Adding Items to Playlist

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The following items can be added to a playlist: media files in formats supported by Cinegy Air, Cinegy Archive clips and Sequences, Cinegy Title templates, and special items like live or dummy items.

Use the "Item" > "Insert" menu to add items to the playlist:

insert_menu

To add a live or dummy item select the corresponding command from the "Insert" submenu. Adding notes to playlist items is described in the "Adding Notes" section below.

Adding Items

The diagram below demonstrates different ways of adding items to a playlist:

composing_playlist

Depending on the type of item, you can use different methods to add items to the playlist:

  • Media files, MCRitems: using the "Insert" command from the "Item" main menu;

  • Media files and MCRitems: via drag-and-drop from the shared folder (inventory) using the integrated Cinegy File Browser or third-party file managers (e.g., File Explorer);

  • Cinegy Archive clips or Sequences: via drag-and-drop directly from the integrated Cinegy Browser or Cinegy Search;

  • Individual Cinegy Air playlist items: via drag-and-drop between two open Cinegy Air Playlist Editors or Cinegy Air control applications.

Drag-and-Drop via File Browser

Use File Browser to navigate through local or removable media or folders (e.g. shared inventory folder) where supported media files are stored. Select an item and add it to the playlist via drag-and-drop. It is also possible to select multiple items and add them all to the playlist simultaneously.

MCR_Inventory_small

During drag-and-drop operations, the insert item position is indicated by a bold black drop line.

Drag-and-Drop via Cinegy Browser

Use Cinegy Browser mode to browse the Cinegy Archive database, select one or several desired items, and add them to the playlist via drag-and-drop.

inventory_MAM_mode_small

During drag-and-drop operations, the insert item position is indicated by a bold black drop line.

Using the Cinegy Search window offers identical functionalities.

Using the "Insert" Command

To add desired MCRitems or media files in a Cinegy Air-supported format, click the "Insert" > "Item(s)…​" command. The "Open" dialog box appears:

Open_menu

Browse for the file storage folder. Select one or several items in *.MCRitem format or change the "Files of type" option to "All files" and select files in any Cinegy Air-supported format. Press "Open" to add selected files to the playlist.

Important
 The item(s) will be inserted with the aspect ratio, defined in the Cinegy Air Configurator. For more details, see the Aspect Ratio paragraph.

If selected media files are not supported by Cinegy Air, the following error message appears:

error_nothing_insert
Important
 Refer to the Integration with Desktop manual for more details on creating MCRitems.
Caution
 If you are using footage from removable media, and the media becomes unavailable, the item will be shown as media offline in your playlist.

Drag-and-Drop of Items via File Manager

When composing a playlist, single or multiple Cinegy Air playlist items can be dragged and dropped from the file manager (e.g., File Explorer). Use the file manager to navigate through local or removable media (e.g. shared inventory folder), select the item or items, and add these to the playlist via drag-and-drop.

inventory

By default, when you insert an item into a newly created empty playlist, the program metadata is replaced by the item metadata. Any subsequent inserted items will not affect the program metadata. This behavior is controlled by the "Auto-propagate metadata to a program" option in the "Preferences" dialog.

Adding Notes

A dedicated note item is used to add any additional information or annotations related to the playlist item, block, or program, such as special instructions, personal comments, contextual information about the item, or important reminders.

note_fmt

Press the "+Note" button to add a note to the playlist above the currently selected item. Adding the note does not affect your time scale.

To edit the note, double-click it or press F2 and enter your new text.

note_item_playlist

Inserting Items to Empty Playlist

The "Insert items" window appears after you add a new playlist or when you add one or more items to the empty playlist table either in single-channel or multi-channel mode:

insert_items

Here you can set the exact time and date when the inserted item will go on-air.

The same window appears after you have added the follow item type to the end of the composed playlist after the last item has been broadcast in single/multi-channel mode.

TV Format Compatibility

Ensure that all the items being added to the playlist are of compatible TV formats.

Otherwise, the following error message appears:

TV_format

If an item has a higher frame rate and/or resolution than the current playlist, an exclamation mark inside a yellow circle will indicate this in the playlist table:

TV_format_higher

Such items will not be played back by the Cinegy Playout engine even if the same playlist TV format is set up for the Cinegy Playout engine. If the Cinegy Playout engine has a higher TV format, this item will be played back.

For example, a playlist has a TV format setting of 1920x1080p50, then items with a higher frame rate or frame size (e.g. 3840x2160p25) will be added to the playlist with an exclamation mark inside a yellow circle, meaning it will fail to be played out if the Cinegy Playout engine is set up for 1920x1080p50. An item with the same or lower frame size or frame rate (1920x1080p50 - 720x576i25) will be added to the playlist without indication and will be played back if the Cinegy Playout engine is set up for 1920x1080p50.

Important
 Read more about Cinegy Playout engine player mode in the following section.