Studio Setup
Vision/Audio Path
SDI patches 91-94 are routed from the studio into cameras 1-4 on the ATEM Television Studio 4K in the control room.
- The wire for camera 4 in the loom is dodgy and needs replacing, for now it's hard-patched. Marks.polakovs (talk) 11:21, 16 November 2022 (UTC)
The ATEM's program out is patched into SDI 0 on edit2's DeckLink for broadcast (usually through OBS).
Audio comes in through the XLR patches into the X32 Compact, and its program out is wired into the ATEM's XLR inputs.
VT Playout
VTs are played using CasparCG on edit2. Caspar is configured with two layers: layer 1 outputs onto SDI 1 on the DeckLink, which is patched into "camera" 8 on the ATEM. Layer 1 also outputs audio onto edit2's default audio device (usually the headphone interface, which is patched into the X32 Compact). Layer 2, meanwhile, outputs over NDI - this is added in OBS as an overlay on all sources, usually for pre-rendered lower thirds and such.
- With this setup there's a bit of delay on VT audio (very small - <100ms - but noticable) - my theory is that this is simply software audio latency (and also runs the risk of getting Windows system sounds unless we remember to mute them). This is, to quote Rhys, not ideal. Possible alternatives:
- USB direct into the X32 - still has latency issues
- Audio onto SDI direct into ATEM (set to audio-follows-video on Cam8) - means we can't mix VT audio on the X32, which is useful for levelling
- Audio onto SDI, into a de-embedder, into X32 - spenny money (the Decimator can do it, but it's a bit overkill and a waste of a decimator)
- Further tinkering is required. Marks.polakovs (talk) 11:21, 16 November 2022 (UTC)
Caspar is controlled using a Stream Deck running BitFocus Companion. As a nice bonus, this can be set up to trigger the VT, transition the ATEM, fade up the X32, and trigger OnTime, all with one button press.
TV Graphics
Currently it's been done using NDI: running NDI Screen Capture on one of the PCs (usually edit3) and Studio Monitor on one of the laptops, running into the TV - and also into OBS.
- This is overkill, and requires three PCs. Beth suggested just using the ATEM's media players, aux'd into the TV. This is a good idea. Let's do that. Marks.polakovs (talk) 11:21, 16 November 2022 (UTC)
OnTime
OnTime is the stage timer system we use to manage time for live shows with a specific running order. It is a piece of software that usually runs on edit1.
A Streamdeck can be used to make it easier to control OnTime, although it can be controlled using just a keyboard and mouse just fine. The Streamdeck can be connected using BitFocus Companion and the plugin GetOnTime-OnTime, which should be pre-installed with BitFocus Companion (I need to double check that).
The timer view for OnTime is displayed on the iMac on the control room monitor wall and the Mac Mini rigged in the studio lighting rig.
The Macs should automatically display the OnTime timer view when they are powered on; this is currently achieved by a script which runs on startup and opens Firefox in kiosk mode to https://go.ystv.co.uk/signage. At the time of writing, this redirects to edit1's IP address on port 4001. This redirection can be changed by modifying the entry for "signage" on the URL Shortener admin page.
The Mac Mini in the lighting rig will automatically boot on power; the iMac on the monitor wall will need to manually be powered on. Both Macs will also need to be shutdown manually - this can be done by pressing the power button once and they'll shutdown after 60 seconds.
Both Macs currently run Ubuntu. We still need to investigate a proper signage solution. We did attempt to use PiSignage, however it turns out trying to use something designed for a Raspberry Pi on Ubuntu on a Mac doesn't work very well (the main reason we're using the Macs for signage is because they were just lying around not being used and aren't really suitable to be used for anything else).