Piston

Version 8.2

In this update, we've introduced new features and improvements, alongside resolving several bugs to enhance your experience.

New Features:
- A Skip button is now available at the bottom of each Qualifier list, allowing users to proceed directly to the confirmation page, bypassing remaining lists.
- A global 'Qualifier Auto Finish' setting has been added to the settings dropdown menu. When activated, it automatically finalizes the qualifiers entered upon the selection of the last list and omits the confirmation page.

Improvements:
- Functionality to delete partially downloaded angle segments has been introduced, applicable when localizing for a specific angle is deactivated.
- The session response mechanism has been enhanced for auto-localizing server sessions. The localize icon now turns green once all segments are downloaded, eliminating the need for the localize menu pop-up to appear. Session finalization is achieved through selecting 'Finalise' from the localize dropdown menu.
- The settings menu now includes options to set video quality and bitrate for encoding when editing local session content.
- A progress spinning wheel is now displayed during the import of large videos into the Composer, improving user feedback.
- A pop-up warning will alert users if the app fails to detect a license, advising an update of the server and contact with fulcrum for assistance.

Bug Fixes:
- The transparency level of the background in the Share Local Session pop-up has been adjusted.
- Resolved an issue where the 'N' keyboard shortcut for Note would navigate to the end of the session in a partial session setting, provided 'Resume State after Marker' was set to 'Live'.

Version 8.1 (Build 697)

What’s New:

License Expiry Warnings: We’ve introduced notifications for license expiry on updated servers, ensuring you stay informed ahead of time.

Enhanced AirDrop Support: Piston Local Sessions and Composers can now be seamlessly opened via AirDrop. Simply press 'Share' and select the Piston app icon to get started.

This update is designed to enhance your user experience with timely notifications and improved file sharing capabilities. Your feedback is valuable to us, and we encourage you to let us know how these changes work out for you.

New Features:
- Enhanced Session Management: Introducing a pop-up warning to alert users when initiating a new session while a live session is already in progress, ensuring better session control.

Improvements:
- Toolbar UI Enhancements: We've fine-tuned the toolbar menu items in the Cuts List/Archive, especially in portrait mode on phones, for a smoother experience.
- Localise Menu and Dropdown Refinements: Improved alignment and behavior of the Localise dropdown and menu for a more intuitive interaction.
- Rotation Responsiveness: Enhanced UI stability in the Localise menu when switching orientations.
- Light Mode Visual Fix: Adjusted the appearance of the Localise button in light mode to prevent it from appearing inactive.

Bug Fixes:
- Streaming Control Correction: Resolved an issue where disabling pre-loading and side angles in the stream menu incorrectly streamed local sessions as server sessions.
- Drawing Toolbar Accessibility: Fixed an issue where the drawing toolbar could not be activated during a Cut after starting a screen recording.
- Screen Recording Initialization: Addressed a bug where screen recording displayed a blank screen at the start if the Cut was not playing.
- Multi-Angle Session Launch: Solved a problem where sessions with more than 8 angles appeared to fail at startup.
- Stability Improvement: Fixed a crash that occurred when attempting to access the Localise dropdown without all video angles having a 30-second download chunk available.

We constantly strive to improve your experience with the Piston App. Your feedback is invaluable in this journey.
Please continue to send your suggestions or report any issues you encounter.

Thank you for using Piston App!

Version 7.9

Performance Enhancements:
- Cuts List & Archive Overhaul: We've completely reengineered the Cuts List and Cuts Archive for smoother performance, especially when handling a large number of Cuts.

Bug Fixes:
- Info Bar UI Update: Resolved an issue where the info bar in the Cuts list was not displaying qualifiers and notes under certain conditions.
- AutoCut Timing Correction: Fixed a bug to ensure AutoCut Markers on Server and Local sessions wait for all data (notes and qualifiers) to be entered before cutting.

New Features:
- Cuts Counters: Easily track total Cuts and selected Cuts in both the Cuts List and Cuts Archive.
- Progressive Delete Counts: Stay informed with a new progress count when deleting cuts.
- Expanded Delete Options: Streamline your editing process with 'Delete All Cuts' and 'Delete All Session Cuts' features, now available in the Delete dropdown menu.

Alerts & Warnings:
- Storage Alerts: A new flashing alert will appear if a session is capturing and server storage exceeds 80%.
- Urgent Pop-Up Warnings: Immediate action is required with central screen pop-ups when server storage surpasses 90% and 95% during an active capture session - these must be acknowledged.

Piston App Version 7.8

Major Updates & New Features:
- Added a new streams menu in the right drop down menu within a session
- Within this menu, users can de-select particular video angles to be streamed live into the Piston session player without impacting the Angles that will be localised, cut or captured onto the server
- Also within this menu is the option to disable the right hand sidebar and the pre-loading of angles to the left and right of the currently playing angle
- Reducing number of angles being streamed and deactivating side angles can significantly improve playback by reducing bandwidth consumption when streaming over the internet or on a WiFi with limited bandwidth

Improvements:
- Improved logic of down arrow behaviour on keyboard to match logic in Angles
- Added hundredths of a second to Timer Stopwatch
- Improved angles sidebar UI and playback
- Increased info bar opacity in Cuts thumbnails
- Automatically close merge Cut and Composer video export pop ups upon merge completion
- Added ability to check build number when not logged into a server
- Locked rotation during drawing to preserve shapes' and drawings' locations

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed bug where Marker Up time was not recorded in JSON if Mark was pressed at leading edge in live session
- Fixed bug where localise would auto start if status edited retrospectively
- Fixed bug where locking angles in split view at 0 seconds on timeline would not work
- Users with Viewer permissions can no longer swipe to delete on server sessions
- Fixed bug where entering the Drawing tool whilst in Full Screen did not kick out of full screen mode
- Added Done button to keyboard on iPhone when entering into a text box whilst in the Drawings view
- Fixed bugs related to updating shapes across views

Version 7.7 Update:

- Improved live session marker behavior.
- Automatic server session localization for server sessions that were previously live.

Piston App Version 7.6

Introducing Portrait Mode on iOS devices and major UI Improvements for the iPhone app! We have also added a new MarkUp layout to enhance tagging capabilities and increase video real estate, especially on smaller screens!

Major Updates & New Features:
- New Portrait view across iOS devices in all menus and players
- New MarkUp list mode: flip between having your MarkUp overlaying the video and as a list in the right sidebar
- Major MarkUp UI Improvements: Marker buttons better auto-fit the screen when in Overlay mode

Improvements:
- Merging Cuts with JSON export now includes Qualifiers similarly to Composer video export
- Updated Filter menu UI into a pop up
- AutoCuts created in a Local or Server session no longer require playhead to move past the end point before cutting
- Added ability to select 'None' in MarkUp selector pop-up

Bug Fixes:
- Fixed bug where AutoCut duration was incorrect if a Cut was made too close to the start or end of a session
- Fixed bug where videos and photos imported into a Composer from Photos would not show the correct information in the player
- Fixed bug where the overlay video controls would sometimes show a pause/play button rather than a live button
- Fixed Timer menu pop up UI on iPhone and MacOS
- Fixed crash that would occur if attempting to select and unselect clips whilst Clips are still cutting
- Fixed bug where Markers being imported from an Angles JSON would not be copied to the partial session until it began compiling

Piston App Version 7.5
Piston Server Update #828

WARNING FOR UPDATE: Updating the Piston App to v7.5 will change the current logic of Cut buttons. Ensure you update your Piston Server to Build #828 to utilise these new features. Please read the below release notes and adjust your Cut buttons accordingly after updating.

Major Updates & New Features:
- We have adjusted the way that Buttons are created and edited on the Piston Server in order to align more closely with our Desktop editor Angles.
- Time offset has been replaced with Time Down. The functionality remains the same and will place the Marker into the timeline the entered number of seconds before or after the button is pressed.
- Auto Cut Duration has been removed.
- Time Up has been added. This no longer indicates the length of the Cut from the Marker entry point into the timeline but is an indicator of the number of seconds either before or after the button is pressed at which point you want your clip to end.
- In the Edit Button pop up on the Web UI, you can see the Clip Duration calculated for you as a check to ensure you have entered your Time Down and Time Up correctly.
- Ticking the Auto Clip Cut will create a Cut with the Time Down and Time Up as the start and end times for the Cut.
- Ticking the Open Ended Cut will still allow you to choose the length of the Cut, but will add the Time Down and Time Up onto the beginning and end of the Cut length respectively.
- IMPORTANT: whether or not a Cut is selected, when the JSON from Piston is imported into Angles, the clips created in the Angles Timeline will now respect the Time Down and Time Up for that particular Button.
- If a button has no duration (ie. Time Down and Time Up are the same), the JSON imported into Angles will continue to populate a 10 second clip with 5 seconds Time Down and 5 seconds Time Up. This will be indicated under the Clip Duration heading in the Edit Button pop up.
- HOWEVER, ticking Auto Clip Cut for a clip with zero length will NOT create a 10 second cut. Ticking Auto Clip Cut always requires a manually entered duration.

- The UI has been updated on the Marker buttons when a MarkUp is in use in the App so that Down Time is indicated in the lower left corner of the button, Up Time is indicated in the lower right corner of the button and a Scissors icon is at the bottom centre of the button if the button is either an Auto Cut or Open Ended Cut button.

Bug Fixes and Improvements:
- Improved performance when cutting multiple angle Cuts and/or cutting multiple Cuts in quick succession

Introducing Version 7.4 (Build 551) of Piston, packed with new features, improvements, and bug fixes to elevate your experience! Here's what's new in this version:

New Features:
- Lock angles for playback in a Composer, giving you more control over your editing process.
- Import photos directly from the Photos app as a video.
- Force sync server Markers and notes, allowing you to choose between local or server data.
- Share & Merge a Composer into a single movie file for easy sharing.
- View notes and qualifiers at the bottom of the Cut and Composer player.
- Add multiple Cuts to Composer from within the Composer itself.
- Access a pop-up menu in Composer archive with a long press on a composer.
- Enjoy improved performance with an updated FFMPEG for iOS.
- Experience consistent user permissions across app and server.

Bugs and Improvements:
- Refreshed Server Sessions List UI.
- Enhanced Partial Session synchronization with priority over server data.
- Better warning messages for deleted cut pop-ups in composers.
- FFMPEG process improvements during cutting and merging.
- Auto-delete empty composers and receive a warning when opening them from the archive.
- Resolved Filter by User refresh issue.
- Fixed Clip playback issues in Composer sidebar.
- Improved iPhone UI in Cuts and added support for importing photos as video.
- Eliminated crashes when deleting cuts in a composer.
- Addressed 'State after Marker' settings bug affecting all Markers.
- Refined Notes syncing logic between Server, Local, Partial Sessions, Cuts, and Composer.
- Fixed drawing layer alignment and touch input functionality.

Upgrade to Piston Version 7.4 (Build 551) today and experience the enhancements we've made to optimize your video editing journey!

Version 7.3 Build 435

New Feature

Introducing the Composer:

Piston is taking the next step to becoming your one stop solution for capture and presentation. With the introduction of the Composer, you can now send Cuts from multiple different sessions to an easy to arrange presentation tool. This will become a killer feature for half time and quarter time presentations on a match day, especially if you are capturing and cutting across multiple Piston Sessions per quarter.

Select clips from the Cut Archive or Cuts List to send to a New or Existing Composer or even add the Cut from the Cut Player itself. Then jump directly to the Composer Archive from the Session or Cut Player to view your working Composer. You can also add multiple cuts to multiple different composers.

You can re-arrange the order of the Cuts in your composer to ensure your presentation plays through exactly as you like it, with no more awkward moments as you jump in and out of the Cut Archive looking for that next clip.

All the available angles in the cut will appear in the Cut that appears within your composer, so no need to worry about whether or not you have exported the correct angle.

You can easily navigate through the Composer clips by swiping down and up to jump to next and previous respectively or you can simply tap on your desired cut in the right hand sidebar. You can also select the playback mode: either let the video play through the next clip or have it pause at the end of each clip until you are ready to swipe down to the next one. You can also use all of your favourite keyboard shortcuts if you have a keyboard attached.

Add pre-prepared videos from your camera roll into your Composer to add extra content captured outside of Piston into your presentations.

Updates:

Added ability to filter Markers in the timeline by Qualifiers
Added ability to search for Qualifiers and Qualifier Category via the filter in Cuts List and Cuts Archive
Added ability to export CSV of all Markers in a local Session by swiping right on local session in Sessions list
When logged into a server, the server name/address appears beside the heading Server Session or Live Sessions


Improvements & Bug Fixes:
UI improvements on iPhone
Improvements in 'web server' access via the application
Fixed bug where 'viewer' user could see the Note Marker icon but could not use it
Fixed crash that occurred when screen recording a split screen view
Fixed bug where inserting a a square in drawings did not respect certain settings
Fixed bug where the Note Marker created in the timeline when a note is added to a Cut did not correspond with the selected Marker colour
Fixed crash occurring when info bars on Cuts pushed up during a Cut being made
Improvements in Localising and visual Localisation menu
Changed default behaviour when sharing a merged Cut to not include JSON
Fixed bug where sharing Current Angle from a Cut would sometimes share the sidebar angle

Version 7.2

Updates:
- Added pop-up when stopping server session
- Added option in Settings to deactivate screen overlay controls when an external keyboard is detected
- Option to jump to live upon completion of Note or using a Qualifier List added and made the default behaviour
- Added Cut Looping mode in Cuts player
- Added info icon in Cuts List/Archive to push up/down all Cut information bars
- Added exit button to the settings menu
- Extended forward and backward time to up to 60 seconds

Improvements:
- When sharing multiple Cuts at once, Cuts are no longer shared in a folder; allowing them to open in the Photos app directly
- Fixed Bug where overlay controls were off centre on the phone
- Fixed bug where the settings menu wouldn't scroll down far enough
- Fixed bugs related to entering the Partial Session from the Sessions list whilst a live session exists
- Fixed bugs related to infinite buffering when jumping to live within a live session
- Fixed Stopwatch time display being incorrect
- Fixed video going in loop when ending the session from the web interface

Version 7.1 Build 380
 
Updates:
-      Added option in Settings to deactivate screen overlay controls when an external keyboard is detected
-      Option to jump to live upon completion of Note or using a Qualifier List added and made the default behavior
-      Added Cut Looping mode in the Cuts player
-      Added info icon in Cuts List/Archive to push up/down all Cut information bars
 
Bugs & Improvements:
-      When sharing multiple Cuts at once, Cuts are no longer shared in a folder; allowing them to open in the Photos app directly

Version 7.0

New Features

-      Added ability to add notes to Cut in Cut player and sync this back to server/local/live session Markers
-      Added Note Marker (Keyboard N shortcut) icon to right Markers sidebar
Tip: this can be used when offline to create Marks if no MarkUp is loaded. This can create a Cut also if the setting is ticked in the settings menu
-      Swipe left on a local session now allows user to share raw mp4s of the entire session
-      Swiping on a marker in sidebar to perform a Cut now always appears under the heading of the Marker that was swiped upon
 
Bugs & Improvements:
-      Fixed bug where AutoCut button with offset greater than length of autocut did not cut
-      Improved Cut syncing in Split Screen Cut viewer
-      Improved jump to live/partial from Cuts Player processes
-      Fixed bug where MarkUp would need to be reloaded after viewing the partial session or the Cuts list if not selected when starting session
-      Fixed bug where screen recording in split screen Cut player was not working
-      Fixed bug where drawing tool in split screen cut player was not working
-      Fixed bug in Drawings List where ‘Jump To’ button would not return to that moment in the session

Version 6.9 Build 342

- Fixed minor bug issues

Version 6.8
- Sort cuts chronologically or by the latest cut
- Export Cuts with a description containing: Session name, marker name, marker Index, and qualifiers
- Auto cut now has qualifiers attached to them
- Hold the timer button to delete or reset all timers
- Quick button to jump from the cut menu and back to the session from the cut player
- Bug fixes and UI improvements

Version 6.6

- New and improved localizing procedures
- New and improved cutting procedures
- New and improved cutting menu
- New inclusion of Session Name, Marker, Qualifiers, and Angle Name into the name of a Cut when shared
- Bug fixes

Version 6.4
- New Import system with the ability to import videos, images, and pdfs directly into Piston.
- Local Sessions can now be shared with other iOS and macOS devices.
- Share and delete multiple clips in the Cut and Import menus.
- Fixed minor bugs and improved UI.

Version 6.3
Bug fixes and Improvements

Version 6.2
- Bug fixes and Improvements

Version 6.1
- Bug fixes and Improvements

Version 6.0

New Features
- Added Qualifier Lists to marker buttons

Improved UI and bug fixes
• Utilise Qualifier Lists
• Retrospectively add/update notes to Markers
• Mute status remembered when leaving session and changing angles
• Mute and Play after Marker Options added to Settings Menu
• Bug Fixes: Improved quality of Cuts

Version 5.3

Bug fixes and Improvements
- Fixed cuts being a different length
- Fixed cuts going blank when switching in the cut menu
- Fixed open-ended markups creating blank cuts
- 30fps when using screen recording on all devices
- Fixed Crash when losing Wifi
- Fixed duplicate schema markups when going offline

Bug Fix
- Fixed a minor bug in the cut menu freezing for a few seconds during the cut

Piston Version 5.0
- Split view mode in the cut player.
- Screen recording ability for the cut and split view players.
- Drawing tools for cut and split view players.
- Session selection and sorting for clip merging.
- Bug fixes and improvements.

Piston Version 4.0
- Multi clip merging for cut clips
- Merged Clip export with Timelines information
- New marker types added
- Eraser Tool added to drawings
- Improved UI for the drawing tool
- Bug fixes and improvements