Decision Arena operator manual
For anyone running a workshop, meeting or presentation in the Decision Arena. This space is often used by groups without a technician present, so this manual is deliberately blunt.
Reconstructed from the equipment documentation rather than an existing written procedure. Confirm the start-up sequence, source selection and shutdown before relying on it, then remove this banner.
1. Before the session
- Power on the two playback computers and both sets of projectors.
- Confirm all nine projectors come up. It is easy to miss one in a cylinder — walk the full circle and look at every panel.
- Confirm the image is continuous all the way around, with no dark segment and no visible misalignment at the seams.
- Open the WATCHOUT show for the session and play the first minute.
- Check audio level and source.
- Set the room lighting. The cylinder relies on relatively dim ambient light for contrast.
Add: exact power-on order, projector warm-up time, whether a Showmaster/tech panel controls this space or the projectors are started individually, and where the WATCHOUT show files live.
2. Starting the session
- Bring up the intended show or content.
- Confirm content is visible on all nine channels before letting the group in.
- Set lighting to the session state.
3. During the session
| Request | Where |
|---|---|
| Change volume | Audio system for the space |
| Next/previous slide or scene | WATCHOUT show control |
| Switch to a visiting laptop | Source selection — see TODO below |
| Reset the view | Restart the show cue rather than the application |
Document how a visiting presenter's laptop is connected and shown, and which control surface a non-technician should use to advance a WATCHOUT show.
4. If something goes wrong during a session
| Symptom | Do this now |
|---|---|
| One projector segment goes dark | Continue — a group can usually work around one dark segment. Note which one. |
| A block of 4 or 5 segments goes dark | One playback computer has dropped. Note whether it was 4 or 5 — that identifies the machine. |
| All nine dark | Check the playback application and the computers before the projectors. |
| Image is warped or shifted | Do not try to correct it. This is a VIOSO calibration problem. Continue in a degraded state or pause the session. |
| Everything dark including lights | Power event — do not press PDU buttons. Escalate. |
Do not power-cycle projectors, do not touch VIOSO settings, and do not cut PDU outlets with a group in the room.
5. After the session
- Close the show and return the computers to their standby state.
- Shut down the projectors, respecting cooldown.
- Restore room lighting.
- Report any segment that behaved oddly, even briefly — an intermittent projector here usually gets worse.
Confirm shutdown order and what should be left running between sessions.