Newtek TriCaster 855 User Manual

viii 13.4 Advanced Audio Configuration ... 222 Equalizer...

Page | 84 8. Now, click the second Zoom Preset icon (Figure 81). Observe that the view on Program output (Figure 82) has now zoomed in

Page | 85 1. Add the image file named TriCaster Logo w. Bkgnd.png from Still > NewTek > Logos to the playlist of a Media Player. Figure 8

Page | 86 4. Note that the image you sent to the V1 Frame Buffer now appears on the virtual monitor in the LiveSet. 5. Now, right-

Page | 87 Figure 85 Note: A few frames may be dropped on video output the first time you enable streaming for a session as the encoder l

Page | 88 “Pull” streaming is arguably the simplest way to get your production online: 1. Click the New button. The Choose Connection Type dial

Page | 89 Hint: If your TriCaster is connected to the network by a router or is behind a firewall, it may be necessary to take further steps to pro

Page | 91 PART II (REFERENCE) A thorough examination of the various aspects of TriCaster; every button, menu item, feature and control is consider

Page | 93 5 THE STARTUP SCREEN TriCaster’s Startup Screen is the gateway to a suite of applications as well as session and system maintenance an

ix Testing your stream ... 253 15.8.1 Is it Really a T

Page | 94 5.1 INTRODUCTION TO SESSIONS Whenever you work with TriCaster, you provide certain information about the production environmen

Page | 95 When you re-open an existing session, it’s just as if you were continuing an earlier event. Thus, if you return to the same venue anothe

Page | 96 Figure 91 For example, the first thing you will likely do on launching a new TriCaster is create a session. In anticipation of that, t

Page | 97 VOLUME Figure 92 Beneath the Session name you will see a field labeled Volume. Here you can choose which hard drive the session (and it

Page | 98 The session setting has some other significant ramifications, too. For example, if your session format is SD 4:3, this is

Page | 99 Figure 94 EJECT Figure 95 An Eject button at the top right corner of the page allows you to safely disconnect external

Page | 100 RESTORE SESSION BACKUP In another section of the Startup Screen (Session Page>Manage) there is a feature that allows you to

Page | 101 ADMINISTRATOR MODE Selecting Administrator Mode from the Shutdown menu on the Home Page icon ring exits TriCaster’s live pr

Page | 102 Among other reasons, doing so will serve to identify the unit to NewTek as yours in case of theft, and will also allow you to che

Page | 103 You could think of your hard drive as being like a shelf in your library. As time goes along, the shelf fills with books.

x A.1.13 Connect to an AirPlay® Source? ... 287 A.1.14 Resolve iVGA PRO Q

Page | 104 We strongly encourage you to protect against any unforeseen occurrence by using the Backup feature soon after registering TriCaste

Page | 105 HELP 5.2.4 Figure 99 Select the Help icon to reveal links to open TriCaster manuals, including the primary User Guide as well as do

Page | 106 The icon labeled Add-Ons on the Home Page provides access to these tools. When you select it, links are displayed for installed sof

Page | 107 GRAPHICS 5.3.2 Figure 103 TriCaster includes an integrated version of LiveText, NewTek’s standalone titling and CG applicat

Page | 108 However, it is possible to use File>Save As to store a project in another location outside the session structure. Be

Page | 109 BROWSE Figure 106 Under the label Browse, you will see direct links to the Clips, Still, and other content associated with the current

Page | 110 IMPORT MEDIA We discussed importing media for using in TriCaster productions back in Section 4.2, so we’ll just review briefly here. Cl

Page | 111 Click Add to open a standard system file window, and select (or multi-select) items to build a list in the Import Media file pane. Some

Page | 112 TOOLS The Duplicate feature is very useful for cases when you wish to export a file to multiple target file formats to be used fo

Page | 113 A similar Destination button opens a system file browser to let you designate (or create) a location for file output. Eac

xi A.4.5 Prepare clips for TriCaster Playback Using Apple® Final Cut Pro? ... 304 A.4.6 Add an External File Location to the

Page | 114 o Presets suitable for use with iPad®, iPhone® or iPod Touch®.  Quicktime o Renderless Conversion – high quality ‘wrapped’ Quicktime

Page | 115 The backup operation feature will determine whether all media used in the session is local (i.e., located in folders named for that sess

Page | 117 6 LIVE DESKTOP: OVERVIEW TriCaster’s Live Desktop is the control center for all your live production work. It provides control ov

Page | 118 6.2 OVERVIEW TriCaster’s Live Desktop provides visual feedback for operations, including monitoring, live switching, and so on

Page | 119 Control Type Type Examples Usage Slider (vertical or horizontal, single-value) Gain, Balance Drag in line with the control’s orientatio

Page | 120  When Tabs Follow Preview for Virtual Inputs is checked, the tab shown updates only when you select a Virtual Input on Pre

Page | 121  Any Switcher source button  Any Virtual Input tab The dialog has two editable text fields, Input Name and Button Label. The latter

Page | 122  You can also drag the divider between Preview and the tabbed monitor pane (see Figure 117, showing the Program and Preview monitors o

Page | 123 STATUS BAR 6.5.1 Figure 119 Figure 120 An information display is conveniently located below the titlebar, just above the

xii B.1 Testing, One Two … ... 319 B.2 iVGA an

Page | 125 7 I/O CONFIGURATION TriCaster™ provides extensive control over your video signal at both input and output stages. Every video source

Page | 126 Figure 123 NOTE: The format for TriCaster’s Program output (including HDMI) is dictated by the session format. At the time

Page | 127 This panel closes when you click the Close button or click outside the panel. PROC AMP 7.1.2Proc Amp adjustments can be toggled on and

Page | 128 To serve as a visual reminder, small indicator lights appear at right above the Program monitor when either output has Proc Amp settings

Page | 129  To automatically white balance – click and hold the mouse button over the Color (eyedropper) button, and then slide the

Page | 130  Choosing Component or Composite + Y/C results in the output connectors in the corresponding row being configured as shown

Page | 131  Program – TriCaster’s main Program output.  Program (Clean) – TriCaster’s main Program output, minus the two primary Ove

Page | 132 stream is captured to a file by TriCaster’s Record feature when it is configured to record Aux. Additionally, it governs

Page | 133 however, TriCaster’s continuous output can prevent more elaborate external failsafe mechanisms from being triggered. In such c

xiii D.10 Sounds ... 340 D.

Page | 134 Figure 132 Screen Layout offers a diverse list including numerous optional displays as follows:  All: this useful display is the defau

Page | 135 GENLOCK 7.1.7TriCaster’s Genlock feature allows it to ‘lock’ its video output to a reference video signal (house sync, such as ‘

Page | 136 VERTICAL POSITION, HORIZONTAL POSITION AND PHASE Locking all devices to house sync is important, but this alone does not actually ensure

Page | 137 Note: Reference Type options do not appear for SD sessions. CENTER FREQUENCY 7.1.8This setting is applied when a Genlock reference sig

Page | 138 The Connection Type menu options for a PAL session list PAL HD and SD format options. Choosing NTSC as the session Video

Page | 139 The standard definition options listed below are provided in both 4:3 and 16:9 versions: • Digital source, high definition, progr

Page | 140 1 Multi-standard TriCaster PAL connection type. ACT AS ALPHA 7.2.2TriCaster optionally allows one or more neighboring pa

Page | 141 The ability to configure one input as the alpha channel source for another is absolutely invaluable for installations employing video

Page | 142 PROC AMP 7.2.3 Figure 136 The main portion of the Input Settings tab contains Proc Amp settings. These settings are ide

Page | 143 Figure 137 LiveMatte’s controls are deceptively simple, making a great deal of complex digital manipulations easy to use. Even so,

Page | 144 TriCaster can optionally use an external linear timecode (LTC) reference to drive its clocks (and timecode for capture). We’ll discuss th

Page | 145 show a useful countdown to the (production) Start or End times when the corresponding switches are enabled in the Timecode

Page | 146 8 SWITCHER, TRANSITIONS AND OVERLAY TriCaster’s Live Desktop replicates traditional video switcher controls in easy to comprehend a

Page | 147 UTILITY (AND DELEGATE) 8.1.1Utility is a special purpose row, and offers additional capabilities, described next.  Making a sele

Page | 148  When you make a delegate selection, the Utility row button corresponding to the source currently assigned to that delegate lights up.

Page | 149 The Background (BKGD) layer supplies the ‘bottom-most’ video layer, seen behind any other layers shown on Program Out. A

Page | 150 Recall, too, that the BKGD layer itself is often a composite of sub-layers:  Sub-layers may include video from the Program or Preview r

Page | 151 LOCAL CONTROLS 8.3.1  Pressing the local Take button for the BKGD layer will swap the current Preview row selection to the Program

Page | 152 In similar fashion, DSK layers will be either hidden or displayed (above the BKGD layer) when you click their local Take and Auto buttons

Page | 153 Figure 150 The options that appear when you do so differ, depending on whether you are configuring a Background Transiti

Page | 1 PART I (GETTING STARTED) Introducing TriCaster™ – connections and registration, a top-level overview of primary features, and a hands-on

Page | 154  When Ping Pong is enabled, the Reverse behavior is toggled each time a transition is performed. Using the previous ex

Page | 155 Position panel settings are organized into two groups named Crop Edges and Position. The current settings can be toggled on

Page | 156 DSK layers automatically appear (temporarily) on Preview when the Position panel is open (regardless of the current Delegate sel

Page | 157 Player (DDR, Still or Title) file that includes an embedded alpha channel, because LiveMatte or Cropping are enabled for the so

Page | 158 TRANSITION DELEGATES An executive maxim suggests “Don’t do anything yourself when you can delegate it. We briefly examined the Ut

Page | 159 A progress bar beneath the each of the Delegate buttons tracks transition progress. (For the two DSK layers, the bar will remain fully

Page | 160 Figure 156  FTB delegated – show or hide the FTB video layer.  DSK 2 delegated – show or hide the DSK 2 video layer.  DSK 1 delega

Page | 161 9 DESKTOP MONITORS The word “monitor” comes from the Latin “monēre” – meaning ‘to warn’. The word has taken on additional meaning sin

Page | 162 The Program monitor shows what TriCaster is displaying to your viewing audience at any moment. This includes the BKGD video

Page | 163 Right beside the Program monitor, the Live Desktop also displays the Look Ahead Preview monitor (labeled simply Preview) s

Page | 164 9.3 ALL MONITORS TAB Figure 161 Click the All Monitors tab at upper-left to reveal a group of preview windows. These previews, ofte

Page | 165 Figure 162 Camera monitors show Freeze and Configure buttons in the titlebar on mouse roll-over. The function of the fir

Page | 166 Figure 164 On rolling the mouse pointer over the monitor for either Network 1 or Network 2, an additional control is shown – a downward-

Page | 167 (Observe that the Autoplay switches respond normally when you switch interactively in this manner.) INTERACTIVE TITLEBAR IND

Page | 168 9.5 INTERNAL MONITORS TAB The Internal Monitors tab provides yet another useful view (especially for times when you may be using TriCa

Page | 169 The scopes and monitor permit you to judge the effect of Proc Amp and LiveMatte adjustments while making them. (See Appendix C, Video C

Page | 171 10 MEDIA PLAYERS (DDRS, STILL, TITLE AND AUDIO) TriCaster’s Media Players permit you to integrate video, still images and title pages

Page | 172 The Title player, when present, is principally intended for display and management of title pages (both those based on TriCaster’s inte

Page | 173 This arrangement offers large thumbnail icons for each entry. A scrollbar at right accommodates long playlists. Icons can quickly

Page | 3 1 ABOUT THIS MANUAL Hate reading manuals? If so, you are part of the majority (estimates are that between 60 and 97% of the human ra

Page | 174 FILE OPERATIONS  Click the Add button beneath the playlist pane to open a custom Media Browser (see Section 10.2.2). Alterna

Page | 175 ICON AUDIO SLIDER Figure 170 The playlist of the two DDRs as well as Sounds have an additional audio feature. The icons of files with

Page | 176 During playback, the Scrub-Bar knob traverses the span between the In and Out Points. ALPHA CHANNEL SUPPORT For files with transparency (

Page | 177 LOCATION LIST The Location List is a column of favorite “locations”, grouped under headings such as LiveSets, Clips, Titles, Stil

Page | 178 FILE PANE Icons appearing in the File Pane represent content located inside the sub-heading selected at left in the Locations List. Thes

Page | 179 Right-click on a file icon in the right-hand pane to show a menu providing Rename and Delete options. Be aware that Delete

Page | 180 SINGLE Figure 177 Media Player playback normally conforms to typical playlist practice – each item in the playlist playing back in o

Page | 181 Note: Unlike Switcher Transitions, the reverse overlay effect does not occur automatically as the end of play approaches. In either case

Page | 182 SPEED 10.2.5 Figure 179 The Speed control is only found in the DDR. The DDR supports variable speed playback between 25% and 400% of t

Page | 183 Hint: We considered a Frame Buffer example back in Section 4.11. Any still image or title page in the playlist of one of TriCaster’s Med

Revised – August 20, 2013 Trademarks: NewTek, TriCaster, TriCaster XD, TCXD8000, TriCaster 8000, TriCaster TCXD8000, TCXD850

Page | 184 refers to the correct graphic for that channel. This provides assurance when you might temporarily switch to another sourc

Page | 185 10.4 EDITING TITLE PAGES On mouse-over, title page icons display a configuration (gear) icon in their lower-right corner.

Page | 186 A number of keystroke shortcuts are available to help you edit text quickly. Typing keystrokes as listed below will produce the result s

Page | 187 Figure 184 STAND-IN IMAGES Images embedded in Title Pages may be locked, or they may be editable stand-ins. When you roll the mous

Page | 189 11 LIVEMATTE & CROP Although its controls are deceptively simple, TriCaster’s LiveMatte™ is a very powerful chromakeying technol

Page | 190 Hint: Clicking Configure for the video monitor in the Scopes tab likewise opens the Input Configuration panel for the c

Page | 191 Of course, if you choose inappropriate settings, foreground areas may inadvertently be cut away as well. Ideal settings require ju

Page | 192 TOLERANCE 11.2.2No physical greenscreen is perfectly comprised of one color. Wrinkles, folds and shadows along with the seemingly i

Page | 193 the background color. In simplest terms, problem areas of this type can be decisively ‘pulled’ back into the foreground b

Page | 5 2 INTRODUCTION Thank you for purchasing this NewTek™ product. Your TriCaster™ belongs to a large family of video systems and software

Page | 194 Figure 189 Common examples include microphones or lighting fixtures dangling from above, or perhaps a harsh crease, blemish or t

Page | 195 11.6 FINE TUNING You’ll find LiveMatte easy to configure with a little experimentation – but a few handy workflow tips follow below. Y

Page | 196 11.7 PRACTICAL STAGING FOR LIVEMATTE We’d like to offer a few suggestions here to guide you in preparing, so you get the most out of Liv

Page | 197 according to the quality of video signal they provide (and as things go, in the reverse order of their cost, and the likelihoo

Page | 199 12 VIRTUAL INPUTS Virtual Inputs are a wonderful TriCaster™ innovation, opening up whole new levels of convenience and production

Page | 200 As you would expect, selecting one of the Virtual Input buttons on the Program row displays the output from the corresponding Virtual Inp

Page | 201 Position controls for both Input A and Input B appear to the right of their respective selector button rows (Figure 1

Page | 202  Drag up/down to rotate the source about the X (horizontal) axis.  Hold down Alt on the keyboard while dragging to rotate about the

Page | 203 This means that the Overlay is applied before that composition is sent to the Switcher. Thus content in a VI Overlay ap

Page | 6 2.2 STARTUP SCREEN When you power up TriCaster the Startup Screen appears. This is your command center for initiating most

Page | 204 To select a different LiveSet, click the Add button at the right-hand end of this field line, opening a custom Media Browser (Figure 197)

Page | 205 Figure 198 Virtual sets in the LiveSet system display video from either one or two different TriCaster sources. It will not surpri

Page | 206 Note: Some LiveSets (e.g., double-box sets) do not support zooming. In such cases, the Zoom Presets and the Zoom T-Bar ar

Page | 207 ANIMATE ZOOM 12.4.6 Figure 201 As noted earlier, you can use the Zoom T-Bar to manually zoom in on most LiveSets, even when displayed

Page | 208 12.5 EFFECTS The virtual Input tabs provide access to some other special purpose effects, in addition to LiveSets. Among

Page | 209 13 AUDIO Less than 100 years ago, movies were silent. We’ve come a very long way since “The Jazz Singer” (1927, Wa

Page | 210 Compact sub-panels in each tabbed pane provide configuration and control for one audio source or output stream. Figure 205 Note: Illustr

Page | 211 You may choose to think of these audio sources as being associated with the same-numbered video inputs in the nearby rows (se

Page | 212 Only one input type can be operative for a given audio input group at any moment. A drop-down Connection Type menu at the top allows sel

Page | 213 Figure 209 Pan adjusts placement of the corresponding input sound on output channels, and progressively modulates levels in the process

Page | 7 Figure 2 The uppermost area is devoted to monitoring. The Switcher section is centrally located, and is also home to the Transition an

Page | 214 MORE BASIC CONTROLS 13.1.4 Most of the features that follow are common to all Connection Types, with exceptions as noted. FOLLOW Figu

Page | 215 For digital inputs (AES/EBU or SDI Embedded) with more than two channels, only channels 1 and 2 are centered. (If present, two addition

Page | 216 2. Then enable Solo – allowing you to hear it on Headphones output (and Aux, at times when Solo is selected as its Source)

Page | 217 Sliding the knob to the left decreases the gain applied to the right channel (channel 2), while moving to the right

Page | 218 As mentioned earlier, the default calibration used for the VU scale depends on the source type. Mic and Line sources are normally

Page | 219 o Audio from Input 1 needs to be heard whenever any camera (1 through 5) is on output. When we switch to the DDR, we want to hear DDR o

Page | 220 NET 1 AND NET 2 13.2.1The Net 1 and Net 2 audio control groups affect sound associated with the Switcher sources by the same name. At

Page | 221  DDR 1 - The meters show the levels for audio (the first 4 channels) from DDR 1 output, which are individually sent to AUX output conn

Page | 222 Figure 218 MASTER (AND PHONES) 13.3.2The main Program outputs (labeled PGM on TriCaster’s backplate) are controlled by the

Page | 223 Being able to do this independently for each output too is icing on the cake, especially for internet streaming, as it e

Page | 8  Massive storage capacity – the internal drive holds approximately 20 hours of 1080i, and the removable drive bay can be used to add to t

Page | 224 RELEASE Release is similar to Attack in many ways, but refers instead to the speed with which the compression effect i

Page | 225 14 NETWORK SOURCES The network source features of your TriCaster™ are very useful. TriCaster supports two simultaneou

Page | 226 Figure 219 – mounting the iVGA disk image  Double-click the Zip file to decompress it, and then double-click the .dmg file to mount

Page | 227  Keynote Mode allows the iVGA client to update the screen even if Keynote® is running. (This also can be used with some gam

Page | 228 The iVGA PRO™ installation for Microsoft Windows® systems is supplied as an executable (program) file. Copy this file to the

Page | 229 When one or more TriCaster systems are detected, the drop-down menu will display their machine names (Figure 224). A given

Page | 230 QUALITY (CONFIGURE) Click the Configure (gear) button beside Destination to reveal a menu providing quality options. The setting here

Page | 231 aspect lock. To restore the marquee’s standard widescreen aspect, simply drag the border again without the Ctrl key depressed. o The n

Page | 232 OPTIONS  Hide Mouse Cursor –the mouse pointer will not appear on iVGA’s video output when this option is enabled.  Follow Mouse – th

Page | 233  Privacy – while engaged, iVGA PRO’s video output is replaced by a static privacy image (see hint below) and audio output is muted. P

Page | 9 A/V INPUT AND OUTPUT 2.4.3 Live switch between as many as eight (TriCaster 855) SDI and analog HD or SD cameras.  Professional BNC

Page | 234  AirPlay streams audio, video. or both from the device to the local network, and on to TriCaster.  The AirPlay® output is a

Page | 235 15 STREAMING Live webcasting has dramatically altered the broadcast landscape. Information can now be shared among audiences a

Page | 236 view your stream from the remote site (just as your audience will see it) and use webpage based controls as required. 15.1 OVERVIEW To

Page | 237 COMPACT VIEW 15.1.1 Figure 234 Just to mention it in passing, once you have configured one or more Connections, you can

Page | 238 want the Home Page for one custom Connection to be different than the one you use for another Connection you configure for a different en

Page | 239 Figure 238 Hint: The Connection Types options may seem unfamiliar if you are new to streaming. You may find it helpful to read over Se

Page | 240 Note: The steps involved in creating an account with a streaming service provider and configuring the stream vary widely, and unfortunate

Page | 241 Figure 239 TriCaster can encode and stream using Adobe Flash®, and this is a very popular choice. In determining whet

Page | 242 consider the information you need to complete this successfully. The Username and Password are supplied to you by the streamin

Page | 243 WINDOWS MEDIA PULL 15.3.2If you are streaming internally (to people in your building or inside your own corporate firewall), Pull str

Page | 10  Alpha channel output is supported on TriCaster’s Aux video output channel. MONITORING 2.4.6 Figure 3 TriCaster’s Live Desktop incl

Page | 244 If TriCaster is connected to the network by a router, the IP number shown in the location field is only valid for viewers connected on th

Page | 245 Enabling the Stream button then “pushes” the stream from your location, logging into the pre-arranged web address using the username an

Page | 246 15.6 STREAMING STRATEGIES One of the best approaches when beginning (to stream your productions) is to establish a relatio

Page | 247 LIVE STREAMING Live streaming is a growing international market, and one you may well wish to serve. This form of streaming is a somewh

Page | 248 BANDWIDTH CONSIDERATIONS You’ll often hear the term ‘bitrate’ in connection with streaming video. This expression refers to data through

Page | 249 STREAMING PROTOCOLS 15.6.2Additionally, there are two primary streaming methods, known as Pull and Push. Choosing the best meth

Page | 250 A variation on the Pull method involves using an external streaming provider. At one time the only method for streaming us

Page | 251 o Easy to connect to the provider. There are no requirements for open ports on your local system, or public IP’s. In addition, firewa

Page | 252 OTHER RESOURCES 15.6.4If you’re still struggling with the differences between Push and Pull streaming methods, you can find lots of

Page | 253 lose important detail; compressing a full-screen video down to a quarter or a sixteenth of its size is a lesson in humility! OTHER FACT

Page | 11 THE SWITCHER 2.4.8TriCaster’s Switcher layout is consistent for all models, but the number of inputs available varies. TriCaster 455 pr

Page | 254 power supplies, backup recording devices (there’s no shame in having a VCR backing up your digital record – ‘low tech’ stil

Page | 255 Ping is a humble but effective tool to ensure the basic connection exists, thus it can help you with streaming, iVGA and LiveText con

Page | 256 4. The IP Address for the system will be reported in the window (listed next to “IPv4 Address”), along with other data. T

Page | 257 Figure 246 Figure 247 Apple OS X For a system running Apple’s OS X®: 1. Double-click Terminal in the Applications\Utilities folder.

Page | 258 2. Type the following command into the Terminal (without quotations) and then add the IP number, and press Enter: “ping –c 4 ipnumber.

Page | 259  The specific IP local number that the router has assigned to your TriCaster. You can read this right from TriCaster’s Location

Page | 260 6. Enter the full (punctuated numeric) local IP address shown in the Location field of your TriCaster after you enable the stream. 7.

Page | 261 SPEED TESTS Are you sure your upload bandwidth is adequate to the bitrate you’ve set for your stream? Why not test and make sure. Agai

Page | 263 16 RECORD AND GRAB You will often want to capture video clips from external sources, as well as to record your own outgoing live prod

Page | 12 Figure 7  Display of one or more user-delegated video layers, including FTB (Fade to Black) is controlled by the main T-ba

Page | 264 BASIC SETTINGS Figure 250 The first thing you may want to do is enter a Base Name for captured files. The name you enter will be numer

Page | 265 Figure 252 This lets advanced users record files with a professional level of headroom right up to 20dB, selectively co

Page | 266 Hint: The Aux video output format can be configured in Output configuration, and it can likewise be accompanied by either Aux or M

Page | 267 ALTERNATE ENCODING FORMATS TriCaster features a number of additional file formats that you might consider for specific reco

Page | 268 DESTINATION Select drives or other storage volumes as targets for the different recordings using the Destination drop-down menu. Fig

Page | 269 16.2 GRAB At times, all you really want to capture is a still image from the current Program Output video stream. This is the purpos

Page | 271 17 SPEEDEDIT AND LIVETEXT LiveText™ is a powerful title and CG application, allowing you to create title pages for use in the Li

Page | 272 Likewise when the project is SD, the SDI outputs will all be SD. As there are multiple connection options for analog SD video, please r

Page | 273 reveals options and links at right, discussed previously in the Startup Screen chapter just mentioned. SESSIONS, PROJECTS

Page | 13 Utility row). Alternatively, use the Frame Buffer feature to assign a specific title or image to any overlay channel, and even update it

Page | 274 LiveText’s File menu has two special items – Send Current Page to Live, and Send All Pages to Live. (These take t

Page | 275 PART III (APPENDICES) A time-saving question and answer section, followed by an extensive listing of Shortcut Keys, schema

Page | 277 A HOW DO I … ? In this section, we’ll consider the most common questions TriCaster™ operators may have (and of course we’ll

Page | 278 Locate a specific TriCaster on my network? ... 287 Connect to an Ai

Page | 279 Improve the quality of Multiview output? ... 302 View Media Play

Page | 280 Access Windows ... 313 Re

Page | 281 A.1.2 CONNECT FILL + ALPHA SOURCES? 1. Connect the Fill (color) source to an odd-numbered video Input. 2. Connect the Alpha channel

Page | 282 video is Rec. 601, but HD video conforms to Rec. 709 – and TriCaster output color space is governed by the session forma

Page | 283 5. In the Output Configuration panel’s Multiview tab, set VGA Output Resolution to match the native resolution of the external device.

i TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents ...

Page | 14 IMPORT AND EXPORT 2.4.11IMPORT MEDIA Clicking the Import Media link in Startup opens a dedicated Import Media module in S

Page | 284 VIDEO MONITORS/DEVICES Downstream video monitoring devices must be compatible with the video broadcast standard (such as NTSC

Page | 285 However, please note that the use of so-called "USB extenders" is not recommended. Whenever possible, use a single USB cable o

Page | 286 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION: Q: What hard drives are recommended for TriCaster’s removable drive bay(s)? A NewTek supplied storage media has

Page | 287 A.1.10 CONNECT TALLY LIGHTS? External tally light devices and their connections vary widely. Please refer to Section 3.9.1

Page | 288 options: Home, Work, and Public. If TriCaster’s active network has inadvertently been set to ‘Public’, AirPlay® will not con

Page | 289 1. Tap Settings > Wi-Fi. If Wi-Fi is off, turn it on by tapping the on/off icon. 2. Available Wi-Fi networks appear under Choose a

Page | 290 Q2: Why do some clips not play properly across an AirPlay® connection? A: There are several possibilities: First, TriCaster

Page | 291 A.2 SESSIONS SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION: Q: What is a session? A: Sessions can be thought of as ‘top-level presets’. They s

Page | 292 2. Select either 720p or 1080i for Resolution, and then click the Start Session link (lower-right). SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION: Q: What is

Page | 293 A.2.5 RESTORE A SESSION? 1. Click the Open icon the Home Page of the Startup Screen 2. Click the Restore Session Backup link at the b

Page | 15  Advanced audio controls including: o Seven-band equalization along with compressor/limiter for each source and also every out

Page | 294 A.2.9 DUPLICATE A SESSION? It can be very useful to make a copy of a session. For example, it might often take less time to modify a c

Page | 295 Figure 258 This virtual multi-monitor effect depends on a single clip (played from a DDR) which is itself a montage compose

Page | 296 1. Assign your talent shot to Input A in the Virtual Input tab 2. Put the looping montage clip in a DDR, and select that DDR as Input B

Page | 297 3. Choose your recording options (see Section 4.7.1 and Chapter 16) and enter a Base Name for the file(s). 4. Close the

Page | 298 A.3.10 GET STUBBORN CLIPS TO PLAY IN THE DDR? First, note that TriCaster has a two minute warm-up period during which system

Page | 299 Standard Definition clips), M2T or MPG – please continue reading for more information on file conversion. REMUXING CLIPS Even w

Page | 300 Unconverted F4V files imported will not play in TriCaster’s DDR either. Conveniently, TriCaster can automate the conversion

Page | 301 A.3.12 GET LIVE TITLE PAGES (.CGXML) TO RESPECT ALL LIVETEXT FONT ATTRIBUTES? TriCaster’s Title Page file format (.cgxml) pres

Page | 302 A.3.14 IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF MULTIVIEW OUTPUT? For best quality, be sure that the VGA Output Resolution you choose corresponds to that

Page | 303 3. Use the Encoding menu to select the Quality setting you wish to use. A.4.3 IMPORT MEDIA FILES? Importing files implies copying th

Page | 16  Media Players have volume and more elaborate controls in the mixer, along with convenient per clip audio level adjustments

Page | 304 A.4.5 PREPARE CLIPS FOR TRICASTER PLAYBACK USING APPLE® FINAL CUT PRO? We are often asked what format to use for export

Page | 305 2. Right-click the name of the location you wish to remove from the list, and select Remove in the menu that opens. (See the sub-headi

Page | 306 A: The “Renderless” export preset in Export Media (Startup > Session Page) re-wraps TriCaster’s MPEG2 files as Quicktime a/v files w

Page | 307 A.4.13 FREE UP SPACE BY DELETING THE DEMO CLIPS? 1. Go to TriCaster’s Startup Screen. 2. Open a session (it doesn’t matter which one

Page | 308 3. In the Administrator Mode screen, click Update TriCaster under the System Utilities heading, and follow directions pro

Page | 309 A.5.6 INSTALL MY FAVORITE SOFTWARE (OR CODEC)? TriCaster is not a ‘general purpose’ computer. The installed software suite

Page | 310 1. Select the menu item labeled Restore Factory Defaults from the black boot screen that appears shortly after powering TriCaster u

Page | 311 allows you to insert a User Backup drive into a removable drive bay (or otherwise connect it), and regain a functional sys

Page | 312 A.5.8 AVOID FILE PATH PROBLEMS DUE TO UNIQUE CHARACTERS IN SOME LANGUAGES? Some languages employ characters and symbols t

Page | 313 7. Enter the Registration Code provided into the Registration dialog at Step 3 (Please see Section 3.3 for more detail.) A.6

Page | 17 GRAPHICS 2.4.15Also part of TriCaster’s integrated software suite is LiveText, NewTek’s professional titling and graphics

Page | 314 A.7.4 RETURN TO TRICASTER FROM THE WINDOWS® DESKTOP Double-click the TriCaster icon on the Windows® desktop to return to the

Page | 315 2. Click New (Connection) 3. Select the option appropriate to the profile you wish to import in the popup Choose Conne

Page | 316 CREATING A CUSTOM FLASH STREAMING PROFILE 1. From TriCaster’s Startup Screen, click the Shutdown icon, and select Exit to Windows. 2.

Page | 317 whenever possible, and if you do opt to use a custom profile – especially a multi-bitrate one – do perform meaningful testing in advance

Page | 318 SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTION: Q: Why does latency seem higher for certain video formats (i.e. 24p, 25p, or 30p)? A: TriCaster passes frames

Page | 319 B PERFORMANCE CONSIDERATIONS Your TriCaster™ has been carefully designed to faithfully execute its duties under any reaso

Page | 320 B.3 IMAG AND LATENCY What’s IMAG? It’s a compression of the expression “image magnification.” Typically in modern IMAG applications, v

Page | 321 Still waiting for the promised mention of ‘relativity’? OK, here it is then: E=MC2 B.3.2 LATENCY AND YOUR AUDIENCE “Latency” - what’s

Page | 322 For example, suppose a ‘video frame’ supplied by a camera arrives at TriCaster’s inputs one millisecond after a different f

Page | 323  Some cameras include features that add more latency than you would expect. For instance, image stabilization (by defi

Page | 325 C VIDEO CALIBRATION An oft-heard expression is “Don’t worry – we’ll fix it in post”. Post-production techniques are invaluable

Page | 326 As a first step, cameras need to be properly calibrated. Ideally, this is done right at the camera. Corrective measures taken downstrea

Page | 327 white are boosted, eventually also becoming white. Meanwhile, black portions of the picture are tending towards gray. Since white cann

Page | 328 If you cannot make source adjustments, or can’t get it quite right by these means alone, you can use the Brightness and Contrast con

Page | 329 When the trace is off center, the direction and distance of the offset tells us what sort of tint (and how much) is represen

Page | 330 You can use color bars in conjunction with TriCaster’s Waveform and Vectorscope to make sure the video supplied to the Switcher is consi

Page | 331 Figure 267 If the trace vectors do not line up as they should even after performing a white balance at the camera, you can use TriCast

Page | 332 http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/ http://www.jasc.com/support/kb/articles/monitor.asp http://www.photofriday.com/calibrate.php http://www.one

Page | 333 Figure 268 (The images in this section have been adjusted slightly to accentuate the subtle differences in the black bars making up thi

Page | 19 3 SETTING UP This chapter explains how to properly connect power, external control devices, monitors and audio visual so

Page | 334 1. Having warmed the monitor up as described earlier, start by enabling the monochrome switch, if your monitor is so equipped (otherwise

Page | 335 5. Tweak the Contrast watching the white bar carefully. When it stops getting brighter in response, pull it back slightly to the point

Page | 336 4. Tweak the monitor’s Hue control until the small rectangles beneath the third and fifth tall upper bars likewise blend into bar above.

Page | 337 D KEYSTROKE SHORTCUTS D.1 SWITCHER… Utility Row, Inputs 1 to Input x (model limit) Alt + (1 – 0, -, =) plus Alt + Shift + (1-4) S

Page | 338 Restore Last Transition Shift + Ctrl + f Transition – Slow … Medium … Fast z…x… c Transition – Increase Speed Shift + c Transition – Decr

Page | 339 D.5 TABS Show DDR 1 tab Ctrl + F1 Show V1-Vx tab Ctrl + F2-F9 Show External Audio tab Ctrl + F10 Show DDR 2 tab Ctrl + Shift + F1 Show

Page | 340 D.8 STILL Stop Shift + k Play Shift + l (L) Go to previous playlist item Shift + j (J) Go to next playlist item Shift + ; (:, colo

Page | 341 D.11 GENERAL D.11.1 SELECTION AND NAVIGATION Select All Ctrl + a First/Last Item Home/End Navigate through Playlist items Up/Down/Left

Page | 343 E RELIABILITY TESTING We know our products play vital roles in the productions of our customers. Durability and consist

Page | 20 A word about UPS devices: ‘Modified sine wave’ UPS devices are popular due to low manufacturing costs. However, such units

Page | 345 INDEX 3 3D, 208 A AAC Encoding, 309 Act as Alpha. See I/O Configuration: Video Input Activate Windows. See Windows Add-Ons, 105 Admini

Page | 346 G Genlock. See Connections:Genlock Configure. See I/O Configuration Grab. See Live Desktop:Grab Graphics. See LiveText H Hard Drive Eje

Page | 347 Speed, 68, 182, 297 Title Pages, 185 Editing, 185, 186 Stand-In Images, 187, 274 Trimming, 68 Options Menu, 119 Tabs Follow Preview Row,

Page | 348 Ping, 254 Play, Pause, & Stop, 338 Power Supply, 318 Profile, H.264 Baseline, 317 Profile, Streaming, 309 multi-bitrate, 316 Program

Page | 349 U Unicode, 312 V Vectorscope. See Live Desktop Video Calibration. See Calibration Streaming. See Streaming Video Standard, 25 Virtual In

Page | 350 CREDITS Acknowledgments: Tim Jenison, Jim Plant Engineering: Andrew Cross, Alvaro Suarez, Bennie Pierce, Bob Peene, Brian Brice, Cary Te

Page | 351 is distributed WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY of FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. All oth

Page | 352

Page | 21 Internet is the fastest method of activation. (See Section 3.17 and Chapter 14 for more on network connections.) 1. Click

Page | 22 Hint: For later convenience, record the registration code for your TriCaster on the sticker provided for the purpose inside the front acce

Page | 23 3.4 RACK MOUNTING TRICASTER Your TriCaster is designed for convenient mounting in standard 19” racks (mounting rails designe

ii 3.2 Activating & Authorizing Windows® ... 20 3.3 TriCaster Lice

Page | 24 Figure 15 – TriCaster 855 Note: Hardware details as depicted are subject to change without prior notice. 1. Connect video sources to the

Page | 25 Note: The video broadcast standard (such as NTSC, NTSC-J or PAL) of all video sources connected for a given session must be the same. 2.

Page | 26 A/V OUTPUT 3.8.1TriCaster provides separate video and audio output connector groups, and very flexible options for display of your live

Page | 27 Figure 16 1. Connect downstream video devices to the appropriate output connectors in the VIDEO OUT section, whether SDI, Component, Y/

Page | 28 Hint: TriCaster’s SDI and analog output sections can be used simultaneously. For example, you could use the Composite output to view y

Page | 29  Pin1 – LED1  Pin2 – LED2  Pin3 – LED3  Pin4 – LED4  Pin5 – LED5 (855 only)  Pin6 – LED6 (855 only)  Pin7 – LED7 (855 o

Page | 30 THE HOME PAGE Figure 17 When no previously created sessions exist, the icon ring dominating the Home Page defaults to New, inviting you t

Page | 31 THE SESSION PAGE Clicking Start Session will take you to the Session Page. As our intention is to configure our connectio

Page | 32 Take a quick look around, but then let’s continue to configure your devices. (We had a brief glimpse at the Live Desktop

Page | 33 Figure 21 These settings provide optional configurations for the first output connection, designated as Output 1 (a.k.a. Program out).

iii 4.2 Importing Content ... 42 4.3 Monit

Page | 34 The Screen Layout drop-down menu provides numerous optional displays, including Program, Preview or FX monitors, an All Sources (

Page | 35 4. Click the Connection Type button to reveal a drop-down menu listing a variety of connection types. Select the correct f

Page | 36 Hint: Audio tab layouts for different TriCaster models vary. For example, TriCaster 855 has eight audio inputs rather than four, so Netwo

Page | 37 Note: In digital audio systems, signal levels exceeding allowable values are ‘clipped’ (uniformly assigned the maximum level

Page | 38 5. With the aid of downstream Waveform and Vector Scopes, adjust TriCaster’s Horizontal and Vertical Position and Phase settings in the G

Page | 39 You can access the system Network and Sharing control panel to accomplish more extensive configuration tasks – see Settings:

Page | 41 4 LIVE PRODUCTION WALKTHROUGH This chapter provides a quick hands-on tour of the major components and functions of your New

Page | 42 3. Click Manage on the icon ring (Figure 30). Figure 30 4.2 IMPORTING CONTENT Let’s import a few files that we’ll use later in our wa

Page | 43 Hint: Although you might well never even notice, a two minute initialization period begins after you start (or re-start) TriCaster.

iv Streaming Configuration ... 87 4.12.1 Simple Pull Stream

Page | 44 Hint: Move your mouse over Program Output, then click the Configure button (gear) that appears above it to open a tabbed panel containing

Page | 45 The monitor titlebar for the Preview row selection has a green tint, while the titlebar for the FX source monitor is blue. Note that

Page | 46 SCOPES 4.3.4 Figure 35 In this configuration, the tabbed monitoring area in the Live Desktop displays Waveform and Vectorsc

Page | 47 4.4 AUDIO MIXER Having previously connected and configured your audio inputs, let’s explore a few of the standard features

Page | 48 6. Turn on both Single and Loop for the DDR, then turn off Follow for DDR 1. Figure 38 7. To avoid confusion later, click the External

Page | 49 12. Next, drag the Balance slider all the way to the left. As you do so, observe that the level shown for channel 2 and channe

Page | 50 PAN 4.4.2The Pan control looks much like the Balance slider, but has special abilities. Like Talk, Pan is only available when the one o

Page | 51 FOLLOW 4.4.4 Figure 41 19. Connect cameras to both Video In rows 1 and 2. 20. Connect two (audibly different) active audio sources t

Page | 52 FOLLOW AND AUDIO GROUPING Each audio control group has an additional drop-down located just below the Connection Type menu. This is the

Page | 53 IVGA CLIENTS 4.5.11. For a Microsoft Windows® client, copy the iVGA program from the Extras folder (inside C:\TriCaster) to the sendin

v 7.1 Output Configuration ... 125 Output Contro

Page | 54 Hint: iVGA places a red-green-blue status icon on the client system. For a Windows-based system, the icon is in the task tray; on

Page | 55 Figure 44 – TriCaster 455 Figure 45 – TriCaster 855 Clicking a button in any row selects the active source for that row. Utility row

Page | 56 The BKGD (Background) video layer constitutes the base of the video composition ultimately sent to Program Output. Based on your Switch

Page | 57 3. Click the Switcher button labeled ‘1’ on the Program row to send Camera 1 to TriCaster’s BKGD layer (the button turns red

Page | 58 2. Add a different title to the playlist for DDR 2 (or Still, for TriCaster 855). 3. Click the button labeled DSK 1 in the Utility Del

Page | 59 Controls for each layer are stacked in order of their appearance from ‘bottom to top’ on Program output – first BKGD, then the othe

Page | 60 5. Now click the local Auto button for the BKGD layer. The Program and Preview row selections swap again, but this time,

Page | 61 Figure 53 10. In the main Transition control group (Figure 53), click the BKGD button above the T-Bar. This delegates the controls belo

Page | 62 Figure 55 15. With the BKGD delegate button lit up, press Ctrl on your keyboard, and keep it pressed while you click the buttons for bot

Page | 63 1. Cast your eyes over the Preview and Program monitors; consider what you see there, and how it relates to the Transition Deleg

vi 9.3 All Monitors Tab ... 164 Contextu

Page | 64 RECORD 4.7.1 Figure 58 1. Click the Configuration button (gear) next to Record (Figure 58). 2. The Record Configuration panel opens (

Page | 65 6. Click Close. 7. Make sure you have an active source playing on Program output. 8. Press the Record button (Figure 58) – it w

Page | 66 4.8 MEDIA PLAYERS DDR 1 AND 2 4.8.1TriCaster’s two DDRs (Digital Disk Recorders) are powerful media players, and can greatl

Page | 67 2. Click the Add button in the DDR 1 pane (Figure 62) to open a Media Browser. 3. Click the name for your current TriCaster ses

Page | 68 6. Click the newly added icon in the playlist, and press the Play button in the player’s footer (Figure 64). a. The vid

Page | 69 12. Click the first (top-left) clip in the playlist, highlighting it. 13. Drag the trim controls to shorten the clip’s runtime

Page | 70 Notice that a transition is performed (returning DDR 1 from Preview to Program) and, more importantly, the next item in the

Page | 71 Normally hidden, the preset bins fly out when you move the mouse pointer to the edge of the screen. Presets store other information a

Page | 72 1. Click both DDR 1 and the Graphics (or Still) tabs, so you can see both players. (TriCaster 855 owners can use Still and Title instead)

Page | 73 13. Click the first entry in both playlists (to set the current position). 14. Press DDR 1’s Play button, and watch the ‘hands-free’

vii 11.6 Fine Tuning ... 195 11.7

Page | 74 2. Click an icon to highlight it in the Media Player playlist. 3. Display the title page on Program Output by selecting the correct Me

Page | 75 Figure 69 10. Try changing the Font, Size and other attributes for a line of text, using the tools in the Title Page Editor’s titlebar

Page | 76 Figure 71 3. Click the tab labeled V1 (Figure 71) below the Switcher to reveal the panel for Virtual Input 1. 4. Make su

Page | 77 10. Click the LiveMatte tab in the Configuration panel that opens. Figure 73 11. Click on the Color button in the Matte section of t

Page | 78 4.10 VIRTUAL INPUTS Virtual Input buttons sit innocuously on TriCaster’s Switcher rows just like other video inputs, but in fact they pos

Page | 79 There are three sets of numeric sliders in the Position group in this panel: one with a four-pointed arrow button abo

Page | 80 Without having moved the physical camera, we have changed the apparent position of our talent relative to the virtual backdrop. ADDING A

Page | 81 As you can see, we have replicated on our earlier composition (which relied on the FX channel), with additional benefits:  The title pa

Page | 82 Hint: Actually, if you’ve been following along, you have already used a LiveSet – a very simple composition named “A over B

Page | 83 6. Select DDR 2 as the source for Input B. The Zoom Preset icons in the Virtual Input tab and the name above will update, showing that