Synchronize multiple computers running the Control Panel
Time code synchronization allows multiple computers running the Control Panel, as well as compatible third party systems, to synchronize with one another using open standards. The Control Panel supports 2 standards:
•Art-Net Time Code - this standard encodes the current sequence and its playback position into an Ethernet packet. One system is the "leader" and transmits the packets. Other systems are "followers" and receive the packets - playing the sequences in time with the leader. The packets are small and take little bandwidth on the network; therefore, they can be sent over wired or wireless Ethernet connections.
•SMPTE LTC - this standard encodes the current sequence and its playback position into an audio signal. One system is the "leader" and transmits the audio. Other systems are "followers" and receive the audio signal - playing the sequences in time with the leader.
For musical sequences, only the leader plays the music. Followers will control lights, but do NOT play music.
What Is A Time Code?
A time code represents a time, but not the actual time relative to the sun (like a clock in your house would). Rather, each sequence in a show (scheduled or cue list) is assigned an arbitrary start time. For example, "Jingle Bell Rock" might be assigned the starting time code of 4:00:00. All participating computers must have the same start code assigned to a sequence. So if the leader sends out the time code "4:01:50", all computers recognize we are 1 minute and 50 seconds into Jingle Bell Rock.
Time codes are 8 digits:
•The first 2 digits are hours, 0-23. Time codes always use a 24-hour clock, so no AM/PM.
•The next 2 digits are minutes, 0-59
•The next 2 digits are seconds, 0-59
•The last 2 digits are the frame number, 0-29. Each second is divided into a number of frames. The highest value depends on the frame rate which is explained below.
So 04:01:50:11 is 4 hours, 1 minute, and 50 seconds, in the 11th frame. In some places in the Control Panel, only 6 digits are displayed, in which case the frame number can be assumed to be 0.
The minimum time code is 00:00:00:00, and the maximum is 23:59:59:29. You cannot go beyond 24 hours.
Time code 00:00:00:00 should not be used as the starting time code for a sequence, as that time code is used to indicate that no sequence is currently playing. Start the first sequence at 01:00:00 instead.
Frame Rate
Time codes are sent at a specific frame rate. 24, 25, and 30 frames per second are supported in leader modes.
In follower mode, an additional rate of "29.97 DF" is supported. DF stands for "drop frame" which is an alternate way of counting frames. Drop frame should only be used when synchronizing with other equipment that supports it (usually broadcast video). When a drop frame time code is displayed, the last separator is a semi-colon instead of a colon. So "04:01:50;11" is a drop frame time code, and "04:01:50:11" is not.
If you are only synchronizing with other computers running the Control Panel, then we recommend choosing 24 frames per second. If you are synchronizing with a third party system, then use the frame rate supported by that system.
The leader and all followers must be set to the same frame rate.
Enabling Time Code Sync
Time Code Sync enabled
Time code sync is enabled by activating the toggle on the Settings > Integration tab.
When enabled, fields and buttons are added to several screens in the Control Panel:
•When creating a show, you can assign time codes to each sequence
•When creating a cue in Cue List Player, you can assign time codes to each sequence
•When Play Shows is disabled, 3 additional play buttons are visible:
Playback Disabled screen - with Time Code Sync enabled
Connecting the various systems together requires attention to detail in order to achieve reliable synchronization.
•SMPTE LTC is an audio signal, and the audio signal from the leader must reach all followers
•Art-Net Time Code is sent over Ethernet. The data can be sent over wired Ethernet or WiFi.
Assigning Time Codes When Creating A Show
Show with time codes assigned
When you are creating a show and Time Code Sync is enabled in Settings > Integration, a "Time Code" column is added as the right-most column of the sequence list.
For your show to synchronize properly, every sequence in the Startup, Main, Shutdown, and Interactive sections must be assigned a time code. And if you have a cleanup sequence, it must be assigned a time code as well (see the bottom right field in the screen shown above). If you do not have a cleanup sequence, you can leave the "Cleanup time code" field at 0:00.
When you add a new sequence to a show, it's time code will be 00:00:00, which will need to be changed. We recommend adding all your sequences to a show first, get them in the desired order, then assigning time codes as a final step.
You can assign time codes to all sequences at once by right-clicking on any sequence name, then selecting "Set Time Codes" from the menu:
In the Set Time Codes dialog, you can leave all fields at their default values and all sequences in the section will get a time code. You will need to do this for each section that contains sequences. For example, if you have sequences in Startup, Main, and Shutdown, then you will need to set time codes in each playlist separately. For example, you might set Startup sequences in the 01:00:00 to 01:59:00 range, Main in the 02:00:00 to 22:59:00 range, and Shutdown in the 23:00:00 to 23:59:00 range.This would work as long as the total duration of sequences in the Startup and Shutdown sections are each less then 1 hour long.
If you set the interval to a small value, the program will give multiple intervals to a long sequence if needed. For example, if you set the interval for 5 minutes, it will give 10 minutes to a 7 minute sequence, and 15 minutes to 12 minute sequence.
If you have the same sequence in your playlist multiple times, all instances of that sequence can have the same time code.
Sequences in the Background section are not synchronized and do not need time codes. Similarly, sequences in the Animation section are not synchronized and do not need time codes if "Play Concurrently" is selected.
To set a time code for a single sequence, click on the cell for the time code you want to change. Then click on the time code 2 more times for the time picker to appear. Select the desired time code hour and minute with the picker, then click the check mark icon at the bottom to save your choice.
When time codes are enabled, the Verifier will check them to make sure the entries are valid and there are no overlaps.
Assigning Time Codes In Cue List Player
Time codes in Cue List Player
When Time Code Sync is enabled in Settings > Integration, time codes are displayed to the right of the duration in Cue List Sync Leader and Sync Follower modes.
For your show to synchronize properly, every cue must be assigned a time code. When you add a new sequence to a show, it's time code will be 00:00:00, which will need to be changed. We recommend adding all your cues to a show first, get them in the desired order, then assigning time codes as a final step.
You can assign time codes to all cues at once by right-clicking on any cue (you might need to right-click twice), then selecting "Set Time Codes" from the menu:
In the Set Time Codes dialog, you can leave all fields at their default values and all cues will get a time code. If you set the interval to a small value, the program will give multiple intervals to a long cue if needed. For example, if you set the interval for 5 minutes, it will give 10 minutes to a 7 minute cue, and 15 minutes to 12 minute cue.
If you have the same sequence in your cue list multiple times, all instances of that sequence can have the same time code.
To set a time code for an single cue, edit the cue and click on the time code field, which will cause the time picker to appear. Select the desired time code hour and minute with the picker, then click the check mark icon at the bottom to save your choice.
Sync Leader Settings
After clicking the Show Player Sync Leader or Cue List Sync Leader buttons, you will be taken to the "Sync Leader Settings" screen.
Sync Leader Settings
Set the Frame Rate. This is the rate at which time codes will be sent to followers. If you are only synchronizing with other computers running the Control Panel, then we recommend choosing 24 frames per second (fps). If you are synchronizing with a third party system, then use the frame rate supported by that system.
Next you choose between:
•Art-Net Time Code - this standard encodes the current sequence and its playback position into an Ethernet packet.
oIf you have a single follower, you can enter the IP address of the follower (you can find the follower's IP address on the "Sync Follower Settings" screen).
oIf you have multiple followers, click the "Set Broadcast IP Address" button, then select the network adapter that will be used to transmit the time code packets. The broadcast IP address will be populated for you.
•SMPTE LTC - this standard encodes the current sequence and its playback position into an audio signal. You choose the audio output where the signal is connected. This could be the computer's built-in headphone jack, or an external USB audio adapter. The Control Panel sends the audio signal on all channels of the selected output. So if you have a stereo output (2 channels), you can connect to either channel.
When you are done, click the "Start Player" button..
Show Player Sync Leader
In "Show Player Sync Leader" mode, the Show Player is the leader with all of its capabilities to play scheduled shows. Followers will play lights synchronized with the leader with the following exceptions:
•For musical sequences, only the leader plays the music. Followers will control lights, but do not play music.
•Sequences in the Background section of the show are not synchronized.
•Sequences in the Animation section of the show are not synchronized if "Play concurrently" is selected.
To start this mode, click the "Show Player Sync Leader" button on the Disabled Playback screen. This mode can only be accessed if Time Code Sync has been enabled.
After clicking the button, you will see the Sync Leader Settings screen where you can choose the correct sync settings for your display. Then click the "Start Player" button to start the Show Player. The Show Player will look the same, except for an additional line in the Currently Playing section which shows the current time code being transmitted to followers.
Show Player Sync Leader
Make sure any shows you schedule in this mode have time codes set for all sequences. You can check that time codes are set correctly using the Verifier.
Creating the Follower cue list
Followers running the Light-O-Rama Control Panel must be running in Sync Follower mode. The cue list for the follower should have the same sequences that are in the leader's show. This is easy to do using Cue List Player's "Import Show" function.
Click the 3-bar menu button, then Import Show
Follow these steps to create the cue list:
•Make sure the time codes in the show for the leader are set correctly using the Verifier.
•Start Sync Follower mode. The cue list will be empty.
•Select "Import Show" from the 3-bar menu
•The "Import Show" screen will be displayed - where you can select which show to import from the drop-down box. You can also choose which sections of the show get imported, but you can leave the defaults. When you are done, click the "Import" button.
Import Show
All of the sequences in the show will now be in the cue list, including the time codes. It should be ready for use by followers. You can click the "Save" button - the cue list will be save in same folder as the show file, but with an .LORCUE extension.
Cue List Sync Leader
In "Cue List Sync Leader" mode, the Cue List Player is the leader with all of its capabilities to play interactive shows. Followers will play lights synchronized with the leader with the following exception:
•For musical sequences, only the leader plays the music. Followers will control lights, but do not play music.
To start this mode, click the "Cue List Sync Leader" button on the Disabled Playback screen. This mode can only be accessed if Time Code Sync has been enabled.
After clicking the button, you will see the Sync Leader Settings screen where you can choose the correct sync settings for your display. Then click the "Start Player" button to start the Cue List Player. The Cue List Player will look the same, except for an additional line in the heading which shows the current time code being transmitted to followers.
Cue List Sync Leader - playback in progress
Make sure all cues have time codes set.
Followers running the Light-O-Rama Control Panel must be running in Sync Follower mode. The cue list for the follower should be the same one used for the leader. The time codes for leader and follower cues must match!
Sync Follower
In "Sync Follower" mode, the Cue List Player plays its cues according to the time codes it receives.
All computers participating in a time code sync have to agree on what a particular time code represents. For example, let's say the cue "Jingle Bell Rock" (which is 2:10 in length) is assigned the time code 04:00:00 in both the leader and follower. Followers will play Jingle Bell Rock when any time code is received that is between 04:00:00 and 04:02:10. When the time code leader sends out 04:01:50, all followers must recognize they are 1:50 into Jingle Bell Rock.
To start this mode, click the "Sync Follower" button on the Disabled Playback screen. This mode can only be accessed if Time Code Sync has been enabled.
Sync Follower Settings
After clicking the button, you will see the Sync Leader Settings screen where you can choose the correct sync settings for your display. The follower settings must match the settings of the leader.
Sync Follower Settings
Set the Expected Frame Rate to match the leader.
The follower relies on receiving a regular time code signal from the leader. If reception is lost, this tells the follower how long to play the current cue before stopping. If you have frequent loss of signal, then you might consider setting this to a higher value.
Next you choose between:
•Art-Net Time Code - this standard encodes the current sequence and its playback position into an Ethernet packet. You choose the network that is connected to the leader. For example, if you have both wired and wireless Ethernet ports on your computer, you will need to select the one where Art-Net time codes are being transmitted by the leader.
•SMPTE LTC - this standard encodes the current sequence and its playback position into an audio signal. You choose the audio input where the signal is connected. This could be the computer's built-in microphone jack, or an external USB audio adapter. The Control Panel mixes all channels on that input together, so make sure the signal is attached to one channel and all other channels are silent. For example, if the selected input has 2 channels (stereo), you can attach the SMPTE LTC audio to either channel, but make sure the other channel is silent.
When you are done, click the "Start Player" button. Cue List Player will automatically start cues as the relevant time codes are received. As time codes are received, they will be displayed at the top of the screen. If no time codes are being received, then "--:--:--:--" is displayed.
Physical Connections: SMPTE LTC
If you are only connecting 2 computers together (1 leader, 1 follower), then you can simply connect the headphone output of the leader to the microphone input of the follower. If you have more than 1 follower, then you will need to run the audio from the leader to all followers, and you will need to take care that the audio signal does not get degraded. Using a device like an "Audio Distribution Amplifier" can help improve signal integrity over long runs. Light-O-Rama does not provide support for designing the distribution of your audio signal. Hiring a professional with experience in SMPTE LTC is recommended.
Physical Connections: Art-Net Time Code
The leader and all followers should be on the same Ethernet network. This can be a wired network, a wireless network, or a combination of both; however, it should be a single network (no jumping across a router with network address translation or NAT). If you are connecting several houses in your neighborhood, you probably don't want to extend your home WiFi a long distance because it could be a security risk. Instead, you should consider setting up a separate WiFI network, rated for outdoor use, that is only used for the show. Each computer running the Control Panel would connect to that dedicated network. Light-O-Rama does not provide support for designing or creating such a network; however, Light-O-Rama partners might be able to help. See the Light-O-Rama web site for our current list of partner companies.