TESSERA PROCESSOR SOFTWARE 1.5.0.BETA18
Released: 5 November 2017
Previous public release: 1.4.2
WHAT'S NEW?
FIXTURE PACKS
We have changed the way the Tessera fixture library is deployed to make it easier to update and faster to iterate fixes and support for new fixtures, introducing the concept of fixture packs each of which contain a know set of revisioned fixture personalities and firmwares.
Fixture packs are deployed via .tfp (Tessera Fixture Pack) files downloadable from the Brompton website alongside processor firmware. However, each processor firmware comes with a built-in set of packs, so updates are only required if you need an fix or an addition in a pack issued later than the processor release. As changes and fixes are deployed, new pack issues will be posted on the Tessera website, and each processor release will contain the latest pack issues.
In the fixture library window there are now extra columns indicating the revision of each included personality, its status and the source pack it is provided by.
Even if a fixture is present in more than one pack, only one version of that personality is available in the library. To change this version and lock it to a specific pack, select the fixture and use the 'Source Pack' dropdown at the bottom.
Clicking the 'Manage Packs' button opens the Pack Management window.
Clicking on a pack shows its contained fixtures with status and revision. If an entry appears greyed out it means it is not available in the library because a higher priority pack also contains that personality.
You may customise pack behaviour further by changing priority order, adding new packs or removing existing packs.
Pack *.tfp files may be imported or exported via removable media. All import and export of fixtures is now performed in this way (rather than by direct firmware or xml files).
At any time you may reset the library to its shipped defaults by selecting 'Restore to Defaults'. This will delete all user imported packs from your system.
Tessera Public 1.5.0.BETA18 Issue A
Release notes
Release notes
Latest Fixture Packs
Tessera Public 1.4.3 Issue A
FIXTURE REVISIONS AND PROVENANCE
Fixture personalities now contain a revision number and provenance information (author, creation date, status) so it is always clear which version of a personality any given fixture is using.
Provenance information is available in the Fixture Library window for library personalities, and also directly from an online panel in the Online Panels window. This information is not retrieved by default but can be fetched by clicking the new 'Get Provenance' button in the toolbar.
The panel will then report author, creation date and release status in the main spreadsheet (you may have to scroll to see the columns).
STUDIO MODE
Studio Mode reduces a panel's maximum brightness while maintaining the PWM bit depth, thereby resulting in improved image quality (with less banding) when running at low brightness. The maximum benefit will be seen on particularly bright panels, especially those running at relatively low PWM bit depth (14 bit or below).
For panels supporting this feature, Studio Mode can be enabled or disabled dynamically as a runtime parameter.
Below are some comparison images showing the advantages of Dark Magic and Studio Mode.
Normal (no Dark Magic or Studio Mode)
Banding clearly visible at the low end of the gradient
Dark Magic (only)
Banding eliminated. Some slight 'sparkle' visible
Studio Mode (only)
Banding less pronounced, but still visible
Dark Magic and Studio Mode
No banding. No visible sparkle.
ARRAY CREATION TOOLS
There are new tools for creating different array shapes: a rectangular grid, a circle with fixtures arranged on the circumference of a circle, and a radial array with fixtures arranged as spokes of a wheel.
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The grid array now offers properties to set the spacing between the rows and columns.
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All of the array shapes offers properties to rotate the fixtures, and to rotate the whole array.
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Circle arrays can have clockwise or anticlockwise topology. Radial arrays may also have clockwise, anticlockwise, outward or inward topology.
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An array can automatically be grouped upon creation by checking the Group Fixtures check box in the top-right corner of the array creation menu.
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The type of fixture can be changed before the array is committed.
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When an array is committed, a group can be created for the fixtures by checking Group Fixtures.
ADD FIXTURES FROM NETWORK
The workflow for associating discovered panels on the canvas has changed.
When clicking "Add Fixtures From Network", you are presented with the outputs of the processor, labelled with what has been found on the output. All panels on an output are highlighted with the same colour, and these colours are always the same for each port of the processor. For example, on an M2, the panels on output 1 are always highlighted in red.
Clicking on an output will show the discovered strings of panels. The strings are labelled to show the length and the type of panels in the string.
Note that on a T1, the outputs are not shown when clicking "Add Fixtures From Network". You are immediately shown the strings of panels on the only output of the processor.
Clicking on a string of panels will start the association operation as it did in earlier versions. If the string contains multiple types of panels, this is broken down in the user interface, and the current part of the string is highlighted.
If a string contains root nodes, the subfixtures are shown as a separate block. Clicking the left side will associate the root node string, clicking the right side will show the root nodes in the string. Clicking a root node will show the ports of the root node, and clicking a port that has subfixtures discovered on it will start the association operation as before. The ports of the root node will always be highlighted in the same colour. For example, port 1 is always red.
Blind Association
Clicking "Add Fixtures From Network Without Highlight", or clicking "Add Fixtures From Network" with Alt held will start the association operation without showing the highlight colours on the panels.
HEAT MAP
Choosing Heat Map from the canvas display mode button (or pressing F6) will show the panels in the canvas coloured based on the temperature they are reporting. The colours use this gradient for the range 0°C to 40°C. If any panel is outside that range, the gradient is scaled to cover the range of temperatures reported by all of the panels. Offline panels or panels that haven't reported a temperature are shown with a grey hatched pattern.
CANVAS ENHANCEMENTS
Rubberband Selection Enhancements
When selecting fixtures with a rubberband, dragging from left to right selects only fixtures that are entirely inside the rubberband, and dragging right to left selects all fixtures that are at least partially inside the rubberband. This behaviour can be changed in the Preferences.
Non-Rectangular Fixtures
Triangular or curved fixtures are now represented appropriately on the canvas.
KNOWN ISSUES
OSCA seam correction can fail for certain panel combinations
Combining a selection of panels with pixel pitch below 3mm and above 5mm can cause OSCA seam adjustment to fail for the 5mm panels.
To work around this, either create a show in 1:1 mode, or select the 5mm+ panels on their own.
Settings from Tessera Control not applied to newly discovered fixtures
If using Tessera Control to alter Brightness, Temperature or Gamma, these settings are not sent to newly discovered fixtures until a change is made to the value.
Tessera Remote and Tessera Control may not work on Mac OSX El Capitan
When running on a Mac OSX El Capitan the Tessera Remote and Tessera Control applications can fail to detect network ports. This appears to be limited to cases where no default gateway is specified on the computer's network interface.
In situations where no default gateway is set using DHCP, we recommend specifying a default gateway manually. Alternatively you can use a Mac running OSX Yosemite or earlier, or using a Windows computer.
Tessera Remote fails to import project files
In some cases Tessera Remote can fail to import project files from local storage. As a workaround create the project from scratch, or use a local monitor, keyboard and mouse to import the project file before connecting with Tessera Remote.
Some input devices on KVM switches do not work
We are investigating reports that trackpads do not function correctly when connected to the processor via a KVM switch. As a workaround we recommend using a mouse, or connecting input devices directly to the processor's USB ports.
Monitors connected via DisplayPort-to-VGA adapters are unstable
Local user interface monitors connected to the processor via active DisplayPort-to-VGA adapters give an unstable image or the monitor does not detect at all. As a workaround we recommend using a DVI or DisplayPort monitor.
BUG FIXES
Since 1.4.2
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3658 - Add option for using R2 pins 64+66 for calibration SPI x16 bank select bits
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3568 - Add support for using one-hot encoding in internal calibration SPI mux