d3Net overview

Director/Actor operation allows you to sequence shows whose output requirements are greater than a single machines maximum.

The goal of Director/Actor operation is to allow you to sequence the entire show on a single machine (possibly a laptop) and then run the show on a network of machines. This network is called d3 Net.

There are 4 types of machine roles within a d3Net setup:

  • Director Machine

  • Actor (output machines)

  • Understudy (backup machines)

  • Editors - which can be any PC/Laptop running Designer.

Only one Director is allowed on a network. Multiple Actors, Understudies and Editors are permitted.

Every Director & Actor is configured to output video to its assigned Feed scene. Please see the chapter Output Feeds for more information on Feed scenes. For example:

  • The Director machine is outputting to 1 GUI monitor and 3 projectors.

  • Actor 1 outputs to projectors 4,5,6,7, no GUI. Actor 2 outputs to projectors 8, 9.

  • The understudy machine should not have any specific Feed scene assigned to it as it should be able to take over from any other machine.

A Director machine can either be Dedicated or Non-Dedicated. If a Director is not outputting to any screens other than the GUI, it should be set to Dedicated.

If a machine is Non-Dedicated, that means the machine controls all other Actors in the network but also outputs video through its remaining outputs. Dedicated means that the machine controls Actors, but does not output video to the stage; it is used only for visualisation and show sequencing.

The distinction is important because a Director that is Non-Dedicated will only play content destined for its output feed, the so called Feed Scene, for efficiency purposes. If you need to see all content in the visualiser, set the Director to Dedicated, or else ensure that all content in the project appears in the feed assigned to the Director.

Actor machines automatically follow the Director machine's timeline, regardless of what the Director is doing. Therefore, there is no need to input any MIDI timecode (or any other external trigger signal) to the Actors; the Director is responsible for passing these on.

If an Actor relies on external automation signals or audio inputs, you will need to ensure that these signals are also sent to the machines; at present the Director will not distribute these signals automatically. The same is true for live video signals.

Designating a machine as an Understudy allows it to take over from any machine in the network if that machine fails, including the Director machine. The Understudy can be set to do this automatically or manually. It can also send a matrix present command to a matrix as it replaces the other machine. This can be useful for shows that need to run unattended but cope with potential machine failure.

MultiEdit allows multiple people to edit a project simultaneously, without manually merging projects. Edits from each Editor are propagated to all other machines via the Director in real time. Each editor machine can work on a different track, or on different regions of the same track, at the same time; Editors can also take control of the Director timeline position and control the stage.

  • The Understudy machine should also receive MIDI timecode or any other external trigger signal that the Director receives, in case it is needed to replace the Director machine.

  • If controlling the Timeline with Art-Net there is also no need to split the Art-Net signal to any other machine other than the understudy.

  • If inputting SDI, split and distribute the SDI signal to all servers in the network.

  • If inputting MIDI from a control surface such as the BCF2000, split the signal into all servers.