NewTek TriCaster Studio - Manual (Page 123)

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Ideally both your cameras and TriCaster should be genlocked. If sources are not genlocked to the
same reference signal as the TriCaster output, a TBC (Time Base Correction) operation is
automatically applied. Time Base Correction may drop or insert frames as necessary to maintain
synch, hence it is a less desirable approach.
Note: It is not absolutely required that you genlock TriCaster video sources, as internal sync is
provided. However, doing can sometimes shave roughly one frame off transmission latency.
Also, digital audio is less forgiving in certain respects. To avoid audio glitches when mixing digital
audio you must ensure that the timing for all digital audio sources is synchronized. This means
doing one of the following: i) genlock all digital audio sources and TriCaster to a house reference
signal, or ii) genlock the cameras to TriCaster’s output.
GENLOCK SETTINGS
Genlock controls are provided for Vertical Position, Horizontal Position, Phase, Termination and
Center Frequency.
VERTICAL POSITION, HORIZONTAL POSITION AND PHASE
Locking all devices to house sync is important, but this alone does not actually ensure a perfect
downstream match.
Consider an army marching along: each step the soldiers take occurs at precisely the same
moment, so we could say their timing is synchronized. Even so, problems result if one soldier
leads with the left foot while everyone else is on the right. Or perhaps everyone is evenly spaced
and perfectly aligned but for one misfit who ‘tailgates’ the soldier ahead of him and keeps
stepping on his heels.
This is essentially why TriCaster provides several adjustments in its Genlock section. The
Horizontal and Vertical Position settings pin the image in the proper space in the frame, and in
doing so could be likened to making sure each marching soldier is in position relative to his
fellows (as viewed from above). The Phase setting ensures proper color alignment,
corresponding to making sure everyone is on the left or right foot at the same time.