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Known Issue: Unable to upload large files to Kollaborate Server on Apache 2.4.54 and higher

Due to a change in Apache 2.4.54 and higher, the maximum upload file size on Kollaborate Server might be overriden. To fix this, edit the .htaccess file located in the html directory and add the line LimitRequestBody [size], where [size] is the maximum upload file size in bytes. To set this to 20 GB, for example, you would use the value 21474836480. Then save the file.

Note that on macOS, files beginning with a dot are hidden by default. To show hidden files press Command + Shift + . (the last character is a dot / period / full stop).

Kollaborate Server does not need to be restarted after making this change; it should happen instantly.

This issue only affects self-hosted installations running Apache 2.4.54 or higher. It does not affect the cloud version of Kollaborate. This line will be automatically added to the .htaccess file in future updates.

Uninstalling the Kollaborate Adobe Panel

To uninstall the Kollaborate Adobe panel, first download Adobe's command-line ExMan tool for managing panels here.

Open a Terminal window, drag the ExMan command-line tool into it, then add the words --remove com.digitalrebellion.kollaborate after it on a Mac or /remove com.digitalrebellion.kollaborate on Windows. (Note that in the Mac download the app is located in the Contents/MacOS folder.)

The full command should look like the following:

Mac:

[path to ExMan]/ExManCmd --remove com.digitalrebellion.kollaborate

Windows:

[path to ExMan]/ExManCmd.exe /remove com.digitalrebellion.kollaborate

Press Enter and the plugin will be removed.

You can use ExManCmd --list all (Mac) or ExManCmd.exe /list all (Windows) to verify it was successfully removed.

(If you still see the plugin listed, try repeating the above command with remove_for_all instead of remove. This command needs admin privileges so you will need to prefix it with the word "sudo" on a Mac. On Windows you will need to press Start, type "cmd" and then choose Run as Administrator to launch a privileged command prompt.)

Known Issue: Unable to extract large folders downloaded from Kollaborate on older versions of macOS

Some macOS users may receive the error message "Error 2 - No such file or directory" from the macOS Archive Utility app when downloading a folder of more than 4 GB from Kollaborate. This issue does not occur in macOS 10.15 or later and only affects older versions.

Workarounds

  1. Unzip with a third-party tool such as The Unarchiver.
  2. Upgrade to macOS 10.15 or later.

Codec support changes in Kollaborate Transfer 1.5.4 and higher

In order to provide support for macOS 10.15 Catalina, it was necessary to remove the QuickTime fallback in Kollaborate Transfer 1.5.4 or higher. The fallback allowed codecs not supported by Apple's newer AV Foundation framework, particularly third-party codecs like Avid DNxHD, to still be converted by the app (albeit much less efficiently than the AV Foundation converter).

This only affects Kollaborate Transfer and Kollaborate Folder Watcher and does not occur with ProRes or H.264 files. Our cloud encoders are not affected by this issue so it does not occur for files uploaded through a web browser.

In the long-term we plan to have a solution for this, but in the interim the options are as follows:

  1. Keep using an older version of the app on macOS 10.14 or below.
  2. Upload files via the Kollaborate site.
  3. Upload files as-is with Kollaborate Transfer and then convert them after upload with the cloud encoders by going to Actions > Create Playable Versions in the player.
  4. Export files as ProRes or H.264 prior to bringing them into Kollaborate Transfer.

Notarizing plugin installers with Plugin Manager

On macOS 10.15 and higher, all applications are required to be notarized by Apple in order to launch. To do this you will need to have a paid Apple Developer account.

Before notarization, installers must also be code signed with your Developer ID Application (not Developer ID Installer) certificate. You can either download this certificate from https://developer.apple.com or let Xcode install it for you.

Plugin Manager 2.3 and higher includes the ability to notarize plugin installers directly. Here is the workflow for doing so:

  1. Select the plugins you wish to create an installer for within Plugin Manager, then go to Tools > Create Plugin Installer.

  2. In the window that appears, specify a name for the plugin or group of plugins, the version number and author.

  3. In the Code Signing / Notarization tab, make sure your Developer ID Application is selected in the Code Signing Certificate dropdown.
  4. Enter the email address of your Apple developer account in the Apple ID email field.

  5. Plugin Manager can't use your developer account login password directly so you will need to create an app-specific password for Plugin Manager to use. To do this, login to your developer account at https://appleid.apple.com and click Generate Password under App-Specific Passwords. Paste the password you generated into the App-Specific Password field in the Create Installer window.



  6. Now click Create Installer. Note that notarization is not an instant process and Plugin Manager needs to keep checking with Apple to see if notarization has finished. Apple says that notarization may take up to 1 hour, but a realistic expectation would be 2-10 mins.

    Once notarization has finished, Plugin Manager automatically staples the notarization directly to the installer for you. Note that you could technically cancel the notarization process while it's waiting for Apple and the installer would still work, however the purpose of stapling the notarization is to prevent macOS having to check in with Apple's servers. An un-stapled installer therefore would require the user to be connected to the internet and may incur a delay before the installer can be launched.

  7. If you are distributing your installer on a disk image, you will also have to notarize the disk image. To do this, create the disk image as normal, then go to Tools > Notarize Installer Disk Image in Plugin Manager. Browse for the disk image on your hard drive and Plugin Manager will go through the same process again for the disk image.

 

macOS 10.15 Catalina compatibility with Digital Rebellion products

This post shows the current compatibility status of Digital Rebellion software with macOS 10.15 Catalina. It will be updated as compatible updates are released.

 

Compatible Software

Product Compatible Version Notes
Preference Manager 4.4.4  
FCS Remover 3.1.6  
Compressor Repair 2.3.4  
Post Haste for Mac 2.6.5  
Marker Import for Mac 2.2.2  
Kollaborate Transfer 1.5.4 The QuickTime fallback for older/third-party codecs has been removed, so these files will no longer be converted. But you can upload the file as-is and choose Actions > Create Playable Versions in the player to convert on the cloud.
CinePlay for Mac 1.6.3  
Kollaborate Folder Watcher 1.3.4  
Kollaborate Adobe Panel for Mac 1.0.3 Only the installer was incompatible, so this is just a repackage of the existing version with a new installer.
Pro Maintenance Tools 2.3

Some features were removed / changed:

  • Media Salvage no longer supports Apple Intermediate Codec
  • Media Salvage can no longer create droplets
  • You can no longer use third-party codecs with Corrupt Clip Finder

Additionally, Plugin Manager can now create plugin installers compatible with 10.15 and notarize them for you. You will need to recreate your existing installers with the new version.

 

Incompatible Software

We are planning compatible versions of this software soon and will update this page as new versions are released.

Product
 
Pro Media Tools
Kollaborate Plugin Pack

 

Discontinued software

The following applications will be discontinued rather than updated.

Product
Pro Admin

 

Kollaborate: Getting best results from AI transcription

Our speech models are currently optimized for specific use-cases and may not fit all of the situations our customers use Kollaborate for. We plan to train the models to fit a wider range of situations over time, using both our own data and data provided by customers.

You will get the best results from audio with the following characteristics:

  • Minimal background noise
  • No music
  • The speaker is using English words in common usage (no complex technical or scientific terms)
  • The speaker's mouth is close to the microphone
  • The speaker is a native English speaker
  • Dialogue is spoken conversationally (not shouted, whispered or overly dramatic)

This means that our system currently works best when transcribing content like podcasts and voiceovers.

If your audio doesn't meet all of these characteristics, that doesn't mean it can't be transcribed, it just means that our system may make more mistakes when transcribing.

The best way you can improve the results of the transcription engine is to correct any mistakes and then click the Learn button. You are given the option of submitting the entire file (correct transcriptions are still useful for the model) or just the sentences you corrected. Kollaborate then splits up the file into small audio clips for each sentence, along with the transcript provided, and those clips will then be used within the model to teach Kollaborate what the correct transcription should be for similar audio.

Your privacy is respected during this process. No video is stored, only audio, and each sentence is given a random filename so it would be difficult for anyone to piece back each sentence into its original order. We don't share your original audio data with anyone and once it's inside the model it can't be extracted out again as recognizable audio.

Kollaborate Server: Socket server fails to run on NodeJS 7 and above

Issue

When running the socket server you may get an error similar to the following:

Starting secure server...
/Applications/MAMP/kollaborate/websocket/node_modules/websocket.io/lib/socket.js:49
Socket.prototype.__proto__ = EventEmitter.prototype;
^
TypeError: Cannot read property 'prototype' of undefined
at Object. (/Applications/MAMP/kollaborate/websocket/node_modules/websocket.io/lib/socket.js:49:43)
at Module._compile (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:689:30)
at Object.Module._extensions..js (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:700:10)
at Module.load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:599:32)
at tryModuleLoad (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:538:12)
at Function.Module._load (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:530:3)
at Module.require (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:637:17)
at require (internal/modules/cjs/helpers.js:22:18)
at Object. (/Applications/MAMP/kollaborate/websocket/node_modules/websocket.io/lib/protocols/drafts.js:12:14)
at Module._compile (internal/modules/cjs/loader.js:689:30)

This is because the socket server depends on a third-party component that is not currently compatible with Node.js 7 and higher. We plan to address this in a future update.

Workaround

1. First uninstall the old version of Node.js.

On Ubuntu you can do this with the commands:

sudo apt-get remove nodejs
sudo apt-get remove npm

 
On macOS, if you installed with Homebrew, you can remove it with the command:

brew uninstall node

Other options for removing Node.js from macOS are available here.

 

2. Now install the 6.x version.

On Ubuntu type the commands:

curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_6.x | bash -

sudo apt-get install -y nodejs


On macOS, type the commands:

brew install node@6
brew link node@6

Kollaborate Server: Mail queue no longer runs after upgrading MAMP or PHP

Issue

If you are using MAMP to host Kollaborate Server on macOS, the mail queue and daily scripts may no longer run after upgrading MAMP or PHP. This is because MAMP uses version-specific paths to point to each PHP executable.

Workaround 1

  1. Edit the .plist files in /Library/LaunchAgents manually to point to the correct PHP version path.
  2. Reboot the server.

Workaround 2

  1. Copy the install folder from your Kollaborate Server download zip file back to your Kollaborate Server installation folder.
  2. Visit [your server URL]/install in your browser.
  3. Skip through the pages until you get to the Setup Scheduled Tasks page.
  4. Redownload the .plist files and copy them to your /Library/LaunchAgents folder.
  5. Delete the install folder.
  6. Reboot the server.

Workaround: Render Watcher doesn't send emails from Gmail accounts

In order to use Render Watcher with a Gmail account, you first need to setup an app-specific password in the Security section of your Google account settings. Create a new password for Render Watcher and then use the new password in the preferences pane of Render Watcher.

Support for FCPX Workflow Extensions in Digital Rebellion products

We've had lots of customers ask us about Final Cut Pro X Workflow Extensions for Kollaborate and other products. We're very keen to create Workflow Extensions but currently the Software Development Kit (SDK) has not been publicly released by Apple and only a handful of companies have been given access to it. Apple has provided developers with the means to register their interest in the SDK and we have done so and are waiting to hear back.

So in summary, we do plan to create Workflow Extensions once Apple opens up the SDK to other companies, but we don't currently know when that will be.

We will update this post with more information once we know it.

Redeeming Kollaborate subscription codes

Use the following steps to redeem a promo code you received for a free Kollaborate subscription.

1. Sign up for the free Kollaborate trial (no credit card needed).

2. Click your avatar at the top right, then click Subscription.

3. Click Enter a promo code.

4. Enter the code and click Continue.

Installing iOS apps on older versions of iOS

If you have an older iOS device that is not able to install the latest version of iOS, you can still use the last version of that app available for your operating system.

  1. Buy and download the app on a newer device that runs a more recent version of iOS or download through iTunes on your computer.
  2. Launch the App Store on your older device and either search for the app or go to your Purchased tab.
  3. Click the Install button and iOS will warn you that you cannot download the latest version and will ask you if you want to download an older version that supports your operating system.
  4. Tap Download to accept and download the older version.

Issue: Kollaborate FCPX plugin renders do not automatically upload

In some situations, most commonly when updating to a new version, Final Cut Pro X can forget export settings. This can result in the Open With action of the export preset being reset to Do Nothing. This means that when selecting Share > Send to Kollaborate, after FCPX has finished rendering the file does not get sent to the helper and therefore does not upload.

To fix this, go to Share > Send to Kollaborate then click on the Settings tab. Set Open With to "Kollaborate FCPX Exporter". If the app is not already listed in the dropdown menu you can find it in the /Applications/Digital Rebellion folder.

[RESOLVED] Kollaborate Server PHP 7 Compatibility

Resolved: PHP 7 is supported in Kollaborate Server 2.0.3 and higher.

Many Kollaborate Server customers are keen to upgrade to PHP 7 to take advantage of new features and significant performance improvements. As of Kollaborate Server 1.4, the base code of the site is PHP 7-compatible, however Kollaborate Server customers cannot yet take advantage of it because third-party components such as the Ioncube loaders do not yet support PHP 7.

Consequently, Kollaborate Server can only be deployed up to PHP 5.6, but we expect the third-party components to support PHP 7 before the end of Q2 2016.

Redeeming desktop promo codes

If you have received a promo code for free download of one of our desktop apps (not mobile), please perform the following steps to redeem it.

1. Create a free account on our site if you don't have one already.

2. After logging into your account, scroll down the My Licenses page and enter the promo code you received into the Promo Code text box at the bottom, then click Redeem.

3. Under My Licenses, you will now see a new entry for the product you just redeemed. If the product appears under Online Licenses, you can register it by logging into your Digital Rebellion account in the app's registration dialog.

If the license appears under our older Product Key License section, you can enter the first name, last name, company and product key listed exactly as written into the app's registration dialog to unlock it.

[RESOLVED] Plugin Manager crashes on OS X 10.11

If you have large numbers of plugins installed on your computer, Plugin Manager may crash at startup on OS X 10.11.0 or OS X 10.11.1. This is an OS X bug that was fixed in OS X 10.11.2 so we recommend updating to the latest version to resolve this issue.

This does not affect users running Pro Maintenance Tools on operating systems earlier than 10.11.

Motion may not be smooth on Apple TV

When playing 23.976 or 24 fps media in CinePlay for Apple TV, certain motion such as fast pans may appear to judder or stutter.

This is because tvOS automatically plays back media at either 25 or 30 fps, depending on the rate set in the Apple TV's preferences. This is a limitation within the operating system and is not something we can override. We are hoping this limitation will be lifted in future versions of tvOS.

Workaround

Go to Settings > Resolution and select one of the 50 Hz options if your TV supports it. While this will still not play back at exactly 24 fps, 25 is much closer than 30.

QT Edit takes longer to save to network volumes

You may notice that QT Edit takes longer to save a file to a network volume than to a local volume. If you save to a local volume, QT Edit updates the file in-place which is extremely fast. However, if you save to a non-local volume, updating in-place is dangerous and can potentially cause corruption, so QT Edit rewrites the entire file which takes longer.

Therefore the overall file size makes a difference to how long it takes to save on a network volume, where it doesn't on a local one. Our recommendation is to wait for the save operation to finish but some users may prefer to copy large files locally first.

Cut Notes sync temporarily disabled in CinePlay 1.5.3 for iOS

There is a serious bug in iOS 9 that can cause instability when handling MIDI connections. This was causing frequent crashes in CinePlay so we have temporarily disabled Cut Notes sync support until Apple fixes the flaw in iOS.

This issue does not affect Cut Notes or CinePlay for Mac.

We will update this post when more information becomes available.