[ANSWERED] Streaming text

Juriaan

Hey Francesco,

Could you tell us more about those machines, are they on the same network or are we talking streaming text between different locations?

kikko

Thank you guys for your prompt reply! Actually my question was wrong. I have to share text, but that comes from text draw actor output, so basically sharing a video...

So to get video from a PC that run Isadora to another PC that run Isadora too I need a video capture card or Spout, right? I can use any kind of capture card?

If I'm using Spout which kind of hardware do I need? Just a cross cable or net switch in beetween the two machine?

And last, if I have a PC on one side and Mac on the other the no other way than video capture card?

Thank you!

Francesco

mark_m

@kikko said:

So to get video from a PC that run Isadora to another PC that run Isadora too I need a video capture card or Spout, right?

Hiya,

No, you can send the output of the text draw actor between computers on the same network using NDI, for example. Output from one computer using a setup like this below, and in Isadora on the other computer use the NDI watcher actor, which is available here

HTH

Mark (not that Mark)

kikko

@mark_m thank you!

I've try with NDI, but some strange behavior happens. I can get the stage of the second PC, but not the video stream, and if I want to project something from the main PC a kind of faded image is created.

Francesco

mark_m

@kikko

I can tell you that I use exactly this setup for sending subtitles from a laptop to the main computer running the show, and it works very well. We don't have any issues with it.

I notice that your version of Isadora - in your signature - is not the most recent one, which is, I think, 3.26. Which version are you running?

kikko

@mark_m

Subtitles is exactly the work I've to do it.

Current Isadora release is the 3.2.6 on both computer.

Anyway, you think that could be work also with a video capture card?

Francesco

mark_m

@kikko

It's crazy: you shouldn't need to use a capture card. NDI works really, really well.

I am looking at my patch, and I can see some things which I have done to optimise the text being sent. I have attached a background colour actor to the vid-gpu input of the text draw actor and set the horizontal and vertical sizes to match the video projector on the receiving PC, and I have made sure that the background of the background colour actor is transparent by setting the alpha level to zero.

Can you upload your patch, or share a screenshot, both from the computer sending the subtitles, and the computer receiving them?

kikko

@mark_m

Sorry, Mark, I've try once again and now works fine... Was something wrong in the set up I believe. But it's work only wi-fi or also by cable? If I used PC on one side and Mac on the other, could I have some problem?

Thank you for your help!

Francesco

mark_m

@kikko

Excellent! Glad you've got it working.

In practice, it's always better to work on a wired, not a Wifi network. But if you have to work over Wifi it's better to have your own, private network. You don't want to be competing with other people for bandwidth.
NDI is pretty fast over Wifi. I tour with my own router, and set up my own private network, so that I can use my iPad with TouchOSC. But the computers are all wired together.

It should work just fine between a PC and a Mac, or between a Mac and a PC.

kikko

@mark_m

Always better wired. Thank you once again!

Francesco