RedCast Client Seems to show no changes when updating Config

General
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1

Hello CasparCG users!
I work at a company which streams financial news on youtube and we are in the middle of changing from a radio style production to more of a tv channel.
I have replaced our old BSI Simian system with CasparCG utilizing RedCast as our automation/playout client.
our system is set up as follows:
Windows 7 PC hosting server and client > HDMI out to a Aja HA5 >SDI in to Tricaster 410
Eventually i would like to get it set up where we are encoding via the client but at the moment we are still testing the client just to play spots and bumpers.

I have a few questions and several concerns with the way redcast handles the content and im hoping someone here can help or guide me to a better client.

  1. any changes i make to the config file seem to show no results at all.
    (what i want is to output minimum 720p at 29.97 NTSC using screen consumer, non windowed. what i get is PAL interlaced [no idea the res and fps] and screen consumer is still windowed. Below is my complete config file…)

  2. videos sometimes drag and then get cut off before they are finished. (this could very well be a bad internal clock but that wouldnt explain why it cuts off the end of the spot.)

  3. RedCast is quite primitive when it comes to log updates and i would like something that has batch edit capabilities. Primarily because we play the same log every day and dont want to have to tediously change the date on every time start in the playlist. Im looking at Simple Video Playout but i dont really understand how to set it up so if theres a post or video that goes step by step that would be helpful.

(if anyone can show me how to display my config data in the post that would be very helpful. otherwise Here is a download link for my file)

Config Code:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<configuration>
  <paths>
    <media-path>c:/casparcg/_media\</media-path>
    <log-path>log\</log-path>
    <data-path>data\</data-path>
    <template-path>c:/casparcg\</template-path>
    <thumbnails-path>thumbnails\</thumbnails-path>
  </paths>
<channels>
    <channel>
        <video-mode>1080p2997</video-mode>
        <channel-layout>stereo</channel-layout>
        <straight-alpha-output>false</straight-alpha-output>
        <consumers>
            <screen>
                <device>2</device>
                <aspect-ratio>16:9</aspect-ratio>
                <stretch>uniform</stretch>
                <windowed>false</windowed>
                <key-only>false</key-only>
                <auto-deinterlace>false</auto-deinterlace>
                <vsync>false</vsync>
                <name>Screen Consumer</name>
                <borderless>true</borderless>
            </screen>
            <newtek-ivga>
              <channel-layout>stereo</channel-layout>
              <provide-sync>true</provide-sync>
            </newtek-ivga>
        </consumers>
    </channel>
</channels>
  <controllers>
    <tcp>
        <port>5250</port>
        <protocol>AMCP</protocol>
    </tcp>
  </controllers>
<osc>
  <default-port>6250</default-port>
  <predefined-clients>

    <predefined-client>
      <address>127.0.0.1</address>
      <port>6251</port>
    </predefined-client>
</predefined-clients>
</osc> 
</configuration>
3

I’m using RedCast OnTime for about a year now, so if you have any doubts I’m eager to help.

A couple of questions, though.

  • Which version of RedCast are you using: W (the older one) or OnTime (most recent)?
  • Which casparcg.config file are you editing? Is it the one inside the server folder within your RedCast installation or is it located somewhere else?
1 Like
4

I am using RedCast OnTime.
I unziped the download from cast.red
go into the enclosed server file: C:\Program Downloads\RedCastOnTime\RedCastOnTime\server
modify the config file as you see above,
when i run the program with this config file setup it still creates a windowed pal consumer.
a reddit user recomended i just do the following…

2 false

with either settings it still boots up with a windowed PAL screen consumer.
the only way i get it to show the full screen consumer is when i modify the config file after redcast is already running and then run the casparcg_auto_restart.

in that case no video actually plays in the new consumer, it only plays in the windowed pal consumer which remains open after running the auto restart. could this be a hardware issue? maybe i need a better graphics card?

5

I’d like you to try something. First edit your config as you need, then start the server as standalone and see if your changes are working.

After that, then, run RedCast. It will detect your running server, connect to it, and ready to play.

1 Like
6

That was it! Thank you so much. I am testing this today but so far no issues. thanks again!

7

Hi,
I’m new to Redcast Ontime. Is it reliable enought to be used into production? It seems that it doesn’t detect transparency of LOGO PNG files. Any idea?

8

AFAIK it plays a TV channel here in Switzerland 24/7. So I think it is (but I never tried it myself).

9

I’ve been using it for a couple of years now and it works fine. It has a few quirks, but nonetheless it works just fine.

I’d recommend you to use a Server version from the NRK fork in conjunction with @rrebuffo’s CasparLauncher to have a better control of the servers functionality.

If you have any questions, I’m here to help.