Text Block source BPM playback & other issue

[DHoude]

So I played a bunch with using Text Block as a count down when it came out. Now I want to do more with it and I noticed something missing. You can't seem to do a proper BPM triggered layers in the same way that you can do Time based layers.

10
9
8
7...

Counts down. Just set your play length in Seconds and it will jump to each layer, each second. But if I try to do BPM playback

3
2
1
Jump

and set to 1 beat, it just plays "Jump". Even if I set to 4 beats length (one beat for each layer), I just get 1 and then Jump.

The other issue I see is that the Text Block source does not allow for "Play Once & Clear". The Clear option is totally missing and only allows Play once & Hold. That is not really consistent, as this is the only place I see play once and clear missing. At first, I thought it was because I was using BPM. But even Timeline playback is missing this option.

Text Block.jpg (30.22 KiB) Viewed 5084 times

Normal clip / timeline play

Proper Play n Clear.jpg (36.58 KiB) Viewed 5084 times

Thoughts?

[Zoltán]

Counts down. Just set your play length in Seconds and it will jump to each layer, each second. But if I try to do BPM playback
3
2
1
Jump
and set to 1 beat, it just plays "Jump". Even if I set to 4 beats length (one beat for each layer), I just get 1 and then Jump.

The BPM synced parameters are synced to the composition beat grid. So if you launch the clip in this case at beat 3, you'll probably see "3", and "Jump" appear.
Try setting the clip beat snap to at least 1 bar.

The other issue I see is that the Text Block source does not allow for "Play Once & Clear". The Clear option is totally missing and only allows Play once & Hold.

A parameter timeline is different from a clip timeline.
You can't clear or eject a parameter.

I think you're looking for the clip transport settings. Indeed the Sources and Still images don't have the playback controls. We have a ticket to make these also available for these types of clips. Then you 'd be able to have a text source play for 5 seconds and then eject.

This, you can kinda do already, by placing a blank source after your Text Block, and enabling auto pilot to next clip on the text block.

[DHoude]

Thanks for the tip on the BPM. I think you are right about current behavior.

I was used to BPM sync on clip playback, where clip start would delay playing until the beat counter hit Beat 1 of the bar. Text Block source just starts immediately, even if not from the beginning. Not trying to be a pain here, but this seems to be an inconsistent choice too. Leading to why I thought it was a bug of some sort.

In this case, it might be nice to start mid bar. But skipping digits because it is totally locked to the beat number on the counter number is not really a great feature. Personally, I would think it would be nice to have a choice "on Beat" or "Restart". With Restart already existing (and selected here), you could probably understand the confusion when it starts unexpectedly from the middle.

[Zoltán]

I would think it would be nice to have a choice "on Beat" or "Restart". With Restart already existing (and selected here), you could probably understand the confusion when it starts unexpectedly from the middle.

Yes, it could be a nice option to have indeed.