SCS Recent Changes

Recent Changes to SCS. Some features only available in SCS-Standard and/or SCS-Professional.

Version 10.9.3 (February 2012)

Fixed a few errors.

Version 10.9.2 (January 2012)

Implemented a mod to work-around a SoundMan-Server issue regarding releasing looped cues.
Fixed an error.

Version 10.9.1 (January 2012)

In the 'visual warning' in the Production Properties you may now select 'Count UP whole cue' (retrofitted from SCS 11).
Fixed a couple of errors in 10.9.0 associated with the 'internal mixer' and with Creative Labs sound cards.

Version 10.9.0 (January 2012)

Improved the processing of audio file playback directed to multiple outputs (retrofitted from SCS 11).

Version 10.8.7 (December 2011)

Fixed an error in processing the 'Link Sync Point'.

Version 10.8.5 (October 2011)

Drop-down lists of physical device names in the Device Mapper and Production Properties now display a 'tooltip' of the selected item when the mouse hovers over the control. This enables you to see the full device name even if it is truncated in the drop-down list.
Fixed a few errors.

Version 10.8.4 (September 2011)

Fixed an error that could cause audio file cues to stop up to 500ms before the designated end point.
'Stop Everything' now fades audio over 20ms instead of issuing a dead stop. This is to reduce the possibility of a dead stop causing a click or pop in the audio.

Version 10.8.3 (September 2011)

Added two new Run Modes for shows in which you require both linear cues (activated by keyboard or mouse) and non-linear cues (activated by MIDI etc). (For information about Run Modes, see The Editor / Production Properties / Production Options).
Fixed an error in Level Change cues that operate on Video cues that caused the audio level to cut out instantly.
Included updated versions of the BASS Mixer and ASIO DLL's, which address an issue with crackling in ASIO outputs.
Included the SCSMM plugin DLL which adds another option to Video Playback, but this should only be used if you cannot get video playback to work properly with DirectShow or xVideo. xVideo remains the preferred choice as it provides the most functionality.
Added an item to the Video Troubleshooting page in the Help regarding H.264 videos.
When entering Control Send cues using MSC, the command format, command and Q number are now auto-populated from the previous MSC command (Q number is auto-incremented by 1).
Fixed a couple of errors in the Editor.

Version 10.8.2 (July 2011)

Fixed some errors with Device Map handling.
Removed Windows Media Player (WMP) from the list of available video playback options as it is no longer required and has caused an installation issue in some environments.

Version 10.8.1 (June 2011)

Added an Audio Driver option 'Swap speakers 3/4 with 5/6'.
Added a property to the video/image cue type to allow you to stretch (if necessary) videos to full screen size.
Fixed a few errors.

Version 10.8.0 (June 2011)

Added SoundMan-Server (SM-S) support for SCS Professional and higher license levels.
Added a new license level, SCS Platinum, to take advantage of the extra outputs available with SM-S.
Changed the method of mapping SCS devices to physical devices to provide more flexibility and improved machine-independence. This is implemented by a new feature known as the Device Mapper.
The file extension of saved SCS cue files has been changed from ".scs" to ".scsq". SCS 10.8.0 can open both .scs and .scsq files but will always save as .scsq. This change is due to the device mapping information being removed from the cue file and stored separately, so an old .scs file can still be processed by an older version of SCS if necessary.
Added a new auto-start method for cues - auto-start n seconds after cue file loaded.
Fixed a few errors.

Version 10.7.6 (April 2011)

Video fades are now supported using a new video dll (xVideo). When a video is faded in or faded out, the image fades as well as the audio. Previously only the audio would fade. Video cross-fades are not yet supported but will be later. Please note that xVideo is not the default video playback option - that remains as DirectShow. You need to go to Permanent Options and select xVideo as the Video Playback option to use the new functionality.
Allow MIDI File Playback and MIDI Control Send Cues to use the same MIDI Out/Thru port. Previously SCS blocked a MIDI port from MIDI File Playback if it had been assigned to MIDI Control Send cues.
Significantly reduced the time to refresh the 'Go' button after activating a cue, enabling consecutive manual-start cues to be activated rapidly.
In previous SCS versions the Mouse Double-Click Timeout option applied to mouse clicks and also to keyboard and external methods of starting cues, to prevent accidentally starting two cues instead of one. You can now choose to exclude the double-click timeout test from keyboard and external methods of starting cues, to enable the rapid manual activation of a sequence of cues. (The Mouse Double-Click Timeout option will still apply to mouse clicks.)
For auto-start cues you may now select Previous cue instead of selecting an actual cue. This is useful if you may be moving cues around.
Added a 'Complete' any associated auto-start cues option to SFR cues. This is useful if you set up an SFR hotkey cue to fade out and/or stop all playing cues but do not want auto-start cues to start that may otherwise be started as a result of cues being stopped.
Added a Go Next option to SFR cues. If you have an SFR cue to stop or fade out playing cues, etc, this enables you to also activate the next manual cue (as in hitting the 'Go' button'). A time delay before 'Go Next' may be supplied.
Improvements have been made to the processing for ASIO outputs. In particular, SCS may set the ASIO buffer size larger than previously (depending on your sound card's ASIO driver), and the graph display for ASIO no longer supports Frequency Graphs, Frequency Bars or Waveform, to reduce the overheads while processing ASIO output. See also the next item about Pre-Load Whole File.
The Pre-Load Whole Files has been added to Playlist cues. It is recommended that this be set only when using ASIO outputs.
Pre-Load Whole File is now ignored for files greater than 6 minutes duration. Also, the maximum number of files that may pre-loaded into memory at any time is limited by a new Option under Permanent Options / General. Finally, it is now possible to set or clear the Pre-Load Whole File property using the Bulk Editor, so you can easily set or clear this flag for all cues if required. It is recommended that Pre-Load Whole File be selected for all cues if you are using ASIO outputs. This reduces the overheads incurred during playback of files for ASIO outputs. If you are not using ASIO outputs then it is recommended that you leave Pre-Load Whole File blank for all cues.
Added a Troubleshooting section to the Help file.
Fixed a few errors.

Version 10.7.5 (January 2011)

Added a MIDI Capture facility to MIDI Free Format Control Send cues, which enables you to set a MIDI Message for a Control Send cue by recording the required message sent by the external equipment.
Added a new cue type: Run External Program for running programs like PowerPoint Viewer directly from your SCS cue list. This is currently implemented using the Note cue type.
In Permanent Options, changed the Audio Driver's Internal Mixer default setting to Do NOT use SCS internal mixer.
In Production Properties, changed the order of entries listed in the Physical Device drop-down lists to place ASIO devices last instead of first, and in the Speakers/Outputs drop-down lists to place entries like "7.1 Surround (8 Channels)" last instead of first.
Removed Mixer Levels from Permanent Options as the functionality is obsolete.
Fixed a few errors.

Version 10.7.4 (October 2010)

Various changes to the 'near end' pop-up warning, including: (a) the calculation of the time remaining is now determined for the whole cue instead of just the first sub-cue; (b) the warning time may now be set to 'whole time of cue'; (c) the format of the time visual warning may now be set to either seconds only (eg 9) or time format (eg 8.75, or 2:03.45); (d) the visual warning display may be positioned anywhere on the main screen (previously it was in a fixed position); and (e) the font size of the display is 50% larger than in previous SCS versions.
In the Bulk Edit screen, added 'Near End Warning' as a field that can be changed.
The color scheme file (scs_colors.scc) may now be included when creating or resyncing a Production Folder. This enables you to easily transfer your color schemes to another computer (eg a theatre computer) when you transfer your production files, and protects you from changing other SCS user's color schemes on that computer. See Production Properties in the Help file for details.
Added MIDI Machine Control to the list of MIDI Control Methods. See MIDI Devices & Control in the Help file for details.
Added a section in the Help file for "Setting Up Your Video Projector For Videos and Still Images" (under "Production Live Running").
If a Level Change cue has adjusted the level of a playing Audio File cue and you then make a manual change to the Audio File cue's level, then the Save Settings menu will be updated to include the Level Change cue. If you select this Save Settings menu item then the new manual level will be saved as the Target Level of the Level Change cue, not the level of the original Audio File cue. Same applies for changes to the pan setting.
Added a facility to decrease or increase the levels of all outputs of all playing cues by using (by default) the keyboard keys < and > respectively. Level changes made this way are regarded as 'manual' level changes so can be made permanent if required via the Save Settings menu. See The Run Screen / Changing the Levels of All Playing Cues in the Help file for details.
Fixed a few errors.

Version 10.7.3 (August 2010)

In the Bulk Edit screen, added 'Cue Enabled' as a field that can be changed. Also, for 'Cue Enabled', SCS displays the 'Total play length of enabled Audio File cues', primarily intended for use for band backing tracks.
Some sound card drivers erroneously report the number of outputs/speakers available as 2 when in fact there are more. If SCS finds 2 outputs reported, it then tries to use the Windows Control Panel setting (eg 6 outputs if configured as a 5.1 system). However, some sound card drivers do not allow you to configure the speaker arrangement in the Windows Control Panel. So you may force SCS to assume 8 outputs by selecting the Audio Driver option 'Force enabling of speaker assignments'. Note that this flag has always been available but due to various underlying software changes the flag has not always been implemented. It is now implemented.
If SCS is setup as a Telnet Server, one and only one client connection is supported. If a connected client disconnects then prior to 10.7.3 SCS would have to be restarted to again 'listen' for a Telnet connection request. That is now fixed, so if a Telnet client disconnects, SCS immediately starts listening again for a new connection request.
Performance improvements.
If you are running SCS unattended over several days using Time-Based Cues, then you can now automatically reset the Time-Based Cues and the Cue List each day. This is implemented using a new Production Property: Time-of-Day to Auto-Reset TBC's and Cue List. This feature also re-randomizes the play orders of 'random' playlists.
When the status of a cue is 'Count Down', the count down time remaining is now displayed in the main cue list. Previously the count down time remaining was only shown in the cue panels.
Fixed a couple of other errors.

Version 10.7.1/10.7.2 (June 2010)

Fixed an error in 10.7.0 that prevented the 'Go' button being updated while a cue is fading.
If a Telnet connection has been requested and that Telnet connection is not available when the program starts, the warning message was hidden behind the splash screen. Now fixed.
Fixed an error in 10.7.0 that could cause the program to fail on opening a cue file if there are more than 100 cues in the cue file.

Version 10.7.0 (June 2010)

By default, video cues are now played using DirectShow rather than the Windows Media Player API. An option is available to revert to using WMP if required, but that option may be removed later if it is deemed unncessary.
Faster starting of audio/video/playlist cues when not using the internal mixer, and faster resetting of hotkey cues.
The second monitor (for videos and still images) may now be positioned above or below the primary screen, as well as to the left or right of the primary screen. Previously the 'above' and 'below' positions were not supported.
The linking of Audio File sub-cues previously required the 'relative start time' of each sub-cue to be 0.00 (or blank). SCS will now link Audio File sub-cues of a cue where all the 'relative start times' are identical (provide they have the same duration, etc).
An SFR sub-cue acting on "all playing cues" will now exclude the cue containing the SFR sub-cue itself, so if the parent cue also contains Audio File sub-cues then those Audio File sub-cues will continue playing.
SFR cues may now act on later cues, which is useful if you want the SFR cue to act on a hot key cue, or if you have the 'Run Mode' Production Property set to non-linear.
SFR cues may now act on the 'Previous cue' without having to select that cue number. This is useful for providing an SFR cue that fades or stops the previous cue where the actual previous cue may vary, such as due to a cue being disabled or because you are importing the SFR cue from another cue file.
An entry in an SFR cue may now act on 'All earlier cues EXCEPT cues listed above', or 'All playing cues EXCEPT cues listed above'. See the documentation on SFR cues for more details.
Fixed a few errors.

Version 10.6.3 (February 2010)

Auto-start cues may now be hidden in the Main Window. This display property can be set for selected auto-start cues via a new checkbox in the Cue Properties in the Editor. This cue property can also be changed using Bulk Edit. In the Main Window you can choose whether or not to have the 'hidden' auto-start cues displayed in the Cue Panels in the lower part of the window. This is controlled by the new Display Option "Show Hidden Auto-Start Cues in Cue Panels".
You can now choose not to see Hot Key Cues displayed in the Cue Panels in the Main Window. This is controlled by the new Display Option "Show Hot Key Cues in Cue Panels".
When creating or re-syncing a Production Folder, SCS now checks before copying a file into the Production Folder that if a file of the same name already exists in the folder, then the file is of the same length and modification date-time. If the length or modification date-time is different then cues using that new file will still point to the original file (outside the Production Folder) and a warning message will be displayed. This scenario can easily occur if you use a program like Windows Media Player to rip tracks from CD's on a computer that is not connected to the Internet. The audio files created will have names like '01 Track 1.wma', '02 Track 2.wma', etc, and if you have ripped tracks from several CD's in this way then you will end up with several files names '01 Track 1.wma', '02 Track 2.wma', etc (in different folders).
A new version of one of the audio library DLL's has been included which fixes a problem that could cause end-of-file not to be detected when playing back audio files using the internal mixer. This mainly affected playlists, where the playlist could occasionally freeze at the end of a track.
Fixed various errors.

Version 10.6.2 (December 2009)

Improved the handling of sound devices changes in the Production Properties. See Production Properties in the Help for details.
The drop-down list 'Speakers/Outputs' in the Production Properties Sound Devices tab now contains only speakers/outputs available for the selected physical device. Previously the drop-down list contained all possible speakers/outputs, whether or not they were available for the selected device.
When not using the internal mixer, stereo audio files are now downmixed to mono if played to a mono output. Previously only MP3 files were downmixed, and other types would throw the error 'unavailable speaker'.
With MIDI Control Send cues, SCS now checks for 'MIDI not ready' return codes and will resend a MIDI message if this return code is received. This is to handle situations where a MIDI device has been swamped and is temporarily blocking incoming messages. SCS will keep trying to send the message for up to 1 second.
In a Control Send cue you can now select 'MIDI Free Format' which provides a free-format way of entering any MIDI message, including MMC (MIDI Machine Control) messages.
Auto-scrolling of the cue list in the main window now keeps the 'next cue' visible in the middle of the list or higher, even if a running cue needs to be scrolled off the top. Auto-scrolling is disabled if you manually scroll the list while a cue is running, and is re-enabled when the earliest running cue completes.
ASIO support now added for SCS Standard users. Previously, ASIO support was only available for SCS Professional and Professional Plus users.
SCS now ignores non-WDM, non-ASIO devices, such as the "Modem #0 Line Playback (emulated)" device.
Fixed various errors.

Version 10.6.1 (August 2009)

Added Telnet Control of cues and Telnet support for Control Send cues for SCS Professional Plus users. This is designed for interfacing SCS with other programs that have Telnet facilities.
Added a 'Set Position' cue type for SCS Professional users. The 'Set Position' cue type enables you to will jump to a new position within a currently-playing cue.
SCS now displays a warning in the status line of the main window if the main window loses focus. See Keyboard Shortcuts in the Help file for more info.
A change has been made to the handling of linked files, including cues played to multiple output devices. See Permanent Options / Audio driver in the Help file, and refer to the description of 'Link Sync Point'.
Added an Audio Driver Option to ignore ASIO devices. See Permanent Options / Audio driver in the Help file, and refer to the description of 'Ignore ASIO'.
Improved the response time for processing incoming MIDI control messages.
Fixed various errors.

Version 10.6.0 (August 2009)

Name change from Sound Cue System to Show Cue System.
Added 'Favorite Files' functionality for SCS Professional users.
Added checkbox to Cue Properties when 'Warning Before End' is set in the Production Properties, enabling the warning to be applied selectively to cues.
Under Permanent Options / Key Mapping, the default for 'Go' button is now 'space', ie the space bar is now by default assigned to the 'Go' button.
Added some extra commands to DMX Control.
In the 'Re-Number Cues' window you can now specify an increment to be used when calculating new cue numbers.
Added a menu item under the Editor's 'Import/Export Cues' button to enable you to import multiple video and/or image files to create multiple Video/Image cues.
Added 3 new field types to 'Bulk Edit': Fade In Time, Fade Out Time, and Play Length. This will be most useful for Image cues. The Play Length field type is only available for Image Cues, and only those Image cues not set to 'Continuous Play'.
Added key mapping options for 'Previous Image' (default: Ctrl+LeftArrow) and 'Next Image' (default: Ctrl+RightArrow). Although designed for Image cues, these keys will work on all cue types. The key mapping functions are explained in a new page in the Help - see 'Keyboard Shortcuts' under 'The Run Screen'.
Increased number of MIDI Playback devices from 2 to 4.
Increased the range of font sizes for the main cue list.
Fixed various errors.

Version 10.5.0 (June 2009)

Added Fade In and Fade Out times for Still Images. Fade In times can be used to provide fade transitions in 'slide shows'.
Added DMX Control for Professional Plus users.
Added new cue activation methods for 'Cue-Start Confirmation' for SCS Professional Plus users.
Added new modes for Hot Keys. Modes available are now: 'trigger', 'toggle' and 'note'. Previously, Hot Keys just used the 'trigger' mode.
Added a menu item under the Editor's 'Import/Export Cues' ribbon bar button to enable you to import multiple audio files to create multiple Audio File cues or a single Playlist cue.
Fixed an error that prevented a looping cue from looping after 'Stop All' if the internal mixer is being used.
Fixed an error that caused a 'Save As' cue file to have the same internal Production Id as the original cue file.
Fixed some errors in the Editor regarding Level Change cues.

Version 10.4.1 (Mar 2009)

Improved performance of Still Image displays, and adjusted the sizing and positioning of images on a second display / video projector.
Incoming MIDI Note On messages with a velocity of 0 are now treated as Note Off.
Fixed various other errors, particularly with regard to Playlists, and for the support of Creative Labs sound cards when using the SCS internal mixer.

Version 10.4.0 (Mar 2009)

Added Relative Level Change option to Level Change Cues.
Added Still Image option to Video Cues.
In SFR Cues, 'Fade Out All Earlier Cues' now completes any earlier cues that are in a 'count down' state.
SFR cues now include Control Send cues in the drop-down list of cues that can be stopped.
Added a check on opening an audio file that the Start At, End At and Loop points do not exceed the file length. This can occur if the audio file has been shortened since the cues were set up.
The minimum screen resolution has been reduced from 1024x768 to 960x600, although 1024x768 is still the recommended minimum. (If the screen height is less than 768 then a vertical scroll bar may be displayed against the cue and sub-cue properties in the Editor.)
When testing a Playlist cue in the Editor, playback now starts from the currently-selected file.
The hibernate and associated resume actions in SFR cues are now available for 'all earlier cues' and 'all playing cues'. Previously these actions were only available when selecting a specific cue.
Fixed various errors.

Version 10.3.2 (Jan 2009)

Added a facility to rename audio files. The 'rename' can be actioned when adding or editing an Audio File or Playlist cue or subcue.
Playing a continuous test tone now plays an uninterrupted 440Hz sine wave instead of the pulsating tone previously heard.
Disabling cues now checks if dependant cues are also disabled. Enabling cues now checks that any referring cues are also enabled.
Fixed various errors, including handling empty Playlists; an error in freeing memory for files pre-loaded into memory; sometimes repeating the start of a cue when the cue is stopped in the Editor or is a Hotkey cue; an error in the Editor if an Audio File cue with a cross-fade is stopped during the cross-fade and is then restarted; and an SCS registration error that occurs in some Vista environments.

Version 10.3.1 (Dec 2008)

Maintenance release - fixed various errors, including error thrown if using an invalid hotkey; error incurred on opening a corrupt audio file; subscript errors in bulk edit; right-click not being recognized in the ribbon bar; the error sometimes encountered on undoing a change to a cue's activation method; an error that could cause all the files in a playlist to be opened instead of just the next two files; and an error that could cause a Level Change cue's pan change to occur before the level change.
Disabling a hotkey now has immediate effect.
Adding a sub-cue now immediately updates the main screen.
Navigating higher in the cue list in the main screen may now unload later cues if they are beyond the limit of the 'maximum number of files to be pre-open'.
Production Export now displays a status line showing files being copied (if applicable), as this process can take a while, and displays the 'busy' mouse pointer while the export is being processed.

Version 10.3.0 (Dec 2008)

Added Bulk Edit of cues, available under the Production tab in the Editor.
The use of the SCS Internal Mixer (added in SCS 10) can now be disabled, providing performance improvements in some situations, at the expense of some functionality. This option is set under the Audio Driver tab of Permanent Options.
New Production Property - Pre-Load ONLY the 'Next Manual Cue'. This is available under the Production Options tab of Production Properties.
Added a new 'Entry Mode' for RS232 Control Send cue: ASCII+CTL, which allows you to enter RS232 messages in ASCII but with the option to include special control characters, such as <STX>, which is transmitted as 02H.
Fixed various errors.