PRG Mbox Designer User Manual v3.6.1 - Manual (Page 54)

46 MBOX ® MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL
Note: The EDID from the MBOX Dual I/O Module provides EDID with accuracy to two decimal places (e.g., 59.94Hz).
However, the Mac Displays Preference window rounds these frequencies to no decimal places (e.g., 60Hz).
Functionally, MBOX
Designer is still able to request and receive the correct frequency when entering Fullscreen mode,
but it is difficult and confusing to set the desktop to the same frequency. To assist in getting the best result, the
Displays drop-down in the menu bar shows frequencies with one decimal place (e.g., 59.9Hz) and therefore this
should be used for accurate selection rather than the Displays Preference window.
+ Force Desktop Mode - when this box is checked, MBOX
Designer will will force the Mac's desktop resolution and
frequency to match the MBOX Fullscreen mode resolution
and frequency. This will result in faster switching back and
forth, and also prevent the SDI output from being
interrupted. Once the desktop resolution has been set, the
operating system will remember the setting. By default it is
off (unchecked).
+ Active Area Controls - In some circumstances it may be
necessary to use a large output resolution, but the content
is not sized to fill that large of an output resolution (and you
wish to keep pixels accurate) or the show has already been
programmed using a smaller output resolution. For this
purpose, MBOX Designer provides a way to embed a
custom active screen area within the larger output area.
To use this feature, select "Custom" from the pop-up menu,
then check the "Active Area Controls" checkbox. Enter
values for Width and Height, which will define the smaller
display area. The values for Left and Bottom can be used to position the interior area at a specific location within
the larger area.
Note: Remember that MBOX Designer’s screen origin is the bottom-left of the output raster. When Active Area
controls are enabled, the Window mode size will be a percentage of the Active Area size rather than the Fullscreen
mode size.
Setup: Rendering
MBOX Designer will always try to output video frames to the Mac graphics card at the same
rate as the current output frequency. However, in some circumstances (e.g., a heavy load),
MBOX
Designer is unable to deliver the full number of frames per second, and must
automatically reduce the number of frames it delivers to the graphics card.
At the default setting of x1, MBOX Designer will automatically adjust its update rate. However, if there is poor
playback smoothness, it may be necessary to force MBOX Designer to output a lower number of frames per second
to the graphics card. The optional setting of ÷2 will force MBOX to output a number of frames per second equal to the
numerical value that is 50% of the current fullscreen frequency (e.g., If fullscreen output frequency is 60Hz, then
update rate would be set to 30fps.)
Note: This setting does not affect the output frequency from the graphics card.