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Comrex LiveShot Rackmount Manual

Ip video codec
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LIVESHOT IP VIDEO CODEC
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LiveShot 1.4 • May 2015

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Summary of Contents for Comrex LiveShot Rackmount

  • Page 1: Table Of Contents

    AbOuT LIVESHOT VIDEO CODInG  bITrATE  VIDEO LInES  FrAmE rATE  AbOuT LIVESHOT AuDIO CODInG  LIVESHOT EnCODE/DECODE LImITS AbOuT LIVESHOT nETWOrkInG AnD PrOTOCOLS  mOrE AbOuT CrOSSLOCk  III. GETTInG STArTED WITH LIVESHOT rACkmOunT   COnnECTInG TO A nETWOrk COnnECTInG InPuT AuDIO/VIDEO LiveShot 1.4 • May 2015...
  • Page 2 IV. GETTInG STArTED WITH LIVESHOT POrTAbLE   COnnECTInG TO A nETWOrk  ETHErnET  WIrELESS DEVICES COnnECTInG InPuT AuDIO/VIDEO  COnnECTInG OuTPuT AuDIO/VIDEO  V. GETTInG STArTED WITH CrOSSLOCk VI. GETTInG STArTED WITH LIVESHOT WEb InTErFACE STATuS SECTIOn   nETWOrk TAb PEErS TAb mEDIA LInk TAb COnFIG TAb VII.
  • Page 3 PrESErVE AFTEr rESET uSE WITH CrOSSLOCk brOADCAST COnFIG VIII. PEErS TAb DETAILS EDITInG PEErS IX. mEDIA LInk TAb DETAILS   uTILIzATIOn GrAPH PACkET LOSS GrAPH DELAy SLIDEr mEDIA LInk DETAILED VIEW X. COnFIG TAb DETAILS   A/V POrTS ADVAnCED A/V SETTInGS COnnECTIOn PrOFILES VIDEO STrEAmS VIDEO ADVAnCED OPTIOnS...
  • Page 4 ADVAnCED COnFIG OPTIOnS AuTO-COnnECT SESSIOn mODES SySTEm CLOCk SWITCHbOArD SETTInGS CrOSSLOCk VPn XI. mAkInG AnD rECEIVInG LIVESHOT COnnECTIOnS mAkInG COnnECTIOnS VIA THE WEb InTErFACE mAkInG COnnECTIOnS VIA HOTkEyS mAkInG CrOSSLOCk COnnECTIOnS WITHOuT uSInG SWITCHbOArD AbOuT CrOSSLOCk SECurITy ADDInG SWITCHbOArD PEErS mAnuALLy PErmISSIVE mODE mAkInG nOn-CrOSSLOCk COnnECTIOnS XII.
  • Page 5 Each unit we ship has been individually and thoroughly tested. Comrex stands behind its products. We promise that if you call us for technical assistance, you will talk directly with someone who knows about the equipment and will do everything possible to help you.

  • Page 7: Introduction

    IntroductIon The Comrex LiveShot is a hardware video codec system designed for real-time video and audio transmission over IP networks, including the Internet. Some of the benefits of the LiveShot system are: Quality - LiveShot uses a highly optimized version of H.264 video coding and AAC-ELD audio coding for the best possible quality.

  • Page 8: A Word About 3G/4G Networks

    A Word About 3G/4G netWorks Summary - Default coding is 2.2Mbps (or lower) up, 400Kbps (or lower) down. The default video encoders will throttle based on network performance. This works well with LTE or a pair of 3G modems. Many users are excited to get started using LiveShot in 3G and 4G networks. Here’s some advice and suggestions for use on these networks: The default mode (or “sweet spot”) for LiveShot delivers a video feed coded to 2Mbps, along with an audio feed coded to 48Kbps.

  • Page 9: Quickstart In Loopback

    QuIckstArt In LoopbAck We’ll dive into all the LiveShot connections, interfaces and modes soon, but if you want to do a quick check of how LiveShot works in “Loopback” (a single LiveShot encoding and decoding the same media), it’s fairly simple to do. Since the LiveShot Portable offers only composite video output, you’ll need to use the rack to experience the full quality.

  • Page 10: Liveshot Connections, Controls, Indicators

    LIveShot ConneCtIonS, ControLS, IndICatorS II. LIveShot portabLe ConneCtIonS, ControLS, IndICatorS LIveShot portabLe Front FIgure 1 Figure 1 shows the front panel of the LiveShot Portable: Power Button - Press this for two seconds to power the device on and off. Store/Forward Status Indicator - For future use. Network Status Indicator - Shows current network status: Red - No network found Off - Network OK Green - CrossLock VPN established Flashing Green - Active video stream...
  • Page 11 F1 & F2 keys - Used for special functions. In current firmware, these are “hot connect” keys that are programmed to make outgoing connections. As shipped from factory, “Long Press” of F2 establishes a loopback connection for testing (internal encoder - internal decoder). Three other functions are available (short press F1, F2, long press F1).
  • Page 12 LIveShot portabLe rear paneL FIgure 3 Figure 3 shows the rear panel of LiveShot Portable: Wi-Fi On/Off switch - Enables or disables the internal Wi-Fi access point (associate a laptop or smartphone to this signal for control of the unit). Composite Video/Audio Output - This port presents the return video/audio signal from the far end (if enabled in the connection profile).

  • Page 13: Portable Connector Pinout

    portabLe ConneCtor pInout Power in - 5 pin mini-DIN Accepts 15V DC @ 1A 1) unconnected 2) & 4) Ground 3) & 5) +15V dc Analog Audio in - 5 Pin XLR-F Input level is 0dBu nominal Ground Pin 1 Ground Pin 2 Balanced left audio + Pin 3 Balanced left audio - Pin 4 Balanced riGht audio + Pin 5...

  • Page 14: Portable Power Details

    When using Gold-Mount compatible batteries and cameras, LiveShot will pass through the battery data leads, if they exist. Adapters are available from Comrex and other sources to use V-mount style cameras and batteries. When V-mount adapters are used, battery data information is not sent through the LiveShot.

  • Page 15: Liveshot Rackmount Connections, Controls, Indicators

    LIveShot raCkmount ConneCtIonS, ControLS, IndICatorS LIveShot raCkmount Front paneL FIgure 4 shows the front panel of LiveShot Rackmount: Figure 4 1 & 2 Display/Control buttons - Allows basic configuration and operation. LiveShot is designed to be driven from its web interface, but the front panel controls provide an alternate means for some basic functions.
  • Page 16 HDMI ETHERNET 13 14 LIveShot raCkmount rear paneL FIgure 5 shows the rear panel of LiveShot Rackmount: Figure 5 Mains AC Power - Universal IEC connector accepts 110-240VAC 50/60Hz. Analog Audio In L/R - When using composite input, these balanced XLR-3F ports accept analog audio. Cue Audio - Apply audio here to be sent out via the cue audio channel.

  • Page 17: Rackmount Connector Pinout

    raCkmount ConneCtor pInout Analog XLR pinning (L&R in, L&R out) 0dBu nominal level (+20dBu clip) Cue Audio In/Out pinning -10dBu nominal level (+6dBu clip) Pin 1 Ground Pin 2 Balanced audio + Pin 3 Balanced audio - To use unbalanced sources, connect Pins 1 and 3 to Ground, and connect the audio + signal to Pin 2.

  • Page 18: About Liveshot Video I/O

    Encode/decode resolution is selected in the connection profile chosen via the user interface. On LiveShot Rackmount, the system will attempt to match the output resolution to be the same as the video was when it was inputted to the far end encoder. On LiveShot Portable, output is always adapted to SD modes.
  • Page 19 Again, the exception is the Portable output, which will adapt to an SD frame rate. The output of the HDMI port on LiveShot Rackmount may also adapt based on the detected resolution of the device connected to it.

  • Page 20: About Liveshot Video Coding

    about LIveShot vIdeo CodIng Before we begin discussing video coding, let’s define the term “video quality”. Obviously, quality is a highly subjective topic. When we use the term quality here, we use it as a substitute for the more technical term “encoding efficiency”. This means relative to a certain encoding bitrate (note: everything is relative to bitrate in LiveShot), the encoder will produce a certain amount of video artifacts or “noise”...

  • Page 21: Video Lines

    I/O frame rate, just the internal processing rate. about LIveShot audIo CodIng Comrex has been serving the Radio Broadcast industry for decades and we take special pride in providing excellence in our audio features. To that end, LiveShot contains a state-of-the art audio encoder based on AAC-ELD.

  • Page 22: Liveshot Encode/Decode Limits

    LIveShot enCode/deCode LImItS The codec engine within LiveShot has a lot of responsibility, including maintaining a consistent video encode and decode stream (if a full-duplex profile is chosen). There are many options involving bitrates and resolutions that can make this engine work very hard. Here are some general limits to what you can expect from LiveShot.

  • Page 23: About Liveshot Networking And Protocols

    about LIveShot networkIng and protoCoLS LiveShots connect together using a variety of protocols that are layered on top of each other. This concept is illustrated in Figure 7. LIveShot LayerS FIgure 7 The lowest layer protocol is called a Stream, and consists of a one-way or bi-directional video or audio stream.

  • Page 24: More About Crosslock

    CrossLock is the outermost layer and gets established between LiveShot first. Crosslock handles the ability to aggregate multiple network devices on each end of a link. It also provides statistics to the far end and determines the rate at which each network applied is capable of working, throttling the encoders if necessary to fit within the available bandwidth.
  • Page 25 CrossLock works in conjunction with Switchboard server (maintained by Comrex) to allow for the IP address of LiveShots to change (as they move around) without any reconfiguration of dialing destinations. This is shown in Figure 9. LiveShots will ping the Switchboard server with their IP address information, and will run some tests against the server to determine whether there are router or firewall issues that might impair peer-to-peer connections.
  • Page 26 Here’s another advantage of CrossLock--Normally in this scenario (one LiveShot on Private IP, one on Public IP), connections could only be made in the direction of the Public unit. Connections attempted toward the Private unit would be blocked by the NAT router. CrossLock maintains a VPN connection “tunnel”...

  • Page 27: Getting Started With Liveshot Rackmount

    Since LiveShot Rackmount is controlled from the web page served from the unit, it is often useful to assign it a static IP address in your network. The easiest way to do this is via the Comrex Device Manager Windows utility, which can be found on the CD-ROM disc accompanying your new LiveShot codec or downloaded for free from our website: www.comrex.com.
  • Page 28 devIce manaGer FIGure 11 Staying on the Device tab, look for the button labeled Network Settings on the right side as shown in Figure 11. You will see a timer that shows how much longer the LiveShot has before IP configuration function is disabled for security purposes. After the timer expires, the button will be disabled and it will read IP config locked.

  • Page 29: Connecting Input Audio/Video

    Summary - Choose in and out connections. LiveShot will detect them. Choose which type of input video (if any) to apply to LiveShot Rackmount. Input A/V is only required if you plan to stream media back to LiveShot Portable.

  • Page 30: Getting Started With Liveshot Portable

    GettInG Started wIth lIVeShot portable IV. connectInG to a network ethernet Summary - Ethernet on Portable is usually plug-and-play. In most circumstances, it won’t be important to set the Portable to a static IP address. This is because the connection is usually initiated from LiveShot Portable, so it’s not important for the Portable to have unsolicited incoming connectivity from the Internet.

  • Page 31: Connecting Input Audio/Video

    connectInG Input audIo/VIdeo Choose the type of input video you plan to connect to LiveShot Portable. It’s important to have the video input connected and active before a connection is made. “Hot swapping” video inputs while a stream is active is not supported. The LiveShot Portable offers inputs via HD-SDI (with embedded audio), HDMI (with embedded audio) and Composite (with analog audio input).

  • Page 32: Getting Started With Crosslock

    “About LiveShot Networking and Protocols”(page 21) for theory of CrossLock operation. One of the key elements of the Comrex LiveShot system is its ability to create a “tunnel” (much like a VPN) between two units. We call this CrossLock VPN. CrossLock is established between two LiveShot peers in advance of any audio or video streams.
  • Page 33 CrossLock’s primary function is to provide stability over poor networks. To this end, it will have control over video data rate, frame rate and other functions that will affect media quality. There may be circumstances where CrossLock is not desired. This may be when running over known good managed IP connections.

  • Page 34: Getting Started With Liveshot Web Interface

    The LiveShot Web Interface is provided by an internal web server in LiveShot and delivered via any of the active network ports. On LiveShot Rackmount, the only network port is Ethernet, so the main LiveShot IP address is used in a browser. On LiveShot Portable, any device associated with the internal Wi-Fi Access Point can view it at a special address.
  • Page 35 The system will next attempt to log in using the default password (comrex) or the last one used. If that fails, it will prompt you for the correct password. (Enter password)
  • Page 36 After logging in, the main web interface appears as shown in Figure 13. The interface is laid out in four main sections: Network, Peers, Media Link, and Config. fIgure 13 When one of these tabs is chosen, the area above the tabs fills with the options for that particular section.

  • Page 37: Status Section

    Unit Name - either the default (LiveShot <mac_address>) name assigned to the unit, or the name set by the user in the admin settings Switchboard Server Status - shows registration state with the Comrex Switchboard server. If this does not show “registered” it could indicate a network issue.

  • Page 38: Network Tab

    network tab When this tab is chosen, as in Figure 15, the top section is populated with a list of network connected devices that have, at one point, been attached to LiveShot. The first device is always the internal Ethernet port, and on LiveShot Portable the second device is always the internal Wi-Fi access point. fIgure 15 This is the section where, if necessary, you will configure your network devices.

  • Page 39: Peers Tab

    IP address extracted from the network device. In addition, LiveShot does a sync with a server maintained by Comrex and displays two other pieces of information: The public IP address (this could be the public address of the entire LAN), and the type of Network Address Translation (if any) that is detected on the network.

  • Page 40: Media Link Tab

    MedIa LInk tab Figure 17 shows the Media Link Tab. All the statistics relevant to connections that are active are presented here. Graphs show network utilization and packet loss, as well as delay and error correction information. These graphs are available for both the local transmit and local receive paths. In addition, each network device can be selected on the right side, and statistics relevant only to that network are available.

  • Page 41: Config Tab

    confIg tab Figure 18 shows the Config tab, which is used to set all global configuration for the LiveShot. Options here are available to define audio and video profiles, configure A/V hardware ports, and set up CrossLock and administration functions. Details are in the Config section. fIgure 18...

  • Page 42: Network Tab Details

    network tab detaIls VII. Many devices in the network tab will be “plug and play”, meaning that if drivers are included in the LiveShot’s firmware, and no special configuration is needed, the device should just attach to the network, and CrossLock should become enabled. Devices can be “hot plugged” into the LiveShot’s USB ports, and if supported, will appear in the network tab list as shown in Figure 19.

  • Page 43: Locations

    locatIons LiveShot implements a feature called Locations, which allows the user to store several profiles for each network interface. This way, several different configurations can be stored for the same network interface and switched easily when LiveShot is moved between networks. Examples are Ethernet networks that require specific static settings (that are used variably in conjunction with DHCP-based Ethernet networks) or Wi-Fi networks that are mixed and matched regularly.

  • Page 44: Ethernet Settings

    ethernet settIngs Unless your LiveShot will always be used on the same network, we recommend that new Locations be created for custom Ethernet settings, leaving the Default Location as DHCP. This will allow quick reversion to DHCP where necessary. Figure 21 shows the creation of a new Ethernet Location. Once the default setting of DHCP is set to Static, new entries will appear to allow setting of all the vital static Ethernet fields.
  • Page 45 Changing the active network location is shown in Figure 22. It’s important to remember that if you choose a new active Location, and are configuring LiveShot via that network, you will lose web connectivity when the new Location is chosen. FIgure 22 It is always recommended that LiveShot be manually rebooted whenever the Ethernet settings have been changed.

  • Page 46: Wlan Settings

    wlan settIngs Once the included Wi-Fi adapter is attached to LiveShot, an entry will appear for WLAN network. Because users tend to change Wi-Fi networks often, a special function is offered under the Locations feature. The Default Location of the WLAN adapter has a network choice of “Auto”. In this mode, LiveShot will scan for all other previous Locations that have been configured.

  • Page 47: Dual Modem Support

    If you need to set the APN value manually, this process is shown in Figure 23. FIgure 23 Select the device in the interface to open the configuration settings. Search for an entry marked “SIM”, which contains all the carrier-specific values for that modem. Under “APN”, a menu will be offered to select the region and country of use, then a list of available carriers.

  • Page 48: Internal Access Point

    Internal access poInt On LiveShot Portable only, an additional entry appears in the Network list for the internal WLAN access point. This is the Wi-Fi host used to communicate with wireless devices like phones, tablets and laptops, allowing field configuration. By default, this access point is open and has no security. It is recommended to apply WPA security to this feature by adding password protection here.

  • Page 49: Preserve After Reset

    Figure 25 illustrates how data is bridged to external devices in Gateway mode. FIgure 25 preserVe aFter reset When LiveShot is reset to factory settings, it removes all configuration files resident to the hardware. Factory Reset can be performed by the Device Manager utility or can be done from the control buttons on the LiveShot hardware.

  • Page 50: Use With Crosslock

    “Use with CrossLock”. Setting this to “no” sets this network to be used only for control functions. broadcast conFIg This setting allows the chosen network to respond to “pings” from the Comrex Device Manager “Scan Network” function. Unless specifically required to be disabled on your network, this should be set to “yes”...

  • Page 51: Peers Tab Details

    Peers tab detaIls VIII. The Peers tab lists your destination addresses. Incoming calls are reflected here as well. The list contains three default values, which will be edited by the user. Many users will need no more than this, but it is possible to create others. A Peer entry consists of several pieces of information, as shown in Figure 26.
  • Page 52 Peers do not need to go to unique destinations. It’s OK to set several Peer entries to the same destination, with different names and profiles chosen. The default peers are designed to be the main ones you will use. These are: Program - This entry is designed to be the way to make audio/video connections between LiveShots using the CrossLock VPN feature.

  • Page 53: Editing Peers

    edItIng Peers Peers are edited by highlighting one and choosing the pull-down options menu in the upper left corner, and selecting “Edit”. The four parameters described above are displayed as shown in Figure 27, and may be individually selected, changed and saved. FIgure 27 Before you can use any of your outgoing peers, you need to select a peer by choosing the “Remote unit”...

  • Page 54: Media Link Tab Details

    MedIa LInk tab detaILs IX. The Media Link tab is the one designed to have all the graphs and controls necessary for the user while a media stream is active. It contains a wealth of information about network performance in each direction. All graphical data in the Media Link tab is updated once every second. The main Media Link graph is shown in Figure 28, and contains two main displays.

  • Page 55: Utilization Graph

    utILIzatIon graph The top section contains a graph of the outgoing (or incoming) utilization of the network. The bars indicate the average data rate used by the system during each one second window. It is expected that the size of these bars will vary due to a variety of factors including: H.264 video is a variable bitrate system, and source material will affect the data rate.

  • Page 56: Delay Slider

    deLay sLIder The most powerful way to stabilize a LiveShot connection is to have the decoder add a delay buffer to the CrossLock connection. This compensates for changes in the rate packets are received - known as jitter in Internet speak. LiveShot uses a combination of decode delay buffering and error correction to keep connections stable.

  • Page 57: Media Link Detailed View

    MedIa LInk detaILed VIew A powerful feature of the Media Link tab is to allow the user to “drill down” to the statistics for each network interface, and view the performance of that network alone. By clicking the button that appears for each interface on the right side of the tab, a new window opens that shows graphs similar to the “overview”...
  • Page 58 The differences with these graphs are: Encoder target rate is not shown on these graphs, since it might be an order of magnitude larger than the information shown. The rate of error correction applied to this interface is shown in the top graph overlaid on the utilization data.

  • Page 59: Config Tab Details

    config tab details As shown in Figure 32, the Config tab has three main options: A/V ports Connection Profiles Admin Settings Each of these sections is a complex topic and is treated in its own section below figure 32...

  • Page 60: A/V Ports

    a/V Ports Figure 33 shows the LiveShot A/V Ports page. Each of the available inputs can be clicked to open a configuration page. figure 33 The Composite Input config page is shown in Figure 34. figure 34...
  • Page 61 HD/SDI output, followed by the HDMI output, and lock into a mode to support that output. One important limitation to LiveShot Rackmount is that 480i SD output resolution is not supported on the two digital outputs (HD/SDI and HDMI) simultaneously. This means that depending on the transmitter input resolution, some connectors cannot output video simultaneously.

  • Page 62: Advanced A/V Settings

    Alternatively, you can set a “Primary Output” via the pull-down menu, and that output will always be active regardless of coding resolution. The other outputs will be active if they can be supported alongside the current encode/decode resolution and primary output choice. Also, you can choose an output format (regardless of input format) by setting it discretely in the pull-down menu.

  • Page 63: Connection Profiles

    connection Profiles Profiles define all the media parameters of a LiveShot connection. Profiles define audio and video coding parameters for each direction of a connection, along with parameters used to control decoder receive buffer management. In this way, the initiator of a LiveShot stream (the only one who can assign a profile) is master of all media streams in both directions.
  • Page 64 When you choose to create or edit a profile, you’ll be presented with the page shown in Figure 36. figure 36 First, you’ll give the profile a descriptive name (e.g., 1Mbps full duplex). Then you will proceed to “build” individual streams into your profile with the bitrates and other parameters you desire. A separate audio and video stream must be created for each direction one is desired.

  • Page 65: Video Streams

    Video streams Entries for a sample video stream are shown in Figure 37. The relevant entries are: Name - A descriptive name (e.g., duplex video, tx video etc). Media Type - Choose H.264 video. Media Direction - Relative to the unit making the outgoing call, the choices here are Bidirectional, Transmit Only (outgoing from this LiveShot), or Receive Only (incoming to this LiveShot).

  • Page 66: Video Advanced Options

    Video adVanced oPtions By clicking “Show Advanced Options” (upper left menu button) several other encoding options are presented: Bitrate Optimization - This option is set to “Low” for the typical bitrates used by LiveShot. It balances the choices made by the encoding algorithm between total network bandwidth and quality. In some cases, users may want to experiment with setting this parameter manually.
  • Page 67 Field encoding is chosen as the default because PAFF and MBAFF, although higher efficiency, have been shown to produce visual artifacts in some instances. The options are there for experimentation on certain video sources. Intra-Refresh (IR)* - Thiss setting (normally disabled) allows a special mode that alters how reference frames are sent from encoder to decoder over the network.
  • Page 68 Low Latency - Latency is considered to be an overriding factor over quality in this mode. Use only in environments where the lowest possible latency is important. For most users, the amount of latency reduced in this mode is a poor tradeoff for quality.

  • Page 69: Audio Streams

    audio streams LiveShot by default encodes audio using the AAC-ELD algorithm, which is a highly regarded codec designed to balance low delay and high quality audio. It is a variant of the AAC-LC algorithm, popularized by Portable media players. AAC-ELD adds to AAC-LC in two ways: Low Delay (LD) Operation - Using a shorter framesize, overall processing delay is reduced to a fraction of AAC-LC.
  • Page 70 Figure 38 shows the options in setting up an audio stream: figure 38 Name - A descriptive name (e.g., duplex audio, tx audio etc). Media Type - Choose AAC Audio. Media Direction - Relative to the unit making the outgoing call, the choices here are Bidirectional, Transmit Only (outgoing from this LiveShot) or Receive Only (incoming to this LiveShot).

  • Page 71: Audio Advanced Options

    audio adVanced oPtions Buffer Parameters - These options are common for all types of streams, so they are treated in their own separate section below. Stream Optional - This option determines whether a connection will fail in the absence of a source for this particular stream. For example, if an audio input set to embedded SDI or HDMI, and a stream is defined to use it but it is not present, the system can be set to fail or complete the connection anyway.

  • Page 72: About Connection Profile Combos

    10.10.10.10:88). Also, the Device Manager software will need to be configured for this change as well. The Remote Access Password is very important. The default is comrex, and we highly recommend changing this if your LiveShot will be exposed to the public Internet without NAT routers. This password will be used for the web interface, the mobile phone apps, and the Device Manager software.

  • Page 73: Admin Advanced Options

    The Diagnostics setting allows use of an SSH port on LiveShot so Comrex tech support personnel can access it remotely. Use of this port requires a key code that Comrex does not provide to customers, so it is secure when turned on, but some users may still have security concerns. Setting this value to No disables the diagnostic port.
  • Page 74 As shown in Figure 39, the system allows you to designate which defined connection(s) are activated on Auto-connect #1-4. By default, a media connection to the Default Peer (the first entry in the peer list, 3G/4G profile) is active on #1, and a cue channel connection to the same destination unit is on #2. #3 is tied to an HD video connection (entry #4 in the peer list) and a Loopback test connection is active on #4.

  • Page 75: Session Modes

    The LiveShot Normal Session Protocol has the entries required for this registration, although they are not normally used. Figure 40 shows these. We won’t go into details of these settings in this manual, but more information can be obtained from Comrex tech support.

  • Page 76: System Clock

    The last entry under LiveShot Normal Session mode is important. By default, this protocol is only enabled for use over CrossLock VPN. If you need to make LiveShot connections without this feature (by dialing a LiveShot’s “real” IP address, or accepting a call from a “real” address) you will need to change this setting to No to turn this restriction off.

  • Page 77: Switchboard Settings

    The LiveShot Switchboard server is maintained by Comrex on the public Internet at the address of switchboard.comrex.com. Organizations with larger fleets of products, and those who simply need to host their own server, can change the address of the server in this section.

  • Page 78: Crosslock Vpn

    crosslock VPn This section determines settings for the CrossLock reliability layer. Use of CrossLock is optional but highly recommended. Theory of operation of CrossLock is described in the section “About LiveShot Networking and Protocols” (page 21). Previous versions of LiveShot firmware operated CrossLock in a “client-server” mode, but firmware 1.4 and higher changes this to a “peer-peer”...
  • Page 79 It is important to the proper operation of Switchboard and CrossLock. By default, the setting points to the Comrex server. The user is free to set up their own STUN server, or to point to any alternate server here.

  • Page 80: Making And Receiving Liveshot Connections

    MakIng and ReceIvIng LIveShot connectIonS XI. After all the configuration is done, it’s time to actually use LiveShot. Before you make any connections, you’ll need to at least choose your destination on the outgoing LiveShot in the Peer menu. You can create a new Peer with the steps outlined in the Peers Tab section, or you can edit the default Peers presented in the factory configuration.

  • Page 81: Making Connections Via The Web Interface

    MakIng connectIonS vIa the Web InteRFace Once the peer is created or edited to choose the proper destination (and a proper connection profile is selected) you can select “Connect” to make that connection. LiveShot will take several seconds to establish CrossLock with the Peer, then set up encoding and decoding parameters on each end.

  • Page 82: Making Crosslock Connections Without Using Switchboard

    We do this several ways: Only Comrex products with the proper certificate can make CrossLock connections We limit the list of devices that can connect to your LiveShot via CrossLock. Units that are not in a LiveShot’s Switchboard Peer List will be rejected.
  • Page 83 The change is made in the Config tab under Advanced Settings->Switchboard menu. As shown in Figure 44, there’s a Peer List in this menu, with the option to add a new peer at the bottom. Select the Add Peer option and you’ll see a series of fields that need to be filled in for the opposite LiveShot. These include: A familiar name for the peer The unit ID (Ethernet MAC) of the peer...

  • Page 84: Permissive Mode

    There may be situations (e.g. LiveShot is on an isolated network, or one on which security is less of a concern) where you want to disable all restrictions regarding who can establish CrossLock connections to your LiveShot. Note that only Comrex products with valid certificates can make these connections, but Permissive Mode opens LiveShot to all other LiveShots.

  • Page 85: Making Non-Crosslock Connections

    MakIng non-cRoSSLock connectIonS LiveShot may be compatible with other hardware and software capable of H.264 video and AAC audio encoding and decoding. Since these systems will not support the CrossLock VPN layer, in these instances you may want to make or receive connections without CrossLock applied. Enabling connections without CrossLock is done in the Config tab under Adavanced Settings->Session Modes->LiveShot Normal (SIP) entry.
  • Page 86 In addition to this, to make outgoing connections without CrossLock you’ll need to create a peer in the Peers tab in a special way. This is shown in Figure 47. FIguRe 47 Under the “Remote Unit” choice, where you’ll normally see your list of Switchboard peers, you’ll choose “Manual Destination”.

  • Page 87: Using The Liveshot Rack Front Panel Interface

    UsIng the LIveshot Rack FRont PaneL InteRFace XII. The LiveShot Rackmount, via its front panel buttons and display, allows setting of some of the basic features of LiveShot. The Interface can: Change Ethernet IP settings on the LiveShot. • Make and break connections to the two Hot-key auto-connect destinations •...
  • Page 88 Figure 48 and Figure 49 show a map of the various menu options on the Rackmount front panel interface. FIgURe 48...
  • Page 89 FIgURe 49 These options mirror options available via the LiveShot Web Interface. See details in that section (page 32) for more on these options. Navigation is done through the arrow buttons and enter keys. To the farthest most side of the top line, cursor icons appear to offer which cursors are active.
  • Page 90 On menus that offer the ability to change a setting, the will offer an option to cancel. Each digit of a numerical value (e.g., IP addresses) can be altered with the buttons, and digits can be selected with the buttons. Scrolling all the way to the right on a numeric entry will offer an option to cancel your setting.
  • Page 91 The current value can be saved by pressing Enter. The current operation can be cancelled by pressing Enter.

  • Page 92: Advanced Topics

    AdvAnced TopIcs XIII. MulTIple crosslock connecTIons A single LiveShot is capable of connecting to multiple others simultaneously. We call this function “MultiStreaming”. This is shown in Figure 50. This is generally for the purpose of distributing media from one location to several. Three simultaneous CrossLock connections can be maintained from a LiveShot.

  • Page 93: Streaming Modes

    In current firmware, the use of RTSP Streaming Session modes should be considered experimental. Comrex may not be able to support all use cases for these modes. The RTSP Session modes provide a means for LiveShot to deliver audio and video streams to player software installed on PCs and mobile devices.

  • Page 94: Streaming Server Mode

    Each of the two supported Streaming modes outlined below can be enabled by choosing the appropriate entry and changing the “disabled” setting to “enabled”. RTSP sessions are initiated from the player software by addressing the IP address of the LiveShot as described below.
  • Page 95 Network Bandwidth is usually a concern in RTSP modes for several reasons. First, the total bandwidth available on the network connected to LiveShot must be able to support the sum of all streams pulled from it, along with any LiveShot normal connection present. This may require a network connection many times the size of a typical LiveShot network.

  • Page 96: Licenses

    Some of the open-source programs are licensed under the Gnu Public License (GPL) ver 2. For more information on GPL see http://www.gnu. org. As per the GPL, source code for this software is available on request from Comrex on CD-ROM or other electronic format. To obtain this software please contact our support department at +1 978 784 1776.
  • Page 97 glib libusb-compat libnl2 The use of Boost software is licensed under the Boost License Boost Software License - Version 1.0 - August 17th, 2003 Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person or organization obtaining a copy of the software and accompanying documentation covered by this license (the “Software”) to use, reproduce, display, distribute, execute, and transmit the Software, and to prepare derivative works of the Software, and to permit third-parties to whom the Software is furnished to do so, all subject to the following: The copyright notices in the Software and this entire statement, including the above license grant, this restriction and the following disclaimer,must be included in all copies of the Software, in whole or in part, and all derivative works of the Software, unless such copies or...
  • Page 98 Except as contained in this notice, the name of the X Consortium shall not be used in advertising or otherwise to promote the sale, use or other dealings in this Software without prior written authorization from the X Consortium. zlib is licensed under the zlib license Copyright (C) 1995-2012 Jean-loup Gailly and Mark Adler This software is provided ‘as-is’, without any express or implied warranty.

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