Graphics

We have set up Newticker from NewsRoomSolutions to send election data to Xpression through the CGI gateway. Works great. The only problem is when the scene is updated with different information, there is a flash of black when the scene reloads. I am working on separating the background from the foreground and loading them on different layers. I have tried loading the BG scene from the scene that is called using GetSceneByName, checking if it where online, then using Scene.SetOnline if it were not. That worked until it was called three times then it would either freeze or kick the BG scene offline. I am also working from the Newsticker LOGIC side. That sends commands using Chyron type code. It assigns the sent information to a scene in Xpression then tells it to play out on a certain Take ID in the Sequencer.

Anyone else trying to automate Xpression with Newsticker?

Can this work through Bluebox?

Can you flip flop between two different take id's. So send the first one as 9000; then to update it send the same scene again with the new information as take id 9001. Then the next would be 9000 again.. These should play back without the black frames..

#XPression

Got a working solution. I set up the Sequencer with two Take ID's. One for the background and one for the foreground. In the Newsticker code, I had it call the background first then the foreground with the updated information. The background never stops as new information comes on.

Brian, your idea may work but I have not learned enough about the code in Newsticker to have it flip-flop like that.

That may come in handy later on. Thanks

#XPression

You can flip flop with the ticker. Here's what I came up with for the format files. Been working great for all of our election coverage:

Define two variables for each of the Take IDs:

[% storageloc_even = "1000" %]

[% storagelocascii_even = ASCII("193") _ ASCII("192") _ ASCII("192") _ ASCII("192") %]

[% storageloc_odd = "1001" %]

[% storagelocascii_odd = ASCII("193") _ ASCII("192") _ ASCII("192") _ ASCII("193") %]

First is the real number, while the second represents the ascii keys for that number. Its used for simulating key presses when you send the CII command to Xpression.

Just before the W command in the format file, add in the following:

[% IF ((SEQUENCEID % 2) == 1 %]

[% storageloc = storageloc_odd %]

[% storagelocascii = storagelocascii_odd %]

[% ELSE %]

[% storageloc = storageloc_even %]

[% storagelocascii = storagelocascii_even %]

[% END %]

This gives you your flip flop action. Just use the storagelocascii variable in your CII command, like this:

Z[% storagelocascii %] [% ASCII("248") %]\[%CRLF%]

Those additions should be all you need to get clean transitions between results pages.

#XPression