Sessions vs Workstation

Audience

Use this page if you are unsure whether to create a room or register a computer.

Short answer

Use Sessions for shared review rooms. Use Workstation for remote control of a specific Mac or Linux machine.

Sessions

Sessions are rooms. A room has a room key, stream codes, a share link, optional password protection, and a region.

Use Sessions for:

• Live editorial review.
• Colour review.
• Client screening.
• Native player playback.
• Apple TV viewing.
• Streamer-to-viewer workflows.

The key product action is Create Room.

Workstation

Workstation is remote access to a computer. A computer is registered with Remote Agent and then appears in Computers.

Use Workstation for:

• Remote operation of a Mac or Linux workstation.
• Browser access to a Linux desktop.
• Remote control of a Streamer workstation.
• Machine groups and access control.
• Admin actions such as status checks and agent restarts.

The key product action is Register computer.

How they work together

A workstation can run VDO Streamer, an OFX host, or another production tool. A Session is where the resulting stream is reviewed.

For example:

1. Register a Linux or Mac workstation.
2. Connect to it through VDO Workstation.
3. Launch VDO Streamer or a host app on that machine.
4. Stream into a VDO Session.
5. Invite reviewers with the room share link or player code.

Common confusion

Room key is not a computer registration code. Room keys connect Streamer or Player to a room. Registration codes enroll machines into Computers.

A share link is not the same as a player code. Share links are for browser viewers. Player codes are for native player apps and Apple TV.

Colour and Editorial are room types. They describe the Session workflow, not the operating system of the host machine.

Colour is not only a higher bitrate label. Colour rooms are peer-to-peer first for the primary media path when available. Treat them like a direct site-to-site link between the streaming location and the viewing location.