What’s New in Avid DekoCast?
New DekoCast Plug-ins!
DekoCast version 4.1.2 software delivers an exciting set of software plug-ins for enhanced scene control, playback and customization with additional scripting and API capabilities.
- iNEWS Extractor: Allows a live data connection to specific DekoCast Objects and Actions directly from an iNEWS rundown for displaying breaking news and top stories. This allows a synchronization of news content across multiple channels and programming.
A complete list of features can be found on the Avid DekoCast product pages.
- Image Fetcher: Allows automatic, time-based retrieval of web-based images into a pre-formatted location in the DekoCast scene. Users define the target location of the image which can be a local or url path. A destination file path is selected for the DekoCast scene to place the image for on-screen display. Users can define a “fetch” cycle for the interval that new images are automatically retrieved and placed into the scene without user intervention.
- RSS Extractor: Pulls web-data feeds using RSS protocol for inserting and cycling live headlines and top stories for news, sports and entertainment into DekoCast layers and crawls. Users can define the desired “fetch” cycle and append custom scripts to pre-process the data.
- Database Extractor: Enables a direct query from DekoCast Scene Objects to fields and records of ODBC-compliant databases such as MS Access and MS Excel. Users can define a desired update frequency and can append custom scripts to pre-process the query result. This feature is great for headlines and sports and election applications.
- Engine Trigger: Allows DekoCast Scenes to automatically “react” and invoke user-specified Actions based on changes the Scenes parameters. A useful application would be for a DekoCast Scene with a DVE-Squeeze over input video to return to full screen only when a credit roll or news crawl has completed – without user intervention.
New Control and Automation features!
DekoCast 4.1.2 extends support of the following devices and address the automation features through the DekoCast Central Automation and Playback software:
- EAS: Added support for the TFT EAS 911 device.
- Temperature Probe: Added support for Sensatronics Series E and F devices.
- Burst Box: Added support for the model GPI-10 I86: supports unique actions for high tally or low tally on a single GPI path.
- House IDs: Provides the ability to define a look-up table to map to multiple DekoCast Scene Actions to a single House ID. This lets an automation system send a single command to trigger multiple DekoCast actions. Object Parameters in the scene (like displayed text or file names) can be overridden on recall. Look up tables can be easily distributed across multiple systems in a facility.
Graphics Workflow Integration
- DNxHD: Now supports alpha! Movies created in DekoCast can now be saved with the new DNxHD QuickTime codec. This provides “fast import” to Avid Editors to speed the process of adding motion graphics!
This represents key features introduced with DekoCast version 4.1.2 software. For a complete list of new features, operational changes and software issues resolved, see the Avid DekoCast Version 4.1.2 Readme documentation. www.avid.com/support