Cues and Playback

Applies to SuperStage 26H2.6 and later ｜ Read first: Selecting and Programming

This document covers storing and playing cues, how the result is decided when several playbacks push the same fixture, and the timeline and timecode.

1. Cues

A cue stores a snapshot of a lighting state.

Store → Cue → number; command line Store Cue 2;
Update: Update Cue 2;
Copy / move: Copy Cue 2 At 6, Move Cue 2 At 6;
Delete: Delete Cue 2.

The Playback panel is the cue list. One cue per slot, slots paged, with the page bar at the top of the panel. There is no separate Cues panel.

2. Executors

Every slot in the Playback panel is an executor: press with the left button to trigger, release to end. There are no faders — physical or on-screen — in this release.

Right-click a slot for its menu:

Section	Item	What it does
Trigger Mode	Toggle	One click on, another click off
	Momentary	Active while held, released on key up (with fade)
	Flash	Active while held, cut on key up (no fade)
Edit	Edit CUE	Load this cue back into the programmer to keep editing
	Update CUE (Replace)	Replace the whole cue with the current programmer
	Merge into CUE	Merge the programmer in: new fixtures and attributes are added, existing values updated
	Rename / Delete	Rename / delete
Copy / Move	Copy → Paste	Copy to the clipboard, paste on a target slot for a duplicate
	Move… → Move Here	Mark for move, then pick Move Here on the target slot; timeline clips and shortcuts follow the cue automatically
Shortcut	Set Shortcut…	Bind a keyboard shortcut to this slot
(empty slot)	Save CUE Here	Store the current programmer straight into this slot

Releasing one executor does not clear another executor's output on the same fixture.

3. Output Arbitration

When several sources push the same attribute of the same fixture, they merge in three stages, in a fixed order:

1. Default layer   The fixture definition's default values. Fallback only —
                   any playback or programmer value overrides it
       ↓
2. Playback layers timeline / timecode cue / cue / effect
       ↓              · Intensity attributes use HTP: highest wins,
                        regardless of source priority
                      · Everything else uses LTP: source priority first,
                        then timestamp within the same source
       ↓
3. Programmer      Overrides every playback above — the value you are
       ↓           holding must be visible
       ↓
4. Highlight       Overrides the programmer — "just show me which ones"
                   outranks everything

Key points:

The default layer does not take part in HTP. An intensity channel whose definition default is non-zero would pin the output at that value forever if it competed for the maximum;
Intensity uses HTP deliberately. When a base wash is covered by a darker effect, a real console takes the higher of the two. Flat overwriting would make the lower-priority value disappear entirely, and the base wash would get darker instead;
Layered by cue: the same cue lands on the same layer whether driven by the Playback panel or a timeline clip; different cues occupy different layers;
Only real dimmer channels use HTP. On an LED fixture with no dedicated Dimmer channel, the additive channels count as a virtual dimmer: they scale with the playback level, but they still merge by LTP (last write wins) rather than by maximum.

The Highlight button on the encoder bar pushes the current selection to its highlight values (full intensity, beam open, no gobo) so you can pick those fixtures out on stage at a glance. It sits above the programmer, so a value you are editing cannot hide it. Press again to leave highlight.

The Running panel shows what is currently running, on four tabs: Cues / Effects / Presets / All.

4. Timeline

The timeline lives inside the Timecode panel; it is not a panel of its own.

Two track kinds, CUE and Audio, added with + CUE and + Audio above the track area;
Content is arranged by dragging clips;
Overlapping clips on the same track release independently and do not clear each other's activation records;
Export Sequence bakes the timeline's DMX and audio into a level sequence.

Effects cannot go on the timeline by themselves. To run an effect from the timeline, wrap it in a cue and put that cue on a CUE track.

5. Timecode

The frame rate is a property of the timeline itself, and display and export read the same source.

Supported rates:

Rate	Notes
24 fps	Film
25 fps	PAL / EBU
29.97 fps	NTSC drop-frame
30 fps	SMPTE
50 fps
59.94 fps	Drop-frame
60 fps

NTSC rates run on exact rationals (29.97 is 30000/1001, not a 29.97 float) with standard drop-frame numbering.

The display format is HH:MM:SS:FF, so it does not overflow past one hour. Drop-frame rates (29.97 / 59.94) follow the SMPTE convention of a semicolon before the frame field — HH:MM:SS;FF — so you can tell at a glance whether drop-frame is in play.

6. Common Questions

Two playbacks push the same fixture and the result is not what I want

First identify the attribute type: intensity uses HTP (highest wins), everything else uses LTP (later write wins / higher priority wins). To make one always win, put it on a higher-priority source, or hold it in the programmer.

A fixture is stuck on stage

Check the Running panel for an unreleased playback. Clearing the programmer does not release playbacks.

I cannot tell which fixtures are selected

Press Highlight on the encoder bar and the selection jumps to its highlight values. Press again to leave.

Timecode does not line up

Check the timeline's own frame rate and whether the external timecode source matches. 29.97 and 30 are not the same thing.

Last updated Aug 30, 2026 · 5 min read