Specialising in live studio graphics and custom design software and technology for the entertainment industry...
CatCALLlive
CatCALLlive
Video over IP for Broadcast
CatCALLlive is a switchboard for Video over IP calls. The system can be configured with all the major video over IP service providers including Skype, MSN Live and Google Chat. The video feed from the system can be integrated into a Cat and Mouse graphics system allowing the video call to be presented with caller information (such as caller name and location) or fed direct to the vision mixer.
CatCALLlive is a switchboard for Video over IP calls. CatCALLlive allows a single user to control many instances of Video over IP calls from a single desktop and then present them as a broadcast quality video and audio feed ready for transmission. The video feed can be integrated into a Cat and Mouse graphics system allowing the video call to be presented with caller information (such as caller name and location). The system can be configured with all the major video over IP service providers including Skype, MSN Live and Google Chat.
The user can maintain a simple list of contacts in CatCALLlive then initiate a fullscreen video call with any caller on any channel with a single click. Any connected call can be manually marked as 'ready for air' by the user. Our graphics system can be integrated so that any channels marked as 'ready' in CatCALLlive are automatically assembled into a single HD graphics output, complete with any frame, moving background and name captions as the graphic design dictates. When CatCALLlive detects a disconnection the 'ready' status in cancelled, automatically updating the graphics output. The user can select any 'ready' channel to become full-screen. Caption information is automatically taken from the CatCALLlive contact list, minimising the chance of naming mix-ups regardless of which callers are assigned to which channels.
The CatCALLlive system can be integrated with your existing talkback system to allow off-air communication with Skype callers by anyone with a talkback panel. To the Sound Department this can be treated exactly like a bank of TBUs. A single video feed from the studio is distributed to all callers. Individual video or VGA outputs can be supplied of each caller for either broadcast or monitoring use. The graphic integrating these feeds together can be custom designed to meet individual show requirements.
CatCALLlive's standard configuration requires one computer for each Skype channel, one graphics machine and one control machine for the user to operate. Other out-board equipment is included.
Case Studies
Diagnosis Live From The Clinic
Cat and Mouse have provided Maverick TV with an 8-channel version of their proven Cat Call Live system. Live From The Clinic is based on Skype and all of the contributors are lined up and briefed by producers before having their consultation with the doctors live in the studio.
Cat and mouse have supplied 4 terminals for 4 producers work from, each producer deals with 2 calls at the same time using a bespoke touch screen to make calls & route video and audio. Each caller can be shown a local camera of the producer or a studio feed, this is independently switchable from the audio, which again has the option of the producers headset or studio sound along with mute.
The options that each producer has on their control touch screens allows them to fully brief the contributor before they are live in the studio. By showing them a video feed of the studio but keeping the audio set to their local headset allows the producer to explain how the show and studio will work when the call is taken live. It is vital with Live From The Clinic that a contributor is fully briefed and comfortable with the studio process of being live on the show.
Cat and Mouse have also supplied another bespoke system to make it easy for contributors who contact the show during the live TX to be added to the broadcast system. Any new contributors are vetted before being passed onto the broadcast system. Our system allows any producer to use the contact details from the initial vetting and make a call from any of the 8 terminals so that the contact information only has to be entered into the system once.
The Million Pound Drop Live,
Cat and Mouse have been involved with The Million Pound Drop from the early run throughs with Endemol in their offices all the way to the live studio show. The shows live graphics, question management and control of the trap doors are all taken care of by cat and mouse for the live shows.
Cat and Mouse were asked to supply a Skype calling system for the show so that ‘live’ questions could be asked from a guest anywhere in the world. 3 channels of Cat Call Live were supplied. The design and build of the Million Pound Drop system is such that a single operator can make, maintain and produce all 3 calls from one control position.
As the show is filmed on a sound stage, CTV Outside Broadcasts take care of the OB truck and studio systems. Working with CTV, Cat Call Live was integrated into the OB truck comms system allowing anyone who needed a feed of the Skype calls to be able to listen and talk to a contributor from anywhere in the truck or studio complex. Cat and Mouse supplied a quad feed with all 3 Cat Call Live feeds, this feed coupled with a comms panel makes it easy for a Producer to brief a contributor before they are live on the show.
Again making use of their bespoke graphics system, video feeds from Cat Call Live are framed for the shows LED wall. Name and location information that is entered by the operator who makes the initial call is passed automatically through to the live graphics system.