Can I load a show created in WATCHOUT version 6 into WATCHOUT version 7?

Client has a show created in version 6 of WATCHOUT and would now like to run it on a WATCHOUT version 7 system

WATCHOUT version 7 uses different technology from version 6 and is not backwards compatible. That means shows created in version 6 cannot be loaded or imported directly into WATCHOUT 7.

In brief

WATCHOUT 7 introduced a different show structure and technologies which means version 7 does not read shows created in earlier versions. For example, WATCHOUT 6 is a 32-bit software while WATCHOUT 7 a 64-bit software; version 6 uses 8-bit color depth, version 7 uses 16-bit internally. Rendering on graphics cards is also handled differently, as are many other processes. 

What you can do

If you need to transition a project from WATCHOUT 6 to WATCHOUT 7, you will have to do a manual rebuild: 
  • Open your version 6 show in WATCHOUT 6
  • Take careful note of media,  timelines, cues and settings
  • Recreate the show manually in WATCHOUT 7

Recommendation

Keep a system with WATCHOUT 6 installed if you need to maintain legacy shows, and plan to rebuild shows in WATCHOUT 7.

Important

If you want to run the WATCHOUT 6 production tool (watchmaker.exe) on the same computer as the WATCHOUT 7 Producer, always install version 6 before you install version 7. This is to ensure that the correct licensing process (WIBU version) is used by WATCHOUT 7.

Do not, however, run both version 6 and version 7 shows at the same time on the same computer. The two versions call on the same network resources, etc, which means you will run into system conflicts, affecting performance and stability.