Creating a subfolder

For Interplay Production assets, to create a subfolder (child folder) within a selected folder, right-click the folder and select Create Folder.

To create a sibling folder for a selected folder or asset, click the Pane Menu button and select Create Folder.

Confirmation message before moving or copying a folder.

If you start to move or copy a folder, a confirmation message box opens, asking you to confirm the move or copy operation.

Sort by column

The default sorting in the Closed-Captioning pane is by In timecode, from lower to higher. Click a column head to sort in the following ways:

Identification of MAM assets with remote media in the Sequence timeline

Segments in the Sequence timeline created from MAM assets with remote media are identified with the name of the server and the type of server (MAM).

Media status of segments in a sequence

Starting with MediaCentral UX v2.9, you can display the following media status in the Sequence timeline:

To display media status, click the Sequence Pane menu and select Show Media Status.

For more information, see Displaying Media Status in the Timeline.

Sharded MongoDB and new services

To support the Mixed-Sequence Editing Technology Preview, two new services (avid-asset and avid-asset-gc) have been introduced. These services appear in cluster configurations as the AvidAsset and AvidAssetGc manged resources. While these services are used exclusively by Mixed Sequence Editing in MCS v2.9, they also provide an infrastructure for future feature development.

The avid-asset service uses a new sharded MongoDB database as a back-end storage location for temporary sequence creation.

While the process to configure a new installation remains largely unchanged from MCS v2.8, the upgrade process to v2.9 includes a few additional steps to enable the services and sharded MongoDB database. Even if you do not plan to enable Mixed Sequence Editing, the reconfiguration steps are required for all upgrades to v2.9, including single-server configurations.

For more information on new installations or system upgrades, see the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide or the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Upgrade Guide.

For more information on the new services and the different MongoDB deployments, see the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Concepts and Clustering Guide.

Sharded Mongo configuration change

The mongo-create-configuration script now adds all nodes to the ansible hosts file.

This change has no impact on the actual installation or configuration process of sharded Mongo, but users should be aware of it.

For more information, see “Using the mongo-create-configuration Script” in the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide.

Open SSL Security Update

While recommended for all versions of MediaCentral Platform Services, this security update is required for v2.9. If not installed, users encounter a infinitely spinning circle in the Media pane as the player service attempts and fails to connect.

Configuring access

The process to enter a single IP address in the avid-acs-gateway configuration file has changed. A bitmask is no longer required when entering a single IP.

For more information, see “Configuring Access for External Systems” in the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide.

Installing optional software

In previous versions, software packages such as the MAM Connector were delivered in a .tar container wrapped in a .zip package. To expedite the installation process, the .tar container has been removed.

Markers for remote Interplay Production assets

If you are working in a multi-zone MediaCentral environment, and you have the proper permissions, you can now work with markers for remote Interplay Production assets (assets stored in any of the Interplay Production systems that are configured to work with the system you signed into). You can view and edit marker text, create new markers, and delete markers.

Sort by column

The default sorting in the Logging pane is by timecode, from lower to higher. Click a column head to sort in the following ways:

Send to groups

You can select user groups as recipients of MediaCentral UX messages.

Assignments pane

The Assignments pane allows you to manage all aspects of your news story or production task and send your output to the Web, on-air broadcasts, social media, or mobile devices.

AVC-ULTRA and XAVC media

The Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Hardware Guide has been updated to include stream counts for playback of AVC-ULTRA and XAVC media formats.

For details, see the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Hardware Guide.

Default message in the Search text field.

MediaCentral UX v2.7.2 introduced the ability for administrators to create a custom message that appears in the Search text field. Starting with MediaCentral UX v2.9, the following message is displayed by default: “Enter search text here.”

For information about changing the default message, see “Modifying application.properties” the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide.

Asset Type customization

You can configure an Interplay MAM thesaurus to provide specific asset types used in indexed search, including localized asset types. This allows you to select a pre-configured asset type when you filter your search using the Asset Type criterion.

For information, see “Using Predefined Metadata” in the Avid MediaCentral | UX User’s Guide.

Using underscore and hyphen characters

In prior versions of MCS, the underscore and hyphen characters are treated as “split” characters in an indexed search. Split characters are normally ignored in a search which is desirable for some search fields, but not others. For example, if the index database contains two assets with the names “Avid_123” and “Avid_345”, a search using the Name field for “Avid_123” in MCS v2.8 and earlier would return both of the previously mentioned assets.

When searching in the Name or VideoID fields in MCS v2.9, the underscore and hyphen characters are now treated as standard characters. A search for “Avid_123” now only returns the asset named “Avid_123”.

Send to Playback Settings

Changes to the display:

Assignments Settings

New Assignments settings allow you to configure categories, topics, and destinations for the Assignments pane.

User interface items can be viewed in Portuguese

Users can select Portuguese as a language for display.

A Portuguese user can search by using Portuguese analysis.

PEBCo progress status

When you sync the Interplay Production database through the Production Engine Bus Connector (PEBCo) view in Interplay Administrator v3.7, a progress indicator appears to provide a status of the process.

Support for delegated publishing

You can use an Interplay MAM process to publish to your personal social media accounts. This allows the Interplay MAM process to publish on behalf of an individual without intervention by account owner.

For information, see “Configuring User Profiles for Media | Distribute: in the Avid Media | Distribute Installation and Configuration Guide.

Device support

The iPhone 7 has been tested and approved for use with the MediaCentral UX Mobile app.

Support for Touch ID

Once you have logged in once to MediaCentral UX using the iOS app, you can use Touch ID to log in without having to supply your credentials.

Script templates

The MediaCentral UX app for iOS devices supports using iNEWS script templates for creating stories.

Duplicate Sequence

You can duplicate a sequence that is selected in the Assets pane. In doing so, you create a duplicate of the sequence in the Interplay MAM database and add a reference to the sequence in the folder in which the original sequence is located.

Process Dashboard pane

Starting with MediaCentral UX v2.9, the Process Dashboard pane provides diagrams. Diagrams give you a visual summary of processes visible in the Process Dashboard pane. If toggled on, diagrams are displayed in the Diagrams area above the Process List. The Diagrams area is updated automatically upon process changes, matching the dashboard context settings and filter criteria.

You have the following options for displaying diagrams in the Process Dashboard pane:

Customizable Audio-only Graphic

When loading an audio-only asset in the Player, an audio waveform graphic is displayed to alert users that the asset does not contain a video track.

If desired, sites can replace the audio waveform graphic with a customized image by replacing the audioOnlyImage720.png file located at: /var/www/html/player/static/images/

System Settings

In MediaCentral UX v2.9, the System Settings pane for Interplay MAM systems includes the following changes:

Cluster support

The Maestro UX plug-in is now supported for Avid MediaCentral Platform Services servers configured in a cluster.

For more information, see the “Maestro UX Plug-In” chapter of the Avid MediaCentral Platform Services Installation and Configuration Guide.

Mixed Sequences (Enterprise Editing)

You can combine Interplay Production assets and Interplay MAM assets in the same Interplay Production sequence (mixed-sequence editing).

Select Flash or HTML5 for playback.

By default, the MediaCentral Platform uses Adobe® Flash® to deliver video player functionality that is embedded in the MediaCentral UX Media pane. MediaCentral UX v2.9 offers administrators an option to use HTML5 instead of Flash.

Displaying markers

MCS v2.9 introduces a Technology Preview to enable viewing of Interplay MAM locator data in the Media pane. If an Interplay Production asset is exported to or archived in Interplay MAM, a corresponding asset is created in Interplay MAM. Marker information — including position, color, and text — is mapped to the stratum “Locators.” These markers are not shown in the Media pane by default, but system administrators can enable this feature if desired.

STP for sequences that include in-process clips

The following information has been added to the Avid MediaCentral UX User’s Guide:

You can send to playback (STP) a sequence that includes an in-progress (edit-while-capture or EWC) clip. However, you cannot STP an in-progress clip. If you load an in-progress clip, the STP button is disabled.

Port Usage Guide

The Avid Networking Port Usage Guide has been updated to include the network ports for the avid-asset deployment of sharded MongoDB.

Format support in Interplay Production sequences

Previous versions of the Avid MediaCentral UX User’s Guide stated:

“For Interplay Production sequences, the video format is determined by the first clip that you add to the sequence. Any additional clips must match the initial video format.”

This statement has been revised to read:

“For Interplay Production sequences, the aspect ratio and the frame rate is determined by the first clip that you add to the sequence. Any additional clips can have a different resolutions but must match the initial frame rate. For example, you can mix NTSC 29.97 and 1080i 59.94 in the same sequence because both use the actual frame rate of 29.97. If the first clip you add is 1080i 59.94 (16x9), an NTSC 29.97 clip will appear stretched. If the first clip you add is NTSC (4x3), a1080i 59.94 clip will be displayed using anamorphic squeeze.”

Exporting as MP4

The Avid MediaCentral UX User’s Guide has been updated to describe the ability to export both clips and sequences as MP4 files.

Navigating by markers

The Avid MediaCentral UX User’s Guide has been updated to correct the keyboard shortcuts for navigating by markers in the Media pane: