Ross® XPression (RossTalk)

The information in this document applies to the Ross® XPression.

Cable Connections

The XPression connects to the switcher over ethernet.

Switcher Communication Setup

The switcher must be set up to communicate with the CG using specific protocol settings.

To Set Up Ethernet Communications

  1. Click Navigation Menu > Configuration > Devices.


  2. Click Add Device.
    Tip:
    Click Disable Device to temporarily disable the selected device.
  3. Click Slot and select a free ethernet device slot.
    Tip:
    A slot does not appear in the list if it is being used. You can click on the slot in the table on the left to edit the device settings.
  4. In the Type area click RossTalk.


  5. Select the following setting for your device:
    Setting Selection
    Driver XPression_1.0
    IP Address Enter the IP address of the device you are connecting to.
    Port Enter the network port on the on the device you want to connect to.
    Tip:
    If you are using multiple RossTalk connections, it is recommended that you increment the port number for each device.
    Ping every 10 minutes Select whether you want to maintain an active connection ping (On), or not (Off).
    Transport Select whether to use the TCP or UDP connection protocol.
    Roll Clip Turn the Roll Clip feature on (On) or off (Off) (the Roll Clip button must be on for this setting to apply).
    Pre-Roll Set the number of the frames that the switcher waits after sending the play command to a CG before taking the source on-air.
    Roll Cmd Select what event is sent for a Roll Clip event.
    • Play — send the play command.
    • Take Next — send the take next command.
    • GPI — trigger a GPI Input on the device. Select the number of the GPI to trigger in the GPI field.
    • CC — run a custom control on the device. Select the bank (Bank) and custom control (Custom) you want to run.
    • Custom Cmd — Enter a custom RossTalk command to send to the device. This can be any RossTalk command that the external device supports.
  6. Click Save.

Switcher Video Setup

The switcher must be set up to associate the CG controls with video sources coming into the switcher. When you select the source coming from the camera on a bus, the menu jumps to the CG controls for that CG.

To Assign a CG Channel to a Video Input

  1. Click Navigation Menu > Configuration > Inputs > External.


  2. Click the Device button for the video source that you want to assign a device to.


  3. Click the device you want to assign to the video source.

CG Setup

The character generator must be set up to communicate with the switcher using the same serial or ethernet communications as you set the switcher up to use.

Note:
This information in this procedure is provided as a guide and is based on the current version of hardware and software that was available at the time of testing. For the most accurate and up-to-date information, refer to the documentation that came with your device.

To Set Up XPression

  1. Click Edit > Hardware Setup.
  2. Click the GPI Boards tab.
  3. Click Add and in the Brand list, click RossTalk.
  4. Click OK.
  5. In the State list, click Enabled.
  6. Click TCP and in the TCP Port list, click 7788.

To Set Up RossLinq on XPression

RossLinq is used to upload stills and animations directly from XPression to the Media​-Store channels on the switcher. If you load an image or animation with an embedded alpha channel, the switcher automatically places the alpha channel in the paired Media​-Store channel.
  1. On the Edit menu, click Hardware Setup, and then click the Inputs/Outputs tab.
  2. Click Add.
  3. In the Brand list, click XPression RossLinq Connector.
  4. Click OK.
  5. In the Host box, enter the IP address of the switcher.
  6. In the Channel box, enter the Media​-Store channel (1 or 2) on the switcher that you want to upload images to. Media​-Store channels 3 and 4 are for alpha channels only.

XPression RossTalk Control

The switcher interface allows you control a number of aspects of XPression, including move up and down in the sequencer, take the current item, as well as selecting and controlling different channels.

Tip:
All the XPression controls can be recorded to a custom control on the switcher.

To access the control options, press the video source button that you have set up as the video input from XPression.

Table 1. XPression Control
Menu Item Description
Up/Dwn Moves up or down in the sequencer for the current channel.
Read Read the current selection in the sequencer to air.
Next Read the current selection in the sequencer to air and advance the current selection to the next item.
NEXT
Cue Cue the current scene in the sequencer for the current channel.
Swap Load all items that are currently in the cued state to air.
NEXT
Chan Select the channel you want to perform the Action on.
Layer Select the layer you want to perform the Action on.
Action Select the channel (Chan) and layer (Layer) you want to perform the Action on.
  • Resume — resume a single layer on the framebuffer specified by the channel. If the layer is not specified, every layer on the channel will resume.
  • Clear — clear a single layer on the framebuffer specified by the channel. If the layer is set to all, every layer on the channel will clear. If the channel is set to all, every channel will clear.
  • Swap — load all items that are currently in the cued state to air.
  • LyrOff — transition out a single layer on the framebuffer specified by the channel. If the layer is not specified, every layer on the channel will be transitioned out.
NEXT
TakeId Select the scene you want to perform the Action on.
Layer Select the layer you want to perform the Action on.
Action Select the scene (TakeID) and layer (Layer) or channel (Chan) you want to perform the Action on.
  • Read (TakeID and Layer) — load the selected scene to air.
  • Tk Off (TakeID) — take the selected scene off-air.
  • Focus (TakeID) — set sequencer focus to a specific Take Item.
  • Cue (TakeID and Chan) — cue a Take Item on a specified channel.
NEXT
TakeId Select the scene you want to perform the Action on.
Layer Select the channel (Chan) and layer (Layr) you want to perform the Action on. Press to switch between the modes.
Action Select the scene (TakeID), channel (Chan), and layer (Layr) you want to perform the Action on.
  • Take (TakeID, Chan, and Layr) — takes a template to air on the specific framebuffer and layer without moving the sequencer focus to that item.
  • Cue (TakeID, Chan, and Layr) — cue a Take Item on a specified layer of a channel.
NEXT
GPI Select the GPI (GPI) you want to perform the Action on. This is the GPI input on XPression, and not the GPI output on the switcher.
Action
  • Trigger (GPI) — used to trigger a simulated GPI input. RossTalk/Smart GPI supports up to 64 simulated inputs.