RossTalk - Nexus Kinetica

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RossTalk Listener

Automation-Enabled Instances

Commands fire across all enabled instances. Use automation channels (CG1, CG2) to scope CLFB/SEQO to specific outputs.

Active Connections

No active connections

Command Log

No commands received

Overview

RossTalk is used by Ross Overdrive's Caprica automation engine to trigger graphics by ID. Caprica connects to the server via HTTP POST on port 443, which is proxied internally to the RossTalk listener. Commands search all automation-enabled instances to find the target item.

Caprica (HTTP POST) → Port 443 → nginx stream → RossTalk Server → Kinetica

Template Editor uses a different protocol: If you are using Ross Overdrive's Template Editor for direct CG control, that uses CII — configure it on the Overdrive page instead. RossTalk and CII can both run simultaneously.

Getting Started

Click Start above to enable the RossTalk listener
Ensure the target overlay instances have Automation enabled in their instance settings (Live Rundowns → instance panel → TRIGGERS toggle)
Optionally assign an Automation Channel (e.g., CG1) to each instance for scoped clear/out commands

Caprica / Overdrive Setup

In Overdrive, open the Device Settings for the Caprica CG device
Set HTTP Protocol to POST
Set the IP address to the Nexus server IP (port 443 is used automatically)
Caprica will send each command as a fresh HTTP POST connection — no persistent TCP needed

Why HTTP POST? Caprica's default TCP mode can be dropped by firewalls that kill idle connections. HTTP POST sends each command as an independent request on port 443 (HTTPS port), which passes through virtually all firewalls without issues.

Automation Channels

By default, commands like CLFB (clear) and SEQO (sequential out) affect all automation-enabled instances. To scope these commands to a specific output, assign an automation channel to each instance:

Go to Live Rundowns, select an instance, and set the channel ID (e.g., CG1) in the automation settings
Send scoped commands from Caprica: CLFB CG1 only clears that instance

Commands like TAKE and CUE always search globally by item reference — channels only apply to CLFB and SEQO.

How Items Are Resolved

When a command like TAKE <ref> is received, Kinetica searches all automation-enabled instances and finds the target item by trying these strategies in order:

Automation ID — the 8-character hex code shown on each rundown item (e.g. a7f3b2c1)
MOS Item ID — if the item was created by MOS/iNews (e.g. KIN-1708901234-a7f)
Position — a number like 1, 2, 3 references items by their order in the rundown

Auto-create: If no rundown item exists but stored MOS data is available (from a previous MOS INSERT), the item is automatically created from the stored template and overrides. This happens on the first TAKE or CUE — subsequent commands find it instantly.

Command Reference

Command	Example	Action
`TAKE <ref>`	`TAKE KIN-xxx`	Take item on-air (auto-creates from MOS data if needed)
`TAKE`	`TAKE`	Take whatever was previously CUEd
`CUE <ref>`	`CUE KIN-xxx`	Pre-cue item (auto-creates from MOS data if needed)
`CLFB`	`CLFB`	Clear framebuffer — all items off-air (all instances)
`CLFB <ch>`	`CLFB CG1`	Clear framebuffer on a specific automation channel only
`SEQO`	`SEQO`	Take most recent on-air item off (all instances)
`SEQO <ch>`	`SEQO CG1`	Take most recent off on a specific channel only
`GPI <n>`	`GPI 1`	GPI trigger (logged for future action mapping)

Testing from Terminal

You can test commands without an automation system using curl:

$ curl -X POST https://<server-ip> -d "CUE KIN-1708901234567-a7f" -k $ curl -X POST https://<server-ip> -d "TAKE KIN-1708901234567-a7f" -k $ curl -X POST https://<server-ip> -d "CLFB CG1" -k $ curl -X POST https://<server-ip> -d "CLFB" -k

The -k flag skips SSL certificate verification (for self-signed certs). For raw TCP testing on the local server, use nc:

$ nc localhost 7788 TAKE KIN-1708901234567-a7f CLFB