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I was pleased to discover that OnCue includes an option for an emergency license which lasts 24 hours. See the red box in the 'Activate License' dialog:


It could come in very handy if you're stuck in a situation where you can't get online and your subscription has just expired. See the confirmation here from OnCue's support team that this option will work if your laptop is offline: https://www.oncuetech.com/articles/emergency-activation/p






 
 

If you're using a gaming laptop for a trial presentation, or simply tasked with setting up a monitor capable of 4K or 8K resolution (ultra high definition using 4,000 or 8,000 pixels) you want to keep in mind that an older or even 'high speed' HDMI cable may not be able to support the video at such an elevated resolution.


Standard HDMI cables are no longer widely available at Best Buy or other online stores where you're likely to go to pick one up, but there's no doubt that you may be handed one by a law firm's IT staff, or find one as the cable provided for a courtroom's a/v system. These cables have a bandwidth of 4.95 Gbps and won't be able to support 4K or higher. They are designed for 1080 pixel devices. They will be designated as version 1.0 or 1.2.



You might think that a 'high speed' cable [versions 1.3 to 1.4] would be what you need, but it also won't work with 4K video at higher frames per second. They support 10.2 Gbps but won't support 4K video higher than 30 frames per second.






A Premium High Speed version 2.0 HDMI cable has a bandwidth of 18 Gbps and will work with any 4K video, and some 8K videos at lower frame rates.




If you want to play it safe and be ready for any 8K video at all, secure an Ultra High Speed HDMI version 2.1 cable (48 Gbps).



The Ultra High Speed cable will work fine with lower res videos.


If you are using an HDMI cable that won't support the resolution of the video, you may simply get a lower res video, a video that flickers, or worse yet no signal at all.



 
 

Trial techs everywhere have switched to OnCue's trial presentation software, and my experience using it in court has been very positive. It does however have a minor glitch, which I think many will want to be aware of. In version 4.3, if when working in the designation editor, while showing ranges from the same designation list (a list defined as multiple deposition designations for a single deponent) in presentation mode, you toggle off scrolling text for a designation range from the same list by clicking the green arrow / red X lined page icon at the right above the waveform:



. . . and then publish the designation line numbers for the closed captioning text can peek out on the left:


It's a minor problem which can easily be corrected by pressing T to toggle off the scrolling text. Pressing T when you see this error won't bring back the scrolling text first. It clears the hidden cut off text 'behind' the video. If you press T a second time it will display the scrolling text again.


The problem seems to occur, when one designation range from a list has been presented with scrolling text; the scrolling text setting for another designation is turned off; the designation range is cleared from the presentation screen; and then the next designation is presented. If you do NOT clear the previous designation, the error does not occur.


Also keep in mind that if you toggle off the scrolling text for a designation range, the update won't take effect at all unless you first select a different designation range. Just toggling off the text and then publishing the range will leave the closed captioning text in place.


This problem did not happen in all deposition videos I tested, but did frequently reoccur in the videos in the OnCue demo case. I just post here about it, because it's good to be aware of potential problems and not be surprised in the courtroom.

 
 

Sean O'Shea has more than 20 years of experience in the litigation support field with major law firms in New York and San Francisco.   He is an ACEDS Certified eDiscovery Specialist and a Relativity Certified Administrator.

The views expressed in this blog are those of the owner and do not reflect the views or opinions of the owner’s employer.

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