Getting Started

 

Overview

 

The Screenberry™ software is a powerful and intuitive tool for administering real-time multi-screen playback at extremely high resolutions. It is a perfect solution for 3D mapping, dome projection, stage screens, and multimedia installations.

The Screenberry software package consists of the Screenberry Server and Screenberry Control Panel applications.

System Setup

The recommended and most common system setup is

  • Two-computer setup when one computer is used as the Media Server and a second is used as the Operator Workstation.

It is also possible to have

  • One-computer setup when both the Media Server and the Operator Workstation are run from the same computer. This setup is especially useful in the earlier stages when a user is familiarizing themselves with Screenberry functionality.

More advanced system setup methods are also available, i.e. it is possible to manage several Media Servers from one Operator Workstation, or one Media Server from several Operator Workstations.

License Dongle

A license dongle is required to run the Screenberry Server and has to be plugged into any available USB port of the Media Server computer.

A licence dongle.

Important:
Screenberry Server can be used without a license dongle. However, it will operate in Demo mode. In Demo mode, a related message will appear in the server output window occasionally.

Network

The Operator Workstation computer should be connected to the Media Server computer via Ethernet. A Wi-Fi network connection is possible but not recommended.

Graphics Card

To allow Media Server video output, a graphics card is required to support OpenGL 3.3.

Output Devices

Screenberry supports output to projectors, LCD, LED, PDP displays or any other output device supported by a graphics card. Video output devices can be connected to the graphics cards directly or via video wall controllers (graphics expansion devices). The number of output devices depends on the hardware capability and configuration.

Input Devices

Screenberry works with video input devices and supports Datapath Vision, Blackmagic DeckLink, Deltacast, and Magewell and other capture cards.

Hardware Drivers

Graphics and capture cards require software drivers provided by the relevant manufacturer.

Audio Output

The Media Server supports multi-channel audio configurations with up to 64 channels via MADI and Dante® interfaces with the choice of Mono, Stereo, 5.1, or 7.1 outputs using ASIO, WASAPI, WINMM protocols.

Hardware Requirements

MinimumOptimal
Operating systemWindows® 7 / Windows® 10 with latest service pack, 64 bitWindows® 10 with latest service pack, 64 bit
ProcessorIntel® Core™ / AMD™ dual core processorIntel® Core™ / AMD™ quad core processor
VideoNVIDIA® GeForce® / AMD™ Radeon™ 2 GB VRAM with support of OpenGL 3.3NVIDIA® GeForce® / AMD™ Radeon™ 6 GB VRAM
Memory8 GB RAM16 GB RAM
InputKeyboard and mouseKeyboard and multi-button mouse with scroll wheel.

Note:
The optimal hardware specifications should be determined by the requirements of the current system setup, which includes the number of output and input devices, the output resolution, etc. The greater these requirements are, the higher the demand on the hardware needed to sustain optimal performance.

Graphics Card Settings

For a multi-display setup, some graphics cards allow the video output to be broadcast to an array of several displays. This feature is not supported by all graphics cards and has different names depending on the manufacturer. Please refer to your manufacturer’s documentation or website for more details.

ManufacturerProductFeature name
NvidiaGeForce

Quadro

Surround

Mosaic

AMDRadeonEyefinity


Use the following graphics card settings for optimal performance:

  • Set Power Management to Maximum Performance.
  • Set Output Dynamic Range to Full.

Media Server Optimization

Disabling Automatic Updates

Windows automatically downloads and installs updates in the background. Though keeping your system up to date is recommended, automatic updates may interfere with Screenberry’s performance, resulting in an increased load on your system that could lead to playback problems. Automatic updates can easily be disabled in Windows Settings. For Windows 10:

  1. Go to Control Panel > Update & Security > Services.
  2. Search for Windows Update.
  3. Right-click the name of the service and click Properties.
  4. In the Startup type drop-down list, select Disabled.

Note:
Once automatic updates have been disabled, Windows will no longer download and install updates. For security reasons it is recommended that you periodically re-enable updates and install any available system updates manually.

Disabling Automatic Notifications

Automatic notifications in Windows can come as an unwelcome surprise, especially during live shows. To turn off notifications in Windows 10:

  1. Click Start menu > Settings > System.
  2. Select Notifications & actions.
  3. Turn off notifications.

Software Installation

  1. The Screenberry Server installation

Run the Screenberry Server Setup.exe file on the Media Server computer to open the Screenberry Server Setup Wizard, and follow the on-screen instructions. If required, see the step-by-step installation directions.

  1. The Screenberry Control Panel installation

Run the Screenberry Panel Setup.exe file on the Operator Workstation computer (which could be the same as the Media Server computer) to open the Screenberry Panel Setup Wizard, and follow the on-screen instructions. If required, see the step-by-step installation directions.

Running Screenberry

To connect to the Media Server:

1. Launch the Screenberry Server application on the Media Server computer.

2. Launch the Screenberry Control Panel on the Operator Workstation.

3. In the Available servers window, select the Media Server and press OK.

When running the Screenberry Server for the first time, the Windows Security Alert dialog window will appear with a notification that some features of the app might be blocked by Windows Firewall. Check both the Private Networks and Public Networks checkboxes to allow Screenberry Server to communicate on these networks.

When running the Screenberry Control Panel for the first time, the following messages will appear:

  • No existing configuration file warning:

Press OK to create a new one.

  • No administrative privileges (if they have not been specifically set):

Press OK to proceed.

To check for available updates, go to Help > Check for Updates. Select an available update in the opened dialog window.

Creating a Project

  • The projects in Screenberry are created using nodes (see Working with Nodes).
  • Media content for the project such as images, video, and audio is stored on the Media Server, and managed using the Media Library (see Organizing Media).
  • Media content playback is controlled by the Media Player (see Media Playback).
  • Media content playback output is organized through Displays (see Display Editor).