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Intergraph RAX HD User Manual

Rax hd animation recorder
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RAX HD Animation Recorder
User's Guide
March 2000
D1AA00370

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Summary of Contents for Intergraph RAX HD

  • Page 1 RAX HD Animation Recorder User’s Guide March 2000 D1AA00370...
  • Page 2 This document may not, in whole or in part, be reproduced in any form or by any means, or be used to make any derivative work, without written consent from Intergraph Computer Systems. Use, duplication, or disclosure by the United States Government is subject to restrictions as set forth in subdivision (c)(1)(ii) of the rights in technical data and computer software clause at DFARS 252.227-7013.
  • Page 3 Safety Notices See the base unit System Guide and the associated hardware component documentation for detailed safety information. The AC power cord for this unit is the service disconnect. Ensure the AC power outlet to which the system’s power cord connects is close to the system and is easily accessible. For protection against electrical shock and energy hazards, unplug the system’s power cord from its AC power outlet before opening or servicing the system.

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    Graphics/Scan Engine Internal Connection ..................27 3 Setting Up the Software ......................29 Setting Up Base Unit System Software................... 29 Setting Up RAX HD Animation Recorder Software ..............29 Finding Frame Wrangler and Video File Explorer ................. 30 Reinstalling and Reconfiguring System Software................30 4 Getting to Know Frame Wrangler ...................
  • Page 6 Menus ............................. 36 File Menu ......................... 36 Play Menu ........................36 View Menu ........................37 Configure Menu ....................... 37 Help Menu........................37 Keyboard Controls.......................... 38 Main Panel Keyboard Controls ..................38 VTR Control Panel Keyboard Controls................39 Build Video Wizard........................39 Help ..............................

  • Page 7: Preface

    About This Document This User’s Guide is organized as follows: ♦ Chapter 1, “Your RAX HD Animation Recorder,” describes the purpose of the system, describes the system’s hardware and software components, and discusses the system’s supported input and output formats.

  • Page 8: More Information

    See the Late-Breaking News (if provided) for important hardware, software, and documentation details not covered in this document. For detailed instructions on setting up and configuring the base unit at the heart of your RAX HD Animation Recorder, see the System Guide delivered with the system.

  • Page 9: Your Rax Hd Animation Recorder

    Built-in device control enables insert editing and frame-accurate recording to any segment of tape. A rack-mount disk storage array is an integral part of the RAX HD Animation Recorder. This Fibre Channel-based array provides RAID storage. The array delivers the high speed, throughput,...

  • Page 10: Workflow And Productivity Advantages

    System Hardware A rack-mount base unit is the heart of the RAX HD Animation Recorder. With its revolutionary Streaming Multiport Architecture, this base unit provides superior processing and graphics power. The base unit houses the system disk drive, which contains the operating system, system software, and default storage for audio data used by the system.
  • Page 11 An Intense3D Wildcat 4110 graphics controller card with video input/output (VIO) is installed in the base unit’s Accelerated Graphics Port (AGP) expansion slot. This card provides graphics control for the system and HD graphics resolution for producing HD video. An HD Scan Engine card is installed in one of the base unit’s Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) expansion slots.
  • Page 12 Three Fibre Channel hubs interconnect the base unit and the three Fibre Channel RAID storage arrays. The hubs accept fiber optic connections from the system’s HBAs and copper connections from the storage arrays. For uncompromised performance, one hub is dedicated to each of the three storage arrays. The hubs can be placed on shelves in an equipment rack or anywhere within cable reach of the storage arrays.

  • Page 13: Disk Subsystem

    An Antex StudioCard in the base unit provides professional audio capabilities. The StudioCard includes 16-bit analog-to-digital (A/D) and digital-to- analog (D/A) converters, a 32-bit 40 MHz digital signal processor (DSP), and audio-to-video playback lock. The system includes a 24-inch HD computer monitor that supports resolutions up to 1920 x 1200.

  • Page 14: System Software

    System Guide delivered with the system’s base unit. Frame Wrangler is the primary software tool installed on a RAX HD Animation Recorder. With Frame Wrangler, you can set up and control the harvesting of animation frames from network- based rendering systems, conversion of animation frames into video clips (or vice versa), and conversion of video clips into the appropriate video playback format.

  • Page 15: Animation Frame Formats

    Video File Explorer, see Video File Explorer Help. Animation Frame Formats The RAX HD Animation Recorder accepts rendered image files in several animation frame input formats as input. This lets animators use the animation format they find most productive, from a wide variety of available animation tools.

  • Page 16: Video File Formats

    For example, it may be more efficient to render a project at a lower resolution and scale up. With the RAX HD Animation Recorder, you can do this in real time while viewing both the source material and scaled-up material on different monitors. The system also enables the use of a single set of rendered images for multiple versions of the same production.
  • Page 17 The possible progressive output options are: Source Displayed At Video Output Rate (frames per second) (frames per second) 23.98 23.98 29.97 29.97 23.98, 29.97, or 59.94 (user-selectable) 59.94 24, 30, or 60 (user-selectable) The possible interlaced output options are: Source Displayed At Video Output Rate (frames per second) (fields per second)

  • Page 19: Setting Up The Hardware

    Setting Up the Hardware This chapter describes how to set up and start the hardware components of your RAX HD Animation Recorder. Before You Begin Review the RAX HD Animation Recorder Quick Connect Diagram (delivered with the system) to see how system components connect and where they should reside in relation to each other.

  • Page 20: Setting Up The Base Unit Hardware

    Setting Up the Base Unit Hardware A rack-mounted base unit is the heart of your RAX HD Animation Recorder. You must set up the base unit hardware before continuing with the procedures in this chapter. To set up the base unit hardware: Follow the instructions in the base unit’s System Guide to mount the base unit in an equipment...
  • Page 21 To mount a Fibre Channel RAID storage array in a rack: On each rack rail (front and back), locate the vertical unit (U) marker that will be level with the bottom of the chassis. Mark the second and fifth mounting holes above the U marker.
  • Page 22 Mounting bracket Chassis Rail On each front rack rail, install a tinnerman nut in the fifth mounting hole above the top mounting bracket screw. Tinnerman nut WARNING The following figures show disk drives installed in the storage array. Do not install disk drives in a storage array before you mount the storage array in a rack! Doing this could lead to disk drive damage such as head crashes.
  • Page 23 Slide the bottom of a storage array chassis onto the chassis rails. Push the storage array back until the brackets on either side of the chassis touch the front rack rails. The upper holes in the chassis brackets should match up with the tinnerman nuts on the front rack rails.

  • Page 24: Mounting The Fibre Channel Hubs

    Mounting the Fibre Channel Hubs The system comes with three Fibre Channel hubs. Each hub interconnects the system’s base unit to a Fibre Channel RAID storage array. For uncompromised performance, each storage array has its own hub. For more information on the hub, see the hub documentation delivered with the system.

  • Page 25: Connecting A Video Device To The System

    You can place up to two hubs on each shelf. Make sure the GBIC ports on the back of the hub face the back of the rack. If you want to hide the hubs on the upper shelf from view, secure a blanking plate to the rack immediately above the upper shelf with two...
  • Page 26 To connect a video device to the system: Connect a 75-ohm BNC cable to the SDI OUT YUV port on the HD Scan Engine card. Then connect the cable to an SMPTE 292M input port on the video device. SDI OUT YUV port To genlock the HD Scan Engine output to an analog composite house sync (reference) signal, connect a BNC cable to the COMP REF IN (Composite reference input) port on the HD Scan Engine card.

  • Page 27: Connecting The Base Unit To The Storage Arrays

    Connecting the Base Unit to the Storage Arrays To connect the system’s base unit to the Fibre Channel RAID storage arrays, route and connect cables from the base unit to the Fibre Channel hubs, and from the hubs to the storage arrays. Before you begin connecting the base unit to the storage arrays and hubs, note that: ♦...
  • Page 28 Insert the GBIC port into any slot in the back of a hub. The port is keyed for proper connection. Connect a copper cable to the bottom HSDCC port in the back of a storage array. The cable is keyed for proper connection.

  • Page 29: Connecting Audio Devices

    Connecting Audio Devices After connecting the system’s base unit to the storage arrays, you can connect audio devices to the audio ports on the back of the base unit. See the device’s documentation for instructions on connecting an audio device to the appropriate port. See the separate Antex StudioCard documentation (delivered with the system) for information on connecting audio devices to the StudioCard.
  • Page 30 WARNING If you do not install the disk drives as labeled, the RAID configuration and disk striping will not work, and the storage arrays will not function correctly. You must install each disk drive in the correct bay in the correct storage array, as described in these instructions and on the installation labels.
  • Page 31 Each disk drive has an installation label on the top of its carrier. This label: ♦ Identifies the storage array to which the disk drive belongs by letter (A, B, or C) and, for standard disk drives (1 through 8), by color (red, green, or blue) ♦...

  • Page 32: Connecting To Ac Power

    To install a disk drive in a storage array: Press the left side of the carrier faceplate to release the carrier handle. Insert the disk drive carrier into the chassis. Push the carrier gently into the chassis until it stops. Press the left side of the carrier handle to draw the carrier into the chassis until the handle clicks closed.
  • Page 33 To connect to AC power: At the back of each Fibre Channel hub, connect an AC power cord to the AC power receptacle. Connect the AC power cord from each hub to an AC power outlet. (See at the beginning of CAUTION this section.) This applies power to each hub.

  • Page 34: Controlling System Power

    For more detailed information on connecting the storage arrays, the hubs, the monitors, and the base unit to AC power, see the documentation delivered with these components. Controlling System Power Before proceeding, see the System Guide delivered with the system for complete CAUTION instructions on applying standby power and full power to the system’s base unit.

  • Page 35: Graphics/Scan Engine Internal Connection

    Graphics/Scan Engine Internal Connection The Wildcat 4110 VIO graphics controller card and the HD Scan Engine card are connected internally by a ribbon cable. If you must replace one or both of these cards, you must first disconnect the ribbon cable. When both cards are in place, the ribbon cable must connect them to ensure proper system operation.

  • Page 37: Setting Up The Software

    This chapter describes how to set up the software for your RAX HD Animation Recorder. Setting Up Base Unit System Software A rack-mounted base unit is the heart of your RAX HD Animation Recorder. You must set up the base unit operating system first, and then set up the remaining system software. Follow the instructions in the base unit’s System Guide to set up the base unit’s operating system and to...

  • Page 38: Finding Frame Wrangler And Video File Explorer

    If you have to reinstall or reconfigure the base unit operating system or any of the base unit hardware drivers, see the System Guide delivered with the system. If you have to reinstall or reconfigure RAX HD Animation Recorder software, including Frame Wrangler software, see Chapter 6, “Rebuilding System Software.”...

  • Page 39: Getting To Know Frame Wrangler

    Getting to Know Frame Wrangler This chapter provides basic information on Frame Wrangler software, the primary tool on your RAX HD Animation Recorder system. For more information on Frame Wrangler, its controls, and its functions, see the online Frame Wrangler Help.

  • Page 40: Video Clips, Video Sequences, And Playlists

    Interface When you log on to the RAX HD Animation Recorder, Frame Wrangler runs and the Frame Wrangler interface displays. The Frame Wrangler interface consists of: ♦...

  • Page 41: Main Panel

    The operating system interface and controls are hidden by the Frame Wrangler interface. The taskbar and Start menu stay hidden at the bottom of the computer monitor unless needed. The Main Panel and the Video Window hide any desktop icons. To display the operating system controls or interface: ♦...

  • Page 42: Storyboard Panel

    VTR Control Panel The VTR Control Panel contains controls for operating a videotape recorder (VTR) connected to the RAX HD Animation Recorder system. By default, the VTR Control Panel displays to the right of the Main Panel. You can change the way the VTR Control Panel flies out from the Main Panel if needed. To do this, go to Configure »...

  • Page 43: Video Window

    Play Controls Edit Controls Position Controls For more information on the VTR Control Panel and its controls, see the online Frame Wrangler Help. Video Window The video window is the area of the computer monitor in which Frame Wrangler plays video clips or video sequences.

  • Page 44: Menus

    Menus The Frame Wrangler Main Panel contains five menus. These menus give you access to controls for playing, viewing, and editing video clips and video sequences, configuring the operation of and interface for Frame Wrangler, and gaining access to detailed online Help. For more information on the menus and their options, see the online Frame Wrangler Help.

  • Page 45: View Menu

    View Menu The View menu contains options for changing the way you view the Frame Wrangler interface and for how you use Frame Wrangler with a videotape recorder (VTR) connected to the system. On Top—Keeps the Main Panel and other displayed panels on top of other items on screen. Storyboard—Displays the Storyboard Panel.

  • Page 46: Keyboard Controls

    Keyboard Controls From the system’s keyboard, you can control several commonly used Frame Wrangler functions on the Main Panel and on the VTR Control Panel. Main Panel Keyboard Controls The Main Panel must be selected for these controls to work. Function Play a video sequence or stop a playing video sequence SPACE BAR...

  • Page 47: Vtr Control Panel Keyboard Controls

    VTR Control Panel Keyboard Controls The VTR Control Panel must be selected for these controls to work. Function Play a tape or stop a playing tape SPACE BAR Stop playing a tape Fast forward to the end of a tape Rewind to the start of a tape Set the start point on a tape (same as the Mark In button) Set the end point on a tape (same as the Mark Out button)
  • Page 48 If you choose to build a video clip immediately, the Build Video wizard helps you find and arrange rendered image files to use in building the clip. The wizard then helps you define the video clip you want to create, including the clip’s image size, frame rate, and even or odd field dominance (to match NTSC video input with HD/PAL video...

  • Page 49: Help

    The wizard then helps you schedule the video build. Finally, as with an immediate build, the wizard helps you define the video clip you want to create. For more information on using the Build Video wizard, see Chapter 5, “Using Frame Wrangler,”...
  • Page 50 To use other Help system features: ♦ Click Help Topics to hide the Contents window and provide more space to display a topic. To restore the Contents window, click Help Topics again. ♦ Click the Index tab to display an index of words and phrases in the Help system. ♦...

  • Page 51: Using Frame Wrangler

    Using Frame Wrangler This chapter provides basic information on using Frame Wrangler software, the primary tool on your RAX HD Animation Recorder system. For more detailed information on using Frame Wrangler, its controls, and its functions, see the online Frame Wrangler Help.

  • Page 52: Optimizing Software Performance

    Optimizing Software Performance When using Frame Wrangler, take the following steps to optimize software performance: ♦ Before using the system, defragment its disk drives. Once you start using the system, defragment its disk drives periodically. This uses the system’s disk space effectively. You can use a free disk defragmentation program such as Diskeeper Lite (available on the World Wide Web at http://www.diskeeper.com) to manually defragment the disk drives.
  • Page 53 When you click Finish in the Build Video wizard: Frame Wrangler allocates disk space for the video clip. If the size of the video clip exceeds the system’s available free disk space, you are notified and the wizard starts again at the beginning.

  • Page 54: Building A Video Clip Immediately

    If you specify field-rendered image files, you can select odd field dominance for HD and PAL formats (the default) or even field dominance for NTSC formats. If you are using image files in NTSC format, selecting even field dominance positions fields and frames correctly in the resulting HD video clip.

  • Page 55: Collecting Video Clips

    Collecting Video Clips To collect video clips, you will use Frame Wrangler to organize the clips into playlists. A playlist organizes a set of video clips into a video sequence for review and processing. To collect video clips into a playlist, do any of the following: ♦...
  • Page 56 ♦ A log file is produced for each scheduled video build, in the same folder as the video clip with which it is associated. Log files are named file. , where file is the same name as the name of the video clip. The log file lists all rendered image files found (or not found) in the process of building the video clip.

  • Page 57: Processing Video Clips

    Processing Video Clips As you review video clips, you may find blown frames that indicate missing frames which were not found during the video build. You may find frames that do not display correctly, do not match the other frames, or have color problems. You may want to rearrange the sequence of video clips in the playlist, or edit the video clips in the playlist in some way.

  • Page 58: Associating Audio With Video

    As you begin using Frame Wrangler, you should establish a basic color configuration. Go to Configure » Options in the Main Panel and set the gamma levels, which control the relative appearance of the different brightness levels in a video sequence. You can set gamma levels for the computer monitor (Display Gamma) and the High Definition (HD) video output (Output Gamma), and change them as needed.
  • Page 59 Use the VTR Control Panel play controls and position controls to set the tape in the VTR to its starting point. You may also use the VTR Control Panel edit controls to set start and end points on the tape, if needed. Click Record-to-Tape on the Main Panel to start playing the video sequence and recording it to the tape in the VTR.

  • Page 61: Rebuilding System Software

    Rebuilding System Software All the system software you need to run your RAX HD Animation Recorder was installed and tested before shipment. You should not remove or modify any of the installed system software components. Your system is finely tuned, and you should maintain the approved configuration.

  • Page 62: Installing The Wildcat 4110 Vio Driver

    When going through operating system Setup, you may be asked to install some or all of the drivers for the RAX HD Animation Recorder’s hardware components. If so, you can refer to instructions in the following sections when asked to install these drivers.

  • Page 63: Installing The Hd Scan Engine Driver

    To install the HD Scan Engine driver: Log on to the operating system using an account that has administrative privileges. Insert the RAX HD Animation Recorder software CD-ROM in the system’s CD-ROM drive. In Explorer or My Computer, go to the HD Scan Engine folder ( ) on the CD-ROM.

  • Page 64: Installing The Antex Studiocard Driver

    README Installing the RAID Control Software Your RAX HD Animation Recorder has three Fibre Channel RAID storage arrays, each with eight (standard) or twelve (optional) disk drives installed. Each storage array has a RAID controller that manages its disk drives, making that storage array a RAID disk array. To configure and manage the RAID disk arrays, RAID control software was installed on the system before shipment.

  • Page 65: Configuring The Raid Disk Arrays

    Configuring the RAID Disk Arrays Your RAX HD Animation Recorder has three Fibre Channel RAID storage arrays, each with eight (standard) or twelve (optional) disk drives installed. Before shipment, each standard eight-drive storage array was configured as one RAID Level 5 disk array, and each optional twelve-drive storage array was configured as two RAID Level 5 disk arrays.

  • Page 66: Configuring The Storage Array Stripe Set

    Manager. Configuring the Storage Array Stripe Set Your RAX HD Animation Recorder has multiple disk drives spread evenly across three Fibre Channel RAID storage arrays. Before shipment, the disk drives in each storage array were configured as a one or two RAID Level 5 disk arrays (see “Configuring the RAID Disk Arrays” in this chapter).
  • Page 67 To create the storage array stripe set: Log on to the operating system using an account that has administrative privileges. Go to Disk Administrator in the Administrative Tools program menu. From the View menu, select Disk Configuration. For a system with standard eight-disk storage arrays, press and hold and then click Disks CTRL 2 and 3.

  • Page 68: Installing Frame Wrangler Software

    To install Frame Wrangler Software: Log on to the operating system using an account that has administrative privileges. Insert the RAX HD Animation Recorder software CD-ROM in the system’s CD-ROM drive. In Explorer or My Computer, go to the Frame Wrangler folder (F...

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