A media cue plays a video or audio file, and most of a list consists of media cues. It behaves like a recording: it has a timeline, you can move through it, and it has an end.
Adding a media cue
Click Media in the toolbar, or drag files onto the list. Both methods accept the same file types.
Each file becomes a cue of its own, named after the file. Rename the lines that you need to find quickly during the show.
What it plays
| Video | mp4, m4v, mov, mkv, webm, avi, wmv, flv, f4v, mpg, mpeg, mpe, m2v, ts, m2ts, mts, vob, ogv, 3gp, 3g2, mxf, dv, asf, divx, gxf, rm, rmvb |
| Audio | mp3, wav, m4a, aac, flac, ogg, oga, opus, wma, aiff, aif, aifc, ac3, eac3, mp2, mka, amr, wv, dts, caf, au, voc |
An audio file becomes a normal media cue, with a timeline and a countdown, but it shows nothing on screen. A music bed is different: it plays under a section of the list and is not a step in the running order.
Other file types are skipped, and one message lists the files that were not added.
Hardware decoding
By default, the graphics card decodes media cues. If a file appears green or distorted, right-click the cue and choose Decode on the graphics card to switch this off for that cue.
What you can set
All settings from part 2 apply to a media cue:
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| In and out | Trim the cue without changing the file. See in and out points |
| Volume | From 0 to 100 %, with automatic loudness correction. See part 7 |
| Transition | How the cue comes in |
| Follow action | What happens when the cue ends |
The program fills in the Out box with the duration of the file as soon as it has read the file, so the list shows the length of your show before you have set anything.
While the cue plays
The transport bar controls the media cue that is on air. It has buttons to pause, restart and stop, and a timeline that you can drag. The countdown runs to the out point, not to the end of the file.
Practical notes
Files on a network share work, but they are the usual reason why a cue starts slightly late. If a share is sometimes slow, copy the media to the computer before the show.
A file that has been moved is reported when you open the list, together with the path that the cue is looking for. See missing files.
Very long files are not a problem, because the trim determines what plays. A two-hour recording with an out point at three minutes behaves like a three-minute clip.