2.5.1 Growing File/Placeholder Support (v.5.x)
- Georg Deisting
- Manuel Grund
Just Control supports growing files within the Library, Workbench, and Preview windows. Growing Files are indicated by an italic font face style within the Library and Workbench area.
Just Live:
Once a Growing File gets played out, the endpoint of that clip will be automatically updated.
Because QT10 does not support growing files natively, we use a work around to allow such a file to be played out using the just:live user interface. This can cause UI issues and even Just Out engine crashes, so we highly recommend to test this workflow intensively, before used in production.
Just Play:
Once a growing file is dropped into the rundown, it will take over the current length but will not grow further or play out, until the recording has stopped. Until then, it will behave and look like a Placeholder element.
Growing File Update Parameters:
To cope with different storage systems and file types, there are two settings (Apple “Terminal” commands) available, which can be used to adjust the Growing Gile behaviour within the Just Control application:
# Growing File Update value
# Default value: 5
defaults write com.toolsonair.Just-Control TAKMDSGrowingFileUpdate -int X
# Growing File Check value
# Default value: 2
defaults write com.toolsonair.Just-Control TAKMDSGrowingFileDelay -int XThe “TAKMDSGrowingFileUpdate” value defines the interval (in seconds), in which Just Control checks for new file durations. So, by default, the growing file will be updated every five seconds.
The “TAKMDSGrowingFileDelay” value defines how many times Just Control checks if the file is still growing. By default, Just Control checks the “TAKMDSGrowingFileUpdate” value twice and if there is no update, the file will be identified and displayed as closed.
Please note that the Just Control application has to be closed when changing these values.
We recommend testing such Growing File workflows in every detail, before using them in production, as every storage system can act differently and especially MXF files may require adjustments of the given default values.
Just Play Placeholder:
In just:play, you can add a Placeholder to the rundown, before the final video is ready. This is useful when scheduling needs to be planned, but the video is not yet available. The Placeholder will automatically be replaced as soon as the final video is available on the storage system. Please ensure that the playout storage is properly mounted on the Mac (Finder level) running the Just Connect application and that the “Full Disk Access” (“System Settings → Privacy & Security → Full Disk Access”) permission has been granted to Just Connect as described here.