There is one question we have been asked again and again in the past few weeks, how can we present a live show from a home?

With many stations now finding access to their studio restricted and increasing restrictions on non-essential travel, most stations are now having to consider how they can continue to provide vital services. 

 

We are doing everything we can to assist stations through these difficult times with regular software updates that include features to assist with remote working as well as help articles and documents to help people get the most from their systems.

 

To recap, the remote working options for Myriad 5 Playout users are:

  • Remote Voice Tracking (RVT) - Desktop application that allows you to edit the Log and add Voice Tracks.
  • Myriad Anywhere RVT (Cloud or Self Hosted) - Similar feature set to RVT but with a web based interface to allow greater access across a wider range of devices.
  • Myriad Playout Remote - Desktop application that offers partial remote control over your studio Myriad 5 Playout system.
  • 3rd Party Remote Control Solutions (Teamviewer, VNC etc) - Services that offer full remote control of your Myriad 5 Playout System to allow advanced features such as scheduling, but not usually useful for audio based features such as RVT.

Myriad Anywhere is explained in detail on the Myriad Anywhere section of our website and full documentation on both Myriad Anywhere and RVT can be found in the documentation section of our support site. Voice Tracking provides a great way to add 'live' sounding elements to your automated output and for many stations, will be the main tool used to 'keep the lights on'.

 

But what about if you want to present a live show from a remote location? What tools will you need and how will you go about setting it up?

 

Unfortunately, there is not currently a single tool that we can use to achieve full live playout from a remote location (short of a mobile studio and playout system) so instead we will combine a couple of Myriad 5 based tools with some 3rd party technology to give us a workable solution.

 

The fundamentals are:

  • Use Myriad 5 Playout Remote to provide partial 'real time' control over our studio Myriad 5 Playout System.
  • User a 3rd party VoIP (IpDTL or Cleanfeed.net) solution to feed the microphone in our bedroom to the studio and also feed the studio output back to our bedroom.
  • Use some advanced Command features in Myriad 5 Playout combined with Myriad 5 Playout Remote to automate a 'ducking' of audio at the studio end to simulate using the faders.

By combining these three features, it is possible to have live shows driven by the presenter and including real time presenter links!

 

And the best bit is because Myriad 5 Playout Remote is free for Myriad 5 Playout users, and 3rd party VoIP services such as Cleanfeed offer free basic accounts, you can do it all without it costing your station a penny more!

 

Here is how to do it.

The Basic Principles

  • Download and install Myriad 5 Playout Remote at the remote studio end.
  • Connect to the studio network via VPN.
  • Enable remote control in Myriad 5 Playout on the workstations you need to be able to remote control.
  • Ensure the user has the right permissions to edit the log remotely.
  • Signup for an account with a VoIP service (in the documentation we used Cleanfeed but you can use any such service).
  • Configure the studio end of the VoIP service to use the same sound device as Myriad for playback and desk output (PGM or AUD) for recording.
  • Configure the remote end of the VoIP to use your local headphones and microphone.
  • Download and install the example Command Media Items for 'fading Media Player'.
  • Add them to Favourites for easy remote triggering.

Easy right? Well there are a few more steps involved so rather than write a massive blog, we fully documented the process in the guide below that you can download and read at your leisure.

 

Download The Full Guide

 

Download our complete guide to setting up and presenting a full live show from a remote location. In this guide you will learn how to setup and configure Myriad 5 Playout Remote. You will also see how to use 3rd party VoIP services such as Cleanfeed to add 'voice links' to your remote show. Finally, we show you how to 'fader players' remotely using pre-made Command Media Items.