Importing from WATCHOUT 6

WATCHOUT includes an importer that reads a WATCHOUT 6 show file (.watch) and converts it into a new show. It preserves most production content — displays, media, timelines, cues, and effects — so you do not start from scratch.

The importer is a best-effort conversion. Some WO6 features have no equivalent and are skipped. An import report records what carried over and what needs attention.

Requires WATCHOUT 6.6 or later. Save the show in WATCHOUT 6.6 or a later version before you import it. Shows from earlier WATCHOUT 6 versions cannot be imported.

Starting an Import

  1. Choose File → Import WATCHOUT 6 Show...
  2. Browse to the WATCHOUT 6 .watch file and click Open.
  3. The importer runs through several stages — extracting the archive, reading the show data, converting the content, and registering media with the Asset Manager.
  4. When complete, the new show opens automatically.

To read the import report, click View Report. It opens as an HTML page in your browser.

To keep a copy, click Save Report and choose where to save the HTML file.

The original WO6 .watch file is not modified. The importer reads it, creates a new show, and leaves the source file untouched.

What Gets Imported

Most production content transfers automatically.

Displays and stage

  • Display devices: position, size, color, white point, rotation, tier assignment, network address
  • Projectors: eye position, origin, lens ratio and shift (frustum)
  • Warp geometry (bezier mesh)
  • Display masks — see Limitations below
  • Stage tiers

Imported displays start disabled for review. Enable output after you check them.

Media

  • Still images, video, audio
  • Compositions and virtual displays
  • 3D models (with texture bindings per sub-mesh)
  • Pre-split images (one asset per display)
  • Solid color media (imported as a white SVG rectangle)
  • Text media (imported as the cached still image)
  • Live and network video capture (LiveVideoMedia, NetworkVideoMedia) and NDI® sources — imported as capture devices without a source. Reconnect each capture after import.

Timeline and cues

  • Media cues (still, video, audio, composition, 3D model)
  • Control cues (play, pause, stop, jump to cue, jump to time)
  • Level cues connected to variables or DMX/Art-Net outputs
  • Media folders and layer structure
  • Network String cues (UDP/TCP) — imported as output cues

Effects

  • Position (including bezier curves and path orientation)
  • Scale, opacity, rotation (X, Y, Z), crop, volume
  • Linear wipe (angle, location, feather, completion)
  • Corners
  • Contrast and brightness
  • Colorize (hue, saturation, brightness → gain channels)
  • Tween expressions with variable references

Variables and inputs

  • Internal variables (maximum value and interpolation)
  • MIDI controller inputs (channel, controller number)
  • MIDI note inputs (channel, note number)
  • DMX/Art-Net inputs

Limitations

Some WO6 features cannot be fully reproduced. The import report calls these out.

Display masks

WO6 display masks are free-form polygons where each point can have its own feather. WATCHOUT uses a rectangular grid of blend control points. The importer converts the polygon to the closest equivalent grid, but the shape and feather may not match exactly. After import, check each masked display and adjust the grid.

Image-based display masks (where a grayscale image defines the shape) are not imported.

Warp geometry

Warp geometry is imported, but handle values may not translate perfectly for highly distorted meshes. Check warped displays after import.

Dropped tween types

These WO6 tween types have no equivalent and are dropped:

  • Balance and per-channel Volumes (audio panning)
  • Tint, Monochrome, ColorTransform, ColorBalance
  • ChannelMixer, LumaKeyer, KeepColor
  • GreenKeyer, BlueKeyer (chroma key)
  • RoundedCorners
  • Stripe, Tiled, Venetian, and Band wipes

Any other unrecognized tween is dropped and listed by name in the import report.

Skipped media types

  • DMX media (recorded DMX playback)
  • HTML media
  • Flash media

These are skipped and listed in the import report.

Other unsupported features

  • Layer conditions — WO6 conditional layer activation has no equivalent
  • Serial String cues — WATCHOUT has no serial port output (network String cues are imported)
  • Tracking variable bindings

The Import Report

The HTML report shows:

  • Summary counts — timelines, cues, media, displays, and variables imported and skipped
  • Warnings — items partially converted or needing review (display masks, warp geometry, captures to reconnect)
  • Errors — items that failed to convert
  • Skipped items — media or cues that could not be imported, with the reason

Work through the warnings from top to bottom. Display issues (masks, warp) are usually the most visible; missing media shows up as placeholder cues on the timeline.

After Importing

  1. Media — open the Assets window and confirm all media is present and processing. Cues whose media failed to process appear as placeholders.
  2. Display layout — open the Stage and verify display positions, sizes, and projector setups. Enable the displays you want to output.
  3. Display masks — if the report mentions masks, compare each masked display against your WO6 reference.
  4. Warp geometry — check warped displays against a reference output.
  5. Captures — reconnect any live, network, or NDI® capture devices to their sources.
  6. Audio — if the show has audio cues, create an audio device as the report advises.
  7. Variables and inputs — open the Inputs panel and verify MIDI, Art-Net, and internal variables.

WATCHOUT 6 used a 0–1 scale for some parameters that WATCHOUT stores on a 0–100 scale. This conversion is handled automatically.

NDI® is a registered trademark of Vizrt NDI AB.

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