Gilderfluke&Co old Smart Brick Manual - Manual (Page 14)

2) SMPTE: (pronounced ÒSIMP-TÒ) is a time code which was developed by the Society of Motion
Picture and Television Electronics for use in audio, film, and television production. It is normally recorded
on a spare audio track on the medium being used (audio tape, video tape, or film), and then used to
synchronize various pieces of compatible equipment together. As an industry standard, virtually every
audio, video or film studio will have the equipment to lay down a SMPTE time code track.
SMPTE is usually recorded at 30 frames per second (although 25 frames per second is used in
Europe and places where this is the normal television frequency, and 24 frames per second is occasion-
ally used in film production). What this means is that 30 (or 24 or 25) times each second a number is
recorded on the tape or film which represents the hours, seconds, minutes and frame (00:00:00.00)
represented by this particular little stretch of medium. Since each little stretch is represented by a unique
number, SMPTE is known as an ÔabsoluteÕ time code. No matter where the tape is, the Brick Brain will in-
stantly evaluate the numbers it gets from the SMPTE time code, and play the appropriate animation
data.
With SMPTE synchronized shows, the SMPTE ÔhourÕ is used to tell the Brick Brain which show it is actually
running. The ÔhoursÕ SMPTE supports are 00 through 23 to give you 24 possible SMPTE synchronized shows
(SMPTE hour Ф00Х is mapped to show number Ф24Х by the Smart Brick Brain, since 00 isnÕt a valid show
number). Any individual show can be as long as an hour. When told to start running a SMPTE show, the
Brick Brain will start listening for any SMPTE coming in. When it picks up a good SMPTE signal, it looks at the
ÔhourÕ, and then checks to see if it is the number of a SMPTE synchronized show, and if so, plays it. Note
that if the show number the Brick Brain expects to be played when it starts listening for the SMPTE is not
the show number it actually receives, it will play the latter. If the show number it receives isnÕt assigned
as a SMPTE show, then it will display an error message on the Heads Up Display and not play anything.
For this reason random access commands for SMPTE synchronized shows are somewhat at the mercy of
whatever SMPTE hour is actually received from the SMPTE source.
If more than 24 SMPTE synchronized shows are required, you can use an output from the animation
system to stop the system Ômid showÕ. This technique can be used to break up a single long show into as
many shorter sequences as you would like.
Since SMPTE is often provided by an audio or video tape deck, the Brick Brain has three outputs
which can be programmed to send signals to the tape deck at the beginnings and ends of the shows.
These are typically used to start, stop and rewind the tape deck. These outputs are simple relay closures,
which can usually be attached directly to the remote control inputs on a tape deck.
Frame rates supported by the Brick Brain are 15 or 30 FPS when using SMPTE recorded at 30 FPS, 25
FPS when using SMPTE recorded at 25 FPS, and 12 or 24 FPS when using SMPTE recorded at 24 FPS. All
type of SMPTE must be recorded Ônon-drop frameÕ for compatibility with the Brick Brain. Show capacities
for Smart Bricks are as follows:
12 frames/second (show capacity of 1365 sec. for 16K Smart Brick, 5461 sec. for 64K Smart Brick)
15 frames/second (show capacity of 1092 sec. for 16K Smart Brick, 4369 sec. for 64K Smart Brick)
24 frames/second (show capacity of 682 sec. for 16K Smart Brick, 2730 sec. for 64K Smart Brick)
25 frames/second (show capacity of 655 sec. for 16K Smart Brick, 2621 sec. for 64K Smart Brick)
30 frames/second (show capacity of 546 sec. for 16K Smart Brick, 2184 sec. for 64K Smart Brick)
SMPTE is a type of time code which is prone to minor errors. The Brick Brain automatically bridges over
these until it gets a number of consecutive consistent SMPTE frames. You can set the size of this number
when configuring the Brick Brain to anywhere from 1 to 256 consecutive frames.
3) Internal Time Base: If there is no need for synchronization to an audio or video source, you can
use the crystal controlled time base in the Brick Brain to clock the entire system. This type of show is often
used for chase sequences, test shows, when you just donÕt need to synchronize a show to anything else,
or to keep the figures moving between the main SMPTE or LaserDisk synchronized shows. Frame rates
supported are:
1 FPS (show capacity of 16,384 sec. for 16K Smart Brick, 65,536 sec. for 64K Smart Brick)
2 FPS (show capacity of 8192 sec. for 16K Smart Brick, 32,768 sec. for 64K Smart Brick)
4 FPS (show capacity of 4096 sec. for 16K Smart Brick, 16,384 sec. for 64K Smart Brick)
5 FPS (show capacity of 3276 sec. for 16K Smart Brick, 13,107 sec. for 64K Smart Brick)
8 FPS (show capacity of 2048 sec. for 16K Smart Brick, 8192 sec. for 64K Smart Brick)
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