Viz Weather 2.2

Viz Weather 2.2 is a major release update. Due to "behind the scenes" changes, you will need to convert the weather content (data elements, playlists,...) when upgrading from any previous version. Please consult your Vizrt representative before upgrading to this version.

Infrastructure/Setup Changes

• Viz Weather content and configuration data are saved in 2 files: wx_config.xml and wx_content.xml. These files are saved in the same folder as the default.xml file of Viz Media Sequencer Engine (MSE). The files are saved and loaded by the MSE and not by Viz Weather. All Viz Weather related information resides under the VDOM node called viz_weather.
• The notion of Viz Weather server and Viz Weather client applications is not applicable any more. All Viz Weather Applications (Viz Weather and Fetch Application) are clients of a Media Sequencer Engine. The launch flag "-weatherclient" will be ignored.
• All necessary configuration changes can now be made from the Viz Weather GUI, using dedicated user interface windows. Some settings are defined  by loading an appropriate settings file from the disk. Please note that the sub-folders "vizrtDef" and "XMLConfigFiles" are not part of the installation any more. Instead there is the folder "Sample Files" which includes some default configuration files.

New Features

• A new set of CW (Control Weather) plugins has been added. This set of plugins simplifies the design of Viz Weather scenes, and replacing the WInterface and WeatherExport plugins. Each of the CW plugins includes a mini wizard functionality that creates the minimum required containers hierarchy and the relevant plugins. Scenes that use the CW plugins perform better in terms of memory usage and initialization time. Playlist optimization in future versions will be implemented with the CW plugins and you are therefore recommended to use them when building new scenes, and to convert old scenes to use CW plugins  A short training video about the CW plugins is available: Introducing Control Weather plugins .
• It is possible to work with high resolution satellite/radar images that will be cut and scaled according to the map. This feature is also supported in an interactive environment.
• Weather points, texts and special objects behavior strictly follow the scene design attributes. For example, a weather point can be either not movable at all, movable in the x, y space, or movable in the longitude, latitude space, and it is not possible to change it from the Viz Weather GUI as it was in previous versions. Existing data elements will, however, generate exactly the same graphics as before, even if they break the strict rules applied in this version. It is recommended, if necessary, to create new data elements rather than edit old ones.

GUI Changes

• Reorganization of the main menus and various right click menus.
• System settings window has been reorganized and new options added.
• All editor icons have a new unified look, as well as the controls inside the various editors.