Text crawl, overlay, and “lower third text ticker” are some of the terms used for the messages that move across the bottom of the television screen during a broadcast. The Web Application uses the term “overlay.” TelVue® includes some sample overlays with your system, including a text crawl, a clock display, and a station logo. Only B-series analog servers support overlays. B-series ASI, IPTV, SDI, and HD-SDI (PRO) servers, and S-series archive servers do not support overlays.
Overlays will look different on a television screen depending on the size and color of the overlay, the size of the screen, and what else is playing at the time. Some overlays will not play when continuity is running. It is advisable to experiment with overlays in-house before using them in a live broadcast.
Scheduling a Text Crawl
The text crawl overlay can be used to run a message across the television screen during a broadcast.
1. In the Web Application, go to the Programming tab in Classic View and click on Add Overlay.
2. From the File pull-down menu select overlay/Text_Crawl_Overlay.html.
3. Position X and Y control where the text will crawl across the screen, measuring in pixels. Leave X at 0. The recommended range for Y is 360 (about one third up from the bottom of most screens) to 430 (the very bottom of most screens). If you have not run this overlay before set Y to 400.
4. Leave the Alpha Blend blank.
5. Set the Chroma Key to Black.
6. Enter a duration in HH:MM:SS format. The overlay will crawl repeatedly across the screen for as long as you specify.
7. Enter date and time information as with any other event. TelVue® recommends allowing at least 10 seconds between the end of one overlay and the start of the next.
8. Uncheck the Track Content Metadata box.
9. Enter text in the Title field. The overlay will start with the title. Use only standard ASCII characters.
10. Enter any additional overlay text in the Description field. Use only standard ASCII characters.
11. Click on Save.
To see the text crawl overlay event, click on the Programming tab. To see the actual overlay, connect a monitor to your network. Once the overlay has begun, you cannot edit it, but you can unschedule it if it is not playing properly.
Scheduling the Station Logo Overlay
If overlays are available on your server, you can put your station logo in an overlay in the corner of the screen during broadcasts. Only B-series analog servers support overlays. B-series ASI, IPTV, SDI, and HD-SDI (PRO) servers, and S-series archive servers do not support overlays.
1. If your station logo is not already in PNG format, convert it.
2. Look on your server for the file /overlay/StationLogo.png.
3. Replace the old StationLogo.png with your logo file by copying your station logo file to the same folder and renaming it StationLogo.png.
4. Check the Content tab for the file StationLogo.html. It should display your station logo. If StationLogo.html is not on the Content tab, import it.
5. Go to the Programming tab and schedule Station Logo.html as an overlay.
a. From the File pull-down menu select overlay/Station_Logo.html.
b. To display the station logo in the lower right corner of the screen, set X and Y to 0.
c. Leave the alpha blend blank.
d. Choose Black from the chroma key pull down menu.
e. Enter a duration in HH:MM:SS format. The logo will display for as long as you specify.
f. Enter date and time information as with any other event. TelVue® recommends allowing at least 10 seconds between the end of one overlay and the start of the next.
g. Make sure the Include in Program Guide box is unchecked and the Track Content Metadata box is checked.
h. Click on Save.
6. Check the playout on a monitor.
Once the overlay has begun, you cannot modify it, but you can unschedule it if it is not playing properly. If you want to move the logo higher on the screen, modify future playouts and set Y to a negative number. To move the logo to the left, set X to a negative number. For example, to move the station logo 5 pixels from the bottom of the screen and 10 pixels from the right, set Y to -5 and X to -10. Remember that not all monitors have the same number of pixels. Keep your viewers in mind as you edit.
Scheduling the Clock Overlay
If overlays are available on your server, you can place a clock in an overlay in the corner of the screen. Only B-series analog servers support overlays. B-series ASI, IPTV, SDI,and HD-SDI (PRO) servers, and S-series archive servers do not support overlays. For example, some installations display a clock when continuity is running. This overlay includes the date and time, but not the temperature. See Setting Up an RSS Weather Feed on page 125 for information on how to include the temperature in this overlay.
1. From the File pull-down menu select overlay/Clock_Overlay.html.
2. To display the clock in the lower right corner of the screen, set X and Y to 0.
3. Leave the alpha blend blank.
4. Choose Black from the chroma key pulldown menu.
5. Enter a duration in HH:MM:SS format. The clock will display for as long as you specify.
6. Enter date and time information as with any other event. TelVue® recommends allowing at least 10 seconds between the end of one overlay and the start of the next.
7. Make sure the Include in Program Guide box is unchecked and the Track Content Metadata box is checked.
8. Click on Save.
Check the clock display on a monitor. Once the overlay has begun, you cannot modify it, but you can unschedule it if it is not playing properly. If you want to move the clock higher on the screen, modify future playouts and set Y to a negative number. To move the clock to the left, set X to a negative number.For example, to move the clock 5 pixels from the bottom of the screen and 10 pixels from the right, set Y to -5 and X to -10. Remember that not all monitors have the same number of pixels. Keep your viewers in mind as you edit.
Setting Up an RSS Weather Feed
If overlays are available on your server, your installation can use a live RSS feed from the National Weather Service to display local temperature in an overlay. Only B-series analog servers support overlays. B-series ASI, IPTV, SDI,and HD-SDI (PRO) servers, and S-series archive servers do not support overlays.
1. In the Web Application, click on the Content tab and look for the file overlay/Clock_Overlay.html. If it is not there, import it. (Look in the overlay folder.)
2. In a new browser window or tab, go to http://www.weather.gov/xml/current_obs.
3. Select your state from the drop-down list and click Find.
4. Find the XML icon in the RSS column for the observation location nearest your station. Then right-click on the XML button and choose “Copy Link Location” in FireFox, or “Copy Shortcut” in Internet Explorer, to copy the URL for the RSS feed. (Or click on the XML button in the RSS column to go to the RSS feed page. Copy the URL from the address line in your browser.)
5. Return to the Web Application and click on the Programming tab in Classic View.
6. Click on Add Overlay Event.
7. Select Clock_Overlay.html from the drop-down list.
8. Uncheck the Track Content Metadata box.
9. In the Description field, type RSS= and paste the URL you copied. The end result should look similar to: RSS=http://www.weather.gov/xml/current_obs/KTTN.rss
10. To display the overlay in the lower right corner of the screen, set X and Y to 0.
11. Leave the Alpha Blend blank.
12. Choose Black from the chroma key pull down menu.
13. Set a duration for the weather overlay, such as 00:01:00 to display it for 1 minute.
14. Set the date and time, such as today at 11:45:00.
15. If you wish, set the recurrence days, such as daily until the end of the year.
16. Click the Save button in the lower right corner.
To move the weather overlay higher on the screen, modify future playouts and set Y to a negative number. To move the overlay to the left, set X to a negative number. For example, to move the overlay 5 pixels from the bottom of the screen and 10 pixels from the right, set Y to -5 and X to -10. Remember that not all monitors have the same number of pixels. Keep your viewers in mind as you edit.
Note: Once you are satisfied with the feed, position, and color of your weather overlay, you can edit Clock_Overlay.html with the position, alpha blend, chroma key, and description fields. Then you will not need to update this information every time you schedule the overlay.
TelVue Connect™