HOW TO: Work with OnTheAir Video and OnTheAir Node "Direct Link"

What is the "Direct Link" ?

The "Direct Link" feature allows you to

• record or stream the signal that is played by OnTheAir Video, OnTheAir Node, OnTheAir CG Server or OnTheAir WebLink 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 our softwares.

 

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. You can read more about the differences between the the "Virtual Output" and the "Direct link".

 

How does it work ?

For the Direct Link to work, you need to be running OnTheAir Video 4 or OnTheAir Node 4 on the same computer as MovieRecorder 4.

• Start OnTheAir Video (or OnTheAir Node)
• Start MovieRecorder
• Start playing in OnTheAir Video or OnTheAir Node. Then:

In MovieRecorder:

• You should see them show up in the list of Sources in MovieRecorder 4:

• Enable the checkbox in front of the source that you want to use
• That's it ! You can use that as any other source in MovieRecorder to either record or stream.

A few things to know

Note that:

• The direct link does not work between different computers, it only works between applications running on the same computer.
• The OnTheAir Video or OnTheAir Node engine must be initialized (i.e. you need to have started playing) to be able to use the direct link and see it as a source in MovieRecorder.
• You can start OnTheAir Video or OnTheAir Node AFTER MovieRecorder, and you should see them showing up in the Sources list of MovieRecorder 3 when you start playing.
• The direct link feature does NOT work with OnTheAir Video Express.
• The direct link feature does work with MovieRecorder in DEMO mode, so you can use a DEMO version to preview the output of OnTheAir Video 4 or OnTheAir Node 4. 

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. You can read more about the differences between the the "Virtual Output" and the "Direct link".