We made Auto Presentation Switcher to simplify the task of switching presentations. On events where different presentations are shown consecutively, this little tool can make the transitions a lot easier for audio/video engineers responsible for the visual content. But you still need some kind of video-switcher to cover the screen when there are no presentations.

With V.2 of this software we wanted to take more of the features traditionally found in hardware presentation-switchers and put them inside the computer. The idea is to make better use of your video-equipment, and save yourself in those situations where you don’t have access to other hardware. Or, if you are using the Blackmagic Design line of video-switchers, we bring back a feature which is essential for presentation-control: the Freeze-button.

This command will freeze the current picture on the screen for as long as you want. It is very useful if you are in the middle of a presentation and discover that something is wrong with the next slide. Now you can freeze the screen, go out of the presentation, do the edits, go back and unfreeze, and the audience won’t know that you ever left the presentation.

Technically, what happens is that we take a screenshot of the external screen (or the screen used to display the presentation), then we stack this on top of the screen as an image. This image will then mask anything else that happens on the computer. 

Instead of screenshots you can also display one of 10 pre-recorded still-images from the APS image-bank. For example, you can have 1 image with the general logo for the event, and other images for different situations like welcoming and pauses etc.

You can think of these images as a software-version of the still-images found in hardware presentation-switchers.  
And just like the hardware counterparts our images will always be available regardless of what other programs you are using or what is currently displayed. APS is built for multitasking, and we believe that our method of displaying images is safe to use even when the computer is busy with other tasks in the middle of the show.

The images are meant to be used along with the other commands for presentation-control. One typical example would be an “old-school” physical conference where you want to show background-slides when the host talks between the keynote speakers. These images can be stored and recalled using APS. While they are displayed you can switch presentations using APS automation. Then when the new presenter is ready, you can exit the image and the new presentation will be shown. The transition will be seamless.

Another example is if you share your screen directly on Zoom or Microsoft Teams, when you most likely won’t be able to use an external switcher. Then APS can act as a buffer between your computer and what is shared online. Before you start, or if you need to exit your presentation,  you can display another image, making sure that you never reveal your desktop-background.

We are very exited about this new release, and we believe it has the potential to become a game-changer for how audio/video engineers work with presentations on both digital, physical and hybrid events. 

For more information please go to our product page.