We’ve made one last change to our TPIII tally light product. You can now change the brightness of the LEDs during the setup process! It’s currently in beta test and will be part of the product release, which should happen in the next few days.

May was a crazy month, many things conspired to keep us very busy. We designed and installed two audio/visual systems for churches in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, consulted with and designed six more systems for other churches, had a live stream CD release party for Michael Patrick’s new album “Home” and managed to squeeze in time to get a container vegetable garden planted.

This month we’ve got a live stream scheduled for June 12th for the CC Coletti Band. Coming to you live from the band’s farm in central New Jersey! Also more audio/visual system installations and finally…the release of our TPIII tally light!!! Just waiting on some last minute printing and creation of the product video showing it in action.

We made a major update to the light OS today. Version 8 allows you to specify a fixed IP address for your light. This is a big plus for those that manage their networks by assigning static IP addresses so that computers and other network attached devices always have the same address even after a complete network and/or device reboot.

We also fixed a bug in the code that prevented correct operation in OBS when the “Swap Preview/Output Scenes After Transitioning” is checked under the Transition settings.

The update is available on the website, and is backwards compatible with all devices.

Well, Happy Easter to those who celebrate!

The Tally Pro III is coming along nicely. This model features a back LED for the camera operator as well as a simplified setup process. Circuit boards are being fabricated as I write this and most of the components are on order from our vendors, if not already in house. I think our target release date for this model will be in the middle of May, depending on expected shipments.

You should know that each one of these tally lights is hand assembled and checked. The plastic shells are 3D printed with PLA, a plant based plastic. Each one takes about 8 hours to print. As they say, Inexpensive, Fast, Good – pick two! I’ve settled for Inexpensive and Good 🙂 Fast and Good would require a huge investment in injection molds, so slow and steady it is for now. Please be patient when you order, I do keep some stock around but most are printed and built on demand. Maybe it’s time to buy a second 3D printer?

Our beta tester got his unit yesterday and thanks to his feedback I made changes to the installation page. You MUST install the websockets plugin for OBS before configuring if that’s your platform. Tally Pro communicates with OBS through a websocket, a persistent connection using a specific IP address and port. Vmix and the ATEM use different methods.
Also, if you use the same computer to run OBS or Vmix and use a browser on it when you program the light, the IP address may change when you connect first to the light and then back to your WiFi network. Avoid this by assigning a fixed IP address to your computer!

Yep, today was the big day. Our new website is up and running! The eCommerce pages are not yet quite there, but you can still contact us directly with enquiries at info@tdvideoservices.com. There’s plenty to read about, especially our product Tally Pro 2. These are tally lights for use with OBS, Vmix and Black Magic Design ATEM video switchers. We are working on adding additional protocols, if there’s something you would like to see, drop us a line and we’ll investigate the feasibility.

Have fun poking around the site, and please send us an eMail with your feedback!

We’ve been making some changes in the software for Tally Pro 2. It now communicates with OBS and Black Magic Design ATEM switchers with network connectivity! We are also working on Vmix compatability, hopefully in the very near future.

We have our first beta tester located in California. We’ll be working closely to improve the configuration instructions, website and physical device. Whoo-hoo!

Speaking of the website, we are planning on adding an order page in the near future. For now, please feel free to email us at info@tdvideoservices.com

Hi! My name is Ted Dillenkofer and I am the owner/operator of TD Video Services LLC.

I started the company in 2009 after being laid off from my job as the senior technical manager for presales consultants at a mid-sized call center technology company. It was the middle of the Bush depression and corporate jobs at my level were few and far between.

“What to do?” I mused, sitting in my living room. I thought about my skills and what i could offer to people. I had converted my families silent 8mm movies to DVD and still had the equipment, so I thought that might be an interesting place to start.

That proved to be pretty popular, so I added VHS conversions, then 8mm digital conversions. I attended the Small Business Association’s classes on organizing a business and got more leads through them for local businesses in need of a media presence. That led to acquiring HD cameras, supports, lighting and the eventual construction of a 24×40 foot green screen studio in nearby Mount Bethel, PA.

I produced a number of commercials and did some work for local musicians, but the high point for me was shooting and editing Carl Palmer’s three piece band, celebrating the works of Emerson, Lake and Palmer. A relatively simple three fixed camera shoot, it took six months to complete the editing and other post work. It’s still available on Amazon.

Things came apart after that. A hurricane came through the area and blew the roof off the structure that housed my studio. Local demand for my services was dropping. Luckily, I found a software consulting gig that lasted a couple of years and paid moderately well.

Since then, I’ve pulled back and reconsidered what the advancing technologies were. Bands began to contact me for live stream of their performances. Using my existing laptop, I purchased webcams (yuck!) and built a hooded table so I could see my monitors outdoors. I settled on a software package for switching and started upgrading my webcams to HD camcorders. A friend of mine had just purchased a house with an enormous garage and we proceeded to construct a small performance studio in it. As things now stand, we have five cameras, stage lighting and a great audio feed!