ASCENSION 2 · PROFESSIONAL MEDIA SERVER
Ascension is a cross-platform media server built for live shows, large canvases and distributed playback—without assuming that professional capability has to mean proprietary hardware, complicated workflows or an enormous software investment.
Start simply. Add media, place it on the CueBoard and play it to a screen. When the production demands more, the same environment scales into layered playback, Timeline programming, professional video I/O, large-format canvases and synchronized rendering across multiple machines.
BUILD THE SHOW THE WAY THE SHOW ACTUALLY WORKS
Some productions run to time. Others run when the show caller says “GO.” Ascension treats CueBoard and Timeline as first-class workflows, then lets the same production grow into layers, large canvases, professional I/O and distributed rendering without forcing the operator to start over.
PROGRAM THE SHOW
Ascension does not force a live show into a timeline just because the software has one. CueBoard and Timeline share the same media, layers and outputs, so the programming model can follow the production instead of the other way around.
Build cue decks around the way a live operator thinks: routed rows, clear cue columns, per-asset properties, spans, presets, stingers, external actions and live transport.
Live Show Control →
Sequence media and show actions across tracks, animate layer properties with tweens and easing, rehearse from any point, loop sections, pause for live moments and follow timecode when required.
Timeline + Animation →REAL-TIME COMPOSITING
Each visual layer carries reusable geometry and treatment state. Make a PIP, fill a surface, crop a source, key a camera, retain alpha, add a border or shadow, save the look and animate the same properties later.
STAGE + OUTPUT MAPPING
Master Canvas → Pixel Spaces → Outputs. Define the logical production surface first, then map the Screen, SDI, NDI and Extended resources that deliver it. Programming stays centered on the show instead of the connector map.
OUTPUT + MONITORING
Ascension inventories production I/O, maps it to the stage, and gives the operator purpose-built monitoring and alignment tools instead of treating output as the last checkbox in the chain.
Discover and configure the physical resources available to the local or distributed system.
Arrange routed sources, labels and status into a custom monitoring output.
Generate test geometry against the stage for installation, alignment and troubleshooting.
DISTRIBUTED MEDIA SERVER
A Primary owns the production while Extended systems add output and playback capacity. The nodes share timing, receive the media required for the Event and render their assigned portions of the same logical canvas. We have successfully run that canvas synchronized across a Windows Primary and Debian Extended node.
For very large HAP-R, HAP Q or HAP Q Alpha rasters, each node can receive the same complete optimized master while runtime ROI limits decoding to the compressed texture blocks needed for its region. Change the mapping—even while media is playing—and the master does not need to be rebuilt into new left, center or right files.
MEDIA WORKFLOW
Library scanning, metadata, thumbnails, trim controls and HAP-R / HAP Q optimization feed the same assets into CueBoard, Timeline and distributed playback.
Media Workflow →
SYNC + EXTERNAL CONTROL
Follow or generate timecode, place Stream Deck control at the operator position, and send or receive show actions through supported production protocols.
MEET ASCENSION REDUNDANCY CONTROL · ARC
Keep the browser workspace and USB Stream Deck on an independent operator workstation. ARC monitors the Main / Backup pair, supervises automatic takeover to a ready Backup and sends configured command strings to downstream equipment. The browser and physical control remain within reach.
For resilient operation, run ARC, the browser and Stream Deck on a third computer independent of both playback servers.
ASCENSION TUTORIALS
Watch the latest Ascension tutorials here, or open the Learn page for the growing library of guided walkthroughs.
Build the basic structure of a show, connect an output, add media and understand the stage model that everything else builds on.
Watch on YouTube →
Work through layer geometry, transparency, keying, visual treatment and the reusable layer-state workflow used throughout Ascension.
Watch on YouTube →
FROM SETUP TO SHOW TIME
Live events, touring, broadcast, streaming, venues, worship, corporate production, immersive installations and permanent systems all need the same fundamentals: reliable playback, flexible programming, real I/O, clear monitoring and control that stays understandable when the system grows.
DON'T OVERLOOK ASCENSION
Ascension is entering a mature market with excellent, established media-server platforms. It does not need to pretend otherwise. The question is whether your production actually requires the complexity and cost you may have come to expect. Compare the workflow, the canvas, the outputs, synchronization, media preparation, hardware freedom and the ability to accommodate change. If Ascension can deliver the show you need with less friction and a substantially lower investment, it deserves to be part of the conversation.
FULL ASCENSION PRO
Ascension Pro is not a reduced feature edition. Choose the license duration and production-machine seats that fit the deployment, use standard Windows or Linux hardware, and add capacity when the production actually needs it.
ASCENSION 2
Program the show, shape the image, map the stage, drive the outputs, monitor the result and connect the rest of the production from one media-server environment.
