

The Playlist Properties dialog box appears.

3. Do one of the following in the Looping section:

tSelect Play this many times and set the number.

tSelect Play indefinitely.

4. Click OK.

nWhile there are visible indicators within the software that distinguishes a looping playlist from a

non-looping playlist, to avoid confusion, Avid recommends that users still include the word Loop

in the name of any playlist created with its properties set to loop in its entirety.

When a playlist (that is not embedded in another playlist) is set to loop, the numerical value

for how many times it should loop appears in the Playlist toolbar on the right side along with

a curved green arrow icon to indicate the looping status.

For instance, if a playlist is set to loop twice, the number 2 will appear on the toolbar next to

the curved green arrow.

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If the loop count is set to loop indefinitely, then an infinity symbol is displayed next to the

curved green arrow icon.

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To set follow-on playout for an item:

1. At a Command Workstation, in the Playlist Viewer, do one of the following:

tPress the Ctrl+forward slash (/) keystroke combination.

tSelect Playlist > Edit > Edit Trigger.

tClick the field in the Trigger column corresponding with the item that you want set for

follow-on playout.

The Trigger column is narrow, but can be resized, and usually has no label on its column

header. Its location in the playlist might also vary.

2. When the menu appears in the Trigger column, select Follow-On Playout. (The menu option

might appear truncated.)

3. Do one of the following:

tClick elsewhere on the playlist.

tPress Enter on the main keyboard.

tMove the cursor with keyboard shortcuts.

It’s only at this point that the playout method is saved.

To set all or multiple items to follow-on playout:

1. Do one of the following:

tType Ctrl+A to select all items.

tUse the Ctrl or Shift keys and mouse clicks to select multiple items.

2. Type Ctrl+forward slash (/) to activate the Trigger field.

3. Type F for follow-on playout.

4. Press the Enter key on the keyboard (not the numerical keypad).

Trigger

Column

Status

Column

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153

To set an item to manual playout:

1. At a Command Workstation, in the Playlist Viewer, click the field in the Trigger column

corresponding with the item that you want set for manual playout.

2. When the menu appears, select Manual Playout.

3. Do one of the following:

tClick elsewhere on the playlist.

tPress Enter on the main keyboard.

tMove the cursor with keyboard shortcuts.

It is only at this point that the playout method is saved.

To set all or multiple items to manual playout:

1. Do one of the following:

tType Ctrl+A to select all items.

tUse the Ctrl or Shift keys and mouse clicks to select multiple items.

2. Type Ctrl+forward slash (/) to activate the Trigger field.

3. Type M for manual playout.

4. Press the Enter key on the keyboard (not the numerical keypad).

USB Keypad Controlled

Avid iNEWS Command interfaces with the X-keys® USB keypad for playout control. The

X-keys USB keypads connect to the USB port the Command Workstation and offer up to

fifty-eight user-reprogrammable keys for one-button access to playout functionality.

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154

Some improvements to the X-Keys functionality has been added. To see the new options, go to

Tools > Options > Actions > X-Keys. The Choose Action dialog box opens.

• Main Window, Keyboard - Up and Down: These options emulate the keyboard up/down

arrows, and support a press-and-hold functionality, where the cursor continues to scroll

when the key is pressed and held. These keys also function in other panels, such as Playlist

Explorer and Inventory.

• Playlist, Selection – NextRow, NextItem, PreviousRow, and PreviousItem: These key

functions now support press-and-hold functionality, so that you can scroll through your

playlist by pressing and holding the respective keys.

• Playlist Explorer – TakeFocus: This key moves the focus to the Playlist Explorer panel, so

that users can use the up/down arrow keys (via keyboard or X-Keys) to navigate to a

particular playlist.

• Playlist Explorer - OpenSelected: This key will open the selected playlist.

nX-keys is third-party hardware. Command natively supports a variety of X-keys devices, which

are configured through the Command Workstation application. Native support gives users an

added level of functionality that is not available through the X-keys Macro Works software. See

the Avid iNEWS Command ReadMe for the specific X-keys devices that are supported.

You can also use the Macro Works software, a keyboard emulator, with any X-keys device. For

more information on X-keys USB keypads, see that manufacturer’s documentation on

www.xkeys.com.

To program the X-keys from the Command Workstation:

1. Select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your

system administrator.

2. In Category, expand Actions and select X-keys.

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155

3. Select Enable X-keys.

4. Set the de-bounce period. Designed to avoid inadvertent repetition, this is the span of time

(in milliseconds) during which the system should ignore duplicated signals.

5. Click on a gray box that represents (or corresponds to) the key on the keypad.

nSome sites might use key caps that cover 2 or 4 buttons on the keypad, turning a set of buttons

into a single key. If that is the case, select the left box to set the “2-button” key. For 4-button keys,

select the upper left box.

6. Assign an action to the key by selecting it from the list of those available in the Choose

Action dialog box.

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7. Click OK.

8. Repeat steps 5-7 as needed.

9. Click Apply.

10. Click OK.

The following illustration shows a closeup of the first row of keys after they were assigned to

the four playout control options of play, cue, pause, and stop:

Channel-Specific Actions

Keys can also be assigned to an action associated with a specific channel on a device. An

example of this would be for a key to initiate a play command on a single channel.

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157

To assign channel specific actions to a key:

1. Complete steps 1 - 5 of the procedure “USB Keypad Controlled” on page 147.

2. In the Choose Action dialog box, under the Actions column, expand Control.

3. Select the action, such as Play.

4. Select the index, such as Channel 01, that corresponds to the device channel.

5. Click OK. The Choose Action dialog box closes.

6. Click OK in the Options dialog box.

nIndices for channel specific actions in the list are pre-configured through system settings at the

Command Workstation, which requires an administrative password. For more information, see

the Avid iNEWS Command Administration Guide.

GPI Controlled

A GPI panel is another alternative keypad device that can be used to control playout through

Command. The GPI panel, which connects to a GPI card installed in the Command Server,

allows a user to select up to four channels, with each channel having its own set of Control

buttons for play, cue, pause, and stop functionality.

After configuration of the GPI card for the Avid iNEWS Command system is complete, and only

if the panel will be used for actions that go through the Command user interface, such as moving

the cursor, the GPI panel must be enabled to control a playlist.

nThis procedure does not apply to GPI panels (or Maney panels) with events mapped only to

actions chosen in GPI > Control—such as Cue, Pause, Play, or Stop—because those are sent

directly to the Playlist Controller and do not go through the user interface.

A user can enable a panel at any Command Workstation.

To enable a GPI panel to control a playlist:

1. At the Command Workstation, select Tools > Options. If prompted for a password, you must

provide it or contact your system administrator.

2. In Category, expand Actions and select GPI.

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158

3. Select a GPI panel from the list.

4. Click Apply.

5. Click OK.

nSystem administrators must configure system settings to provide a list of panels in the Options

dialog box. For more information see the Avid iNEWS Command Installation and Configuration

Guide.

Toggling Between GPI and UI Control

Command can be set up to allow toggling between exclusive playout control from a GPI panel

and playout control from the workstation’s keyboard or mouse. This ability is helpful should the

need to switch between GPI and UI control arise. Command provides a quick and easy way to do

this via an option in the Tools menu.

To toggle between GPI and UI playout control, do one of the following:

tType Ctrl+G.

tSelect Tools > Enable GPI Playout.

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159

Look at the Command window’s title bar to see an indication of whether playout is

controlled by GPI or the workstation.

nThis feature can be disabled by your system administrator. If the menu option does not appear, or

the keystroke combination doesn’t work, contact your system administrator to ensure the feature

is enabled via the system settings.

When exclusive GPI control is enabled, a user can still cue an item using the keyboard or mouse;

however, the user must pause and play items with buttons on the GPI panel.

A Control Room Quick Reference

This appendix is provided as a quick reference guide to some of the most common icons and

alerts operators might see in the control room. It is not all inclusive.

nFor a one-page quick reference guide that you can view in the control room, print this page.

nThe background color for the Playability Status icon called Backup Only (shown above as

orange) is customizable, so it could appear different than the color shown here.

Failover

When a playlist is uploaded from a newsroom computer system, it is “locked” by the newsroom

system and receives system updates from Command. However, should that connection be

broken, the playlist is “disconnected”.

The iNEWS Command failover is an automated process, which is designed to be relatively

seamless for the operator. Failover can occur for a variety of reasons; the most common are

server failure and network/DNS problems. In the event of a primary server failure, the operator

will see the following:

• The loss of playout control. Playing items will continue playing, but other items cannot be

triggered while the failover is in progress.

Playout Status Icons Playability Status Icons

Cued Primary Only

Playing Backup Only

Paused Unplayable

Stopped, Done Unknown

Error Mismatch

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• Disconnection from the newsroom computer system. In the Command Workstation, iNEWS

or MOS icons will change from connected to disconnected as shown in the following table:

• The iNEWS workstations will also show a MON status of Error as shown in the following

table:

• The Command workstation will show the following alerts for disconnect and reconnect

messages:

• The workstation will reflect the loss of playout control by putting a red x over the transport

controls (shown at right) and lock icon (shown at left) in the following example:

Icon Description

iNEWS is connected.

iNEWS is not connected.

MOS is connected.

MOS is not connected.

Icon Description

Monitor Error status.

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BIcon and Button Quick Reference

iNEWS Command has many different tools, icons, and buttons, which are used to alert you to

information and status as well as making your actions quick and precise. This appendix is

intended to serve as a quick reference to some of the icons and buttons used throughout your

Command system. It is not all inclusive.

Playlist and Shotbox Viewer Buttons

This section describes buttons in the user interface, some of which have icons on them that will

change depending on a certain status, such as whether a channel group is locked.

Control Buttons on Playout Toolbar

Cue nWhen a playlist’s channel group is not locked, these buttons on

the Playout toolbar appear gray, as shown below:

Play

Pause

Stop

Miscellaneous Buttons

Close Viewer

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164

Channel Group Icons

Locked by this Command Workstation

Locked by other Command Workstation or playlist

Unlocked channel group

Unknown

Locking

Unlocking

Playlist Icons

Playlist is locked by this Command Workstation.

Playlist is locked by other Command Workstation.

Playlist is locked by the iNEWS newsroom computer system. If the icon appears with a

blinking red X over it, the playlist has been disconnected from the newsroom rundown.

Playlist is MOS active and marked ready-to-air by a MOS-based newsroom computer

system, such as ENPS. If the icon appears with a blinking red X over it, the playlist has

been disconnected from the newsroom rundown.

Playlist is MOS active but has not been marked ready-to-air. This icon appears only if

the option to show all playlists in the Playlist Explorer is enabled.

Unlocked playlist

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165

Playlist Viewer Icons

This section describes icons that can appear in the Playlist Viewer. Many are similar to those

seen in the Shotbox Viewer.

nWhen Command is in the process of cueing, pausing, stopping, etc. the Playout Status icons (in

both playlists and shotboxes) appear with a small green clock face over them.

Unknown lock condition (Newsroom connection down)

Time of Day playlist

Playlist Icons (Continued)

Playout Status Icons

Cued

Playing

Paused

Stopped, Done

Warning

Error

Playability Status Icons

Primary Only

Backup Only

Unplayable

Unknown

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166

nThe background color for the Playability Status icon called Backup Only (shown above as

orange) is customizable, so it could appear different than the color shown here.

Shotbox Viewer Icons

This section describes icons that can appear in the Shotbox Viewer panel. Many are similar to

those seen in the Playlist Viewer.

Mismatch

Timecode graphic playout impacted by change to video ID version

Playout Trigger Icons

Looping (only)

Follow-on playout

Follow-on playout with looping

Timecode triggered graphic

Overlapping graphics

Infinity

Miscellaneous Icons

On Air

Embedding playlist

Embedding error

Playability Status Icons (Continued)

Shotbox Viewer Icons

167

nThe background color for the Playability Status icon called Backup Only (shown above as

orange) is customizable, so it could appear different than the color shown here.

Playout Status Icons

Cued

Playing

Paused

Stopped, Done

Warning

Error

Playability Status Icons

Primary Only

Backup Only

Unplayable

Unknown, Mismatch

MOB ID Mismatch (Interplay only)

Miscellaneous Icons

On Air

Pinned Channel

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168

Channel Group Icons

This section describes status icons that appear on the status bar at the bottom of the Command

window as well as on the Channel toolbar when displayed in the Playlist or Shotbox Viewers.

Inventory

This section describes the icons that can appear in the Inventory panel.

Channel Status Icons

Ready

Availability uncertain

Unavailable

Hotswap

Inventory Status Icons

Available on all

Partial availability

Partial availability (warning)

Item protected against deletion across all devices in the channel group

Partially protected. Problem with one or more devices in channel group.

Transfer underway. This icon appears for inventory being transferred to third-party

devices, such as an Omneon Spectrum, that communicate with Command via the Avid

Video device service. It requires the device service be configured to show transfer status.

Detailed Status Icons

Available on specific device

Alerts

169

Alerts

This section describes the icons that can appear in the Alerts panel.

Playlist Explorer

This section describes the icons that can appear in the Playlist Explorer.

Unavailable on specific device

Detailed Status Icons

Message Type Icons

Information

Critical Error

Playlist Status Icons

iNEWS newsroom playlist is locked and ready for air

MOS-based newsroom playlist is locked and ready for air

nIf the MOS-based newsroom playlist exists but is not marked “ready-to-air”, then the icon

appears gray instead of black.

On Air

Connection Down

Type Icons

Standalone playlist

Shotbox

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170

iNEWS playlist loaded to Command as a shotbox

Type Icons

CAction Quick Reference

iNEWS Command enables users to assign actions to X-keys, which can speed up frequently

performed tasks. This appendix is intended to serve as a quick reference to those actions

available in the Options dialog box—accessible through the Tools > Options menu of your

Command system—and the Choose Action dialog box (shown below), which opens when you

select an X-key to assign an action to in the Options dialog box. The reference list here is not all

inclusive.

nThe system administrator can restrict access to the Options dialog box. If you select

Tools > Options and are prompted for a password, you must provide it or contact your system

administrator.

Actions

This list of actions available are shown in a tree-style format that contain categories,

subcategories, and actions. The reference list here is not all inclusive.

Actions

172

Category/Subcategory Subcategory/Action Description

Alerts Clear Clear alerts.

ShowDiagnostics Open the Alert Diagnostics dialog box.

Control Cue/Index 01-16 Cue the media on specified channel.

Enable GPI playout Enable playout from GPI keypad.

Pause/Index 01-16 Pause the media on specified channel.

Play/Index 01-16 Play the media on specified channel.

Stop/Index 01-16 Stop the media on specified channel.

Edit Copy Copy selection.

Cut Cut selection.

Delete Delete selection.

Paste Paste cut or copied data to current cursor location.

nThe Edit actions apply to current focus within the user interface and whether

editing functionality is supported.

Inventory Browse Browse the inventory.

Edit/Delete Delete an item from the inventory.

Edit/DeleteProtect Protect an item in the inventory from deletion.

Edit/DeleteUnprotect Remove protection from deletion of an item in the

inventory.

MainWindow Exit Exit the application.

Shotbox/Show Show the Shotbox Viewer panel.

MediaViewer BackwardOneFrame Navigate back one frame of video.

BackwardOneSecond Navigate back one second.

BackwardTenSeconds Navigate back ten seconds.

Eject Eject media from viewer

ForwardOneFrame Navigate forward one frame of video.

ForwardOneSecond Navigate forward one second.

Actions

173

ForwardTenSeconds Navigate forward ten seconds.

GoToMarkIn Navigate to the marked In point.

GoToMarkOut Navigate to the marked Out point.

Play Play media (in the Media Viewer).

Restart Restart media.

SetMarkIn Set In point at current timecode location.

SetMarkOut Set Out point at current timecode location.

Playlist/ChannelGroup AddExisting Open the Add Channel Group Playlist dialog box.

AddNew Open the Add New Channel Group Playlist dialog

box.

AutoAssign Initiate auto-assignment of channels in the

playlist.

EditPropertiesGroup/1-9 Edit the properties for specified channel group.

Hide/1-9 Hide the specified channel group.

Lock/1-9 Lock the specified channel group.

LockAll Lock all channel groups.

Remove/1-9 Remove the specified channel group.

Replace/1-9 Replace the specified channel group.

SetChannel/Index/01-16 Changes the channel of all the items to the

channel specified for the index as configured in

the System Settings dialog box.

SetChannel/Name/A-Z Changes the channel of all the items to the

specified channel, whose name is a single

character of the English alphabet. Won’t work if

channel isn’t in group.

SetGroup/1-9 Switches all selected playlist items to the

specified channel group.

Show/1-9 Show the specified channel group.

Unlock/1-9 Unlock the specified channel group.

Category/Subcategory

(Continued)

Subcategory/Action

(Continued)

Description

(Continued)

Actions

174

UnlockAll Unlock all channel groups.

nThe numeric values correspond to the Channel buttons as they appear from

left to right on the Playlist toolbar (or from right-to-left depending on your

locale). For more information, see “Channel Groups Buttons” on page 55.

Playlist/Control Cue Cue selected item.

Pause Pause selected item.

Play Play selected item.

Stop Stop selected item.

Playlist/Edit Copy Copy the selected item(s) in the active playlist.

Cut Cut the selected item(s) in the active playlist.

Delete Delete the selected item(s) in the active playlist.

Paste Paste the selected item(s) in the active playlist.

Playlist EditProperties Open the Playlist Properties dialog box.

Export Export the playlist.

Import Import a playlist.

InsertBreak Insert a break before the selected row in the

playlist.

InsertItem Insert a new item in the playlist.

InsertStory Create a new story in the playlist.

Lock Obtain the playlist’s lock.

Playlist/Selection EditChannel Opens the channel list for the topmost selected

item. This is the same as clicking in the Channel

column of a playlist.

EditSelection Edit the selected row. (For video items with a

browse channel, the In and Out points can be set

using the Media Viewer.)

End Move cursor to end of playlist.

Home Move cursor to top of playlist.

Category/Subcategory

(Continued)

Subcategory/Action

(Continued)

Description

(Continued)

Actions

175

ItemInFollowingStory Move cursor to the next item after the current

story.

NextItem Move cursor to the next item.

NextRow Move cursor to the next row.

PageDown Move down one page in the playlist.

PageUp Move up one page in the playlist.

PreviousItem Move to previous item.

PreviousRow Move to previous row.

Playlist ShowPlaylistInventoryObject Opens the Inventory panel (if not already open)

and displays the item selected in the shotbox.

Unlock Release the playlist’s lock.

Playlist/View Close Close the active playlist (topmost tab) in the

Playlist Viewer.

CloseAll Close all playlist views (tabs) in the Playlist

Viewer.

Maximize Maximize the playlist.

Next Switch to the next playlist view—the next tab in

the Playlist Viewer.

Previous Switch to the previous playlist view—the next tab

in the Playlist Viewer.

SetFocus Sets the keyboard focus to the active view.

ToggleMaximize Toggles the display of the Playlist Viewer.

Unmaximize Restores a mmaximized Playlist Viewer to its

original size.

PlaylistExplorer DeleteSelectedPlaylists Delete the selected playlist(s) in the Playlist

Explorer. The system will ask for confirmation.

NewPlaylist Create a new standalone playlist.

New Shotbox Create a new shotbox.

Shotbox/Channel Group EditPropertiesGroup Edit the properties for specified channel group.

Category/Subcategory

(Continued)

Subcategory/Action

(Continued)

Description

(Continued)

Actions

176

Lock Lock the shotbox’s channel group.

Replace Replace the shotbox’s channel group.

Unlock Unlock the shotbox’s channel group.

Shotbox/Control Cue/Items 01-12 Cue item designated 01-12.

Cue/LastPlayed Cue last played item.

Cue/Selection Cue selected item.

Pause/LastPlayed Pause last played item.

Pause/Selection Pause selected item.

Play/Items 01-12 Play item designated 01-12.

Play/Selection Play selected item.

Stop/LastPlayed Stop last played item.

Stop/Selection Stop selected item.

Shotbox Copy Copy the selected item(s) in the active playlist.

Cut Cut the selected item(s) in the active playlist.

Delete Delete the selected item(s) in the active playlist.

Export Export the shotbox.

Import Import a shotbox.

InsertItem Insert a new item in the shotbox.

Lock Obtain the shotbox’s lock.

Paste Paste the selected item(s) in the active playlist.

Shotbox/Selection EditChannel Edit the selected item’s channel.

EditSelection Edit the selected item in the shotbox.

UnpinChannel Unpin the channel for the selected item in the

shotbox.

Shotbox ShowShotboxInventoryObject Opens the Inventory panel (if not already open)

and displays the item selected in the shotbox.

Unlock Release the shotbox’s lock.

Category/Subcategory

(Continued)

Subcategory/Action

(Continued)

Description

(Continued)

Actions

177

Shotbox/View Close Close the active shotbox (topmost tab) in the

Shotbox Viewer.

CloseAll Close all shotboxes (tabs) in the Shotbox Viewer.

Maximize Maximize the Shotbox Viewer panel.

Next Switch to the next shotbox—the next tab in the

Shotbox Viewer.

Previous Switch to the previous shotbox—the next tab in

the Shotbox Viewer.

SetFocus Sets the keyboard focus to the active view.

View About Display information about the application.

Alerts Show the Alerts panel.

Clock Show the Clock panel.

Help Open the Help system.

Inventory Show the Inventory panel.

MediaViewer Show the Media Viewer.

Options Opens the Options dialog box.

PlaylistExplorer Show the Playlist Explorer.

Support Open the Support dialog box.

SystemSettings Opens the System Settings dialog box.

Versions Display software version.

Category/Subcategory

(Continued)

Subcategory/Action

(Continued)

Description

(Continued)

Index

178

Action, list of 165

AirSpeed

channel groups 69

shotbox channel groups 101

Alerts window 42

Alerts, types of 42

ASSIGNID token 110

Auto-assign IDs 110

Autocursor 56

Avid

how to order documentation 7

online support 7

training services 8

Avid iNEWS Command 11

Avid Video device service, inventory 30

Background option 59

Browse controls 38, 39

Buttons

channel group 47, 50, 87

control 47, 87

restore defaults 91

Show/Hide in tablet application 129

time of day 84

Channel group

add to playlist 69

buttons 47

defined 69, 101

locking and unlocking 102

viewing inventory 32

Channel group buttons 50

Channel groups

locking in tablet application 130

Channel toolbar 47, 88

hiding 49

show or hide in shotboxes 88

tally indicator 50

Channels

assigning 103

assigning in Command 74

assigning in iNEWS 117

pinning 106

Channel-specific actions 150

Clock 35

Columns

rearranging in a playlist 61

rearranging in Inventory panel 32

Thumbnail 59

Trigger 146

Command

action quick reference 165

Architecture 11

Features described 13

introduction 11

panels 23

Playlist Viewer 44

Shotbox Viewer 85

System overview 10

tablet application 124

locking channel groups 130

override channel group locks 130

settings 126

shotbox, types of 129

start application 128

unlocking channel groups 130

working with graphics 135

Command Workstation

alternative keypad device 151

changing channels 117

deleting a story 120

disabling keyboard 141

Index

179

menus explained 15

UI control 137

user interface explained 14

using X-keys 147

Composite List queues 116

Container playlist, defined 45

Cursor 57

customizing appearance 57

customizing behavior 53

in a playlist 59

in a shotbox 87

Customer Support, log support information 21

Dialog boxes

Add Channel Group to Playlist 71

Choose action 149

Create New Story 120

Monitor 112

Options 20, 27, 29, 32, 36, 40, 49, 50, 53, 57, 60, 62,

66, 89, 90, 91, 92, 94, 97

Playlist Channel Group Properties 76

Playlist Properties 83

Shotbox Channel Group Properties 106

Support 21

Directory panel 107

Disconnected playlist 67, 68

Docking panels 25

Drop indicator 57

Embedded playlist 80

defined 45

editing 82

Event List queues 115

Events

follow-on 139

inserting in iNEWS story 108

Features list 13

Float iNEWS stories 123

Follow-on playout 139

Fulfillment data, editing 41

Function keys 98

deleting shotbox items 101

GPI

autocursor feature 56

card 151

enable playout menu option 152

panel, defined 151

toggling 152

Graphics in table application 135

Graphics style 76, 106

Hotswap 70, 102, 162

example 70

icon 162

Hotswapping, defined 70

iNEWS

auto-assign IDs 110

changing channel assignment 117

deleting a story 121

Directory panel 107

embedded playlists 80

floating a story 123

inserting machine control events 108

Instruction panel 108

integration 107

machine control event 109

monitor server 110, 111

overview 107

Queue panel 108

rearranging stories in rundown 122

reordering rundowns 122

Story Form panel 108

Story panel 108, 110

Story Text panel 108

updating stories 121

using plug-ins 111

iNEWS Command

Architecture 11

defined 10

Index

180

Instruction panel 108

Inventory

deleting 33, 34, 34

editing 35

removing protection 34

sorting items 32

status icons 31

versioning 79

viewing items 32

Inventory panel 30

iPad 125

Items

adding 78

adding breaks between 77

deleting from inventory 33, 34

deleting in playlist 78

enabling items-only standalone playlists 119

Keyboard

alternative keypad device 151

disabling 141

Layering panels 25

Loading playlists 112

Lock and unlock channel groups 102

Lock and unlock playlists 67

Lock button 87

Locks

in tablet application 130

Looping 142

Machine control event, defined 108

Manual playout 139

Media ID 121

Media Viewer 38

fulfillment data, editing 41

thumbnail images 39

time codes, editing 41

Menu bar 15

Mismatches

resolving 139

viewing details 139, 140

Monitor Load 112, 114

Monitor modes 113

Monitor Off 115

Monitor server, defined 111

Monitor Unload 112, 115

Multi-tab option 29

Newsroom playlist, defined 45

Online support 7

Panels

defined 14

docking and undocking 25

hide or show 26

in Command 23

in iNEWS 107

layering 25

resize 26

working with 23

Pinning channels 106

Placeholders 77

Playlist

add channel group 69

autocursor 56

channel groups 70

creating new ones without stories 54

disconnect caution 68

embedding 80

hide empty rows 55

icons 137

inventory versioning 79

loading 112

lock channel group 102

lock status 68

locking and unlocking 67

looping 142

multiple tab option 29

rearranging columns 61

reconnecting to newsroom 68

Index

181

resolving a mismatch 139

resolving a mistmatch 139

showing thumbnails 41, 54, 67

toolbars explained 47

types of 44

unloading 112

Playlist Explorer 26

configure to auto-open playlists 27

multiple tab option 29

Playlist Lock button 68

Playlist toolbar 47

displaying workstation alias 77

time of day icon 83

Playlist Viewer

multiple tab option 29

overview 46

toolbars 47

Trigger and Status columns 146

Playout

follow-on 139

looping 142

manual 139

resolving a mismatch 139, 139

Playout control 137

Playout toolbar 47

hiding 49

Plug-ins 111

Procedures

add a channel group to a playlist 69

alter time codes 42

assign channel specific actions to a key 150

assign channels in iNEWS 117

auto-assign IDs 110

change an item’s slug 35

change an item’s video ID 35

change clock functions 60, 94

change cursor appearance 57

clear alerts 42

configure Playlist Explorer to auto-open 27

configuring the clock 35

control playout with numeric keypad 139

create a new story in a playlist 119

create a standalone playlist 77

customize behavior of Shotbox Viewer 92

customize Playlist Viewer 53

customize Shotbox Viewer 90

delete a standalone playlist 77

delete a story 120

display items based on component type 51

Display or hide status bar 20

display thumbnails in Media Viewer 39

docking or undocking a panel 25

edit a standalone playlist 77

edit fulfillment data 42

edit the media ID 121

embed a playlist in Avid iNEWS 80

embed a playlist in Command 80

enable a GPI panel to control a playlist 151

enable or disable the keyboard 141

exit tablet application 129

float an iNEWS story 123

hide the Playout or Channel toolbar 49

hiding a panel 26

inserting machine control events 108

inventory

delete an item 33, 34

editing slug or video ID 35

protect an item 34

remove delete protection 34

sorting items 32

layer panels 25

lock or unlock a channel group 102

log support information 21

looping a playlist 144

looping a playlist item 142

maximize the Shotbox Viewer 95

open a shotbox 85

playlist

add a new channel group 69

add breaks between items 77

assign a channel to multiple items 74

assign channels 74

lock a channel group 73

lock all channel groups 73

remove a channel group 69

set the graphics style 76

turn on thumbnails 63

unlock a channel group 73

unlock all channel groups 73

programming X-keys 147

rearrange columns in a playlist 61

rearrange Inventory column order 32

rearrange stories in a newsroom playlist 122

rearrange stories in an iNEWS rundown 122

Index

182

replace a shotbox’s channel group 103

resize the Shotbox Viewer 95

resizing a panel 26

set a playlist to air at certain time of day 83

set follow-on playout 146

set manual playout 147

set multiple follow-on playout items 146

set multiple items to manual playout 147

set options for inventory versioning 79

set the colors for tally 50

set workstation alias 77

shotbox

add an item 98

add multiple items 98

create a shotbox 98

delete a shotbox 100

delete items 100

pin and unpin channels 106

set graphics style 106

turn on thumbnail images 96

show or hide the Channel toolbar 88

start tablet application 128

starting Command 14

tablet application

create new connection 126

lock channel group 130

override channel group locks 131

pause playing video 134, 134

play a graphic 135

play an item 133

rearrange shotbox items 132

unlock channel group 131

toggle between GPI and UI playout control 152

using monitor server 112

view tablet application help 129

view tablet application settings 128

viewing a hidden panel 26

viewing details about mismatched media 139, 140

viewing inventory from a channel group 32

Production cue marker 110

Production cues 108

Queue panel 108

Restore Defaults button 91

Shortcut keys 15

Shotbox

adding items 98

adding multiple items 98

alternating channel assignment 103

assigning channels 103

Channel toolbar 104

creating 98

deleting 100

deleting function key items 101

deleting items 100

function keys 98

in tablet application 131

lock status 87

opening 85

pinning channels 106

replacing a channel group 103

showing thumbnails 98

single-click play 106

toolbars explained 87

Shotbox Viewer 85

resizing 95

Show/Hide button 129

Sidebar 129

Slug, editing from Inventory panel 35

Standalone playlist

defined 44

deleting 77

editing 77

editing embedded 83

inventory versioning 79

Status bar 20

Status icons 47

Story

create new one in playlist 119

deleting 120, 120

floating 123

inserting 119

rearranging in iNEWS rundown 123

rearranging in newsroom playlist 122

rearranging stories 122

Index

183

updating 121, 121

working with a 119

Story Form panel 108

Story panel 108, 110

Story Text panel 108

System architecture 11

Table application

working with graphics 135

Tablet application 124

connection basics 124

iPad 125

locking channel groups 130

override channel group locks 130

set up first connection 125

settings 126

shotboxes 131

shotboxes, types of 129

sidebar and view area 129

transport controls 131

unlocking channel groups 130

Tabs 29

Tally 50

Thumbnail column 59

Thumbnails

defined 63, 96

displaying in Media Viewer 39

Playlist Viewer options 54

Time codes, editing 41

Time of day icon 83

Time of day playlists 83

Toolbars

customing for tally 50

hiding 49

types of 47

Training services 8

Transport controls 131

Trigger column 59, 146

Troubleshooting 7

Undocking panels 25

Unloading playlists 112

Updating stories 121

USB keypad 147

VDCP 30

Video ID

auto-assigning 110

editing from Inventory panel 35

Workflow 11

Workstation alias 77

X-keys 147

autocursor feature 56

channel-specific actions 150

Avid

75 Network Drive

Burlington, MA 01803-2756 USA

Technical Support (USA)

Visit the Online Support Center at

www.avid.com/support

Product Information

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visit us on the web at www.avid.com

Avid INEWS | Command User's Guide I News 3.2 User’s NEWSCommand V32 UG EN

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