epiphan Pearl-2, Pearl-2 Rackmount, Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin User Manual

Epiphan Pearl-2

Pearl-2 Rackmount

UserGuide







Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin



Release 4.8.0

April 22, 2019

UG115-14

© and ™ 2019, Epiphan Systems, Inc

Terms and conditions

This document, the Epiphan web site, and the information contained therein, including but not limited to the text,
videos and images as well as Epiphan System Inc.’s trademarks, trade names and logos are the property of Epiphan
Systems Inc. and its affiliates and licensors, and are protected from unauthorized copying and dissemination by
Canadian copyright law, United States copyright law, trademark law, international conventions and other intellectual
property laws.

Epiphan, Epiphan Video, Epiphan Systems, Epiphan Systems Inc., and Epiphan logos are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Epiphan Systems Inc., in certain countries. All Epiphan product names and logos are trademarks or
registered trademarks of Epiphan. All other company and product names and logos may be trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective owners in certain countries.

Copyright © 2019 Epiphan Systems Inc. All Rights Reserved.

THE SOFTWARE LICENSE AND LIMITED WARRANTY FOR THE ACCOMPANYING PRODUCT ARE SET FORTH IN THE
INFORMATION PACKET OR PRODUCT INSTALLATION SOFTWARE PACKAGE THAT SHIPPED WITH THE PRODUCT AND
ARE INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE. IF YOU ARE UNABLE TO LOCATE THE SOFTWARE LICENSES OR LIMITED
WARRANTY, CONTACT YOUR EPIPHAN REPRESENTATIVE FOR A COPY.

PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS AND SPECIFICATIONS REGARDING THE PRODUCTS IN THIS MANUAL ARE SUBJECT TO
CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE. EPIPHAN PERIODICALLY ADDS OR UPDATES THE INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS ON
ITS WEB SITE WITHOUT NOTICE. ALL STATEMENTS, INFORMATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS ARE BELIEVED TO BE
ACCURATE AT TIME OF WRITING BUT ARE PRESENTED WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED.
USERS MUST TAKE FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR APPLICATION OF ANY PRODUCTS.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL EPIPHAN BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL,
EXEMPLARY OR OTHER INDIRECT DAMAGES THAT RESULT FROM THE USE OF, OR THE INABILITY TO USE, THIS
PRODUCT OR THE INFORMATION CONTAINED IN THIS DOCUMENT OR PROVIDED ON EPIPHAN’S WEB SITE, EVEN IF
EPIPHAN HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. IN NO EVENT SHALL EPIPHAN’S TOTAL
LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL DAMAGES, LOSSES, AND CAUSES OF ACTION RESULTING FROM YOUR USE OF THIS
PRODUCT, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE,
EXCEED THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID TO EPIPHAN DURING THE MOST RECENT THREE-MONTH PERIOD IN CONNECTION
WITH AMOUNTS WHICH YOU PAID FOR USING THIS PRODUCT.

INFORMATION AND DOCUMENTS, INCLUDING PRODUCT SPECIFICATIONS, PROVIDED IN THIS DOCUMENT OR THE
EPIPHAN WEB SITE ARE PROVIDED “AS IS”. SPECIFICALLY, BUT NOT WITHOUT LIMITATION, EPIPHAN DOES NOT
WARRANT THAT: (i) THE INFORMATION IS CORRECT, ACCURATE, RELIABLE OR COMPLETE; (ii) THE FUNCTIONS
CONTAINED ON THE EPIPHAN WEB SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE; (iii) DEFECTS WILL BE
CORRECTED, OR (iv) THIS WEB SITE OR THE SERVER(S) THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER
HARMFUL COMPONENTS. EPIPHAN SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS ALL REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, AND
CONDITIONS, EITHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, BY USAGE OF TRADE OR OTHERWISE INCLUDING BUT NOT
LIMITED TO ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, TITLE, SATISFACTORY QUALITY
OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

For additional terms and conditions, please refer to additional sections in this document.

ii

Thank you for choosing Epiphan!

At Epiphan Video (“Epiphan”), building reliable video systems with pro features that perform above your
expectations is our mission.

We value your feedback! Email us your suggestions and let us know how you think we're doing and where
you'd like to see our products improve: [e-mail]

Warranty

All Epiphan Systems products are provided with a 100% return to depot warranty for one year from the date
of purchase.

Technical support

Epiphan’s products are backed by our professional support team. You can reach our team several ways:

l Email [e-mail]

l Live chat from our support site https://www.epiphan.com/support/

l Phone toll free at 1-877-599-6581 or call [phone]

Gather as much information about your problem as you can before you contact us so we can help you better,
including:

l A description of the problem

l Details about your video or audio source (type, connection, resolution, refresh rate, etc.)

l Product serial number

l Product firmware version (using the admin interface)

l Product LED lights

iii

What's new in release 4.8.0?

Firmware 4.8.0 adds some exciting new features like NDI® support and a better live switching experience
using the touch screen. Important enhancements and changes like product registration for future update
eligibility are also included.

Firmware 4.8.0

NDI and NDI|HX support

NDI and NDI|HX support on Pearl-2 lets you receive multicast and unicast video from NDIsources over the
Gigabit Ethernet network. You can connect up to three 1920p@30 fps NDI inputs or one 4K NDI input if your
Pearl-2 system has the 4K feature add-on. Pearl-2 can unicast up to two 1920×1080 @ 30 fps NDI streams
simultaneously.

Hardware acceleration

A new hardware acceleration option improves the performance of RTSP inputs. Hardware acceleration is
enabled by default when you add a new RTSP input to Pearl-2.

Live switching improvement

The switching behavior has been improved when using the touch screen or Epiphan Live to switch between
different sources and layouts. When the standby feed is switched to go live, the feed that was live switches to
standby.

Audio inputs as playback audio sources for HDMI outputs

Now you can select an audio input as the audio source for playback on the HDMI outputs on Pearl-2, as well
as select audio from a configured channel.

Product registration

As of release 4.8.0, systems that are registered are eligible to receive firmware updates including great new
features and performance enhancements. You can register your Pearl-2 at any time from the Firmware
Upgrade page using the Admin panel.

Pairing to AV Studio changes

The procedure to pair Pearl-2 with AV Studio for remote login and control has changed.

iv

Original Livestream and Wowza Cloud streaming presets

Integrated streaming presets for Original Livestream and the Wowza Cloud have been removed.

v

Table of contents

What's new in release 4.8.0? iv
Table of contents vi

Start here 1

About this Guide 1
What is Pearl-2? 2

Feature add-ons 3

Front and back view Pearl-2 4
What's in the Box? 10
Quick start 12
Live video mixing / switching 18
Monitoring audio 19
Selecting an audio source 21
Connecting microphones to the XLR line level inputs 23
Specifications 24

AV inputs 24

Tech specs 25

Optimum CPU performance 28

User interfaces and remote access 30

The touch screen 31

About the touch screen 31

The Channel view 33

Record a channel using the touch screen 35

Stream a channel using the touch screen 36

Switching / mixing using the touch screen 37

One Touch streaming and recording control 39

Configure the touch screen 46

The Admin panel 54

About the Admin panel 54

Connect to the Admin panel 56

Connect using the Epiphan discovery utility 58

Connect using a DNS-based service discovery 59

Connect using persistent static IP address 60

Switching / mixing using the Admin panel 61

Epiphan Live 63

About Epiphan Live 63

vi

The Dashboard interface 64

Access Epiphan Live using a web browser or mobile device 66

Access Epiphan Live from the Admin panel 67

Stream, record, and monitor using the Dashboard interface 68

Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live 76

Your recordings 80

Remote login access 82

About remote login and control 82

Enable or disable AV Studio for remote login 83

Pair and unpair Pearl-2 from AV Studio 84

Access cloud versions of the Admin panel and Epiphan Live 86

Using AV Studio to control Pearl-2 88

About using AV Studio to control Pearl-2 88

Select channels for remote control 89

Control recording using AV Studio 90

View and download AV Studio recordings locally 92

Configure channel encoding using AV Studio 93

PART 1: Setup 96

Rackmount installation 97
Configure network settings 98

Network ports used by Pearl-2 98

Verify IP address and MAC address of Pearl-2 100

Configure a static IP address 101

Configure DHCP 104

Change the HTTP/HTTPS port values 106

Perform network diagnostics 106

Disable the network discovery utility 108

Configure network security 109

Configure 802.1x network security and manage user certificates 109

Manage CA and self-signed certificates 111

Configure HTTPS 112

Tether to a mobile network 113
Configure date and time 116
Audio input ports 120

Configure audio ports for stereo or mono 120

Assign audio sources to an input 121

Adjust audio gain and delay 122

Mute audio 124

vii

Video output ports 127

About video output ports 127

Video output port resolution 128

Show a channel or video source on the output port 129

Preview the video output port 132

Disable the video output port 132

Disable or enable audio and output port volume 133

Display and reposition the audio VU meter 135

Rename a video output port 136

Mirror the video output port display 137

Feature add-ons 139

4K feature add-on 142

Set up Kaltura CMS integration 144

Enable CMS and register with Kaltura 144

Disable or deregister the device from Kaltura 145

Change the resource name used for Kaltura 147

Reassign a registered resource 148

Configuration presets 150

About configuration presets 150

Configuration preset considerations 152

Configuration groups 156

The Factory default configuration preset 157

Create a configuration preset 159

Apply a configuration preset using the Admin panel 160

Apply a configuration preset using the touch screen 162

Export and import configuration presets 163

Update a configuration preset 165

Delete a configuration preset 166

User administration 168

User types and privileges 168

Set or change user passwords 172

Remove user passwords 173

Overcome lost passwords 174

Configure LDAP user authentication 175

Change the logged-in user 177

Restrict viewers by IP address 177

IP restriction examples 179

Status and monitoring 182

viii

PART 2: Capture 195

What is a channel? 196

Channel layout examples 197

About automatic channels Auto A and Auto B 200

Channel configuration 203

Configure auto channels 204

Create a channel 204

Add video sources or a channel as a source 208

Add an audio source to a layout 212

Duplicate a channel 213

Rename a channel 214

Delete a channel 215

Preview channel 216

Add or remove channel metadata 219

Configure encoding 220

Codecs and file format compatibility 220

Configure video encoding 222

Configure audio encoding 227

Multi-encoding and channel as a source 228

Custom layout configuration 230

About the custom layout editor 230

Resize and position items using percents or pixels 234

Open the custom layout editor for a channel 241

Add or edit a custom layout 242

Rename a layout 244

Delete, move, or duplicate a layout 245

Set the background color 247

Add an image to a layout 248

Upload or remove an image using the Media page 250

Add a text overlay 252

Custom system variables for text overlays 255

Crop a video source 255

Configure chroma keying 258

Performance considerations 259

What is upstream chroma keying? 259

What is downstream chroma keying? 260

Set up chroma key for a green screen video source 261

Add chroma key titler effects using Microsoft Powerpoint slides 267

ix

Add external titler software effects to Pearl-2 272

Video and audio input sources 279

About connecting video and audio sources 279

Tested RTSP-based IP cameras 281

Supported web cameras 283

Connect an RTSP source 283

Connect an NDI source 286

Change an NDI input resource 288

Connect an AV.io video grabber 288

Preview a video source using the Admin Panel 289

Rename an input port 290

Configure a video input source 291

DVI and HDMI signals 292

USB signals 294

RTSP sources 297

Add a custom No Signal image 297

PART 3: Stream 299

What is streaming? 300

Secure streaming using RTMPS 300

Stream settings for video and slides 301

View supported streaming formats 302

Streaming a channel directly to viewers 303

Stream content using HTTP, HTTPS or RTSP 304

Stream content using HLS (HTTP/HTTPS) 305

Directly share stream URLs with viewers 306

View the live broadcast URL using a web browser 307

View the streaming URL using a media player 310

Restrict viewer access to channel streams 311

Restrict viewers by IP address 312

IP restriction examples 314

Change HTTP and RTSP streaming port values 316

Disable and enable direct channel streaming 318

Streaming to a server 319

Stream to a CDN 320

Start and stop streaming to a CDN 321

Set up a stream using RTMP or RTMPS push 323

Set up a stream using RTSP announce 325

x

Stream to a CDN using an XML profile 326

Stream using multicast 328

MPEG-TS streams using RTP/UDP push 328

MPEG-TS streams using UDP push 330

Multicast streaming using RTP/UDP 332

Viewing with Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) 333

Stream NDI 334

About streaming NDI 334

Start and stop an NDI stream 335

Stream to Kaltura CMS 337

Set up a channel for a scheduled webcasting event 337

Use RTMPS for a Kaltura webcasting event 339

Stream to a media player or smart TV 340

Stream using UPnP 340

Enable UPnP 341

Disable UPnP 344

Viewing with UPnP 345

Play directly to a media player 347

Auto-restart playback to a UPnP device 347

Change UPnP device name 348

PART 4: Record 349

About recording 350
Record a channel 351
Record using One Touch control 353
Configure recording settings, file size and type 354
Restart recording 357
Recorders 359

Add a recorder 359

Select channels to record 360

Start and stop a recorder 361

Rename a recorder 362

Duplicate a recorder 363

Delete a recorder 363

Record to Kaltura CMS 365

About recording to Kaltura CMS 365

Select channels for VOD event views 368

Manually start/stop scheduled VOD events 369

Manually start/stop an ad hoc event 371

xi

Manage recorded files 374

View list of recorded files 374

Download recorded files manually 375

Join recorded files together 376

Extract tracks from a recording 377

Rename recorded files 379

Delete recorded files 379

FTP and automatic file transfers 381

About Automatic File Upload (AFU) 381

Choose files to include in AFU 382

Enable AFU and set parameters 384

Configure AFU to FTP server parameters 387

Configure AFU to RSync server parameters 388

Configure AFU to CIFS server parameters 390

Configure AFU to SCP client parameters 391

Configure AFU to SFTP server parameters 393

Configure AFU to AWS S3 parameters 396

Configure AFU to WebDav server parameters 397

AFU or copy to USB 399

AFU to a USB storage device 399

Do a one-time copy/move all recordings to USB storage device 400

Manually copy recordings to USB storage device 402

View available USB storage space 404

Safely eject USB storage device 404

View the AFU log 404

Manage the AFU queue 405

Local FTP server 408

PART 5: Maintenance 412

Power down and system restart 413
Backup your Pearl-2 setup 415
Perform a factory reset 416
Firmware upgrade 417
Support 422
Register Pearl-2 426
Storage space maintenance 428
Third party integration 431

Controlling Pearl-2 using RS-232 / serial port 432

Controlling Pearl-2 using HTTP/HTTPS commands 438

xii

Configuration keys for third party APIs 444

Troubleshooting 456

Limitations and known issues 469

Previous releases and features 473

Software license 476

xiii

Pearl-2 User Guide Start here

Start here

Welcome, and thank you for buying Epiphan Pearl-2™, Pearl-2 Rackmount™ or Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin™.
You'll find information on how to set up and use all three models in this user guide. Whenyou see the name
Pearl-2 used in this guide, it means that the content applies to all three models. Differences are explicitly called
out. For a product description, see What is Pearl-2?.

See the Quick start for basic steps to get a single video source (and optional audio) set up so you can stream
and record some output right away. The rest of the guide shows you how to tweak the system exactly how
you want it so you can take advantage of the many advanced features.

About this Guide

After the introductory section and quick start, the next chapter describes the main user interfaces that are
used to operate and configure Pearl-2. You'll find everything that you need to use these interfaces and to
successfully access Pearl-2 locally as well as remotely:

l Touch screen

l Admin Panel

l Epiphan Live

The rest of the user guide covers setting up and operating your system for a successful video switching,
recording, and live streaming experience. The chapters are organized in to these five categories: Setup,

Capture, Stream, Record and Maintenance.

1

Pearl-2 User Guide What is Pearl-2?

This guide assumes that all feature add-ons for Pearl-2 are activated. If a documented feature or task is only
available when a specific feature add-on is activated, it is indicated by a link to the activation page for that
feature add-on. For the 4K add-on, the link is 4K .

What is Pearl-2?

Pearl-2 is a versatile live video production device that's a video encoder, video streamer, live switcher, and
video recorder all in one. Pearl-2 comes in three models.

Pearl-2

A small, silent, portable

system that comes with a

hard-shell carry case.

With Pearl-2, you can capture, record, and stream from computer monitors, radar displays, or almost or
anything with a wide variety of supported video input signals, including:

l SDI (up to 12G)

l HDMI™

l HDMI 4K4K

l DVI-I(single link)

l USB

A 2U rackmount system with all the

Pearl-2, but designed for installation

Pearl-2 Rackmount

same functionality as the portable

and operation in a rack.

Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin

A high density 2U rack mount

variation that contains two complete

(and independent) Pearl-2 systems.

l RTSP

l NDI® and NDI|HX

Capture audio from XLR, RCA, USB, SDI, HDMI or NDI sources.

Simultaneously capture up to six full HD video sources or up to four 4K sources if you have the 4K feature
add on installed. You can create up to five simultaneous channels for live switching, or a single 4K channel.
Have separate ISOs or create custom layouts with multiple video sources and picture in picture. You can do all
that with Pearl-2.

Easily watch live streams using your favorite web browser or media player on mobile devices and computers
connected to the same private network as Pearl-2 or using Content Distribution Networks (CDNs). Recorded
files can be downloaded via FTPor set to automatically upload via FTP, RSYNC, or CIFS and can be integrated

2

Pearl-2 User Guide Feature add-ons

into your Content Management System (CMS). Pearl-2 is also fully integrated with Kaltura CMS and can be
registered as a video encoder resource for easy lecture capture.

Network security compliance with 802.1x protocols, passwords, and certificate authentication means an
easier setup for IT friendly live streaming over enterprise networks. HTTPS enabled for secure administration
and control over the LAN, and RTMPS support for secure, encrypted live streaming.

Pearl-2 does not capture from HDCP encrypted sources.

Feature add-ons

Pearl-2 offers add-on features so you can do even more with your system. Start from the base model of Pearl­2 and add feature add-ons for extra functionality.

See Add-ons overview for details about the availability of add-ons for your system, as well as instructions to
purchase and install add-ons.

Where you see this symbol 4K in the guide, that means the feature or function applies only if you
have activated the 4K feature add-on.

3

Pearl-2 User Guide Front and back viewPearl-2

Front and back view Pearl-2

Table 1 Pearl-2 front panel descriptions

Label Name Description

Touch screen front panel
display

USB 3.0 port

3.5 mm audio jack

Power button

Used for confidence monitoring and simple configuration, obtaining
system information, and starting/stopping recordings and streams.

For connection of external hard drives, flash drives or control
interfaces, see AFU or copy to USB. Web cameras cannot be
connected to this port, only to the ports on the rear panel.

For audio confidence monitoring. Plays the audio for the currently
visible channel.

Press once to power on. Double-press to initiate a graceful system
shutdown.

4

Pearl-2 User Guide Front and back viewPearl-2

Table 2 Pearl-2 back panel descriptions

Label Name Description

The four XLR ports can function as two, professional line level
left/right stereo pairs (XLR A pair and XLR B pair) or as four mono

XLR audio in

HDMIin

12G SDI in

RCA audio in

RS-232 port For connection to a control computer terminal.

HDMIoutput ports

inputs, see AV inputs.

The XLR ports are professional line-level inputs and are calibrated for
+ 4.0 dBu signals.

Four HDMI 1.4 ports that connect HDMI and DVIsignals to Pearl-2.
The first two ports allow for any signal up to full HD, and the second
two inputs allow for any input resolution up to 4K4K .

Connects SDIsignals toPearl-2, including 3G-SDI; 6G-SDI; 12G-SDI;
4K-SDI; HD-SDI; SD-SDI

The RCA ports are consumer line level, left/right stereo pair and are
calibrated for - 10 dBV signals.

HDMIoutput for connection to a display or projector (up to 4K1). Port
1 is HDMI 2.0, and Port 2 is HDMI 1.4, see Video output ports.

USB3.0 ports

For connection of external hard drives, flash drives, USB web cameras,
USB microphones or control interfaces, see AFU or copy to USB.

5

Pearl-2 User Guide Front and back viewPearl-2

Label Name Description

Auto-sensing gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000 Base-T network port and

RJ-45 Ethernet

Power jack Plug the supplied 120/240 V AC power cable in here.

1

Requires 4K feature add on

The SDI ports on the back of Pearl-2 can be delicate. Be careful to avoid sharp impacts or pressure
such as balancing the system on its back with the SDI ports against a hard surface. Rough
treatment of the SDI ports could result in loss of functionality for that port.



support for NDI and NDI|HX (Tx/Rx). See Configure network settings
for setup instructions.

6

Pearl-2 User Guide Front and back viewPearl-2

Pearl-2 Rackmount and Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin

Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin consists of two completely independent Pearl-2 systems, each with identical sets of
controls and ports.

Table 3 Pearl-2 Rackmount front panel descriptions

Label Name Description

Touch screen front panel
display

USB3.0 port

3.5 mm audio jack

Used for confidence monitoring and simple configuration, obtaining
system information, and starting/stopping recordings and streams.

Two other USB ports are located on the back. See Record for
information about recording to USBdrives. Web cameras cannot be
connected to this port, only to the ports on the rear panel.

For audio confidence monitoring. Plays the audio for the currently
visible channel.

7

Pearl-2 User Guide Front and back viewPearl-2

Label Name Description

Power button and LED

Press once to power on. Double-press to initiate a graceful system
shutdown.

Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin consists of two completely independent Pearl-2 systems, each with identical sets of
controls and ports.

8

Pearl-2 User Guide Front and back viewPearl-2

Table 4 Pearl-2 Rackmount and Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin back panel descriptions

Label Name Description

Power jack Plug the power supply in here. Always use the provided power supply.

HDMIin Connect HDMI and DVIsignals.

4KHDMIin Connect up to 4K1 HDMI signals.

SDI in Connect SDIsignals.

The four XLR ports can function as two, professional line level
left/right stereo pairs (XLR A pair and XLR B pair) or as four mono

XLRaudio in

inputs, see AV inputs.

The XLR ports are professional line-level inputs and are calibrated for
+ 4.0 dBu signals.

RCA audio in

HDMIOut For displaying a source or channel on an external display (up to 4K1).

USB3.0 ports

RJ-45 Ethernet

1

Requires 4K feature add on

The SDI ports on the back of Pearl-2 can be delicate. Be careful to avoid sharp impacts or pressure
such as balancing the system on its back with the SDI ports against a hard surface. Rough
treatment of the SDI ports could result in loss of functionality for that port.

The RCA ports are consumer line level, left/right stereo pair and are
calibrated for - 10 dBV signals.

For connection of external hard drives, flash drives, USB webcameras,
USB microphones or control interfaces. See Record for recording to a
USBdrive.

Auto-sensing gigabit Ethernet 10/100/1000 Base-T network port and
support for NDI and NDI|HX (Tx/Rx). See Configure network settings
for setup instructions.

9

Pearl-2 User Guide What's in the Box?

What's in the Box?

Pearl-2



The standalone Pearl-2 model is shipped in a hard shell case that you can re-use for storing or moving the
system between jobs.Cable storage is located under the custom foam tray that holds Pearl-2 in the case.

Pearl-2 Rackmount

Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin

Inside the box with yourPearl-2 system, you'll find the power cable and the following items. Pearl-2
Rackmount Twin comes with two sets of cables:

1. One SDIcable (3 feet / 1 meter in length)

2. One HDMI cable (3 feet / 1 meter in length)

3. One HDMI to DVI adapter

4. One Ethernet cable

5. One region-specific power supply cable (6 feet / 1.8 meters in length)

10

Pearl-2 User Guide What's in the Box?

Table 5 Cables (power cable not shown)

Image Name Description

SDIcable

HDMI cable

DVI (female) to
HDMI(male)
adapter

Connect SDI sources to the SDI ports
(12G-SDI capable).

Connect HDMI or DVI(using adapter)
sources to the HDMI ports.

Connect DVI sources to the HDMI port.

RJ-45 Ethernet
cable

Connect Pearl-2 to your network.

11

Pearl-2 User Guide Quick start

Quick start

This quick start uses the default settings where possible so you can quickly start using your Pearl-2. The
instructions apply to all Pearl-2 models; however, rackmount installation is not included here, see Rackmount

installation.

For the Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin , you cannot plug a source into one system and use it from the
other.

Before you start, make sure you have:

l A video source such as a camera or a computer and cables to connect them to Pearl-2. For HDMI, the

source must not be HDCPprotected.

l An audio source coming from either your SDI , USB videoorHDMI video source (must not be

encrypted). Optionally, audio from a different source, such as an audio mixer that you connect to the
audio input ports can be used.

l Local area network that uses Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) is preferable.

l Computer with a web browser connected to the same network. We'll call it the “admin” computer.

Starting up!

Pearl-2 is pre-configured with two plug and play channels: Auto A and Auto B. Auto channels are used for this
quick start. They have automatic video sensing, which detects the video signal you connect to the video input
ports on Pearl-2.

The first video source you connect while Pearl-2 is powered on is automatically assigned to the Auto channel
(either Auto A or Auto B, depending in which row you connect the video source). For example, when you first
start Pearl-2, the video sources you connect to the HDMI-A and HDMI-B input ports appear automatically in
Auto A and Auto B channels (respectively). If no video source is connected, a standard No Signal screen
displays.

With auto channels, audio from the connected SDI,HDMI, or USB video source is automatically applied to the
channel without needing any additional configuration. For SDIorHDMI audio, just make sure it's
unencrypted.

The Auto channel's frame size is set to match the video source by default and the best bit rate for the default
frame rate of 30 fps is applied automatically.

For details about Auto channel defaults, behavior, and audio source priorities, see About automatic channels

Auto A and Auto B.

To get started quickly with auto channels:

12

Pearl-2 User Guide Quick start

1. Turn on your camera or video source and connect the output to one of the video input ports labeled

"A" on the back panel of Pearl-2.

2. (Optional) Connect a second video source to one of the video input ports labeled "B".

3. (Optional) Connect audio to the XLR left/right stereo pair audio input ports on the back of Pearl-2 or to

the RCA stereo pair audio input ports.

4. Connect the Ethernet cable to Pearl-2 and to your network.

5. Connect the power cable and plug it into a power source.

6. Press the power button on the front panel to turn on the system. Wait for the power-up cycle to

complete.

The Grid view showing both channels appears on the touch screen. The video source you connected to
the "A" row appears in the Auto A channel, and the video source connected to the "B" row appears in
the Auto B channel.

7. Use the touch screen on Pearl-2 for confidence monitoring. To display the single Channel view, simply

tap on one of the channels that you see in the Grid view. From the Channel view, you can do things like
stop and start recording for the

8. (Optional) Plug headphones or speakers into the 3.5 mm stereo audio jack on the front ofPearl-2 to

monitor the audio.

My network IP address and channel monitoring

You can get the network IP address of your Pearl-2 from the touch screen so that you can do things like view
the channels using a web browser or access the configuration Admin panel. Just make sure that your admin
computer is connected to the same network as Pearl-2.

1. To find the system’s IP address using the touch screentap the gear icon in the bottom right corner of

the screen and select System Status.

13

Pearl-2 User Guide Quick start

2. Using a browser on the admin computer, go to one of the following URLs to preview the channel.

For Auto A:http://<IP Address for Pearl-2>/preview.cgi?channel=1
For Auto B: http://<IP Address for Pearl-2>/preview.cgi?channel=2

For example:http://192.1.10.100/preview.cgi?channel=2

3. (Optional) Open a new tab in your browser and enter the URL to login to the Admin panel.

http://<IP Address for Pearl-2>/admin

For example:http://192.1.10.100/admin

The default user name admin has no password set by default. If a password has been set, consult with your
system administrator for the login credentials, see What is streaming?

14

Pearl-2 User Guide Quick start

Record the channel

The channel is set up and streaming. This may be all you need, but if you like, you can also record the stream.
You can choose to initiate and control channel recording from either the touch screen or the Admin panel.

To control recording from the touch screen:

1. From the Grid view, tap the channel you want to record. The Channel view appears.

2. Tap the red dot to start recording. The record timer starts and continues for as long as the system is

recording. Tap the red dot again to stop recording. If the control icons aren't visible, tap the screen
once.

To control recording using the Admin panel:

1. From the Channels menu in the Admin panel, click Recording for your channel. The Recording page

opens.

2. Click Start to start recording the channel and click Stop to stop recording.

15

Pearl-2 User Guide Quick start

3. Refresh the page. Click Recording again in the Channels menu or reload the browser page. The page

reloads and a file list appears that shows your newly recorded content.

4. Click the file name to download and view your recording.

What’s Next?

Now that you have a source setup and are ready to stream, you can fine-tune the system to your exact
requirements. Take a look at topics such as:

l Live video mixing / switching

l Selecting an audio source

l Video output ports

l FTP and automatic file transfers

l Custom layout configuration

l What is streaming?

For higher security, we recommend setting admin, operator and viewer-level passwords on Pearl­2, see Set or change user passwords.

When you're done setting up Pearl-2, make sure you back up the system configuration using the procedure
described in Create a configuration preset

16

Pearl-2 User Guide Quick start

Register Pearl-2 to get firmware updates

Keep Pearl-2 up-to-date and get all the latest features and firmware updates. Registering your Pearl-2 is free
and only needs to be done once. You can register anytime from the Firmware update page using the Admin
panel, see Register Pearl-2

17

Pearl-2 User Guide Live video mixing / switching

Live video mixing / switching

Create dynamic content for your viewers to watch while you record and stream your program using Pearl-2.
Using the custom layout editor, you can create different layouts, like picture in picture or side-by-side views of
a camera and slides, then easily switch between layouts with either a tap on the touch screen, using Epiphan
Live on a mobile device, or from the Admin panel.

Your program stream with switched layouts could look like this:

To create a program channel with custom layouts using the custom layout editor that you can switch, see

What is a channel?

For instructions on how to live switch, see:

l Switching / mixing using the touch screen

l Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live

l Switching / mixing using the Admin panel

18

Pearl-2 User Guide Monitoring audio

Monitoring audio

Pearl-2's front panel includes a 3.5 mm audio jack for monitoring audio. You can plug external speakers or
headphones into the 3.5 mm audio jack. To monitor the audio for a channel, just select the channel using the
touch screen. The audio you hear depends on which layout is currently live because different layouts can have
different audio sources configured.

Adjust the volume

Tap the headphones icon on the touch screen to adjust the volume. Each tap increases the volume by 25% to
a maximum volume of 100%. Tapping the headphones icon when the volume is at 100% mutes the volume.
You can also long press the headphones icon to mute and unmute the volume.

Volume is muted.

25%

volume.

50%

volume.

75%

volume.

100%

volume.

At 75% volume, what you hear corresponds to the nominal audio level in the VU meter at approximately
where the green bars change to yellow. Increasing the volume to 100% may cause you to hear distortion that
is not actually present in the audio signal being recorded and streamed.

19

Pearl-2 User Guide Monitoring audio

Audio VUmeter

A VU meter on the touch screen shows the audio levels for the selected channel.The value is displayed in
dBFS(decibels relative to full scale). Colored bars represent the audio level.

Channels that have stereo audio display two bars. The top bar is the left audio channel and the bottom bar is
the right audio channel.

VUmeter (mono)

VUmeter (stereo)

Table 6 Audio VUmeter levels

Color Decibel range

Red 0 to -9 dBFS

Yellow -9 to -18 dBFS

Green -18 dBFS and lower

The VU meter appears in several different places so you can visually check audio levels:

l Touch screen: On the individual channel view and the grid view. If the audio meter isn't showing, tap

anywhere on the touch screen to turn on the control icons.

20

Pearl-2 User Guide Selecting an audio source

l Admin Panel: On the audio input source's configuration page when you select the input source from

the Inputs menu. You can also add the VU meter to appear on the video output ports, see Disable or

enable audio and output port volume.

l Epiphan Live: See Monitor video and audio input sources

Selecting an audio source

You can choose the audio source for a channel using the Admin panel and can have a mix of several different
audio sources. Select your audio sources from connected video sources (SDI, HDMI, USB videoUVC, NDI, and
RTSP), as well as from the dedicated analog audio input ports. The USB (UVC/UAC) ports on the rear panel of
Pearl-2 will accept a USB microphone (UAC).

Dedicated analog audio inputs ports are:

l Four XLR professional line-level inputs + 4.0 dBu up to 12.3 V RMS, (+24 dBu) that support balanced

and unbalanced signals.

l One stereo pair RCA consumer line-level input (-10 dBV)

l Two USB video/audio ports

l Four HDMI ports

l Two SDI ports

The four XLR audio inputs are configured as two stereo pairs by default: XLR A (left/right) and XLR B
(left/right), see Configure audio ports for stereo or mono. The XLR B audio ports and the RCA audio ports are
linked. You can configure Pearl-2 to use both or just one of the audio sources using the Admin panel, see

Assign audio sources to an input.

Audio for Auto channels are selected automatically.

This table offers some guidelines for adjusting the gain of the XLR and RCA analog audio input ports, as well as
the USB ports. Add the suggested gain to the audio input to get an average signal to register at a nominal level
in the VU meter (i.e. where the green bars change to yellow). The actual amount of gain needed depends on
the strength of the original audio signal. See Adjust audio gain and delay for details.

Table 7 Audio input port gain guidelines

Audio source

Mobile phone or other
consumer line level device

Input

port

XLR Add +6 to +12 dB gain to the audio input port.

RCA Nominal

Gain

21

Pearl-2 User Guide Selecting an audio source

Audio source

Professional mixer

USB microphone USB Nominal

Dynamic, condenser, or
electret microphones

To choose a different audio device for the channel:

1. Using a web browser on the admin computer, go to the IPaddress of your Pearl-2 and log in, see

Connect to the Admin panel.

2. From the Channels menu, select your channel (i.e. Auto A or Auto B) and click Layouts. The custom

channel layout editor page opens.

Input

port

XLR Nominal

RCA Not recommended.

Not recommended.

To connect microphones to the pro line level XLR inputs, you must

XLR

use an external preamp to boost the microphone signal enough to
provide the proper line level signal at the XLR input port, see

Connecting microphones to the XLR line level inputs.

Gain

Audio for Auto channels are selected automatically.

3. Check the audio source that you want to use for the layout and click Save.

22

Pearl-2 User Guide Connecting microphones to the XLR line level inputs

4. (Optional) Adjust the gain for an audio input source, select the input port from the Inputs menu and

adjust the amount of gain on the configuration page for the audio input port. Click Save when you're
done. For more details, see Adjust audio gain and delay.

Connecting microphones to the XLR line level inputs

The four XLR analog audio input ports on Pearl-2 are professional line level inputs rated at + 4.0 dBu up to

12.3 V RMS, (+24 dBu). You can't connect microphones directly to the XLR ports because the microphone
signal is too low. If you want to connect microphones to the line-level XLR ports on Pearl-2, you must use an
external preamp and boost the mic level signal to the appropriate line level before connecting it to the XLR
port.

23

Pearl-2 User Guide Specifications

Specifications

Topics include:

l AV inputs

l Tech specs

l Optimum CPU performance

AV inputs

For best performance, we recommend using a maximum of six 1920×1080@30 fps sources in up to six full
HD channels simultaneously. Up to three of those 1080@30 inputs can be from NDI sources. Or you can
have up to four 4K sources4K simultaneously in a single channel. One of those 4K inputs can be from an NDI
source.

Only content that is not HDCP-protected is captured from HDMIand USB video sources.

Pearl-2 supports the following AVinputs. However, Pearl-2 does support RTSP and common signal converters
and input adapters.

Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin has two complete sets of these inputs.

Table 8 Inputs for Pearl-2

Input port Qty Details

1

SDI

HDMI™ 2

4K HDMI

USB 3.0 2

2

2 Linear PCM audio/video input. Supports up to 12G-SDI signals.

Linear PMC audio/video input, non-HDCP protected. DVI-I (using
an adapter) is single link.

2

Linear PMC audio/video input, non-HDCP protected. DVI-I (using
an adapter) is single link.

Linear PCM audio/video input accepts non-HDCP protected
content. Use to connect UAC or UVC devices, such as USB
microphones and web cameras. Can also connect to external hard
drives, flash drives, and control interfaces.

RCA

RCA consumer line-level audio inputs function as a stereo pair (-10

3

2

dBV).

l White = left

24

Pearl-2 User Guide Tech specs

Input port Qty Details

l Red = right

The XLR inputs accept balanced and unbalanced, pro line level
signals (+4.0 dBu) up to to 12.3 VRMS, +24 dBu.

XLR

3

4

By default, the four XLR ports operate as two stereo left/right
audio pairs (XLR A pair and XLR B pair). You can configure the
ports to operate as independent mono inputs using the Admin
panel, see Configure audio ports for stereo or mono.

1

SD-SDI audio is not supported

2

Requires 4K feature add on

3

In the Admin panel, Analog audio B includes audio signals from the XLR B audio pair and the RCA audio pair

by default. You can disable one or the other using the Admin panel, see Assign audio sources to an input.

If you are using DVI2PCIe cards with your Pearl-2, DVI2PCIe cards do not support audio over
HDMI.

Tech specs

The input and output connectors are listed for Pearl-2 and Pearl-2 Rackmount. Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin is
made up of two completely independent Pearl-2 systems, therefore it has double the number of inputs and
outputs that are listed in this table.

For the most up-to-date product specifications and information, go to www.epiphan.com/pearl-2.

Table 9 Specifications for Pearl-2

(2) 12G SDI

(2) HDMI™ / DVI¹

Connectors

(2) 4K HDMI2 / DVI¹

(2) USB video

Video Inputs

Ethernet RTSP, NDI® and NDI HX

Resolutions

Video Format

Most common and custom HDMI/DVI/SDI/USB modes
up to 4096×2160

3G-SDI; 6G-SDI; 12G-SDI; 4K-SDI; HD-SDI; SD-SDI

3

25

Pearl-2 User Guide Tech specs

DVI single link (through an adapter), USB video through

Audio Input

Options

Connectors
(balanced or
unbalanced signals)

USB Webcamera or UVC AV.io video grabber;
HDMI, 4K HDMI

(4) XLR Pro line level + 4.0 dBu (or 2 stereo pairs
left/right) accept balanced and unbalanced analog signals.
No phantom power.

(1) Stereo RCA (Consumer line level, - 10 dBV)

(2) SDI audio

(4) HDMI audio

(2) USB audio

2

4

Analog audio
sensitivity

Connectors

Video Output

Built-In Display

Audio Output 3.5 mm audio Front-mounted jack for confidence monitoring

Video Codecs H.264, Motion JPEG

Video Bit Rates 1 - 50 Mb/s

Video Encoding

Key Frame Intervals Programmable

Color Resolution 4:2:0

Output Frame Size Configurable up to 4096×2160

XLR Max signal: 12.3 V RMS, (+24 dBu)

RCA signal level: - 10 dBV

(2) HDMI out with audio for local video display or larger
confidence monitoring

Front touch screen display used for system information,
confidence monitoring, simple configuration and
recording control

Encoder Bitrate Sample Frequencies

Audio Encoding Audio Codecs

MP3 64-320 kbps 22 kHz, 44 kHz, 48 kHz

PCM - 22 kHz, 44 kHz, 48 kHz

AAC 64-320 kbps 16 kHz, 22 kHz, 44 kHz, 48 kHz

26

Pearl-2 User Guide Tech specs

Connector (1) 10/100/1000 Ethernet RJ45

MPEG-TS, and FLV

RTSP over TCP/UDP

IPNetwork Interfaces

Video / Audio Recording
and File Management

Streams

Multicast Streams RTP, MPEG-TS &RTP and MPEG-TS over UDP

Network Discovery /
Announce

Network security 802.1x EAP methods: PEAP, EAP-TLS, EAP-TTLS

Internal Storage

Local Storage

Multi-Publish to Streaming Server / CDN(RTSP, RTMP,
RTMPS)

HLS - Native Apple HTTP/HTTPS stream for iPad, iPhone
and iPod Touch

UPnP, SAP

512 GB SSD

Automatically removes oldest recordings from internal

5

storage as space is required.

File maintenance through admin interface (Web UI)

Automatic or manual copy to local USB drives via the (3)
USB 3.0 ports

Administration

Network Storage

Playback and
Recorded Formats

Web UI for full administration. On-screen display and mobile UI for confidence
monitoring and simple administration and control.

Multiple user accounts/passwords.

HTTPS for secure Admin panel and Epiphan Live access, as well as local network
access to the live channel broadcast.

Included API for integration into existing environments (executed via
HTTP/HTTPS or RS-232).

FTP server and FTP client capabilities (automatic and
manual)

Download recorded videos (AVI, MOV, MP4 or MPEG-TS)
using the Web UI and playback through any compatible
player.

27

Pearl-2 User Guide OptimumCPU performance

Time Synchronization NTP, TIME (RFC 868), PTP v1 (IEEE-1588-2002 V1)

Power use 0.8 A, 100-240 V ac

Operating temperature 32° to 122° F (0° to 50° Celsius)

Pearl-2: 11.81" × 9.45" × 3.54" (300mm x 240mm x 90mm)

Product Dimensions

Product Weight

Country of Origin Made in Taiwan

¹Using HDMI port, with adapter

2

Requires 4K feature add on

3

Up to three 1080@30 inputs can be from NDI sources or up to one 4K source4K can be from an NDI source.

4

SD-SDI audio is not supported.

5

A portion of the hard drive space (approximately 100 MB) is reserved for system use. Recording space can be

virtually unlimited with offload to networked storage.

Pearl-2 Rackmount: Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin

Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin: 19 ⅛” x 3½” x 10 ⅞” (498 mm x 89 mm x 276 mm)

Pearl-2: 8.38 lbs (3.8 kg)

Pearl-2 Rackmount: 12.1 lbs (5.5 kg)

Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin: 14.6 lbs (6.6 kg)

Optimum CPU performance

Pearl-2, Pearl-2 Rackmount and Pearl-2 Rackmount Twin are powerful live video production systems;
however, there's a limit to the number of concurrent tasks the onboard CPU can perform efficiently.

The number of concurrent tasks depends on many factors, like: how many channels you have, how many
layouts you have per channel, how often you switch layouts, is the system resizing (scaling) video sources,
what frame rate and bit rate is used per channel, are the video output ports used, etc. Keep in mind that
connecting a live monitor to the HDMI output port consumes about the equivalent of an encoded
1920×1080@30 fps channel.

Streaming an NDI output consumes about the equivalent of an encoded 1920×1080@30 fps
channel on Pearl-2.

For best results, we recommend keeping Pearl-2's CPU usage under 70%.

28

Pearl-2 User Guide OptimumCPU performance

You can check the Overall system load from the Info page using the Admin panel.

To check the CPU usage from the touch screen, tap the gear icon and select System Status.

If the system load is higher than recommended, you can:

l Disable the video output port (if unused).

l Remove unused channels or layouts.

l Reduce the number of channels created.

l Ensure video sources come in at the right resolution so that Pearl-2 doesn't have to up scale or down

scale the video source.

29

Pearl-2 User Guide Userinterfaces and remote access

User interfaces and remote access

Pearl-2 has three user interfaces:

l Touch screen: Easily accessible on the front panel of Pearl-2, the touch screen is primarily used for

confidence monitoring, live switching, and one-touch recording and streaming control, see About the

touch screen.

l Admin Panel: A web-based user interface that's primarily used to perform system set up and

administrative tasks for your Pearl-2. You can access the Admin Panel using an internet browser on a
computer or tablet that's connected to the same local Ethernet network as your Pearl-2, see About the

Admin panel.

l Epiphan Live: A web-based user interface that's primarily used for confidence monitoring, statistics,

live switching, and recording control, see Epiphan Live.

You can remotely login and access your Pearl-2 using cloud versions of the Admin panel and Epiphan Live.
Start and stop recording, perform rescue troubleshooting and more over the Internet when you use the cloud
versions. All you need is a free AV Studio account to start remotely accessing your Pearl-2 right away. To learn
how, see Access cloud versions of the Admin panel and Epiphan Live.

Remotely controlling recording on your Pearl-2 directly in AV Studio is also possible. You can even set the
encoding settings for a channel on Pearl Pearl-2 using AV Studio. When you upload recordings to AV Studio,
you can use the AV Studio Scene Editor to do low-touch editing and post processing for quick, cloud delivery
of your video assets, see Using AV Studio to control Pearl-2.

30

Pearl-2 User Guide The touch screen

The touch screen

Use the touch screen to switch layouts, start and stop recording and streaming, configure network settings,
load configuration presets, and to view configured channels, audio meters, and system information.

Topics include:

l About the touch screen

l The Channel view

l Record a channel using the touch screen

l Stream a channel using the touch screen

l Switching / mixing using the touch screen

l Configure the touch screen

l Disable or enablethe touch screen

l Hide or show channel previews on the touch screen

l Disable or enable the system status screen

l Disable or enable configuration using the touch screen

l Disable or enable recording, streaming and switching from the touch screen

l Set the touch screen timeout

l Set a 4-digit PIN security code

To view system information using the touch screen, see View system information using the touch screen

About the touch screen

Pearl-2's front panel includes a touch screen display that's used for confidence monitoring, basic
configuration, and one-touch streaming and recording control.

The touch screen is capacitive. Use your finger or a specially designed soft-tipped capacitive stylus
with firm but gentle pressure. Pressing too hard or using something other than a fingertip or
capacitive stylus can result in damage to the screen.

When you power on Pearl-2, a grid view appears. The grid view displays all channels that are configured for
your system. If you haven't created any channels yet, the grid view shows only the two default auto channels:
Auto-A and Auto-B.

31

Pearl-2 User Guide About the touch screen

In this example, the grid view shows two video sources, which are plugged into video input ports A and B on
Pearl-2 and are displayed in auto channels Auto-A and Auto-B, respectively.

If no video sources are connected, or your sources aren't sending a signal, the grid view shows no
signal images. See About automatic channels Auto A and Auto B for more details about auto
channels.

Tap a channel on the grid view to select it and go to that channel's view. You can tap the grid icon to return to
the grid view. Tap the gear icon at any time to go to system settings.

Grid icon

A No Channels screen appears if there are no channels configured on your Pearl-2 and the automatic channels
Auto A and Auto B have been deleted. Tap anywhere on this screen to go to the system settings screen.

32

Pearl-2 User Guide The Channelview

By default, the touch screen and all features except viewing the CMS Events screen are enabled. You can
disable the touch screen and define which features are enabled on the touch screen. If the touch screen is
configured to not show channel previews, tap anywhere on the screen to go to the system settings screen.
See Configure the touch screen for details. To see the CMS Events screen and icon, see Enable CMS and

register with Kaltura.

The Channel view

Each channel you configure on Pearl-2 can be monitored and controlled using the touch screen. After you
power on Pearl-2 and the grid view opens, you can select a channel and open the channel view. Just tap the
channel you want in the grid view and the channel view opens.

33

Pearl-2 User Guide The Channelview

Table 10 Parts of the touch screen for the individual channel view

Item Description

1 Channel name.

2

3

4

5

6 and 7

8

Streaming status. Gray means streaming is stopped, flashing

blue means streaming is in progress.

The streaming timershows the length of time that streaming

has been in progress.

Recording status. Bright red and flashing means recording is

in progress.

The recording timer shows the length of time that recording

has been in progress.

Controls to switch between channels. Tap the arrow to view
the next (or previous) channel. The arrow icons fade when
the touch screen is idle (i.e. untouched) for several seconds.
Tap the touch screen and the icons reappear.

Audio VU meter uses quasi-peak ballistics with samples
averaged every 10 ms. The maximum average audio level in
each 100 ms period is displayed using colored bars.

l RED = 0 to -9 dBFS

9

10

11

12

l Yellow = -9 to -18 dBFS

l Green = -18 dBFS and lower

Audio monitoring volume control icon. Tap to change volume
level. See Monitoring audio for more information.

Live Switcher view icon. Tap to view the live switcher, which
lets you live switch between different custom layouts that are
configured for the channel.

CMS Events screen icon. Tap to view the status of scheduled
Kaltura CMS events, as well as view the manual start/stop
button for ad hoc events, see Manually start/stop an ad hoc

event.

Grid view icon. Tap to view all the configured channels in a
grid.

34

Pearl-2 User Guide Record a channel usingthe touch screen

Item Description

13

14

Single touch streaming and recording control icon. See One

Touch streaming and recording control

System settings icon. See View system information using the

touch screen.

Record a channel using the touch screen

Use Pearl-2's touch screen to easily start and stop recording of a channel. Simply tap the recording control
button that appears in the channel view.

If the red Record icon doesn't appear in the top right corner of the screen, recording is
disabled. See Disable or enable recording, streaming and switching from the
touch screen to enable recording.

To start and stop recording a channel using the touch screen:

1. From the grid view, select the channel you want to record. The channel view opens. If necessary, tap

the screen once to display the controls.

2. Tap the red Record icon at the top right of the screen to start recording. The red dot flashes and the

record timer increments when recording is in progress.

3. Tap the red Record icon again to stop recording. The dot stops flashing and the record timer resets to

00:00:00.

35

Pearl-2 User Guide Stream a channel using the touch screen

Pearl-2 also features One Touch, which lets you control recording and streaming of multiple channels and
recorders at the same time with the touch of a button. See One Touch streaming and recording control
for more information.

Stream a channel using the touch screen

Use Pearl-2's touch screen to easily start and stop streaming a channel. Simply tap the streaming control
button that appears in the channel view.

If the gray (or blue) Stream icon doesn't appear in the top left corner of the screen,
streaming is disabled. See Disable or enable recording, streaming and switching
from the touch screen to enable streaming.

To start and stop streaming a channel using the touch screen:

1. From the grid view, select the channel you want to record. The channel view opens. If necessary, tap

the screen once to display the controls.

2. Tap the gray Stream icon at the top left of the screen to start streaming. The Stream icon turns blue

and the timer increments when streaming is in progress.

3. Tap the Stream icon again to stop streaming. The dot turns gray and the timer resets to 00:00:00.

If an error occurs when you start streaming, a yellow circle with an exclamation mark
appears in the left top corner of the touch screen. Check your networking and streaming
settings.

Pearl-2 also features One Touch, which lets you control recording and streaming of multiple channels and
recorders at the same time with the touch of a button. See One Touch streaming and recording control
for more information.

36

Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using the touch screen

Switching / mixing using the touch screen

Switching live video inputs, or video mixing, is simple and intuitive using Pearl-2's touch screen. After you
select the channel you want to live switch, just tap the layout switching icon to open the convenient switcher
on the touch screen. All custom layouts that are configured for the channel display in the carousel. Just tap a
layout to load it in to the standby panel and you're ready to start switching.

Performing live switching using one interface, like the touch screen, does not dynamically
update the visuals in the other interfaces (e.g. the Admin panel and Epiphan Live). The
other interfaces must be manually refreshed to accurately reflect the current live switching
layout information.

If the live switching controls don't appear on the touch screen, they may have been disabled, see Disable or

enable recording, streaming and switching from the touch screen.

To switch custom layouts for a channel using the touch screen:

1. Tap the Live Switcher icon to open the live switcher view for the channel. If the control icons aren't

showing, tap anywhere on the touch screen.

2. The Live Switcher view opens.

37

Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using the touch screen

3. Tap any layout that appears in the carousel to load it in to the Preview panel.

4. Tap Apply or double tap inside the Preview panel to switch that layout to the Live panel. The layout

that was in the Live panel moves to the Preview panel so that it's ready for the next time you switch.

5. To load a different layout into the Preview panel, tap another layout in the carousel.

38

Pearl-2 User Guide One Touch streaming and recording control

6. Tap Back to exit the Live Switcher view.

One Touch streaming and recording control

You can easily control streaming and recording from the touch screen on Pearl-2 with the press of a single
button.

Topics include:

l About One Touch streaming and recording

l Specify channels and recorders for One Touch recording

l Specify channels for One Touch streaming

l Customize the One Touch control display

About One Touch streaming and recording

The One Touch feature lets you control the recording and streaming of multiple channels and recorders with
the touch of a single button on the touch screen of Pearl-2. You simply specify which channels and recorders
to include for One Touch control using the Admin panel.

To open the One Touch control screen from the touch screen on Pearl-2, simply tap the One Touch control
icon.

39

Pearl-2 User Guide One Touch streaming and recording control

Table 11 One Touch control screen components

Label Description

Start/stop button: Press the One Touch control button to start

1

or stop streaming and recording for all specified channels and
recorders.

The number of recorders and/or channels that are actively
recording (the first number) over the total number of channels

2

that are configured for One Touch recording (the second
number).

The number of channels that are actively streaming (the first

3

number) over the total number of channels that are configured
for One Touch streaming (the second number).

When you press the start button to activate One Touch recording and streaming, a blue Stop button appears,
the Recording values update to show the number of channels and recorders that are actively recording, and
the Streaming values update to show the number of channels that are actively streaming.

40

Pearl-2 User Guide One Touch streaming and recording control

In the example above, One Touch control has been activated and all six out of the six total
channels and/or recorders are recording successfully. There is no streaming activity because
there are no channels configured for One Touch streaming.

An error icon displays if there's a problem with the streaming and/or recording settings for one or more of the
channels and recorders. All other channels and recorders that are working correctly continue to stream and
record normally.

In this example, after pressing Start, both recorders/channels are recording properly but the
one channel configured for streaming is not streaming correctly.

To troubleshoot, investigate each channel's streaming configuration page using the Admin panel
and identify which channel isn't streaming. Then correct any streaming configuration errors.

See Specify channels for One Touch streaming and Specify channels and recorders for One Touch recording
for more information about configuring channels and recorders for One Touch control.

Customize the One Touch control display

You can use the Admin panel to customize how One Touch Control is displayed on the touch screen of Pearl-2:

l Default: The One Touch control screen is accessed by tapping the One Touch control icon at the

bottom of the touch screen.

l Start Screen: The One Touch control screen displays automatically on the touch screen when you

power on Pearl-2. Operators can still navigate to other screens from the One Touch control screen.

l Locked: The One Touch control screen is the only screen that displays on the touch screen of Pearl-2.

Operators cannot navigate to other screens from the One Touch control screen.

To configure how the One Touch control screen displays on the touch screen:

41

Pearl-2 User Guide One Touch streaming and recording control

1. Login to the Admin panel as admin, see Connect to the Admin panel.

2. From the Configuration menu, click Touch Screen. The Touch screen configuration page opens.



3. Click Single touch control and select either Default, Start Screen or Locked.

4. Click Apply.

If you chose Start Screen or Locked, the touch screen automatically refreshes to
display the One Touch control screen.

Specify channels and recorders for One Touch recording

All channels and recorders are enabled for One Touch recording by default. You can enable and disable One
Touch recording control for individual channels and recorders using the Admin panel.

1. Login to the Admin panel as admin, see Connect to the Admin panel.

2. To enable or disable Single touch control for a channel.

a. From the Channels menu, select the channel you want and click Recording. The Recording page

opens.

42

Pearl-2 User Guide One Touch streaming and recording control

b. Click change, and then check Single touch control on the options page to enable the channel

for One Touch control. Uncheck the check box if you don't want to include that channel for One
Touch control.

c. Click Apply.

3. To enable or disable Single touch control for a recorder.

43

Pearl-2 User Guide One Touch streaming and recording control

a. From the Recorders menu, select the recorder you want. The Recorder Setup page opens.

b. Click change, and then check Single touch control on the options page to enable the recorder

for One Touch control. Uncheck Single touch control if you don't want to include that
recorder for One Touch control.

c. Click Apply.

To learn how to configure your channels for recording, see Record. To learn how to configure
recorders, see Recorders

44

Pearl-2 User Guide One Touch streaming and recording control

Specify channels for One Touch streaming

Channels are not enabled for One Touch streaming by default. You can enable and disable One Touch
streaming control for individual channels using the Admin panel.

To specify channels for One Touch streaming:

1. Login to the Admin panel as admin, see Connect to the Admin panel.

2. From the Channels menu, select the channel you want and click Streaming. The Streaming page

opens.

3. Click New stream and select a publishing method, for example, RTMP push.

4. Check Single touch control to enable this channel's stream for One Touch control. Uncheck Single

touch control if you don't want to include this channel's stream for One Touch control.

45

Pearl-2 User Guide Configure the touch screen

5. Click Apply.

To learn how to configure your channels for streaming, see Stream.

Configure the touch screen

The touch screen on Pearl-2 is enabled by default and all its features are available. You can disable the entire
screen or some of its features using the Admin panel. For information about how to connect to and use the
Admin panel, see The Admin panel.

Topics include:

l Disable or enablethe touch screen

l Hide or show channel previews on the touch screen

l Disable or enable the system status screen

l Disable or enable configuration using the touch screen

l Disable or enable recording, streaming and switching from the touch screen

l Set the touch screen timeout

l Set a 4-digit PIN security code

46

Pearl-2 User Guide Configure the touch screen

Disable or enablethe touch screen

You can enable or disable Pearl-2 from displaying anything on the touch screen. The touch screen remains
touch-sensitive even when the display is disabled.

To disable or enable the touch screen display:

1. Login to the Admin panel as admin, see Connect to the Admin panel.

2. From the Configuration menu, click Touch Screen. The touch screen configuration page opens.

3. Uncheck Enable display to disable the touch screen display. Check Enable display if you want the

touch screen display enabled.

4. Click Apply.

Hide or show channel previews on the touch screen

Previews of your configured channels display on the touch screen of Pearl-2 by default. You can disable
channel previews using the Admin panel.

A message displays on the touch screen when channel previews are disabled. If you have configured system
status or settings and configuration preset changes to be allowed, then tapping anywhere on the touch
screen opens the settings page.

47

Pearl-2 User Guide Configure the touch screen

To hide or show the channel previews on the touch screen:

1. Login to the Admin panel as admin, see Connect to the Admin panel.

2. From the Configuration menu, click Touch Screen. The touch screen configuration page opens.

3. Uncheck Show preview to disable channel previews from displaying on the touch screen. Check Show

preview if you want to enable channel previews on the touch screen.

4. Click Apply.

Disable or enable the system status screen

The system status screen displays network and system related information, such as the IP address needed to
access Pearl-2. You may not want this information visible on the touch screen after you've configured Pearl-2.
You can use the Admin panel to disable the system status screen from displaying on the touch screen.

To disable or enable the system status screen from displaying on the touch screen:

1. Login to the Admin panel as admin, see Connect to the Admin panel.

48

Pearl-2 User Guide Configure the touch screen

2. From the Configuration menu, click Touch Screen. The touch screen configuration page opens.

3. Uncheck Show system status to prevent the system status screen from opening on the touch

screen. Check Show system status if you want to enable the system status screen to open on the
touch screen.

4. Click Apply.

Disable or enable configuration using the touch screen

You can apply configuration presets and configure network settings using the touch screen on Pearl-2 by
default. You can disable this ability using the Admin panel.

If configuration is blocked and system status is permitted, touch screen users see an i icon instead of the
configuration gears icon in the lower right corner of the touch screen.

To disable or enable configuration using the touch screen:

1. Login to the Admin panel as admin, see Connect to the Admin panel.

2. Select the Touch Screen link in the Configuration menu. The touch screen configuration page opens.

49

Pearl-2 User Guide Configure the touch screen

3. Uncheck Allow settings and configuration preset changes to disable configuration from the

touch screen. Check the check box if you want to enable configuration from the touch screen.

4. Click Apply.

Disable or enable recording, streaming and switching from the
touch screen

Recording, streaming, and live switching control using the touch screen on Pearl-2 is enabled by default. You
can disable this function using the Admin panel to stop users from switching layouts and from starting or
stopping live streams and recordings.

Channel preview must be enabled for the touch screen for recording, streaming, and live switching
control to work. See Hide or show channel previews on the touch screen

To disable or enable recording, streaming, and switching control using the touch screen:

1. Login to the Admin panel as admin, see Connect to the Admin panel.

2. From the Configuration menu, click Touch Screen. The touch screen configuration page opens.

50

Pearl-2 User Guide Configure the touch screen

3. Uncheck Allow start/stop recording and streaming to disable recording, streaming, and live

switching control from the touch screen. Check the check box to enable recording, streaming, and live
switching control.

4. Click Apply.

Set the touch screen timeout

Initially, the touch screen is always on for easy monitoring. However, you can set the touch screen to shut off
after a given amount of time. To re-enable the touch screen after it times out and shuts off, simply tap
anywhere on the screen.

To set a timeout for the touch screen:

1. Login to the Admin panel as admin, see Connect to the Admin panel.

2. From the Configuration menu, click Touch Screen. The touch screen configuration page opens.

51

Pearl-2 User Guide Configure the touch screen

3. Enter the number of seconds before the touch screen automatically shuts off in the Timeout field. A

value of 0 keeps the touch screen on at all times when the system is on.

4. Click Apply.

Set a 4-digit PIN security code

You can set a 4-digit PIN code to protect the touch screen of Pearl-2 from unauthorized access. By default, the
PIN is not set.

If a PIN is configured, users are prompted to enter the PIN code whenever:

l When you power on or restart Pearl-2.

l When Pearl-2 recovers from timeout mode, see Set the touch screen timeout.

To configure a 4-digit PIN code:

1. Login to the Admin panel as admin, see Connect to the Admin panel.

52

Pearl-2 User Guide Configure the touch screen

2. From the Configuration menu, click Touch Screen. The touch screen configuration page opens.

3. Enter a 4-digit PIN code in the PIN field.

4. Click Apply.

Record the PIN code in a safe location for future reference. You need this PIN to
access the touch screen of your Pearl-2.

53

Pearl-2 User Guide The Admin panel

The Admin panel

The Admin panel is used primarily to set up your Pearl-2 and perform administrative tasks. Most tasks in this
user guide are performed using the Admin panel.This section contains what you need to get started using the
Admin panel.

Topics include:

l About the Admin panel

l Connect to the Admin panel

l Connect using a DNS-based service discovery

l Connect using the Epiphan discovery utility

l Connect using persistent static IP address

For information about remote access to the cloud version of the Admin panel, see Access cloud versions of

the Admin panel and Epiphan Live.

About the Admin panel

The Admin panel is a web-based user interface that's used primarily to set up your Pearl-2 and perform
administrative tasks.

54

Pearl-2 User Guide About the Admin panel

Table 12 The Admin panel

Label Name Description

The channels that are available for the current configuration of your
Pearl-2 are listed. Select a channel to access the drop down list of

1 Channels menu

options that are available to configure channel encoding, add video
and audio source, create layouts, perform confidence monitoring,
record the channel, and more.

55

Pearl-2 User Guide Connect to theAdmin panel

Label Name Description

Recorders you add to your Pearl-2 are listed. Select a recorder to open

2 Recorders menu

the status page and list of related recordings for that recorder. You
can start and stop recording, as well as configure the recorder settings
from this page.

3 Inputs menu

4 Output ports menu

5 Events menu

6 Configuration menu A list of all the available configuration options.

Internal storage and

7

system information
menu

8 Main panel

9 Link to Epiphan Live Click to open Epiphan Live in a new tab.

10 Log out

The available video and audio input ports on your Pearl-2 are listed.
Select a port to open the configuration and status page for that port.

The output ports available on your Pearl-2 are listed. Select a port to
open the configuration and status page for that port.

Access the Content Management System (CMS) events list containing
up to three months of scheduled Kaltura events, in progress events,
and completed ah hoc and scheduled events.

System details are displayed in this area, such as the total amount of
internal storage, how much space is currently used, and how much
free space is available.

The main panel is where the all the related information displays. What
gets displayed in the main panel depends on which menu item you
select.

Click to log out of Pearl-2. Click icon again to display the log in
window. The role of the currently logged in user displays beside the
icon.

Connect to the Admin panel

You can access the Admin panel using an internet browser on a computer or tablet that's connected to the
same local Ethernet network as your Pearl-2. You need the IP address of the system, which you can get from
the settings using the front touch screen of your Pearl-2. Using the touch screen is the easiest way to find the
IP address of your system.

There are two ways to get the IP address using the touch screen to log in to the Admin panel:

56

Pearl-2 User Guide Connect to theAdmin panel

1. Get the IP address of Pearl-2. Do one of the following:

a. From a single channel view or grid view, tap the system settings (gears) icon, then tap System

Status, or

b. If your system doesn't have any channels showing, tap the touch screen anywhere to go to the

system settings screen, then tap System Status.

c. To check the CPU usage from the touch screen, tap the gear icon and select System Status.

d.

3. When you have the IP address of your Pearl-2, enter the following into the address bar of your web

browser to launch the Admin panel.

http://<IP Address of Pearl-2>/admin

If HTTPS is enabled on Pearl-2, replace http with https in the URL.

4. Enter your user name and password when prompted. The administrative user name is admin. Initially

no password is set so you can leave that blank and click OK.

We recommend setting an admin password for higher security, see User
administration.

If you don't know the IPaddress, you can do one of the following:

For networks with DHCP, you can:

l Connect using a DNS-based service discovery

l Connect using the Epiphan discovery utility

For networks without DHCP, you can:

l Connect using persistent static IP address

57

Pearl-2 User Guide Connect using the Epiphan discovery utility

Connect using the Epiphan discovery utility

Epiphan provides a utility for discovering Epiphan systems on your network. The Epiphan network discovery
utility is a 32-bit Windows executable that works on most 32-bit and 64-bit Windows operating systems.
Download and install the utility via this link: https://www.epiphan.com/downloads/NetworkDiscovery.exe.

To access the Admin panel using the Epiphan discovery utility:

1. Launch the discovery utility.

2. Click Search to find all the Epiphan systems on the network. A list similar to the following appears.

If more than one Pearl-2 appears, select the one you want using the serial number
that's listed.

3. (Optional) Record the IP Address shown in the stream properties for future reference.

4. Click Web config. Your browser opens and points to the Admin panel page, for example: http://<IP

Address of Pearl-2>/admin

5. Enter your user name and password when prompted, then click OK. The administrative user name is

admin. Initially no password is set. To set a password, see User administration.

58

Pearl-2 User Guide Connect using a DNS-based service discovery

Connect using a DNS-based service discovery

Pearl-2 uses DNS-based messages to advertise details about itself, including its host name. With a compatible
utility installed on your computer, you can access the system simply by typing its serial number and the suffix
".local" into the address bar of your browser.

The following table lists the compatible systems and Bonjour Print Services software needed.

Table 13 Install Bonjour Print Services

System Action Needed

You must install Bonjour Print Services:

1. Use the following URL http://support.apple.com/kb/DL999

Microsoft Windows

2. Click Download.

3. Follow the system prompts to download and install the application.

MacOSX

Linux

To access the Admin panel of Pearl-2 using DNS discovery:

1. Find the system’s serial number that's printed on a label attached to the device.

TIP: The serial number also appears on the System information screen from the touch screen of Pearl-

2. Tap the system information gear icon to display the System information screen. If needed, tap the
screen once to display the control icons.

The Bonjour software used for service discovery is built into the Mac OS. No special
actions are needed.

The Avahi implementation used for DNS-based discovery is shipped with most Linux
distributions. If necessary, check with your administrator to ensure you have the
Avahi package installed.

2. Enter the following string into the address bar of your web browser on your admin computer, where

<serial> is the serial number of your Pearl-2:

59

Pearl-2 User Guide Connect using persistent static IP address

http://<serial>.local/admin

For example: http://95dd40d5.local/admin

If HTTPS is enabled on Pearl-2, replace http with https in the URL.

3. Enter your user name and password when prompted, then click OK. The administrative user name is

admin. Initially no password is set. To set a password, see User administration.

4. (Optional) From the Configuration menu, click Network and note the IP address of the system from

the network configuration page.

Connect using persistent static IP address

Pearl-2 has a default persistent static IP address, also known as the recoveryIPaddress. If ever you need to
set up Pearl-2 on a network that does not support DHCP, or you need to recover from a previous static IP
address setting, you can use this procedure to connect directly to the system for configuration.

A workstation computer with access rights to modify your network settings is required.

Pearl-2 static IP address defaults are:

l IP Address: 192.168.255.250
l Netmask: 255.255.255.252
l Username: admin
l Password: your admin password (by default set to no password)

To access the Admin panel using the persistent static IP address:

60

Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using the Admin panel

1. Establish an Ethernet connection between Pearl-2 and the workstation using one of the following

methods:

a. Connect Pearl-2 to a local Ethernet network shared with the workstation.

b. Connect Pearl-2 directly to the workstation’s Ethernet port using either a regular or a crossover

Ethernet cable.

2. Record the network settings of the workstation that are used to connect to Pearl-2 so that they can be

restored later.

3. Temporarily change the network configuration on the workstation to the following:

a. Use Static IP assignment

b. IP address: 192.168.255.249

c. Subnet mask: 255.255.255.252

4. Start a web browser on the workstation and go to: http://192.168.255.250/admin/

If HTTPS is enabled on Pearl-2, replace http with https in the URL.

5. Log in as the administrator user with the user name admin and enter the admin password (by default

there is no password assigned). The Admin panel opens.

6. From the Configuration menu, click Networking.

7. Click use a static address and enter a static IP address and network settings you want for Pearl-2.

For more information, see Configure network settings.

8. Restore the previously saved network configurations on the workstation.

Switching / mixing using the Admin panel

Switching live video inputs, or video mixing, is fast and easy using the Admin panel. For best results, you may
wish to be in a location where you can see the live action, and have a solid understanding idea of what is in
each of your layouts. Good layout names can help with this. See Rename a layout.

Performing live switching using one interface, like the Admin panel, does not dynamically
update the visuals in the other interfaces (e.g. the touch screen and Epiphan Live). The
other interfaces must be manually refreshed to accurately reflect the current live switching
layout information.

To do live video mixing:

1. Login to the Admin panel as admin, see Connect to the Admin panel.

61

Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using the Admin panel

2. From the Channels menu, select a channel and click Layouts. The layout editor page opens.

3. In the layouts list, the layout with the big red circle beside it is the currently chosen "live" layout.

4. To switch to a different layout as the active "live" layout, click the gray circle beside the layout you want

to make go live. The circle turns red to indicate that it's now the active "live" layout.

62

Pearl-2 User Guide Epiphan Live

Epiphan Live

Epiphan Live is a friendly and easy to use web and tablet interface designed for confidence monitoring of
channels and sources, switching between layouts while recording and streaming, and to easily stop or start
streaming and recording.

Topics include:

l About Epiphan Live

l The Dashboard interface

l Access Epiphan Live using a web browser or mobile device

l Access Epiphan Live from the Admin panel

l Stream, record, and monitor using the Dashboard interface

l Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live

l Your recordings

For information about remote access to the cloud version of Epiphan Live, see Access cloud versions of the

Admin panel and Epiphan Live.

About Epiphan Live

The Epiphan Live interface lets you easily operate your Pearl-2 using a computer or mobile device such as a
tablet. You can:

l Control streaming and recording of channels and recorders.

l Do live switching between sources and layouts while streaming and recording.

l Perform video, audio and system confidence monitoring.

You need administrator or operator-level privileges to use Epiphan Live. See User administration for more
information about user privileges.

Epiphan Live is supported on the following operating systems on mobile devices and web browsers:

63

Pearl-2 User Guide The Dashboard interface

Operating system
or mobile device

Windows

Mac

Linux l Google Chrome

Android phone or
tablet

iPhone or iPad

Most instructions assume that a touch screen device is used; however, you can tap or click, depending on your
device.

Text scaling using Google Chrome for Android is not supported.

Supported web browser(s)

l Google Chrome

l Microsoft Edge

l Google Chrome

l Safari

l Google Chrome

l Google Chrome

l Safari

The Dashboard interface

The Dashboard interface is the first page you see when you open Epiphan Live. You'll find helpful tools for
confidence monitoring, as well as streaming and recording control.

64

Pearl-2 User Guide The Dashboard interface

Table 14 Elements in the Dashboard interface

Number Title Description

l Warning – This icon displays only if there are any

configuration errors in your channels, sources, streams or
recordings. Clicking the icon displays more detail about the

1

Dashboard header
icons

errors.

l Save – Save the current Dashboard layout.

Tap Save to preserve the current layout. Logged
in operators and administrators will see the

65

Pearl-2 User Guide

Number Title Description

l Menu – Access links to the Switcher view, Recordings, and

Admin panel.

AccessEpiphan Live using aweb browser or mobile

device

latest Dashboard layout when they refresh their
Epiphan Live page. The latest saved layout
displays the next time you log in.

2

3

4

5 Video inputs

6 Channels

7 Audio inputs

Dashboard
monitoring panels

Dashboard panel
navigation icons

Dashboard panel set
quantity icons

Configurable panels for confidence monitoring. You can set each
panel to display a source, channel, output, or basic system
information. Panels are empty by default.

Each dot represents a set of panels. Select a dot to navigate
between the three different sets of Dashboard monitoring panels.

l 2x – Changes the quantity of Dashboard panels per set to 2

(as in the screen shot above).

l 4x – Changes the quantity of Dashboard panels per set to 4.

Displays a list of your video inputs configured in the Admin panel
and includes basic status information for each input.

Displays a list of your channels configured in the Admin panel and
includes streaming and recording control buttons for each channel,
as well as individual control buttons for each stream when you set
up multiple streams in a channel.

Displays a list of your audio inputs configured in the Admin panel.
Includes basic status information and a VU meter for each input.

8 Recorders

Displays a list of your recorders configured in the Admin panel and
includes a recording control button for each recorder.

Access Epiphan Live using a web browser or mobile device

You can open Epiphan Live using a web browser on your Windows, Mac, or Linux computer. You can also use
Epiphan Live on an Android phone or tablet, an iPhone, or an iPad.

You need the IP address of your Pearl-2 to connect to Epiphan Live, see Connect to the Admin panel.

66

Pearl-2 User Guide AccessEpiphan Live from the Admin panel

1. Enter the following into the address bar of your web browser.

a. For a web browser on a computer, enter:

http://<IP address of your Pearl-2>/admin/m

b. For a web browser on a mobile device, enter:

http://<IP address of your Pearl-2>

2. Enter your administrator or operator credentials when prompted.

Some versions of Chrome and Microsoft Edge don't display channel previews from the
Dashboard if you're on an HTTPs network and your website has an insecure or invalid security
certificate, even after you update the security certificate. Use a different web browser such as
Firefox or update the version of your web browser, then add the security certificate for the
website to the exceptions list.

Access Epiphan Live from the Admin panel

You need the IP address of your Pearl-2 to log in to the Admin panel for this procedure, see Connect to the

Admin panel.

1. Log in to the Admin panel using your credentials. In your web browser, enter:

http://<IP address of your Pearl-2>

2. Click Epiphan Live in the upper-right corner of the Status page for the channel. The Epiphan Live

dashboard opens in a new tab.

To open the Admin panel from Epiphan Live, click the Menu icon in the upper-right corner of the Dashboard
or Switcher interface, and then click Admin panel.

67

Pearl-2 User Guide

Stream, record,and monitor using the Dashboard

Stream, record, and monitor using the Dashboard interface

interface

The Dashboard interface in Epiphan Live is where you can do confidence monitoring, as well as start and stop

streaming and recording for your channels.

Topics include:

l Configure Dashboard panels

l Monitor video and audio input sources

l Monitor and setup the output port source and audio

l Control streaming and recording

Configure Dashboard panels

You can customize each Dashboard panel to display a specific channel, input source, or video output for live
confidence monitoring. Panels can also be set up to display system information:

l CPU load (%)

l Quantity of streaming connections

l The current streaming bandwidth (bitrate)

l Automatic file upload status (enabled or disabled). See FTP and automatic file transfers.

l Storage available on your Pearl-2.

Other logged in operators and admins must refresh their web browsers to see the latest changes to the
Dashboard.

68

Pearl-2 User Guide

Up to 8 Epiphan Live preview panels can be open at the same time. The limit of 8 live preview
panels applies across all open instances of Epiphan Live, including multiple users
accessing Epiphan Live simultaneously from different web browsers, or duplicate instances of
the same Epiphan Live interface open on multiple browser tabs at the same time.

To configure Dashboard panels:

1. Log in to Epiphan Live (see Access Epiphan Live using a web browser or mobile device).

2. Tap the drop down menu that appears below the panel and select the channel, source, or output to

display. The label says "None" if the panel is not yet configured.

Stream, record,and monitor using the Dashboard

interface

When a channel is selected, streaming and recording control buttons appear below the
panel. You can control streaming and recording of that channel using those buttons.

3. (Optional) To choose between displaying 2 or 4 panels, tap the 2x|4x icon that appears in the upper-

right corner of the panels area.

4. Tap Save.

69

Pearl-2 User Guide

You can navigate between 3 separate sets of Dashboard panels by selecting the circle
icons along the top of the first row of panels.

Stream, record,and monitor using the Dashboard

interface

Monitor video and audio input sources

Use the Dashboard to monitor your video and audio inputs. The video inputs section of the Dashboard lists
all inputs configured on your Pearl-2 and displays the video resolution.

l A green dot means that the video source is connected and a signal is received.

l A yellow dot means that a signal is not being receiving from the source.

l A triangular warning icon means there is a source configuration issue that needs attention.

Tap the name of a video input to open the source details in a thumbnail view, including warning
information if applicable.

The audio inputs configured on your Pearl-2 appear in the Audio inputs section of the Dashboard.

70

Pearl-2 User Guide

l A grayed-out audio source means that the audio source is not used in any channels.

l A triangular warning icon means there is a source configuration issue that needs attention. Click the

audio source name to display the warning message.

l A green dot means the source is connected and the accompanying VU meter shows the audio level.

The audio VUmeter uses quasi-peak ballistics with samples averaged every 10 ms. The maximum average in
each 100 ms period is displayed as a series of colored bars. The following table describes the levels at which
the meter changes from green to yellow and red.

Stream, record,and monitor using the Dashboard

interface

Table 15 Audio VUmeter levels

Color Decibel range

Red 0 to -9 dBFS

Yellow -9 to -18 dBFS

Green -18 dBFS and lower

Show or hide video inputs in the list

You can pick which video inputs display in the Dashboard view. Just tap the Video inputs header and then
check the checkbox next to the name of each source you want showing in the Dashboard view. Tap Save
when you're done. The Dashboard video input list updates automatically.

71

Pearl-2 User Guide

Stream, record,and monitor using the Dashboard

interface

Show or hide audio inputs

You can pick which audio inputs display in the Dashboard view. Just tap the Audio inputs header and then
check the checkbox next to the name of each source you want showing in the Dashboard view. Tap Save
when you're done. The Dashboard audio input list updates automatically.

Monitor and setup the output port source and audio

The Dashboard lists the output ports along with the resolution and frame rate. You can enable and disable a
video output port, as well as choose if you want to display a channel or a video source. You can also enable or
disable the audio volume for the output port. However, you cannot hide video output ports from displaying
on the Dashboard.

To configure the output port audio using the Admin panel, see Disable or enable audio and output port

volume.

l Green text means your output is connected and transmitting to your external display.

l Grayed-out text means the output port is disabled.

l White text means the output port is enabled but is not connected to an external display.

Click the name of a video output to open the port's details in a thumbnail view.

72

Pearl-2 User Guide

By default, video output ports are configured to maintain aspect ratio, use the display's
default resolution, include audio at 100% and they don't include the audio VU meter. You
can change these defaults in the Admin panel. See Video output ports to learn more
about advanced-level video output configuration using the Admin panel.

Stream, record,and monitor using the Dashboard

interface

To configure a video output port and enable or disable the audio:

1. Tap Video outputs to display the video output configuration menu.

2. Tap the text field beside the output port and select a channel or source from the list.

73

Pearl-2 User Guide

3. To enable or disable audio for the output port, tap the speaker icon to toggle audio On and Off for

the port. A green icon means audio is enabled. A gray icon means audio is disabled.

Stream, record,and monitor using the Dashboard

interface

Control streaming and recording

From the Epiphan Live Dashboard, you can control streaming and recording for channels using the buttons in
the Channels section. When a channel is not currently streaming or recording, the buttons are gray and their
respective timers are set to 00:00:00. If streaming isn't configured for a channel, the streaming button
displays as "Not set". See Streaming a channel directly to viewers to learn how to configure streaming for a
channel using the Admin panel.

l The left-most button with the "signal" icon starts and stops streaming for the channel.

l The right-most button with the circle icon starts and stops recording for the channel.

74

Pearl-2 User Guide

If multiple streams are configured for a channel, a pair of control buttons is displayed for each
stream.

Click the channel name to open a preview thumbnail view.

When you're ready to start streaming and recording the channel, tap the streaming and recording control
buttons. Tap the buttons a second time to stop streaming and recording.

l The streaming button turns blue when the channel is streaming and the timer's clock increments.

Stream, record,and monitor using the Dashboard

interface

l The recording button turns red when the channel is recording and the timer's clock increments.

Streaming and recording control buttons also appear below the Dashboard monitoring panels when they're
configure to display a channel. You can use those control buttons to start and stop streaming or recording for
a channel too.

If the stream fails to publish, the streaming button flashes blue and displays "ERROR". Check the streaming
settings for your channel using the Admin panel, see Streaming a channel directly to viewers.

75

Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live

Recording using multi-track recorders

From the Admin panel, you can create multi-track Recorders to capture multiple channels and audio sources in
a single recording. You can then select which combination of video and audio sources to extract from the
recording. This feature is useful when you're capturing a video source and multiple languages from different
audio sources. Multi-track recorders appear on the Dashboard if they are configured on your Pearl-2.

Each multi-track recorder has a recording control button to start and stop recording. When a Recorder is not
recording, the button is gray and the timer is set to 00:00:00. See Add a recorder to learn more about
configuring multi-track recorders using the Admin panel.

To start recording, simply tap the recording control button for that multi-track recorder. The button turns red
when the multi-track recorder is recording and the timer's counter increments. Tap the button a second time
to stop recording.

Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live

The Live Switcher view in Epiphan Live is a simple interface that lets you live switch between layouts while
streaming and recording. To learn how to create different layouts for a channel using the Admin panel, see

Add or edit a custom layout.

Switching between layouts using one of the switcher interfaces, such as the touch screen,
does not dynamically update what you see in the other switching interfaces (i.e. Epiphan
Live and the Admin Panel). You must manually refresh the other interfaces separately to
reflect the current state.

Topics include:

l About the Switcher interface

l Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live

l Switching / mixing using the touch screen

l Switching / mixing using the Admin panel

76

Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live

About the Switcher interface

The Switcher interface is accessed from the Menu button in the top right corner of the Dashboard interface.
See The Dashboard interface.

Table 16 Elements in the Switcher view

Number Title Description

A list of channels configured on your Pearl-2. When a channel is selected,

1 Channel selector

2 Menu icon Displays links to the Dashboard view and the Admin panel when clicked.

3 Preview panel

4 Live view panel

5 Layout carousel

you can switch between the different layouts that are configured for

that channel.

Displays a preview of a selected layout, which is outlined with a green

border. When you click the Switch button, this preview layout becomes

the live layout. See Switching while live streaming and recording using

Epiphan Live for more information.

Displays the active "live" layout that is currently being streamed or

recorded. The live layout is outlined with a red border. When you select

the Switch button, this live layout is replaced with the layout that's

loaded in to the Preview panel.

Displays small previews for all layouts contained within your selected

channel. Select a layout from the carousel to add it to the Preview

77

Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live

Number Title Description

panel.

Note that the layout selected for the Preview panel has a green border

and the layout in the Live panel has a red border.

When selected, the layout in the Preview panel replaces the layout in

6

Switch button

the Live panel and is immediately reflected in your active stream and

recordings.

Switching while live streaming and recording using Epiphan Live

The Switcher interface lets you easily live switch between custom layouts with the simple press of a button.

To switch layouts while live streaming and recording:

1. Log in to Epiphan Live. The Dashboard view opens by default. See Access Epiphan Live using a web

browser or mobile device.

2. Tap the Menu icon in the upper-right corner of the Dashboard screen and tap Switcher to open the

Switcher interface.

3. Tap the field beside the "Switcher" header and select a channel. The field is blank if this is your first time

configuring the Switcher. Channels with only one layout are grayed-out and cannot be selected for
switching.

78

Pearl-2 User Guide Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live

All the layouts for the selected channel are displayed in a carousel along the bottom of the screen. The
layout that is live is displayed in the Live panel on the right side of the interface, see About the

Switcher interface.

4. In the carousel, tap the layout that you want to switch to next. That layout is loaded into the Preview

panel.

79

Pearl-2 User Guide Your recordings

5. Tap the Switch button to switch the layout that is currently in the Preview panel to the Live panel.

The layout that was in the Live panel moves to the Preview panel so that it's ready for the next time
you switch.

6. To load a different layout into the Preview panel, tap another layout in the carousel.

Your recordings

All recordings made using Epiphan Live are saved to the Your recordings panel.

80

Pearl-2 User Guide Your recordings

After recoding a file, you can manage it and any other files using the following tools on the page:

Number Title Description

Select a From and a To date from the pop-up calendar to create a date

1 Date selector

range. Then tap Apply. Only recordings that were recorded within that
time frame appear in the list below.

2 File details

3 Files

4 Page indicators

5 Select all Tap to select all files on the page.

6 Delete all

7 Delete

Each heading in the list gives information about that category. Selecting
Date organizes the list chronologically by the date the recording began.

Each recorded file that falls within the search parameters appears in this
list, including important metadata about the file. Tap or click on the file
selects it so that it can be managed through the other tools on the page.
You may also download or delete an individual file by using the action
items at the end of the file line. Tap the file name to rename the file.

The page number indicates which page of results you are currently
viewing, and how many pages of results are there. The buttons allow
you to move between pages one at a time, or straight to the beginning
or end of the list. You can also change which page you are on by typing a
valid page number into the text box.

Tap to delete all files on the list. Warning: Deleted files can not be
recovered.

Tap to delete all selected files. Warning: Deleted files can not be
recovered.

8 Download Click this button to download all selected files to your local hard drive.

81

Pearl-2 User Guide Remote login access

Remote login access

Securely login to the cloud versions of the Admin panel and Epiphan Live remotely from anywhere you have
Internet access. Perform off-site rescue troubleshooting, channel configuration, control streaming, recording,
and more using your favorite web browser over a secure connection to the Internet. You don't need to be on
the same, local network as Pearl-2. This section contains what you need to remotely access Pearl-2.

Topics include:

l About remote login and control

l Enable or disable AV Studio for remote login

l Pair and unpair Pearl-2 from AV Studio

l Access cloud versions of the Admin panel and Epiphan Live

See The Admin panel and Epiphan Live for details about how to use these interfaces and how to access the
local web versions.

About remote login and control

Perform secure remote rescue troubleshooting, channel configuration, and more when you pair Pearl-2 to
your free AV Studio account. Remote login access to your Pearl-2 is available as soon as you pair Pearl-2 to AV
Studio, see Pair and unpair Pearl-2 from AV Studio.

From AV Studio, you can access the cloud versions of the Admin panel or Epiphan Live to securely control
recording and do everything you'd normally do using the Admin panel or Epiphan Live, see Access cloud

versions of the Admin panel and Epiphan Live.

You can see if Pearl-2 is paired from the AV Studio status page using the Admin panel . A simple, clickable link
pairs Pearl-2 to your AV Studio team. All you need to do is login.

82

Pearl-2 User Guide Enable or disableAV Studio for remote login

Important considerations

l Pearl-2 stays paired until you manually unpair.

l Unpairing Pearl-2 in AV Studio causes Pearl-2's encoder entry in AV Studio to permanently go offline.

You must pair Pearl-2 again to use AV Studio to remotely login to Pearl-2.

l If you pair Pearl-2 again after you have successfully unpaired from AV Studio, a new encoder instance is

created in AV Studio. The previous encoder instance for Pearl-2 remains permanently offline.

l Disabling the AV Studio feature on Pearl using the Admin panel while Pearl-2 is paired to AV Studio

causes Pearl-2's encoder entry in AV Studio to permanently go offline.

For information about how to use AV Studio and perform quick, low touch video editing and deliver the
rendered recordings conveniently from the cloud, see Using AV Studio to control Pearl-2.

Enable or disable AV Studio for remote login

Pairing Pearl-2 to your AV Studio account for remote login and control is enabled by default. You can disable
the AV Studio feature for remote login using the Admin panel and enable it again at a later time.

Important considerations

l Unpair Pearl-2 from AV Studio before disabling AV Studio using the Admin panel.

l If you disable AV Studio access while Pearl-2 is paired, the encoder instance in AV Studio goes

permanently offline. For more information about encoder conditions and pairing, see Pair and unpair

Pearl-2 from AV Studio.

To enable or disable pairing Pearl-2 with AV Studio:

83

Pearl-2 User Guide Pair and unpair Pearl-2 fromAV Studio

1. Login to the Admin panel as admin, see Connect to the Admin panel.

2. From the Configuration menu, click Maintenance. The Maintenance page opens.

3. Uncheck Enable AVStudio to disable AV Studio remote login or leave it checked to use this feature

with Pearl-2, then click Save.

Pair and unpair Pearl-2 from AV Studio

To use the remote login feature, you must pair Pearl-2 to AV Studio. An AV Studio account is needed. You can
sign up for a free AV Studio account the first time you pair Pearl-2. For more information, see Using AV Studio

to control Pearl-2.

You can pair Pearl-2 directly using the Admin panel or you can add Pearl-2 as an encoder manually from within
AV Studio by entering Pearl-2's device ID paring code. To add Pearl-2 as an encoder manually in AV Studio, go
to the AV Studio online user guide.

You can unpair Pearl-2 using either the Admin panel or directly within AV Studio. Each time you unpair Pearl-2,
the device ID pairing code changes value. When you pair Pearl-2 again, a new encoder instance is created with
the new device ID.

Important considerations

l Pearl-2's encoder entry in AV Studio permanently goes offline when you unpair. You must pair Pearl-2

again to use AV Studio to remotely login to Pearl-2.

84

Pearl-2 User Guide Pair and unpair Pearl-2 fromAV Studio

l If you pair Pearl-2 again after you have successfully unpaired from AV Studio, a new encoder instance is

created in AV Studio. The previous encoder instance for Pearl-2 remains permanently offline; however,
you can still access all recordings and scenes for the offline encoder instance.

You can still access recordings that were previously uploaded and any scenes that were
previously created for a Pearl-2 encoder instance that is permanently offline in AV Studio.

To pair and unpair Pearl-2:

1. Login to the Admin panel as admin, see Connect to the Admin panel.

2. From the Configuration menu, select AV Studio. The AV Studio status page opens. The pairing code

device ID for Pearl-2 is shown, as well as a link to pair the device.

3. Select Click to pair. The AV Studio login page opens in a new tab (https://go.avstudio.com)

4. Login to your existing AV Studio account or sign up for a free account.

5. After you've logged in to AV Studio, select a team that's associated with your AV Studio account. Your

default AV Studio team is selected by default. Then click Pair encoder. Your Pearl-2 is now paired to
your AV Studio team and is listed on the Encoders page in AV Studio.

85

Pearl-2 User Guide

6. In the Admin panel, the status of Pearl-2 updates to paired on the AV Studio status page. To unpair

Pearl-2, select Unpair.

Accesscloud versions of theAdmin panel and Epiphan

Live

Access cloud versions of the Admin panel and Epiphan Live

Perform remote configuration and rescue troubleshooting using the cloud version of the Admin panel. It's
really convenient to remotely control live switching, recording, and streaming from anywhere using the cloud
versions of Epiphan Live and the Admin panel.

You can access the cloud versions of the Admin panel and Epiphan Live from any location that has access to
the Internet after you've paired Pearl-2 to AV Studio, see Pair and unpair Pearl-2 from AV Studio.

After you've logged in to the cloud Admin panel, you can open the cloud version of Epiphan Live. The same
login credentials are used for both the local web-based and the cloud-based versions.

86

Pearl-2 User Guide

The URLsof the local web versions of the Admin panel and Epiphan Live are not the same as the
URLsof the cloud versions.

To access the cloud versions of the Admin panel and Epiphan Live:

1. Login to your AV Studio account at https://go.avstudio.com

2. In the top header bar, click Encoders. The list of encoders opens.

3. Click Remote login beside the Pearl-2 encoder entry. A new tab with the cloud Admin panel login

opens in your browser.

Accesscloud versions of theAdmin panel and Epiphan

Live

4. Enter your Admin panel login credentials to log in to the cloud version of the Admin panel . The default

administrator username is admin.

5. Click Epiphan Live in the upper-right corner. The Epiphan Live dashboard opens in a new tab.

See The Admin panel and Epiphan Live for details about how to use these interfaces or how to access the local
web versions.

87