Rushworks VDEPO User manual

User Guide – Table of Contents
SYSTEM OVERVIEW ......................................................................................................................... 2
SCREEN LAYOUTS............................................................................................................................. 2
FILE NAMING.................................................................................................................................... 2
MOVE AND RESIZE PiP WINDOWS................................................................................................... 3
RECORDING ..................................................................................................................................... 3
THE USER INTERFACE....................................................................................................................... 3
CONNECTING YOUR SYSTEM ........................................................................................................... 4
CREATING A NEW VDEPO SESSION.................................................................................................. 4
Configure Window.............................................................................................................. 4
Create the File Name .......................................................................................................... 4
Select the Recording Bit Rate ............................................................................................. 5
Specify ISO Input Recording................................................................................................ 5
Select the OUTPUT for Display on the In-Room Monitor ................................................... 5
VDEPO MENUS................................................................................................................................. 6
File Menu ............................................................................................................................ 6
Edit Menu ........................................................................................................................... 6
Help Menu .......................................................................................................................... 6
RUNNING A VDEPO SESSION ........................................................................................................... 6
SELECTING AN INPUT SOURCE......................................................................................................... 6
SELECTING AN OUTPUT DISPLAY FORMAT ...................................................................................... 7
USING THE FILE BROWSER & PREVIEW WINDOW .............................................................. 7
The File Browser...................................................................................................... 7
The Preview Window .............................................................................................. 8
Supported Clips and Graphics Formats................................................................... 8
When you select a GRAPHIC file.............................................................................. 8
Converting PDFs to graphic files.............................................................................. 9
When you select a CLIP file ….................................................................................. 9
USING THE AUDIO MIXER.................................................................................................. 10
MOVING & RESIZING THE PiP WINDOW ........................................................................... 10
To move the PiP window....................................................................................... 10
To resize the PiP window ...................................................................................... 10
RECORDING A VDEPO SESSION ......................................................................................... 11
To Start and Stop Recording.................................................................................. 11
MANAGING RECORDED DEPOSITION FILES....................................................................... 12
RUSHWORKS Company Information ................................................................................. 12

1
Video Deposition Recording System
USER GUIDE (Version 2.0)

2
SYSTEM OVERVIEW
VDEPO was created specifically to meet the needs of individuals and companies specializing in the
production of video depositions. It is lightweight (6 pounds) and small (10” x 10” x 7”), designed for
quick and easy setup and noiseless operation.
It has four HDMI inputs, and includes a small high-resolution 15.6” touch screen monitor with built-in
prop stand, so you can set the VDEPO chassis at your feet and have only the monitor on the table.
Available optional accessories include a tiny HD camera that also sits on the table on a miniature
tripod mount, format converters for laptops and tablets, low-cost, high-quality document cameras,
lavaliere and tabletop microphones; multi-channel analog audio mixers, LED lights, ruggedized
shipping/transport cases and more.
SCREEN LAYOUTS
You can choose from twelve (12) screen layouts which determine where the deponent is displayed in
the Picture-in-Picture (PiP) window that overlays the backgrounds selected from Inputs Two, Three
and Four. You can toggle PiP on or off at any time, and select HD aspect ratio (16:9), or SD aspect
ratio (4:3). The default selection is 4:3 Upper Right. The SD aspect ratio is actually a “crop” of an HD
camera image, providing more viewing area for the evidentiary documents and files while retaining
high definition imaging.
FILE NAMING
On this same screen, enter the deponent’s name in the file naming window. That creates the name
of the recorded file. VDEPO automatically appends the name with a date/time stamp that looks like
the example above – with the format being yyyy mmdd hhmmss.
Here you’ll also select the Number of Inputs and Recording Bit Rate for your session, as well as which
inputs (in addition to the Program) you want to ISO record. VDEPO can record all five simultaneously.

3
MOVE AND RESIZE PiP WINDOWS
A unique point of difference with VDEPO is the ability to move and resize the
deponent’s PiP window in real-time. You can adjust the position as necessary,
when necessary, based on the content of the background image currently
selected. Use the keyboard navigation shortcut keys (Delete, Page Down,
Home, End) to move the PiP image left, right, up and down in real-time.
Use the Page Up and Insert keys to make the PiP image larger or smaller.
Never again will you be in a situation where critical portions of the
evidence are obscured by a fixed size or position of the PiP.
RECORDING
Click the RECORD button to start recording. The RECORD button will then display RECORDING,
indicating it is in progress. In addition to recording the Program, you can also “ISO” record up to four
of the inputs, eliminating the need for cumbersome and expensive external recorders. Click STOP to
end recording. The duration of the recording is displayed above the RECORD/RECORDING button.
THE USER INTERFACE
The interface is simple and clean. You can select input sources by touching or clicking the four INPUT
buttons on the bottom, as well as touching or clicking any of the four INPUT VIDEO MONITOR
windows on the left side. The individual elements are indicated in the graphic below.

4
CONNECTING YOUR SYSTEM
This diagram shows the simple connections required to accommodate the variables you’ll experience in
various deposition scenarios.
CREATING A NEW VDEPO SESSION
Configure Window
When you open the application, you’ll see the
Configuration window which includes the PiP
Layout selection, the deponent name entry
window, the selector for the number of inputs, the
ISO Input Recording selection boxes, the MPEG-2
recording bit rate (10, 15 or 20Mbps), and the
OUTPUT selection preference.
The default PiP selection is a cropped 4:3 image
displayed in the upper right of the screen.The
current selection is always indicated by the yellow
outline.
For different PiP placement and/or aspect ratio, click on your choice of display position for the deponent’s PiP
image. Input 1 on the VDEPO workstation is ALWAYS the camera used for the deponent. Inputs 2 – 4 display
the associated input content behind the deponent’s PiP image.
Create the File Name
On the Configuration screen enter the deponent’s NAME. This is used for the recorded file name, appended
with the date/time stamp generated at the moment that recording actually begins.

5
Select the Recording Bit Rate
The choices in the dropdown menu are 10, 15 or 20 Mbps. Since MPEG compression is
based on motion, you can generally use a lower bit rate (resulting in smaller files) since
there isn’t a lot of motion in a deposition. If you’re going to be playing back video files or
inputting a video source, a higher bit rate will reduce the ‘macroblocking’ artifacts that
often result from low bit rate recordings of high motion images.
Specify ISO Input Recording
(simultaneously recording multiple inputs)
In the Configuration window, click one or more of the Input checkboxes to enable
simultaneous recording of those inputs, in addition to the default recording of the main
Program window, which is the only window that displays PiP. When you click the RECORD
button, the video signals corresponding to the checked inputs will be recorded.
NOTE: The PROGRAM is recorded as an .mp4 file (H.264), and the ISO inputs are recorded as
MPEG-2 files (.mpg).
The Program screen (with or without PiP) is always recorded, regardless of whether or not you select
individual inputs for ISO recording.
Select the OUTPUT for Display on the In-Room Monitor
Attorneys have different preferences for what they like to have visible on the in-room TV monitor, so you have
three choices. HDMI and SDI outputs are included.
PROGRAM with PIP displays exactly what you see in the User Interface,
including the deponent’s image in the PIP window, if active.
PROGRAM with PIP Proxy displays a gray outline if a PIP is active on the
production interface. This shows participants where the PIP is on the recorded
image, but prevents the deponent’s image from displaying in the rectangle.
Inputs 2, 3 or 4 prevents the deponent camera, Input 1, from ever appearing on the in-room monitor.
Participants will only see Inputs 2, 3 or 4 during the session. If the deponent camera is selected as the full
screen image (Input 1) for the PROGRAM, the last selected input (2, 3 or 4) will remain as the output to the
monitor. Those inputs can manually be selected by the operator to display on the OUTPUT at any time when
Input 1 is full screen for recording.
Once you’ve specified the number of inputs, the ISO recording selections, the recording bit rate, and the
OUTPUT display option - and have entered the name of the deponent - click OK, and the Configure screen
closes. The application opens with Input 1 (camera) selected. When you select inputs 2, 3 or 4 you’ll see the
PiP box with Input 1 (camera) displayed over the image from those inputs if you’ve enabled active PiP over
those inputs.
Beneath the PROGRAM window you’ll see the deponent’s name and
current date. It displays the NAME of the deponent you entered and
the current date based on the computer clock, and is there solely to
confirm that the accurate name for the deponent has been entered in
the Layout screen.

6
VDEPO MENUS
File Menu – The only choice is New Session. Click this button to open the Configuration window where you’ll
enter a new deponent’s name, and select the PiP position, number of inputs, and selection of ISO inputs to be
recorded for that session.
Edit Menu – The only choice is Configure, which opens the Configure window for the
currently active session, allowing you to make changes to your current session layout.
Help Menu – Here you’ll find the software version number, as well as a link to the Help File
… which is a PDF file included with the software.
RUNNING A VDEPO SESSION
SELECTING AN INPUT SOURCE
Any of the four system inputs can be selected by:
• touch screen
• mouse click
• keyboard shortcut keys (F1 – F4)
You can select the full screen background by a touch/click on EITHER the large Input
Number OR the video preview windows marked 1 – 4.
There is a PiP icon on Input preview windows 2-4. Touch or click those
icons to toggle ON (Red) and OFF (Gray) the PiP display over the
corresponding input when it’s active. If the button is toggled ON,
whenever you select that Input the PiP will display in the selected default
position. If you’ve moved and/or resized the PiP window, it will appear in
the same place and with the same size as specified previously.
If you touch/click on Input 1 or video preview window 1, the deponent’s camera will
display full screen, and the PiP will disappear (system default).
Click on Inputs 2–4 and that image will be displayed full screen. If the PiP buttons for
any of those inputs are toggled ON, the deponent’s PiP image will appear over the
currently selected Input.
You can toggle the PiP ON and OFF at any time, whether that Input source is currently
displayed in the Program window or not, by just touching/clicking on the PiP icon.
Note 1: the PiP window ALWAYS displays what is connected to Input 1, which should be the deposition
camera.

7
SELECTING AN OUTPUT DISPLAY FORMAT
The system simultaneously outputs the selected format as HDMI and SDI using
the included UltraStudio SDI which connects via USB to the VDEPO engine.
These outputs are typically used for (a) displaying the operator-selected video
Inputs on an in-room monitor (HDMI) and (b) connecting the SDI output to an
external device. Select the radio button for your choice of display format (see
Page 5).
Note: If you’ve selected Inputs for ISO recording, you’ll see the letters REC in
Gray at the top of the corresponding input window. When you START
RECORDING, the REC is illuminated Red during recording. They revert to Gray
when recording is stopped.
USING THE FILE BROWSER & PREVIEW WINDOW TO LOCATE AND PLAY CLIPS AND GRAPHICS
In addition to the four inputs on the workstation, VDEPO lets you store video clips and graphics files
(documents) for selection and playback during the deposition. You’ll save these files into subfolders named
CLIPS and DOCS on the D:/Media drive of your VDEPO workstation.
On the bottom of the screen interface … to the left of the RECORD and STOP buttons … is a button marked
SHOW FILE BROWSER. Click this button and the File Browser and Preview Window will appear. Note that
the SHOW FILE BROWSER button text now reads HIDE FILE BROWSER.Click that button at any time to
remove the display from view. After it’s clicked, the button text reverts to SHOW FILE BROWSER again.
The File Browser lets you
locate and select the electronic
file you want to introduce into
evidence during the
deposition.
The files can be displayed as
Text by their names (the
default), or viewed by Icon, by
clicking on the respective
buttons.
To locate (search for) a file,
use the scroll bar on the right
side of the window, or enter search characters in the Enter text to search window. VDEPO uses a “full text”
search engine similar to Google and others, so the resulting matching selections are reduced as each
additional letter is entered.
NOTE: The search is applicable only to files visible in the Browser. It can not locate files within nested
subfolders.
If you know the name or partial name of the document or clip you’re looking for, this is the quickest way to
locate it, and often the most appropriate method to use during the real-time proceedings of a deposition.
Click the Clear Text button to remove any text in the window and show all the files in the currently selected
view.

8
When you click the CLIPS button, you’ll see only the files in the Clips subfolder on your D:\Media drive.
Likewise when you click the DOCS folder, you’ll see only those files. If you click the ALL button you’ll see all the
folders and files at the root of the D:\Media drive. If you click the UP button you’ll move up one layer closer to
the D:\ drive root.
For example, if you’re in the Clips folder and click the UP button, you’ll now see the CLIPS and DOCS subfolders
at the root of the D:\Media drive. If you click UP again, you’ll see all the files and folders on the D:\ partition.
When you find the file you’re looking for, just click once on the name/icon to select it … and it will highlight
green. The file loads immediately into the Preview Window.
The Preview Window displays both video
clips and graphics files (documents). Supported clip
and graphics formats include:
Clips
Docs (Graphics)
MPEG-2
JPG
H.264
BMP
MOV
TIF
AVI
PNG
DV
WMV
Note: A file ‘ripped’ from a DVD is called a VOB (Video Object) File. This is actually an MPEG-2 file, and will
generally play reliably in the VDEPO playback engine.
WARNING! There are thousands of video file formats in circulation, and
not all of them are totally compatible with every video player. You MUST
preview and play these files prior to the deposition to insure that they’ll
play reliably when they’re introduced into evidence in the deposition.
When you select a GRAPHIC file …
You can choose whether to display the graphic with or without the PiP image, as
indicated by the two rounded red rectangles beneath the PLAY and STOP buttons.
The currently highlighted button indicates how the graphic will be displayed.
Click the green PLAY button in the Program section and it will appear as the background image, replacing
which ever Input image was previously being displayed. The graphic will appear with or without the
deponent’s PiP window, depending on your choice. While the graphic is active, you can toggle between these
two display modes (with PiP or without PiP) as and when necessary.
Click the red STOP button and the graphic will be replaced by the Input that was active prior to the graphic
being displayed. Click the Hide File Brower button to remove it from the display. The previously active input
will be indicated while graphics (or clips) are being displayed so you’ll know which will be selected after you
click the STOP button.

9
Converting PDFs to graphic files
VDEPO does NOT support the display of PDF files. But there are several on-line file converters
you can use to convert single or multiple PDF documents into files compatible for use and
display with VDEPO. Following are a few links for your convenience. It is good practice to create
a folder at the root of your D:\Media drive called ORIGINAL PDFs, and place the converted files
in the Docs subfolder (D:\Media\Docs).
www.freepdfconvert.com / www.pdf2jpg.net / www.zamzar.com
When you select a CLIP file …
The blue motion controls on the Preview Window
become active, and you can play, pause and return
to the start using the three available controls. You
can also use the sliding “scrub” handle to move
quickly through the file if you need to scan for a
particular point in the clip.
You can monitor the clip audio using headphones
connected directly the headphone out jack on the
VDEPO chassis. This audio does NOT go into the
Program out. It’s only available on the operator’s
headphone out jack as a convenience for file
verification and locating specific points in a clip.
Click the green PLAY button in the Program section and the clip will appear as the background image,
replacing whichever Input image was previously being displayed. The clip will play FROM THE CURRENT
POSITION OF THE FILE in the Preview Window. The clip will appear with or without the deponent’s PiP
window, depending on your choice. While the clip is active, you can toggle between these two display modes
as/when necessary.
When the clip starts playing on Program, the Play button changes to a PAUSE button, which you can use to
pause playback at any point during playback. When the clip is paused, the button reverts to a PLAY button.
You can then click the PLAY button to resume playback … or click the STOP button to revert to the previous
input selection. You can also use the forward and reverse arrow buttons to move backwards and forwards
inside the active clip.
When the clip has finished playing … OR … if you click the red STOP button at any time during playback …… the
system will automatically revert to the input that was active prior to the clip being displayed. The previously
active input will be indicated while the clip is being displayed so you’ll know which will be selected after the
clip ends.

10
USING THE AUDIO MIXER
Click the prominent SHOW AUDIO MIXER to open the
software mixer panel. If there is audio on any of the HDMI
input connections or the selected AUX input, it will be
recognized and can be controlled using the internal mixer.
Click the HIDE AUDIO MIXER button to close this display.
It is common practice to use an external audio mixer to
input the deponent’s microphone, counsels’ microphones
and external devices. The output of the mixer is then connected to the XLR input on the
camera connected to INPUT 1. So the audio recorded on the main PROGRAM in VDEPO will
come from INPUT 1. You can monitor and adjust the level of the INPUT on the VU meter
displayed by the active level fader.
VDEPO also supports audio from the INPUTS directly, so you can mix internally if you wish. The fifth audio
input is an auxiliary, or “AUX” input. Use the dropdown menu to select from the displayed available
sources. The line input on the VDEPO chassis can also be used as an AUX input, and is available in the
dropdown menu.
The last fader controls the playback level of any selected and played video CLIP.
Note: Use the individual INPUT level controls to keep the audio around the 0dB mark, not letting it get too low
or too high. The sum of all five channels goes to the OUTPUT level displayed on the PROGRAM screen.
Similarly, use the Master Fader to keep that level from being too low or too high … and try to avoid audio
‘clipping’ … indicated by the orange-to-red condition at the top of the Master Fader.
Hint: Double-click the fader button and it will snap to 0dB level on the fader.
MOVING & RESIZING THE PiP WINDOW
Although you can select from 12 available PiP layouts for your session, you can move and resize the PiP
window at any time during the deposition.
To move the PiP window …
While the PiP image is displayed in the Program window, use the designated keyboard keys to move it UP
(Home), DOWN (End), LEFT (Delete), or RIGHT (Page Down). Hold down the keys for continual motion from
place to place on the screen.
To resize the PiP window …
While the PiP image is displayed in the Program window, use the designated
keyboard keys to make the PiP image SMALLER (Insert) or LARGER (Page
Up). NOTE: the aspect ratio (16:9 or 4:3) will ALWAYS be maintained. You are
just changing the overall size of the displayed PiP on the screen.

11
RECORDING A VDEPO SESSION
The default recording file format for the switched PROGRAM is .mp4 (H.264). Any inputs selected for ISO
recording will be captured as MPEG-2 files. The bit rate defaults to 10Mbps, with 15 and 20Mbps also available
in the dropdown configuration window. Recordings use variable bit rate (VBR) compression to keep recorded
files as small as possible without sacrificing image quality.
To Stop and Start Recording …
Click or touch the RECORD button. You’ll see the button state
change, indicated RECORDING on the button label.
To STOP recording, click or touch the STOP button. When not
recording you’ll see the STOPPED indication. Each time you Start and
Stop recording a new file is created. The name of the new file is the
same as you defined in your Session setup (deponent’s name), but the date/time of each recording that
is appended to the deponent’s name is different, reflecting the exact time the recoding was started.
If you’ve specified certain inputs for ISO recording (in addition to the automatic recording of the main
(Program) output with or without PiP), when you click RECORD you’ll see the red REC status indicated on
the inputs you’ve selected for ISO recording in the Configuration window.
Note: If at any time you need to raise or lower the audio level coming into the VDEPO
chassis, use the sliders for the respective inputs on the Audio Mixer panel. Click
the SHOW AUDIO MIXER button to open the mixer and make the adjustments,
and click HIDE AUDIO MIXER when you’re done.
Always keep the MASTER audio level below the RED overdrive indicator at the
top of the meters. To MUTE the audio input, click the Mute icon above the audio
slider. While muted, the icon will glow red. Click the icon to unmute the audio
input.
Click the MASTER FADE button and the Video and Audio will fade to
black/zero in one second. While in that state, the MASTER FADE
button will pulse every second, reminding you that you’re in FADE
mode. Click it again and the Video and Audio will fade back up in one
second.
IF you’ve manually muted the audio by illuminating the button at the top of the
Master Output level bar, it will STAY muted until you unmute it (click it again). This
status is independent of, and not controlled by, MASTER FADE.

12
MANAGING RECORDED DEPOSITION FILES
When you record files they are automatically saved in the
D:\Recordings folder. The main PROGRAM file format defaults to
H.264, with the extension mp4. Any recorded ISO files are recorded as
MPEG-2 Program Stream, with the extension mpg.You can change the
PROGRAM recording format to mpg by checking the box beneath the Bit
Rate Selection box on the Layout menu.
Here is how the files appear in the D:\Recordings folder:
Notice they all retain the same time stamps, which indicate when the time of day when recording began.
The most common methods used to “offload” the recorded files are:
• copy to USB flash drive
• copy to USB hard drive
• burn a DVD
• copy files to another destination using a network connection
The VDEPO chassis has on-board Gigabit Ethernet connectivity, so you can connect a network cable from the
chassis to any networked Ethernet router and set up Windows shared access rules according to your IT
department or your own personal network access topology.
VDEPO™ is a RUSHWORKS Technology Innovation
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