How to Guide TD switcher

Fairfax Public Access

Video Switcher How-To Guide V. August 2019

Copies of various equipment manuals are available online at (https://www.fcac.org/equipment-user-manuals) -The studio A and B video switcher model is the Ross Carbonite M2.

-Tutorial videos from Ross are available online at: https://www.rossvideo.com/knowledge-center/ross-university/

NOTE: ● The following illustrated images are for the Carbonite C2M switcher model. FPA studio A and B use the Ross Carbonite M2 model. The model FPA uses is smaller and more compact, however, the major button configurations are relatable. ● While using this guide you may also refer to the physical pictures taken of our switcher included at the back of the guide.

Understanding the board layout: ● The Carbonite switcher has two Mix Effect layers. (M/E 1 & M/E 2) ● When looking at the switcher the bottom half is referred to the Mix Effect 2 (M/E 2). While, the top half is referred to as the Mix Effects 1 (M/E 1). ● The switcher has several video layers that may be manipulated through various methods. Activating a layer will hide everything below it, unless there is a key established.

Let’s focus on M/E 2 layer. ● The three rows of buttons in the M/E 2 layer are: The Key bus (top row), The Program bus (middle row), The Preview or Preset bus (bottom row). ● In between the Key and Program busses you will find the sources. This green row of LCD’s display the attached video source to the switcher. The names can be modified through the menu of the switcher; however, only engineering will change the source. Important: These are NOT buttons. Pressing them will damage the LCD’s displays. ● The current layout of the sources are as follows: -BK = Black -Cam 1 -Cam 2 -Cam 3 -CG = character generator -MEM DRO = member drop (laptops to plug in, not used often) -Util PC = used for Skype or countdown clock -RTR B1 (A1 in studio A) – used for router sources -RTR B2 (A2 in studio B) – used for router sources, both are programmable by staff. Originally used for Skype TX boxes -LWKS = Lightworks -SSD 1 = playback of SSD card -M1 = media storage 1 used to add show logo, picture only stills -M2 = media storage 2, used to add show logo, picture only stills -BG = Background, basic color background -ME 1 PGM = Mix Effects 1 program (helps to simplify things) -SHIFT = hold down to show more sources Holding shift -CLR Bars – used for color bars, used for tapes but not used much now.

-PV = preview -PGM = Program -CLN = Clean feed (only footage no graphics) -MinME1-4: Mini mix effects -SSD2 -M3 = more media storage, used to add show logo, picture only stills -M4 = more media storage, used to add show logo, picture only stills -Black one = empty -ME1 CLN = Mix Effects 1 with clean feed

The Preview / Present Row:

● This row labeled as “Preset” is the PREVIEW, where you select the source you would like to transition to next. For almost ALL circumstances all source decisions will be made here. This gives the technical director (crew member) a chance to correct any miss-keys prior to executing a transition and placing an incorrect source, such as a non-ready camera, into program. Always remember whatever is displayed on Program is what your viewers will see.

The Program Row:

● This row displays the source you are recording. You will also notice that any button on the switch lit in red is currently in Program. This carries throughout the switcher including both M/E banks and all keys. ● During a typical production look at the Multiview screens (the large monitors in the control room) the Program window is where you are and the Preview window is where you are going. Get used to looking at the screens instead of down at the switcher. ● Program is the bottom most layer, but you have up to 4 choices for keys. Keys are other video layers you can add on top of the Program. Use the transition area of the switcher to decide how you want to swap between these layers.

The M/E 2 Transition area:

● The keys in this area show how and when your transitions will occur. The three main methods are CUT, AUTO TRANS, and the Fader Bar. TIP: Do not direct from the program bus, get into the habit of using the preview bus to establish the shot and then use the transition area to swap. *Practice executing some of the following transition effects. See how the Program and Preview sources change in the switcher and look at the effects in the Multiview screen.

Light DISS and BKGD sample: A general practice standard is to have the DISS (Dissolve), and BKGD (Background) buttons lit. If they are not, simply press them down. In this mode when you execute a transition the source in the Preview row will move to Program and Program to Preview thus changing what is being sent out.

CUT – When pressing CUT the transition will be instantly executed with no wipes or effects, simply one source will replace the other causing a hard cut.

AUTO TRANS –Pressing the Auto Transition key will execute the selected transition type, the default is DISS (dissolve). There are many options available to you and will be discussed in the Transition Type Selection area of this manual.

FADER BAR –The FADER BAR or T-BAR allows the operator to manually control the transition. Either up or down, the faster you go, the faster the transition.

TIP: To compare two shots of your talent (like news anchors), place the first camera in Preview, the second in Program and move the Fader Bar half way with DISS selected. Now ensure you talents are the same size and position on the screen. This is one of the easiest methods to compare shots. Helps in getting proper nose and / or head room shots.

Transition Type Selectors These four buttons enable you to decide the type of transitions that will be executed upon either pressing the AUTO TRANS button, or pulling the FADER BAR. The four options are listed below with brief explanations.

o

The Auto Trans button next to Cut will give you a dissolve instead of a hard cut. But you can switch this option in the transition row above to Swipe, DVE, or Media. However, Media is not set up at this time in our switcher.

o

You can get a bigger control over the dissolve speed by using the T –Bar.

How to change options for a dissolve transition: ● This button chooses the dissolve effect. When executed a gradual fade between the two sources selected occurs.

The length of this effect can be altered in several ways. ● Once the DISS button has been depressed, it turns green, which indicates its active and changes can be done. Take the time to notice the changes in the touchscreen computer monitor in front of the switcher. Additionally, you will also notice options change at the top of the switcher, both in the orange buttons and the digital display -(see figure below).

● In the digital display area all the changes you can do for the dissolve are in one easy to access section. o Once this is done you will see the left section of the screen now display TIME and a number above it.

This number is the current number of frames the switcher will take to execute a full dissolved from 100% of A to 100% of B. When the TIME knob below the display is turned the number of frames will change. o Note: 30 frames equals one second. Adjust the time of your transition accordingly. o Hit NEXT in the console button to see more transition options. To go back in the menu hold NEXT and the back button. ● Note the 10 orange Multi-Purpose buttons to the left of the digital display. These are your short cut keys. When DISS is selected they will display a range of numbers. 5fr, 8fr, 10fr, 12fr, 15fr, 20fr, 25fr, 30fr, 45fr, and 60fr. These buttons allow for quick selection of common frames rates for a transition. ● Remember the user can also operate the FADER BAR manually to control the transition. The faster you go, the faster the transition.

Production tip: Anytime you need to reset the board knobs simply double tab on the knob. *Practice conducting dissolves and plaything with the options.

How to change options for a wipe transition:

(located in the transition area in M/E 2) ●

This button chooses a wipe transition effect. There are 10 pre-loaded shapes available to use. Once the WIPE button has been depressed the Multi-Purpose orange buttons and the digital display will show the available options. The shapes can be further modified on the touchscreen as well.

Below are the available attributes for each wipe.

Note: Only three attributes will be shown at a time in the digital display, use the NEXT button to advance the screen to show the other options. ●

Time –Turning this knob will define the number of frames the transition will run when used with AUTO TRANS.

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Dirctn –Direction. Press this knob to select Fwd (forward) or Rev (reverse) as well as enabling or disable Flip-Flop (FF). This will tell the wipe to run forward during the first transition and reserve for the next, and forward, and reserve, and so on.

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Pattrn –Pattern. This will allow you to choose the shape of the transition. These are the same options available on the Multi-Purpose buttons.

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X Pos –X Position. Position the center of the wipe effect along the X-Axis, horizontally, or left to right.

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Y Pos –Y Position. Position the center of the wipe effect along the Y-Axis, vertically, or up and down.

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Aspect –Aspect Ratio. Some, not all patterns can have their aspect ratio adjusted. This is the relation of height to width given in percentage.

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Border –Turning this knob will change the size of the border around the selected pattern. This is the relation of height to width given in percentage.

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Rot –Rotation. Some, not all patterns can be rotated. Simply turn the knob to the left or right.

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HMult –Horizontal Multiply. By default each pattern only exists once. Turning this knob will create additional copies centered on your X & Y Pos set earlier.

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VMult –Vertical Multiply. By default each pattern only exists once. Turning this knob will create additional copies centered on your X & Y Positions set earlier.

Performing a DVE (Digital Video Effect) transition: ● Choosing this option allows for the user to select one of 25 special effect wipes. Most of these wipes are listed on the Multi-Purpose orange buttons and available for quick selection. If DVE transition is selected these buttons have dual functions. If the effect listed on the top row of button is desired press the button once, if it’s in the bottom row, press the button twice rapidly. ● Other DVE attributes that you can change in the digital display & you can use the touchscreen.

Time –Will definie the number of frames the transition will run when used in AUTO TRANS.

Dirctn –Direction. Allows the user to select the direction the effect will travel.

Effect – Rotating this knob will allow you to select the desired DVE pattern. A comprehensive list of these patterns is available in the Ross Carbonite Manual.

Note: The Media transition button options are not currently setup in our studio A or B switcher.

The NEXT Transition Selector

● These five buttons and associated indicator lights allow the operator to choose which layers of the composition will be affected by the next transition. The default and standard mode of the switcher will be with only the BKGD (Background) key selected (and lit). This means when the operator initiates a transition (presses the CUT, AUTO TRANS keys, or moves the Fader Bar), only the background will be affected (Preview will become Program) and any Keys will remain in their prior state (on or off).

Example: If you are coming up on the end of the show and have credits rolling from M/E-2: Key4 and you would like to fade to black both elements (camera and credits) at the same time. Let’s assume CAM1 is in Program, BK (Black) is in Preview, and KEY4 is on air. If you press the BKGD and KEY 4 keys SIMULTANEOUSLY they will both become illuminated. This tells the switcher to affect both elements once the transition is initiated. Once the transition is executed the camera will go to black and the credits will disappear; however, notice the buttons are still lit. Which means if an additional transition is executed both elements will return! To return to normal switching simply press the BKGD key by itself.

Any combination of the five keys, including all of them, can be pressed at the same time if desired.

The KEY controls ● The switcher has the potential to add multiple layers of video for viewing at the same time (one video layer above the other). This is done using the KEYS. ● Keys will control all your graphic layers. A key is just a layer of video that has transparency but you have to tell the switcher how to read that layer of transparency.

TIP: If using keys it’s always best to setup your options before your start recording.

How to setup your key: ● Directly above the key bus you have 4 key option buttons (the first 4 in the left). o These are the: Self key, Auto select, Chorma Key and DVE.

● Select the key you wish to modify in the Key Selection Area of the M/E you wish to modify. Ex. KEY 1 CUT, KEY 1 SEL ● Select the type of Key.

● Select the Key Source in the Key bus of the same M/E. Now when you are directing: ● Bring them on and off. ● You have 3 ways to bring up keys in transition section. ● 1st way: Key Cut button, this is a simple on and off but this option does not give you a preview. (You can monitor the source in the multiview monitor wall but only how the source looks not how they will appear once you add them over your video source). ● 2nd way: Key Auto button. This option is a fade in and out effect. (You have no options to change the settings of the fade). ● 3rd way: You can select multiple keys in the transition area by pressing them down a the same time. Preview the keys you want, then select all to transition into that shot. Like a camera 2 with lower thirds to be active at the same time.

● For further explanations for each Key type review the following explanations of each: Self key - Uses the luminance, or brightness, values of the key source as the transparency.

How you can use this option: o Select your key cut button so you can see it, it will turn red o Select the key select button that matches your key cut button o Tip: these key buttons are color coordinated o Then click self key o Then select what source you want to use. Optional select CG in the key bus Auto select Key - This uses an alpha channel.

How you can use this option: o Select your key cut button so you can see it, it will turn red o Select the key select button that matches your key cut button o Tip: these key buttons are color coordinated o Then click auto self key o Then select what source you want to use. Optional select CG in the key bus CHR Key - Chroma Key is when a color is removed and made transparent so that a background shows through.

Ex. Use for weather or traffic maps.

How you can use this option: o Select foreground source in key bus, and background source in program bus o Sample: cam 3 in key bus and M1 in program bus. Then adjust using the touch screen. o Touch screen options: o Top row of the touch screen. Select Basic, then the color you want to key (such as Cyan), then hit Init (to initialize it) o Will get cleaner. Makes adjustments from left to right. Use the touch screen fader bars to adjust

DVE Key - DVE (Digital Video Effects) allows to you to create a window/graphic box over your talent which you can scale, crop, change the aspect ratio, change the position, and change the look of the box border. Once this type is selected the switchers digital display menu can be utilized to modify any settings. Use the NEXT Key to move through the options. Plus, the joystick can be moved and twisted to modify the source.

How you can use this option: o Select your key cut button so you can see it, it will turn red o Select the key select button that matches your key cut button o Select DVE as the key type o Select the source in the key bus, then select DVE as type of key you’re working with to adjust it’s parameters using the knobs. *Practice playing with the KEYS. Start by trying these example.

Practice 1: A simple Key Cut Simply Press KEY 1 CUT (if you used anything other than Key 1, then select the modified key instead). This will place it in the program feed. If nothing is seen the key may be improperly setup or something may be on top of that layer and it is not currently visible.

Press the Key 1 button in the Transition Selection Area of the Transition Control board. If a transition is executed it will be brought into Program, or, the Key may be viewed in Preview. To return the Transition Selection to default simply press the BKGD key.

Practice 2: Setup a CG in a Key

Anytime a lower third is called for it must be done so with a key. The CG Source is preset with an alpha channel coming from the CG station. The alpha channel is used to tell the switcher which portions of the CG channel are to be viewed and which should be discarded.

The following is a step sample on how to setup the existing CG into a Key available to program. o o o o o

Select Key 4 cut on M/E 2 then key 4 select above the key bus.

Select AUTO SELECT as Key Type Choose CG as the source of the source on the key bus Your Character Generator feed is now setup and can be accessed anytime by keying in Key 4 cut on M/E 2.

NOTE: Until you activate Key 4 the CG will not be seen in any viewer.

Practice 3: Setup a Chroma Key Wall in studio B With the video switcher ANY source can be used as either the foreground or background of an effect. For this example you can use CAM 1 and M1.

This effect will be created as a composition in M/E 1 and re-entered into the show through M/E 2. o o o o o o

o o o o o

Activate Key 4 by pressing KEY 4 CUT on M/E 1 Press M/E 1 PGM on the Preview row of M/E 2 Select your background in M/E 1 Program, in this case, M1 On M/E 1 Press KEY 4 SEL to activate the key in the menu Select your camera source in the key bus of M/E 1. In this case, CAM1 Change the Key Type to CHR KEY (Chroma Key)

In the menu, turn the left knob to the left to display Basic Mode Turn the center knob to Blue Color (green) With your shot on the right color, framed how your show will be, press the right knob labeled Init (Initialize) If the key is not as desired a second attempt to initialize may be performed, or, press next on the menu to discover additional options Or use the touchscreen

Practice 4: Setup a 3 camera composition This setup is useful when all 3 cameras need to be seen in the studio.. This will be setup using 3 of the 4 keys available on M/E 1. While the sequence of the keystrokes is the same for each Key, the values are different. Values for each key are listed in the table.

For this example: CAM1 will be on KEY 1, CAM 2 on KEY 2, and CAM3 on KEY 3. The instructions will simply show KEY-X and CAM-X.

o o o o o o o o o o o o o

Enter M/E 1. Into Preview on M/E 2 Place Black (BK into Program on M/E1) Press KEY X CUT on M/E 1 to bring the KEY active Select KEY X SEL on M/E 1 Select DVE as Key Type Select CAM X in the Key bus on M/E 1 Click DVE to make the button green & therefore active Use the Menu and Knobs to assign X POS, Y POS, and SIZE according to the table Press NEXT Assign a border of .5% Press NEXT Turn the right knob (labeled “Load”) until White is displayed and press Knob.

Return to Step 3 and repeat with remaining cameras

Practice 5: Practice ending a program (Fade to black with image and key – Double Punch) At the end of a program you may have credits rolling over your actors. Your next transition needs to be to black; however, if you use CUT or AUTO TRANS as is, only the PROGRAM source will change and they KEY will remain with the credits. In order to go to black and remove the CG at the same time you must change the “Next Transition Selector” to modify the background (BKGD) and KEY at the same time.

For this example your credits can be pulled from the CG on M/E 2 KEY 4.

Workflow: -On M/E 2, simultaneously press BKGD and KEY 4 in the transition section -Press CUT or AUTO TRANS depending on your desired transition type -ON M/E 2 press BKGD on the “Next Transition Selector” To return to normal operation Practice 6: Try to copy a Key (same time) Sometimes after creating a key that key needs to be either duplicated or moved to another position. This is easily done with the followings steps. o Press and hold the DESTINATION KEY SEL o Press the SOURCE KEY SEL o Release the KEYS Practice 7: 50/50 camera view (split screen) This view is to assist the composing of shots. Typically in a Newscast, prior to the start of the show, this is done to match close-ups of the anchors. The process is simple yet often overlooked.

For this example it’s best to have talent ready in front of the cameras. CAM 1 and CAM 3 will be the close-ups to the talent. o

Place CAM 1 into Preview o Place CAM 3 into Program o Move the Fader Bar to halfway o Have your camera operators match the size of face and eyes

Other key Uses: ● In M/E 2 look above the Key bus line of buttons, towards the middle of the console you’ll see another line of 8 buttons. These are referred to as the Aux Keys and in our studio they are label as follows: 1. KEY 1 SEL, 2. KEY 2 SEL, 3. KEY 3 SEL, 4. KEY 4 SEL, 5. TALENT 1, 6. TALENT 2, 7. TALENT 3, 8. SET MONITOR. ● Talent 1, 2 and 3 buttons refer to the talent monitors in front of the cameras. The talent monitors are used to display either the countdown clock or Skype monitor, but can display any source ● If you want to display either the Skype guest feed or the Countdown Clock for your talent to see in the Talent Monitors in front of the studio cameras, then first select the Talent 1, 2, or 3 button from Aux Keys line of buttons.

The source to select from the Key/aux bus in this case will be the “Utility PC” ● To use the large “set monitor” the Aux Key is labeled “SET MON”: This is mainly used to display the show logo, but any source on the switcher can be sent to the monitor.

Pre-production TIP (Managing your media): Manage your media ahead of time before starting your recording.

Choose what is the media storage you’ll be using ● Navigation Menu > choose media manager > on the right you see the 4 media storages ● On the left you have the browse options ● The white border is the active box, if you double tap the image it will be replaced ● You can drag and drop the image in any of the media storages though ● Tip: USE high resolution images ● To load images for your show use the utility PC o Find the short cut folder. “Carbonite A media” or the “Carbonite B media” o If you are loading a picture from a thumb drive loaded into the Utility PC you must first > Drag and drop the picture to desktop and then > Drag and drop picture to appropriate “Carbonate A or B Media” folder o Troubleshoot tip: If the Carbonite folders are missing: You must do a screen grab instead. Follow these steps to screen grab o Step 1: Once you download the picture onto the desktop o Step 2: Open o Step 3: Make it full screen. The file generally opens in the photo viewer o Step 4: Click the full screen button (large blue circle then hit the pause button which is the spacebar in the keyboard) o Step 5: In the switcher make sure you have selected the “SET MON” Aux Key then find the source you want in the key buss on M/E 2 o Step 6: Then you select capture knob. Push down the middle knob. Then the knob on the left select the source- to find the Utility PC. Lastly click the far right knob to capture. This will load the picture that is in Utility PC. Once captured you can free up the Utility PC for other things

What to do if you need more than 5 video layers - Using M/E 1 Setup a source sequence with multiple layers into one button.

Example to practice: We are going to setup a background and load two Skype guest cameras. ●

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Step 1: Select your background o In M/E 2 preview bus select Background to see it initially. To change the color of the background, you must use the control at the top of the board (the digital display). Using the middle knob rotate to change the color until you find one you like Step 2: Skype 1 setup o Key 1 cut so you can see it o Key 1 select o Select DVE (RTR B-1 ) o Hit DVE again to make it active in order to do changes in the digital display (it will turn green again) o You can also use the touch screen (live assist mode) o Do the same for Skype #2 Tip for shortcut: To transfer parameters from one key to another follow these steps. (Useful resize the Skype graphic boxes so they match) o Hold down the key select you want to have the parameters transferred into then click the key select you want the parameters from o What will happen is the new source you select will be on top of the previous one o Using the touch screen or the top board controls move the X axis of the box

When directing the way this will work: Example Set Program as Cam 2 The way this was set up you need to have your background, then the two keys for the Skype cameras. All three must be selected in the Key layer transition area. Then simply cut between Cam 2 and the Skype special source setup.

To go to another source that is not Cam 2 or the Skype setup remember to remove the extra keys from the key layer transition area.

TIP: To make this easier we will simplify this process using the M/E 1.

Setting up M/E 1 PGM to use as a source: ● To do this using ME 1 –Make sure the ME 1 button is selected ● Select key 1 cut for Skype guest 1 ● Then select Key 1 SEL ● Then select background in the program bus, change color if needed ● Click DVE, then RTR-B1 on key bus ● Then resize Key 1 source as needed ● Use the parameter transfer trick using M/E 1 key 2 ● After you reposition, it’s done ● In the program or preview bus you can now cut and shift between this Skype setup and other sources. While only having BKGD selected under transitions in M/E 2 Using the Mini ME’s in M/E 1: Note: they are not used often in typical studio A or B productions ● ● ● ●

Useful when you need another two layers. Key 1 in Mini ME can only do DVE. (Just cropping a still image).

In Key 2 Mini ME you can do all 4 types of keys.

Mini ME 4 is not currently setup in the switcher at this time.

When working with Mini ME’s – Choose the type of key it is before you can choose key 1 or key 2 cut.

Recording options in the control rooms 1. SSD cards

o SSD 1 on top is a playback unit o SSD 2 at the bottom is the recording unit o Each unit has two card slots in case you don’t have a large enough SSD to record the full show onto, or you have multiple videos to playback that did not fit into a single SSD o The first time using the SSD card you must format it. It will light up as red in the slot o Select the format you will like to use. Look at the little paper chart. (HFS+ for Macs or exFAT for PCs or Mac) o Format then select the Codec o See the table with the 7 types to choose from in page 1 of the “Television Studios Recording Options and Lightworks Quick User Guide”. The ProRes codec is the recommended, this helps avoid lag when editing and takes up less space 2. SD Cards o Follow the similar steps as the SSDs. o Check the formats for playback as well.

3. Camera ISO SD – the recording will have no audio it’s just for capturing the raw video camera footage o Note: The only way to syc camera angles later is using a visual cue. Having a video slate is ideal for this situation or simply ask your host to clap to represent a start of an upcoming segment.

4. External Hard Drive via Lightworks. o The Lightworks computer is in the front next to the SSD units. o To display Lightworks in the monitor you must press CTRL twice on the keyboard then in the menu options that appear select Lightworks. o You can connect your external hard drive straight into the computer. Only connects USB 3 (check with engineers on other USB 2 etc… options) o The class only teaches how to record using Lightworks. Not to edit the show even though Lightworks is capable of editing video. o Since the Lightworks computer is a PC if you are going to later edit the content on a MAC make sure your hard drive is exFAT formatted.

To set up a recording: Open Lightworks, select new project, name it, then click on project tab. o Go under details to confirm. o Media will let you select where you’re going to save it. Always check location to make sure its' saving where you want it. o Select the proper folder to save into, if there is another folder selected; then click remove. o Click to add the folder, find the folder or the drive you want to save into. o Note: When you record in Lightworks it creates a separate file for video and audio. o You can also record into the D drive as a back up. But beware files can get deleted when we run out of room. o To start the Lightworks recording: Hit the red record button. o Format should be 1080i AND 29.7fps o Under compression you should never need to change it to anything other than (DVCPro 100) o Recording type: At FPA we only have 1 source of video and two for audio. You can click and turn of A3 and A4 audio. o Click stand by, if a problem exists an error will appear. o You will see whatever is on the program feed. For testing audio you can use Tone in the audio console. o Check to make sure the audio meters are moving. o Click record, when done click end.

Production Tip:

FPA recommends all TV Producers to record in two different formats. Always plan to have a backup. Recording onto an SSD and an External Hard Drive are the common two options.

Ross Carbonite video switcher