Every device connected to a studio works in one of two modes.
Console and Companion
- Console: your main screen in the studio. It shows the views your role allows: Attendee, Operator or Director. You have at most one Console per studio.
- Companion: any extra device around you. A Companion shows its own camera, your intercom and the sources pinned to it, but not the rest of the studio. Use it as an extra camera, an intercom only, or a simple display.
A smartphone is always a Companion. A laptop, desktop or tablet can be either.
Switching mode from the studio header
On a computer, the mode chip in the studio header shows Companion, Attendee, Operator or Director. Click it to choose:
- Companion: this device stops being your Console.
- Attendee, Operator or Director: this device becomes your Console, in that view (only the views your role allows are offered).
If another of your devices already holds the Console, you are asked to confirm (Use as console). The other device then switches to Companion and stays connected, with its camera.
When you open the studio on a second computer, it asks: Use this device as your console, or as a companion? Choose Use as console, Companion, or Decide later.
Which link to use
An admin gives each person the right link from Users & Devices in the manager:
- Console link: opens this user’s Console on a desktop or laptop. It cannot be used on a phone.
- Companion link: for a phone or an extra device of this user (camera, intercom, display).
Both are shown as a QR code. If you open a Console link on a phone, the studio tells you so: ask your admin for a Companion link, then paste it or scan its QR code.
The studio link (Project access link, QR in the manager header) lets new people register. Depending on the studio’s settings, they may wait in the Waiting room until an admin or director lets them in.
See also Manager, studio and control room.