2011

Context points are especially useful when you want to see how changes to a
tool node that precedes the node with context points affect the context point.
You can have the Player view display the output from a context point. You
can set a maximum of four context points.
You set a context point in the Schematic view—see
Working with Schematic
on page 50. You use Player options to set the target for a Player view to a
context point—see
Setting the Target for the Player on page 194.
Playing Back in Multiple Views
You can have any combination of workspaces including the Player, Schematic,
and Animation Editor views, the three views affected by the Player controls.
You can use the Player controls to play the composition in only the view
currently in focus, or all the views simultaneously.
Master time is an abstract time you can use to synchronize playback among
two or more Player, Schematic, and Animation Editor views. You synchronize
playback between two views by setting both to follow master time. You can
also set an offset for each view, so you can see different parts of the
composition playing at the same time. For example, if you are creating a mask,
you might have two Players, one in which to create the mask, and one to
preview what's ahead, so you can take changes into account as you create the
mask.
Master time always starts at frame 0, and has a duration equal to the length
of the composition. If a composition starts at frame 215 and ends at 564,
master time starts at frame 0 and ends at frame 349.
Standalone time is the opposite of master time. In standalone time, the view
responds to the Player controls only if it currently has the focus; if another
view has focus at that time, the view set to standalone time remains static.
You can also set an offset for standalone time; in this case the offset is relative
to the composition time.
You set a view to use master or standalone time using the Follow Master
preference in the Playback tab of the view options. By default the view is set
to use master time—see
Synchronizing or Separating Playback between Views
on page 199.
Playback Performance
The ability to play compositions and media in real time depends on both
hardware configuration and software optimizations.
192 | Chapter 10 The Player