Visual Productions TIMECORE User manual

TIMECORE
MANUAL
© VISUAL PRODUCTIONS BV WWW.VISUALPRODUCTIONS.NL

Revision History
Revision Date Author(s) Description
1 10.05.2016 ME Initial version.
2 10.11.2017 ME Added: RTP-MIDI, Rackmount ac-
cessory, MSC API & password protec-
tion feature. Replaced VisualTouch
info by Kiosc.
3 07.06.2018 ME Updated vManager chapter to reflect
app-store distribution. Moved major-
ity of Kiosc information to a dedicated
Kiosc manual. Added discussion on
password and share analytics.
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Contents
1 Introduction 6
2 Protocols 9
3 Setting up 12
4 Network 14
5 Show Control 18
6 Monitors 23
7 Settings 25
8 RTP-MIDI 32
9 vManager 38
10 Kiosc 42
Appendices 43
A Templates 44
B Trigger Types 45
C Task Types 52
D API 60
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c
2018 Visual Productions BV. All rights reserved.
No parts of this work may be reproduced in any form or by any means - graphic,
electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or infor-
mation storage and retrieval systems - without the written permission of the
publisher.
While every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this document,
the publisher and the author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions,
or for damages resulting from the use of information contained in this docu-
ment or from the use of programs and source code that may accompany it. In
no event shall the publisher and the author be liable for any loss of profit or
any other commercial damage caused or alleged to have been caused directly or
indirectly by this document.
Due to the dynamic nature of product design, the information contained in
this document is subject to change without notice. Revisions of this informa-
tion or new editions may be issued to incorporate such changes.
Products that are referred to in this document may be either trademarks and/or
registered trademarks of the respective owners. The publisher and the author
make no claim to these trademarks.
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VISUAL PRODUCTIONS BV
IZAAK ENSCHEDEWEG 38A
NL-2031CR HAARLEM
THE NETHERLANDS
TEL [phone]
WWW.VISUALPRODUCTIONS.NL
[email protected]
ABN-AMRO BANK 53.22.22.261
BIC ABNANL2A
IBAN NL18ABNA0532222261
VAT NL851328477B01
COC 54497795
Declaration of Conformity
We, manufacturer Visual Productions BV, herby declare under sole responsibility,
that the following device:
TimeCore
Conforms to the following EC Directives, including all amendments:
EMC Directive 2004/108/EG
And the following harmonized standards have been applied:
NEN-EN-IEC 61000-6-1:2007
NEN-EN-IEC 61000-6-3:2007
Full name and identication of the person responsible for product quality and
accordance with standards on behalf of the manufacturer
Date: Place:
May 8th, 2017 Haarlem, The Netherlands
ing. Maarten Engels
Managing Director
Visual Productions BV

Chapter 1
Introduction
The TimeCore is a solid-state device for handling timecode. It is intended to
be used for entertainment shows at events, concerts, festivals and in themed
environments. The TimeCore will help in keeping the various show elements
like sound, lighting, video, laser and special FX synchronised.
Figure 1.1: TimeCore
The TimeCore can generate timecode, it can convert it between different
protocols and it can display any received timecode on its display. The unit
features inbuilt web-server; this web-interface allows the user to configure the
unit. The web-interface also enables other non-timecode protocols like UDP,
OSC and sACN to be linked to certain timecode events. The TimeCore can be
the bridge between timecode and other non-timecode show equipment such as
video players, relays and dimmers. The TimeCore features a rich suite of pro-
tocols that include the two most popular timecodes in show business SMPTE
and MTC. Furthermore, it has Art-Net timecode implemented, which has the
advantage of being network-based.
This document discusses setting up the device and programming its internal
software functions. At the time of writing this manual the TimeCore’s firmware
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was at version 1.07.
1.1 Features
The feature set of the TimeCore includes:
•Ethernet port
•Programming via web-interface
•SMPTE
•MTC
•MIDI, MSC, MMC
•RTP-MIDI
•OSC, UDP, TCP
•Art-Net (data & timecode)
•sACN
•Large 7-segment LED display
•2x user-definable push-button
•9-24V DC 500mA (PSU included)
•Power over Ethernet (class I)
•Desktop or DIN Rail mounted (optional adapter)
•Operating temperature -20C to +50C (-4F to 122F)
•Compliance EN55103-1 EN55103-2
•Bundled with vManager and Kiosc software
1.2 What’s in the box?
The TimeCore packaging contains the following items (see figure 1.2):
•TimeCore
•Power supply (inc. international plug set)
•Network cable
•Info card
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Figure 1.2: TimeCore box contents
1.3 Saving data to memory
This manual will describe how to configure the TimeCore and actions, tasks,
etc. The unit’s web-interface is used for editing these kinds of elements. When
changes are made, these changes are directly stored in the RAM memory of
the TimeCore and the programming will directly influence the behaviour of the
unit. RAM memory is, however, volatile and its content will be lost through a
power cycle. For this reason the TimeCore will copy any changes in the RAM
memory to its onboard flash memory. Flash memory retains its data even when
not powered. The TimeCore will load all its data back from the flash memory
upon startup.
This memory copy process is conducted automatically by the TimeCore and
should not be of any concern of the user. One point of consideration is, how-
ever, that after making a change the unit should be given time to perform the
copy to flash. As a rule of thumb, do not disconnect the power from the device
within 30 seconds from making a programming change.
1.4 Further Help
If, after reading this manual, you have further questions then please consult
the online forum at http://forum.visualproductions.nl for more technical
support.
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Chapter 2
Protocols
The TimeCore is fitted with several communication ports and supports various
protocols. This chapter describes these protocols and to which extent they are
implemented in the TimeCore
2.1 SMPTE
SMPTE is timecode signal which can be used to synchronise audio, video, light-
ing and other show equipment. The TimeCore supports receiving SMPTE that
is transferred as an audio signal, also know as LTC timecode.
The TimeCore can send and receive SMPTE.
2.2 MIDI
The MIDI protocol is intended for inter-connecting musical devices such as syn-
thesisers and sequencers. Furthermore, this protocol is also very suitable to
send triggers from one device to another and is often used to synchronise audio,
video and lighting equipment. There is also a large collection of MIDI con-
trol surfaces available; user-interface consoles with knobs, (motorised-)faders,
rotary-encoders, etc.
The TimeCore is fitted with a MIDI input and MIDI output port. It supports
receiving and sending MIDI messages like NoteOn, NoteOff, ControlChange and
ProgramChange.
2.2.1 MTC
MIDI Timecode (MTC) is the timecode signal which is embedded into MIDI.
The TimeCore supports receiving and transmitting MTC. It is not recommended
to combine the use of MTC with ordinary MIDI as MTC consumes the band-
width of the MIDI connection.
2.2.2 MMC
MIDI Machine Control (MMC) is part of the MIDI protocol. It defines special
messages for controlling audio equipment such as multi-track recorders. The
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TimeCore supports the sending of MMC commands; please refer to page 55.
2.2.3 MSC
MIDI Show Control (MSC) is an extension of the MIDI protocol. It comprises
of commands for synchronising show equipment like lighting, video and audio
devices. The TimeCore supports receiving MSC commands. This support is
hard coded and does not require any Show Control programming. Please refer
to appendix ??.
2.3 RTP-MIDI
RTP-MIDI is an Ethernet-based protocol for transferring MIDI messages. It
is part of the RTP (Real-time Protocol) protocol suite. RTP-MIDI is natively
supported by the macOS and iOS operating systems. Through installing a
driver, it is also supported on Windows.
Once the RTP-MIDI connection is established between the TimeCore and
the computer, then software running on the computer will see the TimeCore s
MIDI ports as if it was a USB connection MIDI interface.
2.4 Art-Net
The Art-Net protocol primarily transfers DMX-512 data over Ethernet. The
high bandwidth of an Ethernet connection allows Art-Net to transfer up to 256
universes.
The data sent out for Art-Net does put a certain load on the network, there-
fore it is recommended to disable Art-Net when not in use.
Additional to transmitting DMX-512 data, Art-Net can also be used for
transferring timecode information for equipment synchronisation.
The TimeCore supports sending and receiving of Art-Net timecode as well
as one universe of Art-Net data.
2.5 sACN
The streaming Architecture of Control Networks (sACN) protocol uses a method
of transporting DMX-512 information over TCP/IP networks. The protocol is
specified in the ANSI E1.31-2009 standard.
The sACN protocol supports multi-cast in order to take efficient use of the
network’s bandwidth.
The TimeCore supports sending and receiving of one sACN universe.
2.6 TCP
The Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is a core protocol of the Internet
Protocol Suite. It is used for its reliable, ordered and error checked delivery
of a stream of bytes between applications and hosts over IP networks. It is
considered ’reliable’ because the protocol itself checks to see if everything that
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