TRICASTER TC1: 4K UHD, IP-CENTRIC & WORLDCAM FRIENDLY EVEN IN US
By Jim Bask
Allan Tépper of Pro Video Coalition wrote a captivating piece on the Tricaster TC1.
NewTek has revamped their hardware but kept the familiarity of the interface! NewTek has just launched the new TriCaster TC1. For those unfamiliar, TriCaster is a “studio in a box” device, which combines an audio/video mixer (aka “switcher”), character generator, video players and recorder, and live streaming capabilities.
Earlier this week, I attended a telephone briefing with several NewTek personnel, including the director of products and marketing executives. I heard the TriCaster TC1 presentation, and then I got to ask questions about details not mentioned therein. The TC1 innovates hardware while retaining the familiar user interface. Ahead are the details, including flexible connectivity for hardware-based redundant RAID DAS, worldcam friendliness even in the US, and an international solar keyboard for your TriCaster.
In this article
- How many inputs, and what types?
- The TriCaster TC1 integrates with NewTek’s TalkShow
- The TriCaster TC1 is worldcam friendly, even in the US
- My current favorite keyboard to use in an international studio with a TriCaster
- Flexible connectivity for hardware-based redundant RAID DAS
- Non-integer framerate expression is still undefined for the TriCaster TC1
- Pricing and availability
How many inputs, and what types?
The TriCaster TC1 breaks prior TriCaster barriers, since no TriCaster in the past has ever supported 4K UHD or even 3G-SDI for higher framerate progressive 1080p like 1080/50p and 1080/59.94p. (Even though the two mentioned formats are not part of current over-the-air broadcast standards, some sports producers that broadcast 720p over-the-air want to be able to shoot at these higher framerate 1080p formats for later downscale to 720/50p or 720/59.94p, since they can blow up without loss during an instant replay.) Now, the new TriCaster can handle up to 16 4K UHD sources at up to 59.94p, while the top of the line IP Series from NewTek (announced last year) can now support up to a palindromic number of 44 4K UHD sources at the same maximum framerate. But what type of sources does the TC1 accept?
In the title of this article, I mentioned that the TC1 is IP-centric. The TC1 comes —as standard— with 4 SDI inputs. In addition, TC1 can work with NDI compliant IP sources will work directly, and for others, you’ll need to purchase an NDI-compliant interface. (If you are unfamiliar with that acronym, see my 2016 article NewTek’s NDI is now the lingua franca amongst broadcast brands.) Since NewTek created the NDI protocol a year ago, there are already hundreds of third-party manufacturers whose devices are NDI compliant. If you want to use a legacy source with the TriCaster TC1 (beyond the 4 included SDI inputs) that is not NDI compliant, you’ll need an interface like one from NewTek’s modular Connect line, or one from a third party.
The TriCaster TC1 integrates with NewTek’s TalkShow
For those unfamiliar, TalkShow (shown above, covered in part three of my article How to do your audio setup for a live TV studio) is a device which allows connecting a live remote audio/video guests from anywhere with an Internet connection via Skype.
A new feature with TriCaster TC1 and IP Series is integrated multi-channel Skype TX integration. NewTek says that it’s the only company to offer this functionality in a live production system in the world. Any one of the TriCaster TC1’s 16 external inputs can be designated for live Skype audio/video calling. With studio-ready call control from an external laptop or workstation running the Skype TX controller application, calls can be configured and monitored without impacting the TriCaster TC1 operator’s workflow.
Unlike most TriCaster’s delivered in the United States, the TC1 is worldcam friendly. Up until now, most TriCaster models delivered to end-users in the United States (without applying for a special waiver) have been segregated models, meaning that they were prevented from using PAL-derived framerates and field rates like 25p, 50p and 50i. With the TriCaster TC1, studios in the US who produce for foreign regions that require these 25/50 Hz-derived rates (i.e. Argentina, Australia/Oceania, Europe, Middle East, Paraguay, Russia, Uruguay) will no longer have to apply for a special waiver from NewTek to be able to purchase a special international version of the TriCaster, since the core TriCaster TC1 is the same model worldwide, with the possible exception of the bundled AC mains cable, manual language and keyboard layout. So US-based international studios who purchase worldcam cameras will be covered when they need to use 25/50 Hz-derived rates like 25 and 50, as well as NTSC-derived ones like 29.97 and 59.94, since the TriCaster TC1 covers all of them, even in the US, without any special waiver.
Read the full article here!