This page explains what kind of program Ultimate Playout is, and how it differs from the streaming software you may already know. It follows a show from preparation to broadcast, so that the terms on the following pages are familiar when you meet them. You do not need to change any settings while you read it.
In one sentence
Ultimate Playout is a playout program that works from a rundown: you prepare the complete service or programme in advance as a list, and during the broadcast you press GO.
Why that is different
Classic streaming software is designed for live switching. You click scenes while the broadcast is running, which means that the operator has to remember the whole show. That works for a simple programme, but it becomes difficult when twenty items follow one another and one volunteer operates the desk.
Ultimate Playout works the other way round. Before the broadcast, you build a cue list in which each line is one item that goes on screen. Each line has its own start and end point, volume and transition, and its own instruction for what happens next. During the broadcast, the list shows what is on air (red), what is armed and ready (green), and what follows, and you operate the whole show with one button.
The advantage is that the difficult work moves to a moment when mistakes do no harm. You find a missing file, a clip that is four seconds too long or a wrong transition while you build the list, and not in front of three hundred viewers.
What a show looks like
A show always follows the same five steps:
- Prepare. Drag your video, audio and stills into the list. Put them in order, trim what is too long, and set what follows what.
- Save. The list is a file, so next week you can open it, replace three items and be ready again.
- Arm. The first cue turns green. Nothing is on air yet.
- GO. The green cue goes on air and turns red, and the next cue turns green automatically.
- Repeat. Cues that must follow one another do so automatically, so you only act at the points where the list waits for you.
While the show runs, the colours in the list show you where you are:
What you do not see
The program has no scene list, no mixer and no menu bar. It shows only the playout interface, with your own name, logo and icon, and this includes the Windows taskbar. As a result, the operator cannot end up in a screen that is unrelated to the show.
What it is built from
Ultimate Playout consists of a base program and modules. The base program provides the cue list, media, stills, scenes, web pages, playouts, outputs, streaming, recording, audio and remote control. Modules add further subjects, and each module has its own part of this manual.
What is not installed does not appear in the interface. A module that is switched off does not leave a greyed-out button or an unusable menu item behind. So if a button from a module’s part of the manual is missing in your copy, the module is not installed or not switched on, and you can check this under Settings → Modules.