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As of 25.3, the PIXERA engine includes a frame synchronisation feature - RX Frame Sync. By specifying a sync-reference server, this can be used to ensure that the same number of frames are rendered by each client. This can be advantageous when using Touch Designer files or Notch Blocks that feature content that changes over time, but is not specifically linked to a timeline. If a frame drop were to occur on one engine, the other will drop in sync, to ensure the content does not drift apart over time.
This new feature is not required for server sync when playing out standard content on multiple servers. For more information, please read: Synchronize Outputs - Genlock and Framelock Setup
Setup Requirements
In order to enable RX Frame Sync, you will need:
- At least two servers capable of Framelock (Servers equipped with the PX0-S2 option on PIXERA hardware)
- The servers need to be set up as a Director and Client. For more details please read this article.
- PIXERA 25.3 and later.
To demonstrate, we will set up RX Frame Sync and use the same Notch Block on two PIXERA servers.
Method
First, Framelock will need to be set up in the NVIDIA Control Panel. In a production environment, Genlock should also be set up to ensure sync between PIXERA and all related output hardware such as LED processors. For details on the full process, please see this article.
NOTE
Although the adapter is a standard network adapter and standard LAN cables can be used, the Sync card must never be connected to a network switch. It may only be connected directly from one Sync card to the next.
Next make sure your PIXERA network is set up correctly and both servers are visible to each other so they can be set up as a Director and a Client.
Start a new project and add two displays. Assign one display an output from the Director server and the other screen and output from the Client. Click through to Mapping > Live > [Server] > [Graphics Card x] to one of the outputs you've just assigned and go to the Driver Settings section in the Inspector. Under Swap Group Participation, use the drop-down to select Bind Swap Barrier. Repeat for the other server's output.
Now click through to Mapping > Live > [Server] and in the Inspector, under Engine, check the ‘Is Sync Reference’ box on one of the servers. It does not matter which engine you choose here, but only check this box on one server.
Next, you can add content to the screens. In this example we will use a Notch Block that has moving bars similar to the PIXERA On-Screen Statistics (Ctrl + 9). These are driven by a Math Modifier (a sine wave) and so rely on incoming time advancing, rather than being keyframes positioned on a timeline. Here, there is a Notch Block on each layer and each layer is assigned to a different screen, and is rendered by a different server. Make sure your Resource Distribution settings are sorted to make this easy.
In our example, placing the Nowpointer at slightly after 00:00:00:00 with transport paused, then hiding and showing both Notch layers at the same time caused the Notch Blocks to load in sync with each other, so that once transport was started, they would remain exactly in sync.
Note
The Frame Sync mechanism ensures that RenderBridge extensions generate the same number of frames. Very large canvasses and designs that rely on a time delta to run, rather than watching timecode, are ideal candidates for RX Frame Sync. Certain generative effects like particle systems or fluid simulations that rely on some initial ‘seed’ may not look identical between instances.
For further information on using Touch Designer and Notch with PIXERA, please read the following articles:
- Notch Blocks
- Touch Designer integration - Part 1, Part 2
PIXERA 25.3 INTER 66 | 9th December 2025 | B.C.