NewTek TriCaster TCXD300, User Manual

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Figure 110
Hint: “Genlock” refers to “generator locking”. Professional
video devices often provide a “genlock input”, which allows
an external reference signal (often referred to as ‘house sync’)
to control its video timing. The output of video devices
connected in this manner is synchronized to the reference
signal, and they are referred to as ‘genlocked’.
TriCaster mixes and switches output from three video sources. Miniscule timing differences
between these may force tiny delays during switching operations, which can also contribute to
throughput latency. Thus, serving i) TriCaster’s Genlock input and ii) other video devices in the
chain all with the same reference signal is the best approach.
You could think of it this way:

Genlocking your cameras has the effect of locking their output together, ensuring
optimal synchronization for live switching. This may result in throughput latency
benefits.

Supplying the same sync source to TriCaster’s Genlock input ensures a match between
TriCaster output and any downstream video devices required to handle both it and
other (genlocked) sources.
IMPORTANT Note: Digital audio is less forgiving in certain respects than analog. To avoid
occasional audio glitches when mixing digital audio (whether for recording or live production)
you must ensure that the timing for all digital audio sources is synchronized.
This means you must do one of the following: i) genlock all digital audio sources and
TriCaster to a house reference signal, or ii) genlock the cameras to TriCaster’s output.
VERT POSITION, HORIZ POSITION AND PHASE
Locking all devices to house sync is important, but this alone does not actually ensure a perfect
downstream match. Consider an army marching along: each step the soldiers take occurs at
precisely the same moment, so we could say their timing is synchronized. Even so, problems
result if one soldier leads with the left foot while everyone else is on the right. Or perhaps