HOW TO: Control a video router with OnTheAir Video

!! IMPORTANT NOTES - Read me:

• This feature requires "Actions", which are only available in OnTheAir Video, not in OnTheAir Video Express.
• This article pertains to OnTheAir Video 4.1 or earlier. With OnTheAir Video 4.2, we introduce new actions where AppleScripts are not needed anymore, thus it is much more efficient. If you are using version 4.2 or later, check this article.
• The compatible routers for this feature are Blackmagic Videohub and Ross Ultrix. For other routers, you can still use OnTheAir Switch, check compatibility here. Or Alternatively, you can use a curl request to control routers such as the AJA Kumo (sample AppleScript attached).

How to set it up?

There is no preference to add in OnTheAir Video, but just add an Action (AppleScript) to the "Actions" folder of OnTheAir Video.

If you are using the "single" version of OnTheAir Video, the Actions folder is located in:

/Library/Application Support/Softron/OnTheAir Video/OnTheAir Video/Actions/

If you are using the "Multi" version, then it will be in each instance folder:

/Library/Application Support/Softron/OnTheAir Video/OnTheAir Video 1/Actions/
/Library/Application Support/Softron/OnTheAir Video/OnTheAir Video 2/Actions/
/Library/Application Support/Softron/OnTheAir Video/OnTheAir Video 3/Actions/
...

How to use the script alone or test it?

The examples below are to be used as "Actions" in MovieRecorder or OnTheAir Video. But If you want to use the AppleScript from another application, or test them alone, you will need to remove the first (on Action(parameter)) and last (end Action) lines.

Sample Actions

Attached to this article are 2 sample actions that you can use.

Note that the examples here are for the "single" version of OnTheAir Video. If you are using the "Multi" version, you will need to change the scripts to tell "OnTheAir Video 1", or tell "OnTheAir Video 2", etc...

Blackmagic Videohub

There are 2 different syntaxes possible. You can use one or the other.

Using "switch Videohub" method

The simplest method is to do a "switch videohub". You can use either the IP address, the name or the unique id of the Videohub.

Using its IP address it will be:

on Action(parameter)
  tell application "OnTheAir Video"
    switch videohub ip_address "192.168.0.70" output_index 1 input_index 1 directly 1
  end tell
end Action

Note that the "directly 1" instruction at the end of the line allows you to set wether the communication to the Videohub will require Bonjour or not. When setting it to 0, we will scan through the available Videohubs that we find in Bonjour, and find the one with the matching IP address. While when setting it to 1, we don't use Bonjour, and just connect to that IP address.

With the name:

on Action(parameter)
  tell application "OnTheAir Video"
    switch videohub name "Studio Videohub 12" output_index 1 input_index 1
  end tell
end Action

And with the unique ID:

on Action(parameter)
  tell application "OnTheAir Video"
    switch videohub unique_id "8371c4cc399b" output_index 1 input_index 1
  end tell
end Action

Using the set selected input method 

(This method is available in OnTheAir Video 4.1.6 or later - previous versions of OnTheAir Video had another syntax using input and output instead of source and destination. We had to change because of incompatibility reasons). Here is an example of script that can be used to control a Videohub. If you only have one Videohub, you could use:

on Action(parameter)
  tell application "OnTheAir Video"
    tell (first videohub device)
      set selected source of destination 3 to 4
    end tell
  end tell
end Action

There is nothing to do in OnTheAir Video as it will automatically scan the network to discover a Videohub through Bonjour. So in the example above, we will search for the first available Videohub and use it.

You could change the script to only use a Videohub with a specific IP address.

on Action(parameter)
  tell application "OnTheAir Video"
    tell (first videohub device whose ip_address is "192.168.0.70")
      set selected source of destination 3 to 4
    end tell
  end tell
end Action

Or using its name:

on Action(parameter)
   tell application "OnTheAir Video"
     tell (first videohub device whose name is "Studio Videohub")
       set selected source of destination 3 to 4
     end tell
   end tell
end Action

 

Ross

With Ross, there are two different protocols available, depending on what your router supports.

• RossTalk is the most widely compatible one. But there is a caveat with it: we can't receive the information wether the switch was done or not, so we just send it out and have no knowledge if it was received or not and wether the switch happened.
• ProBel (or "SWP-08") is compatible only on some routers, check with Ross to know if your router supports it. The advantage is that if there is an issue to send the command or that the switch did not happen, we will receive a notification and add a log. But the protocol is a bit tedious as we don't receive a confirmation from the protocol itself that the switch happened, we have to verify the status of the destinations we change before and after the change, so this can potentially lead to incoherences.
• GVG protocol is compatible only on some routers, check with Ross to know if your router supports it. It also requires you to change settings on your Ultrix. (See below.) This is the one that will give you the most feedback and stability as it includes a mechanism to confirm that switch did indeed happen. 

Using the GVG protocol (OnTheAir Video 4.1.7 or later)

Before you can use that protocol, you need to changea settings in your Ultrix. Click on "Options" in the Protocol Servers pane:

Then for the GVG Native protocol, set L4 Echo to "Yes":

Once this is setup, below is a sample AppleScript action. You just need to indicate the IP address of the Ross video router. And then specify the source and destination.

on Action(parameter)
    tell application "OnTheAir Video"
        switch gvg_native ip_address "192.168.0.84" destination 1 source 5
    end tell
end Action

Using the ProBel protocol (OnTheAir Video 4.1 or later)

You just need to indicate the IP address of the Ross video router. And then specify:

• the matrix and level to use
• the source and destination

on Action(parameter)
    tell application "OnTheAir Video"
        switch probel ip_address "192.168.0.84" matrix 1 level 1 destination 1 source 7
    end tell
end Action

Using the RossTalk protocol (OnTheAir Video 4 or later)

You just need to indicate the IP address of the Ross video router. And then specify which "command" (which GPI) you want it to execute. Check your Ross manual to know how to modify those GPI.

on Action(parameter)
    tell application "OnTheAir Video"
        switch rosstalk ip_address "192.168.0.84" command "GPI 04"
    end tell
end Action