VT | Live Switching w/ DDR & Cameras

Concept: Live Switching w/ DDR & Cameras
Module: VT-Edit
Time: 5 minutes

Adding live sources to the switcher is just as easy, by connecting as many as you need to the optional SX-8. You can connect up to 8 Y/C, 8 component or as many as 24 composite cameras to the external Switcher Expansion module. All of the sources are internally genlocked and time-base corrected, making setup and calibration of all sources very rapid and affordable, since multi-cam productions therefore do not need cameras with genlock inputs or multiple TBC's to carry out to the field.

With our DDR loaded with a project, right click on row #2 and assign a camera to that switcher input. Place that camera on Main out, and the DDR in Preview. Now, on the DDR, click Pause, and next to the Pause button, select 'Cue'. This places the DDR in stand-by, awaiting a command from the switcher to begin rolling. Selecting either Auto or Take will now activate the DDR and play our subproject until DDR is removed from Main out and returned to Preview. At that point, the clip is paused. Before VT[3], such feats required external decks, and a video tape operator to make it happen. Now, it is all happening on your computer's desktop.

We can add another DDR and assign this one as a downstream key on our switcher so transitions take place behind our selected text. Any 32-bit file can be used, as VT instantly recognizes transparency layers within tif, targa, png or even Photoshop files. Further, we can launch an additional VT-Vision monitor to keep track of which title is cued in the downstream DDR.