GPIO and Control
Stream Deck control with Bitfocus Companion
A presenter running their own show has their hands full. The VRA Core module for Bitfocus Companion puts studio on air, camera cuts, macros and the automatic switching on Stream Deck keys, and each key lights up with the studio's real state.
What VRA does with Bitfocus Companion.
Cameras with tally
Cut a camera, put it on preview or trigger an angle. The key turns red when that camera is on program and green on preview.
Automatic switching on a key
Switch Audio Director or Camera Assist off and back on from the desk. The key shows which state it is in.
On air, recording, off air
Set the studio status from a key, and see it on the key wherever it was changed.
Presets from your studio
Drag a ready-made key for any camera, angle, macro, signal or station variable onto your surface. The list follows the studio as it changes.
A token per panel
Give each Companion machine its own device token in VRA Cloud, limit what it may do, and revoke it without touching the others.
How to set it up.
Requirements
- Bitfocus Companion 5.0 or later, with a Stream Deck or another supported surface.
- VRA Core with the Core API v2, reachable on port
3002. - A device token when Companion runs on a different machine from the Core.
Download the VRA Core module and import it on Companion's Modules page.
In Connections, add VRA Core. With Companion on the Core machine, keep address
127.0.0.1and port3002.With Companion on another machine, create a device in VRA Cloud under Studio settings, Core API, and paste its token into the connection.
Open Buttons, then Presets, pick the VRA Core connection and drag keys onto your surface.
Bitfocus Companion questions
Is there a VRA module for Bitfocus Companion? +
Yes, VRA Core. It needs Companion 5.0 or later and a Core with the Core API v2. It is under review for the Companion module store; until it is listed, you import it from the download in our setup guide.
Can I control VRA from a Stream Deck without Companion? +
Yes. The Stream Deck app's built-in Website action can call a Core API route in the background, one key per URL. Keys that show the studio's state need Companion.
Does Companion have to run on the VRA machine? +
No. On the Core machine it connects without a token. From another machine, give it a device token from Studio settings, Core API in VRA Cloud.
Can a key act on the wrong station in a shared studio? +
Not when you pin the Companion connection to a station. Its output and variable keys then only act while that station holds the studio.
Bitfocus
About Bitfocus Companion.
Bitfocus Companion turns a Stream Deck, or another control surface, into a button panel for production software. The VRA Core module connects it to the Core in your studio and reads the studio's state about once a second, so keys show tally, on-air status and values.
Its presets are built from your own studio: a key for every camera, angle, macro, signal and station variable, updated when the studio changes. Two of those signals are Audio Director, the automatic camera switching from Audio Triggers, and Camera Assist, so a presenter can pause the automatic switching from the desk and switch it back on. Macros come from Automation.
The module is under review for the Companion module store. Until it is listed there, you import it from a download. Companion's generic HTTP module calls the same Core API if you would rather build your own keys, and a Stream Deck without Companion can do it with the Stream Deck app's built-in Website action.
What you can do with this connection
Automated camera switching for radio
Switch cameras from microphone activity and prepare PTZ shots off air.
More infoThe products behind it.
More integrations.
TCP
Control your visual radio studio over TCP. Send one line of text to VRA Core to put the studio on air, cut a camera or fire a macro, and get a reply.
Ember+
Use Ember+ parameters as GPIO triggers for visual radio. VRA reads the console and router values you map to cut cameras, change graphics or run macros.
MQTT
Connect your own systems to a visual radio studio over MQTT. Read microphone, switcher and now-playing state, and write signals, scoped to one studio.
Check your studio setup with us.
Tell us your camera models, video switcher and radio automation. We will check the connections and show you the workflow that fits your station.