Company: ACCORG
Business Unit: Starphina Software
Contact Email Address: movienightproject@accorg.com
Purpose: To explore the interest in a software package that will deliver a billboard/advertisement via still text image or video on to a projector for public display. The software will also transition the display from an advertisement tool in to a movie display device.
Similar Usage: This kind of software may already be in use by hundreds of thousands of theatre's across the US. Basically, you set in the theatre before the movie starts and you get to see still images of whatever the local theatre is selling. They may even throw in some video.
When its time for the main movie to start, you get to see video of various other movies etc which are about to come out as well as other video messages from the theatre. The first part happens in a loop as long as needed and then the 2nd part starts. After the 2nd part starts the 3rd and final part is the movie itself. This software's goal is to semi automate this process. The transition from the 1st part and 2nd will will be partially automated in the sense that you have to click a button to tell it to start the 2nd process after the last frame on the 1st part. After that, the rest of the transitions are automated. The software transition kind of looks like this.... 1 - M - 2 - A - 3 - A - 1. Where M stands for manual transition and A stands for automatic transition.
Primary Screen
Hide - Hides the primary slideshow screen and all of its support screens
Show - Shows the primary screen
Volume
Wave - Turns volume up or down.
Line - Does Nothing
Images
Show - Shows the images associated with a particular box. Click "Images | 1 or 2 or 3" to change the perspective pictures
Hide - Hides the currently showing image.
Automate Transitions - When this is clicked the software cycles between the 3 images selected.
This last box with the number in it sets the time between cycles.
The software uses a basic fade in and out between each picture. The transition typically lasts about 4.5 seconds.
This area is good for the "start of the day" situation in which many people may not be in the room and some more testing needs to be done to make sure everything is lined up correctly.
Slide Show
Previous - Shows the last slideshow image that was shown
Current - Shows the current slideshow image that is being shown
Next - Shows the next slide show image that will show
End Show on Last Frame - Will automatically stop the show when the last frame has completed is allotted time.
Start Movie on Last Frame - This will automatically start the slide show leading up to the movie to be played.
Restart Last Function - Restarts the last function that was completed. If you were running a slide show it will run, if you were just showing some basic images, those will show.
Next Slide - Use in cases where manual slide continuation is needed over automatic. This button will also display if the system believe the processor is locked.
IS (Interval Stop) - This comes in handy when a video fails to start quickly and the interval timer starts counting down till the next slide before the video starts playing. Press this button to "halt" the interval timer and enable yourself to manually go to the next slide.
External Software Link
Movie Window Name - In some cases a media file may not be compatible with our internal media players. Therefore, it needs an external player to play some media files. When you start a media player of some sort and "windows" creates that little bar for it on the task bar the name of the task bar is considered the window name. The window name for this product is called "Movie Night".
Movie Start key - This is the key that will tell your media player software to play. Some players associate certain keys to player functions. Typically {Enter} is used to play media and {space} is used to pause or stop them.
Movie Stop Key - Read Movie Start Key
Movie Slideshow
Movie Start - Press this button when you wish to start the movie slideshow now.
End Movie - Press this when you wish to end the movie. Please note: Using this button manually will cancel any "after movie" slides that were slated to show.
Pause Move - Pauses the movie.
Next Slide - Use in cases where manual slide continuation is needed over automatic. This button will also display if the system believes the processor is locked.
Menu Items
Software
View Slideshow Information - Displays certain stastical information about your slideshow.
Exit - Exits the software
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Images - Go here when you wish to set the 3 main images in the Images section as defined in Section III
Logo - The main project screen will display a logo of your choosing.
Video
Standard - Sets the standard video to display in the video section.
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Tools
Software Timer
Suspend - The software is running in infinite loop mode. Suspend the timer and this software's CPU usage will drop considerable. However, the slideshow won't work either.
Priority - You can change the priority of the software. The higher the software priority the less skipping you will see (if you do have skipping).
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Slideshow
Select - Opens a Movie Night Slide Show File (mnss)
Clear - Clears the Slideshow from memory.
Movie Start File - This is the movie night slide show file (mnss) you wish to use as the movie start slide.
Editor - Creates/Edits a slideshow that can be used for this software. See Movie Night Slideshow Creation Tool below for further details.
Quiz Editor - A special kind of slide show frame used for quizzes. More on that later.
Options
Do not activate foreign window - Does nothing really, but if you do enable this option your movies will not start properly so don't use it at this time.
Show Movie Screen - If the software isn't show you your DVD movies, but you can hear them, enable this option.
Tool Bar
Open - Opens a Movie Night Slideshow (*.mnss) file.
Save - Saves a Movie Night Slideshow file.
Move Item(s) Left - Move a single or multiple items to the left by one position.
Move Item(s) Right - Move a single or multiple items to the right by one position.
Clear Selection - Deselect all of the items that are currently selected.
Multi Select - Enable multi selection. With this enabled, you may select more than one item at a time.
Remove Item - Remove all selected items.
Remove All Items - Remove All items.
Move To - Moves the currently selected item to the position identified by the edit box to the right.
Apply 2 Range - Take certain options and applies them to the items from the minimum value to the maximum values.
Only the audio information is copied at this time.
Check Time - This will add up all of the time values between the two values in the edit boxes to the right. The two values to the right indicate items in the current slideshow. If you wish to know the duration of the items from 5 through 10 enter this information here and click this button.
Preview
This is a preview area for both images and video.
Images are currently stretched across this area and may appear distorted.
Item Information - Each item can be one of 7 choices.
Picture - The picture option allows you to select a picture to show and choose what media file you wish to play. It also lets you choose what audio options you wish to use.
Video - The video option allows you to add several video formats to the software. Avi container formats are preferred.
Folder - This option allows you to read any media item (that the software supports) and automatically add a random (or sequenced) item from the folder to the slideshow. The folder read occurs before the picture/video is shown/played. You can choose to sequence through the items in the list or show/play them randomly.
This option also has a "use playlist" option. This option allows you to use a Movie Night play list (basically a text file with a list of files you wish to use) instead of a folder. See info below regarding Movie Night Play Lists.
Movie - Use this option when you wish to use external software to play a media file. Originally intended to play DVD's in an external player, you may now use this to play any media file in an external player.
If the external player does not support keystrokes in order to play or stop the video this option will not work.
DVD - This option is the preferred method for playing DVD's. If you wish to start your DVD at the beginning of the movie instead of playing through the preshow then you must use the preview screen to watch the preshow and then select "Save Marker" when the movie starts. Otherwise, you will be required to see through the DVD preshow during your presentation.
Quiz - This option allows you to setup a quiz item for the slideshow. When using this feature, the software will show a question for the audience. Then it will show the answer. You may place the answer as far away from the question as you wish. You must create your own quiz and answer pictures (jpeg, gif, or bmp) format.
Audio - Use this option if you wish to start and audio file "BEFORE" a picture plays. You can also use another audio item with no media file chosen to turn off audio. Typically, if you start audio during a picture, the audio will only play after the image is fully shown. It will also end during the image if you select "continue audio" and "fade out" on the last frame you wish the audio to play.
Link - This option allow you to transfer your current slideshow to another one. If you use the link feature to transfer control from slide show "A" to slide show "B". Slideshow "B" will play until its end, and then it will transfer authority back to slideshow "A". Slideshow "A" will pick up where it left off. You may also "pop" the return link back to slideshow "A" making slide show "B" the new primary slide show.
Item Information Group Boxes - These are the group boxes you will find in the Item Information section.
Picture Information
Picture File - This edit box contains the text/file link of the location of the picture file you wish to display.
Browse - Press this button to locate the picture file via a windows file selection dialog box.
Media Information
Media File - This edit box contains the text/file link of the location of the video or audio file you wish to play.
Browse - Press this button to locate the picture file via a windows file selection dialog box.
X - Press this button to clear the Media File edit box.
Audio Information
Continue Audio - Select this box to continue the audio from the last item.
If you do not select this box any audio file that is currently playing will be stopped.
Fade In - If you wish for the audio file chosen to play on this item to "Fade In" then select this option. A fade in occurs when the volume starts off low and then rises over time to reach normal volume.
Fade Out - Select this option if you want the song playing to fade out during this item.
Do not use this option if this is the same item you are requesting an audio file be played.
Transition Information
Transition Type - The most common type is blend. There are several others that we use to display a slide.
Slide Animation - This option allegedly changes the behavior of the windows window animation feature. I have yet to notice any difference but it is here just in case it does have an affect on later version of windows.
Interval - How long will a picture show or a video play. This option is automatically set in certain circumstances.
The default value of -1 denotes that the item will use the default time as noted by the default time menu item.
The quiz item does not use the default time associated with other items. It uses its own default time as allocated by the quiz setup dialog.
Transition - How long will it take a picture to show completely. This has little effect on videos. However, in either case (pictures or videos), this amount of time will elapse before the picture is shown or video played.
Please Note: During the transition phase the software becomes locked. This is due to the way windows handles these kinds of animations.
The default value of -1 denotes that the item will use the default time as noted by the default time menu item.
The quiz item does not use the default time associated with other items. It uses its own default time as allocated by the quiz setup dialog.
Folder Filter
Yellow edit box - This edit box contains the text/folder link to the folder in which the media files you wish to show/play are located.
Clear edit box - This edit box contains the mask or filter to apply to the folder. This filter only allows certain files to be picked up by our software. You set this filter manually so be careful regarding how you set it.
Use Play List - Check this option if you wish to use a play list instead of pointing to a folder. The path of the play list will be displayed in the Yellow edit box and the name of the play list will be displayed in the Clear edit box.
Sequence - This informs the software you wish to show/play the files in sequential order. Only one file will be read per each time this item is read from the slide show file.
Note: If you have 3 files in your play list or you filter removes all but 3 files from your folder list, this option will not display/play all three items in "back to back" fashion. Instead, each time this item is read for the slideshow file a different item will show from your play list or folder.
DVD Information
Explained in section I.C.5
Quiz Information
The drop down box in this group allows you to select a quiz that you have created using our quiz creation tool.
Link Information
The slideshow edit box contains the text/ file link to the slideshow you wish to link.
Browse - Allows you to select the slideshow you wish to link to via a windows dialog box.
Pop Last Link - If this option is checked, the slideshow that called the current slideshow will be removed from the slideshow calling stack. Typically, when a linked to slideshow displays its last item, control is transferred back to the last slideshow. If this item is checked, it will either stay with the slideshow that is currently playing, if no other slideshow is in the stack, or it will transfer control to the slide show that transferred control to the slideshow that was popped.
It is best if you place link item with this option at the end of your slide show. If you do not, and the "End Show on Last Frame" option is checked, the slideshow will end 1 item too soon.
Loop Count - Tells the slideshow that's about to receive control how many times it can loop through its items before transferring control back to the calling show.
If you set this option to 6, the called slideshow will run through its items 6 times before making an attempt to transfer control back to the calling slideshow. Even if you have "End Show on Last Frame" selected, it will loop all 6 times before stopping.
Other Buttons
New - Clears out the old item information and creates a new one.
Add - Adds the current information to the slide show.
Menu Items
Slide Show
New - Clears all slideshow information and stars a new one.
Open - Opens a previously saved slideshow.
Save - Saves a slideshow.
Save As - Saves a slideshow with a name of your choosing.
Exit - Exits Slide Show Creation Tool.
Options
Default Slide Time - Allows you to select the default display time for your items.
Default Trans Time - Allows you to select the default transition time for your items.
Tools
Quiz Setup - This setup screen allows you to create quizzes. Please see the help for the Quiz Creation Tool.
Playlist Editor - This setup screen allows you to create play list files. Play list files are simple text files with link information to one or more files on your computer.
Quiz Creation Tool
Installed Quizzes
Add/Change - Allows you to add or change the options for a particular quiz.
Delete - Removes a quiz.
Clear All - Removes all quizzes.
Quiz Information
Folder Location - This edit box contains the text/link to the folder that has your quiz images. This software does not create quiz images. You must do that in different software.
Question Picture - If this quiz has its own picture to be displayed as an icon then enter it here. This picture will not display except to display the items status as a quiz. We do provide quiz images for you.
Answer Picture - Same as Question Picture except that this is for the answer.
File Format Question - This is a mask/file filter which eliminates all none quizzes related files. Setup this filter so we can appropriately find all your quiz questions.
File Format Answer - Same as File Format Question except for the answer. Using the default filter, any file from QuizQ0000A.jpg to QuizQ9999A.jpg will be read as quiz answers.
Question Interval - How long do you want the question to display. A value of -1 uses the slideshow default.
Answer Interval - Same as Question Interval except for the Answer.
File Number Rang Min/Max - This will let the software know what number range to draw the files from. Example, if you have 1000 quiz images in a folder and you set this range to be 500-600, then only files QuizQ0500A.jpg - QuizQ0600A.jpg will be used for the quiz.
Name - Enter a unique name for your quiz. Otherwise you will actually change the values of another one.
Playlist Editor - No Help at this Time.
(more coming later, if you want to wing it go ahead)
Email movienightproject@accorg.com if you wish to participate in the Alpha Testing of this software.