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MagicBox Vip User Manual

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MagicBox
User Manual v2.00
Copyright © 2008 MagicBox, Inc.
All Rights Reserved

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Summary of Contents for MagicBox Vip

  • Page 1 ® MagicBox User Manual v2.00 Copyright © 2008 MagicBox, Inc. All Rights Reserved...

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    What’s New in 2.00 .....................9 Use of the Keypad..................... 9 Video Modes...................... 9 Network Settings ....................9 Uploading Projects with VIP Composer............10 Setting the Password in Composer .............. 10 Hardware Setup......................11 Box Contents....................11 Find a Suitable Location................. 12 Connections .....................
  • Page 4 “ Logo Bug ” ....................68 Reordering Pages .................... 70 Saving Your Work................... 72 More Time Domain Examples............... 72 Publishing to a VIP Unit................. 74 Creating Your Own Project................78 Resolution Modes.................... 79 Linked Pages....................81 More About Publishing.................. 82...

  • Page 5: Introduction

    Hardware The VIP unit is a dedicated video slide player in a small set-top style package. It features high quality output, low power consumption, few moving parts, quiet operation, and an easy to use interface with a keypad.

  • Page 6: Software

    VIP Composer. You should skim through this manual once before setting up your unit or installing your software in order to get an overview of how the VIP works. Then, read through each chapter, especially the tutorial, following the examples given.

  • Page 7: Customer Support

    Customer Support Should you have any questions about installing or using your MagicBox VIP system, please call our technical support line at 541-752-5542, send a fax to 541-752-5614, or write to: MagicBox, Inc. 1600 SW Western, Suite 130 Corvallis, OR 97333 You can also send email to: support@magicboxinc.com...
  • Page 8 The backgrounds and fonts present on the VIP CD-ROM are copyrighted by their original distributors and are present under a special arrangement with MagicBox, Inc. These images and fonts are provided for use in commercial and educational video production, broadcast, cablecast, and closed-circuit applications.

  • Page 9: Warranty

    90 (ninety) days after the date of original purchase. If a defect occurs during the 90-day period, you may return the disks to MagicBox, Inc. for a free replacement. The remedy for breach of this warranty shall be limited to replacement and shall not encompass any other damages, including but not limited to loss of profit, and special, incidental, or other similar claims.

  • Page 10: Fcc Statement

    This agreement may only be modified by an officer of MagicBox, Inc. If any provision of the agreement shall be deemed unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, it shall be deemed severable from, and shall in no way affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions of the agreement.

  • Page 11: Important Safety Instructions

    12. If the device will not be used for a long time period, you should disconnect it. 13. Any objects or liquids should never enter the device via its openings. This could cause a fire or an electric shock. VIP User Manual...
  • Page 12 Use of unsuitable parts can cause more damage and may void your warranty. 17. Please turn to the manufacturer for all questions concerning service and repair. 18. The power outlet must be installed near the equipment and must be easily accessible. VIP User Manual...

  • Page 13: What's New In 2.00

    640x480, 800x600, 1024x768 640x480, 1024x768, 1280x720, 1280x768 On the VIP model, 1280x720 is also known as HD 720 or 720P and is true 16x9 Widescreen. However, not all monitors support this mode. Therefore, 1280x768 has been provided as another widescreen resolution that most monitors can support.

  • Page 14: Uploading Projects With Vip Composer

    1 described above, you will know which unit the Composer located. ** If you are installing VIP Composer 2.00 over an old installation, you will need to go into the site setup for each of your previously added sites and uncheck the DHCP box.

  • Page 15: Hardware Setup

    Box Contents Before you begin setup of your VIP unit, make sure that the following components are included in the original packaging: __ VIP Main System Unit __ Power Cord __ Software Installation CD __ This User Manual __ Warranty/Registration Card...

  • Page 16: Find A Suitable Location

    Find a Suitable Location The VIP unit should be placed on a stable, flat, level surface. Ensure that the unit is not in a place where it may be easily knocked over, have its cords tripped over, or have liquids spilled into it. The VIP unit warranty does not cover damage caused by accidents or misuse.

  • Page 17: Connect The Power

    “A/V” or “Aux” inputs. There are two models of the VIP. One of them only has the VGA port while the other has both the S- Video and Composite ports.

  • Page 18: View The Demo Project

    View the Demo Project Once you’ve connected a monitor to your VIP unit and have applied power, you should see one of the menu screens on your unit, such as the one shown here: At this point, wait for the auto project load to occur (about 5 seconds) or press ‘enter’...

  • Page 19: Configure The Vip Unit

    Configure the VIP Unit At any point you may press the “Menu” button on the keypad, and the VIP unit will enter the Setup Screen: Set the Date Using the arrow buttons ( ) on the keypad, highlight “Time/Date” and press the Select ( ) button. A sub-menu will appear with the options “Set Time”...
  • Page 20 It is important to set the date and time because the VIP unit uses this information to determine when to play certain pages that you have created. When you create pages on your PC, you can set starting and ending dates and times.
  • Page 21 If you want to resume playback of images, press Play ( ) on the keypad. For more details on the Setup Screen, refer to the next section of this manual, “VIP Unit Reference.” The network information is under the heading “Network Setup.”...

  • Page 22: Vip Unit Reference

    VIP playback unit. Protect the unit from power loss. It is always important to protect the VIP unit from power loss or power surges. However, in the event of a power loss, the VIP unit is programmed to turn back on when power is restored and reload the current images.
  • Page 23 The VIP unit has a hard power switch on the rear of the unit. The unit also has a soft power button on the front. It is recommended that you plug the unit in first before switching the rear breaker switch on.

  • Page 24: Using The Keypad

    Using the Keypad The VIP unit’s functions are accessed using the included USB keypad. If you intend to use the VIP unit purely as an automatic playback device, you will not need the keypad after you have set things up the way you like.

  • Page 25: Starting The Unit

    Opt 1, Opt 2, (-) These buttons are reserved for new functions in the future and are not currently used by the VIP unit. Starting the Unit When you first turn the unit on, you will see the following splash screen for five seconds: When first applying power, the unit will boot in less than 30 seconds.

  • Page 26: The Main Menu Screen

    You can only upload projects from the MagicBox VIP Composer software (described later in this manual). Enter Setup Screen Selecting the rabbit icon will take you to the VIP setup menu. The same thing can be accomplished by pressing the ‘Menu’ button on the keypad control.

  • Page 27: Loading A Project

    To play a project created using the VIP Composer software, see “Publishing to a VIP Unit” on page 80 to upload a project to the VIP. The unit will switch to the Gallery screen and begin loading the pages from uploaded project.

  • Page 28: The Gallery Screen

    The Gallery screen also contains a few other icons, which are described below: The disk icon will cause the VIP to reload all of the pages from the hard drive. Use this for times when you have interrupted the loading process and want to start over.

  • Page 29: The Setup Menu

    The Setup Menu The setup menu allows you to change some of the settings used by the VIP unit. The changes you make are remembered by the unit even after a power failure. Use the up and down arrows on the keypad to highlight a menu item. Once the desired item is highlighted, press the Select ( ) button.

  • Page 30: Network Setup

    Selecting any of these settings will change the VIP output to that display resolution. Any graphics created in modes greater than the one you have set will be scaled down to fit the current display resolution. This may cause an apparent decrease in image quality or change in overall proportion.
  • Page 31 From the Setup Screen, select “Network” and then select “Gateway”. The following display should appear: If you are installing the VIP unit behind a router, the router address must be entered in the Gateway setting before the VIP will talk across the router. If you are using DHCP, this value will be filled in automatically.
  • Page 32 Network Administrator should verify that the network is operating properly. One way to verify that the VIP unit is connected to the network is to use the Ping command. However, if you are using DHCP to assign the VIP an IP address, then you will not need to use this method.

  • Page 33: Preferences

    Preferences The Preferences menu allows you to select how the VIP unit will behave when performing certain functions. Show Gallery/ Hide Gallery Normally, whenever a project is published, the unit switches to the Gallery screen while the pages are loaded from the disk. If you do not wish for the gallery screen to appear while pages load, select “Hide Gallery”...

  • Page 34: Time / Date

    **Dwell times for pages to display the time must have a minimum of seconds** Time / Date The VIP unit uses the current time and date to determine when to display pages from your project. Setting the Date A 6-digit digital display showing the current Month, Day, and Year will appear.

  • Page 35: Version

    Playback version and the amount of memory the unit has. Please have this information ready if you can when contacting technical support. Reset Use this menu if you want to reset all of the preferences settings back to the factory defaults. VIP User Manual...

  • Page 36: Password

    This menu will tell you whether a remote-access password has been set. If it has, then it will give you the option of resetting it (in case you have forgotten it). A password can only be set through MagicBox VIP Composer.

  • Page 37: Vip Composer Installation

    Requirements To install the VIP Composer software, your computer must meet the following requirements: • Windows 2000, XP, or Vista • 50MB Hard Drive Space • CD-ROM Drive • Super VGA card with True Color (24-bit or 32-bit) modes (800x600 or higher resolution recommended) •...
  • Page 38 ‘Programs->MagicBox->MagicBox Composer’. Software Key The first time VIP Composer is launched, you will be prompted to enter a serial key to unlock the application. This number is printed on your CD-ROM, CD case insert, and the Quick Reference Sheet. This number is not the serial number of your VIP player unit itself.

  • Page 39: Vip Composer Configuration

    This section will describe how to launch the VIP Composer software and configure the program’s settings. Launching VIP Composer To launch the VIP Composer software, use these steps: Click on the Windows “Start” button on the taskbar. Click on “Programs”...
  • Page 40 The “Sites” Tab The sites tab is where VIP Composer is configured to publish completed work to your VIP unit(s). When you first install VIP Composer, the list of sites under the sites tab will be empty:...
  • Page 41 The first thing to do is type in the site’s name. In the example above, “Lobby Monitor” has been entered. Use whatever short word or phrase that best describes your VIP unit’s location. Below the site name you may type in whatever brief comment information you’d like, such as a mailing address or contact name...
  • Page 42 VIP unit. If it was successful, the Password field on the ‘Sites’ tab will be filled in with your new password. This will also cause the VIP to restart its software. After 5 seconds, it will reload the current project and play it from the beginning.
  • Page 43 Select the “COM” port that corresponds with the cable connection. At publish time, VIP Composer will automatically connect with the VIP unit and send over the pages of your project. “Modem” Sites The “Modem” publish method is for remote VIP units that are accessed over the phone using your PC’s modem.
  • Page 44 VIP unit check the MAC address entered and try again. If it still fails, it means that the VIP is not connected to the network or it is not on the same subnet as your PC. If the latter is the case, then you will need to use a Static IP address.
  • Page 45 DHCP box, and enter the address in the “IP Address” field. At publish time, VIP Composer will automatically connect to the VIP unit across the network and send your project’s pages. Completing Site Setup After you have setup your site’s name, preferences, and connection method, click on “OK”.

  • Page 47: Vip Composer Tutorial

    This section will introduce you to the main concepts in creating pages for the VIP unit using the VIP Composer software. Be sure that you have already installed and configured the software using the instructions in the previous two chapters. The instructions on launching the program...

  • Page 48: The Tutorial Project

    If it does not, or if you see the screen below, then your VIP unit needs to have the correct date and time set. Do so now using the keypad. (If you need help, please refer to the hardware setup chapter earlier in this manual.)
  • Page 49 In Thumbnail Mode, you view actual images of your pages in a miniature grid similar to the Gallery View in the VIP unit itself. You may use either mode your prefer – the rest of this tutorial will use List Mode.
  • Page 50 A closer view of the List Mode: A closer view of the Thumbnail Mode: To change the mode between, click on the “View” menu at the top of the page and select or deselect the checkmark next to “Pages As List”. VIP User Manual...

  • Page 51: The Project Editor

    To see more information about an entry, you can scroll the list-view to the right by dragging on the scrollbar at the bottom of the list or by clicking on the scroll arrows: Scrolling will reveal more columns of information about the entry, as shown below: VIP User Manual...

  • Page 52: Selecting A Page

    To work on the selected page, click on the “Edit” button on the right of the screen. Alternately, you can double-click on an entry in the list. You will now be taken to the Page Editor screen where you can change the appearance of a particular page. VIP User Manual...

  • Page 53: The Page Editor

    Most of the work in the Page Editor is accomplished by using the Tool Palette and Tool Bar. The Tool Palette The Tool Bar Each of the above icons will be described later in this manual. This example focuses on the Page Background icon: The Page Background Icon VIP User Manual...
  • Page 54 This problem has led video professionals to define what is known as the “Safe Text Area”. Text placed inside this area will show up for sure on any TV that isn’t terribly out of alignment. In VIP Composer, this area is represented by the thin rectangle. VIP User Manual...

  • Page 55: Changing The Background

    Notice that along the bottom of the Page Background dialog, there are four sets of color buttons – “Color 1” through “Color 4”. These buttons control which colors will be used to draw a ramp background. VIP User Manual...
  • Page 56 Currently, “Color 1” and “Color 2” are set to black. Click on the “Color 1” button. A Color Dialog like the one below will appear: VIP Composer lets you select from a palette of 64 predefined colors designed to look good on video. You can also design your own custom colors –...
  • Page 57 The Exit icon on the Tool Palette is the normal way to exit from the page editor. You will need to turn the Tool Palette back on using the View menu before you can exit from the Page Editor. VIP User Manual...
  • Page 58 Click on the “Browse” button to select a background file. A File dialog will appear. If this is the first time you have run VIP Composer, you will need to locate the folder containing the included backgrounds. Look for a folder named “Backgrounds_HiRes”, “Backgrounds_LoRes”...

  • Page 59: Changing The Text

    Text Object. Try moving the text around – just click and hold the mouse down anywhere inside the Tracker Control and drag the mouse around. Let go when the text is where you want it. VIP User Manual...
  • Page 60 Now type “has” using the keyboard. The text will now read “This page has a background.” Now click on “OK” to be returned to the Page Editor. Notice that the Text Object has changed to reflect your alterations. VIP User Manual...

  • Page 61: Text Object Enhancements

    Text Object Enhancements The same boxes that allow you to adjust image coordinates and size are also available on VIP text objects. When viewing a text object’s Text Settings dialog, notice the additional boxes near the bottom: These text settings work in a similar manner to how they function with Image Objects with the exception that the “Height”...
  • Page 62 As mentioned before, you can change the size of an image by dragging its corners in the page editor. For more precision, you can adjust the size and position of an object manually by entering numbers for its width and height, as well as coordinates for its position. VIP User Manual...
  • Page 63 “Lock Aspect Ratio”, you can stretch or distort the object horizontally or vertically. Image Processing VIP Composer Professional allows you to adjust the brightness and contrast of an image object for optimum results. Simply fill in your desired value in the “Brightness” and “Contrast” boxes. You will have to click on OK to exist the Picture Properties dialog in order to see the effect of the values you enter.

  • Page 64: Page Properties

    Click on the first page in the list – “Welcome” – and then click on “Edit”. You will be taken to the Page Editor: VIP User Manual...
  • Page 65 Description, Dwell Time, Transition Style and Speed, and Output Quality. Description This is a short description of the contents of your page. This description shows up in the Project Editor next to the page number. VIP User Manual...
  • Page 66 A “Fast” transition takes about one to two seconds, depending on the style. A “Slow” transition takes three to five seconds. If you are using the “Fast Cut” transition, the speed is ignored. VIP User Manual...
  • Page 67 Normally, pages are set to Medium quality. As you project grows to include more pages, you may hit the limit of the single floppy disk that goes to the VIP Player. A typical number of pages to expect is about 25.
  • Page 68 For example, if you were advertising an item that is supposed to be on sale from December 3, 2001 until December 24, 2001, you can set the Starting Date to “12/3/01” and the Ending Date to “12/24/01”. VIP User Manual...
  • Page 69 Time Domain, imagine a page that you wanted to show up only from March 15, 2001 through (and including) April 30, 2001, and only on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays between 10am and 2pm. To do this, enter: VIP User Manual...

  • Page 70: Project Properties

    Output Quality, which must be done only from within the Page Editor. Project Properties In addition to every page having its own properties, the Project itself has a set of properties. Click on the “Project Properties” button and the Project Properties dialog will appear: VIP User Manual...
  • Page 71 Version / Created By These fields tell you what program created this project. In the future, other utilities besides VIP Composer may be able to output VIP projects. Default Dwell The default dwell is the duration a page will be displayed if its own dwell is set to zero.

  • Page 72: Logo Bug

    Many TV networks today display a continuous logo in a corner of the screen. This is known as a “Logo Bug”. Now your VIP projects can have a logo or graphic in the corner of all or most of your pages as well.
  • Page 73 As mentioned earlier, you can enable or disable the logo from within any page by clicking on “Page Properties” to display the Page Settings dialog, then click on the “Logo” tab: By removing the “Show Logo” checkbox, the logo for this page will be omitted. VIP User Manual...

  • Page 74: Reordering Pages

    “Down”. These buttons allow you to move a selected page up or down in the list of pages, thereby changing the order of pages. Start by clicking once on Page 4 – currently “Easy as A.” Your list should look like this: VIP User Manual...
  • Page 75 Page 4: At this point, all three pages are in the correct order, and when played back in the player, the illusion of the letters “A”, “B”, and “C” appearing one at a time will be created. VIP User Manual...

  • Page 76: Saving Your Work

    Although there are seven pages, when you play back the project on the VIP Unit, only one of the pages will show up. This is because the time domain settings for each page are set to specific days of the week. The page that says “Today is Monday”, for example, only has the “MON”...
  • Page 77 Ordinarily, this page would appear as: You may have noticed that this page did not show up when you played the tutorial disk in the VIP unit. This is because the page’s time domain settings are currently like this: VIP User Manual...

  • Page 78: Publishing To A Vip Unit

    Save your work now by clicking on the Save icon ( Publishing to a VIP Unit Now that you have completed the tutorial exercises, you can play back the results on the VIP unit. The process of transferring a project to the VIP unit is called “Publishing”. VIP User Manual...
  • Page 79 The Publish Wizard will now appear. The first step in the Publish Wizard is selecting if you want to publish to disk, to a single site (VIP Composer supports creating projects to multiple VIP units. Each unit is referred to as a “site”.), or to multiple sites in one publish session: For the purposes of this tutorial, select the “Publish to Floppy”...
  • Page 80 The following message will now appear: Be sure you have inserted the correct disk, then click “Yes” to continue. The VIP Composer software will now begin copying files to the Project Transfer disk, displaying a progress indicator like the one below: When the publishing process is complete, you can remove the floppy and take it to your VIP unit.
  • Page 81 Insert the disk into your VIP unit’s floppy drive. The unit should automatically detect the presence of the floppy and begin loading. When the VIP unit loads and plays back your project, it should resemble the one below. The “Today is Sunday” page will be the one matching the current day of the week.

  • Page 82: Creating Your Own Project

    Once you are comfortable with performing all of the modifications to the tutorial project, you are ready to create your own project. Generally, if you own only one VIP unit, you will probably stick with just one project for all of your work. Owners of multiple VIP units usually have one project for each unit, although sometimes the same project will be sent to two or more units.

  • Page 83: Resolution Modes

    This section describes each resolution mode. 640x480 (Standard Aspect 4:3) This is the standard mode supported by all VIP players and all editions of VIP Composer. Use this mode if you intend to output compose video or S-Video, or want to create a project that is compatible with any VIP player regardless of version.
  • Page 84 Some users prefer to enter the name of a client or other additional info about the page. Notice this window also allows you to select between “VIP Page” and “Linked JPEG Image”. For now, only select “VIP Page” (the default), and click “OK”...

  • Page 85: Linked Pages

    Rather than being edited by VIP Composer, they are merely passed on to the VIP unit “as-is” at publish time. This can lead to a quality savings as the JPEG file is directly copied, rather than reprocessed by VIP Composer.

  • Page 86: More About Publishing

    Because VIP Composer has no control over what these other applications create, your results may vary, and pages may take up more room at publish time than they would have if VIP Composer was used to create them. More About Publishing The Publish Wizard offers several different options for publishing your projects to VIP units.
  • Page 87 “Publish to Floppy Sites Last”, and “Order Doesn’t Matter”. (Ignore this setting if you don’t have any floppy disk sites). This allows you to complete all your floppy publishing without having to wait for modem, serial, or network sites in-between. VIP User Manual...
  • Page 88 “Project Selection”. Project Selection VIP Composer is just about ready to begin publishing. But first, it needs to know what project to publish to the current site. (This step will be repeated for each site if you are using the “Publish to Multiple Sites”...
  • Page 89 The top progress bar indicates the overall progress (it will reach the right when publishing to the disk is complete), while the bottom progress bar indicates the progress of the current file being copied. VIP User Manual...
  • Page 90 This publish method works in a very similar fashion to “Serial”, with the addition of modem dialing at the beginning of the process. Network The “Network” publish method uses TCP/IP networking to connect to a VIP unit at high speed. It displays the following progress window: VIP User Manual...
  • Page 91 “Print” button. The status report also lists a file name near the top. This is where the log is stored on your computer should you need to access it in the future. VIP User Manual...

  • Page 92: Frequently Asked Questions

    Try to publish to your VIP unit. If you are still receiving the same error, contact your network administrator to verify that your settings haven’t been changed.

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