Hi AX users,
We have just started "experimenting" seriously with AX software and now we'd like to integrate it with our live events.We now have a Broadcast DE and a professional license that will soon be "upgraded" to Broadcast, so we're thinking having two Broadcast licenses let us work more easily without the limit of 4 in/out of the Professional license. Our plan is to use them in multi-machine mode, and having AX1's and AX2's outputs goes to a video mixer and use it in a "classic studio mode" where we have all the inputs in one mixer and from there to live programThe plan is to use three cameras on one AX/PC and a fourth one in the other AX/PC, but there are other sources coming to AX, vmix caller or zoom or srt out of the studio, sometimes with three four or more sources coming into the virtuale studio,like on the screens or in studio and they interact with the studio host, classic things that many events producers already make/know. We also want to add two of the cameras from AX/PC 1 to AX/PC 2, same cameras, this way if we're on air with cam 1 from AX1 and want to use cam 2 from the same AX1 without switching while we're on air on the AX1, we have the same source from AX2 and can cut to that from the mixer and not directly from AX output! I hope I am not confusing you with all ins and outs ! The idea is AX1 and AX2 will have a midi changing the output sources of AX1 and AX2 to the mixer, and from the mixer we can send the program outputWhat are you guys using for this type of setup? for those who have and use multi machine mode, does this sound logical to you? Does AX accept as many inputs as i want ( I know about the composite limit) in multi-machine mode also? I still have to set up my multi-machine as we are only at the beginning of our AX adventure, and we don't know if there are any limits with this configuration! and I was wondering what and how others do their setup with their multi-machine for these kinds of productions (live events) and understand if we're in the right direction! and that might help others going this way and wondering how to do thatThank you
Hi Sam,
Well, yes, it is a bit confusing, but I think I get the point. :)
Your plans are viable in general, here is our comments.
- Yes, you can do a multi-machine setup where some of the cameras are assigned to one machine and the rest is to the other.
- One thing is very important: from each machine you can only get a single composite output from a single camera angle at a time. But I think you already get this, this is why you plan MIDI control to change camera within the machines, right?
- Instead of MIDI you might want to choose OSC, since it's an UDP based protocol which might be more suitable on a network-based configuration. (With MIDI you have to actually plug the wires into each machine.)
- There is one obstacle at the moment: we only have a three-camera control board at the moment, and you'll need a one with the total number of cameras planned for all machines. We're already working on a control board that allows more cameras, but is not there yet.
(Alternatively you can choose to run the machines independently (not in a multi-machine config). In this case of course you loose the ability of setup/control the show from a central UI.)
- If you plug the same camera to both machines, you still need to use up two different INPUT rows on the control board, one assigned to one machine, the other is to the other.
- The non-camera inputs have to be forwarded to both machines, since both have to render e.g. the virtual screens with the same content. Of course you can reduce this if not every camera can see every virtual screen. If you use SDI, you have to actually connect all the inputs to all machines. Alternatively you can use NDI to avoid the wiring.
- Be careful how many inputs you plan for each machine. Broadcast Edition allows any number, but it's of course still limited by the hardware. You'll need to do serious tests to determine the limits.