Merging Technologies announces Ovation, its new cue-triggering software for use in theater and live broadcast studio productions. Ovation is a PC-based system for triggering performance video and audio, as well as stage automation data and MIDI events.
Ovation is an add-on software option for any Pyramix system (from a Native system upward) and comprises several software modules, including Cue Editors, Cue Sequencers and Cue Players, which can be used to supply performance cues and automation data. Ovation can be used across several machines on a network, similar to Merging’s Pyramix or VCube systems.
Cues can comprise anything from simple audio files to video projects with embedded audio or complex automation events, and the cues themselves may be located on other Pyramix or VCube systems on the same network, reducing the playback load on the machine responsible for sequencing the Cues. Ovation’s Cue Sequencer and Cue Player modules can run on different machines on a network, so that a timeline can be sequenced on one networked PC while the Cue Player module is being used for rehearsals on another.
Most current video, audio and MIDI file formats are supported, including the native Pyramix audio format PMF, Broadcast WAV (BWF) and AIFF, as well as video in AVI, QuickTime or Material eXchange Format (MXF). More complex material containing video and/or audio may also be imported via industry-standard XML, AAF and OMF project formats. Finally, Ovation is compatible with the MIDI Show Control (MSC) protocol, allowing easy integration with existing venue or studio control technology.
Audio from Ovation is output on any of 128 channels, which can be freely routed via a software matrix to the system’s outputs. As with Pyramix, a variety of audio output options are available for Ovation systems, including ADAT, AES/EBU and MADI, and Merging also promises MIDI and general-purpose output (GPO) options.
For more information, visit www.merging.com.
