Graphics values available as read-only Global variables

[Terry Payman]

I have some scenes which I need to adjust "manually" depending on the aspect ratio, and others (using feedback) which need adjusting for different frame rates.

Could we have the following "Status Information" values available as Global read-only variables so they could be incorporated into expressions?
- X & Y graphics resolution
- Frame Rate

I suspect there are others that could prove useful, eg the index of the current Playlist selection.

[Magic]

Hmm ok. Magic is designed to work independently of resolution and frame rate, but I can see that the Playlist index might be useful.

[Terry Payman]

...Magic is designed to work independently of resolution...

Awesome, I use and love the option of Magic adjusting automatically to match a projector or display's native resolution.
However, at present this very feature can cause translation issues when the aspect ratio changes between venues.

Three use cases where the translation required is a function of aspect ratio, so presently scenes need to be manually adjusted for each aspect ratio:

1) Displaying two Waveform circles side-by-side, each centered on their respective half of the screen to give the maximum horizontal space for their waveforms.

2) Splitting a screen horizontally & vertically to show 4 constituent scenes. I find this very useful for comparing processing options.

3) A projector set-up "test card" which has corner features that should be visible on screen if the image is displayed in its entirety. This facilitates optimal zoom adjustment and projector alignment.

[Magic]

However, at present this very feature can cause translation issues when the aspect ratio changes between venues.

...which is why you'd specify a fixed aspect ratio in Magic, no?

[Terry Payman]

Emphatically no!
A fixed aspect ratio would give huge black bars at the sides in some venues or huge grey bars top and bottom in others!

I naturally want to use the full width and height of any venue's projector and screen!

At the moment Magic provides no native means to divide a screen evenly regardless of aspect ratio. This is problematic in the cases I listed, hence my original request. At the moment I have a global "AspectRatio" variable, but I must edit this manually to suit each venue's projector and sometimes forget - leading to problems during my performance.

A much cleaner solution for my examples could be a "TranslateXY%" module that would translate X solely as a percentage of screen width and Y solely as a percentage of screen height.

I would be most grateful if you would give this, or my original request, further consideration.

[Magic]

I understand what you're saying, but it seems strange to me that most venues wouldn't have 16x9 projectors, given that the vast majority of content is pre-rendered at that aspect ratio and not changeable in real-time... but I guess I haven't been to enough venues!