Professional Documents
Culture Documents
User Guide
Release 5.6
Notice
This document is THOMSON property and may not be reproduced and diffused without the
prior permission of THOMSON.
THOMSON shall have no liability or responsibility to customer or any other person or entity
with respect to any loss or damage caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly by
equipment sold or furnished by us.
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SAPPHIRE MPEG Video Server TNM-51xx-2 & TNM-51xx3
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TNM-51xx-2 & TNM-51xx3 MPEG Video Server SAPPHIRE
Table of Contents
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.1. Scope . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.2. Related Documents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.3. Manual Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
1.4. Manual Conventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.5. General Safety Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.5.1. Safety Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
1.5.2. Product Damage Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
2. Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.1. Product Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.1.1. Hardware Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
2.1.2. Software Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.1.2.1. Actions Performed for Incoming, Stored & Output Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
2.1.2.2. Connection to the Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
2.2. Unpacking . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.3. Hardware Installation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.3.1. Rack Mounting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
2.3.2. Power Supply and Earthing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.3.2.1. AC Power Supply . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.3.2.2. Power Supply Cord . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
2.3.2.3. Protective Earth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.3.2.4. EMC Earth (If present) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.3.3. Ventilation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
2.3.4. Rear Panel Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.3.4.1. Supermicro Infodip Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.3.4.1.1. SC833 Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.3.4.1.2. SC836 Platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
2.3.4.2. ASI Connectors Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.3.4.2.1. Pia+ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
2.3.4.2.2. PassPro . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
2.3.4.2.3. GES Board Connectors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.3.4.3. Network Cards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.3.5. Connecting System I/O Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
2.4. Starting the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.4.1. Login . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.4.1.1. Locally . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.4.1.2. From a Remote Desktop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
2.4.2. Starting the Server & the Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
2.4.2.1. Supervisor Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.4.2.2. Configurator Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.4.3. Exiting the Application . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.4.4. Restarting the Video Server Application from a Client . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
2.4.5. Shutting Down the System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
3. Operating Basics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.1. Functional Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.1.1. Time Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
3.1.2. Manual Record and Manual Play Capabilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
3.1.3. Play and Record Lists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.1.4. Near Video On Demand (NVOD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
3.1.5. Media Ingest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
3.1.6. Ad Insertion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.1.7. Media File Concatenation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
3.2. Graphical User Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
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3.3. Tutorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.3.1. Scanning Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.3.1.1. Scanning New Inputs (ASI only) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
3.3.1.2. Scanning Existing Inputs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.3.1.3. Adding a New ASI Input & Scanning its Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
3.3.1.4. Adding a New MPEG over IP Input & Scanning its Content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
3.3.2. Managing Dummy Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
3.3.3. Recording . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.3.3.1. Performing a Manual Record . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
3.3.3.2. Creating a Record List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
3.3.3.3. Inserting a Segment into a Record List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
3.3.3.4. Creating an Ingest Channel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
3.3.3.5. Extracting Segments from a Record Loop (Delay Line) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
3.3.4. Using the Delay Feature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.3.4.1. Creating a Delay Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
3.3.4.2. Creating a Delay Line from an Existing Record Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.3.4.3. Modifying an Output Delay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
3.3.4.4. Delay Line’s Behaviour . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
3.3.4.5. Creating a Play List Using a Loop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.3.4.5.1. Create the Delay Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.3.4.5.2. Create the new Play List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
3.3.5. Creating a Live Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.3.5.1. Creating Live Unicast Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.3.5.2. Creating a Live Multicast Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
3.3.6. Playing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.3.6.1. Playing a File - Manual Play (for ASI & Network Outputs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
3.3.6.2. Creating a Play List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
3.3.6.3. Inserting a Segment into a Play List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.3.6.3.1. Inserting a Live Segment into a Play List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
3.3.6.3.2. Inserting a Stored File into a Play List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.3.6.4. Creating an NVOD Play List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
3.3.7. Automatically Adding Files & Segments to the Hot Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
3.3.7.1. Automatically Adding Segments to a Play or Record List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
3.3.7.2. Automatically Adding Files using a Hot Folder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
3.3.8. Concatenating Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.4. Maintenance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
3.4.1. Repackaging for Shipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
4. Advanced Settings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.1. Removing an Input . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.2. Adding an FTP Server as an Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.2.1. Adding an FTP Server . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
4.2.2. Recording on an FTP Server Storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.3. Modifying an Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.3.1. Modifying an ASI Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
4.3.2. Modifying Output Actions of an ASI Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
4.3.3. Modifying Output Actions of a Network Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
4.4. Removing an Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.4.1. Removing a Non-Multiplexed Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.4.2. Removing a Multiplexed Output . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
4.5. Managing PSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
4.5.1. Passing Through PSI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.5.2. Passing Through PSI with Mux . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.5.2.1. When to Choose this Option? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
4.5.2.2. Setting the PSI Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
4.5.3. Setting Advanced PSI Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
4.5.4. Remapping Data . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
4.5.4.1. Remapping a Service at the Time of Creation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
4.5.4.2. Remapping an Existing Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
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List of Figures
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List of Tables
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Revision History
Appl. to
Documentation update &
Version Date Author product
explanations
version
1. Introduction
1.1. Scope
This manual provides installation, first-time operating instructions, product tutorial and
reference for the following Thomson Sapphire video server components & features:
• Operating time-delay,
Getting Started
This section contains an overview of the product and basic instructions on unpacking,
installing and operating the system. Moreover, it provides procedures for checking that the
system is functioning properly as well as repackaging information.
Operating Basics
This section provides a detailed description of the product and a brief tutorial that shows
how the applications are used. Operating Basics also provides a comprehensive list of the
buttons, icons, and menu selections for the applications.
Advanced Settings
This section completes the Tutorial with more advanced settings on the SAPPHIRE system.
Reference
This section provides a detailed reference for all the applications of the SAPPHIRE system.
Related Issues
Appendices
Naming conventions for the interface elements and Windows elements in this manual follow
the Microsoft Manual of Style, Third Edition. Naming conventions for MPEG-2, ATSC, and
DVB structures follow the conventions derived from the standards documents listed above.
In addition, the following formatting conventions apply to this manual:
Bold text refers to specific interface elements that you are instructed to select, click, or
clear.
Italic text refers to document names or sections. Italics are also used to refer to a named
item when it is first described.
Example: Enter administrator for your login and MPEG2 for your password.
Please observe the following safety precautions to avoid injury and prevent damage to this
product or any products connected to it.
Do not apply a mains voltage that is outside the range specified in this manual.
Ensure that your device is properly grounded before power-up. Grounding is through the
power cords.
The connection panel should comply with the legislation in force in the country of
installation.
Connection panel position in the rack must ensure that plugs and power cords are within
easy reach for switching off purposes.
Use Proper Power Cord. Use only the power cord specified for this product and certified
for the country of use.
Provide proper ventilation as described in section 2.3.3. Ventilation to keep the equipment
in an environment compatible with the maximum ambient temperature specified by the
manufacturer (see section Specifications).
Reduced Air Flow: Installation of the equipment in a rack should be such that the amount
of air flow required for safe operation of the equipment is not compromised.
Mechanical loading: Mounting of the equipment in the rack should be such that a
hazardous condition is not achieved due to uneven mechanical loading.
Particular attention should be given to supply connections other than direct connections to
the branch circuit (e.g. use of power strips).
To avoid electric shock or fire hazard, do not operate this equipment with cover or blank
panels removed.
Do Not Service Alone. Do not perform internal service or adjustments of this product
unless another person capable of rendering first aid and resuscitation is present.
To avoid injury or fire hazard, do not operate this product in an explosive environment
(atmosphere and materials).
To avoid electric shock, this product should only be operated in dry conditions.
Avoid Exposed Circuitry. Do not touch exposed connections and components when
power is present.
Use Care When Servicing With Power On. Dangerous voltages or currents may exist in
this product. Disconnect power, remove battery (if applicable), and disconnect test leads
before removing protective panels, soldering, or replacing components.
If the chassis has more than one power supply cord, disconnect all power supply cords
before servicing.
When fully equipped, the chassis can be heavy (see section Specifications for more
details). To avoid injury, it is therefore advisable to take all the necessary precautions when
installing the device in a rack (or removing it from a rack).
The product includes a lithium battery which should never require replacing. If for any
reason replacement does prove necessary, please observe the following conditions:
Caution: Danger of explosion if battery is incorrectly replaced. Replace only with the
same or equivalent type recommended by the manufacturer, dispose of used batteries
according to the manufacturer's instruction.
Dusty atmosphere As the device features no air filter, it must be installed in a dust free
environment.
If you suspect there is damage to this product, have it inspected by qualified service
personnel.
If equipment is returned to the Customer Services Department, the faulty device must be
packed where possible in its original packaging (protective corners and boxes). Observe
the packaging guidelines described in section 3.4.1. Repackaging for Shipment.
Use Proper Fuse. Use only the fuse type and rating specified for this product.
Do Not Operate Without Covers. Do not operate this product with covers or panels
removed.
2. Getting Started
This section will help you install your SAPPHIRE video server and configure it.
• a server,
• a set of boards:
The video server platform is designed around a PC server platform running a Windows™
2003 Server.
Each input (one, two or four ASI inputs or network inputs) can receive an MPEG-2 TS
stream. Incoming signals for ASI or IP inputs can be de-multiplexed. These streams can be
stored on-disk depending on time slots or events defined in a record list. They can then be
reused in broadcasting lists so as to create a channel composed of live and stored files.
The input stream can also be sent directly to one output (live). All the generated channels
can be multiplexed to create an MPTS over ASI.
The video server is an MPEG-2 DVB or ATSC transport stream server that can handle
several inputs and generate several MPEG-2 Transport Stream outputs. Inputs can be
either SPTS (single program transport streams) or MPTS (multiple programs transport
streams) with SD or HD content.
Video server standard inputs are based on ASI boards and/or network cards. They have
the following characteristics:
• Incoming Transport Streams with packets of 188 or 204 (ASI only) bytes,
• Manual recording & playback: a TS is directly played back or stored for a user-
defined duration,
• Record list and play list: programs recording can be scheduled through a record
list. Programs playback can be scheduled through a play-list,
• Frame-accurate editing: each stored clip may be edited before being broadcast by
setting In and Out points,
• Frame and GOP accurate splicing: performed between each event in the play list.
Splicing may be operated between a live program and a stored clip, between two
stored clips or between two live programs,
• Near Video On Demand: a main output play list is delayed to one or more slave play
lists,
• Performing analysis using sampling of the stored streams, the incoming live
streams and the playback streams (loss of synchronization, rate from PCR, presence
of components based on PID value, decoding and display of thumbnails, consistency
of MPEG-2/DVB or ATSC tables).
The video server software runs on the server. Client applications can be triggered on
another Windows™ 2000 or Windows™ XP operating system located on the same LAN or
WAN.
2.2. Unpacking
Table 1 lists the accessories that are always shipped with your system. Use this list to
ensure that your order is complete.
Quantity Description
1 Certificate of conformity
This section provides instructions to install your system and make the necessary electrical
connections. The system can be operated from a bench or mounted in a rack.
Once you have installed your product and completed making the signal, network, and
peripheral connections:
1. Ensure that the on/off switch is switched "off". If the product is not fitted with an on/
off switch ensure the local main supply is switched off.
2. Plug the device end of power cable to the product's main connector(s).
CAUTION. Supply power to the product with the type of power source
indicated on the marking label.
Mains Voltage Range. You can power the product from mains without setting a voltage
selection switch (see section Specifications for more details on the voltage).
NOTE. The power supply cord should comply with the legislation in force in
the country of installation
CAUTION. Do not supply power to the product until all connections have been
made.
The product has an EMC earth terminal located at the end panel. This earth is not a
protective earth for electric shock protection. EMC connection is recommended to ensure
ground equipotentiality between the different devices of the technical centre (only one
connection is required per device).
The bonding strip must have a cross-section of 6mm² and a length of less than 500mm.
2.3.3. Ventilation
Note that the failure rate is quickly increasing with the temperature. Consequently, the
following precautions should be observed:
• Prevent hot air from one device being re-injected into other devices;
• Ensure adequate distribution of air flows to the air intakes of the devices;
• Check the air flows: the rack should ensure a sufficient supply of cold air and
sufficient evacuation of hot air (depending on the number of devices mounted in the
rack and their corresponding air flows);
• Leave enough room for a column of air (min. 50mm deep) at the rear of the chassis,
from the bottom to the top of the rack.
By default, your system is only equipped with standard IP inputs and outputs. An optional
ASI board and/or an optional network card can be added.
The ASI connectors depend on the type of board (Pia+ or PassPro) the system is equipped
with.
NOTE. In software version 05.05, the trigger inputs are not used. Triggers are
managed by an external GPI box.
2.3.4.2.1. Pia+
ASI connectors are dispatched.
2.3.4.2.2. PassPro
1 or 2 inputs
The second input and output will be deactivated by the software in the case of 1 ASI I/O
server configuration.
3 or 4 inputs
Connect your network inputs and outputs directly on the network cards. Integrated network
cards shall be used for supervision and configuration only. Additional network cards are
used to stream data (multicast or unicast mode).
Before starting your server, connect your inputs on the ASI connectors and network
connectors. The server will automatically detect ASI inputs when it initially starts up.
The video server application is based on two parts: the server (Video server) and the
Graphical Interface (Video client).
2.4.1. Login
2.4.1.1. Locally
• username: administrator
• password: videoserver
So as to prevent multiple processes from saturating the server activity, the following
procedure will let you prevent multiple connections to the server.
4. In the Target field, append the following string to the default path provided by
Windows: " /console /v", i.e. the resulting content of the Target field shall be
"%SystemRoot%\system32\mstsc.exe /console /v"
NOTE. There shall be an empty string after mstsc.exe, and another one after
console.
The Video server application is launched automatically when the system starts up.
To configure and supervise your video server, use the video client application. You can
open it from the Windows Start menu selecting Programs | THOMSON | Video Client or
using the desktop shortcut ( ).
The TCP/IP port used between the Client and the Server is 4012.
• Supervisor,
• Configurator.
Supervisors can use the video client software for monitoring purposes. However, they
cannot modify the configuration on the server. In other words, Supervisors cannot add,
scan, modify, remove inputs, outputs nor filter, change rate nor perform drag & drops.
Supervisors can add, modify or remove elements in lists. They can also set or reset analysis
parameters.
To set Supervisor rights (default profile), select User mode from the Server menu. The
Mode definition dialog is displayed. Select Supervisor and click OK to validate. No
password is necessary for the Supervisor mode.
To set Configurator rights, select User mode from the Server menu. Then, select
Configurator, enter the password and validate.
By default, the password is blank. To change the password, select Password from the
Options menu. Enter the current password. Then, enter a new password and click OK to
validate.
If the current password is erroneous, an error message is displayed. The new password is
set if the current password is correct and the dialog has been validated.
To exit the client application, simply close the client software. Select Exit from the Server
menu.
If the Save window position option is set on the client (see Preferences from the Option
menu), the position and size of windows will be the same the next time the application is
started.
NOTE. Do not stop the Video Server application on the server, except for
reinstallation purpose.
From the Server menu, you may restart the Video Server Application by clicking the
Restart server menu item.
You do not need to exit the applications before shutting down the server.
Select Shut Down from the Windows 2003 Server Start menu.
3. Operating Basics
This section provides a functional overview of the product modules and a tutorial that will
show you how the modules work together.
NOTE. If you are not familiar with the Windows operating systems, please
read the documentation supplied with your system.
So as to handle the time difference between the geographical zones, the video server can
simultaneously delay several MPTS for a duration ranging from a few seconds to several
hours. The video server can delay an input stream or group of incoming services to several
outputs, using different delay durations for each. The input stream can be filtered to store
selected data only.
U U U U E
S S S S U
A A A A R
O
T T T T P
I I I I E
M M M M
E E E E S
T
Z Z Z Z D
O O O O
N N N N T
E E E E I
M
4 3 2 1 E
Delay
#3 #2 #1
#4
The video server can use any input or group of incoming services to perform manual record
of the stream on the disks. The input stream can also be filtered so that only selected data
is stored on the disks. Recording is started manually and can be stopped automatically or
manually when the selected duration is reached. The video server can play out any content
stored on the disks to any output in a manual operation. In and Out points can be set and
a clip can be played in a loop.
Manual record
from any input to
disks
The video server can be used to record events from any incoming stream (i.e. the so-called
segments).
Regular Program
Broadcast Europe
8:30 10:30
AM AM
Modified Program
Broadcast Europe
8:30 10:30
AM AM
Recorded contents, stored clips and live sources can be mixed into a play list for channel
play list applications.
• weekly: all events in the list are permanent and can therefore be periodically run.
• dated: once an event has been processed, it is automatically removed from the list.
Near Video On Demand (NVOD) is also called Advanced PPV (Pay-Per-View) or Enhanced
PPV. Typically, in the NVOD context, an entertainment or information service broadcasts a
common set of programs to customers over a schedule basis.
NVOD is particularly useful to delay an output play list. The master play list can have
several slave play lists, each of which has its own delay, totally independent from the
others. Only recorded segments can be added to the Master play list.
T0 T0 + Δ1 T0 + Δn
Figure 19. Master & slave play lists in Near Video On Demand.
Combined with the THOMSON ViBE encoder family, Sapphire Broadcast Server offers a
high quality frame-accurate media ingest solution. Since it is able to control any VTR and
any ViBE encoder in a frame accurate way, the video server produces MPEG files starting
and ending on GOP boundaries, at the first and last user-defined pictures.
3.1.6. Ad Insertion
The Sapphire Broadcast server is able to operate play list-based channels, mixing live
sources (acquired from one of the server inputs) and file-based clips. Because it features
an integrated splicer, it performs seamless and GOP or frame-accurate transitions between
play list events.
The Sapphire Broadcast server can also operate in combination with an external splicer,
through the standard SCTE-130 messaging protocol.
The Sapphire Broadcast server offers the ability to concatenate multiple clips (or portions
of clips) into one single MPEG file. It makes it possible to build a play list-like sequence of
clips and to run it at a high-speed. The video server then processes the clips and produces
a merged clip, featuring seamless and frame or GOP accurate transitions.
Title bar
Menu bar
Toolbar
Inputs view
Outputs view
Input
connectors
Output
connectors
Tabular views
Logs view
Status bar
Both Inputs and Outputs views are divided into two areas:
• the left area displays the physical MPEG interfaces and connectors: ASI boards and
connectors, network cards and streams, drives and recording actions (in outputs
only).
• the right area displays tabular views: you can reach the Services, Tree,
Information, Histogram and Files tabs depending on what is currently selected in
the left part.
Actions on the video server are performed using drag & drop actions.
For more information, refer to the section 5.2.17. Drag & Drop Facilities.
3.3. Tutorial
This section contains a step-by-step tutorial that will introduce you to the capabilities and
features of the SAPPHIRE video server. Other features are described in the Advanced
Settings section. Refer to the Section 5. Reference, p. 124 section for detailed operating
information for each module.
To receive live sources from a video server input, it is first necessary to scan it. If the input
contains MPEG 2 PSI/SI/PSIP tables, the video server detects and adds the services
automatically.
All the new inputs can be scanned simultaneously - which is the case when the server is
started up for the first time - or independently.
The Scan new input feature lets you scan all ASI inputs that are not already created and
add inputs that contain streams.
Proceed as follows:
1. Right-click an input board (not the input itself, but its board).
Any new connector with a valid signal is added (default names are Input x). Services for
new inputs are added to the Services view.
The Scan input feature lets you scan the input stream to determine (using its tables) the
content of the stream.
Proceed as follows:
1. Right-click an input.
2. Select Scan.
If the services are found to have changed, they will be updated: new services will be added
and services that no longer exist will be removed. This is true only is if the input is not used
by an output or a record.
The input rate will be updated if it is different from the signal rate.
Proceed as follows:
If at least one connector is available and you have Configurator rights, the Board
Connectors dialog is displayed.
2. Select the connector to be added (Connector 1 to 4). Connectors that are already
created cannot be selected and are grayed. Default connector name is Input x,
where x is the connector’s number. This name can be changed and will be displayed
in the connector view, under the connector image.
3. Click Finish to add the input connector and scan its services.
If no signal is present, you will need to use the Scan Input option (from the connectors
context menu) once you will have plugged in the signal.
3.3.1.4. Adding a New MPEG over IP Input & Scanning its Content
NOTE. The Add input feature cannot be reached if all inputs are already
created (the maximum number of network outputs has been reached),
if you do not have Configurator rights or if the connection is lost.
Proceed as follows:
- IP address.
3. Click Finish.
If no signal is present, you will need to use the Scan option (from the Ethernet input’s
context menu) once you will have plugged in the signal.
Dummy services can be created when defining a play list or a record output. To understand
the scope of dummy services, let us suppose that in a given bouquet, the number of
services offered varies regularly.
For example, at time T = 0, 4 services are broadcast, whereas at time T = 5, 5 services are
broadcast. Let us suppose that, at time T = 0, you wish to schedule a recording action to be
performed at time T = 5. For all the 5 services to be taken into account and recorded, you
must define 1 dummy service. If you do not do so, only 4 services will be recorded; in other
words, only the services present at time = 0 will be taken into account.
By default, each PID is set to a null value. There is no audio PID and no data PID.
4. Click OK.
NOTE. Dummy services can also be removed while scanning the input.
3.3.3. Recording
You can record any stream or group of services that are currently on the input (multiple
selection is enabled in the input Services view). This can be done through a manual start
and stop operation.
1. Drop a service, a selection of several services or the input item (ASI or Ethernet)
onto an output drive.
2. Define the output action in the displayed dialog: select Manual record.
NOTE. The Enable audio PID option is enabled if at least one audio PID is
selected.
The Enable data PID option is enabled if at least one data PID is
selected.
To view the selected PIDs, click Remap.
An estimated total rate for the selected services is displayed. This rate is actually the sum
of the maximum rate of each service at the time of output creation. The maximum rate of
each service is calculated by the video server. An offset is added to prevent overflow.
The Manual record is created and an item is added under the selected output drive.
Recorded services are displayed in the output Services view. An overlay indicating manual
recording is added to the bottom left corner of the service.
If several services have been selected, each service is displayed in the Services view. In
this case, of course, all services are recorded.
5. Click the hand overlay in the bottom-left corner of the manual record thumbnail.
NOTE. If you are performing a Manual record on an FTP server, you only need
to fill in the Filename and Duration fields. The Segmentation based
on EIT option is not available. All other fields and options are available.
6. Fill in the Directory, Filename and Duration fields. The free space on disk is
indicated in the Free field in the following format: day, hour, minute, seconds.
7. You may enable the automatic segmentation feature based on EIT by checking the
Segmentation based on EIT box. A new segment will then be created in the file
view for each EIT event.
8. You may enable the file splitting feature by enabling the Automatic file splitting
option. This feature lets you divide your recording into several files. You choose the
periodicity of file changing, i.e. you define the time interval between each new file
creation.
9. When you are done with your settings, click the button to start recording.
Split files can be concatenated using the simple DOS command show below:
copy /b video1.TRP+video2.TRP+video3.TRP+video4.TRP+video5.TRP
d:\MyVideo.TRP
NOTE. Record lists are also available for network inputs and outputs.
1. Drop a service, a selection of several services or the input item (ASI or Ethernet)
onto an output drive.
2. In the displayed dialog, to create the record list, select Record list and click Next.
- Input delay: used to start a recording action earlier than the requested start time.
- In the Streams directory for list field, you can click the button to select a
directory on the current drive if you wish to modify it.
When changing directories, a warning message indicates that all files present on-
disk in the former directory will be destroyed as soon as their duration exceeds the
period indicated in the Keep file during field.
NOTE. The drive is set and cannot be modified. It is the drive onto which the
selected services have been dropped for the record.
- Keep file during field: indicates that a recorded segment in that directory will no
longer be used once a certain time has elapsed after its creation. For example, all
segments that are created will no longer be used from after tomorrow at the same
time. If a ".trp" file is still present in that directory after this time lapse, it will be
destroyed. This value shall be set with great care because a file could be
destroyed too early if this value is too small, or never be destroyed if this value is
too big. Default value for this parameter is 0, i.e. files will be kept forever. This
option is very useful to prevent the pointless use of disk space and to destroy
useless files.
- Allow import list from hot folder option: if enabled, the current record list will be
updated with record list files stored on a drive. The hot folder is scanned every
20 seconds. If the scanned file is correct, the segments are added to the record
list. If not, an error message is added to the Logs view.
5. Once you have set all options, click Finish to create the record list. The record list
is created and the corresponding item is added under the selected output drive. The
recorded services are displayed in the output Services view and an overlay
indicating this service is in the record list is added to the bottom left corner of the
service.
6. Click the record list icon in the bottom-left corner of the overlay.
The name of the selected service corresponds to the title of the Record list view. In the
illustration, the service name is TMC and so is the record list's. When several services are
selected, the title is MPTS.
Once you have created a record list and opened the Record list dialog, you can insert
segments into your record list.
Let us suppose that you wish to insert a segment called Dancing on Thursday, at 11:30, for
10 minutes.
Proceed as follows:
- Start: keep the Start at option enabled and enter the begin time in the field, here.
2009 03 24 11:30:00.
- Stop: keep the Duration option enabled and enter the duration of the segment in
the field, here 0D 00:10:00.
- Periodic - (format is 0D 00:00:00). Select to display the option field. Use the field
(expressed in day, hour, minute, second) to enter the record periodicity, for
example:
- Occurrency - (format is a free-text field). Select the option if you want to repeat a
record with the periodic settings...
NOTE. To enter values, either use the arrow buttons or type the values directly
from your keyboard.
NOTE. To insert a segment, right-click in one of the blank rows. Select the
row (previously or after) accordingly to the record time of the new
segment.
2. Select the time at which you wish to insert the new segment. The new segment will
be inserted after the selected one.
Example:In a list that already contains two segments, the first segment is named What's
on, starts on Wednesday at 11:00 AM and lasts 15 minutes. The second segment is named
Sport TV, starts at 12:00 AM and lasts 10 minutes. To insert the Dancing segment at 11:30
AM, you have select the What's on segment, because it ends at 11:15 AM and Sport TV
begins at 12:00 AM.
NOTE. A segment can be inserted into a record list when another segment is
recording.
NOTE. Ingest channels can be created from both ASI and Network inputs.
The ingest channel features can be used to record video from a VTR to the local disk. To
create an ingest channel:
4. If needed, set the record rate as for a manual record and click Next.
- In the Streams directory for list field, you can click the button to select a
directory on the current drive if you wish to modify it.
NOTE. The drive is set and cannot be modified. It is the drive onto which the
selected services have been dropped for the ingest channel.
- Encoder settings: this area enables the driving of a compatible encoder (e.g.
THOMSON’s ViBE encoder). Check the Control encoder box and enter the IP
Address of the encoder device and its Device ID.
6. Click Finish.
The Ingest channel is created and an item is added under the selected output drive.
7. Click the Ingest channel icon in the bottom-left corner of the overlay to display the
Ingest channel dialog.
8. Fill in the Directory, the Filename and the Clipname fields. Then the free space on
disk is indicated in the following format: day, hour, minute, seconds.
- The duration is indicated. It depends on the In Point and Out Point settings.
- The VTR settings area shows the current time code on tape.
Use the buttons on both sides to step forward or backward by one frame.
The 4 buttons below are, from left to right: fast rewind, stop, play and fast forward.
The Set IN and Set OUT buttons may be used to copy the current VTR Time Code to the
In Point and Out Point settings respectively.
At the bottom of the VTR settings section, the status of the VTR is displayed.
9. When you are done with the settings, click the button to start the ingest
process.
Once you have recorded a stream on-disk, you may want to extract one or more segments
from this stream. To do so:
Only some actions are authorized: you may set an In point and an Out point, and then
extract the corresponding segment to create a new file.
If the record loop has just been created, the area not yet written on the disk is colored red
on the slider. You may not perform any action on this red area.
The extracted segment also appears in the list of services. Its name is colored blue.
• in direct mode,
Let us suppose that you want to delay a stream to several time zones.
If you create a 9-hour record loop and four outputs having a 6, 7, 8 and 9-hour delay, you
will only use 9 hours of storage on the disk.
1. Drop a service or a selection of several services or the input item (ASI or Ethernet)
onto an output board (ASI or Ethernet/ATM), an output (ASI) or an output drive.
2. Depending on the target you have selected, a wizard lets you setup the output
parameters. Set the output parameters and click Next.
3. A new wizard opens. Select Delay line and then click Next.
4. Set the Max Delay (9 hours) and Delay (6 hours) values. The Free field indicates
the available duration on the disks to create the delay line.
- The Max Delay value corresponds to the buffer size on the drive allocated to delay
line. Its minimum value is 2 minutes and its maximum value is 6 days 23:59:59.
NOTE. The Max Delay duration can be increased later but never decreased.
- The Free value corresponds to the remaining space on drive, i.e. the maximum
size that can be allocated to the buffer.
- The Delay value corresponds to the current delay line. Its minimum value is
20 seconds and its maximum value equals the Max Delay value minus
20 seconds.
- The Drive value, which is one of those displayed in the GUI, can be modified. If
another drive is selected, the free space is updated.
NOTE. If you change parameters such as PID mapping or service name, the
record is done with original values and the remapping process is
applied to the output, providing different mappings for the outputs.
The output as well as the corresponding thumbnails located in the output Services view will
only be available once the recording has been sufficiently recorded (in this example, after
6 hours). The symbol (overlay) is added to the thumbnail to indicate that the record is
associated with a delay line.
Each recording delay line can be used several times to create more than one output delay
line. For each output, the rate and the output delay can vary.
Let us suppose that an output delay has already been defined. On the Outputs panel, there
is a record delay and an output delay.
4. Set the output delay (the only parameter that can be changed this time round) and
click Next.
Two output delay lines have been created from the same record but with different delays.
Let us suppose that a delay line has been defined for a given service. In the Outputs panel,
a delay line for a service is indicated by a small symbol located in the bottom left corner
of the service thumbnail.
The Max output delay value equals the max record delay value minus 20 seconds.
It lets you modify the set output delay line. Clicking the button triggers no action on the
record. In other words, you cannot modify the max delay in this way. To modify the max
delay, you have to modify the record item directly.
NOTE. Modifications to the delay are not seamless. Some mosaic effects or
black screens may occur at transition.
3. Click OK to validate.
NOTE. Modifying the delay will result in an interruption of the service in order
to shift the output delay to the newly defined value.
NOTE. All the services of a given output have the same delay. You cannot set
a different delay for each service.
The delay line’s behaviour varies along with the type of input, as shown in Table 2: output
can be ASI or IP.
During the whole interruption, the delay The ASI board keeps on recording stuffing.
line broadcasts in loop in output the last As a result, the delay line is never in error
20 seconds of signal. As soon as the signal and the service interruption is broadcast
ASI is back in input, the output broadcasts with the defined delay.
again with a delay error, and this for the
whole delay duration. The delay then
resynchronizes properly.
The loop file contains a part without signal. When the server restarts, the delay line is in
error (because there is a gap compared to the defined delay equivalent to the duration of
IP
interruption of the server). The error is present for the whole delay’s duration. The delay
then resynchronizes properly.
Use this option when you want to create a play list base on a delayed live input. This
enables you to set the default broadcast as the delayed channel.
2. Create the output with the delayed input (set this loop as default segment).
2. For details on configuration, check the procedure Creating a Delay Line above.
NOTE. Once set, it is not possible to reduce the duration of the loop.
2. Drag and drop this input in an output (ASI for example). The wizard is displayed.
The only possible action is Play list.
4. For details on configuration, check the procedure Creating a Play List hereafter.
NOTE. This functionality is useful to check the system rapidly (e.g. encoder,
SAPPHIRE, ASI board and decoder).
Let us suppose that you have an input stream on Input 1 and that you wish to play it out
now on output 2 (for all services or not).
1. Drop a service, a selection of several services or the input itself (ASI or Ethernet)
onto an output board or an output connector.
The live output is created and is added as an item under the selected output.
Live services are displayed in the Outputs view. A symbol is added in the bottom left corner
of the service to indicate the live nature of the service.
4. In the Network output area, set the protocol, a multicast address and a port, and
click Next.
The live action is set by default in the action wizard when a service is dropped onto a
network card.
NOTE. When creating a network output, the address is saved in registry. The
following network output will have this set address incremented by one
(for multicast addresses only).
NOTE. A live output can be created from an ASI or network input to an ASI or
network output.
3.3.6. Playing
3.3.6.1. Playing a File - Manual Play (for ASI & Network Outputs)
When files are stored on the disks, you can play them out directly on an output.
3. All available files are listed. To create the manual play output, select a file.
The manual play is created and added as an item under selected output,
Manual play services are displayed in the output Services view. A symbol indicating that
manual play is performed on the service is added to the bottom left corner of the thumbnail.
The thumbnail is refreshed when playing.
The name of the played file is set in the window title. In our example, the played filename
is dance.
Before starting to play, you may set the first and last pictures to be played. Use the slider
to set the current position, then use the SET IN and SET OUT buttons located on each side
of the current picture, to set the In and Out points.
The value of the duration between the In and Out points is indicated.
The part that will actually be played is colored green (between the In and Out points).
Refer to the Section 5.2.13. Mounting View for full description of this view.
11. Click once more the overlay to open the Manual play dialog.
The thumbnail is updated. A progress bar is displayed under the thumbnail and gives
information on the current in-file position.
NOTE. Play lists are also available for network inputs and outputs.
1. Drop a service from the Inputs view or an SPTS file from the Files view onto an
output board or an output connector.
5. The Set up the play list parameters dialog is displayed. Set the record list
parameters:
- Output delay: parameter defining the time period between the Play command
and actual play out.
ο when disabled, a segment based on a recorded stream is on air until its real
duration is reached. When the segment is set on-air, the theoretical
duration is updated with the real duration. No "on-air error" message is
displayed when the next segment goes on-air.
- Use this service as default: the service used to create the output play list is on-
air whenever there is no segment to be on-air. This is very useful to switch
between live and advertising or recorded streams. A new default service can be
set when the output play list is created by dragging and dropping the new service
onto the play list (default broadcast starts at the end of the first start at segment).
ο Generate schedule log file: when enabled, a log file with all scheduled
actions is generated (see the Schedule Log Files section to get a file
example).
You can setup the directory. The default value is
c:\Report\VideoServer\Schedule.
You can also setup the log start time (in the Figure above, set at 4 A.M.).
ο Use AsRunLog: when enabled, a log file is generated each day (see the
As Run Logs section for more information).
You can setup the directory. The default value is
c:\report\VideoServer\asrunlog.
- File absent: this time value is used to warn you that a file is about to be played
but is not yet recorded. This warning is shown in the play list window by a red line
indicating "NOT PRESENT!".
- Allow import list from hot folder: this option lets you update current play list with
stored play list files. Segments are added from the file to the play list.
6. Click Finish.
The play list is created and is added as an item under the selected output. The play list
services are displayed in the output Services view. The overlay indicates that the
service is associated with a play list is added to the bottom left corner of the thumbnail.
The service used to create the play list is broadcast until the first segment is on air.
8. The Play list view is displayed. It is empty. Use the toggle buttons to maximize it
vertically and horizontally.
NOTE. The thumbnail is the one corresponding to the selected service that is
used to display the list.
The name of selected service corresponds to the title of the Play list view. In our example,
service name is TMC, so is the play list's. The top two lines describe the current playing
segment (red line), when present, and the next segment to be played (orange line).
You cannot insert an MPTS. If an MPTS is dropped, the segment is not added and a
warning is displayed.
If the segment is dropped at the end of the list, a Start at segment is created. If the segment
is dropped between segments or close to a segment, a manual segment is created. A
segment can be added to a play list while another segment is on-air.
When the rate of the dropped item is lower than the output rate, stuffing packets are added.
When the rate of the dropped item is higher than the output rate, a warning is displayed.
The segment is however added and an output overflow may occur. To prevent output
overflow resulting from this kind of situation, the transrating function should be used.
3. A dialog prompts for duration. Set the duration (minimum duration is 10 seconds),
then click OK.
2. Drop the file onto the play list (this has to be in maximized mode).
NVOD is useful to create delayed slave play lists from a master play list. Master and slave
play lists can be ASI or Ethernet play lists.
1. Create the master play list, as described in the 3.3.6.2. Creating a Play List and
3.3.6.3. Inserting a Segment into a Play List sections.
2. Create the slave play lists: drag and drop the master play list onto an output ASI
connector or an output Ethernet board.
- If the master play list is dropped onto an empty output ASI connector, set the delay
in the displayed dialog, then click OK. Once the delay is set, the output slave play
list is created.
- If the master play list is dropped onto an empty output ASI connector that is
already used, you will also have to set the delay and, if needed, remap the PID to
prevent conflicts. A multiplexer will be added.
NOTE. Only recorded segments can be dropped onto the master play list.
- The master play list can also be dropped onto an output Ethernet board. Once the
delay is set you will have to set the Ethernet address and the port.
4. The delay is displayed in the top-left corner of the slave play list.
The slave play list is created in dated mode (segments are removed once they have been
played).
For further details on advanced management through hot folder, see Appendix E. API for
List Management through Hot Folder Text File Commands.
Segments can be added automatically to a play/record list. When creating the play/record
list, you can set a hot folder to import play/record list segments.
When the Allow import list from hot folder option is enabled, you can browse the video
server disk to select a new hot folder. The hot folder is scanned every 20 seconds.
Invalid files in the hot folder are not imported. An error message is added to the Logs view
whenever a file is invalid. The invalid file in the hot folder is renamed ("error" is added to the
file name extension).
• Thomson format (binary): these files are created by the video server. Extension of
these files is .list
• Text format: these files can be created using a standard text editor (e.g. MS
Notepad) or spreadsheet (e.g. MS Excel) by exporting in text mode. Extension of
these files is .txt. Format is:
- Tab character (ASCII code 9), comma (,) or semi-colon (;) between fields,
L: link (play after the previous one) (Only for Play List).
This field is only used if the Start Trigger type is C (Start at), R
(Delete at), I (InBand) and/or G (GPI).
Format is:
<YEAR/MONTH/DAY HH:MM:SS-EventId-(GpiBoxNr-
GpiNr)Edge> if the Start Trigger type is CIG or RIG.
<YEAR/MONTH/DAY HH:MM:SS-EventId> if the Start
Trigger type is CI or RI.
D: Stop when the duration of the file is played (if this field is set
to 0, the default duration is the duration set in the database).
[A] Stop Trigger type:
G: Stop when a GPI trigger has occurred.
[C] Offset (optional, only for Offset from the beginning of the file.
Play List): Format is <hh:mm:ss:ff>
This field is only used if the Play List Gop or Frame splicing
[E] Logo ID: mode is enabled. This field is the Logo number combined with
the segment.
• Automation System text format: these files can be created using a standard text
editor (e.g. MS Notepad) or spreadsheet (e.g. MS Excel) by exporting in text mode.
These files are managed by an automation system. The extension of these files is
.Asy. The format is the same as the text format with a "User index" added after the
"Stream name". User Index: segment index, managed by the automation system.
To automatically add files to the Files view using a hot folder, you first need to define a disk
as a hot folder.
The Storage.xml file contains the list of declared storage disks. The path to this file is:
C:\Program Files\Thomson\VideoServer\vxx.xx.xx\config.
By default, to declare a disk, it is only necessary to indicate the path to the storage.
To declare a disk as a hot folder; i.e. a folder that will be periodically scanned to find certain
types of files, you need to indicate the path to the storage, to enable the hot folder feature,
and to specify the specific extensions of files you want to automatically add.
In Figure 55, the E:\Streams directory is declared as a hot folder. The streams are
updated on event finding. The new files found are then automatically added to the Files
view.
• Use Streams for a manul update, then add the files using the interface.
1. Select a file from the Files view and drag and drop it on the output storage disk.
2. Indicate whether the standard is ATSC or not, and then click Next.
3. Define the File parameters: modify the directory if needed, enter a name for your
file and specify the speed factor. Click Next.
5. Set the play list parameters (see Figure 48) and click Finish.
3.4. Maintenance
We strongly recommend you to use the original box and packaging when returning your
product. The Customer Services Department examines packaging on arrival and can
refuse to carry out repairs if the packaging has been visibly damaged during transportation
and this has led to further damage in addition to the fault originally noted.
If you lose your original packaging material, contact your THOMSON representative to
obtain replacement packaging.
CAUTION. Transportation costs and risks for equipment returns are borne by
the customer.
4. Advanced Settings
This section completes the Tutorial with more advanced settings on the Sapphire product.
Proceed as follows:
1. Select the input you wish to remove from the Inputs view.
5. If the input you wish to remove is not currently used by a record or an output, click
OK to validate.
The same way you can store streams on a storage disk, you may also store streams on an
FTP server. The files will first be copied locally on-disk and then transferred on the ftp. You
can either choose to keep them on the disk or to delete them after the transfer.
- Login and Password: enter the login and password giving access to the FTP
server.
- Ftp subdirectory: enter the path to the folder in which the files should be stored
on the FTP, from the FTP’s root.
- Insert PAT/PMT: if enabled, the tables will be inserted at the beginning of the file.
- Delay before transfer: if needed, set the duration (in milliseconds) that Sapphire
will wait before transferring data to the FTP server.
- Virtual disk: if enabled, data will be written directly on the remote FTP and will not
be copied in a local file.
- Local base path: enter the path to the folder in which the files should be stored
on the disk, from the disk’s root.
- Remove from the local disk: if set to Always, the files are always removed from
the local disk at the end of the transfer to the FTP. You can also choose to remove
files Only if the transfer succeeds. If you prefer to keep files on the local disk,
choose Never.
You can drag and drop services onto the FTP server output exactly the same way you’d do
it on any other output. The only difference is:
• When creating a Manual record service, some fields and options are not displayed.
See 3.3.3.1. Performing a Manual Record.
Modifying the output lets you set the ASI output rate.
To do so:
2. The Setup the ASI interface dialog opens. The connector is selected whereas all
other connectors are grayed. You can modify the following parameters:
- Output rate,
- Channel rate,
ο ASIbyte mode: useful bytes are regularly sent in the stream (separated by
ASI stuffing),
ο Packet mode: useful bytes are sent in packets in the stream and are
followed by ASI stuffing,
ο M2S Divicom: useful bytes are sent every defined period (separated by ASI
stuffing - stuffing is also added at the end to complete the stream).
- Add stuffing bytes to useful data: indicates whether generated packets are 188
bytes long or 204 bytes long (by adding 16 stuffing bytes).
The ASI output can be modified, so can the following parameters of the output action: live,
play list or manual play.
2. A first dialog opens. It shows the selected action. No other action can be selected.
Click Next.
- If a multiplexer is set, this dialog displays the rate of the services to be multiplexed.
The rate can be increased, e.g. to prevent overflow.
See the 4.5. Managing PSI section for details on service remapping and for details
on advanced PSI.
4. Depending on the action selected, a dialog may be displayed to set the action
parameters.
The network output can be modified, so can the output and action parameters, provided the
broadcast is interrupted.
2. The Setup the network IP interface dialog opens. The Port, IP address and send
null packets parameters can be modified. Set the new parameters and click Next.
3. A dialog shows the current action. No other action can be selected. Click Next.
4. The Advanced setting dialog opens. Set the output rate and click Next.
5. A dialog displays the action parameters. The default number of packets per frame is
7 (this value can be changed in the registry). TTL default value is 2 (this value can
be changed in the registry).
6. Click Finish for the modifications to take effect at the output level.
NOTE. ASI outputs cannot be removed. However, actions associated with ASI
outputs can be removed (i.e. play list, manual play).
Proceed as follows:
1. Select the output (or the action, in the case of an ASI output) you wish to remove
from the Outputs view.
When removing the second action, the multiplexer is stopped. A direct ASI output is set to
handle the first output. The broadcast is interrupted while removing the multiplexer. The
resulting output is non-multiplexed and can be removed following the procedure described
in the previous section (see 4.4.1. Removing a Non-Multiplexed Output).
Several options are available to manage PSI tables between inputs and outputs:
• Pass Through PSI - The tables are sent "as is" so all input tables are available in
the ouput, including the tables not managed by Sapphire (with OpenMux® only
available for Live and Delay Line).
The management of the PSI can be setup at the level of the channels and at the level of the
ouput (right-click on each element to see the possible actions).
• DVB: TDT (Table Data Time), EIT (Event Information Table), NIT (Network
information table).
• ASTC: STT (System Time Table), CVCT (Cable Virtual Channel Table), TVCT
(Terrestrial Virtual Channel Table).
In the Advanced settings dialog, select the Pass Through PSI option to disable the
tables’ processing: the tables received in input will be restituted in output without any
change.
The Pass Through PSI option is only available for functions that apply to the whole input
stream: live, delay line, manual record or record list.
When the Pass Through PSI option is enabled, all other filtering and advanced PSI/SI
options are disabled.
This illustrates the case where you are using Live and Playlist on the output but still want to
use the same tables as the input.
To enable this, you should use the following settings for PSI:
• Ouput −> Pass Through PSI (triggers channel PSI parameter to No PSI).
• Four channels are sent through "as is", i.e. Live. Because the composition of the
output is the same as the input there is no need for mux, the option to choose here
is No PSI.
• Two channels are changed to Play list, for example an ad must be inserted in each
channel. Remember you must not remap the PIDs.
The option on the ouput is Pass Through PSI. So the tables are sent through untouched.
To setup the output PSI parameters, you only need to specify the entire output. Once the
output is set to Pass Through PSI, the channels are automatically set to No PSI.
1. Right-click on the output name, for example Output 1. The drop-down menu is
displayed.
2. Select Modify, the Setup ASI interface dialog is displayed. A message indicates if
there is a mux on the output.
3. From the drop-down list, select Pass Through PSI and confirm.
4. Select one of the output, right-click and select Modify to check the value No PSI is
set.
1. Go to the Advanced setting dialog or to the first dialog that is displayed when
adding an OpenMux® to an output.
3. The Advanced PSI dialog is displayed; it varies along with the mode that is set.
- When the DVB standard is selected, TDT, EIT and NIT tables are available.
- When the ATSC standard is selected, only the STT table is available if no
multiplexer is added. If a multiplexer is added, the managed tables are STT,
CVCT and, TVCT.
- When the Modify TS ID option is enabled, the value is displayed and sent to the
server. Its default value is 224 (decimal value).
- When the Modify ON ID option is enabled, the value (decimal value) is displayed
and sent to the server.
4. Set the necessary parameters. The parameters for the tables are described
hereafter.
5. Click OK to validate.
The dialog and the table presenting avanced parameters are available hereafter.
Table
Keep An incoming table is used for the record or the output, if present.
Table
The default file name for the NIT file is Openmux_<port number>.nit. If no OpenMux®
is needed, another file name can be selected using the Browse button.
When an OpenMux® is needed, the NIT file has to be in the same directory as the
OpenMux® application. The file name in the dialog is automatically generated and is in read
only mode.
These parameters are displayed with OpenMux® only. The modulation mode can be:
• Analog,
• SCTE_mode_1,
• SCTE_mode_2,
• ATSC (8 VSB),
To remap a service at the time of creation, from the Advanced setting dialog, click Remap.
The Service parameters dialog is displayed:
The list of selected services is given on the left hand side, and, for each service, the
following details are displayed:
• Name,
• Provider for the DVB standard or the major and minor channel numbers for the ATSC
standard,
• A list of audio PIDs (see the 4.7. Filtering PIDs (Audio & Data) section),
• A list of data PIDs (see the 4.7. Filtering PIDs (Audio & Data) section).
For the program number, the video PID, the PMT PID and the PCR PID, the grayed value
is the original PID, which cannot be modified. Only the current value (in green) can be
modified. The original PID cannot be modified for audio and data.
The current PCR PID can be grayed if PCRs are carried by the video PID. In this case, the
current PCR PID equals the current video PID. If PCRs are independent from the video PID,
the current value can be modified. Original audio PID and data PID cannot be modified.
The audio language can be modified. Click the language to make your selection in the
combo box containing the list of all predefined languages or add a language.
NOTE. The audio language descriptor is 3-character long (see the DVB
standard).
The data type can be modified. Click the data type to make your selection in the combo box
containing the list of all predefined types.
The data index is useful to make a distinction between two data PIDs of the same type but
with a different PID value.
NOTE. The maximum value for a PID is 8190, in DVB standard minimum is 32
and in ATSC standard minimum is 16. PID values in the 0 to 31(15)
range are reserved DVB (ATSC) PID values. Min. and max. PID
values are set in registry.
Duplicated values (PID or program number) are written in red. If there are any, the dialog
cannot be validated. Duplicated values can be found in the same service, for example if the
video PID is the same as the PMT PID, or between two services of two multiplexed outputs
(for example, the same video PID).
Once a service has been created, you can still remap it. To do so, right-click the service
from the Outputs view and select Settings | Modify from the context menu. The process
is then exactly the same as when creating the service. Refer to the 4.5.4.1. Remapping a
Service at the Time of Creation section above.
You can remap audio PIDs at the time of creation or once the MPTS has been created.
4. To add, remove a PID, right-click in the Audio PID area (see Figure 70).
Remember that changing the PID means the PSI tables must be remapped too.
NOTE. The algorithm for the mapping has changed in Sapphire version 5.6.
As illustrated in Figure 69, the audio algorithm maps audio PIDs in the chronological order
presented below. The audio PIDs are also treated in their order of appearance in the table
(Operation flow illustrated with the arrow).
NOTE. You can have 2 PIDs with the same language OR type but you cannot
have 2 PIDs with the same language AND type.
1. Display the Service Parameters dialog to add audio and data PIDs.
3. Set the original PID value, the new PID and the type (Mp1audio, ac3 audio, ...).
2. Right-click on the audio PID row and select Remove audio PID. The selected PID
is removed from the list.
In the case of a multiplexed output, a given PID or a program number may be found on
several inputs. In this case, the multiplexer will not be able to differentiate between the two
services. You must then change the PID values of the second service.
For example:
2. Drop another service from the same input with duplicated values to create another
live.
An OpenMux® is created,
3. In the Advanced setting dialog, a message indicates that values are duplicated.
This dialog cannot be validated until there are no duplicated values left.
4. Click Remap to modify duplicated values, which are written in red. If a service
contains duplicated values, its name is enclosed between two signs '**'.
6. Click OK to validate.
PIDs and/or program number are remapped to prevent duplicated values when using files
or live with an output:
• scheduled mode (play list): language and data type are used for the remapping. If the
output service has one audio PID, the system first searches for an input PID having
the same language. If there is no PID having the same language, the first audio PID
is taken. If the output service has more than one audio PID, the system only searches
for the PID having same language.
• not scheduled mode: only the original PID/PID couple is used for the remapping.
- Send null packets: if enabled, null packets (stuffing) are sent on the network. By
default, null packets are not sent.
- TTL: enter the Time To Live value, which ranges from 1 to 999.
- TOS: the Quality of Service (QoS) uses the network resources more efficiently by
differentiating between subsets of traffic data. The QoS functionality is obtained
through cooperation between applications, end hosts (e.g. PCs, servers),
switches, routers and wide area network (WAN) links through which data has to
pass. The default value for TOS (Type of Service) is High level. Choose the
Other option to choose a value from the drop-down list.
- If the Enable audio PID button is not checked, all audio PIDs are filtered. If the
Enable data PID button is not checked, all data PIDs are filtered.
- If the Enable audio PID option is enabled, at least one audio PID is available. If
the Enable data PID option is enabled, at least one data PID is available.
2. Click Remap to see the filter state of each PID in the Service parameters dialog.
An audio or a data PID is filtered if the corresponding check box in the Enable
column is not checked:
- PID filtered:
- PID available:
4.8.1. Settings
When creating the output or the record, a wizard opens. In the Advanced setting dialog,
click the Advanced Demux button.
This dialog varies according to the type of stream and to the mode of splicing chosen in the
previous step of the wizard:
• In the Common tab, the GOP/Frame splicing mode only area is available if you
chose GOP or Frame in the Splicing Mode area.
• The No splicing mode only area is available if you chose the None option in the
Splicing Mode area.
• The H.264 tab is available for H.264 files and if you chose a splicing mode.
• Minimum stuffing rate: enter the minimum stuffing rate in bits per second. The play
list output will have a mean constant stuffing quantity per second that is superior or
equal to the indicated value.
• Program rate type: choose from the drop-down list between the CBR and the VBR
mode.
- In CBR (Constant Bit Rate), video stuffing is added so that the bit rate be always
constant.
- In VBR (Variable Bit Rate), no video stuffing is added. The video bit rate is the
payload bit rate. Transport stuffing may be added in output.
• Output drift time: enter the maximum value, in milliseconds, of which it should be
allowed to time shift a packet during the demultiplexing operation. If this value is
lower than the duration of a packet, this packet will be discarded in output. On the
other hand, if this value is too high, the server may generate a stream with T-SDT
overflows.
• Transrating mode: choose one of the following modes from the drop-down list:
- None: no transrating.
- Splice point only: transrating at the splicing point in order to absorb the bit rate
increase potentially generated by the splicing.
- All the time: transrating all the time in order to follow the constraint affected to the
output.
NOTE. By default, the transrating mode is set to Splice point only for an
MPEG-2 file and to None for an H.264 file. This is due to the fact that
in MPEG-2, given the structure of the file, splicing is always needed
whereas in H.264, there are other options to compensate the overflow.
• Audio splicing mode: choose one of the following modes from the drop-down list:
- Overlap: default mode. Choose this mode if the decoder supports overlaps. This
is the most seamless mode.
- Hole: choose this mode only if the decoder does not support overlaps. In this case,
if two AUs are overlapping, they will be discarded and there will be a hole between
the AU that precedes the overlap and the AU that comes after the overlap.
• Audio encapsulation algorithm: number of audio frames per PES. Choose one of
the following modes from the drop-down list:
- Fixed number: in this case, the number of audio frames per PES is fixed to 1.
- Variable number: in this case, the number of audio frames per PES is variable and
it is automatically computed in order to optimize the bit rate.
• Max picture broadcasting duration: time between the first AU packet and the PTS
of this AU. By default, it is set to 1 second in H.264 and to 2 seconds in MPEG-2. The
maximum value is 1 second in H.264 and 10 seconds in MPEG-2.
If the file is an H.264 file and if you chose a mode of splicing, click the H.264 tab and choose
if you want to use the following options:
• Rebuild the POC and Frame num.: if enabled, the Picture Order Count and the
frame number will be rebuilt in output.
• Remove the VUI parameters of SPS.: if enabled, if VUI parameters are present in
input they are removed from the stream.
• Video profile: check this box if you want to force a video profile for the whole play
list and select a value from the drop-down list. If this option is disabled, the video
profile found in input is kept in output.
• Video level: check this box if you want to force a video level for the whole play list
and select a value from the drop-down list. If this option is disabled, the video level
found in input is kept in output.
CAUTION. In H.264, transrating at splice point only or all the time generates
a significant CPU load and can result in a service interruption on
other components. Use this feature with care!
In HD, if the transrating mode is not set to None, all services other
than the current one are interrupted.
When the transrating mode is set to All the time, in the output Services view, transrated
services are identified by a specific overlay on the thumbnail, in the top right corner. In the
Outputs Tree view, transrated services are identified by an overlay on their service symbol.
Figure 79. Transrated service indicators (icon on Tree view/overlay on service thumbnail).
In the Histogram view, the histogram for a transrated service is displayed in blue.
To perform an action on a specific segment of the list, first select it and then click the
appropriate toolbar button.
To perform an action on the list itself, directly click the appropriate toolbar button.
Action on segment
Action on list
Action on segment
Action on list
• If the segment is on-air or between the previous Start at and the current on-air
segment, you will not be able to modify nor to delete it.
• If the selected segment is not a valid segment, clicking Modify returns to inserting a
segment.
• When a loop of segments is defined, you cannot insert or modify previous elements
in the loop. The only way to stop a loop of segments is to insert a Start at after the
loop (clicking Next triggers no action).
• Deleting a segment that is followed by linked segments modifies the start and end
times of all consecutive linked segments.
• If the segment deleted from a record list is used in a play list, it will not be deleted
from the record list until all the occurrences of this segment in the play list are
deleted. A message indicates that the segment cannot be destroyed.
• In the record list, if the file is present on the disks, it is destroyed when the segment
is deleted. You can use a multiple selection to delete segments.
• In a play list, if a segment is already on-air, you will not be able to start manually
another segment.
- if the next segment is linked, interrupts the current segment and plays the next
one,
- if the next segment is a Start at segment, waits for this segment to start.
• Using the Stop button on a loop of more than one segment jumps to the next
segment in the loop, unless the segment is the last in the loop, in which case it jumps
back to the first one in the loop. You can never play a linked segment after the loop
(skipped). However, the loop will be stopped by a Start at segment. The next action
is taken into account after a few seconds.
• Lists can be saved on the client disk. The default extension is .list. The saved file
must not be edited (binary format). To print the saved list, right-click it and choose
Print from the context menu.
• When loading a list from the client’s disk, it is added into the current list at the
insertion point, in append mode.
A number of analyses can be performed for each incoming stream and output services
independently. Analysis results are logged to the Logs view.
If an analysis error is raised on a service, an overlay is displayed over the decoded picture
or logo. See the 5.2.4. Symbols & Icons Used section for further details on the symbols and
color codes used.
If a picture does not vary (i.e. is frozen) for more than a user-defined
Picture freeze duration, an alarm is set. This parameter is only available if video
decoding is set. If a null value is set, no test is performed.
If the sum of the component rates differs too greatly from the
Service rate
analysis rate (i.e. tolerance to given bit/s), an alarm is set.
If the rate computed from the PCR differs too much from the analysis
rate (i.e. tolerance to 100 Kbit/s), an alarm is set. This analysis is
Transport stream rate
only performed if the Table Coherence is checked. This parameter is
the same for all services of a single stream.
Each analysis can be enabled or disabled. By default, all analyses are performed, except
the Service rate analysis and the Picture freeze analysis.
Analysis parameters can be set for each service by opening the corresponding context
menu: right-click the service thumbnail and select Analysis....
Wave file: default sound played for an alarm is the buzzer. You can associate a particular
WAV file to each service.
Disable analysis: you can disable the analysis for different time slots.
PID to check: only PIDs checked in this list will be used in the analysis. By default, all the
PIDs of the service are checked.
When you need to select a directory, e.g. for manual record or ingest channels, the dialog
shown in Figure 83 is displayed. Choose a directory and click the Select directory button
to confirm.
When you need to select a file or a transport file, the dialog shown in Figure 84 is displayed.
Choose a file and click the Select file button to confirm.
Creating a new folder in the current directory. Default name: New folder.
If you purchased a General Purpose Interface (GPI) box to manage triggers, you need to
perform settings before being able to use it.
NOTE. By default, ASI cards are automatically added in the GPI list (1 GPI
trigger per ASI card.)
When your GPI box is delivered, it has no IP address because it depends on your network.
Before configuring your box, you thus need to set an IP address. Proceed as follows:
1. Connect the GPI box to the same network as the Sapphire equipment and power it
on.
2. Insert the CD-ROM delivered with the GPI box into your disk drive. A page is
automatically displayed.
4. In all dialogs displayed, keep the default choices and click Next.
6. Select Start | All Programs | W&T software toolkit from the Windows menu to
launch the WuTility application.
7. In the displayed window, right-click the box line (automatically detected) and
choose Set network parameters from the sub-menu.
8. In the displayed window, enter an IP address that is compatible with your network
in the IP address field. Click Next twice and then Finish to validate and go back to
the main page.
2. In the tree displayed on the left part of the page, click Config.
4. In the tree, expand the Device node and click the Basic Settings item.
5. On the right, check the Enable Binary 1 box and click the Temporary Storage
button.
6. In the tree, expand the Binary 1 node and click the TCP Server item.
7. On the right, in the Application mode area, check the Compatible 50xxx box and
click the Temporary Storage button.
8. Still on the same page, in the Local Port area, enter a port number in the field if you
wish to modify it.
9. Click again the Temporary Storage button and then click Logout.
11. The GPI box’s configuration is completed. Close your Web browser.
1. From the Sapphire Client menu, select Options | GPI Boxes control.
3. In the IP Address field, enter the IP address you specified in step 8 of section
4.12.1.
4. In the IP Port field, enter the port you defined in step 8 of section 4.12.2.
5. Click OK to validate.
Play and record lists can be managed using an automation system. The automation system
is connected to the video server through the RS 422 serial port. When the automation
system is connected to the video server, the serial port has to be configured on the video
server.
Proceed as follows:
2. The drop-down list contains the list of all available serial ports. Select the serial port
to be used. COM1 and COM2 are RS 232 ports. COM3, 4, 5 and 6 are RS 422 ports.
4. Define the parameters in the Settings area to configure the serial port.
5. If needed, enable the Trace in file option: the serial ports that are used by an
automation system are opened and a message is added to the Logs view. When
the serial port is closed (i.e. when it is detached from the automation system), a
message will be added to the Logs view as well.
For information on the Advanced Settings area, refer to the 4.13.4. Customizing the VDCP
Link with Advanced Settings section.
A message is added to the Logs view when the serial port is correctly opened (otherwise,
an error message is added).
The used mention is added at the end of the serial port name in the drop-down list of serial
ports in the Serial port area.
1. Drop a service from an input or an SPTS file from the Files view onto an ASI output
or an IP board.
3. From the Channel drop-down list, select the channel you want to use.
4. Validate the remaining dialogs as described in the 3.3.6.2. Creating a Play List
section.
The play list is created. It is in read-only mode when editing from the video client. Segments
in the play list are managed by commands coming from the automation system.
3. From the Channel drop-down list, select the channel (minus value for recording) you
want to use, and then click Next.
4. Validate the following dialogs (see the 3.3.3.2. Creating a Record List section for
further details).
The record list is created. It is in read-only mode when editing from the video client.
Segments in the record list are managed by commands coming from the automation
system.
• Ignore VDCP SetPreroll: lets SAPPHIRE ignore the "SetPreroll" VDCP message
and set the preroll to apply.
• Link segment on VDCP Cue: lets you force SAPPHIRE to link the new segment to
the previous one, in all cases.
• Channel Translating: may be used only when using a Record List with an
Automation system. This setting lets SAPPHIRE convert negative channel ID to be
indexed from [-127 to -1] instead of [-1 to -127].
To disable the automation system (i.e. to close a serial port used by an automation system):
2. Select the serial port you wish to detach from the automation system.
4. Click OK to validate.
Primary
channel OUT
SCTE30/IP
ASI/IP
Ad-insertion server
Ad files
To insert ads in a primary channel, Sapphire communicates with an external splicer via the
SCTE30 protocol. It then sends ad files to the external splicer via ASI or IP and the insertion
stream is inserted in the output of the external splicer.
To use the ad-insertion feature, you need to define a number of parameters. In the play list
creation wizard, check the Use external splicer box and click Next.
In the Protocol parameters area, fill in the following fields to communicate with the
external splicer:
• IP Address and Port: enter the IP address and port of the external splicer.
• Channel Name: enter the name of the output primary channel in which you want to
insert ads.
In the Hardware connection area, fill in the Chassis, Card and Port fields to parameter
the service in the output. These are parameters of the SCTE30 standard.
Standard triggers are managed as in play lists (GPI or SCTE35). Refer to the 5.2.12.2.
Segment Definition section for mode information.
Default triggers are also managed as in play lists except in ad-insertion case because the
source of the trigger can be an external splicer. In this case, the server uses the SCTE35
triggers received through the SCTE30 protocol in the cue request message.
So that the workflow shown in Figure 90 work properly, it is essential that the server and
the splicer be perfectly NTP synchronized on a common server. It is advised to install and
the Meinberg® NTP client.
4.15.1. Overview
Sapphire contains a FTP server used to supply files to the Files view.
From a PC, you may upload data to the Sapphire’s FTP server or download data from it.
4.15.2. Configuration
There are 2 pre-defined user groups with different rights and options (traffic limitation is
the same fort both groups).
You may add new users to these pre-defined groups but you cannot create a new group.
Upload/
Download
Group Name Rigths Disks Options
traffic
limitations
Deactivated:
Read
C -Clips list mode
Admin Group Write 5 MB/S
E -Insert PAT/PMT on video export
Create
-Insert Scte35 on video export
Activated:
Read -Clips list mode
Video User
Write E -Insert PAT/PMT on video export 5 MB/s
Group
Create Deactivated:
Insert Scte35 on video export
As shown in the table above, several options are activated or deactivated for each account:
• Clips list mode - Display the list of video clips available on the server as displayed
in the Files view. This implies:
- If the same stream is mounted in 2 different ways, there are 2 entries in the Files
view. These 2 entries are seen as 2 distinct files (the size of which is associated
to the mounting duration of each entry in the Files view).
- When using the command "Get" and this option is activated, you actually
download the part of the file corresponding to the mounting in the Files view.
- If the video server is not operating when the users get the connection on the FTP,
then no files are displayed (only repertories and sub-repertories are displayed).
• (Only available when Clips list mode is checked) Insert PAT/PMT on video export
- When using the command "Get" and this option is activated: the first packets
downloaded (TS) include the tables PAT and PMT(s).
• (Deactivated by default & only available if the first 2 options are checked.)
Insert Scte35 on video export - When using the command "Get" and this option is
activated, you download a file into which are inserted systematically:
Please refer to Appendix K. Segmentation Descriptor, page 206 for more information.
NOTE. If, during the mounting, the In point and/or the Out point was set on a
B or P frame, the extracted file does not start on the defined frame but
at the beginning of the first GOP and the end of the last GOP, so that
the stream can be decoded.
If the extracted file is read by another Sapphire, the mounting
information is taken in account and the file duration corresponds to the
duration between the In and Out points.
If the extracted file is read by a PC, the file duration is higher and
corresponds to the duration aligned on GOP boundaries.
To connect to Sapphire’s FTP server, you can use any FTP client.
Check your group to log in with the appropriate name and password:
• Video User Group (login Assets & password Assets) - Once connected to the
Sapphire’s FTP server, the default view is Clips list mode: you view the entries
as they are displayed in the Files view (see also the option description above).
• Admin Group (login Admin & password Admin) - Once connected to the Sapphire’s
FTP server, you can see ALL files available on the disk, as is the case with other
standard FTP servers.
The use of the video server for national/local switching can be explained as follows:
depending on the time slot, the video server broadcasts either national live or local live
programs. The server performs splicing and re-mapping to guarantee seamless transitions.
The national live stream is set as an input of the video server. The service to be switched
is used to create the play list (see the 3.3.6.2. Creating a Play List section, select the Use
this service as default option when creating the output play list). This service is broadcast
as long as no inserted segment in the play list is on air.
A file or live segment is inserted into the play list for local switching (see the 3.3.6.3.
Inserting a Segment into a Play List section on inserting Live and disk streams - recorded
or permanent - into the play list). When the segment is played (start 19:00/end 20:30), the
input service is broadcast.
NOTE. The local segment can be one of the following types: start at, manual,
SCTE 35 or GPI.
4.17. Multiplexing/De-multiplexing
Basically, one input can be redirected to one output. However, the video server uses the
OpenMux® capability to multiplex outputs, i.e. each output can be handled by an
OpenMux®. Each OpenMux® can handle a multitude of play lists, manual playbacks and
live contents. These are all multiplexed together using the remapping feature.
OpenMux® multiplexes transport packets from input streams and outputs a valid MPEG-2
TS stream in real-time.
Let us suppose that you have 2 inputs. For the first part of this example, the input sources
are different. PID values and program numbers are different for each input (i.e. no
remapping is required to prevent conflict).
1. Create a play list (on output 1 for example) using the first input.
NOTE. To prevent overflow, the output rate should be greater than the sum of
all the selected services of the two actions.
The SI management is enabled to configure the OpenMux® (See the 4.5.3. Setting
Advanced PSI Parameters section for more details). In the creation process of the second
play list, the estimated rate is the sum of the maximum rates of all selected service(s). You
shall set the rate to the correct value.
5. OpenMux® is launched.
6. The second play list is created and added to the selected output connector. Insert
some segments onto this newly created play list.
On the output Tree view, the OpenMux® output can be seen. It contains the two input
services.
For information on duplicated values, refer to the 4.5.4.4. Multiplexed Output: PID
Duplication Issue section.
SI tables can be filtered or managed by the video server. SI tables may come from incoming
streams from the OpenMux® system.
• TDT,
• EIT,
• NIT.
• STT,
• CVCT,
• TVCT.
To demultiplex an input stream, simply select one service or a group of services in the input
stream and drop them onto an output or a drive.
One or several services can be selected, and then dropped to create a play or a record
action. To select a service, click it. When the service is selected, it is highlighted with a blue
rectangle.
Several services can be selected at a time using the CTRL key. All selected services are
highlighted. To deselect a service, press the CTRL key while selecting the service. To
deselect all services, select one service; the selected service will be highlighted and all the
others will be deselected.
NOTE. To drop a multiple selection, hold down the CTRL key and click while
moving the mouse.
When an OpenMux® is used, on the Outputs panel, you can see the global output bit rate
as well as the bit rate for each service. By default, the global output bit rate equals the sum
of the bit rate of each service. You may though increase the global output bit rate if you
intend to add other services to the output. To do so, right-click the output line and select
Modify. You may then specify the global output bit rate. Validate the dialog to apply the
change.
If there is only one output service, when reducing the channel bit rate, the global output bit
rate is automatically reduced.
5. Reference
This section is a complete reference to the video server and client modules, including the
complete details on the interface menus and icons.
Each video client can be connected to one video server only. However, several clients can
connect to the same server.
The server can be remote or local, depending on whether the client is launched on the
server machine or not.
To connect a client to the local server, select the Server | Local menu or click the
toolbar button.
To connect a client to a remote server, select the Server | Connect menu or click the
toolbar button. Then, select a video server by setting its IP address, selecting its name from
the list or entering it from the keyboard. The video server list can be updated by clicking the
(browse) button.
Once you have chosen a server, click OK to validate.
To disconnect from server, select the Server | Disconnect menu or click the toolbar
button. The video client will no longer be connected.
Whenever a network problem occurs or the link to the server is interrupted, the client
detects the loss of connection and signals it through an alarm beep. The client icon begins
to flash, and a flashing Connection lost message is displayed in the toolbar. This message
cannot be hidden.
Most menus are consequently disabled. The video client automatically tries to reconnect.
When the connection is (automatically) recovered, the Connection lost message
disappears and all flashing stop. The video client disconnects and automatically reconnects
to the video server.
For an overview of the GUI, please refer to the 3.2. Graphical User Interface section.
or
or
When there are at least two output services, an OpenMux® is automatically created. On the
Outputs panel, you can see the global output bit rate as well as the bit rate for each service.
NOTE. Available drive(s) are displayed in the Inputs and Outputs views. The
input drives give a list of the stored files that have been added to the
Files view. The output drives are used to create recording actions
such as manual record and record list. Recording actions are listed
under the drive.
NOTE. Additional network cards shall be used to broadband the data; the
integrated network cards shall be used to configure & supervise the
video server.
5.2.3.1. Toolbar
The toolbar display may vary according to the display mode defined through the View |
Toolbar menu command.
Click To
Click To
Click To
Click To
Position the Inputs and Outputs views the one under the
Tile Horizontally
other.
Click To
• The second and third fields contain the client date and time when the client is not
connected to a server, and the server date and time when the client is connected to
a server.
NOTE. It is recommended that the client and server have the same date and
time.
To show or hide the status bar, use the View | Status bar menu.
Symbols, overlays and icons are used throughout the Graphical User Interface to provide
at-a-glance health check of services and actions.
Symbol Meaning
Symbol added to output services that are scheduled through a play list or a
record list. If a segment within the play list or the record list is on-air, the
name of this segment is displayed near the symbol. Click it to open the
corresponding play or record list.
Symbol added to the output services that are managed by a manual play or
a manual record action. Click it to open the corresponding manual play or
record view.
Symbol Meaning
Symbol added to the thumbnail to indicate that the record is associated with
a delay line.
Symbol Meaning
Record icon: segment present in record list. The segment is the one that is
defined (and recorded) in a record list. It can be used in play lists.
Live icon: in play list, segment is a live segment that is directly played from
an input.
Permanent stream icon: in play list, the source of the segment is a file
located on the server disks. This file should always exist (while not deleted).
These segments do not depend on record lists and can be used even if no
record list has been defined. The server does not delete them.
Some context menu items are common to several menus. They are presented in Table 15.
Specific menu items will be presented in their corresponding sections.
Click To
When some errors have disappeared but are have not been
acknowledged yet (i.e. orange state), this menu lets you
Acknowledge errors
acknowledge them and to make the overlay disappear from
the connector.
Click To
Scanning for new inputs that are not already listed. This
Scan new input procedure is useful when a connector with no signal is
connected to a stream.
Click To
Click To
Click To
Click To
Right-click an ASI or an Ethernet board to reach one of the following context menus:
Click To
Click To
Click To
The following menus are not available and are grayed when the connection is lost:
• Scan input,
• Acknowledge errors,
• Display messages.
The following menus are not available and grayed when you are a supervisor:
• Scan input,
To reach the Services view, first select an input or output item (i.e. board or connector) and
then click the Services tab. The displayed content depends on the selected item type.
The video client application performs the global supervision of all incoming streams and all
output streams. It displays the logo channel or the decoded picture for each service and
indicates the program status.
By default, the video is decoded by sampling (refresh period depends on the number of
services that are managed by the server) when the video service is not scrambled. The
other services are represented by a specific logo.
You can change the specific logos by selecting a bitmap file corresponding to the channel
logo. Bitmap files are stored on the video server.
Audio services
Data services
Video services
NOTE. The Services menu is the same for the Inputs and Outputs panels.
To reach the Services context menu, right-click a service from the Services view.
Click To
When some errors have disappeared but are have not been
acknowledged yet (i.e. orange state), this menu lets you
Acknowledge Errors
acknowledge them and make the overlay disappear from the
service.
Stream Properties Display general, audio and video properties of the stream.
• Modify input,
• Scan input,
• Settings/Modify,
• Analysis,
• Logo,
• No logo.
• Modify input,
• Scan input,
The Services view provides an immediate "health check" of input or output services
through the display of overlays. For further details, see the 5.2.4. Symbols & Icons Used
section.
From the Services view, you can manage the so-called Dummy services. For further
details on dummy service management, see the 3.3.2. Managing Dummy Services section.
In case of synchronization loss, no data or no signal is detected over the input, and the
Services view is cleared. The cause for this can be:
• No signal: the server does not detect any signal on the input. The wire is
disconnected or signal is no longer present.
• No data: the stream only contains empty packets. No more useful data is present.
The Tree view displays all MPEG-2-DVB or ATSC parameters for the incoming stream or
output stream, as shown in Figure 119.
• ASI input,
• Ethernet input,
• ASI output,
• Ethernet output.
For outputs using an OpenMux® multiplexer, all services at the OpenMux® output will be
displayed.
To reach the ASI board Information view, select an ASI board (input or output one) and
click the Information tab.
The information will slightly differ whether your system is equipped with a Pia+ board or one
or two PassPro board(s).
The ASI board Information view displays the connector. When a connector is used, its
name is displayed. When connector is unused, the Not used label is displayed.
To reach the Ethernet board Information view, select a network board (input or output one)
and click the Information tab.
The Ethernet board Information view displays information on selected card (i.e. name, IP
address, subnet mask, default gateway and MAC address).
To reach the drive Information view, select a drive (input or output one) and click the
Information tab.
The drive Information view displays information on selected drive (i.e. label, type, file
system, free/used/total space).
To reach this view, select a connector (input or output) and click the Information tab.
or
This view gives information on the selected input/output board, connector or service.
Information provided vary according to the element type you have selected.
• ASI:
- card number,
- connector number,
- input/output rate,
- demux rate,
- filtered PID.
• Network:
- IP address,
- port number.
The second item provides information on actions on the input or output and on relations
between the input and the output.
- Recording: lists the record list with the number of events and the manual record
with free space, filename, length and status if recording,
- Play list: summarizes the play list (i.e. number of events, number of permanent
files, number of lives and input connector)
The Histogram view gives the current rate for each service of the selected input/output.
The current rate is indicated to the left of the histogram. The maximum rate is indicated to
the right of the histogram. The maximum rate of a service is the maximum rate of the service
since the video server was started and the service found (computed rate).
• ASI input,
• Ethernet input,
• ASI output,
• Ethernet output,
To reach the Histogram view, select one of the items from below list, then click the
Histogram tab.
Transrated services are drawn with a blue color (for output services).
The Logs view provides the list of error, warning and information messages. It can be
shown or hidden via the View | Logs menu or by clicking the toolbar button.
Messages can be sorted, filtered and identified in a user-friendly way. To sort messages,
double-click the desired column header.
• System state,
• Synchronization analysis,
• PCR validity,
• PID presence.
Right-click the Logs view to reach the context menu. Menu items are described in Table 26.
Click To
Show not masked Showing all messages that are not set as masked.
Messages relative to a particular service or connector can be directly reached to view the
alarms concerning a selected service or connector. To do so, select a connector, an input
or a service, as you wish, and select Display Messages from the context menu.
In addition, all the messages are available in a daily log file that is located on the server.
Files are in to be found in the C:\Report\VideoServer folder.
5.2.10.3. Alarms
Each time a new error arises, an alarm can be heard (provided options for this have been
selected, see the 5.2.16. Client Preferences section). Information messages are indicated
by blue icons. Error messages are red-colored. Warnings are orange-colored.
To stop alarms, use the toolbar button. All alarms will stop. Since alarms are client
dependent, stopping an alarm on one client will not stop it on the others.
The Files view lists the stored streams that have been declared. To reach it, select a drive
and click the Files tab.
Manually inserted and scheduled stored streams are automatically added to the Files view.
• name,
• TS rate,
• duration,
• service name,
• description,
• starting and ending times for the presence of the stream on hard drives,
• file name,
Stored files are written in different colors to identify their status. Color codes are detailed in
Table 27.
Color Meaning
Color Meaning
5.2.11.2. Customization
You can customize the information to be displayed. To do so, right-click on any column
header.
Clicking a column header lets you sort the streams. E.g., to sort the streams by name, click
the Name column header. You can define the columns to be displayed through the
Customize header menu. You can also customize the header format, through the Header
format menu.
Select an item and use the command buttons to display it, hide it or move it up or down.
Click OK to apply the customization.
A context menu is also available from the Files view. Right-click any stream to reach it.
Click To
To refresh the list of files, right-click the drive item and select Refresh (see Figure 110).
The list is then filled with the actual content of the Files view. The list is refreshed following
server modifications. However, it does not take manual deletion of files from disk into
account. As a consequence, refreshing the list manually at regular intervals is particularly
useful.
NOTE. Only files from the current drive can be added. No other drive can be
selected.
3. Click Open.
Figure 130. Modifying the stream information from the Files view.
3. If needed, you can modify the Name and Description parameters of the selected
stream.
Proceed as follows:
The Mounting feature lets you modify the In and Out points of currently selected file (i.e.
the begin and end frame of the stream). Once you have defined the new In and Out points,
you can:
• Extract stream,
• Cut stream.
For further details on the mounting features, see the 5.2.13. Mounting View section.
An XML file is associated with each stream. For example, the action.trp stream is linked
to an action.trp.xml file. This XML file contains:
• one or several clips, corresponding to entries in the Files view. Most of the time,
there is one clip per file, must in some cases, e.g. when using the EIT segmentation
feature, there are several clips per file.
The asset contains the list of programs contained in the stream. For each program, some
information is provided, including the name of the index file associated with the program.
Index files are always named after the name of the stream and the number of the program.
Here, the index file of the first program of the action.trp file is named
action.trp_program1.idx.
Two kinds of lists can be differentiated: record list (input recording) and play list (output
playing). Both views are almost similar and will be focused on together.
To reach the Lists view, there must be at least one play list or one record list created.
Click the button located in a service thumbnail or double-click the play list Outputs view.
If the view is already opened, it will pop to the front of the screen.
The top two lines describe the current on-air segment (red line) and the next segment to be
played or recorded (orange line). These lines contain:
• a decreasing counter indicating the time left for the segment to play or record (red
line) or the time remaining before it begins (orange line) when no segment is on-air;
For loop segments, the total duration of loops decreases, not the duration of each segment
or each loop. Since the duration unit is expressed in the HH:MM:SS:FF format, if the
segment lasts more than one day, the HH attribute will be greater than 24. The maximum
value is 168 hours (i.e. one week).
The thumbnail corresponds to the selected service used to display the list.
Click To
Load a list.
The Start at starting mode is represented by a clock icon ( ) in the first column.
The GPI starting mode is represented by a rising edge icon ( ) in the first
column.
The Manual starting mode is represented by a hand icon ( ) in the first column.
NOT PRESENT: the segment is not yet present on the disks (not recorded).
NOT PRESENT!: in the play list, indicates that the segment is not present and
that the delay defined in the Play list parameters (Warning file absent) is over. It
often means that the segment will not exist on time.
Duration, Day,
These fields define the beginning, the duration and the end time of the segment.
Begin, End
Live ( icon): in a play list, the segment is a live segment that is directly played
from an input.
Permanent stream ( icon): in a play list, the source of the segment is a file
located on the server disks. This file should always exist (while not deleted).
Type
Loop ( ): this column defines the loop state of a segment.
• Self-looped ( )
• Begin loop ( )
• End loop ( )
• Part of a loop ( )
For further details, refer to the 5.2.4. Symbols & Icons Used section.
Color Codes
Gray: holes (nothing is defined during a certain period - nothing will be played or recorded).
Blue: segments that might be truncated or not played in the list (SKIPPED for example).
The size and position of the lists can be modified and saved if the corresponding Options
| Preferences options are selected. The views will then open at the same position each
time you reach them. Each column can be dragged and dropped and resized. All
modifications are saved when the view is closed.
By default, lists are displayed in maximized mode. You can use the toggle buttons to
minimize them vertically and horizontally.
When the Use this service as default option is set (in a play list), the default service is
displayed.
Another service (SPTS only) can be dragged (from a live input or from a drive) and dropped
in the control. This new service will be broadcast the next time there are no more segments
to be played.
Terms used in this section are detailed in the 3.1. Functional Overview section.
When inserting, modifying or pasting a segment in a list, the Segment setting dialog is
displayed. Options available in this dialog slightly differ depending on the list being a record
or a play list.
• Title: enter a name for your play or record list, at your convenience.
• Automatic renaming (record lists only): if enabled, the date is automatically added
in the filename so as to avoid overwriting previously recorded files.
Start parameters:
• Start at: check this box if you want your list to start at a given time. To set the day of
week, hour, minute and second, double-click the value and enter a new value using
the keyboard or use the arrows.
• Validity: the trigger GPI is applicable only during this validity duration. This is useful
when a series of the same GPI or Inband triggers are used on the segment.
- Time: set here the date & time you want for the validity duration. The default value
is the current date.
- First date field: current date & time minus this duration. The default value is 10
seconds.
- Second date field: current date & time plus this duration. The default value is 10
seconds.
- Drop-down list: action applied at the end of the validity duration. The values are
Start, Delete or Nothing (no action).
- Periodic: you can use this field to repeat the settings applied. When you select
periodic you can also use the occurency to repeat the setting a set number of
times (in the illustration, 2 times at 1 day’s interval).
• Delete at (in dated lists and with a GPI or/and In Band start trigger only): check this
box if you want your list to be deleted at a given time. To set the day of week, hour,
minute and second, double-click the value and enter a new value using the keyboard
or use the arrows.
• GPI: check this box if you want to trigger the start of your list using a GPI box.
• In Band: check this box if you want to trigger the start of your list using cue tones.
• Linked (play lists only): check this box if you want your list to start directly after the
previous segment’s end.
Stop parameters:
- for a file segment in a play list, click the button to mount the segment. Refer
to the 5.2.13. Mounting View section for a full description of the Mounting view.
For a loop segment, the indicated duration corresponds to the duration of a single
loop.
- for a record list or a live segment in a play list, enter the duration of the list.
• GPI: check this box if you want to trigger the stop of your list using a GPI box.
• In Band: check this box if you want to trigger the stop of your list using cue tones.
NOTE. The begin time shall be set between previous "start at" in the list and
next one. The begin time of the segment cannot be selected as a time
after the stored file life (i.e. the beginning of the recorded segment plus
the "Keep file during" time set in the record list definition).
• Loop on itself: plays the file in a loop from the offset for the given duration. The
number of loops cannot be set but the loop will end when the next Start at segment
starts.
• Begin and End: play a group of segments from the one defined as begin loop to the
one defined as end loop. The number of loops cannot be set but the loop will end
when the next Start at segment starts.
GPI setting:
• Box: select from the drop-down list the number of the GPI box.
• Number: number of the input trigger connector used. Start and stop GPI are totally
independent (i.e. a segment can be associated with a number for its start mode and
another one for its stop mode).
• Edge: choose from the drop-down list the edge kind (rising or falling).
• IP: the IP address of the GPI box is indicated. It is only informative, it is not editable.
• Event ID:
- Check the Any box to associate the segment with any event (segment begins/
stops when a Cue Tone event is received).
OR
- Enter an event ID in the Event ID field to associate the segment with this specific
event (segment begins/stops when the specific event ID is received).
Start and stop In Band are totally independent (a segment can be associated with a
specific event ID for his start mode and an other for his stop mode).
• Input: choose from the drop-down list the number of the input ASI connector that
contains the In Band signal.
• Service: choose from the drop-down list the service name that contains the In Band
signal.
• Normal/Inverted: there is a specific Cue Tone to start a segment and another to stop
it. If the Normal option is enabled, the segment begins when the specific start Cue
Tone is received and stops when the specific stop Cue Tone is received. If the
Inverted option is enabled, the segment begins with the specific stop Cue Tone and
stops with the specific start Cue Tone.
To access the default play list triggers settings, in the play list creation wizard, click the
Default Trigger button in the Advanced Setting panel.
Settings are the same as for segment triggers (see 5.2.12.2. Segment Definition above).
If the server receives a START trigger when no segment is being played, the first sequence
in the list is started; and if the server receives a STOP trigger, the current sequence is
stopped.
To reach this view, click the Mounting button from the Play list view or select Mounting
from the Files view’s context menu.
The Mounting view lets you mount the segments, using frame-accurate mounting
commands. First of all, it lets you modify the In and Out points of the currently selected file
(i.e. the begin and end frames of the stream). Once you have defined these points, you can:
• Extract stream, i.e. make a copy of the stream part comprised between the In and
Out points. You can thus make several copies of a given stream, each copy having
different In and Out points,
• Cut stream, i.e. overwrite the stream with the stream part comprised between the In
and Out points. Cutting a stream actually results in losing data.
The Mounting view displays twelve thumbnail images. The top middle one shows the
zoomed current picture, corresponding to the current position in the file (when the slider
cursor is moved).
The first picture in the stream (corresponding to the In point) is shown in the top left corner,
and the last picture is shown in the top right corner. Counters are located under each one
of these pictures. They indicate their exact position in the stream (duration from the
beginning of the stream). The beginning and end pictures are the first and last pictures that
will be played or saved.
• The four previous pictures are pictures prior to the current picture. If the current
picture is the first picture in the file, previous pictures are hidden.
• The four next pictures are pictures that come after the current picture. If the current
picture is the last picture in the file, following pictures are hidden.
In the top right corner of each picture, the picture type is indicated (I, P or B).
5.2.13.1. Buttons
Red sections indicate the parts that are not recorded in the file. These parts can be seen
when the segment is currently recording, for example.
Left-most position shows the In point and right-most position shows the Out point.
Navigation
Click To
Go to the In point.
Go to 10 pictures backward.
Go to 10 pictures forward.
Edition
You can modify the In and Out points by moving the cursor to the chosen position and
clicking the SET IN or SET OUT button.
Once you are done, the gray part of the slider indicates the part that will be played or saved,
depending on the In and Out points you have defined. The black parts of the slider will not
be taken into account while playing the file, extracting it or cutting it.
Click To
Extract the defined stream part (i.e. copying the grayed part of the
slider comprised between the In and Out points). Defined stream
part is extracted to a new *.trp file, to a path you shall define.
Cut the defined stream part. Defined stream part overwrites the file,
thus resulting in loss of data.
5.2.13.2. Information
• Duration: duration between the In and Out points. There are three ways of
computing the duration:
Audio
...
frames
Video
frames
I B B P B B P B B I ... I B B P B B P B B I Audio
frame PTS
>= video
Frame accurate duration. frame PTS
The first colored B video frame is the frame where the In point has been set, and the
second colored B video frame is the frame where the Out point has been set.
The Frame accurate duration corresponds to the exact duration between the In and
Out points.
The GOP accurate duration corresponds to the duration between the I frame that
precedes the In point and the P frame that precedes the Out point.
The TS duration corresponds to the duration I frame that precedes the In point and
the end of the audio (frame PTS higher than or equal to the PTS of the video frame).
NOTE. If the In point is set on an I frame and the Out point on a P frame, the
GOP accurate duration will be the same as the frame accurate
duration.
• Audio Settings: indicates the codec and the list of audio PIDs
• Video Settings: indicates the codec, the video PID, the Resolution, the Chroma
format and the Frame rate.
• The Versions panel contains all software versions and DLL versions used on the
client and server.
• The Rights panel indicates the limitations on the use of the server, which depends
on the content of the video server options purchased and software limitations.
NOTE. If some fields are missing in your application, this is because you do
not have the rights for the corresponding option(s).
Field Meaning
Sapphire provides a tool to get the traces from the server. To reach it, select Download
Trace from the Help menu.
Connect to the Trace Server by entering the server’s name and clicking the Connect
button. When done, you can see the range of dates for which you have traces on the server.
An automatic purge is performed to prevent disk overflow, so that only the traces for the last
few days are written on the server’s disk.
You can reduce this range by modifying the Date Range limits. Then, choose the Output
Directory for the trace to be stored in, and click the Get Trace button.
To reach the Client Preferences dialog, go to the Options | Preferences menu. Each
client can have its own preferences, which will not necessarily be the same on other clients.
Field Function
If one of these options is set, the alarm rings each time a new
error, warning or information appears in the message log list.
Default alarm is a beep, however, a sound file can be selected
Enable Alarm
instead (provided client machine is equipped with a sound
card). Default Wav file field indicates the name of this wav file.
Alarm sounds until it is acknowledged.
Field Function
Date format can be chosen: the day can be set as a short name
(first two letters for each day of the week) or a complete name;
Date format in lists
month and day can appear in the list dates. Date (month/day)
can be added to the day column in lists.
In most cases, the video client implements the drag and drop facility.
Dragging and dropping can be used from input connectors and services to output boards,
drives, or output connectors. It lets you create output actions that vary along with the source
and the target.
NOTE. Actions that can be reached vary along with your rights. Refer to the
Rights panel of the About box to consult your rights.
• Manual record
• Record list
Live input
(service or group of services Output drive • Delay line
or input itself)
• Automation control
• Manual ingest
• Manual play
Live services or recorded streams can be dragged and dropped onto a play list. When the
service or the recorded stream is dropped onto the play list, a segment is created and
added. The segment type can be set automatically by using the keyboard when dragging
the service or the recorded stream. An overlay is added under the mouse cursor.
Table 36: Play list drag & drop facilities.
The Logs view provides the list of error, warning and information messages. You can show
it or hide it via the View | Logs menu, or by clicking the toolbar button.
Messages relative to a particular service or connector can be directly reached to view the
alarms concerning a selected service or connector. To do so, select a connector, an input
or a service, and select Display Messages from the context menu.
To reach the current error state of an item (i.e. board, connector, service), right-click it and
select Current error state from the menu.
Error state window is displayed. It lists current errors (in red) and errors to acknowledge (in
orange). Listed errors are the following:
Initializing stream error Error while initializing input or output on ASI board.
Service rate error The service rate is incorrect (by counting service packets).
Video freeze error The video has not changed for a long period.
To indicate that an error has occurred and is no longer present, the error state switches
from red to orange. You should acknowledge it. This can be done for all connector errors
through the Acknowledge error context menu or for each service, one by one, through the
same menu.
To confirm the acknowledgement, click OK. Once they have been acknowledged, orange
errors are removed from the list of errors.
6. Related Issues
The video server can be backed up by another server. The backup server is exactly the
same as the normal server. A client can only connect to one server at a time.
NOTE. To get the same output from both servers, the date and time on both
servers have to be exactly the same. The "time zone" in the operating
system clock parameters on servers and clients shall also be set to the
same value, in order to get the proper server date and time on clients.
The proposed redundancy feature relies on the use of Thomson AMETHYST 1+1
redundancy smart switcher. AMETHYST secures the outputs of the video server in a 1+1
manner.
AMETHYST 1+1 Redundancy Switch has been designed for the intelligent protection of up
to 2 MPEG-2 transport streams.
Two DVB-ASI inputs and two DVB-ASI outputs are available for TS routing. Consequently,
the number of AMETHYST switchers depends on the number of ASI video server outputs
to be secured.
6.1.2.1. Functionalities
• No PC in decision process,
6.1.2.2. Hardware
• All electrical connections are made at the rear of the device. Operation and
adjustment controls can be performed via the front panel,
The following diagram shows a typical configuration for a 2-input/2-output video server
(TNM-5122) where 4 output streams are generated by a pair of devices.
The two video servers output the same stream on their output 1, and another identical
stream on the output 2. In the event of failure of the on-air server, AMETHYST Smart
Switcher (TNM 7112/7122) reports an alarm and takes the corresponding input on the
backup server as a new output.
6.2. Limitations
• H.264 GOP accurate not seamless on “in point” with input stream that does not follow
the RAP restrictions (i.e. in presentation order, some frames after the I-Frame use
reference for earlier frames). Here are some examples:
…PBBBIPBBBP
This is a simple case: the I-Frame is a valid RAP since all the frames after it do not
depend on earlier frames.
…PBBBIBBBPBBBP
The I-Frame is a valid RAP since all the frames after it (except for the B B B) do not
depend on earlier frames.
Since the B B B-Frames are played before the I-Frame (according to their display
order) there is no problem to drop them, and the splice is still seamless.
... P B B B I B B B P B B B P
In this case some pictures after the I-Frame use the early P-Frame as reference.
Because of this dependency, the I-Frame cannot be a valid RAP. This means that
no IRD, STB, decoders, etc. can play the stream starting from this I-Frame without
visual artifacts.
…PBBBIBBBPBBBP
This is one of the complicated scenarios: in this case the P-Frame depends on the
B-Frame which by itself depends on an earlier frame (P). For the same reasons
mentioned above, the I-Frame cannot be a valid RAP.
When the system is secured with a RAID controller, one disk can be in error without any
data loss.
When a disk is in error, it shall be replaced without stopping the system (hot plug repair).
The new disk is automatically detected and rebuilt.
NOTE. Rebuilding can take a long time, depending on the disk size and the
disk use.
To achieve synchronization (of event) between the main and backup computer clocks it is
advised to synchronized both servers on a common NTP server through an NTP client.
The right way of shifting time on a server is very simple. Nothing special has to be done.
The server time changes when the client time changes, everything being carried on as if
nothing had happened:
• For record lists: the current recording segment will continue for the theoretical
duration unless it is interrupted by a start at segment (new hour).
• For play lists: the segment currently being played will continue for the theoretical
duration unless it is interrupted by a start at segment (new hour).
• For manual record and manual play: nothing is changed: record or playback
continues for the given duration.
Start at and Delete at events may however be impacted when changing time zones on a
server.
Appendix A. Specifications
Power Supply
Characteristic Description
Source Voltage 100 VAC to 240 VAC ± 10% (90 VAC to 264 VAC RMS)
Rated Frequency 50 Hz to 60 Hz
Maximum Power
550 W
Consumption
Safety/EMC Specifications
Specifications Description
Standards:
Environmental Specifications
Characteristic Description
Characteristic Description
Classification 3 RU platform
8 =============== 6
3 =============== 7
2 =============== 1
7 =============== 2
6 ============== 6
8 ============== 7
5 ============== 1
4 ============== 2
x ============== 6
x ============== 7
x ============== 1
x ============== 2
GPI Characteristics
The trigger input accepts a TTL level (0 to +5 V) signal. You can use this signal to control
acquisition or generation with the video server.
Characteristics
TTL
Voltage levels Low: < 0.8 V, typical
High: > 2.0 V, typical
The client software can be launched on a remote computer on the same network. To do so:
5. Click Connect to select the video server on the network. A 100Mbits/s network
between the client and the server is recommended.
• one in the server so that type 0x80 streams be considered as MPEG-2 video:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\THOMSON\Sapphire\Video\DigicypherVideo
PID0x80Enable
• one in the client so that this PID be shown as video in thumbnails and views:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\THOMSON\Sapphire\Video\DigicypherVideoP
ID0x80Enable
The platform capacities for the SC836 platform are described in the tables below.
ASI IP GES
ASI IP GES
Hot folder text files lets you add file segments to the Play or Record list. You can also write
commands directly in the file text to manage the list.
To get help, the command is HELP. A file named Help.lst is generated in the hot folder. Its
content is detailed in Appendix F. Help File Commands.
To get the available streams in the database, the command is GET STREAM LIST. A file
named Streams.lst is generated in the hot folder.
e:\streams\stream1.trpstream185640
e:\streams\stream2.trpstream278541
To get the available services from ASI and IP inputs, the command is GET SERVICE LIST.
A file named Services.lst is generated in the hot folder.
TV In:1:1
ZDF In:1:2
ZDFinfokanal In:1:2
ZDFdokukanal In:1:2
ZDFtheaterkanal In:1:2
3sat In:1:2
KiKa In:1:2
Fash In:225.1.1.1:5000
To get the current list's content, the command is GET LIST. A file named List.lst is
generated in the hot folder.
• Start Trigger type: start at (C), delete at (R), linked (L), manual (M), in band (I), GPI
(G),
• Stop trigger: duration (HH:MM:SS:FF), event ID if in band trigger, Gpi field if GPI
trigger (see 5.2.12.2. Segment Definition respectively sections InBand or GPI),
The Offset, Loop mode and CueTone fields are used only with a Play List.
The Delete at Start Trigger type is forbidden for the Weekly List.
The Linked Start Trigger type is forbidden for the Record List.
6417 is a segment with a start at to start on Thursday at 16h28m40s; its duration is the
default duration.
6426 is a segment with manual start and two stop triggers: its duration equals 1 minute and
GPI on connector 9 of box 1 with a rising edge.
6433 is a segment with manual start and with two stop triggers: normal InBand without
eventId and GPI on connector 4 of box 2 with a rising edge.
6442 is a segment with two start triggers: start at to start on Monday at 16h25m44s and
inverted InBand with eventId=23. It is a segment with one stop trigger: GPI on connector 8
of box 1 with a falling edge.
To remove a segment from the list, the command is REMOVE ID. This command requires
a specific parameter that is the ID of the segment. This parameter is returned by the GET
LIST command (see the Getting the Current List's Content section).
To remove a file from the database, you first need to know the clipname: use the GET
STREAM LIST command that will return the clipname. Then use the DELETE FILE
command and specify the clipname.
To clear the list, the command is REMOVE ALL. No parameter is required. All the segments
are removed from the list. If a segment is on-air, it is first stopped then removed.
Modifying a Segment
• ID: ID of the segment. The ID of the segment is returned by the GET LIST command
(see the Getting the Current List's Content section),
• Start Trigger type: start at (C), delete at (R), linked (L), manual (M), in band (I), GPI
(G),
• Stop trigger: duration (HH:MM:SS:FF), event ID if in band trigger or Gpi field if GPI
trigger (5.2.12.2. Segment Definition respectively sections - InBand and GPI),
The Offset, Loop mode and CueTone fields are used only with Play Lists.
MODIFY ID:1234,C,01/10:05:00,D,00:10:00:01
To set the loop attribute for a segment, the command is SET LOOP ID.
• ID: ID of the segment. The ID of the segment is returned by the GET LIST command
(see the Getting the Current List's Content section)
******************************
Get the list of available ASI and IP input services (result is stored in hot folder of the
Services.lst file)
<ServiceName>|<InputID>
Get the list of available streams files of the database (result is stored in hotfolder directory
in file Streams.lst)
<ClipURL>|<ClipName>|<Duration(msec)>
• DELETE FILE:<Name>
Remove file with ClipName <Name> from the database and delete it from the disk (the
ClipName is returned by the GET STREAM LIST command)
• GET LIST
Get the current list (result is stored in hotfolder directory in file List.lst)
• REMOVE ALL
• REMOVE ID:<id>
Remove the segment with ID <id> (this ID is returned by the GET LIST command)
Modify the segment with ID <id> (this ID is returned by the GET LIST command)
For playList only, set the loop setting of the segment with ID <id> (this ID is returned by the
GET LIST command)
• HELP
Send the current help text (result is stored in hotfolder directory in file Help.lst)
All fields except <Name>, <Start Trigger type>, <Stop Trigger type> and <Duration-
EventID-GpiField> are optional:
• <Name>: ClipName of the database entry returned by the GET STREAM LIST
command or ServiceName|InputID of input services list returned by the GET
SERVICE LIST command
• <Segment ID>: only with the '<filename>.asy' files. It is the Segment ID in the list,
ranging [0;4294967295] (Default value N)
For <Start Trigger type> and <Stop Trigger type>, various choices are:
- I: InBand event
- G: GPI
It is possible to have several triggers, for example: LIG for start trigger describes a linked
segment waiting an InBand or GPI event to start
CAUTION. Start triggers NOW and M cannot be used with any other start
trigger.
• <Start time>: In case of Start time type or Delete time type -> time with format:
<YEAR/MONTH/DAY HH:MM:SS>
• <EventID>: In case of InBand type -> eventID with format: <EventId> (word ANY
must be set to have Any_Event, otherwise EventId must be an integer between 0 and
65535)
• <GpiField>: In case of Gpi type -> Gpi box number, Gpi number and GPI edge with
format: <(GpiBox-GpiNr)Edge> (ranging GpiBox [1-10] GpiNr [1-12] Edge: F for
Falling or R for Rising)
• <Duration>: Duration with format: <HH:MM:SS:FF> (0 shall be set to have all the file)
• <Offset>: Offset from the beginning of the file with format: <HH:MM:SS:FF> (Default
value 0)(set 0 for RecordList)
Log Events
You can thus retrieve an event by opening this file in a text editor (e.g. Microsoft NotePad).
One file is created per day with the yyyy mm dd.txt name.
• Time: HH:MM:SS,
You can also open these files with a spreadsheet editor (e.g. Microsoft Excel). Simply select
a tab character as a field separator. This can be useful to carry out statistic analyses by
service or input, for example.
Commands coming from the automation system and responses from the video server are
stored provided the corresponding option has been enabled when configuring the serial
port.
• Time: HH:MM:SS:MMM,
• RECEIVED,
• Size of message,
• Message,
• Command name.
• Time: HH:MM:SS:MMM,
• SEND,
• Message.
Schedule actions can be stored in a file provided corresponding option has been checked
when creating/modifying a play or record list.
- INTERNAL
- MANUAL
- CLOCK
- SCTE35
- GPI
Example:
As Run Logs
where:
• DD is the day,
• Event type,
• Scheduled date,
• Scheduled time,
• Scheduled length,
• Spot identification,
• Status code.
Error codes:
GDP_STATUS_CODE_NOT_COMPUTE = 0,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_AIRED_SUCCESSFULLY = 1,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_GENRERIC_FAILED_TO_AIRED = 2,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_BYPASS_ON = 4,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_LOGGING_TURNED_OFF = 5,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_BAD_VIDEO = 6,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_USER_ABORT = 8,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_INSERTER_ABORT = 9,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_DEVICE_NOT_READY = 10,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_UNKNOWN_ERROR = 12,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_TIME_OUT = 13,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_DEVICE_TIME_OUT = 14,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_SYSTEM_ERROR = 15,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_OPERATOR_ERROR = 16,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_INSERTER_BUSY = 17,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_INSERTION_CONFLICT = 18,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_DIRECTORY_ERROR = 19,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_NO_ADD_COPY_IN_INSERTER = 20,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_CUED_LATE = 21,
GDP_STATUS_CODE_FAILED_CHANNEL_COLLISION = 22.
Example:
LOI 0923 172500 1616 0058 001 001 000011 170329 00001100 001 03001392000 0001
LOI 0923 172500 1616 0058 001 001 000011 170829 00001100 001 03001392000 0001
LOI 0923 174500 1716 0058 001 001 000011 171629 00001100 001 03001392000 0001
LOI 0923 174500 1716 0058 001 002 000036 171640 00003600 002 12025042000 0001
Play list files can either be loaded manually from the Play list view or automatically through
a hot folder process.
In both cases, you will be able to load SCH files with the following filename:
MDDNNHHH.sch
where:
• DD is the day,
SCH play list files have the same content architecture than As Run log files. Refer to the As
Run Logs section above for information on file content and error codes.
Example:
REM Revised on 23/09/2008 16:59 DISCOVERY CHANNEL LIMA - CABLE MAGICO
LOI 0923 172500 1616 0058 001 001 000135 000000 00000000 000 00392003001 0000
END
Trace Management
Sapphire provides a tool to get the traces from the server. To reach it, select Download
Trace from the Help menu.
Connect to the Trace Server by entering the server’s name and clicking the Connect
button. When done, you can see the range of dates for which you have traces on the server.
An automatic purge is performed to prevent disk overflow, so that only the traces for the last
few days are written on the server’s disk.
You can reduce this range by modifying the Date Range limits. Then, choose the Output
Directory for the trace to be stored in, and click the Get Trace button.
If needed, send the created trace.trc files to the support team for analysis.
Sapphire provides a way to define different levels of trace, as well as a tool to get these
trace from server.
Trace management and download is performed through the client interface. First of all,
connect a client to the desired server.
By default, the trace level is set to Warning. To change it, just check the desired level.
Dump
This feature lets you record an input or an output during a given time without applying any
processing. To use it, proceed as follows:
2. Right-click an input or output in the client interface to open the context menu and
choose Dump to file.
3. In the displayed dialog, enter the number of milliseconds during which you want to
record the data, and then click OK.
The dumping process starts immediately. You can see from the Logs view the messages
corresponding to the beginning and the end of the process. The name of the file where the
data is dumped is indicated in the Text column.
Figure 147. Start and end of dump process in the Logs view.
Appendix J. SNMP
The SAPPHIRE SNMP agent is designed to report the status of a video server unit. This
includes equipment’s configuration as well as operational health status concerning all the
operations running on the server (record and playout).
The SAPPHIRE SNMP agent periodically updates the associated MIB data information and
reports in real-time information and error messages as SNMP traps.
To start or stop the service corresponding to the SNMP agent, proceed as follows:
2. In the tree on the left, expand the Services and Application node and click
Services.
3. In the list of Services on the right, select the Net-SNMP Agent line.
4. To start the service, click the button; to stop it, click the button.
In this document, we use a MIB browser to explore the SAPPHIRE MIB variables and tables
(MGSOFT MIB Browser). The SAPPHIRE agent implements the SNMP v2c standard and
uses the port 161.
Once the SAPPHIRE SNMP agent has been started, the MIB is available using the
following OID: 1.3.6.1.4.1.4947.2.2.15.
The MIB variables are organized into the following main sections:
• conformance.
• SMVVIDEOSERVERMIB.txt,
• gvg-reg.txt,
• gvg-element.txt.
The SAPPHIRE SNMP agent is able to send traps in order to report information and error
messages.
2. Edit the Trap Destinations section and add a trap2sink line following the format
shown in Figure 150.
4. Restart the Net-SNMP Agent service following the procedure provided earlier in the
Starting/Stopping the SNMP Agent Service section and clicking the button.
To remove a trap destination, follow the same procedure and remove the trap2sink line
from the configuration file.
The SAPPHIRE SNMP agent is able to redirect SNMP requests to other SNMP agents
installed on the system (i.e. Windows SNMP agent). Other agents installed on the system
must be configured with a port different from 161.
2. Edit the Proxy section and add a proxy line respecting the following format:
proxy -v snmp_version_protocol -c community
other_agent_address:other_agent_port
oid_to_redirect_to_other_agent
The node corresponding to the OID specified and its sub-elements will be redirected
to the configured agent.
4. Restart the Net-SNMP Agent service following the procedure provided earlier in the
Starting/Stopping the SNMP Agent Service section and clicking the button.
This section gives a short description of the MIB variables and tables that the SAPPHIRE
SNMP agent dynamically manages. Detailed description is available in the SAPPHIRE MIB
files.
SAPPHIRE server automatically updates the information reported by the agent each time
a new major event occurs (e.g. a synchronization loss is detected on an input; a new clip
becomes on air on a channel; a record or a playout is created; etc.).
Supervision
The supervision group reports the current status of the server unit. It includes:
• The list of the ASI/IP/Gigabit Ethernet interfaces and their status (supInterface
group),
• The list of the current inputs and their status (supInputs group),
• The list of the current outputs and their status (supOutputs group),
• The list of the current playouts and their status (supPlayout group),
• The list of the current records and their status (supRecord group).
For example, if we assume that a SAPPHIRE server featuring one ASI input and one ASI
output operates a record and a playout, you can get the current status of the following items:
The SAPPHIRE SNMP agent manages two kinds of traps: errors and events.
These notifications are sent towards the remote hosts that are registered (see the Sending
SNMP Traps section above).
Server Errors
An error that occurs on/disappears from the SAPPHIRE video server is systematically
reported into the alarm display (and attached daily log file) and a trap is sent to notify the
error appearance or disappearance. The trap format is detailed in the MIB (supTrapError).
For each play list channel, SAPPHIRE is able to notify that an event becomes ON-AIR using
an SNMP trap. The format of these event traps is described in the MIB
(supTrapSegmentChange).
The SNMP trap related to a play list event is generated a few seconds before the event is
actually played out at the SAPPHIRE output.
For each record list channel, SAPPHIRE is able to notify that an event becomes ON-AIR
using an SNMP trap. The format of these event traps is described in the MIB
(supTrapSegmentChange).
The SNMP trap related to a record list event is generated a few seconds before the event
is actually recorded.
List of Errors
Initializing stream error Error while initializing an input or an output on an ASI board.
ON-AIR error The output stream is incorrect due to a segment error in the play list.
Stream rate error The stream rate is incorrect (using PCR - usually due to PCR errors).
Service rate error The service rate is incorrect (by counting service packets).
Video freeze error The video has not changed for a long period.
The table below lists the segmentation descriptor for the option Insert SCTE35 on video
export (see Section 4.15. Using the Sapphire’s FTP Server).
segmentation descriptor() {
descriptor_length 8 8 8
segmentation_event_id 32 0 0
segmentation_event_cancel_indicator 1 0 0
reserved 7 0 0
program_segmentation_flag 1 1 1
segmentation_duration_flag 1 0 1
if (segmentation_duration_flag == ’1’)
segmentation_duration() }
reserved 7 0
duration 33 duration
segmentation_upid_type 8 0 0
segmentation_upid_length 8 0 0
chapter 8 0 0
chapter_count 8 1 1
Appendix L. Glossary
Definitions
Compression Layer
See the appropriate MPEG-2, DVB, or ATSC standards for more information.
Cue Tone
Signal that is broadcast by the network feed and intercepted by the video
switch. Cue tones notify the systems of breaks in programming during which
events can be aired. Cue tones can be initiated by a tone from a network or by
contact closure. There are two types of cue tones: start tones trigger an
insertion to begin, and stop tones can stop an event that is being played.
Delay line
File splitting
The file splitting feature lets you divide your recording into several files. You
choose the periodicity of file changing, i.e. you define the time interval between
each new file creation. Files may overlap, which gives you the possibility to
record a whole program without knowing its precise real start or end time. This
is particularly useful shall e.g. a TV program begin a bit later than scheduled
time. This feature offers extra flexibility.
GOP
NVOD
ON-AIR
The ON-AIR segment is the segment that is currently being broadcast (or
recorded - by extension for record lists).
Permanent streams
This term groups together the different stream files which are on the server
and that may be used every week on the server. These files are not deleted
by the server. They are either imported onto the server or recorded manually.
Segment
Splicing
Splicing represents the quality of the video and audio at the transition between
two segments when they are played one after the other.
System Layer
The system layer is the transport stream with program data and associated
metadata that describes the composition and organization of the transport
stream. MPEG-2 system layer information includes synchronization bytes,
PID numbers, scrambling information, and other indicators, including the start
of the transport packet payload. Transport packets can be PES packet, a PSI
table, or other private data. ATSC and DVB transport streams are MPEG-2
compatible because the required ATSC and DVB system layer data are
MPEG-2 private data structures.
See the appropriate MPEG-2, DVB, or ATSC standards for more information.
Time to Live
A header field for a packet sent over the Internet indicating how long the
packet should be held.
Transrating
Trigger tone
Acronyms
Acronym Meaning
AU Access Unit
HD High Definition
IP Internet Protocol
Acronym Meaning
PI Physical Interface
PPV Pay-per-view
SD Simple Definition
TS Transport Stream
Acronym Meaning
Index C
Client/Server Connection/Disconnection
Reference 124
Creating
Symbols Delay Line 61
Manual Ingest 59
115 Manual Record 51
Record List 54
Creating a Live Output
A Tutorial 66
About box 131, 165 Creating a Play List Using a Loop
Ad Insertion Tutorial 65
Basics 44 Creating Delay Line from an Existing Record De-
Adding a New ASI Input lay
Tutorial 47 Tutorial 63
Adding a New MPEG
Tutorial 49
Advanced Demultiplexing 100
D
Advanced demux parameters 100 Data PID
Result 102 Creation 94
Settings 100 Filtering 98
Advanced PSI Dialog Removal 95
Managing PSI 89 Delay Line
Amethyst redundancy 174, 175 Behaviour 64
ASI 24, 25, 31, 59, 61, 66, 67, 73, 83, 85, 121, Creating 61
134, 136, 137, 143, 145, 146 delay line 62, 63, 87, 133, 177
ASTC Tables Delete segment after record 55
Managing PSI 86 De-multiplexing 119
ATM 61 Input Stream 122
Audio PID dummy services 142
Creation 94 DVB Tables
Filtering 98 Managing PSI 86
Removal 95
Automatic renaming 55
Automation System 111 E
Disabling 114
Enabling 111 EIT segmentation 54, 88, 156
Using with Play List 112 Errors
Using with Record List 112 error acknowledgement 134, 139, 141, 171
automation system 77, 111, 113, 131, 180, 187, listed errors 171
193 Extracting Segments from a Record Loop
Tutorial 60
B
F
Basics
Ad Insertion 44 file splitting 54
Functional Overview 40 filtering 98
Manual Play 41 frame-accurate 26, 162
Manual Record 41 FTP Server 116
Media File Concatenation 44 full TS 87
Media Ingest 43
Network Video On Demand 42
Play List 42
G
Record List 42 GPI 75, 76, 119, 133, 155, 160, 170, 180, 187,
Time Delay 40 188
GPI box 31, 108, 131, 159, 160
I N
input delay 55
network 24, 25, 34, 54, 59, 66, 67, 69, 84, 97,
Inserting a Segment
125, 129, 135, 144, 146
Record List 57
Network Video On Demand
Inserting Ad 114
Basics 42
Inserting Ads
No PSI
External Splicer Settings 115
Managing PSI 86
NTP Synchronization 116
NVOD 42, 73
Standard Workflow 114
Network Video On Demand 42
Triggers Management 115
Installing 27
O
L OpenMux 26, 88, 90, 96, 119, 120, 121, 122,
143
live 24, 26, 66, 67, 72, 83, 96, 97, 119, 132, 133,
output delay 61, 63, 64, 70
146, 156, 157, 170
Output Rates
Loging
Managing 122
Starting the System 35
logs 56, 70, 75, 111, 112, 130, 147, 170
P
M Pass Through PSI
Managing PSI 86
Maintenance 78
Passing Through PSI with Mux 87
Repackaging for Shipment 78
PassPro 31, 33, 143, 145
Manage PSI
Performing Analyses 104
Managing PSI 86
Pia+ 31, 143, 145
Managing Dummy Services
Play List
Tutorial 50
Basics 42
Managing PSI 86
Managing 103
Advanced PSI dialog 89
play list 26, 50, 69, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 83, 97,
Passing Through PSI 87
104, 112, 119, 120, 121, 132, 133, 146, 156,
Passing Through PSI with Mux 87
169, 176, 177
Setting PSI Parameters 88
Product Overview
manual ingest 59
Hardware 24
Manual Play
Software 25
Basics 41
Unpacking 27
manual play 67, 83, 85, 146, 169, 177
Manual Record
Basics 41 R
Creating 51
manual record 26, 41, 51, 52, 59, 87, 129, 132, Record List
Basics 42 Tutorial 46
Creating 54 Adding a New ASI Input 47
Inserting a Segment 57 Adding a New MPEG 49
Managing 103 Automatically Adding Files & Segments to
Record list the Hot Folder 74
Occurrency 57 Concatenating Files 78
Repeat 57 Creating a Live Output 66
record list 26, 42, 55, 56, 59, 69, 87, 104, 112, Creating a Play List Using a Loop 65
113, 129, 132, 133, 146, 154, 156, 177 Creating Delay Line from an Existing Record
Recording Delay 63
Tutorial 51 Extracting Segments from a Record Loop 60
redundancy 174 Managing Dummy Services 50
remapping 93, 97, 119, 120, 141 Modifying Ouput Delay 63
Remapping Audio PID Playing 67
Algorithm 93 Recording 51
Remapping DATA 91 Scanning Existing Inputs 47
At the Time of Creation 91 Scanning Inputs 46
Remapping PID Scanning New ASI Inputs 46
Audio PIDs 93 Using the Delay Feature 61
PID Duplication Issue 95
Use Cases 97
Repackaging for Shipment V
Maintenance 78
VDCP 113, 193
Repeat
Record list 57
rights 36, 37, 49, 131, 139, 142, 165, 168
RS 422 111, 180
S
Safety
General Safety Instructions 19
Product Damage Precautions 21
Safety Precautions 19
Scanning Existing Inputs
Tutorial 47
Scanning Inputs
Tutorial 46
Scanning New ASI Inputs
Tutorial 46
SCTE35 75, 76
Server
Connecting 26
Shutting Down the System 38
Standard Workflow
Inserting Ads 114
Starting the System 35
Exiting the Application 37
Login 35
Starting the Server & the Client 36
Username & Password 35
T
Time Delay
Basics 40
transrating 100
Contacting THOMSON
Our service worldwide organization can address your questions quickly and
comprehensively.
Our international support centers in France and the United States are available by phone
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
France
+800 80 80 20 20
+33 1 48 25 20 20
United States
You can also contact your local support center directly during normal business hours.
Please check for the number of the center nearest you at
www.grassvalley.com/support/contact/phone/.
International Sales
http://www.thomsongrassvalley.com/products/tbm/sapphire_broadcast/