All Hog 4 family consoles are tracking by default which means the Hog 4 OS records only changed cue data into cues and scenes allowing unchanged data that was recorded in previous cues and scenes to track through until a change is recorded for that particular fixture parameter.
Below is an example of how a series of cues might be seen by a viewing audience:
| Fixture: | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cue 1 | 100 | 50 | 100 |
| Cue 2 | 100 | 25 | 50 |
| Cue 3 | 100 | 75 | 75 |
With a non-tracking console, each value would have to be recorded into each cue as displayed above. However, with a tracking console such as the Hog 4, the only data that really needs to be recorded is much simpler as shown in the table below:
| Fixture: | A | B | C |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cue 1 | 100 | 50 | 100 |
| Cue 2 | 25 | 50 | |
| Cue 3 | 75 | 75 |
As you can see fixture A only has to be recorded at 100% in cue 1 because that value will track all the way from cue 1 to cue 3. On the other hand, since fixtures B and C change value in each cue, the tracking console needs to have unique values recorded in each cue.
When discussing the contents of a cue or the state of playback on stage, the following terms are commonly used:
Hard Values / Touched Values: Values programmed into the current cue
Tracked Values / Transparent Values: Values assigned
State: The summation of both tracked and hard-coded values in playback. The Hog 4 OS automatically recalls the state of any cue regardless of whether or not the cuelist was played in order; this allows the console operator to jump around and play cues out of order while preserving the way the cue was meant to look.