CharacterWorks 2024.1
NEED A COMPLETE, VERSATILE, AFFORDABLE, REAL-TIME ON-AIR GRAPHICS SYSTEM
CharacterWorks delivers!
Project Files for all Graphics in this video are included in the standart CharacterWorks Installation
But do not take our word for it!
Check out how various CG pages can be built in CharacterWorks:
Features
Rendering Engine
Real-time, multi-core, GPU-based, UltraHD (4K), true 3D rendering engine, with smooth multi-channel NDI and Decklink output.
Supports a virtually unlimited number of 3D-transformable, keyframe-animated layers and compositions.CW 2024 introduces multiple independently-controllable, presettable animation tracks per layer.
Text Renderer
Flexible, dynamic, high-quality anti-aliased smooth-scrolling Unicode text.
Embed any animated layer within text, and integrate and format data from shared real-time data sources (Twitter, RSS, external databases and files, wall clock, counters, etc.).
Image & Video Support
A wide range of popular image and video codecs and formats with alpha-channel support, incl. 16-bit and floating-point images.
Full-HD video and image sequence playback. Video and image layers can be transformed in 3D and shader effects can be applied in real-time.
Shader-based Materials
Hundreds of ready-to-use material presets, ranging from basic gradients to beautiful lens flares. Procedurally-generated, real-time materials for animated backgrounds that are ever changing and never repeating.
Feeling creative? Our advanced material engine lets you combine building blocks to construct complex shaders without writing a single line of code.
Price / Performance
CharacterWorks aims to give you the best-in-class combination of performance and features… And more…
CharacterWorks goes beyond the state-of-the-art to give you innovative features and a smooth, integrated workflow not found in any competing product in its price range.
Interactive Editing
Edit CG elements and observe the results immediately in realtime.
In addition, the preview channel helps you try out your automation setups.
Powerful Data Engine
Seamlessly integrate data (text, images or even video) from outside real-time sources with no need for any external modules.
Supported technologies include: XML/JSON (Web Service or local) via XQuery, external databases through ODBC / SQL, generic or specialized realtime connections to external equipment and/or software, such as scoreboards and timing solutions.
Data Source Variety
CharacterWorks’ data retrieval capabilities allow access to a huge range of data feeds.
Data providers encompass Sports Stats/Results, Weather, Finance, Social Media. Data store access capabilities include MySQL, Access databases, Excel, Google Spreadsheets. Specialized interfaces range from Daktronics scoreboards, Stalker Pro Radar Guns to software such as FinishLynx and StatCrew.
Data-Driven Graphics
CW 2024’s Attribute Expressions are basic formulas or simple code that drive, manipulate or even animate attributes (position, color, etc.) of graphics elements based on real-time data inputs. Thanks to the useful and versatile presets provided, impressive results are achieved even without any coding.
The Instancer dynamically creates multiple visuals, based-on data source input, using a single set of layers as template. Build animated results tables, dynamic lists, real-time charts and diagrams with ease.
Remote Control
CW’s HTTP-based Remote Control protocol/API provides a real-time interface to project inspection and editing, playback and data update functionality.
Very useful for integrating CW in a complex workflow requiring interoperability with other systems. Application-specific user interfaces are another possibility, made practical by the built-in local web server.
User Interface
Functional, yet attractive. Intuitive, drag’n-drop-based, ultra-responsive.
Fully-customizable layout, dockable/tearable windows, easily adaptable to multi-monitor setups.
Available in English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese.
Jump-Start Production
Use, modify and adapt the provided templates to quickly start production.
CW 2024’s new Customize tab exposes primary customization parameters for each preset/template and makes adapting data source connections a breeze.
Automation Engine
Define flexible behaviours that automate playback or data retrieval based on events, without any need for scripting.
The Automation Editor allows you to schedule behaviors, including playback of CW graphics elements or real-time data modification functionality, at specified wall-clock times.
Playback Control
Use the versatile quick-edit feature and playback controllers to edit, filter, play and preview multiple CG elements in a practical and efficient manner.
Easy-to-Learn
Continuously-expanding library consisting of more than 150 freely-available tutorial and demonstration videos and hundreds of presets and sample projects to learn from.
Supplemented by the in-app interactive help system (documentation available in English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese) and the new Graph Viewer for analyzing and studying the structure of existing projects.
Audio Support
Audio files or audio streams within video files can be played together with graphics. In addition to being sent to output devices (e.g. TriCaster or DeckLink), audio can be previewed and monitored through the host system audio card.
The standard CW Broadcast license does not support audio files that are more than one minute long. To enable support for longer audio files, the Playout Option is required.
Language Support
CharacterWorks provides excellent support for languages that require complex text layout (i.e. Thai, Indian, Arabic, etc.).
Vertical layout supported for East-Asian languages (Japanese, Chinese, Korean, etc.).
UltraHD / 4K
UltraHD / 4K output profiles are available on output devices that support them (please contact us for recommended hardware specifications).
Screenshots
CharacterWorks includes hundreds of material, effect and layer presets and sample projects that make it easy and quick to start production.
The screenshots below highlight a small sampling of the content provided.
News
Testimonials
CharacterWorks users are found in all corners of the world.
Check out what users are saying about CW and why they love it so much.
We are proud to work with
What our clients say
David Hutchinson (Streamscape / UK)
The more I use it the more I love it.
Anthony Bezencon (Project Engineer, Creative Technology. London)
The new grid controller is great, it means I can build what I need then hand over to someone to operate with almost no training needed.
Austin Minnihan (cyclones.tv)
CharacterWorks has given me the freedom to do what I want and how I want to do it with my broadcast graphics. It is a system that gives me the ability to design my graphics so they follow our brand, and program my data to function in a way that works best for me. I…
Cem Akkaya (RIOT Games Istanbul)
The combination of CharacterWorks and TriCaster is having a wonderful impact on the quality of our broadcast. There is simply no other solution in the market that could give us all the features and the flexibility that we desired.
Glenn DiTommaso (EMC TV)
Thanks for making a great CG product! This software is the best we’ve seen by far for this application. CharacterWorks has been great for us.
Kalle Östberg, Creative Director (STCC)
The tight integration between CharacterWorks and Tricaster, along with Twitter and other databases, makes this a real jack-of-all-trades software. The smooth workflow, interface and ability to import pre-multiplied sequences from popular compositing software truly changes the game in the CG business, making live graphics available to everyone.
Jake Cunningham (Pinstripe Media)
The user videos look great. I’ll should be able to make some awesome stuff! Your product looks great!
Matthias Hanutko (Sportal Group)
The support works pretty well so far… For our productions your solution is perfect.