Epiphan Pearl Mini User Manual

Epiphan Pearl Mini

UserGuide

© and ™ 2019, Epiphan Systems, Inc

Release 4.7.1

February 20, 2019

UG122-05

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 4.7.1?

Firmware 4.7.1 is a maintenance release that includes an important stability fix for AFU for your Pearl Mini.

What's fixed

AFU to SFTP server stability improvement

The stability of automatic file uploads (AFUs) to SFTP servers has been improved.

iv

Table of contents

What's new in release 4.7.1? iv
Table of contents v

Start here 1

About this Guide 1
What is Pearl Mini? 2
Front and back view Pearl Mini 4
SD card installation and file management 6
Quick start 8
Live video mixing / switching 13
Monitoring audio 14
Selecting an audio source 16
Remote login access 19

About remote login and control using AV Studio 19

Enable or disable AV Studio remote login 21

Pair a channel with AV Studio 22

Control recording using AV Studio 23

Configure channel encoding using AV Studio 24

Access cloud versions of the Admin panel and Epiphan Live 26

Specifications 28

AV inputs 28

Tech specs 30

Optimum CPU performance 33

Vesa mounting the device 34

User interfaces 35

The touch screen 36

About the touch screen 36

The Channel view 38

Record a channel using the touch screen 40

Stream a channel using the touch screen 40

Switching / mixing using the touch screen 41

One Touch streaming and recording control 44

Configure the touch screen 51

The Admin panel 59

About the Admin panel 59

Connect to the Admin panel 61

v

Connect using the Epiphan discovery utility 62

Connect using a DNS-based service discovery 64

Connect using persistent static IP address 65

Switching / mixing using the Admin panel 66

Epiphan Live 68

About Epiphan Live 68

The Dashboard interface 69

Access Epiphan Live using a web browser or mobile device 71

Access Epiphan Live from the Admin panel 72

Stream, record, and monitor using the Dashboard interface 73

Switching / mixing using Epiphan Live 81

Your recordings 84

PART 1: Setup 87

Configure network settings 88

Network ports used by Pearl Mini 88

Verify IP address and MAC address of Pearl Mini 90

Configure a static IP address 91

Configure DHCP 94

Change the HTTP/HTTPS port values 96

Perform network diagnostics 97

Disable the network discovery utility 98

Configure network security 100

Configure 802.1x network security and manage user certificates 100

Manage CA and self-signed certificates 102

Configure HTTPS 103

Tether to a mobile network 104
Configure date and time 107
Format the SD card 110
Audio input ports 112

Enable or disable phantom power 112

Configure audio ports for stereo or mono 113

Assign audio sources to an input 114

Adjust audio gain and delay 115

Mute audio 117

Video output ports 120

About video output ports 120

Video output port resolution 121

Show a channel or video source on the output port 122

vi

Preview the video output port 124

Disable the video output port 125

Disable or enable audio and output port volume 126

Display and reposition the audio VU meter 127

Rename a video output port 128

Mirror the video output port display 128

Set up Kaltura CMS integration 130

Enable CMS and register with Kaltura 130

Disable or deregister the device from Kaltura 132

Change the resource name used for Kaltura 133

Reassign a registered resource 134

User administration 137

User types and privileges 137

Set or change user passwords 141

Remove user passwords 142

Overcome lost passwords 143

Configure LDAP user authentication 144

Change the logged-in user 146

Restrict viewers by IP address 146

IP restriction examples 148

Configuration presets 151

About configuration presets 151

Configuration preset considerations 153

Configuration groups 158

The Factory default configuration preset 159

Create a configuration preset 160

Apply a configuration preset using the Admin panel 161

Apply a configuration preset using the touch screen 162

Export and import configuration presets 164

Update a configuration preset 166

Delete a configuration preset 167

Status and monitoring 168

PART 2: Capture 181

What is a channel? 182

Channel layout examples 183

Channel configuration 187

Create a channel 187

vii

Add video sources or a channel as a source 191

Add an audio source to a layout 195

Duplicate a channel 196

Rename a channel 197

Delete a channel 198

Preview channel 199

Add or remove channel metadata 202

Configure encoding 203

Codecs and file format compatibility 203

Configure video encoding 205

Configure audio encoding 210

Multi-encoding and channel as a source 211

Custom layout configuration 213

About the custom layout editor 213

Resize and position items using percents or pixels 217

Open the custom layout editor for a channel 223

Add or edit a custom layout 224

Rename a layout 226

Delete, move, or duplicate a layout 227

Set the background color 229

Add an image to a layout 230

Upload or remove an image using the Media page 232

Add a text overlay 234

Custom system variables for text overlays 237

Crop a video source 237

Video and audio input sources 240

About connecting video and audio sources 240

Preview a video source using the Admin Panel 241

Rename an input port 242

Configure a video input source 243

DVI and HDMI signals 243

SDI signals 244

Add a custom No Signal image 245

PART 3: Stream 247

What is streaming? 248

Stream settings for video and slides 249

View supported streaming formats 250

viii

Streaming a channel directly to viewers 251

Stream content using HTTP, HTTPS or RTSP 252

Directly share stream URLs with viewers 253

View the live broadcast URL using a web browser 254

View the streaming URL using a media player 256

Restrict viewer access to channel streams 258

Restrict viewers by IP address 259

IP restriction examples 261

Change HTTP and RTSP streaming port values 263

Disable and enable direct channel streaming 265

Streaming to a server 266

Stream to a CDN 267

Start and stop streaming to a CDN 268

Set up a stream using RTMP or RTMPS push 270

Set up a stream using RTSP announce 271

Stream to a CDN using an XML profile 272

Stream to Wowza Streaming Cloud 274

Stream to Original Livestream 277

Stream using multicast 279

MPEG-TS streams using RTP/UDP push 279

MPEG-TS streams using UDP push 281

Multicast streaming using RTP/UDP 283

Viewing with Session Announcement Protocol (SAP) 284

Stream to Kaltura CMS 285

Set up a channel for a scheduled webcasting event 285

Use RTMPS for a Kaltura webcasting event 287

Stream to a media player or smart TV 289

Stream using UPnP 289

Enable UPnP 290

Disable UPnP 293

Viewing with UPnP 294

Play directly to a media player 296

Auto-restart playback to a UPnP device 296

Change UPnP device name 297

PART 4: Record 298

About recording 299
Record a channel 301

ix

Record using One Touch control 302
Configure recording settings, file size and type 303
Restart recording 306
Recorders 308

Add a recorder 308

Select channels to record 309

Start and stop a recorder 310

Rename a recorder 311

Duplicate a recorder 312

Delete a recorder 313

Record to Kaltura CMS 314

About recording to Kaltura CMS 314

Select channels for VOD event views 317

Manually start/stop scheduled VOD events 318

Manually start/stop an ad hoc event 320

Manage recorded files 323

View list of recorded files 323

Download recorded files manually 324

Join recorded files together 325

Extract tracks from a recording 326

Rename recorded files 328

Delete recorded files 328

FTP and automatic file transfers 330

About Automatic File Upload (AFU) 330

Choose files to include in AFU 331

Enable AFU and set parameters 333

Configure AFU to FTP server parameters 336

Configure AFU to RSync server parameters 337

Configure AFU to CIFS server parameters 339

Configure AFU to SCP client parameters 340

Configure AFU to SFTP server parameters 342

Configure AFU to AWS S3 parameters 345

Configure AFU to WebDav server parameters 346

AFU or copy to USB 348

AFU to a USB storage device 348

Do a one-time copy/move all recordings to USB storage device 349

Manually copy recordings to USB storage device 351

View available USB storage space 353

Safely eject USB storage device 353

x

View the AFU log 354

Manage the AFU queue 355

Local FTP server 357

PART 5: Maintenance 361

Power down and system restart 362
Backup your Pearl Mini setup 364
Perform a factory reset 365
Firmware upgrade 366
Support 371
Storage space maintenance 375
Third party integration 378

Controlling Pearl Mini using RS-232 / serial port 379

Controlling Pearl Mini using HTTP/HTTPS commands 385

Configuration keys for third party APIs 391

Troubleshooting 404

Limitations and known issues 415

Software license 418

xi

Pearl Mini UserGuide Start here

Start here

Welcome, and thank you for buying Epiphan Pearl Mini™. You'll find all the information you need to set up
and start using your system in this user guide. For a product description, see What is Pearl Mini?.

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 Mini. You'll find everything that you need to successfully access and use
these interfaces:

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 Mini UserGuide What is PearlMini?

What is Pearl Mini?

Pearl Mini is a versatile live video production device that's a video encoder, video streamer, live switcher, and
video recorder all in one. Pearl Mini is great for lecture capture applications.

With Pearl Mini, you can capture, record and stream computer monitors, radar displays, or anything that
outputs to SDI, HDMI™, or DVI-I(single link). Capture audio via XLR, ¼ TRS, RCA, 3.5 mm, SDI or HDMI.

Simultaneously capture up to *three audio visual sources and choose how you want to record and stream
them. Have separate ISOs or create custom layouts with multiple video sources for live switching. You can do
all that using Pearl Mini.

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 Mini or using Content Distribution Networks (CDNs).
Recorded files can be downloaded via FTPor set to automatically upload over FTP, RSYNC, or CIFS and can be
integrated into your Content Management System (CMS). Pearl Mini 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 Mini does not capture from HDCP encrypted sources.

2

Pearl Mini UserGuide What is PearlMini?

* Pearl Mini supports up to three video inputs with certain conditions, see AV inputs.

3

Pearl Mini UserGuide Front and back view Pearl Mini

Front and back view Pearl Mini

Table 1 Pearl Mini front panel descriptions

Label Name Description

Power light Glows when the system is powered on.

Streaming light

Recording light

Touch screen front panel
display

SD card slot

USB3.0 port

3.5 mm audio output jack

Glows when the system is streaming. Flashing means that user action
is required and streaming has either stopped or won't start.

Glows when the system is recording. Flashing means that user action
is required and recording has either stopped or won't start.

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

Used to store up to 512 GB of recordings and user uploaded media
files. For recommendations, see Tech specs.

For connection of external hard drives or flash drives for copying data
to a USBdrive, see AFU or copy to USB

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

Do not insert objects in to the two, pin-sized holes that are located beside the LEDs.

4

Pearl Mini UserGuide Front and back view Pearl Mini

Table 2 Pearl Mini back panel descriptions

Label Name Description

Lock

Power button

Power jack

USB3.0 ports

HDMI output port See Video output ports for details.

RJ-45 Ethernet

Allows Pearl Mini to be locked to a desk or surface using a laptop lock
cable.

Press to toggle Pearl Mini on and off.

If a software shutdown is performed when the toggle
switch is in the on position, double press the power
button to turn on Pearl Mini.

Plug the power supply in here. The port requires a 12 V DC power
source (center-positive). Always use the provided power supply.

For connection of external hard drives or flash drives. For copying
data to a USBdrive, see AFU or copy to USB.

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

Configure network settings for setup instructions.

SDI in Connect up to 3G SDI signals toPearl Mini.

HDMIin Connects HDMI and DVIsignals (using an adapter) to Pearl Mini.

5

Pearl Mini UserGuide SD card installation and filemanagement

Label Name Description

RCAaudio in

3.5 mm audio in

XLR/TRScombo jacks

Phantom power light

RCA consumer line-level stereo pair (left/right) audio inputs. See AV

inputs.

Stereo mic-level input to connect a passive or active stereo electret
microphone.

Two XLR /TRS combo jacks that can function as a stereo pair
(left/right) or as two mono inputs. See AV inputs.

l Two XLR mic-level (balanced)

l Two TRS ¼" professional line-level, +4 dBu

(balanced/unbalanced)

Glows when 48 V phantom power is enabled. Phantom power is
applied to both XLR audio input ports when enabled. See Enable or

disable phantom power.

WARNING: Connecting devices that are not designed for
phantom power when phantom power is enabled for the two XLR
ports can seriously damage those devices. Always check the
phantom power LED before connecting devices to the XLR ports.

SD card installation and file management

Pearl Mini comes with a standard SD card slot on the front panel. An SD card is needed when recording video.
If you're only switching video or live streaming, then you don't need to install an SD card.

We recommend using a minimum class 10 (C10) SD card that's at least 64 GB capacity but does not exceed
512 GB; however, most SD cards that are at minimum a C10, a UHS class 1 (U1), or a video speed class 10
(V10) should work. We've tested various SD cards with Pearl Mini, including:

l Kingston 16 GB U1 / C10

l Sony 32 GB U3 / C10

l SanDisk 64 GB U1 / C10

l PNY 256 GB U3 / C10

l AData 128 GB U3 / V90

When the SD card is full, new recordings overwrite the oldest recordings. Do not eject the SD card while
recording is in progress as that may corrupt the SD card.

6

Pearl Mini UserGuide SD card installation and filemanagement

The SD card must be EXT4 formatted for the Ubuntu operating system. You can format the SD card using the
Admin panel, see Format the SD card.

The Ubuntu formatted SD card cannot be used to transfer files to iOS or Windows systems. Any
content that's contained on the SD card is lost when the SD card is formatted.

For important considerations when setting the maximum file size limit and recording to the SD card, see

About recording.

7

Pearl Mini UserGuide Quick start

Quick start

Pearl Mini comes shipped with a power supply and cable, a quick start guide, and a registration card. After
you've unpacked your Pearl Mini, you're ready to get started. This quick start uses the default settings where
possible so you can quickly start using your Pearl Mini.

Before you begin, make sure you have:

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

video source must not be HDCP protected.

l an audio source coming from either your SDI orHDMI video source (must not be encrypted).

Optionally, audio from a different source, such as an audio mixer or microphone 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.

l (Optional) A formatted SD card if you plan to record video using Pearl Mini. We recommend an SD card

that is at least a class 10 with up to 512 GB of capacity. The SD card must be EXT4 formatted, see SD

card installation and file management.

Starting up!

Pearl Mini is pre-configured with two channels: HDMI-A and HDMI-B. The HDMI-A video input port on Pearl
Mini is assigned to the HDMI-A channel and the HDMI-B video input source is assigned to the HDMI-B channel
by default.

When you first start your Pearl Mini, the video sources you've connected to the HDMI-A and HDMI-B input
ports appear automatically in their assigned channels, along with the associated HDMI audio. If no video
source is connected, a standard No Signal screen displays.

The 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 to the channel automatically. Audio for the channel comes
from the video source that is connected to the HDMI port by default.

1. Turn on your camera or video source and connect the output to the HDMI-A input port on the back

panel of Pearl Mini.

2. (Optional) Connect a second video source to the HDMI-B port.

3. Connect the Ethernet cable to Pearl Mini and to your network.

4. Attach the power cable and plug it into a power source.

8

Pearl Mini UserGuide Quick start

5. Press the power button on the back of Pearl Mini 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 HDMI-A port appears in channel HDMI-A, and the video source connected to the HDMI-B port
appears in channel HDMI-B.

6. Use the touch screen on Pearl Mini 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 channel.

7. (Optional) Plug speakers or headphones into the 3.5 mm headphone jack at the front ofPearl Mini. For

more about monitoring audio, see Monitoring audio.

My network IPaddress and channel monitoring

You can get the network IP address of your Pearl Mini 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 Mini.

1. To find the IP address using the touch screen, tap the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the

screen and select System Status. If the control icons aren't displayed, tap anywhere on the touch
screen.

9

Pearl Mini UserGuide Quick start

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

For HDMI A:http://<IP Address for Pearl Mini>/preview.cgi?channel=1
For HDMI B: http://<IP Address for Pearl Mini>/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 Mini>/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 User types and privileges. For Admin panel login details, see

Connect to the Admin panel.

Install a formatted SD card to record a channel

An SD card must be installed and formatted before you can record video using Pearl Mini. You'll need to log in
to the Admin panel using the IP address of your Pearl Mini to format the SD card, see Format the SD card.

After the SD card is installed and formatted, it's easy to start recording your channel from the Channel view
using the touch screen. Just tap the red dot that appears in the top right corner of the screen to start and stop
recording the channel. The dot flashes while recording.

10

Pearl Mini UserGuide Quick start

Recordings are saved to the SD card by default. You can not manually transfer recordings off the SD card to
iOS or Windows systems. Download recordings using the Admin panel. For other options, like downloading to
a USB memory device or using Automatic File Uploads, see FTP and automatic file transfers.

Ejecting the SD card while the recording is in progress may corrupt the SD card and cause loss of
data. Stop all recordings before powering down the system.

You can also control recording using the Admin panel or Epiphan Live. For more information about using
Epiphan Live, see About Epiphan Live.

To format an SD card and control recording using the Admin panel:

1. Insert the SD card into the SD card slot on Pearl Mini.

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

Connect to the Admin panel.

3. From the Configuration menu, click SD Card. The SD Card configuration page opens.

4. Select either quick disk format or the full disk format, then click Format. Do not eject the SD card while

it is being formatted.

5. From the Channels menu, select your channel (either HDMI-A or HDMI-B) and click Recording. The

Recording page for the channel opens.

11

Pearl Mini UserGuide Quick start

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

7. Refresh the page to see the newly recorded file appear in the list.

8. Click the file to download the recording to your admin computer.

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 Pearl
Mini, see Set or change user passwords.

When you're done setting up your Pearl Mini, make sure to back up the system configuration using the
procedure described in:

l Create a configuration preset

12

Pearl Mini UserGuide 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
Mini. 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

13

Pearl Mini UserGuide Monitoring audio

Monitoring audio

Pearl Mini'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.

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.

25%

volume.

50%

volume.

75%

volume.

100%

volume.

14

Pearl Mini UserGuide 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 3 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.

15

Pearl Mini UserGuide 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

The audio that's coming from the connected HDMI video sources (HDMI-A and HDMI-B) is automatically used
as the default audio source for the HDMI-A and HDMI-B channels on Pearl Mini. You can choose different
audio sources for a channel using the Admin panel and do things like adjust the input gain, see Adjust audio

gain and delay.

There are:

l Two XLR/TRS combo jacks.

l XLR mic-level input (balanced), supports 48 V phantom power

l TRS ¼" professional line-level input, + 4.0 dBu up to 12.3 V RMS, (+24 dBu)

(balanced/unbalanced)

l One 3.5 mm stereo mic level input for electret microphones (unbalanced)

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

The XLR and TRS combo jacks are configured as a left/right stereo pair by default, see Configure audio ports

for stereo or mono. The 3.5 mm audio ports and the RCA audio ports are linked. You can configure Pearl Mini

to use both or just one of the audio sources using the Admin panel, see Assign audio sources to an input.

This table offers some guidelines for adjusting the gain of the audio input ports for common types of audio
devices. You should 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.

Table 4 Audio gain guidelines for different audio devices

Audio source

Dynamic microphone XLR Add +50 to +60 dB gain to the audio input port.

Electret microphone

Input

port

XLR Add +18 to +40 dB gain to the audio input port.

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

Gain

16

Pearl Mini UserGuide Selecting an audio source

Audio source

Wireless microphone
receiver

Condenser microphone
with phantom power

Mobile phone or other
consumer line level device

Professional mixer

Connecting devices that are not designed for phantom power when phantom power is enabled
for the two XLR ports can seriously damage those devices. Always check the phantom power LED
before connecting devices to the XLR ports.

Input

port

XLR Add +18 to +40 dB gain to the audio input port.

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

XLR Add +40 to +60 dB gain to the audio input port.

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

RCA Nominal

TRS Nominal

RCA Not recommended.

Gain

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 Mini and log in, see

Connect to the Admin panel.

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

channel layout editor page opens.

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

17

Pearl Mini UserGuide Selecting an audio source

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.

18

Pearl Mini UserGuide 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 and
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 Mini. This section contains what you need to remotely access
Pearl Mini.

Topics include:

l About remote login and control using AV Studio

l Enable or disable AV Studio remote login

l Pair a channel with AV Studio

l Control recording using AV Studio

l Configure channel encoding using 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 using AV Studio

Perform secure remote rescue troubleshooting, channel configuration, and more when you pair your Pearl
Mini channels with your free AV Studio account.

AV Studio is a cloud-based platform that allows teams to remotely control video recording encoders like Pearl
Mini. Use AV Studio to perform quick, low touch editing for fast turn around and cloud delivery of
conferences, break out room sessions, seminars, and more.

Access the cloud version of the Admin panel or Epiphan Live securely from AV Studio. Control recording and
do things like check the channel status on Pearl Mini and even make some channel encoding settings from AV
Studio.

19