Skylark SL NEO 2.7 Software Line

• Skylark SL Neo 2.6 Software Line
• Skylark SL Neo 2.5 Software Line
• Skylark SL Neo 2.4 Software Line
• Previous Versions

• Supported Boards
• Skylark SL NEO Software Driver Compatibility Table

Current Version:

• Fixed: work of graphics_action/counter_start and graphics_action/counter_stop commands in graphic compositions with static offset.

• Fixed: memory leak upon looped playback of some files.

• Added: the ChannelList forming option upon parsing XML files by means of Xpath in RSS Feeder. Such ChannelList is specified by the Xpath request, and the channel content is formed by the embedded Xpath request.
• Fixed: displaying some graphic compositions in FileMonitor.
• Fixed: work of static logo in Playout.
• Improved: work of the Feed/Feed parametrization mode in graphic compositions.
• Added: direct output to Dektec boards in the multiviewer.
• Added: the log folder configuration option for Main Pool in TransferMgr.
• Added: the fixed group option in the Playout HLS mode.

• Changed: TransferMgr client app desktop icon.
• Fixed: copying user-defined fields in MediaBrowser and TransferMgr upon copying key frames and segments.
• Improved: Title field for segments in search and segment editing dialogues changed to Comment in order to correspond key frame names.
• Improved: closing AirMgr, MaConnect and NewsCut now requires user confirmation in case, if MediaBrowser has active transcoding tasks.

• Fixed in the control module for matrix switchers: work with switchers that have over 128 inputs and outputs.
• Fixed: the Lead Out column is now changed during automatic correction of durations upon loading playlists in AirMgr.
• Fixed: defining presence of audio tracks in some streams upon capture by the Webcast module.
• Fixed: regression appearing upon recording mov/mp4 files with the h264 codec in the paff mode.
• Improved in the program channel: automatic upload of playlists from folders now allows automatic correction of playlist line durations.
• Fixed: work of the set_object_geometry command for PIP objects in the graphics_action interface.
• NDI version updated to 5.0
• Added: mapping of audio channels upon requesting video streams by web-socket in for loading in html5 video.
• Added: JVC protocol support for Roland muxers in the module for switcher control.
• Fixed: Even/Odd Processing function in TransferMgr. * Added: modes of shift to two lines in TransferMgr.

• Improved: the media database search window.
• Improved: the ServiceMonitor window in AirManager automatically reconnects to the video stream after losing connection.
• Improved: the Blur video effect now considers radius settings.
• Added: duration corrected automatically for elements with non defined values upon loading playlists in AirMgr.
• Fixed: editing folder and asset name fields in the AirMgr recording window.
• Improved: black burst and static frame detection performance in Multiscreen and Capture/Playout.
• Fixed: work with switchers by the Imagine LRC protocol with Breakaway used as a source.
• Fixed: the error in the GPI/serial module that stops the service operation in some cases.

• Added: support of background and text semitransparency upon playback of open captions from TTML files.
• Fixed: using index files (CCH) for big MXF files stored in the media database.
• Fixed: the error leading to playback stop upon simultaneous encoding of several CEA-708 caption services.

• Fixed: the error appearing in some cases upon generating teletext using various colors.
• Fixed: work with CCH index files for MXF files in the media database.

• Added in Transfer Manager: the processing option for recoding in destination folder settings that allows one line vertical shift of all even or odd frames.

• Added: the relaunch button in the web-console control panel for Transfer Manager.
• Improved: the media database search dialog.
• Fixed in the program channel: playback of audio clips (no video) that have I/O points.
• Fixed: work of TextFeed elements with using AutoFit in graphic compositions.
• Improved: switching and turning off open captions in the program channel.
• Improved: work of Dektec boards in UHD modes.
• Added: the option of specifying external folders with captions by FTP in TransferMgr.
• Fixed in the program channel: some cases of clip playback with frame frequency changing.
• Changes implemented in Recording Manager:
  • Improved: jobs added immediately to the job list after being scheduled.
  • Added: the Upcoming window displaying all jobs for the next 24 hours.
  • Added: selecting and deleting multiple jobs at once.
  • Improved: filters by recorders placed in the recording jobs, finished jobs, and schedule windows.
  • Added: the Weekly Calendar view showing the next 7 days from the current time.
  • Added: the Delete option in the schedule tab context menu.
  • Fixed: Filename and Folder fields are not visible after job creation.
  • Improved: aside from description recorder pools, used recorders may be saved to the xml file and loaded later.
  • Improved: recorders listed on schedules, conflict descriptions are more verbose.

• Fixed: saving the number of the board output channel in the MultiViewer hardware output web-console.
• Improved: the media database search dialogue in AirMgr/MaConnect/NewsCut.

• Fixed: the error in neovid leading to its closing upon opening the web-console.
• Fixed: the error sometimes appearing upon decoding mp2 sound.

• Improved: receiving VANC batches coming from separate PIDs in the MPEG2TS capture module.
• Added in the MPEG2TS capture module: receiving uncompressed S302M sound and retrieving PCM embedded Dolby-E.
• Fixed: the error in the program channel leading to incorrect shift of secondary events upon relaunch of the program channel with the active Autorestart Playback setting.
• Fixed: saving Marker Displays settings into a file in AirMgr.
• Improved: secondary events in AirMgr playlists with an empty Media field are no longer shown as ZeroLen.
• Fixed: regression in the MPEG2 encoder leading to reduced encoding quality in the VBV mode.
• Improved: the External parameterization mode may now be used for TextFeed objects in graphic compositions.
• Added on the PVW screen in the playlist mode of the slow-motion and instant replay module: information on the duration value left until the end of the current playlist element.
• Improved in the web-interface of the program channel configurator: up to 256 pins may now be used in the configuration of the router for external lines.
• Fixed: work of the Opaque Background mode in graphic compositions.
• Added: the UHD video mode upon HLS output in the Playout module.
• Fixed: the error leading to closing apps upon HEVC encoding and decoding.

• Added: the processing option for the input video with SuperBlack and SuperWhite upon Import/Export/Render operations in MediaBrowser and Transfer Manager
• Improved: pixel-by-pixel positioning and cropping PIP objects upon editing and displaying graphic compositions.
• Added: the mode for encoding the output stream to HLS in the Playout module for Ethernet:
  • Encoding in the Multibitrate mode
  • Support of h264 and hevc codecs
  • The option for output of video-segments and HLS playlists into the file system for further output by a third-party web-server
  • The option for uploading video-segments and HLS playlists to remote web-servers using HTTP PUT or POST requests
  • Support of SCTE-35 output in HLS playlists
• Added: the PLAY_JUMP mode for the Play Clip command in the program channel. Unlike PLAY, the PLAY_JUMP command does not splice adjacent clips, allowing for more exact positioning of graphic events following each other with short gaps.
• A number of improvements in the Rec Manager user interface:
  • The Docking window mode
  • Configurable columns for task lists
  • Statuses of executable tasks are now highlighted with various colors
  • Added deletion command in the context menu
  • Setting the lifetime in days for the executed tasks, after which they will be deleted from the list
• Fixed: the error in Transfer Manager, in some cases leading to the copying task not being initialised and the transfer task failed upon changing the clip source.
• Fixed: the error in AirMgr leading to closing the app upon using the inline editor of playlist events.
• Added: the option in Transfer Manager that launches transcoding threads on remote servers. Thus, you can have a central Transfer Manager server and a farm of task servers that will implement certain transcoding tasks.

• Improved: the Missing Media List command of the playlist context menu. Now the command is called Media Report. It allows displaying the status and time value for the expected start of those media-materials in the playlist that contain media assets satisfying certain search criteria, like Media Status and Name.
• Added: the Extend Item Duration command in the program channel. The option allows activating Action1-Action8 buttons in AirMgr to use them as commands for increasing/reducing the playlist line duration.
• Improved: the vertical offset of an odd number of pixels for PIP objects in graphic compositions now works identically both for positive and negative offsets.

• Added in the Missing Media List window of AirMgr: the column in the absent materials list that displays the expected time of start of the absent material. Sorting materials according to the time of expected on-air broadcasting is also available.
• Fixed: loading of previous settings in the media database search window after reloading the app.
• Fixed: settings for simplified search in the All Words mode in the media database search window.

• Fixed: errors that appeared in the graphic compositions editor in 2.7.33.
• Added: the HQ option in HLS encoder settings.

• Added: support of HLS streams output in the Playout module. HLS chunks and playlists are uploaded either to the file system for further streaming by a third-party web-server, or may be sent to the remote server by POST or PUT methods.
• Added: support of ASS subtitles.
• Fixed: the error in import of files with captions in the HIRES Only mode, when the filename contains over 36 symbols.
• Added in the program channel: the option for changing the VITC output mode without changing the configuration and reloading the service.
• Fixed: scrubbing MP3 files.
• Improved: graphic compositions now allow setting the motion smoothing mode by key points, separately for every key point. The mode works in the area between two adjacent points.

• Added in the program channel: variables for graphics parameterization that reveal before the event starts or ends, in the hh:mm:ss format.
• Added: the option of setting a fixed shift upon VITC generation in the program channel.
• Fixed in the program channel: launch by the PlayClip command for clips with duration exceeding the time between the adjacent PlayClip commands.
• Improved: the Missing List command in AirMgr now checks all variants of clips parameterization from the playlist.
• Improved: in Multiviewer, the still/black/audio alarms now work for all types of video sources.
• Improved: the search dialogue in MediaBrowser.
• Added: the module for device management by the Ember+ protocol.
• Fixed: caching connections with the media database in some cases.
• Added: UHD and 1080P modes in the neovid configuration wizard.
• Added: integration with the SightEngine system for automatic content classification, which allows hiding the undesirable content in live broadcasts automatically, with a slight delay.

• Fixed: processing IN/OUT markers in TransferMgr and upon using copying in the HIRES Only mode.

• Fixed: using bitrate settings upon recoding animations with semitransparency.
• Improved: upon recoding animations with semitransparency, the order of source fields may be specified.

• Added: progress indication of recording audio-clips on the NewsCut timeline.
• Improved in the MPEG2TS output module: upon selecting “Any” in the Status tab or “und” language via the “Set Audio Language” command, the default language set in the service configuration will be used.

• Fixed: processing special symbols like ‘&’ upon uploading captions from TTML files.
• Added: backup (SMPTE-2022-7) support upon output and ingest of SMPTE-2110.

• Improved in NewsCut: visibility of the progress indicator for the recorded clip.
• Improved: the number of available audio streams in modules for MPEGTS ingest and output is increased to 32.
• Added: support of SMPTE-2022-7 backup upon output of SMPTE-2110.

• Fixed: the error leading to very quick hiding of teletext captions after non-stop playback for over eight weeks in a row without stopping the playlist.
• Added in text objects of graphic compositions: the “Auto Fit” setting that allows picking the font size automatically to fill the text space to the maximum.

• Fixed: defining the duration of some MXF files.
• Added: support of Dektec boards: DTA-2172, DTA-2174B, DTA-2175, DTA-2178, DTA-2179, DTA-2195. ASI and SDI modes are supported. SD-SDI modes support analogue VITC, Teletext, WSS and CEA-608, plus VANC data. HD-SDI modes support VANC data and RP-188 VITC. Support of channel-by-channel Genlock settings with the maximum shift of +/- 1 line.

• All fixes and improvements of the 2.6.157 version.
• Fixed: work of the web-interface with the media database while the guest account is disabled.

• Added: support of radio streams in the MPEGTS capture module.
• Added: support of the LISTEN mode in the RTMP capture module.
• Added: support of the LISTEN mode in the RTMP playback module.
• Fixed in AirMgr playlist editors: processing of the Orig TC toolbar switcher after reloading of the app.
• Fixes and improvements in the interface for the extended search in the media database.
• Fixed: work of effects in combination with the blur mask in graphic compositions.
• Added in AirMgr playlists: the context menu for the Missing List command now contains the option of checking media for secondary events and links from graphic compositions and shot lists.
• Fixed in EazyMuxer: incorrect saving of stopped output streams after reloading of the app.
• Improved: upon viewing Neovid and EazyMuxer web-consoles in web-browsers, the page title now displays the machine name.
• Added in NewsCut: the indicator of the current recording point on the timeline for clips in the process of recording.

• All fixes and improvements of the 2.6.156 version.
• Added: the “Parallel recording” option for rules in TransferMgr that allows transmitting of copying operations in the Overwrite Different mode, with durations that differ for less than 2 seconds. This may be used for parallel recording on Main/Backup servers with further synchronization via transfer.

• Fixed: emergency closing of the application in case of stop of the web-interface service.

• All fixes and improvements of the 2.6.154 version.
• Fixed: video playback in the web-interface after switching assets.

• All fixes and improvements of the 2.6.152 version.
• Fixed: control of switchers by the LRC, NVision, SWP02 and SWP08 protocols.
• Fixed: work of the web-interface in the mode with the “guest” user and “local admin priv” disabled.

1. All fixes and additions done in 2.6.150. 2. Transfer Manager:

• The application was split into the server-side and client-side components. The server side starts simultaneously with the Neovid shell along with other services. The client side allows control of multiple servers from one remote workplace.

3. Web-Client improvements:

• Implemented: Drag&Drop in broadcast and record lists.
• Added: Castlist/Reclist file upload and download for castlist windows.
• Added: Castlist/Reclist editors.
• Added: volume control for stream monitors.
• Added: keyboard shortcuts for copy/paste in castlist/reclist windows.
• Added: GraphicsList client.

4. Search component in AirMgr/MaConnect/Newscut:

• Added: Keyframe and Segment search modes for advanced search.
• Added: user variables and user field definition for advanced search.

5. Metadata View window in AirMgr/MaConnect/Newscut:

• Added: displaying available profiles.

6. Subtitles and closed captions:

• Implemented: Teletext subtitles extraction and encoding during import/export/transcode operations in MediaBrowser and TransferManager.
• Added: the Auto-Popup mode for subtitles upon rendering, preview and encoding operations.
• Added: partial support of text styling (positioning and colors) upon rendering TTML subtitles.
• Added: support for the text stylized during captions preview in FileMonitor.

7. Program Channel:

• Added: the “Stop” end-mode for playlist lines. Playlist execution stops after completing lines with this end-mode.
• Added: the graphics control list that allows control of graphics compositions playback from one window in the manual mode with direct control over an individual graphics composition and their parameters.
• Improved: the graphics control list allows queuing groups of graphics events one after another. It's now possible to switch the graphics “theme” via secondary events and let the script to work based on queued groups in the graphics list.
• Added: control of the graphics list via secondary events and playlist actions.
• Added: the dedicated graphics list window in AirMgr that allows control of all graphics layers from a single window.
• Improved: graphics themes can be loaded/edited as a cast list in the castlist editor.
• Added: automated rule-based generation of cast-list item parameters. It's now possible to set up conditions based on playlist column values and automatically generate the parameter based on these values that will be applied to graphics items and/or secondary events.
• Added: support for the TSL/UMD protocol for the external multiviewer.

8. Recording service:

• Added: support for marker generation via the REST interface based on the wall-clock position.
• Fixed: record-list execution during day-light saving/timezone changes.

9. Updated to Newtek NDI version 4.5. 10. Router control:

• Added: support for NVision protocol.
• Added: support for GV Native protocol.
• Added: support for Imagine LRC protocol.

11. AirMgr:

• Castlist item media-state check takes cip parameterization into account when checking for references
• Symplified Sync-Bar operations.

12. EazyMuxer TS multiplexer:

• Whole TS restreaming with bitrate adjustment and PCR restamping allowing to restream whole “unmodified” TS to a different total output bitrate.
• With aggregate sources it's now possible to use EazyMuxer as a backup switch for TS streams. Aggregate sources automatically switch to the best available input stream and uses it as the actual source for re-multiplexing/re-streaming.
• Main/Backup server configuration which allows to do full redundancy for EazyMuxer servers.
• Automatic output suspend when all the source are unavailable.
• Remote server source presence tracking and switching on local sources when a source of interest on a remote server is down.