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WATCHOUT
Dataton TRAX
Dataton SMARTSCRIPT

TOUCHDOWN™
TOUCHDOWN™ PRODUCER KIT
TOUCHDOWN™ CABLE
DIN RAIL KIT
KEYLINK
AIRLINK TRANSMITTER
AIRLINK RECEIVER

SMARTPAX QC
POWERLINK
SERIAL SMARTLINKS
MULTIPORT SMARTLINKS
CABLES
POWER SUPPLY AND RACK MOUNT

 

Dataton TRAX


Download your free copy of TRAX version 3.7.1. (Uploaded December 22, 2000)

TRAX 3.7.1 ReadMe file

How to connect TRAX to the Dataton rig

TRAX user guides

Dataton TRAX® software, for Apple Macintosh, gives you control of an entire presentation milieu. It communicates with virtually all kinds of presentation hardware on the market, for lights to sound to images and more. It can control graphics packages, such as Microsoft Powerpoint, and even devices built into some MacOS computers, like audio playback from the hard disk or the CD-ROM.

TRAX communicates with presentation devices via intelligent hardware control units, SMARTPAX QC, and dedicated interface cables, smartlinks. The control protocol of each device is managed transparently by TRAX. Within TRAX you can easily see how to set-up devices and which smartlink to use.

TOUCHDOWN runs Dataton TRAX® applications with touchscreen, customized user interface and MP3 audio play back. Audio is playable from internal loudspeaker, attached head phones or external audio play back equipment via line level balanced audio output. Note that you need TRAX version 3.7 or higher.


TRAX programming

Shows are programmed in TRAX using timelines, with cues placed along them. These cues are then attached to icons representing the presentation devices, providing precise, synchronized control of the devices. In addition, TRAX supports fully interactive applications, based on buttons, sensors or touch panels. Other devices, such as MIDI keyboards and faders, can also act as inputs to TRAX.

In a show, external timecode sources may be fed into TRAX from a device such as a multitrack tape deck. Alternatively, you can let TRAX be the master, sending timecode to other devices for synchronization purposes. Or you can mix external and internal control for different parts of the show.

You can follow cues in your show onscreen in TRAX. You can also use your TRAX computer as a show monitor, tailoring the information shown on the screen to suit your application, as in this example.

TRAX itself can be controlled from other programs or computers via its extensive scripting capabilities. The client program can run on the same computer as TRAX (AppleScript), on another computer connected via a computer network (Ethernet, TCP/IP) or connected through a serial port. Plug-ins for Microsoft Windows (ActiveX) and Macromedia Director (Xtra) are included, allowing you to control all kinds of external devices from these platforms.


How to connect TRAX to the Dataton rig
Once you have installed Dataton TRAX on your Apple Macintosh computer, you need to connect the computer to the first SMARTPAX QC controller in your Dataton system. To do so, use the TRAX CABLE, product number 3425.
 
 
Mac prior to G3 and iMac

If you are using an old-style Macintosh with regular serial ports (indicated by a phone and printer symbol), simply plug the TRAX CABLE into one of the ports. The other end of the cable then connects to the first SMARTPAX QC in your rig. You can use both serial ports at the same time if you have two cables, thus doubling the maximum number of devices you can control.

Powerbook

Initial PowerBook G3 computers, and earlier PowerBook models, feature regular serial ports. To connect this kind of Powerbook to the first Dataton SMARTPAX QC in a rig, use the TRAX CABLE as above. The latest PowerBook G3 computers feature two USB ports and no serial port. To connect such a PowerBook to the Dataton system, follow the instructions for iMac below.

 

iMac

Apple iMac computers do not have serial ports as such; instead, they are equipped with a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port. To connect an iMac to the first SMARTPAX QC in your rig, you will need TRAX version 3.6.2, a TRAX CABLE, and a USB adapter. The following adapter has performed best in tests:

Keyspan USB Twin Serial Adapter
http://www.keyspan.com/products/USB/usa28x/

Plug this adapter into the USB port to gain twin serial ports for connection to one TRAX CABLE, or two. The adapter includes a software driver which should be installed in the System folder of the computer. The most recent driver version tested by Dataton is 1.7.

G4

Apple’s G3/G4 computers are also equipped with USB to the exclusion of a regular serial port. There are three ways to connect a G3/G4 running TRAX to the first SMARTPAX QC in your rig.

1. Use a USB adapter as detailed under “iMac” above.

2. Use a modem-slot serial adapter card. This card is inserted into the modem slot of the G3/G4 desktop Macs. It provides a single serial port for connection to the TRAX CABLE. There are currently two suppliers of this kind of card:

http://www.griffintechnology.com/serial/gport.html
http://www.geethree.com/stealth.html

3. Use a PCI-to-Serial adapter card. Note: Requires TRAX version 3.6.2 and later. The following card has performed best in tests so far:

Keyspan SX Serial Card
http://www.keyspan.com/products/sx/

This card plugs into a free PCI slot on the G3/G4 and provides serial ports for connection to the TRAX CABLE. The card is available in two or four port configurations; TRAX version 3.6.2 supports the use of four ports. The SX card also includes a software driver. The latest version tested by Dataton is 1.3.


TRAX user guides
DATATON TRAX 3 USER’S GUIDE (4.9 MB). A must for all TRAX users. Download it free of charge from here. You can use the handbook as an on-screen aid or print it on your own printer.

TRAX 3.6 ADDENDUM (790 kB). This is where you will find details of all the new features in TRAX 3.6.

DATATON TRAX SHORTCUTS provides an overview of all the keyboard shortcuts in TRAX.

TRAX CABLE product sheet (279 kB).


Written about TRAX

Taking the plunge with creative user interfaces (1.3 MB). From News&Views volume 10. Mike Fahl looks at TRAXSCRIPT, SMARTSCRIPT and what they can do for your user interface.

TRAX 3.5. The new media server (276 kB). From News&Views volume 9. Mike Fahl presents all new TRAX 3.5 features.

TRAX 3 meets the real world (460 kB). From News&Views volume 8. Mike Fahl, the designer of TRAX presents most features in TRAX 3.


Dataton TRAXSCRIPT

Dataton TRAXSCRIPT gives you access to all the capabilities of TRAX and the devices being controlled. You can start and stop timelines, trigger cues, directly manipulate devices, etc. Multiple TRAXSCRIPT clients can talk to one TRAX server, or you can have multiple TRAX servers in the system. The connection between the TRAXSCRIPT client and TRAX can be a serial port, an Ethernet network or even the Internet.

Please refer to the TRAX 3.6 Addendum, chapter 5 for details.

TRAXSCRIPT for MacOS (85 kB) is provided in the form of an Xtra plug-in for Macromedia Director and compatible products.

TRAXSCRIPT for Windows 95/NT (68 kB) is the ActiveX version of the TRAXSCRIPT plug-in and is used with Microsoft Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 or later. It allows you to talk to Dataton TRAX from a PC via a TCP/IP network (eg, Ethernet).

 

 
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