Setup d3Net

 

 

 

The d3Net manager

The d3Net manager is used to set up a Director/Actor network.

To open the d3Net manager:

  1. Open the Program Settings menu by right-clicking d3 from the d3 State editor (bar at the top of the screen).

  2. Left-click d3Net manager in the d3Net tab.

The d3Net manager can be configured to contain all of the Disguise machines in the Director/Actor network. These machines are represented by virtual machine objects.

The Actors, Understudies and main sections of the d3Net Manager (described in greater detail below) are used to create an Actor, Understudy or Director machine.

To create a Disguise machine:

  1. Open the Machines manager by either left-clicking Director, or left-clicking the + button under the Actors or Understudies section. The Machines manager displays a list of all of the machines you have created.

  2. Type the machine name into the New Machine text field, for example Director, and hit Enter. The machine name should describe the role of the machine in the network (such as "Actor1"), rather than the name of the physical machine ("d3r0082"). The machine name will be displayed at the bottom right corner of each machine's GUI.

    This will open the Machine Editor. Add the new machine to the Machines manager and assign it to a role within the d3Net manager. The Actors and Understudies can be removed from the d3Net Manager by click-dragging them to the - button. This will remove the machine from the d3Net network but not delete it; it will still be in the Machines manager.

Director

Specifies which machine is used as the Director machine controlling the Actors and the Understudy (or multiple Understudies).

Director type

Controls how the Director machine outputs content. Set to Dedicated for the Director to control the Actors and not output any content; When the Director is set to Non-Dedicated, it can output content via its own outputs as well.

Please note: if the Director Type property is set to Non-Dedicated, the Director will only show content on screens included in its assigned Feed scene. This is an optimization feature enabling the machine only to process content assigned to its Feed scene. Set the Director machine type to Dedicated to view content on all screens in the Director machine's visualiser.

Actors

Specifies which machines are to be used as Actors. Each Actor will output according to its assigned Feed scene. The first output on the Actor machine, which is usually used for a GUI monitor on the Director machine, can also be used as a display output.

Understudies

Designating a machine as an Understudy allows it to take over from any machine in the network in case the machine fails, including the Director machine. The machines the Understudy should take over can be chosen from the Understudy targets section of the machine editor. For more information please scroll down to the section Understudy targets below.

Timeout

The amount of time in seconds until the Understudy automatically takes over from the failed machine. Note that the value 0 disables this function. 

Normal preset

The default matrix preset when all machines are functional and outputting their assigned Feed scenes. Read more about matrix presets in the Matrix & Switchers sub-chapter.

  • To open the Machine editor, right-click the machine from the Machines manager or the d3Net manager.

Host Name

The Hostname of the machine. This can be selected from a list of discovered machines in the d3Net network, opened by left-clicking the arrow. 

Please note: the Actor and Understudy machines must be running the d3Net launcher in order to appear in the list

Network manager monitors the health of the Actors using their frame rates

The failover section of the Network manager monitors the health of the Director and all of its Actors using frames-per-second readouts. For more information on frame-rate readouts please scroll down to the section 'Monitoring Actors' below.

Type

Each machine can be set as a certain type. Changing this value sets the capabilities of the machine for Video Input Patch and Audio Output. The value is auto-detected, when the Disguise machines are connected. When machines are disconnected (for example when building your project in Disguise Designer) you can specify the type manually.

Feed

Assigns a specific Feed scene to the machine. The Feed scene contains specific outputs and can be created directly from the d3Net manager. Alternatively, Feed scenes can be created and configured before assigning them to a machine using the Output Feeds level. Please see Switching Feed scenes for more information.

Audio

Controls how audio is outputted from the machine. 

off disables all audio from the machine, 

timeline only plays audio from the Timeline, 

video files only plays audio from video clips only,

 on enables all audio.

Typically this property is used to allow audio from video clips to play through a PA whilst suppressing the Timeline audio, which is used for reference purposes on the Director only.

Please note: in order to output audio in a Director-Actor network the video file containing the audio needs to be mapped to a screen. The screen then needs to be assigned to a Feed scene, which in turn needs to be assigned to the machine which will output the audio. If using a separate low-res DXV videofile (16x16 pixels) which only contains audio and no video, create a low-res 'dummy screen and assign it to the Feed scene. Read more about outputting audio in the Outputting audio sub-chapter.

GUI

Controls whether to start up with the GUI; options are off when Actor, always on and always off.

Matrix Control

This is a preset number to be automatically sent to the Matrix by the Understudy when one of the machines fails. A preset number should only be set in the Director and Actor machines. In case of a machine failure, that machine's preset number will be sent to the matrix by the Understudy.

You can also enter the information for which input on the matrix each head on the machine is connected to for Direct Matrix routing. For more information please see the Direct Matrix routing sub-chapter.

 

If there are multiple matrix devices Disguise software will send the same preset to all matrix devices in the Devices manager list. For step-by-step instructions on how to create a device please see the Creating devices sub-chapter.

Warning: automatic preset switching is currently only available when using one understudy. If using multiple understudies, the matrix needs to be switched manually.

Alternate feed

Specifies the alternative Feed scene the Understudy should switch to if one of the machines fail. If set to None, the Understudy will switch itself to the standard Feed scene specified in the previous property. This is mainly used if the Understudy's Feed scene has different output head size settings than the machine it is replacing. Please see the explanation of the Feedproperty above for information on how to create Feed scenes using the Output Feeds level.

Understudy targets

The machines the Understudy should take over can be chosen from the Understudy targets section of the Machine editor. However, in order to see this section:

  1. Create an Understudy Machine. When creating an Understudy, leave the Feed property (described below) blank. This is because it should be able to use any other Feed scene assigned to the failed machine.

  2. Close and reopen the Machine editor. A new section called Understudy targets will now exist at the bottom of the editor.

Understudy targets section of the Machine editor is used to add machines the Understudy should take over

If no machines are added to this list, then the Understudy will take over from any machine on the network.

If a Matrix device has been added to the system, the Understudy can be configured to send a preset command to the connected matrix device.

 

File distribution in a Director-Actor network

Once the d3Net manager has been set up correctly, copy the specific Project folder to all of the Actor and Understudy machines in the network. The video files must be distributed in such a way that every machine has all of the content files it will need to play during the show. For information on where the specific Project folder is located please see the sub-chapter Projects location.

Remote control service

The Disguise machines are installed with a Windows services, named d3Service. When starting Disguise softwareon the Director, the Director automatically sends out a start Disguise network command, which attempts to start the Actor(s) with the specific project. When the Actor machine starts, it looks at the d3Net manager, identifies itself in the list and switches automatically to its assigned role and Feed scene.

Please note: d3Service installs as part of the installer and no activation is required.

Monitoring Actors

The Director machine can monitor the health of all of its Actors. By default, the bottom right corner of the Disguise screen contains a frame-rate readout showing the number of frames Disguise softwareis outputting per second (fps).

 

60 fps is the optimum frame rate and indicates a healthy machine by showing in green;

<60 fps is unhealthy and shows in red.

 

If you select a 50Hz output mode, a smooth 50 fps shows as green).

 

Number of frames Disguise software is outputting per second, in this example a healthy 60 fps

In Director mode, the frame readout will be accompanied by a readout for each Actor. If the Actor is not running for any reason, the readout will be in red with a - instead of a number.

In Director mode the Director machines readout will be accompanied by a readout for each Actor.