OmniSkore!
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The Judge’s Choice |
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User’s Guide
OmniSkore!
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The Judge’s Choice |
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User’s Guide
Table
of Contents
Detailed Operating Instructions
Starting OmniSkore the First Time
Specify or Select Competition Name
Preparing the Competition with OmniConfig
Configuring the Judging Panels
Wrapping Up System and Competition
Configuration
Preface: Scoring Values
Explained
“Penalty” and “Inter Penalty”
Explained
Creating a Score: the Judging
Procedure Detailed
Step 1: Select the Event, Team and
Round
Step 2: Cue the System to “Scoring
Standby”
Step 6: Event Judge Critical
Actions
Browsing Scores using the “Change
Scores” Button
Creating (or Over-Riding) Scores
Browsing and Printing Results with
OmniView
Official vs. Unofficial Scores
Obtaining and Installing Software
Updates
Adjusting the “DZ TV” Graphics
Layout
A Really Advanced Feature:
Customizing the DZTV Title Screen(s)
Convert the Bitmap to a Screen (.SCR) File
Copy the Screen File to the Scoring Processor
Edit the Title Screen Control File
Scoring Processor Prior to Assembly
Scoring Processor After Assembly
Scoring Processor Judging Panel
Connections
The purpose of this User’s Guide is to provide the OmniSkore system operator with instructions on setting up and operating the OmniSkore judging system.
The intended audience of this document is:
§
The Chief Judge, who should be familiar
with certain features and capabilities of the system. The Chief Judge may choose to perform system configuration, which
is detailed in the section Starting OmniSkore the First Time.
§
The Event Judge, who is normally the
person who operates the system (e.g., operates the laptop PC to control the
system and create scores). The Event
Judge should be most familiar with the section Running OmniSkore.
§ The Principal Judges, who only need to be familiar with Appendix C, Judging Panel Guide.
Please don’t hesitate to contact the OmniSkore! support team if we have omitted anything from this User’s Guide, or if you just need special assistance. Here are four different ways to contact us:
§ E-mail us at omniskore@pobox.com. (E-mail sent to this address is forwarded to all members of our support team.)
§ Visit our web site at http://www.omniskore.com/support, where you can download the latest software releases and User’s Guides.
§ Fax us at +1-703-940-1123. This is an Internet-fax that is forwarded to all members of our team, so we will be able to help you promptly.
§ By telephone at +1-602-524-7680 or +1-520-466-1370.
OmniSkore! consists of two computers running on an Ethernet local-area network (LAN):
§
The Scoring
Processor performs timing, score collation, and video
operations including Freeze Frame and Genlock (graphics overlay).
The judging panels are connected to this computer.
You can connect up to eight judging panels, and use any number of them
for judging. For example, you can judge
4-way with three judges, and 8-way with five judges. You can also add training judges, whose actions are recorded but
not counted.
§
The Windows 98
computer (i.e., the laptop provided) is the platform for the Event Judge’s user interface. Please note that this computer is referred
to variously in this document as --
o …the Windows computer
o …the Windows 98 computer
o …the Master Computer
o …the Host Computer
o …the Competition Host Computer
o …the Event Judge’s computer
o …the laptop
They all mean the same thing!
NOTE: Your laptop may have a later version of Windows. The basic instructions in this User’s Guide will remain the same.
The two computers are connected via an Ethernet “cross-over” cable.
Instructions for setting up the hardware are provided in Appendix A.
For most competitions, the only hardware you need to provide is a printer and all necessary video equipment and cables. Typically this includes one or two VCRs, four to six monitors, and video cables. Appendix B contains a diagram that shows the video and OmniSkore! equipment together in a typical setup.
The Windows laptop computer comes pre-configured with the Windows 98 operating system. Normally you will only need a single mouse click to open an icon (application). If this does not work for you, try double-clicking the icon instead.
You can attach an external keyboard, mouse and/or monitor to the laptop if you so desire.
OmniSkore Desktop Folder
(Note: software on your computer may vary.)
Although the name “OmniSkore” generally refers to the system originally created for judging Formation Skydiving (FS) and Canopy Formations (CFS) competitions, it also includes two similar software products, Pegasus and Stylus. All three systems run on the same hardware configuration.
Instructions for operating Pegasus and Stylus are provided in their own User’s Guides; however, the procedure for starting the software (i.e., opening the main Windows program) is the same for all three systems.
A special utility program called SetSP is used to configure the Scoring Processor for the software system you wish to run.
The laptop may also have the following optional software:
§
OmniView allows you to print FS and CFS standings and score sheets outside of the main OmniSkore
software. (In addition to existing as a
stand-alone program, OmniView is also a button on the main OmniSkore
window.) Use the stand-alone OmniView
when you need to work with the laptop “off line”, e.g., outside the judging
room, independent of the Scoring Processor.
§
OmniConfig allows you to do setup work without running OmniSkore
(e.g., independent of the Scoring Processor). This is also a button on the main OmniSkore window.
§
PrintPool is a convenience tool for printing the IPC dive pool.
§
DISTRO is a special tool for managing software updates. It is documented in the section titled Obtaining
and Installing Software Updates.
§
Pegasus is the software system for judging the
Freestyle, Skysurf and Freefly events.
§
Stylus is the software system used for judging
classic Style.
§ The More Documents folder contains shortcuts to additional helpful documents, including IPC publications:
Additional Documents Folder.
(Your folder may
vary.)
The instructions in this section are performed on the
Windows laptop computer. Be sure to perform the following steps before proceeding:
1.
Set the local date, time, and time zone by double-clicking the
clock on the right edge of the Windows Task Bar.
2.
Use Start | Settings | Control Panel | Regional Settings
to specify local settings, if desired.
3.
If you’re using your own external keyboard, use Start |
Settings | Control Panel | Keyboard to specify the keyboard language, if
desired.
4. Install a laser printer. (Inkjet printers will work, but are usually too slow.) You can use a USB or traditional parallel-port printer. Be sure to specify your printer as the default printer for Windows applications.
First, click the OmniSkore! icon (in the OmniSkore folder on the desktop) to start the program. The following dialog box will appear:
§ Unless you have more than one scoring processor, only one name will appear.
§ If you do not see a name (as “RUBICK” appears above), check that the Scoring Processor is properly booted and running the right software. (In the display of judging panel #1, you should see “OMNISKOR INIT: n”, where “n” is a slowly counting number. If you see “PEGASUS INIT” or “STYLUS INIT”, you must run the SetSP utility to switch the Scoring Processor to OmniSkore.)
Click “Ok” when you are ready. The Windows software will now connect to the Scoring Processor.
Next, a “NetBIOS Session Status” window will appear momentarily (you do not have to do anything when you see it), followed by the Select Competition form:
Select Competition Form
The first time you start OmniSkore you should type the name of your competition (as you want it to appear on standings printouts) and click “Create”. Afterward, select the existing competition from the drop-down list. Click on “Ok” to continue.
§ The instructions in this section can be performed at any time, but are most important when you first create the competition and are preparing to judge.
§ Once your competition has started (i.e., you have scored at least one jump), you cannot add or delete teams because scores are saved using the team number, and team numbers MUST be sequential (401, 402, 403, etc.)
§
You must run OmniConfig for EACH EVENT that will be judged.
§ You can use either the OmniConfig button on the main OmniSkore! window, or you can use the stand-alone application in the desktop folder. The latter version has an additional control to select the desired event.
If you just created a new OmniSkore! competition, you will next be asked if you want to use OmniConfig to setup the event(s). Click on “Yes” to go straight into OmniConfig. (OmniConfig is normally started from the button on the main OmniSkore window.)
OmniConfig contains seven pages, or tabs, each containing logically related configuration items that OmniSkore uses in its operations. Each tab is described below.
OmniConfig Form: the Scoring Tab
Generally
you will never need to change the Score Calculation Values, unless you have
unusual local requirements (e.g., penalizing a team for “Not Judgeable”).
The “Handicap” option can be used for events which utilize a handicap. The “AmCup” handicap, used by the America’s Cup competition series, is a value that is added to each non-zero score. The “Shugar” handicap, named after its creator, Dr. Joel Shugar, is multiplicative; the raw score is multiplied by the handicap. (Entering handicap values is explained under the Teams tab.)
The item you should be sure to set on the Scoring tab is the “Use Automatic Preview Mode” option:
§
When checked (enabled), judging is performed in
two views:
o
The first view is a Preview – judges watch the skydive without pushing buttons
o
After the Preview, the system resets automatically into
Official scoring mode.
§ When not checked (disabled), the judges push buttons in the first view of the skydive. Additional views can be performed while the system is waiting for the judges to confirm, however, there is no freeze-frame on these subsequent view(s).
Which setting you use is a matter of the preference of your judges. Generally, the decision is the Chief Judge’s.
OmniConfig: Olympic Option Tab
Using the “Olympic 5-second exit rule” causes OmniSkore to use the staged working time system that was developed for the experimental Olympic demonstration rules in 1994.
This option is used at several known competitions, including a major regional competition in the United States and at one of the French Nationals categories. The primary reason for using this option is to remove the exit from the judged working time, thus reducing (and hopefully eliminating) rejumps and/or video busts.
OmniConfig Form: Timing Tab
§
Working Time is of course the event’s working time, in seconds. (You would want to change the working time
if you have a custom event; for example, 20-way with 55 seconds working time.)
§
Freeze Frame Duration is the length of time the
freeze-frame is displayed, during which the judging panels are still “hot” (judges can push a button, e.g., for a formation
that is just in working time). Increase
the value to give your judges more time; decrease the value to save judging
time. (Every second counts!)
§
Double-button-push Protect Period is the minimum
length of time, in seconds, that must elapse between one button-push and the
next. (This protects against
“double-taps” by nervous judges.) If
you decide to modify this value (which should very rarely be necessary), use a
higher value (0.30) in slower events (8-way, 20-way); use a lower value (0.20)
in very fast events (world-class 4-way).
§
Penalty-button-hold becomes “Inter” Penalty is the amount of time in seconds that the penalty button must be
held down before the system records it as an Inter penalty.
Use of the “Inter” penalty is optional.
It is treated exactly like a normal penalty in calculating scores; the
benefit of using the “Inter” penalty is to provide additional information to the
competitors.
Although there is a button on the judging panel
dedicated to the “Inter” penalty, some judges prefer to
use the (normal) “Penalty” button for all infringements and change Inter penalties from “0” to “I”
during confirmation. It is a matter of
personal preference.
§ Bad Split Time Warning Limit is the maximum amount of time in seconds between the earliest and latest judges, when starting the clock at the beginning of the skydive, that is allowed without having the system automatically reset to Standby mode. If you don’t want the system to reset automatically for bad split times, simply set this to a high value (more than 1.0 seconds).
OmniConfig: Printing Tab
The Printing Tab allows you to set the quantity and type of score sheets that are printed automatically when a score is saved. Use the “Time-Graph Option” to add an informative graph of the judging on the score sheets.
OmniConfig Form: the Teams Tab
At
this point, note that the “Teams (Names)” and “Competition Draw” labels in the top of the form have a yellow background. These are the two “critical” configuration
items for OmniConfig. After you enter data in one of these tabs, its label background
will turn green.
Note
that “Teams” is the only tab which MUST be visited for each event that is going
to be judged. If you do not enter a
competition draw, OmniSkore! will still operate, but without the
formation graphics on “DZ TV”. You cannot operate OmnSkore
without entering teams.
On
this tab, use the “Add” and “Edit” buttons to enter the teams for the current event.
F IMPORTANT:
while entering teams, you can only delete the last team. If you make an error that cannot be repaired
with a simple edit action, you may have to re-edit or re-enter all teams.
F IMPORANT:
once the competition begins (e.g., you have saved at least one score in the
event being configured), you cannot delete a team. It is possible, however, that a team may
decide to withdraw and you no longer wants its name and scores to show in the
standings. See “Withdrawn Teams” on
Page 13
for instructions on how to handle this.
F You
cannot skip team numbers. Team numbers are generated automatically
in sequential order by the system.
A
team’s acronym is used in
“DZ TV” displays and on printouts. In international competitions, this is the
team’s country code (USA, RUS, FRA, GER, etc.). In other competitions, simply provide a 2- or 3-letter
abbreviation for the team. Use “WD” as a team’s acronym to cause it to be treated as
withdrawn.
Here
is the dialog box you will see when you click on the “Add” or “Edit” button,
for entering or editing a team name, acronym and (optionally) handicap:
Edit/Add Team Form
(The handicap field will only
be enabled
when a handicap option is
selected)
If a team is a Guest team, add “(Guest)” to the end of their team name (see page 39).
If a handicap option was selected on the Scoring tab, a handicap value must be provided.
Handicap values should be specified to one decimal place for America’s Cup (additive) handicaps, and two decimal places for the Shugar handicap.
Handicap values can be changed after
the competition has started, but the new value is applied to scores for
all rounds.
Here is what the tab looks like after entering a few teams:
OmniConfig: Teams Tab, with data.
(Note that the “Teams (Names)” label is now green)
OmniConfig: the Draw Tab
Use the “Generate” button to create a computer-generated random draw. (Note: the draw is automatically saved to disk when you use this option.)
The “Clear“ button will completely remove the current draw.
The “View Text” button will open a Notepad document containing a summary of the draw (with complete formation names).
You can do a draw manually and type the values into the edit boxes. If you do so, use the “Validate” button to check for errors (repeated blocks, insufficient scoring formations, etc.), and the “Save” button to record your data to disk. If you type in your own draw, the “Print Round(s)” and “Print Draw” buttons will not work until after you click “Save”.
Use the “Print Round(s)” button to open the following dialog box:
Print Round Dialog
Use this dialog to create printouts with a single
round printed on a page. This
printout is intended for use by the judges and is indexed with scoring
formation numbers.
§
The Print Selected Round button will simply
print the round that is selected in the radio button group. In the above example, Round 10 will be
printed.
§
Check the “Preview” button to open a Print
Preview. From the Preview, you can
confirm or abort the printout.
§
Use the “Print Rounds 1 to …” button to print all
rounds from Round 1 to the round that is selected. In the above example, six copies of each rounds 1 through 10 will
be printed. (Warning: this can take a
while!)
§ Use the “Quantity” control to specify the number of copies.
For example, if you want to create a complete set of printouts for your judges to use, click on the last round in the “Print Round” group (which may be less than 12), set the Quantity to the number of sets you want, then click on “Print To”. (Note: the “Preview” option does not work for “Print To”.)
Use the “Print Draw” button to create printouts with six rounds per page. These are appropriate for distributing to competitors.
Use the “Save” button to save a draw you have typed in manually.
Use the “Restore” button to reload the previously saved draw.
Here’s what the tab looks like after creating a draw:
OmniConfig: Draw Tab with data
(Note that the “Competition Draw” label background is
now green)
OmniConfig Form: the Miscellaneous Tab
The following event parameters can be set in the OmniConfig “Misc Tab” page:
This option is normally selected automatically when you create a draw. If you’re using a custom dive pool (i.e., with non-standard formations), you will want to unselect this option, or the wrong formations may be displayed!
This value controls the number of rounds that are included on standings printouts and on the Standings screen on “DZ TV”.
Finally click on “Done” to close OmniConfig. The main OmniSkore window will appear:
OmniSkore Main Window
Don’t forget to repeat the above OmniConfig setup procedures for each event in your competition.
Basic event configuration is now complete! Next we will look at how to use custom Event Names.
OmniSkore! is pre-configured to use the following team numbering series and event names:
|
Numbers |
Default Event
Name |
Default
Operating Rules |
|
101 – 1xx |
16-Way |
IPC 16-Way |
|
201 – 2xx |
4-Way Intermediate |
USPA 4-Way Intermediate (**) |
|
301 – 3xx |
4-Way Advanced |
IPC 4-Way |
|
401 – 4xx |
4-Way Open |
IPC 4-Way |
|
501 – 5xx |
CF Sequential |
IPC CFS Sequential |
|
601 – 6xx |
CF Rotation |
IPC CFS Rotation |
|
701 – 7xx |
8-Way Intermediate |
USPA 8-Way Intermediate (**) |
|
801 – 8xx |
8-Way Open |
IPC 8-Way |
|
901 – 9xx |
FS Custom |
(generic) |
(**) For example, USPA
Intermediate rules for 4-Way and 8-Way do not deduct a point for an
infringement, and deduct only one
point for an omitted formation. The
“Scoring” tab in OmniConfig is used to set these values to “0” and “-1” instead
of the normal “-1” and “-2”. Use OmniConfig
to set these values, and others (including Working Time), to your
competition’s needs.
F The
Event Names can be changed for local requirements. For example, if you are judging the French Nationals, you will
want to call your 300-series event “V.R. 4 Nationale 1” and the 400-series “V.R.
4 Nationale 2”. See the instructions in
the immediately-following section for setting custom event names.
F The Operating Rules for each event can be modified in OmniConfig (as described on Page 7 in the section Preparing the Competition with OmniConfig).
To set your own custom Event Names:
1.
In the main OmniSkore! window, make this menu
selection: Tools | Edit Event Names.
2.
An informational dialog box will appear explaining the format
for each line to use:
Click “Ok” to continue.
3.
The following edit window will appear:
Modify the Event Names in this memo window.
This is a “free editing” window, so be sure to preserve the format of each line
(a single-digit series number (1 for 1xx, 2 for 2xx, etc.), followed by a
space, followed by the desired Event Name).
If you make a mistake and want to start over, click “Cancel” and start again at
step 1.
4.
Click OK when you are done editing the Event Names.
5.
Exit (close) OmniSkore using the File | Exit
menu selection.
6. Restart OmniSkore. (This will cause the Scoring Processor to reload the new event names, which are used on certain DZTV displays.)
Special Notes:
§
Do not use the CFS numbers (5xx and 6xx) for FS events.
§
If you use an unusual mapping of event names and series
numbers (e.g., 101 – 1xx as 8-Way Novice instead of 16-Way), be sure to use
OmniConfig to set the correct scoring parameters (working time, scoring
values, etc.).
§
Be sure to adhere to the “N <Event-Name>”
line format, where “N” is the first digit of the team numbering series for the
given Event Name.
At this point, you’re ready to configure the judging panels, the last step before you’re ready to begin judging!
In the OmniSkore main menu, make this menu selection: Tools | Judging Panel Setup. The following dialog box will appear. This example, of course, already has names entered for the judges, and Panel #6 has been set to “Training”:
Judge Panel Setup Form
Enter a name for each judge, if desired. If you’re not using five judges, you’ll need to modify the status (Official, Training, Not used) of the appropriate panels. The judge’s name(s) will appear on score sheets and on “DZ TV” results screens.
The meaning of the status settings are as follows:
§ Official is used for normal judging.
§ Training causes the system to record the judge’s actions, but they are not included in calculating working time or scores.
§ Not Used causes the system to ignore the panel.
NOTE: “Official” stations must preceed “Training” judges”. For example, judging stations 1 to 5 can be “Official” and 6 to 7 can be “Training”, but they cannot be mixed. If station 5 is “Official” and you change station 4 to “Training”, station 5 will automatically change to “Training”. Similarly, if you change station 8 to “Official”, all preceding stations will change to “Official”.
NOTE: If you have already started judging, and you have a Team and Round selected for which a score exists, the main OmniSkore window will show the judging station configuration that was in effect when the team was judged. Don’t let this confuse you about the current Judging Panel configuration!
Click on “Ok” when done configuring the judging stations.
F
You must configure the
judging stations for each event you will judge. A separate configuration is saved for each event.
You’re almost ready to judge!
At this point you should have performed the following steps:
1.
Used OmniConfig to configure and enter teams and a draw for each event you will
judge;
2. Configured the judging panels (for each event), to set the number of panels used and assign names to each panel.
You may also have performed the optional step of changing
the Event Names.
You are ready to start creating scores with OmniSkore!
Your main OmniSkore! window should look similar to this:
OmniSkore Main Window – Ready to Judge
Additional notes before you begin:
§ You can still change configuration parameters once the competition has started, and you can add teams, but you cannot delete teams. If a team withdraws, use OmniConfig | Teams | Edit and change its acronym to “WD”, and the team’s name will not appear in the standings.
§ You can also change the judging panel configuration after the competition starts, but don’t forget, the main OmniSkore! window will show the judging panel configuration that was in effect for the last team scored. Don’t let this confuse you!
The Event Judge must be familiar with the topics and activities covered in this section.
It is assumed for the purpose of these instructions that the Event Judge is the system operator, that is, operating the Windows computer.
OmniSkore uses the following symbols to display scoring results:
|
Scoring Value
/ Result |
Displayed As |
|
Point |
– |
|
Penalty |
0 |
|
Inter Penalty |
I |
|
Not Judgeable |
J or NJ |
|
No Video |
V or NV |
|
Omitted Formation |
X |
The judging panels are programmed to support Point, Penalty, Inter Penalty and Not Judgeable.
The “No Video” value is rarely used and can usually be ignored.
F
If you judge a skydive that requires the use of the
“No Video” or “Omitted Formation” scoring values, the judges should push the
“Not Judgeable” button on their panels at the appropriate time to serve as
placeholders in their scores. After the
score is saved, the Event Judge should edit the score and change the NJ to
the desired value (see “Editing Scores” under “Browsing Scores” on Page 32).
The use of the “Inter Penalty” is purely optional. Its purpose is to allow the judges to indicate to the competitors what was penalized – the inter or the formation.
Internally, the Penalty and Inter Penalty values are treated identically. If you use OmniConfig to set the Penalty value to 0 (which is used in the United States for Intermediate-class events), the same value is also used for the Inter Penalty.
As the Event Judge, you will spend the majority of your time performing the steps described in this section. After all, creating scores is why you have the equipment!
Creating a score consists of the following steps:
1. Select the desired Event, Team, and Round
2. Cue the system to “Scoring Standby” mode
F
There are two types of Scoring Standby mode: Preview
and Official. The Preview mode
is only used when “Use Automatic Preview Mode” is selected for the
event in OmniConfig.
3. Start the skydive:
a. Play the skydive on the VCR
b. Judges press any red button on their panels to start the working time
4. Judge the skydive:
a. If Preview Scoring is active, the judges observe the skydive without pushing buttons. After working time expires, the system will automatically reset to Scoring Standby (Official mode); repeat from Step 3
b. If Official Scoring is active (not a Preview), the judges press buttons to score during the skydive and freeze-frame
5. Judges confirm their scores (See Appendix C, Judging Panel Guide)
6. The Event Judge saves, discards, or reconfirms the results (“Critical Actions”)
Each of these steps is described in detail below.
Step 1: Select the Event, Team and RoundYou can perform this step in one of two ways:
1.
Use the Quick Team List (easiest and quickest!):
(The Quick Team List, shown at right, is activated in the Tools menu. Set its position and size on your desktop
next to the main OmniSkore window for convenient access.)
a.
Click the desired Event button
b.
Click the desired Team name
2.
Use the main OmniSkore! window:
a.
If necessary, select the desired event in the Event menu
b.
Select the desired team in the Team Drop-Down list
c. Click on the desired round number to the right of the Team Drop-Down list (if necessary)
Simply click the “Score!” button on the main OmniSkore! window, or double-click the team name in the Quick Team List.
HINT: the Quick Team List allows you to reduce Steps 1 and 2 into a single step. Recommended!
If a score already exists for the team and round you have selected, you will be asked if you want to replace (over-write) the score. If this happens, and if you are not sure that you previously scored this team/round, you may want to double-check that you did not score some other team’s video with the wrong team selected! If so, you will need to use the Move Score feature (in Change Scores) to relocate the existing score to the proper team/round.
When the system is in
Scoring Standby you will see “Scoring Standby” in the “Score Status” indicator
panel in the upper right corner of the main OmniSkore! window.
Note the “Scoring Type”
indicator panel to the left of the “Score Status” panel. If Automatic Preview Mode is being
used, it will say “Preview Mode” on a yellow background. After the Preview Scoring, it will switch to
“Official” with a green background.
Also note that the judge’s
names on the main OmniSkore window act
as status indicators for each panel. In
Scoring Standby mode, a green background means the judge’s panel is ready. A red panel indicates that they have pressed
a button. IMPORANT: If one of the judge’s status indicator turns red
prior to the exit, reset the system by clicking on the Reset button. (You can also do this by simply pressing
Enter.)
Sometimes you will need to
switch the scoring mode between Preview and Official while you are in Scoring
Standby. To do so, simply click on the
“Type” button in the lower right corner of the main window.
Note that when in Scoring
Standby, many of the controls on the main OmniSkore! window are disabled. The only actions you can perform in this mode are:
§
Abort: Use this button to cancel Scoring Standby and
return to normal (Ready or Idle) mode.
§
Reset: Use this button to reset the system to Scoring
Standby. You will need to do this if a
judge erroneously presses a button much too early, or much too late (he
probably fell asleep – get him some coffee!).
§
Type: If Automatic Preview Mode is enabled,
this button will switch the scoring type from Preview
to Official or from Official to Preview.
Press PLAY on the VCR and alertly observe the judge status indicators on the main window. If an indicator turns from green to red too early or too late, click on Reset to start over.
Note that the system will AUTOMATICALLY reset in the case of
a “Bad Split Time”. If your judges are unable to get a good split time, you may need
to visit OmniConfig and increase the “Bad Split Time” configuration value.
In Preview scoring mode, simply observe the skydive.
In Official scoring mode, the judges press buttons during the skydive.
VERY, VERY IMPORTANT: Impress upon your judges the importance of not anticipating their calls, especially close to the end of working time. The buttons are still “hot” for the duration of the freeze-frame.
During the skydive:
§
The Score Status indicator panel will read “*** SCORING ***” and the judges’ actions will be
reflected in the main window.
§ Only the Abort and Reset buttons will operate.
The judges should refer to individual photocopies of Appendix C, Judging Panel Guide, for details on how to modify and confirm their score.
While the judges are confirming, you, as the Event Judge, should examine the results in the main OmniSkore! window. Sometimes a judge has an extra button push or a missing button push; you can easily determine where by clicking in the window where the results are displayed. This will switch the scoring depiction from a simple table (grid) to a graphical “Time-lined” display. Take advantage of this feature to locate judging errors, and offer corrections to your judges as necessary.
It is important to correct errors of omitted or extraneous button-pushes. On a “clean” skydive they will rarely have an impact, but in a skydive with infringements, a missing button-push here or an extra one there can result in an incorrect collation and the posting of an incorrect score. Sometimes correcting this situation is a simple matter of instructing a judge to delete the extraneous entry, or insert one, if you can agree on what was intended. If this does not correct the problem, or you do not want to have a public discussion with the judge, you may be forced to discard the current results and score again. This is really where you earn your pay as the Event Judge and System Operator!
While the judges are confirming, note that the Score Status indicator says “Waiting for Judges to Confirm” and each judge’s status indicator is red. As each judge confirms, their status indicator will turn green.
After all of the judges have confirmed, the Score Status indicator will read “NOT LOGGED” and the following window will appear:
Critical Actions Menu
This is called the “Critical Actions Menu” because it is at this point that you must decide what to do with the current results:
|
Critical Action Menu
Option |
Description |
|
Log as Official |
Saves the current score to disk. The Score Status indicator switches to “LOGGED” and a score
sheet is printed. (See note below
after “Okay”.) If there are any collated infringements in the results, a “Scoring Explanations” dialog box will appear. This is described below. |
|
Again (Replay) |
Discards the current results and resets the system to Scoring Standby mode. |
|
Reconfirm |
Sends the results back to the judges for confirmation again. |
|
Toggle Video |
This is a DZTV control for optional use. |
|
Print |
After you save the score (using “Log as Official”), this button allows you to create additional hardcopies of the score. |
|
Okay |
Click this button to dismiss the menu and return to the main OmniSkore! window. NOTE: if you have not saved the score using “Log as Official”, you must click the button THREE TIMES. This also serves to discard the results. |
Note that a score is not saved on disk until you click on “Log as Official”.
Even though the menu action here is titled “Log as Official”, please note that the judging status of the score remains Unofficial until it is changed with OmniView. See the section on Browsing and Printing Scores on Page 32 for more information on Official vs. Unofficial scores.
HINT: When the menu first appears, the “Log as Official” button is the default action, which allows you to simply press Enter to invoke it, after which the “Okay” button becomes the default button. Thus, to save a score and return to the main OmniSkore! window, you simply press the Enter key twice after the menu appears.
If you save a score with any infringements, you will be presented with the following dialog box:
Scoring Explanation Form
Use this dialog box to create a scoring explanation that will be included on the scoresheet.
For each infringement:
1.
Either click on one of the default explanations in the top of
the dialog box, or type your own in “Alternate Explanation”.
2. Click the “Add” button and the explanation text will be inserted in the memo field.
Each time you click “Add”, the dialog box will “move” to the next infringement. The caption for the option group at the top of the window will indicate the current infringement (e.g., “Scoring Explanation – Formation #7 (Penalty(Inter))”. After you have added an explanation for each infringement, the caption will read “Scoring Explanation – No further non-Points”.
Click on “Done” to save the explanation, or “Cancel” to print a score sheet without the extra information.
NOTE: When you click on “Done”, whatever is displayed in the memo field will be added to the score sheet as a scoring explanation. Thus, after you have used the “Add” button to create one or more explanations, you can pick them from the drop-down list and use them or edit them as you see fit. Or, you can just type everything from scratch!
Finally, click on the “Okay” button in the Critical Actions Menu to return to the main OmniSkore! window. You are now done creating a score!
NOTE: If you don’t want to bother with Scoring Explanations, uncheck “Scoring Explanations” in the Options menu in the main OmniSkore window.
Click on the “Change Scores” button on the main OmniSkore! window to open the “Posted Scores” form for the current event. This feature allows you to Edit (change), Print, Move, Over-ride (Create), Delete, and mark scores as Official or Unofficial. Details on how to Edit, Move, Over-ride and Delete scores are found in the sections below.
“Change Scores” or “Posted Scores” form
Click on the Edit button in the “Posted Scores” form to open the following form:
Edit Score Form
This example shows a score created by a three-judge panel. The third scoring entry for the judge named Charlie has been clicked and is now highlighted. To change the entry, click on the desired value in the row of buttons above the “OK” button.
To select all of the scoring entries for a scoring formation, click on the collated value to the right of the “Result” cell.
The number between the “OK” and “Cancel” buttons shows the collated score.
Click on “OK” to save your changes or “Cancel” to abort.
Occasionally you will judge a team, only to discover that you had the system cued to the wrong team and/or round number. If this happens, the correct procedure is to use the Move feature of Change Scores to “put the score in the right place”.
Click on the Move button to open the following form:
Move Score Form
Next, select the correct (destination) team name in the drop-down list, then click on the correct round, and click “OK”. The score file will be renamed to contain the correct team and round.
Sometimes it is necessary to “pull a score out of thin air”
or to force an existing score to have some value other than its normally
calculated value. Examples are:
§
A team has a conditional rejump in which they exceed
the allowable score.
§ A team is forced to take a minimum score for a rules violation (e.g., jumping with an illegal substitute team member).
To create or over-ride a score, click the desired team/round cell in the Change Scores form and then click the Create button to open the Create Score form:
Create Over-Ride Score Form
Type the desired score in the edit box and then click “Official” or “Unofficial” to save the score in the desired status. (Official vs. Unofficial scores are discussed in the section below, under Browsing and Printing.) The new value will appear in the Change Scores form.
Simply select the score you want to delete in the Change Scores form and click the Delete button. You will be asked to verify your desire to delete the score before it is permanently removed.
Click on the OmniView button on the main OmniSkore window to bring up the OmniView window:
OmniView Form.
Note:
This form is closed by clicking the “X” at the right end of the form’s title
bar.
The purpose of having Official and Unofficial scores is to give the Chief Judge the ability to manage scores that might be conditional or subject to change. Examples where scores might change include rejumps and protests.
Typically, scores remain “Unofficial” until a round is completed and all protest periods have elapsed. At this point, the scores theoretically cannot change, the round is “in the can”, and the scores can be marked official.
F
When a score is initially saved it is still
“Unofficial”. In order for a score to
appear in standings printouts, it must be set to
“Official”.
To use OmniView to mark an individual score, or all the scores for a team, or all the scores for a round, as “Official”:
1.
Click on the team name or number to select all the scores for
a team, or,
click on the round header (R1, R2, etc.) to select all the scores for a round,
or,
click on an individual score to change just that score.
2. Click “Make Score(s) Official”. Unofficial scores (red) will change to Official (green).
Use OmniView to print the following types of results:
§
Standings (the following dialog box will appear):
o Standing At Round (scores beyond the “Standing Round” are ignored)
o Team Number Order (useful for manifest and at the video dubbing station)
o Manifest Order (reverse order of standings)
o
Final (final ranking is based on teams’ actual
averages)
§
Score Sheets (individual)
§ Scoring Summaries: Used for judging evaluations
Close the OmniView form by clicking the Close button (“x”) in the upper right corner of the window.
OmniSkore, Pegasus and Stylus software components experience changes on a fairly frequent basis as rules are modified, suggestions and special needs are incorporated, and of course, bugs are fixed. If you already have the equipment, sometimes you will need to update the software from a file that is e-mailed to your or you downloaded from our web site.
Because OmniSkore uses many data files and several programs (collectively called components) distributed across two computers (i.e., the Windows computer and the Scoring Processor), a special program called “DISTRO” is used to install the components in the correct locations. (If you do not find DISTRO in the desktop OmniSkore! folder, browse to it in the C:\OMNISKOR directory.)
DISTRO Main Window
The DISTRO program works by looking in the \OMNISKOR\UPDATE folder for sub-folders in which releases are extracted (e.g., “omni-20000731” in the above figure). Each sub-folder contains a DISTRO.TXT file that contains the information that DISTRO needs to properly copy the updated components to the correct locations on the two computers.
You will receive software updates in the form of self-extracting archive files by e-mail or by downloading them from http://www.omniskore.com/support. These files are typically named to identify the release (e.g., “omni-20000731.exe” or “peg0720.exe”). Upon receiving the file, perform the following steps:
1.
Run the self-extracting update file on the laptop. (You can copy the update file to the laptop
first, or run it from the floppy disk.
In the following example, the name of the update file is
“peg0720.exe”.)
Running the update file will open the main WinZip form:
WinZip Self-Extractor Utility
The folder name under “Unzip To Folder:” will be preset for you. Simply
click on “Unzip” to extract the files.
2.
Run DISTRO by clicking the icon in the OmniSkore!
software folder.
3.
Select the name of the update (e.g. “peg0720”) in the
drop-down list under “Select Distro Update Name”.
If this update has already been
executed on your laptop, the date and time of the update will display in the
informational memo field (above the “Execute” button). Otherwise “NOT YET EXECUTED” will be
displayed.
4.
Click on “Update Identical Files” to enable or disable the
feature as desired. When checked, this
has the effect of copying the components that may already match.
5. Click on “Execute” and then “Yes” when you are asked to confirm.
After executing the update, DISTRO will reboot the Scoring Processor and your software update will be complete!
Sometimes a team withdraws from a competition, and you do not want the team’s name and scores to appear in the standings. Unfortunately, you cannot delete a team from the system once team numbers have been assigned.
The solution is to simply:
1. Visit the Teams tab in OmniConfig
2. Double-click the desired team to edit
3. Change the acronym to “WD”
4. Click “OK”
5. Click “Done” on the OmniConfig form
It’s done!
Some competitions have teams that are guest competitors, in which they are judged on the same terms as the other teams, but are not awarded medals.
OmniSkore allows you to include a team in the
standings in its proper position, but without a ranking number. To do so::
1. Visit the Teams tab in OmniConfig
2. Double-click the desired team to edit
3. Add the word “(Guest)” (in parenthesis) to the end of the team name
4. Click “OK”
5. Click “Done” on the OmniConfig form
Guest teams will appear as follows in standings printouts. Note that the guest team is given its correct position, but does not have a ranking assigned:
|
Rank |
ID |
Team
Name |
1 |
2 |
Cum |
3 |
Cum |
|
1 |
403 |
Cave Girls |
12 |
15 |
27 |
11 |
38 |
|
- |
402 |
The Sirens (Guest) |
11 |
14 |
25 |
12 |
37 |
|
2 |
404 |
Focus 4 |
11 |
14 |
25 |
11 |
36 |
|
3 |
401 |
Flight Club |
10 |
14 |
24 |
9 |
33 |
|
4T |
405 |
Whiplash |
12 |
13 |
25 |
7 |
32 |
|
4T |
409 |
Inertia |
11 |
14 |
25 |
7 |
32 |
Sample portion of a standings printout.
If you do not have OmniSkore! connected to your “DZ TV”, you’re missing out on one of the system’s marquee features!
If you do, however, then you, as the Event Judge, should keep in mind that the competitors and spectators are watching the “DZ TV” to stay informed and to be entertained. You can greatly assist by taking advantage of the following features that are implemented for “DZ TV”.
The “DZ TV” control buttons are located on the main OmniSkore! window just above the “Score!” button.
On the OmniSkore main window, click Tools | DZTV Message. Click inside the black memo window that opens and type your message as you want it to appear on “DZ TV” and click “OK”. (This is useful for soliciting bribes, requesting coffee, and distributing information such as weather holds and other competition announcements.)
The message will remain on “DZ TV” until you perform some other operation on OmniSkore that requires the screen to change.
The “Standings” button on the main OmniSkore! window will cause the Scoring Processor to display the currently selected event’s scores on “DZ TV”.
Right-click on the Standings button to open a pop-up menu that allows you to sort the standings at a particular round or in team number order.
OmniSkore! will automatically go into “Show Scores” a minute or two after you finish judging a team. If for some reason you don’t want the standings displayed, click on the “Title Screen” button to display one of OmniSkore!’s “idle graphics” (which are also called title screens).
Periodically during a round you can show the spectators what the skydive looks like by clicking the “Show Round” button. The skydive will be displayed, including the “inters”, in an animated fashion.
OmniSkore allows you to customize the layout of the graphics on the “DZ TV” screen that are shown during judging. This allows you to adjust the positions of the formation graphics, chronometer, and score, and to change the sizes (height) of the subtitle bars at the bottom of the screen.
The
“DZ TV” Layout.
The “Subtitles” area is the blue bar at the very bottom.
The “Titles"
area is the transparent bar above the “Subtitles” area.
Remember when you experiment with the layout that parts of the TV picture are not visible on the monitor due to overscan and underscan. This is why you may not see some of the subtitles area if you set BOTTOMSHIFT to zero.
To customize the layout, click Tools | Edit SP’s Video Control File. The following form will open:
The Scoring Processor’s Video Control File
Each line in the file consists of a configuration item, followed by its value, followed by an optional comment that begins with “;”.
Here is a more detailed description of each item and its possible values:
|
Configuration Item Name |
Default Value |
Possible values |
Description |
|
VIDEO |
NTSC |
PAL NTSC |
Set this to match the graphic cards in your Scoring Processor. (Hint: PAL systems have two S-Video connectors on the TBC card; NTSC system have only one.) |
|
STARS |
5 |
-100 to 100 |
Integer number; pixels from top |
|
KEYLEVEL |
0.5 |
0.0 to 1.0 |
0.0 = clear, 1.0 = solid black title area |
|
FONT |
arial |
arial tahoma swiss times lucida domcasual |
Font to use for subtitles |
|
TITLES_HT |
0.08 |
0.0 to 0.15 |
% of the screen’s height used for titles area at bottom of screen |
|
SUBTITLES_HT |
TITLES_HT * 0.75 |
0.0 to 0.15 |
% of screen for subtitles |
|
TITLES_FG |
white |
white silver yellow blue aqua navy |
Text color to use for team names, etc (displayed on black, semi-transparent background) |
|
SUBTITLES_FG |
yellow |
“ |
color to use for subtitles text |
|
SUBTITLES_BG |
blue |
“ |
background for subtitle area |
|
BOTTOMSHIFT |
0 |
-50 to 50 |
positive values adjust downward; |
|
TOPSHIFT |
0 |
“ |
negative values adjust upward |
|
LEFTSHIFT |
0 |
-100 to 100 |
positive values adjust right, |
|
RIGHTSHIFT |
0 |
“ |
negative values adjust left |
Use the BOTTOMSHIFT, TOPSHIFT, LEFTSHIFT and RIGHTSHIFT values to adjust the positions of graphics items on the screen. These have the effect of moving the margins in, out, up, or down. All graphics items (title bars, score, chronometer, formation image, etc.) are “snapped” to one or two of the four margins.
Use the TITLES_HT and SUBTITLES_HT to adjust the height of the titles at the bottom of the screen. You want the text to be large enough to read clearly, but not taking so much room that it hides part of the skydive.
Please note that fractional values must be expressed using a period rather than a comma as the decimal delimiter (e.g. 0.15, not 0,15).
Note that the Scoring Processor operates in 800x600 mode when configured with PAL video cards and 640x480 when configured with NTSC.
Experiment with different values to get the best possible results.
Yes, you can customize the colorful screens you see on DZTV that are shown between judging activities. This is a very advanced feature, but worth the effort if you want to use your own custom screen.
Before beginning these steps, you must know the network name of the Scoring Processor. This is the name you see in the Select Scoring Processor form when you start OmniSkore! (see page 5).
Example of a
custom “DZ TV” Title Screen.
Note that the
outer edges will be “cropped” by the
underscan and
overscan of your television system.
The title screens are special 256-color images stored on the Scoring Processor. A text file that contains a list of image file names is read by the SP software when it starts. Each image is displayed in rotation in between judging activities. Here is how to create your own …
Using your favorite imaging software, such as Jasc Software’s Paint Shop Pro or Adobe’s Photo Shop, create a Windows bitmap (.BMP) file that meets the following criteria:
§ 256 colors
§ PAL systems: size 800x600
§ NTSC systems: size 640x480
After you have created your image(s), you will need to copy them to a temporary folder on the OmniSkore laptop computer. For the following examples we will use C:\TEMP.
For this step you will need to open an MS-DOS Prompt on the laptop (Start | Programs | MS-DOS Prompt).
The first command to type is
C:\WINDOWS>\bin\setpath
Next, move to your temp directory by typing the command
C:\WINDOWS>cd
\TEMP
Now display the image with the following command:
For NTSC systems:
C:\TEMP>viewbmp <image-name>
For PAL systems:
C:\TEMP>viewbmp <image-name>
/hires
You will get the following response:
File
type is BMP: SCR_AZ.BMP: 800x600x256.
PAK...
Press Enter to continue. The image will display full-screen on the laptop. (If you get a blank screen, try using the /hires option. You MUST use this option for 800x600 screens.)
Finally, with your image displayed, press “S” on your keyboard. The viewbmp program will convert and save the .BMP image as an .SCR image.
For this step you must know the name of your Scoring Processor (RUBICK, OPAL, PHOTON, etc.). In the following example we will use RUBICK.
For PAL systems:
C:\TEMP>copy
SCR_AZ.SCR \\rubick\c-drive\skore\pal
For NTSC systems:
C:\TEMP>copy SCR_AZ.SCR \\rubick\c-drive\skore\ntsc
Of course, your command will have your image name instead of SCR_AZ and your Scoring Processor’s name instead of rubick.
Finally, in the main OmniSkore window, click on Tools | Edit SP's Title Screen File:
Title Screen Configuration File
Edit the text field with the name of your .SCR file(s), one per line. You can have any number of screen files. File names that are not found by the Scoring Processor will be skipped in the “rotation”.
Remember:
§
If you have a PAL system, 800x600 images go in the
\SKORE\PAL directory on the Scoring Processor
§ If you’re operating an NTSC system, 640x480 images go in the \SKORE\NTSC directory on the SP.
If you create and use your own .SCR files in OmniSkore, congratulations – you are a certified OmniSkore POWER USER! (And you will be enlisted to maintain the IPC dive pool.)
"inter"
penalty, 25
“DZ TV”, 12, 18, 21,
40, 41, 44, 49
“inter” penalty, 11
additional documents,
4
IPC publications, 4
Additional Equipment,
2
America’s Cup, 8
bad split time, 11,
28
CFS, 3, 19, 20
Chief Judge, 1, 9, 35
competition draw
clearing, 15
generating, 15
manual, 15
Competition Draw, 12,
17
Competition Name, 6
DISTRO, 4, 37
Event Judge, 1, 2,
25, 26, 29, 40
event names, 19, 23
freeze frame, 2, 10
handicaps, 8
America's Cup, 8
Shugar, 8
infringements, 11,
19, 29, 30, 31
judge confirmation,
29
judging panel setup,
21, 24
judging panel types,
21
judging panels, 2,
10, 20, 23, 25, 49
logged score status
Official, 30, 35
Unofficial, 30, 35
Olympic judging
option, 9
OmniConfig, 4,
7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 17, 18, 19, 20, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 39
OmniSkore main
window, 23
OmniSkore Main
Window, 18
OmniView, 3,
30, 35, 36, 37
closing, 37
Principal Judges, 1
printouts
competition draw, 16
rounds, 15, 16
scoresheet, 11, 31
scoring summaries, 37
standings, 6, 18, 35,
36, 39
PrintPool, 4
Quick Team List, 27
rejumps, 9, 35
scheduled rounds, 18
scores
creating, overriding,
33
deleting, 34
discarding results,
30
editing, 32
moving, 33
scoring explanations,
31
scoring modes, 8, 26,
27, 28
official, 8, 26, 28
preview, 8, 26, 28
Scoring Processor, 2,
3, 4, 5, 6, 20, 40, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53
scoring symbols, 25
scoring type. See scoring modes
Setup
Hardware, 2
Software, 5
Windows laptop
computer, 5
Shugar, Dr. Joel, 8
software
components, 37
updates, 37
teams
acronyms, 12
adding, 7, 12
deleting, 7, 12, 24
editing, 12
guest, 13, 39
handicaps, 8
numbers, 7, 12, 19, 39
withdrawn, 13, 24, 39
Technical Support, 1
WD. See teams, withdrawn
working time, 10, 19
Refer to the photographs
on the next page while performing the following steps.
Scoring Processor Setup Steps:
·
Connect the video output of the VCR that will be used for
playing competition jumps to the “TBC Input” on the Scoring Processor. (See diagram on next page.)
·
Connect one “TBC Output” to the “Genlock Input” using the
first of the two Genlock card video cable adapters. (These are very short black cables with a 5-pin connector on one
end and a female RCA (phono) plug on the other. One or both of your adapters may be a substitute cable with a
male phono plug instead.)
·
Connect the second “TBC Output” to your judging monitor(s)
via a VCR (for RF distribution) or video distributor (for composite
distribution) (see “Note on video” above)
·
Connect the “Genlock Output” to your “DZ TV” using the second Genlock card cable adapter. This is the graphically-enhanced video
signal for public display.
·
Connect one end of the orange or yellow Ethernet cable to
the Ethernet card on the Scoring Processor; connect
the other end to your Windows (laptop) PC Ethernet adapter.
·
Using the provided 25-pin cables, connect up to 8 judging
panels (normally 5) to the “D” connectors on the side of the Scoring
Processor. Note the ordering of the “D” connectors: the
top row is panels 1, 2, 5, and 6; the second row is 3, 4, 7, and 8. Thus, if you use 5 judges, the first three
connectors of the top row and the first two connectors of the bottom row will
be used.
·
Install the AC power cord.
Scoring Processor Setup is now complete!
|
Scoring Processor Prior to Assembly
TBC Composite Video Output #1 TBC Composite Video Output #2 TBC Composite Video In Ethernet Genlock Video Out (uses special adapter) Genlock Video In (uses special adapter) Note: NTSC cards shown above. The PAL version is identical, except the TBC
card has two S-Video connectors instead of one. Special Notes: §
All video connections are COMPOSITE VIDEO. (Be careful not to mix with RF.) §
All used connections are labeled with a solid line. §
Special adapter cables (15 - 20 cm in length, with
S-Video plugs at one end and female or male RCA on the other) are used for the
Genlock card. Do not attempt to use
normal S-Video cables! §
The small slide switch at the top of the Genlock card
must remain in the UPPER position. §
Use Male BNC to Female RCA adapters on the TBC
connections (provided).
