Hippotizer is continuously being developed and improved; please read these notes carefully to understand the changes and limitations with each version.
Software Assurance is changing as of 4.6.0 to include the number of included feature releases. Please see the Software Assurance Policy section of this manual for more information.
Software Assurance determines what version of Hippotizer will install and run on a system. Once installed, software will continue to function indefinitely.
Installation Notes:
- The recommended capture card driver version has been updated. If you have a capture card fitted, please select ‘Yes’ when asked during installation to update your drivers to the correct version.
Features added in 4.7.3
- MultiController now supports the Modbus protocol.
Functionality Changes In 4.7.3
- Importing Timeline+ and Preset Manager components have been improved to detect whether a preset is utilised in a timeline already. During a Timeline+ import if any timelines include presets, these presets will be created in the Preset Manager, if they do not already exist. When importing a Preset Manager component, and overwriting presets used in an active timeline, any preset keyframes referencing the overwritten preset will convert to standard keyframes.
- Changed play behaviour after stop command to match the behavior from the original Timeline component. After continuing from a stop command, track values do not get evaluated.
- Changed playback behaviour of clips when jumping to a new timeline position to match the behaviour from the original Timeline component. Clips should now playback without jumping playhead position if set to any infinite playmodes and recalling a keyframe.
- Copy and pasting keyframes in the Timeline+ component now respects the time snapping.
Fixes in 4.7.3
- 4741: Optimised network traffic of keyframe value changes when using Timeline+. Timelines should now be more responsive and handle larger implementations accessing thousands of pins across the network.
- 4759: Presets can be edited and relocated in the Preset Manager without disassociating with the timeline preset keyframes.
- 4760: Changed box selection handles in PixelMapper to scale with large size pixel maps. Now selection handles will decrease in size when zooming.
- 4690: The Hippo Launcher Remote Updater will now display the correct Host Name for devices on the network and not unknown.
- 4691: Improved logging in the TouchEngine component to better explain cause of crashing.
- 4699: Fixed hardware de-interlacing on layer from squishing layer to half x/y axis resolution.
- 4700: Fixed a crash when using remote ZooKeeper to copy and paste a preset in a remoteTimeline+ component.
- 4723: Copy and pasting keyframes in the Timeline+ component now respects the snap to feature and no longer pastes exactly at the mouse position.
- 4738: Fixed a bug which stopped multiple sync buses from being applied as a source in layer media players.
- 4743: Adjusted scaling text sizes in the network settings window of Engine Host settings, ZooKeeper settings and Configuration settings. The windows should no longer cut off text and button UI elements.
- 4756: Fixed a UI bug in OutputManager that would show a duplicated patch for a single viewport assignment.
- 4757: Fixed MPCDI files applied to mixes not correctly warping the mix output.
- 4809: Fixed Timeline+ playhead position not stopping at a stop command and instead playing a a tenth of a second beyond.
- 4697: Fixed an intermittent bug which highlighted the top host, along with use selection, in the Timeline+ Host Manager selector when using a remote ZooKeeper.
- 4698: Fixed a ZooKeeper crash when switching between remote hosts in the Timeline+ Host Manager selector.
- 4711: Fixed thumbnail visualisation in Timeline+ displaying an empty field after changing media bank and slot for a media player keyframe.
- 4722: Fixed failing import of image sequences while ‘copy to host’ is selected in the media encoding settings.
- 4724: Fixed a bug which stopped image sequences from being imported when using the Watchfolder import feature. Further clarity of filename specifications is included in the Watchfolder section of user manual.
- 4740: Changed playback behaviour of media when recalling a media player keyframe, now matches the original Timeline component beahaviour. Media playback, when using an infinite playmode, will no longer retrigger from in-point when calling another media player keyframe storing the same keyframe data. Media continuously plays uninteruppted.
- 4743: Fixed a bug with the 4.7.2 installer, while the update option is selected, which caused Streamdeck devices to not be detected. Future installers will not have this issue. Uninstall Hippotizer before installing 4.7.2 if this version must be used.
- 4813: Updated the packaged Datapath installer in the Hippotizer installation process to support recent datapath PCIe card default firmware version.
Known issues in 4.7.3
- 3125: Audio track starts always from the in-point when scrubbing through a timeline in Timeline+.
- 3146: ZooKeeper SHAPE visualiser shows selections made in SHAPE software when ZooKeeper is part of group
- 4176: Virtualised Viewports settings is not applied from an imported OutputManager component.
- 4244: Renaming the system could result in an Engine crash. Workaround: Reinstall software or * rename system back to the default name.
- 4439: Host colour does not change to orange when Engine is configuring layers.
- 4515: Preset track in TimelinePlus does not apply presets.
- 4518: MediaMaps of remote hosts does not display thumbnails in TimelinePlus.
- 4520: MediaManager can be crashed if a new media transcode starts before MediaMap caching is complete.
- 4839: Nevis+ Hippotizer installation does not deploy the LED service and therefore the system status pin does not work.
Features added in 4.7.2
- Added Warm White and Cool White Colour Modes to Pixelmapper
- Added ability to duplicate a StreamDeck configuration in Multicontroller
- Added Support for StreamDeck MK2 controllers.
- Added sACN Network Adaptor settings to DMX Component
Functionality Changes In 4.7.2
- Macro Manager will no longer change a script’s pin name when the script is edited.
Fixes in 4.7.2
- Fixed issue where using CITP could degrade system performance
- Fixed issue in TimelinePlus where Keyframes set before Time Zero on a track could be ignored.
- Fixed potential Zookeeper and Engine crashes when using CITP over long periods of time
- Fixed issue where disabling CITP would not always turn it off
- Fixed issue where 4.7.1 Layer Lite profile did not appear in personalities list of DMX Component
- Fixed issue where fan profiles were not correctly deployed on some V4+ MK2 products.
- Fixed potential Engine crash when enabling Martin P3 in Output Manager
- Fixed potential Zookeeper crash when Media Manager was modified while files were still caching
- Fixed Issue in Macro Manager where changes to a Macro would cause script pin to change name.
Known issues in 4.7.2
- Only a single sync bus can be used when a mix is in non xfade mode. Affects all versions of Hippotizer which have the Xfade mix mode selections.
- Using the update version option during installation of 4.7.2, from previous versions which use MultiController component, causes connected streamdecks to no longer be detected.
- Renaming the system could result in an Engine crash. Workaround: Reinstall software or rename system back to the default name.
- Virtualised Viewports settings is not applied from an imported OutputManager component.
- Preset track in TimelinePlus does not apply presets.
- MediaMaps of remote hosts does not display thumbnails in TimelinePlus.
- Host colour does not change to orange when Engine is configuring layers.
- MediaManager can be crashed if a new media transcode starts before MediaMap caching is complete.
- Changing the STRATA folder in MediaManager does not update the folder structure until ZooKeeper restart.
- TouchEngine can in some scenarios use the wrong GPU for rendering, resulting in no image when using TouchEngine components. A fix is being worked on, however in the meantime, if an output display is selected as the primary windows monitor this problem will not occur.
- Feature Release number in the Licensing page is incorrectly showing one additonal FR remaining. If you have 0 FR remaining in version 4.7.X this displays as 1.
Features added in 4.7.1
- Added ability to connect two MIDI devices with the same name.
- Added the ability to reset Pins via the REST API
- Updated NDI SDK Version to 5.0
- Added the ability for REST API to handle Presets
- Added ChromaQ Studio Force 2 colour system to PixelMapper
Functionality Changes In 4.7.1
- Hippo API component renamed to REST API.
Fixes in 4.7.1
- Fixed a crash when renaming components in configuration menu.
- Fixed fan profile selection on Tierra+.
- Fixed Issue where Output Manager could lose a configuration with an unpatched SHAPE plugin
- Fixed Engine Crash when stopping CITP Component
- Fixed issue where Output Manger exports containing multiple Viewports would crash the engine on import.
- Fixed a potential Engine crash on component rename.
- Fixed issue in TimelinePlus where importing a component backup and choosing ‘merge’ could lead to system instability.
- Fixed Issue in TimelinePlus where the first keyframe of a Timeline would not always trigger
- Fixed Issue where Output Manager would incorrectly report overlapping viewports in some cases.
- Fixed issue where interlaced capture would appear as half-height
- Fixed issue in TimelinePlus where deleting a child of the Source Track would delete the entire source track
- Fixed issue in Pixelmapper where sACN universe prefix was incorrect causing flashing on some sACN fixtures.
- Fixed issue where network shutdown was un-available in ZooKeeper Configuration
- Fixed Issue where MacroManager would not accept GoCue commands for TimelinePlus
Known issues in 4.7.1
- The 4.7 Layer personality has update only turned on for most parameters which is not intended. If a change is desired, only Pause and Audio Volume are supposed to be set to update only.
- Renaming the system could result in an Engine crash. Workaround: Reinstall software or rename system back to the default name.
- Virtualised Viewports settings is not applied from an imported OutputManager component.
- Preset track in TimelinePlus does not apply presets.
- MediaMaps of remote hosts does not display thumbnails in TimelinePlus.
- Host colour does not change to orange when Engine is configuring layers.
- MediaManager can be crashed if a new media transcode starts before MediaMap caching is complete.
- Changing the STRATA folder in MediaManager does not update the folder structure until ZooKeeper restart.
- A crash can occur when using the keyframe controller to add multiple keyframes in the same playhead position as existing keyframes.
- TouchEngine can in some scenarios use the wrong GPU for rendering, resulting in no image when using TouchEngine components. A fix is being worked on, however in the meantime, if an output display is selected as the primary windows monitor this problem will not occur.
SHAPE changes in 4.7.1
- Added the ability to carry out a multi-point alignment in SHAPE
- Added ability to delay feeds to MR Cameras in SHAPE
For more details regarding the SHAPE changes look at the SHAPE manual.
Deprecation Notice
Timeline Component As of 4.6.0 the Timeline component will no longer be supported by future developments.
Any timeline exports can be imported into the new Timeline+ component with minimal programming changes required for identical playback. The component will be completely removed from the
Hippotizer software as of 4.8.0 and any future shows should transfer to the Timeline+ component for ongoing support.
Multicontroller Component: Automation Control Sources Instead of using a control source per automation protocol, we now include one automation reader
control source as a replacement for all the protocols. This automation control source will replace any of the individual control sources included in the following:
- Test Data
- GHAP
- DEAP
- PosiStageNet
- Kinesys
- PRG Automation
- StageTech SiMotion
- Artnet
- LevDev360
- PT5232
- BlackTrax
- NMEA (GPS)
Future programming should use the automation reader as a control source for future support. Protocols not included in the list will remain as individual control sources and all others will be contained in the automation reader from Hippotizer version 4.8.0.
Announcement: Focusrite Scarlett 2i2
This product has been found to be incompatible with the Karst+ Hippotizer server, symptoms include audio timecode inputs becoming inaccurate and jumping between values. Under no circumstance should you use this product with the Karst+.
Current DMX Personalities
| Recommended Hippo Personality | Also will work | Tested MA2 personality | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Layer | 4.7 Layer | 4.6 Layer | Included* 4.7 Layer | |
| Layer Presets | 4.7 Layer Presets | 4.6 Layer Presets | Included* 4.7 Layer Presets | |
| Layer Performance | 4.7 Layer Lite | Included* 4.7 Layer Lite | ||
| Mix | 4.7 Mix | 4.6 Mix | Included* 4.7 Mix | |
| Mix Presets | 4.7 Mix Presets | 4.6 Mix Presets | Included* 4.7 Mix Presets | |
| Notch Mix | 4.7 Notch Mix | Included* 4.7 Notch Mix | ||
| TouchEngine Mix | 4.7 TouchEngine Mix | Included* 4.7 TouchEngine Mix | ||
| SHAPE | 4.7 Shape | Included* 4.7Shape | ||
| Viewport | 4.7 Viewport | 4.6 Viewport | Included* 4.7 Viewport | |
| SHAPE Viewport | 4.7 Shape Viewport | Included* 4.7 Shape Viewport | ||
| TimelinePlus | TimelinePlus | Included* 4.6 TimelinePlus |
*Included in the Hippotizer installer and software download site.
Installation Notes
- When moving between feature version (eg. 4.3 to 4.4) always uninstall the previous version before installing new software.
- The minimum supported Datapath capture driver has changed. At least version 7.19.4 must be installed.
- Datapath drivers are now installed as part of the installer. Select yes when prompted to install them.
- 4.3 Is the minimum version of software supported by V4+ hardware .
- 4.6.4 Is the minimum version of software supported by V4+ MK2 hardware .
- From version 4.2 Onward the Hippotizer data is stored in new locations to comply with Microsoft Windows security guidelines.
- The binaries (executable files) are stored in: C:\Program Files\GreenHippo\HippotizerV4
- The settings are stored in: C:\Users\\AppData\Local\GreenHippo\4_5
- The Media folder by default on Portamus and Play is: C:\ProgramData\GreenHippo\MediaV4
- The Media folder by default on all other V4 and V4+ systems is D:\MediaV4
SHAPE Project file compatibility
- Project files created in SHAPE 4.3 and later are compatible with SHAPE 4.7.0
- Project files created in SHAPE 4.3 are compatible with SHAPE 4.3.1.
- Project files created in SHAPE 4.2 or 4.2.1 are compatible with SHAPE 4.3.1
- Project files created or edited in SHAPE 4.3.1 will not load in older versions of SHAPE.
Current Codec Support
Resolution restrictions by Codec:
| Codec | Width | Height | Max Height | Max Width | Min Height | Min Width |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FlexRes Performance | Divisible by 4 | Divisible by 4 | 16,384 | 16,384 | 64 | 64 |
| FlexRes Quality (All Colour spaces) | Divisible by 4 | Divisible by 4 | 16,384 | 16,384 | 64 | 64 |
| FlexRes Lossless 4:2:0 | Divisible by 4 | Divisible by 4 | 16,384 | 16,384 | 64 | 64 |
| FlexRes Lossless 4:2:2 | Divisible by 4 | Any | 16,384 | 16,384 | 64 | 64 |
| FlexRes Lossless 4:4:4 | Divisible by 4 | Any | 16,384 | 16,384 | 64 | 64 |
Content that does not fit within these restrictions can still be encoded through resizing.
Version 4.2.1 Removes Support for MPEG-2 Playback; please re-encode all content to FlexRes.
Video File Types
The following codecs and wrappers have been tested for their compatibility with Hippotizer’s built in transcoding system.
On encode, the content is converted to the FlexRes codec chosen. Encoding interlaced content is not supported.
| Codec | Extension | Status |
| Mpeg2 | .mpg | Does Not Work |
| Mpeg2 | .m2v | Works |
| Mpeg4 | .mp4 | Works |
| Mpeg4 | .m4v | Does Not Work |
| ProRes422 | .mov | Works |
| ProRes420 | .mov | Works |
| ProRes444 | .mov | Works* |
| ProRes4444 | .mov | Works* |
| FlexRes | .fxr | Works |
| AVI | .avi | Works |
| Animation RGB | .mov | Works |
| Animation RGB + Alpha | .mov | Works |
| h.264 | varies | Works |
| HAP | .mov | Works** |
Image File Types
| Codec | Extension | Status |
| Tiff | .tiff | Works |
| PNG | .png | Works |
| Jpeg | .jpg | Works |
| Targa | .tga | Works |
Image Sequences
| Codec | Extension | Status |
| Tiff | .tiff | Works |
| PNG | .png | Works |
| Jpeg | .jpg | Works |
| Targa | .tga | Works |
Audio Encoding
| Codec | Channels | bit depth | Status |
| Wav | 1 | 16b | Works |
| Wav | 2 | 16b | Works |
| Wav | 4 | 16b | Works |
| Wav | 6 | 16b | Works |
| Wav | 8 | 16b | Works |
| Wav | 2 | 24b | Works |
| Wav | 2 | 32b | Works |
| .mp3 | Any | Any | Does Not Work |
| .aif | Any | Any | Does Not Work |
| .mpa | Any | Any | Does Not Work |
| .wma | Any | Any | Does Not Work |
Notes
- *Content encoded from ProRes 444 may show a slight colour shift compared to the original due to an issue in the 3rd party media encoder. The ProRes 444 family also has limited support in Windows so it is best to test the specific codec and resolution when establishing a content workflow.
- **As of Version 4.2, HAP content can be ingested without transcode.
Martin P3-PC compatibility
Hippotizer can send video directly to the Martin P3-PC application running on the same machine, this requires a P3 Dongle.
The version of P3-PC and Hippotizer is important to ensure correct operation:
| Hippotizer Version | P3-PC Version |
| 4.1 | 4.2 |
| 4.2 – 4.2.2 | 4.2.2 |
| 4.3 | 4.3.1 |
| 4.3.1 – 4.5.3 | 4.3.1 |
Current CITP Support
CITP (Capture Interface Transport Protocol) is an open network protocol to allow visualisation software and lighting desks to exchange thumbnails and streaming previews from media servers. Green Hippo # works to ensure CITP is working correctly with as many 3rd party applications as possible. Here is a list of currently tested systems against this version.
| Desk or Software | Version Tested | Thumbnail Exchange | Streaming Previews |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grand MA2 | 3.3.4.3 | Works | Works |
| MA-3D | 3.3.4.3 | N/A | Works |
| MSD | 3.2.2.3 | N/A | Works – Inverted about Y Axis |
| Martin M-PC | 3.50.645.641 | Works | N/A |
| Capture Argo | 21.1.30 | N/A | Works |
| Hog 4 | 3.2.5 (Beta) | Works | N/A |
| Avolites | Titan (9/10) | Works | N/A |
| WYSIWYG | R38 | N/A | Does not Work |
| Chamsys | 1.7.8.1 | N/A | Works |
Current Datapath Drivers
- If using Dual DVI, Dual SDI or AV-SDI capture cards, we recommend Datapath Driver version V7.25.1
- If using Quad SDI and Dual DP capture cards we recommend Datapath Driver version V7.25.1
Capture drivers are now included with the installer.
When installing Hippotizer software you will be asked if capture card(s) are fitted. If yes, the installer will automatically deploy the correct drivers.
If a copy of the driver installer is needed, it will be placed on the Hippotizer at this location:
C:\Program Files\GreenHippo\HippotizerV4\ThirdParty\Datapath_Vision_V7.25.1
Current Display Drivers
Hippotizer Media servers use one of several type of graphics card, which are tested with current and former display drivers.
| V4 System | Driver |
|---|---|
| V4 Taiga (All Types) | FirePro 15.201 |
| V4 Boreal (All Types except Boreal DVI-SL) | FirePro 15.201 |
| V4 Boreal DVI-SL | Radeon 15.7.1 |
| V4 Karst SDI or DP | Firepro 15.201 |
| V4 Karst DVI | Radeon 15.7.1 |
| V4 Amba (S/N: 240037 or Greater) | Fire Pro 15.201 |
| V4 Amba (S/N: 240000 – 240036 ) | Radeon 15.7.1 |
V4 Drivers are available for download here: Download Site
| V4+ System | Driver | Secondary Driver |
|---|---|---|
| V4 Tierra+ | Nvidia Quadro 431.94 | |
| V4 Taiga+ SDI Genlock | Radeon Pro 17 Q4.1 | Nvidia Quadro 390.65 |
| V4 Taiga+ | Radeon Pro 19.Q4.1 * | Nvidia Quadro 390.65 |
| V4 Montane+ | Nvidia 419.67 | |
| V4 Montane+ RTX | Nvidia 419.67 | |
| V4 Boreal+ SDI Genlock | Radeon Pro 17 Q4.1 (WX9100*) | Radeon Pro 19.Q4.1 (WX8200*) |
| V4 Boreal+ | Radeon Pro 19.Q4.1 (WX9100**) | Radeon Pro 19.Q4.1 (WX8200*) |
| V4 Karst+ SDI | Radeon Pro 17 Q4.1 | |
| V4 Karst+ DP | Radeon Pro 19.Q4.1 | |
| V4 Karst+ DVI | Radeon 17.7.2 | |
| V4 Karst+ DVI (S/N: 430143, Karst_Plus_100052 or later) | Radeon 19.6.2 | |
| V4 Amba+ | Radeon 17.10.1 | |
| V4 Amba+ (S/N: 420090, Amba_Plus_100027 or later) | Radeon 19.6.2 | |
| V4 Nevis+ | Radeon Adrenaline 19.40.01.18 |
- * The GPU model installed in the server.
- ** Please contact support for GPU firmware update procedures as these models have hardware specific requirements.
V4 Drivers are available for download here: Download Site
| V4+ MK2 System | Driver |
|---|---|
| Amba V4+ MK2 | Radeon 17.11.4 |
| Karst V4+ MK2 | Quadro RTX 471.11 |
| Mayon V4+ MK2 | Radeon Pro 21.Q1.2 |
| Boreal+ MK2 | Quadro RTX 471.11 |
| Tierra+ MK2 | Quadro RTX 471.11 |
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