Appendix A: Framelock Vs. Genlock; What Is Genlock; What Is Framelock; How Does Framelock Help Me - Tvone CORIOmaster mini Operation Manual

Appendix A: Framelock vs. Genlock

What is Genlock?

When you run a variety of outputs, you want to make sure they don't get out of sync with each other.
The CORIOmaster provides the ability to lock certain outputs to the reference signals taken from a
specified input, in order to make sure they stay synchronised.
In order to do this, the genlocked outputs must all be at the same resolution and frequency as the
reference signal from the input – that is, if the reference signal is 1920x1080 at 60Hz, the outputs must
also be 1920x1080 at 60Hz. If the outputs are a significantly different resolution or frequency, it will not
be possible to genlock to that given reference signal. If the outputs have the right frequency available
but are slightly misconfigured, the CORIOmaster will match the output to the reference signal.
(Genlock reference signals can only be read from the first two inputs on any given card – if a card has
four inputs, the third and fourth inputs are not available for genlock.)

What is Framelock?

Framelock, rather than locking to an input, locks outputs to an internal clock. Unlike genlock, this
process happens automatically with any applicable outputs in the same layout, and it happens based
solely on frequency, not resolution. This means that outputs need only be at the same frequency to be
framelocked, and even if you have more than one frequency in your layout, all outputs of matching
frequency will lock together, even if they can't lock to the outputs of another frequency.

How does Framelock help me?

Imagine you are using a number of output displays, potentially with different resolutions, in one layout
as a display wall:
You want the displays to stay locked to each other, to avoid drift, but there are some situations in which
you can't use genlock.
In this case, as long as you use a single layout and set the frequency of the output displays to a
consistent value – say 60Hz – the displays will automatically framelock to each other.

What if I can't make all displays the same frequency?

If you have some displays that can't use the same frequency as the others, match them to each other.
The CORIOmaster software will framelock any displays of matching frequency to each other.

How do I know Framelock is enabled?

Framelock is enabled by default – it is overridden if you use genlock, but in the absence of any genlock
settings, Framelock is always enabled.