Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Macros

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Posted by Gronw Roberts (Member # 9141) on 12-01-2015, 06:17 AM:

I've been experiencing some weirdness lately, if I turn off my projectors lamp with the Macro Executables software on the Doremi server it ignores the Lamp On Macro within a playlist. If the command to turn off the lamp off is within a playlist then it will read the lamp on command with any problem the next time I play a playlist.

It's not a huge problem, I just need to be careful and remember how I turn off the lamp!

Any ideas as to what's going on?

Posted by Phil Ranucci (Member # 3820) on 12-01-2015, 01:27 PM:

To use the macro software, do you have to log in with higher permission than user? Maybe that overrides the macro being executed. Does everything else in the macro work?

Posted by Gronw Roberts (Member # 9141) on 12-01-2015, 03:27 PM:

Hi Phil. I've never had to log in at all except the password to ingest.

Posted by Dave Macaulay (Member # 813) on 12-01-2015, 03:28 PM:

You mean the "execute macro" app under "Doremi Apps"?

I think once a playlist runs past a macro time, going back on the playlist before that macro and replaying it will not re-execute the macro.
I have not seen what you describe - if I manually execute a lamp off macro to confirm the lamp on macro in a playlist works and turns the lamp on, it will do so when I play the playlist.
If a macro is put in a playlist at 0 seconds from start of the first clip (usually black), it executes on playlist load (even load using pause) and will not execute again (that may have been changed to accommodate the playlist preload on schedule that came in with HFR so the firmware has time to switch, I haven't tried it for a while).
I always put the first macro at 1 sec from start of first clip to eliminate that anyway.

Posted by Gronw Roberts (Member # 9141) on 12-09-2015, 03:54 PM:

Yes that's right. Strange isn't it! I asked the guy that installed our equipement and he's never seen it happen before either.

Posted by Ioannis Syrogiannis (Member # 3235) on 12-30-2015, 07:06 AM:

Hello all.
I would try to further search into it by seeing the logs of the projector (you don't mention the make and the model).

I would check, also, the instances that such an issue become obvious by combining switching on/off the lamp by the projector's control.
Even when expected so, using a macro from a server and using the lamp button on a projector doesn't always work the same way.
The time between lamp on/off toggle may be important also.
Giving the "lamp on" macro command in the 0 second of an SPL is not advisable. As having a lot of (projector) macros being executed at the same time.

The most important, is whether the projector receives the macro execution command or not. For that, you need to check the logs of the projector.

If I was you, I would try to do the following:
Power off the lamp via the "macro execution app", make an SPL with 40" of black. Get "lamp on" on 1" (not 0), get any other macro, at least 30" after that.
Would that do the trick?

I've seen macro commands not working simultaneously (on doremi configurations just the same) quite a few times. It wouldn't surprise me if that's the problem.

Posted by Marlon Martins (Member # 8823) on 12-31-2015, 04:32 PM:

i found out what Dave said a few days ago. I installed a relay system using Doremi IMB GPO to control lights and notifications, and testing macro execution, worked fine on start credits. going back in time and test again, the macros aren't executed at all.

seems macros have some "peculiarity" [Big Grin]