Create an animation box
To create an animation box, click the corresponding icon on the design toolbar using the left mouse button. The Windows explorer will open the animation directory of TV Tools. Select the file you want to use. The programme will automatically open the settings for the selected file type. You have 5 different setting tabs to read the most commonly used different types of animation files : gif-avi-tga / Quicktime / Flash / URL-VLC / PowerPoint.
GIF-AVI-TGA animation box settings
When using the file formats GIF-AVI-TGA for your animations, you can play the animations in transparent mode on the background of the page. TV Tools automatically recognises a routed animation and sets its format to transparent background.
Window of the GIF-AVI-TGA animation box
a. Preview animation.
b. Animation effects : see details (see next page)
c. Position and size of the animation : To determine the exact size and position of the video window on the background, you can enter coordinates in pixels or you can revert to the original size of the animation.
d. Background : To select type of texture on the page.
e. Sequence mode : you can choose between playing the animated sequence once or in a loop over a specific period of time (in seconds). If no value is entered, the animation will play until the end of the page.
f. Paste at the end. This function allows pasting the last image of the animation onto the page until the whole page disappears. This prevents that an animation will suddenly disappear.
Animation box effects sub-menu window
a. Appearing and disappearing effects allow you to define the used effects with the possibility to choose from 4 speed variants (slow, normal, fast, very fast).
b. Start time : Allows you to coordinate the timing of your animations on the page with the appearing and disappearing effects.
Flash (SWF) animation box settings
Like the GIF-AVI-TGA formats, the flash animations can be in transparency mode on the page and can be resized. Be careful not to have any interaction enabled in the animation, which would cause the animation to pause and wait for a mouse click. The great advantage of vectorized flash animations is the fact that they can be resized without lost of quality. On the other hand, flash animations cannot have an appearing or disappearing effect (only cut).
Flash animation (SWF) box window
a. Position and size of the animation : you can enter a precise size and position of the animation on the page. You can also resize the box, once placed on the page, with the mouse
b. Sequence animated mode you can choose between playing the animated sequence once or in a loop (for the number of seconds you want) or for the duration of the page. You can also specify whether it should be solid or transparent.
c. Time Management : You can play several Flash animations at the same time using multi box mode, with the possibility to give time of appearance and disappearance tenth of a second.
d. Animation control button : It allow you to play and replay your animation sequence.
Quicktime (MOV) animation box settings
Quicktime animations generate video files with the extension MOV. You can add transparency in alpha when selecting the "million plus" encoding with the "animation" codec. The Quicktime animations can have the same moving effects and transitions as the GIF-AVI-TGA animations. There are two additional effects : one to inverse the video frames, the other to preload the animation should it be shorter than 30 seconds.
Quicktime animation box window
a. Information and visualization of position and size of the animation : file name and location, length of animation, information about images.
b. Position and size of the animation : You can enter exact coordinates in pixels to determine position of the animation, define the exact size or you can revert to the original size of the animation.
c. Background : if you want to use solid or transparent animation on the page.
d. Sequence mode : you can choose to play the animation once or in a loop for a predefined period of time.
e. Paste at the end. This function allows pasting the last image of the animation onto the page until the whole page disappears. This prevents that an animation will suddenly disappear.
f. Preload : to load the animation before playing it.
g. Inverse frames : to inverse the video frames directly in TV Tools.
h. Animation effects
URL animation box settings
You can integrate URL boxes into your design pages. To do this, use the right-hand mouse button to click on the "animation" icon, then on the "URL" tab. Next enter the full address of the page to be displayed in the URL space. You have the option to view part of the web page (to avoid including advertising banners, for example…) by cropping an area from within the page. To do this click on "Adjust". You can have several URL boxes on your page at the same time.
a. URL : Insert the URL of desired page into this field.
b. Crop zone window. As indicated, you can adjust the visible area with the Ctrl + cursor keys and change the size with the cursor keys.
The adjustment of the visible area and size can be done pixel by pixel or ten pixels by ten pixels when hitting the "shift" key at the same time.
to avoid errors in the size and positioning of your URL, you can view it in the designer in the same VGA size as the player by clicking on "ctrl+eye icon".
a.
- Static Mode : the URL box does not update itself, but can be enlarged or reduced while retaining its proportions.
- Dynamic mode : the same as static mode, but the URL updates itself (all frames - Caution : this mode uses a lot of resources).
- "via Internet Explorer" allows the reframing of the URL, but without enlarging or reducing of the reframed area, unlike the two previous modes. On the other hand, this area is updated with each display of the page.
b. Option to give the URL box a scrolling effect by adjusting the scrolling speed.
c. Resolution of the player : ideally you will operate in the designer working area using the same proportions as those to be displayed, so that the URL boxes will be identical in size and position from editing to broadcasting.
d. Set position and size of the URL box, as well as the display time on the page (in s).
e. Appearing and disappearing times of the URL on the page. The URL appears and disappears in "cut".
f. You can change the image of your URL box to benefit from the appearing and disappearing effects of the image boxes.
VLC box settings
You can play videos by streaming using VLC Media Player (universal video reader which does not require supplementary codecs) - Supported fluxes: http / mms / rtsp / udp multicast... To do this click on the URL-VLC tab in the animation box settings then enter the URL of the flux you want to play.
a. URL : type as a prefix the variable "vlc:" followed by the URL address of your video flux.
b. Timing the appearing and disappearing effects of the VLC box. The box appears and disappears in 'cut'.
c. Setting the position, size and duration of the VLC box on the page (for example : 30 s.).
Setup a Powerpoint
In the case of use of your Powerpoint files in full screen, it is necessary to have the Powerpoint Viewer on your machines to read "ppt" and "pptx" formats. It is also best to choose in your use of the Powerpoint that was created in the 16/9 ratio files to avoid the addition of black stripes on the sides within the framework of the Powerpoint 4/3 format.
If you have the "Microsoft Office Powerpoint" on PC-design software and the PC-player, it is possible to integrate your files Powerpoint in mode window within a design. In this usage, you can resize the Powerpoint animations on the page.
Click the "animation" with the left mouse button to choose your file "ppt" ideally placed in the folder "tvtools/videos". Powerpoint files placed in this folder are directly accessible in the Scheduler from the "Videos" from the "library" tab. You can thereby use mode full screen in your Timeblocks with simple click-and - drop
Window settings box animation
a. Powerpoint file name.
b. Set position and size of the PowerPoint box as well as the display time on the page (in s).
c. Settings of Powerpoint files (in seconds).
- To correctly display your PowerPoint file in the windows and to remove the scroll bars, Edit the file by clicking on the "Edit" button.
- In Powerpoint software, go to the "Slide show" menu and choose the "Slideshow settings" function.
- Be sure to disable manual advance slides.
- Select the function "Browsed by an individual", then uncheck the "Show the scroll bar" function”.
- Hit the F5 key to display the slide show, right click on the top menu and deselect the "Web" option. Deselect the "Web" function. Now save the file.
