Tell your story – Streamline your messaging.
Does your business, community group or organization have something to share with the world? Do you want to capture some training material, a sales meeting, stream an event, or just deliver your message with a professional look and feel? Maybe you want to spruce up your Teams/Zoom presentations? With NewTek TriCaster you can do all of the above and improve your organizations content delivery and increase engagement.
Content creation and real time messaging deployment is a daily norm thanks to social media. These platforms enable us to reach a vast audience. So to stand out from the crowd, your production and branding need to look and feel professional. You also need to be releasing content in a timely manner to keep in front of customer eyeballs. This is where the NewTek TriCaster can streamline your content delivery to get your branding and messaging out to the world easily and professionally.
Meet the Tricaster Mini 4K.
At it’s heart the TriCaster is a software driven video production studio. You bring in video and audio inputs, mix them together, switch them, apply effects, transitions, and overlays; essentially, you’re producing a live show to either livestream or record or do both simultaneously.
The TriCaster series from NewTek comes in a range of models that steps up as you require more channel count and integrating features. Basically, each model allows you to connect hardwired HDMI or SDI sources, as well as network connected NDI devices + play media files, embed video and images, PowerPoint presentations etc. For most applications where you have 8x inputs or less, the mini 4K is your one stop.
Hol up..What is NDI?
If you are not familiar with NDI, you should be. The future of video distribution is down this protocol, like what Dante has done for audio. It’s become a standard that many manufacturers are using to send video in and out of hardware and software via a network. You simply connect all your NDI hardware through a network switch and choose your source from a drop-down menu. Every NDI device can see each other, no fuss, no setup, they just connect.
What has NDI?
If your hardware is NDI capable, like some PTZ Cameras it’s just too easy to send those feeds places, but what’s even easier is you can convert many pieces of content into the NDI protocol ready for distribution thanks to the many NDI hardware and software tools available.
Firstly, the NewTek Spark Modules are hardware boxes that enable HDMI and SDI hardwired connections to be converted to and from NDI protocol. Got a media player with HDMI out? Or an SDI feed from a camera? Maybe a projector or display needs to receive a signal? Bring content in and out of the spark modules with ease.
Secondly, NDI tools 5. This software tool kit is free and enables you to view and convert many things in and out of NDI directly off your PC. Here is a list of the tools available in the NDI tools suite.
- Webcam input – Grab an NDI feed off the network and bring it in as a virtual web cam input on your PC.
- Screen Capture – Send what ever is on your screen/s into NDI.
- Studio Monitor – View NDI sources on the network
- Test patterns – Output a standard pattern or image into NDI.
- NDI Bridge – Share NDI sources beyond your local network
- Audio Direct – Bring audio in and out of a DAW via NDI
- Remote – Share or receive an NDI source over the web.
- NDI for Premier Pro – Convert your Program out to an NDI stream.
- NDI for after affects – Video Preview converted into an NDI stream.
- NDI for VLC – Convert your VLC output into an NDI stream.
TriCaster and NDI – A match made in heaven.
The NewTek TriCaster is built around NDI, so sending content in and out of the software suite is a dream. Grab content from cameras, media players, laptops and create your production. Then send it back out to livestream/VC platforms, to a recording hard drive, even to local displays or projectors in real time via NDI.
But signal flow is only half of the TriCaster Story. It’s the integrating control features that set the unit apart from it’s competitors, that make it a true time saving device and possible for everyone to create pro level productions. Cue LIVE PANEL!
NewTek Live Panel Builder
Live panel builder enables you to design a custom interface to control your TriCaster. Use the interface to switch sources, to record, start and stop media, to recall camera pre-sets, to swap between screen layouts or comps, to recall custom macros saved in your session (more on macros below). Live Panel Builder can also be used to view NDI feeds like preview, program, source inputs, mix outputs. Whatever is coming in and out of the TriCaster you can integrate those views into a simple interface for end users to see and operate.
Macros – Feel the power!
My favourite feature of the TriCaster is the Macros. A TriCaster macro is a bunch of software actions recorded into the TriCaster session. For example, if you want to switch cameras, as well as add a bottom third overlay, then have that transition off the screen. You literally record those actions into a macro, a sequence of events, which the TriCaster remembers as a “Session Macro” ready to recall at any time. To set up the macro, you hit the macro record button, do your actions in TriCaster, then hit the macro record stop button. So, to achieve the macro example stated above you would.
- Hit the macro record button.
- Recall CAMERA 1 preset.
- Bring in a DSK1 overlay for 5 seconds.
- Transition the overlay back off the screen.
- Hit the macro record stop button.
Now those actions, that sequence of events, was recorded. The recorded sequence can now be linked to a single button push in live panel builder. You can name that button “Presenter Overlay Macro 1” or what ever you want to call it. The user simply presses the button on live panel and those actions get recalled and played. Simple! Powerful! Time Saving!
You are the director.
The beauty of the TriCaster is that you can be as in depth as you want to. Your users don’t have to learn the studio interface, you can give them a simple layout on live panel with buttons and source windows. Think, school hall assembly/presentation nights; corporate sales meetings and conferences; product launches and events; Q&A events; live gigs, even council meetings, court procedures… whatever your content, you can program the TriCaster and link the actions you need for easy operation and so anyone can operate.
Your staff or students can grab an iPad or laptop, open a Web browser, enter the live panel URL (or saved bookmark) loaded with Live Panel pre-sets, comps and macros and go for gold! Now you have the power to streamline your content delivery and push your message out to the world very quickly and professionally.
Get creative.
With NewTek Tricaster and NDI you can design up your video production for so many uses by saving a bunch of different sessions. I love the set and forget nature of the macros which can be specifically designed to capture the venue or performance with ease. Once programmed in, the experience for an operator is streamlined. Any user can use the Live Panel interface and go! The creativity potential of the TriCaster gives the user all the transitions and features to bring forth content to the world with ease.
Want to know more?
For more information on NewTek, or if you would like training on how to program the Tricaster and Live Panel please use the booking link below to chat system design and solutions with our team.
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