Manage background processing
ArenaDirector does two kinds of background work on your library, and handles them differently.
Indexing finds files and changes in a registered folder. It is light, so it starts automatically.
Processing makes thumbnails and measures loudness and tempo. It is heavy, so ArenaDirector always asks you before it starts and never starts it on its own.
Neither kind runs while content plays to an output.
The status indicator
The indicator is a chip in the status bar at the bottom of the window. It appears only when it has something to report.
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Library unavailable | The background worker cannot open its database. Nothing is processed until you restart ArenaDirector. |
| Background processing paused | Content plays to an output and work is queued. The work waits until playback stops. With an empty queue, playback shows no indicator. |
| Indexing N folders… | The app is looking for files and changes. This starts automatically. |
| N pending | Files are waiting for thumbnails or analysis. Nothing happens until you resume. |
Select the indicator to open its popup, which shows the number of pending files. While processing runs, it also shows a progress bar and the current file.
A dot on the indicator means there is an unread notice. A notice reports a change in the library or a folder the app cannot read, for example because a drive is disconnected or a share is not mounted. The notices go away when you close the popup.
Start and pause processing
-
In the popup, select Resume.
A dialog shows how many files are queued and warns that processing uses a lot of CPU and must not run during a show.
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To start, select Start processing.
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To cancel, select Not now.
The dialog has no "don't ask again" option, so processing can never start on its own during a show.
To stop processing, select Pause. Processing also pauses when the queue is empty, and it never restarts on its own.
What happens when a show starts
When content starts playing to an output, no new background work starts and the app cancels any audio analysis in progress. A thumbnail that is being made at that moment is finished first.
Read the Status column
The Status column in the Library shows the state of each file.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Ready | Analysed. The loudness, true peak and tempo values are available. |
| Pending | In the queue. Not yet analysed. The file plays correctly. |
| Analyzing | The app is analysing the file. |
| Failed | The analysis did not complete. |
A Pending file plays correctly. The analysis only fills in the values in the data columns.
Show only files in one state
The Show only list in the Library sidebar filters the files by state. Each entry shows its count across the full library.
| Entry | Shows |
|---|---|
| Analysis failed | Files with the status Failed |
| Plays on the CPU | Videos and images that the CPU decodes or converts |
| Pending analysis | Files with the status Pending or Analyzing |
| Sponsored | Files with one or more sponsors (Pro) |
- Select an entry. The table shows only those files, and the header shows the entry as a chip.
- To show all files again, select the entry again, or select ✕ on its chip.
To check all folders for changes, select the refresh icon next to Folders. See Add media.
Re-analyse one file
- In the Library, select the file.
- At the bottom of the details panel, select Reanalyze.
The analysis starts immediately, without asking. If content is playing, it waits.
Retry failed analyses
The app does not retry a Failed file on its own, so a file it cannot read does not stay stuck in the queue.
The cause is often outside the app: a disconnected drive, a lost network share, or a folder the app cannot read.
When any files have this status, Retry N failed appears in the Library header, where N is the number of failed files.
- Fix the cause of the problem.
- Select Retry N failed.
The files go back into the queue as normal pending work, so they still need your go-ahead and still wait during playback.
Videos that play on the CPU
Arena Director checks how each video and image reaches this computer's graphics card. If the CPU decodes or converts a file, the library shows a warning triangle next to its type. Hover over the triangle to see the reason.
Select the file to see its Playback section in the details panel:
- Optimize makes a copy that plays on the graphics card, with the same size, frame rate, colour and audio. Every frame of the copy must look the same as the original. The app keeps the copy in its own folder and leaves your original file unchanged. From then on, playback uses the copy, while proof of play, cues and sponsor ranges keep using the original's name.
- If Optimize cannot help, for example with 10-bit video, an unusual frame size, or a size this graphics card cannot decode, the panel tells you how to export the file.
- Check again appears if the check cannot read the file.
The check runs alongside the other background processing. Optimize starts immediately when you click it, and its progress shows in the background work chip in the status bar and in the Playback section.
Neither the check nor Optimize runs while an output is live. When an output goes live, Optimize stops and picks up again after the show.
Cancel, in the Playback section or in the library status, stops Optimize for good. The original file does not change.
If you replace the original file, the app stops using the copy and checks the file again. If Arena Director starts on a different graphics card, it checks all files again.
Optimize encodes with the graphics card's or the operating system's H.264 encoder when one is available, and otherwise with a software encoder. It accepts the copy only if every frame matches the original to a visually lossless level.
If a single frame falls short, Optimize fails and the panel shows the reason, and the original keeps playing as before. Some hardware encoders reject very thin frames; the software encoder then makes the copy.