ONBOARD M RECOR D E R
GETTI N G STARTED G U IDE
CODEX ON BOARD M RECORDER G ETTING STARTED GUIDE VE RSION 1.0
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
> Please observe any warnings an d follow all instructions.
> Do not use this equipment near water.
> Clean only with dry cloth.
> Do not block any ventilation o penings. Install in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions.
> Do not install near an y heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or o ther equipment (including amplifiers) that produce heat .
> Do not expose to excessive vib ration, or drop this product.
> Do not defeat the safety p urpose of the polarised or grounding-type plug. A polarised plug has two blades with one wider t han the other. A grounding-type plug has two blades
and a third grounding prong. The wide blad e or the third prong are provided for your safety. If the provided plug does not fit in to your outlet, consult an electrician for replacement of the
obsolete outlet.
> Protect the power cord from being walked o n or pinched, particularly at plug ends, convenience recept acles, and the point where they exit from the equipmen t.
> Only use attachments/a ccessories specified by the manufacturer.
> Use only with the cart, st and, tripod, bracket, or table specified by th e manufacturer, or sold with the equi pment.
> Unplug this equipment duri ng lightning storms or when not in operation for long p eriods of time.
> Refer all servicing to qualifi ed service personnel. Servicing is required when the equipm ent has been damaged in any way, such as power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has been
spilled or objects have fallen into the equipment, has been exposed to rain or mo isture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.
> To reduce the risk of fire or electric shock, do not expose equipment to rain or moisture.
> To avoid electrical shock, do not attempt to open this equipment. Refer servicing to qua lified personnel only.
DISCL AIMER
Codex products are constantly being developed to remain at the forefront of the industry, and as such the information in this guide is subject to change without notice .
Whilst Codex endeavours to ensure that all printed documentation provided is correct at the time of publication, this guide is not guaranteed t o be error-free or up-to-date.
Codex does not assume responsi bility for issues or losses due to misinterpretati on of the information in this document, errors in this doc ument, or incorrect configuration or installation o f the
equipment described herein.
Please report any errors found in this document to support@codexdigital.com
ONBOARD M RECOR D E R
SETTING THE STANDARD FOR FILE-BASED WORKFLOWS, THE CODEX ONBOARD M RECORDER CAN CAPTURE THE BEST QUALITY DIGITAL CAMERA ORIGINALS.
IT CAN BE MOUNTED DIRECTLY ON A WIDE RANGE OF CAMERA SYSTEMS INCLUDING TH E SONY F23, F35, ARR I D-21 AND ARRI ALEXA.
THE CODEX ONBOARD M RECORDS UNCOMPRESSED OR WAVELET CINEMA QUALITY MATERIAL – PLUS AUDIO AND METADATA – ONTO A SINGLE, REMOVABLE
DATAPACK. WHEN SHOOTING IS DONE, A CODEX TRANSFER STATION CAN BE USED TO OFFLOAD MATERIAL MUCH FASTER THAN REAL-TIME.
GETTING STARTED
This guide provides an overview of the Onboard M recorder. For configuration guides for recording common formats, and further documentation visit www.codexdigital.com/support
The operating temperature range of the Onboard M is 5-40 Degrees C.
Licensing
Recorders are available with different licensed features. The licences on your recorder can be confirmed on the Setup->Licence screen. Licenses that can be installed are:
HD - allows recording of HD formats using the first input channel (Inputs 1/2).
ARRIRAW - allows recording of ARRIRAW formats up to 30fps using the first input channel (Inputs 1/2).
Multi-Chan - allows recording of licensed formats using both input channels (facilitating stereo capture and ARRIRAW up to 60fps)
Dual-Cam - allows independent control of recording channels using remote Codex UI.
Power Up and Shutdown
The power input for the Onboard auto-switches between two voltage ranges. See the VOLTAGE RANGES section for details. Once all necessary cabling is correctly connected, press the Power Button
on the top surface of the Onboard M. When it has started and a Datapack with a Roll is loaded it will switch into live mode and the LED ring will become orange.
The battery meter on the display shows minutes remaining and a capacity remaining percentage for smart batteries, or else just a voltage reading. If the Shutdown volts setting in the System menu has
been set too high for your battery, then you may not be able to start up normally. In this case, boot the Onboard M in safe mode by pressing a thin implement, such as a paperclip, through the small
hole next to the power button, whilst pressing the power button. This will reset the Shutdown volts setting to default (10V), and you will be able to boot normally after this.
To power down press the Power Button on the top of the Onboard M and then press the Shutdown button which appears on the Control Panel. The shutdown process is complete when all lights on
the Onboard M have switched off.
Loading and unloading a Datapack
The Datapack should find a natural position when rested on the Onboard M due to the interlocking design of the loading mechanism. Take care that the Datapack is mated flat with the Onboard M
before closing the locking mechanism. Turn the locking lever 180 degrees clockwise to lock the Datapack to the Onboard M. When unloading the Datapack, unlock the lever by approximately 20
degrees to the first position. Wait until the LED on the Datapack becomes solid red and then fully unlock the lever.
(WARNING - damage may occur to the Datapack drives if they are disconnected without waiting)
Roll and shot concepts
There must be a Roll on a Datapack in order to make a recording. See section on the Storage screen for information on how to create a Roll. A shot is created after each record-stop cycle of
operations. Multiple shots can be recorded onto a Roll, and once shots have been recorded they can be transferred and will maintain the original Roll name in their metadata.
For dual camera recording the Onboard M can record shots with two video channels, identified by default Channel IDs of V1 and V2 (which are user definable). When processed out by a Codex Media
Station or Vault the shots from each camera are then output as separate files with metadata allowing them to be organized correctly for post production. For independent dual camera recording refer to
the Remote User Interface section of this guide.
CODEX ON BOARD M RECORDER G ETTING STARTED GUIDE VE RSION 1.0
THE ONBOARD CONTROL PANEL AND MENU SYSTEM
There are a few global rules about how the Control Panel operates, which will be dealt with before menu specifics:
1) You are only ever two button presses from recording: if you are anywhere in the menu system then one press of the Monitor/Rec button will engage Monitor mode, and a second press will
begin a recording. If you are already in Monitor mode then a single press will begin a recording. During recording the only responsive button is STOP/SELECT, which finishes the recording
and returns the system to Monitor mode.
2) The colour of the LED ring on the Control Panel shows the current mode of the recorder. The different modes are: Monitor = Orange; Recording = Red; Playing = Green;
Pause/Setup = Blue.
3) When the Hold Switch is on there will be a padlock symbol at the top of the screen, and none of the other buttons will respond until the Hold Switch is set to be off. The image below
shows the screen with the padlock symbol:
MONITOR/ RECORD
HOLD SWITCHMULTI-FUNCTION BUTTONSMAIN MEN U
JOG WHEE L (TURN)
STOP/SELECT (PRESS)
CODEX ON BOARD M RECORDER G ETTING STARTED GUIDE VE RSION 1.0
4) This image also shows another global function – from any screen the Main Menu button can be pressed which brings up the | Play | Setup | Storage | options on the Multi-Function
buttons. This can be used at any time to navigate to these screens.
5) From within the menus the left Multi-Function button can be used to go Back a level or to Monitor mode.
6) The Jog Wheel can be turned to navigate through lists in the menu.
7) The Select button is used to select from a list, whether it be a settings list or a shot list.
8) If there are less than 3 possible settings for a menu option these will be available on the Multi-Function buttons below the screen. If there are more than 3 options the Select button can be
used to open a list of all possible settings.
9) Some menu fields, such as the Shot Naming Rule, cont ain presets which are indicated by < and > symbols. On the Multi-Function buttons press the Next button to move through
presets, Accept to use a preset, or Cancel to leave the settings as they are.
10) Pressing Select on a text field (e.g. a metadata field in the shot Filecard) will open the text editor screen. Initially the Jog Wheel controls the position of the cursor. Backspace deletes
characters from where the cursor is located. Press Insert to bring up the row of characters that can be navigated using the Jog Wheel, and press Select to enter a character. The Shift
button can be pressed to cycle the character row through Shift, Caps, and Normal case modes. Exit Insert mode by pressing the Cursor button.
11) The battery level is always shown in the top left corner of the display.
12) The record time remaining is always shown in the top right corner of the display. If this symbol is flashing then it indicates either that there is less than 5 minutes of record time remaining, or
that there is an issue with the Roll on the Datapack which should be checked from the Storage screen.
The most important screens of the Control Panel display are:
Monitor/Rec
The video format is shown at the top of the screen as follows: <Video format> <Frame rate> <Storage format> <Wavelet compression quality>
Below the battery symbol is the shot name. In Monitor mode this is the name of the next shot to be recorded, and in recording mode it is the name of
the shot currently being recorded. Below this is the main timecode display, and to the right of this are the audio meters. Any warning or error messages
appear below the timecode display. Warnings are cleared from the display if the cause for the warning is corrected. Errors remain on the display until
you move to a different part of the menu system. The Next Scene button increments the scene number by 1 and resets the take number to 1. The
Review button plays back the last 10 seconds of the previous recording for a quick and easy gate check.
Options
These options can be used to change the playback behaviour as well as the type of timecode display. Uncompressed material can be played back at
any frame rate. Wavelet compressed material can be played back at frame rates within whichever of these two ranges it was recorded: 23.98-30fps or
47.95-60fps. A 1D LUT can be selected from here to be applied to the video outputs. See the LUTs section of this guide for further details.
Filecard
The Filecard is where shot metadata can be viewed and edited. This can be accessed in Monitor mode in order to prepare the metadata (e.g. Scene
and Take values) for the next shot, or from the Shots list for any previous recordings. When a change has been made it is not automatically stored.
Press Accept to save any changes, or press Cancel to lose them. Use the Clear button to wipe the contents of a field without having to use the
text editor.
CODEX ON BOARD M RECORDER G ETTING STARTED GUIDE VE RSION 1.0
Play
Going to the Play screen will load the last recorded shot. Use the > button to play the shot forwards, and the < button to play the shot backwards.
The Jog Wheel can be used to jog through the shot. To load another shot press the Shots button, which will bring up the Shot List.
Shot List
Use this screen to Select a different shot for playback, open the Filecard of a recorded shot to view/edit metadata, view Format information, or delete
recorded shots. Deleting shots is a non-reversible operation. From left to right, the columns on this page show:
< Shot Name> <Start Timecode> <Shot Duration>
Storage
Storage shows information about the Datapack and Roll. Before a Roll is created the drives should have a status of Free. Now turn the Jog Wheel left
for RAID-0 (striped drive set) and right for RAID-1 (mirrored drive set). To create a Roll on a blank Datapack press the Create button and use the text
editor to enter a Roll name (max. 8 characters). When the Roll has been created the drives should all be listed as ‘Good’ and the Status as ‘Ready’. If
this is not the case then contact Codex Support. Delete can be used to delete a Roll and all the shots on it.
Deleting a Roll is a non-reversible operation.
Setup
Menus in the Setup screen are as follows:
Project – enter metadata for the project such as Project Name, Director, DoP, Unit, etc. This information is stored as metadata with all shots.
Source – set unique information for sources, such as a Source ID value. This can be added to the start of Roll metadata to differentiate between
multiple cameras.
Slate – set the Shot Naming Rule and Roll Naming Rule. These use metadata to automatically generate the shot names and roll names for
recorded shots. There are several useful default options that can be cycled through with the Next button. These rules can also be customised if
required.
Video – Select the appropriate Format, Storage, and Fps settings for the camera output being received by the Onboard.
Quality – sets the wavelet compression level for recording. It can be set to 1:1 for uncompressed recording, or any other compression ratio between
3:1 and 8:1 in order to use wavelet compression.
Channels – set this to 1 for single camera recording or 2 for dual camera recording. (Multi-channel licence required)
Aspect – choose the correct setting for your lens. Square for standard spherical lenses, or Anamorphic x1.3 or x2.
Variframe – should be Off for standard frame rates. For non-standard frame-rates variflags from the Alexa are supported and Variframe mode should
be On. If Variframe is enabled on the recorder but not on the camera then recording is not possible.
CODEX ON BOARD M RECORDER G ETTING STARTED GUIDE VE RSION 1.0
Input has two options:
Default – use for 1.5GHz digital video signal 3G – use for 3GHz digital video signal
Output option has four settings:
Default – no conversion is done for output 4:2:2 – all material is output as 4:2:2 digital video signal 3G – dual link material is output as 3GHz digital video signal
Duplicated – provides duplicated 4:2:2 outputs of a single camera input
LUTS
The Onboard can apply 1D LUTs in ASSIMI LATE SCRATCH format to the video outputs for monitoring and playback. To load a LUT refer to the ‘Getting Logs and Loading LUTs Guide’.
From the Control Panel select Options when in live or play mode and from this sub-menu select LUT. You can enable/disable any LUT on the system from here.
REMOTE USER INTERFACE
It is possible to control the Onboard M from a remote User Interface (UI), running on a networked computer. The remote UI software is available for both Windows and Mac, and can be
downloaded from www.codexdigital.com/software. Once it is installed, ensure the IP address of the Onboard and the remote computer are in the same range, i.e. if the Onboard IP is
192.168.1.110 and the subnet is 255.255.255.0 then the remote computer should have an IP which begins 192.168.1. and the last number of it’s IP should be any number between 1 and 254,
except for 110. The remote computer should also have a subnet of 255.255.255.0. Use the SYSTEM menu within SETUP on the Onboard to check/change network settings. With correct
network settings and an ethernet cable attaching the Onboard to the remote computer, run the Codex software package and enter the Onboard IP address in the Connect to Server box.
Initially you will not be ‘IN CONTROL’, which means you can edit shot metadata but not control the functions of the Onboard S. Go to the SETUP tab, then the CONTROL screen, and you can
press ‘TAKE CONTROL’ in order to control all settings and functions of the Onboard.
VOLTAGE RANGES
Timecode – Select the appropriate timecode setting.
HD VANC takes timecode embedded from the video
stream – in this case Fix TC Breaks should be set to
No - this is especially critical for correct timecode
handling when shooting in Variframe mode from the
Alexa. LTC takes timecode from the external
connector. TCG uses the internal clock.
Audio – Depending on the Input setting, the
Onboard M can record between 2 and 8 channels of
audio. Select the appropriate input type and bit-depth.
If using AES audio and the signal is not frequency
locked to the video then set AES SRC option to On.
No audio is recorded in Variframe mode.
CODEX ON BOARD M RECORDER G ETTING STARTED GUIDE VE RSION 1.0
Recorder will n ot
operate above 3 4V
Upper voltage
range 24-34V
Shutdown thresh old
of upper voltag e
range 22V
Threshold to de termine whether
upper or lower voltage range is
selected 19.5VLower voltage r ange 12-19.5V
Recorder will n ot
operate below 1 0V
INPUT VOLTAGE
30 342219.51210 24
ERROR/WARNING MESSAGES
No video input signal detected
Video CRC error
Video frame dropped
Input video signal wrong type
No AES audio input detected
No embedded audio input detected
No video input signal B detected
Not all embedded audio inputs detect ed
Not all AES audio inputs detected
Timecode break
Roll is full
Cannot play shot
Invalid video format for Datapack
Check cabling b etween the video source and the Onboard. Check the vide o output format of the sour ce. If
this happens du ring monitoring it is recom mended to switch to playba ck mode and then back to mo nitoring
to ‘re-time’ th e Onboard to the incoming v ideo signal.
Check cabling – it could be damaged, too l ong, or suffering interfer ence from lighting etc.
This can occur if signals are dropping in and out during monitoring, so it is advised to restar t monitoring
after a signal drop to re-time the Onboard to the incoming signal. I f this happens during recor ding on one
channel it is l ikely the result of cabling problems. If it happens d uring recording on both cha nnels then it
could be a symp tom of a Datapack write-spe ed problem, in which case you should contact Codex Su pport.
Check the Video Format settings and make t he appropriate changes.
Check that the audio being supplied is an AES/EBU signal at 16-bit, 48KHz.
Check that the source is set to output emb edded audio.
Check that the source is outputting Dual L ink video.
Check the sourc e is outputting the correct number of audio channels.
Check the sourc e is outputting the correct number of audio channels.
Check video and timecode source genlock.
Check and corre ct the input cables.
Switch to a dif ferent Datapack which has s torage space remaining.
Reboot the Alex a.
If intending to shoot variframe, confirm R ecording -> REC OUT -> Var iflag setting on Alexa.
Contact Codex S upport to determine the bes t course of action.
Either change f ormat settings to be compat ible, or change Datapack. Th e most common cause is a la ck of
disk bandwidth, so either select a format with lower bandwidth or us e a Datapack with more driv es.
No video/valid input signal detected by th e video card. The video si gnal could be absent, too w eak, or could
be in a format which the Onboard does not accept.
One or more err ors have been detected on t he incoming video signal. This will be evidenced by v isible errors
appearing as ‘s parkles’ on the recorded da ta.
There has been a momentary loss in video s ignal, or data has failed to be written to disk.
Video Format is set to a different format from the one being supplie d.
Audio Source is set to AES but there is no AES audio signal being re ceived at the AES inputs on the back panel.
Audio Source is set to HD AiV, but there i s no embedded audio being received by the HD IN conne ctors on
the back panel.
Storage is set to 4:4:4 so the Onboard exp ects a dual link signal, b ut there is no video signal being received
at the second i nput connector.
Audio Channels is set to expect more HD Ai V audio channels than are being supplied.
Audio Channels is set to expect more AES a udio channels than are bei ng supplied.
This will most likely be caused by a disco ntinuity in the timecode, which in turn is caused by the timecode
and video not b eing locked together.
There is no mor e space on the Datapack Rol l.
Warning/Error Message
Course of action
Meaning
The Datapack is not good or degraded in so me way. If this is the cas e the record time remaining symbol
will flash to i ndicate an issue.
The format sett ings are not compatible wit h the loaded Datapack.
CODEX ON BOARD M RECORDER G ETTING STARTED GUI DE VERSION 1.0
No valid frames - check variframe se ttings
Variframe is en abled but no Variflag frame s are received after a few seconds.
Video cables misconnected
Cables are conn ected to video inputs in th e wrong order.
Input signal is black
ARRIRAW only - the Alexa is generating a b lack signal on REC OUT.
CODEX ON BOARD M RECORDER G ETTING STARTED GUIDE VE RSION 1.0
CONNECTOR PIN OUTS
LTC - 5 pin 0B Lemo socket
1 Ground
2 LTC IN +
3 LTC IN —
4 LTC OUT —
5 LTC OUT +
For unbalanced input, use ‘LTC IN +’ and connect ‘LTC IN -’ to ground (Pin 1).
RS422 - 6 pin 0B Lemo socket CURR ENTLY FO R WIRED UI CON NECTION ONLY
GPIO - 7 pin 0B Lemo socket
1 Reserved for RS232 RX - DO NOT CONNECT
2 Reserved for RS232 TX - DO NOT CONNECT
3 Ground
4 GPI IN
5 GPI OUT
6 Reserved - DO NOT CONNECT
7 Reserved - DO NOT CONNECT
DC IN - 5 pin 1B Lemo socket
1 Battery V— (0V)
2 IDX SCL (IDX digital clock)
3 IDX SDA (IDX digital data)
4 AB DATA (Anton/Bauer coms)
5 Battery V+ (12-28V DC)
DC OUT - 2 pin 0B Lemo socket RESE RVED FOR FUTURE U SE - DO NOT CONNECT
AUDIO 1/2 - 3 pin Mini XLR Switchable between balanced Line or AES
1 Ground
2 Audio In +
3 Audio In —
HEADPHO NE OUT - 3.5mm Jack
Tip Left channel audio
Ring Right channel audio
Sleeve Ground
CODEX ON BOARD M RECORDER G ETTING STARTED GUIDE VE RSION 1.0
NOTES
CODEX ON BOARD M RECORDER G ETTING STARTED GUIDE VE RSION 1.0
NOTES
Cod ex Onb oard M Recor der Ge tting Start ed Gu ide v1 .0 Co dex Di gital Limit ed res erve t he ri ght to alte r the specif icati on at any t ime an d with out p rior n otice .
© Copyright Codex Digital Limited. May 2012. All other trademarks used are the property of their respective owners.
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