Morpheus Reference v01.pdf

8/9/2019 Morpheus Reference v01.pdf

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MORPHEUS AUTOMATION SYSTEM

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MORPHEUS REFERENCE


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1 Introduction 3

1.1 This guide 3

1.2

Alphabetical list of terms 4


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1 Introduction

Morpheus is Pro-Bel’s flagship TV transmission automation product, and is a powerful, highly

sophisticated, stable, fully scaleable, feature-rich system offering facilities which satisfy the most

demanding TX requirement.

The fully featured product is known as Morpheus Enterprise. Morpheus Foundation is a scaled-

down system aimed at simple transmission operations. This product has a reduced feature set,

and being based on Morpheus Enterprise it brings a maturity, sophistication and reliability which is

unique in this market segment.

Morpheus Automation has a large worldwide customer base. It is used by broadcasters of all

types; from single channel, fixed play-list operations, to large-scale, multi-channel systems with

live programming and events rich in secondary content. It can control virtually any broadcast

equipment, and its resilience can be fully tailored to suit any requirement.

Morpheus Enterprise has unlimited channel, device and secondary event structure, and provides

the user with tools for customising their configuration with complete flexibility.

1.1 This guide

The purpose of this book is to give the reader an overview of each topic either as a memory

jogger, or to give a quick insight into how a function relates to the rest of the system. If more

details are needed these will be found in the relevant operational or configuration handbook.

This reference guide is intended to be an encyclopaedia of terms likely to be encountered in the

Morpheus context, and forms part of the full engineering handbook set:

• Morpheus Reference

• Morpheus Operator’s Handbook

• Morpheus Configuration Guide

• Morpheus Hardware & Interconnections

• Morpheus Special Procedures


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1.2 Alphabetical list of terms

525/60 AND 625/50 SYSTEMS The selection of the video standard in use by the system being controlled by Morpheus is made during

the Deploy process. There is only one option: the NTSC check box is checked for a 525/60 systemand not checked for a 625/50 system. There is no provision in Morpheus for a 525/60 system whichdoes not use drop-frame timecode.

ACQUISITION An application within Morpheus which is used for acquiring material, usually from a tape on a stand-alone VTR to a video server.

ACTIVE FORMAT DESCRIPTOR (AFD)

A code sent along with a TV signal to indicate in what format the picture should be viewed. Thereceiving equipment reads this data and switches the display to the correct aspect ratio, bearing inmind the physical aspect ratio of the screen and the viewer’s preferences.

ADD EVENT A button in Event Store Test which allows events to be added to the schedule. This would be used ifno editor were available, for example on the event store PC in an apparatus area.

ADMINISTRATION

A software tool for managing the Morpheus database which gives the user the capability to search andedit any data in the item, instance or device tables. It can run on any PC on the Morpheus network. Itcontains a Device Manager and Material Manager which are used respectively to search by device

or material. It can also be configured to contain Cache Request and Locks tabs.

ALARM GPI SERVICEFor future implementation

ALARMSThe status bar in the Editor may be double-clicked at any time to bring up the list of current alarms,their times, severity, and statuses. The following table lists and explains those which are likely to bedisplayed.


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Alarm Severity Description Further description

Bridge – defaultresilience

Mild Reduced resilience

Channel auto Severe Automation is disabled Automation has been switched

off, or a new current_systemhas been imported

Bridge-Defaultavailability

Moderate Not available

Eventstore time Moderate The system time has not beenadvanced for a while

Has the kernel been rebooted?Is the bridge running?

Alarms can be highlighted by left-clicking and acknowledged by right-clicking and then selecting‘acknowledge’ from the pop-up menu.

Alarms can be configured to scroll horizontally across the bottom of the HUD if desired.

Double-clicking the status bar also displays the engineering log.

APPEND SCHEDULE Function in the editor whereby a previously saved schedule can be added to the end of the activeschedule. Using this function, a schedule created in the offline editor can be saved and then added tothe end of the active schedule.

If the schedule being appended contains a fixed start event which is now in the past, that event andsubsequent events will be shifted 24 hours forward.

APPLICATION SERVER A program which allows applications to communicate with a database, and handles functions such asenabling and prioritising of database connections, and reporting failures. It makes use of a set oflogical connections known as a connection pool . The default number of connections available is 5.Many of the applications making up the Morpheus suite need to extract data from the database and doso by means of the application server. There are two application servers which could be required bythe Morpheus system. The Pro-Bel Application Server is used by Morpheus Transfer Agents tomanage transfer requests, and the Morpheus Application Server is used by the editor and theShell Services Host. The Morpheus Application Server usually runs on the same PC as the Morpheusdatabase.

In a system which involves transfer agents, note that transfer requests are passed transparently tothe Pro-Bel Application Server through the Morpheus Application Server .

APP SERVER TEST An optional module within Morpheus used to test the connection between the Morpheus ApplicationServer and the Database. This is useful because the Application Server does not establish aconnection with the Database until one is requested, so it would normally only be at this point (forexample, when the palette is used) that a connection problem would manifest, and the App ServerTest provides a way of testing the database connection without using Morpheus itself. It is also usefulas a general search engine.


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Figure 1-1: Application Server Test, 'Select Material' tab

Figure 1-1 shows the ‘select material’ tab being used to query the database. Any of the tables can bequeried with the appropriate tab, and a successful query indicates that the Morpheus ApplicationServer is connecting to the database.

ARCHIVE CONTROLLER A Morpheus Transfer Agent which manages the backing-up and restoring of data between a third-party archiving device such as FlipFactory, Front Porch or SGL and a video server. Requests for thisservice are received from the Pro-Bel Application Server.

ARCHIVE MANAGER One of the Morpheus Transfer Agents. It restores and backs up material to and from tape, DVD ordisk-based archive systems. It is a legacy version of the Archive Controller specifically for Avalonarchive systems.

AS-RUN COLLECTORService within the Shell Services Host whose purpose is to build up the as-run log. When an itemhas finished playing, it is greyed out in the editor display and stays there for whatever dwell time hasbeen set for that channel in Event Store Test (the default is 1 minute). The item is then appended toa temporary file and deleted from the schedule. Then once every 24 hours at a time configured in the


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Shell Services Host, this temporary file is converted to an as-run log which then serves as a record ofwhat was played out from each channel. The file name is derived from the publication date andchannel number and has the .sch extension. It is possible to view this in the offline editor if desired.

To configure the as-run collector, bring up the Shell Services Host and in the menu bar select ServiceSettings.

AS-RUN DB SERVICE A service within the Shell Services Host which has the same function as the as-run collector but thedata is written to a database table instead of a temporary file. This allows the operation of two as-runcollectors running as a dual redundant pair.

AS-RUN LOG

This is a .sch file generated by the as-run collector. It is an exact record of a channel’s output over a24-hour period. Its file name is derived from the date in the format _yyyy-mm-dd-nn.sch. The location can be changed from the Shell Services Host: settings > service settings >collector service > detailed config. The as-run log, being a schedule file, is readily viewed using theoffline editor. Since the editors often run on a different machine from the shell host, it is useful to setup the event store machine as a mapped drive on the workstation machine to allow the as-run log tobe accessed. If it is necessary to view the .tmp file before it is converted to the as-run log file, it shouldbe copied to another location and renamed *.sch. See also as-run collector.

ASSET MAIL One of the Morpheus Transfer Agents which handles the transfer of material between video servers on

separate Morpheus systems with their own databases.

AUDIO LEAD AND LAG Lead and Lag refer to the timing of the audio fade in or out relative to the video. The following tablegives the details of what each setting does:


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Parameter name Definition Comments

Audio lag The amount by which the start of theaudio fade-out is delayed (late lag) oradvanced (early lag) at the end of the

itemAudio lag out The amount by which the fade-out of the

previous item is delayedSame as Audio Lag setting forprevious item

Audio lag outrate

The duration of the fade-out of theprevious item

Same as Audio Lag Ratesetting for previous item

Audio lag rate The time taken for the fade-out,measured in ss:ff . Zero indicates a cut.The maximum setting is 99 frames

Increasing the time makes bothleads and lags end later. Thestart time remains the same.

Audio Lead The amount by which the start of theaudio fade-up is delayed (late lead) oradvanced (early lead) at the beginning ofthe item

Audio Lead Rate The time taken for the fade-up,measured in ss:ff. Zero indicates a cut.The maximum setting is 99 frames

Increasing the time makes bothleads and lags end later. Thestart time remains the same.

AURORA Pro-Bel proprietary router control system.

AUTO DELETION Process performed by Video Network Manager which automatically clears space on a video serverby deleting material according to the auto-deletion algorithm. It is initiated when the space reachesthe low water mark (typical setting 5 minutes remaining space) and attempts to get the space up to thehigh water mark (typical setting 30 minutes remaining space)

AUTO FAILOVER see Resilience

AUTO IS OFF / AUTO IS ON

A toggling button in the MIP which disables or enables thecommands to the playout devices while leaving the schedulerunning. The button text reports the state of the function, andpressing it toggles its state. There is no ‘are you sure?’ prompt.If the automation is disabled over a period containing commandsto devices, when it is re-enabled the system will resynchronise

but it will discard any events now in the past.

BACK-TO-BACK SOURCES

Term used to describe the situation where two consecutive events have the same source. The editor

can be configured to highlight these.


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BACKGROUND DELETION A process whereby Video Network Manager periodically queries the server to establish the amountof free space remaining. If this has fallen below the low water mark level, it applies the backgrounddeletion algorithm which queries the Morpheus Database to find material that satisfies these criteria:

• Not listed in the locks table

• AND with an expired or null ‘delete after’ date

Results are returned in order of their ‘last used date’. VNM then determines how many of theseinstances should be deleted in order to create space on the server at least equal to the high watermark setting. Deletion begins with the oldest ‘last used date’. If the server is off line, no deletions areperformed.

BARREL see also DecoratorsCommonly used term for the status indicators in the editors. For details of colours and exactly whatthey indicate, see status indications

BREAK HEADER A dummy event which acts as a parent item for events forming a commercial break. To enter a breakheader into a schedule, drag and drop from the icon in the palette (see left) onto the item above which

you want the header to appear. Main events are added to a break header as children,

using right-click and drag from the palette. The duration mode of a break header wouldnormally be either ‘use children’ (so that the break duration is equal to the total time ofall the commercials within it) or ‘specified’ (when a break must have a specific duration,and the scheduler must ensure that the chosen commercials ‘fill’ it). If using ‘specified’

mode, + or – indications appear in the editor duration field to indicate respectively that material mustbe added or taken away from the break to give the proper duration.

BRIDGEThe full name of the Bridge is the PBAK (Pro-Bel Automation Kernel) Bridge. It normally runs on theEvent Store PC. It is an application which 'bridges' between the event store and the 2330 controllercard(s), constantly synchronising them with the events in the schedule(s). It passes events within a

look-ahead window (the execution window) to the controller card(s), so if the bridge is shut down, thecontroller card(s) will continue to run the schedule for the duration of the execution window. Thisallows changes to be made to the system (upgrades, reconfigurations etc) without affecting the stationoutput.


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Figure 1-2: The PBAK bridge, devices tab

Clicking the progress bar just to the left of the clock display loads all events in the execution windowinto the kernel (i.e. without waiting for the next periodic fetch). Any changes to the top few events in the schedule are applied to the kernel instantly. The PeriodicFetch setting relates to events further down the schedule which are reloaded however frequently thesetting requires (the default is 60 seconds).The clock display turns red when station timecode is the time source.

The five tabs in the bridge window are:

Exceptions Software exceptions encountered by the bridge (blank under normal conditions)

Diagnostics Click ‘go’ to display a log of recent activity

DevicesDisplays configured devices and their status. A green tick means a responsehas been received from the device. Parameters of the highlighted device areshown in the right-hand window.

Transactions (For future implementation)

ControllerDisplays what controllers are configured, with their parameters and status.Controllers can be restarted or updated from here

Full details on configuring the bridge are given in the Morpheus Configuration manual

BROWSE In a video server context, this is a function which allows the viewing of low-resolution copies of server files to enable checking of content, and the checkingand correction of in-points. In Morpheus, the creation of browse copies on adedicated browse server is controlled by the application server.

The creation of browse copies can be triggered manually from the editor by clickingthe browse button; if no browse copy is available, the button becomes a browse

request button


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Browse copies can also be generated by configuring the media management system to automaticallygenerate transfer requests, for example by using the replication tool.

The browse feature can be applied to events in the schedule using the MIP, or material in the palette

using the browse button within it. The format of the browse copies is Windows Media Player 9, andthe files are converted by a third party transcoder.

CACHE ENGINE A media management application which manages the dubbing of material off tape from a cart machinesuch as Flexicart or Odetics onto a video server. It also deals with the deletion of unwanted materialfrom a server to make room for the new; this is done according to parameters set in the configuration.The current version is known as the Multi-Stream Cache Engine which controls up to 2 VTRs on upto 2 server ports, thereby increasing the caching capacity.

CACHE ERROR TABLE A table in the Morpheus database which lists all failed cache requests.

Column Description Format Can be edited from

Material_ID As in item table 20 bytes NA

File_ID 8 bytes NA

StatusIndicates why the requestfailed

20 bytes NA

Time requiredShows when the materialis due on air

Date/time NA

Error notes

Additional information

explaining the failure Free text


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Column Description Format Can be edited from

Material_ID(primary key)

As in item table


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Therefore at a clock change it is necessary to close down the bridge to isolate the device controllercard. This allows the kernel to run the channel for a time (up to the maximum set by the event look-ahead), and also resynchronises the bridge with (new) incoming timecode. Events following the ‘jump’have to be retimed from the edit workstation. This is done by adjusting the timing of a chosen fixed

event by one hour (subsequent events then retime automatically) then saving and reloading theschedule.

Note that not all stations perform clock changes. Some prefer to leave timecode running and eitheruse uncorrected time during the daylight saving season, or use the channel’s UTC offset setting.

COMMAND QUEUE One of the two queues in the Event Store. It is a first-in, first-out store of all transactions which havebeen passed to the Event Store.

CONFIGURATOR An optional module in the Morpheus suite which is a reduced version of the Event Store Test. As atSeptember 2006 it is not fully debugged. It contains the following functions:

• Deleting, editing and cloning MediaBalls• Adding & Deleting categories (Palette pages)

• Moving MediaBalls between pages

• Adding new devices and sources to the system

• Configuring the parameters visible in the Property Inspector

• Configuring the secondary events visible in the main grid

• Adding, deleting and configuring Channels

• Configuring alarms

• Kernel Registry editor• Transition editor

CRASH RECORD Term used for the process of copying material by manually starting a record device and then startingits record source, with no synchronisation between them. The resulting recording generally has to be‘topped and tailed’ later (or have its inpoint and outpoint marked) because it will probably have black orother unwanted material before and after it.

In Morpheus Acquisition, material cannot be ingested without an entry in the database. There is no

way of recording something and filling in the information later. However there is a Live Record application which permits this, automatically creating a database entry which can be edited later. Theinpoint and outpoint of the recorded file are then marked rather than being physically topped andtailed.

CURRENT_SYSTEM.XMLThis file contains all configuration information for the whole system. It can be backed up, or exportedto another system if desired, by means of the Import And Export button in Event Store Test. This

brings up another dialogue box containing the following buttons:


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Button Function

Export system Creates a current_system.xml file in c:\EventStoreExport from thedata currently in the Event Store and simultaneously creates a date-stamped file, whose filename is in the form

yyyy-mm-dd_hh-mm-ss_system.xml. It is always OK to export the system, it merelycreates a backup of the current system configuration.

Import System from File USE WITH CARE - warning message given: “This will clear out alldevices, channels and event types from the event store”. Used when apreviously saved system configuration is to be made active in the currentsystem.

Import MediaBall Brings up an explorer window to browse to a MediaBall previously savedas a .xml file to be imported into the Event Store.

A system can be created on a remote PC running a simulated Morpheus system, and all the devices,channels, event types and sources can be configured there. The resulting current_system.xml

file can then be exported as above and transferred to another system by any convenient method, andthen imported.

DATABASE DECORATOR A service in the Shell Services Host which can be configured to decorate, or populate, any fields fromthe item, instance and presentation tables in the database into the Event Store.

DATABASE

The Morpheus material database is a relational database which consists of up to 75 tables. Some ofthese are used only in special purposes. However there are three tables, known as core tables, whichare essential to the operation of the system. This diagram shows them with the columns that link themand their more important columns:


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ITEM TABLE INSTANCE TABLE DEVICE TABLE

Material ID (primary key)

Title

On-air duration

Reviewed by

Episode number

Aspect ratio

Material type

Owner ID

Purge date

etc

Instance label (Primary key)

Material ID (foreign key)

Device ID (foreign key)

Last used date

Timecode in

Timecode out

VITC/LTC

Delete after date

Video compression

Audio mode

Audio sample rate

Audio compression

Quality check date

Encoded?

Device number (primary key)

Location

Device type

Format

Instance label (Primary key)

Material ID (foreign key)

Device ID (foreign key)

Last used date

Timecode in

Timecode out

VITC/LTC

Delete after date

Video compression

Audio mode

Audio sample rate

Audio compression

Quality check date

Encoded flag

Long file ID

Contains only content dataContains data relating only to the

individual instances or recordings

Contains only storage device

data

The relationship item – instance – device is key to understanding the Morpheus database. Theinstance table is a list containing every instance or recording, and the data in it is that which relates

uniquely to the individual instances. For example, an instance can only be on one device and canonly have one type of video compression. It can only have one sample rate. Every instance musthave a unique identifier, for this purpose the system generates an Instance Label, which is also calledthe file ID or filename.

The device table lists every storage device in the system along with all data which pertains uniquelyto each. In this context a tape is a device, not a VTR. A tape is equivalent to a server, since it is astorage device which can store a large number of recordings; the difference is only one of scale (atape would be unlikely to carry more than a few dozen recordings, whereas a server can carry manythousands).

The item table lists data relating to content - information which relates to the ‘viewer experience’.

DATABASE ENGINE The component of a database system which communicates with the database itself, handling CRUD -Creating, Retrieving, Updating or Deleting of data. It contains processes which modify the databasefile at low level according to what requests have been made. It also deals with the locking of recordswhich are being modified, preventing them from being modified simultaneously by another user. Alsoknown as a Relational Database Management System.

DCOMDistributed Component Object Model. An older Microsoft proprietary technology allowing software


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components on different machines to communicate with each other across a network. Used inMorpheus for the Request Controller , Video Network Manager and Morpheus Application Server to communicate with the Pro-Bel Application Server .

DECORATORService which runs in the Shell Services Host whose purpose is to find material and report its status.There are five decorators altogether, namely the material decorator, the locks decorator, the livedecorator, the database decorator and the transfer decorator.

DEPLOYThis is an application used during installation or upgrades to select which software modules are to beinstalled, or at a later date to install additional modules. The system multicast address and TVstandard (625/50 or 525/60) are also set in this application. Executable: pbakdeploy.exe

DEVICE A general term for a piece of equipment which is controlled by the Morpheus system, for example,server, VTR, Flexicart, router, mixer, graphics box are all devices. In the Morpheus system all devicesare controlled from the 2330 controller card, regardless of whether they use a serial connection, aGPI connection or a network connection.

From a control point of view, a VTR is a device, since it receives and acts on remote control signals;however in the database, the tape, not the VTR, is termed a device - the name storage device table (q.v.) is used for that table to avoid confusion.

DEVICE CONTROLLER Alternative term for the 2330 Controller Card

DEVICE ID The unique identifier in the Morpheus Database for a storage medium, commonly a tape (not a VTR),a video server or archive. Examples are Profile1, Gandalf, Bulgaria (server names); ABC123 (tapebarcode). Not to be confused with Device Type ID

DEVICE MANAGER (Shell Services Host) A service within the Shell Services Host which manages the allocation of devices to events in orderto eliminate resource conflicts in a multi channel environment. See also Device Manager Viewer

DEVICE MANAGER (Morpheus Administration) Part of Morpheus Administration which allows searching based on media type, for example addingtapes, listing tape contents, finding the content of video servers.


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DEVICE MANAGER VIEWER A separate application associated with the Device Manager service in Shell Services Host which givesa dynamic graphical representation of resource allocation against time.

Figure 3 - Device Manager Viewer

Each device has its own column, and usage is shown as a blue bar. Time flows downwards, and astime elapses the display moves upwards, the red line shows the current time. The above screenshotshows device allocation conflicts in red and maintenance periods in hatched brown. If the bars in thedevice columns are shown in yellow, that device is not configured to be managed using the DeviceManager.

DEVICE TABLEOne of the core tables in the Morpheus Database. This is the commonly used name for a table whoseactual name in the database is the Storage Device Table. The following list shows the columns withinit:


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Column Description Format Notes

Device no(primary

key)

Unique identifier for one storagemedium such as a tape or server

Text up to 20 chars Cannot be null

Location Library, room 101 etc Text up to 20 chars

Type Tape, video server, archive etc Text up to 20 chars Cannot be null

Format Tape format or other subformat Text up to 20 chars Cannot be null

Name Not used Text up to 20 chars

NDF Non drop frame Flag

DEVICE TYPE IDThe three digit code associated with a particular device type such as a server, VTR etc. which tells the

kernel what protocol is to be used to communicate with that device.

Here is an abbreviated list:

220 GpiControlledDevice 505 DVE

221 MIP 506 PixelPower

301 TestDevice 507 TxSwitcher

305 SimulatedMixer 601 Switcher

350 QuantelDecoder 802 Sonifex

402 SonyVtr 803 Aston Motif

403 PinnacleIOPort 807 LogoMotion

405 TektronixIOPort 810 Subtitler

406 OmneonIOPort 820 Vizrt

501 Mixer 844 Dalet

503 DSK 848 VistekArc

504 AudioOver 853 Publitronic

DISPLAY SUMMARY A facility available in the editors which gives a statistical summary of a highlighted region, giving the

total times and percentages of each programme type. This is useful for determining how much of agiven period has been allocated to commercials. It is accessed by right-clicking anywhere in theschedule pane.

DOTNET or .NETMicrosoft proprietary software component which is an optional part of Windows. It handles theexecution of software modules in a system and provides a framework for them to communicate witheach other. In Morpheus, the Editor, Shell Services Host and Morpheus Application Server run undera .NET framework.


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DROP-FRAME TIMECODE A variation on timecode used in countries whose television standard is NTSC and whose frame rate is29.97 frames per second. Timecode by its very nature is intended to be a measure of elapsed time,

and it works in a straightforward way by counting frames, seconds, minutes and hours. In installationswhere the duration of a frame is an exact fraction of a second, there is no problem - one second isexactly 25 frames. However if one second is not an exact number of frames, the timecode still countsframes but this cannot easily be equated to an exact time. In NTSC systems the frame rate is taken tobe 30 frames per second and a correction factor has to be periodically applied. Since the frame rate isslightly less than 30 per second, it follows that the timecode clock runs more slowly than real time,therefore the correction has to make it catch up again. This is done by ‘disallowing’ certain timecodes.The rule is as follows:

The f irs t and second frame of each minute is drop ped,

unl ess the minutes figure is divisib le by 10.

A drop frame timecode generator would go through the following sequence at the 10-minute point -

00:09:59;5800:09:59;5900:10:00;0000:10:00;01

- but at the 11-minute point the sequence would be

00:10:59;5800:10:59;5900:11:00;0200:11:00;03

This also applies to event durations - for example an event cannot have a duration of 00:20:00;00, itwould have to be rounded up to 00:20:00;02.

As shown above, the distinction between drop-frame and non drop-frame timecode is indicated byusing a semicolon before the frames for drop-frame timecode:

10:13:30:00 (non drop-frame) 02:24:25;15 (drop-frame)

This convention is in general use and adopted in Morpheus. The timecode calculator provided withinthe Morpheus editor takes full account of drop-frame timecode.

The configuration setting is to be found on the main page of the Deploy application. If drop-frametimecode is in use, the NTSC box should be ticked before pressing Commit.

The decision to use an altered frame rate was taken when NTSC colour television was beingdeveloped. The subcarrier frequency of 3.58MHz was an exact multiple of the line frequency andwould therefore give patterning on older monochrome receivers. The chosen solution was to changethe frame rate rather than the colour subcarrier frequency. (In PAL systems, an offset is applied to thesubcarrier frequency so that the line frequency can be kept at 15,625Hz.)

DUAL VAULT IMPLEMENTATIONDescription of a system in which two servers work as a load sharing pair. In the event of one failing,the other takes the full load. The two communicate via a crossover cable linking additional networkports on the two machines.


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DURATION MODE

A parameter of secondary events and break headers which determines how the duration is derived.

Specif ied - in which the duration of a secondary event is fixed and independent of any other event.The desired duration is entered in the property inspector in the Duration field.

Use owner - used when the duration of a child event is to be the same as its parent event:

Use chil dren - used when the duration of a parent event is to be the total of those of its children, forexample break headers.

End with owner - Used when the secondary event has to end at the same time as the parent event.The start mode of this type of event is set to Relative to Parent’s Beginning, and its start time isdetermined by the value of the offset. A positive offset means the child event starts after the parent; anegative offset (if allowed in the configuration) means that the child event starts before the parent.The following diagram illustrates this:


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Relative To Owner - used when the start of the secondary event is to be offset from the start of theparent event, and the end of the secondary event is offset from the end of the parent event. The twooffsets are independent. The Start Mode of the secondary event should be set to Relative toParent’s Beginning. In theory either offset can be negative (earlier) or positive (later). Negativeoffsets have to be enabled in the event types configuration in the Event Store Test. Note that this isthe only mode which uses the End Time Offset.

DWELL TIMEThe time which has been set for the as-run collector to leave items in a schedule before appendingthem to its temporary file. The default is 1 minute. This can be changed in the Services Shell Hostunder Settings > Service Settings

EDIT DURATION A facility available in the editor to modify the duration of the on-air event. It is accessed by highlightingthe on-air event and right-clicking, then selecting ‘edit duration’ in the pop-up menu. Either theduration or the endpoint can be modified

EDITOR, OFF-LINE A program within Morpheus which is used for creating and editing schedules off line. It has the sameappearance as the on-line editor but lacks some of its features such as the clock and the live event

countdown. It is useful for:

• Preparation of schedules off-line with no danger of accidentally modifying the active schedulein an undesirable way

• Trying out a future schedule for timing or sequencing

• Checking the summary of a future schedule for commercial or other content

A schedule prepared off line cannot be previewed except by saving it and then appending it to anexisting schedule where it can be previewed using the MIP. Since the off-line editor does notcommunicate with the Event Store, it must be able to see current_system.xml and file whateverschedule file the operator is using (which may be a file saved by him while trying things out). Theoffline editor can be used to check the status of material in the databse using the check material function.


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The off-line editor is run in the same way as the on-line editor but with a different switch parameter inthe command line of the shortcut. See Editor Shortcut Parameters for the full list.

Editor.exe /o

Editor.exe /of \\\path\- f means force - runs the offline

editor using a different file and path such as the one where current_system.xml is found. Thisavoids the need for copying that file into C:\morpheus every time the offline editor is used. e.g. editor.exe /of\\U:\schedules\offline\02dec06.xml

EDITOR, ON-LINEThe operational screen from which events in the schedule are managed, viewed, modified,configured, moved, copied or deleted. It is the operator’s basic communication screen with Morpheusand can run on any PC on the network. Some systems use a Centura database, in which case theeditor has to be told where the client configuration is located. If the system is running MSSQL, theeditor has to be told where the application server is:

Tools > configuration (password required) > common > database > hostname.

If the schedule pane is replaced by a large red ‘X’, this means the event store has been shut downwhile the editor was running. If the schedule pane turns purple, this means the editor has beenstarted without an event store running.

EDITOR SHORTCUT PARAMETERS This table shows the available parameters in the Windows shortcut used to start the editor. They arespecified either in the properties of the shortcut used to launch the editor, or set within the Deployapplication (this can be re-used after initial installation).

COMMAND LINE USED FOR

Editor.exe /a Sets multicast address

Editor.exe /o Runs editor as offline editor

Editor.exe /o Points offline editor at the location ofcurrent_system.xml

Editor.exe /of Forces the use of a specific path and filename

Editor.exe /r rolename Starts editor using role ‘rolename’

Editor.exe /x Bypasses configuration password

Editor.exe /t THISNAME Sets name in title bar and taskbar shortcut

Editor.exe /hc 1 Starts editor as HUD for channel 1

Editor.exe /c Sets filename for local config file to be saved to

Editor.exe /i Allows a named instance to run

Switches can be used in combination, e.g. Editor.exe /a 239.0.0.100 /r operator

ENCODED FLAG A flag which is set in the instance table of the database to indicate that a file has been completelyencoded, that is, it has been completely transferred or ingested and that a valid file exists. If this flagis not set, the material could still be in the process of being encoded, or there could have been afailure of some kind. It is visible in the palette for all server recordings. The term is used because


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servers store material in encoded form, with encoders on the inputs and decoders on the outputs.

ENCODING The process of getting video from the incoming stream, which will probably be SDI, into a file ofwhatever format is used on the server (MPEG, .mov, etc). See also unencoded instance

ENG LOG COLLECTOR An optional service within the Shell Services Host which creates a log for diagnostic purposes. Itsparameters are set under Service Settings.

ENDPOINT OFFSET

This setting is only used when the Duration Mode is set to Relative To Owner . It sets the offsetbetween the end of the parent event ad the end of the child event. If the child event ends before theparent event, this has a negative value (note that negative values have to be specifically enabled inthe Event Types configuration dialogue in the Event Store Test).

END WITH OWNER see Duration Mode

ENGINEERING LOG Diagnostic log which is either visible as a list in the Shell Services Host, or can be appended to a file

by the Eng Log Collector .

EPG Electronic Programme Guide. The on-screen timeline of programmes available in digital broadcastsystems which allows consumers to plan viewing or recordings. Morpheus can export events to a thirdparty EPG generator application by means of its MOS Interface.

EVENT

An object in a schedule whose minimum specification consists of a start time, a source and duration.

Any schedule is made up of a list of events which are intended to happen in a certain order. Seeprimary event, secondary event, media ball.

EVENT LOOK-AHEADIn addition to the on-air event, the 2330 device controller card always stores in its RAM a portion ofthe schedule looking ahead into the future. This is a vital means of ensuring output continuity duringupgrades or network failures. The playout devices are controlled by Pro-Bel’s proprietary hardwareand operating system. The amount by which the bridge ‘looks ahead’ when passing event informationto the controller card is set in the bridge configuration, and the default setting is 1 hour or 10 events,whichever equates to the most events. The following flow chart shows how the system uses the twosettings.


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Figure 4: Flowchart showing how the event look-ahead is determined

From this it is clear that the time setting is the minimum schedule time which will be uploaded into thecontroller card. If this time window contains fewer events than the LookAheadEventCount setting, itwill be increased. Therefore the time should be set to a figure which is long enough to perform asoftware upgrade - plus an overhead for abortive or unsuccessful attempts. It is not a good idea to

make this figure too large, however, since the resulting processing overhead can compromise kernelperformance.

In the schedule,events which areoutside theexecution windowwill be shownwith green-greybarrels in thestatus column.The green barrelcomes from the

database, but theright-hand barrelis shown as greybecause thebridge can giveno information onevents outsidethe executionwindow. Thoseevents have notyet been loadedinto the kerneland no response

has beenreceived (orrequested) fromthe device. Thescreenshot inFigure 5 showsthis.

The point at which the green barrels become green/grey signifies the end of the event look-ahead.The settings for the Execution Window and the Look-Ahead Event Count are found in the Bridge system > configuration.

Fi ure 5: The end of the event look-ahead as it a ears in the editor


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EVENT RULER A pane in the Editor window immediately to the right of the Schedule pane (seescreenshot, right ). It shows visually the timing relationship between parent andchild events by means of yellow and blue bars whose length represents theevent duration and whose position represents the relative timing. Thecharacteristics of the event ruler are:

• Highlighting an event in the schedule displays it in the event ruler.

• Time in the event ruler flows downwards, and the start and end times ofthe display are shown in hh:mm:ss:ff format.

• Parent events are shown in yellow, and child events in blue.

• If a main event has nested child events, only one level is shown in theevent ruler.

• If there is an overlap between two child events, the overlapping region isshown in darker blue.

• Hovering the mouse pointer over a bar in the event ruler displays theevent title, start time and duration in a pop-up.

• Where secondary events overlap, right-clicking steps through theoverlapping events.

• The units on the graduated scale to the left are arbitrary.

EVENT STORE

The heart, brain and soul of the Morpheus system. The term can refer either tothe software which consists of the Rescale Vault and Server and Snapshotter andtheir queues, or the actual PC on which these programs run.

The Event Store consists of two applications, the Rescale Vault and Server , andthe Snapshotter . It holds and processes the data for all channels and their

schedules, and performs all timing calculations. Morpheus can use two eventstores to allow load sharing, but if one fails the other takes on the whole load.This means they must communicate with each other constantly, and to make thisconnection more robust, a direct network cross-over cable is used between thetwo machines.

The queues are regularly written to a hard drive (default is every 60 seconds).This enables full recovery in the event of a server failure.

There are two ways to rebuild the Event Store. Either the saved queues can be reloaded by simplyrestarting, or the latest current_system.xml file can be re-imported and the saved channelschedules reloaded after pressing Re-Create Queues.

The contents of the event store are modified whenever: An event goes into the past A device, channel, event type or source is added A change is made to the configuration of any of the above A change is made to a channel scheduleThe snapshotter takes its regular snapshot

EVENT STORE TESTThe configuration tool for the Event Store. Its primary functions are:

Event Ruler


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• To give access to all event store and configuration data:

• to edit the number, icon and names of channels

• to edit the router source names and numbers, and allocated device

•

to edit device names and properties• to edit main and sub-event type parameters, including mediaballs

• To clone and delete events and move them between palette pages

• To Import and Export the entire configuration to an XML file

• To import Mediaballs as an XML file

• To force the event store to read PC clock time, or any manually entered time, in the absenceof a bridge

• To force-clear entire channels, and to collect or delete individual events.

Great care should be exercised when pressing the Import config and Force Clear channel buttonssince they will affect station output. Because of this, Event Store Test is usually only accessible on apassworded machine in a secure area.

Event Store Test contains the following function buttons:


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Button Function

Force Clear ChannelTotally clears all events from the highlighed channel, including the on-air event.There is no ‘are you sure?’ and no ‘undo’. Do not press this button

Add event Allows adding an event to the schedule in case there is no editor accessible

Add child event As above for child eventDelete Event Allows deleting of an event where there is no editor present

Collect event For manual collection of a past event not yet collected

Collect all For manual collection of all past events not yet collected

Engineering Log

Devices For adding, deleting, or configuring devices

Event Types For adding, deleting and setting parameters of all Event Types

SourcesFor adding, deleting, or configuring sources, and allocating devices and event typesto sources

Channels For adding new channels, and deleting or reconfiguring existing channels

Application configurations

Visualise Opens the live schedule view

Callbacks

Server Stats

Get size

Pbak Time

Profile

All auto on Activates automation for all channels on this event store

All dev OK

Services

Alarms Displays status of all current alarms

Alarm Test

System Config Contains miscellaneous event store settings

Import and Export For importing and exporting current_system.xml, also MediaBalls

Create SuperDuo Slave

parametersCode Gen

String Atoms

Operator Stations

Refresh

TPS

Take

Poll

LoadLoads a schedule from a file to the highlighted channel. Same as ‘Load’ in theeditor

SaveSaves a schedule from the highlighted channel to a filename. Same as ‘Save As’ inthe editor

PGM

PSTHold first channel

[Time dropdown]To select the clock timing reference source. Do not set time = timecode received bycontroller card. PC time = Event Store PC time (to simulate event store time, or tostay on air if station timecode is lost)

Test timeout

Collect

Add Duration

Use Cached start times

Add Many Events

Test retract

Write Xa lock


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See also Configurator.

EVENT TYPE

A pre-defined template from which events may be generated. Defined in the event type configurationare (a) the kind of event, such as main event, material event; (b) its parameters, such as start time,duration, device etc: and (c) the properties of the parameters, such as their default values, whetherthey are visible from the workstation etc.

Note that if a schedule is loaded from an xml file into a system which does not have some of therequired event types configured, the load will give an error message and fail.

EXECUTION WINDOW

See Event Look-Ahead

EXPORT SYSTEMSee current_system.xml

FILE ID

A field in the Property Inspector which indicates what is being used by the system to locate a file onthe video server. If short file IDs are being used, the field shows the instance label (a field in theinstance table of the database). If long file IDs are in use, the field shows the Long File ID

FILL REGIONS Command in the file menu of the editor which allows a schdedule containing only breaks to be loadedinto a system with regional opt-outs without affecting global programme material.

FIXED STARTStart mode which is used for events which must start at a specified time. It is specified in the StartMode field of the property inspector. The time and date must also be entered.

FLEXIBLE CHANNEL A means of establishing a good level of resilience to channel failure by setting up a ‘spare’ channelwhich has its own hardware and can be used as a backup channel for any other channel. It can alsobe used for previewing. See also N+1 Sync

FOLLOW-ONStart mode which is used for events which need to merely follow on from the previous event. It isspecified in the Start Mode field in the property inspector. The start time of a follow-on event isadjusted if Take Next is pressed on an earlier event, or if an earlier event is deleted or inserted. If the

schedule is held from the MIP, the start times of all subsequent follow-on events up to the next fixed


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event are adjusted continuously until hold is taken off.

FORCE CLEAR CHANNEL A button in Event Store Test which does exactly what it says - it clears all events, including the on-airevent, from the selected channel. There is no ‘are you sure?’ prompt and no undo. Use this buttonwith great care.

FORCE DECORATE EVENTS

Facility obtained by right-clicking in the editor which forces the immediate decoration of highlightedevents in the displayed channel. This can be useful in a heavily-loaded system.

GATEWAYThe Morpheus Gateway is an add-on to the Morpheus system which controls the unattendedconversion of material files by third party systems. It does not actually carry out the conversions, athird party system such as Telestream’s Flip Factory® is required for this. Files are placed in amonitored watch folder and then converted. Metadata information is preserved and transferred intothe Morpheus Database. If for example, the archive server came from one manufacturer and theplayout server from another, Gateway would initiate the required file conversion.

GPI - GENERAL PURPOSE INTERFACEThis is a hardware connection used to control a device and sometimes also to get status back from it.It is a simple pin-per-function method usually accessed via a multiway connector on a rear panel. The

actual function which is associated with the GPI is often assignable within the configuration of thedevice. There are several types of connection:Open col lector , in which the collector of a transistor is brought out to the connector. When the GPI is

not fired, the transistor is ‘off’ and the collector is open-circuit. When the GPI fires the transistor isturned ‘on’ and the collector goes close to 0V. Ideally such a connector would also have the supplyrail brought out. If it is not, an external power supply is requiredIsolated loop with relay contacts , a pair of pins on a connector which are connected togetherinternally when the GPI ‘fires’ - that is to say, they form a switch. There is no connection withanything else in the device. They are non-polarised, i.e. they can pass current either way.Isolated loop with a transisto r , in which the emitter and collector of a transistor are both brought outto the connector. The transistor is turned ‘on’ when the GPI ‘fires’. This gives more flexibility thansimple open collector. However the transistor polarity, emitter-collector current/voltage rating andbase-emitter voltage requirements have to be taken into account (the base of the transistor is

internally connected in this case)Opto -isolated GPIs , in which the output is a pair of pins which are the emitter and collector of the

transistor in the opto-isolator. (This transistor has no base connection and is turned on purelyoptically.)Pin per funct ion w ith common 0V in which each GPI is brought out as a pin whose voltage is highwhen the GPI is active and open circuit when it is not.Pin per funct ion w ith common supply rai l in which each GPI signal is brought out as a pin whosevoltage is low when the GPI is active, and open circuit when it is not.

An alternative terminology is that GPI stands for General Purpose Input, and therefore by extension,GPO stands for General Purpose Output. GPI connections which can be software configured asinputs or outputs as required are often designated GPIOs for General Purpose Input/Outputs.


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GPI examples A GPI output from Morpheus is used to trigger a bug generator or a sting by means of a GPI input tothe deviceGPI fires on failure of one power supply of a resilient pair which produces a GPI output from the

device. This connects to a GPI input on the monitoring equipment.

GPI Implementation in MorpheusGPIs in Morpheus can be configured as outputs or inputs, although in general only the output mode isused. If a hardware MIP is used, then the MIP buttons are connected into the system using the GPIsas inputs.

The GPI outputs on the 2330 controller cards are open-collector, active low with +V brought out. TheGPI inputs on the 2330 controller cards are opto-isolated and need grounding to activate, for whichpurpose a ground is brought out.

The GPI setting in Event Store Test has 3 modes: 0 (off), 1 (on) and 2 (toggle). If a GPI event has a

non-zero duration, it will revert to its original state at the end. This allows easy setting up of pulses.

GUARD SOURCE A source which simultaneously plays out the same material as the main source as a backup in case offailure of the main source. If a source, e.g. a server port, is specified as a guard, it cannot be used foranything else at the same time, so if rippling and guard sources are used, enough ports have to beavailable to allow all this at the same time, which for a single channel would be 4 ports.

HEAD-UP DISPLAY (HUD)This is a screen which gives a limited, read-only view of one channel with limited look-ahead. It isnormally run on a separate workstation. The fonts, colours, layout and backgrounds are all

configurable, and it is often used to give a display of the next few events in concise form, using a largefont and customised colour configuration. Error messages are shown in a banner display at thebottom of the HUD. The HUD is actually a separate instance of the editor launched with theappropriate switch in the command line: see Editor Shortcut Parameters for details.

HIGH WATER MARKSee Purge

HOLD

A button in the Manual Intervention Panel or optionally on the Master Control Panel which holds thecurrent item until either hold is released by pressing again, or until Take Next is pressed. This willcause the start times of all subsequent events to be recalculated.

HOTLIST A function in the palette which allows a list of frequently-used material to be kept for quicker access.The HotList may contain any material but it would commonly be used for commercials or junctions.The Hotlist is accessed by pressing the Hotlist button in the palette. When in the HotList display,material can be added to the HotList by right-click-dragging and dropping from the schedule. Alternatively, in the database query display, material can be dragged and dropped onto the HotListbutton.


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HUDSee Head-Up Display

HUDFAX Serial stream representation of the schedule for broadcasters to send current schedule data to theirregions or affiliates.

ICON In Morpheus, system icons are held in C:\Morpheus\icons. Users can create their own icons if desiredand they will become available to the system once placed in that folder. The icon format is 32x32.BMP

ICON FRAMEPro-Bel's proprietary frame and card system. An Icon card is simplyany card from that system which fits into an Icon frame. TheMorpheus 2330 controller card is a 3U Icon card and has to bemounted in a 3U Icon frame (its processor daughterboard makes itslightly too large to fit horizontally in a 1U frame)

IMPORT SYSTEM FROM FILESee Current System.xml

INGESTThe process of transferring material to a video server system, usually from tape or another legacyplayout method. Some systems have ingest servers which are dedicated to this function. The Ingestprocess relates to transferring of files from a single stand-alone VTR (for automated transfer of filesfrom VTR using a Flexicart or LMS, see Caching)

INSTANCE

Pro-Bel’s term for describing an individual copy of a file on any medium. Multiple instances of a given

piece of material could exist on different devices, for example a server copy and two tape copies, andthese are referred to as instances of that material, in which case each instance has a unique file ID (orInstance Label) but the same material ID and title.

INSTANCE TABLE One of the three core tables of the Morpheus database. It is a list of instances of recorded materialand includes the unique file ID, the material ID, and the Storage Device ID. (* Indicates a requiredfield)


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Description Format Notes

Instance label*

(Primary key)Unique identifier. Text up to 8 chars

If long file IDs not in use, it is thesame as the filename on server.If long file IDs are in use, this just becomes the uniquereference for the table as usedby the database and not usedby Morpheus.

Material ID* (actuallycalled MAT_ID)(foreign key)

As in item table Text up to 20 chars

Device ID* (foreignkey)

As in device table Text up to 20 chars

Source device ID Text up to 20 chars Upper case, letters only

Last aired date Date last played out Date & time Inserted automatically

Last used dateDate last put into aschedule (whether

played out or not)

Date & time Written to by locks decorator

Usage countNumber of timesmaterial has been used

Integer max 65535 Incremented automatically

Timecode in Timecode at SoM hh:mm:ss:ff

Server instances default to00:00:00:00 and tape instancesto 10:00:00:00. Can be editedfrom Admin, Event Store Test,Editor

Timecode out Timecode at EoM hh:mm:ss:ff

VITC* Is it present, yes/no Text up to 3 chars

LTC* Is it present, yes/no Text up to 3 chars

Delete after Date & timeTo allow auto deletion from avideo server to make space

Technical comment Text to 254 chars Free information text

Video compression 8-bit floating point Inserted automatically

Audio mode A to both, B to both,Mono mix, stereo, phrev B

Text up to 8 chars

Audio sample rate 8-bit floating point

Audio compression 8-bit floating point

Quality check Date & time

Run onHow much morematerial there is afterthe ‘end’ of the item

Text up to 8 chars

Recorded date* Date & time Inserted automatically

Encoded Flag Integer max 65535Indicates that a clip has beenfully transferred with no errors.See article

Clip ref Not used Integer max 65535

Audio shuffling IDUsed in multi levelaudio systems

Integer max 65535Preview operator enters theinformation. Cache enginereads it during ingest

Long file IDIf in use, is filename onserver. Unique

Text up to 128 chars

Instance status Integer max 65535 Future use


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INSTANCELESS DEVICE

A device which has no instances of recorded material associated with it, such as a blank tape. This

does not violate the rules of the database.

INSTANCELESS ITEM An entry in the database item table which does not have a corresponding entry in the instance table.This condition violates the rules of the database. Not to be confused with orphan item.

ITEM A database record relating to the content information of a piece of material. It does not describerecordings of that material, which would appear in the instance table. For example, ‘Eurovision Song

Contest 1958’ is an item, but carries no information about where it might be found, or what its formatis.

ITEMLESS INSTANCE An entry in the database instance table which does not have a corresponding entry in the item table.This is not a ‘legal’ instance as it violates the rules of the database.

ITEM-ONLY SEARCH An option available in the palette which searches only the item table. Note that material added to the

schedule from this search cannot be played out since there is no instance information.

ITEM TABLE One of the three core tables in the Morpheus database. It lists the parameters applicable to eachitem, and its columns are: (* Indicates a Required Field)


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Material ID*(primary

key)

Unique identifier for a piece ofmaterial

Text up to 128chars

Upper case letters, numbers,some symbols. Cannot benull

Title* The material’s actual title Text up to 20 chars Cannot be null

On-airduration*

Duration hh:mm:ss:ff Cannot be null or zero

Run-onduration

How much material after thestated duration

hh:mm:ss:ff Can be zero

Subtitle refTo identify the file ID for subtitleequipment

Text up to 30 chars

Reviewedby

Reviewer’s name to confirm thefile has been reviewed

Text up to 20 chars

NotesFree text. Useful information orreminders

Text up to 256characters

Filed date Of the record dd:mm:yy Inserted automatically. Readonly

Status Text up to 10 chars

Episodenumber

Episode number in a series Integer max 65535

Number oftapes

In case the material is spreadacross multiple tapes

Text up to 2 chars

Aspectratio

4:3, 16:9, 16:9PV or 20:9 Text up to 4 chars Also includes AFD

Materialtype*

Programme, commercial etc Text up to 10 chars One type must be allocated

Owner ID Used to generate differentowners’ views of the item table

Integer max 65535 Has to be incorporated whendatabase initially set up

Purge dateDate after which the materialcan be purged

Date & time

ScavengeFlag which triggers automaticcentral archiving

Flag

ArchiveFlag which triggers automaticlocal archiving

Flag

CategoryID

Used for customisingprogramme types

Integer max 65535

KERNEL The real-time operating system and its configuration and data which runs on the 2330 controller card.

KERNEL CLASS ID Three digit number which tells the system what parameters relate to a particular device. That is to saya label for the list of kernel parameters relevant to that device.


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KERNEL DIAGNOSTICS LOG A file created by the kernel containing diagnostic information. It is periodically transferred to theBridge PC (every 10 minutes). The current file is KernelDiags.log and this is backed up daily tofilename KernelDiags.log . It contains a record of kernel activity for all control cards.

KERNEL PARAMETERS Event parameters which are required by the kernel (not the parameters of the kernel itself), and whichare passed to it by the Bridge. These are listed in Event Store test under Event Types, Kernel

Parameter Definitions tab.

LAG, AUDIOSee Audio Lead and Lag

LEAD, AUDIO See Audio Lead and Lag

LIVE EVENT

An event in a Morpheus schedule which does not control a device and only relates to a source on arouter. If the event type is set as ‘live’ in the property inspector, this triggers the countdown to the nextlive event in the online editor. If the duration of the live event is not accurately known, the eventfollowing it is usually set to manual start so that it can be started at any time by pressing ‘take next’ inthe MIP or ‘Preroll & Take’ on the TX control panel.

LIVE RECORD (in schedule)

A material type which indicates material recorded as live, which may contain gaps, inappropriatecontent, retakes and so on. This will usually indicate material ingested by live record (acquisition)

LIVE RECORD (acquisition) An independent Morpheus application which allows a live source to be crash recorded onto a server inthe same way as on a VTR. The recording is then trimmed, or ‘topped and tailed’ to remove unwantedcontent.

LIVE RECORD (sub-event in schedule) A sub-event which controls the record port of a video server such that the event it is attached to will berecorded on to that server. Needs the live record decorator service to be running.

LIVE RECORD DECORATOR A service in the Shell Host which generates an instance record in the Morpheus database inpreparation for making a live recording.


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LOAD SCHEDULE see Schedule

LOCK DECORATOR A service within the Shell Services Host which populates the locks table in the database by lookingahead by a set amount of time in the schedule for an individual channel. Its purpose is to preventdeletion of material which is about to be played out. The default look-ahead is 24 hours. The look-ahead time, channel and relevant device ID are all configurable in the Shell Services Host underService Settings.

LOCKS TABLE A table which lists all material which may not be deleted. Its columns are as follows:


Material ID As in material table Text up to 128 chars

Device ID As in device table Text up to 20 chars

Playlist nameName of channel lockingthe material

Text up to 20 chars

Event ID Not used Text up to 20 chars

Not needed after Date & time

Need by Date & time

LOGSDetailed lists of statuses, error messages, activity on the system are kept in various log files whosedefault location is C:\Morpheus\Logs. These are:

Log File Name Remarks

Kernel As-Run log KernelAsRun.log.

KernelDiag log KernelDiags.log .

Event Store Test logProbel.Automation.Eventstore.Testapp.exe.log.

Snapshotter log Snapshotter.exe.log.

Engineering log Optional

Pbak bridge log PbakBridge.exe.log.

Editor log MorpheusEditor.exe.log.

Host Shell exe log MorpheusHostShell.exe.log.

LONG FILE ID

These can be used in Morpheus if required. The option has to be set in the two application serversand in Acquisition Configuration. The Long File ID is a field in the database instance table which isnull if not used. Even if the long file ID is present, the Instance_Label is still the primary key. Someusers find it useful to have the file ID and the material ID the same to simplify identification of material


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in a list, although if multiple instances exist, there has to be a system for adding suffixes. Long file IDsallow a simple method of segmenting material such as films. This can be done during acquistion.

If long file IDs are being used, the filename on the video server is the same as the long file ID. The

palette can still see items with short file IDs and they can still be played out, although if long file IDsare not in use, only short file ID items will be displayed.

LOOK AHEAD EVENT COUNT see Event Look-Ahead

LOW WATER MARKSee purge

MAIN EVENTTerm used for an event in a schedule which is at the highest level, in other words it is not a childevent of another event. The term is synonymous with primary event and top-level event. The termparent event should be used more carefully since a child event can itself be the parent of anotherevent.

In the Event Types configuration in Event Store Test, the term equates to a Mixer Event.

MANUAL INTERVENTION PANEL A pop-up window available from the Morpheus editor by clicking the icon shown. The

actual icon indicates the status of the MIP - if the ‘hand’ symbol is shown with a red‘crossed-out’ sign (left ) then the MIP is inactive and pressing the button will activate it.If the plain ‘hand’ symbol is shown then the MIP is already active and pressing the button will close itdown. This is useful if dual screens are present or if the MIP is not the top window. The MIP containsthe following functions:


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cast box with illuminated buttons mounted in it, as a hardware MIP (see MIP (hardware)). This usesthe GPIs on the 2330 card, the inputs being for the button contacts and the outputs for the lamp tallies.The hardware MIP is set up in the Bridge Configuration.

MANUAL START A check box available in the property inspector. When checked, it prevents the event being starteduntil Take Next is pressed in the MIP, or until Preroll and Take is pressed on the TX panel, in otherwords it is equivalent to Holding the previous event. The checkbox has to be made visible in the eventtypes configuration in Event Store Test > Settings > Event types.

MANUAL SUB-EVENT

Secondary event whose configuration requires it to be activated manually. This is done by highlightingit in the editor and right-clicking. The options ‘Cue Secondary Event’ and ‘Take Secondary Event’ are

presented.

MAPP AND COMPASSProbel legacy media management and automation system. Some elements of this have been carriedinto Morpheus, and there are numerous similarities between the operation of the two systems.

MAPP APPLICATION SERVER See Pro-Bel Application Server .

MATERIAL DATABASEIn Morpheus, the Material Database is the list of all the metadata of all the media files on the system.

MATERIAL DECORATOR A service which runs within the Shell Services Host. It reads data from specified fields in the databaseand writes them into the event store as required. One of these fields is Material Status, and it is thisdata which is read by the editor and used to enter a status ‘barrel’ in the schedule display.

The configuration can be changed from the Shell Host: settings > service settings > decorator service> detailed config. This sets which channels and fields are to be decorated, and which one of the three

modes of operation is to be used:

Mode Description

Manual Default setting. In this mode the decorator has to be run from the ‘quicklaunch’ panel in the Shell Services Host

Automatic When running dual Shell Services Hosts. This ensures that arbitrationbetween the two host shells takes place.

Always Normal operation with single Shell Services Host

Note that if for any reason the material decorator is not running, the barrels will not be colouredcorrectly in the editor, and some ‘invalid’ combinations will result, such as grey-green (on the devicebut not in the material database - cannot arise in normal use unless the decorator is not responding

or has been disabled). There is an option for the material decorator, selected in the channel settings


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in Event Store Test, Decorate Once Only , which allows fields which have been decorated to bechanged afterwards from the property inspector, as opposed to Decorate Always which continuouslyrepopulates the field from the database thereby preventing its being modified (not to be confused withthe Always mode of operation described above. If an event type has been configured to be decoratealways, there is a workaround, colloquially known as ‘X-ing out’which allows its parameters to beedited if necessary. See the Morpheus Operator’s Handbook .

MATERIAL EVENTTerm used to describe the part of the schedule event which relates solely to the playout of material, asopposed to mixer or router control. See also Mixer Event

MATERIAL ID An alphanumeric string of up to 20 characters which identifies a piece of material on a server. Often

generated according to a system evolved by the users, so for example a material ID ofCH6/120599/ART/007 could mean channel 6, date, ad agency and 3 incremental digits.If a file is copied, the two files would have the same title and material ID but different file IDs, althoughsome server systems prevent this. Morpheus prevents the ingest of more than one copy of an itemonto the same server. The material ID is called the MAT_ID in the instance table. (This is becauseearlier versions of Morpheus used a Centura database, in which linked columns in different tablescannot have the same heading.)

MATERIAL MANAGER A tab in Morpheus Administration for editing the material on a storage device. The main tab allowssearching by Material ID, title and device ID, and editing of material ID, Title, Device ID,

inpoint/outpoint, duration and programme type. Within this tab are eight secondary tabs whosefunctions allow the extensive viewing and editing of all material parameters.

MATERIAL TYPE

There are five material types in use in Morpheus, as summarised in the following table:


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MaterialType

Typicaldisplaycolour

Description Assocated functions

Programme Blue

Main programme items, generallyas advertised in the listingsmagazines or on the EPG. Events which influence viewers tosee the commercials

Appears in Schedule Summary.Can be used as a search criterionin the palette

Commercial MagentaRevenue-generatingadvertisements


Junction RedChannel idents, promos, bumpersand other interstitials


Live Brown An item from a live studio oroutside source

Appears in Schedule Summary.

Activates live event countdown.Can be used as a search criterionin the palette

Live record Brown

Events which were recorded “aslive” and may contain black orunwanted, inappropriate orunexpected content

Can be used as a search criterionin the palette

It can be very useful to classify material properly since this can activate certain functions (see column4 of the above table). The material type can be edited in the property inspector if the event type configuration allows, but this may be overwritten by the material decorator if its configurationspecifies this.

User-defined material types are not available.

MEDIA BALL®Pro-Bel’s proprietary name for a collection of child events which can be manipulated (that is to saymoved, copied and pasted to another parent event) as one entity. This allows some useful features,for example a media ball could be created which contains child events referenced both to thebeginning and end of a programme - this could then be applied to any programme regardless oflength. Although a MediaBall is typically used as a wrapper for secondary content, in fact it cancontain any kind of content. They can be imported and exported as xml files. MediaBalls are edited inEvent Store Test under Event Types, or in the Configurator via the Edit MediaBall icon.

MEDIA DATABASEThe table of material files on a server system. See Morpheus Database

METADATA

Data about data. In a data stream, such as an SDI stream, provision is made for fields containing userdata. These could include such things as record date, owner, earliest and latest TX dates, copyrightinformation, or performer information. Some systems can read, display and act upon this data as partof their typical operation. Morpheus makes use of metadata in media files which holds Material ID,


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title, duration and other parameters such as use by date, quality check information, and numerousothers.

MIP see Manual Intervention Panel

MIP (hardware) A hardware button panel which has the same function as the soft MIP accessed from the editor. Thiscan either be a custom unit utilising illuminated pushbutton switches or the user-defined switch bankon the Pro-Bel TX mixer. Full details of how to implement this can be found in the handbookMorpheus Interconnections.

MIRROR See replication

MISSING MATERIAL REPORT A facility available in either the online or offline editors which checks and lists any material notavailable on the device specified. It only works on the currently loaded schedule. The report isdisplayed on-screen in a new window, or it can be printed if desired.

MIXER EVENT xxx

Every primary event in a Morpheus schedule comprises two parts, one concerning the playout ofmaterial (the Material Event) and the other concerning making the necessary mixer or routerselections. The mixer event is the name given to the part of an event which relates to controlling themixer and/or router. In the Event Types configuration in Event Store Test, this is called a MainEvent, and its backup event type is called a Backup Mixer Event. If a Pro-Bel TX mixer is present,there must be a router present to make the necessary pre-selection to the PGM and PST buses.See also Material Event.

MODEL xxx A term used in Morpheus to denote ‘the whole system as it now stands’. The snapshotter may report‘waiting for model’, meaning that at that stage of its startup sequence it has not yet loaded the

snapshot queue, or ‘click here to initialise new model’ if a system is being started from scratch and thequeue is currently empty.

MORPHEUS APPLICATION SERVER An application server which is used by the Morpheus editors and the Shell Services Host tocommunicate with the database. The following table shows how these applications use it:


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Application Why it needs the Morpheus application server

Online editor For palette and manual query

Offline editor Offline palette and manual query

Transfer decoratorUses Pro-Bel Application server to pass queries to the Morpheus Application Server. See note below

Shell Services HostDecorators fetch missing values from database to populate emptypositions in event store

Note: If media management applications are in use and the transfer decorator is activated, theMorpheus Application Server configuration must have ‘logon to legacy app server’ checked in the AppServer tab.

MORPHEUS CONTROL AND MONITORING (MCM) The name of Pro-Bel’s PC-based router control product, which is being expanded to include controland monitoring of all hardware products.

MORPHEUS CONTROLLER CARD (2330)

This card is one of Pro-Bel's Icon family of cards, it fits in a standard 3U Icon frame. It carries adaughter board with a Pentium 4 processor which runs a real-time operating system (On-Time RTOS).It requires a network connection, and feeds of TOD timecode and station reference.

Each card has eight RS-422 serial ports for device control. Ports 1 and 2 (only) can also talk RS-232.There are also 16 GPI input/outputs. In the case of devices which have ethernet control ports, theyare controlled by the 2330 card, but across the network rather than via a dedicated port.

It carries a compact flash RAM card which contains 2 configuration files, called pbak.dat and pbak.rtb - these contain the whole ‘personality’ of the card, and this is not lost when the card is

removed or the crate powered down. If necessary the card can be removed from the crate when thesystem is running. If this is done after the start of a long event during which no device controlcommands are being issued, it can be done without any interruption to the channel output.

It has a backup battery for date retention if the card is removed. The date is used in conjunction withthe TOD timecode to make a complete date & time reference for schedule events.

The controller card communicates with the Bridge, which passes events to it. See execution


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window.

Cards can be set up as a pair with auto failover . Dual redundant cards share the same rear panel

and there is an LED to indicate which card is active. There are two rear panels available, single and

dual. Guard sources are commonly controlled by a separate card from the main sources. Ideally thesetwo cards should be in different frames.

There are two rear connectors. The small edge connector towards the bottom rear of the board onlycarries the power, and the 110-way Harting connector carries everything else. Insert the card into theframe firmly to ensure that both are fully mated.

Each card has its own ethernet connection and an individual IP address in the range 10.1.0.1 to10.1.3.254. If there are a number of cards in one frame, it is recommended to label each one with itsIP address. However the board displays the last two digits of its IP address in a very interesting andunusual way which is activated by putting switch 1 on the first DIL set (i.e. nearest the board edge) to‘on’. This causes the row of LEDs to display two digits, partially multiplexed so that one can read thenumbers by moving one’s head from side to side to give the illusion of a dot matrix display.

The card has a reset button which reboots the processor. This takes around 20 seconds. The cardcan be reset while on air, but of course no device commands can be issued during start-up. Thekernel and bridge will resynchronise, and the system carries on with no disturbance. Information in theRAM is lost but not information in the flash memory. Rebooting does not reset the on-board ethernetcontroller, so if a network fault is suspected, the card may need to be pulled out and reinserted.

MORPHEUS DATABASE The Morpheus database contains data about the material, recordings and devices available to thesystem. It is a relational database, which means it contains a number of tables whose columns arechosen so as to minimise repetition of data and which are linked by means of keys. A key is a column

which appears in two or more tables, thus creating the link between them.

There are some 75 tables in the database, but not all are used in any given system. Only 3 of them,known as the core tables, are essential to the function of the system: the Item Table, the InstanceTable and the Device Table. Examples of some others are the Presentation Table, the LocksTable, the Transfer Request Table, the Transfer Error Table, the Storage Device Table and theServer Type Table.

For the system to function correctly the database must be an accurate and complete record of theavailable material. When new material is ingested, the application being used (Morpheus Acquisitionor Morpheus Caching) communicates with the database and ensures that it is updated.Discrepancies are flagged in the individual Morpheus applications as appropriate, and there arevarious tools within Morpheus to interact directly with the database. See also orphan; itemless

instance; instanceless item.

Originally Morpheus used a Gupta (Centura) database but from late 2006 Morpheus has been capableof using either this or Microsoft SequelServer.

MORPHEUS DATABASE DECORATOR

A service within the Shell Services Host which can interrogate the database to populate any field in theEvent Store. The desired fields have to specified within the service configuration, and then pulled intothe event types configuration in Event Store Test using parameter script arguments.


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MORPHEUS GATEWAY see Gateway

MORPHEUS MEDIA MANAGEMENT or M³ A suite of applications designed to manage the material and media used by the on-air automationsystem,ensuring that media files are moved to the right storage device in time to be played out by a server. All applications require access to the Morpheus database. Some examples are Video NetworkManager, Cache Engine, Request Control, Administration, Archive Controller

MORPHEUS REQUEST CONTROL An application that runs on the same workstation as Video Network Manager and gives a dynamicview of all transfer requests and errors. It allows new requests to be generated and existing requeststo be m

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