Digital Video Machine User’s Guide by Alcorn McBride Inc.
Digital Video Machine 4 User’s Guide Alcorn McBride Inc.
Document Revision 1.0 April 2006 Copyright 1996-2006 Alcorn McBride Inc. All rights reserved. Digital Video Machine 4 and the other Machine product line names are trademarks of Alcorn McBride Inc. Windows is a trademark of the Microsoft Corporation. Pioneer is a trademark of its owners. Every effort has been made to assure the accuracy of the information contained in this manual, and the reliability of the hardware and software. Errors sometimes can go undetected, however.
Table of Contents Welcome! ................................................................................. 1 Features ........................................................................................................................2 Technical Support .........................................................................................................3 Getting Started ........................................................................ 5 Give AMI Terminal a Try! ............................
Banner Location ............................................................................................ 18 Banner Velocity ............................................................................................. 18 Current Status ............................................................................................... 19 Current File .................................................................................................... 19 Device ID Set...........................................
Single Channel Playlist Example ...................................................................38 Playlist Example using ‘AND’ operator ..........................................................39 Playlist Example using ‘AFTER’ operator ......................................................40 Playlist Example – Synchronizing Channels..................................................41 Scheduler...............................................................................
Index .......................................................................................
Welcome Welcome Welcome! Thank you for purchasing The Alcorn McBride Digital Video Machine 4™. The DVM4 is an affordable 4-Channel solution for independent and synchronous video playback. Along with this, it gives you the ability to apply text and graphics overlays on your videos. You will find that the DVM4 was designed to offer an abundance of features for a variety of themed entertainment and retail solutions. We hope you enjoy using it as much as we enjoyed creating it.
Features The Digital Video Machine 4 offers a wide range of features including: • Plays high resolution MPEG-2 Video on 4 individual channels. • Synchronization of multiple channels. • Composite, RGB and YUV outputs. • Plays hours of video from removable drive. • 2 Channels of audio available as Unbalanced or Digital S/PDIF. • Dolby 5.1 Digital Surround Sound bitstream output. • NTSC, PAL, 480i, 480p, 576i, 576p, 720p, and 1080i output resolutions.
Welcome Welcome Technical Support You can obtain information about specifying, installing, configuring, updating and programming your Alcorn McBride Digital Video Machine 4 from several sources in the table below. Welcome! For… Contact… When?… Telephone Support (407) 296-5800 M-F 9am–6pm (EST) Fax Support (407) 296-5801 M-F 9am-6pm (EST) Knowledge Base http://www.alcorn.com/kb Any Time e-mail Support support@alcorn.com Any Time Software/Firmware Updates http://www.alcorn.
4 Welcome!
Getting Started Give AMI Terminal a Try! Want to make your introduction to the Digital Video Machine 4 a breeze? Download AMI Terminal - Alcorn McBride’s latest PC software for communicating with the DVM4 and other products. This Windows application allows you to easily configure and control your new DVM4 with the click of a mouse button. This easy-to-use application can be downloaded from www.alcorn.com in the support/software section. It is also available on the DVM4’s Web and FTP interfaces.
How Do I Configure the DVM4? The easiest way to configure the DVM4 is via remote control. There are a variety of Serial and Ethernet commands that allow you to configure video output settings, IP Address information, FTP passwords, and much more. To make this a little easier, we have designed a variety of applications (ie. AMI Terminal) that allow you to control the DVM4 with a simple graphical interface. Once you configure the DVM4 for your application, it will store the configuration permanently.
Multiple DVM4’s with Same IP Address: If you use the same computer to talk to several DVM4’s straight from the factory, you’ll need to do the following: Each time you communicate over Ethernet with a different DVM4, open a DOS window. Type arp -d 192.168.0.254 Press Enter. (This is assuming the DVM4 is set up to the default IP address).
8 Getting Started
Rear Panel Composite Video (Breakout Cable) There is one RCA Composite Video connector available for each channel of the DVM4. These can be found on the 25-Pin Breakout cable provided with the DVM4. Be sure that this cable is securely connected in the connector labeled “Audio/Video Breakout”. Unbalanced Audio (Breakout Cable) Each DVM4 channel has two analog RCA connectors located on the 25-pin breakout cable. NOTE: These connectors are not functional when a Dolby Digital 5.1 bitstream is being played.
RGB Mode Pinout Component (YUV) Mode Pinout Composite Mode Pinout 10 Rear Panel
Ethernet Connector This RJ-45 connector provides connection for a standard 100-Base TX Ethernet cable. This cable would normally be connected to a hub, but may also be connected directly to a PC’s Ethernet card using an Ethernet null, or “crossconnect” cable, which is included with the DVM4. Ethernet is the primary mechanism for transfer of video data into the DVM4, and may also be used for control and monitoring. The DVM4 is shipped with a factory default IP address of 192.168.0.
12 Rear Panel
Detailed Command Summary Pioneer / AMI Protocol The DVM4 uses the versatile Pioneer/Alcorn McBride Enhanced protocol. Although multiple channels and graphical overlay features make communicating with DVM4 slightly different, it still has much in common with the command sets of our other products(i.e. DVM2). This section discusses the most commonly used commands in detail, and then lists the entire Pioneer/Alcorn McBride Inc. protocol for the DVM4 in tabular form.
You may have up to 4 groups (1-4). Select File to Channel Description: This command causes the Digital Video Machine 4 to select the specified A/V clip, Overlay Image, Banner, or Playlist. If the media being searched is a Banner or Image, it will be displayed on the screen immediately. If the media is a video or playlist, the next Play command causes the specified file to play from the beginning. The unit defaults to video #1 at power-up, unless an autoexec file exists.
Message Response: R Comments: If the video material ends with a non-black screen, that picture will be displayed until another video file is played. Description: This command causes the Digital Video Machine 4 to play the currently selected video file and loop back to the beginning upon completion. Just like play, the clip number can be inserted before the command to directly search and loop a video.
Command bytes: [@]cRJ Message Response: R Description: This command causes the Digital Video Machine 4 to mute or unmute the audio. Command bytes: [@]ncAD Audio Control where n is 0 (Mute) or 1 (Unmute). Message Response: R Description: This command causes the Digital Video Machine 4 to mute or unmute the video. Command bytes: [@]ncVD Video Control where n is 0 (Black) or 1 (Image).
Video Aspect Ratio Description: This command causes the Digital Video Machine 4 to switch the video aspect ratio setting of the designated channel. This may be useful for displaying letterbox material, or displaying material on a wide-screen monitor. This setting will be stored permanently in the DVM4’s configuration. Command bytes: [@]ncVA where n is 0 (4:3 Normal) , 1 (4:3 Pan Scan), 2 (4:3 Letterbox), 3 (16:9 Normal), 4 (16:9 H-Center), 5 (16:9 V-Center).
Banner Font Description: This command changes the font used to draw banners on the designated channel. Many common fonts such as Arial, Times New Roman, and Courier New are supported. If you attempt to select a font that does not exist on the DVM4, the default (Arial) will be used instead.
Current Status Description: This command causes the designated channel to report its current status. Command bytes: [@]c?P Message Response: where is ‘Playing’, ‘Stopped’, ‘Error’, etc. Current File Description: This command causes the designated channel to report its current chapter or video file. Command bytes: [@]c?C Message Response: where is the currently playing/selected video file.
Gateway Address Set Description: This command causes the Digital Video Machine 4 to set its Gateway address. Command bytes: [@]nnn.nnn.nnn.nnnGW Message Response: Gateway IP String Description: This command causes the Digital Video Machine 4 to set its Subnet Mask address. Command bytes: [@]nnn.nnn.nnn.nnnSM Message Response: Subnet Mask String Description: This command assigns a channel to a group number. This is necessary if you wish to synchronize 2 or more channels.
[@]ngPG or [@]nngPG or [@]nnngPG or [@]nnnngPG or [@]nnnnngPG where n, nn, nnn, nnnn or nnnnn is the file number in ASCII. Message Response: R Loop Group Description: This command causes all channels in the specified group to play and loop. Command bytes: [@]gLG or [@]ngLG or [@]nngLG or [@]nnngLG or [@]nnnngLG or [@]nnnnngLG where n, nn, nnn, nnnn or nnnnn is the file number in ASCII.
Reset System Description: This command will cause the Digital Video Machine to restart. Command bytes: [@]XX Message Response: R Description: This command sets the Time Zone information on the DVM4. ‘n’ is the number of hours you are behind the UTC. (Eastern = 5, Central = 6, etc.) Command bytes: [@]nTZ Message Response: R Set Time Zone Set Longitude Description: This command is used to set your longitude. Longitude is used by the scheduler to make calculations.
Set Daylight Saving Time Support On/Off Description: This command is used to enable and disable Daylight Saving Support. Command bytes: [@]nSD Message Response: R Description: This command is used to toggle between different Daylight Savings Time conventions. Currently, the choices are USA, UTC, and AUS. Command bytes: [@]nnnDT Message Response: R Set Daylight Saving Time Type Set Scheduler Logging On/Off Description: This command enables or disables scheduler logging.
24 Detailed Command Summary
General Command Summary The following table shows the complete Digital Video Machine 4 control protocol. Using these commands, an external controller or PC can accomplish extremely complex tasks. Throughout the following table, means carriage return, a byte with the hexadecimal value of 0D. Brackets, [ ], denote optional message bytes.
Group Play Group Play File Group Play and Loop Group Play and Loop File Group Still Group Pause Group Stop Group Search 26 gPG ngPG nngPG nnngPG nnnngPG nnnnngPG gLG ngLG nngLG nnngLG nnnngLG nnnnngLG gSG gUG gRG ngEG nngEG nnngEG nnnngEG nnnnngEG R upon receipt R R R channel. g=0(No Group), 1=(Group 1 ), ..,4=(Group 4) Plays currently selected file. Only file number 0-99999 addressing is supported.
Set Longitude [@]nLO R Set Latitude [@]nLA R Set Time [@]mTI R Set Date [@]mDA R Set Daylight Saving Time Support On/Off Set Daylight Saving Time Type [@]nSD R [@]nnnDT R Set Scheduler Bootup Delay Get IP Address Get Gateway Address [@]nBD R [@]IP [@]GW Get Subnet Mask Request Get Username Get Device ID Get Time Zone Get Longitude Get Latitude Get Time Get Date Get DST support [@]SM<
28
Ethernet Control All the commands that are supported in the Pioneer /AMI Protocol are also supported via UDP control over Ethernet. By sending UDP (User Datagram Protocol) packets across a network, you can communicate with and control many DVM4’s simultaneously (using Unit ID’s) and/or independently. Hardware and Software Requirements Any Ethernet capable show controller or PC with a network interface card can send messages to DVM4’s located on the same network.
serial protocol command. For example, A DVM4 Control Message containing the Command bytes 7@?V would cause the DVM4 on the network with Unit ID 7 to send back a UDP packet containing its version information. Please see the Pioneer / AMI Serial Protocol section for detailed information about the rest of the command set.
UDP Message Layer The control source sends UDP Packets to the DVM4. A UDP Packet contains information about the packet source (IP Address, Port number) as well as definable user data. The user data contains the entire DVM4 Control Message including all AMINet specific bytes. These packets should be sent to the broadcast IP Address (0xFFFFFF) or the specific DVM4 address with UDP port number 2639. Control Message Response The unit will normally send back a response to each Control Message it receives.
32 Ethernet Control
Serial Control – RS232 The unit may be controlled using serial RS-232 (9600 baud rate, 8 data bits, No Parity , and 1 Stop bit -- 9600 8N1) messages via the 9-pin serial port located on the back panel of the machine. The protocol is ASCII-based, and many commands are similar on structure to Pioneer Disc protocol. Upper or lower case characters can be used interchangeably in most cases. Please see the General Command Summary section for a table of commands.
34 Serial Control – RS232
Playlists Playlists provide a mechanism for the DVM4 to automatically execute a series of commands in a predefined sequence. Playlists often allow the unit to be used to perform complex functions that would normally require an external controller. Playlists can perform functions as simple as looping a single clip, or more complex functions like synchronizing multiple clips. All commands available to the Serial, UDP, and scheduler interfaces are available to the playlist interface.
Example: ; My Playlist File 1PL ;Play File 1 2PL ;Play File 2 < If this Playlist were searched to Channel 1 of the DVM4, the command 1PL would behave like a serial command of 11PL. If you were to search the same file to Channel 2, 1PL would behave like 12PL and so on. If, for some reason, you wish to send a command to another channel, simply use the CHANNEL[x] command listed in the Extra Commands section.
Char Playlists Meaning AND All commands AND’ed together will be implemented at the same time. Without the AND operator, a command will not be executed until the previous command is completed. The playlist will go no further until all commands in this set have been completed. See Examples AFTER[dd:hh:mm:ss] Make the following command wait the time defined in the brackets before executing.
Example Playlists Single Channel Playlist Example ; ply00405.lst ; Play a simple series of videos – Loop playlist when complete ; Play Video #1 (vid00001.mpg) – 30 seconds long 1PL ; Play Video #2 (vid00002.mpg) – 30 seconds long 2PL ; Loop to beginning of playlist < The above example is probably the simplest playlist you could ever write, so lets go over it in detail to understand how to use it and how it will behave.
Playlist Example using ‘AND’ operator ;play a series of videos and load a new banner with each new video ; Play Toothbrush Ad – Show Current Price on Banner 5PL AND $2.99BT ; Play Short Entertaining Movie 6PL ; Play Potato Chip Ad – Show Current Prices on Banner 7PL AND $1.99BT ; Repeat < This example shows how the AND operator can be useful. To understand why, think back to the last example. Remember that a command is not executed until the command prior to it has completed.
Playlist Example using ‘AFTER’ operator ;play a video and start banner 15 seconds later 1PL AND AFTER[00:00:00:15] "Hello"BT AND AFTER[00:00:00:30] "Enter Here"BT < The AFTER operator can be very useful when you want to time the execution of events in a playlist. An obvious example of this would be have banner text appear at specific segments of a video.
Playlist Example – Synchronizing Channels ;play 4 channels in sync using 1 playlist (search to channel 1) ; Assign all 4 channels to group #1 1AG AND CHANNEL[2] 1AG AND CHANNEL[3] 1AG AND CHANNEL[4] 1AG ; Play files 1,2,3, and 4 in sync on all 4 channels 1PL AND CHANNEL[2] 2PL AND CHANNEL[3] 3PL AND CHANNEL[4] 4PL < This is a fairly complex, yet common, use of playlists. This method is necessary if you wish to synchronize the video playback of more than one channel.
42 Playlists
Scheduler The DVM4 has a down-to-the-minute scheduler based upon its internal real time clock. According to the time of day and date of year, the DVM4 can start a video, banner, image, etc… at 3pm on January 1st 2002, for example. This functionality is built into a feature called the Scheduler. The Basic Idea for Commands All commands available to the Serial, UDP, and Playlist interface are available to the Scheduler interface as well.
Here is a table of delimiters for your reference: Delimiter Field T: Starting time (hh:mm) (military time) D: Starting date (mm/dd/yy or mm/dd/yyyy . You can use periods, slashes, or dashes to separate dates) I: Ending time (hh:mm) (military time) A: Ending date (mm/dd/yy or mm/dd/yyyy .
The Repeat Number acts as a multiplier of the Repeat Period. They should be read in conjunction like this: “Repeat this event every 30 minutes”. You may have noticed a slight change in the times and strings used in the examples above. The events used in Example1 and the final one in Example3 are used in an example file on the DVM4 that you can run with ScheduleTester (discussed below) to see how these actually operate. The only type of field that has not been discussed yet is a set.
T:Boot T:Sunrise T:Sunset D: Start Date The Start Date is the month, day, and year your event becomes active. For most cases being active simply means gets executed. You specify it in a variety of ways. You can use periods, slashes, or dashes to separate the fields of the dates. Dates from the year 2000 to the year 2099 are supported. Leap years are handled. Examples: D:1.1.00 D:1/1/00 D:1-1-00 D:01.01.
R: Repeat Number The Repeat Number acts in one of two ways: • With no Repeat Set field present. • With a Repeat Set field present: With no Repeat Set field present: This is the most common usage of the Repeat Number. It acts as a multiplier of the Repeat Period. They should be read in conjunction like this: “Repeat this event every ”. Ex.“Repeat this event every 30 minutes”. The repeat number can be anywhere from 1 to over 4billion.
P: Repeat Period The Repeat Period defines how long to wait. It is multiplied or indexed according to the presence of a Repeat Set field. (See the Repeat Set and Repeat Number sections for details) Periods can be one of the following: Sunrise, Sunset Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday Minute Hour Day Year Boot Notes: Month is not a valid period. If you want to make a monthly schedule, use a combination of repeat number, period and set to do so.
Sets can be one of the following: Month January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December Examples: R:5 P:day S:month R:2 P:monday S:month R:4 P:Thursday S:November ;repeat 5th day of every month ;repeat 2nd Monday of every month ;repeat 4th Thursday in November Restrictions Since the Scheduler is very flexible, it is easier to explain what you cannot do, than to explain what you can. 1.
Order of Operations Here is a listing of times when the DVM4 checks the schedule and the operations afterwards. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The DVM4 loads the searched schedule at: a. Boot up b. When the schedule is searched. c. Every night at midnight. The DVM4 gets today’s date (or already knows it) from built in RTC. The DVM4 parses the schedule and loads all of today’s active events. If it is a bootup that caused the schedule load, the Bootup event gets loaded.
• Double Occupancy - two events in the same slot. The following types of events exist in the DVM4: • One-shots -One time events with no repeat • Loops - Repeating events • Finites - loops that have an end time and end date • Infinites - loops with no end time or end date • Active Event - events with today's datestamp that have been or will be loaded into the queue • Executable Event - events with the current timeslot. • Start Time Bootups - events with start time listed as BOOT.
6. Infinites started on a later slot will take precedence over earlier infinites. 7. If two or more events with the same profile are scheduled for the same start slot, the first one found in the file will be executed. This should only occur as a mistake. Ex. Two one-shots, finite loops, or infinite loops are programmed with the same startslot. When Double Occupancy is Legal: There are times that two events can legally occupy the same slot.
Logging Schedulerlog.txt will be kept in SCHEDULES directory, if the INI file has the correct entries. It logs the time and date of events in the scheduler. See the INI file section to turn this on.
54 Scheduler
Transferring Files to the DVM4 There are several ways to get files (videos, playlists, schedules, etc.) into the DVM4. The first method involves connecting to the DVM4 from your PC or Local Area Network using a network card and the Ethernet port on the back of the DVM4. The second method involves installing a removable drive bay (sold separately) in your PC and copying the files to the removable drive.
56 Transferring Files to the DVM4
Networking Your DVM4 The Ethernet connection is a useful tool for transferring video and other files to and from the unit. It is also useful for transferring feature updates and controlling and monitoring the DVM4. Ethernet is a physical medium for transferring data. TCP/IP is used to transmit the data over the Ethernet. TCP/IP is a common “protocol” for transmitting data on local Ethernet connections (Intranet) and also global connections (Internet). The DVM4 allows both.
Connecting to the DVM4 directly from a PC If you are not connecting to the DVM4 from your Local Area Network (LAN), the Internet, or an Ethernet hub, you should follow these instructions: 58 1. Plug one end of the red “Null-Ethernet” cable that came with your DVM4 into the Ethernet port on the rear of the DVM4. 2. Plug the other end of the red “Null-Ethernet” cable into the Ethernet port on your computer. 3.
8. Unless you are using Windows XP or Windows 2000, your computer will require you to reboot to change the settings. Click the Yes button to do so. 9. Once your computer has finished rebooting, launch a Web Browser (Netscape, Internet Explorer, etc.). 10. In the address box, type “http://” followed by the IP address of your DVM4. If this is your first time connecting to your DVM4, or you have not changed the IP address, the correct entry should be: http://192.168.0.254 11.
Connecting to the DVM4 Over a Local Area Network (LAN) or the Internet Note: This process can only be accomplished once you have already connected to the DVM4 directly and have changed the default IP address to an address approved by your Network Administrator. To connect to the DVM4 over a LAN or the Internet: 1. Connect one end of a 100-Base-TX Ethernet cable to the Ethernet connector on the DVM4. DO NOT USE THE SUPPLIED RED “NULLETHERNET” CABLE. 2.
Update Operating System Alcorn McBride periodically adds enhancements to its products. These Operating System updates can be downloaded to your DVM4 to add new features if you wish. The DVM4 retains 2 copies of its Operating System: the Current version and the Previous version. This allows you to switch between the versions if you wish to.
62 Networking Your DVM4
DVM4.INI In the MEDIA folder (where you are located by default when you log in via FTP) is located DVM4.INI. It contains settings that you can use to setup default behavior of the unit on power-up. Below, you will find an example of this file containing all of the entries and descriptions. All of these are changed automatically when you send a command to change them via the remote control interfaces. However, if you wish, you may edit DVM4.INI manually and reboot the unit for the settings to take effect.
* This setting can be PEER or MASTER. PEER Mode (Default) means that all channels in the same group will slave to each other. If any channel drifts out of sync, it will adjust its playback to match other members of the group. All channels will play audio, but this audio may drop out momentarily if a sync adjustment needs to be made. MASTER Mode means that the lowest channel in a group will be designated as a ‘Master’ channel. All other channels will ‘slave’ to this channel.
AUTORUN.INI If you are interfacing to the DVM4 disk directly, this file can be found in the MEDIA directory. For the FTP interface, the file will be located in the root directory. Any application that does not have an external controller will rely on this file to automatically start Videos, Playlists, Schedules, or Overlay graphics when the machine is powered on. Below is an example of a typical AUTORUN.INI file. [UNIT] Schedule=sch00300.
66 AUTORUN.
Automatic Updates from CD’s, DVD’s, and USB devices The Digital Video Machine 4 has the ability to automatically detect media files located on devices connected to it. You can connect a media device that is natively supported under WinXP, like a USB key, USB harddrive, Compact Flash adapter, or CD/DVD drive. If you have configured the device and its directories properly, when the unit boots up, it will scan the device, copy new media files to its directories, and continue on with normal operation.
68 5. In the MEDIA folder, the unit has several subfolders: VIDEOS, IMAGES, BANNERS, PLAYLISTS, and SCHEDULES. As in steps 3 & 4, create the appropriate folder inside the MEDIA folder on your device for whatever files you want copied to the DVM4, then copy your files to the appropriate directories. You can also update your unit’s application by putting os.new in the MEDIA folder itself. 6. Attach the USB device (or insert your CD/DVD) and reboot the DVM4. 7.
File Names File names are represented in simple DOS 8.3 format – in other words, an eightcharacter name, a period, and then a three-character extension. The name is typically made up of eight characters specifying the type (VID for audio/video file, PLY for Playlist), and the number of the file (5 digits from 00000 to 99999). The three-character extension is used to tell the Digital Video Machine 4 the data format of the file. Supported formats are shown in the table below. Extension Format .
To avoid confusion, don’t duplicate file numbers. File numbers are used to identify which file is to be played in response to Select File commands. File numbers contained on a drive should be unique, regardless of the file type. In other words, you shouldn’t have PLY00002.LST and VID00002.MPG on the same drive. The two files should have different numbers. If more than one file has the same number, the first file found in the directory will be used. The order of precedence for file execution is: 1.
Power-Up Operation The order of power up execution allows the DVM4 to use the removable drive to update itself. Power-Up Operation When power is first applied to the Digital Video Machine 4, it initializes itself and performs a self-test. Approximately 30 seconds later, the DVM4 will complete it’s boot process and begin processing the following items: • All drive are scanned for the NEW_MEDIA volume name. If found, all updated files will be copied from this drive to the main DVM4 drive.
72 Power-Up Operation
Making Videos What Is An MPG File? MPG is short for MPEG, which stands for Motion Picture Experts Group, the organization that codified the audio/video compression scheme used in the DVM4. The Digital Video Machine 4 plays MPG files that contain digital video encoded in high-resolution by an algorithm known as “MPEG-2”. Many encoding systems produce MPG files, but not all MPG files may be played on the DVM4.
MPEG-2 Formats The MPEG-2 Program Stream NOTE: We do not recommend using VBR when playing DVM4 channels in sync. This has been known to cause stuttering when video bitrates increase too drastically at the same time. The DVM4 plays MPEG-2 Program Streams. This stream is a Variable or Constant bitrate stream containing both audio and video.
Index Active Mode Request.................................................................... 19 Addressable Commands................................................................ 13 AMINet......................................................................................... 29 AMITerm........................................................................................ 5 Audio ............................................................................................ 74 Audio Control ..............
MPEG .............................................................................................6 MPEG-1 ........................................................................................73 MPEG-2 ........................................................................ 2, 69, 73, 74 MPG..............................................................................................69 NTFS.............................................................................................55 NTSC ...............
