OSC controlled Countdown Timer, Stopwatch, Clock.

[micpool]

Here's a beta of a comprehensive OSC controlled timer app that works well with QLab either on the same computer or over a network.

This software is distributed without any warranties as to its reliability or suitability for your intended use. It is the users responsibility to assess whether the software is suitable for use on their systems.


MicsTimer

A standalone OSC controlled timer that can show countdowns, stopwatch, time of day, and message displays.


OSC controls Port 8099



/micsTimer/Mode {text} {float}


 {text} is one of 3 modes


 countdown (uses {float} to set countdown time in seconds.)


 stopwatch


 clock


/micsTimer/start starts or resumes the timer


/micsTimer/stop stops the timer until reset or resumed.


/micsTimer/reset resets the timer to

0 (stopwatch mode)

or

last countdown time (countdown mode)




/micsTimer/label {text} label or message above the clock.


/micsTimer/windowWidth {integer} set window Width for timer


/micsTimer/windowPosition {integer} {integer} set top left of window




Window can also be resized and moved by dragging, but will not remember posiiton or size.


Onscreen controls


S button Starts or Resumes the timer


P button Pauses the timer


R button Resets the timer


M button Steps through Modes (countdown/stopwatch/clock)


Countdown mode sliders (very small above clock graphic)


Yellow set countdown seconds


Green set countdown minutes

If you would like to beta test this you can download it here:

https://we.tl/t-q7RqFJG6Pz

[Brian Mohr]

This is great timing, pun tolerated.  Timers is on my list of features to build, and specifically to have a utility video feed and possibly a touchOSC/Lemur integration that includes our network time, time until start of event or next major segment, and most importantly time remaining on the current video clip.  I've seen a few examples of timers here on the forum and in the cookbook (both timers and the recital mode)- could you explain how yours differs or when it would be better to use one over another?  I haven't looked closely at anything yet since it is on the to do list rather than in the actively working on category so I apologize if it's kinda obvious on first look.  One question I've had is if it is reliable to rely on 1s loops- In the little experimenting I did it seemed like one loop would get dropped or maybe getting through the script took longer than 1s now and then and thus the timer would be off by a second- and compounded every time it happened which could add up over an hour.  I wondered if instead of using a memo field to store remaining seconds one could use a system clock calculation so that any missed cycle would affect only that cycle and no future ones.  Again I'm getting ahead of myself because I'm not ready to dive into all of this yet but did want to thank you in advance for sharing this because I'm near certain I will start using this in some way! Cheers

[micpool]

Mics Timer.app, (what I just posted a link to) is a standalone app which can be controlled from QLab, or any other software that can send OSC messages. It uses the screen refresh as it’s timebase.

The timer displays in the QLab Cookbook workspace Recital.qlab4  are derived from, and locked to, the elapsed time of the currently playing audio cue.

The QLab workspaces in the Countdown  chapter do rely on a looping 1 sec group cue.

The  Cookbook Real Time Clock is set by the system clock and then uses 10 hour fade cues to rotate the hands, and a looping 1 fps video cue to do the second hand.

Some other timer dependent projects read  the system  clock repeatedly and use the difference between the first reading and a current reading  to calculate elapsed time.

None of these methods use a 1 sec wait  in an Applescript as that would be  prone to errors.

All the other methods, although they would  probably not satisfy the Olympics organising committee, should be solid enough form any practical show timing purposes.

Remember that QLab can reliably deliver up to 192000 audio samples per channel or track, with almost total accuracy, and although inevitably there will be some latency in starting and stopping timers, which may need to be accounted for or avoided, keeping display timers accurate enough for show purposes is fairly trivial.

Mic