This Knowledge base article will help you set up a Stream Deck with Bitfocus Companion to control the Teacher Tracker and Multishot on your CamDirector® AI Processing Unit.


Bitfocus Companion is software from a third party, not affiliated with Avonic. Therefore this guide is solely for educational purposes.


TABLE OF CONTENTS

Prerequisites

To use a Stream Deck with your CamDirector, we are assuming you have completed the following:


Installation of the CamDirector

For this guide we assume you have installed and configured your CamDirector.

  1. You have set-up a CamDirector, and installed it according to our guides.
  2. You have active licenses for either the TeacherTracker or MultiShot.
  3. You have updated to the latest software version; see this guide.  

Other tips can be found here.


Deployment of Bitfocus Companion Software

To use Bitfocus Companion you will need a host that runs the software. Perhaps a server is running docker in your network. This can be a great starting point. This guide does not offer the exact instructions on how to install Bitfocus Companion. You can read all about the installation procedure on their github page.


In our case, we've deployed the beta version (3.0.0) with a docker image on a network server. 


A host machine for the Stream Deck with Companion Satellite installed

To have the Stream Deck communicate with Companion you need a host machine. This can be the same machine where the software is installed. For instance, you can run Bitfocus Companion on a Raspberry Pi 4. In that case you can skip the step of installing the Satellite. In our case, we use a laptop with the Satellite program installed. 


You can read more and download the Satellite program here.



Make sure you quit software that comes with the Stream Deck, so that the Companion Satellite can take over. Right click the tray icon to scan for devices. And make sure that the host and port settings are set correct to the machine the main application is running


If you have troubles connecting the Satellite with the host, make sure firewall rules and ports are configured appropriately.



Setting up Bitfocus Companion

For the first time you will need to go to the first steps of opening the software and getting acquainted with the program. You can also follow the Beginners Guide from Bitfocus. In the end, you will have a link to access the webpage of Bitfocus Companion to start configuring, the webpage might look like http://192.168.1.2:8000/.


Connecting the Stream Deck with Companion

Now that all the prerequisites are taken care off, we are ready to connect our Stream Deck with Bitfocus Companion App. Either by directly plugging in your Stream Deck to the machine the host app is installed on, or to the machine on which you are running.


  1. Open your browser and go to the Bitfocus Companion website. See the previous heading.
  2. If you didn't already, walk through the configuration wizard.
  3. Go to Surfaces > rescan USB or + Add Emulator. Your Stream Deck should show up here. 
  4. Set the appropriate settings for your Stream Deck and you are ready to add functions to keys.


Please make sure that you follow the appropriate guides from Stream Deck and Bitfocus if you encounter any issues.


Adding Functions

If everything is working so far, we get to add a Connection to the CamDirector. Go to Connections and search for "Generic: HTTP Requests"

Click add and fill out the following details:

Label: A recognizable label, for instance HTTP-API-MS (where MS stands for MultiShot). 

Base URL: Fill in the URLof your CamDirector. NB, you need to add the port to this URL field.

Accept unauthorized certificates.


The Multishot uses port 3002, where as the TeacherTracker on the CamDirector uses port 3001


Now you can start programming the individual buttons according to the HTTP-API commandos listed on our website and knowledge base. 


Go to Buttons and start to add the following commands to where you see fit. Click a button and click create button


Use the formatting to add color, images, etc

Then add an action, type the name of the label you have given earlier. In our case HTTP-API-MS;

Pick the "GET" command and add your URI with command, like so:

This command will turn the MultiShot on. 


In this way, the URI switch/off turns the MultiShot Off. And while the MultiShot is on, you can use switch/11, switch/12, etc for your predefined switches.


When you add your commands, your Stream Deck could look like this:





We are in the process of revising our HTTP-API commands. The commands presented here are new additions that will be included in upcoming updates to our HTTP-API lists. Rest assured, the existing commands will remain valid, as our software will continue to support them for backward compatibility purposes.