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NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual

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NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual
NCast Product Documentation
Presentation Recorder
Reference Manual
Revision 2.2
th
May 29
, 2014
PR-HD Software Release 8.0.13
Copyright © NCast Corporation, 2014
NCast Corporation
Revision 2.2
Page 1

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Summary of Contents for NCast Presentation Recorder

  • Page 1 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual NCast Product Documentation Presentation Recorder Reference Manual Revision 2.2 May 29 , 2014 PR-HD Software Release 8.0.13 Copyright © NCast Corporation, 2014 NCast Corporation Revision 2.2 Page 1...

  • Page 2: Table Of Contents

    1.9. Presentation Recorders – Installation ....................11 2. Quick Start ..............................12 2.1. Startup ..............................12 2.2. Presentation Recorder Modes of Operation ..................14 3. Theory of Operation ............................ 17 3.1. Presentation Recorder Component Block Diagram ................17 3.2. Capture Module Function ........................17 3.3.
  • Page 3 10.4. Closed-Caption Support ........................90 11. Custom Layouts ............................93 11.1. Frame Layouts and Presets ....................... 93 12. Presentation Recorder Interfaces ......................99 12.1. Serial Interface ........................... 99 12.2. Telnet Interface ..........................99 12.3. REST Interface – Archive Download ....................100 12.4.

  • Page 4: Regulatory Compliance Information

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual Regulatory Compliance Information Equipment Label The Presentation Recorder meets all applicable FCC, CE and ICAN radiation and emission standards: Report 3054-1 Electromagnetic Compatibility Test Report 47 CFR Part 2 Subpart J Paragraph 2.906 Report 3054-2 Electromagnetic Compatibility Test Report 44366 S.
  • Page 5 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual This equipment has been tested and found to comply with the limits for a Class A digital device, pursuant to EN 55022 Rules. These limits are designed to provide reasonable protection against harmful interference when the equipment is operated in a commercial environment. This...

  • Page 6: Introduction

    The NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual is intended for the Audio/Video or Network engineer who will be tasked with the job of installing and setting up a Presentation Recorder or a system of multiple Presentation Recorders. This guide is designed to cover topics in depth and to assist in optimizing the performance of a Presentation Recorder.

  • Page 7: Presentation Recorders - Extreme Models

    XTREME ODELS The Presentation Recorder Extreme has all the features of the Basic model but in addition will record in 1080 definition, stream in 1080 (but simultaneous recording and streaming at this resolution is not allowed). There is also an HDMI output connector for an all-digital connection to a display monitor.

  • Page 8: Presentation Recorders - Connector Options

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 1.6. P – C RESENTATION ECORDERS ONNECTOR PTIONS The following diagram describes the back-panel connectors available: Backpanel for PR-HD-Basic-M, PR-HD-Basic-P • Serial Control – Wired control from a touch panel, such as Crestron or AMX •...
  • Page 9 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual Backpanel for PR-HD-Basic-R, PR-HD-Basic-D Backpanel for PR-HD-Extreme-M, PR-HD-Extreme-P Backpanel for PR-HD-Extreme-R, PR-HD-Extreme-D NCast Corporation Revision 2.2 Page 9...

  • Page 10: Presentation Recorders - Generation 1 Vs. Generation 2

    Documentation on these first generation units is found in Chapter 14. 1.8. P – P RESENTATION ECORDERS HOENIX ONNECTOR IRING The Presentation Recorder rack mount models come with a Phoenix balanced audio connector. NCast Corporation Revision 2.2 Page 10...

  • Page 11: Presentation Recorders - Installation

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 1.9. P – I RESENTATION ECORDERS NSTALLATION The diagram below shows a typical room installation: NCast Corporation Revision 2.2 Page 11...

  • Page 12: Quick Start

    2.1.2. Mini Start This is a short introduction on how to get started with a Presentation Recorder: 1. Plug the unit into a network, plug in a display to the VGA Out, plug your laptop into the VGA In, a camera (if you have one) into a video connector and turn on the power.
  • Page 13 Transmission can be automated so that all that is required is to press the power-on button. Please feel free to contact NCast Corporation if you have any questions about the use or configuration of the Presentation Recorder.

  • Page 14: Presentation Recorder Modes Of Operation

    PERATION The Presentation Recorders have eight major modes of operation: Record to File – The Presentation Recorder only records the file to storage. Once the Session has ended the file may be automatically uploaded to a video-on-demand server for later playback by client PCs or mobile devices.
  • Page 15 Session is finished the archive may be uploaded to a distribution server or to a locally attached USB drive. Send a Stream to an RTMP Server – For live streaming the Presentation Recorder sends an RTMP protocol stream to a streaming server, CDN or Presentation Server where fanout occurs and the media is distributed to multiple receiving PC's or mobile devices.
  • Page 16 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual Receive a Unicast or Multicast Stream – In this mode of operation the Presentation Recorder is configured to receive a stream from another unit acting as a sender. The receiving unit decodes and renders the composite image created by the sender and displays it on the attached monitor.

  • Page 17: Theory Of Operation

    LOCK IAGRAM The Presentation Recorder consists of these main hardware functions: Capture Hardware – A custom designed, high-performance module is used to grab and digitize the RGB or video signals created by the presenter or media source. This module accepts VGA, Y-Pr-Pb, DVI-I, HDMI, PAL/NTSC composite or PAL/NTSC S-Video connections and converts those signals to YUV digital format.

  • Page 18: Compression

    RCHIVE LASH A flash memory card in the Presentation Recorder is available for recording transmitted sessions. The file format is standard MPEG-4 Part 10 (H.264, .mp4), which can be played on a variety of desktop client players, or these same files can be installed on a video-streaming server for on-demand playback over the Internet.

  • Page 19: Quick Start Configuration And Setup

    4.1. Q UICK TART RGANIZATION The Quick Start page is the primary control page for the Presentation Recorder and has six distinct functional areas: Channel Selection – A Channel is a preset or template containing all layout and startup parameters •...

  • Page 20: Channel Selection

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 4.2. C HANNEL ELECTION A Channel is a preset containing all the layout and startup parameters needed for a streaming or recording session. There are seven categories of channel parameters: • General – The Channel name and the type of Channel operation desired.

  • Page 21: Source Selection

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual Graphical overlays are JPEG, GIF or PNG images that may be used to fill in or overlay areas of the frame being captured. Create a custom graphic in your favorite photo editing program and upload it to the Channel by selecting “Customize Overlays”.

  • Page 22: Streaming Start/Stop

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual • Loopback gain – Controls the feed from the input signal to the output. Watchout for feedback! The other buttons on this line control these functions: • Advanced – Fine adjustment and positioning of the images.

  • Page 23: Recording

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 4.5. R ECORDING The Recording button starts the recording and archiving of the video/graphics/audio media being presented. A recording may be Paused and Resumed, and if Stopped and then Started a second file will be created.
  • Page 24 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual Clicking the green arrow expands the slider to reveal an additional set of Icons: The function of these Icons (left to right) is listed below. 4.7.1. Reboot Restarts the unit and reinitializes all processes. This operation may be needed to clear problems after a power brownout or other unexpected glitch 4.7.2.
  • Page 25 USB Disk – The encoder is “off net” and a USB thumb drive will supply the required files. The Network option is normally used to update the encoder, and in the case of a closed or secure network requiring USB drive files, please contact a customer support person at NCast for assistance in doing a USB update.

  • Page 26: The Channel Table

    Just as Channel 2 on your TV defines the video carrier to be “55.25 MHz.”, Channel 2 on a Presentation Recorder might define the graphics multicast address to be “239.192.0.1”. There are many parameters associated with a Channel, items like the video and audio multicast or unicast addresses, port numbers, MTU’s, codecs, bit rates, layouts, overlays and...

  • Page 27: Edit Channel - General

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual Recorder. Any changes or updates to the Channel Table have no effect on the Session until the next Session start. Session parameters which may be changed or updated appear on the Quick Start page and on the Custom page.
  • Page 28 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual As a specific example, a Presentation Recorder might set up the following 3 channel assignments: Channel 1 – The PR-HD unit transmits using multicast address 239.192.0.0 Channel 2 – The PR-HD unit receives using multicast address 239.192.0.0 Channel 3 –...

  • Page 29: Edit Channel - Frame Size

    Frame. Consequently, selection of one of the default frame sizes and aspect ratios, or definition of a custom Frame Size and possibly a custom Aspect Ratio is the first step in defining the format of the media stream which will be produced by the Presentation Recorder. The Frame NCast Corporation Revision 2.2...

  • Page 30: Edit Channel - Layout

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual can have any dimension or aspect ratio, with the limitation that the maximum dimensions are 1280 x 720 for the PR-HD-Basic model. Once the frame is defined, the next step is the (X,Y) placement and (W,H) sizing of the primary or “Main”...
  • Page 31 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 5.4.3. Background A Background graphic or “underlay” may be enabled (and uploaded) to the recorder. It is positioned as the lowest level graphic in the composition. All other windows and overlays will placed on top of this graphic.
  • Page 32 (Channel settings), or can be sent via serial RS-232 or Serial Telnet IP commands. See the Presentation Recorder Serial Interface Specification for details on these commands. Also, a text overlay may be a calendar time and date stamp to burn in the exact time a recording was done.
  • Page 33 Alphabetic time zone abbreviation (for example EDT) The text within a text overlay can be changed and frequently updated through use of serial commands. See the Presentation Recorder Serial Interface Specification for details. • OT0 - disables all four text overlays •...

  • Page 34: Edit Channel - Profile

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 5.5. – P HANNEL ROFILE 5.5.1. Set Video Quality Each channel can be assigned a video quality (bit-rate) level. Use the standard settings or choose Custom (see the section below). 5.5.2. Set Audio Profile This menu pulldown selects the bandwidth and encoding properties of the audio media stream associated with the graphics stream.
  • Page 35 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 5.6.2. Frame-rate The video frame-rate represents the number of frame (visual image) grabs per second the system will attempt to achieve. The range of this setting is 1-30 frames per second. For NTSC video encoding a full 30 frames/second is achieved.
  • Page 36 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual Resolution Minimum Bit-rate Preferred Bit-rate QVGA (320x240) 128 kbps 192 kbps VGA (640x480) 220 kbps 330 kbps SVGA (800x600) 310 kbps 465 kbps HD720 (1280x720) 550 kbps 800 kbps Settings below these values will generate pixelation and other visual artifacts in the received image. Also, use of the minimum bit-rates will increase end-to-end latency, may reduce the visual clarity of the image and introduce lip-synch problems.

  • Page 37: Edit Channel - Network

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 5.7. E – N HANNEL ETWORK 5.7.1. Set Video Stream Destination - Address An address entered for Video (the Video or Graphics media stream) will be either a valid multicast address, or the numeric host IP address of the remote unit if a point-to-point connection is being established.
  • Page 38 The default settings for a Presentation Recorder use Administratively-Scoped multicast addresses. This implies that streams created using these addresses will not exit the organization’s network.

  • Page 39: Edit Channel - Rtmp Streaming

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual The Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) is the maximum length of a packet and is normally set to 1500. For some special circuits (satellite links, others) the maximum size may need to be adjusted downward to avoid packet fragmentation, which leads to inefficiencies and possible packet loss.

  • Page 40: Edit Channel - Automatic Unicast

    (e.g. a Presentation Server). The transfer is accomplished by RTSP ANNOUNCE commands sent from a Presentation Recorder RTSP client to the server. The system makes sure that the latest version of the SDP file is always on the server (SDP files describe the media being streamed and other details such as port...
  • Page 41 5.9.4. Set RTSP Server SDP Filename The name under which the SDP file is saved by the server. Should have an .sdp extension. The names should be unique for each Presentation Recorder accessing the RTSP server. 5.9.5. Set Video MTU The Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU) is the maximum length of a packet and is normally set to 1500.

  • Page 42: Edit Channel - Recording

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual If enabled, the encoder smooths the stream transmission and sends packets at the prescribed target bit rate (this is the default setting). This will increase network jitter and latency. If disabled, the encoder uses burst transmission by sending all packets immediately after encoding.
  • Page 43 (00 to 61) year For example, if a Presentation Recorder user wishes to create a custom filename for the “Accounting 101” series of lectures, the following filename formatting string might be used: Acct101-%Y-%m-%d This will create filenames of the form: Acct101-2007-11-19.mp4...
  • Page 44 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual %Y%m%d-%H%M%S-%n The counter variables start at 0001 or 000001 and go to 9999 or 999999. Only one counter variable is permitted per filename. The counter’s next value is calculated by scanning existing archives which match the filename template.

  • Page 45: Edit Channel - Upload

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 5.10.10. Enable Blackout on Pause and Resume? This options add a fad in/fade out special effect when the recording is paused. 5.10.11. Special Text Variables Metadata for the Title/Presenter/Description information is only created after a Channel & Session is started and recording commences.
  • Page 46 Presentation Server using the Capture Agent REST protocol or transfer to a Kaltura server using the Kaltura API. There is a Primary Upload choice and a Secondary Upload choice. This allows the Presentation Recorder to target two different entities for delivery of the file.
  • Page 47 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual The PR-HD will try to connect to the server and list contents of the upload directory. It uses the current configuration of all parameters. 5.11.6.Multiple Upload Locations The Upload information is specified on a Channel basis. Since each Channel has its own unique target information, different target locations may be accessed by starting or using different Channels.
  • Page 48 Changing directories based on Channel number may help ease the administration of many incoming files being recorded and uploaded by a single Presentation Recorder. Directory based access rights will automatically restrict viewers rights to the directory/channel for which they are entitled.
  • Page 49 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 5.11.17. Universal Serial Bus Upload The Presentation Recorders are able to transfer ready archive files to a locally inserted USB drive. NCast Corporation Revision 2.2 Page 49...
  • Page 50 • Set workflow – A Workflow is a series of processing steps in the server to ingest, transcode and distribute the file as desired. The Presentation Recorder will query the server to populate the entries in these two menu pulldowns.

  • Page 51: Edit Channel - Notifications

    HANNEL OTIFICATIONS The Presentation Recorder has an extensive system of notifications by e-mail for routine and extraordinary events related to Channel operation. Events can be informational, like “Archive uploaded” or “Recording Started Normally”, or they can be error reports such as “Recording Start Failed - Disk Full” or “Archive Upload Failed”.
  • Page 52 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 5.12.2.Channel N Settings – Notification Events A subset of all system-wide events is available for Channel-specific notifications. A system-wide event would report the start of ANY Session, whereas a Channel-specific event would only report the start of activity on Channel N.

  • Page 53: Archives

    6.1. A RCHIVE ETTINGS The Presentation Recorder units allow complete recording of audio and graphics streams onto internal storage for later retrieval and playback. The estimate for recording time is a simple calculation based on the bit-rate set for the channel.
  • Page 54 DNS entries on the network page, and finally, determine if any network firewall is blocking access to the time-servers configured in the Presentation Recorder. The final processing of an archive file occurs when a Session has ended. If a Session is active an archive file may be in an incomplete state listed as “Captured”...
  • Page 55 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual </archive> The use of XML format allows the content to be encoded in the Unicode (UTF-8) character set. The <main_window> and <pip_window> tags record the position of these windows at the start of a session.
  • Page 56 Final Cut Express and Final Cut Pro are two popular video editors used with Apple computers. Squared 5 MPEG Streamclip is an application for editing Presentation Recorder MPEG-4 files, setting In/Out points, and converting to different formats such as AVI and DV.

  • Page 57: Configuration

    7.1. P ERSONAL The Unit Options page gives the Presentation Recorder its unique ID and provides a place to enter system- wide settings. The ID and contact information are transmitted over the Internet to identify this Presentation Recorder as a member of an ongoing conference session.

  • Page 58: Time

    Selection of this option requires that the network in use allows the Presentation Recorder to access external, publicly available time servers. If you are on a private or closed network, local NTP servers may be listed in the “NTP server N”...

  • Page 59: Network

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual Clicking on this button will bring up the manual time setting window: There will be some time offset with clock drift, so if running manually the clock time needs to be rechecked on a periodic basis.
  • Page 60 The numeric IP address of the primary Domain Name Server (DNS) for this LAN segment (e.g. www.xxx.yyy.10). Domain name servers translate symbolic domain names to numeric IP addresses. Various processes within the Presentation Recorder may, on occasion, require contact with a valid name server. 7.3.6. Secondary DNS The numeric IP address of the secondary (or backup) Domain Name Server.
  • Page 61 (ntp=(bool)0”) this parameter if the unit is on a closed network. Setting this parameter to 0 is useful when the Presentation Recorder is being used with a simple hub or switch. Long bootup times will be shortened as the box is no longer searching for network time servers.
  • Page 62 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual If the proxy server requires a username and password for access, enter the password. All changes to these network settings require a reboot of the unit. Press the “Update & Reboot” button when all entries are complete and you have double-checked the correctness of these entries.

  • Page 63: Web

    One encoder is designated Master and the other responds as a Slave. This setup window allows identification of the Slave unit to be controlled by this recorder: For additional information on use of this facility please refer to the Tech Tip “NCast Dual Stream Recording”. 7.3.21. Remote Logging...

  • Page 64: Display

    When HTTPS is turned on, the Apache server requires that the certificate be authenticated with a password. Since this is not possible inside the Presentation Recorder, a private RSA key may be used instead of a password. If there is not a valid private RSA key available, then Apache will not start. This is used to disable third parties launching HTTPS with stolen certificates.
  • Page 65 When the OSD checkbox is checked, two pairs of audio meters appear on the local loopback display connected to the Presentation Recorder. The audio meter window is never transmitted over the network nor recorded as part of the media stream.

  • Page 66: Telnet Settings

    The local meters are useful to check for proper connectivity and activity of the sound system connected to the Presentation Recorder. The levels should be checked for proper range, and gains should be changed if the audio is too hot or soft.

  • Page 67: Scheduler

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual If the interface is enabled, secure the interface with a unique and non-dictionary password, and configure the IP restriction field to only allow the IP address of the controller unit to command the Presentation Recorder. 7.6.1. Telnet Uncheck access if the serial command interface is not in use.
  • Page 68 2. The scheduling process queries the calendar at regular intervals and captures these events. 3. Commands sent to the IP Serial Interface of a Presentation Recorder starts and stops the unit. The calendar interface allows an administrator to setup single or repeating events. The example below shows a single event scheduled for Tuesday, a Monday-Wednesday-Friday repeating event, and a Monday- to-Friday repeating event.
  • Page 69 10:59:59 as the actual stop time. Thus, events may be scheduled back-to-back. The "Where" field is the DNS name or IP address of the Presentation Recorder to be controlled. Only one Presentation Recorder may be listed. This allows one calendar to control many different units.
  • Page 70 Commands are case-sensitive and must be written exactly as shown. The commands are processed in the order given. The presenter and title information are stored by the Presentation Recorder in an XML file associated with archived MPEG-4 file. This XML file will normally be uploaded to the content server and can be used to provide additional details about the content for archiving and indexing.
  • Page 71 ToDo’s, meeting invitations and blog entries between different computer applications, and indeed, many different programs now support this standard (including Google Calendar). The NCast Scheduler can read standard iCalendar (.ics) files containing scheduled events, and can control Presentation Recorders based on the contents of these events.

  • Page 72: Presentation Server

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 7.7.11.Exporting iCalendar Files Each calendar application should have an “Export” or “Save” command to create an “.ics” file for backup or use by other applications. To do this in Google Calendar: 1. In the “Calendars” sidebar/block on the left side, click on the menu pop-up for the primary calendar.
  • Page 73 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual If the Presentation Server scheduler will not be used, uncheck this box to save unneeded network activity. 7.8.3. Server/Port Enter the server address and access port. 7.8.4. Use SSL Check if communications with the server is required to use SSL protocol.

  • Page 74: Notifications

    Verify that the encoder is seeing the event using the “View Schedule” test button. At the scheduled time the encoder should be recording. Upload should work the same way as a manual event. Please contact NCast if any of these steps are not working. 7.9. N OTIFICATIONS The PR-HD Series has an extensive system of notifications by e-mail for routine and extraordinary events during its operation.
  • Page 75 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual Enter the e-mail address denoting the source of this email (this unit). Something like PR-HD.Room- A105@myorganization.com would instantly identify the source of the e-mail. 7.9.4. SMTP Server Enter the DNS address or IP number of your mail server.

  • Page 76: Custom

    USTOM 7.10.1.Windows The Custom Windows page allows users of the Presentation Recorder to define unique dimensions for the Main and PIP windows to be referenced by serial commands. This allows a serial command to easily change the position ans size of a window.
  • Page 77 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 7.10.2.Texts Text formatting variables (%0 through %9) may be used to define the Title, Presenter and Description fields. Normally these variables are initialized and changed through the use of serial commands (TA-TJ). This table lists and allows editing of the ten available text formatting strings.
  • Page 78 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 7.10.3.Disk There are four specialized settings that apply to diskspace management. These allow the user to fine tune management of the free archive space: 7.10.4.Trash Can Size The Trash Can size specifies how much of the disk may be used to store trashed (deleted or removed) files.

  • Page 79: Status

    USB Disk Status • Archive space available • Mainboard temperature • Fan speed When reporting problems to NCast it is very helpful to copy and send this information as part of a trouble ticket. NCast Corporation Revision 2.2 Page 79...

  • Page 80: Network

    VENT 8.3.1. Event logging Many events during the operation of the Presentation Recorder are recorded in the Event Logs. These Logs are part of the Event Notification System discussed in Section 7.9. 8.3.2. Download Logs Log reporting is an important tool which NCast uses to diagnose any problems, whether they hardware or software, bugs or operational issues.

  • Page 81: Serial Logs

    Scheduler interface. This screen allows inspection of recent activity for the Serial link. 8.4.2. Download Logs Log reporting is an important tool which NCast uses to diagnose any problems, whether they hardware or software, bugs or operational issues. When reporting a problem, please click on the “Download Logs” button which will create a .zip file of recently logged activity.

  • Page 82: Sources

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 9. Sources 9.1. V IDEO The Sources line on the Quick Start page controls what graphics/video or audio inputs will be sent to the compression engines. 9.1.1. Main input The user may select one of the following graphics/video sources for capture as the primary image:...

  • Page 83: Audio

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual MAIN \\ PIP DVI-A DVI-D HDMI DISPLAYPORT 3G-SDI COMPOSITE Duplicate Comp DVI-A Comp Duplicate DVI-D Duplicate HDMI Duplicate Displayport Duplicate 3G-SDI Duplicate Composite Duplicate In the above table, “Yes” implies that the PIP arrangement is normal and could be used during a capture session.

  • Page 84: Advanced

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual A reference signal of 0.0 dBu (0.775 V RMS) on the line-in connector will produce maximum sample values with the line-in gain set to approximately 21. If this is considered the internal 0.0 dB signal reference, the chart shows gain adjustments for different values of Line-in Gain.
  • Page 85 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual The following table shows the allowable ranges of adjustment: Control Range Brightness 0-100 Contrast 0-100 Saturation 0-100 0-100 For each Control there are four adjustments for the five different inputs: VGA, DVI-D, HDMI, Composite and Displayport.

  • Page 86: Overlays

    Provides an excellent confidence check of the video and graphics capture in progress without the need for an attached local output display. Can be used to check on the current frame grab of the Presentation Recorder from a remote site. NCast Corporation Revision 2.2...

  • Page 87: Viewer Interface And Media Players

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 10. Viewer Interface and Media Players 10.1. V TREAM The View Stream dialog box on the Quick Start page allows users at their desktops or laptops to launch client media players, which will receive and decode the media streams for playback to the user.

  • Page 88: Vlc Media Player

    A popular cross-platform media player with low latency is called “VLC” (Video Lan Client). There are several ways to launch VLC for use with a Presentation Recorder: 1. Associate the file extension “.sdp” with the VLC application. Under Windows this can be done using: My Documents ...

  • Page 89: Media Players

    A codec required for playback has not been installed. Windows Media Player does not natively support MPEG-4 files and needs a plug-in to be installed to properly decode Presentation Recorder streams. Contact NCast Corporation for details concerning availability of its MPEG-4 plug-in.

  • Page 90: Closed-Caption Support

    Some client players use various forms of .txt files and others use .xml files. The Presentation Recorder implementation has adopted one format which is simple to use and has some existing support in the open-source community and works with several players.
  • Page 91 Receivers/Decoders of the stream, whether using a desktop player (QuickTime, Windows Media Player, etc.) or a Presentation Recorder system, must have the ability to turn on/off the captioning features; thus the term “closed”. Unfortunately, there is no fully standardized mechanism for captioning across these technologies.
  • Page 92 MAGpie 1.0 can be used to export the captions to three multimedia formats: SAMI, RealText Apple's Timed Text and SMIL (which can also be used by Apple and Real). Magpie 2.02 is the newest version, and adds functionality for Flash, and can play NCast’s MPEG-4 media files. The tool can be found here: http://ncam.wgbh.org/webaccess/magpie/#v2 World Caption is a program written by a University of Wisconsin staff member and is distributed free.

  • Page 93: Custom Layouts

    The order of precedence (the visibility stack) is in the order given above (Text Overlay 4 has the highest visibility and the black matte background the lowest. As part of the Edit Channel – Layout window the Presentation Recorder provides an easy to use drag-n- drop style interface which allows a user to: •...
  • Page 94 For archival purposes or for playback on hi-definition 16:9 screens this example gives the dimensions of a 720p layout that NCast and its customers have used successfully to capture conference proceedings and other seminars. The capture window used is WXGA at 1280x720 resolution and 16:9 aspect ratio. The Main graphics window occupies an area of 960x720 (Main Window) and the PIP video window is set to 320x240.
  • Page 95 8. Press “Next” and complete the remaining dialog boxes in the Channel editor. 9. You're done! The Presentation Recorder is now ready to stream the composite image as defined in this example. 11.1.2.Overlay Layout Placement Conference rooms or presentation auditoriums typically have the speaker’s podium to the right or left of the projection screen being viewed by the audience.
  • Page 96 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual If the podium is to the left of the projection screen (as viewed from the audience) the following layout shows the correct positioning for the PIP window: The point being made here is that in planning for a conference or seminar recording, rooms may have a...
  • Page 97 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual In the Channel factory presets the Presentation Recorder provides podium-left and podium-right pairings of the example Channels: Podium Left Podium Right Channel 1 Channel 6 Channel 2 Channel 7 Channel 3 Channel 8 Channel 14...
  • Page 98 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual TeraGrid Conference, courtesy of UCSD Virtual Teams Conference, courtesy of Media-X HP Historical Presentation NCast Corporation Revision 2.2 Page 98...

  • Page 99: Presentation Recorder Interfaces

    Interface. One such program is called the “Presentation Recorder Management System” and there is a version written in Java and Python. See the “Download” area of the NCast web site. An example of the interface implemented by TMS is shown here: For simple operations such as starting and stopping a Presentation Recorder from a controlling system, simple scripts will be adequate.

  • Page 100: Rest Interface - Archive Download

    When used in conjunction with a scheduler or serial interface command controller this leads to a powerful method to configure all aspects of a Presentation Recorder for a given Session. It allows custom templates to be changed on an hourly basis, for example.

  • Page 101: Rest Interface - Reference Manual

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 12.6. REST I – R NTERFACE EFERENCE ANUAL All REST Interface calls are documented in the Presentation Recorder REST Interface Guide. NCast Corporation Revision 2.2 Page 101...

  • Page 102: Techniques For Presentation Capture

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual Techniques for Presentation Capture 13.1. W EBCASTING ODCASTING AND RCHIVING The new world of webcasting meetings and conferences, recording presentations and running effective distance learning operations requires some thought, planning, and understanding of the objectives to be met for the operation.
  • Page 103 PC to the splitter. The other cable (a long one, 25 meters or more) connects the output of the splitter to the input capture card of the Presentation Recorder. A long cable is required as the Presentation Recorder recording table/station is frequently in the back of the room (where there is a power connection and where the technician can operate the video camera).

  • Page 104: Conference Day Problems And Issues

    13.2.4. Automatic Recording A Presentation Recorder Channel can be setup to automatically start recording when a Session is started. This is probably the best solution for guaranteeing that the recording will happen. 13.2.5. Graphics and Video Swap Usually during conferences there are periods when no active or meaningful graphics are being displayed (e.g.
  • Page 105 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual introducing the next speaker while the previous speaker’s graphics are still being projected. The speaker is given the podium while his/her computer is being connected and the desired graphics being discussed are not present. Viewing this later in a recorded archive looks very unprofessional and sloppy.

  • Page 106: Video Post-Production

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 13.4. V IDEO RODUCTION If there is a need to do some minor editing on an archive file, there are tools which can clip and trim the archive file without recompression of the material. 13.4.1. Streamclip One such tool is a free utility called “Streamclip”.
  • Page 107 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual Align the “In” point to the nearest key frame. This is required to eliminate pixelation and picture breakup at the start of the new clip. If that key frame is unacceptable as a starting point, move the slider backward or forward until a usable key frame is found.

  • Page 108: Pr-Hd First Generation

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 14. PR-HD First Generation 14.1. B ACKPANEL ONNECTORS The following connector changes occurred in moving to the second-generation product: • A Displayport input connector was added. • The S-Video (Y/C) connector was removed • The VGA connector does not accept component signals (Y-Pb-Pr). Only on DVI-A.

  • Page 109: Main/Pip Input Compatibility Chart

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 14.2. M /PIP I NPUT OMPATIBILITY HART The following chart outlines the Main/PIP compatibility for the first generation product: MAIN \\ PIP DVI-A DVI-D HDMI S-VIDEO COMPOSITE Duplicate DVI-A Duplicate DVI-D Duplicate HDMI Duplicate S-VIDEO...

  • Page 110: Terms And Definitions

    PIP – A picture-in-picture function overlays one video or graphics image with a reduced-sized version of another video image. Presentation Server – NCast's Open-Standards video and presentation content management system and video-on-demand server. REST - REpresentational State Transfer (REST) is a style of software architecture for distributed systems such as the World Wide Web.
  • Page 111 NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual RTSP – Real-Time Streaming Protocol is an IETF approved protocol for control of real-time streaming on the Internet. S-Video – A video connector (usually DIN style) where luminance and chroma information are transmitted on separate wires or cable pairs. Provides for a higher fidelity image than a composite connection.

  • Page 112: References

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 16. References 16.1. MPEG C OMPRESSION ISO 14496-12 - ISO base media file format ISO 14496-14 - MP4 file format 16.2. P ACKET RANSMISSION IETF RFC 3550 “RTP: A Transport Protocol for Real-Time Applications”, H. Schulzrinne, et. al., July 2003 IETF RFC 3551 “RTP Profile for Audio and Video Conferences with Minimal Control”, H.

  • Page 113: Revision History

    NCast Presentation Recorder Reference Manual 17. Revision History • Revision 2.2 – Update document and diagrams to cover the second generation of Presentation Recorders. Updates based on software Release 8.0.13. • Revision 2.1 – Updates based on software Release 6.6.0. Addition of a PIP Enable/Disable button.

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