LS-Telestrator, Mac software for displaying scoreboards and virtual sports graphics with image mixers from vMix, Blackmagic Design ATEM and Newtek Tricaster

LS-Telestrator for macOS

Creation and keying of American football distance lines, automated with ATEM and vMix mixers, manually or via macros and StreamDeck with Tricaster.

Keying of down & distance arrow which is updated to current attempt, distance and offense team via scoreboard automation.

LS-Telestrator can virtually project graphics, advertisements and team logos between the grass and people during breaks in the game.

Display football-specific scoreboards, event flags such as touchdown, safety or field goal, each with the logo of the team that is on offense.

Import self-designed scoreboards, club logos, event flags and distance arrows for whole leagues, or update remotely for a whole league.

LS-Telestrator for Apple Mac includes 2 templates for an American Football specific scoreboard, distance arrow as well as event flags, which are immediately user-ready after importing 2 club logos.

LS-Telestrator has a freehand graphic drawing tool that can be used for still-game analysis.

With LS-Telestrator Remote on an additional iPad, the scoreboard can be controlled by a second operator from anywhere in the world, provided internet is available.

A video signal, for example the signal of the total guidance camera or the program image, can be fed into LS-Telestrator via USB-C or NDI®. This signal is displayed in the software and can be used as the basis for drawing the distance lines.

The software is displayed and operated on the Mac on the main screen and displays scoreboard, distance lines and graphics in 2 NDI® channels or on the second display (HDMI output) in chroma key technique.

Turning on the necessary keys on the vision mixer can be controlled by LS-Telestrator for vMix and ATEM. For Tricaster, there is a workflow with macros and StreamDeck for controlling the overlays. There are manuals for connecting and controlling the overlays with ATEM, vMix and Tricaster vision mixers.

American Football Scoreboard and remote control

  • LS-Telestrator offers 2 fixed sets of American Football Scoreboards, self created scoreboards can be added.
  • LS-Telestrator offers 2 fixed sets of American Football Flags like "TouchDown" or "Safety", also here self created assets can be added.
  • The scoreboard controller, which can be called from the user interface, can be used to set score, timeouts, down & distance, offense, and game quarters.
  • From the scoreboard controller also the flags (yellow flag, touchdown, timeout, etc.) can be activated (fade in for 7 seconds and optional correction of scores and timeouts).
  • Scores and offense entered in the scoreboard controller automatically update the distance arrows displayed at the same time as the distance lines.
  • In addition, a league or TV logo can be displayed.
  • Game and Play timers can be set to any time frame, and the sport's typical preset timings can be accessed via preset buttons. Both timers can be chained or started and stopped individually. The timers can be set to automatically reset and fade out when 00:00 is reached. When synchronized, the game timer starts as soon as the play timer is stopped.
  • The timers can also be quickly faded out manually should there be conflicting time information from the official scoreboard in the stadium.
  • With the quickbuttons for the next play (1st&10 etc.) the next attempts can be quickly counted up or reset, while keeping the distance.
  • The LS-Telestrator Scoreboard can be tailored directly to the needs of individual American Football leagues.
  • All team logos of a league as well as the scoreboard design as well as distance arrows and event flags can be imported in the necessary resolutions by the league IT administrator, following a JSON specification.
  • The fonts assigned to the scoreboards by the league graphic designer are checked at app startup and may need to be imported into the MacBook during the first league import. In the absence of league-mandated fonts, LS-Telestrator falls back to Apple standard fonts.
  • Scoreboard design and graphical content that is common to league teams, can also be updated by us and distributed centrally as an update to all users upon your request.
  • This way, the graphics operator in the stadium only has to set the pairing, so the scoreboard is completely ready to work without any further preparatory work. No long assembling of the scoreboard in a live graphics program or the tedious conversion to the new teams before each game!
  • The event flags such as touchdown or safety are provided with the corresponding team logos in real time when called for the respective teams.

D&D lines and virtual sports graphic

  • LS-Telestrator can display in a simplified way virtual sports graphics like D&D lines or virtual projection of team logos, advertisements and graphics on the field.
  • In LS-Telestrator, the virtual effect is only possible when the total lead camera is at a standstill, so there is no motion tracking, which requires very expensive real-time rendering.
  • However, the stoppages in play and the halftime in American football can be used to fade in graphic objects while the total camera is stationary to generate the desired effect.
  • If an additional total camera, e.g. a PTZ camera, is used, which is also controlled by the distance line operator, the manned total guide camera is independent of the distance line creation.
  • With our software, the distance lines can be displayed for about 3-5 seconds before the play, which is sufficient for spectator understanding of the game situation.
  • If the camera image is very total and it can be estimated that the play will not go beyond it, the lines can also remain for the entire play.
  • Thanks to a combined keying procedure, the field players then seem to run over the distance lines and other overlays, but not over the scoreboard.
  • Lines can be drawn in 3 different colors that can be set beforehand.
  • In addition, a 4th color can be selected for a freehand line.
  • This freehand line can be used for a game analysis in freeze frame, for example in halftime.
  • Team logos can be projected on the field in high resolution, for example before the start of the game. These are already included in the graphics package in the software after league import and are available immediately after pairing settings.
  • Before the game and before the 3rd quarter, advertising messages could also be projected onto the field.
  • These graphics can be easily imported on site and are geometrically adjustable in the software as well as in color saturation and contrast to achieve a realistic representation on the grass.
  • There are 1, 2, 3 and 4 grids for a quick import of the graphics and for an "Irongrid" like display in the live image.
  • Distance arrows with the current down & distance information are displayed up to 55 degrees inclination of the grid lines, above this the camera image is too oblique to the course and only the distance lines are displayed. If distance arrows are to be displayed over the entire area of the course, 3 cameras should be set up, e.g. at 25 and 50 yards each. We are working on automated distortion of the distance arrow to match the slope of the course even above 55 degrees in the camera image.
  • LS-Telestrator allows video input for a live signal. The video signal of a camera (for drawing the lines) can be displayed live on the user interface.
  • For input, AV capture (e.g. ATEM Mini or Web Presenter) via USB-C or NDI®, respectively NDI®HX are available.
  • For the use of an additional total PTZ camera for the distance lines, we recommend NDI® PTZ cameras. Their SDI or HDMI output can be used for input to the image mixer, while the NDI® signal is used for input to LS-Telestrator. To control the NDI® PTZ camera you can use e.g. our software
  • "PTZ-Director" can be used.
  • PTZ-Director is also available in the Mac AppStore.
  • In distance line mode, the distance lines (line of scrimmage, new first down line) can be drawn on the Mac with the computer mouse. For this purpose an arrow (2 layouts included) with "Down & Distance" information as well as the logo of the offense team is displayed at up to 55 degrees inclination of the lines.
  • Freely assignable images, e.g. team logos and advertising, can be drawn on the field. There are 6 layouts with 1-4 graphic slots available for this purpose. The size and position as well as various image parameters such as contrast and color saturation can be adjusted to create the most realistic "image on the grass" impression possible.
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Scoreboard Remote App on iPad

Another unique and revolutionary feature of LS-Telestrator is the ability to outsource scoreboard controlling. With the "LS-Telestrator Remote" app for iPads, which can be downloaded for free from the Apple AppStore, the scoreboard in LS-Telestrator can be controlled remotely on the MacBook.

The reason for this can be e.g. the relief of the distance line operator on the MacBook, the simultaneous operation of scoreboard and distance lines can be very demanding.

The scoreboard operator can be located anywhere in the world, as long as there is internet in both places and he can follow the stadium scoreboard as well as the game.

What seemed like science fiction until a short time ago, is realizable with clever use of current video conferencing software or e.g. vMix-Call and probably state of the art in the near future.

LS-Telestrator Remote allows a second operator, i.e. a person familiar with the rules of the game, to control the scoreboard. The condition is that the person is on the Internet with the iPad. The MacBook with LS-Telestrator, which is located in the sports production image control room, must also have Internet access.

The connection between the two devices is established through a server we have configured at Google (for Europe in Frankfurt to comply with DSGVO/GDPR).
The connection is established simply by scanning a QR code in LS-Telestrator on the MacBook with the iPad or by sending a code (email, WhatsApp, etc.).
The run times from input on the remote iPad to LS-Telestrator on the MacBook are about 0.3 s, so they are very fast.

The Scoreboard Remote app is almost identical to the scoreboard controller in LS-Telestrator and can also be operated by players who, for example, cannot participate in a game due to injury.

Compatibility and purchase

Signal input as well as output corresponds to current standards in the broadcast area.

The standard video resolution of LS-Telestrator is Full HD 1080 25/30/50/60p with HDMI output, when using NDI® input and output framerates between 24-60p are possible in Full HD.

The output of the scoreboard as well as the distance lines is done via 2 separate NDI® signals with transparency information, one NDI® signal for scoreboard and one for distance lines and virtual field graphics.

These signals can be keyed directly with vMix and Tricaster.

When using the HDMI output on the MacBook Pro, the live signals can be keyed in color key technique. This key-technique works with every Blackmagic Design ATEM mixer via one of the USK chroma keys (for the distance lines ATEMs with 2x upstream key are necessary, starting with ATEM Mini Extreme).

When pressing the "Live" button for scoreboard and distance lines, the preset keys/overlays are automatically activated for ATEM mixers as well as for vMix.

On the Tricaster the DSK have to be started manually. We recommend to create corresponding macros in the Tricaster for the DSK to be started, which can then be triggered by the distance line operator or the image mixer operator with a stream deck.

Support:

We check our info@liveskills.net email account every day and usually respond very quickly in case you need support on live production.

LS-Telestrator is available in the Mac AppStore under the name "LS-Telestrator for GFL" for MacBook and "LS-Telestrator-Remote for GFL" for iPad in the iOS Apple AppStore. This is the league version for the German GFL Football League with full functionality and presetting for the GFL.

The international version with 2 preloaded league independent scoreboards and sets of event flags will be released in June 2023.

LS-Telestrator can be tested for free for one month after initial download and subscription activation.

From the second month on, the software costs approximately US-$99 per month, depending on the applicable taxes on software products in the country of purchase.

A MacBook Pro or MacMini is required to use the software, we recommend M1/2 types to use all functions including NDI® live signal playback. If only the scoreboard is to be used via HDMI output in Chroma-Key technology, a MacBook Pro from 2016, from 13", with MacOS 12.x is sufficient.

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LiveSkills is dedicated to combine the power of broadcast equipment with the ease of use and the mobility of iOS devices. We have a long history in both, software development for iOS and macOS as well as broadcasting events to a worldwide audience. Our products have already proven their practicality in many live events and offer a low-cost, reliable and satisfying solution.

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