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PLAYBACK MASTERS
Scenes, presets, chases and shows can all be assigned to playback faders. There are 32 pages of
8 faders giving you a total of 256 playbacks. In addition you can configure the flex faders as
playbacks giving you 256 more. Each playback fader has a flash button just above it that is used
for programming and performance functions. For performance, it can be set to operate in flash,
latch or go mode. Each playback can be configured individually to operate in LTP or HTP
mode. The performance modes of the playbacks are selected when you assign memories to
them. If you plan to use the flex faders as playbacks, look at the menu chapter under “Select
flex fader mode” for instructions on how to do that.
ASSIGNING A MEMORY TO A PLAYBACK
Assigning a memory to a playback is quick and easy. Press “record” and the record LED will
flash. Select a playback by pressing its flash button, the playback’s LED will start to flash. Now
select the memory type by pressing “preset”, “chase”, “scene” or “show”. Finally press one of
the 48 number switches from any memory page to assign one of these memories to the
playback. After assigning the memory to the playback, the LEDs will stop flashing except for
the record LED. This will allow you to continue to program more playbacks if needed. You can
press “record” to exit record mode.
At any time during the playback record process you can select a different playback to work on.
If you need to change to a different playback page, toggle off any flashing playback before
changing the page number. Before selecting the memory assignment for the playback, you can
use data wheels 3 or 4 to set the playback modes for the fader or button.
To edit a playback you have already programmed, select that playback while the record LED is
flashing. You will be asked if you want to edit it, press “yes” to edit. If you only want to change
the fader or button mode without changing the memory that is assigned to the playback, press
“enter” after making the mode change.
To erase a playback, press “erase” after selecting a playback for editing.
USING THE PLAYBACKS
Each playback can perform quite differently from the next depending on the type of memory
assigned and the playback mode. The following paragraphs will describe each case in detail. In
general though, the faders must be reset to 0 (pulled to the bottom of travel) before they will
start. The playback will begin when the fader is moved just slightly above the 0 position and
then released once it is brought back to 0. Once started, the memory will be attached to that
fader until released, even if the page is changed.
NOTE: If the preview LED is lit, pressing a playback flash button will show what’s assigned to a
playback without playing it.
LTP MANUAL MODE
LTP stands for “latest or last takes precedence or priority”. This means that when calling a
memory any new channel changes will override previous settings. This is standard operation
for most moving light controllers. In the case of the SD3, the playback fader will manually
control all fades between the old channel settings and the playback’s new settings. There is no
timed crossfade when using LTP mode. Any channel that is included in the playback’s memory
will have its starting value captured at the start of playback, allowing you to pull the fader
back, returning any channels to their starting positions. This will allow you to bring the values