I often ask directors for an EVS plan: which inputs they want on the server. They usually want some of the cameras as 2-phase or 4-phase slow motion. Today that goes back and forth in messages. This is the idea for a small tool that settles it up front.
The idea #
The director adds their sources (camera names), or picks them from the camera table in the Camera Plan. Each source is marked with the slow-motion type it needs: normal, 2-phase or 4-phase. The tool then:
- Validates the config: is this combination of inputs and phases possible on the chosen EVS?
- Flags the license: does the setup need the SuperMotion advanced license?
- Gives a plan to send back: a clean list of inputs, phases and requirements for me and the operators.
Use in tech walkthroughs #
The EVS plan is used in the tech walkthrough meetings with production, and it is usually presented from Google Slides. So the export matters as much as the validation. It should be easy to get into Slides:
- Image export (PNG or SVG) of the plan, to drop onto a slide.
- Copy as table, so it pastes into Slides as an editable table.
- CSV, as a fallback for Sheets or anything else.
The export should look clean on a slide: large text, readable from the back of a meeting room, and the license requirement visible at a glance.
Which of these pastes best into Slides still needs testing.
Open questions #
These need checking against EVS documentation before any rules go into the tool:
- Which server models to support (XT-VIA, XT4K, others), and how many channels each has.
- How many channels a 2-phase or 4-phase source takes, and the limits per model.
- Exactly what triggers the SuperMotion advanced license.
- Whether the output side (play channels) needs to be part of the validation.
Planned shape #
- Source list with a phase selector per source.
- Server model picker, with the channel budget shown as it fills up.
- Clear pass/fail result, with the reason when a config is not possible.
- Print or share view for the director.
- Slide-ready export, as described above.
The Camera Plan idea (cameras on a floorplan, plus a table with lens, fiber or wireless, and notes) is meant to share its camera list with this planner, so names and numbers only have to be entered once.