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Images or Screen Capture as Camera Sources

A built-in feature of Production Truck is a screen capture extension that allows you to capture a screen and use it as a camera source. The screen capture can be told to capture an entire screen, other specific applications, or a specific drawn area of the screen. You can also use an image as a camera source.

Below are instructions about Enabling Screen Capture options on MacOS and telling it to capture specific applications or areas, followed by enabling screen capture on Windows systems.

Table of contents:

Image as a Camera Source (Mac)

  1. Open Production Truck's Preferences.

  2. Navigate to Devices. Select the plus icon to add a device, or in this instance an image.

  3. Within that new window, change the device group to Image (From File).

  4. Select Open on the right-hand side. This should open up the finder on your computer. Find the image to use and select it. Click Add.

  5. The file will show in the Devices area of the Preferences menu if it were added correctly.

  6. Bring that image in as any other camera source. Navigate to Audio/Video, select a Camera, and then select the image from the Source options to the right.

    An image is now shown as a camera source!

  7. The image will now function as a camera source in all normal processes done within Production Truck.

Image as a Camera Source (Windows)

  1. Within Production Truck's Preferences, navigate to Devices. Select the plus icon to add a device, or in this instance an image.

  2. Within that new window, change the device group to File (Image, Video, etc.).

  3. Select Open on the right-hand side. This should open up the finder on the computer. Find the image to use and select it. Click Add.

    Name the image. This is how it will appear as an option within Production Truck.

  4. Bring that image in as any other camera source. Navigate to Audio/Video, select a Camera, and then select the image from the Source options to the right.

    An image as a camera source now shows!

  5. The image will now function as a camera source in all normal processes done within Production Truck.

Screen Capture

  1. To enable Screen Capture within Production Truck, navigate to Preferences, the gear icon in the middle of Production Truck. Navigate to Audio/Video and select the camera source you wish to populate with the screen capture.

    By default, Screen Capture will begin to capture your entire screen.

Capturing a Specific Application

  1. The Screen Capture extension has its own control panel. Go up to the bar at the top of the screen and select Extras>Screen Recorder - Beta.

  2. This will open up a small box that gives the Screen Capture extension some options. From the main drop-down, select the application you are utilizing. Use the Hide Toolbar option to hide the toolbar from your video conference application, giving it a cleaner look.

  3. This will begin to capture the software from wherever it is available on your screen. If you move the application around on your desktop, the Screen Capture will do its best to follow it. You may need to navigate back to the Screen Capture Controls to refresh it, if it is not tracking accurately.

  4. It would be beneficial to have a separate monitor dedicated to the application, that way items will not interfere with the Screen Capture extension. In the example below, we have Skype selected as our Camera 1, and color bars as our Camera 2.

Capturing a Draw View Area

  1. The Screen Capture extension has its own control panel. Go up to the bar at the top of your screen and select Extras>Screen Recorder - Beta.

  2. This will open up a small box that gives the Screen Capture extension some options. Within this control panel, select Draw View. This will give alter your cursor and allow you to drag and draw a rectangular area on your screen where you want the Screen Capture to grab from.

  3. This will begin to capture the software from wherever the drawn area is on your screen. If you move applications and files around on your desktop in this area, the Screen Capture will capture it. In the example below, we have drawn an area around the BlueFrame Technology banner image elsewhere on our desktop. It displays as our our Camera 1, and color bars as our Camera 2.

Screen Capture on Windows

  1. Within Production Truck, navigate to the Preferences menu in the center and to Audio/Video and select a camera source. From the dropdown select Medialooks ScreenCapture.

  2. Under this screen capture, the entire screen will be selected and captured.

Using NDI Scan Converter for Screen Capture

  1. NDI Scan Converter is a free software from NDI that can be utilized to Screen Capture. It can be directed to capture specific windows and applications. NDI Tools are utilized in other aspects of Production Truck as well.

    NDI integration is currently only available on the Mac version of Production Truck.

  2. Download and install NDI Screen Converter. Navigate down and select the correct NDI Tools package for your operating system.

  3. A standard download and installation process will begin.

  4. Find and open NDI Scan Converter on your computer.

  5. Navigate to and open Production Truck. Navigate to the Audio/Video tab of the preferences window. Under the camera option you wish to screen capture, the name of your computer with (Scan Converter) should appear.

  6. To tell which windows or applications for NDI Scan Converter to capture, select it again on your taskbar. In the upper right-hand corner, select File then from the various options tell it which screen to capture. Whichever window or application you instruct the NDI Scan Converter to capture is the only screen that will be shown in the camera preview within Production Truck.

  7. The below screenshot is being told to capture the Google Chrome window we currently have open.