Inlet Theatre Tech Tour - TriCaster Info
Welcome to the tech tour of the Inlet Theatre's TriCaster! This virtual tour will give you some background information on the various components that make up the TriCaster. The Inlet Theatre uses this equipment to live stream and archive Council Meetings and special events, that take place in the theatre. The TriCaster is a piece of technology that many theatre spaces would dream to have at their disposal. Our staff operate this system on a weekly basis and we are working on ways to bring this technology to our standard rental equipment in 2021.
To begin your self-guided tour click anywhere on the image below to learn more about the TriCaster. There are a total of 15 images in the grid to choose from. Enjoy and thanks for visiting the Inlet Theatre and checking out the TriCaster! If you have any questions please email us.
Interested in more Tech Tours of the Inlet Theatre? You can find them here.
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| A1 |
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The Inlet Theatre uses the Vaddio Quick-Connect Universal CCU Cat-5 Interface to power, send and receive control information, as well as receive video signal, through three cat-5 cables running to each camera. |
| A2 |
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The Inlet Theatre technicians operate a Newtek Tricaster video switching system, allowing professional broadcast quality design, transition, and control of multiple cameras, and network inputs. |
| A3 |
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Though the theatre has not yet begun to use the streaming and recording system for capture of artistic performances, and corporate bookings; we are exploring the feasibility of offering this as an option for productions and rental clients as we enter the “new normal”. If you’re interested in talking about what you would like to use this technology for, send us a note at tech@inlettheatre.ca. |
| B1 |
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For some background on the technology shown, consider the timeline below: 2014 – City of Port Moody (in the interest of transparency and community engagement), purchased the Tricaster TC460 (pretty much in the configuration pictured). The equipment was owned by Port Moody, but Shaw Community TV staffed the operation of camera equipment until the Community TV station closed in 2016. 2017 – Reacting to the loss of Shaw Community TV, the switching and operation of cameras for City of Port Moody Council meetings, as well as Community Advisory Planning Committee, and Special Council Meetings was moved “in-house” and taken care of by Inlet Theatre technicians. Since Council meetings were no longer broadcast on local cable 4, the reliance on streaming became ever more important. 2019 – In early 2019 a software upgrade became available, which was much more than a couple new effects, and some security patches. This software upgrade called (Advanced Edition 3) transformed the Tricaster with new tools, capabilities, and workflow. It was like trading in your five year old car, for a brand new showroom model. This allowed us to enter the world of NDI. 2020 – The term “virtual” has taken a whole new life in 2020. The City of Port Moody has not missed a beat in providing virtual meeting access to our community by utilizing the incredible tools which are still industry standard, with a minimal amount of new investment in technology six years after being put into service. |
| B2 |
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Port Moody’s streaming services provier – iSiLIVE. We are just one Canadian municipality to reply on the services of iSiLIVE to enable our live meetings to be viewed online. The computer located in the bottom of this rack has one important job. Turn our live video feed (program out of Tricaster) into an encoded livestream. Viewable in real time, and archived for future access. |
| B3 |
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The Tricaster 460 is a legacy product (discontinued), same goes for the matching control surface. Take a closer look here. |
| C1 |
| C2 |
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Setting up your workspace in Advance Edition gives you many possibilities. Take a look at the video enmbeded in this “Tip Jar” link to learn more. https://www.newtek.com/blog/tips/2-minute-tutorial-using-the-interface-multiviewer-in-tricaster-advanced-edition/ |
| C3 |
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At Inlet Theatre, we use Newtek NDI software to allow presenters to screen share, allow network users to view and record video, and interface with virtual meeting software such as Skype, and Zoom. But there are literally hundreds of uses for this incredible platform. Read more below! |
| D1 |
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When working with Broadcast material, it is incredibly important to have properly calibrated displays. Take a read of this great article by Digital Trends to give you some links and information to tools for a DIY monitor calibration good enough for pros! |
| D2 |
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The ability to see multiple inputs, and outputs on a single screen is a huge space saver. The Tricaster software allows you to adjust orientation, size, and type of input on your worksurface and program work surfaces. When you consider for our relatively small production we require four camera feeds, three computer screen feeds, and a pair of mix engines to create program staples such as picture in picture or side by side. We would need nine screens to effectively see everything that we need to. Add a program and preview feed for live switching and monitoring, and try to imagine a rack of 11 of these… https://www.globalmediapro.com/dp/A00TW7/JVC-TM-A101G-10-inch-Colour-Video-Monitor/ |
| D3 |
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The Inlet Theatre has four PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) cameras that are remote controlled from this controller. Theses cameras are also six years old, but the power and functionality of the Vaddio HD-22 has helped Inlet Theatre’s staff produce high quality recordings and live streams since they were installed. https://www.legrandav.com/products/vaddio/cameras/hd_ptz_cameras/powerview_hd-22 |
| E1 |
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The concept of White Balance may come to mind when you think of Photography, but it’s impact to quality video capture is not to be underestimated. |
| E2 |
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Some really great videos are available from Newtek directly from their resource library. Another really helpful user-based review and training resource is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNNVm988hBQ – Introduction https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9fMe_gLEqs – Multiview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8x3IhfOyJo – Control Surface https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v-M5hEHUYC4 – Mix Effects |
| E3 |
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The PTZ cameras are controlled with the Vaddio ProductionView Precision Camera Controller. Allowing pre-set positions for up to six cameras, including white balance, iris control, focus, tan, and tilt. https://www.legrandav.com/products/vaddio/control/productionview_precision_camera_controller |
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