Trans-Lux Fair-Play MP-70 Scoreboard data output into CasparCG

General
1

I have a Trans-Lux Fair-Play MP-70 Scoreboard which has the RS-232 data output feature.
I was wondering how I can get CasparCG to capture that output from the scoreboard and create dynamic overlays of time and score for my live video.

Thanks,
Tony

2

You have several possibilities:

  • Write your own client software. Use any software development system and connect directly to the RS-232. On Caspar’s GitHub page you find documentation how to send data to Caspar.
  • See if SportZCast supports your scoreboard and use this to connect to the scoreboard. That will ease the way to connect to the scoreboard device, but you would still need a custom client to send the data to Caspar. The good thing here is, that you can connect to different brand and type of scoreboards, whitout changeing your client software, as their bot abstracts away the native protocols of the devices.
  • Use ScoreboardOCR. This software let you read the data from the scoreboard (any scoreboard in the world or also other displays) and send it directly to Caspar. No need for a custom client.

What you still need to do is build the graphics template for Caspar. There are a few tutorials for that on YouTube and elsewhere. Use Google to find them.

I personally like ScoreboardOCR very much, as it supports every possible scoreboard or display (I also use it to read a speed measuring device) It needs a little time to set it up, but you can adapt to every scoreboard, that is at the venue, without checking for brand and model beforehand. You just use a spare camera (we sometimes use an old SD camera), point it to the scoreboard and send the video to the software.

3

ScoreboardOCR is the best solution as you point one of your inexpensive cameras at the venue scoreboard.

Identify the numbers to use as variables based on your sport you are covering.

No worry about protocols or liability connecting to scoring system.