Production Switchers

On page 48 of the Graphite Operation Manual, it describes three choices for the Audio channel layout. The options are written as follows:

Click the Audio Source button and click the stream pair that you want to use.
• Stereo — select the stereo pair that you want to use.
• Mono Left — The left channel audio is put on both the left and right channels.
• Mono Right — The right channel audio is put on both the left and right channels

At our TV station we could greatly benefit from a 4th option, "Mono Sum", which I would best describe as "The left and right input audio channels are summed together so the input's left channel is put on both output audio channels, and the input's right channel is put on both audio channels also."

The button label showing the left & right output mapping would read something like "1+2 - 1+2"

If this is possible, that would be really a huge help to us. Thanks!

The Audio Mixer is not able to do Audio Sums for stereo channels.

You would need to make 2 separate Faders for each channel in Mono Mode.

If you are planning to do a final output of MONO from a Stereo set of mixes then the Rave Audio Breakout Units are able to do Mono Sum on the Analog Outputs.

Les

Hi Les,

Thanks for the reply. I suppose this means the hardware is not designed to do this, and this wouldn't be coming in a future software update ever?

Another technical support tech mentioned some months ago that two assignable mono faders method, but I figured I'd see if doing it a simpler way would be possible. Having two faders has a downside of needing to track two different faders...

Thanks for sharing your thoughts

Essentially you need the two faders to get the Audio into both sides of the mixer......You're Fader count would cut in half if there was a "Sum" mode or option since the Faders/Mixers still need to create that same result.

Maybe you can describe in more detail what you are trying to do and what you are trying to achieve?

If the concern is the single fader vs two faders -- Well Fader linking is one of the items on the roadmap that is a "software" thing and one of those things that the team will get to at some point.

It is also possible to make a DashBoard Custom Panel where you can Link Faders to Follow other Faders.  As long as that custom Panel is open in the background then you will have them follow along.

For example, if we have a live shot of a reporter on-scene broadcasting with Graphite, the left channel might contain their audio track and the right channel could be a bed of nats sound (to be used to assist editors in re-editing the package later), Or, in the case two interviewees are on-camera holding two microphones, one microphone might be plugged into one channel, and the other mic into the other channel.

In our automated Overdrive environment, we have our audio routing workflow setup on our mixer to sum these two mono channels during broadcast into one stereo pair as previously described. If performing an interview in Graphite, and a situation like this is present, the resulting SDI Program output has audio that is only feeding one of two stereo channels and this is an issue we would like to prevent from happening.

If we could gang the faders together in software, that would help for sure. But, I think ideally just choosing a 1+2, 1+2 option in the audio settings would be nice. The DashBoard Custom Panel idea is also interesting, I can see if I can find out how to do that and see how well it works.

The 1+2 is not an option.  There is no Pre Fader Mixing ability.  My statement was about the concept of that would cut the faders in half as they would have to be used by software to create the same result of a Mono Sum.

In the OverDrive Template in the Graphite Room why not add the extra faders from the source?

If you do this with Audio Follow Video then you can add multiple Faders to use the same source for that AFV.  As for the Mic scenario...Well separate faders is usually helpful is it not since people tend to talk at different levels and you can use that to adjust them independently?

Les

Well, I only mentioned Overdrive in reference to the fact we have two independent production environments, one using Overdrive for regular broadcasts, and one using Graphite for streaming and other needs. Graphite is fed with raw feed sources only, and we wouldn't send the audio from one environment into the other so that we can retain independence.

I will discuss with the rest of the staff what they think about these ideas. Sometimes we would want separate faders, but I think the general usage for most scenarios would be to mono sum the source into one fader.

If 1+2 is not an option, and will never be an option, that's an answer to the question regardless, and we can turn our attention to other ideas for solving this workflow need. It will just take some additional time to re-work our custom faders and revise our DashBoard layouts use them.

Ah...Okay.  I thought you had OverDrive running on the graphite room as well.  That would have made it easier :(.

If it is all manual then I think we look at making a DashBoard Custom Panel where we Link the faders.....We could even add some Buttons to be "On/Off" Link enables.....

We should try to set something up when you are able to sit down with the Graphite and do a Teams/Zoom or which ever flavour your preferential to.  Just email me at loreilly at rossvideo dot com  when you have some times we can try to work with.

Les

Hi Les,

Thanks for the suggestion. I would be curious to see how the fader linking works. Wednesday of next week would be a good time to do a remote session.

I appreciate the help/ideas.

My Wed is filled up.....I have time on Tuesday or Thursday...

Send me an email so that I can setup a Teams call/meeting with you.

loreilly@rossvideo.com