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Inevitably, you’ll be paying a lot of attention to the main Program and Preview monitors (Figure 39), occupying the right half of the Live Desktop’s monitoring section by default.
TriCaster’s ‘Look Ahead’ Preview monitor reflects the outcome of the upcoming switching operation. | The Program monitor displays what you are sending to downstream devices and your audience. |
Situated just above the monitoring display is the Dashboard, offering controls for
Stream, Grab, Record, a timecode display, and more.
Let’s briefly turn out attention to the Workspace menu in the Dashboard.
4.4.2 WORKSPACES
The options provided in the Workspace menu include different Desktop and Multiview monitoring layouts.
Click the Workspace menu to view a drop down pane allowing you to select and configure Workspace presets.
FIGURE 40
At the top of this pane are four Interface presets, labeled A-D, with accompanying graphics depicting the current layout assigned to each preset.
1. Notice that, by default, the Interface A preset displays all camera inputs along network inputs and a number
of other internal sources.
2. One by one, select successive presets in the Interface group, and note the effect on the Live Desktop monitors.
3. Select Interface D, making it the active preset.
4. Click Workspace again, re-opening the preset controls. Slide the mouse down to the Load Default entry, revealing a sub-menu showing different monitor layouts. Select Quad View.
5. Glance at the monitor display, and
FIGURE 41
you’ll notice that it has updated. Switch to the Interface A preset, then back to D.
Presets recall their last setting, so D continues to show the ‘quadview’ layout.
Workspaces can be modified beyond simply changing their monitor layout, too.
6. With the Interface D preset active, reselect the Load Default menu,
7. This time, choose the Cameras preset, populating the Live Desktop monitors with 8 camera input monitors (plus Preview and Program monitors).
8. Move the mouse pointer over the monitor for Camera 1 and right-click to open the Monitor Setup menu (Figure 42).
9. Slide down to the Mix Effects entry, and select M/E 1 from the sub-menu.
10. Repeat this operation for the remaining seven camera monitors, selecting a different M/E as the source for each monitor in turn.
The Interface D preset now displays individual monitors showing the output of all M/Es after the associated effects are applied (including virtual sets, overlays, etc.)
All video viewports in the Interface and Multiview monitor areas can be customized in similar fashion.
Hint :To restore default monitor layouts, simply activate the preset you want to modify, click Workspace and select your preferred Default Layout,
Let’s look at a few more details of TriCaster’s monitors before moving on:
The Monitor Setup context menu (Figure 42) provides many options in addition to simple source assignment, including a Checkerboard background option for sources with transparency (Figure 44), VU meters, and more.
The monitor labels for sources currently visible on Program output are highlighted in red (Figure 43). Labels for sources shown on Preview have a green tint.
Monitors provide other controls and displays on rollover as appropriate, including things like Play or Stop and current position (timecode) in a clip for Media Players, and Network source selection (Figure 44).
4.4.3 SCOPES
1. Display the Scopes again (if you’ve forgotten how, see the previous section).
The monitoring area displays Waveform and Vectorscope displays (along with a full color Preview source video pane), invaluable for calibrating your video sources.
2. Move the mouse pointer over the horizontal divider separating the monitoring section from the Switcher area below. The pointer becomes a double-headed arrow.
3. Drag downward at this location until the scopes are a comfortable size for your viewing (Figure 45).
4. Move the mouse onto the video monitor at left, and right click the display to show a menu panel that lets you assign a video source.
5. Double-click the video preview monitor at left to open the Input Configuration controls for the source.
6. Explore the Proc Amp and other controls in this panel, for future use.
7. When you’re finished, move the mouse over the Desktop divider you previously dragged to re-size the monitors, and double-click it to restore its default location.