This version of Illusion includes fixes for the tablet. The fixes were made using the Intuos driver 4.5.7 Which is downloadable from the Wacom website www.wacom.com Although the driver is for the Intuos tablet it can also be used for the UD and SD series of tablets. For the fixes to work you have to be using the 4.5.7 driver which ever tablet you have.
Before installing Media Illusion 6.1v1 we strongly
recommend you read the online support documentation. This can be
found on the CD in /CDROM/Support_Docs. Once Media Illusion 6.1v1
has been installed, the support documentation can be found at /var/avid/parallax/docs/support_docs/index.html.
The PDF reference guide can be found at /var/avid/illusion/docs/Reference.pdf
1. Introduction
1.1 Release Identification Information
1.2 Online Release Notes
1.3 Online Documentation
1.4 Customer Support Contact2. New Features and Enhancements
2.1 New Features and Enhancements Summary Illusion 6.1
2.2 New Features and Enhancements List Illusion 6.03. System Setup Hints
3.1 Large Memory Arena Sizes
3.2 Environment Setup for Archiving
3.3 Restored Archive Vault Location
3.4 Wacom Pen/Tablet Support
3.5 Makemap Error Messages
3.6 Kernel Tuning
3.7 Illusion New User Creation Script
3.8 Illusion User .login File
3.9 Floating License Server Setup
3.10 Defragmentation under Irix 6.5.5 or later
3.11 NFS 3 File System Problems under Irix 6.5.3/4/5
3.12 Restoring Audio Settings on User Login
3.13 'fork() failed' Error Messages
3.14 Installing the Latest Avid Marquee UFO Plug-in4. Known Problems/Limitations
4.1 Software Launch
4.2 OMF Composition
4.3 Background Renderer
4.4 Dual Monitor Support
4.5 Clip Playback
4.6 EFS File System Support
4.7 Painting
4.8 Video IO
4.9 Film Overlay Grids
4.10 Retime Processes with Offset Input Clips
4.11 Keyframe Manipulation in Track Data
4.12 Stalling when Rendering to Network File System
4.13 Octane Video System Failure under Irix 6.5
4.14 Avid HIIP Format Media
4.15 RGBA DVE Render Problems
4.16 Import In-point Timecode Counters with Drop-frame
4.17 Playing Missing Media to the Graphics Screen in Realtime
4.18 Offsetting Input Clips to a Retime Process
4.19 Viewing Individual Fields of Input Clips to Processes
4.20 Avid Marquee Render Problems
4.21 Start Timecode in Composition Editor
4.22 Undo of Reset All Operation in Transform Process
4.23 Regaining Control of Invalid Bezier Curves
4.24 Conforming Retimes with Zero Length Handles
4.25 Corruption of User Interface Clip Images5. Summary of Major Problems Fixed
5.1 Table of Major Problem Fixes Illusion 6.1v1
5.2 Table of Major Problem Fixes Illusion 6.0v1
5.3 Table of Major Problem Fixes Illusion 5.1v6
5.4 Table of Major Problem Fixes Illusion 5.1v16. DIVO/GVO Support
6.1 What is DIVO?
6.2 What is GVO?
6.3 Illusion Support
6.4 Connecting and Configuring
This document describes release 6.1v1 Media Illusion and Media Illusion Background Renderer software from Avid Technology Inc. For an up to date version of these release notes please refer to the online documentation supplied along side the Media Illusion software on the CD.
1.1 Release Identification Information
Release identification information for this version of Media Illusion :
| Software Product | Avid Media Illusion |
| Version | 6.1 v1 |
| Build date | 14th January 2001 |
| System Software Requirements | Irix 6.5.8 or above |
1.2 Online Release Notes
Acrobat Reader 4.0 for Irix will be installed
automatically with Illusion v6.1, giving access to colour display of the
new Quick Reference Card and User Guide.
An Acrobat PDF version of the Illusion 5.0 reference documentation has been retained and is located at:
This chapter describes the new features and improvements in Media Illusion 6.1 and Media Illusion 6.02.2 New Features and Enhancements List Illusion 6.1
Support for streaming HD on the Onyx IIIllusion now supports realtime streaming of HD on the Onyx II using the XTHD video card.
Support for machines that have multiple video cards
On some Silicon Graphics machines it is possible to have more than one video card. Illusion now supports the selection of the correct video card.
Support for machines that have greater than 2 serial ports
Illusion can now be set so that a serial port greater than ttyd2 can be used.
New composite process.
Illusion has a new composite process which includes an additional drop down menu for alpha support.
On Silicon Graphics Octane with the video bug Illusion has new features to help overcome the problem
Octanes that are using IRIX 6.5 have a known video board problem. In this version Illusion keeps records of where the problems have occurred and displays the information in a dialogue box. Illusion also automatically recovers from the problems of the video bug.
RocketPack 1.0 Plugins from Artix
Rocket Pack is a new release compatible with Illusion 6.0, 6.1 and with 5.1. After the install the tutorials can be found at /usr/Artix/docs/index.html
2.1 New Features and Enhancements Summary Illusion 6.0
Process AvoidanceAutomatic identification of processes in the tree which do not require processing on the input image with the current parameter settings.
Clip Avoidance
Clips can be turned off in the keyframe animation timeline (in addition to hold, start, bounce & cycle). The effected parts of the process tree will not be rendered for the following frames.
Process Optimization
Several process nodes have been optimized for performance, including improvements when processing at 16 bits. Updated process functionality/interface affects:
Transform 2D, Transform 3D, Tracking
Extra filtering options - Mitchell, B-Spline and Cardinal bicubic filters using a 4x4 kernel. Optimizations for Lanscoz and bicubic transformations which are scale and translation only (i.e. no rotation or corner pinning).Component ParserOptimize toggle which assumes an optimized function of the form out_comp = S(R) + T(G) + U(B) + W(A) for each component (where S,T,U,W are arbitrary functions). The assumption is checked by comparing it with the normal process output at every 8th pixel horizontally and vertically (i.e. 1 in 64 pixels overall), and if no discrepancies uses the optimized version. Note: It is NOT guaranteed that the output is unchanged by turning on optimization.Luma AdjustNow has two modes, RGB and HSV. RGB mode applies the graph to each component separately. HSV mode chooses the brightest component, applies the graph to that component and then scales the other 2 components in proportion. HSV is the equivalent to the pre Illusion version 6.0 Luma Adjust process.Difference ExtractGain control added.Expression ProcessA new expression process allowing significant speed and functionality improvements over existing Pixel and Component Parsers including:Shape rendering resolution have been improved.- expression(s) analysed per scan line
- common and constant sub expression elimination/optimization
- 'region of interest' support allowing un-changed pixels to be ignored
- support for pixel and/or component operations
- support for intermediate variables
- support for // style commentsRGB/RGBA Flow Processing Enhancements
A number of improvements have been made to several processes to preserve the RGBA nature of image flow through a tree. Includes improved support for handling pre/non-pre multiplied alphas, processing restricted to act on individual R G B and A channels, speed optimizations for RGB - RGBA conversions and the ability to view an alpha mix in icons on the process sheet and reels.
Rectangle Cropping Calculation Enhancements
Crop rectangles may now be specified during editing which enlarge the processed image area in addition to reducing it. This allows viewing of larger image areas than are being processed lower in the render tree when working on processes higher in the tree. For example, this may be useful in situations where a Transform Process may only require a small section of the input tree for processing, however in an effect such as Colour Correction earlier in the tree it may be necessary to view a larger area of the image for reference.
Node Cloning
Ability to clone process nodes, allowing parameter changes to one node to also affect its clones. Cloning can be assigned to affect process parameters and/or garbage protect shape parameters per node. Cloning of processes occurs when holding down the Alt modifier key when copying process nodes on a tree page. Cloning options are located under the menu Trees - Process Clones. Note, the DVE process node cannot be cloned.
Asynchronous Read/Write Of Images During Rendering
Images will be read from and written to disk without Illusion having to suspend processing when possible. In may situations this results in faster rendering times as less time (or no time in optimal cases) is spent waiting for read/writes to complete before processing of the next frame can begin.
Bezier Graphs
The animation system has been updated to use Bezier curves. Scale Values, Scale Times, Smooth Points, Add Noise, Reduce Points, Reverse, Negate and Make Relative operations can be applied to animation curves. Smooth, Sharpen, Ease in out and in/out, operations can be applied to selected curve points. New graph operators are available via right mouse click and pull down menu beneath graphs.
Aspect Ratio Correction
Enhancements to anamorphic display in the process editor/clip viewer with ability of transformation processes (such as DVE and Transform 2D) to render corrected for aspect ratio. Preset aspect ratio settings are available for common formats. New aspect ratio settings are present in the preferences panel under the menu item View - Preferences - Viewer.
Motion Path In Transform 2D
Path of the Origin or Image Centre can be displayed in Transform 2D operations. A motion path can be described by creating a shape to be used as a path, and specifying distance along path at time. The Origin or Image Centre may be attached to the path, or the path can be used as an additional translation summed to existing transform x,y keyframes.
Tracking Enhancements
Track data is now generated in the form of editable graph curves in the timeline animation system. Track related graphs visibly distinguish between auto tracked points and user added points and support editing of the point values, point deletion and interpolation over missing frames. The ability to directly jump to a track frame by mouse double click has been added. The ability to track on the alpha channel has been added. Magnifying glass view and new track point viewer with option to display Searched For, Found, Final, Mix and Difference information.
Shapes In Keyframe Timeline
Individual shapes within a process now have separate channels in the keyframe animation timeline.
New Colour Corrector Process 'HSV Adjust'
New simple and fast colour corrector for basic adjustment operations. Adjusts colour values as a function of hue (useful for edge suppression), RGB gamma, gain and offset adjustments, R, G, B and luma curve editor, Hue converter, Hue suppresser, RGB Suppresser and Saturation graph.
New 'Slate Text' 2D Text Process
New simple 2D text generation process working with true type fonts, for basic text generation.
Launching Background Render Job From Foreground Application
Background render jobs can be launched from the process editor window to run on local or remote machines, allowing specification of number of processors and memory allocation. Clips rendered in the background can be updated and accessed without having to restart Illusion once the background jobs have completed.
Field Rendering Enhancements
A number of improvements have been made to field rendering support. Selective rendering of individual fields during editing, selective application of field filtering to input clips during field rendering and improved field order control.
Re-linking Of Tree Media
Extra clip information is saved out in the tree file allowing the ability to relocate the clip media if it does not already exist in the current project database. This support is provided for Hierarchy/External clips and Video digitized into an Illusion vault, accessed through the menu item Clips - Batch Digitize for selected clips.
Undo/Redo
Undo and Redo available in the Process Sheet Pages and Reels. Clip and Process node create copy, move, delete, connect, replace, join, repeat, reverse and cut operations are now stored in an undo history. Composition Timeline Undo/Redo is now integrated in the same undo history as Process Sheet Pages and Reels.
Composition Timeline Enhancements
Composition Timeline window and Trim Display/Viewer are now embedded in the main process sheet window, accessible by drag-able sash and hotkey display. Key F5 launches composition editor, Key F6 toggles composition viewer and process tree pages/reels. Alt-C to toggle between current zoom level and full zoom-in for quick frame edits.
Process Sheet Enhancements
Image type colour coding for process I/O connections (i.e. RGB, A or RGBA). Node labelling allowing user comments. Ability to replace any clip or process in the tree with another via drag-drop. User preferences for link colours, process node notes and drop-replace are present under the menu item Preferences - Session. Process node notes are editable via mouse double click.
'Hot-node' colouring allowing visible indication of processing times throughout a process tree. Low/high colour limits for timings are specified through the Tree Controls dialogue under the menu Trees - Controls.
Multiple Viewer Look-up Tables
Multiple lookup table files can be managed via a list in the image viewer. Allows loading of combined RGB and separate R, G, B per colour channel table files. An example look-up table is provided in the directory /var/avid/illusion/data/. Look-up table and gamma settings are now saved between sessions.
Editable Cineon Lookup Table Parameters and New Cineon UFO
Cineon parameters are now directly editable from within the image viewer in addition to selecting to use values specified in the parallax.env file. The parallax.env file continues to provide support for Black Point, White Point, Soft Clip and Gamma parameters as in previous versions of Illusion. The new Cineon parameters use a modified algorithm and allow direct modification within Illusion of:
- Black and White Point
- Soft Clip
- Display Gamma (to adjust for the transfer gamma of your monitor, default value is 1.0)
- SGI Gamma (to adjust for any gamma setting set using the 'gamma' command, default value is 1.7)
- Direction (UFO only, specifying Log-Linear or Linear-Log)Onyx 2 DIVO/GVO Video Option Support
Support for DIVO (Digital Video Option for Onyx II which replaces Sirius board) and GVO (live image pipe of the Illusion viewer to the GVO digital video output).
Video IO Enhancements
Drop-frame timecode support and ability to drop 'guide audio' to tape when exporting video.
Audio Enhancements
New audio scratch track management window simplifies task of assigning and managing scratch audio tracks. Ability to drop 'guide audio' to tape when exporting video.
Marquee v2.0 Plug-in
The latest version of Marquee is provided as a plug-in to Illusion including the new DVE feature.
Sapphire 2.6 Plugins from GenArts
Sapphire 2.6 from GenArts is a new release compatible with Illusion 6.0. Note - this release will not work with Illusion version 5.x or earlier. Changes since Sapphire 2.01 include:
Two new plugins, BlurMotionCurves and NTSCtoFilm.
Affect Alpha parameter added to LensFlare, Glows, Glints, and Glare, which allows adjusting the amount of Glow etc. included in the alpha channel of the output.
Shake has a new Blur Motion Length parameter.
The Kaleido effects have a new Filter option.
LensFlare now has an optional separate Track input for use in AutoTrack mode, and also includes a new anamorphic Blue lens type.
On both single and multi-processor workstations, a plug-in process can now be stopped mid-frame by pressing the Stop button. An approximate percent-processed number is also displayed during processing of each frame.
The parameter button locations have been adjusted for many effects.
Tinder Tools 2.6v1 and Computer Film Tools 1.0v2 Plugins from The Foundry
Tinder Tools 2.6v1 and Computer Film Tools 1.0v2 from The Foundry are new releases compatible with Illusion 6.0. Note - these releases will not work with Illusion 5.x or earlier.
5D Monsters 1.0n32 Plugins from 5D
5D Monsters 1.0n32 from 5D is a new release compatible with Illusion 6.0. Note - this release will not work with Illusion 5.x or earlier.
Zbig Keyer 2.0 Plug-in from CFB
Zbig Keyer version 2.0 from CFB is a new release compatible with Illusion 6.0. Note - this release will not work with Illusion 5.x or earlier. Tutorials for this keyer are located at /var/avid/parallax/parallax_process_ufos/CFB/zbigtutorial/
3 System Setup Hints
3.1 Large Memory Arena Sizes
Illusion 6.0 performs modified memory management which will allow greater Image Memory Arena allocation. Systems previously limited to Memory Arena sizes of approximately 650 Mb should now be able to allocate a Memory Arena approaching 1.0 to 1.2 Gb depending on exact system specification.
3.2 Environment Setup for Archiving
Tape Devices
Illusion Archiving uses Unix's remote shell mechanism (rsh) to obtain information on remote tape devices.
If you use csh (or tcsh) rsh only works if your .cshrc (or .tcshrc) file on the remote host does not execute interactive or output-generating commands. To prevent these commands from executing put them inside the following conditional block:
if ($?prompt) then
// Interactive and output-generating commands go here
...
endif
A tape device's physical host must be set up such that it allows remote users to connect using rsh without the need for a password. There is more than one way of achieving this. One way is to edit the file /etc/hosts.equiv on the physical host so that it contains the following:
localhost
+
This will allow rsh to be executed from any host without the need for a password. If you only wish to give access to specific hosts you can add each hostname to the hosts.equiv file. For example:
localhost
aladdin
cinderella
This would only give privileged access to hosts aladdin and cinderella.Archiving now allows you to choose a compressed tar device, when supported by the hardware.
3.3 Restored Archive Vault Location
When restoring an archived project old Illusion documentation may state that it is not valid to choose an existing vault to restore in to. This is no longer the case. An archived vault can be restored into an existing vault, however a dialogue box will be displayed advising the user not to restore into a vault in use by another project.
When restoring from the command line, if no vault mount points are specified the vault(s) will be restored into the current project directory as opposed to their original mount points as stated in old Illusion documentation.
3.4 Wacom Pen/Tablet Support
System Log-in Damage During Wacom Installation under Irix 6.5
Wacom driver installation on IRIX 6.5 could potentially leave the system broken, preventing log in as anyone except root. This seems to be caused by using runpriv when assigning the tablet to the serial port in the system manager's 'serial device manager' (runpriv is a program supplied with IRIX that gives a normal user super-user privilege for a particular command). This has currently been identified under Irix 6.5.4.
To prevent this, avoid the use of runpriv by installing the tablet driver and assigning the tablet to the serial port while logged in as root.
Eraser and Side Button Operation
For correct eraser and side-button operation when using a Wacom pen/tablet, it is recommended that the following lines are in the wacom configuration file /usr/lib/X11/input/config/wacom :
pointertype "eraser"
t+sbutton "0"
Dual Monitor SupportTo enable moving of the cursor from one screen to another on a dual monitor setup, the following changes must be made to the Wacom set-up. This allows you to nudge the cursor over to the other screen, although the cursor will jump to the same tablet-screen position as it was on the first screen.
On the toolchest: Desktop - Customize - Wacom tool
Go to the Wacom Settings option and select Scaling
Change the Scale Tablet setting to Insert of Tablet
The new Wacom Intuous tablets are supported from in product releases Matador 7.55 and Illusion 5.1 onwards. These tablets require new Wacom drivers SGI driver version 4.2 . The new SGI drivers will not be available from Wacom's web or FTP site but will be included on CDROM with Wacom tablets ordered for use with the SGI.Loss of Pressure Sensitivity (Intuous Driver Version 4.2)
There is a known problem with the Wacom Intuous driver version 4.2 . After user logout pressure sensitivity is lost until reboot.
There is a new version 4.5.4 of the Intuous driver software which should fix this problem.
Driver Fails to Start Following Installation (UD Series Driver Irix 6.5.3 and above)
There is a known problem with the installation of the Wacom UD Series driver for Irix 6.5.3 (optional input software on Irix 6.5 CD). After installation the driver fails to start. This can be resolved by creating the file /usr/lib/X11/input/config/wacom to contain:
x_init {
pushpointer "on"
scalewhich "none"
pointertype "eraser"
t+sbutton "0"
autostart "on"
}3.5 Makemap Error Messages
A possible problem exists of incorrect usage of the makemap command when starting Matador. If the bsd subsystem is installed, it is possible that the sendmail database program makemap (in /usr/bsd) is found before the GL colour map program makemap (in /usr/sbin). To prevent this the user .login file should be modified to ensure that /usr/sbin exists before /usr/bsd in the path variable.
3.6 Kernel TuningThe kernel tuning program 'set_systune' has been modified.maxlkmem
Previously set to 70% of RAM (maximum possible value), this has been reduced to approximately one fifth of available RAM. In tests, this results in better memory usage and the system is less prone to swapping.
Resource limits
Previously set to IRIX 5.3 maximum values (0x7fffffff), the virtual memory limits:
rlimit_vmem_maxand the data segment limits:
rlimit_vmem_currlimit_data_maxhave been pushed to their maximum values of 0x7fffffffffffffff
rlimit_data_cur3.7 Illusion New User Creation Script
This now defaults to using the tcsh shell. The prompt setting has been modified accordingly.3.8 Illusion User .login File
The Illusion .login file has been modified such that the path /usr/sbin appears before /usr/bsd to prevent Matador calling up the wrong makemap program (see section 3.5).3.9 Floating License Server Setup
Multi-processor Floating LicensesA multi-processor machine may not be able to check out valid license options from a remote floating license server. This problem will not occur if the machine is serving from its own license server (i.e. avidd is running locally) or if the machine only has a single processor or the application is running via a node-locked local license.
To correct this problem for all multiprocessor installations, the following actions are required:
1) Copy the license file license.dat file from the remote license server to each of the clients which will run the application.
2) Ensure the AVID_LICENSE_FILE environment variable on each client is set to access the local license.dat file first instead of only pointing to the remote license server. For example:
setenv AVID_LICENSE_FILE /var/avid/admin/fishpond_license.dat:1700@fishpond
This will allow Illusion to route through the local license.dat file to the remote license server and floating licenses with the correct options will be checked out.
3.10 Defragmentation under Irix 6.5.8 or later
To enable de-fragmentation of filesystems under Irix 6.5.8 or later use the following command:chkconfig fsr_xfs on
This will enable a cron command which is added during installation of Illusion 6.1 which will perform periodic defragmentation of filesystems specified in the file /var/avid/admin/mtab.
The file /var/avid/admin/mtab should be checked to ensure that all relevant filesystems which require defragmentation are correctly specified. A line copied from the /etc/fstab file for each filesystem to be defragmented automatically should be inserted. This should be in the format:
/dev/xlv/lv7 /array xfs rw,raw=/dev/rxlv/lv7
The command automatically added to root crontab during installation of Illusion 6.0 is given below. This will execute defragmentation of the file systems specified in /var/avid/admin/mtab at 03:00 daily.
0 3 * * 0-6 if /sbin/chkconfig fsr_xfs; then (cd /usr/tmp; /usr/etc/fsr_xfs -m /var/avid/admin/mtab >>/var/avid/admin/fsrlog ; awk '{print $1;system("xfs_db -c frag -r "$1)}' /var/avid/admin/mtab >>/var/avid/admin/fsrlog ) fi
3.11 NFS 3 File System Problems under Irix 6.5.3/4/5
Problems have been encountered when rendering to a remote file system when using NFS version 3 with Irix 6.5.3, 6.5.4 or 6.5.5. The saving of images during rendering may repeatedly stall, requiring activity in a shell or other application to restore correct network operation.This is an Irix operating system related problem and currently to correct this it is required that the machine is set up to use NFS version 2 only.
This has been corrected in IRIX 6.5.8
3.12 Restoring Audio Settings on User Login
The following information on automatically restoring audio settings has been sourced from the SGI audio FAQ (general section) :Apanel provides a facility to save and restore system settings under the File menu. System settings are stored in a format akin to X resources in a file in the user's home directory called .audiopanelrc (unless otherwise specified). Each time apanel is launched, the system is set to the settings specified in this file, if it exists. If apanel is launched as the user logs in, reading these settings is then taken care of automatically when the desktop is restored.
Some folks find it necessary to have a different filename for their audio settings, and there's an option to the apanel command line for them -- the -openfile option.
Still other folks might not launch apanel when they first log in, but still desire audio settings to be read from a shell script. For these people, there are 2 options. Apanel can be invoked with the -nodisplay option, thus avoiding the GUI.
For users who need audio settings set right at boot time, before anyone logs in and before an X server is even present on the system, a lighter-weight application, /usr/sbin/audiostate, can be used from within a startup script (for instance in /etc/rc2.d). Audiostate has a pared-down version of apanel's command line which just handles saving (-savefile), restoring (-openfile) and printing (no options) audio system state.
3.13 'fork() failed' Error Messages
Error messages of the type 'fork() failed' reported in the shell whilst using Illusion may indicate an inadequate amount of virtual swap space set up for the system. In the event of error messages of this nature, Illusion should be exited immediately as the required system resources requested by the application are failing to be provided.To check the correct amount of physical and virtual swap space is set up on your system please refer to the following online support documentation:
Online support documentation index -
/var/avid/parallax/docs/support_docs/index.htmlSwap space documentation chapter -
/var/avid/parallax/docs/support_docs/system_setup/swap/swap.html
In addition there is also a utility installed with Illusion 6.0 which will test the current system for correct swap configuration in:
/usr/sbin/swap_tester
3.14 Installing Latest Avid Marquee UFO Plug-in
To ensure the most up to date version of the Avid Marquee plug-in for Illusion is installed:1) Install the standard Avid Marquee distribution from the Avid Marquee CD.
2) Install the latest version of the Avid Marquee UFO for Illusion from the maquee_ufo distribution present on the Illusion 6.1 CD (please note that this is not selected by default and will require manual selection for install).
4 Known Problems/Limitations
4.1 Software Launch
Launching Illusion from the directory /var/avid/parallax will cause a hang on start.It is not recommended to launch the software as user root otherwise critical project files may become root owned preventing access by other users.
4.2 OMF Composition
Handled OMF Effects within the Composition EditorDip/Fade to colour or to black is recognized as a dissolve.
Dip/Fade to colour will import as to black.
Mask background colour is not supported.
Reverse switch is not supported. It can be set within Illusion manually.
Picture in Picture keyframe animation may not reproduce identical results due to interpolation differences.OMFI support
OMFI 1 files are not supported. Only OMFI 2 composition files exported by Media Composer/Symphony are supported.
Compositions should be output as video only without the media option selected and sequences should be decomposed or consolidated before they are exported into Illusion. This will prevent unnecessary media being digitized.
Batch Digitizing
When batch digitizing Illusion may hang if the deck is set to local. The deck must be set to remote before starting a batch digitize procedure. The Digitize and Close buttons remain active when batch digitizing, they should be greyed out.
Prior to batch digitizing in the composition editor the source timecodes displayed in the trim windows may be incorrect.
Trimming Over Edge of Composition Display
When trimming out over the edge of the composition timeline display, the composition may fail to re-size to its new modified length. This can be corrected by Ctrl-C to zoom to the composition full extents. If a zoom is performed mid trim operation it may sometimes be necessary to temporarily move the trim point cursor 1 frame in the opposite direction prior to being able to continue trimming in the required direction.
Incorrect Interface Colours
Occasionally incorrect interface colours may appear in Illusion's composition timeline when using Illusion simultaneously with other applications. Restarting Illusion will return the timeline interface to the correct colours.
Drop Frame Timecode in Composition Render Dialogue
The current position counter when auto-rendering composition segments may be slightly out for drop-frame media.
Default Keyframe Range when Editing Transition Segment Effects
When editing transition effects from the composition timeline it should be noted that parameter keyframe ranges are automatically stretched to the span of the transition. Therefore when editing these effects from the composition, the default in and out keyframes (at segment start - 1 frame and segment end + 1 frame) should not be deleted to avoid a re-stretching of other existing key frames in the process to these segment limits on return to the composition.
4.3 Background Renderer
Inhibiting Proxy Creation for Background Rendering
When inhibiting proxy creation using the -no_proxy <n:1> flag with the background renderer, or when inhibiting proxy creation through the process editor and saving the setup as a background render job file, output clips with multiple proxy sources of the same ratio are not handled correctly. When inhibiting creation of a proxy ratio, if the output clip contains multiple proxies which exactly match the given ratio size, only the first of these will be disabled.
Background Rendering at a Specific Proxy Source Ratio
When informing the background renderer to render at a specific proxy source ratio, if the output clip contains multiple proxies which exactly match the given ratio size, the first of these will always be selected as the render source.
4.4 Dual Monitor Support
Main Application on Display 1
Illusion may occasionally 'hang' when running the main Illusion application on the secondary head (display 1) and displaying the clip cinema on the primary head (display 0). This does not occur when running the main application on the primary head (display 0) and displaying the clip cinema on the secondary head (display 1).
Window Raising/Lowering
Trying to raise or lower windows above/below the Illusion UI window on display 0 whilst you have an illusion window open on display 1 will fail. To return normal window operation close the second display window, and minimize/maximize the main Illusion window. All windows on the second display function normally.
4.5 Clip Playback
(Onyx Platform Only)
Moving the mouse cursor over the process sheet during playback may cause the playback speed to decrease and/or stutter.4.6 File System
EFS File system Support
EFS has not been qualified as a storage medium for Illusion 6.1, 6.0, 5.1 or 5.0. File systems must be XFS.
AVID HIIP Softimage Format File names
The AVID HIIP loader/saver limits the number of characters to eight when saving Softimage file formats.
4.7 Painting
Paint Stores Corruption
(SGI O2 Platform Only)
When adding new clips to the paint stores the icons in the stores menu appear corrupt.Matador from Within Illusion
A maximum of 9 individual clips can be taken from Illusion into Matador. Saving to disk explicitly as the last action within a Matador session will result in the changed frame(s) not correctly returning to Illusion.
Painting on Existing Hierarchy Clips
Changing the x, y resolution of an existing Hierarchy clip during painting, and only painting a selection of frames will result in a mixed resolution Hierarchy clip. This will not display correctly in the player. A Hierarchy clip must contain all frames of the same x, y resolution within any one of its sources.
Painting During Editing DVE Process
Paint from within the Process Editor will not work correctly if a DVE process in the tree is currently being viewed or edited.
4.8 Audio/Video IO
Grabbing Greater Than 32768 Video Fields
(Octane Video Only)
When grabbing 32768 fields or greater then the message Sequence Lost Error will be produced in the shell and only one frame will be grabbed before a second pass starts. The system will then capture one frame per pass until the whole sequence is captured.Digi Betacam Grab Delay
Digital Betacam may require a grab delay of 1 and a drop delay of 2 to avoid a single black frame being dropped at the start of insert edits.
Video vcp and Audio panel Reset
Settings to the vcp (video control panel) and audio system control panels are not restored to their previous settings after a system reboot.
Drop Frame Timecode
Using the increase/decrease arrow buttons for timecode counter modification does not correctly update for drop-frame values. Entering values directly works correctly. Mixing drop-frame and non drop-frame grab requests on the Import Shot List will result in a software hang.
Dropping to Write Protected Tapes
If a tape is write protected, Illusion will send the clip being exported unnecessarily through the drop routine. The deck will go into PLAY mode rather than EDIT mode.
Exporting Proxy Resolutions
The Export menu incorrectly allows selection of proxy sizes other than 1:1 when exporting to video. This is not supported functionality.
Reversing Field Based Material
Reversing a clip on the reels only reverses the order of the frames, not the fields. The Reverse process performs a reverse of fields.
Dropping Guide Audio with Video in Sections
Dropping a guide audio track with video in sections will maintain synchronism over multiple sections, however dependent on deck type there may be a pop in the audio at the point of the section transition. Depending on the audio track and deck type, this may or may not be audible. This does not occur in realtime playout, where the audio layoff is continuous.
4.9 Film Overlay Grids
Changes have been made the the Film Grids preference file $HOME/.illusion_prefs/film_grids.prefs to correctly document the grid parameter order. This file is automatically created by Illusion if one does not already exist. If Illusion has been installed over an existing installation this file may already exist and will have to be removed before the new documentation changes are written out.
4.10 Retime Processes with Offset Input Clips
Input clips to a retime process should not be offset within the keyframe animation timeline. Retime processes fail to take into account any frame offsets which have been applied to their input clips resulting in unexpected fetching of input frames. It is recommended that retiming of input media is processed as a separate tree and the retimed media is used as a direct input to any effect trees which use frame offsets on input media.
4.11 Keyframe Manipulation in Track Data
The following restrictions have been applied to the manipulation of keyframe information representing a track in the Tracking process:
1) Keyframes may be offset at the track level only. All keyframe data below a track will be moved together and offset operations to keyframes below a track are not permitted.
2) Only keyframe values can be modified in the graphs. Offsets of keyframes in time from the graph are not permitted.
4.12 Stalling when Rendering to Network File System
See section 3.11 NFS 3 File System Problems under Irix 6.5.3/4/5
4.13 Octane Video System Failure under Irix 6.5
A problem may occur on Octane systems with digital video boards installed. This appears as a failure of the video board during play to video or drop to tape operations. Diagonal lines may appear prior to video output of black. Without a patch to fix this problem, a system reboot is required to return the video board to normal operation.
/var/avid/parallax/docs/support_docs/hardware/video/video_patch_octane6.5.html
As a result of the failure, it is no longer possible to display from the process editor to video in Illusion, or to play to video out via the graphics path.
Ensure that IRIX 6.5.8, or above and Illusion 6.1v1 or above are installed to help with this problem.
4.14 Avid HIIP Format Media
Rendering Speed with Avid HIIP Format Media
It should be noted that rendering may be significantly slower when using Avid's third-party HIIP file format image loader with input media, or when output rendering using Avid's HIIP file format saver. In worst cases this may result in a 3-4 times decrease in render speed over using Illusion's internal RasterFileIO image format loader/savers.
It is strongly recommended that whenever possible, RasterFileIO format loader/savers are used to ensure optimum rendering performance.
Avid HIIP Softimage File Format Problems
Problems may be experienced when using the Avid HIIP Softimage format file saver. It is recommended that Softimage format files are loaded/saved using the RasterFileIO Softimage format loader/saver.
Avid HIIP SGIMovieFile Format
This format is no longer supported in Illusion 6.0.
4.15 RGBA DVE Render Problems
Rendering of RGBA images using a DVE process on the SGI O2 platform may result in occasional missing or corrupted frames. This is caused by a double-buffering problem on the O2 platform and can be resolved by ensuring that double-buffering in Illusion's image viewer is disabled during DVE rendering.
4.16 Import In-point Timecode Counters with Drop-frame
The Up/Down counters for timecode in-point when in Illusion's import menu will fail to increment/decrement correctly for drop-frame timecode. Entering the timecode value directly into the dialogue works correctly.
4.17 Playing Missing Media to the Graphics Screen in Realtime
It is not possible to play yellow crosses for missing media to the graphics screen on an SGI O2 in realtime in either PAL or NTSC formats. This is a limitation of memory copy speeds on the O2 platform.
Playing to external video of missing media frames is not affected and can occur in realtime.
4.18 Offsetting Input Clips to a Retime Process
Offsetting of input clip media in time which will be accessed by a retie process may not produce the desired results with respect its effect on the time expanded or time contracted output media. Retime-based processes should not be placed within a more complex tree and should only be used with a clip as a direct input. Offsetting of the input clip media is not recommended.
4.19 Viewing Individual Fields of Input Clips to Processes
When editing processes within the process editor, viewing individual fields using the field 1 and 2 buttons requires the field render button to be selected.
4.20 Avid Marquee Render Problems
Background Image of Different Size to Output
The Avid Marquee plugin for Illusion 6.0 can now accept background images of larger or smaller resolution than the output image size. If the background image is smaller, the output of Illusion is cropped to the background image size automatically (this previously would display incorrectly as tiled). Larger background images are cropped to the final render output size.There remains a known issue with such background images which are of a different size to the final render output in the interactive "edit text" part of Avid Marquee however. Such backgrounds will always be centred in the Marquee window, resulting in a view which is not a true representation of the image which will eventually be rendered.
10 Frame Render Sequences
A 10 frame sequence in NTSC will not render the tenth frame within Avid Marquee, either in edit or in render. The Avid Marquee plug-in does not handle the render time being .3333 seconds. A workaround is to extend the sequence to 11 frames (or any other amount) and the render will complete successfully.
4.21 Start Timecode in Composition Editor
By default the start timecode of a new empty composition created within Illusion will begin at 10 hours. This default value can be altered by setting the environment variable ILLUSION_COMP_START_HOURS to an integer value between 0 and 23 prior to starting Illusion. For example:
setenv ILLUSION_COMP_START_HOURS 0
With this set a 'Clear Composition' operation will set the start timecode to this hour value.An alternative procedure for configuring the initial state of the timeline to a specific configuration is to create a single, or set of OMF files in Avid Media Composer/Avid Symphony with the required settings, which can be loaded into an empty Illusion composition timeline prior to commencing work.
4.22 Undo of Reset All Operation in Transform Process
Undo of a reset all operation in the process editor may reset the output crop of a transform process to be set to PAL default size rather than to the size of the currently specified media. An exit process and re-enter resets this to the correct values.
4.23 Regaining Control of Invalid Bezier Curves
Operations on a bezier parameter animation curve will not be permitted if the operation will result in an invalid bezier curve. Invalid bezier curves through direct curve editing should never occur. If however an invalid bezier curve is created through parameter manipulation or other higher level operation, control of the invalid points can be regained by switching the curve type to Linear and adjusting the erroneous point(s), or by selecting a smooth operation on the curve to correct erroneous points.
Symptoms of an invalid bezier curve point may be displayed as a 'sticky' movement during editing or an inability to move the point during editing.
4.24 Conforming Retimes with Zero Length Handles
When conforming an OMF sequence which contains retime effects is it advisable to digitize with handles of at least 1 frame. Digitizing with zero length handles can cause the last frame of the retime effect to contain a yellow cross.
4.25 Corruption of User Interface Clip Images
Occasional corruption of user interface reduced resolution images has been identified on one system configuration. This corruption does not effect final rendered media, and can be prevented by setting the Asynchronous IO memory preference (under the preferences-memory dialogue) to 0.
5 Summary of Major Problems Fixed
This chapter describes the major problem fixes in Media Illusion 6.1v1, Media Illusion 6.0v1, Media Illusion 5.1v6 and Media Illusion 5.1v1.5.1 Table of Major Problem Fixes Illusion 6.1v1
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5.2 Table of Major Problem Fixes Illusion 6.0v1
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5.3 Table of Major Problem Fixes Illusion 5.1v6
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5.4 Table of Major Problem Fixes Illusion 5.1v1
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6 DIVO/GVO Support
6.1 What is DIVO?
DIVO is the Digital Video Option for SGI Onyx 2 & SGI Origin 2000 and replaces the Sirius board. It takes a single XIO slot and provides broadcast quality digital video input and output. It is similar in functionality to the SGI O2 video option and provides transparent YUV<->RGB colour space conversion. It has the addition of a RICE lossless compression unit which is not currently utilized in Illusion.6.2 What is GVO?
DIVO does not have a direct connection with the graphics board and therefore can not support an output directly from the graphics screen to video output (unlike every other SGI platform of recent years). The GVO option must be purchased to provide this. It is a daughter board attached to the DG5-2 graphics board and is therefore best purchased with the original SGI Onyx machine. With this in place, Illusion will pipe a live image of the material viewer to the GVO digital video output. This can be seen when viewing clips in the player, when editing a process, when viewing clips to export and when viewing external files to import.6.3 Illusion Support
DIVO provides similar functionality to the SGI O2 and SGI Octane video options but with the exclusion of a live output display from the player or material viewer. Playing to video is supported, however it is not possible to view a continuous output when stepping through images in the material viewer. It is possible to enable a live view of the incoming video stream in the IO menu.DIVO allows importing and exporting of uncompressed digital video at real-time if the required disk I/O is available and configured. Import and export can be performed 'live' with a cue from the user or triggered by GPI signal from a VLan unit controlling a beta deck. Imported material can be stored in RGB or YUV with best quality results obtained by storing material as RGB Video Frames. This is set up in the I/O section of the Illusion preferences dialogue.
With the addition of the GVO option, whenever material is being viewed in Illusion, a live display will also appear on the video output of the GVO board. Illusion employs GVO in a mode which consumes no extra system bandwidth and provides a copy of the video frame being viewed on screen to the video output with one frame latency.
6.4 Connecting and Configuring
The DIVO has separate GPI connectors for triggering imports and exports. For use in Illusion, both GPI inputs should be wired to a single BNC which can then be connected to the GPI output of the VLan unit. The VLan unit must also be connected to one of the Onyx 2 serial ports. (The VLan unit is required to be a VLXI T/R - Note this is different to the Onyx 1 configuration).Configure the video panel (vcp) to sync from the genlock input and ensure a good sync signal is connected to the GEN IN BNC. Typical configuration would use IN LINK A for video input and OUT LINK A for video output.
Ensure the Onyx 2 has the latest recommended patch set installed.
The top line of the Illusion 'parallax.env' file should read DIVO. The VTR PORT line should correspond to the serial port that the VLan unit is connected to. VTR DRIVER should be set to VLAN. DIVO/GVO support requires licensing with a "Dv" option. Please contact your local sales/support representative for further information.
There are two GPI inputs provided on both GPI connectors. Illusion uses GPI input 1 by default. This can be overridden with a system variable if required as follows:
setenv ILLUSION_GPI_TRIGGER 2It is essential to install the specific version of Illusion which includes support for DIVO. If the standard version of Illusion is run, it will print a message in the shell warning of lack of DIVO support. On startup of Illusion, a search is made for the GVO option. If this is not found, a message is printed in the shell.