MBOX EXTREME
®
MEDIA SERVER USER MANUAL
35
If you select a custom fullscreen resolution that does not match a resolution listed in the current EDID set - see
"Connected Display Devices and EDID"
on page 41 for further details - there are two possible outcomes:
+
If the EDID set does not have any resolutions that are higher than the requested setting, the operating system will
pick a resolution from among those in the current EDID set. In this situation the Mbox Extreme software has no
control over what resolution the operating system provides.
+
If the EDID set does have higher resolutions, then the next highest available resolution with a similar aspect ratio
will be used and the selected fullscreen resolution will be inserted in the bottom-left corner of the screen, inside
the higher resolution. The extra screen area outside the requested fullscreen dimension will be rendered in black.
You are not able to place any content in that area. As in the prior case, the Mbox Extreme software has no control
over the actual resolution that the operating system provides. (See Active Area section below for further
information.)
It is strongly recommended that you set the Mac's desktop resolution and refresh rate (frequency) to be identical to
your Fullscreen mode settings. If these settings are not the same, then any devices connected to the media server's
outputs (both Preview and Stage) will temporarily lose sync when you switch between the Fullscreen and Window
modes or when you launch or quit the Mbox Extreme application. With some display devices, the results of losing
sync, even temporarily, can be quite disruptive. With identical settings for the Mac's desktop and Mbox Extreme's
Fullscreen mode, there will be no loss of sync.
Active Area:
In some circumstances you may need to use a large output
resolution, but your content is not sized to fill that large output
resolution (and you wish to keep pixel accurate) or your show has
already been programmed using a smaller output resolution. Mbox
Extreme allows you to embed a custom active screen area (the
screen area that Mbox Extreme can use) within a larger output
raster.
To enable this feature you must select the "Custom" fullscreen
mode, then check the "Active Area Controls" checkbox and edit
the values to the right. In the example screen capture above, the fullscreen mode has been set to 1920 x 1080, but the
active area has been limited to 1280 x 720 and moved to the top left of the output raster.
At this point, Mbox Extreme will not be able to display content outside of the rectangle defined by the active area. The
portion of the raster outside the active area will be colored black by default.
Note
: Remember that Mbox Extreme’s screen origin is the bottom-left of the output raster. When Active Area controls
are enabled, the Window mode size will be a percentage of the Active Area size rather than the Fullscreen mode size.
Update Rate:
The Mbox Extreme software will always try to output video frames to the Mac’s graphics card
at the same rate as the current output frequency. However in some circumstances (heavy
load), Mbox Extreme is unable to deliver the full number of frames per second, and must
automatically reduce the number of frames it delivers to the graphics card.
Note
: This does not affect the output frequency from the graphics card.
By default the Mbox Extreme software will automatically adjust its update rate. However, if you experience poor
playback smoothness, you may want to force Mbox to output a lower number of frames per second to the graphics
card. There are multiple entries in the Update Rate pop-up menu. Your selection should be limited to: "default" -
which will result in Mbox automatically adjusting the update rate; or to the numerical value that is 50% of the current
fullscreen frequency. e.g. If fullscreen output frequency is 59.94Hz, then update rate would be set to 29.97.
License:
Every server should be licensed when you receive it. Even without a valid license key, the Mbox Extreme software will
be licensed as long as the I/O module remains connected to the computer via USB. If the server is unlicensed and the
I/O module is disconnected, then the video output will be a watermarked and the application will quit automatically
after 30 minutes of use.
Summary of Contents for MBOX EXTREME
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