QUESTIONS & ANSWERS

CAN I USE A READY-MADE SET DESIGN PROVIDED WITH RECKEEN LITE SYSTEM AND INTRODUCE SOME CHANGES TO IT?

Yes, it is possible. After loading a scenography to the editor, you just have to save the file under a different name. Afterwards, in such scenography you can, for example, insert additional studio equipment using an object layer or a .png file with transparency (alpha channel).

WHERE CAN I GET .PNG OBJECT FILES WITH A TRANSPARENT BACKGROUND?

There is a rich library of such files in the Reckeen system. These kind of files can be created with, for example, GIMP program. You can also download ready-made files from the Internet using a search engine. When searching for such image, select Search Tools color: transparent. These are the files that have a characteristic checkered background representing an alpha channel or transparency.

HOW TO MAKE SURE MY GRAPHICS CARD IS COMPATIBLE WITH DIRECTX 11?

First of all, you can check on the seller’s website whether your graphics card is compatible with DirectX 11.

You can also open DirectX diagnostics tool to help you check, if your computer meets the minimum requirements. To start the DirectX diagnostic tool, click Window’s Start button and type ‘dxdiag’ in the search box, and then press ENTER. Picture below:

If you click a Display tab ,you can see what drivers your computer supports. Picture Below (26 DIRECT X)

RECKEEN SOFTWARE RELEASE 2.0 is OUT NOW!

RECKEEN SOFTWARE RELEASE 2.0 is OUT NOW!
Introducing professional chroma keyer. Simply: key like a pro!

In the software update 2.0 we’ve focused to bring to you a PRO chroma keyer for even more precise keying, especially in the uneven lighting, completely for FREE for all RECKEEN users!

Changes done to RECKEEN chroma keyer:

  • Now, the keyer has an option of colour-picking 3 different areas from your green or blue background, and adjusting the key settings, such as Matte Control and Tolerance Correction, for each colour separately to achieve an even and precise mask.
  • Another feature added is a great addition for all trackless productions – use BACKGROUND CAPTURE to even out the whole background area for seamless yet super quick keying. This new feature can be found in both SIMPLE and PROFESSIONAL key option. It creates a unified mask of your green or blue screen before a talent or stage props are placed on the background.
  • BG Influence – new setting in the Edge Correction tab: an advanced blending function allowing for a better blend of foreground with background

Other exciting updates:

  • NDI 5 support – utilise NDI to its fullest potential!
  • Better performance optimisation for NDI
  • Denoising for talent shadows

Upgrade you the REKEEN software to version 2.0 today directly from its GUI.

Have any questions? Drop us an email at contact@reckeen.com

Covid news virtual studio case study

The need for high-impact communication never goes away. The past year made us realise how easily we used to take the availability and opportunity for communication for granted. Suddenly, all our events, conferences, shows, expos got cancelled or moved online. Business meetings, training sessions, presentations, webinars – all taking place via video conferencing apps.

How can business keep their audience and customers engaged and interested if communication became so limited? But even more importantly, how can it stimulate and motivate its team to take action and stay focused?

3D VIRTUAL STUDIO TECHNOLOGY – MAKING A GRIPPING IMPRESSION

It’s like a virtual background, but better. It streams live, but better. It lets you create content and make presentations, but …. you guessed it – it does it better.

Virtual studio solutions let you place a meeting host or a presenter in a fully virtual and interactive  space with a plenty of features helping you create truly engaging and impressive content.

In the recent years the market has got flooded with apps that can sort of put you in a virtual scenery – virtual backgrounds on Zoom or Skype, Instagram effects, chroma key feature in post-production softwares. There are a lot of free options. But what can they really do for you and your business?

To maintain high performance of your business, you need to make sure to adjust to the current situation the best way you can. That means developing ways you deliver messages, communicate, present, inform, excite.

Everybody who creates video content, works in creative industries, practices public speaking, knows that what you want to achieve is audience’s engagement, interest, their urge to listen and observe.
All free alternatives are extremely limiting, so if you want to create something that really stays with your viewer, then you need something extra.

RECKEEN 3D Studio is a product that will change how you think about communication and information delivery. The solution can be utilised to create better online events, conferences, and internal presentations, to host meetings, and create video materials used for training sessions, promos, video blogs, and more. Let’s get some overview of its features:

CREATE THE SPACE EXACTLY HOW YOU WANT

Transport yourself from even the smallest, simplest green screen background to a virtual scenography of your choosing. Big or small, minimalistic or all out, everything is possible. You don’t need to hire a graphic designer, and you don’t need experience. Choose from a template, modify, customise – intuitively. Match the virtual set to your business image and a type of event you’re hosting to maximise the effect.

BRING MULTIPLE PRESENTERS INTO A VIRTUAL SPACE

We’ve also connected with 2 remote speakers to have a live interview. For that purpose you can use well-known videoconferencing apps, such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex and more, however we’ve decided to use Skype due to its convenient, built-in NDI feature. Not only we could bring live signal from speakers’ webcams and microphones inside the virtual studio, but our guests were also able to watch the live production coming from the virtual studio on Skype, from the comfort of their homes. This is a great way to elevate any live interactions and take them to the next level.

We’ve also connected with 2 remote speakers to have a live interview. For that purpose you can use well-known videoconferencing apps, such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex and more, however we’ve decided to use Skype due to its convenient, built-in NDI feature. Not only we could bring live signal from speakers’ webcams and microphones inside the virtual studio, but our guests were also able to watch the live production coming from the virtual studio on Skype, from the comfort of their homes. This is a great way to elevate any live interactions and take them to the next level.

ANIMATE ANY 3D OBJECT

Whether its a custom-made 3D model, or an object from our library, you can add it into a scene and animate it, creating an interactive space that adjusts to your needs and impresses your audience. Visualisation doesn’t get better than this. Convey a message effectively! For the presentation of statistics and data regarding coronavirus cases in June 2020, we’ve decided to use 3D models of the globe and a map of the USA to exhibit the information in the most clear and direct way. All elements used in the video has been prepared as static 3D models, and later animated inside Reckeen 3D Studio Editor.

SHOWCASE MEDIA FILES AND SLIDESHOWS

Organise all your videos, images, slideshow presentations and sounds and bring them up into a virtual space when it’s their time. You can even send them directly from a different laptop, PC or a phone via IP using the ever-growing NDI protocol.

The music in the background, the images and videos on the monitors used in our video have been prepared prior to the filming and waiting to be triggered to come up on the correct screen in the correct time during the production.

ADD TITLES, LOGOS AND OTHER ON-SCREEN INFORMATION

From speakers names, contact information and company’s logos, to news tickers and any other graphic compositions – to make your content look even more professional. We’ve prepared the graphics for the video titles in Photoshop, but any later modifications, such as text, scale and exact placement of the titles on the screen have been done using Reckeen’s Still Editor.

STREAM LIVE AND RECORD

The reason this solution is amazing is its capability to render everything in real-time. That’s why this solutions is being taken by storm – it’s a perfect way to host live events, conferences, meetings and trainings during these difficult times. But moreover, it sets a news standard of a high quality and high-impact communication, that will soon become a new norm.

All features you need to create stunning content are concentrated in one box. This powerful PC is not only a virtual studio itself, but it’s a switcher, mixer and a streaming device which means you can make a full-on productions using this one piece of equipment. Additionally, apart from a production software you get various editors, lots of complementary content, and free-of-charge software updates.
In the era where you have to pay for all extra plug-ins and content, this is extraordinary!

If all that feels a bit overwhelming – fear not. Reckeen’s philosophy is to make products that are easy to operate and intuitive – that’s what differs us from other 3D studio solutions. You don’t have to be a professional videographer, video producer or a graphic designer to create high quality content. (But if you are, then that’s amazing! You can make the best out of the product in a blink of an eye).

There are many video tutorials available, and an extensive user manual to help you out with first steps. Our customer service is also always available to help you with troubleshooting, and if you need an intensive training session – for a fee you can get a few-hour long online session with RECKEEN’s staff to answer all of your questions.

LET’S TALK ABOUT TECHNICAL SPEC AND FEATURES

Hardware contains:

  • A powerful PC with:
    – 4 inputs and outputs (2x HDMI, 2x 12G SDI), supporting resolution up to 4K 60p
    – Built-in audio panel – available for two types of microphones – dynamic and condenser with +48V phantom
  • Control panel VKey-100 for mixing and switching your video signals, equipped with joystick which lets you control the virtual cameras manually

Software contains:

  • 4 independent high-end chroma keys.
  • 6 NDI inputs and 1 NDI output – letting you connect devices via IP connection
  • Video switcher
  • Audio mixer
  • Recorder and streamer
  • Multi-camera production mode
  • 2 downstream keys (DSK)
  • 4 virtual cameras with full-range of movements capacity
  • 10 programmable triggers – macro commands that simplify and automate production
  • Support for 3D objects and animations in .FBX format
  • Media Trays to store all your media files
  • Multiviewer screen

Built-in applications:

  • 3D Studio Editor – customise your 3D virtual set – add, move or delete 3D objects, add animations, adjust lighting, shadows, talent set-up, change studio colours and textures, and more.
  • Still Editor – create captions, graphic boards, news tickers, and other graphic compositions.
  • SmartKey – advanced PIP feature, with 4 independent chroma keys that can generate 4 separate signals with spokespersons on different backgrounds
  • Virtual Camera Shots Editor – design virtual cameras’ movements for smooth production
  • Reckeen Lite – 2D production module
  • Integrated Microsoft Paint 3D application

Default content:

  • Fully customisable 50 ready-to-use studio sets of and 44 ready-to-use PIP scenographies of different styles
  • Library of over 700 3D objects
  • Library of textures & materials – wood, metal, plastic, stone, fabrics, etc. in various colours – to customise any object, wall or floor inside a 3D studio.
  • Sample media files – videos, images, audio files, and graphics used for captions and text.

There’s no hidden costs, no extras you need to pay for to use all of the features listed above.

And now, the shocker – all that can be bought for under 17,000 EUR*!
*price for Europe region

If you look at our competitors, there’s no other company that can offer you an end-to-end solution  like this one, providing you with as much creative possibilities, great quality and flexibility as we do.

RECKEEN 3D Studio can easily be operated by one person, and does a great job even in difficult conditions – for example using only a very basic green screens and a couple of softboxes. That’s why it’s makes a great solution if you have limited resources but still want to produce high-end content.
RECKEEN will help you grow!

Moreover, you won’t find any “Made in China” sign anywhere, because everything is made and manufactured in Europe. Similarly, all technologies used within RECKEEN 3D Studio are custom-made by the company – chroma key (developed by us over the past 20 years), 3D engine, interface as well as capture cards, audio processors, and advanced projects using FPGA.

If you feel that Reckeen’s solution can benefit your business, send us an inquiry to sales@reckeen.com

Oh, and let me tell you a secret – there are exciting news coming your way in the upcoming months. Keep your eyes peeled, because we are going to shake up the industry even further.

Sign up to our newsletter, so you don’t miss the big news:

FlorMartz visitors at Telemundo – Expo Cine Video Television Show

Dear FlorMartz visitors at Telemundo - Expo Cine Video Television Show

It was a great pleasure to meet you at Telemundo – Expo Cine Video Television Show at the FlortMartz company stall in Expo Centre. Our RECKEEN team is thankful for your precious time and the attention.

As the CEO of RECKEEN and a creator of RECKEEN broadcasting and production system, I am thankful for the opportunity to present you with our newest product RECKEEN 3D Studio and answer all your questions about the system’s features and its advantages.

I hope that the RECKEEN’s system has satisfied your expectations regarding a modern production and broadcasting system. I also sincerely hope that we will have a long-term business affiliation that will let us keep you updated with RECKEEN innovative and creative solutions, and we will be able to make our services fit perfectly to your and your customers’ needs.

You can expect us, the RECKEEN’s team, to support you in achieving your business goals and helping you elevate your company to a new level, by offering new business and services opportunities and collaborations.

I would like to encourage You to visit our website www.reckeen.com, where you can familiarize yourself with our services, and our products such as RECKEEN 3D Studio and RECKEEN Lite. You can also find there additional and useful information, tutorials, news and instructions.

One of the services that might be of Your interest is our financial system RECKEEN RENTAL. We would like to encourage you to visit our website for more information, that is available here.

Simple Key improvement

Start stage of animation selection

We also invite you to visit us at our stall at IBC Show in Amsterdam between 13th and 17th of September 2019. We would love to see you there!

Sincerely yours,
RECKEEN’s Team and the CEO Darius Hebisz

F.A.Q

Here, you will find descriptions of the problems you may encounter when working with the Reckeen system.

If you have any questions – search the relevant section for a description of a problem and a solution for it.If you cannot find the information you are looking for, please contact your local distributor.

Unexpected disruptions in the stable operation of the Reckeen system

Make sure that all the devices connected to the Reckeen system (cameras, external audio mixer, PC , etc.) and the system itself are powered with the voltage of the same phase. The easiest way to verify this is to connect all the devices to a single power strip in accordance with the grounding principles.

Windows system wants to update itself or displays a message referring to inability to start the system or a message about invalid graphics card drivers

For the Reckeen system, Windows updates are disabled. You should not change this allowing the updates or Windows system upgrade , as this may cause instability of the system or even inability to start the Reckeen application. This also applies to updating your graphics card drivers. If you update Windows,
you have to restore it to the previous version.

Can I install antivirus software?

In the event of the need to use antivirus software, it shall be installed, the computer shall be scanned for viruses, and then the software shall be uninstalled. This is to avoid the uncontrolled incorporation of this software during live production and unstable system operation.

Wizard

It should be noted at the beginning that you shouldn’t work in the 3D Editor, or the Wizard, during the live broadcast.
Click File > Open Wizard in the opened 3D Studio Editor window or press the Wizard icon on the bar.

Then, a warning appears, stating that in the case the new camera takes were defined during the ongoing session, the results of the work might be lost.

If you want to keep your previous work in the Production, it’s best to click NO to go to the Production module, save the session there and run the Wizard again. Click YES only after completing those steps.

The first one of the pop-up window series will appear. It will guide you through the Wizard.

If you tick the option: Do not show this window again, the window will not appear the next time you open the Wizard. The same can be done to all the windows that appear in the Wizard. Once you leave the Wizard, you can save changes to your session on the production screen (File> Save session) or create a new session (File> Save Session As…). Afterwards, when you re-enter the session, the pop-ups will not appear in the Wizard again.
However, if the pop-up hints still facilitate your work, you can enable them once again by clicking on the production screen:
Options> Configuration> General> Wizard Studio Editor> Reset pop-up hints visibility to default state (picture below).

The button with inscription: Reset pop-up hints visibility to default state will become highlighted and the hints start appearing again.The first step after opening a Wizard is to choose a studio.
You will be guided through the consecutive steps by the appearing pop-ups.
Picture below – a Window with a mouse – workspace.

A pop-up with instructions on how to select a studio by entering keywords.

A window with search results.

You search the studios by typing the name in the box, news for example. Then, all the studios that have news phrase in their name or in their category, will be listed. You don’t have to type the entire word, the search engine will show you suggestions after entering at least 3 letters of the phrase. (See the previous Picture.
The first step is to choose a studio. The Wizard launches with the Studio tab already open. Other tabs are as follows: Walls material, Floor material, Ceiling material and Decorations. Some of them may be disabled (inactive) by the studio designer’s intent.
First, choose a studio template. When you move the cursor over the template, it becomes highlighted and an additional enlarged window appears.
Move the cursor over the window and right-click it to display the template’s name, category, sub-category and keywords.

If you have a lot of items to search for, just enter the keyword, or its first three letters, for example, search for the studios that have “news” in their name. After entering “new”, the studios that have this phrase in their description will appear. It may be any part of the name or the word in the studio’s description.
For the word “transparency”, you can enter either the first three letters of the word (“tra”) or any string of letters in the middle of the word (like “spa”). Some elements, like “tv”, have only two characters, therefore you can type a two letter string, “tv” for example, and press the space-bar to create “tv “.
Some of the preview pictures have a small icon in the corner. When you click it, another window appears with the stage design preview, showing how it might look like in the final perspective and what elements it contains. This facilitates selection of appropriate elements.
You can narrow down your search by selecting Category and Subcategory from the drop-down list.

A red question mark (“?”) appears on some of the STUDIO TEMPLATE thumbnails. With its help, you can open another window in which you will see a view of the set design along with the use of individual objects, as an example, in the same category.
After selecting the studio template, click it to load it.
Depending on the selected template, all or some of the tabs will be available at the top of the screen. If the graphic designer assumed, for example, that the floor material in the studio cannot be changed, this tab will not be active. You can change the tabs by clicking on them or by using the Back and Next buttons at the top right corner of the screen. Picture below.

You can navigate through the loaded studio with your mouse. The same rules apply as for the mouse movements in the studio editor. See the chapter: Virtual 3D studio editor, paragraph: Operating modes: Camera and Object.
All the operations available in the studio, such as mouse movements or locking XYZ axes, are transferred from the Virtual 3D studio editor. Only the rotation around the selected object is disabled, as it was deemed useless in the Wizard.
Now, you can go to the next tab: Walls material.
You don’t have to mark specific elements of the walls in the Wizard. The material is changed in all the studio areas specified by the designer. All you need is to select the desired wall material from the materials list on the right side of the screen. Just as in the Studio tab, when you move the mouse over a specific material and right-click it, its properties are shown, namely Name, Categories, Subcategories and Keywords.

You can, of course, choose entire group of interesting materials from the drop-down list by selecting Category and Subcategory.
For example: Choose Category: Natural and Subcategory: Shiny. A list of materials with these properties will appear. Next, type the word “red” in the search-bar. Now, only the red ones will be included in the material group.
The process of choosing materials in the Floor material and Ceiling material tabs is exactly the same.
Now, let’s move on to the Decorations tab.
In the Decorations tab, so called “placeholders” appear in the view of the studio.

Placeholder’s positions are pre-defined in the studio’s design. Select any one of the placeholders in the preview window and click it with the left mouse button. Then, the placeholder lights up red and starts blinking. A placeholder can be selected with a mouse or indicated by selecting it from the list of all placeholders.

When you click on the placeholder, the “pin” lights up and starts blinking. Then, select from the list of the elements an object to be “affixed” in that place. Let’s choose a platform.

When you click on the selected object, the placeholder’s pin will disappear replaced by the selected object. The object will be inserted exactly where the placeholder has been. The object will be facing direction indicated by the arrow on the placeholder’s pin.
A red question mark (?”) appears on some of the objects’ thumbnails. With it, you can open another window in which you will see an example this object’s use in the set design prepared by the graphic designer. Picture below.

Simultaneously, a new position will appear on the list of placeholders: a Platform, along with a drawing of a small cube next to it. It means the placeholder has been replaced with an object.
Note that this object, the Platform, also has its own placeholder on its surface. You can now place, for example, a desk on this platform. Click the placeholder visible on the platform and then select the object: Desk. Picture below

What’s more, the desk object has two placeholders. You can place a Talent behind the desk using one of them.

If you want to remove the object from the placeholder, you have to select it on the screen by clicking the left mouse button on it. The whole object will light up and start blinking. Now, remove the object by pressing the button: Remove decoration from placeholder, located at the bottom right corner of the screen.

You have to remember that, if you select the Platform object, as in the example above, you it will be removed along with all the objects attached to it.

The available objects are listed and displayed in the windows. In the windows, the objects are visible in positions as if they were replacing their placeholders located on the floor, that is the placeholder’s pin was pinned to the floor. The arrow on the top of the placeholder determines the direction the object will be facing.
If the placeholder is pinned to the ceiling, and its pin is “upside down”, then an object loaded to such a placeholder will also be turned “upside down”.

Let’s look at the platform placed on the ceiling in our example.
It may happen that, when you want to place an object in your studio on a particular placeholder, it may not be a perfect fit. The object may, for example, “impale” the wall.

Do not worry about that, let’s now leave the object in that place, as accurate corrections and shifts will be done later on in the Editor.

Edit: Undo and Redo functions

There is an Edit option available at the top left side of the screen. You can trigger Undo and Redo functions from the drop-down menu or through the keyboard shortcuts.

  • Undo function – erases the last introduced change.
  • Redo function – reverses the Undo command.

Principles of the functions’ operation are the same as previously described in the Studio 3D Editor. The only difference is that, in the Wizard you cannot undo the camera movements, which was possible in the Editor. There is no Camera tab in the Wizard, therefore these movements are not recorded when designing the studio.
After adding all the objects, you can go back to the Ceiling tab to see the studio without placeholders. You can neither select, add nor remove the objects in the Ceiling tab and in the Walls tab. Instead, you can once again change the materials covering the ceiling, the walls or the floor if they don’t match the added objects.

You can press the Close button if there are no more changes for you to make . The Wizard will be closed and you will be automatically redirected to the Editor.
Now, you can continue with the editing.
The Wizard allows you to design a studio quickly and easily. But let’s remember that you go through the Wizard only once, putting all the necessary elements in the studio. The studio once created in the Wizard cannot be loaded to the Wizard again. If you have forgotten about some object and you want to add it, you can do it in the Editor.
In order to be able to the design each of the elements in the Editor, you have to change the mode from Simple to Advanced.
In the Advanced mode, you can display an entire tree structure of all the elements by clicking on the triangular markers that appear in front of the names of the objects and their elements. The whole process of building the studio, that is placing a platform, a desk, or a chair on the floor and so on, will be reflected in this structure. You will only see one element in the Simple mode – the Floor. In the Advanced mode, you will be able to display all the items placed on the consecutive placeholders.

When you click on the name of the primary element in the tree, a window will appear below the tree, containing materials that can be used.
You can change the item’s material by clicking on the selected material’s thumbnail.

In the case of such objects as talent or screen, a tab with materials database will not be visible. There is no possibility to change their material, even when you switch the Live option to Bitmap and use graphic images. Some Logo type objects (that could be found in the database) also don’t have an option to change their material. In some set designs, you can find certain logo type objects, under which you can both change a material and apply an appropriate graphics with transparency. In the case of an object’s Clone, both the material and its color are transferred.

If you are not satisfied with the change, you can restore the item’s basic material by pressing the Restore material to default button located at the bottom right of the screen.
It is possible to change the color of some of the materials. It is done with the color wheel.
You should bear in mind that you change a color of a specific material, so if the same material has been used in any other object, that object will also be subjected to a color change. You cannot change the color of some of the objects. In the case of objects loaded with Microsoft Paint 3D such option may be locked and you will be informed about it with a message. If you want to restore a default color, you have to use the Reset function. In the case of an object’s Clone, both the material and its color are transferred.
In the Editor, all the objects added in the Wizard can be moved, cloned, their color changed, their elements removed etc. In the picture below, you can see two desks, original one on the right, and the cloned one with the materials changed on the left.

In the Wizard’s Ceiling and Walls tabs you could only change the materials to the extent determined in the project. If you wanted to change the color of the floor strips (as in the picture above), it would not be possible in the Wizard. You can do it in the Editor. All you have to do is to find the floor stripes element on the tree in the Advanced mode and change the material.

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