Top 10 Reseller

Digital Arts has been named a NewTek Top 10 North American Reseller for the third year in a row! But the award actually belongs to all our great customers.

3Play Mini

The other big announcement was the 3Play Mini

Ultra compact but with quite a bit of power and at an incredible price point the 3Play Mini is going to be a big deal. Using the same form factor as the TriCaster Mini and with similar features as the bigger 3play 440 it brings full featured replay to a whole new market.

Now for under $10,000 you can get real four channel replay along with some cool switcher functions, social media integration.

To keep costs down the 3PMini  is designed to be controlled from any mobile device like an iPad or Android tablet using a simple browser based interface.Optionally you can get a 3Play 440 controller.

Like the TriCaster Mini the 3Play Mini is HDMI only  I'll take a look at HDMI splitter options in a future post.

Check out more details at NewTek's site.

TriCaster Advanced Edition

 

The big news at NAB this year is NewTek's announcement of  TriCaster Advanced Edition. This is a new optional add-on package for any of the current  proline TriCasters (410, 460, 860, 8000) and the Mini that adds hundreds of new features and expanded capabilities.

The Advanced Edition can be purchased with a new TriCaster or added after the fact to existing TriCasters for $1495 and it's shipping now.

Some of my favorites among the new capabilities are:

• Audio noise gate (I'm an old audio guy so what do you expect). 
• Datalink integration so you can, among other things, have CG pages automatically update.
• Macro triggering. Macros can be automatically triggered by certain events like playing the DDR or other switcher actions.
• Transitions between clips in the DDR. You used to be able to do this in the old VT so it's nice to see  it finally make it to the TriCaster.
• Blue gun mode and display calibration so you can finally get those computer monitors to display correct colors.
• Button lock out. Disable unused switcher buttons so when you fat-finger the controller you don't accidentally get a blank input.
• Built-in Instant replay functions.

This is at least as big an upgrade as the x55 to x60 update was. It's got some truly mind boggling features that are going to take me a while to digest. But it's cool that if you don't need all these advanced functions you don't have to pay for them. We sell plenty of TriCasters to people who just need a basic switcher and all these options just might make the interface a little too confusing and the price a little too high.

Owners of original TriCaster 855 and 455 are  being offered a special deal for an upgrade to 460/860 Advanced Edition for less than the price of the x60 upgrade alone. And for a limited time all new TC8000 are coming with a free upgrade to Advanced Edition.

Give us a call at 800-692-6442 to place an order or for more details on the specials.

Here's a quick run down of all the new features:

Audio

• Dante Audio Networking: Expand integration and IP workflow possibilities with audio input over the network from devices that use the Dante networking protocol from Audinate.
• Audio Output Configuration: Dedicate output of Master and Aux audio mixes from TriCaster’s built-in audio mixer directly to external audio gear. With this revised configuration, Master and Aux are supplied to the first two analog output groups, respectively.
• Audio Recording Options: Capture your configurable sound source for ISO recordings with per-channel audio signal selection.
• Default Media File Level: Reduce time spent on individually configuring audio levels for non-native clips and sound files, and instead assign a preset level to all files added to media players.
• Noise Gate: Manage audio signals with greater precision using new noise gate settings in the audio mixer to exclude low-level sounds.
• VU Meters: Achieve higher-quality sound by determining audio clipping more easily and accurately with an updated VU meter interface.

Data

• DataLink Integration: Use real-time data from internal and external sources in your live program without adding dedicated data input software. Built-in DataLink maps your selected data source to titles, comments, file names, and other fields in graphics templates, and updates their corresponding content instantly—automatically or on-demand—ensuring you have the most current and accurate information.
• DataLink File Watcher: Save time converting detailed information like sports statistics and sales data into graphics. With DataLink and a CSV, XML or ASCII file, you can transform raw spreadsheet data into production-ready title pages that can be edited and updated in real time.

Macros

• Multi-Step Macros: When timing is everything but anything can happen, take control by creating automated sequences using macro commands with expert pacing and built-in pauses that wait for your (live) cue to resume.
• Macro Triggering: Gain additional flexibility for activating automated macro sequences with new triggers that include audio level changes, media playback, and specific switcher actions, and the ability to assign multiple triggers for the same macro.

Media Players

• Playlist Effects: Produce more engaging playlist sequences from your on-board media by adding transitions between playlist media—and even combining real-time, slow-mo, and fast-mo with per-clip playback speed settings.
• Real-Time Clip Editing: Speed up turnaround of raw recordings and video files for DDR playback with easy, built-in clip splitting and trimming tools.

Monitoring

• Display Outputs: Choose from more video signal selections to monitor, display, or project using the supplemental display ports—and customize every screen in your setup to your workflow.
• Blue Only Option: Calibrate video signals with greater flexibility and accuracy with a Blue Only viewport overlay compatible with any monitor.
• Monitor Proc Amps: Compensate for environmental lighting conditions and external display settings with configurable color settings for the User Interface, Multiview, and display ports.
• Multiview Scopes: Eliminate the squint factor and calibrate video signals with greater precision using large waveform and vectorscope displays on Multiview.

Operation

• SDI Auto-Detect: Save time during SDI system setup with automatic detection of resolution and frame rate for most SDI cameras.
• IP Network Tally: Reduce on-air mistakes with visual indication of on-air status supplied over the network to compatible systems that are sending output to TriCaster network inputs.
• Metadata: Attach comments to sources, clips, and images to simplify and sophisticate your workflow at the same time. DataLink uses comments as internal data sources to feed titles, label published content, enter metadata, and more.
• UI Enhancements: Work more efficiently and keep a closer eye on the show with new visual indicators, updated shortcuts and control tools, hover tooltips, and other on-screen improvements.
• Button Lock: Protect your live program from accidents or mistakes by locking control surface buttons to their current state.
• Session Recordings: Locate and verify active and completed recordings more quickly with a dedicated Session Recordings browser folder.

Publishing

• Publish Target Expansion: Maximize productivity and reach more friends, fans, and followers with the ability to publish media to multiple user accounts on the same social network simultaneously. Plus, publish content to the world’s largest professional network - LinkedIn.
• Flex Media Publishing: Publish more files to more places in more formats using an upgraded publishing workflow that also supports file import, export, and transcoding right from the Publish queue.
• Alpha Grabs: Grab stills of keyed visuals - complete with transparency - for publishing or post-production use.

Replay

• In-Show Replay Controls: Turn everyday productions into drama relived, without adding extra hardware or crew. Capture and replay highlights of the live show, with on-screen controls and other replay elements, including intro and outro transitions, clip speed and duration, and auto-playback action.
• Change Angle: Be ready for near-instant turnaround time between capture and playback of the best view of the action by changing the angle of ISO-recorded clips directly from the DDR.

Streaming

• Enhanced Live Streams: Simplify your webcast workflow with easier setup and new one-click presets (now including settings for Microsoft Azure, Twitch.tv and YouTube Live), and upgrade your online presence with higher-quality live streaming video.
• Multi-Platform Live Streaming: Double your potential audience without adding a new encoder, reach more viewers and attract different audiences by live streaming to multiple platforms and services simultaneously.

Router Support

• Router Support: Expand camera coverage with any TriCaster Pro Line model (and even TriCaster Mini) by connecting to a compatible upstream video router, then selecting and switching between router sources directly from the TriCaster Advanced Edition User Interface.
• Undo/Redo: Skip the manic troubleshooting and backtracking by handling unwanted changes or unintended results instantly with undo and redo commands.
• Effect View: Double-check every frame of your next sequence before it goes to air with Effect View. This enhanced preview mode—exclusive to TriCaster 8000—lets you screen everything your audience will see from start to finish in real time so that it appears exactly how you want it.

Visual

• Second KEY Layer: Produce more sophisticated visuals with TriCaster 860, 460, 410, and Mini—each M/E now includes a second KEY layer to apply titles, graphics, and video overlays.
• Auto Color: Reduce manual effort in correcting for variable lighting conditions and camera settings (especially at outdoor events that would often require a dedicated shading station) with automatic color matching between video inputs.
• Border Effects: Minimize the “canned” look. Create and customize on-screen elements and boost your production value with more detailed compositions, sophisticated visuals, and custom multi-box effects by adding borders and shadows to video layers.
• Buffers: Upgrade your presentation without sacrificing the DDRs with access to and playback of stored animations, motion graphics, and looping clips with animation buffers. Available in all TriCaster Pro Line models.
• Augmented Reality KEY Layers: Add another dimension to virtual set scenes with augmented KEY layers that track along with LiveSet zoom and pan movements—making them appear as an integral part of the set, instead of just overlays.
• Creativity Extras: With support for formats like JPEG-XR, JPEG2000, and WebP, accept even more image files without conversion; compose shots and sequences using new additive and non-additive fade transitions; configure LiveMatte visuals using a new Lumakey setting; and easily incorporate explanations, descriptions, quotes, and more with title pages that support paragraph text.
• Image Processing: Present even more polished visuals with

Web

• DataLink Web: Use any text or image from the Web as content in your live production without complicated integration. Simply run the included plugin for Google Chrome on any external computer, and use DataLink to send data, photos, social media posts, and more across the network to instantly populate or update the designated title or graphic in TriCaster.
• TriCaster Home Page: Access IP management tools such as DataLink Web utilities, updates, downloads, documentation, tutorials, customer service, and more from a system-specific TriCaster Home Page accessible from your phone, tablet, or laptop – any supported device on the same network.