Functional Deep Dives & How-To Training

EXPLORE: Routing Control Deep Dives   |    PTZ Cameras   |    Control Systems Home

Functional Deep Dives Section Two - Device Control

Systems engineers want to choose the equipment which best meets their needs: for quality and capabilities; for operational functionality; and for budget. The control system therefore has to support best fit and best of breed equipment, which is likely to come from multiple vendors.

When using multiple control panels which offer access to broad device functionality, there is a risk of adjusting a control in error: initiating a camera white balance, for example. So quality is at risk. Equally, this approach is operationally complex and increases the system and training cost because each of those control panels has to be bought, installed and learned.

Follow Section 1 - Router Control here

Issue Four - JoyStick control

Consider a shading operator, who needs to be able to colour match the image settings across multiple cameras. TallyMan uses the output from the RCP’s joystick press to control which camera is routed to the shading position monitor, allowing the shading operator to perform the colour-matching process quickly and efficiently.

This guide provides in-depth instructions on how to:

• Set up virtual joystick control, to allow colour matching via a TMVP
• Set up hardware joystick control, to allow colour matching via a TMCP

Issue Five - String Commands

String commands in TallyMan allow users to configure defined ASCII and Hexadecimal strings to be transmitted and/or received by TallyMan via IP or Serial connections. The strings provide an interface to a wide range of third-party devices and software that communicate over their own proprietary protocol or through means other than the standard switcher/router protocols, Ember+ or SNMP.

Users have utilised string commands to recall scene presets in audio mixing consoles, control and monitor changeovers, video servers and interface with logging software along with many more applications.

Issue Five (a) - String Receive Commands

String Receive: TallyMan is configured to receive strings to notify the TallyMan of the status of a device (Main or Backup).

Issue 5 (b) - String Transmit Commands

String Transmit: TallyMan is configured to send ‘Play’ and ‘Stop’ commands to a Blackmagic Design media player

Issue Six - Robotic Cameras

This guide provides instruction on how to add a camera to a TallyMan system and setup a control panel using TallyMan Virtual Panel for complete control over PTZ (Pan Tilt Zoom) cameras for granular control, preset set/recall and tally control.

Examples of use cases are:

• PTZ cameras can be inconspicuously placed throughout a studio or event space without obstructing audience views and can give you more flexibility in the type of angles you can capture.
• A number of PTZ cameras leverage Ethernet, which is appealing to broadcasters and AV professionals for simpler cabling.
• Video technology has advanced to the point where relatively affordable PTZ cameras can deliver ‘close enough’ and even equivalent results compared to considerably more expensive studio and ENG cameras.
• When you add that overall cost-effectiveness with the flexibility of installation, and the ability to automate and remotely control the PTZ cameras, the benefits multiply.