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SoftwareVP-CONTROL-SHOWDocumentation by Nevco

VideoPro — Control Your Show

Model: VideoPro·Updated July 2026·~60 min read

Not yet verified. This guide was converted automatically from the official document and is awaiting review by our support team. If anything looks off — especially wiring, mounting, or safety steps — follow the official PDF or call us.

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Table of Contents (159 sections)

Drive a live show from VideoPro: cue and take graphics, edit values mid-show, fire shots from a layout, and operate from a Stream Deck, Bitfocus Companion, a phone, or a tablet.

This section is for the operator at runtime, the person at the keyboard or the control surface during the broadcast. It assumes the production is already configured: graphics designed, data wired, signal chain plumbed. The focus is the cue/take cycle: cue, take, update, recover. Where Set up your production is about configuration, this section is about performance. Open it when you're prepping a show or in the moments before it goes live.

  • Cue and take graphics — use this when you want to learn the live show workflow: queue the next graphic, take it to air, take it off.
  • Live Values tab — use this when you need to update text, scores, or names while a graphic is on air.
  • Creating shot layouts — use this when you want a touch-friendly grid of one-button shots rather than driving the Project List directly.
  • Stream Deck direct plugin — use this when you want hardware buttons under your fingertips with the simplest possible setup.
  • Cue & take, live — the cue/take cycle: cue and take, the Live Values tab, the Values Grid, animating updates from live data, instant search, operating a media sequence, instant replay during the show.
  • Shot Layouts & Shot Launcher — touch-friendly shot grids, Shot Launcher mode, and the Recall Keypad for numeric recall.
  • Stream Deck — the direct Elgato plugin, and how to choose between it and Companion.
  • Companion — Bitfocus Companion setup, project-nav buttons, presets, multi-action stacks, remote operation, Companion via Stream Deck, and the Tables controller in Companion.
  • Dedicated Workflows — operating Media Manager, Media Tracker, and People as live workflows.
  • Remote control & control surfaces — phone and tablet remote, plus the supported control surfaces (Stream Deck direct plugin and Bitfocus Companion).
  • To set up the signal chain feeding this show (inputs, Program Out, streaming), see Set up your production.
  • For an end-to-end playbook for a sport, worship service, or hybrid event that wires control surfaces into the rest of the production, see Solution Recipes.
  • When a button stops firing, a Stream Deck won't connect, or the show goes dark mid-cue, see Troubleshooting. The Hardware control troubles and Nothing on air sections are the fastest paths back to a working show.

Run the show: cue graphic layers in order, update their values from live data, search for the next graphic fast, and roll replays.

This is the operator's chapter during the live show. Every article assumes the project is already built and the data is already wired; it covers what you press, type, and search for once the broadcast is rolling. Read the cue-and-take article first; the others extend it.

Sequencing is a powerful feature that lets you play graphic layers in a specific order.

  1. Right-click anywhere on the row of column labels to add the Duration, Next Layer, and Delay columns to your Project List.

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Add columns
  1. Set up a new channel and populate it with graphic layers.

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Channel layers
  1. Make sure the layers you desire to use for your sequence have a customized duration. Graphic layers will have a no-limit duration by default. This is denoted by -- -- -- in the Duration column for that graphic layer. Double-click the cell that corresponds to the layer to enter a custom duration (minutes:seconds;frames). When a custom duration has been set for a graphic layer, the Next Layer cell for that graphic will become available.

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Next Layer cell
  1. Use the Next Layer dropdown menu to select which graphic layer from that channel will play next.
  2. If you assign a graphic layer to play next on itself, it will initiate a loop sequence and the graphic layer will play indefinitely until you play it out.

Each row in the Project List has a live-status icon at the right edge. What a click on that icon does depends on Auto-live mode in the scheduler.

  • Auto-live ON: a plain click runs the current playout command on the row. Off-air rows go on-air (Take); on-air rows come off (Take Off).
  • Auto-live OFF (cue/take): a plain click toggles the row's Next state — clicking once cues the row, clicking again uncues it. Fire the cued row by double-clicking the icon, pressing Spacebar with the row selected (which runs Auto on that row), or using a Take action.

Modifier-click is constant regardless of Auto-live state:

  • Shift + click: Take.
  • Ctrl + click: Auto.
  • Alt + click: Auto-in.

The live-status icon turns red when the row goes on-air, but it remains a play arrow — not a stop icon. Clicking the red icon runs the next playout command (typically Take Off) for that row.

In cue/take mode, the live-status icon uses a four-state dot palette instead of a play arrow:

  • Grey dot: not cued, not on-air.
  • Yellow dot: cued (Next).
  • Red dot: on-air.
  • Purple dot: on-air with a Next already set.

The dot palette has no in-app legend — operators new to cue/take mode may not recognize the colors at first.

When a layer has Dynamic variables, the Project List can show one column per variable with the current value at a glance. Right-click a column header to toggle these per-variable columns on or off. The values are read-only in the column — to change a value, use the Live Values tab in the Properties dock (see Update variables in live graphic layers).

Do not confuse the per-variable columns with the Data Controller column, which shows which Data Controllers are bound to each row, not the variable values themselves.

Per-variable columns refresh about once a second — useful as a quick read-out for operators monitoring several rows at once.

Double-clicking the Preview thumbnail in a row opens the Designer on that layer. This is the row equivalent of clicking the Edit Graphic button in the Preview panel.

The shortcut only works on editions that include the Designer. On Designer-less editions, double-clicking the Preview column has no effect.

Note: The tab is labeled Live Values in the shipping UI. The page URL retains the legacy name live-data-tab for backward compatibility.

Graphics from VideoPro's Graphics Library, and other graphics you may have created, include variables for content which allows you to customize the videos, images, color, gradients, and text. These same variables can also be updated when linked to a data source.

The Live Values tab in the Layer Properties panel exposes a list of variables for the selected graphic layer. Variables vary depending on which inputs were enabled for that graphic in the Designer. For the spreadsheet view that stores multiple sets of variable values for the same graphic, see Values Grid.

The Live Values tab allows you to edit variables for a single instance of the graphic layer. Any edits in this tab continuously update your graphic layer as variables are customized.

  1. In VideoPro's playout interface, open a project and select a graphic layer from the Project List.

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Tip: Want to create a new graphic? Open the Graphics Library panel and drag a design from the library to the Project List, or choose File > New Graphic.
  1. The Layer Properties panel will open, which includes the Live Values tab and all variables that are available for the selected graphic layer.

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Live Values variables
  1. If you want to connect the graphic layer to a data source and automatically drive data to variables from that graphic layer, see the Connect Data to Graphic Layers section.
  2. If you want to manually update the default values in variables or connect a camera to a live video variable, see the following sections in this article. Whenever you update a variable with new information, the graphic layer starts rendering and displays the change when it is fully rendered.

A slider labeled Show All Variables sits above the variables list. The slider has two states:

  • On (the default) — every variable the graphic defines is listed, including the design-only ones the original template marked as non-dynamic.
  • Off — only variables marked Dynamic in the original template appear. Static template variables are hidden from the list.

Switch the slider off when a graphic exposes more variables than you want to see during a show, and only the dynamic ones matter to the operator. Switch it on when you need to override a value the template designer did not mark dynamic.

The slider's state is per-layer for the current session. Each new project or layer starts with the slider on.

[NOTE]

Enter new text in a text field, such as Name or Subtitle, then press TAB or ENTER to update the graphic.

Click a color swatch and complete any of the following steps to select a color in the Pick Color dialog:

  • Click a color on the wheel.
  • Click Hex or Dec, then enter the desired Hex or Dec values.
  • Click the color picker , then click a color on your screen. (Press ESC to cancel the color picker.)
  • Click and drag the horizontal sliders to adjust the selected color's hue and opacity.

Use the Gradient style to customize design layers with gradients based on multiple colors.

  1. Click the color swatch.
  2. In the Color section of the Pick Color dialog, complete any of the following steps to select a color:
  • Click a color on the wheel.
  • Click Hex or Dec, then enter the desired Hex or Dec values.
  • Click the color picker , then click a color on your screen. (Press ESC to cancel the color picker.)
  • Click and drag the horizontal sliders to adjust the selected color's hue and opacity.
  1. In the Gradient section, select the number of colors to include in the gradient and the type of gradient from the two drop-down lists.

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Gradient picker
  1. In the gradient color wheel, click and drag each large circle to adjust the gradient's color range, then click and drag the small circles to adjust the transition point between colors.

To replace a default image or video, click an image or video thumbnail, then locate and select a new image or video.

Image variable

To customize how an image or video fits within the available space for that design layer, select one of the following fit modes from the drop-down list next to an image or video variable.

Fill: The image or video fills all of the available space in the bounding box's dimensions while maintaining its proportions.

Fit: The image or video fits inside the object's bounding box without cropping and retains its aspect ratio, which means the image may not fill the entire variable area.

Stretch: The entire image or video resizes to fit in the entire variable area, but may not maintain its aspect ratio.

You can stream video from a webcam or NDI-enabled camera.

  1. Connect a webcam or NDI-enabled camera to your computer.
  2. Select a video source from the video drop-down list on the left.

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Live video selector
  1. To customize the appearance of the live video, select an effect from the drop-down list in the middle, and then select one of the effect presets from the drop-down list on the right.
Note: If the design layer's dimensions don't match the aspect ratio of the video source, the live video will be resized to fit within the design layer, which may distort the video. If necessary, resize the design layer in the Designer.

Use data graph variables with text or shape objects to show a percentage or quantity that changes dynamically based on incoming data.

To update the value of a data graph variable, double-click the value and enter a number between 1 and 100, which will be represented as a percentage.

Data graph variable
Tip: You can automatically drive data from Facebook comment polls and reaction polls to data graph variables.

The Values Grid tab in the Properties panel is a spreadsheet view that holds multiple sets of variable values for the same graphic. Each column maps to a variable on the graphic layer; each row is one snapshot of those values. Stack rows for repeatable playout — different speakers in one lower third, different sponsors in one bug, different players in one intro card — and play any row by clicking its row-number header at the left edge.

For the single-instance variable editor (one set of values, no rows), see Live Values tab. The two tabs share the same field types (text, color, gradient, image/video, live video, data graph) but use different mechanics; this article documents the grid-specific surface.

  1. In VideoPro's playout interface, open a project and select a graphic layer from the Project List.
  2. The Properties panel will open, which includes the Values Grid tab and all variables that are available for the selected graphic layer.

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Note: You can change the names of variables when you create variables in the Designer; therefore, the names of variables from your own custom graphics may be different from the names shown in this article's illustrations.
  1. The header cells at the top of the table are the variables that the graphic layer contains. Every cell below it is an instance of that variable. Every row that is composed of these cells will behave as an instance for the graphic layer.

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"Values Grid tab with Index
  1. Click any row's row-number header to play that row's values on air. If the graphic layer is already on air, the values update live and the design layers play their Update animations to show the change.
Tip: Values Grid avoids duplicating the same graphic multiple times — all the possible instances of that graphic can live in one tab as rows.
Note: The variable fields in the Live Values tab show the values from the row most recently played from Values Grid.

The left edge of the grid is a column of row-number cells. Each row-number cell is both an indicator (shows whether the row is on air) and a play button (click to play that row).

Right-click on a row-number cell to open the row context menu:

  • Insert Row Above — adds a blank row above the one you clicked. Fill in the cells, then play it.
  • Remove Row — deletes the row.

To add a row from the current Live Values state, open the Live Values tab and click Add to Values Grid. The current values become a new row at the bottom of the grid.

The Values Grid Sequencer walks rows on a timer instead of waiting for you to click each one. Use it for unattended segments — auto-rotating sponsor cards, looping fact-of-the-day inserts, between-segment slides.

  1. Click Show Sequencer at the bottom of the Values Grid tab. The sequencer panel appears.
  2. Build the sequence:

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  • Select one or more rows in the grid, then click Add to Sequence in the sequencer panel.
  • Use Remove from Sequence to drop rows you no longer want.
  1. Pick Play Mode — how the sequencer walks the rows:

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  • Row Order — play the rows in grid order, once, then stop.
  • Row Order Looping — play the rows in grid order, and loop back to the first row after the last.
  • Seq Order — play the rows in the order they were added to the sequence, once, then stop.
  • Seq Order Looping — play the rows in sequence-add order, and loop.
  1. Set Interval — the dwell time on each row, in seconds.
  2. Click Sequencing Off to switch it on. The button label changes to Sequencing On and the timer starts. Click again to stop.

When Sequencing On is active, rows advance automatically; clicking a row-number header still works and overrides the sequencer's next selection.

The Import Data button loads rows from a CSV, XLSX, XML, or JSON file into the grid.

Important: Import Data replaces every row currently in the grid. There is no append option and no confirmation prompt. Save any rows you want to keep before importing.

The Values Grid uses the same field types as the Live Values tab. See Live Values tab for the reference on Text, Colors, Gradients, Images and pre-recorded videos (including Design Default / Fill / Fit / Stretch fit modes), Live videos, and Data graph variables.

Render graphics and their variable values before a live production so nothing renders on air. Pre-caching matters most for complex After Effects designs, which have longer render times and heavier system demands.

VideoPro can pre-cache values for native graphic layers and for After Effects layers. Each pre-cached value set is stored as a row in the Values Grid tab, ready to play during the broadcast.

  1. Choose the graphic layer you would like to pre-cache.
  2. Open the Live Values tab in the Properties panel.
  3. Adjust any values you would like to pre-cache for broadcast.

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Add to Values Grid button on the Live Values tab
  1. Click the Add to Values Grid button on the Live Values tab. The current variable values are snapshotted as a new row in the Values Grid, ready for playing live during broadcast.
Note: Renders for all values in the Values Grid are saved in the same directory as your VideoPro project. They are recalled the next time you open the project.
  1. Choose the graphic layer connected to the spreadsheet you would like to pre-cache.
  2. Open the tab named after the Data Controller that's bound to this layer (for example, Spreadsheet: ) in the Properties panel.
  3. Click Send All to Cache.

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Spreadsheet Data Controller tab with Send All to Cache button
Note: To cache a single row instead, click that row, then choose OK. The pre-cached values appear in your Values Grid, ready for playing live during broadcast.

Use the Values Grid to control which data is visualized in your live layers, similarly to operating a connected Data Controller. For the full runtime workflow, see Values Grid.

  1. In the Project List, select the layer you wish to control.
  2. Open the Values Grid tab in the Properties panel.
  3. Click in any row of the Values Grid to queue that set of values for the selected layer. The values are shown in Preview.

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Values Grid

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Note: Values in on-air graphics update in two ways:
  • If Auto Update is enabled, the selected row of values plays in the live graphic immediately.
  • If Manually Update is selected, use the button to send the selected values on air with animations, or the button to update the graphic while bypassing animations.

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Manual update in the Values Grid
Tip: Right-click a row to Insert Row Above. To delete a row from the Values Grid, right-click it and choose Remove Row.

To save the project together with its cache, choose File > Save Project As…, then in the Save dialog's Save as type dropdown pick VideoPro project with Assets. The cache is bundled into the saved project.

Project saved with assets and cache

Your saved project can be opened in VideoPro and broadcast on a machine that does not have After Effects installed. The values will not be available to update live, however.

The Layer Properties panel contains the Live Values tab which allows you to manually update variables from a graphic layer. There are two modes for sending updates to graphic layers when information from your variables has been manually edited.

Note: The Auto/Manual toggle and the two manual update buttons appear only on editions that include the live-update entitlement. On other editions, updates are always sent automatically and these controls do not appear.

By default the Live Values tab is set to Auto Update. Any changes you make to a variable in this mode are sent to the live graphic immediately, using the transition preset applied to that design layer from the Designer.

Auto Update

Switch the toggle to Manually Update to buffer edits. In this mode the Live Values tab shows two additional icon buttons next to the toggle:

The Update changes without animation button sends any pending edits as a cut with no animation. This is very useful for making quick edits to existing information on a live graphic without drawing attention to a change.

The Update changes with animation button sends any pending edits using the transition preset applied to that design layer from the Designer.

Note: One of these two update buttons must be pressed every time edits need to go on-air. You can edit multiple variables and follow up with a single press to send them all at once.
Tip: Hit the Enter key on your keyboard or click away from the text entry field to approve changes so that a variable can then be manually updated.
Manually Update

VideoPro includes an Instant Search feature that enables you to select a graphic in the Project List by typing a graphic layer's name. Also, if a spreadsheet is connected to a graphic layer, you can select data in a spreadsheet by typing a graphic layer's name and the data that you want to display.

Note: Instant Search is entitlement-gated. On editions without the entitlement, the Use Instant Search item does not appear in the Settings menu.
Note: When the search popup is open, the spacebar appends a literal space to the search string. When the popup is closed, the spacebar plays the row currently selected in the Project List.
Tip: Consider naming your graphic layers in a way that is easy to remember and type; the graphic layer's name is what you'll type to select a graphic layer when using Instant Search. To rename a graphic layer, double-click the name of a graphic layer in the Project List and enter a new name.
  1. Open a project in VideoPro.
  2. Choose Settings > Use Instant Search to turn on the Instant Search feature. (A checkmark appears next to the menu option when it is on.)
  3. Type the name of a graphic. As you type, a popup list appears in the middle of VideoPro's playout interface and shows the name of every graphic layer from the Project List that matches your entry.

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Instant Search
  1. Press the down arrow on your keyboard to highlight the name of a graphic layer in the popup list.
  2. Press ENTER.
Tip: Press SPACEBAR to play a graphic layer that is selected in the Project List. See Shortcuts for more keyboard controls.
  1. Open a project in VideoPro and, if you haven't already, connect spreadsheet data to a graphic layer.
  2. Choose Settings > Use Instant Search to turn on Instant Search. (A checkmark appears next to the menu option when it is on.)
  3. Type the name of a graphic. As you type, a popup list appears in the middle of VideoPro's playout interface showing the name of every graphic in the Project List that matches your entry.

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Instant Search
  1. Either finish typing the full name of a graphic or press the down arrow on your keyboard to highlight a graphic's name in the popup list. Press Tab to cycle through entries in the popup.
  2. Press the + or forward slash (/) key on your keyboard to drill into the spreadsheet rows for the highlighted graphic.
  3. Type data that appears in the first column of the line or block that you want to select.

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Instant Search with data
  1. Press ENTER to select the graphic and data.

Tips

This article covers what an operator does with a Media Sequence at runtime: changing how it advances, where it stops, and whether it freezes on a frame mid-clip — all from the Properties dock, while the sequence is loaded.

For how to build a sequence in the first place — adding clips, setting Cut In, configuring transitions, picking a Playback Role — see Create a media sequence.

Select the Media Sequence row in the Project List. Two Properties tabs hold the runtime controls:

  • Media Sequence — the playback and end-behavior settings for the whole sequence.
  • Media List — the clip table. Each row exposes per-clip Cut In, Duration, Repetitions, Transition, Transition Time, and Hold Point.

What you see on these tabs depends on the Sequence Type picked at design time (Continuous Sequence vs. Media List).

Picks what happens when you take the sequence on air after it has been stopped:

  • Start from beginning — restart the sequence each time it's played.
  • Resume from last position — continue from where the last playback was stopped.

Picks how the sequence walks its clips:

  • Sequential — play clips in the order shown in Media List.
  • Random — shuffle clip order each time the sequence advances.
  • No Change — don't auto-advance; the next clip is selected only when you tell the sequence to advance (via a button, a remote action, or a variable change). Use this when you want operator-driven pacing through a list.

Picks what happens after the last clip:

  • Repeat sequence — restart from the first clip; loops indefinitely.
  • Hold on final item — freeze on the last clip after the sequence finishes. For a video clip, the freeze lands on the clip's Hold Point (see below). For an image, the image stays on screen. In Media List mode this option is labeled simply Hold.
  • Stop playback — end after the final clip; the sequence takes itself off air.

A Hold Point freezes a clip at a specified frame and stays on that frame until you advance the sequence. Useful for quote-of-the-day cards, score cards, and slideshows where pacing should be human-driven.

Each clip row in Media List has a Hold Point column. Behavior:

  • Blank or -1 displays End and is the default: the clip freezes about two frames before its natural end.
  • Any positive timecode freezes the clip at that point.

When the sequence reaches a Hold Point, playback stops on that frame. Trigger the sequence again (or fire the advance command from a control surface) to release the hold and continue.

  • Toggle Start Behavior to Resume from last position before a commercial break if you want to pick up where you left off. Switch back to Start from beginning afterward.
  • If you set every clip in a Media List to No Change with operator-driven advance, you have a manual pickup list — fire each clip on demand from a button or hotkey.
  • Hold Points are an operator-paced equivalent of a Media List: keep one Continuous Sequence and let Hold Points act as commit points instead of building lots of small sequences.

Once Instant Replay is configured and recording, this article covers the moves an operator makes on air: scrubbing the buffer to find the moment, trimming with in and out points, picking a playback speed, using Freeze Frame to hold a moment, dropping markers, and adjusting transitions and mute behaviour mid-show from the Quick Settings menu.

For initial configuration — buffer length, source arming, entry and exit transitions — see Set up Instant Replay.

  • Instant Replay must be enabled and the buffer must be in Replay ready (green dot). Replay recording (red dot) means the buffer is still filling.
  • At least one source must be armed. Only armed sources can be played back.
  • The Switcher panel must be visible.

The bar runs along the bottom of the Switcher panel. From left to right: the settings cog (tooltip Edit instant-replay settings), cut buttons, the buffer timeline with playhead and in/out drag-handles, the playback speed dropdown, and the Play / Pause / Live button.

At the bottom right of the Switcher panel, a status indicator shows the buffer state: red dot with Replay recording during recording, green dot with Replay ready when the buffer is full enough to play back.

  1. Wait for the Replay ready indicator.
  2. Drag the playhead along the timeline to scrub through the buffer. The Preview shows the frame under the playhead.
  3. Release the mouse to set the playback start to that frame.

The smaller window in each source tile shows the live feed; the larger window shows the buffer at the current playhead position.

The in-point and out-point handles on the buffer timeline trim the replay clip to just the moments that matter.

  1. Drag the in-point handle to where the clip should begin. The handle snaps to the playhead when you release.
  2. Drag the out-point handle to where the clip should end.
  3. Drag either handle again to adjust.

In and out points persist until you move the handles or clear the buffer — useful when you want to replay the same trimmed moment more than once.

The speed dropdown offers four discrete options: 0.25x, 0.5x, 1.0x, and 2.0x. There are no intermediate values.

The default speed at the start of a session is 0.5x. Change it from the dropdown at any time — the change applies to the next playback start.

Click the play button to start playback from the in point (or from the playhead if no in point is set). Click again to pause. Click again to resume.

When playback reaches the out point, the clip auto-exits with the configured On Replay Stop transition and the channel returns to live.

To hold one frame on air while you cut between camera angles of the same moment:

  1. Pause playback at the frame you want to hold.
  2. Click each armed source tile in the Switcher to show that source's buffer at the same paused frame — multi-angle stills.
  3. Click play to resume normal playback.

Up to 8 marker slots are available for jumping to specific moments in the buffer. The markers are designed for control-surface and shortcut access; check your Stream Deck / Companion mapping or the Settings cog for the binding details.

The cog at the bottom left of the bar opens an in-place menu so you can change replay options without leaving the panel:

  • Transition: on replay start — pick a different entry transition from the project's transitions.
  • Transition: on replay stop — pick a different exit transition.
  • Mute graphics during replay — toggle whether the channel's running graphics are taken down during replay.
  • Don't use VideoPro for switching — toggle for setups where an external switcher handles the cut and VideoPro only plays back the clip.

[NOTE]

While playback is running, clicking a different armed source tile swaps the displayed source to that source's buffer at the same playback position — same moment, different camera. Speed and trim points carry across the switch. Clicking a non-armed source exits replay and returns to live.

A warning icon on the bar marks an important detail: the buffer is not updated while a replay is playing. Recording resumes when the channel returns to Replay ready.

This matters for long clips. A 20-second playback is a 20-second gap in what is recorded for the next replay. Plan around back-to-back plays.

To resume recording immediately, exit replay mode (click the Live button or click a live source tile).

  • Click a live (non-buffered) source tile to switch to live and play the On Replay Stop transition.
  • Let playback reach the out point — auto-exit fires the same transition.
  • Click the Instant Replay button or the Live button to exit immediately.

Stage a combination of graphic layers as a single "shot" and trigger them together with one click.

Use this chapter when your show repeats the same multi-layer states often — opening shot, scoreboard plus lower-third, sponsor break. A Shot Layout captures which layers are visible at once; the Shot Launcher fires the whole combination with one trigger.

A Shot Layout combines multiple graphics into one playable composite. Trigger the shot from the Shot Launcher panel or the Project List and VideoPro plays every graphic in the shot together as a single graphic.

The Shot Launcher panel is part of the default Live workspace layout.

Shot Launcher in the Live workspace layout

In the Edit workspace, reveal it by clicking the Shots icon in the Top Menu Bar.

Shots icon in the Top Menu Bar
  1. Select two or more graphics in your Project List that you want in the Shot.
  2. Click Group into a shot at the bottom of the Shot Launcher panel, or drag-and-drop the selected graphics into the Shot Launcher.

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Group into a shot
  1. The new Shot is added to the Shot Launcher.
  2. With the Shot selected, open the Shot Properties tab in the Properties panel and confirm that all graphics you want included are listed under Contents.

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"Shot Properties tab with Solo

You can add as many graphics as you need.

Note: Graphics that should appear over other graphics in the Shot must be positioned above the background graphics in your Project List. Adjust the order in the Project List if needed.

Open the Shot Properties tab to control how the Shot behaves as a whole.

Note: (In VideoPro 2025 and earlier, this tab was called "Shot Layout".)

The list of graphics included in the Shot. Add or remove graphics here. For each graphic, you can also set its zone — which region of the project's zone layout the graphic appears in — when the project uses a zone layout.

When the Shot plays on-air, automatically take down any other Shot that's currently live.

Shot Launcher with Shot tiles and the Shot Layout tab in Properties showing the Play other Shots off checkbox

Pick a color tint for the Shot's tile in the Shot Launcher and Project List, for at-a-glance recognition during broadcast.

Color label

Acts as a fallback. When this Shot finishes its play-out and Play other Shots off is in effect, automatically restore whichever Shot was on-air before this one took over. Useful for quick interruptions — score updates, lower-thirds — that should hand control back to the long-running shot.

Use Switcher Video to pick the switcher source for this Shot — handy when a Shot should ride over a specific live input. The tooltip on the control reads "Choose the switcher video for this shot."

Mark the Play content duration checkbox to end the Shot as soon as any contained title finishes; leave it unchecked (the default) to keep the Shot on-air until every contained title has finished.

Open the Shot Values tab to override text and image variables for this Shot only.

Note: (In VideoPro 2025 and earlier, this tab was called "Shot Control".)

Every variable available in any contained graphic appears here, grouped by graphic. Click the small triangle next to a graphic name to expand or collapse its variables.

To override a variable for this Shot:

  1. Click Disabled in the dropdown next to the variable, then choose Replace.

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Disabled dropdown — Replace option
  1. Edit the text in the Text input box, or pick a new image with the Fill / Fit / Stretch option.

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Edit variable value

The variable is now overridden for this Shot only — the original graphic is unchanged. To revert, open the dropdown again and choose Disable.

"Shot Values tab with per-graphic collapsible variable sections

Open the Shot Audio tab to control audio per-Shot.

For each contained graphic, set:

  • Volume — the audio volume of that graphic when this Shot is playing.
  • Mute — silence that graphic in this Shot.
  • Override — when on, the Shot's audio settings replace the graphic's normal audio behavior. When off, the graphic plays its normal audio.

Use Shot Audio to keep one Shot's voice-over louder than another's, mute background music in a sponsor card, or duck contained graphics' audio to make a presenter's voice prominent.

"Shot Audio tab with a vertical fader

The Notes tab holds free-form operator notes attached to the Shot — cue reminders, talent names, timing hints. Notes save with the project and never appear on air.

Notes tab with the User Notes text area

The Shot Properties panel has two transition controls that sit alongside each other:

  • Shot Transition — the transition VideoPro uses when this Shot comes on-air. When set, this Shot Transition overrides whatever the Switcher would normally apply.
  • Video Transition — the Switcher transition associated with this Shot's Switcher Video. Use it to set a specific cut, dissolve, or stinger between the previous Switcher source and this Shot's source.

Pick either transition from its dropdown in Shot Properties. When neither is set, the Switcher's current transition is used as a normal cut between the previous Shot and this one. To learn more about transitions, see the Transitions article.

  • Drag a Shot into a position in the Shot Launcher to reorder it.
  • Right-click a Shot for options like Rename, Duplicate, and Delete.
  • The variables in Shot Values are the only changes that apply to "this Shot only" — Properties and Audio overrides apply to the Shot as a whole.

A Shot Layout is one project item that references other graphics, media clips, and even other Shots. This article explains what a Shot stores, what it overrides on the items it contains, and a few defaults that surprise operators when they ship a project for the first time.

For the procedure to build and configure a Shot, see Create Shot Layouts. For the centralized launcher view, see Shot Launcher mode.

A Shot is a container. It does not duplicate the graphics it includes — it references them. When you change a contained graphic in the Designer, the Shot picks up the change the next time it plays.

The Shot itself owns its Contents list, the Play other Shots off toggle, a When done, return to previous Shot fallback, the Play content duration checkbox, a Video Transition (the Switcher transition this Shot uses), a Shot Transition, an optional Switcher Video source, and a Color label.

Each entry in Contents carries its own overrides on top of the referenced item. See Per-item overrides below.

A Shot can contain another Shot. This is called a Composite Shot and it lets you compose a complex on-air state out of smaller, reusable Shots — for example, a "sponsor break" Shot that plays a logo Shot and an audio-sting Shot together.

To build one, create the smaller Shots first, then create a new empty Shot and drag the smaller Shots into its Contents list the same way you would drag in any graphic. A Composite Shot inherits the same controls as a regular Shot — Play other Shots off, Play Content Duration, transitions — applied to the whole composite.

Note: Avoid deep nesting. VideoPro guards against a Shot containing itself, and a composite that is two or three levels deep gets hard to reason about during a show. Compose flat where you can.

A contained Shot still appears as a normal tile in the Shot Launcher and a normal row in the Project List — you can still take it on-air on its own.

For every item in Contents, the Shot stores its own overrides without modifying the contained item's original definition. The overrides live in three Properties tabs:

  • Shot Properties → Contents — per-item zone assignment. A single Shot can route Title A to one zone and Title B to a different zone of the same layout.
  • Shot Values — per-item variable overrides. Choose Replace in the dropdown next to a variable to override it for this Shot only; choose Disable to revert.
  • Shot Audio — per-item Volume, Mute, and Override. Override is the one to know: when off, the contained graphic plays its normal audio; when on, the Shot's Volume and Mute take over.
Note: Override defaults to off in Shot Audio. If you set a Volume on a contained item and nothing changes, check that Override is on for that item.

A few defaults are worth flagging — they aren't wrong, but they catch people out:

  • Play other Shots off defaults to on. Most operators expect this, but if you build a multi-Shot layout where two Shots are meant to coexist, you'll need to turn this off on at least one of them. When off, a badge appears on the Shot's tile to remind you.
  • Play content duration is unchecked by default — the Shot stays on-air until every contained title has finished. Tick the checkbox to end the Shot the moment any contained title finishes.
  • Shot Audio → Override defaults to off per item. Setting a Volume or Mute without turning Override on for that item is a no-op.
  • Property animation on Shots defaults to a duration of 0 seconds — effectively off. This affects animated transitions between Shot states (for example, animating between Custom Zone Layouts). If your Shot transitions look like cuts where you expected animation, this is why.

Clicking a Shot's tile in the Shot Launcher toggles it: an off-air Shot goes on-air, an on-air Shot comes off. This is different from a Project List row, where behavior depends on Auto-live mode (see Cue and take graphics).

When a Shot ends — because every contained title finished, or because another Shot took it down — VideoPro checks When done, return to previous Shot. If that option is on, the previously-on-air Shot is restored automatically.

The Recall Keypad is an on-screen numeric pad that lets an operator type a short ID, see the matching item highlight in real time, and take it on air with a single press. Use it on shows where a touchscreen, a numeric keypad on the keyboard, or a tablet is the primary control surface and you want to recall items by number rather than by clicking a row.

The Recall Keypad ships only in VideoPro builds that include live playout, and the dock is gated by a per-edition entitlement. If your edition does not include the entitlement, the View menu does not list Recall Keypad and the dock cannot be opened.

You can still work with the keypad without showing the dock. When the keypad's match dispatcher is wired into another panel (such as the Values Grid), typing digits on the keyboard can trigger a recall even when the dock is hidden.

Read these first:

  1. Open the View menu.
  2. Choose Recall Keypad.

The Recall Keypad dock appears on the right side of the workspace and raises to the top of any other panels docked there. The dock is hidden the first time you open the project; once you open it, your layout remembers its visibility.

The Recall Keypad displayed inline in the top bar with a matched entry showing 2

While the Recall Keypad is active, it also displays in the top bar for quick visibility and access.

To hide it, choose View > Recall Keypad again, or close the dock from its title bar.

The Recall Keypad dock with a matched entry showing 2 in the green display

The keypad shows a numeric pad plus three command buttons:

  • Digits 0–9 — Add a digit to the entry.
  • CLR — Clear the entry and cancel any staged match.
  • Preview (the eye button; + on the keyboard) — Cue the matched item without taking it on air.
  • Play (the triangle button; Enter on the keyboard) — Take the matched item on air.

Above the keys, an LCD-style label shows the digits you have typed. When the entered number matches an item, the label turns green. If no match is found, the label stays in its idle color.

  1. Type the item's number on the keypad, or on the keyboard's number row or numeric pad.

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The entered digits appear in the LCD label. As soon as the digits match an item, the label turns green.

  1. Optional: press Preview (or + on the keyboard) to cue the matched item without taking it on air.
  2. Press Play (or Enter) to take the item on air.

After Play, the keypad clears the entry and returns to its idle state, ready for the next recall.

[TIP]

When the Recall Keypad dock is visible, VideoPro routes the following keys to the keypad before any other shortcut:

  • 0–9 — Append a digit.
  • Enter or Return — Play the matched item.
  • + — Preview the matched item.
  • . (period) — Clear the entry.

The spacebar is not captured by the keypad. Pressing space continues to fire the standard play hotkey for whatever is selected in the Project List, so your existing space-to-take muscle memory keeps working with the keypad open.

The Recall Keypad and Instant Search can both be enabled on the same project. When the Recall Keypad dock is visible, it consumes number keys first; when it is hidden, Instant Search handles typed input as usual.

Shot Launcher mode is an alternative top-level layout for the playout window in which the Shot Launcher panel fills the center of the workspace and the Project List becomes a dock-able panel. Use it on shows where Shot tiles are your primary interaction surface — touch-driven productions, scoreboard segments, or any segment where you fire whole layer combinations rather than driving the Project List row by row.

Shot Launcher mode is not the default. New projects open in Project List mode, where the Project List holds the center of the screen and the Shot Launcher is available as a dock. Switch into Shot Launcher mode only when the Shot Launcher is the panel you want under your hands during the show.

Read these first:

  1. Open the View menu.
  2. Choose Workspace Focus > Shot Launcher.

The central widget swaps: the Shot Launcher fills the center of the workspace, the Project List moves into a dock-able panel, and the Shot Launcher's title bar changes to mark it as the active canvas.

To switch back, choose View > Workspace Focus > Project List.

Your choice is saved with VideoPro and persists across sessions. You can also save it as part of a workspace layout — restoring that layout flips the mode back to whatever was active when you saved it.

In Shot Launcher mode, the Project List lives in a dock-able panel. To toggle the Project dock:

  • Press F9, or
  • Use the Project icon in the top bar.

The Project dock is hidden by default in Shot Launcher mode; show it when you need to scroll the Project List, then hide it again to return the full canvas to the Shot Launcher.

Note: F9 toggles the non-central panel in either mode — in Shot Launcher mode it toggles the Project dock; in Project List mode it toggles the Shot Launcher dock.

With the Shot Launcher as the center panel:

  1. Click a Shot tile to take that Shot on air.
  2. To edit a Shot, click the Edit toggle in the launcher. The Shot Config panel opens for the selected Shot.

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Note: If the launcher is empty (no Shots yet) when you turn on the Edit toggle, the launcher creates a new empty Shot and opens its config.
  1. Show the Project dock (F9) when you need to see or change the underlying graphic order, then hide it again.

The top bar reflects the mode: in Shot Launcher mode the Project panel icon appears and the Shots panel icon is hidden (because Shots is already on screen). In Project List mode the reverse is true.

Switching modes rebuilds the central widget. Anything held only in transient panel state may not survive the swap, so save your project before flipping modes during a live show.

When you save a workspace layout, VideoPro records which mode was active. Restoring that layout switches the playout window into the mode the layout was saved in, alongside the dock arrangement.

Operator-facing panels for shows that live or die on one repeated motion: cueing the next clip in a long media block, tracking which name graphic belongs to which speaker. Use a dedicated workflow when you want a single panel that captures the show's central activity instead of driving every action through the Project List.

This chapter covers the operate-side surface for each shipped workflow — where the panel lives in the VideoPro UI, how to open it, and what the operator does once it is open. For how a workflow is configured at build time, see the related controllers and Data Controllers chapters.

Dedicated Workflows are a category of panel that VideoPro groups together in their own menu, separate from Data Controllers. A Data Controller answers "where does the data on this graphic come from?" A workflow answers "what is this panel making happen during my show?" Workflows persist their state per project, so when you close and reopen a workflow panel mid-show the pinned sequences, queues, and assignments come back.

Open a workflow by choosing Add Source on a channel and picking from the Workflows submenu.

  • Use Media Manager live — operate a Media Manager panel during a show to play media clips into target zones.
  • Use Media Tracker — operate the Media Tracker (People) panel to manage an auto-queued list of records during a show.

Media Manager is a dedicated workflow panel that organizes media clips into named sequences and plays them out across zones during a show. Use it on shows with long media-heavy segments — pre-roll packages, sponsor reels, video walls — where you want a tile-based panel under your hands instead of cueing each clip from the Project List.

Media Manager is registered as a dedicated workflow, so it appears in the Workflows submenu and not in the Data Controller list. Sequence content (which clips, in what order, with which playback and zone settings) lives with the project. A handful of panel preferences (thumbnail size, sequence colors) are remembered in the browser layer's local storage and are tied to the computer, not the project.

When the panel is opened from a machine other than the one running VideoPro, some controls are unavailable — full control requires the panel on the VideoPro machine itself.

Read these first:

  1. In the Project List, click Add new item (or right-click an empty row).
  2. Open the Workflow submenu.
  3. Choose Media Manager.

The Media Manager panel opens. You can dock it into your workspace or leave it floating; place it wherever your hands will be during the show.

The panel has four bands:

  • Top toolbar — the Filter… search box, thumbnail-size controls (− / +), and the red BLACKOUT button.
  • Tab bar — All Media (every clip across every sequence), one tab per named sequence, plus a + NEW button that opens a menu with two choices: Sequence List (a manually managed sequence) and Watch Folder (a sequence whose contents track a directory on disk).
  • Sequence header — for any tab other than All Media: a color swatch, the sequence name, an item count, a playback-order popup (Plays Sequentially / Plays Randomly), an item-mode popup (Sequence / Single-Item Pickup List), an end-behavior sentinel (Loop / Hold onto the last item / Stop playback), an image-duration link (default seconds for still images), a zone-assignment link, and a delete button.
  • Tile grid — one tile per clip in the active tab. Tiles show a thumbnail, the clip name, and a visual indicator when the clip is on air.
  1. Click + NEW in the tab bar.
  2. Choose one:

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  • Sequence List — opens the New Sequence prompt. Type a name and click Create New Sequence. The sequence appears as a new tab. Add clips by drag-and-drop from your file browser, or by using Add Media (see below).
  • Watch Folder — opens a Select Watch Folder directory picker. Pick a folder and Media Manager creates a sequence whose contents mirror that directory. A folder-badge icon appears next to the sequence name; hover it to see the watched path. Watch-folder sequences are read-only inside Media Manager — clips added to the folder on disk show up here automatically; manual Add Media and drag-drop are disabled for these sequences.

Supported media formats: mp4, mov, avi, mkv, wmv, m4v, ts, mxf, webm, flv, mpg, mpeg, png, jpg, jpeg, gif, bmp, tiff.

For sequences you create with Sequence List (not Watch Folder):

  • Drag one or more files from your file browser onto the sequence tab or onto the tile grid.
  • Or click Add Media (the in-grid empty-state button when the sequence is empty, or the + tile at the end of a populated grid). A file picker opens; multi-select is supported.

You can drop files between existing tiles to set the insertion point.

  • Click a clip tile to take that one clip on air. The clip goes to the zone shown in the sequence header.
  • Click the sequence's Play tile (or the play affordance in the sequence header) to start the sequence from the beginning, honoring its playback order and end behavior.

A Media Manager take goes on air through the same path as any other VideoPro take: the Project List reflects the take, control surfaces (Stream Deck, Companion, remote phone) see the playStatus events, and the normal animatein / update / animateout commands run.

Open the playback-order popup in the sequence header:

  • Sequentially — clips play in the order they appear in the grid.
  • Randomly — Media Manager picks an unplayed clip each step.

Open the item-mode popup:

  • Sequence — the tab is a queue. Playing the sequence walks the clips; the end-behavior sentinel decides what happens after the last item.
  • Single-Item Pickup List — the tab is a stage where you fire individual clips on demand. The sequence behaves as a flat pickup list; the end sentinel is forced to Loop and Hold / Stop are disabled.

In Sequence mode, the sentinel popup picks what happens after the last clip:

  • Loop — restart the sequence from the first clip.
  • Hold onto the last item — leave the last clip on air.
  • Stop playback — clear the zone and take the sequence off air.

In Single-Item Pickup List mode, the sentinel is locked to Loop.

For sequences that contain still images, click the image-duration link in the sequence header and enter a duration in seconds. This applies to every still in the sequence and is independent of the duration set on each clip's row.

  1. Click the zone link in the sequence header (the link reads "Assigned to zone: " or "No zone assigned — outputs to full view").
  2. The Zone Assignment dialog opens. Pick the zone the sequence should output to. Sequences can span multiple zone columns; use the dialog's controls to clear an assignment or extend a span.
  3. Pick a Fit Mode for the zone: Fit (letterbox/pillarbox inside the zone), Fill (crop to fill the zone), or Stretch (non-uniform scale to fill the zone).

Type into the Filter… box in the top toolbar to limit the tile grid to matching names. Clear the box (or click the clear-X) to restore the full grid.

Click − and + in the top toolbar to shrink or grow every tile. This is a per-computer preference and persists across project loads.

Click BLACKOUT. This sends VideoPro's project-wide alloff command — it takes every on-air title off air across every channel, not just the rows Media Manager is currently driving.

Warning: BLACKOUT is project-wide, not Media-Manager-scoped. Every channel and every on-air title goes dark — not just the rows Media Manager is currently driving. Use it only when you need a full off-air recovery.
  • Rename a sequence — click the sequence name in its header and type a new name.
  • Color-code a sequence — click the color swatch in the sequence header and pick a color from the palette.
  • Delete a sequence — click the delete affordance in the sequence header. A Delete Sequence confirmation appears.
  • Reorder tabs — drag a sequence tab left or right in the tab bar.
  • Reorder clips — drag a clip tile to a new position within the same sequence.
  • Move or copy clips between sequences — drag a clip tile from one sequence to another.
  • Remove a clip — right-click the clip tile and choose remove.

(Watch-folder sequences own their clip list from disk, so add / remove / reorder gestures inside Media Manager don't apply to them.)

A Media Manager take is still a normal VideoPro take. The clip appears on the Project List as the on-air row, and any control surface watching the project — Stream Deck, Companion, or a phone connected via remote control — sees the take and reacts to its playStatus events.

A Media Manager workflow does not replace the cue-and-take loop. It runs alongside it. You can keep the Project List visible in another dock and continue to cue and take from there for the segments that are not driven by Media Manager.

Media Tracker is a dedicated workflow panel that observes what VideoPro plays during your show — it reads from VideoPro's playback history database and logs every media item that goes on-air, with timestamps, durations, and an optional Account assignment. It is not a take-control panel; it does not drive playback or queue graphics for air. Pair it with Media Manager when you need both observation and control.

[NOTE]

The panel is a Data Log of media playback events with columns for Account, Project, Title, Type, Started, Finished, and Duration. Each row is one media item that VideoPro played. Empty state strings: No log entries yet… (no rows) and Nothing currently active… (no item is currently on-air).

The log is project-aware: the Project column lets you distinguish events across projects, and the panel uses VideoPro's playback history database (PlaybackHistoryDb) so the log survives a restart.

  1. Click Add new item at the bottom of the Project panel and choose Workflow > Media Tracker (the entry uses the same icon as the People workflow).
  2. The Media Tracker panel opens with the Data Log Tools header and the playback log beneath it.

Each row is one media playback session:

  • Account — the operator account, if assigned. Click assign in a row to attach an account.
  • Project — the VideoPro project that played the item.
  • Title — the on-air row's display name from the Project List.
  • Type — the media type (VideoPro categorizes graphic, media, and live-video sessions).
  • Started — when the item went on-air.
  • Finished — when the item came off air. Blank while a session is still active.
  • Duration — how long the item played.

Rows that are currently on-air show no Finished time and remain in the Nothing currently active… state once they end.

Click assign in the Account column to attach an Account Name. The assignment is remembered globally by filename — if another row plays the same file later, that account assignment is applied automatically. This is convenient for crediting talent or partners across multiple shows; the caveat is that two unrelated media items with the same filename will share an account assignment until you remove it.

Use Export CSV in the Data Log Tools header to copy the current Data Log to your clipboard and save it as a CSV file. VideoPro also prompts you with a Save Data Log dialog so you can pick a location.

The export captures the columns visible in the panel: Account, Project, Title, Type, Started, Finished, Duration.

Use Delete All in the Data Log Tools header to clear every row in the log. Under the hood the panel sends the playtrackerclearall command to the scheduler; the log is emptied immediately.

Note: Delete All removes the visible log rows. Account-name assignments are stored separately and are not cleared by this action.

The two workflows operate on different sides of the same playout:

  • Media Manager drives clips on-air — schedules, takes, sequences, and the BLACKOUT panic stop.
  • Media Tracker observes what played — a read-only log fed by VideoPro's playback database.

A typical show uses Media Manager to take items on-air and Media Tracker (off in the wings) to log what was played for review, billing, or post-show reporting.

Media Tracker reads from VideoPro's PlaybackHistoryDb. Closing and reopening the panel mid-show preserves the log, the column layout, and the account assignments — they are stored project-side, not in panel-local state.

Operate VideoPro from an Elgato Stream Deck — physical buttons mapped to graphic takes, cues, and project actions.

Use this chapter when an operator wants tactile control during the show instead of mouse and keyboard. The Stream Deck Direct plugin connects a Stream Deck to VideoPro without going through a third-party host. For more complex multi-action chains, see the Companion chapter instead.

VideoPro ships a direct Elgato Stream Deck plugin. The plugin runs on the same machine as VideoPro and talks to it over a local WebSocket — there is no Companion middleware, no network configuration, and no extra UI surface to learn. Use it when you want a dedicated tactile surface for playing on-air titles from this VideoPro instance.

Note: This article covers the direct Stream Deck plugin (one machine, no Companion). For cross-machine workflows, multi-button macros, or web/mobile buttons, see Operate Bitfocus Companion with Stream Deck.

The Elgato Stream Deck application must be installed on the machine running VideoPro. Download it from Elgato's downloads page and pick the build that matches your Stream Deck hardware and operating system.

  1. Launch the Stream Deck application. VideoPro's actions are already available in the action list — there's no separate plugin to search for or install.
  2. The Stream Deck app offers to populate your device with a default profile of VideoPro buttons. Accept the offer to get a working profile out of the box; pick No to start from a blank profile.

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Profile prompt

VideoPro connects to Stream Deck automatically using ws://localhost:9023/streamdeck-native. VideoPro must be running on the same machine; there is no host/port configuration to change.

The plugin exposes two user-visible actions in the Stream Deck app's right-side action list, under the VideoPro category:

  • Play Title — pick a graphic layer from your active VideoPro project; pressing the Stream Deck button takes that layer on-air. Press again to take it off.
  • Advanced Automation — pick a dynamically-published automation preset from VideoPro. Use this when your show has published presets (sequences, macros, scenes) that you want bound to a hardware button.
Note: The plugin also includes a Counter action but it is hidden by default. If your operator workflow needs it, surface it through your Stream Deck profile's filter / category settings.

To configure a Play Title button:

  1. Drag Play Title from the right-side action list onto an empty button on the Stream Deck canvas.

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Drag Play Title onto a button
  1. Select the assigned button.
  2. Set a Title — this is the label shown in the Stream Deck application and (when no graphic thumbnail is available) on the device itself.
  3. From the Select Graphic dropdown, pick the graphic layer in your VideoPro project that this button should play.
Button settings panel with Title and Select Graphic

You can drag Play Title onto as many buttons as you like to bind multiple project layers; each button is configured independently.

For Advanced Automation buttons, the Select Automation dropdown lists every preset that VideoPro has published for automation. The list refreshes as the project changes.

Once your buttons are configured:

  1. Press a Play Title button to take that layer on-air. VideoPro renders the layer through Program Monitor the same way it would respond to a take inside the playout interface.
  2. The button shows a red play indicator while the layer is live. Press the same button again to take it off.
  3. VideoPro layers added to a Stream Deck button generate a thumbnail preview when one is available, so the device shows the graphic instead of a generic icon.
Stream Deck device showing configured VideoPro buttons
Tip: Live video and media layers in your VideoPro project can also be assigned to a Play Title button.

The direct plugin is the simpler choice for one operator, one machine:

  • No Bitfocus Companion install required.
  • No network configuration — uses local WebSocket on localhost:9023.
  • Two actions cover almost every take-a-title workflow.

Use Companion instead when you need cross-machine control, mobile/web buttons, multi-action stacks, or feedback-rich button surfaces.

Drive VideoPro from Bitfocus Companion — multi-action button stacks, project navigation, and remote-control surfaces built on a Stream Deck or browser.

Use this chapter when the Stream Deck Direct plugin isn't expressive enough — when one button needs to chain several actions, when you want to navigate between projects from hardware, or when you want operators on tablets and phones to share the same control surface. Start with setup, then move to the operation articles.

Bitfocus Companion was designed for broadcasters who need to trigger preconfigured actions (or sets of actions) during a live production. It transforms the Elgato Stream Deck into a professional switchboard console for an increasing variety of hardware and software broadcast solutions and allows you to integrate VideoPro with sophisticated, remote-operated action queues. Companion can be used independently from a Stream Deck surface via web buttons in your browser or mobile device.

VideoPro provides rich, unique icons for button presets, and supports Companion's feedback functionality for a dynamic, easily tailored workflow.

Note: Companion supports Bonjour auto-discovery (TXT class=VideoPro proto=ws). Lead with discovery before falling back to manual config.

The Companion application must be downloaded and installed on the machine running VideoPro.

When installing Companion on macOS, you may be presented with a security warning:

macOS security warning
  1. To bypass, right-click the Companion DMG file and click Open. A different version of the warning appears:

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Open dialog
  1. Click Open to proceed.
Note: On Mac, drag the Companion icon into the Applications folder when prompted.
Drag to Applications
Trash installer
  1. Open the VideoPro project you would like to control with Companion.
  2. Open Bitfocus Companion from your Applications folder (Mac) or Program Files (Win).

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Companion icon
  1. A small control window opens. Click Launch GUI.

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Launch GUI
  1. Bitfocus Companion Admin opens in your default browser.

These settings let Companion detect your Stream Deck hardware, X-keys USB Keypads, and Remote Control Services.

  1. Run through the Configuration Wizard on the right side-bar menu. (Opens automatically for first-time users.)

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Configuration Wizard
  1. Select Use Companion Natively (recommended) and enable X-Keys USB Keypads if desired. See Disabling Stream Deck below if you use this option.

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Note: If you need to assign Stream Deck buttons to other applications that don't support Companion natively, enable the Companion Stream Deck plugin.

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USB Surface Detection
  1. Click Next and choose the Remote Control Services you need.

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Remote Control Services
  1. Finish by clicking Next and following the remaining instructions.

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Finish wizard

You land on the Connections tab with an Add Connection search bar.

  1. Search for or scroll to VideoPro.

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Search NewBlue

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Note: Companion's Bonjour auto-discovery will surface running VideoPro instances automatically. If your instance does not appear, fall back to manual config.
  1. Select Add VideoPro.

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Add NewBlue

The connection should display OK on a green background in the Status column.

Connected status
Note: If Disconnected, close VideoPro and Companion. Be sure to open VideoPro before reopening Companion.

To give Companion full control of your Stream Deck hardware, disable the Stream Deck software. Simply closing the application doesn't fully disable it — background processes continue. Use Activity Monitor (Mac) or Task Manager (Windows).

On Mac:

  1. Search to open Activity Monitor.
  2. Find and highlight StreamDeck.

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Activity Monitor
  1. Press the Stop button and choose Quit.

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Quit StreamDeck

On Windows:

  1. Search to open Task Manager.
  2. Highlight StreamDeck.
  3. Select End Task.

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End Task

Bitfocus Companion directly controls navigation, basic operations, and Play/Queue actions in VideoPro. The team has developed preset, identifiable icons with feedback for quick setup, so you can operate the Layers panel from a mobile, tablet, or browser device.

  1. Have your VideoPro project open with channels and layers set up.
  2. Navigate to the Buttons tab in the top-center menu.
  3. On the Presets tab in the right side menu, select NewBlue: VideoPro (Titler).

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Note: Do not choose Titler Live 4.

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Select preset
  1. Select the Layer Navigation preset folder.

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Layers Navigation
  1. Drag and drop the Preset Layers Buttons to your desired location on the Buttons Configuration Board.

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Drag to board
  1. Choose the Back button in the Presets panel.
  2. Repeat for Layers and Playout.

Test by selecting the button on the Configuration Panel and pressing Test actions to play live in the Program Monitor.

Tip: To customize button text, navigate to Play Layer presets > Feedback. Delete the current entry and set to the desired text.
ActionDescriptionEquivalent action
Play/Queue Selected LayerAutoLive: play the selected layer on/off-air. Queue: manage queue for the selected layer.Clicking the Play icon next to the selected layer in Layers.
Select Previous LayerSelect the previous layer.Up arrow on the keyboard.
Select Next LayerSelect the next layer.Down arrow.
Toggle Selected Layer ExclusivityToggle whether the selected layer plays independently or as part of a Project List.Clicking the exclusivity icon next to a layer.
Select ChannelSelect a channel from your project.Clicking a Channel tab.
Selected Layer's NameFeedback: reports the currently selected layer name.(feedback only)
Selected ChannelFeedback: reports the currently selected channel.(feedback only)
ActionDescriptionEquivalent action
Play LayerAutoLive: play any particular layer with a dedicated button. Queue: manage queues with a dedicated button. Button overlays change based on AutoLive or Queue state.AutoLive: clicking the Play icon next to the layer. Queue: clicking the circle next to the layer.
ActionDescriptionEquivalent action
All Off (Panic)Take all layers in all channels off-air.Clicking "All off" in Layers.
AutoLiveToggle between Auto Live and Queue mode.Clicking the white circle button (AutoLive) in Layers.
Play Action Out and InAutoLive: play selected on/off-air with the specified action. Queue: execute on Queue. Presets include Auto, Auto-in, and Take.Spacebar (AutoLive) or specified action button (Queue).
Play Action InAutoLive: play selected on-air with the specified action. Queue: execute on Queue.Spacebar (on) or action button (Queue).
Play Action OutAutoLive: play selected off-air with the specified action. Queue: execute on Queue.Spacebar (off) or action button (Queue).
Tip: All buttons configured in Companion can also be played by your Elgato Stream Deck. See Set up Bitfocus Companion.

For connecting your Spreadsheet Controllers to Companion, see Spreadsheet Controller Operation.

Companion Presets are pre-configured buttons that you can drag onto a Companion page (or Stream Deck button) without manually wiring up the actions and feedbacks. The VideoPro Companion module ships a rich set of presets that mirror the actions you'd most often use during a live broadcast.

When the VideoPro Companion module connects to a running VideoPro, it asks VideoPro for the current project's preset list. VideoPro generates the list dynamically from its Automation Startup script — so the presets you see in Companion match the project you have open. Open a different project, and a different set of presets appears.

This means:

  • Presets are project-specific. A football scoreboard project will offer different presets than a news broadcast project.
  • Adding or removing titles in VideoPro updates Companion's preset list automatically — there's no need to disconnect and reconnect.
  • A new project that doesn't have an automation script yet will show very few or no presets.
  1. In Companion's web UI, click the Presets tab.
  2. Choose VideoPro (Titler Live) from the connections list on the left.
  3. Categories appear — typically organized by what each set of buttons does (organized into groups like Playout, Layers, and Layer Navigation). The exact categories depend on the project you have open.
  4. Click a category to see its presets.
  1. Open Companion's Buttons tab.
  2. Pick the page and button location where you want the preset to live.
  3. Drag the preset from the Presets tab onto the button location. Companion fills in the button's style, actions, and feedback.

You can edit the button afterwards — change its label, color, or add additional actions to its press / release / rotate steps. The preset is just a starting point; once placed, it's yours to customize.

The exact list depends on your project, but typical categories include:

  • Project navigation — switch between projects, channels, and tabs
  • Layer playback — play, stop, and pause specific layers
  • Title controls — bring titles on and off air, with feedback that turns the button green when the title is live
  • Variable manipulation — set, toggle, or increment a title variable from a button. This is not part of the default automation script and requires a custom Companion configuration; ask your integrator if you need it.

Each preset comes with its own button styling — icon, label, color — designed to be quickly identifiable on a Stream Deck or Companion page.

The list of presets VideoPro offers is defined in VideoPro's Automation Startup script. If you're an advanced user, you can edit this script to add, remove, or rename presets. (See the Automation documentation for details.)

After editing the script, reload the project in VideoPro; Companion will receive the updated list automatically.

If the VideoPro entry in Companion's Presets tab is empty:

  1. Confirm the connection's Status column shows OK in green on the Connections tab.
  2. Confirm VideoPro has a project loaded (presets are project-specific).
  3. Confirm the project's Automation Startup script is enabled — a project without one won't generate presets.
  4. Restart the Companion connection: in the Connections tab, click the connection's status, then Reconnect.

Bitfocus Companion allows you to assign multiple actions, with specified delays, to a single button. You can queue a sequence of events in your broadcast with a single press. Start from a button preset and stack additional actions, or fully customize a button from scratch.

  1. Choose the Preset Button you wish to begin your stacked action sequence with on the Buttons Configuration Board.

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Preset button selected
  1. Enter your next desired action into + Add key down/on action.

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Add action

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Or Browse and Add from the Preset Actions under Titler.

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Note: Actions for Google Sheets, Excel, Spreadsheets, and all Play Layer actions are only available for the data controllers/layers in an open VideoPro project on the system.

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Browse Titler
  1. Configure any additional properties for the action.

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Action properties
  1. Enter the amount of delay from when the button is pressed (default in milliseconds).

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Delay
  1. Repeat for additional actions to stack.

Test by pressing Test actions to play live in the Program Monitor.

  1. Select a blank/empty button in the Buttons Configuration Board.

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Empty button selected
  1. Select Regular button in the green dropdown.

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Regular button
  1. Customize by typing the Button Text, choosing a color, etc.

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Button customization
  1. Enter your desired action into + Add key down/on action.

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Add action

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Or Browse and Add from the Preset Actions under Titler.

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Browse Titler
  1. Configure additional properties.

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Configure action
  1. Enter the amount of delay (default in milliseconds).

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Delay
  1. Repeat for additional actions.

Test by pressing Test actions.

Bitfocus Companion can act as a professional switchboard console linked to the Elgato Stream Deck, but also independently via web buttons in any browser, tablet, or mobile device on the same network.

We recommend relaunching Companion if it's already open. You only need to close the browser windows — your sources and Button Configuration Board are saved.

  1. In the small control window, select your local network (wired or wireless) in the dropdown under GUI Interface, then click Launch GUI.

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GUI Interface
  1. Bitfocus Companion Admin opens in your default browser. Open the Configuration Wizard if it does not open automatically.
  2. Choose TCP Raw Socket in the Remote Control Services window.

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TCP Raw Socket
  1. Click Next until you reach Review Settings. Verify the values and click Apply.

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Review Settings
  1. On your mobile device, enter the IP address for the controller. The desired view can be Emulator, Web buttons, Mobile buttons, or New Web/Mobile buttons.

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IP options

Your Companion project displays in the remote device's browser. The fullscreen icon (top-left) and settings gear (top-right) adjust the view.

Remote view

If you had issues setting up the Elgato Stream Deck in the Set up Bitfocus Companion article, the steps below help. You may need to relaunch and ensure Stream Deck is fully disabled.

Note: To give Companion full control of your Stream Deck hardware, disable the Stream Deck software. Simply closing the application does not fully disable it — background processes continue and Stream Deck runs at startup by default.

Option 1 (Mac):

  1. Click the Stream Deck icon in the top-right menu bar.
  2. Choose Quit Stream Deck.

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Quit menu

Option 2 (Mac):

  1. Open Activity Monitor.
  2. Highlight StreamDeck.

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Activity Monitor
  1. Press Stop and choose Quit.

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Quit confirm
Note: The Stream Deck application auto-launches on system restart. Disable it again before opening Companion.

Option 1 (Windows):

  1. Click the arrow in the bottom-right of the menu bar.
  2. Click Stream Deck and choose Quit.

Option 2 (Windows):

  1. Open Task Manager.
  2. Highlight StreamDeck.
  3. Select End Task.

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End Task
  1. Relaunch Companion and open the Configuration Wizard.
  2. Click Next until you reach the USB Surface Detection Configuration window.
  3. Select Use Companion Natively (recommended) and enable X-Keys USB Keypads if desired.

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Note: To assign Stream Deck buttons to other apps that don't support Companion natively, enable the Companion Stream Deck plugin.

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USB Surface Detection
  1. Click Next through to Review Settings. Verify and Apply.

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Review Settings
Note: If your Stream Deck still doesn't connect or drops, navigate to Surfaces and click Rescan USB.
Rescan USB

The Bitfocus Companion module for VideoPro exposes the actions documented in VideoPro presets in Companion. (An earlier section here referenced a separate Stream Deck plug-in by NewBlue; this article focuses on the Companion native module path, not a Stream Deck direct plug-in.)

Google Sheets, Excel, and local Spreadsheet controllers are available via Companion for basic navigation, selection, and playback. This facilitates driving variables, synchronizing actions, and controlling delayed actions per your workflow.

  1. Open VideoPro and set up your project with Layers connected to one or more spreadsheet controllers.

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Project setup
  1. Launch Companion from Program Files (Win) or Applications (Mac).
  2. Choose Launch GUI to open the Companion application in your browser.
  3. Navigate to the Connections tab and ensure Titler NewBlue is showing OK Status. If not, Add Connection > Search Titler > Add VideoPro.
  4. Choose the Buttons tab.
  5. Select the NewBlue: VideoPro button under the Presets tab.

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Presets
  1. Click the Google Sheets/Excel/Spreadsheet: (Name of Project file) button.

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Choose controller
  1. Drag and drop the button preset to your desired location.

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Drag preset
Configured buttons

Google / Excel / Spreadsheet Operations

ActionDescriptionAdditional config
Select Next RowSelect the next row from a specific spreadsheet or the last-used.Optional
Select Previous RowSelect the previous row.Optional
Select by RowSelect a specific row from a spreadsheet.Required
Select by ValueSelect a row by matching a target column to an exact value.Required
Play by RowSelect and play a specific row on-air.Required
RefreshRefresh the spreadsheet (Google/Excel only).Optional
AutoplayStart/stop Autoplay for a specific sheet.Required
Select SheetSelect which sheet Companion controls when multiple are connected.Required

Google / Excel / Spreadsheet Feedbacks

ActionDescriptionAdditional config
Active Sheet FeedbackReports the active sheet name.None
Spreadsheet FeedbackReports the selected row. Can be configured to show the row index or a column value.Required

All preset buttons can be edited from the Configuration Board. Most require additional configuration to specify which Row, Column, or Sheet to direct through VideoPro.

  1. Select the Play Next or Play Previous button.
  2. Choose the desired sheet under Sheet Input to Control.

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Sheet Input

Test with Test actions.

  1. Select the Select Row button.
  2. Choose the desired sheet.
  3. Type the desired Row under Row Index in Sheet to Play.

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Row Index

Test with Test actions.

  1. Select the Select Value button.
  2. Choose the desired sheet.
  3. Type the desired Column under Target Column.
  4. Type the desired value under Value to match.

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Select by Value

Test with Test actions.

  1. Select the Play Row button.
  2. Choose the desired sheet.
  3. Type the desired Row under Row Index in Sheet to Play.

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Play by Row

Test with Test actions.

  1. Select the Refresh button.
  2. Choose the desired Google Sheet or Excel document.

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Refresh

Test with Test actions.

  1. Select the Autoplay button.
  2. Choose the desired sheet.

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Autoplay

Test with Test actions.

  1. Select the Select Sheet button.
  2. Choose the desired Google Sheet.

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Select Sheet

Test with Test actions.

  1. Select the Selection Feedback button.
  2. Choose Target Column or Row Index under Feedback Type.

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Feedback
Note: If freezing occurs, refresh your browser.

Operate VideoPro from a phone, tablet, or other surface that isn't the computer running VideoPro.

Use this chapter when the operator is not seated at the VideoPro computer — a courtside scoreboard operator on a tablet, a worship volunteer running graphics from a phone, a producer at the front of house. VideoPro exposes a web-based remote that mirrors the most-used controls.

Holding phone with controller

When using VideoPro, you can modify any HTML-based Data Controller input using an internet browser from a device that is connected to your network — computers, cell phones, and tablets. Any Data Controller whose setup window shows an Open in Browser button supports this workflow.

Note: Changes to your title's design and attributes must still be made in-app — the remote interface only exposes the bound Data Controller's controls, not the Designer.
  1. From your desktop VideoPro software, add either a Scoreboard or Social Data Controller to one of your graphic layers using the Inputs dropdown.

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Inputs dropdown
  1. When the controller window opens, click Open in Browser in the top right of the controller window.

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Open in Browser
  1. A popup appears. Click Open in Local Browser to see the controller opened in your local internet browser, or scan the QR code with a phone or tablet on the same network to open it there.

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Browser popup
  1. A new internet browser will open with the controller's URL visible in the address bar. Enter this URL into a browser on any mobile device connected to your network.

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Tip: An easy way to send an address to your device is to email it to yourself.

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URL in browser

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Phone screen

You are now using your controller via your mobile device or tablet.

If your VideoPro machine has more than one network interface (for example, a wired connection plus Wi-Fi, or a VPN client), the URL generated for the controller uses one of those interfaces. If your phone or tablet is on a different network than the one the URL points to, the page does not load.

To find the correct address, run ipconfig on Windows or ifconfig on macOS and use the IP address that belongs to the network your phone or tablet is connected to.

In builds that include the QR code button, scanning the code from the controller window opens the URL directly on the mobile device.

The controller URL has no built-in authentication. Anyone on the same network — including VPN clients and guest networks — who knows or guesses the URL can drive the controller. Use it on a trusted network, and keep the URL private.

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