ClassX Applications v8.4

ClassX Broadcast Applications Version 8.4

Find out about the 10 new features of ClassX Broadcast Applications 8.4, presented for the first time at out ClassX Broadcast Meeting (CMB24) of June 14th, 2024. Remember, if your CMA is active, the version update and the license upgrade are included so access your Dashboard account!

1) GUI improvements

ClassX has software solutions for LIVE broadcast graphics purpose and our intent is to offer logical and intuitive GUIs for all ClassX Applications. Version 8.4 comes with a new Look and Feel. Moreover, the GPU-accelerated preview panels of the LiveBoard Application allow even older workstations to bear the workload of rendering several contemporary live panels in the GUI of LiveBoard. This optimized upgrade allows to exploit your hardware at best.

2) New Data Source Manager features

The ClassX Data Source Manager now can be set to automatically update the data sources and you can set the timing in milliseconds on how frequently this should happen. Moreover, there is a new csv editor, an intuitive editing tool made directly accessible from the LiveBoard graphic user interface for quick and simplified editing and saving.

3) The new TextRoller plugin

Our users will be very happy to know that we have implemented the new Text Roller, a brand new LiveBoard plugin. This TextRoller will make it easier to our users to create a vertical roll.
The RTF WYSIWYG editor from inside LiveBoard editor is a very simplified one and you are able now to use different colours, fonts, text sizes and even use emoticons.

4) New Layout Feature

CastaliaCG Template Editor has been enriched with this is very interesting feature, useful for instance for shopping and news channels and generally for anyone who needs to create a dynamic layout: vertical or horizontal, different text boxes adapt not only to the changing number of text lines inside the boxes but also the boxes align among themselves. The result is that you have a vertical or horizontal multiple-boxes layout that automatically adapts to the text that you are feeding it from an external data-source. This is also accessible from protocol with new LBC protocol commands.

5) New Video Input: Media Engine

As our users know by now, we have different types of cool Video Inputs that you can use in LiveBoard. You may directly set up and manage 10 Video Inputs; available Video Inputs so fare were SDI, NDI, LibVLC, SPOUT, Chromium, DirectShow, Colorbars and Dummy.
The new Media Engine Video Input allows to control a media meticulously: play, stop, pause, markIN, markOut and seek the video and play at command, whenever it is necessary. Use this as a Video Input instead of a clip or media inside LiveBoard, when you need to control it LIVE.

6) Enhanced Green Screen

The internal software Chroma Keyer of LiveBoard allows you to "key away" any colour picked inside a Video Input, whether it be SDI, NDI or the other ones that we have available, among them also the Media Engine.
After the colour picking you have four parameters that can be fine tuned with the according sliders: Level, Hardness, Despill and Smoothnes.
For users who need/want to use External Keyers, LiveBoard now can take in fill + key streams and will merge them into one SDI Video Input with transparency.

7) Depth of field (DOF)

CoralXR feature: If you ever wanted to make a scene that has a certain depth and you were missing something, probably it was depth of field feature in your engine. Now, the ClassX render engine of the 3D environment has DOF which can be directly connected to the focus distance of the real camera through the encoder (or set manually if you will). Your 3D scene will have the same focus area as the F-Stop feature of your camera (please set it) and you'll be able to visualize the focus plane with the blue/red coloured setting feature.

8) Screen Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO)

CoralXR feature: This feature allows to add occlusions calculated frame by frame so it is dynamic and not baked. The result is a much better especially since you could want to objects to move!
The final render gets a feel of higher-resolution, is more three-dimensional and is a wonderful aid to help our dynamic shadows to create the right illusion of light/shadow effect.

9) FOG feature

CoralXR feature: Whether you are re-creating a closed space like a smoky bar or you're simulating an outside environment, if you need to make the air less transparent, you'll simply add the FOG feature to the Engine tab. This will add very much realism to the scenes, helping to separate better the background from the foreground.
Of course the position, colour and the density of the fog can all be defined while creating the scene in CoralXR.

10) Texture Atlas

CoralXR feature: whenever you need to add some very dynamic contributions and textures, maybe for elections or sports results, sometimes the many different video contributions can make the rendered scene too heavy. Texture Atlas offers the opportunity to texture parts of the video and make composed video contributions. You can actually tile them up inside the different spaces where you need them and just use that little portion of your video as a texture.

Texture Atlas will be your new friend for the data driven information that you will play out using CoralXR.