File Manager

File Manager Overview

The File Manager is a module dedicated to:

• importing and converting media files;

• creating media playlists;

• sort files imported on the servers;

• recalling Timeline media clips when programming a show.

The File Manager window can be divided into 5 window sections:

❶ Module Top Section

The buttons and toggles support a wide range of functions, including media file import and conversion, and Media File list display categorization (described in subsequent sections of this chapter).

❷ Media Files List

This list contains all of the media files (images, video, sound, 3D Models) that were imported in TACHYON (see File Management and Display in Importing Content).

❸ Playlist and Sorting Tool

The File Manager window contains a list of toggles that correspond to different media categories and control which items will be shown in the Media Files List (see Files Visibility and Media Category in Importing Content). You can also create custom Playlists from selected media files using the + button and sort them by name, date, etc

❹ Media Preview Panel

Select a video or sound media file from the Media Files List by clicking on it and press play to preview it. You can scroll through content by clicking and dragging the time slider located beneath the window

To hide or show the Media Preview window, click on the play toggle located in the window top section.

The Media Preview Panel has audio playback capabilities. If a playback device is set up in the I/O Manager, sound might play (there is a Mute button at the end of the timeline).

❺ Task List

List where the progress of Import and Conversion tasks is shown in sequential order.

The Task list has 2 slots for importing media files (copying media files via the network to the devices in the Server Group) and 3 slots for media conversion (creating local VCI copies of the original media files; VCI is VYV’s own uncompressed file format).

Ongoing tasks can be:

• paused by clicking on the button

• resumed by clicking on the button

• cancelled by clicking on the button

These actions will impact the entire Task list. Other actions, such as “re-prioritize” or “cancel a single task,” can be achieved by using the contextual menu which can be opened by right-clicking on a task.

To hide or show the Task list, click on the toggle located in the window’s top section.

File Manager Settings

Click on the button to open the File Manager Settings window. This window contains various parameters that will affect TACHYON’s behavior when performing media imports and conversions.

❶ Watch Folder Settings

The folder button 📁 will prompt a file dialog allowing you to choose a path.

• The number input box set the time interval between every check for new content.

• The Check Now button will force a check for new content.

• The Conflict option dropdown menu lets you choose what happens with files having the same name:

  • Ask: will prompt a pop-up box on every conflicting file.

  • Overwrite: will overwrite already existing files.

  • Keep existing: will keep already imported content and discard the newer file.

Once enabled, a Watch Folder On/Off radio button will appear in the module top section.

❷ Import Settings

This section contains 1 checkbox:

• Refresh model library after import: If activated this option will enable an automatic refresh of the model library after an import. If deactivated, it will prevent 3D models imported through the File Manager from loading automatically in the 3D Scene in memory. This option can be useful if you don’t want servers to stutter during a viewing session but still need to import 3D objects.

❸ Media Versioning

This section contains 2 checkboxes:

• Enable Versinoning: activates Versioning in Tachyon.

• Prefer Latest Version: will automatically force the latest version of a media when used on the timeline.

For more information about Versioning: Click Here.

❹ Conversion Settings

This section contains 3 checkboxes:

• Auto Convert After Import: If this option is selected, media conversion will start automatically when media is imported.

• Use Legacy Converter: to force the use of the legacy (32 bits) file converter. This can help when conversion fails with some older files formats.

• Delete Original Media After Conversion: If this option is selected, original media files such as .mov or .png will be deleted once they are converted to VCI.

While Delete Original Media After Conversion frees up disk space, it might prevent you from synchronizing your media from scratch in cases where a new server is integrated in the Server Group. (Note that this action will delete files previously copied on the servers, but not the original files residing on a network drive.)

File Format Conversion Dropdown Menu

Selecting an item in this menu will determine the destination file format for conversions. The menu contains 1 item:

• VCI Compressed: VYV’s video file format featuring time compression using H.264 or HEVC/H265.

Other formats are available in PHOTON

GPU Conversion Toggle

TACHYON’s file conversions are usually done by the server’s GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). If this option if disable, the Central Processing Unit (CPU) can take care of the conversion tasks.

Some encoding formats (YUV422 and YV12 for example) do not allow GPU conversion and will disable the GPU conversion option and will be slower.

❺ Conversion Size Limits (MegaPixels)

This section contains 2 sliders:

• Display Server: This slider will set the megapixel threshold for Display Servers and Display Master Servers.

• Controller: This slider will set a megapixel threshold for Controller Servers. Since the Controller will playback all of the screens in your installation, it will reduce the size of your media files.

If the media file resolution is greater than the import threshold TACHYON will automatically reduce the resolution to comply with the megapixel limit.

Video Encoding Format dropdown Menu

This dropdown menu allows you to choose between H264 and HEVC/H265

Video Encoding Options

• Keyframe interval Slider: (not currently in use)

• Quality Slider: set the level of compression

• Alpha Resolution Dropdown Menu: choose the level of reduction for alpha encoding. (full/half/quarter)

Task Group Selection List

Each entry in this list corresponds to one of the servers included in the Server Group (their names are preceded by checkboxes). All of the servers with a green check mark in the checkbox will be included in file import and conversion processes because they are part of the network ring.