Live Inputs

Live Video inputs will show up in the Sources tab. 

Most laptops have a webcam, so on laptops this is usually the first option. Also any USB webcams you have connected will show up automagically.

To use a live input, simply drag it from the list on an empty clip slot. It will become a clip that you can trigger and eject. Like regular clips,  you can change its properties, apply effects on it, and composite it with other layers.

Audio capture is not supported currently.

Capture Devices

To go beyond the basics of a webcam, you can use a capture device. Capture devices come in all shapes and sizes. Some are external boxes that connect via USB or Thunderbolt, some need to be built in to your computer.

A capture device will take a regular video cable like HDMI, SDI or composite, and convert it to pixels that Resolume can use. You can connect a proper broadcast camera via SDI to the capture device. Then you can use the input in Resolume to make PIPs or further process the image.

Of course you can also connect a computer's output via HDMI, and use it to display another VJs output, or a speaker's Powerpoint presentation.

On a Mac, video capture runs via AV Foundation. On a PC, we use DirectShow. This means that if your capture device with simple capture applications like Quicktime X, OBS or Skype, it's likely to work in Resolume.

Native Capture Support

Aside from using the system capture system, Resolume also has native support for a few brands of capture devices. This means you get maximum quality with minimal latency.

Native support means that Resolume gets the image directly from the device. It does not have to be processed by your computer's CPU first. Skipping this step means that the delay between input and output is a low as possible.

How low latency is low latency? That depends on the resolution, framerate, the connection type, the device and your computer hardware. For devices connected via PCIe or Thunderbolt, you can expect something in 60ms-100ms range on 1080p60. For USB3.0 devices, 80ms-120ms is a good ballpark figure.

Tip! Zero latency is a pipe dream. You will get the lowest latency by connecting your camera straight to the display device. Even then, your display hardware will introduce a little bit of latency. 

We support capture devices from

  • Blackmagic
  • Datapath
  • AJA

Native support means that you can use multiple devices at the same time. If the device supports multiple inputs, you can use all those inputs at the same time.

If your device supports it, Resolume will autodetect the connection, resolution, color space and framerate it's currently using.

If your device does not support autodetect, you will need to enter these things manually. Keep in mind that this is an exact science, and when your capture settings don't exactly match your source settings, your capture device is not going to do much.

Additional Settings

Every card will have specific options for that card. Resolume will try to set these automatically wherever possible. 

Some options are not automatic and are up to personal choice. All interlaced sources can be de-interlaced to fix jaggies. 

Blackmagic and AJA cards will let you specify the Color Space and Range for the input, which helps with guest VJs that don't know how to set their HDMI black level correctly.

AJA will let you decide the source of its genlock sync, and even how many frames it should keep buffered.

Troubleshooting

Native support does not mean we can magically make a capture device do things that it can't.

When having problems with a device, the first thing to check is whether the manufacturer's own software can correctly see the input. If it does not show up there, you are most likely sending an unsupported video signal. 

For instance, Blackmagic expects broadcast specification signals, and if your source is not sending exactly the correct resolution and framerate, it might ignore it altogether. 

Only one application at a time can access a capture device, so, make sure you turn off all other software that might access a device, before trying your feed in Resolume.

Magewell

Magewell is a Chinese company that makes very popular capture devices, and they work in Resolume via DirectShow on PC or AVFoundation on Mac.

We'd love to add native support for Magewell devices. Unfortunately, Magewell does not have a single SDK that works on all their devices, and we cannot add native support until they do.

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