Ateliere Live 8.0.0

First release of Ateliere Live in 2025.

Ateliere Live 8.0.0 is the eight major release of Ateliere Live. This release features a completely overhauled control command API which allows, among other things, control panels to be in sync with each other, regardless of their location.

See the Release documentation for more details.

New control command API

The control command API used by the Control Panels to communicate with the Rendering Engine has been replaced by a new, improved one. The new protocol uses JSON based messages and operates on a JSON tree model which describes the current state of the Rendering Engine. The new protocol deserves a document all of its own, but some major new features and improvements include:

  • Synched control panels: multiple control panels connected to the same production will now have their states synchronized, making remote production from multiple locations much easier.
  • Multi-part messages: a single message from a control panel might contain multiple sub-messages that will be executed on the same frame. This makes it possible to, for instance, cut to a media player source and press play on it at the exact same frame
  • Self-documenting API: the user of the API can send describe messages to resources within the API, to get the documentation for a specific part of the state tree.
  • Named parameters of commands: long gone are the times when you needed to look up the order of the positional arguments for mapping audio strips every time you use that command. Instead all parameters to commands in the API have descriptive names and proper type and range checking.
  • Streaming parameters: a new concept to allow the user to start streaming continuously updating data, such as the Media Players play head position or the peak audio loudness levels in the audio mixer, in real time.

Runtime replacement of Rendering Engine config

Previous release of Ateliere Live added support for configuring the Rendering Engine through a config file provided at startup of the application. In this release the feature has been improved by allowing the user to change and read the configuration of an already running Rendering Engine through the REST API. This greatly improves the usability of the Rendering Engines, as the user does not have to keep track of which config file was loaded at startup. In a cloud environment it is now easier to re-use resources, as configuring a running Rendering Engine for a specific production can be done at runtime rather than at launch.

Create HTML browsers and Media Players from REST API

Another improved feature in the REST API is the possibility to create, list and close HTML browsers and Media Players from the REST API, just as Streams from the Ingests can be created, listed and closed. This makes it easier to create orchestration systems that configures productions, as these can now create both the camera sources and virtual sources of the next production. To actually operate the HTML browsers and Media Players, a Control Panel is used. The old way of creating and closing the HTML browsers and Media Players through the Control Panel control API can also be used.

Rendering Engine metrics

This release adds a number of new metering points related to the Rendering Engine to the REST API and Prometheus metrics endpoints. This includes different metrics to keep track of the number of rendered frames, as well as detailed counters of the rendering time of each frame. This is a welcome addition for monitoring the performance of a running production to ensure your hardware is not overloaded.

Multiview improvements

The video in the multiview no longer flashes to black in case the frame freezes. Instead the latest previously known frame is repeated, which is way more pleasant for the eyes of the production staff. To still notify the staff of a lost frame, a small red triangle icon pops up in the lower right corner when a frame is repeated.