External Devices
This feature is used to control External hardware devices via RS-232. The most common application is to control an external switcher. When a page plays, or is about to play, it can send a serial command to switch the switcher to a desired input. This can be used, for example, to switch between the Optibase MPEG2 digital video playback card, and a live video feed.
To have a page control external devices, go to the External Device tab under Page Details.
Example
One of the most popular uses of external devices is a live camera showing traffic conditions in different parts of an urban centre. Camera A = West; Camera B = South; Camera C = East; Camera D = North. The producer creates a page for each camera and inserts a command string that tells the switcher which camera feed to input.
As each page plays, the viewer sees a different birds-eye view of traffic in different areas of the city.
See Command and Control for more information.