Some of the most compelling, sharable moments in a live program take place outside of the studio. Having them makes your production look better, your audience gets greater perspective, and you gain more credibility.
It used to take a lot of coordination, expense, and equipment to capture these conversations live with satellite feeds or microwave relays-or else it took piecing together a homegrown, desktop chat solution that left everyone wondering whether the call would hold up.
Be ready for a live shot with anyone-around the world, anytime-directly from your studio or live production.
NewTek TalkShow VS-100 is the studio-grade solution to immediately add live interviews, perspective, credibility, and distinct competitive advantage to your program by easily incorporating 300 million monthly connected Skype users as guest speakers without the expense and effort of a live shot. Any video-enabled Skype user is just a call away.
PRODUCTION
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With in-studio control of full-frame Skype video optimized for your workflow, along with picture adjustment, audio enhancement and no interruptions from other callers, the NewTek TalkShow system takes up just 1RU and sends a pre-enhanced Skype call directly into the production switcher over SDI
REMOTE SITE
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Remote callers—anyone using the free Skype software on a laptop, desktop, mobile device, video conference system, even a smart TV or Xbox game console with Skype installed—can interact with you over IP from wherever the action is, without elaborate gear required or intimidating equipment in their faces. And without anyone having to coordinate travel, studio time, and a satellite feed to make it happen.
ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD
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Add the 300 million current active Skype participants, growing all the time (and expandable to anyone online who can download the free app), and you’ll always have immediate access to fresh, global, authoritative content—and immediately engage the right expert from around the world, anytime.
The Talkshow advantage
The innovative reputation we’ve earned for delivering the most-complete multi-camera production systems on the planet now extends to TalkShow, enabling television studios and live event producers everywhere to reach millions of monthly connected Skype users.
- TalkShow eliminates extraneous field equipment and costs, removing the requirement for a remote ENG client or field unit in order to send a live feed back to the studio; commonly available consumer Skype software is all the guest or remote correspondent requires.
- With NewTek TalkShow, Skype video calls are augmented with our renowned image processing system—based on the same powerful graphics engine utilized in our TriCaster and 3Play production solutions—to provide video enhancements over common Skype calls.
- No additional bolt-on networking appliances are required to route calls into a live program; TalkShow is compatible with any in-house Ethernet network with 1.2 Mbps bandwidth for High Definition calling and plugs directly into any HD-SDI production switcher, giving full control of call, video, and audio to the in-studio operator.
- In NewTek TriCaster or 3Play environments, the hardware connection is not even required—calls can be routed from TalkShow into one of the network inputs of TriCaster or 3Play, reserving the SDI connection for other production sources.
Why NewTek?
Since its founding in 1986, NewTek has been a driving force behind the current global broadcast transformation, enabling people everywhere to create network-style television content and share it with the world. For decades, we’ve focused on building integrated video production systems that make it possible for producers to reduce equipment purchases and centralize the control of live programs into small crews, smaller budgets, and higher quality content.
The production switcher is the heart of every live broadcast—and it is also the centerpiece of NewTek’s industry leading TriCaster family of products. Every video source, director’s decision, preview, transmission, playout or recording flows to or from a production switcher.
Live video interviews over Skype are no exception. Every Skype call sent to air in a production must pass through a switcher, and program video back to remote Skype callers will also originate within a switcher. NewTek's leadership in live production and developing integrated production systems make us an ideal partner to integrate Microsoft Skype TX within TalkShow and to enhance the system’s overall capabilities by adding a set of unique live production tools.
By making it easy to have a face-to-face conversation with anyone in the world you can reach online, TalkShow lets you:
GAIN
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IMMEDIATE ACCESS TO FRESH, GLOBAL, AUTHORITATIVE CONTENT
- Be first to report on an issue by bringing in someone live directly from the scene.
- Engage the right expert for your topic, from around the world, anytime.
- Add anyone who has Skype—or anyone who can download the client—to your guest roster.
SAVE
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ON UPLINK AND LIVE SHOT COSTS
- Overcome budget, logistic, and staffing issues usually associated with acquiring guest appearances.
- Send in live reports from remote correspondents without using expensive trucks and satellite time.
- Make a small production global by providing broader coverage from in-house.
IMPROVE
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DESKTOP VIDEO CALLS WITH A RICHER, ENCHANCED PICTURE
- Add behind-the scenes technical quality control to call audio and video, just like any in-studio production source.
- Avoid the conversion loss, aspect-ratio squashing, and video artifacts of using desktop video with scan converters.
- Look more professional than typical video-call interviews.
MAXIMIZE
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CONFIDENCE, SO YOU CAN FOCUS ON GREAT INTERVIEWS NOT DISTRACTIONS
- Avoid risk of consumer-technology glitches, call interruptions, or computer crashes.
- Reduce the risks of mixing personal communication applications with professional systems.
- Remove the unexpected interruptions of conventional software, OS, firewall, and IT policies that make it inconvenient to air video calls from traditional laptops and computer screens.
Go live to the field or to anyone in the world you can reach online, immediately—with the easiest, highest-quality solution for delivering live video calls in broadcast-ready HD.
Essentials
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Broadcast-style video from regular Skype calls
With automatic aspect ratio conversions and balanced audio, and without requiring a scan converter. |
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Optimized on-air video NewTek’s proprietary, real-time video processing engine incorporates superb scaling, format conversion, aspect, and color correction routines; limit return video resolution in order to prioritize quality of incoming call video. |
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Built-in video quality checks Failover to custom, still image when unforeseen bandwidth constraints occur below operator-defined preset value. |
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SDI I/O Output a live video call to any production switcher and input from router or any production source to send a return image back to remote caller over IP. |
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Multiple Skype calls Add TalkShow units and manage all within a single, user-friendly interface. |
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Access to anyone with a Skype Account ...and to anyone else who downloads and signs up for the standard desktop client. |
Looking at other Skype TX solutions? Look no further. Only TalkShow gives you complete control of the entire video calling workflow—before, during, and even after the show.
TalkShow exclusive advantages
Setup
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TriCaster Integration Save those SDI I/Os. Direct network integration via NewTek’s AirSend™ technology allows a TalkShow unit to supply a video call to TriCaster, and receive a return signal from TriCaster, without using SDI hardware connections, but using Ethernet instead. TriCaster will also send a tally notification downstream to TalkShow to indicate when a Skype call is on air. Small and Simple Why take up precious space? Each TalkShow unit is only 1RU of rack space—giving you more room to add more calls. Integrate easily in single or multi-unit installation, with easy access to front and rear USB ports for unmatched accessibility to control devices and storage connections in any production environment. |
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SDI Embedded Audio Reduce complex cabling and keep installation simple. TalkShow is the only Skype TX solution to fully support embedded SDI audio on input and output, reducing cabling requirements and providing added flexibility for integration into established workflows. |
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Better Return Sound With TalkShow’s exclusive support for four channels of audio on input for signals coming into the system over the network or SDI, and either front or back pair selectable, operators can have more than one audio feed—such as mix-minus—available for use as the return audio back to the caller. |
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Audio over IP You heard right. With fully integrated Dante™ audio support, TalkShow interfaces with other audio devices utilizing the Dante networking protocol from Audinate®. In addition to sending and receiving audio over the network, and versatile audio source selection, TalkShow supports extensive management of network audio signals, including gain, equalization, compression, metering, and more. |
On-Air
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Talk Back Communicate off-air with the Skype caller directly, with a headset and the click of a button. With TalkShow’s talk back function, operators, producers, or directors can speak with the caller as easily as they do with in-studio talent and crew, and prepare the caller, provide instructions, and relay additional information before they go to air. |
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Color Correction Outside the controlled studio environment, when lighting conditions or color characteristics are less than ideal, easily compensate with TalkShow. It’s the only solution to include NewTek’s fully configurable proc amp settings and auto color correction, so picture characteristics can be optimized dynamically in real-time—without requiring monitoring. Remote callers’ video can be all over the place, but you can make sure your viewers see a professional presentation. |
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Preview Monitoring The promise of full-motion Skype calls should pay off with full-motion previews, so operators know exactly how the call is proceeding. Where other solutions may make you rely on video previews with a frame rate of approximately 5 frames per second, TalkShow supports full-motion, high-quality video previews for real-time monitoring of input and output signals. |
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Tally Support Always know who’s talking. TalkShow is the only Skype TX solution to support a tally overlay visual for return to callers, indicating when they are on air. The tally overlay is customizable, allowing for a show logo or graphic of choice—not only to let callers know when their conversation is live, but to provide for additional branding opportunities for your program as well. |
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Built-In Video Screen with Tally TalkShow operators can view a full-color preview via the video screen built into the faceplate for instant recognition of the caller currently connected to that system, with tally support to indicate whether the caller is live or on standby—quick and easy verification of which TalkShow system is on air in a multi-system installation. |
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Professional Audio Tools Incoming and outgoing audio signals are fully configurable, with gain control, compressor/limiter, and 7-band equalizer on inputs and outputs to enhance sound quality, adjust levels for consistency, and prevent clipping or overdriving. TalkShow also includes VU meter displays that are configurable in all common professional audio scales, including dBFS, dBU, and dBVU, for accurate, real-time audio monitoring. |
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Minimal Latency TalkShow is optimized to provide the lowest latency when integrated into and genlocked within broadcast environments. |
Post Show
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Record and re-use TalkShow enables full-bandwidth recording of any call onto external USB 3.0 or SAN storage with the click of a button—so you can capture the call while it’s happening, and use it in a later broadcast or a whole new program. Calls are saved as distinct QuickTime files that work with every major non-linear editor and all other NewTek systems for archive, postproduction, and playback. |
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Better audio for post TalkShow allows for the input audio to pass through to the back channels on output, so that calls captured using the built-in call recording (or recorded externally) will include the audio from both the remote caller and the return signal in separated channels within a single file for subsequent use. All TalkShow audio is processed in floating point at 96kHz. |
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System Restore TalkShow has a comprehensive restore function that allows the operator to undo system changes by returning to the factory default settings at any time. |
Elevate the conversation
Other video calling production systems just pass a studio-grade Skype call through to a switcher. With TalkShow, you can make every call higher quality, more efficient, and more like network TV along the way—and it will continue to work harder for you, even when the show is over. Because only TalkShow allows complete control of the entire video calling workflow—before, during, and after the call.
| Hardware Video Input | 1 x HD-SDI with embedded audio |
| Hardware Video Output | 1 x HD-SDI with embedded audio |
| Hardware Audio Input | 1 x embedded SDI audio 2 x Balanced XLR (Line) |
| Hardware Audio Output | 1 x embedded SDI audio 2 x Balanced XLR (Line) |
| AirSend Networking | Integrated NewTek AirSend technology enabling network transmission of A/V input and output signals between TalkShow and other supported systems, including TriCaster, 3Play and select third-party partner solutions |
| Dante Audio Networking | Integrated Dante audio support, enabling TalkShow to interface with other audio devices utilizing the Dante networking protocol from Audinate |
| Call Recording | Supports full-bandwidth recording of call video and audio (optionally including return audio on separate channels) to external USB 3.0 or SAN storage |
| Video Effect Controls | Fully configurable color correction settings for incoming and outgoing video signals, including white balance, proc amp controls and auto color |
| Audio Effect Controls | Fully configurable settings for incoming and outgoing audio signals, including gain control, seven-band equalizer and compressor/limiter |
| Talk Back | Supports direct, off-air communication between operator and remote caller via headset |
| Call Management |
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| Local Monitoring |
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| Watermark | Integrated support for displaying Skype logo watermark on output |
| Tally |
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| GPI | HD15 GPI connector |
| Reference |
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| Software | Windows Embedded 8.1, Skype TX Client software, and TalkShow control software |
| CPU | 4th Generation i7 Quad-Core |
| Graphics | Intel HD4600 GPU |
| Memory | 8Gb |
| Storage | 120Gb internal SSD |
| Processing | Video: 4:4:4:4, 32-bit Floating Point Audio: 4 channels, 96 kHz, 32-bit Floating Point |
| Network | Dual gigabit Ethernet NIC supporting Skype TX call transmission, AirSend signals to and from supported systems, Dante audio networking, and local network traffic |
| Fail-Safe |
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| System Physical | 1RU Rack Mount with 180W power supply (110-220V external; 12V internal)
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Subject to change without notice.
