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epiphan Pearl-2 User Manual

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Epiphan Pearl-2
© and ™ 2016, Epiphan Systems, Inc
User Guide
Release 4.0.0
September 09, 2016
UG115-02

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Summary of Contents for epiphan Epiphan Pearl-2

  • Page 1 User Guide Epiphan Pearl-2             Release 4.0.0 September 09, 2016 UG115-02 © and ™ 2016, Epiphan Systems, Inc...

  • Page 2: 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.

  • Page 3: Specifications

    Go to the page of the Epiphan website to get the most recent product specifications and additional information about Epiphan Pearl-2. 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.
  • Page 4 What's new in release 4.0.0? Firmware 4.0.0 is the inaugural firmware for Pearl-2, and it brings all the features of Pearl to a powerful new platform. There are few significant updates to the operation of the firmware, as the differences between Pearl-2 and Pearl lie in the hardware, and are detailed at many other places in this User Guide.

  • Page 5: Table Of Contents

    Configuring Dashboard panels for visual confidence monitoring Monitoring video and audio sources Configuring and monitoring video outputs Controlling streaming and recording using Epiphan Live Live switching using the Switcher interface Understanding the Switcher interface Switching while live streaming and recording...
  • Page 6 The Admin panel Connect to the Admin panel Connect using the touch screen Connect via DNS-based service discovery Connect via the Epiphan discovery utility Connect via persistent static IP address User administration User types and privileges Set or change user passwords...
  • Page 7 View AFU status Configure the touch screen Disable (or enable) the touch screen Hide (or show) channel previews on the touch screen Disable (or enable) system status on the touch screen Block (or allow) configuration functions from the touch screen Block (or allow) recording, streaming and switching from the touch screen Set touch screen timeout Configure touch screen PIN security code View system information...
  • Page 8 Delete a configuration preset Configuration preset considerations Channel and recorder index number behavior Recording and streaming states Recorded files (in channels and recorders) Deleting channels Branding content Configuration presets are not user profiles Touch screen considerations Configure date and time Verify date and time via the touch screen Verify date and time settings Configure synchronized time (NTP, PTP v1 and RDATE) Configure the date and time manually...
  • Page 9 Configure auto channels Create a simple channel Create a custom channel Custom channel layout editor Custom channel examples Create a custom channel or layout Add a video source (custom channel) Add an audio source (custom channel) To upload an image Add an image (custom channel) Add a text overlay (custom channel) Set the background color (custom channel)
  • Page 10 Delete a channel Live video mixing / switching Switching / mixing using the touch screen Switching / mixing using the Admin panel Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live What is a source? Video sources Audio sources Connect a source Connect an RTSP source...
  • Page 11 What is streaming? Choose a streaming option Supported streaming formats Stream to viewers Stream content using HTTP or RTSP Configure HTTP and RTSP streaming ports Stream content using HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) Send stream URLs to viewers View the Flash stream View your broadcast using the View link on the Info menu View your broadcast using the Live broadcast link on the Status page Viewing with a web browser Viewing with a media player (RTSP)
  • Page 12 What is a recording? Recording basics Record a channel via the Admin panel Record channels and recorders (using One Touch control) Record a channel via Epiphan Live Record a channel via the touch screen Configure recording file size and type...
  • Page 13 Add a recorder Change the channels recorded by a recorder Record with a recorder (using the admin panel) Record a recorder (using One Touch control) Record a recorder (using Epiphan Live) Rename a recorder Delete a recorder Recorded files View list of recorded files...
  • Page 14 View the AFU log View AFU status Manage the AFU queue Access the AFU queue View content in the AFU queue Delete content in the AFU queue Local FTP server Configure the local FTP server Using the local FTP server PART 5: Maintenance Power down and system restart Restarting the device via the Admin panel Shutting down the device via the Admin panel...
  • Page 15 Third party integration Control with RS-232 / serial port Connect and configure the RS-232 cable Control Pearl-2 with RS-232 RS-232 / Serial port command examples Control with HTTP commands HTTP command syntax HTTP command examples Global variable HTTP command syntax for custom layouts Configuration keys for third party APIs System-level settings keys (read-only) System-level settings keys (read/write)
  • Page 16 Troubleshooting Limitations and known issues Previous releases and features Software and documentation license...

  • Page 17: Start Here

    Pearl-2 User Guide Start here Start here Welcome, and thank you for buying Epiphan Pearl-2™. This guide is designed to help you configure your new system. Pearl-2 details are described in the What is Pearl-2? What's in the Box? sections. Read the...

  • Page 18: What Is Pearl-2

    Pearl-2 User Guide What is Pearl-2? What is Pearl-2? Pearl-2, our most versatile live video production switcher, is a video encoder, video streamer, live switcher and video recorder. With Pearl-2, you can capture, record and stream computer monitors, radar displays, or anything that outputs to SDI, HDMI™, HDMI 4K* or DVI-I (single link).

  • Page 19: Using Pearl-2 Effectively

    Pearl-2 User Guide Using Pearl-2 effectively Using Pearl-2 effectively Pearl-2 can perform many different tasks, however, like any other computer system, there is a limit to the number of concurrent tasks that can be processed and run smoothly. For best results, we recommend you always keep Pearl-2's CPU usage under 70%. You can check the Overall system load from the Info page.

  • Page 20: What's In The Box

    Pearl-2 User Guide What's in the Box? Table 1 Inputs for Pearl-2 HDMI™ (Linear PMC, non- 4K HDMI (Linear PMC, non- Left/Right Left/Right Audio HDCP protected)/ HDCP protected)/ XLR Audio RCA Audio (Linear DVI-I (single link) DVI-I (single link) (Balanced) (Balanced) PCM) NB: Pearl-2 cannot simultaneously use both XLR audio input pairs along with the RCA audio pair.
  • Page 21 Pearl-2 User Guide What's in the Box?  1. One SDI cable (3 feet / 1 meter in length)  2. One HDMI cable (3 feet / 1 meter in length)  3. One HDMI to DVI adapter  4. One Ethernet cable  5. One region-specific power supply cable (6 feet / 1.8 meters in lengths) The following table will help you identify the cables included with your Pearl-2 purchase.

  • Page 22: Front And Back View

    Pearl-2 User Guide Front and back view Image Name Description RJ-45 Ethernet Connects the system to your cable network. Front and back view Pearl-2's front panel has the power button and indicator light, audio monitor jack, USB 3.0 port and touch screen display for confidence monitoring and simple configuration.
  • Page 23 Pearl-2 User Guide Pearl Label Name Description visible channel. Power button Press to turn on. Double-click to initiate a graceful system shutdown. Table 4 Pearl-2 back panel descriptions Label Name Description The four ports connect up to two line level left/right XLR audio signal XLR ports pairs to Pearl-2, calibrated for a signal of + 4.0 dBu.

  • Page 24: Tech Specs

    Plug the power supply in here. Always use the provided 120/240 V Power jack power supply. Tech specs This table outlines the technical specifications for Pearl-2. Go to www.epiphan.com/pearl to get the most recent product specifications and additional information about Pearl-2. Table 5 Specifications for Pearl-2...
  • Page 25 Pearl-2 User Guide Tech specs Front touch screen display used for system information, Built-In Display confidence monitoring, simple configuration and recording control Audio Output 3.5 mm audio Front-mounted jack for confidence monitoring Front touch screen display for live switching, confidence monitoring, quick Built-in Display configuration, system information, recording control and streaming control Video Codecs...

  • Page 26: About 4K On Pearl-2

    Pearl-2 User Guide About 4K on Pearl-2 512 GB SSD Automatically removes oldest recordings from internal Internal Storage storage as space is required. File maintenance through admin interface (Web UI) Automatic or manual copy to local USB drives via the (3) Video / Audio Recording Local Storage USB 3.0 ports...

  • Page 27: 4K Feature Add-On

    Pearl-2 User Guide 4K feature add-on exclusively for cinema-scale film production. It is rare to find this resolution outside of a cinematic context. Pearl-2 is capable of supporting input and output at either definition with the 4K feature add-on. 4K feature add-on Pearl-2 hardware provides many upgrades from Pearl, but not all of the new firmware features will be relevant to all consumers.
  • Page 28 4K feature add-on You can find more details on the add-on, along with installation instructions and the add-on itself, at www.epiphan.com/add-ons. Throughout the manual, there is information that applies only when your system has the 4K feature add-on, as indicated with this symbol: *. Wherever that symbol appears, it denotes that...

  • Page 29: Quick Start

    Pearl-2 User Guide Quick start Quick start This section helps you get up and running quickly with your Pearl-2. Before you get started, make sure you have:   a video source (i.e. a camera, a computer, a tablet, or a phone) (for HDMI, the source must not be HDCP protected)  ...

  • Page 30: To View The Auto Channels

    Pearl-2 User Guide To view the auto channels: Pearl-2's front screen, if enabled (it is enabled by default, see Configure the touch screen), updates to show you previews of your channel(s) for confidence monitoring. Use your speakers or headphones to verify audio quality and levels.

  • Page 31: Record The Channel

    Pearl-2 User Guide Record the Channel Record the Channel The channel is set up and streaming. This may be all you need, but if you like, you can also record the stream. You can choose to initiate and control channel recording from either the touch screen or the Admin panel. To control recording from the touch screen:  1.
  • Page 32 Pearl-2 User Guide What’s Next?   Video output ports   Add an audio source (custom channel)   Live video mixing / switching   What is streaming?   File and recording transfer   User administration When you have completed system tuning, make sure to back up the system configuration using the procedure described in:  ...

  • Page 33: Epiphan Live

    Pearl-2 User Guide Epiphan Live Epiphan Live Epiphan Live is a friendly and easy to use web and tablet interface designed for users with administrator and operator-level privileges. (See User administration for more information on setting user privileges). The Epiphan Live interface allows users to perform basic operation of their Pearl-2, including:  ...

  • Page 34: Accessing Epiphan Live

    Admin panel. (Note you can also use Epiphan Live to access the Admin panel). In all cases, before connecting to Epiphan Live, you need to know your Pearl-2's IP address. If you don't know your Pearl-2's IP address or are setting up for the first time, see Connect to the Admin panel to get your IP.
  • Page 35 You can also use Epiphan Live to connect to the Admin panel. To connect to the Admin panel from Epiphan Live, click the Menu icon in the upper-right corner of the Dashboard or Switcher interface and then click Admin panel.

  • Page 36: Streaming, Recording And Monitoring Using The Dashboard Interface

    Streaming, recording and monitoring using the Dashboard inter- face The Epiphan Live Dashboard view is an easy-to-use interface that allows you to control the streaming and recording of channels and also monitor your video inputs, video outputs, audio inputs and system information.

  • Page 37: Understanding The Dashboard Interface

    Pearl-2 User Guide Understanding the Dashboard interface Understanding the Dashboard interface You are first presented with the Dashboard interface upon logging in to Epiphan Live. The Dashboard interface contains many helpful elements used for confidence monitoring and streaming/recording control, described in the Elements in the Dashboard interface table below.
  • Page 38 Pearl-2 User Guide Understanding the Dashboard interface Table 6 Elements in the Dashboard interface Number Title Description   Warning – This icon displays only if there are any configuration Dashboard header errors in your channels, sources, streams or recordings. Clicking icons the icon displays more detail about the errors.
  • Page 39 When a layout is saved, all other operators and administrators will see your configured Dashboard layout when they log in or refresh their Epiphan Live page.   Menu – When clicked, displays links to the Switcher view and Admin panel.

  • Page 40: Configuring Dashboard Panels For Visual Confidence Monitoring

    Configuring Dashboard panels for visual confidence monitoring You can customize each Dashboard panel to display a specific channel, source or video output. Epiphan Live allows you to configure up to 8 different panels for comprehensive live preview confidence monitoring of channels and sources.

  • Page 41: Monitoring Video And Audio Sources

    Pearl-2 User Guide Monitoring video and audio sources Control streaming and recording directly from the Dashboard panel! When a channel is applied to a Dashboard panel, streaming and recording control buttons appear under the panel.  3. Click Save in the upper-right corner of the page to preserve your changes (if you don't save, then your panel configuration changes are lost when you refresh or navigate away from the Dashboard).
  • Page 42 Pearl-2 User Guide Monitoring video and audio sources   A green circle icon next to the input name means that the video source is connected to your Pearl-2 and a signal is received. Accompanying text to the right of the input name provides the input's resolution.
  • Page 43 Pearl-2 User Guide Monitoring video and audio sources   HDMI, SDI and DVI sources display resolution and refresh rate.   RTSP sources (such as IP cameras) display resolution, frame rate, codec used and bitrate. Audio sources By default, the audio inputs section of the Dashboard view lists all inputs configured on your Pearl-2.  ...

  • Page 44: Configuring And Monitoring Video Outputs

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configuring and monitoring video outputs Color Decibel range Green -18 dBFS and lower Configure the audio input list You can customize the audio inputs to display in the Dashboard view by clicking the Audio inputs header. Click the checkbox next to the name of each source to show or hide sources in the Dashboard view (the Dashboard audio input list is updated automatically).
  • Page 45 Pearl-2 User Guide Configuring and monitoring video outputs View video output details Click the name of a video output to display your output in a small dropdown thumbnail view. Configure video outputs You can enable/disable each HDMIoutput and set your outputs to display a channel or video source. You can also enable or disable output volume (if any).
  • Page 46 Pearl-2 User Guide Configuring and monitoring video outputs  2. Click the text box next to your desired output port and select a channel or source from the dropdown list.  3. Click the speaker icon next to the channel/source text box to enable or disable output audio. A green icon means audio is enabled;...

  • Page 47: Controlling Streaming And Recording Using Epiphan Live

    Controlling streaming and recording using Epiphan Live You can control the streaming and recording of channels and recorders directly from the Epiphan Live Dashboard interface. Stream and record channels Streaming and recording control buttons are located under the Channels heading in the Dashboard view.
  • Page 48 Pearl-2 User Guide Controlling streaming and recording using Epiphan Live To start streaming and recording a channel, simply click the channel's streaming and/or recording buttons. When clicked, the streaming button turns blue in color and the recording button turns red. The timer contained within each respective button also begins to count upward.

  • Page 49: Live Switching Using The Switcher Interface

    Live switching using the Switcher interface Record recorders You can record a recorder in the Epiphan Live Dashboard view using the button(s) located in the Recorders section. Note that the Recorders section only appears if a recorder has been added via the Admin panel (see Add a recorder for more information).

  • Page 50: Understanding The Switcher Interface

    Pearl-2 User Guide Understanding the Switcher interface Topics in this section include:   Understanding the Switcher interface   Switching while live streaming and recording Understanding the Switcher interface The Switcher view is a simple interface used to seamlessly switch between a channel's custom layouts while live streaming and/or recording.
  • Page 51 Pearl-2 User Guide Understanding the Switcher interface Table 8 Elements in the Switcher view Number Title Description Select from a list of channels (configured via the Admin panel) to display custom layouts specific to your selected channel. Note that when a Channel selector channel is selected, you can only switch between layouts within that channel.

  • Page 52: Switching While Live Streaming And Recording

    The Switcher interface lets you easily live switch between custom layouts with the simple press of a button. To switch a layout while live streaming and/or recording:  1. Log in to Epiphan Live; the Dashboard view opens by default. See Accessing Epiphan Live.
  • Page 53 Pearl-2 User Guide Switching while live streaming and recording After selecting your channel from the dropdown, the Switcher interface appears with all of your channel's layouts displayed along the bottom of the page. The layout currently being streaming and/or recorded is displayed in the Live view panel on the right side of the interface (see Understanding the Switcher interface).
  • Page 54 Pearl-2 User Guide Switching while live streaming and recording  5. Click the Switch button in the center of the screen to apply your layout in the Preview panel into your live stream/recording program.
  • Page 55 Pearl-2 User Guide Switching while live streaming and recording From here, you can prepare to apply another layout to your program by selecting a new layout from the list and docking it into the Preview panel.

  • Page 56: Part 1: Setup

    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 Pearl-2 properly configured for your network.

  • Page 57: The Admin Panel

      Connect via persistent static IP address You can also connect to Epiphan Live – a simple and easy to use web and tablet interface for confidence monitoring, streaming/recording control and live switching operation. See Epiphan Live for more information.

  • Page 58: Connect Via Dns-Based Service Discovery

    Pearl-2 User Guide Connect via DNS-based service discovery   if your system doesn't have any channels showing, touch the screen anywhere to move to the system settings screen then touch System Status.  2. Type the following string into the address bar of your web browser on your admin computer (where <ip address>...
  • Page 59 Pearl-2 User Guide Connect via DNS-based service discovery Table 9 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. The Bonjour software used for service discovery is built into the Mac OS.

  • Page 60: Connect Via The Epiphan Discovery Utility

    Download and install the utility via this link: http://www.epiphan.com/downloads/NetworkDiscovery.exe. To access the Pearl-2's Admin panel 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.
  • Page 61 Pearl-2 User Guide Connect via the Epiphan discovery utility  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.

  • Page 62: Connect Via Persistent Static Ip Address

    Pearl-2 User Guide Connect via persistent static IP address Connect via persistent static IP address Your Pearl-2 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.

  • Page 63: User Administration

    Pearl-2 User Guide User administration User administration Pearl-2 has three configured users:   admin   operator   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:  ...
  • Page 64 Pearl-2 User Guide User types and privileges The operator account is intended for an operator to configure sources, control recordings (start and stop); rename, download and delete 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.
  • Page 65 Pearl-2 User Guide User types and privileges Action or Menu Option viewer operator admin View Channel Configuration   ü ü Rename a Channel     ü Configure Stream Channel     ü Configure Stream Sources     ü ü Publish a Stream  ...

  • Page 66: Set Or Change User Passwords

    Pearl-2 User Guide Set or change user passwords Action or Menu Option viewer operator admin Configure Network Address     ü Configure USB Tethering     ü Perform Network Diagnostics   ü ü Configure Date and Time preferences     ü ü Set or Change User Passwords  ...
  • Page 67 Pearl-2 User Guide Set or change user passwords 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.

  • Page 68: Remove User Passwords

    Pearl-2 User Guide Remove user passwords  8. 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.

  • Page 69: Overcome Lost 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.
  • Page 70 Pearl-2 User Guide Configure LDAP  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.  2. Select the Access passwords link in the Configuration menu; the password configuration page opens.  3. Scroll to the LDAP authentication section.  4.

  • Page 71: Change The Logged-In User

    Pearl-2 User Guide Change the logged-in user  10. 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.

  • Page 72: Restrict Viewers By Ip Address

    Pearl-2 User Guide Restrict viewers by IP address Some browsers may require you click the button twice before the log out action executes. Restrict viewers by IP address Pearl-2 permits you to restrict which computers can access broadcasts by building a list of allowed and/or denied IP addresses.

  • Page 73: Ip Restriction Examples

    Pearl-2 User Guide IP restriction examples  2. Select the Streaming link for the desired channel; the streaming configuration page opens.  3. From the Access Control drop-down, select Use these Settings; local password and Allow/Deny IP lists are enabled.  4. If desired, type a password for the viewer in the Viewer Password field.  5.
  • Page 74 Pearl-2 User Guide IP restriction examples 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.
  • Page 75 Pearl-2 User Guide IP restriction examples 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).

  • Page 76: Pearl-2'S Touch Screen

    Pearl-2 User Guide Pearl-2's touch screen Pearl-2's touch screen Pearl-2's front panel includes a touch screen display used for confidence monitoring, basic configuration and streaming/recording operation. Use the touch screen to view system information, configure network settings, load configuration presets, view configured channels, review audio levels, and control channel streaming/recording.
  • Page 77 Pearl-2 User Guide Touchscreen overview After boot up is complete, Pearl-2 displays a grid view providing an overview of all configured channels. If you have no sources plugged in, or if no plugged in source is sending a signal, the grid view shows the two auto channels with no signal (see Use the automatic channels Auto A and Auto B for more details on auto...

  • Page 78: View System Information

    Pearl-2 User Guide View system information If you delete the automatic channels Auto A or Auto B, and have no other channels configured, Pearl-2 shows a no channels screen. Touch anywhere on this screen to go to the system settings screen. If the touch screen is configured not to show channel previews, the screen shows the following preview disabled message.
  • Page 79 Pearl-2 User Guide View system information Label Description Device Information   Serial number   video grabber number   Firmware version Network Information   IP Address   MAC Address Device Status   System date   System time   Uptime   Temperature in degrees Celsius Storage Information (when available)  ...

  • Page 80: Channel Monitoring

    Pearl-2 User Guide Channel monitoring  1. If the system settings button (gear) is not on the screen, tap the screen once to turn on the control buttons.  2. If the system settings button is still not visible, it is disabled in the system's Touch screen configuration. Configure the touch screen to enable system information.

  • Page 81: Individual Channel Monitoring

    Pearl-2 User Guide Individual channel monitoring Individual channel monitoring Table 12 Parts of the touch screen in individual channel view Item Description Channel name. Streaming status (gray means streaming is stopped, flashing blue means streaming is started). Streaming timer (time since streaming was started). Recording status (bright red and flashing means recording is started).

  • Page 82: Grid-View Channel Monitoring

    Pearl-2 User Guide Grid-view channel monitoring Item Description Live switching layout view icon. See Live video mixing / switching for more information on live switching using this view. Grid view icon. See Grid-view channel monitoring for more information. Single touch control icon. See One Touch streaming and recording control.
  • Page 83 Pearl-2 User Guide Grid-view channel monitoring Table 14 Parts of the touch screen in grid view Location Description Top left of channel Channel name Streaming (left) and recording (right) indicators: (no dots) Streaming is disabled, and recording is stopped. Streaming is stopped, recording is stopped. Streaming is started, recording is stopped.

  • Page 84: Pearl-2'S Audio Jack

    Pearl-2 User Guide Pearl-2's audio jack Pearl-2's audio jack Pearl-2's front panel includes a 3.5 mm audio jack for audio monitoring. Audio monitoring To use the audio monitor, plug speakers or a microphone into the 3.5 mm audio jack. Use the touch screen to select a channel, that channel's audio is played through the speakers or headphone. The audio played is always the audio corresponding to the layout that is currently live.

  • Page 85: Control Recording Of Individual Channels

    Pearl-2 User Guide Control recording of individual channels Audio VU meter Whether or not you have speakers or headphones are plugged in, the touch screen also shows the audio levels on a VU meter. The VU meter uses a quasi-peak sampling algorithm and shows the level in dBFS  (decibels relative to full scale).
  • Page 86 Pearl-2 User Guide Control recording of individual channels Pearl also features "One Touch" recording/streaming control which allows you to control your recording and streaming across any number of specified channels and recorders simultaneously with the touch of a button. See One Touch streaming and recording control for more information.

  • Page 87: Control Streaming Of Individual Channels

    Pearl-2 User Guide Control streaming of individual channels Control streaming of individual channels Pearl-2's touch screen gives you freedom to start and stop streaming without needing to log in to the Admin panel. Simply scroll to the channel you wish to control and press the start or stop streaming button on the touchscreen.

  • Page 88: One Touch Streaming And Recording Control

    Pearl-2 User Guide One Touch streaming and recording control To stop streaming:  1. If necessary, tap the screen once to turn it on.  2. If the grid view is showing, tap the channel for which you wish to control streaming; the screen displays the channel.

  • Page 89: Understand And Use One Touch Control

    Pearl-2 User Guide Understand and use One Touch control Understand and use One Touch control You can access the One Touch control screen by touching the One Touch control icon at the bottom of Pearl-2's touch screen, as shown below. In the One Touch control screen, you can start/stop streaming and recording all specified channels and recorders simultaneously with a single button.
  • Page 90 Pearl-2 User Guide Understand and use One Touch control Label Name Description Displays the quantity of recorders and/or channels that are currently recording (the first number) over Recording the total number of channels that are configured for One Touch recording (the second number). Displays the quantity of channels that are currently streaming (the first number) over the total number Streaming...

  • Page 91: Specify Channels And Recorders For One Touch Recording

    Specify channels and recorders for One Touch Pearl-2 User Guide recording In the example above, after pressing Start, all six recorders/channels are recording properly but the one channel configured for streaming is not streaming correctly! If you have multiple channels configured for streaming and more than one of these channels is not streaming correctly, navigate to each channel's streaming configuration page in the Admin panel to identify the channel(s) in question and correct streaming configuration errors.
  • Page 92 Specify channels and recorders for One Touch Pearl-2 User Guide recording  3. Click the Recording link to open the channel's Recording page.  4. Click the change link next to the text "Excluded from Automatic File Upload" to display additional recording setup options.
  • Page 93 Specify channels and recorders for One Touch Pearl-2 User Guide recording  5. Select (or deselect) the Single touch control checkbox to enable or disable One Touch control for the current channel.  6. Click Apply to save your changes. Specify recorders for One Touch recording You can use the Admin panel to enable or disable each recorder for One Touch recording control.
  • Page 94 Specify channels and recorders for One Touch Pearl-2 User Guide recording  3. Click the change link next to the text "Excluded from Automatic File Upload" to display additional recording setup options.  4. Select (or deselect) the Single touch control checkbox to enable or disable One Touch control for the current channel.

  • Page 95: Specify Channels For One Touch Streaming

    Pearl-2 User Guide Specify channels for One Touch streaming Specify channels for One Touch streaming One Touch control allows you to set channels for streaming, however channels are not enabled for One Touch streaming by default. (See Stream to learn how to configure your channels for streaming.) To specify channels for One Touch streaming:  1.

  • Page 96: Customize How One Touch Control Is Displayed

    Pearl-2 User Guide Customize how One Touch control is displayed  5. Click Apply to save your selected publish method; the Admin panel refreshes and a new Publish status field is displayed.  6. Select (or deselect) the Single touch control checkbox to enable or disable One Touch control for the current channel.

  • Page 97: View Afu Status

    Pearl-2 User Guide View AFU status You can customize how One Touch Control is displayed using the following settings: Default: The One Touch control screen can be accessed by touching the One Touch control icon at the bottom of Pearl-2's touch screen. Start Screen: The One Touch control screen displays upon system startup.
  • Page 98 Pearl-2 User Guide View AFU status File and recording transfer to learn how to configure AFU settings in the Admin panel. Table 17 AFU status touch screen components Label Name Description Indicates the AFU status:   Enabled   Disabled Status  ...
  • Page 99 Pearl-2 User Guide View AFU status If the gear icon is not visible on the touch screen, tap the screen once to activate the control buttons. If the system settings button is still not visible, it is disabled in the system's touch screen configuration.

  • Page 100: Configure The Touch Screen

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configure the touch screen To close the system information screen, touch Back (in the upper-left corner of the screen) to return to the System Settings view, or the Home icon to return to the channel view. Configure the touch screen By default, Pearl-2's touch screen is enabled and all its features are available.

  • Page 101: Hide (Or Show) Channel Previews On The Touch Screen

    Pearl-2 User Guide Hide (or show) channel previews on the touch screen  3. Uncheck Enable display to disable the display (or check the box to enable the display).  4. Click Apply. Hide (or show) channel previews on the touch screen By default, Pearl-2 shows previews of each configured channel.

  • Page 102: Disable (Or Enable) System Status On The Touch Screen

    Pearl-2 User Guide Disable (or enable) system status on the touch screen  3. Uncheck Show preview to disable channel previews (or check the box to enable previews).  4. Click Apply. Disable (or enable) system status on the touch screen Once you've configured, Pearl-2 it's possible you may no longer wish to show the system status screen on the touch screen.

  • Page 103: Block (Or Allow) Configuration Functions From The Touch Screen

    Block (or allow) configuration functions from the touch Pearl-2 User Guide screen  4. Click Apply. Block (or allow) configuration functions from the touch screen By default, Pearl-2 permits applying configuration presets and configuring network settings via the touch screen. You can disable this ability. If configuration is blocked and system status is permitted, touch screen users see an i icon instead of the configuration gears icon in the lower right corner of the touch screen.

  • Page 104: Set Touch Screen Timeout

    Pearl-2 User Guide Set touch screen timeout To block (or allow) the recording, streaming and live mixing / switching control via the touch screen:  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.  2. Select the Touch Screen link in the Configuration menu; the touch screen configuration page opens.  3.

  • Page 105: Configure Touch Screen Pin Security Code

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configure touch screen PIN security code  3. Enter a value in the Timeout field. The value is in seconds. Use 0 to keep the screen on whenever the system is on.  4. Click Apply. Configure touch screen PIN security code You can configure a 4-digit PIN code to protect your Pearl-2's touch screen from unauthorized access.
  • Page 106 Pearl-2 User Guide Configure touch screen PIN security code  3. Enter your desired 4-digit PIN code in the PIN field  4. Click Apply to set your PIN.

  • Page 107: View System Information

    Pearl-2 User Guide View system information View system information The system information page provides a great deal of useful information about your Pearl-2. Use the Info link from the Configuration menu to view your current firmware level, system hardware version (if available) and currently configured channels.

  • Page 108: Configure Network Settings

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configure network settings Configure network settings By default Pearl-2 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.  ...

  • Page 109: Verify Ip Address And Mac Address Via The Admin Panel

    Pearl-2 User Guide Verify IP address and MAC address via the Admin panel  4. Touch System Status to see the system information page. To close the system information screen:  1. Touch Back to return to the Systems Settings screen or the Home icon to return to the channel view. Verify IP address and MAC address via the Admin panel The Admin panel shows you the system’s MAC address and current IP Address via the Network configuration page.

  • Page 110: Configure Dhcp

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configure DHCP To view settings on network configuration page:  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.  2. Select the Network link in the Configuration menu; the network configuration page opens.  3.
  • Page 111 Pearl-2 User Guide Configure DHCP To configure network settings via the touch screen:  1. If the system settings button (gears) does not appear on the screen, tap the screen once to turn on the control buttons (from the "no channels" or "preview disabled" screen, this will go directly to the system settings screen).

  • Page 112: Configure A Static Ip Address

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configure a static IP address  6. Select the Maintenance link under the Configuration menu; the maintenance page appears.  7. Click the Reboot Now button near the bottom of the page.  8. Wait for the system to reboot.  9.
  • Page 113 Pearl-2 User Guide Configure a static IP address  2. If the system settings button (gears) is still not visible and an i icon is visible instead, configuration by touch screen is disabled in the system's settings. See Configure the touch screen to enable.
  • Page 114 Pearl-2 User Guide Configure a static IP address The default gateway cannot be left blank. If no default gateway is specified, unexpected behavior occurs.  9. Enter the DNS Server address. If you do not have a DNS server, enter the new static IP address of the system.
  • Page 115 Pearl-2 User Guide Configure a static IP address  7. Change the MTU Size value only if needed. See the table below for information on maximum transmission unit (MTU) values.  8. Click Apply to save the changes; the changes are saved and a message appears asking you to reboot.  9.

  • Page 116: Tether To A Mobile Network

    Pearl-2 User Guide Tether to a mobile network Label Description/Options 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 Pearl-2 supports tethering to a mobile device via USB.

  • Page 117: Network Ports Used By Pearl-2

    Pearl-2 User Guide Network ports used by Pearl-2 Label Description/Options 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.

  • Page 118: Perform Network Diagnostics

    Pearl-2 User Guide Perform network diagnostics Port (or range) Protocol Description Ports 554 and 555 are also used for internal communications. If streaming is disabled, these ports remain open but refuse all external connection requests. If the client video player chooses RTSP/UDP, it will negotiate 4 random Random in range UDP ports (two for audio and two for video).
  • Page 119 Pearl-2 User Guide Perform network diagnostics Not all networks support ping and traceroute. To ping or traceroute an IP address:  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.  2. Select the Network link in the Configuration menu; the network configuration page opens.  3.
  • Page 120 Pearl-2 User Guide Perform network diagnostics  ...

  • Page 121: Configuration Presets

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configuration presets Configuration presets Configuration presets are the perfect solution for backing up your system configuration, for situations where you have changing configuration requirements for your Pearl-2 or when you are managing a number of systems and you want them to have similar configurations. For an overview of configuration presets, see:  ...

  • Page 122: Configuration Presets In Action

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configuration presets in action Output ports Touch screen     Using the Configuration presets section of the Maintenance page, you can create and save 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.
  • Page 123 Pearl-2 User Guide Configuration presets in action Channel configuration includes background and other image files used. If these files aren't present when the configuration preset is saved, the save function will fail. Be careful when deleting background images and logo files. Let's take a closer look at the types of presets they make: Internal network and AFU preset The company uses this preset when configuring and testing from their corporate network.

  • Page 124: Configuration Groups

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configuration groups Conference breakout session and keynote presets The company creates one preset per session and one for the keynote. Each preset includes all the files and everything needed to recreate a custom channel configured with the layouts and backgrounds needed for the session.
  • Page 125 Pearl-2 User Guide Configuration groups Table 22 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.

  • Page 126: Create A Configuration Preset

    Pearl-2 User Guide Create a configuration preset Create a configuration preset You can create as many configuration presets as you need, however there is a limit to the amount of space you have for configuration presets (256 MB). For each configuration preset you create, you get to name the preset and choose the groups of setting types to include.

  • Page 127: Export And Import Configuration Presets

    Pearl-2 User Guide Export and import configuration presets If you try to save a configuration preset but one or more of the related image files is missing, you'll see an error. You'll be unable to save the preset until the missing files are restored or the layouts referencing the files are changed to remove the references.

  • Page 128: Import A Configuration Preset

    Pearl-2 User Guide Import a configuration preset  5. The configuration preset file (with extension .preset) is saved to your admin workstation (in your browser's download folder). Import a configuration preset To import a configuration a preset:  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.

  • Page 129: Apply A Configuration Preset From The Admin Panel

    Pearl-2 User Guide Apply a configuration preset from the Admin panel  8. If the process is not canceled, the configuration preset file is uploaded (but not applied).  9. If desired, apply the configuration preset. See Apply a configuration preset from the Admin panel Apply a configuration preset using the touch screen.

  • Page 130: Apply A Configuration Preset Using The Touch Screen

    Pearl-2 User Guide Apply a configuration preset using the touch screen  5. The system asks for confirmation before proceeding. If the configuration preset includes the network or system configuration groups, a reboot is necessary.  6. Click OK to apply the configuration preset; the configuration preset is applied.  7.
  • Page 131 Pearl-2 User Guide Apply a configuration preset using the touch screen For configuration presets that only contain the network configuration group you can use either of the two methods described below. For all other configuration presets, use the first method. If you apply a preset that has the EDID configuration group, the system may appear unresponsive for a short time while it applies these EDIDs to the video grabbers.
  • Page 132 Pearl-2 User Guide Apply a configuration preset using the touch screen  6. Touch the name of the preset you wish to apply.  7. A confirmation message is displayed. If the configuration preset includes the network or system configuration groups, a reboot is necessary.
  • Page 133 Pearl-2 User Guide Apply a configuration preset using the touch screen  3. Touch the Network line; the network configuration page opens.  4. Touch Network Presets; a list of saved configuration settings with only Network settings opens.  5. Touch the name of the preset you wish to apply; a confirmation message is displayed.

  • Page 134: Apply The Factory Default Configuration Preset

    Pearl-2 User Guide Apply the Factory default configuration preset  6. Click OK to apply the network configuration preset and reboot the system. Apply the Factory default configuration preset Your Pearl-2 comes with a special factory default configuration preset. This configuration preset cannot be erased and is always presented at the top of the configuration presets list. It contains all six possible configuration settings groups.

  • Page 135: Update A Configuration Preset

    Pearl-2 User Guide Update a configuration preset Factory default   Factory reset function configuration preset ü Deletes all branding files ü ü Resets all Source settings ü ü Resets EDID to factory ü ü Deletes all SCP/SFTP identities ü ü Deletes all LDAP settings ü...
  • Page 136 Pearl-2 User Guide Update a configuration preset  4. Find the preset you wish to change from the presets list.  5. Copy the name of the preset into the Name field.  6. Selected the desired configuration group(s) from the Sections group.  7.

  • Page 137: Delete A Configuration Preset

    Pearl-2 User Guide Delete a configuration preset 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.

  • Page 138: Configuration Preset Considerations

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configuration preset considerations  5. 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.

  • Page 139: Recording And Streaming States

    Pearl-2 User Guide Recording and streaming states Recording and streaming states Configuration groups section of this chapter shows that each channel and recorder's recording and streaming state is included in the channels configuration group. This means that if a channel is streaming or a channel (or recorder) is recording at the time you create a configuration preset, it will immediately start recording (or streaming) when you apply that preset.

  • Page 140: Deleting Channels

    Pearl-2 User Guide Deleting channels 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.

  • Page 141: Configuration Presets Are Not User Profiles

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configuration presets are not user profiles 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:  ...

  • Page 142: Configure Date And Time

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configure date and time Configure date and time Pearl-2 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 panel lets you specify date and time settings to ensure they are correctly configured for your time zone and your network.

  • Page 143: Verify Date And Time Settings

    Pearl-2 User Guide Verify date and time settings 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 Pearl-2 Admin panel. To view settings on the date and time configuration page:  1.

  • Page 144: Configure Synchronized Time (Ntp, Ptp V1 And Rdate)

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configure synchronized time (NTP, PTP v1 and RDATE) Label Description/Options 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 Pearl-2 uses the network time protocol server (NTP server) protocol and a time server from National Research Council Canada.

  • Page 145: Configure The Date And Time Manually

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configure the date and time manually 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.  7. If RDATE is selected:  a.

  • Page 146: Change The Time Zone

    Pearl-2 User Guide Change the time zone 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.

  • Page 147: Video Output Ports

    To learn how to set and configure the video output port settings using the Admin panel, see Preview the video output port. To learn how to set and configure video output port settings using Epiphan Live, see Configuring and monitoring video outputs.

  • Page 148: Show A Channel On The Video Output Port

    Pearl-2 User Guide Show a channel on the video output port   Configure the audio meter   Rename a video output port Show a channel on the video output port You can choose to send any video source or channel through the HDMI video ports. You can adjust the output's video resolution and aspect ratio.
  • Page 149 Pearl-2 User Guide Show a channel on the video output port Value Description Set the output to the same resolution as the channel. If that resolution is not supported by the display, the video Same as source output port will negotiate a new resolution with the display (generally this ends up being the display's default resolution).

  • Page 150: Show A Source On The Video Output Port

    Pearl-2 User Guide Show a source on the video output port You can also set your channels for display via the video output ports using the Epiphan Live control interface. See Configuring and monitoring video outputs for more information. Show a source on the video output port You can choose to send any video source through the video ports.

  • Page 151: Select A Resolution For The Video Output Port

     7. Click Apply. You can also set your sources to display via the video output ports using the Epiphan Live control interface. See Configuring and monitoring video outputs for more information. Select a resolution for the video output port The video output port's resolution (also known as frame size or display mode) is a count of the number of...

  • Page 152: Preview The Video Output Port

    Pearl-2 User Guide Preview the video output port By default you can choose from the following output resolutions for your video output ports, but you can also change settings to allow a variety of other resolutions through. Aspect ratio legend Aspect Ratio Common Use Standard TV (NTSC/PAL) display and non-widescreen computer displays...

  • Page 153: View The Video Output Port Status

    If the video output port is showing a channel and that channel is unavailable or has no signal, a no signal message is shown for 2.5 seconds, then the display output is changed to a black screen. You can also preview video output ports using the Epiphan Live control interface. See Configuring and monitoring video outputs for more information.

  • Page 154: Disable The Video Output Port

    Running at w×h The video output port is functioning at the specified resolution. You can also view video output status using the Epiphan Live control interface. See Configuring and monitoring video outputs for more information. Disable the video output port You can choose to disable a video output port, so even if a display is connected, nothing is shown.

  • Page 155: Disable Or Enable The Audio On The Video Output Port

     3. From the Source select none to disable the video output port.  4. Click Apply; the video output port is disabled and status is changed to Disabled. You can also disable video output ports using the Epiphan Live control interface. See Configuring and monitoring video outputs for more information.

  • Page 156: Configure The Audio Meter

    100 to moderate the volume of audio output over the video output port.  5. Click Apply. You can also disable or enable video output port audio volume using the Epiphan Live control interface. See Configuring and monitoring video outputs for more information.

  • Page 157: Rename A Video Output Port

    Pearl-2 User Guide Rename a video output port  3. Ensure a channel is selected as the source for the video output port. (Audio output and audio meter display are only supported for channels.)  4. From the Audio meter drop box select one of the following options. Value Description do not display...
  • Page 158 Pearl-2 User Guide Rename a video output port  7. Type a new 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.

  • Page 159: Part 2: Capture

    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.

  • Page 160: What Is A Channel

    Live video mixing / switching. You can also view channels and perform live switching using the Epiphan Live control interface. See Configuring Dashboard panels for visual confidence monitoring and Switching while live streaming and recording for more information.

  • Page 161: Use The Automatic Channels Auto A And Auto B

    Pearl-2 User Guide Use the automatic channels Auto A and Auto B 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.

  • Page 162: Know Which Signal Is Used For Auto-A Or Auto-B

    Pearl-2 User Guide Know which signal is used for Auto-A or Auto-B You can start viewing the channel immediately on the touch screen display (if enabled) or by using an internet browser on the same LAN or network. Browse to the following URL: For Auto A: http://<serial>.local/preview.cgi?channel=1 For Auto B: http://<serial>.local/preview.cgi?channel=2 For example:http://d560515f.local/preview.cgi?channel=2...

  • Page 163: Configure Auto Channels

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configure auto channels If all the connected sources lose signal at the same time (i.e. for the example above when SDI loses video signal, and no other video signal is found on the HDMI source) no change is made and the auto channel continues to use the current source.

  • Page 164: Create A Simple Channel

    Pearl-2 User Guide Create a simple channel This is desirable if you know, for example, that you will always use SDI video with XLR audio and you never need the automatic switching capabilities of the auto channels. Create a simple channel Channels arrange the output from sources into a viewable and recordable stream.
  • Page 165 Pearl-2 User Guide Create a simple channel  7. Click Add new item to add a layer to the layout; a drop down appears allowing you to choose the kind of item to add to your layout.  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.
  • Page 166 Pearl-2 User Guide Create a simple channel  9. Click the Source drop down and select your source; your source appears in the visual layout editor above.  10. For best results, keep the Keep aspect ratio when scaling checkbox checked in the Source settings box.

  • Page 167: Create A Custom Channel

    Pearl-2 User Guide Create a custom channel  12. If audio is desired, scroll down and choose an audio source from the displayed list. If an Auto channel is selected as a video source, then Auto A or Auto B audio is selected by default.
  • Page 168 Pearl-2 User Guide Create a custom channel  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.

  • Page 169: Custom Channel Layout Editor

    Pearl-2 User Guide Custom channel layout editor   Resize and position layout items using percents or pixels (custom channel)   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.
  • Page 170 Pearl-2 User Guide Custom channel layout editor 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.
  • Page 171 Pearl-2 User Guide Custom channel layout editor 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.

  • Page 172: Custom Channel Examples

    Pearl-2 User Guide Custom channel examples Ready to make some layouts of your own? Try these topics:   Create a custom channel or layout   Add a video source (custom channel)   Add an audio source (custom channel)   Add an image (custom channel)  ...
  • Page 173 Pearl-2 User Guide Custom channel examples Layout example Description One source (a slideshow presentation in this case), 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.
  • Page 174 Pearl-2 User Guide Custom channel examples Layout example Description 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.

  • Page 175: Create A Custom Channel Or Layout

    Pearl-2 User Guide Create a custom channel or layout 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 176 Pearl-2 User Guide Create a custom channel or layout of the pictures, sources and text overlays you add to your channel. Use this procedure to help you create a new channel or layout, then use the related procedures to add elements to your layout.

  • Page 177: Add A Video Source (Custom Channel)

    (see Configure encoding ). A fixed channel resolution ensures that your channel will display properly in all preview modes (touch screen, Epiphan Live and Admin panel).
  • Page 178 Pearl-2 User Guide Add a video source (custom channel) 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...
  • Page 179 Pearl-2 User Guide Add a video source (custom channel)  6. For best results, select the Keep aspect ratio when scaling checkbox from the Source settings box.  7. 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;...
  • Page 180 Pearl-2 User Guide Add a video source (custom channel)  9. 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.

  • Page 181: Add An Audio Source (Custom Channel)

    Pearl-2 User Guide Add an audio source (custom channel) 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.
  • Page 182 Pearl-2 User Guide Add an audio source (custom channel)  2. Follow the steps in Custom channel layout editor Create a custom channel or layout to get to the channel layout editor.  3. Select the audio source(s) you want to add to your channel. Audio sources are mixed together at the same volume level as one another.

  • Page 183: To Upload An Image

    Pearl-2 User Guide To upload an image   Set the background color (custom channel)   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.
  • Page 184 Pearl-2 User Guide To upload an image  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.

  • Page 185: Add An Image (Custom Channel)

    Pearl-2 User Guide Add an image (custom channel) See the following topics to learn how to apply the logo, background, overlay text or other images to a channel:   Add an image (custom channel)   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.
  • Page 186 Pearl-2 User Guide Add an image (custom channel)  5. Select Picture; the Picture Settings section appears on the right side of the page.  6. If you haven't already uploaded your image, you can drag and drop it from your desktop to the gray Please select picture box.
  • Page 187 Pearl-2 User Guide Add an image (custom channel)  9. For best results, keep the Keep aspect ratio when scaling checkbox selected in the Picture settings box. (This is selected by default.)  10. In the layout area, use the mouse, the keyboard or the manual position value fields to position and resize your image.
  • Page 188 Pearl-2 User Guide Add an image (custom channel)   Add a video source (custom channel)   Add an audio source (custom channel)   Add a text overlay (custom channel)   Delete or move a layout (custom channel)   Set the background color (custom channel)  ...

  • Page 189: Add A Text Overlay (Custom Channel)

    Pearl-2 User Guide Add a text overlay (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. See Resize and position layout items using percents or pixels (custom channel) for more information.
  • Page 190 Pearl-2 User Guide Add a text overlay (custom channel)  5. In the Text field, specify the overlay text you want to add to the layout. Use your own text and see the Overlay text chortcut codes table provided at the end of this procedure to add any combination of the shortcut codes.
  • Page 191 Pearl-2 User Guide Add a text overlay (custom channel) 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.
  • Page 192 Pearl-2 User Guide Add a text overlay (custom channel) System variable commands can be issued at a frequency of 5 per second, and up to 6 variables may be set in a single command. After issuing a set command, all channels using the specified variable(s) are updated. Control with HTTP commands to learn how to configure system variables for custom overlay text.
  • Page 193 Pearl-2 User Guide Add a text overlay (custom channel)   Add an image (custom channel)   Delete or move a layout (custom channel)   Set the background color (custom channel)   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.

  • Page 194: Set The Background Color (Custom Channel)

    Pearl-2 User Guide Set the background color (custom channel) 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:  1.
  • Page 195 Resize and position layout items using percents or Pearl-2 User Guide pixels (custom channel) Percent values are used in adjustment boxes by default, and can be converted to pixels by simply overwriting the percent value in a given adjustment box and replacing it with a pixel value. When entering percent values, ensure the suffux "%"...
  • Page 196 Resize and position layout items using percents or Pearl-2 User Guide pixels (custom channel)   Table 28 Adjustment boxes for item resizing and positioning Item Description The area of your layout item. The 4 red/white dots represent the boundaries of your layout item. There may be some black space between your item and its boundaries if Keep aspect ratio when scaling is enabled (see Add an image (custom...
  • Page 197 Resize and position layout items using percents or Pearl-2 User Guide pixels (custom channel) Item Description horizontal axis. (I.e. the item is displaced 10%, or 100px, from the bottom up). If using percents, this is the items percentage of total height on the layout's vertical axis. (I.e.
  • Page 198 Resize and position layout items using percents or Pearl-2 User Guide pixels (custom channel) In the example above, the presenter video source is resized to 60% of the layout's width and 70% of the layout's height (with aspect ratio maintained). (Alternatively, pixels could be used to resize the layout item in a similar fashion.) An important consideration when resizing layout items Your item will resize automatically if both left and right (or top and bottom) adjustment boxes contain values...
  • Page 199 Resize and position layout items using percents or Pearl-2 User Guide pixels (custom channel) Alternatively, you can position your layout items using the keyboard by selecting the item with your mouse cursor, and pressing the arrow keys to move the selected item by 5% in any direction.
  • Page 200 Resize and position layout items using percents or Pearl-2 User Guide pixels (custom channel) Example 2: vertical positioning using pixels To position your layout item along the vertical axis, enter a percent or pixel value into either the top or the bottom adjustment box to shift your layout item downward or upward, respectively.

  • Page 201: Rename A Layout (Custom Channel)

    Pearl-2 User Guide Rename a layout (custom channel) Figure 1-1 An example of using pixels and percents to created a fully configured custom layout with two sources and a background image. 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.

  • Page 202: Delete Or Move A Layout (Custom Channel)

    Pearl-2 User Guide Delete or move a layout (custom channel)  4. From the editor, click the name of the layout; it turns red.  5. 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.

  • Page 203: Delete An Uploaded Image

    Pearl-2 User Guide Delete an uploaded image topic to avoid streaming and recording issues resulting from adding or deleting layouts when live switching. To delete a layout:  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.

  • Page 204: Configure Encoding

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configure encoding To delete an uploaded image:  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel. 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.
  • Page 205 Pearl-2 User Guide Configure video codec  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.  2. Click the Encoding link for your channel; the encoding configuration page opens.  3. Click the Codec drop-down menu to change the size and speed of the compression and decompression and the quality of the image.

  • Page 206: Configure Frame Size

    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.
  • Page 207 Pearl-2 User Guide Configure frame size 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.

  • Page 208: Fine Tune Stream Settings

    Pearl-2 User Guide Fine tune stream settings  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.
  • Page 209 Pearl-2 User Guide Fine tune stream settings  4. 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.

  • Page 210: Configure Audio Codec

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configure audio codec Setting Description 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- ray video is typically in the range of 20 mbps, standard-definition DVD is Bitrate...
  • Page 211 Pearl-2 User Guide Configure audio codec  5. If the default audio format AAC 44KHz, stereo, 320 Kbps is not desired, click the Audio format drop- down menu to select an audio codec. A table at the end of this procedure gives details about each option.

  • Page 212: Codec And File Format Compatibility

    Pearl-2 User Guide Codec and file format compatibility Value Description provides the best sound quality by avoiding audio resampling. For analog signals, 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.

  • Page 213: Add Channel Metadata

    Pearl-2 User Guide Add channel metadata Video Codec selec- Audio Codec selected RTSP MPEG-TS MJPEG MPEG-4     ü     MPEG-4     ü     MJPEG No audio codec         ü The following table displays the compatibility between the video/audio codecs and formats supported for recording.

  • Page 214: Add Channel Metadata

    Pearl-2 User Guide Add channel metadata 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:...

  • Page 215: Remove Metadata From A Channel

    Preview a channel from the Status page   Preview all channels at once You can also preview channels using the Epiphan Live control interface. See Configuring Dashboard panels for visual confidence monitoring for more information. Preview a channel from the Info page The system's Info page displays links for previewing your channel(s).

  • Page 216: Preview A Channel From The Status Page

    Pearl-2 User Guide Preview a channel from the Status page  3. Scroll to the channel you want to preview.  4. 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.

  • Page 217: Preview All Channels At Once

    Pearl-2 User Guide Preview all channels at once  4. Scroll down to see the snapshot.  5. 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 Pearl-2 has a special preview mode that lets you see all configured channels at once.

  • Page 218: Rename A Channel

    Pearl-2 User Guide Rename a channel http://<ip address of Pearl-2>/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. 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.

  • Page 219: Delete A Channel

    Pearl-2 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.

  • Page 220: Live Video Mixing / Switching

    Now on to the fun part!  There are three ways to perform live switching. You can use the Admin panel, the touch screen or the Epiphan Live control interface. Performing live switching in one interface (e.g. Epiphan Live) does not dynamically update the visuals in the other interfaces (e.g.
  • Page 221 Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using the touch screen  1. If needed, touch the screen once to turn it on.  2. If needed, touch your channel in the grid view to change it to individual view.  3. If needed, touch the screen once to enable controls on the screen.  4.
  • Page 222 Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using the touch screen  5. Initially, your live layout (which is displayed on the right side) is the same as your preview, or on deck, layout. It appears in the list at the bottom with a green bar on the frame to show it is in preview. Touch any other layout;...

  • Page 223: Switching / Mixing Using The Admin Panel

    Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using the Admin panel  6. Both the live layout and the preview layouts update at a reduced frame rate to the live stream, but fast enough that you can see what is happening.  7. When ready, touch Apply to cause the layout currently in preview to become live; the switch happens and your screen is updated.

  • Page 224: Switching / Mixing Using Epiphan Live

    Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live Epiphan Live is a simple and easy to use interface which is used for confidence monitoring, streaming/recording control and live switching. (See Epiphan Live for more information.) Within Epiphan Live, the Switcher view allows you to seamlessly switch between a channel's custom layouts while live streaming and/or recording.
  • Page 225 Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live The layout currently being streaming and/or recorded is displayed in the Live view panel on the right side of the interface (see Understanding the Switcher interface).  4. Click on your desired layout at the bottom of the page to dock it in the Preview panel. This is the...
  • Page 226 Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live  5. Click the Switch button in the center of the screen to switch your layout in the Preview panel into your live stream/recording.

  • Page 227: What Is A Source

    (custom channel). Video sources are also displayed on the Epiphan Live control interface. See Monitoring video and audio sources for more information. Each video input on the back of the system is identified by an A or B and input type (SDI or HDMI). For example the SDI input labeled A appears as SDI-A in the Web UI.

  • Page 228: Audio Sources

    Pearl-2 User Guide Audio sources Audio sources Pearl-2's Admin panel also automatically discovers all audio sources displays them in the same section, with the exception of RTSP audio sources. When an RTSP input stream is connected to your Pearl-2, a corresponding audio source is automatically added to the list of audio sources for your channels, even if there is no audio in the RTSP stream (see Add an audio source (custom channel)

  • Page 229: Connect A Source

    Pearl-2 User Guide Connect a source   Adjust audio gain (analog audio)   Add a No Signal image to a source Connect a source You can physically connect SDI, HDMI or DVI sources to Pearl-2 at any time, either before or after the system is powered on.
  • Page 230 Pearl-2 User Guide Connect an RTSP source Decoding a 1080p RTSP signal at 30 fps consumes approximately 10% of your Pearl-2's CPU power. If an RTSP source is connected but unused in any channel, Pearl-2 decodes only key frames to preserve CPU resources. To synchronize timestamps between your RTSP source and your Pearl-2, the same time synchronization server should be used for both devices.
  • Page 231 List of tested RTSP-based IP cameras for source URL syntax and credentials specific to IP cameras we at Epiphan have tested), and select either UDP or TCP from the Preferred transport dropdown menu. Optionally, you can also fill out the "No signal" image settings, if desired. See...
  • Page 232 Pearl-2 User Guide Connect an RTSP source  5. Click Apply to save your settings and connect your RTSP source.   Once your RTSP source is connected, you can view its basic video and audio signal information and packet loss statistics under the Status header at the top of the page. If there are any warnings or errors associated with your RTSP stream, they are also displayed here.

  • Page 233: List Of Tested Rtsp-Based Ip Cameras

    Pearl-2 User Guide List of tested RTSP-based IP cameras Alternatively, you can view stream connection information by clicking the check link under the Stream info header at the bottom of the page. List of tested RTSP-based IP cameras The table below describes cameras tested to work with your Pearl-2 and includes helpful information such as URL syntax, default credentials and audio streaming capability specific to each camera.
  • Page 234 Pearl-2 User Guide List of tested RTSP-based IP cameras For example, to connect a Sony SRG300SE camera with an IP address of "192.168.0.160", your source URL needs to be entered as: "rtsp://192.168.0.160/video1" Or, if using a Q-See QCN8029Z camera, your source URL needs to be entered as: "rtsp://192.168.0.160/"...

  • Page 235: Preview A Source

    You can preview the images captured from your sources in the Admin panel. No extra configuration is needed. You can also preview your sources using the Epiphan Live control interface. See Monitoring video and audio sources for more information. To preview the captured stream/images in the Admin panel:  1.

  • Page 236: Configure A Source

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configure a source Configure a source Generally the captured stream doesn't require any additional configuration, but if needed, you can log into the Admin panel to make configuration changes. To configure a source:  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.

  • Page 237: Dvi And Hdmi Signals

    Pearl-2 User Guide DVI and HDMI signals DVI and HDMI signals The following options are available for DVI and HDMI signals via the HDMI port. Value 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:  ...

  • Page 238: Rtsp Sources

    Pearl-2 User Guide RTSP sources RTSP sources RTSP sources are configured for connection to your Pearl-2 using the Source URL, Username and Password specific to your selected RTSP source. (See Connect an RTSP source for more information). RTSP sources can be further configured with a Preferred transport protocol (either UDP or TCP) and a custom "No signal"...

  • Page 239: Rename A Source

    Pearl-2 User Guide Rename a source  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.

  • Page 240: Adjust Audio Gain (Analog Audio)

    Pearl-2 User Guide Adjust audio gain (analog audio)  3. From the Admin panel, scroll to the Sources menu option.  4. Click the desired source link; the source configuration page opens.  5. Click the source name at the top of the page; the name turns red.  6.
  • Page 241 Pearl-2 User Guide Adjust audio gain (analog audio) Microphones typically have very low audio signals (less than -30 dBu) and are not supported directly as inputs to Pearl-2. Use an audio mixing board to amplify microphones to appropriate levels. If your audio signals need further adjustment, try checking audio levels through the audio monitor or VU meter and adjusting as needed.

  • Page 242: Confirm Audio Levels (Via The Touch Screen)

    Pearl-2 User Guide Confirm audio levels (via the touch screen) Confirm audio levels (via the touch screen) The touch screen includes an audio meter that indicates audio levels (if any) for each channel. This meter is visible in both the grid and individual channel view, at the lower left corner of the channel preview. The audio meter can also be added to the video output ports.
  • Page 243 Pearl-2 User Guide Confirm audio levels (via the touch screen) Table 33 Audio VU meter levels Color Decibel range 0 to -9 dBFS Yellow -9 to -18 dBFS Green -18 dBFS and lower...

  • Page 244: Troubleshoot Capture

    Pearl-2 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.

  • Page 245: Match The Output Frame Size To The Aspect Ratio Of The Source Signal

    Match the output frame size to the aspect ratio of the Pearl-2 User Guide source signal For example:   Input signal resolution is 720×480 (a 3:2 aspect ratio)   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.
  • Page 246 Match the output frame size to the aspect ratio of the Pearl-2 User Guide source signal  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.

  • Page 247: Stretch The Image

    Pearl-2 User Guide Stretch the image  12. Click Apply. Stretch the image To remove the matte (black bars) by stretching the image to fit your output frame size:  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.
  • Page 248 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 Pearl-2.

  • Page 249: Restore Factory Default Edid

    Pearl-2 User Guide Restore factory default EDID  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. 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.

  • Page 250: Unstretch The Output Video

    Pearl-2 User Guide Unstretch the output video  7. The screen updates with a status indicator.  8. When the EDID restoration is complete, the page updates to reflect the action is completed. Unstretch the output video By default, Pearl-2 makes sure that the aspect ratio of input signals is preserved when the output is streamed. If this default was overridden the image is stretched to match the output frame size.

  • Page 251: Remove The Combing Effect On Images

    Pearl-2 User Guide Remove the combing effect on images  6. 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. Remove the combing effect on images When frames are interlaced, artifacts from one frame may appear on the next frame.
  • Page 252 Pearl-2 User Guide Remove the combing effect on images  3. From the Admin panel, 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.

  • Page 253: Part 3: Stream

    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 system is flexible and supports standard codecs used by most sharing destinations and media players.

  • Page 254: What Is Streaming

    Pearl-2 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. Pearl-2 provides a number of options for streaming. Choose from methods for unicast, multicast, CDN, SAP, UPnP and more.

  • Page 255: Supported Streaming Formats

    Pearl-2 User Guide Supported streaming formats 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 clients (multicast), or provide web-based streaming where multiple clients can access the broadcast (Content Distribution Network).

  • Page 256: Stream To Viewers

    Pearl-2 User Guide Stream to viewers Stream to viewers Streaming to viewers allows people to connect directly to your Pearl-2 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.
  • Page 257 Pearl-2 User Guide Stream content using HTTP or RTSP The format of the URL provided to you by the Admin panel 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.

  • Page 258: Configure Http And Rtsp Streaming Ports

    Pearl-2 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.

  • Page 259: Stream Content Using Hls (Http Live Streaming)

    Pearl-2 User Guide Stream content using HLS (HTTP Live Streaming)  4. 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.

  • Page 260: Send Stream Urls To Viewers

    Pearl-2 User Guide Send stream URLs to viewers  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.

  • Page 261: View The Flash Stream

    Pearl-2 User Guide View the Flash stream  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 Viewing with a media player (RTSP). View the Flash stream There are two methods to view the retrieve the flash stream URL:  ...
  • Page 262 View your broadcast using the View link on the Pearl-2 User Guide Info menu  3. From the Admin panel, 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.

  • Page 263: View Your Broadcast Using The Live Broadcast Link On The Status Page

    View your broadcast using the Live broadcast Pearl-2 User Guide link on the Status page View your broadcast using the Live broadcast link on the Status page  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin or operator. See Connect to the Admin panel.
  • Page 264 View your broadcast using the Live broadcast Pearl-2 User Guide link on the Status page  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).

  • Page 265: Viewing With A Web Browser

    Pearl-2 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.
  • Page 266 Pearl-2 User Guide Viewing with a web 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.

  • Page 267: Viewing With A Media Player (Rtsp)

    Pearl-2 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.

  • Page 268: Disable (And Enable) Streams For Viewers

    Pearl-2 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.

  • Page 269: Restrict Access To Streams For Viewers

    Pearl-2 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 Pearl-2 can restrict access to all viewer streams using global viewer passwords and IP allow/deny lists. See or change user passwords Restrict viewers by IP address If LDAP is configured for viewer authentication, the viewer must pass global autentication using...

  • Page 270: Restrict Viewers By Ip Address

    Pearl-2 User Guide Restrict viewers by IP address  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.
  • Page 271 Pearl-2 User Guide Restrict viewers by IP address 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 Admin panel 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.

  • Page 272: Ip Restriction Examples

    Pearl-2 User Guide IP restriction examples Table 35 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 system, provided their IP address is not in the Deny IP’s list.

  • Page 273: Allow List With A Range Of Ip Addresses And One Or More Specific Ip Addresses

    Allow list with a range of IP addresses and one Pearl-2 User Guide or more specific IP addresses 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.

  • Page 274: Allow List With A Range Of Ip Addresses, Distinct Ip Addresses And An Exception

    Allow list with a range of IP addresses, distinct IP Pearl-2 User Guide addresses and an exception 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).

  • Page 275: Stream To A Server

    Pearl-2 User Guide Stream to a server Stream to a server Your Pearl-2 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 Stream content using multicast details on configuring one of these two options.

  • Page 276: Stream To A Cdn

    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://www.epiphan.com/partners/cdn-partners/. Contact your CDN for a list of supported audio codecs and ensure your Encoding configuration uses one of the supported codecs.

  • Page 277: Start And Stop Streaming To A Cdn

    Pearl-2 User Guide Start and stop streaming to a CDN 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://www.epiphan.com/partners/cdn-partners/. Use one of the following links to configure your Pearl-2 for publishing to a CDN:  ...
  • Page 278 Pearl-2 User Guide Start and stop streaming to a CDN  5. If Publish is set to disabled, streaming is stopped and cannot be started until you configure a publish type. See the other topics in this section.  6. If streaming is enabled (started), click the Stop streaming button (next to the Publish Status label); streaming is disabled.
  • Page 279 Pearl-2 User Guide Start and stop streaming to a CDN to Starting... then to a timer once the server connection is established. (If it's unable to connect to your server, the circle changes to a yellow error icon.) Note you can also tell whether or not your channel is streaming by looking at it in the Grid view:  ...
  • Page 280  5. To stop streaming, press Stop. Start and stop streaming using Epiphan Live You can control the streaming (and recording) of channels directly from the Epiphan Live Dashboard interface. (See Accessing Epiphan Live for information about logging in to Epiphan Live.)
  • Page 281 Pearl-2 User Guide Start and stop streaming to a CDN Streaming (and recording) control buttons are located under the Channels heading. For each channel, the stream control is the left-most button containing the "signal" icon, and the recording control is the right-most button containing the circle icon. When a channel is not being streamed or recorded, the streaming and recording buttons are gray in color and their respective timers are set to 00:00:00.

  • Page 282: To Stream Content To A Cdn Using Rtsp Announce

    In this case, check the streaming configuration settings for your channel in the Admin panel. (See Stream to viewers To learn more about the Epiphan Live control interface, see Epiphan Live. To stream content to a CDN using RTSP announce  1.

  • Page 283: To Stream Content To A Cdn Using Rtmp Push

    Controlling streaming and recording using Epiphan Live for instructions on streaming control using the Epiphan Live control interface.) To stream content to a CDN using RTMP push  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.

  • Page 284: Stream To A Cdn Using An Xml Profile

    Controlling streaming and recording using Epiphan Live for instructions on streaming control using the Epiphan Live control interface.) Stream to a CDN using an XML profile  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.

  • Page 285: 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 (when asked to select a camera or encoder type, select Epiphan). Once the stream is created, you'll see a Connection Code on the stream's Overview page; this code is required to complete the streaming set-up process.
  • Page 286 Pearl-2 User Guide Stream to Wowza Streaming Cloud  3. From the Admin panel, 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.
  • Page 287  12. Enter the connection code obtained from the Wowza Streaming Cloud set-up into the Connection code field.  13. Click Set to pair the channel on Epiphan's encoder with the live stream on Wowza Cloud; an icon appears to show you the connection is validating. Once validated, the stream name you configured in...
  • Page 288 Start and stop streaming to a CDN for instructions on starting streaming from the touch screen or see Controlling streaming and recording using Epiphan Live for instructions on streaming control using the Epiphan Live control interface.)  15. When the connection to Wowza Cloud has been established, the stream name appears on the channel's...

  • Page 289: Stream To Original Livestream

    Charges from Wowza continue until the the Wowza Cloud stream is stopped in one of these two ways. Stopping the stream publish through the touch screen , Stop or Epiphan Live Publish button does not stop the charges applied by Wowza.
  • Page 290 Pearl-2 User Guide Stream to Original Livestream  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.
  • Page 291 Controlling streaming and recording using Epiphan Live for instructions on streaming control using the Epiphan Live control interface). When the connection to Original Livestream has been established, the stream name appears on the...

  • Page 292: Test Using Epiphan Tv Cdn

    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.
  • Page 293 Pearl-2 User Guide Test using Epiphan TV CDN 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:   a current browser;...
  • Page 294 Test using Epiphan TV CDN 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.  2. Choose a plug-in from the list, the stream is displayed using the selected multimedia player.

  • Page 295: Stream Content Using Multicast

    Pearl-2 User Guide Stream content using multicast  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.
  • Page 296 Pearl-2 User Guide MPEG-TS streams using RTP/UDP push  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.

  • Page 297: Mpeg-Ts Streams Using Udp Push

    Pearl-2 User Guide MPEG-TS streams using UDP push To view the stream when SAP announce has been set and the stream is advertised on a media player, set-top- box 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:  ...

  • Page 298: Multicast Streaming Using Rtp/Udp

    Pearl-2 User Guide Multicast streaming using RTP/UDP  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;...
  • Page 299 Pearl-2 User Guide Multicast streaming using RTP/UDP  3. Click the Publish drop-down menu.  4. Choose using RTP/UDP push.  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>).

  • Page 300: Stream To A Media Player

    Pearl-2 User Guide Stream to a media player Stream to a media player Your Pearl-2 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...
  • Page 301 Pearl-2 User Guide MPEG-TS streams using RTP/UDP push  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.  3. From the Admin panel, click a Channel; the menu expands.  4. Click Streaming; the channel's Streaming page opens.  5.

  • Page 302: Mpeg-Ts Streams Using Udp Push

    Pearl-2 User Guide MPEG-TS streams using UDP push 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-top- box or Smart TV, refer to Viewing with Session Announcement Protocol (SAP).

  • Page 303: Multicast Streaming Using Rtp/Udp

    Pearl-2 User Guide Multicast streaming using RTP/UDP 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.

  • Page 304: Viewing With Session Announcement Protocol (Sap)

    Viewing with Session Announcement Protocol Pearl-2 User Guide (SAP)  3. From the Admin panel, 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.  5. Enter the destination multicast IP address.  6.
  • Page 305 Viewing with Session Announcement Protocol Pearl-2 User Guide (SAP) 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.

  • Page 306: Stream Content Using Upnp

    Pearl-2 User Guide Stream content using UPnP  8. Click on a live stream; the stream plays in the media player window. Stream content using UPnP Using the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) networking protocol, your Pearl-2 can be discovered and can stream to software and hardware media players, set-top-boxes and Smart TVs with ease.
  • Page 307 Pearl-2 User Guide Enable UPnP Step 1: Enable UPnP at the device level To enable UPnP:  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.  3. Click the UPnP link in the Configuration section; the UPnP configuration page opens.  4.
  • Page 308 Pearl-2 User Guide Enable UPnP Step 2: Enable UPnP for channels and/or recorders After enabling UPnP for the device (for one or both of live stream sharing and recorded file sharing) you need to enable sharing for each channel or recorder you wish to share. Enable UPnP sharing for the channels or recorders you want to share:  1.
  • Page 309 Pearl-2 User Guide Enable UPnP  c. Click the Share via UPnP check box (if not checked).  d. Note, if you have not already enabled UPnP at the server level (see above), you are prompted with a message "UPnP file sharing is not enabled with this device, to fix it, click here". Once you click the text "to fix it click here", the text changes to "will be fixed".

  • Page 310: Disable Upnp

    Pearl-2 User Guide Disable UPnP  c. Click the Share via UPnP check box (if not checked).  d. Note, if you have not already enabled UPnP at the server level (see above), you are prompted with a message "UPnP file sharing is not enabled with this device, to fix it, click here". Once you click the text "to fix it click here", the text changes to "will be fixed".

  • Page 311: Viewing With Upnp

    Pearl-2 User Guide Viewing with UPnP  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.
  • Page 312 Pearl-2 User Guide Viewing with UPnP 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.

  • Page 313: Play Directly To A Media Player

    Pearl-2 User Guide Play directly to a media player 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 Pearl-2. See Stream content using UPnP Play directly to a media...

  • Page 314: Change Upnp Device Name

    Pearl-2 User Guide Change UPnP device name 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 Pearl-2. By default, if you left the server name field blank when enabling UPnP, the server name is the system's serial number.

  • Page 315: Samples Of Stream Settings

    Pearl-2 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 whereas if you're streaming a slide presentation you can save on bandwidth and system processing by lowering the bitrate and frame rate.
  • Page 316 Pearl-2 User Guide Streaming slide content Option Setting Codec H.264 Video encoding preset High Quality Video encoding profile High Disable for PC Enhanced compatibility mode (H.264 slicing for RTP) Enable for Mac Key frame interval 2 sec Limit frame rate 6 Mb/sec for ~ HD;...

  • Page 317: Part 4: Record

    PART 4: Record Your Pearl-2 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.

  • Page 318: What Is A Recording

    Recorded files to learn how to download the recorded files. Recording can also be controlled via the Epiphan Live control interface. See Controlling streaming and recording using Epiphan Live for more information. Recording basics While recording a channel or recorder, a new file is created each time the maximum time or size limit is met.

  • Page 319: Record A Channel Via The Admin Panel

    MP4-fragmented which is a more modern, fragmented format that isn't supported by all video players or editors.) The MOV file type created by Pearl-2 requires a relatively newer player for playback. Epiphan has tested with the following players.
  • Page 320 Pearl-2 User Guide Record a channel via the Admin panel  3. Click the Recording link for the channel; the Recording page appears.  4. 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.

  • Page 321: Record Channels And Recorders (Using One Touch Control)

    Record channels and recorders (using One Touch Pearl-2 User Guide control)  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.
  • Page 322 Record channels and recorders (using One Touch Pearl-2 User Guide control) in Pearl-2's admin panel (see Customize how One Touch control is displayed). If the gear icon is not visible on the touch screen, tap the screen once to activate the control buttons.

  • Page 323: Record A Channel Via Epiphan Live

    Pearl-2 User Guide Record a channel via Epiphan Live Record a channel via Epiphan Live You can control the recording of channels and recorders directly from the Epiphan Live Dashboard interface. (See Accessing Epiphan Live for information about logging in to Epiphan Live.) Streaming (and recording) control buttons are located under the Channels heading.

  • Page 324: Record A Channel Via The Touch Screen

    Pearl-2 User Guide Record a channel via the touch screen Alternatively, you can also control streaming and recording of a channel via the Dashboard's monitoring panels. See Configuring Dashboard panels for visual confidence monitoring for more information. Record a channel via the touch screen Pearl-2's touch screen gives you freedom to start and stop recording without needing to log in to the Admin panel.

  • Page 325: Configure Recording File Size And Type

    Pearl-2 User Guide Configure recording file size and type  1. If necessary, tap the screen once to turn it on or to turn on the screen overlay.  2. If the grid view is showing, tap the channel for which you wish to control recording; the screen displays the channel.
  • Page 326 Pearl-2 User Guide Configure recording file size and type 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-Progressive, MP4-Fragmented, MOV-Progressive 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.
  • Page 327 Pearl-2 User Guide Configure recording file size and type  5. Select a time limit for the recording from the Time limit drop down.  6. 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.
  • Page 328 Pearl-2 User Guide Configure recording file size and type  10. Click Apply; the changes are saved and the recorder setup displays the new configuration. The table below describes the options available for recording file configuration. Table 36 Recording File Configuration Fields Label Description / Options Specifies the length of time the system waits before the recording file is saved and a...

  • Page 329: Restart Recording

    Pearl-2 User Guide Restart recording Label Description / Options fragmented MP4 format.) 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.
  • Page 330 Pearl-2 User Guide Restart recording  3. For a recorder:  a. Click the desired recorder link from the Recorders section; the recorder configuration page opens.  4. Click the Reset button next to the stop button; the current file is stopped and a new one begins.  5.

  • Page 331: Recorders

    Change the channels recorded by a recorder   Record with a recorder (using the admin panel)   Record a recorder (using One Touch control)   Record a recorder (using Epiphan Live)   Rename a recorder   Delete a recorder What is a recording? to learn how to create recordings and configure recording file sizes.

  • Page 332: Change The Channels Recorded By A Recorder

    Pearl-2 User Guide Change the channels recorded by a recorder 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.

  • Page 333: Record With A Recorder (Using The Admin Panel)

    Pearl-2 User Guide Record with a recorder (using the admin panel)  4. If the all channels box is selected, click it to deselect it; the other check boxes are enabled.  5. 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.
  • Page 334 Pearl-2 User Guide Record with a recorder (using the admin panel)  2. Click the name of the desired recorder; the recorder configuration page appears.  3. To start recording:  a. Click the Start button; the recording starts and a timer indicates how long it has been recording.  b.

  • Page 335: Record A Recorder (Using One Touch Control)

    Pearl-2 User Guide Record a recorder (using One Touch control)  a. Click the Stop button on the given recorder's configuration page. The recorder number changes to black next time the Admin panel is refreshed (by clicking a link or refreshing the page). Record a recorder (using One Touch control)  ...

  • Page 336: Record A Recorder (Using Epiphan Live)

    Record a recorder (using Epiphan Live) You can record a recorder in Epiphan Live using the button(s) located in the Recorders section of the Dashboard interface. Note that the Recorders section only appears if a recorder has been added via the...

  • Page 337: Rename A Recorder

    When clicked, the recording button turns red. The timer contained within the button also begins to count upward. Click the button a second time to stop the recording. Epiphan Live to learn more about the Epiphan Live control interface. Rename a recorder To rename a recorder:  1.
  • Page 338 Pearl-2 User Guide Delete a recorder  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.  2. Select the desired recorder link from the Recorders section; the recorder configuration page opens.  3. Click the Delete this recorder button at the top of the page; a confirmation dialog reminds you that deleting the recorder will delete all recorded files.

  • Page 339: Recorded Files

    Pearl-2 User Guide Recorded files Recorded files Recordings you make of channels or with recorders are stored on the system's internal hard drive. Pearl-2 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.

  • Page 340: Download Recorded Files Manually

    Pearl-2 User Guide Download recorded files manually  5. 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.

  • Page 341: Extract Tracks From A Recording

    Pearl-2 User Guide Extract tracks from a recording  2. Find the recordings by channel or by recorder. See View list of recorded files.  3. To download an individual file:  a. Click the name of a recording file to download it.  4.
  • Page 342 Pearl-2 User Guide Extract tracks from a recording  2. Select the recorder from the Recorders section; the recorder page appears.  3. Find the file you want to duplicate and click the up arrow icon next to it; a list of tracks appears.  4.

  • Page 343: Rename Recorded Files

    Pearl-2 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.

  • Page 344: Delete Recorded Files Manually

    Pearl-2 User Guide Delete recorded files manually  4. Type the new file name and press enter when finished. The Admin panel 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 Admin panel.
  • Page 345 Pearl-2 User Guide Delete recorded files manually  3. 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.  4. To delete multiple files for the current channel or recorder:  a.

  • Page 346: File And Recording Transfer

    Pearl-2 User Guide File and recording transfer File and recording transfer Your Pearl-2 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:  ...

  • Page 347: Choose Files To Include In Afu

    Pearl-2 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).
  • Page 348 Pearl-2 User Guide Choose files to include in AFU For each channel or recorder you want to add to your AFU schedule:  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.  2. For a channel recording:  a.

  • Page 349: Enable And Set Timing For Afu

    Pearl-2 User Guide Enable and set timing for AFU  5. Check the Automatic file upload check box.  6. 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.
  • Page 350 Pearl-2 User Guide Enable and set timing for AFU 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.
  • Page 351 Pearl-2 User Guide Enable and set timing for AFU Table 37 Automatic File Upload Interval Options Name Description The system uploads each file after it stops recording it. You can control file size and length to determine when files are done recording. You can also use the On file rotation reset button to close the current file and open a new one.

  • Page 352: Afu To An Ftp Server

    Pearl-2 User Guide AFU to an FTP server Name Description External The system uploads to a USB drive connected directly to the system. USB Drive  9. Follow one of the procedures below to configure your selected protocol or transfer type.   AFU to an FTP server  ...

  • Page 353: Afu Using Rsync

    Pearl-2 User Guide AFU using RSync  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.
  • Page 354 Pearl-2 User Guide AFU using RSync  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.

  • Page 355: Afu Using Cifs

    Pearl-2 User Guide AFU using CIFS 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.

  • Page 356: Afu To A Secure Ftp Server

    Pearl-2 User Guide AFU to a secure FTP server  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 41 CIFS Automatic File Upload Configuration Options Name...
  • Page 357 Pearl-2 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.

  • Page 358: Afu Using Scp

    Pearl-2 User Guide AFU using SCP  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.
  • Page 359 Pearl-2 User Guide AFU using SCP  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.

  • Page 360: Afu Or Copy To Usb Drive

    Pearl-2 User Guide AFU or copy to USB drive  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 43 SCP Automatic Upload Configuration Options Name...

  • Page 361: Afu To A Usb Drive

    Pearl-2 User Guide AFU to a 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.

  • Page 362: One-Time Copy/Move Of All Recorded Files To Usb Drive

    Pearl-2 User Guide One-time copy/move of all recorded files to USB drive 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.
  • Page 363 Pearl-2 User Guide One-time copy/move of all recorded files to USB drive  4. 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.

  • Page 364: Manually Copy Recorded Files To Usb Drive

    Pearl-2 User Guide Manually copy recorded files to USB drive  6. 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.  7.

  • Page 365: View Available Usb Storage Space

    Pearl-2 User Guide View available USB storage space  6.  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  7. To download files for a recorder:  a.

  • Page 366: Safely Eject The Usb Drive

    Pearl-2 User Guide Safely eject the USB drive  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.  2. Insert your USB drive in an available USB port on the system. (It is recommended you only use one USB drive at a time.)(USB ports are available on both the back and the front of Pearl-2.)  3.

  • Page 367: View The Afu Log

    Pearl-2 User Guide View the AFU log  3. When prompted, click OK to confirm that you want to eject the USB drive.  4. Disconnect the USB drive from the system. View the AFU log A log is kept of automatic file uploads. To view the log:  1.

  • Page 368: View Afu Status

    Pearl-2 User Guide View AFU status View AFU status You can view basic Automatic File Upload (AFU) information from your Pearl-2's touch screen. File and recording transfer to learn how to configure AFU settings in the Admin panel. Table 45 AFU status touch screen components Label Name Description...
  • Page 369 Pearl-2 User Guide View AFU status  1. Touch the system settings button (the gear icon) in the lower right corner of the screen. If the gear icon is not visible on the touch screen, tap the screen once to activate the control buttons.

  • Page 370: Manage The Afu Queue

    Pearl-2 User Guide Manage the AFU queue To close the system information screen, touch Back (in the upper-left corner of the screen) to return to the System Settings view, or the Home icon to return to the channel view. Manage the AFU queue The AFU queue displays a list of recording files waiting to be uploaded.

  • Page 371: View Content In The Afu Queue

    Pearl-2 User Guide View content in the AFU queue View content in the AFU queue There are several buttons in the Admin panel that allow you the ability to control how you see your queued content. To control how you view content in the AFU queue:  1.
  • Page 372 Pearl-2 User Guide Delete content in the AFU queue 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. Note that there is no confirmation prompt after pressing Empty Queue.

  • Page 373: Local Ftp Server

    Pearl-2 User Guide Local FTP server Local FTP server Pearl-2 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.

  • Page 374: Using The Local Ftp Server

    Pearl-2 User Guide Using the local FTP server  4. 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.
  • Page 375 Pearl-2 User Guide Using the local FTP server 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>...
  • Page 376 Pearl-2 User Guide Using the local FTP server  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.

  • Page 377: Part 5: Maintenance

    PART 5: Maintenance This section covers topics that will keep your Pearl-2 running smoothly. It also covers the Epiphan Live interface and ways to configure and operate your system using third party tools via HTTP or RS-232. Specific topics covered are:  ...

  • Page 378: Power Down And System Restart

    Pearl-2 User Guide Power down and system restart Power down and system restart This section covers the following topics:   Restarting the device via the Admin panel   Shutting down the device via the Admin panel   Shutting down the device manually Restarting the device via the Admin panel Pearl-2's Admin panel allows you to reboot the system.

  • Page 379: Shutting Down The Device Manually

    Pearl-2 User Guide Shutting down the device manually  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.  2. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens.  3. Click the Shutdown Now button; a confirmation dialog appears.  4.

  • Page 380: Save And Restore Device Configuration

    Pearl-2 User Guide Save and restore device configuration Save and restore device configuration The previously used backup and restore procedure is replaced by configuration presets, which are the perfect way to backup all or any set of your configuration items for future import back to the same system or another.

  • Page 381: Perform Factory Reset

    Pearl-2 User Guide Perform factory reset Perform factory reset If you’ve been testing with your Pearl-2 and are ready to reset it back to factory settings, you can do this through the Admin panel. This section covers the following topics:  ...
  • Page 382 Pearl-2 User Guide Restore factory configuration via the Admin panel  4. Click OK on the warning dialog; the system resets to factory defaults and reboots.  5. Wait for the system to reboot and begin re-configuration.

  • Page 383: Firmware Upgrade

    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 Pearl-2.

  • Page 384: Install Firmware

     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. Click download from the red box that appears at the top left of the Admin panel; the firmware is downloaded and immediately starts to install and the firmware update box changes to have a cancel button.
  • Page 385 Although unexpected, it is possible the firmware update fails. In this case, the touch screen reports the failure. Please collect system information such as device serial number and, if known, the previous firmware version along with the new firmware version and contact info@epiphan.com...

  • Page 386: Install Firmware From A File

    Although unexpected, it is possible the firmware update fails. In this case, the touch screen reports the failure. Please collect system information such as device serial number and, if known, the previous firmware version along with the new firmware version and contact info@epiphan.com...
  • Page 387 Pearl-2 User Guide Install firmware from a file...

  • Page 388: Support

    (Monday to Friday between 9am and 5pm Eastern)   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.   Download logs and "allinfo"...
  • Page 389 Pearl-2 User Guide Download logs and "allinfo"  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin. See Connect to the Admin panel.  2. Select the Maintenance link in the Configuration menu; the maintenance page opens.  3. Select the Permanent Logs check box.  4.

  • Page 390: 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 ports 22 and 30, therefore this port must be available for communication.

  • Page 391: Disable Remote Support

     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.  9. If the system cannot reach the maintenance server, check the network settings (see...

  • Page 392: Storage Disk Maintenance

    Recorded files File and recording transfer. Disk space can also be checked via the Epiphan Live control interface. See Configuring Dashboard panels for visual confidence monitoring for more information. To check disk storage space:  1. Login to the Admin panel as admin or operator. See Connect to the Admin panel.

  • Page 393: Check Disk Storage Space Via The Touch Screen

    Pearl-2 User Guide Check disk storage space via the touch screen Check disk storage space via the touch screen Pearl-2's touch screen can show you the system's disk space on the system information screen. To show system information on the touch screen:  1.

  • Page 394: Perform Disk Check

    Pearl-2 User Guide Perform disk check  2. Select the Disk Check link in the Configuration menu; the disk maintenance page opens.  3. 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.
  • Page 395 Pearl-2 User Guide Perform disk check  5. If any unrecoverable errors are detected, contact Epiphan support.

  • Page 396: Third Party Integration

    Pearl-2 User Guide Third party integration Third party integration Pearl-2 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.

  • Page 397: Control With Rs-232 / Serial Port

    Pearl-2 User Guide Control with RS-232 / serial port Control with RS-232 / serial port Pearl-2 presents an RS-232 / serial port control interface for integration with existing control room and board room equipment. This section covers the following topics:  ...

  • Page 398: Control Pearl-2 With

    Pearl-2 User Guide Control Pearl-2 with RS-232 Label Description / Options No flow control is used. Only select this if your control terminal requires it (see control None terminal manual).  4. Click Apply. Control Pearl-2 with RS-232 You can use the null-modem cable and your control terminal software to issue commands to Pearl-2 such as when to start or stop recording, or to retrieve or set the value for various settings.
  • Page 399 Pearl-2 User Guide Control Pearl-2 with RS-232 The table describes the RS-232 commands supported by Pearl-2. Table 48 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>...
  • Page 400 Pearl-2 User Guide Control Pearl-2 with RS-232 Command Name Description 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 value is not saved until the SAVECFG command is sent.

  • Page 401: Rs-232 / Serial Port Command Examples

    Pearl-2 User Guide RS-232 / Serial port command examples Command Name Description   Running   Stopped   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 Pearl-2 via RS 232 must be terminated with a line feed (LF) character...
  • Page 402 Pearl-2 User Guide RS-232 / Serial port command examples 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.

  • Page 403: Control With Http Commands

    Pearl-2 User Guide Control with HTTP commands Control with HTTP commands Pearl-2 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:  ...
  • Page 404 Pearl-2 User Guide HTTP command syntax To Get configuration settings: 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>...

  • Page 405: Http Command Examples

    Pearl-2 User Guide HTTP command examples get_param using wget: 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 Pearl-2 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.

  • Page 406: Global Variable Http Command Syntax For Custom Layouts

    Global variable HTTP command syntax for Pearl-2 User Guide custom layouts wget --http-user=admin --http-passwd=pass123 http://192.30.23.45/admin/channel2/set_ params.cgi?rec_enabled="" 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 Global variable HTTP command syntax for custom layouts Your Pearl-2 can create global variables via HTTP for use specifically with custom layout as responsive text overlay elements.
  • Page 407 Global variable HTTP command syntax for Pearl-2 User Guide custom layouts http://<address>/admin/set_variables.cgi?name1=value1[&nameN=valueN] For values with spaces, encode space as %20. (i.e.: set_variables.cgi?name1=640%20x%20480) To erase a previously set variable, simply set the variable's name with an empty space. Example: "http://192.168.0.129/admin/set_ variables.cgi?gpsvar1=N103%2068201%20W765%2029712&gpsvar2=S490%2018731% 20E756%2019890&gpsvar3=N123%2046891%20W345%2065431&gpsvar4=S767%2033410 %20E770%2004513"...
  • Page 408 Global variable HTTP command syntax for Pearl-2 User Guide custom layouts gpsvar2=S490 18731 E756 19890 gpsvar3=N123 46891 W345 65431 gpsvar4=S767 33410 E770 04513" To learn how to use global variables as text overlays in custom channels, see Add a text overlay (custom channel).

  • Page 409: Configuration Keys For Third Party Apis

    Pearl-2 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 RS- 232 and HTTP syntax see Control with RS-232 / serial port Control with HTTP commands.

  • Page 410: System-Level Settings Keys (Read-Only)

    The product’s name. Useful to confirm you are communicating with the right product_name String 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.

  • Page 411: System-Level Settings Keys (Read/Write)

    To enable firmware update checking, set to on. enabled empty string ("") To disable firmware update checking, set to an empty string (""). To give this system a name in the Epiphan discovery utility, description string specify a description string.

  • Page 412: Recording Configuration Keys

    Pearl-2 User Guide Recording configuration keys Values Description To disable the touch screen, set to an empty string (""). Enables or disables system information from the touch screen. touchscreen_info To enable system info from the touch screen, set to on. empty string ("") To disable system info from the touch screen, set to an empty string ("").

  • Page 413: Http Server Configuration Keys

    Pearl-2 User Guide HTTP server configuration keys Values Description mp4f rec_prefix string Specifies a prefix for the recorded filenames. rec_sizelimit integer Specifies the file size limit, in kilobytes (kB). string (no quotes) Specifies the time limit before a new recording file is created. rec_timelimit hh:mm:ss For example, for 3 hour recordings, use 3:00:00...

  • Page 414: Upnp Configuration Keys

    Pearl-2 User Guide UPnP configuration keys Values Description string: comma- separated list of Specifies the IP addresses to deny access. denyips IP addresses and/or To restrict access, provide a list of denied IP addresses. ranges. To clear denied IP restriction, set to an empty string (""). empty string("") UPnP configuration keys The following settings are supported for UPnP streaming.

  • Page 415: Broadcast Configuration Keys

    Pearl-2 User Guide Broadcast configuration keys Values Description Specifies PLL adjustment. -999...999 Changes the number of pixels in the line. Specifies the number of seconds between auto-adjustments. tune_interval 0...9999 To disable auto-adjustments, set to 0. Specifies vertical shift. vshift -20...20 For shifts up, use positive values. For shifts down, use negative values.

  • Page 416: Channel Encoder Configuration Keys

    Pearl-2 User Guide Channel encoder configuration keys Channel encoder configuration keys The following encoder settings are supported for each channel. For more information on individual items listed, see Configure encoding Table 59 Supported channel encoder configuration keys Values Description Enables or disables use of the current signal’s resolution as the frame size.

  • Page 417: Channel Layout Configuration Keys

    Pearl-2 User Guide Channel layout configuration keys Values Description Specifies the h.264 video profiles. For Baseline profile, select 66. vprofile For Main profile, select 77. 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.

  • Page 418: Stream Publishing Configuration Keys

    Table 62 Supported Stream Publishing configuration keys Values Description Starts or stops streaming to CDN servers (RTSP, RTMP type streaming including Epiphan.tv, Original Livestream and Wowza Cloud). See Stream to a CDN. publish_enabled off / any other value To turn streaming on, set to on.

  • Page 419: Rtsp Announce Configuration Keys (Publish Type 2)

    RTSP Announce configuration keys (Publish type Pearl-2 User Guide Values Description 3 (multicast RTP/UDP) 4 (multicast MPEG-TS 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.

  • Page 420: Mpeg-Ts Configuration Keys (Publish Types 4 And 5)

    MPEG-TS configuration keys (Publish types 4 and Pearl-2 User Guide Values Description Specifies the UDP port for RTP/UDP audio streaming. Note 1000...65535, unicast_aport port 5557 is used for network discovery and cannot be used but not 5557 for streaming. Specifies the UDP port for RTP/UDP video streaming. Note port 1000...65535, unicast_vport 5557 is used for network discovery and cannot be used for...

  • Page 421: Livestream Configuration Keys (Publish Type 8)

    Pearl-2 User Guide Livestream configuration keys (Publish type 8) Values Description rtmp_stream string Specifies the RTMP stream name, as configured with the CDN. rtmp_username string Specifies the username for the RTMP server. rtmp_password string Specifies the password for the RTMP server. Livestream configuration keys (Publish type 8) The following settings are supported when the publish type is set to Original Livestream.
  • Page 422 Pearl-2 User Guide Content metadata configuration keys Values Description looking at the stream's metadata information.)  ...

  • Page 423: Troubleshooting

    Verify that you are using the correct audio input by following the steps in Configure encoding Check the audio meter from the Dashboard view in Epiphan No sound is coming from an audio Live. See Monitoring video and audio sources.
  • Page 424 If you still cannot see the stream, try disabling your local computer firewall. If the issue is still not resolved, contact Epiphan Support at support@epiphan.com. The following tips can help diagnose image problems:  1. Ensure the source resolution is used as the output or The stream interrupts or the image recorded resolution.
  • Page 425 Reboot the system and try again. If the problem persists, Firmware upgrade fails. contact Epiphan support at support@epiphan.com. Ensure there are no USB sticks inserted into the USB ports System is not starting up correctly. during power up. They may be conflicting with the internal hard...

  • Page 426: Limitations And Known Issues

    Some cameras are sensitive to EDIDs and are not captured at optimal settings. When capturing from these cameras, the HD signal may be down-sampled by the camera to an SD signal because the Epiphan system doesn't share the EDID the camera expects for its HD signal.
  • Page 427   Audio is temporarily unavailable for up to 20 seconds while streaming and/or recording when the audio signal parameters (e.g. sample rate) are changed. Workaround: Refrain from changing audio parameters while streaming and/or recording. Any audio setting changes must be completed while the stream/recording is stopped.  ...
  • Page 428 When a DisplayPort output assigned to a Dashboard preview panel has its source changed, the preview panel does not automatically update to reflect the change. Workaround: Refresh the Epiphan Live Dashboard in your web browser to update any changes in your preview panels.
  • Page 429 PCM audio if creating AVI files or to AAC audio if creating MP4 file recordings.   AFU status is sometimes inaccurately displayed in Epiphan Live, the Admin panel and the touch screen. Workaround: Perform occasional manual confidence monitoring/debugging on AFU queue to ensure files are being uploaded correctly.

  • Page 430: Previous Releases And Features

    Pearl-2 but since it uses the same firmware as Pearl, the list below should provide a good idea of the legacy aspects of the firmware. Release 3.17.0   IP camera support   Epiphan Live   Dynamic Text   One Touch Control  ...
  • Page 431 Release 3.15.1 features Firmware release 3.15.1 was a big release with a lot of new features for Pearl, making it your perfect, go-to favorite when recording or streaming live video events.   Front-mounted audio jack for Pearl   Live video switching  ...

  • Page 432: Software And Documentation License

    Agreement, (ii) are packaged with this Agreement, or (iii) pre-installed on Epiphan products, or (iv) embed this Agreement in their installer(s) and which are installed after acceptance of this Agreement, and which binary and/or bytecode software programs include any Documentation; and “You”...
  • Page 433 Software and Documentation are granted only for use in conjunction with Epiphan hardware. You shall not distribute, lease, rent, grant a security interest in, assign, or otherwise transfer the Software except as expressly provided in this Agreement. You shall not modify or create any derivatives works of the Software or merge all or any part of the Software with another program.
  • Page 434 6. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY: NEITHER LICENSOR NOR ANY OF ITS LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, SUBCONTRACTORS AND/OR DISTRIBUTORS SHALL HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO YOU OR ANY OTHER PERSON OR ENTITY FOR ANY DAMAGES ARISING FROM THIS AGREEMENT, RELATING TO THE SOFTWARE OR DOCUMENTATION, OR RELATING TO ANY SERVICES PROVIDED TO YOU BY LICENSOR (INCLUDING ITS LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, SUBCONTRACTORS AND/OR DISTRIBUTORS) IN RELATION TO THE SOFTWARE AND/OR DOCUMENTATION FOR ANY INDIRECT, RELIANCE, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO,...
  • Page 435 Software, Documentation or related information. 13. Intellectual Property: Epiphan is a trademark or a registered trademark of Epiphan Systems Inc. in certain countries. All Licensor product names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Epiphan Systems Inc.

  • Page 436: Environmental Information

    otherwise provide to any third party any portion of the Software, except as expressly permitted in this Agreement. 14. General: This Agreement is the entire agreement between You and Licensor in respect to the Software, superseding any other agreements or discussions, oral or written. The terms and conditions of this Agreement shall prevail over any pre-printed terms on any quotes, orders, purchase orders, or purchase order acknowledgements, and shall prevail over any other communications between the parties in relation to the Software.
  • Page 437 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...
  • Page 438 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.
  • Page 439 © and ™ 2016, Epiphan Systems, Inc...

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