Multiviewer Magic for NAB Las Vegas

Ensemble Designs will debut its Multiviewer Magic 2.0 release at NAB in Las Vegas, 7-10 April. The all new Multiviewer Magic 2.0 delivers an offline mode for creating screen layouts, alarms for ensuring signal integrity, new fast authoring tools with eye dropper and paste functions, closed caption support, and countdown clocks. Also new are independent Edit and Control modes, giving users the precise controls needed for their particular jobs.

“The staff setting up and configuring a Multiviewer have very different needs from the day-to-day operators,” said Mondae Hott, director of Sales for Ensemble Designs. “Engineers and installers are configuring the hardware, setting up alarms and creating screen layouts. Segment producers, floor directors and QC staff need to see a lot of different sources and look at signal quality. We’ve addressed those two types of workflows in Multiviewer Magic 2.0.”

An unlimited number of layouts can be created offline. The layout editing window is so accurate that one can design a layout without looking at the actual Multiviewer video output. Multiple screen layouts can be created, saved, and easily recalled, or applied to other Multiviewer outputs. One Multiviewer screen layout might be for a QC position while others could be created for a control room, remote truck or producer position. New screen layouts can be designed while the Multiviewer hardware is in use.

“Imagine a segment producer of a live show who’s got 20 cameras or sources available and one Avenue Multiviewer output has been allocated to her,” said David Wood, chief design engineer and president at Ensemble Designs. “She can use the Web Control Panel on her iPad to recall any number of preset Multiviewer layouts, easily looking at all of her sources.”

The Avenue Multiviewer’s web control panel can be used on a Mac, PC or tablet, which means the Multiviewer can literally be used from any location. The browser-based control panel provides intuitive controls for selecting and monitoring particular video and audio sources.

“The segment producer may want to verify that the microwave feed is good, for example,” said Wood. “With an iPad, she can switch the Multiviewer output to Fullscreen to see that specific source.”