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Introduction
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CueMaster is an extremely fast and easy to use teleprompter for professional
use. It can be used for presentations, speeches and seminars, and also in
professional TV studios. In fact, many TV studios in the Netherlands are
already using CueMaster for programmes such as newscasts, current affairs,
game shows, talk shows, etc. It has been tested thoroughly by professionals for
many months before being put into production. Since then CueMaster has
become the standard at the Dutch Broadcasting Corporation (the Dutch
equivalent of the BBC).
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It is built around an ARM RISC processor and the highly effective RISC OS
operating system, licenced by Acorn Risc Technologies. These enable it to
provide many powerful features such as real-time scaling and formatting of
text. The unit can be operated from the keyboard, the mouse and the special
remote control unit. CueMaster can directly drive a PAL monitor, an on-camera
unit, or an LCD screen.
The software enables the operator to import ASCII text files from various
sources, such as PCs, Macs, Acorns etc. The text can then be displayed in any
font at any size and line spacing and, if necessary, it can be altered quickly
using the built-in text editor. Multiple text stories can be combined into a script,
the sequence of which can be altered with only a few key strokes. Once
complete, the text can be smoothly scrolled onto the screen, and the remote
control unit can be used to alter the speed at any time.
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CueMaster comes with a comprehensive ring-bound manual in a plastic box,
clearly explaining all the hardware and software features of the product. Text and
drawings are carefully combined to shorten the learning curve. The index at the
back of the manual can be used for quick reference. At present the manual is
available in Dutch or English. A glossy quick reference card is also provided,
and shows the many keyboard short cuts of CueMaster.
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CueMaster uses the famous outline font technology of the RISC OS operating
system. This enables the unit to provide good looking, proportionally spaced
text in fonts of any size, aspect ratio and line spacing. Depending on the
application and the distance between the presenter and the screen, a smaller or
larger typeface may be used. The quality of the fonts is enhanced by using
anti-aliasing, which removes the jagged edges of the characters. Several
scalable outline fonts are built-in, and others from a huge number may be
imported. Each presenter can choose their own fonts and settings, which may be
stored for later use.
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In large TV studios the distance between the presenter and the camera may vary
during the course of a programme. Sometimes the presenter may even walk
away from the camera, while speaking. As a result the text may be unreadable
in its original size. CueMaster overcomes this problem by enabling the operator
to change the size of the font in real-time. Just one press of a function key is
enough to increase the size of the font to, say, 140%.
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Text can, of course, be typed in directly using the built-in editor or the !Edit
program provided with the operating system. In addition, it can be imported
from a variety of sources. CueMaster can directly read HD floppy discs
prepared on PC, Mac, Acorn, Amiga and Atari computers, making it a truly
compatible device! CueMaster can import ASCII text from PC, Mac, Acorn,
Amiga, and Atari applications. By default CueMaster supports the full ISO
Latin1 character standard, but other character sets and keyboard drivers may be
soft loaded if required. When importing, certain embedded commands may be
interpreted. Hard returns and leading spaces may be filtered as required and, if
the text was entered in upper case, it may be converted to lower case on the fly.
Further filters may be added by the user.
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Text will normally be displayed in white on a black background, but it may also
be inverted into black text on a white background. The use of colours is
restricted to eight. They will be displayed in colour on the operator's monitor,
but as grey levels on the PAL output. The reason for this is that on-camera units
are always long-persistence black & white monitors that give a much clearer
picture from a black & white signal (this prevents the so called chroma-crawl
effect). All colours are presented as grey scales on the on-camera unit, except
for red. This colour is only visible on the second PAL output of the CueMaster.
In this way, cues can be put in the text so that they can be read by the director,
but not by the presenter.
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Built-in WSYIWYG text editor
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CueMaster features a fully operational WYSIWYG text editor. This enables you
not only to make last minute changes, but also to enter text from scratch. The
mouse and keyboard may be used to move the cursor around the screen and to
change the text. Here are some of its features:
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- Clipboard
- Block moves
- Case conversion
- Colour
- Underline
- Find and replace
- Macro
- Soft hyphen
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The clipboard is used to cut, paste and copy text to anywhere else, even into
another story. If needed, an optional spelling checker can be added for checking
text 'as you type'. Colour and underlining may be used to highlight parts of the
text. Colours are often used to mark new subjects or tape starts. The Page
up/Page down keys may be used to step quickly through these subjects. The text
can be exported at any time, either as a CueMaster file or as ASCII text, via HD
floppy discs of PC, Mac, or Acorn format, enabling the use of an external editor
or word processor.
CueMaster holds every story in a separate file. A sequence of stories may be set
up by creating a script in the 'script editor'. When the presenter has finished
reading the first story , the next one will automatically scroll onto the screen.
Loading and formatting of the next story will all be done in real-time. The (+)
and (-) keys may be used to step between the stories.
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Once the text is complete, scrolling may be started simply by pressing the
Esc-key. The text will scroll very smoothly and the speed can be controlled in
various ways: with the special remote control, the mouse or the cursor keys.
Text may be scrolled forward or backward at any time at any speed. A small
counter in the left bottom corner of the screen gives the operator an indication
of the position in the story by displaying the current line number and the total
number of lines. A large arrow at about 1/3rd from the top of the screen points
to the line the presenter is currently reading. Scrolling may be disabled
temporarily by using a small button on the remote control unit or the Scroll lock
key on the keyboard. Another key can be used to suppress the PAL output to
the on-camera unit temporarily, e.g. when editing text.
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One of the special features of CueMaster is the ability to display a status bar at
the bottom of the scroll-screen. This enables the operator to pass a message to
the presenter even when the text is scrolling. The message can be typed directly
on the keyboard and some function keys can be set up to provide standard
messages. Alternatively the serial port (RS232) can be used to pass a message
from another computer, e.g. the results in a game show. The status bar can also
be used to display the current time and the 'time left' to the end of the
programme. Alternatively it can be used to display a count down clock.
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The CueMaster is a very compact and robust unit. It complies fully to the CE
regulations and comes with a keyboard, mouse and remote control unit. A
plastic function key strip is fixed to the keyboard explaining some of its
features. Additionally a purpose-built flight case with suspension rack can be
ordered separately. For use by the operator, a PAL compatible RGB monitor
can be connected directly to the 15-way analog RGB output of the CueMaster.
An optional CueMaster monitor is available separately. Other PAL monitors
and on-camera units can be connected directly to one of the PAL outputs. If
needed, the unit can be genlocked to the studio master sync, preventing
magnetic interference between monitors in the control room and sometimes on
the camera.
Some small - especially portable - on-camera units are equipped with LCD
screens to save weight. Most of these LCDs have the disadvantage of only
displaying 200 scanlines rather than the full 288 - even when running in PAL.
This is because most such LCDs are manufactured in the USA and comply with
the (lower resolution) NTSC standard. Under normal circumstances the status
bar at the bottom of the scroll-screen would be lost. CueMaster can be
configured to suit such LCDs and will re-scale its output accordingly.
The remote control unit is connected to the back of the CueMaster and can be
used to control the scrolling speed forward and backward. A scroll-lock button
is provided to prevent the text from being scrolled by accident. The pin-out for
the remote control is given in the manual in case someone wants to use a
purpose-built control, e.g. a pedal. If the remote control unit should fail, the
mouse can be used as an alternative.
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The serial port can be used for several purposes:
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- Live news feed
- Passing messages to the presenter
- Live feed from games data
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The manual describes the simple protocol used by the CueMaster to enable one
of the above purposes. Files can be sent to the CueMaster from another
computer even when scrolling. Alternatively it may be used to pass a message
to the presenter. The information could come from a variety of sources, such as
games control computers, provided they conform to the CueMaster protocol.
Other computer protocols may be implemented in CueMaster, upon request.
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A small (optional) network interface can be built into CueMaster enabling it to
connect to Ethernet 10baseT and 10base2 networks. Software is available to
allow CueMaster to operate with several network protocols, including Sun NFS,
Microsoft LanManager, Acorn Level4 and Acorn Access. Software for other
networking protocols is currently being developed. CueMaster may thus be
connected directly e.g. to the large networks used by the editors.
The following network standards are currently supported:
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- NFS (Sun, UNIX, etc.)
- LanManager (DOS, Windows, Windows NT, etc.)
- LanManager98 (Windows 98, long file names, etc.)
- Novell
- AppleTalk
- Acorn FileServer level 4
- Acorn Access
- Acorn Access+
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CueMaster is available directly from X-Ample Technology bv
and from some selected dealers in The Netherlands. Please contact us if
you are outside of The Netherlands.
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A monitor or on-camera unit is not supplied
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Technical data - XCM02
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Videosystem
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PAL CCIRR, black & white
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Outputs
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1 x RGB, 2 x video
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Inputs
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Genlock, speed control
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Operating system
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RISC OS
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Processor
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ARM7500
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Menu language
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NL, UK
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Manual
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NL or UK (please specify)
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Fonts
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16 fonts supplied, other fonts are optional
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Flightcase
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optional
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RGB monitor
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optional
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On-camera unit
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optional
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Harddisc
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Yes, minimum 1GB
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Floppy
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DOS, Windows, Apple, Atari, Amiga, Acorn HD format
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Keyboard
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Standard PS-2 UK version (supplied)
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Mouse
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3-button PS-2 mouse (supplied)
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Disclaimer
This information on this page is no longer valid and is supplied
for reference purposes only. Links to other information and websites
might be incomplete or incorrect.
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Any links shown in red are currently unavailable.
© X-Ample Technology BV.
Last changed: Tuesday, 07 April 2009 - 11:15 CET.
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