Bitfocus Companion for the Monitor Engineer - The Concept

As a monitor engineer, I am constantly looking for the fastest way to accomplish a task on a console. I spent all of 2023 touring with a Stream Deck and Raspberry Pi running a software called Macro Stream SD made by FrostBox Labs. This was a game-changer for me. I was able to have a Stream Deck XL on my console with two pages of OSC macro controls into my DiGiCo console. While this worked really well for a while, as I started to learn more about networking in 2024, I began to realize how many possibilities are out there when you start connecting devices together in a network.

The biggest downside of the FrostLabs software was NOT that it functioned poorly. It was that there was no scalability. If all you need is an extra page or two, I highly recommend it. It is easy to set up and it is self-contained. There is not much to mess up. (Link Here) However, I want to introduce you to what I have been working on this year.

My monitor setup for the current artist I work for includes: a DiGiCo SD5 Quantum, sixteen channels of PSM1000, two Axient AD4Q in the rack beside me, two Axient AD4D on stage in different backline positions, an SD rack driving the ears, seven Neve RMP-D8 into an OrangeBox for band inputs, and a DirectOut Prodigy.MP for playback into a second OrangeBox.

2024 Space Bear Stage Left Space Station

I had known about a software called Companion by the company Bitfocus for a while, but never gave it much attention because I thought it was so heavily focused on video production and not so much audio. When I started to think about expanding my macro control, I decided to give it a shot.

For those that are unfamiliar, Companion is a free software that can be run on a Mac, PC, or even a Raspberry Pi. It is all controlled through a web interface, which makes hosting on a Raspberry Pi a great choice. I quickly realized there were some incredible opportunities. Not only could I control Companion with a Stream Deck, but they give you the ability to create “emulators” which are essentially virtual stream decks that can be run on any laptop, iPad, or even phone connected to the network.

This is where I had an idea. What if I could give each of the techs on my team control of macros or RF states on their phone?

I took my newfound network knowledge and got to work. I found the few Companion plugins that worked for my setup which included: DiGiCo OSC macro control, REAPER OSC control, Shure Axient control + monitoring, and a few more bonus features like a stopwatch for playback to time the show, as well as network ping status to confirm connection to the internet.

Gear I used:

- Raspberry Pi 4

- Originally, I hosted it on my record PC, but switched to RPi to keep things separate.

- Stream Deck Mk2 (Plugged into the RPi directly)

- Ubiquiti Flex Mini Switch

- It should not matter what kind, unless you are trying to do something specific.

- Router/Access Point

- I use a UniFi Express, which is both a router and an access point in one.

- Wi-Fi Repeater to LAN

- I use a GLiNet Beryl AX3000 to repeat Wi-Fi signals to the LAN port, which I then connect to the UniFi Express WAN port for internet. The keen of you may ask, “Why don’t you just use the AX3000?” to which I would say you totally could in a simple setup. However, the GLiNet uses a custom version of OpenWRT, which I do not prefer as much as I prefer UniFi Network. Plus, I do not always need internet access. It is just easier when I have the techs connect their devices, and they don’t have to worry about LTE connection or venue Wi-Fi passwords.

Ok, cool, you have networked a bunch of stuff together, but how is this useful?

Let me tell you, it has made my job a lot easier.

First off, there are the basics. I have stream deck control of my record machine. I can start, stop, playback, drop markers, etc. Furthermore, I can control almost anything in Reaper via an OSC command.

Secondly, I can stop playing the switchboard for talkback communications. I used to be the person who routed each tech’s talkback to the specific band member. Now, I can put that control in the hands of the tech. The guitar tech can talk to the guitarist only when it is necessary. This is just one scenario, but multiplied by each tech/engineer and the desired destination.

Thirdly, with the Shure integration, I can monitor the RF status and battery life of any transmitter on the network. For example, I have given my monitor tech eight custom named buttons that have the name of each RF transmitter on stage. When it is off, they turn black. If they are on, it turns green with the battery life in bold underneath. If the battery is two bars or fewer, the button turns red. More-so, I can also give the backline techs just their specific musician’s instrument pack battery info, so multiple eyes are on it at once.

Fourth, I have the luxury of discreet tech mixes. Instead of giving them all an independent mix I am not paying much attention to, I decided to make their mixes user controlled. I do not mean I gave them an app to mix their ears. What I did do is to make the aux that drives their IEM only contain talkbacks. Then, I utilized macros to switch the merge input on the aux so they can switch through various sources so that they can listen to any of the band member’s mix that they are taking care of. For example, the guitar tech can listen to the guitar mix, the bass mix, as well as a third aux I called “ISO Listen” where I can effectively “solo” any source into that aux just by pulling up that source. I also added instrument only buttons so they can easily “solo” their band member’s instruments, like just the bass or just the electric guitar. Since this utilizes the merge function, it always allows the talkbacks to be on top much like using a matrix input, but this takes up less resources.

Each scenario is different. At first, I thought this would only be useful to my playback engineer and monitor tech, but it quickly expanded once everyone started to realize what was happening. I ended up making a page of controls for the MD to control his wireless talkback. It also let him control his laptop input be able to solo it to himself to find a song or sound before sharing it with the band; almost like a cue for a DJ. It even let him mute click or tracks in his mix so he could better hear what the band was doing.

In my mind, I am just beginning to scratch the surface of what is possible. I would love to hear your ideas. What can you come up with that I could integrate? I will hopefully make a future post or video about the actual setup and execution of this.