NewTek 330 User Manual

Revised – Nov 12, 2010

Copyright 2010 NewTek Inc., 5131 Beckwith Blvd. San Antonio, TX USA 78249. 3PLAY, TriCaster, VT[5], SpeedEDIT,
LiveSet, LiveMatte, and LiveText are trademarks of NewTek Inc. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks
belong to their respective holders

Table of Contents

Table of Contents ............................................................................................................................. i

1 About this Manual ................................................................................................................... 1

2 Software License and Limited Warranty .................................................................................. 3

3 Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 9

3.1 Overview .......................................................................................................................... 9

3.2 Recording, Marking and Events ........................................................................................ 9

3.2.1 What is an Event? ................................................................................................... 10

3.3 3P-10 Control Surface ..................................................................................................... 10

3.4 Administration Screen .................................................................................................... 11

3.4.1 Standard and High Definition .................................................................................. 12

3.4.2 Output Mode .......................................................................................................... 12

3.5 3Play Desktop ................................................................................................................. 13

4 Setting Up .............................................................................................................................. 15

4.1 Command and Control .................................................................................................... 15

4.2 Activating & Authorizing Windows™............................................................................... 16

4.3 3PLAY License and Registration ....................................................................................... 17

4.3.1 Online Registration ................................................................................................. 17

4.3.2 Registering by Telephone........................................................................................ 18

4.4 I/O Connections .............................................................................................................. 18

4.4.1 A/V Input ................................................................................................................ 18

4.4.2 A/V Output ............................................................................................................. 19

4.4.3 I/O Configuration .................................................................................................... 21

4.4.4 Genlock Input.......................................................................................................... 22

4.4.5 Network Connection ............................................................................................... 23

5 Quick Start ............................................................................................................................. 25

5.1 Creating a Session .......................................................................................................... 25

i

5.2 Configuring Inputs .......................................................................................................... 27

5.3 Monitoring ..................................................................................................................... 28

5.4 Recording ....................................................................................................................... 28

5.5 Marking Events............................................................................................................... 29

5.5.1 One Button Marking ............................................................................................... 30

5.5.2 Two Button Marking ............................................................................................... 30

5.6 Instant Replay ................................................................................................................ 31

5.7 Play Highlight ................................................................................................................. 32

5.8 Selecting the Camera ...................................................................................................... 33

5.9 Slow Motion ................................................................................................................... 34

5.10 Jog and Jump .................................................................................................................. 34

5.11 Event Panel..................................................................................................................... 35

5.12 Playback Information ..................................................................................................... 37

6 3Play Reference ..................................................................................................................... 39

6.1 User Interface Requirements .......................................................................................... 39

6.2 3P-10 Control surface ..................................................................................................... 40

6.2.1 Playback Speed ....................................................................................................... 40

6.2.2 Event Marking ........................................................................................................ 41

6.2.3 Record .................................................................................................................... 43

6.2.4 Camera Selection .................................................................................................... 43

6.2.5 ALT ......................................................................................................................... 44

6.2.6 Jump ....................................................................................................................... 44

6.2.7 LIVE ........................................................................................................................ 45

6.2.8 Transport ................................................................................................................ 45

6.2.9 Jog/Shuttle ............................................................................................................. 47

6.2.10 Select and Manage ................................................................................................. 47

6.3 Administration Screen .................................................................................................... 49

6.3.1 New Session ........................................................................................................... 49

6.3.2 Open/Manage Session ............................................................................................ 51

6.3.3 System Preferences ................................................................................................ 53

6.3.4 System Utilities ....................................................................................................... 54

ii

6.3.5 About 3Play ............................................................................................................ 55

6.3.6 Shutdown System ................................................................................................... 56

6.4 3PLAY Desktop ................................................................................................................. 56

6.4.1 Titlebar Display ....................................................................................................... 57

6.4.2 I/O Configuration .................................................................................................... 57

6.4.3 Record and Device Status ....................................................................................... 63

6.4.4 Monitoring ............................................................................................................. 64

6.4.5 Input 1, 2, 3 ............................................................................................................ 65

6.4.6 Output Monitors ..................................................................................................... 65

6.4.7 Audio, and Audio Monitoring .................................................................................. 69

6.4.8 Event Panel ............................................................................................................. 69

6.4.9 Desktop Dashboard ................................................................................................ 77

6.5 Keyboard Shortcuts ........................................................................................................ 78

6.6 3P-10 Functions .............................................................................................................. 78

6.7 Front Connections ........................................................................................................... 79

6.7.1 Video Connections .................................................................................................. 80

6.7.2 Audio Connections .................................................................................................. 80

6.7.3 Genlock Input ......................................................................................................... 80

6.7.4 USB ......................................................................................................................... 81

6.8 System Restore ............................................................................................................... 81

6.9 Screen Sharing and Remote Desktop .............................................................................. 81

7 How Do I … ? .......................................................................................................................... 83

7.1 Connections .................................................................................................................... 84

7.1.1 Connect cameras? .................................................................................................. 84

7.1.2 Connect monitors? ................................................................................................. 84

7.1.3 Connect the 3P-10 control surface? ........................................................................ 85

7.1.4 Connect the Genlock Reference Signal? .................................................................. 85

7.1.5 Connect An External Hard Drive? ............................................................................ 85

7.1.6 Connect to a Network? ........................................................................................... 86

7.2 Sessions .......................................................................................................................... 86

7.2.1 Start an SD Session?................................................................................................ 86

7.2.2 Start an HD Session? ............................................................................................... 86

7.2.3 Work on a Stored Session? ..................................................................................... 87

iii

7.2.4 Clear Out Old Data? ................................................................................................ 87

7.2.5 Rename a Session ................................................................................................... 87

7.2.6 Backup a Session to an External Drive ..................................................................... 88

7.2.7 Restore a Backup Session........................................................................................ 88

7.3 Events ............................................................................................................................. 88

7.3.1 Mark an Event? ....................................................................................................... 88

7.3.2 Cancel an Incomplete Marking Operation? ............................................................. 89

7.3.3 Replay an Event? .................................................................................................... 89

7.3.4 Play an Instant Replay? ........................................................................................... 90

7.3.5 Play in Slow Motion? .............................................................................................. 90

7.3.6 Prepare a Highlight Reel? ........................................................................................ 90

7.3.7 Play a Highlight Reel? .............................................................................................. 90

7.3.8 Rename a Custom Event Tab .................................................................................. 91

7.4 Files & Maintenance ....................................................................................................... 91

7.4.1 Export A/V files to an External Drive? ..................................................................... 91

7.4.2 Improve Performance? ........................................................................................... 92

7.4.3 Update My 3Play?................................................................................................... 92

7.4.4 Restore 3Play Factory defaults? .............................................................................. 92

7.5 Registration and Tech Support ........................................................................................ 92

7.5.1 Register 3Play? ....................................................................................................... 92

7.5.2 Contact Technical Support? .................................................................................... 93

7.6 Miscellaneous ................................................................................................................. 93

7.6.1 Access Windows™? ................................................................................................. 93

7.6.2 Return to 3Play from the Windows® Desktop ......................................................... 93

8 Index ...................................................................................................................................... 95

Credits ......................................................................................................................................... 101

iv

Page 1

Hate reading manuals? If so, you are part of the majority (estimates
are that between 60 and 97% of the human race agree). Many
prefer to jump right in, maybe asking a friend for occasional help
(and who can blame them)?

This manual attempts to tell you what you need to know in a friendly,
concise way, while also providing a deeper reference section you can
turn to when you really need specifics.

Especially if you hate reading, please take a moment to peruse this
page, which explains the manual’s organization. You may find you
can escape with a minimum of reading.

1 ABOU T THIS MANUAL

 Chapter 2 - Software License and Limited Warranty

 Chapter 3 - Introduction: Basic concepts explained

 Chapter 4 - Setting Up: Connecting external devices (cameras, monitors and the like) and

registration

 Chapter 5 - Quick Start: A brisk romp through 3PLAY operations, about 15 pages

 Chapter 6 - 3PLAY Reference: Complete details, for those who love (or need) to know

everything

 Chapter 7 - How Do I … ?: Quick notes, with cross-references. When you have a specific

question, skimming a few lines here may be quicker than searching through Chapter 6

 Index: Comprehensive keyword index

 Credits: 3PLAY’S family tree

Page 3

2 SOFTW ARE LICENSE AND LIMITED WARRANTY

PLEASE READ CAREFULLY BEFORE INSTALLING AND/OR USING
THIS SOFTWARE. BY INSTALLING AND/OR USING THIS SOFTWARE,
YOU AGREE TO BECOME BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE, RETURN
THIS PACKAGE TO THE PLACE WHERE YOU OBTAINED IT WITHIN 15
DAYS OF PURCHASE FOR A FULL REFUND.

1. Grant of License

The enclosed computer program(s) (the "Software") is licensed, not sold, to you by NewTek, Inc.
(NEWTEK) for use only under the terms of this License, and NEWTEK reserves any rights not
expressly granted to you. You own the disk(s) on which the Software is recorded or fixed, but the
Software and all copyright rights therein, foreign and domestic, is owned by NEWTEK or its
suppliers and is protected by United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions.

The copyright restrictions of this license extend to any further updates, software patches, or bug
fixes made available to you by NEWTEK, whether distributed by floppy disc, CD ROM, DVD ROM or
in an electronic format via BBS, ftp, email, etc.

This License allows you to use one copy of the Software only with the accompanying 3PLAY
hardware.

You may make one copy of the Software in machine readable form solely for backup purposes. The
Software is protected by copyright law. As an express condition of this License, you must
reproduce on the backup copy the NEWTEK copyright notice in the following format "(c) 1990 ­2010 NEWTEK"

You may permanently transfer all your rights under this License to another party by providing such
party all copies of the Software licensed under this License together with a copy of this License and
all written materials accompanying the Software, provided that the other party reads and agrees
to accept the terms and conditions of this License.

2. Restrictions

The Software contains trade secrets in its human perceivable form and, to protect them, YOU MAY
NOT REVERSE ENGINEER, DECOMPILE, DISASSEMBLE, OR OTHERWISE REDUCE THE SOFTWARE TO
ANY HUMAN PERCEIVABLE FORM. YOU MAY NOT MODIFY, ADAPT, TRANSLATE, RENT, LEASE,

Page 4

LOAN, RESELL FOR PROFIT, OR CREATE ANY MODIFICATIONS OR OTHER DERIVATIVE WORKS
BASED UPON THE SOFTWARE OR ANY PART THEREOF.

3. Termination

This License is effective until terminated. This License will terminate immediately without notice
from NEWTEK or judicial resolution if you fail to comply with any provision of this License. Upon
such termination you must destroy the Software, all accompanying written materials and all copies
thereof. You may also terminate this License at any time by destroying the Software, all
accompanying written materials and all copies thereof.

4. Export Law Assurances

You agree that neither the Software nor any direct product thereof is being or will be shipped,
transferred or re-exported, directly or indirectly, into any country prohibited by the United States
Export Administration Act and the regulations thereunder or will be used for any purpose
prohibited by the Act.

5. Limited Warranty and Disclaimer, Limitation of Remedies and Damages.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THE SOFTWARE MAY NOT SATISFY ALL YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR BE
FREE FROM DEFECTS. NEWTEK WARRANTS THE MEDIA ON WHICH THE SOFTWARE IS RECORDED
TO BE FREE FROM DEFECTS IN MATERIALS AND WORKMANSHIP UNDER NORMAL USE FOR 90
DAYS FROM PURCHASE, BUT THE SOFTWARE AND ACCOMPANYING WRITTEN MATERIALS ARE
LICENSED "AS IS." ALL IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS (INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED
WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE) ARE DISCLAIMED.
YOUR EXCLUSIVE REMEDY FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY WILL BE THE REPLACEMENT OF THE MEDIA
OR REFUND OF THE PURCHASE PRICE. IN NO EVENT WILL NEWTEK OR ITS DEVELOPERS,
DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY CONSEQUENTIAL,
INCIDENTAL OR INDIRECT DAMAGES (INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOSS OF BUSINESS PROFITS,
BUSINESS INTERRUPTION, LOSS OF BUSINESS INFORMATION, AND THE LIKE), WHETHER
FORESEEABLE OR UNFORESEEABLE, ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE
SOFTWARE OR ACCOMPANYING WRITTEN MATERIALS, REGARDLESS OF THE BASIS OF THE CLAIM
AND EVEN IF NEWTEK OR AN AUTHORIZED NEWTEK REPRESENTATIVE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE
POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

The above limitations will not apply in case of personal injury only where and to the extent that
applicable law requires such liability. Because some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or
limitation of implied warranties or liability for consequential or incidental damages, the above
limitations may not apply to you.

Page 5

6. General

This License will be construed under the laws of the State of Texas, except for that body of law
dealing with conflicts of law. If any provision of this License shall be held by a court of competent
jurisdiction to be contrary to law, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent
permissible and the remaining provisions of this License will remain in full force and effect.

7. Trademarks

NewTek, TriCaster DUO, TriCaster, TriCaster PRO, TriCaster PRO FX, TriCaster STUDIO, TriCaster
BROADCAST, SpeedEDIT, DataLink, LiveText, LiveControl, 3PLAY, VT, VT[3], VT[4], VT[5], Video
Toaster, Toaster, Inspire 3D, 3D Arsenal, LightWave and LightWave 3D, LightWave CORE and Aura
are trademarks of NEWTEK. Other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their
respective holders.

8. MPEG

Use of this product commercially, including the distribution of content media, may require
additional licenses from MPEG sources, depending on your usage.

ANY USE OF THIS PRODUCT OTHER THAN CONSUMER PERSONAL USE IN ANY MANNER THAT
COMPLIES WITH THE MPEG-2 STANDARD FOR ENCODING VIDEO INFORMATION FOR PACKAGED
MEDIA IS EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED WITHOUT A LICENSE UNDER APPLICABLE PATENTS IN THE MPEG­2 PATENT PORTFOLIO, WHICH LICENSE IS AVAILABLE FROM MPEG LA, L.L.C., 250 STEELE STREET,
SUITE 300, DENVER, COLORADO 80206.

9. Other MPEG – No warranty

Your use of this product to distribute CD’s, streaming video, or other media, or certain other
commercial uses, may require additional licensing from other appropriate MPEG licensing sources,
and no warranty is made otherwise.

10. US Government Restricted Provision

If this Software was acquired by or on behalf of a unit or agency of the United States Government
this provision applies. This Software:

(a) Was developed at private expense, and no part of it was developed with government funds,

(b) Is a trade secret of NEWTEK for all purposes of the Freedom of Information Act,

Page 6

(c) Is "commercial computer software" subject to limited utilization as provided in the contract
between the vendor and the government entity, and

(d) In all respects is proprietary data belonging solely to NEWTEK.

For units of the Department of Defense (DoD), this Software is sold only with "Restricted Rights" as
that term is defined in the DoD Supplement to the Federal Acquisition Regulations, 52.227-7013 (c)
(1) (ii).

Use, duplication or disclosure is subject to restrictions as set forth in subdivision (c) (l) (ii) of the
Rights in Technical Data and Computer Software clause at 52.227-7013. Manufacturer: NEWTEK,
5131 Beckwith Boulevard, San Antonio, TX 78249.

If this Software was acquired under a GSA Schedule, the US Government has agreed to refrain
from changing or removing any insignia or lettering from the software or the accompanying
written materials that are provided or from producing copies of manuals or disks (except one copy
for backup purposes) and:

(e) Title to and ownership of this Software and documentation and any reproductions thereof shall
remain with NEWTEK,

(f) Use of this Software and documentation shall be limited to the facility for which it is required,
and,

(g) If use of the Software is discontinued to the installation specified in the purchase/delivery order
and the US Government desires to use it at another location, it may do so by giving prior written
notice to NEWTEK, specifying the type of computer and new location site. US Governmental
personnel using this Software, other than under a DoD contract or GSA Schedule, are hereby on
notice that use of this Software is subject to restrictions which are the same as or similar to those
specified.

NewTek, Inc. Limited Hardware Warranty

This warranty covers only the hardware portion of the Product delivered (“Product”) and extends
to the original purchaser only. Software is licensed to you, not sold, under a separate license
agreement, above, that has its own warranty terms.

NewTek warrants that for a period of 1 year from the date or your original purchase of our
computer/video product (hardware), it shall be free from defects in material and workmanship. If

Page 7

a defect is determined to be covered by this warranty as determined by NewTek, NewTek will
correct it, and may do so using new or remanufactured components.

NewTek’s Liability and Limitations. NewTek’s obligations are only as expressly stated herein.
NewTek is not liable for loss or damage for inconvenience or interruption of service, loss of
business, data or anticipatory profits, or consequential, incidental or punitive damages resulting

from the use (or operation) of any of the products purchase by you. NewTek’s liability is limited

solely to the repair or replacement of the defective product. NewTek is under no obligation or
responsibility to enhance or update the product. This warranty does not cover damage or
malfunctions resulting from improper handling, accident, misuse, abuse, neglect, electrical surges,
failure of electrical power, use with other products not manufactured or approved by NewTek,
installation or removal charges or damages, damage while in transit for repair, repair attempted by
any unauthorized person, or any other reason not due to defects in materials and workmanship.
This warranty is also void if any applicable serial number has been altered, defaced, or removed.

The hardware and software in this product are designed to work in conjunction with each other.
Any termination of the Software License, including use of the software, or any portion of the
software, not in conjunction with the hardware provided in the same computer, will void all
warranties and any technical support service otherwise available.

To Obtain Warranty Service. To obtain free repair under this warranty, contact NewTek Technical
Support for confirmation, receive a Returned Materials Authorization (RMA), and deliver the
product along with proof of ownership (such as the original invoice, or a photocopy) to NewTek.
You will be responsible for any costs associated with the delivery to and from our service center.

Other Legal Disclosures. The above warranty is exclusive and in lieu of all other warranties,
expresses or implied (other than those warranties implied by state law). All applicable state
statutory implied warranties, including, but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability or
fitness for a particular purpose, shall be limited to a period of 1 year from the date of your original
purchase. No warranties, either express or implied, will apply after this period.

Because so many states have different laws that are ever-changing, and because we have no desire
to conflict with these laws, then any term of this warranty that is prohibited by applicable law shall
not apply. Some states do not allow limitations on how long an implied warranty lasts or the
exclusion of warranties or of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations or
exclusions may not apply to you. This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may have
other rights which vary from state to state.

Page 9

Thank you for purchasing this NewTek™ product. 3PLAY™ is the
newest addition to a family of video systems and software with a
proud heritage. A genuine video pioneer, NewTek is justifiably
proud of its innovation, ongoing commitment to excellence and
superb product support.

This chapter provides a quick tour of the major components of your
3PLAY system.

3 INTRODUCTION

3.1 OVERVIEW

3PLAY is a standalone hardware device that supports simultaneous recording, display and instant
replay of up to 3 video (and audio) streams. Its output possibilities include professional
hardware connections capable of conveying all three (synchronized) video streams to external
video systems such as live broadcast switching equipment, and file export.

3PLAY’s playback video output at any moment may be one of the following:

I. Live - Live pass-through of the input sources

II. Delayed – 3PLAY output runs somewhat behind the live input streams

III. Event – Playback of ‘bookmarked’ time segments that were captured from the live

streams

IV. Highlight – Special Highlight Reel playback mode

Hint: It’s important to realize that neither Delayed nor Event output interrupts continuous
capture.

Both Delayed and Event video streams can be played back at variable speeds. The standard
(NTSC) 3PLAY supports NTSC video in HD1080i, 720p, and SD formats. The International model
supports the same formats for NTSC, NTSC-J and PAL video broadcast standards.

3.2 RECORDING, MARKING AND EVENTS

Recording is intrinsic to 3PLAY – so much so that live input streams are only passed to 3Play’s
output when Record is active (previously recorded streams can be output at any time, of course).

Page 10

For this reason, Record is automatically enabled whenever you press the LIVE button on the 3P­10 Control Surface (to select incoming live video streams as output).

When recording is enabled, all three incoming a/v streams are continuously captured and stored.
(Typically, each stream might represent a different camera angle.)

Note: For any single session, recording stops automatically after 12 hours.

3.2.1 WHAT IS AN EVENT?

The 3PLAY operator uses the supplied 3P-10 external control surface to mark events. An event
entry (in the Event List) is essentially a digital bookmark pointing to a portion of the recorded
video. Events are created when you mark In and Out Points as a live production progresses.
These In and Out timecode values allow you to isolate interesting segments. Newly-marked
events are successively added to the Master List of the Event Panel for convenient recall.

An event is not merely a clip. Rather, think of it as a bookmarked section of the complete
recording. Each event entry denotes a synchronized time slice of all three video streams. You
can recall and display events instantly. This involves sending the stream from one particular
camera or all three simultaneously to 3PLAY’s outputs, according to the Output Mode for the
session.

Events bear another similarity to literal bookmarks. A bookmark is only a convenient reference
to the printed material on the book’s pages – it does not comprise the actual text. Adding or
removing a bookmark does not remove pages from the book.

Likewise, 3PLAY normally captures a complete, uninterrupted record of your production. Just like
bookmarks, the events listed in the Event Panel are pointers to this volume of stored
information. Add and remove events freely with no fear of losing recorded material. You can
even add, remove or reorganize events during recording, or long after your 3PLAY recording
session ends.

3.3 3P-10 CONTROL SURFACE

A dedicated external 3PLAY control surface (Figure 1) designated 3P-10 provides primary
operational control (see Section 6.2), supplemented by the keyboard.

Page 11

Figure 1

Note: A variant of the usual 3Play Desktop is automatically displayed if the External 3P-10 Control
Surface is not detected on launch. The Dashboard in this alternate interface provides full 3Play
control using the mouse.

3.4 ADMINISTRATION SCREEN

The Administration Screen (Figure 2) appears on your monitor when you power up 3PLAY. It
provides control of important systems settings, along with administrative and system
maintenance functions. Most of these will be covered in depth later (in Section 6.3), but we’ll
touch on a few more noteworthy items here.

Figure 2

Page 12

3.4.1 STANDARD AND HIGH DEFINITION

3PLAY records and replays video in a wide variety of popular formats. For a particular 3PLAY
session you may wish to connect High Definition (HD) devices, while another environment may
consist of Standard Definition (SD) devices. The Video Standard (International model only) and
Resolution must be correctly chosen in the New Session section of the Administration Screen
before beginning a 3PLAY session.

3.4.2 OUTPUT MODE

For newly-created 3PLAY sessions, two optional Output Modes are available. These are
designated 1-Out and 3-Out modes.

Note: The Output Mode is set when a session is created, and can’t be changed if it is later
reopened.

When you choose 1-Out mode, a single (switchable) camera view is designated as the primary
output, and is displayed on all of 3PLAY’s video output connectors. In 3-Out mode, each of the

three synchronized views is transmitted independently on its own output.

The Output Mode choice allows you to tailor 3PLAY to your specific production environment:

3-Out mode is ideal when camera selections for instant replay are made ‘downstream’ from
3PLAY. For example, 3PLAY’s three independent output streams may be connected to a broadcast
switcher. The switcher operator, with all three streams at his fingertips, can broadcast any of
them instantly on demand.

At other times, the 3PLAY operator may be more of a ‘one-man-band’, possibly controlling both
3PLAY and a downstream switcher.

1-Out mode sends a single, selectable camera angle to 3PLAY’s output. This single video stream
requires just one input on the downstream switcher. Or perhaps you use 3PLAY to directly feed a
jumbotron-style display without any intervening switching device. 1-Out mode fills this need as
well. (See Section 6.3.1.1 for further discussion.)

Page 13

3.5 3PLAY DESKT OP

Clicking New Session (or Open Session) in the Administration Screen presents the 3PLAY Desktop
(Figure 3), which provides monitoring as well as numerous event management features.

Figure 3

As mentioned in Section 3.3, 3PLAY’s Standard Desktop is designed for use with the external 3P­10 control surface. This mode of operation maximizes screen space available for event

management.

Hint: A ‘Desktop Dashboard’ appears automatically if you launch 3PLAY in the absence of the 3P­10 control surface. This adds marking, slow motion, and event transport controls to the interface
(at the expense of a little screen space).

If you like, you can opt to display the Dashboard at all times by enabling a switch in System
Preferences (Administration Screen) – see Section 6.3.3.

Page 15

This chapter explains how to properly connect power, external
control devices, monitors and audio visual sources to your NewTek
3PLAY™ system.

It also reviews registration for warranty purposes and technical

support. After completing this short section, you’ll be all set to

continue into the Quick Start chapter that follows it.

4 SETTING UP

To begin, let’s review what is ‘in the box’:

1. 3PLAY system

2. 3P-10 Control Surface and USB cable

3. Keyboard and Mouse

4. A/C power cord

5. 3PLAY Reference Manual

6. 3PLAY Quick Start Guide

7. Registration reminder card

4.1 COMMAND AND CONT ROL

1. Connect an external computer monitor to a DVI or VGA port on 3PLAYs’s back plate

(whichever port is appropriate for your monitor connection type).

Note: As a minimum, 3PLAY requires a Screen resolution of 1280 x 768 pixels for its user
interface.

2. Connect keyboard and mouse to appropriate ports on 3Play’s back plate.

3. Likewise, connect the 3P-10 control surface to a USB port.

4. Connect the A/C power cord from the three-prong connection on 3PLAY’s rear to an

external power receptacle.

5. Turn on the computer monitor.

6. Press the Power switch located on 3PLAY’s lower front.

Page 16

At this point, the blue Power LED on 3PLAY’s faceplate will illuminate, and the hard drive activity
light should flicker as the device boots up. (If this does not happen, check your connections and

retry).

Hint: Though not required for 3PLAY to function, it is always wise to use an uninterruptable power
supply (UPS) for any ‘mission critical’ system. Likewise, consider A/C “power conditioning”,
especially in situations where local power is unreliable or ‘noisy’.

Power conditioning can reduce wear on power supplies and other electronics, and also provide a
measure of protection from surges, spikes, lightning and high voltage.

4.2 ACTIVATING & AUTHORIZING WINDOWS™

(Your dealer may have performed this operation for you as part of his pre-delivery service.)

When you see the ‘Welcome to Windows’ screen:

1. Click Next at lower-right.

2. Choose your time zone.

3. Accept the license agreement.

4. Enter your 25-digit key.

5. Decline automatic updates (by clicking “not right now”).

6. Give your 3PLAY a distinct computer name for networking.

You can authorize your Windows installation by network or by telephone. Assuming you have an
Internet connection available, and have connected 3PLAY to it with an Ethernet cable, the Internet
is the fastest method of activation. (See Section 4.4.5 for more on network connections.)

1. Click ‘Obtain IP and DNS automatically’.

2. Agree to activate Windows. This activation is permanent, and you won’t see these screens

again. (Registration with Microsoft is optional).

3. Assign a name to the administrator account. You may type your name, company, or

simply “3PLAY”.

4. Click Finish, and you system will re-start.

After restarting and accepting NewTek’s 3PLAY User Agreement, the 3PLAY user interface will load
automatically.

Page 17

4.3 3PLAY LICENSE AND REGISTR ATION

The Registration dialog shown in Figure 4 is presented when you launch 3PLAY, and provides the
unique Product ID you need to register your system. A 60 day period is allowed for your 3PLAY to

be registered and ‘unlocked’ (by entering the registration code in the space provided.)

Figure 4

You can register and obtain your registration code either by telephone, or online (directly from
3PLAY or from another system connected to the Internet) as described next.

4.3.1 ONLINE REGISTRATION

If you have connected 3PLAY to the Internet, simply click the button under Step 2 in the registration
dialog. This will take you to the Registration page (http://register.newtek.com) in the Customer
Care section of NewTek’s website where you will find further directions.

Hint: More information on connecting 3PLAY to a network can be found in Section 4.4.5

Otherwise, you can visit the registration webpage from another system with Internet access. In
either case, enter the registration code provided after registering into the field provided at Step 3
of the dialog. (You’ll want to record the login name and password you choose when creating your
profile, and check your personal area of the site from time to time afterward. Among other things,
you’ll be able to download any 3PLAY software updates that are made available.)

Page 18

4.3.2 REGISTERING BY TELEP HONE

NewTek’s Customer Care center can also handle registration requests by telephone, if that is more
convenient (when opportunity permits, you should still visit the website as discussed above to gain
access to software updates). Please have your Product ID (from the Registration dialog mentioned
earlier) handy when you call.

The phone numbers for Customer Service follow:

 Telephone: (US) 1-800-862-7837
 (Outside US) [phone]
 Fax: [phone]

Note: For Technical Support contact information, please see Section 7.5.2.

4.4 I/O CONNECTION S

Next we’ll discuss the important external audio and video connectors on 3PLAY’s front panel. A bit
later, in Section 4.4.4, we’ll also consider connecting a reference signal to 3PLAY’s Genlock Input
(and genlocking the source cameras connected to 3PLAY).

4.4.1 A/V INPUT

Three external audio and video sources can be added to the input connectors on 3PLAY’s front
panel.

Figure 5

1. Connect video sources to appropriately named input connectors, whether SDI,

Component, Y/C (may require S-Video to BNC adapter) or Composite (may require RCA to

BNC adapter).

Page 19

a. SDI – Attach the SDI source connectors to the BNC connectors marked SDI in the

Video In group.

b. Component – Attach the appropriate BNC connectors from your sources to the

second, third and fourth BNC connectors (labeled Y, Pb and Pr ) in each row in
the Video In group.

c. Y/C – If your S-Video equipment and cabling has the usual 4-pin mini-DIN

connectors, you will need to use an S-Video to BNC adapter. To connect Y/C
sources, attach the Y (luma) connector of your source to the third of four BNC
connectors (labeled Pb). Attach the source’s C (chroma) connector to the fourth
connector (labeled Pr). Do this for each row in the Video In group.

d. Composite - Attach the composite source’s connector (may require an RCA to

BNC adapter) to the second connector in the Video In section (labeled Y). Do this
for each row in the Video In group.

Note: the Video Standard (such as NTSC or PAL in Standard Definition, HD 720P or HD
1080i) of all sources connected for a given session must match.

2. To record analog audio* along with the video, connect external audio sources to the

balanced 1/4 inch (6.3mm) phone jacks beside each video input section.

* SDI video sources with embedded audio do not need a separate audio connection. Use
the BNC connectors in the Digital Audio In sections if required to connect AES3 (AES/EBU)
audio sources.

4.4.2 A/V OUTPUT

3PLAY has three separate video and audio output connector sections, and provides very flexible
options for display of your live and recorded video streams. You may variously:

 View one selected audio/video stream, chosen from 3 live sources (or recorded footage)

on your external monitors (1-Out mode).

 View all three live sources or synchronized recorded streams simultaneously on three

individual monitors (3-Out mode).

Page 20

And of course, from 3PLAY’s outputs you may pass either of the above on to downstream live
switching and/or recording devices.

IMPORTANT NOTES:
 THE DISPLAY CAPABILITIES OF ALL OUTPUT VIDEO DEVICES CONNECTED TO

3PLAY FOR A GIVEN SESSION MUST MATCH THE SESSION INPUT SE TTINGS.

 THE OUTPUT TYPE SETTING IN THE I/O CONFIGU RATION PANEL MUST

CORRESPOND TO THE CONNECTED DEVICES (SEE SECTION 4.4.3).

Figure 6

1. Connect downstream video devices to the output connectors, whether SDI, Component,

Y/C or Composite. Some devices may require use of RCA or 4-pin to BNC adapters.

Naturally, Composite and Y/C support SD resolution output only.

a. SDI – Attach the SDI connector to the BNC connector marked SDI.

b. Component – Attach the appropriate BNC connectors from your source to the

second, third and fourth BNC connectors (labeled Y, Pb and Pr).

c. Y/C –To connect Y/C devices, attach the Y (luma) connector of your source to the

third of four BNC connectors (labeled Pb). Attach the source’s C (chroma)
connector to the fourth connector (labeled Pr).

d. Composite - Attach the composite source’s connector to the second connector in

the Video Out section (labeled Y).

Page 21

2. Connect 3PLAY’s audio outputs:

a. Analog audio - Connect external audio devices to the 1/4 inch (6.3mm) balanced

phone jacks beside each video input section.

b. Digital audio - A separate audio connection is not necessary for SDI output with

embedded audio. Use the BNC connectors in the Digital Audio Out section only
to connect downstream AES3 (AES/EBU) audio devices.

4.4.3 I/O CONFIGURATION

At this point, you can configure the audio and video sources you have connected. Some other
settings can be considered now as well (such as what type of output connection you require).

1. Open a 3PLAY session from the Administration Screen.

2. Access the I/O Configuration panel (Figure 7) by clicking the small ‘gear’ icon located at

upper-right in the titlebar of the 3PLAY Desktop.

3. Select the correct Video Connection and Audio Connection types from the drop-down

menus for each source you connected to 3PLAY’s inputs.

4. Set the correct Output>Video Connection type for your external analog monitor(s) or

other downstream systems.

Figure 7

Page 22

Hint: 3PLAY’s SDI and analog output sections can be used simultaneously. For example, for
an SD session you could choose Composite Output in the I/O Configuration panel (perhaps
to view 3PLAY output on a local composite monitor) at the same time as you use the SDI
connection to supply broadcast equipment. (See Section 6.7.1 for more on output
options.)

4.4.4 GENLOCK INPUT

Figure 8

The Genlock input on 3PLAY’s front panel is for connection of a ‘house sync’ or reference signal
(often a ‘black burst’). This is a common and important method of synchronizing equipment in the

video suite.

Genlocking is customary in higher end environments, and genlock inputs are usually found on
professional gear. If your equipment allows you to do so, you should genlock all cameras
supplying 3PLAY, and 3PLAY itself.

1. Supply the reference signal from the ‘house sync generator’ to 3PLAY’s Genlock connector.

2. If you haven’t already done so, genlock all cameras connected to 3PLAY inputs to the same

reference signal (see your camera manual for details).

3. Open a 3PLAY session from the Administration Screen, and access the I/O Configuration

panel (by clicking the small ‘gear’ icon at upper-right in the titlebar of the 3PLAY Desktop).

4. The default Reference Type in the Genlock settings is SD (Bi-level), as this is the most

common reference signal type. However, if you supply an HD reference signal to the
Genlock input, change the setting to HD (Tri-level).

5. Using downstream Waveform and Vector Scopes, adjust 3PLAY’s Horizontal and Vertical

Position and Phase settings (in the Genlock section of the I/O Configuration panel).

Page 23

Figure 9

Again, ideally both the cameras and the 3PLAY need to be genlocked. If they are not genlocked to
the same source as the 3PLAY output, a TBC (Time Base Correction) operation is applied - this can
involve frames being dropped or inserted to maintain sync, which is not as desirable.

Note: For a deeper explanation of genlocking, please see Section 6.4.2.4.

4.4.5 NETWORK CONNECTION

Connecting 3PLAY to a local area network (LAN) may require additional steps beyond those
mentioned back when we discussed Microsoft Windows ™ activation (Section 4.2). Here is the
basic procedure involved in joining a workgroup:

1. Connect an Ethernet cable from the port on 3PLAY’s back plate to your external network

connection or router.

2. (If necessary) – close the 3PLAY Desktop, and use Exit to Windows in the Administration

Screen’s Shutdown pane to go to the Microsoft Windows™ desktop.

3. Right-click on the My Computer icon, and select Properties.

4. Scroll down in the right hand pane of the System panel that opens to find the Computer

name, domain and workgroups settings area.

5. Click the Change Settings link at right.

6. Click the Computer Name tab of the System Properties panel that opens.

Page 24

7. Click the Change button, and enter the name of your local workgroup, as provided by your

system administrator.

8. Close the OK button.

9. Close the System control panel.

At this point, the network connection should be functional. If further help connecting is required,
please consult your local system administrator.

The next section (Chapter 5 - Quick Start) will walk you through your first 3PLAY session. To keep
this initial ‘orientation run’ simpler, you may wish to employ 1-Out mode and connect a single
monitor (of a suitable video standard and resolution for your video sources) to any of 3PLAY’s
output connections.

Page 25

This chapter provides a brief ‘hands-on’ tour of the major
components and functions of your NewTek 3PLAY™. In a very short
time, these basics will be second nature to you.

More detailed reference material on all aspects of 3PLAY follows in
Chapter 6, 3Play Reference.

5 QU ICK START

Having made the essential external connections in the previous section, let’s start your first 3PLAY
session, and review the fundamentals.

5.1 CREATING A SESSION

Figure 10

1. Click New Session in the Administration Panel. Enter a Session Name in the input field at

upper-right.

2. 3PLAY NTSC: Select a Resolution setting appropriate for your connected sources (see

Section 3.4.1).

Page 26

3. 3PLAY International: Select a Video Standard and Resolution setting appropriate for your

connected sources (see Section 3.4.1).

4. Choose 1-Out as the active Output Mode for this introductory session (see Section 3.4.2).

5. Click Start Session. The 3PLAY Desktop will appear on your screen (Figure 11).

Figure 11

Assuming you have correctly connected the 3P-10 control surface, the standard Desktop will be
shown.

Note: If the Dashboard (Figure 12) appears at lower-right on the Desktop, this normally indicates
that the 3P-10 control surface was not detected on launch. Exit the Desktop by clicking the [x]
Close button at upper-right, remove and reconnect the 3P-10, and open another New Session.

If a connection problem persists, please contact NewTek Tech Support for assistance. (See Section

6.4.9 for information on the Dashboard.)

Figure 12

Page 27

5.2 CONFIGURING INPUTS

Figure 13

3PLAY needs to know what sort of video sources are connected to it. Click the gear icon (Figure 13)
next to the Close button in the upper-right corner of the 3PLAY Desktop. This opens the I/O

Configuration panel (Figure 14).

Figure 14

Use the Video drop-down menu to identify your sources by connection type, choosing between Composite,

Y/C, Component or SDI (Composite and Y/C options are shown in the menu for Standard Definition sessions

only).

Click the LIVE button on the 3P-10 control surface (note that 3PLAY will automatically begin a/v
recording). If you have connected one or more video sources to 3PLAY and at least one monitor
connected on output, you should now see one of the source video streams on your external output
monitor.

Page 28

5.3 MONITORING

At this point, the video streams shown on the Input and Output monitors on the Desktop match.

Live video is simply being passed through 3PLAY.

Figure 15

The uppermost monitors are labeled Input Source 1, 2 and 3. These show the live video sources
you connected to 3PLAY’s inputs.

(The monitors also have interactive features which will be discussed later.)

The large Main Output monitor shows one of the three streams. In 1-Out mode the stream
monitor for the source displayed on the Main Output monitor is highlighted with a red border.
You can choose which stream to show on Main Output by using Camera (1, 2, or 3) on the 3P-10
Control Surface (or by clicking directly on one of the Output Stream monitors).

5.4 RECORDING

At upper-left on the 3PLAY Desktop you will see an area labeled Device Status. In addition to the
large (and very important) Record button, this pane hosts two important bits of data:

Page 29

 Session Time Recorded - The total duration of audio/video recorded and stored on 3PLAY

since this session was created

 Remaining Disk Space– How much room remains on 3PLAY for additional recording

Figure 16

The large Record button at upper-left (Figure 16) is automatically enabled when you press LIVE.
This initiates capture of the source video streams. Recording is confirmed by i) the nearby red
Recording light and ii) the active Session Time Recorded counter.

3PLAY captures a continuous record of all three streams of your production. It is not necessary to
toggle recording on and off to capture individual events. Rather, events are marked, as explained
earlier in Section 3.2, Recording, Marking and Events.

We’ll describe the process of marking events in a moment, but first please note – it is permissible
to turn recording on and off during periods of inactivity (such as ‘half-time’). Doing so does save
storage space, but be careful to turn Record back on before action begins again! For short periods
of downtime, it’s likely best to simply let recording continue uninterrupted.

Hint: Enabling Record does one other thing – it automatically adds a special event in the Master
List. A comment added to this special event displays the time recording began, providing a useful
reference.

5.5 MARKING EVEN TS

The principal tools you use to create events are the MARK IN and MARK OUT buttons on the 3P-10
control surface. As you’d expect, pressing MARK IN sets an In Point timecode value for an event,
initiating a new event entry in the Master List tab of the Event Panel at the same time. Pressing
MARK OUT sets the Out Point, automatically updating the Duration column to finalize the event.

Page 30

The MARK IN and Out functions have some other special features too, permitting a variety of
convenient marking workflows. We’ll get into more detail in an upcoming section, but it’s worth
noting here that you can mark an event with just one button press!

Figure 17

5.5.1 ONE BUTTON MARKING

Watch your monitors for a noteworthy occurrence – perhaps a goal, penalty, or the like. Then
quickly press MARK OUT on the 3P-10 control surface. A new event will be listed in the Master
List tab of the Event Panel (Figure 17).

Notice that the Duration column for the new event shows the new event to be precisely four
seconds long. There’s a reason for this: pressing MARK OUT without having first pressed MARK

IN, automatically sets an In Point for the event precisely four seconds (less one frame) earlier.

Hint: Don’t worry if four seconds isn’t long enough to properly bracket the specific action you are
interested in. You can easily trim the event entry later. Too, you can change the four second default
preroll duration to something different in System Preferences (Administration Screen).

The ID# for the event is automatically assigned, providing a distinctive identifier for the event. It is
very useful, too, to add a more descriptive remark in the Comment column. Press F6 (Edit
Comment) on the keyboard to enter or modify a comment.

Note: ID#s are generated consecutively as events are created. Since you can mark events long after
recording is ended, re-order and also clone events, these numbers may not be in chronological
order.

5.5.2 TWO BUTTON MARKING

Let’s try another approach to marking an event.

Page 31

Press MARK IN on the 3P-10 control surface. This creates a new ‘incomplete’ event in the Master
List tab of the Event Panel (only the In Point is shown, not the Duration). Then watch the monitor

for something noteworthy to occur. When it does, press MARK OUT to complete the marking
operation. The Duration field is completed, showing the time elapsed between the In Point and
Out Point.

Want to expand your marking skills? Try the following:

1. Press MARK IN.

2. Allow live play to continue for a while without pressing MARK OUT.

Let’s suppose nothing significant occurs in this time interval; consequently, you do not anticipate
needing an instant replay of any portion of the recorded video since you last pressed MARK IN.

3. Press MARK IN again, watching the In Point of the incomplete event in the Master List as

you do so. Did you observe how it changed?

What just happened? Because you had pressed MARK IN but not MARK OUT, the current event
was in an incomplete state - lacking an Out Point. Pressing MARK IN a second time updated the In
Point to reflect the current time, dropping the earlier timecode reference. This event is actually
still incomplete. You could press MARK IN again (and again, and again!) with the same result.
Eventually, something interesting may catch your eye, and you can press MARK OUT to complete
the event.

Hint: If you wish, you can cancel the current event marking operation by pressing the ESC button on
the 3P-10 control surface (or the Esc key on the keyboard).

5.6 INSTANT REPLAY

Of course, the whole point of marking events is to play them back for the viewer. To do so, you
can just either select the desired event and press ALT + Play on the 3P-10, or double-click on the
entry in the Event List. Immediately, the selected event is sent to output, playing back from its In
Point. Playback continues interrupted through the recorded video from that time forward.

Note: By design, normal playback starts at the In Point of the highlighted event, and proceeds
indefinitely from that point forward. Unlike a simple “media player”, playback does not normally
stop at the Out Point of that event, and then skip to next In Point, and so on (see Section 5.7, Play
Highlight).

Page 32

Another convenient approach to instant replay may suit you better in some cases. Try this
method:

1. Press MARK IN (just as you did in steps 1 and 2 of Section 5.5.2, above).

2. Press Play (without pressing MARK OUT).

When you pressed Play in this case, an Out Point was automatically generated and – without any
further action – playback commenced from the In Point you had previously marked. This may be
the ideal way to display an instant replay of something that just occurred on the court or playing
field.

Hint: As usual, event playback continues without interruption beyond the current event’s Out Point.
When play surpasses that Out Point, 3PLAY enters Delayed playback mode (see Section 3.1). The
output stream continues running behind the actual input stream until you either press the LIVE
button on the 3P-10 or click one of the Input Stream monitors.

Here is another way to interrupt Live or Delayed play to show a selected event:

3. Use the 3P-10 control surface to select an event, either with the Arrow Up/Down buttons

or by entering the ID# and pressing ENTER.

4. Press ALT, and keep it depressed as you also press Play.

5.7 PLAY HIGHLIGHT

At times you may wish to run a sequence of events in the form of a ‘highlight reel’. The Play
Highlight button on the 3P-10 control surface supports this special playback mode.

1. Mark a few events – say five or six.

2. Multi-select several event entries by holding down Ctrl and clicking on them. Skip over a

few as you do this, so that the selected events are not all right next to each other.

3. Press the Play Highlight button.

Notice that in this case, the In and Out Points of the selected events are respected as playback
proceeds. When one event ends, the playback position jumps ahead to the next selected event.
(The last Out Point is ignored, however; when the end of the highlight reel is reached, play
continues indefinitely.) Also, note that you do not actually have to multi-select events to use Play

Highlight. When you wish, you can just play the entire content of the current playlist.

Page 33

5.8 SELECTING T HE CA MERA

Keep in mind that 3PLAY simultaneously records all three inputs, not just the stream shown on the
Main Output monitor (see Section 3.2, Recording, Marking and Events). This is true regardless of
whether you chose 1-Out or 3-Out as your Output Mode for the session (see Section 3.4.2).

Figure 18

In 1-Out mode, you personally choose which of the three available views is transmitted on 3PLAY’s
output connections. The video stream displayed on the Main Output monitor is the one that
appears on output when in this mode.

Let’s examine the way you choose which stream appears on the Main Output monitor:

1. Press the LIVE button, sending one of the three live input streams to the Main Output

monitor (and beginning recording, if not already enabled).

2. Press ALT + Play on the 3P-10 to start the current event selection playing on output,

noting which Camera is marked in the corresponding column. Of the three available, that
is the stream initially sent to the Main Output monitor.

3. With event playback continuing, press different Camera buttons on 3P-10; the Main

Output stream updates (but the Camera setting for the event does not change).

4. Click directly on one of the Input Stream monitors – note that LIVE play is automatically

restored, and that the stream for the monitor you clicked is placed on the Main Output
monitor.

As we’ve seen, in addition to the 3P-10 Camera buttons, both Input and Output monitors are
interactive. Clicking on an Input Source monitor switches 3PLAY immediately to LIVE playback
mode (if necessary) and places the corresponding stream on Main Output. Clicking an Output
Stream monitor behaves similarly, placing that stream onto the Main Output monitor.

Page 34

5.9 SLOW MOTION

3PLAY is capable of variable speed play between 0 and 100%. You set the playback rate using the
Speed buttons (0%, 33%, 50%, 75% and 100%) or the variable Speed-Bar on the 3P-10 control
surface. These controls do not initiate playback; they control playback rate. That said, changing
the Speed during playback has an immediate effect. Otherwise, though, the new rate you
establish only applies to subsequent playback operations.

Hint: 0% represents stopped playback, while 100% represents a normal rate of play.

1. Press the 50% speed button on the 3P-10 control surface.

2. Press ALT + Play to replay an event, and it begins playing at half the normal speed.

3. While the event is playing, ease the Speed-Bar down to 25%, then back to 100% (gradual

speed changes can be more visually pleasing).

4. Click LIVE to return to the live source video.

Here’s another thing to try:

5. Press LIVE.

6. Set Speed to 50%.

7. Press Play.

The playback rate for the live video stream will be immediately reduced, automatically placing
3PLAY in Delayed playback mode (see Section 3.1).

Hint: Record must be active to engage Slow Motion playback from Live mode as just described.

5.10 JOG AND JUMP

The 3P-10 control surface has a combination Jog/Shuttle control. The outer ring is the Shuttle,
while the inner dial is the Jog Wheel.

The Jog Wheel moves the current frame position forward and backward in the active video with
frame precise accuracy. Twisting the Shuttle Ring allows you to swiftly scan backwards or forwards
in a clip. (The scan rate increases or decreases as you apply more or less rotation to the ring.)

Page 35

Here’s something to try:

1. Replay an event in the Master List by pressing ALT + Play.

2. Turn the Shuttle ring counter-clockwise, reversing the event stream – release it after a

moment or two.

3. Playback halts at the current frame.

4. Press Play.

Playback will begin anew, starting from the current frame – that is, the one you jogged to. Note
that the inner Jog Wheel permits you to select this starting frame with fingertip precision.

Now let’s try the Jump buttons (these are labeled -2 Sec, -1 Sec, + 1 Sec and + 2 Sec):

5. Start playback of another event, and let it run for ten seconds or so.

6. Press the -2 Sec button three times in succession.

This time, play backs up 6 seconds and then continues.

Let’s try one more method of jogging:

7. Press LIVE, to place the live input video on output.

8. Let the video run for several seconds.

9. Drag the mouse to the left on 3PLAY’s Main Output monitor, and release.

Dragging in this manner interactively jogs the video on output and stops on release (presuming
Record is active, it really doesn’t matter whether the video is LIVE, Delayed or an Event being
replayed). This can be useful for a precise review of live action.

5.11 EVENT PANEL

The Event Panel consists of six tabbed columnar lists. The first (uncolored) tab is the Master List,
which contains entries for all recorded events. Entries in the Master List are initially arranged in
the order they are created.

The other tabs, identified by unique colors, provide Custom Lists where you can organize events
for various purposes. You could use these to list separate events by team, game period, action

Page 36

type, or for highlight playback (discussed in Section 5.7). Conveniently, Custom Event List tabs can
be renamed.

Figure 19

Each occupied row in the tabbed panes shows the information associated with one event, listing its
ID#, In Point, Duration, an optional Comment, and its primary Camera stream. During playback, a
triangular white marker (the Play Position Indicator) at left tracks play progress.

A number of event management features are located here. Let’s consider a few:

1. Press F6 (Edit Comment).

2. Enter a comment about the event, and press Enter (on the keyboard) to complete the text

entry (keyboard Esc cancels any changes and leaves Edit mode).

3. Press ALT + (TAB >) on the 3P-10 Control Surface twice, cycling the event color to red.

The event you modified should now appear in the red tabbed Custom List. (Press TAB > as
necessary to go to the red tab to see that it does.)

Hint: New events added when a colored tab is selected will automatically be assigned to that tab,
as well as being entered into the Master List.

What if you wish to trim the event to begin at a different frame (either earlier or later)?

You could open the event context menu (by right-clicking an event) and select Edit In Point, but
let’s use a quicker method to do this:

1. Use the Jog/Shuttle wheel on the 3P-10 control surface to find the frame where you want

the event to begin.

Page 37

2. Hold the ALT button down and press MARK IN.

3. If you wish, go ahead and select a new frame for the event to end at in similar fashion,

updating the Duration by pressing ALT + MARK OUT.

5.12 PLAYBACK INFORMATIO N

Figure 20

A compact information panel appears between the Main Output monitor and the smaller Output
Stream monitors below. This panel provides information about the video stream(s) currently going
to Output. Three important items are displayed: Current Time, Currently Displaying, and Time
Remaining.

The Current Time counter shows the time of the currently displayed video frame. Note that this

time reference is not ‘real world time’ (i.e., the time your watch shows). Rather, it is based on

Session Time Recorded -- as shown in the Device Information display near the Record button.

The Currently Displaying status field updates to inform you whether the current 3PLAY output is:

 Live – Video passed through directly from 3PLAY’s inputs

 Delayed - Video running behind real time, perhaps because you have jogged Live Video or

jumped it backwards, or assigned a slow motion speed and pressed Play

 Event – Playback of an entry from the Event List (the event ID# is shown)

 Highlight – Playback is in Play Highlight mode (the event ID# is shown)

The Time Remaining display is just to the right of Currently Displaying. During Event playback, this
field contains a countdown showing how much time remains before the end of the currently
playing event.

Page 38

Hint: By design, playback continues indefinitely after the end of an event is reached unless you
deliberately press Stop (or reach the end of the recorded video). Thus it can occur that the currently
displayed frame is not actually a member of any marked event. When this is the case, the
Remaining Time field is blank, and looks something like this: --:--:--:--

Page 39

This chapter aims to explain every aspect of your NewTek 3PLAY™ in
full detail. Each button, menu item, feature and control is considered
in these pages, so you can take full advantage of your system.

As explained in the introduction to the section, these details are
grouped according to their appearance in the 3PLAY system, whether
this is as a button on the 3P-10 control surface or on the 3PLAY
Desktop.

6 3PLAY REFERENCE

The 3P-10 control surface plays a front-line role in 3PLAY operations, while the 3PLAY Desktop
complements the 3P-10 by supplying vital visual feedback. As these two major components are so
important, in the chapter that follows discussions of most of the principal 3PLAY functions and
features are placed in the context of either the 3P-10 control surface or 3PLAY Desktop.

For example, the MARK IN and MARK OUT functions are presented as buttons on the 3P-10
control surface. To learn more about their use, then, look in the 3P-10 section. Or suppose you
want to learn more about the interactive features of the monitors on the 3PLAY Desktop – you
would naturally look in the 3PLAY Desktop section (Section 6.4).

Other matters covered in this chapter include Input and Output -- see Sections 4.4 and 6.7, which
discuss 3PLAY’s various external connections. 3PLAY sessions -- their creation and management
(including external Backup and Restore features) -- are intrinsic to the Administration Screen, so
are covered in that section (6.3). You’ll find system maintenance functions such as Defragment
and Update 3PLAY in the same section.

6.1 USER INTERFACE R EQUIREMENTS

The 3PLAY Desktop user interface requires a minimum 1280 x 768 screen resolution.

Though not a requirement, you may prefer to use a widescreen display for the user interface when
you primarily work with HD (or SD 16:9) sources. Likewise, a 4:3 aspect monitor suits SD 4:3
sessions more closely. This has no bearing on recording or video output, of course. It is simply
because an aspect mismatch causes either letterboxing or pillar-boxing of the onscreen monitors
(to display video without stretching).

Page 40

6.2 3P-10 CONTROL SURFA CE

Figure 21

The 3P-10 control surface provides tactile control of all important operations. Knobs, buttons and
controls are logically grouped for convenience. The purpose and use of many of these features
and functions are self-explanatory, but several have optional or secondary features, too. Let’s list
and define what each button and control does.

6.2.1 PLAYBACK SPEED

Figure 22

1. Speed-Bar: Variable playback speed controller

Page 41

2. Speed Presets (25%, 33%, 50%, 75%, 100%): When lit, these buttons override the current

Speed-Bar setting, setting the rate to the indicated speed. When the Speed-Bar is moved
again, it regains dominance

Playback speed controls are located toward the left side of the 3P-10 control surface. As you’ve
seen, both Delayed and Event playback can be viewed at reduced speeds. The Speed-Bar’s 0%
position is effectively a stop, while 100% represents normal speed.

Generally, think of these controls as speed settings, as opposed to being buttons that directly
perform an action. They do not initiate play. Rather, they pre-set the speed for the next playback
operation. Thus, selecting an event and setting Speed to 50%, does not begin slow motion play
immediately; but when you subsequently press ALT + Play it runs at half the normal rate.

Hint: To slow down live source video, first set the desired speed and then click Play. This puts 3PLAY
into Delayed playback mode), allowing the reduced speed setting to be applied. (Record must be
enabled.) Press LIVE to resume play at normal speed.

However, speed changes you make during playback of either Delayed video or an Event are
applied immediately. This means that you can adjust playback speed on the fly in these cases by
choosing a different speed button or adjusting the Speed-Bar.

6.2.2 EVENT MARKING

Figure 23

3. MARK IN /OUT:

o Set an In Point or an Out Point
o ALT + MARK IN /OUT updates the In or Out Point of the selected event

Page 42

These buttons add and define entries in the Event Lists by setting In and Out Point timecode
references for the video stream currently displayed on the Main Output monitor. When both an
In Point and an Out Point have been added, the event creation process is complete.

The button actions apply to whatever video is displayed on 3PLAY output at the time. If Record is
enabled and the output is Live (or Delayed) video, a corresponding event is entered in the current
event playlist. MARK IN and Out even work during Event mode playback. You could, for example,
use them to add a new event between two existing ones – or recreate one you had previously
removed.

When an In Point has been created by pressing MARK IN, 3PLAY awaits a user action:

I. If the operator presses MARK IN again (without an intervening MARK OUT action),

the active In Point is updated, replaced by a new one at the current time.

II. If the operator presses MARK OUT, 3PLAY i) records the timecode of the currently

displayed frame as the Out Point, and ii) calculates and displays the Duration for the
current event, completing the event marking operation.

Conveniently, the MARK OUT operation is sometimes performed automatically. For example, if
the 3PLAY operator presses Stop, Play, or ends Recording, 3PLAY performs a MARK OUT operation,
adding the Out Point required to complete the current event.

Hint: Pressing ESC on the 3P-10 or Esc on the keyboard cancels the previous Mark IN.

As noted earlier (Section 5.5.1, One Button Marking), you can also create events without ever
pressing MARK IN. This permits you to easily create a series of events just by pressing MARK OUT
when noteworthy occurrences take place.

If no In Point has been deliberately marked (by pressing MARK IN), pressing MARK OUT will:

I. Create a new event

II. Automatically assign both an In Point and an Out Point to it. By default, the In Point

will be 4 seconds before the moment the operator pressed MARK OUT (see Section

5.5.1).

Hint: See Section 5.6, Instant Replay for yet another handy way to perform a MARK OUT.

Page 43

6.2.3 RECORD

4) REC (Record) button (Figure 24): toggles 3PLAY recording

Though unassuming, the importance of the REC button (or to be precise, the function it controls)
cannot be overemphasized. Unless 3PLAY is recording, you cannot even see video from live sources.
Of course, you are free to turn Record off -- as you might perhaps during long pauses in the action
or when a production ends.

Previously recorded video can be sent to 3PLAY’s output with Record off, but working with live
sources requires Record to be enabled. For this reason, recording is also started automatically
whenever you press the LIVE button … or click an input stream monitor (see Section 6.4.5).

Hint: Keep an eye on the Remaining Disk Space display in the Device Information pane (see
Section6.4.3.2 ) to avoid unintentionally using up all your storage capacity.

Each time Record is enabled, a special event is automatically added to the Master List. This event
has a notation in the Comment column stating: “Recording started at timecode” (the time when
recording was initiated is substituted for the timecode value). The event is given a null Duration,
and serves simply as a convenient time reference.

Note: For any single session, recording stops automatically after 12 hours.

6.2.4 CAMERA SELECTION

Figure 24

Page 44

5) Camera 1, 2 & 3 buttons:

b) Press to place the corresponding stream on the Main Output monitor. (For 1-Out mode,

this also sets the primary stream).

Hint: This produces the same result as clicking one of the three Output Stream
monitors on the 3PLAY Desktop.

c) Press ALT + Camera (1, 2 or 3) to place Live playback of the designated Camera on Main

Output.

d) Press Shift + Camera (1, 2 or 3) to set the Camera for the selected event (just as clicking a

button in the Event List’s Camera column does). This change does not affect playback
already in progress, however.

6.2.5 ALT

6) ALT (Figure 25): Press in combination with other 3P-10 buttons as specified to provide

optional functions.

6.2.6 JUMP

7) -2 Sec, -1 Sec, +1 Sec, +2 Sec buttons: When pressed, the frame on output "jumps" backward

or forward correspondingly.

The Jump buttons move the current play position to a different timecode in measured increments.
Naturally this action affects all associated video streams simultaneously. (If a ‘jump’ is executed
while stopped, playback re-commences at the current frame when Play is pressed.)

Note: if you ‘jump’ during playback, playback automatically resumes from the ‘jump position’.

Page 45

Figure 25

6.2.7 LIVE

8) LIVE (Figure 25): press to restore LIVE playback mode, placing live audio and video from the

sources connected to 3PLAY inputs on output. (Clicking LIVE also enables recording
automatically if necessary, as noted earlier.)

6.2.8 TRANSPORT

The Stop, Play and Play Highlight buttons (Figure 25) also affect video output.

9) Stop:
b) Freeze output at the frame currently displayed on output (regardless of its source).
c) ALT + Stop – jump to the beginning of the current event and stop at that frame.

For live output, pressing Stop effectively invokes a ‘Stopped and Delayed’ playback state. By the
way, when output is stopped, interlaced video streams are de-fielded (to prevent flicker)

10) Play:
b) Commence playback from the current frame on output (*see discussion below for one

exception) at the current Speed setting. Play continues seamlessly though the video

Page 46

Figure 26

record from there, even ignoring Out Points for events.

c) ALT + Play – begins playback from the In Point of a selected event. Play continues

seamlessly though the video record from there, ignoring Out Points for events.

With just one exception, playback always commences from the frame displayed on output at that
moment. The sole exception allows special instant replay convenience: if the 3PLAY operator has
pressed MARK IN at some earlier time and is monitoring progress of the action, he can optionally
skip a step and immediately output an instant replay.

In this scenario – that is, with live video playing and an incomplete event marking operation in
progress (only an In Point has been marked) – pressing Play does two things: it automatically adds
an Out Point to complete the event, and begins playback from the In Point.

Hint: In LIVE mode, pressing Play when the current Speed setting is less than 100% immediately
commences Delayed playback at reduced speed (Record must be enabled). To revert to the actual
live video stream at the current time and full normal playback rate, push the LIVE button.

Normally, event playback begins at the In Point of the current Event List entry, and continues
uninterrupted through the captured stream from that point forward until the operator ends it
(perhaps by pushing the LIVE Button). In and Out points encountered as play continues are
disregarded. This approach assures a smooth cut back to LIVE video when desired.

11) Play Highlight:
b) Commence special (Highlight Reel) playback mode that respects all In

and Out Points of events – See discussion below.

c) ALT + Play Highlight – Begin looping Highlight Reel playback.

Play Highlight conforms more exactly to conventional ‘playlist’ behavior.
Playback jumps from the Out Point of the first selected event to the In Point of the next,
continuing to play consecutive marked segments until all marked events have run.

Play Highlight also respects multi-selected events, even when these do not follow each other
immediately in the Event List. (When no events are selected, Play Highlight treats all events in the
current tab as selected.)

The Out Point for the final event is ignored, however, and play continues though the recorded
video from that point as usual.

Page 47

Figure 27

6.2.9 JOG/SHUTTLE

12) Jog Wheel/Shuttle Ring (Figure 27): Twist the outer ring
clockwise or counter-clockwise to quickly shuttle back
and forth through the video stream(s) on output. The
video will stop at the selected point on release.
Similarly, use the inner jog wheel to ‘dial up’ a different
frame with one fingertip.

The Jog Wheel moves the current frame position forward
and backward in the active event with frame precise
accuracy. Twisting the Shuttle Ring allows you to swiftly
scan backwards or forwards in time.

(The scan rate increases or decreases as you apply more or
less rotation to the ring.)

As you would expect, Jog/Shuttle actions affect all video output streams simultaneously. After a
jog operation, pressing Play would resume playback from the current frame (respecting the
established Speed setting).

In LIVE playback mode, the operator can only Jog/Shuttle backwards of course (3PLAY does not
currently support Future Playback mode – please see Relativity: The Special and the General
Theory, by Dr. A. Einstein).

Jogging during LIVE output engages Delayed playback mode.

Note: Jog/Shuttle actions during LIVE playback can only be performed when Record is enabled.

6.2.10 SELECT AND MANAGE

The buttons in this group

Figure 28) permit you to select (and multi-select) events in their lists, clone and remove them.

Page 48

Figure 28

13) RMV (Remove): remove the selected Event

List entry (or entries).

If an entry is removed from a colored Custom
List tab, it will no longer appear in the Master
List either. Likewise, events removed from

the Master List are removed from any colored
tabs they were assigned to.

14) CLN (Clone): create a duplicate event, which

will be placed below the existing one in the
list.

15) <TAB and TAB >: cycle through the Event List

tabs in a left or right direction.

ALT + < TAB/TAB >: cycle the color
assignment for selected events through the
custom tab colors (Master tab only). All
selected clips are assigned a single color. For
multi-selections that are different colors, color
cycling begins with the color of the last
selected clip.

16) ESC: Abort a current MARK IN or supply a negative response to an open dialog panel;
equivalent to the keyboard Esc key.

17) Num Pad 0-9: Type the ID# of an event using these buttons, then press ENTER to select the
event.

18) ENTER: Confirm a numeric entry (jumping to the desired event by its ID#) or send an
affirmative response to a open dialog panel.

19) SHIFT: A qualifier button to allow multi-selection of events in a tabbed list (keep Shift
depressed while pressing an Arrow (Up/Down) button; equivalent of the keyboard Shift key.

20) Arrow (Up): Move current position in Event List up; equivalent of the keyboard Up Arrow key.

21) Arrow (Down): Move current position in Event List down; equivalent of the keyboard Down
Arrow key.

Page 49

22) ALT + Arrow (Up/Down): Move selected event(s) up/down in the Event List.

Note: The Arrow and SHIFT buttons permit multi-selection of adjacent events. Their keyboard
equivalents work in the same manner. To multi-select events which are separated in the tabbed list
requires use of the keyboard - keep the keyboard Ctrl key pressed while clicking the desired events
with the mouse.

6.3 ADMINISTRATION SCREEN

The Administration Screen allows you to choose essential startup settings before the 3PLAY
Desktop is opened, and to perform project and system maintenance.

The links at left in the panel allow you to choose between several operations and maintenance
functions. Tools related to the selection made at left are presented in the pane at right. The
amount of unused video storage capacity remaining on the system is displayed (in Gigabytes) at
lower-right.

Let’s look into each of the major options in the Administration Screen.

6.3.1 NEW SESSION

Figure 29 – 3Play International

Page 50

The New Session options include:

 Session Name: Click to enter a unique name in the text entry field.

 *Video Standard: For the International model 3PLAY, select the appropriate video

standard for your locale and external equipment by choosing NTSC, NTSC-J, or PAL.

* Video Standard options are shown only for 3PLAY International.

 Resolution: The options are 720p, 1080i, SD 16:9, or SD 4:3. For one 3PLAY session you

may wish to connect High Definition (HD) devices, while another setting may require you
to connect to Standard Definition (SD) devices. The video standard and resolution for both
input and output must match, and the corresponding settings set before beginning a 3PLAY
session.

 Output Mode – choose which output mode (1-Out or 3-Out) is best for your current

application (see the discussion of output modes following below).

Note: All external video devices - both input and output - connected to 3Play must conform to the
settings established in this pane.

Clicking Start Session (at lower-right) launches the 3PLAY Desktop (see Section 6.4).

6.3.1.1 OUTPUT MODE

3PLAY always supports up to 3 connected video sources, but the operator has a choice between
two different configurations of video streams for output.

The Output Mode must be chosen in the Administration Screen prior to creating a new session
(when you open an earlier session stored on the system, the original Output Mode setting is
retained).

1-OUT MODE

In this mode the 3PLAY operator selects just one primary stream to be displayed on all outputs.
During 1-Out operation, all three of 3PLAYs output connections transmit the same user-selected
stream.

Page 51

In addition to placing camera selection directly under control of the 3PLAY operator, this can be
useful for distributing 3PLAY’s output to different external environments. (For example, one output

could supply video for a commentator’s monitor, another to a switcher for broadcast, while the

third is supplied for review by referees).

3-OUT MODE

The synchronized segments of all three streams are individually displayed on Outputs 1-3
respectively. To a great extent this frees the 3PLAY operator from having to determine which
camera angle to send to output. That responsibility typically then falls on the director, who tells
the operator of an outboard switcher which of the three camera angles from 3PLAY’s Outputs 1-3
he wants shown.

6.3.2 OPEN/MANAGE SESSION

This panel (Figure 30) presents a window that lists all sessions currently stored on 3PLAY, showing
the Session Name, Last Mod(ification) Date, Duration (total a/v captured length) and Size on Disk,
and of course allows you to re-open these sessions. It also provides various session management
functions.

Figure 30

Page 52

Selecting a session Name and clicking Open launches the 3PLAY Desktop (using the former input
and output settings), complete with the video record and Event List contents from the earlier
session. Among other things, being able to re-open stored sessions is useful for use with the
Export Tab feature (See Section 6.4.8.9).

 Double-click a Session (name) to quickly open that session (without pressing Open).
 Click on an already highlighted session (name) a second time to change its name, or you

may right-click to open a context menu with two menu points:

o Rename
o Delete

 Click a session name, and then click Delete to completely remove it and all associated

data. (A confirmation dialog is presented before the deletion proceeds).

6.3.2.1 BACKUP SESSION

This feature allows you to backup an entire 3PLAY session to an external storage system. When
Backup Session is clicked, a file requester appears so you can choose a target volume and directory
from among those connected to 3PLAY (by network or USB cable). The session currently
highlighted in the list will be stored at this location.

Hint: Before data copying actually begins, you will be warned if there is not enough room on the
target volume for the session.

Session backup can take some time, depending on the total duration of the session and its
resolution. A progress gauge is shown during the process. It is appropriate to store backups on
volumes formatted using the NTFS file system, to avoid the restrictive file size limitations of FAT32
(see Section 7.1.5).

Note: You cannot open another session during backup (or restore) operations, so you likely
wouldn’t want to begin this process just moments before another scheduled production.

6.3.2.2 RESTORE FROM BACKUP

When you click Restore from Backup, a file requester appears so you can choose a session backup
folder from an external location. This folder, created by a previous Backup operation, will normally
contain all assets required to restore the session. If any external file manipulations have resulted
in missing assets a dialog lists the missing files and the backup is aborted.

Page 53

The backup function will make sure there’s enough room on 3PLAY for the session you wish to
restore (a modest safety allowance for extra space is added to calculation by design). Next,
assuming no session with the same name as the selected backup already exists on 3PLAY, the
restoration is performed.

Hint: If the name of the selected backup is already in use, you will have an opportunity to rename it
and continue, or Cancel the operation.

A progress gauge is displayed during the restore operation. The time required to restore a session
varies with its size (HD or SD, and Duration) and the speed of the connection to the external
volume. In due course, the restored session’s name will appear in the list pane.

6.3.3 SYSTEM PREFERENCES

The System Preferences pane provides a couple of opportunities to customize 3Play to your own
liking.

Figure 31

The One-Button Mark Preroll drop-down menu pertains to the duration of events marked using
the one-button method described in Section 5.5.1. The default is 4 seconds, but you can choose a
different value according to you need here.

Normally, 3Play’s Desktop Dashboard (see Section 6.4.9) is only presented if the 3P-10 control
surface is not connected. The Show Dashboard switch in System Preferences permits you to force
it to appear at all times, instead. You may find the extra feedback this provides useful.

Page 54

Figure 33

6.3.4 SYSTEM UTILITIES

System Utilities (Figure 32) is home to the (hard drive) Defragment tool and Update 3PLAY utility.

Figure 32

6.3.4.1 DEFRAGMENT

Over the course of lengthy use, the section of
3PLAY’s internal storage devoted to audio and
video storage can become fragmented.
Eventually, this can degrade playback
performance. Defragmenting corrects this
condition.

You could think of your hard drive as being like a
shelf in your library. As time goes along, the
shelf fills with books. Some are large while
others are small, just as recorded 3PLAY sessions
may be shorter or longer.

To make room for new additions, you decide to remove books you have finished with from the
shelf. You remove a book here, another there, opening up gaps between the remaining books.

This makes some shelf space available, but does so in the form of gaps separated by the remaining
books. Sadly, when you obtain another large book, it may be too big to fit in any one of the gaps.
A foolish librarian might tear the new book into sections just big enough to fit into the open spaces
on the shelf. This is would obviously be unwise. When you wish to refer to the book later you will
waste a lot of time locating and assembling its sections before you can read it.

Page 55

How much better it would be to slide the remaining books closer together, combining all the free
space first. Unfortunately, computers are ‘foolish librarians’. They tend to want to fill in all the
gaps in their storage areas, even if it means literally shredding your ‘book’ (in reality large video
files from your 3PLAY sessions) into tiny fragments.

Defragmenting the storage volume has the same effect as sliding the books together, resulting in
one or more larger gaps. The end result is that 3PLAY doesn’t have to frantically search in many
different places to assemble the video streams from your recorded session. This process can take
considerable time, so it’s not something you want to begin just before another production.

6.3.4.2 UPDATE 3PLAY

Periodically, NewTek may provide software updates for your 3PLAY. Updates can enhance
performance, security or even add useful new features.

If 3PLAY is connected to the internet, clicking Update 3PLAY will automatically access the update
webpage, and check to see if you have the latest version. If an update is available, you will be able
to download and install it directly. Otherwise, connect to the Registration page (and the personal
Downloads area for your registered NewTek products) and manually download any available
update. This way you can be sure the very latest version of the software for your 3PLAY is installed.

6.3.5 ABOUT 3PLAY

Figure 34

This pane lists software version information, credits and acknowledgments, etc.

Page 56

6.3.6 SHUTDOWN SYSTEM

Figure 35

This selection provides Restart, Shutdown 3PLAY, and Exit to Windows icons – click them to
perform the named action in the usual manner. (In the case of the latter function, you can return
to the 3PLAY environment from the Windows™ interface by double-clicking the desktop icon
named Launch 3PLAY.)

6.4 3PLAY DESKTOP

Figure 36

Page 57

The 3PLAY Desktop provides visual feedback for 3PLAY operations, including monitoring, event
marking, management and playback controls, and output control. In addition, it hosts the I/O
Configuration controls for your external sources and output connections.

The Desktop is shown after you click Start Session or Open Session in the Administration Screen.
Actually, 3PLAY provides two Desktop variants.

 The Standard Desktop is designed for use with the external 3P-10 control surface. It

allows as much space as possible to be devoted to event management.

 If the 3P-10 is not detected for any reason on opening a session, the Dashboard appears

on the Desktop. The Dashboard is small panel allowing tasks normally performed using
the 3P-10 to be carried out with the mouse instead. (The Dashboard is discussed in
Section 6.4.9.)

6.4.1 TITLEBAR DISPLAY

Figure 37

An information display in the Desktop titlebar provides useful data about the current session.
Displayed information includes:

 Video Standard: (NTSC or PAL), along with format information such as HD 1080i60, HD

720p30, etc.

 The current Output Mode (1-Out or 3-Out)
 Time of Day (from the system clock)

6.4.2 I/O CONFIGURATION

Video and audio sources and output devices connected to 3PLAY need to be properly configured.
The video format and resolution are set in the Administration Screen (prior to launching the 3PLAY
Desktop), but other settings are located in the I/O Configuration panel. This arrangement permits
them to be freely modified as necessary during a session.

Page 58

Figure 38

Click the small gear button (near the Close gadget in the upper-right corner of the Desktop) to
open the I/O Configuration panel. The panel can be re-positioned by dragging its titlebar.

Figure 39

6.4.2.1 INPUT 1, 2 AND 3

For each video input (numbered 1-3), the I/O Configuration panel provides such video source
settings as type, termination, and proc amp controls. As well, output and genlock settings are
located in this panel.

VIDEO CONNECTION (DROP-DOWN)

The Video Connection drop-down menu allows use of various types of video sources. Ideally, all
three inputs should be identical, but it is permissible to vary the source type individually here In
order to take full advantage of the equipment you have on hand. The options available are:

1. Composite (option shown for SD sessions only)

2. Y/C (option shown for SD sessions only)

3. Component

4. SDI

Page 59

Figure 40

TERMINATION

The Termination switch toggles a 75 ohm resistance, which may be required by certain video
sources.

PROC AMP

Individual proc amp control is likewise provided for each video
input. The four basic camera adjustments available are
Brightness, Contrast, Hue and Saturation.

The first two (Brightness and Contrast) are familiar to all of us,
and need no explanation. Hue adjusts the color of the video
signal, swinging the range of the entire image through the
spectrum as depicted on a color wheel.

Saturation controls color intensity. Zero saturation removes all
color, producing a black and white image. Increased saturation

results in richer colors. Over-saturation can quickly result in
video signal values that are deemed illegal for transmission and display, however. This condition
can manifest itself in all sorts of nasty ways, including smearing and ‘crawling ‘colors, and can even
cause audio issues – so be conservative when raising Saturation.

RESTORE DEFAULTS

Clicking this button resets all options for the input to factory defaults.

6.4.2.2 AUDIO

Figure 41

Audio you wish to record with video sources must be specified and configured in this section.

Page 60

AUDIO TYPE (DROP-DOWN)

The optional audio connection types are:

1. Analog Audio – Utilizes the four inputs in the Analog Audio In section on 3PLAY’s front

2. Digital Audio – Utilizes the two inputs in the Digital Audio In section on 3PLAY’s front for

AES3 (AES/EBU) digital audio sources

For SDI video sources (only), an additional option is added to the drop-down list, so that it
includes:

3. SDI Embedded Audio - Digital audio streams from an SDI source, embedded in the digital

video stream

Note: If Video Connection is “SDI” but no valid video source is connected, neither digital nor analog
audio will be heard for that input.

LEVEL

The Level knob allows the operator to trim audio gain to suit various audio sources. The VU
meters (located next to the video stream monitors on the Desktop) help you adjust audio levels
for recording and transmission. Each calibrated vertical strip can show the level for either one or
two audio channels; when 4 input channels are supplied, the levels for channels 1 and 3 are
superimposed (not ‘summed’) on the left meter, while the right meter displays channels 2 and 4.

3PLAY’s VU meters are calibrated in dB FS units. The dB FS notation stands for “Decibels, Full
Scale.” In digital equipment, 0 dB FS is the maximum value for quantization purposes, and thus
properly sits at the top of the VU scale. To allow comfortable headroom for normal audio variance
and unexpected peaks, various international organizations suggest either -20 (SMTPE) or -18 dB FS
(EBU) as the Alignment Level (representing a reasonable or typical level).

Note: 3PLAY conforms to the professional -20dB FS SMPTE specification for digital audio. This means
its reference level is 20dB below Full Scale (often referred to as +4dBu reference level and
corresponding to 1.23v RMS). If you like, you can take advantage of that headroom to achieve the
highest dynamic range and lowest signal-to-noise ratio possible when recording with 3Play.

Page 61

Figure 42

6.4.2.3 OUTPUT

VIDEO CONNECTION

This drop-down menu allows the operator to select between Component, Y/C, Composite and SDI
output for 3PLAY.

Some output types do not support high definition resolutions. Thus, the options available vary
depending on whether or not the current session is standard or high definition, as follows below:

 SD Sessions: Component, Y/C, Composite
 HD Sessions: Component

(It’s worth noting that SDI output does not need to be manually selected here – it is always active.)

Hint: See Sections 4.4 and 6.5 for information on 3PLAY’s physical a/v connections.

CENTER FREQUENCY

This setting is applied when a genlock reference signal is not in use. To adjust the setting, supply
color bars to a 3PLAY input and pass the video output to a vectorscope. The vectorscope display is
completely stable when Center Frequency is properly adjusted.

6.4.2.4 GENLOCK

3PLAY’s Genlock feature allows it to ‘lock’ to a reference video signal (house sync, such as ‘black
burst’) supplied to its Genlock input connector. This synchronizes 3PLAY output to other external
equipment locked to the same reference.

Page 62

Hint: “Genlock” is an abbreviation for “generator locking”. A
professional video device often provides a “genlock input”,
which allows an external reference signal (often referred to as
‘house sync’) to control its video timing.

When video sources are connected in this manner their output
is synchronized to the reference signal, and they are referred to
as ‘genlocked’.

Figure 43

Among other things, genlocking permits seamless downstream integration of 3PLAY output with
other video sources locked to the same sync pulse (without requiring time base correction, which
provides a less ideal solution).

There is a more important reason for genlocking in a 3PLAY context, however:

Seemingly insignificant deviations in the framerate of individual cameras are common. As well, the
timing of cameras can vary slightly during use. For a single camera or short durations, this is
virtually irrelevant. However 3Play’s design involves capturing output from three cameras – small
timing variations do matter. Especially over longer periods of time, very trivial timing deviations
between sources can produce noticeable and complex synchronization issues on playback.

Serving i) 3PLAY’s Genlock input and ii) other video devices in the chain all with the same reference
signal eliminates potential for these undesirable conditions. You could think of it this way:

 Genlocking your cameras locks their output together, preventing sync issues on arrival at

3PLAY’s inputs and subsequent recording.

 Supplying the same sync source to 3PLAY’s Genlock input during live sessions ensures a

match between 3PLAY output and downstream video devices required to handle both it
and other (genlocked) sources.

VERT POSITION, HORIZ POSITION AND PHASE

Locking all devices to house sync is important, but this alone does not actually ensure a perfect
downstream match. Consider an army marching along: each step the soldiers take occurs at
precisely the same moment, so we could say their timing is synchronized. Even so -- if one soldier
leads with the left foot while everyone else is on the right, problems result. Or perhaps everyone
is evenly spaced and perfectly aligned but for one misfit who is badly out of position.

Page 63

This is essentially why 3PLAY provides several adjustments in its Genlock section. The Horizontal
and Vertical Position settings pin the image in the proper space in the frame, and in doing so could
be likened to making sure each marching soldier is in position relative to his fellows as viewed from
above. The Phase setting ensures proper color alignment, corresponding more to the matter of
making sure everyone is on the left or right foot at the same time (Phase adjustment is not
required for HD sessions, so it is not shown in that case).

Thus, the Vert Position, Horiz Position and Phase settings allow you to adjust synchronization to
arrive at an optimal match between devices. (Typically, these settings are tweaked with the aid of
downstream Vectorscope and Waveform monitors.)

A discussion of these adjustments goes beyond the scope of this manual, but a quick online search
for the keywords “genlock” and “adjust’ turns up a number of excellent references.

REFERENCE TYPE

For standard definition 3PLAY sessions, only the traditional “bi-level” reference signal is supported,
so the Reference Type selector is not shown. However, 3PLAY supports both bi-level and the newer
tri-level reference signals for HD sessions.

Use the Reference Type selector to identify the signal supplied to Genlock input. Note that for HD
(Tri-level), the reference signal must conform to the Video Standard and Resolution selected for
the session in the Administration Panel.

NOTE: FOR NTSC SESSIONS, THE REFERENCE SIGNAL MUST BE EITHER 29.97 OR 59.94 FRAMES
PER SECOND.

6.4.3 RECORD AND DEVICE STATUS

Figure 44

Page 64

Figure 45

We discussed this 3PLAY Desktop panel briefly way back in Section 5.4 (Quick Start). In addition to
providing some valuable information, it is home to the all-important Record button.

6.4.3.1 RECORD

This button toggles live video recording on and off. Naturally, recording begins when Record is
pressed, and ends when it is pressed again.

At times you may wish to halt recording temporarily within a session, perhaps during some lengthy
interruption. You can easily tell when recording is active by glancing at the button and its nearby
‘LED’, which will be lit up. As well, the value in the nearby Session time Recorded counter is
always climbing when Record is on. Please see Section 6.2.3 for other important details about the
Record function.

NOTE: 3PLAY DOES NOT DISPLAY LIVE VIDEO SOURCES WHEN RECORD IS DISABLED.

6.4.3.2 SYSTEM INFORMATION

This area shows important system information such as Session Time Recorded and the Remaining
Disk Space on the device (displayed as hours, minutes and seconds.)

Hint: If Remaining Disk Space falls below 5 minutes, the text turns red, to warn that the hard drive
is nearly full. Recording will stop automatically when all available space is used up (a dialog
appears stating that the drive is full).

6.4.4 MONITORING

Most of the left-hand side of the 3PLAY Desktop is devoted
to monitoring. Three small upper monitors (labeled Input 1,
2 and 3) always show the video streams serving 3PLAY’s
inputs.

The large monitor is the Main Output monitor. Beneath it
are three smaller Output Stream monitors. The smaller
monitors show all three streams (camera angles) associated
with the current 3PLAY output. The various monitors serve
different purposes, and also include interactive features.

Page 65

6.4.5 INPUT 1, 2, 3

Figure 46

Three Input Source Monitors at upper-left show live video from video sources connected to
Inputs 1-3, providing full-time monitoring of live cameras -- even during Event or Delayed
playback. If a particular input is currently on the Main Output monitor, the corresponding Input
Source monitor is outlined in green.

NOTE: RECORD MUST BE ENABLED TO VIEW LIVE VIDEO, AND WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY
ENABLED IF NECESSARY. SEE SECTIONS 6.2.3 AND 6.2.7 FOR MORE DETAIL.

The input monitors do more than just provide visual feedback, though; they are also interactive.
Clicking on any of them will switch 3PLAY immediately to LIVE playback mode. This will end Event
or Delayed playback if in progress, and will also enable Record if necessary.

If 3PLAY is operating in 1-Out mode (see Section 3.4.2), the stream represented by the monitor
clicked becomes the primary output.

VU meters beside each of the monitors provide the audio monitoring capability you need to adjust
input levels correctly (Section 6.4.2.2). These also serve to provide assurance of the integrity of
your audio connections during recording and transmission.

6.4.6 OUTPUT MONITORS

The Output section of the interface consists of one larger Main Output monitor window above 3
smaller ones. These monitors show what is displayed on 3PLAY’s video outputs at any given
moment, and also provide functions related to event marking, trimming, and even transport.

Page 66

Figure 47

The three monitors at the bottom of the
Desktop show all three synchronized video
streams available for output.

The much larger monitor just above is
referred to as the Main Output monitor.

Like the Input Source monitors, the various Output Monitors also incorporate interactive features,
discussed in context below. Let’s consider the three Output Stream monitors first.

Hint: Output streams can consist of Live (input) streams, Delayed streams, or (synchronized) Event
streams, depending on operator selections (see Section 3.1).

6.4.6.1 OUTPUT STREAM MONITORS

Figure 48

The three small Output Stream Monitors (Figure 48) show the 3 streams available for output, and
also serve as interactive controls. As you know by now, these three synchronized streams may be
i) live video passed directly from 3PLAY’s video inputs (and hence identical to the streams shown on
the Input Source monitors), ii) delayed video, or iii) an event (see Section 3.1).

Page 67

When 3PLAY is in 1-Out mode, the primary output stream is displayed on the Main Monitor above.
A red outline highlights the corresponding output stream monitor. The primary stream is selected
by clicking one of the smaller stream monitors. Thus, you can effectively switch the camera view
on 3PLAY output by clicking a different output stream monitor (of course 3P-10’s Camera buttons
serve the same purpose).

In 3-Out mode, you likewise assign one of the 3 available streams to the Main Output monitor by
clicking on a stream monitor. In 3-Out mode, though, this selection does not really affect 3PLAY
output. Even so, the enlarged view on the Main Output monitor is useful for event marking,
trimming, etc.

Selecting the primary output (by any means) has other ramifications, too. During marking
operations, the initial Camera for a new event is the stream displayed on the large Main Output
monitor at the time of creation (i.e., at the time when its In Point is set).

Hint: Switching by clicking an output stream monitor during playback affects the Camera setting for
subsequently marked events, but does not modify the Camera selection for existing events.

6.4.6.2 MAIN OUTPUT

The largest of the seven monitors is the Main Output monitor. It shows one selected video stream
from among those displayed on the Output Stream monitors below.

The primary or selected output stream is displayed on the Main Output monitor, and a red outline
highlights the corresponding Output Stream monitor.

There are various ways to assign a specific video stream to the Main Output monitor:

- Press Camera (1, 2 or 3) on the 3P-10 control surface.

- Press LIVE on the 3P-10 to place the last previously selected incoming stream on Main

Output.

- Click one of the three Input Stream monitors to put 3PLAY into LIVE playback mode and

assign that stream to Main Output.

- Click one of the three Output Stream monitors to assign that stream to Main Output.

- Double-click an event in the Event Panel (or select it and click ALT + Play) to send the

Camera stream for that event to Main Output (playback begins at the In Point).

- During event trimming operations, the In or Out Point of the Camera stream is displayed

on Main Output.

Page 68

Hint: 3PLAY’s Desktop monitors are previews, and can drop frames under certain conditions. 3PLAY
Output does not do so, however – thus you may use external monitors for greater fidelity if desired.

INTERACTIVE JOG

The mouse pointer becomes a double-headed arrow when you move it over the Main Output
monitor. This is a reminder that interactive jogging is available (during LIVE playback, Record must
be enabled before jogging – see Section 6.2.3). Dragging left or right on the monitor jogs all three
synchronized video streams backwards or forwards in time. (If you Jog while playback is stopped,
pressing Play immediately afterward commences playback at the current frame.)

6.4.6.3 PLAYBACK INFORMATION AREA

Separating the Output Stream monitor group from the Main Output monitor is a small
information panel labeled Currently Displaying (Figure 49).

Figure 49

The tag to the right of the Currently Displaying label indicates one of the following playback types:

 Live – input video streams, passed through live to output

 Delayed - delayed playback results when:

o 3PLAY is in LIVE mode and you jog or jump back in time
o 3PLAY is in LIVE mode and you engage slow motion playback
o 3PLAY is in LIVE mode and you press Stop
o Playback moves past the Out Point of the selected event
o Playback moves past the last event in Play Highlight mode

 (ID#) Event - The unique ID number for an Event displayed on output, followed by the

label “Event”

Page 69

 (ID#) Highlight - This tag indicates playback is in Highlight Reel mode. When you press

Play Highlight, playback of events respects marked Out Points (see Section 6.2.8).

The Current Time timecode display shows the current recorded time in LIVE playback mode, or the
timecode of the current frame in Delayed, Event or Highlight mode. Just to the right of Current
Time is the Time Remaining field. This is essentially an event countdown:

During standard playback of an event from a playlist, this field shows time remaining to
the end of the event that was initially played. If play enters another event, the
countdown is reinitialized to reflect the duration of that event. If play enters a period of
the video record for which an event is not marked, Time Remaining shows --:--:--.—.

6.4.7 AUDIO, AND AUDIO MONI TORIN G

The audio VU (Volume Unit) meters beside each of the video stream monitors serve several
purposes. At the simplest level, if you intend to record audio with your video (or pass it through to
3PLAY’s outputs), the input meters assure you that audio is being received at 3PLAY’s inputs.

Likewise, the output VU meters provide confidence that 3PLAY is supplying audio to its outputs.
More importantly, you can monitor audio levels to be sure you are not overdriving the system,
which would result in clipping of the signal (see Section 6.4.2.2).

6.4.8 EVENT PANEL

Figure 50

The right side of the 3PLAY Desktop is devoted to the Event Panel. By way of reminder (as
discussed in depth back in Section 3.2), an event is not merely a ‘clip’. Rather it can be compared
to a bookmarked section of the complete recording, a synchronized time slice of all three streams

Page 70

3PLAY captures. The Event Panel provides information about events you have marked, along with
numerous event organization and management features.

6.4.8.1 MASTER LIST

At the top of the Event Panel, you will see 6 tabs. The first of these is labeled Master. The Master
List plays a special role in event management.

Events are created by any action that creates a new In Point. Generally, In Points result from your
pressing MARK IN on the 3P-10 control surface during recording of your production. It’s also
possible to create a new event from an existing one, and a special event is generated simply by
enabling Record (see Section 6.2.3).

Newly created events appear as new entries in the Master List. These are always added at the
bottom of the Event List, with the exception of cloned entries -- clones initially appear below the
original selection (see Section 6.4.8.8).

For each event entry, the following data and controls are displayed:

o ID #: The unique ID number for the event (not editable)
o IN Point: The start timecode for the event
o Duration: The time between the In Point and Out Point (inclusive)
o Comment: A user editable memo field
o Camera: Designates the primary stream for 1-Out output mode (see Sections 3.4.2 and

6.4.8.7)

Hint: events can coincide, or overlap; a section of your overall recording may well be part of several
event entries.

6.4.8.2 CUSTOM LISTS

Immediately next to the Master List tab is a group of colored tabs.

Figure 51

Page 71

Pressing TAB on the 3P-10 Control Surface (or clicking a tab) activates a different Custom List. The
Master List contains every existing event; but you decide which of these (if any) to add to the
Custom Lists.

Hint: You can use Custom Lists for a variety of purposes. For example, you could use them to
quickly collate events for each quarter of a football game, or arrange them by team or event type,
such as goals, penalties, and so on.

The color assigned to an event (by pressing ALT + TAB (< or>), or via the event context menu)
determines which list an entry appears in. The Master List is gray – events shown in gray appear
only in the Master List. Assigning the color orange to an event causes it to appear in the orange­tabbed Custom List as well.

Note: Events created when a colored Custom List tab is selected are automatically assigned to it (as
well as being added to the Master List).

An event can be transferred from one Custom List to another by assigning it a different color.
Assigning gray to an event removes it from all Custom Lists, but of course does not remove it from
the Master List.

Hint: Only one color can be assigned to a given event; hence an event can appear in only one of the
five Custom Lists at a time (use Clone to sidestep this if necessary).

RENAMING TABS

To change the name shown on a Custom Event List tab, press F7 (or right-click on the tab and
select Rename from the menu).

EVENT ORDER

Although events are initially added to the Master List in the order of their creation, this does not
always mean they are in chronological order. For example, you can add new events long after
recording ends. Though such new events may refer to early portions in the recorded footage, they
are still added to the end of the list.

Page 72

You are free to re-order events (and event selections) up and down in the list using the 3P-10
control surface. Use ALT + Arrow (Up/Down) to do so. Alternatively, you can drag them up or
down in the list using the mouse. (Re-ordering is especially useful in connection with the Play
Highlight feature - see Section 6.2.8, item 11).

6.4.8.3 SELECTION

You can use the 3P-10 Control Surface arrow buttons to select an event, or select it directly by
entering its number on the 3P-10 numeric keypad and pressing Enter (another way to choose an
event is to click it on the Desktop.)

Entries for selected events are displayed in a lighter shade and surrounded by a white border.
Standard multi-selection methods (Shift + click, and Ctrl + click) are supported.

For example, you can choose one entry, press and hold Shift, then ‘arrow’ to (or click) another and
release Shift. All entries between (and including) the two chosen are selected by this method.
Press and hold Ctrl on the keyboard, and click multiple events anywhere in the list to select just
those events (even when they are not next to one another in the list.) Selecting an event (without
pressing Ctrl or Shift) deselects all other events.

Hint: When multiple events are selected, pressing Ctrl + click actually toggles selection state – that
is, an already selected item will be de-selected.

When Play is active, selecting an event does not display it on output. However, selecting an event
when playback is stopped does display it on output (initially, the In Point for the selected event is
shown).

During event marking operations, setting an In Point (using MARK IN) creates a new (selected)
event which in turn awaits a subsequent MARK OUT action.

6.4.8.4 PLAYBACK

Playback of an event can be initiated in several ways:

- Select an event in the list and press ALT + Play on the 3P-10 control surface.

- Double-click an event in the list to select and play it.

- During event marking operations, after pressing Mark In, pressing Play immediately plays

back the new event from its In Point.

- Press Play Highlight (see Section 6.2.8).

Page 73

Note: For normal playback, when multiple events are selected, playback begins from the last event
clicked. The Play Highlight feature treats multi-selection differently, however – see Section 6.2.8)

PLAY POSITION INDICATOR

Figure 52

During playback, a triangular white marker referred to as the Play Position Indicator is overlaid on
the event currently being shown on 3PLAY output.

Of course, since events can coincide and/or overlap, the segment currently playing may well occur
in more than a single event. In such cases, the first event encountered containing the frame
displayed shows the Play Position Indicator. If playback continues beyond the Out Point of that
event, it moves to the next valid entry, if any – otherwise, it remains on the last valid entry (during
Highlight playback, however, the indicator always marks the currently playing event).

6.4.8.5 TRIMMING

The In Point and Duration of events can be modified interactively or by direct numeric entry. As
noted earlier, use the Jog/Shuttle or Jump buttons to move to a frame, and press ALT + MARK IN
to update the current In Point, or ALT + MARK OUT to reset the Duration.

Alternatively, when you move the mouse above the In Point with the Alt key depressed, the cursor
becomes a double-headed arrow, indicating that you can drag left or right to modify the current In
Point.

The Duration field can be modified in a similar manner. When dragging the mouse above the
Duration field (with Alt depressed), the frame representing the Out Point is displayed on the
output monitors (requires that playback be stopped first); the display snaps back to the In Point on
release.

Page 74

6.4.8.6 CONTEXT MENU

Right-clicking on an event (or multiple selected events) opens a context menu which includes the
following items:

 Edit IN Point
 Edit Duration
 Edit Comment
 (Color)
 Remove Event

Selecting one of the first three menu options opens an input dialog that allows you to make
suitable entries, either timecode or a comment.

The Color for Custom List assignment can be directly selected using the menu (selecting gray
removes the event from any Custom Lists, but leaves it in the Master List). Remove Event
removes all references to the event (but, of course, not the actual recorded a/v data).

6.4.8.7 CAMERA

Figure 53

Normal playback of 3PLAY’s recorded data generally proceeds as follows:

 The operator initiates playback of an event.
 Playback begins at the In Point of the designated event.
 All three synchronous recorded streams play back in unison.
 One of the three available streams (the primary stream) is shown on the Main Output

monitor.

 If the Output Mode is 3-Out, 3PLAY’s video outputs numbered 1-3 each carry their

corresponding video stream.

Page 75

 If the Output Mode is 1-Out, the primary stream is delivered to all of 3PLAY’s output

connectors for transmission to downstream video systems.

The Camera switch (in the last column of the Event List) designates the primary stream. The initial
Camera setting corresponds to the stream displayed on the large Main Output monitor at the time
the event is created.

Note that - once playback begins - the primary stream shown on Main Output does not normally
alter as events with different Camera settings are encountered during normal playback.

You can, however, deliberately switch the stream shown on the Main Output monitor during
playback by pressing Camera (1, 2, or 3) on the 3P-10 Control Surface (or by clicking one of the
Output or Input stream monitors.) Switching cameras during play in this manner does not affect
the already-established Camera setting for an event.

The stream on the Main Output monitor does not immediately update if you modify the Camera
option in the Event Panel during playback. To modify the Camera setting using the 3P-10 Control
Surface, press SHIFT + Camera (1, 2, or 3). The change will be respected the next time the event is
played.

Play Highlight, however, does conform to the Camera setting - just as it recognizes both In and Out
points for individual events. If (during Play Highlight playback) you change the Camera for an
upcoming event, the modified setting takes immediate effect. When playback reaches the
modified event, the new Camera setting will be respected.

6.4.8.8 REMOVE AND CLONE

Figure 54

Clicking Remove performs the same action as selecting RMV (Remove) on the 3P-10 Control
Surface (or Remove Event from the Event List context menu.) Selected events are completely

removed from the Event Lists.

Remember that this is a non-destructive operation; it does not actually affect the recorded data at
all. It merely removes a ‘bookmark’. And, it is entirely possible to re-create events - as long as you
do not delete the session (see Section 6.3.2).

Page 76

Pressing Clone duplicates the current event selection. Cloning can be useful when you wish to
assign copies of an event to more than one Custom List. Or, perhaps you wish to have copies of
events with different Camera assignments for successive playback using Play Higlight.

Hint: Trimming a clone offers one way to obtain an event entry that refers to a previously un­marked section of the recording.

6.4.8.9 EXPORT TAB …

The events listed in any tabbed panel can be exported as discreet audio/video files for storage and
use with other systems. The exported files respect the Camera settings for each event.

Note: Export cannot be performed when 3PLAY is recording, so the button is shown as ghosted.

The exported files include the audio visual data (from In Point to Out Point) for the designated
events, each as a discreet file. As well, an industry standard EDL (Edit Decision List) file is created
to accompany the exported files. The EDL comprises a sequential list of daisy-chained events
(multiple tracks are used if event timecode values overlap).

Figure 55

When you click the Export Tab … button, a file dialog is presented (Figure 55) to allow selection (or
creation) of a directory for the exported files - whether on the 3PLAY system hard drive or an
external drive. A folder named for the current session will be placed at the selected location.

Page 77

Figure 56

Export can take some time, depending on the duration of the events selected and their resolution
(note that Export to an external drive is faster). A progress gauge is shown during the process.

NOTE: YOU CANNOT WORK ON A SESSION DURING EXPORT, SO YOU LIKELY WOULDN’T WANT
TO BEGIN THIS DURING OR JUST BEFORE A PRODUCTION.

Exporting does not reduce image quality. The file compression format is MPEG2, I-frames. The
naming convention for files includes convenient (In Point) timecode and camera references.

Hint: In rare cases when several events have identical In Points, the filenames could be
incremented, such as event_0:34:34:2(1).mpg, event_0:34:34:2(2).mpg, etc.

Exports use the following filename and folder arrangement:

> User-Selected-Folder-or-Drive/Session-Name/

SessionName.edl
SessionName_cam1_0.34.34.2.mpg
SessionName_cam2_0.34.34.2.mpg
SessionName_cam1_0:38:15:02.mpg
SessionName_cam3_0.39.11.26.mpg
Etc.

6.4.9 DESKTOP DASHBOARD

Figure 57

As mentioned earlier, in the event you do not have a working 3PLAY 3P-10 control surface
connected, an alternative Desktop showing the Dashboard automatically appears when you open

Page 78

F7

Custom Event Playlist tab - Rename

F6

Event – Edit Comment

Ctrl + a

Select all events (in the current Event List)

REC

Enables/Disables recording

1

Switches to Input 1

2

Switches to Input 2

3

Switches to Input 3

ALT

modifier key

-2

Jumps backwards in time 2 seconds

-1

Jumps backwards in time 1 seconds

1

Jumps forwards in time 1 seconds

2

Jumps forwards in time 2 seconds

MARK IN

Marks an In Point at current output timecode

MARK OUT

Marks an Out Point at current output timecode

25%

Presets variable play speed at 25%

33%

Presets variable play speed at 33%

50%

Presets variable play speed at 50%

75%

Presets variable play speed at 75%

100%

Presets variable play speed at 100%

LIVE

Enables Live Mode

Stop

Stops current frame on all outputs

Play

Initiates Play mode at preset variable speed

Play Highlight

Initiates Highlight mode playback

RMV

Removes selected Event(s)

a 3PLAY session. The reason for this is to provide assurance that - even if your 3P-10 gets lost in
transit or suffers some catastrophic accident - you retain full control over 3PLAY.

The Dashboard features onscreen versions of the marking, transport and speed controls normally
accessed from the 3P-10 (see Section 6.2 for details). If you would like the Dashboard to be
displayed even when the control surface is connected, you can choose that option in the System
Preferences section of the Administration Screen.

6.5 KEYBOARD SHORTCUT S

6.6 3P-10 FUNCTIONS

Page 79

CLN

Clones selected Event(s)

<TAB

Cycles backwards through Event Tabs

>TAB

Cycles forwards through Event Tabs

Num Pad

Numeric pad to enter Event number

SHFT

modifier key used for multi selection of Events in list

ESC

Escapes numeric entry mode

SHFT – 1

Changes Default Camera of selected Event(s) to Input 1

SHFT – 2

Changes Default Camera of selected Event(s) to Input 2

SHFT – 3

Changes Default Camera of selected Event(s) to Input 3

ALT – 1

Send Camera 1 (Live) to Main Output

ALT – 2

Send Camera 2 (Live) to Main Output

ALT – 3

Send Camera 3 (Live) to Main Output

ALT – MARK IN

Updates the selected Event's In Point using the current timecode

ALT – MARK OUT

Updates the selected Event's Out Point using the current timecode

ALT – PLAY

Begins playing the selected Event immediately

ALT – PLAY HIGHLIGHT

Initiates Highlight mode playback in LOOP mode

ALT – Stop

Jumps to the beginning of the current Event and stops at that frame

ALT - <TAB

Cycles backwards through currently selected Event(s) colors.

ALT - >TAB

Cycles forwards through currently selected Event(s) colors.

6.7 FRONT CONNE CTIONS

Figure 58

Page 80

3PLAY’s front panel connections have been discussed in Section 4.4, but we’ll review them briefly
here.

6.7.1 VIDEO CONNECTIONS

Three horizontal rows of BNC connectors are grouped and labeled Video In and Video Out
respectively. These comprise one row for each a/v input stream, and one for each output.

 SDI - The first connector in each row is labeled SDI. This is short for “Serial Digital

Interface,” which is a digital transmission protocol for very high quality (uncompressed)
digital video and optionally, embedded audio.

Hint: If your equipment supports SDI, this would be your best option for 3PLAY.

 Y, Pb, Pr – Connect to the second, third and fourth BNC connectors (labeled Y, Pb and Pr)

if your video gear uses this high quality analog color system (often referred to loosely as
“component”, or occasionally “YUV”).

 Y/C – For Y/C (also called ‘S-Video’, for “Separate Video”) equipment, attach the “Y”

(luma) connector to the third of the four BNC connectors (labeled Pb). Attach the “C”
(chroma) connector to the fourth connector (Pr).

 Composite - Attach the composite source’s connector to the second connector in the BNC

connector row (labeled Y).

6.7.2 AUDIO CONNECTIONS

Next to the video input/output groups are sections labeled Digital Audio In/Out. These are for
AES3 (AES/EBU) digital audio connections. Analog Audio Input and Output groups complete each
row, comprising four balanced mono ¼” (6.3mm) phone jacks.

Note: Analog levels conform to SMPTE RP-155. The maximum input/output level is +24 dBu,
nominal input level +4 dBu (-20dBFS), and the sample rate is 48 kHz.

6.7.3 GENLOCK INPUT

See Sections 4.4.4 and 6.4.2.4 on the use and importance of the Genlock input.

Page 81

6.7.4 USB

The four USB 2.0 ports at lower right on 3PLAYs faceplate can be used to connect the keyboard,
mouse and 3P-10 Control Surface, or external drives.

Note: 3PLAY does not support IEEE1394 (DV/HDV) video capture

6.8 SYSTEM RESTORE

We firmly expect you will never need it, but isn’t it good to know that a complete System Restore
function is available in the event of an unforeseen problem?

Ordinarily, on power up 3PLAY automatically performs various diagnostic tests, launches Microsoft
Windows™ and then displays the Administration Screen. To access System Restore, press F8 (you
may need to do so a few times in quick succession, say once per second) immediately after
powering up and before Windows launches.

This will present you with a black screen listing boot options that include “Safe Mode” and "Return
to OS choices menu." Choose the latter option, and then select Restore from the next screen.

This procedure will completely restore your system drive (“C”) to its ‘as-shipped’ state. Note that
any additional content you may have added after your system was new, including software
updates, will be over written – so use this function only if you truly find it necessary (a call to
NewTek’s excellent Tech Support first may often be fruitful – see Section 7.5.2).

6.9 SCREEN SHARING AND R EMOTE DESKTOP

Attempts to run screen sharing or remote desktop software on 3PLAY are strongly discouraged (this
includes NewTek’s own iVGA client). Applications of this type require significant system resources.
At the same time, 3PLAY’s primary functions require unhindered CPU and GPU access. Adding the
resource demands of additional software of this type would almost certainly cause 3PLAY to drop
frames on output, and should simply never be done.

Page 83

In this section, we’ll consider the most common questions 3PLAY
operators may have, and of course we’ll provide the answer, too.

The answers are intentionally brief - perhaps just a reminder of one
or two steps required to perform some operation. For this reason,
we’ll also point you to explanatory information elsewhere in this
manual whenever that would be useful.

7 HO W DO I … ?

Hint: If you’ve largely mastered 3PLAY but have one or two quick questions, this may be the best
place for you to look first. The headings that follow list related questions and answers together,
along with cross-references and other helpful remarks.

How do I ….

Connections ............................................................................................................................... 84

Connect cameras? .................................................................................................................. 84

Connect monitors? ................................................................................................................. 84

Connect the External Control Surface? ................................................................................... 85

Connect the Genlock? ............................................................................................................ 85

Connect An External Hard Drive? ........................................................................................... 85

Connect to a Network/the Internet? ...................................................................................... 86

Sessions ..................................................................................................................................... 86

Start an SD Session? ............................................................................................................... 86

Start an HD Session? .............................................................................................................. 86

Work on a Stored Session? ..................................................................................................... 87

Clear Out Old Data? ............................................................................................................... 87

Events ........................................................................................................................................ 88

Mark an Event? ...................................................................................................................... 88

Cancel Incomplete Marking Operation? ................................................................................. 89

Replay an Event? .................................................................................................................... 89

Play an Instant Replay? .......................................................................................................... 90

Play in Slow Motion? .............................................................................................................. 90

Prepare a Highlight Reel? ....................................................................................................... 90

Play a Highlight Reel? ............................................................................................................. 90

Files & Maintenance .................................................................................................................. 91

Page 84

Export to an External Drive? ................................................................................................... 91

Improve Performance? .......................................................................................................... 92

Update My 3Play? .................................................................................................................. 92

Registration and Tech Support ................................................................................................... 92

Register 3Play? ....................................................................................................................... 92

Access Technical Support? ..................................................................................................... 93

Miscellaneous ............................................................................................................................ 93

Access Windows..................................................................................................................... 93

Return to 3Play from Windows .............................................................................................. 93

7.1 CONNECTIONS

7.1.1 CONNECT CAMERAS?

1. Connect video sources to the appropriate BNC input connectors on 3PLAY’s front panel,

according to your camera’s video output connection type (see Section 4.4.1).

2. Open a 3PLAY session from the Administration Screen, and access the I/O Configuration

panel (by clicking the small ‘gear’ icon at upper-right in the titlebar of the 3PLAY Desktop).

3. In the Input 1-3 groups, set the Video Connection type to suit the connected sources (see

Section 4.4.3).

7.1.2 CONNECT MONITORS?

7.1.2.1 COMPUTER MONITOR

Connect an external computer monitor to a DVI port (for VGA, use a DVI->VGA adapter) on
3PLAYs’s back plate (whichever is appropriate for your monitor connection type).

7.1.2.2 DOWNSTREAM VIDEO MONITORS/DEVICES

Connected devices must be compatible with the video standard (such as NTSC or PAL) and
resolution you intend to use in the 3PLAY session (see Section 6.3.1).

Page 85

For 3-Out output mode, you will need three such connections to view all of 3PLAY’s output streams.
For 1-Out output mode, all three of 3PLAY’s output connections transmit the same stream, selected
by the 3PLAY operator (see Sections 3.4.2 and 6.3.1.1).

1. For downstream video monitoring, connect cables between your downstream devices

(whether monitors or a broadcast switcher) and the appropriate output connectors on
3PLAY’s front panel (see Section 4.4.2).

2. Open a 3PLAY session from the Administration Screen, and access the I/O Configuration

panel by clicking the small ‘gear’ icon at upper-right in the titlebar of the 3PLAY Desktop.

3. Set the Output>Video Connection type (see Section 4.4.3) to suit the connected external

monitor(s).

RELATED QUESTIONS:

 I connected video sources and monitors, but don’t see video being passed through 3PLAY

– why not?

Source video streams are not sent to 3PLAYs outputs unless Record is enabled (please see
Section 3.2).

7.1.3 CONNECT THE 3P-10 CONTROL SURFACE?

Connect the USB cable from the 3P-10 Control Surface to one of 3PLAY’s USB 2.0 ports.

7.1.4 CONNECT THE GENLOCK R EFE RENCE SIGNAL?

1. Connect the reference signal to the Genlock Input on 3PLAY’s faceplate.

2. See Section 4.4.4 for details on configuring Genlock settings.

7.1.5 CONNECT AN EXTERNAL HARD DRIVE?

Connect an external hard drive to one of 3PLAY’s USB 2.0 ports. Note that the external drive should
probably be formatted using the NTSF file system (the FAT file system chokes on exported files
exceeding 4 Gigabytes, as will often be the case).

Page 86

7.1.6 CONNECT TO A NETWORK?

Please refer to Section 4.4.5.

7.2 SESSIONS

7.2.1 START AN SD SESSION ?

1. Connect your SD sources to 3PLAY’s input connectors (see Section 4.4.1).

2. Connect your SD monitors to 3PLAY’s output connectors (see Section 4.4.2).

3. Select New Session in the Administration Screen (see Section 5.1 and 6.3.1).

4. 3PLAY International only: choose your local Video Standard (NTSC, NTSC-J or PAL).

5. Choose either SD 4:3 or SD 16:9 (widescreen) for Resolution.

6. Click Open Session.

7. Open I/O Configuration by clicking the little gear icon in the 3PLAY Desktop titlebar, and

configure the video source type for each input (see Section 5.2 and 6.4.2).

7.2.2 START AN HD SESSION ?

1. Connect your HD sources to 3PLAY’s input connectors (see Section 4.4.1).

2. Connect your HD monitors to 3PLAY’s output connectors (see Section 4.4.2).

3. Select New Session in the Administration Panel (see Section 5.1 and 6.3.1).

4. 3PLAY International only: choose your local Video Standard (NTSC, NTSC-J or PAL).

5. Select either HD 720P or HD 1080i for Resolution.

Page 87

6. Click Open Session.

7. Open I/O Configuration by clicking the little gear in the 3PLAY Desktop titlebar, and

configure the video source type for each input (see Section 5.2 and 6.4.2).

7.2.3 WORK ON A STORED SESSION ?

1. Select Open/Manage Session in the Administration Panel.

2. Click the listing for the session you want to re-open, and then click the Open button at

lower right (see Section 6.3.2).

7.2.4 CLEAR OUT OLD DATA?

1. If necessary, close the 3PLAY Desktop by clicking the [x] button at the right-hand end of

the titlebar.

2. Click Open/Manage Session in the Administration Panel.

3. Click the name of the session you are finished with and want to delete in the list shown at

right.

4. Click Delete at left beneath the list (see Section 6.3.2).

7.2.5 RENAME A SESSION

1. If necessary, close the 3PLAY Desktop by clicking the [x] button at the right-hand end of

the titlebar.

2. Click Open/Manage Session in the Administration Panel.

3. Right-click the name of the session you want to rename in the list shown at right to open

the context menu.

4. Choose Rename Session from the menu that appears (see Section 6.3.2).

Page 88

7.2.6 BACKUP A SESSION TO AN EXTERNAL DRIVE

1. If necessary, close the 3PLAY Desktop by clicking the [x] button at the right-hand end of

the titlebar.

2. Click Open/Manage Session in the Administration Panel.

3. Click the name of the session you want to back up in the list shown at right, highlighting it

4. Click Backup Session.

5. Use the file dialog to designate an external location where you want the backup to be

created, and then click Proceed (see Section 6.3.2.1 for more details).

Note - You cannot open another session during backup operations.

7.2.7 RESTORE A BACKUP SES SION

1. If necessary, close the 3PLAY Desktop by clicking the [x] button at the right-hand end of

the titlebar.

2. Click Open/Manage Session in the Administration Panel.

3. Click Restore from Backup.

4. Use the file dialog to locate and select a session backup folder to be restored, and then

click Proceed (see Section 6.3.2.2 for more details).

Note - You cannot open another session during session Restore operations.

7.3 EVENTS

7.3.1 MARK AN EVENT?

There are two principle methods for marking events:

Page 89

7.3.1.1 ONE-BUTTON METHOD

With 3PLAY in LIVE mode, watch for notable events on the Main Output monitor, and press MARK
OUT whenever one occurs.

This creates a new event, sets an Out Point at the current timecode, and sets the In Point
automatically to establish a default Duration (see Sections 5.5.1 and ). You can later trim the event
if you wish.

7.3.1.2 TWO-BUTTON METHOD

1. With 3PLAY in LIVE mode, press MARK IN at any convenient time. This creates a new

‘incomplete’ event in the Master List.

2. Press MARK OUT when you observe something interesting occur on Main Output. This

completes the event – see Section 5.5.2.

Hint: Many other useful details with respect to marking can be found in Sections 3.2, 5.5, and 6.2.2.

7.3.2 CANCEL AN INCOMPLETE MARKING OPERATION?

1. Press ESC on the 3P-10 control surface (or Esc on the keyboard) – see Section 6.2.2.

7.3.3 REPLAY AN EVENT?

1. Use the 3P-10 control surface TAB and Arrow buttons to choose an event, then press ALT

+ Play, or …

2. Use the 3P-10 control surface to type the ID# for an event, press Enter to confirm the

entry, and then press ALT + Play (see Sections 6.2.10 and 6.2.8), or …

3. Double-click an entry in the Event Panel.

RELATED QUESTIONS:

 I pressed Play, so why is my output frozen?

o Check to see if your Speed-Bar is set at the 0% position.

Page 90

7.3.4 PLAY AN INSTANT RE PLAY ?

1. With 3PLAY in LIVE mode, press MARK IN at any convenient time. This creates a new

‘incomplete’ event in the Master List (if nothing interesting happens, press MARK IN
again occasionally to update the In Point).

2. When something noteworthy happens and you want to immediately play from the last In

Point, just press Play (see Section 5.6 and 6.2.8).

7.3.5 PLAY IN SLOW MOTION ?

1. Slide the Speed-Bar to set the desired Speed or choose a Speed Preset (25%, 50%, etc.).

2. Press Play to slow down whatever is on output (Record must be enabled if 3PLAY is in LIVE

playback), or play an event (select it and press ALT + Play).

7.3.6 PREPARE A HIGHLIGHT REEL?

1. (Optional step): Choose the events you want to include in a Highlight Reel, changing their

color assignment using ALT + Tab (on the 3P-10) to add them to an otherwise unused
Custom List tab (see Section 6.4.8.2).

2. Trim the In Point and Duration for each of the events in your Highlight Reel as desired

(see Section 6.4.8.5).

3. Drag the event entries up or down in the playlist as necessary to place them in the order

you want them to play.

7.3.7 PLAY A HIGHLIGHT REE L?

1. If the current Event List contains just the events you want in your Highlight Reel, select

the first entry using the 3P-10 Arrow buttons (or by clicking it on the screen).

2. Otherwise, multi-select just the events you want to include in the Highlight Reel (see

Section 6.4.8.3).

Page 91

3. To play the Highlight Reel, press Play Highlight (see Section 5.7 and 6.2.8).

(Note: pressing ALT + Play Highlight beings looping playback of the Highlight Reel.)

RELATED QUESTIONS:

 Why didn’t playback stop at the end of the last event in my highlight reel?

o The last out point in the highlight reel is ignored. This assures you can make a

smooth cut back to LIVE video when desired (rather than stopping suddenly and
then holding the last frame in the final event making up the highlight reel).

7.3.8 RENAME A CUSTOM EVENT TAB

1. Press F7 (or right-click on the tab and select Rename… from the menu).

7.4 FILES & MAINTENANCE

7.4.1 EXPORT A/V FILES TO AN EXTERNAL DRIVE?

1. Prepare a Custom List containing all the events you want to export (if you want to export

all events, you can just use the Master List (see Section 6.4.8).

2. Normally, only the Camera stream is exported – if you want more than one view of a

particular event, use Clone and change the Camera for the clone(s) – see Sections 6.4.8.7
and 6.4.8.8).

3. Click Export Tab … (see Section 6.4.8.9).

4. Use the file dialog that pops up to choose the path to the external volume and directory

(also see comments on File System in Section 7.1.5).

5. Click OK to perform the file export.

Page 92

7.4.2 IMPROVE PERFORMANCE ?

1. If necessary, close the 3PLAY Desktop by clicking the [x] button at the right-hand end of

the titlebar.

2. Click System Utilities in the Administration Panel.

3. Click the Defragment icon in the pane at right (see Section 6.3.4).

7.4.3 UPDATE MY 3PLAY?

1. Connect 3PLAY to a valid Internet connection.

2. If necessary, close the 3PLAY Desktop by clicking the [x] button at the right-hand end of

the titlebar.

3. Click System Utilities in the Administration Panel.

4. Click Update 3PLAY and follow directions provided (see Section 6.3.4.2).

7.4.4 RESTORE 3PLAY FA CTOR Y DEFAULTS?

Please refer to Section 6.8.

7.5 REGISTRATION AND TECH SUPPORT

7.5.1 REGISTER 3PLAY?

1. Obtain the unique Product ID from the Registration dialog presented on launching 3PLAY.

2. Visit the Registration webpage (in the Customer Care section of the NewTek website) and

follow the directions there to obtain your registration code - or call Customer Service.

3. Enter the Registration Code provided into the Registration dialog at Step 3

(Please see Section 4.3 for more detail).

Page 93

7.5.2 CONTACT TECHNICAL SUPPORT?

Visit the NewTek website at www.newtek.com and select Technical Support from the main
Customer Care menu at the top of the page. This page always contains the latest support
information for your NewTek products, including FAQs for all products. It also lists the Technical
Support Department’s hours of operation and contact details.

7.6 MISCELLANEOUS

7.6.1 ACCESS WINDOWS™ ?

1. If necessary, close the 3PLAY Desktop by clicking the [x] button at the right-hand end of

the titlebar.

2. Click Shutdown in the Administration Panel.

3. Click “Exit to Windows” in the right-hand pane.

7.6.2 RETURN TO 3PLAY FROM THE WINDOWS® DESKTOP

Double-click the Launch 3PLAY icon on the Windows desktop to return to the 3PLAY Administration

Screen.