RenderStream - Notch Integration

RenderStream is the proprietary Disguise protocol for controlling third-party render engines from Designer. This topic covers the steps specific to configuring the RenderStream workflow with Notch.

Warning

For cluster rendering it’s recommended to use render nodes from the same Disguise product range, e.g. all RX series machines. Mixing of machines from different product ranges is untested and unsupported.

Notch is the third-party render engine available from Notch.one. Notch can be configured to run either internally via a Notch layer or externally via RenderStream. This topic will cover the RenderStream-Notch workflow. For more information on using a Notch layer, visit this link.

Notch Host

Notch Host is a secondary application that is included as part of the main Disguise installation process. The purpose of this application is to load Notch blocks externally Designer and create RenderStream output streams which can be accessed by all machines across the same network.

Note

Please note: Ensure the correct version is installed on all machines in the network, including render nodes.

Project Directory Setup

• Place Notch blocks in the following path: C:\Users\USERNAME\Documents\Renderstream Projects or D:\Renderstream Projects if using an RX hardware system.

• The Asset discovery system scans all sub-directories to identify content, so you can place all blocks in the Notch folder.

Configure a RenderStream Layer

1. Launch and create a new RenderStream layer.
2. For camera base mappings:
   1. Add a new camera to the stage.
   2. Create a new Camera Plate/Spatial mapping.
   3. Add the camera to the mapping.
3. Right-click the Workload field to open the Cluster Workload widget.
4. Expand the Configure separator.
5. Select Asset and choose your Notch block.
6. Right-click the Asset to open its editor:
   1. Set Source Machine to the machine with the asset (used for syncing content).
7. Select Cluster pool and create a new cluster.

Within the Cluster Pool

1. Add the desired machines.
2. Right-click on the default ClusterAssigner within the Default assigner field to open the ClusterAssigner widget.

Within the Cluster Assigner

1. Select the distribution strategy and video transport options (changes to transport settings require restarting the workload).

Within each Channel Mappings table

Note

Notch over RenderStream does not support multiple channels, only a single default channel will be available. When you create multiple channel mappings with the same channel, a unique notch block instance will be created for each mapping. This means the scene will be rendered multiple times.

1. Select New channel mapping and assign your desired mapping.
2. Repeat for all desired channel-mapping combinations.
3. Expand the Control separator.
4. If the machines in the Cluster Pool do not have the content or the project has changed, press Sync.
5. Ensure all Sync tasks are marked completed.
6. Click Start.
7. Wait for Workload status to switch to Running and confirm that all streams are received.

Note

Please note: Notch blocks can only be split if they contain an exposed camera. If you attempt to split a block that does not have an exposed camera across multiple render nodes, the content will simply be duplicated.

Official Notch Documentation

View the official Notch documentation:

• Exposed Parameters in Notch
• Camera Tracking & Exposable Cameras
• Exposing Lights
• Exposable Nulls (Objects)
• External control surfaces