 When we set out to design the V4 Pro, our engineers conducted dozens of interviews with leading attraction designers around the world. We combined their insights with our own hands-on experience to develop the perfect show controller. It's capable of running every day for years, without ever requiring reboots, software updates, or maintenance of any kind.
Computers are for games and surfing the Internet, not show control. When it's show time, you don't want to have to worry about what viruses have popped up or whether a piece of software is going to crash and bring your show to a halt.
The V4 Pro frees you from the instability, maintenance and repair costs associated with computers. Its proprietary design includes no moving parts to wear out, no software that needs to be updated, no vulnerability to viruses, in fact nothing you'll ever need to fix. It allows attraction designers and operators to concentrate on the show, instead of maintaining hardware.
Better yet, combining the V4 Pro with our audio and video players, you create the technical backbone of an attraction without using a single computer or hard drive! This means less downtime, and more predictable operating costs.
Leave the PCs in your office and leave the show control to the professionals!
The V4 Pro combines the stability and reliability needed by professionals with unparalleled connectivity. Its 4 serial ports, 16 inputs, 16 outputs, and MIDI port enable you to talk to virtually anything. But the real innovation is its dual network interface. This allows the V4 Pro to controls remote device, communicate with operators, and be monitored and programmed from anywhere in the world.
The exterior of the V4 Pro inspires confidence. It's durable and tamper-resistant. But the real difference is inside: its circuitry is the result of our ongoing quest for perfect reliability. For example, the V4 Pro uses a radically new approach to protect its components from overloads. Its inputs and outputs are protected against voltage surges, short-circuits and mis-wiring, making them nearly indestructible. And if disaster does strike, we've designed the V4 Pro to be replaceable without needing a computer to configure the new unit: There are no configuration buttons or jumpers; all parameters are stored along with the show data in a memory card that can be easily backed up and moved from one V4 Pro to another.
Programming an attraction is not really an office job. So the V4 Pro hasn't been designed by software engineers who spend their spare time writing accounting software. They are all experienced with installations in real-world attractions in some of the world's finest theme parks. They've applied that experience to WinScript Live, the new programming software for the V4 Pro. Its clean interface and easy shortcuts are perfectly suited to field conditions. Both new and experienced WinScript users will find the environment intuitive, with easy access to the advanced functions of the V4 Pro, and plenty of new features that are easy to find and use. Compilation and download times have been reduced dramatically in order to let you quickly enjoy the results of your efforts.
In short, if you're looking for the perfect show controller. You've just found it: the V4 Pro.
What's New in the Pro
The most obvious difference between the V4+ and V4 Pro is that big knob. It lets you change settings such as IP address, timecode operation, and monitor what’s going on in the box. You can also password protect those settings to prevent them from being changed. There’s also a much larger display (8 lines by 42 columns), and you can do more things with it.
We’ve added some front panel indicators to show you when the V4 Pro is receiving video or timecode sync. Ethernet activity indicators are at the rear.
Scripts are now stored on a removable Compact Flash Card, so maintenance personnel don’t need WinScript to swap show scripts. The CF slot is on the rear and covered by a security plate so it can be secured. The Compact Flash card is much larger than the show memory in the V4+, so scripts can now be millions of lines long. Unlike the V4+, the source code for multiple scripts may be stored and selected from the front panel. The script can also contain a password that must be entered in Winscript Live before editing or viewing.
Perhaps the most important new feature is the addition of dual Ethernet ports. This allows you to isolate local traffic from wide area traffic. Both ports let you send and receive any kinds of messages you like using a variety of protocols. Usually one of them will connect to the outside world for control and monitoring, and the other will connect to equipment within the attraction, but you can really use either of them in any way you like. The faster communications speeds mean you can monitor the unit and edit scripts on the fly.
All four serial ports may now be software configured for either RS-232 or RS-422/485.
The video sync input now accepts both composite and black burst sync at PAL or NTSC rates.
The built in real time clock keeps the time of day and date, even when the power is off. Time of day, day of week, date, or even sunrise and sunset can be used to trigger sequences. For increased accuracy, the time may be synchronized to an Internet time server via NTP. The clock can be set to automatically adjust for daylight savings time.
Each input may be software configured for contact closure or voltages, and any voltage from 5 to 24 volts will trigger the input. They’re also very resistant to over-voltage and misconfiguration, with protection up to 60 volts.
We didn’t change these. They’re still dry contacts with self-restoring polymer fuses rated at 0.9 Amps each.
There really are no user serviceable parts inside (no more jumpers!). Everything can now be configured in software. There is no need to ever open the box.
Scripts can also be downloaded using USB. Control the V4 Pro using a simple command set (Start Sequence, Set Variable, Get Version, etc) over USB.
Because of the larger memory sizes and higher communications speeds, scripts and sequences may now be very, very large, and you can have thousands of variables and sequences.
As with the V4+, you can create your own outgoing protocols, but now they’re defined using XML, giving you the ability to do some powerful variable manipulation and insertion. Multiple excel-style functions are available for to achieve string manipulation and checksums. For example, you can use this feature to query a projector’s lamp hours and then send a notification to maintenance personnel. The protocols can include both serial and Ethernet messages in a single file. Protocol files are now stored with your script for easy archiving.
Most importantly, you can now also create your own incoming protocols. Using ‘regular expressions’ you can parse incoming messages, extract content, and use the information as variables in your scripts or to start sequences. The protocols work for both serial and Ethernet messages.
You can transfer scripts to and from the V4 Pro using FTP. The V4 Pro can act as a web server, so your user interface might just be a web browser. NTP will keep the real time clock accurate via an Internet time server. And SNMP provides comprehensive remote control and monitoring.
In WinScript you’d often create sequences with every event at timecode zero in order to perform logic. WinScript Live adds a new type of sequence that has no timecode. Just select between “No Timecode”, “Internal Timecode”, or “SMPTE/EBU Timecode”
WinScript Live also lets you lock sequences to timecode. This means that as the timecode is ‘scrubbed’ back and forth, the sequence will follow, forward or backward in time.
In addition to bytes, you can now create 32-bit integers, decimal, strings, times, dates, timecode, and manipulate them with math and comparison functions. Use the V4Pro’s internal variables such as timecode, time of day, and last error codes within your script as you would a custom variable. Display these variables on the front panel easily and without extra formatting using the LCD wizard.
Mathematical functions such as divide, multiple, bitwise and/or, etc, can be performed on variables. Strings variables can be manipulated with additional functions such as “concatenate” or created with variables using “format”.
In addition to the existing support of “If” testing for variables, inputs and outputs, WinScript Live now supports “Else” and “EndIf” testing to maneuver through a sequence.
The sequence editor is more versatile and auto-fills more information for fast editing.
WinScript lets you monitor and change the value of variables in real time as your script runs in the V4 Pro.
You can also see what’s on the V4 Pro’s LCD display right on your computer, without going to the equipment room to find out!
WinScript also lets you monitor the sequences that are running, their current time, and what event is next in line to be executed as your script runs in the V4 Pro.
Outputs may be ‘forced’ to a specific state for use during programming and testing.
Technical Description
The V4 Pro is our top of the line show controller. It's designed to control both serial and network devices, and can easily handle several completely independent shows. It's a great example of why thousands of theme parks, museums, retail stores, restaurants, world Expos and visitor centers worldwide rely on us to provide the heart of their attractions.
Anyone who’s owned a PC takes the occasional crash and reboot for granted. With show control that’s simply not an option. That’s why our products use special, highly reliable hardware, connectors, and our super-stable ScriptOS real-time operating system. Some Alcorn McBride show controllers have been powered up and operating continuously for fifteen years without a reboot or power cycle. Try that with a PC!
Not only is ScriptOS extraordinarily stable, it’s also powerful, yet easy to use. Each controller is loaded with a script written using our Windows programming software, WinScript Live! You create your show's script by entering instructions in an English-like scripting language, much the same way data is entered into a spreadsheet. Once the unit
is programmed, a PC is no longer needed.
Each script may contain an unlimited number of sequences, which are completely independent. One sequence could handle a preshow, another the main show, and a third could simply monitor the entrance doors. Sequences may be triggered by input changes, serial or ethernet messages, time of day/date, or timecode.
The V4 Pro offers many software-configurable hardware features. There is never a need to open the box or configure jumpers.
The V4 Pro has 4 RS-232 or RS-422 serial ports, brought out on easy to use DB-9 connectors; each port may be software configured. In addition, there is one MIDI port.
Two Ethernet ports -- one for local show control and one for WAN or Internet connection allow the V4 Pro to communicate with almost any network device. Supported protocols include UDP, HTTP (server), FTP, SNMP, SMTP (client), and NTP.
The V4 Pro can be controlled, monitored, and updated across a local area network or the Internet. Control screens can be served to operator consoles throughout the facility or even across the Internet. Its status can be monitored using SNMP, and it can synchronize its time of day clock automatically from an NTP server. Using our maintenance alert service (in development), it can also send an email, page or text message requesting attention.
WinScript Live! comes with protocol files that speak the language of existing serial and Ethernet devices. And if yours isn’t listed, it’s easy to create a new protocol file for your product. Your new commands become a permanent part of the ScriptOS language.
Our inputs and outputs are special, too. All discrete inputs are opto-isolated, providing protection against field wiring problems. Each input is software configurable for voltages and contact closures, and misconfiguration won't damage the unit -- even with transients as high as 100 volts!
The V4 Pro uses self-restoring polymer fuses on each discrete output. Even a dead short in the field won’t harm them; they simply open the circuit until the problem is corrected, then almost miraculously heal themselves.
The V4 Pro can synchronize to a video frame clock. This means that – unlike competing controllers – we can guarantee frame synchronization of audio, video and control signals through your facility. No fancy programming or trial and error are needed. It simply works, every time.
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Orlando, FL 32835