Tally Arbiter

About The Software

Open-Source and Free

The software is proudly open source and is distributed under the MIT license. Pull requests are welcome! Donations are also welcome to keep the project going.

The software requires very little setup to be up and running. Just install the Node.js runtime and a few extra steps. It can run on MacOS, Windows, or Linux and was designed to lightweight to run well on a Raspberry Pi.

Web Browser Interface

Once installed, the software can be configured and maintained through a web browser interface.

View Tally On Phone

You can view tally data from a phone, tablet, or any device with a web browser.

View Tally with a blink(1)

You can use a blink(1) USB light to view tally data, even wirelessly on a Raspberry Pi Zero W!

Works with traditional Tally connections

You can easily connect to your camera CCUs or other systems using GPO or contact-closures by using the provided Tally Arbiter GPO and Relay listener clients.

View on M5Stick-C ESP32 Arduino

You can use an M5Stick-C for very portable wireless tally!

View on M5Atom with a Tailbat

You can use an M5 Atom 5x5 Matrix with a Tailbat battery for ultra portable, ultra bright, ultra cheap tally!

Send tally data to the cloud

Easily send tally data between servers so that you don't have to have users tunnel into your private production network.

Features

Tally Arbiter has many features with more being added as the user base grows.

Cloud Support

Local servers can send tally data to a master cloud server, enabling access to tally data from outside of closed networks without having to set up network tunneling.

Outgoing Webhooks and Actions

Tally states can be configured to send outgoing webhooks, custom TCP strings, or OSC requests if a certain device enters or exits the Program layer, for example.

Producer View

A dark-mode page designed for Producers to see all Devices and their current tally states.

Built-in Messaging

Messages can be sent between the server, Producers, and supported tally clients to communicate status and other production needs.

View Tally Data in Many Ways

Several different types of listener clients are available, from viewing on a phone, to using a blink(1) USB light on a Pi Zero, or even control relays and GPOs. All connected over the network, ethernet or wifi. It also emulates popular tally protocols, such as TSL 3.1 and VMix, so you can use it with any of your favorite tally clients.

Many Switcher and Protocols Supported

The software can work with Blackmagic ATEM, Ross Video, StudioCoast vMix, OBS Studio, Roland Smart Tally, Newtek Tricaster, Analog Way LiveCore, OSC, and any broadcast system supporting the TSL UMD v3.1 or v5.0 protocol.

Controllable by Companion

View tally states for devices and ping/flash any connected listener client through the free software, Companion, by Bitfocus.

How It Works

Tally Arbiter is so much more than a simple tally light system.
It supports tracking tally data from multiple switchers of different types, at the same time.

Supported Systems

Tally Arbiter supports many different systems and protocols, with more being added!

Manufacturer	Product(s)
Analog Way	LiveCore Image Processors Ascender 48 LE - 4K Ascender 32 LE - 4K Ascender 16 LE - 4K Ascender 32 - 4K - PL Ascender 16 - 4K NeXtage 16 - 4K NeXtage 08 - 4K
Blackmagic Design	ATEM Mini, Mini Pro, Mini Pro ISO, Mini Extreme ATEM Television Studio ATEM Television Studio Pro HD ATEM Television Studio Pro 4K ATEM 1ME Production Studio 4K ATEM 2ME Production Studio 4K ATEM 4ME Broadcast Studio 4K ATEM Constellation 8K Smart VideoHub 12x12 Smart VideoHub 20x20 Smart VideoHub 40x40 Universal VideoHub 72x72 Universal VideoHub 288x288
FOR-A	HVS-490 HVS-1200 HVS-2000 HVS-6000 Any FOR-A product that supports the TSL UMD 5.0 Tally over Ethernet protocol
Grass Valley	Contribution Tally Protocol
Newtek	Tricaster TC1 Tricaster Mini *Any Newtek product that supports their Tally over Ethernet protocol
Open Broadcaster Software	OBS Studio
Open Sound Control (OSC)	Any software can send tally states into Tally Arbiter via OSC.
Panasonic	AV-HS410 AV-HS6000 Any Panasonic product that supports the TSL UMD 3.1 or 5.0 Tally over Ethernet protocol
Roland	V-60HD XS-62S VR-50HD-MKII *Any Roland product that offers Smart Tally capabilities
Ross Video	Acuity Carbonite Carbonite Black Carbonite Black Solo Carbonite Ultra Graphite TouchDrive Vision (Using Contribution Tally Protocol)
StudioCoast	VMix
TSL UMD 3.1 Protocol	Any device that can send tally data over the TSL UMD 3.1 Protocol is supported
TSL UMD 5.0 Protocol	Any device that can send tally data over the TSL UMD 5.0 Protocol is supported

Documentation & Videos

Introduction

See what Tally Arbiter can do.

TSl Protocol Conversion

TA can take any tally data from any supported source and relay it to your TSL clients, to drive multiviewers and other tally systems.

Cloud Server

Learn how to set up Tally Arbiter Cloud and send data from behind your private production network to anywhere in the world.

Control with Companion

Viewing tally data on a streamdeck and flashing a connected client has never been easier.

M5StickC Arduino

A portable ESP32 tally light! See it in action.

Using with OBS

Learn how to set up Tally Arbiter from scratch, downloading the source code, and setting it up to work with OBS Studio.

Tally Arbiter 1.4 with multiple ME monitoring for Blackmagic ATEM

Check out the new interface of Tally Arbiter 1.4 which also supports multiple ME monitoring for Blackmagic ATEM switchers.

Tally Arbiter 1.5 Release

This includes support for VideoHub, VMix server emulation, linked device sources, new tally clients, and more.

Download

Head on over to Github and download the Tally Arbiter server software to get started.

View on Github

Testimonials

Thanks for sharing!! We’re a small church on a budget and I’ve been trying to find a way I could set up tally on our ATEM Mini without breaking the bank. You sir, are a scholar and a gentleman!

It’s so good! You’re incredibly generous to offer this up for other churches to use. Happier volunteers, more coordinated direction, more comprehensive worship experience, more attention on God. Thanks for doing this!

This is so awesome! I have been searching endlessly for a solution like this. I am no programmer but read through your detailed instructions and decided to give it a shot. Just ordered everything. Thanks for working on this, this will really help out our church.

Love this! Will definitely be testing this out this week and hope to implement it soon! Love all that you do on this blog, huge inspiration!

This is by far the most flexible Tally solution available.

It works flawlessly, we really can't thank you enough for your hard work on this, and generosity in distributing it under the MIT License.

Great work on this project! Huge blessing!

This is awesome! Well done and thanks for sharing!