NewTek TriCaster Pro Live Production System
Having been a huge fan of NewTek’s Video Toaster from its inception back in the Amiga PC days to today, with its current Windows-based VT[4] version, I was extremely excited to have the opportunity to review NewTek’s latest product: TriCaster Pro. As a reader and author of product reviews, I do not like to wait until the end of the article to find out how the product rated. So here we go, right up front with my conclusion: Although I find TriCaster Pro to be great product for live production switching, recording, and streaming, I find it only adequate when it comes to editing, especially when adding graphics and text to your final product. During editing, you have to be constantly aware of “the red light of doom.” More on that later….
The TriCaster Pro has three modes of operation: live production, capture media, and edit media. Each of these modes has its own pre-formatted control screen which is selected by simply clicking on a tab. For the most part, I found the screens to be laid out in a logical format and easy to use, but I was disappointed to discover their layouts could not be changed. As an example, in the live production mode there are eight very small monitor screen images (about an inch diagonally), three of which are live cameras, and one large (about four inch diagonally) live screen image. It would be great if the user had the ability to change the size of these screen images, or at least assign the live screen to preview.
Using the Shuttle XPC, model SD36G5M, as its system unit, TriCaster Pro could easily be defined a “mobile studio” as it is physically quite small at 11.5 x 8 x 7.5 inches, weighing only 10 pounds. But do not let its small size fool you; it is truly a full-function, professional, live production switcher.
It allows you to switch three external cameras plus an additional external VGA device and four internal “devices.” During live production you can record to the system’s large internal hard drive and/or send it to an external device, at the same time simultaneously streaming it to the internet and sending it to a high-resolution projector.
TriCaster Pro is clearly a device that was designed for live production, for which I give the design engineers at NewTek many kudos, and is the reason for the more than a dozen industry awards TriCaster has received. I believe this is a product that is ideal for any church considering getting into the field of video ministry, or wants to broadcast their Sunday morning service or special events. When you bring the system up in live production mode, the display attached to the TriCaster looks like the inside of a production facility with all the monitors, scopes, and controls needed to truly produce a broadcast quality video.
The switching capabilities of TriCaster Pro is so sophisticated, the box includes waveform monitors (both Y and YC) as well as a vectorscope — devices needed to produce video at true “broadcast” quality. These devices, if purchased in their hardware form, would cost more than the TriCaster Pro itself. Its internal hard drive can hold up to ten hours of AVI format video and in the scores of live hours I have used the product during this evaluation, it has not dropped a single frame of video, either in live production or video capture.
In live production mode, the TriCaster Pro also has four channels of audio with two mic inputs, either TRS or XLR (with phantom power) and two line inputs, either TRS, RCA or XLR. A neat little audio mixer is located on the live production monitor screen with all basic adjustments available, such as level, some basic EQ, mute, solo, line and mic level. Adjustments are made using the system’s mouse.
I should note at this point that all input and outputs for both audio and video are conveniently located on the front of the TriCaster Pro. Video connections use either S-Video or BNC. You can actually attach six live video inputs to the front of the unit if you use only s-video and composite video in, switching between the devices as needed, however, only three devices can be displayed.
The actual switching during live production is done by using either the system’s keyboard, pressing specific keys for takes and fades and other commands, or by pointing the system’s mouse and clicking on control portions of the live production screen. A third way to switch is to purchase the only option available for the TriCaster Pro: the TriCaster VM video mixer. This $995 option is a simple two-bus switcher with a “live take” and “next take” row of buttons representing the eight video sources. It also has a T-bar for manual transitions, and controls to select transitions and overlays. I found the device easy to use and would think a volunteer operator would find it easier to use than the keyboard or mouse.
Video capture is the second operational mode of the TriCaster Pro and functions just like any other PC-based video capture system, allowing video to be imported into the system for later use. I found it easy to use with full DV camera control using the FireWire connection on the front of the system unit. Again, the system performed flawlessly and was easy to use.
This brings us to what in my opinion is the TriCaster Pro’s downfall: the “Edit Media” function. The good news is as long as you are not using the TriCaster to produce your graphics or text images you will be pleased with its editing capabilities. All editing can be done either in storyboard or timeline and if you are familiar with any of the well known editing systems out there, you will be able to adapt quickly to the TriCaster Pro’s methodology. My only complaint in the editing process is again the monitor screen windows are fixed and can not be changed. If you want to make the timeline area bigger you can not.
This brings us to Character Generation (CG) and “the red light of doom.” CG brings the TriCaster Pro to its knees. It appears to me as though the design of the system causes any graphic loaded to the timeline to be rendered each and every time anything is done to the graphic, which includes changing the text line. During this re-rendering cycle, a red indicator appears on the monitor labeled “loading” and if the system unit’s hard drive starts “thrashing” — STOP, WAIT, DO NOTHING until the indicator turns blue and is re-labeled “ready to play.” If you do not stop, and continue to work on the graphic, the system will eventually hang right before your eyes. And if you have not saved your project, you get to start over.
This of course will not stop your editing process, as long as you heed “the R E S O U R C E S red light of doom,” it will just slow it down. However, there is another design problem with the TriCaster Pro that can have a disastrous effect on your work: there is no auto-save function. If you don’t take the time to manually save your project, every now and then, and there is a system lock up or other failure, your edited project is gone.
NewTek technical support acknowledged these issues and stated the TriCaster Pro is primarily designed for live production. So the solution to both these problems simple, use the TriCaster Pro as a live production switcher, and load the system unit with another editing software product. In spite of the editing mode limitations, TriCaster Pro is a great live production switcher that has been recognized as such by the industry. It is an easy to use device, ideal for the church, and very affordable (list price of $6,995), considering all of its professional features.
Don Brooks is currently serving as the business manager at Sheridan Lutheran Church in Lincoln, Nebraska. Prior to his current position he was a technical consultant and still maintains his website, www.techmissions.com, which contains all of his previously published articles.
