The Control Panel can create SD cards for all types of Director-based shows. This includes all generations of MP3 Directors, including the 4th generation (G4) directors that can be linked together.
To get started, go the SD Cards section of the Control Panel. You will go through a series of steps. After entering the information for current step, click the "Next" button to move on to the next step. Once you pass the first step, there will the "Cancel" and "Back" buttons to the left of the next button.
•"Back" will take you to the previous step, where you can make changes if needed.
•"Cancel" will take you all the way back to the first step.
If you remove your SD card before finishing the last step, you will automatically be taken back to the first step.
•Step 4 - Select Your Device (only when creating a new show)
•Step 5 - Select Number of Director Ports and Generation (only when creating a new show)
•Step 7 - Select When Show Plays
•Step 8 - Select How Show Plays
•Step 11 - Write Show To The Card
The initial step in the SD Cards section
Step 1 - Select SD Card
If you haven't already done so, insert the SD card into your computer. It should be automatically detected by the program and displayed on the screen as shown above.
If you want to create the files for the SD card, but want to save the files somewhere else, you can uncheck the "Write directly to SD card" box. Unchecking the box is for advanced users only and NOT recommended.
Note that the last column shows how the SD card is formatted. Director units can only read cards that are formatted as "FAT" or "FAT32". Cards with other formats will be displayed in red and you will be unable to select them. If you have a card with the wrong format, you can reformat it in Windows File Explorer.
If you are editing a Multi-Director SD card show, you must insert the FIRST card of the show.
The program does NOT make a distinction between SD cards and flash drives. So make sure you don't pick a flash drive.
SD card inserted into a slot in computer
If your computer doesn't have an SD card slot, you can use a USB adapter:
SD Card USB Adapter
Step 2 - Create or Edit
Select whether you are creating a new show or editing an existing show.
Step 3 - Select Show Number
A card where shows 1 already exist
Up to nine shows can be downloaded to an SD card, and each will be assigned a number between 1 and 9.
If you are creating a new show and pick a show number where a show already exists (as indicated by the "Last modified" date), you will then be asked to confirm that you intend to overwrite the existing show on the card.
If two shows are scheduled for the same time, the lower numbered show will be played. Mini Directors do not have a time clock and so the lowest show number will always be played. For this reason if you have a Mini Director, it is best to only ever create 'Show 1' to avoid confusion.
Step 4 - Select Your Device
If you are creating a new show, you will be asked to identify the type of device you are creating a card for. See our List of Directors If you need help identifying your device.
Step 5 - Select Number of Director Ports and Generation
If you are creating a new show, you will be asked to select the number of ports on your device and the product's generation. See our List of Directors If you need help identifying your device.
If you are creating a set of SD cards for Linked directors, the number of ports here is the number of total ports on your FIRST (Master) director. You will be able to add your additional directors in Step 9.
Step 6 - Select Sequences
Here you add the sequences that will be in your show. Click the "+" button to add your sequences to the playlist. Animation sequences with loops are allowed -- the Duration column will show the full length of the sequence, including loops. For additional help, see Create Shows > Edit Playlist.
Step 7 - Select When Show Plays
There are 3 choices for when the show will play:
•Whenever the Director has power
•According to a schedule (not available when using a mini-director)
•When a trigger is activated. This option is only available when the show number is less than or equal to the number of trigger inputs on the device (3 for Mini-Directors, 6 for MP3 Directors).
Set a Schedule
When you select "According to the daily schedule", the schedule will appear on the right side.
To modify the schedule:
•Check the boxes next to the days you want modified. As a shortcut, you can click the check box in the heading to toggle all check boxes on or off.
•Set the start and end times at the bottom of the table. Typing a time like "5pm" directly into the box is faster than using the drop-down to select the time.
•Click the "Update Selected Days" button.
•If the show should not play on certain days, check the boxes next to those days, then click the "Clear Selected Days" button.
Set Trigger
Selecting "When the trigger is activated" will cause the show to start whenever some external trigger happens (such as a circuit being closed or a motion detector being tripped). The input trigger for a show is the same as the show number.You will be able to choose whether the switch is normally open or normally closed.
Switches come in 2 different varieties - normally open and normally closed. For most switches, you select 'Normally Open'. That means there is no signal sent to the MP3 director until the switch is operated. There are some devices (usually motion detectors and other 'security' type devices) that are 'Normally Closed'. Normally Closed switches constantly send a signal back to the MP3 director, and once they are activated STOP sending that signal.
Step 8 - Select How Show Plays
When this show plays it will...
The first section controls what will happen once the show has started. Not all of these options are available for every type of show. For example, Round Robin play is only available for triggered shows.
•Loop continuously
This show will continue to run until told to stop. For shows that run when the director is powered, that would mean turning off the power. If you are using a schedule, the show will stop at the end time. If you are using a trigger, once the trigger condition is met, the show will continue to play until powered off.
•Play once from Start to End, then stop
The show will run once from top to bottom and then stop. Usually triggered shows use this option, but it can be used with the other two options as well. When used with a triggered show, the list plays and then stops at the end waiting again for the trigger signal.
•Repeat Every (10/15/30/60 minutes)
This option is only available for MP3 directors that have a real time clock. The show will play from start to end and then stop. At the time selected the show will start and run again from top to bottom. Note that the 'start' time is based on the 'clock' time. That is to say that a show that is set to run every 15 minutes will run on the hour and then at 15, 30, 45 past the hour. You should ensure that your show is no longer than the amount of time you select here. For example, if you show is 11 minutes long and you select every 10 minutes, the show will simply keep repeating.
•Play the next song in the list (Round Robin).
This option is only available for triggered shows. When the trigger is activated, the first sequence in the list will be played and then the show will stop. Every time after that when the trigger is activated the next sequence in the list will play and then will also stop. Once the last sequence is reached, the next trigger will start over with the first sequence again.
Between Shows The Lights Are...
Depending on your selection above, you may also be able to control what happens with your lights while the show is not playing. For every option except 'Loop Continuously' you can select if you lights are ON, OFF, or Running a filler sequence. If you use a filler sequence, the sequence that you select will loop continuously until the next event occurs. That could be a trigger, a repeat of the show at X minutes, etc.
Optional Startup Sequence
When set, the very FIRST thing the director will do is play the 'starter sequence'. It is played one time and one time only - at the very start of the show. Even if the show is set to loop, the starter sequence will only be played once.
Step 9 - Port Assignments
If you are using multiple Directors connected via "Director Link", click the box at the top. This will display additional controls that will allow you to add more directors to the list. See How to Use Director Link for more information.
The networks needed by your show are determined by analyzing the first 3 sequences in your show. Those networks are then assigned to ports using a priority system. You can change a port assignment or the network speed by double-clicking on an item. This will open the following dialog, allowing you to make changes:
In this example, the user double-clicked on port 2, which is indicated in the heading.
•Network/Universe: The LOR Network or DMX universe that this port will control. There is an option for "None" here, Use this option when a port is not going to be used.
•Protocol: The data protocol in use: LOR, ELOR (Enhanced LOR) or DMX.
•Speed: The speed of the network. DMX Universes run at a fixed speed and cannot be changed. The 1000K speed can ONLY be used with networks that only contain PixCon16 controllers or Pixie family controllers. No other LOR controllers support 1000K.
•Comment: User comment if desired.
More information about the protocols and speeds supported by various Light-O-Rama controllers is available on our web site.
Step 10 - Final Options
•Lock Step: If you have a very large display, selecting "lock step" may help the different controllers used in the display react with a higher degree of synchronization. This is not supported on all controller types, and the level of firmware in the controllers must be 3.0 or higher.
•Strip MP3 Header Information: Some MP3s may have a large data block before the actual music data. For example, an MP3 may have several high-resolution pictures in its ID3 Tags. The MP3 director will correctly ignore this data, however it does take time to find the actual start of the music file. Stripping this data will allow the MP3 director to start playing the sequence faster.
•Turned used lights off at the end of each sequence: Checking this box will cause all lights used by the sequence to be turned off when the sequence ends. If you leave a light on at the end of a sequence, that light will remain on until the start of the next sequence.
•Show can not be interrupted by input triggers: Once this show has started on the MP3 director, pressing a trigger input will not interrupt the show - it will run to completion.
•Set MP3 player's internal clock: If you wish to add a file to the SD card to set the MP3 director's internal clock, check the box that says so. You can also set the time using the Hardware Utility, or from the Director's front panel.
•NOT YET AVAILABLE IN S6: Advanced Throttling Options: The advanced options button will bring up an additional window that allows you to change parameters which relate to how data will be transmitted from your MP3 Director. Unless a specific issue is preventing your MP3 Director from working correctly, you should not change these options.
Step 11 - Write Show To The Card
At this point the Control Panel is ready to create your SD card show or SD card set. Press the "Write Show To Card" button, and the Control Panel will start the process. It can take some time to create an SD card show depending on the complexity of your sequences, number of networks, etc. Once the process is complete, the Control Panel will let you know.
Multi-Director SD card sets
The Control Panel will tell you the total number of SD cards that are required for your show. Please remember that these cards need to be placed into the correct directors and should be labeled to avoid confusion.
When it is time to change cards, the Control Panel will pause and let you know with a message on screen.