PIXERA 25.3 introduces a Gizmo tool within the Workspace to manipulate the Translation, Rotation, and Scale your 3D objects. To utilize the Gizmo first left click to select the mesh you would like to actively transform. 
 

Translate

Press Q on your keyboard to activate the Translate mode of the Gizmo. The three different colored arrows that make up the Gizmo represent the three available axes of transformation. Click on one of the axis arrow handles and your transformation will be locked to that axis. If you select a small square that floats between two of the three axis arrows, then the transformation is locked to those two planes.

Rotate

Press W on your keyboard to activate the Rotation mode of the Gizmo. Select one of the colorful hoops to rotate your object's Pitch, Yaw, or Roll.

When changing between World Space and Local Space (using B to do so) note that the Rotation mode of the Gizmo changes slightly. For Local rotation the Gizmo doesn't turn with the object. For World Space rotation the Gizmo does rotate with the object.

Scale

Press E on your keyboard to activate the Scale mode of the Gizmo. When you select the floating plane that is between two of the three axes, the scaling transformation will only affect those two axes.

World Space / Local Space

By default the Gizmo will be in World Space transformation. To swap the Gizmo to Local Space translation press B on your keyboard. To return to World Space transformation press B again on your keyboard.

The Gizmo works for single meshes as well as group-selected meshes.

If you want to turn off the Gizmo and return to the original Pixera transformation handles press “P” on your keyboard to swap between the mechanisms.

Known issues and current limitations

• Transformations using the Gizmo aren't added to the undo stack
• Snapping with Gizmo enabled not yet implemented
• Duplicate LED screens inherit transformation from original mesh

Pixera 25.3 INTER 70 | 18. December 2025 | TM

The intention of this feature is to lock elements of the timeline/clips/layers so that they cannot be accidentally changed during timeline compositing.
This can also be locked during playback without affecting the playback functionality, it should only lock the compositing features.

Timeline-Lock

With this feature, entire timelines or individual layers can be locked to prevent accidental changes during programming or playback.

Even when locked, the timeline remains fully accessible: all effects, keyframes, and parameters can be opened and reviewed, but not edited. This allows users to safely inspect the current state of a project without the risk of unintended modifications.

Not possible when the timeline is locked:

• Creating or deleting layers, cues, or clips
• Changing layer or clip settings

Layer-Lock

Individual layers can also be locked. Locked layers cannot be edited but remain fully visible for inspection. The same applies to layer groups — entire groups can be locked, or only specific layers within a group, depending on the desired level of control.

In multiuser setups, the lock status is not transferred immediately, but only when the first user pushes the timeline to the other systems. This ensures that the editing state remains clearly defined and consistent across all connected users.

Not possible when the layer is locked:

• Creating or deleting keyframes
• Editing in inner-compositing

Clip-Lock

You can lock individual clips so they can’t be selected or edited anymore — perfect when you want to make sure nothing gets changed by accident.

Locking or unlocking a clip is as simple as a right-click, so you can quickly switch things on or off while you work.

Even when a clip is locked, it still reacts to all layer and timeline adjustments. Global changes continue to apply — the clip just stays safely protected from direct editing.

PIXERA 25.3 Inter 61 | 03. December 2025 | S.H

PIXERA's Audio Engine offers many features for the playback of audio files. In addition to "dynamic resampling", the audio engine also supports "micro-pitching" to ensure synchronicity between video and audio.

Supported audio file formats

Currently PIXERA supports the following audio file formats:

• MP3
• FLAC
• WAV
• M4A
• AAC
• WMA
• AC3

Adding audio files

Audio files can be imported to the Resouces Tab in PIXERA exactly the same way as video files. Either via dragging and dropping them from the file explorer or by hitting the plus icon. For further information on how to add media files to PIXERA please have a look at Media Management‍ 

By dragging and dropping audio files from the Resources Tab to the Timeline, audio can be placed on Layers. This automatically triggers the preview file creation so the waveform can be displayed inside the clip contrainer.

By selecting the Clip on the Timeline, the Inspector on the right hand side shows information about the audio file in the Audio Settings section. In here the original duration, sample rate, bit rate and the number of audio channels are listed. You can also rename the file, and access File Versioning from here.

Embedded Audio

Video files can also contain audio channels. In general PIXERA supports these types of media files and is able to playback video and audio of such files. To find out if a video file contains audio as well, just select it in the resources tab - the Inspector then shows the available audio channels on the right.

Video files with embedded audio can be used on the timeline like any other media file. Audio is simply displayed as a separated Volume track within the Container where you can add keyframes.

If you want to be able to use an embedded audio track independently of the video track, there is the "Extract Audio" function. This separates the audio track from the video and adds it to the resources tab as a separate file.

Audio Interface | Sound Card assignment

You can set which audio device you'd like PIXERA to use to play back audio in Settings > Audio. Here you can select the Audio Driver, Audio Device (Module), Sample rate and output levels. 

The supported drivers are:

• ASIO
• WDM
• WASAPI
• MME (for Dolby Digital)

The number of channels and level meters displayed depends on the Audio Device you have selected and the number of available outputs it has. Level can be set independently on each channel. When the audio file is played, a level meter shows the activity on each channel and whether the audio is clipping.

Dolby Digital audio playback

In addition to the mentioned audio file formats, PIXERA supports Dolby Digital and Dolby Atmos audio as well. Selecting such a file in the resources tab, you will be able to see the channel count in the inspector - for example, video file with 5.1 audio will show as having 6 audio channels.

To be able to play back Dolby Digital files, the option "Use Digital Audio Output" must be selected in the file's Inspector in the resources tab. Digital Audio Output works via DisplayPort out or via S/PDIF.

In addition, the driver "MME" and the correct Module must be selected in the Audio Settings of PIXERA.

 
Afterwards the file can be dragged onto the layer for playback in the usual way.

Defining Audio Channels

Audio output is defined on a per-layer basis and by setting the Audio Channel field in the Inspector. You can set the initial output channel here. 

If you need to make specific audio channel assignments, you can do so here by typing your desired audio channel order separated by commas. This could be useful for swapping the left and right channels of a stereo audio file. For this, you would type ‘2,1’ in the Audio Channel field.

The setting for Audio Channel can be found by selecting a Layer and navigating to the Setup tab in the Inspector. From here, you can select the Server you want to output this layer's audio from and enter the Audio Channel configuration.

If you want to disable audio output for a layer ‘0’ or ‘None’ can be entered into this field. If you specify fewer audio channels than are contained in the file, the unspecified channels will be auto-assigned following the last channel that was assigned manually.

These settings can be defined in the Initial Values area of PIXERA settings, in the Timelines dropdown:

PIXERA 25.3 INTER 66 | 19th November 2025 | B.C. and F.E.

Working with DJ style pitched TC

Pitched LTC Time code

There are use cases in which time code needs to be pitched in a greater range than a usual broadcast environment would experience. This includes working with synced audio coming from a DJ booth. To cater for this, we have extended the LTC time code settings.

Tweak Config

Due to its experimental state, there is no user interface representation as of now. In order to start with pitched time code, you will need to place the tweak_config.json into this directory on the Pixera main/Director machine:
C:\ProgramData\AV Stumpfl\Pixera

tweak_config.json

Once you have placed the tweak_config.json into the directory, you must restart Pixera in order to initiate the settings.

Changing the settings

To change the settings, open the tweak_config.json in Notepad, Notepad++ or any other suitable editor. Change settings as needed, store the file. Restart Pixera to initiate the new setting.
 

The Parameters

This is inside the tweak_config.json:

"smpteTimecodeInputPitching":
 {
	"isActive": true,
	"rate": 3,
	"positionSensitivity": 0.4,
	"speedSensitivity": 0.8,
	"speedSmoothing": 0.3,
	"maxSpeed": 20.0,
	"atSafetyFactor": 0.5
 }

isActive

Enables or disables the PD controller mechanism. When false (or if no config is present at all) the original, completely unchanged drift correction code is used.

rate

Frequency (in Hz) at which the controller updates its correction. A higher rate means quicker responsiveness. Currently, only LTC via audio can correctly implement values larget than 1. So when using the mechanism with other forms of timecode input this should be set to 1 (correction will still be applied but will tend to be less effective than if the rate is correctly set to match the capabilities of the input device).

positionSensitivity

Proportional gain. Determines how strongly the difference between target and current position affects the speed correction. Higher values mean faster convergence but risk overshoot. Corresponds to kP in the standard PD controller model.
ATTENTION: setting above > 0.9 may result in overshoot

 

speedSensitivity

Derivative gain. Determines how strongly the difference between target and current speed affects corrections. Helps dampen oscillations. Corresponds to kD in the standard PD controller model.
ATTENTION: setting above > 0.9 may result in overshoot
 

speedSmoothing

Low-pass filter factor (0–1) applied to the computed speed to avoid abrupt changes. Higher values favor smoother but slower responses.

maxSpeed

Caps the maximum playback speed to prevent unrealistic or destabilizing speed adjustments.

 

atSafetyFactor

Fraction of the inter-update interval used to project time slightly into the future. This helps ensure that threads besides the update thread that access the timeline state do not see non-monotonic or outdated values due to timing jitter.
 

Pitched Timecode in UI

The most important settings are also available in the UI of PIXERA.
The “Adaptive Drift Correction” can be found in the SMPTE Settings in the Inspector of a Timeline.

 

PIXERA 25.2 INTER 31  | 24. July 2025 | OK.

In a real-time environment, a Timeline may be set to actively play back or be paused.

However, unlike video editing applications, in PIXERA the Resource of a Clip can act independently of the Timeline transport controls (i.e. Play or Pause). PIXERA offers seven Play Modes for how a Clip can behave.

To change the Play Mode of a Clip, you have to select the Clip in the Timeline. Then inside the Inspector on the right side, a dropdown of Modes can be found.

Lock to Time

Lock to Time is the standard setting of a Clip. In this setting, playback of a Clip is synchronized with Timeline playback. When Timeline playback is paused, the content of the Clip is also paused.

If the duration of a Clip on the Layer was extended, or an Inpoint/Outpoint is made on the Clip, the video is automatically looped from the beginning until the Clip is left. The light gray line in the container shows the original length and thus when the video will start over when hitting that point.

Lock to Time|No Loop

When set to Lock to Time | No Loop, the Clip will play its Resource to the Outpoint while playing back with the nowpointer.

When it reaches this end, it will continue to show the last frame only and not loop from the beginning again. This occurs over the entire rest of the Clip, no matter how long it is made.

Free Play Once

Free Play Once has the Clip play its Resource to the Outpoint independent of the Timeline playback (i.e. it will playback whether the Timeline is playing or paused), as long as the Nowpointer is inside the Clip.

When the Resource reaches its end, it will continue to show the last frame, and will only playback from the beginning again when the Nowpointer leaves and re-enters the Clip.

Free Loop

Similar to Free Play Once, in Free Loop mode the Resource will be played back independently of Timeline playback. However, in this case the Resource will loop indefinitely between the Inpoint and Outpoint for as long the Nowpointer is inside the Clip.

Moving the Nowpointer out of and back into the Clip will reset the Resource playback to its beginning.

Show Inpoint

Show Inpoint will only render the frame set as the Resources Inpoint for as long the Nowpointer is inside the Clip. The option to change the Inpoint and Outpoint can be found in the Inspector after selecting the Clip, under Timing.

Inpoint with a timecode of 00:00:00:00 is the default value to display the first frame of the Resource (start frame of Clip).
Outpoint with a timecode 00:00:00:00 is the default value to display the last frame of the Resource (the end frame of the Resource duration).

Free Play Once|Ping Pong

Ping Pong is a type of Play Mode which will play the content forward and then backwards before completing. Free Play Once|Ping Pong acts the same as Free Play Once in that it will only play the Resource through once, then freeze on its final frame.

In the case of Ping Pong, this means the final frame will be its first frame, since the Resource will play forward and then backward ending where it started.

Free Loop|Ping Pong

Free Loop|Ping Pong acts the same as Free Loop in that it will continuously play the Resource in a loop until the Nowpointer leaves the Clip.

In the case of Ping Pong, this means the Resource will play forward, then backwards, and forwards again continuously in a loop.

Youtube

Also checkout our video tutorial on Youtube for a visual on some of the different Play Modes.

PIXERA 25.2 R 12 | 15 December 2025 | CL

As of 25.3, the PIXERA engine includes a frame synchronisation feature - RX Frame Sync. By specifying a sync-reference server, this can be used to ensure that the same number of frames are rendered by each client. This can be advantageous when using Touch Designer files or Notch Blocks that feature content that changes over time, but is not specifically linked to a timeline. If a frame drop were to occur on one engine, the other will drop in sync, to ensure the content does not drift apart over time.

This new feature is not required for server sync when playing out standard content on multiple servers. For more information, please read: Synchronize Outputs - Genlock and Framelock Setup

Setup Requirements

In order to enable RX Frame Sync, you will need:

• At least two servers capable of Framelock (Servers equipped with the PX0-S2 option on PIXERA hardware)
• The servers need to be set up as a Director and Client. For more details please read this article. 
• PIXERA 25.3 and later.

To demonstrate, we will set up RX Frame Sync and use the same Notch Block on two PIXERA servers.

Method

First, Framelock will need to be set up in the NVIDIA Control Panel. In a production environment, Genlock should also be set up to ensure sync between PIXERA and all related output hardware such as LED processors. For details on the full process, please see this article. 

Next make sure your PIXERA network is set up correctly and both servers are visible to each other so they can be set up as a Director and a Client. 

Start a new project and add two displays. Assign one display an output from the Director server and the other screen and output from the Client. Click through to Mapping > Live > [Server] > [Graphics Card x] to one of the outputs you've just assigned and go to the Driver Settings section in the Inspector. Under Swap Group Participation, use the drop-down to select Bind Swap Barrier. Repeat for the other server's output.

Now click through to Mapping > Live > [Server] and in the Inspector, under Engine, check the ‘Is Sync Reference’ box on one of the servers. It does not matter which engine you choose here, but only check this box on one server.

Next, you can add content to the screens. In this example we will use a Notch Block that has moving bars similar to the PIXERA On-Screen Statistics (Ctrl + 9). These are driven by a Math Modifier (a sine wave) and so rely on incoming time advancing, rather than being keyframes positioned on a timeline. Here, there is a Notch Block on each layer and each layer is assigned to a different screen, and is rendered by a different server. Make sure your Resource Distribution settings are sorted to make this easy.

In our example, placing the Nowpointer at slightly after 00:00:00:00 with transport paused, then hiding and showing both Notch layers at the same time caused the Notch Blocks to load in sync with each other, so that once transport was started, they would remain exactly in sync. 

For further information on using Touch Designer and Notch with PIXERA, please read the following articles:

• Notch Blocks
• Touch Designer integration - Part 1, Part 2

PIXERA 25.3 INTER 66 | 9th December 2025 | B.C.

In PIXERA 25.3/26.1 we have added a new Cue type: Trigger Cues, as well as the ability to create new layers for cues to be on called Cue Layers in the Timeline.

Trigger Cues

Trigger Cues can be used to trigger some Network Command, or another timeline and are useful for triggering an action in control or an API command that you are sending out. Importantly, Trigger cues do not change the transport mode. They function like a play cue without the attached ‘play’ functionality for the timeline.

They are located here and signified by the lightning bolt on the flag in the timeline toolbar:

Trigger Cues can also be created by changing the Operation on a Transport cue (play, pause, stop, jump) to Trigger:

Here is the Trigger Cue Inspector:

A new Parameter in the inspector is the ability to Change Layers using the drop down.

Cue Layers

Cue Layers are a new type of layer that can be added by right clicking in the Layer header and adding a Cue Layer:

Cue Layers are a new place to add cues to so that you can organize and structure your timeline to group certain types of cues. For example you could have one Cue Layer that is your Projector dousing and another Cue Layer that includes all of your PIXERA Control cues.

Clicking on this icon will mute the Cue layer and won't execute any of the cues on it:

Other Features of Cue Layers

You can now stack cue flags visually:

 Cues can be moved between Cue Layers using the Inspector:

PIXERA 25.3  | 10. DEC 2025 | MB

Beginning in 25.3 there is a new way to view your Mappings and Feeds in the Mapping Tab. This new view allows you to view all screens at the same time when mapping which makes it easier and more efficient to create your feeds without adding extra clicks to your workflow. This new view is shown when you Dive in to All Screens in the drop down menu in the Workspace. 

New Mapping View in Mapping Tab: note we can see two different displays (Screen A and Screen B) at the same time!

Aux Engine

As part of this new feature you can now move the Aux Engine (sometimes called the Mapping Engine) into the main workspace to view your two workspace.

Use Window Pane Management to add a new panel to your workspace. It is typical to view these with both of the views centered, but you can place them wherever you would like.

https://help.pixera.one/en_US/window-pane-management

Then right click in the new panel and “Move Aux Engine”

Once that is complete, reset your workspace view (R hot key) or zoom out in order to see all of your outputs. Here, the “Show Labels” button in the workspace toolbar is selected to make the outputs easier to see.

We can then move and resize out Feeds using the Inspector and the workspace.

PIXERA 25.3  | 18. DEC 2025 | MB