Virtual Graphics Controller

Swimming results laid straight onto the water — names, flags and times sitting flat in the real lanes.

This is what you are setting up.

Contents

1. What this is

2. Set it up

3. Line it up with the pool

4. Go live

5. Every button explained

6. Template settings in SiB

7. If something looks wrong

8. Updating

1. What this is

This template puts the swimming results on the pool itself. Every lane gets a strip showing the swimmer's rank, name, flag or club badge and times — and the strips lie flat on the water, lined up with the real lanes the way your camera sees them.

Once it's running, it looks after itself:

• the start list appears before the race,

• split times fill in as the swimmers reach each wall,

• finish times and rank come up as they touch, with medal colours for the top three.

The two pieces you'll handle

• The template — you load this into Sport in the Box just like any other template. It draws the graphic and gets the swimming data.

• The Controller — a small app you keep open beside SiB. This is where you line the graphic up with your pool, and it's the only thing you actually click during an event.

Same computer. The Controller has to run on the same PC as SiB. That's the only rule about where things go.

2. Set it up

Put the Virtual Graphics Controller file on the computer that runs SiB. It’s a single file — there’s nothing to install.

1. Double-click Virtual Graphics Controller.exe. The window opens.

2. Click Save template… and save the template file somewhere you'll find it again.

3. In SiB, load that template the same way you load any other, and place it over your pool camera in your output.

4. Start the template. The two lights in the top right of the Controller turn green.

5. The Controller's buttons wake up. You're ready to line the graphic up.

The two lights:

• Proxy — the app itself is ready

• Template — SiB has found it

Everything greyed out? That's normal until the Template light goes green — it just means the template isn't running in SiB yet.

The Controller, with both lights green and everything ready to use.

3. Line it up with the pool

You need a camera shot of the pool where you can see the start/finish wall and roughly the first 5 metres of the lanes. Lining the graphic up against that shot is the one job that takes a little care — and you only do it once per camera position. If the camera moves, you do it again.

You're telling the graphic where the pool is in your picture. You do that by putting four points onto two lines you can see in the shot: the start/finish wall, and the 5 metre line. Everything between those two lines gets stretched to match, so the names and times end up lying on the water.

1. Turn Test data ON. A sample start list appears on the pool, so you don't have to wait for real swimmers.

2. Turn Helper lines ON. A red box and red lane lines appear on the output — that's what you aim with.

3. Set the Pool options first: Start side (which side of the picture the wall is on), Number of lanes, and Lane order so the numbers match the real lanes. Do these before you touch the points — changing them moves everything.

4. Now move the four points. Each has its own card with arrow buttons: click an arrow to nudge it one step, or hold it down to slide it along.

   • Wall top and Wall bottom go on the two ends of the start/finish wall.

   • 5m top and 5m bottom go on the 5 metre line.

5. Keep nudging until the red box and the red lane lines sit neatly on the real pool.

Helper lines on the camera. When the red lines hug the real lanes, you're done.

The point you moved last pulses on screen, so you never lose track of which one you're adjusting.

Making it fit nicely

• Strips a bit too big or too small for the lanes — lower Content scale.

• Right height but too wide — lower Horizontal squeeze.

• Text feels cramped in the strip — raise Padding.

• Whole block sitting too close to the wall — change Distance from wall.

• Made a mess of one point — press the ⟲ in the middle of its arrows. Made a mess of all four — press Reset corners.

It saves itself. Your alignment and pool options are remembered automatically — nothing to press, and they're still there after a restart.

4. Go live

1. Turn Test data OFF — while it's on, the sample list blocks the real one.

2. Turn Helper lines OFF — or the red box goes to air with you.

3. Set Opacity to taste.

That's it. From here the graphic runs itself off the timing data — start list, then splits as the swimmers turn, then finish times and rank as they touch.

Live on the pool.

5. Every button explained

Buttons and lights

Pool options — describe your pool so the graphic matches it

The four point cards — Wall top, Wall bottom, 5m top, 5m bottom

6. Template settings in SiB

Open the template's settings in SiB the same way as any other template. All of this is optional — the defaults work — so change only what doesn't suit your production.

General

Club logos / flag images

Styling

Perspective. Leave this category alone — the Controller uses it to reach the template, and the alignment you set in the Controller lives here.

7. If something looks wrong

All the buttons are greyed out

The Controller hasn't found the template yet. Start the template in SiB, and check it's the same computer the Controller is on. The Template light goes green when it connects.

The Template light won't go green

Stop the template in SiB and start it again with the Controller already open. If it still won't connect, open the template's settings in SiB and, under Perspective, set Port back to 36970 — someone may have changed it.

The Proxy light stays red

Usually an older copy of the Controller is still open in the background. Close everything, then open it again.

Nothing is showing on the pool

Check Opacity isn't turned down, and that the template is actually on air in your output. Turn Test data on for a moment — if the sample list appears, the graphic is fine and you're just waiting on data.

Everything jumped out of place after I changed a setting

Changing Start side or Number of lanes moves the whole layout, and Start side resets the points. Line the four points up again — it only takes a moment.

The strips don't sit properly in the lanes

Too big or small, lower Content scale. Too wide but the right height, lower Horizontal squeeze. Still off, turn Helper lines on and nudge the four points again.

The graphic shows on both preview and program

That's fine and expected. Both use the same alignment.

8. Updating

• The Controller: replace the old file with the new version. Your alignment isn't stored in the app, so nothing is lost.

• The template: after updating, click Save template… again and load the new file into SiB.

Virtual Graphics Controller · swimming · operator guide. The diagram is schematic; the two broadcast frames are real footage of the graphic in use.