Configuring Journalist Preview
To configure Journalist Preview, you have to define a Preview Engine in the Hosts configuration first. To do that:
- Go to Main Menu > Configuration > Engines and select Hosts.
- Define your Host as Preview, as shown above.
- The engine must not be assigned to any show. Remove it from all shows before enabling Preview. If your engine is alredy assigned to a Show, you'll receive this warning: Failed to update: Engine is in use in one or more shows, please remove it from the shows first.
- Only one host can have Preview enabled. If another engine is already in Preview mode, disable it first.
- The engine should be Connected before you start the Preview Module.
- To disable Preview on an engine, you have to Stop the Preview Module first, then clear the Preview flag on the engine host. If the Preview Module is still running, Reality Hub will not let you turn off Preview mode on the engine.
Configuring the Journalist Preview
- Go to Main Menu > Configuration > Preview Module and select General.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Status — Start / Stop | Starts or stops the preview server. |
| Project / Map | The Reality project and map loaded on the preview engine. All templates you want to preview must exist in this project. |
| Number of Slots | How many users can preview at the same time (default: 5, maximum: 20). |
- Click Project / Map and select the project and map from the picker.
- Set Number of Slots to match how many simultaneous previews you expect (for example, 5 for a small team, more for a busy newsroom).
- Click Start.
Project, map, and slot count cannot be changed while the preview server is running. Stop it first if you need to change these settings.
After you click Start, the module goes through several stages:
| Status | Icon color | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Starting | Orange | Preview Module is beginning startup. |
| Launching | Orange | Nodos and Unreal Editor are starting on the preview engine. |
| Creating Graph | Orange | Preview channels and streaming nodes are being created on the engine. |
| Initializing Interfaces | Orange | Motion Design and remote-control connections are being established. |
| Ready | Green | The preview server is running. Users can preview templates. |
| Stopped | Gray | Preview server is off. |
| Error | Red | Something went wrong during startup. Check engine connection and configuration. |
Startup can take a few minutes, especially the first time. The preview server also remembers whether it was started: if Reality Hub restarts while preview was active, it will try to start again automatically.
Next to the icon are three small status circles:
| Circle | Visual | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| First (Loader) | Nodos launcher connection to the preview engine. | |
| Second (RC) | Remote Control interface. | |
| Third (MD) | Motion Design interface (templates and playback). |
Circle colors:
| Color | What it means |
|---|---|
| Gray | Disconnected. |
| Orange | Connecting. |
| Green | Ready. |
| Green-yellow | Connected. |
All three should be green when the system is fully ready. If one stays gray or orange for a long time, the preview engine may still be loading or there may be a connection problem.