Key Concepts

Before diving into the tutorials, it helps to understand the core building blocks of Exaplay 3. This page introduces the terms and ideas you will encounter throughout the documentation.

Screens & Outputs

A Screen is the fundamental canvas in Exaplay 3. Each screen maps to a physical display output — a projector, LED wall, or monitor. When you create a screen, you give it a name, choose which display output it uses, and set a resolution.

You can have as many screens as your GPU supports. Each screen gets its own composition with independent layers and timelines.

TIP

Think of a screen as a "virtual projector" — it has a resolution, a position, and its own stack of content. Even if you only have one monitor, you can still create multiple screens for pre-programming.

Compositions & Layers

Every screen contains a Composition — the visual scene that gets rendered to that screen. A composition is built from layers stacked on top of each other, similar to layers in Photoshop or After Effects.

• Layer 1 (bottom) might be a background video loop.
• Layer 2 could be a title graphic with transparency.
• Layer 3 might be a live NDI camera feed.

Each layer can hold a video, image, colour, live input (NDI / Spout), or a test pattern. You control each layer's position, scale, opacity, blend mode, and transitions independently.

Timeline

The Timeline is where you arrange media clips in time. Each layer appears as a horizontal track, and you drag media clips onto these tracks to set when they appear, how long they play, and how they transition.

Key timeline concepts:

• Playhead — The vertical line that shows the current playback position.
• Clips — Coloured blocks on a track representing a media file or input.
• In/Out points — The start and end of each clip on the timeline.
• Transitions — Crossfades or cuts between clips on the same track.
• Loop — A clip or the entire timeline can loop indefinitely.

Playlist

A Playlist provides operator-driven control. Instead of everything being driven by a continuous timeline, a Playlist lets you define named actions (cues) that trigger on demand — by clicking a button, pressing a hotkey, or receiving an external command.

Common cue actions include:

• Go to timecode — Jump the timeline to a specific position.
• Play / Pause / Stop — Control transport.
• Load composition — Switch to a different visual scene.
• Fire sequence — Trigger a chain of timed events.

Playlists are essential for live shows where an operator controls the pacing.

Note: In earlier versions of Exaplay this composition type was called the Cue List. The behaviour is the same — the label has been simplified to Playlist in the UI.

Transport Controls

The Transport bar sits at the bottom of the editor and controls playback:

Control	Shortcut	Description
▶ Play	Space	Start playback from the current position
⏸ Pause	Space	Pause at the current frame
⏹ Stop	Escape	Stop and return to the beginning
⏮ Previous	←	Jump to previous cue or clip boundary
⏭ Next	→	Jump to next cue or clip boundary

Inspector Panel

The Inspector is the properties panel on the right side of the editor. When you select a clip, layer, or screen, the Inspector shows all of its editable properties — position, scale, opacity, loop settings, transitions, effects, and more.

The Inspector changes contextually: select a clip and it shows clip properties; select a screen and it shows output settings.

File Browser

The File Browser is the Media & Live panel at the bottom of the editor (below the active Timeline or Playlist). Point it at a folder on your computer, and it displays thumbnails for all supported media files. Drag files from the browser onto the Timeline or directly onto a screen to add them to your composition.

Supported formats include:

• Video: MP4, MOV, AVI, MKV, HAP, HAP Q, HAP Alpha, NotchLC, ProRes
• Image: PNG, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, TGA, SVG
• Audio: WAV, MP3, AAC, FLAC

Show Mode vs Edit Mode

Exaplay 3 has two operational states:

• Edit Mode (default) — The full editor is visible. Output windows may or may not be active. Use this mode to build and prepare your show.
• Show Mode — Output windows go fullscreen on their assigned displays. The editor remains available for control but the audience only sees the rendered output. Toggle with Shift+Escape or the show-mode button in the header.

INFO

Show Mode is what you activate for the actual performance. It hides the UI from the audience displays and ensures outputs run at maximum performance.

Projects (.vpp Files)

All your work is saved as a .vpp project file. A project stores:

• Screen definitions and output assignments
• Compositions with all layers, clips, and timelines
• Playlists and cue definitions
• Inspector settings (transitions, effects, keyframes)
• System configuration (audio routing, network settings)

Media files are referenced by path, not embedded. Keep your media folder alongside the .vpp file for portability.

What's Next?

Now that you know the vocabulary, continue with the tutorials:

• Quick Start Tutorial — Play your first video in 5 minutes
• Your First Project — Build a multi-screen show with cues