Deko Series

Tech Document

Pinnacle Systems Technical Support broadcast-support@pinnaclesys.com Tel. 650.930.2990 Fax. 650.930.1601

GPI Walkthrough
GPI (General Purpose Interface) is a method by which electronic pulses from one device, such as edit controller, are used to trigger functions on another device such as Pinnacle product. To connect a GPI triggering: -Connect the triggering device to COM port 1 To enable GPI triggering: 1. Connect the triggering device, then RESTART the Pinnacle System device. 2. Activate the Sequence window (F11). 3. From the Sequence menu, choose GPI Settings. 4. In the GPI Triggering Settings dialog box, check GPI Enabled, enter the COM port name (i.e. COM1), the choose OK. Specifying a Sequence Event: Enter the following information in one line of the Sequence Window:

Control/Time
Controls the timing of the sequence: (blank) Starts the event as soon as the previous event is done.

Pause
Wait for a GPI trigger, right mouse click, Pause Sequence (Pause) command or Play Sequence(ALT-ENTER) command before playing.

Delay
Pauses Time fields before playing.

Stop
Stops the sequence, returning control to the user. To resume playback, choose Play Sequence (ALT-ENTER)

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Skip
Skips to the event. This is useful for inserting a comment.

Loop
Repeats subsequent events Time times, unit an end is encountered. Loops can nested.

End
Ends the current loop.

Go to
Skips to event number in the Time field.

Effect
Choose an effects Time times, unit an end is encountered. Loops can nested.

End
Ends the current loop.

Goto
Skips to event number in the Time field.

Effect
Choose an effect.

Layers
The graphic element, e.g. layers, background, row, etc., on which to perform the effect. Options depend on the specified effect. Leave this column blank to perform the effect on the entire graphic.

File Name
The name of the graphic file on which to perform the effect. Press CTRL-L or click the Browse button to select the file from the graphic file browser.

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Rate
The numerical value at which Pinnacle Product performs the effect, as specified her or with Sequence/Playback Rate.

Units
The unit of measurement for rate

GPI out
Description: GPI trigger pulse output (100ms) Category : Command

Trigger_wait
Description: Interrupt macro playback until GPI trigger is he Category: Interactive

See also Wait Pause

GPI Released Notes for Pinnacle Products

Several things need to be in place for GPI trigger: 1. GPI hardware connection. 2. GPI is enabled. 3. Sequence is loaded and paused in play mode. GPI hardware connection: GPI trigger connection is a mechanical short between pins 1 and 4 on the selected COM port. The common reasons to failure are: Using an electrical pulse instead of pure contact closure. Since Pinnacle Systems implements GPI using the handshaking signals of an RS232 port, the electrical connection between the unit and the triggering device may not always be as obvious as would be ideal. Make sure that the triggering device has outputs that are floating (neither wire is electrically connected to ground or a power rail), and show zero ohms when the trigger is fired.

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No two GPI devices are completely identical and not all will be directly compatible out of the box. Make sure to check with the triggering devices documentation for pinouts and electrical properties of the source. The two most common problems encountered with the COM ports are configuration and identification. Some of Pinnacle legacy products. For example, TypeDeko turnkey systems are built into a PC system that has an unusual type of cabinet. Although these systems generally conform to the ATX enclosure standards, it has been noted that since the overall configuration of the PCs cabinet is upside down with respect to the majority of other computer systems, the manufacturer of those systems reversed the definition of the COM ports on the back panel beware of this. Sometimes the wrong COM port is implemented for GPI and although this will work once the problem is identified. Sometimes the configuration of the COM ports can create issues with functionality if a problem with the COM port is suspected, try entering the PC setup for the CMOS RAM and making specific COM port settings. The correct settings for the COM ports are:

COM1: Port 3f8 IRQ 4 COM2: Port 2f8 IRQ 3 Making sure GPI is enabled: In most Pinnacles products, there are two software settings for GPI configuration. 1. COM port: Make sure the appropriate COM port is selected. In most cases, COM1 is the case make sure that on older systems like TypeDeko that COM1 is actually positioned as expected. Com2 may also be used, with the same precautions. GPI Enabled checkbox: This checkbox is completely self-explanatory. It enables the Pinnacle unit to be triggered by a contact closure at the selected COM port. Sequence is loaded and paused in play mode: In many cases, the assumption would be that issuing a GPI pulse activates whatever sequence is currently in use. This is not true. The desired sequence must be in pause or hold mode to respond to a GPI pulse. The simplest implementation of GPI triggering is to set the control parameter for the first event in the sequence to pause. Once the play button is pressed, the sequence will become active and immediately become paused. The system is now ready to accept the pulse. Issuing a GPI pulse before the sequence is in play mode and paused will be ignored by the unit. A brief walkthrough for GPI implementation. The simplest triggering device is a PBNO switch (PBNO=Push Button Normally Open). This would be a pair of wires running from COM1 at pins 1 and 4, soldered to a momentary contact switch. Sample triggering devices are not available from Pinnacle; however, a momentary contact switch connected to the RS232 port by two wires is extremely simple. The next step is to identify and configure the COM ports, if necessary. Make sure to verify that if you are intending to connect to COM1 that you visually verify that this is in fact the COM port you are connecting to. Next, start the Pinnacle application. Create a simple graphic; a simple crawl of two or three words is suggested. Create a new sequence with this graphic. Set up the events as follows: Event 1: Control set to pause. Effect set to crawl. Rate set to 3, and units set to seconds. For repeat testing, set an event 2 with the control field set to goto.

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For both events, all fields not mentioned should be left unchanged. Next, activate the GPI input. Make sure to set the correct COM port, and make sure the GPI enabled checkbox is checked. The unit will ignore GPI pulses at the wrong COM port, or if the GPI Enabled checkbox is cleared. Next, click the PLAY button in the sequence window. When the sequence begins, it will immediately release the PLAY button and the pause button will show as pressed. Finally, issue the pulse by momentarily closing the switch connected to the COM port. If the GPI configuration has been set up correctly, the crawl should take place at this time. Additional steps to check, if the walkthrough was unsuccessful: Is the triggering device connected to the correct COM port? This can be checked by changing the COM port setting to the other available COM port. If GPI begins working, you may choose to either leave the configuration as it is or change both the connected port on the hardware and the selected port in the software and try again. Are the COM ports set correctly in the computers system configuration? Try going into the CMOS setup for the PC and checking the COM port settings if they are set to auto, this should be ok, but it may be helpful to set them specifically to their correct settings. See the section on problems with COM ports for further details. Is the sequence in pause mode? Make sure that when the GPI pulse is issued, the active sequence in Deko is running and paused. Setting the appropriate event to pause, usually the first event, is the best way to do this. Is the actual graphic set up correctly? Make sure that the text in the graphic is appearing in the Deko application. If it has disappeared, try stopping the sequence and adding another few words of text to the bottom edge of the preview window. Note that even if the graphic is not set up correctly, you should still see the play and pause buttons toggling in the sequence window when GPI is pulsed. Other GPI related issues, that have not been answered at this time: 1. Required pulse width. 2. Edge Triggering. 3. Command delay. Although these particular properties of Deko GPI are not currently known to Support, they can be determined by the following methods: For pulse width, use an edit controller which can easily be programmed for a simple pulse output. Adjust the pulse duration in this system to the minimum. If Deko does not respond, increase the pulse width until it does. For edge triggering, perform the same experiment as above, except in this case, adjust the pulse width of the triggering device to the maximum. Take note of the effective delay as the pulse width is shortened. If the sequence triggers at different delay times, most likely the system is triggering on the trailing edge. If altering the pulse width at the longest extremes towards the shortest duration has no effect, the unit is triggering on the leading edge. Command delay is probably the most difficult parameter to asset through experimentation. This would require the following equipment, in an isolated environment: A stable blackburst reference, the Deko system, a record deck, an edit controller, and a time-code generator with control and visual outputs, and a

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dynamic video source with the same timecode visually displayed as used by the edit controller. Set up a simple sequence on the Deko, using the reveal effect, pause control, and no delay, to display a white rectangle. Set up the simplest EDL possible, sending a GPI pulse with a known time and duration. Record the event as the controller issues the pulse and the Deko responds. Playback the tape, using jog to watch for the difference between when the timecode set at the edit controller is displayed to when the white rectangle appears. This will be the amount of command delay you may reasonably expect.

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