The SCENES panel can work either in manual or auto modes. When the 'ON' button lits red, the AutoVJ intelligent automation is active. When button is grayed, scene switching is only manually operated. Therefore, the operator will be in charge of selecting the scenes he needs during the show. Whereas in autoVJ mode, all scene selection is based on a set of predefined rules that are configured to each scene button. When all those rules are met, that particular button is activated. A third way in which scene switching can be operated is hybrid mode. HDVmixer's autoVJ mode will then be activated, but the operator will have the oportunity to manually select additional scene layers (like banners or captions).

 

The autoVJ rules used to activate a scene are based on several conditions. These parameters are shown in the upper area of the SCENE panel ('AutoVJ Controller' area). Any of these variables (or a combination of several of them) can be used to trigger a scene switching. This data is constantly updated by AUDICOM, giving the user several degrees of freedom when planning to automate his video scenes.

 

For example, a button could have the following rules: If MIC-1 and MIC-2 are on the air, then the preset should activate. This automation could be used to show a panoramic view of the studio when both studio mics are on the air. Another example might be: If AUDICOM is not playing video (is playing AUDIO or it is STOPPED), then enable a preset to display a still image background, a stream from a remote IP camera showing city traffic, and text with time & temperature information.

 

 

SCENE AUTO-TRIGGER

 

In order for a SCENE button to activate automatically, a series of one or more AutoVJ conditions should be met. All the conditions configured to a particular button should be met simultaneously for the scene to go on-air. Note, that only SCENE buttons for the currently visible SHOW are evaluated in AutoVJ. So the station can have several sets of 36 scene buttons that can be switched to accomodate one show or another. Show selection is done by simply clicking the right show name/thumb in the show drop-down menu.

 

The available conditions that are used to create AutoVJ automation rules are a combination of any of the following:

• MIC-1 open
• MIC-2 open
• MIC-3 open
• MIC-4 open
• Show's current name (Block Name)
• Song's Performer (if any)
• Song's/Track Title
• Music Style (or name of the sub-folder where the file is located for non-music files)
• Block Type (Live, autoDJ, Satellite Link, Internet Link, etc)
• File Class (Music, Promo, Spot, etc)
• Play Mode (Video, Audio, Stopped)
• Intro Time reached
• Remaining air time for the current audio track on the air

Each rule can be triggered when certain condition is met, or it's not met. For example, a particular scene can be activated when the rule 'Block Type' is equal to 'BATCH' (commercial break), and another scene for all other conditions. This is useful to display a song name overlay during the whole programming except during commercial breaks. Flexible automatic video programming allows the broadcaster to have a very dynamic video product on the air with minimal manual intervention.

 

HDVmixer monitors AutoVJ button triggering conditions constantly. If two or more scene buttons meet their respective triggering conditions, they are all activated. The only exception if they have contradictory actions. In this case, the button with a higher amount of rules is the one that while have higher hierarchy. This hierarchical algorithm makes those button which are activated by the audio console's faders to have a higher priority (they generaly have 4 rules) than those used to display a set during a commercial break (which have just one or two rules configured).

 

Thanks to HDVmixer's AutoVJ, the business logic used for the video signal is customizable to meet the needs of every broadcasting event or show.

 

MANUAL SCENE TRIGGERING

 

The operator is free to activate/deactivate other scene buttons even when AutoVJ is active. If the button he is clicking on does not change the video source, set, or background, this means that the user is just wanting to add some image/text layers to the video image, so therefore the new button will become active and the AutoVJ mode will not deactivate. If the user is selecting a scene button that does change the AutoVJ's selected video scene, then the AutoVJ mode will deactivate (AutoVJ button will go gray), as he is manually overriding the automatic scene selection mode.

 

TEXT FIELDS AUTO-UPDATE

 

Using information from AUDICOM's database, HDVmixer implements a series of 'metanames' (tags) that the user can use embbedded into the text fields. These metanames will then be replaced by the updated information field before going on the air. These fields will also be updated regularly while on the air. Also RSS feeds can be used to update crawling news layers.

 

The way to insert a metaname into a text layer is very simple. If the text field of the text layer has any of the following legends, they will be replaced by the corresponding updated data field grabbed from AUDICOM's database. The list of currently implemented metanames is:

 

• <BLOCK_NAME>: Replaced with the program's block name (usually the program's name)
• <PERFORMER>: Replaced with the name of the song's performer (if music is on the air)
• <TITLE>: Replaced with the title of the song (or audio filename for other class of contents)
• <STYLE>: Replaced with the name of the music style (for non-music tracks, it returns the name of the sub-folder where the file is located)
• <BLOCK_TYPE>: Replaced with block type. This can be: Live, autoDJ, Batch (commercial break), Satellite Link, Internet Link, etc.
• <CLASS>: Replaced with the kind of content being played: Music, Promo, Spot, etc.
• <PLAY_MODE>: Replaced with the current playback status: Video, Audio, Stopped
• <TIME_LEFT>: Replaced with the remaining air time
• <TIME>: Replaced with the current time, using the computers configured format
• <TEMP>: Replaced with the current temperature for the current location (configured in AUDICOM and updated from an Internet Weather provider)

 

Using metanames whilsly, on screen legends seem constantly changing in the broadcast, as if a graph operator is constantly watching out for changes. Layers which are time consuming such as: 'You are now listening to: Madonna, Beautiful stranger' are easily implemented in HDVmixer. It's just as simple as creating a new text layer with the following text in it: 'You are now listening to: <PERFORMER>, <TITLE>'. Metaname replacement works even when AutoVJ is disabled. So manually triggered titles can still contain metanames, or RSS feeds.