ThunderCloud xChange User Guide

Requirements

Java:   It is necessary to install Java for ThunderCloud EXchange to function properly. If Java is not installed, you will be prompted to install it.

To install Java got to http://Java.com and click “Free Java Download” button

XOS Launcher: The XOS launcher application is need to launch the TCX Java app.  When a user first opens TCX the following menu will appear. 

Select click here and follow the installer instructions.  

Once the install is complete select Launch Java App.  

Transcode Client: ThunderCloud Exchange requires that the XOS Transcode Client be installed. The installer screen will be presented the first time you log into the application.

 

To install the Transcode Client, click on the installer link corresponding to the platform you are running (Mac or PC) and follow the onscreen installatoin instructions.

The file transcode will be performed on the client prior to the upload. Transcode times will vary dependign on file size and computer resources. See the “Transcode” section for transcode conditions.

After install is complete restart the computer.

 

Log in

1. Go to: http://tcx.xosdigital.com
2. Enter a user name (e-mail address) and password  and click the “Login” buton.

3. The user is logged in and the Upload Manager tab is visible.

Notes:

1. Only users that have upload privileges will be able to see the Upload Manager tab.
2. Only the leagues with which the user is associated are shown in the drop-down menu.
3. A “Space Usage” graph will be displayed for each user detailing Current Usage, Max. Allocated, and Remaining storage.

Reset Password

To reset your password, click the “Reset Passord” button. An e-mail with a temporary link will be sent to the e-mail address entered in the Email Adress field:

Follow the instructions in the e-mail to reset your password.

 

USER PREFERENCES

The user preferences allow users to do the following:

• Set a Default Conference Office
• Specify a default name for downloaded files
• Set a Default Download Directory
• Specify Download Media Preferences

Default Conference Office: Allows for ownership to be shared with the conference office selected

 

Set Default Name for Downloaded Files

Default:

• Football: the file will be downloaded with the original name.
• For all other sports a file name will be auto-generated based on the upload manager file properties. For example: “04092014_Florida_at_Georgia_Offense_Original_File_Name.mp4”

Auto-generate: a file name will be auto-generated based on the upload manager file properties. For example: “04092014_Florida_at_Georgia_Offense_Original_File_Name.mp4”

Use Original Name: file will be downloaded with the original name.

Default Download Directory

 

Download Media Preferences

To change the transcode settings when downloading, click the desired transcode option from the Download Media Preferences drop-down menu. See the Transcode section at the end of this document for a list of available transcode options for each media file type.

UPLOAD

All file types are supported for upload. Note that certain files will transcode prior to uploading. See the “Transcode” section at the end of this document for transcode conditions.

 

Upload Manager

This tab allows users to upload and share files with teams.

1. Login to the ThunderCloud eXchange site.
2.  Click the corresponding league checkbox in the “Leagues” section. This will reveal the “Conference/Division” section.
3. Select a conference and team and click the “add >>” button. This will reveal the “Files to Upload/Share” section.
4. Make a selection for the Game Date, Home Team, Away Team, Filmed By game properties.

 

 

5. Click the “Select File(s) to Upload” button
6. Select a file and click “Open”

 

Notes:  It is possible to upload a metadata file to go along with the uploaded video file. The metadata file can either be an .xml or an .xchange file. When a supported video file is accompanied by a metadata file, the metadata file will be automatically uploaded along with the video file. Video and metadata files must have the same name in order for the metadata file to be uploaded as part of a video file upload.

 

7. Select a game property from the drop-down and click “Send Files to Transfer Queue.”

8. The file is added to the transfer queue and is shared with the corresponding team(s).

 

 

Sharing of Ownership

It is possible for a user to share ownership with the Home Team, Away Team, or Conference Office when uploading a file or after having uploaded it. This allows the teams with whom the file ownership has been shared to further share the file with other teams. When ownership of a file is given to a team, the file will show up under the “My Uploads” tab.

To share ownership during the upload process:

1. Add a file to the upload queue in the Upload Manager page
2. Select the Home, Away, and/or Conference Office check boxes.

Note: The Conference Office checkbox can only be checked if a Conference Office is selected in the Conference Office Drop-down menu.

To set a default Conference, click the USER PREFERENCES tab and select a Conference Office from the drop-down menu.

Note that due to a defect, the conference office teams are not displayed correctly. We are working to address this issue as soon as possible.

Notes:

1. The team that uploaded the file is the “outright owner,” as such, only this team has the ability to add additional owners (see below).
2. If more than one team has ownership and the file is deleted by either team, the file will disappear from the file list of the team that “deleted” it. However, the file will remain in storage and will be visible to any team(s) with ownership of the file. The file will be deleted when the last team with ownership of the file deletes it.
3. When a file is shared with a team, the amount of storage that the file occupies will count against the storage quota of the team with home the file is shared.

 

 

My Team Uploads

All files uploaded by users associated with a particular team are displayed here. Users can view, remove and download files. Additionally, users are able to modify the teams with which files are associated.

Note: you may need to click the “Refresh Grid” button in order for the uploaded file to show up under MY TEAM UPLOADS tab.

View Files

To view a files uploaded by any user on your team:

1. Click the MY TEAM UPLOADS tab.
2. Click on a row 🡪 the row expands to show the file(s) contained within this row (set).

 

 

Metadata Status

When files are uploaded with .xml or .xchange metadata files, a green “M” button or “CSV” link will be visible to the right of the file names. Files without metadata will contain a grey “M” and no “CSV” link next to the file names. The “CSV” option is only available in the “SHARED TO MY TEAM” tab.

 

 

Viewing Metadata

“M” Button

When the green “M” button is clicked, the metadata information is loaded in the browser. This information contains ALL of the play information related to the edit.

Note: pop-up blocker needs to be disabled for the TCX website for the metadata to load.

When the grey “M” (has no metadata) button is clicked, the following message is presented:

“CSV” Link

The CSV file contains Mark In and Mark Out information only.

When the “CSV” link is clicked, a window asking to open or save the file is presented.

Click “Save” and choose a destination directory.

Note: The “CSV” link is only available in the “SHARED TO MY TEAM” tab.

Download Files

1. To download ALL files on a page: click the select all checkbox in the header row of the table and click the “Download Selected Videos” button.

 

 

2. To download ALL the files inside a set: click the checkbox to the left of the row and click the “Download Selected Videos” button.

 

 

 

3. To download specific files inside a set: click the set (row) to expand it, select the checkbox for the file(s) to be downloaded and then click the “Download Selected File(s)” button.

 

 

Note: you can also download individual files by clicking their names.

 

4. To download entire sets of files, click the “Download Set” button on a row (set)

Auto Download

The Auto Download feature automatically downloads files shared to the sports organization with which the user is associated.

To set your Auto Download preferences:

1. Click the Auto Download tab
2. If desired, set the SPORTS, SHOOTERS, AND CATEGORIES filters so that only files matching these criteria are automatically uploaded and/or shared with the sports organization.

 

Note: if no filters are set, any file shared with the organization will be automatically downloaded when uploaded and/or shared.

 

3. Click the BEGIN AUTO DOWNLOADING button.

1. Note: spinning circles will be displayed while the Auto Downloader is on.

4. To stop Auto Downloading, click the STOP AUTO DOWNLOADING button.

 

 

 

Remove Files

1. To remove an entire set: click the “Remove Set” button on a row (set).

2. To remove specific files inside a set: click on a row (set) to expand it and click the “Remove” button for the file to be removed.

Sharing Info

1. File sharing properties can be set at the game set or the individual file level.

 

1. To change the sharing properties for an entire set, click the “GAME SET SHARING” button in the row (set):

 

2. Add or remove teams to associate or disassociate them with the file:

 

 

3. To change the sharing properties for an entire set, click the row (set) to expand it and then click the  “SHARING” button for the file:

 

 

4. Add or remove files to associate them or disassociate them with teams.

 

Shared to My Team

 All files shared to a team with which the user is associated are displayed here. This tab allows users to view and download files which have been shared with their team(s).

Transfer Queue

The transfer queue shows files as they are uploaded or downloaded. It allows users to pause, restart and cancel transactions by removing the file from the queue. The transfer queue also allows users to prioritize file uploads and downloads by moving them up and down the queue.

TRANSCODE

ThunderCloud eXchange transcodes files on upload and/or download. On upload, files are transcoded based on file type and/or bitrate threshold. On download, files are transcoded per user preferences.

UPLOAD AND TRANSCODE

Some files will always transcode when uploaded while others will be uploaded in their native format.  

TRANSCODE CONDITIONS

 

Always transcode	Transcode per guidelines (see below)
ASF	MP4
AVI (1 & 2)	MOV
M4V
MP2
MPG
MTS
MXF
TS
WMV

Note: video files NOT in the “Always transcode” column will be uploaded in their native format.

Upload and Transcode guidelines for MP4 and MOV:

• MOV files will transcode on upload if:

• Bitrate is greater than 12 Mb

• MP4 files will transcode on upload if:

• 720p bitrate is greater than 10 Mb
• 480i bitrate is greater than 8 Mb
• 1040i bitrate is greater than 8 Mb

Note: Files transcoded on upload will be transcoded to .MP4 (H264 codec).

1. MXF: It is not possible to Upload MXF files from a Mac because this requires the file to be transcoded prior to being uploaded and transcoding of MXF files is not supported on the Mac OS. This also applies to downloading and transcoding MXF files on the Mac.

 

DOWNLOAD AND TRANSCODE

Available Options for Download/Transcode:

• MP4 480i

• MXF
• AVI
• MOV
• MP4 480i (no transcode)

• MP4 720p

• MXF
• AVI
• MOV
• MP4 1080i
• MP4 720p (no transcode)

 

 

 

 

• MP4 1080i

• MXF
• AVI
• MOV
• MP4 720p
• MP4 1080i (no transcode)

• MOV 720p

• MP4
• MOV 720p (no transcode)

• VOB

• MP4
• VOB (no transcode)