User Manual
External Video Menu
The external video menu is used to configure Lyrics Projection, or to toggle into Stage Monitor in OnSong. The menu contains the following options:
Settings
Tap on the wrench icon in the upper-left to access External Video Settings directly from the menu.
Chromecast
In the upper-right corner is an icon that allows you to connect to one or more Chromecast devices for wireless lyrics projection. Tap on this button to connect or disconnect to Chromecasts on your network in the Chromecast Picker.
Preview
The top portion of the menu displays a preview of what will appear on the external screen. You can tap on the preview section to flip through lyric sections to preview. This does not display the lyrics on the external device.
To display lyrics on the external device, tap on the lyrics in the song viewer to select the section and display the lyrics on the screen.
Mode Buttons
Five buttons situated below the preview area are used to control the combination of lyrics and background to output to the external screen. In addition, OnSong can be configured for stage monitor mode using the fifth button.
- Lyrics and Background displays the lyrics on a background color, gradient, image, or video.
- Background Only clears the lyrics from the screen and leaves the background color, gradient, image, or video.
- Lyrics Only will remove the background color, gradient, image, and video leaving only the lyrics on the screen.
- Blackout Mode removes the lyrics and background, displaying only black.
- Stage Monitor Mode turns on Stage Monitor Mode independently of lyrics projection modes.
On iOS and iPadOS devices, the lyrics projection modes are always enabled where the stage monitor mode can be toggled on and off. Stage monitor mode will always be output on physically wired video devices via HDMI or VGA, or wirelessly using an AppleTV. This allows lyrics projection settings to continue to be modified for other wireless devices such as Chromecast. On macOS devices, both lyrics projection modes and the stage monitor mode can be toggled on and off and separate windows will be shown or hidden accordingly. These windows can be made full screen on certain outputs.
Background Media
The background of lyrics is composited by the following layers that appear on top of the background color. Each of these buttons can be tapped to toggle the layer on and off as well as configured, either by tapping and holding on the button, or by tapping on the arrow button to the right.
Media
This button lets you toggle and choose still or motion graphics behind your lyrics. You can choose different images and videos by configuring this layer. Configuring this layer opens the Media Picker.
Live
This lets you toggle and configure live video which uses camera input with optional special effects to make you the star of the show. This is great for engaging audiences online with live-streaming, training with video conferencing apps, or for live video switching for more camera angles on stage. You configure the live video and effects in the Live Video Configuration Editor.
Overlay
To improve readability, you can apply colored textures on top of the other background layers. This gives you another way to get creative and build engaging backgrounds. You can configure the overlay and its color in the Overlay Picker.
Background Color
In this area you can pick a background color to display. Options include black, blue, purple, red, goldenrod, and grey. But you're not limited to those preset colors. You can also add new colors or customize the color swatches in this palette using the Color Picker.
Font Size
The size of the font can be adjusted between 24 and 84 points using the font size slider. The default size is 40 points. When the Adjust Lyrics To Fit option is enabled in Lyrics Projection Settings, the font will not be able to be fully increased as the font will be limited to prevent lines from wrapping.
To the right is a Color Picker that lets you choose the color of the text. The default color is white.
Stroke Width
The stroke is a border around each character in lyrics. The font appears in white text with an outline to separate it from the background. Adjust the stroke width from between 0 and 3 points. Default is 1 point.
To the right is a Color Picker that lets you choose the color of the stroke. The default color is black.
Shadow
Behind lyrics appears a blurry shadow to help lift the text off the background. The slider adjusts the radius of the shadow relative the font size from between 0% and 100%. The default is 50%.
To the right is a Color Picker that lets you choose the color of the shadow. The default color is 50% opaque black.
Transition Speed
The transition speed determines how quickly lyrics and background changes take place. The speed of the transition is set in seconds between 0 and 4 seconds. The default is 2.0 seconds. Overly fast transitions may experience a delay in outputted to the external screen, especially on older or wireless hardware.
Automatic Advance Speed
The automatic advance speed is used to cycle through the sliders in a song after a delay. By default, automatic advance is turned off by default. The time to show each slide can be set between 1 and 60 seconds.
Preview Widget
This control lets you turn on a widget that can be placed in the song viewer to preview lyrics projection as well as switch sections of lyrics for projection. Tap on the power icon to toggle the widget on and off and use the slider to adjust the opacity of the widget.
Sliders can be tapped and dragged anywhere in the control to adjust the value. Tap on the left or right side of the control to fine-tune adjust the value.
