User Guide Standalone VGA Grid Release 3.15.3 November 9, 2015 UG103-05 Terms and Conditions This document, the Epiphan web site, and the information contained therein, including but not limited to the text, videos and images as well as Epiphan System Inc.’s trademarks, trade names and logos are the property of Epiphan Systems Inc. and its affiliates and licensors, and are protected from unauthorized copying and dissemination by Canadian copyright law, United States copyright law, trademark law, international conventions and other intellectual property laws. Epiphan, Epiphan Video, Epiphan Systems, Epiphan Systems Inc., and Epiphan logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epiphan Systems Inc., in certain countries. All Epiphan product names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epiphan. All other company and product names and logos may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners in certain countries. Copyright © 2015 Epiphan Systems Inc. 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SPECIFICALLY, BUT NOT WITHOUT LIMITATION, EPIPHAN DOES NOT WARRANT THAT: (i) THE INFORMATION IS CORRECT, ACCURATE, RELIABLE OR COMPLETE; (ii) THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED ON THE EPIPHAN WEB SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE; (iii) DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR (iv) THIS WEB SITE OR THE SERVER(S) THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. EPIPHAN SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ALL REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, AND CONDITIONS, EITHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, BY USAGE OF TRADE OR OTHERWISE INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NONINFRINGEMENT, TITLE, SATISFACTORY QUALITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. For additional terms and conditions, please refer to additional sections in this document. Thank You for Choosing Epiphan! At Epiphan Video (“Epiphan”), product function and quality are our top priority. We make every effort to make sure that our products exceed your expectations. Product Feedback Your feedback is important! We regularly contact our customers to ensure our products meet your performance and reliability requirements. We strive to continually enhance our products to accommodate your needs. Please let us know how you think we can improve our products by emailing your suggestions to [email protected] Specifications Go to the Professional Recording and Streaming Systems page of the Epiphan website to get the most recent product specifications and additional information about Epiphan's Standalone VGA Grid. Warranty All Epiphan Systems products are provided with a 100% return to depot warranty for one year from the date of purchase. Technical Support Epiphan’s products are backed by our professional support team. If you are having issues with your product, please gather details about your system and contact our team by: l Emailing [email protected] l Live chat via the link on our support site http://www.epiphan.com/support/ l Phone toll free at 1-877-599-6581 or call +1-613-599-6581 Be sure to include as much information about your problem as possible. Including: l Problem description l Details of the video or audio source (type, connection, resolution, refresh rate, etc.) l Product serial number l Product firmware version (if applicable, from web admin interface) Copyright © 2015 Epiphan Systems Inc. All Rights Reserved. What's New in Release 3.15.3? Firmware release 3.15.3 is a significant upgrade for Standalone VGA Grid that offers exciting new streaming/recording features while improving the functionality of existing ones. The system internals needed to support hardware accelerated encoding are available on most, but not all VGA Grid systems. Some older models may not support the latest software. Use the Firmware Upgrade feature to see if your device is upgradeable. Live video production The features described below are applicable on all channels for Standalone VGA Grid, VGADVI Broadcaster Pro, and VGADVI Recorder Pro, but only on custom local channels for Networked VGA Grid (i.e. not HD Encoder channels). New custom layout designer The new custom layout designer helps you create unique personalized layouts using multiple video sources, pictures, logos, text overlays and backgrounds. Refine your sources and layout items to perfection with the layout editor’s precision positioning, resizing, reordering and cropping tools before previewing the end result. Learn how to create custom layouts in Create a custom channel or layout. Live switching You can now switch video sources and custom layouts seamlessly while live streaming/recording. Change your streamed video content using the web interface (or HTTP and RS-232 APIs) to create dynamic and engaging live streams that will captivate your audience. Learn more about live switching in Live video mixing / switching. Video source cropping Selectively crop your video source content to remove unnecessary or redundant information, or crop multiple sources strategically to create perfect custom layouts. Pictures as video sources Upload a picture file to use as a video source and further your creative streaming possibilities. Use pictures as sources for custom pre-show announcement, a post-show display, or in conjunction with other images and video sources in custom layouts – the options are entirely up to you. Transparent PNG images Use PNG images with transparent backgrounds for improved customization in your layouts. Add corporate logos or other visual details to imbue a truly professional quality to your design. Live streaming layout adjustments Change video sources, swap visuals, adjust text overlays and modify backgrounds – all without disrupting the live stream. Adapt to any contingency for added flexibility and peace of mind while live streaming. Configuration improvements Custom "No Signal" images for sources You can now create and upload customized “No Signal” images. These images are assigned to a specific source and display in any channel where the source is used but has no input detected. Ideal for enhancing professionalism in your next live event! Important firmware 3.15.3 upgrade notice Firmware release 3.15.3 introduces the new visual channel layout editor which adds the ability to have multiple layouts per channel and simplifies custom channel components like text overlays, images, and picture in picture layouts. The firmware update process preserves your channel's existing encoding, streaming and recording settings and merges your previous visual channel setup in a new channel layout. We have tested this process carefully, but in some circumstances you may still need to do some small manual adjustments to get the best possible results. Before you do a firmware update, take notes or a snapshot of your channel's layout. It is also a good idea to note your current release version make a configuration backup for the rare case you choose to return to your current release. After the firmware update, go to the sources page for your channel and review the created layout for your channel. If needed, make adjustments using the procedures described in Create a custom channel. Table of contents What's New in Release 3.15.3? 4 Table of contents 7 Start here Standalone VGA Grid Overview 13 14 AV inputs 14 What's in the box? 15 Tech specs 18 Quick Start 20 Step 1: Physical set-up and power-on 20 Step 2: Admin discovery and login 21 Step 3: Set up the video source 22 Step 4: Configure the channel 24 Step 5: Testing the stream 25 Step 6: Recording the stream 26 What’s Next? 26 PART 1: Setup The admin interface 27 28 Connect to the admin interface 28 User administration 32 View system information 45 Configure network settings 46 Verify IP Address and MAC address 46 Configure DHCP 47 Configure a static IP address 48 Tether to a mobile network 50 Perform network diagnostics 51 Configuration presets 53 Configuration presets overview 53 Configuration groups 56 7 Create a configuration preset 57 Apply a configuration preset 58 Apply the Factory default configuration preset 60 Update a configuration preset 61 Delete a configuration preset 62 Configuration preset considerations 63 Configure date and time 67 Verify date and time settings 67 Configure synchronized time (NTP, PTP v1 and RDATE) 68 Configure the date and time manually 70 Change the time zone 70 Configure a local NTP server 71 PART 2: Capture What is a channel? 72 73 Create a simple channel 74 Create a custom channel 78 Configure encoding 106 Add channel metadata 116 Preview a channel 117 Preview all channels at once 119 Rename a channel 120 Delete a channel 121 Live video mixing / switching 122 What is a source? 124 Connect a source 125 Preview a source 126 Configure a source 126 Rename a source 132 Control audio volume 133 Troubleshoot capture Remove black bars (matte) from the video 135 135 8 Force the capture card to use a specific EDID 138 Unstretch the output video 142 Video not centered (VGA sources only) 143 Remove the combing effect on images 144 Video looks squished (VGA sources only) 144 Video too bright, too dark or washed out (VGA sources only) 146 PART 3: Stream What is streaming? 147 148 Choose a streaming option 148 Supported streaming formats 149 Stream to viewers 150 Stream content using HTTP or RTSP 150 Configure HTTP and RTSP streaming ports 152 Stream content using HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) 153 Send stream URLs to viewers 154 View the Flash stream 155 Viewing with a web browser 158 Viewing with a media player (RTSP) 159 Disable (and enable) streams for viewers 160 Restrict access to streams for viewers 161 Restrict viewers by IP address 163 IP restriction examples 164 Stream to a server 167 Stream to a CDN 168 Stream content using multicast 178 Stream to a media player 184 Stream content using multicast 184 Stream content using UPnP 191 Samples of stream settings Streaming video content 198 198 9 Streaming slide content PART 4: Record 199 200 What is a recording? 201 Recording basics 201 Record a channel via the web interface 202 Configure recording file size and type 204 Control recording with a mouse 206 Restart recording 207 Recorders 208 Add a recorder 208 Change the channels recorded by a recorder 209 Record with a recorder 210 Rename recorded files 212 Delete recorded files manually 212 Recorded files 215 View list of recorded files 215 Download recorded files manually 216 Extract tracks from a recording 217 Rename recorded files 219 Delete recorded files manually 219 File and recording transfer 221 Automatic file upload (AFU) overview 221 Choose files to include in AFU 222 Enable and set timing for AFU 224 AFU to an FTP server 227 AFU using RSync 228 AFU using CIFS 229 AFU to a secure FTP server 231 AFU using SCP 233 AFU or copy to USB drive 234 10 View the AFU log 241 Manage the AFU queue 242 Local FTP server 244 Configure the local FTP server 244 Using the local FTP Server 246 PART 5: Maintenance Mobile / tablet operator interface 248 249 Connect to the tablet interface 249 Confidence monitoring using the tablet interface 251 Verify disk space via the tablet interface 253 Control recording via the tablet interface 253 Switch to the full admin interface 254 Power down and system restart 255 Restarting the device via the web interface 255 Shutting down the device via the web interface 256 Shutting down the device manually 256 Save and restore device configuration 258 Save device configuration 258 Load a saved device configuration 259 Perform factory reset Restore factory configuration via the web interface Firmware upgrade 261 261 263 Check for firmware updates 263 Install firmware 264 Support 267 Download logs and "allinfo" 267 Configure remote support 269 Disable remote support 270 Storage disk maintenance 272 Check disk storage space 272 Schedule disk check 273 11 Perform disk check 273 Rebuild or replace storage disks 274 Verify RAID storage 279 Read data from removed storage disks 281 Third party integration 283 Control with RS-232 / serial port 284 Control with HTTP commands 290 Configuration keys for third party APIs 294 Troubleshooting 307 Limitations and known issues 309 Previous releases and features 311 Software and Documentation License 313 12 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Start here Start here Welcome, and thank you for buying Epiphan’s Standalone VGA Grid™. This guide will help you configure your new system. To get started, review the Overview and What's in the Box? sections. Next, a Quick Start guide walks you through the basic steps to get a single video (and optional audio) source configured as a streamable, recordable output from the Standalone VGA Grid. Following the quick start section, a set of task-based procedures help you to tweak the system exactly how you want. These procedures are broken into five categories: Setup, Capture, Stream, Record and Maintenance. About this Guide Warnings are depicted as follows. This is a warning. Tips and Notes are depicted as follows. This is a tip. Throughout this guide there are situations where more than one solution will complete a task. In those cases the guide describes the simplest or most common variation first. 13 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Standalone VGA Grid Overview Standalone VGA Grid Overview Epiphan's VGA Grid allows you to capture, stream, and record audio and video from a large number of VGA, DVI, HDMI, composite and component sources. It supports streaming to a large number of viewers using industry-standard codecs such as H.264 and MPEG-TS. Supporting resolutions between 640×480 and 2048×2048, the VGA Grid is suitable for a broad range of applications. This versatile system has a variety of options enabling you to create and configure any number of streaming channels. You can choose to stream (or record) a single channel at once or a configuration of synchronized channels with picture-in-picture or picture-with-picture multiplexing selections. The VGA Grid comes in two styles to meet your needs: Networked and Standalone. The Standalone VGA Grid captures video and audio through internal cards. Depending on the model, it has 4 or 6 DVI source ports, 4 or 6 SDI source ports and 4 or 6 S-Video source ports. The latest hardware models (with SDI capture) also support HDMI and SDI audio capture. Encoding and synchronization of the stream is done locally on the Standalone VGA Grid. The Networked VGA Grid has no internal capture cards, instead it uses VGA Grid HD Encoders to capture and encode sources, sending the already encoded stream to the VGA Grid. Using external encoders means the VGA Grid has less stress on its CPU so it can handle a greater number of inputs. HDMI audio capture and SDI video capture are not supported with Networked VGA Grid systems. AV inputs The latest hardware revision of Standalone VGA Grid supports the following AV inputs directly. Nearly every other AV input is supported provided you have the correct converter or adapter. This document covers the Standalone VGA Grid. 14 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide What's in the box? Table 1 Comparison for Networked VGA Grid and Standalone VGA Grid Model Networked VGA Grid DVI-I DVI-I (single link) (dual link) S-Video SDI up to 64 - Audio up to 64 encoders with up to - up to 64 1920×1200 5 or 7 Standalone VGA Grid 4 or 6 (model) (model) - local at up to 4 of 6 (model) 2048×2048 4 or 6 + (model) SDI and HDMI audio What's in the box? The Standalone VGA Grid is a 4U rackmount server with dimensions 522 mm (D) × 430 mm (W) × 176 mm (H) (20.5” × 16.9” × 6.9”). Latest hardware revision: Standalone VGA Grid can now capture more HD content than ever before. The newest Standalone VGA Grid comes with eight or twelve HD inputs (depending on the model). Half the inputs are for capturing from DVI/HDMI/VGA sources while the other half are for SDI sources. As before there are also 4 or 6 S-Video ports. With this combination of available input ports and applicable DVI, SDI or S-Video adapters/converters you can bring in signals from nearly any source. This hardware upgrade also provides audio capture support for HDMI and SDI in addition to pre-existing support for 3.5 mm analog audio input ports. Previous hardware revisions Previous versions of Standalone VGA Grid came with four or six HD inputs (depending on the model). Many, although not all, previous hardware revisions can support the latest software release.Use the Firmware upgrade feature to see if your device is upgradeable. Note previous hardware revisions do not support HDMI audio capture. Unpacking the box The following list applies only to new devices with the latest hardware revision: 15 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide What's in the box? 1. 4 or 6 (depending on model) VGA to DVI-I cables 2. 4 or 6 (depending on model) HDMI to DVI-I adapters 3. 4 or 6 (depending on model) DVI-I to DVI-I cables 4. 4 or 6 (depending on model) composite to S-Video cables 5. 4 or 6 (depending on model) SDI cables 6. One Ethernet cable 7. Power cable Description of Included Cables (Images are for cable type identification, actual cable appearance may vary.) Image Name VGA to DVI cable HDMI to DVI adapter DVI-I Single Link cable Description Connects a VGA source to the system’s DVI port(s). Connects an HDMI source to the system’s DVI port(s). Connects a DVI source to the encoder’s DVI port(s). Composite to S-Video Connects a composite output from an analog cable sources to the system’s S-Video port(s). SDI Cable RJ-45 Ethernet cable Connects an SDI source to the system via BNC connectors. Connects the system to your network. 16 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide What's in the box? Front and back panel view for the VGA Grid Table 2 Rackmount Standalone VGA Grid Front and Back Panel Descriptions Label Name Power Button (behind door) Reset (behind door) Description Unlock the door to reveal the power button. Press to turn on; press and release to turn off the system. Press and hold for 4 seconds for a forced system shutdown. Unlock the door to reveal the reset button. Cycles the power off then on, like a computer reset button. Power LED Indicates the system is powered on. Hard Drive LED Blinks when the system is recording or accessing the hard drive. Unlock the door to reveal two USB ports. USB Ports (behind door) For connection of external hard drives, flash drives or control interfaces. USB Ports USB Ports RJ-45 Ethernet For connection of external hard drives, flash drives or control interfaces. For connection of external hard drives, flash drives or control interfaces. Auto-sensing gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000 Base-T network port. 17 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Label Name Tech specs Description Audio In (blue) Connect amplified line in audio sources to the system. Audio In (pink) Connect unamplified microphone audio sources to the system. Audio In (4 or 6) Connect audio sources to the system. S-Video ports (4 or 6) Connect analog video sources (S-Video, composite etc) to the system. DVI-I Dual Link (4 or 6) Connect analog or HD video sources to the system. SDI ports (4 or 6) Connect digital SDI sources to the system. Tech specs This table outlines the technical specifications for the latest hardware revision of Standalone VGA Grid. Go to the Professional Recording and Streaming Systems page of the Epiphan website to get the most recent product specifications and additional information about Standalone VGA Grid. Feature Standalone Style Dimensions Networked 4U Rackmount Server 445 mm (D) × 430 mm (W) × 176 mm (H) (17.5” × 16.9” × 6.9”) Number of Encoders - up to 64 Maximum Resolution 2048×2048 1920×1200 VGA/DVI Screen Video Interfaces 4-6 up to 64 (via encoders) S-Video/Composite Interfaces 4-6 up to 64 (via encoders) SDI Interfaces 4-6 - Audio Interfaces Video Codecs / Compression 5-7 plus audio support through SDI and HDMI up to 64 (via encoders) H.264, MPEG-4, MJPEG 18 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Feature Tech specs Standalone Networked Video Bitrate 10 Mb/s Audio Codecs PCM, MP3, AAC Audio Sampling Rate 48000 Hz, 44100 Hz, 22050 Hz Audio Bitrate 64 - 160 kb/s Key Frames Intervals programable RGB plus HSync and VSync Video Format Options RGB plus CSync signal RGB with Sync-on-Green synchronization Update Rates Resolution fps Resolution fps 640×480 30-60 640×480 30 1280×1024 30-60 1280×1024 30 1920×1200 30-90 1920×1200 25 2048×2048 10-60 2048×2048 - 19 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Quick Start Quick Start This section helps you get up and running quickly with your Standalone VGA Grid. l Step 1: Physical set-up and power-on l Step 2: Admin discovery and login l Step 3: Set up the video source l Step 4: Configure the channel l Step 5: Testing the stream l Step 6: Recording the stream Before you get started, make sure you have: l an HD source (i.e. a computer, a tablet, or a phone) l the appropriate cables or adapters to convert the output to DVI or SDI (if needed) l ideally, a network with Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) l a computer with a web browser connected to the same network (this is referred to as the “admin” computer in the steps below) l optionally, an audio source such as a microphone or the headphone jack from a laptop . Note that audio signals sent over HDMI and SDI are supported in the latest hardware revision(s). If you have SDI ports, your system supports HDMI and SDI audio. These instructions include steps for setting up and configuring audio. Skip these optional steps if you do not want to configure an audio source at this time. Step 1: Physical set-up and power-on Complete the following steps to prepare and power on the system. Refer to the Front and Back Panel View section for your system to locate the appropriate input ports. 1. Turn on your HD source and connect the output cable to a DVI-I or SDI port on the back of the system. 2. (optional) Attach a 3.5 mm audio cable from your audio source to the system’s motherboard audio input port(blue port on the back of the system). 3. Connect the Ethernet cable to the Standalone VGA Grid. 4. Connect the Ethernet cable to your network. 5. Attach the power cable to the system and plug it into a power source. 20 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Step 2: Admin discovery and login 6. Unlock the front panel and press the power button to turn on the system. 7. Wait for the Standalone VGA Grid to complete the power up sequence. The power LED illuminates and the hard drive LED flashes during start up. Step 2: Admin discovery and login The Standalone VGA Grid is managed from a web interface. This interface acts as a configuration utility and system monitor. The first time you access the web interface you will not know the IP address of the system. The steps below use DNS-based service discovery (a type of zero-configuration networking) to access the system. Depending on the operating system on your admin computer you may need to install some software before you can used DNS-based discovery. This quick start is meant for systems that support DHCP and DNS, however if your system does not support these mechanisms, refer to Connect to the admin interface and Connect to the admin interface for alternative discovery mechanisms. Return to step 3 below you have completed setting a static IP address for the Standalone VGA Grid. Table 3 Installing Bonjour Print Services System Action Needed You must install Bonjour Print Services: 1. Use the following URL - http://support.apple.com/kb/DL999 Microsoft Windows 2. Click Download. 3. Follow the system prompts to download and install the application. Mac OS X The Bonjour software used for service discovery is built in to the Mac OS. No special actions are needed. The Avahi implementation used for DNS-based discovery is shipped with most Linux Linux distributions. If necessary, check with your administrator to ensure you have the Avahi package installed. You are able to access the system web interface on the local network by specifying its serial number in a web browser on your admin computer. 1. Find the system’s serial number. It is printed on a sticker on the back of the unit. 2. Type the following string into the address bar of your web browser on your admin computer (where <serial> is the serial number of your Standalone VGA Grid): 21 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Step 3: Set up the video source http://<serial>.local/admin For example: http://95dd40d5.local/admin 3. Enter the user name and password then click OK. The administrative user is ‘admin’. Initially no password is set. To set a password follow the procedure outlined in User administration. 4. Optionally, navigate to the Network link under the Configuration heading and note the IP address of the system. Step 3: Set up the video source The web interface has a pre-configured list of the frame grabbers in the Sources section. Each video input card on the back of the system is a frame grabber. Each frame grabber has one DVI port, one SDI port, one SVideo port and one 3.5 mm audio port. The sources are listed by their frame grabber serial number. DVI ports are listed with the suffix .vga, SDI ports are listed with the suffix .sdi, S-Video inputs listed with the suffix .video, and analog audio inputs are listed with the suffix _analog or, for the audio port on the motherboard: Analog. Digital audio inputs (for systems with SDI ports) are listed with the suffix .hdmi-audio or .sdi-audio, depending on their source. The serial numbers for your system will not be the same as the examples shown below. 1. From the web interface, scroll to the Sources section. (You will see more sources than shown below.) 22 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Step 3: Set up the video source 2. Find the DVI (or SDI) source that you have connected by selecting each DVI (or SDI) source (named .vga or .sdi as the suffix) and verifying if the preview on the right side of the screen reflects your source material. 3. Make note of the name of the source, or optionally, change the source name to reflect the data it is capturing. To rename the input source: a. Click on the source name at the top of the source configuration window. The name text becomes red. b. Edit the name. The following characters are supported: a-z; A-Z; 0-9; + (plus); - (hyphen); _ (underscore); , (comma), . (period); ~ (tilde); # (hash); [ ]; ( ). Although spaces are also supported, it is suggested you use underscores to separate words. c. Press Enter on the keyboard. The name is updated at the top of the screen and in the list of sources at the left side. 4. Optionally, configure the audio source (if connected): a. Scroll to the Sources section again and select the motherboard audio source. It is prefixed by the word audio and suffixed Analog (i.e. audio ALC892 Analog). The audio configuration page appears. b. From the Input source drop-down list, select Line for the blue port at the back of the system. c. Click Apply. Source setup is complete. The system automatically detected and adjusted the image capture settings at start up and will continue to adjust every 60 seconds during operation (interval is configurable). The system’s goal is to produce the best quality captured image given the source equipment used. Generally no further configuration tweaks are needed. 23 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Step 4: Configure the channel Step 4: Configure the channel Now that you have confirmed the system sees your source it is time to add and configure a channel for output of your source. Channels expose your sources to your streaming users and prepare the sources for recording. By default, when you add a channel, the system names it the same name as its source. If you changed the source name in previous steps, your new channel's name will reflect the new name. To add a channel for your source: 1. In the web interface, click Add channel from the Channels section; a new channel is created and the channel configuration page opens. 2. From the Use video source drop-down list, select your source. 3. Click Apply. To review and configure the channel: 1. From the web interface, scroll to the Channels section. 2. Click the link for your channel; the channel expands. 3. Click Encoding for your channel. 4. No need to change anything right now. Review some of the default settings. The four most useful settings to know about are codec, frame size, frame rate and bitrate. a. The codec is set to H.264 by default. b. The frame size should reflect the resolution provided by your source. You can set it to something different by typing in the fields or selecting an option from the different sizes shown. Scaling the image (making it larger, smaller, or different aspect ratio) takes some processing power, so it’s always best to leave this at the value detected by the system unless you know it is wrong or know you need to scale the size. c. The frame rate limit is set to 30. This means the system won’t spend extra computing time to attempt to receive more than 30 frames per second. For perspective, NTSC TV signals use 24 frames per second and most hand-drawn animations show only 12 unique frames per second. d. The bitrate is set to automatic, and the system will determine the best value. 5. Click Status for your channel. 6. Notice the Stream Info section has an item named Video that reflects the four settings reviewed in prior steps (the frame rate is specified as <resolution size>@30 for 30 (frames per second). It also provides an indication of the current actual frame rate. 24 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Step 5: Testing the stream You may now optionally add audio to your channel: 7. Click Sources for your channel; the media source page is displayed. 8. Select the audio source to which you connected your 3.5mm audio cable. If you connected to the blue line-in on the back of the system, the audio source is the audio source without a frame grabber serial number. 9. Click Apply. 10. Click Encoding for your channel; the Encoding page is displayed. 11. Scroll to the bottom of the Encoding and click the Enable audio checkbox. 12. Leave the default AAC format and audio bitrate. 13. Click Apply. Step 5: Testing the stream The Status page contains a link to the live broadcast stream for your channel. To preview the channel in a browser: 1. From the web interface, scroll to the Channels section. 2. Click the link for your channel. 3. Click the Status link for your channel. 4. Right-click on the Live broadcast link for your channel and select Open in a new tab or Open in a new window. 5. The new tab or window opens with the stream displayed. a. If the signal is not detected, reset the DVI cable connections and try again. Your stream setup is complete. Since most of the steps are pre-configured; you are up and running with a stream very quickly. You can share the live broadcast link with your users. 25 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Step 6: Recording the stream Step 6: Recording the stream The stream is set up and broadcasting. This may be all you need, but if you like you can also record the stream. To record the stream: 1. From the web interface, scroll to the Channels section. 2. Click Recording for your channel; the Recording page is displayed. 3. Click the red Start button; the text at the top of the screen changes to indicate the recording is starting, then indicates the length of time since the recording started. 4. Click the black Stop button; the recorder stops. 5. Refresh the page by clicking Recording again; the page reloads and a file list appears that shows your newly recorded stream snippet. 6. Click the file name to download and view your recording. What’s Next? Now that you have a source set up and ready to stream, you can fine-tune the system to your exact requirements. You can look at topics such as: l Add a video source (custom channel) l Create a custom channel l What is streaming? l File and recording transfer l User administration When you have completed system tuning, make sure to back up the system configuration using the procedure described in: l Save and restore device configuration Refer to the table of contents for a complete list of the topics covered. 26 PART 1: Setup If you followed through the quick start guide, you already have a basic configuration and possibly a recording of an input. Before you tweak the channel or configure more, this part of the manual helps you to get your Standalone VGA Grid properly configured for your network. Topics covered: l Connect to the admin interface l User administration l View system information l Configure network settings l Configure date and time l Configuration presets l Restrict viewers by IP address 27 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide The admin interface The admin interface Standalone VGA Grid is managed from a web interface. This means to perform administrative tasks with Standalone VGA Grid you use an internet browser on a PC (or laptop, or tablet) connected to the same local Ethernet network. Connect to the admin interface If you know the IP address of the system you may type it into the address bar of your web browser. http://<IP Address of the Standalone VGA Grid>/admin However if this is the first time you access your system, you likely don't know the IP address, so you can use one of the following connection methods: For networks with DHCP use one of the following procedures: l Connect via DNS-based service discovery l Connect via the Epiphan discovery utility For networks without DHCP, use the following procedure: l Connect via persistent static IP address You can also connect to a reduced Operator tablet interface. See Connect to the tablet interface. Connect via DNS-based service discovery The Standalone VGA Grid uses DNS-based messages to advertise details about itself, including its host name. With a compatible utility installed on your computer, you can access the system simply by typing its serial number and the suffix “.local” into the address bar of your browser. To ensure you have compatible software, refer to the following table. Table 4 Installing Bonjour Print Services System Action Needed You must install Bonjour Print Services: Microsoft Windows 1. Use the following URL - http://support.apple.com/kb/DL999 28 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide System Connect to the admin interface Action Needed 2. Click Download. 3. Follow the system prompts to download and install the application. Mac OS X The Bonjour software used for service discovery is built into the Mac OS. No special actions are needed. The Avahi implementation used for DNS-based discovery is shipped with most Linux Linux distributions. If necessary, check with your administrator to ensure you have the Avahi package installed. To access the Standalone VGA Grid's web interface via DNS service discovery: 1. Find the system’s serial number. It is printed on a sticker on the back of the system. 2. Type the following string into the address bar of your web browser on your admin computer (where <serial> is the serial number of your Standalone VGA Grid): http://<serial>.local/admin For example: http://95dd40d5.local/admin 3. Enter the user name and password then click OK. The administrative user is ‘admin’. Initially no password is set. To set a password follow the procedure outlined in User administration. 4. Optionally, navigate to the Network link under the Configuration heading and note the IP address of the system. 29 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Connect to the admin interface Connect via the Epiphan discovery utility Epiphan provides a utility for discovering Epiphan systems on your network. The Epiphan network discovery utility is a 32-bit Windows executable that works on most 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems. Download and install the utility via this link: http://www.epiphan.com/downloads/NetworkDiscovery.exe. To access the Standalone VGA Grid's web interface via the Epiphan discovery utility: 1. Launch the discovery utility. 2. Click Search to find all the Epiphan systems on the network; a list similar to the following appears. 3. If more than one system appears, select the one you wish to configure by matching the serial number listed with the serial number marked on the back of the system. 4. Optionally, note the IP Address shown in the stream properties. Use this for quicker access to the system on future configuration sessions. 5. Click the Web config button; your browser will open and point to the web interface page. http://<IP Address for Standalone VGA Grid>/admin 6. Enter the user name and password then click OK. The administrative user is ‘admin’. Initially no password is set. To set a password follow the procedure outlined in User administration. 30 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Connect to the admin interface Connect via persistent static IP address Your Standalone VGA Grid has a default persistent static IP address, also known as the recovery IP address. If ever you need to set it up on a network that does not support DHCP, or you need to recover from a previous static IP address setting, you can use this method to connect directly to the system for configuration. To perform this procedure you will need a workstation computer for which you are able to modify network settings. The Standalone VGA Grid is pre-configured with the following static address defaults: l IP Address: 192.168.255.250 l Netmask: 255.255.255.252 l Username: admin l Password: your admin password (by default set to no password) To access the Standalone VGA Grid's web interface via the persistent static IP address: 1. Establish an Ethernet connection between the Standalone VGA Grid and the workstation by one of the following methods: a. Connect the system to a local Ethernet network shared with the workstation. b. Connect the system directly to the workstation’s Ethernet port using either a regular or a crossover Ethernet cable. 2. Record the network settings of the workstation being used to connect to the Standalone VGA Grid so that they can be restored later. 3. Temporarily change the network configuration on the workstation to the following: a. Use Static IP assignment b. IP address: 192.168.255.249 c. Subnet mask: 255.255.255.252 31 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide User administration 4. Start a web browser on the workstation and browse to: http://192.168.255.250/admin/ 5. Log in as the administrator user with the user name admin and the admin password (by default there is no password); the web interface page opens. 6. Click the Networking link in the Configuration menu. 7. Select the radio button to use a static address and configure the system with a static IP address and network settings relevant to the network being used. For specific details about the settings presented, see Configure network settings. 8. Restore the previously saved network configurations on the workstation. User administration The Standalone VGA Grid has three configured users: l admin l operator l viewer By default, none of these users have passwords. For security purposes you should add passwords to the admin and operator accounts. This section describes the following user administration topics: l User types and privileges l Set or change user passwords l Remove user passwords l Overcome lost passwords l Configure LDAP l Change the logged-in user l Restrict viewers by IP address User types and privileges Standalone VGA Grid's three user accounts are admin, operator and viewer. The user account names cannot be changed and the accounts cannot be disabled. By default, none of the accounts have passwords. Admin The admin account is the main operator used for all system configuration. This user has access to all options in the web interface. 32 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide User administration Operator The operator account is a subclass of the admin account. The operator can log in and view all configuration items but may only make changes to a small number of options. This account is intended for an operator to start and stop recordings, download recordings, switch layouts while live streaming or perform network diagnostics. Viewer The viewer account is for all end-users who are permitted to view the streamed channels. By default, when there is no password, users are not prompted for a username and password when viewing a channel. The viewer username and password prompt appears only when there is a viewer password set. In addition to the global viewer account, each channel can set a viewer password that overrides the global value. See Restrict access to streams for viewers. Current user When logged in to the web interface, the current username is displayed at the top right corner of the screen. User privileges The following table outlines the privileges for each user: Table 5 User privileges in the web interface Action or Menu Option View Channel Output viewer operator admin ü ü ü ü ü Channel Operations View Channel Configuration Rename a Channel ü Configure Stream Channel ü Configure Stream Sources ü Publish a Stream ü Configure Branding for a Channel ü 33 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide User administration Action or Menu Option viewer operator admin Switch Layouts while Streaming/Recording ü ü Start the Stream Recorder ü ü Stop the Stream Recorder ü ü View Recorded Files List ü ü Download Recorded Files ü ü Delete Recorded Files ü ü ü ü Source Operations View Source Configuration Rename Source ü Configure Source ü ü View Source Snapshot ü ü ü ü System Configuration Operations View System Configuration Configure Automatic File Upload ü Select External USB Drive Behavior ü Configure FTP Server ü Configure UPnP Sharing ü Configure Network Address ü Configure USB Tethering ü Perform Network Diagnostics ü ü Configure Date and Time preferences ü Set or Change User Passwords ü Configure the Touch Screen ü Configure Serial Port Flow Control ü 34 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Action or Menu Option User administration viewer operator admin Upload Branding Images ü Upload Branding Templates ü Select Branding Template ü Enable Remote Support ü Backup Device Configuration ü Restore Device Configuration ü Restore Factory Configuration ü Reboot Device (via Web Interface) ü Shutdown Device (via Web Interface) ü Configure Time Until Next Disk Check ü Perform Disk Check ü View Disk Information ü ü Rebuild/Clean Storage Disks ü Upgrade Firmware ü View System Information ü ü Set or change user passwords By default, admin, operator and viewer have no assigned passwords. Both the admin and the operator user have access to the web admin interface, so you should always set a password for both admin and operator accounts. Refer to your system administrator for your organization’s specific password requirements. If the admin password is defined and the operator password is undefined, then the operator uses the admin password by default. In addition to setting global passwords for viewers, you can also set access passwords and IP restrictions on a per-channel basis from the channel's Streaming page. See Restrict viewers by IP address. Passwords are case sensitive and can use all alpha-numeric keys in the ASCII range. Your password can be up to 255 characters long, but should not include any spaces. 35 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide User administration Setting a user’s password causes the user to be logged out. Be ready to log back in with the new admin password or have operators and viewers log in with the appropriate new password. Viewers may need to refresh their browser window or press play in their media player. If you lose the admin password, refer to the section Overcome lost passwords. Changing the admin password while live streaming disrupts the view of the stream for viewer-level users. Complete any admin password changes when there is no live stream in progress. To set a user password: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Access passwords link in the Configuration menu; the password configuration page opens. 4. Highlight and delete the current password for your selected user (the password is currently masked as dots). For security reasons, the current password appears as eight dots regardless of password length, and even if there is no password set. 5. Highlight and delete the confirmation password for the selected user. 6. Select the user’s password field and type a new password for the user. The new password must have between 1-255 alpha-numeric characters or special characters with no spaces. Passwords are case sensitive. 7. Select the user’s password confirmation field and confirm the new password. 8. Click Apply. 9. If you were logged in as the user whose password you just changed, you are logged out and must log back in with the new password. If you added or changed the viewer’s password, all viewer’s stream will pause until they log in with the new password. If desired, you may specify multiple account passwords on the same page before clicking Apply. 36 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide User administration Remove user passwords If you want to remove passwords for one or more user accounts, you may do so via the web interface. If you don’t remember the admin password, refer to the section Overcome lost passwords. Note that viewer passwords can be set on a per-channel basis. Clearing a user’s password will cause that user to be logged out. Be ready to log back in with the new admin password. If viewers are watching the broadcast when the viewer password is cleared they will be logged out. Viewers may need to refresh their browser window or press play in their media player to trigger the login prompt. To clear a user’s password: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Access passwords link in the Configuration menu; the password configuration page opens. 4. Highlight and delete the current password for your selected user (the password is currently masked as dots). For security purposes, the current password appears as eight dots regardless of password length, and even if there is no password set. 5. Highlight and delete the confirmation password for the selected user. 6. Click Apply. 7. If you were logged in as the user whose password you just cleared, you are logged out and must log back in without a password. If you cleared the viewer’s password, all viewer streams will pause until they log in without a password. To clear a user’s password on a specific channel: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 37 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide User administration 3. Click the Streaming link for the channel; the channel's Streaming configuration page opens. 4. From the Access control section do one of the two following things: a. clear the viewer password field; or b. select Use global settings from the access control drop down. 5. Click Apply. Overcome lost passwords If you have lost the password for the operator or viewer account, you can log in to the web interface as admin and reset the password using the procedure described in Set or change user passwords. If you have lost the admin password and you have remote support enabled on the system, you can contact Epiphan support to request a remote password change. See Support. If remote support is disabled, you will need to return the system to Epiphan for password recovery. Contact Epiphan support to discuss this option. Configure LDAP You can use the Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) for authentication into the system. Specify user roles by using group DNs for users who log in as the administrator, operator or as a viewer. The system has only one admin user and one operator: LDAP users log in as either the admin or operator, they do not have their own private profiles. When enabled, LDAP authentication is an alternative to the regular system usernames and passwords. You may still login as admin, operator or viewer using the passwords for those accounts. Furthermore, any LDAP users with the name admin, operator or viewer are ignored. The local accounts are used instead. For security reasons, you should configure passwords for the local accounts. See Configure LDAP. These instructions assume you have a pre-configured LDAP server. The server must support anonymous binding or have a special bind account with search access privileges. (Note that Active Directory does not support anonymous binding.) LDAP referrals, restrictions and failovers are not supported. To configure LDAP authentication for your Standalone VGA Grid: 38 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide User administration 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Access passwords link in the Configuration menu; the password configuration page opens. 4. Scroll to the LDAP authentication section. 5. Click the Enable LDAP authentication checkbox to enable LDAP authentication (or uncheck to disable). 6. Specify the server IP address and (optional) port for your LDAP server (i.e. 192.168.1.101:389) in the Server address[:port] field. 7. Use the Connection encryption drop-down to specify the type of encryption, if any used by your LDAP server. Connection encryption Description/Default port used No Encryption No encryption is used to connect to the LDAP server. The default port is 389. SSL SSL encryption is used to connect to the LDAP server. The default port is 636. TLS/STARTTLS The connection is initially unencrypted then upgraded to TLS encryption is used. The default port is 389. 8. Specify the fully qualified DN and password for LDAP bind in the Bind DN and Bind password fields. (The password masked as dots on the screen.) These fields are only needed if your LDAP server does not support anonymous binding. 9. In Base DN, specify the baseObject in which to search for entries. The system will search this object and the whole subtree starting at the base DN. 39 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide User administration 10. By default the search attribute is uid, which is suitable for a unix environment. Specify a different value in the Search attribute field, if needed. For Active Directory environments, specify userPrincipalName. The value of this attribute must be unique in the Base DN. 11. In the Administrators (group DN) field, specify the distinguished name of the group users must be part of to be logged in as the administrator. Users must have the member or unqueMember attribute for the specified group to be granted Administrator access. If left blank, LDAP is not supported for Administrators (but can still be used for Operators and Viewers). 12. In the Operators (group DN) field, specify the distinguished name of the group users must be part of to be logged in as the operator. Users must have the member or unqueMember attribute for the specified group to be granted Operator access. If left blank, LDAP is not supported for Operators (but can still be used for Administrators and Viewers). 13. In the Viewers (group DN) field, specify the distinguished name of the group users must be part of to be logged in as a viewer. Users must have the member or unqueMember attribute for the specified group to be granted Viewer access. If left blank, LDAP is not supported for Viewers (but can still be used for Administrators and Operators). 14. Click Apply. When a user of the LDAP server next visits the admin or viewer page for the system, the system prompts for use the username and password. For ActiveDirectory servers, the user needs to enter his fully qualified username (i.e. [email protected]) in addition to his LDAP password. Users are required to authenticate once to the system and one time per channel they view. Therefore users see a prompt to log in to the system (the system name is shown) and a second time to log in to the channel (the channel name is shown). In one case, LDAP replaces the local viewer account instead of working side-by-side with it. When LDAP is enabled and the viewer account has no password (either there is no global viewer password or the channel overrides the global password with a blank password), the viewer must authentication with LDAP, he may not alternatively use the viewer account with a blank password. Change the logged-in user When you log in to the web interface as admin or operator, your browser remembers this configuration and automatically logs you in as the same user when you go back to the site. Sometimes you need to change from operator to admin, or vice versa. 40 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide User administration To change the logged-in user: 1. Exit your browser completely, open an incognito/private window in your browser, or open a different browser (i.e. Internet Explorer, Chrome, and Safari are different browsers). 2. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 3. You are prompted for a username and password. Restrict viewers by IP address The Standalone VGA Grid permits you to restrict which computers can access broadcasts by building a list of allowed and/or denied IP addresses. You can do this at a global level for the system and can also override these settings on a per-channel basis. Both global and per-channel configuration procedures are described below. IP address restriction is valid for the viewer only and does not affect the web admin interface or the mobile configuration interface. If your viewer account has a password, your viewers must connect to the system from a computer (or gateway) with a permitted IP address and must also supply the username (viewer) and password before they can view the broadcast. To restrict access by IP address you need to know the IP addresses, or range of addresses for your viewers. By default all IP addresses are allowed to connect to the broadcast. If you’re not familiar with creating allow/deny lists, refer to the examples below this procedure for assistance with crafting your lists. To restrict viewers by IP address: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Access passwords link in the Configuration menu; the password configuration page opens. 4. Type allowed IP addresses or address ranges in the Allow IP’s field. Separate addresses with a comma. 5. Type denied IP addresses or address ranges in the Deny IP’s field. Separate addresses with a comma. 6. Click Apply. To restrict viewers of a specific channel by IP address: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 41 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide User administration 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Streaming link for the desired channel; the streaming configuration page opens. 4. From the Access Control drop-down, select Use these Settings; local password and Allow/Deny IP lists are enabled. 5. If desired, type a password for the viewer in the Viewer Password field. 6. Type allowed IP addresses or address ranges in the Allow IP’s field. Separate addresses with a comma. 7. Type denied IP addresses or address ranges in the Deny IP’s field. Separate addresses with a comma. 8. Click Apply. If a user attempts to connect to the stream from a disallowed IP address, access is denied. If connecting by internet browser, the message "IP address rejected." is displayed. The following table describes the applicable fields. Table 6 IP Based Restriction Fields Label Description/Options Enter individual IP Addresses or IP Address ranges, separated by commas. To specify a range, use a hyphen (-). Optional spaces improve readability. Users connecting from addresses in this list are permitted to view broadcasts from the Allow IP's system, provided their IP address is not in the Deny IP’s list. To allow all (except IP addresses in the deny list, if any), leave the field blank. You can use the Allow list by itself, or in conjunction with the Deny IP’s list as an exception to a rule in the allow list. Enter individual IP Addresses or IP Address ranges, separated by commas. To specify a range, use a hyphen (-). Optional spaces improve readability. Users connecting from addresses in this list are not allowed to view broadcasts from the Deny IP's system, unless their IP address is in the Allow IP’s list. If a specific IP address is in both lists, access to the stream is denied. You can use the Deny list by itself, or in conjunction with the Allow IP’s list as an exception to a rule in the allow list. 42 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide User administration IP restriction examples Allow list with distinct IP addresses The simplest allow/deny list is to use the list of known IP addresses to craft a list of allowed IP addresses. All other addresses are denied access to the broadcast. For example if your system is accessible on your local area network (LAN) and you want to make sure only the CEO’s specific desktop, laptop and tablet computers (with IP Addresses 192.168.1.50, 192.168.1.51, and 192.165.1.75, respectively) can connect to the broadcast, construct the following allow list: Allow: 192.168.1.50, 192.168.1.51, 192.168.1.75 Allow list with a range of IP addresses Sometimes you’ll want a range of computer IP addresses to connect to your system. This may happen when you have one range of IP addresses assigned to desktop computers (i.e. in the range 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.100) and another range assigned to boardroom computers (i.e. the range 192.168.1.200 to 192.168.1.250). If you only want the boardroom computers to connect to broadcasts from the system you can specify the range of boardroom IP addresses rather than needing to type in each individual address. The allow list looks as follows: Allow: 192.168.1.200-192.168.1.250 Note that we could have specified two of the IP addresses in the previous example as a range. Allow list with a range of IP addresses and one or more specific IP addresses Putting the first two examples together, we want to permit access to IP addresses in the range of boardroom computers (192.168.1.200-192.168.1.250) and also want to add the desktop, laptop and tablet computers of the CEO (IP addresses 192.168.1.50, 192.168.1.51, and 192.168.1.75, respectively). Note the first two IP addresses are consecutive, so they can be added as a second range. Add these IP addresses to the list as follows: Allow: 192.168.1.200-192.168.1.250, 192.168.1.50-192.168.1.51, 192.168.1.75 Your list can have multiple ranges and multiple distinct IP addresses, provided they are separated by commas. Deny list with distinct IP addresses Another simple allow/deny list is to use the list of known IP addresses to list specific denied IP addresses. All other addresses are allowed access to the broadcast. 43 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide User administration For example imagine your system is accessible on your local area network (LAN) and you want to allow any computer on the LAN can access the stream except your publicly-accessible boardroom (with IP address 192.168.1.211). You can use the following deny list (leave the allow list empty) to permit all computers except the boardroom computer: Deny: 192.168.1.211 As with allow lists, your deny list can specify a range of IP addresses, and can specify multiple ranges or distinct IP addresses in a comma-separated list. Allow list with a range of IP addresses, distinct IP addresses and an exception Building on the previous examples, consider the situation where you want the CEO’s computers (192.168.1.50, 192.168.1.51, 192.168.75) and all boardroom computers (192.168.1.200-192.168.1.250) to access the broadcast, with the exception of the public boardroom computer (192.168.1.211). Use both allow and deny lists to create the rule as follows: Allow: 192.168.1.200-192.168.1.250, 192.168.1.50-192.168.1.51, 192.168.1.75 Deny: 192.168.1.211 Both lists can have multiple ranges and multiple distinct IP addresses, provided they are separated by commas. Deny list with a range of IP addresses Converse to the previous examples, consider the situation where you want every computer on the network to access the broadcast, with the exception of the CEO’s desktop, laptop and tablet computers. Additionally, boardroom computers should not be permitted with the exception of the cafeteria computer (IP address 192.168.1.222). The deny list is an "exception" list for the allow list. So to craft the rule described above we need to allow all the computers in the local subnet, then deny specific sub-ranges including two groups of boardroom computers ensuring the cafeteria computer's IP address is not in the deny list: Allow: 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.250 Deny: 192.168.1.200-192.168.1.221, 192.168.1.223-192.168.1.250, 192.168.1.50-192.168.1.51, 192.168.1.75 44 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide View system information View system information The system information page provides a great deal of useful information about your Standalone VGA Grid. Use the Info link from the Configuration menu to view your current firmware level, system hardware version (if available) and currently configured channels. To view system information: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, scroll to the Configuration menu option. 4. Click Info; the system information page opens. 3. Use the information displayed to get an overview of your system, troubleshoot problems or view streams for configured channels. 45 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure network settings Configure network settings By default the Standalone VGA Grid uses DHCP to obtain an IP Address via an Ethernet-based network. If you want to change the network settings, or if you’re having network-related issues, this section covers the network-related topics. l Verify IP Address and MAC address l Configure a static IP address l Configure DHCP l Tether to a mobile network l Perform network diagnostics Verify IP Address and MAC address The web interface shows you the system’s MAC address and current IP Address via the Network configuration page. To view settings on network configuration page: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Network link in the Configuration menu; the network configuration page opens. 4. Note the MAC address and Current IP address listed at the top of the page. Table 7 Network Information Fields Label Description/Options A media access control address (MAC address) is a unique identifier for the MAC Address network interface. The value is read-only and cannot be changed. You may need to share this value with your system administrator. 46 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Label Configure DHCP Description/Options Reflects the current internet protocol address (IP address) of the system. This Current IP Address value is either obtained from the DHCP server (if using DHCP) or is the configured static IP address. The Standalone VGA Grid supports IPv4 addresses. It does not support IPv6 addresses. Configure DHCP Occasionally, such as when moving your system to a new network, your Standalone VGA Grid must switch from static IP address allocation to dynamic allocation via DHCP. You can accomplish this in four ways: l Restore factory settings, clearing all your custom settings. See Perform factory reset. l Load a configuration file that uses DHCP networking. See Load a saved device configuration. l Apply a configuration preset that uses DHCP networking. See Configuration presets. l Change the network settings. See the procedure below. To configure use of DHCP for networking: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Network link in the Configuration menu; the network configuration page opens. 4. Select the radio button use DHCP, if not already selected. 5. Change the MTU Size value only if needed. See the table below for information on maximum transmission unit (MTU) values. 6. Click Apply to save the changes; the changes are saved and a message appears asking you to reboot. 7. Select the Maintenance link under the Configuration menu; the maintenance page appears. 8. Click the Reboot Now button near the bottom of the page. 9. Wait for the system to reboot. 10. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. SeeConnect to the admin 47 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure a static IP address interface. 11. Log as admin and reload the Networking page to verify all changes were applied. The following table describes the fields applicable when configuring DHCP on the Standalone VGA Grid. Table 8 DHCP Fields Label Description/Options Use DHCP Select this radio button to dynamically obtain an IP address at boot up. Use static address Select this radio button to use the configured static IP address. The maximum transmission unit (MTU) specifies the maximum packet size for transfer on MTU Size the network. The default value is 1500, which is the largest value allowed by Ethernet at the network layer. It’s best if all nodes in your network use the same value, so only change this value if you know other nodes use a different value. Configure a static IP address Your network administrator may require you to use a static IP address for your Standalone VGA Grid. To configure a static IP address: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Network link in the Configuration menu; the network configuration page opens. 48 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure a static IP address 4. Select the radio button use static address, if not already selected. 5. Enter the desired IP Address and Network Mask. Only IPv4 addresses are supported. 6. Enter the Default Gateway address. If you do not have a default gateway for your network, enter the same static IP address as in the previous step. The default gateway cannot be left blank. If no default gateway is specified, unexpected behavior occurs. 7. Enter the DNS Server address. If you do not have a DNS server, enter the new static IP address of the system. 8. Change the MTU Size value only if needed. See the table below for information on maximum transmission unit (MTU) values. 9. Click Apply to save the changes; the changes are saved and a message appears asking you to reboot. 10. Select the Maintenance link under the Configuration menu; the maintenance page appears. 11. Click the Reboot Now button near the bottom of the page. 12. Wait for the system to reboot. 13. Open the Web interface using the new IP address. 14. Log as admin and reload the Networking page to verify all changes were applied. The following table describes applicable fields when setting a static IP address. Table 9 Static IP Address Fields Label Description/Options Use DHCP Select this radio button to dynamically obtain an IP address at boot up. Use static address Select this radio button to use the configured static IP address. The internet protocol address (IP Address) to assign. This value is may be obtained IP Address from your system administrator. The Standalone VGA Grid supports IPv4 addresses. It does not support IPv6 addresses. 49 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Label Tether to a mobile network Description/Options Also called the subnet mask, this value denotes a range of IP addresses. This value Network Mask may be obtained from your system administrator, determined from another computer on the same subnet, or calculated using an online subnet calculator. The network node that serves as an access point to the rest of the network. This value Default Gateway cannot be blank unless you are using DCHP. Specify the system’s IP address if you don’t have a default gateway on your network. The domain name system server (DNS server) translates human-readable hostnames DNS Server into corresponding IP addresses. Specify the system’s IP address if you don’t have a DNS server on your network. This value cannot be blank unless you are using DHCP. The maximum transmission unit (MTU) specifies the maximum packet size for MTU Size transfer on the network. The default value is 1500, which is the largest value allowed by Ethernet at the network layer. It’s best if all nodes in your network use the same value, so only change this value if you know other nodes use a different value. Tether to a mobile network The Standalone VGA Grid supports tethering to a mobile device via USB. Tethered networking can work sideby-side with Ethernet routing and either networking system can be a back-up for the other. When the system falls over to the backup network type (i.e. from Ethernet to mobile, or vice versa) all streaming sessions with clients or servers directly connected to the system are closed and the clients will need to reconnect. You may need to provide a new stream URL (containing the new IP address) to your viewers. See the channel information page to get the new stream URL. By contrast, actively published streams are closed and reconnected via the secondary network (mobile or Ethernet) automatically, permitted the required publishing server is accessible from the new network. To configure tethering to a mobile network: 1. Configure the mobile device to allow tethering via USB. 2. Connect the mobile device to the Standalone VGA Grid with a USB cable. 3. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. SeeConnect to the admin interface. 4. Login as admin. 50 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Perform network diagnostics 5. Select the Network link in the Configuration menu; the network configuration page opens. 6. Click the drop-down box next to Use phone/tablet connection in the USB phone/tablet section; the following choices appear: Table 10 Mobile Tethering Options Label Description/Options Disabled Specifies that no USB tethering is permitted. No tethering Specifies that USB tethering is available for connecting a mobile device as a configuration utility (i.e. using the web browser), but no mobile data is used. When chosen, the system tries to use the Ethernet network first. It switches to use Prefer ethernet the mobile network (tethering) when the Ethernet network is no longer available. To prevent viewer interruptions, mobile data will continue to be used until the mobile network is down or publishing is restarted. When chosen, the system tries to use the mobile network (tethering) first. It switches to use Ethernet (hard-wired) when the mobile network is no longer Prefer available. To prevent viewer interruptions, Ethernet data will continue to be used tethering until the Ethernet network is down or publishing is restarted. Select this setting if you only have a mobile network. 7. Select your choice based on the table above. 8. Click Apply. Perform network diagnostics If your Standalone VGA Grid has network trouble, you can perform basic network troubleshooting tasks from the Network configuration page. In addition to providing the system’s IP address and MAC address to your network administrator, you can also ping an IP address or use traceroute to determine the path taken to an address. Not all networks support ping and traceroute. To ping or traceroute an IP address: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Network link in the Configuration menu; the network configuration page opens. 51 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Perform network diagnostics 4. Click ping or traceroute; an animation appears to the left of the address to indicate processing is underway. 5. Upon completion of the command, read the results from the console-like display is shown below the Network Diagnostics setting. 52 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configuration presets Configuration presets In situations where you have changing configuration requirements for your Standalone VGA Grid, you can use configuration presets to quickly and easily apply sets of pre-configured settings. For an overview of configuration presets, see: l Configuration presets overview This section also covers the following related topics: l Configuration groups l Create a configuration preset l Apply a configuration preset l Apply the Factory default configuration preset l Update a configuration preset l Delete a configuration preset There are also some very important configuration preset considerations to review: l Configuration preset considerations Configuration presets overview Configuration presets make it easy to use your Standalone VGA Grid in a variety of situations without needing to reconfigure it. Configuration presets divide the system's settings into the following configuration groups. (For a complete list of what is included in each group see Configuration presets overview.) System Sources Network Channels Automatic file uploads Using the Configuration presets section of the Maintenance page, you can create configuration presets using any number and combination of the configuration groups. Mix and match the settings groups saved together to create sets of configuration settings needed for each situation. You also always have a special Factory default configuration preset (which cannot be erased) to help you return to factory configuration without destructively erasing files saved to the system hard drive (see Configuration presets overview 53 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configuration presets overview It's important to note that configuration presets are applied over existing settings. They affect only the settings groups included in the preset, all other settings are unaffected. Read the Configuration presets overview section carefully to understand caveats around using configuration presets. Example of configuration presets in action A recording and streaming company brings Standalone VGA Grid to a conference as part of a portable rack. Each conference session needs to be streamed and recorded with a picture in picture layout that includes identifying information about the presenter in the metadata and the background image for the stream. Automatic file upload is needed to make sure the files are uploaded right after each session is complete. The company could bring Standalone VGA Grid in a factory configured state and get it ready between each session, but this requires a trained operator and doesn't allow much time to get multiple operations completed. Instead, the company could connect the system to their own corporate network before the show, upload the required backgrounds, and create channel configuration presets for each conference track. They can also create network and automatic file upload (AFU) presets for each of the home and remote locations. Once at the conference, the only changes necessary are to apply the network and AFU preset upon arrival, and the channel configuration presets between sessions. Channel configuration presets include links to background files used, but do not include the files themselves see Branding content. Be careful when deleting background images and logo files. Internal network and AFU preset The company uses this preset when configuring and testing from their corporate network. It uses a static IP address on their corporate network and AFU that uses ftp to upload to a local ftp server. Conference network and AFU preset The company applies this preset to the Standalone VGA Grid when they arrive at the conference. It changes only the network and AFU settings (using a conference-specific IP address and secure file transfer to an ftp server). 54 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configuration presets overview When applying this configuration preset, all other information including passwords, date/time, channels and source configurations, remains the same. Conference session 1 preset The company applies this preset from the corporate office when testing and at the conference prior to conference session 1 starting. All other preset groups remain unchanged, this preset only affects the channel (s) and their configuration. This preset includes a channel with a link to the correct background filename (the background file was uploaded during pre-show configuration at the corporate office) and has metadata specifying the speaker's name. Conference session 2 preset The company applies this preset from the corporate office when testing and at the conference prior to conference session 2 starting. After applying this preset the files recorded from session 1 remain present on the system and continue to upload via sftp (if not yet complete), but the channels reflect the session 2 background file name and presenter name. 55 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configuration groups Configuration presets are a versatile tool to help you use Standalone VGA Grid in a variety of changing conditions. Try it yourself and see! Configuration groups The following table describes what settings are saved with each configuration group. Table 11 Configuration group definitions Group Name Symbol Settings included in the configuration group Date and time settings, serial port settings, remote support settings, custom System disk check schedule, access passwords, deny/allow lists and LDAP configuration settings Network Network settings and tethering configuration. Sources All audio and video source configuration settings. All channel configuration data and current recording state, all layouts, all Channels recorder configuration data and current recording state, individual and global UPnP settings. AFU Automatic file upload type and parameters. 56 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a configuration preset Note that branding content, recorded files and SFTP/SCP private keys are not included in any configuration preset. Updloaded EDID configurations are applied immediately to the system and remain the norm for the source until a new EDID is uploaded. Configuration presets do not affect EDIDs. Create a configuration preset You can create as many configuration presets as you need. The system keeps track of which configuration groups are part of the preset and you provide a name that lets you know the significance of the preset. Note that configuration presets that include network or system settings require a system reboot when applied. To create a configuration preset: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens. 4. Scroll to the Configuration presets section. 57 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Apply a configuration preset 5. Type a description for your preset in the Name field. 6. Ensure only the desired configuration groups are selected from the Sections group. 7. Click Save; your configuration preset appears in the list. Apply a configuration preset When you apply a configuration preset, the system settings for all included configuration groups are updated. Other settings on the system are not affected. For example if you apply a preset that includes the configuration groups channnels and automatic file upload, your network settings, passwords, time server, source configurations, etc are not modified. Similarly if you apply a configuration preset that has only network settings included, only the network settings change. If you apply a preset that has the network or system configuration group, a reboot is required. You can verify which configuration groups are included in a preset by looking at the list to the right of the configuration preset name. The term 'all' means all groups are included. Otherwise groups are listed individually. 58 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Apply a configuration preset You may apply multiple presets one after another. If you apply two (or more) configuration presets that include a particular configuration group, the settings (for that group) from the last applied preset are the active settings. In short, last in wins. To apply a configuration preset: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens. 4. Scroll to the Configuration presets section. 5. Click Apply next to the configuration preset you wish to apply. 6. The system asks for confirmation before proceeding. If the configuration preset includes the network or system configuration groups, a reboot is necessary. 59 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Apply the Factory default configuration preset 7. Click OK to apply the configuration preset; the configuration preset is applied. 8. The system reboots if needed. Apply the Factory default configuration preset Your Standalone VGA Grid comes with a special factory default configuation preset. This configuration preset cannot be erased and is always presented at the top of the configuration presets list. It contains all possible configuration settings groups. Using the Factory default configuration setting is similar to using the Factory reset method (see Perform factory reset) with a few important differences. In short, the Factory default configuration preset is less destructive than Factory reset. This table describes the exact differences. Table 12 Factory default configuration preset vs Factory reset Deletes all created channels Factory default configuration preset Factory reset function ü ü Deletes all recorded files in channels Deletes all created recorders ü ü ü ü Deletes all recorded files in recorders Resets network configuration ü ü Resets touch screen configuration ü ü Resets user passwords ü ü Deletes all created configuration presets ü Deletes all branding files ü Resets all Source settings ü ü Deletes all Automatic file upload settings ü ü To apply the factory default configuration preset, follow the instructions in Apply the Factory default configuration preset and select the Factory default preset. A reboot is required. 60 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Update a configuration preset Update a configuration preset If you need to update a configuration preset to include different configuration groups, or simply new settings for the same groups, you can do so easily via the web interface. To update a configuration preset: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens. 4. Scroll to the Configuration presets section. 5. Find the preset you wish to change from the presets list. 6. Copy the name of the preset into the Name field. 7. Selected the desired configuration group(s) from the Sections group. 8. Click Save; a confirmation dialog asks you to confirm you want to overwrite the configuration preset. 61 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Delete a configuration preset 9. Click OK; your configuration preset is updated in the list. Delete a configuration preset You may want to trim the list of configuration presets to only those that are needed for your ongoing needs. You can delete all configuration presets at once by doing a factory reset, or you can delete individual configuration presets from the Maintenance page. To delete a configuration preset: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens. 4. Scroll to the Configuration presets section. 62 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configuration preset considerations 5. Click delete (x) next to Apply for the configuration preset; a confirmation message appears. 6. Click OK to confirm you want to delete the preset; the preset is deleted. Configuration preset considerations Configuration presets are groups of settings applied to the system, leaving other settings intact. The following considerations will help you get the most from your configuration presets. Channel and recorder index number behavior Each channel and recorder has an index number. The first channel created on a system is channel 1, subsequently channel 2, 3, 4, etc. Recorders are also created starting at index 1 with numbers incrementing as new recorders are created. The channel (or recorder) index number is found to the left of the channel or recorder name in the web interface: 63 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configuration preset considerations Configuration presets that contain the channels configuration group specify the channels in the preset by their index number. This means if you have channels 1, 2, 3 and 4 when you save your preset, applying that preset will overwrite the configuration of your current channels with indexes 1, 2, 3 and 4. If prior to applying that preset you also had channels with indexes 5 and 6, the configuration settings for those two channels are when the preset is applied (because the preset only has 4 channels). There are three areas where channel (and recorder) index numbers affect what happens when applying configuration presets. Read Recording stateRecorded files (in channels and recorders) and Deleting channels for more information. Recording state The Configuration groups section of this chapter shows that each channel and recorder's recording state is included in the channels configuration group. This means that if a channel (or recorder) is recording at the time you create a configuration preset, it will immediately start recording when you apply that preset. Similarly, if a configuration preset is saved when channels or recorders are not recording, those channels and recorders will not be recording when the preset is applied (this means a channel or recorder may stop recording as a result of applying the preset). For example, when applying a preset with channel 3 set to record: l If channel 3 exists prior to applying the preset and is already recording, the file will continue recording uninterrrupted unless the recording file type is different in the preset (in which case a new file is started). l If channel 3 exists prior to applying the preset and is not already recording, it immediately begins recording. l If no channel with index 3 exists prior to applying the preset, the channel is created and it immediately begins recording. 64 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configuration preset considerations Recorded files (in channels and recorders) Channels and recorders keep a list of files recorded in their Recordings section of the web interface. These files remain on the system even if the channel or recorder configuration is changed or removed as a result of applying a configuration preset. For example, prior to applying your configuration preset, you have channels with indexes 1, 2 and 3; each of these has five recording files. When you apply a configuration preset that has channels with index 1 and 2 only, you'll notice those channels each still have the same 5 recording files. Channel with index 3 is no longer present, but the files are not lost! Overwritten channel files are still available. To access and download/delete these recorded files, enter the following into the address bar: http://<deviceIP>/admin/channelN/archive or http://<deviceIP>/admin/recorderN/archive, where N is the index of the removed channel/recorder. For example, if a Channel with index 3 is no longer present, its corresponding files can be accessed by entering the following into the address bar: l http://192.168.0.183/admin/channel3/archive If you now create a new channel with index 3 (or load a preset that contains a channel with index 3), you'll find it starts with five recorded files in the Recordings section. These are the same recorded files that existed at the start of this example. Furthermore, if you delete any of the recordings, you are deleting the only instance of those files. Using our previous example, if you delete one of the five recordings from channel index 1, you'll find that even after applying different presets channel 1 will have only four recorded files. Deleting channels Recorded files are stored on the system based on their channel or recorder number. All files saved for channel index 1 are in one folder, and all files for recorder index 2 are in another. When you delete a channel (or recorder), you permanently delete all recordings for that channel (or recorder) even if those recordings were made while a different preset is applied. Applying a configuration preset with a different set of channels or recorders is not the same as deleting a channel. When deleting a channel or recorder that has recorded files, the web interface warns you of other configuration presets that use the same channel or recorder index numbers. When you see this prompt, we recommend you take a moment to look through the Recordings list to make sure you're OK to proceed with permanently deleting all the recorded files. 65 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configuration preset considerations Branding content The channels configuration group includes the filenames for logos and backgrounds used in the currently configured channels. It does not include the image files. Therefore it is important to make sure that between uses of different channel-related configuration presets you do not delete or replace files listed in the Branding Content section of the web interface. There is currently no configuration group that includes the Branding Content files. EDIDs EDIDs are uploaded and immediately applied to a specific source. This change remains in place until the user uploads a new EDID or requests the factory EDID is applied by using the Restore default EDID button (see Force the capture card to use a specific EDID If you apply a preset that needs a special EDID, be sure to remember to upload that EDID after applying the configuration preset. Configuration presets are not user profiles Configuration presets should not be confused with the concept of user profiles. Specifically, the following issues arise from trying to use configuration presets as user profiles: l recorded files are not removed between application of configuration presets (users could see each other's files) l configuration presets can be overwritten and deleted with no password (users could affect each other's presets) l branding and recorded files can be deleted, affecting more than just the currently applied configuration presets (users could erase branding or recordings belonging to other users) l applying a configuration presets does not clear the settings from groups not part of the preset (user information is not private) 66 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure date and time Configure date and time The Standalone VGA Grid uses the current date and time in naming recorded files and when synchronizing and timestamping inputs from multiple sources (i.e. when synchronizing an audio and a video source). The admin interface lets you specify date and time settings to ensure they are correctly configured for your time zone and your network. This section covers the following date and time-related topics: l Verify date and time settings l Change the time zone l Configure synchronized time (NTP, PTP v1 and RDATE) l Configure a local NTP server l Configure the date and time manually Verify date and time settings The current date, time, time zone, and synchronized time protocol settings are shown when the Date and Time configuration page is loaded in the Standalone VGA Grid web interface. To view settings on the date and time configuration page: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Date and Time link in the Configuration menu; the date and time configuration page opens and the following information is displayed: 67 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure synchronized time (NTP, PTP v1 and RDATE) The date and time configuration page also indicates whether the system is currently using synchronized or manually set time, and whether or not a local network time protocol (ntp) server is running. The following table describes the date and time configuration fields. Table 13 Date and Time Options Label Description/Options Time Zone The currently selected time zone. Enable time Whether or not a time synchronization protocol is being used for setting time. (If not synchronization selected, time is set manually.) Protocol The time synchronization protocol. Service IP Address The time synchronization server address. Set time manually Whether or not time is set manually. (If time is not being set manually, a time synchronization protocol is used.) The current date. (This is the current date even if the radio button Set time manually is Date not selected.) The current time. (This is the current time even if the radio button Set time manually is Time not selected.) Configure synchronized time (NTP, PTP v1 and RDATE) By default the Standalone VGA Grid uses the network time protocol server (NTP server) protocol and a time server from National Research Council Canada. You can continue to use this time server or configure a new server that is more appropriate for your network and location. Your system administrator can provide the correct time synchronization server settings. To set the time synchronization method: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Date and Time link in the Configuration menu; the date and time configuration page opens. 4. Click the Enable time synchronization radio button if it is not already selected. 5. Choose one of the following choices from the Protocols drop down: 68 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure synchronized time (NTP, PTP v1 and RDATE) Table 14 Synchronized Time Options Label Description/Options Network Time Protocol (NTP) is used for clock synchronization over the internet. There are many publicly available NTP servers you can use, or your company may NTP have its own NTP server. For more information about NTP and to find NTP servers, refer to http://support.ntp.org/bin/view/Servers/WebHome. RDATE is a tool for querying the current time from the network. It is generally RDATE considered obsolete and has been replaced by NTP. It's offered here for backwards compatibility with older timekeeping systems. The Precision Time Protocol (PTP) is used for clock synchronization over the PTP v1 internet. It has clock accuracy in the sub-microsecond range, making it more granular than NTP. 6. Tailor the synchronization protocol with the required parameters as described below. 7. If NTP is selected: a. Enter the IP address or server name for the NTP server in the Server IP Address field. NTP uses UDP packets and port 123. If the system is behind a firewall and accessing an external NTP server, UDP packets must be permitted on port 123. 8. If RDATE is selected: a. Enter the IP address or server name for the RDATE server in the Server IP Address field. b. Select an update interval from the drop down box. 9. If PTP v1 is selected: a. Select the multicast address of PTP v1 server from the PTP domain drop-down. PTP Domain Description Default PTP at multicast address 224.0.1.129 Alternative 1 PTP at multicast address 224.0.1.130 Alternative 2 PTP at multicast address 224.0.1.131 Alternative 3 PTP at multicast address 224.0.1.132 69 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure the date and time manually PTP uses UDP packets and ports 319 and 320 . If the system is behind a firewall and accessing an external PTP server, UDP packets must be permitted on ports 319 and 320. 10. Click Apply. Configure the date and time manually By default the Standalone VGA Grid uses NTP for time synchronization. If your system does not have access to a time synchronization server, or if you do not wish to use one, you can choose to manually set the date and time. To manually set the date and time: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Date and Time link in the Configuration menu; the date and time configuration page opens. 4. Type the desired date in the Date field. Use the format yyyy-mm-dd. 5. Type the desired time in the Time field. Use the format hh:mm:ss. 6. Click Apply. Change the time zone By default the system has the Canada/Eastern time zone set. Configuration of the time zone is necessary to ensure synchronized time servers provide the correct time to the system. To select another time zone: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Date and Time link in the Configuration menu; the date and time configuration page opens. 4. Select the new time zone from the Time Zone drop down box. 5. Click Apply. 70 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure a local NTP server Configure a local NTP server The Standalone VGA Grid can run a local NTP server. To configure a local NTP server: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Date and Time link in the Configuration menu; the date and time configuration page opens. 4. Select the check box Enable local NTP server. 71 PART 2: Capture Capturing is the process of taking the signals from your video and audio sources and encoding them in a format that is ready for streaming and recording. If you followed the quick start guide, you're already capturing, streaming and possibly recording your sources. The section of the guide helps you fine tune and troubleshoot the capturing process. When using Standalone VGA Grid, you can stick to all the default capture and encoding settings, or you tweak them to set the up exactly as you like. You can capture a single source at once, capture multiple sources in a custom channel or even switch between sources or groups of sources (layouts) while streaming and recording. Techniques for creating channels to capture, stream and record a single source; to create custom channels with multiple sources and multiple layouts; and how to switch layouts while capturing are all described in this section. The chapters in this section include: l Channels l Live video mixing / switching l Sources l Troubleshooting 72 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide What is a channel? What is a channel? Standalone VGA Grid uses Channels to organize and display content captured from DVI, VGA, HDMI, SDI, SVideo and audio. Channels make your sources (DVI, VGA, HDMI, SDI, S-Video and audio) available for streaming and recording. You choose how you want to configure your sources (and extras like images and text overlays) into layouts within your channel. DVI2PCIe cards do not support audio over HDMI. Standalone VGA Grid systems with DVI2PCIe cards will not be able to capture audio through HDMI sources. Standalone VGA Grid gives you a lot of control over how your sources are streamed. You are not limited to creating a Channel list that is a one-to-one reflection of your Sources list. You can make channels from some or all of your sources and you can add the same source to multiple single-source or multi-source layout channels. For example, you could use the same source in all three of these situations, concurrently: - as the only source in Channel 1 at 1080p, 30fps, 10,000 kbps; - as the only source in Channel 2 at 720p, 15 fps, 2,000 kbps; - in Channel 3 as part of a multi-source layout with picture in picture. All channels can be streamed and recorded simultaneously. Following the example above, you could record any combination of those three channels, and stream one, two or all three of them using any available streaming methods. In addition to creating multi-source channels, you can customize your channels by adding a images, company information, corporate colors and time stamps. Standalone VGA Grid has a visual layout editor to help you create exactly the layout you want to stream. For each channel you create, you can use the layout editor to create one or more channel layouts. Then, while recording and/or streaming, you can switch live between different layouts. To learn about creating layouts, read Create a custom channel and Custom channel layout editor. To learn how to do live video mixing / live video switching, see Live video mixing / switching. You can now create and upload customized “No Signal” images for use in your channels. These images are assigned to a specific source and display in any channel where the source is used but has no input detected. For more information on how to create a "No Signal" image, see Add a No Signal image to a source 73 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a simple channel Through channel configuration and fine-tuning you can maximize your stream quality, minimize your processing requirements and bandwidth. You can also specify how the video is presented and streamed to sharing destinations and viewers. Topics in this section include: l Create a simple channel l Configure encoding l Create a custom channel l Custom channel examples l Custom channel layout editor l Add a video source (custom channel) l Add an audio source (custom channel) l Add an image (custom channel) l Add a text overlay (custom channel) l Live video mixing / switching l Preview a channel l Delete a channel l Rename a channel While configuring channels, consider opening a live preview of the channel in another tab or browser window so you can see the changes as they are applied, refer to Preview a channel. Create a simple channel Channels arrange the output from sources into a viewable and recordable stream. Although there are may ways you customize a channel, this procedure walks you through the most basic channel setup with a single source. For multiple-source channels and advanced layout editing see Add channel metadata. (You can always update this channel later to use multiple sources or multiple layouts.) After creating this channel you'll be ready to stream it using the system default settings. Instructions to configure encoding, branding and CDN streaming are described in separate procedures. To create a simple channel: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 74 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a simple channel 3. Ensure a DVI, HDMI, VGA or SDI input source is connected to the device and you know the name of the source it is connected to. If you're not sure, see What is a source?. 4. From the web interface, scroll to the Channels menu option. A list of existing channels, if any is displayed. 5. Click Add channel located at the bottom of the list; the Sources page opens. 6. You're automatically editing the Default layout in the channel layout editor. (By default a 16:9 visual layout editor with a black background is shown.) 7. Click Add new itemto add a layer to the layout; a drop down appears allowing you to choose the kind of item to add to your layout. 75 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a simple channel 8. Select Video Source from the drop down; the new item is added to the layout and the Source settings box appears on the right side of the page. 9. Click the Source drop down and select your source; your source appears in the visual layout editor above. 76 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a simple channel 10. For best results, keep the Keep aspect ratio when scaling checkbox checked in the Source settings box. 11. Use the red and white source handles in the visual editor to stretch your image to the full size of the layout. 12. If audio is desired, scroll down and choose an audio source from the displayed list. 13. Click Save at the lower right corner of the page; the layout changes are saved. Because this is a single-source channel with only one layout, the channel's name is updated to display the source’s name next time you view the channel. Click the channel name to refresh and view this, if desired. If you wish to change a channel's name directly, see Rename a channel. Your channel is ready for basic streaming and recording. By default (on a new channel), when the source doesn't have a 16:9 aspect ratio, the system automatically detects the correct aspect ratio and updates the layout after you leave and return to the layout editor screen. This happens because the encoding page has the Use current signal resolution as frame size setting selected by default. If you want to change the aspect ratio for your channel, see Configure encoding . 77 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel There are a lot of creative things you can do next with your channel, including creating more layouts and editing this layout to add images and more sources. See Create a custom channel Create a custom channel Standalone VGA Grid has two styles of channels. 1. Simple channels with a single source that fits the full screen, as discussed in Create a simple channel 2. Custom channels with one or more layouts, sources, background matte color and images. Both types of channels are created using the same interface. In fact, custom channels are the same thing as simple channels, but they're called out separately in this manual because they are more complex. We call a channel a custom channel (or custom layout channel) when it has multiple sources, image elements, multiple layouts or any combination of those items. So the only distinction between simple channels and custom channels is whether you choose to add any extra elements to the channel. When making simple channels, your source takes up the whole screen, but with custom channels, you can organize sources, pictures and text overlays in different locations on your screen. We call these layouts, and each custom channel you create can have multiple layouts. If you want to change the way things appear in your stream while streaming (aka video switching or video mixing), you'll need to create one layout for each of the views you want for your stream. Later, while you are streaming, you can switch live between the layouts using the web UI. If you're planning to do live switching with your channel, we recommend you set the frame size to a fixed size instead of using the default automatic detection of source frame size. Setting the frame size to a fixed value ensures you don't experience any stream interruptions if the source frame size changes due to layouts that contain a single source that has a different frame size than those in other layouts. As you saw when creating a simple channel, the first thing you need to do is create your (first) layout. Before getting started with custom channel layouts we recommend you review the Custom channel layout editor and get some inspiration from our Custom channel examples. Then use the remaining topics in this section to help you create and configure your perfect custom channel layout(s)! l Create a custom channel or layout l To upload an image l Delete an uploaded image l Add an image (custom channel) 78 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel l Add a video source (custom channel) l Add an audio source (custom channel) l Set the background color (custom channel) l Add a text overlay (custom channel) l Delete or move a layout (custom channel) l Rename a layout (custom channel) Once you have your layouts created, read about Live video mixing / switching to learn how to change between layouts while streaming and/or recording. Each layout you add to your channel adds a bit of overhead on Standalone VGA Grid- and more complex layouts take more resources. So it's a good idea to make sure you delete any layouts you're not using. Custom channel layout editor The visual channel layout editor gives you full control on size and position of the pictures, sources and text overlays you add to your channel. You can edit existing channel layouts (even ones you initially created as simple channels) or you can create a new channel or a new layout within a channel to work with. To add a new layout, see Create a custom channel or layout. To select a layout for editing: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select your channel from the channels menu and click Sources for the channel. 4. Select the layout you want to edit by clicking anywhere in the layout row; the layout editor shows the current state of the selected layout for your channel and the row for the layout you're editing is highlighted green. 79 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel 5. If this is a new layout, you are presented with an empty layout area and a black background matte. The Sources page and channel layout editor is broken into a few pieces. Layout selector First there is the layout selector. From here you can pick which layout to preview/edit, create a new layout, delete a layout or select which layout is active. Visual channel layout editor Next is the channel layout editor where you can add pictures, sources and text overlays to your layout. You can also choose the background matte. 80 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel The heart of the channel layout editor is the layout area, which has the same frame size and aspect ratio as your stream. As you add items to the layout, they appear in the layout area. The currently selected item is presented in full colour while other items appear transparent. To position the items you can use the mouse to click and drag, or you can use the manual positioning values to set a location as a percent of the screen (by typing a value followed by the percent sign, e.g. 4%) or in pixels (by typing a value followed by px, e.g. 16px). You can resize items by clicking and dragging the red and white circles at the corners of the items or by using the manual positioning values. For example entering 0% in all four of the outside boxes will stretch the item to the full size of the layout area. You can modify the settings for each item by clicking the row. The item's settings box appears. See Add an image (custom channel), Add a video source (custom channel) and Add a text overlay (custom channel) for more details on item settings. Audio source selector and save button The last section of the Sources page is the audio selector and the (very important) Save button. 81 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel Select the audio source(s) you want to add to your channel. Sources are mixed at equal levels. If you have one source it's added at 100% it's volume. With two audio sources, each is added at 50%, and so on. When you're done all your changes, use the Save button to save the changes to your layout. If you accidentally try to leave the layout without saving, Standalone VGA Grid reminds you to save before leaving. Ready to make some layouts of your own? Try these topics: l Create a custom channel or layout l Add a video source (custom channel) l Add an audio source (custom channel) l Add an image (custom channel) l Add a text overlay (custom channel) l Delete or move a layout (custom channel) l Set the background color (custom channel) l Rename a layout (custom channel) 82 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel Custom channel examples Here are a few examples of what you can do with just two sources and two picture files. Use your imagination to create the layouts you want! Layout example Description One source, at the full size of the channel. (Simple channel) To get this look: Add one source to the layout, select keep aspect ratio and stretch to fit the full layout size. One source, with a green background matte. To get this look: Select a background color. Add a source to the layout and size appropriately, leaving the background matte visible. One source with a logo (.png with transparency) in the bottom left corner. To get this look: Upload an image with transparency through the Branding Content page. Follow the steps from the first example to add the source, then add a picture item and place it where desired. 83 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Layout example Create a custom channel Description One source with a text overlay in the bottom right corner. To get this look: Follow the steps from the first example to add the source, then add a text overlay item to the layout. Enter your text in the settings box and place it where desired. One source with a background image. To get this look: Upload your backround image (must have the right aspect ratio) through the Branding Content page. When creating the layout, first add the picture and stretch it to the full screen. Next, follow the steps from the first example to add the source. Two sources with a background image. To get this look: Follow the steps for the example above, then add and position a second source. 84 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Layout example Create a custom channel Description Two sources (one cropped to a new aspect ratio), a background image and a logo. To get this look: Upload your background and logo images through the Branding Content page. When creating the layout, first pick the background, then the sources, and lastly the logo. Size and position each. For the second source, click "cropping" in the source settings and select the desired crop. A few more examples, this time including a 4x3 source. Layout example Description One source, at the full size of the channel. (Simple channel) To get this look: Add one source to the layout, select keep aspect ratio and stretch to fit the full layout size. (Note the channel broadcasts in 4x3 if you have Use current signal resolution as frame size selected on the encoding page.) One 4x3 source in a 16x9 frame, with a green background matte. To get this look: Make sure your encoding page has a 16x9 frame size. From the sources page, select a background color. Add a source to the layout and stretch to the full height of the screen, leaving the background matte visible. 85 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel Layout example Description A 4x3 source and a cropped 16x9 source together with a background image. To get this look: Upload an image with transparency through the Branding Content page. Follow the steps from the first example to add the sources and use the crop utility to crop the second source to a square aspect ratio. Time to get started on your own layouts! See: l Create a custom channel or layout l Custom channel layout editor Create a custom channel or layout We call a channel a custom channel (or custom layout channel) when is has multiple sources, image elements, multiple layouts, or any combination of those items. Custom layouts give you full control on size and position of the pictures, sources and text overlays you add to your channel. Custom local channels use HD Encoders that have been added as sources (see Add an HD Encoder as a source (custom channel)). Each HD Encoder used adds overhead to the VGA Grid Concentrator. Ensure you monitor CPU usage when using multiple HD Encoders. Use this procedure to help you create a new channel or layout, then use the related procedures to add elements to your layout. If you're planning to use live switching, we strongly recommend you rename the channel rather than using the default channel name (Rename a channel). See the note at the bottom of this topic to avoid streaming and recording issues resulting from adding or deleting layouts when live switching. To create a new custom channel (with default layout) or add a layout to an existing channel: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 86 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel 3. Do one of the following to make the Sources page appear: a. select your channel from the channels menu and click Sources for the channel; or b. select the Add channel link to create a new channel. 4. Next, pick one of the following actions to create or select a layout to edit: a. select the layout you want to edit by clicking anywhere in the layout row; or b. click Add Layout to create a new layout. 5. The layout editor shows the current state of the selected layout for your channel and the row for the layout you're editing is highlighted green. 6. If this is a new channel or layout, you are presented with an empty layout area with a black background matte. Now that you've created your layout, you can start adding items to it. See these topics: l Add a video source (custom channel) l Add an audio source (custom channel) l Add an image (custom channel) l Add a text overlay (custom channel) l Delete or move a layout (custom channel) l Set the background color (custom channel) l Rename a layout (custom channel) 87 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel Important note for channels with multiple layouts By default (and historically), Standalone VGA Grid's channels are named automatically based on the content in the channel. When a channel has only one layout, and that layout has only one source (regardless of whether or not there are pictures or overlays in the layout), the channel name is the same as the source name For example: By default, a channel with one layout that has HDMI-A in it will be named HDMI-A. When you add a second layout to a channel, the channel name changes to a generic name Channel X (where X is the channel index number). Normally this wouldn't pose any problem, but the changing name does have some side effects: the stream is stopped and restarted, and the channel's recorder (if recording) is stopped and a new file is started. Furthermore, when you delete layouts in a channel until there is only one layout (with one source) left, the channel name reverts to the source name. To avoid any issue with changing channel names on channels where you'll have more than one layout, we strongly recommend you rename the channel to a custom name (Rename a channel. This will ensure no automatic channel name changes. Add a video source (custom channel) A source needs to be added to a channel before the channel is ready to stream. In the case of custom channels with layouts, you can add one or more sources to the layout area. You can add a source to a layout on an existing channel or you can create a new channel. If you're not sure how to create a channel or a layout, start by reviewing the first few steps in the topic Custom channel layout editor or start with Create a simple channel. To add a source to your layout: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Follow the steps in Custom channel layout editor or Create a custom channel or layout to get to the channel layout editor. 4. From the channel layout editor, click Add item; a drop down box appears. (If you have any other items already in your layout, the new item appears at the top of the list.) 88 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel 5. Select Video Source from the drop down; the new item is added to the layout and the Source settings box appears on the right side of the page. 6. Click the Source drop down and select your source; your source appears in the visual layout editor above. 7. For best results, select the Keep aspect ratio when scaling checkbox from the Source settings box. 8. If desired, select Crop from the Source settings box and use the red and white handles to draw a box around the section of the source you'd like to have in the layout; your cropped selection changes in the layout area. 89 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel 9. Moving back to the layout area, use the mouse, the keyboard or the manual position value fields to position and resize your source. You can click and drag, stretch using the handles in the layout area, or type values into the fields. See the note below for more information. 10. If needed, re-order the items in your layout by clicking and dragging items in the item list (under the Add new item link). For example, if you added your video source over a text overlay, the video source could conceal the overlay. To fix it, drag the video source item below the text item in the list, or vice-versa. 11. When your layout is complete, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save to save your work. Other things you may want to add to your layout: l Add an audio source (custom channel) l Add an image (custom channel) 90 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel l Add a text overlay (custom channel) l Delete or move a layout (custom channel) l Set the background color (custom channel) l Rename a layout (custom channel) A note about item positioning and sizing There are four ways to position and size items in the layout area 1. using the mouse 2. using the keyboard 3. using the manual positioning values with percents 4. using the manual positioning values with pixels To use the mouse: Click and drag to move the item. Click and drag the red and white circles to resize the item as you wish. Using this method you can make quick changes that are in increments of approximately 5% of the width or height of your layout area. For more refined movements, hold the down the Ctrl key on your keyboard while dragging the item with the mouse. To use the keyboard: Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the item up, down, left or right in the layout. Changes are in increments of approximately 5% of the height or width of the layout area. Make more refined movements by holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard while pressing the up, down, left or right keys. You can also hold the Shift key while using the arrow keys to control the size of the item on the layout. Hold both Ctrl and Shift for fine-grained size control. Using percents: Specify a whole number, followed by a percent sign (e.g. 4%) in any of the manual positioning fields. The image will move and resize to honor the space you specified. For example to move the item in 12% from the left side of the layout area, enter 12% in the bottom left positioning value square. The image will resize to accomodate your change. If you further enter 15% in the bottom right positioning value square, the image will be centered and take up 76% of the width of the layout area. Using pixels: If you need to specify an exact amount in pixels (rather than percent) you can type a pixel value in any of the positioning value squares followed by the characters px (e.g. 56px). You can mix and match 91 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel pixels and percents changing only the boxes you want to use pixel values. At any time you can switch back to percents by typing a percent. Add an audio source (custom channel) To stream the audio for a source you need to add it to a channel and make sure audio is enabled in the channel's encoding page. (Audio is enabled in the encoding page by default.) Audio must be added to each layout for your channel. You can use the same audio for each layout, or if you desire, you can have different layouts use different audio. If you're not sure how to create a channel or a layout, start by reviewing the first few steps in the topic Custom channel layout editor or start with Create a simple channel. To add an audio source to your layout: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Follow the steps in Custom channel layout editor or Create a custom channel or layout to get to the channel layout editor. 4. Select the audio source(s) you want to add to your channel. Sources are mixed at equal levels. If you have one source it's added at 100% its volume. With two audio sources, each is added at 50%, and so on. 5. When your layout changes are complete, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save to save your work. 6. Follow the steps in Configure audio codec to ensure audio is enabled for your channel and to select your audio settings. Other things you may want to add to your layout: 92 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel l Add a video source (custom channel) l Add an image (custom channel) l Add a text overlay (custom channel) l Delete or move a layout (custom channel) l Set the background color (custom channel) l Rename a layout (custom channel) To upload an image You can customize your channels by adding pictures as backgrounds, overlays or information. Collectively the images you upload to the system are known as branding images. For best results always upload images that are already the correct size needed in your layout. Background images should match the frame size of your channel (frame size is set in the Encoding configuration page). There are two ways to upload branding images. You can upload images to the branding page, as described in this procedure, or you can drag and drop images using the procedure described in Add an image (custom channel). Note that using the procedure below is the only way to see whether or not you'll be overwriting an existing image. To upload a branding image to the branding page: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Click Branding Content under the Configuration menu; the configuration page opens. 93 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel 4. Click Choose File; a browser page opens. 5. Navigate to the folder on your admin computer that contains the logo. 6. Select the file, the following file formats are supported: PNG and JPEG. The maximum supported file size is 3840×2160. No warning or error message is displayed if your image is too large. Files that exceed the maximum size do not appear in the dropdown list when selecting an image. 7. Click Open; the file is added to the File/template to upload field. 8. Click Upload; the file is uploaded and displayed in the Other files section. 94 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel See the following topics to learn how to apply the logo, background, overlay text or other images to a channel: l Add an image (custom channel) l Add a text overlay (custom channel) Add an image (custom channel) You can use images in your custom channel layouts to create a background for your source, to add your corporate logo, or to add relevant information about the event you're streaming. Standalone VGA Grid supports png (PNG) and .jpg (JPEG) images. You can upload any image from 16×16 pixels to a maximum size of 3840×2160, however it's strongly recommended that you upload exactly the size you need to avoid having your image scaled. In earlier releases, there were separate procedures for adding backgrounds and logos to a channel. These actions are now both considered adding an image to a custom channel layout and can be accomplished with the steps below. You can add a picture to a layout on an existing channel or you can create a new channel. If you're not sure how to create a channel or a layout, start by reviewing the first few steps in the topic Custom channel layout editor or start with Create a simple channel. To add a picture to your layout: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Follow the steps in To upload an image or Create a custom channel or layout to upload your image, if not already uploaded. If you like, you can also use the drag and drop technique described below. 4. Follow the steps in Custom channel layout editor to get to the channel layout editor. 95 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel 5. From the channel layout editor, click Add item; a drop down box appears. (If you have any other items already in your layout, the new item appears at the top of the list.) 6. Select Picture; the Picture Settings section appears on the right side of the page. 7. If you haven't already uploaded your image, you can drag and drop it from your desktop to the gray Please select picture box. (Note: no warning is displayed if the image is too large or will replace another file). 8. If you have already uploaded the image, click the Use image drop down to select an image you have uploaded to the system; 9. Your picture appears in the Picture settings preview and is added to the layout area. It is selected for sizing and positioning. If your uploaded image does not appear in the list, ensure it doesn't exceed the maximum file size of 3840×2160. 96 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel 10. For best results, keep the Keep aspect ratio when scaling checkbox selected in the Picture settings box. (This is selected by default.) 11. In the layout area, use the mouse, the keyboard or the manual position value fields to position and resize your image. For background images, click and drag to fill the full layout area. See the note below for more information on positioning techniques. 12. If needed, re-order the items in your layout by clicking and dragging items in the item list (under the Add new item link). For example, if you added your background image after adding a video source, the background image conceals the video source. To fix it, drag the video source item above the background image item in the list, or vice-versa. 13. When your layout is complete, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save to save your work. Other things you may want to add to your layout: 97 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel l Add a video source (custom channel) l Add an audio source (custom channel) l Add a text overlay (custom channel) l Delete or move a layout (custom channel) l Set the background color (custom channel) l Rename a layout (custom channel) A note about item positioning and sizing There are four ways to position and size items in the layout area 1. using the mouse 2. using the keyboard 3. using the manual positioning values with percents 4. using the manual positioning values with pixels To use the mouse: Click and drag to move the item. Click and drag the red and white circles to resize the item as you wish. Using this method you can make quick changes that are in increments of approximately 5% of the width or height of your layout area. For more refined movements, hold the down the Ctrl key on your keyboard while dragging the item with the mouse. To use the keyboard: Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the item up, down, left or right in the layout. Changes are in increments of approximately 5% of the height or width of the layout area. Make more refined movements by holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard while pressing the up, down, left or right keys. You can also hold the Shift key while using the arrow keys to control the size of the item on the layout. Hold both Ctrl and Shift for fine-grained size control. Using percents: Specify a whole number, followed by a percent sign (e.g. 4%) in any of the manual positioning fields. The image will move and resize to honor the space you specified. For example to move the item in 12% from the left side of the layout area, enter 12% in the bottom left positioning value square. The image will resize to accomodate your change. If you further enter 15% in the bottom right positioning value square, the image will be centered and take up 76% of the width of the layout area. Using pixels: 98 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel If you need to specify an exact amount in pixels (rather than percent) you can type a pixel value in any of the positioning value squares followed by the characters px (e.g. 56px). You can mix and match pixels and percents changing only the boxes you want to use pixel values. At any time you can switch back to percents by typing a percent. Add a text overlay (custom channel) Adding the date and time, channel name or other custom text as an overlay on your video is an easy way to customize your stream. You can add an overlay to a layout on an existing channel or you can create a new channel. If you're not sure how to create a channel or a layout, start by reviewing the first few steps in the topic Custom channel layout editor or start with Create a simple channel. To add a picture to your layout: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Follow the steps in Custom channel layout editor or Create a custom channel or layout to get to the channel layout editor. 4. From the channel layout editor, click Add item; a drop down box appears. (If you have any other items already in your layout, the new item appears at the top of the list.) 5. Use the item type drop down box to select Text; the Text settings box appears and the layout area is updated with the text overlay. 99 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel 6. In the Text field, specify the overlay text you want to add to the layout. Use your own text and any combination of the shortcut codes listed at the end of this procedure. For example: Use this string: %A %B %d, %G. Live streaming channel Auto A. to obtain these results (Thursday February 26, 2015. Live streaming channel Auto A.): 7. Use the font drop down to select the size of your text. 8. For best results, select the Keep aspect ratio when scaling checkbox from the Text settings box. (This is selected by default.) 9. In the layout area, use the mouse or the manual position value fields to position and resize your text overlay. (You may first need to change the height of the text box handles before you can proceed with resizing or positoning.) See the note below for more information on positioning techniques. 10. If needed, re-order the items in your layout by clicking and dragging items in the item list (under the Add new item link). For example, if you added your overlay text before adding a video source, the video source conceals the overlay text. To fix it, drag the overlay text item above the video source item in the list, or vice-versa. 11. When your layout is complete, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save to save your work. 100 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel Table 15 Time Format options Field Value Example date %F 2012-01-26 year %G 2012 month (01) %m 01 month (Jan) %b Jan month (January) %B January day of the month %d 26 weekday (Thu) %a Thu weekday (Thursday) %A Thursday time %T 08:40:45 hour %k 08 minute %M 40 second %S 45 millisecond %#m 378 channel name %c Camera Feed 1 Other things you may want to add to your layout: l Add a video source (custom channel) l Add an audio source (custom channel) l Add an image (custom channel) l Delete or move a layout (custom channel) l Set the background color (custom channel) l Rename a layout (custom channel) A note about item positioning and sizing There are four ways to position and size items in the layout area 101 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel 1. using the mouse 2. using the keyboard 3. using the manual positioning values with percents 4. using the manual positioning values with pixels To use the mouse: Click and drag to move the item. Click and drag the red and white circles to resize the item as you wish. Using this method you can make quick changes that are in increments of approximately 5% of the width or height of your layout area. For more refined movements, hold the down the Ctrl key on your keyboard while dragging the item with the mouse. To use the keyboard: Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to move the item up, down, left or right in the layout. Changes are in increments of approximately 5% of the height or width of the layout area. Make more refined movements by holding down the Ctrl key on your keyboard while pressing the up, down, left or right keys. You can also hold the Shift key while using the arrow keys to control the size of the item on the layout. Hold both Ctrl and Shift for fine-grained size control. Using percents: Specify a whole number, followed by a percent sign (e.g. 4%) in any of the manual positioning fields. The image will move and resize to honor the space you specified. For example to move the item in 12% from the left side of the layout area, enter 12% in the bottom left positioning value square. The image will resize to accomodate your change. If you further enter 15% in the bottom right positioning value square, the image will be centered and take up 76% of the width of the layout area. Using pixels: If you need to specify an exact amount in pixels (rather than percent) you can type a pixel value in any of the positioning value squares followed by the characters px (e.g. 56px). You can mix and match pixels and percents changing only the boxes you want to use pixel values. At any time you can switch back to percents by typing a percent. Set the background color (custom channel) When you create a custom channel layout, you can select the background color to fill any unused space. For example you can add a color from your corporate color scheme. To add a picture to your layout: 102 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Follow the steps in Custom channel layout editor or Create a custom channel or layout to get to the channel layout editor. 4. From the channel layout editor, click the drop down arrow next to the existing (by default black) background color; the color picker opens. 5. Pick a new color or type in an RGB value in the field; the color is updated in the layout area. 6. Click anywhere off the color picker to close the picker. 7. When your layout is complete, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save to save your work. Rename a layout (custom channel) Layouts you create are automatically given a default name (the first one is Default!). You can keep these names, or you can edit them to something more descriptive. You can rename any layout, even the currently active layout. To rename a layout: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Follow the steps in Custom channel layout editor or Create a custom channel or layout to get to the channel layout editor. 4. From the layout picker, click on the row of the desired layout; the layout appears in the editor below. 103 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel 5. From the editor, click the name of the layout; it turns red. 6. Type in your new layout name and press Enter to save the new name. (Note if you click somewhere else without pressing Enter, your changes are discarded.) Delete or move a layout (custom channel) Your custom channel can have multiple layouts. It's simple to re-order layouts or erase layouts you're not using any more. Reorder layouts To move a layout: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Follow the steps in Custom channel layout editor or Create a custom channel or layout to get to the channel layout editor. 4. Using the rows in the layout selector, click and drag to rearrange the order of your layouts. Delete layouts You can delete any layout except the currently active layout. 104 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Create a custom channel If you're planning to use live switching, we strongly recommend you rename the channel rather than using the default channel name (Rename a channel). See the note at the bottom of this topic to avoid streaming and recording issues resulting from adding or deleting layouts when live switching. To delete a layout: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Follow the steps in Custom channel layout editor to get to the channel layout editor. 4. Click the X at the left side of the row for the layout you wish to delete; the system prompts you to make sure you want to delete the layout. 5. Click OK to proceed; the layout is deleted. Important note for channels with multiple layouts By default (and historically), Standalone VGA Grid's channels are named automatically based on the content in the channel. When a channel has only one layout, and that layout has only one source (regardless of whether or not there are pictures or overlays in the layout), the channel name is the same as the source name For example: By default, a channel with one layout that has HDMI-A in it will be named HDMI-A. When you add a second layout to a channel, the channel name changes to a generic name Channel X (where X is the channel index number). Normally this wouldn't pose any problem, but the changing name does have some side effects: the stream is stopped and restarted, and the channel's recorder (if recording) is stopped and a new file is started. Furthermore, when you delete layouts in a channel until there is only one layout (with one source) left, the channel name reverts to the source name. To avoid any issue with changing channel names on channels where you'll have more than one layout, we strongly recommend you rename the channel to a custom name (Rename a channel. This will ensure no automatic channel name changes. 105 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure encoding Delete an uploaded image Images used in custom channel layouts are stored on the system hard drive. You can delete an image after you are done using it, or to when performing general housekeeping duties on the system. To delete an uploaded image: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. If the image is used as part of the layout for any channel, select a different image or no image by using the drop-down list in the Picture settings box within that channel's layout before deleting the file using the steps below. 3. Click Branding Content under the Configuration menu; the configuration page opens. 4. Click Remove; a confirmation dialog box opens. 5. Click OK; the dialog box closes and the image file is removed from the configuration page. Configure encoding You can modify the encoding settings for each channel you create. These settings let you perfect your stream by selecting the right frame size, bit rate, audio/video codecs and more. This section covers the following encoding topics: l Configure video codec l Configure frame size l Fine tune stream settings 106 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure encoding l Configure audio codec l Codec and file format compatibility Configure video codec To configure encoding: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Click the Encoding link for your channel; the encoding configuration page opens. 4. Click the Codec drop-down menu to change the size and speed of the compression and decompression and the quality of the image. Choose one of the following options from the Codec drop-down menu. Value H.264 Motion JPEG MPEG-4 Description H.264 is the default value and provides high quality video while using low bandwidth. This is the preferred codec for the system. This is suitable for live streaming and video, however may have low quality images while using high bandwidth. Motion JPEG does not support audio. This may be suitable for presentations. Provides good image quality, while using moderate bandwidth. 107 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure encoding 5. If the selected codec is Motion JPEG, you can configure the Page refresh time. Specify a time in a seconds. 6. If the selected codec is H.264 (default), click Video encoding preset to define how the video stream is encoded. Choose one of the following: Value Description Hardware This is the default H.264 encoding preset. Choose this setting for best Accelerated performance. This matches the default from previous generations of Epiphan products. Choose Software this only if you need software encoding or X.264 encoding to match results created with previous generations of Epiphan products or firmware. 7. If the selected codec is H.264 (default), click Video encoding profile to limit or include video formats that are supported. Choose one of the following: Value Baseline Main Description Choose this option when streaming to an application that requires robustness and cannot tolerate data loss, for example video-conferencing. Choose this option for standard-definition broadcasts. This is the default. Choose this option when video is viewed for broadcast and disk storage High applications, particularly for high definition television application such as Blu-ray disk storage format and HDTV broadcast service. Video encoding profile and preset can be set only when the H.264 codec is selected. 8. If all your changes are complete, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Apply. Configure frame size By default, for channels with only one layout and when that layout has only one video source, your Standalone VGA Grid automatically uses the incoming source frame size as the stream frame size. Frame size greatly affects the amount of bandwidth needed to transmit your stream. The larger the frame size, the more bandwidth you need to stream it. So you may want to keep the frame size the same as your source, or you may want to apply upscaling, downscaling, stretching, or black bar framing, depending on your needs. 108 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure encoding For example: l if the input signal resolution is 1920×1080 (a 16:9 aspect ratio) l and stream frame size is set to another 16:9 frame size such as 1280×720, the smaller stream frame size causes the system to downscale the image and use less bandwidth to transmit. Or if you have a widescreen/HD format source but need a 4:3 output frame size, you can add black bars to the top and bottom of the frame. The system is designed to provide scaling, however for the best overall system performance (particualrly when reaching maximum system capacity), configure your source to provide the correct frame size and avoid scaling. To configure your stream's frame size: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Click Encoding for the your channel; the encoding configuration page opens. 4. Scroll to the Frame size section. 5. Perform one of the following steps: Using current signal resolution as the frame size only works for channel layouts with a single source. If you're using multiple sources, follow the steps below to set your frame size. a. Check the Use current signal resolution as the frame size check box. Enabling this feature greys out the other frame-size configuration fields. The system automatically streams at the frame size of the input signal. 109 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure encoding If you change the frame size (resolution) of the input signal after streaming (or recording) begins your may see interrupted streaming and recording. Enabling this feature is not recommended for systems where input resolution is changed frequently. b. Change the frame size, follow the steps below. 6. Set the Frame size values to reflect the dimensions required for your stream. Some suggested values cover popular resolutions of cameras and display devices such as monitors, but you may also specify something custom: a. Uncheck Use current signal resolution as frame size. b. Type a frame size in the field; or c. Select an option from the sizes shown, the dimensions will appear in the frame size field. Scaling occurs automatically (no extra configuration needed) when you make the dimensions larger, smaller, or a different aspect ratio than the source. If your channel has a layout with only one source and your source and stream aspect ratios differ, when viewing that layout, your source is centered in the frame and matte bars are added to the top and bottom or left and right sides to make up the difference. See Remove black bars (matte) from the video. 7. If all your changes are complete, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Apply. If you plan to use layout switching during a live stream, it's best to choose a fixed layout size. This avoids causing the stream restart due to frame size change when you switch between singlesource layouts that use frame sizes. 110 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure encoding Fine tune stream settings Along with video/audio codecs and frame size, there are other configurable stream settings that affect quality and bandwidth. Like with frame size selection, values for these settings can be a tradeoff between bandwidth available and quality for stream viewers. A table at the end of this section provides additional guidance for the settings To fine tune your stream's settings : 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Click Encoding for your channel; the encoding configuration page opens. 4. Scroll to the Key frame interval setting. 5. Click the Key frame interval drop-down box to choose how often a key frame (a frame that contains all the pixels) is sent when streaming the video. The longer the key frame interval the smaller the video file size, and vice versa. 6. If desired, change the Limit frame rate. The default should be adequate in most applications. While decreasing the limit may improve system performance, you may need to test different values to balance video smoothness and processing power. 7. If using H.264 of MPEG4 video codecs, you can increase or decrease image quality by increasing or decreasing the target Bitrate value. Video with a high level of motion and high resolution, such as a sporting event, requires a high bitrate. 8. If all your changes are complete, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Apply. Table 16 Stream settings guidance The key frame interval feature specifies how often a key frame (a frame that contains all the pixels) is sent when streaming the video. This setting also impacts how quickly a video moves through the frames when a viewer uses the search function of their media player. Increasing the number of seconds between key frames can significantly Key frame interval reduce your bandwidth and system resource usage with minor impact to your video quality. A good rule of thumb is to keep the interval between 2 to 3 seconds and decrease the key frame interval as the motion increases. Try different settings and note changes in the video quality. If your video quality is poor and jittery you may need to decrease the interval between key frames. If you have unlimited bandwidth and system resources you 111 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure encoding can choose an option to stream key frames only. Frame rate reflects the number of images captured by the device per second. Reducing the frame rate reduces bandwidth usage, and vice versa. The system's ability to maintain a set frame rate is based on several factors, for example: l overall system load affects the ability for the device to process pixels; Frame rate l available network bandwidth; l the source and stream frame size (resolution); l the type of motion that is captured; and l number of users accessing the stream. When adjusting the frame rate, you may need to try different values to achieve the best outcome. In general, higher bitrate mean higher image quality in the stream, at the cost of higher bandwidth needed to transmit it. For comparison against something you are likely familiar with, an HD Blu- Bitrate ray video is typically in the range of 20 mbps, standard-definition DVD is usually 6 mbps. If you don't know what value to use, a good place to start is 5000 kbps (slightly less than a typical DVD). Test to see how this works for your viewers and adjust. Configure audio codec If your channel sources included audio (see Create a simple channel or Create a custom channel), your stream will by default use the AAC audio codec at 48 kHz. You can modify this setting to best match your streaming or post-processing needs. To configure your stream's audio codec : 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 112 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure encoding 3. Click Encoding for the your channel; the encoding configuration page opens. 4. Scroll to the Audio settings section. 5. Ensure the Enable audio checkbox is checked. 6. If the default audio format AAC 44KHz, stereo, 320 Kbps is not desired, click the Audio format dropdown menu to select an audio codec. A table at the end of this procedure gives details about each option. 7. Click the Audio channels drop-down menu to choose mono (1 channel) or stereo (2 channels). If desired, you can choose Mono to have left and right stereo channels combined and streamed together (i.e. when listening to the streamed audio, the same blended sound will come through both the left and right channels). 8. Select an Audio bitrate from the drop-down menu. The table at the end of this procedure gives some guidance on audio bitrates. For stereo audio, we recommend 256 kbps or 320 kbps. 9. If all your changes are complete, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Apply. Table 17 Audio codecs and bitrate guidance Value Description AAC is the default audio codec. AAC This codec is comparable to MP3, and may have better sound quality with a similar bit rate. Supported values are 16, 22, 44 and 48K kHz. Most digital signals (HDMI 113 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Value Configure encoding Description or SDI sources) use 48 kHz audio. Matching the encoded level with the source level provides the best sound quality by avoiding audio resampling. For analog signals, 44 kHz provides higher sampling. The maximum bitrate for mono encoding of a 44 kHz signal is 264 kbps. For stereo, 320 kbps is supported. MP3 provides a common audio format for audio storage. Supported values are 22 kHz, 44 kHz and 48 kHz. Most digital signals (HDMI or SDI sources) use 48 kHz audio. Matching the encoded level with the source level provides the best sound quality by avoiding audio resampling. For analog signals, MP3 44 kHz provides higher sampling. Flash (FLV) doesn't support 48 kHz MP3 audio. When selecting this value you'll need to use a media player (or install ASF browser plugins) to preview your channel. Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) is a standard for digital audio in computer and other devices such as, digital telephone systems. Most digital signals (HDMI or SDI sources) use 48 kHz audio. Matching the encoded level with the source level provides the best sound quality by avoiding audio PCM resampling. For analog signals, 44 kHz provides higher sampling. Flash (FLV) doesn't support 48 kHz PCM audio. When selecting this value you'll need to use a media player (or install ASF browser plugins) to preview your channel. Codec and file format compatibility Not all streaming and recording protocols support all combinations of video and audio codecs. Use the tables below to determine what settings work for your streaming and recording needs. The following table displays the compatibility between the video/audio codecs and formats supported for streaming. 114 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Video Codec selected Audio Codec selected Configure encoding RTSP FLV ASF MPEG-TS MJPEG H.264 No audio codec ü ü ü ü H.264 PCM ü ü ü H.264 MP3 ü ü ü ü H.264 AAC ü ü ü ü MPEG-4 No audio codec ü MPEG-4 PCM ü MPEG-4 MP3 ü MPEG-4 AAC ü MJPEG No audio codec ü The following table displays the compatibility between the video/audio codecs and formats supported for recording. Video Codec selected Audio Codec selected MP4 AVI MOV MPEG-TS H.264 No audio codec ü ü ü ü H.264 PCM ü ü ü H.264 MP3 ü ü ü ü H.264 AAC ü ü ü ü MPEG-4 No audio codec ü ü ü MPEG-4 LPCM ü ü ü MPEG-4 MP3 ü ü ü MPEG-4 AAC ü ü ü MJPEG No audio codec ü ü ü ü 115 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Add channel metadata Add channel metadata Adding company information to metadata is an easy way to identify and copy protect your broadcast or recording. This section describes the following topics for customizing your channel: l Add channel metadata l Remove metadata from a channel Previous firmware versions gave the ability to configure "No Signal" images per channel. "No Signal" images are now done on a per-source basis instead . See Add a No Signal image to a source . Add channel metadata Using the Branding feature, you can apply a logo to your channel and specify the following meta data that the media player displays for your viewers: l title of the presentation; l company website; l presenter’s name; l copyright date or other labels such as proprietary information, preliminary etc; and l additional information about the broadcast, such as time of the broadcast, or change to the schedule. To apply channel metadata: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, select a channel; the menu expands. 4. Click the Branding link for your channel; the Branding configuration page opens. 116 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Preview a channel 5. Enter metadata such as: presentation title, presenter name(s), any copyright dates and additional information about the broadcast that you want the viewer to know. How metadata is displayed depends on the media player. For example VLC stores the metadata in a media information file, while other media players scroll the text horizontally from right to left along the bottom of the media player window, similar to a ticker message bar. 6. Click Apply. Remove metadata from a channel 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, select a channel; the menu expands. 4. Click the Branding menu option; the Branding configuration page opens. 5. Scroll to the Content metadata section. 6. Click the Author, Copyright or Comments field. 7. Highlight the text and press delete on the keyboard. The field is empty. 8. Click Apply. Preview a channel While configuring a channel, you may want to open a live preview of the channel in another tab or browser window so you can see the changes as they are applied. Choose one of the following options to preview your channel: l Preview a channel from the Info page l Preview a channel from the Status page l Preview all channels at once Preview a channel from the Info page The system's Info page displays links for previewing your channel(s). This fast and simple method allows you to see link for all the streams in a single location. To preview a channel from the Info page: 117 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Preview a channel 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click Info from the Configuration menu option; the system information window opens . 4. Scroll to the channel you want to preview. 5. Click View; the corresponding channel is displayed in the window. Preview a channel from the Status page The channel's status page gives a wealth of information about the channel, including bit rate, frame size, a snapshot of the channel and links to preview the channel. To preview a channel from the Status page: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Click the link for Channel you want to preview, the menu expands. 4. Click Status; the channel's Status page opens. 118 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Preview all channels at once 5. Scroll down to see the snapshot. 6. Right-click the Live Broadcast link and select Open in a new Tab or Open in a new Window; a tab or window opens displaying a preview of the channel. Preview all channels at once Standalone VGA Grid has a special preview mode that lets you see all configured channels at once. The resulting web page can be very large. You may wish to be aware of your web browser's zoom hot keys. Many browsers will zoom out with Ctrl-- (control minus) and zoom in with Ctrl-= (control equals). To preview all channels at the same time: 1. Open a new browser window. 2. Type the following string into the address bar of your web browser on your admin computer (ipaddress is the IP address of your Standalone VGA Grid). http://<ip address of Standalone VGA Grid>/preview.cgi For example: http://172.20.1.33/preview.cgi 3. Press Enter, the preview web page appears displaying the content of all active channels. 119 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Rename a channel Rename a channel By default, channels are created with the same name as their source - until a second layout or a second source is added to the channel, at which time the channel is renamed Channel X where X is the index of the channel. However there may be circumstances when you want to create a distinct name for the channel to reflect the source(s) it contains. To rename a channel: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, scroll to the Channels menu option. 4. Click on the channel you want to rename; the menu expands. 5. Click any link for the channel; the corresponding channel status or configuration page opens. You can change a channel's name from any of it's configuration pages. 3. Click the channel name at the top of the channel configuration page; the name text becomes red to indicate that it is editable. 4. Highlight the old name and press backspace or delete on the keyboard. 5. Type the new name, using alphanumeric characters. It's recommended (but not mandatory) that you use underscores to separate words, if needed. 6. Press Enter on the keyboard. The name is updated at the top of the screen and in the list of Channels in the navigation menu. You must press the Enter key on the keyboard for the change to take effect. 120 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Delete a channel Delete a channel From time to time you may want to clean up the list of channels, and remove channels that are no longer used. The following steps describe how to delete a channel. Deleting a channel does not delete the input source configuration, however it deletes any recorded files for the channel. To delete a channel, follow the steps below. 1. From the web interface, scroll to the Channels menu option. 2. Click the channel you want to delete; the menu expands. 3. Click Status; the Status page opens displaying the service state and stream info for the channel. 4. Click Delete this channel; a confirmation dialog box appears to remind you that all recorded files for this channel will be removed. You cannot undo this command. 5. Click OK to continue or Cancel to stop. If you proceed, a message indicating that the channel was successfully deleted appears at the top of the page. 121 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Live video mixing / switching Live video mixing / switching Standalone VGA Grid supports live video mixing (also known as live video switching) while you are capturing, streaming and recording. Video mixing is a great way to create dynamic content for your viewers and recordings. With Standalone VGA Grid, switching happens in less than half a second ( < 500 ms)! This means you can start your stream with a video source showing a countdown, move to a single-camera view, then switch between multiple cameras or multiple layouts with more than one source, and end again with a thank you message for attendees. (Layout switches made in your channel are reflected in both the live stream and recording. ) For example, your stream could look like this: Before you can switch between layouts, make sure you have your custom channel with layouts created. See Create a custom channel or layout. Now on to the fun part! Switching / mixing using the web UI Switching live video inputs, or video mixing, is fast and easy using the web UI. For best results, you may wish to be in a location where you can see the live action, and have a solid understanding idea of what is in each of your layouts. Good layout names can help with this. See Rename a layout (custom channel). To do live video mixing: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Follow the steps in Custom channel layout editor or Create a custom channel or layout to get to the channel layout editor. 122 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Live video mixing / switching 4. The currently active layout has a red button in the rightmost column. 5. Touch the empty circle for another layout to make it the active layout; the layout changes in the live stream (and recording), and the new row gets the red button. 6. Continue to switch layouts as needed for the duration of your event or recording. 123 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide What is a source? What is a source? A source can be an image, video, or audio from a camera, a computer screen or any device that provides a VGA, S-Video, SDI, DVI or HDMI video signal and audio signal output. Video sources The web interface automatically discovers all video source ports and displays them in the Sources section of the web admin interface. Each video input on the back of the system is a frame grabber. Input sources are identified by their frame grabber serial number. Each frame grabber has one DVI port, one SDI port, one S-Video port, and one audio port. DVI ports are listed with the suffix .vga, SDI ports with the suffix .sdi, S-Video inputs are listed with the suffix .video, and audio inputs are identified by the word audio. Video sources include a preview of the images they are capturing. It is a good practice to view the images from each source to confirm what is captured. See below. When a source is connected, the system automatically detects and adjusts the image capture settings at start up and continues to adjust every 60 seconds during operation (interval is configurable). The system’s goal is to produce the best quality captured image given the source equipment used. Generally no further configuration is needed. VGA Grid HD Encoders can also be used as sources for your Networked VGA Grid Concentrator. To accomplish this, you must first add your HD Encoder(s) to a channel and then add the channel as a source. See Add an HD Encoder as a source (custom channel) for more information. If there is no source connected to a specific port , then the default "No Signal" image will display in any channel where the source is used. You can use Standalone VGA Grid.'s default "No Signal" image for your sources, or you can create your own custom "No Signal" image for your channels to enhance branding and add professionalism to your display. See Add a No Signal image to a source 124 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Connect a source Audio sources Standalone VGA Grid's web interface also automatically discovers all audio sources displays them in the same section. Audio sources are identified by the word audio in the source name. Audio input devices such as a microphone and portable music players can send audio signals to the Standalone VGA Grid using the audio input ports at the back of the system. Audio is also supported via HDMI and SDI. DVI2PCIe cards do not support audio over HDMI. Standalone VGA Grid systems with DVI2PCIe cards will not be able to capture audio through HDMI sources. This chapter covers the following sections: l Connect a source l Preview a source l Rename a source l Control audio volume l Confirm audio levels l Add a No Signal image to a source Connect a source You can connect sources to the Standalone VGA Grid at any time, either before or after the system is powered on. Similarly you can disconnect a source from a port and even connect a different source at any time. Changing the source connected to a port that is being streamed or recorded can result in the recording stopping or the stream frame size changing depending on how your channel is configured. If the frame size changes, viewers may be disconnected and need to re-connect to the stream. Connect the input sources to the following input ports on the system: Table 18 Cable and port connections Cable Input Port VGA, HDMI* or DVl DVI port SDI SDI port 125 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Preview a source Cable Input Port composite or S-video source S-Video port audio Audio Input port * Standalone VGA Grid only supports video and audio capture from HDMI content that is not HDCPprotected. Preview a source You can preview the images captured from your sources in the web admin interface. No extra configuration is needed. To preview the captured stream/images: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Ensure a source is connected to the input port, see Connect a source. 4. Scroll to the bottom of the source configuration page to see the preview. Configure a source Generally the captured stream doesn't require any additional configuration, but if needed, you can log into the web interface to make configuration changes. To configure a source: The following adjustments cannot be made for S-Video sources. 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Ensure a source is connected to the input port, see Connect a source. 4. From the web interface, scroll to the Sources menu option. 126 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure a source 5. Click the .vga, .sdi or ,video source link; the source configuration page opens. 6. If desired, scroll to the bottom of the source configuration page to see the video Snapshot. 7. Make note of the name of the source, or optionally, change the source name to reflect the data it is capturing. You'll need to know this name to add the source to a channel. See Create a simple channel. 8. In most cases the video is ready to add to a channel and broadcast. If fine adjustments are required, refer to the table below to make minor configuration changes. DVI and HDMI signals Although many options can be listed on the .vga (DVI) source configuration page, only certain ones are applicable to DVI or HDMI signals. When you have a digital source connected, the page indicates that most changes are not configurable. 127 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure a source The following values are configurable for digital sources connected to the DVI port: Value Description When a source is setup, the system automatically detects and adjusts the image Autoadjustments capture settings at start up and continues to adjust every 60 seconds during interval (sec) operation. To change the number of seconds between update, enter a value, or 0 to disable the feature, otherwise the default of 60 seconds is set. This feature is useful when a source captures video that is rotated 90⁰ or is displayed upside down. Choose one of the following values to change the video orientation while streaming: Rotate l No rotation l 90⁰ clockwise l 90⁰ counter clockwise l 180⁰ Enable Enable this feature to convert an interlaced source signal to a non-interlaced deinterlacing signal. VGA signals (coming in via DVI port) The following values are configurable for VGA signals coming in via a DVI port. 128 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Value Configure a source Description Specify the native color space of the signal source, either RGB or YUV. The following values are available: Use signal from l VGA/DVI signal (RGB) (this is the default setting) l Component signal (YCrCb) Configurable for VGA sources only. When a source is setup, the system automatically detects and adjusts the image Autoadjustments capture settings at start up and continues to adjust every 60 seconds during interval (sec) operation. To change the number of seconds between update, enter a value, or 0 to disable the feature, otherwise the default of 60 seconds is set. When an image is not aligned in the window, use this feature to move an image Vertical shift up or down on the screen. The values range from 20 (moves the image up) to – 20 (moves the image down). When an image is not aligned in the window, use this feature to move an image Horizontal shift left or right on the screen. The values range from -999 (moves the image to the left) to 999 (moves the image to the right). Specifies phase adjustments for VGA signals. Generally not used unless value is Phase provided by Epiphan support. Configurable for VGA sources only. Changing the value adjusts the horizontal resolution of the image. Adjust the value using small increments until the image is sharper. The value ranges from PLL adjustment 0-999 to 999. Configurable for VGA sources only. The Offset and Gain parameters function as contrast control for an image. The Offset controls the darker parts of the image and the gain controls the bright parts of the image. Adjust both values to optimize image quality. Adjust the Offset values using small increments until the image is sharper. If you set Offset to a high value, set a high value for the gain to balance the two. Configurable for VGA sources only. The Gain and Offset parameters function as contrast control for an image. The Gain Gain controls the bright parts of the image and Offset controls the darker parts of the image. Adjust both values to optimize image quality. Adjust the values using small increments until the image is sharper. If you set Offset to a high 129 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Value Configure a source Description value, set a high value for the Gain to balance the two. Configurable for VGA sources only. Sets the aspect ratio of the captured image. The default is 4:3. Set the value to Wide mode when capturing images that have a wide aspect ratio. Using the Aspect Ratio incorrect setting causes the image to be distorted or stretched. Configurable for VGA sources only. Adjust horizontal sync detection. HSync threshold Configurable for VGA sources only. Adjust vertical sync detection. VSync threshold Configurable for VGA sources only. This feature is useful when a source captures video that is rotated 90⁰ or is displayed upside down. Choose one of the following values to change the video orientation while streaming: Rotate l No rotation l 90⁰ clockwise l 90⁰ counter clockwise l 180⁰ Enable Enable this feature to convert an interlaced source signal to a non-interlaced deinterlacing signal. S-Video signals The following options are available for S-Video signals via S-Video ports. Signal type Specify the video source connected to the S-Video input source. The options are Default, Composite, S-Video. SDI signals The following options are available for signals via the SDI port. 130 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Value Configure a source Description This feature is useful when a source captures video that is rotated 90⁰ or is displayed upside down. Choose one of the following values to change the video orientation while streaming: Rotate l No rotation l 90⁰ clockwise l 90⁰ counter clockwise l 180⁰ Enable Enable this feature to convert an interlaced source signal to a non-interlaced deinterlacing signal. Add a No Signal image to a source By default the system displays a gray background with the text No Signal when there is no video signal coming in to a source. You can customize this image to display a different message to your viewers. For example if a viewer logs in early, or if you are experiencing delays you could indicate the start time (or expected resolution time) using the no signal image. Before you can specify a custom no signal image for a source, you must upload it following the procedure To upload an image. Transparent PNGs are not a supported file type for "No Signal" images. To set the no signal image for a source: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Follow the instructions above (To upload a logo to a channel) to upload an image via the Branding Content page. 4. From the web interface, select your desired source under the Source header; the source configuration page opens. 5. Select a “No signal” image. This image displays in the channel when the source's signal is not detected. (If your uploaded image does not appear in the list, ensure it doesn't exceed the maximum file size of 3840×2160.) 131 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Rename a source Alternatively, to select an image you can simply drag and drop your chosen picture file to the blank space below the Image field. 6. In the Timeout field, enter the number of seconds before the "No signal" image is displayed. If no manual value is entered, the default time to display is 5 seconds. 7. Click Apply. 8. Test that the No Signal image is correctly applied by disconnecting your source and previewing the channel(s) containing said source. See Preview a channel for more information. Rename a source Source names are used when adding sources to channels, therefore it is important that you know the name of the source you wish to use. If a channel has only one source, the channel name will by default be the same as its source name and will update automatically when the source name changes. Sometimes it's helpful to configure the source name to match the data it's capturing so it's clear what the channel is capturing too. Alternately you can change the channel's name. See Rename a channel. To change a source name: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 132 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Control audio volume 3. From the web interface, scroll to the Sources menu option. 4. Click the .vga or ,video source link; the source configuration page opens. 5. Click the source name at the top of the page; the name turns red. 6. Highlight and delete the existing source name. 7. Type a new source name. 8. Press Enter (on your keyboard) to save the new name. You must press Enter to save the new name. The Apply button will not save the source name change. Control audio volume Do you find the volume is too high or too low for some of your audio sources? You can control the volume level for audio inputs via the web admin interface. To set audio volume: 1. Ensure an audio input source is connected to an audio input port. 2. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection method. See Connect to the admin interface. 3. Login as admin. 4. From the web interface, scroll the Sources section. 5. Select an audio source; the audio configuration page opens. 133 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Control audio volume 6. For Analog audio sources (TRS), select an Input source from the drop-down menu. 7. Choose Line to capture high-powered audio signals from self-powered equipment, such as a CD player, synth or amp, or select Front Mic or Rear Mic to capture audio from a microphone connected to the audio input port. 8. "Passive" microphones requiring phantom power are not supported. Supported microphones require their own external power source, such as a battery. 9. Click the Capture volume drop-down menu. A list of percentages is displayed. Choose to amplify the volume by a percentage of the original volume. The default setting is 30%. Decrease the percentage if the output volume is too loud. Increase the percentage if the output volume is not loud enough. Adjusting the Capture volume adjusts the recorded and streamed output audio. 10. Click Apply. 134 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Troubleshoot capture Troubleshoot capture In addition to fine tuning channel settings such as frame rate, resolution and bit rate to ensure optimal use of resources while streaming a quality video, there may be circumstance when you must fine tune the video input source. Changing how source images are displayed may cause undesired results, for example experimenting with the PLL setting may result in the image not being displayed properly. It is a good practice to backup your configuration settings so that you can revert back to a good configuration if the changes that you made are not desirable. See Save and restore device configuration. The following topics are covered in this section: l Remove black bars (matte) from the video l Force the capture card to use a specific EDID l Unstretch the output video l Video not centered (VGA sources only) l Remove the combing effect on images l Video looks squished (VGA sources only) l Video too bright, too dark or washed out (VGA sources only) Remove black bars (matte) from the video By default, for channels with only one layout and only one source, the Standalone VGA Grid makes sure that the aspect ratio of input signals is preserved when the output is streamed. If an input video signal doesn't match the encoded frame aspect ratio, bars are added to the sides or top and bottom of the encoded stream when the output is streamed and recorded. The color of the bars (matte) is defined by the Background color selected on the Channel sources page. See Create a custom channel. For example: l Input signal resolution is 720×480 (a 3:2 aspect ratio) l encoded resolution is 640×480 (a 4:3 aspect ratio that is narrower than the input resolution) Borders are added to the top and bottom of the image to preserve the wider ratio of the input. 135 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Remove black bars (matte) from the video For example: l Input signal resolution is 720×480 (a 3:2 aspect ratio) l encoded resolution is 1280×800 (a 16:10 aspect ratio that is wider than the input resolution) Borders are added to the left and right of the image to preserve the narrower ratio of the input. If you are seeing bars on your image but would rather have the image fill the whole screen you have to options: 1. Change the output frame size to match the aspect ratio of the input. 2. Stretch the image to fit the output frame size aspect ratio. These two options are described below. 136 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Remove black bars (matte) from the video Match the output frame size to the aspect ratio of the source signal The frame size is matched only for layouts that have only one source. Note that if you have layouts with different frame sizes, switching them while live streaming will cause an interruption and restart of the stream. The same thing happens if you change the resolution of your source while streaming. To change the output frame size on channels to match the aspect ratio of the source: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select a channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Sources; the Sources page opens. 5. Find the name of the media source used for the channel. 6. Click this source under the Sources menu. 7. Make note of the input signal resolution. 8. Click the channel's Encoding; the Encoding page opens. 9. Scroll to the frame size parameter. 10. The simplest option is to select Use current signal resolution as frame size and click Apply. You can alternatively select it briefly to note the current video signal resolution, then deselect it and follow the steps below. 137 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Force the capture card to use a specific EDID 11. Look for the source aspect ratio in the list of aspect ratios provided. a. If the source resolution is on the list, choose another resolution on the same line (i.e. with the same aspect ratio). b. If the source resolution is not on the list, use a calculator to get a factor of the source resolution and enter it in the Frame size fields. 12. Click Apply. Stretch the image To remove the matte (black bars) by stretching the image to fit your output frame size: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select a channel; the channel menu expands. 4. Click Sources; the Sources page opens. 5. Click the row for your layout; the layout appears in the layout editor. 6. Select the gear for your Item with your video source; the Source Settings box appears. 7. Deselect Keep aspect ratio when scaling in the Source Settings box. 8. Click and drag the source in the layout editor to stretch as desired to fill the frame. 9. Click Save. Force the capture card to use a specific EDID Extended display identification data (EDID) is data provided by a video display device (usually a monitor) to describe its capabilities to a video source (usually a graphics or video output card in a PC or another device). The video source uses the EDID to determine the capabilities of the monitor to determine the resolution, color depth and other settings that the monitor can support. EDID is crucial for DVI sources but mostly ignored by VGA sources. 138 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Force the capture card to use a specific EDID Like monitors, each video capture card in theStandalone VGA Grid contains an EDID. When you connect a VGA or DVI video source (such as a laptop or video camera), this source sees the Standalone VGA Grid's HD Encoder's capture card as a monitor and uses its EDID to negotiate which video signal to send. Generally the capture card's DVI input correctly emulates a monitor that supports your video source. However sometimes, particularly if your source uses a custom set of display properties, you need to help Standalone VGA GridHD Encoder by uploading a custom EDID to force the capture card to report that it emulates a resolution, color depth, etc needed by your laptop, camera or other video source. Upload a new EDID In most circumstances the factory installed default EDID, is sufficient. However, there may be some cases where a video source uses resolutions that you do not want to use. In that case you can choose an EDID that forces the Standalone VGA Grid's capture card to use a specific set of attributes. The uploaded EDID is permanently installed on your system and this capture card (a "Source" in the web interface) will always share the uploaded EDID with the connected video input source. EDID changes are permanent until you replace them with another EDID or specifically choose to restore the facotry EDID for a given source. Not even a system-level factory reset removes the configured EDIDs. 1. To download a new EDID file, go to the Epiphan support web page. The support page opens. 2. Select the support page for Standalone VGA Grid. 3. Scroll to the EDID section. 4. Click on an EDID from the list. The file is saved to your downloads folder on your hard drive. 5. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 6. Login as admin. 7. From the web interface, Scroll to the Sources section. 8. Click the name of the DVI capture card (source) for which you want to upload an EDID; the Source Configuration page opens. 9. Scroll to the EDID upload section. 139 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Force the capture card to use a specific EDID 10. Click Choose File; a file browser opens. 11. Browse to the location where the custom EDID file was saved and select the file. 12. Click open; the EDID filename is displayed on the screen. 13. Click upload, the EDID upload begins; the screen shows a progress inidicator. 14. When the upload is complete the page changes to reflect success or failure. 140 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Force the capture card to use a specific EDID Restore factory default EDID When you have finished with a custom EDID, you can restore the capture card (in the Sources list) to the default EDID. Currently there is no way to tell if your capture card is using a custom EDID. If you are unsure, restoring to factory default is the best approach. To restore the default EDID:. 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, scroll to the Sources section. 4. Click the capture card (source) for which you wish to restore the EDID; the source configuration page opens. 5. Scroll to the EDID section. 6. Click the restore button. 7. The screen updates with a status indicator. 8. When the EDID restoration is complete, the page updates to reflect the action is completed. 141 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Unstretch the output video Unstretch the output video By default, the Standalone VGA Grid makes sure that the aspect ratio of input signals is preserved when the output is streamed. If this default was overridden or if the channel was created in a version of the software earlier than 3.11.0, the image is stretched to match the output frame size. The effect may be subtle and may not be problematic for you, but if you want to resolve this it is very simple to do. To preserve the source aspect ratio: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click Encoding; the encoding page opens. 4. Click Sources; the Sources page opens. 5. Click the row for the layout you want to edit; the layout editor opens. 6. Select the gear icon for your source from the list of layout items; the Source settings box appears. 7. From the Source settings box, make sure Keep aspect ratio when scaling is selected. 8. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save. Unstretching the image causes a matte (black bars) to appear on the sides or top and bottom of the output. To remove these see Remove black bars (matte) from the video. 142 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Video not centered (VGA sources only) Video not centered (VGA sources only) The image from the source is displayed too high or low, or too far to the left or right. 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, scroll to the Sources menu option. 4. Click the desired video source ; the source configuration page opens. 5. To move the video horizontally to the left or right, scroll to Horizontal shift . 6. Enter incremental values to shift the video image to the left (use a negative value) or right (use a positive value). 7. Click Apply. View the output in the Snapshot preview below . You may need to make further adjustments to move the video left or right. 8. Make further adjustments and click Apply after each change to confirm the results. 9. To move the video up or down, scroll to Vertical shift . 10. Enter incremental values to shift the video image down (use a negative value) or up (use a positive value). 143 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Remove the combing effect on images 11. Click Apply. View the output in the Snapshot preview below. You may need to make further adjustments to move the video up or down. Remove the combing effect on images When frames are interlaced, artifacts from one frame may appear on the next frame. This occurs when a fast motion video is interlaced. Since each frame is captured from a different point in time, the action captured in one frame is carried over to the next frame. The result is a blurred image and horizontal lines running across the video. To convert an interlaced source signal to a non-interlaced signal. 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, scroll to the Sources menu option. 4. Click on the desired video source ; the source configuration page opens. 5. Enable the Enable deinterlace setting. 6. Click Apply. View the output in the Snapshot preview below. Video looks squished (VGA sources only) The image is squeezed horizontally on the screen. This distortion occurs when there's a mismatch between the aspect ratio the Standalone VGA Grid detects and the aspect ratio that is sent from the source signal. To compare the two signal values, you must know the aspect ratio that the source is sending. 144 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Video looks squished (VGA sources only) 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click Info; the info window opens with a list of all configured channels. 4. Compare the aspect ratio from the source with the aspect ratio from the Standalone VGA Grid info window. Confirm if there is a mismatch. 5. If there is a mismatch, go to the Encoding page for the channel and change the frame size to match the frame size that is sent from the source. See Configure encoding . 6. If the video is still squeezed horizontally on the screen, follow the steps below. 7. From the web interface, scroll to the Sources menu option. 8. Click on the source for which you want to change the aspect ratio; the source configuration page opens. 9. Scroll to the Aspect ratio setting. 10. Select Wide mode from the drop-down menu, when the source is wider than what is being displayed in 145 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Video too bright, too dark or washed out (VGA sources only) the preview or Live View. 11. Click Apply. View the output in the Snapshot preview below. Video too bright, too dark or washed out (VGA sources only) If the video from the source is too light, too dark or washed out, use the offset and gain controls together to optimize image quality. Increasing the gain amplifies weak signals but also increases noise, you must balance offset and gain values to achieve the best quality image. Adjust these settings by the smallest values possible; compensate for a large change to one by making a large change to the other. Setting both offset and gain to high values can result in poor video quality. 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, scroll to the Sources menu option. 4. Click the desired video source; the source configuration page opens. 5. Scroll to Gain. 6. Enter a small value, for example 1 to 25 in the field to brighten the image. 7. Scroll to Offset. 8. Enter a small value, for example 1 to 15, to balance the gain setting . The Offset value behaves as a contrast to the Gain value. 9. Click Apply. View the output in the Snapshot preview below. You may need to make further adjustments to fine tune the brightness and contrast. 146 PART 3: Stream Streaming provides powerful and flexible approaches to delivering to your users. Offering an easy to use interface, users can stream video using multiple formats to multiple users and devices such as web browsers, media players, set-top-boxes, Smart TVs and Content Distribution Networks. The tool's flexibility is further enhanced by its ability to support standard codecs used by most sharing destinations and media players. This section discusses the following topics related to publishing your content: l What is streaming? l Stream to viewers l Stream to a server l Stream to a media player l Samples of stream settings 147 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide What is streaming? What is streaming? After you have configured your media and channels, decided on the content and layout of your broadcast, it’s time to share your stream. Standalone VGA Grid provides a number of options for streaming. Choose from methods for unicast, multicast, CDN, SAP, UPnP and more. The following sections provide a description of the available streaming options, insight into why you would choose each option, and procedures to stream your content using each option. o Choose a streaming option o Supported streaming formats Streams for viewers: o Stream to viewers o Disable (and enable) streams for viewers o Restrict access to streams for viewers o Stream content using HTTP or RTSP o Configure HTTP and RTSP streaming ports o Stream content using HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) o Stream content using UPnP Stream to a server: o Stream to a server o Stream to a CDN o Stream content using multicast Stream to a media player: o Stream to a media player Choose a streaming option Each method of streaming media has strengths and weaknesses depending on your audience location, hardware resources and bandwidth. To help you decide how to publish your content, you must first identify the number of viewers and how viewers will access your content. Are you streaming live video, or recorded video. Do you need to stream the content to one client (peer-to-peer), deliver a single stream to multiple 148 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Supported streaming formats clients (multicast), or provide web-based streaming where multiple clients can access the broadcast (Content Distribution Network). Your Standalone VGA Grid can stream to individual viewers through HTTP, HTTP Live Streaming, UPnP and RTSP and can also simultaneously stream to a server such as a multicast server or CDN. Supported streaming formats When you set up your channel the system generates and displays a list of available video formats and standards specific to the selected audio and video codecs used by your channel. To view the video formats and standards specific to your selected codec: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Status; the following page opens displaying the stream protocol that is supported based on the selected codecs. 149 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream to viewers Stream to viewers Streaming to viewers allows people to connect directly to your Standalone VGA Grid via their web browser or media player to view the live stream. You can configure whether or not streaming is enabled for viewers. See Disable (and enable) streams for viewers. Publishing Options Use this option to... Quickly stream content to viewers simultaneously. No set up is required. The Standalone VGA Grid is ready to stream content as soon as it is has power and a configured channel. No other settings are required. Your audience HTTP need only access the URL of the broadcast and they are instantly connected. This viewing method is ideal for a small number of viewers. For each viewer, you are using the full stream bandwidth and a small amount of system overhead on the Standalone VGA Grid. For more information about using a HTTP streaming, refer to Stream content using HTTP or RTSP. Quickly stream content to viewers. No set up is required. The Standalone VGA Grid is ready to stream content as soon as it has power and a RTSP configured channel. No other settings are required. Your audience need only copy and paste the URL of the stream into a media player. For more information about using a RTSP and HTTP streaming, refer to Stream content using HTTP or RTSP. Stream live over the standard HTTP port 80, making it possible to cross firewalls and proxies that are normally accessible to other HTTP traffic and HTTP Live Streaming facilitates content delivery to CDNs. See Stream content using HLS (HTTP (HLS) Live Streaming). There is approximately a 30 second delay when streaming using HLS. To stream video outside of your LAN, configure port forwarding on your router. Work with your Network Administrator on this task. Network configuration is beyond the scope of this guide. Stream content using HTTP or RTSP The quickest and simplest way to deliver your content is to send the broadcast's URL to your viewers. You can provide separate URLs for each channel being streamed. 150 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using HTTP or RTSP The format of the URL provided to you by the admin interface depends on the method you used to access the system, either through network discovery using the serial number or IP address. The system must be accessible on the viewer's LAN for the viewer to use access by serial discovery. If your system is behind a firewall and you wish to share with remote viewers, you will need to set up port forwarding on your network. See your IT administrator. Table 19 URL options Access Method URL Format http://<serial>.local/preview.cgi?channel=<channel number> rtsp://<serial>.local:<port>/stream.sdp serial discovery Where serial is the serial number of the system and channel number is the provided from the GUI (see below). http://<IP Address of Standalone VGA Grid>/preview.cgi?channel=2 rtsp://<IP Address of Standalone VGA Grid>:<port>/stream.sdp IP address Where the IP address is the IP address of the system and the port and channel number informationis provided on the channel's status page. To retrieve the stream URL for your viewers: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Status; the following page opens displaying the stream protocol that is supported based on the selected codecs. 151 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure HTTP and RTSP streaming ports 5. Jot down the either the Live Broadcast , RTSP stream or other web streaming address. This is the address you can send to viewers or to create a link to your broadcast. Users must install Bonjour Print Services on their Windows or Mac computer to access the live Preview using the serial number. If you're seeing URLs with serial numbers instead of IP addresses and want to change this, log into the admin interface by IP address (instead of by Serial number/Bonjour Print Services) to see URLs with the IP address.Connect to the admin interface. Configure HTTP and RTSP streaming ports For RTSP streaming the only information required to view the broadcast is the URL and the port number used to stream the broadcast. Port numbers are also used for HTTP streaming methods such as FLV, ASF and MPEG-TS. By default, each channel has a unique HTTP and RTSP port number. If needed, you can modify these port numbers. Be sure to always use unique numbers for each channel. To set the HTTP and RTSP streaming ports, follow the steps below. 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 152 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) 5. Set the HTTP Streaming port to specify the port used to stream the HTTP broadcast. This value along with the URL is used by viewers to access the FLV, ASF and MPEG-TS streams. The port number must be higher than 500 for HTTP. In the case of RTSP streaming this value is ignored. 6. Set the RTSP Streaming port to specify which port to use when you are streaming live video via RTSP. This value along with the URL is used by viewers to access the broadcast. The default for channel one is 554. 7. Click Apply. Stream content using HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) Stream live over the standard HTTP port 80, making it possible to cross firewalls and proxies that are normally accessible to other HTTP traffic . HLS is supported with the H.264 codec and MP3 or AAC audio encoding. When streaming using HLS there is approximately a 30 second delay. 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 153 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Send stream URLs to viewers 3. From the web interface, select the channel containing video you want to stream; the menu expands. 4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming configuration page opens. 5. Enable HTTP Live Streaming by selecting the HTTP Live Streaming checkbox. 6. Click Apply. 7. Click Status for the channel. The status page opens. 8. Provide the HLS stream link to your viewers. Send stream URLs to viewers For participants to log in and view a stream, you must provide a stream URL. The URL that you send depends on the device the participant uses to view the stream. You can provide separate URLs for the stream coming from each channel, or one URL that includes all the streams for the channel. 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 154 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide View the Flash stream 3. From the web interface, click the channel that you want to view; the menu expands. 4. Click Status; the Status page opens displaying the stream protocols supported based on the selected codecs. For more information on compatibility between codec and file formats, see Supported streaming formats. 5. Copy the URL and provide to viewers. Viewers may now view the stream using a digital media player or browser. See Viewing with a web browser and Viewing with a media player (RTSP). View the Flash stream There are two methods to view the retrieve the flash stream URL: l Live broadcast link on the channel's status page. l Info page from the configuration menu 155 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide View the Flash stream View your broadcast using the View link on the Info menu 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 3. From the web interface, click Info menu option; the info window opens with a list of all configured channels. 4. Click on the channel you want to preview. A page opens displaying the live broadcast and broadcast URL. 5. Copy the URL and provide to viewers. View your broadcast using the Live broadcast link on the Status page 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 156 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide View the Flash stream 3. From the web interface, click the channel that you want to view; the menu expands. 4. Click Status; the status page opens displaying the live broadcast and stream URL. 5. When HTTP live streaming for the channel is enabled the status page also shows the HTTP Live Streaming link. See, Stream content using HLS (HTTP Live Streaming). When HLS is enabled and with no viewer password set, viewers can access the stream using a tablet or smart phone device. If the viewer passwords is set, HLS connections are not possible. 6. Click on the Live broadcast or HTTP Live Stream link, if it configured. The window opens displaying the live broadcast and broadcast URL. Previewing the broadcast with FLV player results in moderate buffering delay (15-30 seconds). 157 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Viewing with a web browser 7. Copy the URL and provide to viewers. Viewing with a web browser If a viewer password is configured, provide participants with the password to log in, along with the IP address or the URL to be used by the participant's browser. If your channel is configured with 48 kHz audio, flash streaming (which is used for browser viewing) may not work. In this case, we recommend you view the channel with a media player instead. (See below.) 1. Open a web browser. 2. Enter the IP address of the broadcast stream, refer to the example below. To locate the IP address for the broadcast, refer to Send stream URLs to viewers. If the IP address of the broadcast is 172.20.1.33, then browse to: http:// 172.20.1.33/preview.cgi?channel=<channel number> 3. Enter the user name and password at the prompt: User Name: viewer Password: (enter the viewer password) 4. Press Enter. The stream is played in the browser window. 158 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Viewing with a media player (RTSP) Viewing with a media player (RTSP) If a viewer password is configured, provide participants with the password to log in, along with the IP address or the URL to be copied to the media player. For example purposes the following procedure describes the steps using a VLC media player. 1. Launch a media player. 2. Click the Media tab, a drop-down menu opens. 3. Choose Open Network Stream; a dialog box opens. 4. Enter the stream URL (using either the IP address or the network discovery serial number method). rtsp://49E7B8E4.local:554/stream.sdp 159 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Disable (and enable) streams for viewers 5. Press Play; the stream is played in the media player window. Disable (and enable) streams for viewers When you create a channel it's available by default for viewing by stream viewers who have the stream URL. You can choose to disable streaming to viewers through the channel's streaming configuration. Disabling streams for viewers disables all viewer formats including HTTP, RTSP, HLS and UPnP. To disable (or enable) streams for viewers: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click Streaming for the desired channel; the streaming page opens. 160 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Restrict access to streams for viewers 3. Uncheck Enabled to disable streaming to viewers (or check to enable). 4. Click Apply at the bottom of the page. Restrict access to streams for viewers Standalone VGA Grid can restrict access to all viewer streams using global viewer passwords and IP allow/deny lists. See Set or change user passwords and Restrict viewers by IP address If LDAP is configured for viewer authentication, the viewer must pass global autentication using LADAP credentials (or the viewer global password, if there is one) and must meet the local channel settings (come from an allowed IP address). See Configure LDAP for more information on LDAP configuration. To restrict viewers for a channel: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click Streaming for the desired channel; the streaming page opens. 4. Scroll to the Stream access control section of the page. 161 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Restrict access to streams for viewers 5. Select Use these settings from the drop down list; the configuration fields are enabled. Global LDAP settings are always enforced. Any local settings are in addition to LDAP sign on. 6. If desired, specify a password for viewers of this channel; the password appears masked as you type it. If you have global allow/deny lists or a global user password, you can override the global settings and remove all access control for a channel by selecting Use these settings and leaving all the fields blank. 7. If desired, specify allow and deny IPs for viewers of this channel. See Restrict viewers by IP address for more information about allow and deny lists. 8. Click Apply at the bottom of the page. To return a channel to the default (global) access control settings: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click Streaming for the desired channel; the streaming page opens. 4. Scroll to the Stream access control section of the page. 5. Select Use global settings from the drop down list; the configuration fields are disabled (any changes to the configuration fields are not saved). 6. Click Apply at the bottom of the page. 162 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Restrict viewers by IP address Restrict viewers by IP address The Standalone VGA Grid permits you to restrict which computers can access broadcasts by building a list of allowed and/or denied IP addresses. You can do this at a global level for the system and can also override these settings on a per-channel basis. Both global and per-channel configuration procedures are described below. IP address restriction is valid for the viewer only and does not affect the web admin interface or the mobile configuration interface. If your viewer account has a password, your viewers must connect to the system from a computer (or gateway) with a permitted IP address and must also supply the username (viewer) and password before they can view the broadcast. To restrict access by IP address you need to know the IP addresses, or range of addresses for your viewers. By default all IP addresses are allowed to connect to the broadcast. If you’re not familiar with creating allow/deny lists, refer to the examples below this procedure for assistance with crafting your lists. To restrict viewers by IP address: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Access passwords link in the Configuration menu; the password configuration page opens. 4. Type allowed IP addresses or address ranges in the Allow IP’s field. Separate addresses with a comma. 5. Type denied IP addresses or address ranges in the Deny IP’s field. Separate addresses with a comma. 6. Click Apply. To restrict viewers of a specific channel by IP address: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Streaming link for the desired channel; the streaming configuration page opens. 4. From the Access Control drop-down, select Use these Settings; local password and Allow/Deny IP lists are enabled. 5. If desired, type a password for the viewer in the Viewer Password field. 6. Type allowed IP addresses or address ranges in the Allow IP’s field. Separate addresses with a comma. 163 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide IP restriction examples 7. Type denied IP addresses or address ranges in the Deny IP’s field. Separate addresses with a comma. 8. Click Apply. If a user attempts to connect to the stream from a disallowed IP address, access is denied. If connecting by internet browser, the message "IP address rejected." is displayed. The following table describes the applicable fields. Table 20 IP Based Restriction Fields Label Description/Options Enter individual IP Addresses or IP Address ranges, separated by commas. To specify a range, use a hyphen (-). Optional spaces improve readability. Users connecting from addresses in this list are permitted to view broadcasts from the Allow IP's system, provided their IP address is not in the Deny IP’s list. To allow all (except IP addresses in the deny list, if any), leave the field blank. You can use the Allow list by itself, or in conjunction with the Deny IP’s list as an exception to a rule in the allow list. Enter individual IP Addresses or IP Address ranges, separated by commas. To specify a range, use a hyphen (-). Optional spaces improve readability. Users connecting from addresses in this list are not allowed to view broadcasts from the Deny IP's system, unless their IP address is in the Allow IP’s list. If a specific IP address is in both lists, access to the stream is denied. You can use the Deny list by itself, or in conjunction with the Allow IP’s list as an exception to a rule in the allow list. IP restriction examples Allow list with distinct IP addresses The simplest allow/deny list is to use the list of known IP addresses to craft a list of allowed IP addresses. All other addresses are denied access to the broadcast. For example if your system is accessible on your local area network (LAN) and you want to make sure only the CEO’s specific desktop, laptop and tablet computers (with IP Addresses 192.168.1.50, 192.168.1.51, and 192.165.1.75, respectively) can connect to the broadcast, construct the following allow list: Allow: 192.168.1.50, 192.168.1.51, 192.168.1.75 164 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide IP restriction examples Allow list with a range of IP addresses Sometimes you’ll want a range of computer IP addresses to connect to your system. This may happen when you have one range of IP addresses assigned to desktop computers (i.e. in the range 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.100) and another range assigned to boardroom computers (i.e. the range 192.168.1.200 to 192.168.1.250). If you only want the boardroom computers to connect to broadcasts from the system you can specify the range of boardroom IP addresses rather than needing to type in each individual address. The allow list looks as follows: Allow: 192.168.1.200-192.168.1.250 Note that we could have specified two of the IP addresses in the previous example as a range. Allow list with a range of IP addresses and one or more specific IP addresses Putting the first two examples together, we want to permit access to IP addresses in the range of boardroom computers (192.168.1.200-192.168.1.250) and also want to add the desktop, laptop and tablet computers of the CEO (IP addresses 192.168.1.50, 192.168.1.51, and 192.168.1.75, respectively). Note the first two IP addresses are consecutive, so they can be added as a second range. Add these IP addresses to the list as follows: Allow: 192.168.1.200-192.168.1.250, 192.168.1.50-192.168.1.51, 192.168.1.75 Your list can have multiple ranges and multiple distinct IP addresses, provided they are separated by commas. Deny list with distinct IP addresses Another simple allow/deny list is to use the list of known IP addresses to list specific denied IP addresses. All other addresses are allowed access to the broadcast. For example imagine your system is accessible on your local area network (LAN) and you want to allow any computer on the LAN can access the stream except your publicly-accessible boardroom (with IP address 192.168.1.211). You can use the following deny list (leave the allow list empty) to permit all computers except the boardroom computer: Deny: 192.168.1.211 As with allow lists, your deny list can specify a range of IP addresses, and can specify multiple ranges or distinct IP addresses in a comma-separated list. 165 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide IP restriction examples Allow list with a range of IP addresses, distinct IP addresses and an exception Building on the previous examples, consider the situation where you want the CEO’s computers (192.168.1.50, 192.168.1.51, 192.168.75) and all boardroom computers (192.168.1.200-192.168.1.250) to access the broadcast, with the exception of the public boardroom computer (192.168.1.211). Use both allow and deny lists to create the rule as follows: Allow: 192.168.1.200-192.168.1.250, 192.168.1.50-192.168.1.51, 192.168.1.75 Deny: 192.168.1.211 Both lists can have multiple ranges and multiple distinct IP addresses, provided they are separated by commas. Deny list with a range of IP addresses Converse to the previous examples, consider the situation where you want every computer on the network to access the broadcast, with the exception of the CEO’s desktop, laptop and tablet computers. Additionally, boardroom computers should not be permitted with the exception of the cafeteria computer (IP address 192.168.1.222). The deny list is an "exception" list for the allow list. So to craft the rule described above we need to allow all the computers in the local subnet, then deny specific sub-ranges including two groups of boardroom computers ensuring the cafeteria computer's IP address is not in the deny list: Allow: 192.168.1.1-192.168.1.250 Deny: 192.168.1.200-192.168.1.221, 192.168.1.223-192.168.1.250, 192.168.1.50-192.168.1.51, 192.168.1.75 166 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream to a server Stream to a server Your Standalone VGA Grid streams to a server when you want to use a CDN or Multicast. By default, no server streaming is configured. See Stream to a CDN and Stream content using multicast for details on configuring one of these two options. Publishing Options Use this option to... Stream web content to many viewers simultaneously to any geographical location. A viewer accesses the broadcast from a website using a user name and password, if required. Using a CDN to host your broadcast is highly scalable and makes financial sense to website owners since you do not pay Content Distribution Network for additional server hardware or routing should your network traffic increase or decrease. Using a CDN to stream live content allows you to reach a large geographically diverse audience and because CDNs perform format conversion, the stream is platform independent. For more information about streaming to a CDN, see Stream to a CDN. Stream content to a multicast IP address where it can be shared with multiple viewers within the same LAN. All viewers receive the same stream at the same time. Similar to turning on a radio station where all listeners hear the same music at the same time. This delivery method relies on network equipment that supports multicasting and is usually used in high bandwidth corporate LANs and not Multicast Streaming on Internet-based architectures. This delivery method is useful for training sessions, when there is a specific timeframe when the audience will view the content. For more information about using multicasting for streaming your content, see: Stream content using multicast This option can be used to stream video and audio to an IP TV or set top box playlist. To stream video outside of your LAN, use a CDN or configure port forwarding on your router. Refer to your Network Administrator; network configuration is beyond the scope of this guide. 167 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream to a CDN Streaming to CDNs and multicast streaming is available only when the H.264 codec is selected. Stream to a CDN A Content Delivery Network (CDN) relies on geo-diverse CDN servers to receive and disperse web content to the CDN server closest to the user. The closer the server is to the user the faster the content is delivered. Streaming your content through a CDN allows you to stream any time, anywhere, regardless of the viewing device. You can publish to any CDN provider that supports incoming streams sent via RTSP announce or RTMP push. Both RTSP and RTMP can be used for live streaming, however not all CDNs or media servers support both formats. Choose the streaming format that your CDN or media server supports. Epiphan has tested with the CDN providers listed here: http://epiphan.tv/cdn-partners.php. Contact your CDN for a list of supported audio codecs and ensure your configuration uses one of the supported codecs. To publish content to a CDN provider ensure you have: l a path to the mount point or an XML configuration file (provided by the CDN provider); l verify which transport protocols your CDN supports: l a current flash player; and l select the H.264 codec from the channel's Encoding page. You can also test how your content is streamed by sending your content to Epiphan’s CDN. For a list of Epiphan’s preferred CDN providers, see: http://epiphan.tv/cdn-partners.php. Use one of the following links to configure your Standalone VGA Grid for publishing to a CDN: l To stream content to a CDN using RTSP announce l To stream content to a CDN using RTMP push 168 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream to a CDN l Stream to a CDN using an XML profile l Stream to Wowza Streaming Cloud l Test using Epiphan TV CDN To stream content to a CDN using RTSP announce 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 5. Scroll to the Stream to a server section of the page. 6. Click the Publish drop-down menu. 7. Choose using RTSP announce from the drop-down menu. 8. Enter the ingestion point url provided by the CDN or media server. 9. Check the Use TCP for RTP stream checkbox. Verify which transport protocols your CDN provider supports. 10. Enter a user name and password. 11. The CDN provider assigns a user name and password to authenticate the publisher. Contact the CDN provider for your log in credentials. 12. Click Apply. To stream content to a CDN using RTMP push 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 169 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream to a CDN 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 3. Click the Publish drop-down menu. 4. Choose using RTMP push from the drop-down menu. 3. Enter the ingest point URL provided by the media server or CDN. 4. In the Stream name field, enter the stream name you configured with the CDN.. 5. Enter the CDN user name and password. The CDN provider assigns a user name and password to authenticate the publisher. Contact the CDN provider for your log in credentials. 6. Click Apply. Stream to a CDN using an XML profile 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 170 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream to a CDN 3. Click the Choose File button next to use profile XML; a file browser window opens. 4. Select the XML profile supplied by your CDN and click OK; the configuration is read from the XML file and applied. 3. Click Apply. Stream to Wowza Streaming Cloud To set up streaming via Wowza Cloud, you first need to sign in to the Wowza Streaming Cloud web site and create a new Live Stream. Retain the connection code that is provided upon applying the configuration settings; this code is required to complete the streaming set-up process. 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Encoding; the channel's Encoding page opens. 171 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream to a CDN 5. Configure Encoding settings accordingly, ensuring the Codec selected is H.264. Configuring audio is optional. Supported formats are limited to MP3 and AAC. Due to RTMP restrictions, MP3 48 kHz is not supported. 6. Click Apply. 7. Under the selected channel, click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 8. Click the Publish drop-down menu. 9. Select to Wowza Cloud from the drop-down list. 172 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream to a CDN 10. Enter the connection code obtained from the Wowza Streaming Cloud set-up into the Connection code field. 11. Click Set to pair the channel on Epiphan's encoder with the live stream on Wowza Cloud 12. Click Apply. When the connection to Wowza Cloud has been established, the stream name appears on the channel's Status page. After clicking Apply, there may be a short 2-3 minute delay before the live stream is displayed. 173 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream to a CDN Stream to Original Livestream To set up streaming via the Original Livestream service, you first need to sign in to your Original Livestream account and create a new stream. To configure streaming on your Standalone VGA Grid: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Encoding; the channel's Encoding page opens. 5. Configure Encoding settings accordingly, ensuring the Codec selected is H.264. Configuring audio is optional. Supported formats are limited to MP3 and AAC. Due to RTMP restrictions, MP3 48 kHz is not supported. 6. Click Apply. 7. Under the selected channel, click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 174 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream to a CDN 8. Click the Publish drop-down menu. 9. Select Original Livestream from the drop-down list. 10. Enter the channel name in the Short channel name field. 11. Enter your Original Livestream Username and Password in the next two fields. 12. Click Apply. When the connection to Original Livestream has been established, the stream name appears on the channel's Status page, similar to this example from Wowza Streaming Cloud. After clicking Apply, there may be a short 2-3 minute delay before the live stream is displayed. Test using Epiphan TV CDN Epiphan.tv is a service provided by Epiphan to help our customers to experiment with content distribution networks, bandwidth, performance limits and viewer limits are applied. To upgrade to a full service, select one of Epiphan’s preferred CDN providers at http://epiphan.tv/cdn-partners.php. 175 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream to a CDN Stream to Epiphan TV To hear audio content from Epiphan TV ensure audio is set to MP3 in Encoding configuration. 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 5. Scroll to the Stream to a server section of the page. 6. Click the Publish drop-down menu. 7. Choose to <serial>. Epiphan.tv. Where <serial> is the serial number of the system. 8. Click Apply; a connection through the media tunnel is established. The system streams to Epiphan’s portal – epiphan.net. You must set audio format to MP3 when streaming through epiphan.net, see Configure encoding . View content from Epiphan TV Before viewing content from Epiphan TV ensure you have: l a current browser; l a current flash player; 176 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream to a CDN l select the H.264 codec from the channel's Encoding page; and l set the stream bitrate lower than 500 kbits/s in the channel's Encoding setup. To view content: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 3. Click the link to view the broadcast. 4. A web page opens displaying the broadcast. Specify a multimedia player to view your Epiphan TV broadcast 1. From the Epiphan TV portal, click Switch To on the bottom of the screen; the following options appear. 177 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using multicast 2. Choose a plug-in from the list, the stream is displayed using the selected multimedia player. Add a link to your website to stream your Epiphan TV broadcast Follow the steps below to embed code for the broadcast in a web page. 1. Go to the Epiphan TV portal. 2. Click Embed on the bottom of the screen; a dialog box opens displaying the code. 3. Highlight and right-click on the code in the dialog box. A drop-down menu appears. 4. Choose Copy. 5. Paste the content into the HTML code for your website. A link to your broadcast on Epiphan TV is added to your web page. Retrieve a list of addresses based on video stream encapsulation 1. Go to the Epiphan TV portal. 2. Click Direct URLs on the bottom of the screen; a dialog box opens displaying a list of URLs for different types of streams. 3. Use the copy and paste function to provide viewers with the URL to view the stream. Stream content using multicast A multicast stream consists of one stream distributed to many viewers via a multicast-capable network. 178 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using multicast Standalone VGA Grid supports multicast streaming content to an IP TV or a set-top box playlist when the stream format is MPEG-TS. The following procedures outline the steps to distribute your content using multicast streaming: l MPEG-TS streams using RTP/UDP push l MPEG-TS streams using UDP push l Multicast streaming using RTP/UDP MPEG-TS streams using RTP/UDP push Before configuring your channel for MPEG-TS streaming, ensure the following codecs are configured: l Video – H.264 l Audio – MP3 or AAC, if audio is configured. To configure your channel for MPEG-TS using RTP/UDP push: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 5. Click the Publish drop-down menu. 6. Choose using MPEG-TS RTP/UDP push. 7. Enter the destination multicast IP address where the broadcast can be viewed. A IPv4 multicast address range is an address between 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255. Contact your System Administrator for the specific address to use. 8. Enter the destination port number through which the media will stream. 9. Perform one of the following: a. If you do not want to advertise your stream to a media player over a local network, go to the last step of this procedure; or b. To advertise your stream to a media player over a local network, follow the steps below. 10. Enable the SAP announcement checkbox to advertise your stream over a local network. When the checkbox is enabled and a multicast IP address is configured, your stream is displayed in the playlist of local media player. 179 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using multicast 11. Enter a multicast IP address in the SAP announcement IP field. If your media player is configured to receive multicast streams from an IP address that is different from the default address 224.2.127.254, you may need to contact your system administrator for a specific multicast IP address. 12. Enter a channel number in the Channel number field to identify your stream in the media player. By default the Channel number is the channel identifier. When a channel number value is not specified, viewers cannot select a channel from the set-top box or Smart TV . 13. Enter a name for a group of streams in the text box next to Group name. Since media players simply present a list of available streams, you can organize your streams into multiple folders or in cases where folders are not displayed, use dot separator hierarchy to help your viewers filter out unwanted streams by category. 14. Click Apply. 15. Click the Info menu option of the web interface. An Info page opens displaying stream information. To view the stream from a media player, open the URL in a media player, for example: rtp://@ip:port or in the case of the sample configuration in the figure shown above: rtp://@226.10.24.32:7000 To view the stream when SAP announce has been set and the stream is advertised on a media player, set-topbox or Smart TV, refer to Viewing with Session Announcement Protocol (SAP). MPEG-TS streams using UDP push Before configuring your channel for the MPEG-TS streaming, ensure the following codecs are configured: l Video – H.264 l Audio – MP3 or AAC, if audio is configured. To configure MPEG-TS with UDP push: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 180 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using multicast 5. Click the Publish drop-down menu. 6. Choose using MPEG-TS UDP push. 7. Enter the destination multicast IP address where the broadcast can be viewed. A IPv4 multicast address range is an address between 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255. Contact your System Administrator for the specific address to use. 8. Enter the destination port number through which the media will stream. 9. Perform one of the following: a. If you do not want to advertise your stream to a media player over a local network, go to the last step of this procedure; or b. To advertise your stream to a media player over a local network, follow the steps below. 10. Enable the SAP announcement checkbox to advertise your stream over a local network. When the checkbox is enabled and a multicast IP address is configured, your stream is displayed in the playlist of local media players. 11. Enter a multicast IP address in the SAP announcement IP field. If your media player is configured to receive multicast streams from an IP address that is different from the default address 224.2.127.254, you may need to contact your system administrator for a specific multicast IP address. 181 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using multicast 12. Enter a channel number in the Channel number field to identify your stream in the media player. By default the Channel number is the channel identifier. When a channel number value is not specified, viewers cannot select a channel from the set-top box or Smart TV . 13. Enter a name for a group of streams in the text box next to Group name. Since media players simply present a list of available streams, you can organize your streams into multiple folders or in cases where folders are not displayed, use dot separator hierarchy to help your viewers filter out unwanted streams by category. 14. Click Apply. To view the stream, open the URL in a media player, for example: udp://@ip:port For example: udp://@226.10.24.32:7000 To view the stream when SAP announce has been set and the stream is advertised from a media player, set-top-box or Smart TV, refer to Viewing with Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) Multicast streaming using RTP/UDP 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 3. Click the Publish drop-down menu. 4. Choose using RTP/UDP push. 182 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using multicast 5. Enter the destination multicast IP address. 6. Enter the port number through which the audio will stream. 7. Enter the port number through which the video will stream. Audio and video use nearby port numbers (<port number>and <port number+2>). The minimum distance between audio and video ports must be 2. 8. Click Apply; an SDP file is generated and available from the channel's status Status page. 9. Click the SDP file to download it. If asked, specify a name and location for the SDP file. 10. Share the file with viewers. 183 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream to a media player Stream to a media player Your Standalone VGA Grid can use UPnP and SAP to stream to set top boxes, digital signs, smart TVs and other digital media players. The following table gives an overview of each option. Publishing Options Use this option to... Using the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) networking protocol, your UPnP Standalone VGA Grid can be discovered and can stream to software and hardware media players, set-top-boxes and Smart TVs with ease. SAP (session announcement protocol) is a protocol for broadcasting SAP multicast session information. Media players can see the announcement or can use the multicast SDP file (session description file) directly. To stream video outside of your LAN, use a CDN or configure port forwarding on your router. Refer to your Network Administrator; network configuration is beyond the scope of this guide. Stream content using multicast A multicast stream consists of one stream distributed to many viewers via a multicast-capable network. Standalone VGA Grid supports multicast streaming content to an IP TV or a set-top box playlist when the stream format is MPEG-TS. The following procedures outline the steps to distribute your content using multicast streaming: l MPEG-TS streams using RTP/UDP push l MPEG-TS streams using UDP push l Multicast streaming using RTP/UDP MPEG-TS streams using RTP/UDP push Before configuring your channel for MPEG-TS streaming, ensure the following codecs are configured: l Video – H.264 l Audio – MP3 or AAC, if audio is configured. To configure your channel for MPEG-TS using RTP/UDP push: 184 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using multicast 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 5. Click the Publish drop-down menu. 6. Choose using MPEG-TS RTP/UDP push. 7. Enter the destination multicast IP address where the broadcast can be viewed. A IPv4 multicast address range is an address between 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255. Contact your System Administrator for the specific address to use. 8. Enter the destination port number through which the media will stream. 9. Perform one of the following: a. If you do not want to advertise your stream to a media player over a local network, go to the last step of this procedure; or b. To advertise your stream to a media player over a local network, follow the steps below. 10. Enable the SAP announcement checkbox to advertise your stream over a local network. When the checkbox is enabled and a multicast IP address is configured, your stream is displayed in the playlist of local media player. 11. Enter a multicast IP address in the SAP announcement IP field. If your media player is configured to receive multicast streams from an IP address that is different from the default address 224.2.127.254, you may need to contact your system administrator for a specific multicast IP address. 12. Enter a channel number in the Channel number field to identify your stream in the media player. By default the Channel number is the channel identifier. When a channel number value is not specified, viewers cannot select a channel from the set-top box or Smart TV . 13. Enter a name for a group of streams in the text box next to Group name. Since media players simply present a list of available streams, you can organize your streams into multiple folders or in cases where folders are not displayed, use dot separator hierarchy to help your viewers filter out unwanted streams by category. 14. Click Apply. 185 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using multicast 15. Click the Info menu option of the web interface. An Info page opens displaying stream information. To view the stream from a media player, open the URL in a media player, for example: rtp://@ip:port or in the case of the sample configuration in the figure shown above: rtp://@226.10.24.32:7000 To view the stream when SAP announce has been set and the stream is advertised on a media player, set-topbox or Smart TV, refer to Viewing with Session Announcement Protocol (SAP). MPEG-TS streams using UDP push Before configuring your channel for the MPEG-TS streaming, ensure the following codecs are configured: l Video – H.264 l Audio – MP3 or AAC, if audio is configured. To configure MPEG-TS with UDP push: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 5. Click the Publish drop-down menu. 6. Choose using MPEG-TS UDP push. 186 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using multicast 7. Enter the destination multicast IP address where the broadcast can be viewed. A IPv4 multicast address range is an address between 224.0.0.0 to 239.255.255.255. Contact your System Administrator for the specific address to use. 8. Enter the destination port number through which the media will stream. 9. Perform one of the following: a. If you do not want to advertise your stream to a media player over a local network, go to the last step of this procedure; or b. To advertise your stream to a media player over a local network, follow the steps below. 10. Enable the SAP announcement checkbox to advertise your stream over a local network. When the checkbox is enabled and a multicast IP address is configured, your stream is displayed in the playlist of local media players. 11. Enter a multicast IP address in the SAP announcement IP field. If your media player is configured to receive multicast streams from an IP address that is different from the default address 224.2.127.254, you may need to contact your system administrator for a specific multicast IP address. 12. Enter a channel number in the Channel number field to identify your stream in the media player. By default the Channel number is the channel identifier. 187 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using multicast When a channel number value is not specified, viewers cannot select a channel from the set-top box or Smart TV . 13. Enter a name for a group of streams in the text box next to Group name. Since media players simply present a list of available streams, you can organize your streams into multiple folders or in cases where folders are not displayed, use dot separator hierarchy to help your viewers filter out unwanted streams by category. 14. Click Apply. To view the stream, open the URL in a media player, for example: udp://@ip:port For example: udp://@226.10.24.32:7000 To view the stream when SAP announce has been set and the stream is advertised from a media player, set-top-box or Smart TV, refer to Viewing with Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) Multicast streaming using RTP/UDP 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click a Channel; the menu expands. 4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens. 3. Click the Publish drop-down menu. 4. Choose using RTP/UDP push. 188 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using multicast 5. Enter the destination multicast IP address. 6. Enter the port number through which the audio will stream. 7. Enter the port number through which the video will stream. Audio and video use nearby port numbers (<port number>and <port number+2>). The minimum distance between audio and video ports must be 2. 8. Click Apply; an SDP file is generated and available from the channel's status Status page. 9. Click the SDP file to download it. If asked, specify a name and location for the SDP file. 10. Share the file with viewers. Viewing with Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) When SAP Announce is configured for a stream that uses UDP streaming, the stream is advertised over the local network. Local viewers can view the stream using a software or hardware media player. Viewers are presented with a list of available channels, similar to a television menu. Viewers need only click on a stream and the video is streamed to their desktop, mobile or tablet. To configure SAP announce, go to Stream content using multicast. Your stream is advertised by the metadata title, if one was configured under Branding, otherwise it is identified by it's channel identifier. For a description of how to set the metadata, refer to Add channel metadata. 189 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using multicast When browsing from a VLC media player, streams are advertised by their channel identifier and are organized by the group name. When browsing from an XBMC media player, streams are advertised by the stream's metadata title, if configured, otherwise streams are advertised by their channel identifier. 1. Ensure the stream has SAP announcement enabled, otherwise it is not advertised in the media player's playlist. 2. Ensure the SAP announcement IP is a multicast IP address. 3. Some media players, for example Exterity receivers, listen for SAP announcements on a specific multicast address 239.255.255.255. If your audience is using Exterity to view your stream, you must change the SAP announcement IP address to 239.255.255.255. 4. Launch a media player. The following steps are based on a VLC media player and may be different for other media players. 5. Click View from the menu; a drop-down menu opens. 6. Select Playlist. A Playlist window opens. The right-hand panel indicates the playlist is empty. 7. From the side menu, click Network streams (SAP). The playlist is populated with all streams in your network that are SAP announcement enabled. If you specified a Group Name when you configured the publish stream the stream will be listed in folder identified by the group name. In the example below, two streams D2P83658.vga and D2P83658.video are organized in a folder by their group name. 8. Click on a live stream; the stream plays in the media player window. 190 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using UPnP Stream content using UPnP Using the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) networking protocol, your Standalone VGA Grid can be discovered and can stream to software and hardware media players, set-top-boxes and Smart TVs with ease. If UPnP is enabled, the system automatically establishes communication with media players on the network. UPnP uses MPEG-TS over HTTP with the H.264 codec and MP3 or AAC audio encoding (or no audio). You can only access live streams or recordings that meet these requirements. For security reasons the default behavior prevents UPnP access to live streams and recorded files. This section covers the following topics: l Enable UPnP l Disable UPnP l Viewing with UPnP l Play directly to a media player l Auto-restart playback to a UPnP device l Change UPnP device name Some players will not be able to access the stream or saved recordings if a viewer password is set. If needed, see User administration to clear the viewer password. The topics in this chapter include how to enable and disable UPnP and how to control media players from the Standalone VGA Grid. To choose recordings or live streams from your media player, see Play directly to a media player. Enable UPnP Enable UPnP to allow digital media players on the network to browse for media or live streams from your system. There are two steps required to enabled UPnP, enabling UPnP for the system (including setting a share name) and enabling UPnP per channel or recorder. By default, UPnP is disabled at the system level and for each channel. Streams and MPEG-TS recorded files must use the supported codecs: H.264 with MP3 or AAC audio. Having a viewer password could prevent the ability to use UPnP. To enable UPnP: 191 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using UPnP 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Click the UPnP link in the Configuration section; the UPnP configuration page opens. 4. Enter a name in the Server name field. If no name is provided the server name will be the system's serial number. 5. Select whether you want to share live video and recorded files. 6. Click Apply. 7. If no live stream is available that meets the criteria for UPnP, a message is displayed in the Play on service start section of the page. 8. Otherwise, the Play on service start section shows a drop-down list of what can be streamed. Enable UPnP sharing for the channels or recorders you want to share: 192 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using UPnP 1. For channels (live streaming): a. Click the Streaming link for the desired channel; the Streaming page opens. a. Click the Share via UPnP check box (if not checked). b. Click Apply 2. For channels (recorded files): a. Click Recording for the desired channel; the channel's recording page opens. b. Click the word change next to the list of what is being recorded; the recording options expand. c. Click the Share via UPnP check box (if not checked). d. Click Apply. 3. For recorders: a. Click the link for the recorder from the Recorders menu; the recorder's configuration page opens. b. Click the word change next to the list of what is being recorded; the recording options expand. 193 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using UPnP c. Click the Share via UPnP check box (if not checked). d. Click Apply. You can now browse for your server from your digital media player. Disable UPnP By default, UPnP sharing is disable for the device, and for each channels and recorder. If you enabled UPnP sharing it for a particular broadcast, you may want to disable UPnP sharing after the broadcast is complete. You can choose to disable access to live streams, recorded files, or to the whole system. To disable UPnP for a channel or recorder: 1. For channels: a. Click the Streaming link for the desired channel; the Streaming page opens. b. Deselect the Share via UPnP check box (if checked). c. Click Apply 2. For recorders: a. Click the link for the recorder from the Recorders menu. b. Click the word change next to the list of what is being recorded; the recording options expand. a. Deselect the Share via UPnP check box (if not checked). b. Click Apply. To disable UPnP globally (for the whole system): 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Click the UPnP link in the Configuration section; the UPnP configuration page opens. 4. Deselect Share live video through UPnP to stop sharing live video. 5. Deselect Share recorded files through UPnP to stop sharing recorded files. 6. Click Apply; UPnP sharing is disabled. 194 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using UPnP Viewing with UPnP Using a software or hardware media player, you can browse for files or streams with Universal Plug and Play (UPnP). UPnP uses MPEG-TS over HTTP with the H.264 codec and MP3 or AAC audio encoding (or no audio). You can only access live streams or recordings that meet these requirements. For security reasons the default behavior prevents UPnP access to live streams and recorded files. To enable UPnP, see Enable UPnP Some players cannot access the stream or saved recordings if a viewer password is set. If needed, see Remove user passwords to clear the viewer password. When browsing via UPnP your Standalone VGA Grid is displayed by the server name you set, or it's product serial number. For example, when browsing from a Windows computer, you will see a list of media devices that includes the Standalone VGA Grid: Live streams When you open the device from Windows Media Player, you'll see a list of the available channels you can stream under the Videos tab. The channel names are the same as they are in the admin interface. From other digital media players, the channel list can be under a Live Streams folder. With Windows Media Player, double click to open any channel and press Play to start the stream. Using your digital media player, select a live stream and press play. Recorded files Recorded files are shown in the Recorded Files folder. Files are organized by the channel or recorder from which they were recorded. Windows Media Player shows the recorder files side by side with the channels and other digital media players show the recorded files in a file tree format, see below. 195 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using UPnP UPnP can also be used to directly play a recording to the digital media player, or to set a media player to automatically play a particular live stream after reboot of the Standalone VGA Grid. See Stream content using UPnP and Play directly to a media player. Play directly to a media player If your digital media player is UPnP enabled, the Standalone VGA Grid can play direct the media player to play recorded files, without browsing through menus in the player. Recorded files must be in MPEG-TS format and use the supported codecs: H.264 with MP3 or AAC audio. Having a viewer password could prevent the ability to use UPnP. To play directly to a media player: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Ensure Share recorded files through UPnP is enabled on your Standalone VGA Grid and for the channel or recorder you wish to share. (See Enable UPnP.) 4. Go to the recorded files list for the desired channel or recorder. (See View list of recorded files.) 5. From the list of files, select the file you want to play and click on the Play To icon for the file; a list of visible digital media players is displayed. 6. Select a media player; the recording plays on the screen(s) connected to the media player. Auto-restart playback to a UPnP device In unmanned situations such as industrial applications and digital signs, it is useful to automatically have a stream played to a digital media player, even if the Standalone VGA Grid restarts. To configure auto-restart of a stream to a media player: 196 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Stream content using UPnP 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Click the UPnP link in the Configuration section; the UPnP configuration page opens. 4. Scroll to the Play on service start section. 5. Select a stream to use from the Live stream drop-down list. 6. Select a digital media player from the Player drop-down list. (Digital media players on your network that support UPnP playback will automatically appear in the drop-down list.) 7. Click Apply. Only a single stream and player combination can be configured for auto play. The channel's UPnP configuration must be enabled for it to appear. Change UPnP device name You can configure the UPnP server name that appears for your Standalone VGA Grid. By default, if you left the server name field blank when enabling UPnP, the server name is the system's serial number. To change the UPnP server name: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Click the UPnP link in the Configuration section; the UPnP configuration page opens. 4. Highlight and delete the text in the Server name field, if any. 5. Type a new server name. Use characters A-Z, a-z, 0-9, _, :, @, ^, #, -. {}, [], (). 6. Click Apply; the name changes. 197 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Samples of stream settings Samples of stream settings When choosing your stream settings it is important to consider the stream content. When streaming fast moving video it's best to choose a higher bitrate and frame rate versus streaming a slide presentation where you can save on bandwidth and system processing by lower the bitrate and frame rate. Stream setup is a matter of balancing quality and system resource usage. To help you to achieve this balance the following tables list the recommended settings when streaming video and slide content from a PC, Mac or tablet. Streaming video content The table below provides suggested settings to maximize your video quality while minimizing system resource usage when streaming video content from a PC, Mac or tablet. Setting PC and Mac Tablet H.264 Motion JPEG Video encoding preset Hardware accelerated Video encoding profile Main Codec Enhanced compatibility mode Disable for PC (h.264 slicing for RTP) Enable for Mac Key frame interval Limit frame rate 2 sec 30 30 2000 Kbits for HD Bitrate 3000 Kbits for Full HD auto 3000 kbits for ~ HD; 4000 kbits for ~ Full HD (Mac) Rate control mode Audio format Balanced PCM 22 KHz 198 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Streaming slide content Streaming slide content The table below provides suggested settings to maximize your stream quality while minimizing system resource usage when streaming slide content from a PC, Mac or tablet. Setting PC and Mac Tablet H.264 Motion JPEG Video encoding preset High Quality Video encoding profile High Codec Enhanced compatibility mode (h.264 Disable for PC slicing for RTP) Enable for Mac Key frame interval Limit frame rate Bitrate Rate control mode Audio format 2 sec 15 15 3000 kbits for ~ HD; 4000 kbits for ~ Full HD auto Balanced PCM 44 KHz 199 PART 4: Record Your Standalone VGA Grid encodes the video and audio it captures. Not only can you stream this content, but you can also simultaneously record it. In fact, if you're streaming a picture in picture layout or low quality streams, you may even want to create separate channels to also record each input at full frame size and with a high bitrate so you have the best possible digital media for future re-use or post-processing. If you choose to record your channels, Standalone VGA Grid stores the recorded files on the system's amplysized hard drive and provides you a variety of automatic or manual mechanisms to download the files. This section discusses the following topics related to recording: l What is a recording? l Recorders l Recorded files l File and recording transfer l Local FTP server 200 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide What is a recording? What is a recording? Your Standalone VGA Grid can record the output from each channel. (See Recorders for information on creating multi-track recorders using multiple channels.) Recordings are very robust and crafted so that even in the case of accidental system shutdown, recording files are closed off and playable. You can choose to record simultaneously while streaming, or record without streaming. This section describes the following topics for creating and configuring recordings via the web interface. l Recording basics l Record a channel via the web interface l Record with a recorder l Configure recording file size and type l Restart recording l Control recording with a mouse Recording control is easily performed through the Web admin interface, but can also be set up for third party tools using our APIs. See Control with HTTP commands and Control with RS-232 / serial port for information on controlling recordings with third party tools. See Recorded files to learn how to download the recorded files. Recording can also be controlled via the tablet interface. See Control recording via the tablet interface. Recording basics While recording a channel or recorder, a new file is created each time the maximum time or size limit is met. Additionally, when recording a multi-channel recorder or a multi-source layout channel, a new file is created if an additional source is added to the recorder. Physically removing the source (e.g. unplugging it) or otherwise interrupting the signal to the source does not affect recording, and the recording will include the configured No Signal image. You can choose to create AVI, MP4, MOV or MPEG-TS recordings. See Configure recording file size and type to learn how to change the recorded file type. The MOV file type created by Standalone VGA Grid requires a relatively newer player for playback. Epiphan has tested with the following players. 201 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Operating System Record a channel via the web interface Tested Players l QuickTime 10.3 (for 1080p streams) Mac OS l QuickTime 10.3 (for streams less than 1080p) l VLC 1.0.0+ (for all streams) l QuickTime 7.6.6+ Windows l VLC 2.1.5+ l Windows Media player 12+ (except MOV files) l MPlayer Linux l VLC 2.0.8+ l DICE 2.0.21 Android l VLC 0.9.9+ (works only with MOV files that have no audio) HTML 5 Browsers (Windows) l Google Chrome 37+ (works with MOV and MP4 files using H.264 codec) Record a channel via the web interface Each channel has a configuration page that allows you to start, stop and configure recordings. To start and stop channel recording: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 3. Click the name of the desired channel; the channel menu expands. 202 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Record a channel via the web interface 4. Click the Recording link for the channel; the Recording page appears. 5. To start recording: a. Click the Start button; the recording starts and a timer indicates how long it has been recording. If the Start button is not active, there are no active sources for this channel or recorder. Check your inputs to ensure signals are working as expected. b. You may browse away from the page without affecting the recording. When the page refreshes, the channel number is displayed in red to indicate recording is underway. 203 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure recording file size and type c. The system continues to record this channel (and any concurrent recordings) until it is stopped. If the system runs out of storage space, the oldest recorded file is deleted to make room for the new recording. The recording is broken into multiple files as defined by the channel configuration. SeeConfigure recording file size and type. 6. To stop recording: a. Click the Stop button on the given channel’s Recording page. The channel number changes to black next time the web interface is refreshed (by clicking a link or refreshing the page). Configure recording file size and type By default, recorders and channels record to AVI files. When the recording reaches 30 minutes in length or a file size of 500 MB (whichever occurs first), the system closes the current recording file and opens a new one. This is done seamlessly with no loss in recorded data. You may find it useful to have recordings divided this way for ease of download, but you may also want to change the recording limits to be larger or smaller to meet your individual situation. Additionally you can configure the file type (AVI, MP4, MOV or MPEG-TS) and the prefix for all recordings (the suffix is the date and time of the recording) and you can exclude a channel or recorder’s recordings from automatic upload. To change the recording configuration: 204 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure recording file size and type 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. For a channel recording: a. Click the desired channel; the channel menu expands. b. Click the Recording link for the channel; the Recording page opens. 4. For a recorder: a. Click the desired recorder link from the Recorders section; the recorder configuration page opens. 5. Click the change link under Recorder Setup; the recorder setup section expands. (The setup page looks slightly different for Recorders, but the options are the same.) 6. Select a time limit for the recording from the Time limit drop down. 7. Select a file size limit from the Size limit drop down. Tip: If you don’t know what size to select, do some test recordings to get an idea of the file sizes you can expect. If you want to guarantee the recording lasts to a given time limit, select a file size that is far larger than you saw in your tests. 8. Select a file type from the File type drop down. 9. If desired, enter a prefix for the recordings. All new recording files for this channel or recorder will be prefixed with the text you enter. Tip: It’s best to avoid spaces in file names. Use underscores or hyphens to separate words. 10. If desired, click the check box to exclude this channel or recorder from automatic file uploads. (See File and recording transfer for information on automatic uploads.) 11. Click Apply; the changes are saved and the recorder setup displays the new configuration. 205 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Control recording with a mouse The table below describes the options available for recording file configuration. Table 21 Recording File Configuration Fields Label Description / Options Specifies the length of time the system waits before the recording file is saved and a Time limit new one is started (assuming the size limit has not yet been reached). Values range from 5 minutes to six hours. Specifies the file size a recording can become before it is saved and a new one is started Size limit (assuming the time limit has not yet been reached). Values range from 50 MB to 64 GB. Specifies the recording file type. Select from AVI, MP4, MPEG-TS, or MOV. Choose MPEG-TS for UPnP playback. File type - MP4 and MOV are fragmented formats with fixed 10 s intervals. - MPEG-TS does not support PCM audio encoding. Specifies how the recordings are named. Recording files start with the given prefix Filename prefix followed by the date and time. The channel or recorder name is used if no prefix is given. Allowed characters: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, _, , #, -, [], (). Automatic file Select this if you want this channel or recorder to be part of any scheduled automatic upload uploads. (See File and recording transfer for information on automatic uploads.) Select this if you want this channel or recorder to be avialable via UPnP. If global UPnP Share via UPnP is not enabled when you select this checkbox, a link appears to let you to fix it. Click the link and click Apply to make the global UPnP change save your recording configuration changes. Control recording with a mouse You can physically control recording start/stop by connecting a USB mouse to your Standalone VGA Grid. To control recordings with a mouse: 206 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Restart recording 1. Power on the system. 2. Connect a USB mouse to a USB port on the system. 3. Click the left mouse button once to start recording; recording starts (on all channels and recorders). If desired, check the web interface to see that recording is started. 4. Click the left mouse button again to stop recording. If desired, check the web interface to see that recording is stopped. Restart recording Recording files are automatically saved and new ones opened for writing when they reach the configured time or size limit, when the channel or recorder name is changed, or when changes are made to the stream. You cannot download files from the system while they are being recorded, so from time to time you may need to close the current recording and restart a new one to facilitate file downloads. The system supports this through the recording reset option, which closes the current recording file and opens a new one without missing any frames. To close the current recording and start a new file: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. For a channel recording: a. Click the desired channel; the channel menu expands. b. Click the Recording link for the channel; the Recording page opens. 4. For a recorder: a. Click the desired recorder link from the Recorders section; the recorder configuration page opens. 5. Click the Reset button next to the stop button; the current file is stopped and a new one begins. 6. Refresh the page to see the new recorded files list. 207 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Recorders Recorders Your Standalone VGA Grid can record the output from each channel and, using Recorders, it can also record multiple channels together in a single multi-track file. Recording multiple channels at once ensures the recordings are started and stopped at the same time, resulting in perfect synchronization. Once the recording is complete, you can automatically use one of the system's file synchronization methods to copy it off the server, or you can use our built-in tool to split the file into individual tracks for post-processing. You only need to create recorders for multi-track recordings. For single channel recordings, see Record a channel via the web interface. This section describes the following topics for creating and managing multi-channel recorders. l Add a recorder l Change the channels recorded by a recorder l Record with a recorder l Rename a recorder l Delete a recorder See What is a recording? to learn how to create recordings and configure recording file sizes. If you upgraded from a previous firmware release that included an all-in-one recorder, your all-inone recorder is now listed under the Recorders section of the web interface. Your recordings are preserved and any URLs used to access the all-in-one recorder previously through the HTTP API correctly map to the new location. Add a recorder Each channel has its own built-in recorder that is accessible from the Recording link. If you want to record several channels simultaneously to a multi-track file, create a new recorder. To add a new recorder: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 208 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Change the channels recorded by a recorder 3. Click the Add recorder link from the Recorders section; a new recorder is created and the recorder configuration page opens. By default this recorder uses the next available number and records all channels. Change the channels recorded by a recorder By default when you create a new recorder, it records all the channels configured on the system. If new channels are added, they are automatically added to the recorder. If you wish to record a subset of channels to a single multi-track file, you can edit the channels recorded by a recorder. To change the channels recorded by a recorder: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the desired recorder link from the Recorders section; the recorder configuration page opens. 4. Click change next to the list of what is currently being recorded. 209 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Record with a recorder 5. If the all channels box is selected, click it to deselect it; the other check boxes are enabled. 6. Click the check boxes for the desired channels. Channels with no active video source are displayed in italics. You can include these channels in your channel selections for the recorder. 7. Click Apply; the changes are reflected in the recorder configuration page. Record with a recorder Recorders are stopped and started via their configuration page. Multiple recorders and channel recordings can occur concurrently. The number of channels being recorded is displayed below the recording stop/start buttons. To configure the channels being recorded, see Change the channels recorded by a recorder. To start and stop recorder: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 210 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Record with a recorder 3. Click the name of the desired recorder; the recorder configuration page appears. 4. To start recording: a. Click the Start button; the recording starts and a timer indicates how long it has been recording. b. You may browse away from the page without affecting the recording. When the page refreshes, the recorder number is displayed in red to indicate recording is underway. c. The system continues to record this recorder (and any concurrent recordings) until it is stopped. If the system runs out of storage space, the oldest recorded file is deleted to make room for the new recording. The recording is broken into multiple files as defined by the recorder configuration. See Record with a recorder. 5. To stop recording: 211 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Rename recorded files a. Click the Stop button on the given recorder's configuration page. The recorder number changes to black next time the web interface is refreshed (by clicking a link or refreshing the page). Rename recorded files Recording files are named based on the filename prefix specified during configuration. If needed, you can rename them to something more descriptive. You can also change the default naming mechanism. See Configure recording file size and type for more details about setting filename prefixes. To rename recordings: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Find the recordings by channel or by recorder. See View list of recorded files. 4. Select the pencil and paper icon next to the filename you wish to change. 5. Type the new file name and press enter when finished. The web interface keeps track of the filename extension (i.e. .avi) so you do not need to include it when renaming the file. Delete recorded files manually Recordings can be manually deleted via the web interface. You can delete one file at a time, select multiple files for a given recorder or channel and delete those, or you can delete all recordings for a channel or recorder. 212 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Delete recorded files manually If you want to delete all the files on the system, follow this procedure for each channel and recorder listed in the web interface. To delete recordings: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 3. Find the recordings by channel or by recorder. See View list of recorded files. 4. To delete an individual file: a. Click the X icon to the right of a file entry to request deletion; a confirmation dialog appears. b. Click OK on the confirmation dialog. 5. To delete multiple files for the current channel or recorder: a. Select the check box next to the recordings you wish to delete from this channel or recorder. b. Click Delete Selected; a confirmation dialog appears. c. Click OK on the confirmation dialog. The list may not update immediately. You can refresh the list by reloading the Recording page (for channels) or the recorder settings page (for recorders). 6. To delete all files for the current channel or recorder: a. Click Delete All; a confirmation dialog appears. b. Click OK on the confirmation dialog. 213 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Delete recorded files manually The list may not update immediately. You can refresh the list by reloading the Recording page (for channels) or the recorder settings page (for recorders). 214 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Recorded files Recorded files Recordings you make of channels or with recorders are stored on the system's internal hard drive. The Standalone VGA Grid has a finite amount of available hard drive storage space. Though it is enough space to hold a lot of recordings, it will eventually run out of space if recordings are added but never removed. When this happens, the system deletes the oldest recorded files to make room for new recordings. You can use a variety of methods to automatically transfer files from the system to local network storage. Alternatively you can manually select individual recordings to transfer or delete. This section discusses the following manual file management topics. l View list of recorded files l Download recorded files manually l Extract tracks from a recording l Rename recorded files l Delete recorded files manually For information on automatic file transfers, see File and recording transfer. View list of recorded files Recordings for Standalone VGA Grid are stored for each channel and each recorder separately. To view all the recordings stored, follow the procedures below for all channels and all recorders you have configured. To view the recordings for a channels or recorders: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 3. To view files recorded for a channel: a. Select a channel from the Channels section; the channel menu expands. b. Select the Recording link for your channel; the Recording page appears. 4. To view files recoded for a recorder: a. Select the recorder from the Recorders section; the recorder page appears. 5. If there are no files: a. A message indicates there are no recorded files (for this channel). 215 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Download recorded files manually 6. Otherwise: a. All files for this channel are listed, sorted by date. Files that are part of the same recording session are listed one after another. Three dots appear between files of different recording sessions. The file currently being recorded (if applicable) is shown at the top of the list. It cannot be modified or downloaded until it has finished recording. Download recorded files manually Recordings can be manually downloaded from the web interface. You should consider deleting them from internal storage after you complete the download. See Delete recorded files manually, below. This procedure explains how to download files to your admin computer. See File and recording transfer for information on transferring files to a USB drive connected to the system. To download recordings to your admin computer: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 3. Find the recordings by channel or by recorder. See View list of recorded files. 216 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Extract tracks from a recording 4. To download an individual file: a. Click the name of a recording file to download it. 5. To download multiple files: a. Select the check box next to the recordings you wish to download from this channel or recorder. b. Click Download Selected to download a zip file containing the selected recordings. Extract tracks from a recording Recorders combine multiple channels and audio sources together in a single multi-track file. If desired, you can create a copy of a recording with only select tracks. This feature is supported for .AVI, .MP4 and .MOV recordings only (MPEG-TS does not support track extraction). Specific track versions of recorded files are not included in any automatic file transfers and need to be downloaded manually by clicking the extracted track filename. See Download recorded files manually To create a duplicate recording file with only select tracks: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 3. Select the recorder from the Recorders section; the recorder page appears. 4. Find the file you want to duplicate and click the up arrow icon next to it; a list of tracks appears. 217 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Extract tracks from a recording 5. Select the track(s) you want to extract. Tip: To deselect all tracks, click the check box for the top track, then hold SHIFT and click the check box for the bottom track. 6. Click Extract tracks; a duplicate of the recording is made with only the selected tracks. 218 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Rename recorded files Only one duplicate recording is saved per recording file. If you create a second duplicate recording, it will overwrite the previous copy. Download the file with your extracted tracks to preserve it. Rename recorded files Recording files are named based on the filename prefix specified during configuration. If needed, you can rename them to something more descriptive. You can also change the default naming mechanism. See Configure recording file size and type for more details about setting filename prefixes. To rename recordings: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Find the recordings by channel or by recorder. See View list of recorded files. 4. Select the pencil and paper icon next to the filename you wish to change. 5. Type the new file name and press enter when finished. The web interface keeps track of the filename extension (i.e. .avi) so you do not need to include it when renaming the file. Delete recorded files manually Recordings can be manually deleted via the web interface. You can delete one file at a time, select multiple files for a given recorder or channel and delete those, or you can delete all recordings for a channel or recorder. If you want to delete all the files on the system, follow this procedure for each channel and recorder listed in the web interface. To delete recordings: 219 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Delete recorded files manually 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 3. Find the recordings by channel or by recorder. See View list of recorded files. 4. To delete an individual file: a. Click the X icon to the right of a file entry to request deletion; a confirmation dialog appears. b. Click OK on the confirmation dialog. 5. To delete multiple files for the current channel or recorder: a. Select the check box next to the recordings you wish to delete from this channel or recorder. b. Click Delete Selected; a confirmation dialog appears. c. Click OK on the confirmation dialog. The list may not update immediately. You can refresh the list by reloading the Recording page (for channels) or the recorder settings page (for recorders). 6. To delete all files for the current channel or recorder: a. Click Delete All; a confirmation dialog appears. b. Click OK on the confirmation dialog. The list may not update immediately. You can refresh the list by reloading the Recording page (for channels) or the recorder settings page (for recorders). 220 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide File and recording transfer File and recording transfer Your Standalone VGA Grid can be configured to automatically upload recordings from local storage to a network storage location or an attached USB drive. We call this process Automatic File Upload or AFU for short. This section discusses the following generic automatic upload topics: l Automatic file upload (AFU) overview l Choose files to include in AFU l Enable and set timing for AFU And the following specific configurations based on the location of upload: l AFU to an FTP server l AFU using RSync l AFU using CIFS l AFU to a secure FTP server l AFU using SCP l AFU or copy to USB drive l Automatic l As a one-time copy l Manually Lastly, this section describes how to view file upload logs and manage the AFU queue: l View the AFU log l Manage the AFU queue Automatic file upload (AFU) overview Standalone VGA Grid can automatically upload files to an accessible off-system storage location. Do not reboot Standalone VGA Grid with USB stick inserted. Doing so will result in a failure to boot. 221 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Choose files to include in AFU The following types of off-system storage are supported for AFU: FTP, CIFS, RSync, SFTP, SCP and USB Drive. Only one type of AFU can be used at once. Files are uploaded once (i.e. are automatically not re-uploaded during future sessions) and a log is kept showing the file transfers (see below for details on viewing the log). The first transfer occurs after the configured amount of time expires or after the current file completes recording. If connection is lost during the transfer, the transfer is automatically restarted when the connection is reestablished. By default, channels and recorders are not configured to support automatic file upload for their recorded files. You must enable this feature for each channel or recorder you wish to include in your automatic file transfers. If recorded files are selected for upload while the AFU is at maximum upload capacity or when the AFU is unavailable, they are added to an upload queue. Files and their relevant information are displayed in a list format, and each file will be uploaded when upload capacity becomes available. Choose files to include in AFU When configuring automatic file upload (AFU) you need to tell the system which channels and recorders you want included in the upload schedule. When you log into the system and attempt to configure your desired type of AFU you see the following warning in the Automatic File Upload configuration page if no channels or recorders are configured to be part of AFU. 222 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Choose files to include in AFU For each channel or recorder you want to add to your AFU schedule: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. For a channel recording: a. Click the desired channel; the channel menu expands. b. Select the Recording link for the channel; the Recording page opens. 4. For a recorder: a. Click the desired recorder link from the Recorders section; the recorder configuration page opens. 5. Select the change link under Recorder Setup; the recorder setup section expands. (The setup page looks slightly different for Recorders, but the options are the same.) 223 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Enable and set timing for AFU 6. Check the Automatic file upload check box. 7. Click Apply; the Recording page is refreshed and the new settings are reflected. Now that AFU is enabled for your desired set of files, enable AFU and configure your desired mechanism. Enable and set timing for AFU After configuring the channels and recorders to include in your AFU schedule, you must enable AFU and configure the frequency of transfers. Files saved before you complete automatic file upload configuration are not part of the automatic upload. Manual file transfer is required for these files. See Download recorded files manually. To enable and configure frequency automatic uploads: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select Automatic File Upload from the Configuration section; the Automatic File Upload configuration page opens. 224 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Enable and set timing for AFU If your screen does not indicate that AFU is enabled for at least one channel or recorder, return to Choose files to include in AFUEnable and set timing for AFU 4. Select the Enable Automatic File Upload checkbox. 5. Specify how often automatic updates should happen. The first transfer occurs after the specified amount of time expires, or after the current file completes recording. I.e. if the value is set to every hour and five videos are saved the first hour, those five videos are uploaded after the first hour, and one hour later the videos saved in the second hour are uploaded. The following table describes the available options. Table 22 Automatic File Upload Interval Options Name Description The system uploads each file after it stops recording it. You can control file size On file rotation and length to determine when files are done recording. You can also use the reset button to close the current file and open a new one. See Configure recording file size and type. Every hour The system uploads completed recordings every hour. 225 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Enable and set timing for AFU Name Description Every 6 hours The system uploads completed recordings every six hours. Every 12 hours The system uploads completed recordings every 12 hours. Every 24 hours The system uploads completed recordings every 24 hours. 6. Indicate the remote path, if desired. If no path is specified, the files are copied to the root folder of the destination file system. If the remote path does not exist on the remote server or USB drive, the file transfer fails. 7. If desired, check Remove after upload to have the files deleted from local storage when upload completes. 8. If desired, check Mark file as downloaded to have the color of the file link in the recording list change to show the files are downloaded. This only applies if the files are not deleted after upload is complete. 9. Select the protocol or destination for upload. The following table describes the options. Table 23 Automatic File Upload Interval Options Name Description FTP Client The system uploads to an FTP server. RSync Client The system uploads to a network location using RSync to copy the file. CIFS Client SFTP Client SCP Client External USB Drive The system uploads to a network location using CIFS (also known as SMB or samba) such as a shared folder on a Windows machine. The system uploads to a secure FTP server. Authentication is done either by password or uploaded SSH key. The system performs secure copy (SCP) to a remote server. Authentication is done either by password or uploaded SSH key. The system uploads to a USB drive connected directly to the system. 10. Follow one of the procedures below to configure your selected protocol or transfer type. l AFU to an FTP server l AFU using RSync l AFU using CIFS 226 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide AFU to an FTP server l AFU to a secure FTP server l AFU using SCP l AFU or copy to USB drive AFU to an FTP server This procedure assumes you have completed the steps in Enable and set timing for AFU and wish to continue with configuration of upload to an FTP Server. To configure upload to an FTP server: 1. Select FTP Client from the protocol drop down list in the Automatic File Upload configuration page; the lower half of the page reflects the selection. 2. Specify the target Server address. If your system is configured with DHCP or has a valid DNS configuration (see Configure DHCP), you can use the server’s fully qualified domain name instead of the IP address. 3. Specify the Server Port used for the target FTP server. The standard port is 21. 4. Enter the FTP account username in the Login field. 5. Enter the FTP account password in the Password field; the characters are masked with dots. 6. Select Use temp file to name files with a temporary filename extension (.part) on the server until upload is complete. 7. Click Apply; if there are any problems the system notifies you with a message: One or more parameter values are not valid and those were not applied! The following table describes the options applicable to configuring upload to an FTP server. 227 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide AFU using RSync Table 24 FTP Automatic Upload Configuration Options Name Server address Description / Options The IP address (or fully qualified domain name) of the FTP server. Server port The port used by the target FTP server. Standard port is 21. Login Username for the FTP server. Password Password for the FTP user. Causes files to be named with .part extension on the server during active upload. When Use temp file the upload completes, the file is renamed to the appropriate extension (.mov, .mp4 or .avi). AFU using RSync This procedure assumes you have completed the steps in Enable and set timing for AFU and wish to continue with configuration of upload using RSync. To configure upload using RSync: 1. Select RSync Client from the protocol drop down list in the Automatic File Upload configuration page; the lower half of the page reflects the selection. 2. Specify the target Server address. If your system is configured with DHCP or has a valid DNS configuration (see Configure DHCP), you can use the server’s fully qualified domain name instead of the IP address. 228 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide AFU using CIFS 3. Specify the Server module. This is the name of the shared folder on the server. If needed, request this value from your network administrator. 4. Specify a username for the RSync Server in the Login field. The user must have write permissions for the module. 5. Specify the password for the user in the Password field; the value is masked by dots. 6. If desired, select the Checksum check box to add a checksum validation to the transfer between the system and the recipient server. 7. Click Apply; if there are any problems the system notifies you with a message: One or more parameter values are not valid and those were not applied! The following table describes the options applicable to configuring upload to an RSync server. Table 25 RSync Automatic File Upload Configuration Options Name Server address Description / Options The IP address (or fully qualified domain name) of the RSync server. Server module The name of the shared folder on the RSync server. Login Username for the RSync server. Password Password for the RSync user. Checksum Select to enable checksum checking during file transfer. This increases the time taken to transfer, but also increases reliability of the transfer. AFU using CIFS This procedure assumes you have completed the steps in Enable and set timing for AFU and wish to continue with configuration of upload using CIFS (also known as SMB or samba). To configure upload using CIFS: 1. Select CIFS Client from the protocol drop down list in the Automatic File Upload configuration page; the lower half of the page reflects the selection. 229 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide AFU using CIFS 2. Specify the target Server address. If your system is configured with DHCP or has a valid DNS configuration (see Configure DHCP), you can use the server’s fully qualified domain name instead of the IP address. 3. Enter the target Server port, if you have configured the server to use something non-standard. Leave this value blank to use the default port. 4. Specify the Server share. This is the CIFS share name or the name of the shared folder on the server. If needed, request this value from the network administrator. 5. If the system is in a different domain than the server or if it is part of Active Directory, enter the Domain name of the CIFS server. 6. Specify a username for the CIFS Server in the Login field. The user must have write permissions for the share folder. 7. Specify the password for the user in the Password field; the value is masked by dots. 8. Select Use temp file to name files with a temporary filename extension (.part) on the server until upload is complete. 9. Click Apply; if there are any problems the system notifies you with a message: One or more parameter values are not valid and those were not applied! The following table describes the options applicable to configuring upload to a CIFS server. Table 26 CIFS Automatic File Upload Configuration Options Name Server Port Description / Options The CIFS server port. Leave blank to use the default port, or enter the port used for your CIFS server. 230 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Name Server address Server share Domain AFU to a secure FTP server Description / Options The IP address (or fully qualified domain name) of the CIFS server. The name of the shared folder on the CIFS server. The CIFS server's Windows domain or Work Group name . Needed if the server is part of Active Directory or a Domain Controller. Login Username for the CIFS server. Password Password for the CIFS user. Causes files to be named with .part extension on the server during active upload. When Use temp file the upload completes, the file is renamed to the appropriate extension (.mov, .mp4, .ts or .avi). AFU to a secure FTP server This procedure assumes you have completed the steps in Enable and set timing for AFU and wish to continue with configuration of upload to a secure FTP Server (SFTP). To configure upload to a secure FTP (SFTP) server: 1. Select SFTP Client from the protocol drop down list in the Automatic File Upload configuration page; the lower half of the page reflects the selection. 231 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide AFU to a secure FTP server 2. Specify the target Server address. If your system is configured with DHCP or has a valid DNS configuration (see Configure DHCP), you can use the server’s fully qualified domain name instead of the IP address. 3. Specify the Server Port used for the target SFTP server. The standard port is 22. 4. Enter the SFTP account username in the Login field. 5. Enter the SFTP account password in the Password field; the characters are masked with dots. (Alternatively you can choose to use a private key instead of a password for authentication.) 6. Select Use temp file to name files with a temporary filename extension (.part) on the server until upload is complete. For secure file transfer you can upload an SSH identity for your Standalone VGA Grid. This key must be trusted by the destination server. Details for generating the key and setting up this trust are beyond the scope of this document. 7. If desired, scroll down to the section labelled SSH identity for SCP and SFTP clients. 1. If no identity is uploaded, or to upload a new identity (overwrites the old identity): a. Click Choose File; a file selection dialog opens. b. Select the private key file from your hard drive and click Open. The system accepts RSA keys for SSH-1; DSA, ECDSA, EC25519 and RSA for SSH-2. Keys must be in OpenSSH format. c. Click Upload to upload the file. 2. Use the Test your key field to test your uploaded key against the secure server, if desired. 8. Click Apply; if there are any problems the system notifies you with a message: One or more parameter values are not valid and those were not applied! The following table describes the options applicable to configuring upload to a SFTP server. Table 27 SFTP Automatic Upload Configuration Options Name Server address Description / Options The IP address (or fully qualified domain name) of the SFTP server. Server port The port used by the target SFTP server. Standard port is 22. Login Username for the SFTP server. 232 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Name Description / Options Password Password for the SFTP user. AFU using SCP Causes files to be named with .part extension on the server during active upload. When Use temp file the upload completes, the file is renamed to the appropriate extension (.mov, .mp4 or .avi). AFU using SCP This procedure assumes you have completed the steps in Enable and set timing for AFU and wish to continue with configuration of upload via secure copy (SCP). To configure upload via SCP: 1. Select SCP Client from the protocol drop down list in the Automatic File Upload configuration page; the lower half of the page reflects the selection. 2. Specify the target Server address. If your system is configured with DHCP or has a valid DNS configuration (see Configure DHCP), you can use the server’s fully qualified domain name instead of the IP address. 3. Specify the Server Port used for the destination SCP server. The standard port is 22. 4. Enter the SCP account username in the Login field. 5. Enter the SCP account password in the Password field; the characters are masked with dots. (Alternatively you can choose to use a private key instead of a password for authentication.) 233 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide AFU or copy to USB drive For secure copy you can upload an SSH identity for your Standalone VGA Grid. This key must be trusted by the destination server. Details for generating the key and setting up this trust are beyond the scope of this document. 6. If desired, scroll down to the section labelled SSH identity for SCP and SFTP clients. 1. If no identity is uploaded, or to upload a new identity (overwrites the old identity): a. Click Choose File; a file selection dialog opens. b. Select the private key file from your hard drive and click Open. The system accepts RSA keys for SSH-1; DSA, ECDSA, EC25519 and RSA for SSH-2. Keys must be in OpenSSH format. c. Click Upload to upload the file. 2. Use the Test your key field to test your uploaded key against the secure server, if desired. 7. Click Apply; if there are any problems the system notifies you with a message: One or more parameter values are not valid and those were not applied! The following table describes the options applicable to configuring upload using SCP. Table 28 SCP Automatic Upload Configuration Options Name Description / Options Server address The IP address (or fully qualified domain name) of the destination server. Server port The SCP port used by the target server. Standard port is 22. Login Username for the SFTP server. Password Password for the SFTP user. AFU or copy to USB drive The system is equipped with USB ports that can be used to copy files from internal storage to external USB flash drives or hard drives. An example use of this feature is to provide speakers with a copy of their presentation before they leave the presentation venue. The external drive must be formatted with one of the following file systems: l FAT16 l FAT32 l XFS l EXT2 l EXT3 l EXT4 234 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide l NTFS AFU or copy to USB drive Only the first attached USB drive is used for automatic file upload. If more than one USB drive is attached before system power up, behavior is unpredictable. File transfer to a USB drive occurs in one of the following ways. This section describes the procedures. l AFU to a USB drive l One-time copy/move of all recorded files to USB drive l Manually copy recorded files to USB drive l View available USB storage space l Safely eject the USB drive Only one copy or move to USB operation is permitted at a time, even though the UI may appear to let you start a second one. Please wait until the first is complete before starting a new operation. AFU to a USB drive This procedure assumes you have completed the steps in Enable and set timing for AFU and wish to continue with configuration of upload to a USB drive. To configure automatic upload to a USB drive: 1. Insert the properly formatted USB drive into one of the system’s USB ports. 2. Select External USB Drive from the protocol drop down list in the Automatic File Upload configuration page; the lower half of the page reflects the selection. 3. If your Automatic File Upload setting conflicts with your new USB drive setting, a message is displayed. 235 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide AFU or copy to USB drive 4. Click the fix link. Using the fix link disables any other type of automatic file upload you have configured. When you are done with USB uploads, return to the Automatic File Upload configuration page and re-configure FTP, RSYNC, or CIFS. 5. Select Create a subfolder for each channel to have recordings organized by channel. 6. Click Apply; the changes are saved. One-time copy/move of all recorded files to USB drive When configured to make a one-time copy of files, the system will automatically begin to copy files to an inserted USB drive, starting with the newest recording. Files will continue to copy until all are copied, the specified maximum number of files is copied, or the target drive runs out of storage space. The file currently being recorded (if any) cannot be transferred until recording is completed. This procedure is separate from automatic file upload and does not need any pre-configuration in the automatic file upload page. Ideally only USB drives with visible activity indicators should be used. To configure a one-time copy of all recorded files to a USB drive: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 236 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide AFU or copy to USB drive 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the External USB Drive link in the Configuration section; the External USB Drive configuration page is displayed. 4. Select used for one-time move/copy of the recorded files (upon insertion) from the drop down list. 5. Select the appropriate check boxes based on the descriptions provided in the following table. If your USB drive does not have activity indicators it is suggested you select either remove after copying or mark file as downloaded so you know when the transfer is complete. Table 29 One-Time Transfer/Copy to External USB Drive Options Name Description If checked, the transfer process creates a sub-folder with the system’s create subfolder with serial number on the USB drive. This is useful if you are using the same serial number (<serial>) drive to collect recordings from multiple systems and want to know which system they came from. create subfolder for each channel remove after copying If checked, the transfer process creates a sub-folder for each channel and recorder (within the subfolder for the serial number, if that option is also selected). Files are copied to their respective folders. If checked, the file(s) are removed after being copied to the USB drive. Checking this box makes the transfer a move instead of a copy. If checked, the files that are downloaded are marked with a downloaded mark file as downloaded icon when viewing file lists. This has no effect if remove after copying is checked. ignore already If checked, files that were previously downloaded or marked as downloaded files downloaded are not included in subsequent downloads. 6. Click Apply; the changes are saved. 237 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide AFU or copy to USB drive If a conflict is reported regarding the Automatic file upload, go to the Automatic File Upload configuration page and disable automatic file upload or switch it to a non-USB based upload type. Repeat the steps above. 7. Insert the properly formatted USB drive into one of the system’s USB ports; the drive is recognized and the transfer begins. If the drive has an activity indicator light, it flashes during the transfer. 8. When the activity light stops flashing, remove the USB drive. 9. If your USB drive does not have activity indicators: a. Check the Recording list for each channel and the Recorded Files list for each recorder to verify if there are files that have yet to be copied. b. Safely eject the USB drive when you are satisfied all files have been copied, or if you see the USB drive is out of storage space (View available USB storage space). Manually copy recorded files to USB drive You can manually copy recorder files to a USB drive connected to the Standalone VGA Grid. This procedure is separate from automatic file upload and does not need any pre-configuration in the automatic file upload page. To manually copy recorded files to a USB drive: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the External USB Drive link in the Configuration section; the External USB Drive configuration page is displayed. 4. Select used to manually move/copy selected files via web interface from the drop down list. 5. Click Apply; the changes are saved. 238 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide AFU or copy to USB drive If a conflict is reported regarding the Automatic file upload, go to the Automatic File Upload configuration page and disable automatic file upload or switch it to a non-USB based upload type. Repeat the steps above. 6. Insert your USB drive in an available USB port on the system. (It is recommended you only use one USB drive at a time.) 7. To download files for a specific channel: a. Select the desired channel from the Channels list b. Click the Files Archive link for the selected Channel 8. To download files for a recorder: a. Select the desired recorder from the Recorders list 9. Select the check box next to the files you wish to download. In the example below the topmost file is still recording and cannot be downloaded. 10. To copy the files to the USB drive: a. Click Copy Selected to external drive 11. To move the files to the USB drive (i.e. erase the files after the copy) a. Click Move Selected to external drive 12. Repeat the steps to select a channel or recorder and copy or move files to the external drive until you have copied all the files you wish. 13. Follow the steps to Safely eject the USB drive. 239 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide AFU or copy to USB drive View available USB storage space When you insert a USB drive in an available port of the Standalone VGA Grid and select an External USB Drive action other than ignored (i.e. manual copy, automatic copy, etc), the total and free space are calculated and displayed in the Web Interface. To see the available USB storage space: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Insert your USB drive in an available USB port on the system. (It is recommended you only use one USB drive at a time.) 4. Scroll to the bottom of the Web Interface page; external USB storage is displayed under internal storage space. Safely eject the USB drive When you have completed work with the USB drive you can safely eject it by using the link at the bottom of the Web Interface page. To safely eject the USB drive: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Scroll to the bottom of the Web Interface page; click the eject link below external storage space. 240 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide View the AFU log 4. When prompted, click OK to confirm that you want to eject the USB drive. 5. Disconnect the USB drive from the system. View the AFU log A log is kept of automatic file uploads. To view the log: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select Automatic File Upload from the Configuration section; the Automatic File Upload configuration page opens. 4. Click the Show log of automatic file upload link; the log page opens. Note the page is blank if there are no logs present. 241 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Manage the AFU queue 5. Click the browser's back button when you are done. Manage the AFU queue The AFU queue displays a list of recording files waiting to be uploaded. Individual file details can be viewed using the web interface. Access the AFU queue Accessing the AFU queue allows you to view the list of files queued for upload using the web interface. To access the AFU queue: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. From the web interface, click Automatic File Upload; if there are files to be uploaded, they are displayed under the Upload Queue header. View content in the AFU queue There are several buttons in the web interface that allow you the ability to control how you see your queued content. To control how you view content in the AFU queue: 1. Navigate to the bottom of the upload queue list and manipulate the list view using the Newer 5 and Top of the List buttons. 242 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Manage the AFU queue The upload queue can display only 15 files at one time. Additional content is still stored and is viewed in increments of five files using the Newer 5 button. Delete content in the AFU queue Files can be deleted from the upload queue, either individually or as a group. To remove content from the upload queue: 1. Navigate to the bottom of the upload queue and click Empty Queue to delete the entire upload queue, or click the red 'X' icon at the end of each row to remove files individually. 243 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Local FTP server Local FTP server Standalone VGA Grid can act as an FTP server, allowing you to manually or automatically connect to the system and download recordings. Depending on configuration of the FTP server, you may also be able to remotely delete files after download, maximizing available system storage. This section discusses the following FTP Server topics. l Configure the local FTP server l Using the local FTP Server Configure the local FTP server To configure your sysetem's local FTP server: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the FTP Server link in the Configuration menu; the FTP Server configuration page opens. 4. To enable the FTP server: a. Select the Enable FTP access check box. b. Select a user from the FTP user name drop down. 244 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure the local FTP server The ftp password is the regular access password for the selected user. See User administration for details on user names and passwords. c. Click Apply. 5. To allow the FTP user to delete files: a. Select the Enable FTP DELETE command check box. b. Click Apply. Any currently logged in ftp users must log out and back in again to have access to the command. 6. To disable the FTP server: a. De-select the Enable FTP access check box. b. Click Apply. 7. To disable file deletion by FTP: a. De-select the Enable FTP DELETE command check box. b. Click Apply. Any currently logged in users will continue to have access to the delete command until they log out and log in again. The following table summarizes the options for configuring the local FTP server. Table 30 FTP Server Configuration Options Name Enable FTP access FTP user name Enable FTP DELETE command Description / Options The check box controls whether or not the system acts as an FTP server. By default this is disabled. Select one of the system users: admin, operator, or viewer. The ftp password will be the access password for the selected user. By default the admin user is selected. Controls whether or not FTP users can delete files. By default file deletion is not permitted. 245 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Using the local FTP Server Using the local FTP Server Once you have configured a local FTP server, you can use the tool of your choice to download files from the system. The system stores files in a folder structure with a folder for each channel and a folder for each recorder. Channel folders are labeled video<channel number> (i.e. video3 for channel 3). Recorder folders are labeled videom<recorder number> (i.e. videom1 for the first recorder). Channel and recorder numbers are displayed next to the name of the channel or sources in the web admin interface. See Channels and Recorders. To get started you will need: l The IP address of your system (found in the Network configuration menu) l An FTP tool l The username and password for your FTP user (See Configure the local FTP server) In the example below, the IP address of the Standalone VGA Grid is 192.168.1.210, the username is admin, there is no password, and the Windows command line ftp utility is used. To connect to the FTP server: 1. Open a command window on Windows (alternatively open a terminal window on Linux/Mac, or open your FTP utility of choice). 2. Establish an ftp connection using the command: ftp 192.168.1.210. 3. Provide the username: admin (provide the username of your FTP user). 4. Provide the password: (provide the correct password for your FTP user); the connection is opened. 5. Use the dir command to see the file structure. 246 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Using the local FTP Server 6. Use dir or your tool’s GUI to look in each folder for recordings. 7. Use get or your tool’s transfer mechanism to transfer files to your computer. 8. If enabled in the FTP configuration page, delete the file after downloading it by issuing the delete command, or using your tool’s delete mechanism. If the delete command is not enabled, attempting to delete a file will result in an Unknown Command error. 247 PART 5: Maintenance This section covers topics that will keep your Standalone VGA Grid running smoothly. It also covers the mobile/tablet operator interface and ways to configure and operate your system using third party tools via HTTP or RS-232. Specific topics covered are: l Mobile / tablet operator interface l Power down and system restart l Save and restore device configuration l Perform factory reset l Firmware upgrade l Support l Storage disk maintenance l Third party integration 248 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Mobile / tablet operator interface Mobile / tablet operator interface Epiphan's tablet interface is designed for touch-screen devices. Use your tablet or mobile device to perform confidence checks and basic operator tasks such as verifying disk space or starting and stopping recording. This section describes procedures for the following topics: l Connect to the tablet interface l Confidence monitoring using the tablet interface l Verify disk space via the tablet interface l Control recording via the tablet interface l Switch to the full admin interface Connect to the tablet interface To get started with the tablet interface you can connect to it in one of the following ways. The device connecting to the tablet interface must be on the same network as the Standalone VGA Grid or must be physically connected to it via USB. l Use the browser over Ethernet l Use tethering on your device l Use the mobile version of Epiphan Connect Use the browser over Ethernet You can connect to the tablet interface with a browser on your admin computer, tablet, or touch-screen device. To connect to the tablet interface: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 3. Modify the URL in the browser to have /m after the existing text and press Enter; the tablet interface opens. (If you forget the /m, the system will direct you to the mobile or standard interface, depending on information sent by your device's browser). 249 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Connect to the tablet interface http://<ip address of system>/admin/m or http://<serial number of device>.local/admin/m For example: http://192.168. 1.163/admin/m or http://95dd40d5.local/admin/m In the future you can go directly to the IP address above and login from the mobile interface without ever seeing the usual admin interface. Use tethering on your device You can use tethering on your mobile device or tablet to connect to the tablet interface. This option requires some configuration through the full admin interface. To configure use of tethering (perform this once): 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Network link in the Configuration menu; the network configuration page opens. 4. Select No tethering or any option except Disabled from the Use phone/tablet connection. See Tether to a mobile network for descriptions of the options. 5. Click Apply. To use your mobile device or tablet via tethering: 1. Turn on tethering on your device. (See device user manual for instructions.) 2. Connect the device to your Standalone VGA Grid via USB. 3. Use the EpiphanConnect utility (from the Google Play or Apple App store) to find the system and open the tablet admin interface. Use the mobile version of Epiphan Connect Epiphan has iOS and Android versions of the Epiphan Connect discovery utility. The mobile versions of the discovery utility automatically open the tablet interface when connecting to the Standalone VGA Grid for administration. See instructions below for installing the application. The iOS version is available from the Apple App Store and the Android version is available from the Google Play store. To install the application on your iOS or Andriod device (perform this once): 250 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Confidence monitoring using the tablet interface 1. Open the App Store (for Apple devices) or Google Play store (for Android devices). 2. Search for EpiphanConnect (all one word). 3. Download and install the free Epiphan Connect application. To connect to the device: 1. Once Epiphan Connect is installed, connect to the wifi network where you can access your Standalone VGA Grid. 2. Launch Epiphan Connect; the application searches your network and shows you a list of available Epiphan systems. 3. Find your system in the list. If you have several Epiphan systems, look for the serial number of the one to which you'd like to connect. 4. Select the system by touching the system name; a login prompt is presented. 5. Login as admin or operator; the tablet interface appears. Confidence monitoring using the tablet interface When connected to the tablet interface, you can use the INPUTS section to monitor the inputs to your system. An auto-updating snapshot of video inputs and an audio level meter is provided for each source. The top of the tablet interface gives you a warning if there are video inputs with no signal. In the example below, 4 video inputs have no signal. For more detailed information, you can look at each input individually. To monitor each input: 1. Connect to the tablet interface. See Connect to the tablet interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 3. Scroll to the INPUTS section. 251 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Confidence monitoring using the tablet interface 4. For audio inputs without signal, nothing appears in the audio input bars. 5. For audio inputs with signal, the level is shown next to the source name in the audio input bar. 6. If a video source has no signal, the name appears red and a note next to the name says NO SIGNAL. 252 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Verify disk space via the tablet interface 7. If the source has a signal, it's frame size and frame rate are displayed beside the source name. 8. View a preview of the source by clicking the down arrow in the row for source. (The names of the sources match the names set in the main admin interface. ) Verify disk space via the tablet interface The INFO section of the tablet interface lets you know the firmware version, serial number and IP Address of your system. It also shows you the currently available disk space. To monitor inputs: 1. Connect to the tablet interface. See Connect to the tablet interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 3. Scroll to the INFO section; the currently available disk space is shown. 4. If disk space is low, the green bar will be nearly full. Control recording via the tablet interface The tablet interface provides a simple way to control recording for your Standalone VGA Grid. You can control recordings for both channels and recorders from the same interface. To control recording from the tablet interface: 1. Connect to the tablet interface. See Connect to the tablet interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 253 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Switch to the full admin interface 3. Scroll to the CHANNELS section. 4. Find the channel or recorder from the list under CHANNELS. (The names of the channels and recorders match the names set in the full admin interface.) 5. Click the down arrow in the row for the desired channel or recorder. 6. Use the START, STOP, and RESET buttons to control recording. Switch to the full admin interface To switch from the tablet interface to the full admin interface: 1. Connect to the tablet interface. See Connect to the tablet interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 3. Click the arrow button at the top right of the screen. Depending on the width of the screen, the button may say extended view. 254 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Power down and system restart Power down and system restart This section covers the following topics: l Restarting the device via the web interface l Shutting down the device via the web interface l Shutting down the device manually Restarting the device via the web interface Standalone VGA Grid's web interface allows you to reboot the system. To restart the system: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens. 4. Click the Reboot Now button; a confirmation dialog appears. 5. Click OK. 255 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Shutting down the device via the web interface Shutting down the device via the web interface The Standalone VGA Grid web interface allows you to shut down the system. To shut down the system: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens. 4. Click the Shutdown Now button; a confirmation dialog appears. 5. Click OK. Shutting down the device manually You can manually shut down the Standalone VGA Grid via the button physically located on the system. To shut down the system manually: 1. Unlock the front panel. 2. Press and release the power button on the system to initiate a safe power down; the system shuts down. 256 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Shutting down the device manually If the system is unresponsive, press and hold the power button for 4 seconds to force an immediate power down. 257 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Save and restore device configuration Save and restore device configuration After completing configuration of your Standalone VGA Grid, it is good practice to save the system configuration so you may restore it at a later date (i.e. after a change that wasn’t wanted, or after a factory reset). In addition to full configuration backups, you can also save and restore configuration preset groups see Configuration presets for details about that feature. This section covers the following topics: l Save device configuration l Load a saved device configuration Save device configuration Standalone VGA Grid's web interface allows you to save the current system configuration to your admin computer's hard drive. It’s good practice to do this before making any major changes to a working configuration and before doing a firmware update. The resulting backup file includes all non-default configuration settings for the system, except the user passwords which are reset when a configuration is restored. Configuration backup files are only guaranteed to work with the same firmware version with which they were created. Normally there is no issue loading an older configuration file on a newer release, but the reverse is not true and there are exceptions where older configuration files are not supported in a new release. To save the current system configuration: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens. 4. Click the Backup button next to Backup Current Configuration; the system performs a backup and depending on your browser the file is either automatically downloaded or you are asked to save the file. 258 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Load a saved device configuration 5. Save the file in a secure location. 6. Rename your saved configuration file to indicate the specifics of the configuration, if desired. Load a saved device configuration After making changes to the system configuration, you may find that the results are not what you expected or that they serve a different need and you wish to return to a previous configuration. Via Standalone VGA Grid's web interface you can load a previously saved configuration file. Configuration files are by default named <serial number>.cfg. You may have more than one configuration file saved from the system. Select the correct configuration file and know where it is accessible from your local computer before starting this procedure. Backup files include all non-default configuration settings for the system, except the user passwords. All passwords are reset to blank after the configuration is loaded. To load a saved system configuration: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens. 4. Click the Choose File button beside Restore Configuration from File; you are prompted to choose the configuration file. 5. Select the desired configuration file from storage on your local computer and click Open. 259 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Load a saved device configuration 6. Click the Restore button; the system configuration is restored and a new page appears asking you to reboot the system. 7. Reboot the system by clicking the link in the message on the web page, or by using the power button on the system; when the system comes back up the restoration is complete. 8. Login as admin (with no password). 9. Reset your user passwords. See User administration. 260 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Perform factory reset Perform factory reset If you’ve been testing with your Standalone VGA Grid and are ready to reset it back to factory settings, you can do this through the web interface. This section covers the following topics: l Restore factory configuration via the web interface Restore factory configuration via the web interface The web interface allows you to restore the factory configuration to return your Standalone VGA Grid back to the original settings it had when you purchased it. Restoring the factory settings erases everything on the system. This includes all your source settings, channels, configuration presets, network settings and all saved files. Consider using the factory default configuration preset if you want to preserve files. See Configuration presets. EDIDs are not restored to factory settings with the factory resets. Re-apply factory EDIDs manually using the Source's configuration page. Only proceed if you know this is what you want to do. To restore the factory configuration via the web interface: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens. 4. Click the Reset button next to Factory Reset; a warning dialog appears asking you to confirm this destructive action. 261 Standalone VGA Grid User Restore factory configuration via the web Guide interface 5. Click OK on the warning dialog; the system resets to factory defaults and reboots. 6. Wait for the system to reboot and begin re-configuration. 262 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Firmware upgrade Firmware upgrade Epiphan will from time to time issue an updated firmware revision to bring new features to your Standalone VGA Grid. To take advantage of these new features, you will need to install the new firmware on the system. This section covers the following topics: l Check for firmware updates l Install firmware Check for firmware updates When you register your product with Epiphan you are given a choice to be notified by email of firmware updates for your system. If you selected this choice, you will be notified of updates applicable to the Standalone VGA Grid. If your Standalone VGA Grid has internet access, you can check for updates directly by following the procedure below. The system will also automatically check for firmware updates if the Maintenance page option Enable connection to maintenance server is checked. This is the preferred method of checking for firmware updates. The built-in firmware update mechanism checks for updates that match your specific product and hardware revision. To check for new firmware: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Firmware Upgrade link in the Configuration menu; the firmware upgrade page opens. 4. Click the check for updates link next to your current firmware version; the system connects to Epiphan servers to look for updates. 5. If an update is found a red box appears in the top left side of the web interface with a link to download and install the firmware. 263 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Install firmware 6. Follow the steps below to download and install the firmware. Install firmware When you’ve received a new firmware file from Epiphan’s support team, schedule a time where you can update the firmware without negatively impacting viewers or file recordings. It is good practice to take a backup of your current configuration before applying a firmware update. In the rare case that you wish to downgrade the firmware, you will be able to apply this configuration backup and restore your previous state. See Save and restore device configuration. There are two ways to install new firmware: from a the download link via the web interface, or from a file provided by Epiphan. Installing new firmware takes a few minutes. Broadcasting and recording is not available until the upgrade is complete. Install firmware directly from the web interface: If your Standalone VGA Grid has internet access, the easiest method of installing new firmware is to use the download link provided when you check for new firmware. To download new firmware directly: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Save a copy of the current system configuration, if desired. See Save and restore device configuration. 4. Select the Firmware Upgrade link in the Configuration menu; the firmware upgrade page opens. 5. Click the check for updates link next to your current firmware version; the system connects to Epiphan servers to look for updates. 264 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Install firmware 6. Click download from the red box that appears at the top left of the admin interface; the firmware is downloaded and immediately starts to install and the firmware update box changes to have a cancel button. Do not interrupt power to the system during the firmware upgrade. 7. When the firmware update is complete, the message lets you know it is going to reboot. 8. Wait for the system to restart. Depending on the upgrade, a disk rebuild may be required, causing the restart process to take much longer than usual. 9. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 10. Login as admin. 11. Select the Firmware Upgrade link in the Configuration menu; the firmware upgrade page opens. 12. Verify that the firmware version is the expected new version. Although unexpected, it is possible the firmware update fails. In this case, collect system information such as device serial number and, if known, the previous firmware version along with the new firmware version and contact [email protected] Install firmware from a file Before getting started, ensure you have the firmware file accessible from your admin computer. To install new firmware from a file: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 265 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Install firmware 3. Save a copy of the current system configuration, if desired. See Save and restore device configuration. 4. Select the Firmware Upgrade link in the Configuration menu; the firmware upgrade page opens. 5. Note the current firmware version listed. 6. Click the Choose File button next to Select firmware upgrade file; a file selection box opens. 7. Select the firmware upgrade file from your local computer. 8. Click Apply; the file is uploaded. The system unpacks and verifies the file. If the file is valid, the upgrade begins. Do not interrupt power to the system during the firmware upgrade. 9. Wait for the system to restart. 10. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 11. Login as admin. 12. Select the Firmware Upgrade link in the Configuration menu; the firmware upgrade page opens. 13. Verify that the firmware version is the expected new version. Although unexpected, it is possible the firmware update fails. In this case, collect system information such as device serial number and, if known, the previous firmware version along with the new firmware version and contact [email protected] 266 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Support Support Epiphan provides a complimentary one-year support plan with your purchase (starting one year from the original product shipment date) as well as two extended support plans, SupportPlan and SupportPlan+. Both plans add two more years to extend the support to three years from original product shipment date. To contact Epiphan support: l Email: [email protected] l Online chat: www.epiphan.com/support (Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm Eastern) l Call: 1-877-599-6581 / 613-599-6581 From time to time, Epiphan support may ask you for logs from your system. Follow the instructions in this section to download the log files for support. l Download logs and "allinfo" Standalone VGA Grid also supports remote troubleshooting by Epiphan’s support team. This service is only available to systems covered by SupportPlan+. Remote support allows Epiphan to assist in troubleshooting issues you experience with the system and can also assist with resetting lost admin passwords. No private information is sent to the Epiphan maintenance server. By default, all systems are setup with remote support configuration enabled. This section describes procedures for the following topics: l Configure remote support l Disable remote support Remote support is only provided for systems covered by SupportPlan+. For more information about our service plans, see www.epiphan.com/supportplan. Download logs and "allinfo" If requested by Epiphan support, you can download the logs files and/or "allinfo" data from your system. These files help our support team troubleshoot problems. To download the logs and allinfo file: 267 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Download logs and "allinfo" 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens. 4. Select the Permanent Logs check box. 5. Click Apply; the page updates to let you know the changes were applied. 6. Select the Maintenance link again; the maintenance page opens. 7. Click Download permanent logs; a zip file containing system logs begins to download. 8. From your browser, run the allinfo script; a file is saved to your computer. 268 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configure remote support http://<ip address of your system>/admin/allinfo.cgi 9. Share the log files and allinfo results with Epiphan support. Configure remote support Remote support is configured by default to connect to the Epiphan maintenance server with the domain name epiphany.epiphan.com. The system must be able to resolve this domain name to connect to the server and permit remote support. Remote support uses port 30, therefore this port must be available for communication. If your system is protected from the Internet by a firewall, speak to your network administrator to configure the firewall appropriately. Remote support is available from Epiphan only if your device is covered by SupportPlan+. To configure remote support: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens. 269 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Disable remote support 4. Click Enable remote support if the check box is not selected. This setting controls incoming links from Epiphan. 5. Click Enable connection to maintenance server if the check box is not selected. This setting configures outgoing links to Epiphan. 6. Ensure the server address is epiphany.epiphan.com, unless Epiphan support directs you to change it. 7. Ensure the port is 30, unless Epiphan support directs you to change it. 8. Click Apply. 9. Test that the system can access the maintenance server: a. Select the Network link under Configuration. b. Type epiphany.epiphan.com Network Diagnostics box. c. Click ping. d. Ensure the result shows an IP address for epiphany.epiphan.com and report any packet loss to Epiphan support. 10. If the system cannot reach the maintenance server, check the network settings (see Configure DHCP) to ensure DHCP is selected or a DNS server is listed and try again. Consult with your network administrator if problems persist. 11. If the system reaches the maintenance server, ensure your firewall, if you have one, has port 30 open for the system. 12. Confirm with Epiphan support that they are able to access your Standalone VGA Grid for remote troubleshooting. Disable remote support By default, remote support is on. If you want to turn it off, you may use the following procedure. Disabling remote support for the Standalone VGA Grid removes the ability for Epiphan to reset a lost admin password. If you forget the admin password and remote support feature is off, you will need to return the system to Epiphan for reprogramming. To disable remote support: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 270 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Disable remote support 3. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens. 4. Click Enable remote support check box to deselect it. This prevents incoming links from Epiphan. 5. Click Enable connection to maintenance server to deselect it. This prevents outgoing links to Epiphan. 6. Click Apply. 271 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Storage disk maintenance Storage disk maintenance Your Standalone VGA Grid is equipped with one or more hard drives for storage of recordings. Occasionally, maintenance is required for these disks. This section describes procedures for the following topics: l Check disk storage space l Schedule disk check l Perform disk check l Rebuild or replace storage disks l Verify RAID storage l Read data from removed storage disks Check disk storage space Standalone VGA Grid has a finite amount of storage . By default, the standalone and networked version have 3 TB of storage. This storage space holds a lot of recordings, but it can get full. It’s a good idea to monitor your current disk usage. If available storage is low, consider removing some unneeded recordings or setting up an automatic file transfer with deletion after transfer. See Recorded files and File and recording transfer. Disk space can also be checked via the tablet interface. See Verify disk space via the tablet interface. To check disk storage space: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin or operator. 3. Check the Internal Storage section at the bottom of the menu column. The bar will be mostly green if there is lots of space left, or mostly red if storage space is nearly full. 272 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Schedule disk check 4. If available storage is low, take action to remove files as discussed in Recorded files and File and recording transfer. Schedule disk check A disk maintenance schedule is used to check the system storage drives for errors. Two values are supplied, one to specify the number of system restarts that should occur before disk check, and the second to specify the number of months before performing a disk check. The disk check happens based on whichever event occurs first. For example, the restart setting is set to 50 and the months setting is set to 6. If six months pass and less than 50 restarts happened, a disk check will occur on the next restart. However if you do 50 restarts in one month, the disk check will happen after the fiftieth restart. Disk check occurs during start up and can cause a lengthy delay in starting up the system. To set the disk check schedule: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Disk Check link in the Configuration menu; the disk maintenance page opens. 4. Set the number of restarts to occur before the next check. Set to 0 if you don’t want to force a disk check after a specific number of restarts. 5. Set the number of months to pass before the next check. Set to 0 if you don’t want to force a disk check after a specific number of months. 6. Click Save. Perform disk check A disk maintenance schedule is used to periodically check the system storage drives for errors. If you prefer, you can run the disk check manually at a time that is convenient for you. Running the disk check manually resets the timers for the scheduled disk check (i.e. next check won’t happen automatically until either the number of restarts or months passes). If the system is recording when you start a disk check, it will stop recording and resume after the check is complete. Frames presented during the disk check are not part of any recording. 273 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Rebuild or replace storage disks To start a manual disk check: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Disk Check link in the Configuration menu; the disk maintenance page opens. 4. Click the Check Now button; a new page opens showing you the progress of the disk check. Do not interrupt power to the system during the disk check. 5. When the disk check is complete, the main page returns and a summary is shown. 6. If any unrecoverable errors are detected, contact Epiphan support. Rebuild or replace storage disks The rackmount Standalone VGA Grid can be optionally configured with storage configured in a RAID array. Periodically you may wish to clean the RAID array to start from scratch, or you may want to introduce new disks in place of the old ones. 274 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Rebuild or replace storage disks When working with RAID arrays it is important to keep the disks in sets that contain the same data so the RAID will continue to perform. For that reason you should name your disk sets, i.e. set A, set B, etc. If you need to revert from a multiple-disk RAID array to a single storage drive, all recordings must be copied off Standalone VGA Grid and the other drive need to be completely removed from the system. The system must then be rebooted before a "build disk" is performed on the remaining drive. When purchasing a new disk set, ensure that the drives in the new set are identical (brand, size, and type). To change the disk set: 1. Power down the Standalone VGA Grid. 2. Open the front panel of the system (the panel key may be required). 3. Remove the old drives, starting with the second drive from the left, moving to the right. Do not remove the left-most drive. This is the system drive and is not swappable. 4. Seat the replacement drive set into the drive bays. 5. Power on the system. 6. Follow the steps below to rebuild the storage disks. See Read data from removed storage disks for information on reading data from the removed drives. Rebuilding the storage disk set is a destructive process that erases everything from the disks. Proceed with caution. To rebuild the storage disks (erasing all data): 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 1. Select the Disk Check link in the Configuration menu; the disk maintenance page opens. 2. Scroll to the bottom of the page to the Internal Storage section: a. If no RAID drives are detected, you do not have a storage RAID, but you can rebuild the current drive, deleting all saved recordings. 275 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Rebuild or replace storage disks b. If two or more drives are detected, you are prompted to select a type of RAID array. 276 Standalone VGA Grid User Rebuild or replace storage disks Guide Table 31 RAID Array Types Label Description Diagram Block level striping writes data across multiple disks in parallel. This configuration divides the storage between multiple drives; provides read/write performance RAID 0 improvements but does not provide fault tolerance. This configuration supports systems that have two, three or four disks. Mirroring copies all data to a secondary disk. This configuration provides fault tolerance (data is available from one drive when the other drive fails) but has normal RAID 1 read/write speeds.There is less total storage space since two complete copies of the data is stored. This configuration supports systems that have two disks. Mirroring and striping configuration creates a striped set in a mirrored set. This option uses four disks to combine RAID 1+0 improved read/write performance with (RAID 10) redundancy. This configuration supports systems that have four disks. b. Select your desired RAID array type. 2. Click Build Storage; you are asked to confirm that you want to erase the storage drives and rebuild. 277 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Rebuild or replace storage disks 3. Click OK on the confirmation dialog; a message appears indicating the rebuild is underway. Internal storage is not available during rebuild. You are unable to save any recordings. The rebuild takes less than 5 minutes, the page automatically refreshes to provide the current status. 4. When the rebuild is complete, the message box indicates whether or not it was successful. 5. In the unlikely event that the rebuild was not successful, you may try it again, and if still not successful, contact Epiphan support. 278 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Verify RAID storage Verify RAID storage The rackmount Standalone VGA Grid can be optionally configured with storage configured in a RAID array. Use the strategies described here to determine if you are using a RAID array and if it is in good health. To check if the disks are configured for RAID: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Disk Check link in the Configuration menu; the disk maintenance page opens. 4. Scroll to the Disk information section of the page. 5. If RAID is configured, the disk information contains a line item for /dev/md0. The RAID configuration level is shown next in the /dev/md0 statistics. To check RAID integrity: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 279 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Verify RAID storage 3. Scroll to the Internal Storage section at the bottom of the menus on the left side of the page. 4. If the RAID configuration is sound, the internal storage section reports statistics for the storage, but shows no errors. 5. If using RAID 0 and one of the disks is down, the following error is displayed. Rebuild or replace the disks to recover. 6. If using RAID 1 and one of the disks is down, the following warning is displayed. Consider replacing the disk pair at your earliest convince. 7. If using RAID 1 and a disk has recently been replaced, the system lets you know it is synchronizing data to the new disk. 280 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Read data from removed storage disks Read data from removed storage disks Standalone VGA Grid storage drives use an ext4 file system and can only be read with a computer running Linux. If using multiple drives and one of the drives fails or is removed, then the RAID needs to be rebuilt. The files stored on the remaining drive(s) will need to be downloaded via web interface, AFU or FTP prior to RAID rebuild. These steps describe how to read the recorded files from the removable storage drives using Ubuntu. Depending on your exact version of Linux, the steps you follow may differ slightly from the steps below. To read the recorded files: 1. Install Linux on a workstation where the drives will be installed (Ubuntu or Debian are recommended. RedHat/CentOS/Fedora are also supported). 2. Confirm mdadm tool is installed, if not, install it. For Ubuntu/Debian use apt-get, for RH/CentOS use yum. 3. Turn off the workstation and connect the storage drives (if using RAID 1 you can attach just one drive). 4. Start the workstation. 5. If only one drive of a RAID 1 set is connected: a. Open a terminal window and enter the following in the command line to determine the name of the disk: sudo fdisk -l b. Issue this command to build the disk: (In the example, the disk name is /dev/sbd1. Your disk name may be different.) sudo mdadm —assemble /dev/md0 /dev/sdb1 c. The following message appears: mdadm: /dev/md0 has been started with 1 drive (out of 2). 6. Verify that RAID is started. At the command line, enter: 281 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Read data from removed storage disks sudo mdadm -D /dev/md0 7. Verify that the output is similar to this, with the disk in a clean state and the correct RAID level indicated: (Only one disk is used in the example. If you are using multiple disks, the output will be a bit different.) /dev/md0: Version : 1.2 Creation Time : Thu Jan 16 12:55:36 2014 Raid Level : raid1 Array Size : 499975360 (476.81 GiB 511.97 GB) Used Dev Size : 499975360 (476.81 GiB 511.97 GB) Raid Devices : 2 Total Devices : 1 Persistence : Superblock is persistent Update Time : Thu Jan 23 12:03:03 2014 State : clean, degraded Active Devices : 1 Working Devices : 1 Failed Devices : 0 Spare Devices : 0 Name : BFR0B8CBCD3:0 UUID : 556b7f41:e0c45623:923eda4b:1242121f Events : 19 Number Major Minor RaidDevice State 0 8 49 0 active sync /dev/sdd1 1 0 0 1 removed 8. The new drive is generally automatically mounted. If the drive does not auto mount, enter the following in the command line, substituting the name of your device instead of /dev/md0, if needed: sudo mkdir /mnt/raid; sudo mount /dev/md0 /mnt/raid 9. If using a graphical interface in Linux, browse to the location of the drive in File Manager. Otherwise, use a terminal window to change directories (cd) into the drive. 10. Browse to the /mnt/raid folder (or the appropriate folder name) in File Manager. 11. All recordings are kept in a folder hierarchy matching the channels and recorders you created via the web interface. Channels are listed by their channel number as video<channel number> (i.e. video1 for channel 1) and recorders are listed by their recorder number with the videom prefix (i.e. videom2 for recorder 2). 282 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Third party integration Third party integration Standalone VGA Grid has a comprehensive set of APIs to allow integration with third party tools. You can use either the HTTP or RS-232 commands to configure your system exactly how you need it. For example you can start and stop recordings, you can configure meta data on a channel, or even change a channel's frame size and encoding settings. The following topics are covered in this section: l Control with RS-232 / serial port l Control with HTTP commands l Configuration keys for third party APIs 283 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Control with RS-232 / serial port Control with RS-232 / serial port Standalone VGA Grid presents an RS-232 / serial port control interface for integration with existing control room and board room equipment. This section covers the following topics: l Connect and configure the RS-232 cable l Control the Standalone VGA Grid with RS-232 l RS-232 / Serial port command examples Connect and configure the RS-232 cable To connect your control equipment to the Standalone VGA Grid you will need a standard RS-232 null-modem cable and a USB to RS-232 serial adapter cable. Adapter cables are not included with the Standalone VGA Grid. Only certain adapter chipsets are supported, Epiphan recommends this adapter cable from Startech. To connect the serial port cable: 1. Attach the null modem cable to the control interface. 2. Connect the null modem cable to the serial port on the back of the system. The only configuration available for the serial port is flow control. Flow control changes the rate of data transfer over the cable. Some communication settings are static and cannot be changed. The static settings are: l Baud rate set at 19200 l Parity set to none l Stop bits set to one To configure serial port flow control: 1. Connect to the admin interface using your preferred connection mechanism. See Connect to the admin interface. 2. Login as admin. 3. Select the Serial Port link in the Configuration menu; the serial port configuration page opens. 4. Select Hardware, Software, or None from the drop-down menu. Refer to the table below for a description of the options. Table 32 Serial Port Flow Control Options Label Description / Options Hardware A hardware handshake mechanism is used for flow control. This is also called RTS / CTS flow 284 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Label Control with RS-232 / serial port Description / Options control. Select this when your control terminal requires it (see control terminal manual). Software None A software handshake that uses XON/XOFF characters to control the flow of data. Select this when your control terminal requires it (see control terminal manual). No flow control is used. Only select this if your control terminal requires it (see control terminal manual). 5. Click Apply. Control the Standalone VGA Grid with RS-232 You can use the null-modem cable and your control terminal software to issue commands to the Standalone VGA Grid such as when to start or stop recording, or to retrieve or set the value for various settings. Each command sent to the Standalone VGA Grid via RS 232 must be terminated with a line feed (LF) character (ASCII code 10). Your software may need to be configured to add the line feed to each command. Some commands require a channel or recorder name as an argument. In those commands, the channel or recorder name is separated from the command name by a period, as shown in the table. The channel name value can be either the name or the index of the recorder or channel. Use of the index is recommended. A channel's index is found by looking at the Channels list in the web interface. In the screen capture below, the channel with index 1 is currently recording (it's index number is red). To address this channel via RS-232 commands, use the index 1. For commands requiring a recorder index, determine your recorder's index by combining the recorder's number with the prefix m. In the example below, the second recorder's index is 2. To access this recorder via RS-232 commands, use the index m2. 285 Standalone VGA Grid User Control with RS-232 / serial port Guide The table describes the RS-232 commands supported by the Standalone VGA Grid. Table 33 Supported RS-232 Commands Command Name Description Recording Commands Starts recording for the provided channel or recorder. This can alternatively be accomplished with the following set commands: START.<channel> SET.<channel>.rec_enabled=on START.<recorder> SAVECFG If the channel is already recording, the current recording file is closed and a new file is started. Starts recording for all channels and recorders. For channels already recording, the current recording file is closed and a new file is started. START There is no RS-232 command to restart recording or to send a second START command while recording is active. Stops recording for the provided channel or recorder. This can alternatively be STOP.<channel> accomplished with the following set commands: START.<recorder> SET.<channel>.rec_enabled="" SAVECFG STOP Stops recording for all channels and recorders. Takes a snapshot image of the current channel (supported only if the channel is SNAPSHOT.<channel> configured to use the Motion JPEG codec). Snapshots are saved with recording files on the system. SNAPSHOT Takes a snapshot image of all channels (supported only for channels configured to 286 Standalone VGA Grid User Control with RS-232 / serial port Guide Command Name Description use the Motion JPEG codec). Snapshots are saved with recording files on the system. Configuration Commands (see Configuration keys for third party APIs for available keys) GET.<channel>.<key> Gets the saved value of a given parameter for the specified channel or recorder. GET.<recorder>.<key> SET.<channel>.<key> Sets the value of a given parameter for the specified channel or recorder. The SET.<recorder>.<key> value is not saved until the SAVECFG command is sent. SAVECFG Saves the parameters modified by the SET command. Status Commands Reports the recording status of the specified channel or recorder. STATUS.<channel> STATUS.<recorder> Status is one of: l RUNNING l STOPPED l UNINITIALIZED Reports the recording status of each channel and recorder. Status is one of: STATUS l RUNNING l STOPPED l UNINITIALIZED FREESPACE Reports the free storage space, in bytes. RECTIME.<channel> Reports the elapsed recording time for the current file on the specified channel or RECTIME.<recorder> recorder. RECTIME Reports the elapsed recording time for the current file on each channel. Additionally, the system automatically reports its status changes back along the RS-232 connection using the following automatic messages: 287 Standalone VGA Grid User Control with RS-232 / serial port Guide Table 34 RS-232 Status Changed Messages Command Name Description Provides the status of the recording service for the channel's as one of: l Running STATUS.<channel> <status> l Stopped l Uninitialized The Uninitialized status is sent when there is an internal error. Check the system for more details. RS-232 / Serial port command examples The following examples demonstrate how to use some of the RS-232 commands supported by the system. The list of supported SET and GET parameters are found in Configuration keys for third party APIs . Each command sent to the Standalone VGA Grid via RS 232 must be terminated with a line feed (LF) character (ASCII code 10). Your software may need to be configured to add the line feed to each command. For values with spaces, enclose the value in quotation marks. For empty values, use empty quotation marks with nothing between. You must always follow a "SET" command in RS-232 with the "SAVECFG" command. Otherwise the new configuration setting(s) will not take effect. See "SET" examples below. 1. To start recording on channel 2: START.2 2. To stop recording on channel 2: STOP.2 3. To start recording on all channels and recorders: START 4. To get the value of the frame size (resolution) for channel 2: 288 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Control with RS-232 / serial port GET.2.framesize 5. To set the frame size (resolution) on channel 2, enclose the parameter in quotes to preserve the spaces: SET.2.framesize="640 x 480" SAVECFG 6. To enable broadcasting audio on channel 2: SET.2.audio=on SAVECFG 7. To disable broadcasting audio on channel 2: SET.2.audio="" SAVECFG 289 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Control with HTTP commands Control with HTTP commands Standalone VGA Grid has an HTTP API interface for configuration and control by a third party application or with a script that sends commands to the system as a series of URLs. This section covers the following topics: l HTTP command syntax l HTTP command examples HTTP command syntax Control of the Standalone VGA Grid by HTTP is done by sending commands to one of two URLs and specifying the target configuration item. Syntax for the get and set commands follows. Many commands require a channel or recorder index as an argument. A channel's index is found by looking at the Channels list in the web interface. In the screen capture below, the channel with index 1 is currently recording (it's index number is red). To address this channel via http commands, use the index channel1. For commands requiring a recorder index, determine your recorder's index by combining the recorder's number with the prefix channelm. In the example below, the second recorder's index is 2. To access this recorder via http commands, use the index channelm2. To Get configuration settings: 290 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Control with HTTP commands http://<address>/admin/channel<N>/get_params.cgi?key (or for recorders, add 'm' before the recorder number, i.e. channelm1 for recorder 1) http://<address>/admin/channelm<N>/get_params.cgi?key To Set configuration settings: http://<address>/admin/channel<N>/set_params.cgi?key=value (or for recorders, add 'm' before the recorder number, i.e. channelm1 for recorder 1) http://<address>/admin/channelm<N>/get_params.cgi?key Where <address> is the IP address of the system, channel<N> is the channel number (i.e. channel2 for channel number two), channelm2 for recorder two, key is the key for the configuration item being checked or changed (see the list in Configuration keys for third party APIs ), and value is the value to set for the configuration item. Multiple requests at once You can include multiple key/value pairs in a single command by separating the statements with &. For example, the key for product name is product_name and the key for firmware version is firmware_ version. To send a request for both the product name and the firmware version, use the following command: http://<address>/admin/channel1/get_params.cgi?product_name&firmware_version Or, to turnoff publishing (set to 0) and set the bitrate (vbitrate) to 256,000: http://<address>/admin/channel1/set_params.cgi?publish_type=0&vbitrate=256K Third party applications like wget If you’re using a third party application like wget to send commands to the system, always include the admin username and password when viewing or setting configuration items. The syntax for wget commands is shown below. Specify your system’s IP address, password and the key(s) or value(s) you wish to query. Note your system may require use of single quotes around the password to handle special characters such as exclamation marks. get_param using wget: 291 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Control with HTTP commands wget --http-user=admin --http-passwd=<password> http://<address>/admin/channel<N>/get_ params.cgi?<key>[&<key>] set_param using wget: wget --http-user=admin --http-passwd=<password> http://<address>/admin/channel<N>/set_ params.cgi?<key>=<value>[&<key>=<value>] HTTP command examples Some configuration of the Standalone VGA Grid can be done by non-interactive http commands. The following examples demonstrate how to use wget to exercise some of the HTTP commands supported by the system. For values with spaces, encode space as %20. i.e.: set_params.cgi?framesize=640%20x%20480 The examples assume a system IP address of 192.30.23.45 and admin password pass123. 1. To get the type of stream being published and frame size for channel 1: wget --http-user=admin --http-passwd=pass123 http://192.30.23.45/admin/channel1/get_ params.cgi?publish_type&framesize 2. To set the publish stream type to RTMP Push (6) and at the title “System Stream” for channel 2: wget --http-user=admin --http-passwd=pass123 http://192.30.23.45/admin/channel2/set_ params.cgi?publish_type=6&title=System%20Stream 3. To start recording on channel 2: wget --http-user=admin --http-passwd=pass123 http://192.30.23.45/admin/channel2/set_ params.cgi?rec_enabled=on 4. To stop recording on channel 2: wget --http-user=admin --http-passwd=pass123 http://192.30.23.45/admin/channel2/set_ params.cgi?rec_enabled="" 292 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Control with HTTP commands 5. To start recording on recorder 2: wget --http-user=admin --http-passwd=pass123 http://192.30.23.45/admin/channelm2/set_ params.cgi?rec_enabled=on 293 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configuration keys for third party APIs Configuration keys for third party APIs Using HTTP or RS-232, you can send commands to the system to query or configure the system. For the RS232 and HTTP syntax see Control with RS-232 / serial port and Control with HTTP commands. Using a "SET" command in RS-232 must always follow with the "SAVECFG" command for the new configuration setting(s) to take effect. When setting keys to values with spaces use the following syntax. For RS-232: Enclose in quotes: SET.2.framesize="640 x 480" For HTTP: Encode each space as %20: set_params.cgi?framesize=640%20x%20480 The following sections describe the API keys supported by the system in each of these categories: l System-level settings keys (read-only) l System-level settings keys (read/write) l Recording configuration keys l HTTP server configuration keys l IP-based access control configuration keys l UPnP configuration keys l SAP configuration keys l Frame grabber configuration keys l Broadcast configuration keys l Channel encoder configuration keys l Channel layout configuration keys l Configuration keys for third party APIs l Configuration keys for third party APIs 294 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configuration keys for third party APIs l Audio configuration keys l Stream publishing configuration keys l RTSP announce configuration keys (Publish type 2) l RTP/UDP configuration keys (Publish type 3) l MPEG-TS configuration keys (Publish types 4 and 5) l RTMP push configuration keys (Publish type 6) l Content metadata configuration keys The list of supported keys is also available for viewing from your system. Browse to the following URL (where <address> is the IP address of the system): http://<address>/admin/http_api.cgi System-level settings keys (read-only) The following read-only system-level setting keys are supported. The channel number can be omitted from the command when requesting the value for these keys. Table 35 Supported Read-Only System-level Settings Configuration Keys Key Values String, including the firmware_version text FIRMWARE_ VERSION=. mac_address String Description The system’s firmware version. The value is read-only. The system’s mac address. Useful for debugging. The value is read-only. The product’s name. product_name String Useful to confirm you are communicating with the right product or for debugging purposes. The value is read-only. Name of the vendor. vendor Epiphan Video The value is always “Epiphan Video”. The value is read-only. 295 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configuration keys for third party APIs System-level settings keys (read/write) The following read/write system-level setting keys are supported. The channel number can be omitted from the command when requesting the value for these keys. Table 36 Supported Read/Write System-level Settings Configuration Keys Key Values Description Enables or disables automatic firmware update checking. frmcheck_ on To enable firmware update checking, set to on. enabled empty string ("") To disable firmware update checking, set to an empty string (""). description string To give this system a name in the Epiphan discovery utility, specify a description string. Recording configuration keys The following recording settings are supported. When using,, specify the channel or recorder you wish to configure. Table 37 Supported Recording Configuration Keys Key rec_enabled Values on empty string ("") Description Enables or disables recording. To enable recording, set to on. To disable recording, set to an empty string (""). avi rec_format mov mp4 Specifies the format of the saved file. ts rec_prefix string Specifies a prefix for the recorded filenames. rec_sizelimit integer Specifies the file size limit, in kilobytes (kB). rec_timelimit integer Specifies the time limit before a new recording file is created. 296 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Key Configuration keys for third party APIs Values Description Time limit value is returned in the same unit of time in which it was entered in the admin web interface. (e.g. if you configured the parameter in the admin web interface to be 6h, the command will return "6" accordingly). HTTP server configuration keys The following settings are supported for configuration of the HTTP server run by the system. Table 38 Supported HTTP Server Configuration Keys Key Values Description http_port integer Specifies the HTTP server port. http_sport integer Specifies the HTTP server SSL port (HTTPS port). http_usessl on empty string ("") Enables or disables HTTPS (SSL Server) To enable SSL, set to on. To disable SSL, set to an empty string (""). IP-based access control configuration keys The following settings are supported for configuring allowed and denied IP addresses for the system ONLY, not for individual channels. See Restrict viewers by IP address for more information on Allow and Deny lists. Table 39 Supported IP-Based Access Configuration Keys Key Values Description string: commaallowips separated list of Specifies the IP addresses to permit access. IP addresses and/or To restrict access, provide a list of permitted IP addresses. ranges. To clear allowed IP restriction, set to an empty string (""). empty string("") string: commadenyips separated list of IP addresses and/or ranges. Specifies the IP addresses to deny access. To restrict access, provide a list of denied IP addresses. To clear denied IP restriction, set to an empty string (""). 297 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Key Configuration keys for third party APIs Values Description empty string("") UPnP configuration keys The following settings are supported for UPnP streaming. Table 40 Supported UPnP Streaming Configuration Keys Key share_archive Values on empty string ("") Description Enables sharing of recorded files via UPnP. To enable sharing files over UPnP, set to on. To disable sharing files over UPnP, set to an empty string (""). Enables sharing of the live stream via UPnP. share_livestreams on To enable stream sharing over UPnP, set to on. empty string ("") To disable stream sharing over UPnP, set to an empty string (""). server_name string Specifies the UPnP server name. To use the system name, set to an empty string (""). SAP configuration keys The following settings are supported for SAP sharing. Table 41 Supported SAP Configuration Keys Key sap Values on empty string ("") Description Enables sharing of recorded files via SAP. To enable sharing files over SAP, set to on. To disable sharing files over SAP, set to an empty string (""). sap_channel_no integer Specifies the SAP channel number. sap_group string Specifies the SAP group name. sap_ip string Specify the SAP annoucement IP. 298 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configuration keys for third party APIs Frame grabber configuration keys The following configuration settings are supported by the system. See Configure a sourcefor more information on each variable. Table 42 Supported Frame Grabber Configuration Keys Key Values gain 0...255 Description Specifies ADC gain adjustments. 0 is brightest, 255 is darkest. Specifies horizontal shift. hshift -999...999 For shifts to the left, use positive values. For shifts to the right, use negative values. offset 0...63 phase 0...31 pll -999...999 tune_interval 0...9999 vshift -20...20 Specifies ADC offset. 0 is brightest, 63 is darkest. Specifies phase adjustments for VGA signals. Generally not used unless value is provided by Epiphan support. Specifies PLL adjustment. Changes the number of pixels in the line. Specifies the number of seconds between auto-adjustments. To disable auto-adjustments, set to 0. Specifies vertical shift. For shifts up, use positive values. For shifts down, use negative values. Broadcast configuration keys The following broadcast configuration settings are supported. Table 43 Supported Broadcast Configuration Keys Key bcast_disabled rtsp_port Values on empty string ("") Description Enables or disables the broadcast. To disable broadcast, set to on. To enable broadcast, set to empty string (""). 1000...65535, Specifies the port for RTSP streaming. Note port 5557 is used but not 5557 for network discovery and cannot be used for streaming. 299 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Key streamport Configuration keys for third party APIs Values Description 1000...65535, Specifies the port used for streaming. Note port 5557 is used but not 5557 for network discovery and cannot be used for streaming. Overrides the global stream access settings or uses global ac_override on stream access settings. empty string ("") To use global stream access settings, set to empty string (""). To override global stream access settings, set to on. ac_viewerpwd string Specifies the password for Viewers. ac_allowips integer Displays a list of the allowed IP addresses for live streams ac_denyips integer Displays a list of the denied IP addresses for live streams Channel encoder configuration keys The following encoder settings are supported for each channel. For more information on individual items listed, see Configure encoding . Table 44 Supported channel encoder configuration keys Key Values Description Enables or disables use of the current signal’s resolution as the autoframesize on empty string ("") frame size. Is switched to off if a frame size is manually specified. To use current signal’s frame size, set to on. To specify frame size directly, set to empty string (""). h.264 codec mpeg4 Specifies the stream codec. mjpeg fpslimit 1-60 Specifies the frame per second limit. Set to your desired limit. 640 x 480 720 x 400 Specifies the frame size in pixels. 720 x 480 framesize 720 x 576 Set to desired size, refer to description above on handling white 768 x 576 space in the value. 1024 x 768 300 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Key Configuration keys for third party APIs Values Description 1152 x 864 1280 x 720 1280 x 768 1280 x 960 1280 x 1024 1360 x 768 1360 x 1024 1600 x 1200 1920 x 1200 2048 x 2048 2560 x 1600 Enables or disables the “No Signal” message if no signal is found. nosignal default To use the default no signal message, set to default. filename To use a custom no signal message, specify the filename (file empty string ("") must already be uploaded to the system ). To disable the no signal message, set to empty string ("") deprecated slicemode on Enables or disables H.264 slicing for RTP. To enable slicing, set empty string ("") to on. To disable slicing, set to empty string (""). Integer vbitrate integerK (i.e. 64K) integerM (i.e. 1M) vbufmode vencpreset 1 (low delay) 2 (storage) Short forms such as 64K or 1M can be used. Specifies the broadcast compression level. For low delay when streaming, specify 1. For best results or recording, set to 2. 0 (Software) Specifies a video encoding preset. 5 (Hardware For software, set to 0. Accelerated) For hardware acceleration (recommended), set to 5 vkeyframeinterval integer vprofile Gets or changes the video bit rate in kbit/s. Interval time in seconds between key frames in the encoded stream. 66 Specifies the h.264 video profiles. 77 For Baseline profile, select 66. 100 For Main profile, select 77. 301 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Key Configuration keys for third party APIs Values Description For High profile, select 100. qvalue 0...100 Specifies quality for M-JPEG videos. Channel layout configuration keys The following settings are channel layout configuration. To work with layouts, you need to know the integer identifier for the layout. To find your layout's identifier, select the layout from the web UI and look for the identifier in the browser's url bar. Table 45 Supported channel layout configuration keys Key Values active_layout integer Description Specifies which layout is currently active for the specified channel. All logo configuration keys are deprecated. Audio configuration keys The following audio configuration keys are supported. For more information on individual items listed, see Configure Encoding (Multi-source). Table 46 Supported Audio Configuration Keys Key audio Values on empty string ("") Description Enables or disables audio for the stream. To enable audio, set to on. To disable audio, set to an empty string (""). 302 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Key Configuration keys for third party APIs Values Description 32 64 96 audiobitrate 112 128 Specifies the audio bitrate for the stream. Not applicable for PCM audio codecs. 160 192 audiochannels 1 (mono) 2 (stereo) Specifies the number of audio channels. For mono, set to 1. For stereo, set to 2. CODECS: pcm_s161e (PCM) libmp3lame (MP3) libfacc (AAC) RATES: audiopreset 32 64 Specifies an audio code preset in the format CODEC;RATE. i.e. libfaac;128 96 112 128 160 192 Stream publishing configuration keys The system supports the following stream publishing settings. For more information on publishing the stream, see What is streaming?. Table 47 Supported Stream Publishing Configuration Keys Key Values Description 0 (do not publish) 1 (via Epiphan.tv) 2 (RTSP Announce) publish_type 3 (multicast RTP/UDP) Specifies the type of stream publishing, if any. 4 (multicast MPEG-TS 303 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Key Configuration keys for third party APIs Values Description over UDP) 5 (multicast MPEG-TS over RTP/UDP) 6 (RTMP push) 7 (Wowza Streaming Cloud) 8 (Original Livestream) RTSP announce configuration keys (Publish type 2) The following settings are supported when the publish type is set to RTSP Announce. For more information on RTSP and these settings, see What is streaming?. Table 48 Supported RTSP Announce Configuration Keys Key announce_by_tcp Values Description on Enables or disable RTSP over TCP. To enable TCP transport, set empty string ("") to on. Otherwise, set to empty string (""). announce_host string announce_name string announce_ password announce_port announce_ username string 1000...65535, but not 5557 string Specifies the RTSP server address. Set to the appropriate IP address. Specifies the RTSP resource name. (This field is named Mount Point in the web interface.) Specifies the password for the RTSP server's user. Specifies the RTSP server port to connect to for streaming. Note port 5557 is used for network discovery and cannot be used for streaming. Specifies the username for the RTSP server. Value is provided by the RTSP server. RTP/UDP configuration keys (Publish type 3) The following settings are supported when the publish type is set to RTP/UDP. For more information on RTP/UDP and these settings, see What is streaming?. 304 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Configuration keys for third party APIs Table 49 Supported RTP/UDP Configuration Keys Key Values Description unicast_address string (IP address) Specifies the unicast/multicast address. unicast_aport unicast_vport 1000...65535, but not 5557 1000...65535, but not 5557 Specifies the UDP port for RTP/UDP audio streaming. Note port 5557 is used for network discovery and cannot be used for streaming. Specifies the UDP port for RTP/UDP video streaming. Note port 5557 is used for network discovery and cannot be used for streaming. MPEG-TS configuration keys (Publish types 4 and 5) The following settings are supported when the publish type is set to MPEG-TS. For more information on MPEG-TS and these settings, see What is streaming?. Table 50 Supported MPEG-TS Configuration Keys Key Values Description unicast_address string (IP address) Specifies the unicast/multicast address. unicast_mport 1000...65535, but not 5557 Specifies the UDP port for MPEG-TS streaming. Note port 5557 is used for network discovery and cannot be used for streaming. RTMP push configuration keys (Publish type 6) The following settings are supported when the publish type is set to RTMP Push. For more information on RTMP and these settings, see What is streaming?. Table 51 Supported RTMP Annouce Configuration Keys Key Values announce_host string announce_name string announce_ password string Description Specifies the RTMP server address. Set to the appropriate IP address. Specifies the RTMP resource name. (This field is named Mount Point in the web interface.) Specifies the password for the RTMP server's user. 305 Standalone VGA Grid User Guide Key announce_port announce_ username Values 1000...65535, but not 5557 string Configuration keys for third party APIs Description Specifies the RTMP server port to connect to for streaming. Note port 5557 is used for network discovery and cannot be used for streaming. Specifies the username for the RTMP server. Value is provided by the RTMP server. Content metadata configuration keys The following keys are available for configuration of the content's metadata. Table 52 Supported Content Metadata Configuration Keys Key Values Description Specifies the name of the author for the stream/recording. author string Refer to description above on handling white space (spaces) in the string. Specifies a comment for the stream/recording. Refer to comment string description above on handling white space (spaces) in the string. Specifies the copyright for the streaming/recording. Refer to copyright string description above on handling white space (spaces) in the string. Specifies the title for the stream/recording. Refer to description title string above on handling white space (spaces) in the string. (This string can be displayed by certain viewing applications by looking at the stream's metadata information.) 306 Standalone VGA Grid User Troubleshooting Guide Troubleshooting Use the follow table for help if you are experiencing problems or unexpected behavior from your Standalone VGA Grid. Problem Action(s) to Resolve Not sure if the connected video inputs Check each source's input from the source preview in the Web are being captured. Interface. Verify that you are using the correct audio input by following the steps in Configure encoding . No sound is coming from an audio source. OR Check the audio meter from the tablet UI (accessible from any web browser). See Mobile / tablet operator interface. Too much noise is present in the audio output. Modify the Input Amplifier Volume parameter in the Audio menu. Start with setting it to 40% and reduce until the noise is no longer present. See for details on this setting. The following tips can help improve image quality: 1. Ensure the source resolution is used as the output or recorded resolution. Up-scaling and down-scaling can Image quality is poor or insufficient. affect picture quality. 2. Increase the Bitrate value and/or decrease the Limit frame rate value in the Encoding menu. See Configure encoding . The following tips can help improve frames per second (fps): 1. Increase the Limit frame rate value and/or decrease the Bitrate value in the Encoding menu. See Configure encoding . Frames per second are lower than expected. 2. Reduce the number of actions happening simultaneously on the system (i.e. if streaming, recording, and copying files, consider waiting to copy files until after streaming and recording are complete). 3. Enter a low negative value (i.e. -5) in the Frame Grabber's Vertical Shift field. 307 Standalone VGA Grid User Troubleshooting Guide Problem Action(s) to Resolve 4. Reduce the number of channels encoding data. 5. Ensure the hardware-accelerated H.264 encoding preset is chosen for all channels. Verify that the Stream Type matches with the media player used and that you have the correct url or SDP file for the player. See Stream content using HTTP or RTSP and Stream to a Stream won't play in my media player or browser. media player. If you still cannot see the stream, try disabling your local computer firewall. If the issue is still not resolved, contact Epiphan Support at [email protected] The following tips can help diagnose image problems: 1. Ensure the source resolution is used as the output or recorded resolution. Up-scaling and down-scaling can affect picture quality. Configure encoding . The stream interrupts or the image breaks up. 2. Increase the Bitrate value and/or decrease the Limit frame rate value in the Encoding menu. See Configure encoding . 3. Check network settings including filters, routers and application settings. Packet loss can result in stream failure. If recording will not start, check the Disk Status Information to Recording issues. see if the system is out of disk space. See Check disk storage space and Recorded files. Firmware upgrade fails. Reboot the system and try again. If the problem persists, contact Epiphan support at [email protected] 308 Limitations and known issues This section includes known issues or limitations that affect functionality or usability and ways that you can work around these limitations. Affecting encoding l Limitation: When audio is enabled on an SDI source where video is already being captured, it takes up to 15 seconds for the system to detect the audio. Once detected, the audio is properly synchronized with the video. Workaround: Start the SDI signal with audio enabled, or check to ensure audio is detected before streaming or recording. l Encoding with MPEG-4 sometimes results in poor quality. Workaround: From the channel's stream setup, increase the video bitrate to improve picture quality. l Video bitrate for MJPEG streams is larger than the configured value. Workaround: Verify the actual bitrate on the channel's channel status page when there are connected viewers. If lower bitrates are important, select another codec. l For VGA sources only, some wide-mode resolutions are not correctly identified and result in a slightly squished image (e.g. for a 1360x768 source, the detected resolution may be 1024x768). Workaround: This issue is related to the video output hardware. Test your source to see if it exhibits the issue. If possible, avoid using wide-mode for VGA displays that exhibit this issue. l The automatically calculated frame size for HD VGA sources is occasionally incorrect. Workaround: This problem is caused due to cable degradation or poor cable connection. Re-seat or exchange your VGA cable. If the problem is still not resolved, visit the Epiphan Pearl support page for a custom EDID to resolve the issue. Affecting streaming and recording l When switching layouts while streaming or recording it's possible to have a small number of frames (approximately 100ms worth) repeated in the stream or recording file, and over the same time period a small number of frames from the new layout skipped. Workaround: If dropped frames are problematic for your application, avoid the layout switching feature. Affecting the web interface l It is possible to name two or more channels with the same value. Use of automatic file transfer and UPnP is unpredictable if this occurs. Workaround: Ensure each channel has a unique name. l The automatic file upload (AFU) file queue shows a maximum of 15 files, Newer 15 and Top of the list buttons do not work. All files are transfered, even though they are not listed. Workaround: Wait for the queue to have fewer files in the list. Affecting other areas l Due to changes in the way channel layouts are created, some HTTP and RS-232 remote layout commands are no longer available 3.15.3. These include values for setting the text overlay, logo, logo positioning, keep aspect ratio and no signal image. Workaround: Update your scripts to avoid using these commands. See the manual for a full list, affected API keys are listed as deprecated. l When using Internet Explorer to view the web admin interface, cached versions of pages are sometimes displayed instead of the most recent version of a page. This affects the Sources configuration page most and may cause the user to think a new layout or changed layout has gone missing. Workaround: Refresh the page by pressing Ctrl-F5. Previous releases and features This section outlines the features introduced with previous product release. Release 3.14.4 features l Live Streaming via Wowza Cloud Release 3.14.3 features l Configuration presets l Stereo audio encoding l Support for 256 kbps and 320 kbps audio sampling l LDAP support l SCP and SFTP file transfer Release 3.14.1 features l SDI source support l HDMI audio support l 48 kHz audio support l Hardware acceleration for H.264 encoding l Simplified H.264 video encoding presets l Configurable EDID l MP4 support l Improved channel configuration menu Release 3.12 features l RTMP live streaming l SAP Announce l Enhanced layout for multiple source channels l RAID 10 support l Enhanced Internal Storage Diagnostics Release 3.11 features l Multiple multi-track, multi-channel recorders l Multiple audio sources l Audio source mixing l Precision time protocol (PTP) synchronization l Custom recording file names l AAC audio codec l MPEG-TS streaming for IPTV l Universal plug and play (UPnP) support for streaming media players l Visual stream feedback and simplified picture-in-picture layout l Stream branding and custom no signal image l Preservation of source aspect ratio l Customizable stream background color (matte) l Personalized stream metadata l Introducing the mobile / tablet operator interface l Discovery of Epiphan devices l Mobile tethering Software and Documentation License ATTENTION: THE SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION PROVIDED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT ARE BEING LICENSED TO YOU BY EPIPHAN SYSTEMS INC. 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You shall only be entitled to bring any action or proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement, the Software, Documentation or any services provided in respect to the Software and/or Documentation in a court in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and You consent to the jurisdiction of such courts for any such action or proceeding. You waive all rights that You may have or that may hereafter arise to contest the jurisdiction of such courts for any action or proceeding brought by You. You hereby waive any right. You may have to request a jury trial with respect to any action brought by You in connection with this Agreement, the Software or any services provided in respect to the Software. The application of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods to this Agreement is expressly excluded. March 28, 2014 Environmental Information The equipment that you bought has required the extraction and use of natural resources for its production. It may contain hazardous substances that could impact health and the environment. In order to avoid the dissemination of those substances in our environment and to diminish the pressure on the natural resources, we encourage you to use the appropriate take-back systems. Those systems will reuse or recycle most of the materials of your end life equipment in a sound way. The crossed-out wheeled bin symbol invites you to use those systems. If you need more information about collection, reuse and recycling systems, please contact your local or regional waste administration. You can also contact us for more information on the environmental performance of our products. FCC & CE Compliance Statement This device complies with Part 15 of the FCC Rules. Operation is subject to the following two conditions: 1. This device may not cause harmful interference 2. This device must accept any interference received, including interference that may cause undesired operation. Marking by the symbol indicates compliance of this device with EMC directive of the European Community and meets or exceeds the following technical standard. EN 55022 - Limits and Methods of Measurement of Radio Interference Characteristics of Information Technology Equipment. Other Jurisdictional Issues Epiphan makes no representation that its products or information in this document or its web site is appropriate or available for use in your jurisdiction. Those who choose to access the Epiphan web site or use Epiphan products do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable Submissions to Epiphan and Affiliated Servers Any information, including but not limited to remarks, suggestions, ideas, graphics, or other submissions, communicated to Epiphan through their Epiphan web site is the exclusive property of Epiphan. Epiphan is entitled to use any information submitted for any purpose, without restriction (except as stated in Epiphan's Privacy Statement) or compensation to the person sending the submission. The user acknowledges the originality of any submission communicated to Epiphan and accepts responsibility for its accuracy, appropriateness, and legality. Third Parties and Links to Third-Party Web Sites Mention of non-Epiphan Systems Inc. products or services on their website, or this document site is for informational purposes and does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. This document may contain links to non-Epiphan web sites. These links are provided to you as a convenience, and Epiphan is not responsible for the content of any linked web site. Any outside web site accessed from the Epiphan web site is independent from Epiphan, and Epiphan has no control over the content of that web site. In addition, a link to any non-Epiphan web site does not imply that Epiphan endorses or accepts any responsibility for the content or use of such a web site. In no event shall any reference to any third party or third party product or service be construed as an approval or endorsement by Epiphan of that third party or of any product or service provided by a third party. Miscellaneous It is the user's responsibility to ascertain whether any information downloaded from the Epiphan web site or other websites is free of viruses, worms, trojan horses, or other items of a potentially destructive nature. Enforcement of Terms and Conditions These Terms and Conditions for use of this document and the associated Epiphan Product are governed and interpreted pursuant to the laws of the province of Ontario, Canada, notwithstanding any principles of conflicts of law. All disputes arising out of or relating to these Terms and Conditions shall be finally resolved by arbitration conducted in the English language in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada under the commercial arbitration rules of the Canada. The parties shall appoint as sole arbitrator a retired judge who presided in the province of Ontario. The parties shall bear equally the cost of the arbitration (except that the prevailing party shall be entitled to an award of reasonable attorneys' fees incurred in connection with the arbitration in such an amount as may be determined by the arbitrator). All decisions of the arbitrator shall be final and binding on both parties and enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction. Notwithstanding this, application may be made to any court for a judicial acceptance of the award or order of enforcement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Epiphan shall be entitled to seek injunctive relief, security, or other equitable remedies from any court of competent jurisdiction. If any part of these terms is unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that part will be deemed severable and will not affect the validity and enforceability of the remaining provisions. Epiphan may, at its sole discretion and without notice, revise these terms at any time by updating this posting. Copyright © 2015 Epiphan Systems Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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