Compare · Watchout
The multi-display veteran against a cue-list server on your own PC.
Watchout has composed multi-display shows since the nineties: one free Producer programs a timeline, any number of licensed media servers play it across projectors, LED and screens, in museums, showrooms and large events. It is the closest product to VIIY in spirit — Windows, timeline, your own hardware — and the furthest in price and scale.
Facts about Watchout were read on dataton.com (WATCHOUT 7 page, the "What does WATCHOUT 7 cost?" FAQ) and knowledge.dataton.com (licensing requirements, updated 27 February 2026) on 4 September 2026.
Side by side
| VIIY 1.0 | Dataton Watchout 7 | |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Windows 10/11, Direct3D 11 | Windows |
| Price and licence | €399 founding (first 20 operators or until 31 December 2026), then €549 · perpetual · backup machine included · online activation | EUR 3,200 recommended retail per media-server licence, taxes not included · Producer free · licence key per server · sold through Dataton partners |
| Scale | Any number of outputs from one master; one backup; Studio packs for 2–4 independent working machines | Unlimited media servers from one Producer; each licence up to 8× DCI 4K across GPU, SDI or NDI outputs |
| Show structure | Cue list with follow / on-end / jump, plus a timeline | Timeline with auxiliary timelines and tasks; control cues |
| Previsualisation | Output previews, no 3D stage | 3D stage with display placement |
| Mapping | Slices, corner pin, mesh warp with Bezier, edge blend, camera calibration, 10-bit output | Geometry correction, edge blending, masks, multi-channel key and fill |
| Audio | Stereo | Multiple audio devices per server, Dante, audio bus routing |
| Video I/O | DeckLink SDI in/out, AJA (preview), NDI in/out, Spout in/out, capture devices | SDI, NDI, capture cards, live feeds |
| Timecode and control | SMPTE (LTC) and MTC in, MTC out, OSC in and out, MIDI learn, Art-Net and sACN in, MCP server | Timecode, MIDI, DMX and Art-Net, TCP/UDP control, Watchnet |
| Backup during the show | Backup server in the licence: receives the show over the network, follows the master, takes over on failure | Redundant servers are additional licensed servers |
| Pixel mapping | Art-Net and sACN out, 64 universes, MVR import | DMX output; not video-to-fixture mapping as a product feature |
| Content pipeline | HAP converter in the app, relink, collect files, bake cues to file | Asset Manager for preparation and sharing (premium codecs need a licence) |
| AI | AI Showbuilder from a brief; the assistant writes ISF shaders; MCP server for any agent | — |
| Track record | Released September 2026 | Since 1998, museums and showrooms worldwide |
Which one
Museums, showrooms, installations with dozens of outputs across many servers, Dante audio, an integrator on site. Its scale has no equal at this price class.
Theatre, corporate, concerts and LED walls run by an operator from a master and a backup they own. Timecode from the desk, pixels back to the fixtures, a licence paid from one job.
We have not published a VIIY pixel ceiling per machine; it depends on the GPU and the content. Test your rig with the demo before you decide.