HOW TO: Use OnTheAir WebLink with Direct Link

The "Direct Link" developed by Softron allows you to:

• Record or stream the signal that is played by OnTheAir WebLink on another Softron App without the need of a video input device. This can be very useful for Web TVs that need to stream their signal.
• It can also be used just to "preview" the signal that is getting out of OnTheAir WebLink.

To understand the difference between Direct Link and Virtual Output, read that article: 

https://softron.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/218469697-Differences-between-Virtual-Output-and-Direct-Link

Here is a Direct Link example: one of the OnTheAir WebLink output used as a source in another of our software MovieRecorder:

For the Direct Link to work, you need to be running OnTheAir WebLink and MovieRecorder 4 on the same computer (Or OnTheAir Video, or OnTheAir Node).

1. Start OnTheAir WebLink and MovieRecorder.
2. Start playing in OnTheAir WebLink.
3. You should see them show up in the list of Sources in MovieRecorder 4. They will show the name you have set in the titles of each viewer.
4. Enable the checkbox in front of the source that you want to use.
5. That's it ! You can use that as any other source in MovieRecorder to either record or stream.

You can also integrate OnTheAir WebLink with our playout solution, OnTheAir Video. It is a robust automated playout software featuring an advanced scheduler. In addition to automation, it serves as a clip store for live news operations, local broadcasts, and live shows.

Note that: 

• The direct link does not work between different computers, it only works between applications running on the same computer.
• The OnTheAir WebLink engine must be initialized to be able to use the direct link and see it as a source in MovieRecorder.
• You can start OnTheAir WebLink after MovieRecorder, and you should see them showing up in the Sources list of MovieRecorder when you start playing.

Again, the "Direct Link" should not be confused with the "Virtual output", which is a kind of virtual playback device when you don't want to use a "real" video output.