Frequently Asked Questions

1. A Windows 7 (or newer) 64-bit PC (desktop or high-end laptop) with a Quad-Core processor and NVIDIA Graphics Card, with:

2a. network connection to a Tricaster machine or an NDI host.
2b. or a Decklink card (external or internal keying both supported).

CW streams its output to NewTek TriCaster or any other NDI host over network. Alternatively, BlackMagic DeckLink cards are supported in fill + alpha mode (switcher downstream, external keyer) for SDI or HDMI output, or in internal keyer mode (switcher upstream). Some older DeckLink cards support alpha output in SD only, consult BlackMagic for details. We recommend the DeckLink 4K Extreme or Decklink Duo/Quad 2.

CharacterWorks starts at 2495 USD, and the base package already includes Twitter, XML/RSS/JSON and ODBC support, as well as remote control from TriCaster. AGF is accepting orders and shipping now.

The license is per-seat. If you would like to install on multiple computers, here are the possibilities, depending on what you need:

1. There is a license option called “Designer’s License” which allows you to create and test content, but the output is watermarked, so you cannot use it for broadcast. This license costs 695 USD per-seat.

2. If you need to use the second license for broadcast too, then you need to purchase a full second license. Please contact us to receive a quote, we usually provide discounts for more than one CW Broadcast license.

Two different types of license are supported: Dongle and no-dongle (software-based).

With dongle-based licenses, your license is stored on an encrypted dongle, and it will instantly become active on any machine that the dongle is plugged-in. We highly recommend getting a dongle-based license.

With software-based (no-dongle) licenses, the license is stored in an encrypted file on the local hard drive of your CW machine. No-dongle licenses are machine-locked, and licenses will be lost in case of hardware failures, upgrades, or OS reinstalls. We generally allow transfer of licenses in catastrophic situations, as long as transfer requests remain reasonable. With no-dongle licenses, license-related support is limited to the first 12 months after the purchase.

With dongle-based licenses, we ship the dongle by courier to your address once we receive your payment. The dongle is usually delivered in 2 or 3 business days.

With software-based licenses, once we receive your payment, we will activate your CW license within 24 hours.

There is a license option called “Designer’s License” which allows you to create and test content, but the output is watermarked, so you cannot use it for broadcast. This license costs 695 USD per-seat.

A wide range of popular image and video codecs and formats including 16-bit and floating-point images like BMP, EXR, GIF, HDR, IFF, JPEG, PNG, PICT, PSD, TARGA, TIFF etc. and .avi, .quicktime, mpeg, H.264/MPEG-4 videos are supported.

A wide range of popular audio codecs and formats including WAV, MP3, OGG are supported.

The Demo is functionally equivalent to the Full version, except for the following: There is a 30-day time limit, Save functionality is disabled, and the output is watermarked.

Yes, with the exception that, importing the layer structure is not supported, for now. We encourage users to take advantage of the advanced materials, effects, layer compositing and animation features offered by CharacterWorks. These all operate fully in real-time and they are very practical to work with.

You can import Adobe After Effects renderings as image sequences or video files into CharacterWorks, but you cannot import After Effects projects directly. We encourage users to take advantage of the advanced materials, effects, layer compositing and animation features offered by CharacterWorks. These all operate fully in real-time and they are very practical to work with.

No, and probably never. We consider Flash an outdated technology, primarily intended for the web. CharacterWorks is an exciting novel architecture that supports GPU-based rendering of keyframe-animated, realtime-shaded media and text, capable of dynamic data input from a wide range of data sources. These features work together in a tightly-integrated manner, probably in much more interesting, robust and flexible ways than a Flash-based system could ever support.

User feedback plays a major role in defining the direction CharacterWorks development takes. Please let us know about your ideas and needs. We will listen.

Depends. If you need ODBC support, you need to install the proper ODBC drivers for the sources you will be using. These need to be the 64-bit drivers, since CW is a 64-bit application.

Please uninstall both the demo and the full version and install the full version once more from scratch.

Please make sure that the latest nVidia drivers are installed. In addition, on laptops, sometimes nVidia Optimus causes a problem when launcing CW. To fix this, please go into the nVidia Control Panel and make sure that CharacterWorks is run using the nVidia GPU, instead of the built-in Intel GPU.

Please make sure you have the latest TriCaster software installed.