BROWSE CATDV SUPPORT MANUALS

Release Notes

Thank you for downloading the CatDV Worker Node software.

To use this software you will need a valid Worker Node activation code. Please contact sales@squarebox.co.uk if you haven’t received your code or need an evaluation license.

Important: Please note that it is possible to configure the worker node to automatically delete files after they have been processed (as this may form a valid part of the workflow). Take great care therefore when configuring such workflows: make sure the root of the watch folder is set correctly and test all your scripts carefully before relying on them for critical data!

Requirements

The requirements to run the worker node software are very similar to those for running the CatDV client application. Under Mac OS X no additional software is needed, under Windows you need to install Java (http://www.java.com) and QuickTime (http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download). Please consult the CatDV release notes for further details.

The worker is designed for use with CatDV Server 6.6 or later.

New Features in Worker 5.0

Please note that CatDV Worker Node 5.0 is a major upgrade. A Worker 4.0 license is valid in this version of the worker but old Worker 3.0 licenses are not supported.

Major new features in CatDV Worker 5.0 include:

  • New framework for working with additional media libraries (such as JMF or Xuggle, rather than just QuickTime) for both importing and transcoding media files
  • Improved QuickTime exporter and rewritten settings dialog, including ability to set QuickTime annotations, burn in text using complex variable expressions, override the reel name when adding a QT timecode track, better control over specifying the frame size, and set the background colour when burning in text or timecode.
  • New Xuggle exporter, giving access to additional import and export formats, including the ability to deinterlace the video by line doubling and burn in text or timecode
  • New DSJ exporter (Windows only) giving access to Windows Media and DirectShow codecs. (Note: on Windows 2008 Server it may be necessary to enable the “Desktop Experience” feature via Manage Computer to provide access to the DirectShow/Windows Media libraries.)
  • Update the processing engine from CatDV 8 to CatDV 9/10 code base, so that changes made since CatDV 8.1.12 are now included (and ensure they continue to stay up to date in future). This includes changes such as being able to select the Xuggle or JMF importers (if installed), support for reading IPTC metadata, and improved metaclip support.
  • Ability to run the task processor in a separate process, protecting against the possibility of crashes on particular media files. (Note that running in a separate process is not supported under Windows XP and requires Vista or later.)
  • Support for exporting all the clips that match a server query to HTML or XML as a single batch, rather than separately for each clip.
  • Simplify the worker by removing the ability to define more than one work set.
  • Instead, allow for multiple worker processes to run concurrently for increased throughput (note that each worker will require its own license). Tasks can be assigned a timeout value and will be terminated after that time or if the external processor stops responding.
  • Allow scheduling of tasks so they only run on certain days of the week or certain times of the day. This affects both when new jobs are created (via a watch folder or by running a server query) and when previously queued jobs are permitted to run.
  • Incorporate the task list in the main window
  • Remove the “pending” task state. Clips are published to the server immediately rather than being batched up. Additionally, appending to an existing catalog is more efficient as the worker no longer opens the catalog by loading existing clips from the server simply in order to append to the catalog.
  • More logical arrangement of the user interface for defining a watch action, with changes to the post-processing and trigger tabs
  • Increased number of extra fields that can be set on a clip
  • The Windows version now comes with an .exe installer
  • Ability to restrict watch folder actions to known file types such as common media files or P2 folder structures, based on the file name and extension
  • New development mode to speed up testing by reducing poll and settle periods to 10s and prompting for confirmation before starting each task
  • New “Slate” look and feel (this can be turned off if necessary on the General config page)
  • The worker.xml file and default workset location (though you can change the latter if required) have moved from your home directory to the application data directory. After migrating to Worker 5 you can remove the old worker files to avoid cluttering your home directory.

These are in addition to the following features which were added in Worker 4.0:

  • Support for unlimited server query terms
  • Improved management of watch definitions, including a new ‘test’ button for watch folders and server queries and the ability to ‘solo’ individual actions by shift-clicking the Enabled button
  • Support for media path mapping
  • Improved handling of jobs submitted via XML batch files
  • New options to use time of day timecode, add watermarks, and perform two-pass transcoding to add a second audio track with different settings
  • Support for loading user-defined field names from the server
  • Ability to specify separate emails for success and failure notifications
  • Ability to perform processing on completion of an xml or server triggered batch
  • Support for regular expressions to modify variable values
  • A major new command line interface to generate reports or perform updates on the database for use within external scripts.