Features in 1.3 version

The list of the most important new features in 1.3 version of the Reckeen system along with their short description. The more detailed information can be found in documentation and tutorial videos:

Automatic firmware (VirtuMega hardware) update

This feature allows us to update the firmware on the user’s device automatically.

On the Startup Screen, the user will be notified that the newest version of software is available and, after it is downloaded, hardware will be detected and firmware updated if necessary.

Auto keyboard update

A similar function like in the VirtuMega hardware, which checks and auto-updates firmware for the connected VK-100 keyboard.

Full integration with VK-100

The new version supports all the keyboard functions (joystick, t-bar, …)

GPU performance measurement

We have added “Performance” button in 3D Editor which allows you to measure the current system performance (mainly GPU – graphics card performance).

This value depends on output video format, number of connected inputs, inputs’ format, enabled keys, media format, etc.

Therefore, in order to check whether 3D Set and current configuration is not overloaded, it should be used with actual working configuration.

4K p25/30 support

We support 2x4K p25/p30/p2997 inputs/outputs and media up to p30.
In the current version 4K p50/p60 is not supported.

Input overload detection

As there are limits to PCI-e transfers, we cannot support all the possible input formats configurations.

There are some limits. If the connected input exceeds the limits, an “overload” icon we will displayed on the input preview.

We support throughput up to 4xFUllHD p60, which means, for example:
– 4 x HD p60 are supported
– 2 x 4K p30 are supported (4Kp30 = 2 x HDp60)
– 1 x 4Kp30 + 2 x HDp60…
– …

New Talent shadow and Talent's automatic pinning to the floor

We have decided to prepare a dedicated shadow for the talent (different than the one for decorations), as problems with the Talent’s shadow had been encountered repeatedly.

We have added a possibility to render a kind of shape (spot/cross).

To use and test that feature, first you have to enable chroma key for the selected input, adjust it properly and then enable shadow for the scene and for the Talent object.

The input signal is analyzed and feet are detected to move the talent downwards to place the figure on the floor. There are 2 parameters, “Size” and “Shape”, in talent object properties and a global parameter to adjust the density of the talent’s shadow.

Audio Digital Box ADB 100 support

A dedicated audio mixer for external ADB hardware. It automatically detects the connected hardware and enables new inputs/outputs.

New content added

New 2D sets, 3D sets, 2D 4K sets, Wizard projects, videos, pictures, ….

Stability & optimization

We have fixed many bugs and improved the system’s quality and stability.

Import/Export of a streaming profile to FMLE file format (XML based format used by Adobe Encoder)

Media tray

The Reckeen 3D Studio system allows you to use video files, image files or texts during the broadcast of your program.
It is worth to prepare all the necessary media before the broadcast.
WARNING! If you have media files (videos, images, sounds) stored on external sources, such as a memory stick or an external hard drive – you should copy them to the Reckeen 3D Studio system hard drive. External storage may not have an adequate file transfer parameters during the production, which may result in improper recording of your work or unstable operation of the whole system!
Shortcuts to the media files should be located in the appropriate tabs of the media tray. This will facilitate usage of the media during the program production, as opening files on a regular basis requires multiple clicks and there may not be enough time for that while operating on the air. Media tray is used for adding the media and managing the shortcuts, as illustrated in the picture below. Tabs with media files are marked in red.

Please note that no operation on the media files in the tray changes them on your hard drive. Removing or renaming a file in the media tray only affects the files’ shortcuts in the tabs. It is also possible to add the same file multiple times on the same or on the different tab in the tray. You can also change file names (shortcuts) and use the same file under different names.
There is a possibility to group the files within the tabs, thereby creating categories of your interest. It is made possible thanks to sections (labeled from 1 to 5) located in the trays. With the sections you can organize files for specific tasks.
Note! When you replay a file from any of the sections (1 to 5) within the PGM source, that is live, then switching the section to a different one will trigger the file’s from the new section autoplay and going on the air. It is suggested, therefore, to prepare necessary videos and images in advance.

A tray holds 7 tabs assigned to specific players. There are two tabs for video files (Media 1, Media 2), for image files (Still 1 and Still 2), for text or image boards (Text 1, Text 2) and audio files (Sound). The Reckeen 3D Studio system supports multiple media formats. It also has an integrated support for multiple codecs for playing video files.

Media 1 and Media 2 – as shown in the picture below, this is where you can view video clips.
Click on the Add icon (in the lower right corner of the screen, with a small plus sign) to browse your local hard drive and add video files. You can put video files in five sections. You change the section by clicking on the buttons marked with numbers from 1 to 5 located on the right side of the screen.

Supported video files formats and codecs (concerning media added to Media 1 and Media 2 tabs): MPEG2, MPEG4 and H.264 containers: *.mpg, *.mpeg, *.mp4, *.avi, *.mxf, *.mov
Still 1 and Still 2 – as shown in the picture below, this is where you can view image files.

Click on the Add icon (in the lower right corner of the screen, with a small plus sign) to browse your local hard drive and add image files. You can put image files in five sections. You change the section by clicking on the buttons marked with numbers from 1 to 5 located on the right side of the screen.
Supported file formats of a bitmap type (concerning media added to Still 1 and Still 2 tabs): *.jpeg, *.jpg, *.bmp, *.png (with transparency)
Text 1 and Text 2 – as shown in the picture below, this is where you can view files with text boards or images, most often used in the DSK module.

Click on the Add icon to browse your local hard drive and add text board files. Just as before, you can put text board files in five sections. You change the section by clicking on the buttons marked with numbers from 1 to 5 located on the right side of the screen. Supported file formats of a text board and image type (concerning media added to Text 1 and Text 2 tabs)
*.jpeg, *.jpg, *.bmp, *.png (with transparency) , *.recstill, (STILL editor module format)
Reckeen 3D Studio allows you to use videos and still images in the broadcasted program. The use of media requires two steps: adding a file to the tray, loading the medium into a virtual player.

For each file added to the media tray, an icon is automatically generated. It shows you a preview of its content. At the same time it is a shortcut allowing you to access the file.
You can sort the icons within the tab with drag and drop. Files with the alpha channel (transparency) have a preview showing on object on a background of a gray white grid.
In order to add a file to a tray, select the appropriate tab (optionally its sub-tab). Then press the Add File button or double-click on an empty area in the selected tray. Then select a file on your hard drive with a typical file selection window.
Delete file (with small minus sign) button is located next to the Add file one. It allows you to remove the currently selected file from the tray. If the file being deleted has already been loaded into the player, you will be asked to confirm the action. After removing the file (media), the preview of the given player will display a blue background.
An another operation on a file in the media tray allows you to change the file name. In order to rename a file, select the file’s icon and press the Rename button (on the right side of Delete file button). Then enter the new file name.

Wizard

It should be noted at the beginning that you shouldn’t work in the 3D Editor, or the Wizard, during the live broadcast.
Click File > Open Wizard in the opened 3D Studio Editor window or press the Wizard icon on the bar.

Then, a warning appears, stating that in the case the new camera takes were defined during the ongoing session, the results of the work might be lost.

If you want to keep your previous work in the Production, it’s best to click NO to go to the Production module, save the session there and run the Wizard again. Click YES only after completing those steps.

The first one of the pop-up window series will appear. It will guide you through the Wizard.

If you tick the option: Do not show this window again, the window will not appear the next time you open the Wizard. The same can be done to all the windows that appear in the Wizard. Once you leave the Wizard, you can save changes to your session on the production screen (File> Save session) or create a new session (File> Save Session As…). Afterwards, when you re-enter the session, the pop-ups will not appear in the Wizard again.
However, if the pop-up hints still facilitate your work, you can enable them once again by clicking on the production screen:
Options> Configuration> General> Wizard Studio Editor> Reset pop-up hints visibility to default state (picture below).

The button with inscription: Reset pop-up hints visibility to default state will become highlighted and the hints start appearing again.The first step after opening a Wizard is to choose a studio.
You will be guided through the consecutive steps by the appearing pop-ups.
Picture below – a Window with a mouse – workspace.

A pop-up with instructions on how to select a studio by entering keywords.

A window with search results.

You search the studios by typing the name in the box, news for example. Then, all the studios that have news phrase in their name or in their category, will be listed. You don’t have to type the entire word, the search engine will show you suggestions after entering at least 3 letters of the phrase. (See the previous Picture.
The first step is to choose a studio. The Wizard launches with the Studio tab already open. Other tabs are as follows: Walls material, Floor material, Ceiling material and Decorations. Some of them may be disabled (inactive) by the studio designer’s intent.
First, choose a studio template. When you move the cursor over the template, it becomes highlighted and an additional enlarged window appears.
Move the cursor over the window and right-click it to display the template’s name, category, sub-category and keywords.

If you have a lot of items to search for, just enter the keyword, or its first three letters, for example, search for the studios that have “news” in their name. After entering “new”, the studios that have this phrase in their description will appear. It may be any part of the name or the word in the studio’s description.
For the word “transparency”, you can enter either the first three letters of the word (“tra”) or any string of letters in the middle of the word (like “spa”). Some elements, like “tv”, have only two characters, therefore you can type a two letter string, “tv” for example, and press the space-bar to create “tv “.
Some of the preview pictures have a small icon in the corner. When you click it, another window appears with the stage design preview, showing how it might look like in the final perspective and what elements it contains. This facilitates selection of appropriate elements.
You can narrow down your search by selecting Category and Subcategory from the drop-down list.

A red question mark (“?”) appears on some of the STUDIO TEMPLATE thumbnails. With its help, you can open another window in which you will see a view of the set design along with the use of individual objects, as an example, in the same category.
After selecting the studio template, click it to load it.
Depending on the selected template, all or some of the tabs will be available at the top of the screen. If the graphic designer assumed, for example, that the floor material in the studio cannot be changed, this tab will not be active. You can change the tabs by clicking on them or by using the Back and Next buttons at the top right corner of the screen. Picture below.

You can navigate through the loaded studio with your mouse. The same rules apply as for the mouse movements in the studio editor. See the chapter: Virtual 3D studio editor, paragraph: Operating modes: Camera and Object.
All the operations available in the studio, such as mouse movements or locking XYZ axes, are transferred from the Virtual 3D studio editor. Only the rotation around the selected object is disabled, as it was deemed useless in the Wizard.
Now, you can go to the next tab: Walls material.
You don’t have to mark specific elements of the walls in the Wizard. The material is changed in all the studio areas specified by the designer. All you need is to select the desired wall material from the materials list on the right side of the screen. Just as in the Studio tab, when you move the mouse over a specific material and right-click it, its properties are shown, namely Name, Categories, Subcategories and Keywords.

You can, of course, choose entire group of interesting materials from the drop-down list by selecting Category and Subcategory.
For example: Choose Category: Natural and Subcategory: Shiny. A list of materials with these properties will appear. Next, type the word “red” in the search-bar. Now, only the red ones will be included in the material group.
The process of choosing materials in the Floor material and Ceiling material tabs is exactly the same.
Now, let’s move on to the Decorations tab.
In the Decorations tab, so called “placeholders” appear in the view of the studio.

Placeholder’s positions are pre-defined in the studio’s design. Select any one of the placeholders in the preview window and click it with the left mouse button. Then, the placeholder lights up red and starts blinking. A placeholder can be selected with a mouse or indicated by selecting it from the list of all placeholders.

When you click on the placeholder, the “pin” lights up and starts blinking. Then, select from the list of the elements an object to be “affixed” in that place. Let’s choose a platform.

When you click on the selected object, the placeholder’s pin will disappear replaced by the selected object. The object will be inserted exactly where the placeholder has been. The object will be facing direction indicated by the arrow on the placeholder’s pin.
A red question mark (?”) appears on some of the objects’ thumbnails. With it, you can open another window in which you will see an example this object’s use in the set design prepared by the graphic designer. Picture below.

Simultaneously, a new position will appear on the list of placeholders: a Platform, along with a drawing of a small cube next to it. It means the placeholder has been replaced with an object.
Note that this object, the Platform, also has its own placeholder on its surface. You can now place, for example, a desk on this platform. Click the placeholder visible on the platform and then select the object: Desk. Picture below

What’s more, the desk object has two placeholders. You can place a Talent behind the desk using one of them.

If you want to remove the object from the placeholder, you have to select it on the screen by clicking the left mouse button on it. The whole object will light up and start blinking. Now, remove the object by pressing the button: Remove decoration from placeholder, located at the bottom right corner of the screen.

You have to remember that, if you select the Platform object, as in the example above, you it will be removed along with all the objects attached to it.

The available objects are listed and displayed in the windows. In the windows, the objects are visible in positions as if they were replacing their placeholders located on the floor, that is the placeholder’s pin was pinned to the floor. The arrow on the top of the placeholder determines the direction the object will be facing.
If the placeholder is pinned to the ceiling, and its pin is “upside down”, then an object loaded to such a placeholder will also be turned “upside down”.

Let’s look at the platform placed on the ceiling in our example.
It may happen that, when you want to place an object in your studio on a particular placeholder, it may not be a perfect fit. The object may, for example, “impale” the wall.

Do not worry about that, let’s now leave the object in that place, as accurate corrections and shifts will be done later on in the Editor.

Edit: Undo and Redo functions

There is an Edit option available at the top left side of the screen. You can trigger Undo and Redo functions from the drop-down menu or through the keyboard shortcuts.

  • Undo function – erases the last introduced change.
  • Redo function – reverses the Undo command.

Principles of the functions’ operation are the same as previously described in the Studio 3D Editor. The only difference is that, in the Wizard you cannot undo the camera movements, which was possible in the Editor. There is no Camera tab in the Wizard, therefore these movements are not recorded when designing the studio.
After adding all the objects, you can go back to the Ceiling tab to see the studio without placeholders. You can neither select, add nor remove the objects in the Ceiling tab and in the Walls tab. Instead, you can once again change the materials covering the ceiling, the walls or the floor if they don’t match the added objects.

You can press the Close button if there are no more changes for you to make . The Wizard will be closed and you will be automatically redirected to the Editor.
Now, you can continue with the editing.
The Wizard allows you to design a studio quickly and easily. But let’s remember that you go through the Wizard only once, putting all the necessary elements in the studio. The studio once created in the Wizard cannot be loaded to the Wizard again. If you have forgotten about some object and you want to add it, you can do it in the Editor.
In order to be able to the design each of the elements in the Editor, you have to change the mode from Simple to Advanced.
In the Advanced mode, you can display an entire tree structure of all the elements by clicking on the triangular markers that appear in front of the names of the objects and their elements. The whole process of building the studio, that is placing a platform, a desk, or a chair on the floor and so on, will be reflected in this structure. You will only see one element in the Simple mode – the Floor. In the Advanced mode, you will be able to display all the items placed on the consecutive placeholders.

When you click on the name of the primary element in the tree, a window will appear below the tree, containing materials that can be used.
You can change the item’s material by clicking on the selected material’s thumbnail.

In the case of such objects as talent or screen, a tab with materials database will not be visible. There is no possibility to change their material, even when you switch the Live option to Bitmap and use graphic images. Some Logo type objects (that could be found in the database) also don’t have an option to change their material. In some set designs, you can find certain logo type objects, under which you can both change a material and apply an appropriate graphics with transparency. In the case of an object’s Clone, both the material and its color are transferred.

If you are not satisfied with the change, you can restore the item’s basic material by pressing the Restore material to default button located at the bottom right of the screen.
It is possible to change the color of some of the materials. It is done with the color wheel.
You should bear in mind that you change a color of a specific material, so if the same material has been used in any other object, that object will also be subjected to a color change. You cannot change the color of some of the objects. In the case of objects loaded with Microsoft Paint 3D such option may be locked and you will be informed about it with a message. If you want to restore a default color, you have to use the Reset function. In the case of an object’s Clone, both the material and its color are transferred.
In the Editor, all the objects added in the Wizard can be moved, cloned, their color changed, their elements removed etc. In the picture below, you can see two desks, original one on the right, and the cloned one with the materials changed on the left.

In the Wizard’s Ceiling and Walls tabs you could only change the materials to the extent determined in the project. If you wanted to change the color of the floor strips (as in the picture above), it would not be possible in the Wizard. You can do it in the Editor. All you have to do is to find the floor stripes element on the tree in the Advanced mode and change the material.

Toolbar – File option

There is an File option on the toolbar available at the top left side of the screen. You can choose functions from the drop-down menu.

  • File-> New – You start the editor work from scratch. If you have any studio loaded, selecting this function will cause all of the settings to be lost.
  • File->Open Wizard
  • File >Load Studio . . . – opens a studio file with a previously saved project.
  • File >Save Studio – saves a current project file.
  • File >Save Studio As . . . – saves a current project in a file under a different name.
  • File >Go to Startup – takes you to the start screen

If we choose the option File- Open Wizard , we go to Wizard.

Light on scenography (example usage)

To best understand the whole idea of building a set design, illuminating it and creating shadows, it is best to use an example of a default “News” studio, which is loaded first during default launch of Production 3D. In this studio, AMBIENT type of light has been used to slightly illuminate the scenography. In addition, there is one POINT light to illuminate the elements in the background (elements of the studio’s backup facilities) as the intensity of light depends on a distance from its source. Therefore, the elements that are really far back don’t need such strong light. Since there are 3 talent figures in the studio that may take part in the camera’s production thread, each of them has a separate SPOT light assigned with its appropriate INNER and OUTER cone settings. This stage design is not only properly lit, but also its performance requirements are not high.

Light tab

In this section, properties of studio lights are being defined. You can change the parameters of these lights, turn them on and off, change their color, direction and positioning in the studio. You cannot, however, add or clone new lights. For that reason, these buttons are dimmed. Picture below.

There are the following types of lights in the studio:

  • Ambient – a type of light that fills an entire studio and illuminates all the objects evenly. Ambient light does not come from any particular direction and it falls on all the elements of 3D scene, helping you lighten or darken them.

You can only set the power of this light. If you enter a 0 value in the Power field, the light will be turned off. The maximum brightness Ambient light reaches at 2.00
To make it easier for the user to set the lights, when the Light tab is turned on, different types of lights will be represented by different objects that appear in the studio. This allows you to rotate and move these objects and thus control the direction of light and its location.
Ambient light is the only one that will not be represented by any object in studio because it fills the entire studio and you only set its strength.

Generally , only 3D Rotate Gizmo or 3D Move Gizmo is available for light objects. The 3D Scale Gizmo is off because it is not possible to increase or decrease a light object. However, you can adjust the color, intensity, or direction of light by using the appropriate light-type controls.
You can choose the following types of lights from the drop-down list: Directional, Point, Spot.

The Directional light has only a color and a direction parameter. This source emits a parallel light, which means it travels across a stage in the same direction. Sunlight is the best example of such light.
Directional type of light creates shadows for the indicated objects. When directional light is directed upwards, it does not create shadows. Imagine a situation in which a talent figure is illuminated from underneath the floor (light penetrating the floor). The talent object would then cast a shadow on a ceiling, which wouldn’t look naturally in the set design. It is possible to lighten up each direction of the studio with Directional light, but it simulates the real world’s sunlight type of light, so it casts shadows on the objects below. Because of the system performance, it is best to use only one Directional light. The rest should be of a different type.
Below we see the cone object representing the Directional light source editor in the studio. The base of the cone is the place where the light emits. Where we point the base of the cone in this direction will be the direction of light illumination.
Note that for this cone a 3D Rotate Gizmo appears immediately. Even if you have previously set the 3D Move Gizmo mode, after selecting Directional light from the drop-down list, the Gizmo will be changed to 3D Rotate. This is due to the properties of this light, as it has only a color and a direction, and does not have a specific position.
A cone representing this light in the studio is always suspended in the middle of a ‘ceiling’.
Directional light has always an object’s representation with coordinates x = 0m, y = 3m, z = 0m, i.e. usually at the center of the studio. This position has no effect on the light’s final effect, and is intended only to make it easier to be found in the studio for changing its direction with Rotate Gizmo. This means, if you have a different type of light, such as Point, placed anywhere in your studio, then after changing the type of light from Point (which has a position in the studio) to Directional, the position of this light object will remain unchanged only until you save the studio file to the editor. Afterwards, the object representing the Directional light will appear again in x = 0m, 3m y = z = 0m position in the studio.
With the 3D Rotate Gizmo we can easily set the direction of the light. Remember that our studio also produces light reflections from glossy materials: walls, ceilings, furniture, etc. Therefore, often light reflections can give us additional effects that must be checked by the user. Simply by editing the camera, you can check the random positions of the studio, light as the source (stream glow) does not unnatural reflect in the material .
Color of the light and its intensity can be set with a color wheel operating on RGB (Red, Green, Blue) system. Changing the dash marker’s position on the wheel allows you to set the color by changing the color tone parameter. If you hook the cursor on a small circle, you will be able to move it inside the square. Current color will be visible in the middle of the small circle. If you want to turn the light off completely, you need to move the circle to a black area inside the square.

You can set the color of the light more precisely by clicking on white arrows next to numerical values.
By changing the color of the light, you also change the color of the object representing light, in this case the cone.
Generally , the 3D Rotate Gizmo is used to set the direction of the light. However, you can precisely adjust the direction of the light with help of the values in X, Y and Z fields in the Direction section.

Light of the POINT type is a spherical kind of light, which illuminates all the objects around it in the studio. In contrast to the type light Direction, this type has attenuation value depending on the distance from the source. The objects are less illuminated the further away they are from the source of light. This light does not have a single specific direction, it shines in every direction. It doesn’t make shadows.
The light in the studio will be represented not by the cone but by the ball glowing in all directions.
This sphere (ball) has a specific position in the studio, so it will be important to position it with 3D Move Gizmo.
3D Rotate Gizmo you can also use, if you want to move the ball in some specific direction in the studio and the 3D Rotate Gizmo (arrows) axis are oriented in different directions. You can then rotate the object: the ball, to move the 3D Move Gizmo in the right direction and then move it with the 3D Move Gizmo.
Color of this light can be set in the same way as in the previous case, with the help of the color wheel. If you want to turn it off completely – choose black. The intensity, however, is controlled by the distance of the object Point light from the illuminated object.
Generally , the 3D Rotate Gizmo is used to set the direction of the light. However, you can precisely adjust the direction of the light with help of the values in X, Y and Z fields in the Direction section.

Position section.

n the Attenuation section you can set the type of attenuation of this light:

  • Constant – constant light attenuation coefficient,
  • Linear – linear light attenuation coefficient,
  • Quadratic – square light attenuation coefficient.

Maximum attenuation of light is reached when entering a value of 2.00 .
If you enter a value of 0 in all the fields, the light will travel in the studio without any attenuation, it will neither be diffused nor weakened with the distance from the source. This will, by removing attenuation, maximize the illumination of this light.
In order to test the performance of these coefficients, you have to make a number of attempts typing different Constant, Linear and Quadratic values, and checking what lighting effects you get in the studio.It is best to start testing at initial values of Constant = 1.0, Linear = 0.5, and Quadratic = 0. Let’s observe how the light affects objects in the studio. The further they are away from the light source, the more light dampening is visible.
Basically the three define an equation describing how the light appears at a distance. An attenuation factor is used for describing how a light’s intensity diminishes over distance.

Spot type of light – a spotlight type. Spot has parameters of color, position in the studio and light direction.
SPOT type of light creates objects’ shadows. The most common use of this light is to illuminate a talent form from above. However, you should remember not to set this light’s position and direction directly above the figure as the talent area is flat. Most often the light is placed a little ahead of the figure and in a proper direction towards the talent’s outline. Then you will get a shadow effect behind the inserted talent. This light should illuminate a group of objects located close to each other, e.g. a desk, a platform and a talent. This type of light should be treated as a single light source illuminating the most important part of the studio, where the main production thread is located.
Light emitted from a spotlight is made up of an inner circle (representing the light source without dampening and adjustable with the INNER value) and an outer circle (the intensity of which is getting increasingly dampened and being regulated with the OUTER value). The light intensity decreases moving from a bright center to a darker outer contour. The light’s color is set as before – with a color wheel. Choose black if you want to turn the light completely off.
Spot light is also represented by a cone object. The cone can be placed anywhere in the studio and pointed in any direction. Therefore, use the 3D Rotate Gizmo to set the direction of the Spot light and the 3D Move Gizmo to adjust its position in the studio.
In addition to setting the spotlight with the 3D Move Gizmo, you can make accurate and precise changes in the light’s position in the studio using the X, Y and Z fields’ values in the Position section. What’s more, you can introduce accurate and precise changes to the direction of light, previously set using the 3D Rotate Gizmo, with the X, Y and Z fields’ values in the Direction section.
In the Cone section, set Outer and Inner values. A value of 150 (expressed in degrees) is the maximum angle of this cone.

If you set the same values in Outer and Inner fields, you get a spotlight cone with circle of a very sharp boundaries. The further the Inner value is away from the Outer value, the fuzzier boundaries the spotlight will have.
Most often, in the studios’ projects you will find already pre-set different types of lights. But it may happen that in the studio’s project prepared in the Wizard, you will have to select and set your own lights as the Default lights have been be selected.

Performance

When you are creating a set design, you can use a measuring instrument that will show current overall performance of the Reckeen system. You can turn this function on with a button in the Studio Editor (see the image below).

or better accuracy of measurement and evaluation, it is suggested to choose an output format in which you intend to work and to connect the appropriate number of inputs.
The evaluation of system performance depends on many factors, i.e. video input, format of files in video and graphic trays, sequences used, enabled DSK layers, etc. Therefore, the indicator provides some approximation of performance evaluation. During the measurement it is suggested to include the largest area of the studio possible in the stage camera’s view, but still as if it was done working on the air.
When this function is activated, the main mixer’s PROGRAM and PREVIEW will be switched for a while, so it shouldn’t be used during live operation. You will be informed about that with a message. If you don’t want to see this message again while launching the function, check an option: Do not show this window again. If you want to see the messages again, in the General / Options settings press a button: Reset pop-up warnings to default state. Picture below.

After you accept the button, a progress bar will appear with its respective colors and percentage of system usage under given conditions. See the description below.
Performance is depend on many factors (not only number of triangles) in objects:

  • Set complexity
  • number of triangles,
  • number of objects,
  • materials,
  • texture resolution.

Performance colors:

  • Green performance (to 70%) counter means that set is properly prepared and optimized. Can be used without any problems.
  • Yellow color (from 70% to 90%) means that set is quite heavy and very rare with very heavy system overloading can produce jerks,
  • Red color (above 90%) means that set is too heavy and should be better optimized or complexity should be reduced.

Shadows

To enable shadows in the studio, first you have to select the first item, [Scene], which covers the main set design’s settings.

You can find “Shadows” position below the objects tree. After checking the function: Enable shadows, additional options for adjusting shadows’ density are displayed

To adjust shadow’s density, use a slider with values ranging from NONE to STRONG.

The first parameter applies to the shadows cast by all the objects in the studio for which Enable shadows option has been checked. The second parameter applies to all the Talent type objects. With a slider, you can set a shadow that is more transparent (NONE) or has higher distinctness (STRONG). The example is shown in the image below.

Shadow parameters for objects will depend on the lights’ settings in the studio, while talent type shadows do not depend on the light settings and are always generated after the Enable Shadows function on a specific Talent type object is checked.
If you are using a ready-made set design, first you select an appropriate Talent type object. If you are creating a new set design, it can be added with ADD button. An appropriate talent thumbnail appears.
The most important thing is to ensure that a contour edge of a field where the talent figure is located was situated just above the floor, under no circumstances penetrating it.

Select the object with a mouse so that it was highlighted in red. The parameters of this object will be displayed on the right side of the screen. Find “Shadows” field.

When you check Enable Shadow option, you enable a shadow for this object.

To set the shadows’ parameters more precisely, it is suggested to set them on a live source. For example, if you select this object, you will notice that this source is set with A mixer, as indicated by the Source index parameter.

Therefore, just set any input from a camera, CAM 1 for example, on the Production module’s mixer.

You will get on the screen a live image from the camera.

Now the live image from the camera should be subjected to a chromatic keying procedure described in the “Keying” section. After setting the key, you can see that the talent figure has been automatically placed and pinned just above the floor.

The first parameter – Size – relates to the radius of the shadow. With the help of the second slider -Shape- you can define the shape of the shadow that is cast.

In the case of non-Talent objects, you select an object so that it becomes highlighted in red.

On the right side, you can now see a Shadow parameter along with Enable Shadow option. With this option you can turn on the shadow for a given object, if the lighting conditions are met, i.e. an appropriate type of light is used, Spot for example.

You can set an appropriate density of the object’s shadow by using the main ([Scene]) parameters.

If you want to use shadows, you have to take into account the fact that they require additional calculations done in the system and, what goes with it, an increased use of graphics memory.
You should enable shadows only for those objects that are clearly visible on the stage and are of particular importance to the final viewer. If there are objects in the set’s background that are barely visible or that do not participate in the main thread of the camera, they do not require shadows. It is not recommended to enable shadows for large objects, i.e. entire large external studio wall, ceiling or floor (such objects do not create shadows in the natural studio environment). For the objects that are not illuminated by any lights, i.e. Direct or Spot ones (as only these types of lights create shadows), there is no need to enable this function. In addition, fully transparent objects also do not create shadows.

It is suggested to pay attention to whether you enable a shadow for an entire group of objects, e.g. for a desk, and not just for one of its legs.

PERFORMANCE function is used for overall evaluation of the scene performance, its description can be found in one of the following parts of the manual.

Scene section

In the Multiview area, in the windows at the top left of the screen, you can display image from cameras or every video signal source and other multimedia files . There are two preview windows on the right side of the production screen:
PREVIEW (caption on the green bar) and PROGRAM (caption on the red bar)

  • PREVIEW – presentation of an item chosen to broadcast next
  • PROGRAM – presentation of a currently broadcasting signal (system output)

Mulitiview view on the production screen for Reckeen 3D Studio.

Shadows – Selecting enabled allows you to turn ON shadows in the studio, both for objects and for talents. For more see chapter “Shadows” below.
The Show Ground Grid function – enabling this feature will result in displaying a grid on the studio floor, which will facilitate objects’ positioning. Grid squares have sides with a length of 100 units, that is 1 meter.
The Show World Axis function – switches on an additional 3D Gizmo for the studio. This 3D Gizmo shows directions in the studio all the while making the orientation easier.

The SkyBox function – it is an additional function for creating objects, a method that enables adding *.dds files to the studio project – that is, typical files simulating the space outside the studio depending on camera angles. This will be the most distant space, often completely outside the studio. You have several types of SkyBoxes at your disposal: ‘Cube’ (default) – *.dds files, ‘Cylinder’ – bitmap files (*.png., *.jpg, *.jpeg,*.bmp) , ‘Sphere’ – (*.png., *.jpg, *.jpeg,*.bmp) and ‘Sphere reflect’ – (*.png., *.jpg, *.jpeg,*.bmp). These files contain a flat image, which can be applied on the SkyBox of a given type, yielding e.g. a three-dimensional view of the sky.

Sky box type: Cube

After loading a Cube type Sky Box, you can set the following image parameters:

  • Movement – this parameter simulates bringing a SkyMap closer to the studio and moving it away. You can observe how the SkyMap moveWhen you are creating a set design, you can use a measuring instrument that will show current overall performance of the Reckeen system. You can turn this function on with a button in the Studio Editor (see the image below).ing the slider on a range from None to Strong.
  • Rotation – by default, values for this parameter are assumed in degrees from 180 degrees to (minus) -179.99 degrees. When the SkyMap file is loaded, this parameter is set to 0. Entering further Rotation values will make the SkyMap rotate on its axis to the right or to the left. If you type in ‘180’, then the SkyMap will turn around and an initial view will be placed exactly behind the camera directed straight ahead towards the studio.
  • Sky box type: Cylinder – space around an observer is created by wrapping a flat image on a cylinder. After loading Cylinder type Sky Box, you can set the following image parameters:
    • Offset – controls the SkyMap’s cylinder shifting up / down in relation to your studio’s floor. Negative values shift it down, positive values up. Values are assumed by default in % and the maximum value is 100%. At 100% your cylinder is shifted up to the top and its bottom edge is at your studio’s floor level. At (minus) -100% the SkyMap’s cylinder is shifted totally downward and its top edge is at the floor level of your studio.
    • Scale – adjust the ‘wrapping’ of the loaded cylinder’s image. Values are assumed by default in %. At 100% the cylinder is wrapped without gaps in the image, the image is 100% filled up. Values above 100% will cause the image wrapped on the cylinder to overlay, while values below 100% will result in creating a gap in the image.
  • Rotation – its default values are set in degrees from 180 degrees to (minus) -179.99 degrees. If the parameter is 0, the camera standing in the studio and pointing straight ahead ‘sees’ the center of the image. By entering the next Rotation value, you will rotate the image on its axis to the right or to the left.

Note: Sides if images to be displayed as panoramas on cylinders should have multiples of 1024 as their lengths in pixels: 1024, 2048, 4096, 8192, 16384
For example: files with resolutions: 8192×2048, 8192×4096, 16384×2048
Files with other resolutions may be displayed in inferior quality or may slow down the system.
In the case of a Cylinder type SkyMap, you have to be careful about reflections in the studio. It may happen that a glossy floor reflects the ‘top’ part of the cylinder, which is, in fact, an empty hole, resulting in the unnatural look of the studio’s floor. It is not a case with Cube, Sphere or Sphere reflect types of Sky Boxes that fill the whole sphere.
Sky box type: Sphere – this type of SkyMap requires .jpg files, but specially prepared. Some cameras can take this kind of panoramic pictures. After loading this file, a full sphere is created around the studio.
When you load a Sphere Sky Box, you can set the same image parameters as with the Cube.
Sky box type: Sphere reflect – just like with the Sphere files, this type of SkyMap requires .jpg files, but specially prepared. You can get such panorama files by using certain cameras or by preparing them by a graphic designer. After loading such file, a full sphere is created around the studio.
After loading the Sphere reflect type Sky Box, you can set the same image parameters as with the Cube.

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